It's Maple Syrup Season!

It's that time of year again! As temperatures begin to creep above freezing, the maple tree sap begins to flow. It's maple syrup season in New England! 

My mom was in town this weekend to keep me company while my husband gallivanted around Dublin for St Patrick's Day. We had a great time cooking, bidding in an antique auction, eating as much seafood as we could manage (there's not much fresh seafood in northeast Texas), watching girly movies, exploring Cape Cod, and visiting a sugar shack in New Hampshire: Sammy's Sugar Shack!

March is "Maple Month" in New Hampshire, and as a part of the festivities, many syrup producers open their doors for tours and free samples. We made the drive up to Milford and had a great time at Sammy's. The sugar shack is in a beautifully renovated barn located on their family farm (complete with beef cattle grazing out back).  This is only their second year of operation, and as we toured the cozy facility, their evaporator was running with a fresh batch of sap for the first time this season. Shelves were lined with bottles of syrup, maple cream, maple candies made by Sammy's wife, and maple sugar -- we brought home a little bit of everything!

Another I would recommend is Parker's Maple Barn in Mason, NH.  We toured their sugar shack last year when our friends Jimmy and Laura visited from LA, and we loved it. It's a larger, well-established (yet still rustic) facility with an in-depth guided tour. Their roaring wood-fired evaporator is a sight to behold.

If you want to make a morning of it, they also have a restaurant serving up breakfast (including pancakes and their own maple syrup). Sadly, we had to skip out on breakfast as there was a 2 hour wait by the time we arrived later in the morning.

Last but not least, if you want to make the trek to Vermont, the maple syrup motherland, you might want to pay Mom and Pop's a visit in Rochester.  It's an adorable little family-run operation, and we're big fans of their syrup and their maple cream. About 20 minutes down the road, you can also find beautiful handmade maple wood bowls at The Bowl Mill. In between the two is the cutest little shop called Sandy's Books and Bakery (formerly Seasoned Books), a perfect pit-stop for a freshly-baked pastry with coffee, a sandwich for lunch, or a little book browsing.

There are dozens of producers in the area that we have yet to visit, so let me know if there are others I need to try! Here's to celebrating maple syrup season!

Birthday Weekend

Sunday I turned 28 years old. I think this means I am now firmly in my late twenties, no longer able to say to myself that "27 is still totally your mid-twenties." We spent the weekend celebrating, and knowing how excited I get about my birthday, my husband made it such a special weekend for me!

Friday, we snuck out of work for lunch and cheese shopping in Concord. At Trail's End Cafe, we loved the meyer lemonade and basil limeade, and their roasted portobello mushroom sandwich with olive tapenade, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, and arugula was fantastic.  (Just don't bother with the peach gazpacho)

After lunch we drove over to The Cheese Shop, cheese-lovers heaven with towering stacks of cheese wheels, wine, crackers, and other imported goodies.  The shop owner helped us choose a Sao Miguel cheese from the Azores off the coast of Portugal, a Brillat-Savarin triple-creme from France, and a firm French goat cheese whose rind is rubbed in Jurancon white wine called Tomme de Chevre au Jurancon.

After work we opened a bottle of wine and teamed up in the kitchen to make Grilled Flank Steak Chimichurri Pinwheels (recipe to follow shortly). 

Then to continue the celebration, we curled up on the couch, popped some champagne, and had cheese for dessert using my pretty new Laguiole cheese knives (an early present to go along with the birthday cheese). Such a fun evening! 

Saturday we drove up to New Hampshire to visit Kurt and Nina. We spent a laid back afternoon in the pool, grilling, and eating birthday cake, my husband's famous gooey butter cake (fulfilling a promise he made about 3 years ago to make me one for my birthday. Better late than never!).

That evening, we went to the Southern New Hampshire Brewers Festival hosted by White Birch Brewery in Hooksett, NH. We were happy to be back for the second annual festival! 

White Birch is a relatively new brewery that's seriously doing it right. The highlights of the festival were the White Birch Berliner Weisse, a sour German wheat ale on cask, a cigar tent thanks to 7-20-4 Cigars, and a smoked (whole) pig served up as delicious tacos from Burrito Me.

The next morning was officially my birthday! And when staying in Manchester, NH there is no finer way to start your birthday than with breakfast from the Red Arrow Diner!

I had their famous pork pie, hash browns, and over-easy eggs. And of course diner coffee. I'm not sure why diner coffee always tastes so good, but boy does it.

After breakfast, we bid Kurt and Nina farewell and drove back to Boston. It was finally time to open presents! I felt truly blessed with so many thoughtful gifts. My husband got me a beautiful new Chemex coffee maker and pourover coffee kettle (the Hario V60 Buono) that I can't wait to play with!

After an afternoon taking to family on the phone and watching a Firefly marathon on tv (it was so nice of the Science channel to schedule that in honor of my birthday), we headed into town for a very special dinner at No. 9 Park.

