Archive | May, 2012

around the country//delray beach//eats

30 May

i’m starting a new regular post called “eats”.  the original design of the posts were for me to highlight places i go all over the country like fargo, new york, new mexico and other exciting places like that.  but then i thought to myself – why do all the work?!?  not when i have friends all over the country who eat out all the time and can send me their favorite places. if you want to participate, please leave me a message below or send me an email

today, i want to highlight (and appreciate) barb sciarrino’s favorite restaurant in florida.  and her stellar photography!  she just got back from there with her family and although i’m in dallas and she is in the detroit office of our agency, i know (via Facebook) just how tan this girl is.  plus, barb – your pictures of the food MADE ME DROOL – and i’m not even hungry. thanks barb.  check out this restaurant, if you’re in town…

from the desk of barb:

Tramonti is one of our favorite restaurants in Delray Beach, FL. 
We vacation there every year, and this is the one place we never miss.  It’s a great Italian restaurant on Atlantic Avenue in downtown Delray Beach.  It is owned by the same owners of Angelo’s of Mulberry Street in New York’s Little Italy, a famous NY tourist attraction!
My lunch choice was eggplant parmesan which was fabulous!
My husband Sam’s choice was Calamari in Casseruola, which is squid in a spicy tomato sauce over angel hair pasta.
Dessert was (of course) a cannoli made of ricotta/cream filling, chocolate chips, and a scoop of whip cream on the side.  Accompanied by an espresso!
A taste of Little Italy right in south Florida.   The waiters even all speak Italian!

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how to pack a cooler.

23 May

because ROF is getting ready for his 30th pilgrimage to the indy 500 this weekend, i thought i’d repost an oldie but goodie.  below are pictures of previous trips to indy and i know this one won’t disappoint.

from the desk of ROF:

there are a few things i do well.

one of them is packing for a trip.  i don’t mean clothes – i’m talking the important stuff  – drinks and snacks. 

i enjoy traveling and did a lot of it growing up.  i always had this fascination with coolers.  i can still remember my grandfather’s cooler.  it was an unpolished, aluminum Coleman – the kind that can keep drinks cold for 2 to 3 days.  

i’ve always been into hospitality.  i was 9 years old in 1979 during the gas crisis.  i sold cold drinks and snacks to the hundreds of people lined up outside gas stations to get gas.  used the first generation, igloo playmate cooler (red base, white swivel top with push button on the side) this was my first job and i had that cooler all through college.

for the past 20 years,

i’ve embarked on a guys pilgrimage to indianapolis the last weekend in may for the grand daddy of all motor sports – the indy 500.  now, i’m using this as an example trip because it is the mack daddy trip for packing drinks and snacks.  obviously, if you’re going on a road trip with just you and your wife, dial this back a little bit.  typically between 4 and 8 guys go on this trip and everyone is appointed a task for the trip.  this trip is a well-oiled machine.  here are the tasks:

1. ground transportation

2. non-race activities (such as concerts, parties, parades)

3. music – both sound system and playlist for the weekend

4. dinner reservations

5. drinks and snacks

i’m in charge of #5.  this is no small task.  it’s obviously a huge responsibility and i take it very seriously.

first the beer.

however much we’re bringing we split half in bottles and half in cans (no bottles at the speedway, folks).  our beer of choice: heinken (glass) and coors light and bud light (cans)

now the booze and mixers.

this takes a little bit more research or you have to just know the group you’re with.  the last few years, when my friend tod eason is with us, we go through an unbelievable amount of petron orange label tequila.  however, a staple of the weekend is vodka.  usually we bring two brands: one top shelf for martinis and tonics and a mid-level brand that goes into gallons of bloody marys and screwdrivers.  i always toss in a handle or two of single malt scotch as well as a handle of boubon.

condiments, garnish and snacks.

essential garnish are: limes, olives, pepperoncini peppers, black pepper, tobasco sauce, worchester sauce, zing zang brand bloody mary mix, tonic, soda, coke, diet coke, orange juice and red bull.  then of course you need styrofoam cups, bev naps, stirrers and a martini shaker.

as far as snacks are concerned, an indy staple has been the sunshine brand of cheez-its (the non reduced fat variety), extra large jar of mixed nuts, double stuff oreos and  pre-made rice krispy treats.

how to pack a cooler – some tips and suggestions

just like getting ready for a road trip – you think about what you’re going to pack, what route are you going to take, all that jazz- to me, what is just as important is what refreshments are going to be brought and how they’re brought.

first, the list.  it’s very important to write down everything that is needed so nothing gets left behind. don’t make assumptions.  use this list to call your friends, ask questions and cross things off.

next, do the math.  take how many people you are traveling with x how many days and then divide by .5 and round up and that is how many beers to bring.  or about a case a person a day.  let me put it this way, we don’t run out.

