tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23202113948963834862024-03-18T21:05:47.736-07:00Eat at Andrea'sI love to cook. I love to bake. I love to eat. Here are some recipes I've tried and reviews for some of my favorite, and not-so-favorite foods and restaurants.Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.comBlogger257125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-42099779924976719552017-08-06T04:58:00.003-07:002017-08-06T04:58:49.702-07:00Homemade Pita BreadJalapenos have come in at Farmer's Market which has me thinking of all recipes jalapeno. I'll probably can some too, but that will be in a few weeks.
One of my favorite recipes that calls for jalapenos is Michael Symon's Pork Souvlaki. I have his Carnivore cookbook but you can find the recipe HERE. We have a fabulous pork vendor at our Farmer's Market, Amor Farms, so I knew the meat Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-74324401921783699462017-08-04T17:28:00.003-07:002017-08-04T17:28:45.161-07:00Product Reviews Continued... Spot StuffA few weeks ago I was finishing off some yummy homemade pasta in a brown butter sauce and dribbled a little butter on one of my favorite pairs of shorts. I didn't notice until after dinner and was too lazy to run a load of laundry right away. I did put some pre-wash on them but didn't wash them until the next day. Stain was still there. I washed them again. Stain wasAndrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-92062071460972166202017-08-04T17:28:00.001-07:002017-08-04T17:36:17.311-07:00Product Reviews... cleaners, pets and food storageHave you heard of The Grommet? If not, it's a cool website with unique and fun items you may not find other places. I've ordered a few things from them.
I ordered a carbon eyeglass cleaner. It was ok. Did it work? Yes. Was it easy, sort of. But it took up more space in my purse than my little eyeglass cleaning cloth and didn't work significantly better. I alsoAndrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-28154261725239173512017-08-04T17:25:00.001-07:002017-08-05T06:00:06.236-07:00Pancakes!
Pancakes, who doesn’t love pancakes? I make them quite
often, different flavors, Noble Pig has a great pumpkin pancake recipe, I have
a good lemon cornmeal recipe, and then there’s plain ol’ pancakes.
We were at one of our favorite St. Paul establishments,
Yarusso’s, a week or so ago and got to chatting with one of the owners, Fred
Yarusso. He’s the sweetest guy. On this
particular Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-66940834710609510032017-04-17T16:06:00.000-07:002017-04-17T16:06:22.396-07:00Lidia's Stuffed ShellsA month or so ago I ran across a video by Lidia Bastianich in which she made stuffed shells with her Nonna. They are adorable together! Even if you don't plan on making this dish, watch the video. The recipe looked simple and it left me craving stuffed shells. I haven't made them in years.
I printed the recipe and headed to the grocery store for the ingredients. After I'd Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-19590373162463216102017-04-10T17:47:00.003-07:002017-04-11T06:15:51.372-07:00My New Favorite Sourdough Bread Recipe<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-22138986206351747402017-04-03T18:35:00.000-07:002017-04-03T18:35:59.932-07:00Ruhlman's Spicy Orange ChickenI'm a big Michael Ruhlman fan. His recipes just work. His Dutch oven bread is easy and delicious and his popover recipe is a staple in our house on the weekends. Not only are the recipes fantastic, he explains why they work, or don't. My Ruhlman Badass Perforated Spoon is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets.
A while back he published a recipe for Spicy Orange Chicken on his blog. I read it and itAndrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-84824636912090003252017-03-31T05:24:00.003-07:002017-03-31T05:24:48.799-07:00New hot spot, Pedro del EsteIt's been over a year since I posted anything. Hard to believe that much time has gone by! I now have a new job that isn't nearly as insane as the last one and I've had a couple people ask why I'm not writing anymore so I'm going to try to get back to this again.
I couldn't think of a better "get back to blogging" post than our recent visit to Pedro del Este in Hudson, Wisconsin.
