I keep forgetting to post a recipe for one of my favorite soups - pappa al pomodoro, or tomato bread soup. I had a delicious bowl in Tuscany, very thick, topped with a generous drizzle of olive oil. Last weekend a craving popped up, as cravings tend to do, and I went digging for my recipe. Which I couldn't find. But that's what Google is for, and in no time I had a pot simmering away. It's a great way to use lots of garden-fresh tomatoes, but short of possessing those, it's terrific made with canned tomatoes too. (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

So, Bizarre Foods night at the Twins' game last night was a blast (other than the Twins lost). We didn't eat anything more unusual than kettle corn (Nathan loves it, for good reason, it's freshly popped and pretty incredible, recipe here) and a hot dog. No complaints! We sat by lots of nice people (Andrew Z, his adorable son Noah, Noah's adorable friend Sophie, Sophie's very nice dad, and Andrew's very nice in-laws) and one crazy dude (not part of the Bizarre Foods group, although he was certainly bizarre). Noah and Sophie went home the color of Smurfs, thanks to blue (!) snow cones. Nathan and I went home slightly blue ourselves, thanks to playing with Noah and Sophie. All in all, a Smurfy-fun night!

Moderate it: tomato bread soup can be over-the-top rich, or not rich at all, depending upon how much olive oil you use. I started with a little less than the recipe called for, and decided it was completely delicious without more drizzled on top. You decide.

Mom and I headed over to the Farmer's Market early this morning and cashed in on lots of tasties. First off, a grilled brat for breakfast, smothered in sauteed peppers and onions, topped with kraut, relish, and mustard. With a beer, I would have been ready for a Badger football game! But no, instead we grabbed coffee and roamed the veggie stands, scoring sweet corn (first of the season for me), tomatoes, green beans, raspberries, potatoes, and radishes. We took a pass on the giant iced cinnamon rolls, but oh boy did they look and smell temptingly, stickily scrumptious.

I came home, pooled my treasure with booty from Thursday's CSA veggie share, and out of the bounty made myself one helluva vegetarian feast for lunch. I roasted myself an ear of corn - rarrr - then sauteed tofu with thin slices of garlic, onions, and jalapeno. I tossed pieces of summer squash, red onion, and red bell pepper with a bit of olive oil, salt, and minced fresh herbs, then skewered it all and grilled until soft and charred. And then, The Kill, I boiled a few fingerling potatoes (tiny ones, more like thumblings, or even toelings, ha) and ate them tossed with a smidge of butter and sprinkle of Kosher salt. They were creamy and just a bit sweet (I personally don't like uber-sweet new potatoes), very potato-y, and absolutely delicious. I will most certainly be looking for those babies again.

Tonight we're heading to the Twins game for Bizarre Foods night at the Dome. Rumor has it AZ is offering Bizarre Foods-inspired tasties...I'll fill you in on any adventurous details later.

Enjoy your Sunny Saturday!

Moderate it: it's pretty hard to go wrong with food from the Farmer's Market - fresh, just-picked vegetables and fruits and locally-raised meats. Real food. Good food. Real, good-for-you food. I dig it.

Andrew Zimmern wrote a great piece on his Chow & Again blog this week about one of my favorite chefs, Doug Flicker. I don't actually know him (Stacey used to work for him), but Doug used to run lovely Auriga (now closed, sniff) and the food I had there...it blew me away. His was the first truly creative, insanely fresh foodie-food I tasted in Minneapolis, and I will never forget it. Plus, Auriga is where I had my first (blind) date with John, so it forever has a special place in my heart. As much as I love on Lucia's, we'd go to Auriga for our pre-SATC movie date today if it were still there. The rave on AZ's blog is that Doug is leaving Mission American (his post-Auriga gig) - can't wait to see where he lands.

And oh, while I'm mentioning AZ, if you haven't seen Bizarre Foods - Russia yet, you should. We watched it last night and it is spectacular. The scenery is breathtaking (St. Petersburg, wow) and the food is gorgeous - I irritatingly fell asleep with my mouth watering and stomach growling (we watched at bedtime). The killer is a scene where Andrew is downing the freshest of the fresh Russian caviars, with warm blini (basically crepes), rich Russian sour cream, and hard-cooked egg... Lord, help me. I can't believe I didn't dream about caviar - although I'm thinking about it plenty this morning, obviously. Which is too bad, because there is none on the horizon (the pic, above, is from this past Christmas). Shucks.

