Catalyst in Kendall Sq + Tufts 1ok

Monday was one of those days where I had a very “balanced blogger” type of day! 

Note: big delicious dinners always go down easier after you burn a bunch of calories earlier that day ;)

Now I know this isn’t often possible, and I wouldn’t say I had a “great” time running that 10k…but it sure worked up my appetite!

Last year I ran the Tufts 10k for the first time, and at that time it was longest I had ever run before!  My friend and I trained, and come race day I felt awesome!  I took it easy, but felt great the whole time and it was at that moment I realized I could handle a half marathon if I wanted to!  Which I did about 7 months later!

This year…not so much.  I didn’t really train, no one came to watch me or run with me (thank goodness I had Elizabeth in the beginning!), and well…it was hot as balls!! 

(we were already sweating before the race began…not a good sign)

We would have a heat wave on Columbus Day wouldn’t we.  So I took it easy, ran slow, stopped for water at every chance…to drink and to pour over myself.  H.O.T.  I was feeling OK until halfway through, then the heat was getting to me,I just didn’t feel so hot (pun intended), but luckily I did NOT eat a sticky bun prior to this race, so all I needed were some walking breaks…and walk I did! 

(at least with this crappy iphone photo you can’t tell JUST how sweaty I really am) 

I walked more in this race than any other…hell this felt harder than my half-marathon!  But I did finish!  :)  Grabbed my WARM water and PowerAde (ew), pretzels, Luna bar, and dole fruit cup and headed to a shady spot on the lawn to cool down and stretch before heading home.

My time was 1:15:26, which is actually better than I was expecting considering all the walking I did…but the last thing I was looking for was a good time.  I even forgot to stop my Garmin when I crossed the finish line haha!

All this sweating however worked in my favor when I arrived for a beautiful blogger dinner that evening at the new Kendal Square restaurant: Catalyst.

It’s amazing what a shower and some make-up can do!

(had to take advantage of shorts weather! Navy lace top: F21, tan shorts: J. Crew, heels: Libby Edelman from Lord & Taylor)

It was a beautiful summery evening, and I immediately noticed their great outdoor space!  I bet they get a great after-work crowd…but it was a holiday this night so it was on the quiet side…which was actually nice for a change.

The restaurant has a gorgeous large space!  It appears as though they fitted out part of an office building! 

There were many different stunning glass light fixtures throughout the restaurant.

And a fabulous bar area and lounge with an awesome fire place

Our table was right in front of the open kitchen.  I love being able to see the chefs at work!    

My company for the evening were these lovely ladies: Elizabeth, Emily, Megan, Daisy, Shannon, and Bianca! 

We sat down and perused the menu, but it didn’t matter…little did we know we were about to taste almost everything they had to offer!

First the bread basket, which included a deliciously salty focaccia!  Mmm that bread was addicting!!

Creamy butter drizzled with olive oil…oh yes, they did.

Then the wait staff started bringing seemingly endless plates of almost every appetizer on the menu.  A few of each for the 7 of us to share!

Grilled scallions with a (walnut?) pesto.  These were a favorite of the group!  Such a great flavor. 

Crispy Quail, Black Mission Fig, Gastique, Mizuna, Autumn Berry Jam  
there wasn’t much meat to eat, since we were sharing, but the meat+greens+accompaniments were delicious.

Chicken Liver Mousse, Pickled Onions, Country Bread, Herb Salad
Not a big fan of liver, but I gave it a try with the grilled bread and mustard!  Pretty good!  I probably wouldn’t order it but glad I tried it.

Seared Spice Crusted Hiramasa, Orange-Yuzu Syrup, Cucumber Radish Salad
This was a rare/raw very mild/fatty fish, and I thought it was really good with the syrup and the orange slices!  I was surprised how much I liked this!  Very light and refreshing.

Farmer’s Market Vegetable Salad, Peppercress, Crispy Onion  
Basically pickled veggies!  I LOVE pickled veggies so this was a favorite!
 

