please come to boston
my trip to boston was loads of fun! the work-training part of it was just about what i expected, with goofy skits and poster-making activities. normally i would think this was lame, but with the company i work for it all sort of makes sense. we have that slightly wacky, fun-loving vibe going on and so the training fits into our (non)corporate mold. in any event, it was worth the time to sit in the classroom for those two days and soak up some of the information. the best single part was the realization that as i go through my day at work, i am not alone in my experiences. there are literally hundreds of others having similar experiences at the same time all across the country. i feel less isolated now.
i got to do some great dining while we were there, too. the first night at a family pub, where I had a wonderful platter of fried scallops, schrod and clams. the next night at a place near faneuil hall called the rustic kitchen. after a big fat martini, we settled into plates of butternut squash stuffed mezzaluna and some meltingly tender braised lamb shoulder. there followed a luscious warm chocolate cake garnished with frozen raspberries. the next night we ate at legal seafoods. as hungry as i was, i knew that i would be best off eschewing all the extras and diving straight into the lobster. i chose the baked stuffed version, filled with scallops, shrimps and ritz crackers, which seemed to be the local stuffing-bread of choice. it was absolutely delicious!
with the lobster out of the way, i felt a bit more freedom to order as i pleased the next day. my friend came up from manhattan on the highspeed acela train and we spent the morning walking and shopping along newberry street. i did a bit of christmas shopping at lush, which i had first visited in amsterdam back in the last century. we walked for miles and miles, seeing boston common, the statehouse, the king’s chapel and a bunch of other “old” buildings. (every other landmark seemed to be “old”…the old prison, the old city hall, etc.) eventually we ended up at our lunch spot, the federalist in the XV Beacon hotel. the room was nice and we were seated at a lovely table set with christofle hotel plate, a simple bernardaud pattern and a crystal vase of yellow roses. after another big fat martini, we lunched on a salad of baby greens with balsamic glaze and individual beef wellingtons. tucked inside, along with our perfectly cooked filet, was a portobello mushroom steak (in place of the customary duxelles) and a generous slice of hudson valley foie gras. plated with a thyme madeira sauce and a fava bean puree, it was absolute luxury! unable to choose just two desserts, we narrowed it down to three. crème brulee, served with tiny chocolate beignets (we could have eaten a whole plate of these); roasted autumn fruits with an individual calvados-soaked savarin; and a chocolate cake with a raspberry mousse filling.
we staggered out of the dining room after two hours and wandered around in a daze for another hour before we headed our separate ways. after dropping my pal at the train, i got into the rental car and started off towards the airport. here is where the real adventure began! knowing that i needed to fill up with gas before returning the car, i asked some of the locals for a gas station. after getting what i trusted to be very explicit directions, i headed out. the next thing i knew, i was flying down the expressway headed in the opposite direction of logan international! luckily, the very first exit had a gas station nearby and they gave me great directions to put me back at the airport in plenty of time to catch my flight.
i had a 30 minute connection time in pittsburgh, but it was all in the same airline, so i assumed i would be fine. unfortunately, we were late arriving AND my gates were at opposite ends of a very long terminal. i sprinted the entire length of the USAirways building. i arrived at the gate with 4 minutes to spare. when i handed the gate agent my ticket, she said “charlotte or akron?” when i told her akron, she told me to go to the left at the end of the ramp. ihis I did, climbing the stairs to the plane and settling into my seat with seconds to spare. the flight attendant was very sympathetic and offered me a glass of water after hearing my tale. then, as i was buckling myself in, she made the pre-flight announcement welcoming us all onboard USAirways service…to CHARLOTTE! i don’t think i screamed, but i did jump out of my seat, grab my stuff and RUN down the stairs of the plane. i was sure that i would hit the tarmac, only to see my flight closed up and taxiing away. thankfully, it was still there with the stairs extended. WHEW! all i can say is that i will never go through the door of an airplane again without asking one of the onboard staff where that aircraft is headed!
yesterday i spent the day with my sister. we checked out my parents’ house, which seems further from completion than we would like. there’s no turning back now, though. they arrive on tuesday next week, followed by their stuff the day after. i guess they will stay with my sister until the house is livable. she and i went shopping at costco (one of my twice-yearly visits) where we stocked up on holiday baking supplies: 6# of chocolate chips, 6# of pecans, 10# of flour, 20 # of white sugar, 8# of brown sugar, etc. after dropping my car off (oil change and new front brakes), i went back to her house and produced a couple of three pound batches of puff pastry—one plain and one chocolate. these will go into the freezer, along with the checkerboard cooky dough and the 4 discs of pate brisee i produced before my trip. i feel good about getting all these doughs made so early on. we will be able to produce a huge range of cookies this year because we have gotten such an early start. i feel especially good about having this pate feuilletee tucked away. it’s like gold in my larder. combined with, say a jar of homemade apple-pearsauce, or some chocolate and nuts, i can put an outrageously elegant dessert in the oven in about 15 minutes.
as you have probably noticed, i haven’t talked about what happened a week ago today. the enormity of it is still sinking in. yesterday’s resignation of the attorney general seems a step in the proper direction, but i am sure this not really where we are headed. let’s just say that i am sad and frightened.
