quite a collection

I took this photo for a friend after she and I had talked cookbooks and I raved about how everything I’ve ever made out of these has been fantastic.

(Can you tell I’m a little OCD and that they have to be in rainbow-order AT ALL TIMES? My mug collection is like that, too. I can’t stop myself from rearranging them each time I empty the dishwasher.)

Cookbooks that can double as decor! Genius.

Anyway, just thought I’d share. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced, into gourmet food or just good home cookin’, look no further than the Barefoot Contessa. Each one reads like a book (at least they do to me) and the wealth of information I’ve gleaned is unreal. She’s taught me how to steam potatoes, cook steak and get the chocolatey-est chocolate flavor ever. Seriously, everything I’ve learned about cooking has been from the Food Network and Ina Garten herself. She is my hero.

So, if you’re so inclined, go out and grab one for your collection today…or all eight.

Pittburgh’s Pamela’s Pancakes Party!

Say that five times fast.

Andrew and I went to Pittsburgh a couple weekends ago to visit Alex and his girlfriend, Mackenzie. Read the post here.

While there, we went to Pamela’s Diner for pancakes. It was our second time; Andrew and I went a couple years ago while we were in the city for a weekend. Pamela’s is famous for super-thin pancakes with rough, scraggle-y, crunchy edges. The crunch is seriously amazing. Below are photos from our recent trip:

I ordered mine the ‘classic’ way, which is served with strawberry slices, sour cream and a little brown sugar. The way the flavors and textures meld together is unreal.

Andrew, of course, ordered his plain. Check out those edges!

Well, the morning we were going to leave on our trip, I got my bi-weekly email from King Arthur Flour (of course I get emails from a flour company?!) and what did they feature but Pittsburgh’s Famous Pancakes! Before I even scrolled to the bottom I forwarded to Andrew with only this line: “Could they mean Pamela’s??”

Yes. Yes they did. And now I had the recipe.

So, of course we had to plan a pancake party with Alex’s parents in order to try out the recipe. Somewhere along the way, we decided to make bloody marys, too….

Cheers!!

What a fun brunch-time drink 🙂

And maple-roasted bacon…

Our pancakes certainly didn’t turn out as prettily as Pamela’s seem to…

…but we had a blast together. We picked up other ‘diner’ sides, like cottage cheese and fruit cocktail, and somehow ended the meal with vanilla ice cream (???). I’m convinced I can give the pancakes another shot, so perhaps we’ll get another taste of P-burgh soon.

BTW–Update on the frozen laundry room pipes: After our bout of freezing rain yesterday morning, all the snow disappeared and we’re well above freezing. I have the first of four loads of laundry in the washing machine right now…

BBQ in our city

Or village, rather. (Well, I don’t even know if it’s even in East Aurora, but it’s close.)

Andrew found the neatest little hole-in-the-wall barbecue place a couple weeks ago and has already gone twice. This past Thursday, he took me for lunch. (Technically, I ‘took’ him since I did the driving, but that’s neither here nor there.)

Anyway, R & R BBQ isn’t much to look at on the outside (which I think was due mostly because of all the snow), but it’s cute and clean on the inside. It reminded me of City Barbecue, a chain restaurant in Ohio, with its multiple self-serve sauces and menu.

Interestingly enough, I think they started out as a food truck and now have both the truck and a free-standing location. I’ll get more on the story soon; I’m going to write about them for the Advertiser in the next couple weeks. Score! Another lunch just a week away!

The price was right–$6 for a lunch combo–the food was excellent, and the atmosphere perfect–not too quiet and not too loud. Drinks are from a fridge and no frills, just cans of soda and bottles of water.

We both got the pulled pork sandwiches–served with coleslaw on top, just the way I like it–and seasoned fries.

OMG. Awesome. Please stay in business! Seriously. R and R, you are my new favorite place. Not that the sandwich or the fries were singly amazing or anything (they were good, even great perhaps), but rather it was the whole package: the locally-owned business, convenient location, reasonable prices, good food and comfortable atmosphere. It made having lunch with Andrew an enjoyable experience, rather than a mad-dash to get our food and finish before he had to leave again to get back to work.

Oh, and did I mention the made-on-premises desserts?

I might have inhaled my red velvet cupcake. (I’m such a sucker for red velvet.) And don’t think I’ve resigned my allegiance to Firefly; this morsel had nothing on them. Think more ‘out-of-the-box’ mix, almost too airy and light, but a delectable end to an otherwise savory meal. (Don’t tell Andrew, but I can’t wait to try their rocky road brownie!)

Ahh, at long last, a replacement for City Barbecue here in our own neck of the woods.