Introducing the "Daisy" Burger!

One of the reasons that I enjoy writing this blog is that it has opened my world to new food, new people and new opportunities.  I've been lucky to meet some extraordinary people who I first considered my "blogger pals" but quickly became good friends.  Kristen is one of these wonderful people!  Although Kristen and I followed each other's blogs for a little while, we actually first met at a Mystery Meet dinner at Ten Tables last summer.  Since then, we've shared so many meals, drinks and emails together, and I'm grateful for our friendship! 

Last month, Kristen took a cooking class at the Bristol Lounge where she created her own burger.  The folks at Bristol Lounge are celebrating National Burger Month by featuring a new special burger every day in May.  Kristen's burger creation was the burger of the day on Tuesday, May 3rd, so a group of twenty of her closest friends and family gathered to celebrate the "Daisy" burger!  We nibbled on complimentary avocado fries and deep-fried Brussels sprouts as Kristen gave a little speech before we dug into her burger!

The "Daisy" burger featured melted goat cheese, sauteed mushrooms, fennel slaw and lettuce on a brioche bun.  In case you're wondering about the name of the burger, I should mention that Kristen's nickname is "Daisy".

The burger also came with tomatoes, red onion and pickle chips.  I kept a few of the red onion slices but removed the tomatoes and ate the pickles on the side.  The burger was juicy and I loved the combination of goat cheese and sauteed mushrooms.  I was nervous that the fennel slaw would be a little overpowering but it balanced out nicely with the tangy goat cheese.  The burger was served with deliciously crispy Parmesan truffle frites, which I always find addictive!

Thanks to Kristen for inviting me to celebrate her name-sake burger and congratulations on your burger of the day!

The Bristol Lounge is located in the Four Seasons Hotel located at 200 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

Sunday Blogger Potluck

Over the past couple of years, I've been lucky to meet some wonderful people in the local food blogging community.  In particular, I've been fortunate to become friends with four phenomenal women - Alicia, Kristen, Megan and Meghan.  Even though we all write about food, we each have such different interests, personalities and points of views...and I think this is why we all get along so well!  Even though we see each other often at local food or blogger events, we like to find time to hang out with each other outside of these events.  Since our dinner at Upstairs on the Square, we've been trying to find time in all of our busy schedules to get together for a tapas/small plate potluck.  After many emails, we finally got together yesterday at Megan's place for a day of cooking, champagne and lots of laughter.

The five of us committed to preparing at least two different dishes.  We each prepped our ingredients at home, but actually cooked and plated our dishes at Megan's place. 

Kristen is all smiles in the kitchen!

My contribution included Cold Curry-Peanut Noodles and Mama Chang's Pork and Chive Dumplings.  I'll be blogging about these dishes later in the week but in the meantime, I wanted to share some photos of the tasty dishes we indulged in.

Megan's Feta Tart (Alevropita)

Alicia's Muhammara

Meghan's White Bean Dip with White Truffle Oil

Kristen's Creamy Parsnip Soup with Crispy Leeks

My Cold Curry-Peanut Noodles

Meghan's Tortilla de Patas

Alicia's Walnut and Mushroom Vegetarian Pate

Doesn't all of this food look delicious?  This was just the first round of cooking and after we indulged in these dishes, we lounged around sipping bubbly and discussing wedding-planning, blogging, new engagements (congratulations Megan!) and new jobs (congratulations Alicia!).  After some time, we finally got ourselves off the couch for a second round of cooking...and eating!

My version of Mama Chang's Pork and Chive Dumplings

Kristen's Warm Brussels Sprout Salad

Alicia's Spicy Shrimp with Andouille Sausage

Alicia's Creamy Grits

As food blogger, we of course took lots of photos of the food.  But as dog lovers, we took even more photos of Megan and Jeff's beautiful chocolate lab, Gunner.  I think we all tried to play with Gunner as much as possible and Meghan and I were definitely guilty of giving him way too many doggie treats!  But look at this photo and tell me how you could resist?!

And finally, after another breather (and some silly self-timer photos), we got ourselves up for Megan's amazing make-your-own sundae station.

Adorable dessert dishes.

Megan's Pumpkin Ice Cream

Megan's Gingerbread Croutons

Megan's Spiced Caramel Sauce

All of the amazing spices used in the caramel sauce!

Megan's Pumpkin Ice Cream with Spiced Caramel Sauce and Gingerbread Croutons

And finally, after six hours of cooking, eating, and lots of laughter, we wrapped up the night with one last group photo.

Thank you ladies for such a wonderful Sunday.  Since we all enjoy cooking so much, it was fantastic to cook together in such a relaxed and low-key manner.  I couldn't have asked for a better way to end the weekend and I'm looking forward to reading everybody's recipes for these dishes!  We also took home lots of leftovers which Bret and I will definitely enjoy over the next few days!

And special thanks to Megan for hosting all of us and opening up her home (especially her kitchen) to all of us.

What was the best thing you did this weekend?