Favorite Places Detroit: Coach Insignia

This place is special! A month after we got married, for my 22nd birthday, my husband surprised me with a black dress and a romantic dinner date to the iconic Coach Insignia at the top of the GM building in downtown Detroit!

The view is spectacular! The ambiance is romantic! The food is fantastic!
(a word of caution, this is not an everyday dinner type place; you definitely need to plan ahead and know the costs before you go to avoid sticker-shock!)

We decided to take our time and really enjoy it! So, we order a bottle of wine and began perusing the menu. We ended up eating four courses by the time the night was done and not one was a disappointment! We tried to order something different than the previous time we ate here since everything sounded amazing! Here is what we had:

Wine: 2008, Austrailian Shiraz

Appetizer: Maine Lobster Corn Dogs with Napa Cabbage Slaw and Stoneground Mustard Velouté
*This was amazing! The lobster was tender and sweet and the sauce was fantastic!*

Salads: I had the Organic Baby Greens salad: Dried Cherries, Apple, Spiced Candied Almonds, 

Grassfield Triple Cream Cheddar, and Creamy Apple Cider Vinegarette. Robbie had the Coach Caesar salad: Parmigianino-Reggiano Crisp, Croutons,  and Creamy Anchovy Garlic Dressing
*I would order this salad again in an instant! I love the tartness of the fuit against the sweet greens and the dressing was amazingly flavorful but light.*

Entrees: I had THE INSIGNIA Surf & Turf Trio:

Petite Filet, Roasted Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Tomato-Basil Marmalade
*I had my steak cooked medium and it was perfect! The potatoes were light and fluffy yet full of flavor.*

Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, Lemon Aioli 

*This was good, although probably my least favorite of the trio. The lemon aioli underneath was full of flavor however and delicious!*

Pan-Seared Day Boat Diver Scallop, Roasted Corn-Vanilla Pureé, Swiss Chard

*The scallop was cooked perfectly! Slightly brown on the bottom and tender on the inside. As much as I love tenderloin, this was my favorite of the trio.*

Robbie had the 14 oz NY Strip with green beans.
*The steak was a perfect medium, pink throughout but not bleeding. The green beans were well-seasoned and a perfect texture*

Sauces: When you order a steak dish, they give you the option of three sauces; Béarnaise, Horseradish or Detroit Zip Sauce. Our favorite had to be the Detroit Zip sauce. It was flavorful without being spicy and was made with a Cognac base which created a very smooth taste. 

Dessert: Tropical Pear Sorbet with fresh berries. After eating such a heavy meal, we decided to share a dessert. We chose the lighter option of their house-made sorbet. That's night flavor was pear and was served with blueberries! It was light and creamy with a slight tartness. Mmm!

~Bethie

Appetizer: Maine Lobster Corn Dogs with Napa cabbage slaw and stoneground mustard veloute

Beth's Entree: The Insignia Surf and Turf Trio

Rob's Entree: The 14oz NY Strip 

Dessert: Tropical Sorbet with Berries

Beauty: OOTN and Date Night Makeup

Tuesday April 10th marked exactly 2.5 years that Robbie and I had been married!  To celebrate, we used a Groupon we had bought months before and had a wonderful, romantic dinner out at the iconic Coach Insignia in Detroit!

This blog will be in two parts; one will be an OOTN (Outfit of the Night) and makeup and the other will be about the actual restaurant and food. Hope you all enjoy!

Dress - Banana Republic 

Scarf - gift

Shoes - Mixit for JCPenny

Necklace - wedding gift from the Hubby 

Watch - Fossil Buy it here

Bracelet - Tiffany and Co. Buy it here

RH Ring - Premier Designs

Face Skin Care:  Garnier Nutrissionisteskin renew daily eye roller, Neutrogena eye cream, Neutrogena sensitive skin moisturizer, Garnier BB cream in light/medium

Face Makeup:  Maybelline Dreamlumi concealer (ivory), Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Foundation (150 classic ivory), MAC mineralize skinfinsih natural (light plus), Maybelline Fit Me bronzer (light bronze), Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush (dollface), bareMinerals mineral veil (translucent)

Eye Makeup: LORAC Behind the Scene eye primer, Maybelline Instant Age Rewind dark circle eraser (60 brightener), Benefit eye bright pencil,  bareMinerals ready eyeshadow 4.0 (The Truth), Maybelline Eye Studio gel eyeliner (brown), Maybelline Illegal Length mascara (blackest black), Maybelline One by One mascara (blackest black), Benefit instant brow pencil (light)

~Bethie 

Bethie's Kitchen: Greek Salad, Cabbage Rolls, and Chocolate PeanutButter Cheesecake

Welcome to, what I hope will become, a series of Vegetarian posts! I have a good friend, Nina, who has supported me in starting this blog and helping me with it, who happens to be a vegetarian and inspired this idea for my blog! We got together last Sunday afternoon to tackle cooking 3 courses, all of the dishes cooking firsts for us! What followed was an afternoon of adventure, laughter and, at the end, am amazing 3 course meal!  We took all these recipes from cookbooks but adapted them to our own likes! The Greek salad and dressing was probably the easiest, while the cheesecake and cabbage rolls were more time-consuming (but totally worth it!) additions to our meal! I hope these recipes inspire you to think outside the meal-planning box and realize that vegetarian food can be yummy, filling and satisfying! Enjoy! I know we did and so did our significant others!

