Finally recovering from the Captain Lawrence release yesterday.  I'd have to say that this one was even more epic than the Sexual Chocolate release back in February.  Cold temps, BBQ, awesome beers, 8hrs of driving and of course, awesome people.  We rolled into the Captain Lawrence parking lot pretty damn early.  I'm not even sure what the exact time was, but the sun wasn't up and I was freezing.  Luckily we brought along a grill and some burgers.  Not to mention some good beers.  Dave popped some Cantillon, Suitcase John busted out a growler of John Harvard's Creamy McStout and Jen and I threw some burgers on the grill.

The six of us hung out around the grill while the locals swung by, picked up their tickets, and went back to bed for awhile.  But things didn't take too long to pick up and eventually the parking lot was full of beer related activity.  Everyone that showed up brought awesome brews to drink and pretty soon the cold weather was less noticeable.  I didn't try everything that made it to the tasting table, but here's a run down of everything that made it into my tasting glass:

Short's - Cup of Joe
Deschutes - Jubel 2010
White Birch - Oak Aged Barleywine (1 of only 25 bottles produced!)
Lawson's Finest Liquids - Hopzilla
Lawson's Finest Liquids - Fayston Maple Imperial Stout
Voodoo Brewing - Big Black Voodoo Daddy
Chimay - Grand Reserve (1998) (the complexity on this was amazing)
Cigar City - Hunahpu (big thanks to Mike for bringing this delicious stout all the way from Florida)
Three Floyd's - Dark Lord (2009)
Terrapin - Depth Charge
Cigar City - Creamsicle IPA
Boulevard Brewing - Saison Brett
Brouwerij De Molen - Brommen and Granaten
Goose Island - Night Stalker
Lost Abbey - 10 Commandments
Great Divide - Barrel Aged Yeti
Bell's - Batch 9000
Founders - KBS
Cigar City - 110K+OT
Three Floyds - Dreadnaught
Cascade - Kriek
Pelican - Bridal Ale
Founders - Nemesis
Ithaca - LeBleu
Anchor - Christmas Ale (unsure of the year)
and some awesome Mango IPA homebrew

I also want to thank the Captain Lawrence guys for bringing out some really tasty sandwiches and coffee.  Excellent stuff!  By 9:50 a decent line had already formed outside of the brewery and people were itching to get their hands on some Rosso.  Once the clock struck 10, the doors opened and ticket numbers were called out.  About ten minutes later happy people were rushing out with Rosso's in hand.

All in all the release was a really fun time and I know I'll be tempted to go back for the Barrel Select release next month.  Just have to figure out if I'll have the time.  Also, if you've never heard of Captain Lawrence check out their website here and if you want to read a bit more about the Rosso E Marrone check out this review.

Oh, and here's the haul:

This past month has been a good month for food among other things. It started with a roadtrip to NC to meet some people of John's and visit the Sexual Chocolate beer release. Minus over a day and some change of driving, most of it in snow on shut down highways, and a mammoth chunk of ice which fell off a semi, the trip was epic. Needless to say, there was Chick-fil-A and there were fresh, warm Krispy Kremes. Foothills did a great job with the event, opening their doors early with free food and coffee. I met amazing people who brought amazing things to taste. The pictures can speak for themselves on that topic.

 How many SUEs do you see?

I love you, biscuit sandwich!

When we were at Sexual Chocolate, we hung out with two dapper lads named Paul and Dusty. They had brought an equally dapper smoked porter with them named SUE... which was incredibly smokey and got me to thinking: what foods work well with smoked beer? The answer I arrived at: ribs.

One week later I was scouring the isles of Julio's for my liquid candidate. The only rauchbier I had prior experience with was Harpoon's Rauchfetzen, which is really more of a smoke-kissed beer. Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, on the other hand, represents a more standard rauchbier offering and tastes similar to what I imagine liquid smoke is like. So I went with it.

Four hours of oven-broiling, basting and glazing later, smoked beer ribs were born.

The spread, in all its greasy glory.

I caramelized some fennel instead of onion to accompany and served it with oatmeal bread and the drippings rendered into a sauce. Eaten with hands. It's not real BBQ, but it tastes pretty darn good. Now if only somewhere around here sold rauchbier!

