Please please please some one get me this card for the wedding!

It's from etsy seller pearlmarmalade

S'mores Cookies

Need I say anymore? The recipe I found on Make and Bake . I'm thinking of making them for an upcoming party. My mouth is watering...

S'mores Cookies
recipe from Cookie Madness

3/4 cup softened butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup graham crackers
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips)
1 cup mini marshmallows (I used slightly more than a cup)
2 Hershey bars, chopped up

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

In a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugars until fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, graham crackers, salt, and baking soda, and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto cookie sheets (I didn't use parchment, and one tray of cookies stuck a bit to the sheet, but the other was fine, so you may want to use parchment just in case). Bake for 8 minutes, and remove from the oven. Push 3 to 4 marshmallows and a few pieces of hershey bar into each cookies. Return to the oven and bake an additional 3-4 minutes until fully cooked. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

How to Steal a Million

I saw this very entertaining movie the other night, "How to Steal a Million" (1966) with Peter O'Toole and Audrey Hepburn.

The basic plot of the movie was that A.H. played the daughter of an art forger. One of their forged sculptures was in a big museum show in France (and insured for a million dollars!). P.O.T is a charming burglar who works with A.H. to steal the statue and presumably, collect the insurance money.

There were the portly, bumbling french guards (who stay at the museum all night and eat & drink wine). I secretly want some of those. The paddy wagon of french guards who show up and file through the museum at a moment's notice of trouble. The monopoly man of a Registrar who unfolded a map of loan conditions which contained "the work will be covered in the case of earthquake, thunderbolt & larceny..." and the cleaning ladies, who dressed in rags, and wiped the floors, marble walls, pedestals, and works of art with the same dirty rags & dirty water (ugh!). 

Overall, it was an entertaining movie. I am a sucker for art-heist movies.

Education

Obama (in the NYTimes Magazine article) on Education:

Staying on the Great Depression, it led to a surge in high-school graduation. A high-school diploma during that decade or two went from being elite to the norm, and it became a ticket to the middle class. I’m curious what you think today’s ticket to the middle class is. Do you want everybody aspiring to a four-year-college degree? Is a two-year or vocational degree enough? Or is simply attending college, whether or not you graduate, sufficient to reach the middle class?

THE PRESIDENT: We set out a goal in my speech to the joint session that said everybody should have at least one year of post-high-school training. And I think it would be too rigid to say everybody needs a four-year-college degree. I think everybody needs enough post-high-school training that they are competent in fields that require technical expertise, because it’s very hard to imagine getting a job that pays a living wage without that — or it’s very hard at least to envision a steady job in the absence of that.

And so to the extent that we can upgrade not only our high schools but also our community colleges to provide a sound technical basis for being able to perform complicated tasks in a 21st-century economy, then I think that not only is that good for the individuals, but that’s going to be critical for the economy as a whole.

I was in West Virginia recently talking to some college students, and these are kids in college, fully intending to graduate, and yet they were still telling me they’re not sure whether a college education is worth it. They’re going to be graduating in a recession. They’re worried their jobs will go to China. You hear these things all the time. What would you say — there are a large number of very thoughtful people who have those concerns — what would you say to them?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, look, I’d start off by saying just look at the statistics. The unemployment rate for high-school graduates is at least three times what it is for a college graduate. So it’s true that in this recession you’re seeing white-collar jobs impacted. Even before the recession, it’s true that you saw some outsourcing of white-collar jobs. But if you’re working the odds, your likelihood of getting a job that pays you a good, solid middle-class wage is vastly increased upon graduating from college — unless you’reLeBron James. And so I think the evidence (3) speaks for itself.

You can find the entire article here.

I decided to take a bike ride with R last night instead of going to the gym. Pictured is our route. Point B is our apartment. And the Point A destination? Delicious swordfish kabobs at JohnnyBrenda's. Unfortunately, I left my camera memory card at home and therefore have no record of said kabobs. Maybe it's better as a fleeting delicious memory.

In any case, it was an incredibly good bike ride and a beautiful night to eat outside. I'm looking forward to many more this summer. 

Noble American Cookery

Ooooh, new restaurant alert!

Noble American Cookery is opening up at 2025 Sansom next Monday, May 4th. 

Meal Ticket got a peek inside and a look at their menu. Take a peek!

Noble American Cookery site here, although not much is up yet.

