By popular vote (imploring of 2 friends), I have decided to keep the name. Whether I like it or not, it's me, and I still think it's catchy. But I have written a mission statement, which is different than the former mission statement of making this blog all about food and God. As much as my faith is important to me, trying to write about food and faith just isn't where I am anymore. Over the past two weeks, I've sat down so many times getting ready to write about what God's doing in my foodie life, and nothing came...so I promise to write in a way that is truly me, even if it means people don't agree, or don't like that I'm changing around the blog.
I don't see myself as selling out, just being true to myself...on that note, back to the reason for the blog, FOOD!
The past few weeks have provided SO many opportunities to write on a daily basis, and I'm sorry that I haven't. I don't know why I haven't...well if we're being honest here, yes I do...I worry that my food blog won't be good...."good" meaning entertaining, inspiring, encouraging, and above all, packed with foodstuff and stories that make people go "wow". I'm afraid that I'm not a good writer. I'm afraid I'm boring. I'm afraid people will read it and go, "Wow it's too bad she's not funnier/smarter/ (insert adjective here) in her writing". I'm afraid people will think because I'm an English major, I'm this awesome, intellectual, funny, witty writer. I'm afraid that it will be too much about my life and not as much about food. I'm afraid that my fears of what people think of me will take over, and I'll write with a certain person in mind (ie daily blogger who has the LIFE!) and I won't measure up...
So, I'm writing all those fears down, and publishing them on here, and putting them to rest. They're gone. Dead. Buried.
When I was at Palm Beach Atlantic University in FL (2005), before I transferred out, I took a great Creative Writing for Publication class. In the class we had to get serious about our writing, and actually send out submissions to literary reviews and magazines to try to get published. David Athey (phenomenal teacher) had us do this exercise where we took all of our rejection letters, passed them around the room, reading the responses as a group, then we all walked to the middle of the room and each threw a stack up into the air!!! It was so exhilirating and refreshing, and made us realize they didn't matter. What MATTERED, was that we get over the rejection and get writing again. Essentially, to let them fly out of our hands and out of our minds. And it worked. Soon, we were writing again and reading our words out loud, and sending out other batches of submissions. Some students were published; I'm still tossing up those rejection letters...
but it doesn't mean I'm going to quit writing. I love food, and I love writing. So I'm just going to stay true to myself and write about what I love. Eventually, I'll find my groove and my fears will disappear. They're still lingering, but the best way to get over those fears is to face them down.
Determined,
Shannon
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
New year, new name
Nope, I'm not getting married...I don't need a new name. I like mine just fine...but my BLOG does need a new name!
In 2007 I started http://www.andbemerry.blogspot.com/, based on my favorite Bible verse... eatdrinkandbemerry was already taken, so I settled on andbemerry. It was catchy. It was cute. But it's been 3 years. I'm not that cutesy person anymore. Last night one of my besties, Shirah, and I were talking on the phone and she asked if I had changed the name yet...noooo I say, ....hoping she would give me some inspired new foodie name, but she said "andbemerry is cute". Exactly. It's cute. But I don't wanna be cute. Cute isn't me. So my blog needs a new name.
After chewing on it for days and not coming up with anything "me", I took to my photo albums to glean some inspiration. I have a lot of pictures of drinks. I like taking pictures of cappucino. Just the look of a great big white mug of frothy cappucino sprinkled with freshly ground chocolate makes me smile (then go to Starbucks), so my blog should be named something that makes me and hopefully other people smile, right?
I like taking pictures of sweets, even though I wouldn't call myself a person with a sweet tooth. (I prefer salt) So over the years I have accrued quite a collection of bakery-item photographs.
I love cheese, of all kinds. Jarlesberg, Brie, Camembert, Saint Andre, Brillat-Savarin, and especially Port Salut...but do I want my blog to be all about cheese? Nah. Keep thinking, Shannon...
I love sitting in cafes, reading a good book like A Moveable Feast, and people watching. So my blog should also have that vibe. But still no ideas jumped out at me.
Then it hit me! My film collection! Surely I can find some inspiration there. Surely a title will just grab me by the cheeks. After casting aside Mystic Pizza and Big Night and Babette's Feast and Mostly Martha (all wonderful foodie films, by the way, and my favorites) ....VOILA!! It hit me, out of nowhere!!!
CANNOLI!!!!! It's one of my favorite foods to eat, photograph, and just admire. It's sweet, but satisfies my craving for cheese too. It's creamy and delicious, wrapped in a delicate pastry dough, and can be decked out with chocolate chips, nuts, you name it, for a unique flavor. I've always stopped to admire it in the bakery case of Italian bakeries before taste-testing then buying a 1/2 dozen to admire myself before eating whole. Licking your fingers after eating a cannoli may just be the greatest thing to do on earth. Yes, yes, yes, my blog must have the word "cannoli" in the title. Then WHAM!
Another revelation. The Godfather. Cannoli. You've Got Mail. Cannoli. A pattern is emerging. What is my favorite quote from The Godfather, so artistically injected into my favorite movie, You've Got Mail?
"LEAVE THE GUN, TAKE THE CANNOLI".... or for blog purposes....TAKE THE CANNOLI.
YES!!!! I love it. takethecannoli.blogspot.com. It's fresh, artsy, inspired by a great film, an amazing cheesy sweet I've always adored, tied to a fascinating culture I am inspired by (Italian). I could barely type the words into blogspot fast enough. I have a new blog name! 2010 is off to a great start, with a catchy new blog that surely everyone will read, and they'll all comment on how I'm so witty and splendidly creative. Take the cannoli! Inspired!
