Dinner for Mother
But I chose an easy spread of foods and did most of the prep work in the afternoon.
We had salad with strawberries, blue cheese, and walnuts with a simple dressing of olive oil, balsamic, honey, and mustard.
Rice made with half basmati and half of Trader Joe’s lemongrass rice (so delish).
Naan from the Whole Foods bakery.
And chicken and vegetable curry from Kat’s fabulous recipe! I actually doubled it to ensure we’d have enough for the men. I didn’t quite have enough curry paste for the double though, so the flavor was a bit less bold than I would have liked. It was popular with the fam though!
Dessert was a sampling platter from Whole Foods along with some chocolate dipped strawberries I made. The samples included key lime pie, pumpkin whoopie pies, and an old fashioned cupcake. It was a very nice evening.
Today’s rainy cold weather has been perfect for nursing this cold and knocking out a lot of report writing for work. It felt great to get the hard work done this morning, so I’m debating a gentle gym session this afternoon. We are grabbing dinner with friends tonight and I’m looking forward to getting out of the house.
Happy Monday.
Read MoreMagnolia
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:)
Read MoreSB – Take Two
So what I was trying to say last night before Ecto ate my post (I pushed publish and it disappeared) is that I’m enjoying just being at home during spring break. Vacations are fun, but getting things done that have been lurking on my to-do list has also been nice. Sometimes being at home is much more relaxing than traveling to relax. Ya know?
Monday, I hung out with my mom and we went to an impromptu dinner at one of my favorite Hillsborough restaurants – The Gulf Rim. Gorgeous weather and seafood feels like vacation!
Tuesday was all about the to-do list, but I also made it to the mall to redeem a Victoria’s Secret coupon. It’s been a while since I bought new underwear and it felt extravagant for some reason.
And today, I got a hair cut and went to the doctor’s. Despite negative results on all of my allergy testing last year, my Dr. still saw evidence of fluid and congestion and thinks that’s what might be causing my headaches and tiredness these days. I’m going to give allergy meds a try, but when I’ve taken them in the past, I didn’t feel any different:(
Matt and I also trekked to Chapel Hill to hear the new-ish president of Davidson speak tonight. She was awesome! Man, I miss that place. Anyway, they actually had a great spread of food that i enjoyed with a glass of wine.
I’ve got a hike with my parents planned for tomorrow, but if this rain and my headache stick around, it’s probably not gonna happen:( I’m thinking a movie might be a good option. What’s out in theaters that’s good these days?
Read MoreTwo Amazing Fishes + One Mysterious Wedge
I have lots to share from our travels to Charlottesville and VA wine country! Too much for one post and since Ecto would probably have a heart attack with all the pictures, I’ll have to split it up, starting with last night’s dinner – easily the highlight of the trip!
Kath & Kanz live in a walkable neighborhood, so we hit the sidewalk to get to our dinner destination: the famous Commonwealth restaurant and it’s rooftop Skybar. Every time Kath eats at Commonwealth, I get virtual food envy, so I’ve been requesting dinner here for quite some time!
There was a bit of controversy over dessert because we ordered a chocolate and peanut butter tart [well I won't take responsibility bc I was in the bathroom:)] and this chocolate wedge with fruit sauce arrived. We were all confused because we didn’t taste peanut butter and didn’t really care for the idea of peanut butter with a sweet fruit sauce anyway. As we continued to eat it though, we concluded that the menu had probably said torte instead of tart and that the peanut butter was just really subtle.
Refried Pizza
As you may have figured out if you’re a reader of Kath’s blog, the practicum Matt was doing was actually in India! He’s been gone for 13 days and he’s finally home!!! It was a bit lonely here, but I kept myself busy with two weekends with family.
This evening, we enjoyed our fist dinner of spring on the deck!! It was soooo nice to be outside for a change, especially because our apartment is kind of dark inside.
Dinner was mexican pizzas – corn tortillas topped with lime refried beans, mozzarella, avocado, and jalapenos. I had planned to make a quesadilla, but decided on these at the last minute and they were fabulous! I used the chili and lime refried beans and the flavor was perfect for a summerish night.
Too bad they went down really fast.
Tomorrow is the first day of spring, which means Happy Birthday to my Mom, who is still very young at heart!!!
Read More
Welcome to TBT!
I've created this blog because I'm in a bit of a quarter life crisis. Since graduating from college in 2008 and earning an advanced degree in school psychology in May, I still don't know what career path to follow. All I know is that time is moving way too fast and I find myself living only for the weekends. Bear with me as I attempt to reclaim my twenties by finding pleasure and balance in the work week and incorporating my passions of food, fashion, fitness, and fun into everyday life. 
She said what?