It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere aka Naptime

Posted on May 9, 2012 | 2 comments

It was one of those days were I just wanted to come home from work, sit on the couch, and eat. So I did! It’s ok to eat dinner at 5:05, right? I heated up some leftover sweet potato and black bean enchiladas. I swear everything we made for our fiesta tastes better days later. Yum.

I battled the urge to fall asleep for almost an hour, and finally let myself take a ten minute nap. I just crash after work and wish I could be like normal people (note: maybe the people I know who train for their half marathons after work aren’t actually normal and are actually super human). The good news is that I skipped over to the gym for 45 minutes of biking after waking up. I didn’t break a sweat, but it was nice to get moving. Especially since my legs are terribly sore after Matt made me do some workout from a men’s health magazine. I was limping through the halls today in heels. I do squats a couple of times a year and then never feel inspired to do them again.

The other good news is that I’ve finally found a doctor I like. I’m starting a new drug for, well, digestive issues, and finally having my hormone levels tested. Keep your fingers crossed that I’m miraculously cured of my terrible twenties tiredness and suddenly have the energy of a college student again (yeah right). Speaking of energy, it’s that time again – good night, sleep tight!

Bleu Burger

Posted on May 8, 2012 | 4 comments

Happy Tuesday.

After a failed day of babysitting (kid got sick = I went home), I tackled my to-do list and got in some extra relaxation. Matt and I leave for Atlanta in three weeks, so we paid a visit to Hillsborough to see my parents and have dinner. I had also hoped to vote, but when I let it slip that I live in Durham now, I wasn’t allowed to vote in Hillsborough where I’m registered to vote (duh, should have known this). I caught myself when I started to state my address, but just couldn’t tell a lie when I realized my mistake. So sad.

We brought the leftover sangria to my parents house and finished off what was left. It tasted even better after 2 days. My dad ate every single bit of fruit from the bottom of the pitcher!

We walked down to the Saratoga Grill for the best burgers in the Triangle! They also have amazing scones.

For just $8.50 on Tuesdays, you can get a burger, salad, and beer and it’s a hellaofa burger at that. This guy is thick and the middle is stuffed with blue cheese.

It’s not always pretty, but it’s always tasty. This was Matt’s first time and he declared that the burger was definitely one of the best he’s ever had.

I wish I could stick around and chat, but bedtime comes so fast on school nights:( Tomorrow’s a big day and I’m really feeling the pressure of the end of the school year. Adios.

Magnolia

Posted on May 7, 2012 | 1 comment

So last Friday, I mentioned that we went to the famous Magnolia Grill. It’s closing at the end of the month, and it’s THE restaurant that put farm-to-fork southern cooking on the map. We had a gift card…I knew we had to go.

The restaurant was packed to the brim, but we were seated at a small two-top in the corner of the bar. The waitress rushed over to us several times while we were looking over it to inform us that multiple appetizers and entrees had run out. When we realized how quickly food was disappearing, we just picked three things and got our order in as quickly as possible.

First, we had the signature twice baked grit soufflé with wild mushroom ragout, aged sherry mushroom emulsion, and shaved confit foie gras. Talk about different! The mushrooms were fantastic and the sauce so unique. I wasn’t crazy about the texture of the soufflé (too egg-like), but the flavor was so awesome that I still loved the dish.

Probably our favorite dish of the night was the grilled confit pork belly on Carolina rice grits with warm butterbean salad, cider and creole mustard glaze, and watermelon rind pickle. WOW. Who knew this combination would work so well? The warm sauce, fatty meat, and cold sweet salad were PERFECT together.

Our entree was the spice-crusted Trout in spring onion pesto sauce on creamy lemon grits (I know – grits three times!) and field peas with shrimp, apple bacon, and local pea tendrils. The lemon grits and bacon were by far my favorite part!

Dessert ended up stealing the show, though, because Matt and I love fruit crisps! This one was enormous! It was a pear crisp with vanilla ice cream and a salted caramel drizzle. Luckily, the dessert was so big we didn’t have to fight over it, but I could tell we were a bit competitive while eating this:)

This meal was obviously heavenly and I feel so lucky that we got to eat at Magnolia Grill before it’s doors are closed. Thanks so much to our friends Lauren and Evan for the gift card that pushed us to get there!! I still salivate just thinking about it.

And that was Friday, which was wayy more exciting than my Monday. Typical:)