Welsh Rarebit

I made Welsh Rarebit last night. It was really cold outside, snowing a lot, very dark, and this bizarre craving for Welsh Rarebit came over me.

The last time I had Welsh Rarebit I was a little kid, my mom made it for me and my little sister. I loved it back then, it was really good and hot and cheesy and poured over crispy cubes of warm toast, yum.

I used Alton Brown's recipe which called for a half cup of Porter beer, and that really elevated the flavor. Mom never put beer in her Welsh Rarebit.

The Welsh Rarebit was delicious and really hit the spot, a stick-to-your-ribs, perfect winter's night meal. Damn it was good, and best of all was it was everything I remembered about it, except it wasn't mom who made it.

Sally is cooking

Making chicken stock

The beginning of a lovely, basic chicken stock.

Orange juice good

Tasty

Chilled Living Jewel Saki with cherry slices, moistening the flour on the kitchen counter.

Homemade Focaccia with cherry tomato slices, rosemary, oregano and basil, all from the garden.

Number 2 with cherry tomoatoes, artichoke slices and pesto from my fall batch.

The Green Room

We discovered The Green Room in Burlington, VT. A really great find, off the beaten track with an eclectic menu, excellent food and service, good drinks. Hey, they even had my favorite gin - Hendrick's, and the local draft beers were good too. We were able to sit outside on an absolutely perfect evening and had a great and delicious time.
Here's a view of the cheese sampler, and cured meats dish -

My Cherry Tomatoes look beautiful

Phila Fusion

Dinner at Phila Fusion. 1st - dinner was excellent, just what I would expect from the Sushi Thai group. 2nd - I was disappointed there wasn't more Vietnamese dishes on the menu. The menu is a good mix of Japanese and Thai, and a lot of Korean, and I way-prefer Vietnamese over Korean. Lucky Cat was waving to me the whole meal.

Wifey and I shared a Kimchi salad, I had fish in a Thai ginger, lemon grass sauce, really delicious. A Sapporo beer and the milky stuff is an unfiltered Saki, served cold. The selection of Saki is pretty good, better than any other place in town. The Saki I had is described as a creamy Saki, quite nice, sweeter than I normally like. When I go back I think I'll try other Sakis, maybe a Sakitini of some sort. The Lychee Sakitini sounds good.

Super Lucky Cat. We're pals.

Chocolate ice cream and little kids

By the time she was done, the ice cream was all over her face, hands, shirt, jeans and sneakers. Oh well...kids.

Cupcakes!

Yum! We're having cupcakes, from Betties Cakes, a cupcakery cafe. Yummy-tasty-sweetness-n-stuff.

Pesto

Since the temperature outdoors has been so brutally cold, too cold for delicate-me to venture out and take pictures, here's a collage of my pesto making day last September.

As soon as August is over it's a great time to hit the Farmers Market and pick up big bunches of Basil for a mere $2 per bunch.

That evenings pasta dinner was delicious. I filled several large containers full, plus filling 2 ice-cube trays with pesto. I've since popped cubes of pesto out when making various stews and fish dishes.

Black Trumpet

Good food and fancy-schmansy drinks at the Black Trumpet in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The place looks empty because we were having a late dinner, we were practically the last people there. I love the really old basement style dining room, I had to take a picture of the old brick wall and thick wood beams.

D'Andrea Pizza

Bella is learning to cook

On Wednesdays I've been visiting Daniel and Bella, and having lunch with them instead of eating it at my desk. Today, Daniel, the best daddy ever, was teaching Bella how to make Peanut Butter Cookies.

Careful with the flour, not too much.


Bella uses the Cuisinart.


The dough is about ready, she says.


Hmmmm, that tastes pretty good.


Rolling the dough into balls.


See?


And making the cookies in to cookie shapes.


Now, unfortunately my lunch was over and I had to walk back to work, so I didn't get to see the finished product, NOR taste them! I hope to give you an update. Soon. Did I mention Peanut Butter Cookies are my favorite?

Oh yeah!

The grill is hot and the martini is ice-cold.

Tea, Beer, Samosa and Hummus

Chris, wifey and I at the Tea House in Boulder, so I'm having a beer...


because beer goes best with the hummus and samosa dishes. Notice the mango chutney and raita on the samosa dish - deelish. The olives, onions and hummus on the pita wedges were devilishly-deelish too.

Juanita's

Just starting lunch at Juanita's in Boulder, CO. So far, my favorite place to eat when in Boulder. Simple, no-frills and good food, my kind of place.

Chips

Playing with my new iPhone at Ravenous the other night, and totally digging the camera. Yum, French fries, horseradish dipping sauce and a nice Shiraz. Sooo Good.