Family Vacation

Last month, my new family (and some extended family) loaded up and drove to Red River, New Mexico for a ski vacation. On this trip I learned something very important. I am not a skier. But I am ok with that revelation. I skied for one day. Failed miserably. And proceeded to spend the rest of my vacation doing what I want to do on vacation - lounge around the cabin with a fire, sit at the bar, read, and catch up on the gossip with my friends. My idea of perfect.

Here are just a few things to wrap up our trip. First, if you've never seen one, this is what a cold front looks like. About 2.5 hours into our trip we saw the sky do this and I can say that we were just a little freaked out. I kept waiting on the sky to fall and a big twister to eat us up. The sky went from really sunny and pretty to...well, dark and crazy looking. But when the temperature dropped a good 20 degrees in about 4 minutes, we figured out that we were safe.

We stopped halfway in Amarillo for the night. When you're travelling with an 8 year old, stopping is important. Though, not quite as important as I thought it would be since he has a DVD player in the car. Anyway - my SD insisted on going to the Big Texas Steakhouse for dinner. I've seen this place on Food Network and I'm a sucker for anything that ends up on FN. Apparently they have this 72 oz steak that if you eat it (with sides) in an hour your meal is free. Yeah...whatever! Someone did attempt it, but failed. Bad. And no, it was not Jason. He has been known in his college days to do crazy things like eat large quantities of food for a free meal.

The food here was pretty good - of course I had steak. And it's a fun "tourist trap" atmosphere, but what else were we going to do?

We were really lucky to have a cabin right across from the main ski lift. Because it also happens to be right across from the bar. After one day of skiing, Casi and I found our home! AND the weather was great - by the third day there we were sitting outside in just t-shirts. It felt great!

Jason and Adam were the only ones brave enough to make it all the way to the top. It really looked pretty. There was supposed to be a bar at the top with a great view, but the only way down is to ski. Considering the trip I made up the small lift and had to walk down...I decided that it would be too hard to walk my butt down with a pair of skiis in tow, so the photos would have to do. Apparently during the summer you can take the lift up and down for $10. So...why can't you do that in the winter? They're so missing out on great booze revenue. I would have camped out there all day. Oh, well.

My "I am so old and boring" part of the trip came New Year's Eve. We (all) managed to make Texas New Year's and that was it! After dinner, the 5 of us walked/slipped our way down to the bar we visited when we first got to town for NYE. We'd heard they were having live music...but promptly turned around when they asked us to pay the $10 cover! What the heck?!?! So, we slipped our way back to the Ski Lift Bar to drink at a much lower cost. And managed to make the New York midnight before heading home. It was Texas midnight when we crawled in bed...but just bearly! That skiing is hard work!

Overall, Red River is great ski town - small, family friendly, great places to stay. I would go back for sure - but I just won't bother trying to ski!!

Wine, Wine, Wine

A few weekends ago I left Jason at home to study and headed to the Hill Country with some girlfriends. We had a really good time - eating, tasting wine, eating, playing putt-putt, getting kicked out of the pool...maybe we tasted more wine than I thought!

We stayed at the Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort - I really recommend this for a weekend away. I'm actually looking for a weekend that Jason and I could go together. We didn't really explore the resort, so I can't say much about what it has to offer but the food was good, service was nice and the Hill Country is always pretty.

Saturday morning we arranged for a limo to pick us up (minus one who stayed at the spa) and headed out to some of the local Texas wineries. The first stop was Grape Creek Vineyard. This place was really crowded. They have a few options - you can taste their "white labels" complimentary and their "black labels" for $5. They have a great patio area for lunch (bring your own) or you can shop in their little snack area. We managed to leave with a LOT of cheese and crackers. Which we also managed to eat.

The second stop was Becker Vineyards. Their tasting was either $5 or $10, but well worth it. They also had a lavender festival going on out on the patio which made everything smell wonderful! The setting here was so nice - perfect if you have a lot of time to just hang out and visit.

From there we took a short drive to Torre di Pietra. They have a great shop for knick knacks and tastings run $5. To squeeze in more wineries, we decided to make that stop quick, so we didn't get to enjoy the band on the patio...but it looked really nice.

