A Weekend in Portland

Last weekend Dave and I decided to take a quick weekend away to Portland, Maine, for a vacation of eating, relaxing, walking around the city and biking.  We were able to do most of that.

Since we moved into Dave's parents house, we sold a lot of stuff on Craig's List.  A LOT.  So we had this giant wad of cash and as it grew, we decided to make it our vacation fund.  We knew we'd only end up with enough for a weekend away, someplace close that we could drive to.  We decided to go to Portland since I'd never been there, they had great restaurants with amazing food, and we would be able to walk the whole city or ride our bikes all around.  We'd initially scheduled the trip for this coming weekend, but Dave has to travel for work on Sunday and as I tried to find another weekend to go, it seemed the best price on the hotel we wanted during the summer would be to go right away. So we did.

We left work on Friday and drove up to Maine, checking into the Residence Inn Marriott on Fore Street.  We booked a Brew with a View package, which included a bucket of beers and other swag from Shipyard Brewing Company just next door to the hotel.  And when we checked in, we were given a complimentary upgrade to a suite on the top floor with a view of the harbor.  Not bad.

We settled in, cleaned up and then headed off to dinner at David's Restaurant, which had some pretty good reviews on OpenTable and a nice menu.  The night was cool, but summery and there were people walking about, but very little vehicle traffic, typical of the city--or at least the Old Port and Theatre District areas.  The restaurant was at Monument Square and there were street performers entertaining quite a large crowd when we got to the square.  The restaurant was very busy but we got seated at a table at the bar right away thanks to my making a reservation as Dave pulled off the highway.

We ordered drinks (a lovely Manhattan for me and a gin drink for Dave) and settled into the menu.  The dishes all sounded great and there was a good variety from pizza to entrees. Dave opted for the clam chowder with bacon (because it had bacon) and the open-faced lobster ravioli, which ended up coming with shrimp and scallops in a bisque-like sauce.  I ordered the garden salad and the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy.  Everything was delicious.  The presentation was lovely, our waitress was very sweet and it was definitely the perfect way to start our weekend.  We finished by splitting a piece of snickers cheesecake and headed back to the hotel.

We thought about stopping into a bar on the way back, but instead decided to head to the hotel lounge which was featuring happy hour.  Dave ordered a beer and I got a cocktail and we sat in the lovely plush chairs making our plan for the next day.

Not that it mattered what we planned since we woke up to rain.  No biking for us.  After breakfast from the hotel buffet, we took a walk to the Eastern Promenade, just to take a look out at the ocean.  The rain was pretty steady and the wind was pretty awful.  But it was a decent walk.  And along the way, we made a friend.

After our walk, we went to Maine Mead Works where they make Honeymaker Mead.  I'd never had mead before, but Dave had (much to his chagrin).  But we like these kinds of tours, and neither of us really knew anything about mead, and they were offering a tasting so why not.  We walked in and were greeted by Ron, who I think is the owner.  He gave us a tour (just the two of us, which was kind of cool) and told us all about how they make mead, how they are growing, and how they get the different flavors.  It was all very cool and unique.  Very "microbrew" is concept, but totally scalable, it was very interesting to talk to the business owner on one of these tours.  We ended with a tasting, and two other couples ended up coming in to join as well.

Let me talk about the tasting: this was cool.  Like I said, I'd never had it before, but I really liked the honey flavor that defines this mead.  It's crisp and slightly sweet, but not like a sweet wine.  And there's still a slight element of it being a cousin to beer.  Dave and I both really liked the Blueberry, so we bought a bottle and are looking forward to having it at home.

