Scratching the 7 Year Itch

Due to my lack of blogging, I’m going back a little.  This may be a common occurrence for the next few blogs. Again, my apologies.

 

A little more than 7 years ago, I was fortunate enough to marry my beautiful wife.   Since that day, we moved once, added a little boy to our family, had some great dogs come and go and replaced them with two dogs that the jury is still out on. I love her very dearly and couldn't imagine anyone else I would have rather spent the past 7 years with.

Now, onto the good stuff... This year was a nice change of pace with Michelle planning out our anniversary celebration. Let me say that she hit this out of the ball park. Thanks again Michelle for such a great evening out.  The evening started off with us checking in at the Westin Hotel in Plano .  It was a nice hotel with a nice bar area, good sized rooms, and a really comfortable bed.  After getting checked in, I was informed that we had massages scheduled.

 

View from the room.

The Lovely Mrs.

We started it off with a nice couple’s massage at the Stonebriar Spa.  Now, I’m not much for massages but it was an anniversary celebration and last time I checked, she was part of this too so I’m really glad she set this up.  The Spa was really nice, there was a relaxation area, the bathrooms were really nice and the toilet even bubbled. I don’t know why it would but it just did.

 

Let the pampering begin

Kicking up my feet.

View's not bad here either.

 The massage was really relaxing and comforting and a nice way to kick off the evening.

 

The next stop was at Jasper’s in Plano .  It’s gourmet backyard grill food. The service there was pretty slow and inattentive but the food more than made up for it. I had their famous ribs which were voted top three in the nation according to Gourmet Magazine.  Michelle surprisingly got the grilled pork tenderloin. Surprising because she doesn’t really like pork, even more surprising was the fact she ate most of her plate. She did leave me a couple of pieces to enjoy. Like I said, she is a great wife.

 

Little aperitif

Mound of ribs and creamy potatoes

Grilled pork tenderloin with corn

 After our meal, we went to the Angelika to enjoy a movie. She even made sure she timed it just right so we had a movie to watch without waiting. What a planner. We watched Margin Call which was a movie about the Stock Market and all the mess that with the housing bundles and corruption that went on that helped tank our economy.

 

After the movie, we ventured back to the hotel and went to the bar where we chatted like old couples do while being disturbed by a guy well in his forties screaming at the top of his lungs rooting for his Oregon Football team.  Some guys never grow up really and some guys are just jerks, this guy was a combination of both. It was one of the most annoying things ever seeing as how most people were there to enjoy a quiet evening at a hotel bar. What’s even more annoying was that he was screaming at his team even though they were up by 20 points with not much time to go. I was thinking either he drank way too much or needed to drink more. 

 

We did enjoy a really good molten chocolate cake and some glasses of wine there while chatting about the wedding crowd that walked the hallways.  After a while we got up and walked around ourselves. We saw the wedding party leaving.  Instead of rice, this wedding had sparklers which was a really nice change of pace as long as no one got set on fire (no one did fortunately).  We even went to the reception room hoping to grab a slice of cake. No cake to be found but the wedding looked like it would have been fun to go to. Lots of pretty flowers, nice arrangements, and just the right mix of fun people and booze seeing how some of the guests were stumbling about.

Talk about a nightcap. 

 

 

That’s where this story ends. The rest of the evening isn’t for the young kids.  I hope you enjoyed reading about things as much as I enjoyed living them.  Till next time, hang loose.

 

Thanksgiving and Life's Other Joys

I know it's been a long time since I have written anything. There has been so much that has gone on. So much to write about. So much to say. Too much in fact that it has rendered me speechless. I guess it's about time I said something though so here goes.

Thanksgiving. For this food lover and food lovers world round, this is the greatest holiday ever created. Outside the commercialization on Black Friday afterwards, this is probably the purest of holidays to me. Not much decorating, no present giving, no candy or costumes, no cupids or sandy hearts, it is just food, family and festivities. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Growing up in a Vietnamese household, we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving the traditional way, or in any way really.  Shoot, we never celebrated holidays at all for that matter outside a Christmas here and there, maybe a Halloween once or twice but in general, holidays were merely any other passing day for us.

