LoveFeast Table

The night after all the good eats with the boys and girls, the entire wedding party descended on our home for a “Rehearsal Dinner” (there really was no rehearsal, but it sounded like an appropriate name) cooked up by Devon.

I made oven roasted cherry tomatoes earlier in the week as preparation for the special evening.  Devon had it in his mind to prepare an oven roasted tomato, artichoke and exotic mushroom risotto served on a bed of baby arugula.  Oh my goodness!  Really, I don’t know if words can begin to describe what happened in my mouth when I took a bite of this dish!  And, I’m sorry to say, my non recipe using, non measuring and forget about writing it down husband…well, I don’t know that it could be entirely recreated and shared.  It was one of those food moments, where the stars are aligned and the flavors combined to make a symphony of deliciousness!

We had a number of Italians at the table who had never had creamy risotto touch their lips.  I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last time!  We heard stories of Marc’s first impression of his soon to be in laws, and their impression of him!  We shared yummy bread from Bonaparte’s Bakery in Fells Point, Baltimore.  We kept the wine glasses full…and wrapped up the evening with fresh strawberries, pineapple, and homemade whipped cream.

Thayna’ showed us her photography portfolio (all photos used in this post were taken by Thanya Alves)…Ryan and Corey strummed a few tunes…Corban entertained the masses with his cute antics…beautiful pregnant Becca cracked us up with her witty comments…Nicole piped in and shared her culinary passions…Ryan proudly showed us Brittany’s t-shirt design…Marc and Brielle were beaming with fresh love and Terrill and Mike savored every moment.

This past Sunday, I went with a couple of friends and my kids to a local skatepark.  We’ve been here before.  We were on a mission to LoveBomb.  What is a LoveBomb?  It’s the act of making, serving and sharing a meal for unsuspecting people.  Especially people not in your typical circle of friends.  The idea is to reach outside of yourself and get to know people you normally wouldn’t.  We are on the beginning of this LoveBomb journey!

We have gone to Ridge a couple of times now.  When we started, we were looked on like an oddity…the boys couldn’t figure out our angle, our catch for coming and making them a hot meal and a good one at that!  We’ve made things like bacon cheeseburgers and beef bbq.  We’ve served up hot cider and homemade brownies.  We try not to skimp on the ingredients or cheat on the menu.  We serve what we would eat.   In the beginning the boys wanted to know what we wanted in return.  Who we were.  Why anyone in their right mind would make a meal for a bunch of kids most people choose to ignore.

Our answer:  “This is what we call a LoveFeast.”  “We just came to share a meal with you and hear your stories.”

It really is as simple as that.

What if more of us took time to share a meal with a group of people usually written off by society.  Or to break bread with some group you just don’t understand.  What if we took time to meet people where they are, instead of expecting them to meet us where we are?  What if we took time to break out of our comfort zones and push past our fears to serve someone else, without strings attached?  What would that do to our communities?  Our cities?

As I’m writing this post, I’m getting excited!  I am really passionate about this part of LoveFeast.  I have a bunch of LoveBomb locations tumbling around in my brain.  I just recently found out about a gathering of taggers (people who spray paint words on buildings, buses, trains)…it’s underground, not sure how I’d find out about such a location, but what if…what if…a group of us went with tables, covered in canvas (as the table cloth…equipped with paint markers)…and we heated up a grill and threw on some petite filet?  What if we made them a meal their mouths would not soon forget?  During dinner we listened to their stories and let them paint pictures in our minds of the places they’ve visited and things they’ve seen…as they ate, they drew on the canvas…  Or how about, going to the worst inner city school and delivering coffee and homemade muffins to the teachers before their day started, just to say thank you for teaching the kids no one else wants to teach.  Or what if, I planned a meal of roasted chicken and hot dumplings for our shut in neighbor across the street, took it to her with an extra plate and spent an hour listening?

Just some of my LoveBomb musings…If you were to LoveBomb, where would you go?  Who would you make a meal for?  What would that meal be?

