The brilliant Bodega Party in a Box kit arrived today. The Neighbors Project seriously out did themselves in the categories of overall functionality and cuteness. I am so excited to have a Bodega Party, especially when there’s one literally steps from our apartment. Honestly, the first time I went inside our neighborhood bodega I was floored by the variety of items they offered, everything from fresh veggies and fruits to deli meats, beer and wine. Emphasis on the beer and wine, because as anyone whose spent any time in Massachusetts knows, it’s rare for even fully functioning grocery stores to carry liquor.

The kit comes neatly packaged in a produce bag and includes: invitations, a shopping bag, cookbook, and funky flag party decorations. Rachel, from the blog Coconut and Lime, even has a pasta recipe featured in the collection. You can order your kit directly from The Neighbors Project for $35. Proceeds from the sales of this product go to the Food and Liquor Project, which encourages people to buy from local corner, bodega, and liquor stores.

So who’s coming to my party and what are we going to make?!

Cheesesteak wasn’t the only dangerously delicious food CK and I sampled in Philly.  Our weekend both began and ended with food coma inducing extravagances.  Consumption of beer and ice cream with the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park led to pretzels, cookies, and smoothies at the Reading Terminal Market and finally ended with our first Water Ices at RIta’s Water Ice mere moments before we were dropped off at the airport. The calorie count for this trip had to have tipped the scales at levels none of us would want to admit to or coherently think about ever again.  Ladies and gentleman, please loosen your belts as I present to you the food of Philly in all its glory:

I don’t think there’s anything quite as good as a cold beer on a warm night at a ballpark. Even though the Red Sox are my true love I have to admit that I felt pretty pampered at the Phillies state of the art stadium.  The highlight of my evening though was this adorable rainbow sprinkle topped sundae.  The next day our adventures in the Reading Terminal Market brought me face-to-face with the most goregous basil I’ve ever seen.  You have no idea how much I wished I could smuggle two of those lush plants home with me on the plane.  Then I turned the corner and ran smack into a table full of perfect peppers sold by the bagful for only 99 cents.  This made my jaw drop since we usually pay more than a dollar for a single red pepper.  Oh what I could have done with just one of those packages…

CK and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to eat one of these sinful chocolate covered Chocolate Chip cookies at the Famous Fourth Street Cookie Company.  Than we chased our shared sugar shock with a glass of whole milk.  I honesty haven’t drank whole milk in probably 15 years.  You have no idea how good this combination was.  The next few items we thankfully just admired from afar including these bizarre chocolate covered onions made famous at the Custom Made Chocolate by Mueller shop.  Apparently they also make anatomically correct chocolate hearts as well but I unfortunately missed that photo op.

Doug insisted on ordering a smoothie made with wheat grass.  As a group we all collectively agreed his drink at the Four Seasons Juice Bar tasted like dirt.  Not being particularly fond of such earthy flavors CK and I drank a much less offensive banana and pineapple version.  Some of the kiosks sold pretty nasty stuff like these turkey necks.  My absolute favorite part of the market was a small area called The Cookbook Stall.  I could have stayed there all day looking at the books.  I honestly think working in that store would make me the happiest person in the world.  I took an embarrassing amount of photos while browsing the shelves.  The clerk probably thought I was a complete and total nut.  Here’s a crab waiting to be someone’s dinner.  He tried to make friends with us but I don’t really care for crab.

Everyone loves bacon so I had to include this image of what probably amounts to twenty pounds of the fatty stuff.  All of the seafood looked so fresh and inviting.  This shot of the masses eating is a good indicator for the level of business that this market has.  It was absolutely packed.  We concluded our trip with various flavors of RIta’s Water Ice.  I had banana and vanilla.  Water ice is similar in texture to a 7-Eleven slurpee but comes in a much more varied array of flavors.

