Mystery Meal

Well, This is embarrassing.
It seems that I've had so many delicious meals, with so many amazing people, that I literally can not keep track of all of them any more.
For example, I found this picture:

 Any ideas? Anyone?

SImplicity: Nostalgia

Remember your favorite snack when you were little? Mine was Ants on a Log:

Peanut Butter and Raisins on Celery.

Still pretty great

It's like Lorin Maazel, but with one A and it's my first name

Have I mentioned that I have the most amazing and talented friends ever on the face of the entire planet? Because, well, I DO.

This being the case, I have had not one but two good friends of mine recently depart to pursue their callings as people-who-create-awesomeness-and-make-the-world-a-beautiful-place-ers. Both Mendelfriends, both altos: The section will never be the same without them.

First we wished farewell to Sally B, whose outdoor picnic farewell featured my very first tasting of a Turducken. I am still kicking myself for not getting a picture of this. And I can't find the video of Sally's reaction which I would REALLY love to share because it was quite literally the fastest I have ever heard anyone speak English in my entire life.

A few days later, a group of us, including KP and new friends Mark and Matt, ventured to Burgatory for more hilarity and gorging.

(Just to clarify the timeline, this trip to Burgatory was the day after my first adventure there with Bill the Thrill. 

No I'm not at all ashamed of myself, why do you ask?)

Bison Burger. And some slightly disappointing Rosemary Fries.

We had the cutest little waiter. His name was Tilman. Sally asked if that was anything like Wolfgang Tillmans, to which he replied:

"Yeah, but with one L and it's my first name"

So we spent the rest of the night mocking him behind his back. 

Sally is an amazing photographer who is now living in NY making her dreams come true. She is witty and hilarious and super nice and knits like a feind. My favorite memory of Sally is sitting next to her during the Holiday Pops concert when the 13 year old piano soloist came on stage dressed like a gay bellhop. Without hesitation (or precedent), we held hands to keep from bursting into laughter. My second favorite memory of Sally is purchasing all of her (and her neighbor's) VHS tapes at their first yard sale. They are currently sitting stacked in my room as a monument to our friendship. Cheers, Sally.

And then there was KP.

You may remember KP from my having mentioned her once or twice or maybe thrice.

So we invited some Mendelfriends to MaryColleen's for a cookout and a truly excellent evening.

MC's house is perfect for get-togethers because as soon as you get there, you feel like you're home.

I was completely manic about this party. I made tiramisu cups, an entire Mocha Hazelnut Swirl cheesecake, and some lemon amaretto cheesecakes squares with raspberry sauce. I needn't have. There was so much food that we were all visibly distended by the end of the evening. KP even got her own personal sack of Scott's Famous Balls. 

I love KP because she thinks mustard yellow is a neutral color, because she still gets excited by how great music can be, because she has the most winning smile, because she shows her love through bakes goods, and because she gives the best hugs in the known universe. 

And because she brings me back amazing chocolates from Austria

I am going to miss them. SO MUCH.

Things that are making me happy

This should be dated the weekend right after 4th of July. I was playing a game of Things That Are Making Me Happy, because I had a really really good weekend

1. Blueberry Picking with KP

and one beautiful pint of raspberries. Yum.

KP and I got up early on a somewhat dreary Saturday and drove to Sewickley to spend 2 hours picking our own berries. My freezer is now stuffed with blue goodness. I smell a pie in the hopefully not so distant future.

2. Waffle Brunch with KB and AJ

Waffles with oh so many toppings

Followed by a nap. YES.

3. Someone else feeding me one of my favorite meals

A special Saturday Edition of Family Dinner, Homemade Chicken Marsala

One of my favorite dishes, impeccably made by Papa KB

4. Hard Milkshakes and Harry Potter 7.2.2

Raspberry Creme Brulee Milkshake and Chicken Nachos

This was my first Burgatory experience, after an epic underestimation of its popularity earlier in the year. Worth. The. Wait.

And YES. I saw Harry Potter 7.2 twice.

5. Love

6. Babes in Shorts

Not verything that makes me happy has to be edible right?

Though it certainly helps. 

Another milestone weekend in the Delicious Summer Saga. Thanks everyone.

