All food, all the time.

We decided to be fancy and get one of those special documents that says you’re now ‘official’.

So that was nice.

Our first food together was a delicious beer pretzel cheese dip of greatness up in the mountains of PA.

Dreamy.

Dancing chickens, Sonic, haunted houses, faceless photos, Oregon Trail and the Stanley Hotel.

Again, dreamy.

I finally signed up fro CT BItes Invites with my friend and had a lovely meal of Vietnamese this and that at Match.

I enjoyed everything and it was a different experience.

Buns, anytime, anywhere, sign me up. I love ‘em.

For my official, official birthday, we went to Napa and I ate too much.

It was all good. So it was worth it.

After my class, we spent the afternoon inside because it was raining.

I really wanted to check out some abandoned buildings [of course I did] but the weather was being a pill.

We settled on dinner at L’Escoffier. My recommendation? Don’t take a class and then gorge on more high-end food in the evening.

I was so stuffed from eating that I didn’t enjoy dinner but I did enjoy their friendliness, and the yelling. The yelling was my favorite [chef teachers yelling over microphone to chef students].

No really, it was fascinating how unfazed everyone was by this element.

Muchos gracias for the gift cards [A, W, N].

I was in charge of the lamb chops.

Here’s the recipe - apparently featured on Bravo Top Chef, season 6. Boy did I ruin those beans. Like really ruined them ha! But everyone ate them with a ‘oh these are so good face’. 

Tall tales.

If you take this class, do not let little women talk you into switching stations so you’re forced to cook over flames. Don’t do it.

Grilled Lamb Chops with Rosemary and White Bean Ragout

A simple ragout of cannellini beans and fresh, pungent rosemary provides an ideal accompaniment to the full flavor of roasted lamb. This elegant, easy-to-prepare dish is great for entertaining.

Servings: 8

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
4 tsp thyme, chopped
4 tsp sage, chopped
16 double lamb chops (rib or loin), frenched
1 3/4 cup cannellini beans, drained, juices reserved
1 tablespoon demi-glace concentrate
1 tsp lemon zest
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
Combine the soy sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, vegetable oil, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tablespoon rosemary and the thyme and sage in a zipper-lock bag; add the lamb. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag; turn to coat the lamb with the marinade ingredients. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the lamb is marinating, prepare the white bean ragout. Combine the cannellini beans, 1/2 cup of their reserved juices, 1 tablespoon rosemary, the demi-glace concentrate and the lemon zest in a saucepan.

Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to simmer the ragout for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the ragout becomes too thick, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the reserved juices from the beans to restore consistency. Keep warm.

Spray the broiler rack with nonstick cooking spray; preheat the broiler.

Remove the lamb chops from the marinade. Discard the marinade and brush off any excess herbs that may have stuck to the lamb. Be sure to wipe any excess marinade off the bones or else they will burn under the broiler. Season the chops with salt and pepper.

Broil the lamb chops 5 inches from the heat until done to taste, 2-3 minutes on each side for medium.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of the white bean ragout onto a warm plate and nestle 2 of the lamb chops in the sauce.

Grand Floridian Cafe has a burger topped with lobster. 

Get it.

Grand Floridian Burger
Angus Chuck Burger, Butter-poached Lobster with Red Onion Marmalade, Crispy Prosciutto, and Arugula on a Brioche Bun with Chips  19.49

Also, the shrimp cocktail is surprisingly awesome. 

You’d think shrimp cocktail is shrimp cocktail is shrimp cocktail but nope, this was shrimp cocktail.