Lent

By now, if your a practicing Catholic, you've already nailed down your Lenten sacrifice. On Facebook, I see a bunch of my friends have given up alcohol, Starbucks, and fast food. In the weeks before Lent Justin and I had an ongoing joke, that whenever one person did something that annoyed the other, we would say that they should make it their Lenten promise not to do that. For example:

Me: You should make it your Lenten promise to stop complaining (about Congress, our house, the litter in our neighborhood, etc.)
Him: You should make it your Lenten promise to stop nagging me! :P LOL...

Last year, Justin gave up fried food and I went completely vegan. This year it will be a team effort from the both of us as the Briones household is giving up eating out. That means we are excluding any and all forms of eating out that doesn't include preparing our food at home. Farewell, McDonald's McFish bites, we never got to know you. Short order places like Chipotle and sub shops are out of the question, too. No Lucky Carryout (our go-to Chinese delivery joint) and no pizza delivery either. However, there are some caveats to this rule such as the following:

• If we are traveling then we can be excluded from this rule as homemade food may be hard to come by. Lucky for us, we are only traveling once during Lent.
• We will be allowed to eat out for planned celebrations (i.e.: yesterday for Valentine's day) and birthdays (we don't want to be social pariahs now!). We will no longer be eating out to celebrate the fact that we don't feel like cooking on a Thursday night. Ha!

Here is a shot of me and Justin's last meal...Italian Store, one of our favorites!

 

Not eating out will greatly benefit our household in two ways. One, we will be eating better since we will be cooking ourselves and we will know what's in our food. Nice and healthy! Two, we will be saving money! Cha-ching!

I am hoping after the end of Lent we will rid ourselves of our eating out addiction (we eat out as much as four times in one week!), and practice better menu planning and food preparation. Namely, remembering to thaw the darn meat ahead of time!

In addition, I am going to try to go to church every Sunday for Lent. A priest once told me that Lent isn't only about sacrificing something, but it can also be about adding a good habit in your life. Going to church regularly is something I definitely can work on.

What about you? Are you abstaining from something for Lent? Or are you going to gain a good habit?

ps--all this talk about food and eating out has gotten me hungry so you can bet that we already have our Easter Brunch reservation on lock! The Four Seasons Hotel Brunch, 'cause we fancy like that.  Can't. Wait. :)

Restaurant Week: Farmers Fishers and Bakers

Last Friday, my co-worker, her husband, Justin and I went to Farmers Fishers and Bakers (FFB) for Restaurant Week. I hadn't participated in Restaurant Week in a long time and had never been to FFB (even before the flood/renovation) so I was excited to try it out.

 

For our starter, Justin got the vegetable barley soup (which was average according to him) and I got the smoked salmon roll. Unlike most restaurant week menus, we were able to order most items off the regular menu, with some parameters of course (i.e.: no pork belly belly sushi rolls (darn!) and all entrees priced at $24 and under). What amazed me about FFB was the wide variety of food they had on their menu. They had everything from sushi, burgers/sandwiches, pizzas and roasted meat mains.

 

My co-worker's hubby went with the deep dish pizza.

 

 

While she went with the seared Lemon Meunière Diver Scallops...

 

Justin opted to get the 16 oz. Grilled Pork Porterhouse. It was tasty and juicy, but what I really liked on his dish was the corn pudding tamale on the side. Needless to say, I traded him a bit of my dish for the tamale!

 

I got the Cracklin' Pork Shank with Street Corn Off-the-Cob, Peanut-Cider Slaw, Red Eye Gravy. The pork shank wasn't as "cracklin" (read: crispy) as I thought it would be, but it was delicious nonetheless!

Although I was pretty full from our appetizer and entree, I still had room for dessert and boy were we in for a treat! For our dessert, selections we weren't limited to a few choices. If you thought we were given meager portions for dessert, you'd have to think again! I manged to get get the last slice of butternut cake with a side of bourbon ice cream. The cake was moist and decadent and the ice cream was the perfect complement. I obviously couldn't finish the cake so I gladly took the rest home.

 

 

Justin got the peanut butter pie which was sumptuous! The peanut butter filling was creamy and mousse-like and the peanuts distributed throughout (along with the graham cracker crust) gave it a perfect crunch.

 

 

Although I didn't take a picture of them, I got some cocktails as well. The bourbon mule I ordered was delicious (quite refreshing for a bourbon drink believe it or not), while the shandy beer cocktail I ordered is something I could have passed on.

