Happy Thanksgiving
I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. This was baby's first Thanksgiving so it was special for us since she's what we are most thankful for this year. We had my dad over along with some friends and their kids. It was a good time. We brined a turkey overnight and roasted it up nice & brown. In addition to the salt & sugar in the brine solution, we added sage, thyme, and parsley from our garden. The turkey turned out very moist and flavorful. We also made stuffing Giada style. It totally rocked! I highly recommend this stuffing. And of course we had mashed potatoes. I also sauteed some broccoli and mushrooms to give us more veggies. 1 friend brought pumpkin pie and a gingerbread cake topped with roasted pears. Someone else brought salad. We had a feast and left overs galore!!!Labels: Baby, Family, food, Friends, Holiday, Parenthood, Update
Merry Christmas N'at
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.Ours was OK. The typical combination of visiting relatives at the nursing home and preparing dinner. There were only 3 of us at dinner this year. My sister couldn't make it in this year. And our friends who usually join us had other plans. Dinner was a very non traditional Beef Bourguignon. Since then we've been trying to catch up with friends & running errands. We took HRH for his annual check-up. You'll all be happy to know he's in perfect health. We asked the vet about what we needed to do when the baby arrives. Any concerns, issues? He didn't think so because HRH's personality and demeanor were so mild mannered. We had A & J over Wednesday evening for Salmon patties. Last night we were at Kiku. Wonderful friends and good food. The service was very slow but that was OK. We were there to hang out so it was perfect.This will be the first day we don't have anything planned. So I will get to r-e-l-a-x a bit. (Not too much. I might become soft & weak) So I'll blog, workout & watch DVD's.Labels: Family, food, Friends, Holiday, Update
Holiday Party
We were invited to a Holiday Party at 1 of my wife's coworker's houses last night. I was a little nervous since I hadn't met all of her coworkers and certainly didn't know their significant others or any other people that may be invited to the party. So I definitely felt out of my element.
I made crostini with pesto topping for the party.
I know I'm being old school here but... When I invite people over for a party I expect them for dinner not appetizers. I guess the new thing is to have people over for appetizers. I'm not sure when things changed but they have. More often than not anymore we're invited over to someone's house it's for nibbly things and not dinner. Nibbly things are cool but I can't get enough of them to feel full AND not look like a huge pig for eating 10 plates of food. Anyways, it was an appetizer party last night.
None of the wife's coworkers showed up last night so everyone there was somehow related to the husband who goes to seminary school. I was overwhelmed with the wholesomeness in the house. I felt like running home and listening to some Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden. Maybe go home and kick the dog.... It was a little too sweet for me. Don't get me wrong they were all very nice and polite. But just too damn sweet. Part of me thought "If there were more people like this in the world, there would be fewer problems". But part of me thought "Damn, they're too damn sweet. Where the hell's the booze?!?"
No booze. Dry party.
Since they were all related somehow to the seminary, the major topics I heard throughout the house revolved around religion and ministry. I don't hold organized religion in high esteem so it took a lot for me to keep my mouth shut and not say a word.
My wife had a nice time. And that's really what counts.
Labels: food, Holiday
Oops! He did it again!
So the other night my father-in-law took HC and I out for my belated birthday dinner.
After dinner, we stop to pick up some groceries. We come home and start to put away the groceries. We both get distracted.
We hear a crash in the kitchen. We come running.
We find HRH under the dining room table frantically eating the ribs we had left over from dinner. The empty take out container laying on the kitchen floor.
Yep. We'd forgotten about his
ability to reach the kitchen couter top.....
Oops! He did it again.
We were NOT amused!! But we had to laugh a little bit. The little bastard!!
Labels: Birthday, food, HRH, Random things..
