Category: Restaurants

Not by Bread Alone

Decadent describes my husband’s first pecan pie.  See for yourself.  You’ll have to take my word on the richness of the flavor though:

Chocolate Pecan Pie
Chocolate Pecan Pie

Terry didn’t provide me with a link to the recipe.  When/if he does, I’ll update this post.

I thought to try a new Italian bread recipe, just for the chance to bake with my Italian bread pan.

I made a mistake, however, in reading the ingredients and used two tablespoons of sugar instead of just two teaspoons.  I may have to try again today. My other modifications to the recipe are listed below in bold:

Dough

  • 4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (Kroger’s Organic All-Purpose Flour)
  • 2 tablespoons potato flour, or 1/4 cup dried potato flakes
  • 1/4 cup Baker’s Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar (my mistake … I used 2 Tablespoons)
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water (1 cup only; I also used 1/2 cup sourdough starter)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

Topping

  • 1 egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon water; or substitute Quick Shine
  • sesame seeds

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, stir together all of the dough ingredients till cohesive. Knead the dough for 5 to 8 minutes, until it’s smooth and supple, adding more water or flour as needed.  I used my Kitchenaid mixer with a dough hook.  I let the water, sugar and yeast proof for 5-10 minutes in the bowl while I measured out the other ingredients.
  2. Cover the dough and allow it to rise for 1 hour, or until it’s doubled in bulk.  I let it rise for about 90 minutes (mostly because I was preoccupied watching a movie).
  3. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface and divide it into two pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth 16″ log. Place the logs into the two wells of a lightly greased Italian bread pan, cover, and let the loaves rise until very puffy, about 1 hour.  I love my Italian bread pan (see photo above).
  4. Brush the loaves with the egg wash (or spray them with Quick Shine), then sprinkle heavily with sesame seeds. Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for about 25 minutes, until the loaves are golden brown. For the crispiest crust, turn off the oven, prop the door open, and allow the bread to cool in the oven.  I brushed with an egg-white wash and sprinkled liberally with sesame seeds.  I also scored each loaf three times with my razor-sharp lame.  Again, I misread the directions and baked at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.  I spritzed the oven every five minutes with water from a spray bottle to encourage a crispy crust.  I also let the loaves cool in the oven.

We enjoyed some home-made baked Italian sandwiches courtesy Terry’s early life experiences working for his father at the Grinder Man in Wichita, Kansas.  Terry’s dad conceived, owned and operated several Grinder Man sandwich shops in Wichita during the 70s and 80s.  Sadly, only one remains open now.

Silver Valentines

My husband’s Valentine’s card to me (courtesy of Hallmark) brought tears to my eyes and warmth to my heart.  The printed saying touched me,  but his handwritten note sent me soaring:

Maybe someday I’ll find the perfect words to tell ou how much you mean to me … I know I’d like to spend forever trying

I mean this from the bottom of my heart.  I would love to spend another twenty-five years with you.

Love, Terry

My card pales in comparison, talking about being empty nesters and finally reaching the ‘someday’ dreams we’d had on hold for so long.  And the scarf I’m crocheting is but half finished.

I did at least have my hair done, bought a couple new shirts and a new pair of pumps for our date Saturday night.  Even though the wait at Red Lobster on Barry Road approached an hour, we had a wonderful dining experience, trying a couple of flavorful appetizers (the bruschetta was outstanding as well as the pan-seared crab cakes).  We split the Admiral’s Feast because we each like half of the offerings (Terry loves clams and shrimp, and I love scallops and flounder).  For dessert, I got the decadent Chocolate Wave (a four-layer chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream) and Terry took home a strawberry cheesecake.

Speaking of cheesecake, I made my first one today.  Not being a fan of cheese (just ask anyone in my family … I despise cheese), but knowing that Terry loves that particular dessert, I bought a no-bake cherry cheesecake mix to attempt.  Three easy steps later, and several hours in the refrigerator, I hope the cheesecake is delicious for him.

I took a few more sunrise photos this weekend, but I’m still disappointed in my efforts.  I’ve done some search, found a few good blog postings about digital photography with some great tips on dealing with the unique challenges of the digital medium.  I hope next weekend’s efforts will bear better fruit.  Here’s one of the better shots from this morning’s sunrise:

Sunday Sunrise with Contrails
Sunday Sunrise with Contrails

And so ends one of our 25th Valentines weekends.  Since I met Terry in 1983, and we got back together in 1985, there is no ‘hard and fast’ 25th for Valentine’s Day.  There is, however, a rock solid date for our 25th wedding anniversary, which occurs in less than three months, on May Day, Sunday May 1st, 2011.  We are still deciding where to go for that auspicious occasion.  We visited the Peppercorn Duck Club on our 15th and the Savoy Grill (if I remember correctly) on our 20th.   Last year we enjoyed Avalon in Weston, and would like to return there as well.  I thought of returning to the Peppercorn, but we still have time to decide.  Anyone have any other suggestions?

