10 years of Travel

I would be lying if I said that it seemed like yesterday when my first passport arrived in the mail. It was 10 years ago. I was young and afraid. Inspired by my cousin's Semester at Sea, I decided it was time for my own abroad experience and signed up for a summer language program in Salamanca, Spain. I had no idea what was in store for me.

Now, 10 years of traveling later, I am glad I took that first brave step onto a plane - alone - because it truly changed my life. From that summer on, travel became a priority. It wasn't something I wanted to do, it was essential. I worked hard, often weekends and two jobs so that I could so all of the things I wanted to. There's never been a better way for me to spend my time or money.

Some of my favorite memories of the last 10 years include:

Ireland and England 2004 - my first real pay-for-it-myself trip and my first Guinness:

Italy 2005 - Old cities, beautiful country sides, art and the Cinque Terre:

World Cup 2006 - a crazy trip that included stops in Amsterdam, Prague, Zurich, Vienna and all around Germany:

JapanAsia 2010 - different cities in Japan, Singapore and Cambodia:

Paris 2010 - fulfilling a promise that I made to myself when I was 16 that I would be in Paris for my 30th birthday:

And, what better way to start my new passport than with a stamp right where it all started, Madrid. I am heading back to the first place I ever really loved.

Old Fashioned

There's something so wonderful about sipping on a classic cocktail. Drink recipes that are so good that they last generations.

The Old Fashioned is made with Bourbon, a potent whiskey with subtle flavors of carmel. A little simple syrup sweetens up this drink, but the main ingredient really shines through.


Old Fashioned
Serves 1

Ingredients
3 oz Bourbon
1/2 oz simple syrup
3-4 dash bitters
orange peel, to garnish

Combine all of the ingredients above, except for the orange peel, into a shaker. Stir together and pour into a rocks glass filled with ice (preferable with one large ice cube). Garnish with an orange peel and serve.


Large ice cube trays can be found here.

Lunch at Sweet Cheeks Q

Lunch at Boston's Sweet Cheeks Q.

Negroni

A Negroni is one of my favorite cocktails. It's an Italian apéritif that combines Gin, Campari and Sweet Vermouth. I call the Negroni Italian since that's where Campari is made, and the Negroni was allegedly invented in Florence. This perfectly balanced cocktail is a great choice when you're looking for something to sip on while reading a menu, or even while at home catching up on Netflix.

Negroni
serves 1

Ingredients
Gin
Campari
Sweet Vermouth
ice
orange twist

Instructions
The Negroni is equal parts Gin, Campari and Sweet Vermouth. I usually use about 1.5 oz each, depending on how large my glass is. Fill shaker with ice. Add liquors and stir or swirl the shaker until well combined. You can vigorously shake the liquors to mix them together if you want, but I prefer mine stirred. You can also serve this straight-up, but I think it is best served on the rocks.

Enjoy!

Petal & Pink Giveaway

My friend Erin is a talented jewelry designer and blogger. Her etsy shop is one of my favorite sites to shop and she inspires me to buy handmade (and local!). Some of my favorite items from her shop include the Beaded Cluster Statement Necklace, Red and Turquoise Earrings and the Green Midori Earrings. 

In the season of giving, Erin has generously offered to ease the gift shopping (or, the shopping for yourself!) of Straight Up with Olives readers by giving away a gorgeous pair of earrings, from a line which will debut in her 2012 collection. I love giving (and receiving!) hand-made, unique gifts, and earrings like this will make someone smile. 

The chic earrings are swarovski pearl (dark  purple, dark green and powder green) on sterling silver chain and earhooks. The length is 2.5 inches. Martini glass not included!

Erin has also generously offered Straight Up with Olives readers a discount code. Any orders placed between today and Thursday, December 22 that use the code "UpWithOlives" will receive a 10% discount to their order. Everyone is a winner in this giveaway!

To win these lovely earrings please comment on this post, telling me what your favorite gift to give is:

For an extra entry, you can:  

~Tweet: I want to win the @petalandpink giveaway hosted by @UpwithOlives 

~Pin a favorite item from Erin's shop to your Pinterest

~Follow @UpwithOlives on Twitter

~Follow @petalandpink on Twitter

Make sure you let me know what you did to gain extra entries!