A few things on the menu I'm anticipating:

Firsts

BARNEGAT LIGHT SEA SCALLOPS     15

watercress, peas, asparagus, avocado, mint

PAN-FRIED VEAL SWEETBREADS     12

cucumber, raw honey, herbed cream

ROASTED BABY GOLDEN BEETS     10

arugula, pumpkin seed, goat cheese, tarragon vinaigrette

BATTER-FRIED WILD ATLANTIC SQUID      12

bibb lettuce, heart of palm, grapefruit

Seconds

SAUTEED POCONO MOUNTAIN RIVER TROUT     23

cauliflower puree, girole & shallot pickle, veal jus

ROASTED HUDSON VALLEY DUCK BREAST     26

black quinoa, braised escarole, blueberry smash

GRILLED ATLANTIC MACKEREL     23

fried green tomato, smoked chili mayo

PAN-ROASTED ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS     28

artichoke pasta & broth, fiddlehead, oyster mushroom

ROASTED PENNSYLVANIA CAGE-FREE CHICKEN BREAST     25

morel, pea, noodles, leg confit

Sweets

LEMON CREAM     8

angel cake, caramel, meringue, berry

CHOCOLATE TART     8

hazelnut ice cream, grilled breadcrumbs, caramelized banana

SPICED CARROT CAKE     8

raisin mincemeat, coconut ice milk

CAPE GOOSEBERRY BREAD PUDDING     8

white chocolate, goose jam

Also, there is a craft brew list that is too long to post here, 

but includes such favorites as:

Smuttynose, Dogfish Head, Rogue, Allagash, Yards, PBC, Victory, Flying Dog, Breckenridge

I'm really looking forward to this place.

In Treatment

I cried last night watching In Treatment on HBO.

(the episode of Oliver where his mom goes off on vacation)

I friggin love that show.

Also, I love Gabriel Byrne.

Mona Lisa

A very interesting Vanity Fair article about a new book detailing the 1911 heist of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. Perhaps it was covering up a larger crime? I'm surprised how easy it was to actually steal the painting and I'm shocked to hear how insecurely the work was hung on the wall. Apparently paintings were hung only with simple hooks to ensure that they could be easily taken down in case of a fire!

snippets of my weekend

Travel Picnic

I wish I could be like Amanda Hesser in this Food Diary entry in the Times a while back. (I found it through A Cup of Jo) I always end up eating whatever food is available to me on the plane/in the airport and I always regret it. I think the travel-proof ingredients and containers are key.

"About a month ago, I was going to Spain, and I had a lot on my mind. But there was one thing that took priority: what to eat on the airplane?

It was an overnight flight, so there were a number of issues to consider. I would need dinner and dessert and perhaps something for just before arrival. I had a few parameters, developed over years of air travel: it must be compact and light, yet it cannot be skimpy. It must include favorite foods like cheeses, cookies and olives, and it should in some way be lavish. This is because whenever I fly, I am convinced that I will die. So I put a lot of energy into being comfortable and creating a kind of cocoon around myself. I wear Bose headphones, which block out the roar of the engines (and hopefully any signs of malfunction), wrap myself in a blanket and wear one of those blow-up neck pillows. Food in the cocoon is most important. I want the meal to be delicious and civilized: if it's going to be my last one, it's certainly not going to be some rubbery chicken suffocating in tinfoil.

I pack my meal in a plastic bag, and at the airport I buy a large bottle of water. (You never get enough in coach.) Then after takeoff, even on early flights, when the flight attendants first bang through with their drink carts, I have my cocktail hour. I order a little sparkling water with a wedge of lemon and a Scotch, served neat. I fly Delta quite often, and they always seem to stock Johnnie Walker Black, which isn't bad. On overseas flights, they sometimes have Glenmorangie. You must press the attendants to look for all the brands, because even if they're friendly (which is rare indeed), they always seem to reach for the cheapest thing they have.

I suggest packing salted nuts. (At home, you can use a much better oil to roast the nuts and an excellent coarse sea salt for seasoning, touches you won't find in store-bought roasted nuts. And once in Spain, I loaded up on those delicious salted almonds for the way back.) Airlines may still serve them, if that small but very vocal group with nut allergies hasn't already ruined it for the rest of us. And some airlines have good pretzels, but I highly recommend passing on those Chex Mix-like combinations.

