I know I acted all like I was blogging again and then went and disappeared for a week.  Apparently I am not reliable anymore. I didn’t think anyone would notice, but my siblings called last night and expressed their need to know what I am eating, Chris wants to know what happened to his guest post about stromboli (soon, Chris, soon), and my friends want something to read in their downtime. So here I am again 😀

On Wednesday, my early childhood department at work had our Secret Santa swap and potluck breakfast. Belkis taught me how to make mangu (it’s right next to the bagels)!

I love mangu and speak of it often. And it seems that making mangu is not a challenge at all! The night before our breakfast, I made the onions the same way I’ve done them before to accompany yuca. I thinly sliced two red onions and then fried them in olive oil and the juice of a whole lime until tender (this is my coworker Maria’s method — most places use vinegar instead of lime). Belkis picked up the plantains, so I met her in the work kitchen at 8:45 Wednesday morning for my lesson.

We started by peeling at least 10 giant green plantains. Belkis peeled 8 of them in record time using her time-honored authentic Domincan green-plantain-peeling technique handed down for generations in her family. In the same amount of time, I peeled two.

We sliced the peeled plantains once the long way and once the short way and then threw them into a big pot of boiling water with salt. 45 minutes later, the white plantains had turned a brownish yellow, the indication of readiness. Belkis poured out most of the water, and then we went to work mashing. Belkis added some butter and olive oil and a touch more salt and proclaimed our delicacy ready. I heated the onions and served them on the side in a bowl because some people don’t like onions, hmph. 

We had a few kinds of cheese to go with the mangu. Deborah decorated:

We sat around and chatted …

… and then did our Secret Santa exchange:

Pansy was my Secret Santa and gave me a lifetime supply of Ferrero Rocher hazelnut chocolate balls. I almost cried. From fear or joy, I don’t know which.

Here’s my plate of food (though I obv had some seconds and eighths): three little pieces of Dunkin Donuts (blueberry, pumpkin spice, Christmas sprinkles), Pansy’s fish cake, lots of mangu, champagne cheese, Maria’s Dominican-style eggs with jalapeno, slice of cinnamon roll, and grapes.

And then I was full for the next 24 hours. Sadly, I was forced to eat again a mere four hours later.

Frances has been volunteering at my agency for the past 25 years, and she just celebrated her 80th birthday this past week. We had to celebrate with food, of course.

And especially with carrot cake:

The decorating crew did such a lovely job!

The party started at 3:30, but Frances didn’t get there until 4:20. Dorothy, Lucia, and Elsie regaled us with Christmas carols in the meantime.

I am pretty sure that I grabbed a dark chocolate covered pretzel, broke off a piece, and gave the rest to Deborah.

Finally, Frances arrived!

Of course, I had to leave at that moment to catch my bus to Massachusetts, but I’m glad I got to see her grand entrance. Happy Birthday, Frances!

I zipped down to Port Authority with my too-many-presents-stuffed suitcase and headed north via Peter Pan so I could keep eating too much food forever and ever.

How many food events can YOU squeeze into one week?

Thanks for such a warm welcome back!

As planned, I braved the “blizzard” last night so that I could attend Joey and Nicole’s annual Christmas Party. I’ve been hearing about it for ages from Erin Gunn Brennan, but this was the first year I was actually able to go. After an intricate commute involving the subway, PATH, and NJ Transit, I finally arrived to this beautiful sight:

Nicole had cooked up a storm, and more food kept arriving with every guest. I obviously had some of everything, with everything including cheese and crackers, baked brie, risotto balls with marinara sauce, 3-later bean dip, bruschetta, celery and cheesy buffalo chicken dip (the best!).

The party had two requirements for entry. First, every guest had to come attired in an “ugly sweater.” Erin Gunn and Allan modeled:

(Allan decorated his sweater all by himself!)

The appetizer table continued to grow, with spinach artichoke dip …

… and bacon-wrapped cream cheese toasts …

… and a taco roll:

Of course, I was full by the time dinner came out. (Oh wait, did you think all that was for dinner??) There was a 6-foot salami and cheese sandwich, but the real star was Nicole’s penne a la vodka and meatballs!

