Eggplant Bacon and Roasted Red Pepper Mayo

I saw a recipe for eggplant bacon that required liquid smoke. This seems to be an ingredient that crops up a lot in vegan cooking, to mimic the smoked flavor of various meats (read: bacon). I have yet to buy a bottle, because I'm too suspicious of it. It is the liquid run-off from smoke. Hm. If I really wanted to ingest that, I'd still be hacking up whatever it was I produced in the morning after an evening smoking mentholated cigarettes. "Genotoxic under an acceptable level?" Mmm, pass.

So, without consulting a recipe, I marinated eggplant strips (cut thinly into planks) in soy sauce, and a little molasses and smoked paprika, which appealed to me a bit more as a stand-in for the smoke flavor.

I broiled the strips on each side on foil in the oven, watching them closely, until they were crispy.

While standing around the kitchen, I put a peeled, roasted red pepper in my food processor with some Vegennaise. This also works well with sun-dried tomatoes: you just cover the tomatoes for a few minutes with boiling water, then drain, then add to the food processor. I seasoned it, too, to taste.

Wish I'd had some fresh tomatoes on hand, but this makes a great ELT sandwich with the sun-dried tomato mayo as the "T," and of course some avocado. The salty, smoky and crunchy eggplant was great in the balance with the other elements of the sandwich, and I had plenty left over.

Tiana's Red Beans and Rice

I purchased "Tiana's Cookbook" after noticing it had good reviews on Amazon.com. My daughters both love Tiana, so it was a no-brainer to pair it with a Tiana doll and a Tiana pillowcase for Christmas. Tiana, Tiana, Tiana! (Of all the princesses, I like her the best... She has better writers than most of the others).

The cookbook is full of simple recipes that you can do with kids, and they've given them a real cajun or creole flair. We made the "red beans and rice," and it has andouille sausage and peppers in it. I used chicken andouille sausage and turkey bacon, and it came out delicious!

German-ish Christmas Eve

I've hosted a few holiday meals since I've had the kids, but until this point, they've mostly involved paper plates at service time, lots of extra sticks and leaves in a messy front yard, a microwave I've had no time to clean that mornings splatter out of, and a very pretty vase that I'd put on the table, but forgotten to get flowers for. And I remember these things, because I've had the same two relatives who were only too happy to come over, and point these details out to me. Happy holidays!

Okay, so I'm starting with a little bile, there, but truly, TRULY, I love to host dinners. And I really do own a plate service, and some serving platters! So I was really excited when our friends Nick and Ania, and their two handsome little fellas could come over for a Christmas Eve dinner. My girls are just old enough to let me get some stuff done, and my sweet husband is only too happy to vacuum for me. (Also, we raked the leaves this year! Woo!)

Nick has a Germanic tattoo on his arm, and Ania is Polish, so I guess those things came together in my head to give me the idea of having a generally Eastern European, completely inauthentic-themed meal. You know - cabbage, potatoes, meat, and a beer or two. That sort of thing.

I started the meal with something that has nothing to do with Eastern Europe, and everything to do with "festive": Brooke's artichoke spinach dip, with toasted pita points.

Then, the one-two punch: the humbly self-titled World's Greatest Cornbread. I wanted to serve some bread with the meal, and nothing gathers compliments like Old Faithful. Also, I have put a piece of this bread on the bottom of a chili bowl many times, so I thought it work well to go under the brisket, and sop up some beefy juices. You see a clear theme now, right? Farm-y, Fourth of July picnic-y, BBQ-y, German-y. Makes sense to me.

Now for the brisket. My success in getting this meal together (with two kids three and under, and a heavier work-week up until the day before) is three-parted: 1) use internet rankings to find new recipes, and combine them with old stand-by's, 2) start everything two or three days ahead of time, and 3) get the groceries delivered. This last part freed up some extra time for me (for doing stuff like ironing tablecloths, and watching more television), and reduced my stress quite a bit. So I went with what was on special on Peapod - brisket!