My birthday also happened this past month, turning me another one of those ages where nothing really happens except needing to renew car registration. My labmates gifted me with a delicious, possibly my favorite, chocolate mousse cake from Lou's. It was promptly enjoyed throughout the day and into the evening with Brooklyn Black Ops, the remainder of which went into some Black Ops and apple-glazed pork chops the following night. Not long after, a trip to Sugarbush Farms just out of Quechee scored me some 8 year old cheddar cheese. 8 years old! If someone reading this has found older cheddar cheese, you must let me know so I can break my personal record.

Finally, a story by and large about chocolate:

Sometime ago when I was not yet in graduate school, my friend KTR, intimately aware of my relationship with Harold the penguin, gifted me with twin chocolate penguins from L.A. Burdick . The name of the place stuck with me and a brush with their collection at a coffee shop in Woodstock a few months back reminded me that I needed to check them out. Elated was I to find on their website that they not only had a cafe located a measly hour away (compared to the ground I have traveled lately), but that they also made macarons! They actually had a Chinese New Year collection available which I sorely desired and almost ordered, but in any event I resolved to go there someday. And, this past sunny weekend, we did.
The cafe had a plain enough storefront, but inside was cozy and classy. We shared some single origin hot chocolate and some pastries. I tried my first cannelle. We poked around the chocolate shop next door and settled on a bag of seconds to take home, along with two of each macaron they had: chocolate, coffee, lemon, vanilla, green tea and pistachio with buttercream centers. The macarons lasted about two days. My quest continues.

I would write more about Kate Day on the first of March, but I bet a review is forthcoming. Suffice it to say that The Golden Egg makes a solid breakfast after napping outside it in the car the hour before opening, and that Popovers on the Square does a mean popover... though, unfortunately, their accompanying maple butter really appeals to the dog.

Oh Ben, you butter-eater.

If you've been following the craft beer industry for the last couple of decades you've probably noticed that the terms "craft beer" and "microbrew" go hand in hand.  Both terms don't really need much explaining these days, but how about nanobrew?  Well if you follow along the same lines as microbrew, then nanobrew would be a brewery that produces extremely small batches of beer.  How small am I talking?  Well, the brew I currently have in front of me is bottle number 15 from a total of 48 bottles.  48 bottles is essentially a 5 gallon batch, which is the same size I brew at home.  Crazy!

This Oak Aged Maple Imperial Stout is from Lawson's Finest Liquids in Warren Vermont.  Specifically, this is Lawson's 100th batch. The small production size really gives me hope as a homebrewer that my beers might be able to hit the market at some point; if I get all of the legal requirements together.  I wonder what steps are necessary to pursue this kind of small business setup?  Maybe I should do some searching and interviewing, and post back here on what I find.  Anyways, the most exciting part about any beer is drinking it!  So here's the review:

Lawson's Oak Aged Fayston Maple Imperial Stout pours a dark, dark brown with a thin tan head.  The head itself almost looks like its been sprinkled with flecks of gold.  Beautiful.  Subtle lacing remains on the glass.  The aroma smells of chocolate infused alcohol, dark roasted malts and sweet sugary goodness (most likely from the maple syrup).  Very rich and dessert like.  Moving on to the taste I'm picking up lots of roasted dark and chocolate malt, a strong oak presence, bitterness, and then faint hints of sweetness in the background.  This is definitely and imperial stout and not along the sweeter lines of a Russian Imperial. 

Dark bitterness takes the center stage with lots roastiness and wood character.  The oak chips really come through, but not with the sweet vanilla touch you sometimes see with oak aging.  The alcohol is somewhat noticeable at 10.1% ABV, but not overwhelming or distracting.  The overall feel of the beer is pretty good.  Smooth and rich in the body with light carbonation and warming alcohol.  This stout is definitely a sipper and one 12oz bottle should make for an enjoyable night.

