Tag Archives: food

Goodbye old friend

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We had to say goodbye to an old friend this weekend.

Now before you get out the tissues, let me say that this goodbye wasn’t a person or a beloved pet but our trusty electric popcorn popper.

Popcorn-popper-002

We had this popcorn popper for at least 15 years.  Maybe more.  We tried microwave popcorn but it always burned in our microwave.  Literally caught fire.  Twice.  I learned my lesson.

This wonderful popcorn popper had a rod that stirred the popcorn so it didn’t burn.  It made wonderful popcorn.  Until Saturday night.

The rod was stirring but there was no heat.  Popcorn doesn’t pop without heat.

Fortunately I had another hand-crank popper as a back-up.  The Whirley Pop.

Whirley-Pop

Yes, ours is red.  I have a thing for red.  I bought this several years ago to make kettle corn and it saved the day, or night.  We still had freshly made, hot, buttery popcorn to eat while we watched a movie Saturday night.  Mr. Aitch and I thought it was the BEST popcorn we’ve had in a long time.

And it’s completely submersible.

Sorry Stir Crazy.

New Orleans – Can we come back?

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I attended a conference in New Orleans the week before the Super Bowl.

NO-sign

We had a great time though I was stuck inside most of the time.

I’ve learned in the past that I can’t concentrate on knitting on an airplane.  I managed to knit an Olive Oil Drip Catcher at the airport but that’s all the knitting I did.

And I don’t even have a photo of it!

Our hotel was on the corner of Canal and Bourbon streets.

Canal-Bourbon-signs

We were a block away from the 49er’s hotel.

49er-marriot

49er-banner

49er-mural

We saw the Mighty Mississippi.

mississippi

Walked down Bourbon Street.  Some buildings were all decked out in Mardi Gras colors.

Mardi-Gras-building

Visited the French Market in the French Quarter.

french-quarter

Saw lots of the Super Bowl hype but no players.

CBS-Jackson-Square

Super-Dome

Mr. Aitch sampled local beers.

Beer

Beads?  Yes, we got beads.  I won’t tell you how we got them.  I wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone.  =)

Beads

We ate jambalaya, crawdads, Po Boys, shrimp roumalade, hush puppies…

Bubba-Gump

Shrimp-roumaladejpg

…and of course beignets at Cafe Du Monde.

cafe-du-monde

beignets

Tank McNamara says it all:

tankm130211Beignets.  It’s worth the trip.

Wine tasting

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Mr. Aitch and I enjoy wine frequently.  We prefer reds though occasionally we’ll have white.Hullabaloo-wine-label

Last night’s dinner consisted of cheese and crackers, apple slices and cheesecake.  And a bottle of Hullabaloo Zinfandel.  This was our first experience with this vintner (Nine North Wine Co.) but we love other Zinfandels from the Lodi region of California so we had high hopes.

As my routine goes, I sniffed the bouquet first.  (For you non-wine drinkers that means I smelled the wine before I tasted it.)  I made a face.  Mr. Aitch asked what was wrong.  I told him it smelled like armpit.  Sweaty armpit.  It was just as though the smell from the weightlifter on the label and cork permeated the fermented grapes in the bottle.

Hullabaloo-wine-backjpg

Was the back label a clue?  Hurly burly!

Hullabaloo-wine-cork-and-bo

We thought it was perhaps the pairing of the food and wine that wasn’t quite right.Hullabaloo-wine-cork

But what do you pair with an armpit?

Hullabaloo-wine-002

The two best things about this bottle of wine are its cork and label.  Of course this is just my opinion.

Travel plans

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bourbon street sign 2

Mr. Aitch and I will be going to New Orleans in a few weeks and since we’ve never been there, I was hoping for some suggestions as to where we should eat, things to do and places explore.

We’re not going for the Super Bowl.  Instead I have a conference there and now that Mr. Aitch is semi-retired, he’s going with me.

Any one been there that could offer some useful tips?

Thanks in advance!