Good Eats

One of the things Trevor said to me before I left was:

"You should really watch Jen cook--you can learn from her!"

*grin*

It is so true! I have yet to reach my culinary queen status (on my To Do list, naturally), but Jen is definitely reigning in her kitchen! She makes 'homemade' look easy & has a knack for turning any meal into a gourmet feast.

Though my bro Joe was the King of the Apple Fest (see post below), Jen made some seriously delicious dinners. The first one was homemade chowder (say it: chowda'--we're in Boston, people!) with homemade rolls. A couple of days later they cooked a turkey & had scrumptious vegetable sides. Later she made a homemade turkey pot pie; I thought I was in heaven! I mentioned the homemade wheat thins (post below) which were awesome & the same night we snacked on fresh, homemade guacamole while we played games.

Thank you, Jen for the delicious food. I need those recipes, I cannot believe I didn't get them while I was there.

We also went out to eat a couple of times...here are two of the out-to-eat highlights.

Let's start with The Colonial Inn in Concord, MA. The place isn't just elegant with excellent service and a mouth watering menu...it's seen three centuries of history (began in 1716)! AMAZING.
Unfortunately, my camera died right after the above photos were taken. So...no pictures of me happily eating my spinach and feta strudel--but I assure you, I was happy & it was delicious. Jen satisfied her craving for the chicken pot pie (a.maz.ing) & Joe had the pot roast (am I right?). We were all very satisfied with the meal and our eyes wandered around the place...intrigued by the years of guests & histories that create such a unique ambiance.

Our waiter was very patient with our requests (and the extra work of serving a table with 2 children--the only 2 children in the entire restaurant), and even brought Jen a recipe from the cook! The evening was fabulous!

We were even able to hear some of the more star-studded pieces of history from the tour being given to a group of wine glass toting socialites...until we were shushed out by one of the waiters (J was voicing his thoughts & opinions: Loudly). What a night!

Another spectacular restaurant experience was on our way to Newport, Rhode Island (see post below)--we stopped at a little place called Barcellos Family Restaurant in Tiverton, RI. Going to a Portuguese restaurant was top on my TO DO IN BOSTON list.

There are large pockets of Portugese culture in the Boston area--and where there are Portuguese, there is good food! This place was great and we were the only people there so the service was top notch!

Our server was Agripina. She is from the Lisbon area. She was very excited to speak Portuguese with me (and I'm sure she saw on my face my over-excitement to speak with her!). She was very friendly, loved the "two babies" & advised us on the dishes to order.

I ended up getting the Kale Soup (Caldo Verde) which was AWESOME, and the shrimp Mozambique --fabulous! We enjoyed the tastes of Portugal and I taught Ian how to say bread in Portugues: "Pao"--like cow but more nasal-y sounding. He did a great job!

Agripina asked if Jackson was born in Portugal...and then asked if I was Brazilian. The woman made my day. Obviously she could tell my accent was a little off, but to suggest that I was a native speaker just made my DAY! It was awesome.

Much thanks to Agripina for making me feel good about myself, and for excellent service at a lovely little Portuguese restaurant!