Weekend Update
Another good but busy weekend.Friday evening we went to the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts for a showing. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoy the openings. We've been to 3 or 4 of these and I've enjoyed myself at every one. I'm always amazed at the creativity and talent. I've not run across anything I thought was crap. Afterwards, we came home, fired up the chimnea and watched a DVD, (De-Lovely), outside. It was the perfect ending to the week.Saturday we went to yoga and ran errands. We took a nice drive up to Soergel's for some fresh fruits and vegetables. We met up with H & J that night at the Southside Works to listen to the 80's cover band Velveeta. They were very entertaining.Sunday we went to yoga and came home. HC had to work on her painting job. I washed the cars and cut up some logs. We had my belated b-day dinner at J's. Outta sight as usual. The first cassoulet of the season!!! He's the best. Labels: Birthday, food, Miata, Music, Pittsburgh N'at, show, Weekend Update
Anniversary weekend
This was a really awesome weekend.HC and I were married 7 years ago. The time has really flown by. It doesn't feel like 7 years. I'm very fortunate to have her in my life. She's so: kind, patient, fun, silly, artistic, hard working, smart, witty, pretty, open minded, adventurous, understanding.I'm the luckiest!!!Friday evening we spent a quiet night together. Watching TV, enjoying each other's company.Saturday I took her to the restaurant I had lunch at before I went to the hall where we got married. I then took her to the West End Overlook where we had our wedding pictures taken. I remember the weather being very similar. (Hot & hazy but not nearly as humid.) Saturday evening we had an awesome meal at Eleven. We decided to go for 1 of each of the Chef's Tasting menus so we could try both the meat and the vegetarian choices. We also opted to go with the wine pairings. It was awesome. Very well done: Great presentation, wonderfully flavored dishes, well paced (not rushed), nice wines paired with the food, nice atmosphere, very attentive wait staff. We'll definitely go back!!!Afterwards we went home and watched our wedding video. This was the first time that either of us had watched the video so it was a nice reminder of our wedding day. It made to a great ending to the day.Today we went to yoga & brunch. Then did chores around the house. Not romantic in the least but.....Labels: food, HC, Weekend Update
Weekend update
We had a very nice weekend. The weather was perfect. Friday night the weather was so nice we went for a ride after dinner. We ended up at a very dangerous place for me: Best Buys. The gift card my sister sent me was burning a hole in my pocket. I just had to get rid of it...Saturday we went to the Strip District for groceries and lunch. It was beautiful out. A lot of fun riding around top down. Saturday evening we had dinner at J's place. Awesome food, drinks, company, and weather.Sunday we were invited over to S &A's for a cookout. It was nice seeing everybody. I've been friends with S for 20 years so I'm treated like a family member. His mother always says I'm like another son to her. It feels really good to have such good & down to earth people accept me and think of me that way. S & A's kids were their usual sweet selves. When we got there, they dropped everything they were doing and came running over to give me a hug. It's always nice to have those 2 come running and making a big fuss over me.... They are just the sweetest kids. (I think those 2 broke me of the kid phobia) HRH had a great time playing with the kids and getting all the attention that's appropriate for someone of his position. And let's not forget all the treats and snacks everyone was giving him!!! He was in heaven. Food, playing fetch, food, kids, food, getting food out of his toys for the amusement of everyone, fetch...Today we didn't have anything planned other than to enjoy the wonderful weather. We went on a ride out to Bear Run Nature Reserve near Fallingwater. I'd read about this place last year in a VisitPA brochure I got in the mail. We didn't get a chance to see the place last year so we made time this year. It's a lovely nature reserve with all kinds of trails. We enjoyed our hike. Very scenic. We'll definitely be back. There are many trails we have yet to take. We're both a bit tired from the hike. But a good tired. We both needed to burn off some of the food we over indulged this weekend. HRH enjoyed his time off leash. His time to roam the lands as he was intended. His time to eat anything and everything that lay on the forest floor. The phrase "turd munch" was used several times as we had to get him away from the savory bits the forest creatures were leaving for him. He's a sick little monkey. I don't understand his need to eat poop....Labels: Family, food, HC, Holiday, HRH, Miata, things I don't understand, Weekend Update
Weekend update
As predicted: Busy weekend. But fun!!!Saturday afternoon's Miata club cook-out was nice. We got to meet & hang out with more of our fellow club memebers. 1 thing we noticed: We're the youngest ones in the club. A lot of the members are in their 50's. (I'm sure many are in their late 50's to early 60's.) They're nice people but it's like hanging out with a parent... We were looking for people with similar interests when we joined... BUT could they be closer to our age? Is that asking too much? I guess most people our age are busy raising kids or into other things... Nice people none the less. And very interested in cars and driving around.