I made myself a plate (with tomato-mozzarella salad, too) because I loooooooooooove penne a la vodka:

And then, Santa arrived!!!!

Everyone was SO excited:

Which brings us to the second requirement for entry: a gift for the White Elephant (aka a Yankee swap, headed up by Santa himself).

I picked lucky #19, and the gift I chose contained two bottles of Jameson. But I’d had my eye on #2’s present:

Obviously, I swapped my two bottles of Jameson for the cheapest ice cream maker ever.

After the gifts, some brave souls bundled up to go sledding in the backyard:

Others were less bundled:

Significantly less bundled:

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

Rationally, I stayed inside and watched the dinner table transform into this:

I made myself a dessert plate including red velvet cake, Erin Gunn’s red and green cupcakes, an oreo ball, and a macaroon:

Mmmmmmmmmm.

A broom became available after a few ornaments met an unfortunate fate, so AK demonstrated his broom bass abilities:

I finally broke into the liquor supply around midnight:

The chocolate liquor supply, that is!

I love everything mini …

… but it was cuter than it tasted.

Meanwhile, the boxes of beer on the porch primped for their photo shoot:

Just like in the commercials, as Erin Gunn pointed out:

Eventually, everyone started to feel too old for this craziness:

We moved the party downstairs, where I napped on the floor until Erin Gunn gave me permission to go to bed for real.

This morning, there was a mad rush to inhale the breakfast of champions: penne a la vodka, macaroons, meatballs, and PBR:

I had two plates of pasta, a meatball, and approximately five macaroons. I hope I don’t have to eat again for a long time!

Aftermath:

24 hours, 30 pounds of food, and unquantifiable amounts of fun after I departed from Brooklyn, I was home again (with my ice cream maker safely in tow). I think a nap is definitely in order 😛

Hiiiiiii there! It’s been AGES. I’ve obviously been very distracted from blogging. What has kept me away, you ask? Here’s a summary.

HOMEWORK:

I had ten million cazillion trillion papers to write and presentations to create. Because I was not interested in doing any work, however, I spent a lot of time staring at mostly blank word documents such as the one pictured above. The homework gave me an excellent excuse to try out some charming coffee shops in my neighborhood. Evidence: cappuccino from Red Horse Cafe and chai latte and vegan peanut butter chocolate cupcake from Roots Cafe.

Another distraction is that I may not have been going to the coffee shops alone, but rather with …

THIS GUY:

… who happens to be an excellent eater himself:

And speaking of coworkers, I would definitely consider another blogging distraction to be …

MY JOB:

And, of course …

MY OTHER COWORKERS:

But just because I haven’t been blogging, don’t think I haven’t been living a riveting gastronomically social life.

Wine and cheese night at Di’s apartment:

Brooklyn sightseeing in Fort Greene Park:

A scoop of Earl Grey and a scoop of cinnamon …

… on the last nice day in Prospect Park:

So, now that you know where I’ve been for the past month, hold on tight! I am headed out to a Christmas party in New Jersey tonight, and I am under strict orders to blog about it. Maybe I’ll get a post together sometime next year 😛

Do full months ever bypass you completely without asking your permission?

After Erin’s wedding, pretty much everyone stayed at the nearby Hampton Inn … which meant Otis Spunkmeyer cookies upon entry!

Oatmeal raisin and chocolate chocolate chip:

After the cookies, I followed the pointing scarecrow to my room …

… and came upon this sight!

My hotel room turned out to be the handicapped-equipped room … which meant a big bathtub. My roommates had made the obvious cognitive leap from there to convert our room into the after party lounge.

Even more exciting than beer in the tub, however, was this big pumpkin randomly sitting in the middle of the floor:

I plopped down right next to it and put the pumpkin on my lap 😛

Everyone went wiiiiiiiiild watching the Yankees win:

It was a mostly New York-based crowd clumped into a Massachusetts hotel room, so the crowd got rowdy in moments like this:

And then we got a noise complaint and got rowdier …

… and another noise complaint and rowdier:

Pizza made an appearance to much fanfare…

AK was released from photographer duties:

The candy apples from the centerpieces made an appearance, and AK modeled appropriate consumption behavior again:

We got another noise complaint and got appropriately louder. Evidence:

And then the Sun Chips arrived!