This started changing the older I got.  I started going to friends houses and celebrating Christmas' and other holidays with them.  Getting made to feel a part of their family and sampling their traditions.  Thanksgiving was the holiday that always stood out to me. Maybe it was the camaraderie of family members gathered around the table, or the gluttonous eating on display, or how each person had a favorite dish on the table, or maybe it was just the fact that everyone always seemed to want to be there for nothing but the spirit of the day.  Whatever it was, it sure was something that I was glad to be a part of. 

Sadly, this year however was a little different than what I have grown accustomed to. We had very recently lost my dear father-in-law and friend. As a result, my wife and her family just didn't seem in the mood for a formal dinner at home since this was something that he always enjoyed having.  There was a weight on the holiday this year and it just didn't seem the same joyous time as it used to be. Her family decided we would all just go out to eat this year so we made reservations at Mignon in Plano.

The food was pretty good. They didn't try to upscale a traditional turkey dinner like some places I know. They served food buffet style (my favorite style for anything) and everything was done well.  The turkey had a good flavor and moistness to it, the potatoes were rocking, the stuffing was a mushroom stuffing and a little bit of a miss but the pecan pie more than made up for it. 

This is the only real pic I have of the food.

Turkey, Ham, and Salmon? Why not.

 This year, family was way more important.

Took this one much to the shock of all involved. My sister in-law-in law was trying to get out of the way but I'm that fast.

My wife's lovely mom and step-dad who were most generous taking us all out to eat. 

That evening, we even went to my parents to partake in my mom's um... Thanksgiving day meal of hot pot? 

And she even went all out with the beef heart, mussels, Asian fried goodies, shrimp, and squid.

Obviously I'm still at the kiddie table since my dad and his buddies were out there eating and watching the game...

I was a little bummed about not having leftovers to eat since we went to a restaurant but no fear, my dear friend Jill saved the day. 

So much goodness on a plate.

I can't believe I ate the whole thing either.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, got home safely from the shopping of Black Friday, and have as much as I do to be thankful for.  This year was different but still good.  I guess in the end, I still ended up with the same result, a full belly, time spent with family, and even a Cowboys win for icing on the cake.  I guess it would have been so much better this year if I just had one more guest at the table. Maybe one more plate to serve.  I miss you David, wish you were here because the pie was pretty good this year man. I'm sure you would have approved.

Bringing the Brussels

In keeping with my viewer’s requests, I am going to share a recipe. This is how I cook Brussels sprouts. This is one of the easiest side dishes to make. It takes less then 10 minutes to make from start to finish and is mighty healthy. I hope everyone tries it at least once and lets me know how they like it.

What is needed:

Couple dozen Brussels sprouts washed and sliced in half

¼ of an onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 tbsp of aged balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp of olive oil

Salt and pepper

Take a large pan or wok in my case and place it on the stove at medium heat with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in it. Once the oil is hot, place each spout cut side down and cover to steam. (About 5 minutes or so)

Cook until the cut sides turn a light golden brown.

Once brown, toss in onions, garlic, salt pepperm vinegar and the third tablespoon of oil and toss and cover for 3 more minutes.

I usually serve it right away. It goes great with just about anything. I hope you enjoy.

Rick's Chop House Review

I normally don't like to do food reviews but since there was a request for one, here it goes. I'll soon have a couple of trips posted too. It's been a busy and trying time for the family but life goes on.

Good fried chicken is like hanging out with your best friend. It’s something you find comfort in, enjoy while you are doing it, and on the grand night, something you feel a little guilty for having done. Enter Rick’s chop house. I know, I know, it’s a steak place hence the chop house name but even my stomach lost the argument when it comes to spending $38 for the ribeye at lunch. This was our first time to go to this restaurant even though it’s been on my to do list for about 2 or 3 years now. It is a quaint restaurant with a really friendly waitstaff. 