Saturday evening's cook-out was great!! All people we knew. All people we really liked spending time with. Awesome food. Great drinks. What more could you ask for?!?! HRH was invited and he had a blast. Food, people, food, puppy to play with, and food.
Sunday I spent more time working on chores than relaxing. But you'll have that with me. 1 thing though. I did my chores & misc at a slower pace. Not my usual super-sonic pace. I did make time to excersice which was needed after Saturday's food & drink overindulgence.
Labels: Cars, food, house, Miata, Weekend Update
Busy weekend coming up
Yeah. This weekend is going to be busy..Tonight: Dinner & grocery shopping.Tomorrow: Miata Club picnic. I've volunteered to help work the grill. It'll be nice to actually sit around and talk to these folks. When we're on a cruise, we're all in separate cars flying along so there's no chance to talk. Even when we break for lunch, there are only so many people you can talk to AND just enough time to eat before we're back on the road. Tomorrow evening another cook-out. HC's going to make a white bean dip. I'll make the crostini to go with it.Sunday: Chores & r-e-s-t.Yes. I said it r-e-s-t. I'm going to try to rest. Do nothing but exercise, watch TV, play on the PC & hang out.Labels: Cars, food, Miata, Update, Weekend Update
Weekend Update
We had a nice weekend..Friday night we ran some errands and hung out.Saturday I did some chores around the house and prepped food for the cookout we were having later that night. Saturday evening we had some of my co-workers over for dinner. It was good to spend time with them and their spouses. They're a lot of fun. Good fun, laughs, food, and drinks!! The menu: A mixed green and fresh arugula salad, pasta with a tomato and roasted red pepper sauce, and grilled chicken. My guests brought an awesome crab dip and a fruit tart for desert. Sunday: Clean-up & hang out. After the final clean up from the party. We didn't feel like doing anything. So for once... I didn't. I sat around all day playing on the computer and watching DVD's. It felt good. I think I need to do that more often. At first I felt like I should do something, like I was forgetting a chore/task/project. But then I realized "I've been under a lot of stress and the rest will do me some good" So after a few episodes of me relaxing, thinking I needed to do something, reminding myself I need to relax, relaxing, thinking I need to do something, etc... I was able to embrace the leisure.P.S. They all got a good laugh out of the Relaxation CD that couldn't be removed from the CD packaging without resorting to destructive means.Labels: food, Weekend Update
Date night
- Sometimes we forget.
- Sometimes we take each other for granted.
- Sometimes you get into a rut when you've been married for a while.
But it's always good to remember to take your spouse out for a nice night out. No reason. Just because.
Last night we had a wonderful dinner at the Mediterranean Grill in Squirrel Hill. It's a cute little place that's hard to find but worth the effort. We had the Moussaka and a falafel. Both were excellent.
Afterwards, we saw the Chihuly exhibit at the Phipps Conservatory. Very fun, wild, innovative, cool. Chihuly and Co do some amazing things with glass. The couple of hours we were there felt like nothing.
As we were walking to the car, I said to HC, "We need to take advantage of more of the nice things that Pittsburgh has to offer." And it's true. We don't realize how lucky we are to live in a city with the diverse Arts, Cultural, and sports activities available to us. People are always complaining about "Nothing to do" but they're wrong. It really doesn't take much effort to find something to do in PGH.
