cheeksandchubs

some things i'm grateful for this past week:

getting to sleep in (till 11am!) both days this past weekend

my new camera bag (birthday gift from cheeks!)

a new furry friend - from mom, just because she thought i'd like it

getting to try a new brunch/lunch place - Sleepy Bee Cafe (their healthy bee cakes are delicious!)

a really good reminder from a fortune cookie

delicious dinner at Boca to celebrate mom and cheeks' january birthdays

movie night with mom and cheeks - Lone Survivor

so far this year ...

a new homemade LED lamp

first snowstorm of 2014

lavender earl grey tea at essencha

shepherd's pie via america's test kitchen

hot dogs and soft serve after costco shopping

do any of you locals remember the maisonette, or la normandie? i'm sure you do - either you've had the opportunity to dine at one, or both, or at least have heard of them. the maisonette had the longest-running 5-star rating in the country! i think that in itself speaks a lot to the heyday of cincinnati. it had been more than 10 years since they closed, and their former spaces remained unoccupied until now. 

chef and restauranteur, david falk, ignited the transformation of these beloved spaces. he moved boca from its former location in oakley to the old maisonette space, and opened a new restaurant, sotto, in the former basement space of la normandie.

this post shares specifically about our dinner at sotto; we had:

bruschetta (roasted lemons with ...? it'st been a few months and i forgot to take note what this was - the current menu on their website has been updated)

tonnarelli cacio e pepe (butter, black pepper and pecorino)

bistecca fiorentina (grilled Creekstone porterhouse steak with roasted potatoes and rapini)

chocolate terrine (olive oil, smoked salt, pistachio)

we look forward to trying out boca sometime soon.

we had the pleasure of experiencing a treme dinner the other night at dayton's rue dumaine. here was their menu:

Ruth Fertel's garlicky white shrimp remoulade

Poppy Tooker's crawfish calas with green garlic mayonnaise

Cochon's braised pig with stewed turnips and cabbage

Bayona's Cafe au lait pots de crème with mudslide cookies

a few scenes from our weekend in detroit:

egg sandwich and coffees at astro coffee in corktown

strolled midtown shops: city bird, nest, shinola (where we tried an apple, lemon, ginger juice at the drought bar), hugh and nora

late lunch at slows bbq before heading home

we made reservations for dinner at Salt of the Earth, on our first night in pittsburgh. chef kevin sousa is currently a semi-finalist for "Best Chef : Mid-Atlantic", James Beard 2012, and salt was his first restaurant. opened in 2010, he has since opened two additional restaurants in early 2012: Union Pig & Chicken, and Station Street Hot Dogs. 

it was early when we arrived so we chose to be seated at the counter facing the kitchen - who doesn't like to watch pros prep and cook?? it took a lot for me to not to break the chefs focus, and engage them in conversation; thankfully, the dishes they served up required my full attention.

we ordered:

steak tartare (mussels, cilantro, nuoc cham, peanuts)

agnolotti (chicken, pork, pistou)

chicken (arepas, beans, pork, apricot, cashew)

cheese (bleu, almond, coffee, peach)

drinks:

rye (Rittenhouse, peach, Becherovka, Averna, lemon)

n/a (yuzu, papaya, mango, lime)

noble blend - lily pilly

this past labor day weekend, cheeks and i went to pittsburgh mainly to try out a couple of food spots that our friend SP raved about recently. food obviously drives my passion to travel! the city is only 5 hrs away, which is a perfect getaway for a 3-day weekend.

we used a free night certificate at a hotel in bakery square that ended up being the perfect location to stay at! it was central to pretty much everything on our list, and although getting there still required driving, they were very pleasant drives through old neighborhoods with beautiful homes and lush gardens.

we walked up and down the hilly streets of squirrel hill, and explored the neighborhoods of lawrenceville, highland park and mount washington. there's no better way to explore than on foot!

there are no words to describe listening/watching sigur ros live - i'm so glad they made it to cincy!