Restaurant Review: Blue Pig BBQ (Ardmore, Oklahoma)

On our return trip from Texas, Saturday, 22 January 2011, Terry and I passed through Ardmore, Oklahoma just in time for lunch.  After cruising through the main drags of the city, we ended up back at the first exit from I-35 and decided to try the Blue Pig BBQ establishment.

Blue Pig BBQ in Ardmore, OK
Blue Pig BBQ in Ardmore, OK

The advertised special for Saturdays included catfish, something I hadn’t eaten since an after work dinner gathering at Jazz at the Legends with my former carpool buddy a few months ago.   When I asked our waitress about the special, she reluctantly informed me they were already out of catfish (and it wasn’t even noon yet!).

So, I scrambled to select my second choice, and settled on a hot link sandwich and sweet baked beans.  Terry asked the waitress which she preferred, the pulled pork of the chopped brisket.  She indicated the latter.  Terry ordered the chopped brisket and sweet baked beans.  We also ordered onion rings as an appetizer.

Our appetizer arrived promptly and we enjoyed the treat, soon followed by our sandwiches and sides.  My hotlink was a garden variety offering on a plain white hamburger bun.  Being a bread fanatic, I just shake my head at why barbecue places don’t offer better bread.  Another oddity, instead of plates (paper, styrofoam or otherwise), our food was served on a paper lined serving tray.  A bit of an ‘ich’ factor for me, but I survived.

While I wasn’t overwhelmed by my hotlink sandwich, the beans proved above average (slightly below Famous Dave’s Wilbur beans and even farther below Jack Stack’s beans which are the apex of baked bean heaven).

An interesting short lunch (we were completely stuffed and ready to hit the road in about thirty minutes) but not a repeat stop for us on our next trip to Texas.

Post-Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

Before falling asleep Thanksgiving evening, I remembered to turn off my weekday alarm on my cell phone.  When Terry and I finally woke up, we discovered a house transformed (see photo to the left).  Being gracious guests, we refrained from comment and chortles.

Rachelle cooked her dad an egg-white, ham and cheese omelet and I sampled her beer biscuits.  Derek and Royna fell asleep on the couch so they woke up after we ate and came along with us for a short ‘painless’ shopping spree on ‘Black Friday.’

Our first store was Rachelle’s old employer, Ross, where I found a new purse and wallet, an electric razor for Terry and some reasonably priced extra virgin olive oil for Rachelle.  I had a thirty percent off in store coupon for Barnes & Noble, so we trekked all the way across the Golden Triangle Mall.  Unfortunately, I didn’t find the appropriate gift I wanted to use the coupon for, but I did spy a newer version of the Lightwedge that’s now rechargeable and thinner and lighter.  Oh, well.

Next, we stopped at Hobby Lobby pricing small air compressors for Derek (a requested Chrismtas gift wish list item).  The prices were mind boggling, so that item will be bought online.  Rachelle prowled around for fabric paints and aprons for a Christmas gift idea.  She was disappointed in the selection and variety of fabric paints so we eventually made it to Michaels near Bed, Bath and Beyond, where Terry and I found our next hopefully dog-proof stainless steel trash can (no, we didn’t buy it and haul it back here to Kansas from Texas; we’ll buy it at our own local BB&B).

By then, the morning had melted away so we stopped at Paulio’s Pizza Cafe for lunch.  We ordered the King and Hawaiian Sunrise (my favorite pizza bar none!).   After lunch, we returned to Kent’s ‘Redskins Christmas Extravaganza’ where he and his significant other spent the rest of the daylight putting up the exterior decorations.  After Nic returned from work (and Derek and Royna returned to Plano), all four of us (Terry, Nic, Rachelle and I) spent the evening wasting time playing Peggle on the Xbox 360 in the spare bedroom.  Rachelle and Nic left ‘early’ to create spring rolls for tailgating on Saturday but Terry and I toughed it out and made it to the credits by 1:00 a.m.

After a quick and meager breakfast of English muffins and almost oversleeping (one o’clock in the morning is way way way past my bedtime), we joined Kent and several others for tailgating on the University of North Texas campus in a parking lot near Fouts Field stadium.  This football game was the last ever to be played in the old stadium since the new stadium on the other (south) side of I-35 will open next spring.

Can you guess who was invited to play against the UNT ‘Mean Green’ Eagles?  Oh, the irony!  The Kansas State Wildcats!  Quite funny, if you think about it.  Here’s our daughter, sporting her green UNT T-shirt (the girl on the left with short blond hair and white framed sunglasses) prior to the flood of purple pouring down from the north.  You couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day for an outdoor party and a final college football game for UNT, providing a great game but ultimately a victory for the Wildcats.

