The Seven Stages of New England Weather-Report Related Grief

1. Disbelief ("But it just fucking snowed")
2. Anxiety ("Where is all that snow going to go!? How will I get to work")
3. Anger ("I just fucking shoveled for 3 hours the other day")
4. Snowmocidal Rage ("I JUST FUCKING SHOVELED FOR THREE HOURS THE OTHER DAY" (accompanied by fist shaking))
5. Depression (This sucks/ I hate life)
6. Acceptance (Oh well we live in New England, what do we expect/ We can handle it!)
7. Drunk

Actually usually number 7 precedes number 6.

A Little Bit of Summer in Winter

Check out my post over at Brew England today! I did a Tuesday Night Tasting of a delightful Watermelon Wheat beer I discovered while visiting the Blue Hills Brewery last week.



I have a soft spot in my heart for fruit beers. While I don't often drink them these days, a fruit beer is the reason I drink beer now. Specifically Paper City Brewery One Eared Monkey, a lovely apricot beer which was the first beer I ever drank and thought, I could get used to this. Then I moved onto Concord Grape Ale. Then to Seadog Blueberry Wheat and onto hefeweizens and then onto IPAs....then a dalliance with Porters and Stouts that I am in the middle of now.

But it all began with a fruity beer.

And if you are trying to get into craft beer, who knows the Watermelon Wheat I posted about today might be the gateway beer for you!

Brunchtastic

As I mentioned last week, recently I hosted a brunch for my bridal party and some of my aunts helping me plan the wedding. As a brunch quasi neophyte, I didn't have an arsenal of brunch recipes to rely on. I am more of a lunch person, typically. I have been known to fly into a rage when I go to a restaurant on Sunday for an early lunch and am presented with only egg dishes, (OK my rage may have more been because they said that I wouldn't be able to order a Bloody Mary until noon which was a devious 40 minutes away. Yikes. )

But even for me there came a time and a place for brunch and that time and place happened to be Sunday at 1Pm at my place. So I turned to my good friends the internets and between them and my local favorite French bakery - I turned out a pretty good spread.



(If you look closely you can see our wedding cake topper, which was also my grandparents' wedding cake topper. Since they were married for over 60 years, I think it's good luck!)

Since some of my Twitter friends had asked for the recipes I used - I figured I would share here. These are all easy to make and a good mix of sweet and savory! They are also all inadvertently vegetarian. A brunch without bacon. Who knew!



Party Perfect Mini Quiches - Nestle.com

Almond, Cinnamon and Chocolate Croissants from French Memories in Cohasset


Hash Brown Brunch Casserole - Epicurious.com

Copley Plaza Dip - (pictured next to the casserole) - I got this recipe from my dearest friend Andy, whose grandmother used to enjoy this dip at the Copley Hotel in the 1930s and, after figuring out the recipe, always served it when entertaining guests. It is easy as can be and was easily the hit of the party
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2-3 tablespoons Red Pepper Relish (Ritter's is ideal, I used Cains)
a few dashes hot sauce.
Blend Well and Serve with Triscuits. Delicious!


Waldorf Salad Bites - I adore Waldorf Salad but it is kind of messy to serve at a party. So I prepared it as usual and spooned a tablespoon each into phyllo cups. Easy to eat and so refreshingly crisp and tasty. If you don't care for waldorf salad you could easily do this with chicken salad (maybe with some chopped green apple and walnut) or seafood salad. An easy and elegant little appetizer

For beverages I had assorted white wines, water and sparkling water and my aunt Marilyn and Barbara brought an enormous pitcher of Seabreezes which I think was everyone's favorite part of the whole brunch. You cannot go wrong with cranberry, grapefruit juice and delicious vodka.




Anywho if you have any tried and true brunch recipes of your own I'd love to hear them - I'm having another brunch in early March and would like to change it up a bit. I'm thinking a Bloody Mary bar? Though I am the only one who likes Bloody Marys.

Actually that may be perfect (wink wink) .

