Food and Drink and Chefs, OH MY!

Item #36: Meet a Top Chef

[NOTE: THIS IS A LONG POST. I GUESS I HAD A LOT TO SAY]

September 14-16 there was a spectacular food and wine festival at a casino not too far from the Thisbe family.

Thisbe had been alerted to this event by PBB, who spotted a billboard while driving home. This is an abbreviated transcript of the conversation:

PBB: Hey - there is going to be a food and wine event at the Casino
Thisbe: Huh. Let me take a look at it online.....[SHRIEKING] HAROLD AND SAM WILL BE THERE! I AM PURCHASING TICKETS RIGHT NOW!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
PBB: Who the heck are Harold and Sam? Wait a sec - how much are those tickets??????

Yes, indeedy. Harold and Sam of Top Chef fame were both scheduled to attend and give cooking demonstrations. Thisbe was thrilled.

And so, with the WK appropriately stashed with babysitters, PBB & Thisbe headed to the casino. It is a bit of a drive (just over an hour), but it was a nice day, so no problem.

When we arrived there was a bit of a snafu with parking, in the sense that the Casino is enormous. Larger than a small city enormous. And we parked in a garage that was all the way on the opposite side of the casino from the event. Compounding this problem was the fact that Thisbe wore cute shoes designed for leisurely strolling through a casino for several hours, not traipsing over hill and dale to get to the thing (courtesy of lame directions from the parking attendant), so when we arrived, Thisbe was in severe pain. Fortunately, the casino staff provided band-aids and we were set.

To begin with, the magnitude of this event is difficult to describe. Basically, it is held in a ballroom the size of a football field, with tables all around the outside edge and clusters of tables at strategic places around the floor. The majority of the tables around the outside of the ballroom are manned by top restaurants, and their executive chefs, who are making all sorts of delicious appetizers. The rest of the tables are various alcohol vendors (wine, beer, spirits of all shapes and sizes).

And this is the beauty of the event: once you have paid for admission, you just go right up to any of these vendors and they will give you food or alcohol. Pretty much as much as you want. So you basically walk around eating and getting increasingly drunk for several hours.

The other part of the event is that they invite famous chefs to do demonstrations and sign books. Giada was there, Morimoto was there, and the Top Chefs - were there.

We got tickets for Harold's demonstration, and then went to wander around and eat. And lo and behold, as I was sipping wine and gazing lovingly at the Junior's Cheesecake table, I gasped out loud. Again, a transcript:

Thisbe: [In a strangled, excited, whisper]: Oh my G*D! It's Harold! HAROLD!
PBB: Who? Where?
Thisbe: [Trying to be discreet and directing with her head, hissing] Over there..
PBB: [Loudly] WHAT? That guy in the white t-shirt? Really? HIM?

Thisbe screwed up her nerve and spoke to Harold, who was pleasant and gracious and even took a picture with Thisbe. Not to be a 13 year old girl, but it was AWESOME.

We continued eating and drinking until shortly before Harold's demonstration time when we went downstairs and got in line. The people in line made Thisbe feel a lot better because they were also discussing the excitement of seeing Harold and also love Top Chef. PBB was thus deprived of one of his favorite pastimes: acting like Thisbe is a crazed fan. Sadly for PBB, Thisbe was by no means the most obsessive Top Chef fan there. People in line were having animated conversations wherein they were comparing chefs from all three seasons, discussing specific episodes and dishes that were cooked, and discussing the merits of each chef's techniques and skills. PBB was slightly alarmed.

[Note: It was at this point that rumors of Sam sightings also began.]

Harold's demonstration was great. He was just as professional and funny and pleasant as on the show, and even had his dad (and a friend?) come up and help him. He was asked many questions about Top Chef (he thinks Casey will win this season, he thinks Sam was cheated last season, he does not like Marcel), and made his ravioli dish look so easy that the WK, or our cats, could make it.