 

Overall, I would say that we had a great experience! The company was lovely and the food was superb! I've heard so many good things about FFB's brunch (it's on my to-do list!), however, I would say their dinner is also something not to be missed!

 

Do you like going out during Restaurant Week? If so, what was the last place you tried?

A Day in Del Rey and Some Finishing Touches

A couple of Saturdays ago we managed to take a little trip to the cozy and quaint neighborhood of Del Rey in Alexandria, VA. What brought us out the the suburbs you may ask? Burgers! Justin and I love a good burger and will travel in search of delicous ones. We were scanning Yelp one day and came across Holy Cow, so we decided to take a little day trip...

Justin got the Steak House burger topped with frizzled onions, creamed spinach, and bleu cheese crumbles. All the acoutrements you would get in a steak house, but in a burger. Clever! The fries were great too! Hand cut and not too greasy!

I got the Southern Burger which had a fried green tomato with pimento cheese sauce. It was really good too and tasted great with my sweet potato waffle fries! Aren't things the most fun when they are in waffle form? The waffle fries came with a marshmallow sauce.  Salty and sweet is always a great idea in my book!  Keep your burgers Good Stuff, I think we found a better option that isn't as overpriced without all the tourists.

Along the street that Holy Cow sits on, there are plenty of unique shops that offered a lot of things I don't even think you can get in Capitol Hill, Barrack's Row in particular.  For example, as soon as we stepped out of Holy Cow, we saw a little bakery somewhat tucked in this small alley.  It has been quite some time since I had a tart, and The Happy Tart seemed like the perfect remedy.

We picked up four different tarts: 1) key lime; 2) chocolate ganache; 3) pecan (we ate it before we could take a picture); and 4) lemon.  With the overabundance of cupcake shops in DC, The Happy Tart was an opportunity for us to try something different.  Despite the name, they also offered cupcakes, but we opted to pass on those.  They even have cookies, and appear to do customized cakes (they were in the midst of taking phone orders when we arrived).  With the way that the shop is set up, you can get a good glimpse of the back kitchen, where we saw all of the kitchen staff hard at work.  As Justin demonstrates with his smile, we truly left The Happy Tart happy.

On our way back to the car, we passed a specialty cheese shop called The Cheesetique.  Again, something we don't see in Capitol Hill, so we decided to check the place out.  As soon as you enter, there is a gigantic glass display case, which displays all of the types of cheeses they offer, along with some charcuterie.  The store floor was assorted with a variety of wines you could pair up with your cheese purchase.  Luckily, they also offered free samples, so Justin and I were 100% lost in navigating our way through the cheese selection.  Ultimately, we decided on this gouda cheese.  With the leftover ham that we have from the Super Bowl, we figured it would aid in making the best ham sandwich.

The Cheesetique also offered in store dining, along with a wine bar.  Because we were still stuffed from our trip to Holy Cow, we figured the gouda cheese was enough for now.  Dining in The Cheesetique would have to wait for our next trip out to Del Rey, along with a number of other stores and small shops we passed, but didn't visit.  Overall, Del Rey was fun, and I could easily see us and a group of friends spending a whole day checking out everything Mt. Vernon Avenue has to offer.  We still had lots to do at home prior to our Super Bowl party, so our Saturday was far from over.

When we arrived at home, I immediately put Justin to work (after he had watched the UK game).  With the work we had done to the ceiling in our kitchen, coupled with our recent TV installation, our kitchen was somewhat in a disarray.  In addition, there were a number of pictures I wanted hung up in time for our Super Bowl Party.  Who else to do it but Justin!  

Here he is hanging our wooden fork and spoon my Auntie brought back from the Philippines.  Growing up, these things were staples in our family kitchen, along with a picture of the Last Supper.  We're still in search of our Last Supper picture, but in the meantime, our wooden fork and spoon alone will have to do. 

The finished product above our French Bulldog calendar that I got from my cousin Ricky for Christmas.  If Louie was more buff, he'd look like the featured French Bulldog for the month of February.

When we installed the television the weekend before, we had to remove the three pictures that were hanging in its future spot on the wall.  After much deliberation, we chose to hang the pictures right above the TV.  This project was the thorn in Justin's side for the night.  The whole ordeal took about two hours, with us (actually Justin) repositioning the pictures over and over again.  Each time we repositioned the pictures, one of them would be lower than the other two, and vice versa each time we made adjustments.  Finally, we figured this placement was as good is it gets, and I think Justin officially retired from his career of hanging pictures on walls.  At this point, I think he stopped talking to me.

