Lobster and Closure

We both noticed the sign pop up down the street on Thursday. “FRESH LOBSTERS OFF THE BOAT, SATURDAY 12-5PM”. Adam’s ears perked up if he had a tail it would have been wagging “Can we get lobster this weekend? Can we?”.

I hesitated. I had never had lobster as an adult. In fact the last time I had lobster I was 9 years old and it was a traumatic enough of an event that it kept me off those crustacean for the past, oh, 20 years.

We were on a family vacation in Maine. When the topic of having lobster for dinner came up I was excited, as I had heard much about it but had never tried it before. We all went off to the lobster pound to pick out our dinner and I think the whole idea of “this thing I am picking out is going to be killed and then I am going to eat it” went over my head. In some way I didn’t reconcile that the lobster I had picked out, and was already kind of thinking of as a pet, was what I would be eating a few hours later. It freaked me right out. The adults assuaged me though. The lobsters don’t feel any pain. This is their destiny. You eat chickens and they were once alive too. All of it made sense so eventually I was like, Ok, I will eat this lobster. SO the guys built a kind of pit on the beach, lined with corn husks and involving bricks and soon the time had come to throw the lobsters in and while I didn’t watch it happen, I was resolved that I was ok with it. Until the screaming started.

A distinct screaming sound was coming from the pit where the lobsters were cooking. And so I screamed as well. My god they were being burned alive and screaming in agony!!

It turns out, this was just the steam passing through their shells and they had in fact, been dead for minutes at that point. But still. To my fragile 9 year old mind, me! A person so sensitive at the time that I would find myself wholly concerned with questions like “Who will do the Perdue commercials when Frank Perdue dies?”, I flipped out and was sufficiently freaked out enough as to not eat my lobster that night nor ever again.

Until this weekend though!

We walked down to the boat on Saturday morning, bought two lobsters and I thought, it is too long to hold onto those tainted lobster memories. I was resolved as long as it was not I who had to boil them, I would eat mine. So Adam set to task that night and I am happy to report there were no screams (from me OR the lobsters), and they were actually quite good!



I am glad that this, one of my last food-related bugaboos, has been exorcised!! Even if it did take 20 years.

Pretty Much The Best Idea Ever

Rollasoles!

(img from the bbc)

You've been out for a few hours. And those extremely cute four-inch stiletto heels were a good idea at the time but now your feet are killing you. But who wants to walk around barefoot at most of these places? You could step on something, or in something, or get yelled at by a surly security guard because The State Room doesn't allow bare feet in their ballroom and then you get yelled at again when you are sitting at your table and who cares if you are barefoot at your own table? Not that that happened to me. I'm just saying

So what could be better, in these cases, than coming across a vending machine that dispenses super cute rolled up ballet flats that come with a little bag to put the shoes you are changing out of into. All for around $8???

I cannot even tell you how many crappy flip flops I own due to circumstances in which I can no longer wear the high heels I wanted to wear so I pop into CVS or Walgreens to get some kind of relief in the form of $5 floppies.

And look how cute!

(img from notcouture.com)

And after you buy a pair you can roll 'em up and throw them in your handbag for next time the Ill Advised Shoe fairy strikes.

Now if only we can get some kind of disposable pashmina vending machine going for those nights when you're a little chilly that way you don't have to spend $45 on a "MAINE" sweatshirt in Portland because it's freezing and that's the only thing available for purchase at 10PM on a Thursday.

Right?

One Woman's Trash Is Another Woman's Culinary Masterpiece

One of my fave things is throwing together meals based on Leftover Crap I Should Really Use Already. Even if the Leftover Crap is maybe not something I would normally eat but it’s a shame to waste it.

Enter, canned asparagus.

Is there a bigger abomination? It doesn’t taste even mildly like asparagus. It’s as mushy as lunchroom green beans and it doesn’t even make your pee smell weird. That right there is a sign that whatever is in that can is barely asparagus.

But I had a can of it in my cupboard (I bought it on a whim, not knowing the atrocity that lay inside but the actual FRESH asparagus at the market that day were the width of my pinky finger and rapidly turning brown so I figured, what the hey?)

