a road trip: BOSTON break

JAR 8.14.16

School has already started, but our road trip and all of the tasty treats we tried remain on my mind and the tip of my tongue. After eating our way though part of Maine’s coast, we had to make the return to NJ. But, before we got back, we stopped in Boston to make the drive home from Bar Harbor, ME, easier and more delicious.

We got to Boston pretty late. We needed a bite even after yummy snacks on our way south, so thanks to yelp, we ended up at East Side Bar & Grill for some robust Italian Bolognese, over-stuffed rollatini, and a massive burger with too many French fries. It felt familiar and a nice break from all the fresh seafood we had been devouring (I think we indulged in a little too much lobster, if that’s a thing).

There was no shortage of places for some brunching in Boston, which made decisions even more difficult. With a little waffle from the hotel’s free breakfast, we were better able to pick a place, and ultimately waited a bit for a table. North Street Grille was packed for Sunday brunch. The sidewalk outside of the small eatery was crawling with patient, yet hungry people. Inside was just as busy. The menu has a mix of whimsy and classic, with a twist of over-the-top. We started with the Boston cream French toast sticks, which were super fried, super crunchy, and greasy, while filled with a sweet custard and accompanied by syrupy chocolate. The short rib Benedict was a special that day; it was hearty, meaty, and a classic with more potatoes than necessary. We also had the corned beef omelet, filled to brimming with salty corned beef and topped with an inordinate amount of cheese. It was good with fluffy eggs and potato hash to soak up the grease. In the end, it was loud as mimosas and brunchy drinks kept flowing for the other guests. We left with ringing ears and full bellies.

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The day was hot, but the amphibious Duck Tour gave us some cool views on the water and some great history lessons on land.

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RER 8.14.16

After wandering around town, we stumbled on a Roost Bistro on Newbury Street. Word on the street is “it has a great reputation” (We literally overheard this on the busy street.).  We arrived three minutes after the doors opened for Sunday dinner, or what we thought was dinner. Apparently we did not get the full dinner menu, missing specials and entrees that even after eating made our mouths water. Looking at the menu we were given in the empty restaurant, we decided on a burrata salad with thick balsamic, bright rounds of acidic tomatoes, and a heft heap of spicy arugula. After all of our seafood adventures, another salad was in order. This was a sweet and savory spinach salad, with juicy red strawberries and tangy, salty feta. For a main, I had the bison burger with sautéed onions, creamy brie, and green arugula—salty, greasy, not quite delicious enough to be so pretentious. The pork chop main was wholesome and classic, but skinny on the meat. Dessert was an odd mix of unexpected and almost thawed. The service was spotty and casual, the early hour perhaps, hopefully.

Thankfully, I spied a trio devouring melty ice cream out of the most whimsical, delicious-looking cones. With a little quick research, we were able to figure out where those lip-smacking cones. Of course, we made a plan to go to Emack and Bolio after dinner to get our paws on some ice cream. I decided to get some Cookie Monster ice cream—a mix of cookies n cream and chocolate chip cookie dough— in a krispie treat- adorned waffle cone. Both the cone and ice cream were out-of- control scrumptious, almost worth the seven bucks.

The ice cream was definitely a sweet ending to our short jaunt in Boston. Hope we can take a trip up again soon and taste all the sights.

RER

9.21.16

JAR 8.14.16

MangiaMore: BLUEBERRY summer dessert

RER 6.29.15

Crumble, cobbler, brown betty, crisp, grunt, slump, buckle… whatever it’s called… we made a blueberry summer dessert. This hybrid treat has elements of each of these semi-distinctive (but maddeningly similar) summer favorites like the doughy biscuit parts of a cobbler and the crunchy sweet topping of a crisp.

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In many ways our blueberry concoction is most like a brown betty. A brown betty has the saucy warm fruit in between layers of yummy crumbs. Whatever we made has sweetened cooked blueberries squeezed between a soft cobber-like airy dough on the bottom and a crisp candy like streusel topping. Our whatchyamacallit had the best of both worlds (and is the perfect base for large amounts of ice cream) using two separate recipes for the bottom and for the topping.

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AJR 6.28.15

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The tart tang and tiny pop of the blueberries complemented the layers surrounding the fruit filling. The streusel topping studding the sea of blueberries softened with sugar and time mirrored the bursting quality of the dark skin of the berries. It crunched with the texture of crystallized and browned sugar, similar in effect to the feeling of changing berries on the tongue. While the cloud-like cake resting at the bottom of the dessert recalled the inside meat of the fresh blueberries, it was lush, fluffy, smooth and light.

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These three disparate layers came together to make a textural playground, the rise and fall of feelings and varied profiles. And the combination happens to be perfect for Independence Day (which is just around the corner) or your next backyard barbecue. A blueberry whatchyamacallit screams summer!

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6.28.15

RER 6.28.15

not just nourishment: MINI COURSE food fun

RER 5.9.15

Yesterday was like the best day.

The last week of school is a “fluff week” including all kinds of fun activities like mini-courses, a field day, an all-school picnic and an awards ceremony. But yesterday was mini-course day, and as I spent the year doing the Food Fun after school activity, I chose to do a baking mini-course. I was excited because I had more time and freedom to do the things I love to do in the kitchen. So we baked cupcakes from scratch, something we could never do at school.

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After making the mini-course a competition like Cupcake Wars, six sixth graders (two teams) and I headed to the grocery store to pick up the essentials and decorations to fit into the chosen theme: Summer. Fifteen minutes of searching the aisles and brainstorming resulted in some super fun, creative and delicious results.

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The misshapen (though scrumptious) chocolate cupcakes became the canvases for summer scenes and warm-weather themes. There were marzipan suns with rainbow sprinkle features, Swedish fish surfing on sweet boards, and fish swimming in clear blue waters dotted with marshmallow fluff foam lined by graham cracker  beaches.

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Sour red and white gummy life preserver rings rested on waffle cone sand, while summer drink inspiration led to pina colada cupcakes with tropical pineapple skewers and rich butter cream frosting slid down the wide waffle cone like ice cream melting on a hot summer day.

I was supposed to declare a winner. But I couldn’t. They all won at summer!

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5.10.15

RER 5.9.15