Overall, this is a pretty awesome brew from a relatively new brewery, which is always exciting to see.  The beer was a little on the stiff side for me with the big dark malt bill and the strong oak character, but those are only minor complaints.  I think Lawson's have a great brew here and with a little bit of tweaking this beer could turn into a super smooth monster of a stout.  I'd also like to see the maple syrup come out a little more, but I do have a bit of a sweet tooth.  Also, if anyone is interested in checking out this beer or others from Lawson's, then head up to the Montpelier Farmer's Market this Saturday (March 6th).  I'm pretty sure Lawson's will have a nice selection there, and if you can't make it I hear they stock the Warren Store in Warren Village, VT.  Check out Lawson's blog here.

Kate is here...

Should have a review in the next week or so.  Very excited about this one.  Check out the release here.

I just realized that I haven’t posted anything in the last month.  I was aiming for a post a week, but that seems to be falling through.  I guess I could blame it on work, grad school, penguins etc, but it’s really just my fault.  So to get back on track I’ve got a couple of highlights from the last month or so that I’d like to share.  In general, the last couple of weeks have brought some of the finest tasting beers to my lips.  Essentially, some of the best beers I have ever had, so here’s one of them:

To start off, Jen and I decided to pry open one of the biggest and baddest stouts in our cellar, Surly’s Darkness.  This Russian Imperial Stout weighs in at 10.3% ABV and is a beast in every way.  Pouring the Darkness into a tulip glass (the inverted skull of your last enemy would probably be more fitting) reveals an extremely dark body that is void of any light.  On top of this black hole sits a thick tan head that slowly reduces to a thin film, clinging to the edges of the glass and leaving spider-webbed lacing behind.

The nose is filled with… hops?  Surprisingly yes!  This is probably one of the hoppiest stout aromas I have ever come across.  Lots of earthy, piney, grassy hops, and of course the usual roasted chocolate malts and thick syrupy molasses notes that accompany many of the big Russian Imperials.

In terms of flavor, the Darkness has it all.  Big hoppy presence up front, followed by rich chocolate malts, molasses and a bit of anise.  The hops really help balance out the sweetness and make this a fairly drinkable stout.  Even at 10.3% I find my hand constantly reaching back to the glass.  However, the best aspect of this beer, in my opinion, is the mouthfeel.   The Darkness is incredibly smooth.  Thick and velvety, almost milkshake like.  Surly has created a masterpiece in terms of how the beer feels.  Slight warming alcohol, but mostly hidden.  Low carbonation.  Overall, just a super smooth beer.  The body is dead on for a Russian Imperial Stout.

In terms of aging, I think this 2009 vintage will set up well in the cellar.  The hops should fade a bit and any hotness from the alcohol will probably be mostly gone in 2-3 years.  Hopefully I can hang on to my last bottle for that long.  Awesome brew Surly!  I'm really looking forward to next years release.

This weekend it feels like spring in Hanover.  I went running outside in shorts and a long sleeve shirt.  Snow melting and water trickling everywhere.  Blue skies and only a few white, puffy, clouds.  It was mostly the smell, I think, that reminded me of spring.  The softening of the earth beneath my feet, coming up in waves and maybe the song of few more birds than usual.  However, I'm sure that Old Man Winter will come sweeping through a few more times before mud season is officially here.  But until then, I'll enjoy the few days he's taking off.

After getting a quick workout in, and walking the dog, I figured I should venture down into the cellar and pull out something tasty to sip on for the afternoon.  It only took about a minute to decide on what would pair well with the excellent weather we were having and I decided to pull out my first White Birch beer.  White Birch Brewing is a local, one man operation, stationed in Hooksett, NH that has just started to roll out small scale batches of craft beers for the New Hampshire community.  The beer I currently have in hand is a barrel aged, strong, American ale called "AKA".  Before opening this I just want to say that the bottle itself looks beautiful.  The top is dipped in a maroon wax that seals the cap and runs down the neck of the bottle.  The label is also well done and even details the bottle and batch number.

Prying off the cap reveals a vinegar aroma at first, which has me a little suspicious, but it begins to fade as I let the bottle air a bit.  Pouring this into a tulip glass shows a hazy raisin colored body, which eventually supports a thin white head.  The aroma is still a little vinegary, but as that fades a more vinous character starts to take hold.  Sweet fruits, such as plums, figs and raisins slowly rise up from the glass.  These then mix with a small helping of honey and some funky, estery, alcohol notes.  I'm not really picking up much of the wood aging in the nose, except for faint hints of bourbon or scotch.  Overall, a fairly complex and interesting aroma.  

