So I was completely wrong. I have quite a few more restaurants to get to on Southport. And I have a bar crawl ahead of me as well. Please, if you'd like to join, let me know! I have to hit Lange's and Cullens (i believe that's what it's called, but I could always be thinking of Twilight). Also, I'll be heading to Tango Sur this Wednesday so I can check that off my list. But I completely forgot about Bull e dias. Who's up for tapas?
I dragged Biz out last week to go grocery shopping and we ended up watching the filming or the setting of the scenery (fake snow, stunt double for Rachel McAdams in the car) for about an hour instead. It definitely could've been longer than that. Anyways, we stood next to the owner of Blue Bayou (where I guess Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams had taken just shots of Grey Goose before going to hair and makeup), and he recommended we come to the bar on Friday night. It was a good New Orleans style bar that had plenty of seating, a good menu (we just ordered apps) and I loved the clientele. It wasn't a right out of college early 20's bar, but more of an older 20s, young 30s crowd. They also had live music and the owner bought Biz a beer. The fried pickles were amazing. Biz even agreed even though she's not a fan of pickles. It could have been the chipotle dipping sauce that they paired them with. Yum!
Speaking of chipotle sauce, Kevin, Stephan and I went to Orange with a Peel on Roscoe on Sunday morning after my 10k Trick or Treat Trot. I ordered the Tijuana Benedict which was an english muffin with white bean puree, fresh pico de gallo and a CHIPOTLE hollandaise sauce...amazing!! And their house potatoes weren't bad either. A nice touch was the coffee that they offered. You could of course get regular coffee, but they also had orange coffee. It tasted like those chocolate "oranges" that Kelly used to eat all the time when she was younger. The service was awfully slow however, and we were in a hurry, so negative points for that. That could be why there is always a wait there. I would definitely go back.
I haven't just been eating out, but I was able to make some meals this past week. I tried another Healthy Cooking recipe of Pork Chops slow cooked with scalloped potatoes. Bland. Healthy tasty. Another strikeout for Healthy Cooking. If not for the first recipe I made with Ashley a few years ago, I would think every recipe in those magazines was bad tasting. (Ash, we need to make that Jalapeno Lemon Cream sauce over chicken again). The carrot cake I tested for Erin's bday was not moist enough and the Coconut Curry Chicken I made a couple weeks ago was terrible, but that could be because I'm not a huge fan of curry. I don't know what I was thinking.
On Saturday I made Rachel Ray's Penne-wise Pumpkin Pasta. Another ok dish, however Stephan graciously said he enjoyed it. It was just too bland for me. I don't know if I need super spicy or salty meals to be happy, but another dish that I cannot add to my permanent collection.
However, I redeemed myself by making Giada's Butternut Squash and Vanilla risotto on Halloween. Yum yum yum!! I have yet to be dissapointed by Giada and will definitely be making this dish again. The first time I made risotto was a couple months ago with a Sandra Lee Mushroom Risotto recipe. I think it was just too big a batch so it ended up being really sticky, but the risotto cakes Ashley and I made from the leftovers were worth it. This time, unfortunately, there weren't enough leftovers to make risotto cakes it was that good! And it could be because it wasn't just Kev and I eating it, but Kevin's parents and friends, Barb and Dan. Anyways, great success and just solidifying my love for Giada's recipes. (I still can't stop talking about her turkey meatballs).
On the book front, I'm currently reading A Gate at the Stairs. A little slow, but maybe I just haven't given it enough time. I need to force myself to sit down and read a bit. My what was supposed to be a relaxing last weekend turned out to be an exhausting errand filled weekend. And until I get a new slipcover that Stella has not chewed through, I won't be stopping. Hopefully, between the "It's A Baby" tradeshow that I'm working and other things that I'm sure will come up, I'll get to finish the book this weekend.
One quick question if anyone would like to comment. Kevin and I were listening to some radio show on Halloween in the car on the way to his fam's and Lev Grossman was discussing his book, The Magicians. It sounded interesting. Has anyone read it? Thoughts?
As the guinea pig for most of these recipes I have to agree with the "bland" statement about the healthy cooking recipes. They're never bad, they're just not anything to write home about. Generally speaking, food with butter tends to be better; Just ask Paula Dean.
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