Category Archives

Food/Drink

Burger Feast 2008

ARoB, Food/Drink by
  • Comments Off on Burger Feast 2008

Kate had a dream. A dream of delicious homemade cheeseburgers topped with fresh lettuce, onion and giant tomato slices. Chased down by smooth, frothy milkshakes made in her very own kitchen. A belly full of American diner goodness for each and every Kate.

I helped her realize this dream.

In fact, I added in crispy bacon and frosty cold beer. And it was so good.

Behold:

IMG_0084

Burger Feast 2008

I’ve never felt so pregnant with red meat as I did last night, wrapped in the leathery embrace of Kate’s sofa as we gleefully digested her dream (and slipped closer and closer to food comas.)

God bless America – where some dreams really do come true.

Delicious Lunching on Kent Island

ARoB, Food/Drink by
  • Comments Off on Delicious Lunching on Kent Island

Well, I have had my first official tapas experience. Shannon and I drove a two car caravan to Kent Island for a lunch at Lisa’s Small Plates. The atmosphere was very friendly, the restaurant was dead and (consequently) the service was fantastic. And the food, which sometimes seems to take a back seat to everything else, was delicious. We had ensalata caprese, mashed potatoes and blackened asparagus. Everything was washed down with a delicious German Riesling. I followed up my “small plates” with a rather large crème brûlée and espresso. Behold:

IMG_0029

Back empty camera’d…

ARoB, Food/Drink, Movies by

Apparently I’m no longer interested in taking photos, because I just got back from Philadelphia and have nothing photographic to show for it. My camera never even left its bag during the entire weekend.

My visit to Lindsie’s was great, but back to that in a second.

Some things I hate about living with my brother:

  1. Any and every time is time to talk to Nick. For instance, when he’s reading. Or watching a movie that’s nearly over. Especially when he’s reading a Japanese movie that’s nearly over (and has been interrupted once, by Nate Sr…my dad.)
  2. When you rebuff or rebuke him, he reacts in a manner usually reserved for chided children or pets. Sulks and marches away talking about how much I “hate him” or “am always pissed.”
  3. Leaves the Foreman Grill out for ever-increasingly long periods of time. The current record: this entire week. My apartment smells like days-old meats of all varieties.

But, back to things that are good.

Aside from alcoholic-level drinking, Lindsie and I also did some really fun things over the weekend that was. On Friday, I was tasked with locating a college in the Main Line alone. I survived. I even made it to my intended destination with minimal lost-ness. I also walked to Philadelphia University and had a good meeting with admissions and the Digital Design/Instructional Design & Technology programs’ director. So hooray for that. Lindsie arrived home not long after I had settled back into her place and we departed for the theater to see The Number 23. It sucked balls. However, due to a traffic-y journey, we had plenty of time for enjoyable conversations. On Saturday, we made our way to Center City to shop and tour the Mütter Museum, which was delightfully disgusting. I finally located a sweater with asymmetrical buttons on the shoulder and Lindsie absolutely SLAUGHTERED in Ann Taylor. The crowds proved too much and we packed it in not long after, though. Take away lesson: bitch can make a mean Tom Collins. And, evidently, so can I.

This week is going to be busy with grad school applyin’ and GRE-preparin’ and other such things. I guess the upside is that it will keep me occupied so I don’t fillet my brother.

What Nick sees…

ARoB, Art, Food/Drink, Movies by

Well, this weekend is shaping up to be rather nice. I’m not really doing anything particularly crazy, but I think that’s okay after such a busy past week of interviewing and preparations for interviewing. Last night, I did some cleaning (since Nate is not here, as usual) and then painted the new piece you see above.

Tonight, Mike came over and watched Wizard People, Dear Readers (his first time) and The Devil’s Backbone. Dusty was right, I did prefer the latter to Pan’s Labyrinth, but only by a little. We also drank a copious amount of Pinot Noir and had some extra spicetastic food from the Bellefonte Wok. Then I drove him back to State College where we had a late night coffee and chat with his friend, Drew.

Overall, a pretty good weekend as far as my weekends go.

Gluttony: A Photo Essay

ARoB, Food/Drink by

The buffet at Lindsie’s was unbelievable…crab rangoons to spinach artichoke dip and so many other delights.

Our wonderful hostess, and one third of the cooking staff for the evenings festivities, poses with the awe-inspiring sight.

See the rest of the photoset by visiting my Flickr account.

Tonight is definitely a good night to mess with my hair…

ARoB, Cars, Food/Drink by

It’s only been a few months, but I think I’m over this haircut. Expect something new when I come home. We shall see what the stylist is able to come up with if I bring her a few photos. :/

Last night I went to Hannah’s after work to help make some cookies for our office “holiday” party, drink some wine and prep for a knitting class. The outcome? The cookies are amazing, the wine had me slurring my speech and we never found the place where we were to go for our lessons. I think the hooch probably had nothing to do with that.

When I returned home, I was greeted by not another Xmas card from friends and family (thanks, all…they are lovely.) No, this card was from Volkswagen. And I will share it with you now, because it was perhaps the funniest thing I’ve gotten in the mail recently.

VW Card (292 K PDF)

I know it’s really gimmicky and total fluff, but I absolutely eat this stuff up. I’m pretty sure they know their demographic like crazy.

To the salon!

Recap of the weekend haps…

ARoB, Food/Drink, Games, Movies by

Hoover gave me a copy of Windwaker, just for the hell of it! (Actually, he received an extra copy from an eBay seller, but I like to pretend.) I’ll be playing in a bit. Finally, a reason to own a GameCube!

Overall, my Thanksgiving break was hella fun. Had a fantastic night out with Lindsie, Dusty and Hoover on Wednesday…do order the French martini at Sweet Basil if you are ever in Shippenville. Do not, so much, order the bread vines. My pear pie was a hit at Thanksgiving lunch and I cleaned up with some beginner’s poker luck at Barbara Ann’s that evening. Drove Jayme and the boys back to Erie with Flora on Saturday, which was a nice escape from home and a good chance to drive Klaus on twisty bits of Route 8. Intersperse these things with vodka, wine and Wizard People, Dear Readers and you have my entire time at home fleshed out.

Now, I’m working on a mental list of Xmas gifts. I think I have decided on just about everything to get for my varied loved ones…just a matter of actually ordering/shopping.

Speaking of which, I’m all out of foodstuffs. I need to make a paper list for Wegman’s. I bid you ‘adieu.’

Painting with Espresso!

ARoB, Art, Food/Drink by

So, I decided yesterday to paint. Since it is frigid outside, I also decided to make a nice cup of espresso for myself…which turned into two. As did my painting. 😛

I originally intended to only paint this one since I’ve been carrying its theme in my head for a few weeks:

After Creation

However, while working on it, I realized that there were a lot of abstract shapes and forms in my head that needed their own space to play, so I made this, too:

Dismantled Peacock

I’ll leave you to decide if my caffeine intake produced anything other than a full scale crash later.

Experiments with apples…

ARoB, Food/Drink, Recipes by
  • Comments Off on Experiments with apples…

While preparing dinner with my brother tonight (read: preparing dinner while Nate was standing in the room), I decided that I was going to use something ordinary in an unexpected way. Looking around the kitchen, I spotted a basket of green apples waiting for the week’s lunches. “How staid,” he thought, as he chopped one up and added it to an ordinary mix of veg for pasta. The outcome of this kitchen daliance is perhaps one of the best things I’ve created so far. Enjoy!

Tomato Pesto Veg with Chicken – PDF