Not Dead Yet (Not For Lack Of Trying)
Wow, I haven't posted in approximately forever. So, February I did the Ravelympics, finished a shawl, and spun my first finished skein of yarn. In March I recovered from February, and then my parents visited, which was lovely, but I spent April recovering from that. I'm not quite sure what happened to May, other than knitting and catching up with Tivo. Somewhen in all of that we got a new fence built, and Lily stopped taking her pill hidden in food, so now we play "catch the cat (she's really pretty slow) and stick a pill down her throat" twice a day.
We usually only go to The Emerald once a decade or so, since it takes about that long for our waistlines and wallets to recover, but Living Social had a deal just in time for my birthday.
The meal started with Irish soda bread and butter:
Mr. Brienze immediately noticed that the plate looked like it had a Celtic Flying Spaghetti Monster on it:
We ordered the chateaubriand for two, largely because it came with the soup appetizer and I remembered that the Mr really liked their potato soup. (He said it was better than my potato-leek soup. That's the sort of comment that sticks with a person.) I got the potato soup:
But the Mr, being contrary, wanted the onion soup instead. Presentation-wise, this was a good choice... flaming onion soup bowl!
Next was salad, with a tomato-based dressing that was sweet and a bit hot. Our waitress said there's some horseradish in it, which surprised me because I didn't think I liked horseradish, but I loved this dressing:
I already felt like I'd eaten a full meal at this point, and then the chateaubriand platter came out. Sorry for the blurry pic, I was trying to get a no-flash shot before the flaming orange garnish went out:
As the waitress carved and plated it for us, I was already planning the next two days of leftovers:
It's the sauce that makes a tenderloin, and this Madeira mushroom sauce was fabulous. I'd have been happy with no meat at all, though, because the carrots and broccoli were so good. I have never had better vegetables than at the Emerald. It seems like nothing fancier than steaming and then tossing with butter, but I've tried that at home and did NOT get these results. So very happy that Mr. Brienze doesn't like cooked carrots and I'll get his share of the leftovers. More than a fair trade for letting him have the potatoes (not pictured; the chef brought them out for us on a separate plate and I forgot to get a pic).
By dessert I was in such a food coma that we'd already eaten all we could of the whiskey cake before I remembered to take a picture:
An orange slice was about as much dessert as I could fit at the time, but the cake made a lovely breakfast today. :) Our leftovers:
I didn't want to do the whole bbq routine on my actual birthday (too much like work!) so in a few hours I'll go pick up an ice cream cake to share with friends. The decoration could have been picked by someone thirty years younger than me, but that's what makes it fun. I wish I'd thought to get balloons so we could have duck voices, too. :)
We usually only go to The Emerald once a decade or so, since it takes about that long for our waistlines and wallets to recover, but Living Social had a deal just in time for my birthday.
The meal started with Irish soda bread and butter:
Mr. Brienze immediately noticed that the plate looked like it had a Celtic Flying Spaghetti Monster on it:
We ordered the chateaubriand for two, largely because it came with the soup appetizer and I remembered that the Mr really liked their potato soup. (He said it was better than my potato-leek soup. That's the sort of comment that sticks with a person.) I got the potato soup:
But the Mr, being contrary, wanted the onion soup instead. Presentation-wise, this was a good choice... flaming onion soup bowl!
Next was salad, with a tomato-based dressing that was sweet and a bit hot. Our waitress said there's some horseradish in it, which surprised me because I didn't think I liked horseradish, but I loved this dressing:
I already felt like I'd eaten a full meal at this point, and then the chateaubriand platter came out. Sorry for the blurry pic, I was trying to get a no-flash shot before the flaming orange garnish went out:
As the waitress carved and plated it for us, I was already planning the next two days of leftovers:
It's the sauce that makes a tenderloin, and this Madeira mushroom sauce was fabulous. I'd have been happy with no meat at all, though, because the carrots and broccoli were so good. I have never had better vegetables than at the Emerald. It seems like nothing fancier than steaming and then tossing with butter, but I've tried that at home and did NOT get these results. So very happy that Mr. Brienze doesn't like cooked carrots and I'll get his share of the leftovers. More than a fair trade for letting him have the potatoes (not pictured; the chef brought them out for us on a separate plate and I forgot to get a pic).
By dessert I was in such a food coma that we'd already eaten all we could of the whiskey cake before I remembered to take a picture:
An orange slice was about as much dessert as I could fit at the time, but the cake made a lovely breakfast today. :) Our leftovers:
I didn't want to do the whole bbq routine on my actual birthday (too much like work!) so in a few hours I'll go pick up an ice cream cake to share with friends. The decoration could have been picked by someone thirty years younger than me, but that's what makes it fun. I wish I'd thought to get balloons so we could have duck voices, too. :)