packing for the road:  put a thin layer of ice at the bottom of the cooler.  then a couple layers of bottles or cans.  more ice.  repeat the layer of cans.  when you get to the top, put a thin layer of ice then lay the cut up fruit, garnish and other snacks that need refrigeration.

pre-cut your limes and garnish: don’t mess with packing knifes and worrying about getting one.  do all the work in advance

pack a small cooler on road trips to keep close with ice tea and diet coke and snacks.  don’t try and go digging in your professionally packed cooler in the trunk while on the road.

now, you don’t have to be going to indy with a bunch of your friends to apply these tips and suggestions.  it is the same if you’re giving parties at your house.  planning is key.

thanks,

ROF

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fun dinner box

19 May

so i had this idea

the other day to put together a fun dinner party box.  this would be a box that you bring out when you’re having a dinner party.  duh.  because here is the thing.  you can have a fun dinner party where you sit around, clink glasses, oooh and ahhh about the food, get caught up on pleasantries and all that.  and that is fun.  not saying it isn’t.

OR you can have a memorable dinner party.  here are some things i’ve learned about doing that:

1. friend kat glass had a fun memorable dinner party and the one thing she did was buy a sheet of brown craft paper (i think at home depot?) and lay it across the dinner table and put crayons in glasses out.  just like at restaurants.  i remember ROF and alex harland drawing adult pictures around their dinner plates.  it made for a fun something different.

2. at my mom’s 70th birthday weekend, we had some really fun times with wax lips and mustaches.  even my aunt and uncle and friends all got into the fun.  strange how a small purchase can turn into fits of giggles.  the candy smokes add to the action as well!  

3. i read a tweet that talked about breaking out a box of removable, cool tattoos transformed a regular dinner party into a memorable dinner party.

4. my standby for years has been table topic question cards.

i’ve used these a million different ways.  from sliding a card under a dinner plate as post-dinner discussions to just plopping the box down on a table and everyone taking turns asking and answering.

i found this creative idea here:

 

The secret message  This is an excellent ice breaker between guests that don’t know each other well. Write a different sentence on pieces of paper you slip under each person’s plate. Off-beat examples like ‘I recently ate a wheel of cheese’ or ‘I’m genuinely worried by turtles’ should keep relative strangers guessing. When your guests arrive, get them to secretly read their phrase. At some point in the evening they have to get their comment into conversation and pass it off as fact. Over coffee have everyone guess which phrase they think was phoney. 


what other ideas/thoughts can be put in the box?

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happy happy friday, everyone!

18 May

dreaming of friday, on a tuesday.

15 May

one of my favorite things to do, ever

is stay home on a friday night with ROF.  it’s my blog and i can go on and on about my awesome husband if i want.

you see, i didn’t get married until i was 40 years old.  and i don’t regret it one bit at all.

in fact, it was well worth the waiting.  in my 20’s and 30’s, i saw a lot of my friends get married and i’m not going to lie, it was hard.  but i reminded myself to never settle.  i would rather have the mindset to not settle than to “follow the safe and typical road”.  there is nothing like finding the love of your life and your best friend.  sigh.  now, i have the best of both worlds – a fantastic career and an even more fantastic husband.

so back to friday nights…

i read somewhere smart to have an indoor couples activity and an outdoor couples activity.  something that you and your SPOUSE (isn’t that the worst word? ) can do together.  our indoor activity is GIN.  no, not the kind you drink, the kind you play.  we’ve been playing since almost the day we met.  we have a notebook where we keep the score (YES, YOU ARE WINNING, ROF) and we also write down little tidbits of info so we remember what we were doing that day.  we play all the time.  we played with our nephews michael and bill when they were in town.  my mom and dad were gin players big time.  they played right up until my mom gave birth to me – she was winning, she always adds.

when ROF and i were dating, he invited my mom over for a classic ROF steak dinner.  we decided to play gin.  mom was helping ROF by standing behind him because he was very new at the game.  at that point we weren’t even keeping score.  so i asked my mom “how do you keep score?”  and she said “i don’t know”.  which i knew at the time to be a bold face lie.  my mom plays cards (bridge) semi-professionally and was the reining gin queen.  but she’s also not prone to lying.  when i asked her about it, she said “honey, he didn’t even know how to hold the cards in his hands correctly, i wasn’t going to go into how to score.” we laugh about that now because ROF is kicking my butt in our on-going gin game we’ve been playing for over a year.

so … friday nights  – my favorite ones – are filled with ROF, gin rummy, a special dinner and good music.  this past friday, ROF made a special grilled shrimp with a dry rub and then BBQ sauce – which was out of this world!  add to that some grilled sweet potatoes with a honey lime glaze. scrumps!   we enjoyed skinny margaritas, good talks and of course some tunes.

