Silly Dog!

Yes, a 95 pound dog can be adorable.  Especially when it's a Pyr with lovely badger and wolf markings and little dab of rice stuck to her nose.  Did I mention that she's a keeper?

Birthday Dinner at Home + Socks

On Todd's actual birthday we celebrated at home with steak and cake and tasty beverages.  I made the steak with caramelized onions accompanied by risotto (thanks to the pressure cooker) and some grilled tomatoes (for fruit/veg). 

Todd got these fancy home made-socks from Hanna for his birthday.  He tells me they are warm and comfortable and he will wear them to work tomorrow. 

Todd's Update:  I did wear them to work tomorrow (huh?).  Not only warm and comfy, but nicely textured on the bottom.  It's like getting a 10-hour foot massage.  Ahhhh....

Todd's 30th Birthday Adventures - Part I - Dinner at Ninja

To kickoff Todd's 30th Birthday, Jeff took us out to dinner at Ninja, a themed Japanese restaurant at the bottom of Manhattan.  The restaurant is laid out like ninja castle made up of all private rooms so we had a cozy room to ourselves.

Their theme is, of course, the Ninja arts.  Turns out Ninja cooking is pretty tasty.  And most of their dishes have fun names and some sort of accompanying special effect, like volcanoes and dry ice. For example, Todd ordered the Red Pond II (oven-roasted Black Cod in a bloody spicy pond), which came in a smoking basket stack.  Scott and Todd also got very excited because they had a mixed drink made with Domaine de Canton (ginger liquor), even if it turned out to be a little weak and too sweet. 

Here we have a flaming Ninja start that the waiter magically turned in to a chocolate Ninja star dessert.

Probably the most visually stunning was the Bonzai, a very realistic-looking tree scupture with pie crust twists and pistachio leaves growing out of a sweet potato custard with chocolate pebbles.

All in all it was a fun experience!

New Year's Eve Beers

Right before the holidays Todd, Clint and Sofia had a beer-buying extravaganza at the Oak Tree Discount Wines and Liquor store in South Plainsfield, NJ.  On New Year's Eve we got a chance to try at least five of them. Here are the tasting notes as Todd remembers them:

Scrimshaw: I was not impressed by the Scrimshaw.  It was your standard fare for a medium-bodied American Ale.  I remember that it had a pleasant nose with a hint of sweetness, but no body to match.  Would not buy again.

Zotten: Weyerbacher is such an inconsistent brewery.  Their Imperial Pumpkin is definitely one of the best pumpkin beers in a very saturated market and the only good example of a Pumpkin stout I've ever had.  If you haven't tired it and don't hate pumpkin beers it's worth seeking out.  Many people love their Quad (I think it's just ok) and their Blithering Idiot is one of those heavy, malty ales that is overwhelming at first, but mellows and becomes more drinkable with each sip (or bottle).  Contrast that with their Old Heathen (heavy-handed stout with no distinctive qualities and bordering on undrinkable) or their Winter Ale, which is about as uninpired as you can be, even within a category without much variation.  This is all to say that my expectation for their ability to execute to execute a Belgian-style red ale was low.  And I was pleasantly surprised by this beer, even it didn't really fit the description of your typical Belgian red.  It's got sour notes of a lambic with a pleasant fruitiness that's easily balanced by the maltiness.  The tartness is a little bit like fresh lemon.  Almost no hops in this one.  I think it would be helped by more agingt.  I liked it and would try it again. 

Rose Hibiscus: If you've ever had hibiscus tea you can imagine what combining that with a light ale would be.  It's light, and made lighter by the addition of rose.  The fruity qualities are nice and rounded with a little bit of a butterry, fatty taste on the tongue.  Re-reading this description makes this beer sound awesome.  Unfortuantely there's nothing more to it than the easily-identified individuals.  I don't think it will improve with age, but it's a tasty and drinkable beer right now. 

Struise Mikkeller (Elliot Brew):  So I've only had a few Mikkellers, but they got popular at a time when I was less actively keeping up with beer trends.  This was one I'd heard of, but didn't really read about until after we'd already drunk it.  It's hard to describe because there's a lot going on here. We discussed this beer for quite a while, but it was mostly swapping our knowledge of what makes Mikkeller so talked about.  I guess I'll just have to try it again and write down my notes sooner next time.  But it was certainly delicious and worth having more than once.

Geary's Autumn Ale: Geary's is so consistent with their beers, even if they only make a hanful.  I'd never had their autumn ale before, but it's full-flavored and balanced just like their others.  This one was a little darker in color and maltier in flavor than their normal fare, but that works well in an autumn ale.  This had a hint of pumpkin spice in the nose, but no pumpkin flavor.  Definitely a drinkable choice.

The Winter Classic

We came. We saw. The Bruins kicked some ass. There's no describing an experience like this. Thanks to Melissa for being awesome in general, but also for scoring us tickets at the very last minute.