Anniversary Weekend!

On October 6, 2007, an unusually hot day in South Bend, IN, I married the love of my life! It’s hard to believe that 5 years have passed.  We enjoyed the weekend to celebrate and think back a bit for our special day.  For a quick glance at our wedding day, check out the picture album from our amazing wedding. 

To celebrate our five year anniversary, we wound up scheduling ourselves a packed weekend full of the little bits and pieces that are important to us – a brief cross section of our lives….

August – Chicago food scene and Italian memories

It started in August with, for us, an extravagant trip to Next for dinner.   The theme that night was one of homemade Sicilian cuisine.  It was an appropriate pick for our anniversary given that we went to Italy for our very memorable honeymoon. Fast forward to the present. 

Thursday Night – date night, time in our neighborhood

Aimee and I had a nice date together at Hackney’s in Printer’s Row.  This is our favorite go-to neighborhood restaurant.  They send us free anniversary dessert coupons in the mail so we try to make a point to go on our anniversary.  They also sent us notification that a German band, complete with lederhosen, accordion, and yodeling would be present on the night we went.  Fun times!

Friday Night – theatre and friends

We went with our friends Michael and Joanna to a Timeline theatre production of 33 Variations.  From their site: “One of classical music's enduring riddles is why Ludwig van Beethoven devoted four years of his diminishing life writing 33 variations of a mediocre waltz”.  The play was set simultaneously in 19th century and present day Bonn and very poignantly delivered.  As constant context to the talented acting, we were spoiled by a concert rendition of the variations throughout the show on the center-stage Steinway. 

Saturday – Notre Dame in Chicago, tailgate, weddings, football game

Mark B held a terrific tailgate for about 50 people in the party room of his magnificent condo building (more on that topic in another post!).  Below is a panoramic view as we readied ourselves for a busy day of eating, weddings, and Notre Dame football at Soldier Field.

Performing music together is something Aimee and I both love.  We ended up both being scheduled for a wedding at OSP on Saturday, our actual anniversary.  It was a fitting way to spend an hour, considering how important music is to us, and its importance at our wedding.  In fact, one of the selections was Covenant Hymn (which we used at our own); and there was even a group picture in the church after the wedding.  Sure made me think of this:

After the weddings, we went back to the South Loop and walked over to Soldier Field for the very first time.  It was truly a home game for the Irish and a blast to see them march to 5-0 over Miami.  This was a very busy day and we were thankful to have Crowley in the good company of Michael, Joanna, and Miles for the night!

Sunday –  marathon, walking through our beautiful city, mass, friends, remembrance

We slept in and then walked over to the west loop on a chilly-for-us, great-for-the-runners Marathon Sunday morning.  It was fun to support the Old St. Pat’s Crossroads runners, including our friend Jonathan.  A job well run!

After mass, we hosted a group of 10 or so at our house for Pat’s Pizza.  We love having our friends into our home, especially for a fun impromptu gathering!  Sunday was also a day of fond remembrance.  It would have been Aimee’s brother’s 30th birthday.  Rick has been very much missed by us all and, while these sorts of “milestone” birthdays are in many ways human manifestations, we know that Rick was a guy who really just liked his birthday.  So we took the opportunity of being surrounded by friends to offer some memories of our brother and to finally uncork the bottle of wine he gave us just before leaving for Jamaica. 

From theatre to friends, our connection in faith, music, and Notre Dame, respect for family, and love of our city – Aimee and I are very blessed in our lives and are thankful to each of you and God for the ability to celebrate this past weekend.

Monday – I got sick but am nearly better!

A little Backyard BBQ and some football

We made a memorable trip home to Lansing this past weekend for the 2nd ever “Backyard BBQ with a beat” and [I believe] the 79th football meeting between Notre Dame and Michigan State. Our friends Julie and Matt from OSP graciously accepted our offer to take a risk and spend the weekend in Michigan, perform some music, and meet my family.  We are so honored that they took us up on the offer!  That evening my parents hosted about 120 people for homemade foods, warming wines, and refreshing beers.

We took “with a beat” to mean “with music” and prepared about 45 pieces of music from early Broadway to Beatles, Cole Porter to Journey, and Billy Joel to Florence and the Machine.  A lovely mix indeed!  We thought practicing (with its Indian food, beet chips, goat cheese custard, and wine) might be more fun, but it turns out, you can’t beat having an audience.

 

The setting was beautiful.  My parents worked very hard to create an inviting and hospitable place for friends and family.

