death letter jubilee

The Delta Saints at Jammin' Java tonight, 7:30ish.
You should be there, because I will be there.

vinstagram: mainly work things

They let me girl up the dinner table at Virtue's DC Brau beer dinner. Let's see them try to stop me from doing it the future. 

My bar boys in the February issue of Southern Living! 

Peach pie for breakfast. Shoe paperweight. 

Reunited and it feels so good. 

Must learn how to make latte heart. 

I may have a slight crush on Emerson, Chef Dan's son. Here he is touring the kitchen with Baker Nathan.

Chef Doug and Chef Josh in napkin drawing form. Not sure if toques or crowns. 

Typographic Take On Me

(just barely) Friday morning

sounds like: Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino, Breakbot, and Eddie Cusic telling me that I don't have to go.

tastes like: Vietnamese drip coffee and condensed milk at eight in the evening, because I'm an adult and make wise food decisions like that. One regular No. 1 bowl of pho, the one that has everything, with meatballs, please.

feels like: Sweet darling, I hope it doesn't snow tomorrow. I enjoy snow, but only when I do not have to leave my bed. I'm over this winter nonsense. I wore five layers yesterday. That's four layers too many.

smells like: fresh coffee at Society Fair, snow in the air, and wool.

photo via The Cats Must Be Crazy

(I hope that this is a reference to The Gods Must Be Crazy, because then their cool points just jumped tenfold.)

Hannah, Mitch, Rachel, & Travis

Oh man, my life looks like hipster tumblr.

The design that seemed so simple, yet took so long.

Apologies to Stephen, who had to sit across from me and listen to my angry designer muttering.

or do you not think so far ahead?

society stalkers

[meanwhile at Society Fair]

langonej: Drive by! Looks like you were on your laptop. Hard to tell at 40 mph. 

me: I like that I don't find this message creepy in the slightest. 

langonej: By drive by, I meant across the street in the bushes with a high-powered monocle and a notebook, trying to record your every movement. 

¡Suerté y sorbet!

I love having the re:collective meetings at Killer E.S.P. because I can eat sorbet and pie while I pet the owner's dog and discuss awesome artsy fartsy things.

real love

Miemo mentioned this song on the Twitters. Cut to me grooving all morning.

Foodster Squad

Fábio: You'd be unstoppable if you were into drugs instead of food. You'd already rule the entire east coast. 

Hey vina, whatchu wanna do with dees birds? 

Mob Boss vina: Take 'em out back and take care of them. 

Take care of them? 

Mob Boss vina: Yeah, feed them something they'll never forget. You know, some nice greens and potato skins. I want them plump and ready for dinner next month. 

Mama

Sohe: I hate when they advertise for Mama on Pandora
makes me so angry
I'm all jammin out
and then all of a sudden whisper “mama”
like bitch!
calm down
my music is all loud
scares the shit out of me.
makes me jerk the steering wheel
Pandora needs to stop doing that
causing accidents and shit

Thing I mutter to myself at Whole Foods

Oooh, ginger cider! Jamaican cider?! What's that? Meh, it says Foodies. I hate the word foodie. Who do they think they are? Then again, vina, you are holding an orchid plant, two things of coconut water, and an issue of Whole Living. Like you can talk. 

Adorable glass water bottles! That one has a heart on the cap! Urghhhh I want one! No, you don't one, vina. You have that mason jar that Steph gave you, start using that again. Oooh! This one has a giraffe on it!! Oh, for the love of Pete, someone talk me out of this. Ok, put it down. You'll just drop and break it. Walk away. You're walking away. Ok, crisis averted. 

Well, I do like coconuts. I'm digging this blue and green packaging. I AM thirsty. Ok, donesies. 

Next time on “Things I mutter to myself at Whole Foods,” you'll hear about how much time I spend smelling the bath salts, that righteous kale salad, and my amazement at the welcoming wall of pineapples. 

me: I'm watching Celebrity Ghost Stories alone, might not be be the best idea ever. 

Justin: Any good ones? 

me: Patricia Velasquez had a dead child prince visit her. 

