Instead of exchanging gifts this year, Matt and I went out to dinner together. We went to La Belle Vie in Minneapolis, which is right across Lyndale Avenue from the Walker Art Center.
We ordered their five course meal from the tasting menu, which turned out to be more like a seven course meal. The waiter tried his best to get us to order the wine flights too (he asked us three times!).
We were really impressed with the food. The waiter first brought out a small pastry from the chef, which was stuffed with Gruyere cheese. Then they brought out an amuse-bouche of beets and pancetta. Then the first course came out...scallops, artichokes, and dill pesto. The second course was skate fish with mushrooms (I actually ate fish and liked it!). The third course was roasted chicken with a hand-made ravioli and baby carrots. The fourth course was grilled lamb with farro. The fifth course was curried carrot cake (yum!) with cardamom sherbet (double yum!).
Just when we thought it was over they brought out dessert after dessert! It was a plate of five dessert bites. They were all delicious!
Matt and I compared this restaurant to our experience at W.A. Frost in St Paul. Here's what we think:
Service - W.A. Frost
Food Taste - Tie
Food Presentation - La Belle Vie
Ambiance - W.A. Frost
Best Dish - Cauliflower & Goat Cheese Soup @ W.A. Frost
Best Dessert - Curried Carrot Cake w/ Cardamom Sherbet @ La Belle Vie
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Christmas Eve
We went to my Grandma Salaba's today for Christmas Eve. It was a much smaller crowd this year due to a lot of people having to work. Usually we have about 50, but this year it was 30. For some reason it seemed like there were just as many kids running around as usual. There are now 16 great-grand children! The newest edition was my cousin Jodi's baby Lauren. She is such a cutie!
My Aunt Lavonne came up with a fun idea this year. She had everyone write down one of their favorite memories with Grandma. Then Grandma read them all out loud to everyone. It was especially fun to hear her four kids memories from when they were little with their mom.
Here are some of my fun memories with Grandma:
1) Bringing in all of the kittens from the farm into Grandma's house and dressing them up in doll clothes.
2) Grandma making Cream of Wheat for us in the morning. She put the cereal on a plate and poured heavy cream and sugar on the top. Mmmm!
3) Having sleepovers at Grandma's and hearing stories from when she was little.
4) Watching Grandma open Christmas presents ever so carefully so that she can save the paper.
5) Learning from Grandma how to make Kolaches from scratch.
6) Getting cards in the mail from Grandma...she always inserts lots of newspaper and magazine clippings with funnies.
7) Listening to Grandma read us stories when we were little.
8) Painting Grandma's living room Pepto Bismol pink. Her favorite color.
9) Grandma poking the Peeps at Easter time.
10) Listening to Grandma tell stories about her mom, dad, and her mischievous cousins when she was little.
11) Taking pictures with Grandma before my wedding.
12) Watching Funniest Home Videos with Grandma.
13) Dancing with Grandma at my cousin Diane's wedding.
14) Playing Catch Phrase with Grandma at Matt's Graduation party...where we kept the dynamite (i.e. the sewing machine).
15) Driving with Grandma when we were little...she would honk the horn at boys our age and wave.
16) Participating in the annual Christmas Plays or as we called them Christmas Plagues. I had to play everyone from Mary to Frosty the Snowman.
17) Czech Day at Grandma's house when we learned the Beer song (Pivo, Pivo).
18) New Years Day at Grandma's house when we play board games.
19) When we are leaving Grandma's house we always have to take something home...usually kolaches, gummy bears, ham, or pie.
20) Playing the question game with Grandma...finding out most embarrassing moments, favorite childhood toy, whether you would rather have x-ray vision or be invisible, and more.
Merry Christmas Eve!
My Aunt Lavonne came up with a fun idea this year. She had everyone write down one of their favorite memories with Grandma. Then Grandma read them all out loud to everyone. It was especially fun to hear her four kids memories from when they were little with their mom.
