Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Wishing you all a warm wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by friends & family. Life is so short…appreciate those around you and give thanks for all the things you do have in life!

In Memory of My Mother In Law

Sadly, my mother in law Agnes passed away Friday, November 13th after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Agnes was a wonderful mother in law, wife, mother, and friend to many. She’ll be missed dearly by all of those close to her. When my father in law sorted through the items in her purse he found a poem she kept. It was a wonderful message left to all of us. Mass was celebrated in her honor on Sunday and Father Zahn shared this poem in his service. The funeral will be held in Germany as soon as we’ve made all the arrangements.

To Those I Love
and Those Who Loved Me

When I am gone, release me let me go…
I have so many things to see and do,
You must not tie yourself to me with tears;
Be happy we had so many years.

I gave to you my love, you can only guess,
How much you gave to me in happiness
I thank you for the love you each have shown,
But now it’s time I travel on alone.

So grieve a while for me, for grieve you must.
Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It’s only for a while that we must part,
So bless the memories within your heart.

I won’t be far away, for life goes on;
So if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can’t see me or touch me, I’ll be near,
And if you listen with your heart, you’ll hear,
All of my love around you soft and clear.

And then, when you must come this way alone,
I’ll greet you with a smile and say, “welcome home”.

Author Unknown

Save The Date – Southern Living & Blind Chardonnay Tasting Party

January, 23, 2010
1pm – Whenever

If you’re not on my evite distribution list and your interested in coming please shoot me an email to: curebloodcancers@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to add you to the guest list. Somer Sloan Gregory of Southern Living at Home will be our representative.

To preview the items available at Southern Living click here. To book your own party with Somer call her at 703-298-0269 or email southernvabell@hotmail.com

After Somer’s presentation we’ll be having a Blind Chardonnay Tasting w/ prizes to the owner of the best in show! Come with your favorite bottle of Chardonnay. Plenty of heavy appetizers will be provided.

Gap Give & Get Campaign – 30% Off All Purchases

Why wait till Black Friday to score some holiday deals? Head out to the Gap, Old Navy or Banana Republic stores this November 12-15 and save 30% off your entire purchase. 5% of the amount you spend will be given to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! So get out there and do some shopping for a great cause!!!

Click here to be directed to the coupon you print out and bring to the store.

Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show – Tyler Florence’s Ultimate Food & Wine Pairing

Today was an epicurious delight as I wandered around the rows and rows of fabulous vendors at the annual Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show. I met lots of wonderful people and picked up several gourmet sauces, spices, and kitchen gadgets to liven up my winter cooking.

After an ample amount of time was spent shopping and tasting wines in the wine tasting area I headed off for the Tyler Florence show. When I arrived the room was fairly filled. However, since I went all by myself to this event I was fortunate that there was a sole seat at the very front of the show. I seated myself next to two very nice ladies whose company I enjoyed throughout the show.

The show was very informal and Tyler confessed to pretty much “winging it”. I have to say I’m a bit disappointed in his lack of preparation and discussion points. However, for the complete novice I’m sure there were some points that may have been interesting. Despite the lack of structure I do admit I enjoyed Tylers laid back conversational style. As an added bonus to the show Paula Dean stopped by twice during the show to say hello and comment on the food/wine pairings of Tyler’s she was trying backstage. To start the show off Tyler prepared Scallop Saltimbocca with Green Apple and Crispy Sage. This dish was paired with the 2007 Hendry Pinot Gris & 2007 Tyler Florence Pinot Noir (yes…Tyler is dipping is foot into winemaking. No vineyard of his own. Although he hinted he and his wife like the idea of retiring down the road and running their own vineyard. He’s simply used a service called Crushpad. Similar to our Vint Hill winery here in Virginia where for about $5,000 you can take part in the wine making process and create your own barrels of wine.)

Here’s the recipe for Tyler’s Scallops:

Yield: 4 servings
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

12 slices speck
12 large sea scallops
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 fresh sage leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into wedges
1/2 lemon

Wrap a strip of speck around the perimeter of each scallop and squeeze gently so that speck sticks to itself and the scallops.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sage leaves and fry until lightly browned and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently lift the leaves out of the pan and drain flat on paper towels. Season the scallops with salt and pepper. Add the scallops to the hot pan and cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side until well browned. Remove scallops from the pan and put them on a platter. Now add the apples to the pan and give them a quick sauté until wilted and caramelized, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper.