Justin: Dascool, though I don't know who that is. 

me: Ummmm, she played in the second Mummy. She was the reincarnation of that Egyptian girl. She was holding the snake. Kind of a bitch. 

Justin: Oh ok. That show should be called, “B-List Celebrity Ghost Stories.”

An unproductive Sunday with Saturday's raspberry tart

I didn't do much today. I folded laundry. I napped. I read. Mostly, I ate. I ate praline ice cream directly out of the carton. I ate a banh mi sandwich while I watched Frasier on Netflix. I ate some of the raspberry-walnut tart that I made yesterday for Shirey's housewarming party. Well, technically, I ate some of the second raspberry-walnut tart that I made for Shirey's housewarming party, the one I made to make sure that it tasted alright before I presented it to strangers. 

Raspberry Walnut Tart, originally of Simply Recipes, via my kitchen soul mate

shortbread crust

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. confectioner's sugar

1 1/2 sticks of butter

filling

10 oz. fresh raspberries

3/4 c. chopped walnuts (I kind of threw in a handful or two, which I'm sure amounts to more than 3/4 cups)

2 eggs

3/4 c. granulated sugar (the finished tart was a bit too sweet for me, so next time I'll reduce the amount of sugar)

1/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Make crust: throw in crust ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until dough forms. Press dough into tart pan. The original recipe allowed for one tart. I halved the dough into two tarts and only had a shortbread bottom, as opposed to an outer/side crust. Bake in 350° oven for about 20 minutes, less if you're using a fluted French tart pan. Allow to cool for fifteen-twenty minutes. 

Assemble tart: Place walnuts and raspberries in evenly in tart dish. Since I made two tarts, the amount of raspberries in each tart was five ounces, and not the full ten like the original recipe. You know, in case you're wondering why my tart doesn't look as lush or red as the original recipe. Side note, I keep saying “original recipe,” and now I may or  may not want some fried chicken.

Make filling: Beat together the remaining ingredients until smooth, and pour into tart pan. The amount of egg mixture won't look like much, but it puffs up, I promise. This tart is basically a clafoutis and fruit tart in one. Boss. Bake for thirty-forty minutes, until the top is golden and the custard is set. Take a sharp knife and run it around the edges while it's still warm. This will help immensely when you want to remove it from the pan. Trust me, I know. I neglected to read this part, and watched people struggle to serve themselves. Strangers all thinking I don't know how to grease pans. Damn. 

“Let cool to room temperature to serve.” That is some balderdash, eat it while it's hot. You have vanilla ice cream and coffee? Well, alright, now you have a good time. 

You know what you should do after you eat? Nap. 

vinstagram - holy fuck, hotdogs.

The Walking Dead is not something you want to be reading first thing in the morning.

That morning I had a hotdog for breakfast. Side note, going to a Costco on a Saturday should be known as "just shoot me now.”

I have such high hopes for Megan Day. Lovely evening playing catchup with Shirey, Newdorf, and Day.

That time sqrlz drew a Pacific Rim robot and I had to watch the trailer to see wtf he meant.
Hah, I've just noticed that the dohickey in the middle looks like a Blair Witch hoodoo doll. 

Gave Society Fair Justin free rein on my sandwiches. He made me a grilled cheese with bufala de quatro, prosciutto, and jalapeños. 

We set controls for the heart of the sun

Kodaline - All My Friends from Lewis Cater on Vimeo.

dat hair.

talk about devil's food

Chef Josh: (making cocoa nib caramels next to the vacuum sealing machine)
Chef Ruslan: (walks over with tray of antelope scrapple) Can I bring my meat to your satan chocolate party?

Frau(lein) DC Brau

the flyer I created for Virtue's DC Brau beer dinner, in collaboration with Chef Ryan Wheeler

I signed the Smooth Ambler Spirits email “Your Smooth (Ambler) Operator.”

At least I make myself laugh.

like a rhinestone cowboy!

first draft of the logo for my niece & nephew's school's music & tech program fundraiser.
I want to go to a hoedown! I wear cowboy boots on a daily basis!

You ever stare at the word hoedown for an hour? I tried to Google image search a photo of a downtrodden prostitute for my own amusement to no avail.

