Tuesday, January 31, 2012

And So It Begins...

2012... sounds so ominous. I don't think the world's going to end this December 21st, but it's still a crazy year. A graduates from medical school and starts his 6-year residency. We are taking a big trip to Peru -- super excited! My youngest sister graduates from college. What a year.

To start off on the right foot (or left, whichever is your preference), we cooked up a fancy New Year's Day dinner. It was our first time making lobster tail, which was delicious. With that we had zucchini risotto. And for dessert I managed to time the souffle perfectly! Well, it was actually a good amount of luck.


Don't be fooled... these were not ordinary chocolate souffles. They were made with Nutella! If you know me well, you know I'm a sucker for that chocolate hazelnut spread. It's so addictive.


I also made a chocolate hazelnut sauce to spoon inside. I wish I could say we saved the third souffle for the next day, but we definitely ate it right then and there. No shame.



That first week of January our good friends D & C were in town for a job convention. They stayed one night in our apartment and took us out to dinner as a thank-you. Judging by the amazing-ness of the dinner, you'd think we lived in a penthouse overlooking Michigan Avenue and the lake. We went to The Purple Pig for the first time. They do small plates and specialize in all things pork.





They had a cheese menu with descriptions and definitions on the lamps.


Quail with cranberry sauce. Yum.


It was so good to see them and just get to catch up in person. We're crossing our fingers they get jobs in Chicago! (Though we'd visit them wherever they end up.)


We finally got a good amount of snow a few weeks ago. About 5 inches! But it only stuck around for a couple days, then melted away as our temperatures hit the upper 40s. Again. This is the weirdest winter ever.



Orion loves to jump in the snow! And eat it.





Because A is special, he chose to go into Urology. Because Urology is special, they do their own match apart from the official Match Day. So A had his own Match Day last week. We are super excited to be staying in Chicago for the next six years! (Yes, six! It's madness, I know!)

To celebrate, we went out to dinner with a bunch of our med school friends. We chose a Polish restaurant, but I chose unwisely because it apparently closed about a month ago. But never fear, there was another Polish restaurant in the same area which also had great reviews.

It had so much character. It looked like a dinky restaurant, but inside was all wood and brick, a beautiful bar, rustic decor and a long communal table. And the food was outstanding!





Their VIP "Room" (just a section of the restaurant) had an animal pelt hanging on the wall. There was much debate over what animal it had come from. After resorting to petting the fur, we broke down and asked the server. She told us she didn't know what it was, but that it wasn't from a bear. Apparently many other people have asked the same question!




I hope your new year has started off well and winter is treating you well! :)

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