MANGO and GINGER

Happy Hour Friday: Boozy Ginger-Lemonade

2012-01-27T08:20:00.000-05:00

Some moms (good ones) build traditions with their children around storytime, or playground visits. At our house, traditions are built around cocktail hour. For real.

But in a responsible way! I set out a few snacks, turn on some music, then make a couple of drinks - a real one for me and a kiddie version for Dixon. It's fun.

Usually we reserve cocktail hour for Fridays, but this week was crazy busy by Tuesday, so we really needed a little break. Plus, earlier in the day, I remembered that I had a bag of Meyer lemons in the fridge (a gift from Cooper's mom) that were probably getting soft. An idea was born.

I also had a bottle of ginger syrup (another Patsy gift), which seemed like a good fit for the lemon. Dixon found a spare can of lemon selzer in our downstairs refrigerator...and the cocktail was born.

For my drink: 1 shot of vodka, 1.5 tablespoons of Meyer lemon juice and about a half a tablespoon of ginger syrup, poured over ice and topped with selzer, then stirred vigorously. Very tart, very refreshing.

Dixon's drink was basically the same, minus the vodka and plus more selzer. He took his down immediately.

Just add Trader Joe's sesame honey cashews (so good!) and "Video Killed the Radio Star" on repeat (it's Dixon's new favorite song, as of this week). And there it is - recipe for a great Mommy-and-Me cocktail hour!

I Want to Have a Party Like This

2012-01-26T13:09:00.001-05:00

How great is this space?

It's the site of a 30th birthday party, thrown by Savory Sister, Wesley Shaw (details here, from Garden and Gun). It's also entirely reasonable inspiration for me. We have a garage, Cooper built me a beautiful, long wooden table, and I have about a trillion Christmas lights that would be easy to string.

And let's talk about this:

I could make that sign! Cooper could (easily) build that bar! We could use chalkboard paint to turn an old door into a menu board! This is so happening.

The last time we had dinner in our garage, it was crabs on top of plywood. But that doesn't mean this won't happen, as soon as it's warm enough to sit out there without gloves on.

Photo credit: Kickstand Studio.

Old School Thursday: Vices & Fixes Edition

2012-01-26T08:52:00.002-05:00

National Peanut Brittle Day! Woohoo! Actually, I really do like peanut brittle. Also, today in 1875, the first battery-powered dentist’s drill earned a patent for George F. Green of Kalamazoo – and I can’t help but think the need for dentist drills and peanut brittle are closely linked. In my mouth, at least (and believe me, I’ve seen many a dentist drill).

In other January 26th news, today is St. Timothy’s Day and he is the patron saint of NO stomachaches. So useful!

In 1838, Tennessee passed a temperance law, the first state in the union to do so. To that, I say boo. And Tennessee, the land of bourbon, of all places!

Finally, today in 1932, William Wrigley, Jr., of chewing gum and baseball stadium fame, passed away.

So to celebrate today, eat some brittle, gum, drink some bourbon – and pray that you avoid both stomachaches and dentist drills, at least for the time being.

Tuesday Tables: Clearing Out

2012-01-24T07:38:00.002-05:00

I have a lot going on right now, work-wise. My "really, seriously have to do this" list for today has seven different projects on it - and that's just the work stuff. I'm feeling a little like this:

Which is why I would love to be sitting down to a little of this right now:

Clean, fresh, white, pretty. Interesting, thanks to the textures, but not overwhelming. I need my day to start resembling this stat.

Photo credits: Messy fraternity table from Planet Green. White table from NagmaSite.

Happy Hour Friday: MORE Purple Cocktails

2012-01-20T08:35:00.000-05:00

It's week two of the playoffs here in Baltimore, which means it's week two of purple drinking here at M&G (week one is here). Fortunately, this week, Google delivered me some new and interesting options, courtesy of The Kitchn. The commenters there definitely know how to drink!

My new purple favorites:

The Aviation: gin, lemon juice, creme de violette and a spoonful of maraschino liquor, garnished with a maraschino cherrie (I looove cherries, since I looove Shirley Temples)
The Stratosphere: champagne, creme de violette and a lemon twist (pretty!)
The Concord Grape Mimosa: just champers and grape juice - but it would have to be really good grape juice, without too much added sugar

Or maybe this week, blue food coloring + red food coloring + Miller Lite. If you want to class it up.

Either way, go Ravens!

Old School Thursday: Pop Goes the Can Edition

2012-01-19T07:47:00.002-05:00

Today is National Popcorn Day – and popcorn is one of those foods that definitely does deserve a national day of celebration. It’s so festive, for one thing, and historically significant, for another. Go popcorn!

In other January 19th news, today in 1825, the first U.S. patent for food storage in cans was granted to Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett. Hipsters everywhere thank you, Mssrs. Daggett and Kensett.

So that’s it. Popcorn in a can, anyone?

Rothko + Cookies

2012-01-18T14:03:00.000-05:00

Seeing this brightened my day considerably:

(Via Design Public on Facebook)

Tuesday Tables: More Purple

2012-01-17T08:28:00.001-05:00

If you're in Baltimore and considering a last-minute, very fancy, pre-game dinner party - and you don't yet have any linens or flowers - here you go!

These would all go nicely with pigs-in-blankets and buffalo chicken dip, don't you think?

Photo credits: Tall flowers and hurricane lamps, outdoor with hydrangeas, china, fall fruit,

Happy Hour Friday: Purple Reign Cocktails

2012-01-13T08:32:00.001-05:00

It's purple Friday here in Baltimore, which explains why I woke up in the middle of the night trying to craft purple cocktails in my head. I was stuck on something involving grenadine and blue curacao, which really doesn't sound good, not even in a retro way (though I did end up seeing an online recipe that mixes exactly those ingredients).

Fortunately, the internet is there for me. Unfortunately, most of the drinks I saw sounded horrendous. "Make a clear drink and drop a purple Skittle in it" - really?

But I did find a couple of decent ideas, courtesy of a Chowhound thread. So if you're in a Ravens kind of mood today and looking for a drink with team spirit, give one of these a try:

The Superhero: vodka, tequila, blueberry syrup and raspberries
Lavender Cosmo: vodka, parfait amour, cranberry juice and lime (parfait amour is an orange-flavored liqueur that looks purple - and that's difficult to find, but apparently very good)

Or just stick with the Natty Boh. That works, too.

UPDATE: A mindmeld between Kathy and Sarah G. in the comments sent me searching for the violet-flavored liqueur creme de violette, and that's when I found the Rothman & Winter website. The site has a bunch of cocktail recipes that sound like they might turn out purple...and delicious. I especially like the sound of the Toulouse (vodka, creme de violette and vanilla liqueur) and the Yale Cocktail (gin, vermouth and creme de violette). A quick search shows that the Drillaud brand of creme de violette is available at Beltway Liquors.

UPDATE #2: I just discovered this is my 1,500th post! Good luck for the Ravens, maybe?

Old School Thursday: Careme Edition

2012-01-12T09:28:00.003-05:00

It’s National Marzipan Day. Sure – why not?

The other big news in food history is that on January 12, 1833, Marie-Antoine Careme passed away at the tender age of 48. Careme was chef to a host of famous food-lovers, including Talleyrand, the future George IV of England, Russian Emperor Alexander I and Baron James de Rothschild, whose name alone gives wine lovers a little tingle. As much time as Careme spent cooking, he also spent writing, recording tons of recipes, in addition to culinary history, instructions for kitchen organization and management and careful explanations of food presentation.

So maybe National Marzipan Day really is appropriate. Especially if the marzipan is used for a beautiful, elaborate dessert created in memory of Careme.

Tuesday Tables: Gray & Simple

2012-01-10T08:25:00.003-05:00

It looks like the sun is shining here in Baltimore today, but yesterday was a big mess of gray, which sent me in search of tables that are on the quiet side, design-wise.

I came across this really lovely wedding design, which was a contest entry from a team of party planners and a photographer in Portland. It's so simple:

So clean - so January. Check out the rest of the shots here.

Photo credit: Sara Gray Photography. Design: Punch.

Happy Hour Friday: The UFO

2012-01-06T08:17:00.000-05:00

First ever "Happy Hour Friday"! Once a week, I'll write about a drink that's caught my eye. First up: the UFO, which is made of one part genever, or Holland gin, and two parts bitter lemon soda.

I have to admit, it wasn't the UFO itself that caught my eye - it was the ingredients. Genever, which is regular gin's juniper-based ancestor, is all over the place lately - clearly the new it booze. Bitter lemon soda is having a bit of a moment in the sun, as well, for some reason. So put them both together, and you've clearly got the Next Big Thing.

Although, the UFO is probably best enjoyed someplace hot and sunny, like, say, Roswell. Because I have to admit, dark, cold mornings don't exactly make me go reaching for the bitter lemon bottle.

Old School Thursday: Folding Chairs & Important Amendments Edition

2012-01-05T08:32:00.000-05:00

Today is National Sacher Torte Day, and I suppose you could make yourself a nice Sacher torte to celebrate some of the other accomplishments that happened on January 5th, like the patent of a the first folding chair design, which happened in 1854 by Aaron Allen.

It’s hard to imagine a world before folding chairs, isn’t it? Not that we use folding chairs every single day…but they certainly do come in handy.

A couple of generations later, in 1933, today was a very big day, indeed – since it was the day that Utah and Nevada voted for the 21st amendment, and those votes repealed Prohibition. It’s a lot harder to imagine an America without booze for sale than it is a world without folding chairs.

But speaking of Prohibition, today in 2006, New York City banned artificial trans fats in restaurant foods. Don’t get me started.

So enjoy that Sacher torte today, on a folding chair, with some booze. Sounds like something out of Clue, doesn’t it?

Tuesday Tables: A Fresh Clean Start

2012-01-03T08:22:00.003-05:00

This place setting is a part of "summer tables" slideshow from Country Living, but I think its simplicity is perfect for January. It's exactly what I want to see, after spending hours packing up all of my Christmas decorations:

Simple, clean, no frills. Welcome to January.

Photo credit: Thayer Allison Gowdy for Country Living.

New Year's Resolutions 2012

2012-01-03T08:02:00.000-05:00

First, a look back at last year's resolutions, which involved haircuts and caftans and reduced workloads. How'd I do? Well, I did start getting regular haircuts and I actually bought the caftan in the post, though I've only worn it once (at the beach, much to the amusement of the friends).

As for work, well, I probably deserve some credit, in that I was a little smarter about the types of projects I agreed to - I turned down a bunch that I knew would make me miserable. But in the end, I worked approximately the same number of hours. But I think I'll still put work in the "win" category.

So I'm feeling reasonably good about those 2011 resolutions. On to 2012, when I will:

1. Look better when I leave the house, even if I'm only going to Target. This involves a) mascara, at a minimum, and b) wearing my nice clothes, and leaving the leggings at home.

2. Stop feeling guilty about focusing on fun, rather than more scholarly or serious stuff. This one is vague, I know, but basically it comes down to this: if I want to spend my free time planning and throwing parties, instead of doing research for a pretend book I'm never actually going to write, that's OK. Hosting parties, where I have fun and so do my friends, is just as noble a pursuit as anything academic. As a mantra, it's a little long, but it's true!

So that's it for 2012: More Mascara, More Parties.

Also, more blogging. Starting today, I'm adding two regular weekly features, to replace some of my old weekly features that have fallen by the wayside. This year, Tuesdays will be all about pretty tables and Fridays will focus on happy hour, with featured cocktails.

So that's it. Welcome, 2012!

Old School Thursday: All Ages Edition

2011-12-29T08:00:00.003-05:00

Welcome to the last Old School Thursday of 2011! Today is Pepper Pot Day and National Chocolate Again Day and I have no idea what either one of those things mean. Fitting, I guess, since I’m never totally clear on the established days of recognition.

It’s also Robert C. Baker’s birthday (1921). Who is Robert C. Baker, you ask? A former Poultry and Food Science professor from Cornell – WHO INVENTED CHICKEN NUGGETS. The children of the world say thank you, Professor Baker.

And six years ago today, Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans reopened it’s doors, just four months after Hurricane Katrina forced it to close. I’m sure New Orleans isn’t exactly what it was before the hurricane, but its story is certainly one of resilience, isn’t it? Inspiring.

So celebrate today…with a chicken nugget po’boy maybe? Chicken nugget gumbo? Chicken nugget etouffe? Or maybe let the kids have the nuggets and keep the NOLA food for the grown-ups.

Taking Stock of 2011: What I Missed

2011-12-28T10:05:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year again: those last few days when work is slow, school is out and we've all got plenty of time to meditate on the year that's passed, and plan for the one coming up.

For me, this means it's also time to look back with regret on all the posts that went unwritten in 2011 - when my busy work schedule and busy kid schedule kept me from blogging a whole lot. I didn't write at all about the amazing Black Ankle wine dinner we had at Crush. Meeting owner Ed Boyce was a highlight - he's a total inspiration. He and his wife, Sarah O'Herron, make high quality, Bordeaux-style wine in Maryland - proving it can be done. Meeting Ed was a great reminder that in most cases, if you're smart, work hard and take risks, it's possible to create something excellent. Plus, dinner was delicious.

I didn't write nearly enough about Jeff and Christine's wedding at the beach, where Christine's attention to detail, combined with seriously incredible bartenders, made for a weekend that was gorgeous and also a total blast.

Cooper, Kyle and me at Jeff and Christine's reception. Not pictured: Cooper's
orange pants. They are AWESOME.

Christine took this picture at the rest of us at Doc Frank. Good times,
despite the rain.

