It's time to Cel-e-brate

The last few days have been riddled with Celebration! First, Brad and I had our Anniversary dinner at Eve in Kerrytown. I won't go into elaborate detail, (even though the foodie in me wants to) but it was DElish. We started with the house french loaf and butter medallions. I know it's ridiculous, but this was probably my favorite part of the meal. Smoked salmon, Guava lime, and fresh herb butters all for me? Amazing. We ordered appetizers of curried mussels and the Thai Chicken dumplings. While the dumplings were pretty good, the mussels were flipping spectacular (we had to ask for more bread just to mop up all the remaining curry) and we would order them again in the future (oh, and there will be a next time, and hopefully sooner than later!) We moved on after the appetizers to a soup/salad course. I went with the mixed green salad, while Brad ordered the tomato lentil soup. Both were notable. The mixed green salad had both torn basil leaves and sunflower shoots, and was finished with a fig vinaigrette. I'm still salivating about it. For entrees, Brad went with the Delmonico special, whereas I tried the seafood lasagna. Both were very good, but I think we were too full from appetizers and drinks to fully appreciate their depth. Dessert included a peach mousse with a lavender peach shortbread accompaniment (this was fantastic) and Brad had an ice cream sundae of sorts, made with real vanilla bean ice cream, lemon curd, and plenty of fresh berries topped with homemade whipped cream in a martini glass. Yummy! Also worth noting, were the wine flights we both ordered. I went with the "pairs well with food" reds, whereas Brad tried out the exotic reds (although we think it's possible they brought him the whites flight instead). Regardless, we found a few wines we really enjoyed, and even had our server write down the name of one from Italy we particularly liked so that we can try to buy a case or so. Unfortunately, I don't have but one picture from the evening, and it's a silly one. Brad was drinking scotch with water, and our server brought out his water in the cutest little glass! It's the fluted one on the right.Celebrations continued on Saturday with a birthday dinner for Birgit, who turned 27. You don't look a day over 22 sweetheart. ;-) Ladies night for Birg started off at Grizzly Peak for dinner, drinks at the Grizzly Peak bar afterward, more drinks and plenty of dancing at the Cavern Club, and finally, a buttery nipple at Conner O'Neills. Here's Birg looking incredibly Birgalicious in her tiara and cute pink getup. I hope we celebrated you proud sista!Sunday found me joining my sister at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn for the Chocolate exhibition. While it was interesting to learn about the history of chocolate and how it came to be, I was very disappointed in the lack of actual chocolate to taste! There was a chocolate cafe, where you were able to purchase chocolate covered things (like potato chips they dip in a chocolate fountain and charge you $4 for) but it closed before we even made it through the exhibition. Despite that disappointment, we did manage to enjoy ourselves and the museum. Here's a few quick highlights:

Claudia loves the weinermobileI love giant chocolatesMexico also loves chocolate; including at Day of the Dead celebrationsClaudia plays with old school museum toys

Finally, I spent late Sunday evening having a quiet dinner party with some Rochester friends, the primary one being Krums, who flew in from Germany with her husband Florian before heading to Canada and their cabin for the 4th of July weekend. It was great to catch up, and her mother, in typical Martha Stewart style, had a cute little wedding cake for us to eat laid out among all the wedding albums that several of us had yet to see. It was perfect. And speaking of perfect, Krums must have some esp or something!! In a weird turn of coincidences, Krums brought me some mini Ritter sport (you know, because I like mini things?), which completely fulfilled the chocolate craving I was having earlier after not getting to eat any at the museum. Life is so unpredictable sometimes! Add those mini chocolates to the mini potatoes I found at the farmer's market on Saturday morning, and the mini bag that Birg brought me back from her DG convention in CA, and you have a happy little surprise like the one below.
Thank you ladies for your interest in my mini addiction; you've made a lady so happy!

Four years ago today...

I married my best friend! Quick shout out to my hubby on our Anniversary today. We've had a really difficult road over the last few years, and I think we can definitely say we've seen the "tough times." But I'm glad we're still working together, and I couldn't think of anyone more compatible for me to spend my days with. I love you baby and I love our life together. XOXO.

