Winterlicious with Kinga...

this may be my only one this season (school is back in session on Monday)... We went to Pure Spirits at the Distillery District. The place was busy, the waiters very friendly. mmmm the bread basket... the rolls were toasty warm on the inside and crusty on the outside... yum...
Martinis: purple French for Kinga... and cucumber (infused gin) one for me...
Kinga started with Charred cauliflower and aged cheddar bisque,cheddar fritter... very good... so creamy
I had the Arctic shrimp, mussel and salmon terrine, peppergreens salad, champagne and pink grapefruit vinaigrette... that was one good terrine and I love watercress..
a couple of glasses of wine... I got a bit jipped :)
there was quite a long pause between our apetizers and our main... but it was good, we had our drinks and good conversation...
eventually our mains did arrive... for Kinga Seared atlantic halibut fillet, white bean cassoulet and café au lait sauce... oh my so delish....
I had the Duo of poached monkfish and braised pork belly, peruvian potato puree and citrus butter... the pork belly was delicious.. the beans crunchy (yummers)... potao puree cold but still good... and the monkfish a bit raw but yummy.... I ate it... lol
then a bit of a gap before our dessert...
for Kinga Warm berry cobbler, crème fraiche ice cream... a perfect winter finish to a meal...
I tried the Flourless dark chocolate gateaux, dark chocolate sauce... it was rich and dense and delicious..
espresso was our cherry on top...

congratulations...

I actually had other plans that night.... and since our apartment is not adjacent to theirs, the noise wasn't going to be a factor for us

Karolina's chocolate cake.... yum

Mom's pickle soup...

we had is last Sunday... there was a whole delicious dinner... but I was busy eating and didn't get the rest of the meal... however the pickle soup was the main dish for us... Jay loved it....

the treats stare..

finaly Polish beer in a can... it was delicious

the day is finally here...

We spent the morning watching the inauguration. Obama's speech was very well written and delivered, he did not make any outlandish promises but addressed all the major issues facing America. I wish him luck...

Watching the Bush family board the helicopter was such a relief...

.... and everyone still loves Bill Clinton :)

dinner at Justyna's and Mike's

at the end of the day we had dinner to which we all contributed... I came up with the idea :)

Kinga made the salad...
Justyna and Karolina made the roasted chickens and dessert...
it was a taste test on the left a regular PC chicken on the right an organic chicken... the organic won...
mmmmmm yumm.....
Jay made scalloped potatoes, which somehow escaped my camera... but were very very good...
and Mike poured the wine...
red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing..

a trip to a winery...

after the ice wine tasting... we headed to Fielding Estate Winery... the scenery was so gorgeous... the tasting menu at the winery...
the Pinot Gris was outstanding in color and taste... I left the winery with two bottles...
the Meritage was ok.. we didn't love it..
making of the good stuff...
view from the lodge...
on our way out... we ruined the pristine front yard by making snow angels... so much fun... one should always let his/hers inner child take control now and then...

ice wine festival in Jordan Village

this past Sunday was the perfect day for it.. it was snowing but it was warm (compared to the insane freezing temperatures we had lately), and there was no wind...
great ice sculptures and decorations...the ice wine bar.. made out of ice of course...
mmmm our first taste...
there was also food present... a bit of bread pudding with ice wine sauce
a lively band set the mood...
our second taste taste... a 2002 Hernder vidal
and this is how it's done...
my favorite of the day...
yum... Yorkshire pudding with pulled pork and ice wine carmelized onions...
the ice wine martini stand... the line running through the sculpture is for the pouring of the martini...
and here comes mine...
Justyna was holding the glass...
it was delicious...
on our way out we paid court to the Ice Queen :)
We had so much fun. Although ice wine tasting isn't cheap. Most tastings were worth 2 tokens, the ice wine martini was 3 tokens and each token cost $2.50. Still we definitely want to go again next year, and enjoy an ice wine inspired lunch menu as well.