StephanieBice.com

by stephaniebice.

Earth laughs in flowers.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Baby Shower Cake, originally uploaded by stephaniebice.

I love to bake and this little creation was made with love for my wonderful sister-in-law for her first baby shower.

Valentine’s Day weekend was full of entertaining and F-O-O-D. As you may recall, one of my goals this year was to cook at least one new recipe a week to expand my culinary repertoire beyond boxed dinners and Bice Nachos (chips, cheese, bell peppers). I have enjoyed some fabulous recipes and even made Baba Ghanoush (although, I think I like saying it more than eating it).

I recently tried two new recipes. The first – King Cake. I attended a Mardi Gras Ball (yes, it is sanctioned as an official “Ball” even though it is not in New Orleans), in which each attendee brought a dish to share with the table. I decided no Mardi Gras Ball would be complete without a King Cake, so I found a couple of recipes and merged them together to make a fabulous (and rather large) cake. It was scrumptious. Cream filled, with a hint of lemon in the icing, and decorated perfectly in the customary Green, Gold and Purple colors. (This is the part where I want to kick myself. I forgot to take a picture of it!)

Next up on the menu was garlic mashed potatoes. I have never made this wonderful side dish (I usually serve plain mashed potatoes loaded with butter and milk – YUM). Since Sunday was V-Day, I decided to invite some good friends over for a low-key meal including steaks, chicken, and the works. I poured olive oil on two heads of garlic, sprinkled salt and pepper on both and roasted them in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes. The results were amazing. (And thanks CC for doing the mashing!) If you haven’t tried this little number before, I suggest doing it TONIGHT. You won’t be disappointed!

I mentioned in previous posts that I have had numerous experiences with contacting companies to voice my opinions/disapproval/dissatisfaction with products or services. As a marketing manager, feedback (good or bad) is vital to continuing to provide (or to improve upon) quality products or services. I have even gone as far as to mail back (on the companies dime) a product to their quality assurance team for inspections Lysol wipes is a good example. I couldn’t ‘tear’ the wipes off when you pulled them out of the container. Their quality assurance team asked if I could send the remainder of unused wipes back in the original container so they could find out what happened. I was happy to do so.

In the past few years, I have contacted:

• Pampers – I bought a package of diapers and the tabs on almost half of them was affixed to the next diaper- effectively making them unable to close.
• Campbell’s Soup – I opened a can of Spaghetti O’s and it was obvious by the horrendous stench and odd look of the product that something wasn’t quite right with it.
• Pillsbury – I purchased a can of Orange Danish (YUM) for the girls for breakfast, and when I opened it, the rolls were flat as pancakes and hard. (But the expiration date was still weeks away.)
• Charmin Toilet Paper – About a year ago, I picked up a large package of their product from Target. When I opened it, there were several rolls that had black (what looked to me like oil) on them and were unusable.

In all the experiences I have had (and there are many more I didn’t list), The Charmin experience had to be the most disappointing. In most of my experiences, the companies politely apologized for the grievance and mailed me a coupon for a replacement product (or in some cases 2 or 3 – thanks Campbell’s Soup & Pampers), which, in my opinion was very appropriate.

Now let me be clear here, I am not the type to call and complain about something just to be a pain in the you-know-what. I call because there is a real issue with the product. Let’s face it, I spend my hard earned cash on this stuff (however small the cost) and I expect to get what I paid for.

Charmin (owned by Proctor & Gamble) kindly asked me to send them the “defective” TP back for their own internal investigation. I agreed and promptly sent it back in return packaging they provided me. A few weeks later, I received a letter from their “Quality Control” department which stated they were not sure what the foreign substance was, but they were certain it must have happened after leaving their facilities. WHAT? Are you seriously suggesting I did something to the TP? Unbelievable…

As if their letter wasn’t insulting enough, a few weeks later I received a coupon from them to purchase a new product. But it wasn’t a “free product” coupon – it was a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE coupon! So basically, (from my professional marketing perspective) they were trying to get me to buy MORE of their product without compensating me for the error on the previous item I purchased that was defective. I was NOT pleased. Needless to say, I have not purchased Charmin again.

Have you even had a situation where you purchased a defective product and contacted customer service for a resolution? If so – what was your experience?

