Recipes

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Grilling for the 4th: Giveaway!

Maybe some of your have already checked out of work for the long weekend and are heading to the lake or the beach for the 4th of July.  Maybe you’re going to stick around at home, have a cook-out, and just watch some local fireworks!
Either way, I’m willing to bet 95% of you are going to be firing up the grill at some point this weekend.
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If you’re local to the Boston area, have you checked out the Eversave happening right now?? 
$10 gets you $20 worth of goods from McKinnon’s Meat Market in Somerville’s Davis Square!!
McKinnon’s is known for quality meats at great prices.  You could come home with a party-size amount of meats for the grill for that $20!
They also have all your other necessities too such as fruits, veggies, breads, and other dry goods.
There has already been over 4500 of these saves sold!  That should say something right there.
Luckily for you, the lovely folks at Eversave have offered to let me giveaway one of these saves!!
Here’s the ways you can win!
Leave a separate comment for each entry: 
You do NOT need to have a blog to enter!
  1. Let me know what you’ll be grilling up this 4th of July weekend!
  2. Follow me on Twitter @yogurtberries
  3. Tweet about the giveaway:  “I want to win a free Save from @YogurtBerries and @EversaveBOS!”
  4. “Like” Eversave and Yogurt and Berries on Facebook
  5. If you have a blog, mention this giveaway and comment back letting me know.
I’ll choose a winner by the end of the day Saturday!   EDIT:  I'll be choosing the winner on Wednesday, July 6th, by 10pm!

Good Luck!
Also, if you’re eyeing that beautiful looking burger above, that was a Turkey burger I made Monday night for dinner:
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What I did:
  • Took just over 1lb of lean ground turkey and mixed it with:
    • 1 T olive oil
    • 1 T ketchup
    • 1 T Dijon mustard
    • 1 T Worcestershire sauce
    • 1/4 cup diced red onion
  • Formed 4 patties
  • Grilled until cooked through
  • Provolone cheese on top
  • Classic toppings:
    • whole wheat hamburger bun
    • lettuce (ok, actually arugula)
    • sliced tomato
    • sliced red onion
    • sliced pickles
    • whole grain mustard
    • ketchup
I could barely bite the whole thing, but it was delicious!
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Happy Grilling!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Terrace at Avenue One: A Hidden Oasis

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Nestled right in the heart of downtown Boston, just steps from Downtown Crossing and the Common is the Hyatt Regency.   Sure I’ve seen it before in passing (it’s right near the Opera House which I frequent every Nutcracker Season!), but I just have never thought to visit their restaurant!

Luckily for me, Boston Bruncher’s June Brunch was a $25 ticket to a lovely brunch buffet on the Terrace at Avenue One!  I made sure to sign up right away as I did not want to miss this.

Little did any of us know that hidden in the middle of this large hotel building was a beautiful outdoor patio.  The surrounding buildings help to muffle the noise of the city, creating a relaxing place to grab a drink after a hectic day at work. 

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We lucked out on Sunday.  Not only did we get to have an incredibly relaxing dining experience on a beautiful sunny Boston morning, but we were able to try out the executive chef’s brand new brunch menu that doesn’t debut until next month!

After mingling and enjoying a mini strawberry banana smoothie…

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…it was time to learn about what we were about to eat!IMG_9774

Chef Kelly Armetta explained that the new Hyatt menu will be focusing more on regional, seasonal, and local foods!  Which means each Hyatt around the country will have their own unique menu based on what is available to them.      

They also appease to their international guests, such as the delicious array of meats and cheese typically found on breakfast plates in Europe… I always loved that about Europe.

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Also thinking of their health conscious and dietary restricted guests….

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That gluten free granola was AMAZING!  I kind of regret not filling my purse with some before I left ;) 

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Granola atop plain Greek yogurt and homemade blackberry jam.

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A healthy brunch option: their salad of arugula, prosciutto, Marcona almonds, and fruits topped with a poached egg.       

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Their house omelet with caramelized onions, roasted mushrooms, and cheddar was incredibly flavorful.

