Cooking for a Cause 2012 Recap

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blogger events, boston, boston chefs, boston events, cooking, cooking for a cause, event, food, food events

I mentioned last week that I was going to Cooking for a Cause again this year.

Cooking for a Cause is an annual event held to benefit the East End House, which, in the words of the organization, “provides support services to a diverse population, from infants to seniors, to strengthen family and community.”

When you check in at the event, you’re given a bidding number, which you use for both the silent and the live auctions. The silent auctions included gift certificates to restaurants, cookbooks from the chefs in the room, wine baskets, gift baskets, and more. The live auction included a trip to Bermuda and a Red Sox/Yankee game. And like I said, all proceeds from the auction went to the East End House.

As for the food itself.

Oh goodness.

It was wonderful.

I would say it was equally on par with the event from last year.

The picture above is one of the first things I tasted from Craigie on Main. Beet Pasta. That’s right, pasta made out of beets. It was superb…and though I wanted a giant plate full of it, looking around the room at all the other food to sample, I knew I had to stop at one bite.

Brace yourselves.

I’m going to take you on a tour of everything else I ate and drank (yes, the drinks! They were so…dangerously good, too.)

This dish is from Catalyst: A mini tuna steak on a bed of sticky rice with a mango salsa. Again, hard to stop at just one.

Blue Inc. was serving a pork dumpling on a bed of coleslaw. There were a  lot of people hovering around this station

Bistro Du Midi was serving their octopus crostini. I tasted this last year, and it was just as delicious this year as it was then. Though I do wish they served would’ve served up something different for the event.

That, my friends, is pork belly from Aura. It’s on a nice slaw bed. It was juicy and fatty and finger-lickin’ good.

Rialto was serving a nice chowder, but I wanted to sample their lighter fare which was a char crudo — a new item on their menu that they were actually debuting at Cooking for a Cause — made up of pickled rhubarb, parsnip chips, and pea shoots.

This is a crab salad shooter from Island Creek Oyster Bar. They’ve never done me wrong, and it wasn’t about to start here.

Harvest was serving up a crab, garlic, pea, and mint salad. They went the extra mile and had their own little wooden serving dishes and spoons. Check Plus.

Green Street also got creative on the serving front. They had a salad with white fish meat (similar to flounder, the chef described), on endive for the “dish”. Clever — and tasty!

Fuji was serving up their sushi. And honestly, I could’ve just sat in front of this table all night stuffing their spicy California rolls into my face. But I, again, resisted and ate just two rolls. And they were good. Sushi is either a hit or a miss for me — they were a hit.

And let’s not forget the drinks. From top to bottom: The Hawthorne, Eastern Standard, and Tamo Bar. Lots of wine was being served, as well as craft beers, such as beer from Pretty Things.

And last but not least, the dessert:

Kickass Cupcakes made an appearance, however I was disappointed with their cupcake selection — only chocolate and vanilla and a few red velvets on their display.

And Area Four was serving up caramel corn mini cupcakes. Unfortunately I wasn’t a huge fan of these, which was a bummer because dessert is my favorite meal

Other sweets there included Taza Chocolate and Dancing Deer Baking Co.

I was also happy to bump into Elizabeth from Free Food Boston and Jen from Tiny Urban Kitchen

Overall, a great event. If you’re looking for a fun and filling night out with proceeds going to a good cause, consider Cooking for a Cause next year. Your stomach and tastebuds will thank you later.

Note: This is the second of two posts on Cooking for a Cause. My ticket to this event was provided to me free of charge from East End House, but all opinions expressed in this post are my own. 

Second note: It is unclear to me how I am not obese after realizing just now how much food I ate at this event.

Temple Bar Brunch — Cambridge, MA

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blogger events, boston, boston bloggers, boston brunchers, boston food, Breakfast, brunch, food

It’s brunches like these that make me wish I lived closer to Cambridge. I mean, Newton has its fair share of good restaurants, but Cambridge’s food scene is quite wealthy as well.

