Finding Ways to Pass the Time

Happy Monday, folks.

Just back from another cafeteria lunch. My stomach is letting me know that it did not approve, but I didn't have time to throw something together this morning. Water logged spiral pasta with a runny meat sauce that had too chunky tomatoes and questionable meat. I also got a side of red potatoes that were tossed in what looked like cherry tomatoes, basil, onion and raisins. Weird combination but it worked. And a hot dog. Don't ask me why... I just do things like that.

I wonder if I have an antacid in my locker.

Tonight is my last official lab in cake decorating. We're covering fondant. The next class after that is either the written final or the lab final. Whichever, I will hopefully be prepared. Tomorrow is the written final for food prep, which I am not prepared for. I was planning on studying that this past weekend, but whoops. Life gets in the way.

I was going to make a separate post about this, but better do it now before I lack the motivation. Met up with my friend S yesterday for brunch. If you have been following this blog then you would know S was my dining partner in crime back in the day. Supper clubs. Getting all the free iced coffee on free iced coffee day. That stuff. Anyways, I moved upstate; he focused on his acting. I mentioned that I was going to be downstate and he inquired about meeting up for brunch. I quickly agreed, even though I was skeptical about brunch options in Rockland. There are places I'm sure, but the one he picked was in a bar. Noonans in Pearl River, to be exact.

Long story short, not going back there again. If you sat at the bar, you got decent service. We sat in the back, but near the bar. Constantly had to flag down the server. S's food was barely lukewarm. My French toast was dry. Bacon was crisp, and probably the only thing positive about my food. Because it was a set price ($27 inc. tax) I just kept ordering bloody mary's to make up for my abysmal meal. S did the same, only he got mimosas... for fun.

To be honest, I wasn't really a fan of that place to get beers anyways. But it's there so I guess that's why people go. And it has such positive reviews on their food. Shame that they may be misguided.

Afterwards we headed up the street to Louie's on the Avenue. I've never been there before, but after checking it out I definitely need to try it. We got some drinks at the bar and chatted with one of S's friends and the owner. I broke a glass... spilled a drink. Can't take me anywhere it seems. S was heading down to Maryland for a couple of shows so we said our goodbyes and went our seperate ways.

Didn't get to shop at Costco. They close at six on the weekends. Way too early, if you ask me. But I suppose closing that early allows your workers to you know... enjoy their weekend. I wanted to buy that chopped kale salad!

I hear there were some rumblings about TAP NY. I took a look at the winners and was disappointed.

Brown's won? REALLY?!? My experiences are hit and miss with them. And almost always a miss.

Chatham, Crossroads. Okay, I'll let it slide. But what about the other breweries? Peekskill made no showing? What about Rare Form? I can't really think of other breweries I would have expected to have heard more about but eh mind is blanking right now. And IPA heavy? Good thing I didn't go, since I don't really like IPAs all that much.

But what do I know? My knowledge is from what little things I picked up from M's sister and brother-in-law. Both are certified BJCP judges; they brew; and they help organize the Michigan Homebrew Festival. So it must be legit.

Bleh. Heartburn setting in.

Pre-Game Porkiness

We were doing the rounds of the group sites when I wandered over to the food trailer. The Lapeer Area Brewers (LAB) were the ones taking care of the food that was to be sold for Saturday. I didn't notice it at all earlier in the day, but the smells were fantastic. They did all their prep work by flashlight.

A Tale of Two Coneys

So Michigan has this thing with Coney Island. Not that it has to do with Nathan's or the famous hot dog eating contest, they just like the name. They like that name so much that there are places called Coney Island's. They're really diners but they're called Coney Island's.

I don't get it. M tried to explain it to me once, but come on... it's a diner.

So they have eating establishments called Coney Island's. And in these establishments you can order a Coney dog, or Coney. The Coney is a hot dog topped with mustard, onions, and Coney sauce. Depending where you're at, the Coney is different. Flint style is not the same as Detroit. Detroit is more about the sauce, Flint is more about the meat.

Hey... it's a chili dog.

Damn you regional names!

Anyways, that Coney up there? M, MB, and I ended our night at some Coney Island. I was just going to get fries (my drinking food of choice) but it was there and I had to try it. If you can see in the picture, this was straight up Flint style- the sauce is on the dry side.

I made it half a bite before I realized I couldn't eat it. It could have been the dog, or it could have been the alcohol, but yuck. I was going to wrap it up to give to the dogs (hey... it was M's suggestion) but our waitress was nowhere to be found.

EDIT: According to Wiki, the Coney sauce is made with beef hearts. Perhaps that is the reason why I couldn't eat it?

This Coney is from CJ's. The Coney sauce on here looks to be in between Flint and Detroit style. Or maybe it was regular ol' chili... since it is a chili dog. Whatever style this dog was, it was edible and I scarfed that sucker down.