I glossed right over our trip to Keuka Lake in October, when Cooper, Alicia, Mike, Jeff, Christine and I wine-tasted our way around the lake one super-rainy Saturday. We started out with an excellent lunch at Bully Hill, where the wine isn't so good, but everything that comes out of the giant smoker definitely is. Then we hit Dr. Konstantin Frank and Heron Hill before driving around the lake to Keuka Spring and Rooster Hill. Our favorite - a surprise to everyone - was Keuka Spring, a smaller, family-owned spot that tends to fly under the Finger Lakes wine radar.

The bar (AKA Dixon's dresser, moved into the dining room and covered
fabric left over from that big party we had in October 2010.

I barely posted about our annual Mock Thanksgiving party, which this year was an adults-only cocktail party, with oysters, sweet potato ham biscuits, turkey-stuffing-cranberry sliders and a powerful pomegranate-orange champagne cocktail. All of that required a lot of time in the kitchen - and a lot of help from Tommy Sheldon, who is a solid photographer/sous chef. (Alicia provided some fabulous cupcakes, too, of course, and Tommy also made some incredible pralines for dessert.)

And I completely missed posting about the annual 5th annual holiday Carol & Crawl. This is a party that's been evolving over time - it went from four houses the first year, to five (including a whiskey bar that, well, let's just say that year was a little crazy), down to three houses the third year, then to a bar last year. This year, the whole group decided to ditch the progressive part of the party. It was hosted by Kyle, Mary, Bill, Mike and Alicia, but the whole thing took place at the Barger's house - as a pinot noir tasting competition. Kyle and Mary's wine (Aqua Pumpkin) won, but that's still in dispute, since nobody got more than three votes and there's a chance Kyle stacked the votes. Maybe.

At any rate, it was a great party, which ended very late with lots of very bad dancing.

My favorite picture from the Carol & Crawl - I think it really captures
the spirit of the end of the night.

On top of all of these posts-not-written, I neglected to write about a few very satisfying dinners: a couple at Petit Louis, at least one at demi (where we're having New Year's Eve dinner, as well), and a million at Clementine, which has become our weeknight go-to, thanks to its kid-friendliness (and general friendliness...and, of course, the food). And I could've written more about our trips to Chicago (two in one year!) and the serious workout Cooper gave his smoker. I had a pretty good year - it's a shame I barely wrote about it.

I'm still working on my blogging plans for 2012, but it's safe to say that one of my goals is to actually blog about the stuff I do!

Old School Thursday: Winter=Kit's Birthday Edition

2011-12-22T08:22:00.004-05:00

Today is, of course, the Winter Solstice, which means that starting tomorrow, every day will get a little longer. Nice! It’s also National Date Nut Bread Day, which sounds good, I guess. But really it should be National Angel Food Cake with Pink Marshmallow Frosting and Peppermint Ice Cream Day. Because it is my birthday and growing up, that is what I requested every year.

And for dinner: chicken divan. Though this year, since I would have to make it and I just made a few weeks ago, we’ll be going out to dinner. Clementine, I think, because it’s always good and friendly and Dixon likes it there.

So happy winter, everyone! And happy National Angel Food Cake with Pink Marshmallow Frosting and Peppermint Ice Cream Day!

From Blind to Table

2011-12-21T08:46:00.003-05:00

After numerous hunting trips this season, Cooper finally brought something home! He, his dad and our brother-in-law, Seth, got seven geese during a guided hunt in Harford County on Monday:

(UPDATE: Cooper wanted me to clarify that the guide shot one of the geese - the limit is two per person and they weren't doing anything illegal)

Side note: Cooper looks oddly petite here.

Cooper and the guide broke the geese down in the field and Cooper just brought home the breasts. I'd never cooked wild geese before, so I was a little nervous, but that is what the internet is for, right? Actually, there wasn't nearly as much specific guidance as I expected. I found Hank Shaw's blog most helpful (Cooper really likes his book Hunt, Gather, Cook).

Anyway, step one involved soaking the breasts in cold water for a few hours, to draw out the blood. Before this, the breasts were a deep red color. Actually, out of the water they were pretty dark, too, but the soaking did pull a lot of the blood from the meat:

Mmmm...raw goose.

Shaw recommends pairing goose with citrus flavors, or with fall fruits, like apples or pears. I went the pear route:

Crispy.

Since the pears were very firm, I sliced them and tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper and a little sugar. A lot of the goose recipes suggest wrapping the breasts in bacon. I had already decided not to do that, but I liked the idea of bacon, so I threw a few slices on top of the pears, then added some liquid in the form of port. In the oven at 400 degrees, these took about an hour to soften - they probably could've stayed in even longer.

Mmmm...raw bacon.

Since this was my very first time cooking goose, I only cooked two of the breasts. If I screwed up, I didn't want to take all the meat with me. I started out with a quick marinade of red wine, Worcestershire, rosemary, garlic, Seasonello salt (we love that stuff) and pepper. After about an hour of marinating, I pulled the breasts and gave them a quick, but deep sear in olive oil over high-ish heat:

This made a mess. Olive oil splatters everywhere.

Once the meat was brown all over - and it did get brown fairly quickly (3 minutes for the first side, about 2 for the other side), I put it in a pan and added it to the oven, where it roasted for about 40 minutes until it was done (though our meat thermometer didn't say it was done - but that's another story, the sad tale of our inability to find a reliable meat thermometer):

Does that look like 135 degrees to you? No. Not to me, either. Thanks, thermometer.

While the meat was in the oven, I made a quick sauce with the pan drippings, adding shallots and red wine, then finishing with butter. Paired with the pears, the goose really did have nice flavor and while it was a little gamey, the "wild" flavor wasn't at all overwhelming.

Just add wine.

This paired really well with our new favorite wine (Saint Cosme Cote-du-Rhone) and overall, I was pretty happy with my first effort. Next time, though, I'll finish the goose at a lower temperature in the oven (no more than 350) and I'll go a little saucier on the sauce (I was expecting a little more fat to render from the goose, but it was really quite lean).

Next up: possibly involving the slow-cooker, then making a ragu. Or going the citrus route with an orangey pan sauce. We've got three more breasts left in our share, so we've got some room to experiment.

Old School Thursday: Helpful Europeans Edition

2011-12-15T08:31:00.001-05:00

Today is National Lemon Cupcake Day, which doesn’t really feel full of the spirit of the season, but I guess cupcakes are full of holiday spirit as much as any other sweet food is? We’ve got at least one cupcake on our counter right now, next to the gingerbread house. It’s not lemon, but still.

Today’s also a big day for old Europe. Today in 1686, Isaak Walton, author of The Compleat Angler, or the Contemplative Man’s Recreation, passed away.

A few hundred years later, in 1902, also on December 15th, Pierre-Marie-Alexis Millardet died. Who is he, you ask? Only someone we all owe a great debt to – Millardet is the botanist who saved the French vineyards from destruction by phylloxera.

Phylloxera is a fungus native to North America, but it was introduced to Europe during the late 19th century and very nearly destroyed the vineyards of France. Today, the vines of Europe are hybrids that have been grafted with phylloxera-resistant rootstock – a practice begun by Millardet and fellow French botanist Jules Emile Planchon. The phylloxera epidemic also plays a big role in the evaluation of very old wines for authenticity, since wines that are legitimately pre-phylloxera are different, structurally, from wines available after the epidemic.

At any rate, thank you, M. Millardet!

And finally, today in 1903, Italo Marchiony received a patent for an ice cream cup mold, into which he folded warm waffles to create an ice cream cone.

Fish, wine, ice cream. And don’t forget the lemon cupcakes! It’s quite a day.

Holiday-Friendly G&Ts

2011-12-13T17:04:00.001-05:00

I'm pretty sure that's what this is. This, by the way, is a powerful-sounding gin, tonic and champagne cocktail created by Brooks Reitz, the guy behind Jack Rudy tonic, which I have been dying to try, but have forced myself not to buy because it is just so bloody expensive.

You know what makes me want to bite that bullet, though, and buy it? This quote from Reitz, in the Julia Reed piece introducing his new cocktail column at Fetch:

My biggest fear was making something ourselves and having it turn out not to be delicious - just because it’s homemade doesn’t always make it better.

Amen, brother.

Also in the Reed article: a brief aside about Plymouth gin being the favorite brand of the John D. MacDonald character, Travis McGee. I had no idea. My parents have just about the whole collection of Travis McGee books in their basement - all the titles have colors in them, and when I was little, I spent time trying to memorize all the books. I know, useful - but I'd be very prepared if I came across a JDM category on Jeopardy one day.

But back to that drink. It sounds intriguing - the ingredients are all things I like. The question is, would it be worth the hangover? Because when you're mixing gin and champagne, the morning after's gotta be a mess, right?

Christmas Construction

2011-12-12T08:53:00.000-05:00

Gingerbread houses have always been one of Dixon's favorite parts of Christmastime. This year, Cooper's mom took him to a gingerbread house decorating class. The house he came home with was a whole lot better than most of our previous efforts.

The front:

From the side:

A close-up of the "face" on the front (the Oreos are the eyes, the fudge stripe is the nose and the red is the mouth, in case you couldn't tell):

And the snowman, watching guard:

Dixon had a great time at the class, which was a great fit for him considering his love of all things symmetrical (and all things candy). I should point out, though, that because our young prince doesn't like getting his hands sticky (though he doesn't mind getting them dirty), he told Patsy where to put the decorations and she did the actual application.

What a delegator. Destined for management, that one.

Old School Thursday: American Innovation Edition

2011-12-08T08:21:00.001-05:00

Today is National Brownie Day, but it’s mostly notable because it’s Eli Whitney’s birthday (1765). Whitney, of course, was the inventor of the cotton gin. And what does that have to do with food, you ask? Well, Whitney did invent the concept of mass producing interchangeable parts, without which, we wouldn’t have mass-scale manufacturing (and that includes a lot of food products).

Plus, it’s got “gin” in the name. Yes, I know it’s not that type of gin. We’ll take what we can get here.

More on The 2012 Trends

2011-12-07T06:29:00.000-05:00

Some additional observations on yesterday's food trend list: Hungary seems to be this year's Peru.
I also see a shift away from everything being painstakingly handmade (and time-consuming), towards more convenient service for the customer. Maybe it's the recession? We're all just tired? Or maybe we're just tired of waiting 15 minutes for that gin and tonic, and we don't really care if the ice was hand-cut.

Because as nice as artisanal smoked ice and small-batch cocktails sound on paper, are they really viable in the real world? Where we all just want a drink?

Food Trend Lists: 'Tis the Season

2011-12-06T08:11:00.001-05:00

Ah, December. When my mailbox fills with catalogs, my email inbox fills with 20% and free shippin offers...and my Google alerts are chock full of articles about food trends.

If you read just one trend piece this year, make it this report from Andrew Freeman & Company. It's extensive, which means there are some sort of tired trends, especially if you're a food blogger who reads trend reports every year (Yuzu? Sure, in 2008.)

It also means, though, that there are a few predictions that feel genuinely fresh, even to this jaded blogger. My votes for A&F's most daring, and most interesting, predictions:

The rise of Hungarian foods, drinks and flavors: Was this a predictor?
Hand-pulled noodles: I know next to nothing about them, so obviously I'm intrigued
Edible landscapes: For A&F, this is about creating gorgeous dishes that look like nature, but I initially read it as creating tables with edible centerpieces - both interesting concepts
Snow ice from Taiwan: Possibly a flash-in-the-pan trend, but still genuinely new
Mixed drinks on tap: The opposite of artisanal cocktails that take 15 minutes to make - I think I like it
Schnitzel in a sandwich: What's not to like? And actually, this fits with a few other predictions, all around the rise of German/Eastern European cuisine

There's a lot more at the original link, including a look at hospitality and marketing trends, but these were the most intriguing.

Old School Thursday: Culture-Rich Edition

2011-12-01T07:43:00.001-05:00

Happy December, everybody! Not only is today National Pie Day (wasn’t that last week?) and “Eat a Red Apple Day” (keeps the doctor away), it’s also St. Eligius Day and he is a patron of agricultural workers and knife makers. Certainly a good friend for any foodie to have.

In other, totally random, food news today, on December 1, 1885, Dr. Pepper was sold for the very first time. Of course, the company’s real triumph came in 1962, when it introduced its first diet product. Diet Dr. Pepper…it really does taste just like the regular!

Today in 1936, the first patent was issued for a commercial scale hydroponic system for plant culture, making inventors Ernest Walfrid Brundin and Frank F. Lyon heroes to dry land farmers and weed smokers everywhere.

And, finally, today is Eric Bloom’s birthday (1944) – he’s best known as the lead singer for Blue Oyster Cult, which of course has nothing to do with regular oysters, but at least it’s an “R” month.

So to all of that, we say more pie, more Peppers, more hydroponics and, of course, “More Cowbell.”

Festive Fall Fun: HSC-RMC Tailgate

2011-11-23T07:48:00.001-05:00

We've had such a fun fall, filled with the sorts of activities that make for good movies: a rainy wine tasting weekend, super fun Halloween and a great cocktail party at our house. In fact, we've been so busy for the past couple of months that I haven't actually blogged about any of it at all - until today.

This first "festive fall fun" post is all about the trip we took to Richmond two weeks ago. Here's some background: my brother went to Hampden-Sydney, a tiny college in southwestern Virginia (it's also one of the only all-guys colleges left in the country). Cooper went to Randolph Macon, which is just outside of Richmond and which also happens to be Hampden-Sydney's biggest rival.

Every year, the HSC-RMC football game is a big deal. Not so much for the game itself as for the tailgate. Both schools breed a certain sort of student: the kind that is great at tailgating.

So that's how we found ourselves driving to Richmond on an early, but bright and sunny, morning two weeks ago, with a car packed full of food and tailgating gear. And here's what happened:

Dixon played football with anyone who would entertain him - mostly Cooper and my brother (that's Tom in the picture).