Also, I am LOATHE to throw anything out. If I bought it, I am doing something with it believe you me. I have even started following Jacques Pepin’s lead and freezing all my leftover veggies (broccoli stalks, celery ends, unused asparagus ends) in a large baggie in my freezer to use to make a fabulous stock someday. Really these days who can afford to throw anything away?

SO I took that can of Not Asparagus, and threw it in a pan with some olive oil, added a small jar of marinated artichokes, some chopped up leftover onion, a few garlic gloves, an about to go bad zucchini and, for kicks, a can of drained chick peas.

I cooked it all over medium heat for about 10 minutes and then tossed it with some whole wheat linguine and shredded parmesan cheese.

It was, in a word, DELICIOUS. All the different textures and tastes were fab. Adam raved about it too though the recipe included his foe, the chick pea (yet he likes hummus!). In any case, I was psyched!

Maybe someday I will compile a cookbook. Something called "Dishes I made Out Of Things I Was Going To Throw Out". Sounds appetizing, oui? What would you contribute?

Holla Monday

Oh Monday, you devil. How is it that you're here again already?

I trust that everyone had a splendid weekend? I had a busy but quite fun one which I was due for since last weekend I missed out on all kinds of fun because of an early summer cold.

Speaking of which, have any of you ever used zinc tablets to thwart a cold? I tried it for the first time last Saturday. I woke up that morning with what felt like porcupines in my throat. And with me, a sore throat is the harbinger of assorted disgusting ills including but not limited to, a disgusting and lingering cold, the flu, bronchitis, death, etc. So I was not f*cking around. I took 1 zinc tablet every 3-4 hours or so for the day and on Sunday when I awoke I still had the sore throat....but it was not as bad. Then on Monday the sore throat was totally gne BUT in it's place I had the worst sinus pain on record. It felt like all my upper teeth were about to fall out and that someone had crammed a couple of Tempurpedic pillows underneath my cheek bones. Mon dieu. I don't know if this was the zinc's doing but I have never had that bad sinus pain in my life and I get colds like woah. Yikes bikes.

Now that that little meander down Hypochondria Lane is over, let's get to THIS weekend.

On Friday I hosted our monthly book club meeting. I was somewhat frazzled, having expected to get out of work at 4 that day but not actually getting out until after 5 and my guests were due to arrive by 6:30. I pulled it together though, with some help from Andy, and served an array of tea sandwiches (turkey + mango chutney, cheddar + apple, and good old fashioned cucumber. Crusts removed and cut into fourths, of course). I also served a delicious iced tea cocktail which we sipped out of tea cups like real ladies. The tea party theme went hand in hand with our book selection, Lady Chatterly's Lover. What can I say about this book? It is obscene and basically a graphic porn. I.E. We all loved it. The word "Crisis" will never be the same to me. After we dined and discussed, we absconded to the Fox and Hound for the night for searingly inappropriate discussions over martinis. And eventually Andy and I hooked up with Adam and headed over to The Chantey for some karaoke. Where i met a delightful woman in her 70s who has the breasts of a 20 year old. And I had no problem telling her so. And she had no problem telling me they cost a fortune. Ah Quincy, I love theee.

The following day, after an appropriate amount of lazing about (i.e. when the sun began to set) Adam and I decided to head into town and and check out the American Craft Beer Festival at the World Trade Center. The night was off to kind of a rocky start: when you walked into the lobby you were ushered to the ticket counter and then ushered up an escalator to get your wrist band. The "up" escalator was right next to the "down" escalator and it looked like people were just going up, getting wristbands, and heading back down. Easy peasy, right?

Wrong!

Once upstairs we were walked to the end of probably the longest line I have ever waited in. It took us over five minutes to even get to the end and once we reached it, it was apparent the line was not moving. I asked a security guard how long the wait was. And by asked him I meant I complained that they should have said there was a 2 hour wait to get in when we bought our tickets. He informed me it was probably only an hour wait which still, if your event is only 3 hours long, is kind of bogus. But we ended up getting in within 40 minutes. Not SO bad but then there were so many people inside that you had to wait in long lines to get your 2 ounces of beer to sample. They totally oversold the event. I mean, we had a great time and managed to drink a good amount of fantastic beer but if they had maybe cut their ticket sales by 2-300 people I thank the people who attended would have had a better experience. This advice is coming straight from a conference I held in the ladies room with strangers so you know it's the real deal.