We were Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-5213646728069658642016-03-18T19:20:00.001-07:002016-03-18T19:23:10.713-07:00Vegas... epilogueI hadn't planned on writing any more about my adventures in Vegas but my trip to the airport was just interesting enough I thought I'd do an epilogue.
I had a conference call with the folks back in Minneapolis at 7:30-9. The next session which I would have attended didn't end until 11:45. With a 1:40 flight I didn't think that gave me enough time to get to the airport and get throughAndrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-33124245350389255732016-03-17T19:25:00.001-07:002016-03-18T07:23:29.900-07:00Vegas... Day 5After my mini-meltdown last night I figured I had to do something to make me feel better. So this morning I started packing! It did make me feel a little better. I still have a long day ahead of me and a few sessions tomorrow morning before I can catch a cab and head to the airport to head home.
I slept better last night but not great. Wide awake at 1:18 this morning listening Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-57911548332637512792016-03-16T20:57:00.001-07:002016-03-16T21:12:28.454-07:00Vegas... Day 4Even after taking my allergy meds I woke up three times, 1:30, 3:30 and 5. Maybe ear plugs next?
Once again a beautiful sunrise. I may have to amend my statement that the only thing Vegas has going for it is the restaurants. The sunrises have been pretty spectacular.
I opted for a "look down at the menu" breakfast today. The special was Banana Cream Pie Pancakes. No Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-11114256026040653802016-03-15T21:51:00.003-07:002016-03-15T21:51:57.411-07:00Vegas... Day 33:27AM. That's when I was awakened to jack-hammering and the beep, beep, beep of a truck backing up. That went on for about half an hour and about a half an hour after that I feel asleep and woke up to the alarm I set at 5:30. I also woke up with a scratchy throat and congested. Great... getting sick? No, it was all over the news how it's really bad allergy season here. &Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-7406128618913354702016-03-14T21:08:00.000-07:002016-03-14T21:30:08.843-07:00When in Vegas... Day 2I did not sleep well last night. It's noisy on this side of the hotel and not just the airport. The sound of the planes doesn't bother me. It's the construction going on in the street below... all night. They were doing something that sounded like someone filling an ice bucket with ice. At first I thought, how big is this bucket someone is filling, it's taking forever! &Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-83982528002858692932016-03-13T20:21:00.000-07:002016-03-24T11:30:29.058-07:00When in Vegas... Day 1
Vegas. Yep, I have to
go to Vegas. And “have” is the correct
word. I would never choose Vegas as a
destination voluntarily. It’s just not
my thing. It’s too crowded, noisy,
expensive, like I said just not my thing.
Kind of like mushrooms and cilantro, I recognize some people love it,
just not me.
Not only do I have to go to Vegas, I have to go for a full
Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-91201435553785384592015-08-15T14:12:00.000-07:002015-08-17T06:52:11.927-07:00Cascading M&M CakeI don't remember who sent me a picture of one of these cakes, but someone did. I was looking for a cool idea to raise some money for my Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk and thought maybe, just maybe, people would donate if I offered up one of these cakes to the winner of a drawing. I wasn't wrong!
Of course there is a "trick" to the cake. You can see how I learned how to make one Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-33512950079092686382015-03-29T15:43:00.001-07:002015-03-30T06:35:08.022-07:00Bobby Flay's New Mexican Spiced Pork Tenderloin with two saucesI was lucky enough to have dinner at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. I actually ate there twice in the week I was in Vegas and I had the same thing both nights. It was that good!
What did I have? New Mexican Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon-Ancho Sauce and Smoked Red Pepper Sauce. It was amazing, just the right amount of heat and smoke. So, of course I had to Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-328427409683463892015-03-22T12:41:00.000-07:002015-03-22T12:43:24.413-07:00The Best Lemon CookiesI was lucky enough to have dinner at Giada in Las Vegas last week. Not lucky to be in Vegas, Vegas is not even remotely somewhere I desire to go. But as long as I had to be there I decided I would eat well. And I did. Including a delicious dinner at Giada DeLaurentis' restaurant.
