Raleigh: Vinos Finos

This is one of my favorite places in Raleigh, it's a small wine and tapas cafe with copious amounts of wine. I love the ambiance, the people who work there are so friendly and the tapas is delicious. 

It's located in Layfeyette Village, which is a must visit if you're ever in North Raleigh. And it is perfect for date night, a large gathering or especially...a girls night out!

Here is what their website has to say about their establishment

Welcome to the best wine bar in Raleigh, NC…

…where savory food, great wine, and warm, friendly people mix together to make the perfect concoction. We’re a South American Wine bar and tapas bar that boasts an excellent wine accompanyment menu featuring meat & cheese platters, empanadas, desserts, served in an intimate environment with soft leather chairs. Come in and join us!

The wall of wine. Getting thirsty?

There is plenty of room. There are tables or comfy leather seats that you can just sink into over a shared glass of wine. There is a small bar you can pull up to, or when the weather is nice, you can grab a table outside.

We ordered a plethora of small plates and none of  them disappointed.

Look at all this food! The bacon wrapped dates. Oh. My. word.

I loved the barrel table we sat at and the corks under the glass table and the lights undeneath it. I really want to make one for our house. Anybody? Somebody? 

The only gripe(if you want to even call it a gripe) was the creme brulee. Let's just say I found it...wanting. 

But for the most part, we love this place and I would highly recommend it. They can accommodate large groups or an intimate dinner. 

linking up with Thirsty Thursday

Roasted Red Pepper & Artichoke Bake

As I have mentioned before, WIki partakes in a low carb lifestyle(insert eye roll here;) and I am often searching for quick and easy sides that will actually fill him up. Since he is Italian, he loves a good antipasti and I decided to run slightly with the idea and after a few different versions, this was one that works. You could also add grilled chicken or even prosciutto to make it a meal, rather than just a side dish.

Serves 2-4 people

1 large jar of roasted red peppers
1 medium jar of artichokes
shredded Parmesan
spices
olive oil

Open the cans and strain the peppers and artichokes(if you want to use the marinade, save some) Once strained, chop them into bite size pieces, add some olive oil(and any of the reserved marinade) plus, however you want flavor it with your spices. I used badias all seasoning, plus some cracked pepper and sea salt. 

Bake at 300 for about 20 minutes. Add in shredded parm and bake another 5-10 minutes.

We have also served this cold. In the summer he likes it better that way. You can change this up really easily. You could add black olives or even feta. Play around to your taste. Just keep seasonings in mind, because if not, it will be rather bland. 

But anytime you are after a quick, but filling dish, you can't go wrong. I even mixed this up once and add it to cream cheese and then baked and served it as a dip.

I am guest posting over at Swirl Of Cinnamon today, I made these

Linking up with Creative Link Party Jessica, Ashley and Sugar Bee Crafts today.

Food Truck Rodeo

Came to town and I left very happy. In Durham, at any given time, you can find about 30 plus food trucks just sputtering about town. Since Durham itself has some of the best food you can imagine, I rarely  take trips to these mini meals on wheels. They have food truck rodeos a couple times a year and we have missed everyone. So cue up excited squeals when I realized we would actually be in town to attend this one!

We had already participated in a food filled weekend and so yesterday morning, I tried to eat small and simple in order to prep myself for a day of gorging. and rest assured...gorge I did. We took a last minute trip west to Mebane and the outlets because we scored last minute tickets to the Killers show in Raleigh tomorrow night. After a little shopping we stopped in the quaint town of Hillsborough for a coffee and truffle pit stop.

and then we were off to the good stuff. This particular food truck rodeo was in downtown Raleigh and they closed off three blocks. There were over 70 vendors including trucks, carts and 12 local craft beers.

We got there 15 minutes before they were even selling their goods and this was what greeted us.

Mobs of people for 3 straight blocks.

and not to be forgotten...

for the pups!

If you ever get the chance to hit up one of these, I cannot recommend it enough. We only ate at a tenth of the trucks and every bite was worth it.

If you're in the triangle area, the next one is scheduled for Labor Day Weekend in Durham, on Saturday September first. You will be so glad you did!

If you want to see the rest of my date filled weekend, head over to my lifestyle blog to see some shenanigans of the best sort;)

Linking up with, Funday Monday, Join the Gossip, Meg & Sami

Cherry Limeade Martini

I put this on my other blog last summer. I came up with the idea from a happy hour visit to Sonic and came home and added a little bit of my own version of happy to my glass. A few weeks later we were haing friends over and I decided to try out my own version. This is so easy, I cannot even explain how simple. Just make yourself one!

cherry limealicious 

makes two 

8 oz limeade(I used simply limeade)

2 parts cherry vodka 

1 1/2 part tripple sec

sprite

 splash grenadine

Limes for garnish

two cherries

Fill a shaker with ice, add in all ingredients and shake vigorously. Pour into two martini glasses.  and leave just enough room to top off w/sprite, you can omit the sprite, but...that is what makes a sonic limeade so tasty! garnish w/cherry & lime

Linking up with Thirsty Thursday 

Strawberry Lemonade Cookies

I first debuted this recipe last year on my other blog. These are one of my favorite cookies. It is based on the ooey gooey butter cookie & so you really cannot go wrong. Oh my gosh. Delicious. I got the original cookie recipe from my friend Stacy and I have made a plethora of versions. This one screams 'Summer" Can't you hear it? 