Hero:

And the evening continued to spiral further out of control through more noise complaints and threats of an imminent hostile takeover by the Franklin Police Department.

In the end, however, we survived the fake blood …

… and the party detritus …

… with no arrests and love for everyone!

Survival was especially critical for locking in access to the hotel’s breakfast buffet the next morning!

I had banana oatmeal with peanut butter, fruit salad, a biscuit with jam, a chocolate muffin, and wayyyyyy too much more!

I left the hotel with the newlyweds, and we made our way back home to collects some final odds and ends and say good-bye to the parents, and then we hit the road for our journey back down here to NY.

Once again, I looooove other people’s weddings and all the excitement surrounding them 😀

Where do YOU take the party after the party??

Finally, after a ridiculous and over-the-top amount of lead-up, the time came to face my fear of the bridesmaid dress.

The other ladies slipped into their dresses without flinching (actually, that’s a lie — Catherine was an excellent partner in tight dress misery!) while I worried about what I would do if I ripped the seams of mine while participating in some sort of high-impact sport like breathing.

Somehow, however, we all found ourselves successfully zipped into beautiful folds of satiny chocolate chocolatey satin:

PHEW … and thank you to my sister Emily for the loan of her life-saving Spanx!!:-P

AK, photographer extraordinaire, went to work arranging us for ultimate pre-wedding photogenicity in the Gunn backyard:

Photography is an action sport, fyi:

And here we are with our special special bride (because, ummmm, this day was about more than just my dress saga), Erin Gunn Mrs. Brennan-to-be:

The limo arrived, and we were magically transported to a world of cheese and crackers, aka the bridal suite at the wedding site:

We did a little bit of prep:

… and then got ourselves lined up for the big moment!

I even managed to read my piece and command the new couple to go forth and multiply without splitting any seams!

And then came the big moment:

Awwwwwwwwwwww. Once again, totally about more than my dress 😛

More bridal suite apps during photography:

Cheese, crackers, fruit, sundried tomato tarts, chicken satay, spanakopita:

Best picture EVER:

Bustling is apparently a VERY involved project:

Bridal suite beverage service was lacking, so some of the boys took it upon themselves to release a few beers from behind the bar. I took advantage of the opportunity to drink my first beer ever. I usually hate beer — I don’t know why it tasted so good at that moment!

After the photos, we went out to join the party. I am so in love with these centerpieces that Erin’s sisters made:

I ignored my minestrone soup and watched the dancing children instead:

The bar was open (thanks to Erin and Mike!!), so I asked for a cocktail of Grey Goose, soda water, and a slice of every fruit possible:

I squeezed and mashed my orange, lemon, lime, and cherry into the drink and ended up with a brilliant fresh fruit concoction. And then I did it again. Three more times 😛

More dancing:

Salad!

I went Trick or Treating at Erin and Mike’s table:

Erin said, We put the candy here for the kids, but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing you more often! Oops 😛

And then it was time for cake-cutting!

How amazing is Siobhan’s cake?????

Before they wheeled the cake off to cut for the masses …

… I snagged a prize: the discarded gum paste pumpkin from Erin and Mike’s slice!

Mmmmmmmmmmmm …

I also snagged a photo with the Captain himself, aka father of the bride:

And then the entree of salmon with sundried tomato glaze, rice pilaf, and green beans with almonds:

QT with the princess of the night:

(Yes,  I definitely 86’d those straps on the dress as soon as the official photos were done!)

And QT with the prince!

The cake came around,  and I had my slice … plus the slices of about four other people!

Pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing must be eaten at all costs (especially when it involves a change in tongue color, and especially when the new color is purple):

Congratulations to Erin and Mike … aka the Brennans!!! And thanks for throwing the best party ever to celebrate your marriage 😀

Favorite tongue color?