Al fornos OMG good

Octopus salad and fennel root

Famous grilled pizza

baked pasta

pear walnut tart...

If you have never been to Providence and/or never have dined at Al Forno's these photos will show you what you've been missing....  www.alforno.com

Sunday Brunch

For those of you who follow my blog, you already know that Armsby Abbey is my favorite new dining destination in Central Ma. In fact, as far as belgian beers and comfort food goes, I would say it is one of the best places I've eaten in New England. Although I'm going to be in NYC this weekend, if any of you are in the Worcester area - you should check out their Saturday/ Sunday brunch. It is to die for.

Above, you can see their Belgian Sugar Waffle - made to order with Ommegang Abbey Ale (Cooperstown,NY) topped with Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Cortland Apples from Tougas Farm (Northboro, MA) topped with Homemade cinnamon Whipped Cream and to the right, the Corned Beef Hash Calzone - Housemade Corned Local Grass fed Beef Hash with Red and Yellow Peppers, Sweet Empire Onions, Red Potato, Vermont Cheddar and local eggs from Gibson's Dairy Farm (Worcester, MA) finished with a drizzle of our Housemade Hollandaise Sauce.

Their food is OMGood! If you're out of town, you should visit - I'll take you! :) 

What I did last weekend...

Last weekend, I helped my friend Shana with her Jute and Jackfruit Holiday Wine and Cheese/ Fashion Show in Depot Square, Lexington! It was really nice that my parents were able to come! If you are looking for any last minute holiday gifts that are eco-friendly, please check out her store by clicking here. 

on the catwalk

we coordinated our outfits (not really, but it looks like we did) 

Argyle is still going strong for 2008-09!

If you want to see more photos from the event, click here. :) 

Retired Song of the week- Week 11- Love Lockdown by Kayne West

I just love this song! :)

My Websites Debut!!!

Dear Friends,

I'm sorry for being MIA. It has been another extremely busy week - I was going to post some fun pics tonight, but the uploading function isn't working on blogspot... so the post for today will be sans multimedia. There will, however, be plenty to look at and keep you busy in this miserable cold rainy icy weather on the following websites that I am debuting. I have to give big props to www.weebly.com - who knew it could be so easy to build a website! Enjoy!

www.feliciajason.weebly.com

www.feliciaykuophotography.com

Sunday dinner!

Jason and I enjoy our rare weekends off together. Although it was not entirely a "rest" day (my dad and Jason spent the good part of the morning installing our above the oven microwave).... we did manage to work on our apartment a little (a never ending project), and cook dinner together. Tonight, we made a 1) spinach, bacon, red onion, mushroom, and feta salad, 2) chicken breast baked in a bag with mushrooms, butter, white wine and thyme, and 3) blueberry/raspberry pie... 

The spinach salad is made just like it sounds, with all the ingredients mentioned above tossed in light italian dressing. The Chicken breast is from "Happy Days with the Naked Chef" by Jamie Oliver - I can share the recipe, if people are interested. For the pie, I combined a few recipes from my google search and came up with the following....

Mixed Berry (Blueberry and Black Raspberry) Pie

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

1/2 cup white sugar

4 Tablespoons cornstarch

1 squeeze of a lemon wedge

a sprinkle of cinnamon

4 small dabs of butter (slivers)

9 inch pie crusts (2) - I used pillsbury ready made

1. Preheat oven to 375 F

2. Mix sugar and cornstarch and a large mixing bowl.

3. Combine berries - if frozen (thaw), you may want to sprinkle some cinnamon or squeeze a tiny bit of lemon juice (1-2 tbsp) for tartness. 

4. Prepare one pastry dough in the pie pan. To keep the crust from getting soggy, you may want to sprinkle some of the sugar/cornstarch mixture at the bottom of the crust before pouring in the fruit mixture.

