One Small Success in Culinary Endeavors

A poached egg! I decided today I would replicate my breakfast from yesterday, only using the more French technique for my egg. 

poached egg + guyere cheese + rosemary focaccia bread + olive oil = breakfast for a year! (please)

Focaccia Fun

After my little sourdough science fair project ended in a tub of putrid goo and disturbed roommates, I've been leery to try my hand at another loaf of bread.  It wasn't until my cookbook just happened to open up to a recipe of healthy rosemary focaccia bread, did I contemplate trying my hand at bread making again.  I am so glad I did!

Watching my bread rise made me feel like a proud mama, and when it actually doubled in size I felt like my bread child had graduated high school.

Oh how it pained me so to go onto the next step of the recipe, "punch down the dough".

It was now time for my bread child to be put in its pan to rise for a second time.

My bread child was well on its way to becoming the best looking focaccia bread this side of Verndale St.  Then came time to bake, and the true test was underway.  40 minutes in the oven and it was over.  My bread child was now mature enough to handle any topping or dipping sauce that came its way.

Deeeeelish :-9  Last night, I had it with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper, wonderful.  This morning, I created a dish inspired by croque madame using the focaccia bread, drizzled with olive oil, and topped with cheddar cheese and an egg over easy.  Kavan and I ate this lovely breakfast with latte in hand, and for one moment I was transported to a little cafe in France..... Maybe someday...

Red Sox Nation

I can’t tell you how many times, when people would find out I was moving to Boston, people would beg me to “just PLEASE don’t become a Red Sox fan”! I’ve never been much of a sports fan to tell you the truth.  The only sports fan I was around growing up was my Papaw Byron. After the last second Duke NCAA championship win over Kentucky in 93’ sent his heart out of rhythm and him to the emergency room, sports didn’t exactly conjure up the best emotions. Of course it also didn’t help that my home teams were: East Carter High School (we didn’t win one football game my senior year), UK (football was on probation and basketball was in a dismal spiral downward thanks to Tubby), the Cincinnati Reds, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Washington Nationals, and the Redskins. 

In all actuality and unbeknownst to those other fans, I was super excited to have a home team that could actually play the game!  Best of all, the game just so happens to be my most beloved sport, baseball.  I was very fortunate to be given tickets to the Red Sox vs. Blue Jays game on Sept. 17 by my fellow MFST Research Assistant, Alex, as a farewell gift.  What a treat from one of the most thoughtful people I have ever met.

Last Friday the big day finally arrived!  I was sporting my new Boston Red Sox pullover courtesy of my roommate Phil, and Kavan and I set off to start the night off right with some pre-game margaritas. Too bad we didn’t find out till later that they sell clam chowder in the stands!  We made it to our seats in time for the opening pitch, and the sight was breathtaking. 

Fenway is now the oldest ballpark still in use and it really does feel like you are back in the early 1900’s watching the game.  They even still keep score on a manual slide scoreboard!

Although the Red Sox ended up losing by two, the aura of the stadium, along with the undying love from the fans, was an experience I will not soon forget. Now I just need to get me a pair of these.

One more posting dedicated to dairy

and I do believe I have contracted mad cow disease.....  but I promise you will not be disappointed :)

 

I visited J.P. Licks when I first got here, and I immediately knew that I had found one of my staple places of awesomeness (thanks for the tip Debbie)! There are so many options, do I want ice cream, hard yogurt, soft yogurt, tart yogurt a piece of ice cream cake, a sundae, toppings toppings and more toppings aaaaaaahhhhhh stay focused Liz! I decided to go with one of my favorite combos, mint ice cream with oreo cookies. Amazing. Then a few days later I grabbed a cup of the oreo cookie dough ice cream that tasted like the illegitimate brother of my infamous dirt cake dessert :-9

I knew I had to preemptively stop my inevitable addiction to this place, but after two weeks and passing by a sign that said $1 scoops with student (cough Kavan's cough) ID I could resist no longer.  Tonight's indulgence was apple crisp for me, fabulous. The ice cream added an almost cream cheese icing flavor to the fresh apples and crumbley, yet fluffy, cinnamon crisp. Kavan's choice of brownie batter ice cream with miniature peanut butter cups was also a hit!

Plus who doesn't love a place of business with a cow motif? I am going to be eating ice cream all winter long :)

(yes that is turf on the wall)

Yes Virginia, Milkmen really do exist

Who knew? I was browsing down the dairy aisle in Whole Foods when... what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a glass bottle of milk, a sight welcome and dear.

The bottle resembled those old dairy bottles my Granny uses to mix juice from concentrate in. After further examination, I found that the brand, Crescent Ridge Dairy, is a local small dairy that sells its milk to Whole Foods. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Considering I have dairy farmers on both sides of my family, I wanted nothing more than to buy this small batch milk. I instantly forgot all other groceries I needed, headed to the checkout, and practically skipped all of the way home with milk in hand.

After checking out the Crescent Ridge Dairy website, I learned they have home delivery! For $4 each week (or every other week), I can get fresh, local milk, eggs, ice cream, cheese, you name it(!) to my house by my very own MILKMAN!!!  A small price to pay for supporting local farmers, just like my own family back home :) Sign me up!

 

Boston Cream Pie

Boston cream pie, known for being the official dessert of Massachusetts, was my housewarming present to my roommates and myself this week.  I completed a long interview process on Monday, and decided to accompany my unwinding with some baking therapy.  Although the original recipe for Boston cream pie was created at the Parker House Hotel in Boston, I chose to use a quicker and healthier version from allrecipes.com.  I was not disappointed.... :)

I've always been impressed with my friends' pictures for their blog entries dedicated to food (see DebaRooRoo and DC Food Junkie) and was eager to try my own hand at food photography.  The lighting was a bit off because of a burned out light overhead, but I think I got some good shots in nonetheless.  So here it is, the making of a Boston Cream Pie.

1. Make the cake

2. Make the custard

Make the chocolate icing

4. Assemble

Voila! Boston Cream Pie

So how did I do? Lets see the taste test.....

YES! Kavan tested and Kavan approved :)

Make Way for Ducklings

Boston, being such a historic city, has countless landmarks, food, and attractions, and by the time I arrived I had made a mental list of some of the things I wanted to see/do first.  After a week of settling into my little area in Brookline and finally picking up a Charlie card for the T, I decided that Saturday was the day for me to go downtown.  Where was my first stop?  No, not to Paul Revere's House.  No, not to feast on Italian food at the North End.  No, not to disprove any so-called resemblance the current tea party claims they have to the original, at the Boston Tea Party Ship & Museum.  I wanted to see ducks.  I'm not sure if that preference stems from my Granny's oil painting of ducklings which hung in my room as a child or my affinity for daffy duck's humor over bugs bunny's, but that's neither here nor there. 


Of course, the fact that this statue of ducks is in the Boston Public Garden and across the street from the Boston Common did bolster my decision to make it the destination of my first Boston site-seeing experience.  The famous bronze statue was installed in 1987 to commemorate Make Way for Ducklings, a world renown children's book by Robert McCloskey that is set in Boston.  I managed to snag some great pics of it, along with some fellow fans :)

I even got some pictures of the real things, which the park was over run with, and the famous swan boats.

And some great landscapes of the Public Garden and Boston Common....

Wow I still can't believe I live here! :)