Just to name a few things: World class symphony, Major league sports teams, the Carnegie museums, the Zoo, the Aviary, South Side bars & restaurants, Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, many art galleries. And on and on..
Labels: food, HC, Pittsburgh N'at
Still here
Sorry for not writing in a while. Been busy.Here's a quick update on what's been going on:Our 4th of July was nice. I had one of my hair brained ideas the Friday before the 4th of July. “Hey. I don’t think we have any plans for the 4th. We should have a cookout and have some people over.” I checked with HC to verify that we indeed did not have any plans and that she was OK with a cookout. So we had a few people over for a cookout. Buffalo burgers and chicken chorizo sausage. It was good to see everybody and share some laughs and food with them.
Last weekend was really nice too:
Friday night we had Michelle, Kat, and Neil over for a cookout. (Burgers and hot dogs.) It was more about the company and dessert!!! Awesome cheesecake!!!!
Saturday we went on a car cruise. I joined a Miata club a few weeks back but have not been able to join them in any of their activities until now. We had a great time meeting the members and going out on a nice L-O-N-G cruise. The 20 Miata’s drove on the back, back, back roads of Greene County. We were on some really great twisty windy roads. It was a lot of fun and I got in some really good driving practice. Not the usual city or highway driving but some good DRIVING. Quick steering /shifting/braking response required type action. HC was nervous on a few bends but it was a blast. The cruise stopped for a late lunch ( 3:00 pm) at this back roads bar & grille were they made massive 1 pound burgers. I of course finished mine. HC made a valiant effort. After lunch, we headed for home. We had to get cleaned up and go to a cookout. I would have been OK missing it but HC wanted to go. Sunday we lazed around the house. It was too damn hot to do much of anything! So I watched some videos and drank beer. It was a nice Work has been keeping me busy, busy. There's always something to do.Labels: Cars, food, Miata, Update, Weekend Update
Costa Rican Vacation - Part 1
Since work & LIFE have been keeping me overwhelmed I decided to break up my CR vacation post into multiple posts. This will keep each post from getting too L-O-N-G.CR was a blast. A thoroughly good time. Would I recommend CR? It would depend on who you are and what your interests are. I wouldn’t recommend CR for shopping or theater. But I would recommend CR for outdoor pursuits, relaxing, and hot weather.
The people:
Warm and friendly. Not just the workers in the hotel or restaurants but everywhere we went. Even the bus drivers were nice! This really added to the experience (and lowered our stress) since we didn’t speak much Spanish. I felt comfortable with the very basic phrases I knew, but there’s no way I could hold a conversation. (Unless it was with a 3 year old) The people were gracious enough to switch to English as soon as they heard me butchering their language. They were nice about it. They knew I was trying and I think that was enough for them. I wasn’t pulling the typical American attitude of “Everyone should speak English! It’s the official language of the universe. If YOU don’t understand me, I’ll speak English louder & slower. ”
The food:
From the nicest place we ate at to the local hang out bar: reasonably priced, consistently good, and fresh. The seafood was amazing. We were right down the road from the port town of Quepos so I’m sure a lot of the daily catch ended up in Manuel Antonio. Everyplace we went to had fish on the menu and had it cheap. Tuna and Mahi-Mahi were the most available but Swordfish, Sea Bass, and Snapper were also on the menus. Grilled, blackened, fried, baked. You name it they prepared the fish that way!! The chicken was also good. Don’t bother with the beef. (It was stringy and a bit tough.) But the seafood rocked!! The typical CR side dish to a meal is black beans & rice. (Including breakfast. How about bacon & eggs with black beans & rice? You bet!) You might think black beans & rice are pretty boring but every place did it a little differently and it was usually pretty good.
We ate at some pretty cool restaurants: El Avion, Barba Roja, Anaconda, Restaurant Marlin, El Gran Escape. Again all good, reasonable priced, friendly, and fresh.
