Food Blogger Brunch

The annual 215 Festival celebrating the written and spoken word, and focusing on Philadelphia-based writers, performers, and word connoisseurs, along with special guests from outside Philadelphia is coming up this weekend (October 2-4).

What I'd like to draw your attention to is the Food Blogger Brunch held Sunday, October 4, from 11:00am-2:00pm at National Mechanics. Jess of fries with that shake will be moderating the event and asking all sorts of nerdy questions to a panel of food bloggers while you, dear reader, enjoy brunch (event is free, but you gotta buy your own brunch/Bloody Mary), and maybe even get to throw out a question or two.

Oh, and I'm on the panel! I'd rather lick a urinal than speak publicly, so I don't know why I agreed to this, but I did. So, come on out; it may be one of the only times you'll see me speak. And, if I bugger all my answers, there are always the other talented bloggers on the panel and a kick-ass veggie burger at National Mechanics to set it all straight.

Also on the panel:

E from Foodaphilia

Drew from Meal Ticket

Collin from Phoodie

Ben from Unbreaded

Robyn from Serious Eats and The Girl Who Ate Everything

Food Bloggers Brunch
Sunday, Oct 4, 2009
11:00am – 2:00pm
at National Mechanics
22 S. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Free

Meet-up Picnic

Thanks to everyone who came out for the Philly Food Blogger Picnic in Fairmount Park! The weather was gorgeous, and the company and food were top notch as always.

Now that the event is over, I will fess up to something. As the organizer I was a little unprepared. I wanted the summer meet-up to be an outdoor event, and, you see, picnic means outdoor grilling, which means meat, and, well, I haven't eaten meat or cooked meat since I was fourteen! And at that time, the only meat dishes I had perfected in my repertoire were spaghetti with meat sauce and meat loaf.

I had a little heart attack the day after I picked up the meat from my friend's farm (also Keri's family farm). But after getting rough recipes and instructions on preparing the meat from Keri's mom (an awesome cook!), and a practice pheasant carving session with Jim, I felt more confident.

Although I didn't eat any of the meat I prepared, I heard the burgers were good and the first batch of venison kabobs were a little dry (oops, stayed on the grill too long). The pheasant didn't even get grilled since there were plenty of burgers and kabobs, which is unfortunate, but some lucky person went home with parting gifts of two whole pheasants.

A big thank you to Jim and Matt (gotta get a blog, dude, so I can link to you) for grilling. Also, thanks to Bill and Marisa for offering their grilling services.

I don't normally snap photos at these events simply because I space it, but I managed to whip out the camera for a few shots. I'm not sure who all made what. I know...bad host!
Veggie kabobs from yours truly; bacon toffee from Neal; corn, tomato, and avocado salsa/salad from Alex; peanut shrimp lettuce wraps from Patty.The cookie collection: chocolate almond cookies from Wendy; oatmeal cream pies from E. (I'm deeming her a cookie goddess); vegan chocolate and peanut butter cookies from moi; Famous Fourth St. chocolate chip cookie brought by Collin.

Any chance I get, I like to spread the gospel of Horseballs/Ladder Ball/Ladder Golf, a fun and easy game that lends itself well to parties where one hand is clutching a drink. For those who enjoyed the game, here are instructions for building your own set. Go forth and spread the gospel!

Hope to see you all at the next meet-up!

Philly Food Blogger Meet-up

Philly Food Blogger Meet-up
Sunday, August 17
Fairmount Park

We're doing it again!

If you blog, vlog, podcast, or whatever about food or drink in or around the Philly area, are not a member (you already have an invite if you are), and would like to join up and meet some of your fellow bloggers while spilling sauce on your shirt, please send your name and blog url to mac.and.cheese.review [at] gmail [dot] com.

Hop to it little bunnies; that's next weekend!

Outta Here

Just a reminder that if you're searching for the golden ticket into the upcoming Philly Food Blogger's Meet-up (deets here), I'll be off tanning my birthmark until April 13. I promise to send out info the very second I touch down on US soil. So, start queuing up!

Philly Food Blogger Meet-up

Philly Food Blogger Meet-up
Friday April 18
Art Museum Area

We're doing it again!

If you blog, vlog, podcast, or whatever about food or drink in or around the Philly area, are not already a member (you already have an invite if you are), and would like to join up and meet some of your fellow bloggers, please send your name and blog url to mac.and.cheese.review (at) gmail (dot) com.

An invite with details will follow. Please pardon slow responses to requests made the second week in April, as I'll be out of the country. So, hop to it, if you wanna be in the know!

My New Favorite Snack

I’m not really sure what I did at the last Philly food blogger potluck, thanks to running around and pouring myself stiff drinks. I do know that all the food was good, and that I almost – yes, almost – didn’t sample my favorite dish of the night.

When my boyfriend yelled across the table, “You gotta try these. They’re…uh…something like...uh…kielbasa.” (If it weren’t for the fact that my Dad reads this blog, a bad Polish sausage joke would have followed that last sentence. You can thank my Dad.) Yeah, I didn’t rush over to sample the kielbasa.

What the confused boy meant to say was patra, or maybe colocasia. Patra are Indian rolls made with colocasia leaves (elephant ears, or taro leaves), and a spicy batter.

It wasn’t until the house was almost empty, and Tushar from PhillyFoodGuys started to pack up the leftover patra he brought, that I sampled one. I was in love.

I cleaned him out, and left him with nothing to take home (this is how I usually treat men). I ate them for a midnight snack, I ate them for breakfast, and then I went to International Foods and Spices in West Philly to stock up that very day.

You can make these at home, that is, if you can find patra leaves in ethnic markets. You can, also, find patra rolls in the frozen food section of Indian markets. They’re good right out of the box, but better if you do as Tushar says. He told me to heat up some oil with whole spices, sauté the slices, and then squeeze lots of lemon on top. Top with chutney, or leave plain.

I was trying my hardest at the end of the night to take in all the info, but under social situations (bourbon) my memory is worse than an amnesiac’s. Other than star anise, I missed what spices Tushar recommended to sauté the patra with. I went with whole cardamom, whole cumin, and whole cloves because that’s what I had on hand, but I’m sure star anise, mustard seed, and coriander seed would be nice, as well.

I hope you all got/get a chance to sample these. Had I sampled them earlier, you wouldn’t have gotten a chance.

Philly Food Blogger Meet-up

Philly Food Blogger Meet-up and Potluck
Friday January 11
Near Jefferson Square Park

We're doing it again!

If you blog, vlog, podcast, or whatever about food in or around the Philly area, are not already a member (you already have an invite if you are), and would like to join up and meet some of your fellow bloggers, please send your name, blog url, and email contact to mac.and.cheese.review (at) gmail (dot) com.

An invite with details will follow. (Please pardon any slow responses, as I'll be out of town starting...now!)

If other bloggers would like to post this announcement on their blogs to cast a wider net, it would be appreciated.

Food Blogger Meet-up Success!

Wow! I can’t believe how many people made it out for the first Philly food blogger meet-up hosted by the gracious Marisa of Fork You!. It was very nice to see the faces behind the blogs. And you know what? They’re all beautiful faces with great personalities.

The food! I’m kicking myself for not taking a picture, but, admittedly, I’m a little shy about whipping my camera out around folks. Marisa snapped a photo of the table and posted it before the night was even over and the kitchen cleaned.

Messy and Picky have a photo up, too. Warning: don’t let your kids play Memory with Picky unless you want to dry their tears, ‘cause Picky’s memory is sick! He actually remembered what everyone brought and did a lovely write-up about it.

And if you like Two Fat Als' toasts with onions, peppers and blue cheese or their pumpkin blintzes (loved ‘em), go get the recipes from their site.

E of Foodaphilia made my favorite treat of the night – toffee/coconut/salty cookies (do they have a name? I should ask Picky). E even caught me unconsciously eating the cookie I was supposed to bring back to my boyfriend. I guess that makes me a cookie zombie.

I'm sure other recaps and recipes are in the works from the bloggers. Um...E, can I get the cookie recipe? [Edit: E's coconut, toffee, almond crunch cookies, Teagan's cinnamon apple cake, Jennie's pea shoots and crimson chutney wrapped in phyllo, Marisa's autumnal casserole, Picky's mozzarella and pasta salad, my boiled peanuts]

But, hey, we’re going to do it again in January after all the holiday hubbub that’s approaching is out of the way. If you’re a food blogger still lurking out there, and want to join in the deliciousness, drop me a line.

Philly Food Blogger Meet-up

Philly Food Blogger Meet-up and Potluck
Friday November 2
Center City Philadelphia

Are you a Philly food blogger? Have you ever wanted to meet other Philly food bloggers – ya’ know, in person?

A few Philly food bloggers (Foodaphilia, Fork You, Straight from the Farm, Messy and Picky, Philafoodie, yours truly, plus others) have been cooking up a meet-up and potluck to bring this group of like-minded, voracious people together.

If you consider yourself a Philly food blogger (blog, vlog, or podcast about food, restaurants, recipes, or any victuals in the Philly area), and want to meet-up for this event and future events, please send your name, blog url, and email contact to mac.and.cheese.review (at) gmail (dot) com.

An invite will follow with event details.