Hey! We're going to a picture show!

KP and I do this thing where we go see a movie, like Bridesmaids or Harry Potter 7.2, and bring our own snacks.
It looks a little something like this:

Hummus and Pita Chips, Cheese sticks, Green Beans, Carrot Chips, Mango, Berries, Pineapple

As much as I love popcorn, movie popcorn usually makes me feel blimp-like after 3 or 4 handfuls. But somehow I'm able to gorge myself on fresh produce for hours.

Experiments. Delicious, delicious experiments

I got a little.... carried away.

My relationship with baking is tenuous at best. When I am cooking, I tend to never follow a recipe. I am the proverbial bull in the culinary china shop; I just blow through, smashing everything into the pan without regard.

When I'm baking, I research a recipe, measure out all my ingredients, and begin my well intentioned mixing.

Halfway through, I don't see things coming together in any desirable way and I start to panic.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG. How can I fix this?

Then I try to over correct.

Then I just end up with a mess on my hands.

I feel like there's a "That's what she said" joke involved there. 

So, for more than one reason, it's strange that I would pick one of the hottest weekends of the year to suddenly decide that I needed to bake.

But I just needed to create something; to try something I had never tried before. Something slightly challenging.

It started out pretty simple:

Olive Oil Flatbreads with Pecorino, Thyme, Sea Salt and Honey

(I can't take credit for any part of this recipe. My roommate likes to entice me with recipes and this is one she sent me that marinaded in my brain. The flatbread was simple: it didn't require any leavening, it baked in less than 10 minutes, and is versatile enough to be topped with just about anything. I used pecorino (My favorite cheese!) and fresh thyme (my second favorite herb!) and some sea salt, then positively drown them in some local honey I found at the market. Nutty, spicy, sweet and salty. It was like a carnival. I have all ready repeated this dish more than once.)

Then it escalated:

Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Instead of a tablespoon of vanilla extract, I used half a cup of bourbon.) 

Then it just got out of control.

Chana Dal Masala. With plain yogurt and cilantro.

(Indian cooking frightens me. I don't really know what spices to use and the process seems really tedious. But I bought a bag of Chana Dal beans in a hers and hers specialty grain order with K a few weeks ago and was eager to spread my wings. So I have a whole container of cardamom pods now that I need to decide what to do with. This is a very very good option.)

Not pictured is an extremely unsuccessful attempt at peanut butter swirl brownies. I followed the recipe to a T and still managed to make the outsides burnt and the insides completely molten. The only saving grace was that K came over while I tried to rectify these atrocious treats and we watched Viva Las Vegas, since we both idolize Ann-Margret. There are worse things to do on a Saturday than ruin a pan of brownies.

The day ended well, I made my way on foot to Highland Park and enjoyed an unbelievable cookout with Kelly, Thrill, Aaron, and many more. We grilled, made bourbon sweet tea from the mint Aaron grew, and basked in the beautiful sunshine.

Yes.

The Land of the (Gluten) Free

And the home of the Braves... Er, Indians.

This year, I proved that I'm not actually a horrible daughter.

Let me explain.

I have no idea when my dad's birthday is. I have a general idea, but I've asked every year, and it never seems to be the same answer twice, so I just sort of wing it. Compound that with the fact that for the past 2 years, I have forgotten every single birthday in my family, despite having written them in every calendar I have, I haven't been doing so great. So this year, I decided, things would be different.

I am also, as it happens, horrible at buying gifts for Chip. For the life of me, I have no idea what that man ever wants. That is until this year, when I decided to buy him tickets to New Yankee Stadium.

Ok, so it turns out I cant afford tickets to New Yankee Stadium. But I what I can afford is a weekend in Pittsburgh and tickets to Progressive Field to see the Yankees play the Cleveland Indians on the Fourth of July. Which, if you ask me, is way better.



We spent a lot of time in the kitchen

Chicken Florentine with Tabouli, Goat Cheese Frittata, Movie in the Park Picnic

And we spent a lot of time exploring

Natural History Museum Owl, LuLu's Noodles Pork Lard Nar, Croissant French Toast at Pamela's

We did not eat the Owl. I just think it's an amazing picture.

Speaking of amazing pictures.

We are goobers.