(Spoiler Alert: Gene and I skipped tonight’s reservation in lieu of just ordering pizza…first world problems, yo!)

Night One: Dinner @ the restaurant in a hotel a town over. Yummy, delicious, and the smell was incredible (I have more waxing poetic to do about that, BTW…later?). Gene won because his salmon was better than my beef.

Night Two: Dinner with Gene’s coworker and his partner at an Italian restaurant down in Cheesecake City. The best decision I made all week was ordering a glass of wine. The second best decision I made all week was ordering the second glass. The food was good, but not as good as last Restaurant Week. It was nice to patronize an Italian restaurant without the words “Olive” or “Macaroni” in the name but the drive was pretty long. I had carpaccio, veal and chocolate lava cake. Gene had…hmm. Scallop, something else, and panna cotta for dessert.

Night Three: Back to the seafood restaurant where we celebrated Gene’s birthday in August. I had peanut soup (yummy!!!!), duck (also very good!!) and a delicious dessert that I can no longer recall, even when looking at the menu. Gene had mini fish tacos (deeeelicious!), sea bass (as opposed to land bass? Or Chuck Bass?*) and a not-chocolate dessert. I noticed that we got spotty service, but I still want to try this restaurant’s huge sushi menu someday. (But why drive 30 minutes away when we have delicious sushi 3 minutes away?). My duck was better than his sea bass, so I won.

Night Four: I had to work late, so we ate at a nice restaurant across the street from our neighborhood. I started with the calamari (with a drizzle of wasabi sauce, sooo good!), had a lovely entree (the salmon, I think?) that was just a touch over cooked and chocolate cake for dessert. Gene had goat cheese on pita (it sounds meh, but it was very good), the crab cakes (He thinks, but the more I consider it I think he had chicken) and carrot cake (?) for dessert. I won. Or maybe Gene won. Who remembers? The bottled water cost as much as a mixed drink. Feh.

Night Five: I was supposed to leave work @ 6, ended up getting caught up (Stupid Year End!) and had to have Gene reschedule our dinner reservation for 7:30. To be honest, when we made the schedule this was one of the nights that I would have been pretty happy with grilled cheese at home but when the rubber hit the road…who wants to clean? I started off with a shrimp appetizer that was nice but very complicated in presentation (the theme of the restaurant, I think), veal osso buck (very delicious!) and apple tart for dessert (the tart was inexplicably paired with mint ice cream…wtf?). Gene had mussels (which were very good), crab cakes and creme brûlée for dessert. This was the night I devised the rule “If we can’t choose who wins, we must consult the server” (because we apparently enjoy looking like giant assholes in public?) and we spent the meal discussing restaurants we preferred to the one we were sitting in.

Night Six: Wednesday! The night we ate at our very favorite local restaurant (that we are going to sometime in the future with Denise and her husband the Almighty G)! Yay! Compared to the crush at the other restaurants in the week, it was nice to be some place where the servers recognize us and we could actually talk. I started with a ‘mini’ wedge salad that was so good. I love wedge salads. I had the steak entree, which is quite rare for me (beef joke!) but was amazing. For dessert, I had a root beer float and regret (but on the bright side, it cured my root beer float craving). Gene had risotto, chicken, and the house specialty red velvet cake (which is why I had regret for dessert). He won on the strength of his better tasting dessert, although my steak kicked A Serious Amount of Ass and we probably should have consulted the server.

Night Seven: We ate at our former favorite local restaurant. I started with deviled eggs, then prime rib (yes again) for my entree and super decadent brownie for dessert. Gene had pimento cheese and guacamole dips for appetizer, trout for dinner and strawberry shortcake for dessert. I won because the shortcake was actually served on a biscuit (why do restaurants do this??? I think a shortcake may technically be a biscuit but…meh), although it helped that Gene drank both of our complimentary glasses of wine. (I was driving, Mom).

Night Eight: Dinner was at a “Brazilian” style steak house. It was the first restaurant where the three courses that make up a restaurant week meal did not include dessert. At a Brazilian steakhouse, you start with a trip to a really big salad bar and then you eat your salad. After that, waiters wander around with huge skewers of meat and they offer it around. It’s kind of a reverse buffet. No winner that night because we both had the same thing. It was all a little too Golden Corral for me so I don’t think we’ll go back.

Night Nine: Mexican with Denise and the Almighty G. The town I used to work in is home to a fancy Mexican restaurant and we always make it a point to visit it during Restaurant Week because it’s a convenient excuse to hang with Denise for a couple of hours (to be honest, it could be Emissions Inspection Week and I’d do the same thing). I had seafood enchilada thingys, Gene had some sort of fancy Mexican pork chop. The service was slow but it turns out that neither couple paid for the queso and guacamole, so, huzzah. The restaurant was pretty crowded with big parties so by the end I think we were all ready to clear out. I automatically win this night because I got to hang with Denise.

