Something Creative » food

Little Chickens & Hibachis

Nil17 — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:30:41 +0000

Editor’s note: I started writing this on Monday, October 10th. As you can tell I didn’t get it finished then…it has taken me nearly 2 weeks to finish this post. Enjoy the flashback. ~nil

This weekend (Oct 8 & 9) was mostly quiet though we did go out both days. Let me back up & talk about our week.

Abe had to finish up some work in Dickinson, ND this past week (Oct 3-7) which meant leaving me & the kids on our own. I decided pretty quickly that I wasn’t quite ready to do it all on my own 24/7 so I talked Mom into “letting” us stay for as long as I needed. (I admitted I needed help; I must be growing up….)

Bright & early Monday I was awakened by the dogs barking at the Fed-Ex man. He was about to leave a note when I pelted down to the front door. Dressed in a long sleeved tshirt, no glasses (or pants), barely conscious I managed to take delivery of my replacement phone. Were I looking more fetching I’m sure me, answering the door sans pants, would have been the Fed-Ex guy’s favorite stop of the day…

Anyway, I managed to pack everything the three of us would need for a week, take a shower & get both kids ready and in the car by just a after 1. A fairly quick stop at Verizon to get the new phone activated and we were on our way to the farm. Magnus was very excited to see Grandma B & I was happy to let him chase after Grandma. It was a really good week & things went very smoothly. Magnus only had one night where he decided to have a screaming fit at O’dark-thirty. We spent one afternoon in Tyler playing with the cousins & Auntie Jenn took some photos of Marit. We also got to spend time with Auntie Zia & cousin JaZiah.

Magnus was working on his walking while we were at the farm. He will take one or two steps on his own when he wants to but simply refuses to just let go and really go for it. (yeah, don’t we all have that problem with so many different things in life?!) Magnus also worked on his words…he doesn’t speak English but rather he has a language all his own. He babbles non-stop but I’m the only one who really understands a lot of it. He will say a few words: dog, cup, juice, Momma & his big favorite is “Wow”. He has two kinds of wow. The first is just a plain spoken “wow” in a normal tone of voice. The second is the one that means he is really impressed with something. His little mouth forms a perfect “O’, his voice drops to a whisper & he says, “Woooow”. There’s almost a hint of “wh” in it and his eyes get really big, eyebrows arched super high. It is the funniest thing & so fun to see Magnus delight in discovering his world.

Anyway, Friday we saw Auntie Beth & then headed for home. I called Abe to see where he was only to find out he had arrived home about 4:30 AM. Here I had thought he was driving back from ND and he was already home. The kids & I hurried home & Magnus was beyond excited to see Daddy.

Saturday we bummed around town & visited a few shops because it was gorgeous outside so we took a stroll through downtown Sioux Falls. We also met up with my brother & his family at a local orchard where there was a harvest festival. Magnus wasn’t too keen on getting his photo taken with a pumpkin but I did manage to snap a couple of Marit.

After a little time in the pumpkin patch we walked over to the main event area. There were more places to take photos (hay bales, pumpkins etc… we didn’t avail ourselves of them though as none of us were dressed for proper photos), a general store, food vendors, pony rides, bouncy castles & a petty zoo. The pony rides were too expensive & Magnus is still a bit young, the bouncy castles were serious trauma waiting to happen so into the petting zoo area we went. Magnus wasn’t very impressed with the goats or donkeys but he LOVED the little chickens. I don’t know exactly what kind they were but I know they were a bantam breed. Very cute little gray speckled chickens with bright red combs…Abe & Magnus got down close to the fence & watched the chickens pecking in the dirt. Magnus was full of chatter about the little chickens & he kept pointing to their pen as he talked about them. We kept going back to the pen because he didn’t want to say goodbye.

Sunday we went watched the Vikings lose (again) before going out again & to run errands in the afternoon. We did the basic Target/Wal-mart/Hy-vee run. After that we decided to meet up with my brother Rob & his family for dinner. After much texting back & forth we decided to try the new hibachi/sushi place that recently opened.

Tokoyo Sushi & Hibachi is a nice casual restaurant & is fairly kid friendly. The food was fantastic! Easily the best fried rice in town. I am looking forward to saving our pennies & trying some of the more spendy items on the menu (lobster, shrimp, maybe even the squid if I’m feeling brave).

