Books!

Recently I found myself reading 3 books…at the same time!  Luckily due to vacation I was able to finish one just in time to pick up a can’t put it down….so now I’m at 2 books. phew.

I’ve had Isadore’s Secret on loan from my mother since last fall and would pick up and put down reading a few pages here and there.  The story behind this is that it’s true and took place in my Grandma’s town.  I’ve heard the story of the murdered nun my whole life; so going into it I kind of knew what would happen. None the less it was an interesting story-lots of facts and true accounts, but it did read like a history book.  I was glad to finally finish it and move onto something a bit more light.

I picked The Gatecrasher up from a $5 sale at a bookstore and started it a while ago.  After the gruesome courtroom drama of I.S. this was a nice mind relaxing read.  The author wrote the Shopaholic series, which I loved, but I haven't found this as humors. We shall see because I put it down again…to read…

Room! I recently heard Rosie O'Donnell speaking about this book on her radio show (which  I love!) and my interest was peaked.  I put my name on the Library wait list and luckily got it soon.  I picked it up on a Monday and finished it on Thursday. It was that good. I even read it on my lunch break!  What makes this book so unique is that the narrator is a 5 year old. So it takes a while to get used to his “voice”.  Jack lives with his mother in Room.  You quickly realize that Room is all he knows.  Get where I’m going with this?  Now, it’s not a gruesome, sad, evil story…why they’re in the room is, but Jack doesn’t know that so you’re able to view the world through him. Knowing what really is going on add to the suspense and keeps the book moving. (at times you will get sick of him describing things)  I can not recommend this book enough.  I still think about it (2 weeks after the fact!)

After putting it down I realized I needed to start my new book club selection:

To be honest I have gotten maybe 10 pages in the last week…I think I might be read out.  But it sounds interesting and takes place in Michigan-(it must be good! )  It’s thick…but I’m hoping to get my nose into it since a few in the group who had previously read it really enjoyed it. (Although I do rarely agree with my club on good books!)

So there you have it. My summer book reading list.  What is on your night stand this summer? Anything good?

Benedict

Eggs, that is. I love Eggs Benedict.  If we’re out for breakfast and it’s on the menu I find it very difficult to order anything else.  I even find it hard to steer away from the traditional and order a “house special” Benedict.

For those who are not in the know Eggs Benedict is actually quite simple. An English muffin, a slice of Canadian bacon, a poached egg and some hollandaise sauce.

Anyway-until recently if I wanted to poach an egg at home (to make eggs benedict, I would use a makeshift poacher that my dad showed me…Muffin tins.  Not many people know this, but Gary is pretty stellar in the Kitchen.  His degree is actually in Restaurant Management and he’s worked as a chef-he’s got a nice big scar on his forearm as proof.  So when they were visiting once we had eggs benedict (according to mom he can make a killer hollandaise sauce) and he demonstrated using the muffin tins to poach the eggs by placing them in a shallow pan with water.  Perfect cute little poached eggs. 

Now while this worked to satisfy my eggs benedict addiction I still wanted a proper egg poacher like my mom had…but seeing as our cupboards space is limited I’ve held off.  Until I was perusing the back of The Bitchen Kitchen and came across these little cuties.

I purchased 4 of these silicon egg poachers (cheap) that you just drop in a pan of boiling water and 6 min later you have a poached egg! and they take up no space since they stack and they’re flexible.  They’re great! I love them and have been having fun making “eggs Benedict” on the weekends.  Why the quotes? well Canadian bacon isn’t cheap and we don’t always have hollandaise sauce on hand (which I make from a Knoll packet!) so I’ve been making it any which way I can.  Here are a couple that we’ve tried and enjoyed.

Hawaiian Benedict: Hawaiian Sweet Roll, Bacon, Poached Eggs, Hollandaise sauce

Pretzel Benedict: Pretzel Roll, Spinach, Poached Egg, Ricotta Dijon Sauce

Has anyone else have fun mixing up the traditional dish? I still favor the original-but it’s fun to mix it up with what’s on hand and our new little cups make it even easier!

And finally-Happy Birthday Dad! The Hollandaise King!

Let there be Light!

Well it’s done-finally-we have a new light fixture in the kitchen!

Over a month (or was it two) ago we bought a new fixture at IKEA to replace the old double shop fluorescents that the condo came with.

