Category Archives: Food & Wine

Well, perhaps the lobsters didn’t really revolt, but I have to say that I’m a little disappointed with the package from Lobster Anywhere. Earlier this week, I described the little screw up in which our lobster package never made it on the FedEx truck. The guy Drew spoke with at L.A. sounded like he was really going to make good on the error.

Yesterday we received the package. The goods were packaged in a Styrofoam cooler with three large ice packs. Everything was cold, but as I unpacked I thought that it was a darn good thing I was home — I would not have wanted the package sitting on my step for very long! The two lobster tails look really nice, however when I picked up the bag, the zipper wasn’t really working and some liquid spilled out. I zipped it and the other side opened. I have this problem with grapes at the supermarket all the time, but I guess I expected lobster tails to be sealed a little better. The bacon-wrapped scallops were packaged in what I might best describe as a to-go container (like you’d get at a restaurant like Ruby Tuesday’s or Chili’s) — black bottom with the clear, hard plastic top. A corner of the plastic top was broken. It probably happened in shipping, but still. I would have liked my food to be completely sealed. The stuffed shrimp were in a similar container, except it had a foil/paper lid that was starting to peel up. I repackaged everthing for the freezer.

Now, I’m not new to ordering food like this. We’ve ordered through Omaha Steaks before and have been happy with the packaging materials and the way the items themselves were sealed. (They used dry ice and each item — or group of items if it was something like stuffed shrimp — was vacuum sealed.) I can’t lie — I was a bit disappointed with the way all this seafood arrived at my door. And that’s not to mention that a number of other items that were to be included with our original package (napkins, lobster forks, oyster crackers, crackers for the lobster shell, butter, lemons) were not included at all! Drew is going to write an e-mail complaining. I am not one to bitch and moan about service, but I feel that we did not get what we paid for here, especially considering the original mistake of not shipping the package.

I hate being disappointed!

For our anniversary, Drew got us a gift certificate to Lobster Anywhere for one of those packages with the live lobsters that they overnight to you from Maine. We’ve never cooked a lobster before and thought it would be a lot of fun. Well, due to work schedules and children it hasn’t been easy picking out a day where someone can watch the boys so we can get the package and cook up all the goodies. Somehow the stars aligned and tomorrow was supposed to be the day.

Supposed to being the key words here.

The guy from Lobster Anywhere just phoned Drew and the Fed Ex guy never took our package. ::Sob!!!:: But before we got too disappointed, they are going to make good. Because we can’t just pick another day for the live lobsters, he’s going to change our package around and give us two jumbo lobster tails instead of the live crustaceans, and said something about throwing in a dessert as well. So the lobster tails (along with the other goodies already included in the package – stuffed shrimp, bacon-wrapped scallops, and clam chowder) can be frozen. Well, maybe not the chowder. But that’s okay because I’ll be ready to devour that! At any rate, it’s hard to be upset because the guy really felt bad about it. Our new package should come on Thursday, so I’ll be looking forward to checking it all out.

In the meantime, Drew and I will do something else fun — probably get a late lunch somewhere. It’ll all work out, but it’s just so typical of our luck!

Awww! Drew called to tell me that he baked brownies for me. (Actually, let me clarify — brownie muffins!) He asked me to pick up some ice cream on the way home from work, so I’m going to swing by Stewart’s. They have such yummy flavors! I don’t even know what to get… I’m thinking about this one:

M&M BROWNIE FUDGE LIGHT
Loaded with brownie chunks and a ton of M&M® chocolate candies in vanilla light ice cream – less than half the fat of regular ice cream!

Oooh, Drew would LOVE this one:

MINT MARCY
It’s Mint Chocolate Pieces in Peppermint Flavored Ice Cream rippled with Chocolate Fudge. This cool, refreshing flavor is the latest addition to our 1/2 gallon selections, and is delightfully good! Probably too good!!!

Or what about this one?

POMBERRY PLEASURE **NEW LIMITED EDITION FLAVOR!
A delectable blend of Pomegranate and Blueberry ice creams mixed with Chocolate Chunks! An exotic flavor that is sure to please!

Oh my God, I’m never going to be able to decide. I’ll let you know what I come home with 🙂

I ‘ve only recently come to terms with the fact that I’ve become snobby about wine but I’ve long been snobby about beer and readily admitted that. My brother makes awesome homebrew and I love going to his house because I can just pull a pint from his kegerator. One year for his birthday, I bought Drew a Mr Beer (they still sell them!) and it actually came out pretty good! And it was fun, too. Nothing like making it yourself.