To serve, spoon a smear of potato purée on plates and set 3 scallops on top of the potatoes. Spoon the apples around the plate and garnish with sage leaves.

The next dish we tried was a Pan Roasted Duck Breast with Truffled Spaghetti Squash. Let me begin by saying I’ve never tried duck before. I was quite suprised that I actually enjoyed again. It was presented on a bed of truffled spaghetti squash. Just a bit of butter and truffle oil. Oh it was devine. I’m going to have to pick up some spaghetti squash this week and make this w/ my prized truffle oil. The recipes for this dish and the last pairing should be posted on TylerFlorence.com tomorrow if you’re interested. This dish was paired with the 2007 Calera Mount Harlan Chardonnay. I absolutely LOVED this wine. It had a wonderful infusion of oak and a creamy, buttery finish. It was just devine. Tyler also had us try the 2007 Elizabeth Spencer Cabernet Sauvignon which was very pleasant.

The last dish we tried was Braised Beef Short Rib with Brussel Sprouts, Pancetta and Parcinis in a Bordelaise Sauce. The entire dish was scruptious! This dish was paired with the 2005 Turnbull Viognier and Tyler’s 2007 TF Zifandel. Both of these were very nice wines. At the end of the show Tyler invited us to come up and grab the left over bottles. Almost all of them had been open and partially used in the tasting. However, I was able to score an unopened bottle of the 05′ Turnbull Viognier. It was a very enjoyable show and I’m glad I made it down to the venue this year!

The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show is This Weekend

Save the date: November 7-8, 2009
www.MetroCooking.com

I had tickets to see Paula Dean last year and had to give them away as my boss jumped ship to another firm the very weekend of the show. I was so bummed I had to spend my weekend working and trying to transition clients to our new firm. However, I’m thrilled the show is back again this year! I’ve already purchased my Sunday tickets to see Tyler Florence’s Ultimate Food and Wine Pairing! Be sure to purchase your tickets ASAP. Many of the shows are already sold out!

Truffle Making Class…Update

Thanks to the girls in the Little Black Dress Club for telling me about the Truffle Making Classes offered at Artfully Chocolate Kingsbury Confections aka ACKC Cocoa Bar. Oddly enough today I was having lunch w/ my dear friend Frankie. Frankie was filling me in on the dating lives of people I knew through him. Turns out another friend Frank is dating the chocolatier of ACKC. What a small world it is!

Great Vintage Shopping Right Under Our Little DC noses!

Today my friend Tammy sent me a link from today’s Daily Candy Report. Click here to be signed up for the daily newsletter. The article is about a fabulous local Vintage Shop set up by a woman who used to work in the same office I do. She started out selling vintage clothing in Eastern Market on the weekends and has been able to launch her business full-time. You go girl!!! In this economy we should all be looking towards some of these vintage bargains. Not to mention the aspects of being oh so green! Repurpose, reuse and recycle. I’ve recently become addicted to the series Mad Men and I must say I found quite a few pieces on Uesa Robinson’s Vintage website. Click here to be directed to her site. In addition to online shopping Uesa offers private shopping by appointment. Call or email her to establish an appointment (202-258-5955 / uesagoods@hotmail.com). The icing on the cake is Uesa donates a portion of all proceeds to a charity helping Kenyan school children.

Here are just a few of the fabulous dresses found in Uesa’s online Gallery. Check out her site – you won’t be disappointed. This girl has a great eye for stylishly timeless pieces!

Wine Nights At The Arlington Draft House

In the category of “Who Knew”…the Washington Wine Academy hosts a Wine Night at The Movies every Friday at the Arlington Cinema N’ Drafthouse. The doors open at 6:15pm. Tastings are $1 for 1oz pour and they typically offer up to eight different wines to taste. Movie admission is only $5.50. What a bargain for a night out! This Friday’s movie is The Hangover.
Click here for more information.

Bowling 100

Last night I went bowling with some friends at the office. Despite the fact that I haven’t played in years I did manage to break 100. However, I did still throw my fair share of gutter balls. If you haven’t been out bowling in a while grab some friends and enjoy an evening of it!!!