Next course was soup! 
Jerusalem "Sunchoke" Artichoke Soup, Lobster, Curry Oil, Creme Fraiche  
We had it with no lobster (I believe someone had an allergy), and I actually had no idea there was curry oil on it until now!  I didn’t taste curry at all (Thank god! I hate curry) but thought the soup was comforting and delicious.  Creamy, but not heavy, and a strong artichoke flavor…so you really need to like artichokes for this.  I bed the lobster would pair very well with it!

Pasta course was next and by FAR my favorites of the night!!  I want to go back right now just for some of these delicious bites!

Garganelli, Chicken Oysters, Bacon, Black Truffle Butter  
Garganelli, being the pasta shape, had a great firm texture…a really fun alternative to a ziti or penne! 

Chicken oysters!! 
Wondering what those are??  I was for a second too, but then I remembered!!!  My dad used to always dig out the oyster from the bottom of the chicken or turkey if we roasted one at home!  He always said it was the most tender bite of meat in the whole bird :)  I can’t believe I almost forgot…I haven’t heard their name in so long.  This dish brought back great memories :)

By the way…DELIICOUS!  The bacon and truffle butter made for a decadent taste. 

This next pasta might tie with the chicken oyster pasta as my favorite dish of the night…

Georgia Candy Roaster Squash Tortellini, Braised Escarole, Parmesan  
Seriously, nothing beats a good homemade pasta!  These little purses of dough were filled with such a pure and naturally sweet tasting squash puree!  They just melt in your mouth.  The braised escarole had quite the butter bath, but in a totally yummy way :)  And who doesn’t love cute little carrot balls! 

Last pasta:

Mushroom Ravioli, Hen of the Woods Mushrooms

I’m really REALLY glad I’ve gotten over my mushroom “issues” because man they are flavorful!  I’m still not keen on biting into a big chunk, but the flavor they impart is incomparable. 

We were all starting to get filled up fast at this point, and a couple people passed on these (more mushroom issues haha), so long story short I got to take home the extra…score!! 

It was now that we realized there could be a number of main courses coming our way and we were already borderline full…so to save room for dessert we asked the chef to pair down the rest of the entrées. 

We tried 2:

Chilled pork tenderloin with warm spices, honey, an apple and cilantro salad, and an apple puree.
Don’t let “chilled” turn you away, it was more room temp.  Plus all the flavors and textures were amazing!  The apple and cilantro were so great together.  I really loved this dish.

I could hardly even muster a bite of the fish, but of course I did :)

Lemon Sole, Roasted Baby Fennel, Creamed Leeks, Lobster, Vermouth Butter
Or at least picked out a lobster chunk from underneath!  Crispy light fish, and I loved the fennel with this one. 

We were all highly anticipating dessert, and were shocked when instead of sharing, we each got an individual plate of 4 different tastes!

Butterscotch and Passion Fruit Pudding, Warm Pound Cake Croutons  

If you go here, GET THIS!! OMG!! I don't think it would be something I would order just from reading the description but it’s incredible!!!  Reminds me of my family’s butterscotch pie!  I must try to make this one at home!! 

This was a coconut cake, with creamsicle ice cream in the middle, and  chocolate shell!

pear tart.  Simple, soft, not to sweet…this was my #2

Finally, a cantaloupe sorbet with hazelnut brittle  

Thank you so much to Chef William Kovel and everyone at Catalyst for a gorgeous and delicious dinner, and a big thanks to Elizabeth for putting this together!!

Full Disclosure: the meal was complimentary, however all opinions expressed are my own.

Flowy Skirts, Friends, and Fun Stuff

Funny how my outfit posts can be directly related to my mood.  I realized I haven’t posted an outfit in a while, nor have there been as many outfits that are making me want to take awesome bathroom self-portraits ;)  This usually means…crappy weather, stress at work, or a combination of the two! 

Not that I’m dressing like a bum on those days, but just not as excited about it. 

I do have 2 to share though, and noticed they both involve somewhat flowy, fuller skirts instead of my usual more pencil-esque work skirts.

 

• black skirt, champagne top, and cream colored cardigan:  all from Banana Republic (I think the top and skirt were outlet though)
• gold belt: Gap
• shoes: Nine West (so old, heal is so worn, need to throw these out, but until I find suitable replacements they are staying!)

