Dinner With The Chef

Last weekend our friend Vicki invited me, Hans and Pete over for dinner. Vicki is a classically trained chef. Need I say more?

You have seen Vicki in many of our posts – she is amazing – not only in the kitchen but as a friend. Recently I had her over for dinner and the next morning I found a voicemail from her recanting the fun evening and our friendship. I love her… and if you’ve met her or had her cooking you love her too.

When Vicki asks us over for dinner I like the menu to be a surprise (except for the main dish). All day Saturday the boys kept asking what we were having at Vicki’s and I just said ‘roast’. Needless to say, the word ‘roast’ did not do this dinner justice…

The menu you ask? I’d rather show you…

Salad with mixed greens, pink grapefruit, beets, jicama, beets, pomegrate seeds and pomegranate dressing

After we got home Hans and I hung out in the garage (a.k.a. The Man Cave) and he showed off his ‘boy toys’ to me… he’s so proud. It’s quite charming.

A huge THANK YOU to Vicki for a marvelous dinner!

Love, love, love,

Christina

Boo. A Heller Halloween Photo Blog.

I LOVE Halloween! Hans, well… Hans just rolls his eyes and goes with it. Enjoy the photos!

Maryland and Many Other Merry Things

It has been an electrifying few weeks since my last birthday-themed blog!

Hans and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary with a trip to southern Maryland. We flew into Baltimore and drove Solomons for a fun-filled weekend of frivolity with our friends Dan, Kelly (and the kids), Jon and Cassie. The boys tore down a pool while the girls cooked, played with the kids, napped, drank wine and read trashy-news magazines. It was bliss!

Thursday night we spent our evening sipping on cocktails and hanging out while the boys put a brisket on the smoker for Friday’s dinner. Friday the boys tackled the destruction of the pool while the Kelly, Cassie, the kids and I enjoyed a picnic on the beach followed by naps.

Friday evening we had brisket and Kelly’s apple pie… MMM… and played a wicked game of Trivial Pursuit of which the boys kicked our asses. They had to redeem themselves since the girls won on the last visit.

The next morning we loaded up the whole crew and headed over the bridge into Solomons for their fall market. If I were to describe my perfect day, this day would have been it. The fest was settled in the historical foundation of Solomons on their marsh waterfront. It was a beautiful backdrop with a lighthouse, otters, crabs and sailboats. The fest featured a juried-art show of local artists, fried clams (that we had for breakfast) and of course I’d find it… wine tasting from the local wineries!!!

After the fest we wandered over to Solomons Pier for a seafood lunch of oysters and crab cakes.

Saturday evening Kelly served up her famous ribs with homemade mac n’ cheese and then we spent an evening by the bonfire in the woods of Maryland. Jon’s brother came in from Washington DC and invited a friend. We sat our relaxed butts by the fire and reveled in friendship, conversation and bliss. It truly was one of the best days ever. I have a pretty spectacular life and to say this day was in my top ten is something to believe in. It was laid back and shared with our best friends.

I came back to Illinois to celebrate the winery’s 30th anniversary. My first real day back to the winery found me celebrating with a winemaker dinner at Allgauer’s at the Hilton-Lisle. We enjoyed appetizers and then a five-course feast of the palate with our wines. You can view all the pictures HERE.

That following Friday I hosted a wine pairing with Garrett Popcorn. Garrett Popcorn is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year and their popcorn has patrons waiting in lines on Michigan Avenue. Our favorite pairing? Our Reserve Semillon with their Caramel popcorn! You can view all the pictures HERE.

The next day (Saturday) my friend Vicki and I headed out to Goebbert’s Pumpkin Farm in South Barrington to purchase our fall loot. You can view all the pictures HERE.

Saturday Hans and Pete worked on the garage. Will this project ever be done? Pete is in love with the Bobcat and Corbets tried to get in it with him. Crazy dog…

Sunday was our 30th anniversary weekend celebration at the winery and the Chicago Wine Diva and I hosted a Halloween Candy & Wine Pairing! Yes… candy corn and Ice Wine…

The grape harvest at the winery is in full swing (henceforth the lack of blogging)… we will be receiving about 400 tons of grapes to crush and press by the time the season is done. Tuesday I hosted the Food & Drinks Editor from Chicagoist magazine, Chuck Sudo, with a day at the winery.

While I was playing at the winery Hans was busy doing customer visits in Wisconsin. Oh, wait, did I mention his customer mountain bikes too? Much to Hans’ delight…

Tonight I hosted a college wine course tour at the winery and Hans is finally home. It has been another crazy few weeks, but oh, so fabulous!

Love, love, love,

Christina

What I've Been Doing

Yes, it is that time of year… my blogs are few and far between due to the fact that it is harvest season at the winery. We are receiving over 400 tons of grapes and while I do not make the wine, I am promoting it… like a mad woman! Since my last blog I have ‘somewhat’ celebrated my birthday, entertained at the winery’s annual Oktoberfest, hosted a winemaker dinner, worked 2 festivals and enjoyed the company of a good friend.