Anyway, Magnus was in awe from the second the chef created his trademark fireball. Magnus immediately began to clap & the “Woooow!” in full sotto voce was heard about 1000 times. The more the chef showed off his skills with the spatula & fork the more Magnus clapped & bounced on my lap. His cousin, Grayson, was equally impressed & kept waving his hands in the air like he was starting “the wave” at a sporting event. I’m pretty sure that no matter how long that chef cooks he will never find a more appreciative audience than our boys were that night. Magnus thoroughly enjoyed the fried rice & chicken as well as the taste of shrimp tempura. These were jumbo shrimp & I had to fight for my share as Magnus wasn’t keen on sharing.

All in all it was a fun night out & made even better by having Magnus along.

Sour Cream & Strawberry Struesel Coffee Cake

Nil17 — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:50:00 +0000

In my preggie, nesting state I find myself drawn to cooking a lot more. I’ve been using my Betty Crockery cookbook ? 1950. Fortunately for me I have my grandma’s flour sifter (one of the items I inherited) as it gets a lot more use than I would have thought. I had some strawberries that were starting to get a bit past their peak this past week so out came the cookbook, a phone call was placed to my mom and I soon had a recipe to try. I took a basic sour cream coffee cake & added my own twist. Start with an oven preheated to 350° Sour Cream Coffee Cake

1 1/2 c. sugar

3/4 c. butter

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 large eggs

3 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 c. sour cream

Brown Sugar Filling:

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c. finely chopped nuts (optional)

Beat sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs on medium speed for 2 minutes. Mix flour, powder, soda and salt. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream to sugar mixture until well blended.

Spread half of batter in greased 9x13 pan. Cover with half of brown sugar filling and then spread the remaining batter over filling. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

The sugar butter, vanilla & eggs all beaten smooth.

The dry ingredients & sour cream ready so they can be added.

I added finely chopped strawberries—about 2 1/2 cups.

Half the batter in the pan…add 1/2 the brown sugar mixture then top with remaining batter & brown sugar mixture.

Into the oven

Ready to eat! Tasty!!

Happy Easter! Have Some Expired Mayo

Nil17 — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 06:48:45 +0000

Easter weekend found us traveling. We spent a large portion of the weekend visiting family near Duluth. It was SO good to see them & the time was far too short. Still it was fun & Easter Sunday was a warm, sunny day. Indeed a day to celebrate life.

Our time up north had to end so we said our goodbyes to the niece & nephews and headed for home. We decided that it was early enough in the day that we could take the time to stop & visit Abe’s mom. Originally we had not planned on a trip to the Cities but travel was going well & I’m not supposed to sit for too long (Dr’s orders). Abe’s mom was pleasantly surprised when we stopped by. Magnus was all dressed up in his Easter shirt & a bunny hat. Being the charming little boy that he is Magnus crawled around & showed off all his best tricks.

As we were getting ready to leave my MIL mentioned that she had something for us. Thinking that it was some small Easter trinket for Magnus I happily accepted the plastic sack. Then came the explanation.

“Here’s the jar of alfredo sauce that we’ll never eat. Mike bought it but I don’t like this brand so you can have it. Also, here are the vanilla beans we bought in Mexico” (side note: I won’t even go into why I got beans rather than pure extract.)

I thanked MIL for the vanilla beans as I will find a use for them. I was very pleased to have the beans…I’m experimenting with being an actual cook after all. So I’m thinking this is it when MIL pipes up again.

“Oh and there’s also a jar of mayonnaise…it’s a little out of date but I’m sure it will be fine. It hasn’t even been opened yet so just be sure to use it up quickly.”

I stood there, mouth agape for a minute while I searched for the words that would allow me to decline the mayonnaise. After opening & closing my mouth a couple times (without making any intelligible sounds), I weakly said “Ummm, thanks”.

Seriously how do you politely decline the unexpected gift of expired mayo? I could really have used Emily Post’s advice on the matter. Unfortunately she isn’t around to help me out.

Too bad I don’t have some slightly questionable Easter eggs that need to be used…I could make egg salad or deviled eggs. Anybody want to play salmonella roulette this weekend? Party is at my house.

That’s What I Get for Eating Healthier

Nil17 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 02:24:28 +0000

I’m trying to gather my strength today & recover from yesterday. I don’t know if I had the stomach flu or some mild food poisoning but it wasn’t pretty. The day started out fine. Magnus woke up his usual smiley self & we got his breakfast underway. I sat with him & we chatted while he had his Cheerios & milk. Although it is jabber, Magnus loves to chatter away & have someone answer him back.

