“Cinco de Mayo has come to represent a celebration of the contributions that Mexican Americans and all Hispanics have made to America.” ~ Joe Baca

For those of you gearing up for Cinco de Mayo celebrations, I wanted to share this delicious recipe for jalapeno corn bread.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup olive oil

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped

Directions

1.       In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Stir in jalapenos.

Pour into a greased 9-in. square baking pan.

2.       Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cut into squares or wedges. Serve warm and enjoy!

“Taste is the feminine of genius." ~ Edward FitzGerald

We started last weekend off with a bang, joining my pal MMA and her fiancee for the tasting for their wedding reception at the Union League of Philadelphia.  After sharing 5 potential appetizers, 5 potential salads, 4 potential entrees, 4 potential desserts and a variety of cake combinations we were stuffed and excited for the big day.  I don't want to spoil any details, but I can promise it will be delicious!

[at the end of the tasting]

After the tasting we went to the Racquet Club, which is to be the site of their rehearsal dinner, for a beer and a laugh.

[the groom-to-be paying bar tender]

[pretty impressive likeness]

Saturday we had tickets to Flavors of the Avenue, an event to benefit East Passyunk Avenue's Business Improvement District's public safety program.  There were twenty-one vendors from the area offering samples of their signature dishes and drinks under the cover of a big top tent.  Outside the tent there were pay-as-you-go food and drink vendors, as well as live music. 

 ["stop taking pictures of us"]

[enjoying "The Elvis" cupcake - banana with a chocolate covered piece of bacon on top]

Luckily we decided to get VIP tickets, which got us into the tent an hour before the masses.  After scurrying to get a taste of as many of the treats and drinks as possible, one of the vendors suggested that we stock pile before the doors opened to general public.  We may have taken him a bit too seriously...

 [to be fair, those are all mini glasses]

Once the food and drink wound down, we headed outside to enjoy the music and the weather.

All-in-all, a great even to cap off a great weekend.  Can't wait for next year!

“Never too old, never too bad, never too late, never too sick to start from scratch once again.” -Bikram Choudhury

Last weekend B and I went to dinner with his brother, AJB, and his fiancee, J5.  We decided to check out Square Peg, which recently opened in the former Marathon Grill on Walnut Street near Jefferson Hospital.  Square Peg has made good use of the space and has clearly taken some cues from chef Mike Levin's former endeavor, Adsum (not only does the Square Peg menu eerily employ the same font as Adsum once did, but it incorporates fried chicken, a Levin staple).  We started with the mac and cheese "grilled cheese" and the "tacos in a bag."

 
The mac and cheese "grilled cheese" was literally mac and cheese between two pieces of buttery bread, grilled... and it was heaven, especially when dunked in the "drunken" tomato soup that's served on the side.

The "tacos in a bag" is literally a fritos bag served with a hot frito, a carnita chili, burnt scallion, and queso crema mixture inside that you are instructed to dump on top of a bed of shredded lettuce.  It was decent, but is more about the fan fare than the flavors (although, if you decide to order these two appetizers together I would HIGHLY recommend dunking some of the extra fritos in the drunken tomato soup... yum).

After dinner we had a couple of drinks at Farmer's Cabinet before calling it a night.

 [J5 and I]

The drinks are good, but no joke.  Cheers!

"All my life I've kinda dreamed of being the best, and doing the best, and it hasn't always been easy for me. So I've been trying, but it's really special to have come such a long way, it's just really fulfilling." ~ Serena Williams

For Easter weekend I headed back down to Charleston to spend some time with my mom and sisters at the Family Circle tennis tournament (and, as an added bonus, I got to spend Friday with my childhood pal KMW before meeting up with the fam).  Although the first evening was pretty chilly, we braved the elements for the love of the game. 

 [sisters]

 [bundled]

Luckily Saturday brought much warmer weather, perfect for a couple of cold beverages and watching Serena Williams dominate Stosur.

 [pretty sweet seats]

 [blue moon seasonal - summer already!]

That evening we headed downtown for dinner at Muse.  The ambiance was great - a sort of Victorian style home on the interior - and the food turned out to be fantastic.  For starters we shared the cheese plate and brushetta.