I had it with a burger, which was also scarfed down.

Frozen Michigandering - Part Two

M was stuck working on Christmas, so his family decided to hold off on celebrating until we were able to get out there for New Years. The theme for the night was beer and electronics. The electronics came mostly from M, and the beer was pretty much a family thing (all three siblings got some each other). This Golden Cap Saison was from Bro. Not bad, and the winged monkeys add that special touch you just don't see nowadays. I doubt we'll find New Holland brews here in New York.

EDIT: Since it was asked, a Saison is a Belgian style pale ale. Alcohol content hovers around 5-8%, and color ranges from gold to orange, but it can also some that run brown or really pale (wiki). I could be reading this all wrong, but it looks like the best known of the Saisons is the Saison Dupont, which comes from Brasserie Dupont. And according to this website, not only is it a brewery... it's also a working farm! Niiiiice.

Spinach dip! Since both his Bro and Sis were making something for dinner, I figured we should pitch in as well. Being that it was New Years Day, we weren't too sure if the store in town would be open (holidays, small town... who knows?), but we lucked out and grabbed the things we needed. And speaking of luck (I guess), SIL kicked us out of the kitchen and made our contribution to the dinner. I felt bad that she ended up making the dip, but I understand her feelings about other people cooking in her kitchen.

I didn't take pictures of the rest of dinner, but M's dad made a chicken noodle dish, SIL baked layered cheese ravioli for M, Bro roasted potatoes, and both Bro and Sis made roasts. Unfortunately, Sis's roast was a little too overcooked... and I'll leave it at that.

After dinner presents were given out, and even though I wasn't expecting anything (M and I agreed on no presents) I think I got the most out of the group. I got a Wii Fit! And a tripod for my camera. And a hard drive for my Wii. And a ukulele. I'm such a lucky gal. There was a lot of rock and roll going on, but I don't think I'm allowed to show everyone just how rock and roll it was. All I can say is, M is hilarious when he drinks. Me? I'm just pukey.

EDIT:M said it was okay to put up the video! It's a bit on the dark side, so there's stuff you don't see... but audio is wonderful. And maybe a bit too loud.

Rock & Roll from Under the Copper Tree on Vimeo.

Ah, CJ's. No trip is complete without a stop there for breakfast. For the four days we were in Michigan, (we were gone for six, but two were driving days) we ate there twice. It would have been three times, had we not taken our time on NYE (they closed at 2:00... wtf). But if it wasn't for that time, I wouldn't have overheard a server tell her customers the rundown on New York City. I don't know who her sources are, but she needs to get new ones.

M's cheese omelet and my double order of hash browns and biscuits & gravy. And lots of coffee.

I don't think I'm a mallrat, but I always seem to end up at the mall. We met up with two of M's friends and went to a restaurant called Garfield's in Port Huron. The big seller there is the fact that happy hour is "all day, every day." 22 oz. domestics were 3.50 and large margaritas were 3.00.The only food item on their happy hour menu was chips and salsa, which was horrible. The chips were super greasy, and the salsa... I can't even describe it other than yeeeech. But we were drinking, so I did my best to eat through it.

The next day we met up with MB and once again went to Badawest. It had been on my mind the whole trip, especially the stuffed grape leaves.

These were amazing. I wanted to try the version with meat, but M talked me out of it. The picture is after we ate half of it and I remembered I should take a picture. I should have taken a picture of the inside... I keep finding recipes online, but I want the one that's closest to it. Was it rice? Bulgur? Ack! Perhaps I should ask MB to find out for me... or better yet, get the recipe.

It was a fun night, and maybe a little too much fun for M. I ended up driving back, which royally sucked since it was snowing and I had no clue where I was going. But we made it back in one piece and slept most of our last day in Michigan sleeping.

All in all, a good time once again. I don't know when we'll be back there, but hopefully soon.

Frozen Michigandering - Part One

Another vacation in Michigan has come and gone and I am left with the job of recalling everything that happened. The original plan was to leave New Years Eve, but the impending bad weather made us push our plans a day earlier. And as these vacations go, we had some travel issues:





And then there was Pennsylvania. Southeast of Pittsburgh we hit a four hour stand still. Not fun times. When we finally made it out of there, M offered to drive and got stuck with the snowy drive through Ohio and Michigan.

We visited M's grandmother, and I was lucky enough to get my German food fix. Okay, it may not have been necessarily German, but she's an old German grandmother and everything she makes tastes pretty darn good. Cabbage and kielbasa, and some ham potato ihavenodieabutholycow.

Oh, the cookies above? Store bought, but mighty tasty. If we didn't leave, I would have finished the whole tin.