Well, it is about 6 days until Christmas. I just got back from my annual family trip to visit my folks in Lexington, Kentucky. Always good to see family. Even better to eat with them. Everyone has their favorite holiday culinary traditions. In Kentucky (more recently than in the past) we go to either Malone's or Sal's for dinner one night and stay home and have some apski's (my cute word for appetizers) and drinks another night. It may not seem all that traditional, but I sure do enjoy it.
First, we ate our family dinner at home between the kids and adults openning their Christmas presents. This year was especially good because my Mom and Dad drove all the way to my hometown of Dayton, OH to pick up some frozen Marions Pizza. If you ever have the chance to try what I consider THE BEST PIZZA EVER, please do so. It is thin crust and piled high with finely chopped toppings. FANTASTIC!!! My Mom also made a couple of standby favorites of Meatballs with Chili and Grape Jelly Sauce and Barbeque Lil Smokies. This was all of course paired nicely with Wente Chardonnay and Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale (one of my personal favorite beers). We had some other things too, but of course these were the highlights.
On Saturday, we went to one of my favorite Lexington retaurants, Sal's Chophouse. It is an open air style restaurant featuring trendy American cuisine in a traditional steakhouse style atmosphere. We started with the Hot Brown Flat Bread which was a feet of culinary genious in and of itself. Picture a Kentucky Hot Brown sans the toast and put on a slab of toasted flat bread. AWESOME! I then had the Lexingtonian Salad which is also quite good and then the Filet Medallions with King Crab Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms. To say this was a good dish would be an understatement. It came with 2 four ounce Filet Mignon Medallions atop a large portabello mushroom stuffed with Alaskan King Crab and drizzled with lemon butter sauce. It was defintely a great combination of sweet and savory. I left with a smile on my face (mostly because of the food, but partially because I started with a Woodford Reserve and 7-Up and paired my meal with the Mathew Fox Cabernet). My wife had the Grilled Sea Scallops which she said were very good as well paired with her Pinot Grigio (I didn't see what kind --- I was too excited about my food).
We returned to my parents house that night where we all had dessert. Most of us enjoyed one of the best peanut butter pies in Lexington. It was from Ramsey's. If you enjoy southern cooking at it's best (not just deep fried everything --- although they do that too) go to Ramsey's. My favorite thing on the menu (other than the Peanut Butter Pie) is the country vegetable plate where you can eat up to 4 of your favorite country style vegetables. Great for lunch or dinner!
On Sunday, it was time to leave. But not before we had my Mom and Dad's famous breakfast of Gravy and Biscuits (for the 2nd time on this trip). Yes, I know most call it Biscuits and Gravy but in our house, we put the most important thing first. Maybe some day, when I have more time, I'll post the recipe for this wonderful Sunday morning Little family tradition that usually draws more family visits than the holidays.
That's all I have for now. Have a great week! Cheers!
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