Festive All Around

Today is Cooper's birthday. And this is his cake:

It was a gift from our friends Audrey and George, who spotted it at Sam's Club last month. (Not this specific cake. This one is much fresher than that.)

It's pretty much the most Cooper cake I can imagine.

When we celebrated here last night, with Cooper's family, it was just the latest event during what has, so far, been quite a festive month.

Among other things, DRP and I went shopping in Hampden, including a stop at Charm City Chocolate, and then we came home, all three of us decorated the tree and we tried to ration the chocolate-covered Oreos so they'd last.

Last weekend was a busy one, too. On Saturday, I took Mimi (our niece) to Maria Springer's gingerbread house workshop. A few years ago, I wrote an article about Maria and what she does - she is the nicest lady and she makes the best gingerbread houses.

She used to host gingerbread house teas at her home in Phoenix, but just after I wrote the article, she and her husband moved to a condo and she shifted the gingerbread festivities to a church on Hampton Lane. The tea part of the day is no longer - which is a shame - but the house-decorating is still just as fun.

Mimi was an incredible house decorator - so patient and creative, with an amazing dedication to symmetry. Her focus was super impressive - especially considering that she was about 48 hours shy of her seventh birthday.

 After the gingerbread decorating, Cooper and I got ourselves dolled up to go over to Kyle and Mary's for the 9th annual carol and crawl party. We retired the house-to-house nature of the party years ago, so there hasn't been any "crawling" for about six years, and the only "caroling" comes late night (and hopefully doesn't disturb any neighbors). But the party is still a great time.

This year, both Cooper and Kyle really brought it with the outfits (George was similarly dressed, but I didn't get a picture of all three of them):

On the Pollard front, possibly the most exciting part of the weekend the completion of the cheese knife Dixon hand made for Kyle and Mary:

Knife-making is a new hobby for DRP; he's pretty taken with it. A while back, Cooper bought a bunch of antique saws at an auction. For these knives, he (Cooper) cuts a knife blank from one of the saws, then Dixon files and sands it down until it has a sharp edge. Then, the two of them work together to hook it into an antler handle. (The antlers, apparently, we just have laying around.)

It's a lot of work for Dixon, but he loves it, and the end result is pretty cool. I'm not sure who was most excited to see this end product - Cooper and me, Kyle and Mary (who had placed an order for the knife), or Dixon, who is extremely, and understandably proud of himself.

Knives, cakes, candy, festive holiday apparel. So far, December is going pretty well.

Navruz Celebration at Silk Road

Something cool is happening this weekend at Silk Road Bistro in Pikesville. They're celebrating Spring, in a way that's both ancient and completely new to me.

One of my favorite dinners of all of last year was at Silk Road, which is an Uzbek restaurant on Reisterstown. We dined there on a Thursday, during a belly dancing show, and from start to finish, the meal was fun, festive and so delicious.

Uzbek cuisine is interesting - the country is at the crossroads of the East and West and it shows. The food feels both Russian and Middle Eastern - even Indian, sometimes - but really, it's its own thing. The country has a unique culture that comes from its double-landlocked position on the Silk Road, the ancient East-West trade route, and that's on display in its traditional dishes.

This coming Sunday, March 20th, eating at Silk Road will be even more exciting than usual, when the restaurant hosts its annual Navruz celebration.

Navruz, which is translated as "New Day," coincides with the first day of spring (this year, March 21st). Silk Road will celebrate with a special, traditional dish, halisa, served at 8 a.m. on Sunday the 20th.

"It's a meat porridge that is cooked for twelve to fifteen hours," explains Silk Road manager Shahboz Eshpulatov. "People start coming to the restaurant around 6 p.m. on Saturday. That's when all the meat will be placed in a giant pot, approximately 100 pounds, and cooked all night until about 3 a.m."

This video shows halisa being made, at Silk Road's 2012 celebration (in their old space):


Halisa is the centerpiece, but Navruz is mostly about people getting together to carry on traditions, says Eshpulatov. "Every neighborhood and family celebrates this holiday in Uzbekistan. In order for our people not to forget their traditions and for their children to be familiar with the traditions, we make this event at the restaurant free of charge for anyone who wishes to attend."

On Sunday morning, most of the Uzbek celebrants (and chefs) will likely be men, says Eshpulatov. "Women also have a dish they prepare during Navruz celebrations," he says. "It is called sumalak. Our wives are planning to cook it sometime during the month of March."

Navruz celebrations will happen up and down the East Coast this week and people will travel from one city to another - it's a tight knit community on a national scale. On Sunday at Silk road, there will be some Uzbek-Americans from Philadelphia, New York and Florida in attendance and Monday, a small group of Uzbekis from Baltimore will head up to Philadelphia for a party there.

Here in Baltimore, the Uzbek community is small, but part of what I loved so much about eating at Silk Road is that you could feel its strength. These are people who love each other, and the traditions of their home country, so much.

When we dined at Silk Road, back in June of last year, the restaurant was packed and every table around us was filled with multi-generational families talking and laughing and drinking vodka and generally enjoying the food, the belly dancing, and each other. Their spirit was infectious.

If they approach the new spring season with anything near the zest they had for a random Thursday night in June, then 1004 Reisterstown Road is sure to be the most fun place in the Baltimore area next Sunday morning.

Fake St. Patrick's Day Is Tomorrow!

Scenes from last year's Fake St. Pat's

It's that time of year again - St. Patrick's Day season - when people drag out their best funny green t-shirts and green beads and drink more beer in a month than they do for the rest of the year combined.

I love it.