I love ethnic cuisine (and fortunately so does my family). This photo is a culmination of 10 years of trying dozens of different curry recipes and finally creating one that is (IMHO) perfection. Try it – (but WARNING: this will be a spicy dish. If you are not familiar with curry powder – you might want to reduce the amount of curry to 1 tablespoon.)

Chicken Curry

2 Chicken Breasts, cubed
4 Chicken Thighs, trimmed of fat and cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely minced ginger (the real stuff folks, not that powdery kind. You can find it in the fresh vegetable section of your local market)
2-3 Tablespoons Mild Curry Powder (I like Rajah brand)
1/2 cup tomato paste
Two 14oz. cans low-sodium Chicken Broth (I use Swansons)
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Heat olive oil in large saute pan on medium heat. Place cubed chicken in pan and cook through. Remove cooked chicken to a plate, and throw the diced onions into the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add garlic, ginger and curry powder and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Pour chicken stock into the pan and stir to incorporate the curry powder mixture, making sure to scrape all the small bits off the bottom of the pan. Wisk in tomato paste, followed by the yogurt until completely dissolved.  Gently add the cooked chicken back to the pan and simmer on medium-low for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce becomes thick. Serve over Basmati rice and Naan.

Enjoy~

So in my last post I outlined my goals for 2010. Unfortunately I have already failed at one (see # 2).  The good news is I am keeping up with#1 so far – which was one new recipe a week, bought two new pairs of boots (see #3) AND took a class on how to use my new camera correctly. I think that is pretty commendable for the first 14 days of the year, don’t you?

Not sure if I mentioned it – but I got a fabulous Christmas gift (yes, it is Christmas folks, not Holiday, Winter Solstice, etc… ) and was able to put it to good use. I have always wanted a Le Creuset dutch oven, but HOLY SMOKES they are expensive. So expensive, I could not in my right mind justify buying one. Good thing I have fabulous (and financially gifted) in-laws. See, they generously gave me a rather large gift card to Williams-Sonoma, which carries said pot. Now, I did have to pitch in some of my own dough, but I was able to get a wonderful sage colored green Le Creuset and was thrilled to use it for the first time. (The pot also lends itself to helping me be successful with my first goal of trying a new recipe once a week.) So far, here are the new recipes I have tried:

1. Funeral Dinner Chicken Casserole. (This dish requires a lengthy post all by itself.)

2. Beef Bourguignon. WOW. That’s all I can say about it right now; otherwise my mouth might start watering profusely and that isn’t too attractive….

3. Chicken Cacciatore. Not only was it good, but I got to cook with wine, and that is a good thing.

4. Chicken Parmesan Pioneer Woman-style. I really liked the homemade sauce – but will use red wine next time.

I am excited to try more recipes as time allows – so stay tuned.

Two thousand nine will be remembered for some wonderful and not-so wonderful memories. Here’s my recap:

The year started out at a good friends celebrating. A great New Years celebration that had me laughing so hard my stomach hurt the next morning. This was followed by my 13th wedding anniversary (am I REALLY that old??) and the celebration of my oldest daughter’s eighth birthday. In May, we shed a few tears (ok, I did) at the First Communion of our daughter and wrapped up a busy but great school year.

Next up might be the (happy) highlight of the year, our family vacation to Disney World and the Bahamas. Great pictures & memories that I will cherish (Think couples massage on the beach, ice cream for breakfast for the kids, and the first time my husband dared to try tuna tar-tar).

July brought the annual neighborhood fireworks display we enjoyed with great friends. (And some new ones that decided our back yard looked like a great place to come hang out – so they hopped the fence to join us…). The following month we cried (ok, I did – again) when our youngest daughter put on her first school uniform and paraded off to Kindergarden with Mrs. Jeter (singing anyone?).

In September, we made our annual pilgrimage to New York City and enjoyed seeing penguins at the Bronx Zoo and T-Rex at the Museum of Natural History. Oh, and did I mention Crumbs Bake Shop?

Life was hectic, but we were enjoying every minute. In the midst of weekends filled with soccer and Girl Scouts, we managed to spend a Saturday each month enjoying good friends and ethnic cuisine from around the country by starting our very own Supper Club. Each month was a different cuisine (Mediterranean, Italian, Greek, Mexican, French and more..). We enjoyed homemade Chicken Picatta, Cabbage Rolls, Gyros (how DO you pronounce that anyway?) and a wonderful Onion Tart. Great food and adult conversation made for a  nice break from parenthood.