As we were seated, the waitress noticed my wife’s black pants and told us she will be back with black napkins. I’m sure glad my wife understood what she meant because I was at a loss. It’s obviously a female thing since she said something about how white napkins might leave stuff behind on your black pants and such. I normally just tuck my napkin under my chin man bib-style so I usually don’t have that sort of concern.

We asked the lovely waitress what she recommended and she said she liked the chicken fried chicken.  That’s what my wife ended up getting and I decided to try the buttermilk fried chicken.

While we waited, the waitress brought me out a warm towel with a lemon on top to wipe my fingers after I ate the chicken. I guess licking my fingers was out of the question?

Maybe a little too nice for this guy.

I thought this was a nice touch with the mini tabasco bottles.

The food soon arrived and looked great.

My meal consisted of a nice sized chicken breast and a drumstick. I am real leery of ever getting chicken breast when it comes to my fried chicken since many establishments cook the breast until they are as moist as cardboard. This breast though was plenty juicy and tasty. The buttermilk flavor wasn’t very noticeable but the moisture was. The crust on the chicken was light and had a nice balanced blend of spices but could have used just a tad more salt.  I usually expect buttermilk chicken to have a hardier crust on it which I do prefer but this was a really well executed dish. The red mashed potatoes that came with with the meal were just lumpy enough to be what I considered rustic styled.  The larger chunks of bacon that were laced throughout the potatoes added a nice chewy contrast and great bacon flavor to the potatoes.  The Creole creamed corn was good, well seasoned and buttery. I would have liked something a little lighter on my plate since the chicken and potatoes were so heavy but the creamed corn was pretty good.

As advertised: Pan Fried, Sour Cream and Bacon Smashed Redskin Potatoes, Creole Creamed Corn, Black Pepper Pan Gravy

My wife’s chicken fried chicken was tasty. It was cooked perfectly with a nice moistness on the inside but a slightly crispy and more importantly non-greasy crust. The strangly orange chipotle gravy was light and had a nice flavor. I would have enjoyed it more if it was a tad spicier but my wife thought it was seasoned well enough. The green bean side dish was good. They didn’t over cook the green beans which is something I am very happy about. The green was still very green on the beans and they still had plenty of crunch to them. My only real complaint was the overwhelming garlic flavor to them. I like garlic quite a bit but when matched with the green beans it left a raw garlicky aftertaste that I was taken back by. All in all, it was a nice well done dish with descent portions.

As advertised: Pan Fried Crispy Chicken Breast, Sour Cream and Bacon Smashed Redskin Potatoes, Roasted Poblano Chorizo, Corn Gravy, Garlic Green Beans

We decided to really punish ourselves with some much heralded pecan pie.  This was a really good borderline great pecan pie. If you just want that nice dark caramelized sugar and pecan taste but aren’t that fond of crust, this is your pie.  Large roughly chopped pecans, butter, and sugar must have really been the only things that went into this pie which is made fresh daily according to our waitress.

All in all I give this place a solid 4 out of 5. The service was top notch and the food was very well prepared and executed. I wouldn’t hesitate to come back to this place for another meal, maybe even for dinner. As far as fried chicken goes though, this one isn’t as good as a best friend, maybe just a close friend that you hang out with only when everyone else is busy. 

The Weekend Trip

Taking a quick, easy weekend trip just isn’t as easy as it used to be. Back in my time, my packing for a weekend camping trip consisted of packing two pairs of swim trunks, two cases of beers, and a few packs of hot dogs. We weren’t much for thinking ahead back then. No buns, no water, no extra shirts or sunscreen… thank goodness some of our more intelligent friends came better equipped.

Nowadays taking a quick weekend trip includes, making arrangements for the 8 year old to stay at her cousins, check. Making arrangements for the 4 year old to have a two night sleepover at his friend’s house, check. Asking the neighbor’s son to feed and mind the dogs while we are away, check. After all that and packing my medicine cabinet for my myriad of aches and ails, clothes for any imaginable occasion, and snacks for the car since you can no longer go more than 2 hours without having a meal, we were finally ready to go on our weekend trip to the company lodge.

