It's de-lightful, it's de-licious...

It's De-Lovely

So you know how sometimes you just need to watch a sad movie? I do this periodically to get the emotions out of my system so I can go on as my normal, ice-queen-ish self, and avoid bursting into tears at particularly touching movies or around people.

My go to movie is De-Lovely, the charmingly sad story of Cole and Linda Porter, complete with awesome music.

One of my favorite tear jerker scenes is when everyone is singing to Blow Gabriel Blow and Cole is just about to die. There is so much love there, as every major player in his life sings to him and says goodbye.

And then, as the lights slowly fade, he and Linda sing In the Still of the Night:

In the still of the night
As I gaze from my window
At the moon in it's flight
My thoughts all stray to you

In the still of the night
All the world is in slumber
All the times without number
Darling when I say to you

Do you love me, as I love you?
Are you my life to be, my dream come true?
Or will this dream of mine fade out of sight?

Like the moon growing dim
On the rim of the hill
In the chill, still of the night

And, to send you off from this slightly melancholy missive, the one lyric that will always stay in my head and I will sing forever:

There's no love song finer
But how strange the change
From major to minor
Every time we say goodbye

Ever have one of those moments?

You know the type.

The kind that makes you doubt everything and makes you feel all alone.

So I had one of those "connections" today. Something that, if I lived in New York or LA or Chicago, would be up on Craigslist in the Missed Connections section.
"You dropped your change at the supermarket, and I picked it up for you, and then all the air in the world disappeared for just a moment. You left and turned right in your blue minivan while I turned left in my black Saab. Let's relive that shocking breathlessness."

If only.

But it got me to thinking. As everyone well knows, I suck at emotions and relationships. I haven't even had anything you could truly call a relationship.
Right now, however, I am in a mutual state of missing with someone.

I miss him dearly.
Sometimes, at the most random times, while I'm eating a lobster roll or just sitting there or watching an adorable couple on vacation (it happens a lot here), I miss him.
Or while we're chatting, and I'm wishing I could hear him saying these things, not just read them...
Or when my day has been terrible and I'm cranky and I can't deal with anyone and I feel like I'm going to pull my hair out, and he sends me just a few words and my whole day is better...

Or sometimes, when it's late at night and the thought of going to bed alone seems like an insurmountable task...

And my heart aches a little bit.

Because the Internet is More Interesting than Cleaning

Drastic Decisions

So I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my life.

For a really long time, I wanted to work for the government, maybe go into the Foreign Service or the CIA, but now I'm looking at an all together different CIA.

That is, the Culinary Institute of America.

Cooking has always been there for me. When things go wrong, I know I can always go bake something or make a meal and it will work. Yes, I may clang things around a lot and possibly drop not one, not two, but three eggs on the floor (yes, it has happened), but in the end it all works. As long as I don't run out of eggs.

All jokes aside, I am actually serious about this. I may not get into the CIA, but I'm certainly applying there, as well as a handful of other culinary schools, both domestic and international.

Side note: Le Cordon Bleu has a €1500 application fee. Just for the application. Damn.

Anyway, I'm officially transferring from RIT after fall quarter. This is my notice to you all. At the moment, I'm not sure whether I will be immediately transferring for winter term or taking some time off to work as an au pair in France, but either way, fall will be my last term at RIT.

As such, I fully expect it to be awesome.

The Obamas are Coming! The Obamas are Coming!

That's right, The Obamas are coming to Maine.

Mount Desert Island

Acadia National Park


I have to start working on my outfits.

Iron Chef

I have decided that I want to be an Iron Chef someday.



And not one of those wimpy "I won a competition" Iron Chefs like Michael Symon and Jose Garces.

I want to be so awesome the Chairman just appoints me Iron Chef.
Good life goals, no?

Secret: I actually love Mike Symon. He's one of my favorite Iron Chefs, right alongside Morimoto.

Want to know why I love Morimoto?
He's Badass. That's right, Badass. Capital B. He makes Tuna Tartare out of the best part of the fish, the part that is ONLY EVER used for sashimi. Cause he's cool like that. Also, how can you say no to this face?




Want to know why I love Mike Symon?



Besides his goofy laugh and hot sous chef, he is also badass. Not quite as much as Morimoto, obviously, as shown by the lack of capitalization, but still pretty damn awesome.

Baking With Wine

This is part one of my new series, Baking With Wine. NO, this does not mean I am going to incorporate wine into my dishes, although that might happen, but that I am going to bake things and drink wine, which means my posts may end up quite entertaining.

Today's Wine: Two Oceans Sauvignon Blanc and Praia Vinho Verde



Two Oceans is a South African winery, and quite nice and light, but slightly harsh on the palate.
Praio's Vinho Verde is my new favorite wine. It is gorgeously light and refreshing, with a slight scintillation, but nothing close to the effervescence present in Champagne. Seriously, if this wine was all I could drink for the rest of my life, I would be so happy.

Today's Baked Good: Blueberry Streusel Muffins

The estates my dad caretakes for both have insane blueberry patches, mostly because it's Maine and they want things that are essentially Maine-y. I have no issues with this, because it means that every year we get to go pick the blueberries they don't get to and freeze them, so we have them all winter. While it is nearly blueberry time again here (lots of sun and warm days means a very early season), we've still got bags of blueberries in our freezer so I am trying to use them up before we get inundated again.


Before I have even started baking, I have decided that the Two Oceans is far too acidic for my taste. Darn, that means I'll have to break into the Praia. What a shame. /endsarcasm


So, blueberry muffins. The last time I baked these was about 3 years ago, so I had to go searching for a recipe. Thank Whomever for foodgawker.

SO, I came across this recipe: Browned Butter Blueberry Maple Muffins
I love browned butter in recipes, and I love maple syrup (I am from Maine, after all), and the combination in these muffins sounds spectacular. So, here goes.

Well, partway through, waiting for the muffins to bake, and I have definitely had my share of alcoholic products for the evening.
The muffins smell amazing and are making me really sad that I actually ate dinner tonight, because I really want one.

Also, notes on the recipe:
I ended up making jumbo muffins. This means I only got 11 muffins out of a double batch of this batter. FYI.

I did use the white whole wheat flour because I happened to have it on hand. If you don't, just use regular. I really don't think it will make much of a taste difference.

Also, use Maine blueberries. I know finding them in stores not in Maine sucks, but trust me, the end result is definitely worth it. Maine blueberries (low-bush) are much smaller and have a much more concentrated flavor.

The key to a good muffin batter? Don't over beat. If you do, gluten will form and will make little tunnels through your dough that looks like you've got worms crawling through it. Nasty.


End result?




Fabulous. I'm giving these to the families who own the estates we picked the berries from, and I am predicting that their kids will go crazy over them. The Maple syrup adds a really nice depth to the overall flavor, and the white whole wheat flour adds a bit of nuttiness that tastes like a slightly enriched regular flour. You could definitely use regular flour, but the taste wouldn't be quite the same. And lacing through all of it, there is the almost unidentifiable taste of the browned butter. If you didn't know what it was, you would just assume the chef was a genius and had something up his/her sleeve.



Maine just came together with a bunch of products and had a baby and it is delicious.

Next week this is being renamed Baking with Booze, as I foresee myself running out of wine rather quickly if I don't find something else.

And now, If you'll excuse me, I am going to go watch Rachel Maddow - Live from Afghanistan and yell in agreement. Yay belligerence!