Julia London's Blog, page 44

ADVENTURES IN DINING

Over the past two weeks I've experienced some very interesting eating adventures.  The first came about when I learned–much to my surprise–that a number of people in my neighborhood enjoy going to lunch at…gas stations.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Gas stations.  I listened in amazement as several folks extolled the wonders of the hot dogs served at the nearby Marathon gas station.   In fact, the hot dogs there are apparently so good, you need to get there early or else they're liable to be all sold out.  AT THE GAS STATION.  Color me amazed.

Now, I have to say it never IN A MILLION YEARS, EVER would have occured to me to go to lunch at a gas station.  But then my neighbors told me that they serve the BEST fried chicken livers at the Golden Pantry–which is at the Shell gas station.  Since it just so happens that I' love chicken livers (and never get to eat them), a group of us made a date to go to lunch AT THE GAS STATION the next day.

 

I got greens beans to be healthy (cough, cough)

 

I gotta tell ya–those were darn good chicken livers.  In fact, the best chicken livers I've ever had.  For $3.99 you got six HUGE livers (must have been some seriously giant chickens), a side (greens beans or mac 'n cheese), a homemade biscuit (we're in the south, y'all), and a drink.  And the place was PACKED!  Given how high in cholesterol chicken livers are (and the frying doesn't help), I can probably only eat them like twice a year.  But you can be sure I'll be going back to the Golden Pantry at the Shell station six months from now to feed my new addiction.

My next adventure was at the Taste of Athens (as in Athens, Georgia–not Athens, Greece).  About 50 Athens restaurants participated–that's a lot of stuff to taste!  The DH and I went with our son and we had a blast!  We somehow managed to taste just about everything (and a couple things twice!).  My personal faves were the Terrapin beer (brewed right in Athens) , the chipolte chicken from Chops and Hops, and the escargot from a French bistro whose name escapes me.  Great food, great company–and the proceeds go to charity.  It doesn't get better than that.

Me and my son, tasting all of Athens

My last dining adventure was checking out a nearby tea room that recently opened.  I LOVE going to tea!  So elegant–all those lovely little sandwiches and tasty desserts.  And this place was extra fun because they had all these GORGEOUS hats on display that you could wear during tea.  So much fun!  I loved the hat I wore so much I bought it.  I'll have to host a Whiner tea party so I can wear it again.

A toast to all my Whine Sisters!

Have you had any dining adventures lately?  What's your favorite restaurant?  Your favorite meal?  Have you ever eaten at a gas station?  Been to a tea room?  Hope you're having a great week!

 

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Merry Mardi Gras!

Kathleen, Julie, Julia and Dee

Even though I worked for years in New Orleans, I never did the Mardi Gras thing. (Fabulous times–I worked for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and would go with the judge I worked for and stay for about a week several times a year.) Why not? Because crowds make me antsy, and Bourbon Street is crowded enough as it is.

So when some of my fellow Whiners and I decided to take a trip to New Orleans a few years ago, we made it a point to avoid Mardi Gras, since we assumed it would be a bear to get a hotel room and far too crowded to really do much of anything.

Boy, were we idiots.

Dee and Julie (in appropriate Mardi Gras head gear)

Day one, we arrive, check in to our fabulous hotel (the Royal Sonesta) and go out for lunch/dinner. It's a bit crowded, but not bad, and we notice that there are folks readying for a parade. It's February, so we know Mardi Gras is coming, but we are certain that we're weeks early.

We're wrong.

When we ask the waiter about the parade, we're informed that it's one of the bigger Mardi Gras parades (I forget which one) that kicks off the festivities. We have, in other words, arrived right as Mardi Gras is ramping up in N'Awlins.

Some street musicians getting into the swing one afternoon

Turns out, this was an absolute blast….and I'm so glad it worked out that way as we never would have done it on purpose! But, yes, we did wander the streets at night. And, no, we didn't flash anyone to get more beads. We played and drank and laughed and ate fabulous food and had a generally marvelous time.

So happy Fat Tuesday, folks! What are you doing to celebrate?

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Schinken Feckerlin

[image error]So on Friday I was discussing Heurigers and among other things the great food they serve.  So today, I decided to share another of my Austrian recipes.  This one for Schinken Feckerlin (Ham Noodles).   It's great for a winter night, served with a salad and crusty bread, and of course some good wine.