After breakfast we played with toys & watched some Word World on PBS (I love the show cuz of the spelling & Magnus loves the animals). Magnus got sleepy around 11:30 so I put him down for a nap & decided that I’d fix myself a salad. Nothing fancy, just some romaine lettuce, a little cheese & some salad dressing. I was hungry & since I eat 5-12 meals a day I dug right in. Then when Magnus got up from his nap I fixed him some chicken & put some on my second helping of salad.

I was feeling so smart. Getting my leafy green veggies in early. I’m terrible about vegetables…fruit no problem but I just never seem to have the veggies I should. Serves me right…since yesterday afternoon I have felt awful. We’re talking dead donkey awful. Stomach ache, nausea etc. Like I said; it hasn’t been pretty.

So I’ve learned a valuable lesson: leave the leafy greens to the sub sandwich (spinach is the best!) and forget trying to have a salad at home. It’s just not worth being this ill.

**Author’s note: I’m sort of kidding…we’ll see how I feel tomorrow.**

Lazy Sunday with Biscuits & Gravy

Nil17 — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 21:20:20 +0000

Happy first day of spring! I hope you are having sunshine & maybe even seeing some flowers peeking out. Our snow is almost completely gone but that means the waters are rising. Our house isn’t near enough to a river or lake to be in danger for which we are very thankful!

Since Magnus & I are both sick with colds it has been a very lazy day. We slept in…okay we tried to sleep in. Magnus has not been sleeping well with this cold so any chance to catch some extra shut eye is held onto like grim death. Anyway, as we were trying to decide what to do for breakfast the idea for biscuits & gravy was brought up. I really liked the idea and knew I had the ingredients on hand…the trouble is I had never made biscuits & gravy before. Knowing that finding a recipe online would be like looking for honor in Congress I did the obvious thing & tweeted my desire for food. It wasn’t long before I got a reply with directions to check out Alton Brown’s biscuit recipe. Simple & quick but I didn’t have buttermilk. I did have vinegar & regular milk which is just as good. (1 tablespoon of vinegar in 1 cup of chilled milk—let sit for 5 minutes & it’s ready to use.) As for the gravy it’s just as easy: brown the sausage slowly so that the fat cooks out, when fully browned add flour (about 1/4 cup) and mix well. It will look pasty & thick but that’s okay. Then turn up the heat & add milk until the gravy reaches the consistency you desire. Season with salt, pepper & a dash of paprika. Plate & serve.

Thanks to Saynine on Twitter & my sister for their invaluable aid on this. I might actually become a cook… I mean who’d ever believe that my mom is a fantastic cook after hearing my tales of woe in the kitchen. O.0

Carnaval Birthday

Nil17 — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:51:22 +0000

Friday was my 35th birthday. I was not excited about the big day—okay that’s an understatement…I was prepared to avoid the day. Not because of the age I am—I like the idea of 35 & I feel like I’m growing into it with more grace than I thought I possessed. Anyway, I ended up having one of the best birthdays in recent memory.

My morning was low-key & filled with many birthday calls & messages. After a truly fun phone conversation with a friend I spent the afternoon playing with Magnus & then made a quick trip to Starbucks to meet my sister-in-law Jilli for coffee. Then home where we got ready to go out for dinner. Abe had gotten a gift card to a local restaurant & he saved it so we could have a night out on my birthday. As we were getting ready I sat down to nurse Magnus before we left when the dogs went nuts, barking & running around. I checked the front door to find my brother D standing on my front porch. He and his family had stopped by as a birthday surprise. Since we had reservations we invited D & Z along.

Our reservations were for Carnaval Brazilian Grill. This Brazilian steakhouse is a unique dining experience from the design of the building to the menu. We had heard some good things about the food & were excited to try something new.

The restaurant is spacious & the lighting is perfect for a quiet dinner for two (or more). Dining in the round is great for people watching as you can easily see more of the other patrons without having to be too obvious. This is especially true if you are lucky enough to reserve a booth along the wall. There is a small stage at one end of the main dining room where we were lucky enough to catch an acoustic guitar player that night.

We were seated & the very friendly staff helped us get situated with seats for the babies & menus. Our waiter was quick to get water for everyone & answered questions about wine. When he didn’t know something I asked he not only didn’t try to fake his way through but he went to find the answer. We didn’t spend much time perusing the menu as our objective was to partake of their signature specialty dishes.