Crowley’s patience and tolerance was tested and forged as Megan, Justin, Ryan, and Katelyn were in custodial care of her throughout the party.  To think that she didn’t somehow get a taste of the delicious pulled pork would be folly.

Midnight came and passed.  The four of us were in charge of ensuring that no red wine was wasted. The next day we went to Playmakers in Okemos, Georgio’s in East Lansing for some pizza, Beaner’s for coffee, and then home to get ready for the Michigan State / Notre Dame game.

Jami and Scott hosted an awesome tailgate right by the stadium on Shaw Lane.  The food was plentiful, as were the t-shirts from the neighboring party.  They were selling them but we managed to “earn” our way to a few:

Great seats.  First row of the upper deck, meant we got to see both ND touchdowns and have easy access to the concessions. 

On another note, Starbucks is changing the parameters of their Starbucks Gold Card program.  As “gold” members, we have enjoyed a free drink after every 15 drinks and complimentary syrups and soy milk.  There are “improving” the program to provision the free beverage after only 12 drinks, but removing the complimentary syrups and soy milk.  This (!), I tell myself, is a job for a spreadsheet!!  For me, it’s not a good deal.  Try it for yourself!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhzqeS01M30odEVpZDB0SVJYUjdjbUtOSlM0Mnk0aXc

Casa Scozzafave v2.2

For those of you keeping track, v2.0 was the post-Atlanta revisions, v2.1 was a rearrangement this spring, and v2.2 includes an enhancement of the patio space.  Our patio used to be over one-third occupied by a 10-year-old, barely functioning grill.  We made a relatively small investment to optimize the space, reduce the clutter, and extend our usable living space. 

We bought a Weber grill Q320.  The folding shelves and smaller foot print allow it to take up much less square footage, while being only about 10% smaller actual cooking surface area.  I just couldn’t get behind the whole “Infrared” cooking trumped up by Char-broil.  I wanted a solid, 2-burner grill with some good cast iron grates.  Our first grilling experience tells me we made a good choice. 

The patio furniture was a Home Depot special, and the flowers were a “Ms. Hall special” (that’s the name of the lady who helped me pick everything out at the Home Depot.  The new space also affords pleasant evenings, such as this:

Squeaker-cide!  Lastly, something got the best of Crowley when I was at the gym recently and she decided to gut her favorite toy (really, one of her few friends).  Squeaker will be undergoing surgery in the coming days.  This will be the third major operation she’s had.  Home to Lansing on Friday for the “Backyard BBQ with a beat!”

Dining at Next (and our 100th post!)

We had much to celebrate:  a successful completion of Aimee’s first Grand Rounds presentation, our upcoming 5th anniversary, successful acquisition of tickets for Next back in May, and having secured a festive opportunity worthy of a 100th blog post!  Grant Achatz’s “Next” seemed like a good choice!  Their current theme:  Sicily.  Let’s begin.

We took the pink line up to the Fulton Market neighborhood where I blew right by the understated entrance to the restaurant. Our table was ready, they took our ticket and informed us that a taxi would be ready for us after our meal.  This would be fortuitous.

The meal was served in 13 tasting courses, through 8 presentations, and 5 wine pairings.  Below is a picture of the menu, which we didn’t receive until after the meal, sealed in an envelope.  The idea that "the best Sicilian meals are found in homes" is the principle behind much of this current theme.

During the course of dinner, we received simply fantastic service.  The team of wait staff all appeared to be equals, each playing a different role at a different time throughout the night, one to introduce each course and its cultural background in Sicilian cuisine, another to act as sommelier, another to reset the table, etc.  Our dinner started with an antipasti of Panelle (fried chickpea flour crisps), Caponata (ragu of eggplant, celery, and spices), Carciofi Alle Brace (artichoke pieces grilled in ash for an hour) and Arancine (fried spheres of risotto stuffed with with lamb’s tongue).  I forgot to take a picture of this course but I was better with the remaining courses!  Up next…

Bucatini con Bottarga – the first of two pasta dishes, emphasizing seafood and served with a white Regaleali wine.  Homemade pasta with basil and bottarga which is fish roe that is pressed, aged, and cured for about 4 months. The beautiful hallow pasta was prepared in a butter sauce, also utilizing the dried bottarga.

Gemelli con le Sarde – a traditional Sicilian dish with homemade twisted gemelli pasta, bread crumbs, black currants, and a delicately fried sardine on top.  Our favorite of the pastas

Pesce Spada con di Ceci – the first of the mains, more seafood and served with a 2010 Tenuta Rapitala white, a bit bigger than the preceding selection.  This was swordfish, in an amazing preparation.  Abundant fresh mint and roasted garlic cloves accompanied the rather large, incredibly tender fish.  It’s lightly crisped exterior was a nice link to its companion dish, chick peas (both fried crisp and not) served with romanesco (Italian cauliflower). 