Before you new it, the Holidays were upon us and it was time for turkey, shopping and Santa. Unfortunately that is where the rubber met the road. A few days after our family trip to Alabama to visit Great-Grandma, and only hours before I was to host December Supper Club – the unthinkable. A good friend left this world for the next. Painful. Sad. Though-provoking. A husband, father, son, brother and friend was gone. We switched gears from Holiday planning to focus on more important things – family and friends.

So, needless to say, I have spent the past few weeks re-evaluating. I am not the resolution type- but I have come to the realization that it isn’t such a bad idea to have to have goals. I mean, really; we have goals at work (finish a marketing plan, update a website, or learn a new process) – but how many of us really make goals for ourselves when it comes to life?

I decided to make a list of ten goals for 2010. (I don’t care for the word “resolutions” – goals is more my style.) So here goes:

1. Cook one new recipe a week
2. Write on this blog at least three times weekly
3. Become a bit more fashionable when it comes to shoes
4. Start two new family traditions this year
5. Take a family vacation (somewhere other than NY or AL)
6. Decorate my bedroom
7. Listen more
8. Talk less (don’t laugh, I’m serious)
9. Fix my wedding ring
10. Become a proficient photographer

In the coming days (or weeks) I will elaborate on all of the above goals – but for now, there they are. 364 days – and counting…

As a Marketing Manager, I think customer feedback is vital. Over the years, I have called, emailed or sent letters to numerous companies, including Pizza Hut, Campbells Soup,  McDonald’s and many others. Sometimes the feedback is great (I once sent a letter to Red Lobster to praise a server who brought something for the girls to much after an hour wait to be seated. Need less to say – he got a huge tip too) and sometimes the feedback is not so good….

About two weeks ago, my husband had to run some errands during the lunch hour, and offered to pick up some lunch for us while he was out. There are several local deli’s that we enjoy, but this particular day we decided on Schlotzsky’s. BIG mistake. HUGE. This particular location, located on Memorial Road in Oklahoma City, has the type of drive-thru that once you are in line, you are stuck.

Below is a copy of the transcript from the messages I received via Google Talk (note the time):

Since our office is approximately 10 minutes away, I am expecting him to arrive with my sandwich somewhere around 1pm. (10-15 minutes of waiting in line, plus another 10 minutes of driving seemed reasonable, right?)

At 1:04 pm, I get this:

At this point, I have logged onto their website and found the “Customer Feedback” form to fill out. Although I wasn’t actually in the line, I am the starving wife wondering where the HELL my food is. Poor Husband.

So, being the conscientious marketing manager I am, I filled out the Schlotzsky’s online customer complaint form and listed my grievances regarding the experience. When my husband returned home from our Labor Day vacation, we received a letter from their Corporate Offices apologizing for the unsatisfactory experience and sent us a $10 gift card. I am very please with the card, but what I really wanted was to hear from the franchisee (each location is a franchise, and the letter said we should be hearing from someone. As of this date – no word from the franchisee…. )

Have you ever had an experience (good or bad) with a product or service that you contacted the company about? If so – were you satisfied with the outcome?

So the “Spice Girls” (aka the Bice Girls) started school last week – early in my opinion. August 13th – seriously? What happened to starting AFTER Labor Day?

I am excited and a bit sad. The oldest will be in 3rd Grade – but the baby – well, has grown up. She put on her size 4 jumper and pressed peter-pan collared shirt and headed off to Kindergarten. Bittersweet to say the least.

The good part is the teacher is the bomb. I don’t know too many people that would look forward to spending eight straight hours with 20 five- & six-year-olds, but she does. One of her well-known character traits is to sing. She sings in the morning, she sings before lunch, she sings just about anytime the mood  hits her. Funny enough, now my 5-year old is beginning to do it. Yesterday in the car – we were driving home from school and I hear this sweet, soft voice coming from the back seat. I can’t remember exactly what she was singing about (I think it might have been about bunnies – but it is really irrelevant..)  Teachers (good ones) can have such an influence….

My sister-in-law is also a teacher. A great one. I have never seen her teach, but I hear her stories and see all the effort and work she puts into it, and I know there are some lucky kids out there benefiting. I only hope she realizes how good she is.

Here’s to all the great teachers out there.