After 8PM or so the crowds had thinned out a little and we got to hit up some good tables. I was especially in pressed with Sherwood Brewers Archer Ale and Blueberry. They are located in Marlboro, MA and I highly recommend picking up a 6 pack if you come across it. Good beer, friendly guys, AND it's always nice to support a local business. Especially if that business involves booze.

After the Fest we were starving so we headed to Tavolo for pizza where some really nice ladies paid for my drinks because quote unquote, they liked my style. Clearly even though I have been overaccesorizing like it's the '80s, some people are into it. What what!

Sunday brought with it Father's Day and sent Adam to NH to celebrate with his dad and me to my parents' house to celebrate with mine. And by celebrate I mean eat my weight in cheese.

hello lover.

If you have never tasted the divinity that is cranberry pepper jelly and boucheron spread on a baguette slice, I beseech you to do so right away. Go to Whole FOods. They will hook you up.

I was home in time to catch True Blood, followed by Army Wives which is precisely how I like to end my weekend.

Snapshots from the Past

Well I finally got the scanner working! I've been wanting to scan in some old photos I have and this one is probably my favorite. It's my grandmother (the one leaning on the table in the dark dress) and her girlfriends. I love everything about this photo: the clothes, the casual poses, the room, and especially that it reminds me of my grandmother, Nonni, who has been gone for seven years now.

Now if you will excuse me I want to invite some girlfriends over to put darling dresses on and have candid snaps taken of us.

Cuchi Cuchi Coo

I have a new favorite restaurant.

When my friend Katie told me about it and said "I KNOW you will love it" I was dubious. There have been times before when I have been taken to a new restaurant being told "I know you will love this place" and had lukewarm experiences. Also I am a brat in that when someone tells me to absolutely love something, I usually won't. This time however I fell so deep in love with a place that even a few minor snafus in the evening don't color my overall rosy impression of the place.

Cuchi Cuchi, located in adorable Kendall Square, is a small plates restaurant but don't call it tapas (they like to globe trot, so they say). When you walk in you feel like you are in someone's wildly decorated house from the 1920s (a decor theme I am familiar with and a fan of).



The dining room (borrowed from the Cuchi Cuchi website)


(Part of the lounge area, also borrowed from the website)

Adam and I were a little early to meet our friends Katie and her fiancee Pete so we easily grabbed seats in the large bar area and pored over the expansive cocktail list. I noticed the waitresses were all dressed like fabulous 1920s flappers with glittering swinging dresses and feather bedecked hair, I knew I was among friends!

I settled on the adorably named BeBopADivaImYourBaby (a super refreshing blend of lemon and lychee spirits) while Adam enjoyed an ever so slightly masculine Black Label on the rocks. The bar area soon grew pretty crowded but we were still able to hear each other and enjoy our drinks. Soon Katie and Pete joined us and ordered drinks of their own and we waited for our table. What was supposed to be a 25 minute wait ended up being an hour and fifteen minute wait and have you met me? I usually am not a patient waiter. But the drinks were so amazing (for a second round I had the spicy Dancing with Ginger), the bartenders were nice and attentive, and we were having so much fun catching up with our peeps that we really didn't mind.

Finally the hostess clad in a mother of pearl beaded flapper style dress with an enormous feather sticking from her perfect updo (LOVE) led us to our table in the back. When we arrived however, it appeared some couple, thus dubbed the Jerk Twins, had taken it upon themselves to skip the wait and seat themselves at our table, and when asked to leave refused to do so. The hostess, a total sweetheart, was visibly shocked. She conferred with some of the waitresses and aprised of us the situation. We may have to continue to wait. Of course I said I understood BUT to reward those people for being jerks and cutting the line when we had been waiting for over an hour was kind of unfair. Our waitress, a saucy fabulous girl in a silver dress with a tendinitis brace just like mine (gentle high fives! I said), agreed and just then, as luck would have it, another smaller table opened up so the Jerk Twins were moved there and we had our table at last, not before we walked by their table, staring them dead in the face and passively aggressively talking loudly about "WHO DOES THAT!?". This made all of us feel better.