Saturday the Boston Brunchers headed over to Temple Bar for their brunch. I was lucky enough to snag a seat at the table, and as always, eager to see what they had in store for the brunchers.

The wait staff was incredibly attentive at Temple Bar. My water glass was never half empty at any point during the meal. And right after we sat down, they came around with those pretty drinks above. What service!

We got to order one item off the menu (check it out—you will drool immediately). I decided to go with the Bacon Cheddar Biscuit Breakfast Sandwich. The bacon drew me in, also the egg in the sandwich. And a side of home fries.

The sandwich came with a side of red jalapeno jelly, which was sweet and spicy all in one, adding a great zing to the sandwich (and of course the home fries). The biscuit had little bacon bits and cheddar cheese baked into it. So not only was it buttery and flakey, just the way a biscuit should be, but it also included two of my favorite things — bacon and cheese — roll that into one bite? I’m afraid I’ll never go back to a plain ol’ buttery biscuit again.

And after the main courses were sitting happily in our stomachs, the wait staff came out with an array of desserts to sample. Above, a creme brulee with a hint of ginger and nutmeg — also laid out on the table was a chocolate bread pudding, pumpkin parfait, and a raspberry cake. My favorites were a tie between the pumpkin parfait and the chocolate bread pudding.

Overall, as usual it was a wonderful brunch. I always have a great time meeting bloggers and brunchers I haven’t met before, and of course catching up with the old ones.

Looking forward to the next excursion!

“Om Nom Nom”–Boston Brunchers Dine at Om Restaurant

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blogger events, blogging, boston, boston brunchers, Breakfast, brunch, dining, dining out, events, food

Lately I’ve been lucky. I’ve been picked (by random–not bribing anyone!) to brunch with the Boston Brunchers almost every month!

And I love it. It gives me an opportunity to go out. My food blog is based mostly on homemade food that I make for me and Chris on our fairly low budget. We don’t have a lot of extra money kicking around to dine out at fancy restaurants, or restaurants in general. For us, it’s a treat. I want you all to know that I really love dining out, but money is the main reason why I don’t do it that often. I get a lot of weird looks because of it, too–from foodies and non-foodies everywhere around the Boston area. “Have you been there?” “Don’t you just love this dish of theirs?” “No!? Well, then where do you eat out?!”

So when I do get out. And when I do dine with food connoisseurs much like myself, it is indeed a treat.

This past Saturday, the brunchers were invited to dine at Om Restaurant in Harvard Square in Cambridge. I absolutely love Harvard Square. I don’t go out there that often because it’s inconvenient to get to from Newton, but when I do it’s such a treat. There are so many awesome restaurants and shops around–it’s hard not to find something to do!

Om is right across the street from Upstairs on the Square on Winthrop St. We were greeted by our smiling hostess and seated upstairs by the windows (perfect for blogger pics )

I was lucky enough to attend this brunch with my pals Kathy and Amanda. We oogled at the menu while the other brunchers trickled in at 11 (including Audrey from Boston Food Finds who I’m SO happy I finally got to meet!) Our server started us off to drink with a lovely Lychee Bellini. This drink is 11 times better than a mimosa. And all it is is pureed lychees with champagne. Sweet. Succulent. Superb. I didn’t know what a lychee was either (for those of you who are thinking–what the heck is a lychee?) It’s a berry. And it reminded me of a mix between a pear and a pineapple when I sipped it. They actually look like raspberries in their full form, but have a white pulp in the center. The drink looks and tastes upscale, but it’s incredibly simple to make on your own. And I like that.

So most people would be satisfied to order just one thing off of the menu, right? Not hungry food bloggers. Amanda, Kathy, and I were determined to get the Stuffed French Toast (stuffed with bananas and chocolate…hellooooo beautiful) as an appetizer BEFORE we dove into the egg selection on the menu. And guess what? Om was one step ahead of us. They informed us they were already planning on giving us a French Toast sampler before we ordered our own dishes. I could sense I was going to like this place…

The French Toast, by the way, was excellent. I’ve never had or made stuffed French Toast, but imagine the possibilities with this idea at home! Apples, blueberries, peaches…the bananas were perfect, though. There was not a single bite of these left at the end.

