I am disgusted and everyone else should be too!

I am a fan of Black Friday and the "deals" it often offers. I am not one who generally goes out at 5am to get a deal but I appreciate the stores that have them for those who do. To me it is the day that not only helps the retailers but it officially starts the holiday season. But what I read today DOES NOT reflect the holiday season and I am completely sick to my stomach over it.

A 34-yr old temporary Wal-Mart employee in Long Island was trampled to death today because a bunch of eager shoppers rushed the store when the doors opened.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/28/black.friday.violence/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

You can also see some video report of it here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/28/black.friday.violence/index.html?eref=rss_topstories#cnnSTCVideo

Has society really gotten that low that people will push and shove and TRAMPLE people to save a few dollars? And most likely, whatever is they are rushing to buy is not something they need to survive. Nor is it something that will ruin their life if they don't get. But people seemed to have lost sight of courtesey, respect, patience and manners. This guy was working and opening the door to let people in and they trampled him. I'm sorry but the people who rushed into the store like this, was it really worth an innocent man's life?

I can't even really put into words how much this bothers me. I think there need to be some serious laws put in place somewhere to be sure this never happens again. It shouldn't have happened in the first place. I think in part it is Wal-Mart's responsibilty because they obviously didn't have enough security in place but if the crowds were more than they were prepared for, they should have done something. And even more so, the people who knocked this man over, and then the people who continued to rush into the store while there was someone on the ground! This is something you see on TV, not something that should ever be real.

I think everyone who went into that store this morning should be held responsible for this man's death. That may sounds extreme but everyone who passed through that door rushing to some item and had no respect or regard for those around them contributed to this man's death, even if its indirectly. Its incredible to me that even when the police arrived and were trying to aid the guy who had been trampled, they too were being pushed and jostled so shoppers could get into the store. Its disgusting.

I don't know what the authorities did this morning but in my opinion Wal-Mart should not have sold anything to anyone and kept everyone there until the police decided what to do. It was a riot and should have been handled as one. I hope the police are able to use the video cameras and sales reciepts to locate everyone who was there and question them. You can't tell me someone didn't take cell phone pics or videos either. Check Youtube. I am sure there is stuff on there.

I can't even wrap my thoughts around this anymore.

Barack Obama has won! (and I feel like I have too!)

I am so happy to say that Barack Obama will be our next president. Not only did he win, he won significantly and there is no chance of a question like there was in 2000. I don't think our country could have tolerated that so I am not only thankful for an Obama win, but a solid one at that!

Here is to change!! Anyway you look at it, things will be different now and I am happy to finally have an answer to the question who is our next president. I feel that now we can move forward and not be in the limbo that has been the last two years.

I feel with the turn out and the total electoral college numbers that this election truly speaks to the country and to the world that the American People have spoken, and this is what we want.

You will never please everyone, and I understand that. I have been on the other side for the last 8 years but I am confident that our country can move together for the better and that good things are ahead.

Thanks to everyone who voted, no matter who you voted for it was and always is important!!


(and I hope this means I will never have to see "Joe the Plumber" on my tv again.)

Pumpkin Farm 2008 (sorry its a little late!)

I owe a lot of updates. For some reason I thought I posted pics from the Pumpkin Farm trip with my cousin and her kids but I don't seem to have done so, so....

On Monday Oct 13 I got together with my cousin and her two kids went on our annual Pumpkin Farm Day Trip. For the last 3 years we had gone to the same place that was open on Columbus Day. Well, imagine our surprise when we (and plenty of others) showed up to find that placed closed that day! Ultimately we used access to the internet on my cousin's blackberry (and the recommendation of another person who was also surprised to find the place closed that day) to locate a pumpkin farm that turned out to be better (and cheaper!) and will now be the location we head to for our annual trip. But I know all you really want to see is some photos so here goes!!
Before I post all the pics from the day, I wanted to show hoe much the kids have grown since last year! I made the same 4x6 photo card as I did last year but with the updated photo. Here are the two side by side:

2007

2008


Here is a picture of the kids at the original place. They had the pumpkins out and so we took the opportunity to take some photos of them with the pumpkins and then some of our annual group shot!




