Category: menu planning

Oh Boston, You’re My Home.

My siblings and I got an email a few weeks ago entitled “mothersday.”  The email got straight to the point: “your dad is abandoning me. Can you come home?”

My parents have been married for 32 years.  No one is abandoning anyone – my dad wanted to attend a theatre convention, which happened to occur on Mother’s Day.  To be fair to him, I don’t think this ever occurred to him as a potential issue – my stoic, German mother generally rolls her eyes at Hallmark greeting cards.  And yet, the older we get, the more sentimental she becomes.  Fine with me, because I ended up being incredibly fortunate to spend this past weekend at home in Boston with my mom + whole (nuclear) family.

Visits home usually center around two primary objectives: 1) drinking drinks and 2) eating food.  This Mother’s Day visit was no different.  In case you’re curious, highlights included: the seafood platter at Neptune Oyster, brunch (lobster benedict!!) at Boston Chops, and obviously, Mike’s Pastry.  I even brought two cannolis all the way back to DC to share with the Husband.  I am the best wife ever.  You’re welcome.

The Menu

This week, our weekly menu is..unclear to me!  Because I wasn’t home, Husband was in charge of grocery shopping, and now cooking.  Great in theory, but in practice, I’m doing WAY more dishes than normal.

i want to eat 1000 more of these.
i want to eat 1000 more of these.

PS – a question for the blogging community: Now that I’ve hit more than 100 posts, I’m thinking about taking the blog to the next step – or at least, purchasing my own domain.  Unfortunately, dinnercheznous.com is already taken (thanks a lot, Go Daddy).  How have others navigated this step?  Any tips?

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Welcome (back from) Miami.

Husband and I spent the past weekend livin’ la vida loca being responsible 30-somethings in Miami.  It was, in a word, amazing.  There is something about hanging out full-time in the sunshine that makes your whole body happy (if a bit lobster-y. I’m packing serious aloe today).  We ate, drank, sat by the beach, ate some more, sat by the pool, and drank some more.  (Tip: if anyone is looking for the best fried chicken and waffles in Miami, Yardbird is the place to go.  And if anyone is looking for the best beer you’ve ever had, Box Elder is your new jam.)  The trip was made all the better by the fact that the Husband’s firm picked up the hotel tab, as this was a work-related trip.  Thank you, Husband’s firm!

I think I’m also probably the only woman in the world who comes back from Miami – land of the ridiculous and beautiful bodies – and thinks, it’s definitely time to eat lots and lots of pasta.  Don’t forget the cheese.

The Menu

Monday/tonight – rigatoni bake with ground turkey

Tuesday – roasted chicken and potatoes, a la NYT (h/t to my mom!)

Wednesday – out

Thursday – leftovers

Friday – some sort of farro salad – we’ll see what looks good in the fruit aisle!

very apt description.
very apt description.

What do you eat when you’ve eaten ALL the things?

Let me back it up: this past weekend, I – along with 4 of my closest girlfriends from high school – celebrated my BFF’s bachelorette party in Newport, Rhode Island.

These are girls I’ve been friends with through middle school soccer matches, braces, crushes on JT (when he was part of Nsync, no less), our first illicit sips of alcohol, SAT prep courses, and failed driving tests.  These are women who are now nurse practitioners, mothers, camp directors, veterinarians, and major event planners.  Um, when did that happen?

Still, despite the two decades that have passed since our first overtures of friendship, there are quite a few things that haven’t changed.  One – these women are all (still) amazing.  They are honest, warm, loving, and these-are-tears-from-laughter-hysterical.  Two – we all (still) can house a bag (or two or three) of Costco-sized Sour Patch Kids, top it off with a bag of chocolate covered pretzels, and drink a couple bottles of champagne.  Sorry we’re not sorry.

I’m learning the hard way today: just because you CAN do it, doesn’t mean you should.  We’ll be trying to eat a few fruits and vegetables this week, to compensate.

The Menu:

Tonight/Monday – Swiss chard & gruyere frittata

Tuesday – book club!

Wednesday – smoky chard & farro soup

Thursday – tortellini

Friday – soba noodle salad

IMG_0322
20+ years of friendship.

PS: As part of the bachelorette, we took a cooking class & made ricotta cheese and gnocchi.  FROM SCRATCH.  I am STILL so impressed that I will try to post those recipes this week, as well.

Happy Easter/Passover/Spring!

It’s been a long time since I wrote a planning post.  Mostly because it’s been a long time since we’ve made plans for dinner of the non-reservation kind.

There’s something about the coming of spring that makes me want to spend as little time inside, at home, as possible.  Those cute sandals are not going to wear themselves, after all – they belong with the people, outside.  Sadly, that does mean the kitchen has been neglected for a few days weeks.

But when the Husband offers to cook Easter supper, you take advantage, obvi.

Happy Easter/Passover/all things spring.

The Menu

Sunday Supper – crockpot ribs with mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts

Monday – salmon with homemade creme fraiche (!?)

Tuesday – out

Wednesday – pancetta & leek quiche

Thursday – stromboli (Husband’s on his own)

Friday – OFF to celebrate my BFF’s bachelorette!

Menu Planning

Cincinnati.  We came, we saw, we ate, we drank, and we ate some more.

And then it knocked me out.

I’m typing this from my bed, where I have taken refuge after succumbing to a terrible, terrible cold.  To be fair, I could feel this creeping in my bones for about a week leading up to our trip.  Add a few glasses of wine, a (failed) bid outfun my husband, and what I thought was a full-on birthday/house party that was actually just the pregame, and even Zicam couldn’t save me.  Well played, last gasp of winter.

Still, we loved the Queen City and I can’t wait to return.  And because birthdays are better when they last a month, another happy birthday to J! xoxo

The Menu

Monday – I.need.chicken.soup.

Tuesday – um, probably more chicken soup.

Wednesday – quinoa salad

Thursday – leftovers

Friday – my mom’s in town. Did I mention she’s a trained chef?  I’ll start thinking about this one when the cold medicine has subsided.

is that spring in the distance? nope, that's the cinci music hall.
is that spring in the distance? nope, that’s the cinci music hall.