Then the meal. After ordering a few bottles of wine we settled in to get into this small plates swing of things. Katie and Pete had dined there many times before so we let them take the lead. For the first round we ordered Fried Artichoke Hearts, Scallop Ceviche Shooters, Shrimp Wontons, and the Cuban Cigar. I LOVE a small plates restaurant because I think the social aspect of it is the way a dining experience should be. Who wants to be stuck with one meal all night. It's much more fun to get a little of everything and sample what everyone else has and enjoy it all.

Everything was divine, particularly the Cuban Cigar (beef short ribs wrapped in dough served with a just spicy enough black bean salsa) and the Ceviche Shooters (served in tomato, onion, jalapeño, lime, mango & banana salsa). I wish I wasn't scared of making those at home because they are SO good. What a great summer snack.

For our next round we went with Duck a l'Orange Crepes (with citrus & fennel vinaigrette), Grilled Indian Lamb (with beet salad & grilled fennel, yogurt & mint dip), Mexican Deep Fried Tomato, St Jacob's Zucchini (Deep-fried zucchini, cured Serrano ham & Manchego cheese), Bracioletta Ripiena (Grilled pork rolls stuffed w/pecorino cheese, pancetta, sauteed garlic) and the Brie en Croute (walnuts, bacon in puff pastry). Holy hell. Everything was perfectly cooked and the small portions were such that each of us got a few bites of each. So we threw back the wine and sampled and raved about the food, the lights on each table reflecting off the art deco mirrored walls, and just had the best time. Our waitress was totally attentive and fun, and by the time our meal ended (after the restaurant closed!) we were full, but not that overindulgent full that makes you feel you should be rolled home.

So if you live in the Boston Area I highly recommend cruising into Kendall and making a night of it at Cuchi Cuchi. There is free street parking if you come after 6PM and in the off chance you can't find any, the restaurant offers valet service. I would say it's priced moderately. The plates run from $9-$15 each and you are meant to order a few per person to enjoy. Between the wine and the food it didn't cost us much more than any night out at a nice restaurant with friends (about $60 a person including tip) and the actual dining experience was so much for fun! Two martini glasses raised for Cuchi Cuchi!

Plus, It's just fun to say.

Stick It To Me

I think bumper stickers are a less permanent version of tattoos for cars. They are a way of expressing yourself. Some people absolutely refuse to have even one. Some thing one or two is nice. Sometimes more than that works. And there is definitely such a thing as having too many.

I've cut myself off at three tattoos on my body, and one bumper sticker on my car. Pretty much since I got my car I have had a white oval bumper sticker on it. Something classic, not outrageous, that denoted something important to me

It was the least offensive political bumper sticker I could find at the time (unlike say, the guy who I drove behind today truck was littered with bumper stickers that said things like "Obama Bin Lyin" and a picture of the Obama campaign symbol with the phrase "Got Birth Certificate?" underneath. I am all for differing opinions but that is just tacky. The do make the GOP version of my sticker, if that's your bag. I'm just saying.

ANYWHO the point is, my sticker has become so tattered and bedraggled (It basically just says "Em" now) that the time has come to replace it. I debated not having one at all but I like having a little something back there. A little vehicular glimpse into who I am. So I hit the e-streets in search of my new car tattoo.

Let's just say, there are some interesting ones out there.

Sticking within the confines of the same sized, same shaped sticker (since I doubt I can get all the remnants off anyway), let's see what's out there.

Fist of all, for the Corolla driver who wants to make absolutely sure people know that you are driving in Corolla - may I offer this? It reminds me of the Honda driver I frequently see on my commute whose vanity license plate says "Honda". Really?

Or perhaps your love of Nuggets is such that you must allow the driving world to know about it?

Why limit your adoration of sharks to one week? Celebrate them year round with this bumper sticker!

I personally am scared to death of sharks so I would choose to celebrate a less imposing creature (but nonetheless respectable). Don't let their small stature fool you. Hermit crabs are as wily as can be. I used to have one, a persnickety bastard named Melville, who one day just disappeared. One day he was in his fish bowl, climbing around on rocks and lounging by a fake plant and the next day he was GONE! How he got out I will never know and we never recovered his remains. If that is not wily, climbing up a glass fishbowl using a claws, I have no idea what is.