After the cocktail hour, it's a good idea to wait for everyone else to be served their meals before beginning your own. If you don't, you will be subject to much staring. And you also won't get the benefit of a knife and butter, which you can poach from a tray. This is important for buttering the chewy country roll you bring, or slicing a nutty, soft cheese. You may also like to have wine with your meal. It will be no Chateau Paetrus, but it won't be the rotgut of years past either. Airlines, though still in the dark ages on food, have smartened up about wine. I recommend reds because extra tannins are more bearable than the heavy, flabby oak you get in cheap whites.

For the main course, I often bring a sandwich. They were made for traveling, after all, and should not be disparaged. A good sandwich may contain the best foods in the world: excellent cured meats and cheeses, aged vinegars, nut oils, roasted onions, herbs and homemade mayonnaise.

One of my favorite sandwiches for the air is a thin baguette spread with sweet butter and lined with prosciutto. I also fancy a similar version without butter and simply olive oil, roasted red pepper and creamy mozzarella cheese.

This time, since I was on my way to Spain, the land of ham, I needed to think outside the box. It was spring, and the season's first asparagus was popping up, so I leapt on it at Fairway. There, I also picked up some fresh goat curd (regular soft goat cheese would have been fine), blood oranges and arugula. I bought big, plump medjool dates and a ripe pear. For breakfast, I chose an almond croissant from a nearby pastry shop.

A few hours before my flight, I blanched the asparagus and let it cool, then sliced it into inch-long pieces. I whisked blood-orange juice and vinegar with a little Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, dripping in grapeseed oil a little at a time. It was sweet and a moody shade of purple, which stained the arugula and bled all over the lumps of goat curd.

I could have added tuna instead of goat curd, some green beans or chickpeas, but I liked its simplicity, a tangle of strong, pure flavors. I packed the salad in a plastic container (which I just tossed when I got there) and brought a napkin and a real fork (which, disturbingly, makes it through the X-ray machine every time). I washed the fruit and put the cookies in a baggie.

For dessert, almost any tart, cake or petit four may be packed. Don't bother making anything. Buy a treat. It will give you something to look forward to, deep into the flight, after being forced to watch ''Shallow Hal.'' I picked up some cornmeal-almond biscotti and dark chocolates and went on my way."

Summer Dresses

Summer Dresses by darceyy on Polyvore.com

I love Summer and the lack of layering necessary.

This weather is making me itching to:

Go on a bike ride

Wear summer dresses

Get out and enjoy the day

Real Life Registrar Game!

Friday Productivity

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Maybe this is how I can learn to drive...

More Equations

Ice Cream truck parked outside of office = Awesome

Ice Cream truck parked outside of office 

+

 ice cream song on repeat = Annoying

Ice Cream truck parked outside of office 

+ 

ice cream song on repeat 

+ 

very recent cavity filling at dentist = Cruel

Some Equations

Normal Day + Coffee = Jitters

Hangover = Jitters

Hangover + Coffee =  Normal Day

Hmm.

Culinary Aspirations

With installation finished here at work and Roger working all weekend, I'm hoping to clear the cobwebs out of the oven.

Top Five Projects:

1. Empanadas. R has such a love for these Argentinian treats. I know I can never make them as good as the memory of his grandmother's empanadas, but I can try.

Recipe: Argentinian Empanadas

2. Apple Pancakes. Need I say more? Yes, I do. These would be awesome with some brown sugar whipped cream.

Recipe: Apple Pancakes

3. Milk braised Chicken with Lemon, Cinnamon & Sage. This sounds/looks absolutely mouth-watering. And who doesn't love a roast chicken?

Recipe: Milk braised Chicken with Lemon, Cinnamon & Sage

4. Key Lime Bars. From one of my favorite Hawaiian blogger chefs. (Because there is a vast number of Hawaiian blogger chefs out there. Actually, you would be surprised.) Anyway, I'm a sucker for Key Lime Pie. But with a Hawaiian twist? I'm sold. 

Recipe: Key Lime Bars

5. Jello Shots. Just Kidding! After last night, the last thing that sounds appetizing to me is a recipe for "How to get drunk. Fast!"

Recipe: Jello Shots

Real #5. Mongolian Beef. I need to use the stockpile of beef that is taking residence in my freezer. And It would be awesome if I could use it for homemade Chinese food.

Recipe: Mongolian Beef

Give me a minute, a coffee

Just as a warning, I'm a little worse for the wear this morning. 

Forgive my telegram style.

The opening was good.

I'm nursing a coffee and some comfort food this morning.

stop.