My first impression after tasting the beer is a surprise at how thin the body is, yet how much flavor is present.  Not that the body is overly thin, but after reading that the ABV hits almost 12%, and the complexity of the aroma, I was expecting a more viscous, almost syrupy body.  To tell the truth, the body is just slightly heavier than a red wine.  And speaking of wine, this has got to be the most wine-like beer I have ever had.  If this were served in a wine glass, I think the first sip could fool many people.  This is also supported by the fairly low carbonation, which I think actually fits the flavor profile quite well.  Diving into the flavor a bit more, I'm picking out lots of tannins from the wood aging and a hint of vanilla.  Again, raisins, juicy grapes and figs float over the wood characteristics.  Warming alcohol is also present to some degree, but not enough so that I would suspect this beer to be almost 12% ABV.  

In short, this is a very interesting beer.  Wood-aging, fruity aroma and a strong wine-like character all wrapped up in a classy, wax-dipped bottle.  I'm definitely looking forward to sampling a few more White Birch brews.

Well, we've been on a bit of a west coast bend in terms of our beer selection for last couple of weeks and tonight is no different.  I currently have a Fall 2009 vintage of Hair of the Dog's Blue Dot Double India Pale Ale sitting in front of me, and it is delicious.  Jen and I would both like to give a shout out to our MD/PhD buddy Andrew for bringing this all the way back from Oregon.  Hair of the Dog is located in Portland, OR, and they definitely don't distribute in New Hampshire, so its really pretty awesome to be sipping on this double IPA tonight.  Anyways, on to the review.

Blue Dot pours a murky honey-orange color with a fairly weak head that barely manages to span the top of the beer.  Big white bubbles are caught in a thin, white, soapy film and leave a little bit of lacing on the glass.  Now, this doesn't really sound overly appetizing, but the appearance is definitely deceiving in this case.  The aroma however, is not deceiving at all and lets you know that this beer is in the IPA realm.  Grassy, citrus-laden hops rise up form the glass and mingle with the sweet malty backbone of this beer.  Further swirling of the glass brings out juicy orange slices.

At this point I'm 50/50 on this beer.  The appearance is kind of meh, but the aroma is full of hops and citrus, so the flavor should set things straight.  The first couple of sips reveal an extremely smooth double IPA.  Low, but ample carbonation makes this beer feel like its been pulled from a cask.  The taste is sweet malts at first, but then a nice wave of bittering hops jump in and mix with the malt base leaving a well balanced flavor profile on the finish.  The oranges from the aroma also come through on the taste and add a nice tropical touch to the beer.  Overall, the flavor profile leans towards the maltier side of things, but there are plenty of hops to let you know what style of beer this is.

In terms of drinkability, this beer goes down almost too easy.  At 7% ABV its almost in the sessionable range and I could probably finish the entire 22oz by myself.  The body is chewy yet refreshing.  The mouthfeel is smooth, not sticky like some double IPA's, but just really smooth and super easy to drink. 

All in all, I'm really glad I got to try this beer.  Blue Dot is on the lighter side of the double IPA style, but it still boasts plenty of flavor and high drinkability.  The only downside is that its only distributed along the west coast.  Maybe a trip to Oregon is order.  However, if you have access to this beer I highly recommend you pick some up.  Hair of the Dog releases this in the Spring and Fall of each year.  Pick some up close to the release dates to get a good hop punch.

We spent New Years down south, relatively speaking, eating ham and filet mignon. I was also gifted a new digital camera, so now I don't have to borrow John's every time I want to photograph food. In any event, we have been eating well lately. Apricot-glazed chicken last week, followed by chicken picatta, then roast whole chicken with white potatoes and carrots when we returned. I also brought a bunch of Tasty Cakes and Krispy Kremes back from PA (no beer, sadly), but John has us on a solid vitamin regime to offset these. We compromised on the fish oil, though, with lemon zest-flavored Barlean's Omega Swirl from Whole Foods. The leftover Krispy Kremes turned into individual bread puddings last night and rose beautifully in their ramekins like little imposter souffles, only to collapse disappointingly while I carved the chicken. I think Paula Dean may have popularized this particular recipe (along with the concept of taking fried fatty glazed food and baking it with more fat, dousing it in fat ), but I made it just like any other bread pudding and it turns out fine.

 Speaking of fine, an impulse buy of 450g of fresh Vermont whole milk ricotta cheese left me with something new to work with. Since we have about a gallon of locally-brewed rich grade B maple syrup, I decided on ricotta pancakes. I'd seen the lemon blueberry ones around Tastespotting, but decided on a recipe from Bread et Butter.

 I eyeballed the milk and added a tsp. baking soda instead of powder along with a squirt of lemon juice and a tbsp of sugar. They came out ultra light, fluffy, and very eggy given the recipe calls for four and I only keep large ones around the house. The hamsters will be pleased that there are leftovers.

There is a lot to look forward to this week. Plenty of good beer, fresh gnocchi sitting in the fridge, the start of a new term and qualifying exams. Meaning, I won't have time to make labors of love like this for the next month or so:

A word to the wise if you decide to embark on a no-recipe yule log journey: don't assume that because you can melt marshmallows and butter into a frosting-like consistency that the result will will make a good frosting. Especially with red food coloring and medical-grade peppermint extract. It will not make good frosting. It will, however, be very easy to strip off your sheet cake into one solid, sticky mess using a sacrificial dish towel. And yes, those orange peels are candied. I'm so proud, and so is Awdry.

Another year has come and gone, and as I sit here reminiscing and contemplating the future I'm happy say that I have an excellent English barleywine sitting next to me.  This one in particular is all the way from Midnight Sun Brewing in Anchorage, Alaska.  Weighing in at 10% ABV this 2007 vintage is a beast, which is probably why Midnight Sun has adorned the bottle with a growling, half-cracked, Tasmanian Devil.  However, the barleywine is super smooth and hides the alcohol quite well.  This is most likely due to the aging, since most fresh barleywines are often "hot", meaning the alcohol presence is quite strong and unbalanced.  This bottle has had almost 3 years of aging on it, since it was bottled on the second week of January in 2007.

When poured into a snifter the body is a deep amber-brown color with a ring of creamy tan foam that swirls across the top plane of the beer every time the glass is tipped back for a sip.  The aroma is excellent like most English barleywines.  This beer specifically has lots of bourbon infused oak notes mixed with cherries and candied figs.  Sweet, caramel malts linger in the background, while some alcohol rises up from the glass.

The first sip reveals bready, creamy malts intertwined with a refined wood presence and vanilla notes.  Dark, ripe, candied fruits, possibly dipped in molasses, mingle with the rest of the flavor profile.  Bourbon, sherry and caramel come through as well, making this a robust and somewhat complex barleywine.  The mouthfeel is slick, smooth and almost syrupy.  Light, but ample, carbonation cuts through some of the thickness of the body, making it more drinkable.

In terms of English barleywines, I think this is a superb offering that Midnight Sun has crafted.  Sweet, caramel malts, nice oaky refinement, candied fruits.  This beer has all the markings of a stellar English barleywine.  The only other barleywine of this style, that I've had the pleasure of drinking and surpasses this one, is a 1999 bottle of J.W. Less Harvest Ale.  However, who knows what the Arctic Devil might taste like with 10 years on it.  Fortunately, Jen and I have I still have another 2007 vintage in cellar and I don't think I'll be pulling that one out for at least another five years.

It's been winter here in New Hampshire for about a week now.  Slippery roads, deep snow and a temperature that finally forces me to put on a coat, which takes a lot.  Tonight the snow is coming down like an avalanche let loose in the sky.  I'm definitely not heading out in these conditions, so sitting inside with a big Imperial Stout and the rattling of the furnace in the basement, seems like the perfect way to enjoy the evening.

The Imperial Stout I'm speaking of is Deschutes 2009 reserve of "The Abyss".  A big 11% ABV stout brewed with licorice and molasses; and on top of that, 33% of the final product is aged in oak and oak bourbon barrels.  Jen and I managed to pick up 6 22oz bottles of this stuff, which is not an easy task considering that Deschutes is all the way out in Oregon.  We're pretty excited to see how this one ages in the cellar along with a bottle of the '06 vintage and an '07.