We also decided to try the Lemon Buttermilk Pancakes with Orange Honey Butter (what?!) These pancakes were also filled. With lemon cream. And you could actually see the lemon zest in the filling. So much salivating happened. All of that was consumed, too.

Then the tough choice came along. Ordering our individual main meals. Should I go with the Duck Confit Hash? (pictured above with a poached egg–) The Biscuits, Egg, and Cured Ham? The Hangover Burger? The Country Style Breakfast? More Pancakes?? Amanda and Kathy chose the Duck Confit Hash, which to me is such a novelty for brunch. They absolutely loved it, and Amanda let me try a sample of hers. And look at that egg. That perfectly poached egg!

I decided to go with the Biscuits, Egg, and Cured Ham with Tomato Salsa. I know exactly what you’re thinking, “That’s a biscuit?!!” Actually, there were two pancake-sized beautifully buttery biscuits on my plate, and I’m proud to say I ate the majority of them. The biscuits were so buttery and flaky that  they fell apart when I tried to eat them. I didn’t mind. I like playing with my food. The tomato salsa was a nice pairing with the biscuits–especially when you’re so used to the regular raspberry jam or jelly. The cured ham didn’t really suit my palette, though. But that didn’t phase me. The home fries made up for it. Doused in pepper and spices, these puppies were cut and fried to perfection.

And so, another Boston Brunchers event has come and gone Thank you to Om Restaurant for hosting us. Everyone was beaming when they left–full–yet wanting more (or maybe that’s just the bottomless pit talking over here…) I’ll definitely go back to splurge on brunch again here, whether or not my wallet can handle it. It’s such a delight to go out to eat with your friends, and then spend the rest of the afternoon in Harvard Square.

Note: This brunch was provided to me free of charge from Om Restaurant, but all of the opinions expressed here are my own. Neither Om Restaurant or the Boston Brunchers asked me to write a review of my experience there.

Boston Brunchers Set Sail on the Odyssey

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blogger events, boston, boston bloggers, boston brunchers, brunch, events, food, food bloggers, odyssey

It’s not often you get to go to brunch. On a boat. With your fiance. Free of charge.

But Sunday that’s just what happened! I entered to win 2 seats to brunch aboard the Odyssey on the Boston Brunchers website and won in the random drawing. Hooray! My luck is still holding strong in these drawings

I decided to bring Chris along since he had never been to any of my swanky food events. We dressed in our Sunday best and hopped on the T down to Gov’t Center, then walked down State Street to get to Rowe’s Wharf–and what a beautiful day for a walk and brunch cruise! The sun was shining, and I think I only saw one cloud the entire afternoon.

We were greeted at the table by our servers and a nice glass of champagne (which many people eagerly turned into some Sunday morning mimosas!) After chatting with some fellow friends and food bloggers, Chris and I eagerly approached the buffet line. They had two sides–one for breakfast and one for lunch. And at the end of the line was chocolate fountain and several cakes.

I did not hesitate to load up my plate. The breakfast selection was decent. They had bagels, pastries, and muffins. They also had home fries, french toast, waffles, sausage, bacon, yogurt and granola, and fresh fruit. As you can see, I was going heavy on the carbs and bacon The food itself was pretty good, though nothing like the Biltmore or the Four Seasons. The bacon was a little too overdone. The mushrooms and polenta I grabbed from the lunch station was cold, which wasn’t very pleasant. And the red velvet cake they had out–although it looked gorgeous, lacked in the distinct red velvet flavor. But overall, I did enjoy the food, and it certainly filled me up!

After Chris and I filled our stomachs, we headed to the upper decks of the boat and enjoyed the sunny skies and the views of Boston and chatted with some other wonderful bloggers and their guests.

