Pickin' Pumpkins

Fall is here...my favorite season! There are so many good things in season to cook and so many wonderful, warm, homey things to eat...and what is fall without a trip to the pumpkin patch to stock up on everything you need for homemade pies and other Halloweeny/Thanksgiving treats. That's why I love New England...it's nice and chilly and the leaves are oh so beautiful. This year was even better because we had our sweetie with us. :)

So on Saturday we headed out to Blue Jay Orchards in Bethel. They have an adorable gourmet store with some great canned veggies, butters, all sorts of baked goods and mixes, along with incredible apples, holiday decor and more.  I bought some spicy canned green beans and some canned beets (I can never pass those up!) and K opted for the apple butter and some local honey.  You just can't get any better than that.  Then we took advantage of their photo opportunities since it's Sweetie's first Halloween (she was bundled up and wearing her costume...she's going as a pumpkin this year, of course!) and then we took the tractor trailer back to the pumpkin patch to pick out one big pumpkin, one medium pumpkin, and one tiny pumpkin.  Okay, okay...predictable, but cute.  :)  The only disappointing thing was they didn't have hot apple cider, but at least they had cider donuts.

One of the highlights of the trip was visiting the Cap'n JACS hot dog stand...it sounds pretty mundane (after all, it's hot dogs, right?) but they were very yummy and I was excited by the multiple toppings available (definitely try the orchard salsa!) plus the story behind the business is really great.  The stand was started by a couple (the daughter and son-in-law of the orchacrd's owner) and named after their four kids (J.A.C.S.), the oldest of which is in the Navy (which is where the "Cap'n" comes from).  They opened the stand to teach their kids about running a business, and I was just really impressed so I thought I'd mention them.  Be sure to go there on the weekend so you can grab a hot dog.  

So hope you're having a nice fall and getting ready for all the yummy things that go along with the season....yum...turkey!!!  Until tomorrow, have a hot glass of apple cider and a great three meals!

Ulysses Oyster Festival in NYC

Oh, YUM!

So every once in a while, K has a few tricks up his sleeve. He's gotten especially creative since Sweetie was born because free time is precious. Luckily we live within driving distance of New York City so fun events are very close. Two weeks ago he told me to get in the car...he had a surprise destination in mind. So I packed up the baby and the chihuahua and was ready to go...I LOVE surprises! (Okay, truthfully I didn't get ready until I had asked if there would be food there...K answered "Do you think I don't know you?!?") We ended up in the financial district at an outdoor Oyster Festival, hosted by Ulysses Folk House...it was AMAZING. Ulysses Oyster Fest The oyster season just started and they were carting huge bags of fresh oysters to the shucking stations. $6 for a draught beer (Guinness, Smithwicks or Harp) and $10 for half a dozen oysters and they were amazingly delicious. (It took me back to my trip to Australia with K in 2007...we had oysters at Blu Bar on 36 at the Shangri-La hotel. The view of Sydney was beautiful but the oysters in NYC were better!!!) So back to the festival---there were at least a half a dozen more restaurants from the immediate area with booths and some delicious food. I sprung for the Lobster Bisque and some handmade pizza rolls. Not the cheapest, but totally worth it.

So I hate to torture you by telling you about an amazing event that's already past, but hey, oysters are available during all months with an "R" in the name (yep, that's right, just don't expect good ones from May through August) so head on out to your favorite Raw Bar and partake! Two of my favorite spots in the area are Dish Bar and Grill in downtown Hartford and Max Oyster Bar in West Hartford. I've never had anything at Dish that I didn't like...the ambience and service are just as good. If you get the opportunity to go, definitely take it. And of course the Max Group name speaks for itself--try the Oysters Rockefeller at Max Oyster. If you have a favorite spot, let me know what it is! I'd love to check it out. So until tomorrow, have a great three meals...and maybe some oysters!

McDonald's?!?!?!

