A weekend at Stefanie’s

A few weeks ago we had an OSU girls reunion–the Midwest version.

Stefanie and I lived with May our sophomore year of college. She’s always loved cooking and eventually got her Masters of Science in Food Science & Technology from Oregon State.  When she graduated, she landed a job as a food technologist at Kellogg’s (yes, the cereal company), which has taken her from the great Northwest and has landed her in Kalamazoo, MI.

Tiffany and I roomed together for a quarter our junior year and then again for 2 quarters our senior year.  After our graduation in 2006 Tiffany moved out to Detroit and has been working in medical research and has just been accepted into med school at Michigan State (YAY!).

So, somehow, three girls from Portland, OR most unlikely to be here found ourselves in the Midwest all within 4 hours of driving of each other. We planned to meet up in the middle and visit Stefanie to have a girls weekend slash baking workshop.

And what a girly weekend it was! Stef was amazing and was completely prepared with all ingredients for projects we requested.

Tiff, Uyen, Stef working in Stef's bakery

Upon arriving on Friday afternoon Stef taught Tiff and I how to make Vietnamese Beef Stew.  While it was stewing we dived into watching Bride Wars while holding our appetites over with English muffins topped with Stef’s homemade strawberry-lemon jam. We talked about her interesting job at Kellogg’s and how she has access to tons of samples from the breakfast foods departments. She showed us all these great products from Kellogg’s, Kashi and Bare Naked and started creating goodie bags for us. When the stew finished, we dug in (and it was delicious!) and then headed off to downtown Kalamazoo to see Wolverine on opening night. The movie was great (love Hugh Jackman), we went home and played a hilarious game of Scattergories. We were all terrible, but I somehow managed to eek out a victory.

Saturday morning was spent at the farmer’s market and on a stroll through downtown Kalamazoo.  Then we went to the famous Plainview Ice Creamery and were introduced to the midwestern “blue moon” flavor.  We followed that with a couple of hours at Michigan’s most famous winery, St. Julian.  Free wine tasting and tours!  We left with a bottle of their Passionate Peach Spumante and Sauterne white wine. On our way home, we decided to stop at the Chicken Coop which is acclaimed as AMAZING fried chicken. We went wild in the drive thru, calling out orders for everything fried–chicken, okra, gizzards, smelt, mac n cheese, and coleslaw. Hehe, and it was tasty! =)

At Plainview Ice Cream w/ our double scoops

When we got home, we set off to make our menu for the evening. Stef wanted us to make a giant batch of eggrolls since she would have helping hands. She taught us the mixture and it Tiff and I rolled at a surprisingly fast rate. We had those babies rolled in no time!  After the eggrolls we set about frying them while starting on our first baking projects: lemon cookies and chocolate chip oatmeal.  Whilst our baking and frying Stef and Alan prepared our dinner of mushroom risotto and an amazing salad Stef learned from Oprah’s caterer. YUM. We finished off the night with Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Sunday morning we were joined by Alan’s friend Abe who flew in from San Francisco.  We grabbed brunch and then continued our baking madness.  Red velvet cupcakes, chocolate macaroons and sugar cookies.  Stef even squeezed in time to create an out of this world chicken pho.  We feasted and decorated our sugar cookies just in time before I had to catch my train back to Chicago.  I was overstuffed but satisfied. 

I can’t wait to get the recipes from Stef so that I can recreate what I learned from her.

Beef stew
Lemon cookies
Chocolate chip oatmeal cookie
Red velvet cupcakes w/ cream cheese frosting
Sugar cookies w/ sugary glaze
Chocolate macaroons
Chicken pho
Eggrolls
Mushroom risotto
Butter lettuce salad w/ asparagus, edamame, sugar snap peas w/ lemon mint dressing

Tiffany working in the eggroll factory

Tiff working in the bakery
The result of our baking madness

Those goodie bags Stef started us ended up with boxes of Kellogg’s cereal, snacks, Rice Krispies treats, eggrolls to freeze, and tons of cookies. It was fantastic!  Also – Tiff and I were trying to convince Stef to revive her blog because she already has a fanbase!

DWTS: Gilles Marini

OK, dancing fans, you MUST watch the below video.

I was just catching up on my Dancing with the Stars today and I came upon this amazing dance.  This is Gilles Marini and his partner Cheryl Burke doing a paso doble in week 5 of the competition.  I don’t often get to watch the show air real time, so I watch it on abc.com with their free episode player (LOVE it!).  He is doing SO WELL.  I have to tell you, I just had an incredible urge to cheer when they completed their dance.  I actually started clapping… and I was watching by myself!  That never happens, so obviously this must be pretty amazing. ha!

