St. Louis Adventure

We embarked on our annual trip to St. Louis a couple weeks ago for a long weekend.  We wish we had a little more time, but life calls.  We had a weekend full of fun activities, great food, and wonderful company plus a dobash cake - a required St. Louis treat.

Madelyn telling us she's ready to go!

Kaitlyn after asking "are we there yet?" after 20 minutes in the car. 

 

Madelyn taking a long snooze while driving.  She woke up as we arrived in the city - perfect timing!

 

The girls checking out a fun fountain near Pa Mark's apartment and a great chocolate shop called Bissingers.  

Madelyn loved the fountain.  The water would shoot high up in the air and then shrink back down.  I think she would have run through it if we allowed her to do it.  

 Group photo - Kaitlyn, Mary Ann, daddy, Pa Mark, Madelyn

 My three sweethearts - I love watching the girls with their daddy. 

 Lubeley's sells the Dobash cake that has long been a family tradition for Pa Mark followed by daddy and Uncle Tim.  They also sell awesome iced cookies!  This was the first time we inside Lubeley's with Pa Mark. 

After Lubeley's, we went to the Science Center.  The girls pretended to fly on spaceship seats.  Mommy joined in the fun too!

 Daddy and mommy tried to help Kaitlyn and Madelyn build a replica of the St. Louis arch.  I think mommy and daddy had more fun.  Madelyn kept knocking our arch down.  She thought that was hysterical!

 Madelyn enjoyed her Lubeley's iced cookie during the polar bear movie we watched a the Science Center Imax theater. 

 

Madelyn threw a big tantrum, so I distracted her with lockers.  I thought she'd just open and close them.  She had other ideas...  

 Kaitlyn, daddy, Pa Mark and Mary Ann went to a marionette puppet show while Madelyn took a nap after the Science Center.  Kaitlyn loved it!  She brought Spot home and showed me how he could walk, jump and bow. 

 We also celebrated Kaitlyn's birthday with Pa Mark and Mary Ann while visiting.  Lubeley's wrote Happy Birthday on the Dobosh just for Kaitlyn.  If you look on her left arm, she's also wearing her fun new butterfly watch from Pa Mark and Mary Ann.  It's not digital, so she's actually learning to read a real clock.  She loves it!

 Everyone enjoying some Dobash...

 We went to dinner at a really fun restaurant called Plush.  They had a fun, delicious menu and pin pong, shuffle board and a dry erase board upstairs for adults and kids to play and draw. 

Madelyn loves to draw, especially with markers.  Usually she draws all over herself.  

The next day, we went to the zoo.   Madelyn loved looking at the fish and hippos.

Daddy and his girls on the train. 

Before the zoo, Pa Mark and Mary Ann took Kaitlyn and Madelyn to meet Mr. Jim at a nearby park to feed ducks, geese, puppies and lots of animals.  Afterwards they all went to eat pancakes at the Firehouse restaurant.  Both girls enjoyed the outing. 

Easter Feast

For Easter, we decided to have a spiral sliced ham, pan roasted fingerling potatoes, steamed carrots with butter and a Bibb lettuce salad (Thomas Keller Bouchon recipe).

We did not attempt anything excited with the ham and it still tasty delicious. Madelyn was a big fan and is willingly eating leftovers. Next year, I hope to try a fun sauce to baste the ham with while it cooks.

The pan roasted fingerling potato idea came from Mario Batali's recipe on The Chew - http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Pan-Roasted-Turnips-Paprika-Mario-Batali. We were a little scared about adding the vinegar, but the potatoes turned out very tasty!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pound Fingerling Potatoes (thinly sliced)
• Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (we used 1/8 cup)
  
• 2 tablespoon Unsalted Butter (we used 1 Tbsp)
  
• 2 tablespoon Poppy Seeds (Omitted)
  
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cardamom (omitted) - substituted a hefty shake of garlic powder
  
• 2 tablespoon Paprika
• 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 3 tablespoon Parsley (chopped)
• 3 teaspoon Chives (chopped)

Instructions:
Place the potato slices in a bowl and season them with salt and pepper.

In a 12-to 14-inch cast-iron skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat until starting to brown. Add the potatoes and toss to coat them well. Then add the (poppy seeds if using) and sauté until the potatoes are a light golden brown, 8 to 9 minutes.

Add the garlic powder (cardamom) and paprika, and toss to coat. Cook for one minutes until all potatoes are coated. Add the vinegar and cook until it has evaporated, 4 to 5 minutes. Add parsley and chives. Remove the skillet from the heat, season again with salt and pepper, and serve.

I love the Bibb lettuce salad because it is full of fresh herbs - chives, tarragon, chervil and Italian parsley. You also add salt, pepper and minced shallots with a homemade vinaigrette (red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and canola oil - season with salt and pepper). It's a fresh side dish that boasts lovely 'green' flavors.

We paired a Pinot Noir from Williamette Valley, Oregon with this simple, yet delicious meal.

Bon Appetitt!