It was a great ending to my vacation! Thanks to the Odyssey for hosting us on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon!

Note: This brunch was provided to me and my guest free of charge by Odyssey Cruises. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Behind the Scenes at America’s Test Kitchen

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America's Test Kitchen, atk, blogger events, cooking, food, tour

Every once in a while you get to chill out for half an hour at America’s Test Kitchen.

Well.

Not every once in a while, but I was lucky enough to get one amazing tour of Building 17 to see what actually happens behind the scenes of what I like to call culinary genius.

America’s Test Kitchen, for those of you who don’t know, tests and modifies thousands of recipes each year to find the best ones for us folk sitting at home reading their cookbooks, watching their television show, or listening to them on the radio. These recipes have been researched, tested and tasted until  they get them right. And I can tell you from experience from making some of their recipes, they do get them right. I can think of magazines and shows that do test and taste their recipes, but none I can think of that live up to the expectations of America’s Test Kitchen.

And not only do they test their recipes, they test the ingredients and equipment that goes into making the recipes. So you’ll get the perfect pancake flip or soup consistency right every time if you use the right product.

So you can imagine I was pretty excited when Steph Yiu, ATK’s social media manager, invited some bloggers to come take a tour of the kitchen.

First of all, for those of you who think that America’s Test Kitchen is a huge studio with dozens of kitchens for their chefs, is equipped with a TV studio for their show, or has big offices for their editors, think  again. The ATK studio is quite small and compact, but it has everything they need. Directly behind Steph in that picture above is their library, actually. It’s a tight space, but it’s filled with tons of books on every cuisine your taste buds can think of. According to Steph, this is where the research begins. A lot of the recipes that they test in the kitchens don’t come from the internet because they can’t find them there. So they have to look back at old and diverse cookbooks to find the recipes they’re looking for. They also have a wall of every cookbook and magazine they’ve ever published. It’s boggling. And mouthwatering.

Our next stop was their photo studio. Since everyone on the tour was a blogger, we all were pretty interested in this aspect. We learned that all of the photos they take are of real food that they’ve just prepared. In fact, there was not one, but three bundt cakes being photographed when we walked in–all looking equally glamorous. According to the photographer that was there, the only food they might not photograph in its 100% natural state is something like ice cream. But unlike most commercials we see (and who knows, maybe even some cooking magazines out there), all of this food is the real thing. No Styrofoam, no glue, no nothing. We bloggers approved, since we too only photograph the real stuff!

Then we stepped into the small kitchen. This sits right next to the large kitchen where the show is taped. In the kitchen were four chefs conversing about a recipe they were currently testing. And Steph discussed the ovens and equipment that they use in the test kitchen–it’s all the same stuff you’d find in a home cook’s kitchen. None of the ovens are commercial, none of their mixers, nothing. And that’s comforting to me. They test all their recipes with the same equipment that’s available to us–giving us more of a chance to get the recipe exactly the way they describe it to be.

Directly outside of the small kitchen is their pantry. Small, right? I thought it would be so much bigger than this! But we also learned that they have a person that they hired that is their grocery shopper–which means their job is to shop for groceries every single day. Crazy, huh? Again, everything you see here is available in the grocery store. They buy the same brands we use at home.

Oh and those trash cans? There’s no trash in them. One is for flour and one is for sugar. And here I was sitting thinking I had a lot of flour and sugar lying around…

And in case you were wondering about where all their pots and pans are stored? Right outside the pantry. There’s a huge wall of every pot, pan, pastry brush, blender, measuring cup/spoon you can think of. Some are labeled for “photos only”. And some are labeled “abuse only” This is only a fraction of what was on the wall. I couldn’t get a big enough depth of field to catch the whole thing!

And lastly, the studio kitchen! This is the actual counter where Chris Kimball stands when the show is taped. They actually just finished taping a few hours before the show, so you can see them breaking down the set. This kitchen isn’t just for show, though. A lot of cooking goes on here. And even during the show–the people in the background are actually cooking and testing real recipes for a cookbook/magazine. They’re not just there for show.