Our Signature “Gaucho Meal” includes unlimited trips to the salad bar (hot & cold), and “Pao de Queijo” (CBG version of parmesan cheese bread stuffed with ground picanha) brought to you table-side. The selection of Churrasco roasted meats are served to you table-side straight from the churrasqueira skewer by our “Gauchos”; turn your wheel to red to signal you are finished or just taking a break, turn it to green to start again! (Coconut fried bananas are available by request and are prepared at the time of your order).

The menu has three versions of the Rodizio meal. They all include a great selection of top sirloin, parmesan chicken breast, flank steak & bacon-wrapped filet. This also includes truly delectable grilled pineapple with cinnamon. It was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. It was a fantastic meal—the meat was all done to perfection, the salad bar was extensive with a variety of salad greens and other cold salads. The hot bar had a smaller selection but it was as well prepared as everything else.

Since it was my birthday I was given the choice of one of the superb looking desserts from the cart. I chose the fresh papaya ice cream. The staff gathered around our table & sang Happy Birthday in Portuguese and I blew out my candle that was on my ice cream. The ice cream was served in a martini glass & had a light drizzle of vanilla liqueur. After the steak, pork loin & chicken this was a light, refreshing conclusion to the meal.

We have talked about our night out with the whole family & have intentions to treat ourselves there again. Especially when we have friends/family visiting.

The Weekend That Wasn’t

Nil17 — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 19:22:28 +0000

So a couple weeks back I previewed some upcoming posts. I haven’t forgotten that promise…however life has had other plans for me. So rather than recap “Wheels & Squeals” like I had planned it will be a bit of this & that. This past weekend was the local summer festival weekend. There were tons of activities along with plenty of vendors for the all important RibFest. Friday night the action kicked off with a Burnout contest followed by an ugliest/loudest car contest. Unfortunately I missed all of that as I had spent most of my day in the maternity/delivery area of the hospital being monitored for extremely high blood pressure. I was released & sent home to R E S T! Saturday was promising as a bright sunny day & we had plans to be out for a bit enjoying the weather and festivities. Of course I wanted to check out all the cars at the car show & late in the afternoon was the greased pig chase I was anxious to witness (hey, I wanted pictures to share with you all). As life would have it none of those plans were to be. After being awake for awhile it became apparent that I was headed back to the hospital. I spent about 6 hours lying in the labor/delivery area of the hospital hooked up to the fetal monitor & sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff). I also had blood drawn & a urinalysis. After several readings it was apparent that my blood pressure was normal & Baby was doing great. I got a large IV bag of fluids to keep me from getting dehydrated (when they finally placed the IV…I got 2 blown veins in my right forearm & some nice bruising) & was subsequently released to head home. Since it was dinner time we met up with my brother A & his wife A to head downtown to RibFest. We started with Willingham’s ribs. They use a dry rub & any sauce is served on the side. We tried the Cajun Hot Sauce which added a nice bite & heat to the ribs. We also sampled the Sweet N Sassy sauce which is great if you don’t want anything too spicy. Next we had the pulled pork & brisket from Rowdy Hog Smokin’ BBQ. The pulled pork was tender & savory while the brisket simply melted on the tongue. We sampled the Rowdy Hot sauce with the brisket. For me it really added to the flavor of the brisket while not overpowering the melty tenderness. Finally we had a single sample of the Dixie Dew Hellbound Hot from Skin & Bones BBQ. This was the one with the most kick to me but the heat didn’t overwhelm everything else. Overall it was good to get out of the house even if I didn’t really do anything except sit on a picnic table bench & eat. I also braved the idea & tried bacon/chocolate kettle corn. Don’t give me that disgusted look…it was very, very tasty! I’m looking forward to next year when we can go & I’m not on bed rest.