Cooper spent a good $75 at the RMC bookstore, on things like a lovely camo RMC hat for himself and a way-too-big shirt for Dixon. Also, a giant yellow foam finger with "Go Jackets!" written all over it. It's hot.

The food! Between me, Cail and two of Tom's college friends and their wives, we had enough to feed an army. White chicken chili, little Cubans, shrimp sandwiches, and pimiento cheese sandwiches, cheese and crackers, sweet potato salsa, deviled eggs - and cupcakes. Oh yeah, and fried chicken. Lots of fried chicken. And bacon vodka bloody marys to wash it all down. The food was amazing...so good that we actually saw someone steal some from us! And not just a college kid, either - it was a woman in her thirties!

It was breezy and our tent might have broken a few times. But it was worth it to watch my brother apply his lawyer skills to a mechanical problem.

After the game, we went back to Tom and Cail's, where the festivities continued:

There were guns...

And glowsticks.

Actually, guns and glowsticks is probably a pretty good description of how things often shake out at a Waskom-Pollard party.

Besides the toys, there was more great food at Tom and Cails, including endive cups with bleu cheese, walnuts and grapes, duck proscuitto (so rich! so good!) and foie gras, sauteed and sprinkled with truffle salt.

And yes, that was as good as it sounds.

Oh - and that game? This year, Randolph Macon won, but it didn't totally matter, since HSC had already won the conference. We didn't make it to the game itself, anyway. Too busy socializing and, of course, eating.

UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot to mention this: all of these pictures were taken by Cail. Since I didn't even bring my camera!

Old School Thursday: Yeast & Preservatives Edition

2011-11-17T07:43:00.001-05:00

Today offers all kinds of choices in the baked goods category. It’s National Bread Day and also the Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, patron of bakers. So there’s that. Plus, it’s National Baklava Day, so if you like your pastry phyllo-style, with a little honey, you’re in good shape.

In other news, today in 1749, Nicolas Appert was born. Nicolas Appert, you ask? Who’s he? Only the inventor of canning. Foodzie sellers and urban farmers everywhere owe him a major debt.

Fast-forward over two centuries: today in 1988 the first Wal-Mart Super Center opened in Wheeler, Oklahoma. I’m not much of a Wal-Mart fan myself – around here, it’s just about next to Target and Target is so much prettier. But I certainly appreciate the company’s efforts to provide lots and lots of stuff to lots of people, very inexpensively. Also, I appreciate that Wal-Mart gives small town kids something to do that doesn’t involve drinking in the woods somewhere. At least they can roam around the produce aisle.

So today, get your canning on! Also, your baked goods!

Infographics Keep Me Going

2011-11-15T16:20:00.001-05:00

I had a migraine yesterday - my first one ever. Needless to say, it sucked, especially since I think it was triggered by a combination of Excel and the internet - both dear to my heart. I'm back online today, though, and my mood has brightened considerably thanks to this piece of art from Chowhound (via my friend Adam's Facebook feed):

Pilgrim-themed taser, indeed.

Old School Thursday: Boring, Yet Holy Edition

2011-11-10T07:52:00.003-05:00

Today is National Vanilla Cupcake Day, proving that even boring (though delicious) foods need their day in the sun.

It’s also St. Tryphon day, the patron of gardeners – a patronage he shares with St. Sebastian, St. Gertrude of Nivelles and St. Fiacres, and probably a lot more saints who don’t have honorary days falling on Thursday this year. According to Catholic.org, there are more than 10,000 saints, and even the church doesn’t have a complete count. Not all of them have honorary days, but even if only a third of them do, well, it’s easy to see why there’s some doubling up for the gardeners.

And that’s about it for today. Enjoy that vanilla cupcake!

Restaurant Review: Republic Noodle

2011-11-09T07:57:00.002-05:00

I'm in the Sun again, this time reviewing Republic Noodle, a new noodle bar in Federal Hill. Short version: we loved it. It's new, and we experienced a few timing glitches, but the food is fantastic and the staff knows what it's doing.

In fact, the staff was even more of a high point than I let on in the review. Our waiter was awesome - knowledgeable but also funny. Another side benefit: we got to eavesdrop on the bad date (maybe a 3rd or 4th date) at the table next to us. On the off chance the girl at that table is reading this: you seem nice! I hope you're not still with that guy.

2011-11-04T07:57:00.001-04:00

Cail has been a cool-infographic-finding Ninja Master lately. Yesterday, she sent me a link to this work of wonder from Grub Street:

Funny and insightful. I love it.

I haven't been oblivious to what the graph illustrates, either - especially recently, it's "artisan" this and "artisan" that every time I turn on the TV, thanks mostly to Domino's. It's not just about big companies, or about food either - it's also about crappy products. Every time a sub-par knitter starts an Etsy store, the power of "artisan" declines just a little. "Artisan" loses from both ends - the stuff that's actually handmade gets worse, while stuff that's created in a central facility someplace coopts the label.

Just because it's handmade doesn't mean it's good. And just because it's not handmade doesn't mean it's bad...but tell that to the marketing people at Domino's.

Old School Thursday: Freezing Sandwiches Edition

2011-11-03T07:37:00.001-04:00

Today is a big day. For one thing, it’s John Montague’s birthday (1718). Who is John Montague, you ask? Why, he’s the 4th Earl of Sandwich, of course. The one who, according to legend, invented the sandwich when he didn’t want to break from a particularly riveting card game to eat.

Appropriately, then, today is Sandwich Day.

It’s also St. Hubert’s Day. He is the patron saint of hunters…because you need some meat for that sandwich.

In other news, today in 1832, Sir John Leslie, the first person to artificially create ice, passed away. He paved the way for our next milestone – on November 3, 1952, frozen peas were added to the Birdseye frozen veg portfolio. It’s hard to imagine a world without frozen peas, no? Thank you to Sir Leslie and Clarence Birdseye for that!

Finally, today in 1966, the first truth in packaging law came into effect, requiring that ingredients are listed on food packaging. For food safety and transparency, I suppose, but the law also helped me learn a lot of very long names for preservatives from the back of cereal boxes. So there’s that.

Today, how about a sandwich-shaped birthday cake? Even better: make it an ice cream cake! Because we have artificial ice!

Flavor Destination: South of Here

2011-11-02T08:46:00.000-04:00

Pretty much everybody likes spicy, warm weather-inspired food, right? I mean, except for my grandmother, but she gets to be an exception to many rules.

Anyway, I've had a couple of good vacation-style meals lately, out and about in the Greater Baltimore area. I thought I should share them:

First up, a couple of really nice meals at Los Amigos on Harford Road. It's fun, not too busy on weeknights, and the salsa is great. Anything with slow-cooked pork is fantastic, too. Plus, totally kid-friendly (and the service is better than Zen West, which is our original go-to Mexican place).
Havana Road in Towson is cute, small and BYOB (there's a small but very decent liquor store right next door). A few weeks ago, we had a Friday night dinner out there with our neighbors (also known as "the architect who designed our addition + her husband"). I had the lechon asado - braised pork in a citrusy white wine sauce. Great stuff. Apparently you can't go wrong with slowly cooked pig. (I knew this already.)
We go to Clementine all the time, but last week was our first Tuesday Taco night visit. Cooper's cousin Adam told us it was great, so finally we got it together to meet him (and his friend Maggie) there on a Tuesday. He was right. Tons of food, really great flavors. Guess what I had? Well, it would've been slow-cooked pork, but that wasn't an option, so instead I went with chorizo. Got to keep it in the pig family. As warned, the meat was spicy, but it was really excellent.

Spicy and porky all around. It's nice to have so many spicy, tropical options. Especially if it's going to keep snowing around here.

Want: Champagne Label Invitations

2011-11-01T15:57:00.003-04:00

Crane & Co. just posted a Facebook link to this gorgeousness:

The invitation was designed by St. Gertrude Design & Letterpress, out of Brisbane, Australia, for a client's 30th birthday party (and the red script says "thirty is the new twenty" en francais). The whole story, plus more pictures, are at Oh So Beautiful Paper.

Oh so beautiful is right. Champagne labels are so fabulous - I can't think of anything else that fills me more with anticipation. Anticipation of what? Oh, the kind of elegant night out that I never really have. But that's not the point now, is it?

Made for Me: Gumbo Flow Chart

2011-10-28T08:03:00.000-04:00

Cail emailed me this last night:

Illustrated data + food (especially the regionally famous kind) + footnotes = pure Kit Pollard magic.

(via Good.is)

Old School Thursday: Mannerly Beer Edition

2011-10-27T12:35:00.002-04:00

Today is Wild Foods Day, National Potato Day (go Ireland!) and American Beer Day (go Budweiser!). Apparently it is also Pollard Family Power Outage Day. Our power went out this morning for no apparent reason…so I’m sitting in the dark.

In other news, today is etiquette expert Emily Post’s birthday (1872). Not specifically food-related, but Post’s life work certainly makes most meals more enjoyable.

And, that’s about it. I suppose I’ll celebrate by being very mannerly, with a beer and wild potato. In the dark.

(Note: The power is back on now. So I can finally post this. No internet without power...somehow I forgot that while I was writing.)

Perfect for Fall Parties: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salsa Recipe

2011-10-26T08:24:00.000-04:00

We had a busy couple of days last weekend, with dinners out and housewarming parties and cousins visiting from Oklahoma and a first birthday party for Jeff and Christine's little boy Elliott. It was kind of exhausting, but a perfect time to try out a fall-ish recipe.

I started with this recipe for a sweet potato and black bean salad, made a few tweaks, and ended up with this super attractive and surprisingly tasty salsa:

The changes:

Cut all the vegetables much smaller than recommended - make everything bite-sized
Toss the sweet potatoes with olive oil, in addition to the salt and pepper, before roasting
Speaking of roasting, it took me 25 minutes, not the 15 advertised
Swap out the mint for cilantro
Add a splash of olive oil to the vinaigrette before tossing

And that's it. Toss, then serve with tortilla chips. A huge hit all the way around (on Saturday, when it was fresh, and again on Sunday). And have I mentioned the festive autumnal colors? Because it was pretty!

In the Mail

2011-10-21T11:48:00.001-04:00

This bit of fabulousness:

Well, actually, twelve of those bits of fabulousness, from BasilicusJones and courtesy of the Fabulous Beekman Boys' One King Lane tastemaker tag sale. While the $5,000 tea sets were a bit too rich for my blood, these little repurposed gems were too full of awesomeness for me to pass up. Plus, $25 for four. Not horrifically exorbinant.

Old School Thursday: Party Like Its 1975 Edition

2011-10-20T08:32:00.001-04:00

Today is National Brandied Fruit Day. And that is all.

But seriously – National Brandied Fruit Day. Has kind of a 70s vibe, no? Brandied fruit, shag carpet, key parties. They just…fit. You know how to celebrate.

Wine in Hungary

2011-10-19T08:07:00.000-04:00

Art history, my college minor, sometimes gets a bum rap as an easy or fluffy discipline. It's true that it's no hard science, but it's more complicated than detractors think - and that's why I loved it. To truly understand art, you have to understand the politics, social history and economics of the time when it was created. At the very least.

This Food and Wine article reminds me that the same is true of the study of food and wine. It's about the current wine industry in Hungary and the story includes not just today's Hungarian wine personalities and an overview of the country's soil, but a crash course in the history of Hungarian grapes, from the 18th century to the 20th, a look at the science of grape genetics and a fairly in-depth look at the economic and cultural impact of communism and the Soviet bloc on Hungary's wine industry.

All that, in one little article. Read it.

Make This: Salted Caramel Pie

2011-10-14T05:30:00.000-04:00

I am not much of a baker and I pretty much never make pies because I am terrible with pastry. I think it's one of those things that you either get or you don't, and I'm firmly in the "don't" category (fortunately, my sister, Cooper's sister, Cooper's dad and Alicia are all in the "get" category, so I've got plenty of dessert makers in my life).

Here's the thing, though: since I am an overachiever, I desperately wish I was naturally good at baking. But since I am also realistic, and I don't like damaging my self-esteem, the only baking recipes I try are ones that sound really easy. Which means the only pies I try to bake have graham cracker crusts.

Upside: graham cracker crusts are delicious.

All of this is a long way of saying that I just made the salted caramel pie from the November issue of Food and Wine and it was a) delicious, in a rich, salty, sweet way and b) pretty much impossible to screw up. It takes a long time to make - 2+ hours of oven time and 4+ hours of chilling/setting - but it's well worth it.

Let's take a look:

Dixon helped me with the crust. So easy a five-year old can do it!

This is what the caramel looked like after about an hour and 45 minutes in my oven (which tends to cook things quickly). A little lumpy, but as the recipe attests, the lumps smooth out during the chilling process. Also: licking this pan clean was pretty awesome.

Lumpy caramel pie, pre-chill.

Five hours later, out of the fridge, with a topping of very slightly sweetened whipped cream.

And sliced for the plate!

Cooper thought it might have been even better if the base of the pie was frozen pre-whipped cream. He could be right about that, but I'm also not sure how the crust would hold up. Either way, it was very good.

Plus, the satisfaction of baking something myself - even something easy - pretty much priceless.

Old School Thursday: Today, We Are All British Edition

2011-10-13T08:07:00.005-04:00

It’s National Yorkshire Pudding Day here in the US…where we needed a day dedicated to British pudding? Not that I don’t love Yorkshire pudding – I do and today’s weather is perfect for it. I just don’t understand why we need a day for Yorkshire pudding.

Today is also St. Colman’s Day – the patron of cattle and horses. So you can have some beef to go with that pudding.

And…that’s it. Happy Yorkshire Pudding Day!

Want: All of It

2011-10-13T05:05:00.000-04:00

Fabric company ads often make me go weak in the knees. Case in point:

It's not so much that I want those fabrics on my sofa or my bed, though I probably wouldn't say no to either. It's more that I want that combination of color and pattern absolutely everywhere. The green in the back, the yellow and white stripes, the zigzag on the ceiling, the flowers: all want.

Can't you see this stuff as an outfit? Flowered shirt, with a solid green sweater over it + yellow and white striped skirt + ceiling-striped scarf. Or on a table: Patterned tablecloth, flowered china, striped napkins, little zebra votives.

Pretty, pretty, pretty.

What We Did This Weekend

2011-10-12T10:40:00.000-04:00

We started with this:

Then moved on to this:

And finally ended up with this:

The rest of the walls in the dining room and hallways got a fresh coat of white paint, too. Everything looks clean and bright and amazing. I couldn't be happier.

(Note: I know there's something funky going on with the blog header, but I have to take a break from figuring it out. I am about to strangle Blogger.)

Observations on the Life Cycles of Certain Trendy Ingredients

2011-10-10T07:56:00.003-04:00

Flavor Profiling

2011-10-07T09:14:00.000-04:00

It's impossible to read here - though the pattern is pretty - but this infographic linking basic foods with their optimal flavor complements, is pretty cool and useful. Plus, cool kitchen art potential?

Easy Autumn Recipe: Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

2011-10-05T10:22:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time, this was a food blog. The kind that involved pictures and recipes - even recipes I developed on my own. At some point over the past six years, M&G turned into something else, but thanks to this recent cold snap, I'm back on a making-up-my-own-recipes kick. And you reap the rewards.

CHICKEN POT PIE
(serves 4, total time about 1 hour, active time about 30ish minutes)

Ingredients
3 carrots, chopped into small bite-sized pieces
4 small stalks of celery, chopped
4 medium red-skinned potatoes, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 onion, diced (not super fine)
7 tablespoons butter
2 cups chicken stock
6 tablespoons flour
3 cups rotisserie chicken, cubed into bite-sized pieces
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 sheet Pepperidge Farm puff pastry
1 egg
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Start by gathering the ingredients and getting all that chopping out of the way. You can start with the veg, then move on to the chicken and marjoram while you've got the first batch of stuff cooking. Plus, the vegetables and potatoes look pretty:

Festive fall colors! Kind of tablescape-inspirationy, no?

3. Pull the puff pastry out of the freezer and set it aside to defrost.

4. Steps 4 and 5 happen pretty much at the same time, so get ready. In one large pot - a stock pot or dutch oven - melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook until the onions are translucent and the carrots are tender - somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 minutes.

And the house smells like France!

5. At the same time, bring the chicken stock and potatoes to a boil over high heat. Turn down to a moderate boil - nothing frothy - and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

6. While everything's cooking, chop the chicken and marjoram. Don't forget to stir your pots occasionally and check on tenderness.

7. Once all the vegetables are tender, stir the flour into the carrot/onion pot, slowly. It'll be sticky. Then (also slowly), add the chicken stock, followed by the potatoes, stirring all the way. The result will be very thick and very sticky.

8. Add the chicken, cream, frozen peas and season with salt and pepper, combining thoroughly. At this point, the consistency should be gooey, so if it's too dry, add a bit of water. I added about 2/3 of a cup and this is what it looked like:

Yes, it's kind of ugly.

9. Scoop the mixture into a pan that's roughly 9x13 (mine is a little smaller and a tiny bit deeper than the traditional):

Starting to look better now, though, right?

10. Using a rolling pin on a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry just a bit, so it will overhang your pan on each side by about 1/2-inch. Carefully lay the pastry over the mixture and press around the edges to create a seal.

11. Cut a few slits in the top of the pastry to let steam escape, then brush with an egg wash so it'll turn golden brown in the oven.

12. Place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and crispy. Keep an eye on the pie - if the edges start turning brown, but the center still looks pale, cover the edges with foil and keep cooking.

13. Then, enjoy:

Gooey. Crispy.

Also, messy. But delicious.

October Kick-Off Meals

2011-10-03T08:44:00.004-04:00

It's October and the weather has finally - FINALLY - shifted into fall mode. It was too rainy this weekend to have a decent outdoor fire (we tried, but it wasn't that successful). It wasn't too rainy, though, for a whole lot of fall food.

Starting with a creamy butternut squash soup, served on Saturday with sauteed apples and grated smoked cheddar, then again on Sunday with chopped chives:

Prettiest soup color ever.

On Saturday, the soup was accompanied by salad and sandwiches made with rotisserie chicken, havarti and my very own approximation of The Cheese Shop's famous house dressing. Everyone who went to William & Mary knows what I'm talking about when I say that house is the most delicious condiment ever. It's recipe is a closely guarded secret, but using suggestions from this blog post, I created a mixture of Duke's mayonnaise, Kosciusko spicy mustard and steak sauce with a Worcestershire base. Next time, I might use Maille mustard instead because I feel like real cheese sauce has more visible mustard seeds.

Even so, it tasted right, and that's what's important. I played with the amounts quite a bit, but I think in the end I probably used 4 parts mayonnaise, 1 part mustard and 1 part steak sauce. The result looks boring in a photo, but believe me when I say it's anything but boring in the mouth:

Add bread, rotisserie chicken and cheese and you will be in heaven.

We finished off dinner with an apple crisp, courtesy of Kyle, and warm spiced cider with Captain Morgan's, thanks to our friends Jen and Mark. The house smelled amazing and everyone was in a fantastic mood because fall is finally here.

Mary and Dixon were in especially high spirits, since they spent the whole night building the LEGO police station Mary and Kyle gave Dixon for his birthday. It's a masterpiece. That took hours.

True love. Especially since Mary did all the heavy lifting on this particular build.

Yesterday I made use some of the leftover chicken to make a chicken pot pie. Recipe to follow - I made this one up myself...and it was good:

Gooey. Comforting. Completely unhealthy.

It's still cold in our house this morning, though I hear it'll be back up in the seventies tomorrow. In the meantime, though, it's warm fall drinks and comfort food for the Pollard clan.

The Foodie Baby at Five

2011-09-29T09:21:00.000-04:00

Today is National Mocha Day, but in bigger news at our house, it's Dixon's 5th birthday. He's a total grownup now, though it doesn't feel like so long ago that he ate his first real food (mashed avocado).

He did a lot of smiling in those first couple of months. So agreeable...until he learned how to talk.

At his first birthday party, he asked for a fork to eat his cake. That's my boy!

Just after his first birthday...when he still deigned to wear shirts with buttons.

Here he is at about one and a half - chopping play dough with my cheese knives, while I fix dinner.

Just before he turned two at the beach - I wish he still liked to rake that much.

This is one of my favorite pictures, from just after Dixon's second birthday, when we'd sit on the deck, drinking some tea and eating some cake.

Not really enjoying his first oyster, at three.

With his masterpiece, Christmas before last.

Everyone loves bacon. This is right before Dixon's fourth birthday.

In his natural state: Indy hat + weaponry.

And now, a full-on big boy.

Happy birthday, Dixon!

Big Birthday Weekend

2011-09-27T10:10:00.000-04:00

Dixon turns five on Thursday! So this weekend, we had a party.

It all started with a theme. Make that three themes: Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars. With a little layer of Lego:

This was the invitation. That's supposed to be Luke Skywalker on the right, in case his totally non-Luke outfit had you wondering.

Like last year, Dixon recruited Alicia to help with the cake (he knows she's got skills - and patience - that I lack). The theme: Indy running from the boulder. The inspiration: a picture we found online a few years ago. The process: lengthy.

Team Cake, mid-decoration. That big boulder is made out of fondant-covered rice krispie treat and the surrounding "cave" is also fondant. Both are sprayed with edible color.

Since I was relieved of cake-decorating responsibilities, I got crazy with the games. Of course I forgot to take many pictures, but I did snap a few. First: "Make Your Own Mini Light Saber":

Pipe cleaners and wooden dowels go a long way when you're in my basement, surrounded by posters of Darth Vader and hanging stars.

Next: "Find the Lost Golden Idol." I wish I'd gotten a picture of this set-up, which involved a crepe and tissue paper "cave," a paper pom "boulder" and a punch bowl full of golden idols:

Making the signage for each game pretty much maxed out my artisitic ability.

And finally, pin (tape) the earring on the pirate. Oddly enough, none of the kids wanted my sister's boyfriend to blindfold them before they did their earring pinning.

Captain Jack Sparrow looks pretty psyched about all the 4-year olds poking at his face.

It was supposed to rain on Sunday afternoon, during the party, so all the games were set up in our basement, instead of outside, as originally planned. Fortunately, it did NOT rain, so the 26 kids in my house were able to go outside to let off some steam before pizza and cake. Good thing, too. That is a lot of kids.

And anyway, when the cake came outside, I thought I was going to have to physically restrain some of the kids. They were crazy excited. I also thought our weak little IKEA deck table was going down under their shaking:

I felt very confident, weilding a match in the middle of 20 kids about to riot.

The cake didn't last too long, but it really was a hit - Alicia outdid herself this year. And at least we'll always have the photos:

That's four - FOUR - box cakes, delicious homemade butter cream, and about $70 worth of cake decoration products from Michaels. As Alicia said, during a particularly iffy moment on Saturday, "THIS is why most people just buy their kids' birthday cakes." Of course, "most people" don't get the same kind of satisfaction out of their cakes, either.

All in all, it was a super successful party all the way around. Dixon could not have had more fun - he's lucky to have a ton of great kids as friends. And Alicia! He's lucky to have Alicia!

Old School Thursday: American Runs On...Edition

2011-09-22T07:49:00.003-04:00

Today is a complicated day in Saint-World, with St. Maurice and St. Phocas sharing the honors. That means today is important to knife grinders (still a profession?) and gardeners alike. I suppose that sort of makes sense – gardening was probably easier, in the historical sense, when the knives were sharp.

It’s also National White Chocolate Day. Because one of these days has to be.

In other news today, in 1903 a man named Italo Marchiony applied for a patent for an ice cream cup mold. And the ice cream cone was born!

Nearly 100 years later, today in 2002, William Rosenberg passed away. I actually hadn’t heard of William Rosenberg before today, which is surprising since the company he founded is such an important part of life these days. You see, he founded Dunkin’ Donuts. Way back in 1950, he opened his first shop in Quincy, Massachusetts (also, at the time, where Cooper’s mom lived!). Way back when, do you think he had visions of egg white flatbreads and Rachael Ray-promoted coffee? Of merchandising and brand expansion? Or did he just want to make some doughnuts?

Either way, we’re glad he did. So honor his memory today with something – anything – from DD. And maybe an ice cream cone to go with.

On another note, I realize blogging’s been light and I’m sorry. I’ve got a big Monday deadline, plus a certain someone’s 5th birthday party on Sunday. Busy days chez Pollard.

Cheap Weekend Eating in The Sun

2011-09-16T08:03:00.000-04:00

Don't I look hungry? For lobster?

I'm in the Sun today!

Last month, I got an email from the Sun's entertainment editor, Sam Sessa, asking if I'd be interested in writing a piece, from my perspective as a food blogger, on the "ultimate cheap weekend" in and around Baltimore. I said yes (obviously) and got to work.

And it was so much fun. It's really not that difficult to eat well on a budget, especially in Baltimore. We're lucky that way.

I'd also like to offer up a big thank you shoutout to HowChow, the Howard County food blogger who helped me out enormously, filling in the gaps in my HoCo food knowledge. His blog is crazy good - I think he must have eaten in every restaurant in the county.

So there it is. Enjoy my smiling face. And the food!

[Photo credit: Jed Kirschbaum, Baltimore Sun.]

Old School Thursday: Candy & Condiments Edition

2011-09-15T08:05:00.002-04:00

Today is National Creme de Menthe Day. Grasshopper brownies for everyone!

The rest of today’s food news actually happened in my lifetime. First, today in 1981, the USDA announced that ketchup could be counted as a vegetable in school lunches. For most of my life, I sneered at this decision, despite ketchup’s lycopene-y cancer-fighting properties. Then I had a kid who wouldn’t eat vegetables and, well, my definition of “veg” has loosened up a bit.

Fast-forward 14 years, to 1995, when today tan M&Ms were replaced by blue ones. Unlike the ketchup decision, I still haven’t quite gotten over this one. On one hand, I never really liked the tan M&Ms anyway (who needs tan and brown?). But on the other, tan is what I knew. It’s what I grew up with. Blue looks like a novelty color – still.

In the grand scheme of things, though, kind of a trivial day all around?

UPDATE: Math fixed, thanks to Discovery Doug.

I Need More Time

2011-09-14T16:09:00.000-04:00

So I can have more theme dinner parties.

My sister just emailed me a notice about a partnership between The Phillips Collection and the Sofitel Luxury Hotel. To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the museum, they've partnered with Sofitel to create a prix fixe lunch or dinner based on the food featured in Renoir's painting "Luncheon of the Boating Party" (one of The Phillips' shining stars).

This reminded me that I have a million fabulous dinner party ideas - some of which are art-inspired - just floating around in the back of my head. And no time to put them into action. So frustrating.

You know what I need? A sponsor. With deep pockets and no restrictions. Not so much to ask, right?

In the meantime, the Renoir menu looks pretty delicious and is described, quite amusingly, as "Dejeuner sur l'herbe" and "Diner sur l'herbe." Impressionist crossover jokes? Oh oui. Oui, s'il vous plait.

The Colors & Flavors of Fall

2011-09-14T08:13:00.000-04:00

Dark tablecloths, twice-baked potatoes...and my new Missoni vase. It's super cool.

