Dinner at Up the Creek

 

“Eh.”  Is that enough of a review because it sure sums up my feelings about Up the Creek.  It’s just another run of the mill chain restaurant with average foods at above average prices.  I’ve had the experience before and, sadly, I’m sure I’ll have it again.  Yet, I’ll try to give it some attention anyway.

Up the Creek is, apparently, an expanding chain with locations in the Deep South, Oklahoma, and now, surprisingly enough, Fargo.  It bills itself as a steak and seafood place and, in the strictest sense of the words, it is.  But if you really want good seafood (I didn’t try the steak), this isn’t the place to go.  As soon as our server approached, I asked what I thought was a perfectly reasonable question at a seafood restaurant:  “What’s fresh today?”  She dutifully informed me that all the fish comes in at the same time, frozen on a truck.  “Eh.”  How perfectly mundane. 

Nevertheless, I ordered a fish entrée anyway.  I ordered the Mahi Mahi, blackened, with a Citrus Pesto Butter.  It was fine but it wasn’t exciting and it wasn’t fresh.  A bit of spice that went well with the brightly flavored butter.  It chose some hand breaded to order onion rings to go on the side.  They were fine but not especially crisp or flavorful.  There was some ghasthly remoulade type sauce with it.  The entree also came with an average side-salad to start.  What else can I say but, “Eh?” 

Well, I would write more but I just don’t think it deserves anymore.  My advice is that if you go, don’t expect too much and then you won’t be disappointed.

 

Pictures from Mother’s Day

My parents hosted the Mother’s Day celebration today.  Here’s some pictures:

More pictures can be found here. 

Bowling!

A few more pics can be found here. 

Winter Comes Back

Well, it had felt like spring but my grill seems to have been covered in snow today!

Some Pictures from Easter

This year, Easter included eating, Easter Egg hunting, and, for the very first time, swimming at Casselton, ND’s very own indoor waterpark. 

More pictures from Easter can be found here. 

Hot Crab and Artichoke Dip

Here’s another picture from the appetizer party:

And here’s the recipe:

Hot Crab and Artichoke Dip (original recipe can be found here)

1 (9-oz) package frozen artichoke hearts

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

3 T unsalted butter

2 T all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups half-and-half

3 scallions, thinly sliced

2 oz finely grated parmesan (1/2 cup)

1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste

1 1/2 T minced drained pickled jalapeño chiles

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp celery salt

3/4 lb jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cook artichoke hearts according to package instructions, then drain well and finely chop. Cook bell pepper in 1 tablespoon butter in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in artichokes and transfer mixture to a bowl.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan over moderately low heat, then add flour and cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes. Add half-and-half in a stream, whisking, and bring to a boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking, 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in artichoke mixture, scallions, 1/3 cup parmesan, lemon juice, jalapeños, salt, and celery salt. Gently stir in crab. Transfer to a buttered 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish and sprinkle with remaining parmesan.

Bake dip in middle of oven until bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.

This is what it looks like:

The interesting thing about this recipe is that it has a béchamel base as opposed to a cheese base (or even worse, a mayonnaise base).  Other similar recipes would use cheese as a thickener and binder, and hence, be much heavier than this recipe.  In contrast, the dip in this recipe is certainly hearty but it feels lighter and since there’s less cheese, the flavors of the artichokes and crab come through much more strongly.  For me, less cheese is actually “more” in the quality department when it comes to dips like this, so that’s why this is my recipe of choice when I make this type of thing.  Anyway, the flavors in the dish are fabulous. 

A couple notes:  1)  It may be difficult to find frozen artichoke hearts.  If so, canned artichokes are a fine substitution.  That’s what we did.  Obviously, if you do so, you will not need to cook them.  2)  Pickled pepperoncini peppers can be substituted for the pickled jalapeño chiles to good effect.  3)  This dish can be made 1 day ahead and then baked the next day. 

A Bright Spot in a North Dakota Winter

Scenes from a Birthday Party

It is my sister Jessy’s birthday and we celebrated at the family home this past weekend.  Here’s a few pictures. . .

The first one his Jessy making a face:

And here’s Jessy with her sister Sadie:

We played a bit of bingo:

And here’s the cutest picture of the night:

Vikings Defeat Bears

I went to the Monday Night Football game a few nights ago.  It featured my favorite NFL team, the Minnesota Vikings, battling the much-maligned Chicago Bears.  Of course, when I bought the tickets for the game, I very much expected that the Bears would be the superior team and the Vikings would have had, at most, 3 wins.  Needless to say, I had a very pessimistic view the Vikings prior to and during most of this season. 

Despite my lack of faith, however, the Vikings have won five games in a row.  I find this to be the second most amazing fact about this NFL season (the first is that the Patriots are 14-0, only the second team in NFL history to have such a record).  After considering the facts that they cannot stop the pass, rush the quarterback, or field a seasoned NFL quarterback, it is quite an accomplishment that the Vikings have managed to win five straight.  Sure they can run the ball and stop the run but that is no guarantor of NFL success.  Just look at the Vikings last year.  But with the woefully green Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback, there was absolutely no expectation of success. 

Somehow, however, Jackson has managed to turn himself into an average NFL quarterback.  Of course, that is quite an improvement from the “deer in the headlights” quarterback that he was for much of this season.  And with the improved quarterback play, the Vikings won the four previous games before playing the Bears on Monday night. 

Then, while playing the Bears, Jackson reverted to deerlike form and threw three interceptions.  I can only take heart that the Vikings still managed to win the game through some very stout defense (even if it was against Kyle Orton, who probably hadn’t played an NFL snap since the preseason).  Perhaps I can have just a bit of hope in the Vikings after all.  Here’s some pictures from the game:

Scenes from a Birthday Party

My nephew turned five yesterday.  Here are some pictures.  The first is of me and my littlest nephew:

Two more nephews:

My sister-in-law is enjoying Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii:

And here’s the birthday boy:

And finally, the gift of the day (Elefun):

More pictures from the party can be found here.