I had never made it off the grill and in the oven, but my arch-nemesis, Paula Deen, had a very highly rated "Texas Oven-Roasted Brisket" recipe on FoodTV.com. Easy, no-fail, and no mayo or stick of butter added (as is her wont). It was very simple, very tender and we could have fed at least four more people with the 5 to 6 pound brisket. It made lots of juice in the pan that wasn't greasy (I had trimmed off the fat before cooking), and went down over the cornbread. (I did cut the salt down, as some reviewers had recommended). Mmmm. Many thanks to the Smiling Silver Blob for that one. (So mean, but come on. That woman won't rest until we all have diabetes.)

For sides, I didn't want to go too far over to the picnic side of things with lots of mayo. I had to have some warm German potato salad, which I've never made at home. I stumbled on this recipe, and was able to prep everything but the dressing ahead of time. I stored the cooked potatoes and bacon in a ceramic dish, then just took them out and put them over the oven vent on the range top while the brisket cooked. The potatoes warmed through, and I just had to mix the dressing. I've never made dressing like this, but the taste was just what I wanted it to be. It's a keeper!

Lastly, I had to have the stewed red cabbage that I've had in German restaurants. I got lucky again, and Googled up this recipe. Again, it tasted exactly like what I had pictured in my mind, and as a bonus, it might be the easiest thing I've ever cooked in my life. It actually started a small marital rift when Nick said to his wife, "I like this cabbage a lot. I'm not crazy about cabbage, but I would eat THIS cabbage." Don't slight a Polish woman's cabbage.

As usual, I just kept tasting and adding seasoning to everything as I went, which I think is the biggest secret to dinner-party success: taste it before you put it in the serving plate (and I added a bit more sugar to the German potato salad). Everything worked together really well, and I got some new "old stand-by's" out of the deal. Also, all of this stuff re-heated beautifully for almost a week! (I really should have invited more people).

For dessert, we had served coffee with some home-made candy: I got this idea for white chocolate lollipops from Ina Garten (nothing catty to say about that lady, I just love her food), and I made Ritz-cracker cookies, which are peanut butter and marshmallow fluff, inside a Ritz sandwich, rolled in melted Hershey bars. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the huge batches of candy I made, but ah well! Some things have to fall by the wayside. I'll post about the cookies later... I added a pinch of coarse salt to the top of each of the lollipops, and I think it really worked well with the sweetness of the white chocolate.

With the delivered groceries and the head-start, I was able to help the elder child construct a centerpiece that would bait any plump little German kids into an old witch's oven (if this old witch were into that). I made the squiggles, but she dazzled me with her path creating, shingling and paving ability! As you can (partially) see, we had a lovely street light feature, until the younger child decapitated and ate it...

Incidentally, we bought the Wilton pre-baked gingerbread house, and I was shocked (at demolition time) at how delicious and flaky the gingerbread was. I expected it to taste like plywood, since the function was similar - but it had lots of spice. Lots of sugar, sure... But there's a time and place for that! (And the time is Christmas).

Hope your holidays were as happy as ours were!

Panini on the Grill Pan

Currently obsessed with panini...

I used to go into panini shops and order without the butter... This may work in restaurants, but don't do it at home. What you get without butter is a crunchy toasted cheese sandwich, and it burns too quickly (before the inside gets melted). You have to spread the bread with butter to get that flaky crust, and keep the bread from burning too soon. I use spreadable butter (like Land O' Lakes Light Butter), and not margarine, because, well, margarine isn't food. You can use any bread you like and get a pretty good result, but with hard-crusted bread (like focaccia or french rolls) you should turn them soft-side out, and butter the inside as the outside. I like to use the Pane Turano slices.

I use my grill pan. I don't have a weight, so I put a piece of aluminum foil on the top and set my cast-iron dutch oven on top - about 2 minutes on one side, flip, repeat.