My birth-week started with a bang with dinner at Fuego! Pete, Vicki, me and Hans enjoyed their delicious table-side guacamole, chorizo appetizer and array of entrees with their famous mole’ sauces; we had a fabulous time. The kicker? The sombrero I got for my birthday! Wheezer especially loved my sombrero. You can view all the photos HERE…

The following evening I hosted an ‘After Hour’ for the Roselle Chamber of Commerce. The next evening was my actual birthday so Hans made me dinner. Not only did he make me dinner he also sent me flowers to the winery and gave me a spa package (which I am using this Tuesday)!

Every year the winery throws me a birthday party; okay it’s really our annual Oktoberfest and they just celebrate it on my birthday… It’s a pig roast with grape stomping, pig roasting and wine!

After the Oktoberfest I hosted a winemaker dinner at TopGolf and that following weekend Hans did some kiteboarding over in Michigan.

Last week our friend Jon came in from Boston to have dinner with us before having to go work downtown.

Yesterday I worked an event downtown and today… today we go on vacation!!! We are going to visit Dan, Kelly, Jon and Cassie in Maryland and I hear we are going oyster diving tomorrow!!! Details to come!

LOVE, love, love,

Christina

You can see all the recent pics by visiting HERE

Better Homes & Garages

I know, I know, I know… my blog has been vacant for almost three weeks and that is because I have been one incredibly busy bee! Since my last blog about my aunt Connie and her friend Kelly’s visit, I have been entertaining in many ways.

I dropped Connie and Kelly off at O’Hare on Monday, August 31 and my best friend from college, JJ, arrived at the Heller abode on Wednesday, September 2! JJ met me and the Lynfred ladies for our weekly ‘Wine Down Wednesday’ at the legion for a glass (or two) of wine. JJ lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming and was taking a road trip from Cheyenne to Virginia (to see her dad) and then to Chicago, and came with her two ‘weiner dogs’ in tow! Wheezer wasn’t sure what to think of the whole situation… (lol)!

During JJ’s visit we hung out, visited my friend Bubba (the Brewmaster at Ram Brewery and 'Tom' if you don't know him), my favorite local wine bar ‘Wine With Me’ in Itasca and spent an hilarious evening out with ‘the boys’.

The day after JJ left the foundation of Hans’ dream began… his new garage!

This is my crazy busy time of year at the winery (hence the lack of blogging) and that Friday and Saturday Lori and Vicki and I worked the Windy City Wine Festival in Grant Park in the city. This. Is. Why. I. Love. My. Job... (you can see my 'twitter' pics HERE)...

The following Monday I hosted a private party for our local library at the winery (they were celebrating ‘Banned Book Month’ and were reading The Grapes of Wrath). As many of you know my passion is reading and that night I was able to pour wine for and chat with fellow enthusiasts. In the past few weeks I have read ‘The Book Thief’, ‘Dark Places’ and ‘Where the Heart Is’ (another banned book).

Friday morning I woke up to the sounds of hammers and machinery. Hans’ dream was coming to fruition. The workers amazed me. In nine hours, four tireless workers were able to take a foundation and create a garage!

I had to leave our house on Friday to work the Naperville Wine Festival and when I came home that evening we had a garage!

Today I headed back to Naperville for the last day (thank God for my aching feet) of the Naperville Wine Festival. Vicki and I arrived back to the Heller abode about ten tonight and opened a bottle of wine just as Hans was coming home. We told stories and laughed but my favorite was when Hans started talking about the garage in ‘loving’ form and Vicki asked if he was going to let me hang curtains in his there... he rolled his eyes. Vicki called it the dream of ‘Better Homes and Garages’…. I loved it!

This week Hans has some vacation time and will be doing the electric (let’s all pray now) for the garage and next spring we will have a deck off of the garage for our fabulous parties! His priority? The beer fridge and tv hook-ups…

One last ‘shout-out’… A FABULOUS birthday to two of my favorite ladies on the planet…. My Mom and my brother’s fiance’, Somany!!!!

Love, love, love,

Christina

Double Trouble

I am in the midst of a three-weekend adventure of house guests. Many would freak out, I revel in it. Last weekend Hans’ parents were here and this past weekend I picked up my aunt Connie from Minnesota and her friend Kelly at O’Hare to start weekend number two!

I must first mention that I had never met my aunt Connie's friend. I picked up Connie at O’Hare’s terminal two and circled once before picking up Kelly at terminal three. There was no mistaking the ‘spunk of energy that was waving and jumping up and down’ that would be Kelly. I knew I loved her IMMEDIATELY.

