Kansas City Firefighters Turn Up the Heat to Determine who Grills the Best Steak in Town

Below is information from a press release concerning local firefighters competing in steak cooking competitions.

Firefighters Chief Greg Vincent and Ed Maurin Set To Duel in the Walmart Steak-Over Challenge

WHAT:                         

                                    Local retired firefighters Chief Greg Vincent and Ed Maurin  from Kansas City will compete in the Walmart Steak-Over Challenge presented by Kingsford^® Charcoal, Dr. Pepper^® and A.1.^® steak sauce to determine who has the best steak-grilling chops in town. Walmart shoppers in Kansas City will get a front row seat to the event, which will take place in the parking lot at the North Town Walmart off Boardwalk. Shoppers who attend will have the chance to join in the festivities, taste test Walmart USDA Choice Premium steaks, sample Dr. Pepper and A.1. steak sauce for free, and cast their vote for best steak.

                                    The Walmart Steak-Over Challenge will visit seven other cities, including Jacksonville, Fla., San Antonio, Texas, Tampa, Fla. Charlotte, N.C., Atlanta, Ga., Houston, Texas, and Indianapolis, Ind. The firefighter finalist from each city will compete on behalf of their station for a $20,000 grand prize in Los Angeles, the week of May 20

WHY:                            Just in time for early grilling season and Memorial Day, Walmart is helping shoppers take their grilling up a notch with its top-quality selection of delicious, juicy and tender USDA Choice Premium Beef available in a variety of cuts. Only one in five steaks is good enough to call Walmart Choice Premium Beef, which has been approved by the USDA for quality.

VISUALS &                   Stop by the Walmart parking lot the day of the competition to:

INTERVIEW OPPS:       *Interview firefighters competing in the Steak-Over Challenge

*Try the Walmart USDA Choice Premium steaks and cast your vote

*Talk to shoppers judging the competition

*Speak to Walmart store manager

WHEN/WHERE:            Saturday, April 27, 2013

                                    North Town Walmart

8551 N Boardwalk Ave 

Kansas City, Mo. 64154

Firefighters start grilling at noon, winner announced at 2 p.m.

                                   

Other 2013 competitions include:

·         Jacksonville, Fla.: March 23

·         San Antonio, Texas: March 30

·         Tampa, Fla.: April 6

·         Charlotte, N.C.:  April 13

·         Atlanta, Ga.: April 20

·         Houston, Texas: May 4

·         Indianapolis, Ind.: May 11

·         Los Angeles, Calif.: Week of May 20

MORE INFO:                 Visit www.walmart.com/steak for steak-grilling tips and recipes from all participating firehouses.

Newhouse Shelter Chef Cook-Off with Food Network Chef Aarón Sánchez and Local KC Chefs

Newhouse Shelter Chef Cook-off at the Overland Park Sheraton Hotel

Chef Aarón Sánchez, Chef Richard McPeake, Chef Mark, Mollentine and Chef Tatsu Arai will compete ag in a Chopped inspired event that will be judged by Chef Debbie Gold and others. Hosted by Chef Jasper Mirabile.

Sunday, April 28, 3-5 p.m.

Tickets are $50/person, $20/students and are tax deductible as a donation to the Newhouse Shelter

www.inspiredcelebrationskc.com

Global Culinary Escapades trip to Bordeaux, France

Fall in the Wine Country of Bordeaux, France 

Join GCE on an adventure to Southwest France for a journey along the culinary roads of Bordeaux and the Dordogne Valley. This 7 full-day / 8 night culinary and cultural tour will enlighten your senses with an in-depth experience of the French culinary landscape. Discover the riches of French gastronomy in a small group setting (20 people). 

Price: $2,600.00 per person, based on two people sharing a room, and twenty participants. Single Supplement: $450.00.
All reservations require a deposit: $350 per person Deposit Deadline: Friday, April 26, 2013

Event takes place September, 2013. Visit www.globalculinaryescapades.com for more information. 

