Fab Friday — Cooking In Stilettos Edition

February 4, 2011 By 3 Comments

Remind me to give that Punx­sutawney Phil a big kiss one day – the ground­hog has promised us an early spring and I, along with much of the North­east, would be thrilled to kick Ol’ Man Win­ter outta here and look for­ward to sun, flow­ers, cock­tails on the Bour­bon Blue deck and the promise of green grass instead of this “snert” aka dirty snow. Plus, with spring comes base­ball sea­son and, as a Phillies fan, that always makes me happy. So, again with the happy thoughts for this week’s Fab Fri­day as we spot­light some beau­ties that have us all a-twitter.

1. Brian Atwood has hit it out of the park yet again with the Maniac, this time in one of my favorite metallics – Rose Gold. Vic­to­ria Beck­ham had sent her run­way mod­els wear­ing these dur­ing her last show and when I saw the pho­tos, I about stopped in my tracks. These stilet­tos are one of my lust items for Spring ’11.

2. I tend to stick with brands I love and this Laguiole Cheese Knife Set from Anthro­polo­gie is a must for my kitchen. Func­tional and fab­u­lous! Plus, I adore the bright col­ors – more “spring-like”, no?

3. These vin­tage kitchen scales from NapaStyle are retro and would look per­fect in today’s coun­try style kitchen or in the pages of the next issue of “Where Women Cook“

4. 5 Ingre­di­ent Fix: Easy, Ele­gant, and Irre­sistible Recipes Fab Friday Cooking In Stilettos Edition by Claire Robin­son is another one of those cook­books that I won­der what I ever did with­out. The recipes are pretty sim­ple, the fla­vors are out of this world and if you aren’t watch­ing Claire Robinson’s show on Food Net­work, c’mon – you must give it a shot.

5. One place I’m super stoked to check out in Man­ayunk is The Spi­ral Book­case. I adore books and there is some­thing to be said about find­ing a gen­tly used copy of a book I haven’t read in for­ever – whether it’s a cook­book that is from way back when or a really good novel. When you are in Man­ayunk, drop in and say hello – and don’t be sur­prised if you see me millin’ about, after all, their next door neigh­bor is a local cof­fee spot – Mugshots.

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Filed Under: Bourbon Blue, Claire Robinson, Cookbook, Cool Products, Fab Friday, Fashion, Favorite Things, NapaStyle, Philly, Shopping In Stilettos Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Fab Friday — Cooking In Stilettos Edition

November 19, 2010 By 3 Comments

Seri­ously – where does the time go? I have to con­fess, out­side of cre­at­ing a fab short rib recipe this week, cook­ing and my kitchen have escaped me and next week is Thanks­giv­ing. So next week, I have a host of recipes that will have you book­mark­ing furi­ously. This week has been taken up with hol­i­day prep, the Bour­bon Blue‘s Anniver­sary (which was amaz­ing and their fall menu – oh my heav­ens – love love love!  When you have a sec, please check out And Her Lit­tle Dog Too’s great post about last night’s event), a dear friend’s 40th soiree is slated for Sat., and – if there is time – another friend from WAY back is per­form­ing in Jerz tonight. That leaves me – I guess Sun­day for kitchen exper­i­ments and tak­ing the sous pug out for his weekly “cof­fee break.” Oy! Well, then, let’s start with this week’s fab Fri­day, shall we?

1. My orig­i­nal choice for this week’s shoe ado­ra­tion on Fab Fri­day was nixed in favor of these gor­geous Eliz­a­beth & James boots. E&J is one of my absolute favorite shoe design­ers and their cost is pretty rea­son­able when you do a cost per wear and real­ize that they often are half the price of a Loubou. E&J shoes are so well made and I have a few pairs in the closet that I love.   I have seri­ous plans on get­ting these this winter.

