Winterlicious: C5 (Crystal Five) at the ROM

Winterlicious has finally arrived... I so look forward to these fabulous buget meals. We're going to 4 different places, and we're starting off with brand new C5 at the ROM. The kitchen is open concept, the dining room is huge... they need to hang up some art to counteract the echo... I took my camera with me. The pictures aren't the greatest, because I took them without flash... it hurts everyone else's eyes... I'm considerate...

Martinis to start... Maple Leaf for Jason and Purple Haze for me...our bread basket... the butter is flavored each night... this night it was sesame seed...
We had two appetizer choices
Butternut Squash Bisque
or
Calamari Salad, Avocado, Split Black Olive Vinaigrette
We both went with the Calamari, since Jay makes the best butternut squash bisque in the world... It was very interesting and delicious...
Glasses of wine for our main... red for Jay and white for me...
Two choices for our main:
I had Butter Poached Grouper, Shitake Eggdrop Broth ... fab
and Jay went with 72 Hour Sous-Vide Beef Short Rib, Chestnut Potato Mash ... my how divine...
and desert, I had Chocolate Bread Pudding, Parsnip Gelato, Carrot Foam... presentation is very nice... the dessert itself lacked chocolate... it was ok... edible... but definitely missing the wow
Jay had Pecorino Cheesecake, Ginger snap tuile, balsamic gelee ... I couldn't eat it... Pecorino is made with sheep milk... and I can't stand that stuff... but his accompaniments were absolutely fantastic...
cappuccino's to accompany our dessert...
even the sugar bowl was pretty...
Then we headed back home.. Jay made himself amaretto and ginger ale and for me he whipped out a birthday martini... a present that I got from Karolina (one of my super sisters) Belvedere vodka in a shaker for one...
then I sipped, blogged, and watched Harry Potter... good times

Beautifull and delicious...

blood oranges

When Jason has been bad... it's so good...

Dinner 3: Thursday, Jan. 17th/08

Jason's 007 martini with wild melon honey....
Vegetable chowder...
Grilled veggie and cheese sandwich...
and Kinga made dessert... absoultely super fabulous dense and chocolaty cupcakes with tangerine frosting and sprinkles... I had two... soo yummy...

My vacuum has arrived...

meet Tess... yes that's right I named it...

Jason's Chicken and Eggplant Stirfry

sometimes even I'm confused at to which I love more... my man or his food... :)

Mustard pork chop with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli with white cheddar cheese sauce...yummmy...

Dinner 2: Thursday, Jan. 17th, 2008

Lisa missed this one...

Vino to start...
No appetizer this week (and if there was one I forgot to take a picture). But below is our main, ricotta and sun dried tomato stuffed onions, on a bed of baby arugula, grape tomatoes and marinated artichoke hearts...
Dessert was supper simple, baby pears and loquats stuffed with pistachio mascarpone...

On a side note... Kinga is making dessert for the next three dinners... that is very exciting.

Sunday Brunch

Our Sunday's off together are so rare lately, that we try to do something special when they happen. This past Sunday we went to Didier for brunch.I decided on Croque Madame - Parisian-Style Sauteed Ham and Cheese, Sunny Egg
Frites for sharing...
House made mayo for dipping...
Jay had an Omelette Paysanne - Potato, Button Mushroom and Smoked Bacon, Greens Mix
and we decided to have dessert for breakfast as well...Apple Tarte Tatin

Saturday Night: Dinner and a Show

For convenience we went to dinner at Baton Rouge since it's right across form the Elgin Theater. We showed up first and had drinks to start, a Manhattan for me and a some type of beer for Jay.Once Magda and Patrick showed up we were ready to order. We only had 1.5 h, so no time for apps or dessert...
Jay's Louisiana Chicken Sandwich
Grilled marinated chicken breast, served with bacon, Monterey Jack cheese, Dijonnaise sauce, lettuce, tomato and red onions.
My Amarillo Chicken
Marinated chicken breast, topped with Cheddar and Montery Jack cheese, tomatoes and scallions.
Magda's Santa Fe Chicken
Marinated chicken breast with roasted zucchini & red peppers, topped with "Jardiniere" sauce and goat cheese.
Patrick's Sea Food Linguini
Jumbo shrimps and scallops in a "Rosée" sauce.
Food was great, service left a tad to be desired.

After our dinner we headed across the street for Jim Gaffigan's stand up. He was super funny. No pictures are allowed during the show.... I can respect that.
After the show, we walked up to Just Dessert for something sweet.
This is my cherry flavored martini.... it was really good...
and cake of course....mmmm I love cake...

Had a craving...

for a toasted western sandwich... so that's what we had for dinner tonight...

Baby has a bad habbit...

She's very protective of her cookies.. this one she carried around the house for 2 days before she decided to eat it.. and it sure was high drama if Cherry or Kicia came anywhere near it...