local eats

I love working downtown in that it has opened my world up to some new places to lunch and happy hour that I wouldn't be able to conveniently visit so frequently otherwise. Here are some places I've been for the first time recently and fell in love with.

Blue Bird Bistro - (17th and Summit) Sustainable, local and so cute. They have a fabulous happy hour with great deals on local wine (the Ruby Red from Somerset Ridge Winery is delicious) and appetizers. We got some great hummus and "the monster tomato", which was an awesome heirloom tomato, homemade feta cheese, and homemade HUGE white bread. I die. Menu changes often though, so you might not be able to catch it if the tomatoes aren't in season.

Hickok's - (River Market) I'M OBSESSED. Happy Hour from 3-7 and on Saturday from 11-7! Free chips and salsa and $2 wells and drafts - including Boulevard. The atmosphere was wonderful, it reminded me of So Long in Manhattan. The menu looked awesome...also similar to So Long in a way, so of course I was into it. Can't wait to go back.

Kansas City Cafe - (15th and Grand) Only open Monday through Friday for lunch, and I've been twice in two weeks. It's gourmet cuisine for cheap-o prices and it's AWESOME. I've tried the fish tacos, parisian chicken sandwich (Chicken, dijon aioli, sliced apple, melted white cheddar), goat cheese salad, and lobster bisque. Everything was superb.

Le Fou Frog - (River Market) such an adorable spot. I went for restaurant week with a big group of girls and we had a blast. The salmon and risotto were amazing, and the wine list was frenchy fancy yummy. Their happy hour looks great too.

The Brick - (17th and McGee) hole in the wall goodness. GREAT tacos (vegetarian and beef) for 75 cents on Tuesdays and a really varied menu beyond the typical bar food.

next on my list - Happy Gillis, Gennessee Royale Bistro, Westport Cafe, Nica's 320, Grinder's. (yes, I know, I've never been to Grinders...sinning.)

pinterest cooking

This post on Brittany's blog inspired me to offer my own pinterest cooking experiences to the blog world...because who are we kidding, I really don't cook anything anymore unless I've seen someone's perfectly photographed recipe on good ol pinterest.

So here goes....(there are a lot)

1. Green bean casserole, Pioneer Woman. Really good. Brought it to Christmas Eve. Normally don't like green been casserole but this was killer.

2. Green Chile Chicken - from "For the Love of Cooking". DELICIOUS! Taylor and I both loved it.

3. Parmesan Baked Artichokes. Really easy side dish that we loved.

4. "Healthy" Chicken Parmesan...from Skinnytaste. This has become one of my go-to weeknight meals. Easy and DELICIOUS! I use Trader Joe's marinara...which is awesome.

5. Chicken Marsala...this was really good. Next time I probably won't use both marsala wine and white wine...it was a little too booze-y tasting. Not that I don't love booze...I just didn't feel like getting drunk off my chicken. It didn't taste like it was cooked off. Also, I cooked this when I was on the hard core South Beach Diet Phase One, and then my lovely husband pointed out it was dredged in flour before it was cooked...I forgot flour counts as a carb. Bummer.

6. The Best Baked Oven Fries...from Annie's Eats. They were great. A little labor intensive if I remember? But definitely the best baked oven fries I've done.

7. Mongolian Beef. One of our favorites...I've made it four or so times. Tastes just like P.F. Changs and is surprisingly easy!

8. Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta al Forno - I've been really lucky with my pinterest cooking...except for this guy. Dry and pretty tasteless.

9. Tomato Basil Soup from Jenny Steffens Hobick. Delicious, but it was one of those things where you get sick of the leftovers really fast. So make it for a crowd.

10. Oreo Cheesecake Cookies - good, but the cooking time was off in the recipe, so the first batch I burnt. Actually it may have been my ghetto oven. Just watch them closely if you ever try them!

11. Bruschetta - this was absolutely perfect. Excellent proportions of olive oil, basil, tomatoes, etc. YUM!

12. Lasagna Roll Ups - EVERYONE has these pinned, so I was pretty excited, but unfortunately they were pretty bad. Maybe better with chicken or just cheese. The beef variation was no bueno.

13. "Healthier" General Tso's Chicken (b/c it's not fried)....I remember this being pretty good. I could live on Asian food.

14. Chunky Vegetable Soup - This was so-so. Too many carrots in Taylor and I's opinions.

15. Christmas M&M Pretzel Things- Fantastic! The recipe says 5-6 minutes at 350...but they only need 2-3 minutes. The white chocolate ones melt faster than the milk chocolate, so you could separate them if you wanted true perfection. :)

Christmas post (on January 22)

I will start this post with a picture of my parents (huge) Christmas tree. There's nothing better than Christmas at home. This picture is taken on Christmas eve, which is my second favorite day of the year, second to Christmas day...which follows. Every year, Christmas day is exactly the same, so here are our traditions:

Good Morning!

 Amy passes out presents...

 and we take turns opening. This year, Dad gets superman boxer briefs from my brother.

 So of course he models them over his jeans, with his Dwight Schrute shirt and ever-present mock turtleneck.

 After we finish opening, dad was surprised in the garage with a snowblower. He was VERY excited.

 And my dogs are adorable. Of course. They remain outside with brand new bones so they don't eat our gifts.

 So let's drink to that!

 Mimosas.

 And here it comes...the meal that deserves an entire blog post to itself, our Christmas morning tradition, the ONE day of the year we get to eat....my dad's egg's benedict. He has made it for over 25 years, and each year he perfects his recipe until it gets so perfect we all close our eyes after every bite and moan and groan and then ask for more. It's mind-blowing. It's my favorite thing to eat it the whole wide world.

After this, I fall into a coma for at least 2 hours. Everyone else somehow finds the strength to play games and talk on the phone. But I sleep.

 And when I wake up, there's more food! Here is my favorite appetizer...fried artichoke hearts.

 Salad, prime rib...

 homemade shoestring fries...

 Birthday presents..

Baskin Robbins ice cream cake.

And a perfect ending...Shamus convincing my dad that dogs on the furniture is a good idea :)

What a very, merry Christmas!