As he was finishing up, Thisbe happened to glance at the door near the back, and who should be there, but SAM!

Sam? Is gorgeous. That is one good-looking chef. And a very nice chef. After Harold's presentation, Thisbe scooted over, and was also able to get a picture with Sam. Proof of Sam's hotness is that Thisbe actually looks good in the picture too. His hotness actually extends to people standing near him!


Thisbe could go on and on about the delicious food and wine (and did I mention that Sam? Is hot?), but will not bore you all any further.

Suffice to say, an excellent time was had by all attendees. And said attendees (at least the one who was bedrunken, and therefore not driving) made many bedrunken phone calls on the way home.

Level of Difficulty: Easy to Medium (driving and parking)
Expectation vs. Experience: Fantastic!
Time to Complete: One month - I found out about it right after I put it on the list!

Cutting the ties that bind...

...or at least loosening them a bit.

Item # 37: Spend a night away from the WK

So. Thisbe did it. PBB has spent a night away from the WK, but Thisbe never has. Indeed, as PBB likes to point out, Thisbe has seen the WK every single day of her life. So it was a big deal for Thisbe to spend the night away. But it was done.

Over Labor Day Weekend, the WK spent the night with Mimi & Big Pop, and Thisbe & PBB spent the night at a bed & breakfast. Thisbe researched places in the area and found the Hobbit Hollow Farm, and booked a room.

It was lovely. On the way there, Thisbe realized that we would be passing a childhood favorite place: Beak & Skiff Apple Orchard (SHOUT OUT TO B & S! I *LOVE* YOU! CALL ME!). And so there was a side trip to pick up some fresh apples and a candy apple for Thisbe. It was truly fantastic. Thisbe would go to B & S every day if she could. Fresh apples! A cool tractor that takes you to the apple picking! Pumpkins! Apple wine! Apple Cider! Candy Apples!

Thisbe like apples. You don't grow up in Central NY and dislike apples. You'd be pretty hungry in the fall.

Then it was off to Skaneateles to walk around on a gorgeous sunny day, admire the big houses on the lake, and look at cool antiques.

We finished our day with a delicious dinner at Rosalie's (Bill Clinton likes this restaurant! So should you!) and a quiet evening at the inn, playing cards.

Hobbit Hollow Farm is a lovely little inn, overlooking the lake with a spectacular view from a hill. The room was small, but nice, with a comfy bed. The next morning we had breakfast on the porch (French toast, gourmet granola, fresh squeezed OJ, and berries). It was really excellent to sit out on the porch and look out on the lake. Very, very, relaxing.

No significant problems were had with the WK, although, Thisbe missed her very, very, much. Yes. Thisbe is a big wuss.

Level of Difficulty: Medium to hard.
Expectation vs. Experience: Very good.
Time to Complete: 16 months. The exact age of the WK.

**PS. Non WK related posts will be upcoming this week! With PICTURES!**

An unexpected boon!

Item # 7:Hear Wk say "I love you"

Admittedly, it was not with precision clarity, however, when Thisbe finished her goodnight ritual with the WK this evening (we have been doing the same goodnight "thing" for over a year now), she said to the WK, "I love you". And the WK said back "Wuv du". And smiled. And then hugged her Mommy and patted her.

PBB & I tested her by saying it again, and again, right back to us: "Wuv du".

Best. Night. Ever.

Level of Difficulty: Medium - been working on this for a few months on and off
Expectation vs. Experience: Amazing. Cannot be quantified.
Time to Complete: 15+ months (WK will be 16 months next week)

Update on Item

OK. Thisbe was traveling, so there was no update last week on weight loss.

Thisbe was also attending a wedding shower, visiting a local orchard (and its attendant menagerie of farm animals) and attending meetings.

Accomplishments during this period were that Thisbe ACTUALLY worked out while traveling. Also, Thisbe did not eat ice cream every single day, as she has in the past, or get fast food while stopping at a rest area on the Thruway.

