My 10 Favorite Things in June

June has been a month of big changes for us. We have uprooted our life, moved it 2,000 miles across the country, and here we are back in Texas without our car, without our worldly belongings, and without a home. But hey, other than that, it's life as usual!

 

So the month was filled with goodbyes to friends and favorite restaurants in Boston, a stressful house hunting trip, preparing our home for movers (we threw away and donated a lot), packing up and shipping our belongings and car, and finally settling in and starting new jobs. Phew. It makes me tired just thinking about it all. In the midst of all of this, thankfully there has still been time for a little bit of fun. So here goes:

1) Pennypacker's Porchetta Sandwich

It may look like "just a sandwich." but I think this is as close to life changing as a sandwich can get. I'm still kicking myself for discovering it only a few weeks before we moved.

2) Chicken Fried Steak as big as your head

On our house hunting trip, we discovered the massive (and massively delicious) Chicken Fried Steaks at The Pantry in downtown McKinney.

3) Orange Pimm's Cup

Back in Boston, we stirred up some Orange Pimm's Cups, a refreshing summer drink if I've ever had one. 

4) Burlington, VT with Crystal and Troy

We love hanging out with these two. We love it even more when we're in an adorable little college town nestled up against Lake Champlain in the beautiful Vermont countryside. 

 5) Night Shift's new brewery and their Harborside Gose

Night Shift's new digs are super cool and much roomier than the original. Still in Everett, they continue to make some wonderfully weird brews, like this ridiculously delicious Harborside Gose brewed with Wellfleet oysters.

 6a) Farewell to Lobster Rolls at The Barking Crab

The Barking Crab may feel a tad touristy, but it offers one of my favorite views of the Boston waterfront while sitting out on their patio. It's hard to beat one of their lobster rolls, a cold glass of Barking Crab White Ale brewed for them by Harpoon, and some summer sunshine.

6b) Farewell to Kevin and Andrea at The Barking Crab

Kevin and Andrea kept us good company while enjoying some of our last New England seafood. We've loved hanging out in Boston with these fellow Texans!

 7) Strawberry and Honey-Preserved Plum Crisp

Featuring strawberries that we picked with my family last spring, white plums I preserved in honey syrup last summer, and some chopped Texas pecans from my mother-in-law, this crisp was the last thing I baked in our kitchen. Not a bad way to say goodbye to a kitchen filled with many years of good memories.

8) Spoke's Asparagus Carbonara

Yet another farewell dinner around town (there were lots of farewells this month). Spoke, to me, is the perfect wine bar. I wish I could convince them to move to McKinney with us! Alas, we paid them one last visit, and while the food, cocktails, and wine were stellar as always, we were particularly blown away by this asparagus carbonara of shredded asparagus, bacon lardons, an oozy soft cooked egg, and grated parmesan!

 9) Our first margarita back in Texas

Not two hours after stepping foot off the plane and onto Texas soil, we found ourselves at Rio Bravo Tex-Mex Cuisine with a very large margarita and a plate-full of enchiladas. It was not a bad way to begin adjusting to life back in Texas!

 10) Concerts in the Park

I love any type of concert in the park whether it be Shakespeare, community bands, local singers, you name it. We were lucky enough to catch McKinney's last Jammin' in June concert, and we had the best time. It was a perfect evening for it, warm and sunny with a great breeze, the scenery was lovely, and the music was entertaining.

 

Pennypacker's And Their Porchetta

Months ago, I read about a new restaurant in Somerville's Magoun Square, right down the road from us. It's not the trendiest neighborhood, so it's a little unusual to hear about a new, cool restaurant opening in the area, and I'm really sorry that we dragged our feet before finally paying Pennypacker's a visit.

Pennypacker's, a little sandwich, soup, and salad shop, originated as a food truck and has now expanded into a brick and mortar restaurant. They are most famous for their porchetta, which as shown below is slow-roasted skin-on, cured, and marinated pork belly wrapped around pork shoulder. So while everything on their small, rotating menu sounded tempting, we had to go with the porchetta sandwich along with the Himalayan Red Rice Salad.

