Fun and Fearless Adventures at Stonewall Kitchen

Whenever Bret and I head up to Ogunquit for a day trip, we always pass by Stonewall Kitchen in York, Maine.  Every time, I tell Bret that I want to go but we never seem to have time on our way to or from Ogunquit.  Since we're staying here for a week, I made sure that visiting Stonewall Kitchen was on our agenda!

After spending Tuesday morning sailing, we were finally on our way to Stonewall Kitchen!

I was positively giddy when I saw the sign as we approached.

And I squealed with delight as we saw the quaint looking buildings housing the Stonewall Kitchen headquarters!

We decided to first head into the Company Store to stock up on some goodies. 

Of course, I made a beeline for their awesome mustard selection. I sampled every single mustard they had out!  I already have a few Stonewall Kitchen mustards that I haven't tried yet but that didn't stop me from picking up a few more new ones.  I have a bit of an addiction when it comes to mustard.  I can never resist buying one when I see something new or interesting.

There were lots of other different sections to browse through and so many delightful samples to taste! But with fall around the corner, Stonewall Kitchen knew where to direct me!

Is it any surprise that I found myself in the pumpkin section?

After filling our basket (which Bret thankfully carried) and sampling lots of different sauces, dips and mustards, Bret and I were ready for lunch.  We decided to head to the Stonewall Kitchen cafe, which is adjacent to their company store.

Since it was hot out, we decided to skip the chowder and espresso.  Instead, Bret and I decided to split a sandwich since we were planning on cooking a huge feast for family dinner that night.

We found a table and got ready to dig in.  I love that the each table had a Stonewall Kitchen salt and pepper shaker!

When in Maine, we felt compelled to drink Maine soda. My blueberry soda was delicious!

Bret and I ordered the Pilgrim Sandwich and we chose a side of their potato salad.

The Pilgrim sandwich had sliced roasted Boar's Head peppermill turkey breast, housemade traditional herb stuffing, cranberry sauce, baby iceberg lettuce and cranberry horseradish sauce on multi-grain bread.  This is one serious sandwich and we savored every bite. The potato salad was equally delicious with a definite presence of mustard and very little mayo. 

We of course couldn't resist one of their baked goods and decided to split a toffee bar.  This was so moist and soft.  I was a big fan!

Afterwards, Bret and I ventured over to the viewing gallery to watch the bottling and jarring process in action.  But we first had to stop and take a few photos in the Adirondack chairs! Thankfully we found one in the shade!

I felt awkward taking photos of the employees in the viewing gallery and instead wandered over to the cooking school.  This place was impressive and if I lived closer, I would definitely take a class there!

I had a fantastic time wandering around Stonewall Kitchen and taking lots of photos.  I'm so glad that I made a visit to Stonewall Kitchen a priority during our stay in Ogunquit.  Even though I'm loving vacation, a part of me can't wait to head home to work with some of my new goodies!

Stonewall Kitchen is located at Stonewall Lane in York, Maine.

Wild Blueberry Cafe (Ogunquit, Maine)

After a late night of Scrabble with Bret's family Sunday night, Bret and I decided to sleep in on Monday while the rest of the family went to the beach.  By the time we got ourselves going, we were way too lazy to make our own breakfast and decided to check out a little cafe that we spotted along one of our previous walks on Shore Road.

The Wild Blueberry Cafe seemed like it was fairly quiet when we arrived but we did have to wait a few minutes for our table.  It seems as if the restaurant was a little understaffed on a Monday morning as summer is slowly winding down.

Bret and I both ordered glasses of water while we perused the menu and we were promptly served two miniature blueberry muffins.  They were so delightful and the blueberries were definitely fresh.  I am grateful they didn't give us more or I would have probably inhaled them all!

The Wild Blueberry Cafe offers a decent variety of breakfast items.  I was severely tempted by the Lobster Benedict as I love lobster and adore eggs Benedict.  But since we were heading to the beach, we probably wouldn't eat too much of a lunch so we both decided to go with the hearty breakfast burrito.

Even though the restaurant wasn't busy at all, there was a long wait for our food.  I managed to occupy myself by taking photos of the simple yet elegant centerpiece on our table.

And I also took some photos of my very hungry fiance!

Finally our breakfast burritos arrived!  These tortillas were filled with hash browns, scrambled eggs, Monteray Jack cheese, spicy sausage and a mild salsa.  The burrito was definitely huge and it had a lot of nice flavors.  But it was definitely messy and more than a little greasy from the hash browns.

Our breakfast burritos came with a mixed green salad tossed in a white champagne balsamic vinaigrette and sliced strawberries.  While the greens were a nice relief from the greasy burritos, the salad was definitely over dressed and felt a little heavy.

