Newtree Chocolates

For Christmas, as my family decided to forego presents this year due to the bad economy, I decided I would get some chocolate bars, and we’d do a little taste test.  I should have just gotten some Lindt Truffles…

Newtree Chocolates, purchased at Wal-Mart, comes in a few varieties.  I got Cinnamon for Ty (not yet opened) and Lavendar for the fam (along with some other bars, which after this, were decidedly unappealing, as all chocolates might be for awhile).  Upon smelling the Lavendar Chocolate, I was reminded of an old hippie friend of mine, who always smelled like lavendar and for awhile even nicknamed herself lavendar.  Unfortunately, people-smelling chocolate is kind of a turn off.  I tried the chocolate anyway, and at first it was an interesting mix, very powerful, but suddenly there was an overwhelming bad taste in my mouth.  I felt like I was eating chocolate dipped in laundry soap.  Ikkk!  I don’t recommend this chocolate at all.  It ruined my vision of a chocolatey Christmas.  I’ve since decided Lindt is going to be my default in all chocolate scenarios.  So smooth, so good.  So RELIABLE!

Panda Express vs. Fire Bowl Cafe

A few weeks ago, we went to the new Fire Bowl Cafe, which is where the recently defunct Spicy Pickle used to be.  I didn’t get a chance to go to the Spicy Pickle, and I wish I didn’t have the chance to go to the Fire Bowl Cafe.

First off, the menu is slightly condescending while still being difficult.  Ty ordered the wrong kind of noodle because he looked at the wrong name, but knew the picture of what he wanted.  When our food came, it was overcooked, and his had almost no meat.  I kept adding “fire oil” to mine, and it was still only medium spicy.  When Ty asked if his rice (on his second try – after complaining about the first bowl) could be on the side, they put it on the bottom of the bowl.  His second bowl was better, more balanced, but still not as good as Spice and Rice near campus.

Today, however, we may have found a cheaper alternative to Spice and Rice: Panda Express.  The place is clean, you can point at what you want, it is quick, and spicy, and sharing a meal still leaves two people full for the price of one.  It’s like the McDonald’s of Americanized Chinese food.  The quality is good, the food is tasty, the veggies are crisp, and I was back to work on time.

Cake

Cake is not a lie.

I made this cake mostly from the chocolate cake recipe in The Joy of Cooking.  As far as I am concerned, that is the only recipe book you should be using.  I’ve been making cakes for a few years now from Joy, and this was my 2nd generation chocolate cake.  Turned out alright, a bit lopsided, and I did learn some lessons.

First off, my cake pans did not cook evenly.  Our oven is tilted a bit, and I forgot to switch the pans partway, so it ended up being lopsided.  Secondly, it had been awhile since I had made a cake, and I did not grease the pans as well as I should have, so some stuck to the pan, but considering I had to cut the cake to even things out best I could, it was ok.

The major thing I learned was that you shouldn’t use whip cream as a center.  It would have been better to use ganache, then drizzle the whole thing with ganache, as the whip cream made it too fluffy, and hard to cut into.

I’ve also learned that I should probably invest in that pretty cake foil you can use on cardboard.  This looks kinda silly…

Taste?  Meh.  I recommend the white cake more than this, but my favorite so far has been Joy’s carrot cake recipe.

Field’s Steakhouse – Wisconsin Dells

My husband and I are coming up on our 1-year anniversary.  On our honeymoon, we went to the Wisconsin Dells.  After the snowy travel there, the problems with the hotel door buzzing, having to switch rooms, and not yet being able to relax, we were wondering if we had made a bad decision.  Perhaps we should have gone on the cookie-cutter Puerto Rico honeymoon everyone else does, maxing out credit cards and compartmentalizing our stress.  The Dells was supposed to be laid back.  We didn’t even bother booking the hotel ahead of time – that’s the kind of people we are, and the kind of honeymoon we wanted.  We ordered room service, some burgery buttery fatty thing that made us not hungry, but it wasn’t until the meal at Field’s later that night that the heaviness of what we just did – getting married – finally sunk in.

The night started when we pulled up to the building, wondering if they were open.  Apparently that day they opened late, and as I walked to the door to check out the hours display, the lights turned on like a bacon of hope.  Beacon of hope.  So we went in.

The restaurant was dim, romantic, and empty.  The fireplaces were already lit, and we requested an outside view.  From across the lake, we could see a camp, and in feeling the warmth of the fireplace, it felt very homey.  We ordered red wine, salads, and soup.  My starter soup – Alaskan Crab – was a meal in and of itself.  I love crab soup, only having had it a few times in my life.  When I saw it on the menu, I knew I had to try it.  My husband and I slurped slowly while talking, sitting side by side as we always do.  We started to feel like a married couple.

I remember ordering steak, which I rarely have.  I was coming off of being vegan, and steak was a big deal for me at the time.  This steak was sprinkled with bleu cheese and marinated in red wine.  It was tender enough to rock in the cradle and coo loving words to.  Every bite was like a word building a sentence, the meal becoming a chapter in a book.

We were feeling complete.

After nearly two hours of slow chewing, talking, holding hands, we ordered dessert wine and a creme brulee sampler.

So good.

Then we went to our hotel and talked about how now, officially, because of that meal, we were on our honeymoon.

I highly recommend Field’s Steakhouse in the Wisconsin Dells.  We’re thinking about going to Wisconsin just to eat there for our 1-year anny.