food – Page 10 – The Books are Taking Over…

Hiking in Portsmouth, NH

Yesterday Geoff and I went up to visit his newly transplanted sister Liz, brother in law Dan, and their three kids Will, Ben, and Kate along with their dachshund Ralph. Liz was, up to that point, the only sibling of Geoff’s that I hadn’t met yet so I was very much looking forward to it. We made arrangements to take the kids out for the day so that Liz and Dan could have some time to actually get some stuff done around the house. (They just moved in and are still making the house livable.)

We took Thumbelina and Rerun with us and when we got to NH they met Ralph for the first time. The dogs got along pretty well and the kids liked the dogs. Kate was positively *taken* with having a female dog around. Thumbelina is generally not a fan of the younger set so it took a while for them to get used to each other but they did.

After a quick lunch we piled the dogs and the kids into the minivan and headed off to the Portsmouth Urban Forestry Center. It is quite an interesting place. 5 minutes from the center of Portsmouth and you can hike self guided trails, walk through meadow and forest, see salt marshes and ponds. It’s quite a nice place to go, and it is dog friendly. We packed up the kids, all 3 dogs, and we took along the Little Red Wagon of Brimfield fame and took off.

As you may imagine, an outing like this required hats, sunscreen, bugspray, and water. But, considering that Geoff is Mr. Prepared and I’m not far behind, we were set. We did manage to walk out of Liz and Dan’s house without the water bottles for the kids, which was a nice trick, but we had our own water already packed and we had a dog water bottle so everything was fine. Knowing the propensity of certain individual in the party to fall down, hurt themselves, end up in the ER, or otherwise cause calamities, we also brought along a fully stocked First Aid kit. Amazingly, nobody, human or canine, needed it.

Naturally, I had to take pictures. You can find them here. There were lovely flowers, the kids are ridiculously photogenic, and the dogs were having a great time. The forest was also naturally lovely, so there are all sorts of pictures there. Take a look, you won’t be disappointed.

Once we were done we headed into town and went to Canine Cupboard in downtown Portsmouth. It was 5 whole minutes away from the Forestry Center. It’s a gourmet dog treat store, toy shop, and all around fun place. We had called ahead to ask when they were closing and if they had any suggestions about places where we might be able to find outdoor dining that would seat us with the dogs. When we arrived the owner remembered my call and had an additional suggestion for outdoor, dog-friendly dining, the Portsmouth Gas Light Co. Also, he had the bumper sticker I have been looking for forever. The My Dachshund is Smarter Than Your Honor Student sticker. For $1.00. The one we got looks different than the one linked, but you get the idea. For $1.00 who were we to say no?

We thanked him and headed off for the Portsmouth Gas Light Co. We met up with Liz and Dan along the way and, after finding us a table to seat 7 humans and 3 dogs, we had a great meal. The folks at the restaurant were super and even brought us a bucket of water for the dogs.

All in all a great day. Uncle Geoff and Aunt Kelly are a bit tired today. We’re not used to having kids around and it’s been a while since I’ve had 3 dogs on a lead at the same time, but it was great fun. We’re already making plans for a trip back up north when we can take Aunt Donna with us. More photos will most certainly follow when we do.

~Kelly

Oh, and speaking of dumb

A restaurant here in Massachusetts decided to turn away a group of diners because some of them had service dogs. At a restaurant called Bamboo in Dedham, staff decided that a group that included several people with service dogs could be refused service. The police were called in, and unfortunately, the police sided with the restaurant. How this is remotely compliant with the ADA is beyond me, but these days, businesses seem to be getting the benefit of the doubt when it comes to a lot of things. It will be interesting to see where something like this will go in the courts.

At any rate, this little local chain, like Upper Crust, will be one that Kelly and I avoid and encourage others to avoid.

-Geoff

Never liked their pizza anyway

Upper Crust, a well-known local pizza chain here in Massachusetts, has had all sorts of legal problems in the last year or so. I have never been a fan of their pizza anyway, since I think their sauce sucks and their pizza is shockingly overpriced, costing more than twice as much as pizza you might get from a local mom and pop place (where the pizza is better anyway). So why anyone continues to eat there is beyond me.

Now one of their franchises has been slapped with an $80,000 fine for committing the same kind of employee abuse that got the company in trouble. I guess that apple didn’t fall far from the corporate tree.

-Geoff

Once a year, in June

I have the odd fortune to have a huge number a friends who have birthdays in close proximity to mine. I swear, I grew up without knowing a single other Gemini (Ok, I knew one person who had the same birthday as me, but she and I didn’t hang out.) Now, as an adult, I have two friends who share my birthday and half a dozen friends who have birthdays within days of mine. This doesn’t even include my parents. My mother’s birthday is 7 days after mine and my father’s birthday is another 4 days after that.