Schinken Feckerlin (from Cookbook from Vienna, 1988)

Noodles, cooked  (See recipe below, or use store-bought)

½ a stick of butter

3 egg yolks

1 egg

Salt to taste

Dash of nutmeg

8 oz smoked ham (diced)

1 cup sour cream

3 egg whites

Butter and breadcrumbs for deep casserole dish

Mix butter with egg yolks, egg, salt, nutmeg and sour cream.  Add ham, and then add mixture to cooked (and cooled) noodles.  Beat eggs whites to soft peak, and then fold into ham mixture.  Butter a soufflé or deep casserole dish and then coat with bread crumbs. Turn ham mixture out into the dish, top with more breadcrumbs and back for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Noodles:

1 ¾ cups flour

2 eggs

Salt

Water

Pour the flour on a pastry board and make a well in the center.  Add salt, eggs, and some lukewarm water.  Combine with a knife and work into a firm dough with your hands.  Divide the dough in half.  Knead each half a bit more, then roll out separately very thin on the board.  Let dry slightly.  Cut out noodles of any preferred width.  Really easy! [image error]

And voila, Schinken Feckerlin!   Das glückliche Essen!

So do you have a favorite recipe that originated outside the United States?  Are you a gastronomic adventurer or a lover of comfort foods?

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The Promise

The mine called to Cara from deep in the San Juan Mountains, near the town of Silverthread.    Surrounded by a murderous tapestry of lies, it had once been rich in ore, overflowing with wealth that could make a family's fortune—or destroy it.  But also in its labyrinthine tunnels lay the path to redemption and love, a magic that could draw a woman one hundred years into the past, into the arms of one who could make her life whole.

But crossing time was just the beginning.  To right wrongs already done, to paint a new future, one brighter and full of love, Cara would have to unravel the mine's mysteries.  She would have to depend upon the rugged man who emerged from its opening and trust his vow to keep her safe and cherish her forever.  Then, and only then, would she truly understand the danger—and the power—of the promise.

Winner of the Prism Award, the Promise is the third book in my newly re-released time travel trilogy.  I hope you enjoy reading Michael and Cara's story!  Buy it now from:  Kindle, Nook, Smashwords

And don't forget the other two titles in my trilogy:  Everything In Its Time on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords  and Wild Highland Rose on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords

 

And check out www.deedavis.com for reviews, excerpts and more.

 

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The Revenge of Lord Eberlin by Julia London(on sale 2/21)

Who doesn't like a good revenge story?  Especially when the revenge takes a couple of unexpected turns? At long last, the Revenge of Lord Eberlin, the second book in the Secrets of Hadley Green series (following The Year of Living Scandalously), is available.  Here is a brief description:

Returning to Hadley Green after fifteen years, the young Lord Eberlin has but one goal in mind: to avenge the death of his father. But when he is reunited with the beautiful target of his smoldering wrath, his plans take an unexpected turn. . . .

Tobin Scott has not been back to Hadley Green since Lily Boudine's childhood testimony helped send his father to the gallows for stealing the valuable Ashwood jewels. Now a wealthy man, he intends to exact his revenge by destroying Ashwood and its lady. He offers Lily a choice between her life and the livelihoods of the people who depend on the estate. She chooses the former, certain she can hold his dangerous plans at bay.

Lily and Tobin's game of one-upmanship quickly becomes a delicate dance of seduction, and she realizes he is not the cold, heartless man he tries to seem. In fact, she is certain he is right—his father was innocent. Together, they set out to find the jewels that will restore his family's honor, and soon their unbridled passion uncovers a shocking secret that will change their lives forever.

You can read an excerpt here, and take a sneak peek at the next book in the series, The Seduction of Lady X, which will be available on March 27.  And if you need more, be sure and take a look at the behind the scenes info in my Hadley Green Scrapbook.

Happy Reading!  Julia

 

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A loaf of bread, a jug of wine and…spring cheese!

[image error]So, as many of you know, I love wine.  And I also lived in Austria for a time.  Which, and this may come as a surprise to some of you, was the perfect combination.  Girl meets her idea of the perfect way to spend an evening.

The heuriger is an institution in certain parts of Austria.  Particularly in the hill country surrounding Vienna.  The 19th District, Grinzing is noted for them.  And in the 18th District where I lived, there was actually one next door.  (Not to mention three just up the street).

