Saturday, May 26, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Eat my words
Wednesday was our second to last Family Dinner with Grandpa in the house and when Ted asked what he wanted, he said chicken. In my head I said UGHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOO I hate chicken. Even though I've had amazing chicken cooked by uncle Ted, my first reaction to the word chicken is ALWAYS blech what a waste of time. Chicken shmicken.
Of course, I said nothing aloud because a free meal is a free meal and Ted has never disappointed at family dinner. But internally, I was thinking, 'chicken, really? WTF!?!'. So When I got to the house on Wednesday, I was excited to see what else we were having with dinner. the first smell to hit me was the sweet, tangy aroma that could only be German Potato Salad and sure enough, this great recipe was cooking away on the stovetop.
Morgan and Ted were sitting at the nook and Grandpa and Eddie were out on the deck. I noticed a big tray covered with foil and got the faint smokey scent of something having been on the smoker. It smelled good as my stomach growled in anticipation of dinner. Hitting the gym before hand is good, but makes the waiting tough sometimes! To curb my appetite, Ted made me a cocktail. Always good on an empty stomach. Hooch + mango + lime = delish.
Grandpa and Eddie migrated in from the deck, because while it is warmer now, it's still not WARM at 6pm yet. Behind them came Jessie, Mark and Charlie, and that rounded out our group for the night. As the resident salad tosser, when Ted got out the big yellow bowl and bottle of dressing, I knew we were close to show time. Everyone migrated to the table and I caught Ted slicing up the chicken. As much as I don't like to admit when I've made a quick judgement, that chicken smelled and looked about as good as a chicken can smell and look. Golden, crispy skin over the perfect pink tint of smoked perfection. UGH! Chicken! I think I'm going to like it!
As people settled and plates filled, we settled into some nice conversations. There is lots of bike racing, camping, marathon training and general outdoor love going on for the group right now. And of course, we talked about food. Particularly oh the chicken was absolutely perfectly cooked. Even the white meat was flavorful and moist, for lack of a better word. you know what I dislike more that (most) chicken, the word moist. ANYWAYS, I have to give it up to Grandpa, good call on the chicken. It was the B-O-M-B. We also had the german potato salad, a green salad and baguette. Oh! As if the chicken needed any more flavor, Ted made barbecue sauce, too!
If you've ever had barbecue at a Bratrude house, you know that we are a bit specific when it comes to the all important barbecue sauce. No bottle of pre-made will do with this group. It's homemade or nothing. And we've all come to our own recipe from Grandma Corinne's basic recipe. On Wednesday, Ted added a hint of vanilla. Tasty!
Now, usually at this point there's a little time for clearing dinner and plating dessert, but when Jessie walked in with a beautiful strawberry rhubarb pie, we knew there would be no dilly dallying. Grandpa made sure we got pictures of the dessert before slicing in and you will be drooling as soon as I post those. Topped with a little vanilla ice cream, we were all convinced that a big piece was necessary. So good. So worth the uncomfortable expansion of my stomach.
We've got one more family dinner with Grandpa in the hood and I hear there's rumor of salmon. Now salmon is something that I get VERY excited about. But I have to eat my words because that was the best damn chicken I've ever had and now I know that I'd request it too.
Of course, I said nothing aloud because a free meal is a free meal and Ted has never disappointed at family dinner. But internally, I was thinking, 'chicken, really? WTF!?!'. So When I got to the house on Wednesday, I was excited to see what else we were having with dinner. the first smell to hit me was the sweet, tangy aroma that could only be German Potato Salad and sure enough, this great recipe was cooking away on the stovetop.
Morgan and Ted were sitting at the nook and Grandpa and Eddie were out on the deck. I noticed a big tray covered with foil and got the faint smokey scent of something having been on the smoker. It smelled good as my stomach growled in anticipation of dinner. Hitting the gym before hand is good, but makes the waiting tough sometimes! To curb my appetite, Ted made me a cocktail. Always good on an empty stomach. Hooch + mango + lime = delish.
Grandpa and Eddie migrated in from the deck, because while it is warmer now, it's still not WARM at 6pm yet. Behind them came Jessie, Mark and Charlie, and that rounded out our group for the night. As the resident salad tosser, when Ted got out the big yellow bowl and bottle of dressing, I knew we were close to show time. Everyone migrated to the table and I caught Ted slicing up the chicken. As much as I don't like to admit when I've made a quick judgement, that chicken smelled and looked about as good as a chicken can smell and look. Golden, crispy skin over the perfect pink tint of smoked perfection. UGH! Chicken! I think I'm going to like it!