An Epicure's Tour: Beer

Yesterday I drank a bit too much. I went on a beer tour you see. I noticed about two weeks ago that Slow Foods Huron Valley was sponsoring a tour of Bell's Brewery. Now I'm not one who normally loves the brew, and I admit that I still prefer wine and cocktails to a beer most times. But this tour was a big deal, because technically Bell's is closed to the public. It opened it's doors for a private tour to this group, and I felt it was an opportunity I couldn't miss. So I rounded up Brad, Kristal, and her husband Rick, and off we went to Kalamazoo. Despite it being way too early for several of us, it was a fairly nice drive. We got there a bit late, due to the terrible directions I printed from mapquest, a detour, and being the center of attention in the Galesburg Day parade. Once we got inside though, the tour started quickly, and was pretty interesting. We viewed all the stages of the beer making operation, which all happened to be housed in fairly different areas due to the volume at which Bell's produces. First we saw the mash room, where the four ingredients for beer; malt, hops, yeast, and water, are all smashed together and run through several different stainless steel vats. The mash room also houses the hops cooler.

The hops cooler smells delicious

Next we moved on to the storage area, where the beer sits and gets delicious. In this step, beer essentially sits and ferments in giant drums; the yeast breaking down and producing sugars and giving off carbon dioxide. It's hard to describe just how large these containers are. I believe I overheard the tour guide telling us that one of the larger ones held over 8000 cases, or 192,000 bottles of beer. That's a lot of booze my friends. Bell's is also doing a few special brew's these days, cask finished in whiskey barrels. I believe I overheard Uberon, Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout, and a double brown were 3 of these brews.

One of the smaller beer casksWhiskey barrels for special brews

The third step is the kegging and bottling operation. Being an Industrial Engineer, I was pretty fascinated by this step. Bells has really got a cool step-up, and I was particularly fascinated by things like the "six pack popper" and the bottle filler. My only wish was that we could have been doing the tour while they were actually operating, so I could watch all those beautiful bottles roll down the line. Ah well, at least now I know how it's done!

Six pack Popper MachineBottle filling machine

The final step at Bell's is to allow the brew's to sit in a climate-controlled storage area. Because Bell's doesn't pasteurize their beer, this is an important step. They even have a quality control area to make sure the beer tastes just right! The cool thing about the climate-controlled storage area was that it was pretty green too. Meaning, Bell's put a lot of thought into this recent addition to the plant, and installed solar tubes that help control and reduce the amount of purchased electricity for light, an eco-friendly roof, and several other smart innovations.

Storage area for BrewsHops growing out back of the plant!

After the brewery tour at the plant, we all headed into Bell's retail establishment, the Eccentric Cafe in downtown Kalamazoo. I have to say, the whole visit was a little chaotic (Bell's staff was not prepared for our tour group; there was an hour wait for food, and little things bugged me, like having to pour your beer into a plastic cup if you wanted to sit on the patio). However we did have some delicious beer. Kristal and Rick ordered up a Bell's sampler, Brad had a porter, and I tried out the Uberon.

Bell's Sampler (Ignore Kristal's double order of Black Rye!)

Our group having a good time

Instead of waiting around for food at Bell's, we decided to take a detour to the Old Penninsula Brew Pub. The food was delicious and filling (yum, pretzerella sticks), we had a few more brews, the ambiance and service were pretty good, and they had Xcelrator's in the bathrooms! It was a great place to stop before we headed on to the Dark Horse Brewery in Marshall on the way home.

Smiling faces at the Old PenninsulaCheck out that sign; welcoming huh?

Our stop at Dark Horse Brewing Company, was well, interesting. It was a much smaller craft operation, and was a pretty stark contrast to what we had just seen at Bell's. I have to say, I was partially distracted on the tour by some of the brewer's decor of choice. He may make some pretty good tasting Raspberry ale, but the doll head's all over the place were kind of creeping me out. So was the lady who joined Brad and Kristal at our table on the patio while Rick and I went on the tour. She didn't seem to leave us alone, and she double-dipped our chips and salsa. What's up with that?!!

