With the official end to winter upon us, I have decided it is now time for me to emerge from my annual hibernation. While it sounds restful and refreshing, we all know this winter was anything but as we tried our best to avoid the bone chilling cold, snow, snow again and more snow. To spare you all from what was most likely going to be an inevitable bitch session about the weather, I decided to take a brief hiatus from my writing to reflect and... oh screw it, we all know I was just being lazy.

But with each new dawn is an opportunity to start anew, so here we go again.

I would have been content to stay bundled up in the house behind closed curtains to avoid the snow globe that we all apparently now reside in. However, I ventured out, more accurately I NEEDED to venture out to experience a little human contact, a glass of soul warming Scotch (check out The GOOD BOOK at Billy Sunday), and a few special meals along the way.

Here's a look back at what kept me sane and full the past few months. Now where did we leave off?

Ah yes, Thanksgiving - so like all couples who have yet to mandate their own holiday traditions we alternate back and forth between families. This year, we stayed close to home and joined Tony's family. I decided to try something new and honor his undeniable Polish heritage and attempt pierogis for the first time. And not just any pierogis: sweet potato with maple, sage and brown butter.

Sounds good, right? They were thanks to a chef friends top secret dough recipe and a little love from myself. But as usual you wouldn't have known it if weren't for Tony and his father, apparently my cooking style is a little too adventurous for the rest of them. Oh the joys of the holidays!

Next, we were off for a brief and unexpected trip to Cleveland to check out the city we (for a hot minute) thought we might be relocating to for a job opportunity Tony had. But thanks to whoever-or-whatever is up there for making it only a bad dream. But I kid, Cleveland isn't all that bad or so I told myself. I did fall in love with the city’s West Side Market - a food lovers’ paradise. Plus, we had some good meals at Lolita and The Green House. But that's about it.

Christmas brought a trip to North Carolina for a little holiday cheer – as per tradition Christmas Eve is all about cocktails and hors d'oeuvres with Christmas Day spent in your pj's and robes sipping on Spicy Bloody Mary's, a wee bit of champagne and enjoying ridiculously rich food like eggs Benedict and beef tenderloin. Sprinkle in a nap or two and you have one hell of a great day! We wrapped up our trip with a night out at a glorious French bistro Vin Rouge thanks to my parents - oysters, beef tartar, bouillabaisse, crème brule – all the star players were there. I was also able to convince my mom to whip up a batch of Ma Po Tofu - my "I know I'm home" favorite dish. I did my best this time to try and document it so I could recreate at home but it just is never the same. I swear my mom has a little Chinese woman inside her that emerges to prepare this dish.

Last but not least on our holiday journey was New Years Eve, spent as we do every year snuggled up on the couch with a seafood feast. Check out the highlights....

The Thaw: Part 1