Yes, I said it. McDonald's. Now that's a pretty bad word for some foodies, but I have to admit that there is a place in my diet for McDonald's--every once in a while! BUT, that's only when that's what I really want and I will really enjoy it, not when I have to eat it due to time, and certainly not because it's "cheap". (Because it's not!!!) Oh, and I don't look at the calorie counts when I'm eating at McDonald's. Let's ge real people...if I'm eating fast food I better not be worried about calories. So the last time I ate at McDonald's was a couple weeks ago, and I made the mistake of ordering the new Angus Third Pounder. Even after I wiped off the pound of mayo they had put on there, it was still pretty bad. It makes me mad when I waste a meal at a fast food restaurant by eating something I don't enjoy. Which also applies to a meal I had at a local Chinese restaurant, Beijing, while my sister-in-law was visiting last month. We ordered in because I didn't feel like cooking after a long day at work (yes, it happens even to me), and it was horribly disappointing. It's not even worth going into all the stuff that was bad about the meal, but here's the website just so you know where NOT to order from...http://www.blogger.com/www.beijingdanbury.com. I should have known...plus I'm terribly spoiled after going to some amazing, authentic Chinese restaurants with our friends Steve and Candace. There's little that beats well-prepared, authentic Chinese food. Which makes me think about my favorite Chinese cookbook that I ran across at a book store in Columbus, OH, titled "Helen Chen's Chinese Home Cooking". She's the daughter of Joyce Chen, and she shares family secrets with step by step instructions and some delicious but easy recipes. It's my go-to book anytime I cook Chinese. Check it out on Amazon.com.

So back to fast food, there's a whole lot of controversy surrounding it these days, and for good reason. K and I saw the documentary "Food, Inc." with my sister and brother-in-law, and I highly recommend it for everyone who eats food. (Yeah, that's you.) "You'll never look at dinner the same way." Sadly, the techniques required to meet the demands of huge restaurant chains like McDonald's and food producers like Tyson are wreaking havoc on our nation's farmers as well as the sources of our food...i.e., chicken and cows. I am a strong believer that all consumers, but cooks and chefs especially, should really understand where our food comes from and how it gets to our plate. Sometimes it ain't pretty, which this documentary points out. Watch the movie and let me know what you think!
Okay, gotta go make dinner. Until tomorrow, have a great three meals!

Discoveries

I love discovering new restaurants, especially when and where you least expect it. K and I decided to have drinks yesterday in West Hartford. Tons of great restaurants, but I was actually thinking to myself "same old same old...where do I want to go?" There are plenty of great places for drinks but "drinks" to me obviously means "drinks and apps" so I wanted a place that had a great app menu or small plates. This is my favorite type of meal...my mom used to call it "snacky dinner". Haha. So I parked in the parking lot off Farmington and LaSalle (which is surprisingly affordable) and discovered there's a Barcelona Restaurant and Wine Bar back there! (There are 6 locations...check them out at http://www.barcelonawinebar.com/) You can't see it from the street and there are no signs. I was thrilled...I love Spanish food (wait...I love all food...), probably because of good memories I have from a trip to Spain in high school.

So we walked into Barcelona around 4pm and they have a great "in-between" menu until they start serving dinner at 5pm. Perfect! (Although I know it's great for the staff to close between lunch and dinner, I love restaurants that are so accomodating.) On this beautiful day we took a seat outside (where else? Plus Sweetie was there and she loves being outside.)

We ordered albondigas (Spanish meatballs), manchego (famous sheep's cheese from La Mancha), and some bread, plus a beer for K and a Mojito for me. They have a great wine list, but I hadn't had a cocktail in so long I had to go for it. The meatballs were great...nice blend of herbs and beef in an uncomplicated tomato sauce and I really enjoyed the manchego which was served with membrillo (a sweet paste made from quince). Our server told us the bread was just out of the oven...it certainly was warm but I was not impressed. It had no independent flavor and the crust was too dense. In fact the whole thing was too dense...not impressed with the bread. And my mojito was great, other than that the limes were clearly a bit past their prime and they were brown. I'm sure it didn't affect the taste at all but the aesthetics were damaged...not to mention it was served in a tiny water glass. For $9 I expected to be a little more impressed with the cocktail. Something tells me the bartender was being a bit lazy.