A Call To Action

Last year, Adam and I got involved with a charity called Friends of Will - which raises money to fund pediatric cancer research. Specifically neuroblastoma research and drug trials.

Do you know what neuroblastoma is?

I did not. I just knew that there was a fundraiser called Cure Me I'm Irish last year and my friend Vicki asked us to volunteer and we were happy to. It was a huge success, held at the Tirrell Room in Quincy and there was such a sense of joy to the occasion. We are all here to help sick kids and have a blast while doing so. How great is that?

It wasn't until a few months after the event, that I came to realize just how important raising money for this research is.

Neuroblastoma is a common pediatric cancer that is extraordinarily deadly. Once diagnosed, kids as young as 8 months old endure treatments that most adults could not withstand. Kids that should be learning to walk are learning to cope with round after round of chemotherapy. They lose their hair before they get a chance to grow much of it. It is heartwrenching and even more so is the fact that relapsed neuroblastoma? Is incurable. So after going through years of treatment and getting an all clear? That can all change in an instant and there is no cure for the relapsed disease.

The story of one little boy in particular, Will, captured my attention and I spent most of a rainy Saturday on a rained out vacation down the Cape reading his father Pat's blog about his son's diagnosis and subsequent years long treatments. I was completely riveted, and even more compelled to help. Will's dad started Friends of Will to fund the very research that has led Will to have the best year of his life, whils still receiving treatment. The hope is that all kids can have access to whatever they need to battle this demonic disease that robs kids of their lives and parents of their hearts. Hope is a powerful thing. And we all have it in spades!

And I dont know about you but I like my hope served with an open bar - which you can enjoy at this year's Cure Me I'm Irish ! Adam and I have gotten involved with planning this year's event and are determined to help make it an even bigger success than last year. A lot has already been accomplished and its shaping up to be a fantastic event! We're searching for a few sponsors. We're soliciting donations of any kind for the raffle/auction. And I am selling tickets o the event!

This year's Cure Me I'm Irish (taking place on March 5th!) is extra special to us because Adam has arranged a beer tasting! He has gotten local breweries on board to attend the event, and do tastings for the guests. So far on board he has Mayflower Brewing, Cape Ann Brewing, Blue Hills Brewing, Magic Hat Brewery and we are on the cusp of booking the fifth brewery.

So you're $60 ticket gets you open bar, the beer tastings, access to the live musical stylings of Joshua Tree, Irish Step Dancing, delicious food, fantastic company and more! There will be raffles and an auction and games and all the while you are helping get money to researchers trying to find a cure for kids suffering from a horrible disease. Not a bad Saturday night if you ask me!

So for my local friends - if you are interested in attending Cure Me I'm Irish on March 5th, 2011 in the ballroom at Lombardo's in Randolph please let me know! Tickets are $60 now but go up to $75 after February 15th. You can purchase them online here or I can bring them to you in person. Also even if you are not local - we are also looking for donations of items for the raffles or if you know someone who might want to get involved as a corporate sponsor send them my way as well.

It's going to be a great night for a GREAT cause!


Part of the volunteer crew from last year manning the merch table:
Adam, Caity, Me, Chris and Jeannie.

Wedding in Provence...only not

Its probably about time I did a wedding update, right?

Well first and foremost, after getting the planning underway with our original venue and hitting a few snags... we both decided while out one night having dinner in Cambridge, that we would rather do something a little more low key. A little more us. My parents have a beautiful yard, why not rent a tent and do the damn thing there?

So that is just what we are doing. We hired a tent company who is bringing us a gorgeous huge tent and we’re doing the ceremony under a tulle and white light bedecked trellis in the backyard. We booked our favorite DJ. It’s going to be completely gorgeous. It’s also a lot of work!

We are up for the challenge though.

After deciding on the size tent and getting a floor plan from the tent company (who will also provide tables and chairs and the bar and lighting, thank goodness), I had a brunch this past Sunday to get my bridesmaids together with my maid of honor, and my aunts Barbara and Marilyn who have stepped in to help me since my parents are abroad until right before the wedding.

