Spring, my ass

What the heck is that stuff? It was perfect little balls of ice. They were so beautiful. Then I slid on them and went crashing down the porch stairs and I changed my opinion. I hear it's Spring in other parts of the country.

When I Dip You Dip We Dip

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Oh, man! Remember this video? Who thought that was ever a good idea? I STILL get this song stuck in my head. Then I feel like eating dip. Here is my favorite dip recipe:

Man Dip

1 pint of prepared ranch dip
1 cup shredded, sharp cheddar cheese
3 sliced of cooked, crumbled bacon
1 can chopped green chiles
2 t. lawry's hot salt (I use the tabasco flavored kind)

-mix it all up
-refridge overnight (this is crucial, the cheese and sour cream meld together)
-eat with ruffles

YOU WILL THANK ME

Burger Challenges #14 & #30 Anniversary Edition!

The top of our wedding cake, which has been in the freezer for the past year. We had no idea how huge our cake must have been. This top was a full 8-inch layer cake.
We also had no idea what flavor it was. It turned out to be white cake with chocolate ganache filling. Score.
Yes, it was a little freezer burnt and dry, but still good.
No onto what we're really up to for our anniversary. Celebrating it the only way we know how, by eating burgers. We headed downtown for the first stop. There was some amazingly distracting graffiti on the way from the parking spot.
Above is going to be another edition of my "before" weight watchers pictures. Pssst: I've lost 17.4 lbs so far!

Ugh, I want this on the side of my house.
The details were out of this world. I need to go back and take more. If any Cincinnatians are reading this, it was in that little parking lot on Clay by Park + Vine (their new location on Main.)

Here is Lavomatic, called that because it is in an old laundromat, and that is what they are called in French. It used to be part of the Relish Group by Jean-Robert de Cavel, but maybe not anymore? Or maybe soon not to be?
There was a hot pink gnome at the bar. I like this place already. The artisanal liqueurs made me want to order a mixed drink, but we both went for beer. Maybe another time. Ryan had a dark, oatmealy stout. I had the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Lager.
There were framed aprons on the wall. So cute. Totally stealing this idea and putting some in my kitchen.

Ugh. Yes. Everything so local and sustainable and grass-fed and whole grain and purely deliciously awesome.

I could not handle how well this bun withstood burger juice. It was perfect.
We also had a side of chorizo goetta.
The fries were only half-way decent. There wasn't a single one left, though!
Extra points for how well the bun was cut to hold the patty. It sealed everything in as you ate.



Then we drove over to Mariemont. Before we saw the movie L'Illusionniste.:
There was another little gnome greeting us at the bar of the Dilly Cafe, which has an AMAZING beer selection. A little stiff as far as bars go, but appropriate for the neighborhood of Mariemont. I've never eaten there, but I hear it's good. After the movie, we moved onto the next Burger palace, The Quarter Bistro.

Above is the inside of Quarter Bistro. It was fancier than we anticipated. Below is fried calamari that we got as an appitizer. It was so-so.
The bread came in a paper bag. It was so awesome that I hoped the burgers would be served on the same kind, but it wasn't.
Here we go. Quarter Bistro was one of those places that listed several different kinds of burgers on the menu, but then also offered every topping a la carte. We always get combinations of goat cheeses, jalapenos, fancy onions, etc. The fries were of the sweet potato variety for me, and Ryan got brussel sprouts as a side instead of fries, which made him really happy.
Good quality beef. Very juicy.

A creamy, yellow mustard that I forgot to ask the variety of.
I snuck this picture. Sorry, hon. Happy Anniversary!
This is the fourteenth trip of our burger challenge; to eat at all 40 places on Cincinnati Magazine's list of the best burgers in town and Lavomatic was number 14 on the list and Quarter Bistro was number 30, hence the title of this post.

Here is what we've had so far:
# 7 Oakley Pub and Grill
#9 Keystone Bar and Grill
#17 Arthur's
#19 Cafe de Wheels
#24 Zola
#25 Chalk Food + Wine
#26 Five Guys
#27 Maribelle's Tavern
#28 Doris and Sonny's Homelike Restaurant
#31 Quatman Cafe
#35 Gordo's Cafe
#36 By Golly's
#37 Fatburger

To see the photos from our hamburger Ohio trip, where we checked out the 6 best burgers in the state, according to George Motz, click here.

To see the photos of our Hamburger Honeymoon, click here

Green B.E.A.N. Delivery

It must be Wednesday!


Tragically, our local, independent grocer closed this past January. It was the only grocery store we could walk to, and although we can drive to Kroger, we signed up to have local, organic groceries delivered to our door.

http://www.greenbeandelivery.com/cincinnati/
What treasures will it hold this week?
There is a cooler inside the bin to keep everything cold until you get home. They pick up your empty bin and leave a full one.


This week, we got:
green leaf lettuce
broccoli
mushrooms
rosemary
mangoes
lemons
apples
strawberries

and you have to add at least $10 worth of other groceries so we got:
Seven Hills Highlander Grogg
Honey Whole Wheat Bread from Sweet William Bakery
Local ground turkey (awesome, because we ONLY eat local meat!)

This service is the bomb. It's like Christmas every week. It has also encouraged us to try cooking new things, like fennel and bok choy, which we had eaten, but never prepared!

Wow, it's been a month

I'm Meghan and I am a really terrible blogger.

Above is a picture of the burger from Bistro on Elm, downtown Cincinnati, which Ryan and I discovered on accident, because it was one of the only places downtown open for lunch on a Saturday. I wanted to take Ryan to Ingredients, but alas, they really only cater to the 9-5 M-F. I hope this photo makes up for it. The burger was big and good and the fries of the duck fat variety.

In other news:

I JOINED WEIGHT WATCHERS!!!!

why?

BECAUSE I'VE GAINED 49 POUNDS IN ONE YEAR SINCE OUR WEDDING!!!

how?

see photo above....

This doesn't mean the burgers will stop flowing, however. It merely means there will less crap in addition to the burgers. I started at WW in January, and at my 3rd weigh-in, had lost 8.8 lbs. My Mom is paying the dues (it's expensive!) and I have to pay her back if I don't lose weight. She joined because she is on a new medication that makes her gain weight. She has only lost 0.2 lbs, but I keep trying to remind her that's good, because otherwise, she'd be gaining lots of weight otherwise.

And then there is our anniversary. Since we're so burgerly inclined, we've decided to celebrate our first year of marital wonderousness with a day of burgers. We wouldn't have it any other way. We're hoping we'll be knocking out 3 places on "The List" that day.

Stay tuned...

S-C-R-E-W-E-D

Chicken Schnitzel

My 15 year old niece came over and made us dinner - chicken schnitzel, fried potatoes with onions and apple crisp. All from scratch, all by herself. It was because we bought her the book Teens Cook by Megan and Jill Carle. It was the book I used to teach myself to cook, and Erin started using it on Christmas day to make everything in it. I hope she grows up to go to a fancy chef school.