Fancy Drink Friday

Casey and I decided to start a weekend kickoff ritual with a little panache. We're now past our third installment of Fancy Drink Friday (trademark pending).

Week 1 was the After Dinner Cocktail which contained apricot brandy and triple sec and lemon juice.  We give it 2 olives (out of 5) as it mostly tasted like lemon Pledge.

Week 2 was the golden slipper. It introduced me to a liquor I'd never tried before, green chartreuse, which isn't terrible on it's own. Apparently only three monks in France know the recipe, hence the $55 price tag.

The drink combined the green chartreuse and apricot brandy. It got a forgettable 1 olive.

Continuing the downward trend, week 3 brought us Nora's Nightcap. I had high hopes since the picture in the book looked so pretty. Alas, we renamed this one Nora's Ny-Quil because that's exactly what it tasted like. It doesn't even deserve 1 olive, so it only got 1 pimento.

And although this project of ours isn't turning out as we hoped, we will bravely forge ahead!

Nom nom nom

I've been cooking (and eating) a lot lately. Just another effect of eating Paleo I suppose.

First up, butter chicken from Everyday Paleo with a side of kale.I made a double batch and enjoyed the leftovers for several days.

And because no Paleo recipe can touch it mayonnaise from MtAOFC. So much tastier and healthier and than store varieties. It makes amazing deviled eggs, chicken salad and...

...this remoulade sauce from Paleo Comfort Foods.

I also steamed some artichokes and served them with lots of butter.

And crab cakes from Paleo Comfort Foods. And a martini of course. Casey said the crab cakes were the best he's had. 

Obviously, I didn't make this, but it's my new favorite chocolate bar.

Here are some bacon wrapped dates, again from Paleo Comfort Foods, which I enjoyed with Mexican pineapple soda. The latter was a last minute craving at the Mexican grocery where I was buying tomatillos for stew. The soda went surprisingly well with vodka later that evening. I don't know if I'd make the figs again. They were REALLY rich.

And finally asparagus with stuffed sausage balls, again from Paleo Comfort Foods. The balls were tasty and had a nice olive-y surprise in the middle, but I don't see making them again.

Dani's 40th

Over St. Patrick's Day weekend Karen, Dani and I went to Chicago to celebrate Dani's 40th birthday. For kicks, we decided to take the train from Osceola. This would be my only regret of the entire trip. My recommendation? Do not ride the train. Ever. It is waaaaaay less charming and nostalgic than you think it will be. It is waaaaaaay dirtier and depressing than you think it will be. Here the three of us are just moments after boarding. We'd already learned all of the above.

And so did this guy, when I accidentally took his picture with the flash turned on while he tried to sleep.

We stayed at the Amalfi hotel. I'd certainly stay there again. In addition to great location, nice rooms and continental breakfast, they offer a nightly happy hour with free drinks and appetizers, like the Amalfitini and antipasto pictured here.

Our first stop after check-in was a quick walk to Portillo's so I could introduce Dani and Karen to the best hot dog of their lives. Honestly, we were all underwhelmed. Maybe it was an off day.

That night, we went to the chocolate buffet at the Peninsula hotel. (I broke from Paleo eating several times over the weekend and paid for it when I got home.) Anyway, I highly recommend you do this at some point. Here's my first plate. That's right, my first plate. I am not ashamed.

On Saturday, we put on our green and went out to enjoy the parade.

And dyeing of the Chicago river. It was really green.

Due to holiday weekend crowds, we pretty much just wandered around, not seeing much of anything after the parade. We walked along the lake shore back to our hotel.

That night we had a four star dinner at Spiaggia. Chef/Partner Tony Mantuano was on Top Chef Masters and Executive Chef Sarah Greuneberg was runner up on the latest season of Top Chef. We were pleasantly surprised when she came to our table. She was very gracious and charming, which I didn't expect based on her Top Chef experience. This will certainly go down as one of my top ten meals ever



On Sunday, we walked along Michigan Avenue and took the Chicago River Architecture boat tour. There are a zillion more pictures of that in my flickr stream.

Afterward we had cocktails at the top of the John Hancock building. Amazing views of the city like this one can be seen from the ladies restroom.

From there we walked to the beach and stuck our feet in Lake Michigan. It was really cold.

Here we are soaking up the beautiful weather.

Sunday night we ate at The Purple Pig. I think I was on non-Paleo-food overload so I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. Still I ate pig's ear, octopus and razor clam plus a good amount of wine. First world problems, right?

On Monday, the girls went to the Shedd Aquarium and I treated myself to some alone time in the hotel room and a walk and some more picture taking.

It was a great weekend. I love Chicago and I love these girls.

Lifeblood

Not really. But a day without coffee doesn't seem like a good idea to me. I love, love, love my Kurig - the coffee tastes great and it's effortless to make. Pre-Kurig, and times when I need more than I cup, I use(d) this:

It really makes the best cup of coffee, far better than a even a French press. The only drawback is the patience required for your cup o' Joe - grinding, boiling, stirring. That stated, the result is worth it. We got ours from Amazon and it's super affordable.

It's about time

Finally, here are some of the first pictures of Starbuck, who joined our family on on February 28th. We'd been thinking about getting Mimi some doggie company, so when Casey sent me an email saying the ARL had mastiff/pit bull puppies I left work early to see them. By the time I arrived, three of her four siblings were already adopted.

Here is Starbuck (then named Blossom) when I first met her at the ARL. Notice how calm she is.

And how cute is she chewing on this toy tire?

And calmly waiting for the vet?

And hanging out with me at home?

In these pictures she's adorable like it's her job. In real life she's a lot more bite-y ,whine-y, cat chase-y and poopy.

Cups

I really need to be better about taking these things home.

Paleo blackberry crumble

This is from the Everyday Paleo cookbook.

The one thing about Paleo that this lover of baking and baked goods finds hard to come to terms with is that yummy and fabulous cake, bread, and pastry of any kind just does NOT happen without wheat flour. I've tried cakes made with almond and/or coconut flour, a key lime pie with coconut milk, and I wouldn't eat either of them.

I've had to change my mind about what dessert looks like. More often that not, it looks like nothing, or maybe a piece of fruit. (And I'm not really sad about this; eating Paleo is totally worth it.) But every once in awhile, I need a treat. This one is one of my favorites. Served warm with a little unsweetened almond milk on top, yum!