We spent a whopping $40 on this modified track light fixture-hoping it would provide enough light in our tiny kitchen. It sat in the box for a good 2 months…Then finally Adam had some free time and began to tear down the existing frame and lights. I was so happy I bought him beer.
Being the optimist i thought that this would be a weekend project. But I was quickly told-I have to Mud-sand-paint that will take a day to dry…blah blah blah….so for a whole WEEK we had no light in our kitchen.  luckily the microwave and stove worked and our outlets so Adam could plug in his Hi output halogen shop light that was so bright you couldn’t help but stare at it and then realize you were blind.
Here is the hole (seriously-I studied architecture for how long and I can’t come up with a better word?) Anyway this is where the lights were and our plan was to open it up and put the new fixture there.

Finally after Adam Sanded and painted (we decided to do the whole cove (is that better?) in the same grey as the walls) He was able to install our new fixture and voila! we had light again!
I quickly realized that the kitchen wasn’t as bright as it was with the fluorescents and that there are some shadow areas, especially by the fridge, but we both decided we liked it and since we use the stove light it would be just fine.

Being, tall it really helps to make the kitchen feel more open-the ceilings are so low I can touch them with my hand.  And the pretty new fixture brings us into the 21st century. Now if only I could convince him to do the cabinets…

Girl & the Goat

While we were in Chicago we were able to check out a new restaurant called Girl & the Goat. Big deal, right? Well I should tell you I made reservations at said restaurant 2 months in advance and our time slot….10:30 pm! Talk about a late night dinner.  Well why such the fuss over this restuarunt?
Bravo!
As in the TV network.
You see, the owner is Stephanie Izard, winner of Top Chef (season 4).  That was the season Adam and I started watching Top Chef and we thought it would be fun to try it out.

Now, Adam and I are not “foodies”. We don’t get all snobby about presentation and could really care less if the produce is organic-free range-farm raised-what not.  We just like tasty food. Where we do get snobby, at least I do, is service. I CAN NOT STAND bad service.  I’ve waited too many tables (with great service I might add) to sit waiting at my table with an empty water glass and no server in sight.  Luckily the service was not an issue at G&G. We must have had 6 (Jonathan counted) different people servicing our table and our water glasses never got more than 1/2 empty. Happy Girl.

Alright, let's move onto the food. When I originally booked the reservation I was happy to see that it was in the “under $30” price range, but when we got closer to our trip realized that it was a “Tapas” type menu.  Meaning the portions are made to share, but small.  Luckily, knowing this ahead of time, we got a pizza for $12 at a bar next door around "real" dinner time. Back to the food....
All of us ordered from the fish portion of the menu (the meat portion honestly scared me…face, feet, tongue, liver….all parts I don’t want to eat.)

We started off with Bread (well actually beer first :)) with two “Not Campbell's” dipping sauces; cream of mushroom and tomato.  I loved the bread; it had lots of grains and a nice hard crust and I really enjoyed the sauces. Adam wasn’t as impressed.  Next came my choice: Salmon Tartare (I know-fancy!) The dish was  cold & raw, but quite tasty.  I thought it was a great light starter to our meal.

Next came Jonathan’s choice: Seared Tuna. I’m not a big tuna fan, but the guys loved it and I did enjoy the mixture of flavors and textures.  Our final plates were hot dishes. Adam’s choice: Seared Halibut. And for the vegetable I chose: Green beans.  By this point I was actually pretty full, but the Halibut was really good!
However the star of the evening was the green beans.  I’ve never in my life had better green beans. They were even better than green bean casserole! I am currently scouring the internet for a recipe anything close to the sauce. (If I find it I will share it!) Sadly we had to leave some of the beans behind that we were too full to finish.
At the end of the meal we were too full to even look at dessert, but we all agreed that it was a pretty good experience. I’m glad we ate before, because Adam would have been STARVING, but if you have the $ you could go there and fill up quite easily while getting to taste a variety of foods.

Below is our entrée’s direct from the menu-just so you can see how inventive she got with each dish and the mixing of flavors.
(salmon tartare . summer squash . summer truffles . marcona almonds)
(seared tuna . lamb sausage . grilled blueberry . pepitas)

(pan roasted halibut . brandade . grilled asparagus . green garlic . blackberry)

(sauteed green beans . fish sauce vinaigrette . cashews)

For those who want to know:
Girl & The Goat
809 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60607-2310
(312) 492-6262
Open Mon-Thu,Sun 4:30pm-11pm; Fri-Sat 4:30pm-12am

Alive and rested

We’re back from vacation and we’re well rested.

