Max & Erma's - 07.03.2009

Max and Erma's is another restaurant that I am not overly found of, mostly because I don't like their menu. I don't care too much for hamburgers and that seems to be their core competency. Tony loves Max & Erma's and we had a gift card, so we headed out for dinner.





Appetizer - onion rings. These were good, very good.


Beer. Ian had a Stella and Connor had... I can't remember which kind of beer he had, actually.




I had a cup of tortilla soup. It was okay. It wasn't nearly as spicy as I would have liked.




I'm just gonna say it - my salad was good. Not as good as the one from O'Charley's but definitely better than the one I got at Jimmy V's recently.




Connor has recently declared that he's a man. He doesn't order off of the kid's menu or drink out of a cup with a lid when dining out. He ordered a combo that came with a cheeseburger, fries, tortilla soup (which I ate), and a warm cookie. He ate about 6 fries and 1/4 of his cheeseburger and called it a day. He wasn't impressed by the cookie either. Tony had a burger and fries too.


Ian had... chicken and fries! No surprise there.


All in all, it was a good meal!

O'Charley's is no longer permanently banned - Father's Day

I have hated O'Charley's every since we ate there 9 years ago when I was very pregnant. It took me forever to get a soda, despite the fact that everyone else at the table had their beers served to them already. Everyone at the table got their meals served well ahead of mine. AND they had chicken parmesan topped with SWISS cheese on their menu. That's three strikes against them and that's all that it takes to get a restaurant placed on my "permanently banned" list.

On Father's Day, we tried to go to Frisch's for breakfast with my mom and stepdad. The line was too long and Steve and Tony suggested O'Charley's. It was their day, so I agreed.




I hate to admit it, but the food was good and the service was fine. I had a southwest chicken salad. I liked it.




Tony had a black & blue salad. It was enormous.




Ian ordered pancakes AND chicken tenders with french fries. I knew that there was no way in hell that he could eat that much food, but it was easier to let him order both than to hear him whine.




Connor had a waffle.




My mom had an omelet. This picture cracks me up. My mom looks like she's working her ass off just to cut her eggs. MOM - use a knife next time!




Steve had two eggs over easy, a double order of bacon, toast, and potatoes. One strike for O'Charley's - the server forgot to bring his extra bacon. He got it eventually, but was still charged for it.




My kids have this great scam going. Every time that they spend the night with my mom and Steve, she either buys them a toy or gives them money so that I can take them to get a toy. It's a win/win! I get to offload my spawn for a night AND they get paid! Here is Ian with his $12 from Grammy that he "earned" by spending the previous night at her place.

Cookout - 06.25.2009

We had family over this weekend for a cookout. Ian had a hot dog.


The rest of us had pork, beef, and chicken kabobos. My sister brought her famous baked beans which are another one her trademarks.



We also had corn and grilled veggies.



And cilantro lime rice.

At some point in the evening Connor, Ian, and one of the neighbor's kids formed a band. We thought that they were kidding when they told us that they had a band together, were practicing a song and would be performing for us later. While the adults were inside eating, the kids set up the back yard for a show. They cleared off the patio for a stage and lined all of the chairs up in the grass. As you can see from this video, Ian is a true frontman. He's shirtless. He's a natural! Their band has no name and 3 songs so far. None of the songs last more than 25 seconds. Rock on!

The Best Video Ever - 06.27.2009

I know that this goes without saying, but this is the most awesome video ever recorded. Ever.

Dinner With The Bosses

My Boss (1) recently invited me, the newest member of our team, and Boss 2 to have dinner at her house. The Boss and her partner are admitted "foodies" and everything that I've had to eat at their home has been outstanding. On this occasion, The Boss's partner made an outstanding meal - sword fish and chicken kabobs, a salad with greens and apples and a homemade dressing, and barley and corn salad - also with homemade dressing. I can't remember the specific herbs and spices associated with each dish, but everything was really good.

Dessert! Shit, shit, shit... I cannot remember what this is called but it sounds like Sofrito, but that's a spanish sauce used as the base to a lot of savory dishes so I know that's not righ... Regardless, this was a lemony, ice creamy, and slightly custardy blend of deliciousness that was served with mixed berries.

After dinner book club - Today I will Nourish My Inner Martyr and Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy. I recommend both books for any sophisticated and classy book club that you happen to belong to.

*Please note that I am not raving about this meal just because I know that The Boss reads my blog. Everything really was outstanding.*

Father's Day cookout and some other pictures

Grilling out at my dad's on Father's Day. Grilled chicken marinated in balsamic vinaigrette, brats, hot dogs, potatoes, and corn.


Eating dinner at my dad... Guess what's in that big coffee can on the table? Think about.... Do you have a guess yet? It's a big pile of dirt and worms! There was no fishing involved with our Father's Day cookout, but my dad felt it appropriate to keep his big tin of worms on the table during dinner.

Here's lunch at Jimmy V's in German Village with "The Bosses". I had a grilled chicken salad, Boss 1 had a Greek paninni. I can't remember exactly what was on her sandwich other than the fact that it involved olives. LOTS of olives. I can't stand the sight or smell of olives, so I had to quit looking at the sandwich as soon as I spotted them. Boss 2 had a bowl of soup, but I cannot recall the specifics.

Dinner at my dad's a couple of weeks ago. Domino's pizza and wine.



