Cooking and Hanging Out with ValleyWriter and The Royal Foodie Joust Winners!
We had a great time this fall in New England this year visiting family and friends. Thanksgiving is over, and posted, and so now the time has come to share some of the highlights in eating and visiting that we enjoyed in New England. We traveled from Connecticut to Vermont and back again. In fact we drove up to New England from Florida, stopping at my Aunt’s house in VA both on the way up and on the way back. We got to spend time with Roberto’s daughters Rachel and Gwen as well as many friends along the way. It was a wonderful time – a time I have looked forward to every year since we moved to Florida.
We spent a large portion of the trip in Western MA. I lived in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts for over 10 years. I came to live there by way of education, and then after 4 years of college, decided to stay. I was just so enamored of the place – the quaint towns, historic buildings, and good food, as well as all the cultural activities taking place due to all the colleges in the area. I made a lot of lifelong friends while I lived there and was definitely part of a community. When I think about that time in my life, I get a warm and fuzzy feeling – and I always enjoy spending time there. I have moved away from New England twice since I lived there, once to go back to my home state of Maryland for a few years, and the other when we moved to Florida three years ago. Each time I move away, I find myself missing it, and it doesn’t take long before New England re-claims me. I guess I am a New Englander at heart, and I am proud of it! 🙂
People in New England are just nice. It is a very eclectic kind of place sometimes, and so it is typical to have friends from all walks of life. People are just more accepting of paradoxes, creativity and uniqueness. I don’t know how to describe it, but I always find myself gravitating towards New Englanders wherever we are, and that is how we met Valley Writer and Mr. Valley Writer.
We met them, almost 2 years ago, when we were all newlyweds, spending our honeymoon in Jamaica. We originally met them at a social for newlyweds and then ended up running into them at breakfast one morning. So we decided to sit together. We found out we had a lot in common. She and I are both writers (this was before her now famous blog), we both have black cats with asthma, and we both were practically neighbors at one point without even knowing it, in a small New England town called Hatfield. She met her husband the same way I met Roberto – online, and in the same time frame. So likely I ran across Mr. Valley Writer’s profile in my searches…who knows. But there was just so much in common (besides the love of food and cooking) that we knew we were meant to be friends. We visited with Mr and Mrs. Valley Writer last year when we were in New England . Then this year, they graciously invited us to stay with them for a few days.
When we arrived, the first thing we did was take a quick drive to a local farm, and pick up her last CSA of the year. We picked out some nice root veggies to make some roasted roots – my favorite – to go along with dinner that night. The plan for dinner that night was to make duck. Neither of us had ever made a duck before, so we were both very excited at the prospect. We were worried about the method of cooking, we didn’t want it to be dry.
So we decided to do it beer can style, and used a raspberry wheat beer in the preparation. It turned out really delicious – although it did make the house a little smoky – all that delicious duck fat (which of course was reserved for later use)!
We enlisted Roberto to cut the duck – and of course he had to wear Amber’s Flirty Apron that she won a few months back from The Foodie Blogroll.
(Mr. Valley Writer likes to keep his identity hidden….just WHO is HE?)
The food was really good that night, but the company was the best part! We all had a great time getting re-acquainted with each other and getting to know each other better – and it was a breeze. Sometimes you just really hit it off with another couple, and this was one of those times!
Unfortunately Mr. And Mrs. Valley Writer both had to work while we were visiting. So the next night, to thank them for their hospitality, Roberto and I decided to get some extra ingredients, and cook them dinner. There was already a pork tenderloin in the fridge, so we decided to add some wild rice, glazed carrots, and miniature carrot cakes from Whole Foods (which used to be called Bread and Circus in that part of the world) to complete the meal. We prepared the pork in a fresh apple cider and dijon mustard sauce, and it was delicious. When they got home from work, we all started working together in the kitchen! What else can you expect from a bunch of foodies? This time we had Mr. Valley Writer do the honors on cutting the meat.
Again the food was great and the company spectacular! We had a wonderful few days spending time with them, and look forward to continuing our friendship when we move up to Vermont this spring!
Thanks Valley Writer family for your hospitality and friendship! Please check out her post about our visit together on her blog, Adventures in the Pioneer Valley !
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In addition to Finest Foodies Friday, I am also phasing the Royal Foodie Joust Winners and New Ingredients posts over to Foodieblogroll.com. So if you want to read about the winners and the new ingredients. Please visit Foodieblogroll.com.
Also for more foodie fun, don’t forget to join us at my friend Ben’s blog for a Homemade Party!
Pam - December 7, 2009 at 11:19 am
Jenn, I so enjoyed your post…always warms my heart …..thank you!
Enjoy!
P.S. good luck with your move!
kat - December 7, 2009 at 11:26 am
Looks like a great visit with some really great food!
ValleyWriter - December 7, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I think you’ll be amazed at how similar our posts are – just like us! 😀 I just put mine up.
Can’t wait to have you closer by soon so we can have more foodie adventures!
ValleyWriter - December 7, 2009 at 12:12 pm
P.S. – I love the new look!
Rosa - December 7, 2009 at 12:25 pm
That is so great! A wonderful way of spending tiem with people!
