Holiday Traditions: Part two

This year has been a busy year for my immediate family. We had a hard time nailing down a date that worked for everyone’s schedule, so unfortunetaly we didn’t see a play this year, but we still got dressed up and had a fancy dinner.

The night started out with my parents, my sister Katy and her husband Joe and my sister Krystina and her boyfriend Tom coming to Steve and I’s house for some drinks. We chatted and shared a few bottles of wine for about an hour. Then off to dinner we went.

This year everyone agreed that we should switch up the dinner location. We settled on Erte. Steve and I went there a few years ago for my birthday and have been recommending it to everyone since.

Erte is located in Northeast Minneapolis in the heart of The Historic Arts District. The last time Steve and I were at Erte we learned that the building use to be a funeral home, then turned into a dance studio, and is now a restaurant. On Sunday night, the whole family learned what Erte means. Erte was a pseudonym name for a famous Russian- born French artist named Romain de Tirtoff. The previous owners loved collecting his art, so they named their restaurant Erte and display his art work. If you look around the dining hall you will see some of the magnificent art work. The Peacock Lounge is attached, which was named when the current owners bought the establishment. Make sure you move over there for an after dinner drink.

Here is my family!

 

My parents (Bob and Laurie)

My sister Katy and her husband Joe

Katy and our dad

My sister Krystina and her boyfriend Tom

Krissy being Krissy

The men and my mom

Steve and I

The family, minus me

The whole family

Now for the food!

*Both the appetizers and desserts were shared among everyone*

Appetizer 1: variety of meat, cheese and bread

Appetizer 2: Bacon wrapped shrimp

Appetizer 3: chicken satay

Appetizer 4: Jumbo crab cakes

My dinner- Crispy duck confit

Dessert 1: Creme Brulee

Dessert 2: Holiday Cake

Dessert 3: Kahlua Cheesecake

Dessert 4: Keylime pie

we brought 2 magnums and for a small corking fee we enjoyed a couple glasses of wine

 

Does your family have any Holiday Traditions? I would love to hear about them, please comment below.

 

Holiday Traditions: Part One

Everyone has holiday traditions with their family and/or friends, whether it be big or small. As my immediate family has grown with the addition of my brother-in-laws (which I love) our Christmas tradition has gotten to be one that I look forward to every year.

I am the oldest of three daughters, then there is Katy and Krystina. When the men in our life’s started to come around my dad was happy to have the balancing out of hormones and my mom was happy to just have some guys in the house.

My parents started our Christmas tradition when Katy, Krystina and I were young. They wanted something that was memorable for the three of us as a family.

There has been slightly changes to the tradition over the years, with adjustments to restaurants closing or activities in Minneapolis changing. Every year around Christmas time, our family picks a day, we get dressed up, go see a play and then out to a fancy dinner.

I can still remember back to our first Christmas tradition out as a family.  We were all dressed up, went to church, and at a fancy restaurant called Nicklow’s. We loved going there, the atmosphere was big, shinny and festively decorated for the holiday.  Also, my sisters friend was the owner. My parents loved supporting a local place (which is where I get my love for supporting local restaurants). And it was the most delicious Greek food ever! We would have Saganaki to start ( which is melted cheese topped with lemon juice and pepper and usually lit on fire table side)  and for dessert table side bananas foster. Let me tell you, my sisters and I felt so fancy!  Unfortunately, Nicklow’s shut down a few years into our tradition because the highway near it was widening.

As we got older, my parents started to incorporate a family activity. So, we would all get dressed up, off to church, dinner at a fancy restaurant, then off to Minneapolis. Since Nicklow’s closed, we started going to Santorini. The owner of Nicklow’s, was the brother of the owner of Santorini. Once our fancy dinner was concluded we went to watch the Holidazzle parade then off to the 8th floor to see what story was being told that year.

After a few years Santorini was relocating to Eden Prairie, the 8th floor wasn’t being funded and we were getting older.

So, my parents started taking us to see a play at the Guthrie Theater and out to a fancy dinner. The last couple years we have see A Christmas Carol, which is a classic and the actors do such a beautiful job! Then off to Murray’s for fancy meal. I literally don’t eat all day in anticipation for the French Onion Soup, buttery steaks, creamy potatoes, and good wine! The service is very attentive and friendly, and the atmosphere is beautiful!

This year my parents changed things up a little. Come back tomorrow to hear what we did and to see lots of pictures.