I already had clear ideas of what I wanted. French country theme, lots of white lights and flowers, a low key but elegant garden party atmosphere. And let’s not forget about the karaoke.

It was good to get other people’s feedback as well. And we could not have done it without Aunt Marilyn who came armed with handouts, took copious notes and by that evening had emailed us all of the meeting minutes and our action items! I just love her!

We nailed down the menu, worked out the logistics of the cermony (which was tough to do with two feet of snow on the ground, but we worked it out!) I don’t want to give everything away but I will tell you that we are doing three different kinds of centerpieces, and having several types of table linens. From the linens alone you can kind of get the vibe of the party.

The larger tables will be bedecked in Provence style tableclothes, of varying designs but sticking to the blue/yellow theme. Then the smaller cocktail tables will have solid blue and yellow tablecloths. (Are you getting the color theme yet? My bridesmaids will also be wearing blue though I have given them free reign to buy any kind of dress they want as long as it's blue. Because life is too short to be forced to buy a dress you will never wear again!)

It;s pretty much entirely a DIY wedding which is super exciting for me, a gal who loves a project. And for my wedding party who are creative, fun types and have already come up with great ideas. I reallly just want it to be a fun festive garden party the first 10 minutes of which during we happen to get married.

And lest you think I am becoming a youknowwhatzilla, Adam had final approval on all decisions!

My goal for the next month or so is to Get a Dress. Everyone I speak to seems horrified that I am getting married in June and dont have a dress yet but I'm not wearing A Gown. I'm going to buy an off the rack simple long white (yes white, quiet down!) dress appropriate for a garden party that is not too stiff or stuffy and above all not too bridey. I already have a good idea of what I want so hopefully it's not too difficult to find.

The other big goal is Invitations - which I am on the hunt for. I kind of want to find something DIY just to go with the theme of the wedding. Any suggestions on good websites for this?? We already ordered the save the dates, with the goal of sending them out at the beginning of February. I think they are hilarious and will post them once we have already sent them out.

The only downside of having the wedding where we are having it, is we had to shave the guest list. So there are people I would like to invite, who I really just can't. Part of it is my family alone is like 60 people. Then you factor in Adam's family, the wedding party and close friends and that's about all the space can handle. But one thing I have learned thus far in the wedding planning process is you can't please everyone and you really have to do what works for you.

Anywho that is about it for my wedding post. Don't worry I wont be posting every little thing in here but if I come across something cool or need help I will probably post about it!

Pretty Much Sums It Up

A Perfectly Lovely Friday Night

Sometimes all you want after a long week is a relaxing night in with a a good friend, good food and good wine!

Last Friday I went to my friend Andy's house to make dinner. I went to Russo's during the day to pick up the simple and inexpensive ingredientds for the dish and picked up Andy in town after work. On the way home we stopped to get some cheese and bread and then we were ready to get to making dinner!

The pasta dish we made is one of my go-to’s. It’s super simple (as many pasta dishes are), but the taste is complex in a way that you wouldn’t believe it all came together in less than half an hour. It has as much taste as a sauce that simmered for hours on the stove! And it’s a great dish to make with a friend.

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pint baby tomatoes, halved
1 large bunch baby spinach, stems removed.
¾ cup mixed pitted olives,
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped shallots
1 tsp herbs de provence or thyme
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 lb pasta (fresh preferably)

Heat a 2 tbsp of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.



Add baby tomatoes. Admire the vibrant color of them in the pan. Cook for 7 minutes.



Add olives, cook for 3-4 more minutes.



Add spinach by handfuls, cooking for a minute or so between each addition.



Once all of the spinach is in, turn your heat to low and cook for 10 minutes until all of the ingredients have melded together!



Toss with cooked pasta. Serve with crusty bread.



Best if enjoyed with stellar dinner company while listening to music from the 1940s and sipping some red wine!

The Winner and A Schooling

So first things the winner of the CSN $75 gift certificate is lucky #7!

Who happens to be - A Texas Gal! A fabulous blog pal and long time PSD reader! Congrats girlfriend, look for the gift code in your email this morning!