I read somewhere that low potassium could be why my left eye is twitching so maybe paying more attention to this fruit would help? For the person who really thinks this shit is B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Sometimes I wonder if some of these are meant to be tongue in cheek. Such as this for fans of the Southern Outer Banks?

Although in my case this would probably be the most apt. And decidedly less tongue in cheek.

So as you can see I have my work cut out for me. What is the one point I want to get across to people driving behind me? A charity I support? A favorite hobby of mine?

Aaaaaand Here we go.

Pink Shoe in Clam-Diggahs

I wanted to say "Pink Shoe in Shorts" but I am definitely not Shorts ready. My legs are so pale they look like an anatomical model of the human circulatory system. Jealous? All of which is to say here are some tidbits about life lately.

*For one thing, I have a new obsession in world of starch: Sweet Potato Chips that I make myself. You slice a sweet potato VERY thin, fry it up in some olive oil until crisp and then when it's still warm sprinkle Cajun seasoning on it. Wait to cool, and enjoy. SO DELICIOUS. That is lunch right there.

*I also tried Ice Wine for the first time this weekend. Adam brought be a bottle back from his Toronto trip and I was psyched, since I had read much about it. I asked the Twitter world how best to enjoy this sweet libation and the consensus seemed to be with something sweet or some kind of brilliant cheese so I did both and served it with delicious Manchego with a little cherry preserves spread on it. Holy hell was this good. Ice wine is very sweet, and I am not normally a fan of very sweet wine, but served very chilled as a dessert it is really fantastic.

*While on the topic of eating, I have been noticing a weird habit of mine involving food. When I eat in front of people, I cover my mouth when I chew. I knew I used to do it, but I had no idea I was still doing it until my boss and my mother (separately) both pointed it out last week.

I think this habit started when I was in middle school and had braces and was always really self conscious about having food stuck in them. There was one kid in my class who had large chunks of his lunch stuck in his braces every afternoon. It gave me nightmares. And evidently a life long habit that freaks people out. Add to this, as I have related recently, I also have this pretty awesome eye twitch thing going on sometimes and when it's really bad, I kind of try to nonchalantly cover my eye while talking to someone because I don't want to freak them out. Like talking to someone who is using their hand as a pirate patch ISN'T freaky at all. Anyway the point is all I need is some kind of ear problem that I feel the need to self consciously cover and I will have all three of these guys covered.

What what!

* I am not wearing earrings today and as far as I am concerned I may as well not be wearing pants, that's how naked I feel.

* Is it me or are there way more weddings this summer than any recent summer? I have been on the hunt for a dress to wear to these summer weddings but as usual I created a dress in my mind that doesn't exist IRL and now nothing can live up to it. It's a deep cerulean blue, an airy fabric. A banded waist. A flouncy skirt. Non spaghetti straps. I have half a mind to take my idea to the fabric store and then to a seamstress. Do people still do that? I haven't had a custom made dress me since I went to town with some needle and thread on an Altitalia Airlines blanket in 1995.

*Huey Lewis is going to be here June 27th. Who's in? This will be my third time seeing the man and I can't wait!

*Don't forget about the Quincy Tweetup on Thursday night? Even if you're not in Quincy, proper - if you're in the area come on down to the BeachComber at 6:30 for a drink or two! Feel free to email me for deets.

Granite City Tweepz

We interrupt this total lack of blog posting with *gasp* an update!

If you are a twitter/blogger in Quincy, MA - clear your calendar next Thursday, June 11th, for a Quincy "Tweet-Up" at the Beachcomber on Quincy Shore Drive! There will be good people, cheap drinks and maybe if we are lucky some kind of brawl? In any case I highly reccomend joining Chad Capellman, his fabulous wife Erin (who I hear is a fellow Golden Girls fan) and myself at The Beachcomber next Thursday at 6:30PM.

I have been to blog meetups in Boston and they are always a blast. But there is something about going to one that's about a mile from my apartment that just makes sense. So come check us out! It will be a good time!