Friday bliss: smoked Gouda with bacon

The brie isn't bad either but whomever thought up bacon flavored cheese deserves a Nobel prize.

P.S. Hi there! Long time no see.

Friday bliss: perfect grilled pizza

And the 50 degree February day that made it possible.

Friday bliss: Tomato Soup with Goat Cheese

The perfect lunch on a gloomy day. Just Trader Joe's Creamy Tomato Soup doctored up with herbes de provence and chevre. So rich I almost didn't miss the grilled cheese. Almost.

Friday bliss: Awesome weather

It's been awhile since I did one of these and I've started to miss it. It's kind of nice to come up with at least one simple thing a week I can look forward to and relish. In this case, Mother Nature did all the work. That's today's temperature at about 5 pm. On Tuesday it was 17.

I just recently decided not to join my mom on her annual Florida sojourn and was starting to wonder if I would survive. Perhaps I might.

Friday bliss: Nutella chocolate chip cookies

Need I say more?



I'm just going to point you over to Culinary Concoctions by Peabody for the original recipe. I doubled it and used regular chocolate chips instead of mini. Mine spread like crazy on the pan, so I'd caution you to space them well. Delicious all the same.

Friday bliss: Lobstah rolls

From day and a half old Luke's Lobster in Penn Quarter. (The shop is a day and a half old, not the lobster. I don't think.) Lots of lobster meat, a tasty bun and an excellent way to kick of summer.

Same great taste.

New look. Whaddya think?

The pattern on the background is  courtesy of Pixelsandicecream.com , an adorable source for patterns, brushes, clip-art, etc. The main font is hilariously titled "Shit Happens", from Dafont.com and it makes me giggle. Nascent design skillz by yours truly. I'm pretty sure they're not what crashed Blogger. Pretty sure.

Oh, and for Friday Bliss: Berger Cookies! I think you can only get them in Maryland (and at only the finest gas stations). In other states calling something that is predominantly made of fudge a "cookie" is probably considered false marketing. And yes, that is a dashboard in the background. These things don't make it all the way home - gotta snap 'em while you can.



Who needs focus when you have fudge?



Happy Friday!

Friday bliss: bubble bath!

And wine, of course. And a brand spanking new magazine. I'm making the best of a dreary Friday night (Chris is working late) and giving the internet a teeny tiny glimpse of my Williamsburg blue tub. Hence, my general preference for black and white for the Peanut's bath pics.

Friday bliss: Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs

Well, duh. What's Easter with out them? 

Friday bliss: A big stack of new-to-me books

A great big pile of stories to be told. Well, the bottom two are for Chris and a few others in the stack are for the Peanut, but I finally restocked my Metro-reading supply at the Stone Ridge Academy Book Sale today. And with this federal shutdown looming, I might even get a jump on some of them.

I know I could hop on the e-reader train, but despite being a librarian I am really very hard on books. They get tossed in my work bag with empty coffee mugs. They get dropped in sand at the beach. The fall in the bathtub. In fact, I try not to borrow many books, even from the library (gasp!) because I abuse them so. And that is my dirty little secret. I hope I don't get my ALA membership revoked.

Friday bliss: Hill Country Barbecue

Today a few coworkers and I braved the ridiculous lines to try then new Hill Country Barbecue in Penn Quarter. The food was amazing, but everything else about the experience was crowded, uncoordinated and slow.

Not a whole lot made it home to be photographed - but this is cornbread with a really interesting ancho honey butter. Not pictured: out of this world mac and cheese, a rib the size of my forearm and the best smoked chicken I've probably ever had (no offense, Dad). I just hope they get the rest of their act together so that we can better enjoy our meal next time. Now I've got a hankering for some brisket.

Friday bliss: Frites and Allagash White

I met Chris for lunch at Victoria Gastro Pub today and was pleasantly surprised to find that what used to be a Bennigan's is now a pretty dang good place to eat. We started with frites fried in duck fat, topped with rosemary and truffle salt and accompanied by a draft of Allagash White Ale. The frites were pretty amazing, but the lobster grilled cheese that followed was out of this world. I'd honestly put in on par with Central's lobster burger, it was that delicious. Chris went with a boring old burger, but it was topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms, so I think he was pretty happy. We finished off with a perfectly rich chocolate cake with crushed pralines.  I was hoping it the food would be decent, but it far exceeded my expectations. Score for the suburbs!

Friday bliss: In Heat Wheat

Friday bliss: Cupcakes

I thought my random photo of Samoas last Friday was such a good way to end the week that I decided to make it a regular thing. I give you Morning Call and Peanutbutter Cup from Red Velvet Cupcakery:

It was surprisingly difficult to take a decent shot of these without it looking like the top half of a  Hustler spread.  Cupcake bakers must have dirty minds.  I certainly don't.

And with that I bid you a happy weekend!

Hello, luvahs.

"What do I want a Thin Mint for? I might as well chew a piece of gum." - Chris