i have this bad habit of complaining that we don't do anything fun. so it's always very humbling to look at photos i've taken and be reminded that i'm crazy for complaining because this summer has been one of the funnest!

here are some highlights:

one of my best friends got married

saw a reds game and stayed until the fireworks

witnessed tech-testing of lumenocity at music hall (and didn't even know it!)

bowling

explored downtown on foot

color palooza!

hung out at the 21c rooftop bar

spent the afternoon at sawyer point

city flea!

a day out in the country

and i don't even need to tell you about all the eating we did - i think that's pretty obvious based on this blog! these are not even half of what we've been up to, and i feel blessed and grateful for every moment. 

the weekend is almost upon us - i hope we'll all remember that even the simplest things count like getting to sleep in, getting to read the book that's been sitting on your nightstand, and getting the opportunity to do nothing. 

hello friends!  ... is anyone still there? 

did you also feel like summer went by in a blink? it sure felt like the heatwave didn't arrive here till a couple of weeks ago, and we're back down to the 70's. it's been odd - temperature-wise, which makes me feel like something's not quite right (and i'm sure all the little critters feel the same way too).

but i'm happy to say we've done our fair share of grilling and hanging outside on the deck with family and friends - a great way to take advantage of this cool-ish season.

two sundays ago, cheeks and i got to join eggplant to go at a sunday supper club at pallet23. that night, chef jose salazar was at the helm, and it was bittersweet to hear that that was his last sunday supper. it's not over for chef yet; i read some great news about him that i will share at the end of this post.

first off, pallet23 is a "private, flexible event space" in an area of northside that seemed to be in the revitalization stage. newly-opened barrio tequileria is catty-corner across the street (see photos from local "eye on the city", 5chw4r7z - i just love all the dia de los muertos art!), and there were different phases of construction in the surrounding buildings. the space is a converted warehouse that has an open layout: there is a garage-door entrance at the back for wheeling in large equipment, and a kitchen space on the opposite end that allows for cooking demos. 

the sunday supper club is limited to a small group, and that night, we were among 18 guests - it must be a challenge preparing food for a number that seems small when you don't have a commercial kitchen to utilize.

the menu was:

cured hamachi (edamame, soy braised daikon, orange/ginger emulsion)

roasted cauliflower (bell peppers, pickled onions, parsley, capers, spring garlic skordalia)

potato gnocchi (english peas, parmesan cream, frico)

wild alaskan halibut (quinoa, asparagus, hazelnuts, coffee gastrique)

beef shortrib pot au' feau (mirepoix, bone marrow)

whipped brie (brioche, grapes, basil)

milk mousse (aerated chocolate, pineapple, rum caramel)

much like our dinner at orchids, we couldn't pick a favorite dish. i really enjoyed how each dish was plated - it was very much designed, with every texture, shape and color considered. works of art.

so, the great news, is that chef jose salazar will be opening his own restaurant in the OTR-area (14th and republic) in mid-august, and will be called, salazar. we're so very excited for him, and wish him all the best!

last weekend, we ate and ate and ate, in honor of our very good friend, F, and her upcoming wedding to R.

our itinerary included:

food tour of findlay market for lunch (no photos from here because both my hands were full - crepe from taste of belgium in one, limeade from pho lang thang in the other). we finished up at dojo gelato for dessert.

dinner at zab thai, and to try out their macarons (which were named best macarons in cincinnati magazine's, where to eat now issue)

movie (bridesmaids!) and munchies back at our house

brunch the following morning at troy's cafe

forget bar-hopping and drinking, THIS is why the bond of our friendship is strong - it is glued together by the yummy goodness of food!

the weekend was beautiful here in cincinnati, and i wanted to stay out longer, so i picked up cheeks, and we got some mini blizzards from dairy queen (finally, new sizes are becoming smaller than super!), stopped by montgomery cyclery (you all know i don't know how to ride, so this stop is for cheeks - although i would like one of those brightly-colored bicycles, please!) and a pre-dinner snack - vada pav from curries (fyi: they will be serving street food snacks outside their restaurants on sundays, and plan to expand their offerings when the summer rolls along).

