Pumpkinsss

It's that time of year! Time to get pumpkins!

Michael and I go every year, and this year his sister Cristine invited us to go with her and her husband Tim. We were fortunate to get a beautiful autumn day which made the day even more picturesque. Because I was lazy and didn't take many photos, I stole the one's below from Cristine's facebook.

 

To start, we did a corn maze that supposedly takes 45 minutes to an hour to do. We did it in about 20 minutes thanks to the boys.

To be fair, we did have a map! So without it we'd probably be lost for awhile.

After, we headed to the patch to get pumpkins galore!

Now our home is filled with them! I still felt so festive the day after, I made pumpkin oatmeal balls the next morning before Michael and I hit our matinee showing of The Martian (which was super good btw).

How was your weekend? Are you into the pumpkin craze?

RN74

It's restaurant week in Seattle! That means participating restaurants are offering a three course menu for $30! It's a great way to bring in new customers by reeling them in with a good deal and then showcasing what they've got to keep them coming.

For awhile Michael's been wanting to go to RN74, a contemporary french restaurant in downtown, so taking advantage of restuarant week, we decided to go yesterday night.

Right away, we loved the atmosphere. Dark leather chairs, wooden tables, and dropping lights. Bustling and busy with everyone well-dressed, you knew immediately that this was one trendy spot. It also has a master somm, which made Michael and I geek out a bit. Each glass of wine was perfect, like a little taste of heaven. I stuck with a pinot noir from Burgundy the whole night, but Michael paired his meal with a gruner veltliner, chenin blanc, and a syrah blend.

For our first course, Michael did foie grois and I did the pumpkin soup:

I never had foie grois before, so when I took a bite out of this, I really wanted to fall off my chair. It was so rich and savory but balanced well with the powdered donut and fruit compote. It tasted more like a dessert than an appetizer, but I'm definitely not complaining!

My pumpkin soup was probably the best pumpkin soup I ever had. With the rosemary crutons, creme fariche, and seeds, it was well balanced, creamy yet light, and tasted like autumn.

For the main entree, I decided to splurge. And I mean really splurge! Look at that!

The gnocchi parisienne with mushrooms. This was seriously an indulgence and I was only able to finish half because it was so rich.

Michael had the steak frites (not pictured, since it turned out horrible) and it was delicious. The steak was cooked to perfection and the frites were fried in duck fat. Let me repeat, duck fat. And though it's not healthy for my heart, I cannot deny that those fries were amazingly delicious!

And then came dessert. Beignets and sorbet (persimmon and pineapple basil)!

So good! Every last bite! Also please note that Michael and I don't normally eat such indulgenty (not a word, I know) things everyday! We aim to eat healthy too :) This was just not one of those nights!

So our conclusions on RN74?

Wine list? Awesome.
Atmosphere? Trendy.
Contemporary French or Classic French? Classic French cooking all the way. Though this meal was amazing. It was just a bit too heavy and rich for my palate. My favorite French restaurant so far continues to be Brasserie Four. Check out my experience there here.
Will Michael and I return to RN74? Probably for drinks and small plates. Happy hour would be great if we both worked downtown. But for a full course meal? Probably not. Seattle has so many choices. However, I think it would be in our top 5 for fine dining experiences.

Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze

Last year Michael and I went pumpkin picking and went through a corn maze. It was such good fun we decided to do it this year and make a tradition out of it.

Michael picked out a white pumpkin this year while I picked out orange ones for Blaire and I.

The weather unfortunately was very unpredictable, going from dry to pouring down rain the next. Nonetheless we stuck it out and waited for it to past.

After getting all our pumpkins we decided to treat ourselves with some kettle corn and hot spiced apple cider.

Then it was off to the corn/sunflower maze!

All in all it was fun and relaxing way to spend our Saturday. If you haven't been pumpkin picking yet, I recommend doing so before the season ends!