Monkey see, monkey do!!




And the secret to getting photos to pose for photos with smiles are their faces...Munchkins!


on the hayride...


So cute!!


with a pumpkin


More monkey see, monkey do




Little Helper...


At the weigh in station...









Running in the maze...


After the pumpkin farm we went to lunch. While at lunch we also celebrated both kids birthdays that were a few weeks before our trip. They both definately enjoyed it (and the desserts that came with it!)












So that about sums up our trip to the pumpkin farm 2008!!!

I married a Politics Junkie...

...and I didn't realize how bad his addiction was!

Let me start by saying that he is not a "band-wagon" junkie, its just that the importance of this election has escalated his need for a fix from 1-2 hours a day to 24 hours a day!

As excited for Tuesday as I am so that we can finally have a decision, I am even more excited to be able to watch regular TV again:)

You may have noticed I have not had any "TV Talk" blogs lately. Well, you can absolutely blame it on my political junkie husband who has taken over the TV. Thank goodness for Tivo! I don't know how I (and he) would have survived this election without it. I have been reduced to catching up on the weekends the best I can for my regular programing. My soaps...I haven't seen that in a few weeks because I can thankfully read about it in my magazine, unlike the other network shows that have been airing. The World Series and the Debates have helped prevent me from missing some episodes because they were moved to accommodate those airings (yeah Phillies!).

I must be honest that I have enjoyed some of the political programing, most specifically Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. If I had not made up my mind on who I was going to vote for, these shows would not have been as good to watch. They are most definitely biased. But I do think that if it wasn't for Rachel Maddow, I might have had to cut the TV off a long time ago!

If you have already made up your mind, you should check those two shows out. They are very biased for Obama but their sarcasm really puts things in perspective. They speak real news, and don't spin, but they don't spend a lot of time objectively going after Obama either. You won't hear talking points from Obama campaign, you will hear criticism of McCain. And their favorite target of all time...the is the big red target painted on the back of the moose hunter from Alaska. And its my favorite target too!

One of the things that has made watching shows like the Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow show bearable has been Sarah Palin. She provides such great material for how bad she is. When I hear they are able to talk about another one of her flub ups....it brings a smile to my face!

Ben and I are different types of viewers. He is not the scream at the tv kind, I am. And with the addition of Sarah Palin to the mix I have only gotten more vocal while watching than I would have been without her. While Ben is the junkie in the family, he is a lot more objective than me. He disagrees with her politics and policies (and is afraid of her being president) and he doesn't agree with McCain either, however I would say the best way to describe my feelings on Sarah is that I hate the bejeezes out of her and her voice is like nails on a chalkboard! Ben puts it nicely and says while he would probably not vote for her because of her views and polices, if she had more experience she would be a more realistic candidate. Me, I just hate her.

Let me pause here and give props to McCain though for his appearance on SNL. I really did think he was entertaining. And while I do not plan to vote for him, and I yell at what he says on TV a LOT lately, I found it refreshing that he could get into it on Saturday Night Live. It was a MUCH better performance than Sarah Palin's who I thought just looked stiff and out of place. I thought it was more of a joke that she thought it would be good for her to be on SNL. She didn't even do anything. McCain embraced the opportunity and took his chances.

Now, back to the mud-slinging! Here is how I am looking at the race....

McCain-Palin:
Its much simpler to just say what I do like about these two, or rather what I like about McCain. He can be funny. That is about it. I think he lost this election when he picked a chick from Alaska that he met once and he really had no idea what he was getting himself into. Someone on one of those TV shows I have seen in the last few weeks said it best..."even at McDonald's you have more than one interview". What was this man thinking?? On a whole I don't agree with more of their social issues than anything else. I think McCain deserves respect for his time in the service and as a POW. I don't think that it automatically makes him the best guy to be president.