OK! In other reality-based, non-caviar musings, check out this slideshow on the eight foods you should be eating every day. Not too difficult when you think about it - spinach salad with carrots... Quick black bean soup garnished with tomatoes... Yogurt with toasted oatmeal, walnuts, and blueberries... A little inspiration for healthy, colorful, delicious eating over the weekend. Enjoy yours!

Moderate it: you know the cool things about a diet that includes the eight foods above? It pretty much moderates itself. Thank you, vegetables...

Ahhh, Happy Mother's Day! I hope you're all enjoying a lovely day! I sure am - John's doing the dishes from last night's dinner party - now that's a gift. (As you can see in the pic, we put a fair amount of tableware through its paces.)

So, last night's dinner menu (recipes posted in comments, below). I leaned pretty heavily on one of my favorite cookbooks, Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin. The book is broken down into seasonal menus, eight/season - I didn't follow any one menu to the letter, but pulled favorite little gems from here and there, all spring-y, all tasty. Stu and Rudy brought fabulous wines to taste and share, also listed below.

Swiss Chard Tart with Goat Cheese, Currants, and Pine Nuts
Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Champagne, Reims (France)
Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc 2006, Sonoma County
McGrath Farms' Watercress Soup with Gentleman's Relish Toast
Adrian Fog Pinot Noir 2003, Anderson Valley, Savoy Vineyard (brought by Stu)
Chambolle-Musigny Clos du Village Monopole 1999, Domaine Antonin Guyon, Cote d'Or (France;
brought by Rudy)
Grilled Lamb Chops with Garlic & Herbs (my recipe)
Artichoke-Potato Hash with Black Olive Aioli (because there were no artichokes available at Byerly's - very odd - we instead had Asparagus-Morel-Potato Hash, worked quite nicely)
Faiveley Echezeaux Grand Cru 1992, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Cote d'Or (France; brought by Rudy)
Cain Five 2003, Napa Valley
Buttermilk Lemon Tart (the almond crust is via Sunday Suppers, from the cherry tart recipe; lemon filling is mine)

Despite being pretty wiped out from his birthday party the night before, Nathan was able to join us for (most of) dinner (he's a BIG fan of Bizarre Foods). Man, it was great to finally pull this party together, I'm kinda bummed that it's over. We've had good intentions, but getting Zim and Rudy in the same room, in the same city, at the same time, is a bit of a challenge - how crazy we pulled it off twice in one week! I particularly had a blast cooking all day, I don't get to do that very often these busy days. The only thing that could have made the day better was a lot less rain, and just a bit of warmth, for appetizers on the deck. But whatevs, we have all summer for outside fun (listen to me, so nonchalant about summer, ha), and having everyone in the kitchen with me while I cook is pretty damn sweet.

Today, leftovers baby! Already had some soup for lunch, nice. Perhaps a bite of a lamb chop in a bit. Dinner tonight a la Lucia's, with Mom and Stacey, to celebrate Mother's Day (natch) and Stacey's Birthday - Happy Belated Birthday Stacey Pooh (here with Cooper; I know she's having a Happy Mother's Day, ha.)

Moderate it: Stace, you may feel older, but you're never as old as me. After party - enjoy the party leftovers! It's too much work for just one meal - just be ready to pare back to normal. Er, tomorrow.

OK, here's the deal. It's just about midnight (which makes it Sunday, Mother's Day, Happy Such to all you Madres out there)... I got oh, about five hours of sleep last night due to Nathan's Boy Soup birthday sleepover... I have a cold... I just spent the entire day prepping a three-course dinner for nine (John & moi, Nathan, Rishia & Andrew Zimmern, Rudy Maxa & Ana Scofield, and Debbie & Stu The Wine Genius Williams)... Aaaaand I therefore have pretty much no right to be sitting here on the computer writing about said (fun!) exertions. That said, a quick overview of this weekend's kitchen kitsches (menu/recipes to follow tomorrow; er, make that later today):

• I love watercress soup.
  
