Last,  September 11, I happily got to take part in the Kilmarnock-Irvington-Whitestone Rotary Bay Seafood Festival.  It happens yearly at Belle Isle State Park, a really lovely park near Lively, Virginia.

The sight for the festival is a nice peninsula that allows people to arrive by land or sea and have a nice view of the water.

They fill the area with tents serving a plethora of delicious goodies.

So here is the strategy:  There are very few picnic tables and they go fast, so you need to bring some outdoor folding chairs.  Some people even haul in their own tables, but that seems a little extreme.  They give you a small tray that is pretty sufficient, but requires multiple trips, which is the best way to eat your way around the items. What they don’t have readily available is eating utensils, there were spoons for soup and ice cream, but other than that you are on your own.  I would perhaps consider bringing a fork as some items served I would have preferred to eat with a fork. You will need to pace yourself as really you will want to try a bit of everything.

The Chow:

Clam Chowder, BBQ, Coleslaw, French Fries, Sweet Potato Fries with Cinnamon and Sugar, Corn on the Cobb, Hush Puppies, Crab Cakes, Soft-Shell Crabs, Scallops, Fried Fish, Salad,  Shrimp, Fried Oysters and Ice Cream.

For me the shrimp just cooked with Old Bay was a winner.  The shrimp were large and juicy, not over cooked or tough.  I also really enjoyed the Sweet Potato Fries, but would have preferred them more well done.  The fried oysters were delicious, hot and briney and very fresh.  Even the BBQ was quite tasty with a good smokey taste.

They had booths for wine, beer, mixed drinks and non-alcoholic drinks, and all the alcohol was included in the price of the admission ticket.

It wasn’t a gourmet extravaganza, but it was a beautiful Southern down home evening where friends and family gathered, ate good fresh seafood and listened to music while supporting the local Rotary Club.

I think Rotary is a really well run organization with excellent community involvement.  They support local, national and international causes such as eliminating polio.

Unfortunately and fortunately I didn’t win any of the raffle prizes- I was really looking forward to the crab lovers cruise for two with all you can eat crabs.  But I don’t know that I would have had a spot for the acryllic pelican painting.

Anyway this would be a good reason to make a trip to Northern Neck, you could stay at the beautiful Tides Inn or Hope and Glory Inn, enjoy some wine tastings at White Fences and check out some of the cute local shops in the area.

Tickets are 75% sold out, so act fast if you want to go!  I will have to miss it this year, due to my brother’s wedding… so the food at his wedding better be really good.

Buzz Bakery is hosting an Animal Adoption Party

Sunday June 27 from 6-8

From their email:

An early head’s up reminder to one and all to join us in June for the annual Buzz Bark Bash presented in conjunction with the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria’s Annual “Salute to the Animal Caregivers.”

This is easily one of our favorite events of the year and we’ll again kick off the day with an adoption event from 10am-12noon – with a celebration later in the day with all the kind folks from the AWLA.

We’ll once again roll out the Designer Dog Cupcakes, Doggie Ice Cream and homemade Dog Biscuits, all baked and ready go – and Planet Wine has promised to be on-hand once again with the fluids to keep the merriment of the day flowing. Mark your calendars now and stay tuned for more!

Buzz
901 Slaters Lane
Alexandria Virginia 22314
(703) 600-2899

So this report has been a long time in the making…

Melbourne

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Where to stay: The Park Hyatt.

As you might know from previous posts or just happen to realize for me to rave about a hotel it must be pretty nice.  Well the Park Hyatt Melbourne rates up there in terms of even the hotels I like.  I don’t need a huge superior room, what I need is a clean, comfortable, quiet room with a nice view, a great bathroom and nice amenities.

We went to Australia in May, which is their fall, but it meant off season rates in Melbourne and Sydney, not a ton of tourists and nice crisp, but warm weather.  We got a great deal at the Park Hyatt at less than $200 a night.