We returned to the house, Terry took a nap, and I read a book while everyone else watched several college football games (sometimes simultaneously) on Kent’s amazing LED HD 3D television.

Sunday morning, Terry and I quickly packed the Bonneville and headed north, pushed relentlessly home by another stiff wind.  Our gas mileage on the routine trip was nothing short of miraculous.  We stopped in Wichita for a couple of hours to visited some old friends but still made it home before seven o’clock.

Monday I relaxed and recovered from all the driving and almost finished the latest Wheel of Time novel published last month.  I’m within one hundred pages of finishing The Towers of Midnight.   Terry and I went to pickup the Rotts from the kennel around noon, but the groomer hadn’t given them a bath yet, so we went back at two o’clock for some squeaky clean excited Rottweilers.

What a great time we all had, including Roxy and Apollo.  Just wish there had been more time to spend with everyone.

Restaurant Review: Macaroni Grill

I treated myself to lunch at the Macaroni Grill Friday.  The pleasant atmosphere and strains of jazz standards created a relaxing ambiance.   I selected the Scallops and Spinach salad from the lunch menu, one of a dozen or so items containing less than six hundred callories.  Seared and succulent scallops perfectly complemented the wilted spinach tossed with aged prosciutto, roasted garlic, lemon and extra virgin olive oil.  I prefer my spinach crisp and cool, but the flavorful combination satisfied my lunch palette.

Before my salad, my server brought a large (well, large for one person) warm loaf of bread and provided extra virgin olive oil and fresh ground black pepper.  Never one to turn down bread, I ate every last crumb.

My husband and I will have to try this establishment for dinner some time, although it’s a bit far from home for our usual date nights.

Restaurant Review: Paulo and Bill

Five days later, but still a fond memory.  Last Saturday evening, I took my hubby, Terry, out for a light dinner on the eve of his birthday.  Again, we’d recently watched an episode of KCPT‘s Check Please! that featured the Paulo and Bill restaurant on Midland Drive out west near I-435.  I called ahead, since it was a Saturday evening and anticipated a large crowd.  They accepted reservations, so I reserved a table for two at 6:30 pm.

We arrived early but glad to have called ahead as the only parking spots available were for handicap access (which Terry has temporarily until his back recovers more).  We were seated almost immediately once we identified ourselves.  Our server was gracious and knowledgeable of the specials and the menu. 

For an appetizer, we tried the Garlic Bread Bruschetta that came with various toppings like goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes (roasted in balsamic vinaigrette), caramelized onions and roasted red peppers.  Beautifully presented and delicious to devour. 

While the specials sounded wonderful, we wanted some lighter fare so ordered Pizza Classica version of their Wood Fired Stone Oven Pizza with a couple of caesar side salads.   The greens were fresh and crisp and the pizza flavorful. 

We promised the server we would return, on a less busy evening for both us and the restaurant, to sample more of their appetizers, entrees and desserts.   We enjoyed the night out and another great restaurant suggestion by Check Please!

Restaurant Review: Smokin’ Guns BBQ

After Terry’s appointment at St. Luke’s Hospital, he spent an hour or so in my office while I wrapped work up.  We debated the merits of a couple of barbecue places he wanted to try on the way home from the Country Club Plaza.  If I’d known how much ‘fun’ it was going to be getting home from North Kansas City, Missouri (to Lansing, Kansas), I might have voiced a louder opinion about his other suggestion.

Taking the scenic construction route east from the Plaza Library along Volker to US-71 North, and a second more leisurely scenic byway through the construction zone along the I-29/I-35 bridge across the Missouri River, we found ourselves exiting onto Bedford Avenue which deposited us in a railroad track infested industrial area.  We gingerly navigated the railroad crossings and arrived to front row street parking before the Smokin’ Guns BBQ establishment.

Terry ordered the burnt ends platter (reasonably priced at just a bit over ten bucks) and I wanted to order a quarter of chicken, but was informed they were out of chicken for today.  So, I had to quickly review the menu and settle for a regular sized turkey sandwich with a side of green beans.  Terry’s sides included baked beans and potato salad.

We seated our selves in the very clean but still slightly small eating area with the cliche’d red and white checked plastic table clothes.  We were served within a couple of minutes of getting our drinks.  My turkey was flavorful and moist.  The green beans disappointingly bland but very hot (temperature wise, not spice-wise).  They could have used some pepper and some ham or bacon as the white onions were more garnishment than flavor.

I tried a bit of Terry’s burnt ends and found them acceptable but not as sweet as I had expected.  The baked beans had a slightly smokey flavor, but nothing that exploded or excited my taste buds.  I’ll pass on the potato salad as I’m not sure it was made in house.