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Fresh pastries and juicy fruits!

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Decadence in pancake form:

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That would be pancakes topped with espresso chocolate sauce, shaved chocolate, and white chocolate butter!!   

Luckily I convinced someone to eat half

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If I have to pick my winner of the morning, it would hands down be the Lobster Eggs Benedict (shocking right?). 

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On top of toasted Pilgrim Bread (which they make in house using whatever grains, seeds, and nuts are available on any given day), Cobb Bacon (cured on corn cobs!!), poached egg, and chive hollandaise.  

sadly my Benedict toppled over right as I was about to shoot this photo

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However, as you can see…crisp bacon, big chunks of fresh lobster, and that hollandaise sauce was amazing.  This has to be one of the best Benedicts I’ve ever had! 

For a solid 2 hours, we relaxed, mingled, ate, ate some more, maybe went back up for thirds, and just had a wonderful time on the Terrace.

It was great to catch up with some of my favorite Boston bloggers, like Elizabeth! IMG_9790
fun fact: we are going to be roomies at the Healthy Living Summit this year! 

While they don’t yet offer brunch on the terrace to the public,
the Terrace is:

  • Open Tuesday – Friday from 5pm to close 
  • Live music every Thursday and Friday
  • Daily Happy Hour specials from 5pm-7pm”
    • $4 Chef’s seasonal bites
    • $4 Dos Equis draft

I don’t work in the city, but if I did I would most definitely check out the Terrace after work this summer!!  Or if your heading into the city for a show, this would be a fantastic pre-theater snack and drink!  

Then you can return to Avenue One on a weekend to take advantage of that delicious brunch menu.

Avenue One on Urbanspoon

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Recycle Studio: Spinning off my vacation

As much as I love traveling and going on vacations, I am almost always ready to come home at the end!  Especially when I’ve been away from Brian and Bromley for 6 days!!  I missed my boys!

I arrived home Friday night around 11pm, and of course went to bed shortly there after. 

First thing I did Saturday morning?  A Spin Class! 

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Not just any spinning though.  This was supposed to be a special Boston Bloggers Rerock Ride at Recycle Studio in Boston’s South End, taught by another fellow Boston Blogger: Katie! 

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However, not enough bloggers so she combined it with their Saturday cash class which is a $15 class where you can stop in, pay cash at the desk, and hop on a bike for a fun musically-themed 45min spin session!

I have only taken maybe 2 spin classes ever, and that was over 3 years ago.  Actually, I think the last time was the same night I got engaged :)

I digress… my point was, it had been a long time and actually I never cared much for spin at those two classes.

Well, I LOVED this class!  The music was awesome, which is something that can make it or break it for me.  She did songs for popular movies and we had to guess the movie! 

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Not cheesy soundtracks, but more fun high-energy rock songs from movies like: Dazed and Confused, Armageddon, Gone in 60 Seconds, Wayne's World, Pulp Fiction, Fight Club, Footloose, Empire Records…etc, there were more but I can’t remember them all!

45 minutes flew by and I was dripping with sweat.  It was a great workout! 

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They have a cute storefront right on Tremont Street in the South End of Boston, and the actual spinning room is down stairs. 

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Katie told me she will try to schedule another Blogger class in the fall…hopefully there' will be a better turn out!  I’m talking to YOU fellow Boston bloggers!! 

I saw that email list, I know who you are ;)   Your loss anyways, because it was a blast!

What I’m really hoping though, is that this spin class counteracts another Blogger event this weekend:  Boston Brunchers!

I’m off to a lovely brunch at Avenue One at the Hyatt downtown with a great group of Boston Bloggers!  Not that I need a huge brunch post-vacation, but I couldn’t turn it down either :)

Now I leave you with a few more photos from my vacation on Martha’s Vineyard! IMG_9706 IMG_9720 IMG_9732 IMG_9734 IMG_9740 IMG_9747 IMG_9750

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Cute Vineyard dogs!  Doesn’t the one below look like a dark version of Bromley??? 

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Happy Sunday friends!