2. I saw this Ruf­foni Cop­per Cook­ware Set and about dropped to the floor. How gor­geous but, yes, it’s pricey. How­ever, should I apply the cost per wear like I use for my shoes, let’s face it – the cop­per cook­ware will last you a life­time. Sure, you have to re-tin it in 10 years or so and I’ve worked through my para­noia of 2008 but still, that’s still well worth it for a life­time of use and some­thing to pass down to future gen­er­a­tions, no?

3. This Trousseau Apron from Anthro­polo­gie just gives off that air of ele­gance. It’s under­stated, chic and – let’s face it – who wouldn’t look amaz­ing wear­ing this.

4. The Food Net­work South Beach Wine & Food Fes­ti­val Cook­book: Recipes and Behind-the-Scenes Sto­ries from America’s Hottest Chefs Fab Friday Cooking In Stilettos Edition is going to be my fave new book to peruse this week­end. I saw a copy of it when I was at the New York City Wine & Food Fes­ti­val in Octo­ber and even though I begged and pleaded to pur­chase a copy then, I couldn’t. Dag­gone rules – but it’s out for release this week and I, for one, can’t wait to have my very own copy!

5. My friends have talked about Max Bren­ner for quite some time and he has loca­tions in not only Philadel­phia, but also New York, Las Vegas, and as far away as Israel and Sin­ga­pore.  Seri­ously, the man is global.  So, after tak­ing a look-see, I have to con­fess that this is my new Philly obses­sion.  While he is a choco­late mas­ter, it’s not only about the choco­late. Have you SEEN the menu? This is going to be on my list of go-to spots for a killer brunch. Now, excuse me while I try to rus­tle up my crew to go visit Max Bren­ner Philadelphia.

Have a GREAT week­end everyone!

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Filed Under: Aprons, Bourbon Blue, Candy Confections, Cookbook, Cookware, Fab Friday, Fashion, Philly, Shopping In Stilettos Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Fab Friday — Cooking In Stilettos Edition

August 20, 2010 By 1 Comment

Ahhh – amidst a very hec­tic week, I found some lovely things that needed a lit­tle spotlighting.

1.  Dolce Vita Joelle Lace-Up Boots.  Now, the mil­i­tary trend is hot and heavy and I’ve had my eyes on these gor­geous boots for a while now.  While you may be won­der­ing where my head is at with the mil­i­tary swing, trust me on this.  Granted the ones I want are in black but when you put a 4″ heel and a 3/4″ plat­form, this boot has my heart at pit­ter pat­ter for fall/winter.   You know me and stilet­tos – I have to have that heel height.  I’m short – it’s a must!  Plus, liv­ing in Man­ayunk means lots of snow and ice and, some­how, I think this lug sole will help me from break­ing my butt on the cobblestones.

2. Williams Sonoma is com­ing out with their fall items and this Bach­mara Ham­mered Cop­per Cous­coussier reminds me of my gor­geous Nigella Law­son stock­pot that has been a main­stay in my kitchen. The top is a steamer, the bot­tom a stock­pot. Dou­ble duty at it’s best. I love any­thing cop­per in my kitchen and this just adds to that rich look.

3. While we’re on the sub­ject of cop­per, aren’t these NapaStyle Cop­per Tum­blers gor­geous? Love Love LOVE!

4. Principessa Beauty is one of my fave lines for lotions and bath essen­tials. Their hand cream, Cat­tiva Diva, is a sta­ple both at work and at home. This Casa Col­lec­tion is a must for my kitchen to keep things gorgeous.

5.  My new fave place to have cock­tails dur­ing these sum­mer months, the new deck at the Bour­bon Blue. Granted, there’s no pic­ture of it that I could clip but let me tell you, it’s to die for. I had the plea­sure of being there for the Deck Open­ing Bash and the drinks, the food and the friends just made an evening per­fect. It’s been a long time com­ing but they say the best things are worth wait­ing for, right?  This deck – with it’s gor­geous views of the Man­ayunk canal – per­fec­tion, my friends – perfection.