What’s in your fire?  Hopefully, hot melted Banana Boats!  You can see ours above, wrapped in tinfoil,  baking in the warmth of the coals.  Here is a treat you can make today.  This is what you need:

Bananas, chocolate chips, marshmallows, and a professional hand model.  (We chose one from across the street, but you’ll have to get what where you can.)  Only a professional hand model can remove hot bananas from hot burning coals.  If you don’t have one.  Don’t make this dessert.  And, stop reading this post now, because you’ll just be jealous.  If you have access to a professional hand model, gather your ingredients, make your fire, and continue reading.

This is our professional hand model’s daughter’s hands below.  She is in training.   She is not yet allowed to place her hand into the fire to retrieve her hot Banana Boat.  But, one day, just like her mother she will grow into this skill and be very useful.   Here you can see her filling the chocolate chips and mini marshmallows within the carefully opened banana.  Just one slit down the middle.  Observe.

Then, after that the bananas are wrapped up in tinfoil and placed  in the coals of the fire and cooked  until the ingredients are melted and little caramelized.  In other words; hot, rich, and gooey.  It is very normal at this point for anyone waiting around for their bananas, to feel like stuffing their face with the extra marshmallow ingredients.

Again, make sure you have a roaring fire.

Then, have your sequestered hand model remove the fiercely hot molten bananas from the fire like so.

Our professional hand model was also a girl scout leader.  It doesn’t hurt to get a model with a fire badge of some sort.  Check your hand model’s credentials.

This is the outcome.  A fireside feast of sweetness.

We think peanut butter would also be good thing to add.  What else?  Let your imagination run wild!  Report back to us.

There are a lot of similarities between me and and my blogging partner in crime, Kristin.  We generally WANT the same outcome when it comes to the way things should come out.  But, let’s just say, sometimes it takes me a little bit more time to get there!  A perfect example of this is the cake I am about to share with you.  This cake, is the Pioneer Woman’s Strawberry Shortcake Cake.  There are some similarities between me and the Pioneer Woman and I will point them out as we roll along here.  But, this does not insure instantaneous success, even with much hopefulness. I baked her cake, not once, but twice.  So, you, dear reader, can learn, by my example, what not to do.  Kristin also baked a cake, Martha Stewart’s.  (This post is coming, a beautiful wedding cake!)  She did hers’ in one day, one morning actually.  I’ve seen her work in her kitchen.  I can tell you this.  It was relaxed, smooth, and graceful.  I am sure that a soft breeze blew gently through her sunny window and birds chirped as she ran her mixer.  That is her kitchen mojo.  Mine involved breakage, failure, starting over, a sundown and a sunup and then finally success.  But, in the end, we both got what we wanted, a beautiful cake to share with our family and friends.

Here was my first mistake.  I skimmed the directions.  I admit it.  I’m a skimmer.  I skimmed through my Charles Dicken’s class in college and I skimmed through this recipe.  This is why I don’t get an “A” in Dicken’s or this cake.

Here is my next mistake.  Do not do this.  Do not be tricked into thinking that the power of a cowgirl boot can summon the power of the Pioneer Woman to make this cake.  For me, it did not.  Also, it did not help that I decided to bake my cake inside an old coffee can.  I did it here, for Banana Bread, and it worked out beautifully.  For Strawberry Shortcake Cake, not so much.  Pioneer Woman specifically says to use a “cute pan”  specifically and 8 inch round cake pan.  Old coffee cans are not cute.  Enough said.

My strawberries turned out beautifully.  But, then again because I again, skimmed, Pioneer Woman’s blog post I missed the tip of the day.  Add Grand Marnier here.  This would make this cake more happy.  But, because I have success with crushing strawberries I think I’m on my way.  I can do this thing.  And, then I see a sign.  Some thing, some critter, some thing of nature, has pooped on my deck.  This must be an omen of good luck.  Why do I think this?  Because the Pioneer Woman has animals pooping on her deck (or porch) all the time (at least I think she does).  And, I am trying to make her channel her pioneer energy into my suburbia cake!  Obviously, it all adds up!! 

Would you be tricked by this beautifully browned top of this cake?  Cause I was.

But, the inside was gooey and undone.

It’s a dilemma but, I am committed.  I will not give up.  The day is young…at least at this point.