So were you keeping track?  How many calories do you really think we ate over our three day excursion?  I don’t even have pictures of all of the fabulous things that Jen and Doug fed us at their home including some of the best pecan waffles I’ve ever had.  Please send me the recipe Jen!  It was so great to have someone cook for me for a change.  A girl could really get used to that.

Recently on a brief trip to Portland, Maine to celebrate my friend Holly’s graduation from Grad School (and also to thoroughly scope out the layout of her house so that I can covertly sneak in and “borrow” her brand new Corgi puppy) CK and I decided to make a quick stop in Freeport. Now for any of you that have had the pleasure of visiting Freeport, you know that it’s impossible for the time you spend there to ever be brief. Freeport is not only home to the Flagship L.L. Bean store, but it’s also packed with fabulous small boutiques and outlets. When I was little I loved visiting so I could check out the in-store open aquarium at L..L. Bean and watch the trout swimming at the base of the spiral staircase, and when I got older I loved having the chance to refresh my wardrobe. Therefore it’s been one of my favorite spots in Maine for most of my life.

CK had never been to Freeport, so I made sure to give him the full touristy tour and while we were checking out the large “Home” section at L.L. Bean I lost my mind, apparently forgot momentarily that I actually was from Maine, and bought a New England Maple Baked Beans gift set. I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I was seduced by that mini bottle of Maple Syrup and the cute red bow. In case you aren’t aware, Baked Beans are the traditional Saturday night fare in New England and my grandparents always served them with hot dogs and B&M Brown Bread. Yes that’s the bread that comes in a can. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

Honestly, growing up, I hated homemade baked beans, and would avoid them at all cost in favor of the one’s that came in a can. But this little gift set has changed my tune. After following the directions for sorting, soaking, prepping, and baking I was rewarded with the most delicious bowl of baked beans I’ve ever had. It probably didn’t hurt that they were full of brown sugar, tart green apple bites, Vermont maple syrup, and a really obscene amount of thick cut bacon. I served my bean “supper” with ridiculously overpriced hot dogs from Whole Foods and whipped up a loaf of Mark Bitman’s Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread, which tastes eerily similar to that bread in a can I have such fond memories of.

So in the Fall, if you’re looking for something hearty to serve a small army than definitely consider trying out this set or whipping up your own homemade batch of baked beans. If you do order the online kit just keep in mind that they’re calling it “Vermont Maple Baked Beans.” In addition, that cute little bottle of amber colored syrup is only a third of the amount that you actually use in the dish so be sure to stock up on your favorite real maple syrup before you begin the time consuming, but definitely worthwhile, cooking process.

You know how sometimes you’ll find a recipe and really want to make it, but then you start reading the ingredients list and the instructions and it will slowly dawn on you that you’re missing EVERYTHING and there isn’t possibly anyway you could “fudge it” (so to speak). Well that’s what happened to me when I read the recipe for Double Shot Cake. I knew I couldn’t possibly do Diane Mott Davidson’s devilish dessert justice, when I didn’t have a double boiler, parchment paper, or a ten inch cake pan. So I made the horrifying decision to go to the mall–on a Saturday.

My cake baking journey took me to three stores and drained my wallet of about a hundred dollars. It’s my own fault. I’m a cookware snob and I only wanted the All-Clad double boiler insert for my four quart saucepan. They finally had it at Williams-Sonoma. Next, on my list was a cake pan. For some bizarre reason, Davidson wants us to use a ten inch cake pan. Frankly I thought this sized pan was as mythical as a unicorn, until once again I found a set at Williams-Sonoma. Are you sensing a pattern here? I rounded out my ridiculously frivolous purchases with parchment paper. The moral of the story is obviously to always start at Williams-Sonoma.

Note: I entered this pricey concoction in The Kitchn’s “Bittersweet Baking Contest.” Wish me luck!

