One purchase I regret making is a cruddy little ‘brulee torch’ – underpowered, expensive, and just not worth it. It made its way to the trash can a long time ago.

I took Alton Brown’s advice and picked up a real torch. At the hardware store.

And it makes yummy things.

Like grapefruit brulee. No kidding.

Seriously, try it. It’s delicious! The combination of the burnt sugar and a little bit of salt completely takes away the bitterness of the grapefruit, as promised.

And if you do not have a torch in your kitchen, well, you are missing out.

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1. i will never steam asparagus again

Take a close look at this receipt:

We are in Texas right now.. we stayed at a resort in League City, which had this restaurant (The Harbour Club Restaurant & Bar) in it. I’d give it top reviews for the quality and taste of the food, but the service was.. interesting. I was charged (only $1, but still) for “the rocks” for a Bailey’s on the rocks, where the ice in the water, cokes, and the other drink I ordered was free. The liquor was also quite expensive in general, but that’s to be expected, I suppose. Another member of our party had a $14.13 bill (including 21% mandatory gratuity since we were a party of 10), and when she paid with a $20 bill, she only received $5 in change back. In any case, the food was spectacular, there were just some.. oddities.. in the pricing!

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Finally! Sonic opened the location right by my house in Savage, MN a week ago. Tiff and I were planning on trying it out on Saturday, but it was way too busy – cars lined up past the Walgreens. Sunday afternoon, we stopped by and got a stall in about 15 minutes – not bad! I also swung by solo on Monday afternoon to try it out; got through the drive through in about 10 minutes.

Oh, yeah, and the #1 reason to go to Sonic: same menu, whenever they are open!! That’s right – in the mood for a burger at 6am? No problem! Hankering for a breakfast burrito at 11pm? They got you covered.

I’d recommend trying it out if you get a chance.

In any case, in the style of the Weier Rating System(tm), here goes..

Must Have
——————–

Mozzarella Sticks (Piping hot, perfectly fried, yum!)
Cranberry Limeaid
Cranberry Fruit Slush

Very Good
——————–

Bacon Cheeseburger TOASTER Sandwich

Good
——————–

SuperSonic Breakfast Burrito
Chili Cheese Fries
Chili Cheese Tots

Take It Or Leave It
——————–

Tots with Pepperjack Cheese (Cheese was rather flavorless)
Cherry Limeaid (Too sweet)

Probably Not
——————–

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So, SuperTarget had asparagus on sale for $.99/lb. Tiff and I both love the stuff, so even though it wasn’t in the greatest shape, we picked some up. I usually buy asparagus in the frozen, ready-to-steam bags, and it tastes good. However, this time it was fresh asparagus, and I couldn’t find our steamer. I thought about blanching it, and finally went meh, and tossed the asparagus in a hot skillet with some olive oil and kosher salt. The results were AWESOME. I probably cooked it for 2-3 minutes in total; not long at all.. instead of being kind of mushy, it’s nice and crisp, and the flavor just explodes out of it. I love it.

Tiff prefers the mushy stuff, unfortunately.. ah well, I can mush hers up after I cook mine. ;)

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Place of purchase: Surdyk’s
Title: Champignon Brie (Mushroom)

Description:
Champignon Brie is a German import with a rich, mushroomy flavor and a silky interior. Enjoy with a German Gewurtztraminer wine and crusty french bread.

Comments:
I haven’t ever been a huge brie fan, but Tiff and I figured we’d try this one. Still not my favorite cheese ever, but I probably just need to work up to brie! Fairly strong flavor, with a hint of mushrooms. Enjoyed it more than the brie I’ve had before in any case..

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1. cheese review: marieke gouda
2. yummy grilled cheese
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Place of purchase: Surdyk’s
Title: Marieke Gouda, Thorp, WI

Description:
This farmhouse gouda is crafted from raw milk by Marieke Penterman, who learned to make cheese in Holland. This is the most authentic gouda made in the US: the sweet and nutty flavor intensifies with age, making it an excellent pair with toasty beer like Oktoberfest or Winter Ale.

Comments:
Gouda was probably the first real cheese I ever had; I don’t count the generic processed stuff we generally put on hamburgers. ;) This cheese is like the Gouda I remember, but so much better. It has a rather mild flavor, but is still strong enough to stand up with good wine or beer.

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Place of purchase: Surdyk’s
Title: Porter Cheddar, Ireland

Description:
Irish Cheddar from Cahill Farm, lightly flavored with Porter. Butter and caramel flavors in finish.

Comments:
We first had this one at Kevin and Amy’s, and like it enough that we picked up some in our cheese outing. We were just as happy with it the second time. It’s a nice, firm cheddar; not too sharp. The porter gives it a nice, caramel-like finish. Highly recommend it!

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Tiff and I recently did dinner with Kevin and Amy. It was excellent. Tiny chickens are good! In any case, they got us totally addicted to two things: cheese and lambic. Both are highly recommended. ;) In any case, this is just a note that we’re planning on trying out various kinds of cheeses, and actually posting reviews on them. Kind of similar to what Paul does with wine, but I’m my own person, so it’s different. Right??? Oh, yeah, we’ll also try to do wine reviews, with occasional Lambic thrown in. ;)

In any case, enjoy. And yell at me if I don’t post enough reviews!