My friends' contribution to this messy month starts tomorrow, with Fake St. Patrick's Day - an afternoon of drinking and oysters, with a side dish of charitable giving, at Ryleigh's Oyster on Padonia Road.

This year, the party starts at 1 p.m. and is a fundraiser for the Dance Head and Neck Center at GBMC. Any and all comers are welcome - we'll be in the bar in the middle of the restaurant. It's always a good time.

Ryleigh's is donating 10% of what's spent during the party to the Dance Center and we'll be raising money a couple other ways, too, including a raffle for gift baskets including items donated from a bunch of very generous local businesses.

Those businesses include some of the best spots in and around Baltimore:
AntiGravity Fitness
Azumi
Baltimore's Waterfront Partnership
Ceriello
Charm City Chocolate
Fox's Den
La Cuchara
Ladew Topiary Gardens
Loyola University Athletics
Nia Baltimore
Ouzo Bay
Plantbar
Prigel Family Creamery
Residence Inn in Hunt Valley
REV Cycle
Wells Discount Liquors
Wit + Wisdom

The baskets will include donations from these organizations, as well as other goodies, including a purse handmade by Alicia and her mom...and lots of wine and beer and liquor. Booze sells raffle tickets!

If you're in the area tomorrow, please stop in and say hi. It's a great cause and an absolute blast. Happy Fake St. Pat's!

Stuff I Love: Charm City Chocolate

It's Valentine's week...have you done your shopping yet?

Even if you have, you can always buy more, especially when it comes to chocolate. So you should check out Charm City Chocolates, the new candy shop in Hampden, on the Avenue, near The Charmery.

The shop, recently opened by my friend (and former Sun editor) Michelle Zimmerman and her husband Todd, is pretty much the Platonic ideal of a candy shop. It's bright and cozy and filled with tons and tons of great-looking candy, including some amazing handmade chocolates.

Michelle and Todd learned to make chocolate from Todd's family, who owned a candy shop in Greenville, SC, and at Charm City Chocolate, they put their own spin on sweets.

And those sweets are good. I brought home a whole pile of chocolate for Dixon and Cooper - and we loved all of it. I can't really pick a favorite, though I was especially sorry I only took home one coconut-filled chocolate. I could've eaten three or four more in one sitting.

Dixon is thrilled that we've finished everything...so we have an excuse to go back.

Michelle and Todd obviously know what they're doing in the chocolate kitchen, but I'm sure that part of the reason the candy is so good - and the shop so charming - is that they get why eating chocolate is such a lovable experience.

"Chocolate is a way to treat yourself," Michelle says. "An important part of life is being good for yourself - treating yourself."

Michelle and Todd also know that chocolate's appeal as a treat is anything but simple. "It resonates with people in terms of memories we have as a child," says Michelle. "It's a part of so many great occasions - birthdays and family dinners. Maybe your mom had a special chocolate cake she made or your grandmom had a special brownie. That all comes together in your head when you indulge in chocolate."

Proust had his madeleines...and we have our chocolate. For Valentine's Day, some gifts of chocolate will remind the recipient of memories. Other gifts will create memories.

But all of them will taste fabulous.

Charm City Chocolate; 809 West 36th Street, Hampden; 443-449-5164

Closing Out 2015: Stuff I Loved at the End of the Year

As is often the case, I've got a list of posts-to-write that's a mile long. Over the past two months, especially, I've done a million fun things and eaten some great food and while some of it has made its way to Instagram or Facebook, I'm way behind on actual blogging. I managed to write about a couple fun nights...but I'm still way behind.

And that means a roundup post. Here's what else I've been up to - the good stuff - since November:

Wine Tasting at Tarara

 In mid-November, to celebrate my friend Mandy's 40th birthday, a small crew headed to north-central Virginia for a day of wine tasting. Her husband, Oliver, organized it and chauffered, and he did a bang-up job of both.

The best part of the day was the serious tasting at Tarara in Leesburg. Not only were the wines we tasted really nice, the setting is beautiful and the overall experience there is super thorough. The selection, which started with sparkling then made its way through whites and reds, ending with dessert wine, was paired with four diverse cheeses - and a lot of education. I've done a decent amount of wine tasting, but I still learned some things.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Cooper and I alternate families for Thanksgiving; this year, we were at my parents' house, and so were my brother and sister (and Cail and Clark).

Thanksgiving always - always - involves a round of mid-afternoon oysters. Mostly, we stick with Oysters Waskom, our fine-tuned family specialty. As a family, we are pretty locked into tradition. My mom made a new sweet potato recipe this year and there was very nearly a revolt. But as long as we have a couple dozen Waskoms available, we're also open to trying a new approach or two.

This year, my parents worked hard to replicate a dish they'd had in September, when they celebrated my mom's birthday with Erin and Clark at L'Auberge Chez Francois in Great Falls. The oysters - topped with bearnaise and grilled a little (but not too much) impressed them so much.

At home, they needed some tinkering. My mom made the bearnaise the day before Thanksgiving, so it would have time to solidify in the refrigerator, but even the next day, she worried that it was a little too thin. Plus, we grilled the first batch of oysters a little too long - they weren't overcooked, but the bearnaise melted and disappeared.

With adjusted cooking times for the second batch, though, we had it. (And by "we" I mean my dad. All I did was plate and eat.) They were awesome. And pretty:

The day after Thanksgiving, as is our tradition, the family, including both baby Virginia Catherine to 97 year old Nan, went to Petit Louis for lunch. It was, as always, excellent. I love the whole menu, but there is nothing like PL's pureed soups. I had a cream of cauliflower that was unreal. Just perfect.