So what is a heuriger, you ask?  Well, many years ago when Austria was ruled by barons and emperors, the grapes and wines produced by farmers were pledged to the ruling aristocracy.  Which meant there wasn't a lot left over.   But, by decree, they were allowed for a short period of time after the harvest to sell their excess new wine to their neighbors.  And to show these good folks that there was in fact wine to sell, they'd hang a pine bough outside of their vineyard.   From that tradition come the wine taverns or heurigers you find in Vienna and the surrounding countryside.

Originally, people would bring picnic dinner to the vineyard to have with their wine.  Whole families showed up and everyone had a grand time sitting out in the vineyard enjoying fresh wine, good food and[image error] great company.  Over time, heurigers started serving and selling their own simple fare.  Dishes like liptauer (a cheese spread), fruhlingskase (literally spring cheese, with green onion and garlic and oh my, there goes weight watchers…see recipe below), and Schinken Feckerlin a ham-noodle casserole that is out of this world.  In fact, auflaufs, sort of a toss-up between a casserole and a soufflé are made from all kinds of fabulous ingredients.  In addition, of course, there were all kinds of meats and vegetables, and an assortment of glorious brown breads.  (All of which are displayed behind counters so that you just have to point and receive—which was a boon to our early non-German speaking days in Vienna.)

And then there was the wine!  Served in pitchers, starting with a quarter liter on up, there were both reds and whites. Some of it green wine (really new) and these days some of it more aged. But all of it from the winery where you are having your feast.  You can also order a bottle of freshly made soda water to cut the wine (although, not surprisingly, I preferred it straight up). The wine [image error]itself is drunk from a mug as opposed to a wine glass.  I still have a couple around here that are unbroken, I think.  Some of the heurigers have only outdoor tables and playgrounds for the children, and others operate year round now with indoor seating and toasty warm fires in the winter time.  All of them are children friendly which made them a hit with the ex-pat-we've-all-just-had-babies crowd.

What lovely memories I have.  My daughter, then a toddler, is all grown, but I still can see her, reaching for the grape leaves as we sat amid the vines, sipping wine with good food and good friends! 

Spring Cheese (Americanized):

4 oz cream cheese

1 stick butter

1 ½ oz goat cheese

1 ½ tsp dried parsley (can use fresh chopped if available)

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

[image error]Mix cheeses and butter until creamy (can use a mixer or even a food processor).  Add the chopped garlic and parsley. Season with salt.  If the cheese is too firm, stir in a Tbs sour cream.  Should be spreadable.   Serve with fresh dark bread and of course lots of wine!

 

 

So what about you?  Love wine?  Good food?  A place to take the family?  What are some of your favorite haunts when you decide on an evening out?

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Siri-ously

Today, I'm bloggin on all things Siri.  It all started with Sirius XM, that happens to be installed on the rental car I'm driving ((I'm in Dallas at the moment).  So, one of the stations is called "Siriously Sinatra" and it's all Sinatra, all the time.  Dee, I thought of you.  I think Sirius XM is pretty cool, but it's too many choices.  Want to listen to the Bruce Springsteen channel?  Yup, they got a channel for that.  And Howard Stern?  He has two Sirius channels that are completely un-Sirius.  And there's a Martha Stewart station ("violets are lovely this time of year.  I often use violets as an endive, as a beautiful addition to a picture frame, or as an all-natural toilet bowl freshener" ).  There's an Oprah station (all Oprah, 24/7), a golf station, (YAWN) and Spa, which only plays spa music, which is actually pretty scary. And then there's Red, White, and Booze, which is country bar songs.  I spent many hours listening to that one, but mainly in college, and not in a Chevy Malibu. 

But lest you think I'm here to talk about radio, I'm not.  I'm actually going to talk about cool things to do with Siri, the voice-activated assistant on the iphone 4s.  There was an episode on the Big Bang Theory where one of the characters carries on a relationship with Siri, and it was hysterical.  And I thought, oh, that's so cute. They recorded all those things for the show.  But then…  tonight I began to explore my own relationship with Siri.  We started off to a rocky start.  I had driven to Jersey, and I wanted directions to Franklin Lakes, and Siri didn't understand that I was referring to Franklin Lakes, the township fives miles from where I was located, as opposed to the Franklin Lakes in Nebraska.  Really Siri?  Is that the best you can do?  And I want back to thinking of Siri as a cool toy, but then, I thought it was only fair to give Siri a chance to redeem herself.  So I told her, "Call me Kathleen" and she said, "OK, from now on, I'll call you Kathleen.  Is that okay?"  and I said, sure.  But then, I decided that I wasn't exploiting the full power of Siri, so I said, "Call me Kathleen, Grand Mistress of the Universe."  And Siri responded, "Okay.  from now on, I'll call you Kathleen, Grand Mistress of the Universe.  Is that okay?" 

hehehehe…

Deciding that I needed to know more about my new best friend, I ask Siri her favorite color.  She answered, "My favorite color is…well, I don't know how to say it in your language.  It's greenish, but with more dimensions."  And then I said, "Knock, knock."  And Siri, my new best friend replied.  "Knock knock.  Who's there?  Kathleen Grand Mistress of the Universe.  Kathleen Grand Mistress of the Universe who?  Kathleen Grand Mistress of the Universe, I don't do knock-knock jokes." 

Okay, it was a small slight that Siri doesn't do knock-knock jokes, but I can live with it.  Next, I said, "Siri, I feel bad," and she said, "Kathleen Grand Mistress of the Universe, I don't understand, Siri I feel bad."  Yes, it's a strike against Siri.  My best know what to do when I say I feel bad.  They usually ply me with dessert or wine or funny knock-knock jokes, but again, do my friends call me "Kathleen Grand Mistress of the Universe?"  Uh, no, not in this lifetime or in the next one….

So, then I said, "Good morning!" and Siri replied, "Good morning? It's 10:01pm!"  And I said, "Sorry, I must be drunk>" And Siri said, "It's OK, Kathleen Grand Mistress of the Universe.  Really." 

I next asked Siri if she could clean my house, and she said, 'I found 17 cleaning services, 16 of them are fairly close to you>"  Okay, obviously Siri is not a friend in-deed.  But then, if I asked the WhineSisters if they could come clean my house, none of them would be polite enough to actually refer me to a cleaning service, except for probably Jacquie, because she's just that way. 

And then I asked Siri to remind me to post my WhineSisters blog.  And she asked when I want to create a reminder for.  I said "now" and she said that she couldn't handle any requests right now.  Sigh.  So I said, "siri, we're no longer friends" and she said, "Sorry, I don't understand Siri, we're no longer friends." 

Oh, well.. I'm sure that after she calls me Kathleen Grand Mistress of the Universe tomorrow, then all will be forgiven.

So, that's my Siri-ous post for today.  If you had programmed personal assistant, what would you ask it?  If you could have a computer or robot do one task for you, and do it perfectly, what would it be? 

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Uphill Battles

We all face them.  Some people fall down as they are going uphill and never get back up.  Some people surge right to the top as if there was no hill at all.  I root for the  first group to get up and keep going.  The second group just pisses me off with their ability, which other people might call "jealousy" or "envy."  Whatever.

Forgive me for talking about my half marathon AGAIN, but it's only been three days, and I am still very proud of the fact that I did it, more than I would be, I think, if the weather had been nice, as it's supposed to be in Florida this time of year.  Unfortunately, an arctic front blew in–and I mean blew in a manner that reminded me of my childhood spent on the plains of West Texas.  I have never been so miserably cold in my life.  And why would I subject myself to it?  Because we had paid to come to Florida and run in this race.  Because I had trained for three months to run that race.  I even made Julie Kenner go home one night so I could get up at dawn and run!  I was determined to run but I honestly didn't know if I could finish.  I told myself that attempting it was important, and really, if I didn't finish, the weather was a legitimate excuse.

I plodded along, frigid mile after frigid mile, and I realized around mile 10 that I was going to make it!  But then came mile 12. Mile 12–the last mile before the 13.1 mile finish line–was up a bridge that spanned water, and into that arctic wind.  I mean UP.  In training, they teach you to shorten your stride and use the same effort when you come to hills.  My effort at that point was just trying to put one foot in front of the other, which I did, one miserable step at a time.  No one was more surprised than me when I not only finished the race, but I set a personal best for that distance.

In THE REVENGE OF LORD EBERLIN, Lily Boudine has learned that out of the blue she inherited an estate and a title.  But the estate is losing money left and right, and like in Downton Abbey, the servants depend on her estate for their livelihood.  From page one, Lily is facing an Uphill Battle.  She doesn't know how to conquer the hill, she has not trained for three months.  She only knows that falling down is not an option because too many people are depending on her.  She only knows that she has to keep moving forward, step by bitty step, treading carefully around a man who is hellbent on ruining her for revenge.  But she keeps going, and when she gets to the top of that hill, she can see the finish line.  She knows she has to go the distance.  Which she does.  And she definitely gets her prize (check out her neck).