Night Ten: About 3 PM today, I looked at Gene and asked if he really felt like going down into the city for dinner. He didn’t. I didn’t. We ordered pizza.

* Ah, I kill me w/ the Gossip Girl puns. Chair forever!

We’re about 80% of the way through restaurant week again and once again we’re eating out every night.

Last Friday, dinner was at the restaurant in a hotel the next county over. The hotel was part of a chain that I stayed at once when I was a little girl, with my grandmother. Indoor hotel pools smell like the best parts of my childhood and it makes me so unbearably nostalgic, I can’t even say. The glass of wine with dinner was so nice and relaxing though. I had prime rib, Gene had salmon. I think he won because his salmon was better than my beef. The amuse bouche (they called it that) was a jalapeño stuffed with barbecue. I think there was bacon involved somewhere, too. Yummy.

More about Restaurant Week later…

Well, okay, it ended up being more like crock pot mush. You know how when you stir something all the smaller pieces kind of whirl around and get mixed up? Somehow, stirring this was more like moving a Hot Wheel car around a track. And the taste was more like oatmeal. I wish I could accurately tell you what the sound the entire crock’s worth made when it hit the garbage, except that it started with a massive sucking noise and ended with the sound a bowling ball makes when it hits the floor.

I didn’t cook it so I know it’s not my fault, although when I came home the crock pot was making a suspicious hissing noise so of course I took the lid off to peek. My first thought was, “Gee, that’s….beige.” (And yes I know you’re not supposed to take the lid off, but it only had a few more minutes to cook so I did not ruin dinner!)

Yes indeedy, back to risotto made on the stove top for us!

(And lest you think we starved, I picked up Panda Express for us that night).

Monday, dinner was at a local restaurant that we have visited before. Gene had the prime rib and I had a terrifyingly large portion of lamb. He also had an appetizer portion of beef and blue cheese nachos, which was better than my shrimp cocktail. Dessert was OK – I had cobbler (I guess – I have completely forgotten) and Gene had key lime cheesecake. Gene won the night on the strength of the prime rib.

Tuesday, we had to eat…at home! sob, sob. I had to clean up after dinner! weep! It didn’t take long for me to totally get out of the habit of cleaning the kitchen! Nobody won.

Wednesday was another local restaurant. Booooring. Gene ordered off the regular menu but I ordered off the special restaurant week menu, so I guess I technically win. But, Gene’s food was better. Highlight: red velvet cake (mine).

Thursday (tonight) was another local restaurant. I started with a salad (look, ma, I’m eating vegetables!) and Gene had fries (as an appetizer? weird!). The fries came with garlic mayo for dipping and it was very good. We both had beef for entrees and it was fine (nothing we couldn’t pull off our grill at home). Gene had apple cake for dessert and I had a brownie thing. Highlight: a yummy drink called the Rum Runner. (After the week I’m having, I have earned it!)

The rest of the week is going to be awesome, I just know it. Dinner tomorrow is upscale Mexican with the Almighty D and her husband. Saturday we’re eating out with one of Gene’s coworkers and a friend and Sunday is fondue. Mmm, mmm, good!

So anyway, Cheesecake City Restaurant Week started Friday and runs through a week from today. A few dozen of the city’s leading restaurants have a special fixed price menu and Gene and I decided to try a different restaurant every night (except for Tuesday, when I have to work late, which is going to be pasta and meatball at home Tuesday).

We took extra special care choosing restaurants, pored over the special menus, and made our reservations. (Hilarious aside: I thought that yesterday’s reservations were for today’s restaurant and vice versa – so glad I double checked or else last night would have been baaaad instead of delicious).

And, being such a competitive couple (I don’t know if that’s a joke or not), we have decided to declare a winner each night.

Friday: I had coconut shrimp for the appetizer, super fluffy crab cakes for the entree and butterscotch creme brulee for dessert. Gene had lobster macaroni and cheese, osso bucco and pear tart. It was close – Gene won the appetizer round, but my entree and dessert kicked ass so I won the night.

Saturday: I had seafood bisque (and could have eaten a gallon of it), duck breast and chocolate molten cake. Gene had a fancy salad (the name of which is too easily Google-able, sorry), filet mignon and chocolate ganache cheesecake. Ooh, and we split a wine flight. Anyway, I won last night too because the bisque was way better than the Google-able salad, the duck was yummier than the filet (even though the filet came w/ horseradish purple mashed potatoes), and can anyone think of a time when chocolate molten cake isn’t superior to the opposition? (I also want to say that the butter for the bread had bacon in it – I think we have an early nominee for Best Misc Food Item for the week).

