not in the plan.

So... the plan was, to turn in Mike's lease and get me a new car, and Mike would drive the Buick, which is paid for. Good plan, right? Apparently the gods don't agree... The Buick has a head gasket leak and warped cylinders. $5K to fix, for a car with a Blue Book value of about $4500. Doesn't make sense. So here we are at the dealership again, buying (well leasing) another new car. Two car payments. So not in the plan.

cupcake fail: peach cobbler

So my husband was running his first 10K race today, and for the pre-race supper at a friend's (and co-runner) I was asked to bring something to go with ice cream. I made a chocolate cake and these Peach Cobbler Cupcakes from the book Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. Aren't they cute? Don't they look delicious?

Now, I have made many of Anne's recipes over the years and they have always been fabulous. I followed the directions exactly but the pie crust stuck to the cupcake tin so there was no way to get them out except to scrape them out. By the time I dug all 12 cupcakes out I had a nice pile of peach cobbler filling and shredded pie crust. Not exactly the result I was going for...  the taste was fabulous but I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board on these and figure out how to use a paper liner or SOMETHING so that you actually get individual cupcakes out of the pan! It was a good thing I had made the chocolate cake so I didn't show up empty-handed!

cupcake: pink lemonade

Not today's cupcake, but rather one from a week ago for a girls' day of scrapbooking at a friend's house. I made these Pink Lemonade cupcakes from the book 101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes by Wendy Paul. A little on the dry side but not too sweet. My garnish of a candy lemon slice went well, I thought.

restaurant review: roy's

For Mother's Day, we took Mom to Roy's Hawaiian Fusion. This is a chain, but I think the Plano location is the only one in Texas, and I'd never been to one of these restaurants before moving to Dallas. Their handle is "hawaiian fusion" which is a little bit Asian, a little bit Hawaiian, a little bit American.

As a starter we ordered a "canoe" or appetizer sampler. It included lobster potstickers, grilled tiger shrimp, szechuan pork ribs, tuna roll and beef skewers. I don't care for sushi or lobster, but I tried the other three items and they were all delicious. The lobster potsticker must have been good; Mike almost licked the plate.

For my entree, I ordered the Hawaii Kai short ribs. I love short ribs, and these were terrific, with a kind of Asian/hoisin-flavored glaze. Mike had the surf & turf (lobster and filet) and Mom ordered the shellfish sampler which came with huge scallops, shrimp, lobster tail and crab cake. It looked wonderful.

For dessert, I had the pineapple upside down cake, Mom had the sorbet (mango, champagne and blueberry flavors), and Mike had what turned out to be the best bread pudding I've ever tried. It didn't have that nasty whiskey-bourbon sauce that it seems EVERYONE puts on their bread pudding. It was light & delicious & absolutely wonderful!

Excellent food, excellent service, and a $20 bounceback gift card! What's not to love?

cupcake: peach bellini

Had a game night that turned into girls' night, since the men had tickets to the baseball game. Oh well, girly food it is! We had lots of snacky-type food and I made these Peach Bellini Cupcakes from the blog Sing for your Supper. I don't think they turned out nearly as good as the original. I thought the cupcakes were dry, and the consistency of the icing was very thin but grainy at the same time. Not my best effort, that's for sure!

catching up

I've got some catching up to do! Time flies as they say...

restaurant review: seasons 52

And here's the second restaurant review of the night! Tonight we went with some of my current and former co-workers to Seasons 52 a really terrific, sort of upscale-casual restaurant. It's a nationwide chain, although I had never been to one (or even heard of it) before they opened here in Plano. Their handle is fresh, seasonal food and the menu changes quarterly, with weekly specials. All the plates are under 475 calories (although of course if you have more than one plate, or a glass of wine or two, all bets are off).

We started with a couple of flatbread appetizers, the roasted tomato flatbread and (our favorite) the chipotle bbq shrimp flatbread. Those were quickly devoured. I had a tomato-avocado salad on arugula and my one observation was that I should have asked for the dressing on the side like I usually do - it was really too much dressing! For main course, I had the weekly special broiled grouper, served over haricots verts and black beans. This was excellent. Mike had the filet, which he's ordered before, and really liked it. We went with the server's recommendation of a riesling wine and were very pleased with the choice.

Seasons 52 offers a selection of dessert "shooters" which are the perfect size to finish off a meal. I had the seasonal dessert, a raspberry cannoli shooter, while Mike went with the usual, carrot cake.

The service has always been excellent and while it's not the cheapest meal around, I think the quality of the food and service makes it a pretty good value. I love that the menu changes regularly, so there's always something new to try. I love that the portions are normal-sized. Since our first visit here, this has replaced Jasper's as my favorite restaurant.