Back to the jewelry box on last time for 2009. I’ve photographed this piece before, but it reminds me of a snowflake so I set it out among the millions of other little white pieces of fluff that fell from the sky this morning. I’d say we got about 2″ in about 2 hour’s time.
Archive for December, 2009
snowflakes
December 31, 2009the best of 2009
December 31, 2009
There we many memorable meals of 2009, but here are 10 of my favorites:
- Oleana: Boston, MA
I love Chef Ana Sortun’s amazing middle eastern flavors. I also suggest her bakery Sofra, if you can’t get in to Oleana for dinner. - Tilth: Seattle,WA
We got the red carpet treatment thanks to Em and Pete. I’m sure the food is fantastic, no matter what. I love the laid back atmosphere in this small cozy spot. Gourmet Mag recommends it and so do I! - Le Farm: Westport, CT
I fell for Chef Taibe’s cooking at Relish and I’m so happy that he’s settled into this small spot, with its rustic farmhouse decor. Napa & Co was a bit too much of a scene for me. Who cares about the NYTimes? The dessert cornbread isn’t gimmicky. It’s delicious. - Restaurant L&E: Chester, CT
I never got to eat at the well-known Restaurant du Village, so I didn’t mourn its change-over to L&E. We became fans of the Reid’s after a few meals at their Nantucket restaurant, American Seasons. We didn’t regret the 50 mile drive and can’t wait to return. - Point No Point: Sooke, BC
What a view during the day. And great food to match! I would love to eat dinner here in the summer, when the sun sets late in the day. - Sakagura: New York, NY
Like a quick trip to an izakaya in Tokyo, but via the basement of a midtown office building. We went to sample the small plates of food, but the sake selection is tremendous, if not a bit overwhelming. Don’t worry… the staff couldn’t be more accommodating. - Yoko’s: Portland, OR
What a hidden gem! No frills and no reservations. Just a small spot, with some seriously great sushi that’s tucked away in the middle of a residential neighborhood. - Schoolhouse at Cannondale: Wilton, CT
Love the exquisite food in this one room schoolhouse nestled in the woods of Wilton. We finished with dessert and port on the outdoor patio and it was the perfect end to the evening. Plus: extra points for printing personalized menus for the table (see left image above) after I made our reservation on OpenTable. - The Seafood Barge: Southold, NY
Apparently this restaurant lost its lease, but I hope they get up and running soon, because I was pleasantly surprised by our lunch here last May. I can still taste the lobster knuckle sliders with vanilla bean. Amazing. - Scales and Shells: Newport,RI
No bells and whistles, no credit cards or reservations… Just great seafood. My fish was cooked on a wood grill and it was simple perfection.
Where to in 2010? Still River Cafe in Eastford, CT, Le Bernadin in New York City top my list. I hope to return to Oleana in Boston, Fore Street in Portland, ME and El Meson Taqueria in Austin, TX
Wishing you a year of good eats in 2010!
just another friday night in new haven
December 29, 2009high brow: barcelona wine bar in new haven 
lowbrow: The Anchor on College Street
Wood paneling and blue naugahyde, and johnny cash on the jukebox… The Anchor is timeless.
now departing…
December 28, 2009Warning: nostalgia alert!
This spring, he schedule board at New Haven, CT’s Union Station will be replaced with an LED version as part of a $5 million improvement process. I don’t use this particular train station much, usually only for Amtrak travel… but you only need to wait for one delayed trip before you learn the anxiety that sets in when the board starts clacking and flipping through the various options.
I’m no stranger to this Solari board. There used to be one in the Honolulu airport. I remember it well. I spent my childhood summers in Hawaii. The flight attendants shuttled me kindly as I flew the 5,000 miles between my mother and my father. I was that kid with the ‘unaccompanied minor’ sign around my neck, who got to de-plane before everyone else, even first class. Back in the 80’s, the Hawaii leg of the trip still felt special. You had a different menu from the mainland flights and I even remember printed version! The flight attendants with seniority (who qualified for the good routes) donned tropical-inspired uniforms, worn only to-and-from the islands. And you got little packets of Mauna Loa macadamia nuts and could ask for a can of Hawaiian Sun guava juice. All this, just from sitting in coach on a domestic airline! These days, with airport security risks and airlines struggling to survive, these niceties for your island holiday are long gone, like a distant vacation memory.