Overall, Wild Blueberry Cafe wasn't the best breakfast or the fastest service but it hit the spot for what we were looking for.  We were desperately trying to revive ourselves from the previous evening and at the same time giving us energy for the beach.  I should also mention that the cafe is also super close to the beach, which makes it a popular spot for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Wild Blueberry Cafe is located at 82 Shore Road, Ogunquit, Maine.

Foodbuzz’s Project Food Blog

A lot of times, I consider my endeavors in the kitchen to be like a project.  As I’m testing out a new recipe or experimenting with new ingredients, I’m constantly thinking about how to demonstrate this project on my blog for my readers.  I am currently involved with a new project sponsored by Foodbuzz.  Foodbuzz is a wonderful food blog community and I’m proud to be a Foodbuzz Featured Publisher.  This project is called Project Food Blog and it is a competition where Foodbuzz Featured Publishers will participate in a series of culinary blogging challenges.  I will be posting my entries for each round here on my blog.  There is a grand prize for just one contestant: $10,000.00 and a special feature on Foodbuzz for a year. 

I’ve always welcomed reader participation on my blog and Project Food Blog is no exception.  Eventually, I will have an icon on my blog for you to use to vote for me.  There are judges for the competition but there will be one readers’ choice winner per round.  The blogger with the most votes from the public will be the readers’ choice for that round and will automatically advance to the next round.

I’m already hard at work getting my blog ready for the first round, but in the meantime, you can check out my Project Food Blog contestant profile here.  

I’m not sure how far I’ll advance in Project Food Blog but I’m excited to participate and compete against some great food bloggers and I hope you’ll want to join me for the ride.

Happiness in Ogunquit, Maine

Somewhere along our drive up to Ogunquit, my stresses started to melt away.  We opened the windows and breathed in that clean air that you just can't get in Beacon Hill.  I've been here less than twenty-four hours but I already feel myself smiling more, laughing loudly, and leaving my Blackberry behind.  Happiness can be found everywhere....

....from discovering the awesomeness of sunglasses...

...from finding my balance in the waves...

...and writing your name in the sand...

...and always, always, always....in a cold beer and boiled lobster...

Happiness can definitely be found in Maine. 

xoxo

"Clean Out the Fridge" Broccoli Squash Bake

If you're a regular reader, you know that I absolutely hate wasting food.  I'm often creating dishes just to utilize ingredients before they pass their expiration date.  Since Bret and I were leaving for Maine soon, I wanted to clean out the fridge before we left.  In my produce bin, I had two small heads of broccoli and one medium sized summer squash and I wanted to find a way to utilize both those ingredients for dinner on Thursday night.  I did a little research online and found this great recipe on All Recipes for a Broccoli Squash Bake.

To start, I washed and sliced up the broccoli.

I soon realized that this was way more than the recipe called for so I decided to double the recipe.  I first sauteed the broccoli in a pan with six tablespoons of butter for about three minutes.  It was a lot of butter but I think it was needed to nicely coat all of the vegetables.  After the first three minutes, I added the sliced and halved summer squash.  I gave the vegetables a quick stir now and again while I also got to work on my cheese sauce.

I put Bret to task to finely dice up a half a pound of Swiss cheese that I had picked up from Whole Foods on the way home from the gym.  I wasn't sure how many cups were in a pound so I estimated at half a pound and luckily I had enough for our doubled recipe. While Bret got to work on the cheese, I combined the rest of the cheese sauce ingredients and also added a bit of fresh-cracked pepper to the sauce.  I wasn't reading the ingredients closely and I put in the Parmesan cheese in the sauce.  Whoops!  Bret added the Swiss cheese to the sauce and we gave it a good mix.

After cooking six minutes (total) in the skillet, I transferred the vegetables to a round casserole dish that I had given a quick spray of cooking spray.

Bret then did the honors of pouring the liquid into the casserole dish so that I could get an action shot!  Once the liquid was in the casserole dish, we made sure that it was spread evenly throughout.

Even though there was already Parmesan cheese in the sauce, I gave the top of the dish a quick sprinkle of more Parmesan cheese so that I could get that nice brown crust on it.  I put the dish in the oven for twenty minutes and when it was done, I broiled it for another five minutes to get that nice golden brown crust on it.

The broccoli squash bake came out so delicious with the golden brown crust and the gooey cheesiness mixed with the vegetables.  Bret and I both took huge servings and were so full when we finished dinner.

I don't usually make a lot of casserole dishes since I am usually cooking for just the two of us.  But I'd like to know, what are your favorite casserole dishes?