The salad was mixed to order, and it was outstanding. I loved the bright lemon vinaigrette tossed with the rice, herbs, peppery arugula, and crisp cucumber and red onion. But the sandwich is what really stole the show. It's rather unassuming on the plate and so simple: crusty bread around a thick slab of porchetta and a good drizzle of salsa verde. The pork is so tender and flavorful, and every now and then you bite into a perfectly crisp piece of pork rind that just puts it over the top.

If you're in the area, I highly recommend that you pay them a visit! I'm already trying to figure out when I can go back!

An Old Friend Comes To Town

When I was little, my mom used to sing me a song. It went, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold." It's so cheesy, but it's true! While it's wonderful to make new friends, there's something special about those who have known you your whole life. One of those for me is Philip. He lives in Manhattan these days and took the bus up to Boston last weekend. We had a blast catching up! Our adventures began in Salem on Saturday morning. 

What we did:
The Witch House - The only house left standing with a direct tie to the witch trials. Built in the 1600s, it was the home of a judge who condemned the witches. It's an interesting (and quick) self-guided tour.
The Burying Point - This old cemetery would be creeeepy after dark. Lots of historical graves, including a Mayflower pilgrim who died in the 1690s and relatives of Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie - Said to be the country's oldest candy company and home of the Gibraltar, a hard candy with two flavors: lemon and peppermint. They also boast an impressive array of chocolates (I loved the dark chocolate-covered dried apricots).
The House of the Seven Gables - As a book worm, I couldn't pass up a chance to see the home perched on the Salem waterfront that inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables

Places I want to go next time: Peabody-Essex Museum, Derby Square Books with its towering piles of books (sadly, it was closed the day we visited)

After wandering around Salem without spotting a single witch, we drove up the North Shore for fried clams at Woodman's. I'm so glad they're open year-round, because even in the colder months, I still need fried clams, clamcakes, and clam chowder!

Saturday evening began with drinks at Backbar, one of the last bastions for craft cocktails around town that we had yet to try. Located down an alley, through a subtly marked door, and down a hallway, you're served delicious cocktails and some fantastic spicy-sweet popcorn. My favorite drink of the evening was a rum hot toddy that my husband ordered -- it arrived in a dainty china teacup! We'll definitely go back to this place (and next time we'll be coming for one of their steaming bowls of ramen).

Our dinner that night was the highlight of the weekend: tapas at Casa B! Seated in their cozy downstairs dining area, we shared the chef's tasting menu. A steady stream of tantalizing small plates were brought to the table throughout the evening. Bacon-wrapped yucca-stuffed shrimp, ceviche, serrano ham piled high on potato slices, yucca gnocchi with tender pot roast, sauteed mushrooms, crisp roasted brussels sprouts, wedges of butternut squash, the plates kept coming. Each one was a surprise, and not a single plate disappointed. And I haven't even mentioned the sangria yet! Please do not pass up a chance to order a pitcher of their sangria!

Sunday morning we trudged through the rain for brunch at Coppa in the South End. Once we were out of the rain and I had an Aperol Spritz in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other, I was a much happier girl. I was even happier piling spoonfuls of scrambled eggs with peekytoe crab on buttered toast. And they totally had rutabaga home fries -- who has ever heard of that? Such a good idea!

Our last outing was a tour of the Taza Chocolate factory, where they make "bean-to-bar" Oaxacan-style stone ground chocolate. We donned hair nets (and beard nets for poor Philip) and set out to learn how they work their magic!

Taza uses stones called molinos to grind cocoa nibs (roasted and shelled in house) with sugar, turning it into a beautiful chocolate paste that can be poured into molds or mixed with numerous flavors such as cinnamon, almond, orange, roasted chiles, etc before it's molded and wrapped. It's not as smooth as traditional European chocolate, but it's every bit as delicious. And what a treat to see how it's made (and to taste samples at every turn)!

