Simple, Savory Salad

This salad is my newest favorite. I got the recipe from the Whole Foods web site and added a touch of my own.

You can either cook your own chicken, or use a rotisserie chicken, as I did. Roll the meat pieces in hot sauce and some ranch dressing. On a plate put some romaine, celery and crumbled blue cheese. Then I added salted sunflower seeds. They added such a nice nutty flavor, offset some of the heat and gave some extra awesome texture.

Then put the chicken mixture on top and toss. It is a fantastic salad and I have already had it twice this week!! The rotisserie chicken is a good choice because it is already cooked and it gives you plenty of chicken in case you, like me, decide at the last minute you are in the mood for one.

Cheese, cheese and more cheese

One of the core beliefs, of the Corkscrew Girls, and a founding principal is our joint belief that there is no bad cheese. Nor is there ever too much! We have also added some delicious wine soaked salami. Who knew? There is white and red soaked. You can probably buy it in the gourmet cheese section. Amazing with the cheeses we had.

Jarlsberg, Havarti and a butter cheese. The fondue is a Michelle staple. We rely on her to make it often. Sadly the fondue pot is so small because I am sure we could make quick work of it even if it were larger. She simply mixes sharp cheddar, garlic and beer. Simple, yet wonderful We dip bread and apples and grapes.

As with our usual meeting we ended with a wonderful coffee cake, coffee and caramel Baily's.

Did I mention that we had both red and white wine? The Kris Pinot Grigio is a regular fave of ours. Kelly did not disappoint and brought several bottles of red and white wine! Way to go Kell. By the way, she was also rockin' an awesome new haircut.

An excellent meeting ladies. Time to plan the next!

Ponte Vecchio, a FANTASTIC Place to Celebrate! by Michelle

For my first contribution to our blog, I wanted to tell you about one of my favorite restaurants in all of Cleveland called Ponte Vecchio. Matt and I love to find new and exciting places in the Cleveland area to eat that are not chain restaurants. We have been to Ponte Vecchio a few times now, and everything about the restaurant is absolutely fantastic.

Last night we were celebrating my birthday, so of course this restaurant was first on our list. I found this place a few years ago on a website called Opentable.com, where you can make online dinner reservations for many restaurants in the Cleveland area. Many of them are a bit pricey, but some are not. They give you a link to each restaurant's menu so you can check it out before you go. We have found some of the most amazing restaurants in Cleveland on here, and would not have known about them if it weren't for Opentable! Also once you book (and show up) to 20 reservations on Opentable, you get a $25 gift card to use at any of their restaurants.

The menu at Ponte Vecchio has a wide variety of options, from many creative italian dishes to "meat and potatoes" type meals. We always try something new, and the menu seems to change frequently. I took pictures of everything I ordered to share with you(except the calamari, we were starving and forgot) which got us some funny looks from our neighbors. But I knew the Corkscrew girls would enjoy the pics so who cares!

The first picture is of the actual restaurant from their website. The view is really great and the restaurant interior is really neat. (brick interior walls, exposed beams, etc.) I got the Sweet Potato Risotto with lump crab, caramelized shallots and scallion oil. YUM! Most of what you see in the pic is chunks of sweet potato and huge amounts of crab. (those are NOT carrots, yuck. haha). Matt got the Prosciutto Wrapped Pork Tenderlion with apple fennel risotto and gorgonzola fondue. Another FANTASTIC meal, I got to try a little of his of course and it was GREAT! However the dessert here is our favorite part of the meal. It is called the Chocolate Bounty Cake, and it basically reminds me of a giant, rich Ho-Ho. It's a chocolate torte cake, and has a thick layer of chocolate ganache on the outside. The picture pretty much explains it all!

Everyone should get a chance to try this place, and I highly recommend venturing out to the Warehouse District in Cleveland to have one of the best meals ever!

The Slow Carb Diet... and it's delicious benefits

Soooo first post for me.. I figured I would entertain you guys with my new diet. Its from a new book I started reading called "The Four Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman" by Timothy Ferriss. Recommended to me by a friend, I read just a short 20 page sample and really understood how this diet may actually work for me. There's no calorie counting or any of the crazy stuff that can make you go
nuts and hate dieting, its pretty simple actually. Load up on meats, veggies, and all types of beans while cutting carbs and sugars. I know it sounds crazy, I'm a carb freak. I am Italian and let me tell you I could live on pasta and bread alone. But the great thing about this is that you can get as much of the allowed foods as you want. I am still able to go out to eat and there's even a wine allowance 2 glasses of red per day! Doing so most people lose 4-9 lbs within the first week.

The reason the book is titled the 4 hour body is because the author of this book actually followed the diet doing only minimal exercise ( working out a total of 4 hours in a month) and lost 30 lbs of fat while adding muscle. These different types of workouts are listed in the book.

