Sweet Potato Fries

Dale made sweet potato fries. 

12-12-12

Abby and Xander at the table for Thanksgiving 2012.

Thanksgiving 2012

We're at my brother Pete's house for Thanksgiving. Dale, Mom, and I left this morning very early to fly to Memphis. In Memphis we rented a car to drive to Jacksonville, Arkansas which is just outside Little Rock and is where Pete and his family live. Pete and his wife, Stepanie, made green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, turkey, ham and sausages. What a feast! I sat next to my nephew, Xander. He would only eat turkey and I helped cut it up for him. We had pumpkin pie made with cream cheese made by Stephanie for dessert. Abby, Xander, and Emma were all very well behaved.

Chili with Stew Meat

We had Warren and Gary over for dinner last night. Dale made chili but we tried it with beef stew meat rather than ground turkey.  The night before he dredged the meat in flour and lightly fried it off. He then assembled the chili, let it cook on low for about an hour, and then refrigerated  it overnight. A couple of hours before our guests arrived we put it back on the stovetop over a low heat. The result was spectacular!

We had some Gorgonzola cheese with sliced pears and crackers planned for an appetizer. It was all set out and ready to go just after our guests arrived. Our mistake was leaving it unattended in the living room while we went to grab our drinks in the kitchen. Athena ate half of the substantially sized wedge of cheese. Naughty girl (although you gotta give her a little credit for knowing to go for the good stuff!).

Pumpkin pie and whipped cream for dessert. Yum.

Quiche Part 2

The quiche recipe we use is Mom's. Here it is written in her own handwriting. We've used this recipe for a quite a few years.

Quiche

Dale and I made a quiche last weekend. It didn't turn out as well as I would have liked because I forgot one important ingredient - the swiss cheese. How I forgot that I'm not quite sure as I've never forgotten it before. We bought it when we went to Kowalski's to get all the ingredients but for some reason I forgot to add it while assembling it. Anyway, it was tolerable. Dale seemed to like it a little more than I did. We had pumpkin pie from Kowalski's for dessert. We usually use whipped cream with it but this time we had vanilla ice cream which was a fabulous combo.

Chili

Dale and I had chili for dinner tonight. We made our basic recipe except we used beef instead of turkey and  red wine instead of beer. Delicious. Broccoli was our vegetable.

Pumpkin Pie

We had pumpkin pie for dessert last night. Mrs. Kowalski baked it.

Steaks on the Grill

Dale made steaks on the grill last night and let me just say...

;-)

Beef Stroganoff - The Finished Product

How did the beef stroganoff turn out the other night? It was divine!

Athena Eats Ice

I dropped an ice cube while making a martini tonight. Athena bolted into the kitchen. I figured she'd sniff it and walk away. Instead, she devoured it.

Time for Beef Stroganoff

It's always something of a big deal when Dale and I make beef stroganoff for the first time every fall season. It's such a wonderful fall and winter meal.

More of Last Week's Pot Pie

Last Week's Pot Pie

Last weekend Dale and I made our pot pie. It was delicious. I made a little pie-dough cookie of a jack-o-lantern with some of the extra dough. Mom used to make pie-dough cookies with the extra pie dough when she made a pie although she always put some cinnamon on them before she'd bake them. I loved them. They weren't quite as sweet as regular cookies.

Even MORE Signs of the Season

I love seeing these signs of fall appearing at the supermarket.

Brussels Sprounts

Dale cooked up some brussels sprouts the other night. I came home from class and I could smell them when I walked into the house. They tasted like candy. It's wonderful that it's getting cool enough that we can start using the oven again.

More Signs of the Season

Pumpkins! Another recent photo from Kowalski's. I admire people who can make pumpkin pie from an actual pumpkin. I tend to buy these for decorative purposes.

Signs of the Season

We are definitely moving into fall. Was at Kowalski's today and snapped this photo.