What a fun weekend reuniting with Philip a very long way from our little hometown in East Texas! Thanks for coming to visit!

My 10 Favorite Things in January

How's your 2014 going so far? As the first month of the New Year is drawing to a close, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the things I've enjoyed most this month. It's been brutally cold and snowy, and work has been crazy busy, but there have still been plenty of bright moments to be thankful for!

1) Night Shift Brewing Cape Codder Weisse Release Party

We love Night Shift, a local microbrewery in Everett. They recently released a new version of their Berliner Weisse -- Cape Codder Weisse, aged with local cranberries and orange. It's really pink and really good.

2) Homemade Breakfast Sandwiches
Because most weekend mornings are too cold to venture out anywhere for breakfast, we've been making our own a little more often these days. My favorite were these breakfast sandwiches -- bacon, fried egg, and grated cheddar piled onto homemade biscuits and then warmed in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Why had we not thought of this before?

3) Medford Winter Farmer's Market
I love the Medford Winter Farmer's Market. It's little, and it's in a hotel parking garage, but it's so nice to have the opportunity to go buy local produce and wares even in the frigid winter months. Especially when those local wares include hand-filled cannoli from Joni's Cannolis! Jonie even lets you sample the different fillings. (My favorite is the plain filling dipped in pistachios)

4) Belly Wine Bar
On a recent date night we tried Belly, a fairly new wine bar in Kendall Square. We got a cozy table in the corner and snacked on fried chickpeas and a beautiful cheese plate while sipping our wine. My favorite wine bar is still Spoke, but this place is great too!

5) A4 Pizza
Another fun date night with this handsome man of mine and yet another super cool spot in Union Square! Pizza, craft beer, and the best garlic knots I've ever had (though the ones at C and O in Marina del Rey still have a very special place in my heart).

6) Beef, Barley, Sweet Potato Stew
My favorite recipe creation of the month was this hearty, comforting beef stew. I've been craving soups and stews like nobody's business given how cold it's been around here.

7) Pretty Snow
I may not like the cold, but I do love snuggling up on the couch where it's warm and dry and watching the snow fall outside. It's lovely and so peaceful.

8) Snowy Day Nachos
My husband made us a batch of nachos a couple weeks ago that changed my world. He spread bean dip on the chips before topping them with the standard cheese and jalapenos! I know this is old hat to a lot of people, but somehow I had never tried this before. And I love it!

9) Using our new Serving Tray
In the winter, we try to tackle a few projects around the house (one of our tricks for battling stir craziness). In December, we made this serving tray, and it's been so fun putting it to use this month!

10) Candied Pecans
The best part about my husband no longer being a grad student is that he has time to play around in the kitchen again, thus this batch of cinnamon and sugar coated pecans (using fresh Texas pecans). I love it when he cooks!

Bronwyn

Last  Friday afternoon, when my husband and I were leaving work we made a spontaneous decision to go out for a dinner date. Pretty crazy for people who like to plan their calendar at least two weeks in advance! So we set our course for Somerville's Union Square to finally try the much-talked-about German fare from Bronwyn. It's owned by chef Tim Wiechmann's who we're already a big fan of thanks to his first restaurant, T.W. Food. 

Outside a cold wind was blowing, but inside their heavy wooden front door it was warm and cozy. We were seated in their dining room at a table with fantastic throne-like chairs. We'll wait for a warmer day to enjoy their outdoor biergarten!

(Photo from Boston Eater, by Chris Coe)

We started with the Giant Haus Bretzel and mugs of German beer. The pretzel is appropriately named as it's quite giant (and quite delicious). It's served with sharp and pungent horseradish mustard -- probably great for horseradish lovers but a bit too much for me. 