...Until I realize that there is already a http://www.takethecannoli.blogspot.com/. Noooo! How can it be? So I click on it and...it's not even about food! And it hasn't been updated since 2002! Even I can update more than that! What's more, there is no talk about cannoli in the one post "Taylor" has written, about being in some theatre production. Noooo. How can someone take an ingenious line and make it their blog name, taking away my perfect start to 2010? How?
Well, this is not the end of my search. Oh no. I WILL get that blog name. Even if I have to hunt "Taylor" down and hack into his blogspot account myself! I have posted a picture of cannoli I took a few years ago from Cafe Graffiti in Boston in the hopes that my e-mail will be gratefully received, and "Taylor" will be happy to relinquish his little spot on the internet so I might become a famous food blogger. Or at least a food blogger with that perfect name!
Stay tuned,
Shannon
In 2007 I started http://www.andbemerry.blogspot.com/, based on my favorite Bible verse... eatdrinkandbemerry was already taken, so I settled on andbemerry. It was catchy. It was cute. But it's been 3 years. I'm not that cutesy person anymore. Last night one of my besties, Shirah, and I were talking on the phone and she asked if I had changed the name yet...noooo I say, ....hoping she would give me some inspired new foodie name, but she said "andbemerry is cute". Exactly. It's cute. But I don't wanna be cute. Cute isn't me. So my blog needs a new name.
After chewing on it for days and not coming up with anything "me", I took to my photo albums to glean some inspiration. I have a lot of pictures of drinks. I like taking pictures of cappucino. Just the look of a great big white mug of frothy cappucino sprinkled with freshly ground chocolate makes me smile (then go to Starbucks), so my blog should be named something that makes me and hopefully other people smile, right?
I like taking pictures of sweets, even though I wouldn't call myself a person with a sweet tooth. (I prefer salt) So over the years I have accrued quite a collection of bakery-item photographs.
I love cheese, of all kinds. Jarlesberg, Brie, Camembert, Saint Andre, Brillat-Savarin, and especially Port Salut...but do I want my blog to be all about cheese? Nah. Keep thinking, Shannon...
I love sitting in cafes, reading a good book like A Moveable Feast, and people watching. So my blog should also have that vibe. But still no ideas jumped out at me.
Then it hit me! My film collection! Surely I can find some inspiration there. Surely a title will just grab me by the cheeks. After casting aside Mystic Pizza and Big Night and Babette's Feast and Mostly Martha (all wonderful foodie films, by the way, and my favorites) ....VOILA!! It hit me, out of nowhere!!!
CANNOLI!!!!! It's one of my favorite foods to eat, photograph, and just admire. It's sweet, but satisfies my craving for cheese too. It's creamy and delicious, wrapped in a delicate pastry dough, and can be decked out with chocolate chips, nuts, you name it, for a unique flavor. I've always stopped to admire it in the bakery case of Italian bakeries before taste-testing then buying a 1/2 dozen to admire myself before eating whole. Licking your fingers after eating a cannoli may just be the greatest thing to do on earth. Yes, yes, yes, my blog must have the word "cannoli" in the title. Then WHAM!
Another revelation. The Godfather. Cannoli. You've Got Mail. Cannoli. A pattern is emerging. What is my favorite quote from The Godfather, so artistically injected into my favorite movie, You've Got Mail?
"LEAVE THE GUN, TAKE THE CANNOLI".... or for blog purposes....TAKE THE CANNOLI.
YES!!!! I love it. takethecannoli.blogspot.com. It's fresh, artsy, inspired by a great film, an amazing cheesy sweet I've always adored, tied to a fascinating culture I am inspired by (Italian). I could barely type the words into blogspot fast enough. I have a new blog name! 2010 is off to a great start, with a catchy new blog that surely everyone will read, and they'll all comment on how I'm so witty and splendidly creative. Take the cannoli! Inspired!
...Until I realize that there is already a http://www.takethecannoli.blogspot.com/. Noooo! How can it be? So I click on it and...it's not even about food! And it hasn't been updated since 2002! Even I can update more than that! What's more, there is no talk about cannoli in the one post "Taylor" has written, about being in some theatre production. Noooo. How can someone take an ingenious line and make it their blog name, taking away my perfect start to 2010? How?
Well, this is not the end of my search. Oh no. I WILL get that blog name. Even if I have to hunt "Taylor" down and hack into his blogspot account myself! I have posted a picture of cannoli I took a few years ago from Cafe Graffiti in Boston in the hopes that my e-mail will be gratefully received, and "Taylor" will be happy to relinquish his little spot on the internet so I might become a famous food blogger. Or at least a food blogger with that perfect name!
Stay tuned,
Shannon
Pizzeria Paradiso, take two
So on Tuesday Jeremy surprised me with the great news that he had Wednesday off! Do you know what this means? A day to explore Washington, DC. I mean, I explore it on my own fairly often, but it's always more fun with a companion...so Wednesday morning we headed out, with the first stop being the national monument. I've always wanted to see DC from above, and Jeremy had already seen it a couple years ago. So we took the metro in, and it was COLD! But nevertheless, I got my view of the White House, Capitol building, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, all the things I was excited about seeing...from like 550 feet above ground!!
After this, we were HUNGRY! Immediately, Dupont jumped into my head. I really like the area, and felt we had much more exploring to do. I really wasn't sure if I wanted pizza, but once we took the metro around for a while and finally got there (one stop farther than we wanted to go, oops) we were ravenous...and all Jeremy had to do was suggest Pizzeria Paradiso and bring back the fond memory of our first time there and I was sold. I had kind of wanted to check out some other places in the area, you know, try something new, but all I could think about was getting more serious about my food blog, and how you should really dine at a restaurant a couple times before writing about it...to get the full feel of the place. So with that in mind, and with Jeremy excited about some good pizza in his future, off we went. Again, we walked @ Dupont a couple times before we re-routed ourselves and realized we were walking in the opposite direction. We were on P Street, but headed toward the residential part, not where all the shops and restaurants were. So we turned around, walked through the little park and were on our way.
