Resolution or To Do List?

One of the items on my "things to do in 2011" list (didn't want to make "resolutions") was to write on the blog more. I have a lot of photos to post of fabulous cake creations and our soon-to-be beautiful brick bungalow! Hence, I'm also changing blog names and am hoping to get something other than the generic blog design up here.

So, please - all four previous followers - stay tuned!!

Puttin' the Heat to the Meat!

The final stop on our BBQ eating frenzy took place at A & R BBQ. This happened after we toured Graceland –pretty much an Elvis amusement park. And, we paid extra to get to see inside the private plane and automobile museum…I mean we were only going to Graceland this once, we decided to live it up! I’m pretty sure the highlight of the tour was the Jungle Room, which Elvis had outfitted with green shag carpeting from ceiling to floor – even the walls. I also can’t forget to mention the custom waterfall that was in there along with the amazing 70s furniture – fur, lions heads, carved wood. Need I say more?

On to food!

A & R BBQ Memphis, TN

Attendees: Me and Brad (duh - but, I wanted to keep consisted with the other reviews)

Food Ordered: Beef shoulder sandwich, BBQ turkey sandwich, seasoned fries, BBQ spaghetti, fried pickles!

Review:

• My turkey sandwich was awesome – smoky turkey and tasty, thick sauce – it was better than the one I had at Neely’s. The meat was chopped which kind of makes for a hard-to-eat sandwich (pieces kept falling out) so eat it with a knife and fork.
• Brad’s sandwich was like XL size – I think he ordered the jumbo platter or something. I didn’t taste much of it – but Brad seemed to like it.
• Seasoned fries and fried pickles were good. I mean, I love pickles, and anything tastes better fried, right?! Plus, it’s not something you see every day. It’s too bad we didn’t have enough time to make it to the place that had fried twinkies…
• Don’t go expecting anything fancy from the atmosphere. It’s a true roadside BBQ joint –and it was fab.

Overall, we had an amazing time on our trip and ate like it was nobody’s business. My biggest disappointment (in terms of meals) sadly had to be the Papa John’s we ordered one lazy night. I happen to love PJ’s (esp the breadsticks, hello?!) and we don’t have them in Chicago. But, have they changed the secret recipe, or is the recipe different down south? Whatever these breadsticks were, they were not the same dense, chewy, bready breadsticks I remember from the Porter Hall study lounge. Even the pizza tasted different. It was a sad night…

Good thing we ate enough other delicious, local meals. Hope you all get a chance to check Memphis out some day.

Other places to try include:

• Umai – French and Japanese food (trust me it might sound like a weird combo, but I was quickly on team Umai!)
• Young Avenue Deli - we didn’t eat here – just good beers and a good vibe
• Bardog - cool bar, bar (beer is served in mugs) and location of my first-ever Fireball shot; Brad's sister knows the owners and it was good to talk to some locals to find out where to go and what to do
• Flying Saucer - had so many beers they have a newsletter to describe. If you drink 200 beers you get your name on a plate on the wall - we did not attempt this...yet...
  
  Where to eat next??!?

Rendezvous and Neely's

So far eating in Memphis has been soooo good! I’m not going to go into detail on ALL food….just BBQ. However, I do need to mention that if you are ever driving to Memphis, or down 55, or are ever near Sikeston, MO – you must stop at Lambert’s Café. It’s “home of the thrown roll” and a meal that I’ve never before experienced.

Quickly, a few notes on Lambert’s:

• You get “free pass arounds” of sides like fried okra, potatoes, beans and literally have piping hot, fresh rolls thrown at you.
• The servers come around yelling “hot rolls” and carry large bowls of the sides asking if you need more. We weren’t sitting at our table for more than a minute before an onslaught of food starting coming around.
• Drinks are served in giant thermos type mugs – like a 32 ouncer! (love)
• I’m pretty sure it was the first time in my life that I ordered chicken and dumplings – yum

On to BBQ. Our first stop was Rendezvous – from which I’ve gathered is probably the most well-known joint in town. We had to walk around the block before we realized that the restaurant was really located in an alley...