Now back to the schooling I alluded to yesterday. In the 7-11 parking lot.

Now, I go a very meander-y way to work. Theoretically I could get on The Expressway which is a mere 5 minute drive from my home. But that would require getting up at 5AM so I can be on the road by 6AM to avoid the gridlocked traffic that lives there each morning. So instead I snake my way through the ‘burbs – Braintree into Quincy into Milton into Dorchester and eventually I do get on the Expressway but only for a couple of exits and then I am blazing down the wide-open Pike.

So my point is I deal with a lot of other cars of my commute and I have a lot of time to think.

Case in point: as I was leaving my house I drove behind an SUV who had pristintely removed all of the snow from their car except for the four inch pile on their roof.

As a result a little flurry of snow followed them down the road and surrounded my windshield for the duration of my time behind them. Not a huge deal, but annoying! Why don’t you clean off your car? It’s like…..rude. That is the only word I can think of to describe it. It’s annoying for me to brush off my car too even though its lower to the ground, but still to get the middle I basically have to lean chest first onto my dirty and snowy car which is no picnic. But I do it because I don’t want that snow to fly off when I am driving and hit the driver’s windshield behind me. So when I see someone who did NOT do this simple task, I think ether they didn’t even consider it, which makes them ign’nt. Or they considered it and decided not to do it. Which is rude.

I ruminated on this as I drove my way to work, meandering down side streets. Encountering more and more of this phenonomenon. And not just SUVs either, but cars are guilty as well. Even a fellow Honda Civic (that was a slap in the face!)

By the time I swung onto Morrissey I had worked myself into a righteous state, so much so that when the beige SUV in front of me stopped short, and all of the snow on his roof fell onto my car in a huff, I became suddenly livid.

I never wished harder for an egg.

A strange thing to wish for I’m sure but in my mind there would be no greater revenge on those who commit vehicular misdeeds / acts of auto assholery than throwing a nice round egg splat against the back of their car as they drive away. Now, I don’t keep eggs in my car. And I am pretty sure this is illegal. And in the cold light of reality, I am not really ever going to chuck an egg at someone’s car. But just the idea of doing it makes me feel better. Like “Buddy you don’t know how lucky you are that there are no eggs up in here right now”.

So anyway as I am thinking of eggs I decide what I really could use is a nice big diet coke, so I decide to hit the 7-11 on Morrissey and get my fix. Lo, the SUV puts his blinker on and moves over before me and ends up turning into the same parking lot. I am like, this is my chance to say something. Something like “you might want to consider cleaning off your car in the future”. A verbal egg, if you will.

I pulled into the first open spot I saw and thought about it for a second or two.

In the end I decided against it. I mean the snow isn’t on his car anymore so whats the point. He probably didn’t even notice what happened. Whatever. And in anycase the rage has passed. I cant do a proper reading on someone with no rage. So I go in and get my diet coke.

When I come out, a gentleman stops me, scowling, and says “You don’t look handicapped”. Say what? I thought for a moment he was bizarrely hitting on me. Maybe he had a disability fetish and was dissapointed? Then I saw he was pointing at my car – I was parked in a f&cking handicapped spot. I NEVER DO THAT! EVER! I HATE PEOPLE WHO DO THAT! But with the snow and everyone kind of parking haphazardly and not being able to see the lines, I just did it by accident. As a look of horror and shame spread across my face the gentleman turned around, got in his beige SUV and drove away as I finally weakly said “I DIDN’T KNOW I SWEAR”.

So in the end, ‘twas I who got egged.

Let this be a lesson. Don’t be so focused on someone else being an asshole that you become one yourself!

A Giveaway!

I was totally going to post today about how I got schooled in the 7-11 parking lot this morning but instead I have something more particpatory - a giveaway!! Yes CSN stores contacted me about hosting this fab giveaway today and I had to do it. If you are not familiar with CSN stores....you can basically buy anything and everything from them. They sell everything from swing sets and shoes to furniture and cookware (holla at me foodies) and everything in between. CSN has over 200 websites chock a block with really anything you would want.

