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So Much Chocolate

April 27, 2012 in events, Food by traveleatlove | 12 comments

Chocolate Madness 2012 was an event that I will not soon forget. It was full of sweet delights, delicious appetizers, fun with friends, and all for a good cause. Chocolate Madness is an event that raises money for NARAL Pro Choice Massachusetts and helps NARAL to further its mission of being able to develop and sustain a grassroots constituency that uses the political process to guarantee every woman the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices.

The event was held at the Cyclorama in the South End, an impressive space that has held a variety of events including Taste of the South End and Wine Riot.

I arrived early, per usual, checked in as a judge and was soon joined by Daisy, Rachel, and Elizabeth for the opening reception.

The reception appetizers were incredible. I was hungry, and Choice Catering put out a beautiful spread. There were little tartlets filled with cheese, pepper, and olives, cucumbers topped with hummus, shrimp salad wraps, chicken skewers and several other options. I am not kidding; I parked myself at that table.

Although I was invited to be a judge of the chocolate, I have to admit that I would take tuna tartare over a cupcake pretty much any day, any time. These gorgeous Caprese skewers were also a hit. I made something similar for my husband’s birthday last year, and they were a crowd pleaser, not to mention so easy.

This food was seriously good. Can you tell I liked it?

After the reception, it was time to do our duty as judges. I was at the Heavenly Homemade and Sublimely Sweet table.

Initially, I only saw the judging sheet for four items. I could do this, piece of cake. Winking smile

I liked my first bite (which ended up being a chocolate peanut butter roulade from Amanda’s Cakes and Things) so much that I ate the whole thing. It was a few bites in that I realized we had an additional four items to judge. Still, the roulade was amazing, especially the frosting, and it was worth being a little full for the rest of the judging.

My other favorite desserts included a peanut butter chocolate fudge brownie from Butter Girl Baking Co. and the chocolate carrot cupcake from Cares Bakery. What a fun combination!

In addition to the category we were judging, we also got to wander the event and taste some of the other amazing treats. Honestly, I was pretty full after judging, but I enjoyed looking at all of the creativity and deliciousness in the room.

And I nabbed one of these chocolate mousse parfaits from Union to go. It was divine.

I loved getting to see Robin from Doves and Figs. She makes great jam and here incorporated it into cupcakes.

I heard that over 600 chocolate lovers eventually attended the event. That’s a lot of chocolate and a lot of support for women’s rights which is pretty sweet.

And now I sign off for the weekend. It will be great to unplug a little, that’s for sure. We have some boat cleaning and waxing to do in preparation for the big launch back into the ocean, and I might try to get a massage. Mostly, I just don’t want to spend the weekend in front of a computer, iPad, phone, or anything else that connects me to the world. I need a break!

Have a great weekend!

Technorati Tags: Boston, cake, charity, chocolate, dessert, events, Restaurants

Tags: Boston, cake, charity, chocolate, dessert, events, Restaurants

Taste of the Nation Boston

April 23, 2012 in Cocktails, events, Food, Restaurants by traveleatlove | 10 comments

Share our Strength once again held its epic food, wine, beer, and cocktail event last week in Boston. Taste of the Nation is one of the best events of the year, and I was fortunate to be invited as press to experience all of the fun with some of my favorite Boston bloggers.

First, and most importantly, there was a message and a pledge for the evening.

I believe that no child in America should go hungry. By pledging today, I add my voice to the national movement of people committed to ending childhood hunger in America by 2015.

You can take the pledge here. It’s kind of amazing and horrible, when you stop and think about it for even a second, that with all of the advances we have made in so many areas, we’re still allowing children to go hungry. So many problems start with hunger and lack of access to food, and Share our Strength is doing amazing work to fix these problems. In addition to Taste of the Nation, they have all sorts of other initiatives like Cooking Matters and The Great American Bake Sale.

As soon as the doors opened for the VIP hour, we made our way into the convention hall and started eating. There was just so much good food. Here are a few of the highlights for me:

{Halibut Chorizo from 606 Congress}

{Chef from The Blue Ox whipping up some tuna tartare to go on homemade potato chips with crème fraiche}

{Roast beef sliders with horseradish cream from Del Frisco’s} My post-marathon body was craving red meat, and these certainly did the trick.

{Creamsicle crème brulee from Sandrine’s Bistro}

{Chef Gordon Hammersley cooking up some shrimp}

{Shrimp ceviche from Harvest}

{Beautiful macarons from The Blue Frog Bakery} I had the Nutella-filled macarons, and they were to die for.