El Avion: Was the most unique since part of the décor was a CIA C-123 cargo plane. The view of the ocean and coastline was breathtaking. The food was good & the waiters were funny. They were always joking with their customers.
Barba Roja: The food was really good. The view of sunset over the ocean was awesome. A Pirate theme. What more could I want? The second time we were there we watched a storm roll in and a lightning show over the ocean. Very cool.
Anaconda: Probably the fanciest place we ate at. The food was really good. A very diverse menu with a lot of European influenced menu items. Wonderful view of the ocean and coastline. I felt like I was in a big fancy tree house.
El Gran Escape: Seafood. Seafood. Seafood. Good & fresh. The portions were large and the people were warm & friendly. The décor was fun & tacky. All kinds of fish & fishing related paraphernalia.
The Restaurant Marlin: Was our local hang out. The food & drinks were good & cheap. The people were nice.Labels: food, Holiday, travel, vacation
Quotes
From my sisterDon't let crazy people make you crazy
From HC regarding my sister cooking for us and her menu selections.Let go, let Grace
From HC regarding HRH.He's a good boy with issues
They are so right!!!Labels: Family, food, HRH, Random things.., Scrap of Wisdom
Random item update
Jim is right. Once the turkey is thawed, you should roast it within a few days. My friend called back and said she cooked the bird and got sick from eating it. So now we know...Once turkey is thawed you must cook it within a few days or it will turn into a vengeful mass of poison.Labels: food, Random things.., riddle me this
Random item
I had a friend e-mail me the following question....How long will a turkey keep in the fridge?
Story follows...
I took it out to thaw on Wednesday night last week with the idea that it would be thawed to cook over the weekend. I wound up not really having time and when I put a hand on it on Saturday - I thought it felt still sort of frozen, so I figured I'd get to it on Monday night. I really didn't have time on Monday either but when I checked it in the same spot and it felt still frozen. I checked the other side and it was thawed. Turns out I must have been putting my hand on the spot where the giblets bag was (duh.)
Anyway, in your safest opinion, should I pitch it, cook it tonight regardless, or can I wait until tomorrow?
I told her as long as it has been kept refrigerated and the fridge has not lost power she should be OK. I told her to be on the lookout when she preps it for weird smells or colors. Also sliminess. I didn't mean to concern her but I usually roast turkeys within a few days of defrosting it. So I wanted her to be extra cautious.Labels: food, Random things.., riddle me this
Weekend Update
It was a good weekend. I did a lot of errands & things around the house while HC had a painting job.Friday night I picked up the Miata, grocery shopped and poached Salmon with some herbs and wine. HC made cous cous. Dinner was really good. The Salmon was tender and flaky. And the Cous Cous was flavored wonderfully. HC is the Queen of Cous Cous. Saturday morning I took the Daddy-o out to shop, have lunch, and AAA. AAA provided some decent information about Costa Rica. I figured now that I've read a little more and have a better idea of what I want. They were able to pull some info & pricing for me.Saturday night we went over to 1 of HC's friend's homes for dessert. It was a small gathering (8 people). That was cool with me since I prefer to hang out and get a chance to talk to everyone. But the really cool thing was: They had a chocolate fountain. I've seen them in the stores but had never seen 1 in operation. I always wondered if they actually sold since I've never been to a party where 1 was fired up. Anyways, it was OK but not great because the chocolate needed to be thinned to flow properly through the fountain. That took away from the experience for me. If it's going to be a chocolate fountain I want a chocolate fountain!! Not a chocolate & vegetable oil fountain. I always imagined Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory when I think of a chocolate fountain. A pure river of chocolate. How yummy!! The company was so so. 2 of them were Yinzers so that detracted for me. The other 2 were more interesting. Politically active & vocal, travelled, some sense of taste. Sunday more household errands/chores. We had a belated Easter dinner since we were out of town last weekend. I made chicken cordon bleu and sauteed some bok choy. HC made another killer batch of cous cous. We had my Dad over along with J and AL. The company and food were good. And then it was time to clean up and go to sleep.Labels: food, Weekend Update
Riddle me this...Do you have reservations?