Solage Calistoga Resort and Spa

A visit to Nappa Valley has been on my bucket list for quite some time and much to my surprise a friend of mine had been invited to a girlfriend’s weekend getaway and needed a roommate. She asked if I wanted to go. I always imagined it would be with my husband, as I cannot think of anything more romantic than sipping wine in the beautiful mustard covered grapevines. However, with hubbies blessing and him saying…..Merry Christmas, Happy Anniversary, Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Birthday, I packed my bags and kissed him goodbye!

The weather was a wee bit chilly but nothing compared to the February winter we were having in Missouri. I even left a day early to beat the Snowmageddon that was due to hit the day my flight was scheduled.

Solage Calistoga Resort and Spa will literally astound you.  The beautiful grounds host about 80 studios and suites all of which are within walking distance to the main facilities and quite contemporary. Room layouts vary but all are equipped with the latest technology, full sized locally made bath amenity products, luxurious bedding and linens, complementary coffee and tea at the mini bar and each room is complete with bathrobes and slippers. This clip gives you a nice tour of the room we had.

Outdoors you will find a comfortable patio with a grapevine-thatched roof and two cruiser bicycles that can be ridden in to town and wineries close by. The grounds are pristinely manicured and landscaped with fragrant rosemary and lavender.

Nightly turn-down service includes a glass water bottle adorned with mint leaves left at the bedside. The water is delightfully tasty and a perfect way to re-hydrate after indulging in wine tours all day.

The Spa is phenomenal and our package included Solage’s signature Mudslide treatment experience. This treatment begins with a visit to the Mud-Bar where you have Mudtenders mix a customized scent using Solage Mud, essential oils and geothermal water. You are then whisked off to the treatment room that can be booked as a group or individual and coat yourself in the mud concoction. After a serene 20 minutes of laying on the warm tiles with cucumbers over your eyes and then a quick rinse, you then make your way to the to the mineral baths in footed tubs. There are curtains separating the tubs if you prefer a little privacy. Following a rinse off from the baths, you will then cocoon yourself in the NASA-inspired Sound Chair that vibrates to music and reclines you to "zero-gravity".

All though you may feel like melted butter afterwards and I mean that in a good way, if you so desire you can then relax in the separate private soaking areas for men and women. These areas include a mineral cool plunge, a warm mineral Jacuzzi, eucalyptus steam room and outdoor shower. These areas are a clothing optional zone, so just beware you may see your share of unique trim jobs and other things you may or may not want to see! 

With all the amenities, the spa has to offer it is easy to spend all day there.  You can work out, get a plethora of spa treatments, take a dip in the pool and if hunger strikes, enjoy lunch in one of the poolside cabanas. The video below shows the beauty of the resort and many of the amenities. Warning: It will make you want a vacation!

The restaurant on sight is Solbar and has excellent service and food. Our package included breakfast every morning and the Lemon-Ricotta pancakes are amazing.

The dinner menu at Solbar is upscale but accessible and will please the pickiest palate. The Steak Frites dish has even been featured on The Food Network Show, The Best Thing I Ever Ate.

The dining room during the day is bright and cheery while in the evening you will feel like you are in a very different restaurant with the soft lighting and fireplace.  The restaurant is open to the public so it is a good idea to make dinner reservations, as Solbar is popular with the locals.

Solage is partnered with Mercedes-Benz to offer complimentary use of their newest vehicle models to resort guests upon availability. We reserved the convertible one evening to use as transportation to nearby St. Helena where we dined at the Farmstead restaurant. The service and staff are delightful and accommodating and were amazing at helping us with transportation back to San Francisco to catch our flight after our previous arrangements fell through.

This trip was truly a serene getaway. Everything was phenomenal and I will be returning. I would have no hesitation to recommend Solage and will stay there again.

Our Travel agent Sue Griffin at Century Travel put our girlfriend’s getaway package together but you could use whomever you like or make your own.  She did set us up with Jack Swanson of Swanson Wine Tours who was amazing.  He drove us all through Napa Valley, took us to three wineries, and planned a stop for lunch. If you are looking for a wine tour contact Jack. I would do this same trip over and over again!!!