For K's sweet tooth, I suggested the churros y chocolate. (He doesn't like flan!) We really enjoyed that...very traditional and great presentation. The churros were stacked in a square silver cup with an espresso cup holding the chocolate. I decided to take advantage of the great wine list so I ordered a glass of Juvé y Camps, Pinot Noir Rosé cava (Spanish sparkling wine) from Penedès, Spain. It was quite enjoyable. The rest of the wine list included, of course, a bunch of Spanish wines, as well as a few selections from the States and France, as well as some choices from Argentina, Uruguay, and even Australia. One of the things I really like was that there's a little tutorial in the front of the menu to teach you about the wine regions of Spain. I'm always ready for a wine lesson!

So all in all we spent over $50 (not including tip) but the service was really great and friendly. Our server was Anna, and she had some help from one of her coworkers but we didn't get his name. By the time we left around 5:15pm, the place was really filling up so I could tell it's quite popular despite its hidden location. Next time you're in West Hartford trying to decide between the many places to eat, definitely stop by Barcelona behind Mimi Maternity and The Toy Chest. You won't regret it!

Until tomorrow...have a great three meals!

Ah....Coffee....

Today, as in most days, I woke up thinking about coffee.  Actually, I think I went to sleep thinking about coffee.  Of course my mind is always on K and Sweetie, but coffee is one of my little daily rituals that I look forward to no matter what's going on.

It all started when I was a summertime exchange student in Costa Rica in 10th Grade...I'm pretty sure I had never even tried coffee before then, and if I had I know my father always bought Folgers............not coffee in my opinion........so to arrive in Costa Rica and be served cafe con leche on a daily basis was totally eye-opening.  I remember buying huge bags to send back as gifts and really never having that same experience with any cafe au lait bought in an American coffee shop.

And so an addiction began...continued while I was at West Point (okay, the coffee in the mess hall was NOT good, but I still look back on it with fondness!!!) and the addiction turned into true passion during a family trip to Provence, France.  Previously I had only ever had coffee in the morning but I fell in love with the French practice of multiple espressos daily, especially because I got to share the experience with K.  Since I was not an espresso drinker before France, I had never tasted anything like it.  My passion went even farther during my second deployment to Iraq.  I brought my own electric French Press (I found this Chef's Choice one at Target.com for $89.99--I highly recommend it as it held up for 15 months in the desert!) and had Gevalia delivered monthly (http://www.gevalia.com/).  I may have been living sparsely but I believe in creature comforts!!!

Now that I'm back home, the options for coffee are endless...I still love Starbucks (even though there are a bunch of haters...they're NOT anti-military!) and Dunkin' Donuts, of course (which was my choice this morning) but for home K and I have decided to go with the Tassimo machine.  (http://www.tassimo.com/)  Try it out...it's better than the other pod coffee machines because they actually have milk pods to make delicious cappucinos, lattes, and super creamy hot chocolates, along with all sorts of types of regular coffee, espressos, and teas.  Don't pay more than $130...that's the price we paid at Lowe's and Costco even has it for that price with a bunch of free pods.  They haven't started selling the pods separately yet so let's hope that comes next!

Okay, okay, but who doesn't like to support local, small businesses and who doesn't love a cozy coffee house down the street that doesn't feel so commercial....and what type of "observer" would I be if I didn't give you a suggestion of where to go for some great coffee!?!?!  My choice in the area would be JoJo's Coffee on Pratt St. in downtown Hartford.  (http://cafejojo.com/)  Bottom line, don't go if you're in a hurry, but the coffee's great and they're extremely friendly.  (Tell Bill, Cathy and Dalia I say hi!)  They roast their own beans on site AND they're equally passionate about tea if that's your thing...I was quite grateful for that while I was pregnant as I was shying away from caffeine and they have lots of great decaffeinated tea.  There's also a location in New Haven on Chapel Street.

Alright, that's enough on coffee for now...until tomorrow, have a great three meals (and a couple great cups of joe!)