Thursday morning

sounds like: The Smiths, The Ranconteurs, The Roots, and The Black Keys.

tastes like: pomegranate/ginger/celery juice, avocado, whole wheat toast with homemade honey butter. Honey butter that hasn't left my desk since Stephanie gave it to me.

feels like: My toes are cold, I am rocking it out at all the things, and today I am going to draw on a chalkboard and have an artsy fartsy meeting with re:collective. New art projects in the works, hells yeah!

smells like: victory. and buttah.

photo via some blog I read but I have already closed the tab so now you're sol.

Mark: My parents are going to Restaurant Eve soon. Can you just give them a lettuce leaf on a plate? Or just write “AppChamps” in chocolate on a plate?

You know you my negroni, right?

vinstagram, vinyl anniversary nuts

The Majestic

Man down! Man down! 

It just got all kinds of real up in this b. 

“Chef, not sure if it they are allergic to nuts, or they really love anniversaries.”

can't sleep? design logos.

for mark and jason. 

my pretty bed is pretty.

pancakes and pink champagne

The first meal I ate in 2013 consisted of savory pancakes and pink champagne. Already this year is off to a good start. Well, aside for the fact that my 2012 recap video is going to be about two weeks late. Sorry.  

Side note, I love making pancakes, and am forever trying to create fancy schmancy “ooh, let me put ricotta in the batter” pancakes. Not that those are bad, they just don't have the simplicity of a fluffy pancake. Here is the recipe for fluffy pancakes. It's not just for you, this is also to serve as a personal reminder not to froufrou up pancakes. 

Basic (Though we shouldn't call them that, they are damn delicious) Pancake Batter

3/4 c. all-purpose flour 

1 c. cake flour (I ran out of APF. This worked out very nicely). 

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/2 c. milk

2 large eggs, room temp

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil (You can, of course, use butter.)

juice of half a lemon, or two tablespoons of white vinegar

Make buttermilk: Mix lemon juice with milk, and let sit for five minutes.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. 

Whisk together wet ingredients in another bowl. 

Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients. 

Whisk until just combined. (Translation: Don't you dare overmix the batter, fool. You want it lumpy.)

Make pancakes. I'm just going to pretend that you know how, so I do not have to continue this recipe. 

On a savory note, I topped these pancakes with smoked salmon, fresh dill, yogurt that I mixed with chopped scallions and red pepper flakes, capers, red onion, and thinly-sliced lemon. Hey, if the pancakes can't be fancy, then the toppings can. It was, after all, a brand new day in a brand new year. 

Happy 2013, everyone. I wish you only the very best.

Can you taste this for me? I think it might be Ranch.

hahahahha @ that tag. Those close to me know how much I abhor ranch dressing. Ranch dressing is the only food that I will not eat. It's that buttermilk smell. Sour milk smell in general. Vom-worthy. Blech.

Ironically, I love yogurt and stinky French cheese. 

This girl.

me: I am going to make a savory tarte tatin today. #thatisall.
Bates: One day, I will marry you.

La: Tony cut his hand on the food processor blade. Maybe you don't grab something that looks like a Chinese throwing star.

you rascal you

A. I relish food-related texts. B. Sheesh, the menfolk can be extreme about food. Unicorns and stapled pinky fingers, my goodness.

Jason Z.: I just want you to know that, at this very moment, I am having the best meal of my life. 

me: Details. 

Jason Z.: Au Pied de Cochon. #lookitup

me: SHUT UP. 

Jason Z.: I just had the pickled tongue, and it was the best thing I have eaten in my entire life. I need to bring this to you somehow. If angels and unicorns could cook dinner, that is what I am eating right now. 

me: I just ate a crispy sweetbread tossed with condensed milk and truffle. 

Fabs: WHAT?! My taste buds can't even process what that would taste like, but I'd staple my pinky to find out!

Justin: I will have you know that I wrapped your cake in aluminum foil and today I was eating it like it was a giant dinosaur-sprinkled sandwich. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New Year's Eve: Calamari & chips at Virtue, then Chinese food & funfetti cake at Eric's. I couldn't have asked for a better way to end a fantastic year. 2012, you were damn good to me.