3:00 pm at Pizzeria Paradiso in mid-January was empty, except for a couple folks at the bar. Here are my notes:
Olives! Just as good as before, wish I could have more...they sure know how to get those taste buds all revved up for what's to come...
Drinks- for her, chianti classico 2003 that he ordered for me -great choice. dry, earthy, nice aftertaste
for him- delirium nocturnium beer, from belgium with hints of bananas and red wine! i took one sip but stuck with my wine
Wine still served in drinking glass, and beer served in a wine glass! huh? But I'm kind of liking drinking it this way. It's growing on me.
Appetizer- Crostino Formaggio di capra- which is: toasted homemade bread topped w/ goat cheese and prosciutto di parma for $6.95
Jeremy's reaction after one bite: "That's pretty serious." I think he likes....
Crunchy bread on outside but soft inside, great burst of basil and the prosciutto-goat cheese combo melts in your mouth.
Ambience: earth tones, firewood under hostess stand makes for a rustic feel.
Pizza special: The Little Italy- roasted broccoli rabe, tomato, hot sausage, mushroom, red pepper flakes
Not a huge fan of the broccoli rabe (pronounced "rob", thanks Jeremy or I would have called it "raybe" all day), but mushrooms paired with hot sausage was tasty. Spicy aftertaste. Like Atomica better
We'll have to head back there again for more of the different pizza combinations. Honestly though, each time we visited I left not wanting more of the pizza, but more of the olives!
Eat your pizza! (I ate mine)
Shannon
After this, we were HUNGRY! Immediately, Dupont jumped into my head. I really like the area, and felt we had much more exploring to do. I really wasn't sure if I wanted pizza, but once we took the metro around for a while and finally got there (one stop farther than we wanted to go, oops) we were ravenous...and all Jeremy had to do was suggest Pizzeria Paradiso and bring back the fond memory of our first time there and I was sold. I had kind of wanted to check out some other places in the area, you know, try something new, but all I could think about was getting more serious about my food blog, and how you should really dine at a restaurant a couple times before writing about it...to get the full feel of the place. So with that in mind, and with Jeremy excited about some good pizza in his future, off we went. Again, we walked @ Dupont a couple times before we re-routed ourselves and realized we were walking in the opposite direction. We were on P Street, but headed toward the residential part, not where all the shops and restaurants were. So we turned around, walked through the little park and were on our way.
3:00 pm at Pizzeria Paradiso in mid-January was empty, except for a couple folks at the bar. Here are my notes:
Olives! Just as good as before, wish I could have more...they sure know how to get those taste buds all revved up for what's to come...
Drinks- for her, chianti classico 2003 that he ordered for me -great choice. dry, earthy, nice aftertaste
for him- delirium nocturnium beer, from belgium with hints of bananas and red wine! i took one sip but stuck with my wine
Wine still served in drinking glass, and beer served in a wine glass! huh? But I'm kind of liking drinking it this way. It's growing on me.
Appetizer- Crostino Formaggio di capra- which is: toasted homemade bread topped w/ goat cheese and prosciutto di parma for $6.95
Jeremy's reaction after one bite: "That's pretty serious." I think he likes....
Crunchy bread on outside but soft inside, great burst of basil and the prosciutto-goat cheese combo melts in your mouth.
Ambience: earth tones, firewood under hostess stand makes for a rustic feel.
Pizza special: The Little Italy- roasted broccoli rabe, tomato, hot sausage, mushroom, red pepper flakes
Not a huge fan of the broccoli rabe (pronounced "rob", thanks Jeremy or I would have called it "raybe" all day), but mushrooms paired with hot sausage was tasty. Spicy aftertaste. Like Atomica better
We'll have to head back there again for more of the different pizza combinations. Honestly though, each time we visited I left not wanting more of the pizza, but more of the olives!
Eat your pizza! (I ate mine)
Shannon
Friday, January 15, 2010
Pizzeria Paradiso (take one...early December 2009)
Happy 2010! I have relocated! Foodie greetings from Washington, DC!
In an effort to refurbish this blog and get it up and running again, posting more than 2 entries a year, I need blogging advice! What would make for a better blog? If you are a blogger, help! I need your input, so this can become more easily accessible, and a more entertaining read!
Now for the review: Pizzeria Paradiso, 2003 P Street, NW and at http://www.eatyourpizza.com/
This Dupont Circle pizza establishment is the perfect lunch or dinner after a day out gallavanting the city. My boyfriend, Jeremy, is a line cook, climbing those kitchen ranks, so a day off is much desired, and we're always on the lookout for a great restaurant (that is within our tight budgets)...enter Pizzeria Paradiso.
The first time we dined here was a Monday evening last December. We had spent the day touring the Smithsonian museums, and we were ready for some pizza! I had been carrying around a little DC travel guide since moving to the city, loaded with restaurants to explore, and had highlighted Pizzeria Paradiso namely because it is located in Dupont Circle, where I've always wanted to explore. So off we went. We took the metro from the Smithsonian/Mall area and easily found Dupont Circle, walked around the circle a couple times looking for the right direction of P Street, and found our place.