Challenges to addition weight loss included, but were not limited to, chicken crepes, soft ice cream, and strawberry-rhubarb pie.

Indeed, it is something of a miracle that weight was not gained.

Weight loss weeks 3 & 4 = 1.5 pounds

The next item....

Item 8: Lose 10 lbs.

OK. This item is a longstanding issue. Thisbe got pregnant. Thisbe gained weight. Thisbe had a beautiful girl. Thisbe's beautiful girl did not weigh 35 lbs at birth. So Thisbe is going the "old skool" way, and exercising 3-4 times a week and has joined, sigh, Weight Watchers. Note that Thisbe did this over the winter and lost 9 lbs, but gained back 2 lbs.

For security purposes (as in, I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you) Thisbe will not reveal her starting weight or goal weight, so you will just get to hear whether there is loss, gain, or no change.

Although some clothes are fitting better, the process, is, overall, extremely frustrating. Particularly the arms. Thisbe has been working out her arms like crazy, and yet, they do not appear to be getting slimmer or trimmer, but still wiggling, ala The Sweetest Thing. WHY???????

So far, progress is as follows:

Week 1: Down 2.5 lb
Week 2: Down 1 lb

Two for the Price of One!

Ok. To kickoff Thisbe's list of 100 things, she has completed TWO items in one weekend! That's correct! And they were both a great deal of fun to complete.

Item 22: Meet Miss Sophie. As many of you know, Miss Sophie is the newest addition to the Weef family, and although she is two months old, circumstances conspired that prevented the Thisbe family from meeting her until this past weekend. And all we can say is: she is worth the hype. Indeed, Miss Sophie is charming, sophisticated, and quite a fashionista. Also, she has an incredible house, and an amazing pool.

Level of difficulty: Low
Expectation vs. Experience: Outstanding
Time to Complete: N/A

Item 23: See the King Tut Exhibit at the Franklin Institute. Because the Weef family live relatively close to Philadelphia (also the home of Thisbe's sister), Thisbe decided to complete this item by continuing the family trek to Philly and obtaining tickets to the exhibit. This item was not particularly difficult to execute, in the sense that tickets were readily available, however, navigating the exhibit had several flaws:

1) King Tut was not actually in residence. Apparently, King Tut is not allowed to leave Egypt. However, he sent a lovely hologram in his place. Along with his "liver coffinette" and several very cool urns and statutes.

2) There was a very long line to see the exhibit once you entered. Thisbe and Weef were reminded vividly of trips to Disneyworld. Without the amusing characters to distract you while on line. Unless the various strange people in line count.

3) The audiotours. Weef has an excellent description of this problem on her blog, but suffice to say, the people who elected to purchase the audiotours also elected to check their brains, resulting in a herd of cattle mentality that was not conducive to viewing the exhibit while wheeling around strollers.

Overall, the exhibit was very cool, with many fascinating funerary objects. Thisbe was particularly taken with the liver coffinette and a small chair/throne that had belonged to King Tut. It was truly amazing to thing that these objects were crafted without any modern technology.

Level of difficulty: Low
Expectation vs. Experience: Good
Time to Complete: N/A

The beginning...

OK. As those of you who read Thisbe's Knits already know, Thisbe has decided to create a list of 100 things to do.

Thisbe has had too many people in her life facing mortal illness, and has decided it is time to start doing the things she has always wanted to do. So Thisbe has created a list (see sidebar), which will shortly consist of 100 things.

Beginning soon, Thisbe is going to attempt to do at least one of these things each week. It might take a week or a month or a year to complete them, but Thisbe will chronicle the effort. Also, Thisbe will accept suggestions to add to the list, but no promises as to whether they will make it on there. In addition, as soon as an item has been completed, a new item will be added to the list. So there will always be 100 things.

Enjoy the journey with Thisbe!