Here are some of my fun memories with Grandma:
1) Bringing in all of the kittens from the farm into Grandma's house and dressing them up in doll clothes.
2) Grandma making Cream of Wheat for us in the morning. She put the cereal on a plate and poured heavy cream and sugar on the top. Mmmm!
3) Having sleepovers at Grandma's and hearing stories from when she was little.
4) Watching Grandma open Christmas presents ever so carefully so that she can save the paper.
5) Learning from Grandma how to make Kolaches from scratch.
6) Getting cards in the mail from Grandma...she always inserts lots of newspaper and magazine clippings with funnies.
7) Listening to Grandma read us stories when we were little.
8) Painting Grandma's living room Pepto Bismol pink. Her favorite color.
9) Grandma poking the Peeps at Easter time.
10) Listening to Grandma tell stories about her mom, dad, and her mischievous cousins when she was little.
11) Taking pictures with Grandma before my wedding.
12) Watching Funniest Home Videos with Grandma.
13) Dancing with Grandma at my cousin Diane's wedding.
14) Playing Catch Phrase with Grandma at Matt's Graduation party...where we kept the dynamite (i.e. the sewing machine).
15) Driving with Grandma when we were little...she would honk the horn at boys our age and wave.
16) Participating in the annual Christmas Plays or as we called them Christmas Plagues. I had to play everyone from Mary to Frosty the Snowman.
17) Czech Day at Grandma's house when we learned the Beer song (Pivo, Pivo).
18) New Years Day at Grandma's house when we play board games.
19) When we are leaving Grandma's house we always have to take something home...usually kolaches, gummy bears, ham, or pie.
20) Playing the question game with Grandma...finding out most embarrassing moments, favorite childhood toy, whether you would rather have x-ray vision or be invisible, and more.
Merry Christmas Eve!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Holiday Parties
Last weekend was packed with fun holiday parties. On Friday night I hosted a cookie exchange with the co-workers in my division. There were about 14 of us and 8 varieties of delicious Christmas cookies. I made my favorite marshmellow and corn flake Christmas wreath cookies.
On Saturday night Matt and I went to our friend's Dan & Karen's house for their annual wine and cheese party. Somehow they always get 50-60 people in their cute little house in St Paul. Karen made about 10 different kinds of Christmas cookies, which were all amazing. She picked award winning cookies from this year's different cookie contests (Star Tribune, Food Network, etc).
Later that night we went to our friends Andy & Jessica's Christmas party. Jessica had several different fun Christmas games for us to play. Since I'm such a Christmas nut...I took first place in the Christmas movie trivia game. There was actually a movie on there that I hadn't seen before..."Diner". Anyone heard of it?
Merry Christmas!
On Saturday night Matt and I went to our friend's Dan & Karen's house for their annual wine and cheese party. Somehow they always get 50-60 people in their cute little house in St Paul. Karen made about 10 different kinds of Christmas cookies, which were all amazing. She picked award winning cookies from this year's different cookie contests (Star Tribune, Food Network, etc).
Later that night we went to our friends Andy & Jessica's Christmas party. Jessica had several different fun Christmas games for us to play. Since I'm such a Christmas nut...I took first place in the Christmas movie trivia game. There was actually a movie on there that I hadn't seen before..."Diner". Anyone heard of it?
Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
11,000 Meals
Last night I went with my co-worker Elizabeth and her family to volunteer at Feed my Starving Children. They have a location in Eden Prairie. When we got there they had us put on some spiffy hair nets. Then we watched a video about how many children die each day from starvation.
Then the staff showed us how to put together the bags of meals that were to later be shipped out to impoverished countries. I was surprised by what goes into each bag! Apparently they worked with Cargill to get four nutritious ingredient blends made. One is a chicken flavored stock that contains nutrients needed to survive, then there is a soy based ingredient for protein, we also added what looked like freeze dried vegetables, and finally rice.
I got to be in charge of using the bag sealer, which was pretty slick. Our group made over 11,000 meals...enough to feed 33 kids for a year. It was amazing what we were able to accomplish in such a short time.
