New Year's Eve...A Quiet Romantic Dinner For Two...

Sometimes my husband and I will ponder over the road that eventually landed us in the small Pennsylvania town that is now our home.  We have lived in larger more metropolitan cities where it often seemed as though there was a ton of stuff to do...more exciting and much more fun.

But we have learned to love where we are and to appreciate its nearness to Baltimore and Philadelphia and New York...close to beaches, too.

And we have learned to love its lovely yet amazing restaurants.

For the last few years we have had New Year's Eve dinner at one of our most favorite places...The Orchard.

It is owned and lovingly run by Chef Gary Trevisani...a gentle and amazing chef.  Chef Trevisani makes the most beautiful and delicious food ever.  There is not a doubt in our minds about that.  His food is delicate to look at...each presentation is totally delightful.  And each bite is such a total "to die for" moment that you literally don't want dinner to end.  That is not quite true, actually, I almost forgot about Chef Trevisani's dessert presentations. They are the ultimate end to a wonderful dinner.  We have attended a wine dinner at The Orchard that was quite fantastic.  Chef Travisani brought in a vineyard owner from a small town in Italy.  This wine maker was using vines that his grandfather had planted.  His wines were totally organic and fabulous and Chef Trevisani planned an entire course filled dinner around these various wines.  It was a wonderful experience.  I know Chef Trevisani is planning more events similar to this one and we can't wait to attend.  We learned this from chatting with Chef Trevisani on New Year's Eve.  In spite of being incredibly busy he takes time to visit with each of his diners and ask us how we are.  He even sent me home with a bag of cookies!!!

 
I can't believe I almost forgot to say that The Orchard is a BYOB...lots of restaurants here are.  So you can bring in your own martinis if you wish and a great bottle of wine.  We love this aspect of the restaurant, too.  Most of our friends ( and us, too ) acquire great wine bags...to tote our bottles to our restaurants in. 

If you are ever in our area...you should not miss dining at The Orchard.  I am making a reservation for two for this Friday night!!!

Going Bananas...In A Good Way!!!



I think I throw out about a million bananas a year.  If I don't throw them out right away...I freeze them for smoothies and then when I don't have room in the freezer for something else...I throw them out anyway.  There is almost nothing I can do with an old banana.  Birds don't eat them.  They are not pretty to look at.  And yet they sit on my counter in a pretty bowl and just sort of die there.  I really only like to eat a firm banana.  And I really only like to eat a small banana.  And also...never ever in my entire life have I ever bought just the right banana.  Monday morning found me staring at about 6 very brown looking bananas.  And it did not help to have my husband tell me that he ate one and it tasted just fine.  Ick!!!  Double ick!!!

However...today...I conquered my banana dilemma.  I made a yummy delicious looking banana cake...an easy recipe from allrecipes.

However...there are two of us and this cake looks huge...what am I going to do with all of this banana cake?

I Love Setting Goals For Other People...Especially My Husband.

 

This goal is short and sweet and simple...he will read at least one book a month or else!!!  I am referring to my husband...I will drag us up to bed early and literally prop him up in bed with his Kindle...I will nag him relentlessly until he finally finishes The Kitchen House and begins reading The Hunger Games...I will make sure his Kindle is charged at all times.  I want him to complete 12 books in 2011...that is a book a month...don't you think this is a reachable goal?  He loves to read...but always has an excuse...too tired, sports, work out...I will strap his Kindle to him if necessary,  darn it!!!  I will make him an obsessive reader...I will!!!  I will set a timer and force him to read for at least 20 minutes a day.  There is so much for him to read...how will he ever catch up to me?

Happy New Year!!!

To all of my friends and family...to new friends and old...to my amazing husband and my delightful LucyGrace...

I wish you all a wonderful and healthy and safe and  prosperous book filled 2011!!!

A Teeny Tiny Itty Bitty Book Review For Losing Faith...

My last little review for 2010...

Losing Faith could probably be best described as Realistic YA Fiction.  It is the sad story of a young girl who gets caught up in a supposedly harmless youth group at her church.  This involvement gets extreme and deadly.  The heart of the story is this young girl's sister...Brie.  She is determined to find out what really happened to her sister.  She is facing this and the sadness and despair of her parents while trying to deal with her feelings about the loss of her sister.  Brie is steadfast and determined to understand what happened to her sister and is relentless in her quest for the truth. 

Brie is not the best and kindest person before she loses her sister.  As she works through the tumultuous aftermath of this tragedy everything in her life is forever changed.  She loses old friends and gains a new friend in someone she would never have bothered with before.  The book is not at all preachy but is just an awesome accounting of one of life's tragedies and how one young girl deals with it. 

It has lots and lots of teen angst, some dark gothic characters, young love...and a bit of a surprise ending...all in all a yummy little book.  I sped through it sort of nonstop!!!