Dark Horse uses a lot of old dairy equipment to brewPondering a special tap on the patio bar

All in all, it was pretty good tour. We did make one final stop to another bar, Artesian Wells Sports Tavern in Cement City on the way back to Clinton. We were pretty wiped out by this point; running up a tab of only $8 for our final beers. If the opportunity arose though, I'd do it all over again. :-)

Ode to Chicken

I've been in the cooking spirit lately, and lately, chicken sparks my fancy. Happy, hormone-less free range chickens of course. This week I tried them grilled, two different ways. First, I added the chicken breast to a bed of lemon parsley orzo I've been obsessing about lately. It's orzo cooked in chicken stock, then drained, and stirred with the juice of 1/2 a lemon, ~4 Tbsp of fresh chopped parsley, and ~3 Tbsp of Earth Balance (or whatever butter you prefer). I also steamed up some local green beans for the finishing touch. My plating technique could have been better (I'm just now realizing how hard Top Chef must be for the contestants; my knives would have been packed long ago), but overall it looked at least appetizing.Tonight's chicken dish was another I've been obsessing about; Pollo Con Rojo. I figured it's not that hard to make at home, so I gave it a shot. It turned out to be just a tad more laborious than I had anticipated. First I boiled some black beans (drained and rinsed) and chopped white onions in some chicken stock and enchilada sauce, and added a few seasonings like garlic powder, adobo seasoning, cayenne pepper, and salt. Once this boiled for about 15 minutes, I pureed the whole mix in the food processor and spread it out on the plate with a ladle. Then I made a quick salsa of cooked corn, tomatoes, red onion, lime juice, and cilantro. I plated the chicken on a bed of shredded lettuce (on top of the beans), added the salsa, sprinkled some avocado around the plate, and topped the whole thing with some tortilla strips. It was pretty darn delicious, although not quite like the original from Royal Oak Brewery. It still makes me happy!

Karma's a real B*tch

So....remember how I just bought that bar? And remember how I posted a silly little aside about Brad riddling me for buying it when my car is falling apart? Well picture this scene for a moment. I've had a long day at work. I decide to stop at Trader Joe's after work to pick up a few groceries to make dinner. I get the few essentials I need, plus a few surprising mini finds, like mint chip oreo mini ice cream sandwiches, and dark chocolate covered mini pretzel balls. I load all my goodies up into my car. I start it. Nothing. I wait 10 minutes. Still nothing. The poor old jaloppy turns over, but just won't start. I hear the heavens cursing me, and feel my anxiety level skyrocketing. (Some background information; my car has been doing this no start thing for probably the last 4 months. It hasn't been too major of a problem though, because it only happens about 30% of the time, and when it does, it usually just takes about 10 minutes of waiting, and then it starts fine). I wait about 50 minutes (my ice cream melting nicely on the seat next to me) when all is said and done for my car to finally start.

In the good news department, once I got my lousy POS Pontiac home, Brad discovered on the internets that I most likely have a faulty position crank sensor. The part itself is only about $50, and labor another $90. Since we know what the problem is, I also will probably not have to pay to have it diagnosed. Which is what I've been trying to avoid all along! I didn't want to pay to fix this car, when I knew I was going to buy a new car fairly soon. However, driving around totally vehicleless is mostly unacceptable, so at least this is a good interim solution until I discover just which new car suits me best, and we get our "economic stimulus" check. Thank you dear hubby for your work figuring this out. Sometimes I'd be lost in the sea without you. Or at least lost in a sea of tears and melted ice cream.

Hello Gorgeous

Sometimes being a grownup has it's perks. Like when you realize that you can finally buy things you've been coveting. I've had my eye on this Modine bar at Pottery Barn for a long time (maybe 3 years?). Yesterday, after the graduation party in Saginaw, Brad and I stopped at Birch Run so he could get some new golf shirts at Izod. I popped into the Pottery Barn outlet, just to browse around and see what was new. And what do I stumble upon, but the exact same coveted bar marked down well over 50%. It obviously was love at first sight, and after some convincing on Brad's part (seriously, you need a new car desperately, and you want to buy a bar right now? he says), we loaded it up and took it home. Here it sits in the living room, calling out to me to perfect my bartending skills. Drinks are on me kids, give me a call for an impromptu party anytime.P.S. I don't think the above post really has done justice to describe my excitement level about owning this bar. Literally, I've been grinning ear-to-ear nonstop since setting foot in the store and seeing it. Who doesn't love a good bargain on something they've been wanting for a long time?