Now to the crazy lady who likes to pimp out her kids and jinxes hockey teams like Flyers by dropping the puck and insulting Pittsburgh fans when she is in Western PA by making comments about the Philadelphia Phillies. Don't get me wrong...she can make these kind of actions all she wants because it just re-affirms to me what a wacko she is and why I would never vote for anything she is associated with. I think she is delusional. I think she is out for her and has been the entire time. I am not even convinced she really thought she would win with McCain but she DID think it would get her into the mix that she has been so out of since she has been holed away in Alaska. Whether she likes to admit it or not, if she isn't part of the "boys club in DC" she is a no name that would have only ever been in Alaska, charging the taxpayers to travel with her personal hockey team, I mean family. She is way to far right in her social issues for me. Abstinence only education...let's see how well that worked out? And pro-choice is NOT pro-abortion and I am so tired of hearing people say it is. If you talk to most people who are pro-choice, they would never have an abortion but they also don't think the government should be the ones to decide what a woman does to her body. With the potential for the next president to pick at least 2 Supreme Court Justices, I want her as far away from that choice as possible. She has a high approval rating in Alaska, because she gave residents a raise from $2000 to $3100 a person, not adult-all people (which explains why she has so many kids!) to live in Alaska. She gets the money to do this by taxing the oil companies (and so Alaska benefited by the high profits of the oil companies while the rest of us paid high prices for gas). Her family alone makes almost $22,000 a year JUST TO LIVE THERE! I know people who work 30 hours a week and make less than that. You wonder if that is what she is referring to when she talks about her own "small business" aka popping out babies. I should point out, that this tax scheme is awfully similar to what Obama wants to do that she keeps calling "socialist". And the "drill baby drill" thing is a grant chant but all they are saying is that the oil companies can drill off our shores. It is not saying they have to sell it to us and China is willing to pay a lot more than we are. Where do you think their business will be going? That is a point that seems to be overlooked anytime she says "drill baby drill".

Oh and this whole Mayor of Wasilla thing...the town is so small it doesn't have4 its own police, fire or social service departments. What did she do? Open the new stores in town? And I have to say that as far as her ability to "clean house" when she got to be governor...what does she think she will get to do as Vice President? Does she think she gets to go in and get rid of all those senators who she doesn't like since they are the ones that actually pass the bills and such. Of course is it quite possible she does think this since she doesn't seem to have a true idea of what the role of the VP is within the Senate anyway. She seems to think the VP runs the joint and she can just get in there and get them to pass policy she wants.

And let's talk about her "foreign policy experience". So, by her logic that she has all this experience because she is only 58 miles from Russia...that means that the Governor of NY is an EXPERT since they share a border with Canada. I bet she will say Buffalo's mayor is an expert too since they are so close to Buffalo and probably have actual relations with them unlike Alaska and Russia!! Oh and by that logic I am a border expert because I go to Taco Bell and I am a foreign relations expert because we have a Chinese food restaurant on the corner!

And how about them clothes? There is no "hockey mom" in America that would ever consider spending that amount of money on clothes, to be donated or not! And what is with her having only Palin signs at a rally in Florida? Did she forget that she is running as the VP with McCain...she is not the only one on the ticket? Or was she just putting those signs out there now for people to use in 2012 when she tries on her own??

I could go on and on about Sarah Palin but I have already spent too much energy on her.

On to bigger and better things....Obama-Biden!

I will start with Biden. I liked him in the primaries but didn't really think he had a chance of getting top ticket. He strikes me as someone who has strong family values (how many people do you know who take a train round trip from DE to DC daily so that they can be close to their family?) I respect that he has not pimped out his personal struggles as part of the campaign and I really had a lot of respect for him when he responded to Palin's comment during the VP debate where he clearly stated that he too knew what it was like to struggle and to be a single parent. He has a long career in the senate, working with many different presidents through the years. I think he will be a good support to Obama. I get the feeling they really would work together in the White House and not be fighting each other (like I think McCain-Palin would because I am not convinced they have ever actually agreed on anything!) When I watch Biden speak, I feel like he is educated, experienced and truly cares.

