Molly's Route to Merlin's Rest
Mike's route to Merlin's.
An incremental difference yet still blog worthy. Mike wins.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Thursday, July 28, 2011
anniversary: one year!
Keeping it simple, we decided a long bike ride and a nice dinner were the way to go for year one. That way, we would have something to build to in future years. Well, we set quite a baseline for ourselves.
Here we are at about mile 37 of our bike ride:
In true Vasich fashion, we realized we might have bitten off more than we could chew, a little too late:
After biking for 5 hours, we decided to call and request that our reservation be pushed back an hour. Good thing or we would've had to eat in our sweaty biking clothes. Total mileage: 51.6643
Our meal was fabulous. Mike and I both opted for Muffuletta's Sunday night fixed menu option with the steak entree. It was delicious.
Here we are at about mile 37 of our bike ride:
In true Vasich fashion, we realized we might have bitten off more than we could chew, a little too late:
After biking for 5 hours, we decided to call and request that our reservation be pushed back an hour. Good thing or we would've had to eat in our sweaty biking clothes. Total mileage: 51.6643
Our meal was fabulous. Mike and I both opted for Muffuletta's Sunday night fixed menu option with the steak entree. It was delicious.
painting on a deadline
My family arrives tonight for a little McCarthy reunion. In anticipation, Mike and I have been feverishly getting our home prepared, a task that included painting our two first floor bedrooms.
Mike is the more experienced painter of the two of us, but, as it turns out, I am a painting maniac. Mike focused on the details, and I hit up those walls like a graffiti artist on the run. Needless to say, we made the perfect team.
The blue room didn't turn out to be the color that we were in expecting, but we adjusted to it quickly. It reminds me of the Mediterranean or, as Mike put it, a Tiffany box. The yellow room is the Monet or Giverny room, named after the poster of his water lilies and green bridge in the corner of the room.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
A last goodbye to winter (officially!)
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Evening at Midori's
On a cold Friday evening, Mike and I headed out for some noodle soup at Midori's Floating World on Lake. Our mutual craving for a big bowl of the steaming soup must have been rather immense since we typically refrain from choosing Midori's due to the slow service and lack of seating. Yet, the bitter cold of this particular February evening certainly called for Midori's noodle soup and we obliged.
To our surprise, our server was adorable and filled with recommendations (though these were for a local Malaysian restaurant as opposed to Midori's sushi bar...but nevertheless). She also instructed us to re-toast our sake in traditional Japanese fashion after catching us foolishly clinking our little glasses to "cheers." I also spotted her picking up after Midori (Yes! She exists!) as she threw order tickets and pieces of tuna on the floor in an angry huff. The server said, "We are so busy. I feel sooo bad for Midori! She is doing everything!" (Later, a man with funky glasses and a cool hat came out from the kitchen with a half sandwich wrapped in paper towel begging Midori to eat. She barely lifted her eyes from her rolls and made no indication of gratefulness.) All said, Midori's focus certainly paid off. Every sushi roll that came from her bar was not only delicious, it was art.
The noodle soups were everything we hoped for. Mike ordered his all-time favorite udon noodles in fish broth with tempura vegetables. I ordered my all-time favorite soba noodles with Wakame (Buckwheat! Seaweed! Love!) and shiitake broth. I could seriously eat noodle soup at least three times a week. I feel so healthy afterward; satisfied but not bloated the way American food hits ya in the gut. I think I am going to have to try out some recipes at home. I am guessing the soup isn't too hard to make and the ingredients cheap thanks to United Noodle!
Post soup, Mike and I returned home. Turned on the latest episode of Mad Men. Cringed over Don Draper's moodiness and Betty's awful parenting. Ate a piece of pumpkin chocolate chip cake that I made for last week's book club. Thought about roof raking and long runs as we fell fast asleep....
To our surprise, our server was adorable and filled with recommendations (though these were for a local Malaysian restaurant as opposed to Midori's sushi bar...but nevertheless). She also instructed us to re-toast our sake in traditional Japanese fashion after catching us foolishly clinking our little glasses to "cheers." I also spotted her picking up after Midori (Yes! She exists!) as she threw order tickets and pieces of tuna on the floor in an angry huff. The server said, "We are so busy. I feel sooo bad for Midori! She is doing everything!" (Later, a man with funky glasses and a cool hat came out from the kitchen with a half sandwich wrapped in paper towel begging Midori to eat. She barely lifted her eyes from her rolls and made no indication of gratefulness.) All said, Midori's focus certainly paid off. Every sushi roll that came from her bar was not only delicious, it was art.
