Memorial Day Weekend Eats Part 7: Cotton Candy Cupcake

This is the kind of thing that could get me into trouble, I could probably eat a half-dozen of these in one sitting, but damn was it good. 

Memorial Day Weekend Eats Part 6: Garlic-Lemon Chicken Breasts

The end of the holiday weekend. No desire to make anything fancy. I just wanted a simple dinner, to watch the Angels vs. Yankees and Hatfields & McCoys.

I bought two chicken breasts at Paisanos, marinated in garlic, lemon juice and herbs. In just a few minutes they grilled up. 

We both really liked the chicken, eaten with sauteed spinach and potato salad. 

Memorial Day Weekend Eats Part 5: Panera

One warm August morning in the middle of the last decade, I visited a Panera in downtown Minneapolis. My friends and I were going sailing on White Bear Lake and we thought sandwiches sounded like a good thing to bring along. I don't remember exactly what I ordered - some kind of turkey sandwich - but I remember my special request:

"Can I get that without the sun-dried tomatoes?"

"Well," the girl explained to me as if I had just ruined her morning, "if you want to make a special request, you'll have to wait at least fifteen minutes for your sandwich."

So I said never mind. And then I waited more than fifteen minutes for my sandwich. It turned out to be perfectly acceptable. Not bad at all, but no better than the 7-11 turkey sandwich I bought a few days later.

That was almost seven years ago and I have not eaten at a Panera since then. I have nothing against the place, I just never had any desire to return. But Elizabeth's dad called this morning and asked if we wanted to accompany him to Panera. We said sure.

The two of them selected three pastries and I took a small bite of each. I didn't care for two of them but the cherry-and-cheese danish was pretty tasty. And the coffee was fine.

Memorial Day Weekend Eats Part 4: Burgers

I felt like a burger for dinner, so I picked up one of those Paisanos brisket/short rib patties I mentioned the other day.

I also wanted some kind of a sweet and savory relish, so I caramelized red onions for half an hour, then added Sir Kensington's Gourmet Scooping Ketchup (of course Paisanos sells it) and a couple of drops of balsamic vinegar and cooked it all for another three minutes or so.

This would also come into play.

After cooking the patty and adding it to an egg bun from a local bakery, I topped it with the relish and added arugula and aioli.

This was a very good burger.

Memorial Day Weekend Eats Part 3: Cucumber Garlic Cream Cheese Dip

With French bread and mustard salami.