Raspberries

Thanks to Julie, our neighbor across the alley, we have some raspberries growing in the back yard. I ate some for the first time today. My, my were they tasty.

Grazing Tray

Dale's up on the Island so I'm eating for one. I like putting grazing trays together for something a little different. Note - The bowl on the bottom left contains raw sweet potatoes, not carrots. They were delicious.

Turtle Bread Garden

Turtle Bread is a favorite restaurant of mine and of Dale. It looks like they've now got their own garden growing organic produce. Dale believes the giant ball in the background to be a composter. I think he may be right. It looks like the garden provides produce for Cafe Levain and Pizza Biga as well.

Osaka Restaurant

This past Saturday our friends Mike and Charisse had us out to their boat on the St. Croix. After cocktails on the river we ate at a restaurant in Stillwater called Osaka. They served the best sushi I've ever had. Mike and Charisse were curious as to whether Stillwater can support a sushi place. Time will tell...

Cafe Levain On Mother's Day 2012

Dale and I took Mom to Cafe Levain for dinner tonight. Dale wrote the following in his blog:

"Joe and I took his mom to Cafe Levain tonight for Mom's Day. They have a 'Sunday Dinner' which is a really reasonably priced prix fixe dinner. Amazing - the sirloin with pesto over mashed potatoes and roasted kale was incredible."

Dale's right. The dinner was amazing. The soup was a ramp soup and I learned tonight that ramp is a wild Minnesota onion. Very delicious. The dessert was a butterscotch pudding that was very delicious as well. 

I love that there is a restaurant as wonderful as Levain in our neighborhood. 

Dinner and a Movie - Saturday May 5, 2012

Dale made salmon (my favorite fish and one of my favorite dinners) last night. For dessert we finished up the lavender ice cream from Pumphouse Creamery. Our movie was Mamma Mia!

Cocktail Hour - Saturday May 5, 2012

Dale found some wonderful cheese with truffles in it at Kowalski's. I found it to be somewhat similar to brie in texture. We ate it out on the porch during cocktail hour. 

Lavender Ice Cream

Last night we had Alyn and Chris over for dinner. We had lasagna. Dessert was lavender ice cream from Pumphouse Creamery. Divine.

Sunday Dinner

Dale cooks great salmon. Very yummy. Very healthy.

Golden Hour

St. Joseph's Day 2012

Low key St. Joseph's Day this year.  Dale had a class tonight so I had dinner on my own. Fish is often a traditional St. Joseph's Day food so I ended up grabbing some salmon sushi at Kowalski's.

St. Patrick's Day 2012

Noel and I made a trip out to Afton yesterday and stopped by Squire House Gardens. The high was 80 degrees and buds were appearing on trees and shrubs. We had a lunch of corned beef and cabbage at Current. How appropriate for St. Patrick's Day.

Dale and I had our friend Eric over for dinner. Hamburgers, broccoli salad, and potato salad for dinner. Due to the pleasant weather, we had cocktails outside in the backyard . Now that doesn't happen very often on St. Patrick's Day!

Sunday Brunch at Grand Cafe

Dale and I had brunch this morning at Grand Cafe. I had the French toast and Dale had the oatmeal. Dale started with a blueberry scone which was absolutely delicious. The following is from Grand Cafe's website.

"The Grand Cafe is a neighborhood restaurant that offers New American and Continental bistro fare. Since our opening in 2006, our space has epitomized romance and repose, from the giant vintage Baker Boy oven to our eclectic collection of Minnehaha Falls artwork."

"We seek out the best local and artisanal products the Upper Midwest has to offer: our menu undergoes a near-complete makeover every season, though many items change from week to week as well. Our farm-to-table approach is consistently lauded by the Minneapolitan food media and local foods organizations as one of the best in the Twin Cities."

I love the neighborhood feel of the restaurant and the food is absolutely divine. Oh, and by the way, my grandfather had a Baker Boy oven at his bakery in northern Minnesota.

Grand Cafe - 3804 Grand Avenue South