Straight out of my notes that early December evening:
Cute, quaint, and rustic. I love that they serve a mix of Greek olives in a little dish in place of bread, and I'm grooving on the eclectic crowd. The pizza place for DC hipsters? Roomy enough but not too large of a restaurant. Casual dress code. Bohemian-type servers (all sorts of piercings and tattoos ok here) with a slight air of arrogance...but it works.
Drinks-for her: Montepuciano red wine, for him: vodka martini, dirty
Wine served in a drinking glass!!!--ODD and I don't like it. Wish I could swirl it around and let it "breathe", as dad, J, always tells me to do. Umm, you definitely can't swirl wine in a drinking glass. It splashes and splooshes and it's just not the same. And turning it sideways...not happening. Not so sure about this...
Appetizer: Bruschetta--delicious, but not enough for $6.
Ordered the Atomica pizza (suggested from my little tour guide) which came with salami, mozzarella, tomatoes and what tasted like kalamata olives (website says they are black olives), and hot pepper flakes. First pizza came out looking burnt so we sent it back. Manager comes to table and says, "That's the way it comes" but we insisted he bring us out another pie. He was very polite. Jeremy was very polite too. I was not as polite, quipping, "My boyfriend works in the culinary profession" just to prove we knew good food, and when a pizza looks burnt, it probably tastes that way too. In retrospect, I shouldn't have thrown in that comment (Why do I do those sorts of things?), but the 2nd pizza was great.
Note: I don't usually send food back because of all those horror stories and e-mail forwards about what cooks do to your food (can we say Domino's???) when you send it back, but from my vantage point in the seating area I could watch like a hawk the cooks preparing our pie. No monkey business.
We will return.
***/*****
(Like I'm foodie enough to give stars!)
Next read: Pizzeria Paradiso, take 2
Shannon
In an effort to refurbish this blog and get it up and running again, posting more than 2 entries a year, I need blogging advice! What would make for a better blog? If you are a blogger, help! I need your input, so this can become more easily accessible, and a more entertaining read!
Now for the review: Pizzeria Paradiso, 2003 P Street, NW and at http://www.eatyourpizza.com/
This Dupont Circle pizza establishment is the perfect lunch or dinner after a day out gallavanting the city. My boyfriend, Jeremy, is a line cook, climbing those kitchen ranks, so a day off is much desired, and we're always on the lookout for a great restaurant (that is within our tight budgets)...enter Pizzeria Paradiso.
The first time we dined here was a Monday evening last December. We had spent the day touring the Smithsonian museums, and we were ready for some pizza! I had been carrying around a little DC travel guide since moving to the city, loaded with restaurants to explore, and had highlighted Pizzeria Paradiso namely because it is located in Dupont Circle, where I've always wanted to explore. So off we went. We took the metro from the Smithsonian/Mall area and easily found Dupont Circle, walked around the circle a couple times looking for the right direction of P Street, and found our place.
Straight out of my notes that early December evening:
Cute, quaint, and rustic. I love that they serve a mix of Greek olives in a little dish in place of bread, and I'm grooving on the eclectic crowd. The pizza place for DC hipsters? Roomy enough but not too large of a restaurant. Casual dress code. Bohemian-type servers (all sorts of piercings and tattoos ok here) with a slight air of arrogance...but it works.
Drinks-for her: Montepuciano red wine, for him: vodka martini, dirty
Wine served in a drinking glass!!!--ODD and I don't like it. Wish I could swirl it around and let it "breathe", as dad, J, always tells me to do. Umm, you definitely can't swirl wine in a drinking glass. It splashes and splooshes and it's just not the same. And turning it sideways...not happening. Not so sure about this...
Appetizer: Bruschetta--delicious, but not enough for $6.
Ordered the Atomica pizza (suggested from my little tour guide) which came with salami, mozzarella, tomatoes and what tasted like kalamata olives (website says they are black olives), and hot pepper flakes. First pizza came out looking burnt so we sent it back. Manager comes to table and says, "That's the way it comes" but we insisted he bring us out another pie. He was very polite. Jeremy was very polite too. I was not as polite, quipping, "My boyfriend works in the culinary profession" just to prove we knew good food, and when a pizza looks burnt, it probably tastes that way too. In retrospect, I shouldn't have thrown in that comment (Why do I do those sorts of things?), but the 2nd pizza was great.
Note: I don't usually send food back because of all those horror stories and e-mail forwards about what cooks do to your food (can we say Domino's???) when you send it back, but from my vantage point in the seating area I could watch like a hawk the cooks preparing our pie. No monkey business.
We will return.
***/*****
(Like I'm foodie enough to give stars!)
Next read: Pizzeria Paradiso, take 2
Shannon
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Saturday, January 30, 2010
Facing those (writing) fears...
By popular vote (imploring of 2 friends), I have decided to keep the name. Whether I like it or not, it's me, and I still think it's catchy. But I have written a mission statement, which is different than the former mission statement of making this blog all about food and God. As much as my faith is important to me, trying to write about food and faith just isn't where I am anymore. Over the past two weeks, I've sat down so many times getting ready to write about what God's doing in my foodie life, and nothing came...so I promise to write in a way that is truly me, even if it means people don't agree, or don't like that I'm changing around the blog.
I don't see myself as selling out, just being true to myself...on that note, back to the reason for the blog, FOOD!
