A Tasting Menu at The Norwegian

 We were meeting Stacy's friend for dinner. When she suggested The Norwegian, Stacy immediately sent me the menu and asked if I was okay with the menu. I wasn't fond of the menu but I could make something work. 

The Norwegian is a Nordic inspired restaurant in Rockford. It is a small restaurant that is open for Brunch Wednesday-Sunday and dinner Thursday-Friday. The dinner menu changes weekly. Dress is definitely casual.

We got there and ordered drinks. I am not sure if you could order drinks not on the menu but I decided not to risk and found something that sounded interesting. I went with a San Juan Paradise. It had rum, coconut milk, mint, lime, demerara, soda, and nutmeg. Even though I never heard of demerara before and nutmeg with alcohol just sounded weird (outside of eggnog), the rum and coconut milk sold me. I said it tasted like toothpaste.. but in a good way. I would definitely drink it again. It was very refreshing and not too strong.

For an appetizer we ended up with the chips and dip. There were three kinds of dip: Curran's apple muhammara, carrot hummus, and a kale pesto. None of them sounded appetizing to me but I am game for most anything. All of them were very good but I think the carrot hummus was my favorite. The apple one was not bad.

Dinner choices were interesting. I was going to get to get the potato tacos and just pick off what I didn't like until Stacy asked if her daughter wanted fish or pork chop. I was getting the pock chop. I rarely get to eat pork chops and that sounded the most normal.. even with the butternut squash puree.

It was amazing... even the butternut squash and carrot salad. The pork chop as huge and came off the bone. One small piece was still too pink in my book so I didn't eat that part but the rest was perfectly good. I actually used the squash puree was a dipping sauce for my pork chop which was perfect. 

Would I go to The Norwegian again? Maybe with the right group of people. It is too foo-foo for the hubby and the menu is too exotic. It is more than I am willing to pay for a meal but it is worth the piece. You definitely get a good size portion. I like it is not my usual kind of place. That's one of the fun things about girls weekend, meal options are usually places I won't normally go to. 

It is worth checking out if you are in Rockford. Even if you go for cocktails you won't be disappointed. 

2022 Girls Weekend Alcohol Tour: Reads Landing Brewing Company

 There are several things that I try to search out when planning a girls weekend. One of them being breweries and wineries. I prefer wineries but Stacy likes a good craft beer so they both get hit. This allows to me to try discover new beers and maybe, just maybe find one I like. 

I found Reads Landing Brewing Company from a Facebook Post regarding the Wabasha's Septoberfest and they were offering a beer that was created just for it. I figured it was a good stop for lunch. 

We had about an hour for lunch so we could make it to the Eagle Presentation at 1 pm. It was going to be tough but we let them know we were on a time crunch. We got seated at the bar.

In usual Stacy and Amy fashion, we split a flight of beer. It featured the six beers on tap and was $14. I thought it was a bit pricy but I really don't do beer so I can't really say. 

The beers were Foghorn Hazy IPA, Showboat American Robust Porter, Fallfest German Altbier, Castaway German Kolsch, Karlsbrau Bavarian Hefeweizen, and Outlaw Trail IPA.

We each sampled them all and I know I ones I didn't like (the Porter) and ones that were better than others. I know I liked the Hazy IPA but can't remember which other ones that I could tolerate. I really like flights because then I don't have to attempt to drink an entire beer. These small pours are perfect for me.

I went with Currywurst for lunch and Stacy had a smothered Rib-Eye Sandwich. I don't normally see Currywurst on a menu and went with the traditional German sausage to go with my German beer. It was really good example that the Curry Ketchup got all over everything. I was a sticky mess by the time I was done. Stacy's sandwich looked good too.

I definitely would recommend Reads Landing Brewing Company both for its beer and food. It is a not a huge place but the beer and food are great. The water views don't hurt either. 

Fox Cities Book Festival -- Part 2

While paging through the book festival flyer, looking at upcoming events, I spotted a cooking demonstration.. Free Food. New tastes. Down the road. At at time I could go. Free Parking. What's not to like? I texted my friend asking if she wanted to join me. She did but ended up cancelling at the last minute for the fear of little boys trying to become superman... So I went to check out Shana Corandt's Cooking Demonstration myself.

When I walked into the Thrivent Lobby at UW-Fox Valley, my first reaction was "I feel like I'm on a cruise". If you ever went to one of the chef demos on a cruise ship, you know what I'm talking about. The chairs set up in a public area. The banquet tables covered with white table clothes. Older ladies standing around waiting for it to start.

Private Chef Shana and her partner, Liz, are featured on Fox 11's Grilling With the Girls (when it's actually warm enough to grill) and have their own business, Make Me Hot Meals. Since it is Earth Day, they talked a little about sustainable food sources before touching on nutrition. She showed us a Ritz Cracker box and a Brenton Cracker box and asked which one we thought was healthier. The Brenton box had veggies on it, we figured it was "healthier" and when she read the first 3 ingredients it was pretty much the same thing as Ritz..processed flour and other not so healthy stuff. Then Shana held up Organic Shredded Wheat Crackers and Triscuits. The first three ingredients on both were whole wheat flour, salt, and soybean/sunflower oil. My beloved Triscuits had real ingredients and were pretty healthy for you. I guess I will keep eating them at work

After our cracker talk, Shana and Liz started the cooking demonstration portion of the afternoon. They made for us grass-fed beef sliders on spring mix. The beef came from Jacobs Meat Market in Appleton and we were instructed to go there even if it was just for the conversation. The spring mix and pea shoots came from the Free Market in Appleton. All organic healthy stuff I normally don't eat. All the spices came from Penzey's. I love Penzeys. On top of the sliders, was spicy ketchup made with ketchup and chili garlic paste. Then it was topped with pea shoots.

Amazing little snack. I'm not sure the hubby would go for the Chili Garlic Paste but I liked it even though it left my lips burning the entire drive home. Pea shoots were something I never tried and are absolutely amazing little greens. I could gobble those little buggers up all day. I may have to go get me some this summer.

It is amazing to see the different kinds of events the book Festival puts on. There is something for everyone and this one proves that you don't have to be a reader to enjoy the Festival. If you like to cook this one would be the one for you.

Oh and Jay Busch from Busch's Baked beans lives in Appleton.