- HC and I wanted to go out to dinner Monday night to stretch our vacation out 1 more night.
- We decide to go to a place we've not been to in many years.
- They've got great food but we just keep forgetting to go. We're creatures of habit and they're not part of the habit.
Sooo..... We get to the place and the hostess asks if we have reservations. We say "No" and she says the only seats available will be on their protected outdoor patio. We both look around the dining room and there are maybe 4 tables occupied at 6:30 on a Monday night. HC wasn't into it so we went across the street to another of our favorite restaurants and had an awesome meal. What I don't understand is: Why do restaurants say they don't have any tables available when clearly they have tables available AND the wait staff is just standing around waiting for something to do? It's not like there were only 1 or 2 tables available. This place was empty save for 2 to 4 tables.Anymore, when I get the "Do you have reservations?" question and they give me a hard time, I go some place else. There are so many good choices in Pittsburgh anymore. There's no need to wait or be blown off like that. Sure there are many times when you need to plan a night out and it's wise to make reservations. But I wouldn't think they'd be needed on a Monday night when you have many tables available.This is 1 of my many pet peeves. I don't get it. I don't get it at all... maybe you can explain it to me...
Labels: food, Rant, riddle me this, things I don't understand
Lamb, Shrimp, Beef, Pasta, Venison
We ate very well this weekend.
The restaurant at the lodge was pretty good. We weren't sure what to expect but we were pleasantly surprised. The menu on their web site sounded good. But anyone can make a meal sound good. But does it taste good?
Friday night, I had Lamb Chops. HC had Stuffed Shrimp. Saturday night, I had Prime Rib. HC had Pasta Primavera. Both evening’s dinners were expertly prepared.
So where does the Venison come in?
Well funny you should ask....
On the way home, we stopped and went for a hike. When we got far enough from the road, we took HRH off his leash so he could let his inner beast out. HRH is out of sight for a few minutes. When he's coming back towards us:HC: What is that HRH has in his mouth?
CH: It's probably just a stick
HC: He never shows that much interest in a stick. I bet it's a deer leg.
She was right!!!! HRH had somehow gotten himself a deer leg. And as he was running towards us he was flipping it in the air and thrashing it back & forth. He was the happiest freakiest guy in Cooks Forest. The next thing was how to get it away from him. He knows to stay away from us when he's got something he thinks we'll take away from him. (poop, sweaty dead things, rotting things) Our latest strategy is to call him towards us and ignore the fact that something gross is hanging from his mouth. Depending on what it is we'll even treat it as a toy and toss it for him to fetch. After a little bit of fetching, we'll just take it away from him & give him a treat. This seems to be working for now. After a few times fetching the deer leg, he started eating/gnawing on it before bringing it back. Well before I was able to confiscate the deer leg, he was able to tear most of the fur & meat off of it. He was all proud of himself. Mighty hunter that he is. Killer. Tough Guy!!!He was kind of restless on the ride home. He kept wanting to be up front with us and in HC's lap. Later that night he threw up on the carpet. Yep. You guested it the mighty hunter, tough guy, killer had a tummy ache from eating that nasty, dead, funky, deer leg. That dog cracks me up. It took him a day to get back to his usual self. But he's back to 100% HRH. That's why I say "He's just smart enough..."Labels: food, HRH, travel, vacation
Weekend Update
Friday: Quiet night together. It was a L-O-N-G week. The cold and ice added to it!Saturday: Errands, shopping, dog park, dinner party. HRH was stir crazy. Barking at everything. He needed to get out and get his run on. I took him for a walk and a run. The dinner party was a lot of fun. Hanging out with good people, drinking nice bottles of wine, and eating good food. I'm blessed with good people in my life & I know it!Sunday: Had my Dad, J, and A over for dinner. It was a nice time.Labels: food, Weekend Update
