Delaware Dines Out, Sept 24-30, 2012

Do you like to eat out?  Next week is your best opportunity to try out any restaurant that you might have been hesitating to try because of the price.

September 24-30 is Delaware Dines Out Week where a huge list of restaurants throughout the whole state of Delaware will be offering set price menus for lunch and dinner to try their food.  Restaurants participating in Lunch will offer a meal at $15, but not all are.  All restaurants are offering a 3 course dinner for $30 a person.

Check out the Delaware Dines Out website to see who is participating and what their dinner menu looks like.

I’m excited to talk my husband into taking me to the Melting Pot for a Cheese, Salad, and Entree course; add on the chocolate for $8 and get 10% off a bottle of wine. Or, I have not yet visited the Stone Balloon since it changed from nasty bar (which I only visited once in college) to upscale wine house because of the prices.  For $30 I can get Caprese Risotto tomato confit, fresh mozzarella, garlic foccacia crumbs, basil salad, EVOO Powder
-or-
Mixed Greens Salad pickled onions, toasted pine nuts, bleu cheese, shaved rainbow carrots, charred lemon-white balsamic vinaigrette
-or-
Smokey Cauliflower Bisque pistachio Gremolata, herb oil for my first course.

For my Second Course I can choose Country Fried Quail grilled watermelon, haricot verts, smoked onion crema, fresno pepper syrup, toasted quinoa pilaf
-or-
Shrimp a la Plancha braised greens, cheddar-scallion grits, mustard seeds, tabasco-tomato coulis, fried arugula
-or-
Zucchini Cakes roasted plantains, crispy brussel sprouts, pickled vegetable salad, romesco sauce.

And for the Third Course (Dessert, which fantastic because I have a really big sweet tooth) Angel Food strawberry custard, orange blossom syrup, buttermilk sorbet, kiwi chutney
-or-
Chocolate Hazelnut Brownie rosemary shortbread crumble, frangelico ganache, white chocolate gelato, chantilly.

Yes, Please!

I hope you can go out and try some new restaurants or order something a little different at your favorite restaurant!

Happy Eating!

Barrels on the Brandywine

My husband and I are very lucky in that we have both sets of grandparents living within 20 minutes of our house. That way they have an opportunity to be in LittleM’s life growing up and, well I’ll just say it, we get free babysitting!

Saturday we decided to ask for some free babysitting so the husband and I could have some time just the the two of us.  Normally when my husband is home, it’s Mommy and Daddy time with LittleM since he has a long commute and in warmer weather is working a lot of weekends too.  Sometimes we need to enjoy our time together just being the individuals that decided to get married.

LittleM made out like a bandit with my in-laws, enjoying Delaware Children’s Museum during the Grandparents Week there, eating a Joe’s Crab Shack, and getting to watch Happy Feet 2 at their house.

Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to win (Yes, I actually won something!) a passport to the Barrels on the Brandywine Wine Trail through Delaware Tourism.  My husband ended purchasing one for $30 at the first winery because if you go to three wineries, it is already paid for.  It’s a card that allows you tastings at eight wineries along/near the Brandywine River in Pennsylvania.  You get the standard tasting and a Barrels on the Brandywine Wine Glass for your house. 

Everything was open by 12pm on Saturday so we visited three (we were driving so we didn’t want to push our luck more than that) and then had lunch in Newark by 2pm.  It didn’t take long but we had a fantastic time together and tried some really nice wines.  Here are the three wineries that we visited:

You can see from the map how close they are and it doesn’t take very long to get there from Delaware.  In the warmer months, Kreutz Creek and Paradocx seem to be very family friendly  (Kreutz even lets you bring your dogs) and offers free and ticketed music concerts where you can bring your own chairs and picnic to enjoy.  They, of course, will have a variety of wines to purchase, including a new slushy-type wine drink.  I will need some convincing on that one.

After stopping at the third winery, we decided it was time for us to eat so we drove into Newark to eat at the Deer Park Tavern, which we have not eaten at in quite a while.  We weren’t too hungry (from the three glasses of wine we had just had from all the tastings that each winery gives you!) so we decided on 2 appetizers instead of entrees.  And one beer a piece.  Once you start, why bother stopping?! They had an amazing crab and artichoke dip with buttery baguette bread that I really need to figure out how to make at home!  Delicious does not even begin to cover how good this dish was.  My mouth is watering just writing this right now.  I think I may have some time to stop by and pick some up to-go tonight.  Do they offer to-go?  They should!

Now that I have made you hungry as well, I wanted to remind you, as I need to remind myself, that it is ok to take time with your spouse and not be “on” as mommy and daddy all the time.  Your kids will be much happier if you are happy and content with life.  So, plan a date night (or day as we did) where you and your significant other can enjoy some time together, without the kids, and solidify the bond that you may have let loosen a bit trying to be the best parent that you can be.  (I’m trying to convince the husband that it’s time for us to go back to the Melting Pot!  Melted Cheese and chocolate, how can you say no?) You, your significant other, and your kids will be better for it.

Happy Adventures.