Food Inspiration

In case I was running out of meal ideas... I now have this!

I cannot believe how many things on these pages peak my interest. The first thing I want to make? This Cherry Tomato Onion Tart with Parmesan Crust. Recipe here. 

Roger is in for a treat.

Daydreaming

I wish I could be here today. 

Photo shot at Saint Jean Cap Ferrat on the Cote d'Azur 

can be found here. 

Color!

I have a true fascination for India's Festival of Colors. See more (colorful) pics shot by Poras Chaudhary here.

show me how!

My new favorite pass-the-time website: Show Me How!

Key lifelong skills, such as How to Estimate Remaining Daylight.

A touch of color

Should I get these shoes? I like the touch of color they have. And they're on sale for 1/2 price. Seeing as I live in black flats, I may just get them...

B-rads

I found these white heart brads at Papier Valise. I don't know what I can use them for, but I really want to figure it out. Perhaps some crafty invites would do the trick.

Vacation

Planning my vacation(s) for the year. Nothing big, like past years of exiting the continental US. But I am still itching to travel. More deets when I firm things up, but here are some clues...

First up?

Secondly?

In the works

I'm thinking about hosting a spring/summer party... 

the discovery of our building's backyard prompted this. 

I'm thinking of those lemonade cocktails I had at Lodge:

Home Sweet Home

Bourbon, Amaretto, homemade lemonade, fresh mint

Yes. I know already that this is going to be a good party. 

Stay tuned.

Atlantic City

An early report claims that on Friday during his birthday extravaganza in Atlantic City, Matt broke his glasses, sprained his ankle, is riddled with bruises, and he believes he may have BROKEN BOTH HIS HANDS.

By my standards, that sounds like the worst birthday ever. By Matt's standards, it was the best birthday ever.

Fleur de Lehigh

Last Saturday I enjoyed a few pints of PBC's Fleur de Lehigh, one of their seasonal brews.

. . . and it was tasty.

Philadelphia Brewing Company's description:

This brew is a nod to old tyme beverages - the kind of styles being re-invigorated by Belgians and Italians and foresighted Americans. The emphasis is on a unique line up of herbs and spices. If you must conform to styles think Belgian Pale … with herbs and spices: Cardamom, Ginger, Lemongrass, Rose hips, and Rhubarb root.

I know Abbaye and Standard Tap has it on tap. 

Not sure who else. 

ICA Opening

This Thursday (4/23) two new shows are opening here at ICA:

"Pathways To Unknown Worlds: Sun Ra, El Saturn & Chicago's Afro-Futurist Underground, 1954-1968"

Jazz pioneer, bandleader, mystic, philosopher, and consummate Afro-Futurist, Sun Ra (b. 1914 Birmingham, Alabama, d. 1993) and his personal mythology have grown increasingly relevant to a broad range of artists and communities. This exhibition presents paintings, drawings, prints, manuscripts, ephemera, and video produced by and about Ra and his associates—much of it previously unseen. Pathways to Unknown Worlds examines how Ra and his dynamic, continually-evolving ensemble, the Philadelphia-based Arkestra, crafted both their otherworldly image and fiercely independent approach to self-production.

"Tavares Strachan: Orthostatic Tolerance"

 

The surf surrounding Tavares Strachan's (b. 1979, lives New York) hometown of Nassau, Bahamas is the site of an experimental rocket launch. Made of glass from island sand, and powered by sugarcane, the rockets mark a primary phase of the artist'sOrthostatic Tolerance project: to explore the heights of space and the depths of the ocean. Video, drawings, photography, and sculpture document the launch and allow a glimpse into the future. Through the rubric of scientific exploration, Strachan engages both the resources and community of his home country, and investigates environmental, cultural, historical, and postcolonial issues. 

I don't have images yet for the shows yet, but from what I've seen in unpacking and installation, the work is captivating. The opening reception is open to the public Thursday at 6:00; DJ Hiding Place will be performing. 

UPDATE: images!

Space is the place. 

Tea Party

This past Sunday was the bridal shower for my friend Sarah. It was really a treat to see everyone all together, catch up and relive old stories. That is happening less and less these days.

Also, what a treat the traditional tea service was. 

English Breakfast tea + cream + lemon-lavender scone = heaven

And it's fun to watch some one open presents.

Especially if she makes faces like this:

Love you, Sarah!

x o x o

Snippets of My Weekend

Snippets of My Weekend