Obama...I was not sure about him at first. During the primaries I didn't even really like him all that much but I must admit I was also not paying that much attention either. But when I did start paying attention I found that I liked what he had to say. He has some very interesting ideas and while most of them probably won't happen quite the way he has planned, I truly believe that he believes what he says and he wants to do right by the country. I don't have to agree with everything he stands for and I understand that if he is President, he is still not the only one who makes things happen. But I believe he cares. I believe when he says he wants to help middle class America. I think he believes it because he has lived it. Little things I like about him are not something I would base a vote on but I do like that he does not pimp his kids out along the campaign trail. And today, I saw a clip of him on TV walking with his little girls and they looked happy and like normal children should look. Not dressed up to look like stepford kids to keep up an image of what a candidate's children "should" be when really, all they should be is children. They shouldn't be used as props in a campaign (unlike a moose hunter we all know). When I saw the Obama 30-min "infomercial" it evoked emotion I didn't expect. It was much better than I expected. And it didn't seem like a half hour either. I was almost disappointed when it ended because I really felt like he was truly speaking to the American People and the biggest difference I get when I watch McCain vs Obama is that where I think McCain says what he needs to say, I believe that Obama believes what he says.

And that is my political rant for the day. This will all come to a breaking point on Tuesday when the election officially ends and we find out our winner. I truly hope that not only does Obama win, but that he wins significantly so that we are not plagued with a repeat of the 2000 election or any question as to who was elected by the people to be our president. No matter what happens, the campaigning will end and the reality will set in. (And I will get to watch my regular TV shows again too!)

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday. It DOES count! (And tell all your friends to vote too!) Take them with you so the wait is more fun!

Halloween: Trick or Treat 2008

I know I am still behind on some event updates from this month but I wanted to get some current stuff up while I could!

Halloween is one of my FAVE holidays. I love the trick or treaters and decorating for the holiday. Every year Ben and I set up a table by the garage, put up the decorations and wait for the kiddies to come get their candy! And we give out the full size candy bars too. And since we have been doing it this way for a few years, we actually have some people who come back because they remember our table (and our candy bars!) We even had a few families ask if they could take a pic of our set up or their kids with our set up. It was kind of cool. We were out for almost 4 hours this year. Next year we want to try and do a little more decorating and stuff since it will be on a saturday and be more of an all day thing than just after school:) We live on a good street because its a circle with duplexes on both sides of the street and very little traffic so besides all the kids that live on our street, a lot of other families come to this street. I love seeing all the costumes too. Especially the cute little kids all dressed up. They were all adorable!

Here are some photos from our set up and us sitting outside!










My friend Marian came over with the Seeing Eye dog she is raising in full costume! Adorable!


And here is me at work as "Hermione" from Harry Potter (bushy hair and all with Time turner and wand!!)


Hope everyone else had a Happy Halloween too!!!

My "prize pack" from the radio station....

I just had to share my joy in recieving the "prize pack" that the radio station sent me as part of my prize from the Top Chef thing. I assumed it was a bunch of radio station stickers and other related promotional material.

Well, you can imagine my surprise (and delite!) when my package arrived and instead of WPLJ stuff it was all TOP CHEF STUFF!!!!

I recieved a Top Chef 2009 calander, the Top Chef cookbook (wahoo!), Top Chef T-shirt, and a Top Chef Apron!!! I am SO ready for season 5 to start in a few weeks!









It made my day!!

The Phillies Won the 2008 World Series!!!!

YEAH!!! There are no words!! I am sooooo happy! It has been amazing!!! I was a senior in high school the last time they got to the world series and didn't win and the William Penn curse is broken!!!

The Philadelphia Phillies are the 2008 World Series Champions!!!

I LOVE Top Chef! (And WPLJ for getting me in to see and meet them!)

(How fitting that this is my 104th post-I made it a special one!)

