Taking Dale and Mom to Creekside

Mom, Dale and I went out recently to celebrate our birthdays at Creekside Lounge and Supper Club. We were again fortunate to have Rebecca as our server (twice in a row!). We dug right in to the relish tray. Mom mentioned that Baba used to can pickled beets. Dale said they're packed with vitamins and that the pickling process somehow makes them even more nutritious. Being it was Dale's birthday Rebecca (I mentioned it to her while Dale was parking the car) brought each of us some champagne and launched into singing a portion I Get a Kick Out of You by Cole Porter starting with the line, "I get no kick from champagne." The three of us toasted to Dale's birthday but also to mine and Mom's recent birthday's.

I started with an Old Fashioned and Mom and Dale both had some nice red wine.  Rebecca brought us some popovers which were delicious. She told Dale she was taking a survey and asked him, "chocolate or strawberries?" Dale answered, strawberries. 

Mom had a little salad but Dale and I got the soup of the day which was a potato and cauliflower puree with fennel. So delicious. 

For dinner I ordered the spare ribs which came with carrots and loaded (with onions and white cheddar cheese) hash browns. Dale ordered the risotto with chicken. Mom wanted the capellini with shrimp but Dale mentioned that he had it last time and that it might be a little spicy for her taste. Mom asked about it when she ordered and Rebecca said she'd check with Chef Marcus to see if he could accomodate her. He could! He ended up putting on a substitute sauce which was garlicy but otherwise not spicy hot. 

After we were finished with our entrees Rebecca placed a white cake with strawberries in front of Dale. I said, "I guess the survey results are in!" It was so delicious. 

Despite having cake for dessert I still ordered a Pink Squirrel. When I asked Rebecca if there was a song for that she just smiled and said, "you go, squirrel!" However when she brought it she launched a version of the Temptations My Girl but changed it to My Squirrel. Mom, Dale and I talked about the recent visit of Sam and Pete and their families and also quite a bit about Dad. 

So nice to have dinner with two of my most favorite people. Rebecca helped make the evening extra special. 

Cookin' In Arizona

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Dale and I are in Arizona staying at Dianne and John's place while they're away on vacation. For cocktail hour tonight I bought a pre-made Mai Tai and some pineapple chunks for garnish. Also, some limes and a little extra rum just in case. 

It turned out great. Didn't need to add anything else other than the pineapple and an orange slice. 

It was delicious. I took it out and sat poolside whilst Dale did a little swimming. 

Still hot out but it was comfortable at the shady end of the pool.

For dinner we decided to prepare a pasta dish we used to make a long time ago. Dale fried off some asparagus.

I boiled some bow tie pasta. 

Dale cut the tails off a pound of shrimp. 

Sauted the shrimp. 

Combined it all although we didn't quite use all the pasta.

Added some Caesar dressing. 

I made salad.

It all turned out quite smashingly. 

Cigar time after dinner. 

According to the 10 p.m. news we hit 119 today. Yikes.

Anniversary at Red Stag

Recently Dale and I celebrated our anniversary at The Red Stag Supper Club. 

The service there is always friendly and our server, Claudia, was no exception to the rule. I started with an Old Fashioned cocktail. The Red Stag's default way of preparing it is the Wisconsin way with brandy as opposed to bourbon. Having spent as much time as I have in Wisconsin during the last however many summers I'm partial  to mine with brandy. 

We're both fans of the Red Stag's relish tray so when dining there we usually start with that. It includes vegetables pickled in house which can vary from visit to visit. This time it featured pickled carrots, green beans, olives, and what looked to be a lighter version of beets. The vegetables were crunchy, tangy, and delicious.

For dinner, Dale ordered one of the specials, a risotto with shrimp which looked delicious. I went with the roasted half chicken which came with a swiss chard souffle, ratatouille, and chicken jus. It was perfectly done. 

Dessert was their awesome carrot cake. Dale doesn't usually go for sweet but carrot cake is something he can't resist, especially The Red Stag's.

The decor of the Red Stag is charming and not (as many supper clubs are) overly kitschy. I've heard that many of the materials used for the restaurant were salvaged by hand including the bar top which is made of marble, tabletops made from doors, and upholstery for the booths made of recycled cassette tapes.* The atmosphere always adds to the experience.

I believe the Red Stag Supper Club will be celebrating it's 10 year anniversary of opening this coming November.  We may have to stop in to help them celebrate.

*See page 243 of Dave Hoekstra's awesome The  Supper Club Book: A Celebration of a Midwest Tradition.

The Steak Pit Part 1

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Had the opportunity to try a Wisconsin supper club tonight. Warren, Gary, Dale, and I are staying on Madeline for the long weekend and we made a special trip to Washburn to try The Steak Pit restaurant.

Upon walking in we found the decor to be very unassuming, but why would it need to be with its incredible view of the lake? Kathy, our server, was a no nonsense albeit pleasant person who provided excellent service. We could tell shortly after she greeted us that we would be in good hands.

We ordered cocktails to start. I, of course, began with a brandy old fashioned. Warren had Myers run, his favorite dark rum. Gary had Dale both had red wine.

We ordered a couple of appetizers, the shrimp basket and the clam basket. Both were deep fried and fabulous.

Grazing Tray

Haven't made a grazing tray since New Year's Eve. Grape tomatoes. Shrimp with cocktail sauce. Grapes. Pepperoni, cheddar cheese, and crackers. Apples. The blueberry tart was for dessert and, thus, not on the tray. It was mostly a great success although I will say the grape tomatoes, although very good, just didn't work with the other stuff. The grapes were a bit to ripe. 

New Year's Eve 2012

Dale and I put together a grazing tray for New Year's Eve.  We set out shrimp, herring, apples, grapes, carrots, broccoli, brie with fig jelly, and crackers.  We drank champagne along with it and managed to get quite full.  For dessert we finished up a pumpkin roulade that we had originally brought to Noel's for her annual holiday fete. I mistakenly referred to it as a Buche de Noel.  I included her response with the above photo.