5B: Believers in Better Beer, Bites, and Blogging

Last weekend I attended the first Cincinnati blogging conference called 5B: Believers in Better Beer, Bites, and Blogging.  It was an inclusive event open to beer bloggers, food bloggers, and general lifestyle bloggers.  I had only met two people in real life who were attending the event, and I was a little nervous.  Would I bring anything to the table?  Would the other attendees have much more advanced blogs than my own?  It turns out most of the other attendees had the same concerns as me.  We were all pleasantly surprised by what the conference offered us.

The word that lingers with me, even several days after the conference has wrapped, is community.  I hope that feeling of being a part of something stays with me as I work to improve my blog and my presence in the food blog community.

Looking for some new blogs to follow?  Might I recommend:  Hounds in the Kitchen, Eat, Drink, and Be Married, Taste and See Cincinnati, Udandi.com,  wine me dine me (in Cincinnati), Ginny Tonic's musings on the Charlie Tonic Hour website, The World in my Kitchen, What's Cookin' Now radio show, Fake Food Free, Eggplant To Go, Cookerati, and Hoperatives.  There were even more bloggers in attendance that I really enjoyed meeting and I hope we all meet again soon!

Monday Link Love: Inspiration

I would consider myself a person who thinks a lot--maybe too much.  My mind drifts off when I'm waiting at the pharmacy or stirring a pot of risotto.  I cry during all Pixar movies and even sometimes watching commercials.  I am a dreamer.  A believer.  I'm sure some would say I just have a wild imagination, but I don't think that's the reason.  Life moves me. 

So today I'm sharing some of that inspiration with you (food and non-food related). 

My beautiful, talented, smart cousin Joy is a truly motivated young woman.  She's already completed a young adult novel!  And she shares about her goals to be a published writer over on her blog.  Check it out--she will make you laugh, make you think, and make you want to chase your dreams, too. 


Do you think Thanksgiving can't exist without the turkey?  Aimee is proving that wrong with her round-up of vegetarian Thanksgiving dishes.  I think she's onto something, here. 

We went to a fund-raiser on Saturday night for the Midwest Boston Terrier Rescue. It's the rescue from which we adopted our amazing Boston Terrier mix, Murray.   It felt really good to support the rescue's mission and motivated me to be more involved in something that I truly believe in.

Speaking of going after your goals, I loved today's blog post from Joy the Baker.  She shares 10 tips on how to build a successful blog--and most of them you might already know but need to hear.   My favorite:  pretty things are important.  I'm going to work on that. 

You may be in denial, but Christmas is just around the corner.  I'm inspired by the modern-homemaking goddess, Cherry Menlove.  She started her series on preparing for Christmas with sharing an extremely useful template to keep track of holiday gifting and budgets.  I've already printed three copies!

Has anything around the web inspired you lately?  Please share!

See you back here soon.  As always, thanks for stopping by. 

Brown Dog Cafe and a New Friend

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a blogging acquaintance, Sharon from Eggplant To Go, asking me if I'd like to join her for dinner.  Cincinnati's Restaurant Week was coming up, and she had reservations that she had made with a friend who was no longer able to go.  Not wanting to miss out on a chance to try a new restaurant, Sharon wondered if I'd like to join her.

Let me just say that I am so thankful that Sharon reached out to me.  I have always considered Sharon to be such an interesting writer on her blog, always uncovering new food trends in Cincinnati, and she shares my love for Top Chef.  And as an adult, it's harder than I ever expected to make new friends.  I'm not from Cincinnati so I don't have a built in group of friends here.  I love my husband dearly, but he understands that I like to be busy and social.  I was involved in a Ladies Wine group, but most of the members moved away so it sort of fizzled out.

Sharon reached out to me on the perfect day with the perfect invitation--dinner at Brown Dog Cafe.

I had never eaten here before so I arrived a little early.  I was surprised that the restaurant is located in a small strip mall type location at the Pfeiffer Road exit off Interstate 71.  The inside of the restaurant has a sort of upscale lounge feel with a nice wooden bar where I could see myself coming back and sitting on a stool for a glass of wine.  There was a mix of booths and tables, and we were seated just around the corner in a little section of tables.  It was cozy and comfortable; I found the atmosphere appropriate for a date, dinner with the in-laws, and even a business dinner.

When Sharon arrived I immediately stood up to give her a hug.  I instantly knew it was going to be a very nice dinner.  She allowed me to choose the wine for dinner, and I found that the wine list was well rounded with a nice selection of glass pours and bottles at varying prices and types.

Our server brought us the restaurant week menu, which included the option of choosing an appetizer, salad, and entree.  All of the choices were interesting and sounded delicious.

I started out with a Sea Dog for my appetizer.  It was a seafood sausage served on a bun with a spicy sauce, sort of a play on a lobster roll.  It was incredibly good, and I inquired of our server where the sea dog was sourced from.  She confirmed Sharon's suspicion that it was from Lobsta Bakes of Maine.  I know my husband would love this, and I want to buy some of these directly from Lobsta Bakes sometime soon.

My second course was a pickled beet salad with goat cheese.  The beets were sweet and vinegary and a perfect pairing with the creamy goat cheese.  Beets are such an under-appreciated root vegetable, aren't they?

For my entree I had a duo of incredible lamb chops that had a crispy, salty crust.  They were served over cripsy potato wedges and asparagus.  The chops weren't heavy or game-y but light and juicy.  And seriously awesome.  I would order this again and again.

Overall dinner was fantastic.  We polished off a bottle of wine and talked about everything under the sun.  Sharon is one of those people that I think I could always find something to talk about with, and I really appreciate that in a dining partner.  I hope to see you again soon, Sharon!

Victory Lap: An Ode to the Final Year of My 20s

I won't lie to you and say the past nine years were always amazing.  Sure, there were lots of memorable moments, but I'm not perfect.  There were days when I would stop to wonder how I got to that place--you know, the place where you feel like if you plan a vacation it will rain the whole time or if you saved up a little money the car would inevitably break down.  It was tough.  Calling them my "roaring twenties" would be an accurate description.

Truth be told, I think most of my friends would say the same thing.  Our twenties were a time when we rose to adulthood, without the comfort of our parents home and bank account to protect us.  We made mistakes.  Sometimes it was lonely.  We indulged in too much wine.  Most of us hated our first "real" jobs.  We missed having a safety net.  We mourned the end of childhood.

But we did laugh.  A lot.  My friend K.C. always said that if someone wasn't funny, she couldn't be bothered to get to know them.  Laughter pulled us through while we invested ourselves in building a life.  Many of my friends went on to graduate, law or medical school.  Some married and started families.  Others defiantly sought adventures around the world.  It's not easy to find the right path to follow.  Our twenties gave us a chance to weave in and out and see how the direction felt.  If it didn't end where we expected, we still had time to go a different route.  And we still have time, but it's starting to feel different.  We are older, maybe not as daring.  We have a lot to lose.  So we push on and try to find our way, laughing as often as we need.  I'm lucky that I have found a man who laughs with me.  And he makes me laugh when I most need to.

I had a birthday yesterday.  I'm 29 years old.  Not thirty--I will not let you age me a year. But not because I'm afraid of 30 or apprehensive about aging; I'm going to spend the next year to savoring my twenties.  The latter half of them have been very good to me:  I fell in love, I gained a daughter, I created a home for our family, I'm the happiest I've ever been.  I want to honor my twenties with a victory lap.   I'm going to spend the last year of my twenties celebrating the fact that I'm thriving--I'm still here, still loving, still laughing, still bettering myself.

Tim and Melissa baked me a cake.  I picked it out--dark chocolate cake with chocolate frosting--and they did all of the work.   I don't think the simple name it was given appropriately describes this cake--it was rich and moist and intensely flavorful.  It only seems appropriate to call it Victory Lap Cake, because it represents to me the things I love most about where my 20s have led me:  to family, to love, to happiness.  And they aren't over yet. 

Double Chocolate Layer Cake aka Victory Lap Cake
recipe slightly adapted from Gourmet via epicurious
serves 12 to 14 (or more)

Tim decided put his own twist to the cake by adding orange zest.  While not overpowering, I do think it gave the cake a little zing that chocolate cakes can lack.  I would recommend it, but you could omit it if you don't have an orange handy.

Ingredients for the cake
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups fresh brewed coffee, hot
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken
3/4 tsp vanilla
zest of one medium orange (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Grease two 10 in x 2 in round cake pans.  Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and then grease the paper.

Finely chop 3 oz of chocolate and combine in a bowl with hot coffee.  Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.  Allow to cool slightly. 

Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.  In another large bowl with an electric mixer, beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer and slightly longer with a hand mixer).  Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well.  Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.  If using, stir in orange zest with a spoon or spatula.  Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool layers completely in pans on racks.  Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto rack, carefully removing the wax paper.  If not completely cool on the bottom, allow to sit until completely cool.  Can be made 1 day ahead and kept at room temperature wrapped well in plastic wrap.

Ingredients for the frosting
1 pound semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

Finely chop chocolate.  In a medium saucepan, bring cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved.  Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted.  Cut butter into pieces and add to saucepan, whisking until smooth. 

Transfer to a medium bowl and cool, stirring occassionally, until spreadable.  You may need to chill frosting to achieve a spreadable consistency.

Spread frosting between cake layers and over top and sides.  Serve cake at room temperature.  Cake can be kept for up to 3 days covered and chilled. 

She Knows What She Likes

One of the things I love about my friend Julie is that she knows what she likes.  Some may call it picky, but I prefer to call it particular.  In fact, she is extremely open minded about trying new things and takes life by storm, but she usually knows immediately if something is her taste or not (and I don't just mean food).

For example, I have only met one other person in my life who didn't like condiments on her sandwiches.  I'm not talking hamburgers here--I mean, a club or a ham sandwich.  She takes no mayonnaise, no mustard, no ketchup, not even a sprinkling of vinegar and oil. 

I don't hold that against her.  I mean, sandwiches are made-to-order nearly every place you go.  And, on my wedding day, when I was so worried about having an upset stomach because of wedding planning stress and pre-wedding what-if-I-trip-while-walking-down-the-aisle nerves, I ordered my lunch sandwich just the way Julie would order hers--plain turkey with lettuce on wheat, nothing else.  And it was exactly what I needed.

So when Julie told me she was engaged to her fantastic boyfriend Andy, I didn't have a single doubt that she was 100% sure.  She knows what she likes, and I envy her for that.

Their wedding was in Baltimore this past weekend.  And it was truly a celebration of their love and a chance for everyone to come together to share that with them.

On Saturday we had a lot of time to kill until the evening wedding, so our friend's Lia and Noah got a recommendation from the hotel concierge to walk to Mt. Vernon, a district in Baltimore that was young and would probably have good eats and good places to browse.

We ended up walking into the middle of a Book Festival in it's setting up phase, so we knew that post-brunch we would have something to check out.  We dined at a little cafe called Donna's and ordered a variety of breakfast type meals.

Now, I'm not a restaurant critic, but I did find it odd that a place serving brunch didn't actually seem to have any whole eggs--just already scrambled eggs, limiting it's egg making abilities to a lackluster scramble and a pre-prepared breakfast stratta.  The stratta got an A+ from our friends Abbie and Nick, but the scrambled eggs Lia ordered were strange and an odd shade of yellow.

My breakfast, however, had no eggs involved, and was truly incredible.

Three huge slices of French toast with an sweet apple and golden raisin compote over the top that didn't even require the use of the ramekin of syrup I was provided.  It was heavenly and I am dying to recreate it.  It's all about the bread.  Do you know what type of bread I should use for the perfect French toast?  Please share if you do. 

After brunch we browsed the book festival, where we came across a few interesting things.  The first was the reigning Baltimore "Hon" who wore a huge beehive wig and told us all about how she had won the "Honfest" and had spent the past year being the #1 Hon.  It's sort of complicated to explain, but it has something to do with the movie Hairspray and big hair and big personalities.  Check the link if you are really interested.

And of course in Baltimore there is the whole crab thing.  Living in southwest Ohio and my only exposure to water being man-made community ponds and the occasional trip over the Ohio river, fresh seafood is not really a big player in my diet.  Baltimore-ians are always suggesting that out-of-towners try their world-famous crab.  Our cab driver from the airport to the hotel told us that you have to go somewhere where you can eat the whole crab (which involves digging it out of its shell) vs. eating it in crabcake form, because it's like "steak vs. hamburger."  To which our friend Nick said, "I like hamburger."   Touché, Nick. 

We considered getting some crab and avocado tacos at the book festival from one of the food stands.  This was far above normal carnival type food often found at Ohio festivals, so I was intrigued.

The line was long and in the end we all decided we had consumed too much brunch to go ahead and stuff ourselves with more food.  The tacos were $8.00 but I'm not really sure if that's a good price or not!

We did eat crab--all of us, I think--because not only was there an amazing choice of crab & linguini in a red sauce at the rehearsal dinner, but there were mini crab cake appetizers at the wedding.  So there was crab for everyone, and I must say crab does taste better in Maryland.  Maybe it's just a state of mind thing.  Either way, it was darn good crab.

The wedding was divine and the band--oh the band--it was incredible.  I thought nothing could top the spread of Mediterranean appetizers (including the best hummus I've ever had) but then the band came on and played the best wedding music ever. 

The whole night I kept thinking, "This wedding is so Julie."  But what else could I expect from her?  She knows what she likes.  

(Best wishes to the bride & groom!)

The Beginning of Summer

The official first day of summer...was yesterday.   It's the longest day of the year but it flew by for me.  Isn't that how all of summer is?  So quick that we barely have a moment to stop and look into the endless blue skies that linger past (my) bedtime? 

The past few weeks for me have been filled with reminiscing and celebrating.  Two weekends ago I traveled to Indianapolis to help shower my good friend K.C. with love and household items before her July wedding.  Her sister made a batch of divine cheesecake brownie cupcakes--Lizzie, I must have the recipe.  It was truly a joyful weekend and I know K.C. will be very happy, even though she's living in Michigan!  (Ohioans can't resist a Michigan joke.) 

This past weekend my darling friend Lia traveled all the way from her new borough to visit our dear friend Abbie and me.  We had a fantastic dinner on Thursday night at my new house, where I did my best to wow them with my newfound culinary skills.  I've come a long way from Rice-A-Roni, haven't I ladies?  (At least I hope!)

Over the weekend the girls and I went to our Alma Mater's Alumni Weekend for our five year reunion.  While we had a great time visiting and touring the campus, I was most amused with the way Lia wanted to re-experience college life through her stomach.  As soon as the campus was in sight, she began ticking off the locations she absolutely had to eat.   Jimmy John's.  Harrison Dining Hall.  Kona Bistro.  Bagel and Deli...twice.


For us all, it was like visiting our home before our current homes.  So much of our experiences, food and otherwise, were rooted in our four years there, and I'm thankful we shared that with one another, then and now.