 

 

Vegetable Frittatta

Everyday, I am out the door about an hour before my husband needs to leave. And, usually Steve just wakes up, gets ready, and out the door, not leaving time for breakfast. Since he is usually eating on the run, I try to keep healthy grab and go items in the house, like yogurt, granola bars, hand held fruit like bananas, etc.  All these items are good choices, but can sometimes get old. So, this weekend I decided to make a fritta, cut it into portions and place into containers. Making it an easy options for on the go or quick breakfast at home.

Here is the recipe that I made:

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced

1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced

1/2 small red onion, sliced

6 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 roma tomato, chopped

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat- leaf parsley

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

1. Spray 10-inch ovenproof skillet generously with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Add bell pepper and red onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. Transfer to a bowl.

2. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper in large bowl.

3. Stir in peppers and onion mixture, tomato, cheese, garlic, parsley, and thyme to eggs.

4. Preheat broiler.

5. Spray skillet again generously with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Add egg mixture, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until eggs are set about 12- 15 minutes. Edges will be firm, center will be slightly loose.

5. Place skillet under broiler and broil 5 inches from heat until center of frittata is set, about 5 minutes. Watch carefully.

6. Cut into wedges. Enjoy!

Not only did Steve enjoy this frittata for breakfast a couple times this week. I even got a piece for dinner. I loved all the fresh flavors and texture the vegetables provided, combined with the eggs. I also felt great eating this for dinner to balance out all the cookies I have been enjoying from my cookie exchange at work. I seriously need a cookie intervention!!

I can’t wait to try this recipe again with other seasonal veggies.

Do you have any favorite quick breakfast recipes? If so, please share below or email me, I would love to try them.

A Big Bowl of Spaghetti…

On Sunday, I was craving a BIG bowl of spaghetti!! So, I went rummaging through my cabinets to see if I had any pasta and pasta sauce or if I would be back to the grocery store for a second time. Luckily, I was in luck! I had pasta, ground turkey and Parmesan cheese… but no pasta sauce. As I pushed the cereal boxes to the left, canned corn to the right, I spotted just what I needed- tomato sauce. So, off I went to the cutting board to make a homemade pasta sauce, to go with my pasta to satisfy my big bowl of pasta craving.

Pasta Sauce:

1 lb ground turkey

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 teaspoons garlic, chopped

1/4 cup red wine

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tsp fresh thyme

1/4 fresh parsley, chopped

2 can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 package pasta

Parmesan cheese (optional)

In heavy bottom pan brown ground turkey. Remove turkey and place in a separate bowl.

In same heavy bottom pan, over medium heat; add olive oil, followed by onions, cook until soft and translucent; add garlic, cook 1 minute. Carefully, pour wine into pan, scraping bottom of pan. Allow wine to boil and reduce by half.

Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, thyme, and parsley.

Add tomato sauce and tomato paste.

Then add ground turkey, and heat till warm.

While the sauce and turkey is heating; heat a large pot of water to a boil. Once, boiling, salt water generously (this is important step; it flavors the pasta) and add pasta. Cook according to package directions.

Once both the pasta and meat sauce is heated, serve immediately, with Parmesan cheese.

I dished up my pasta, took my picture (of course), then kicked up my feet and enjoyed my large bowl of pasta with a glass of red wine, going into my happy food world. I am so thankful that I had everything I needed to satisfy my pasta craving! It was just what I needed after a busy Sunday in the kitchen.

Make sure to come back on Friday to read about the Vegetable and Cheddar Frittatta I also made on Sunday.

Eventful Weekend!

Sooo, this weekend was incredibly busy and fun…

Let’s start with Friday night.

My friend Meg (author of My Monochromatic Life, everything fashion and beauty, trust me she know’s her stuff!) and I went to the first annual, I AM St Paul show, which is an expansion of I AM Minneapolis. I had read about Sarah Edwards and her work with I AM Kindness a while back and really liked what she is doing for the Minneapolis Community. So, when I saw the Star Tribune Q&A article featuring her, I was super excited to learn more.

When I read that the annual fashion show was coming up, I knew I had to jump on the chance to go! I texted my fellow fashion lover and we made plans for a girls night out.

I am going to turn you over to Meg’s blog post “ I Am…” for specifics. She was able to capture the evening well!

I can not wait to go again next year. Maybe even VIP style!

Enjoy!

Saturday:

I was pretty tired after all the fun I had Friday night, but I needed to get ready for our neighbors that were coming over that evening.

We live next to a great family of 5. Periodically, through out the Summer we find ourselves sitting in their backyard chatting or as we are outside doing yard work. However, once Winter rolls around and the Holiday season is in full force, we don’t chat much.

