"Hey hey good lookin, whatcha got cookin?" - Hank Williams Jr.

Last weekend B and I stopped by the Headhouse Farmer's Market.  The market runs from 10-2 every Sunday and features delicious fruits, veggies, baked goods, meats, cheeses and more.  Not only can you pick up groceries, but you can grab a tasty taco, lemonade, or sausage.  We picked up some pork chops, rainbow chard, and butternut squash that B used to whip up a couple great meals.

With the pork chops and rainbow chard he made a simple and delicious dinner.  The pork chops he tossed in salt, pepper, and Mediterranean spices and pan-fried in butter before baking. 

The rainbow chard he simply sauteed with oil and garlic.

With the butternut squash he used this recipe to make a delicious soup that made great lunchtime leftovers.

We also made a great brunch this weekend - pancakes for me, breakfast tacos for B.

For these pancakes just take bisquick, add a teaspoon of vanilla, a teaspoon of cinnamon, half a cup of mini chocolate chips, half a cup of black walnuts, and a cup of chopped strawberries, top with chopped strawberries, drizzle with Mrs. Butterworths and enjoy!

For the breakfast tacos B just pan-friend onions and green pepper, broke up the meat in sausage links and browned that in the pan, and then added eggs and cheese to make a scramble.  In addition to adding the mixture to taco shells, he topped with homemade guacamole:

4 ripe avacado
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
8 dashes tabasco sauce
1/2 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
1 large garlic glove
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 medium tomato, seeded and small-diced

Cut avocados in half, remove pits and scoop flesh into large bowl.  Mash with a fork.  Immediately add lemon juice, tabasco, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and toss.  Add tomatoes, mix well and immediately serve.

“I miss the days when summer vacation was about relaxing and hanging out with friends. Now it’s all about working and squeezing your friends in when you can.” Unknown

I love Philadelphia, but one of the major drawbacks about living up north - aside from the winters - is that I do not get to see/talk to my dear high school friends nearly enough.  This September, however, I was lucky enough to have a couple catch-up weekends in a row.

First, a couple of my pals came to visit me in Philly.  Upon their arrival we freshened up and headed to Friday Night Flights, a wine tasting that is held every Friday night at IL Bar in Ristorante Panorama at the Penn's View Hotel.  For $25 IL Bar features half a glass of 8 different wines as well as appetizers and cheeses.  As an added bonus, the sommelier is on hand to explain each flight.  We had a great time and I will definitely be back.

After the tasting we gathered up some of my Philadelphia girlfriends and we headed to dinner at Koo Zee Doo. 

[me and my gal pals after dinner at Koo Zee Doo]
After another fantastic meal, we capped the night with some drinks and a tiny bit of dancing at 700 club.

 [B and I at 700]

 [the girls getting down]

On Saturday after brunch at Farmacia and a day touring around Philly, B and I took the girls to Tinto for dinner.  We had a fantastic meal as always (we were having so much fun I didn't even think to pull out my camera to document the food), and we watched an old classic - David Bowie's The Labyrinth.

Thankfully, our goodbyes were short and sweet because two weeks later I was down south for my high school reunion.  First stop, lunch from Groucho's. 

My favorite sandwich, the all-turkey Apollo, is nothing fancy - just turkey on a fresh-baked roll topped with melted Swiss and dipped in Groucho's 45 sauce (essentially an herb-infused spin on Russian dressing).  That said, it just makes my day.

Next stop, the "kick-off" happy hour and dinner at Terra with some girls.  For starters we split the artisan cheese plate and the BBQ Lamb Shoulder Stuffed Mac & Cheese Gratin.

The cheese plate was nothing out of the ordinary but the mac and cheese was to die for.  Made with bbq lamb, poblano peppers, and fontina and goat cheese and topped with toasted bread crumbs it was rich, creamy, zippy, and delicious.

For dinner a couple of the girls ordered the duck confit pizza and I had the "quack madame."

The duck confit pizza, topped with caramelized onions and port-soaked cherries, was a unique but yummy spin.  The "quack madame" - toasted brioche topped with duck confit, caramelized onion, and a fried quail egg served with arugula salad - was a similarly quirky-yet-tasty take on a traditional dish, here the croque madame.

After dinner we capped the night with a couple of drinks at a local bar, Jake's.

[us after dinner at Jake's]

Saturday one of my pals KNE and I went to brunch at The Gourmet Shop.  In addition to great food, the Gourmet Shop has a pretty extensive wine shop in the back which does tastings every weekend.  Since one of our high school buddies works in the wine shop, we stopped in for a tasting after mimosas and salad plates (chicken, pasta and fruit for me, chicken pasta, and green for KNE).

[professional at work]

After the tasting we headed home to freshen up before heading to Gervais and Vine for the main event of the reunion weekend.  While attendance was a little sparse, we had some good appetizers and a great time catching up with old friends.

[me and my pals]

Capping off a great weekend with friends, my mom, sister, brother and I went for brunch at Motor Supply Bistro.  I had a fantastic buttermilk biscuit topped with creamy housemade sausage gravy and scrambled eggs over grits.

As always, my trip down south flew by too quickly but as always I had a wonderful time.

"You'd better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone for the times they are a changin'" - Bob Dylan

I'm sad to report that yet another neighborhood favorite has bit the dust.  While B and I always had deliciously unhealthy meals at Adsum (recall foie gras poutine anyone?), it looks like the restaurant never took to the concept and the space now going to join the growing ranks of straightforward (yawn) Philadelphia gastropubs.

In happier news, those Christian Gaal fans out there will be happy to know that since the closing of Noble he has found a new home at Farmer's Cabinet.  Ironically we already had reservations for dinner at Farmer's Cabinet, a prohibition-themed American food eatery that focuses on rustic dishes, classic cocktails, and good beers, for Restaurant Week last Friday.  We tried to say hello but Christian is stuck working the service bar in the back for now.  In any event, we found Farmer's Cabinet good, but with some definite kinks left to be worked out.

I started with the roasted corn soup and B had the Bibb salad.

The soup was creamy and delicious and the salad, Bibb lettuce topped with green beans, bacon, and a bleu cheese vinaigrette, was good but nothing special.

For dinner B & I both ordered the pork chop.

Topped with napa cabbage and granny smith apple slaw and served with baby carrots, confit turnips, and truffled pork jus the pork dish looked wonderful, and mine tasted alright, but B's was severely underdone.  He sent it back, and unfortunately it was still raw.

For dessert we both had the strawberry rhubarb pie, which basically tasted more like strawberry jam inside pie crust.

 [the group at dinner]

 [B and I]

All-in-all we weren't wowed but I have a general rule that I don't judge restaurants on Restaurant Week performance, so we'll probably give it another try down the road.  Hope Christian is working out front by then!

"We have the greatest pre-nuptial agreement in the world. It's called love." - Gene Perret

A few weekends ago we went down to Atlanta for one of my college girlfriend's wedding.  Friday night before the wedding festivities began, we got to see my sister and her husband for dinner at Wood Fire Grill. 

 [my sister and her hubby]

[B and I]

For those Top Chef fans out there, the executive chef and co-owner of Wood Fire Grill is Kevin Gillespie, finalist and fan favorite from season six.  We opted for the tasting menu, and we were not disappointed.

For starters we were served with an amuse of panzanella, cherry tomato, pickled red onion, balsamic, olive oil, basil, and toast cubes.

It was refreshing and delicious.  Next, our first course was sauteed gulf shrimp served in a tomato broth with charred sweet corn and tomato concasse.

It looks simple but it was one of the most delicious things I have tasted in a long time.  For our second course, we were served cornmeal fried carolina trout

Served over a chilled salad of farro piccolo with local basil and pickled ramp with mint and topped with cucumber yogurt, the trout was good but a little bland.  Between the trout and our third course we received a taste of chilled cucumber salad.

It was not good.  Luckily the third and fourth courses were fantastic.  The third course was grilled quail.