Little known fact (perhaps): gin is my favorite form of hard liquor. The gin & tonic has been my drink of choice since I was 21. It’s refreshing, easy on the pallet, and I don’t feel silly ordering it. (I cannot bring myself to order “girly” drinks — heck, even a Cosmopolitan is too fru-fru for me.) I’m not particularly fond of vodka and I can’t get into scotch. I do like bourbon, but I’d still pick gin over it any day. My friend Will also happens to be fond of gin. A few months ago I introduced him to Citadelle gin, and more recently he suggested that Drew and I try Hendrick’s. Yesterday I picked up a bottle and excitedly hurried home to taste it.

I couldn’t wait. The packaging really appealed to me, as did the fact that it’s made with cucumbers and rose petals. Yes. Rose petals. Of course, there’s the requisite juniper berries and some citrus as well. But rose petals, people. The bottle was difficult to pour from due to its odd shape, but after the first few glugs it got easier. First we tried it straight — no ice, no tonic, just pure gin. I got a lot of alcohol on the nose and after my first taste I thought it was rather burny. It was smooth, no doubt, but… I felt a bit disappointed. Perhaps my expectations were too high? I added a few ice cubes, swirled my glass a bit and laughed at myself because I didn’t think a gin should have to open up like a wine. It helped, though, and I began to pick up on the citrus and a very subtle hint of rose. Quite lovely, really. On we went to our gin & tonics. I garnished mine with a cucumber, as suggested. My husband, the purist, refused and chose lime. Perhaps it was all in my head, but I do feel that the cucumber added something. However, we couldn’t help but think that the Hendrick’s reminded us a lot of Gordon’s (which is a much less expensive gin, though still respectable).

How else to prove this but with a blind tasting? Luckily we have a set of multi-colored shot glasses, making it easy to keep track of who had poured what. I left the room as Drew poured mine, and then he left as I poured his. And then the tasting began. Now, we both are rather seasoned wine tasters. I’ve been at events where I have tasted probably close to 100 different wines. (And anyone who is serious about wine tasting spits, I hate to tell you.) Tasting hard liquor, however, is much more difficult, obviously due to the high alcohol content. Nevertheless, we had a mission and we were determined. First, we wanted to see if we could pick out each of the gins we had in our liquor cabinet. Second, we were curious what our favorite would be if we couldn’t see the labels.

The verdict? Well, first allow me to brag for a minute: I nailed all three gins. I thought the Tanqueray was pretty obvious, but interestingly enough, it was trickier figuring out which glass was Gordon’s and which glass was Hendricks. After another taste it was pretty clear that one (the Hendrick’s) was smoother than the other. Drew didn’t quite do as well, but I’ll let him decide if he wants to own up to that. We both ended up chosing Tanqueray as our favorite. No real surprise to me. Tanq was my gin of choice for years. As for the similarities between Hendrick’s and Gordon’s? When you taste them side by side, there is no comparison. The Hendick’s is so much nicer. Of course, you pay a premium for that, too.

Once we finish off the Gordon’s and the Tanqueray we plan on doing another blind tasting, but we’re going to put the Hendrick’s up against Citadelle (Drew’s favorite) and D.H. Krahn (my new favorite) and see what happens. That should be interesting!

I have been snacking on this Fruit Salad Salsa all morning. Oh wow! So good! It amazes me how often the simplest combinations taste the best. I made some cinnamon tortilla chips to go with it. Jake likes the salsa, but doesn’t like the chips. Noah likes the chips, but doesn’t like the salsa (I think maybe it’s just hard for him to eat, but he’s also been generally picky lately).

I also made myself panko-crusted cod for lunch. Again — super easy. I didn’t measure anything out but basically I just thawed a cod fillet from the freezer, lightly coated each side with light mayo, and coated it with seasoned panko (I used Adobo, basil, and oregano). Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees or until flakey. It just doesn’t get easier!

I ate it before I thought to take a photo, and it’s barely a recipe, but damn is it good! I had two avacados sitting on my counter and I know I need to use them soon. I was really craving guacamole, but didn’t have the tomato or cilantro. So, I simply mashed up one of the avacados, sprinkled it with salt, and mixed in the juice of half a lime. Oh my goodness! So good! I didn’t miss any of the extra stuff I usually put in there. It would be a great sandwich spread, too.

In my previous LG post, I promised that I’d write about all of our yummy meals in another post. Well, it got really long, so it made more sense for me to publish my reviews over on HubPages. So you can check out my review of The Log Jam Restaurant, one of our perennial favorites. It was orignally reccomended to us by the owners of Alynn’s Butterfly Inn, where we stayed before we were even married! I’ve also written up an article about where to get a great breakfast. I reviewed the two places we ate this time around. Check them out!