The next, is similar…shocking right.  I found this super fun hot pink chiffon skirt at Old Navy recently and was dying to wear it but didn’t want to “waste” it on just a day at work.

Good thing there was a Blogger Bash at MJ O'Conner's Wednesday night! 

• Hot Pink skirt: Old Navy
• Black Cardigan: Old Navy
• cream t-shirt:  Banana Republic
• Black tights: DKNY from Nordstrom
• Black patent leather heals: BCBG Girls
• Red belt and gold bracelet: my Grandmother’s
• black pashmina: hmm, possibly an airport somewhere

 

I would definitely label this is a “party” skirt :)

Speaking of the Blogger Bash, this one was organized by Boston Food Bloggers which is run by Rachel!

There were some tasty hors d’ourves as well as delicious beer and other drinks!

pulled pork slider

Chicken Teryaki

 

 

Saranac Pumpkin with a cinnamon sugar rim.  I had two of these they were so good!  Although the cin-sugar rim makes for some sticky hands

Me, Elizabeth, Ali, Melissa, and Tina

I love being able to hang with my blog-friends at these things!

Good times :)

Other fun randomness:

Hot rum cider and nachos at Grendel’s Den Friday after work with the bff

Yes those ended up being dinner :)  They were topped with vegetarian chili, fresh salsa, guac, and sour cream!  DELICIOUS!     

Saturday involved a LONG traffic-filled ride up to visit Brian’s family.  See when you’re just going on a normal trip to visit the family, you kind of forget that it’s a long weekend and you’re heading north on 93 up to NH along with TONS of other people…FAIL! 

Outlet shopping helps though.

And so do fun photos of Brom in a kids coin operated ride on the sidewalk….with Big Bird

“really you guys?”

Today, along with the usual Sunday activities (grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, baking…mmm), we headed into Boston to pick up my race packet for the Tufts 10K  tomorrow!

Last year I trained for this 10k as it was going to be my longest distance to date.  However once you get a half-marathon under your belt, you start to take these shorter races less seriously…BAD idea.  Well for me anyways…I’m kind of nervous, not gonna lie!  But I’m not out to break records so I’m just going to have a fun day :)

While in the city, we once again stopped into Flour for some food.  It’s just really good.

My favorite thing of the day:

Twice baked brioche!  Brioche bread, spread with almond paste and sliced almonds and baked again…wow!  Almonds…mmmm!

My homemade bread just came out of the oven and smells SO good!  It’s also past 10pm…and therefore bedtime!  I am still working tomorrow :(  Just taking a half day before the race…I can walk over to the race from my office :)

I hope the rest of you have Columbus Day off!! 

Comfort: Chicken Stroganoff & Apple Crisp

I’m willing to bet when you were growing up there were a handful of dishes that your mom or dad always made…they were part of the “rotation” if you will :)  Or maybe they weren’t made often enough, and we’re one of your favorites!  Either way there’s gotta be certain dishes that just remind you of growing up!

I certainly have a few and this past weekend I was REALLY craving one.  My mom’s Chicken Stroganoff! 

I really shouldn’t have been surprised when she told me its in her old Betty Crocker cookbook…of course it was.  All the good recipes came from that damn book! 

Of course she made her changes, and one big one being swapping beef for chicken.  My dad went through about 7 or 8 years when he didn’t eat red meat, so my mom changed a lot of beef recipes into chicken recipes.

I’m still not a big mushroom fan (the texture that is, love the flavor) so I chopped my mushrooms up smaller.

This recipe is definitely a winner!  I even made my own slight changes :)

Chicken Stroganoff
inspired by my mom’s OLD Betty Crocker cookbook

• 1 - 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size chunks
• 4 tsp butter
• 1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced or chopped
• 1 med onion, diced
• 1 cup concentrated chicken broth or bullion**
• 1/2 can (3oz) tomato paste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 3T flour
• 1 cup low-fat sour cream (could substitute Greek yogurt for all or some…I used about 3/4 sour cream, 1/4 yogurt)

**I didn’t have condensed broth, nor did I want to use bullion cubes (those things aren’t the most “natural” choice and so I save them for Thanksgiving gravy only…not messing with THAT recipe :)  So, I took 1.5-2 cups of low-sodium organic chicken broth and simmered it until it reduced to roughly 1 cup.  Mine reduced to a little less so I just added a bit more broth to get 1 cup.  I did NOT notice any change or lack in flavor using this method. 

