Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly

If you read one of my first posts where we attended the Wisconsin State Fair you saw that I love love love deep fried peanut butter and jelly.  Clearly that is not something I should be eating every day so I thought of this instead.  A grilled peanut butter and jelly. 
Make it just like a grilled cheese but stuff it with peanut butter and jelly!!  Soooo simple!! Perfect for something warm in the morning or a filling afternoon snack.  I don't have the time or patience to figure out any of the nutrition facts but I'm pretty darn sure its healthier for me than a deep fried peanut butter and jelly!  Try it out!

 Start by lightly buttering one side of the bread. Then spread one side with peanut butter and the other side with jelly!

 Put one half in the pan, butter side down and place the other half on top, butter side up.  I warm up my pan over medium heat and it only takes 1-2 minutes per side.

Check it and when its the preferred done-ness flip it!  Then enjoy!

Motor Bar and Restaurant - Harley Davidson Museum

Milwaukee and Harley go hand in hand.  They fairly new Harley Davidson Museum located at 400 W. Canal Street in Milwaukee had a lot to offer.  Obviously a generous history of Harley and Harley in Milwaukee and also so great shopping, great bike viewing and great eating!  They house a restaurant called Motor Bar and Restaurant.  They just started a year long party to celebrate their 110th anniversary and they are only about 15 days in so I highly recommend getting there before their 110th anniversary party REALLY kicks in!!  We went there with my brother and his wife.  There was some sort of party going on, like a school reunion or a company party or something so they had a lot of tables reserved and we had like a 45 minute wait, but we got some drinks at the bar and found a little corner of comfy chairs to sit in and wait.  I would highly recommend making a reservation!  Their number is 1-877-436-8738 or you can make reservations on opentable.com.  Also, if you're from out of town or a Harley fan I suggest coming early before the museum closes and check it out!
Now for the food and drink!  I ordered a glass of white wine, which they kept on top of the bar outside of a cooler, very weird.  I like my white wine chilled, as I think most people would.  They seemed to have a full bar with lots of options.  The bar was quite packed with lingerers from the party I spoke of earlier, but it took quite a while to get someones attention for drinks and when some seats at the bar opened up we decided to grab them and the bar tender tried to fill the old customers glasses for us to drink out of... yuck.  I know it was busy, but he didn't realize we were completely new people?
Once we were seated at our table our waitress came who was very pleasant.  We ordered some cheese curds (are you shocked?) and a big pretzel.  The cheese curds were battered which I love!  They were very good and a mixture between white and yellow cheese.  I can't say for sure they were cheddar and mozzarella or just a white and yellow cheddar, I really don't know.  They came with a good dipping ranch sauce.  The pretzels were quite large.  Very good.  Just salty enough and soft on the inside.  They came with two different dipping sauces, a Ground Mustard and a Beer Cheese.  I don't like mustard so I didn't try that one, but the beer cheese dip was good.  Light and flavorful. 

I ordered a BBQ Pork Flatbread.  It was HUGE!!!  I'm so glad I talked to the waitress before ordering a side of fries cause she warned me just how large the pizza was.  Fries were not necessary.  The crust was VERY good.  There was a lot of cheese on the pizza which some people like but I could have gone a little lighter on the cheese.  Also, the pieces of pork were quite large and I really wish they were smaller and more spread out.  It was good!!  Don't get me wrong!  I'm just being nit picky!
Aaron got a rack of ribs which he said were too saucey.  Hes not big on super saucey ribs so this didn't shock me.  He said they were cooked right and were plenty meaty.  He did finish the whole rack, so they were by no means bad.










Jamie and Elise (brother and sister-in-law) sent me their own reviews and I would like to share that with you

Jamie got the stuffed burger and this is what he had to say:

    "It wasn't as good as I was hoping it was going to be. There wasn't as much oozing cheeseness and bacon coming out of the center as I thought there would be. The beef of the burger was very good, juicy and a good flavor. I honestly wouldn't recommend it, a standard bacon cheeseburger would suffice just fine. Unless they pump more cheese in the middle it's just ok."