• If your grill isn't firing perfectly evenly, monitor your lovely lamb chops carefully. (Smoke=fire, well, always.)
  
• If Stu Williams and Rudy Maxa bring wine to your dinner, drink it.
  
• Potatoes taste good with almost anything.
• Dinner by candlelight and flowers tastes better.
• Grilling meat in high heels rather sucks.
• Drinking champagne in high heels rather rocks.
• I must go to bed.

And with that, having experienced a lovely night, I bid you a fond farewell (of the goodnight variety). Sleep tight....

Moderate it: if you cook in heels - and who doesn't? - I suggest a bit of a platform sole. Easier on the ball of the foot; plus, a wider heel is more stable. Especially when grilling on a rainy, slippery deck.

Well, tonight's the big night, Bizarre Foods - Minnesota! I'm very curious to see how our meal at Heartland, with Andrew and our friend Aaron Mack, plays! Yeah, we ate various and sundry parts, but it was all so deliciously and attractively prepared that it was easy to dig in. Chef Lenny Russo certainly deserves the attention - he's a nice man, terrific chef, and has been preparing locally-sourced, best-quality ingredients for years. And Zim and Aaron are charming dinner guests, even off camera (ha). So here we go, wheeeee! Tune in and let me know what you think - Travel Channel 9 pm CST/10 pm EST. For Andrew's thoughts on the episode, check out his Bizzare Foods blog.

Pretty low-key on the food front since my return from San Fran. My usual post-trip, post-indulgence, de-puff plan - lots of hot tea and plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit. That means no brains, tongue, or wild boar balls, just a simple souffle for dinner last night (a peek in the pre-grocery-shop fridge revealed a few eggs and a small piece of gruyere), to which I added plenty of tender-crisp broccoli and mushrooms (luckily in pretty good shape in the crisper; funny how John hadn't dug into them while I was away...). I'm also still enjoying the pot of navy beans I simmered yesterday - tonight I made a simple "white" chili with chicken to ladle over them. Spicy, with a hint of cream, nicely hit the spot on yes, another cold day in Minnesota.

Yeah, yeah, dullsville, sorry - but even Andrew has to come home from trips and just eat a salad once in awhile, you know?

Didn't even come close to posting again yesterday, ah well. Even an exhibitionist like me has to hole up for a bit! Not to mention, it's been a mite crazy around here these days, what with being away and having house guests and such. And Nathan and I are outta here again on Wednesday, this time to San Francisco, just the two of us. Way to over-schedule?! But what the heck, it's been a long winter, spring is coming, and we can't wait to fly the coop - yet again!

Speaking of Coop...my nephew Cooper's 2nd birthday party yesterday was hilarious. Cooperstar, in his bow-tie, preppy J. Crew pants, and red Chuck Taylors, completely stole the show. He was the calmest, chillest kid in a group of, well, utter wildness. Screaming, jumping, laughing, crying kids, all under the age of 5, having the time of their lives...as my sister Etta said, Teenage Birth Control, oh yeah. Great to watch Cooper Coolness handle it all with aplomb, have my family all in one spot, eat killer chocolate birthday cake with buttercream icing, and watch Coop's face while everyone sang Happy Birthday. Awwww, Cooper...priceless! And great job Mommy Stace and Daddy Bowen!

Speaking of cute, beyond-hip kids - check out this YouTube video of my friend Maud's nephews getting their first skateboards. (Their dad is having a pretty sweet time too...) Beautifully shot, it's the essence of "kid" and will leave you smiling. And wishing you lived in California, sigh.

So...Mexico! Playa del Carmen, at the Fairmont Mayakoba, absolutely spectacular. Michelle and I had smooth-like-buttah flights (she from NYC), arriving at the same time. Since this was a work award trip for her, we had cocktail parties to attend most nights, but they were lovely and fun. Beyond that, we were totally on our own. Of course we hit the guacamole and margaritas immediamente - every bit as fabulous as I had anticipated, if not better, especially while over-looking white sand and the turquoise-blue Caribbean, ahhh. As we kept saying, This Does Not Suck!