The next stop was Woodrose. The wine here was just...ok. Tastings were $5 or $7 each. For the cost, I would probably go back. They have a great patio that backs up to a wooded area - it was so relaxing and great for visiting with friends.

The final stop was the Lost Creek Tasting Room. The actual winery would have been quite a trip from where we were, but they also have a small tasting room in Johnson City. We spent a little more there on our tastings because we bought Lost Creek wine glasses. They were very gracious at the Tasting Room because we arrived pretty close to 6pm (closing time) but we never really felt rushed.

Back at the hotel we decided to have dinner at River City Grille in Marble Falls. They have a huge deck overlooking the water and we wrapped up the day listening to more live music. Seems to be the norm in the Hill Country. If you have time for a weekend get away, I would suggest going for wine. :-)

Something I forgot to mention...

While I was in LA - I experience my first earthquake. Hello, how could I forget that??? I actually managed not to panic and not to get up and run outside. I was at the LA Convention Center and if you've never been there...the front of the building is glass. Running outside of my meeting room just didn't seem like a great idea. It was, in the end, somewhat uneventful.

This past weekend Jason and I went to Corpus Christi for a wedding. We decided to fly down (saving 8 hours on the road) and stayed at the Omni Bayfront, where the reception was to be held. I have a rather funny story that involves the hotel and a $70 room rate, but I don't think sharing it online is the best idea. You'll have to ask me in person.

For Corpus to be a city on the ocean, their seafood selection downtown was rather lacking. Since we decided not to rent a car, we tried to keep most food choices within walking distance. This was pretty easy except on Friday, when we were in need of a place to watch the Cowboys beat the Texans. The option, take a cab to Buffalo Wild Wing. I felt quite guilty flying all the way to Corpus to take a cab to BW3's...but I like the food and wanted to watch the game!

Saturday we walked to the Water Street Restaurant for lunch. Jason had some raw oysters and a Mesquite Grilled Shrimp Po Boy and I had...a hamburger. For the record, I've been craving a good burger since my trip to LA, so I felt finally justified. Even if I didn't eat seafood. BUT we all know I'm not a big fan of much seafood.

The wedding Saturday night was really nice. Jason attended his first full mass Catholic wedding. I had to make a potty break once. We saw the guy we sat next to on the airplane at the wedding (small world) and were entertained by a mariachi band during the reception! It was really nice to spend the weekend with some college friends that we don't see often. Of course, we all talked about how we need to get together more often. Seriously, we live 2-3 hours away and it's been over a year since we've seen these people? Well, longer for me because I didn't make their wedding! I think I need to make visiting with friends a bigger priority in my life...

Today we slept in (thank goodness) and went to lunch at the Executive Surf Club, part of the Water Street Restaurants. Jason had a Hollister Wrap and I had the quesadillas. Sounds boring, but they were made with a creamy Pepper Jack cheese...yum. For the record, if you're in Corpus this is a good live music venue.

Tonight I cooked! I threw potatoes in the microwave and browned some ground beef with a mushroom gravy. Clearly, a delicacy. Ha! I'm going to finish it off with a cup of triple chocolate ice cream. I promise, one day I'll cook real food again. Maybe when I'm cooking for two and not four...

Travel, travel, travel

I typically don't travel for work. Ok, well not that often and it usually consists of drives to Austin. But for the last three weeks I've been a "jet setter!" I don't think I like it. I gain too much weight, don't sleep well, and by day 3 my feet want to fall off and run away.

My first trip was to Los Angeles for the NBTA convention. I was dreading this like nothing else. Mostly because I found out 5 days before I needed to leave that I was going. Overall, I did have a good time. I ate some good food and met some great people within my company that I think can teach me quite a bit. I did stay at a hotel that looked like a flashback from a 1984 beach condo, complete with the sea foam green and peach bedspread and seashell lamp...but considering I booked 5 days out for a 4,000 person conference...I did good!