Things I've Learned From My Grandmother

2011-09-12T13:07:00.001-04:00

Today is my grandmother's 93rd birthday - she's the very tiny one in front of Cail, my sister, my mom and me (and that's a week-old baby Dixon in the corner). In honor of her birthday, here are the top five life lessons she's shared with me:

1. You can never have too many shoes.
2. A little lipstick will always make you look better. (I usually ignore this one, though she's right.)
3. Keep the sun off your face. And invest in Pond's cold cream.
4. Have a beer at lunch. It's good for you.
5. If you drop a huge tray of chocolate mousse in crystal dishes, there's no need to get too upset. Just go out, buy more dishes - and buy dessert.

I was lucky to grow up with Nan living very close by, so I got to spend a lot of time with her - much of which was in restaurants. Though she does NOT love to cook, she's a wonderful entertainer and taught me so much about how to be a gracious hostess - and how to have fun. She's just so much fun!

Happy birthday, Nan!

And Now It's Fall

2011-09-10T08:01:00.000-04:00

This makes me happy. I should note, too, that a lower rent version of this made me happy for most of college. It's tough to go wrong with bourbon and ginger.

No, let me rephrase that. It's easy for things to go wrong when bourbon and ginger is involved. But it still tastes good.

[Hugh Acheson's bourbon and spicy ginger soda from Garden & Gun.]

Keeping Those Summer Cocktails Alive

2011-09-09T15:48:00.000-04:00

Don't get me wrong - I like all of it. Love it, actually. But I think I'm ready for a drink.

Old School Thursday: Hasty Pudding for the Bargers Edition

2011-09-08T08:39:00.002-04:00

Today is National Date-Nut Bread Day and I have very little commentary to add to that. But it’s also the Feast of St. Adrian of Nicomedia and he is the patron saint of butchers, who surely deserve their own saint. That feast sounds pretty good, too, doesn’t it? Lots of meat?

There’s a real lack of food history news today, though September 8th is the anniversary of the founding of Harvard (1636), which is notable, if not food-related.

In other September 8th news, ten years ago today, M&G friends Mike and Alicia got married – happy anniversary!

And in some September 7th news, I realized this morning that yesterday was the 6th anniversary of my first post here on M&G. I was just learning how to cook and had a long, long way to go…in fact, I had no idea how much I didn’t know. I probably still don’t.

On that note, happy September 8th, everyone! Try to stay dry out there!

Good Job, PR Folks

2011-09-07T10:49:00.001-04:00

My brother just sent me a NYT article about a total blunder on behalf of ConAgra and Ketchum PR. Seems that the food and PR powerhouses arranged a series of dinners for New York area food and mom bloggers. The bloggers were told that the dinners would be prepared by chef George Duran (who I generally like), but in reality, they were served frozen foods courtesy of ConAgra's Marie Callender's brand.

The intention was to capture the blogger reactions on hidden cameras, then to stage a big reveal, a la Folger's or Pizza Hut. The reality was a little different...since (some of) the bloggers ended up super mad.

And I can see why. While I'm pretty sure I would have laughed the whole situation off, I certainly agree with the angry bloggers' complaints about the food - not so much that it tasted bad, but that it's just not healthy.

Apparently ConAgra forgot that there's more to food than taste? And Ketchum also somehow missed the fresh/unprocessed food revolution? I don't understand how that happened, but at least representatives from both companies appear somewhat chastened.

How Did You Celebrate Irene?

2011-08-29T07:49:00.000-04:00

We had a very nice dinner of roast chicken, grits with tomato relish and sauteed spinach. Oh yeah, partially in the dark. This was taken about a minute after the power went out...and five minutes before the power came back on:

Cooper loves an opportunity to break out the head lamp.

After dinner, we skipped dessert and went straight for the dessert wine - a bottle of Deerfield Ranch Winery Gold (from 2000 - the link goes to the 2005 vintage) that Kyle and Mary brought back from their Napa honeymoon last year:

Fancy dessert wine + Coors Light = Dessert of Champions

It was billed as "creme brulee and honey" - and that's what it tasted like. I'm not always a fan of dessert wine, but this was really lovely - sweet, but not cloying.

Plus, the company was stellar, as always. We're feeling very lucky right now to have come through the storm pretty much unscathed. The power flickered a few times and our yard was littered with some minor branches, but that's it. Considering how many people are still without power, we're feeling very lucky indeed.

[Photo credit: Alicia for both.]

Old School Thursday: Age Old Questions Resolved Edition

2011-08-25T08:17:00.000-04:00

Today is National Banana Split Day, but more importantly, it’s the Feast of St. Louis IX, the patron saint of distillers. By all accounts, Louis IX was a pious and serious man when he ruled France in the 13th century, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the celebration of his life has to be equally pious and serious – I mean, distillery!

It is super appropriate, then, that just this week, scientists announced that they have cracked the DNA code for the yeast that pre-dates the yeast used to make modern lagers. Just in time for the Feast of St. Louis IX! Science and religion peacefully unite – all thanks to beer!

Vacation Recap: A Week in Duck

2011-08-22T18:28:00.003-04:00

What happens when a food blogger (that's me), a bar owner (that's Jeff) and all their friends (Cooper, Christine, Alicia, Mike, Bill, Kyle, Mary + the kids) go on vacation together? There's some eating, a whole lot of drinking, and much general ridiculousness (which, sadly, isn't blog-appropriate).

Still want to read about it, even though I have to leave out the juicy bits? Here's the story, picture book-style:

Links: William + Mary (the greatest school everrrrr), The Governor's Inn, W+M bookstore, Wythe Candy + Gourmet, Fat Canary, The Cheese Shop (get the bread ends and house dressing - seriously)

Links: Braggin' Rights (it's a great house - via Southern Shores Realty), cups by Party Innovations (they are super reliable)

Links: Life's a Beach

Links: Brew Thru, Fat Tire, Sooey's BBQ

Links: Sunset Grille + Raw Bar

Links: Stack 'Em High, The Blue Point, Duck Donuts

Links: Can Can Brasserie

Next year's trip can't get here fast enough.

[Note: I took a few of the pictures, but Alicia took most of them. Par for the course.]

Old School Thursday: Vast Wasteland of Food History Edition

2011-08-18T08:59:00.002-04:00

Today is National Ice Cream Pie Day – delicious – and from a food perspective, that’s about it. The summer certainly is a dry food history desert. I guess it’s because people are too busy vacationing and eating ripe tomatoes to apply for Teflon patents, or whatever else it is I usually write about in this space.

Homage

2011-08-17T19:05:00.000-04:00

In my mailbox yesterday, this:

And also this:

Elle Decor is taking styling tips from West Elm these days, huh?

Kidding (mostly). I actually love the Elle Decor cover (and I like the West Elm stuff, too). Books are pretty.

I Am a Zucchini Flower Frying Machine

2011-08-15T09:20:00.000-04:00

Just a couple of weeks ago, I'd never eaten a zucchini flower. I saw recipes for them all the time, but I'd never actually had one. Then I looked at our garden and spotted a whole bunch of these bad boys:

Today, there are about a thousand more where those came from.

Anyway, I realized I needed to figure out something to do with the flowers, pronto. Google lead me to this blogger, who said what I wanted to hear: less is more. Zucchini flowers are pretty great on when they're fried with very simple ingredients, so there's no need to go crazy.

I played around a little with the recipe and ended up with a simple process:

1. Place a frying pan over medium-high heat and cover the bottom with olive oil.
2. Put about 1/2 cup of flour in a shallow bowl.
3. Add club soda/selzer while whisking with a fork to combine. Stop when you've got a creamy consistency - you'll probably need just a little more liquid than you have flour.
4. Stir chopped fresh chives into the batter.
5. Holding a zucchini flower by its stem, dredge in the batter to lightly cover.
6. The oil should be hot enough that it sputters when you drop water in it. Place the flower in the hot oil and repeat for the rest of the flowers:

7. Cook until lightly browned on one side (about a minute). Carefully flip, then repeat on the other side.
8. Place on a paper towel to drain and sprinkle with sea salt.
9. Eat right away!

I've made them a couple times now and they're fantastic. They take next to no time to cook, require only simple ingredients, and the finished product is airy and really kind of special.

Happy summer!

Have I Mentioned How Much I Love August?

2011-08-12T07:49:00.000-04:00

Yes, this is essentially the exact same food I posted earlier in the week, just arranged in a different way. Doesn't matter. August rocks.

Old School Thursday: Bombes Over Baltimore Edition

2011-08-11T07:16:00.001-04:00

Today is set to be absolutely gorgeous in Baltimore – temps in the 80s and low humidity, the likes of which we have not seen for a long time. So that’s kind of making up for the fact that nothing of note happened today and, on top of that, it’s National Raspberry Bombe Day. Raspberry Bombe Day? Sure, we need one of those.

Last Night's Dinner: Can You Even Tell What This Is?

2011-08-10T10:34:00.000-04:00

It's a poached egg with chives on top of Jarlsberg-spiked polenta, in case you couldn't tell (I could barely tell, and I took the picture).

Inspired by this and served with a salad of red leaf lettuce, goat cheese and roasted peaches. Very easy and quick to cook and pretty delicious. Though, apparently, not so easy to photograph.

August

2011-08-08T11:22:00.001-04:00

It's a happy month, even if it is a little on the soupy side out there.

New York in May: The Long-Awaited Recap

2011-08-05T12:47:00.000-04:00

Last May (yes, two and a half months ago!), Alicia and I got ourselves some train tickets and we headed up to New York for a weekend with our friend Stacy. Stacy went to college with Alicia in Baltimore, but she's from New York and has been back there for over 10 years. Now she lives in an amazing apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn - it's all high ceilings, giant windows and intricate architectural details. Envy-inspiring, even if she does have to get a little creative with her storage solutions.

As breathtaking as Stacy's apartment is, we weren't there to sit inside all weekend and, despite a rainy Friday, we didn't. We got out and got all over the city - Brooklyn Heights to Williamsburg, the Upper East Side to Soho. We ate, drank and shopped (only a little, actually) and we got to see the dramatic, inspiring Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met. We did a lot:

Food-wise, it was amazing from start to finish. Grimaldi's is touristy and there's a long line even at random times, but it's a fun Brooklyn experience and the pizza is worth the wait (though Stacy's local pizza place, Roma's, also delivered some excellent pizza...without the wait. But without the mobbed up wall art and camaraderie that comes with tightly squeezed tables).

Mesa Cocoyan, where we met my college friend Sumi, was hipstery, but cute in that I-love-Etsy-and-randomly-wallpapered-walls sort of way. That can be annoying, but I can forgive a few bartenders in plaid shirts when they're serving me amazing guac and drinks made with house-infused tequilas (our faves: pineapple juice and orange liqueur with a dried chile infusion and the strawberry margarita with jalapeno-infused tequila).

Good Enough to Eat, where we had brunch on the sunny Saturday morning before our trip to the Met, was charming and homey and I loved my gruyere and apple omelet (I also loved the bellini I had with it).

Dinner on Saturday was equally charming. Henry's End Restaurant is tiny and comfortable - as Stacy warned us, Brooklyn is not full of Manolo's and for that I was grateful. The food was saucy and savory and felt sort of old-fashioned, but not in a bad way! It was delicious and reminded me that sometimes it's nice to eat something with a heavier sauce, that seems to have some history and heft. I like "Fresh, Clean, American Flavors" as much as the next food blogger, but even local, fresh and fabulous starts to get old when it's all you ever eat. Henry's End was an antidote to that. Oh, the vegetables were seasonal (what's up, fiddlehead ferns!) and the sauces were carefully layered, but they somehow just felt a little older. Sundried tomatoes with a New York strip? Tastes like the early 90's - which I like in the same way I like seeing middle school girls with their hair in french braids. Everything comes around again, and that's a good feeling.

The Brooklyn Heights Wine Bar is down the street from Henry's End and it's under the same ownership. Also cute and cozy, it was a great place for us to close out our evening - plenty of room to chat and a nice by the glass wine list.

Sunday morning we woke up tired and it was gray outside. Our train left at 1, which gave us just enough time for an early brunch. Cousin John's is a short walk from Stacy's apartment and after a short wait (while we drooled over the cakes and cookies in the glass case), we sat down to fantastic coffee and (for me) a sweet breakfast of cheese-filled blintzes and fruit - perfect.

After that, it was the train and back home to the daily grind. We're already talking about our next trip, though - especially after hearing about Laduree's any-minute-now opening on Madison Avenue. Talk about something that's worth a train ride!

Old School Thursday: Stars & Chips Edition

2011-08-04T08:15:00.002-04:00

Today is National Chocolate Chip Day, which seems pretty big in itself, since chocolate chips are a major component in the chocolate chip cookie, which, for my money, is pretty much the most All-American cookie out there.

But today is also full of big news on the international front – in theory, at least. Legend says that today in 1693, Dom Perignon discovered the process for making champagne. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Speaking of history+America, do you know what else happened in 1693? A certain very special school was founded. Go Tribe!

Restaurant Review: Chazz: A Bronx Original

2011-08-03T08:31:00.001-04:00

As usual, this review is based on just one visit to the restaurant. In this case, I was invited by the Chazz PR team, the meal was comped and the restaurant knew who we were, so please keep that in mind as you're reading.

I have to be honest: when I first heard about Chazz: A Bronx Original, I was skeptical about it's chances. Really skeptical. There is something about the place's name, a clunky nod to actor and partial owner Chazz Palminteri, that drives me crazy and does not inspire much trust in the quality of the food. I worried that the restaurant's Bronx "hook" would overshadow the food and service.

Fortunately, in this case, my worry was for nothing. Yes, the restaurant has a bit of a theme edge to it, but it's no Rainforest Cafe. Plus, Palminteri did a smart thing when he partnered with Aldo owners Serge and Alessandro Vitale - people who clearly know how to run a restaurant. The end result, from where I sat, was inviting, friendly, fun for dinner or happy hour, and most of all, delicious.