He’s so far ahead of all the other competitors on the show at this point because he’s completely immersed himself into this experience.  He takes risks, has so much passion, and has such self-confidence he is able to let go and not be afraid to look dumb… what else do you expect from the guy who played the naked neighbor in the Sex and the City movie??   AND he is soooo humble about everything. I look forward to watching him dance and can certainly imagine why Cheryl Burke is able to feel such chemistry with him.

You know what?  While we’re at it, you might as well watch his performance of the Argentine tango from the week prior too. He earns a well-deserving 30/30 for this dance.  Ooooh he is soooo sexy.

Celebrity Crush: Hugh Jackman

I could stare at Hugh Jackman all day.

On top of being ridiculously good looking, knowing how to wear a suit perfectly, having a hot Australian accent, this sexiest man alive can sing AND dance.  Truly the total package.

I never really saw many of his movies before, but after seeing him host this year’s Academy Awards and perform his two musical numbers… swoooon! 

Did you know he was the voice of Memphis, the father penguin in the movie Happy Feet?  That’s so cool, I love that movie.  And he has such a nice voice!

Though I am not a fan of that strange scruffly beard, I’m totally looking forward to seeing the next X-Men movie now!  I will leave you with one more pic.  Have a great day!

Restaurant Review/Adventure: RL Grill, Chicago

When my friend Stefanie (food technologist at Kellogg’s in Kalamazoo, MI) came to visit last weekend, she left it up to me to pick a place for dinner.  I was in the mood for something new, so I decided I wanted a place that was well-known and unique to Chicago. The RL Grill came to mind.  Friend Tiffany has dined there before and recommended it.  I easily made online reservations day-of for the 8pm slot.

photo by notashamed on flickr

chicagoreader.com says the following:

You’d be hard-pressed to find a better-heeled crowd than the one at this designer dining room adjacent to the Ralph Lauren store.  The decor is hypermasculine, all dark blues and burgundy and leather, with Waspy hunter-themed artwork, and the menu is classic American.

We showed up a tad late for our reservation but our table was still being set up when we arrived. We were asked to wait at the bar, which was a very cozy little corner of a library. We then were led to a small table in a tiny alcoved room off the main dining room. We barely sat down when another hostess rushed over to the table to say that a better table had opened up. A corner table that was easier to talk at rather than face to face. OK… sure. Thanks. It turns out the table is right next to the entrance to the hallway to the restroom, but they made such a fuss over the better table that we disregarded it.

We must have been too full from our earlier snack of Vietnamese “banh mi” sandwiches on Argyle Street, because we were actually not into our food at all.  The service was great, but we felt the food was less than stellar.  I had the halibut with couscous while Stef had the short rib with vegetables. I hated to say so, but I think her medley of corn, red peppers and lima beans looked frozen. We ended up boxing more than 50% of our food up. The after-dinner cappucino was not great, and the desserts disappointing.

Though the food was unspectacular, we still had a very enjoyable time.  Our evening looked up when at one point while we were fussing over the dessert menu, Ross Gellar walked right by our table on his way to the restroom.  We quietly freaked out.  It was my first celebrity sighting in Chicago.  Stef quickly put on her glasses, we grabbed our phones and twittered, and we braced ourselves for his return from the restroom.  A few minutes later… Yep, Mr. David Schwimmer walks by again.  We notice he heads into the alcove and we realize if we had kept our original table we might’ve had the opportunity to dine with him. Darn!

I excused myself to the restroom at one point, only to discover that I should have dashed off behind Ross the first time around.  The small hallway led to a a set of elevator doors.  The elevator seriously took forever to come.  The ride was super slow. I thought, darnit! I could have been stuck in an elevator alone with Ross!  I would have had no choice but to strike conversation!  haha, the return trip was no quicker.  Ugh.

On the way out, we snuck a peek to see where Ross was seated. He was dining with a female. AT OUR TABLE.

Anywhooooo…  Wow, I sure have gotten offtrack.  RL Grill… I might give it another try someday, I hear lunch is great. A unique experience that felt glitzy and a tad stuffy… Very Gold Coast Chicago.

How COOL is this??

snapshot of zappos.com/map

If you’ve ever purchased anything (specifically shoes!) from Zappos, you’re probably familiar with how awesome their customer service is.  They have great prices and ship very quickly.  After my first purchase this last winter… I paired my Portland street address with my Chicago city, state and zip… I had to call them to fix it. They were super nice and even upgraded me to VIP status for free and shipped my item that day!  A couple of weeks later I even received a handwritten note welcoming me to VIP and their CEO writes back on Twitter.