Our first full day, Thursday, we actually motivated for an activity - riding ATVs! What a dorky BLAST. We rode through the jungle, and alongside the beach, with stops to explore a cave, dip our toes into a crystal clear, freshwater oasis-pond, and splash in the ocean a bit. It was a pretty physical experience - we bumped and jerked over rocks and roots, and through twisty-turny brush. I've never been on an ATV before and I've concluded it's not something I need to do every day, ha - they are hot, very loud, and scarily powerful. But for a one-day adventure, I loved it.

After that, we were all spa and beach, baby. Lunches beachside every day - to me, my very favorite part of the trip. We couldn't get enough of the tomatillo gazpacho, spicy shrimp cocktail, or crab tostadas, rarrr... In fact, the food and scenery on the resort were so excellent and varied that we hardly needed to leave! But we did venture into Playa del Carmen for dinner Friday night. Strolling the festive cobblestone downtown and enjoying an incredible Maya-cuisine meal at Yaxche were definitely highlights, lovely. We shared several plates including shrimp, turkey, vegetable, and black bean dishes, seasoned with achiote, epazote, banana leaves, and bitter orange, among other Mexican/Caribbean flavors. Beyond delicious (and filling)! Definitely check out the restaurant's website, they post simple, lovely recipes.

Saturday night, our last night, we had dinner on the resort, at the seaside Las Brisas. We opted for the tasting menu, paired with Mexican wines, and it was truly spectacular. Michelle and I giggled like school girls through pillowy goat cheese gnocchi in a pool of English pea cream, as well as bites of butter-tender braised short rib, served with adobo sauce, baby vegetables, and a teeny-tiny plantain gratin. With such beautiful food and gracious service, we felt like HRHs Michelle and Stephanie, Princesses of the Caribbean.

Just in time to head back to winter, sigh. Although I have to say, as usual, I'm really glad to be home. The heat + humidity + salty food + margaritas = Swollen Stephanie, seriously, I swelled up like a balloon. I've never experienced anything like it, even while pregnant! Ugh, it felt awful, awful. In my first two days home, I shed more than 10 pounds of water weight, despite entertaining and eating far afield of my usual diet. Turns out I'm not very well cut out for the Caribbean - I can't take the sun, heat, or humidity. But I had an amazing time anyhow, seeing color, smelling flowers and salty air, feeling warmth. It was just what I needed to cure my winter blues and take the edge off my inner-bitch. (Although, like Michelle, it's never too far away - we raised many toasts to the pleasures and benefits of being Occasional Bitches - cheers!) Ah, thank you so very, very much, my dear Mich!

And oh! Speaking of travel, one more YouTube video to check out, our friend Rudy Maxa waxing eloquent on his years of travel adventures and his recent work filming his new TV series, Rudy Maxa's World. (And check out how gorgeous and chic Ana is looking in St. Petersburg!)

And oh again! Speaking of friends and their TV series (I'm starting to feel like everyone we know has a TV series! Who's next, Suz?), John and I will be appearing on Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods - Minnesota episode next Tuesday, March 25, 10 pm ET (9 pm CST). Filmed this past September, in part at Chef Lenny Russo's Heartland Restaurant in St. Paul, we're pretty excited to see how it all turned out! Did John and I make nothing but the cutting room floor? You (and we!) will have to tune in to find out... If nothing else, it will be hilarious to see Zim hold court at the State Fair (with his adorable three-year-old son, Noah?!) and sample lutefisk "up north" (check out some preview photos, here).