~Bethie

GREEK SALAD

Salad Ingredients:

3 ripe tomatoes; cut into bite size pieces

1 red pepper; washed, seeded and cut into bite size pieces

1 green pepper; washed, seeded and cut into bite size pieces

1 medium onion (we did not include this in our salad)

1 cucumber; washed and cut into bite size pieces

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled into bite size pieces

1/2 cup of olives; we used kalamata

Dressing Ingredients:

1 clove of crushed garlic (we did not use this); we subbed garlic powder

1/3 tsp of basil 

1/2 cup olive oil 

1/3 cup umeboshi plum vinegar (if you don't have this, use red wine vinegar)

1/2 cup chopped parsley

*We also added onion powder, salt and pepper for seasoning

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, mix the dressing ingredients with a whisk. 

2. Add in the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. 

3. Toss. 

4. Gently mix in the feta cheese and olives.

CABBAGE ROLLS

Ingredients:

1 large onion; diced

2 cups basmati rice

1 1/2 cups chopped parsley

1 1/2 cups chopped dill 

1 cup chopped mint OR 3 tbsp dried mint leaves *we used fresh

2 tsp salt 

2 cloves garlic; crushed

3/4 cups olive oil 

1 cup water OR 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 head of cabbage

Instructions:

1. Cook 24-30 cabbage leave in boiling water. Drain and cool. 

2. Wash and drain rice. 

3. In a bowl, mix onions, rice, parsley, dill, mint, salt, garlic and oil. Mix very well, preferably with hands, adding 1 cup of liquid (see above). 

4. Place 1-2 tbsp of mixture in each leaf according to the size of the leaf. 

5. Fold in the sides and roll rightly to form a roll. 

6.  Place in pan, seam side down and close together. 

7. Once the bottom of the pan is filled, very gently, pour enough water (or water and tomato sauce) to just cover the rolls. 

8. Place a fireproof plate snugly over the rolls inside the pot to weigh them down. Cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes until done. 

Words of Wisdom:

-Add seasoning to the rice mixture before stuffing the leaves. We only added salt, but looking back would add pepper, lemon pepper and lemon juice. 

-When cooking the cabbage leaves, make sure you cook them long enough that they are tender. It is easier to cook the cabbage whole and then peel off the leaves while the head is still warm. DO NOT LET COOL!

-If you like tomato sauce for flavor and for serving, use plenty of it. I would change the ratio to be more of 3/4 tomato sauce and 1/4 water wherever used. 

PEANUT BUTTER AND MILK CHOCOLATE CHIP LAYERED CHEESECAKE

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of butter; melted

2 packages (8 oz each) of cream cheese; softened

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cartons (8 oz each) diary sour cream 

3 eggs; slightly beaten

1 package milk chocolate chips

1 package peanut butter chips

1 tsp shortening 

Crust Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 325 F. 

2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa and melted butter in a medium bowl.

3. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a 9-inch springform pan. 

4. Bake 8 minutes. 

5. Remove from oven. 

6. Cool slightly. 

Filling Instructions:

1. Increase oven temperature to 350 F. 

2. Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla on medium speed of mixer until well blended. 

3. Add sour cream and beat on low until blended. 

4. Add egg and beat on low speed until blended. 

5. Pour 2 cups filling into prepared crust. 

*Reserve 1/4 cup of each type of chips for topping*
6. Sprinkle chip mixture evenly  over the filling in pan. 

7. Carefully spoon remaining filling over chips.

Baking Instructions:

1. Bake about 1 hour or until center is almost set. 

2. Remove from oven. 

3. Using a knife or narrow metal spatula, loosen cheesecake from side of pan. 

4. Cook on wire rack additional 30 minutes. 

5. Remove side of pan. 

6. Cool another hour. 

Topping Instructions:

1. Combine shortening and remaining chips in a small microwave-safe bowl. 

2. Microwave on high 30 seconds; stir. 

3. If necessary, microwave additionally 15 seconds at a time; stirring after each time. 

4. Mixture should be a running consistency; good for a drizzle. 

5. Drizzle over cheesecake. 

6. Cover. 

7. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

*Keep any remaining cheesecake covered and in the fridge.*

Greek Salad

Cabbage Rolls

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake