"Marriage is the perfection of what love aimed at, ignorant of what it sought." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lately we have been surrounded by budding marriages.  Not only only are the plans for my brother-in-law's wedding in full swing, but one of my best gal pals, MMA, is recently engaged.

 [a picture taken of the happy couple by a bystander immediately after they got engaged]

To celebrate, B and I went with them to Garces Trading Co. for dinner last weekend.  Garces Trading Co. is modeled as a market, selling food, alcohol, and retail kitchen wares, with a restaurant in the center.  Although they sell alcohol, you can also opt to bring your own (no need to worry about bringing an extra bottle of wine just in case, they've got you covered).

We started with the chef's selection of charcuterie and an order of baby artichokes for the table

 

All of the meats on the charcuterie plate were fantastic, especially the foie gras mousse (pictured in the center) and the sausage with cherry jam (pictured in the front), and the artichokes were similarly delicious.  Preserved in lemon and served with honey, dates, and walnuts they were perfectly meaty and tender.  Yum.

For dinner MMA and I split the lyonnaise duck salad and the pappardelle pasta with lamb ragu.

The lyonnaise duck salad was duck confit and bacon lardons served over arugula salad dressed with mustard vinaigrette and topped with a perfectly poached egg (unfortunately it was so delicious we dug in before I could snap a photo).  The pappardelle was tossed with the lamb ragu, peas, and sunchoke puree and topped with grated cheese.  Both were great, and the salad and pasta combo was the perfect meal for two. 

The guys split the deep dish pizza.

It takes 45 minutes to cook, so be sure to order as soon as you sit down, but it is well worth the weight.  The tomatoes are as fresh as can be and the crust is crunchy yet soft all at once.  I couldn't help but snag multiple "tastes" from B's plate.

It was the perfect celebratory meal, and I could not be happier for MMA!

[us at the end of dinner]

After dinner at Garces, B and I headed to a welcome party at Black Sheep to kick off the wedding of one of our college friends, JCM. 

After drinks and catching up Friday night, we were geared up for Saturday's wedding festivities.  The ceremony, held at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Philadelphia, was absolutely beautiful.

After the ceremony we headed to Field House to watch the Wake Forest football game and have a few drinks before catching a bus to the reception site.

The reception was held at Knowles Mansion.  The venue was absolutely beautiful, the food was good, and the band made for some great dancing.

Congratulations all around!

"If cookies be the food of love...munch on" - Dame Judi Dench

Last night I made some tasty pumpkin spice cookies using this SIMPLE recipe.

They have a great cakey consistency and are low in fat.  I took the advice of the some of the reviewers and only cooked for 15-16 minutes.  I also added 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, 1 cup chocolate chips, and 1 cup chopped walnuts -- though in the future I will probably skip the chocolate chips.

If you're looking for other great cookie recipes, my pal Stacy Adimando has just the thing for you -- her cook book, Cookiepedia.  Buy it today.

“That is what friendship means. Sharing the prejudice of experience.” - Charles Bukowski

Two weeks ago B and I went to Boston with his entire family to visit his little bro, DTB (currently a junior at Boston University), and celebrate his 21st birthday.  We arrived Friday night for a late dinner in the hotel bar before heading out for beers at Bukowski Tavern.  The beers were fantastic - pumpkin ale on draft!! - and we had a great time, but we were definitely hurting for the 11:00 a.m. Duck Tour the Saturday morning.

 [in-laws on the Duck Tour]

[view from the Charles River]

After the Duck Tour we stopped for lunch at Stephanie's on Newberry.  For starters B and I split clam chowder.

It was deliciously creamy and worked nicely when paired with the tower of onion rings...

After just a "light" round of starters I had the thanksgiving lunch special.

A piece of rye bread topped with turkey, cranberry sauce and gravy and served with mashed potatoes.  Hello food coma.

After a full day of shopping we had dinner at B&G Oysters.  We had a few bottles of champagne...

paired with oysters for an army (there was another where this came from)...

After the oysters, B and I started by splitting a light and crisp pear salad...

and an order of fried oysters with house-made tartar sauce (clearly the two trays of raw oysters weren't enough)...

Our fabulous starters were followed by fried clams for B...

and a lobster roll for me.

Both were seriously good, as were the butter pickles and the coleslaw.  Although we were all stuffed after dinner, we found room for a bite of dessert to celebrate the little buddy's birthday.

After dinner we headed for a night cap at Delux Cafe.

It was a really cool dive bar with indie music playing and an awesome Elvis tribute wall.

All and all we had a great, though quick, trip to Bean Town.  Can't wait to go back again soon.  Happy birthday DTB!!