We love No 9. Park, one of Barbara Lynch's fabulous restaurants (we also have her to thank for our once-in-a-lifetime experience at Menton and for Drink, recently voted as the World's Best Cocktail Bar). We started with their most popular (for good reason) appetizer of prune-stuffed gnocchi with seared foie gras. It's rich and decadent and heavenly. Finally, once all the plates were cleared, we couldn't possibly eat another bite. Full and happy, we took a stroll past the State House and through Boston Common on our way back to the car.What a wonderful birthday weekend, made so special thanks to notes from friends, calls from family, and finally, that dear sweet man I'm married to.

Visitors from the Left Coast

As I've mentioned already, we had guests this weekend, all the way from LA.  This was our friends' second trip to Boston but their first since I moved here, so my husband and I were so excited to show them around this great city and New England. It's impossible to squeeze everything we love into one weekend, but we did out best to hit some of our favorites.

Our first official stop on Friday was lunch at Sam LaGrassa's for sandwiches heaped in their delicious Rumanian Pastrami and Vermont cheddar. If heaven were between two pieces of bread, this might be it.

Once we were stuffed full of pastrami, we made our way to Cambridge to visit MIT, where my husband is currently studying. We paused for a drink at their campus bar, The Muddy Charles, before moving a little ways up the Red Line to Harvard Square. At LA Burdick, we got steaming cups of their unbelievably rich single source hot chocolates. As our guests aptly observed, "It's like drinking a melted chocolate bar!"  With our hot chocolate to keep us warm, we wandered over to Hahvahd Yahhd to see their lovely campus and to rub John Harvard's toe, shiny gold from generations of hands seeking good luck!

A little further down the Red Line in Davis Square, we stopped at The Boston Shaker to sample bitters and then poked around Dave's Fresh Pasta. We couldn't decide on just one flavor of their fresh ravioli to bring home, so we went with three: roasted chicken, portobello mushroom, and cheese. Topped with their tomato mascarpone sauce and served with marinated olives and a loaf of their homemade garlic bread, we had quite a spread on our hands.

After dinner, we made our way to the NERAX Cask Beer Festival. Held at the decrepit Somerville American Legion Building, it wasn't the fanciest event, but the wide range of beers (all on cask) and the company made for a fine evening.

It's sugaring season in New England, so Saturday morning we drove up to Mason, NH for a tour of the Parker's Maple Barn Sugar House. We learned all about the syrup-making process, from tapping trees to determining the syrup grade once it comes out of the evaporator, fueled by a giant roaring fire.  They also  serve what is supposed to be an amazing breakfast, but sadly we went without breakfast or maple syrup due to a TWO HOUR wait at the restaurant. Maybe next time!

At this point, we were starving.  My husband came to the rescue, knowing a sandwich spot,  Mill No. 3 Farmstand, that sounded perfect. From the parking lot, it's just a wooden barn of a building with an attached greenhouse -- somewhere you would shop for produce and gardening supplies. But tucked away in the back, is a chalk board menu and a deli counter advertising sandwiches, salads, and soups! Everything is served in the cutest little baskets, so you can carry your meal out to a table in their sunny greenhouse, and it really hit the spot. Next, we toured the ever-growing Wachusett Brewery. Unlike Sam Adams and Harpoon, they're a little outside of the city, but these folks are worth a visit (or two). After our tour of the brewing facility and a few samples, we filled up a growler and headed back to town.

We watched March Madness games at home to rest up a bit until it was time for dinner and cocktails at Eastern Standard.  It's our favorite restaurant in Boston, and we couldn't wait to share it with Jimmy and Laura. The food, the drinks, the atmosphere -- it feels like stepping back in time into an inviting and bustling brasserie.  My favorite drink of the evening was a tart and citrusy Greenfly with Chartreuse and gin. After dinner we moved the party home for some homemade cocktails and a few rounds of Jenga.

Sunday we slept in a bit before bracing ourselves against the cold for a spot in line for Highland Kitchen's brunch.  Finally we snagged a table, where we ordered plenty of coffee, brunch cocktails, and way too much food. The boys got Dirty Birds, biscuits topped with bacon, a fried egg, and fried chicken all smothered in gravy. I got the smoked trout and bacon hash with collard greens, as I usually do. It's a quirky place that brings a touch of the south to New England. Where else can you eat collard greens with a bluegrass band in the corner?

Back at home for the afternoon, we spent a little time enjoying the beautiful (though still cold) day. We scraped snow off the picnic table and sipped on homebrew while the boys smoked cigars.

For their final evening, we headed to the historic, narrow streets of the North End. We strolled through the neighborhood, admired the skyline from the Rose Kennedy Greenway, said hello to the Paul Revere statue in front of The Old North Church, and then stepped into the cozy, slightly cramped dining room at Al Dente. Now, to me, if any place feels like Boston, it's this place. The waiters are local Italians with thick Boston accents. They're helpful and friendly while busting your chops a little bit at the same time. The portions are beyond generous, there's homemade pasta, and I don't think there's a bad choice on the menu.  After dinner, we managed to find a little room for a cannoli from Modern Pastry, because what's a trip to the North End without a cannoli?