For dinner I had an amazing vegetable bolognese. For dessert, Giada's Favorite Cookies. I got two each of her Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-10914140664550999142015-03-22T12:03:00.001-07:002015-03-22T12:45:08.203-07:00Vegetable Bolognese?I had to go to Las Vegas for work last week. I'm not a Vegas fan. I don't gamble. I'm not into "shows", a good play, yes, showgirls, no. I am not independently wealthy so shopping in the ridiculously over-priced stores isn't for me either. Vegas is loud, crowded, expensive and smoky so being there for 6 days and 5 nights was torture for me.
The only redeeming feature of Las Vegas is the Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-25937013108189147392015-02-01T06:12:00.004-08:002015-02-11T05:33:54.967-08:00Surf and Turf at Home - Best Dinner Ever!My husband and I love the Oceanaire restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. We'll admit we thought it was better (food and atmosphere) in it's old location but I'm sure the current location is better for business. People actually know it exists now.
We are on their mailing list. Last week we received an email that they were doing a three course special dinner that included a choice of Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-50795098935333810482015-01-25T15:12:00.004-08:002015-01-25T15:12:54.715-08:00Happy Birthday at Heartland Restaurant
The evening started with a parking space right in front of
the restaurant. I mean right in
front. We just walked up the steps and
into the restaurant. When does that
happen in St. Paul?
We were seated at our table for two right outside the
kitchen. Yes, the kitchen of my dreams.
I wonder if that pot rack would fit in my kitchen? Probably not.
I’m not Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-81317361436881655482015-01-24T11:32:00.000-08:002015-01-24T11:34:08.969-08:00Yummy new appetizer, Tomato & Mozzarella TartsI follow the Skinnytaste blog. I've also signed up for Gina's emails from the blog. Late last week she sent me the recipe for Tomato and Mozzarella tarts. They looked so pretty I had to try them.
Here is a link to the original recipe on the Better Homes and Gardens Website
Tomato and Mozzarella Tarts
The tarts are simple, some puff pastry sheets, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheeseAndrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-85188942362297368612015-01-18T16:33:00.000-08:002015-01-18T16:33:15.032-08:00An Unsalted Peanut ChallengeTo say that work has been crazy the last month would be an understatement. I work in IT. We had, let's say, some system issues that required some of our staff to work nearly 24x7 for an entire month. No, this is not what we in IT define as fun.
The team had a war room in which a not insignificant number of snacks were always available. One coworker was tasked Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-45356433595086058342015-01-11T07:24:00.001-08:002015-01-11T07:24:21.516-08:00The Best Sourdough BreadThere's been a sourdough theme on my blog lately. Things go in streaks I guess. If I get the energy this morning I may make sourdough lemon pancakes for breakfast. Big if... was up all night for work so I'm a bit tired and maybe just a little crabby this morning.
Back to sourdough. It is one of my favorite breads and I finally learned to make it a couple years ago.&Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-81436200302286884272015-01-10T16:11:00.000-08:002015-01-11T07:38:44.140-08:00Public Kitchen & Bar - St. PaulAfter our normal Saturday morning errands Dave and I were looking for someplace for a little lunch. We though about our go-to restaurants, Cook, Ward 6, maybe Blackdog Cafe or Black Sheep pizza. We were near the Lowertown area of St. Paul so we decided to check out a relatively new place, Public.
It was about 1:30 on a Saturday afternoon. I checked out their website on Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2320211394896383486.post-69195197910694851262015-01-10T15:49:00.000-08:002015-01-10T15:49:21.374-08:00Sourdough Pretzels!I love pretzels; hard pretzels, soft pretzels, big ones, little ones, sticks, twists, it doesn't matter. Coat them in cinnamon sugar and white chocolate, yum! Dip them in white or dark chocolate, yum.
A while back I found a fantastic recipe for soft pretzels. These are REALLY good! And better yet they are really easy to make. Here's my blog post if you are Andrea Zennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07804847446338753749noreply@blogger.com0