Out with the Old!

Tonight, Nick and I had a cook-off. He cooked salmon, and I cooked salmon. He grilled his and:

I cooked salmon in a dishwasher.

First, I buttered the foil and placed the salmon fillet on it. I squeezed a little lemon juice on it at this point too.

Then I made a cute little envelope with the foil, making sure that no air gaps existed.

Then I placed it in the dishwasher (no soap), closed the door, and put it on the hot, normal cycle.

Nick’s creation (BELOW): Grilled salmon and asparagus, roasted scallions, all served on a bed of crushed coriander and red chili pepper rice pilaf, and plated with a foam infusion of orange and ginger.

Mine (BELOW): Buttered dishwasher-steamed salmon fillet served with a lime-infused Palmolive elixir.

So, who wins? Without injecting any bias, might I gingerly mention that one of us does NOT attend culinary school.

Fun factor: 8

Yesterday Katie, Emily and I had irrational fears of being alone. We went to afternoon tea, as we do most days, and we surely couldn’t go to the bar in our tea garb, so we were forced to go our separate ways to change clothes and meet back up again at a bar to send two of our friends off to Colorado. To remedy this dilemma, we concocted a plan and:

I went on an apartment crawl.

We went to Emily’s place first and drank a beer while she changed. Then we headed to my place, and then to Katie’s, enjoying a beverage at each joint. It was impromptu and fun, while still serving its purpose.

Fun factor: 8

We wanted to do something different for Emily’s birthday this year, so:

I had formal afternoon tea.

We went to the Drake Hotel, where we proceeded to order our tea flavors and enjoy tiny sandwiches, scones, and desserts. Katie chose pear caramel tea, the birthday girl chose Earl Grey; I chose a variety of green tea called gunpowder. It was yummy and the food was really good. There was a woman playing the harp to serve as the background music. I would definitely recommend doing this if you live in Chicago- if you live somewhere else, find a place near you that offers tea service. To have a similar experience, avoid places ending in “mart” or those that have a drive through.

Ladies who lunch:

Fun factor: 10