Greetings From Scotland!!!

Hi, everyone. Mark and I are safely ensconced in our hotel room in Glasgow. Just returned from a nice dinner with our friends Henri and Alastair and now plotting our route to the Isle of Skye. Hope the weather holds out (it's cold and gray, a lot like home, now) for the 5+ hour drive in the morning. We already are reminded of one of the main reasons we love Scotland so much - the people. They are so friendly and welcoming. We can't wait to get up to Skye to "disappear for a few days," as Mark says, and really relax the way we haven't been able to all year.

Miss everyone already, and hopefully will have grand tales to tell throughout the trip! We understand that the Three Chimneys has wireless Internet, so hopefully we can send pictures and stories over the next few days.

Love you all!

Cool coffee idea

I was listening to one of my 100+ "Splendid Table" podcasts the other night while waiting in the long line of traffic to get out of the Verizon Center parking garage (after a Caps win!) and heard the most interesting recipe for iced coffee.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper, the show's host, suggested taking a pound of coffee beans, grinding them at a medium setting, mixing the grounds with 11 cups of cold water, and letting the mixture sit on the counter for about 12 hours. Strain out the grounds and you get a coffee concentrate that has no acidity, can be used in a number of interesting ways and can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

I'm thinking coffee concentrate and vodka. Or coffee concentrate and Bailey's. She said it's also wonderful over ice cream and can be frozen to make coffee granita.

Any other ideas?

Quite Possibly Becoming an Insomniac

So I haven't been sleeping well lately. Tonight (or should I say last night/this morning) is particularly bad for two reasons. First, my stomach is terribly upset, and second, my mind is buzzing with ideas for a business concept that developed out of nowhere earlier today...I mean yesterday.

So here I am, borderline ADD, flipping from Twitter to Blogger to Word, attempting to commit this business concept to paper while the ideas are still fresh in my head. The alarm will sound in less than 90 minutes. I actually feel OK right now, but will probably hit a brick wall at some point this afternoon. Not looking forward to that.

I am a bit worried about my recent sleeping problems. Normally I have difficulty waking up, not the other way around. Is this a symptom of age? If I'm not sleeping at 31, where the hell do I go from here? I foresee a Tylenol PM addiction in my future. :)

Dinner @ Charleston

Tucked away in the rapidly growing neighborhood of Harbor East in downtown Baltimore, among the new high-rise hotels and residential buildings, is a wonderful "improvisational dining" restaurant called Charleston. Co-owners Chef Cindy Wolf and her husband Tony Foreman have created a culinary treasure unlike any other in the city.

I first experienced Charleston in 2000, when Baltimore's NPR station invited me to attend a brunch in honor of the launch of radio host Diane Rehm's book, "Finding My Voice." Until that point, fine dining was a complete mystery to me. Having grown up in a military family, eating out at restaurants was not something I did often, and when I did, it was usually at Pizza Hut or the local Chinese restaurant.

At the time of the brunch, I had just begun working at a PR firm in Washington, D.C. and was starting to suspect that the restaurant world was slightly bigger and more interesting than I knew. Charleston taught me that, indeed, there was much to learn. The restaurant's menu during that period was more high-end low-country than it is now. I honestly can't remember what I ate, but I do remember that it was unlike anything I'd ever eaten before and couldn't wait to eat again.

Fast-forward to last night, Mark and my annual Anniversary Dinner. I couldn't have imagined during that brunch in 2000 that Charleston would eventually be the place where we would celebrate our anniversary each year. As usual, the menu was a creative combination of seafood, beef, game, fresh salads and soups that was nearly impossible to narrow down to three selections.

After a tasty amuse bouche of chilled beet soup with creme fraiche, I had an absolutely perfect southern lump crab cake with Napa cabbage slaw and arugula oil paired with a minerally white Burgundy (Saint-Romain, Alain Gras 2005). The crab cake was barely held together (read: no filling) and the cabbage slaw was crunchy and creamy without being too mayonnaise-y.

