We have been wanting to replace the old light fixture in the kitchen with a ceiling fan for awhile now, but other projects took priority, you know, like three bathrooms worth of wallpaper removal.

Three visits to Lowe’s in the last several weeks and we couldn’t agree on a ceiling fan we both liked, so after church today, we wandered by the lighting department to see if anything looked good.

We picked up a 42″ 3-blade modern-ish fan with a light kit included and were pleasantly surprised to get a rebate receipt when we checked out. Because we bought this fan on this visit, we got a $20 gift card rebate. Score!

See how procrastination can sometimes pay off?  :)

old light – not our style (a swag chain, really?) and doesn’t cool the room effectively

new fan – lights the room and creates much needed air movement

No worries about the fan blades not matching the other wood color because one of our next projects is going to be refacing the kitchen cabinets!

One of my favorite online reads is Maggie Mason’s “Mighty Girl” blog since it’s always chock full of style and great quips. Recently, she highlighted a friend’s closet for the new feature called Mighty Closet. Her friend wears dresses as often as possible and this inspired me to do a little extra shopping while at Target yesterday.

I found this great black dress in my size for a mere $25. It’s longer on me than the model (side effect of being 5’2″), but is still super cute, flattering and very comfortable. My resolution to wear dresses more often is looking easier and easier!

I got a pound of ground pork from my CSA and I wanted to use it to make some dumplings. After a quick internet search, I came upon Alton Brown’s recipe for the perfect potstickers. I vaguely remembered seeing the show and the reviews were excellent, so I tried it out for myself. The ingredients may seem a little funny, but trust me, these were crazy delicious.

Ingredients

1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
2 tablespoons finely chopped roasted red bell pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons ketchup
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

16 to 20 2-inch wonton wrappers
water, for sealing wontons
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying
1 1/3 cups chicken stock, divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Combine the first 11 ingredients in a medium-size mixing bowl (pork through cayenne). Set aside.

To form the dumplings, remove one wonton wrapper from the package, covering the others with a damp cloth. Brush two of the edges of the wrapper lightly with water. Place one rounded teaspoon of the pork mixture in the center of the wrapper. Fold over, seal edges, and shape as desired. Set on a sheet pan and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat procedure until all of the filling is gone.

Heat a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat. Brush with vegetable oil once hot. Add 8 to 10 potstickers at a time to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, without touching each other. (They will stick, but that’s the point!) Once the 2 minutes are up, gently add 1/3 cup chicken stock to the pan, turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook for another 2 minutes.

Remove wontons to a heatproof platter and place in the warm oven. Clean the pan in between batches by pouring in water and allowing the pan to deglaze. Repeat until all the wontons are cooked. Serve immediately.

Amidst the craziness that was my week, I found out that a friend of mine from college was involved in a plane crash. Two days after I heard the news from another friend on Facebook, the family confirmed his death when his body was found. He had been taking flying lessons for three short weeks.

One of my favorite memories of Tom was driving up to Atlanta for the night (we went to college in St. Pete, FL) to see James in concert. Even though we hadn’t spoken in a while, I know his upbeat personality will be sorely missed by many, including me.

Eric’s birthday present this year was a lovely new Weber grill. Folks on both sides pitched in and we can’t wait to get it dirty!  :)

(three hours of assembly by a PhD required)

(with a side burner for sauces and steaming veggies!)

A big happy birthday to the cutest boy I know. :)

For those of you who keep up with me on Twitter and Facebook, you already know that our pup, Riesling, was attacked at the dog park on Monday afternoon.

After surgery to treat two large belly wounds and a broken rib followed by overnight care, she came home on Tuesday night and has been steadily feeling better. It’s been a crazy few days and I am still trying to wrap my head around the entire situation. The whole attack  lasted under 30 seconds but it felt much, much longer.

I took Riesling to have her drainage tubes removed yesterday and the vet who performed her surgery was happily surprised to see her wagging and active. He said that it was simply amazing that this is the same dog. She always manages to win people over, it’s not only her ears that make her charming.

At this point I think the worst part is the required recovery accessory.

We have one half of the living room set up with sheets and blankets all over the floor until her wounds heal up enough for her to climb stairs to the bedroom. We’ve also been sleeping downstairs with her on our futon mattress so the whole pack is together. She gets her surgical staples out next Thursday, so hopefully by then things will get back to normal.

My right hand was part of the carnage and I have about 10 puncture (bite) wounds in my thumb alone. Luckily, no stitches and the x-rays were negative but I did need a tetanus shot.

Thankfully, the woman who owned the dog that attacked Riesling is going to be paying us back for all the medical costs of Riesling’s surgery and post-op care, and it looks like both of us will make a full recovery.

Our final stop for Triangle Restaurant Week was Il Palio, located in The Siena Hotel in Chapel Hill. We have been wanting to try this place out more or less since we moved to NC and we figured now would be the perfect opportunity.

I was surprised at how small the restaurant is as it’s tucked away to the side of the hotel lobby. The decor was charming with white table cloths and signature plates. Eric was a little disappointed that they didn’t have optional black napkins as the white ones tend to leave fuzzies on black slacks. As we decided on our wine, a waiter delivered a tasty tomato bisque in a tall shot glass for us to sample. We made our choices from the Restaurant Week menu and then decided on a medium-bodied Fattoria La Rivolta, Sannio Fiano 2006 from southern Italy.

