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Convenient, Local, and So Good

May 17, 2012 in Food by traveleatlove | 5 comments

Anytime I go away for the weekend and get back late on Sunday, my week ends up being a little more hectic. Suddenly there’s all of those weekend things that need to be done on top of long work days, and they just don’t always get done.

I’ve been doing my best cooking up meals with the ingredients we had in the house, but nothing has been very exciting. I had cheese and crackers for lunch yesterday and counted pickles as a vegetable on Tuesday. Yeah, it’s one of those weeks.

As a result, I was doubly, maybe triply delighted when I checked the mail on the way to my afternoon office and found a coupon for a free Willow Tree Poultry Farm chicken pie.

Willow Tree contacted me last week asking if I would be interested in trying a pie, and since I love chicken pot pie, I gladly accepted.

Willow Tree is based in Attleboro, MA and has been around for 60 years. Their products are prepared by hand, and as a local business, they are great in supporting the local community. It was fun to read up on the company’s story.

I literally thought about the chicken pie all day long. I could not wait to run to Shaw’s on my way home to pick one up and to have dinner made for us.

I popped the chicken pie in the oven and got back to work, eventually having to stop because the aromas of the baking crust and bubbling gravy were filling the house. We eagerly cut into the pie about 10 minutes before it was meant to be done, and it was piping hot.

Look at those chunks of chicken! They and the veggies were integrated nicely throughout the pie and made it a filling, hearty meal. The gravy is homemade, and you can definitely taste the care and quality ingredients. It was rich and just salty enough, as gravy should be.

I was most looking forward to the crust, and it did not disappoint. Golden, flaky, and buttery, it made for the comfort food I was craving during the rainy, dreary weather.

My nana made an amazing chicken pot pie when I was younger, and there was definitely a resemblance. This is the stuff of childhood memories and modern day meals all at once.

With zero trans fats and lots of homemade flavor, Willow Tree’s chicken pies are a great option for dinner on a busy weeknight. The 26 ounce pie said that it serves three, but we paired ours with a quick kale salad and got four servings out of the pie, enough for lunch the next day, which made me very happy.

Thank you to Willow Tree for sending me the coupon and allowing me to experience the chicken pie. I will definitely be trying the other varieties on busy work days to come.

Do you have any favorite convenience foods?

Technorati Tags: chicken, chicken pot pie, dinner, easy meals, local food

Tags: chicken, chicken pot pie, dinner, easy meals, local food

Art of Absinthe

May 16, 2012 in cocktail, Cocktails, events, Food by traveleatlove | 12 comments

Have you ever tried absinthe? Prior to Monday’s Art of Absinthe event with La Clandestine Swiss Absinthe at ArtBar in Cambridge, I may have had it a few times in cocktails, definitely when we were in Prague, but never sipped it on its own. Like many people, when I heard absinthe, I thought of The Green Fairy and the supposed hallucinogenic properties of the spirit. I instantly equated that to absinthe’s illegal status but soon learned that some of the mystique around absinthe is pure misinformation.

Over the course of a couple of hours, I got to see some of my favorite Boston bloggers, learned a ton about absinthe, and enjoyed some tasty bites from ArtBar’s new menu. (Speaking of the menu, I really just want to eat the macaroni and cheese eggs rolls all day, every day. Extra truffle fondue, please.)

First up, I had to get a cocktail to see what La Clandestine was all about.

ArtBar’s head bartender, Elizabeth Powell, whipped up a Clandestino for me. Based on the Caipirinha, the Clandestino contains La Clandestine absinthe instead of cachacha. The absinthe is mixed with demerara sugar, lime, and lots of crushed ice.

I won’t lie. On my first sip, I made a face. The wormwood in absinthe gives it an herbal, licorice flavor that was at first a little surprising. A couple of sips later, I got into the refreshing qualities of the drink, and the licorice flavor definitely mellowed. Overall, I ended up enjoying the cocktail.

In addition to the Clandestino, Elizabeth had made a punch containing absinthe and was also making a drink called East Meets West. Of course, the absinthe drip, which we learned about later, was also available.