Cheers,
Rosa
Lys - December 7, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Wow – I still can’t believe you used to be in Western Mass. Having lived in Agawam for years, it’s not often that I meet people who used to be in that area. Tis a small world. I’m going to have to check out her blog. It looks like you all had a wonderful time!
Patsyk - December 7, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Sounds like a wonderful visit with good friends… and the food looks incredible as well!
Judy - December 7, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Looks like a great time! I bet all of the food was just delicious!
roberto - December 7, 2009 at 1:29 pm
hey
Marillyn @ just-making-noise - December 7, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Looks like you guys had a blast and good food! Love your website upgrade… who did it? I am seriously thinking of moving into my own domain and need someone to help me, but money is the issue.
Mary - December 7, 2009 at 2:31 pm
It looks and sounds like a remarkable visit. It so nice to make new friends who share your interests. I’ll bet it was , on many levels, a memorable meal.
Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten Free - December 7, 2009 at 3:18 pm
I’m so glad you had a great trip – our Thanksgiving was incredible and we had a fabulous meal, too. Your new look is great, too. 🙂 BTW – my hubby likes to remain anonymous just like Mr. Valley Writer. He doesn’t even like me to tweet about him. LOL.
Jenn - December 7, 2009 at 3:33 pm
It’s always great to spend some time with fellow foodies. What a great meal.
ps. i like the new look of the layout.
Bellini Valli - December 7, 2009 at 4:23 pm
It is so rare to find special friends with whom you will always feel at home. Sounds like you had a fantastic time!!!!
Peter G - December 7, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Great to see you reconnecting with old friends and making a foodie event of it all! (trust both of you!…LOL!) Love the new site redesign too! Woohoo!
Cakelaw - December 7, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Love the new look site Jenn! And that duck is superb – LOL at the pic of it sitting up with the strategically placed lemon.
dawn - December 7, 2009 at 6:52 pm
what a wonderful & happy read Ms. Jenn. I love new england too, but my bones need more sun, so I will be happy to leave it soon and go back to my roots in cali. my parents have a summer home in the berkshires and it is really peaceful there in the summertime.
can’t remember the last time I was in vermont…skiing somewhere I know, just can’t remember the name of the mountain.
Maria - December 7, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Love the new look, I just got one too! SO fun!
nina - December 7, 2009 at 11:28 pm
I also had the honor of meeting up with a few bloggers so far and it is amazing how we as foodies can connect on so many different levels…..
Ann - December 8, 2009 at 12:31 am
The new look is great! I have a foodie friend that lives close to me – this makes me want to do a fun dinner – I just wish our husbands were in on the cooking too- how fun!
Ivy - December 8, 2009 at 2:18 am
Love the new look of your blog. It sounds like you had a great time.
David Hall - December 8, 2009 at 4:08 am
Loving the new look Jen! Hope life is sweet
kat - December 8, 2009 at 4:29 am
what fun! and everything looks so delicious!
Happy Cook - December 8, 2009 at 4:50 am
Looks like you had such a wonderufl tim.
Wish i lived in New England, here even we don’t have that much contact wiht all our neighbours.
Dharm - December 8, 2009 at 7:03 am
Love the new design! The food looks amazing – as always!
Peter - December 8, 2009 at 12:15 pm
The spanking new look blog (and crown) are gleaming and new! I like the duck roasting method (upright) – a great way to render the fat.
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie - December 8, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Sounds like you all had such an amazing time! I love the new blog look!
Kris - December 8, 2009 at 4:03 pm
This looks like such fun!!
Toni - December 8, 2009 at 8:03 pm
I can’t think of a better way to spend time with friends — cooking and eating! What fun!
And I agree with your assessment of New Englanders – nice people. (I’m originally from Long Island – I have an affinity for people in the northeast.)
Carol, Simply...Gluten-free - December 8, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Wow, looks like a fab time with great people and great food – what could be better?
Melissa - December 9, 2009 at 1:39 am
You met Roberto online? Huh. I never knew that. So cool!
I know what you mean about hitting it off with another couple (or, um, not… *cringe*) and it’s amazing how much you and she have in common. And you have ready made friends when you move! I’ve never made duck before either and I love the idea you guys came up with.
And it goes without saying I adore your new look. It’s cleaner and the colors and layout really suit the site. Very nice. 🙂
Natashya - December 9, 2009 at 8:22 am
What a great time, I love how food brings us together.
Love the photo of Mr. ValleyWriter! It reminds me of the Woody Allen film where the actor is fuzzy.. and they realize it is actually him that is out of focus and not the camera.
Teresa - December 9, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I’m so happy that you got to spend some time with Valley Writer. She’s such a sweetheart, just like you. Although I’ve only visited the Northeastern part of the country (my brother lives in Mystic, CT) I too fell in love with the”feel” of the area. It’s warm, loving and cozy. 🙂
Michelle - December 11, 2009 at 11:07 am
Sounds like such a great time. The food looks amazing, as always, and Bert looks super sexy in his pink apron! Ha ha ha! Glad you had a great time, girl!
Thas - December 14, 2009 at 11:24 am
Had a great read and the food, especially the duck looks super sexy;)
Jennifer (Savor) - December 17, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Such a bummer I missed you here in RI/MA/CT area. So happy you enjoyed your trip.
lk - December 19, 2009 at 10:31 am
what a great post, and how fun that you met that way! what a small world!