We started with cocktails (obviously). I opted for a ginger gin and tonic (a little spicy, just interesting enough), while Cooper won the round with his order, the Bronx Cocktail:

Yes, it looks a little Sex and the City-ish. But like that would stop Cooper from sticking out his pinky and drinking the whole thing.

The drink, which was created at the Waldorf Astoria, starts with a classic gin martini and adds sweet vermouth and orange for a balanced, but potent result. We both loved it and I was jealous.

After our drinks, we ordered a bottle of Malbec from the wine list, which was interesting and more diverse than we expected (also less spendy than it might be, which is a nice bonus).

Our very sweet and very knowledgeable waitress suggested we start with something from the mozzarella bar - a concept that I love and that is just perfect for happy hour. We chose the burrata, because I can't resist it, and roasted peppers. The kitchen largely left the ingredients alone, which was perfect, since when you've got ingredients like these, there's no need to mess around with them:

Burrata might be the best thing I've ever eaten.

We also shared a veal meatball, which is one of the restaurants signature appetizers. It was cooked and seasoned pretty much perfectly, so we were very happy with it:

The sauce was nice, too!

The menu at Chazz's includes a lot of dishes that are on the lighter side - pizzas and simple pastas - and that aren't terribly expensive, which is nice and makes it a good weeknight option, especially for people who work and live downtown. Cooper and I decided to share two entrees: a pizza and a pasta. For the pasta, we ordered the caprese fusilli, a light combination of fresh tomato sauce, basil and mozzarella. Summery and fresh:

The sauce was excellent and the pasta itself was very good, too. I'm a sucker for uneven fusilli.

The pizzas are cooked in a coal-fueled oven that's visible from the bar area. The result is a crust that's crispy on the outside and chewy inside and just a little smoky.

The pizza menu is full of fresh vegetables and interesting meats and cheeses. We chose the parma proscuitto, which is topped with proscuitto, mozarella, fontina and a healthy heap of arugula:

Yes, there is proscuitto under all that greenery.

It was lovely - salty, but with just enough bite and freshness from the arugula.

For dessert, we shied away from the nutella pizza for two, after seeing two girls at a table next to ours give up on the powdery, nutty concoction after one slice each (they ended up sharing with another table - Chazz: Where Friends Are Made!). Instead, we ordered the coffee & donut - delicate chocolate glazed donuts served with a scoop of coffee gelato:

Breakfast for dessert?

It was as good as it looks (but more in focus!) and we weren't sorry.

Overall, we were very, very pleased with the meal. Everything we tried was excellent, our waitress was prompt, friendly and knew what she was talking about, and the place itself was bustling and fun. Thanks to big windows, it's bright and sunny for summertime, but it will definitely feel cozy in the winter.

As we walked out, we noticed that the happy hour business was bustling. The crowd was mostly about our age and dressed in biz cas - it's a great post-work spot for people working in Harbor East.

In the interest of fairness, I will admit that I've heard through the grapevine that some people who weren't comped had a less ideal experience, but I wonder if the place just had some soft opening kinks to work through. Our waitress even admitted to us that there had been some ups and downs in the first couple of weeks (when aren't there?). I watched the tables around us, keeping an ear out for any problems they might have had, and everybody seemed to be pleased with the experience. So hopefully those disappointing experiences were just blips.

Verdict: Two thumbs up from the Pollards on this one. I've already recommended it to friends who live downtown and we'd love to go back again.

Peppers!

2011-08-01T09:33:00.001-04:00

We went to Mary's family reunion in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania this past weekend. It was a blast from start to finish and the food was amazing.

I'll write more about the weekend as a whole after I upload my pictures, but for now, here's what amazed me most:

That's right - a giant trash bag filled with peppers. When we arrived (Cooper, Dixon, Bill and me, rolling up in the RV) on Saturday afternoon, about a third of Mary's relatives were already at the party. Everybody was eating stuffed peppers and sausages that Kyle's dad grilled on a wood-fired grill that's built into the ground. An hour or so later, another bunch of Mary's relatives arrived, hauling the bag you see above.

I was fascinated - I don't think I've seen that many peppers before. About six people sat down at a picnic table and started slicing and de-seeding (a couple wearing gloves, but most braved the pepper heat on their own). A few minutes later, they started covering the pepper halves in cheese and sliced garlic and tossing them on the grill.

Simple, but amazing. It's incredible how good food can be when it's in season. And cooked on a grill built into the ground. And covered in cheese. Even when it starts out in a trash bag.

[Photo credit: Bill. He very generously went up to the table and introduced himself so he could take a picture of everyone with his cell phone, just for me.]

Old School Thursday: Preservation & Drive-Thru Desserts Edition

2011-07-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

National Milk Chocolate Day + National Cheesecake Day + National Drive-Thru Day. Put them all together and you could make an excellent milkshake.

In other news, some claim that today is the 425th anniversary (1586) of Sir Thomas Harriot’s introducing the potato to England. My Irish ancestors thank you, Sir Harriot.

Plus, today in 1907, Earl S. Tupper, inventor of Tupperware, was born. I haven’t used actual Tupperware for a long time – do those parties still exist? – but I can’t imagine my life without Tupperware-like containers. Around here, they store everything from food to batteries to Legos.

And that’s it for today. Between the potatoes and the Tupperware, we’ve got a lot to celebrate. One preserves food, the other preserved Ireland. Cause for celebration, indeed.

Want: Menu Design in America, 1850-1985

2011-07-27T08:15:00.000-04:00

A Taschen coffee table book on American menu design? Yes, PLEASE!

(via the Tory Burch blog, where they've pulled some pretty choice visuals from the book)

ARRRGH-Worthy Apps: Fourth of July Throwdown Recap

2011-07-25T08:25:00.001-04:00

Last year, it was meat-in-a-casing and jean shorts. This year, appetizers and pirate garb. Next year, who knows, but it's already up for discussion. That's right, it's the annual extended Kelly family fourth of July cooking throwdown.

Earlier this month, Cooper and I, with Dixon and Bill in tow, drove the trustly 1987 Toyota RV up to Keuka Lake to celebrate America with Alicia and Mike's extended family. Just like last year, the big event of the weekend would be a Saturday night party featuring a massive cooking and costume competition. Also just like last year, Cooper, Alicia's Uncle Joe and I would be judging the food part of the competition.

This year's theme: appetizers (anything you can serve in a single bite) and pirates. This year's energy level: high. The phrase most often overheard, with respect to both the costumes and the snacks: "Wow, this year everybody really brought it."

This year, prizes were awarded for Best Taste, Best Presentation and Most Original/Creative (the concept award). There was also a crowd favorite, which everyone voted on, and a prize for best costume, which was also voted on by the whole crowd. As judges, we picked a winner, pluss runners up, for each of the three categories.

As always, we had a blast. The food was fantastic, the costumes were intense and the company was hilarious. To recap:

This year's party was held at Alicia's family's cottage. Most guests would arrive by boat and these waterfront banners announced that the Kellys are serious about their throwdowns. And about pirates.

A wave of guests (mostly Alicia's cousins) scout out the competition.

Dixon was ridiculously excited about his Captain Jack Sparrow-inspired outfit - especially the makeup. Maggie was a little less enthusiastic, especially about her hat, but she did enjoy a brief sword-fighting lesson from the master.

The Bargers and Bill show off their best "AAARGH" faces. Well, Alicia does, anyway. Bill was immediately called out for looking more like the Dred Pirate Bret Michaels than the Dred Pirate Roberts.

Alicia's Aunt Barb and Uncle Dan got seriously into the spirit. When you look at Danny's costume, keep in mind that it was a very, very hot day. Commitment. UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot to say this, but Danny won Best Costume. OBVIOUSLY!

Last year, throwdown winners got repurposed judges' medallions as prizes. This year, Alicia improved upon that quite a bit, making prizes out of lake rocks she found. She painted each white, glued on a "gold doubloon" from Dixon's collection and added a quick sketch of Keuka Lake.

Cooper, Joe and I took our judging seriously. Just like last year, we fell into an easy routine and found that we were on the same page about taste and appearance.

And now for the food:

The very first entry came from Alicia's dad Bill (aka "Big G"). His "Cannonball" - a perfectly seasoned meatball wrapped in pastry - set the bar high for the rest of the competitors. He was a runner up in the Taste category, plus he won Crowd Favorite (the judges broke a tie between Bill and his younger brother Robert).

Speaking of Robert, he delivered the second entry. Last year, he took home the overall, crowd favorite and best taste prizes with his Rochester white hot. This year, he got more than a little cheeky, calling his entry "Pirate's Penis & Balls" - and no, I am not kidding. It was a Scotch egg, cut in half, plus a stuffed pepper. Everything was served with a mustardy hollandaise. I thought the pepper was great, though Scotch eggs aren't my thing, and Cooper and Joe both liked all of it. And it certainly made us laugh. For that, Robert took home the Creativity prize.

Joe's wife Martha was a runner up in all three categories for her "Fresh Catch of the Day...plus tomorrow's revenge." She served us fried pickles and cream cheese-stuffed peppers styled to look like fried fish. Both the pickles and peppers had great flavor and we loved the funny presentation - anytime you're presented with a roll of toilet paper alongside your app, you've just got to laugh.

Alicia's Aunt Kelly was a Presentation runner up with her "Island Seaweed Empanadas" - spinach empanadas served with a sweet and spicy mango-lime salsa. We loved the salsa and especially loved the cut-up hot dog octopi.

Aunt Mary's "Sailing the Greek Islands" didn't photograph all that well, but in person its tiny basil sails were cute enough to win a nod as a runner up in the Presentation category. It was also a Creativity runner up - we were impressed with the delivery of Greek salad flavors all in one bite.

Aunt Barb & Uncle Dan's dish, "Blackbeard's Snail Ceviche," was a fresh and spicy ceviche of fresh Key West conch (Barbie & Dan live in Florida most of the year). We loved it, awarding it the Best Taste prize, and I have to admit that I ate more than a little of it for lunch the next day.

Let me see your "Booty Roll." Alicia's cousins Jackie and Christina went all out on the presentation with their "Booty Roll" - and took home the Presentation prize for their efforts, along with a runner up nod for Best Taste. Accessories aside, their buffalo chicken egg rolls were really very good.

Alicia and Mike were disappointed with their "Fire in the Hole," a smoky combination of jalapeno, shrimp, bacon and cheese. We liked it enough, though, to give it a runner up spot for both Presentation and Taste.

Lydon was a Creativity runner up with her "Dip's Ahoy" - a tasty BLT dip served in a pretty cute crab dish.

Alicia's cousin Logan went all Top Chef on us with her entry, "Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum." She served us tiny brandy-soaked cherries on top of marscapone cream, with homemade honey brittle for added texture, earning a runner up spot in Creativity. I personally loved this entry - while it wasn't strictly an app (it was a dessert), it was tasty and interesting.

And then there was Bill. He presented his dish - the infamous "Border Jumpers" (Tostitos filled with seasoned taco meat) towards the end, which is why I forgot to take a picture. He also accessorized with soccer napkins and a little castanet soundtrack, winning himself a special Mexican Soccer Award. As he mentioned numerous times following the competition, there was nothing in the rules specifying a pirate theme for the food. Fair enough. I have to admit, too, that I've had this particular app at more than a few parties and it's always a hit.

Following on Bill's footsteps, Alicia's brother Patrick presented his "Funnel Cakes from Hell" while humming carnie music. Possibly he hoped it would distract from his paper towel-themed presentation? The funnel cakes tasted good, though, and the whole mess got hiim a special prize for Best Carnival Food.

Alicia's cousins Kelly, Trish and Murph abandoned the app theme, but they did make us a pretty sweet 4th of July cake, which they pirated-up with the name, "Red, White & Booty."

Here are all of the winners, along with Cooper, Joe and I, after the big event. Do I look full?

Overall, the party was a huge success and from my judges' table vantage point, it looked like everyone had a fantastic time. Later in the evening, after most of the crowd dispersed, we spent some time with Mike, Alicia, her parents and Joe and Martha, just kicking around ideas for next year. Alicia has already opened the discussion up to her family and with a full year to plan, it's sure to be another rousing success.

Nobody, but nobody, does a throwdown quite like those Kellys.

Kit's Beach Theme of the Day: Caftans and Dreams

2011-07-21T15:40:00.000-04:00

I'm wearing this right now:

Unleashing my inner Golden Girl.

Also, not blogging. Because I'm on vacation and as it turns out, I just don't feel like it. Though I've been eating and drinking pretty well these past few days and maybe one day soon I'll get around to reporting on all of it.

Beach

2011-07-18T14:48:00.000-04:00

I'm in Duck right now with the usual crew. Posting will resume...at some point. There WILL be posts this week. Just not right now. Too relaxed.

As a teaser, though, this is today's specialty cocktail. Blender gets fired up in about an hour.

Old School Thursday: Icons & Cows Edition

2011-07-14T06:46:00.001-04:00

Today is Cow Appreciation Day, and I’m sure Chick-fil-A is all over that, and it’s also National Grand Marnier Day, which probably makes it a major holiday down at One-Eyed Mike’s. Put them together and you get…drunk cows?

In sad and somewhat recent news, today is also the anniversary of the death of two designers who were the creative minds behind two of America’s most iconic food-related logos. Today in 1986, Raymond Loewy, designer of the Coca Cola bottle, passed away. And today in 1998, Richard McDonald died. He was one of the brothers who founded the original McDonald’s restaurant and he designed the golden arches.

I guess it’s fast food for today, then, followed by a quick after dinner Grand Marnier?