An even better treat than going to a restaurant for dinner is heading to someone's home for dinner. Granted, I'm shockingly blessed with friends and family who are not just good cooks, but great cooks. (Thank you, Food Gods!) Seriously - some of the best tastes I've ever savored have been courtesy of none other than my parents, grandma, and aunts, not to mention in-laws and friends. Veal scallops a la danoise (my father-in-law), roasted goose with cabbage, lardons, and whipped potatoes (Dad & Susanna), fresh lemon-coconut cake (Suz), grilled tuna on Georgica Beach (Bartley), guacamole on Georgica Beach (Maud), grilled leg of lamb (Carol), Christmas prime rib roast (aunt Mary), apple pie (aunt Marge), crispy homemade pizzas (Kathie), Greek salad (Mary P), spanikopita (Mary P's mother-in-law), almond puff pastry (Mom), braised lamb (Stu & Debbie), heirloom tomato salad (Rudy & Ana), oyster stew (Andrew), fried fresh walleye with garden green beans (Grandma & Grandpa Meyer), Schaum torte (Polly), oven-roasted potatoes (Harry)... Oh my goodness, I could go on and on and on. It's unbelievable, really. From the simplest to the most involved, all completely memorable. So there you go, proof that I remember fondly damn near everything I've ever eaten. (Curse or blessing? Not sure...) Hey, if I am what I eat, I'm so jamming! As well as French, Greek, Mexican, Italian, Danish, German, British... NICE!

Also nice? In fact, where I'm going with all of this? (Sorry, I tend to get a little carried away with my reminiscing...) We're going to Suz & Cory's for dinner tonight - yays! For raclette - melted cheese served with all sorts of tasty Frenchy/Swissy accoutrements: potatoes, ham, pickles, vegetables. Little wine, little chat, little checking out Planet Earth in high def (The Coreman, like The Batman, has all the best toys). Aaaaahhh, Total Tasty Relaxation. Thank you in advance Shuberts! Wheee!

I'll hope for you that you're lucky enough to be heading to someone's home for dinner tonight too. If not, whip up a little somethin' somethin' for yourself (perhaps a simple pasta with broccolini with a nice glass of red) and...well...pretend? (Actually, it works, I do it all the time!)

Holy Storm, Batman! Whoa, whoa, whoa. What a night! First, let me explain why I was foolishly driving around in what basically amounted to a pre-tornado. My Bizarre (Foods) friend Andrew Zimmern invited John and me, as well as our friends Aaron and Carol Mack (although only Aaron could make it), to join him this evening at Chef Lenny Russo's Heartland Contemporary Midwestern Restaurant to tape a segment for his Travel Channel series, Bizarre Foods. Zim's been taping all around Minnesota recently, landing at Heartland this evening, and I was (am!) so excited to be a part of his amazing show! (Won't air until April - but believe me, I'll be pushing the date when the time comes!)

Let me back up a bit. Not being an experienced TV personality (HA), I was a bit nervous about the whole thing (those of you who heard me horrifically giggle my way through a brief interview on Andrew's Chowhounds radio show a few years back will not be surprised). I watched the weather anxiously, not worried about whether it would hamper my ability to get over to St. Paul (which is what I should have been worrying about), but whether the foretold rain would cause my hair to frizz/over-curl. (Good to know I had/have my priorities straight, urgh...) But as the storm forecasts rolled in, I did start to worry about leaving Nathan home alone for even a minute, given how the weather could hold up his dad (who was picking him up) in traffic.

So, after much weather-monitoring, hair-fixing, and consultation, Nathan and I set out to meet his dad part-way between our house and his, to hopefully pare their travel time a bit, eliminate any time alone time for Nathan, and to put me on a less congested route over to St. Paul. We ended up sitting on Highway 100 near 394 witnessing one of the more spectacular - and truly scary - storms I have ever seen in my life. I was actually grateful that we were in parking-lot traffic...no pressure to try to drive in blinding lightning, rain, and hail. We watched black wall-clouds move in, and road-litter begin to swirl eerily around us (shiver), before the heavens broke open and wind rocked over us, gusting rain and hail over the cars like a car-commercial demonstration of aerodynamic engineering. Whoooooooooosh. It was more-than-slightly unreal. Eeek.

We finally made our way to meeting up with Nathan's dad, and when they were safely off, I turned toward St. Paul, already almost-late for our filming at Heartland. I wound my way through downtown Minneapolis, then across I-94 and into the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul, all the while feeling my way through torrential downpours and flooded streets. I pulled up across from Heartland, scoped the street-turned-river, and realized I was going in barefoot, baby, no reason to put shoes into that current. So, handbag, camera, and shoes in hand, as well as umbrella overhead, I made a barefoot run for it. And heaved into the restaurant to find a camera waiting for me in the entryway, as well as John, Andrew, and Aaron already merrily eating, a delicious glass of crispy white wine at my place, and pats of Hope Creamery sweet- and snowy-white goat-butters, just calling my name (into which I immediately stuck my finger - oh, how I love Hope Creamery butter!). Ahhhh, and just like that, I was fine, happy, happy.

From there, all I can say is that I had an amazing meal. Wow. Andrew did his thing (very fun to watch), we all ate lots of bizarre (!), delicious tasties (tune into the show, in April, to see/hear the specifics), had our usual lively chat, I strangely didn't feel nervous at all, and it was an absolute blast. Chef Lenny Russo is a lovely and talented man, deeply committed to his mission of serving the best of locally sourced ingredients, beautifully prepared. And what a result, truly scrumptious. Quite a meal, my friends, unforgettable! What a crazy night! Whew! I'm glad to be home, pleasantly (but not overly) full, gratefully dry, and SAFE. Thanks to the Chef and his talented staff, and to his wife for the lovely wine...bon nuit!

Perfect, we had a perfect dinner at Restaurant Alma last night. Cozy, fun, delicious. I love a restaurant that serves high-quality, beautifully-prepared food in appropriate (!) portions, so you walk out feeling fantastic, not stuffed, not ill. I love that about Lucia's, and now I love it about Alma.

I opened with a small celery root souffle, browned and puffy, with a hint of curry, fantastic. I followed with rigatoni with fennel sausage, chewy and spicy and positively lusty, I damn near licked the bowl clean, ha. I even splurged on dessert, an adorable little cupcake topped with lime curd and a flirty, swirly meringue, alongside a decadent crumble of a buttery coconut (!) cookie studded with whole, toasted, sugar almonds with a dollop of whipped cream. Yeah. The crunchy-meringuey-cakey-buttery-tart-creamy combo was absolutely delightful, it's not easy to hit all those notes on one plate. But zing ca-ching! It so worked. Could have licked that plate clean too. A lovely meal, no misses for me.

And oh yes, the company! Spot on, as always, when we get together with Ana & Rudy and Debbie & Stu. We sure do have a hell of a good time together! Ana & Rudy just had dinner in Las Vegas with our friends Andrew & Rishia Zimmern. Rudy joked about Andrew stealing the spotlight (people recognizing him from his Bizarre Foods show on the Travel Channel), since it's usually Rudy people are recognizing (from his Smart Travels show on PBS). (I joked that the only person anyone recognizes from my little ol' blog is Cooper Cuteness! Totally true!)

And oh yes, the wine! Lovely, as always, when we get together with Ana & Rudy and Debbie & Stu. Burgundies from Rudy's cellar were the star last night. Incredible. Our friends share amazing wines with us, we are very, very lucky.

So, another blast with Team Napa. Nice (NICE!) way to start the week, I'd say. Left me a little confused about what day it was when I woke up this morning, but I'm not complaining. Let it rain. Let it be Tuesday. Let it be time to fold some laundry and eat boring things like oatmeal. I'm still riding the wave from last night and I'm feeling fiiiine.

My office is clean. I'm roasting a chicken (again). John and I had a gorgeous Date Day brunch at La La Lucia's. Life is goooood, my friends, at least right now, ha.

That brunch, that scrumptious brunchious (or something), just unbeatable. Today we sipped mimosas and nibbled on popovers, frittata (their version is more like crustless quiche than the traditional omelet and that's just fine, it's lovely), crispy oven roasted potatoes dipped in sour cream, and lots of coffee. I hardly knew what to bite or sip, all good, all good.

Same goes for last night, by the way, dinner with Andrew & Rishia Zimmern at Harry's Food & Cocktails, in the now-hoppin' riverfront 'hood in the shadow of the new Guthrie. No Chef Steven Brown in the house (darn, he's amazing) but plenty of tasties nonetheless. Rich, rich gastropub (AZ's term) fare, I kinda sorta rolled out of there. We shared a whole mess o'things... A lovely chicken liver amuse bouche. Then bites of salt-n-pepper shrimps, beef short ribs, crispy pork belly with lentils, mussels & frites, burger, walleye sandwich (with avocado & radishes, nice), green goddess salad, BLT, banana cream pie. Uh, yeah, no wonder I was stuffed, uff. Fun though! Some hits, some misses - I'd really like to go back when Steven Brown is in the kitchen. Skip the BLT, but try the plump mussels, fat burger, crispy walleye sandwich, or creamy pie.