For fillings, I like mozzarella (either fresh or shrink-wrapped work fine), but I've used gouda and even taco shreds and gotten a good result. I like tomato slices, basil, and roasted red pepper in mine, but sky's the limit. Prosciutto is a good meaty addition, or bacon.

By the way, the chips in the photo are baked Kettle brand BBQ... Best baked chips I've ever had (and by that, I mean they taste fried)!

Across the Lincoln Highway: Geneva Ale House

For "Chapter Two" of our trip along the Illinois portion of the Lincoln Highway, I'll rewind a bit back to Joliet, where I left off. We had gone into Toy Town and the Chalkboard, because 78% of what you do on a vacation to get away from your children is shop for things you think will make them squeal, and talk to each other about them constantly. And this place has a lot of very unique toys, and was a lot of fun.

This guy, this guy is everywhere along the highway, and the Chalkboard is no exception:

I mean, can we talk about somebody else? (I guess it's his road, after all.)

Chris had printed out lots of helpful guide sheets for every town we were going to be in. Some of them were mysterious leads, containing only a name and an address for an establishment. We just had to check out the "Dragon Light," since we're not just nerds - we're fantasy nerds - and we couldn't imagine what it could be. Something with a costumed dungeon-master greeting us with fliers, and wall sconces in the shape of claw hands holding torches, I was sure. When we arrived, there was a collective, "...Oh."

Chinese restaurant. Hadn't thought of that.

Took this one because it reminded me of Pops, of course.

We drove on through Plainfield, where there were man-made heron nests on the Lake Renwick forest preserve, and signs advertising some service called "slabjacking." (Not sure what that is, or when I might require it, but it doesn't sound minor). We drove through Aurora, which we were well familiar with, so had decided to spend some time elsewhere. Noteworthy establishments, however, included a Tastee-Freez (original 1967 signage intact), and a Doggie Diner that I'd love to check out another time. A time when I don't care what encased meats I put into my body. "Hey-ohhhh!"

We cruised (that's what you do on the LH) into Batavia and St. Charles, where we had reservations to spend the night at a deep discount (thank you, Nicole, for telling me to get on that Priceline train). There was hey! Another Tastee-Freez! And also, a namesake for me:

We didn't go into Gina's, but headed out to the Geneva Ale House that night. On walking in, I didn't think too much of the atmosphere: the place was mostly small tables, and had a lunch-place kind of a feel. But when we sat down, we were greeted with quite a warm and friendly selection of beers.

Chris had the Tripel Karmelict, which we both thought was delicious. Hey baby! Cheers!

(He was happy not to be driving). I ordered the Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat, which I liked, but not so well as Chris' beer. Good thing we swap spit.

One final disappointment was with the onion straws, which weren't cooked in hot enough oil, and were on the limp and greasy side.

But the burgers? Oh my. The burgers. Served on my beloved Labriola pretzel buns (which I can find at local grocery stores here, halle-loo!), I really could not have added anything to, or taken anything away from them.

And as I always say, if you weren't the biggest fan of your beer, try, try again! (And if you liked it, you should order another one of the same. Either way, you pretty much end up with another beer). This time I tried what I believe was a beer from BridgePort brewery in Portland, Oregon. But you know, after the first drink, my documentation falls off a bit. Anyway, I liked it (another benefit to being the second beer. It always tastes better than the first did).

One more funny note about the Geneva Ale House is that they have the nerve to give a famous figure, other than Lincoln, a bit of time. Here is the "Most Interesting Man in the World" in a place of honor: on the wall opposite the toilet in the ladies' room.

Our next culinary adventure takes place in Dixon, Illinois! Stay tuned for the nervous breakdown I had in getting there.

