Cooking with Cocktails

Recently, I had the pleasure of hosting a “Cooking with Cocktails” dinner party for our cousin Kristen to celebrate her birthday with some of her dear friends. As the chef, I led the culinary adventure with a cooking demonstration complete with tips and insights tailored to a menu we've selected in advance. Our guests love to get involved and help prep the meal while imbibing some potent cocktails - crafted by Marc - our in-house bartender. This marked the third year that we gathered for this annual tradition. Our culinary theme had a distinct Italian flair and we started the evening with a mushroom crostini, by special request.

We progressed with an arugula salad with dried cranberries (that are rehydrated with orange juice), creamy goat cheese, pecans and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. For our entrée, I prepared a rigatoni with a cream-based Bolognese sauce enriched with porcini mushrooms, ground beef and mild Italian sausage, and aromatic vegetables. For dessert, a tiramisu with dusted cocoa, lady fingers soaked in strong coffee and a bit of rum, and an unctuous creamy mix of mascarpone, eggs yolks, sugar, and heavy cream – all whipped together to combine with all those layers of goodness. Four courses, four incredible women, and countless unforgettable moments.

The laughter and stories ensue as Marc mixes up cocktails and the sound of glasses that 'cheer' in unison. I love spending time with them, they are all Moms of young kids and I know that they enjoy a night away from their usual routine – and they deserve it wholeheartedly. Marc and I are delighted to pamper them and make the entire evening a fun, sometime raucous, laughter-filled celebration. These four women have a beautiful bond and it is a joy to watch them interact.

From left to right, Anthony, Jillian, Rochelle, Kristen, Marc and Caroline

They remind me that I’ve been so lucky to have strong, unique, and smart women in my inner circle. I am grateful for the long lasting friendships that have graced me with knowledge, points of view, opinions, thoughts, emotions, love & loss, successes, beauty & style, trends, talents and most importantly relationships that are bonded by trust, honesty and mutual appreciation.

My friends in many ways have shaped who I am today. The remarkable qualities I observe in them inspire me to become a more well-rounded individual, encouraging me to explore and learn, offering me profound opportunities to become a better individual.

All the women in my life have bestowed upon me an invaluable gift, and I express my gratitude by emulating the qualities that make these special people so exceptional. I am a composite of all these incredible women who have influenced and educated me, and for that, I am eternally thankful.

'Til You Can't

Since moving to rural mid-Michigan, Marc and I had contemplated the practicality of buying a pickup truck for many reasons including hauling dirt, plants, and mulch from our local nursery, taking our monthly recycling to be sorted, and having the benefit of four-wheel drive on slick snow covered backroads.

This past fall, we purchased a Ford F150 and drove it off the lot with the radio station set to 94.5 The Moose – new country music. I’ve never professed to be a big country music fan but the truck and our rural lifestyle seem to go together effortlessly. And over these past few months, song lyrics have secured a place in my brain and slip into my daily parlance.

It has been fun taking the new truck on grocery runs and assorted errands, I am feeling more at ease in our country setting and my trips off property have afforded me the time to reach out and call my sister Irene while I’m on the road.

Our conversations were easy and always wound down a path for us to speak about design, color, styles and themes. We have always shared a love for art, color, texture and fashion. As the house was being built, I included her in the process and progress step by step. Irene was a fount of ideas and she provided me with some invaluable advice and considerations. My sister and I would communicate in some form almost daily. Our conversations were touchstones and a way to connect, laugh, report news, discuss issues, and just feel closer.

When I lived in Boston, Irene would come visit me as often as she could - this photo must have been taken in the mid 1990s. I was a freelance writer and barista at a local neighborhood café.

Prior to uprooting from Brooklyn, Irene and I met for lunch to talk about my big move from the east coast. Our time together to talk was unfiltered and real. We knew each other in a way that only siblings could fathom. She embraced our plans to move and was very excited to hear about our dreams to build a new house. I had always anticipated her to visit us so she could witness the beauty of the lake and tranquility of our quiet woods. I knew she would find such peace and serenity in the natural surroundings of our home but unfortunately she was not afforded that chance.

Three weeks ago, my dear sister Irene passed away from complications of the Covid-19 virus. She entered the hospital earlier in January and her condition worsened so quickly that she went into the ICU and was eventually put on a ventilator. On January 14th she passed away … and my world stopped spinning.

Days have passed and weeks have gone by and I’ve tried to write this post and give my sister Irene the honor she deserves for living her life and giving so much – and the shocking realization is I don’t think anything I write could encapsulate the love, loss, and reality of my sister’s departure from the physical world. I stumbled many times to prepare this post and questioned how I would ever properly convey the beauty and artistry that was my sister.