As people settled and plates filled, we settled into some nice conversations. There is lots of bike racing, camping, marathon training and general outdoor love going on for the group right now. And of course, we talked about food. Particularly oh the chicken was absolutely perfectly cooked. Even the white meat was flavorful and moist, for lack of a better word. you know what I dislike more that (most) chicken, the word moist. ANYWAYS, I have to give it up to Grandpa, good call on the chicken. It was the B-O-M-B. We also had the german potato salad, a green salad and baguette. Oh! As if the chicken needed any more flavor, Ted made barbecue sauce, too!
If you've ever had barbecue at a Bratrude house, you know that we are a bit specific when it comes to the all important barbecue sauce. No bottle of pre-made will do with this group. It's homemade or nothing. And we've all come to our own recipe from Grandma Corinne's basic recipe. On Wednesday, Ted added a hint of vanilla. Tasty!
Now, usually at this point there's a little time for clearing dinner and plating dessert, but when Jessie walked in with a beautiful strawberry rhubarb pie, we knew there would be no dilly dallying. Grandpa made sure we got pictures of the dessert before slicing in and you will be drooling as soon as I post those. Topped with a little vanilla ice cream, we were all convinced that a big piece was necessary. So good. So worth the uncomfortable expansion of my stomach.
We've got one more family dinner with Grandpa in the hood and I hear there's rumor of salmon. Now salmon is something that I get VERY excited about. But I have to eat my words because that was the best damn chicken I've ever had and now I know that I'd request it too.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
The core of the inner circle
Spring has officially hit Seattle. When I arrived at the house, all was quiet so I made my way to the front deck. Grandpa and Ted were sitting outside, enjoying the weather! This is big news, people. We can start using the deck again!!!
Family dinner wouldn't be complete without dessert and Jessie brought another great one. We still haven't had a duplicate after seven or eight months. Amazing! She made oatmeal cookie bars with lemon cream filling. Topped with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, it was tasty! We also sampled Ted's latest batches of kombucha and ginger liqueur. They were delectable. If you haven't tried kombucha before, it can be pretty bad, and I think Ted's latest recipe proves he has figured something out.
Johnnie joined The Core around 9pm, after a long training at work. Ted set her up with a beer and a bowl of soup and soon she was relaxing after a challenging day. It's nice to know that all it takes is a beverage, a little food and some family to make things better.
It was a super small crowd this week, especially considering we had a pretty big one last week. We had happy hour on the deck - hooch limeade for me, white wine for Jessie - and then moved inside for dinner. Our little foursome was Grandpa, Ted, Jessie and me. We even ate in the kitchen nook, a first for family dinner.
It was decided that this was the first dinner Charlie dog missed. She greeted Jessie by throwing up when she got home from work. Ted decided it was because Charlie was so excited for family dinner. Whatever the cause, Jessie made Charile some rice and left her and Mark - who is in the depths of thesis writing - home to rest and write, hopefully. Good luck Mark, the offer for editing still stands.
Dinner, of course, was delicious. We had super meaty split pea soup, grilled cheese sandwiches and a big, leafy salad. There was a lot of job talk this go-round, since I am in my first week and Seattle Children's. It's interesting the difference in mentality between generations about careers. Jessie and I are of the same thought that staying at a job for 20+ years is basically unrealistic. we both agree that to make any financial strides, staying put is not likely the best strategy.
We also talked about being content with work vs settling. The latter part of the 20s is a really interesting time. There's been so much transition, but (hopefully) by now, we have a sense of what the future looks like. AHHH grown-up talk!!!!!!
We also talked a lot about transportation last night. There are some pretty serious commuter perks at my new gig and my commute now is a 25 minute walk!!! Sionara 3/4 bus! While you did provide great bar talk, I spent way too much time with you these last few years. We were talking about percentages of walk/bus/bike vs car commute and here's an interesting article about commuting in Seattle and Portland.
Here are a few interesting stats if you are too busy to click the link:
"in Seattle, about 21 percent of workers got to their jobs on transit from 2006 through 2010. But in Portland, the figure is just 12 percent...Portland has more bike commuters than Seattle—which comes as no surprise, given Portland’s robust biking infrastructure and flatter terrain. But Seattle has more walkers than Portland; on net, the two cities have nearly identical rates of muscle-powered commuting. Similarly, the two cities have very similar rates of carpooling. The only substantial commuting difference boils down to this: Seattle has more transit riders, and fewer drive-alone commuters, than Portland."But seriously, you should just click the link, there are pretty graphs.