Smoky Greens and Beans

"Soul Fazzole" remix! In the past, I've used leftover collard greens to make a soup, naming it this because it's a bit like pasta fagioli, but with collards and smoky meat. This time, I started from the beginning and made one or two additions. It's a great way to get rid of a couple hot dogs, or a little bacon, ham or whatever you got. ***

1 bunch collard greens
1 red onion (regular will do)
2 or 3 turkey hot dogs, small diced, or 4 strips turkey bacon
32 oz. chicken stock
64 oz. water
1/2 pound large rigatoni noodles
1 15 oz. can white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Add the diced onion to a dutch oven or other pot with a little oil. When softened, add diced meat and brown a minute or two. Add large diced, washed and drained collard greens and a splash of the stock. Cover, let soften and cook down, stirring occasionally. When reduced, add 1 container good stock, and about twice that amount of water. Bring to a boil, add pasta and beans, and cook until al dente. Add BBQ sauce, taste, and season. This dish is good for you, and costs pennies per serving. And even the picky child loved it.

*** I'm not a hot dog advocate in general. Though I'll admit I love the way a good hot dog tastes, this is not a regular menu item around our house (despite the fact that I powered down God knows how many during my pregnancies). However, thanks to Mickey Mouse and his goddamn "hot dog dance," and a certain Mo Willems pigeon, the elder child was asking for hot dogs non-stop (having never had one). Fool that I am, thinking she would actually try one, I stood in our grocery store for 20 minutes reading hot dog labels. Most of them, including the veggie dogs, are filled with horrible things even BEYOND whatever it is they do to the meat (liquid smoke, nitrites, nitrates, phosphates etc.) I finally settled on some turkey dogs that had none of the "ates" in them. Naturally, she wouldn't eat them. Hence, the need to use them somewhere. They actually added a nice smoked flavor to this dish. You could use anything with a smoked flavor that you have lying about, even smoked sliced turkey.

Black Bean Hotcakes

Y'all ready for this? (Nah nah nah neh-neh-neh...) This is something strange that I came up with when Emeril failed me one too many times. I've been using this recipe for close to ten years now, since I was a vegetarian and that was a LONG time ago. Or at least it seems like it. Well, it has a high rating on the website, which kind of shocks me, because I don't think it works too well. It is basically beans and flour, with seasoning and some other ingredients to flavor them. It sure is tasty and filling - but they soak up a LOT of oil, and I'm never quite sure when they are done frying. They just don't crisp up like I want them to. Ever. I've tried very high heat, more oil, less oil... But I've not gotten the result that I think I'm supposed to.

Mainly, I've always wanted them to lift a little. They're so dense and heavy... So I looked up a recipe for pancake batter, and mixed that into the beans. I seasoned them well, and added garlic, cilantro and onion to the mix. Voilà! A black bean cake hybrid that is a bit lighter, less dense, and I could tell just when they were done (flip them when the bubbles come up, just like a pancake).



Black Bean Hotcakes:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 red onion, diced fine
2 cloves garlic, diced fine
2 Tblesp. cilantro, cleaned and diced fine
1/2 jalapeño diced very fine
2 cups all-purpose flour, stirred with a whisk or sifted before measuring
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 1/2 cups milk
good shake (2 teaspoons or so) salt
liberal dusting of mexican seasoning

Take half of the beans and half of the milk, and purée them in the food processor. Then return them to a bowl and mix the rest of the ingredients together. (Check my lists below: you can dice all of the onion, garlic and cilantro that you'll need for the guac at the same time.) Then drop them as you would pancake batter, about a 1/4 cup at a time in a hot pan. Turn them as you would pancakes.



It's all about the condiments with me, as usual. So top the cakes with lime cream and guacamole, and fresh salsa or your favorite from a jar.