After that we went upstairs to the editorial floor. We saw Chris Kimball in his office–a few people swooned over this. And we witnessed an editorial meeting just about to start. An editor myself, I felt like I could relate–if even just a little–to the editorial bustle on the second floor.

And that ended our tour–but not without some parting gifts. Steph handed us each the latest edition of Cook’s Country, Cook’s Illustrated, and their America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. Thanks, ATK!

Hope you enjoyed my recap of my little glimpse into the little America’s Test Kitchen factory. I got to see what a great tightly knit community it is, and just how much dedication and work goes into their detailed (and delicious) end products.

And be sure to check out the America’s Test Kitchen feed when you get a chance. There’s more behind the scenes action there, as well as tips–and an FAQ section

Note: America’s Test Kitchen did not ask me to write about the tour that they gave me. All the opinions expressed here are my own.

Highlights from the Seder Plate Challenge

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blogger events, boston, boston bloggers, cooking, food, friends, friendship, get-togethers, passover, seder, seder plate

Our Seder Plate

I promised earlier this week to update you in more detail about the Seder Plate Challenge held at Cara’s from Cara’s Cravings this past weekend.

I’m not Jewish, but I really enjoyed learning about what each dish on the Seder Plate means at Cara’s. (She describes it wonderfully in this post.) I think traditions in general are so wonderful. Regardless of the religion (or lack thereof) that you practice, having a tradition you go back to every year or every once in a while is a bind for families or friends. It brings you closer together. And being in a room of several bloggers I had never met before, this tradition certainly made me feel close to them.

Food is another element that makes me feel close to people. I met many of these bloggers at the Passover Feast virtually, but we all brought in bags and bags of food, hugged each other, and sat around the table with beaming faces like we’d been practicing this tradition since we were born. It came so naturally.

And might I add that all of the food was delicious at the table. One reason why I personally like getting together in person with people and bringing our own food is that we get to actually taste what we make on our blogs. I also love going to restaurants and food events downtown, but to make and share and eat food with other people in the comfort of their homes–well, it can’t get much better than that!

Enough of me talking, right? I’m going to showcase what we had at the Passover Feast, and I encourage you to visit these blogs–great food and great people!

Renee made a beautiful charoset accompanied with horseradish sauce. We topped some crackers with this–it was perfect and crunchy and packed full of flavor.

Melissa’s horseradish cauliflower latkes. These were moist and extremely flavorful.

Amanda showed up with Parmesan-crusted asparagus with horseradish hollandaise (which she saved after it separated, by the way–what an achievement!). I usually only roast my asparagus plain with salt and pepper, but the addition of the Parmesan added a perfect crust.

The hostess herself, Cara, made some show-stopping lamb crepes. These were moist, the lamb was tender, and the crepes fluffy and golden. Couldn’t ask for anything more.

Jen, the infamous baker, showed up with a rich apple slaw. This bowl sat beside me at the table (and so did Jen), and needless to say, I went back for thirds, and fourths..and maybe a fifth? It was wonderfully sweet and crisp.

Elina prepared this massaged kale and beet salad on the spot. I got to see her work her magic right in front of me! In it went freshly roasted beets, kale, lemon juice, walnuts, prunes, and goat cheese. I don’t think  I need to describe this any more other than that it was pretty damn good. If there’s something with goat cheese in it, I’ll take sixths, please.

And how is a feast complete without some dessert?? Shannon made white chocolate truffles with fresh wasabi–and in the middle of them–a hunk of candied ginger.  It was a blend of sweet and a hint of spicy–perfect ending to the meal.

Cara also provided some almond butter meringues. I’m not usually a fan of meringues but these were airy, sweet, and not too sugary.

Here’s a view of the whole table–gorgeous, right?

Thanks, Cara, for hosting us!

Looking forward to more blogger get-togethers in the future