Now for the details. When I arrived Saturday night I walked across the street from the hotel for dinner at Adoro Mexican Grille. I tried the Chicken & Beef Quesadillas and a glass of Clos du Bois Chardonnay. I will say that their salsa is great, the food was ok (needed a little more spice, in my opinion) and I loved the wine. Clos du Bois is one of my favorite chardonnays. Our opening reception was held at LA Live - a venue downtown that is home of the Nokia theater, where the finale of American Idol was held. All of the food was catered by Wolfgang Puck, but I was just not blown over by it.

Lunches were mostly held at the Convention Center and those usually include dry chicken in a cream sauce, rice and veggies. Nothing exciting here folks, keep reading. The closing reception was on the pool deck at the Westin Bonaventure, and again I was not blown away by the food. They served hot dogs. I'm serious. They did have other food, but hot dogs? Ok...a few of my friends bailed and went to dinner at a restaurant.

I managed my third trip to LA without seeing anything touristy...how do I keep doing that? The only "LA" thing I managed to see was the Beverly Hilton. Our company held a party there one night in the ballroom where the Golden Globes are held! As I went to the bathroom I kept thinking about two things. First, years ago an actress who played on Chicago Hope won best actress...and was in the bathroom when they announced it! Second, I kept wondering what celeb used the toiled I was using. Weird, I know, but you have to wonder - did Angelia potty here or is she too good for that? Our entertainment was a few couples from Dancing with the Stars (I'm not a fan, so I can't tell you who) and the food was selected off of previous Golden Globe menus. Lots of tofu and organic stuff. Though, the carved Organic Turkey was the best thing of the night!

I did manage to go out to eat a few times. I went with some colleagues to Morton's Steakhouse - fantastic!! I ordered the Fillet Oscar and we also ordered a sample of sides, so I had a little bit of everything. Lunch one day was California Pizza Kitchen. We have one here in Houston, but it's a little far from my house and I've managed to go one time. I must not have been overly excited. I think the best part of my lunch that day was the two cold beers I enjoyed. After standing on your feet for 3 days, sitting on the patio in the cool LA weather (in July!!) with a cold beer is excellent!

After the closing reception, I went to dinner with a few colleagues at Roy's, a Hawaiian Fusion restaurant. There is a Roy's in Austin, but I've never been. And I go to Austin quite often. A friend of mine, Selina, has suggested dinner there several times and I know why! This was fantastic. I had the Napa Cellars Chardonnay, the Boston Bibb Salad with Buttermilk Blue Cheese (oh, was this good!), and a Hibachi style Grilled Atlantic Salmon - to die for! This was by far my favorite meal.

I flew back on a Thursday and Jason left the following Tuesday for Philadelphia. He came home Friday and I left Saturday for the MPI convention in Las Vegas.

The entire MPI convention was held at the Mandalay Bay. As a meeting planner, you would have to threaten my life for me to have a conference in Vegas. Why? Well, I'd want a successful conference...not one where my attendees were either gambling or at the beach. I'm not saying much, but I will say that the Mandalay Bay has a fantastic beach. ((wink, wink))

Our opening reception was a Caesar's in their ballroom. It was crowded, but the food was good. What little bit I ate! They opened PURE nightclub for MPI guests early, so a group of colleagues decided to check it out. This is where things get fuzzy...not from drinking, but from the fact that it was 11:30pm (1:30 my time) and I'd been up since 7am...I was dead on my feet. Somehow we ended up in a VIP lounge area...with bottle service. I heard a rumor that the tab was $5000. No, I do not have type-o. That is the correct number. When you are served a large bottle of Moet Chandon, a gallon bottle of Belvedere, two bottles of wine and the setup for that...in Vegas...it gets expensive.

The next few days were filled with meals served on plates the size of my hand. I think this is how they make money - the food you are served during the convention consists of salads in a cup, panini's that are about 1" wide, greasy mini burgers on a pretzel roll and bite size desserts. When you leave you are starving, so the only option is to get a real meal in the hotel that you pay $20-30 for. Cha-ching.

Honestly, I ate two meals that were not part of the "convention meal service." One was an appetizer from House of Blues - I'm glad I did that because the line to get food at the closing reception was unreal, so I never ate. Oh, I ordered room service (Nachos) one night when I got back from an event...I was starving.

