Month: February 2007

Illa with “Snakey” post play

Friday Jill made Chicken Paprikash. Pretty good, but my favorite meal of the week was on Wednesday when she surprised me with cheesesteaks. After dinner, we watched “Kids In The Hall: Brain Candy”, which I’d never seen and Jill had watched too long ago to remember much. I always liked the series (“I’m crushing your head”), but had never seen the movie. Pretty good, though I was expecting more characters from the series. After that, we watched an episode of “Creature Comforts”. That’s a great series from the BBC, but I had no idea until I looked it up there’s a US version coming. Sounds odd, but I just watched some of the clips and they’re pretty funny.

Saturday we slept in. I got up around 9:30 and took Illa out as I heard him moving around (and he doesn’t do that unless he needs to go). I showered and stretched, and was planning to make myself breakfast until I discovered we were out of eggs. So I gathered up the paper recycling (all 8 bags), took it to the center, then went and got a chair massage as part of a fundraiser my chiropractor was doing for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, then stopped by Bloom to pick up some groceries. I made an egg sandwich, then spent the rest of the day reading and watching TV while Jill studied. For dinner we had surf and turf, as I wanted steak but Bloom had only had one last steak on sale, but snow crab legs (from Candada) were only $3.99/lb – a crime to not pick them up. With steamed asparagus and the blue cheese butter I’d made for a previous steak, it made a fine meal, though I hadn’t realized Jill had never cracked a crab leg before (not that we had crackers, I used Jill’s meat tenderizer – that would make a good gift, Sue).

Sunday we awoke to copious amounts of snow. I did some initial shoveling, then walked Illa. I came back in to shower and stretch, then made strawberry oatmeal pancakes – sounded so good Jill had to join in for once. I cleaned up the office some, then we went outside and shoveled the cars out, and took Illa for another romp in the snow. I finished my eBay auctions throughout the day (combining multiple wins, sending invoices, printing postage for packages) while Jill studied. I was planning on going to my mom’s concert, but it was cancelled due to the snow. I made chicken fajitas for dinner, now I’m trying to wrap the rest of my online stuff so I can still zip through the Oscars on the DVR before I go to sleep.

Friday Jill made her tasty pasta for dinner, so I got to relax and read the paper. After dinner we watched a couple episodes of 24, but I was tired and we didn’t watch all of them. We did enjoy some of the chocolate I’d gotten for Jill on Valentine’s Day. Saturday I slept in some, but got up when I awoke to walk Illa (he’d been having runny #2 and I wanted to take him out as soon as I could). I made an egg sandwich for myself, then read the paper and watched some TV. I broiled a pork loin for dinner in a tasty marinade of oj and Italian dressing with some potatoes, then we had some more cheesecake for dessert. We watched another 24, then read for a while.

Sunday I again got up somewhat early to take Illa on a long walk, then came back and made myself some schmorgles. After I cleaned up, I started an eBay auction of electronics and Ghost Rider comics (seemed like a good time), and by the time I was done, it was almost time to go. The snow coming down was alarming, but the weatherman said it was only a “dusting”. That was fine, but after we parked in a garage in Georgetown, it was back and whipping at our face, not to mention sticking to the sidewalk. With Jill in heels, it was a tough getting to the restaurant.

But it was worth it. My Xmas gift from Jill was a trip to Citronelle. It’s often cited as one of the best resturants in DC, and I’d been wanting to go for a while. We were a tad early, so we waited upstairs in the lounge until they called us. We started with an amuse bouche that was a tiny crab cake injected with lobster consomme – scrumptious. I had a tough time deciding what to get. The ten course tasting menu sounded good, but I wasn’t sure if I was that hungry, plus I really liked the sound of some of the regular entrees. On the other hand, it isn’t often Jill’s willing to do the tasting menu, which typically has to be ordered by everyone at the table. Eventually I flipped a coin, and the three course meal won.

I ordered a house cocktail, the Riesling pear sangria, made from a Riesling, rum, and fresh pear, while Jill had a glass of Pouilly-Fuissé chardonnay. Hers went well with seafood, which was what she was having for both courses. Her first one was in a caviar tin and designed to look like caviar, but was in fact pearl pasta dyed with squid ink, sitting on top of lobster with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. Because of the egg, not her favorite and I ended up finishing it. Meanwhile, I had the scallops with a raspberry sauces, served with a breaded egg (!) on a leek tartar mixture. I thoroughly enjoyed both dishes. The best was yet to come, though. Jill had salmon with a crab risotto and optional truffles grated on top she loved, and I had a fabulous lamb dish, slices with a breaded mushroom crust (I didn’t expect to like it, but I did) with a jalapeno white bean sauce and a potato log with sauteed veggies on top. My own pairing with their dunkel was perfect.