So, I remix the ingredients and pour them correctly this time into two cake pans!  I later discover it is suppose to be one cake pan.  I leave out the sour cream, which I think is what probably makes this cake “the bomb“.  I scrape out the pans.  I wash the pans.  I remix.  I re-pour.  I revisit my commitment.  I bake.  I cool.  I sleep.  I wake.  I frost.  I get this:

And this:

Lots of kids around our homes tend to do this, lickin’ the plate clean thing!

Ice Cream!

Soft Serve Ice Cream!

That’s what our ice cream man serves!  It was warm, sunny and beautiful!  A taste of things to come!  Come on summer!!

The same night I went out with the ladies, my husband took the boys out for their bachelor party night.   His plan was to take the boys to a local pub that has a decent Belgium beer list, then come back to the house for cigars and fire pit time!

They headed down to Ale Mary’s in Fells Point, Baltimore.

In his words:

“Two of us got burgers.  The burgers were great!  I had to wipe the drool off of Ryan and Corey’s mouths.  The first round of drinks were really good.  Bachelor boy, Marc got the La Chouffe, it was spot on!  It is his favorite beer.  It is a clean Belgium beer that has a hint of coriander and lemon.  The second round of beers was a bit disappointing.  Marc ordered the Unibroue Ephemere Ale feeling adventurous and wanting to try something new.  It was not clearly labeled that it was a girlie chick apple beer.  I said something to the bartender and she shrugged her shoulders and walked away.  Needless to say the beer went unfinished and left on the table.  There was no where else to go for our third round then straight to the Brewer’s Art Resurrection Ale. The second round was redeemed!  I was disappointed by the selection and the response we got from the bartender.  But, not to let the evening be tainted, we headed home for cigars, fire pit and….scotch!”

So, all was not wasted and the night redeemed by Resurrection and my husband’s second review:

“After reading about Sheep Dip Scotch in Jamie Oliver’s premiere magazine, I have been searching high and low for the bottle.  I found it a week before the bachelor party and saved it for the special occasion.  It was not the best scotch I’ve had in the world (my current fav is Aberlour 16 year, Highland Single Malt Scotch), but it was unique because it is a blend of 16 single malt scotches.  It was a bit fiery with no defining characteristics.  Bachelor boy loved it!  That’s all that mattered.  The cigar bachelor boy had was a Rocky Patel anniversary edition.  Supreme was the word that kept rolling off Marc’s tongue.  Marc is a budding cigar aficionado and has quite refined taste buds.”

Overall the evening was a success!  Marc was given “wise words of wisdom” on how to keep a wife happy.  In Devon’s words, “Yes, dear” covers all the bases!

Our dinner reservation was for 10:30.  I slammed an extra espresso at 8 and prepared myself mentally to tackle the late night challenge!  I was headed out to Brielle’s bachelorette party with a bunch of 20 year olds.  I was honored that they wanted me, 30 something, mom of 5 to tag along.  But, I have to admit, I had to gear myself up for a late night…it had been a while.

We headed out to DC to meet the rest of the party at their hotel…a gorgeous new W hotel, Aloft, set beside the Potomac River at the National Harbor.  The plan was to have Bri open presents before dinner.  But, try and get a dozen girls to primp and prime on time!  We landed at the hotel, only to rush back into the cars for our dinner destination at Sei.

We were late.  We arrived around 11.  The hostess welcomed us warmly and showed us to our table.  The atmosphere was elegant and really beautiful.  All the chairs were laced up like corsets in white leather.  A wall of red branches separated the bar from the dining room.  The place was a glow in soft light.  What a great place for a bachelorette party, I thought to myself.  Britt, Brielle’s sister, nailed this!  The restaurant was mostly empty though.  I assumed it was due to the lateness of the hour.

We settled in and began to pour over the menu.  The food menu was not too long and it was easy to digest.  I knew I would try a sushi roll of some sort, I landed on the Snow White roll…eel, avacado, roasted apple, sweet soy and sansho.  I paired it with an arugala salad with shrimp.  The Snow White was incredible and the salad forgettable.  The highlight for me though was the cocktail I shared with Irene.  Mischief.  I’m not a cocktail drinker, at least not in the form of sweet and sugary…so the waitress recommended Mischief to me.  It was made with yazi ginger vodka, triple sec, lime juice and a splash of simple syrup.  Delish!