The quail was amazing, particularly when paired with the grilled peaches, grilled corn, and peach bbq sauce, and both of the side dishes, charred vidalia onion potato salad and crispy new potatoes, were great.  The fourth and final savory course was a pork duo.

Those top chef fans out there might recall Kevin's affinity with pork (he even has a pig tattoo) so we were not surprised that he brought the savory portion of the meal to a close with a wonderful pork dish of wood smoked berkshire pork loin and slow roasted pork belly.  The pork was served over creamy grits, marinated peach roasted okra, and pepper vinegar.  Everything worked perfectly.

For dessert we were served a "tres leches" cake with chocolate cashew butter, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, and a cashew tuile.

Yum, yum, and more yum.  Thanks for a fantastic meal Kevin!!

Saturday night, we attended a fantastic wedding.  The bride was born in China, the groom in Chicago.  They managed to bring their two heritages together beautifully (complete with food stations that varied from a sushi-drive Asian station to a meat and potatoes station).

 [love]

[us at the end of the reception]

"Our wedding was many years ago. The celebration continues to this day." - Gene Perret

On August 11 we celebrated our four year wedding anniversary.  It hasn't always been smooth sailing but through the ups and the downs there is no one else I would rather share my life with.  I love you B!

Every year we try to take a trip for our anniversary weekend.  Its a really nice way to decompress and have some fun together.  We were married in Columbia SC and returned to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.  Each year since we've headed to Atlantic City for our anniversary.  After staying at the Borgata for year two and the Water Club at Borgata for year three, this year we stayed at the Chelsea.

Although the Borgata and the Water Club are a bit more "up scale", they are so far removed from the boardwalk that it was a nice change of pace to be more in the center of the action (not to mention beach front).  Each year we have dinner on the Friday night of our anniversary weekend in Atlantic City at Stephen Starr's Buddakan.  After my favorite Buddakan cocktail - blueberry mojito - we sat down for a fantastic Asian-inspired meal.

 [B on the boardwalk on the way to dinner]

 [pre-dinner cocktails - manhattan on the left, blueberry mojito on the right]

[getting ready to eat]

For dinner we started with king crab tempura with sweet and sour ponzu sauce.  It was zippy and delicious.

Next we had mushroom dumplings.  They were "meaty" and had a delightful truffle drizzle on top.

The starters were followed by the Asian Caesar salad.  It was nicely dressed and topped with spicy cashews. 

For our final dish we shared the kung pao monkfish.  

Everything was fantastic... in fact we were so stuffed that we paid for a push cart ride back down the boardwalk to our hotel (and according to B our push cart driver was a dead ringer for the Wire's "Snoop"). 

 [us in the push cart]

[nighttime view of the boardwalk from the push cart]

The next day we enjoyed the Chelsea's complimentary beach chairs before heading down to White House Sub Shop at the Taj Mahal.  After a sub and a nap, we were ready to head over to Harrah's for dinner at Luke Palladino. 

[cool sand sculpture in the Harrah's lobby]

After reading Craig LaBan's rave reviews we had high hopes for Luke Palladino, and we were not disappointed.

After indulging in some fresh baked bread and an interesting little marmalade, we enjoyed a wonderful starter of fried NJ squash blossoms with a fantastic filling of sweet corn, ricotta, and parmigiano.

After our starter we split two pastas: the spaghetti ala chittara and the bucatini al amatriciana.  The spaghetti ala chittara - fresh noodles with olive oil, pasta water, cheese, cheese, and topped with shaved bottarga (cured fish roe) - was delicious in its simplicity.  As for the amatriciana, Luke Palladino's was comforting in its familiarity (we make a version from Giada's Everyday Italian cookbook and Luke Palladino's was just a slightly upscale take on our spicy favorite).

For our final course we split the veal chop.  It was fall off the bone good.

Everything was absolutely fantastic.  Our only regret was that we were too stuffed for dessert.

[me happily enjoying a cappucino at the end of our meal]

Here's the many more years of laughter, love, and great eats.