40th Birthday by Clementine at Church and Company

A couple weeks after Thanksgiving, party season got serious Chez Pollard. Cooper turned 40 on December 12th and I followed ten days later, on the 22nd.

After much, much discussion, we decided to throw ourselves a party. (I'm not sure why it required so much discussion. That was obviously what we were always going to do.)

Instead of doing something at home, we rented out Church and Company, an insanely cool event space in an old church in Hampden. Alex, the guy who owns the space (and who rehabbed it himself) might be the nicest person in the world - and he has such a solid eye for design.

Since our party was just before Christmas, the space was all kinds of decked out with garlands and trees and candles. It was just gorgeous.

There was never any question about what we'd do for food - the whole reason we decided not to cook ourselves was that we wanted Clementine to cater. Unsurprisingly, everything from the pickled oysters to the charcuterie (heyyyy chicken liver pate) to the basil lime elixir was incredible. Plus, Alicia made us mint chocolate chip cupcakes and our friends got us a cake from Graul's - both of which were awesome.

It wasn't just Clementine's food that was great - it was the people, too. Especially Cristin, who realized we were wrong when we told her we didn't want to hire a bartender. She gracefully let us make that choice...then stepped in and tended bar at the last minute (with Alex's help). She was right, I was wrong, and she didn't even say, "I told you so."

Overall, the night was kind of ridiculous. On one hand, I felt silly throwing such an intense party just for our birthdays. Between the space, the catering and the guest list, which covered family and friends from all parts of our lives, it was like a small(ish) wedding. On the other...it was so great I didn't really care. It was a blast.

40th Birthday at McGarvey's...and More

But here's where things get really ridiculous. The Friday night party in Baltimore was just round one.

The party continued on Saturday, when I made my annual birthday trip to McGarvey's. I've been celebrating there since I turned 21...and party in Baltimore or no, I was not about to break that tradition. Instead, I upped the ante.

Most years, we just have lunch or brunch or drinks in the bar, wherever we happen to fall. This year, since it was a big one, I reserved the upstairs space from 4 to 6 p.m.

I'd never been up there before - it's only open for private parties - so even just walking up the steps was a total thrill. It's not a terribly big space - it holds about 30 people, standing - but it is comfortable and has a great view of Dock Street and of the back room in the bar itself.

Saturday's crowd was more Annapolis-oriented - my high school friends and family (including the ones who live in Virginia), plus Mike and Alicia from Baltimore and Stacy, who came down from New York just for the parties. Unfortunately, we were missing not only Bill and Kyle and Mary but also Cooper, who got sick at the end of the week. He powered through Friday night like a champ...but just couldn't do it on Saturday. Sad, but understandable.

Ultimately, that meant more oysters, crab balls and crab cakes for us. That's what we ate at McGarvey's (along with many, many Aviators, their house beer). Those are McG's strengths - and they did them well.

We were all also super impressed with the service. We had one young waitress, who hustled up and down the steps and kept drinks in everybody's hands for two straight hours. She was such a pro.


Once the upstairs party ended, we migrated downstairs for a couple more drinks and to figure out a plan of action. Our goal was to drink our way up Main Street, following the path of a long ago bar crawl that Bert and Rob and I did, and to still be standing strong, ending at Harry Browne's, at midnight, when Bert turned 41.

Spoiler alert: we made it.

But we knew, if that was going to happen, we needed sustenance. Bert scoped out the options for a group our size and we ended up upstairs at Middleton's, where everyone scarfed down burgers, crab cakes...and oyster shooters.

As my sister said, if it was good enough for Ben Franklin, it's good enough for me.

Next, we classed it up with Natty Bohs and a Bud Light tower at Acme, which was so, so, so crowded, even at 8:30. It was kind of weird, being there without anyone using a fake ID.

Note: that is Alicia.

After Acme, we made two more quick stops - Treaty of Paris, which was a bit of a snoozer, and Galway Bay, which was packed and super festive - before finally stumbling into Harry Browne's.

As a general rule, when I go out in Annapolis with my high school friends, that's where we end the night. It's such a nice bar, so it's always kind of funny to roll in there after watching people spill beer all over each other at Acme or wherever.

As soon as we walk in, we always start upgrading our drinks - and making a mess. I switched to wine and Alison ordered a martini, which she promptly spilled everywhere. Rasim ordered a pile of food and I ate an entire plate of calamari by myself. Hot.

Then, we went home (or back to the O'Callaghan Hotel, in my case) and slept it off. What a night.

Even More 40th Celebrating

What's funny (maybe?) is that wasn't even the end of it. The next morning, Mike, Alicia, Stacy and I had an awesome breakfast at Iron Rooster in Annapolis. Their homemade pop tarts really are no joke.

And then, on my actual birthday - which was a Tuesday - Dixon and Cooper and I had dinner at Grano Emporio in Hampden.

I had veal marsala and it was lovely. Cooper and I also split a carafe of Montepulciano and I remembered that I so love restaurants that still sell wine in carafes. They remind me of when I was a kid, going out to dinner with my parents.

And then, finally, the birthday celebrating came to an end.

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve

But just a few days after my birthday, we were back on the party train with Christmas Eve dinner at our house (first time ever! Meat...obviously.) followed by Christmas brunch with Cooper's family and dinner at his parent's house (more meat...obviously).

On New Year's Eve, we had dinner at our house with Mike, Alicia, Kyle, Mary, George, Audrey and all the kids. Piper, George and Audrey's second oldest, came over early to help me set the kids' table, which made the whole day even better for me. She is only in second grade, but was so thoughtful about all of it.

