My best friend and I made plans to go to dinner as a mini-celebration.  Not wanting to be rushed during our evening, we wanted a restaurant that would allow for that.  Having been to Unwine’d many times, I knew that they would allow us to dine at our own leisurely pace in a comfortable environment.

Arriving at 7 o’clock, the bar was almost empty, but the part of the restaurant that we could see from the host stand was nearly full.  Much to our delight, we were asked if a couch would be fine for our seating, and we gladly accepted the offer.

There are many unique features at Unwine’d.  One of these is the adjustable coffee tables.  Upon initial inspection, they appear to be regular height tables.  However, with a simple lift and pull on top of the coffee table, and the table is the perfect height and closeness for dining at the couch.

A second great feature is the bud vase and flower.  In addition to providing decoration to the table, this flower serves as your method of communication with your server.  If you want your server to come to your table, take the flower out of the vase.  Otherwise, leave the flower in the vase, and you can enjoy your dinner company without interruption.

Seated on the couch, my friend and I decided to review the martini menu, skipping the vast wine menu. Both of us were in the mood for a fruity concoction and chose a drink that had mango rum and Hypnotiq, among other ingredients.  Both of us found these to be delicious.

Debating whether to have entrees or share smaller dishes, we chose the latter.  We reasoned with a lighter dinner we would have room for dessert.  In retrospect, I would have chosen an additional small dish and skipped dessert.

Following our pattern of choosing the same item, we both ordered the Mixed Greens Salad and also the Assorted Cheese Plate.  The mixed green salad was tasty, a combination of mixed greens, apples, dried cherries, toasted almonds, strawberries, and gorgonzola served with a citrus vinaigrette.  The cheese tray had four cheeses, brie, gouda, bleu cheese, and an unknown.  The cheeses were served with crackers, bread, grapes, blueberries, and lightly salted nuts.  It was a great choice, allowing us to nibble and chat.

Although the foods and drinks were great, service was an issue during our visit.  Our waitress must have been very busy, as another server brought orders to tables for her.  While a different server delivering food isn’t a problem, not knowing where the food goes is.  This server was embarrassed several times during the evening, needing to ask many tables if the food which she held was theirs.  Additionally, when presented with our cheese tray, the cheeses were not described, as should be done.

Having saved room for dessert my friend and I scanned the dessert menu and, again, chose the same item, Multi-Berry Cobbler.  This dessert had a note that 15 minutes had to be allowed, so it could be served warm.  What a great note!  Arriving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream that already had begun to melt  from the heat of the cobbler, I was excited to taste this treat.  Sadly, it was not what I had been imagining.  The berries were very tart, and the ratio of crust to fruit seemed to be a little crust heavy.

The drinks and dishes are well worth a trip to Unwine’d.  I will visit again soon, hoping that service is better that night.

For many people a weekend morning without plans is the perfect occasion for sleeping late.  For me, it is the perfect time for a big, homemade breakfast.  At our house, the kids often request my cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip scones, pancakes, or waffles.  However, if the kids aren’t home in the morning, it is the perfect time to try a less sugar- or chocolate-based breakfast.

With no kids home on this past Saturday, I decided to try my hand at baked grits.  Having been raised primarily in New England, grits are not native to my cooking repertoire.  However, with travels to Maryland and Delaware on a fairly frequent basis, I have seen this dish on many menus.  Checking out fellow diners’ meals, grits seemed like a nice replacement for homefries or hashbrowns.

Plain grits seemed okay, if they were topped with butter, salt, and pepper.  To make our grits more flavorful, I decided to add cheddar and parmesan cheeses and dried chipotle chile pepper.  While they baked in the oven for 20 minutes, I had time to cook the sausage and eggs.  I even had an extra minute to make mimosas for an extra special touch.

While much of the Eastern time zone was waking, we were enjoying a hearty, delicious breakfast for two. Personally, I’ll take breakfast with my husband over sleep any day.