Today was the big day! I went in to NYC with Ben's cousin Mike and his wife Ashleigh for the Top Chef co-sponsored Taste of the Five Boroughs event at Grand Central Station. The proceeds were to benefit City Harvet www.cityharvest.org

I won the tickets last week and was very excited to attend this event. I do think my favorite part was the "Meet and Greet" we were able to attend prior to the event. It was really exciting to meet some of the past Top Chef contestants, as well as some of the contestants that will be on the show for Season 5 which starts on Bravo on Wed, Nov 12 at 10pm! I am really excited for the new season. Season 4 will be a hard act to follow with a few of my favorite Chefs but I am sure Top Chef will deliver!

I only took my point and shoot camera for this event and so many of the photos are not great but you get the idea and that is all I was looking for...capturing memories with my camera! It was definately easier to carry around then my good one and its the price I pay for convience, but I am happy overall!

I can honestly say that I don't think I have ever tried as many different types of food at once in my life, and probably won't ever again. I do think I am feeling it now though! LOL

So, the day started out pretty early for a day off! Mike and Ashleigh arrived around and 8am and then shortly after we were on our way. We took the train into NYC and then oce there sorted out getting from Penn Station to Grand Central which really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We got to Grand Central a little after 10am and basically waited around for a while to find out where we needed to go for the Meet and Greet.

Here are some photos from the set up while we waited...

Notice Harold, Season 1 winner standing around!

Empty area...later you will see it packed!

Me and Mike

Ashleigh and Mike

The "Meet and Greet" was at this restaurant in Grand Central Station


The Meet and Greet started at 11am and they gave us our wristbands which were equivilent to our tickets for the tasting portion that started at noon. This turned out to be extra handy because where most people turned in their tickets for the wristband, we didn't do that so we did end up with a souvenior for our scrapbooks!

We were the first ones in to the Meet and Greet and right away we were met by Danny who is a contestant for Season 5. Here he is with me (all photos are unedited since I didn't have time to do anything yet so forgive the noise and such!)
Season 5 Contestant Danny

Danny was really cool and very excited to meet people and be a part of things. We really liked him and hope that he is on the show for a while. He was friendly and talked to us right away, introducing himself and having an actual conversation with us, not just a "Hey, thanks" photo, move on.
I also saw Miguel from Season 1

He was cool and I had remembered him from season 1 so that was pretty cool too.
Season 5 Contestant Ariane

Ariane is from NJ and was also there early at the Meet and Greet and came up to us to say hello and make conversation. She was really nice and spent a good few minutes talking to us, comparing where in NJ we were all from and stuff like that. She did warn me she was "the crier" on the show but I am looking forward to seeing her too!

We did get other photos of the upcoming contestants but didn't really make a connection or have a conversation with any of the others. You can read about them all individually here:
http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/bios/index.php
Ashleigh and I

A quick shot of some of the upcoming contestants with Miguel from Season 1


Season 4...Spike!!!

Spike was pretty cool too. We talked with him for a few minutes and he told us about the restaurant he opened in DC, Good Stuff Eatery, which is a hamburger and milkshake joint. I said he should get one of those in NJ and he said he was actually in the process of looking into that with some people from this area! So, fingers crossed he can bring one to NJ, and near me!
Here is an air shot of the Meet and Greet

Half way through the Meet and Greet, we had met all the people who were there so far that I wanted to meet and we decided to go check out the food they had for us. We expected it would be a bunch of fancy stuff we had never had but we were willing to try whatever was out there.

Now, let me stop here for a second before I get into our food tasting. You should know that I don't try many new foods easily. I know what I like and I usually have to work up to trying something and it is NEVER any of these fancy shmancy things we encountered at this event. But, I had already decided that this was an opportunity I might never have again to try all kinds of foods and it didn't cost me anything so if I didn't like them, I wouldn't feel bad about it. So, we filled our plates, found a small table and some seats, filled our glasses with a beverage and sat down to try these foods we could hardly identify on our own!

Some of the food...

My plate of tastings...

Close up of some of the food still on my plate...