The past few weeks have provided SO many opportunities to write on a daily basis, and I'm sorry that I haven't. I don't know why I haven't...well if we're being honest here, yes I do...I worry that my food blog won't be good...."good" meaning entertaining, inspiring, encouraging, and above all, packed with foodstuff and stories that make people go "wow". I'm afraid that I'm not a good writer. I'm afraid I'm boring. I'm afraid people will read it and go, "Wow it's too bad she's not funnier/smarter/ (insert adjective here) in her writing". I'm afraid people will think because I'm an English major, I'm this awesome, intellectual, funny, witty writer. I'm afraid that it will be too much about my life and not as much about food. I'm afraid that my fears of what people think of me will take over, and I'll write with a certain person in mind (ie daily blogger who has the LIFE!) and I won't measure up...
So, I'm writing all those fears down, and publishing them on here, and putting them to rest. They're gone. Dead. Buried.
When I was at Palm Beach Atlantic University in FL (2005), before I transferred out, I took a great Creative Writing for Publication class. In the class we had to get serious about our writing, and actually send out submissions to literary reviews and magazines to try to get published. David Athey (phenomenal teacher) had us do this exercise where we took all of our rejection letters, passed them around the room, reading the responses as a group, then we all walked to the middle of the room and each threw a stack up into the air!!! It was so exhilirating and refreshing, and made us realize they didn't matter. What MATTERED, was that we get over the rejection and get writing again. Essentially, to let them fly out of our hands and out of our minds. And it worked. Soon, we were writing again and reading our words out loud, and sending out other batches of submissions. Some students were published; I'm still tossing up those rejection letters...
but it doesn't mean I'm going to quit writing. I love food, and I love writing. So I'm just going to stay true to myself and write about what I love. Eventually, I'll find my groove and my fears will disappear. They're still lingering, but the best way to get over those fears is to face them down.
Determined,
Shannon
I don't see myself as selling out, just being true to myself...on that note, back to the reason for the blog, FOOD!
The past few weeks have provided SO many opportunities to write on a daily basis, and I'm sorry that I haven't. I don't know why I haven't...well if we're being honest here, yes I do...I worry that my food blog won't be good...."good" meaning entertaining, inspiring, encouraging, and above all, packed with foodstuff and stories that make people go "wow". I'm afraid that I'm not a good writer. I'm afraid I'm boring. I'm afraid people will read it and go, "Wow it's too bad she's not funnier/smarter/ (insert adjective here) in her writing". I'm afraid people will think because I'm an English major, I'm this awesome, intellectual, funny, witty writer. I'm afraid that it will be too much about my life and not as much about food. I'm afraid that my fears of what people think of me will take over, and I'll write with a certain person in mind (ie daily blogger who has the LIFE!) and I won't measure up...
So, I'm writing all those fears down, and publishing them on here, and putting them to rest. They're gone. Dead. Buried.
When I was at Palm Beach Atlantic University in FL (2005), before I transferred out, I took a great Creative Writing for Publication class. In the class we had to get serious about our writing, and actually send out submissions to literary reviews and magazines to try to get published. David Athey (phenomenal teacher) had us do this exercise where we took all of our rejection letters, passed them around the room, reading the responses as a group, then we all walked to the middle of the room and each threw a stack up into the air!!! It was so exhilirating and refreshing, and made us realize they didn't matter. What MATTERED, was that we get over the rejection and get writing again. Essentially, to let them fly out of our hands and out of our minds. And it worked. Soon, we were writing again and reading our words out loud, and sending out other batches of submissions. Some students were published; I'm still tossing up those rejection letters...
but it doesn't mean I'm going to quit writing. I love food, and I love writing. So I'm just going to stay true to myself and write about what I love. Eventually, I'll find my groove and my fears will disappear. They're still lingering, but the best way to get over those fears is to face them down.
Determined,
Shannon
Saturday, January 16, 2010
New year, new name
Nope, I'm not getting married...I don't need a new name. I like mine just fine...but my BLOG does need a new name!
In 2007 I started http://www.andbemerry.blogspot.com/, based on my favorite Bible verse... eatdrinkandbemerry was already taken, so I settled on andbemerry. It was catchy. It was cute. But it's been 3 years. I'm not that cutesy person anymore. Last night one of my besties, Shirah, and I were talking on the phone and she asked if I had changed the name yet...noooo I say, ....hoping she would give me some inspired new foodie name, but she said "andbemerry is cute". Exactly. It's cute. But I don't wanna be cute. Cute isn't me. So my blog needs a new name.
After chewing on it for days and not coming up with anything "me", I took to my photo albums to glean some inspiration. I have a lot of pictures of drinks. I like taking pictures of cappucino. Just the look of a great big white mug of frothy cappucino sprinkled with freshly ground chocolate makes me smile (then go to Starbucks), so my blog should be named something that makes me and hopefully other people smile, right?
I like taking pictures of sweets, even though I wouldn't call myself a person with a sweet tooth. (I prefer salt) So over the years I have accrued quite a collection of bakery-item photographs.
I love cheese, of all kinds. Jarlesberg, Brie, Camembert, Saint Andre, Brillat-Savarin, and especially Port Salut...but do I want my blog to be all about cheese? Nah. Keep thinking, Shannon...
I love sitting in cafes, reading a good book like A Moveable Feast, and people watching. So my blog should also have that vibe. But still no ideas jumped out at me.
Then it hit me! My film collection! Surely I can find some inspiration there. Surely a title will just grab me by the cheeks. After casting aside Mystic Pizza and Big Night and Babette's Feast and Mostly Martha (all wonderful foodie films, by the way, and my favorites) ....VOILA!! It hit me, out of nowhere!!!
CANNOLI!!!!! It's one of my favorite foods to eat, photograph, and just admire. It's sweet, but satisfies my craving for cheese too. It's creamy and delicious, wrapped in a delicate pastry dough, and can be decked out with chocolate chips, nuts, you name it, for a unique flavor. I've always stopped to admire it in the bakery case of Italian bakeries before taste-testing then buying a 1/2 dozen to admire myself before eating whole. Licking your fingers after eating a cannoli may just be the greatest thing to do on earth. Yes, yes, yes, my blog must have the word "cannoli" in the title. Then WHAM!