If you are like me, it is still apres holiday" mode up in here and maybe you are holding off on purchasing yourself a treat. Well refrain no more because for one lucky commenter on this post I will send you a $75 gift certificate (emailed) to use at any of CSN's 200 online stores, on anything you wish!

Seriously just leave a comment and at 9AM tomorrow you could have $75 in your pocket (er, email) to use as you wish at any CSN online store!

A few rules
1) Only open to US and Canadian peeps. Sorry!
2) Leave a comment by tomorrow at 9AM in order to be entered in the contest. At that time I will use a random number generator to select a winner and email you of your victory!

That's it! Easy peasy, right? Good luck!

Oh and check back tomorrow for the "Schooled in a 7-11 Parking Lot" story

Sweet Potato Fry Perfection

While doing my Sunday ritual of digging-through-the-cabinets-and-figuring-out- the-menu-for-the-week, I came across a package of jerk seasoning (Rasta Rub from Nantucket Gourmet, who also make one of my favorite seafood rubs!) . Since we have tons of chicken from my supermarket sweet last week, I decided I would make some jerk chicken with corn. But what else? Sista needs a starch up in here. And I have had about as much brown rice as I can stand lately. Then it occured to me, sweet potato fries! My long lost friends who I havent seen in a while. They would be lovely with some spicy sour sweet chicken and corn!

I consider myself a sort of sweet potato fry aficianado. I will always order them in place of regular fries if given a choice. But not all sweet potato fries are equal. I dont care for obviously pre-frozen ones. And an underseasoned under cooked fry is no one's friend. Nor is a pitch black crispy one. No, the sweet potato fry is a tough row to hoe, but it is well worth the effort! The result of a few tricks (soaking the fries in salty water before baking, making sure they are well seasoned and oiled) results in a delicious zesty fry - crisp on the outside with a softer center. And perfect as a side dish or a snack on it's own!


Sweet Potato Fries
3 large sweet potatoes
2 tsp olive oil
Seasonings (Chili powder, seasoned salt, cumin, taco seasoning, whatever you prefer, at least a tablespoon total)
Ground pepper
Sea Salt

Slice all your potatoes into the desired fry shape. You can do wedges or sticks just make sure they are all the same size, more or less. I like to slice the potatoes lengthwise 3-4 times and then cut those slices into 1/2 inch sticks. I also leave the skin on because it’s delicious.

Once your potatoes are peeled and cut the way you want them, place them in a large bowl and fill with cold water. Add salt to the water until its salty (about 1 tsp, but taste it to make sure). Then let them soak for ½ an hour.



Preheat the oven to 425

Drain the water and towel dry each fry. This is tedious to be honest but 1) it really improves the texture of the fry when it bakes and 2) if you’re lucky a good episode of King of Queens is on so you won’t even care, dry while you watch! If you have a salad spinner whose top you can find, unlike me, that would work too but you really want them to be DRY or else they will steam instead of bake. Not Cute.



Pour the dried fries onto two foil lined baking pans (or one big one if you have one, I needed two cookie sheets to accomodate these babies).

Add a teaspoon of oil onto the fries and the spices. Now, you can go as nuts with the spices as you like. I used a tablespoon of chili powder and a teaspoon of seasoned salt between the two pans, as well as a few grinds of pepper. But you can use less or more depending. I like mine a little spicy. You can also use cumin for a more smoky flavor or taco seasoning is amazing as well. Anyway once you have drizzled the oil and spiced them, swish the fries all over the pan with your hands, making sure they are well coated in the spice and there is a slickness to the pan so they don’t stick.

Arrange them in a single layer on each pan.



Place in the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes. Once the timer goes off, remove the pans, and flip the fries over, again making sure they are in a single layer. Rotate the positions of each pan in the oven if you used two, and set again for another 15 minutes.

