Thinking Out Loud Thursday - July 20, 2017

Hey there!  Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday!  Glad you stopped by -- feel free to link up below and share what you are thinking out loud about today.

First let me just say that I'm so sad I didn't publish a weekending post on Monday (or Tuesday or Wednesday).  Eric and I had a great anniversary weekend and enjoyed going out for dinner a couple of times and seeing All Shook Up at the Muny.  It was definitely a blog-worthy weekend - just ran out of time to put in down in writing!

Some of the highlights were getting these beautiful roses for our anniversary.  Thanks Eric!!

It was so fun running into a friend I haven't seen in a long time at the Muny!  It was great seeing you Gail!

Now on to what I'm thinking out loud about today ~ the evening we experienced at Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant this week.  Do you have a Cooper's Hawk near you?  We have been wine club members for almost a year and love it!  Ian and Kayla are members also and it's fun to meet them at the restaurant to experience our monthly wine tasting that's included in our membership.  This week was the first time we participated in one of the monthly themed dinners and that's what I'm thinking out loud about today.

Cooper's Hawk offers themed dinners once a month with a set menu and wine paired with each course.  We had tried to go to the dinner in June, but it was sold out by the time we requested reservations.  So we immediately made reservations for July's Sip of Summer dinner and waited patiently for the date to arrive.

As the group of guests filtered into the private dining room, we were served a glass of red sangria and given our table assignments.  The chef described our first course and the evening began ~

The Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta was paired with a Riesling.  The bruschetta was magnificent!  The bread crunchy, the tomatoes fresh and the balsamic glaze was the perfect finish.

Next we moved to the second course - Zesty Summer Tomato and Watermelon Gazpacho.  I have to admit, even though I knew the gazpacho was cold, every time I brought the spoon to my mouth I felt the need to blow on it.  Do you enjoy gazpacho in the summer?

This course was paired with your choice of Chardonnay or Rose.  My pick:

By this point of the evening we had made friends with everyone at our table and realized we actually knew some of the same people.  Small world!

The main course was "Fall Off The Bone" BBQ Ribs and Grilled Artisanal Sausage, accompanied by Mexican Street Corn, Smashed Potato Salad, and Summer Slaw.  Yes, those ribs were as good as they look and definitely fell off the bone!

The pairing for this course was Cooper Hawk's Cabernet Zinfandel - one of my favorites.

In between courses, the group of guests played a little game.  We had to put in order the top 5 most popular vacation spots in the USA.  I honestly don't know what the correct answers were, but the hostess did say no one got them all correct.

I, however, was the best guesser and won!!  Needless to say, I was thrilled to take home the prize bottle of wine.

Even though we were stuffed, when the Farmer's Market Peach and Berry Lemon Pound Cake was placed in front of us, we HAD to try it!

It was paired with Ice Wine.  Ice Wine is a bit on the sweet side for me, but did go nicely with the pound cake and makes a great dessert wine.

The evening was truly delightful and if there's a Cooper's Hawk near you I would highly recommend giving one of these dinners a try.

If you are in the St. Louis area and stop by the Cooper's Hawk at 1146 Town and Country Crossing Drive, ask for our favorite server Karly.  She's wonderful and will make your experience at Cooper's Hawk even better!

By the way, I'm not being compensated for this post.  Just wanted to share our experience in case you would like to try something like this too.  :)

Now it's your turn.  What are you thinking out loud about today?

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