Ingredients

1 8 oz brick cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick butter, at room temperature

• 1 egg

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 (18-ounce) box moist strawberry cake mix

• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

DIRECTIONS-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the lemon juice. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 10- 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired

 If you want to just have strawberry cookies, feel free to omit the lemon juice.You could also probably add half a cup of chopped strawberries to the mix too, if you'd like.

Just make these cookies. You will thank me. I promise.

and in case you haven't, head over to my other blog where a new blog friend is whipping up a delectable treat!

Linking up with Jessica, Ashley & Take a look Tuesday.

Discovering Richmond

We love food. I mean, we really, really do. Wiki is half Italian/Half Lebanese and I am all Southern...Good food is important. As Wiki always says when we spend a good chunk of money on a meal, the food is only part of it, the memories made over sharing the food is what matters. And while I still really want a new tv and perhaps...a bed..., I suppose I see his point.

We headed to Richmond for the mamma's 60th birthday and even though I have been there plenty of times, this was more of an exploration trip and enjoying some wines and good eats.and celebrating Da Mamma.

Our first stop was James RIver Cellars, pretty tasty and I loved the Wine slushies they offered.

We ventured to another winery about 20 minutes down the road, Gray Haven Vineyards and got some ahmazing peach sangria. 

On our way back we stumbled upon this small grill and my bbq sandwich was delish. And oh yeah...a whopping $4.95. 

We got dessert too and I chose the chocolate cappuccino cake. I loved the flavor of the cake, was really moist, but the icing was a little too sweet for me. But that tends to be my taste buds anyways.

After making our way through Downtown and reliving some of my mom's college days, we finally made it back to hotel and decided we should head to the Tavern and grab a drink. The coolest thing about our hotel was the underground tunnels leading from one building to the other. Loved it!

Had a little peach 'shine to finish off my night!

Saturday afternoon we headed next door to the hotel and got some BBQ,

If I am honest...I liked it...but it was nothing out of the ordinary. My favorite thing was the pig nose lights. haha Just thought it was kind of over priced.

After a day enjoying the pool, we headed out for dinner and stopped at Legends Brewery with a fantastic view of the city.

And oh my gosh, what our lunch was lacking, this place more than made up for it. The guys got some brews and we had vodka lemonades, but the real present was the beer cheese. We got it as an app with pretzel bites and it was so awesome that I ended up ordering the philly cheese steak smothered in the cheese sauce. Seriously...yumminess defined

I will be doing a more in depth post on this pace, but really enjoyed our dinner.

AFter walking around the Carytown section of Richmond, we headed to the Jefferson Hotel. It is one of the most magnificent and grande hotels you can imagine. And a walk around the lobby and drink is a must. We have stayed at so many hotels listed on the Historic Hotels list and we must make it a priority to add this to our list.

 I just love the stairs to the bottom floor and I just conjure up images of women in history, all dolled up to the max, being presented on this stair case. *sigh*

My yummy white cosmo, can't wait to recreate it at home! and the prices were so reasonable!

and then, again{I may be sensing a theme} after we put the parentals to bed, we headed back over to the Tavern and I got one of my favorite Ciders, a local Virginia one, Bold Rock.

Nothing like a bonfire on a slightly crisp perfect night.

After heading to my parents house in the "burg last night for a party, we're back home and already plotting our next trip to Richmond. Stay tuned for more thorough posts regarding the spots we hit in the city! 

Linking up with 

Funday Monday

Life of Meg

Sami

Leann

On The Town: Raleigh Wine Shop

One of the fabulous things about living in this area is the close proximity to so many wineries and breweries. But when a day trip isn't in the plan, there are a plethora of Wine Cafes/Shops to get your fix in. 

One of our favorites is the Raleigh Wine shop in Downtown on Glenwood. Such a great location and I love the look and feel when I walk in. Open floor plan, lots of light and all the wines are labeled and stocked according to their region or country. 

Here is what their website has to say

The Raleigh Wine Shop welcomes both wine novice and connoisseur alike with a bright, inviting atmosphere. We feature hand-picked wines for everyday drinking as well as special occasions, with a focus on what we feel are ‘honest’ wines that accurately convey the grapes that they’re made from and where those grapes were grown. Above all, these are the wines that we think deliver the goods for your hard-earned money.

They offer free tasting on Saturdays and frequently host events. Next week is a 5 course dinner and wine pairing 'A Taste of Terroir: The Loire Valley– A Food & Wine Event. The prices are really reasonable and the food options sound fantastic. They also host and annual corktoberfest, with lots of German wines and a variety of beers. 

Then there is this lovely fact

They have plenty of wines to buy by the bottle or if you have a lazy afternoon or an open night, take in the wine station and grab a taste or a glass, the choice (and control) is all yours. 

Or there is the small fact that, no big deal, they deliver! Say what?!

Get here people. Get here.

To see any future events they may be hosting, click here.

Linking up With Thirsty Thursday and The Party Don't Start