For that we got a really nice comfortable king size bed, valet attendants that helped us figure out how to work our GPS system, a hotel that was a close walk to most of the attractions in Melbourne, a huge bathroom with a shower that had a tv and speakers, a electric tea kettle with good tea and nice toiletries that I actually used.

Also the breakfast served here was wonderful. There was a really nice a la carte menu, but we normally went for the buffet with a huge selection of fruits, breads, cereals, juices, cheeses, charcuterie and hot items including the traditional English breakfast of course.  We normally had long days of walking or exploring ahead of us so a nice big breakfast really hit the spot.

What to do:  The very top of your to do list should be the Queen Victoria Market.  This is a huge market.  They have some little restaurants, fish market, meat market, a deli section with stalls selling breads, meats, cheeses, olives, dried goods, eggs, honey, teas and everything else you could imagine.  Then outside they have fresh produce.  They have a lot of produce that is hard to find here like Nooshi a fruit that is like a small juicy apple and very fresh ripe Passionfruit.  Also outside are bins of flour and other grains and people selling wines and other homemade goods.  Then in back of that is a huge flea market.  My favorites were a cracked black pepper meat pie sold at a deli in the bottom left section.  The crust was flaky, it was piping hot and fresh and the fresh cracked black pepper made it the best meat pie of the trip.  Hubby and I also picked up some kangaroo salami, cheese, bread and fruits to take with us on our adventure out to the country that afternoon.

If you are adventurous- and you should be this is Australia for God’s sake- I highly suggest renting a car and driving down to Philips Island.  Now I went mainly for my obsession with non-flying birds of the black and white variety, which you can see nightly.  We got the “Ultimate Penguin Experience” which was really great.  You were taken to a separate area for viewing and walked down the beach to a small break in the dunes where we sat for probably about an hour and fifteen minutes watching with night vision googles little penguins teetering all around you within feet.  Then you hike back along the road spotting little Philips Island Penguins running and nesting all about you.  We were unfortunate and fortunate enough to be able to touch a penguin that was rescued by our ranger when we saw him injured and floundering on the beach in front of us.  I am sure they took good care of him.

Also on Philips Island is a koala sanctuary where you can view koalas a couple feet away doing there thing aka sleeping or eating, I think that’s all they do honestly.  They are cute as can be!  Also if you are lucky like us you will also see some wandering wallabies throughout the park grazing on grasses.

Philips Island also has an area called the nobbies that has beautiful rock outcropping.  Sometimes they have seals, but we didn’t see any on our visit (apparently they sometimes have Great Whites too).  And a working farm.  What we enjoyed most was the beautiful scenery and quiet beaches.

For eclectic shopping and some really good casual restaurants check out Brunswick Street.  This was my favorite area in all Melbourne.  The cute store signs and shop fronts give way to cute fashions, home goods, amazing coffee and tea shops.

Where to eat:

Now we didn’t do a lot of fancy eating in Melbourne, there are so many great casual restaurants to check out and the market was just so tasty, but we had a really great dinner at Movida- Bar de Tapas.  The atmosphere is laid back with nice low lighting.  The croquettes were just like what you get in Madrid.  We also sampled the San Jacobo de Cordonice a quail stuffed with cheese and ham, Pimientio de Piquuillo hickory smoked peppers with potato and salt cod and some other small plates while Hubby had a Bees Knees Beer and I drank some good Australian wine.

While exploring Brunswick we check out the Real Greek Souvlaki Bar where we had huge gyros and lamb platters filled with juicy and flavorful lamb, ripe tomatoes and tasty pita.  Hubby laughed at the size of my gyro, it was a food as big as your head moment.

We also stopped on our way back from Philips Island at a co-op fish and chippery.  I think getting some fresh fish and chips and a meat pie is kind of one of those quid essential things to do, just make sure you have lots of napkins.

In  Sum: Melbourne we love you to death and really we do want more time with you.  You are a dirty mistress to our love of Barcelona and Melbourne, and while we might not be able to work you into our regular rotation, you will be on our mind.  So keep stylin.