D'Guru: Divine Indian Food in the Financial District

In between reading a lot of different food blog posts about Indian food and watching the Food Network's Aarti Party, I found myself really craving for some Indian food on Thursday.  Since Bret isn't a big fan of Indian food (we've seriously only had it once the entire time we've been together), I thought I'd satisfy my Indian cravings at lunch.

I sent out a tweet and got the following response from my friend Julie: D'Guru opened on Devonshire St if you wanna check it out!  I was sold.  I did a little research online and then headed to D'Guru during my lunch.  Located on Devonshire Street (between Franklin and Milk Street), D'Guru is an offshoot of Guru the Caterer, a gourmet Indian catering company.  Please excuse the blurry photo below.

I arrived around 12:30 PM and the line was almost to the door.  D'Guru is a tiny little shop with very little seating but the line moves rather quickly.  There weren't a huge amount of variety to their menu and this little take-out shop had all of the standards like chicken tikka masala, lamb curry, and samosas.  I decided to go with a chicken combo plate, which contained rice, a chicken entree, a vegetable and some Indian bread.

I went back to my office and eagerly dug in.  Even though I usually drink water during my lunches in the office, I decided to splurge and picked up a Vita Coco coconut water.

I opened my take-out container and I was shocked by the amount of food.  D'Guru doesn't mess around with portion sizes and this was way too much for food.  I ordered the chicken tikka masala and a small side of aloo posto, which is a spicy potato dish in a poppy seed paste.

Instead of naan, D'Guru served two huge slices of chapati bread.  Chapati is a bit fluffier than naan and tasted a bit like the pita bread used in gyros.

My entire meal was really delicious.  The rice was perfectly cooked and the chicken tikka masala was thick and had generous chunks of tender chicken breast.  The aloo posto ended up being my favorite though as it had a nice heat to it.  The portion size was a bit large so I felt bad that I didn't finish my lunch but I didn't want to enter into an afternoon food coma at work.

The food tasted incredibly authentic and I think I've found a new spot whenever another Indian craving should hit me!  What are some of your favorite area Indian restaurants?


D'Guru is located at 187 Devonshire Street, Boston, MA.

Upstairs on the Square: A Tomato Feast

After another long rainy day, I was really looking forward to meeting up with some of my food blogger pals (Meghan, Kristen,  Alicia and Megan) for dinner in Harvard Square.  Our original plan was to check out Rialto's outdoor terrace but the weather made us think twice about this one.  Megan discovered that Upstairs on the Square was hosting a tasting menu centered around one of my favorite summer ingredients - the tomato!  We were all instantly sold on the idea and Megan graciously made us a reservation.

I did a little research beforehand and I was excited to learn that Executive Chef Steven Brand would be using locally grown tomatoes for this tasting menu.  I also thought this was fitting as this week is Farmers Market Week in Massachusetts.  I am participating in a "Loving Local: Celebrating the Flavors of Massachusetts" blogathon to bring awareness to local food.  I thought a re-cap of this evening would nicely tie in with this theme!

But back to the food.  We had a lovely tasting menu ahead of us last night.

Since the wine pairing was only $13 more, we all decided to do the tasting menu with the wine pairing.  To start, our server poured us a glass of 2008 Ca' del Solo Albarino from Monterey County.  This was a nice light wine and we were told that it was a vegan wine (although I'm not quite sure what makes it vegan).  We also kicked off the evening with an amuse bouche - a shooter of summer gazpacho.

Normally I cringe when I see gazpacho on a menu because it is not really one of my favorite dishes.  Even though I love vegetable juices and Bloody Marys, I just can't get myself to enjoy a thick tomato-based soup.  But this amuse bouche couldn't have been further from that.  It was really chunky with kernels of sweet corn and crunchy miniature croutons.  This definitely was large for an amuse bouche but I wasn't complaining!

While we waited for our first course to arrive, we dug into the generous bread basket.  And over lots of laughter and conversation, our courses began to arrive.

Our first course was a classic native heirloom tomato salad with fresh market raspberry vinegar, Vermont goat cheese and Thai basil.

This dish was so pretty in its colors and I absolutely loved the creamy goat cheese.  When I was all done with my plate, I took a cue from Kristen and grabbed a piece of bread to soak up all of that delicious raspberry vinegar.

Our next wine tasting was a French bourgogne - 2007 Domaine Caillot Les Herbeux.  This white burgundy wine was a little to wood-flavored for me so I wasn't a huge fan.  However, I was in love with our next course - a parsley and lemon crusted hake with lightly crushed Yukon gold potatoes and basil tomato water.