Spalla di Maiale Brasato – the second main and the most memorable, I believe, from the night.  This one came with a Planeta Cerasuolo di Vittoria red.  It was a very healthy portion of pork shoulder, braised for 10 hours with tomato sauce, citrus, fresh oregano, and Meyer lemons (which we were advised not to neglect).  The side dish for this one was ribbons of raw zucchini, blanched asparagus and fried zucchini blossoms, touched with a saffron-tomato-chili vinaigrette.

Cassata – a rich, yet delicate ricotta cheese cake served with Cusumano Moscato Dello Zucco.  I could have easily eaten this whole cake, it was amazing.  They finished dessert with various homemade treats of fried sweet ravioli, cannoli with cherries, and sesame cookies. 

A very happy Aimee wondering.. what’s next at Next, and when do I get to return?

Lake Geneva Lake

Aimee and I enjoyed a mini-vacation last weekend with Megan (whose vacation was less mini, more of the long weekend variety).  We joined her just north of here at a resort in a small town called Fontana-on-Geneva-Lake, which is on the west end of Geneva Lake, opposite from the city of Lake Geneva.  Genius!

We stayed at the Abbey Resort and enjoyed dinner as the sun set behind us over the lake at the Fontana Grill, followed by drinks at The Helm.  We talked and imbibed to the broadway tunes played by the hotel’s excellent pianist (who had this uncanny ability to left-handedly accompany himself whilst playing a flugelhorn in the right hand). 

We swam in the chilly outdoor pool at the resort, whose temperature was clearly affected by the recent and welcome cooler weather.  From there it was off to the big city of Lake Geneva for some shopping and eating. First was lunch at Popeye’s for amazing roasted meats, and then dessert at Kilwin’s (a good old Michigan strong hold in enemy territory!), where it’s always fun to watch the staff scramble at the order of an “ice cream soda”.  They delivered most admirably. 

This was my first time in a Wisconsin vacation zone.  With all of the blatant copying of the Pure Michigan campaign, I had been wanting to make a visit.  There are certainly differences, the demographic feels just a bit different.  And while I wouldn’t recommend they call it “Pure Wisconsin”, it sure is nice to know that there is a decent vacation spot this close to Chicago.

It’s always a good and mentally healthy thing to have something to look forward to after vacation.  This softens the vacation hangover as you enter the real world (even with the small vacations).  For Aimee, she was “looking forward” to her first Grand Rounds presentation in front of the neurology department, which included faculty, staff, residents and medical students.  She gave a 45 minute lecture on Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension which included background, physiology, great clinical relevance, and a summary of treatment options. 

     

After that, we had an impromptu dinner with Matt to look forward to.  He was in Chicago for training and came early in time to catch up for a while and eat some Greek at Parthenon.

Next was Next.  More on that soon..  all in all a great time away with Megan and a fun week ahead…

Mass Recording and Visit from Home

This past weekend we were honored to be surrounded by my parents and by great friends.

On Friday night we held the second session to record the my setting of the mass that I’ve composed over the past two years.  The Mass of St. Edward is based on a Lamb of God setting that I wrote while at Notre Dame, after spending hours in the St. Edward’s Hall chapel. While getting it published is a tall order (a tall, very humble request, perhaps), it has been a great experience to write and work under the guidance of noted composers and liturgists, and especially with Aimee (my live-in guinea piglet) and our talented friends who helped record it.

Below is a complete recording of the mass.  Special thanks to our wonderful friends for their help:  Megan, Emily, Katie, Laura, Tim, Michael, John, and Brad. 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday, my parents came to Chicago to stay at Hotel Scozzafave for two nights.  It was a relaxing time together but we managed to get a lot in.  We went to India House in River North for what was essentially my parent’s first experience with Indian food.  Aimee and I love it there.  They “could see how someone would get to like it”.  They were good sports and really did genuinely enjoy it.  Both that night, and a little bit the next day.

Other food stops included two trips to Intelligensia coffee for their amazing lattes and breakfast sandwiches at Hannah’s Bretzel on Adams.

Sunday was the third installment of our “Sing Sh*t” night – a relaxing opportunity to cook and share amazing food, and get practice singing a wide variety of music.  For me, I get to drink wine and work on my sight reading.  For my parents, they got to eat, drink, and be quite entertained!