Family dinner wouldn't be complete without dessert and Jessie brought another great one. We still haven't had a duplicate after seven or eight months. Amazing! She made oatmeal cookie bars with lemon cream filling. Topped with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, it was tasty! We also sampled Ted's latest batches of kombucha and ginger liqueur. They were delectable. If you haven't tried kombucha before, it can be pretty bad, and I think Ted's latest recipe proves he has figured something out.
Johnnie joined The Core around 9pm, after a long training at work. Ted set her up with a beer and a bowl of soup and soon she was relaxing after a challenging day. It's nice to know that all it takes is a beverage, a little food and some family to make things better.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
chick pics
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Eddie is the ultimate hipster
Not only was he sporting Ray-bans and a flannel, but he brought a sixer of flat top, steel can Churchkey Pilsner to the party. Complete with it's own opener, the packaging is great and the beer tastes good! As Eddie cracked open a can, I learned about the different types of beer cans Ted and Eddie experienced back in the day. At the same time, Ted mixed me a Ginger Lemonade Hooch cocktail. I was double fisted within the first 10 minutes! They really know how to hook a girl up.
I got to spend an hour or so with the guys - Grandpa, Ted and Eddie - before anyone else showed up. They were kind enough to listen to me vent about the oddness that is being a short-timer. Tomorrow is my last day of work at the diabetes study before I move on to a brain research gig and this last week has been a challenging one for me. If you know me at all, you know that I hate wasting time and that's what the last few days feel like, but I guess that's how it goes. So, thanks guys for giving me cocktails and letting me bitch!
Ok, back to the good stuff. People trickled in around 6:30pm - Jessie, Mark and Charlie arrived first. Shortly thereafter Morgan and Chelsey made their way into the kitchen. Ted pulled FOUR brined and smoked chickens off the grill and side dishes made their way to the table. Nate, his girlfriend (Ahh! I'm spacing your name!!!!) and Moto had perfect timing, knocking on the door just as we were settling into our chairs.
So what started as a small foursome turned into a full table of finger-licking good chicken, tomato marinade, pasta salad, brown rice, wine, 10 people and two happy dogs. Jessie informed us that it is ok to eat chicken with your fingers, according to a friend of her's who has and extensive knowledge of etiquette. Not that anyone was concerned about breaking rules, but it's nice to know where we stand.
After dinner, Mark presented us with his Thesis: One of each cookie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream HAHAHHAHA Mark is finishing up his grad school thesis, so the slip of the tongue made everyone laugh. At least we know he is thinking about it! Jessie made the cookies - GF oatmeal peanut butter, some with chocolate, some without. Charlie did a test run of them last night, coming to Jessie with crumbs on her mouth and a guilty look that only a lab can make. We all agreed with Charlie that the cookies were great. Grandpa gave the thumbs up.
Topics discussed included electric cars and motorcycles, craigslist, pinterest, travel and food, bike racing, segmented sleep, phone apps that monitor sleep patterns, horse racing and betting strategies, camping, Suncadia, The Brick (of course), Obama's support of gay marriage and Dan Savage's response, hooch, the Lake City Elks Lodge, Dog Fiction, and on and on. We were a chatty bunch. OOh! That reminds me! The term 'chatty Cathy' came up and Grandpa asked if anyone knew the origins. Let me google..."Chatty Cathy is a doll manufactured by the Mattel toy company from 1959 to 1965. The doll was first released in stores and appeared in television commercials beginning in 1960. Chatty Cathy celebrated her 50th birthday in 2010." Well, now we know.
Isn't it incredible what we learn at Family Dinner? I feel smarter by the sip. I took a couple photos, will post them soon.
I got to spend an hour or so with the guys - Grandpa, Ted and Eddie - before anyone else showed up. They were kind enough to listen to me vent about the oddness that is being a short-timer. Tomorrow is my last day of work at the diabetes study before I move on to a brain research gig and this last week has been a challenging one for me. If you know me at all, you know that I hate wasting time and that's what the last few days feel like, but I guess that's how it goes. So, thanks guys for giving me cocktails and letting me bitch!
