After dinner, it was back to my Aunt's house for sweatpants and movies. Together, we laughed and we cried while watching The Fault in our Stars, it is a fantastic film, you should all watch it. Saturday was spent as I had expected, sore calves and empty wallets were the feelings as we left the Mall of America with arms held down by heavy shopping bags. It's very evident we've grown up since the start of our annual Girl's Weekend, well Kelsey and I at least (our mothers obviously stopped aging years ago!), as our tastes have definitely matured. The Michael Kors bag I've been drooling over for at least a year now is finally resting happily on my arm. Our Saturday night tradition remained the same, delivery pizza and another movie. Sunday was a new adventure though, our first trip to the new outlet mall in Eagan. Kelsey and I decided we were perfectly content with our designer handbags that were purchased directly from the retail store versus the outlet, I think my Uncle would credit that attitude of ours to "TCtude" as he likes to call it. That's Twin Cities attitude, for those unaware. I guess that means I really have become a city girl!
Last year, my Mom and I had also begun our own new tradition, too. That is, extending Girl's Weekend one more night to have some mother/daughter time. Last year was Annie's for burgers and shakes, but this year I wanted to try something new and also be able to cross another "must-try" restaurant off my list! Since we are definitely a "beef, it's what's for dinner" kind of family, I thought it would be fitting for us to try the Red Cow in Linden Hills. A couple of my co-workers have recommended and even praised their unique menu. We decided to order two different burgers and share. Mom tried the French Onion, with white cheddar, French onions, chive sour cream and homemade potato chips, while I went with the Manhattan 2.0 piled high with bacon confit, gruyere cheese, arugula, and a dried cherry-red wine reduction on a pretzel bun. As if the burgers aren't enough, the French fries and house-made ketchup are also a must-try!
I know it's only a few days after Thanksgiving and everyone is probably still full on turkey, and I've already shared two delicious meals with you, but looking back on the past few weeks, the only photos in my album are food! It's been getting pretty chilly in Minneapolis, so I guess I am just working on developing an extra layer of warmth for winter perhaps?! Well, my jeans still fit normally, so I guess its more likely due to the 15+ hours of overtime that appeared on my last paycheck! So, this blog will just be dedicated to the foodie in me, I don't think any of you will complain.
So, let me continue with another fantastic dining experience Mitch and I had at Spill the Wine in Uptown. I'd been to Spill the Wine once before when they were still in their Downtown location and recalled a delicious experience with simple items paired perfectly with one another and a well-chosen wine flight. Mitch has known I wanted to return since we both moved out of Uptown, and he found a Groupon for the chef's tasting experience for two. So, we bundled up and ventured out on one of the first snowy nights in November and made our way back to the place we still called home just three months ago. Let me tell you, I surely do not miss the lack of decent street parking as the snow gets packed down in those narrow streets! With the Groupon, we had limited choices for a reservation so we arrived at 5:00pm and were the first guests of the evening. We had a spectacular waitress who accurately described the three different wine flight options and was attentive to checking in on us and explaining the various elements of our tasting menu.
We started with a meat and cheese plate accompanied by crusty bread, and I was instantly taken back to a similar starter dish I had while soaking up the sun on the piazza in Siena. After my little spurt of wanderlust memories, we dived in to the various cheeses, nuts, pickled zucchini, cured meats and jams. We almost cleared the plate, but the spicy mustard didn't really speak strongly to either of our palettes. Our second course was a local squash soup with creme fraiche and chives, followed by a crisp autumn salad. The farmers chopped salad was one of the highlights of the meal for me, with bacon, chicken confit, squash, apples, pickled cranberries, pecans, bleu cheese and a smoked maple vinaigrette. Our main course was braised Berkshire pork served in its juices with aioli and toast. This dish speaks to my earlier comment on simplicity, it was the most moist and delicious, break-apart pork I have ever had. I think we soaked up every last ounce of the juices with our toast, too! Our meal was wrapped up with made-to-order personal apple crisp pots with homemade salted caramel ice cream. It a was a splendid dining experience indeed, and I sincerely thank Mitch for remembering just how much I wanted to go back to Spill the Wine.
I do love trying new restaurants and having unique dining experiences but I also love to cook and host. So, this year, Mitch and I decided to host Thanksgiving for our two immediate families. Although not everyone was necessarily seated at the table, we were thankfully able to Skype with my sister and brother-in-law, who live in England. I did have a cup of my favorite PG Tips tea (from England) for breakfast, in honor of my relatives across the pond, too! It was a surprisingly relaxing day, and everything went very smoothly. The food was delicious, Mitch did a fantastic job on the turkey - it was perfectly moist and juicy! We stuck with traditional sides like mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, roasted squash and brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, scalloped corn and of course green bean casserole! For dessert, we had pecan pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie and pumpkin bars. Mitch's sister also brought the "pink fluff," a delicious raspberry jello salad to top it all off - because, is it really a holiday without jello?! As Mitch gave me a big hug and we toasted our glasses to a job well done, I felt a very strong sense of accomplishment and I'm thankful we were able to share such a great day with family! Oh, and how could I forget - one of my favorite parts of it all was arranging the centerpiece!
As soon as the leftovers were packed up and the dishes were put away, it was on to Christmas decorations! We won't be at our place for Christmas Day, so I didn't feel much pressure to decorate to the standards of my Mom. No, she doesn't actually have standards, but if you've ever seen my parent's house at Christmas, you would know it's a lot to live up to! I only had one minor breakdown in the whole decorating process - poor Mitch, so excited that he already had a tree for us and I nearly burst into tears when I found out it was pre-lit with colored lights. Well, I guess I am my mother's daughter after all! I've always adored our tree at home with clear lights and silver/blue accents, it's so classy and elegant. As a child, I recall begging to get colored lights on the tree and it never happened, but oh how the tables have turned! But, I do realize compromise is part of every good relationship, so here I sit in the family room admiring our colored Christmas tree! It's growing on me, and I am especially fond of our "first Christmas in our new home" ornament from my Mom!
I can't complain too much, because we do have a smaller tree in the living room with clear lights and similar silver/blue ornaments as my parent's tree! Besides the trees, we've got a few other small touches and arrangements that I made. My favorite arrangement is the outdoor container which is sitting on our front step. I must thank my Dad for trudging through the woods to get me a variety of greenery, red osier, and birch logs to satisfy my passion for floral design and horticulture.
Christmas is by far my favorite holiday and I'm really looking forward to a nice relaxing break and getting home to the woods to spend time with family. A lot has happened since last Christmas and I have a lot to be grateful for this holiday. It is going to be tough this year though, as we battle for our family Christmas game trophy, one chair will be empty. Grandma asked that we still leave a chair for her, so we will all be reminded that we have a special angel looking down on us this Christmas.
As the holidays are quickly approaching, I am not even going to pretend that I can get another blog post done before then. So, I'm going to wish you and your families a happy holiday season and I look forward to catching up with you in 2015!
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