Elise got a BBQ pulled pork sandwich and this is what she had to say:
  " Let’s start with the pork – it was very juicy and tender. The barbeque sauce was very good - it was tangy and full-flavored. I liked that the pork wasn’t drenched in the sauce.  There was one small onion ring than came on top of the sandwich. It was a bit soggy but tasted good. The bun was really big, so I ended up only needing half of it."
Elise also gave me her opinion on the appetizers and her overall opinion of the restaurant, so here they are:

"Cheese curds: I really enjoyed them. They came out hot and fresh. Unlike many other restaurants where they give you a mound of curds, the Motor Bar provided a smaller portion. But I definitely prefer quality of quantity.  And these were quality. The batter was great – it was much lighter than other cheese curd coatings. It had a nice saltiness to it but wasn’t overpowering. I also liked that you couldn’t really taste a lot of the grease. It came with a buttermilk ranch dressing that was very light and tasty."

" Big pretzel: Delicious. It wasn’t too salty and it had a nice crust but was soft in the middle. I loved the beer cheese dipping sauce and mustard that accompanied the pretzel. The beer cheese was so good. It was much thinner and lighter than other cheese sauces that often come with pretzels. You could really taste the beer but it wasn’t overpowering. The mustard was stone ground and had a nice kick to it."

"My overall impression:  I really enjoyed the food and the ambiance of the restaurant. I think the chef did a good job of taking traditionally richer and greasier foods and making them taste lighter without compromising the flavor."

Check it out!  Let me know what you thought :)  Harley Davidson Museum Website

 

Labor Day 2012 in the Northwoods

           A view of the lake (Big Twin Lake) WAY WAY up in the Northwoods!


My In-Laws own a fantastically quaint Northwoods property.  It was once a barn and it was transformed into a nice cabin.  We have some Wave Runners and Snow Mobiles and ATV's and his parents also own a pontoon boat so there is ALWAYS something to do up there.  Its on Summit Lake which is nestled between Antigo and Rhinelander.  Its WAY up there!  If you've been up there with us you can attest to its beauty and guaranteed fun.  Our favorite things to do up there aside from enjoying the lake or trails is to Eat and Drink.

 Stopping at Nueskes in Wittenberg is always a pretty solid must.  You can't have a weekend at the cabin without enjoying some Nueskes bacon.  We also like to frequent the 'local' bars and get some broasted chicken.  I don't know what the deal is with broasted chicken but it is almost non existent until you pass the Oskkosh area heading north.  One thing at a time though!
 Nueskes is an applewood smokehouse.  They serve an assortment of meats prepared in a variety of ways, for example beef jerky, thick cut bacon, homemade sausage links and even racks of ribs or good sized steaks/pork chops.  They also serve an assortment of Wisconsin cheeses and other boutique foods from around the State.  Its all quite fantastic.  We always get a pound or two (or 5) of bacon.  It really is a must stop when traveling up to the Northwoods.  Check out their website for sure!  I think you can order some stuff online.  http://www.nueskes.com/
One thing I forgot!  They have homemade root beer in this barrel in the corner of their store.  Its soo good and they give free samples!!  It's so creamy, just like A&W's.

 

Now for the broasted chicken!  There aren't many RESTAURANTS in the northwoods.  It is mostly bars that serve a good assortment of fried food and a limited assortment of beer.  Its fun, trust me.  This Labor Day we made it known we wanted to have "the best broasted chicken in the northwoods" and were invited to come to a restaurant called The Lighthouse in Gleason, WI.  It was quite a hike from Summit Lake to Gleason especially for some fried food but I sure am glad we made the drive.
Broasted chicken is deep fried in a pressure cooker kinda device.  It leaves the chicken super juicy with a nice crispy crust.  This particular chicken had an amazingly flavored crust and was incredibly juicy.  Definitely the best broasted chiecken I've had in the northwoods. 
They also offered a good assortment of appetizers, sandwiches and dinners.  Of course being in Wisconsin they had a fish fry but Aaron and I both don't like ANY seafood.  They also had a lot of sides....  crinkle cut french fries, french fries with skins on, sweet potato fries, double baked sweet potato or a regular baked potato.  They also offered a Bok Choy salad, coleslaw or a cranberry relish. 
For appetizers we got fried pickles and cheese curds.  I don't like pickles but they were fried pickle spears.  They were lightly breaded and crisp, consensus was that they were homemade.  The cheese curds were just ok, breaded and fried, I like battered ones better.
They had just a few beers on tap, Miller Light and Miller High Life, Bud Light a Wisconsin Amber and also Root Beer.  Super cheap beers! We ordered 3 beers and 1 soda and it cost $2.00, no joke. The food was also pretty cheap.  I think that 5 of us ate and drank for $60.  Not bad!!
We all ordered broasted chicken just in various sizes with mixtures of the sides.  I included 3 of our meals just so you can see the size portions and the different sides.  