So, Steve and I decided to ask them over for a game night and light appetizers. Steve and I love playing games together, but its nice to have a bigger group to play with too. And, the poker table and storage bench that we built last year, is dying to be used. 🙂

For food, we kept it light and simple.

Salsa’s and homemade tortilla chips

– Trader Joe’s Pineapple Salsa

– Mur Glen Garlic Cilantro Salsa

– Mur Glen Black Bean and Corn Salsa

– Homemade chips: this is one of my favorite ways to make chips.

Heat oven to 350 F. Cut tortilla’s into quarters or smaller if desired; place onto cookie sheet and lightly spray with cooking spray on both sides. Sprinkle with desired seasoning. I usually just use salt. Place in oven for about 12 minutes or until light golden brown flipping once.

We also made a Suddenly Salad Southwest Grain Salad.

If, you haven’t tired this product, you must. In the Summer, I make these add some shredded poached chicken and dinner is served.

Finally, dessert. I made Food and Wine’s Cranberry- Oatmeal Cookies with White Chocolate Chips, omitting the orange zest.

These cookies were AMAZING!

However, this recipe in my opinion, I feel could use a little tolerance work. The edges got golden brown before the centers were done. So, I baked the cookies for 10 minutes (which the centers weren’t fully cooked), let them sit on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, to finish baking, then removed to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Our neighbor’s, brought over some homemade guacamole (which was wonderful) with Garden of Eatin Blue Corn Chips and Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato chips (one of my favorite chips), sugar snap peas with hummus.

And, we had some wine for the adults and I bought a nice bottle of sparkling pomegranate juice for the teenagers. *forgot to take a picture*

Sunday:

Was a busy a day in the kitchen getting ready for a cookie exchange at work and some dinner ideas for the week.

I will talk more about my kitchen adventure as the week goes on.

Come Sunday evening, I was tired, but couldn’t have asked for a better weekend!

Make any good recipes this weekend? I would love to hear, please share below.

More beet love!

Since I am on a beet kick, I was thinking of other ways to cook with beets besides just salads. When looking through my fridge I realized that I still had some russet potatoes from Thanksgiving. So, instantly my mind went to a baked potato topped with beets.

I was cooking for one, since my husband was working late. So, adapt the recipe idea to fit how many people you are serving.

1 small russet potato

Butter (desired amount)

Salt and Pepper  (desired amount)

Goat cheese (from Trader Joe’s)

Beets, chopped (Trader Joe’s prepared beets)

Walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped

Balsamic Vinaigrette (Trader Joe’s)

Heat oven to 425F. Prick potato with tins of a fork. Wrap in aluminum foil and place directly on oven rack. Bake for about 30 minutes, until center is tender when pierced with a fork.

Cut cross and lengthwise through potato; push ends together to open potato. Top with butter, salt, pepper, goat cheese (gets a little melted when on top of hot potato), beets, walnuts and drizzle balsamic vinaigrette over top.

To be honest, I was a little skeptical how this dinner would turn out. I was having one of those moments where I was questioning my decision, but as soon as I took that first bite, I would be in for a nice surprise!  Seriously, you can never go wrong with a classic baked potato with butter and your choice of toppings.

For another beet recipe idea, check out my post about beet salad with roasted lemon chicken.

Can you tell I love Trader Joe’s! I always leave with so many great products that are always delicious.

Make sure to stop by on Saturday to read about the delicious dinner that my husband made for me while I was out with a friend.

Roasted Lemon Chicken with Beet Salad

Growing up my parents loved eating Aunt Nellie’s pickled beets. They would ask if I wanted to try them and I did a couple times, but never grew fond of them. So, now into my adulthood I haven’t chosen to incorporate beets into my cooking routine.

A few weeks back a couple of my co-workers were making a beet salad. Like always, I was curious about how it tasted and was prepared. They invited me to try some, so I gave it a try and loved it!

Yesterday, for dinner I decided to make a simple beet salad of my own to go with some chicken and the lemons that Steve and I picked while in California a few weeks ago.

Salad recipe:

1 romaine heart, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1/2 cucumber, sliced

1 small breaburn apple

5 beets, roasted (1 box of Trader Joe’s beets)

1 cup walnuts, toasted

Goat cheese

Balsamic vinaigrette (Trader Joe’s is my favorite)

Prepare all the ingredients and assemble on plate with desired amount. There will be leftovers.

chopped lettuce

sliced apple

toasted walnuts

prepared beets

For chicken:

1 pound chicken breast, thawed

1 lemon, sliced

Salt and pepper (desired amount)

Garlic gloves, crushed (optional)

Heat oven to 350F. Place chicken breasts into a greased baking dish, salt and pepper both sides generously and place lemon slices on top of chicken breasts. Bake for about 45 minutes, until internal temperature is 165F.

