[15 December, 2023]
Time flies … it’s that time of the year again. A potluck Christmas party for friends and former co-workers. A party that we aptly called … “Christmas Group Therapy”.
This year’s party invite.
Kamille's 4th Birthday
[10 December, 2022]
Her actual birthday is not until the 18th, but this day was the best for everybody to celebrate Kamille’s 4th. Her mom made her a luscious chocolate cake and I made her my special berry pavlova!
Christmas Potluck Party
[9 December, 2022]
This year’s Christmas potluck party that I host for Honda co-workers/friends was as festive and flowing with delicious food as any. The weather also cooperated, with highs in the mid-40’s.
Breakfast Sandwich
[2 November, 2022]
Homemade breakfast sandwich today: sausage patty, fluffy egg, and melty cheese with Sriracha mayo on a toasted brioche bun.
Pumpkin Heads
[29 October, 2022]
Chicken wings, pasta salad, veggie bird’s nests, spaghetti, and of course, cake (Death by Chocolate!) for my brother-in-law Robert’s birthday on Saturday.
And since it’s Halloween, a fun time carving pumpkin heads!
A Birthday Party
[04 October, 2022]
It was my sister Emilie’s birthday so it’s a celebration complete with cake and as tradition dictates, some noodle dish (for long life).
Departure Day
[28 September, 2022]
Final day of my trip, and a final lunch at Nono’s with the nieces to close out my fantastic month in the Philippines.
Reunions, COVID-19 Tests, and Christmas in Manila
[15-16 September, 2022]
Nothing like a superspreader event to spoil reunions with friends of over 35 years so Covid antigen tests were in order prior to these get-togethers, Oh, and it’s already Christmas in Manila!
A Welcome Break
[14 September, 2022]
Japanese food! A welcome break from all the Filipino food of the past couple of weeks!
Seafood Dinner by the Bay
[12 September, 2022]
Buying fresh seafood and having it cooked by one of the local restaurants highlight the unique dining experience in this popular Manila Bay-side destination. And the beautiful, famed Manila Bay sunset was just the perfect ambiance for our family dinner.
Dining Like A Locavore
[2 September, 2022]
First proper meal in Manila was lunch with family at Locavore with its modern interpretation of classic Filipino cuisine. In a word … scrumptious!
An Elevated Egg Breakfast Sandwich
Today’s breakfast was creamy, cheesy, crispy bacon-y, and egg-y. All on a toasted, buttery brioche bun.
Another K BBQ Weekend
Another Korean BBQ this past weekend, this time, with Jeremy, who, back in his JBAD days, was part of the awesome design team that worked on my house. He and his wife also brought over everything needed for an evening’s worth of old-fashioneds.
Neighborly Food Tastings
My next-door neighbor likes to occasionally pop over for a leisurely chat over a bottle of red wine every once and again. This time around (last Sunday), we both apparently had the same idea to make it more interesting by also putting together some tasty dishes in the Spanish and Italian styles.
He had smoked a rack of beef short ribs earlier in the day and brought over some cubed portions along with a plate of goat cheese and sliced tomatoes from his garden, drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Oh, and of course, an excellent bottle of Italian red.
For my part, I prepared small portions of fresh bruschetta, ventresca tuna in olive oil dressed with relish aioli, roasted piquillo peppers, and some prosciutto with shards of Parmigiana Reggiano. I also made some gambas al ajillo (shrimp and garlic simmered in olive oil).
All eaten tapas-style over toasted crusty slices of baguettes from Dan the Baker.
Lobster Roll Dinner
My buddy Brad stopped by Thursday afternoon after I got back from donating blood to help me with some small projects at home. Afterwards, we decided to hit downtown Powell for some dinner at Huli Huli.
Started with crab rangoon dip paired with prawn crackers. And lobster roll is in the menu so of course I had to have it.
Crab Rangoon Dip
Lobster Roll and Fries
Waldo's Famous Fried Bologna Sandwich
Took advantage of Thursday evening’s lovely warm and sunny weather to ride out with a friend to Waldo, home of the famous fried bologna sandwich.
Another Boodle Night
Colleagues from the EU were in town for three weeks (work-related) so we had to go to Bonifacio in Grandview for a can’t miss boodle feast, Filipino-style.
Two Foodies
Work colleague and good friend @steve_rodia was in town from B-ham, AL so it was a good reason to get together for some good eats.
Homemade Gelato
Putting another of my Florence cooking classes to the test, I made a batch of light-as-air Fior di Latte gelato and enjoyed some with a generous drizzle of the 12-yr old Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale that I brought home from Reggio Emilia. It truly is a taste of heaven, one of life’s little luxuries!
Cooking Italian
Putting the Italian cooking classes I took in Florence to the test at home.