Back to that HNL airport sign board, I only looked at it when we would arrive for my red-eye flight back to the mainland. I would clear agriculture (no mangos or lychee for the flight home) and every time that board would start fluttering maddly, I would secretly hope my flight status would be: CANCELED. Not because I didn’t miss my life back home, because who in their right mind would want to leave a tropical paradise to head back to elementary school?
merry christmas
December 25, 2009Remember this room at my aunt and uncle’s house from Thanksgiving? Here it’s transformed by Christmas cheer.
oh christmas tree
December 23, 2009How is it that every single December, at least one strand of Christmas lights does not work? Here is our tree, in the living room. Remember how I said I didn’t want a fat tree? And how we measured the tree in the field? Looking back on my photos, it turns out we had a fat tree to begin with, but we were distracted by the romance of cutting down our very own conifer. AND it also turns out that when you trim a foot from the trunk (check back for more on the snazzy wreath I made with the extra branches) and don’t have a limitless sky overhead, the tree looks even FATTER!
jones family farms
December 21, 2009Island boy Brent (from Hawaii) was back from Boston a few weeks ago. This time to help us pick our Christmas tree! I’ve lived in Connecticut all my life and never cut down a tree, so we set a date for Jones Tree Farm in Shelton. We were surprised to see the hillside still covered with snow (that was a week ago, before the 1′ dump we got this past Saturday night). When you arrive, you grab a hand saw. Then you decide what kind of tree you want. Upon entering the field I said two things: “I want a long needle tree” and “I don’t want a fat tree.” I later came to regret both of those statements.
Here’s our tree, in situ. Oh and look- here’s proof we even measured this tree before we cut it! Didn’t matter. It was still too tall for our living room. Cutting your own tree does have its advantages. Ten or so pine cones were hanging along the inside trunkline of the tree.
We wandered around a bit and you can’t help wondering if one of the stumps you are looking at was your dream tree, but some other family beat you to it. Here Brent is getting easily distracted by the snow. He said it was the fourth time he’d seen it in his life.
We put Brent to work cutting down a tree and hauled it back from the field to the parking lot.
I like how Jones spins the red twine into a perfect spiral around your tree. No plastic netting like a lot of other places.
This was my first time on a tree farm and I noticed and unusual display of oddball hats or other additions… here is a good example, with matching mittens…
Every time we turned around Brent was checking out the snow. I wonder how long it’ll take for the novelty to wear off?
holiday kitchen: sparkling cranberries
December 21, 2009I had a Christmas party a few years ago and my friend Christine brought these cranberries that were madly addicting. Last year, I got the recipe and set out to make them myself. I heated the syrup and cranberries too much and the berries began to pop. I had cranberry sauce. In my holiday exhaustion, I gave up.
Last week, 101Cookbooks.com posted its version of Sparkling Cranberries and I saw a few key factors I liked about the recipe, it involved no cooking of the cranberries and it suggested using different size sugar crystals and I liked the idea of the different textures. In the end, I made my own modifications to the the simple sugar syrup it suggests. I added green cardamom seeds, sliced ginger and a few star anise to the syrup on the stove. You just strain out all the solids before combining the syrup with the cranberries and can follow her recipe for the rest of the details. I used the two different size sugars, a Hain Organic -which is awfully chunky- and a regular granulated sugar. This was just a practice run, I’ll probably make a new batch right on Christmas Eve… hopefully with the proper sized sugar. I don’t usually like anise because it’s such a strong flavor, but I like it here, as it can stand up to the tart pop of the cranberries.
snow day
December 20, 2009Our first big snow storm of the winter. This time around the lovely white stuff was light and fluffy, but there was over a foot of it! On the very top of my least favorite things to do on a Sunday morning? Shoveling the driveway.
Oh and about this polar bear. I live in the suburbs of Connecticut, so I am allowed my one holiday lawn ornament. Mine is on the back porch and no really sees it besides us and two of our neighbors.
the never ending battle with holiday cards
December 18, 2009Every November I say, “this year I am going to start my holiday cards earlier” and then proceed to procrastinate for another month. For 2009, I had to go to with the Hawaii stamp to counteract that nip in the winter air. I can’t imagine seeing anyone on a surf board right now. Brr, it’s freezing cold outside.