we put the “happy” in happy hour

a few days backmiss elinor, hubby, and i grabbed some early dinner with my folks at st. francis.  it was mighty tasty. there is just something about heading to a restuarant on the earlier side and making the most of the evening.  it usually gives us license to try more dishes and double up…you can’t beat a happy hour deal, am i right?  and in this case, i am talking a big ol’ gourmet burger with a side of hand cut fries for seven bucks.  #winning.

the springtime weather was particularly springy and the restaurant opened up the side of the restaurant so there was a perfect breeze while we dined.  elinor sat in her little seat just playing away while we sipped some good wine and noshed on baked goat cheese with crusty bread, french onion burgers, chicken salad sandwiches, and radish/bacon/garden pea/buttermilk ranch salad.  good stuff.  and so local and fresh.  it was a simply delightful meal with great company.  happiness and satisfied tummies all around.

 

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chef ben {spanish style deviled eggs}

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holy smokes folks!  chef ben made the yummiest tapas-esque meal the other night.  it may sound a little bit like a lame potluck sidedish, but no sir!  these deviled eggs were to die for!  big time flavor in bite-sized {well, three bite-sized for me} vessels.  once again, he grabbed the smitten kitchen cookbook and flipped through page after page of yum, settling on these tasty guys.  they are sprinkled with crispy prosciutto and salty marcona almonds.  i mean, come on!

seriously, they were amazing.  we paired them with a vibrant,spicy, and deep rioja from our wsj wine club collection {loving that, by the way}

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it was so much fun to pop these guys while sipping on a perfectly paired red.  i love flipping the mundane on its head and making it something memorable…and my fabulous chef did that for us this week.  boring old eggs made amazing.  and a typical tuesday night became an {unexpected} smashing evening of relaxing and savoring and celebrating all the little good things in life.

let’s do this again.

a post that will make you super envious

this weekend, my amazing hubby made me the most scrumptious and decadent dinner.  you know you’ve got it good when your man randomly turns to you one day and says “i would really like to start making a special dinner at home once a week”.  um, okay.  so.  the plan is to get out on the town for a date night dinner out at least once a month and eat a special date night dinner in once a week.  courtesy of mister ben.  yup, sounds like a good plan.  he just loves to cook and he is so darn good at it.  this is one of his best ideas yet.  and has inspired a new series that i will be calling “chef ben”.  winner, winner, chicken dinner indeed.

dinner1he took a page out of tyler florence’s new cookbook fresh i highly recommend it. dinner2

nothing sexier than a man in the kitchen. dinner3the finished plate.  butternut squash puree topped with crispy porcini mushrooms, crispy sage, roasted pecans, and brown butter wine sauce.  and a dusting of parmesan.  so rich and satisfying…and no meat to be found!  now that is a culinary feat.