Joburg

I made it to lovely Joburg where I'll spend the day and night before catching my flight to Maun tomorrow morning.  I'm not sure how much the pigeon guano shows up on the shutters behind me but there's a lot of it.  Needless to say my room is the best part of this fair city.

Lunch at Aunt Elly's

I've arrived back in Minneapolis after our Minnesota lake vacation at Madden's.  My Aunt Elly and my brother John whipped up a gorgeous lunch of salad, zucchini blossoms stuffed with Maytag blue cheese, cold lamb chops, and a cheese plate.  

Fishing with Walleye Dan

This morning Katy, my mother and I went out fishing with Walleye Dan, our very enthusiastic fishing guide.  I caught five fish!  My mother caught one (the first one) and Katy caught three.  We mostly got walleye and bass but Katy got one pike.

John Sails!

I never knew my brother could sail!  I think he would make a very good pirate.

Gull Lake

Well I'm finally here on Gull Lake in Minnesota for my family reunion.  I'm looking forward to swimming in the lake, fishing, spa-ing, and catching up with the fams.

Portland, OR

Last weekend I flew out to spend time with my brother John in Portland.  He's busy building the most gorgeous and well crafted food cart in all of Portland (possibly the world).  Food carts are very popular here and often serve locally sourced, delicious, well made food.

On Saturday morning, at 6am, we got up to go to Zenger Farm where John helps take care of a flock of turkeys and chickens in exchange for fresh eggs.  We let them out, gave them clean water and fresh food.

We had lunch with two friends of John's at a yard with four food carts surrounding a few picnic tables.  John had a tuna sandwich and I had a leek and potato quiche.  Both came with spiced potatoes and a huge glob of fresh mayo.  Very yummy!  For dessert we all shared a Nutella and strawberry waffle from another cart.

After lunch John and I went for a walk in Forest Park.  We took a winding trail up and around the side of a mountain.  The tall evergreens and loamy forest floor were so beautiful.

We had a long dinner at Genoa which I thoroughly enjoyed.  The next morning I got up early and flew back to NYC.  But I'll see John again soon in Minnesota where I am currently.  We have a family reunion up on a lake here for the next few days.  I'm looking forward to fishing, swimming, boating, and all that comes with a summer getaway in Minnesota.

Thomas Keller Dinner

Well I've arrived in New York and have been having a great time.

Katy hosted a Thomas Keller dinner party where everyone brought a dish from one of his cookbooks.  We certainly ate well and had a good time doing it.

I had just worked a shift at my food coop in Park Slope (I do think that I travel the furthest for my work shifts and no longer listen to anyone grumbling about coming from Queens) and so I brought along a lot of gorgeous cheese and some figs.  Katy made the yummiest salmon rillettes that we enjoyed with bread from Bouchon.

The next course was Caroline's endive, rocket, peach, and pine nut salad.  The tangy dressing and spicy lettuce helped cleanse the palate after the creamy cheese.  We decided to be quite proper about the whole dinner and enjoyed every course individually.

Next up were my crab cakes with a spicy, smoked aioli.  The crispiness of the panko crumbs and hint of old bay seasoning was lovely, if I do say so myself.  

Katy also made super yummy mussels with the most divine saffron broth that we all sopped up with our leftover bread.  

Last up was a dessert medley courtesy of Meredith.  She baked an almond cake set off by the best rhubarb compote and creme fraiche.  She also brought along Thomas Keller's oreos which I had been looking forward to all week and was not disapointed.  

We had a fabulous time and I look forward to the next chef's dinner.