5. Put the butter on top of the fruit filling

6. Cover with the second pie crust. 

7. If desired, brush with egg wash (1 egg, beaten with some water), and sprinkle coarse sugar on the top.

7. Cover the edges/crust part with aluminum foil - bake 30 min

8. Uncover, bake another 20-30 minutes until the pie looks golden. 

*Cooking time may vary depending on if you're using fresh (25 min) or frozen (up to 50 min)

Recipe adapted from allrecipes, Three Berry Pie

Feathers are so FAB!

This fall, I've been really into feathers and fur. It all started with Galvan-ized Headwear at the boston Ahts fest (not only did I get a feather headband, but I convinced Sarah to get one too!)...then while in Miami, at Urban outfitters, I spotted this fabulously awesome feather "fascinator". Feathers are popping up everywhere.  You can find them at arts festivals, but the best prices and variety of styles are on www.etsy.com and www.urbanoutfitters.com. 

Wear one to your next holiday party! 

Jute and Jack Fruit Holiday Party!

This is a shout out for my friend Shana Yansen who is started a wonderful smart, sustainable and chic online boutique. Devoted to offering the highest quality, eco-conscious and fair trade products available today, Jute & Jackfruit redefines what it means to be a modern boutique. Their uniquely crafted clothing, handbags and jewelry are good for you and the environment while not compromising on style!!!

She is having a Holiday Wine & Cheese party - please stop by if you're in the area!
Location: Lexington Depot, 13 Depot Square, Lexington, MA 02420 US
When: Saturday, December 6, 4:00 - 8:00 pm
Phone: 781-859-5232

Come celebrate the holidays with some wine, cheese, music and holiday cheer. Stop by anytime between 4pm - 8pm at the Depot. Guests and other friends most welcome. Catch a glimpse of our eco-fashion show at approximately 6pm showcasing our bamboo and organic cotton apparel along with candy wrapper handbags. Browse our eco-collection and holiday shop if you wish. Hope to see you there! To visit our site see www.juteandjackfruit.com. We are very excited to announce that Stellar Organics winery will be generously providing their organic and fair trade certified wines at the event. Stellar Organics will be available for sale in Massachusetts starting January 2009.

**psst! I'll be in the fashion show! :)

Retired Song of the week- Week 10- Bruises by Chairlift

Love it! This song is so catchy and sweet!

Apricot White Chocolate Chip Scones

This is probably the best scone recipe I've ever tried- courtesy of my friend and blog guru Sarahsouth. 

Apricot White Chocolate Scones

1 c dried apricots diced

1 c white chocolate chopped or white chocolate chips

3 1/2 c unbleached white flour

2 T baking powder

1/2 c unsalted butter

pinch of salt

3/4 c sugar

1 1/3 c whole milk 

2 eggs yolks beaten (optional for glazing tops)

1. Preheat oven to 400

2. Sift Flour, baking powder and salt together. mix in sugar

3 Rub butter into flour mixture with your fingers until it is crumbly like you would for pie crust. Do allow there to be some bigger pieces of butter in the dough

4. Pat out to about 3/4 thick and cut with a large biscuit cutter. (or use the mouth of a cup) 

5. If desired, brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar crystals. Place on parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Stand for 10 minutes

6. Bake at 400 for 12-15 minute or until golden.

7. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

more sports for a non-sporty girl!

Don't get me wrong, I'm an athletic girly girl - I love to dance, do yoga and aerobic kickboxing, but professional sports have always been a bit foreign to me.  Growing up, I used to sit by my big brother's side (Elbert epitomizes a Boston superfan), watching hours and hours of sports. Some of it must have sunk in, because I do feel great pride to be a Boston sports fan, and although I thought there was "half-time" in baseball the first time I went to a game, I do love my Red Sox! :)  

In the last month, Jason and taken me to the Boston Garden twice! That's more than I've ever gone in my entire preceding 29 years! And I have to say, watching sports live is a lot of fun, especially world champs, like the Celtics. I especially liked the Whoopie pie they served, one of the better ones I've had in New England. :)