We spent the evening sharing stories of being married, giving tips on how to keep the fire alive and having a “tie the cherry stem with your tongue” contest.  It was a really fun evening and I found my third wind to hold me through the night!

I can’t say that I would put Sei on my “go back and visit again” list.  The sushi was wonderful, the cocktail yummy and the waitress gave everyone a celebration shot!  It’s not that it wasn’t good, just forgettable.  It may be that we were there too late to really feel the whole vibe of the restaurant, but I feel like something was missing.

Oh, I will say, they had the most extensive sake list I have yet to see in the MD/DC corridor.  Hmmm, maybe a trip back for sushi and sake could be on the list!

I’m sitting here sipping my steamy hot Americano and nibbling (against my better judgement) on a Baked brownie.  It is the first time in over a week I’ve had a chance to blog.  I have to tell you, my mind is so full!  There is so much to share and so many stories to write about.  You see, this past week, my husband and I decided to let our lives be interrupted by an entire wedding party!

For three years, we had a young man named Marc live in our home and he became a big brother to our kids.  He was the boyfriend of (now try and follow) Brielle, who is the daughter of very good friends of ours, Mike and Terrill.  About a year ago, our friends and Brielle, moved to Georgia and Marc, trailed on down there with them.  Well, after nine years of dating, Marc and Brielle decided to tie the knot!  They decided that since most of their friends and some family were up here, they’d have a small ceremony in Baltimore.  The plan was to keep it small and intimate…and do it on a budget.  So, they picked a gorgeous spot, at Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore.  Brielle found bridesmaids dresses for $10 each and her gown for $30.  You would never know it!  They were all beautiful!!

Last week, the wedding party descended on our home and the party began!  We bunked the bride’s parents and most of the boys.  There were lots of late nights with bachelor and bachelorette parties, a rehearsal dinner and a wedding!  It was a whirlwind of activity as our home quickly became central station.  But, this is what we live for!  This week really is a good example of how Chris Ann and I have chosen to live our lives.  We believe every moment should be celebrated in LoveFeast fashion.  As much as I want to write all the details on a daily basis and try and capture the moments, real time, for you to read…I’d rather stop what I’m doing, and enjoy the LoveFeast taking place around me.  The people that stayed in our home were not blood related.  Some of our other friends weren’t sure why we would go out on such a limb for Marc and Brielle…letting our schedules be changed, our wallets stretched and our time go to someone else, but we do.  Our lives are on a LoveFeast journey.

(I’m gonna get a little deep for a moment.) You see, our lives are busy.  We have schedules to keep (play rehearsals, baseball games, gymnastic practices, driving to and from school at all hours of the day) and chores to do (gardening, potty training, dinner to make, laundry to fold, elbows to band aid) and people to tend to (I have 5 kids, Chris Ann has 4)…plus, two hard working husbands to keep happy!  I’m sure it sounds like many of your lives as well.  How do we take time to pursue our dreams without taking from the other important areas in our lives?  Do we sit and enjoy a coffee and write a blog, or do we finish decluttering our closets?  Do we keep with routine and schedules or stop and share a meal, or a wedding with friends?  Do we cut corners and watch our pennies, or do we splurge once and a while, knowing the time spent (and money) is worth the investment in a relationship?   Chris Ann and I are desperately trying to find that balance and at the same time enjoy the choices we make! (Thank goodness there are two of us to pick up each other’s slack!)

Back to this week…I decided to let it all go…including laundry…in order to help Marc and Brielle create a wonderful Love Feast memory!  We had eggs and pumpkin seed toast for breakfast with Mike, Terrill and Corey.  I went to Sei for Brielle’s bachelorette party and had a wonderful ginger vodka cocktail called Mischief as well as a killer sushi roll.  Devon made a wonderful oven roasted tomato, mushroom and artichoke risotto served on a bed of arugula and we shared it around our table with the entire wedding party.  I whipped up a sour cream pound cake with cream cheese icing and fresh strawberries for the wedding cake and we enjoyed that under a tree, with the wedding guests.  We celebrated their union with dinner at Marrakesh in Washington DC and enjoyed great conversation with many different people.  I will get to the details of all those wonderful events in days to come.

