Fallen Souffle

Well I sincerely apologize for my lack of posting this week, I am preparing for our vacation to Utah! I know, I am leaving the 80 degree weather in NC to visit the snowy, chilly climate of Park City but we will be skiing! I am really excited to be going. I have not been west of Texas so I am pretty stoked to be checking another state off my list and experiencing some awesome mountains. This will be our anniversary trip so we are going to try and find a nice place for another “anniversary dinner”, hopefully without the sea of baby blue.

Nonetheless, I will be back next Friday though I can’t promise when I will be able to post pictures. Have a great week and cross your fingers I don’t break my leg!

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This dinner was intended for the first round of Iron Chef Morrisville but the event has been postponed as Cory’s wife has been in labor all week with their second son. So I thought I would post this anyways because it is a great thing to make on the weekend, especially on a chilly weekend like we are expecting in North Carolina.

This is not a hard thing to prepare, it does take some time to bake depending on the size of your cut of beef but it is so worth it! The leftovers make the BEST sandwiches, just make some garlic bread on really good Tuscan bread and slap some thin slices and you are set to go. Best lunch ever!

I paired this with some roasted brussel sprouts (roasted potatoes for Evan, I gave up potatoes for Lent) and some great beer batter bread, which is even easier to put together. This would be a great meal for company because it is super easy to prepare and all cooks at the same temperature!

Perfect Roast Beef

3 pounds beef eye of round roast or bottom round roast
2 T. olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). If roast is untied, tie at 3 inch intervals with cotton twine. Place roast in pan, and season with salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Add more or less seasonings to taste.

2. Roast in oven for 60 minutes (20 minutes per pound). Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

Notes

Regardless of the size of your roast, always cook at 375 degrees, for 20 minutes per pound.

Onion and Fontina Beer Batter Bread

1 T. olive oil
1 cup diced onion
3 cups all purpose flour
3 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 cup shredded fontina cheese
1 (12 ounce) bottle beer, such as amber ale
cooking spray
4 T. melted butter, divided

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9 or 10 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. I would also try making these in muffin tins.

2. In a small skillet, heat oil over medium heat and saute onions for about 6 minutes until golden. Allow to cool to room temperature.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add cooled onions, cheese and beer. Stir until just combined, it will be a little stiff.

4. Spread into greased pan and drizzle with 2 T. of melted butter. Bake for 35 minutes; brush with remaining butter and bake an additional 20 minutes until the top is golden and the center is set. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, remove and allow to continue cooling on wire rack.

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I know I haven’t posted recipes lately, Evan and I have been eating out a lot recently. But I promise I have some in the works!

Monday was our 2nd wedding anniversary and we decided to use our gift certificate from Christmas to go to Spice Street in Chapel Hill for our dinner. I chose Spice Street because I went a couple years ago for a work function and really liked the food and the atmosphere of it. I figured it would be something different for us to try. I made a reservation online for 7:45pm to avoid any traffic and received an email confirmation letting me know everything was set. I really had high expectations for this visit, as I fondly remember my previous experience and was looking forward to a nice meal with my hubby.

Upon walking in to Spice Street, I was shocked at how loud it was, the restaurant has high ceilings but it was MUCH louder than I expected. I looked farther in the restaurant to see an ocean of blue, the UNC Radio Show was apparently taking place, the day after winning the ACC Championship over NC State. You all know Evan is the biggest NC State fan in the universe as well as the biggest UNC hater. The blood rushed from his face as we both realized what was happening. The band was playing, people were cheering; it was not the place for a red blooded fan to be. I seriously thought Evan was going to walk out. The hostess informed us it would only being going on for another 15 minutes. This would have been a nice thing to know when I made the reservation, I would have made it later or even picked another night to avoid this setting. Not the romantic atmosphere I was hoping for our anniversary dinner.

We were seated upstairs, thanks God, thought it was still really loud and obnoxious. I could see Evan was visibly uncomfortable. We placed our drink orders but didn’t received them until after we ordered, which was about 10 minutes later. I order the calamari appetizer and the marinated grilled shrimp and scallops while Evan got the New York Steak and potatoes. It was the most excruciating 20 minutes as we waited for the “pep rally” to finally finish, Evan getting more and more tense. He quickly finished his beer and ordered a whiskey on the rocks as she brought out my calamari. The calamari was actually very good, it came with a smoked chili aioli which was as good as I remembered, it is still the only good thing about the dinner.

We received our dinners, which had a nice modern presentation, of course the portions are always smaller than usual restaurants and Evan commented that he liked the fingerling potatoes but could have used 12 more. The shrimp and scallops were almost over spiced, I realize it is called Spice Street but it was way overpowering. The risotto was creamy but didn’t have alot of flavor. Evan didn’t say much about his steak until he found a piece of plastic wrapping in it. He mentioned it to the waitress but no one ever came over to address it. We didn’t want to make a huge deal of it, but it would have been nice for a manager to come over and address the meal and our experience. I kinda expect this when I am dropping $100 for a meal, gift certificate or not.

