Holiday!

What does this picture of cookies represent? Holiday baking! It's official, I have started my holiday baking and I could not be happier. With P working nights I need something to keep me busy and cooking is the perfect solution. Between a few batches of cookies and dishes I can easily pass 2-3 hours in the kitchen. My M-I-L gave me an awesome cookbook that consists almost entirely of cookie recipes! I've found quite a few recipes that create not-so-delicate cookies that can be frozen ahead of time, and trust me, you wouldn't be able to detect that they were frozen previously. So far I have made:

7 mini pound cakes

30 Molten Lava Cookies (recipe made a small batch)

60 Pumpkin/white chocolate/pecan w/ brown sugar drizzle cookies

40 Pecan Meltaway cookies

This is only the beginning. I still need to make Baklava, Oatmeal raisin cookies (thinkin' of you P!) and much, much more! My goal is to make at least one new recipe each night that P is working. Be on the lookout for your holiday basket from yours truly.....

VICTORY!

On the way home from Philadelphia on Monday, P managed to talk me into taking a sidetrip to Downingtown, PA, to visit Victory Brewpub. The drive was gorgeous, nothing but beautiful foliage up there right now and I also happened to see an old covered bridge! (Sorry I didn't manage to snag a pic) I have to say that I am jealous of what the folks in Downingtown have, Victory is once nice spot to stop. The atmosphere is great, large yet homey, the beer menu pairs up your brew and food to a tee and let's face it, you can't beat the prices when the product you're purchasing was made right in house! My favorite of the day was the Whirlwind Whitbier which managed to come home with us in the handy growler. P had a little more difficulty in choosing his poison... so additional growlers were needed. All in all, this was the perfect end to a food-filled trip!

Philly Phanatics

Of course Phillies fans were still abuzz with excitement over winning the World Series. I have never seen so much paraphernalia! After we arrived I immediately felt out of place. Despite the absence of a track suit, I quickly realized that I needed to get a Phillies t-shirt. P and I headed over to trusty Modell's and where I scored this cute Phillies sweatshirt instead.

After that I was content, and warm. It was pretty amusing to hear all the fans speculating on which title one of their teams will win next. With nearly 2 million people showing their support at the parade on Friday afternoon, South Philly better brace themselves if the Eagles should ever bring home a title!

A little sidenote for you folks.... I happened to learn that Philly fans are very superstitious! Apparently, a long time ago there was a gentleman's agreement made that no building should rise above City Hall and the statue of William Penn that adorns the top of it. Well, years ago, that building was surpassed in height by a number of other high rises in downtown Philly. This year, as the new Comcast building was completed, someone placed a mini- William Penn statue amongst the highest girders. Now, once again, William Penn reigns above the city and miraculously, the curse was broken and Philly brought home a title..... crazy! Here you can see a view of the Philly skyline, the highest building is the new Comcast building. Just a little to the left of it you can see City Hall, with the original William Penn statue atop.

Let's hope this broken curse will be extended to the Eagles this season.... I managed to snag a little Eagles emblazoned styrofoam cooler this weekend and our cold cuts came back to Richmond in style!

Philly in Photos

We had a great time in Philly! The weather was fairly nice, very warm on Saturday with the chill rolling in on Sunday and Monday. We held true to our normal agenda of eating our hearts out and basically just hanging out. Here are some photos that pretty much sum up the highlights of our trip.


I always pop by South Street for a little shopping and then down to Penn's landing for a view of the waterfront.


A trip to Philadelphia Museum of Art was the highlight of our Sunday. This first picture was from my favorite exhibit of the day, Gilbert and George. I mistakenly took a picture in a photo-free exhibit, so although it is fuzzy, I am still relishing the fact that I got it. The other picture shows Edvard Munch's Mermaid. I loved this piece for it's sheer size. It's large trapezoid shape was painted/framed to fit an old home in Norway over 100 years ago.... Gorgeous!


This bad boy was Carnival Cruise Line's attempt to build the world's largest pinata. It measured 62ft tall and 55ft long. That's roughly 6 stories high! They planned to fill it with 6,000 lbs of candy and crack it open on Sunday, but by Monday it was still standing proud and crack free. I am sure there were a lot of disappointed children in downtown Philly.


Of course our trip would not have been complete without cheese steaks. Before you ask, the answer is not Pat's or Geno's, it is John's! My father-in-law has turned us on to a true cheese steak spot, not a tourist destination. I stuck with the usual, steak with provolone and onions... so delicious! P opted for what John's is famous for, their roast pork sandwich. He seemed pretty satisfied overall and we both left with bigger bellies.... but of course I had to get my favorite cheese steak accompanied dessert, Butterscotch Krimpets. The Eagles packaging was just icing on the cake.....



Before leaving town we always stop by one of the finest deli's in South Philly. P & S. There we stock up on all the necessities. Peppered ham, salami, prosciutto, provolone, and swiss. I threw in some small italian rolls as well. Let me just say, it is most certainly the bread that makes the sandwich and if there is one thing Italians in South Philly know how to do, it is make bread! A fun time was had by all but upon returning home, we both headed straight for the gym!