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i got to do some great dining while we were there, too. the first night at a family pub, where I had a wonderful platter of fried scallops, schrod and clams. the next night at a place near faneuil hall called the rustic kitchen. after a big fat martini, we settled into plates of butternut squash stuffed mezzaluna and some meltingly tender braised lamb shoulder. there followed a luscious warm chocolate cake garnished with frozen raspberries. the next night we ate at legal seafoods. as hungry as i was, i knew that i would be best off eschewing all the extras and diving straight into the lobster. i chose the baked stuffed version, filled with scallops, shrimps and ritz crackers, which seemed to be the local stuffing-bread of choice. it was absolutely delicious!
with the lobster out of the way, i felt a bit more freedom to order as i pleased the next day. my friend came up from manhattan on the highspeed acela train and we spent the morning walking and shopping along newberry street. i did a bit of christmas shopping at lush, which i had first visited in amsterdam back in the last century. we walked for miles and miles, seeing boston common, the statehouse, the king’s chapel and a bunch of other “old” buildings. (every other landmark seemed to be “old”…the old prison, the old city hall, etc.) eventually we ended up at our lunch spot, the federalist in the XV Beacon hotel. the room was nice and we were seated at a lovely table set with christofle hotel plate, a simple bernardaud pattern and a crystal vase of yellow roses. after another big fat martini, we lunched on a salad of baby greens with balsamic glaze and individual beef wellingtons. tucked inside, along with our perfectly cooked filet, was a portobello mushroom steak (in place of the customary duxelles) and a generous slice of hudson valley foie gras. plated with a thyme madeira sauce and a fava bean puree, it was absolute luxury! unable to choose just two desserts, we narrowed it down to three. crème brulee, served with tiny chocolate beignets (we could have eaten a whole plate of these); roasted autumn fruits with an individual calvados-soaked savarin; and a chocolate cake with a raspberry mousse filling.
we staggered out of the dining room after two hours and wandered around in a daze for another hour before we headed our separate ways. after dropping my pal at the train, i got into the rental car and started off towards the airport. here is where the real adventure began! knowing that i needed to fill up with gas before returning the car, i asked some of the locals for a gas station. after getting what i trusted to be very explicit directions, i headed out. the next thing i knew, i was flying down the expressway headed in the opposite direction of logan international! luckily, the very first exit had a gas station nearby and they gave me great directions to put me back at the airport in plenty of time to catch my flight.
i had a 30 minute connection time in pittsburgh, but it was all in the same airline, so i assumed i would be fine. unfortunately, we were late arriving AND my gates were at opposite ends of a very long terminal. i sprinted the entire length of the USAirways building. i arrived at the gate with 4 minutes to spare. when i handed the gate agent my ticket, she said “charlotte or akron?” when i told her akron, she told me to go to the left at the end of the ramp. ihis I did, climbing the stairs to the plane and settling into my seat with seconds to spare. the flight attendant was very sympathetic and offered me a glass of water after hearing my tale. then, as i was buckling myself in, she made the pre-flight announcement welcoming us all onboard USAirways service…to CHARLOTTE! i don’t think i screamed, but i did jump out of my seat, grab my stuff and RUN down the stairs of the plane. i was sure that i would hit the tarmac, only to see my flight closed up and taxiing away. thankfully, it was still there with the stairs extended. WHEW! all i can say is that i will never go through the door of an airplane again without asking one of the onboard staff where that aircraft is headed!
yesterday i spent the day with my sister. we checked out my parents’ house, which seems further from completion than we would like. there’s no turning back now, though. they arrive on tuesday next week, followed by their stuff the day after. i guess they will stay with my sister until the house is livable. she and i went shopping at costco (one of my twice-yearly visits) where we stocked up on holiday baking supplies: 6# of chocolate chips, 6# of pecans, 10# of flour, 20 # of white sugar, 8# of brown sugar, etc. after dropping my car off (oil change and new front brakes), i went back to her house and produced a couple of three pound batches of puff pastry—one plain and one chocolate. these will go into the freezer, along with the checkerboard cooky dough and the 4 discs of pate brisee i produced before my trip. i feel good about getting all these doughs made so early on. we will be able to produce a huge range of cookies this year because we have gotten such an early start. i feel especially good about having this pate feuilletee tucked away. it’s like gold in my larder. combined with, say a jar of homemade apple-pearsauce, or some chocolate and nuts, i can put an outrageously elegant dessert in the oven in about 15 minutes.
as you have probably noticed, i haven’t talked about what happened a week ago today. the enormity of it is still sinking in. yesterday’s resignation of the attorney general seems a step in the proper direction, but i am sure this not really where we are headed. let’s just say that i am sad and frightened.
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