Two-Cheese Baked Grits

4-1/2 cups skim milk

1-1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dried chipotle chile pepper

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 Tb. butter, unsalted

2 cups quick-cooking grits

1-1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium-sized saucepan, over medium-high heat, combine milk, salt, chile pepper, and black pepper.  Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium.  Stirring constantly, add grits, parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese.  Stir for 4 - 5 minutes or until grits are creamy.  Pour grits into a greased 8 X 8 baking dish.  Top with remaining cheddar cheese.  Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

Serves 6 generous portions.

All four of our children enjoy helping to prepare dinner.  In fact, we often need to divide kitchen assistance so that everyone gets a chance to cut, stir, etc.  After a recent Sunday dinner, in which two of the children helped make dinner, each of them wanted to cook dinner on his or her own.

So, each of them began to envision what dinner he or she would create.  Sammie decided that she would make a pasta dish that could be served cold, as it was a warm end of summer day.  Rather than making a salad with all of the ingredient assembled, she made a choose-your-ingredients pasta salad.  This was a great idea, allowing each of us to choose from an assortment of vegies.  It also allowed each diner to choose the amount of vinaigrette to be placed on the salad.

Rather than using a store-bought vinaigrette for the salad, Sammie and I created our own balsamic vinaigrette.  We wanted something that would have a bit of sweetness but that also would have some tanginess.  Additionally, I prefer salad dressings that are lighter, so we used less olive oil than most recipes suggest.

With a little help from Mom, Sammie made a great meal for a warm summer night.  The combination of farfalle, red and orange bell peppers, broccoli, and olives gave the salad a lot of color, and the homemade vinaigrette added depth to the flavors.

Sammie’s Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried mustard

1 Tb. honey

salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a cruet, cover, and shake well.  Chill until ready to use.

My beautiful bride and I were celebrating our first weekend without kids in almost three months by taking Saturday and doing some leisurely shopping.  We strolled around looking for a new fireplace, some clothes, and other odds and ends, but what we had not anticipated buying was a new way to make tea.  That all changed when we saw a new shop, Teavana, in the Rockingham Mall in Salem, New Hampshire. 

The nouveau looking shop drew us in with some free samples and an extremely friendly staff.  But what turned us into buyers was how our senses were perked at the store.  At the entrance, we were greeted with samples for us to taste.  The smell of their amazing teas and the sight of the precision and care in which they present their product enticed us.  We could hear the way they spoke with passion about their product and company. It was the one store all day that made us       feel better.

After having the wonderful aroma wafting through our noses, we decided to buy Pina Colada , an herbal blend that made us think of an island getaway.  We also bought a canister that we can use to store our tea and a very nifty contraption they call the Perfect Teamaker, which allows you to quickly and easily make a perfect cup of tea.

For the lover of tea or for just an advernture for your senses, you should visit Teavana.

Growing up in Maryland, I spent a great deal of time on the Eastern Shore.  And when I think of my time at the beach areas of Ocean City, Rehobeth, or Bethany Beach, the one thing that comes to mind is the assortment of seafood houses.  These are restaurants that specialize in fried seafood of every kind.  Scallops, oysters, fish, and crabs dishes are all available in big portions and almost always fried.  Throw in a smattering of corn on the cob, french fries, and coleslaw, and you have the complete menu at most seafood houses.  I am a huge seafood fan (although my allergies have stymied this love), and a heaping plate of a fried array of seafare screams loving to me.  So, on our recent vacation to Cape Cod, I was excited for the thought of an evening meal at a local seafood house.

The Lobster Boat in West Yarmouth was the choice of our extended group.  The setting of The Lobster Boat has all of the attributes of a great seafood house (i.e. on the water, simple decor, and the exterior is shaped like a boat), unfortunately the food fell far short.  Our party of 10 ordered an array of dishes: lobsters, clam chowder, and fish and chips to name a few.  The lobsters looked small, the fish and chips was a small portion (although described as “heaping” in the menu), and the clam chowder was light on clams.  Throw in service that was lackluster and ambivalent and you have a recipe for a weak seafood house.

Our $200 bill left me feeling hollow and hungry for the seafood houses of the Eastern Shore.  Cape Cod must also have great places to get seafood, my advice is to let The Lobster Boat keep sailing on by.