28 posts tagged “food”

way...tooo...much....suuuugaaaar...

Between the Williams & Sonoma candies my PR agency got me, party foods, christmas cocktails, the treats at my mother-in-laws and eating out all the time, I have been often teetering on the edge of a sugar coma. I didn't help myself much when I made this delectable treat for Christmas Eve--a modified version of the Everyday Food Buche de Noel (the online version didn't have the frosting recipes included so I came up with my own).

The little brown thing in the front in the above picture is a cocoa covered marzipan mouse. The mushrooms are all made from marzipan.

Laurel came to visit so Jenna, her husband, Kelev, Raf and I headed down to Cambridge 1 and had some tasty pizza pies and great conversation!

* I toasted the winners of an award ceremony at a black-tie event

* I talked with people from Russia, and the Netherlands.
* As we were driving by, I heard from a cabdriver about his experience when the plane hit the Pentagon during 9/11.
* I helped create video for innovative technology stories that revolutionized and directly benefited society in healthcare, retail, government, education and finance.
* I talked to a big game hunter about his upcoming trip to the Arctic to hunt caribou.
* I discovered that when you really need someone who knows how to tie a bow-tie that no one around has any clue.
* I scored cheap, dressy shoes at Macy's to solve a fashion emergency.
* I drank way too much wine on a weeknight.
* I had to deal with two blisters.
* I discovered that the pants I planned to wear this morning were too big.
* People that should have didn't wish me happy birthday. And people that didn't have to did (THANK YOU!).
* I ate bacon twice.
* I drank champagne.
* I had my picture taken at least a dozen times.
* I spent a few hours here at a lovely formal dinner.
* Spent an hour on a plane that wasn't in the air.
* Was late boarding that plane because some Army Sargeant had special boarding because he was escorting some sort of cargo. Hmm.
* Paris Hilton spent her first night in jail.
* Snagged a cake at Finale at the last moment.
* Slept for a total of 6 hours including the nap.
* I learned some of the secrets to green screen.
* I rode in two limos, a shuttle bus and two cabs.
* My husband made me a cake...or well, drew me one.
* I finalized one press release.
* I wore a pretty dress.
* I hugged a lot of people.
* I gave out all my business cards.
* I ate a lot of beets.
* I inadvertantly found out that I might have a new boss soon  :(
* Kitty and I were angry with each other. He was angry because I left him. I was angry because he didn't greet me when I came back. We're so dumb.
* I chipped a nail.
* I learned that when you toast in Russian you say, "Budem zdorovy" meaning, "To stay Healthy."
* I received a bottle of wine direct from the Cote du Rhone.
* I started year 36 in the life of Crystal.

I'm going to start participating in a creative writing meme created by Holly Lisle where you post snippets of what you are working on so that others can read and enjoy. You can even subscribe to see when others post.

To read my snippet, from a piece which I am working on here and there, and to find out how to participate, you can go here. This week's piece is about the famous Roman gourmand, Apicius, fretting over his dwindling funds. Would love to have feedback!

I mentioned awhile back that I started doing reviews for The Alewife, a local print paper that goes out to North Cambridge/Somerville residents. Here's my March review on Gargoyles in Davis Square, in case you are interested! 

* formatting is a bit strange in this web version. Prices, for example, should look like ($15) but they don't show up that way. The print version looks much better and has a cheesy smiley picture of me in it. :-)

in looking for crockpot recipes yesterday to cook up our bunny (mmm crockpot bunny was awesome) I ran across this little tidbit at cooks.com:

CREAM OF ELEPHANT STEW

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Yesterday Joe and I went to the Super 88 Asian market to see if we could find some cheap quails and rabbit. Which we did...6 quails for $7.59 and a whole rabbit for around $5.00!! We passed on the beef "pizzel" and duck tongues. But we have noted that we should swing by there before we go to visit Joe's parents in the Berkshires--they carry chicken feet and his mom (who is Italian) is always lamenting that she can't find chicken feet in the Pitt (as we lovingly call Pittsfield, MA). 

The aisles are full of things that I have never imagined eating (and still probably don't). We scored on some awesome frozen chinese dumplings, red curry paste, coconut milk and a slew of other inexpensive items. But these were the faves of the day:

Joe's super grody shrimp chips (I tried them and had to spit them out, yuck):

And these little gems...cookies shaped like hamburger, filled with chocolate. The strange thing about them though is that they have tiny tiny sesame seeds on the bun which give it a strange taste. But they're SO cute!

Newsweek broke down the ingredients in a Twinkie. Hmm. Do you really want to eat another one again? Via way of the Consumerist.

THE FILLING

• Shortening (in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and/or beef fat) is the main ingredient.
• Polysorbate 60 is a gooey substance that helps replace cream and eggs at a fraction of the cost. It's derived from corn, palm oil and petroleum.
• Cellulose gum gives the crème filling a smooth, slippery feel.
• Artificial vanillin is synthesized in petrochemical plants. The real thing comes from finicky tropical orchids that are pollinated by hand on the one day they bloom.

THE CAKE

• Lecithin is an emulsifier made from soy. It's also used in paint to keep pigments evenly dispersed.
• Diacetyl mimics the taste of butter, since the real stuff would go rancid on a store shelf.
• Cornstarch is a common thickener. But it's more often used to make cardboard and packing peanuts.
• Yellow No. 5, Red No. 40 give the cake the golden look of eggs.
• Sorbic acid, the only actual preservative in Twinkies, comes from petroleum.

TWINKIE FACTS

• Calories: 145 each
• Shelf life: 25 days—not years, as urban legend would have it
• History: In 1930, James Dewar found a way to use idle baking pans. He named the cakes after seeing an ad for "Twinkle-Toe" shoes. Shelf life was just two to three days.

Just my favorite thing...ice cream!

But not just any ice cream--Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream! Yay Ben & Jerry's! Proceeds will go to charity. Colbert had this to say: ""I'm not afraid to say it. Dessert has a well-known liberal agenda. What I hope to do with this ice cream is bring some balance back to the freezer case."

Joe took care of me this Valentine's day, with roses, a gorgeous handmade card, a big box of Burdick's chocolates and dinner--filet mignon with a port cherry sauce, cheesy potato napoleon and two kinds of potstickers; BACON/pea and pork! I made a port stout chocolate mousse for dessert. YUM!

There's a picture of the potstickers in my most recent Project365 batch: