Apple Tart With Almond Filling.

So sometimes I get a wild hair and actually pull a cookbook down off the shelf and make something. Then, crazy upon crazy, I actually PHOTOGRAPH the finished product, which is, after all what a food blogger is supposed to do.

And then my old fart memory kicks in and I completely forget about it. Com-PLETE-ly. Months later I pull out my camera and load pictures onto the computer and think, “Hmmm, I wonder who took those lovely photos?” Um, you did dumbass. I have no memory to speak of. I blame the entire decade of the ‘90’s. And House Music.

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Podcast: Kath Eats Real Food.

Press “play” to listen, or hit the link if you’re on an iPAD.

This week’s Blue Plate Special – did you know we have an award-winning blogger in our midst? Meet registered dietician Kath Younger, who blogs about healthy food and her life as a bakery owner at KathEats.com. Since 2006 she has chronicled just about EVERYTHING she’s eaten. Now that’s what I call a blogging superstar! Check it out at KathEats.com and stop into the Great Harvest Bakery Charlottesville and say hello. I love her easygoing style and her great ideas for healthy eating. Thanks to Kath, I never eat my oatmeal without a sprinkling of granola and a scoop of pumpkin……it’s divine!

Attention all web design gurus! Getting podcasts onto my blog has been a BEAR! Ack! <— Insert Yosemite Sam noises here. Anyone know of a good podcast widget that works with wordpress.com (not .org?) As far as I know, Podpress will not work. Anyone? Buehller? Buehller?

Chinese New Year at Peter Chang’s China Grill.

Happy Chinese New Year! Kung hei fat choi! The Hubby and I were delighted and honored to be invited to the Chinese New Year celebration FEAST at Peter Chang’s China Grill last Sunday. Approximately 50-60 fans hailing from Richmond as well as our humble ‘ville dined on heavy hor d’oeuvres, toasted The Year of the Dragon with champagne, then proceeded to devour a 6-course dinner whipped up by the great man himself.

Yep, Peter Chang was in the kitchen. I saw him with my own eyes. Even shook the man’s hand in gratitude afterward with the numbing effects of those tasty peppers still working their magic on my lips. He was all smiles, as were our hosts, Gen and Mary Lee. Telling everyone how grateful they felt for the warm welcome they’d received this past year. Trust me, the feeling is MUTUAL.

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Podcast: Cville Restaurant Week!

Press “play” to listen, or hit the link if you’re on an iPAD.

And so begins another dimension in this blogging journey o’ mine. I’ve attempted food photography, vlogging, and now podcasting. Together with The Charlottesville Podcasting Network’s Mike Bisceglia, I’ll be doing podcasts throughout the coming months on food news, restaurants, great stuff I’ve eaten, and anything else I deem worthy to lend a voice to. Many thanks to Mike on the new venture!* This week’s Blue Plate Special? Charlottesville Restaurant Week!

*I apologize for the timing, it took a little while to get the initial design set up, so this first podcast is a wee bit late : ) Also, just getting the thing on my blog has been a BEAR! Ack! <— Insert Yosemite Sam noises here. Anyone know of a good podcast widget that works with wordpress.com (not .org?) As far as I know, Podpress will not work. Anyone? Buehller? Buehller?

Diner Love.

I adore diners. The formica. The red vinyl. The Edward Hopper dreariness of a cup of coffee on a rainy night at 2am in the big city. The chicken-fried steak. The rotating pie case full of dreams. “Diner Love” is a weekly feature showcasing my worship of all things chrome. Have your own diner love to share? Email me. Let the gravy flow like a torrential rain of fat-laden heaven!

For my first post I’ll start simple – my “Diner Love” Pinterest board. As you can see it’s small, and has diverged into cool signage territory. Sigh. To me it’s all the same. Astro-spacelike lines, neon, turquoise and orange. It all screams diner to me. I’m a Pinterest addict trust me. Check back in a week and the pins will number in the hundreds. Promise :)

WTF Pinterest?

After a long hiatus, we welcome back “Scarier Than Spider Hair” a semi-regular posting where I present something culinary that *might* just have you saying, “WTF?” Yep, it’s even scarier than spider hair.

Like many, I am totally addicted to PINTEREST. A new social website where people (mostly women) spend hours “pinning” web images to virtual pinboards in the hopes to somehow get inspired to cook, redecorate their house, revamp their image, write a book, lose weight, or tick off a list of all the places they must go and things they must do before they die. It’s a complete time suck. Don’t go there. Seriously.

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