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Filed Under: Bourbon Blue, Fab Friday, Fashion, Gift Ideas, NapaStyle, Nigella Lawson, Obsessed With, Philly, Williams-Sonoma Tagged With: , , , , , ,

(Another) Night At The Bourbon…

August 18, 2008 By 1 Comment
While I was in Philadel­phia last week­end, plans were made to have din­ner at one of our fave spots, Bour­bon Blue. I encoun­tered this spot first in April and it’s one of those spots that just sticks in your mem­ory. See, while the Bour­bon is great for cock­tails and catch­ing up with friends, one can’t ignore the fact that the cui­sine there is top notch. IMO, their exec­u­tive chef, Mark Ziebis, is a culi­nary wiz. My friends know that when I’m in town, that a night at the Bour­bon is on the agenda somehow.

Of course we started again with the Black­ened Chicken Que­sadil­las with the cilantro sour cream and salsa fresca. For entrees, Meowmix was pre­dictable with her favorite Parme­san & Corn­meal Encrusted Scal­lops while at the expert advice of our server, I opted for the Black­ened Tilapia with Pecan But­ter Sauce. Of course, it was futile to even TRY to resist the Espresso Mar­ti­nis that Heather whipped up nor the Blue­beri Stoli Lemon­ade that Anthony plied us with that evening. After din­ner, you must check out the down­stairs club as the DJ rocks, there’s live bands on Sat­ur­days and, as a mat­ter of course, the bar­tenders will always take care of you.

Now, I didn’t paparazzo much as I lost the pics in the Black­berry Crash heard ’round Philadel­phia (and I’m still in mourn­ing) but Meowmix was smart enough to snag a shot of not only her Scal­lops (check out that pre­sen­ta­tion) but also the Corn­bread and the infa­mous Cre­ole Butter.

BB Scallops (Another) Night At The Bourbon...Parme­san & Corn­meal Encrusted Scal­lops with Veg­etable Orzo

For the record, the last time I went, I begged, whined and pleaded with our server, Mark, to get me the recipe from the chef for their Cre­ole But­ter. Believe me when I say it was TO. DIE. FOR. Mark took heed of my whin­ing and told me 3 lit­tle ingre­di­ents. I came home and tried like mad to repli­cate it. It was close, but not quite. I hit frus­tra­tion level because while my attempt was good, it just didn’t have that za-za-zuu. In stiletto speak, it’s like want­ing Jimmy Choo and get­ting 9West. Nice but just not IT. You see my point? And y’all know I refuse to settle.

Well, this time I was deter­mined that if I had to bribe a sen­a­tor to get that recipe, I would. Thank­fully, the pow­ers that be at the Bour­bon took pity on a gal and kindly relin­quished the hold on this recipe. We’ll call it an early birth­day present.

Many thanks to the crew at the Bour­bon Blue for their fab­u­lous ser­vice and always lookin’ out. If you are headed out the Philadel­phia way, check them out at 2 Rec­tor Street, Man­ayunk, PA 19127; (215) 508‑3360; www.bourbonblue.com

BB Butter (Another) Night At The Bourbon...

Bour­bon Blue’s Corn­bread and Cre­ole Butter

This con­tent is pub­lished at Cook­ing in Stilet­tos. Thank you!
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Filed Under: Bourbon Blue, Cajun, FoodBuzz, Restaurant Review, Travel

Restaurant Review: Bourbon Blue…

May 22, 2008 By 1 Comment

When I was up in Philadel­phia on busi­ness a few weeks ago, I always take the time to try to find some­where I can chill out and enjoy time with friends and great con­ver­sa­tion. I’ve learned that with what I do, some­times just hang­ing at a club or at someone’s house doesn’t always fit the bill. For me, a club often feels like work and just chillin‘ at someone’s house, while it’s nice, I want to get out and explore the city.