Rendezvous, Memphis TN

Attendees: Me and Brad
Food Ordered: Ribs, chopped chicken sandwich, plate of pickles (YES!), baked beans, coleslaw
Review:

• I did not order the famous ribs – but Brad did. They are smoked with a dry rub - so this is not the place if you are looking for sticky, saucy ribs like you get at Chili’s.
• I thought that the dry rub/smoky flavor was amazing….but the rib lacked meat and was very dry. But, I’m no rib aficionado - Brad loved it all.
• At first I thought that my chicken sandwich was just good. But then we were discussing….and tasting again…and slowly had this hidden smoky/roasted flavor hit the back of our throats – I changed my review from good to great!
• Sauce was a little thin for my tastes, but both the mild and hot and some kick.
• Bottom line - it’s a must-try if you are in Memphis.

Neely’s BBQ, Memphis TN

Attendees: Me and Brad
Food Ordered: Fried bologna sandwich, BBQ spaghetti, BBQ beans, fries, sliced turkey sandwich
Review:

• Disclaimer, we did not go to Neely’s just because they have a show on the Food Network. Upon looking at the menu, we decided to go there because they offered a few different options than some of the other restaurants.
• It’s a true “joint” – nothing pretentious, lots of dark wood and booth space.
• Brad wanted to go off the grid at this place – so he ordered a thick-cut, fried bologna sandwich topped with cole slaw and sauce and served on Texas toast. I don’t think I’ve seen him eat bologna before, but his plate was cleaned.
• My smoked turkey sandwich was pretty good – but was even better dunked in a bowl of sauce.
• The standouts here for us were the BBQ beans with lots of pulled pork in the bowl and strangely enough, the BBQ spaghetti. You just have to try it sometime.
• Sauce was decent.
• We were asked if we’d like a drink refill “to go.” Nice – who does that?!

We’re off to Graceland and Sun Studios today - and most likely Interstate BBQ. Maybe I’ll find the amazing sauce that I’ve been looking for there!

Brad and Katie’s Eating Extravaganza Road Trip to Memphis (via Springfield and the Lou)

So, one night Brad and I got this great idea to use up our airline and credit card points for a spontaneous trip to Belgium. Hey, that’s the kind of people we are! We also bought our car in a blizzard – not just a bad snow storm, a certified blizzard. We wanted a car and we were going to get it. We didn’t know there was going to be a blizzard…

Anyway, said Belgium trip would have taken place about a month from that night, to coincide with a Muse concert in Brussels. Yeah…maybe we had had too many beverages that night. The trip started to sound so amazing and we got really excited (I even expedited my new passport the next day). However, the more we researched details and concert costs (tix only available through a broker) our newly mature 30-year-old minds realized that we probably should wait and take a little more time to plan a trip to Europe - especially because neither of us had been there since we were in high school.

We were saddened by this mature decision, but we had still taken the whole week off and Brad became adamant about at least taking some kind of trip (we also have a wedding anniversary in November, so there was some impetus for a trip as well).

I’m not even entirely sure how a trip to Memphis came up. But, we always see the sign on the highway that says “57 to Memphis” and always joke about how we should just get on the road and drive there. Oh, and we love to eat BBQ. I know, I know – if you know me you are saying “Katie you don’t eat meat!” Well, I really don’t, but BBQ does include chicken…and sauce…which, um, I LOVE. I was known as the “dip queen” as a child after all. (Think French onion dip and Ruffles. Yeah.). I’ve also started to give pork a chance. Pulled pork – mmmmm.

So, here we are. I’m actually in the car on 55 as I’m writing this. Our trip is mainly centered around food – and we have NO problem with that. Our clothes might not fit at the end of this, but we’ll just roll it into Thanksgiving and holiday eating. YUM!

We started our trip eating a little early on Thursday at Smoque in Chicago – so we could have a “control” in our Memphis BBQ eating extravaganza. Even though Smoque specializes in St. Louis ribs (cut from spare ribs to make a more uniform, rectangular rack.), we were going with friends to celebrate a special occasion.

Here’s a quick review:

Smoque, Chicago

Attendees: Me, Brad, Erik, Megan

Food: Pulled pork sandwich, roasted chicken on salad, baby back ribs, spare ribs, corn bread, mac n cheese, fries, baked beans, slaw.

Thoughts:

• Katie and Megan: Had leftovers. We both got the salad with chicken. It was good, but not amazing. I think we liked the sides better – the handcut fries and mac n cheese were fresh and delish.
• Brad: Cleaned his plate. He got the pulled pork sandwich. It was GIANT and I tasted it – it was meaty, not very saucy though.
• Erik: Needed a wet nap. He got the ribs…and loved them. We all tried a bite and even Megan and I (who don’t really like ribs) agreed that they were great – especially the spare ribs. Not too fatty, good bark (haha, do I sound like a pit master?).
  