Cowboy Day & Flapjacks

Nil17 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:13:54 +0000

We are staying at my parents’ house for the rest of the week/weekend as we attempt to find housing for the big move which is coming up fast. So far we’ve had lots of great prospects but unfortunately there seems to be something odd or not workable each time we get close….but that’s a whole other “Dr. Phil”. Last night while making pancakes for supper (with fresh blueberries….. *drools*) we needed more butter. Mom got some out & put it in the microwave to soften it. She placed it next to me as I dropped 2 piping hot pancakes onto my plate (everybody else had already had their first round). I grabbed the knife & proceeded to find that the butter was NOT soft…. ”Well it’s not frozen any more”, Mom retorted to my observation. ”You know how I feel about butter on my pancakes.” With the long suffering sigh only a mother possesses, “Yes I know….” Growing up Mom always made the best pancakes (she still does) and would always spread just the right amount of butter on each one, letting it melt into the golden brown before adding the syrup. They were always light & fluffy, melting sweetly on your tongue. It was the best thing in the world to wake up to the smell of the griddle heating for pancakes. Sometimes we’d get pancakes with faces or ones that looked like Mickey Mouse. Here’s the story of me & my pancakes…. When I was in kindergarten we had Cowboy Day. Everybody dressed up like a cowboy or cowgirl & we had flapjacks. I was so excited for Cowboy Day…Mom even made me a special outfit to wear with my boots (I think I even took a six shooter cap gun…..my how times have changed. Nowadays a kid taking a cap gun to school would surely be arrested & placed on a terrorist watch list) & of course I had a red handkerchief too. It was all fun & games til it came time to eat. One of the mothers who was helping gave me my flapjacks….with a big blob of butter in the center (all cold & unmelty) and promptly doused it in an overly large amount of cold syrup. I was aghast! Never had I witnessed such an atrocity….so I did what any 6 year old would do…pitched the mother of all hissy fits. I was adamant that I would not eat a lukewarm flapjack with a cold butter blob & enough syrup in which to bathe. There was no admonition, no threat, no “There are starving kids in Africa” speech that would move me….I wasn’t going to eat that flapjack. I don’t remember what happened after that…it’s possible that I just went without & if so I would have done it with a sense of deep satisfaction at getting my way. I do know that upon my return home that day Mom asked how my day had gone. Bursting into tears I recounted my tale of woe & flapjacks improperly prepared. No doubt Mom comforted me & reassured me that it was indeed okay to not eat the flapjacks. I am equally sure that I was told to be more polite about not wanting to eat something. To this day I have a difficult time ordering pancakes in a restaurant because often times they come in a haphazard pile (pancakes should be neatly stacked) with a giant blob of butter in the center. At least they provide me the option of adding the syrup on my own.

Seen Your Weiner or Why I Prefer Hooters

Nil17 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:17:13 +0000

Lately life has been hectic & overwhelming to the point where I’m a hot mess. Recently I’ve been off work quite a bit (ok in the last 2 weeks I’ve worked a total of 5 days) and it has reinforced my need to be done at my current job. However I digress…this post is a review. As a recent music reviewer (which I so enjoyed & hope to do again) I now take pen in hand ….ok keyboard in hand…to give you a review of a new restaurant in Sioux Falls, SD. If you are looking for an adventure in eating I will admit that Señor Wiener is an adventure. However, it’s a frightening adventure filled with double entendre of the lowest caliber. There is nothing clever about the innuendo & even less cleverness in the menu. Purporting to be a novelty hot dog restaurant this place lays on the schtick with a trowel. Wieners, wieners everywhere & no relief in sight (bring your R O L A I D S—just so you are prepared). Now from the outside there’s room for a few snickers & groans at the over the top signs. Just inside the door is a large statue of Señor Wiener along with posters of our “hero” in iconic places/events. The menu is basic & has the potential to be pretty good & seemingly inexpensive. The offerings start with bratwurst, all beef hot dogs, corn dogs or Polish sausage. Choose your white or whole wheat bun & whether you want grilled, boiled or fried. For $2.50 it seems like a good deal…then the pick-pocketing begins. For every additional topping that’s hot (chili, cheese, grilled onions etc) or every cold topping (onions, pickles, peppers, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, mushrooms, olives etc) it is an additional $.50 & sauces (mayo, hot sauce,barbecue sauce, gravy) are an additional $.25 with the exceptions of traditional ketchup & mustard. Seriously if you want a Chicago-style dog with all the fixings: onions, relish, tomato, kosher dill pickle & sport peppers your hot dog now costs $5.00 plus tax. Add in fries at $2.50 & a soda at $1.50 and you are looking at $9.00 plus tax for a very mediocre meal. Now for the rest of the restaurant…okay I get why Señor Wiener is funny in the most sophomoric of ways. I mean the first time I heard it & saw it I snickered like a 13 year old. It’s funny but the over-the-top nature makes Hooters seem less absurd. Here’s a small taste of what I encountered ….