Wow, this dish was amazing.  The tomato flavor wasn't really obvious but the parsley and lemon crust on the fish was so wonderful.  We were all so into this dish and I definitely dipped back into the basket for another piece of bread to soak up the basil tomato water.

Our final wine tasting was a Cabernet Sauvignon - 2006 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Artemis from Napa Valley.  I absolutely loved this wine and wanted to savor every sip.  It went beautifully with our third course, which was a wood-grilled New York strip steak served with a tomato a la Provencale and slow-roasted garlic.  The aroma of roasted garlic hit you immediately and for me it is always a welcome scent.  This dish was definitely welcome on a cold rainy evening like last night.  The first photo wasn't so great but I loved that there was a smiley face on my dish.

Our server actually turned our plates around and this made for a better photo, even if it hid the fantastic stuffed tomato.

The dessert course was definitely intriguing when we were served a sweet tomato sorbet coupe.  This dessert was layered with a red wine reduction, olive oil ice cream, sweet tomato sorbet, candied pinenuts, a whipped cream and topped with a lemon thyme shortbread.  It was an absolute stunning dish and I'm sad that my photo doesn't do it justice.  There was not a single element of this dish that I didn't adore but my favorites were of course the olive oil ice cream and the candied pinenuts!

It is hysterical to watch a table of food bloggers try to get a great photo.  Our flashes were going off over and over again and it looked there was some serious paparazzi action but it was just the five of us trying to photograph our dessert!

I had a great time with the ladies last night.  I have been really lucky to meet some great people through my food blog who have become more than just acquaintances but actual friends.  It was nice to be at a dinner where we weren't learning about a new product or meeting new people.  Instead, we just got to be ourselves and share about our real lives - from our relationships to our frustrations with our blogs to our careers.  It was really wonderful to just relax and enjoy a good meal with great company.

Upstairs on the Square is located at 91 Winthrop Street, Cambridge, MA.

Sara Jane's Birthday Dinner

I have known my friend Sara Jane since elementary school.  Despite living super close to each other, we weren't always the closest growing up.  Yet through the years, our friendship slowly grew and now I can't imagine what my life would be like without her.  Sara Jane has lived in San Francisco since she graduated from Emerson College in 2003 and I only get to see her maybe two or three times a year at most.  But Sara Jane is always generous with her time and manages to squeeze in a visit with me whenever she finds herself back on the East Coast.

Tuesday night was Sara Jane's last night in Massachusetts and I was happy to throw a little dinner party for Sara Jane, her wife Meghan and their precious pup Albie.  It also happened to be Sara Jane's birthday so I went all out for a huge birthday feast and even set the table in the dining room!

When they arrived, we started the night off with a little prosecco and a prettier version of my watermelon and feta bites.  But we were so busy chatting and laughing that I forgot to take a picture!  I'll have to blame it on this hysterical "Get Well" card that I made for Sara Jane in the third grade.  She found it when she was at home and couldn't resist bringing it over!

If you can't read it, the card says, "Dear Sara, I hope you get well.  Or I won't be happy. So you better get well. Or there won't be any cheerleading cheers. From your friend, Michelle Lee"  Doesn't it sound slightly menacing?  I guess there's a reason why my Hallmark career never took off!

Anyway, our meal for the evening was simple but full of lots of flavor.  The main attraction was our maple pepper and habanero chicken breasts.  The chicken breasts were marinated with the maple pepper and habanero dry rub, olive oil and a touch of maple syrup during the day and then were given a dry rub of the maple pepper and habanero seasoning.  The chicken was seared on both sides and then thrown in the oven to cook through.

As a side, we served corn on the cob with a healthy rub of Myers + Chang's sriracha butter.

And I made a side of my new favorite pasta salad - pesto orecchiette salad.  Instead of using feta, I substituted it with mozzarella and served this pasta cold.

And of course, it wouldn't be a birthday party without birthday cake! Bret and I made a two layer Funfetti cake with Funfetti frosting!

It was so lovely to spend a whole evening with Sara Jane and her wife Meghan.  And I insisted that we take a  self-timer photo to remember the night...along with some photos of their adorable dog Albie.

Have you ever seen a picture of a dog with a mohawk?

It was a wonderful evening with one of my oldest friends.  I was so happy to celebrate her birthday with her and even happier when everyone took multiple servings!

Bret and I also had a hidden agenda and we wanted to ask Sara Jane if she would honor us by officiating our wedding.  Without even a moment's hesitation, she said yes and we're thrilled that she will be part of our special day.

Happy Birthday Sara Jane.  I hope you have a happy birthday.  Or else I won't be happy.