On the last night before I departed my favorite city, I needed to chill out after the hec­tic event we had just had the day before. So, after dis­cus­sion with Meowmix, we decided that din­ner at this hot spot called Bour­bon Blue would be in order for the evening. Not only does it have a rockin’ bar atmos­phere but the food was sub­lime. Man­ayunk has this vibe – where it’s city but not city – and you just instantly feel at home when you enter. It’s warm, invit­ing and the peo­ple there are gen­uinely nice.

Let me pref­ace this with I’m always appre­hen­sive when it comes to trav­el­ing and restau­rants. Yes, I do use “Google” to my advan­tage and I just wasn’t find­ing much in the way of reviews of this restau­rant albeit some var­i­ous arti­cles from its open­ing 5 years ago. Also, Cajun/New Orleans food in Philly? I mean, c’mon – I know Philly is eclec­tic but NOLA food in PA? As my friend SL would say “What do they know about Cajun Cui­sine?” I was a bit wary. Around Florida we have some good Cajun restau­rants but I wasn’t sure if the North could actu­ally cre­ate that mood.

Let me say for the record: I was wrong.

Bour­bon Blue hit it out of the box AND then some. I apol­o­gize as I didn’t take any pic­tures that night but I was so caught up in every­thing that whip­ping out my cam­era just didn’t seem right. Not to men­tion, the lovely black­berry froze on me again ren­der­ing pic­tures impos­si­ble. We were lucky to secure a late reser­va­tion on one of their busiest nights as they had a num­ber of grad­u­a­tion par­ties. While there was a very brief wait to be seated, it was to be expected. We were a few min­utes late, and, of course, we were there on the busiest night of the week.

First of all – YOU MUST try the espresso mar­ti­nis. BB’s fab­u­lous bar­tender Heather whipped up this liba­tion that had me bug­ging her for the recipe. Has the Espresso Mar­tini replaced my favorite Cable Car Mar­tini, one might won­der. No, but it’s hit my sec­ond favorite cock­tail sta­tus – knock­ing out my Egypt­ian mar­tini that I’ve loved for so many years.

Our server, Mark, paid atten­tion to the most minute detail – and for my friend Meowmix, after a server we had a few days prior, that meant a lot. When he saw her som­brero was run­ning a bit low, he had another quickly whisked over. He knew that a som­brero was Kahlua and milk, NOT tequila. Vegas obvi­ously didn’t get the memo a few years ago.

Now, let’s get onto what y’all want to know about – the food. First of all, the bread is this warm, fresh out of the oven, corn­bread served with a Cre­ole But­ter that had me again pes­ter­ing for the recipe (which I learned how to recre­ate when I returned to Orlando and no I am not shar­ing – their chef might shoot me!). For appe­tiz­ers, we decided to start with the Black­ened Chicken Que­sadil­las. Meowmix is not­so­much a fan of spicy food (which I’ve just started to love) and some­times with a que­sadilla it can be hit or miss. This was per­fect. Savory yet sub­tle – the fla­vors melded per­fectly with the cilantro sour cream and fresh salsa. For the entrée, per rec­om­men­da­tion of Mark, we elected to try the Parme­san & Corn­meal Encrusted Scal­lops. They were per­fectly seared on a bed of veg­etable orzo. To end the meal: What else, another round of cocktails.

I can tell you that when I have to go back to Philly in August, I’m sure that a night out at the Bour­bon will be on the agenda. Great food, great atmos­phere and great peo­ple. When you find some­thing that good, you don’t hes­i­tate to go back.

Bour­bon Blue
2 Rec­tor Street
Philadel­phia, PA 19127

215–508-3360 / www.bourbonblue.com

Rat­ing: 4.5 Stars…

This con­tent is pub­lished at Cook­ing in Stilet­tos. Thank you!
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Filed Under: Bourbon Blue, Cajun, Regional Fare, Restaurant Review

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