Lime Cream (my version):
1 cup light sour cream
juice 1 lime
2 Tblesp. sugar

Guacamole:
2-3 avocados, diced
juice 1 lime
1/4 red onion, diced fine
2 cloves garlic, diced fine
1/2 jalapeño diced very fine
1 Tblesp. cilantro, cleaned and diced
salt & pepper to taste



These reheat very easily (just keep the toppings separate. And if you put enough lime juice in your guac, it will keep in the fridge for a day or two without browning.) I don't think Chris quite wrapped his head around the whole "savory pancake" concept, but he loves the sweet stuff. But I think these are a filling, tasty veggie dish, and might be good with leftover bacon or ham in them, too - if you've fallen off the veggie wagon, as I did!

Artichoke Cream Pasta

Chris recently brought a regular sale to my notice through Amazon.com. You can get subscriptions to lots of magazines, many times, for $6-$10 for the whole year (or sometimes two years.) I treated myself recently to a dirt-cheap subscription to Cooking Light. I really like it. I've read many foodie periodicals over the years, starting with my father's old addiction to Gourmet magazine. Cooking Light is one part lifestyle mag (like Gourmet), and the second half has most of the recipes. I've already tried several, and they've all turned out well.

This one is an artichoke, lemon zest and pea pasta that is based on a recipe that they had. Of course I took my usual cursory look at the recipe, but I put onion and garlic in a liberal amount of oil first. Then I added drained and rinsed artichoke hearts, and peas, a little white wine and the zest of a whole lemon. Then I seasoned the mix. Lastly, you add cooked pasta and about a half-cup of ricotta cheese, and just stir until mixed.



It was good, but I must say, I have never eaten a dish that so BEGGED for bacon. I think if I had started the mix with a little diced pancetta, it would have been so much better. As it was, it tasted a little flat. Either that, or leave out the ricotta, and I think the zippier flavors (like the lemon) may have come through more. Quick way to make a cream pasta, though!

BBQ Chicken Pizza and Twice-Baked Potatoes

I know I've shared my recipe for BBQ chicken in the crockpot before, but oh lord, I'm getting good at this.



It's finally got that dark mahogany color and smoky flavor that I want it to have. Here's the new and improved recipe:

two cups of ketchup
one cup of mustard, any kind
two capfuls of liquid smoke
about a quarter to a half cup of molasses
one cup of packed brown sugar
as much Red Hot sauce as you think you’ll like
one dark beer, or a couple of shots bourbon for a thicker sauce
half a medium onion, diced finely
two cloves diced garlic
a heavy shake of cumin (don’t be shy) and a shake of coriander
salt and pepper (plenty of black pepper)
two small cans of tomato paste (this is the new part - my sauce was coming out too runny)

(This is the same recipe that I printed here for the beef ribs. You can really plunge any meat ya like into this sauce, and it'll come out tasty. Or in a pinch, use shoe leather.) In this case, I put two packages of chicken into it, and cooked it for six hours. When the chicken shreds very easily with a fork, shred it all up right there in the Crockpot. This recipe makes a ton of chicken. I freeze half for another time. You can use some in tacos, on buns as sandwiches, or on a pizza (great with goat cheese and thinly sliced red onions, and more cheddar on top).



I decided some would be great on top of some twice-baked potatoes. So I made up a recipe for those, and it came out great. First, bake four potatoes. Use the big brown russet or baking potatoes for this. Scrub them, pierce them with a fork in several places, salt them liberally and put a dab of butter on top of them inside some foil. Wrap them up and bake them for about an hour to 75 minutes at 400 degrees. (I've read some recipes since that insist you don't use the foil - I'll try this next time. But I didn't want the skins to shrivel, and they didn't doing this with the foil.) When they come out, vent them a little and let them cool until you can handle them. Then scoop out most of the insides into a bowl, leaving about a half-inch of flesh. You can't really scoop all of it out, because then the skin will be too thin.

To the potato flesh, add one brick of cream cheese (light is fine). Sauté one diced half-onion and one clove of crushed garlic in a little oil, and add that to the mixture, plus a little salt. Mix, and put the mixture back in the potatoes (I had returned them to the foil I used before). Then top with cheddar, and bake at 375 degrees for about fifteen minutes.