My second course was an incredibly fresh heirloom tomato gazpacho with lobster and curried creme fraiche paired with Sancerre "Cuvee Tradition" by H. Brochard from the Loire Valley. The crisp, melony wine was gorgeous with the gazpacho and also paired well with Mark's salad of baby arugula, reggiano and lemon vinaigrette.

My third dish was without a doubt one of the most beautifully prepared and absolutely delicious pieces of fish I have ever tasted - pan-roasted Turbot with lobster risotto and basil beurre blanc. The fish actually tasted like popcorn. The flesh was delicately seared on both sides, giving it a light crunch, and was buttery smooth on the inside. The lobster risotto and burre blanc, along with the glass of Hermitage, Tardieu-Laurent 2003 from the Northern Rhone Valley, could not have combined for a more blissful experience. The evening ended with a trio of creme brulee (honey-raspberry, butterscotch and white chocolate-cinnamon) and a glass of a dessert wine that, not surprisingly, I can't remember.

Writing this post was enjoyable -- almost like reliving last night's meal. I've had the pleasure of dining at truly incredible restaurants around the world since that day in 2000, but Charleston will always hold a special place in my heart as one of the greats.

New Salad Recipe

I threw together a salad last night that will most definitely be making future appearances at my table. For the recipe, I'm listing ingredients rather than measurements because it is inexact -- which is a huge part of the appeal. Pistachios or pecans can be subsituted for the walnuts, and other fruit such as apples or peaches can take place of the pears.

For the salad:
- Mixed greens
- Candied or roasted walnuts
- Goat cheese (crumbled)
- Asian pear (diced)
- Regular pear (diced)
- Red grapes (whole)
- Dried cranberries
- Dried blueberries
- Salt & pepper

For the dressing:
- Dijon mustard
- Champagne or sherry vinegar
- Splash of balsamic vinegar
- A few tablespoons of walnut oil
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper

Happy eating!

New Favorite Thing: The Splendid Table

Do you know about The Splendid Table? Have you heard the brilliant public radio musings of Ms. Lynne Rossetto Kasper? If you love to cook -- or love to eat -- please stop what you're doing, fire up iTunes, and download every single podcast. Then go to the website and read everything. Then get off your ass, go to Borders, and buy "How to Eat Supper."

I feel like I just discovered the New World.

Apparently the New World has been on the air since 1997 and nobody told me about it. I'd like to have the past 11 years back, please, so I can start over. Instead, I'm jamming my iPod full of past episodes and scouring the website for something I may have missed.

What makes The Splendid Table so great? Might as well ask why the sky is blue and why puppies are cute.

Just listen to some of the topics of recent broadcasts:

"Spices and the Medieval Imagination"
"The Cheese Nun"
"Bananas and Politics"
"Molecular Gastronomy"
and my all-time favorite...."The United States of Arugula"

Each episode is a 50-minute-long exploration of the lead topic, along with side excursions into what makes New York hot dogs so good or how to make pasta like the women from Emilia-Romagna. For anyone who truly loves food and cooking, The Splendid Table is an audio version of the greatest encylclopedia around.

Speaking of books, Lynne recently published a book called "How to Eat Supper." I bought it yesterday so can't really comment on it, but if her show provides any indication of the quality of the book, everyone I know will be getting a copy for Christmas.

Seriously -- check it out. It's really wonderful stuff.

Meet Annabelle!

(I think her name has an "e" on the end...)

Last night, at some point between Texas hold 'em, gin rummy, several trips to the cool vending machine with pizza and macaroni and cheese, and Michael Phelps winning another gold medal, Sarah and Brandon had a baby. Her name is Annabelle, and she is beautiful.

The night was full of great moments (which I hope Mark, Emily, Kelly and Brian will share) but the one that sticks out in my mind is the moment when The Big Cat (Brandon -- he's like 6'6") looked at all of us while he was holding teeny Annabelle in his huge arms and said "Hey! This is my daughter!" It is a new day, indeed.