Trendy: Lots of Thing

2011-07-13T08:23:00.000-04:00

A few thoughts on what's hot out there right now, which I may or may not back up at a later date:

Selzer makers. We have one. Everyone else has one. Even Slate. Hot.
Invasive species. Food & Wine agrees (complete with quotes from Cooper's friend Andy Dehart!). The NYT agrees. Glenn Reynolds agrees. This may be the great bipartisan issue of our age. Super hot.
Spicy drinks. When Alicia and I visited Stacy in Brooklyn in May (I swear I'm going to write about it one day, we met my college friend Sumi for drinks and snacks at a small, funky, delicious Mexican place called Mesa Coyoacan. Among other things, I had a drink made with pineapple juice and tequila that had been infused with dried chiles. It was spicy, but amazing. My mind floated back there while we were at the lake, when Bill and I read about a simple, spicy and refreshing shandy - a mixture of beer and lemonade served in a glass that's been rimmed with salt mixed with cayenne pepper. We haven't made it yet, but we've got plans.

I've actually been spotting trendy stuff all over the place lately, but I keep forgetting about it. Which might mean it's not that trendy. Or that it's just that - trendy, but without any staying power. I'm going to need to write them down, though, if I want to be taken seriously as a trend-spotter. Of course, that's a big if.

Old School Thursday: Back to Basics Edition

2011-07-07T09:36:00.001-04:00

Today is not a busy day, history-wise, but it is an important one: on July 7, 1550, the first chocolate arrived in Europe. To honor the occasion, today is Chocolate Day. It’s a momentous occasion, too – think about how different life would be if chocolate hadn’t been introduced to Europe. No chocolat chaud? No Nestle? Oh, it would’ve made it there eventually, but even a few years might have made a difference.

Today is also National Strawberry Sundae Day (always my favorite McDonald’s sundae flavor) and Macaroni Day (or, as it’s known in my house, Thursday). How two staples like chocolate and macaroni get stuck sharing a day, when things like Peach Melba have a day all to themselves, I’ll never understand.

But there you have it: mac and cheese for dinner, chocolate and strawberries for dessert. Enjoy!

Fourth of July Weekend

2011-07-06T08:43:00.000-04:00

We took the RV up to Alicia's family's house on Keuka Lake this weekend, so this is how I celebrated the fourth:

There was also a lot of this:

And a WHOLE lot of this:

In true Barger/Kelly fashion, the weekend involved a few parties, including one major, family-wide pirate-themed appetizer throwdown. Like last year, Cooper, Alicia's Uncle Joe and I judged the throwdown entries and just like last year, we had a blast.

Also just like last year, I came home with a zillion pictures - and I came home to a big work deadline. So unfortunately, throwdown posting will have to wait. But in the meantime, enjoy that top pic of the lake on early Sunday afternoon. It really doesn't get much better than that.

Old School Thursday: Legislation & Treats Edition

2011-06-30T08:01:00.000-04:00

Today is a good one: National Ice Cream Soda Day. Charmingly retro, seasonally appropriate, delicious. Perfect all the way around.

The rest of today’s news is an odd mishmash of Americana. First, today in 1895, a patent was issued for an electric stove. While the electric stove isn’t all that great from a cooking perspective (I use gas), it was an important innovation in household appliances.

In slightly less appetizing news, today in 1906, Congress passed both the Pure Food & Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act. Since I don’t really want to think about what happened to get that law passed – how bad the meat really was – so let’s move on to 1936, when Congress approved the 40 hour work week. No, it’s not food-related, but I couldn’t help but include it because it seems so quaint today. Necessary at the time, for lots of reasons I’m sure, but I certainly know a lot of people who work more than a 40 hour week. I work “part-time” and am also a stay at home mom, and even I sometimes work more than a 40 hour week. So, thanks, Congress?

Finally, today in 1985 was a sad occasion, when James A. Dewar, creator of the amazing and oh-so-American treat known as the Twinkie, passed away.

With all of this, how should you celebrate today? I say, take the day off to celebrate the shorter workweek and have an ice cream soda and a Twinkie for a snack. But maybe skip the meat. I still don’t want to think about the meat.

Things That Taste Good with Orzo

2011-06-29T08:03:00.000-04:00

(This post could also be called "Things I Didn't Photograph, or Things I Photographed Poorly")

Rick Bayless's shrimp with spicy chipotle-tomato sauce from the July issue of Food & Wine would be amazing over orzo. That's not how I had it - instead I chopped up the shrimp and turned it into a dip served with tortilla chips. It's pretty amazing, though, and even though it requires a few steps, it's not overly complicated.

Also delicious, and weeknight-with-orzo-friendly, Bon Appetit's chicken with mustard and herbs and sauteed radishes:

I couldn't find any tarragon (at Trader Joe's or Belvedere Square!) so I subbed in basil from my deck. Plus, I was a little low on radishes, but that was OK. This dinner was easy and very, very flavorful. And I actually did serve it with orzo!

Last Minute Throwdown: BBQ-Style

2011-06-27T10:11:00.000-04:00

We had some friends over on Saturday for a little party. Since it's barbecue season, and since Cooper's smoker has been our family's new best friend, the menu started with smoked pork.

On Thursday night, I was rummaging around in the refrigerator, trying to make room for all of the ingredients I'd gotten for Saturday, and I ran across a mysterious jar of homemade barbecue sauce. After some reflection, I realized it had been a gift from Mike Roach, one of the guys who works with Cooper, and that we'd never opened it. An idea was born.

When we have pork, Cooper makes his own sauce, plus we usually serve something cheap from a bottle (like Sweet Baby Ray's) or something a little better from a bottle (like Gates). So we've got a few different sauces scattered around the house - mostly tomato-based with a little vinegar thrown in. And where there are a few different options, there's an opportunity for competition.

Five minutes later, I was in PowerPoint, making up scorecards:

We had three categories of judging: sweet/spicy balance, consistency and overall favorite. Everyone picked their favorite for each category.

The tasting was blind, of course, with each sauce in it's own glass jar:

Alicia pegged Cooper's sauce right off - we expected that everybody would know which one was his, since it's much more vinegar-heavy than the other options. Even our guests who'd never had Cooper's sauce commented on how totally different it was than everything else. One of our new friends, the very helpful Bob, mentioned right away that it was pretty "Carolina."

Interestingly, there was a lot of debate about which of the other three came from a bottle. Everyone knew that Sweet Baby Ray's was bottled - that wasn't a surprise. But there was some real discussion about whether Roach's sauce or Gates came from a bottle. Roach admitted to us that his sauce was on the sweeter side - sweeter than he likes - because that's what his wife and daughters prefer. It was popular around here, too, and took home several votes for favorite sweet/spicy balance and favorite consistency.

In the end, Gates was probably the overall winner - it received the most favorite balance and favorite consistency votes - but because we have good friends, Cooper's sauce was the official overall favorite. Everybody had strong opinions, though and each sauce had at least one champion.

I, of course, abstained from the voting. I have to agree with our friend Christine, though. She said that Cooper's sauce is so different from the other options, which makes it good if you're looking for something that's not the traditional BBQ sauce you'd find in Maryland. But sometimes you ARE looking for that type of sauce - and on those days, Gates is my favorite.

But they're all good. Because really, even the worst BBQ is still pretty great.

This Week...

2011-06-24T08:09:00.000-04:00

It's been busy this week chez Pollard. Wedding over the weekend, camp all week, deadlines galore, U2 on Wednesday. Plus, in the midst of all that, we've been planning and organizing for a little mini-party on Saturday.

And as part of that planning, Cooper is building me the super-long outdoor table I have wanted forever.

So the table won't be quite that long (the table above is at Blackberry Farm, during this year's Garden & Gun Secret Society Weekend). But it will comfortably seat at least 10 people and with a little effort, even more. Have I mentioned that I'm excited for all the al fresco dinner party opportunities?

Woodberry Kitchen: Amazing All the Way Around

2011-06-22T08:23:00.000-04:00

Cooper and I celebrated our 7th anniversary this weekend, while we were at the beach also celebrating Jeff and Christine's wedding. Before we left for the beach, though, we took ourselves out to Woodberry Kitchen for an anniversary dinner.

It was my third visit and Cooper's second. While we both know it's an incredible restaurant, we're not in the habit of going there - if we have a kid-free night, we usually go to Dogwood or Petit Louis or Crush/demi. I'm not sure why, we just do.

I'm so glad we did, though - we had an amazing time, starting with interesting, refreshing and perfectly balanced cocktails (the Govt Mule and the Spring Lane) and ending with a gift of dessert and smooth, sweet Venezuelan rum, which we initially thought was port, from our waiter.

Our waiter, by the way, was knowledgeable and friendly and a pleasure to hang out with. His wine recommendations were informed ("Only Black Ankle wines if you're going local," "I like this Cotes du Rhone - I used to bike past the vineyard when I lived in France") and he gave us great background on the menu.

Speaking of the menu, here's what we ate:

- Smoked onion dip (so smoky!) with homemade potato chips
- Raw rockfish, sliced super thin and sprinkled with radishes, cucumber and salt (refreshing)
- The butcher's platter, filled with house made charcuterie, including head cheese (tasty but too gelatinous for me), melon butter (delicious), pickled red onions and cucumbers (crunchy annd tart), whipped lard (like salted butter, but we kind of got stuck on the word "lard" so we didn't eat much) and a variety of dried meats and porks
- Heirloom tomato salad (the first tomatoes of the year came in earlier that day and WOW did this taste like summer)
- Berkshire pork chop (the ribeye of pork...Cooper ordered this on our waiter's recommendation and was so glad he did)
- Marvesta shrimp with tomatoes and peas in a scampi-like sauce over toast (so flavorful)
- Coeur de la creme with cherries and blueberries (this was on the house, for our anniversary, and we ate every bit, even though we also ordered...)
- Firm, mild Pennsylvania cheese served with salted strawberries
- House-made ice cream made with multiple types of mint (delicious, even though it wasn't bright green, the way I like my mint chocolate chip)

We washed everything down with the aforementioned Cotes du Rhone. Rereading our menu, I realize that I can't really do it justice just by writing about it.

Here's the thing about WK - is it maybe too popular for it's own good? Probably. Too earnest? Definitely. Do the beards and the flannel shirts make it all a little too Brooklyn? Absolutely. But the fact is, they deserve all their accolades - the food really is that good and the service is that well-informed.

I might have been stuffed when I left, but I was ready, immediately, to walk back in and have dinner all over again.

And the Winners Are...

2011-06-20T08:04:00.000-04:00

Katie Berman, Elizabeth from Strawberries in Paris and Adam Osborn! They'll be hitting up the National BBQ Battle next weekend!

Katie likes honey-chipotle sauces (edgy!), Elizabeth is a fan of mustard-based sauces and Adam likes Kansas City-style sauces (which makes sense because he grew up there). Thanks so much to everyone who entered...and I'll Facebook the three of you so I can get you your tickets!

Safeway National BBQ Battle: TICKET GIVEAWAY!

2011-06-16T08:38:00.000-04:00

Remember the Barbecue Battle on Pennsylvania Avenue that I mentioned yesterday? It takes place in just over a week - on June 25th and 26th - and is sure to be a good time.

Well, the good people at Perdue have given me six tickets to give away to readers! To enter, simply leave a comment on this post, or send me an email at kit at kitpollard dot com, telling me your favorite kind of barbecue sauce - style (tomato, tomato-vinegar, white, mustard, vinegar-pepper...), not brand. Garden & Gun did a recent Facebook survey on this very topic and I want to see how M&G readers stack up.

And if you're at the Festival on Saturday, be sure to stop by Freedom Plaza, where Perdue's corporate chef, Chris Moyer, will be doing a cooking demo on the main stage, and where all day, the company will sponsor a "Sizzlin' Chicken BBQ" Contest. So go by, try some chicken, learn some tips, say thank you...

All entries must be in by 5 PM on Sunday. Winners will be announced on Monday morning.

Good luck!

Old School Thursday: All-American Edition

2011-06-16T08:04:00.000-04:00

Today is National Fudge Day and also the Feast of St. Benno, who is the patron saint of anglers. Fudge and fish. Delicious.

Today’s other news all relates to venerable American brands born in the 19th century. First, today in 1893, R.W. Rueckheim invented “Cracker Jack,” which was introduced at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It was R.W.’s brother Louis, though, who fine-tuned the formula into the candy we know today, by figuring out a way to keep the molasses-covered popcorn from sticking together. That happened in 1896…and the toy in the box didn’t arrive until 1912.

Ten years later, in 1903, Pepsi-Cola registered its trade name. At that point, the company was a year old – it’s first year of life it was called “Brad’s Drink” after Caleb Bradham, the pharmacist who developed the formula at his drugstore in New Bern, NC.

And finally, today is August Busch III’s birthday (1937). Busch III was the president of Anheuser Busch until 2002 and and chairman of the board until 2006, when his son (August Anheuser Busch IV, obviously) took the reigns (literally and figuratively – love those Clydesdales). I have a very soft spot in my heart for the Busch family, since through Busch Gardens and Anheuser Busch itself, they’re big supporters of William & Mary. Go Tribe & Go Busch Family!

Going on around Town: This Month

2011-06-15T09:06:00.000-04:00

It's summer, it's beautiful outside and there is a lot going on these days. Here are a few of those things:

TODAY, June 15th through June 18th: Freixenet sparkling wines has a "Tastings & Tapas" truck roaming around Baltimore. Location details will be on Twitter. I like cava (Spanish sparkling wine) and I like tapas - I also think this is a great idea from a marketing perspective. Freixenet is so ubiquitous and it's been lodged in my mind as a mimosa mixer and not much else. It's been around in the U.S. market since before everybody was making the cava/prosecco/champagne/other sparkling distinction and before Spanish food was super popular. It seems smart to me to refine the brand's position as a cava and to emphasize it's Spanishness by pairing it with tapas.
June 18th - #1: It's festival season in Baltimore and this weekend offers up a good one - the Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival. It's at the Creative Alliance at the Patterson (3134 Eastern Avenue) and it's free to enter (though you'll have to pay for food, etc.). The festival celebrates all aspects of Maryland living and will feature a ton of music and stuff like decoy-making and boat-building. Most intriguing to me, though, is the food, which will cover the traditional (Smith Island cake), the new traditional (Latin American influences) and food that we don't necessarily think of as Marylandy, but which certainly lives in Maryland (Nepalese). Overall, it sounds like a great time.