I added a few cloves of crushed garlic, which is optional.  I love roasted garlic and it adds a little flavor to the chicken while cooking.

crushed garlic

 

raw chicken with lemon slices and garlic cloves

 

 

Beets are a good source of many vitamins and minerals:

• Potassium
• Magnesium
• Fiber
• Phosphorus
• Iron
• Vitamins A, B & C
• Beta-carotene
• Beta-cyanine
• Folic acid

Low calorie: about 58 calories in 1 cup of steamed beets

Wow! I am so glad that I walked into the other lab where beets were roasting, apples were being chopped and lots of food talk was happening. I never thought that I would try beets again and like them! This salad was super simple, delicious and perfect way to start my beet eating journey. I am excited to start incorporating beets into my cooking routine and sharing more recipes.

Do you have a favorite beet recipe? If so, please share with me, I would love to try it!

 

The Lavish Lemon Link Party

Yesterday, I joined my first ever link party at The Lavish Lemon link up, which consists of three bloggers Bailey and James, Glamista Home and Lets Dazzle Darlings. Be sure to check out their super cute and creative blogs. You will defiantly come away with some fun party tips.

Limited Edition Pringles

Limited edition, seasonal flavor, new product… I am the food industries favorite consumer when it comes to this marketing strategy. Whenever, I am perusing the grocery store isle and see products with any combination of these words, I am hooked.

Limited Edition Pringles got me this time.

“Once you pop you can’t stop” is usually the problem in my relationship with Pringles, but with these limited edition flavors not so much.

Milk Chocolate:

The big craze for awhile was the chocolate dipped potato chips, so naturally I thought each individual chip would be coated in chocolate. Nope. Just lightly dusted. The flavor was good; a subtle chocolate flavor with the natural Pringle salty flavor shinning through. 

White Chocolate:

I was super excited about the white chocolate flavor, because anything white chocolate, I am all over. I was disappointed though. All I tasted was the Pringle  flavor, which don’t get me wrong I like, but wanted more white choloate flavor. However, I could tell there was some white chocolate flavor dusted on the chips because I could feel the dusting on my tongue.

Pecan Pie:

The appearance of flavor dusting on the chips were minimal, similar to the milk chocolate. To me though, this flavor delivered on the actual flavor name.  As soon as I put the chip in my mouth, I got a sweet flavor that tasted like caramel, and as I chewed a slight pecan flavored developed. Within a few chews the flavor was gone leaving me with the natural Pringle flavor to finish.

Cinnamon Sugar:

Out of all the flavors, this was my favorite. When I first opened the can I noticed the chips looked different. The chips looked similar to the Pringles Tortilla Chip (which I really like).  I could visually notice the cinnamon sugar on each chip. And, the cinnamon sugar seasoning was really good with the Pringles saltiness. 

If I was to buy any of these again, it would definitely be the cinnamon sugar flavor.

Overall, I really enjoyed trying these limited edition Pringles. These flavors didn’t deliver exactly what I was thinking, but look forward to other Pringles flavors in the future.

Are there any Limited Edition products you are loving this season?

Restaurant Review: Burger Jones

Yes, Minnesota has 10,000 lakes, the Mall of America, cold temperatures and an up and coming food scene. With so many food options sometimes a good ol’ burger sounds good. That’s exactly what Steve and I were craving last Thursday. So, we called up our good friends to join us for a burger and beer at Burger Jones.

The atmosphere has an urban rustic vibe with large photos of burgers on the wall making you salivate. Our server was friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. And, all the burgers were cooked to order and juicy.

I love bison, so I was excited to see a bison burger on the menu. All the flavors worked well together with not one ingredient over powering the other. With that said, I was missing that wow factor in my burger. It was a little to greasy for my liking and didn’t leave me craving the next bite. I enjoyed the parmesan waffle fries very much and liked that ketchup wasn’t necessary for enjoying.

Bison Burger seared Tatanka with gruyere and red onion marmalade and Parmesan waffle fries

Pictures of the groups burgers:

Bacon, cheddar, hot sauce and a fried egg on a homemade English muffin

Melted swiss and a mound of sautéed mushrooms

Cracked black pepper, caramelized onions and bleu cheese

I give Burger Jones a 4 out of 5 tables. And, look forward to trying another burger on the menu.