On to another really cool feature:

Zappos has just launched this really cool application on their website that shows what shoes are being bought where off their site in realtime.  It’s VERY cool.  Click on the link below to be amazed!

www.zappos.com/map

The 20 Unhealthiest Drinks in America

Check out this article that lists the 20 unhealthiest drinks in America. Some notable items:

Worst “healthy” drink – Vitamin Water (130 calories, 33 g sugar) … and this one has been gaining so much popularity, targeted at celebs.. wonder if those stars know what they’re drinking?
Worst lemonade – Minute Maid (250 calories, 68 g sugar)
Worst energy drink - Rockstar (280 calories, 62 g sugar)
Worst summer drink – Pina Colada (625 calories, 75 g sugar)
Worst coffee alternative - Starbucks Venti White Hot Chocolate (640 calories, 23 g fat, 76 g sugar)

Click here for the article and to find out the worst drink in America.

Editor’s note: Dear Mr. ahockley … I have removed your photo.  You seemed unhappy with my use of it.  If it was merely a matter of properly attributing your photo, you should have let me known.  I would have gladly added whatever was necessary.  My intention was never to misuse the photo, I just didn’t know what the proper way to tag was.  I had made an effort with the link, but I guess it wasn’t enough.  Apologies!

What Poor Luck.

I rarely ever use the term DB. Or D.. for that matter. But for some reason I’ve had a few recent encounters in which the only appropriate word I can use to help describe them is in fact DB. (I think you will figure out what this word actually is once you read the remainder of this post…)

DB #1 : A few weekends ago, I went out with a few friends to grab some drinks at a neighborhood bar. As one bar closed, we headed over to another to continue the night. Four of us remained from the first crowd and we were standing at a high top enjoying our cheaper drinks. A random guy walks up to me and asks me what my friend’s name is. I’m super happy to play winglady to a friend who’s newly single, so I try to help out. I introduce the two, but there’s obviously no hope for this dude. The first thing he does is whispers in her ear and asks her to name three interesting facts about herself. Lame and completely stupid pick-up line. She brushes him off and turns away. But he doesn’t get the message and sticks around. To continue the entertainment, I ask him some random equally stupid questions. Some kind of light bulb went off in his head thinking perhaps not all hope is lost: “Oh, I guess I’m hitting on you now.” Are you f-ing kidding me!? No one is interested, buddy. D-B.

DB #2 : The next weekend I went out with the same group of friends. We meet up with other friends at a crowded sports bar. This one guy who knows this other guy who is the boyfriend of a girl my friend knows shows up with his very cougar friend. In an attempt to be friendly and integrate, I strike up a conversation with boyfriend guy who talks me into sitting with the unknown group of friends. I ask how he knows some of the people in the party. He tells me the cougar dater is some kind of professional poker player. And that’s all he does. Apparently he does pretty well with winnings. And this couple is thinking of going to Vegas this evening. OK. Whatever. I somehow start talking to Mr. Poker Player (aka cougar-dater), I find out that he knows one of the other fellas through high school… not college like everyone else. I ask where he went to school, he said Stanford but he dropped out. HOLD UP.

me: Stanford is a great school, why did you drop out??
CD: Well I had a full ride.
me: (thinking wtf) Even more reason not to drop out…
CD: Well, I figured out that I didn’t need to spend thousands of dollars a year when I can make $600,000 a month without a degree.

Wait a second. You SO DO NOT make $600K a month, and if you did, there is no reason you need to tell me that in our first conversation. PLUS – what was the point of telling me you had a full ride if you wasted it??  You are OBVIOUSLY showing off, but sorry dude, I am SO NOT impressed. I then had an urgent need to excuse myself from this conversation. And I figure out that the first dude is enamored by this guy. NO WONDER he would disclose this kind of info to me like that. How terribly unlucky. Two BIG FAT DB’s in one night at the same table.

DB #3 : Last week I was invited to a work-related happy hour to mingle and network with Chicago-area partners. It was a nice time and I met many nice people. A few people from the party decide to stay out and we head to drinks and dinner. Unfortunately one member in our group turns out to be a huge D. He is completely self-important and oblivious to uncomfortable silences.  All night he talks about how cool he is, how great his neighborhood is, his knowledge of all things worth knowing, the important meetings he has, his magical ability to get into sold-out concerts all over the world… and simply wouldn’t pick up that none of the rest of us were impressed. At all. I was SO excited to get in the car and go home. DB averted at last.

No shoes after all.

I guess the ability to order that shoe even after it was showing out of stock was just too good to be true.  Just received an email saying that my order had to be cancelled.  SO SAD.

Shoe Addiction.