The second meal was Aureole. Those of you who watch the Next Food Network Star might be familiar with their wine bar. I think that's the only good thing there. The service was ok, but not great and the food...well, I paid twice as much for it as I did at Morton's the week before and it could not hold a candle to my Fillet Oscar. The option was a three course prix fixe menu. I started with a tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad, a duo entree of Fillet and Flatiron Steak served with potatoes and asparagus and finished with a Peanut Butter Cake and Coconut Ice Cream. It just wasn't stellar, and to be honest the crappy service was a turn off.

I can say that the best meal I had was served at our closing luncheon. The food was all fresh products local to the Salt Lake City area (the hosts) and included a Summer Greens Salad with Goat Cheese, a Lavender and Pepper Encrusted Fillet of Beef with Beehive Cheese Potato Gratin and a trio of desserts (Chocolate Mousse, Berry Macaroon and Cheesecake). I left there happy to have used my fork and my knife and not having to carry my plate while eating at the same time!

By the time I arrived back in Texas I was ready for dinner with my mom Thursday night at one of my favorite places, Chuy's. I may have travelled quite a bit, eaten at places I probably would not normally go, but nothing beats a bowl of creamy jalapeno sauce and a Chika Chika Boom Boom for dinner.

Advice from people you don't know.

Well, this is my second time to Los Angeles and I still have not seen the Hollywood sign. To be honest, I don't even know where the Hollywood sign is in retrospect to my hotel. Which could also be because I did not know what hotel I was staying in when I got here.

For another training class, the hotel sent four of us to LA. The email from corporate says that we're staying at the Embassy Suites LAX. Great. Myself and a coworker took the same flight out and got here about 8:30pm...which is 10:30 our time! We grab a cab because we're too tired to wait on the shuttle and the driver asks me "Which Embassy Suites?"

Wait...there are two? Nope, he tells me, there are three. Great. The South one, the one on Century Boulevard and...I cut him off because I'm SURE it's the South hotel. My coworker doesn't know, so she agrees with me. We drive by the South hotel and both tell the driver to keep going. It's not the South hotel.

We finally arrive at the correct one...and find out this morning that several other people had the same issues. So at least I'm not totally crazy.

Before we came, I asked the girls on the What's Cooking board for suggestions on where to eat. The first suggestion was C&O's!!! After a few back up replies with the same information, I decided to try C & O Trattoria. It was great! Of course, I did not know we'd be sitting outside and also did not check the weather before we left and wore a t-shirt. It's 60 degrees! They did have these great heaters that kept me warm, along with a glass of Pinot Noir. I ordered the Fettuccine al Limone. It was over double what I could ever eat, but fantastic! My coworker had the Shrimp Ravioli. Even though I don't eat shrimp, I did try it and it was great as well.

So, when you take the advice of women you don't really know...it usually turns out pretty good. Especially when the women are avid cookers and the advice is about food!

Carbs, carbs, carbs!

Like I need those, right? I've been eating the Penne a la Vodka from last week for days now. We managed to get 6 meals out of it, which is good, but still...I'm a little done with pasta. And it does not help that my monthly Aggie Women's Networking luncheon is held at Maggiano's.

If you haven't been to Maggiano's, please go. You are missing out. My cousin, Bear, thinks it's something close to God's greatest Italian. Probably because you can order family style and they keep bringing more and more food...and come on, his name is Bear. What do you expect? Jason worries that I won't ever want to go back to Maggiano's, but I can safely say that he is wrong! I mean, I do get to go once a month, but I don't get my favorite Chicken Parmesan. This month we started with the Maggiano's Salad and a Caesar Salad. For the entree, they served Meat Lasagna and Chicken & Spinach Manicotti. This was the first time we've had the Manicotti (I'm partial to the Rigatoni D) but it was fantastic! I'll be ordering that on my next dinner trip with Jason! Of course we get dessert...Cheesecake, with some of the best strawberries I've had this year, and Tiramisu. Who can beat that?