After a weekend of volunteering for the Campagna Center’s Scottish Christmas festivities it got me in the mood to decorate for Christmas.

Normally Hubby and I get a real tree, but this year we are going sans tree because of how busy our schedule has turned out to be.  And the Momma who normally helps me decorate is away this week in Barbados.  So here is a simple guide for decorating a condo for Christmas.

If you get a tree, I really recommend a live tree.  They are a bit of a pain in the butt, but they look and smell so nice.  Try to get a fresh tree.  I prefer Douglas fir or Frasier firs.  Make sure when the tree is cut that you give it lots and lots of water until the sap seals the tree.  When putting the Christmas tree stand down.  First put a plastic bag or something to keep any water off your floor.  Next I like to place a little padding to keep the stand from scratching the floors, like a rag rug or old towel.  Then the stand goes down.  If you have a big tree I suggest securing it to the wall with fishing line or nylon line.  Let the tree fall for a good day or so before decorating.  I really recommend the new LED lights because they are so much less of a fire hazard and use a lot less energy.

It can be as much or as little as you like.  My Mom gets a table top tree from Whole Foods and they are really cute for a small place. And if you like color try finding a foil tree with a color wheel.

I have a wreath that I really liked a few years ago, but  now it is looking a bit shabby.  So I secured a new ribbon on it, and adorned it with gold stars.  You can always buy a plain wreath and glue or use wire to secure ornaments or adornments to make it special. Often you can spruce up old wreaths with new decorations or inserting some flowers.

Make a focal point in your main room.  For us it normally is the fireplace in the living room which is open to the dining area and kitchen.  We normally line it with boxwood or greenery from  Meadows Farms or Cox Farms, that we then wrap garland around.  Hang the stockings, put some Christmas items on the mantle, maybe some big poinsettas and voila.  Since our place is relatively small and cohesive, I try to continue the same theme of color throughout the house.  This year it is green, red and gold.

Make sure to put some holiday touches in each other room, I like putting poupouri that smells like Christmas trees around because I love that scent.  My nutcracker collection and other Christmas items get placed.  I like to hang wreaths in the windows with battery candles below.  My favorite wreaths are grapevine ones that you can add ornaments, parts of Christmas cards or other special memories.  Maybe a few poinsettias because I love fresh flowers in the house.

Then the table gets dressed.  If you are having people over, I recommend getting or making a nice Christmas flower arrangement for the table because it really sets the look off.  If you are buying one, make sure to go to a good independent florist and make sure it matches your design and theme.  I often specify the flowers and colors to be used.  If you want something minimal and elegant you might have to choose your florist carefully.  I really like Blue Iris on Capitol Hill.

But a nice hurricane or a large bowl, with ornaments or holly would go over nicely as a centerpiece too. I think fully dressed tables just look beautiful in a home if you are having people over for a meal.  If you need help with correct table setting here you go, but remember you can get creative.

Don’t be afraid to remove wall art temporarily for a switch to something festive.

Need more ideas?  Check out open houses at Florists or Garden centers nearby or take a hint from the Master- here is a link to the Martha Stewart Christmas Gallery.

Well readers there are only a handful more days until Thanksgiving.  I love Thanksgiving, probably because I grew up in a family of superb cooks.  They brine the turkey, the gravy is off the hook, green beans are from the can- which they canned a couple months ago and they are not topped with any crunchy casserole things.  I dream about the food produced at my house for Thanksgiving.  But this year will be the first year that I spend the whole entire holiday with Hubby’s parents, which is all fine and good, except it is really hard for me not to cook so much of the meal.

In my family cooking is a group ordeal, except for putting the turkey in the oven, which my Aunt always does because my Mother and I just don’t get up that early.  This year I already have four pies baked.  One pumpkin custard and one pecan will go to my friend Warren’s house.  I made them pie one year because I had an extra pie crust and well pecan pie is so easy and now it has become tradition.  They would probably let me come over and cook their whole entire meal if I gave them the option, but no Warren it isn’t an option, sorry.  But to fulfill my need to cook I decided I would give you readers some good tips:

1. Giada’s Ciabata Pancetta recipe is really good.  I make it without the garlic.  This is wonderful stuffing that has  a very savory and satisfying taste, a little crunch, some crispy pancetta, but your normal savory and tender flavors of carrot and celery.  I just love it.