1. In a large skillet, melt 2tsp butter over medium heat then add mushrooms and onions.  Sauté until cooked thoroughly, and onions are translucent, 6-7 minutes.  Remove onions and mushrooms and set aside in a separate bowl,

2. Add the other 2 tsp butter and cook chicken for a few minutes just until the outsides look cooked.  Then add garlic, sauté for another minute.

3.  Then add all but 1/3 c. of the broth, salt, and the tomato paste.  Simmer, for 15-20 minutes.  (I forgot to ask whether to cover this or not, so I left it covered for the first 10 minutes, then took the cover off for the last 5-10).

4. In a small bowl, mix together the flour with the remaining 1/3 cup broth, until all lumps are gone.  Then add this to the simmering pan, stirring while adding it.  Add back in mushrooms and onions.

5. Bring mixture to a boil, just until sauce thickens a little.

6. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream/yogurt.

7. Best served over egg noodles :) 

Not the best looking dish around, but SO comforting!

Mmmm it tasted just like I remember!  I was literally licking my bowl.  We didn’t have any egg noodles so I used some Dreamfields linguini, and also steamed up some green beans to go along with it. 

It wouldn’t be a Sunday dinner without some dessert, and we still had a TON of apples that needed to be used up from our apple picking extravaganza the weekend before.

Easy solution…Apple Crisp!

I checked out a few recipes and eventually came up with my own version…slightly healthier of course :)

Apple Picking Crisp
inspiration from Ina, The Neely’s, and Cooking Light

Makes 8-10 servings (at least it will for us!)

Preheat oven to 350 F

Topping:

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup quick oats (feel free to use all rolled, or all quick oats as well)
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• cinnamon to taste (about 1tsp)
• 3T chopped walnuts
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4T butter, soft/room temp
• 2T maple syrup

Combine flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, walnuts, and salt in a mixing bowl.  Mix with a fork to combine.  Mash butter in with the fork or your hands until it is thoroughly mixed, it will be a coarse sandy mixture.  Stir in maple syrup.

Filling:

• 8-10 apples
• 1 orange, zest and juice
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• cinnamon, a few shakes
• 1T flour

Zest orange into a large bowl, then cut in half and juice into the same bowl (remove any seeds that may come out!). 

Core, peel, and slice apples into bowl of orange juice.  Toss to coat all apples.  Not only does the orange juice give delicious flavor, it prevents the apples from browning. 

Mix in cinnamon and flour and mix around until all apple pieces are evenly coated.

Pour apple filling into a 9x13 greased baking pan, then top with topping.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until you’re apples are tender and topping is just starting to brown a little. 

Let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving so all the juices absorb back into the apples.

Wish I had some better pictures, but it was dark by the time it was out of the oven.  Although I’m sure I don’t need any pictures to convince you on apple crisp ;)

Serve with vanilla ice cream, and then have it for breakfast the next day with plain Greek yogurt!  Seriously I think I liked it better with yogurt for breakfast!! 

The chicken stroganoff wasn’t the only recipe I called mom for, so hopefully I’ll have time this weekend for the other one :)

What are your favorite meals from your childhood??  The ones you have great memories of??

Cambridge 5k + Oktoberfest!

And yes that is one combined event…the epitome of “will run for beer”.

How is it October already?  really??  September flew by!  It’s kind of scary actually. 

This was another one of those weekends where I didn’t really have many hard plans, but there were a ton of different things I wanted to do!  Luckily the rain kind of dictated my weekend…that could be a good or bad thing. 

Brian was supposed to have a softball tournament in Cambridge and I also really wanted to stop by the Boston Local Food Festival. 

Softball was canceled = yay!  Brian is home earlier!
Food Festival…eh, it was kind of crappy out and I got a better food offer :)

Sorry but most of the time, my family’s parties are way better than any food festival out there.  My family will also use any excuse to have people over…case in point: my cousin was home for the first time since going off to college in August, so my aunt invited anyone over for lunch!