So, for about, oh 8? 10? years now, my friends and I have been having a big joint birthday party. As times have changed the parties have gotten smaller and involved less alcohol and ended earlier. Now they involve offspring. Ah, how times have changed.

This year the kids were remarkably cute and SO energetic. For your enjoyment I have uploaded a video from the party of 7 1/2 month old Thomas and a bunch of photos from the party and also from a while back when we went out to cut down some trees felled by an ice storm (aah, life in the burbs) and one of the wee ones is wearing my hard hat.

Enjoy and if you’re the parent or Auntie of one of these kids, feel free to leave a comment if you want me to email you an original of one of the kidpics.

And here is the URL for the photos from the party. http://junebirthdays2011.shutterfly.com/

Enjoy!

~Kelly

Thursday Night Fun, 5/12/2011

If you’re looking for something fun to do this Thursday and you’d prefer it to be something that goes toward a good cause and involves chocolate, I have the right event for you.

If you thought Charlie Chaplin was great, you ain't seen nothing yet. — The event of the month, a benefit for Japan, an evening of fun, all for $20.

My friend, Peter Krasinski, will play live accompaniment, which will be entirely improvised on the fly, to the silent film Speedy starring Harold Lloyd. There will be a champagne and chocolate tasting before the film and the proceeds of the evening will benefit the Episcopal Relief and Development Japan Earthquake Fund. All tickets will be sold at the door so if you’re interested in going make sure to get there before 7:00pm.

For more details you can visit the church website or you can leave a comment here.

Thanks!

Kelly & Geoff

A very long but good weekend

Geoff here – Kelly and I managed to survive the very epic weekend, and what’s even better is that we actually had a pretty good time all around.

Kelly’s mom – Jo – arrived Thursday night and we picked her up from the airport. After I got off work on Friday we went out to dinner at the Fireplace. Jo had never been there, but she seemed to really like it. The food was pretty fantastic, as usual. I tried something different and got a special – hake. Boy, it was good. And Kevin, the awesome manager, actually donated some gift certificates to their “Fireside Chats” special events for us to sell at the auction. It was very cool of him. Stuff like that is why we like the place so much and are glad to have our rehearsal dinner there.

Saturday we had to split up as Kelly and Jo went off to do their own errands, and I had to run a bunch of my own before my police detail. The detail ended up being a lot of fun, as we got to meet the Red Sox mascot, Wally, the Green Monster. So I got his autograph for Kelly and then got some pictures with him. I will post those as soon as I can. After the detail was over, I ran home to shower and change and then the three of us went to the auction at our church. Kelly and I had contributed several items to the auction: a series of dog training lessons from Kelly; a few hours of IT tech support from me; and an entire home-cooked four course Portuguese dinner with table and dessert wines. So together Kelly and I raised over a thousand dollars with our donated items. It turns out that the family who bought the dinner from me is pretty interesting – the husband was the auctioneer for the church, and his wife is the one who kept bidding on the dinner. I am looking forward to making them dinner.

Kelly has already talked about the concert, but I wanted to throw in my two cents worth. I had a slightly different perspective, since I was running around at the front tables and doors while Kelly was running around inside and then performing. We were quite pleasantly surprised when people kept showing up, even after the concert had started. I think the last ticket I sold was at around 4:15, well over an hour after the concert started. But people seemed to really enjoy it, and the reception afterward was a lot of fun too. I got to watch one of the Deputy Superintendents talk with our landlord, who it turns out was in the CAPD himself from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Apparently they knew a lot of the same people. And this couple from our church had nothing but praises for all of the help that they got from the officers on the detail. So although we were pretty exhausted by the time we got home Sunday night, we were quite happy that everything had gone so well and everyone had such a good time.

Thank you!

I don’t even know where to begin, but I owe a lot of people a lot of thanks. Today was the St. John Passion concert that I feel like I’ve been preparing for for months. In fact, it felt like the least of my duties was nailing my aria. I was coordinating with the St. Paul Adult Choir (SPAC), I was running everything relating to the Front of House, I was marketing my fool head off, arranging for flowers with the florist, proofreading the program book, the list just goes on. It feels like this has been a really long process and now that it is over, I feel awesome.

Was the performance flawless? No. Live performances never are, which is something that we, as a CD listening society of studio perfected work have come to forget. Was it spectacular? Yes. Do I feel like I left the best version of my aria in the room for the concert? Absolutely.

As a concert manager did I learn something from this? Oh HELL yes. Did everything I organized run perfectly? Of course not, it never does and it never will, such is human nature. But that is ok, there were no catastrophes, no major fires, and everyone seemed pleased. I can absolutely live with that.