This is the very first trip we have taken since we had the 4 year old that was for more than one night. I was a little excited and so was my wife. Of course I was excited for the food, booze, and games (not necessarily in that order either) and she was looking forward to reading her book (I don’t know why we get along either).

So off we go…

As you can tell, we are in dire need of alone time.

After only 2 hours into the road trip, one of us needed to use the lavatory, (something else that old age brings you) so pulled over into the small town of Caddo. While there I got to talking to the police officer about the BBQ sign I saw on my way in and asked him if it was pretty good or not. He told me he spends ½ his paycheck there so he thinks it was well worth the stop for us. Taking his advice I headed down the road to the stop sign and came up upon this.

We went in and talked to the ladies running the show there and asked them what was the best cut of ‘que but they weren’t in agreement: one said the brisket; the other said pulled pork so I told them I wanted one of each so I could judge for myself.



Ladies running the show...



Pulled Pork

Sliced Brisket

The verdict is for the pork. The brisket was delicious for sure but pretty fatty. The pulled pork was just spot on. Their bun was extremely well toasted and made the sandwich just awesome.

After that, we drove off to the lodge where we were greeted by my boss and coworkers and their significant others. This wasn’t my first time at the lodge but this was the smallest group I have had the privilege of being there with.



Bossman in the middle.



The food when we got there was more BBQ. Here’s a nice stack ole ribs and some of the fixings. Not bad at all. After some ribs, we played some games and hung out with the crew.



Ribs and the non-rib stuff

I tried but couldn't even dent this mound.



Michelle and I called dibs on the cabin they had there. What a treat the turned out to be.

Porch

The innards.

The bedroom.

The next morning I joined the rest of the people and enjoyed a wonderfully prepared breakfast and even jerked some fish afterwards.

Tram down to boat dock

It's pretty steep

The rainbow told me I was meant to be there

Fish weren't all that big though

We played more games.

Didn't have any of us actually on the court. Trust me though, it wasn't pretty.

Then we headed into the little town of Tahlequah. After walking around a little bit it was time to eat of course. This was a tough choice for sure. We could go have sandwiches, pies, and chili at this establishment.

Was mighty tempting...

Or have some pizza and stuff at this one.



We chose the pizza place.



It looks wicked good. Taste was only a solid B.

I guess the chicken motif won me over. We ate the spinach calzone they had and chased it with a ranch chicken pizza. Not too bad but I think I might have missed out on some really good chili dogs. We may never know…

After stuffing ourselves with food, we figured we might try to stuff our wallets at the slots. Too bad the casino had other ideas and we walked out $16 lighter. I know, I know, we are big time gamblers indeed. 

She's lucky she's pretty because she's definitely not lucky at the slots.

After the casino, we played some tennis and pickleball.

Then back to the drinking.

Should be a Coke commercial but the whiskey in it was the star.

Then we started cooking dinner for the crew.

Grilled bacon wrapped pineapple (no pics of this were available since they were gone that quick. I got one small bite... bunch of jackals.) 

Grilled pineapple and shrimp

We also grilled 17 fillets.

Sauteed mushrooms and some brandy peppercorn gravy for the steaks.

The women food.

Time to eat.

Camera was too late, the destruction already started.

Happy customers, I hope.

After all of that, we stayed up and played Mexican Dominoes. The next morning started off with a slice of apple pie and this delicious leftover fillet sammich. Pretty close to being heaven I think.

True breakfast of champions.

We headed on home and I guess my dear wife didn’t think she had enough artery clogging fare for the trip so we stopped at the famed Taco Casa and loaded up on some food…

Mouthwatering huh?

And grease…

It was almost too much grease... almost...

We picked up the kids whom it seemed neither of which missed us in the slightest. My daughter was too busy playing with my nieces to even really want to come home and my son, well he had a blast with Jill and the gang. I think she spoiled him rotten.

I ended the weekend watching the Cowboys comeback and win and the Eagles getting beaten. Life is pretty good right now.