You can top them with bacon or anything else you like. I put the BBQ chicken on top, along with scallions and light sour cream (hey, every little bit helps.)



They were mounded so high, we ended up just eating a half at a time, so it made lots of nice leftovers.

Hey, love BBQ, bacon, swearing and hardened arteries? You have to check out this post on my brother's blog (he's the funny one in the family.) But don't go if you don't like the swearing. As a matter of fact, what are you still reading my goddamn blog for?

Salad Week: Chop Salad

Some folks call this one "garbage salad," but... ucchh. I can't cope with that. Let's never speak of the un-tasty name again. It's too pretty!



The great thing about a chop salad is that you can alter the ingredients easily according to what you have. Change the type of berry, add some cold pasta (like rotini or farfalle) to stretch your lettuce out (seriously), add croutons, use any kind of cheese, switch to beef, whatever. Check out the good stuff in this guy:

chopped Romaine
chopped turkey bacon
green onions
diced breaded chicken
diced avocado
pecans
strawberries
feta cheese

I just whisked up some balsamic vinaigrette (1 part vinegar to four parts olive oil) with lemon juice, Italian seasoning, pinch of salt & pepper and a little sugar to taste, but this would go with lots of different kinds of dressing.

Chop your heart out! (Eyw, that's worse than the other phrase...)

Bernie's Southern Bistro

On a lazy afternoon, Katie and I went for chow just down the street from her place. I'd seen Bernie's Southern Bistro on one of my walks about the neighborhood, and since she is pretty new to that area herself, she had never been there either, and it was a perfect spot for us to check out together.



It was another incredibly beautiful, sunny and mild Portland day, and we were excited to dine al fresco. Bernie's, as Katie noted, had made a what we thought was a fairly bold move: the dining room wasn't even open. It was as though Bernie's was telling you, "There is no excuse for you not to eat on our patio today." And they were right, in my opinion.



The patio had a modern, Asian aesthetic. It was simple and casual, like a friend's well-maintained front porch. (The one with the manicured plants, and the re-finished vintage furniture, not the one with the musty upholstered love seat.)



As it was close to dusk, we picked a spot out of the direct rays of the setting sun. Katie had told me that Portland service was notoriously slow, and at first, that appeared to be the case. Our hostess said, "and can I get you anything else?" and I said, "do you have iced tea?" mistaking her for our server. She said, "I'll get your server," but no one came for several minutes. I think we may have hidden ourselves a bit too well in the corner, but presently, we got a friendly waitress who didn't stay away after the first delay. I got sweetened tea, and it was lovely -- made with sugar syrup as is proper. Katie got a deliciously chilled martini that had grapefruit juice in it. I thought the little iced caddy that carried her refill was innovative.



Katie, in my opinion, did a great job channeling Coco Chanel while we enjoyed the sun.



We got complimentary cornbread and honey butter. The bread was light and soft with just a little grit, as Katie said she likes it. Was it as good as the ultimate cornbread? No, no, of course not. But it was very good.



All of the starters looked very tasty, but of course we had to try the fried green tomatoes. They came on a mayo-based sauce, nicely seasoned and piping hot. I wanted them to be just a bit more well-done, but they were very good. They were crispy, and the breading wasn't too thick. We even ate the garnish.



When dinner came, one of the entrées we had ordered had been substituted with the meatloaf (which did look really good). Our waitress swapped it out fairly quickly, apologizing, and told us she would give us any dessert we liked with her compliments, which I thought was very nice. She needn't have worried, since Katie and I were sharing, anyway, we simply started on our first entrée, the smoked brisket with blueberry BBQ sauce, and a cheese and whitebread casserole (not appearing on the Bernie's website menu at the moment). I have a blueberry BBQ sauce recipe I've been wanting to try for some time, and I love brisket like I love beer and discount clothing, so I had to try that. Katie suggested the fried chicken, and I told her she was my soulmate.



