Today was our anniversary, so we decided to go out for dinner. Nicole did a search on metromix and thought Hae Woon Dae sounded like a good choice. It's a Korean Barbecue place at 6240 N. California. The reviews sounded good. (with the exception of someone who clearly was unprepared for eating food from another culture... who orders chicken at a korean restraunt... and too many pickled veggies? Does she complain about German restruants serving too much sausage?) Nicole's Korean co-worker was not familiar with this place, but after our experience, he'll probably have to check it out. Yup. It was good.

If you're unfamiliar with Korean Barbeque, it's one where you cook the meat over a charcoal brazier that they place in the center of your table. The restaurant has several tables in the main seating area, as well as a few "private" rooms on the sides with low tables and cushions. When we arrived, there was only one other table of customers. We were given hot tea, and we ordered bulgogi (marinated beef) and shrimp. We were given 14 different small dishes of assorted sides, including a few different kimchee dishes, tofu, mushrooms, a seaweed salad (fantastic, seemed to be roasted seaweed rather than the kind we get at thai places) potato salad (with rasins), broccoli with carrots (raw!), and several others. The worst of those was "pretty good". Nothing was bad, and nothing was left behind. Shortly after the sides came, a charcoal braizer was brought out and set in the center of the table. The meat came out just after that and was sizeable portions (at least 1 lb of beef and 14-16 large shrimp). We were also given steamed rice and a fantastic miso soup. When the soup came to the table, it was served in small crocks, and was at a rolling boil.

The beef was quite good, fattier than Nicole usually perfers, but between the grilling and the marinade, she was quite happy with it. I'm not nearly as big a fan of shrimp as she is, but I still found them quite good. We would probably not order the shrimp again, simply because of the effort required to cook and eat them. There are plenty of other great things on the menu, so not getting the shrimp is hardly a loss.

The food was great, and there was lots of it, probably more than we really needed. The service was decent, although we did have some communication issues about getting the check, but that was very minor. If you want water, be sure to ask for it.

Hae Woon Dae is highly recommended.

We wanted some wine with dinner tonight, so Nicole stopped at the grocery store on her way home (we may be wine snobs, but we're cheap wine snobs). She picked out a 2005 California Chenin Blanc from Beringer. It was on sale for $3.99. We'd never tried the Chenin Blanc, but figured for $4, if it was crap we could put it in some pasta sauce or something. Turns out it was quite good.

Drier than the Reislings we usually drink, it had an edge that made it go very well with the spicy dish we had for dinner. It didn't have any sparkle, so that worked well with the flavors as well. It was fairly mild in flavor, it tasted like wine, not much in the way of overtones or notes like some of the other wines we like.

This was a very good wine to have with a very flavorful meal, as it doesn't compete, only accents. At full price ($8?) it's very good. And for $4... you can't beat it.

This is one of those make-it-up-as-you-go recipies

• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• 1/2 each Green and Red Bell Peppers
• 1 Can of Italian style tomatoes
• 2 cans mushrooms
• 1/2 large onion
• Garlic Powder
• Salt & Peper
• 1 Cup Sour Cream
• 1 Cup Beef Broth
• 1 Tbsp Chipotle Sauce
• Worcestershire Sauce

Brown the beef in a large skillet, season with worcestershire sauce and garlic powder. Drain fat and add onions to skillet, cook until onions become translucent, add green peper and mushrooms and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Add sour cream, beef broth and chipotle sauce. Mix well and cook for about 5 minutes. Serve over pasta.

We served this with a salad with a ceasar-type assiago cheese dressing and a Chenin Blanc wine. It was really quite good.

So I love Mac and Cheese. We tend to do Kraft Blue box variety a lot and then add things to it like mustard and hot sauce; sour cream, tomatoes, and green peppers; tuna; and a variety of other things that suit our fancy at the time.

I decided that Mac and Cheese and Ham sounded good today, but want to try making it homemade again. This is usually unsuccessful for me because I can never make a smooth cheese sauce. So I did what I always do when I want a new recipe. I went and search AllRecipes.com.

I found a recipe called Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 pound elbow, shell or other bite-size shaped pasta
• 2 (12 fluid ounce) cans evaporated milk
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in large soup kettle. Add salt and pasta. Using package directions as a guide, cook until al dente. Drain. To prevent sticking, drain and immediately pour onto a large lipped baking sheet and let cool while preparing sauce. Meanwhile, microwave the milk and chicken broth in a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup or bowl until hot and steamy (not boiling). Melt butter in the empty pasta pot; whisk in flour, then hot milk mixture. Continue to whisk until thick and bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in mustard, Parmesan and pepper. Turn off heat, stir in cheddar until melted. Add drained pasta (and optional flavoring ingredients, see notes) to sauce, and stir until everything is well combined over low heat. Stir to heat through, and thin with a little water if the sauce is too thick. Serve hot.

I boiled the pasta in one pot while cooking the sauce in another, saw no reason to not do it this way. When both were done I drained the pasta and stired it together with the sauce. There is a bit too much sauce for pasta, but it is very good.

My homemade Mac and Cheese is usually grainy. I read in the comments on AllRecipes for this recipe that one way to get rid of that graininess is to use part cheddar and part something else like jack. Someone else mentioned using peper jack for part or theirs. I thought this sounded pretty good. I went to the store intending to buy 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar and an 8 oz block of cheddar jack to shred. Instead I found a shedded cheese blend that was mild cheddar, monteray jack, and jalapeno peppers. So I used it. This gave the sauce a nice smooth texture and a little kick.

Growing up we visted Pendarvis in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Pendarvis is a historical Cornish lead mining settelment. It was a relly fun place to vistit as a child. While we were there they told us about pasties. I was facinted by them then. I bought a little brouchure for 10 cents with a recipe for Pasties and a recipe for saffron cakes. I've only ever made the pasties.

The back of the brouchure says:

Cornish Pasty

In Cornwall the miners had for centuries gone to the mines carrying a "pasty" for their noon lunch. A pasty was almost an ideal food to carry to a mine. The miner's wife would roll out pastry douugh, much like a pie crust, into which shee put cubes of beef, chopped suet, sliced potatoes and onions. The dough would be folded across the top and the whole baked on a flat stone or pan. The miner would carry the pasty to the mine in the pocket of his jacket, or in his dinner pail, for his noon meal. If the mine had a steam engin, the pasty would be placed near the steam pipes. At noon, the pasty would be wamr and tasty for the miner's lunch. The Cornish miners brought this custom with them when they emigrated to the lead mines in and around Mineral Point.

The following recipe is found on the inside:

Cornish Pasty

Crust:

• 4 C flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 3/4 C lard (I used crisco when I made them)
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 Tbs. vinegar
• 1/2 C water

Mix the flour, salt and baking podwer. Cut in lard until crumbly. Mix in remaining ingredients.

Filling:

• 6 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 lb ground chuck steak (or cubed sirloin) (I used lean ground beef)
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix together.
Roll out dough into four 8-inch circle. Place mixed pasty ingredients on half of each circle. Dot with butter. Moisten edge of pastry with water and fold over. Seal tightly with fork or by rope twist crinkling. Prick top. Bake on cookie sheet in preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 45 minutes.