Friday found us making a quick trip to Costco for steak (and candles and other things we really didn’t need) and then a fun lunch at Weber Grill in Schaumburg for a light lunch. As many of you know I have a crazy fetish for cocktail napkins – turns out so does my aunt Connie. She liked Weber Grill’s cocktail napkins so much she asked if she could buy them. They sold her a sleeve of 500 for $6. They are super cute and should really market them.

After Weber Grill we headed to my second home, Lynfred Winery; no visit to Chicago is complete without a visit to the place I spend most of my time. We ordered up a wine tasting and I took some time to show Connie and Kelly around my little slice of heaven.

That evening we grilled up some gorgeous filet mignon and made some Mushroom Carpacio with sourdough bread and artichoke spread. After a night of giggling we finally made it to bed.

Saturday me, Connie and Kelly took the Metra to the Union Station, wandered across the Adams Street bridge and took the Water Taxi to Michigan Avenue.

We did some serious jewelry shopping on Michigan Avenue and then wandered to Millennium Park just in time to catch a jazz trio in the park… We then wandered over to visit Cloud Gate (a.k.a. The Bean) and captured some fun pics of our ‘Trio of Trouble’.

We then headed down to the Park Grille for a light lunch with some awesome hummus, beer and wicked bloody Mary’s. Here you might notice the pretty rings and scarf purchased by Connie and Kelly.

We wandered through the Millennium Park Gardens and saw the most glorious spectacle of Monarch butterflies.

Sunday found me working at the winery so the ladies took off in my car with the GPS (now named ‘Lola’) to visit the quaint little town of Geneva. They shopped to their heart’s content and brought me back the most darling gifts including: a vanity mirror, gin straws, cocktail napkins and the most GORGEOUS table runner ever!

While Connie and Kelly were shopping in Geneva, Hans and I took a nap and prepped a dinner of fajitas. My two favorite moments of the trip includes these: Kelly and Connie trying Hans’ favorite hot sauce called ‘Sore Ass’ – they nearly cried upon it hitting their mouths; almost as much as they cried upon Pete's showing of our ‘Michelangelo’ apron from Italy!

It was a weekend of constant giggling, laughter and spontaneous hilarity and I loved every minute of it…. Connie and Kelly… When are you coming back???

Love, love, love,

Christina

P.S. To View All The Photos Click HERE

The German Invasion

This past weekend started a three weekend long adventure of house guests at the Heller abode. The German invasion (and I say invasion in the most humorous of fun ways) was the visit of Hans’ parents from New York.

Hans’ parents, George and Marilyn, arrived Friday night just in time for a quiet evening of pizza and zzzzz’s. Yes, I was so excited I got up at 4:30 am and by the time we finished dinner, so was I….

Saturday Hans and I decided to take his Reagan loving parents to Dixon, Illinois to visit the boyhood home of their political hero. We took a pleasant drive from the city to the seductive and everlasting fields of corn and farmhouses. We arrived in Dixon to find a charming little town erased of everything that is ‘city’; quaint shops, a beautiful river walk and glorious, turn-of-the-century homes.

We wandered down ‘Reagan Way’ to see his boyhood library, school and eventually his boyhood home. We enjoyed one of the best tours I have ever encountered (the guy was pristine and accurate - oh and as stoic as he was he let me 'flip' the ancient light switches that I have pictured - I screamed with delight and he actually laughed). I mostly enjoyed the dishware of the times and the kitchen.

My favorite part of the tour was the walk to and from the water front. We encountered beautiful, historic homes and kind locals, including Lily, the Great Dane, who welcomed us with open ‘paws’…

Saturday night we enjoyed a gorgeous evening of dinner in the patio and copious amounts of wine. We slept well.

Sunday morning found everyone rested and ready for a big day. Corbets was more excited than anyone because his grandparents would be escorting him to the dog park. They soon realized that the dog park is a theater of ‘dog rules’ including a pack leader, aggressor and our Corby… the protector. Oh yeah, they sniff butts… hey, it’s a dog park, what do you think they do?

Sunday I had to open up the winery so Hans took his parents to Geneva, Illinois. Hans’ mom, Marilyn, is a talented quilter so we found a darling little shop for her to visit. While they were touring Geneva I came home and made some homemade lasagna for dinner and some cheesecake to celebrate our neighbor Pete’s birthday!

Before dinner Hans took Marilyn on a ride on his motorcyle - she even wore my pink helmet -how cute is she?!

We had a delightful visit with Hans’ parents! While I joke and call it ‘The German Invasion’ I must also mention that this title is not meant in jest… My in-laws are the BEST! I often hear people talk about their in-laws. In fact, when I mentioned to our customers that my in-laws were coming they would comment with ‘oh…..’. I don’t even like to use the term ‘in-laws’. George and Marilyn are spectacular to me and have welcomed me into their family with open arms and I LOVE THEM!!! I mean that. George and Marilyn, I LOVE YOU and you know that…

Love, love, love,

Christina