Rainy Days and Mondays

It was a cool, drizzly weekend here in Boston, but we made the best of it!

Friday night, I made Butternut Squash and Apple Soup (adapted from the Pumpkin Apple Soup in How To Cook Everything) while my husband bottled his latest homebrew, a Pecan Porter.  I gingerly stepped over brewing equipment as I moved between my cutting board and the stove, but even when we're in each other's way, I love being in the kitchen together. I was as happy as a little clam. 

Saturday, we had friends arrive at our home who will be staying with us this week. That night, we had chips with queso and my roasted tomatillo salsa (I'll share this recipe in the near future) and homemade Carne Guisada before watching UT eek out a win over Oklahoma State.

Sunday, our friends took us to brunch at Temple Bar in Cambridge. We were seated in a cozy booth and brought a plate of the cutest little coffee cake squares and chocolate chip peanut butter muffins before ordering.  I couldn't pass up a mimosa and the Cowboy Omelette, stuffed with chorizo, roasted peppers, and onions. It was a bit onion heavy but still very good. My husband really picked the winner --a "Man-mosa" (Allagash White + OJ) and the Cinnamon Mascarpone-Stuffed French Toast with a Banana Rum Caramel Sauce. Yeah. I know. It was ridiculous. You should probably go check this place out.

That afternoon, I explored picturesque Winchester Center. My first stop was BookEnds, a little bookstore I had driven by a million times, always thinking "Man, I really need to go in there sometime."  I poked around for a while, in heaven surrounded by so many books. I managed to come home with only two: The Night Circus and The Little Women Letters.

We wrapped things up with a little dinner party on Sunday night. Seven of us crowded around a table meant for six and dug into plates of cheese ravioli with lemon parmesan cream sauce and garlic bread (from Dave's Fresh Pasta) along with wine and the best pear, pecan, cranberry, bacon, and feta chopped salad, made by my friend Mailee.  We adjourned to the living room, women with their wine and the men with glasses of scotch (how cliche, right?), and spent the rest of the evening watching some Sunday Night Football.