Entries Tagged as 'Sports'

Limey’s Going Away Dinner (That Danny Cooked)

October 26th, 2011 · No Comments

   
   
   
   
   
   

On Sunday Danny invited a bunch of friends over to his house for football and dinner. This was one of Limey’s going away events. We couldn’t just have one party for him when we heard he has to leave, we had to throw a whole series!

During the games Danny made dumplings and flatbreads. One of the dumplings was filled with short ribs and the other had potatoes and bacon and a side aioli that made it taste just like a loaded baked spud. So delicious! There were three kinds of flatbreads – a Mediterranean one with a kalamata olive tampanade and feta, one with roasted tomatoes and pesto, and one with sausage and caramelized onions. These were all delicious too, but I especially liked the Mediterranean one.

There were Bears fans, Packers fans and one lonely Cowboys fan at the party and everyone’s team won, so everyone was happy. Although, I would have been happier if the Bears had lost. The weather was nice enough, so we were outside for a while. Quinn and Halle provided the entertainment for the party. I’m not sure Danny and Caroline’s dogs, Maggie & Duff, knew what to make of them, but they better figure it out because they’ll have a baby in the house in just a few months!

For dinner Danny made shrimp and grits. This was the second time I’ve had his shrimp and grits and it’s so delicious. The grits are so rich and creamy. I don’t know how he does it. Actually, I do, but I don’t like to think about it (cream, cream, cream!). Danny also made macaroni and cheese for the kids, which was a big hit with both the kids and the adults.

For dessert, I brought over White Russian cupcakes. I thought they combined two of Limey’s loves: Booze & Sweets. They turned out alright, but not as awesome as I’d hoped. Not as awesome as the Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes I’ve made (here, here). Danny also made beignets with chocolate sauce.

Somehow we rolled ourselves out of there at the end of the night! I’m not sad about saying goodbye to Limey yet because he’ll be here for a while and we have at least one more goodbye party to go to.

It should also be noted that it took us 12 whole minutes to get to Danny & Caroline’s house in Oak Park from our house. I think their house seems far because it’s not even in Chicago, but we live so far west, it’s so fast and easy.

Finally, I almost forgot, Quinn made us this Halloween decoration. It’s a drawing of a scarecrow. I think he has glasses? What a nerdy scarecrow. He told me that I had to hang it by our stairs, but I have it on the fridge:

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Brewers Beards

October 16th, 2011 · 5 Comments

Neither by brother nor my dad have shaved since the Brewers got into the playoffs. I’m not sure why. Some kind of good luck charm? Yesterday they both sent me photos of their beard progress. Looks like my brother is winning in bushiness, but my dad is winning in whiteness! My dad gets bonus points for sending a photo of himself wearing a Brewers shirt, although the Badgers were playing yesterday and maybe that’s why my brother is wearing red. As a side note, yesterday the Badgers killed the Hoosiers, 59-7, and remain unbeaten.

On September 23, the Brewers clinched their first division title in 29 years. Then they won the National League Division Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. My brother and my dad went to the first game of that series. You can see in the photo below, they had just started to not shave.

Currently the Brewers are battling the St. Louis Cardinals for the National League Championship. The standings are 3-2 with Game 6 at Miller Park today. I do not normally cheer for the Brewers, but since the Cubs are way out of it, maybe I’ll cheer for the Brewers as a second team. The Packers play the St. Louis Rams today at Lambeau. I hope WI can win over both of the St. Louis teams! Add in the Badgers, what a great time to be a Wisconsin sports fan!

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A Visit From Fiona

September 29th, 2011 · No Comments

Last Sunday Killian, Liz and Fiona came over for a visit and to watch the Bears take on the Packers. Killian came over at the start of the game and after the first half he and Dallas and I went up on the roof to grill the leftover kalbi ribs from my birthday barbecue. Liz and Fiona arrived just in time for dinner and the second half of the game, although, who could pay attention to the game when we had such and adorable baby to play with. Also, by that time it was clear that the Packers were going to win!

Everyone loved the ribs. Dallas said they were even better than at my birthday party. Fiona even sucked on a rib or two and seemed to like it. I think Killian was a little annoyed when I was trying to make her cheer for the Packers! It was nice to see Fiona again. She’s starting to show her personality more and can scoot around on the carpet. The last time we saw her was on the day we returned from our wedding trip (she was born on our wedding day) and she was only a few weeks old!

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Standard Bar/Grill

June 28th, 2011 · No Comments

Standard Bar/Grill opened in May, just in time for us to go and watch some Bulls playoff games. The space inside is huge, including a second level, and decorated with gorgeous dark wood. The guys at the door were kind of weird to every person in our group who came in, asking if they were meeting someone or they had a reservation… which was odd.. bc hello… you’re a sports bar. There are TVs everywhere in there. Well, later on we realized they were probably just trying to manage the chaos because it was SO packed during the game. Still, they could have probably gone about it better.

Drink specials were good. You could get all the cheap beers in buckets. Actually, some friends even got buckets of locally brewed, Daisy Cutter. And I thought the food was good too. I got a veggie burger (portobello, black beans, lentils, brown rice, tomato, beet, avocado, red pepper mayo, whole grain bun) with a side salad. Nothing crazy, but the veggie burger was delicious. You could tell they made it in-house. It wasn’t some frozen Boca burger that they microwaved

I would not go back unless I was going to watch some sports, probably. It seems to be the main focus of the place, with all of the TVs. But I did like it and would go back again.

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Wine Tasting at WineStyles

May 31st, 2011 · No Comments

Last week I went to a wine tasting at WineStyles in Lakeview. Limey Dave won the tasting at a charity raffle and invited me to go. It just so happens that this is Limey’s regular go-to wine shop and that he’s good friends with Matt, who is a wine specialist there. One thing I really liked about the WineStyles store was that they split up the wines by different styles – crisp, silky, rich, bubbly, fruity, mellow, bold, nectar – that I can actually understand. I tended to like the crisp and mellow styles the best.

Matt chose the wines for us and poured. We tried each one and then at the end we had seconds on the ones we liked. They also had cheese and crackers for us, which was good because I hadn’t eaten for like 7 hours and when I did, it was just a salad. I didn’t think our pours were large, but I was feeling the wine quickly!

WineStyles was also running a special on their wine club. You had to sign up for 3 months, but the first month would only cost $1. It was a great deal, but the store is not that convenient for me, so I didn’t sign up. Check out the notes Matt printed on our tasting sheet. Sorry Dave. And Go Heat! Matt is a huge Miami Heat fan, which we found out later when we went to Beckett’s to watch the game and eat dinner. Bulls lost, but Jill and I were big winners with the delicious burger we ordered and split. Get this, the Oui Oui burger was a french onion soup infused patty topped with truffled mushrooms, cognac onions and melted brie and served on a French baguette. So good. I really liked that place, too: Beckett’s. I hadn’t been there since it had been the bar called Belly’s, which I didn’t really like.

Also, I may not have joined the wine club, but I did buy two of my favorite wines from the tasting:

Skouras Chardonnay – Greece. Tasting Notes: Crisp. Only a touch of oak in this lean, refreshing Chardonnay. The pineapple, peach and vanilla scents are bright. Tropical and orchard fruit flavors, but crisp with the acid to focus the flavors.

Maryhill Winery Winemaker’s Red – Columbia Valley, Washington. Tasting Notes: Mellow. An easy-drinking wine with complex notes that make this wine a favorite! The caramel, cherry and smoke aromas lead into a palate of black pepper and nutmeg, followed by cherries, berries, and oak.

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