I did a bit of shopping online tonight.  I’ve been visiting these shoes for a few months now… finally, they were on clearance, with an additional 30% off, and free shipping and luckily they were still in my shopping cart when I came back tonight.  Yippee.  Now you may think otherwise, but honestly I don’t shop very much.  I don’t really spend a lot on clothing, but that’s because shoes are my vice.  A sucker for shoes I am.  

Lately I’ve been following a few fashion blogs and lately the majority of the posts have been about Fashion Weeks in New York, Paris, London and Milan.  I’m pretty sure I’ve seen versions of this shoe on the runway.  Excited to get them in the mail. =)

Then I started wandering to other sites and found this beauty below.  How freaking super sexy are these??  Alas, they are too rich for my blood currently.  I will keep an eye on them.  Hoping the price will drop soon.

Speaking of shoe deals, I got these about 4 weeks ago for super cheap.  Excited because I think they’ll be great for spring.  Now… if only it will feel like spring here already!

Long Overdue: Alinea Restaurant Experience

One of the first things I did when I moved to Chicago was proceed to Barnes & Noble to pick up the Chicago Zagat Guide.  This little booklet has been my guide to navigating eateries around the city.  I immediately noticed that the top-ranked restaurant was Alinea… just a short 4-5 block walk from my apartment. 

“Visionary” chef Grant Achatz is “back in full swing” after a much publicized health scare and offers an “adventure in amazement” at this Lincoln Park “gastronomic theater for all five senses”, rated No. 1 for Food in Chicago (and maybe “the world”) thanks to “delicate”, “witty” New American dishes (some “come with instructions” and “creative tableware”) exhibiting “staggering” “innovation”; a “flawless”, “surprisingly unpretentious” staff (ranked No. 1 for service), “thoughtful wine pairings” and ‘quiet, minimalist” surroundings are more reasons why “anyone who cares about food” “must visit” – just brace for “astronomically expensive” tabs.

Oh how I longed to dine here!  But of course the four dollar signs on the Yelp! review stopped me.  

Fast forward eight months.  My good friend Tiffany is in town to visit for Presidents Day weekend.  Coincidentally Valentines Day also falls on this weekend.  Tiffany’s bf in Toronto, and me, single as can be… we decide to treat ourselves out on Friday night.  We narrow restaurants down to our top two, and when the other restaurant can’t accept reservations until 10pm, we decide to take the plunge and dine at Alinea.

My summary and review follows. [We are disappointed to report that we were too chicken to pull out our camera for each of these 12 dishes around such sophisticated people, so we only snuck the iPhone out in only a few instances.]

The 12-course tasting menu is advertised at $145.  The wine pairings were HIGHLY recommended (perhaps a bit pushy) and start at 70% the price of the meal.  We decide what the heck, we’ll take that too… might as well complement the food we’re paying so much for anyway…  No menu was presented, just an inventory of any food allergies and preferences.   Each dish comes with a mini story.

A dish of two butters arrive to stay for the savory dishes.  One is a goat’s milk butter and the other is a Wisconsin butter topped with Hawaiian black salt.  A new piece of bread is brought with each dish.

Course 1: Char Roe - The chef has struck a friendship with a Native American tribe in Washington that is permitted to harvest this very special roe.  The roe is harvested, sent overnight to Grand Rapids, MI where’s Chef’s friend cures the roe.  Because it is custom cured, it is not too salty like other roe you may have had before.  This is served with flavors of parsnip, licorice, ginger, and a giant mystery ball the size of a fisheye that I think is also roe.  This dish is accompanied by a delicious glass of champagne that I wish I could have drunk all night.  The giant mystery ball ends up being a maple syrup ball that is also made by the friend in Grand Rapids in his own oak barrels.  This dish is light, the flavors complement one another well and just the right size.

Course 2:  Cauliflower - One of Chef’s favorite vegetables is cauliflower.  However this little gem of a vegetable is not highly appreciated, so he has developed a dish that “disguises” cauliflower.  It is cauliflower puree in little cubes covered in 5 different coatings that range from almond to caraway to ham and cheese, accompanied by 3 gels that range in spices, surrounded by an apple soup.  

Course 2 : "Cauliflower"

Course 3: Wild Stripe Bass - A sheet made of chamomile tea is the base of this dish comprised of poached striped bass, shellfish, shellfish-flavored sauce and shaved celery.  Unique and aromatic, we were amazed at the sheet of chamomile.  We hypothesized that gelatin is used but later overhear that it is actually egg-white.  My personal opinion: smells interesting but didn’t taste too great.  The fish was cooked perfectly, but I think I wasn’t a fan of all that concentrated mystery shellfish flavor.  Nor that chamomile. 