Before presenting to the group, Alan Moss, Global Brand Ambassador for La Clandestine, greeted our little blogger group. We soon learned he is a blogger himself and writes The Real Absinthe Blog.

Alan started with 10 Things you didn’t know about absinthe, and pretty much all of the items on the list were news to me! Absinthe originated in Switzerland (For some reason I thought it was from Eastern Europe as it is popular in Prague.) Over the history of absinthe production, women have been key players, preserving the tradition and passing recipes down from mother to daughter.

Absinthe experienced bans and booms over the years, but the Swiss ignored the bans which has resulted in absinthe being continuously produced in Switzerland for 220 years. Funny enough, one of the bans was not due to hallucination but to the alcohol binge of a Swiss laborer who then killed his family. Absinthe made for two of the drinks he had that night, two of the 17 drinks, that is!

And what about The Green Fairy, you ask? Here’s what Alan’s blog/presentation has to say:

Absinthe will not help you see green fairies, and is no more likely to cause any effects
than any other strong spirit. While there is a naturally occurring substance in absinthe called thujone and while this can have “effects,” you’d have to drink so many bottles of absinthe to get them, you’d die of alcohol poisoning long beforehand.

Once the presentation was finished, Alan demonstrated a traditional way of drinking absinthe. Absinthe starts clear, and water slowly drips through the metal fountain, mixing with the essential oils and making it cloudy. One of the highlights of the evening was trying Butterfly Absinthe which originated in Boston in the early 1900’s. It’s made in Switzerland now and not yet available in the US. I loved how smooth and refreshing this absinthe was due to the use of mint and citrus in this recipe. It also had a creaminess to it making it easy to sip with just a bit of water.

As always, ArtBar kept us well fed. Sliders, tacos, and of course those mac and cheese egg rolls filled us up as we drank and mingled.

I had a great time and learned a lot at the Art of Absinthe event. ArtBar and the Royal Sonesta is doing a really great job with their food and beverage, and they have some great events. I can’t wait to return to celebrate some of my favorite blogger bachelorettes over Memorial Day weekend!

If you’ve tried absinthe, what did you think? How did you drink it?

Technorati Tags: absinthe, ArtBar, cambridge, cocktails, events, Royal Sonesta

Tags: absinthe, ArtBar, cambridge, cocktails, events, Royal Sonesta

Margaritas and Grilling

May 15, 2012 in cocktail, Food by traveleatlove | 7 comments

Summer definitely paid us a visit this past weekend, and I was lucky enough to be home in NJ with my family to enjoy it. Celebrating three moms (my own, my sister, and my sister’s mother-in-law) along with my brother-in-law’s birthday called for a great dinner, margaritas, and cake. Perfect sunny weather was an added bonus that allowed us to enjoy dinner outside.

Over Cinco de Mayo weekend, we made a quick stop at Bin Ends in Braintree and ended up buying their margarita “kit” a bottle of Reposado Tequila, 12 limes, and a bottle of agave. The recipe was included on the bag, and we discovered a new favorite, easy, at home cocktail.

My sister loves margaritas, and the weather was perfect, so I mixed up a batch of these.

2 ounces Tequila

1 ounce lime juice

1/2 ounce agave

1/2 ounce water

ice

Mix up and enjoy! My sister thought the drink was a little too strong, so she added some orange juice to hers.

Dinner was better than any restaurant. I picked up some fresh tomatoes and ended up eating them raw, topped with the sour cream/horseradish cream sauce we made for the filets. Yum.

My nephew, who is just learning to talk, kept grabbing tomatoes and saying “ball”. He’s too cute.

My brother-in-law also grilled up a ton of vegetables including red onions, yellow peppers, zucchini, and eggplant.

We also had filets and grilled scallops, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes.

It was an outdoor feast!

I love nice weather eating because it is so simple. Other than a little steak seasoning and the horseradish cream, all of the food was pretty much plain, allowing the freshness to shine through. As much as I love recipes, I find it kind of refreshing to enjoy bright colors and flavors of nature and high quality ingredients.

How have you celebrated the nicer weather (fleeting as it may be!)?

Technorati Tags: agave, family, grilling, margaritas, scallops, tequila, vegetables