Anyone who knows my family knows how much we like cheese so, needless to say, the cheese plate was a hit, and the mushroom brushetta was delicious.

For dinner my mom got a fish dish, my sisters split the softshell crab and scallops, and I also went with the softshell.

The scallop dish was so good that my youngest sister got swept up and forgot she was splitting and downed more than her half of the scallops before realizing she had to trade plates.  The softshell crab was amazingly light despite being served in a she-crab reduction and went perfectly with the okra.

We left stuffed and satisfied, ready for an early evening in preparation for a Sunday of travel and tennis.  Although I missed the finals, Serena ended up killing the competition and taking the title (and looking fierce in the process).  Get it girl!

"Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn." ~ Quoted by Lewis Grizzard in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

March, like February before it, was a hectic whirlwind of fun, food, and travel.  To kick off the month, B and I went skiing in Eden, UT (45 minutes outside of Salt Lake City) with his high school friends.  On our way to the rental house we stopped for dinner and I had my first In-N-Out Burger.

It was artery-clogging delicious.  In addition to my first time eating at In-N-Out, it was my first time skiing out west.  While this was generally a terrible winter for skiers,  we were lucky enough to get two feet of fresh powder our first day on the slopes.  If I had a complaint it would just be that skiing in that much snow is hard work!

 [Day 1 - white out!]

 [Day 2 - fantastic views and sunshine]

 [B getting radical in 2 feet of powder]

[B enjoying some chili in the lodge]

We had a fantastic time and I'm so thankful for B's friends who arranged a great house and great meals every night.  Can't wait for next year!

The weekend after our trip B and I enjoyed a little "bar hop" through Philly. 

 [the city at dusk]

We started at Oyster House with a dozen oysters and some bubbly.

Then we enjoyed the taco sampler and some cocktails at El Vez.

 [Julep Mexicana]

Next we enjoyed pork buns and a cocktail at Chifa.

 [Inigo Montoya]

Finally we had pretzels (with beer mustard cheese sauce) and beer at Bierstube.

Everything was fantastic and we had a great time enjoying the city.

The next morning I headed over to my in-laws house to shower my soon-to-be-sister-in-law J5.

 [mother of the bride, bride-to-be, and my mother-in-law]

[my shoes for the shower, courtesy of Tory Burch]

The following weekend was one of my favorite holidays of the year - St. Patty's Day.  For the fourth year in a row all of our friends gathered at the Bards for Guinness, green, and a great time!

 [my pals]

 [safety first]

[mayhem on the streets of Philly]

For the final weekend of the month, B and I were invited to a dinner party with my colleagues on the night of the big mega millions jackpot.  We didn't win but we had some great food and enjoyed a hilarious round of the newlywed game (B and I won!)

 [our favorite appetizer - smoked salmon, cream cheese, and potato and onion cakes - easy and delicious!]

 [Obamas in training]

[master chef]

The following morning B and I ran in the Phillies 5K at the ballpark.  It was my first 5K so I was somewhat nervous, but we had a great time and finished in 28 minutes!  After the run we treated ourselves to a well deserved brunch at Johnny Brendas.

I had the biscuit and gravy topped with fried eggs - a recent addition to their brunch menu.  The biscuit was fluffy and delicious but the gravy wasn't my favorite.

B had the chilaquiles, a traditional Mexican dish in which green salsa or mole is poured over crisp tortilla chips and simmered until the tortilla starts softening and then topped with fried eggs and cheese and served with refried beans.  It was perfection.

After breakfast we saw Hunger Games (I loved the first book so I was pretty disappointed in the plot cuts and the casting of Peeta - where was the charismatic beefcake from the book?!), I took a nap, and then we met up with some friends for drinks at Boiler Maker (formerly Blue Bear, Doc Watson's).

The ambiance was great, and they have an impressive tap list, but three of the four of us were served the wrong beer in our first round.  I attribute it largely to the fact that they have different beers in the upstairs beer but permit patrons to order from either so if you are sitting downstairs and order a beer from an upstairs tap (or vice versa), things can easily get lost in translation.  I'd like to try it again when some of the kinks have been worked out.

It really was a great month, and with the recent warm front April is shaping up to be just as fun.