Giveaway will end Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 11:59pm EST

Good luck!

Dinner at Garden at the Cellar

Hands down, my favorite restaurant is Garden at the Cellar. I've been there dozens of times over the past few years because their burger is my favorite. I order it almost every time I go. In fact, in all the times I've been to Garden, I've never actually ordered from the dinner menu, until now.

At dinner we started with appetizers of pork belly and duck leg confit.

The pork belly was served over an apple puree with mustard seed and bourbon. The 4-inch crispy pork belly was flavorful and indulgent.

The long-cooked duck leg confit was fall-off-the-bone tender. It was served with potatoes, walnuts, crispy haricot verts, frisee and a shallot vinaigrette. 

The special for the evening was mac & cheese which is all-time favorite of mine. And this mac was cheesy and buttery, just how I like it! It was topped with crispy croutons, which added a nice crunch. We had it as a side to accompany dinner. 

The dinner orders at the table were the steak frites and the pork tenderloin. Both were more than generous portions and cooked to perfection, at a medium-rare temperature.

Garden's fries are rosemary-truffle, thin and crispy. The steak was marinated and grilled, then sliced before being plated on a bed of squash puree and spinach.

The tenderloin was served with over spaetzle with cremini mushrooms and roasted brussel sprouts.

I always know that the quality of food and the presentation of the dishes is going to be outstanding at Garden, and I always leave happy and full. The causal, gastropub atmosphere makes it a fantastic place to meet. In fact, I often take out of town guests to Garden for dinner, and they are always impressed.

This past week Garden debuted a new menu so get there and check it out!

Brunch at Craigie on Main

Not only do I live in the greatest city in the state, but I also live a short walk from one of the best restaurants in New England, Craigie on Main.

I've been to Craigie countless times, I even have a future reservation there to celebrate my birthday, but never for brunch. I don't know if it's extreme laziness about booking a reservation, or the fear of having a Sunday morning obligation, but I always thought brunch at Craigie was out of reach.

With the warmer than usual temperatures this past Sunday we decided to head to brunch - and though we would try our luck at the Craigie bar. No seats were available, and I was ready to concede when the hostess informed us there was a table in the bar area. Victory was ours.

We started with a house blend of coffee and took our time looking over the brunch menu and watching the expert kitchen staff at work. After finishing coffee, we started our meal with cocktails and appetizers. For drinks, we chose the Bloody Mary (I'm predictable) made with spicy vegetable vodka. There were flavors of tumeric and paprika in the house-made bloody mary mix, which gave it a wonderful smoky flavor. The Clover Club, was a potent mix of Bombay, lemon, grenadine and egg white. It was expertly shaken and arrived with a frothy top and a cherry on the side.

The appetizers were house-made donut with confiture du lait and pork belly. Great on their own, outstanding together. Sticky, sweet, warm and fatty. I could have eaten a dozen of those donuts.

After the appetizers, we switched over to beer (Pretty Things and Helles Schlenkerla). My beer selection was based completely on the servers suggestion and he was spot on with this beer, I loved the smokiness and it paired very well with my burger.

Speaking of service, it was fantastic. I know from experience that brunch is the worst shift to work, but our server was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and personable, as to be expected of Tony Maws' expert staff.

 Entrees for the morning included Grass-Fed and House-Brined Corned Beef cheek and Smoke Beef Tongue Hash - with slow poached egg and crispy onions.

As well as the Local Grass-Fed Beef Burger - with cheddar, house-made mace ketchup, house-made bun and crispy fried potatoes with a fried egg.

Both dishes were flavorful and beautifully presented. The expertly poached egg on the hash was gently placed on the dish and timed perfectly, as it arrived still piping hot. Despite my many visits to Craigie, this was my first experience of the burger. Served medium-rare, on a soft house-made bun with a melted slice of cheddar, this burger was nothing short of amazing. I took my time eating it. Slowly chewing and savoring the rich meat flavor while mumbling thisissogood over and over.

There's a reason this burger was on the cover of Bon Appetit  in August 2010.

I can't say anything more about this burger than I think everyone who loves burgers needs to try it. You'll understand why.

I'm lucky to call Craigie on Main a neighborhood restaurant. It's a place to have a wonderful meal, from start to finish - check it out for brunch!

(all photos taken with an iPhone)