Another revelation. The Godfather. Cannoli. You've Got Mail. Cannoli. A pattern is emerging. What is my favorite quote from The Godfather, so artistically injected into my favorite movie, You've Got Mail?
"LEAVE THE GUN, TAKE THE CANNOLI".... or for blog purposes....TAKE THE CANNOLI.
YES!!!! I love it. takethecannoli.blogspot.com. It's fresh, artsy, inspired by a great film, an amazing cheesy sweet I've always adored, tied to a fascinating culture I am inspired by (Italian). I could barely type the words into blogspot fast enough. I have a new blog name! 2010 is off to a great start, with a catchy new blog that surely everyone will read, and they'll all comment on how I'm so witty and splendidly creative. Take the cannoli! Inspired!
...Until I realize that there is already a http://www.takethecannoli.blogspot.com/. Noooo! How can it be? So I click on it and...it's not even about food! And it hasn't been updated since 2002! Even I can update more than that! What's more, there is no talk about cannoli in the one post "Taylor" has written, about being in some theatre production. Noooo. How can someone take an ingenious line and make it their blog name, taking away my perfect start to 2010? How?
Well, this is not the end of my search. Oh no. I WILL get that blog name. Even if I have to hunt "Taylor" down and hack into his blogspot account myself! I have posted a picture of cannoli I took a few years ago from Cafe Graffiti in Boston in the hopes that my e-mail will be gratefully received, and "Taylor" will be happy to relinquish his little spot on the internet so I might become a famous food blogger. Or at least a food blogger with that perfect name!
Stay tuned,
Shannon
In 2007 I started http://www.andbemerry.blogspot.com/, based on my favorite Bible verse... eatdrinkandbemerry was already taken, so I settled on andbemerry. It was catchy. It was cute. But it's been 3 years. I'm not that cutesy person anymore. Last night one of my besties, Shirah, and I were talking on the phone and she asked if I had changed the name yet...noooo I say, ....hoping she would give me some inspired new foodie name, but she said "andbemerry is cute". Exactly. It's cute. But I don't wanna be cute. Cute isn't me. So my blog needs a new name.
After chewing on it for days and not coming up with anything "me", I took to my photo albums to glean some inspiration. I have a lot of pictures of drinks. I like taking pictures of cappucino. Just the look of a great big white mug of frothy cappucino sprinkled with freshly ground chocolate makes me smile (then go to Starbucks), so my blog should be named something that makes me and hopefully other people smile, right?
I like taking pictures of sweets, even though I wouldn't call myself a person with a sweet tooth. (I prefer salt) So over the years I have accrued quite a collection of bakery-item photographs.
I love cheese, of all kinds. Jarlesberg, Brie, Camembert, Saint Andre, Brillat-Savarin, and especially Port Salut...but do I want my blog to be all about cheese? Nah. Keep thinking, Shannon...
I love sitting in cafes, reading a good book like A Moveable Feast, and people watching. So my blog should also have that vibe. But still no ideas jumped out at me.
Then it hit me! My film collection! Surely I can find some inspiration there. Surely a title will just grab me by the cheeks. After casting aside Mystic Pizza and Big Night and Babette's Feast and Mostly Martha (all wonderful foodie films, by the way, and my favorites) ....VOILA!! It hit me, out of nowhere!!!
CANNOLI!!!!! It's one of my favorite foods to eat, photograph, and just admire. It's sweet, but satisfies my craving for cheese too. It's creamy and delicious, wrapped in a delicate pastry dough, and can be decked out with chocolate chips, nuts, you name it, for a unique flavor. I've always stopped to admire it in the bakery case of Italian bakeries before taste-testing then buying a 1/2 dozen to admire myself before eating whole. Licking your fingers after eating a cannoli may just be the greatest thing to do on earth. Yes, yes, yes, my blog must have the word "cannoli" in the title. Then WHAM!
Another revelation. The Godfather. Cannoli. You've Got Mail. Cannoli. A pattern is emerging. What is my favorite quote from The Godfather, so artistically injected into my favorite movie, You've Got Mail?
"LEAVE THE GUN, TAKE THE CANNOLI".... or for blog purposes....TAKE THE CANNOLI.
YES!!!! I love it. takethecannoli.blogspot.com. It's fresh, artsy, inspired by a great film, an amazing cheesy sweet I've always adored, tied to a fascinating culture I am inspired by (Italian). I could barely type the words into blogspot fast enough. I have a new blog name! 2010 is off to a great start, with a catchy new blog that surely everyone will read, and they'll all comment on how I'm so witty and splendidly creative. Take the cannoli! Inspired!
...Until I realize that there is already a http://www.takethecannoli.blogspot.com/. Noooo! How can it be? So I click on it and...it's not even about food! And it hasn't been updated since 2002! Even I can update more than that! What's more, there is no talk about cannoli in the one post "Taylor" has written, about being in some theatre production. Noooo. How can someone take an ingenious line and make it their blog name, taking away my perfect start to 2010? How?
Well, this is not the end of my search. Oh no. I WILL get that blog name. Even if I have to hunt "Taylor" down and hack into his blogspot account myself! I have posted a picture of cannoli I took a few years ago from Cafe Graffiti in Boston in the hopes that my e-mail will be gratefully received, and "Taylor" will be happy to relinquish his little spot on the internet so I might become a famous food blogger. Or at least a food blogger with that perfect name!
