Jan 17, snack. Two medjool dates.
Jan 17, appetizers. We went to the Results Direct holiday party and they had these. I actually don't know what it is. I think there's some chicken, plus a bit of pepper and onion, all grilled. It was tasty.
Jan 17, appetizer. Another appetizer from the Results Direct party. I think this was a crab puff. That's what it tasted like anyway.
Jan 17, dinner. After the theater (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde), we made a cheese & fruit & sausage board at home. The two chorizos are interesting: one is authentic Spanish and the other is an Italian imitation of Spanish Chorizo. Troppo duro.
Jan 18, Breakfast. The usual, plus a glass of orange juice.
Jan 18, Snack. Some rosemary almonds.
Jan 18, lunch. A half of a "Dab's Delight" (tunafish) sandwich from Beyond Bread. The vinegar slaw is also good, although I think that they are getting sloppy with it and sometimes it is too goopy. The sandwich was quite nice. An outstanding rendition of a tunafish sandwich.
Jan 18, snack. Two medjool dates.
January 18, dinner. I made French Onion soup. As long as you have four hours warning, it's easy to do. An hour in the oven covered, 2 hours in the oven uncovered, and an hour on the stove, deglazed 4 times with water and once with vermouth. Then simmer with chicken stock, beef stock, and water, with some thyme and bay leaf. Serve with toasted baguette and a MODERATE amount of cheese melted on top.
January 18, dinner. Duck leg confit, potatos Sardelaise, and a salad. We drank four wines (some half-open bottles) with this, including, of course, a Duckhorn Paraduxx (1999, putting down a sediment, but an incredible wine). We also had two Turley Zinfandels, including a stunning 2001. A LOT more fruit in the Turley than in the Duckhorn (which is also predominantly Zin, but has a lot of Cab in it as well)
Jan 19, breakfast. The usual, plus orange juice, and vitamins. The horse pill is now back to a normal small size.
Jan 19, breakfast. I had a bite of a Cinnamon roll that Christine made. This was way better than the last one. The dough had a very interesting tangy-ness to it; I think it was sourdough based. It's hard to balance that with the cinnamon roll, but she did a great job.
Jan 19, Lunch. Salad, with a couple pieces of bread leftover from the French Onion soup
Jan 19, Snack. Last of the wonderful chocolates.
Jan 19, Snack. Two Medjool dates. Last ones for a very long time.
Jan 19, Dinner. Some ham and bean soup from the freezer, with a bit of cheese on top. And the last of the French bread.
Jan 19, Dessert. Jan's mom made a baked pear with crunchy topping, and this is some of the leftovers. I put whipped cream on, probably in violation of my parole.
Jan 20, breakfast. The usual, with orange juice.
Jan 20, pre-lunch snack. Some peanuts from the office.
Jan 20, Lunch. A salad, outside. It's beautiful out today!
Jan 20, pre-dinner snack. Some rosemary almonds, and a glass of Burgess 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon. Very nice wine.
Jan 20, Dinner. We went to Opa, a Greek restaurant. They're half-nice, half fast-food. They started with a very nice (complimentary) hummus appetizer.
Jan 20, dinner. Saganaki cheese, flaming. A good sauce with citrus notes. The vegetables were a bit sorry, but the cheese was tasty. I think that they might have a warmer way of serving this; it got cold and hard pretty darn fast.
Jan 20, dinner. I had the Gyro platter, which was pretty standard. The meat was tasty, but dry. The Tzatziki sauce not spicy enough (should have more garlic), and the salad positively silly.
Jan 21, Breakfast. I am off on a world tour. This is my last Joel's Iced Double Cappuccino for a very, very long time.
Jan 21, snack. I'm in the United Red Carpet club in Chicago, and these little munchies are part of the food.
Jan 21, lunch. Some fresh strawberries, and you can't really see it, but a bit of chocolate as well.
Jan 21, flight from ORD to YOW. A package of indifferent snacks and a glass of mediocre wine.
Jan 21, dinner. Fish and chips at the Brookstreet hotel. Actually, quite good and a nice presentation. I'm drinking a Stella, my favorite travel beer.
Jan 22, Breakfast. A cappuccino from a place that sells Starbucks coffee but is not a Starbucks. Yes. That is snow blowing in the background. Shiver