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poachies poachies i love you

12 May

oh how do i love poached eggs.

takes me all the way back to being  just a sweet young thing with red hair and buck teeth.  i believe we have pictures of me sitting in a high chair eating mushed up poachies (as we called them).  my mom used to make them in a plug-in poached egg machine:

and plop them in a cereal bowl and cut up buttered toast into little squares.  The poachies would be a little runny and the warm yellow yolk would coat the toast chunks.  a sprinkle of crunchy kosher salt would be the cherry on top.  i – love – poachies.

so recently, i bought a $20 poachie machine at bed bath body and beyond or whatever that store is called.

so now i can make my own poachies for ROF.  in fact i’ve made them many mornings since i got the $20 poachie machine!

but now i make them the grown-up way

on a proper plate with a knife and a fork.  we’re real formal round here at the appreciator house.

here are some more glamour shots:

and here is how you make poachies with my pan – love this couple.  pretty funny (when he says to her “is using a huge steak knife proper protocol?”)

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before you die

9 May

appreciating a great tumblr site i stumbled upon.

it is great visuals matched with a TON of things this person wants to do before they die.  it is called the perfect bucket list.  i believe that you can request things but i can’t figure that out yet.  it’s really fun to look through.  check it out here.  

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pin-spirations

6 May

ah, sunday.

anticipation – some good and some bad of the week to come.  what will it hold?  good news/bad news, surprises?  will i keep my goals and objectives or will i get off track and will i be ok with that?  we don’t know do we?

if i don’t watch it, anticipation can turn into anxiety.  

so sometimes i turn to pinterest for inspiration.  cheap therapy!  here is what is inspiring me now:

this is a mirror made out of the top of a barrel.  i think this is too cool!  i love unique pieces like this.

i think these are the cutest wine bottle stops from anthropology.  of course who ever needs one of these?

you know what a woody fan i am.  this poster would look good in my pretend office.

i love how creative some people are.

come to mama.

seriously, i nearly went off my rocker when i saw this website.  go here.  you’ll love it, bebe.

 

yes.  this is true.  time for mad men!  until next week!

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five fab faves

1 May

happy tuesday to you!

here are a few of my favorite things that i’m appreciating right now:
1. music//feist:  especially the songs:
i feel it now & how come you never go there.
this morning was a little rough and popping these in my headphones on the plane cheered me a little bit
check them out on spotify, iTunes or punch it in pandora. or just go here for her cool website.  i also heard i feel it now in the elevator at the cosmopolitan hotel in las vegas.  it was perfect!
2. read//may issue of INC. magazine: things i can’t live without
there is something about peering into other people’s lives that is irresistible.  i’m not wrong in thinking that – look at the success of reality tv.  for me, i like to learn how other people get by traveling, organizing, cooking.  it’s interesting to me.  i like to pick up tips and learn new habits.  this article showcased design maven eric villency of villency design group.  he has this hard graft heritage collection 2unfold laptop bag.  super cool (and expensive!)
3. blog//home & roam
am lucky enough to actually know one half of this amazing duo.  karen was my aussie neighbor across the hall from us at chestnut & lasalle in chicago.  we were together a short time but experienced september 11th together and a memorable thanksgiving feast where i believe it was she who first introduced me to “2 truths and a lie” game (was it you?) i’ve been loving following her & her wonderful photographer husband, bob’s travels and eats and fabulous dinner parties.  go ahead and subscribe.  she won’t bite.
4. eat//ellie krieger: shrimp & feta dish
i may have already talked about this in previous posts, but who gives a hoot – it’s my blog.  honey badger don’t care.  i may talk about it again in a month.  can’t wait to cook this for susan & mike when they come to visit.  i think i may have a specialty!  ROF requests it a lot and it is now even better that i can use my own fresh cilantro & basil from my little herb garden.  get the recipe here.  it is like no calories and very flavorful.
5. think//ted video: sherry turkle connected but alone
what a powerful talk this week.  remember that goal i had to watch one ted video a week?  i’ve been doing it.  this makes you scratch your head and go hum.  it’s a thinker and as a girl making her living from the advances in technology it rubs me a little in the “that might be true” way.  she talks, as the psychiatrist she is, about technology is changing us and not really for the better.  how we’re doing things thought unthinkable just 5 years ago.  like congress texting, face booking and the such on their mobiles during a hearing.  or a meeting.  or a presentation.  but she digs even deeper to say that it’s a world of people who are alone but together.  that we’re subsituting tweets and texts and LOL’s for love and affection but it’s not.  i can’t do it justice, but if i peaked your interest, take a watch.  would love to know what you think.
talk to you on wednesday!

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