Dining Alone 2014 Part 1

With Dale out of town this weekend to help a friend move,  I decided to order Chinese from Xin Wong. I usually start with the wonton soup (top) and always get egg rolls (bottom). My favorite entree is the sweet & sour shrimp and I'm also fond of the broccoli with garlic sauce. I made the shrimp and broccoli last for two meals. Last summer while Dale was on the Island, my friend Warren and I would order a lot from Xin Wong. 

Sunday Brunch

Yesterday Dale and I went to brunch at the Loring Kitchen and Bar which looks out over Loring Park. We both got mimosas and shared a caramel roll. I got the classic eggs Benedict and Dale got an omelet. Both of our items came with cheesy hashbrowns. I really like the atmosphere there. 

The Lowbrow

Dale and I love eating at the Lowbrow.

Dinner at the Lowbrow

Caramel Creme Pie

Chocolate Stout Cake

Dale and I had dinner tonight at the Lowbrow which is our favorite neighborhood restaurant. We both ordered the pasta special which was penne pasta with bolognese sauce.  For dessert I had the chocolate stout cake (my favorite) and Dale had the caramel creme pie (delicious - he let me try it). 

Yesterday Was Super Bowl Sunday

I know most of our fellow Americans would find us strange, but Dale and I have no interest in the watching the Super Bowl. We watched Downton Abbey instead. I know it's the biggest eating day of the year second only to Thanksgiving, but the most exciting thing we ate was some sea salt and caramel chocolate cake from, where else, Kowalski's.

Saying Goodbye to Warren

Sidecar

Our friend Warren is moving to California for a few months. We had him over for dinner last night. The meal was very simple. Pizza was ordered from Pizza Luce. Warren brought a salad and some frozen pizza rolls. I drank sidecars, Dale drank red wine, and Warren drank his usual drink of rum, soda water, and Rose's Lime Juice. It's hard to say goodbye to friends. In this case his move might turn out to be permanent. We'll find out.

Happy Anniversary Dale

Happy anniversary! Here's to at least 20 more years of meals together...

Christmas Season 2013/2014 - Holiday Brunch 4

Dale and I invited Phyllis and Julie & Regina over for our holiday brunch this year. Dale made the egg-bake, I made the pistachio rum cake pudding, Julie and Regina brought cinnamon rolls, and Phyllis brought the makings for mimosas. 

Top left: Athena smelled lots of good smells coming out of the kitchen.

Top right: My martini. I had a mimosa with the meal.

Bottom left: Dale serves up the egg-bake.

Bottom right: Stairs leading to the front door. Yes, our holiday brunch occurred at night time (long story).

Christmas Season 2013/2014 - Holiday Brunch 3

Photos from our holiday brunch hosted just a couple of days ago. 

Left: Dale's egg-bake.

Top right: Veggies for the egg-bake.

Middle right: Cinnamon rolls brought by Julie and Regina.

Bottom right: Pistachio rum cake pudding.

Christmas Season 2013/2014 - Holiday Brunch 2

Pistachio Rum Cake Pudding

Top left: Just out of the oven.
Top right: Glaze poured on bottom.
Bottom left: Pre big reveal.
Bottom left: The big reveal.

Christmas Season 2013/2014 - Holiday Brunch 1

We hosted our holiday brunch today. I made a pistachio rum cake pudding and Dale made an egg-bake. The rum cake is was quite easy and fun to make. The recipe comes from family friend Judy and is as follows:

Pistachio Rum Cake Pudding

1 package pistachio pudding mix

1 package yellow cake mix

1/2 cup light rum

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup oil

4 eggs

Beat all ingredients together at medium speed for 2 minutes. Bake in a Bundt pan at 325 degrees for 55-60 minutes.

Rum Cake Glaze

3/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 stick butter

1/4 cup light rum

1/4 cup water

During last 10 minutes of baking, combine glaze ingredients in a pan. Boil 2-3 minutes [I stirred it the whole time]. Reduce heat [I continued to stir and removed from burner a couple of minutes before removing the cake from the oven]. After removing cake from oven, poke holes in the bottom with a knife to allow for seepage and then pour glaze over it while still in pan. Remove cake in 45 minutes from the pan.

Russian Tea Cakes

My friend Noel makes Russian Tea Cakes every Christmas just as her mother did and, I believe, as her grandmother did as well. Her grandma, who was of Czech descent, refused to call them Russian Tea Cakes because of what the Russians did to the Czech people. I believe the family still calls them pecan crisps or something like that. Pictured above are some of the actual cookies made by Noel. She sent some home with us after her most recent holiday fete.