Now here is where the greatest of men have fallen apart. Now, at this point they will be a little soft, but will crisp as they cool. A perfectly delightful sweet potato fry. However If you like your fries a little more crispy, you will want to flip them once more and put them back in for MAYBE 5 minutes. You will have to check them because as soon as they reach the perfect texture of crispiness they are a heartbeat away from burning. So I fine that my 15 + 15 + 5 rule works well for ideally textured fries.



Et voila! Delicious crispy zest sweet potato fries. It may not be as easy as frying up a batch but it’s loads more healthy and in my mind just as delicious!

I served mine along side some jerk chicken and corn, but if you are serving these as a snack and feeling a little fiesty, combine some curry powder and fat free sour cream for a delicious dipping sauce.

Le Weekend: A Recap

Oh Monday, why do you arrive so quickly and stay so long?

This past weekend was a nice hybrid of being social, getting shiz done, and being a sloth. All things I like to get involved with on the weekends! Friday night Andy came over and joined Adam, Peter and I for some beer tasting and inappropriate political discussions. I don’t know about you but I like to knock a few back and start debating the merits of Obamacare. I find the less I know about something, the more I want to talk about it. Good times.

The highlights of the night included:

Trying out Sam Adams Infinium for a tasting to be chronicled on Brew England this week. Have you tried this stuff? It’s a champagne-y nutty, sweet special occasion offering from Sam Adams. From the website it's " A groundbreaking brew, made with only the four traditional ingredients: malted barley, hops, water and yeast, Infinium™ is a crisp champagne-like beer with fine bubbles and a fruity, spicy aroma" A brilliant brew, if I do say so myself. We all enjoyed it immensely.





Also, look how cute the bottle is. This is a great beer to bring to a party!



Andy brought a gift for me, on our Vermont trip in November I lusted over this tealight holder from Simon Pearce. And lo, Andy gave it to me on Friday Night. Did I pick a good Maid of Honor or what?? This thing is gorgeous. It gives of the softest flickering light and looks fantastic even when it’s not lit.



Saturday brought with it a pub crawl to celebrate our friend's Vicki and Melissa's birthdays. As the snow began to fall that evening we caroused around Quincy Center having a grand old time. It's always night to have a rowdy night out with friends every now and then. Especially friends you've known for such a long time!


We all survived the bar crawl and I am happy to report I even did a tequila shot at the last stop of the night. I'm 30 and I can still hang, what's up?

Sunday was a day of relaxing and watching movies and doing things around the house. Specifically watching this movie which was fantastic. With certain movies, as soon as the movie ends I immediately want to watch it again. This was true of An Education, for sure. Then again it was also true of the Twilight movies so whereas my wanting to watch a movie several times in a row doesn't typically mean it is a "fine film" in this case it really was.

Then for dinner I made this delicious Grilled Mahi Mahi with Thai Coconut Sauce from Epicurious.com. The sauce was divine - we only used a tablespoon per filet and it was the perfect amount of spice and sweetness. And I will say, once we moved into a bigger place we got a BJ's membership since we now had the room to store excess amounts of "stuff", and their bags of frozen fish have become one of my new favorite things. I bought a bag of mahi mahi, ahi tuna and tilapia filets. Each filet comes induvidually sealed so defrosting is a breeze. And it's actually great quality fish! I used to kind of poo poo buying frozen fish but now I am all about it. Quel convenience!


Anywho this week is shaping up to be a good one. I am taking Wednesday off from work for 2 reasons: 1) I have a ton of rolled over vacation time I have to use asap and 2) we are supposed to be getting another epic snowstorm. I am going to use that day off to design and order our wedding Save the Dates! We came up with a great idea - I can't wait to see how they come out!

Also on the wedding front I am throwing a Bridal Party Brunch on Sunday to get my bridesmaids, my soon to be mother in law, and my aunts all on the same page with what we have accomplished so far planning wise, and what we still need to do. Since my mom is abroad until right before the wedding, my aunt Marilyn and Barbara have stepped in to help me with the planning which is a god send. Between them and my ladies, I know this is going to be one kickass event! In any case if anyone has to die for brunch recipes please send them my way, I wanted to do a couple of quiches and then supplement that with some breads/pastries from my favorite French Bakery (since the wedding theme is French Country I thought it would be fun to echo that theme at the brunch!).

