Wednesday, February 15, 2012

no fromage??? sacre bleu...but i did it!

big 50@50 event! i went to lunch with my friend and coworker cris ferguson. i know what you're thinking. "big deal, i have lunch all the time!" but do you have a FIVE course FRENCH meal for lunch. stop lying . . . you do not!!! but i did and that goes on my 50@50 because i have NEVER eaten an entire french meal, that i know of, that wasn't americanized (haha). as my friend cris pointed out . . . from the movie "better off dead," french fries, french dressing, french bread, french toast. check, check, check and check. but dauphine potato? chicken quenelles? not on the list. but eat like a big girl, i did! check out the menu. impressed? well, you should be if you know how unsophisticated my palate really is. so, ready for the rundown? yes you are!

first up - the appetizer: dauphine potato with sauteed mushrooms, fava beans, and saffron foam. the ONE potato (small that it was) was delicious. as for the rest, i can say i now know why hannibal lecter needed a chaser for his fava beans. a nice chianti would have come in handy. [no pic-forgot]

next up - chicken consomme with composed garnish of leeks, smoked tomato, chicken quenelles and tarragon oil. okay, i'm not one to judge, but chicken quenelles must be french for chicken mcnuggets minus the breading. didn't taste bad necessarily, but the texture was meh. smoked tomato not bad, consomme needed salt, leeks = blech!! [no pic-forgot]

palate cleanser? grapefruit sorbet. my lunchmate liked it. it did have little squares of honeydew and cantaloupe. grapefruit?? really? *sigh*

the entree!! fresh market fish en papillote (that's a paper pouch) with lobster farci accompanied by jardiniere of vegetables, red bliss potatoes and whole grain dijon beurre blanc (sauce). okay, if you know me you know i am not an adventurous eater. having said that, fish = yes, lobster = no, vegetables = meh, red bliss potatoes = ok, except they were sliced as thin as the parchment. actually, thinner. the beurre blanc = yes. so if i could have the fish and potatoes with sauce, please? doesn't sound very french.

salad!! salad? after the entree?? those crazy french. country style terrine with celery root asparagus salad and candied shallot vinaigrette. now, i had to ask my lunch partner if the celery root is the part that should have been left in the ground? she laughed and laughed. i was not amused. not my favorite part of the celery. the terrine is..well...i'll let the internet tell you. wikipedia says it's a "french forcemeat loaf similar to a pâté, made with more coarsely chopped ingredients." if you have to force it, well...anyway. wisegeek.com says terrine is a "jellied meatloaf." sound more appetizing? didn't look it either. taste = okay. it was wrapped in bacon!!! we think it had pistachios in it. i did eat most of it...and the bacon!

last, the dessert, or as i like to call it, the payoff for the previous "alleged" foods. just kidding. it was individual hazelnut dacquoise with burgundy poached pear served with honey-lavender fondant and whipped creme fraiche. dacquoise is defined as a dessert cake, but these were more like cookies (crunchy). this was almost worth it. it was 2nd to the potato. not crazy about the honey-lavendar fondant.

so there you have it. another one for the 50@50 record books. i . . . ate . . . french. and lived to tell the tale! au revoir . . . usqu'à la fois prochaine.

Friday, February 10, 2012

the heat is on...

...i feel the need . . . for . . . speed! but, first, i have to train. apparently i have some kinda 80s soundtrack stuck in my head. bryan adams? maverick? goose? YEA!

well, this is it . . . the double whammy for my 50@50. i will be training for the sprint triathlon at hilton head, south carolina being held may 19th, 2012.

the double whammy is i've never been to hilton head, and never done a triathlon. so two more for my 50@50.

i could cheat and say i've never trained for a triathlon but that would kinda be cheating so...

we had our kickoff last night at the hughes main library here in greenville, south carolina and met two amazing little girls and their families. they both have survived their fight with cancer, but not without a struggle. lots of pain, fear, but even more courage and i felt really good about doing what i was doing. cancer survival for children diagnosed with the type of leukemia these young ladies endured used to be around 20%. now, it's around EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT. thanx to the success in research and the money raised by organizations like the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. which means when we help, we're a part of that.

so, off we go. dont' forget to check my other blog for team in training to see what i'm up to (or falling down at) and MEET MY MASCOT for this adventure. and DON'T FORGET TO DONATE!! i thank you and i thank you and i thank you. YOU know who you are. talk to you soon. mwah!