The Griswold Family Summer Vacation

aka  Summer Vacation in Michigan with the Scozzafave Clan 2012

For the first time in a long time, we gathered with family to spend an entire week in a house on Elk Lake (near Traverse City, MI).  It was filled with all that a summer vacation should be:  swimming, boating, eating, drinking, golfing, sunburns, heat exhaustion, trivia domination, and rodent control.

My mom and dad graciously and generously helped find this retreat and make it happen for the family.  We are all most grateful for that, as we recognized the importance of family togetherness.  Below is a rough day by day account of our time together. 

We arrived and unloaded a months worth of food rations, clothes, books, and toys into the the house for the week.  After getting the boat, we had homemade lasagna and probably lots of wine – what better way to kick start our time.

 

Tubing behind our pontoon boat, piloted by Mikey (and eventually others) was the definitive sport of the week.  The kids were most enthralled, but every single person, whether gingerly or with unguarded abandon, boarded the tube, and enjoyed a ride behind the boat.

 

   

Having worked up an appetite and inspired by the natural surrounding beauty, we prepared the most natural of meals:  combine 4 containers of Crisco oil to produce 3 scorching hot vats of frying vessels, meticulously julienne potatoes and zucchini, slice up some onions, mix up a homemade batter, and fry everything.  Oh, and some freshly caught Lake Michigan trout prepared on the grill.  It was a very delicious dinner.

   

On Monday evening to readied ourselves for a family photo shoot!  Pictures below.  After that, we de-homogenized our wardrobe and drove down to Travino Grille in Traverse City.  It was decent, but not phenomenal.  Sommelier skills and creating insect-free salads would not be considered strengths.  But it was fun.

 

On Tuesday, we managed to emerge from the cottage by 8:30am! – in time to make our tee times at the Elk Rapids Golf Club. 

 

My Uncle Rich and Aunt Debbie just closed on a lovely home on Suttons Bay, which is on the opposite side of Grand Traverse Bay.  We went to the Village Inn for pizza and we arrived just a little too late to hit the start of live trivia competition in the restaurant.  No matter – we submitted our late-joiner team name of The Griswold’s, and having missed the first round entirely, marched to victory as we stole away with a $25 gift card.  (Did you know that Jerry Seinfeld is older than Jason Alexander?  We did.)

 

“Mom”, says Katelyn, “I just saw a critter run under the stove”.  And so it began.  The women jumped and the men instantly transformed into testosterone-induced exterminators.  We determined that it was a mole (based on Aimee’s description and consequent impression of the mole archetype). Eventually, when excessive force didn’t work, we were able to remove the mole.  Side note, after looking at a picture of this fella, I think I see where we got the critter-nym “mole” from…

We also did some fishing.  In a rare twist of fate, I was actually able to help reel one in before the sun set.  He was delicious!

  

Dinner came (fish tacos, more Mexican) and dessert followed.  The fifth day.

 

Thursday was the obligatory rain day.  The weather was nasty; every time I looked up, I saw Shades of Grey.   Anyway, we took the opportunity to visit one of our favorite wine regions – the oenophile’s delight: Old Mission Peninsula.  A brief editorialized summary of each:

• Two Lads:  best wine tasting experience, second best views, least desirable wines (everything tasted very young)
• Chateau Chantal:  least expensive tastes, best views, they were crowded but reasonably staffed, creative wines, unpretentious yet one of the more “refined” places.
• Bower’s Harbor:  very authentic, tasting area was small but they featured additional drinks (ciders and fruit wines).  Bonus point for the dog that roam and are featured on some of the bottles.
• Black Star Farms: poorly staffed, least informative and flexible for tasting experience, best wines!

   

We rejoined the group at the North Peak Brewery for a beverage and then went back to the ranch.

Friday began with coffee and a morning boat ride and then Aimee and I went to pick up a jet ski which we rented for the day.  We used Sunset Water Sports and they were great for our Yamaha VX 110S personal watercraft rental.

 

After packing up, Aimee and I headed out on our own towards Lake Michigan.  We started with breakfast at an amazing little café deeper into TC called Patisserie Amie.  A petite French Press and Café Vanille provided us with caffeine for the morning while enjoying a french omelette and pain perdue with bananas. 

Beginning our trip home, we ventured into the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park and Lakeshore for some hiking and sightseeing.  This is just a beautiful place in Michigan that we love visiting, along with Glen Arbor and other small towns along the way.

   

Thanks for reading!  We love our family and our time together with them.  I hope this did our trip justice; the memories certainly do.