Line & Butter	The Double Boiler Earns Its Keep
Foamy Eggs	Triple Sifted
Unintentional Yin & Yang	Stir it All Together
Fill	Set Into a Water Bath Very Carefully & Bake

Double Shot Chocolate Cake (Originally published by Diane Mott Davidson in her novel Double Shot)

10 ounces unsalted butter
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into small pieces (recommended brand: Godiva dark)
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-fine granulated sugar
2 tablespoons Dutch-style cocoa (recommended brand: Hershey’s Premium European-Style)
8 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Butter a 10-by-1 1/2-inch heavy-duty round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment cut to fit. Butter the parchment. Set aside.

Fill a 16-by-11-inch roasting pan with 1 inch of hot water, place the roasting pan on a baking sheet, and put it into the oven.

In the top of a double boiler, melt the butter with the chocolate. When the ingredients are melted, remove the pan from the heat to cool slightly. Sift the sugar with the cocoa twice, then whisk it into the melted chocolate mixture.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until they are foamy. Add the vanilla and the chocolate mixture. Blend with a spatula until very well mixed.

Carefully pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Gently place the cake pan in the water-filled roasting pan.

Bake about 40 to 50 minutes, or until the cake begins to shrink slightly from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a rack to cool for 15 minutes, then invert carefully and peel off the paper. Allow to cool completely.

Serve with sweetened whipped cream, best quality vanilla ice cream, or my awesome Espresso Whipped Cream (see recipe below).

Erin’s Espresso Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon very finely ground espresso beans

Combine cream, sugar, vanilla, and espresso and beat until soft peaks form. Try not to eat it directly from the bowl. It’s going to be difficult.

I saw these glasses in the Sur La Table catalog and now I’m physically holding myself back from purchasing them in hopes that Santa will perhaps bring them to me because I’ve been such a “nice” girl this year. We’ll see. Frankly I think they’d make a perfect hostess gift for those of you attending holiday parties.  Like for instance the one I’m throwing at our apartment next month (hint hint).

I’ve begun working out again and to numb myself from the inevitable boredom of the elliptical machine I’ve been watching some films from my vast collection of chick flicks. First up was The Holiday, and now I’ve settled on Sense and Sensibility. Yes, Kate Winslet is my hero. Jane Austen is also my hero and I get a huge kick out of the array of Austen related items that the Jane Austen Blog points out on a daily basis. One such post was a link to some fabulously decorated cookies complete with a silhouette likeness of Jane herself. You have to check these out! Seeing something like that makes me lust for a decorating class as my clumsy icing abilities definitely pale in comparison.

The other night Chris and I were watching TV on the couch when this infomercial came on for the Furi Ozitech knife sharpener and it totally sucked us in. Or maybe it was the presenters Australian accent. Either way I’m one of those people who has the orange handled Rachael Ray Furi knife and honestly I really like it and I rarely use the set of Henckels that I just had to have. But it’s been  dulling a little more quickly in between sharpening sessions so we decided to give this gadget a try, and believe it or not it actually works. I’m just as surprised as you! So since this item wasn’t a complete scam, should I trust in the wonder of the Magic Bullet as well? Hmm…probably better not push my luck.

Once upon a time I received a Starbucks gift card and I used it diligently to purchase Grande White Chocolate Mochas and Venti Cinnamon Dolce lattes until the balance reached zero and I tossed it out. Unfortunately a few weeks later I received a note from Starbucks stating that they had added $5 to my gift card. Instead of being excited about the prospect of a free latte I was annoyed as that card was long gone.

Fast forward to a few days ago when this anecdote was pushed back into my memory after reading a post about money being added to registered Starbucks card via the Starbuck’s Gossip website. And I wondered…had I registered that card? I quickly logged into starbucks.com and happily discovered that I had and it even showed the infamous $5 balance still intact After reading through the FAQ I learned that I can call Starbucks customer service to receive a replacement card. How cool is that?! So the moral of the story is to hang onto those used gift cards and always register them. You never know when the latte fairy will strike again!

(Originally posted on the Well Fed Network’s blog A Nice Cuppa)