I am not sure if I will get this all right, but this is what we tried based on the "menu" that was placed with the food.
-On the left in what looks like a shot glass is the Maine Lobster & Chestnut Shooter described as chanterelle cognac, sweet corn. My take: I liked this. The drink part not as much but the small bit of lobster that was soaking in it that I ate first I really did enjoy and I had never had lobster before.
-The cheese puff looking thing was a Gootessa Cheddar Puff described as chicken salad, celeriac & honey crisp apple remoulade, walnut. My take: I had this last as my "chaser" figuring it was a safe bet but I was a bit disappointed.
-The square shaped item next to the puff was a Smoked Salmon & Crepe Napoleon described as creme fraiche & American sturgeon. My take: Not really to my tastes, but I don't normally eat any sort of fish. It did have a smokey flavor that I normally like but the combination didn't do it for me. Maybe if it had been chicken...
-The three pieces on a stick next to the sqaure was a Caramelized Hubbard Squash described as port poached Bartlett pears, Maytage blue. My take: Didn't like it and was not easy to finish. But I did!
-The item on the white spoon was Long Hard Duck Roulade described as duck proscuitto & pomegranate syrup. My take: This was the second one I tried and I really had to gear myself up for it because it looked scary and I was really nervous but I have to say I actually liked this and it surprised me.
-The last item on the silver spoon was the Dauphine Violet Figs described as west farm goat cheese, 100 year balsamico. My take: Let's just say this one almost didn't make it down. The texture was really hard for me to wrap myself around and it was definately my least favorite of them all.

Sitting at our table ready to try our food

Here I am about to try the Lobster shooter thing...

Mike trying the three things on a stick...

Ashleigh trying the fig...

Before I tried the square thing...

After...(or during really!)


After we finished our snacks and washed it all down well, we went back to the mingling area to see who else was out there now. First person we saw that I wanted to go say hello to and get a photo with was Andrew from Season 4...

He was really cool too and I was happy to get to meet him. He was definately one of the ones I was hoping would be around that day.
Here is another photo op with a few more contestants from the upcoming season:

We only spoke briefly to say hello and good luck. From left to right of me, Richard, Jamie and Patrick.

We also saw our guy Danny in his Top Chef jacket now and chatting with a few more of the upcoming contestants so we got another photo (I don't think I have had my photo taken so much in a long time!!)

I didn't really get to talk to these guys but if I have them correctly based on the Bravo website, from left to right (not includ me!) is Danny, Hosea, Jeff and Gene.

I then got to meet Richard from Season 4 and Lee Anne from Season 1 (who I think now works for the show!)

Also there was Andrew Cohen who does a lot of stuff for Bravo including hosting all the reunion shows and has a blog on Bravo about all relavent activities. I recognized him so went up to say hello and got a photo!


The only other past Top Chef contestants I saw there were Lisa and Manuel from Season 4. I didn't have any desire to try and talk to Lisa. I didn't care for her on Top Chef last season and when I first saw her arrive and standing around at the meet and greet she didn't appear any more friendly or happy so I didn't bother. Shortly after all those photos, I did see Tom Colicchio, the head judge, arrive but as he walked into the main area and passed me he didn't look too friendly either or eager to interact so I didn't bother to try and get a photo with him. I did take a pic of him being interviewed though...and I am sure he is not as unfriendly as he seemed in the brief passing, he was probably just overly busy and not really paying attention to things!


After all that our hour was up and they were going to be ushering in new people so they shuffled us along to the main event which was the actual Taste of 5 Boroughs restaurant food tastings. They also had demonstrations of different things set up opposite of the food tasting area. Here is a pic of the demo area:


In the tasting area there were 20 different restaurants. Here is a copy of the menu they gave us that told us what every table had to try!

I am not going to go through each of the items on the menu but I will comment about a few of them. I did try all but three items and that was pretty impressive. I did try quite a few things that I would have never tried if they were not at this event.

As we started out around the room, one of the first stops was at the table for Perilla, which is season 1's winner, Harold's restaurant. They were offering "taylor bay scallops with spicy pickled green papaya mignonette". At first I was very hesitant because I don't eat fish and I said so in front of Harold and so after a little push from him (and his saying it was ok to spit it out if I don't I like it and making sure I wasn't avoiding it because of an allergy!) I took my chances and I actually really liked it! I still don't know that I am ready to order anything like it for a meal but it was definately one of the more favorable things I tried. After I tried his food, I asked him for a photo of course and he was happy to!