Last, but not least, I made him hang this wine rack.  As you saw in one of my last blog posts, I helped throw a baby shower for my friend Brandi.  As a token of gratitude, she gave me this wine rack, which I thought would look great in our kitchen.  Finding the perfect spot for it was another story, which we eventually hung behind our back door.  

I know some of you may be asking yourselves, "if you hang wine bottles on that rack, wouldn't the back door slam into it when opened, breaking said wine bottles?"  Well, I don't drink much wine, and we already have a bar, which has a built in wine rack.  I figured I'd use this wine rack for something else our kitchen was in dire need of...

Yup, I converted it into a coat rack, and it worked wonders during our Super Bowl Party.  Although we have a coat rack located towards our front door, it often gets overcrowded with coats and hats, especially when we have guests.  By using the wine rack as a coat rack, we can accommodate additional coats versus laying them on the couch, taking away valuable seating.  In addition, I can just grab my coat on my way out of the back door to the car, versus having to walk to the front door coat rack to grab my coat.  So ends one of the most productive Saturdays we've had in a very long time.  We love to lay around and do absolutely nothing on our weekends, but it's always a good thing to be a productive member of society, eat a good burger, and run a few errands.

Weekend Review: Greveys and Bully Meetup

Hi All! I hope you had a good weekend! Justin and I had a pretty fun weekend! On Saturday, we went to Grevey's Sports Bar to watch the UK vs. Auburn basketball game.  Keith Bogans, a DeMatha grad and former UK player (and current Brooklyn Nets player) was there doing a fundraiser, in memory of his late sister who died of breast cancer. The name of the organization is Kristi's Wish and they were doing tons of stuff to raise money, such as autograph signings and raffles. They even had a Maker's Mark glass dipping table, using the Kentucky blue wax. 

A closer shot of the freshly dipped glasses...

Supposedly they even had hot browns; however, I found that out after we already ordered. It was fine because I was totally content with what we ended up getting...nachos! I love nachos and that side of jalapenos was all mine! 

On Sunday, we woke up bright and early to take Louie and Derby to the Bully Breed Meetup that was going on at the Old Towne Pet Resort. Justin and I had never been there before, so we were excited to take them to a different environment to meet some new friends!

The facility was clean, spacious, and really had a spa-like feel! They took us to the back where the "pawty" was at and even wrote their names on the window upon their arrival!

There were a bunch of cuties at the playdate like this English bulldog...

And of course Louie and Derby were constantly at the "punch bowl" (aka" the water bowl), so we had to coax them a little bit to be more social.  Overall, I would say they played well with others!

There were a bunch of cute brindle-coated frenchies...

Here's a shot of all the action indoors. I wonder if this is what parents do when they have kids on playdates? Stand around and watch, maybe? :)

After a majority of the dogs left, we decided to head outside because it wasn't as crowded. The staff was friendly and attentive, which was much appreciated because bully breeds have the tendency to be really bossy and rough!

Before we left, they gave us some goodie bags packed with water and treats. What a nice gesture! As we were walking out, we saw a kissing booth.  The boys and I had Justin snap a couple of pictures of us before we left. 

What did you do this weekend? Did you spend it with your kiddies or pets? In addition to game watching and doggie playdates, Justin and I also went out for a fabulous meal for Restaurant Week, but I'll update you on that in another post. :)

Brandi's Baby Shower

Last month, I helped host a baby shower for one of my good friends, Brandi. We met though promo modeling many years ago and are still good friends today. If you know anything about me, you'd know that I don't know much about babies or baby showers, but how could I not take part in throwing my gal pal a super co-ed baby shower?

 

The night before the event, I helped Brandi and our friend Reanna makes some yummy appetizers and desserts! We made these mini spinach artichoke tarts and snickerdoodle cupcakes. They were divine! And of course we had to taste every batch...good quality control. :) We stayed up pretty late, but got up bright and early to run errands before the event.

 

Some of Brandi's friends came by a little early to help prep...Here's a shot of the aforementioned snickerdoodle cupcakes!

 

 

And here are the mini zucchini pizzas before going into the oven!



We had such a great spread of delicious food!

 

Reanna had this great idea of having guests sign up to bring the new parents dinner once the baby arrives, so while people were signing up, I was going around with my huge baby bottle bank asking people to guess how many peanut M&Ms were in the bottle.

Here is a shot of Brandi and winner. Can you believe he was only off by one? There were 212 and he guessed 211, WOW!

