An Evening With The Smithereens

In case you could not tell, our favorite band is The Smithereens. Tonight was our 5th time seeing them this year. We saw them in January at BB King's in New York. In May at the Infinity Hall in Norfolk, September at the Kate in Old Saybrook and in October in New Jersey at Pat DiNizio's birthday bash. Tonight we went to the Infinity Hall in Hartford. The venue is really nice. The seats are very comfortable, with drink holders! And the sound is excellent. We ate in the bistro before the show.

Of course we started off with cocktails and appetizers. I had the SGT Pepper Martini which is a Smoked Pepper Infused Vodka Dirty Martini with Sriracha Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives. I love this drink. Chris had the Classical Score which is Rebel Yell Rye, Sweet and Dry Vermouth, a Luxardo Cherry and Bitter Infused Guitar Ice Cube. The ice cube was in the shape of a guitar. Very cute.

We had the Crispy Calamari and the Panko Crusted Mac n Cheese. The Crispy Calamari was served with Banana Peppers, Daikon Radish, Carrots, Snap Peas and Sake Ginger Aioli. The dressing was excellent. We have this whenever we are at the Hartford or Norfolk Infinity Hall. Always delicious.

We also had the Panko Crusted Mac n Cheese. We had this on our first visit to the Hartford Infinity Hall and loved it. Tonight it was rather bland. Salt maybe?

For dinner Chris had the Housemade Gnocchi which was served with a Lamb Ragu, Preserved Lemon, Roasted Onion Puree and Asiago. Nice and light. Just the way Gnocchi should be.

For dinner I tried something I knew I would not make at home, plus I could not have pasta again. I had the Chicken Stir Fry Dumplings. They had a Pomegranate Hoisin Glaze, Snap Peas, Carrots, Onions, Bok Choy and Sesame Seeds. Loved the flavors.

The show was excellent as always!
Rock on!

Happy Birthday!

You know if you see a meal like this mid week on this blog, meat and homemade noodles, it has to be a special occasion. Well, today is my husband's birthday! And because of the special day we had Braised Short Ribs over Homemade Papapdelle Noodles. Oh my! Perfect for a cold, really cold day like today. I prepared the meat on Sunday and just had to heat it up tonight. The pasta was made on Saturday and was frozen until it was dropped in the boiling water. Delicious! Happy Birthday Chris!

The Short Rib recipe was from Food & Wine, a Tom Colicchio recipe. Click here for the recipe. The pasta was my favorite recipe from Tide and Thyme. Click here for this perfect pasta recipe!

Now what did I get Chris for his birthday? A couple of weeks ago we saw our favorite band, The Smithereens. I purchased a drum head that was signed by the band before the show. At the end of the show the drummer, Dennis Diken, hands Chris his drum stick! My brain was already working. A shadowbox! Chris loved it. And a special shout out to Ralph for hanging the shadowbox.

And here is a video of one of my favorite songs from the show we were at.
Thank you Fredrick Matt for posting the video. Enjoy!