There was no way I was going to pass up the Mussels fri Diavlo appetizer (Prince Edward Island mussels, garlic, tomato, white wine and red chili flake), so Eric took the Mozzarella and Tomato Capresi Salad (Sunny Slopes Farm tomatoes, house-made mozzarella, fresh basil and balsamic vinaigrette). Our bread and appetizers arrived right after one another with lightning speed but there was no sign of our wine. In fact, we waited almost ten minutes into our appetizer course before our bottle of wine arrived. I’m not sure who was at fault, but it at the end of the day the manager needs to notice that our food came out too fast. The mussels were tasty and Eric even enjoyed the tomato broth with some of our bread basket. Eric’s salad had good flavor but caprese is not really his thing.

The entree choice was a little more difficult as the menu turned out to be different from the one provided in advance online and, unfortunately, my two favorite choices, the Lasagna Bolognese and the Ashley Farms Chicken Marsala, were not listed. So, Eric ordered the flat iron steak (steak three times in one week!) and I had the veal marsala. As we waited between appetizer and entree Eric mentioned that he hoped his steak would not be sliced like the previous two restaurants, but alas, it was sliced on arrival.  The steak was a little undercooked (once again) and fatty (a first for Eric with flatiron steaks), but the sauce was tasty, and the whipped potatoes were excellent.  The breading on my veal was a little much, but luckily it came right off, so I was able to eat just the meat with the mushroom gravy. The flavor was good, if a little heavy, and my potato wedges were nicely cooked.

We asked to keep our wine bottle in the cooler (not on the table), so sometime during dinner, Eric had his glass removed because it hadn’t yet been refilled. Thankfully we were able to get a new glass relatively quickly—we needed something to deal with the neighboring table of two families with young kids that were seated right next to us. The infant broke a plate within 10 minutes (who gives their 6-month-old a glass plate!?!), the occasional ear-piercing screaming, and the other little girl (maybe 3 yrs old?) wasn’t in her seat for more than five minutes.  Come on, people… this is a nice place where people are trying to have a romantic meal!

The dessert choices were also not what we expected in advance, so we simply got one of each, a vanilla cream brulee and a lime tart with strawberry gelato. My cream brulee was actually a two-inch-high phyllo dough cup filled with vanilla cream and very lightly glazed on top. Eric’s lime tart was a lime cream with strawberries and a strawberry gelato scoop.  Neither of the desserts wowed us.

Overall, the food delivery was a bit rushed, and the flavor of the meal just didn’t seem to be in line with what their normal prices lead you to expect. Of the three restaurants we visited we had the highest expectation for Il Palio but went away disapointed. In our minds Four Square was clearly superior. We certainly didn’t have an awful time, and perhaps we had an off night, so we may return to try one of the mid-week specials in the future.

Last night we had our second Triangle Restaurant Week dining experience at Solas on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. We’ve driven past this place a number of times and from the look of things, knew it was pretty swanky.

My first impression, unfortunately, was mild irritation when we pulled up and found out the valet parking was not complimentary as described when I confirmed my reservation earlier in the day. I always tip well for valet, but having to search through my wallet unprepared put me off a bit. However, we met our friend Chris (who reviews wines on trianglevino.com) and were quickly seated outside on the patio where the air temperature and breeze were very pleasant. The decor was quite nice, and the people watching even better. While we didn’t take them up on it, we were offered free entrance to the upstairs lounge as dinner patrons.

To start we ordered a bottle of the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, which was one of the better values on the white wine list.  The Restaurant Week menu options were pretty broad with smaller portions of dishes they normally have on their main menu, so we figured we’d get a good idea of their cooking style. I chose the Hot Rock with filet & gulf shrimp and Eric picked the BBQ duck quesadilla with mango avocado salsa. Eric enjoyed his appetizer which had a good bit of duck and just enough sauce.  I will attest that the avocado mango salsa was very nice. While my Hot Rock appetizer’s presentation was impressive, neither the steak or shrimp were seasoned and since the dish didn’t come with any dipping sauces, I found the meat alone very bland. Some sprinkled salt and pepper from the table improved the flavor but why couldn’t they do that in the kitchen?

With dinner, Chris suggested a bottle of Punto Final Malbec. As an entree, Eric ordered the Citrus Marinated Flat Iron Steak  and I had the Bacon Wrapped Shrimp. I’m glad the waitress mentioned that the kitchen tends to undercook steak when he ordered it medium or Eric wouldn’t have eaten it. But once again, why not just cook it to order instead of making your waitstaff explain this? The steak was good, though a bit underseasoned again, and Eric really liked his mashed potatoes. I found my shrimp overcooked and I maybe had once slice of bacon spread out over three shrimp. Seriously. It was more like a bacon cozy than a wrap. Chris had the Filet with Cabernet Goat Cheese Butter—as before, underseasoned meat, and the goat cheese butter was overpowering.

My strawberry-rhubarb tart dessert was the highlight of my meal and strangely, it was more food than both my appetizer and entree combined. Eric wasn’t impressed with his chocolate crepe as it had some sort of strange orange alcohol taste – to be fair, neither of us are crazy about the combination of citrus and chocolate.

Overall, Solas seems to be a case of style (with good service and atmosphere) over substance (unremarkable food). With  plenty of other places to eat nearby we probably won’t be back for a full meal soon, but we would consider going for appetizers and people watching.

I just realized that I never mentioned the incredibly windy ferry ride to Sausalito or the delicious family-style lunch at Angelino Restaurant… so I’ve added a few photos below. Also, the entire Napa Valley/San Francisco trip recap is now available here.

Alcatraz as taken from the ferry boat

enjoying a glass of the Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc with my Italian lunch

the always beautiful Golden Gate Bridge