We had Oysters Waskom, crab cakes from Conrad's, this ridiculously easy and delicious John Besh cauliflower puree thing that I make every year and a bunch of wine.

It was crazy and hectic and fun and such a good way to kick off 2016.

Speaking of 2016, I've already had a bunch of good meals. We loved brunch at Silver Queen and dinner at Smoke (more on those later) and we have a bunch of good dinners and parties scheduled for the next few weeks.

Ending strong and starting strong.

Cups of Cheer

The holiday season offers a lot of opportunities to do a little drinking...which means it also offers my inbox a lot of PR emails including cocktail recipes. This makes me happy. It also makes me feel like sharing.

So, here are three of my favorite drink recipes that landed in my inbox this season. If you're still looking for a specialty cocktail for this week or next...here you go:

The Mariah Sherry from Wit + Wisdom

The name alone is enough to make me want to order this drink every day. It's adorable - but it also sounds delicious, which is no surprise, since the W+W bar is really, really good at making drinks. Here's the recipe:

1 ounce Dry Sack Sherry
1 ounce Hardy VS Cognac
1/2 ounce Domaine de Canton
1/2 ounce Amaro Ramazotti
1/2 ounce cinnamon syrup
2 dashes Fee Brothers Old Fashioned bitters
1 ounce half and half
1 whole egg

Combine everything in a cocktail shaker and dry shake hard, then add ice and shake thoroughly. Double strain into a snifter and garnish with grated nutmeg.

Fun Fact: W+W has a million things happening this season, including special Christmas Day brunch and dinner, a nine-course New Year's Eve tasting menu and a New Year's Day brunch. It's a lot.

*****

The Gratitude

Moonshine has come a long way from its backwoods roots. In some ways, it's a little sad that it's lost some of it's dangerousness. However, it's also nice that people aren't going blind from it, either.

This recipe, from the folks at Sugarlands Distilling Co., is definitely a far cry from drinking unrefined white lightning out of dirty jars in the woods.

1 ounce Silver Cloud Moonshine
2 ounces cranberry juice
2 ounces apple juice
2 ounces ginger beer

Pour over ice and stir.

Fun Fact: Sugarlands is located in Gatlinburg, TN - also the home base for my sorority's philanthropic efforts. There's even a Pi Beta Phi Elementary School in the town. Which is kind of funny to me, really, because it's hard to imagine going to Pi Phi Elementary. But still, Pi Phi's commitment to education and expanding literacy is solid. 

*****

PAMA Whiskey Sour

People complain about the mess that goes along with de-seeding a pomegranate, but I think it's worth it. Not only are the little seeds tart and crunchy and so pretty, there's also something incredibly satisfying about whacking the hard shell of the fruit to dislodge all the seeds. Just wear an apron.

Then make this simple, tart spin on the classic whiskey sour, which came to me courtesy of PAMA:

1 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 ounce PAMA pomegranate liqueur
1 1/2 ounces bourbon
Pomegranate seeds for garnish

Add all ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice. Shake and strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice.

Fun Fact: The first time I ever had a PAMA drink was at Can Can in Richmond, where there used to be a champagne and PAMA drink on the menu - and it was named after my sister-in-law Cail. Because she has good taste, too, bien sur.

Photos courtesy of Wit + Wisdom, Sugarlands and PAMA.

Trendy Monday and More: Turketta at Mock Thanksgiving

Is any other holiday as beige as Thanksgiving? So unphotogenic...but so, so delicious.

Every Thanksgiving season, there seems to be a new turkey trend...because apparently regular old roast turkey isn't enough. We fry, we brine with crazy stuff, we smoke, we stuff with chickens and ducks.

Fortunately, with the rise of "Friendsgiving" as a legit holiday, we have an opportunity to be trendy the week before Thanksgiving, reserving the actual day to enjoy the exact menu our moms have been cooking for us since we were little. (Side note: at my house, Friendsgiving is called Mock Thanksgiving and we have been doing it since 2002. Because Cooper and I are thought leaders in the realm of fake holiday celebrations.)

This year, as far as I can tell, the big turkey trend is turketta - porchetta-spiced turkey. I've seen a bunch of recipes for versions of the dish. Since we love porchetta - and since I was desperate for a turkey idea earlier this week - we made a couple turkettas for dinner with our friends last night.

We used this Bon Appetit recipe...and it was awesome. Moist, tons of flavor, not that difficult to make. It was just complicated enough that I felt like a culinary rockstar when I finished prepping it...but not so hard that I couldn't actually do it. That is a sweet spot.

With the turketta, we had these gorgeous mashed potatoes, roast sweet potatoes, fennel and carrots, sauerkraut from Hex Ferments, and cranberries I bought pre-made from Eddie's. Alicia made pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon buttercream, the kids ate a bunch of mac and cheese and we drank a silly amount of wine for a Sunday night.

Mock Thanksgiving started as a small dinner, with just a couple friends, back when I was first learning how to cook. Over the past few years, it's evolved into a much bigger party.

This year, we felt the need to quiet it down a little. So, no big party, just a small dinner with a few friends + kids. The big parties are consistently fun and crazy and hilarious...but there's just nothing like a special dinner with a handful of close friends.

At our house, we are always, always so busy that it's very easy to focus more on what's worrying and stressing us vs. what makes us happy.  After dinner last night, we sat around the table, with all the dirty dishes still piled on it, listening to music and drinking wine and talking and laughing. So much laughing - from the adults and the kids. I can't think of a better way to kick off a season dedicated to gratitude.