Here’s a clip from our trip…more to come…promise. But the laundry might have to come first

excuse my squeaky auntie voice…

It's in!

I don't know how, but Adam brought our HUGE table up the stairs and into our condo by himself!  He did it yesterday at lunch-so it was a nice surprise when I got home.

Once we got it into the space we realized just how big it is...and we LOVE it.  We will easily be able to set the table with place mats and full china setting on both sides and still have room for food on the table!   However we did notice that it's too tall. :( Originally the goal was to make it tall enough that i could cross my legs in heels-something I can't normally do at most tables.  However when you sit down in a standard chair-the table hits right at mid chest on me-and I've got a looong torso.  So seeing as we hope to have this table for the duration of our life and host many family dinners at it-we figured our children and my mom would like to be able to eat without standing up we're going to cut the legs down 1-2".

The table still needs to be finished and the sides need to be constructed. Adam informed me that he would like a "biscuit joiner" so that he can do it at home. I told him to look on eBay and sure enough there are some for under $50-score.  Hopefully we'll get that all done sooner than later, but we are going on vacation in a week...so we'll see.  I'm excited to really show you the table-these phone pics don't do it justice nor can see the wonderful knots, grain and distressing of the wood.  It really is going to be a great piece.

Here's a photo-shopped picture of what it will look like once we complete the sides.

I'm really really digging it!
We've got a jam packed Sunday of projects and shopping-updates hopefully Monday.
Have a great weekend!!

Getting Closer!!!

Adam’s been working on our table-getting all the parts and pieces figured out, cut and assembled.  I’ve been helping in the how do we build this?…what will work? scenarios, but he’s been the one in the shop and I've been in the dark.
A few weeks ago he sent me this picture of the base all assembled, but held together with clamps.
You can’t tell from the photo, but those long side rails are taller than me! (FYI I'm 69")
It was actually a lot trickier than I first imagined, because the rails have to tie into the legs to support the top, since the top doesn’t rest on the legs. So the pieces were cut like a puzzle to all fit together.
After he did all the cutting and figuring out he brought the pieces home for me to stain.  Originally I wanted a cool dark brown for the base, but when I went to Home Depot they were out of my 1st choice: Jacobean.

So not wanting to leave empty handed I grabbed a can of Ebony. 

After discussing it with Adam we both decided that the ebony was actually a better choice, since our current furniture in the living room is black.  So while he was off someplace (working?) one Saturday I tool the pieces outside and began staining the super white poplar he had used for our base. It wasn’t as dark and saturated as I would have hoped, but after two coats I was beginning to like it.

These pictures look browner than it really is. 
Finally last week he took all the stained pieces to the shop, assembled the base and put the two halves of the top together.  I kept asking him..how does it look?!?!? Finally last night he stayed late and put the whole thing together-well not permanently, but enough for a photo!
And here she is!

I was really worried I wouldn’t like it-and it would be too rustic, but I think it looks pretty awesome. And I feel will look even more so when the ends are done and the sides of the table will be enveloped in the same style as the top. Giving the whole table this feeling of a wrapped plane.  Sorry, was that too much archi-dork lingo for you?   But anyway, our next step now is finishing the base and top.  We are weighing our options and getting advise from some woodworking pros on which route will be best. 
First and foremost we want it to be safe to eat off of and as non toxic as possible when applying.  Finding a good Low/no VOC product is important to us.  Next I want it to be low maintenance. Those of you who know me, know I hate cleaning and I don’t want to have to tip toe around it when we’re having a big dinner party-I want someone to spill red wine on it and not have to freak out. Finally I want it to look good.  Adam is leaning towards a satin finish, but I want more of a high gloss modern finish to counter balance all the rustic stuff going on. (I’m not a rustic girl) 
Right now we’re thinking we’ll use an oil rub 1st to bring out the natural colors & grain in the top then seal it with either a lacquer or a polyurethane.  Luckily I have found some “green” products-but we’ll have to do some sample swatches and some comparisons.  It would be nice if we could do it at home, but I’m afraid of all the fumes since we’d have to do it inside (we don’t have a yard. boo hoo) Adam seems to think if we find the right product it will be ok.  Anyone have any recommendations???
All in all we’re excited to get it into the condo and finish it up.  We still have to lay out the leaves/sides, but for now this is great progress!  I see chair shopping in my future!!