Anyways, on to the review.  Poured this into a large tulip glass. The appearance is that of an eclipse when held up to light.  Nothing is getting through this one.  The black body is topped off with a frothy espresso like head that leaves beautiful lacing on the glass. The head is not super thick after stabilizing, but is steady and never leaves. Looks beautiful.

Dark roasted malts, anise and booze rise up from the glass. Molasses is also apparent after awhile and mixes with some faint vanilla notes.

One sip of this and my mouth feels coated with slick, roasted, malty oak. The bourbon is more apparent in the taste than on the nose, but doesn't really grab center stage like it does in some bourbon barrel aged stouts. Instead, it shares the flavor profile with the oak itself. A little bit of vanilla also comes through from the oak, but is overshadowed by the molasses and licorice. The licorice comes out pretty well and is easy to detect, whereas the molasses adds to the overall flavor, but doesn't really jump out at you too much. The last flavor that mixes in is a faint bit of charred wood. Not too much, but does add some bitterness.

The mouthfeel is exceptional. One of the best I have ever had. Thick, creamy, smooth and slick. This is the body and mouthfeel that an imperial stout should have. Some warming alcohol as well, which is great for a cold winter night.

Drinkability is quite good. That being said, I am a fan of imperial stouts and RIS's, so my hand is constantly reaching back to the glass. One bomber of this is enough for the night, but I'm enjoying it all the way through.

Overall, this is an excellent imperial stout. Body, flavor and appearance are all there. I felt like the aroma could have been a little more complex, but I'm not really complaining. This is my first Abyss and I'm excited to say that I have a few more of these in the cellar to age, along with an '06 and an '07. I'm guessing a few years on this stout could make it exceptionally smooth.  Can't wait to try the '06 and '07.

While John is in the middle of adding a new splash to the site, I'm taking the opportunity to make an entry. The term ends this coming Monday. Our Bioinformatics class was a lot more work than I imagined it could be (and still is), but it's well worth the effort.... or at least I think so. I've never been so C++/Python/Linux-proficient.

All that coding, however, means very little time for cooking or brewing! For the past few weeks, our weekly menus usually consist of the following:

Dinners:
- mac and cheese (mine with broccoli)
- homemade pizza
- some form of chicken with some form of vegetable
- some form of seafood with some form of vegetable
- some form of burger (veggie, beef), possibly with oven fries that I chop up and season quickly
- mystery meal! This involves extra chicken breast/veggie/handmade pasta combo (did I mention John bought the pasta attachment for the KitchenAid?? Spoils me) or, in the case of most mystery meals which occur after particularly late stints in lab, eating out.

Lunches are mostly sandwiches or strategically-organized leftovers for him, yogurt and granola for me, both with the occasional banana.

Breakfast is almost always cereal with the exception of one week where I was finishing off a half batch of cranberry pumpkin seed scone muffins. In a futile scone-making attempt with our remaining cranberries, which were acquired for a delicious apple cranberry walnut crisp we had when Vach, Cary, Corey, Jamie and Logger came over, I ended up with some of the moistest, cakiest, fragilest muffins in existence. The secret was not to add any egg parts, apparently, but to still use bread flour.

Baked goods of the week have included chocolate chip cookies, rice crispy treats (which don't exactly count), and an assortment of leftover snacks from various get togethers.

Ah! One lightweight culinary feat I managed to accomplish since the last entry: candied citrus peel. They were all over Tastespotting for a time, but I hadn't managed to save any in tact with zest to experiment. Unfortunately, relentless programming does hamper the frequency of baking occasions one needs citrus zest. The post-Thanksgiving conucopia of fruit we recieved from my parents included three tangerines. After eyeing them on the kitchen counter for a few days, I realized it was time. Time to candy.