Other thoughts:

• It’s kinda like eating in a cafeteria – food is served on metal trays.
• Sauce was just OK. I prefer Smoke Daddy’s sauce and the fact that they have three varieties in squeeze bottles on each table so you can sauce up to your heart’s content.
• The restaurant is small and can get busy.
• It’s BYOB, so pack up your favorite brews (maybe some Texas Shiner Bock?) and give it a whirl!

Stay tuned for more BBQ reviews as we travel through Illinois, MO and TN!

Better Late Than Never - Pumpkin Bread

Ok, I know I promised pumpkin bread like a million years ago.... Well, I'm finally getting to it - although I'm sad to say that I don't have any pictures of the mini loaves of spicy deliciousness. They went too fast!

I've had a long obsession with everything pumpkin (real, fake, canned, candied -Brach's mello pumpkins are the bomb!!). In fact, this reminds me that I need to make my annual trip to find the perfect pumpkin candle for fall. Yes, I really do this...:) In recent years, I've had luck at Bath and Body Works - I'm very particular about my candle scents...especially pumpkin. I'm pretty sure this makes me a giant nerd, but if you read this blog, or know me in any way, this should be no surprise.

Anyway, back to food. I can't really take much credit for this recipe, my sister randomly found it online by searching for "lowfat pumpkin bread." Who knew the bread would turn out so good; be "good" for you; and look good in the mini muffin pans. It's super easy too.

Blogger isn't letting me copy and paste, so here's a link to the recipe. We baked the mini loaves for about 40-45 minutes and I served them with some light cream cheese - YUM!!

Iron Cupcake Chicago - Candy

The theme for September's Iron Cupcake Chicago was candy. I was initially really excited about this and had lots of ideas spinning around my head. Ultimately, I got busy, put the creating off and ran out of time to do something truly amazing.

I tried two options - one of which involved the below...

Yes, that's right - Pixie Sticks! Sounds fun, right? I have to admit, this idea originally stemmed from Brad's co-worker - thank you Traci!

However, it didn't completely work out. The idea? Use Pixie Sticks in place of sugar in the recipe. I mean, its all sugar, right?

Well, to say they were tart would be an understatement - and the cupcake came out really compact. Not totally horrible, but definitely unique. Not pretty enough to take pics of.

What I ended up going for the actual "competition" was a Candy Corn Cupcake. Basically a yellow and orange tinted vanilla cupcake with caramel buttercream.

I used a Cake Bible recipe that I've made a bunch of times - but I think the coloring, extra mixing (and maybe I put too much baking powder?) made the cupcakes come out too dry. I know, its sad. But, at least the yellow/orange layering came out OK and the caramel buttercream from Martha was delish.

Um, the actual Iron Cupcake "event" was interesting...

First of all, I went completely alone. I'm comfortable with myself, I didn't think the aloneness would be horrible - but, I was soon desperately wishing that maybe at least Brad would have been there. THEN, I realized the more people you had with you -rooting for you - and voting on your cupcakes would make a huge difference. Duh.

The person that won was at a table of 20 friends and family. I was at a table of 1.

But, seeing as how the event location is seriously in the middle of nowhere, (at least for me and my friends) not near public transportation, and at 6 p.m. on a weekday - makes it hard for me to muster a large crowd to come support me.

It remains to be seen if I will participate again. Maybe some suggestions about the time and place wouldn't hurt? Hmmm...

It's Been So Long - So, Very Long...

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile! I was out of town and then my schedule changed a bit, etc. BUT, I'm back with a very important post - especially for those in the Chicago area.

I'm participating in my very first Iron Cupcake Chicago challenge this Monday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m.! Detes are below.

It's totally FREE though, so if you are in the area and love FREE CUPCAKES I'd love to see you there. Also, the theme is CANDY - so there should be some interesting entries. More on my entries later...

Thanks!

********
WHAT: Iron Cupcake Chicago

WHEN: Monday, Sept. 14, 6 p.m.

WHERE: Veranda Restaurant
5700 W. Irving Park (at Major) - sorry, kinda randy locale

WHY: FREE stuff and to support me! :)