"We" are having a baby today!!!

I am fortunate enough to have a core group of friends who live nearby, and over the past year or so we've spent a lot of time together and have grown very close. It is a rare week when someone isn't over for dinner, or when we're not somehow spepnding time together. Getting to know Brian & Emily, Brandon & Sarah and Kelly & Steve has been one of the most joyous experiences of my adulthood. I truly adore them all.

Today, Sarah is having a baby, the first baby for this group, and it feels like we're all having it with her! We have taken bets on her due date, have created the water-in-a-martini-glass "Sarahtini," attempted to guess the baby's name, and watched her belly grow over the past 9 months. And today is the day we've all been waiting for! If she had only waited another 10 or 12 hours before going into labor, we would have successfully carried out our Baby Tailgate in the hospital parking lot. Oh well...

A bit about Sarah. She is one of those people who was born to be a mom. She is the kindest, friendliest, gentlest person I know and she's going to be a spectacular parent. Her husband Brandon is going to be one of those dads who believes the world revolves around his girls - Sarah and their new baby.

While the new addition to our little family surely will change our regular routine of weeknight wine drinking and garage hockey, I can't help but think how amazing our new routine of caring for Sarah and Brandon's new little girl will be!

The Cost of Working

So.....I made a major mistake today by calculating the cost of my commute from Anne Arundel County to Washington, D.C. Each month, between gas, parking and car payment, I shell out $840 JUST TO GO TO WORK. I feel ill.

Granted, the decision to drive to work rather than take public transportation is one I made conciously. I absolutely despise the two modes of transportation I would have to take into the city - the MARC train and the Metro. Both are depressing, unreliable and sweltering in the summer and damp and stinky the rest of the time. And undoubtedly crowded now that gas prices are so high. So yes - I would rather be in my own car, with the temperature at a comfortable level and the ambient noise selected by me, than jammed into a tin can during what ultimately is the same travel time.

But $840?!? That's almost $900! And THAT'S almost a grand! And that doesn't even take into account the cost of dressing for a professional work environment. Everyone laughs at me for shopping at Marshall's and Ann Taylor (sales only!) but is there an alternative?

I don't go out to eat as much, don't collect wine like I used to, and have cut back on traveling for pleasure. Sure, these are minimal sacrifices when you consider some people have to choose between filling up their gas tanks or putting food on the table. But they're my sacrifices and I am still allowed to bitch about them.

Back to the transportation -- the logical alternative would be to move closer to work. Right? The problem there is that I own a home, and now isn't exactly the best time to sell, especially if you've owned your home for less than 5 years, which I have. And anything worth considering in D.C. is upwards of $500,000. So....looks like I'm going to stick with the commute. But I am still going to bitch about it!

Seriously...I'm Blogging Again

OK, I said I was going to be better about updating this blog and clearly that was a lie. I'm saying it again now and this time I really mean it. Really. I'm blogging again.

Also in the process of writing a book...or to be more specific, in the process of learning about the process of writing a book. Thanks to feedback from some very nice people on LinkedIn who responded to my question about writing book treatments, I am preparing a proposal that will hopefully convince a publisher to pay me to write this inspired piece of work.

One of the decisions I need to make is whether or not to engage an "expert" on the subject of said inspired piece of work. I'm not exactly qualified to serve as an authority on this topic (wine), although I have had plenty of practice in the field (drinking wine), so a recognized expert could lend more credibility to the book. But that means sharing profits and I don't wanna. So we'll see if this proposal-writing exercise leads me to seek the counsel of a professional.

Other than blogging and book proposal writing, not much going on. Work is going well and clients are very cool, so I can't complain. Sorry if this post is boring...getting back into the swing of things.

Home Safe!

Received an email today from Katayoon, the coach of the Iranian paddling team from previous posts. Sounds like they made it back to Iran safe and sound.

Yay!

Skye

Around this time last year I was in Scotland, on the Isle of Skye.

If I was in more of a poetic mood, I could probably come up with the right words to describe how much I love Skye and its people. I have said in the past that if I make it to heaven, it will be just like Skye. I think about it every day, and can't wait to return. Tomorrow, next week...whenever. If I turn up missing one day, and if you want to find me, you should check there first.

When work and life become difficult, and the city and the heat and the commute and the pressure start to grate on my nerves, just knowing that the sheep are meandering down the one-lane road to Dunvegan and that the hot marmalade pudding is on the stove at the Three Chimneys is enough to pull me through another day.

Another place that brings me a great deal of joy, where I am headed this weekend, is Western New York where my father's family lives. This will be my first visit since the passing of my Uncle Chuck last October 1. The family is gathering for a memorial golf tournament, and I know it will be a bitersweet reunion. I am very excited to see my family, but know that Uncle Chuck's absence will be a difficult adjustment. I miss him so much.

Of one Essence is the human race,
Thusly has Creation put the Base;
One Limb impacted is sufficient,
For all Others to feel the Mace.
—Saadi

Humbled

So, I'm up for an award. Well, maybe not up for it yet, but under the kind of consideration a check for $199 and a well prepared submission will get you.

Next time you try to sit down and summarize the last 10 years of your career, let me know how it goes. I found it extremely difficult because it required the kind of self-promotional thinking and writing that normally makes me squirm. I discovered that I really don't like trying to convince anyone that I deserve to be recognized for my work.

Something positive did come out of this process, though. I am reminded of how truly extraordinary my company and my clients are. I am reminded of how much I adore the National Press Club and everything I do there. And I am humbled by those who offered to write letters of recommendation encouraging the review committee to consider me for the award. Regardless of what happens, I have already won.

Team SCI

In my rush to tell you about my new friends from Iran, I failed to mention that some my friends here at SCI were courageous enough to hop in a raft with me and paddle down the new whitewater course at the Adventure Sports Center International in McHenry, MD. We represented our company well in the first-ever ASCI Corporate Raft Race, placing 6th out of 12 rafts (a level of mediocrity to which we are not accustomed). It is worth mentioning, however, the top 3 boats in the race were manned by Olympic-caliber paddlers. So they don't count, really.

Congratulations Team SCI for a heroic performance.

2 Years?!?

Wow -- I can't believe it's been more than two years since my last post. If you have been waiting for new material, which I sincerely doubt, I apologize for the delay and promise to try to do a better job in the future.

Today was a remarkable day. I will start at the end, as that is the part that prompted this post, and hopefully will inspire me continue writing, if not for you, for my own creative exercise. I spent time this evening with a new friend, Bob, whose schedule is more demanding than my own, yet somehow he finds time to share his thoughts with the world in blog form. So Bob -- you have unwittingly driven me to get back in the game, to pick up the laptop and write something other than email messages. Thanks. I think.

Bob and I have crossed paths accidentally once or twice by virtue of doing what we do for a living and sharing a strange compulsion for getting up early on chilly Sunday mornings in the fall and attempting to hit and throw a softball. We have developed what I think is the beginning of a great friendship, for which I am grateful. Bob is a damn good conversationalist, which is perhaps more important than all of the other notable things he has done in his life. Anyone who can sip a glass of good bourbon, smoke a B&H and talk for hours is pretty fucking awesome in my book.

The evening with Bob was preceded by an afternoon with four of the bravest, most beautiful and inspiring women I have ever met. They are from Iran, and they have changed my life. Katayoon, her daughter Roxana, and Shadi and Kimya, came to the United States from Iran to become masters at whitewater paddling, all in the hopes of becoming their country's first female whitewater paddling team to compete in the Olympics.

I am incredibly proud to know these women. Today, as we shared lunch and lovely conversation, I fought back tears at the thought of the meaning and impact of their journey to the United States, and the possibilities that lie ahead of them. I will think about these girls every day, and hope their dreams come true.

The experiences of this day have been humbling. I am reminded that life continues to provide wonderful opportunities to connect with other human beings, from around the world to across the street. Nothing I have achieved has come close to what my Iranian friends and Bob have done in their lives, but they serve as worthy models of what achievements are possible.

Thank you, friends.

I Left My Heart in Napa Valley

So, it has been awhile since my last post, and it figures that the most exciting thing in my life, the most interesting thing worth writing about these days -- is food. Maybe I should rename this blog "All Eats Considered," as this seems to be a recurring theme.

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting San Fransisco and Napa Valley. The city was great, but Napa was truly incredible. My brother, his wife and son, my mother and I traveled to Chateau Montelena, Sterling Vineyards and Cakebread Cellars. All were out of this world, but Montelena was really special. The tasting room was sort of hushed and formal, but the staff was friendly, and Tommy poured several good wines in addition to one 1997 Reserve Cabernet that knocked our socks off. Corey (my nephew) got a kick out of the air tram ride at Sterling, and Nate and I broke away from the group for a few minutes to sample some of the premium wine in the reserve room. The Reserve Chardonnay was incredible. We wound down with some very high quality wines at Cakebread, and headed down to Yountville for dinner.

For those who know me well, you know that Yountville is a sort of Mecca for me, as it is home to the French Laundry. It is next to impossible for a normal person (like moi) to get a reservation at the French Laundry, but anyone can walk around it a few (dozen) times to breathe in the atmosphere, free of charge. Right down the street is a little French bistro called Bouchon, which is owned by Thomas Keller, who also owns the French Laundry. I'm convinced that Bouchon is a place for people like me who weren't able to get the highly-coveted FL reservation, but still want to experience Keller's genius. Not surprisingly, dinner at Bouchon was awesome.

The big whopper of the trip, culinarily speaking, was not at Bouchon, but at Manresa in Los Gatos. Holy smokes. My new friend Ya-Roo invited me to take part in a 5 hour, 20 course experience. The only way I can describe this meal is to list the dishes that were presented to us and my basic thoughts on each:

- Radis au beurre (fresh baby radishes, which we rolled in whipped butter and gray sea salt. Tasted like spicy California dirt. Magnificent.)
- Gougeres (fantastic warm little cheese puffs)
- Cioppino jelly (crab, scallops and mussels in light saffron jelly, served in a half shell -- very fresh)
- Corn Croquettes (quite possibly the most delicious/sensuous thing I have ever eaten. These little guys just explode into creamy goodness when you bite into them. I think Chef Kinch must make a corn/cream gelatin which melts when the croquettes are fried so that the warm liquid oozes in your mouth. Amazing.)
- Strawberry with hibiscus and lime (pretty self explanatory -- very good)
- The Egg (Chef Kinch's signature dish -- a strange yet intoxicating combination of barely-cooked egg yolk, whipped egg whites and savory cream, sherry vinegar, chives and maple syrup. This is right up there with the croquettes. Maybe even better, because of its complexity.)
- Broccoli and foie gras royale (who knew that broccoli and foie gras were a perfect combination?)
- Sardines with tomatoes (my least favorite bit of the bunch -- the sardines were too fishy for my taste, but the flavor was balanced nicely by the tomatoes, which were slightly spicy)
- Japanese fluke with olive oil and chives (this was heavenly -- barely visible on the plate, the fluke was sliced so thin and the flavor was heightened by smoky white soy sauce)
- Strawberry gazpacho (again, fairly self explanatory, yet excellent)
- Rouget with couscous (wonderful white fish which I had not tasted previously, with perfectly prepared couscous)
- Abalone with pig's feet (one of the richest dishes on the menu -- delicious, but fortunately small)
- Sweetbreads, braised gem lettuce, corn pudding (for someone who isn't a huge fan of sweetbreads, this was pretty darned good)
- Roast pigeon, raspberries crushed with almond oil (mmm)
- Prime beef roasted in its own fat, garden peas (seared on the outside, barely cooked on the inside - delicious)
- Melon sorbets with yogurt (honestly, I don't even remember this one, but it was surely good)
- Summer fruit crisp, corn ice cream (the corn ice cream was the showstopper of this dish)
- Strawberry soufflé, lemon custard (don't remember this one either)
- Chocolate marquis, condensed milk ice cream (easily a great substitution for getting laid)

Now you can see why this was without a doubt the most incredible dining experience of my life. Thank you, Chef Kinch, and your staff at Manresa.

Best New Restaurant in Maryland

The Westlawn Inn was named the Best New Restaurant in Maryland last night by the state's restaurant association. And rightfully so. Nestled on a small street in the little town of North Beach, the Westlawn Inn is serving cuisine that rivals many of the finest restaurants in Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis.

Last night, while the award was being presented to owner Lee Travers, I was happily enjoying the restaurant's spectacular new Spring menu. Much like every meal I have eaten there in the past, it was superb. The new crab spring rolls were especially tasty, with a brilliant combination of fresh jumbo lump crab, cilantro, grapefruit, mango and toasted pumpkin seeds. The imaginative halibut entree, with white asparagus, fava beans and open ravioli of morel mushrooms was skillfully prepared and absolutely delicious.

It is refreshing to know that the efforts of Lee, chef John and the rest of the staff at the Westlawn Inn are being recognized. The restaurant is a gem which, with the pending development of the North Beach bay front, most certainly has a long and successful future in front of it.

Terribly Overdue Wrap-Up of Asia

I have to apologize to anyone who still happens to be paying attention to this blog -- this wrap-up of my trip to Asia is sorely overdue.

My previous post was written on our last day in Tokyo, with high hopes of more fun things to report after a night on the town. Sure enough, the evening did hold quite a bit of material for this forum.

But I don't remember any of it, so I'll skip to the summary of the entire trip. Overall, Hong Kong was definitely more appealing to me than Tokyo. It seemed much more accessible, both in terms of size and culture, and I just felt more comfortable there than I did in Tokyo. Language was definitely a problem in Japan, and the city itself was so enormous that I never felt part of it. I'm sure the fact that our stay was so brief didn't help.

Bottom line -- I would go back to Hong Kong in a heartbeat. Tokyo, I'm not so sure.

The journey back to the U.S. was uneventful (no running!) and it certainly is nice to be home. If you've never had the opportunity to be on the other side of the world, let me be the first to tell you that when you are, it FEELS like you're on the other side of the world. And it makes coming home that much sweeter.

Happy Buns

Hi, everyone. Greetings from Tokyo.

You might think that the subject line is referring to some sort of Japanese food, particularly given the focus of my previous posts. But this time, it's not food I'm focusing on. Oh, no. I'm talking about the greatest invention mankind has ever produced. The thing I will miss most when I return home. I'm talking about heated toilet seats.

That's right! I have happy buns because they're always WARM!

The first time I encountered this ingenious invention was in the Japan Airlines business lounge at the airport. I thought it was just a nice touch for weary travelers. But they're everywhere! My hotel room even has one. There's a bunch of other stuff built into it (it's called a "Shower Toilet") that I haven't used yet, but the bun warmer is all the technology I need. I love Japan.

We've been in meetings the whole time, so we haven't been out on the town except for dinner last night (which was 14 courses -- all very authentic Japanese food, including "sea foie gras" or fish liver). I'm looking forward to getting out this afternoon/evening to see the city and hopefully get material for a few more good stories before we leave. I really want to be able to tell my friend Michi what I think of her home country beyond just giving restaurant commentary. :)

More to follow, hopefully in a few hours!

Lori