2. When making mashed potatoes use evaporated milk instead of fresh milk.  And let the butter sit a bit at room temperature before using it.  You will use a lot of butter and salt to make good mashed potatoes, and you know what it’s Thanksgiving so go for it.  This is a go big or go home day.  (My Mother is probably appalled that I am giving you all this secret, but sorry Mom they won’t get our pie recipes)

3.  The secret to good gravy is a good turkey, brine the thing and cook it well with butter and herbs under the skin, don’t pull it out too early and save all those pan juices.  Then roux it up! Make sure you sift your flour so there are no lumps and whisk, whisk, whisk.

4. Buy the cranberries in the bag and make the recipe on the bag.  My Uncle insists on canned gelatin cranberry sauce, which doesn’t taste like real cranberries at all, and I just don’t think it is right.  Perhaps he doesn’t like very tart things?  But I really think the real deal is very good, it has nice texture and flavor that bursts into your mouth with a fresh tangy taste. My Father in Law makes a cranberry, tangerine jello mold that is actually one of the highlights of the meal for me, it has a low jello ratio and is baked with fresh fruit.

5. Make homemade pies.  They aren’t very complicated (you can buy the crust if you want), but store bought pie is so lackluster.

6. Make sure your smoke alarm works.  (Just in case.  And on this note- if you are one of the idiots who deep fry your turkey inside, look up how many houses catch on fire that way and move it outside you lazy ahem (beeeeeeeps))

7. Yeast rolls.  I highly recommend if you can’t make rolls yourself to get them from a good bakery, not the grocery store.  Great Harvest Bread Co.  makes really good North Carolina yeast rolls that remind me of home (they call them old fashioned white at the Vienna store), I think all locations are a bit different so I am not sure if your local one will have it, but hopefully so.  Well not my house, but a great restaurant at home that I can still close my eyes and dream of how their rolls tasted.  Nowadays my family normally had my Amish Nanny make us some pumpkin rolls.  Mom used to make these herself, but now with all the traveling and etc it just doesn’t normally happen.

8.  If you can get your hands on real butter, use real butter.  I have a big block a family member made me that I have been using and it really makes such a difference.

9. And last surround yourself with people you love- whether they are family, friends or people who need a companion and some cheer for the day.

10. Lastly when you can stand those people anymore, you can get a lot of online Christmas shopping done and get many of the same deals as black Friday in the stores.  Or go take a walk or enjoy holiday festivities that might be going on around you.

So have I told you how much I absolutely love the fact that my in laws live in Charlottesville?  And they have totally embraced my passion for wonderful food and wine.  Really readers, in so many ways, I am a spoiled woman.

On a past fall weekend to my delight the Hubby and I ventured down for a fun packed weekend in Charlottesville.  Saturday started with a trip to Bread Works Bakery and Deli where we picked up some tasty sandwiches on really good bread and some excellent molasses cookies (previously endorsed by hungry Bachelorettes after a good amount of wine). I highly recommend both the veggie and chicken salad sandwich.

We then ventured across the street to Mona Lisa Pasta to pick up some cheese and crackers, it is so nice in the back refrigerated section they have small pieces of cheese that are just the right size to pack for a day trip to the wineries and really nice gourmet crackers.  Now be forewarned the pizza here smells really good and is pretty darn tempting.  And to make it even worse they have a variety of homemade pastas that are fresh.  You can get their pasta in many different cuts and flavors so they really have a nice selection.  I picked up some garlic rosemary angel hair for dinner in the coming nights.

We then went out to Carter Mountain Orchard to pick apples.  With all the fall festivities this place was packed.  There were wagon rides, live music, crafts and so on.  We picked up some great apple cake doughnuts, apples and cider.