Going Green

As ever, the month of March is all about the Irish around here.

We started the month with our annual Fake St. Patrick's Day celebration. This year, the party was held at Ryleigh's Oyster Hunt Valley, where two amazing bartenders took care of a crowd that was dozens strong for four straight hours.

After years of just meeting for drinks, last year, FSP became a benefit (thanks to Rasim's smart suggestion). This year, we raised over $2,500 for the MLD Foundation. Not bad for some afternoon drinks! The money was raised by selling koozies, raffling off baskets including donations from local businesses, and a 50/50 cash raffle.

It was a great time - both during the afternoon and back at our house that night. Lots of oysters, lots of beer, lots of generosity.

Clockwise from top left: Irish Cooper; Erin wearing my grandmother's pins; the scene at Ryleigh's; the front of Mike's shirt; some of the raffle prizes; the after party; the back of Mike's shirt; the koozies and (center) a big basket full of Irish gear.

Last weekend, we continued the celebration with a families-and-friends brunch at our house. I made corned beef hash and my mom cooked a zillion eggs to order, Cooper smoked a gorgeous piece of salmon, and so many people brought dessert. We've been swimming in sweets for days.

It was, of course, a great time. And it lasted, as brunches do, from noon until almost 9 p.m. Needless to say, we were all exhausted on Monday. Including the kids. But it's worth it, of course, to celebrate our Irish heritage. Especially since we are gearing up for a 2016 trip to the motherland itself!

Clockwise from top left: the dessert table, including a sour cream coffee cake (my mom), chocolate chip cookies (Chad's mom), grasshopper brownies and car bomb cupcakes (Mike's mom) and a Bailey's bundt cake (Alicia); Cooper with Maggie and Biz; the salmon; "potato" candies from Eddie's; Jen and Mark's reuben dip; radishes with Irish brown bread from Atwaters.

Funnily enough, we didn't do anything Irish-y at all - other than wear green - on St. Patrick's Day itself. In fact, we ate Indian food that night.

But we're not quite finished. Hardcore Irish-Americans that we are, we have one more party to go to this coming weekend. And it's sure to be a good one. Slainte!

Valentine's Day and the Magic of the Kids' Table

Adults on left (check out those woven ribbons!) and kids on right (plastic silverware, yes, but also gift bags!)

As I'm sure you all remember, Valentine's Day fell on a Saturday this year, guaranteeing that restaurants would be even more hectic than usual. We're not big V-Day celebrators under any circumstances...and you couldn't pay me to go to a restaurant on the most lovey-dovey night of the year. I feel for people in the industry.

When we do celebrate Valentine's Day, it's usually with our friends. Alicia and Mike have hosted a couple Valentine's Day wine tasting parties that are so well-attended - we're obviously not the only ones not really into the holiday.

This year, we had dinner at our house. Nothing unusual or crazy - steak, potatoes, asparagus, hollandaise. Shrimp to start and cupcakes for dessert. Standard dinner-with-friends fare.

I did spend a little time on the table, though - and on the kids' table. As I know I've mentioned before, setting the table is one of my favorite things in the world. It combines so much of what I love about party-throwing - the anticipation, the pretty stuff, the orderly pre-party organization. I just love it.

Now that some of the kids in our friend group are older, I've started spending more time on the kids' table. I set up a couple short IKEA Lack tables in our dining room, next to the adult table, and we use stools (also from IKEA) as seating.

Everything's paper and plastic (they are kids - and some of them are little!) but I try to make things extra fun, with decorations and gifts attached the name cards. For Valentine's Day, it was bags with candy all around, plus extra candy for the girls and little Nerf guns for the boys. Which did violate my "no guns at the table" rule. But it was a special occasion.

Unsurprisingly, the boys, who are all older, are really only into it for the loot. Some of the girls, though, totally get it. They come in and head right to the table to look for their seats - and they genuinely appreciate how the table looks. I love it.

I mean, my grown up friends care how the table looks, too. But they're not nearly as cute as the little one.

Year Ends, Year Begins

Unsurprisingly, we both ended 2014 and started 2015 with a lot of great food and fun and laughter. As busy as December always is for us, it's also stacked with family and friends.

And food. And booze.

Speaking of food and booze, the above is just a small taste of our Christmas festivities. My brother and sister, plus Cail and Clark, were all in Maryland for Christmas - it was the first time we were all together for the holiday. For logistical reasons, Bill didn't go home to his parents' until after Christmas, so he was there, as well.

Dinner at my parents' house was festive and fun. Oysters, prime rib dry-aged by my parents, cheesecake and lots of cookies. We came home and Bill spent the night and even made breakfast for us in the morning (Taylor pork roll!). That night, we went to Cooper's parents for red meat round two and more Christmas cheer.

The day after Christmas, Tom and Cail and Erin and Clark and Dixon and I had lunch at Carrol's Creek Cafe in Annapolis, then everyone came up to our house for post-Christmas festivities with our friends.

Tom and Cail gave us a sabre for Christmas, so we spent the whole week following the holiday knocking the tops of champagne bottles. Fun stuff.

A bunch of that sabreing took place on New Year's Eve, when, like last year, we had the Bargers and Kennedys and Swartses - and their kids - over for dinner.

Before dinner, we drank pomelder prosecco punch and ate Alicia's hot pimiento cheese dip, which was so good, in an old school sort of way, and a bunch of oysters (both raw and grilled).