Despite the bitter cold and lingering snow, we had a good time catching up and showing them around. Dark and early Monday morning, we bid our friends farewell.  They're back on the warmer west coast, and things are back to normal around here. We've almost survived another work week, and we're finally starting to see signs of Spring. Hopefully everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend!

Highlights

Just a quick update on things up here in the Northeast. Christmas is right around the corner, our shopping is almost done, and I can hardly believe it, but we head home to Texas on Wednesday. I can't wait!

1) Things are pretty frosty around here in the mornings (and in the afternoon too for that matter).

2) Friday night we attended our first Christmas party of the season, a White Elephant gift exchange hosted by fellow Texans Kevin and Andrea. The party was complete with festive decor, twinkly lights, wintry sangria, lots gift stealing (it's all in good fun, right?), and even some lotto ticket scratching (Kevin was $15 richer at the end of the evening).

3) My husband looks adorable in a Santa hat. And yes, I'm rocking a snowman mock turtleneck.

4) We took an airplane adventure on Saturday afternoon, this time to the booming metropolis of Keene, NH.

5) The Keene Airport actually has an Indian restaurant attached to it. This is anything but your usual airport fare.

6) The Lamb Vindaloo was wonderfully spicy, and the garlic naan was loaded with a ridiculous amount of garlic (probably not the best for a first date, but it's pretty great when you've got a guy hooked for the long haul).

7) I'm really enjoying this English Breakfast Tea from our trip to London this past summer

8) I worked from home all day Sunday to prepare for a big meeting coming up this week. That wasn't so fun, but my husband got us Five Guys cheeseburgers for dinner, so that helped.

Apples, Apples Everywhere

Fall in New England means that it's time to go apple picking! This year we drove up to Gould Hill Farm in Contoocook, NH and had the best time. As we drove north out of the Boston area, the greenery lining the highway was dotted with golden and rust leaves ablaze in the early afternoon sun. 

We were meeting fellow Texans, good friends who have recently joined us up here in Yankee territory. We were early (as usual), so we took a slight detour into bustling downtown Contoocook.  The Everday Cafe looked inviting, so we popped in for a mug of hot tea and sat out front enjoying the breezy, gorgeous fall day. A stone's throw down the street was one of New England's covered bridges, spanning the Contoocook River. 

We then headed toward Gould Hill Farm. With the White Mountains in the distance, a weathered barn, and their sprawling slightly overgrown orchards, we had truly escaped into the middle of nowhere in New Hampshire, in the best possible way. Just plenty of other people had escaped there with us. This place was busy!

The doughy smell of apple cider donuts sizzling in the fryer greeted us as we stepped into the Orchard Store. We meandered our way through the families in line for ice cream and fresh donuts, piles of unusual apples available for sample and purchase, and shelves of local honeys, jams, pumpkin butters, and syrup. 

We couldn't resist buying half a dozen donuts. We took our little white paper bag outside, and we each pulled out a piping hot donut, freshly dusted with sugar and cinnamon.  It's best to eat them quickly to avoid burnt fingertips!  So crisp on the outside and light and airy on the inside. Not too sweet. They were perfect. 

We hiked up a hill to the orchard and picked a peck of McIntosh, Macouns, and Cortlands.  After our bags (and our stomachs) were full, we found a spot with a prime mountain vista to plop down with a tupperware full of homemade oatmeal raisin cookies and a Long Trail beer for each of us. Now that we're back in Medford with a counter full of apples, it's time to get cooking!

Family, Football, and Flying

Our weekend began with visitors from Texas.  The house was clean and well stocked with wine, whiskey, and baked goods (including these tasty Bacon Cheddar Scones) to welcome my in-laws from Austin to Boston. After they headed back home, we wrapped up the weekend with a flight to Sanford, Maine for breakfast, saying goodbye to my car which died this past week, and by starting a batch of homebrewed beer.

Highlights of the weekend:

Wood-fired pizzas at Posto in Davis Square

Drinks and desserts at Saloon, also in Davis Square. My favorite drink of the evening was hands down the Pimm's Up.

Sampling a long flight of beers at Portsmouth Brewery in Porstmouth, NH.  I really enjoyed their Cream Ale, their Oatmeal Stout, and their Saison, which was on cask.  Also, Portsmouth Brewery's gigantic pastrami sandwich, stuffed with house-cured pastrami, a ridiculous amount of sauerkraut  and melty swiss cheese on marbled rye.

Touring New England's branch of the Red Hook brewery. More beer samples? Twist my arm.

College football and the Longhorns victory over Ole Miss. Hook 'em!

Watching the sun rise over the ocean as we took off for our flight up to Sanford. Even better than your husband taking you on a flight somewhere? Chicken fried steak and eggs for breakfast!

Starting a batch of Pecan Porter homebrew with my husband. We spent a perfect fall afternoon out in our backyard sipping Slumbrew's Porter Square Porter while the brew kettle simmered.

I always have trouble with the transition from summer to fall, as it means both saying goodbye to my favorite season and knowing that the dreaded New England winter is right around the corner. Days like today seem to make that transition a lot easier. Soaking up the afternoon sun while a crisp fall breeze makes the leaves, edges tinged in yellow, start to dance can't be all bad.