After this dish, an addition was made to our table centerpiece.  We were told to not touch it as it will shatter before our eyes.  ”Keep an eye on it as the night progresses, and it will reveal itself.”

Centerpieces

Course 4: Lobster - Served on a really cool wavy plate, the corn is highlighted in this dish.  Several pieces of lobster is layered atop a mixture of corn two ways, popped and curried.  The cube in the middle is a mango puree to complement the flavors of curry.  The server called our attention to the big ball on the right.  That is a ball of liquefied butter for the lobster.  He got a few laughs when he suggested holding the piece of toast he provided as a shield when poking the ball with your fork.  Oh yes – that white ribbon?  That’s POPCORN puree.  Yum!  This dish was delicious and hearty and ends up being one of my top 2. Yum yum yum. 

Course 4: "Lobster"

Course 5: Iberico Ham - A plate with roasted salsify roots and some greens comes out.  The server takes the meaty centerpieces and identify them as Iberico Ham, laid them atop the salsify and topped with a sprinkle of black pepper.

Course 6: Wagyu Beef - A piece of real Wagyu beef (server says better than Kobe beef) seasoned lightly and cooked to perfection comes with a packet containing “powdered A-1″ (there are flavors of tamarind and anchovy to name a few), it is served with a green and a crunchy/creamy potato/chips mixture.  Finally, some spiced water is added to the strange black container (seen in “centerpieces” photograph).  We learn that the container contained dry ice and the water smells of smokiness, thyme and other spices that are supposed to simulate a backyard bbq.  Waft and eat quickly.  YUM — my other favorite dish of the night.  The beef MELTS in my mouth and the dish disappears mere seconds after the waiter walks away.  Truly not enough time to get the camera out to take a shot. 

Course 7: Hot Potato - A tiny little wax bowl carried out by our charmingly awkward and jittery server (whom I develop a mini crush on) holds some hot cream of potato soup.  A metal toothpick is pierced through the wax carrying a ball of cold potato and seasonings and topped with a black truffle.  The idea is to pull the toothpick and quickly throw the mixture back like a shot so to get the full effect of hot/cold in this dish. 

Course 7: "Hot Potato"

Course 8: Chestnut - Acting as the transition dish between savory and sweet, this savory/savory dish was a bit of both.  Comes in a clear glass tube is layers of hazelnut cream, quince, bittersweet chocolate, baked potato ice cream, and a smoky foam.  The dish was explained and then the tube was lifted and the contents were spilled into the bowl.  

Course 9: Yogurt - Served in a shot glass is a white chocolate ball in a bit of pomegranate juice and topped with a mint.  Throw it back, but be careful, the glass is an optical illusion (the white chocolate ball is bigger than you think) and remember to close your mouth because that ball will pop!

Course 10: Spice Cake - A warm persimmon spice cake is served with hazelnut ice cream, candied carrots, a tarragon chip and a ball of Myer’s rum.  Either pop it to soak the cake… or Chef suggested to pop the Myer’s rum ball in your mouth and take it like a shot to cleanse the pallette. 

Course 10: "Spice Cake"

Course 11: Chocolate - A sheet of chocolate covering preserved prunes and olives comes with a scoop of PINE ice cream (it tastes like a pine tree!) atop cookie crumbles and a pool of sweet pine nut soup.  Mix and match as you please and enjoy.

Course 11: "Chocolate"

Course 12: Sweet Potato - The arrival of this highly anticipated dish was a bittersweet moment for us when this dish finally came out.  We had been seeing it all night and were originally super excited about it, but after 11 courses and ~7 glasses of wine, we were just about pooped out.  This is a smoldering cinnamon stick with a take on sweet potato pie on the end.  The outside is deep fried and it is flavored with bourbon and brown sugar.  You pick it up and slide the sweet potato off in one smooth movement.  No biting.

Course 12: "Sweet Potato"

At the end of the meal we were given personalized (because all tables’ meals varied slightly) menus with wines noted.  Click to see full-sized image.

So… overall, it was a really fun experience.  However, it took 4 hours, and I had to bail out on meeting a friend for a birthday outing because of it.  Wow!  8-12:30.  The flavors were amazing… so complex and complementary, I’ve never had a meal like this.  I do wish that I didn’t take the wine pairing because my meal would have been way less expensive and I wouldn’t have gotten soooo incredibly full (or drunk) and almost unable to swallow the last bite.  Good experience, but I will most likely never return to Alinea.  I do believe those dollars spent could have gone more wisely elsewhere.  Like towards towards this cool couch on sale at Crate and Barrel, or a plane ticket to LA.