{Champagne from Nicholas Feuillate}

{Cake from Athans} I used to live near Athans and love their baklava, but I always found the people who worked there to be incredibly unfriendly. Like to the point that I was afraid to ask a question.

{Narragansett beer to end the night} I enjoyed the Porter immensely. This is great boat beer!

As you can see, Taste of the Nation was delicious. I definitely ate more than pictured, and there were many, many tables I had to skip due to being full. It is an event that is very well run and must take a ton of work to put together. The best of the best in the Boston area all come out and lovingly share some of their favorites all to benefit great kids who really need all of our help.

Do you have a favorite charity event?

Technorati Tags: beer, Boston, champagne, charity, cocktails, events, Food, Share our Strength, wine

Tags: beer, Boston, champagne, charity, cocktails, events, Food, Share our Strength, wine

Boston Marathon 2012–The Run Between Water Stops

April 17, 2012 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | 24 comments

The word of the day is “ow”. You’d think that it would be my muscles that would be hurting the most, but no, it’s actually my toenails. They hurt so much it was hard to sleep last night.

As SO many of you know from tracking me all day yesterday, I finished the Boston Marathon in what was my slowest ever marathon time on one of the hottest Marathon Mondays in recent history. THANK YOU for all of your support.

I spent all day Sunday agonizing on whether or not to defer, an option put out by the Boston Athletic Association because of the extreme heat. On Sunday afternoon I was fairly certain I was going to skip the marathon until 2013.

But after heading into town for a Sam Adams 26.2 and The ALLY Foundation pasta party, seeing the finish line set up, and remembering that I did train for this, I got up bright and early Monday morning. It was already hot when I left the house at 5:55 am. I was scared.

Over the next few hours my fears started to melt away. I was lucky to be given VIP access for the buses and athlete’s village which got me on the bus with past Boston Marathon winners, plus a nice comfy spot inside in Hopkinton while most runners had to hang outside in the rising temperatures. It was very nice. In the VIP tent I also got to meet a few new people who were fun to chat with and made the time pass. Everyone was a little nervous and planning on being smart.

One of the worst parts of the day was walking to the starting corrals and waiting; they were in direct sunlight, and the walk to the start is uphill. Once that gun went off, we crossed the start, and I just started to run, my goal being to drink and walk at each water stop. At each stop, I grabbed a cup of Gatorade and two cups of water, one for drinking and one for dumping over my head. Along the way, the amazing people who live or were cheering along the route sprayed us with hoses, handed out ice, water, and snacks, and made the run almost pleasant. I never let myself feel thirsty or hot because of the support that was available.

All along, my legs felt great. I had taken almost three weeks off of running due to knee pain, but my knees never hurt. I was actually a little frustrated at points because I felt as though I could push myself harder; I was breathing fine and feeling good. But I promised my mom I wouldn’t end up in the medical tent, or worse, and I practiced restraint. I also saw several people laying on the sidewalk or being taken off the course on stretchers. Every time I saw that I took a short walking break. I hope everyone is ultimately okay.

It only started to get tough in the last few miles as Brookline and Boston definitely had fewer garden hoses than the suburbs! But the college students along the way were absolutely amazing. I have to say that if it was a competition, Boston College and other students in Brookline/Boston definitely beat the Wellesley women, who seemed much quieter this year!

The last two miles of the marathon flew by. I walked a little more in this time because I was feeling hotter and drier and did not want to have to stop with two miles to go. When I rounded the turn at Hereford and Boylston, I saw my husband and friends waving and threw them the hat I had been wearing. I didn’t want it on in my official photos. I also almost got knocked down by a man who decided to run across my path waving a giant flag, hence the face in the below photo.

I was all about finishing.

Lots of people were walking the last .2 miles, and I can’t blame them. Boylston Street was a scorcher; the tall buildings did not offer as much shade as I had hoped. It felt like an eternity, but I made it.

With all of the water stop walking, plus a quick stop in Newton, I finished in 4:45. I was roughly trying to add 1-2 minutes per mile to my pace to make sure I didn’t get too hot, and it worked well. Overall it’s not my best time, but I felt great and stayed safe which were my goals for the day. There will be other days to run faster.

The BAA volunteers and staff were incredibly kind, helpful, supportive, and well-prepared. My family showed so much love and concern leading up to and after the race, and I am grateful (and sorry for making them worry so much!) The spectators, including my friends and family, were godsends. They made me love Boston so much yesterday. All of the runners slogging along together on a scary-hot day made me feel part of something bigger than myself; we were truly all in it together.

If you were on the course, sent me an email, text, Facebook message, tweet, or any other form of encouragement, thank you. I took each and every message and put them toward toughing it out. And I am very glad I did not defer. Smile