After the mead tasting (and being a bit tipsy), we went to lunch at Duckfat, which may be the actual reason we chose to go to Portland at all.  Several years ago we saw this restaurant featured on Phantom Gourmet and they positively raved about the fries, which are cooked in--can you guess?--duck fat. Those fries totally lived up to the hype.  They were crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside, perfectly seasoned and just pure joy.  We ordered the Truffle Ketchup and the Sweet and Spicy Mustard Mayo. The ketchup was good but completely took away from the flavor of the fries, while the mustard mayo was a really nice compliment.  Dave ordered their Spicy Italian panini and I went with the special BBQ Beef Brisket panani.  We were both utterly satisfied at having braved the rainy weather to venture to this restaurant.  It was busy and we sat at the bar, but the staff were friendly and very much on top of things.  We'll absolutely be headed back there.

The completely nondescript front door of Duckfat, which has no sign, just a little lettering on the door.

After lunch, we visited Shipyard Brewing Company for a video tour (a little history of the brewery), a peek at their bottling line (the largest in Maine) and a bit of a tasting, both of the beers and Captain Eli's soda, which they also make and sell.  It was a big crowd for the tour, including a bachelor party and a bachelorette party (not related).  The best part was noticing that the guys with the bachelor party insisted the groom wear a hot pink sash with the title "It's all about me."  I can only imagine the ruckus caused by that conversation in the morning.  Although I also enjoyed that the tour started in a room filled with church pews and awards the brewing company has won.

The beer was very good; I'd never had it before (Dave had one of the bottles left in our room the night before), but I liked it.  And apparently their pumpkin beer (Pumpkinhead) is supposed to be amazing.  Given my love of the Harpoon Pumpkin UFO, I think a taste test is in order this fall.

We headed back to our room to digest (or sober up, we'd had a bit of alcohol from the tastings and it wasn't even happy hour yet) and watched movies.  We scoured menus, maps and brochures trying to pick a place for dinner.  Dave settled on Gilbert's Chowder House based on their award winning chowders and the fact that he was pretty sure it was a complete dive (not quite complete, but close). 

We braved the rain one more time, but I must admit, we lost this battle.  Gilbert's is on the last street perpendicular to the wharfs, so between the driving rain (it was pouring at this point) and the wind, we never stood a chance.  Rain coats and umbrellas were only good for keeping our heads dry  Walking to the restaurant, the rain drove right into our left sides, drenching us completely from the waste down.  We settled into our dinners (fried shrimp for Dave and a grilled chicken salad for me), enjoyed our beers, and drip-dried (somewhat) at our table that was luckily placed near the heater.  Besides being wet and rainy, the weather was also quite chilly, never getting out of the mid-fifties and probably dipping into the forties with the wind chill.  Luckily we emerged to a slightly lighter rain so that our right side didn't bear the wet brutality that we endured getting to our dinner.

Back in our room, cozy and dry, we called it a night, despite desperately wanting to go get dessert or even just get a drink somewhere.  But we'd pretty much had our fill of walking in the rain (and didn't have any dry pants other than pajamas).

Sunday was still rainy, but less intense.  After breakfast, we packed up and checked out.  Instead of leaving right away, we drove down to the other end of Fore Street and hoped to find some shops open.  We found Cool as a Moose which is a fun and funky gift shop with moose and Maine related paraphernalia among other amusing goods.  We poked around for a while and then bought a couple fun T-shirts for Dave, a pair of moose pajama pants for me and a baby gift for a friend.  By the time we were done browsing and shopping, East End Cupcakes was open.  So we stopped in for the dessert we didn't get the night before: a Funfetti Cupcake for Dave and a Salted Carmel Dark Chocolate Cupcake for me.  We didn't eat them until we go home, but I think we were both a little disappointed.  The frosting was pretty good (although I tasted mostly caramel until my last bite which was full of salt) but the cake was a little dry.  Pretty little desserts, but we'll likely try another bakery next time we visit.

We headed out of Portland but decided to stop in Kittery, Maine, for some outlet shopping.  We found a few things (well, found a few things that I wasn't looking for; Dave did not find anything that he was looking for) and then searched for a place for a late lunch.  We found Warren's Lobster House which sits right on the water.  We were surprised for how busy, but luckily were seated right away and had a booth overlooking the water.  Warren's has a pretty extensive salad bar with lots of goodies, so I enjoyed that with my chicken, while Dave added crab cakes and fried clams . 