The next game we played was the baby bottle beer chugging game. It was hilarious because we had all different types of bottles (ranging from real infant bottles to the dollar store variety), so let just say that some guys had a more difficult time chugging the beer than others.  

 

Here is a shot of the winners with their craft beer trophies!



 

 

 

The next game we played was the belly measuring game. Guests had to take a piece of streamer and guess how wide around Brandi was (without actually measuring her!). After each person cut of their piece, the got to go up to Brandi to see how their guess measured up.

 

 

It was fun seeing how off some people were in their measurement, while other people were super close!

 

 

And of course Josh had the perfect measurement! All by just eyeballing it! What a good husband!

 

All of the guests got to leave with a mini banana bread loaf made by Brandi herself!

 

Then it was on to the opening of the presents! Tara made a lovely diaper cake! Super crafty! I love seeing these baby showers! They are so cool!

 

Here is a shot of Josh and Brandi holding up our gifts. Unfortunately, the Brionii were double booked that day so Justin couldn't make it. :( That's why Josh is holding up the bottle of Jim Beam that he picked up specifically for Justin! Do our friends know us or what? Justin will have to partake in the bottle of Beam next time!

 

Here's a shot of the co-hostesses with the person of honor. It may seem weird that I was wearing short sleeves in the middle of January, but trust me that particular day was strangely warm!

 

A silly pic...not sure what we're doing here!

 

And one last picture of the happy family before the arrival of baby...

Well, it was a good thing we threw the baby shower when we did because Brandi went into early labor and Hunter Cornelius was born a few days later! Congratulations you guys on your new addition! We can't wait to meet baby Hunter real soon!

Weekend Review: Super Bowl Edition

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good weekend. Did you watch the Super Bowl and did your team win? Although, I've lived in Maryland since 1997 up until about three years ago, but I'm a die hard Redskins fan. Geographically where my family is from, Gaithersburg, MD is closer to Washington, DC than it is to Baltimore--just a little FYI. You would think I would support the local team, but for some reason the Ravens never did it for me, and my hubby would kill me if I rooted for his beloved Steeler's division rivals.  

 
My AFC team used to the Colts when Peyton Manning was there so I might be in the market for a new AFC team...anyway, I digress...

Our Super Bowl Sunday started off bright and early with a trip to Costco to pick up some last minute items and our groceries for the month. We scooped up Jill from the metro and started prepping for the evening's events.

We popped the spiral ham in the slow cooker so guests could make their own ham sandwiches with mustard and pretzel bread (which we bought from Costco). 

 

 

 

And since we had an over abundance of Bisquick I decided to do Make-Ahead Bisquick Sausage Ball Appetizers, since I'm not much of a cook and the recipe seemed pretty simple.

 

 

Taking the sausage out of the casing....mmmm...

 

Any recipe where I get to use the Kitchen-Aid is a win-win for me. Is it weird that I sometimes think about using my Kitchen-Aid to mix my tuna fish salad? #lazycook

 

After mixing, all I had to do was make them into balls and then bake for 20 minutes. Easy!

 

Jill made her own creation "Atomic Buffalo Chicken Turds," which consisted of a jalapeno popper stuffed with real cheese, cream cheese and chicken sausage, wrapped in bacon, dredged in panko breadcrumbs and deep fried. For some reason, I thought I took a picture of them, but apparently I didn't, but trust me they were epic.

 

Jill also made "Slutty Brownies." That's what they're called and they're a real recipe! Slutty Brownies consist of Oreos layered between cookie dough and brownie mix. They were delicious too!

As a matter of fact, all of the food we had was super tasty! Our party was potluck and people brought so many different items! I have to say that my friends are a really talented bunch in the kitchen! We had a wide variety of dips, chicken, and pasta dishes so there wasn't an empty stomach in sight!

 

The dogs were pooped from all of the surrounding excitement with Derby in front of the oven...

 

And Louie in front of the the fridge...or perhaps they were tired of waiting for the power to come back on in the Superdome...

 

Joos and Ian got the plaid memo...twinsies!

 

A shot of the peeps in the living room...



 

But with the addition of our newly mounted TV a majority of the people seemed to congregate in the in the dining room/kitchen.

 

 

Isn't that funny that despite the 55" TV being in the living room and the 32" TV being in the kitchen everyone seemed to stay near the food?

How about you? Did you host a Super Bowl Party at your place? What type of delish treats did you make or eat? Where do people congregate in your casa? The kitchen? The living room? Times like these kind of make me wish we either had an open concept house or a huge basement where everyone could fit. ;)