Definitely Having One Of Those Days When I Wish I Could Throw a Julia Sugarbaker Style Rant

Click to watch

A Dog's Life

I'm kind of a freak about towels.

For me a towel has to have several qualities. It has to be soft but not too soft. It has to be large, even blanket like (I need something to shroud myself while I shiver violently post - shower and contemplate how much I wish I could go back to the sweet bliss of bed) and it also has to be absorbent enough to deal with my epic mane. And I have a texture thing where it can't be too velour-like or on the opposite end of the spectrum, too sandpaper like. This is a tall order for pre-6AM activities but there you have it.

Surprisingly, I have trouble finding towels I love. I've hit gold at TJ Maxx a few times. At Macy's....even at Target. But these finds are few and far between.

These days we keep a stack of towels folded next to the bathroom and every few days each of us switch out which towel we use. Then as the stack dwindles one of us knows to do the laundry (this person is usually not me. I know my way around a kitchen but not around a washing machine. As recently as TWO DAYS ago I shrunk a new pair of pants into wide legged capris. Rookie mistake!) In any case the point is, there is usually a decent supply of fresh towels next to the bathroom. So I haven't even seen the bottom of the pile for months.

Until recently, with the holidays and taking turns not feeling well the pile has dwindled. So the other day I went to grab a towel and it was his beige one I had never used before. I picked it up and WOW was it soft. After my shower I was using it and it was crazy absorbent. This must be one of those SPA towels, I thought. Maybe one of my parents' towels had worked there way into our collection. It was deliciously soft, like drying off in a cloud. Not to mention it dried my hair like no towel ever has. So this is how the other half lives! I was resolved to track down the make of this towel and buy a million more. Bloomingdales Home Department here I come!



Or more like PetSmart.

Yes, it was the dog's towel, apparently. Oopsies!

And the sad thing is I gave the dog a bath on Saturday and used what I thought was "his" towel, this bedraggled Snoopy towel we have had for 20 years.

Now I know why I caught him giving the the stink eye when I was walking around the house with this towel turbaned atop my head. Sorry dude! At least this explains why it dried my hair so well. It's made to dry off creatures who are covered head to toe in hair (which if you saw the state of my hair lately you would see this is not a far cry from me).

The short version of this story is, I need to do some laundry ASAP.

Beatloaf

I am a girl who enjoys a good meatloaf.

In fact, I crave meatloaf.

There is something homey and delightful and satisfying about it. So every few months when the craving hits, I declare Meatloaf Night is in session and toddle off to the supermarket in search of ground meat and fixins. This particular meatloaf met all of the requirements I set forth for it in my mind, it is healthy. It is exceptionally well seasoned. And I got to use the last of this apricot preservesI had in my fridge that I didn’t want to throw out but didn’t know what to do with.

Apricot and Soy Glazed Turkey Meatloaf
1.5 lb turkey
2 slices whole wheat bread, torn into small pieces
¼ cup skim milk
1 medium onion chopped finely
1 carrot chopped finely
1 celery stalk chopped finely
1 tbsp chile powder
½ tsp Lawry’s seasoned salt
¼ tsp ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup egg whites
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp soy sauce, divided
4 tbsp sugar free apricot preserves
2 tbsp water
Cooking Spray

Combine the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in a pan with the cooking spray, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until soft – 10 minutes.
Soak the bread pieces in the milk.

Combine turkey with soaked bread, cooked vegetables, egg whites, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp of soy sauce and 3 tbsp of the apricot preserves. Mix until just combined.



Form into oval shaped loaf in center of a larger pan (I just discovered this results in a much better textured meatloaf than using a loaf pan!).


I am sorry but there is just no appetizing way to take a photo of a raw meatloaf.

Mix the remaining soy sauce, preserves and water and baste onto the meat loaf. Cook about 1 hour, or until firm and internal temp is 165. Cover with foil and let rest for 10 mnutes before serving.