For now, I wanted to unload some of the thoughts in my head and a bit of the passion in my heart.  I believe we should enjoy every moment with the people around us.  Yes, most of the times we have to stick with our responsiblities and routines, but we have to, take advantage of the LoveFeasts that present themselves to us!  Enjoy the moment…now to catch up on the laundry!

My beautiful cousin Maria is a trained opera singer.  Of course, I knew right away, from the moment we use to sing Miss Mary Mack in our sleeping bags at night, she would one day be a star!  A few weeks ago, my husband and I had the privilege of seeing her perform in Washington DC with the Savoyards. She played Iolanthe.

It was a light opera…entertaining and funny!

Afterwords, we invited Maria and her husband to go get a bite to eat with us.  (We had already done our research and knew where we were headed.)  We went to Dr.Granville Moore‘s to sample their mussels and Belgium beer selection.  Chef Teddy Folkmann of Granville Moore’s beat Bobby Flay in a mussel throw down.  We just had to taste the mussels to see if we thought they lived up to the title!  We ordered the Moules Biere…mussels cooked with roasted garlic, fennel, artichokes, apple wood smoked bacon and allagash white.  Now, Devon has never been a fan of mussels, at least cooked the way most bars tend to prepare them (overcooked and rubbery).  But, this gastropub…these moules…left Devon a convert!  They were tender and flavorful!  We also split a bison burger which was loaded with flavor and cooked to perfection!  Aside from the mussels and great company, one of the highlights was definitely the bartender!  She was incredibly knowledgeable in all things Belgium.  She challenged my husband’s palette and knowledge and guaranteed repeat customers.

The atmosphere was not at all stuffy.  The prices totally reasonable and the food out of this world!  It was a little hard to find as the sign is not big or florescent!  We followed the crowd…and discovered a true gem!

What? Does this picture look fuzzy to you? Forget about it, it’s all that Limoncello, you’ve been drinking! Welcome to our Limoncello table! This is us, two years ago in Florence, Italy. There’s Kristin, next to her man and chef, Devon. See the stroller behind them? That’s Little Baby. We were so happy he did not get left behind any tables or under any trees. He was so good; it would have been easy to forget that he was there! He was a great little Italian traveler for five months old, except in the Duomo! (ya’ know you’ve started out a great culinary life, when you’ve been nursed in the Duomo!) My husband, Todd, took the picture, and I’m in the blue sweater, raising my glass of homemade Limoncello, a starter to a wonderful meal memory in Italy!

It was late. So late, that even the Italian restaurants were closing. On a curvy road, across the river we found a big house that had a restaurant on the lower floor that was willing to seat us. We hustled in, happy to have found a place. And, what a find! We were led around the back of the house and seated in the back garden at this lovely tiled table. It was warm and balmy. The garden smelled wonderful. Our view over looked the hazy glow of the lights of Florence. It felt like a dream. And, as we cooed over the view, the garden, and the blessing of this moment, our waitress placed in front of us, a little cut glass goblet filled with lemony liquid. It was our first homemade Italian Lemoncello! This was going to be a great meal!

It turned out our waitress was the wife. The husband was the chef. When it came time to order, they helped us talk through our meal through broken Italian (ours) and broken English (there’s). The chef soon came out with a big slab of meat, maybe three pounds. He motioned to us, that it would be the size for our table. How big? We were trying to understand. And, then in a rich Italian roll-of-tongue, he pronounced, “it’s a bey-bee!! (Meaning, the size of a baby!!) We all laughed, “Bring us that baby then!!”

As we enjoyed our meal, laughing and chatting and eating into the night, the chef proudly watched us as he cleaned his kitchen, which was open to the back of the house behind us, and then, hosed down his garden for the evening. It was the ultimate in hospitality, to be relaxed in your giving and the making of a meal, and to enjoy your guests’ enjoyment. We couldn’t thank him enough because there are meals and there are moments when food and friends come together, blend at the table, and create a life memory.

Do you have a meal memory that became a life memory? Then, leave a comment and share it at our table! (Also, coming soon, all about our Limoncello throw down, that involved, lemons, of course, and other secret ingredients.)