Food for Blood

If you want to eat as well as I did today, you just have to yield a baggie of the red stuff to the Red Cross.  I got to say, those Kelloggs Keebler Elf Graham Cinnamon Crackers are really good!

The Food Trucks are Back!

With April, comes the Food Trucks!

The 10th Annual Taste of South Boston

"The Taste of South Boston is a charity event. Proceeds from the event support the SBNDC mission to provide affordable housing for working people, families, elderly and Veterans in our community."

Terrific time, terrific food, terrific purpose!

And although my attendence this year was courtesy of one of the many gracious sponsors of the event, the $40 ticket is priced well within my budget, so I wouldn't be surprised if I returned another year on my own dime.

By no means did I taste every offering provided by the local establishments, but still I left stuffed to the gills. Savories and sweets were consumed by the young (I spotted 3 babies in attendence) and the old, dressed to the nines or in their comfortable sports jerseys, all mingled around the food stations and a number of little round tables provided for our convenience so we wouldn't drop our plates (yes, real plates) or glasses, as we were serenaded by live music.

It was a charity event, so a silent auction went on thru the night, as were the selling of raffle tickets. And in addition to the free wine offering, a cash bar was available for those who wished to indulge.

Favorites of the night included the luscious chocolates offered by Blue Tierra Chocolate, the deconstructed seafood chowder served by Legal Harborside, the refreshing avocado salad plated by Trade, the wonderfully sweet stewed tomato portion of Water Cafe's Chickpea cake appetizer, and the surprising tastiness of the corned beef eggroll served at The Whiskey Priest.

Here's Ree! (aka The Pioneer Woman)

Rather than blatantly hocking her new (2nd) cookbook, Ree Drummond regaled a theaterful of folk with apologies for being late due to her battle with static cling, the genesis and evolution of her blog, tales from her childhood, her parenthood, and a song imagined from the lips of her Basset hound Charlie. Then she was whisked off across the street for her book signing at The Brookline Booksmith.

When we finally made our way out ourselves, there was already a rather long line down the block. Ummm... no.

But then I did manage to get a photo of me and Ree back inside the theater before she left! =D

(The benefit of having arrived not too early, not too late, and finding a seat near the front but way on far right edge of the room (by the exit the Booksmith staff ended up taking her through!).

Last Meal of the Titanic

100th Anniversary of the Titanic

Served April 14th, 2012

Hors D'oeuvres

Oyster à la Russe & Oyster Rockefeller

Ruinart, Blanc de Blancs

Potage

Consommé Olga

Manzanilla La Gitana

Bodegas Hidalgo, Jerez

Poisson

Salmon, Mousseline Sauce, Cucumber

Côte de Brouilly

Château Thivin, 2009

Entrée

Sauté of Chicken, Lyonnais

Relevé

Sirloin of Beef, Château Potatoes, Green Peas

Margaux, Cru Bourgeoios

Château Deyrem Valentin, 2009

Punch Romaine

Rôti

Roast Squab & Cress

Froid

Asparagus Vinaigrette

Pâté de Fois Gras

Château Roũmier-Lacoste

Sauternes, 2009

Entremets

Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly,

Chocolate & Vabukka Eclair,

French Vanilla Ice cream

Banyuls

M.Chapoutier, 2009

Reservations Required. Please call Parker's Restaurant at 617-725-1600. $95 per person; $155 per person with paired wines. Tax and gratuity additional.

I'm going to see Ree!

Re-posted Verbatim...

Thursday, March 15th at 6pm

Ree Drummond, “The Pioneer Woman”

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier

Tickets Required. Available Thursday, March 1st.

The NYT best-selling author, blogger, photographer, and Food Network star stops into the Coolidge Corner Theatre to spin a few yarns about family, life on the ranch, love, and good home cooking. Come and join us as she gives us a glimpse of her brand new cookbook.

By publisher request, this event is free. However, to comply with the Theatre’s maximum occupancy, we will require tickets. You may reserve up to 2 tickets per customer by stopping in or calling (617-566-6660) starting March 1st.

By "Theatre" they mean the Coolidge Corner Theatre.

I’m going… are you?

On the Side - Dipping Sauce

At a baby shower, you expect to see your pregnant expectant mother (nope - the baby decided to grace the world with her presence early), a display of dainty finger foods (the hostess outdid herself with a wonderful and filling spread), and cutely packaged gifts about to be torn open with gusto (yup!)... you don't expect to go home with a new recipe.

However, there was this creamy, cheesey-looking, red-tinged sauce standing at attention beside the shrimp skewers, so of course I helped myself to a plop. But not only did I dip my shrimp into it, I also enjoyed it with my couscous and roasted veggies, and finished it off with some nice crusty bread.

The hostess was more than willing to share, and I found out it was from a page she tore out of a Taste of Home Magazine (December January 2011 issue), and that there is NO CHEESE in it. Wow, really? And it consisted of only two ingredients: mayonnaise and Thai red chili paste.

But with a such a simple recipe, each ingredient plays a starring role. So with the hostess' permission, I raided her fridge for the precise brand of ingredients she had used: Spectrum Naturals Organic Mayonnaise made with cagefree eggs (I think she shops at Wholefoods...), and Thai Kitchen Roasted Red Chili Paste.

Spicy Mayonnaise (although I have trouble thinking of it as such, since I didn't find it particularly spicy...)

2 Tbsp. mayonnaise

2 tsp. Thai red chili paste

Combine mayonnaise and chili paste in a bowl.

Source: Taste of Home Magazine, December January 2011

Yup, that's it! Simple, yet delicious! Definitely an example of when the whole is so much more than the sum of its parts!