Episode 555, or Niantic NOMNOMNOM!

We were supposed to go see Jamie Oliver on Sunday, but his flight from London was delayed or some such nonsense, so we spent the afternoon with Bethany, walking along the beach in Niantic and trying to decide on a recipe from one of Mr. Oliver's cookbooks to use for dinner.

The weather was sunny and beautiful, and although the bulk of fall foliage has peaked around here, the balmy fall is still producing some colorful natural displays.























We did decide to start locally, which we figured would be Jamie approved, so we headed to Scott's Yankee Farmer to see what was in stock.

There were still plenty of sugar pumpkins,



squash of all shapes and sizes,



ALL SHAPES,



and a sweet ol' tractor,



but I digress, back to the squash we went and then off to the supermarket for the fill-in ingredients. Not including these,



the "lemon-esque" fruit we saw at the Stop and Shop, aka Buddha's Hand.

No, we had decided to attempt a squash risotto, with a few shrimp thrown in to make it a "meal" and also because we likes our seafoods.



We prepared a basic risotto portion, and roasted our squash, and then started combining and adjusting according to the recipe.









None of the right things are in focus in that last picture, but I love it anyway.

One of the parts we were most skeptical of was the fried sage leaves that were meant to go on top.



I have to tell you, we were so wrong. I would consider buying fresh sage, frying it, and eating it as a snack all by itself. It was that tasty. The other topping we were supposed to have was crumbled amaretti biscuits, but we had to improvise. Thanks Anna!



All in all we did spend a LONG time getting the risotto to the right consistency, but we had a great time getting there, and it was all delicious when we did sit down to eat.



AND there were even some pumpkin bars for dessert! BARS!



THANKS BETHANY!

I believed in Fauxbama...

...and I believe in Obama!

CONGRATULATIONS BARACK OBAMA!

the moment before the moment of truth

Brooklyn Baby

Brooklyn, NY



the day after Halloween



at a place called the Quarter Bar



there was a baby shower



for Emily and Rachel



with lots of friends and family



and great food



and great dessert



and a bubble toast



and leftovers for the afterparty stragglers (we ate almost all the tiny sammiches)



a fine time was had by all!

Halloweek comes to a close.

I had intended to find a pilot costume this week, and then wear it to work today and talk to everyone, co-worker and customer alike, through the phone intercom system.

"Ladies & Gentlemen, from the flight deck..."

However, trying to locate a specific costume, without really trying, the week of Halloween is tricky. This morning on my way to work, while buying MORE Halloween candy, I found this gem for 99¢.



Unfortunately it was harder to wear at work, so I spent most of the day like this...



...BUT once I got home I completed the look in order to hand out the candybeans!



Cheap, but oh so effective! Kids of certain age and most parents appreciated the effort, but there were kid comments including "That's just a guy!", "He's just in a mask!", and my personal favorite, "That's just Frankenstein!", like the Creature is just her cousin or something. Poor jaded youth of today.

Have you met my lovely wife?



We had quite a few visitors, some of questionable age for trick or treating in our opinions, but everyone seemed to be having a good time, and we got rid of all our candy! Not really a goal, but I like it when there are that many kids out for Halloween. We did not see this costume represented, unfortunately...



I'm not sure if the two babies pictured represent the size "range" that this costume will fit, or if there is some sort of Good Vader/Bad Vader choice to make. "Just for once, let me look on you with my BABY EYES!"

Speaking of spooky, there was a tricky frost face on my Subaru this morning.



One definite eye, one sorta eye, and a pretty definite nose.

On an unrelated note, other than the fact that it's gonna be a treat, I finally tracked down a bottle of Lillet Blanc, in order to properly make Vesper martinis.



I had previously forgotten the origin story that I had heard, which involves James Bond inventing the drink. I just thought they were damn tasty.

And on that note, having enjoyed a Dogfish Punkin' beer, the candy gone, we salute you Halloween, and send you back to the grave for another year.