(Hmm I don’t remember any welcome home parties…;)

Meal of choice: homemade egg rolls!  And other homemade Chinese food! 

Best eggrolls ever!!  And dumplings

With a plum sauce for the eggrolls:

I really REALY have to make these sometime!  But may need help eating them ;)  I’ve never seen a “small batch” of egg rolls.

Another favorite…

Shanghai pork and noodles!  The noodles are kind of like lo mein, and usually there is sauce from the pork to put on the noodles but this time the pork soaked it all up.   Still amazing though. 

Another aunt made this delicious chicken salad.

I’m not sure exactly what it was made with but it was refreshing, there was lime to squirt on top as well as peanut sauce on the side!

Unpictured were the desserts:  rice crispy treats, apple crisp, and homemade pineapple upside-down cake! 

Needless to say I ate way too much salty foods and then dessert.  So worth it though. 

Onward to Sunday!

A couple months ago I saw a tweet or email about this Cambridge 5k + Oktoberfest!  Cambridge Brewing Co was the brewery collaborating with this 5k so I knew I’d have no problem getting Brian to sign up with me :)

We didn’t get around to picking up our race packets before today, so we went in early to do just that, and I was hoping we’d get there early enough to head over to the newer Flour bakery in Cambridge!

I really liked this race, by the way.  It was SOLD OUT, but still didn’t feel overly crowded :)

Race packets: Check!

Then

Success…

Ok so EARLIER at home I had 1/2 slice whole wheat bread with PB&J plus some hot water with lemon.  That was around 7:30am. 

We went to Flour at 9am (race starts at 10am)

For someone who hasn’t been running very consistently in a while I think I was getting a bit too lackadaisical about a 5k.  I mean it’s only a 5k.  I’m not worried...famous last words.

So we shared that delicious sticky bun AND a slice of quiche.  So good.  SOOO good.  It was totally worth it.

And so then we headed back and lined up.

(the finish line!)

And we were off!  It was a nice relatively flat course and it was just a really FUN run!  Lots of people dressed in German outfits, and most just trying to finish so they can have free beer!

Brian and I ran together.  I didn’t wear a watch or my Garmin, and had no intention of trying to get a good (for me) time. 

Per usual, I was hovering right at 10 min/mile, which is a nice easy-ish pace for me. 

Not gonna lie…in the last 10 min or so that breakfast wasn’t sitting so well, so I stopped to walk for about 30 seconds.  Much needed.  We were also so close to the end, so I just sucked it up and hoped for the best. 

Beer was the last thing I wanted when I finished, but as soon as I had some water, the beer was looking better and better.

CBC had 3 beers on tap for us runners, in a roped off area.  I went with the Great Pumpkin Ale.

I really liked this beer!!  Lucky for me this is the first beer the CBC has bottled to sell, and we have a bottle here at home. 

It was pretty much all-you-can-drink in our special runners area!  I figured we’d get 1 free beer and had to buy the rest!  NICE!

 

I had 2 of these pumpkin ales, which was plenty enough for me to be feeling it :)

An hour or so later, Brian and I decided to actually go to Cambridge Brewing Co for some lunch.

Brian checking out the beers on tap…

Beer #3 for me…

This time I had a Belgian style farmhouse ale brewed with pumpkin.  Not spiced at all (aside from peppercorns), and I couldn’t really taste pumpkin but it was a really good beer.

I had the tuna melt with a side of greens

Hit the spot!  I also loved the fennel that was in my salad AND my tuna melt!  I really need to incorporate more fennel in my life.  So good.

Brian had a burger and fries

I stole bites, of course.

All in all we both had an awesome time!  Saw some friends, drank some great beer, and had a nice little run :) 

It was also kind of nice doing a 21+ race!  Sorry high schoolers :)

Driving home (well Brian drove home), I realized we never got a picture of the two of us!

Fun stuff!  I’d definitely recommend this race!  

Hope you’re having a relaxing Sunday night!  I’m dying to get to bed.  As much as I love day-drinking, I hate the day-hangover that comes with it…headache city! 

Have you been or are you going to any Oktoberfest celebrations this fall??  Any other races + beer I should know about? ;)