Stay tuned,
Shannon
Pizzeria Paradiso, take two
So on Tuesday Jeremy surprised me with the great news that he had Wednesday off! Do you know what this means? A day to explore Washington, DC. I mean, I explore it on my own fairly often, but it's always more fun with a companion...so Wednesday morning we headed out, with the first stop being the national monument. I've always wanted to see DC from above, and Jeremy had already seen it a couple years ago. So we took the metro in, and it was COLD! But nevertheless, I got my view of the White House, Capitol building, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, all the things I was excited about seeing...from like 550 feet above ground!!
After this, we were HUNGRY! Immediately, Dupont jumped into my head. I really like the area, and felt we had much more exploring to do. I really wasn't sure if I wanted pizza, but once we took the metro around for a while and finally got there (one stop farther than we wanted to go, oops) we were ravenous...and all Jeremy had to do was suggest Pizzeria Paradiso and bring back the fond memory of our first time there and I was sold. I had kind of wanted to check out some other places in the area, you know, try something new, but all I could think about was getting more serious about my food blog, and how you should really dine at a restaurant a couple times before writing about it...to get the full feel of the place. So with that in mind, and with Jeremy excited about some good pizza in his future, off we went. Again, we walked @ Dupont a couple times before we re-routed ourselves and realized we were walking in the opposite direction. We were on P Street, but headed toward the residential part, not where all the shops and restaurants were. So we turned around, walked through the little park and were on our way.
3:00 pm at Pizzeria Paradiso in mid-January was empty, except for a couple folks at the bar. Here are my notes:
Olives! Just as good as before, wish I could have more...they sure know how to get those taste buds all revved up for what's to come...
Drinks- for her, chianti classico 2003 that he ordered for me -great choice. dry, earthy, nice aftertaste
for him- delirium nocturnium beer, from belgium with hints of bananas and red wine! i took one sip but stuck with my wine
Wine still served in drinking glass, and beer served in a wine glass! huh? But I'm kind of liking drinking it this way. It's growing on me.
Appetizer- Crostino Formaggio di capra- which is: toasted homemade bread topped w/ goat cheese and prosciutto di parma for $6.95
Jeremy's reaction after one bite: "That's pretty serious." I think he likes....
Crunchy bread on outside but soft inside, great burst of basil and the prosciutto-goat cheese combo melts in your mouth.
Ambience: earth tones, firewood under hostess stand makes for a rustic feel.
Pizza special: The Little Italy- roasted broccoli rabe, tomato, hot sausage, mushroom, red pepper flakes
Not a huge fan of the broccoli rabe (pronounced "rob", thanks Jeremy or I would have called it "raybe" all day), but mushrooms paired with hot sausage was tasty. Spicy aftertaste. Like Atomica better
We'll have to head back there again for more of the different pizza combinations. Honestly though, each time we visited I left not wanting more of the pizza, but more of the olives!
Eat your pizza! (I ate mine)
Shannon
After this, we were HUNGRY! Immediately, Dupont jumped into my head. I really like the area, and felt we had much more exploring to do. I really wasn't sure if I wanted pizza, but once we took the metro around for a while and finally got there (one stop farther than we wanted to go, oops) we were ravenous...and all Jeremy had to do was suggest Pizzeria Paradiso and bring back the fond memory of our first time there and I was sold. I had kind of wanted to check out some other places in the area, you know, try something new, but all I could think about was getting more serious about my food blog, and how you should really dine at a restaurant a couple times before writing about it...to get the full feel of the place. So with that in mind, and with Jeremy excited about some good pizza in his future, off we went. Again, we walked @ Dupont a couple times before we re-routed ourselves and realized we were walking in the opposite direction. We were on P Street, but headed toward the residential part, not where all the shops and restaurants were. So we turned around, walked through the little park and were on our way.
3:00 pm at Pizzeria Paradiso in mid-January was empty, except for a couple folks at the bar. Here are my notes:
Olives! Just as good as before, wish I could have more...they sure know how to get those taste buds all revved up for what's to come...
Drinks- for her, chianti classico 2003 that he ordered for me -great choice. dry, earthy, nice aftertaste
for him- delirium nocturnium beer, from belgium with hints of bananas and red wine! i took one sip but stuck with my wine
Wine still served in drinking glass, and beer served in a wine glass! huh? But I'm kind of liking drinking it this way. It's growing on me.
Appetizer- Crostino Formaggio di capra- which is: toasted homemade bread topped w/ goat cheese and prosciutto di parma for $6.95
Jeremy's reaction after one bite: "That's pretty serious." I think he likes....
Crunchy bread on outside but soft inside, great burst of basil and the prosciutto-goat cheese combo melts in your mouth.
Ambience: earth tones, firewood under hostess stand makes for a rustic feel.
Pizza special: The Little Italy- roasted broccoli rabe, tomato, hot sausage, mushroom, red pepper flakes
Not a huge fan of the broccoli rabe (pronounced "rob", thanks Jeremy or I would have called it "raybe" all day), but mushrooms paired with hot sausage was tasty. Spicy aftertaste. Like Atomica better
We'll have to head back there again for more of the different pizza combinations. Honestly though, each time we visited I left not wanting more of the pizza, but more of the olives!
Eat your pizza! (I ate mine)
Shannon
Friday, January 15, 2010
Pizzeria Paradiso (take one...early December 2009)
Happy 2010! I have relocated! Foodie greetings from Washington, DC!
In an effort to refurbish this blog and get it up and running again, posting more than 2 entries a year, I need blogging advice! What would make for a better blog? If you are a blogger, help! I need your input, so this can become more easily accessible, and a more entertaining read!