We had a lovely lunch, watched the weird little birds trying to catch fish (some sort of gull or cousin of a seagull, but way smaller than you'd expect) and tried to transition from vacation mode.  For a last minute trip, and in spite of the terrible weather, we had a really great weekend.  The only thing we didn't get to do was ride our bikes, which just means we have to go back again.  Luckily it's only a 2 hour drive, so I think I convince Dave to go back.  Especially if I promise to stuff him full of seafood again.

Baby Shower!

I've been so excited for this post, but it's not really my news to share, so I figured I'd wait until a more public event to announce.

Cindy's having a baby!  Yay! 

I am so excited for Cindy and Keith (and big brother Jake!) so I offered to host a baby shower to celebrate.  Little did I know the little at-home affair I had in mind would turn into 30 of Cindy's friends and family gathered in my living room to celebrate.  That whole think about 25% of people on the invite list declining?  Yeah, more like 10%.  And that was pushing it.

No bother, because I made a ton of yummy food (all to be featured on the cookie blog), a polka dot theme (complete with polka dot invitations, balloons, napkins, ribbons and bows, gift wrap, wrappers on the food, and even my shirt!) and a lot of fun watching Cindy open all the adorable gifts she got.  Can we talk for a second about the cute baby girl pants with stuff on the bum?  Cupcakes, monkeys, kittens and puppies all smiling cheerfully from the baby's bottom. 

We had a wonderful time and I am so thankful for Stacy and Erin who were a huge help in getting set up with food on the table before (and as) people arrived.  I probably would have lost my mind without their help! 

The only shower game planned was a diaper raffle (anyone who brought diapers got their name entered into a raffle for a gift certificate) and a I had a timer go off every so often and whoever's gift Cindy was opening got a prize.  Simple, but fun (because really--shower games can be annoying, especially with that many people). 

As a gift, I made Cindy an afghan, new born hat and booties and stuffed them into a basket full of essentials, books and a cute outfit.  I also put together a hospital survival kit.  I'd seen this one pinned on Pinterest and thought it was a great idea so immediately decided to put it together.

Cindy is due March 28th but thinks she'll go early. Last week we had to plead with the little one to not make an appearance before the shower.  I kindly told her she couldn't come early because she didn't have any stuff yet!  But now I think Cindy and Keith are well-prepared (well, as prepared as you can be) for her to make her arrival.

Congratulations on the new addition to your family!

Birthday Celebration Weekend

Cindy's birthday was on Monday.  It was a milestone.  I won't tell you which one, but I will tell you that she and I are no longer the same decade-something.  You may remember last year we celebrated Cindy's birthday with an emergency party since her original plans were thwarted.  And it was awesome.  One would think that since we had ample time to plan and prepare, it would have been easy to be just as awesome as last year's celebration.

One would be wrong.

I didn't want to step on Keith's toes by planning a celebration without consulting him.  After all, he is her fiance.  So I was thrilled when he reached out to me for ideas in mid-February.  We thought of a couple of different options and I said I would explore them.  In January, Cindy and I scheduled an afternoon of manicures and pedicures for this past Saturday, so I knew we had to do something fun to follow in the evening.  I struggled with the idea of hosting a party but thought I could still pull it off even though I'd be with her in the late afternoon and would be crunching time to prepare.  We also considered a big dinner out with friends meeting us at a restaurant or just a bunch of people meeting us for drinks at a local bar.  After much struggling, we decided on just a couples dinner out.

In the meantime, Cindy had planned spa day and invited me to join her.  We decided to go on Monday (the actual birthday).  Mani/pedis on Saturday, and a facials/massages on Monday.  I could love this life.  A plan was coming together.  Now I just needed to add the awesomeness.

I started by making Cherry-Lemon Meringue Mini Pies for my new tradition of "Birthday Baking."  Yes, everyone gets cake on their birthday, but I don't do cakes.  So I pick the birthday boy or girl's favorite recipe (or flavors) of something other than cake and go to town. 