As if I had not consumed enough carbs this week, I decided to make french fries for dinner last night. Jason was in class, so I didn't want to cook much and I really needed to finish a bag of potatoes.

Garlic & Cumin Seasoned Fries with Chipotle Ketchup adapted from Cooking Light

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 t sugar
• 1 t lemon juice (calls for lime)
• 1/4 t chili powder (calls for chipotle chili powder...I only had regular)
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 2 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4" strips
• 1 T olive oil
• Tony Chachere's seasoning, to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, with your baking sheet in the oven. I used my Pampered Chef stone and this was perfect! Mix the first 4 ingredients and set aside. Toss the potatoes in the oil, cumin, salt and garlic powder. Spread them on the baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 10-15 minutes, toss and bake another 5-10 minutes. Serve with the ketchup.

And, as if we didn't have enough carbs I'm making Baked Ziti tonight. Though, this was a request. Jason is riding in the MS 150 this weekend (a bike ride from Houston to Austin, 150 miles) so he needs the carbs! I'll just have to eat more salad...

Happy Birthday Rachel!

My very good friend, Rachel, is turning 30 on Tuesday...April Fools! Saturday we joined her, some friends and family for dinner, drinks and a great time. I'll admit that I ate entirely too much and Jason probably drank too much, but it was completely worth it! When we hang out with Rachel and her family, things can get a little crazy. Especially when Jason and and Sid (her cousin) are in rare form. Sid is a shot guy. He loves to start the night with a shot of tequila and manages to somehow talk Jason into joining him. Though now that I think about it, I actually think Saturday was the first night in a long time where they didn't take tequila shots. Instead they stuck with drinking Dewar's & Water.

For dinner we went to Taste of Texas. In my opinion, this is one of the best places in Houston for a steak. If you live in Houston and haven't been, make a point to try it for a special occasion. If you don't live in Houston, just file this away in case you ever visit. It's a little strange to go to a really nice steakhouse and venture to a salad bar, a la Steak Kountry Buffet, but who can complain about a full array of salad choices and huge blocks of cheese?!? We started with Texas Quail Bites and Jalapeno Stuffed Shrimp. This was my first taste of quail, but I really liked it. I can't personally comment on the shrimp, though, because I don't eat it but the rest of the table seemed to love it.

I ordered the 6 ounce Center Cut Fillet wrapped in Bacon and Jason ordered the New York Strip Sirloin. We shared Asparagus in Hollandaise sauce and Texas Au Gratin Potatoes. My steak was perfect - part of the reason I love Taste of Texas, but Jason said next time he'll order the Rib Eye. I can't blame him - my two favorite steak options are Rib Eye and Fillet...New York Strip just isn't the best cut of meat. It was cooked well and had a good flavor, but you can't beat the marbling on a Rib Eye. Paired with the Cambria Bench Break Vinyard Pinot Noir...it was a great meal. Especially when we finished with Key Lime Pie and Snickers Pie...which is more like a rich cheesecake and not so much a pie.

After dinner, the we had drinks a The Capital Grille. Before we knew Sid, he was a server at Capital Grille, so he knew a few people working there. This can be a good thing and a bad thing! The good thing...your drinks will be mixed with a heavy hand. The bad thing...your drinks will be mixed with a heavy hand! Though I tend to stay away from vodka, we ordered a round of Stoli Doli (a 21 day pineapple infused vodka) and also ended up with some fruity shots...I have no idea what those were! The waitress (a friend of Sid's) gave us an order of Creme Brulee topped with fresh berries that was fantastic!

To finish the night, we went to the Tasting Room in Uptown Park Plaza. I have been to another Tasting Room location, but I think I like this one best. They have a huge outdoor seating area and we lucked into a table on the end of the patio. Three bottles of wine later...and it was time to go home! Actually, we realized that before we finished the wine. Probably a good thing. We ordered a white wine (I have no clue what), the Trinchero Family Pinot Noir (a Napa Valley Pinot) and the EVIL Cabernet Sauvignon bottled by R Winery (the "EVIL" is upside down and backwards, bottled in Australia).