Thanksgiving Weekend

Biggest food weekend of the year. And when I go home, I like to cook with the coffers full and people who will eat it.


-French Onion Soup. First time. Very good.













-Mom filling the pasties in our pastie-making marathon.
-Pasties ready to go in the oven. Got 1.5 dozen done.
-The big feast with all the fixings. Dad made most of it. Beth and Billy on dinner number one for the day.
-And the desserts.

Bits Here and There

-Pulled Pork with onion rings at the Gatehouse.
-Bread Pudding in Bourbon Sauce (is there ever enough of this?) at Astor St. Cafe. *sniff* which will be gone next year!
-Elephant Ear at the Posen Potato Festival.













-Although disappointed with the lack of mass potato booths at the festival we did get potato brats (with onions).












-And green peppers.

Pub Grub

A quick trip to Seabiscuit - complete with a monkey climbing up a palm tree balloon - with Peggy.


-Peach Belini and Pomagranate/Blueberry Slush, also with monkey climbing up a palm tree on the straws.



-Guinness cheese with garlic bread.

Tea Room Dinner

A Raspberry something or rather at the Grand (several nights before).





















After talking about it all summer, Peggy and I finally got to the Tea Room for the last dinner of 2007.

-Bruschetta.

-My whitefish dinner with succotash, veggies and a sweet potato.
-A close up of the lavendar (of course).














-The neat little chip they had on Peggy's burger.













-Peggy's chocolate cake, which was the same cake she got from her friends from the Grand on her birthday (except that it was the whole cake).


-The best carrot cake ever. Well, that has a lot to do with the filling. Sorry, Steph, I had to eat it alone. But I didn't leave any of the filling behind!

Pastie Making

Pasty making at Jenny's cabin.


-The onions, carrots and (lots of) rutabaga ready for the pasties.













-Dropping just the right amount of meat in the inside.













-The key to it all - patting the crust with milk.


-The finished pasties (we eventually had 11 - with crust enough for 3 more!).
-The inside of the cooked pasty.

Eating Our Way Through Mackinac

As only Stephanie and I can do, we really ate our way through Mackinac for her visit. These are not all the foods, but a good deal of them!

-Astor Street Pork dinner - amazing.


-Trace with his meatloaf.


-Stephanie and I with THE bread pudding in bourbon sauce. I'm not sure how many times we can post this picture or eat this, but we'll keep trying for more!
-The smiths dig into a pastie dinner before the upcoming convention.
-Our hummus/veggie/pita plate at the Gatehouse. We didn't get two, but thought about it (Jenny!).




-Caeser Salad and Roasted Corn Soup in the back.




-Jenny's Morel Beef Stew (notice the endive).


-Jenny trying to share her endive bulb with everyone.



-Love for the condiments caddy.


-Back to the Astor St. The best French Onion Soup on the island!!!

Astor Street Wonderfulness

Astor Street Cafe (on Astor Street!) has all good food, all the time.


-What's left of my meatloaf, redskin potatoes and veggies.



-Bread Pudding in Bourbon Sauce. Jenny and I had to take turns not talking because it was that good.
-Same bread pudding. Too much food, we had to share the dessert. Note the lemon water in picture.
-Non-alcoholic (really, it tastes better) strawberry dacquri(sp?) at the Grand.

G Mennen Williams

-The G Mennen Williams event ended with a dinner at the Grand (menu to the left).


-Crabmeat and Woodland Mushroom Tartlette.










-Five Onion Bisque...which I think they had at the Tea Room last year. My favorite.












-What was left of the salad! Although the roasted beets were left on the plate the most of all of us.











-Parsley Encrusted Whitefish and Beef Tenderloin.













-Grand Mariner Cheese Cake. Yum.

Northern Michigan Goodness

-A wonderful tomato (real tomato!) gorgonzola soup at the Pink Pony!

-Jenny with her Lima Bean Soup (and butter) at Legs Inn, Cross Village.
-Me with the White Borscht (and butter).
-What's left of the potato pierogis and sirloin perogis with tomato sauce.

-A wonderful desert of crepe with lemon farmer's cheese and fruit compote.

-Jenny's ice cream with fruit compote.

-Apparently, there's only one older that's still in operation around Iron County. But that's in a different time zone and almost Wisconsin. So, this IS the one to go to (on US2, between Cut River and St. Ignace).

-The best crust of a pastie ever and a pretty darn good pastie. Especially if eaten at the beach along US2!