With the reasoning that if it ain't broke, don't fix it, we stuck with last year's menu of tenderloin and crab imperial, plus cauliflower puree that is seriously so good. Alicia made chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes and we drank a couple bottles of Brunello that we've been saving...and more than a couple bottles of Montebuena Rioja. Plus, the champagne.

Kids had nuggets - with Dixon's special nugget sauce - and about six hundred candy canes. Dixon put himself to bed in the middle of the party (typical) and everyone else got to play with sparklers. It...was better for some than for others.

Last year, nearly all the kids held on until midnight. This year, there were meltdowns all around when 11 hit, so the only people who made it were the Swartses (and even then, Eva passed out, face down on the sofa, before midnight rolled around).

It was such a great way to kick off a new year - surrounded by friends and family. And eating such good food.

I hope everyone else's 2015 started out on such a great note!

Recap: Mock Thanksgiving 2014

It's been nearly two weeks, so I've mostly recovered. This year, the weekend before Thanksgiving, we hosted our 12th annual Mock Thanksgiving party. It's come a long way from its humble beginnings, in the kitchen at Cooper's old house, back when we first started dating and Cooper's roommates still lived there (or in Maryland, for that matter).

The first year was filled with laughter...and a burned turkey and also a lot of Beaujolais Nouveau. So much Beaujolais.

This year, the laughter carried on but - for the first time ever - there was no turkey. The party has evolved quite a bit, from a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with just a few people, through several experimental years as the crew got larger and the food got better, to now, when it's less a dinner and more a cocktail party with some food.

These days, the planning starts at least six weeks ahead of time - and I definitely think a lot more about aesthetics and theme than I did in the early years.

This year's theme was something along the lines of "Rednecks and Boozehounds." Not in so many words - but from the deer-and-wine-themed invitations to the massive amount of apple pie moonshine we drank, the tone of the party was somewhere several notches below classy.

• Oranges and Lemons Punch (not online but it's basically a combination of barrel-aged rum, lemon juice and Jack Rudy grenadine)
• Apple Pie Moonshine
• Charred Eggplant Dip
• Butternut Squash and Tangelo Dip
• Hearts of Palm Dip
• Prosciutto and Pear Cups
• Apricot Butter and bread
• Smoked Gouda Dip (and yes, I took a lot of liberties with that recipe)
• Squash Toasts with Ricotta and Cider Vinegar
• Roasted Cauliflower and Sesame Spread
• Bagel Chips with Ricotta, Proscuitto and Chive Puree

Plus we had tiny sweet potato ham biscuits, London broil with rolls and, as ever, oysters, oysters, oysters.

I thought the best dish of the night was the squash toasts - but hardly any got eaten! Admittedly, they were not pretty. But I'll definitely make them again for dinner. As for losers...well, I wasn't in love with the roasted cauliflower dip. But it was fine.

The big lesson I learned this year was that people will always pick up a onesie hors d'oeuvres before they eat a dip. The stuff you could pick up and eat in one bite went like hotcakes (the proscuitto and pear cups and the bagel chips). The dips...well, let's just say I made a lot of all of them and even the hearts of palm dip, which is a consistent winner, didn't disappear.

Also, the punch was really very good - and so was the moonshine. I'd make either one again in a second.

This party was also a great reminder that sometimes, it really does take a village. Not only was the moonshine originally Alicia's idea, and not only did she come over on Friday to help prep, she and Mike, plus Kyle and Bill, spent a big chunk of Saturday helping me set up. Plus, all of the people who brought things were amazing (that includes my friend Melissa bringing a cheddar and apple chutney app and several people bringing awesome desserts).

Even the kids got in on the action. Dixon, Maddy and Maggie each made a sign that hung on the window during the party. Maddy's and Maggie's were adorable and sweet. Dixon's, on the other hand...his sign included such gems as "Crank Up the Beats!" and "It's Farty Time." Kid's a copywriting genius.

The party, if I do say so myself, was a blast. Funny and fun and a little bit crazy. A perfect way to kick off the holiday season.

The kids' decorations are still up - who would have the heart to take them down so soon? - but the rest of the party remnants have been tucked back in their spots, ready to be pulled out again next year.

And I, of course, already can't wait.

On the "Nice" List

No posts for two weeks?!? Not intended, I can assure you. I've had a crazy couple of weeks and posting kept slipping farther down the list.

(I realize that's a common excuse around here - so common that I decided to make an early New Year's resolution to stop complaining about my schedule/stress, since a) no one cares and b) everyone is busy. It is...challenging. I'm way better at complaining than at not complaining.)

Anyway, I'm working on a large-ish post but in the meantime, here are a couple things I've been into lately:

1. Becket Hitch. 

Visiting this Greenspring Station shop, originally conceived as a pop-up, is like touring the inside of my brain. it's full of things I desperately want - or already have, from books to hostess gifts. I'm in love.

2. Frederick.

Sarah G's hometown is adorable - I've known that for a while. But after interviewing over a dozen shop-owners for this Sun article, I really feel like I need to spend more time there. Every person I interviewed was so passionate and interesting and friendly. Even Bryan Voltaggio, who might have a few other things to do besides talk to me on the phone.

3. Chefs and Holidays.

You know what else is fun? Talking to chefs about holiday recipes. Writing this Sun magazine article was an absolute blast. I got to talk to some of the city's most creative and talented food people about the holidays and what they love to cook and eat.

When I see an article like this one, or the one about Frederick, in print (or, more realistically, online), I remember that my actual job involves talking to people about pretty, cool and delicious things that they love to make and sell. Could I be any luckier?

