Reward for Capture

Here's a list of my possessions which are currently lost. If you're feeling charitable, please cross your fingers and say a prayer that I find them *shortly*. I hear St. Anthony's a pretty good advocate for those who have misplaced things: Some of these are rapidly moving into St. Jude territory, though!

in order of disappearance:
last year's Christmas present from Pete
my phone charger
my primary set of keys
my phone

also (for the record):
my intellectual uberconfidence
my undyingly sweet and kind nature

Please be on the lookout for any or all of these!

Coleman Doesn't Disappoint

Yes, it's Barbra writing about food again. I think I'm inspired by my "bff" bottlebee's gastronomic forays. And when I told him about this meal he said, oh yeah blog *that*. Think I'll handle this one in chronological order. Since I was under the weather (and since I generally do much of the commuting to maintain the long-distance thang), my sweetie did yeoman's service to make sure I had a great birthday. He drove a two-hour-plus one-way trip, spent eight and a half hours in the fine commonwealth of Pennsylvania with me, then drove the two-plus hours back to Atlantic Highlands. And we had fun in between. We visited at the house, smushed up close during "I Am Legend" at Oaks, Pa. (3.5/5 stars -- worth seeing) and then headed to Coleman for an early birthday dinner. I've wanted to hit that establishment since it opened. It stands as part of a conference center created on the site of the old Strassburger Mansion. The developers of the Normandy Farm Conference Center, which sits at the junction of Route 202 and Morris Road in Whitpain Township, Pa., did a beautiful job finding a new purpose for the old house by incorporating it into the posh little resort property. Until recently, I didn't know a thing about Jim Coleman, the chef who oversees the restaurant (and for whom it was, not surprisingly, named). For those others who are as ignorant as I, he hosts "The Chef's Table" on Philadelphia public radio, and is committed to using organic, artisanal and farm ingredients. I just knew his restaurant looked promising from the get-go. describe room, describe meal, close it out

Preparing for the Perfect Game

Before a recent Giants home victory, we served Manila clams as the first course of our tailgate picnic in the Giants Stadium parking lot. Clams are the perfect tailgate food — just fire up the grill, throw on the clams, and they’ll be ready before the first beer is gone.

For those who don’t know: The clams are alive; keep them on ice. Don’t use any that are cracked or already open. Put them on the grill, and when the shells open up, they’re ready to eat. It helps to have forks or picks available for your guests to remove the meat. The broth may be sipped right from the shell. I like to melt butter to dip the clams in just before eating. I don’t bother to clarify the butter; I just put a teaspoonful or so into small stainless cups, one for each guest, and put them on the grill to melt the butter. My cups have plastic lids, so any leftover butter won’t spill on the way home to the dishwasher.

Small clams are the best. I like littlenecks, but they’re getting expensive. Wild Edibles had manila clams—small and sweet—for $10.99/lb. There were about 30 manila clams to the pound. A half dozen per person is good for an appetizer course.

Away in a Manger: The Martha Stewart Story

Don't know if this little kernel of information makes me like the domestic diva more. A ceramacist, you say? I've long fancied myself a chip carver and whittler, but I've never gotten so much as the basic JMJ done for the nativity scene I'd like to carve.

I'm wondering if she'll market a mass-produced version of her creche.

Next Year In Washington Crossing?

Bottlebee was on the banks of the Delaware for the annual NJ/PA Christmas tradition. I'm glad I was safe and warm inside -- although this child of Valley Forge may try to make it another year.

the ghost of Christmas greetings past