Et voila! Quite healthy. Easy to prepare. Extremely tasty – especially with a Magic Hat #9 - the apricot in the beer accents the apricot in the meatloaf beautifully!

Holla 2011!

Well hello there, long time no talk!

What's been going on you may ask? Well let me try and get you up to speed.

September - Adam and I moved to Braintree. We are living in my parents house with my brother (Peter) and the dog (Bodhi) while my parents are in Morocco doing the Peace Corps! While there was an adjustment period (it's weird to go from living with just each other for 5 years to having someone else in the mix!) all in all this has been a great way for us to save money, bond with my bro and test drive having a dog. There have been good times (house theme nights like "Southern Feast" and "Mojito Night") and not so good times (like how I seem to break the garbage disposal every other week! Apparently wine stoppers DO NOT go down there) but I must say we really are enjoying the new living arrangements!

Hello from our furball roomate!!

October - It's weird how used I got to having a blog. I feel like I have no idea what happened in October and I dont have the luxury of looking back on this blog to remind myself. I swear if I don't write something down, it didn't happen as far as my brain is concerned! At least we were keeping track of things somewhat on BrewEngland. We took advantage of the gorgeous fall weather by going on several day trips (there are only 2-3 months a year that I am guaranteed a good hair day. I make the most of these months!). One of our favorites was a trip to the Berkshire Brewing Company with a bunch of friends. Definitely a must see for New England Beer Lovers!


This month also brought with it what felt like the annual even we all know and love - Boston Blogtoberfest! As always Jenny did a smashing job putting it together and it was great to mix and mingle with the local blogerati.

The OB Crew (Original Bloggahs ) - Jenny, John Wall and me

November - November brought with it a long weekend trip for Adam and I to one of our favorite New England destinations - Woodstock Vermont! I documented the trip here. Basically it was a great couple of days of good food, great beer and wine, excellent company and beautiful views. It's the perfect weekend away! Especially if you like any of the following: shopping, drinking, eating, hanging out in a gorgeous setting. Or giant animals made of hay!


I also hosted my first Thanksigiving! I made entirely too much food, but I felt very accomplished at the end of it (not to mention a little bloated). I think the key is not to start drinking until the bird goes in the oven. I can plate tipsy but I really can't cook tipsy. C'est vrai.

December - A whirlwind month!! It began with a trip to Chicago for Adam and I. We had always wanted to go, got an email about a crazy deal on flights and hotels, booked it and voila! Mini vacation for us. Though we were only there for 4 days it was enough time for us both to fall deeply in love with the city. Neither of us can wait to go back! You can read Adam's recaps here or you can check out the photos over here.


Adam and I in Millenium Park

Then the weekend after our trip we hosted our annual Holiday party which was great fun as always and ended in the wee hours of the morning with all of us crammed in the kitchen singing "DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME AT ALL" (which if you think about it is kind of a BS song. I mean a good cause but the lyrics are kind of rude), and eating Diana's delicious cheesecake brownies and breaking into the Pinotage. Great times all around.

Andy and Chris making it nice around the tree

Then the weekend after that was Christmas which was busy as always with family parties. Then this past weekend was New Years Eve which we spent with good friends at our pal Brian's house and where I wore the shortest skirt and the highest shoes. That is just how I felt like ringing in the New Year. I Am Not F'n Around (incidentally that is my theme of this year as well).


Meg, Me and Vicki

You may wonder, what exactly do you mean by Not F'n Around as a theme of your year? Well it basically means, time to get down to brass tax. Time to get with our get out. I have a lot I want to accomplish this year (bit things like, um throwing a wedding! And smaller things like travel and aligning my finances) But that is a post for another time). In any case I am looking towards 2011 with my nails painted and my hand raised. Bring It On.

I will leave you with this: I made these Mojito Jello Shots for the New Years Eve party and they were a huge success. They are a litle more complicated to make than regular jello shots but the end result is totally worth it. They are strong, but classy. The Angela Bassett of jello shots if you will. Enjoy!