Ok, back to the good stuff. People trickled in around 6:30pm - Jessie, Mark and Charlie arrived first. Shortly thereafter Morgan and Chelsey made their way into the kitchen. Ted pulled FOUR brined and smoked chickens off the grill and side dishes made their way to the table. Nate, his girlfriend (Ahh! I'm spacing your name!!!!) and Moto had perfect timing, knocking on the door just as we were settling into our chairs.
So what started as a small foursome turned into a full table of finger-licking good chicken, tomato marinade, pasta salad, brown rice, wine, 10 people and two happy dogs. Jessie informed us that it is ok to eat chicken with your fingers, according to a friend of her's who has and extensive knowledge of etiquette. Not that anyone was concerned about breaking rules, but it's nice to know where we stand.
After dinner, Mark presented us with his Thesis: One of each cookie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream HAHAHHAHA Mark is finishing up his grad school thesis, so the slip of the tongue made everyone laugh. At least we know he is thinking about it! Jessie made the cookies - GF oatmeal peanut butter, some with chocolate, some without. Charlie did a test run of them last night, coming to Jessie with crumbs on her mouth and a guilty look that only a lab can make. We all agreed with Charlie that the cookies were great. Grandpa gave the thumbs up.
Topics discussed included electric cars and motorcycles, craigslist, pinterest, travel and food, bike racing, segmented sleep, phone apps that monitor sleep patterns, horse racing and betting strategies, camping, Suncadia, The Brick (of course), Obama's support of gay marriage and Dan Savage's response, hooch, the Lake City Elks Lodge, Dog Fiction, and on and on. We were a chatty bunch. OOh! That reminds me! The term 'chatty Cathy' came up and Grandpa asked if anyone knew the origins. Let me google..."Chatty Cathy is a doll manufactured by the Mattel toy company from 1959 to 1965. The doll was first released in stores and appeared in television commercials beginning in 1960. Chatty Cathy celebrated her 50th birthday in 2010." Well, now we know.
Isn't it incredible what we learn at Family Dinner? I feel smarter by the sip. I took a couple photos, will post them soon.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Three Wise Men
Matt's got a show up! Come see The Three Wise Men on Thursday 5/10 at The In on Capitol Hill.
https://www.facebook.com/events/344902242241165/
C.A.C.A Presents: The Daddy of Rock and Roll's Shoe Alone in a Letraset Tunnel; a group art exhibit featuring an original drawing by Wesley Willis, drawings by Hache Bellizzio, paintings by local Seattle artists Mike Force, Casey Doherty, and Natalia Czajkiewicz, sculpture by Malaki Stahl, and 3 large scale illustrations of the "3 wise-men" by Matthew Brennan.
Bonus Instillation by C.A.C.A.
Entertainment by: Chandly Burres
Music provided by: P.E.W.P.
https://www.facebook.com/events/344902242241165/
C.A.C.A Presents: The Daddy of Rock and Roll's Shoe Alone in a Letraset Tunnel; a group art exhibit featuring an original drawing by Wesley Willis, drawings by Hache Bellizzio, paintings by local Seattle artists Mike Force, Casey Doherty, and Natalia Czajkiewicz, sculpture by Malaki Stahl, and 3 large scale illustrations of the "3 wise-men" by Matthew Brennan.
Bonus Instillation by C.A.C.A.
Entertainment by: Chandly Burres
Music provided by: P.E.W.P.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Bienvenido de vuelta - Welcome Back!
After a few weeks off, Family dinner started back up last night with a big crowd and a great meal. Since Ted & Johnnie spent the last couple weeks in Mexico and Jessie's birthday is on 5/5, the theme of the night was SEA-MEX (think tex mex, Seattle-style). The dining room table, and kid table, were decorated with new authentic mexican table cloths that made the night immediately festive.
First things first. The drink of the night was inspired by Johnnie's vacation drink - the mango margarita. While Ted perfected the recipe, we all enjoyed the taste of summer and the catch up conversations began. Turns out if you don't see this family for a few weeks, lots of stuff happens.
New jobs, vacation stories, summer plans and graduations were discussed. People have been busy and spring has been treating the family well. It feels as if we have come out of the clouds (pay no attention to the fact that it's currently grey and raining) and hit spring with new energy. Don't you just love when things start to fall in place!?!
We had a big crowd that included some first-timers. Kristy and Mike made their way over the pass to join us. They contributed Quincy asparagus (which we didn't get time to cook so I got some to take home, YES), a cooler of beer, a salad and chips & salsa. It's always exciting to have new blood at the table.