For some reason, I thought the three course meal wouldn’t fill us up, but I was fast approaching it as dessert arrived (perhaps the three slice of bread had something to do with that). The desserts were preceeded by another amuse bouche that was an orange mousse with raspberry sauce and pistachios on top – not my favorite. Jill had a pistachio cake, and I had the apple tasting: sorbet, a pastry, a deconstructed pie, and cider. The desserts were accompanied by a tray of goodies: a cookie with a molten chocolate center, a raspberry and a blackberry on a cracker, a chocolate covered grape, and paper thin pistachio and hazelnut cookies. The service was European, very attentive to detail, but they nevery bring the check until you ask for it. A fabulous meal, definitely my favorite Christmas present – we’ll have to see how Jill likes hers (spring break).

After we got home, we were wiped out, but not too tired, so we watched “The Producers”. I’d seen the original film and knew the plot, but most of the songs were new to me. Not bad, but I prefer the shows we did see on Broadway – don’t know if I’d go even if Broderick and Lane do return to it (as has been rumored). Today I slept in some, got up and took Illa out first even though he’d been doing better. I made a breakfast burrito for breakfast, then read Sunday’s paper as I’d been lax. I had a massage in the afternoon, then came back and played with Illa before coming up here and working on the photos section of my site. Gotta go make dinner now – beef in coconut milk, then hopefully watch Heroes and 24 before bed.

The snow, freezing rain and other precipitation on Tuesday ended up by Wednesday night becoming an ice sheet 2-3 inches thick. When it hadn’t frozen solid, I felt pretty fat as Illa walked on it and I broke through, but since then, it’s been mostly solid and I’ve been able to walk on top.

Yesterday I took Illa for several walks and fell once on each one. The ice got slippery to walk on, and I couldn’t break through to brace myself on the slopes and fell. Illa thought that was funny, until he fell, too.

I’m glad we shoveled early on Wednesday, beacuse since then the ice has been nearly impossible to get through, even with a pickax. I’m looking forward to it melting this week.

I prepared for the worst by doing my shopping Monday night on my way home, when Jill was out studying for a test. I got roses and plenty of food. I worked from home Tuesday and Wednesday – good thing, they didn’t plow our lot until 4PM on Wednesday. School was closed for Jill on Wednesday for the first time, and that postponed her test, so she slept in (even if I couldn’t). We both shoveled during the day, got the steps and sidewalk and in front of our cars cleared (although this morning I learned we should have tried to bring the cars out into the parking lot, that took some time). I started dinner, then Jill found out instead of her test being rescheduled for Friday, it was today (mostly because classmates had travel plans on Friday due to the long weekend). So she got to studying, and had brief breaks for dinner (potato skins, ribs, creamed spinach and fries) and dessert (chocolate cheesecake with strawberries and whipped cream), all store bought food since I didn’t think I’d have time to cook a lot. At least we hadn’t planned on going out for dinner, since we’re going out Sunday.

It was a busy (and early) week for me, bunch of meetings. Some good food at home, though. I made a tart cherry mustard to go with some kielbasa, and roasted a chicken while basting it in Trader Joe’s Winterfest beer, definitely a winner. Friday I was home by 4:30, took it easy that night, watching TV and reading the paper. For dinner we had the leftovers from that chicken. I’d made mashed potatoes with the last of the CSA potatoes, and I also made stuffing, and steamed broccoli which I made a creamy lemon sauce to top. I was pretty wiped and went to bed a little after 11.

Saturday I was up somewhat early, made an egg sandwich, then tore into the paper. I had a bunch of paperwork to do, and that took me most of the afternoon. In the evening, I went to an alumni reception and dinner for my fraternity at the Dulles Hilton. I should have skipped the dinner – it was an awards dinner and ran way too long (I was last one at my table to sneak out). The reception was good, though, I met some local alumni who hang out together, and may do some events with them soon. Another reason for skipping the dinner was the food – overcooked beef and asparagus. Jill made out better with her frozen pizza. Another early night for me, as I could barely keep my eyes open at midnight.

Sunday we slept in a little, then Jill went out for bagels and I made scrambled eggs with cilantro, ginger, garlic, and chili garlic sauce. She came back and continued studying, while I read the paper and cleaned up some (we knew Dad was coming), then started an eBay auction. We wento out to meet my family at 5 at Coastal Flats in Fairfax Corner. My sister doesn’t celebrate her birthday, but my mom is determined to have some kind of celebration about that time anyway (I think it’s fine, and give her gifts throughout the year now). It was a surprise to my sister, which was kind of cool. Jill and I both had the mixed greens salad, then she got the crab cake and I had the lobster roll (and since they’re part of the same chain as Sweet Water, we had the great bread), and she had a Blue Moon and I had a house (Sweet Water) pale ale. We gabbed for a good long while, then headed home. My dad just got here (he had to bring my mom home), so I’m going to watch the Grammys with him now.