Hungry Times Two

Earlier this summer our friends J&C (aka Ditch Chicken ) invited us to head up 1-40 to Winston-Salem, NC for a leisurely Saturday trip. "Chocolate Factory tour and winery visit. You available?" they asked. "Yes, please," Scott and I answered. They picked us up in Charlotte and 90 minutes later wheeled into the parking lot of Black Mountain Chocolate . We killed a little time before our 11am-ish tour and walked around the area near Trade Street. As a former Statesville, NC resident during my high school years, Winston-Salem was a larger city that often lured my friends and I there for shopping and restaurants. Sadly most of this occurred not in W-S's now bustling downtown but the Hanes Mall. Yes, I was a "mall rat," buying way too many cargo jeans and oversize flannel shirts and logo sweatshirts at Old Navy and the Gap (Hey, it was the mid to late '90s.) I also knew W-S from annual trips to Old Salem for Christmas shopping, a ritual wit...

Meatloaf.  Mashed potatoes.  Chicken soup. Anything sweet.  These are all comfort foods that we seek when we're cold, sad, stressed or otherwise unsettled.  I sought comfort food Tuesday night, as I'd found out my mom had a stroke on Monday.  The stroke was mild, and she's been in good hospital care this week, even walking around, reading books, and doing all sorts of other tests, proving she's still ticking. Still, as with anything "Sudden and Medical," the situation's got me a bit on edge, which brings me back to comfort foods. I was anxious Tuesday night and decided I needed to get OUT of the house, so Erin and I took a trip to Common Market , a most uncommon market in Plaza-Midwood .  Looking around for something sweet, I found two of my favorite things: chocolate milk and a cookie. Why have regular milk with a cookie when you can have chocolate milk ... mmm.  And keeping with the comfort theme, the chocolate milk was a drink-box - nothing turns ...

So I took a little two-week trip to Italy and came back only slightly jet-lagged and over-carbed last Friday. I have missed blogging, so I aim to bring you a post or two on my Italy escapades soon. In the meantime, how about a little taste of bourbon for this Kentucky Derby weekend? Last night Scott and I enjoyed a preview of the Early Times Julep Mix from our lovely friends down the street. They host an annual shindig for the Derby, and this will be our second appearance at the bourbon-soaked fete. (We brought our mint plant in case we needed to make a minty simple syrup, but luckily, convenience saved the day.) Since too much of a good thing can be wonderful, I plan on making these Bourbon Balls and an appetizer (to be determined, but Blue Cheese Cheesecake is looking like a solid contender, as is Kentucky Greengrass from the excellent Cordon Bluegrass cookbook gifted to us by two dear Adams family members that recently passed away. Scott's Uncle Bruce and gran...

Warning: Valentine's Day-themed post. Continue at your own risk. Yes, it's that holiday tomorrow, the one with the flowers, the heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, the ugly-ass, age-inappropriate teddy bears, and the Hallmark cards professing undying, oh-so-special, forever love, love that cannot be denied, love that won't fade away, Big Love, sloppy wet love, etc. (OK, maybe the sloppy kind is for another occasion entirely.) Don't get me wrong, I luuuuuv love. I just don't really care for the commercialized kind. Scott and I had our first date the day after Valentine's Day nine (!!!) years ago, and we've always much rather celebrate our dating milestone than to observe February 14. (Sidebar: our second date was to see The Vagina Monologues . My husband rocks, and is totally comfortable with all iterations of the terms for female genitals.) We're spending tomorrow night in, with a dinner of cod fillets fresh from our Eastern Market visit today, veggi...

For three years now we've shared our eats - what we ate, what we hope to eat, and what we dream about eating. What have we liked best about it? S: It's been fun teaching a DC-based British photog how to peel shrimp, all via photos on this blog. E: I received a nice letter and coupon for a free jar (any size!) of Duke's Mayonnaise out of it after I shared my post on the company website. That's pretty damn cool. See, blogging CAN pay off! What's been the greatest challenge? S: Keeping it going. E: I agree. Also, trying to stay away from food writing cliches, though I do apparently like to use the word "goodness" a lot. What's the bad thing about food blogging? E: Besides all the calories? Trying to say something original and interesting about simple things like mayonnaise. Or pork. Or the pizza we ate last Tuesday. S: Uploading the pictures. E: Maybe it's time for a new blog program? S: No, I'm just a Luddite. What are the hopes and dreams of...

Meet one of my most favorite food items ever. Yes, it's Nutella , that yummy choco-nutty spread that I just can't deny. I first tasted Nutella at a breakfast buffet at a hotel in Germany (in Munich or Berlin, maybe) my sophomore year of high school (spring break of '96, I think? Oh God. Now I feel really old.) The tasty goodness was packaged in small little individually-sized tubs, similar to butter or jelly foil-sealed packets, and I think I grabbed five, or maybe ten, to stuff in my backpack "for travel emergencies." It's been a while since I had a jar of Nutella in my home, as it's a dangerous thing. I broke down about three weekends ago and purchased one and have been carefully parceling out the spread, using just a smear between two Anna's Ginger Thins as a yummy sweet sandwich cookie thing. It also tastes bloody good on a warm roll or croissant, or hell, even plain toast. Confession time: I have also dipped my finger in the jar once or twice. ...