Then the staff showed us how to put together the bags of meals that were to later be shipped out to impoverished countries. I was surprised by what goes into each bag! Apparently they worked with Cargill to get four nutritious ingredient blends made. One is a chicken flavored stock that contains nutrients needed to survive, then there is a soy based ingredient for protein, we also added what looked like freeze dried vegetables, and finally rice.
I got to be in charge of using the bag sealer, which was pretty slick. Our group made over 11,000 meals...enough to feed 33 kids for a year. It was amazing what we were able to accomplish in such a short time.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Girls Night
Last night JJ, Kathleen, and I had a girls night at Eden Prairie Mall. We did a little shopping...well Kathleen did most of the Christmas shopping. Kathleen and I had to go into that teen clothing store Hollister to get some gift certificates for her nieces. I felt pretty old when I got a slight headache from the perfume smell and loud music. I wonder if they are owned by the same people that run Abercrombie & Fitch. They should both be up for the MAROAT awards (which are the Most Annoying Retailer of All Time Awards).
We had a great dinner at Wildfire grill. JJ and I tried their wine flights, which were delicious. I was surprised at how much wine they gave us...they didn't seem like the usual small wine tasting glasses that usually go with flights.
We also went to see the new Christmas flick with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn called Four Christmases. It was a very entertaining, funny movie. The movie didn't get good ratings, but I think that we all liked it!
We had a great dinner at Wildfire grill. JJ and I tried their wine flights, which were delicious. I was surprised at how much wine they gave us...they didn't seem like the usual small wine tasting glasses that usually go with flights.
We also went to see the new Christmas flick with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn called Four Christmases. It was a very entertaining, funny movie. The movie didn't get good ratings, but I think that we all liked it!
Friday, December 5, 2008
The Wienery
The Foodie Club went to The Wienery last night. It was definitely a hole-in-the-wall. I literally drove past it twice without seeing it! We got there at 6:30 and the place was only supposed to be open until 7 PM! We were able to use the only two tables in the place…the rest of the seating was bar stool seating. Their only waiter left before we could order, but the cook took care of the eight of us plus the people at the bar stools.
They have a lot of different choices there…we tried the Manhattan chili dog, the Chicago dog, and the Hairy Brain Dog. They had pretty good fries too. You can order either one potato or two potatoes plain, cheesy, or with chili. It was definitely a fun place to experience, but you may need a GPS to find it!
They have a lot of different choices there…we tried the Manhattan chili dog, the Chicago dog, and the Hairy Brain Dog. They had pretty good fries too. You can order either one potato or two potatoes plain, cheesy, or with chili. It was definitely a fun place to experience, but you may need a GPS to find it!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
10 Year Class Reunion
I went to my 10 year high school reunion over the Thanksgiving weekend. It was held at the Olympic Hills Golf Club in Eden Prairie.
For me it was a really strange experience. In some ways it was fun, but in other ways it was super awkward. I got to catch up with some friends that I have not seen in years. I got to talk to a few people that I had never talked to in high school, which was fun. I think for the most part people talked with the people they hung out with in school.
There were a few people that I was really impressed with. There were a couple guys who were very shy and never talked to anyone while we were in school. They were some of the most outgoing people at the reunion. A couple of them were going from table to table introducing themselves and talking. How brave!
I'm kind of torn as to whether I would go to the next one or not. I guess I have a while to think about it!
For me it was a really strange experience. In some ways it was fun, but in other ways it was super awkward. I got to catch up with some friends that I have not seen in years. I got to talk to a few people that I had never talked to in high school, which was fun. I think for the most part people talked with the people they hung out with in school.
There were a few people that I was really impressed with. There were a couple guys who were very shy and never talked to anyone while we were in school. They were some of the most outgoing people at the reunion. A couple of them were going from table to table introducing themselves and talking. How brave!
I'm kind of torn as to whether I would go to the next one or not. I guess I have a while to think about it!
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