The Adventures of a Calamari Queen – Page 41 – Christian, Wife, Mommy, Homemaker, Retired nurse, Fur-mama,living a simple and minimal life!

PokPok / Podnah’s / Salt&Straw!

While in Portland, we visited our favorite places again( we didn’t really branch out). We went to PokPok thai restaurant for their fish sauce chicken wings. I personally love their wings,while the Hubs finds them OK. I’m disappointed with their other dishes though(just like the first time we were there) but I will still go there for the wings alone.

Lunch at PokPok:

Enjoying some Ice cream at Salt&Straw (PokPok and Salt&straw are just walking distance from each other). We sampled 4 different Ice cream flavors and my favorite was the Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black pepper, sounds weird but I really enjoyed it.

Salted Caramel cupcake,Strawberry Honey Balsamic with black pepper,coconut with Petunias salted caramel bars, Rose city riot

Podnah’s Barbeque (we stopped at Podnah’s to get some bbq for my In laws who took care of Riley for 2 days). Podnah’s was featured by Guy Feiri on his Foodnetwork show; we’ve been here before so we know it’s really good bbq).

Ribs,Brisket (my fave),chicken BBQ from Podnah's Pit — Ribs,Brisket (my fave),chicken BBQ from Podnah’s Pit

Portland Trip!

We went to Portland this week for 2 days because I wanted to watch the NBA game between Portland Trailblazers and Dallas Mavericks. I’m a big basketball fan (the Hubs not so much) and Portland is the closest team to watch. I’m still sad that Seattle gave up the Sonics and we no longer have an NBA team. It was a great time with Hubs, this was our 3rd NBA game that we’ve seen (we’ve been to Madison square, San Antonio’s stadium and the Moda center). We stayed at the Marriot which is really close to the stadium. We took a taxi going there so we didn’t have to deal with parking and we took a pedicab after the game to enjoy the City view (it was pricey but fun to see Portland at night!). I do enjoy watching the whole “behind” the scenes at the games because it’s so different when I watch it on TV. You miss the entertainment of the stuff going on between time outs, halftime show and the energy the crowd the whole time. Thanks to my Hubs who took time to bring me to watch the game. Till next time:)

our attempt to take a selfie and about to take a nap before the game! lol

Dirk is the guy wearing gray shirt, he was practicing before the game started! Truly a class act, he took the time to take pictures and sign autographs to fans, you can really tell he appreciates them and happy to do so! — Dirk is the guy wearing gray shirt, he was practicing before the game started! Truly a class act, he took the time to take pictures and sign autographs for fans, you can really tell he appreciates them and happy to do so!

bad angle but I wanted to take a selfie with Hubs!

pathetic cheese burger and an OK hotdog!lol

Yup I caught the Hubs reading his kindle!lol

we had meat and cheese after the game at the hotel bar!

Hawthorne bridge on the back — Hawthorne bridge in the back

Kukai Ramen & Izakaya

The Hubs and I went to Kukai Ramen last Thursday because of the cold weather we have here, a bowl of ramen will just hit the spot! We’ve never been to Kukai before but with all of the good reviews we decided to try this “authentic” ramen from the famous Japanese chain (we learned that they only have 3 restaurants here in the US, two here in WA and they just opened one last year in Portland). We got there early because we wanted to avoid the long lines, lucky for us we were seated right away. The place is kinda small and the tables are really close together. We could hear the other table’s conversations, but it’s OK, after all we are there for the Ramen (which didn’t disappoint!). It’s so GOOD! The broth was so flavorful and the noodles are the best for me, the perfect consistency. It was quite expensive but at least it’s quality ramen. The hubs ordered their special “Garlic Tonkotsu Shoyu ramen”, it was really good. I had the spicy ramen, also a great choice, but personally I preferred the Hubs order. We added pork belly and eggs on our ramen and ordered 2 appetizers. It was a great experience and we will probably go back again if we’re craving ramen (it’s only 20 minutes drive from our place).

Surf n Turf Dinner at Home!

Hi Friends! I prepared a nice “surf n turf” dinner at home last Friday night! I told hubby that instead of eating out for our “date night” we should just make something yummy and watch Netflix after ( we end up playing Dominion), a game that my In laws gifted the hubs for Christmas. I got the lobsters and the steak at our local Safeway (I’ve been shopping there lately) because it’s only a 4 minutes drive from our house, it’s so close! This one is a little more upscale and nice compared to the other one in downtown Issaquah in my opinion. I also made Mashed Potatoes with gouda cheese, and grilled broccoli. I’ve been loving grilled broccoli lately! It was such a lovely night with my Hubs and Riley. We will definitely do something like this again in the coming weeks.

I baked the lobsters 350F for 15 minutes (seasoned with salt,pepper,butter) — I baked the lobsters 325F for 15 minutes (seasoned with salt,pepper,butter)

I made this blue cheese steak sauce (Ina Garten recipe)

Gamenight and hot chocloate later that night!

Roquefort Chive Sauce (Ina Garten recipe)
1½ cups heavy cream
2 ounces French Roquefort cheese, crumbled (4 ounces with rind)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook at a low boil, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has become thick and creamy, about 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the cheese, salt, pepper and chives and whisk rapidly until the cheese melts.

Serious Pie!

If you happen to be in Seattle and you love Pizza, I would recommend that you go visit the Tom Douglas’ Pizza place called “Serious Pie”. It’s more pricey than your typical Pizza place, but OH so worth it!

we had the roasted seasonal mushrooms and truffle cheese; and penn clove clams,pancetta tesa,lemon thyme

no leftovers! this is not your typical pizza people!