And tonight, as I said, back to roasted chicken. It was just so damn good, we had to give it another go. In fact, I'm roasting two this go-round, since Nathan is here for din, and hopefully we'll have some leftovers for sandwich fixin's tomorrow. Nothing like a chicken sandwich washed down with a cold beer on a Sunday afternoon, huh? Sweet. Salty. Sweeet.

Oy. Distant memories, these good times... I have been sick, my friends. The nausea started on Sunday and finally released me from its stomach roiling grip this morning. (I hope!) Thank goodness I felt well for my party on Saturday night! A snowstorm AND stomach flu would have been the complete kiss of death for that party, shiver. As it was, I had to miss Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods debut party last night - NO! I am loathe to miss a party, as you may have noticed, and John said it was awesome (great for AZ, sucky for me, ha). I guess the show outtakes, which are available on the Bizarre Foods site, are absolutely hilarious. Knowing Andrew, I believe it! I didn't dare watch the show, given the state of my stomach, so perhaps I can catch up tonight. Congratulations AZ!

Toasting bread is as much cooking as I'll be doing today, ugh. Stay well out there!

Happy Birthday Stu The Wine Genius! I forgot to wish him Happy Birthday last night when he and Debbie were here for my party. They had flown in from sunny Florida earlier in the day, quickly switched mental gears into winter mode, and then set out in a snowstorm for our house. Today Stu will be ice climbing! The Williams embrace it all, most definitely - that's why they're such a blast to hang out with! (Can you say Napa, in April, with Rudy Maxa and Ana Scofield? Here we come and I. Can't. Wait!)

As was everyone who made it here last night. It takes a certain adventurous (reckless?) spirit to set out for a party in a snowstorm, so those who made it here were definitely ready for some action, namely FOOD. And plenty of food there was! (See below.) Oh, so good, there are some nice leftovers of which I will giddily partake this afternoon...yeah, baby! I probably ate 20 tuna tartare potato crisps last night, uff I was full. Totally worth it, of course! Despite my ongoing efforts to pare things down, I've thoroughly enjoyed several lovely meals and glasses of wine in the ongoing celebration of (the end of) my 40th year. (Yeah, it's been rough, ha. I should have turned 40 years ago...)

I received - get this - a Mod-Hair Ken doll, from - who else? - Kim and Suz! I've oft reminisced about my Mod-Hair Ken, with his white turtle-neck dickie, brown-n-white checked sport coat, and decal facial hair. Soooo cheesy 1970s, I loved him (and so did my Barbies, ha!). Suz and Kim, dear friends that they are, were actually listening to my dumb stories and took it upon themselves to find me a Mod-Hair Ken (yay eBay!), to craft decal facial hair when none was available (yay Suz!), and to design an evil-genius-raunchy, perfectly photo-shopped birthday card (yay Brian and Kim!) that depicted, uh, a me-Barbie in some rather uncompromising positions with said Ken. I'll let you imagine the details. If you're having a hard time, it included pom-poms and an askew dickie. Yeah. 'Nough said. (OMG, it's hilarious, totally made my, and everyone's, night.)

It was particularly cool of Andrew and Rishia Zimmern to show up, because 1) they live in St. Paul so had a nasty drive, and 2) Andrew's Bizarre Foods television series, the filming of which has had him traveling constantly the last several months, finally debuts on the Travel Channel tomorrow (Monday) night (woo hoo!) and they are swamped getting ready for the big event! Make sure to tune in!

Oh, I just have to point out how gorgeous all the girlfriends looked last night! Being the practical yet stylish Minnesotans they are, all showed up in snowboots, carrying their party shoes separately to don once in the house. Genius!

Well, I sure had a great time last night. Again thanks, my dear friends, for making my party so special! And thanks to Silver Service and the staff from Vincent's as well. Snow be damned, we had a party!