The noodle soups were everything we hoped for. Mike ordered his all-time favorite udon noodles in fish broth with tempura vegetables. I ordered my all-time favorite soba noodles with Wakame (Buckwheat! Seaweed! Love!) and shiitake broth. I could seriously eat noodle soup at least three times a week. I feel so healthy afterward; satisfied but not bloated the way American food hits ya in the gut. I think I am going to have to try out some recipes at home. I am guessing the soup isn't too hard to make and the ingredients cheap thanks to United Noodle!
Post soup, Mike and I returned home. Turned on the latest episode of Mad Men. Cringed over Don Draper's moodiness and Betty's awful parenting. Ate a piece of pumpkin chocolate chip cake that I made for last week's book club. Thought about roof raking and long runs as we fell fast asleep....
The Infallible Sweet Potato Soup (with caramelized onions)
This recipe is from The New England Soup Factory Cookbook and comes highly praised. I served this at our New Years' Eve Party this year and for my book club (we read "Freedom," by Jonathan Franzen). On both occasions, folks returned to the kitchen for seconds.
Caramelized Onions:
2 tbs salted butter
2 large spanish onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Soup
4 tbs salted butter
3 whole garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
2 cups sliced onions
2 cups sliced carrots
1/4 cup diced celery
8 medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
10 cups chicken stock (I used veggie)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tps ground nutmeg
2 tb worcestershire sauce
2 cups light cream
1/2 cup sweet sherry wine (I used a fruity red)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups caramelized onions
For the caramelized onions: In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for 18 minutes. Add the brown sugar, salt and pepper. Saute an additional 10 min. Add the vinegar and continue cooking until the vinegar starts to evaporate and the onions look thick and syrupy, 8 to 10 min more. Remove from the heat and let cool. If working ahead, the onions can be stored in a tightly covered container until ready to use. (This is super important...first time I made this recipe, I left the onions in the pan. Bad Idea! It was like removing plaster...)
For the soup: In a stockpot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onions, carrots, and celery. Saute for 10 min. Add the sweet potatoes and saute 5 min more. Pour the stock over the veggies and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sweet potatoes are very soft, 30 to 35 min. Puree in the soup in the pot using a hand blender (Buy one if you don't have one; it will change your life) OR working batches with a regular blender until smooth. Add the brown sugar, nutmeg, worcestershire sauce, light cream, sherry (wine), salt and pepper. Puree again until well combined. Stir in the caramelized onions with a spoon.
Makes 10 (Big) servings.
Caramelized Onions:
2 tbs salted butter
2 large spanish onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Soup
4 tbs salted butter
3 whole garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
2 cups sliced onions
2 cups sliced carrots
1/4 cup diced celery
8 medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
10 cups chicken stock (I used veggie)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tps ground nutmeg
2 tb worcestershire sauce
2 cups light cream
1/2 cup sweet sherry wine (I used a fruity red)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups caramelized onions
For the caramelized onions: In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for 18 minutes. Add the brown sugar, salt and pepper. Saute an additional 10 min. Add the vinegar and continue cooking until the vinegar starts to evaporate and the onions look thick and syrupy, 8 to 10 min more. Remove from the heat and let cool. If working ahead, the onions can be stored in a tightly covered container until ready to use. (This is super important...first time I made this recipe, I left the onions in the pan. Bad Idea! It was like removing plaster...)
For the soup: In a stockpot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onions, carrots, and celery. Saute for 10 min. Add the sweet potatoes and saute 5 min more. Pour the stock over the veggies and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sweet potatoes are very soft, 30 to 35 min. Puree in the soup in the pot using a hand blender (Buy one if you don't have one; it will change your life) OR working batches with a regular blender until smooth. Add the brown sugar, nutmeg, worcestershire sauce, light cream, sherry (wine), salt and pepper. Puree again until well combined. Stir in the caramelized onions with a spoon.
Makes 10 (Big) servings.
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