Butcher and the Boar

Dale and I went to Butcher and the Boar for dinner last night. I had wanted to go for New Year's Eve but they were booked. Thankfully they weren't to busy last night. I had steak and he had BBQ'd octopus. Also had a couple martinis.

Christmas 2013 - Dinner

Mom came over at about 3:30 p.m. and we ate around 5. In addition to the beef bourguignon we had a salad of field greens with grape tomatoes, walnuts, feta cheese, and Annie's mango poppyseed dressing.  Dale did some oven baked Brussels sprouts. For dessert we had a lovely chocolate cake from Kowalski's.

Christmas 2013 - Imbibing

Top left - Morning shot of pumpkin pie flavored liquour. 

Top right - Lunchtime martini. For lunch we made Hawaiian pizza.

Bottom left - Sample of the wine Dale used for the beef bourguignon. Amazing.

Bottom right - After dinner Bailey's Irish Cream

Christmas 2013 - Beef Stroganoff

Dale and I had originally planned to make Julia Child's beef bourginoine recipe for this year's Christmas Day dinner. That would have meant spending a good chunk of Christmas Eve day preparing it and with having to sing for two Christmas Eve services we decided that there wouldn't be quite enough time without making the day overly stressful. Instead we combined the bourginoin recipe with out crock pot beef stroganoff recipe which cut the total prep and cooking time by more than half.

First Dale sauted garlic and green onion and then the mushrooms. Next he browned the meat on the stove and then put it in the oven for about a half hour. After that he added wine and mustard and then cooked it in the over for about three hours. Before serving he added sour cream. We served it over egg noodles. The result was heaven.

Turkey Pot Pie

Made tonight. So divine. We used this Thanksgiving's turkey and gravy and the result was out of this world.

Thanksgiving 2013 - The Feast

Top left: The turkey we bought was unfrozen but Dale determined it was still somewhat so in the center. We let it thaw just a bit longer.
Top center: Dale made cranberry sauce. The recipe on the bag calls for adding 1 cup of sugar. Too much. Last year Dale put in a quarter cup. Too little. This year he added half a cup. Just right!
Top right: Turkey basted with red wine. 
Middle left: Dale boiled the giblets and diced some of them to add to the gravy.
Middle center: The backyard on Thanksgiving Day.
Middle right: Checking the turkey's temperature.
Bottom left: Appetizers of pickled herring and gouda cheese. 
Bottom center: The table is set.
Bottom right: Pumpkin pie and coffee for dessert.

Note: I made a fruit salad with whipping cream and two cans of fruit cocktail just like  Grandma Alice used to make. She added bananas to hers so I did too. Mom made the gravy and also brought sweet potatoes. It ALL turned out very well!

Thanksgiving 2013 - Finished Pumpkin Pie

I made these cookies from extra pie dough. I tried to add the one in the center before baking but that didn't work very well. It just sank in the batter. I baked it by itself and then set it on top of the finished pie which, by the way, turned out quite well. I think I like it with the stewed and mashed pumpkin rather than puree. It tastes a bit grittier and more rustic. I can't remember where I got the Minnesota cookie cutter. I think Mom gave it to me quite a few years ago. I bought the snowflake cookie cutters just last year. I anchored the snowflake cookies to the side of the crust but some of them sank to a greater or lesser degree. From above it looks like snowflakes in a hot tub with some trying to float their legs on the water and some with their legs submerged. 

Thanksgiving 2013 - Pumpkin Pie

This morning I continued the adventure of making pumpkin pie that I began last night. 

Top left: My own puree.
Top center: Adding the other ingredients (see below)
Top right: Mixing
Middle left: The baker
Middle center: Yes, it's Thanksgiving 2013
Middle right: Embellishments added before putting in oven
Bottom left: Out of the oven!
Bottom center and right: I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as the pie baked. I love Snoopy. This balloon is his 7th incarnation according to Matt Lauer.

Here's the recipe I used from allrecipes.com:

"Ingredients

2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

In a large bowl with mixer speed on medium, beat pumpkin with evaporated milk, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well. Pour into a prepared crust. Bake 40 minutes or until when a knife is inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean."

Note: I added a dash a ground cloves, used a Pillsbury pie crust, and left in the oven about 5-10 minutes than called for by the recipe. This whole process was a blast!