On Wisconsin! Or, not so much, since I've been back for a week already, and the Badgers are 0-3 in the Big Ten as of last night. Ouch. But no matter, the real reason for last weekend's trip was to get together with my long-time friends Cami and Michelle, and the three of us had a BLAST. Beautiful weather, lots of walking, drinks on the Terrace, Saturday morning Farmer's Market, dinner at Kabul, beer at the KK, and a real-deal Badger tailgate party (grilled brats with all the fixin's!) more than made up for a sorry 
football game. We had low expectations for the game anyhow - the fabulous Wisconsin Marching Band had been suspended from playing last weekend. Boooooooo! Camp Randall without the band? Pfffft, nothin'. Oh, the student section managed a few raunchy cheers on their own, but the pom squad had no drums to shake it to, half-time was completely silent, and at the end of the game, everyone just...left. No 5th quarter = no fun.
As is typical for me, a few nights of less than adequate sleep (and more than adequate beer) means getting sick. I knew I'd blown it by Sunday night - sore throat, raspy voice, here we go. I did my best to fight it off this week, but here I sit, coughing and sniffling, damn those Badgers! (But totally worth it!)
I even rallied to put on a bit of a feast Thursday night as we loosely celebrated Yom Kippur. John doesn't fast, and I'm not Jewish, but no matter - we invited Jewthran Suz and her family, and Stacey, Cooper, and Bowen as well, and had a lovely meal in honor of the most important of Jewish holidays. I made matzo ball soup with very rich chicken broth, beef brisket with gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, and challah. Suz made a caramel apple pie and a pumpkin pie for dessert, both to die for. It was a school night, plus we had little Coop, so we ate early (and heartily, uff), and toddled off to bed by 10:00. L'chaim!
This weekend, keeping things pretty low key. Tortilla soup for dinner last night - its spicy 
garlicky-ness cleared the sinuses quite nicely. Wish I had some of that matzo ball soup for today, oooh, but no, it's all gone. Sniff. I still have a spot of delicious, beefy gravy left from Thursday's meal, however; I'll have to innovate around that so it doesn't go to waste. Perhaps something a la stroganoff - whisk in a bit of sour cream, serve over sauteed steak and mushrooms, I can picture it. Yeah, I can picture it quite clearly, in fact. I'm off to the store...
C-A-M-I, Mich, and Bucky: Happy New Year!
Wouldn't you know, a damn snowstorm did us in yet again?! Unbelievable. This time on the east coast, preventing my brother David and sister Etta from coming out from NYC for the weekend, as well as Bowen's sister Sara and her husband Romero coming from Vermont. Damn! Boo! Damn! Luckily Bowen's parents Hal and Suzanne were able to make it from Palm Beach or we would have had a a bust of a dinner party tonight. As it was, we lucked into very nice, with Bowen's parents, my dad and Susanna, Stace, Bowen, and Coop, and the Best Helper Evar, aka Nathan. I borrowed a page from my father-in-law John and made Veal Scallops a la Danoise (with cucumbers), a lovely dish, made lovelier by the fact that you can prepare it ahead a bit and finish it off right before dinner; Deluxe Do-Ahead Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, to
which I added a generous amount of minced chives; and blanched asparagus with gremolata (minced lemon rind, parsely, shallots, and olive oil) to cut the richness of the veal and potatoes. A hearty-and-yet-almost-springy menu, it worked quite nicely, I think. Cheeses, cardamom bread from Turtle Bread, and sips of Sauterne and coffee for dessert. And now? Bedtime, fo sho!It's all for you, Cooper Doo, One-Whole-Year Old! Tomorrow is his big party day...
I’m Stephanie Meyer. If you're looking for fresh, delicious food to share with those you love - welcome! In addition to the recipes you'll find here, I post Tuesday recipes at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly magazine with a focus on local, seasonal ingredients. I also cook and take photos for Andrew Zimmern's Kitchen Adventures/Food & Wine magazine, post gluten-free recipes at Stuffed Pepper, cook with food photographer Susan Powers for Shooting the Kitchen, and organize the Minnesota Food Bloggers. Let’s eat!