Courtney and Jordi also made it to their first family dinner and Jordi knew just how to win over the crowd. He made his way through the packed kitchen with a beautiful antipasti plate. He must be a good guy because rather than take the credit for the delicious appetizer, he let us know that his mom was responsible.
Aside from our newbies, we had the core: Ted, Johnnie, Grandpa Pres, Eddie, Jess, Mark, Charlie, Morgan, Chelsey and me. Matt was at dodgeball practice and couldn't make it, but it's ok because he's practicing for a big tourney taking place in LA in a couple weeks. I bet you didn't know you were friends with a National Top 10 Teams d-baller!?!
Ok, back to the SEA-MEX. Ted cooked us a great meal. We had a taco buffet that included brined and smoked dark meat chicken, smoked beef (sorry I didn't get a better description of this, but take my word for it - delicious), corn & flour tortillas, stewed beans, brown rice, avocado salad, green salad, corn chips and salsa and a bunch of different hot sauces.
As we settled around the two tables - we had 13 people, hence the kid table - we quickly realized these were going to be fork & knife tacos. Too much good stuff, tortilla blowout inevitable. Topics of conversation included the last weekend at Baker and the epic sledding hill built for the occasion, the Alaska cruise that's just around the corner, the info structure or lack thereof in Ethiopia, the jam-packed weekend Jenna has planned for her graduation, the phase out of calling people by nick names and the tricks of the trade for how to win at Emerald Downs.
Jessie topped the meal with two theme-inspired desserts. She made Flan and Peach Gelatina. Did I get that second one right? Either way, they were both tasty and the perfect sweet note to end on.
I'm sure there were a lot of other very important topics discussed, funny things that happened and mysteries solved, but the combo of cocktails from last night and not yet having any coffee is preventing me from recalling anything more.
There are some things you don't realize you enjoy so much. For me, family dinner is one of them. Pictures to come.
First things first. The drink of the night was inspired by Johnnie's vacation drink - the mango margarita. While Ted perfected the recipe, we all enjoyed the taste of summer and the catch up conversations began. Turns out if you don't see this family for a few weeks, lots of stuff happens.
New jobs, vacation stories, summer plans and graduations were discussed. People have been busy and spring has been treating the family well. It feels as if we have come out of the clouds (pay no attention to the fact that it's currently grey and raining) and hit spring with new energy. Don't you just love when things start to fall in place!?!
We had a big crowd that included some first-timers. Kristy and Mike made their way over the pass to join us. They contributed Quincy asparagus (which we didn't get time to cook so I got some to take home, YES), a cooler of beer, a salad and chips & salsa. It's always exciting to have new blood at the table.
Courtney and Jordi also made it to their first family dinner and Jordi knew just how to win over the crowd. He made his way through the packed kitchen with a beautiful antipasti plate. He must be a good guy because rather than take the credit for the delicious appetizer, he let us know that his mom was responsible.
Aside from our newbies, we had the core: Ted, Johnnie, Grandpa Pres, Eddie, Jess, Mark, Charlie, Morgan, Chelsey and me. Matt was at dodgeball practice and couldn't make it, but it's ok because he's practicing for a big tourney taking place in LA in a couple weeks. I bet you didn't know you were friends with a National Top 10 Teams d-baller!?!
Ok, back to the SEA-MEX. Ted cooked us a great meal. We had a taco buffet that included brined and smoked dark meat chicken, smoked beef (sorry I didn't get a better description of this, but take my word for it - delicious), corn & flour tortillas, stewed beans, brown rice, avocado salad, green salad, corn chips and salsa and a bunch of different hot sauces.
As we settled around the two tables - we had 13 people, hence the kid table - we quickly realized these were going to be fork & knife tacos. Too much good stuff, tortilla blowout inevitable. Topics of conversation included the last weekend at Baker and the epic sledding hill built for the occasion, the Alaska cruise that's just around the corner, the info structure or lack thereof in Ethiopia, the jam-packed weekend Jenna has planned for her graduation, the phase out of calling people by nick names and the tricks of the trade for how to win at Emerald Downs.
Jessie topped the meal with two theme-inspired desserts. She made Flan and Peach Gelatina. Did I get that second one right? Either way, they were both tasty and the perfect sweet note to end on.
I'm sure there were a lot of other very important topics discussed, funny things that happened and mysteries solved, but the combo of cocktails from last night and not yet having any coffee is preventing me from recalling anything more.
There are some things you don't realize you enjoy so much. For me, family dinner is one of them. Pictures to come.
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