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Tiff and I took her brother out to dinner at Fogo de Chao in Minneapolis this weekend. It was great! None of us had been to a churrasco-style restaurant before, so we didn’t really know what to expect.

The meal starts with a serve-yourself salad bar, which was filled with most excellent selections. You could grab a wedge of asiago and carpachio, go with a pasta salad, or anything you desire. Of course, we were warned by our waiter not to fill up on the salad bar – just try it out, and then get down to the meats!

Meats are served by Gauchos (chefs for this style of cooking) who walk around with a variety of meats on skewers. When you arrive, you’re given a card that has a red side and a green side. Red side? The Gauchos leave you alone. Green side? You’re immediately flooded with a variety of meats on skewers, with very helpful Gauchos asking how rare you want your beef, etc. All the meats I tried were delicious! My favorite was the Picanha.

Of course, we saved some room (well, technically we didn’t, but we managed to pack some more in) for dessert. We tried the flan (best flan I’ve had in ages!), and the Papaya Cream (which is great for soothing the stomach.)

I’d highly recommend trying this place out some time – I’ve heard reviews of their other locations that are just as positive. The service simply can’t be beat – you don’t have a dedicated waiter/waitress who you need to find, you just look up and someone will come help you.

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Two of our friends wanted to take us out for dinner last night, and took us to one of their favorite places – i nonni in Lilydale, MN. Tiff and I both think it’s about the best restaurant experience either of us have had. We had the calamaris for an appetizer, and if you ever go to the restaraunt, I’d say it’s a requirement, even if you think you hate calamaris – it was, by far, the best I’ve ever had. Then, we debated what to get for dinner.. the four of us were thinking maybe we should just get four dishes and share everything, so we all get to try everything, but then we decided to try the restaraunt’s five-course tasting menu instead. The first course was an appetizer with sushi-grade tuna, and was excellent – tuna like I’ve never tasted before. The second course was spaghetti with tile fish, and was very interesting – none of us had tried tile fish before (that we could recall at least), and it was quite good. It almost tasted like shellfish, but different – again, very good. The third course was beef tenderloin served over mustard greens, with a mushroom sauce on top. We all had it medium rare (the way any good steak should be served!); as expected, it was unbeliveably tender, and the sauce complimented the steak very well. The fourth course was a type of bleu cheese and plum preserves served with a cracker; I’m not usually a big fan of bleu cheese, but the combination was great! The dessert was balsmaic strawberries served with a dessert cheese (which I, with my lack of culinary knowledge, thought was whipped cream before I tasted it) – again, a combination I would never have expected to like, but loved!

Each course besides the fourth also had a wine to accompany, and I was amazed at how well the restaraunt paired the wines to the food – many of the wines I would not have enjoyed on their own, but paired up, they were excellent. The dessert wine, however, was a completely different story — it was beyond anything I’ve tried before — it was amazingly sweet, yet not overpowering, and smooth on the palate. The wine was a 2002 Brachetto by the Forteto della Luja winery in Italy. It was good enough that I had to buy a bottle, even at the price of $45 for a 1/2 bottle (375ml). It’s also one of the few red wines I’ve had that is actually supposed to be served chilled. Here is a review of the wine, in Italian.. use your favorite translating site, like Babelfish.

Since Tiff and I were treated (thanks warren and Daniel!!), I can’t say how the price was, but I’m certain it wasn’t cheap.. I’d certainly recommend this restaraunt for any special occasion, or just a fun time.

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Grilled cheese with tomato soup is an old favorite of mine, so of course when I saw Alton Brown’s “Good Eats” episode entitled ” For Whom the Cheese Melts” that ended with a nifty recipe grilled cheese sandwich, I just had to try it out! The basic idea is to smear one of the pieces of bread with dijon mustard (even if you hate mustard, bear with this – you don’t really taste it), use shredded cheese instead of slices, and cook with a bit of olive oil instead of buttering the bread at all. He recommended heating two cast iron pans, and cooking between them, but I just did the old fashion griddle method, with a heavy pan on top of the sandwich as it cooks. In any case, it turned out great — it’s quite an interesting flavor; it doesn’t really taste like mustard, but just adds a bit of zing to the sandwich. I’d recommend it!

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I was given a few gift certificates to Jensen’s Supper Club in Eagan, MN, and Tiff and I figured we’d drag a few friends along with us (thanks Erika and Tom!) to check it out. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but it was great! We started out with calamaris and martinis.. both were excellent. I’ve not enjoyed the martinis I’d had before (either too strong or too sweet), but the fine folk at Jensen’s mixed up my Lemon Drop just right. For dinner, we shared a side of garlic mashed potatoes, and I had the prime rib for dinner. For once, when I ordered the meat medium-rare, it actually arrived medium-rare.. my experience at other restaurants is generally that they will overcook the meat, no matter what you order. My fellow diners tried the shrimp and the walleye, and they were also pleased. The service was quick and efficient.. our server was there whenever we needed her, but she didn’t hover annoyingly around the table — always a good thing! To top off the night, the couple at the table next to us got engaged.. that was quite an experience to watch. In any case, I’d rate Jensen’s as highly recommended.. just be prepared to drop a bit of cash; it’s fairly affordable for the quality of the food, but it’s certainly more expensive than your generic chain. Oh, yeah, and you probably want reservations. Enjoy!

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