It's the most wonderful time of the year. Not only because you get to be spoiled with lots of wonderful presents (new iPhone 4s for me! - Thanks Santa/Mom/Dad!) but you also get to be spoiled by lots of wonderful food.
The holidays are the time of year when it is acceptable for everyone to take on the role of housewife - regardless of their "feminist ideals". Personally, I don't get it - I would LOVE to be a housewife - why would you want to go to work when you could stay at home and cook all day?? As my little brother so eloquently put it when he was in preschool - "my dad is special because he does the dishes so much". I would love for my future child to say something along those lines - though preferably something like "my mom is special because she is so beautiful and a fabulous cook". HA! Well you get the point.
Anyways - the holidays are the time to be domestic. And I love it. This way, when I come home from work every single day for a week and just want to bake - it's not weird - it's totally acceptable. I think I used that excuse at least 3 times in the past few weeks.
Some of my favorite holiday treats that I have made over the past few weeks are of course the unnecessarily large amount of Christmas cookies that are still inhabiting my kitchen counter. I am not exaggerating when I say that between my mom and myself - we made 8 different kinds of cookies/treats. What it comes down to is we have very lucky neighbors :) From what I hear the fan favorites are the "peppermint" bark that I made (note - the grocery store was out of candy canes, so I used spearmints haha - totally better!), the candied orange peels that my mom made, and the German sand tarts (topped with whipped egg whites!).
Of course holiday domesticity doesn't end with baking. We also prepared numerous feasts - especially because my daddy turned the big 6-0 on Christmas Eve!! Just to make all your mouths water... our menu was as follows:
Christmas Eve Dinner:
Maine lobster tails
Broccoli gorgonzola casserole
Roasted root veggies
Salad
Lots and lots of wine
Christmas Breakfast:
Poached eggs
Sausage
Bacon
Fruit - Harry and David Pears
Yogurt
Granola
Cinnamon Toast
Christmas Dinner:
Brie cruset with cranberries
King crab claws
Green bean bundles
Roasted root veggies
Yorkshire pudding
Prime Rib
Salad
And a partridge in a pear tree. Not really - but lot's of cookies!
Needless to say - I'm full. And ready to be a housewife :)
Happy Holidays!
Aly
Monday, December 26, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Restaurant Review: Grange Hall Burger Bar
Well, it looks like I've failed at writing this in FOREVER! So what better way to start back up than a good restaurant review?!
Last week, I went to Grange Hall Burger Bar with a few of my girlfriends for our "book club". Yes - we are that group of girls that creates a book club (where we most of the time read the book, but rarely discuss it) to have an excuse to go out to dinner and drink wine.
I had heard good things about Grange Hall, and it is only a few short blocks from my apartment, so I made the suggestion to the group - and boy was it a good one.
The atmosphere is great - it's got a great country farm feel (perfect - since they are feeding you grass-fed, farmed foods). Everything in the restaurant, down to the waiters, is reminiscent of being in a small, beautiful country farmhouse. The furniture, napkins, glasses do not match; yet go together perfectly. Dining is at communal tables - even further adding to the farm feel. You could see into the kitchen also - which I always love. Overall - I loved it. I would give it an A.
The service was also great. Not only do the waiters look adorable in their plaid shirts, and down-home style, they also have a down-home attitude. Within 5 minutes, we were already friends with our waiter and shortly thereafter with the chef. Our waiter (Aidan) was attentive yet not over-bearing. He joked with us, but was not inappropriate. We ordered fried vegetables as an appetizer, and after about 5 or 10 minutes, the chef, Joe, came out to tell us that they were remaking them, because he thought they looked a little bit too brown and he only wanted to serve us the best. You can't ask for anything better than that. Service: A+.
Now for the food. It is a burger bar. Nothing more, nothing less. I ordered the turkey burger which Aidan said was the best turkey burger he ever had. I was not disappointed. It was seasoned very well - which complemented the sesame/poppy bun perfectly. With all the seasoning combined - it kind of reminded me of an everything bagel but better. They have a decent amount of options, and I was tempted to get a fried egg on my burger but resisted. I kept it simple with carmelized onions (yum!) and cheese. Overall, I was very satisfied with my meal. I also got french fries, which were not amazing, but always a good complement to a burger. They have a garlicky mac n' cheese which I think I will try next time I go. Overall Food: A-
Definitely a great place to go for many occasions. Not fancy, but you can count on great service, good food and a good time.
Ciao,
Aly
Last week, I went to Grange Hall Burger Bar with a few of my girlfriends for our "book club". Yes - we are that group of girls that creates a book club (where we most of the time read the book, but rarely discuss it) to have an excuse to go out to dinner and drink wine.
I had heard good things about Grange Hall, and it is only a few short blocks from my apartment, so I made the suggestion to the group - and boy was it a good one.
The atmosphere is great - it's got a great country farm feel (perfect - since they are feeding you grass-fed, farmed foods). Everything in the restaurant, down to the waiters, is reminiscent of being in a small, beautiful country farmhouse. The furniture, napkins, glasses do not match; yet go together perfectly. Dining is at communal tables - even further adding to the farm feel. You could see into the kitchen also - which I always love. Overall - I loved it. I would give it an A.
The service was also great. Not only do the waiters look adorable in their plaid shirts, and down-home style, they also have a down-home attitude. Within 5 minutes, we were already friends with our waiter and shortly thereafter with the chef. Our waiter (Aidan) was attentive yet not over-bearing. He joked with us, but was not inappropriate. We ordered fried vegetables as an appetizer, and after about 5 or 10 minutes, the chef, Joe, came out to tell us that they were remaking them, because he thought they looked a little bit too brown and he only wanted to serve us the best. You can't ask for anything better than that. Service: A+.
Now for the food. It is a burger bar. Nothing more, nothing less. I ordered the turkey burger which Aidan said was the best turkey burger he ever had. I was not disappointed. It was seasoned very well - which complemented the sesame/poppy bun perfectly. With all the seasoning combined - it kind of reminded me of an everything bagel but better. They have a decent amount of options, and I was tempted to get a fried egg on my burger but resisted. I kept it simple with carmelized onions (yum!) and cheese. Overall, I was very satisfied with my meal. I also got french fries, which were not amazing, but always a good complement to a burger. They have a garlicky mac n' cheese which I think I will try next time I go. Overall Food: A-
Definitely a great place to go for many occasions. Not fancy, but you can count on great service, good food and a good time.
Ciao,
Aly
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