So, in no particular order, to the Cambridge Auxiliary Police Department officers on our detail, to our crack Ushering Corps, to the Stage Crew, to the women of SPAC who helped coordinate everything with me between the two groups, to John, Jim, and most especially Jennifer, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. The words seem inadequate, but there they are.

To our fabulous and supportive landlord Marvin who came out to hear this concert when I am sure there were a 1,000 other things he could have been doing and for being so generous as to take us out to dinner afterward. Thank you, sir. You are a true gentleman.

To Amanda, Leigh, Mackie, Donna, and every single member of COOS who braved Harvard Square parking to come out for this concert, and to my Mother and Liza who braved the TSA for this concert. I thank you. You have no idea how much it meant for me to see friendly faces in the audience.

And to my betrothed, my darling, Geoff, who was the Head Usher, the liaison with the CAPD, who worked his behind off all day and way above and beyond the call of duty. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to know that you’ve got my back. Thank you and I love you.

Till next time,

~Kelly

April 2nd & 3rd- Mark Your Calendars!!

Hi folks!

We have a big weekend coming up here in Brookline and Cambridge on April 2nd and 3rd and I wanted to tell you all about it NOW so you can mark your calendars, arrange for babysitting, rent a car, book your flight, etc. That’s right, it’s THAT exciting.

On the evening of Saturday, April 2nd will be the annual Episcopal Church of Our Saviour Dinner and Auction. There will be drinks, a silent auction of all sorts of great items (curated with an assist from yours truly), dinner catered by the fantastic Lisa Shaw (she’s handling the food at our wedding, come to the auction for a preview) and a live auction by professional auctioneer Dan Smith. On offer will be everything from jewelry and Red Sox tickets to time in vacation homes, voice lessons, and private dinners catered in your home. It is always a great night and it is one of only two major fund-raising events of the year for the Parish.

The schedule is:

5:30pm Silent Auction 7:00pm Dinner 8:00pm Live Auction

Sunday, April 3rd at 3:00pm is a can’t miss performance by The Seraphim Singers. I’ve sung with this group for over a decade and this is probably the most exciting concert we’ve ever done. We’re doing the entire Bach St. John Passion with the Orchestra of Emmanuel Music. We’ll be performing in the acoustically lovely St. Paul Parish in Harvard Square, home of the Boston Boy Choir, and also of the St. Paul Adult Choir, who will be joining us for parts of the Passion. A reception to meet the musicians will follow the concert.

Though I have had the opportunity to perform the St. John Passion several times in my life, this is the first time I have had the opportunity to perform as a soloist, so please, if you are available that afternoon, I urge you to attend. This is one of the monumental works of choral literature and should not be missed. If you have never come to one of my concerts before, this is the one to come to. If you have come to one before and never come to another again, don’t miss this one.

If you have any questions, please email me or Geoff. I’m making this post sticky so it stays at the top of the blog till April 4th. Please check under it for new postings.

Thanks, everyone!

~Kelly

Edit 3/15/11- I finally have the updated concert poster to post. Here it is: Updated St. John Passion Poster <– download me ! email me to your friends and loved ones!

3/15/11 Aaaaand, one more edit. Here’s a jpg of the poster if you want to see it in small scale before you download it. Enjoy.

Consider yourself invited!

Ok, this is just nasty.

Geoff and I have been on the hunt for the perfect purple beverage for our wedding cocktail. We’ve come up with some good ideas so far but every time we see an interesting article online we tend to check it to see if there’s a good purple drink. Simple purple alcoholic drinks that don’t involve muddled out of season fruit seem to be elusive.

Anyway, I noticed this little article on Boston.com and perused it thinking there might be something useful in it. What I found was this… monstrosity. I know I’m a vegetarian and thus more likely to think this is nasty, but Geoff agreed with me on this one.

The Abbatoir

Now complete with meat juice! — The Abbatoir Cocktail... coming to a slaughterhouse near you!

$9, The GallowsIn the mix:
¾ ounce savory mixture (veal stock, caramelized onions, and olive brine pureed and double strained)
¾ ounce Quinta do Infantado tawny port
¾ ounce Batavia Arrack
¾ ounce Lillet Blanc
Shake and strain. Garnish with lemon peel and cracked pepper.

Bar manager April Wachtel says that the veal stock is a “shocker” to many customers. “No one has a clue what it will taste like . . . the mouth feel is very lovely. You might think it will be gelatinous, but it’s not.”

Bottom line: The veal stock, onions, and olive puree makes for a sturdy, rich backbone in this savory sipper. Never mind the drink’s not-so-appetizing name, another word for slaughterhouse.

VEAL STOCK? Oh, nasty. NASTY. Rest assured we won’t be serving any of this, or anything even remotely like it, in our home or at our wedding. Just… no.

~Kelly

Fooooooood…

So we’re both in food comas now. It may not be the best time to write a restaurant review. But we’re going to do it anyway because that’s how we roll.