The food at the Maryland Traditions Folklife Festival looks kind of awesome. Photo credit: Shane Carpenter.
June 18th - #2: The good and hardworking folks at RA Sushi have declared this Saturday "International Sushi Day" and to celebrate, they're offering all of their Facebook fans a coupon for a free Tootsy Maki roll. So get one!
June 25th and 26th: The following weekend, DC is the place to be, food-wise, as the 19th Annual Safeway National BBQ Battle rolls into town (on Pennsylvania Avenue; Saturday 11 AM-9 PM, Sunday 11 AM-7:30 PM). This is a huge event, featuring a BBQ cookoff between 50 pitmasters, performances by 30 bands, and a whole mess of activities and food to try. The Battle is a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of America - over past years, the event has raised over $1.2 million for the organization, which means you can feel righteous while eating your delicious smoky pork. On top of that, I have it on good authority (my sister, who caught the tail end of last year's battle) that it's both well-run and a great time. Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for kids (free for kids 5 and under) and may be purchased online (for a discount) or at the gate. OR...I've got a couple of tickets to give away. So look for a giveaway post from me tomorrow.

You know what I like about this picture of last year's National BBQ Battle? You can see the smoke. Photo courtesy of the Safeway 2011 National Barbecue Battle.

June 28th, July 18th & August 11th: If you're making plans in advance, pencil in a trip or two to the Maryland Science Center. Throughout the summer, the Science Center is hosting a cooking series called "Beautiful, Delicious, Nutritious." The series, which includes chefs from Antrim 1844, Donna's and Gertrude's, is free to members, or with paid admission. Each demo will focus on healthy cooking and eating - a great fit for the Science Center's exhibit on diabetes.

Speaking of diabetes, have I mentioned what my high school friend Doug Masuik is doing this summer? He's running across the country - from San Francisco to New York - to raise awareness (and money) for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Doug was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was a little kid - he's been managing the disease for most of his life. He'll be the first Type 1 diabetic to run across the country. He's also participating in a ton of events, many of which relate to the JDRF.

So many great events, and so many great causes. It's a busy summer already.

Recently Learned Chez Pollard

2011-06-13T10:14:00.000-04:00

1. Gougeres out of a box can be pretty good:

The mix came from Williams Sonoma and yes, it did cost $14, which is a lot for cheese puffs, but I'm not very good with pastry and these were easy and also delicious. So I would totally buy it again.

2. I need to remember that I bought myself some fennel pollen:

A few weeks ago, I went on an Amazon tear, and one of my purchases was a small tin of fennel pollen. Since it's arrival, I've used it exactly once - I sprinkled it on goat cheese for a salad - and it was good, but not earth-shattering. I get the impression it's a bigger deal when paired with meat...so I need to remember to pair it with meat. Also learned: I'm a sucker for trendy ingredients.

3. Ceriello makes a perfectly serviceable cold octopus salad:

While it's not as incredible as the grilled octopus appetizer at The Black Olive (my gold standard), it's got tons of flavor...and it's available 2 miles from my house.

4. Cooper makes a nice sun tea:

He's been adding basil and mint (WOW do we have a lot of mint) and it's delicious. Also learned: Mary really, really, really likes sun tea. She's had more of it than I have.

5. Cooper also makes some nice ribs:

Ribs are pretty ugly - they definitely don't photograph well. But they do taste good.

6. Jamie Oliver knows what he's talking about:

Over the weekend, I reread Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef, which was the very first cookbook I bought when I decided to learn to cook, way back in the spring of 2002. I'm not sure I made much from the book back in those days, but upon a reread, I realized that I've internalized a lot of Oliver's approach (fresh, seasonal, etc. etc.). On Saturday, I made his salsa verde, which is a chimichurri-esque combination of mint, basil, parsley, anchovies, mustard, bread and butter pickles, capers, red wine vinegar and olive oil. He uses it for a variety of foods - I used it to make a warm potato salad to serve with corn and crab cakes. Perfect for this time of year and perfect with the crab.

Then, on Sunday, I took his advice again and topped boiled asparagus with a compound butter made with anchovies, lemon, and red and black pepper. It was surprisingly subtle and a nice alternative to lemon and olive oil or hollandaise.

7. I like Gwyneth Paltrow again:

Back in the late '90s, when Gwyneth was winning Oscars and loving Shakespeare, I was loving her. Sometime after that, though, the love faded. I don't know if it was the macrobiotic diet or the $300 yoga pants in GOOP or what, but something about her turned me off. I know I'm not alone in this.

So it was with some trepidation that I opened the June issue of Bon Appetit, which has Gwyneth's smiling face on the cover. The magazine got a lot of pushback on that cover - and I get it: it's a food magazine, not US Weekly. I also get, though, that a cover featuring a controversial movie star, who also happens to have some genuine food credentials, will a) generate a lot of buzz for a new editor and a magazine that's clearly trying to update its image and b) sell a hell of a lot of that magazine. It's controversial, but I think it was a good call.

Anyway, the magazine arrived while I was in NYC for the weekend with Alicia, visiting her friend Stacy (more on that one day). When I got home, Cooper had already read the whole thing. His response to it was simple: "I like Gwyneth again." I reserved judgment but you know what? After reading it for myself, I liked her again, too. Especially after I made her roasted tomato and anchovy oreganata pasta (above). I made one small adjustment - I pureed the sauce because Cooper doesn't really like whole tomatoes - but otherwise, I followed the very simple recipe exactly. And it was great. Easy, tasty, cheap.

Then I bought her book. And it is just as good as the few articles in the magazine (I've already made the cacio e pepe and it was also super simple). Plus, as the book is called My Father's Daughter, it focuses on stories about the food memories Gwyneth shared with her late father, Bruce Paltrow, who died from cancer in 2002. There are tons of pictures scattered throughout the book and stories that are both heartwarming and sad. The end result is that Gwyneth comes across as a real person - and someone who is funny and genuinely likable. As in, I would want to be her friend. Even if she was wearing a $150 tank top.

So there it is, all the things I've learned recently, from gougeres to Gwyneth.

The Heat Makes Me Crazy

2011-06-10T08:56:00.000-04:00

But it also makes me make delicious drinks - like Planter's Punch from the Peninsula Grill in Charleston (courtesy of Garden & Gun):

I made myself one of those yesterday and it was perfect - refreshing and also as tropical as the crazy steamy weather.

Today, I'm thinking about making one (or two, or three...) of these:

That's the Barefoot in the Park cocktail from The Surrey's rooftop bar (as seen on Tory Burch's blog). It sounds amazing and I'm pretty sure that I even have a bottle of guava nectar lying around here someplace, so I should be able to whip it up without breaking a sweat.

Cocktail-making in the heat isn't really all that crazy. It's practical - staying hydrated and all. What IS crazy, though, is how much the heat makes me want to shop. Right now, I am actively holding myself back from buying a new dress. I don't need a new dress - I have a trillion summer dresses. But it's so hard to remember that when I'm faced with the Milly website. I mean, just look at this:

And this:

It's so hard to say no.

But it is so, so much less spendy to stick to buying ingredients for summer cocktails. I just have to remember that, no matter how much the heat goes to my head!

Old School Thursday: Processed & Automated Edition

2011-06-09T09:01:00.000-04:00

Today is National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day – totally appropriate and totally seasonal! Rhubarb is all over the grocery store lately. I haven’t bought any of it because I don’t like to bake and I’m not really sure what else to do with rhubarb…so I just ignore it. But I like the idea!

Today is also about inventions – American food inventions. Today in 1869, Charles Elmer Hires started selling his root beer in Philadelphia. It’s still for sale today.

A generation later, in 1902, the fast food concept was born. Today marks the 109th anniversary of the opening of the first Automat. It was at 818 Chestnut Street and opened by Frank Hardart and Joe Horn. The last Automat closed in 1991, but the concept lives on all over the place, in every fast food place around the world.

A few years later, in 1911, Carrie Nation passed away. Nation was a key figure in the women’s temperance movement, and was known for bashing in saloons with a hatchet. I’m sure she felt that she was doing very important work…but I’m also pretty sure she and I could never have been friends.

Finally, today in 1953, John Kraft received a patent for the manufacture of soft surface cured cheese. Mmm…soft, processed cheese. So gross, but kind of good at the same time. And so very American.

So there it is: root beer, fast food, processed cheese and temperance. To celebrate it all, I’d stick with a nice rhubarb pie.

Backyard Evolution: From Jungle to Patio

2011-06-07T07:30:00.001-04:00

Now that summer is here, and I'm all fired up about going outside, I'm so, so thankful for our yard. Not just our yard, either - I'm thankful that last fall, we made the very good decision to have a patio built in our side yard. We've been using it a ton, in kind of a "if you build it, we will use it" way.

When we moved into our house, the side yard (well, most of the whole yard, actually) was a big overgrown mess. Once Cooper started pulling stuff out of the ground, just to clean it up, we realized we had a lot of space on our hands.

The view from our front porch, pre-patio. It was a jungle back there.

One day, our friend/landscaper Chuck came over and we started talking about putting in a little patio - just enough space for a couple chairs and a firepit. Next thing you know, we had much grander plans.

Kyle & Mary's dog Mia was a fan of the construction phase. We had a Bobcat in our yard for, oh, two months. There was a lot to clear (plus, it rained about every other day last fall, making it hard to get anything done).

After some discussion, Cooper and Chuck and I agreed that if we were going to put in a patio, we might as well go big. For a long time, I've had a thing about dinner parties at long tables (evidence here and here). So why not put in a patio that could house a super long table? So that's what we did.

Plus, there's a retaining wall and a walkway and some excellent landscaping (Chuck is great). All of the stone is local and the plants are fairly low maintenance, so we get to enjoy the patio without too much extra work.

Last March, when we used this space for the first time, we comfortably fit about 15 people around the fire. The rock wall adds extra seating - and the rocks retain the warmth from the fire, which means we can use this space most of the year.

This is the view towards the front yard - that's the door Dixon's standing by in the very first picture and the tree to the right is the fig tree that stands outside the window above my kitchen sink (and produces comical amounts of fruit each year).

Next project - which is already underway - is for Cooper to build me that long table. Over Memorial Day weekend, we bought some beautiful sycamore from a guy in Harford County and Cooper has begun the sanding process. Soon, I'll have a ten foot long table, plus benches. Add a few lights in the trees and some pretty table linens and I will be hosting the al fresco dinner party I've been daydreaming about for years!

The United States of Online Dating: Maryland In Words

2011-06-03T07:58:00.001-04:00

Last night, my college friend Tricia posted this amazing link on Facebook. An artist named R. Luke Dubois mined data from 20 online dating sites and created detailed maps of the entire U.S., replacing place names with the words most frequently used in the online profiles.

The results are revealing, if not always surprising. LA is Acting, Richmond is...Tobacco.

And Maryland. Maryland is Crabs, but apparently only if you live in a little pocket of Kent Island. Other than that, Maryland is Interesting and Afraid and Give - guess which one of those three is in the middle of Baltimore City. (Interesting is outside DC and Give is Annapolis.)

Here's what the state looks like as a whole:

And here's a close-up of the middle section of the state, where most people live. To give you some perspective, the Bay Bridge is right in the middle, just to the right of Give:

As it turns out, I grew up in a community called Discipline (unsurprising, in so many ways) and now I live in Future. I liked seeing all of Severna Park - Analysis is right up the river from Discipline - and Future seems like a pretty appropriate place to settle down.

I do wonder, though, how Timonium somehow became Epidemiology. Academic? Or just creepy?

Old School Thursday: Cheesy & Boozy Edition

2011-06-02T08:05:00.000-04:00

Today is National Hazelnut Cake Day because of course it is. Random, yet delicious.

June 2nd’s other news is also pretty random. Today in 1851, Maine became the first state in the U.S. to ban alcohol, almost 70 years before the 18th amendment kicked off Prohibition on a national level and 82 years before the 21st amendment repealed the 18th. Eighty-two years – that is a long time to be a booze-free resident of chilly, dark Maine!

In other early 20th century news, today in 1928, Kraft’s Velveeta was introduced, filling a vast need for smooth-melting processed cheese.

So today, to celebrate, melt a little cheese and have a drink – because you can.

Baltimore Fish & Chips

2011-06-01T07:45:00.001-04:00

Cooper's the one who came up with the title of this post...and the one who caught the fish in question. A few weeks ago, he and his friend Tony went fishing in the Bay. It wasn't the best day ever - certainly not as productive as the time they brought home like 700 pounds of tuna (from Ocean City, right after Hurrican Isabel) - but they caught enough rockfish that we could have a very respectable dinner.

Cooper marinated the fish in garlic, shallots, olive oil, salt, pepper and a bunch of herbs we had in the yard:

Then he grilled it. It doesn't take much to make rockfish good, especially when it's super fresh. I added some green beans and thinly sliced, quickly fried potatoes (my homage to McGarveys) and voila, Baltimore's own version of fish and chips:

Freshly caught fish is so much better than what you buy at the store - even if you buy freshly caught fish, like I usually do (from Conrad's). Even though I'm not the one who was actually out there with a line, the fish tasted better to me because Cooper caught it.

Hopefully there will be a lot more of this meal this summer. I'm sure Cooper hopes so, too, since more of this means more time on the water for him.