I love 153's sushi!

If you are near Wilmette, Illinois, please stop in for lunch or dinner to 153 Akira. I have had a birthday dinner and birthday lunch there in the last 10 days and I never tire of their menu or their presentations.
My frend Cheryl decide to base the birthday celebration on a theme: Eat, Pray, Love. The plan was to eat at 153. Then head over to the monument we always drive by: Bahai Temple. And for the loving part- back to her house to eat cake, drink wine and watch Eat, Pray Love. But, no place could the movie be found for renting nor was it On Demand. So, we watched the next best movie which I'm embarrassed to say I had NEVER seen. Julie and Julia! Both those women had great husbands in the movie. Not unlike my wonderful husband.

My friend Cheryl always manages to pull together something unique and fun with old friends and my sister!

Sanitation Nation!

Or, as affectionately called by family: clean ween jean-
What a delight! This has something to do with food- cleanliness. I had a really professional cleaning agency come through my house yesterday to clean. My most important items were the huge chandelier that hangs in the foyer and then, my kitchen. So many cooks in this house and very few good cleaner uppers. You know that cooktop? Especially the black porcelain kind? My husband tried so many different things on that cooktop-we both wish we had watched the 'men in armor" get the job done. And my ovens! I mean the exterior- not a drop of anything on them! Banished! Gone forever- I wish. And the sink- not the safest kind because of the junk that accumulates in the seams- what a great job they did!








And the chandelier, it's so sparkly once again but you can quite see it in the picture. I'm just so happy....






And, the shower- those glass doors- they will forever, after today, see a daily squeegie; that thing that looks like a T.








After being here for 8 1/2 hours, we didn't want to cook dinner; I couldn't even wash my hands! So, out we went and enjoyed coming home to a sparkly, shining house!

Menu for the week

I don't know how the time has flown but I am here to share another menu of the week. However, the picture attached isa rice Krispie like cupcake that is filled with melted chocolate chips and topped with candy corn. It's so easy, you don't need a recipe!



This week's menu follows:
Potato Topped Vegetable Bowl
Oven Fried Chicken
Tossed Salad
Texas Toast
Peach Crisp

Swiss Steak
Cheddar Noodle Casserole
Lime Jello
Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes
Chunky Apple Cake

Skillet Pork Chop Stroganoff
Wide noodles
Tossed Salad

Tailgate revisited

Yesterday's weather was perfect for a football game and tailgating, college style!
For the first time in 5, maybe 6 years, I enjoyed the comfort of Metra trains and took the 3 hour rail trip to Galesburg, Illinois to watch the football team from Knox College ( a son's former school and team) to play ball. Not unexpected, they lost ( oops! sorry fans!) But seeing the tailgate friends again, well, makes you forget about the loss.






Several team players have parents that 'sleep over' vans. ( that's what my boys called them when they were younger. )There were 4 and they formed a box that shielded us from the chilly winds that became very cold once the sun left.


The morning started with delicious Bloody Mary's made with pickle juice and we had all sorts of snacks to munch on till game time. The picture staging isn't as good as it could be, I know.


We made our way to Knosher Bowl just in time to see the team run through the chute. During the game we would take off our coats and soon put them back on during the game that had scattered BIG clouds overhead. In the background, during the game, trains pass by and sometimes the calls on the field are halted due to the loud train whistles. Why do they always do it just as they come up on the Bowl???


After the game, we made our way to back to our 'box' and while the grills and battery operated grills heated up, we continued to snack on whatever was around and the boys from the team made their way to the group. Other parents are also tailgating and are encouraged to come inside the box and some of us usually end up walking around to see them.









By 6:00, the sun was gone and we had some delicious food- marinated chicken kebobs, marinated brats, pasta salads, potato salads, upside down pineapple cake. Two of the boys drove me back to the train ( which was such a nice gesture- earlier I made the 10 minutes walk to the field but it was chilly and fun to get a ride from them.
No more tailgating for me this season as I work on Saturdays. But yesterday, was just wonderful! Thanks to all my Knox friends- the Juarezes, Kiziors, Dohmes, Ricketts - miss you all!

filling a spring roll

Father Nam didn't like my Spring Rolls. he went to his Vietnamese store and bought the ingredients and then made the filling with what I had prepared for dinner that night. I think my Spring rolls looked the same but what I do know is, that my wrapper was different than his. If you look at the label on the wrappers- they all look the same and have the same wording. I think I have to have Fr. Nam buy them for me. I don't know squat when it comes to shopping in the Vietnamese stores, here in Chicago.







I'm glad I had filmed him as he is on his way to Vietnam. He escaped from prison years ago as a Catholic priest; fled and became an American citizen also, many years ago. He wants to visit his mother's grave. She died the day he escaped and he did not know that till quite a while later. Please, if any of you read this, please say a prayer for his safe return.

Menu for the week

This week I'll be making the following~
Grilled, Beer Marinated, Chicken
Cheesy Potatoes
Iceberg wedge with bacon and choice of dressing
Chocolate Candy Cake

Pork Chops and Potato/chive Perogis
Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes
Tossed Salad

Chicken with Parmesan Noodles
Monkey Bread
Autumn Salad
And I'm still looking for two more desserts.....

Butterscotch Apple Pie Squares

On a search for something different, I came across this recipe on Mixing Bowl.com: Butterscotch Apple Squares



It looked similar to making that old bar called Hello Dollies, or 7 layer bar. This recipe also has 7 layers. With the Hello Dollies you don't have to press down on the layers as this recipe calls for that.
But it didn't help. The finished product looks good but try cutting into it! It really fell apart. I was going to put these on my menu for the week but not now. I did practice ( obviously) and took them to my friend Judy's house last night. To make them look presentable, fortunately I have these little 2" plates and mini forks left over from an event I did years ago.


I'm glad I never got rid of them. So, today I snapped a picture of one of these squares. Oh, I thought maybe these bars need to 'rest' overnight. Maybe they will firm up in the fridge. It didn't help. You can see how 'loose' they look.





I kept thinking, maybe I didn't press down hard enough on the layers but I thought I was as the milk starting oozing out of the sides in some places and almost over the edges of the plate.





Not all recipes turn out great. I'm sure someone out there can figure out how to make these turn out perfectly square. Here is the recipe:
1/4 c butter
1 1/2 c graham crackers
1 1/4 apples
6 oz. butterscotch chips
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 c flaked coconut
1 c chopped nuts
Directions:
In a 9x13 baking pan, melt butter in a 350 degree oven. Sprinkle crumbs over butter; top with apples. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt chips with the milk. Pour butterscotch mixture evenly over apples; top with coconut and nuts; press down firmly all over. Bake 25-30 minutes until lightly browned. ( I had to bake mine for 40 min.) Cool. Cut into squares. Store covered in refrigerator.