"Time flies when you're having fun"

February was a complete whirlwind of travel, food, and fun for B and me.  We started the month off with dinner at Bistro La Minette bookended by back-to-back weddings in Charleston and Florida.  In Charleston we took advantage of the 70 degree weather with a run on Mount Pleasant, a walk around downtown Charleston, and brunch at Virginia's on King.  B had the country ham with cheese grits, fried eggs, and a biscuit on the side while I opted for the biscuit and gravy.

Everything was delicious but the biscuits were buttery, light as air, and to die for... they just don't make biscuits like that up north.

After stuffing our faces we got cleaned up and headed to the wedding.  It was absolutely beautiful and we had a great time at the reception, as well as the "after party" at our friends' family home on Isle of Palms.

 

[taking a break for dancing for a quick pic]


After returning from Charleston, we celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday at Bistro La Minette.  It is a charming little place and the food was fantastic.  I had the endive salad, followed by the Euf du Pêcheur.

The endive salad was served with forme d’ambert, walnuts, pear slices, and walnut vinaigrette.  It was crisp, refreshing, and delicious.  

The Euf du Pêcheur was served with a Fisherman’s-style poached egg and mussels over a thinly sliced toasted baguette and topped with tarragon cream sauce.  The mussels and egg sound like a strange combination but I absolutely loved it. 

The table shared a few desserts and we made sure to get in the obligatory candle-blowout.

Happy Birthday AJB!!

That weekend we headed to Florida for the wedding of one of B's high school friends.

[view from our balcony]

The bride and groom make wine at home, so their out of town guest bags at the hotel included a small bottle of their homemade wine for the guests to enjoy.  What a great idea!!

On Saturday morning we had brunch at Jan's Place with one of my college gal pals and her husband who live in Florida before getting ready for the big night.

I had the southwestern eggs benedict - poached eggs served with onion and avocado over corn bread and topped with enchilada hollandaise  It was heart attack-inducing good.

Back at the resort the couple exchanged their own vows at a beautiful ceremony and then we had a great time partying the night away.

<3<3<3

As if we hadn't already had enough to eat and drink, the following week we went to Sbraga to celebrate Valentine's day.  We've been really excited about trying out Sbraga ever since the owner, Kevin Sbraga, won Top Chef a few years back.  We did the tasting menu and beverage pairing.  Unique to most other tasting menus, Sbraga lets you choose one dish from each of four courses for a flat fee.  In addition, Sbraga recommends an alcoholic beverage to pair with each course so if you do the tasting and beverage pairing your drinks are dictated by the dishes you choose.  It was a really fresh approach to the standard tasting/pairing.  For our first course we had oysters and chick liver pate.

The oysters were a definite miss --  the dill totally over powered the oyster and the other flavors in the garnish -- but the pate was surprisingly good.  For our second course we had scallop and black cod.

Both were great.  The scallop was interestingly paired with a beet salad and pork belly, and the black cod went well with the cool and spicy kimchi salad.

For our third course we had the meatloaf and the squab.

I know you're thinking, meatloaf?  But it was juicy and topped with a terrific bacon marmalade.  It was definitely the best thing I had to eat all night.  The squab was good too, but paled in comparison to the meatloaf.

For our final course, we had a chocolate and a banana dessert.

Both were good but I think the best part of the dessert course was my after dinner drink pairing.  I usually hate ports but I found the Quinta do Noval to be smooth and delicious.

[happy tummy!]

After such a great meal, I was shocked to receive a sweet bouquet at work the next morning.

That weekend was President's Day.  Glad to be in Philly for a weekend, B and I met up with his brother, AJB, and his fiancee, J5, for drinks and food at Pub and Kitchen on Saturday night.  The guys enjoyed a variety of old school cocktails while the girls shared a bottle of champagne.

Things got a bit crazy, but we had a great time.

The next night we took advantage of a Sunday without the Monday dreads looming to cook a chili dinner, complete with oyster appetizers and homemade jalapeno cornbread.

We also made homemade cheddar biscuits, courtesy of Barefoot Contessa, to have with breakfast the following morning. 

They were quick, relatively simple, and quite tasty (if I say so myself!).


After a marathon month of eating, drinking, and traveling we are definitely a few pounds heavier, but it was totally worth it.  Here's hoping March is just as great!