15 January 2012 – Golden Globes

It's been a great weekend! Friday night, we went up to Blue Ridge to visit our dear friends, Steve and Amado. We had a great dinner at the Blue Ridge Brewery and then went back to their beautiful cabin in Morganton for a delicious cake by Amado, music, fun and laughter. It was a great night and long overdue. Last night, we went to Decatur to have dinner with more dear friends, John and Cory. We met at John's place and then went for Turkish food at Cafe Istanbul. We sat on the floor and enjoyed Turkish wine, great food, belly dancers and a Hookah pipe! It was exotic, different and great fun. Today, I made a healthy breakfast, and then we went to hike Kennesaw Mountain. We went on the Pigeon Hill Trail and then proceeded to the top of Little Kennesaw Mountain. We took the West loop back and had a great time. It was nice exercise on a beautiful winter afternoon.

Tonight, I made a healthy Chinese Sunday Supper. Cory and John joined us for organic vegetable potstickers, hot and sour soup and chicken and broccoli stir fry with roasted cashews. It was very good and also very low in total Weight Watchers points! I lost six pounds last week on the program and look forward to greater results in the weeks ahead. The exercise also helps! I need to be very good this week in preparation for the big 50th birthday bash next weekend at Frogtown Cellars in Dahlonega. I will not be counting points next weekend but hope to continue the healthy trend going forward. Now, we are watching the Golden Globe Awards and gearing up for Oscar season! Oh the drama of it all...

We had fresh orange slices and fortune cookies for dessert, and I was comforted by my fortune:

"You will always be surrounded by those who truly love you." I believe this to be true!

May each of you be surrounded by healthy love in the week ahead and beyond!

The Menu:

- Organic Vegetable Potstickers

- Hot and Sour Soup

- Stir Fried Chicken, Broccoli and Peppers with Crunchy Cashews

- Sesame Jasmine Rice TImbales

- Organic Navel Oranges and Good Fortune Cookies

08 January 2012

The first weekend of the new year was very productive. I got a lot done at work, including purging and cleaning my office! Plus, we had some great client presentations such as a new brand identity and new rug designs for 2012. The home purging continues as well. Today, we cleaned out the office, and I want to build some bookshelves in there and transform it into more of a "study." It was fun going through all of the books and DVDs. I also found some great photos and other little surprises.

The first week of the new diet also went well. We are doing the Weight Watchers for Men program, and so far, so good. It is kind of tedious to track all the points of everything that you eat, but it really makes your aware of what you eat. Plus, you can make choices about where and how you want to use your points. I think I am down a few pounds already, so wish me luck!

Of course, the new diet is challenging for Bill's Sunday Suppers. I have started to research the best Weight Watchers recipes, and some of them don't look too bad. In fact, tonight I found a great comfort food recipe on skinnytaste.com. The blogger researches and recreates her favorite dishes with WW points in mind. Tonight, I prepared her Pollo in Potacchio, chicken in spicy tomato rosemary sauce. It was really filling and delicious. I served it over roasted polenta cakes and served it with roasted brussels sprouts with a balsamic drizzle. It was a very satisfying meal and very low in WW points. Who would have thought? For dessert, Jeff made a Weight Watchers pear tart with a ginger snap crust. Yum!

Now that dinner is out of the way, it is time for the season 2 premier of Downton Abbey on PBS! It is an amazing show with great production value, beautifully filmed and expertly acted. Maggie Smith is a revelation! If you haven't watched it, I suggest you download or purchase season one on DVD. You won't be sorry!

Have a great week, and lighten up while you are at it!

Cheers!

Bill

The Menu:

- Pollo in Potacchio, Chicken in Spicy Tomato and Rosemary Sauce

- Roasted Polenta Cakes

- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Maple Drizzle

- Pear Tart with Ginger Snap Crust

01 January 2010 – Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Christmas was great for the most part, only a few "hard candy Christmas" moments. There was a lot of great food, dear friends and most of my adoring family. Of course, we all desperately missed my little sister, Stacy. So 2011 was a mixed bag, but 2012 is full of promise and hope. Here's to a great new year for everyone.

We spent the weekend in Atlanta and had some great food. On Friday we ate at Miso Izakaya on Edgewood. It is a great new Japanese "tapas pub." The steamed buns were phenomenal, especially the crispy duck buns! I was very pleased. On Saturday, we slept in but went to HobNob for lunch. It was okay, but we decided to go to the Zoo afterward. It was great fun and a beautiful day to see some amazing animals. After the zoo, we stopped by The Earl in East Atlanta Village for a burger and bloody mary. They have the best burgers in Atlanta, bar none! For New Years Eve, we went from Japan to Spain and dined at Barcelona Wine Bar. The tapas were delicious, but the service was spotty. Nevertheless, I have never had better Papas Bravas – amazing Spanish spicy potatoes! We rung in the New Year back at the W Hotel by watching the ball drop in Times Square and the fireworks around the Atlanta skyline. 2012, bring it!

The weekend was a last hurrah before a healthier diet and lifestyle in 2012. It starts tomorrow, so wish me luck. I will be turning 50 in a few weeks, so it's time to get back in shape. I'll keep you posted on my progress. My first New Years text was from my dear friend, Scott Skidmore. He wished me a Happy New Year and proceeded to tell me that I needed to check out Parade magazine this week because it had an article about Dolly Parton, including her recipe for Chicken and Dumplings. Scott suggested the dish would be a great candidate for Bill's Sunday Supper, so tonight's dinner is dedicated to Scott! Lifelong friends are few and far between, ad even though Scott is now living back in Greensboro, I know he is only a phone call or text away. Plus, he knows me well enough to realize that Dolly Parton's Chicken and Dumplings would be the perfect comfort food for the first Sunday Supper in 2012 and the last "less-healthy" choice before the diet begins. For dessert, I used some leftover Christmas provisions to make tiny pecan tarts.

So here's my hope for all of you in 2012, in the chicken and dumpling adorned lyrics of Dolly Parton:

"I hope life, will treat you kind,
And I hope that you have all
That you ever dreamed of.
Oh, I do wish you joy,
And I wish you happiness,
But above all this,
I wish you love.."

The Menu:

- Dolly Parton's Chicken and Dumplings

- Individual Pecan Tarts