Hayley Year-in-Review

We're continuing our unintentional tradition of creating a digital year-in-review holiday card rather than sending a printed card to everyone on our address list.

Maybe one day we'll get better about doing that. 

Probably not.

Best wishes to you and yours in the 2016!

Dive Expedition: Mumtaz

Kelly's been craving Indian food.

Craving in a must-get-some-soon-or-life-might-end kind of way. 

I didn't want to drive to Richardson (egads...a whole 15 minutes south from Plano!) to our old standby, Kebab and Kurry, so we tried out a new-to-us place that I'd heard good things about, Mumtaz Indian Restaurant.

They have a good-sized buffet table with a good selection of dishes, from sweet to spicy, vegetarian to traditional meats (goat and/or lamb).

Everything was super fresh and flavorful. What's even better is that they offer a buffet at lunch and dinner, weekday and weekend. Tuesdays offer a lower price-point, making it a great day to get your spice on.

But we haven't let a day of the week stop us - we've gone three times now and have been impressed with the variety each time we've been. 

Looks like we don't have to make that drive to Richardson anytime soon...!

May Your Days Be Merry and Bright

Dive Expedition: A Bar and Kitchen

When we were in Cleveland for a conference earlier this fall, my colleague and I enjoyed trying out the local restaurant scene.

One of our favorite places was a true dive that we visited our last night in town. It met every definition of a dive - a sign that you could only see if you wandered down a pothole-filled alley and, because we had a wheelchair in tow, a hidden entrance that the staff directed us to instead of the main stair-laden entrance.

We were rewarded for our crazy find-your-way-in experience with some really great bar food. The menu had a whole section devoted to tots. TOTS!!!! How could I resist the Reuben tots? Not even possible.

My colleague had the burger, which looked so good I wish I had it, too. But I ordered the bacon mac-and-cheese and was not disappointed. Not at all. So creamy. So delicious. So wanting it right now.

I also tried out one of the local brews and learned that the Dortmunder Gold was not my favorite. I guess our Texas craft beers have spoiled my taste buds.

My colleague and I are already planning to go back to A Bar and Kitchen if we go to Cleveland for conference next year. It's just that good of a dive!

All About a Beer Pairing Dinner

We bought tickets to a private beer pairing dinner, hosted by Chef Kent Rathbun's Hickory restaurant and Franconia beer.

The event was one of many celebrations during National Beer Week in the north Texas region.

Hickory features Kansas City-style barbeque. I happen to know a little something about that.

Franconia's owner/beer master extraordinaire, Dennis was there. Kelly had a fanboy moment.

While we waited for dinner to start, we noshed on yummy meatballs and the most amazing smoked trout crostini that I've ever had. I could have just eaten that for dinner. No.Lie.

Before each course, Dennis would describe the beer we were going to try and why it had been paired with that particular food item.

First course: German kielbasa sausage and Franconia IPA fondue sauce. It was served with a Franconia Amber.

We also had pretzels (the menu called them sticks, but well...these aren't exactly sticks!) to help clean up the fondue.

Second course: Salt roasted beet salad with creamy lemon buttermilk dressing and herbed goat cheese. It was paired with a Franconia Kolsch. I loved this course. It doesn't get much better than beets, fresh greens and goat cheese.

Third course: Hand-delivered by the pitmaster, the table enjoyed a chef's cutting board serving of hickory-smoked spare ribs, prime brisket and BBQ chicken. It was accompanied by a Franconia Dunkel.

There was so much food that it wasn't possible to eat it all - Kelly and I took home a large box. We love leftovers!

Oh and the sides...creamed corn adn fresh Brussels sprouts. YUM. (Maybe I have a little something for vegetables?)

The arrival of damp warm towels and fresh lemon sliced indicated we were ready to move on to our final course.

Fourth course: Although we were stuffed, we made room for roasted apple-pecan cobbler, topped with Henry's ice cream and Booker's Whiskey-caramel sauce. It was served with a Franconia Fallin' Bock. So tasty. I wish I wasn't so full.

So, so good! 

Date Night in Plano: Taverna Rossa

Several friends encouraged us to give Plano's Taverna Rossa a try. Sometimes it takes several recommendations to get me to try a new place - that was definitely the case here.

We sat in the bar on a Sunday afternoon and had the pleasant surprise of having the chef act as our server. The bartender, who normally would be on shift, was out that day. There's nothing like having the chef give you dinner recommendations!

So we started with the dinner salad. Homemade croutons FTW!

We split the original supreme pizza. The crust was incredibly tasty (Taverna Rossa obviously excels in bread products) and the toppings were very fresh.

But desserts are where we went completely overboard and I totally blame the chef. I told Kelly that I was full and it would have to be a world-changing dessert to make me eat anything more. The chef heard that and said he had the perfect things for us to try.

The salted caramel bread pudding, he said, was inspired by the memory of eating his grandma's kugel during Passover. Oh.My.Gosh. It did in fact taste just like kugel which is only my absolute favorite thing on the plate at Passover.

We only ate a couple of bites - and all of the accompanying Henry's Ice Cream - before packing it up to take home. He recommended that we fry it up the next morning as French toast. FYI...that was an excellent (and tasty) suggestion.

Kelly couldn't resist the chocolate stout cake - a very moist and tasty cake made with lots and lots of chocolate and stout. Again, we ate a couple of bits and all of the Henry's ice cream and took the rest home. It came with candied bacon as well. In my mind, this was a little over the top but Kelly loved it. Must be a guy thing.

I would totally go back to Taverna Rossa for a meal and a relaxing afternoon. 

