Saturday and The Melting Pot
… we’re going to go to Home Depot… Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don’t know, I don’t know if we’ll have enough time” – Old School, Frank the Tank.
Saturdays are the best, this saturday I helped a friend move into a townhouse, stopped to get Starbucks (Venti Cafe Estima)…and then helped more friends move.
I threw together an interesting pizza combination for lunch using Whole Wheat Trader joes pizza dough, goat cheese, brie, NOO Dried Apples, and NOO Dried Berry Blend
I just threw everything on top…pizza can be healthy after all with fruit and whole grains!
Baked for less than 8 minutes at 450* in my toaster oven. Voila
Dinner on Saturday was at the Melting Pot for my brother’s girlfriend’s birthday ( Happy Birthday Rachael!). I wanted to preface that this menu was pre-chosen as we were a large party group. I enjoyed the meal very much (it was nice not to have to decide for a change) but I may or may not have chosen all of this for myself.
Glass of house merlot… nothing too fancy here, not too dry nor too sweet.
Starter:
A wisconsin cheddar and a fiesta cheese fondue… To dip: apples, veggies, bread cubes, and chips. The service was rather bad, which impacts the enjoyment overall of the meal. However, the I enjoyed this cheese course and both cheeses. We specifically made the fiesta cheese “very hot” but it was still not too spicy. It surprised my expectations by going well with the apples. I think it was the base of cheddar because it was really a tasty combo.
Salad course: A mixed green salad with tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles and raspberry vinegarette.
Entree: Meat Fondue, a selection of meats and vegetables, with vegetable broth and a burgundy broth for cooking.
We threw in the veggies right away…
I had to order a separate plate of meat because they brought out the plate with shrimp and I have suspected that I am allergic for a few years now after some terrible reactions. I had ate a few pieces of the beef, the salmon, and a piece of the chicken but stayed clear of the shrimp.
What I enjoyed:
The meat was really nice quality meat and the cooking broth was tasty. I think fondue meat is a great “idea” but in reality….
What I did not enjoy:
We had no idea if our meats had cooked long enough! You are told how long to cook your meats but none of us had a watch on nor did the Melting Pot provide us with little timers or thermometers *( I like using a thermometer because I know the temps from Principles of Food!). It would be a nice idea to get timers for their guests because undercooked meat is no joke ( we just finished our week of class on meats too! how conincidental).
Dessert, Tiramisu Fondue, Smores and Flaming Turtle
I kinda wish they had wiped off the table from the cheese and meat course.
We had a plate of sweets for dipping: strawberries, cheesecake, rice krispie treates, bananas and marshmallows. The presentation wasn’t all that impressive but it was dessert! Dessert is the ultimate conclusion for a meal, for the experience. It seemed a little thrown on the plate…
The burner had not been turned on for the tiramisu, so it was cold. Once we had reminded the server, it melted very quickly but started to burn at the edges.
I was happy to be there with my brother and Rachael for her birthday celebration. Unfortunately, the quality of service I think was probably the poorest I’ve seen in awhile. Although they were quick to fix their mishaps- there were mishaps with every single part of this meal! They didn’t realize we had the large party menu so it took awhile to get everything out to us, they didn’t ask for choice of dressings so those salads went to waste from a few of us, they didn’t realize there was a shellfish allergy, we didn’t have any idea how long to cook our meats, they didn’t turn on the burners for dessert.
This was my second time going there and it really will be my last for anything other than desserts or a drink. I hope that doesn’t bother ( Matt or Rachael) because I love them, I just was not happy with the service (among other things!)
Body:
I had TWO sessions of Jillian 30 Day Shred yesterday and all the lifting/moving of this morning, I was not feeling it at all! My neck hurt, my knee felt rickety, and I was just blah. I did one loop ( 2.92 ) miles at a slow jog, walked a little more and called it a day.
I was happy to take it easy and finally feel up for a true “rest”. Tomorrow (sunday) I am planning on a nice long run ( 9 miles- 3 loops)
Mind:
I just looked over the first section of material for the exam but will get much more going tomorrow and monday.
Soul:
Out with my brother, for a birthday celebration! And, I love helping people move. What goes around comes around and I can only hope for wonderful friends helping me whenever I need them!