Have we discussed Romeo's pizza yet? I don't believe that we have. The Minuteman Pizza near us was recently bought by the Romeo's pizza chain. The kids were devastated when they found out about it. Minuteman is their favorite pizza. Romeo's is pretty much the same as Minuteman, but maybe a little bit better tasting. Logic and taste buds be damned though. My kids hate Romeo's just because it isn't Minuteman.

The Murphys Have an 80's Party - 6.20.2009

My brother and sister-in-law had a kick ass 80's party this weekend. I am amazed by the attention to detail that was put in to it - pop rocks, candy necklaces, etch-a-sketches, lemonheads, and slap bracelets were everywhere!



My brother's costume kicked ass! His wife looked awesome too, but I didn't get a picture of her. Chris or Mandy - Please forward me a picture of Mandy to post here!



I opted to go for the "too cool for school, hard rock" 80's look and did my best to channel my inner-Axl Rose. Ian and Connor showed up for the first hour or so of the party and my parents were kind enough to leave with them, freeing me up for the tom foolery that would ensue.




My lovely friends, Liz and Olivia, came to the party with me. Both ladies looked as lovely as usual.




Here's my bro on a hog. It's not his bike, but I begged him to sit on it so that I could get a picture of him. hehehehehe.



My ridiculously cute sister and my brother in the background.




We left the part around 10:45 to head out for the Truth for Sanity show at Oldfields. I am pretty sure that the band kicked ass, as they always do, but I had also had many adult beverages consumed out of a Solo cup so don't quote me on it.

Some Stuff From Last Week

I think that this was taken last Sunday or Monday. Regardless, I told Tony that I was making an Insalta Caprese for dinner and he looked at me like I was crazy. I explained that an Insalta Caprese is a fresh mozzarella and tomato salad with basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. When I told him that the salad was ready, Tony grabbed a plate and some salad dressing out of the fridge. He then asked where the lettuce for the salad was. HAHAHAHAHHAHAH. There is no lettuce in caprese salad! You can take the boy out of Indiana but you can't take the Indiana out of the boy...

My personal challenge to crack the code to a perfect lasagna continutes. It's a man versus himself type of story. On Friday, I made a pan of lasagna. This time I used 2 times the amount of sauce than I would typically use and it turned out a lot better. But still not as good as my mom's kick-ass lasagna. Darn you, mother dearest. I will perfect my lasagna recipe and you shall rue the day that you ever made a pan of saucey, noodley, cheesey goodness! PERFECTION SHALL BE MINE!!!

This is currently my favorite food in the world and I make this at least 5 time a week for lunch or dinner. It's a chef salad with baby Italian greens, campari tomatoes, a bit of shredded cheese, and shaved turkey and ham. True story - I would marry this salad if I wasn't already married and it were legal in the state of Ohio.

I made this, so I will post a picture. I was disappointed in myself regarding this meal as it wasn't my best work ever. It tasted good but it wasn't as attractive as I would have liked. This recipe is often called Straw and Hay. It's egg noodle fettucine and spinach fettucine with a light basil cream sauce, tossed with peas and ham. I used grated parmesan in the sauce instead of shredded parm. I discovered that grated doesn't melt nearly as well at the shaved variety. Balls, dude. At least I know for next time.

Okay, so early in the week I mocked Tony for thing that there was lettuce in an Insalata Caprese but then I got to thinking... Maybe fresh mozzarella and tomatoes would be really good on a bed of baby Italian greens with basalmic vinagrette dressing... And it was!

Tony totally did this on purpose... 06.21.2009

First off, I would like to wish all of the good dads out there a happy father's day!

Secondly, Tony knows that most of the pictures on my digital camera either end up on this blog or on Facebook. Today I told him that Ian ate a hot dog at my dad's house and he asked to see the pictures. I handed him my camera and left the room to start making dinner. An hour later, I upload my camera pictures to my Mac and what do I discover? This delightful series of pictures that I KNOW that Tony wanted me to post on the internets!
ENJOY (Miconi and Gilzow - you know that I'm talking to you)!


Nose hair angle...


Contemplative Tony


Blinding Glare Off of My Bald Head Tony

I Think That I'm a Badass Tony

Watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 Tony

I Have No Fucking Clue What I Am Doing Tony

Blair Witch Project Tony

I'm On a Roller Coaster Tony

Happy Go Lucky Tony

I Definitely Buy My Underwear At Kmart Tony

Tony Being Tony



We love you, Tony. Happy father's day!

A Very Special Guest Star Comes Over For Dinner - 06.17.2009

The most fabulous and talented Jason Sidwell joined us for dinner last night. Not only is he a good friend, but he's also the brains behind a wildly innovative and explosive rock band called Truth For Sanity. His band mate, and my husband, Tony also was on hand for dinner. It's always a delight when Sidwell comes over! As this picture was taken, Tony actually said "Welcome to the Gun Show!" as he flexed his bicept!



I made Chicken Paprika for dinner. It's a Hungarian dish that involves chicken simmered in stock with garlic, onions, paprika, tomatoes, ground cayenne pepper, flat leaf parsley, and sour cream served over egg noodles tossed that have been tossed with butter and more parsley.



Holy fucking shit, this meal was good. Shockingly, Tony even ate a full plate of this.


In other news, Connor lost another tooth last night. It was the tooth the the left of his front teeth. Thank god he finally lost that tooth because he seriously needs another adult sized tooth to balance out the enormous adult front teeth that he has.