(And yes, this is a fairly expensive endeavor but there are a lot of times that we eat in for weeks on end – consider this the flip side to pizza rolls).

Inlaws arrived around 8, we ate dinner (yummm, Donatos Pizza I love you!) and then hung out in our awesome living room to play Forza on XBox (it’s a driving game, although mostly the nephews drove cars into walls). My job was to make sure the dogs and children were gentle with one another (Scooby lasted about 45 seconds before making a beeline to his kennel, only emerging when he heard the word ‘treat’ and Betty was braver but mostly sat in my lap).

Inlaws left around 10 and then I started making apple pie. Yes, I did double check the oven to make sure nothing was left in there accidentally. By about 11:30, the pie was done (and looks delicious!) and I was back on the couch, geeking, watching The Mentalist on DVD and getting an extremely well deserved foot rub. (Seriously, I wonder if I can get a massage on Black Friday?).

Today, Gene has made the bean dip, started the mulled wine and in a few minutes (or when my chair stops being so darned comfy) I’m going to make Pumpkin Crunch. I promise. But right now, the fireplace is going (hooray for gas logs!), the dogs are curled up in front of it (and so damned cute!) and I kinda wish I’d just bought a pie.

Appetizers:

White Bean Dip with Pine Nuts (w/ pita) – DONE

Cream Cheese, Sausage & Rotel Dip (probably w/ tortilla chips) – Thursday

Nuts & Bolts (baked Chex mix, family favorite, using Blanche’s recipe) – DONE!

Entree:

Rib Roast with Garlic and Blue Cheese – Picked up, starting at 1

Side Dishes:

Mashed Potatoes – Thursday

Creamed spinach – Thursday

Rum & Sweet Potato Casserole – starting at 2

Pasta Salad (leftover from work pitch in on day before Thanksgiving)- DONE (by Gene)

Yeast rolls (heat n’ serve)

Dessert:

Pumpkin Crunch – SOON!

Apple Pie – DONE!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars – DONE! (hooray!)

1) Preheated oven. With an entire plastic wrapped pan of Nuts & Bolts still inside. Sooo glad I didn’t mummify the Nuts & Bolts and just covered loosely. (For the record, they were in the oven to keep them safe while the cleaning lady was here yesterday).

2) Freaked out when I realized exactly what that smell was and turned off oven.

3) Put entire pan of chocolate chip cookie bars in oven and set timer.

4) Was shocked to figure out that the cookie bars did not bake, worried that oven had broken.

5) Realized I did not turn the oven back on.

Appetizers:

White Bean Dip with Pine Nuts (w/ pita)

Cream Cheese, Sausage & Rotel Dip (probably w/ tortilla chips)

Nuts & Bolts (baked Chex mix, family favorite, using Blanche’s recipe)

Entree:

Rib Roast with Garlic and Blue Cheese

Side Dishes:

Mashed Potatoes (no recipe, I know how to make those without one as I am super fancy)

Creamed spinach

Rum & Sweet Potato Casserole

Pasta Salad (leftover from work pitch in on day before Thanksgiving)

Yeast rolls (heat n’ serve)

Dessert:

Pumpkin Crunch

Apple Pie (I, yes *I* will be making this pie. I made one already a few weeks ago and it was delicious and we both lived. Wooo!)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (why bars instead of cookies? Because I am lazy! And have to work all day the day before Thanksgiving!)

If you’re wondering, these recipes use a combined 75 pounds of butter and a tractor trailer of sugar.

PS: The menu for the week of Thanksgiving will go something like this:

Monday: Chili dogs, maybe. I have a helper elf that day so maybe I won’t dirty up the kitchen.

Tuesday: Grilled cheese, maybe. That’s the day the sofa arrives and the carpets get cleaned. And I have to make pasta salad if Gene hasn’t done it already.

Wednesday: Inlaws arrive, we are ordering pizza from Donatos. Yum. Much better than Pizza Hut.

PPS: I cannot tell you how much I wish I had next Wednesday off to get stuff done.

PPPS: The grocery list is two pages long!

They did an excellent job of pegging us, BTW. Here is what we Americans eat:

1) Hot dog relish (that looked nothing like the relish one buys in America)

2) Duncan Hines cake mixes (brownie mixes?)

3) Campbell’s clam chowder

So, yum. Eat up!