I am so excited that Lily and I both conquered our hills.  It feels really good to go up and over.  Tell us about a hill you've had to climb with little bitty steps and tears streaming down your face as you cursed the people shouting "You can do it!"  Or just tell us about a hill you've climbed in your life.  

The Revenge of Lord Eberlin is on sale 2/21!  If you haven't read Year of Living Scandalously, now is your chance–$5.99 for print and $3.99 for ebook.  Read those and look forward to The Seduction of Lady X on March 27! 

Want to know more about the series, The Secret of Hadley Green?  Be sure and check out my new Hadley Green Scrapbook to see scenes behind the books.

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Our Valentine! The Kindle Fire Winner is…

In honor of Valentine's Day, and to show our love and appreciation to our readers and commenters, we decided to hold a contest to give a Kindle Fire to one commenter selected at random. And bonus, I made a Super Bowl bet with that tricky Giants fan Kathleen O'Reilly to buy a $10 gift card for the winner should my team lose. And. My. Team. Lost. (wah!).

The winner of the Kindle Fire plus $10 Amazon gift card (to buy Kathleen O'Reilly books, of course!) is:

VB!

Congratulations! And may you find hours of enjoyment with your new toy.

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Happy Valentine's Day! With love, the Whine Sisters.

Do you have plans for Valentine's Day? What's your idea of the perfect Valentine's Day celebration? Do you have a special Valentine's Day memory? 

 

 

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Grammys/Whitney Houston 1963-2012

I was going to blog about fashion week today, and fashion is fun! But the Grammy awards were last night, and the show sadly had to become a tribute to Whitney Houston, who passed away unexpectedly on Saturday afternoon. I'm writing on Sunday, so my guess is that the big news, besides Whitney, is Adele's sweep of every major award. I'll go out on a limb and say she looked bleeping fabulous. Take that, Karl Lagerfeld. But the biggest news is still, unfortunately, bad news, the death of a legend.

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The first time I saw Whitney Houston sing was on an episode of Silver Spoons in the early 80s. Do you remember Silver Spoons? I loved that show- Rick Schroeder and Jason Bateman. They're close to my age, so yeah, we were all pretty young back then. But Whitney was a-mazing. She stole the show and blew me away, and I knew she was going to be a huge star.

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80s TV Hit: Silver Spoons

And she was. Her debut album was just out and went right up the charts. Whether or not it was your kind of music, Whitney could SING and her voice won you over.[image error]

Plus, she was stylish and beautiful, and fun. My favorite Whitney image is the happy, dancing Whitney from How Will I Know. Plus, she really rocked that tight silver sheath and hair bow.

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Well, she looked happy in the video.

But most people remember her breathtaking rendition of the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in 1991.

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Triumphant!

She seemed fresh and wholesome and so talented! So of course we were all surprised when she married bad boy Bobby Brown and went on a long downward spiral. Still, it always seemed like she could bounce back. I think we were all waiting for her to get it together and blow us away again with that voice.

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Cause for Concern: Scary Skinny Whitney in 2001

And she was looking pretty good on her 2009 comeback album and in 2009 live appearances.

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Singing for Clive Davis

But it didn't last, and the recovery took a bit longer than we all hoped.

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Looking good: recent photo of Whitney with daughter Bobbi Kristina

I think we were still waiting when the news came that she was found dead in her hotel room hours before mentor Clive Davis's big Grammy party. So sad. Rumors are swirling that she drowned in her bathtub. Even sadder, news reports say her 18 year old daughter was there with her, and so distraught upon hearing the news that she needed medical attention. Prayers and love to Whitney's family and friends.

I'm going to remember the smiling, bubbly How Will I Know Whitney and that voice. There will never be another quite like her.

Were you a Whitney fan? Stunned by the news? What's your favorite Whitney song? Did you watch the Grammys? What did you think of the show? 

*Comments still count! After midnight, I'm drawing the name of our Kindle Fire (plus $10 gift card) winner from all commenters. Come back tomorrow to see if you're our valentine, the lucky winner.

 

 

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