We'll ignore the fact that the picture only shows 11 mini pies and they appear to be stuck in the muffin pan.  For the full story, check out the recipe on the baking blog.  Appearances aside, Cindy was quite happy to receive a stone pan full of tasty lemony goodness at 8:15 am.

Yup, I decided to take them to her at work.  I wanted to kick off her birthday weekend with a bang, so on Saturday morning I arrived at her work and delivered the pies and this mildly obnoxious birthday centerpiece.  And her gift.

Because nothing says "Happy Birthday!  Let's drink!" like a 3 foot floating margarita.  Especially when delivered to your place of employment.  On a Saturday morning.  At 8:15 am.

Later in the afternoon I headed to Cindy's house and we drove to the salon, about a half hour away.  We go to Bella Sante every 6-8 months for some good girl time, and this visit was just as good.  It's a little swanky and far away, so we save it for special occasions.  We had a great time, chatting and generally enjoying ourselves.  Keith and I had decided to keep the dinner plans a secret, so when our nail technicians asked us where we were going afterward, I kept it vague and open.  Afterward, we got in the car and I "suggested" going to a particular restaurant.  My little white lie that is was based on a recommendation from a foodie friend was totally warranted. 

We got the the Beacon Grille and headed to the bar.  The restaurant was great.  It was much bigger than I expected and got pretty busy for the dinner rush while we waited.  I positioned myself facing the door, so I could see Dave and Keith come in and make sure Cindy would have her back to them.  The funny thing was, I kept seeing groups of people who were clearly celebrating birthdays come in.  Multiple groups carrying balloons and gifts kept coming in.  I noticed a balloon with Cindy's milestone come in and said, "oh look--It's somebody else's big birthday too."  Clearly, I'd chosen the right celebration restaurant.

Our bartender, Melissa, was a sweetheart and made great recommendations.  She offered us menus, asking if we'd be eating at the bar.  I casually said, "Oh, maybe in a little while."  She brought us our drinks and eventually we did order an appetizer (the cheese platter which was awesome.  Cindy loves cheese the way I love chocolate, so clearly it was a winner.)  While we were enjoying our cocktails and tasty morsels, Keith showed up behind Cindy and said, "Happy Birthday!"  She was completely surprised.

Dinner was fabulous. The menu wasn't very extensive, but very carefully crafted and everything thoughtfully paired.  True to form, Dave and Cindy--we like to joke that Dave is Cindy's boyfriend, and vice versa--were debating over the same two entrees so each ordered one and they shared.  This is pretty normal behavior.  Our waiter, Ruben, was incredibly attentive and had great recommendations.  He was even successful in recommending a cocktail to Keith that he enjoyed, which was surprising because Keith is generally picky.  They comp'ed Cindy's dessert (and presented it on a huge plate with "Happy Birthday" written in caramel sauce) and we were very pleased with the evening. 

On Monday morning, I picked Cindy up and headed to Essential Therapies Day Spa.  It was a dreary day, but any day is great for pampering.  We were welcomed by the official greeter, Callie.

Isn't she a sweetie?  She's about six months old, super sweet, well trained and has really soft ears.  She loves people so she had no problem when I couldn't keep my hands over her.  We spent some time in the hot tub, eating fruit and drinking mimosas before going off for facials and massages.  I can't even begin to describe the massage other than to say it was positively awesome.  We finished off our morning in the sauna despite the sauna being outside and that it had started to snow.  The snow had nothing to deter us from enjoying the cedar hot house.  We showered, changed and headed out to lunch (yes, that included more cocktails).

After a weekend of fun and much pampering (and some drinking), it was certainly hard to come back to work this week.  I suppose that's the price I pay for celebrating with friends.  I hope Cindy had as much fun as I did.  Now we just need an excuse to do it all again.

Wedded Bliss

This weekend, my husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. It's funny, so many of our friends commented how they couldn't believe it had already been a year. Dave and I pretty much couldn't wait for the year to be over!