My pic doesn't do the brisket justice, but it was perfect. It melted in your mouth, had just a light smoke, and even the sides were great. The asparagus was cooked with just the right amount of snap, and that whitebread and cheese soufflé (or casserole) had that flavor like something you'd get in a real southern diner. I wanted to dive into a mound of it, suffer a cave-in, and eat my way out.

When the fried chicken arrived, I didn't think it looked like it would be crispy. Happily, I was very wrong. It was well-seasoned and crunchy all over. Jack Sprat (I mean Katie) had the piece of white meat, and I had the boneless piece of thigh. The mashed potatoes and gravy, and the smoky and just-the-right-amount-of-heat greens were heaven.



We were stuffed, but of course we accepted our free dessert. We settled on the bananas foster bread pudding. I'm sure it was better warm, but Katie and I plowed into it cold later that night, and it was still sinfully rich and delicious.



Bernie's was, to me, just how dining should be: unpretentious, authentic, al fresco on a perfect day, beautifully presented, moderately priced, and within strolling distance from your own home. Especially after enough martinis.

McMenamins Kennedy School

Okay, onto my recent trip to Portland!

My first night in town, Katie picked me up from the airport and the poor thing arrived half-starved and saying, "I'm glad to see you. Now I need meat." Katie is often right to the point like this when she is hungry. Once when she and I were roommates in Chicago, she and I dragged our hungover carcasses into the grocery store to find something to eat. As soon as we got inside, her eyes scanned the store and I thought I heard her mumbling, "I think I need... a chicken." I didn't think that could be what she said. She must have meant "a chicken sandwich," or something like that, right? Wrong. She arrived at the checkout, smiling, with a whole rotisserie chicken, which she happily ate in front of the TV with a can of Pepsi.

Katie took me to a place very close to where she lives in Portland. She kept saying, "Let's go to the Kennedy School." I assumed she must be talking about some culinary arts college that gave you fancy meals at a discount. Wrong again -- it is a sort of mall (I hate to use that term, but I mean the older definition meaning the type you can stroll around, not the type that has a Claire's Boutique) that used to be an elementary school (named Kennedy). McMenamin is the name of two brothers that love two things: beer, and old buildings. They have made over several historic buildings in other areas, as well, most of them now re-purposed as hotels.



The Kennedy School has a movie theatre, a soaking pool (I gotta see this next time I go), a restaurant/brewery, and regular musical events. There is artwork all over the place, but the original structure has been largely retained, so the fact that it is a school is nicely unobscured.



We went into the restaurant area, and looking out the windows, I could sense the spirits of several generations of woeful students, gazing longingly out the large windows from their desks. I couldn't help but feel a satisfaction on their behalf as I prepared to consume a beer from the very same spot. I took my first deep slug of the "Terminator Stout" thinking, Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!



I really like the stout. It was pretty smooth and mild. Katie got the "Ruby" brew, and I liked hers even better than mine. I usually steer clear of anything touted as "fruity and light" (certain close friends being the exception there), because I'm usually disappointed to find that what I've received is a pale ale with fruit syrup added (I'm looking at you, Ram Brewery). That wasn't the case here, however, as the Ruby was mild and sort of vaguely tangy.

A bacon burger was what Katie needed, and a bacon burger is what she got. She got it good, too.



(I apologize for the cellphone photography -- neither McMenamins nor Katie are actually green). I got the prime rib sandwich, which came with au jus. The meat was a very high quality, and had a delicate flavor that was pretty damned perfect. Even the roll was bakery fresh. I also got a side salad that was very good, but... who cares?



I could definitely have spent a lot more time at McMenamins Kennedy School, if it hadn't already been so late, and the prime rib sandwich and beer hadn't made me even more eager to sleep after my flight. But all in all, I'd say, McMenamins is not just another brick in the wall.