4. Alexa Pulitzer.

A few weeks ago, I came across New Orleans-based Alexa Pulitzer and I could not get enough. She makes stationery, cups, coasters and all kinds of adorable things - including the plastic "hunting crest" cup pictured above. I now own about 50 of those. I couldn't resist! It's so Pollard.

It's a good problem to have, finding so many things interesting and cool. Even if it does make me busier and busier!

This Week: March 15th to March 21st

This week has mostly been about work, work and more work - but before all that, we had a super fun weekend. Friday night, my high school friends Pete and Liz, who live in Maine, were in Annapolis, so a bunch of us - several of the "known since kindergarten" crew - got together at McGarvey's:

Pete & Liz are the ones making out. So gross.

Crab dip, crab cakes, burgers, oysters. Beer. There are so many things McGarvey's does right. I have been there a zillion times and I never get sick of it. It's the setting of so many of my favorite memories.

On Sunday, we hosted a small St. Patrick's Day brunch at our house ("brunch" means people come over from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.). We had smoked salmon and radishes and shamrock cookies from my sister and Alicia's cabbage noodles and Jen' reuben dip and lots of Irish bread and bangers (thank you, Trader Joe's) and mash and - the centerpiece - homemade corned beef hash (this recipe), which is not pictured because I was too busy cooking the hash and eggs to stop and photograph anything.

It was so festive and fun:

Everyone was in the spirit and ready to have such a good time - from the little kids to the grandparents.

On Monday, it was back to the grind again. But at least we have the memories of the weekend.

Those Weeks: March 4th to March 14th

It's been busy times around here - and not just because of Fake St. Patrick's Day (though that was the most notable event going on during the past week and a half - and where the oysters, in the shot above, came from).

Last weekend, we followed Fake St. Pat's with brunch at Petit Louis with my parents and grandmother. The restaurant's consistency, both in food and service, never ceases to amaze me. As a group, we were unadventurous - quiche and salad for the ladies and croque monsieurs for the men. Pasta for Dixon (talk about unadventurous). But it was all just right.

After brunch, we had a quiet afternoon then hit Ridley Field for the Loyola vs. Duke lacrosse game, which Loyola won, handily. It was packed, cold and very exciting, especially for Dixon, who is about to start his third season tearing up the field for Kelly Post. This year, he told me this morning, he's planning to stick with defense but maybe also give goalie a try. "I like defending things that are important," he explained. "Like the goal. Or against zombies." Noted.

I've been too busy to cook much but I have given a couple recipes a try. The first, pictured on the top right of the photo above, was a roasted shrimp and gremolata dish from Bon Appetit.  I thought it was great - easy to make and super flavorful. Cooper, however, did not love it - too much parsley for his parsley-averse taste buds.

Food and Wine's spinach carbonara also received somewhat mixed reviews. It was quick and certainly healthier than regular carbonara but it didn't really wow me. Still, not a bad dinner and there's something to be said for putting a bunch of antioxidants on the plate.

This weekend, our annual celebration of all things Irish continues. Tonight, we go out in Annapolis with my high school friends - not for St. Pat's but because my friends Pete and Liz are in town from Maine. Tomorrow, rest and then Sunday, Irishy brunch here with family and friends.

I am celebrating already, by eating soda bread for breakfast (pictured bottom left). No, I didn't make it. I imagine I might make it through my whole life without ever making bread from scratch. I bought it at Trader Joe's. And it's good!

I hope everyone celebrating this weekend has a wonderful (and safe) time. Slainte!

Fake St. Patrick's Day Recap

Me, Stacy, and a few of those props.

Another Fake St. Patrick's Day has come and gone...and it could not have been more fun. We saw tons of friends and friends of friends at Ryan's Daughter on Saturday - it was, as always, an absolute blast filled with funny jokes and lots of Irish props and funny t-shirts.

This year, the addition of a philanthropic element was an important one. We raised $750 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - just from people donating and from the raffle for a Ryan's Daughter gift card.

My high school friend Rasim won the gift card, which was fitting since he was both the biggest donor overall and also the person who, last year, suggested we make it a charity event.

As soon as it was over, we were all already talking about next year. It's such a really great time - and just keeps getting better.

Fake St. Patrick's Day - TOMORROW!

This is Mike's St. Pat's shirt - from a few years ago.

Come one, come all to Ryan's Daughter, tomorrow at 3 p.m., for the 6th Mostly Annual Fake St. Patrick's Day celebration. We will be decked out and drinking - and also raising some money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

For those unfamiliar with the holiday, it started seven years ago, when I organized a small group of friends for St. Patrick's Day. We went to Ryan's Daughter on a Sunday afternoon, planning to meet post-parade revelers there.

But we were a week early. The parade wasn't until the following week - and we were at RD, all greened up and nearly alone. It was awesome.

We've gone back almost every  year since - and the party  has steadily grown. Friends from all parts of our our lives come - and they bring friends of their own. (It's also moved to Saturday, after one particularly fun Sunday nearly crushed us all.)

Last year, my high school friend Rasim asked why we weren't raising money for a charity. After all, if you're out on a Saturday afternoon, you might as well be doing something good, right? So this year, there will be a couple fun ways to encourage donations to the LLS - a Ryan's Daughter gift card raffle (thank you to RD for the donation!) and a tiny bit of swag as a gift to recognize donations.

So if you're in town, stop by! And don't forget your green!

Those Weeks: February 14th to March 3rd

Mary bagged all the wines so we tasted blind.

I am so far behind! We've been busy, too, so I have a lot to report.

