Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil is coming to Bloomington! Ovo, the latest installment, will open under the Grand Chapiteau in Mall of America's North Parking Lot on May 26, 2011.

 Described as "an immersion into the teeming and energetic world of insects," Ovo promises to be just as spectacular as its Cirque du Soleil predecessors. While the show is based on the world beneath your feet, you can be sure that Ovo will take place around and above you! Acrosports, Flying, Slackwire, Spanish web-duo Butterflies, and more all set to a fantastic original score that Cirque du Soleil is known for will delight your senses and astonish your sensibilities.

Make sure you have your tickets, because they're bound to go quickly. Then, secure your reservations at Chez Daniel for some pre-show dinner or post-show dessert!

St. Germain

The weather this week has been fantastic! As we focus on the coming of Spring and all the wonderful things we'll be able to do at the end of such a long hibernation, we've started to ruminate on Spring drinks.

One of our new favorite staples remains St. Germain, the Elder Flower Liqueur. Not only is it a product of France, but it tastes sublime and comes packaged in the coolest Art Deco bottle ever!

We haven't yet encountered a drink made with St. Germain that we dislike, so we decided to share some of our favorites for you to try.

The Classic St. Germain Cocktail

2 oz. Dry Champagne 

1.5 oz. St. Germain

2 oz. Club Soda

Add all ingredients to a tall, ice-filled glass. Stir completely. Garnish with a Lemon Twist. 

The Pear Tree

1 1/2 parts St. Germain

1 1/2 parts Pear Vodka

1/2 part Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice

Dash of Angostura Bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a slice of Pear.

Make sure to pick up a bottle and whip something up for your next Spring shindig. We're sure you'll be feeling warm and fuzzy in no time!

Sweets - What's Not to Love?

Love is in the air! As we approach Valentine's Day weekend with ardent anticipation, our minds are on only one thing....Food!

Since everyone loves a good list, we've put our heads together to compile the most romantic desserts just in time for you to share a finger-licking, oh-so-sugary sweet moment with your valentine!

10. Gourmet Cupcakes in Unique Flavors

The cupcake craze continues to sweep the nation.
Surprise your sweetheart with an unexpected flavor, like lavender,
or even a traditional Valentine's Day favorite, red velvet!
Better yet, select a few choice flavors and share as you compare tasting notes. 

9. Chocolate Mousse

8. Chocolate Fondue

Molten hot chocolate with a variety of items to dunk, dip, savor and share?
Sounds like a valentine's dream come true!
Think berries, bananas, pineapple, pound cake, dried fruit (mango, apricots, etc.),
and Pirouette cookies. A simple chocolate fondue pot or double boiler
does the trick to melt your choice of chocolate to perfection.

7. Mini Chocolate Lava Cakes

6. Crème Brûlée

If you're looking for a challenge to impress your special someone,
crème brûlée is a great option!
You can stick with the traditional vanilla variety or
even upgrade to amaretto, or a variety or fruit options. 

5. Chocolate Truffles

4. Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Easy to prepare, chocolate covered strawberries are a longstanding
Valentine's Day favorite! Select from white, dark, or milk chocolate
(or even some combination of all three), and make sure you use long-stemmed fancy strawberries.
(They are a bit more pricey, but are larger, prettier, and
better tasting, so it's a solid trade-off). 

3. Anything flaming! Think Bananas Foster (for two of course)...

2. Berries & Fresh Whipped Cream

Possibly the easiest treat to prepare on the whole list with added points
for ease of portability. Select strawberries, raspberries, black berries, and blue berries.
Then, use slightly sweetened, freshly whipped cream
(or in a pinch even canned whipped cream would suffice). 

1. Anything sweet shared together in a romantic locale! (By a fireplace (indoor s'mores anyone?), where you had your first date, maybe even somewhere more private...)

Chocolate, berries, and cream seem to be the predominate elements on our list this year. (What a coincidence, Chez Daniel luckily incorporates many of these romantic ingredients into our dessert list).

So, now that you have our list to get you thinking, how will you sweeten your Valentine's Day?

Dining Out + Kids = Great!

Depending on who you ask, dining out with your children in tow is either a for sure or a faux pas. Yet, you can't just stay home when you don't have a sitter. Besides, how else are your kids going to learn how to behave in restaurants without experiencing it firsthand?

We've come up with five tips to help ensure dining out with your brood remains an enjoyable experience.

1. Make sure that the restaurant you're visiting welcomes children. Often, smaller and fancier restaurants do not have child-friendly menu items or even spaces and seating that are accommodating to younger diners. The best way to ensure success is to phone the restaurant directly and give them the ages of your children. This way the restaurant can let you know ahead of time if they'll welcome your kids with open arms.

2. Time is of the essence. Consider your children's attention spans very carefully. Then, figure in whether or not you'll have to wait to be seated and the restaurant's usual timing between courses. A restaurant that does not take reservations might be a poor choice for a busy weekend night, because hungry young diners often lack the fortitude to wait patiently for a table. Additionally, restaurants that serve multi-course tasting menus could either delight an older child, who anxiously awaits the arrival of the next course or aggravate a younger one, who is no longer amused with the situation.

3. Be prepared. More often than not, the restaurant will have coloring sheets and crayons or bread/crackers available for young guests, but this is not always a certainty. Crayola Color Wonder products are great to have on hand, because the markers only show up on the special paper. With travel kits available, transporting them is a snap! Worse case scenario, that pen and notebook Mom keeps in her purse could be a lifesaver. Additionally, when the kids are starving, rolling their eyes, and threatening imminent death should they not be fed immediately, granola bars, snack size bags of Cheerios, and other small snacks are great rations to tide little tummies over until meals arrive.

4. Make it fun! Show kids that eating out and experiencing different cuisines is a great way to learn new things and develop new likes. Let them pick out an appetizer that they've never tried before or talk them into splitting an adult entrée with you instead of the same old kids' menu fare. Then, for older children, let  them guess the total of the bill and help figure out the gratuity. It's a great way to impart your values on gratuity and how you honor those in the service industry by tipping.

5. Enjoy your time together. You're not busy cooking or cleaning up and you're all together, so this is a great time to sit back, catch up, and enjoy one another's company. Find out what they've been doing in school this week. Before dinner, engage in a tic-tac-toe battle royale with your elementary-age child or an I-spy session with your preschooler. No matter what you do, at least you're doing it together.

We're sure this list is by no means comprehensive. What do you do to make dining out enjoyable with your kids? We'd love to hear from you!