For the main course, I got the jagerschnitzel and my husband got the sauerbraten. The schnitzel was two perfectly fried pork cutlets, crispy and buttery, topped with a celery root cream sauce, walnuts, and chanterelle mushrooms. It was fantastic, but the sauerbraten really stole the show. It's brisket braised in a vinegar sauce until it's fall apart tender, perfect for a cold evening!

It was a great date night and a great way to kick-off the three day weekend. I'm already looking forward to returning to try more German beers, their homemade wurst, and pretty much everything else on the menu.

Restaurant Week: T.W. Food & Bergamot

For the last two weeks, restaurants have been participating in Boston Restaurant Week. We like to visit a couple new spots whenever the occasion rolls around, and if I do say so myself, we picked two winners this time. Our first stop was at T.W. Food, almost hidden in a nondescript neighborhood in Cambridge, about a mile from Porter Square. It's not the most glamorous location, and it's hardly accessible without a car, but if you manage to find it, I think you're sure to enjoy it.

We were seated at a cozy table in the corner, and I started out with the rich "creme brulee" foie gras served with toasted buttery bread, a tart cherry compote, and fresh local plums. For the main course, my husband's seared flat-iron steak was just as delicious as my swordfish in an asian-inspired broth.  Why can't I cook swordfish this perfectly at home? We opted for wine pairings with the first two courses, and the selections (mostly French) paired beautifully with our dinner. When dessert rolled around, I'm so glad that I opted for the cheese plate. My favorites were both from Vermont: Twig Farm Butterwick and Mt Mansfield Inspiration. 

Also off the beaten path (read: not on the T), we enjoyed another fantastic dinner at Bergamot in Somerville.  Light from the early evening sun flooded into the dining room from their tall windows as we were taken to our table. The staff was friendly and helpful, recommending fantastic (and adventurous) beer and wine pairings for our meal. (My other favorite thing about Bergamot? They have a parking lot! That is just unheard of around here!)

After warm, freshly baked bread smeared with a basil parmesan compound butter, I started with the duck confit salad. Tender duck with its perfectly crisped skin was tossed with romaine, radishes, braised celery, wheat berries, and a light vinaigrette.  Things only got better for the main course. My husband really enjoyed his bluefish, but I think my pasta was the star of the show: a house-made tagliatelle with zucchini, chanterelle mushrooms, mozzarella, and tomato fondue topped with a fried squash blossom. It managed to be light and summery yet hearty and comforting at the same time.

Both meals were wonderful, memorable experiences, and I can't wait to pay another visit to both T.W. Food and Bergamot. These may not be the flashiest restaurants in the hippest Boston neighborhoods, but they are well worth a trip off the beaten track. They're truly hidden gems! 

Spoke Wine Bar

Friday night, we had tickets to see Harry Connick, Jr at Symphony Hall, and beforehand, we stopped into Spoke Wine Bar for dinner. Spoke opened recently in Davis Square, and we're a little in love with it. Like, I think I would move in with them if I could. This was our second visit, and we were just as impressed as we were on our first visit a few months ago.

It's a little hole in the wall spot, sunny and welcoming on a summer afternoon. There are no reservations, so we arrived early (around 5:30) to avoid a wait. Behind the bar, large chalkboards advertise wines available by the glass and a small but well-curated list of craft beers and cocktails. The back wall is lined with a mirror where the days specials are scrawled.

We were seated immediately and started with one of their cocktails, a traditional daiquiri made with rum, lime juice, and sugar, which really hit the spot while we browsed the food and wine menu.

Most menu items are smaller portions, so we like to pick a few things to share. To start out, we opted for one of their spreads, the delicious chickpea herb, served along with buttery, spongy flatbread sprinkled generously with a seed and nut blend.

Following our spread, we ordered the charcuterie plate. It arrived with three cured meats lined up on a wooden plank along with buttered toast, a spicy whole-grain mustard, and house-made pickled vegetables. On our last visit, the cheese plate was equally wonderful.

