For years Beth & I have joked that Del Frisco’s is our neighborhood friendly bar, because we’d go there often with dad for a drink after work.  So when I heard that Del Frisco’s Grille was opening I couldn’t wait to try it!

After a long week I needed a fun girl’s night and scheduled dinner with Jodie & Pam.  We got to the restaurant about 6:30 and didn’t have a reservation, so we planned to have a drink while we waited for a table…no luck, the bar was PACKED!  Just when we thought we were going to be able to get to the bar our table was ready.

I had scoped out the menu online before we went to dinner and had to try the Apt. 5D martini.  Never had I tried a martini with balsamic vinegar, but I’d never even heard of a martini made with it before.  It was delicious!!  I highly recommend it.

The awesome thing about dinner with these two is we could order a ton of different things and share so we could all try a good portion of the menu.

To start, we picked out two appetizers.  The Cheesesteak Eggrolls.

They had a sweet and spicy chili sauce that was a nice compliment to the slices of cheesesteak.  They were amazing!

After what felt like a self-imposed beating, reading “The Marriage Plot;” I wanted an easy read.  Since “One for the Money” was about to be released in the theaters and I’d never read a Janet Evanovich novel I thought…why not?

This was such an easy read.  I read it on my Kindle, so I’m not sure the length of the book.  But I started it Tuesday and had it finished Saturday morning and I didn’t even have a chance to read on Wednesday and Thursday.

This series is at least 18 books long, and to be honest, I’m not sure I’d read any more.  Evanovich’s writing style is easy to read but it didn’t really suck me in to the story.  Who knows I might change my mind if I find another book like “The Marriage Plot” and need a nice easy read I might pick up “Two for the Dough.”

This book to me is a “surface” novel; you don’t get a lot of depth about the characters.  Though to be honest I’m not sure there’s much depth to develop.  Stephanie Plum is your stereotypical “Jersey Girl;” well prior to the onslaught of the Jersey Shore.  But let’s face it, the Jersey Shore people aren’t really even from Jersey.

Jan 21st – Day 21

Saturday I was at Hacienda on Henderson for a birthday dinner and a movie was being filmed there.  See the guy in the picture above, I tried googling him and looking him up on IMDB; no luck!  Supposedly he is or was on the Lying Game but I couldn’t find any proof.

Jan 22nd – Day 22

It had been over 3 weeks since I had last seen my nephews.  So I had a blast hanging out with them Sunday afternoon.  E has gotten so big, and W still doesn’t like to have his picture taken so the silly face was the best I could get!

This was my first time to knowingly try a Rioja wine.  I’m sure I’ve had one before, but I couldn’t tell you when or which one.  This one was a gift (thanks Gabby & Jeremy) which made it even more fun to try!

While full of flavor, this Rioja is surprisingly light with a hint of pepper.  Almost seems like it’d be a great summer time red because of it’s airy quality.  This reminds me of a Tempranillo.

In an effort to learn a little more about Riojas I looked it up on wikipedia and shocker….Rioja is a blended wine. . No wonder I liked it.

I opened this bottle up a good 30 minutes before trying it and by the time I had my 2nd glass it was perfect.  So I definitely recommend giving it some time to breath before drinking it.

A couple weeks back, during the cleanse, I was determined to find a meal to prepare in my crockpot.  I had been so excited to get my crockpot from Beth for Christmas, but then got way too busy to use it and next thing I knew we

This Christmas my dad hooked me up with a Kindle Fire; naturally I felt pressure to make my first Kindle purchase a good one!  So I pulled up a few best seller lists and every place I looked I seemed to come across “The Marriage Plot” by Jeffrey Eugenides. I have not read either of his previous books, “Middlesex” or ”The Virgin Suicides” so I had no idea what I was in for.  If I’ve read a book by a Pulitzer Prize Winner before, it was because it was required reading for a high school or college English class.

This book is about Madeline, an English major/graduate of Brown College in the early 1980s (I say major and graduate because the chronology of this story bounces around quite a bit; in parts she is an undergrad and then at other times she has already graduated), and two love interests: Mitchell and Leonard.

Madeline, finds herself lost in a romance similar to one that could’ve been written by Jane Austin; one of her favorite authors.  Madeline wants so desperately to be in love that she is willing to inject herself in the painful life of Leonard, while Mitchell is willing to do anything to have Madeline.

The story begins the morning of graduation and then the reader is taken back in time to learn why Madeline ended up hung over and being woken up by her parents to go have breakfast before her graduation ceremony.

Despite being an English major, I found myself lost at times as Eugenides went on and on about different authors and their works because the detail was so tedious.  Let me take a moment right here to pause and say, I was an English major with an emphasis on literature and not grammar.  I am sure this is not too surprising of a revelation.