As the place was a little packed for their fall festival and we had other fruits to sample we moved on to Barboursville Vineyards who by chance were having their twice annual bottle tastings, which allows you to have tastings of different vintages of many of their best wines and their normal tastings, plus tours and special tastings of Octagon. Before tasting the wines we ate our sandwiches and cookies and people watched as urbanites, families and couples enjoyed the day. My favorites of the wines offered for tasting were Octagon 1999, 2004 and 2005, Cabernet Franc from 2001, Barbera Reserve 2006 which had hints of honey with a good balance of tannins, and the Rose 2007 which really surprised me.  I normally don’t care for many of the sweeter varieties of wine, but this Rose had great flavor and balance. There was so much wine to sample that if you tasted everything you would have drank a whole bottle of wine, and believe me did the cheese and crackers we picked up earlier hit the spot. They had shady trees at the bottom of the hill that were a perfect place to relax and listen to the live music.  The sheer amount of wine offered at this event and discounts on rare vintages made it a really great destination for a wine lover.

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After drinking our fill and purchasing a few bottles of Octagon 2005 and 2006 we took a stroll up to the Barbour Manor designed by Thomas Jefferson himself. It was fun to watch the kids and dogs play in the grass as people picnicked and enjoyed what was an absolutely beautiful day in Jefferson’s eden.

That night we had a great dinner at Zocalo.  Located right downtown on the mall Zocalo has Latin American inspired food.  I appreciated the balance on their menu between meat, fish, chicken and vegetarian entrees.  There was something for everyone and all our entrees were satisfying.  I had Grouper with a pea risotto that was homey, but fresh at the same time.  There was a nice acidic balances to the fish, which a nice fresh pea flavor in the risotto.  Hubby had a really tasty strip steak with chipotle demi-glace that I stole multiple bites of.

And to bring this long night to a close we stopped by Splendora’s for gelato.  This time of year I really crave pumpkin flavored anything and especially pumpkin gelato.  I had a small half maple half pumpkin that I really enjoyed.  They feature seasonal flavors along with your old standbys in a cozy, but fun atmosphere.  They also have espresso and cappuccino for those who prefer to have a toasty refreshment. It was a wonderful day to check out all the fall flavored goodness in the area and enjoy some down time with family.

Right now is the time of year where people inevitably attend fall festivities or host their own parties celebrating the reaping of the harvest.

I once again missed what may be the best celebration of Fall, culture and community support: The Pleasant Valley Harvest Sale in Garrett County, Maryland.  An auction is held in a beautiful little Amish community each Fall to support the school in their district the Swan Meadow Elementary School.  The auction has gargantuan mushrooms and produce, breads and baked goods and other auction items, the big ticket item being the Black Forest Cake.

During the sale you can wander over to the counter to buy homemade caramels, no bake cookies, fresh yeast glazed doughnuts and coffee and cider to satiate you during the sale.  Also for sale is a collection of recipes from the community made into a cookbook.  This cookbook is a big deal, as it normally has the heavy hitting favorites from each family.

But I will make up for it by attending what MSN rates as one of the top Fall Festivals: The Autumn Glory festival.  Also located in Garrett County, Maryland (an area that happens to be where I am from).  This festival begins this week and events continue until Sunday.  A sampling of the events:

Fireman’s Parade- Thursday night a parade of mostly fire trucks and engines, with the occasional truck of football players and cheerleaders rolls down Second Street and up Route 219 to the firehouse.

Oktoberfest- Thursday night after the Fireman’s parade at the fire hall an Oktoberfest dinner complete with Polca music, dancing and lots of beer takes place, an event that is mainly attended by locals, but any person who attends will be feeling the love.

Grand Feature Parade- Saturday is the main parade a video of a past parade I found on YouTube! (Not the most professional screening, but you get the picture)

Also during this weekend there is an Amish breakfast at the Pleasant Valley Community Center, a 5k run/walk, craft shows, antique shows, classic car shows, the Maryland State Fiddle and Banjo contest, The Liars Festival, No-hands ice cream eating contest at Lakeside Creamery and so much more!  You can see a few of my photos here, I will post more after next weekend.