The method is simple: peel the fruits and slice the peels (into strips for me, but in theory however you like), removing some of the mesocarp/pith/white fuzzy stuff as you go. I've seen candied peel with quite a bit of pith and some with just flavedo/zesty rind. Either way, you'll want to trim that surface smooth so it makes a nice-looking candy. I didn't in ignorance, but they still taste fine. Once prepped, if you left a lot of pith you ought to blanch the peels to remove some bitterness. Blanching is putting the peels in cold water and heating until just boiling, then draining and returning the peels to cold water. I blanched three times for thick pith. After blancing, get a saturated sugar syrup boiling, then add the rings and reduce to a simmer. Simmer until translucent-looking, but beware! If you let these little guys soak in hot water for too long, they become mushy. Mine hung out in the sugar bath for almost two hours. After they look ready, they get spread onto a drying rack (cookie rack, baking rack, whatever works) and the citrus-flavored syrup makes for an awesome plaything. I haven't figured out what I'll do with mine yet, but it will taste delicious.

When the peels have dried a few hours, you can roll them in sugar, dip them in chocolate... or let them dry completely and store them as is, like I did. Ready for an unsuspecting fruit cake. Mwahaha.

I would write something about the massive Thanksgiving feast we had or my award winning pumpkin pie, but considering we did most of the cooking without a working stove (read: on camp burners), I care not to relive those memories. In other news, John did inventory on the cellar this week. Cross those fingers that it'll be posted soon.

It has been far too long since either of us wrote an entry. To fix this, I propose (to myself) a weekly Lately Food update, ideally encompassing meals from the Wednesday prior up to date. I have no idea what we ate last Wednesday... or last week, for that matter. I'm not even sure what we ate Labor Day weekend. Were we even around that weekend? Think, Jen, think...

 Sometime last week, we tried out Elixer Restaurant in downtown WRJ. We sampled the pulled pork sandwich and a steak tips/mashed potato napoleon appetizer. The steak was executed nicely, however the napoleon annoyed me a little. The pulled pork came marinated in a curry bbq sauce; a welcome change from your standard offering.

Ah yes. Saturday was the Best Day of the Week. We woke up early, really early, and drove into Windsor with the intent to pick up a growler of Harpoon's Glacier Harvest re-release . Along the way, we stopped at Stub's and Laura's for the standard eggs with sausage, their homemade donuts and a plate of chipped beef on toast (read: toast completely submerged in a plate of thick cream sauce with thin slices of chipped beef floating around in it). Saturday was yard sale day and I picked up a "new" waffle maker and almost bought a $2 McFlurry machine. That went something like:

Me: Ohh man! An actual McFlurry maker for $2! And it comes with the mix!
John: Are you serious?
Me: Yes!! I've always wanted to make a McFlurry.
John: But you're never gonna eat it.
Me: I know. But you could?
John: Nope.

I proceeded to carry the machine around the yard sale lot until I was ready to part with it. Even after a few yard sales, we hadn't killed time until Harpoon opens so we gave up and drove into Woodstock in search of other beer. We popped into Gillingham's, known for their small but formidable selection of offerings you can't find in NH, and picked up a mixed 6-pack of deliciousness, to be listed later, and I failed to purchase a raw chocolate bar. We're still not sure where I left it. Off a tip, we swung by the Woodstock Farmers Market for coffee and found French macarons! Local, but still far away. My macaron quest continues.

I picked up the CSA basket yesterday from Cedar Circle Farms . These days, most of my kitchen time is spent processing vegetables (peeling carrots, cutting onions and celery, stripping corn, roasting eggplant and bell pepper, peeling and roasting or chopping garlic, washing everything...) and by the time I'm done, I want nothing more than to throw a pot on the stove and stick some dried pasta in it. Yesterday one of the eggplants attacked me and left a sliver in the bend of my thumb. Dangerous things, eggplants.

Meals cooked: pizza, pork tenderloin with smashed potatoes and green beans, chicken soup, waffles with poached eggs and toast, poached eggs with English muffins and toast (now that I've learned how to make them, they're the only egg I'll make), pork roast with homemade bottle-fermented sauerkraut and carrots/potatoes, whole grain pasta with vodka sauce.

Things baked: peaches and cream tart, granola bars, turtle brownie cheesecake bars.

 We did eventually go back for the growler of Glacier Harvest. It was delicious.