Electrolux Design Lab and the PerfectTurkey

With building a new home comes the task of picking out appliances. I am loving and hating this all at the same time. One thing I know for sure is that I love the Electrolux oven I have now. When we picked this oven out, we were at the mercy of our cabinet size which was already cut to fit our previous oven so our choices were limited.  Looking back I am so glad that was the case because it made it so easy. I had no idea how much I was going to love the "Perfect Turkey" setting! You simply fix up your bird however you like, put in the probe and hit the "Perfect Turkey" button. It seriously cooked a 32 pound bird in three hours!

You can also use the probe setting for roasts, chicken, pork or whatever you are cooking and plug in a desired temperature. When the meat hits the right internal temperature the oven will signal it is done!



Electrolux is an innovative company and is currently holding a design lab contest. Entries from all over have submitted designs to Electrolux for the next cool appliance and now you can vote on what you think is best.  I wonder if the Perfect Turkey was the brainchild of one of these contests.
 
Picking out the appliances this time around is a much harder task. Since we are building from scratch, I can get any size appliance I want and the choices out there are mind blowing.  I know I am in need of a double wall oven, quiet dishwasher, gas cook top (although I am very intrigued with this induction thing too) and French door refrigerator with ice and water in the door. Those steam ovens look pretty cool too!

Hubby wants a plumbed coffee maker so we are looking into the Miele Built-In Coffee Maker.

I would love to know what appliances you love and any recommendations you have.

In Good Taste,
Sharm

Hitch Fit Kickstart Premium Blend Coffee

It is time to get fit KC! At least for me anyway! I have indulged in one too many wine dinners and have another one coming up on Sunday! What is a food blogger to do!

I know it may not look like it when you read many of these blog posts but I am very cautious of my diet. When eating at home I tend to eat very clean, organic an non processed foods. I do love to indulge and save those times for when I am dining out or have a special event to go to. I also hit the gym regularly and even have a goal of maybe someday getting in bikini shape, which brings me to writing about Hitch Fit.

Hitch Fit was founded in 2009 by top personal trainers Micah LaCerte and Diana Chaloux. Now of course just drinking their new Roasterie blend coffee is not going melt off the pounds but it can be incorporated into a healthy diet. I do own the Hitch Fit Cookbook which helps to keep things healthy when making meals at home.

 With over 20 years combined experience in the fitness industry, this duo offers online and in person training and gives clients the tools needed and the motivation to achieve their fitness goals and then maintain them for the rest of their lives.

Both Michael and Diana are WBFF Pro fitness model athletes and both have graced the cover of Kansas City's own KC Fit Magazine. They know their stuff and offer local and online training programs worldwide, with options for Lose Weight/Feel Great, Fitness Model, Bikini Model, Muscle Building, Figure Competition Prep, Couples Programs and Post Pregnancy Programs.

I am an avid reader of Oxygen magazine and know getting shape takes about 12 weeks of very strict eating! Someday when I have a 12 week span of no wine dinners, I am going to get on board with Hitch Fit. I will of course blog along the way and hopefully inspire you to get fit along with me!

I am not sure how I went from coffee to entering a fitness competition but check out the Hitch Fit Website for information on both!

Building A New Home

Home Construction can be an exciting adventure. We built the home we are in now 13 years ago. Being young and married with two little ones, we scrimped and saved for five years while living in a mobile home to build what was then our dream home. I still absolutely love it, but life has a way of throwing you a curve ball now and then to change things up.

Our big change involves a move and therefore a new home. I had a certain floor plan in mind and after spending countless hours with a realtor going through houses I just did not love, we decided building was our only option. 

We were able to meet with a architect who has made my floor plan come alive. My two favorite features are a mudroom off the garage to drop coats, shoes and mail to keep clutter at bay and the laundry room which connects to the master bedroom his and her closets making it easy to wash and put clothes away.  I don't know how many houses we walked through that had laundry rooms off garages. Really! Why in the world would you want to come if from outside with dirty shoes and walk into where all of your clean clothes are, or spend time hauling clothes up and downstairs if bedrooms are on upper levels!


OK well enough about my laundry room rant. Being a food blogger you know the kitchen is going to be important as well. I love my kitchen now and am basically recreating it.

We will finish up paperwork this week and hopefully have a hole in the ground soon. We have pretty tight budget so I will be on the lookout for the best deals around. I will be blogging all of our building adventures here and share with you what you may be missing when it comes to the home!