Every time we talked about the place we were going for our next Sister Sushi dinner, the Styx song started playing in my head and I couldn’t stop singing: “Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.”  Oops, sorry if I’ve now gotten the song stuck in your head too.  Okay not really…sing it with me…”Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.”

Beth suggested Sushi Robata so that we could try a new place, which none of us minded.  Plus, this one is in a great location for all of us.  It’s nestled in the Albertson’s parking lot at the northeast corner of Frankford and the Tollway.  I was surprised at how classy this place was; especially considering it’s location.

I am a super picky sushi eater…okay, truth be told I’m a sushi wuss!  I can admit it.  So naturally I scoped out the menu online and picked out what to order before we even got there.  I am not good at the whole raw fish thing, which I understand means that I don’t really eat sushi.  But I’m okay with that!

I ordered:

Sunrise Roll – shrimp tempura roll topped with crab mix, smelt roe and spicy sauce.

Crunch Roll – california roll topped with tempura flakes, smelt roe and eel sauce.

Both were really good!

If you are looking for a new sushi place, I’d definitely recommend this place.  Have you been? What do you think of Sushi Robata?

Saturday night we had some people over for dinner, hence why we cooked that pot roast.  And everyone was required to bring a bottle of wine.  It was after all a “Wine Dinner.”

I probably should have branched out beyond my neighborhood Kroger to find a wine, but I didn’t.  Since I shop there all the time, I didn’t want to pick a wine I’d had before.  So, I brought this wine:

Not only had I never had it before but I’d also never noticed it before and figured, if it was a “Top Chef Selection” it had to be good right? And it actually wasn’t bad, not sure it’s a new favorite but I’d drink it again.

My favorite two wines of the night were the wines that Teal & Michael brought.  Teal went out to Sonoma last fall and found some EXCELLENT wines from wineries I’d never heard of before.

Hopefully on my next trip out there I can check them out.  Since she found these wines at the wineries I’m not sure if they are available around Dallas; if you’ve seen them let me know!

The first one was the 2007 Allure Meritage from Williamson Wines. It was delicious and full of flavor.  Though, as I’m sure it is becoming blantanly obvious, I’m obsessed with red blends.  If you can get your hands on this one, give it a try! 

She also brought this 2007 Topel Pinot Syrah.  I don’t know about you but I’d never heard of a Pinot Syrah varietal. I’ve heard of a Pinot Noir and a Syrah…but a marriage of the two…it was amazing.  I’ve got to try this one again!

That is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the other many wines that were brought to dinner, because I did!  I don’t think there were any wines I didn’t like.

Last week during the cleanse, I was running out of ways to creatively eat enough servings of vegetables every day.  Then my friend Kandice told me about her roasted cauliflower recipe (actually both recipes are from Kandice). 

Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower, I used white but you could do purple, green or yellow
3-4 cloves of garlic chopped
Olive oil
Red Pepper flakes
Kosher salt

Cut the cauliflower florets into smaller, bite size pieces discarding the stems.  Then chop up the garlic cloves, I think I did 3 and that roasted garlic was so good I wish I’d done a few more.  Throw cauliflower and garlic into a bowl then drizzle it with olive oil making sure there it is all nicely coated.  Then sprinkle in red pepper flakes (warning: a little goes a LONG way) and kosher salt and toss it all together.  I actually left out the salt because of the cleanse.

Then pour the mixture into a deep pan that is lined with foil.  Roast at 375-400 for 20-30 minutes until they are slightly browned and softened.  Stir occasionally so no one side gets too burnt.  This was absolutely delicious!

If you haven’t read Tina Fey’s book “Bossypants,” I highly recommend it.  I found myself literally laughing out loud as I read it and I think you will too!

I always find it fascinating to read biographies and learn how people become who they are. This book won’t reveal anything shocking or unexpected about Ms. Fey, but it’s just interesting to hear how she came up with the idea for 30 Rock. Though I have to confess, I don’t watch the show.

I’ve never been a consistent SNL watcher, but I could’ve sworn that Tina Fey did more than just the Weekend Update during the show, but apparently I was wrong.  She said she tried doing a few other sketches during her tenure there but no matter the sketch she said she just always looked like Tina Fey but in a wig.  I would have never guessed that; to me she was one of the biggest stars of SNL while she was a cast memeber.

Apparently if you get the audio book, it is read by Tina Fey…now I kind of wish I’d done that!

Well it is on to the next book!

(That’s one book down in 2012, 19 to go!)

Jan 14th – Day 14

Crockpot Pot Roast Beth and I made for our wine dinner Saturday night.

Jan 15th – Day 15

One of my all time favorite things is a bed with freshly washed sheets.  So what better way to start out the week?

Jan 7th – Day 7

It was a nice day here in Dallas, so Top Golf was packed! And the perfect day to celebrate two friends’ birthdays.

Jan 8th – Day 8

I know, I know, I’m such a slacker. I waited until the 8th to take down my Christmas Tree today. Bye, bye Christmas!