A few tables down, we saw Dale from season 4 working at the Buddakan table. He posed for a quick photo in between all the people gearing to try their lemongrass bubble tea with kaffir lime salt.


Next to Dale's table was 24 Prince where I saw Nikki from Season 4 and Manuel. They were happy to pose for a pic for us!


Kobe Club was featuring a kobe club wagyu tartare on sourdough ficelle crostini that was another surprise to my tastebuds that I did enjoy!


Here is a shot of the once empty hall now packed with people!


Micheal Jordan's Steakhouse offered up a tasty dessert option with the mini glazed brownie. I know what you are thinking...a steakhouse offered brownie's instead of steak? Apparently they were all limited in their options due to not being able to use anything with an open flame in their food preperation on site so they went with brownie, and it was a hit.


Not too far from them was Dinosaur Bar-B-Que offering a mini pulled pork sandwich which surprised me in being quite yummy. I usually stay clear of items with any sort of BBQ sauce because I am not a fan but this had a different flavor and I wished I had not been so full so I could enjoy the whole thing!

A little bit after that we got to the Water's Edge Restaurant which was offering up a salmon with Chef James spicy sauce on a pringle chip. As much as I don't like fish I thought it sounded interesting and ultimately decided to take my chances despite Mike's advice that I don't based on what had learned I liked and didn't like, but I did it anyway. And I probably shouldn't have! I should have learned from my earlier salmon tasting at the meet and greet but it is not a flavor or a texture that my palet enjoyed. The woman noticed my expression and knew I was hesitant to begin with so she actually gave me a special envelope as a "thank you" that included a copy of the full menu, a chocolate and a $25 off $100 gift certificate for their restaurant so I could try some of their other offerings. This was not something she was handing out to everyone so I thought it was very thoughtful although I don't know if we will get to use it or not.

At this point it was time to snag some more water bottles to wash down the food and then we saw Brad Blanks from the radio station, WPLJ, I won the tickets from. I went up to him to say hello and he was also with another DJ I listen to frequently, Race Taylor and they were both gracious to stop for a photo amid all the food at their fingertips!

After that, our hour in the tasting area was almost up but we had saved the best for last. The River Cafe was offering a pumpkin & butterscotch ice cream sundae which was delicious! And that I would order on my own!


At this point they were shuffling people out of the area. We were able to get one photo of all three of us infront of one of the Top Chef banners and then they stripped us of our wrist bands as we exited and we were done with the food!


The only thing left at this point was watching a few of the demonstrations. I was interested in seeing the ones between 1pm and 1:30pm because they featured past Top Chef contestants that I wanted to see. First up was Harold talking about seasonal flavors.

Then Richard talking about wines.

And the best for last, Andrew and Spike with a knife skills demonstration!






It was an interesting knife show, including the fact that Andrew cut his knuckle while they were messing around and so first he went over to the "sink" to rinse it off and realized it was just a prop, so then he asked for a band-aid and the people who were there to help didn't seem to believe him at first, thinking it was part of a "bit" or something until he showed them his bleeding knuckle! He turned it around after getting patched up and told us what not to do:)

At this point my camera battery had just run out and I was thankful it made it through the day with me and I was able to get as much as I wanted. Sorry for the photo overload but you should know me by now to know what to expect!!

One thing I did learn from tasting all those different foods was that when things are really made with different flavors that are meant to be tasted, if they are done right and those tastes are appealing to your personal tastebuds it is a lot easier to identify the different flavors then just average cooking I do! It surprised me that I could pull out certain flavors and identify what made something pleasurable or unsatisfying to me.

All in all it was a blast and I was really happy to get the experience. After dinner with Ben and Mike and Ashleigh last night I was not feeling so hot and I think it was a combination of all the different foods I tried that my system was just not ready for! But all is well now and after spending all night putting this together it is time for bed. I will do my other updates soon too!

And don't forget to check out Top Chef on Wed Nov 12 at 10pm on Bravo!!!