One thing I hate in Seattle is the expensive parking fee!

Valentines weekend!

Hope you had a great weekend friends. It was Valentines weekend and we celebrated it with my In laws. I personally don’t make a big deal out of this “holiday” because I try every day to celebrate my loved ones and friends in the best way I know how, no need to have a certain date for that. Although my Hubs and I had doughnuts and coffee, spent time watching “Elementary” before having dinner with my In Laws at Maggiano’s (Bellevue). We had a lovely time enjoying Italian food and desserts. The restaurant was packed and they ran out of their “braised short ribs” that I originally wanted to have It was all good, I end up ordering their sirloin steak (decent but nothing out of the ordinary). Everybody enjoyed their dishes and all agreed that their meatballs were out of this world (especially the DILaw).

my other favorite Valentine, Riley! A.K.A “The Lovebug”

Our Maggiano’s dinner! We used my Sis In laws phone so the pictures are not the best quality (the restaurant was kinda dark too).

Dessert Sample (creme brulee, cheesecake,truffles,tiramisu,apple ice cream some kind of dessert)

Lunch Dates!

I’ve been enjoying some lunch dates with Hubs lately (at least once a week!), because the Hubs works at home he has the flexibility to manage his schedule. It doesn’t happen a lot of times but lately we did go out for lunch dates several times. Lunches are fun because it’s not as busy as dinner and it’s cheaper too.

Lunch date with my In Laws after church!

Pho time! — Pho time at our local Vietnamese place

My hubs is not a big Pho fan so he always gets their sandwich and durian shake — My hubs is not a big Pho fan so he always gets their sandwich and a durian shake

Weekend Fun!

Hello family and friends! I hope you’re having a lovely Sunday night with your loved ones. The Hubs is watching the season premier of the Walking Dead while I’m reading Ruth Soukup’s “Living Well Spending Less 12 Secrets of the Good Life”. I’m so enjoying it and kinda sad I’m almost done with it. I love her blog and her writing, it’s like I’m talking to one of my girlfriends! So relatable! We had a relaxing weekend, watched the movie “Jupiter Ascending” the one starring Channing Tatum. The movie was OK, I enjoyed the special effects but nothing great about it. After the movie,we had burgers at Red Robin and watched NBA games in the bar area. Our local Red Robin is always packed so we just go to the bar right away!

I always get the Double Tavern burger because it reminds me of In n Out's — I always get the Double Tavern burger because it reminds me of In n Out’s

We had sushi after Church this afternoon. I wanted some Ramen and got what I wanted! I cannot wait for Spring. I’m so over this cold winter (I know it’s not as bad compared to the other parts of the country). We stopped at Walmart after to check out their Spring candles and I got some. Will post it this week. I love me some candles:)

Now I'm off to cuddle this Lovebug! — Now I’m off to cuddle this Lovebug!

January Hauls/Candle Empties!

Hello everyone! I went shopping a couple of times this month because I had gift cards from last Christmas and there were lots of good deals this month. I do not post these hauls to brag (not at all) but personally it’s just fun for me to look back and see what I’ve been buying. I’ve got some nasty comments from “anonymous” people before and I just laughed at them because seriously “NOBODY’s got time for that”. Anyways, I went to Homegoods and Marshalls, The bodyshop and for the first time I shopped online at HSN (the hubs and I watched it one time and really loved the product).

Homegoods: I got workout pants,PJ sets,notebooks,makeups,candle,philosophy stuff

Home goods! I got a Kate Spade mug (she partnered with Lenox in this mug)

Bath and Body works: Hurricane Candles (my hubs is not a big fan of the candle holders) hehe! (they we’re on 75% sale)

Here’s my candles empties for this month:

I enjoyed the Colonial candle and the lavender vanilla (bath and body works);the rest were OK. I was disappointed with the Vanilla bean noel because the throw was not there, I can’t smell it unless the candles right in my face!

French Onion Soup

This is Pioneer Woman’s (Ree Drummond) French Onion soup recipe. I saw her make this on her Food Network show and checked it on her website too. My husband loves this soup. I’ve made this before and it’s a really simple, cheap kind of soup. I had everything in my pantry too (even the gruyere cheese). Her recipe called for the oven, but again this time I used my crockpot and it turned out good. I still have leftovers and we plan to finish it this week.

simmering in the crockpot for couple of hours now! — simmering in the crockpot for a couple of hours now!

makes me happy that Hubs enjoyed my dishes!

Ingredients

1 stick Butter
4 whole Large (or 6 Medium) Yellow Onions, Halved Root To Tip, And Sliced Thin
1 cup (generous) Dry White Wine
4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
4 cups Beef Broth
2 cloves Minced Garlic
Worcestershire Sauce
Several Thick Slices Of French Bread Or Baguette
5 ounces, weight (to 7 Ounces) Gruyere Cheese, Grated

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt butter in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook, covered, for 20 minutes. Place soup pot into the oven with the lid slightly ajar to ensure the onions will brown. Allow onions to cook in the oven for 1 hour, stirring at least once during the cooking process so onions won’t stick and burn.

Remove pot from oven and place back on stovetop over medium heat. Stir, scraping off all the brown, flavorful bits. Turn off heat and pour in wine. Turn heat back to medium. Cook wine for five minutes, allowing it to reduce. Add broths, Worcestershire Sauce and minced garlic and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.

Butter one side of the bread slices and broil over low heat, allowing bread to brown and become crispy.
When soup is ready, ladle into bowl or ramekin. Place crispy bread on top, and then sprinkle generously with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve immediately.