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And while I have family that lives in the area, we tend to overload our capacity so we normally rent a house from Railey Mountain Vacations, who right now has a buy two get a third night for free special (very handy since Monday is Columbus Day).

Now if you are lucky enough to be invited to a Fall celebration, or just need a taste of Germany,  look no further than Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe in Arlington, Virginia (Their site seems to be temporarily down).  A big box of soft pretzels, a Black Forest Cake or wursts would get you an invite back to any party.

No invites?  Well check out the Washingtonian’s list of Oktoberfests. You could also join Rustico on October 10 from noon to six for Oktoberfest where they will have nearly 25 different beers on tap, with live musicand dishes prepared by Rustico, Buzz The Evening Star Cafe, Vermilion, Tallula, EatBar, Columbia Firehouse & Star Catering.Admission is free and tickets will be sold for beer, food, activities and a mighty raffle featuring a beautiful 1997 Harley Davidson Softail – along with three other fantastic prizes. The proceeds from this year’s raffle will be given to DC Central Kitchen to help combat hunger and create opportunity right here in our own backyard.  If this doesn’t get you there,

then this might:

Although please note- kids are absolutely welcome. In fact, there will be many activities just for the kids throughout the day – including a moon bounce, face painting, pumpkin tossing and more.  So choose your reason to go.

Or hop on over to Heidelberg for a delicious grilled wurst prepared on their outside grill.  They have brautwurst, knauckwurst, weisswurst and others for you to try before ordering.  If you need some carb loading before all those tasty German brews order the ultimate combo which comes with a soft pretzel, warm German potato salad, drink and apple strudel.

You can also get your Fall on at Buzz Bakery in Alexandria, VA.  They are selling  Steamed Cider and Pumpkin Lattes. The cider is local and they use a homemade spiced pumpkin puree for the pumpkin goodies. Tempting me most has to be the Candy Apple Martini, made with housemade caramel sauce, apple schnapps and Stoli. They are also stocking seasonal beers, including Dogfish Head Punkin’ and Epheremere.

Order a batch of cupcakes, including out classic Guinness Cupcake, the Caramel Apple Cupcake and the Pumpkin Cupcake with Candied Pepitas and you will surely be a hit.

Fall is glorious, isn’t it?

Here is a coupon for a big Crabtree and Evelyn sale. Yay very nice smelling goodies!

I have been a little lax this week, minions.  But I have a wedding in two weeks, I think I get a little slack… no?  Well then fine here you go.

If there is one thing in this world I wanted to be when I was little it was a Prima Ballerina.  If you ever see any of my dance pictures you will see lots of giggling little girls messing up their steps, and me not smiling- I took it seriously, very seriously.  I knew the steps and I really hated those girls who didn’t.  I did ballet for about 10 years until I realized I would never grow to the height that would allow me to be a serious dancer.  It just wasn’t going to happen.  I was petite, I am petite, my pediatrician called it within months of my birth.

But I have a deep love for all things ballet related still.  Generally Fiance isn’t quite thrilled with this obsession.  Ballet isn’t quite his thing.  He indulges me in going to see the Nutcracker at Christmas.  But I think he and other men might be all on top of this.  The last Beer and Ballet by the Washington Ballet (hopefully it will come back) tomorrow.

Get a sneak peek of TWB’s upcoming production, pastFORWARD, at this exclusive rehearsal. Then grab a beer (or three) and mingle with friends and dancers…
This is not your average happy hour.

pastFORWARD
May 13-17, 2009
The Harman Center’s Sidney Harman Hall
featuring Balanchine’s Rubies, Edwaard Liang’s world-premiere, Wunderland and Septime Webre’s Juanita y Alicia, set to live Cuban music!

So girls fool them while you can, it’s beer yes, but it is also ballet.  Between this and the Nutcracker you could get two ballets.