First up, when I last left off with my "this week" posts, we were gearing up for a Valentine's Day wine tasting party (Malbecs only) at the Barger's house. It was super fun - of course - and Alicia's combination of aphrodisiac inspired foods (oysters!) was a success.

The winning wine - Tamari - belonged to our friends Kerry and Larry...who were both at home with the flu. At least they won?

Later that weekend, we celebrated our friend Will's 40th birthday with an afternoon at the Greene Turtle in Hunt Valley. As a general rule, I don't think of any Greene Turtle as a culinary hotspot - I associate them more with lacrosse and Natural Light. (Which is not a bad thing!)

But the food that Karen, Will's wife, organized for the party was totally good - especially the soft pretzels with queso and the Buffalo chicken dip. I ate way too much that day.

CJ, me and Rob...ginger friends since 1980.

Weekend before last, while Cooper was in South Carolina, fruitlessly hunting for boar with his dad and our friend Bert, I celebrated another birthday - my friend Rasim's 39th. (This month has also reminded me how busy we're going to be over the next couple years, as we all turn forty.)

Rasim pulled together a big group, including his childhood friends (that's me) plus good friends from college and his residency. We started with a surprisingly good dinner at John Stevens in Fells, where not only was our waitress incredibly patient with our ever-changing group of twelve-ish people, the food was also really great. I had scallops and they were lovely.

After dinner, we had drinks at Willow then Bertha's before heading back home (it was late). I'd forgotten, actually, how fun Bertha's can be. There was a band and a good crowd...good times.

Fast-forward one not-complete school week. On Thursday, we celebrated Scarlett - Audrey and George's baby - as she turned one. George made burgers and we watched Scarlett smear cake all over the place. That never gets old.

And on Saturday, we had dinner with Cooper's parents to celebrate his dad's birthday (so many birthdays - it's crazy). Dinner was a big oyster fest at the Country Club of Maryland, where we ate fried oysters, raw oysters, oyster stew, gumbo with oysters, oysters Rockefeller...you name it. Oysters are so great.

This week is another busy one...capped off by Fake St. Patrick's Day on Saturday! So busy but so fun!

Happy New Year!

It's 2014 and I have no resolutions - but not for lack of trying to think of some. I only believe in making resolutions that are concrete, discrete and realistic (get more haircuts, wear mascara to the grocery store, start wearing caftans, etc.) - and I usually keep them.

2013 was a challenging year for me, work-wise, and this past month has been especially challenging. Though I really intended to make a resolution or two, I couldn't think of any really good ones. ("Good" in this case means my kind of resolution not, say, noble or healthy.)

I do have some new plans for the blog, though. This year, I'm planning to post at least twice a week - once on Tuesdays and once on Fridays. Fridays will be overall updates: What I've been eating, drinking, thinking and planning. Tuesdays will be something a little different. Each Tuesday, I'll write about something I own that's both vintage and food or party-related. I have a lot of those things - people give me amazing found gifts all the time. I always intend to write about them but somehow never have enough time. So expect all of that - starting tomorrow.

And for today, I'll leave you with this:

It's a photo of India Hicks' New Year's Eve dinner (from her Facebook page, shot by Felix Flint Wood). Long, windy table, little lights, late night dinner. So much to love.

With that, Happy New Year! And hello, 2014!

Catching Up

Have I mentioned that I'm busy? I like using this as a forum to complain about how much I work in December.

Anyway, I have so much to blog about but no time to write anything properly, let alone upload my awful pictures and try to make them less awful. But here's a glimpse of posts that I promise I will, at some point, write:

1. The week before Thanksgiving, we had our annual Mock Thanksgiving party. This one was big, kid-free, and totally fun. It was cold out but we bought a couple big outdoor propane heaters, which kept the patio warmish (along with a fire and a grill, where Cooper grilled oysters). It was super fun. An actual post on the food and drinks will be forthcoming.

2. Just before that,  Bill and I had a chili-off on a random Sunday. He won...with everyone but Cooper, Dixon and me. Really, though, we were all winners. I mean, everyone does win when there's a chili cookoff.

3. Speaking of Bill, he hosted the Carol & Crawl (now in its seventh year) last weekend. We haven't actually caroled or crawled since year three but it remains a great Christmas party. Bill stuck with his wheelhouse...and quesadillas are quite festive.

4. Also last weekend, Cooper shot his first sika deer, the small Japanese elk-like deer that live on the Eastern shore of Maryland. We had a surprise snow day guest - Sarah G. - so on Sunday, we had sika for dinner and found that it was surprisingly steak-like. I just seasoned it with salt and pepper and cooked it in a hot pan over medium-high heat. Didn't need anything else.

5.This past Wednesday, Cooper and I went to the Fry My Chicken event at Pabu. Five chefs, five buckets of fried chicken. It was glorious. More to follow on that one, too.

This is weak, I know, but really, there will be longer posts one day. Every year, I think I'm going to take it easy in December...then I remember it's the craziest month for research analysis that exists. I'm barely even writing this month! I don't have time!

Fourth of July 2012 at Keuka Lake - Only a Little Late with the Recap!

Better late than never, right?  

Can't wait for this year - it's the fifth annual Kelly Family Fourth of July Throwdown. The first year, I judged sliders from afar. The second year, when Cooper and Joe and I judged for the first time as a team, the theme was "meat in a casing." That was a lot of hot dogs. Then there were appetizers with pirates and finally, last year, Olympics-themed small bites. This year, it's back to sliders, with a side of Cowboys & Indians. And Dixon and I are off to do some costume shopping now!

P.S. This is my first try with a slideshow on the blog. Still experimenting and figuring out which software to use...