But by far the bonus to the diet is you get one day off a week! 24 hours to eat whatever your little heart desires every 7 days! It makes it so much easier to make it through the week knowing that when that day comes you can splurge and give into all the cravings! Most people gain a few lbs that day but within 36 hours you should be back at your previous binge day weight and will then continue to lose weight all through the week! Its pretty amazing! And very effective. I've already lost 5 lbs in 9 days and feel so much better. I'm getting the nutrients I need, eating well and also taking a daily multivitamin pack.

I didn't really plan on explain everything in detail, but I wanted to share some of the yummy new meals I've created while on this diet.. enjoy..

hot italian sausage stuffed portabella mushrooms with a sprinkle of cheese.. also with this i made teriyaki glazed bacon wrapped shrimp.. sooooo delish!
rotisserie chicken with grape tomatoes, jalapenos, black beans, chipotle salsa, garlic, onion, curry powder and some shredded cheese

hot italian sausage with olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, green beans and baby bellas

happy eatings people!

-Whitney

Can't Eat Just One

I have just recently become quite the chip lover. Until now there were not really any chips out there that could ring my bell. Just plain ol' Lays don't do it for me. I just don't see the magic. My hubby is quite the purist and is very fond of his Lays and some Lawsons French Onion Dip. In a pinch, when watching a movie or sports, I would have a few just because there was really nothing around the house for me. That is no longer true!

I have found two chips that just excite the hell out of me. Both by accident. I was at Whole Foods when I found the Terra Kettles. Just reading the label made my mouth water. Pesto & Smoked Mozzarella. OMG! They were almost $5 a bag but I did not care. They were as good if not better than I had anticipated. I could not stop eating them and sadly the bag was gone WAAAAY too soon. Then one day the chip gods were kind to me and I actually spied the EXACT chip at, of all unlikely places, WalMart! They were not even $2 a bag! Needless to say I bought several. Not a chip that I have to worry about anyone else eating in my house.

The second variety I just stumbled upon at ACME this very week. After talking about a delicious wasabi dip, that Whitley made, I have had wasabi on the brain. Lo and behold the Wasabi chips. Let me tell you, if you like wasabi, you will love these chips. Although you will occasionally get one that will make you tear up. I have had a cold for a week and they did an excellent job clearing my head. Another chip that no one will touch in my house. Lucky me.

How about you guys? What is your chip of choice?

Wings

With the Super Bowl coming everyone is talking about wings. Every cooking segment is showing how to "make the best wings" for your Super Bowl party! So, I thought that I would join in the discussion and talk about what I consider the best & worst in chicken wings.

First let me say that I am, to the shock and dismay of many of you, not a fan of the overly sauced and sloppy wing. It's not just the mess, but I have not found any sauce that I find I would die for.

When I do have a sauce I usually go for something slightly hot and sweet or a touch garlicky. There is not a restaurant or store sauce that I can actually say is a fave. I really, really like mine naked and crispy. It's really the crispiness that I love and sauce usually makes them slimy with weird skin.

When the hubby & I go out he likes them really, really hot. I don't enjoy pain when I eat. So, as wing places go I personally prefer Guido's, in Kent, for my take out wings and I have even bought them at ACME and thought they were decent.

Now let's hear from the rest of you. Wings are like...... everyone has an opinion and fave. Ain't no thang but a chicken wang!!

Melt

Last week I took my mom to, what I consider, the BEST sandwich shop EVER!!!! There is not any place I have ever been that comes close to the quality, and excellent menu choices held by Melt in two Cleveland locations.


I never have any easy time trying what to order and my mom was having an even harder time since she only gets to unusual restaurants, with cool menus, when she goes with me. This time I opted for the gigantic Monte Cristo. Not only huge and filled with meat and cheese BUT also deep fried in a beer batter with a three berry dipping sauce on the side.

Did I also mention that their french fires are to die for? A very good reason why you almost always have to ask for a box for the rest of your sandwich!! You know you do!! They also serve the best cole slaw I ever have. I asked this week what they put in it and I was totally surprised that the recipe is so simple, yet delicious. It is sweet and a touch hot. I always ask for a side of jalapeno tartar sauce to dip my fries. Mmmmmm.

I go to the Lakewood location and they have opened a second. It is so worth the drive if you ever have the opportunity and are in the area.

A Toast!

Here we are! Cheers. Talking about food, wine, and restaurants is certainly a passion of ours.. So, yesterday we decided to start up a blog about all of our passions. Why not. It seems that a day can not go by without some discussion about this place or that. Some cuisine from another country or a wine or alcoholic whipped cream.

At any time you might find a post or two from any of the four of us as we eat our way through the county or across the state and around the world. Between us we have such a vast array of experiences and tastes. Not to mention where we come from and age.

So here we are ladies and feel free to get started and welcome to our world of fun, food and friends!!