I so dearly wanted to express how often she put the needs of others in front of her own. I hoped to expound upon how much she loved her nephews and niece and how she was always there for them. I tried to reiterate the stories that would capture her depth of soul and creative talents. I endeavored to communicate how sweet, caring, and thoughtful she was and how she wore her heart on her sleeve – so exposed – that it often got hurt. We supported and leaned on each other until all of a sudden that all vanished. I’ve been told grief is the price we pay for love, and I am grieving deeply.

This past week as I was again running errands, my instinct was to call Irene and then I realized I couldn’t. On the radio a country song started to play – ‘Til You Can’t by Cody Johnson. Listening to the lyrics a wave of emotion washed over me and I was reminded to grasp each day with hope and love and to always be grateful for my family and friends. This refrain rings clear and is a harbinger to live to the fullest, love with all your heart, and hold those dear to you as close as possible.

If you got a chance, take it, take it while you got a chance If you got a dream, chase it, 'cause a dream won't chase you back If you're gonna love somebody Hold 'em as long and as strong and as close as you can…

'Til you can't

And Just Like That…,

Last week, Marc and I embarked on a road trip to destinations north and west of Mannsiding Cove. Michigan is a state divided by the Great Lakes - Michigan and Huron - into two peninsulas connected via the Mackinac Bridge – which in itself is a marvel of architecture. Built in 1957, this 26,372’ majestic bridge is the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the western hemisphere. The Mighty Mac also has a special place in my heart with its ecru towers and “Golden Gate” feel.

The fall foliage on our drive over the bridge and into the Upper Peninsula was as colorful as a crocheted afghan tangled with yellow, green, orange, brown and red yarns. We trotted up to Marquette and checked into a downtown hotel that had just the right amount of historic charm. Driving to Champion, Marc and I enjoyed dinner with some dear friends at their beautiful off-the-grid home nestled among 250+ wooded acres. In the morning, back at the hotel we awoke and had a proper breakfast in quaint Marquette.

Lake Superior is simply superior… a massive body of water with a grandness to match. From the Landmark Inn, our view of the lake included an incredible massive rusted structure that was built to load iron ore on to ships as they anchored in the harbor during their work day. As part of our travels, Marc and I enjoy buying local photography. In that spirit, we purchased a richly colorful photograph of the Northern Lights over Lake Superior and The Lower Harbor Ore Dock. We plan to hang it in our home once we’ve had a chance to get it framed.

As we left charming Marquette, Lambeau Field, where the Green Bay Packers play, was in our sights. As Marc is a Packer fan we wanted to stop and buy some swag. From there we drove to Milwaukee to have dinner and drinks with a longtime colleague of Marc’s, Jan – who is so hospitable and lovely. Craft beers and some of Wisconsin’s famous cheese curds – rounded out our evening with her.

In the morning, we packed up again and left Milwaukee headed to Cedar Falls, Iowa to see our cousins on their specialty horse farm. Having never been to Wisconsin or Iowa, I of course only had preconceived ideas of what the landscape would look like – but Marc had often mentioned how beautiful the rolling farmland is with corn fields and few other crops. We arrived at Little Dickens Farm and we were greeted with the warmest hugs and a wonderfully personalized tour with proper introductions to the horses. It always astounds me to be next to an animal of size. I always need to be reminded how much I love horses – there’s something about their eyes that is so soulful and their stance is so commanding. We had a wonderful visit and could have spent so much more time talking, laughing and reconnecting.

But the road was calling us to get to Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa, by dinner time. As we rolled into Iowa City, Marc pointed to the university where he received his Master’s degree, he identified other points of interest and we quickly dropped our things at the hotel and headed to the home of a friend that has been in his life for a long time. Once we arrived, we stepped down into a hidden garden and we were greeted with open arms. After some wine and charcuterie we ventured out to dinner at the Iowa River Power restaurant – a place that held some sentimentality for Marc.

Iowa City is quite a hamlet, it has everything a city dweller might want or need – and all within walking distance. Coffee, groceries, services, boutiques, restaurants and bars – all a few blocks in every direction. The “city” is unabashedly a university town and arriving on a gameday it was active with collegiate pride.

After two glorious days in Iowa City which included a lovely trip to the Amana Colonies and a New York City worthy dinner at the absolutely stunning and amazing Orchard Green it was on to Appleton, WI to see more family. There we stayed at a cute little boutique hotel and had dinner next door at Rye – a fabulous boîte of a restaurant. Here’s the thing about cousins – related or not – when you connect with people that are as fun, interesting and easy-going as many of our cousins are, it is always a guaranteed good time.

In the morning, we awoke early, grabbed some local coffee and headed back to Milwaukee to take the high speed auto ferry Lake Express to Muskegon, MI where we would wind up our five-day road trip. Later that evening we arrived at Mannsiding Cove – our welcoming home always feels like it’s happy to sit there and wait for us to return. As dusk set in we opened the doors climbed into its fictitious arms and relaxed in its embrace.