Now for the review: Pizzeria Paradiso, 2003 P Street, NW and at http://www.eatyourpizza.com/
This Dupont Circle pizza establishment is the perfect lunch or dinner after a day out gallavanting the city. My boyfriend, Jeremy, is a line cook, climbing those kitchen ranks, so a day off is much desired, and we're always on the lookout for a great restaurant (that is within our tight budgets)...enter Pizzeria Paradiso.
The first time we dined here was a Monday evening last December. We had spent the day touring the Smithsonian museums, and we were ready for some pizza! I had been carrying around a little DC travel guide since moving to the city, loaded with restaurants to explore, and had highlighted Pizzeria Paradiso namely because it is located in Dupont Circle, where I've always wanted to explore. So off we went. We took the metro from the Smithsonian/Mall area and easily found Dupont Circle, walked around the circle a couple times looking for the right direction of P Street, and found our place.
Straight out of my notes that early December evening:
Cute, quaint, and rustic. I love that they serve a mix of Greek olives in a little dish in place of bread, and I'm grooving on the eclectic crowd. The pizza place for DC hipsters? Roomy enough but not too large of a restaurant. Casual dress code. Bohemian-type servers (all sorts of piercings and tattoos ok here) with a slight air of arrogance...but it works.
Drinks-for her: Montepuciano red wine, for him: vodka martini, dirty
Wine served in a drinking glass!!!--ODD and I don't like it. Wish I could swirl it around and let it "breathe", as dad, J, always tells me to do. Umm, you definitely can't swirl wine in a drinking glass. It splashes and splooshes and it's just not the same. And turning it sideways...not happening. Not so sure about this...
Appetizer: Bruschetta--delicious, but not enough for $6.
Ordered the Atomica pizza (suggested from my little tour guide) which came with salami, mozzarella, tomatoes and what tasted like kalamata olives (website says they are black olives), and hot pepper flakes. First pizza came out looking burnt so we sent it back. Manager comes to table and says, "That's the way it comes" but we insisted he bring us out another pie. He was very polite. Jeremy was very polite too. I was not as polite, quipping, "My boyfriend works in the culinary profession" just to prove we knew good food, and when a pizza looks burnt, it probably tastes that way too. In retrospect, I shouldn't have thrown in that comment (Why do I do those sorts of things?), but the 2nd pizza was great.
Note: I don't usually send food back because of all those horror stories and e-mail forwards about what cooks do to your food (can we say Domino's???) when you send it back, but from my vantage point in the seating area I could watch like a hawk the cooks preparing our pie. No monkey business.
We will return.
***/*****
(Like I'm foodie enough to give stars!)
Next read: Pizzeria Paradiso, take 2
Shannon
In an effort to refurbish this blog and get it up and running again, posting more than 2 entries a year, I need blogging advice! What would make for a better blog? If you are a blogger, help! I need your input, so this can become more easily accessible, and a more entertaining read!
Now for the review: Pizzeria Paradiso, 2003 P Street, NW and at http://www.eatyourpizza.com/
This Dupont Circle pizza establishment is the perfect lunch or dinner after a day out gallavanting the city. My boyfriend, Jeremy, is a line cook, climbing those kitchen ranks, so a day off is much desired, and we're always on the lookout for a great restaurant (that is within our tight budgets)...enter Pizzeria Paradiso.
The first time we dined here was a Monday evening last December. We had spent the day touring the Smithsonian museums, and we were ready for some pizza! I had been carrying around a little DC travel guide since moving to the city, loaded with restaurants to explore, and had highlighted Pizzeria Paradiso namely because it is located in Dupont Circle, where I've always wanted to explore. So off we went. We took the metro from the Smithsonian/Mall area and easily found Dupont Circle, walked around the circle a couple times looking for the right direction of P Street, and found our place.
Straight out of my notes that early December evening:
Cute, quaint, and rustic. I love that they serve a mix of Greek olives in a little dish in place of bread, and I'm grooving on the eclectic crowd. The pizza place for DC hipsters? Roomy enough but not too large of a restaurant. Casual dress code. Bohemian-type servers (all sorts of piercings and tattoos ok here) with a slight air of arrogance...but it works.
Drinks-for her: Montepuciano red wine, for him: vodka martini, dirty
Wine served in a drinking glass!!!--ODD and I don't like it. Wish I could swirl it around and let it "breathe", as dad, J, always tells me to do. Umm, you definitely can't swirl wine in a drinking glass. It splashes and splooshes and it's just not the same. And turning it sideways...not happening. Not so sure about this...
Appetizer: Bruschetta--delicious, but not enough for $6.
Ordered the Atomica pizza (suggested from my little tour guide) which came with salami, mozzarella, tomatoes and what tasted like kalamata olives (website says they are black olives), and hot pepper flakes. First pizza came out looking burnt so we sent it back. Manager comes to table and says, "That's the way it comes" but we insisted he bring us out another pie. He was very polite. Jeremy was very polite too. I was not as polite, quipping, "My boyfriend works in the culinary profession" just to prove we knew good food, and when a pizza looks burnt, it probably tastes that way too. In retrospect, I shouldn't have thrown in that comment (Why do I do those sorts of things?), but the 2nd pizza was great.
Note: I don't usually send food back because of all those horror stories and e-mail forwards about what cooks do to your food (can we say Domino's???) when you send it back, but from my vantage point in the seating area I could watch like a hawk the cooks preparing our pie. No monkey business.
We will return.
***/*****
(Like I'm foodie enough to give stars!)
Next read: Pizzeria Paradiso, take 2
Shannon
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