They say your first year is your hardest, and I think we were dealt some pretty difficulty challenges these past twelve months. Between Dave's back injury and losing his job, and me taking a temporary pay cut in order to gain some sanity in our lives, coupled with my dad getting hit by a car, my mom changing jobs and having surgery, and all the stuff going on with friends and people close to us, this year has not been easy. We toasted to a Happy New Year, hoping that the next twelve months (and the many years to come) will be easy in comparison. In fact, one of the biggest things I'm looking forward to this year is spending Christmas with Dave, something we couldn't do last year since he was injured and couldn't travel with me to Pittsburgh. (I had to go--children were counting on me.)


Saturday night we had reservations at Gibbet Hill Grill. We'd been there once before for a friend's graduation party and every once and a while would mention that we really need to go there for dinner. Taking advantage of a special occasion, we decided to go. When we arrived, the place was pretty busy, with a full dining room and filling bar area, as well as a wedding about to begin outside. The reception was to be held in The Barn, a separate building across from the main Grill restaurant. Our table was in the back at the windows, so I was able to see a little bit of the ceremony once it started. (We didn't crash this one either. Although we were appropriately dressed, alas we did not have a gift.)

Our waiter was great--very fun and attentive. And the food. Oh. My. God. I had been planning all week what I was going to have, doing extra workouts to accommodate all the yummy goodies I wanted. But words really can't describe it (not that I won't try!) Much of the food featured on the menu is grown either right on the farm or is local to the area. It's so fresh and the flavors are perfectly melded together with other fresh ingredients.


We ordered drinks, and looked over the menu, for Dave's benefit since I already had it figured out. Dave got a gin and tonic, and since I was getting steak and I am my mother's daughter, I ordered a Maker's Mark Manhattan. (And about halfway through the glass, I was finally able to taste the ice! I'm just saying, that was one drunk cherry, totally unfit to drive.)

As an appetizer, we ordered the Farmhouse Grilled Cheeses, made with local cheese and bread from a nearby bakery. This included a wonderfully sharp cheddar on a perfect sourdough bread, and a yummy goat cheese and roasted red pepper spread on a crusty french bread. They were gooey and warm and paired with a fresh tomato soup for dipping. Well, they called it soup, but it was really more like a thick marinara sauce in texture, but tomato soup flavor all the way. I could have licked the bowl, it was that good.

Dave had ordered a cup of New England Clam Chowder, which he said was perfectly creamy without being too thick. My meal came with a house salad, with all kinds of fresh greens, local goat cheese and a tangy chardonnay vinaigrette.

But really, we came to this place for the cow. And it was excellent. Dave had the Prime Rib Au Jus with garlic mashed red bliss potatoes and citrus-honey glazed carrots. I thoroughly enjoyed the Sirloin Steak Tips with a perfect baked potato. We figure they do a lot of wood-fired cooking there, because while the food wasn't necessarily smoky, there was a slight flavor to it that could only come from a wood-fired oven. The steak was so smooth--an intense flavor and a soft, butter texture. The most perfect steak tips ever.

Of course, I was celebrating and knew I was having dessert. I had a little bit of convincing to do for Dave, but he humored me and joined it. Gibbet Hill actually serves Milk and Cookies on their dessert menu (come on, how often do you see that?), and I pondered that option. Our waiter told us the cookies were Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Cranberry, and I was almost hooked. Two of my favorites. But I decided against it because those are also two of my best cookie recipes and I wanted to try something unique. In the end it was Chocolate Pots de Creme with salted caramel, while Dave chose the Peach Crisp.

Ok, so I wasn't actually certain what Chocolate Pots de Creme was, but the waiter sold it by saying "silky smooth" and "chocolate" in the same sentence. It arrived in a mug and the top layer was smooth caramel, topped with just a little bit of cream. A-maze-ing. It was the silkiest of chocolate mousse, with an intense chocolate flavor, almost like hot cocoa in taste, paired with an oozing pool of caramel with a salted kick to cut the chocolate back a little. I could have licked the mug. And almost did. The Peach Crisp was huge, topped with almost two scoops of vanilla ice cream (the waiter told us later that he put more on it because he didn't think there was enough when he picked it up from the kitchen). The peaches were perfect and the cinnamon-y, nutty struesel topping was delicious.