After the charcuterie plate, my husband got pasta and lamb ragout while I enjoyed the rabbit porchetta, both really great. We tried a couple wines with dinner; my favorite was a glass of rose (Ameztoi Txakolina Rose from Spain). It seemed fitting for the first day of summer!

After dinner, we somehow made room for a little desert before making our way to Symphony Hall (where the usher totally ripped my tickets in half instead of neatly along the perforation). We were younger than most of the audience by a good twenty years (that seems to happen to us a lot), but we were so excited to see Harry again. He's so darn talented and puts on an absolutely fantastic show. We had the best time! Now that grad school is behind us, I think I could get used to these date nights again!

Memorial Day Weekend

I hope everyone had a fun and sunshine-filled Memorial Day weekend! Ours was a good one, though it went by all too quickly.  Friday night we had dinner at The Painted Burro and checked out their recent expansion. The bar area was moved to a separate room, creating a larger and quieter dining area, which we really liked. The food is just as good, and they still serve up a fine margarita. I enjoyed their Paloma cocktail this time around with tequila and homemade grapefruit soda. After dinner, we went to Boston Ballet's final ballet of the season, Coppelia. 

On Saturday, our friends Kurt and Nina came down from New Hampshire to spend the weekend with us. We had a fancy evening planned to celebrate Kurt's birthday and the end of school for my husband! 

Following presents at home, we got all gussied up and braved the cold drizzly weather, excited to introduce them to our favorite snazzy cocktail spot, Drink. We arrived as the doors opened at 4:00, managing to snag a seat before a line formed out the door. Reunited with our favorite bartender, Ray, who mixed up some classic cocktails and then had some fun mixing a few awesomely weird drinks for us. Most notable was my husband's Electric Current Fizz which involved downing an egg yolk topped with bitters before sipping the cocktail itself (it had the added bonus of making him feel like Rocky Balboa).

The evening continued with a nice dinner at Eastern Standard, starting with their jumbo shrimp cocktail and a round of Martinezes (our waiter was even nice enough to snag their Martinez recipe for me after I told him of our unsuccessful attempts to recreate it at home). After sharing their famed butterscotch bread pudding for dessert, our last stop was their sister cocktail bar, The Hawthorne, hidden inside the neighboring Hotel Commonwealth.

After such a fancy evening, we went a little more casual on Sunday morning. We were so excited to introduce them to our favorite brunch spot, Highland Kitchen.

We arrived early to get a good spot in line, narrowly missing the beginning of street closures for the Somerville Memorial Day Parade. We waited outside, bundled up in coats with thoughts of steaming mugs of coffee and piping hot food dancing through our heads. You would have never known it was the end of May. 

The chilly wait was well worth it once we were finally seated in a cozy booth. I tried (and really enjoyed) the shrimp and grits, topped with collard greens, large bits of thick-cut bacon, and savory satueed mushrooms. Everyone else got the practically irresistible Dirty Bird, a biscuit topped with fried chicken, bacon, a fried egg, and copious amounts of white gravy. 

Once Kurt and Nina headed back to New Hampshire, we spent a quiet evening at home, including an indoor picnic for two.  I love indoor picnics, so a gray dreary day is more than enough excuse to start piling up blankets on the floor!  We've been (belatedly) watching older seasons of 24, so we ordered take-out, curled up on the living room floor, and finished Season 2.

We spent Memorial Day at a cookout with some of my husband's LGO classmates, thanks to Brad and Asheligh, our fabulous host and hostess!  It was a tropical celebration with grilled kabobs, corn on the cob, potato salad, cole slaw, and fruity drinks topped with colorful paper umbrellas. Folks played corn hole and ladder golf, chatted, and enjoyed the beautiful weather, as it was finally sunny and warm! 

Finally, I don't want to forget the reason that we are able to enjoy such a fun long weekend. I am so grateful for those who have served in the military and for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we might enjoy life as we know it in this great nation.