Tonight we had dinner here, at The Fireplace in Brookline. As some of you may or may not know or care, we’ve been on the search for a place to have our rehearsal dinner since… June? The search started in earnest in August and then stopped when I fell, got laid off, and Geoff got deep into his school work and then Internship. Now that all of that is over and we’ve passed the T Minus One and Counting mark to the wedding, we started looking again. And, boy, what a find.

First of all, this is a large rehearsal dinner, 60ish people. It’s for a popular night in November 2011, and we have not only some food allergies and special diets to contend with, we have some exceptionally picky eaters to worry about as well. This meant that some of our favorite cuisines, and restaurants that could seat large parties like ours, that served good food, and that were proximate to the church were out. We needed something relatively nearby, that had great food and wine, a good atmosphere, was handicap accessible, and had parking.

The Fireplace is all that and more. We contacted the General Manager via email at the end of last week. His name is Kevin. Kevin, to put it plainly, rocks. He got back to us basically when his shift was over. So, in the middle of the night. The prices he quoted were great and the menu, well, it rocked our socks. We were thrilled. In the back of my mind I remembered reading in the Globe about when The Fireplace had opened, but I wasn’t spending much time in Brookline then. So I had never made it there for a meal. That, was my loss.

We made arrangements with Kevin to come by this afternoon or evening. We were initially entertained at the bar when we arrived by the fabulous Erica. The woman knows how to mix a mean margarita, she’s fun to talk to, was willing to let us talk to her about our quest for the perfect purple cocktail, and is an all around fabulous bartender. Seriously, people, go there and ask her to make you something. With her talent and her well stocked bar, you won’t regret it. (Also, there was a majorly famous Boston Sports figure at the bar who I happen to know lives in the neighborhood. She treated him with respect and without fawning all over him, clearly he’s a regular. I won’t reveal his name so this place can remain a regular haunt for him, but it was quite cool to see him there, especially for Geoff.)

Kevin came over and chatted with us and then took us to our table. It was clear from our talk that he knows his food and wine exceedingly well and that he loves what he does. From our vantage point in the back at the top of the room we could see everything and get an idea of how we’d seat people, how the curtains would close off the rest of the top section from the bottom bar area, where the handicap entrance was, etc. Then there was the food. I’ll let Geoff take over from here….

Geoff here – I am so very glad we found this place. The menu is just amazing. They had a lot of really good traditional New England cuisine, and it’s obvious the owners and management are history aficionados, which is something I can definitely appreciate. Among other things, they serve a lot of traditional New England beverages like hot mulled cider, hot buttered rum, and Madeira. Yes, Madeira is a traditional New England beverage, as it was one of the most popular wines in colonial America – it was Thomas Jefferson’s favorite, for example. Anyway, the wine list is quite good, and they have a decent selection of ports and other dessert wines, as well as an extensive list of fine cognacs and Scotch whiskeys.

Kelly started with a cup of the Butternut Squash Bisque with Great Hill Blue Cheese, and I ordered a cup of the Classic Clam Chowder with New Hampshire Bacon. I tried both, and both were delicious. (Note from Kelly: The Bisque? Oh my goodness, I think I could have a little cup of that with every meal this winter.) Then we moved on the main course. Kelly had the Acorn Squash & Sheep Milk Cheese Ravioli in a Brown Butter Sage Light Cream Sauce w/Sautéed Greens, Shaved Fennel, Asiago & Crushed Hazelnuts (although she got it without the Hazelnuts). I ordered the Lobster Mac & Cheese with Asiago, Mozzarella, Vermont Creamery ‘Cremont’ & Great Hill ‘Blue Cheese’, Caramelized Cauliflower & Lemony Spinach, which Kevin warned me I would not be able to finish in one sitting, and he was absolutely right. But it was phenomenal. And finally we shared dessert – Peanut Butter Fudge on Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie with Vanilla Ice Cream, Salted Caramel Sauce, Toasted Almonds & Hot Chocolate Fudge. My eyes almost popped out of my head, this was so good. I can hardly wait to try some other items. (Note from Kelly: Seriously, he was without speech for several minutes after taking the first bite. The Peanut Butter Fudge? Was magical.)

Afterward, we talked again with Kevin and confirmed with him that we were going to go ahead and book the place for our rehearsal dinner. It is just perfect. In fact, I am looking forward to coming to some of their wine tastings sometime down the road. They even have some historically-themed events, such as a Valentine’s Day diner that includes “John Adams” and “Abigail Adams” in period clothing reading their letters to each other in first person. So yeah, I am really liking this place. I can hardly wait to see how everyone else will like it.

So, Boston people? Wanna do Dinner? Lunch? Brunch? You know where we’re going to celebrate when Geoff and I get jobs, right?

~Kelly & Geoff