Living la vida Local

I've made a few local dinners recently that I was pretty excited about; obviously sparked by my weekly trips with Stephanie to the farmer's market. One night I made a salad and "pretentious panini," finished off with a nice bottle of wine from Trader Joes (I wish I had a local wine on hand; note to self; buy plenty of Michigan wines while on wine tour in September). It's almost too pretty to eat (but don't worry, I did).The salad consisted of baby greens, grape tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, Michigan dried cherries, and a little seasoning salt and pepper (I don't really eat dressings). It probably could have used a few Zingerman croutons for crunch, but I was out, C'est la vie.Next was my pretentious panini. Have I mentioned that I'm in love with panini? I recently bought the Cuisinart Griddler (mostly for Brad - he's obsessed with hot sandwiches), and it's probably the best kitchen purchase I've made in a really long time. If you're a foodie like myself, do not delay. Go buy one immediately (and get a really sweet deal at Kohl's like I did: only $89 and free shipping!) Why pretentious you might ask? Well that's just my term for "fancy" grilled cheese. You know how in most restaurants these days, they have a Three Cheese Grill or some other crazy combination of things stuffed into bread? But when it comes down to it, it's still just grilled cheese? Anyway, mine consisted of pesto spread on Zingerman's rustic italian, then layered with market tomatoes and fresh Zingerman's creamery mozarella. It really is divine.Finally, I made a quick pasta salad last night that tasted much better than I'd expected. I mixed up some small cooked pasta shells, local shelled peas (raw), more pickling cucumber and grape tomatoes, a few small chunks of Monterrey jack cheese, a light Italian vinaigrette, and then spread the whole thing in a bowl lined with local greens. The raw peas really added an unexpected sweetness and crunch.Eating local can seem scary at first (why did I buy shell peas and what am I going to do with them? I hate shell peas!), but once you start throwing things together, it's amazing what the end result can be (not that I haven't had my own share of food failures too). Get out there and get cooking people; it's so much better for you than processed food.

We have shelfage!

Just a quick post to let you know about another project I finally completed; the cookbook shelves! Here they are in all their wondrous glory. Now I just have to get on that whole painting the kitchen wagon. Ugh, and get rid of those heinous curtains.

In a world gone Biggie-sized, I prefer mini

Some of you may be wondering, based on the seeming lack of all things miniature on this blog, why in the heck I titled it Miniature Things. Well wonder no longer my friends, I'm about to fill you in. You see, I have a fixation with all things small. I don't know if it comes from a childhood longing I never got fulfilled, from a budding interest in trying to reduce the amount of "stuff" I have, or just some off-the-wall obsession. Trial sized bottles and goods, small soaps, miniature versions of candy and liquor, pretty much anything "little and cute;" I can't seem to get enough. Many of my friends know this, and some even give in to my obsession. I've been on the receiving end of dinners made of mini cheeseburgers, a picnic basket full of pint-sized goodies and wine, mini markers in my Christmas stocking, and probably too many other things to list. I also seem to be pretty good at seeking out and purchasing mini things myself. It's one of my favorite things to do.

So this week, I found a new small thing: kid size ice cream cones. Naturally upon seeing them at Kroger, they had to be immediately purchased (yes, before you ask, I AM a marketer's dream). I brought them home, and filled one with a bit of mint chip. Oh how my kid-sized heart soared! Here's a picture of my cone next to a teaspoon for perspective, and then another picture of me with my cat Pepperoni and my mini dessert.


While for some people this small version of food leaves you wanting more (Brad often asks "where's the rest?") , I find the exact opposite effect. I am much more satisfied with a small version of something I really want to eat knowing that I won't completely loose track of my healthy living and eating goals while I'm doing it. Plus there is the whole "but look how cute it is, I have to have it" aspect. Anyway, that's a little bit of something that makes me "me," so there you go. Next time you're out and about, and run across something miniature, be sure to let me know!

Fleur-de-lis

I bought myself some flowers, and they make me :-D!