Neither one of us could finish our portions (nothing unusual there, I’m on a diet and Terry’s medicines often cause his digestive system to suffer).  Our return trip was an adventure, since Smokin’ Guns was located in a ‘peninsula’ of the Missouri River (almost surrounded on three sides by the river) and I needed to go almost due west to get to Lansing, which is impossible if you look at a map and where the roads lead from that area.

So we took another scenic route north using 9 highway up through Parkville.  I only made one wrong turn (left on Main Street in Parkville) and dead-ended to a railroad crossing (with a train racing me to the road) near the Farmer’s Market pavilion.  I turned around and headed up the hill on Main Street, eventually reuniting with 9 highway, which I somehow left in one of the construction zones.

From there, it was a quick jaunt through more police directed traffic constructions zone on 45 highway west.  We finally spied I-435 and zipped back over the Missouri River to the Land of Ahs (aka Kansas) and enjoyed K-5, the sunset and the autumn foliage.  I retrieved the Firebird from the Hallmark parking lot and still managed to make it back home as Terry was pulling into the garage.

Construction zone headaches aside, Smokin’ Guns BBQ will not be on our return list in the near future.  It’s Kansas City … so many barbecue joints, so little time.

Restaurant Review: Nick & Jakes (Parkville)

It’s Friday night and the typical ping-pong Q&A you expect from a 20 plus year married couple trying to decide where to eat out.  I routinely attempt to defer to Terry, since his stomach and diet limit our choices some evenings.  He was craving a steak and none of the local Leavenworth haunts sounded appealing.  Nor did anything at the Legends, which on a Friday night at six o’clock is a frightening experience, especially when looking for a parking spot.

Terry and I occasionally watch KCPT‘s Check Please and recently watched the episode featuring Nick & Jakes in Parkville.   We jumped in the car, and enjoyed a sunset drive down K-5, I-435 and MO-45 in the Bonneville, which has new quieter and grippier tires and full synthetic motor oil (again thanks to Terry who took care of all that car maintenance earlier in the week).  Once we arrived, we easily found a nearly front-row parking spot.  The wait, however, we were informed was at least forty minutes and they were out of pagers.  We weren’t in any hurry (knowing that Friday nights can be crowded) so we stood in the foyer.  Within five minutes, we had a pager, and we were seated in less than twenty minutes.

Our waitress greeted us and asked if we’d every been to Nick & Jake’s before.  We hadn’t, so she cheerfully informed us of the amenities and specials available for dinner that evening.  I chose one of the specials, a grilled king salmon with a walnut crunch topping and bourbon maple drizzle, with grilled asparagus and a salted baked potato (as opposed to the steamed potato most often served in restaurants).  I substituted the potato in for the sweet potato and apple casserole, as I don’t like either sweet potatoes nor baked apples.   Terry ordered the sixteen ounce rib-eye steak  (medium rare) , also with a salted baked potato.  For an appetizer, we ordered the Irish nachos.

Terry enjoyed the appetizer, which was comprised of thinly sliced potatoes (fried like slithly thick potato chips the size of a potato), smother in jack and cheddar cheese (melted) and bacon with a ranch dipping sauce.  I tried a few of the chips with the least cheese (if you know me at all, you know I don’t voluntarily eat most dairy products, especially cheese).  We took half the appetizer home with us, as we didn’t want to spoil our appetites for the main course.

I asked for (and received) margarine with my baked potato (harder to come by than you might think) .  Yes, more of that dairy aversion syndrome I suffer from.  Our main dishes arrived in a timely manner and were presented pleasantly and appealingly on the square white plate.

My first bite of salmon amazed me.  Quite possibly the best salmon I have ever eaten.  Simply astounding.  The asparagus was crisp and flavorful, although slightly larger than I normally prefer to eat it; still excellently prepared and presented.  I saved the potato for last, making sure I savored all the salmon and asparagus before dabbling in starch.  Terry was proud of me for ignoring

Terry proclaimed the rib-eye the best prepared and tenderest steak he’d ever eaten.  I had a couple of bits of the steak and it was delectable.

One final serendipitous perk awaited us, when the waitress informed us desert was on the house for first time guests.  Although I desparately wanted to try the chocolate cake, I deferred to Terry’s preference of carrot cake, which we took home to try later.   Each of us tasted a bite when we arrived safely home.

We will definitely be returning to Nick & Jakes in the future, perhaps to try their Sunday brunch (next weekend – Sunday – is Terry’s birthday so be sure to wish him well!).

To ensure Terry took his after dinner nap (aka a food coma), I stacked some wood in the fireplace and lit the first fire of Fall 2010 in the Moss residence corner fireplace.