Food Friday: Double Chocolate Cherry Almond Muffins

I picked up a bag of Toll House's new cherry-filled dark chocolate chips on a whim the other day. When I got home, I wondered what I'd make with them. The answer was this:

Double Chocolate Cherry Almond Muffins

Inspired by this recipe

• 1 3/4 c flour
• 1/2 c packed brown sugar
• 1/4 c unsweetened cocoa (I used Starbucks mocha powder
• 1 t baking powder 
• 1 t baking soda 
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 c warm water 
• 1/4 c vegetable oil
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 1 t vanilla extract 
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2/3 c cherry-filled dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 c chopped almonds
• Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine water and next 4 ingredients (through egg) in a bowl, stirring well. Stir in all but 1/4 c chips. Add oil mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Place 12 muffin-cup liners in muffin cups, and coat liners with cooking spray. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle remaining chips evenly over batter. Bake for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

I doubled the recipe and made a combination of regular and mini muffins. These freeze well. The muffin isn't overly sweet, allowing the cherry flavor to shine.

Fall Festival: Steinfest in Plano

Plano started a new fall festival tradition - Steinfest in Downtown Plano.

Even better - it's an Oktoberfest-like festival that actually happens in October, instead of the traditional September. It's the perfect time of year to avoid other cities' festivals while also enjoying the wonderful Texas fall weather.

Downtown was packed with food vendors, games and communal dining tables - 15th Street was shut down for the occasion.

A local potter made steins (signed and dated) for the event. Beautiful! I may use it as a vase.

There's nothing like sitting together at tables in the middle of the street.

We shared an order of delicious pork shanks from our favorite BBQ joint, Lockhart BBQ.

And we braved the line at Ye Ole Butcher shop for a bratwurst burger.

It was worth the wait! (We shared, of course.)

There were tons of games for kids and adults (Giant jenga! Painting! Keg rolling! Chicken dances!) We stopped by to watch the stein race.

What's that, you say? Well...

Then it was back in line for more food. This time, caramel apple french toast from Kelly's Eastside. YUM!!

Then a final wait in line for a cup of homemade hot chocolate from Jorg's Cafe Vienna (we still need to eat a meal there...wonder why it's taking us so long to get around to doing that?).

Again - the wait was worth it. Is that freshly whipped topping I see? Yes, yes it is.

Our thoughts on Steinfest? We hope this becomes an annual festival in Plano. It's so much fun and was a really relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Plus we ran into so many friends as we hung out - it made it feel like a giant town party rather than a stuffy festival.

Fall Festival: Oktoberfest in McKinney

We love going to Addison's Oktoberfest but had never made time to go to McKinney's version. When Kelly learned that his favorite beer, Franconia, was the exclusive McKinney Oktoberfest beer, he put it at the top of our must-attend list.

McKinney definitely has more of a small town festival feeling than the "event" vibe that you get in Addison. People seem to know one another and pets are allowed to get in on the action. (Hello -dogs in tutus!)

It's probably also the first time I've seen sno-cones served in a portable pirate ship.

The lines were equally intense as we'd find in Addison. We didn't think the food selection was as varied, but it was delicious all the same.

We loved it! Bring on the town square, the people and the fun.

Just look at the deliciousness of this brat and kraut. It tasted just as good as it looks.

We also had traditional Belgian donuts. Yum, yum, yum.

Would we go back next year? Absolutely. McKinney's Oktoberfest is our new favorite!

Running Basics: Working on Form

One of my 101 goals was to work on my running form. I was doing a good job of that - until I broke my foot, of course.

I won't let that discourage me.

Back to running form: Kelly and I took a 4-week class with several members of the Dallas Galloway training group. Taking a class like this with friends is a great way to bond as a group.

After all, now we all know who prances (Kelly), who has great hair (Joe) and a host of other funny things. Seriously, I feel very bonded to this group because everyone is now in agreement that I need to buy a new running bra.

Yes, it was that kind of filming experience.

Running form class involved lots of short running, filmed segments that were later analyzed (as a group, as noted above) and drills to help us improve.

Kelly and I have to go back to take the final 2 classes from the 4-week series. We were out of town for one session and I'd broken my foot for the other.

And that, my friends, is why I'm not discouraged. There's always a new opportunity to continue focusing on improvement. Plus improvement is a continual process, so I know that I'll pick up something new the next time through the course.

Food Friday: Brat Omelet

Weird combo of ingredients, perhaps, but an absolutely delicious result nevertheless...

Brat Omelet

• Leftover bratwurst
• 1/2 c saurkraut
• 1/4 c sliced grape tomatoes
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup egg whites

Trust me. It's wonderful!

College Town Treasure: Varsity Donuts

Wow - this is one that I almost forgot to write about. When we went up to Kansas for the baby sister's wedding, we stayed one night in my hometown before heading to the wedding venue.

Not needing to get on the road super-early meant that we could stop by a donut shop that I'd heard a lot about but never had opportunity to visit: Varsity Donuts.

It's housed in what used to be my favorite place to shop while growing up, the Palace Drugstore. It was a mecca for fun things - food, kitchy gifts, Hallmark cards, stickers...just awesomeness.

But if the Palace had to close, I'm glad that Varsity Donuts came along to fill the space.

They kept the Palace's great floors and display cabinets, filling them with tons of donuts.

And the donut hole display? Cuteness.

I don't think anyone needs to worry about them running out of donuts...

We got an assortment to share and found a window seat to eat and people watch.

An awesome part of college town life in a smaller town is the street scene. I happen to think that Aggieville in Manhattan has some of the best street scene around.

We also feel fortunate that we stopped in when we did. Varsity is obviously a popular place.

The donuts were good - not as good as Hypnotic, but not bad. If we could have heated them slightly they would have been even better. Live and learn. Let's chalk it up to learning for our next visit.