Its always an experience in any bar in the northwoods.  We sure love it.

Locally Famous - Saz's

Saz's has been my favorite restaurant for quite some time now.  Its located at 5539 W. State Street in Milwaukee.  It's very well known locally because they are at almost all of our summer festivals including but not limited to (World Famous) Summerfest and other fests at the grounds, State Fair and even some church festivals and small town festivals like Tosa Fest.  Their food is consistently good and the atmosphere is great.  Family friendly/sports bar-y I guess is how I would explain it.  Our biggest complaint with Saz's is the service.  We have our 2 or so favorite servers and if you don't get one of those two you could be in for some seriously questionable service.  We once sat in the bar, ordered our drinks and food at the same time and our food came out before our drinks and before our salads!!  It was horrible.  When we brought this to the attention of the server and asked them to put our food back in the kitchen under a warmer or something so we could eat our salads and enjoy a drink they looked at us like we were CRAZY.  They compensated us by buying us a round of drinks.... not quite appropriate in my opinion considering we're relative regulars, frequenting the restaurant about 1x/month.  But really that's the worse we've had I guess.  The other service is just not as attentive as I appreciate. 
The food though is fantastic.  Homemade sauces for the pulled pork/chicken sandwiches and ribs etc. homemade chips with flavors that change weekly.  The best sour cream and chive fries and the absolute best Mozzarella Sticks in the world (See photo above). Remember, I'm from Wisconsin and I know my cheese! 
I usually eat one of two things, a pulled pork sandwich or the Chicken Parmesan and at this visit I went with the Chicken Parmesan.  Its always super hot and perfectly crispy.  It comes on a bed of penne pasta and is topped with shaved parmesan.  Aaron always orders the same thing, a rack of ribs.  He said the ribs are always consistently cooked well and is never too saucey which he appreciates but sometimes his sides come a little cooler than he likes.  We also always get an order of Mozzarella Sticks which come out fast and hot.  The pulled pork sandwich is fantastic and the best part is, it comes with sour cream and chive fries.  They have a fairly extensive bar.  Aaron enjoys trying new beers when we come here.  At this particular visit he had a beer called Nude Beach which is a Point Beer.  He liked it a lot, even asked for it at another restaurant we went to this last weekend!  I highly recommend Saz's.  I know I said some iffy things about the service but since we come so regularly we expect a lot when we go.  Also, next time we go I will get the names of our favorite servers and if its a little slower maybe you could request them, something we never think to do! Check out their website too!  http://www.sazs.com/

Delicious, Fast and Inexpensive Mexican Food

When Aaron and I are super hungry and want a quick, cheap meal that is DELICIOUS we head to Senor Sol in West Allis on 8129 W. Greenfield Avenue.  From the time you walk in and order, eat and pay only 25 minutes may have passed.  It sounds like that wouldn't necessarily be good, but it IS!  This is another place Aaron and I frequent and don't even need a menu.  The service isn't always very personal but you aren't coming here for the service.  Not to say the service is bad, just that its no Carnevor.  This is my favorite Mexican Restaurant.  I ordered a chicken taco, a ground beef chimichanga and an order of rice.  Of course they bring unlimited chips and salsa to the tables also.  Try this Mexican Restaurant and let me know how it compares to your favorite.
Check out the website:  http://senorsol.com/