So we tried to end the meal on a sweet note with dessert. Evan ordered the “World Famous” wonton sundae and I got the “Signature Flavored” creme brulee. I also ordered some champagne because damnit it’s our anniversary! We were again disappointed. The creme brulee did not have a thin layer of crisp sugar but instead had a thick candy coating that got stuck in my teeth. The center was also grainy, not the smooth texture I love in creme brulees. Evan’s sundae was essentially wonton noodles mixed with ice cream with hot fudge sauce. He said it was weird having to chew his ice cream. We kinda expected the wontons to only be on top, then again there wasn’t much description of them available.

So overall we were very disappointed with our experience at Spice Street. The food did not leave me “wanting more”, the service could have been much better and the atmosphere was really ruined with the ongoing pep rally. It would have been much nicer if we were made aware of this event going on beforehand. I think we would have reacted the same way if it were another team, the principle is that the mood was really ruined.

I am hoping we can find a nice restaurant during our trip to Park City that can make up for this! See Evan’s review of Spice Street here.

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Well we have made it longer than most celebrity marriages! Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband. I am really lucky to have someone that puts up with all of my idiosyncrasies and OCD tendencies yet keeps me laughing and always having fun. I love you so much and look forward to many, many more adventures!

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I had planned this weekend to make a wedding cake for friend of mine, and also attend the event but the wedding sadly had to be postponed due to a death in the family. I was so sad for her since she dearly loved this person, and Saturday would have been a perfect day to hold the event. Therefore I thought it was fitting to take the weekend and do some things I have been meaning to do for a while.

I started Saturday by waking up to attend a yoga class at a new studio in Raleigh, Blue Lotus. They held their grand opening this weekend and joined forces with the Raleigh Jaycees and the HOPE Project. I thought this was a really awesome gesture and definitely wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, all proceeds form the classes went to the HOPE project. I wanted to go to their Sun Salutation class but alas I got lost and was late for the class. So instead I hung out at the uber cool Helios coffeehouse for about an hour until the next class started.

The studio is awesome, very good location with lost of parking and a awesome staff. I instantly felt welcome. I took a beginners yoga class which was a nice refresher for me since it has been a while since I took a yoga class. I forgot how much I liked it and look forward to taking more classes on a regular basis. After the class I was feeling quite Zen so I thought I would make a nice California BLT for lunch. I got this idea from Ina, it’s basically a regular BLT on good white bread with slices of avocados. I slathered mayo on both side of the bread but you really don’t need it with a ripe avocado, but I figured, it’s a “Me” weekend so I am going to do what I want. I enjoyed my sandwich while finishing The Other Boleyn Girl for my book club meeting.

I woke up pretty early on Sunday and caught up on my DVRed showing including Oprah’s special on her new school in South Africa, which I thought was really moving, I would love to save that for when I have kids old enough to understand it. After making a pretty breakfast of grilled Nutella sandwiches, green tea and a soft boiled egg I did a few things around the house including making some new dogs beds that match the newly painted master bedroom. I then got ready for my first book club meeting. I was so excited because I really loved this book (all 660 pages of it!) and it was really nice meeting some girls my age and chatting with them on an intellectual level. I am looking forward to our next meeting!

All in all a pretty low key weekend, but it was so nice to catch up on things I have been meaning to do for a long time.

I checked three things off my 101 list:
#19- Go to lunch with my Mother in Law
#26- Take a yoga class
#64- Join a book club

I actually went to my Mother in law’s house for lunch on Friday, as opposed to going to a restaurant, but I think it counts as she made a really fabulous lunch! I will have to do that more often!

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I can’t remember if I have ever posted but this, but if I have here it is again!

I love making roast chicken, it is so easy and I love changing up the herbs and other flavorings. It does take a bit of time to cook but the prep time is minimal and the end product is so worth the wait. I like to make roast chicken on Sunday nights so we can eat on the leftovers over the coarse of the week. Recently I also roasted some potatoes and carrots in the pan as well so dinner was pretty much done all at once…and only one dish to clean. I love that!

The Perfect Roast Chicken

1 roasting chicken (size doesn’t matter too much, I think mine are about 5 pounds)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 lemon
3 shallots or half an onion
2 springs of fresh rosemary
salt and pepper

If roasting veggies as well:
2 pounds of potatoes
3 or 4 carrots

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. If roasting veggies, clean them up and cut into cubes. Place in the bottom of a glass 9×13 inch pan. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil (not to much as the veggies will cook in the chicken juices).

3. Remove the nasty bits from the inside of the chicken and rinse chicken in cold water. Pat dry. Place chicken on top of the veggies.

4. Place the lemon, shallots/onions, and rosemary in the cavity of the chicken. Salt and pepper cavity. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.

5. Rub the outside of the chicken with softened butter. Salt and pepper the outside of the chicken. (You can also add other herbs and spices if you like, I have a lovely lavender mix that I like to use)

6. Place the dish in the oven and roast for about 90 minutes. The skin should be nice and brown and the juices should run clear. Whole poultry should be cooked to 180° F (82° C) - measure the temperature in the thigh.

7. Remove chicken from pan and let chicken rest for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the veggies in the chicken juices and allow to roast another 10 minutes until crispy.

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