the sticking memory for me this past weekend happened at findlay market. one of our friends lost her bag of goodies - it got left at one of the outdoor seating when we moved seats, and was gone by the time we ran back to get it. one of the items she bought was spelt bread from blue oven bakery, and when we got to the counter to replace the loaf, claude offered it ... at no charge. it's a simple gesture, i know, but goodness speaks a thousand words.

and i share this in light of the bombings at the boston marathon yesterday because i want to be reminded of the goodness in people. i read about the people who, instead of running away from the incident, went towards it to help those who were hurt - "the helpers":

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers -- so many caring people in this world." - Fred Rogers

what, it's thursday already?? where did the week go?

before the week ends, i want to share with you what i did last weekend, mostly because i was productive, and that always makes me feel good! 

tucked these lovely-patterned japanese paper in these glass coasters. i had debated for a loong while what to put under there, and eventually decided on pattern vs image. 

framed some loose prints and photos

added the midas touch to photo frames that a friend will be using as table markers at their wedding at the end of the month

made some decorations from paper scraps and string that i have left from previous projects ... and broke my giant puncher * tears * (never attempt to punch card stock paper!). thankfully, michael's saved the day with a 50% off coupon, and i was able to replace, and finish this project up.

and the last photo was at a Sunday Supper Club dinner at pallet 23 - this one with Chef Jose Salazar. isn't that a beautiful dish? will share more about this dinner soon.

one of our home projects is to get our office space more of a workable space. currently, it's just where we store paperwork, documents, craft supplies ... but we don't necessarily work IN the space. i go there to get what i need, and work in the living room on the coffee table. then i'd have to clear up every time we need the table for dinner (yes, we eat in front of the tv - it's just so cozy!). i'd love to be able  to spread my supplies out, and just leave them there when i'm not finished, and just do more ... doodling, paper crafting, felting, coloring even ...

soon.

i love succulents! for one, they are easy to take care of (not a lot of watering!), and there are so many interesting-looking kinds! we picked up these new babies last weekend, and planted them in these white planters from ikea. 

adding indoor plants is another way for me to create an inspiring home - and a healthy home (some indoor plants are also air purifiers)! i am still very much intimidated with gardening, and i prefer to garden the easy way, much to some of our plants' demise (under-watering or over-watering).

i'm going to make sure these babies get a lot of nurturing - food and plenty of sun, and to remember not to water them too much.

last week at work, we had a silent auction for Make a Wish Foundation and the Ronald McDonald House, and i had the highest bid for this "breakfast basket." i bid on it specifically for the ebelskiver pan, which i had learned about while researching, and eventually making, takoyaki at home (tako night!). so last sunday, we decided to give this a go as part of our sunday brunch at home. the basket also included a can of ebelskiver mix, and wooden turners, so we were all set - just needed to add eggs and milk! 

we followed this video from "the danish chef" that showed how to turn the ebelskivers so that they finish almost perfectly round (otherwise they end up more like puffy disks). we used jelly as the filling, but it ended up just mixing in with the batter, so we couldn't really taste them. we still need to do some further testing, but in the meantime the jelly can be served on the side.

the non-stick pan made turning each ebelskiver so much easier (versus the cast iron takoyaki pan), and we didn't need to use too much butter. we drizzled maple syrup on top, and served it with fried potatoes and poached eggs. yum!

*ebelskivers (or aebleskiver) are danish pancakes shaped in a sphere. they taste just like american pancakes, but definitely more fun to make!

the best thing about "winning" this basket is that that money goes towards two organizations that help children:

Make a Wish Foundation will help our wish child see his dreams of going to Disney World fulfilled. the goal was to raise $10,000 and the company met that goal!