Anti-cuisine

I am in Dallas on a layover, traveling back from a trip in Norfolk. I ate at TGI Fridays on my way to Virginia. I just ate it again on my way back. I feel like I just ate 867 units of carbs. Not really food, just 867 units of something. Might as well be paper, packing peanuts, or goo. Yuck, I want some home cooking!

At least they have Stella Artois on draft. At least!

Europe 2008

A lot of our friends are going to Europe this year: Melissa and Robert are heading to England and France, and then Melissa and Spencer (different Melissa) are going to Italy, Germany, and France.

I spent some time to help the latter Melissa plan their German portion and boy did it get the travel juices flowing. A couple things to note for our 2008 foray (hopefully!):

Linderhof Castle: This is one of the more beautiful castles and it is mentioned often in my King Ludwig II history book that I'm reading. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linderhof.

Starnbergersee (and castle): This is nearby München and the site where it is said Ludwig was drowned.

Andechs Brewery (http://www.andechs.de/index.asp?lng=en: Was on the original list, but we didn't end up going that way when we left München. Instead, we went up to Freising and negotiated our first hotel room auf Deutsch.

Notes on Regensburg:

It's old city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so it's got some cred.

There is a huge BMW plant just outside of town that you can tour. But, I think it's only in German...which would be kind of hilarious. The BMW plant tour in Munich that we took was in English.

Notes on Switzerland:

We've talked about hitting somewhere in Switzerland. I've heard beautiful things about Luzerne, but my co-worker Peggy said to instead focus on the town of Interlaken, which is situated between two lakes. Get it? Interlaken? Traveling there can be done via train...about 4 hours from Lindau (where I've been positioning us as a gateway city). The train route does go through Zürich though...

Notes on Austria:

Last night over our third Monopolowa and Tonic, we joked how neither of us know Monopolowa Vodka was an Austrian potato vodka. We always thought it was Polish or Russian. That led into a talk about Salzburg (and it's relative close proximity to Bayern. (1 1/2 hour train ride!)

OK, enough dreaming for now.

Tschüß!!!

Stuffed Porkchops and Knödel

I whipped this one up pretty quickly -- I had the pork chops for "Polynesian Pork Chops" but I didn't have onions so that was out of the picture. It was really simple, especially using the THICK cut pork chops from Whole Foods. I made the stuffing (in the microwave), put it in the pork chop and threw it in the oven. Then, made the Knödel (okay, okay I made it from a package) and then the 3-Pfeffersoße that I brought back from Siegfrieds in Utah (yeah, yeah another package) and BAM! A great meal.

Next time, I'd add some apple bits to the stuffing...it's a pretty bland stuffing anyway and I'm just trying to get rid of it. I really don't like throwing food away! It just seems sad to me. However, if it has High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in it I am glad to get rid of it -- it shouldn't be in the house to begin with!

I really only allow one form of HFCS to be in the house -- Ryan's croutons. He doesn't like other croutons and if that will help make salad eating a pleasurable experience, I am ok with it. Still, it gets to the root of my problem with the stuff...what the hell is HFCS doing in croutons anyway???!!!

Tschüß!!!!

Favorite Travel-related Websites

I do like to travel - unfortunately, most of it is for business and without my husband - but I do spend hours researching potential trips, especially internationally. So, I thought it might be good to record some of my favorite travel-related websites:

1. Tripadvisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com): I love this website. Fantastic forums, incredible hotel reviews, and a lot of fun.

2. Seatguru (http://www.seatguru.com): Always ensure that you have a decent seat. This will help you do it -- I love looking at foreign airlines and seeing how they configure the seats.

3. Airlinemeals.Net (http://www.airlinemeals.net): I literally found this one tonight -- documented evidence of the ups and downs of airline food. Check out Edelweiss Airlines...killer food! Some of the Indonesian airlines deserve snaps for creative use of rice in desserts and appetizers.

4. Kayak (http://www.kayak.com): I use this site every time I want to book a trip or dream about a trip. Comprehensive, full of relevant data, and supported by each and every search. I like to do random searches from Austin to Germany so it bulks their statistical data. I know, I know, it sounds like the Starfleet of Travel and I totally agree.

BONUS: Tripadvisor "We're Not Making This Up" Blog (http://tripadvisor.typepad.com/my_weblog/): Add this to your google reader, right after you create your Tripadvisor account and claim your Travel Pins. It's the funniest thing ever -- it also helps if you have any customer service experience...a reminder that the world is full of odd people.

Anyhoo, have a great night!

Tschüß!!!

Lasagna Rolls

One of my favorite Giada DeLaurentiis recipes is "Lasagna Rolls" -- basically you mix up frozen spinach, ricotta and parmesan cheese with chopped prosciutto and smear that on cooked lasagna. Then, roll it up, put it on a beschamel base (which is always fun to cook) in a pan, put marinara sauce and mozarella on it...BAM!


This is the third time I've made it and it's quickly becoming a canon dish for us. The first time I made it, I thought it was a bit difficult...but now I can have it made and served in a little over an hour. Perfect weeknight dish!


My first week back to work was challenging -- very busy, lots of shifting parts, and I'm trying some new strategies to keep in control of everything. Also, we're focusing on the home -- we have 18 different things we want to do to our house. From floor and window coverings to furniture to a garage door...it's a bit overwhelming!

On a geeky note, I am super-excited because I bought Star Trek: Voyager books #2 and #3 at Half Price Books...about $3 each! I don't *think* I have them...but all of my books are sadly still packed in boxes and sitting on our closet floor. Doing the closet with enough shelfs to hold them is on the 18-item list, but is one of the more expensive items...ugh!!!!!!

Tschüß!