All in all I will take a trip to Hooters any day. Sure there’s more butt cheek on display there than I really care to see & if I wanted to look at that much cleavage I could do it for free at home but their wings are pretty damn tasty. If I am going to tolerate body parts (or pseudo body parts) with my meal I want something that is more like actual food & less like a chew toy for my dogs. Besides let’s be honest—I’d much rather have some hot girls serving my food than a snotty nosed teen with a wiener complex.

The Great Steak Sale

Nil17 — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 04:12:54 +0000

About 2 weeks ago Abe & I had some errands to run & we ended up in at his brother’s to spend time with our nephews. This is almost always the goal since we have a blast hanging out with the boys. (Abe’s brother & wife are pretty fantastic—we love to do stuff with them too). Anyway we were sitting in the living room when there was a knock on the front door. We all looked out the picture window to see a kid of about 19 standing on the front deck. My sister-in-law Anne anwered the door & the kid asked if she’d be interested in buying some steaks. Curious about this I looked more closely at the vehicle parked in the street. There in big letters on the side of the van was “Northstar Meats”. The kid talked to her for a bit & she agreed to let him leave a brochure. Next thing we know kid #1 (we’ll call him “Silent”) & kid #2 (slightly older we’ll call “Deal-Maker”) are standing in the entry with a box asking to come in. Anne makes them take off their shoes & they walk into the living room, plop the box on the floor & start removing smaller boxes. Deal-Maker kneels on the floor & starts opening the smaller boxes. Each one filled with steaks. There had to be 5-6 boxes filled with different cuts of steak plus the bonus “steak burger” box. “Silent” now stands back & off to the side like some apprentice steak seller. Deal-Maker: So what we have here is our case of steak. Price is on the flyer you are holding. We got your New York strip, your filet, your filet bacon wraps…plus we offer a 1 year money back guarantee. Me: Okay so for 5 boxes of steak & a box of burger you want $350? Deal-Maker: Yeah! It’s a great deal. Nice looking steaks huh? I mean in the store you’re gonna pay like $16 or more for these New York strip alone. Anne is shaking her head at me most emphatically at this point. Of course I see her but decide to keep going just to see where it will end up. Me: You know we’re just not interested. It’s too much money. Deal-Maker: Well this is our last case & we want to get rid of it. Tell you what, you buy this case & we’ll throw in another one for free. *Yes I noticed that suddenly the “last” case was two* Me: No, still can’t do that. I could go buy a 1/4 beef for about $400 & I’d get ribs, roasts plus the steaks. Besides times are tough, we’ve got people looking for jobs and stuff. Deal-Maker: Well let’s see I can give you this one case for $177. That’s a great deal…I mean look at how nice these are. You cant’ beat these. Anne is still shaking her head & commenting on how if only her husband were there they could talk it over. I’m using my phone calculator to figure out exactly how much it would be to split the cost. Me: No, sorry that ‘s still just too much. I have other groceries I need to buy. I can’t just eat steak. (Well I could but it’d be a pretty bad idea) Deal-Maker: Okay well I can’t get much stupider on the price but how about if I give you the whole case for $149.50. I look at Anne & show her the split would still be $74.25 and shook my head to tell her I still thought the price was insane. She nodded in agreement. Meanwhile Abe is holding the baby, the 3 year old & the dog are running around crazy. Me: Sorry that just isn’t in the budget right now. Can we keep the flyer? Also, is it possible to buy just a single box of steaks? Deal-Maker: Sure the prices for a single box are listed on the back of the flyer. Me: *turning over the flyer* Really? I just don’t see spending over $50 for 6-10 steaks. Deal-Maker: Tell you what I can give you this box of bacon wrapped filets for $40 as a trial. Me: Sorry that’s just out of my price range right now. Deal-Maker: Okay make me an offer….if it’s reasonable you can have it. Me: Okay how about $30. That’s $3/steak. Deal-Maker: Ummm, okay, okay$30 it is. Do you have cash? Me: No, I never carry cash. I’ve got checks & a debit card. Abe: I’ve got $29 but that’s it. Deal-Maker: *now in a tremendous hurry before we talk him down any further….* Perfect. You won’t regret it. These are fantastic. I guarantee you’ll be back ordering more. They raced out the door while I laughed at my conquest of $2.90 bacon-wrapped filet mignon. My nephew immediately began asking for steak for dinner. We’ve enjoyed those steaks. They provided us (and my nephew) with a great evening this past Sunday.