We so rarely go out and get drinks, appetizers, and dessert with our meal, but celebrating "New Year's" seemed appropriate. We went home, snuggled on the couch, looked at our wedding album and digested.


Sunday, our actual anniversary, Dave's parent's came over to have lunch and celebrate with us. Dave and I popped a bottle of champagne for breakfast and toasted to a less chaotic year. After lunch with Madaline and Ernie, they gave us presents. A couple of entertaining dishes, since we have people over often, and a very special gift from Madaline.

Madaline is a quilter and an incredibly talented one at that. For our wedding, she made us this:


It's a king-sized quilt (her first) in beautiful colors. The picture doesn't do justice for the pattern or the quilt work she did, so trust me when I say it's gorgeous.

So I was quite surprised to open our gift yesterday and find this:


A beautiful "snuggling"quilt in our wedding colors. I swear, she picks the best fabrics. The border has hearts looped all the way around it and it's just lovely. Madaline commented that she didn't know our wedding colors when she started the bed quilt, so she had to make us another one! I don't think that was quite necessary, but it was very thoughtful.

So one year down, we spent the rest of the day watching football and it couldn't have been more perfect. I'm so lucky to have married such a wonderful guy that has been supportive and positive in a year that has been challenging and difficult. I think I'll keep him.

The Gardener Within

I fancy myself a gardener. A little patch of land in the backyard where I can grow some lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, maybe a little zucchini and peppers, a few blueberries, perhaps even some herbs (cause that's going so well in the house. See what happened to our garlic). A little area with a defense shield surrounding it that won't allow the critters that like to terrorize our yard to get in and destroy my yummy veggies.


I fancy myself a gardener, but it all honesty spring busy-ness (or laziness) has won out over me actually preparing the yard for such plants and tending to them in the necessary manner.

But this year I was a little more determined. Dave and I decided to get a little serious about our landscaping and I took that opportunity to insist on trying our hands at a tomato plant. I convinced Dave to get one when we got annuals for our flower boxes. We took it home and I nestled it in the yard. Located in perfect sun and near the fence to aid in staking it, I was determined to get something out of it.



And wouldn't you know we didn't screw it up? The plant is huge. It's at least four times it's original size in May. Already I've plucked off four juicy, red and absolutely delicious tomatoes, and at last count there are over 30 little green yummies waiting to ripen, with many more blooms to turn into salad and burger decorations.


I hope this year's bounty wasn't too much of a fluke (after all, with such hot temperatures and hardly any rain this summer, it could have gone another way), because I'm pretty sure I've got an itch to actually prepare and plan a little better next spring. Our garden might not have everything I want in it next year, but I imagine we'll have at least a few more plants.

Shameless Post So I Can Enter a Contest

At least I'm honest, right?

When deciding to start a blog, I toyed with the idea of doing a cooking or food blog but then realized there are many people out there with more attention to detail than me that already do it better. Like my friend E at Simply Satisfying. I also started following Cake, Batter, and Bowl after my mom saw Kerstin compete on the Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdown. Kerstin has a lot of healthy and tasty recipes, as well as yummy desserts, so I've enjoyed seeing what new things she's whipping up.

And now she's having a contest! She's giving away a package of Girard's salad dressings and all I have to do is tell you about her contest and blog. So consider yourself told and go visit her blog. Now. I'll wait.

See, isn't her blog cute and yummy sounding? And for the record, my go to salad is just romaine, halved grape tomatoes, and cucumber, sometimes with bacon bits and mozzarella cheese. It's my cheap and filling salad inspired by my favorite salad, which is a basic Caprese salad. Yummy.


This however, would not be my favorite salad. I'm anti-furry vegetables.