our PW adventure

A few weeks ago I discovered that Ree Drummond – The Pioneer Woman was going to be in Denver for a book signing for her new cookbook – Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier. 

Um, yes please.  I want to go to there.

The day of the signing (last Saturday) finally rolled around and we had planned our day around heading to the Tradesmart book store in Littleton for the event which started at 4pm. 

Sweet Pea took her nap and got up with plenty of time for us to stop off to check out a couple of cross stitch shops before going to the book store but we didn’t get out of the house in a timely manner – I mean, really, I should be used to how long it takes to get out of the house with her but I seem to end up about a half hour behind schedule (unless there’s an appointment involved) no matter what I do.  So we decided to only hit one of the shops – thank goodness we did!  I finally found a good Christmas stocking kit for Miss P and a really great shop (Fancimats & More in downtown Littleton).

We walked in to discover that the ladies (one employee and one customer) were discussing, what else than the very same book signing that we were headed to.  I thought that was funny.  We found out from the ladies that the book store had been giving out numbers all day.  Great.

We decided to press on figuring that if we got there and we were way far back in line, we would just stay for the presentation, buy the new cookbook and go home.  So we got there a little before 3:30.  I staked out a spot and waited while Will wandered around with the baby.

The crowd anxiously waiting her presentation.

And then she finally appeared!

Her presentation is just a little history of her life and blog. 
She talks a lot on her blog about how she’s terrible at public speaking… well, it’s true!  But she’s funny and nervous in a very endearing way.

And then she sang to Charlie.  ha!

After her “song,” she came right over to begin signing books.  At this point it was about 4:30. 

My spot won me a perfect vantage point for when she started signing books.  Unfortunately, our number was 248.  We were going to be waiting for quite a while so we actually left and went up the street for dinner.  We’re still not sure why more people didn’t do the same.

Basically, all these people were just camped out in the store waiting to be called to get in line.  We grabbed a chunk of floor and let the girl crawl around for awhile.

They’d been playing an awesome country playlist but eventually the bookstore folks and the publisher folks got smart and they put The Muppets on one of the 2 screens that had been put up for the presentation.
Eventually, our number got called.  Not before the bookstore started announcing that if you needed to leave you could leave your books on a cart and Ree would sign them and you could come back and get them the next day.  A lot of people were taking advantage of that.
Aaaaaaand she fell asleep.  I was so hoping to have her meet Ree too. :(  But she was a little tuckered out by that point.

Finally we made it! 

It was about 8:30, 4 hours from when she’d started signing books and she was still so upbeat and nice.  AMAZING.  I was so excited to introduce her to our Sweet Pea since I know that Ree loves babies.  She told us how beautiful she was and that she looked like Snow White and just wanted to pet her.  Ree has to be used to people coming up and stammering at her because she just started asking questions while she signed the books.  Where did we live?  When we told her that we’d just moved to the area, she asked where from and then was joking that she was interrogating us.  Really, she’s just as nice in person as you would expect her to be if you’ve watched her show.  She even patted the babe on the leg.

Oh and thanks to the Tradesmart employee for taking the picture!  Our original plan was for me to have the baby and Will to take the picture but as you saw… she was asleep so Will had to get in the picture with us.

I had 3 books signed  - the original cookbook, Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl.

The new cookbook – Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier.
And Charlie the Ranch Dog which we had signed for Miss P. 

If I knew where it was, I probably would have thought to bring The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels – A Love Story too but God only knows which of the bajillion boxes of books that’s in.

I actually bought the new cookbook at the event so I didn’t know what was in it.  I was pleasantly surprised to find two of my favorite recipes from her website. 

Pork Chops with Apples and Creamy Bacon Cheese Grits which if you’ve visited since November, I’ve probably served it to you in all of its delicious glory.  Though one of these days, I’ll finally make the whole thing correct from start to finish.  I haven’t done it yet.

And Summer Stir Fry.  The pictures are different from the recipe version that I’ve used but this is such a tasty summery dish.  I can even get Will to eat tomatoes!
 

So that’s how I got to meet Ree Drummond, Pioneer Woman. 

Well, Pioneer Lady in our house.  Damn you, Will!

ping pong redux

We visited Ping Pong for lunch after my commencement but the food came out so fast and furious that I didn’t get many pictures – I think I have like 4 total.  We decided to go back and take advantage of the “instructions” on their menu about ordering and then if you’re still hungry, order some more.  That’s exactly what we did before we went to see Edward Sharpe.  We purposefully ordered some dishes and then set about ordering more.

you order much like you would order sushi in most typical sushi restaurants by ticking off what you want on a sheet of paper.  The menu explains the various dishes available.

 
Will pouring his fancy Reserve Sapporo and me very badly lit.

 
Extra sauces – no recollection what they are (it’s been awhile!); Vietnamese Spring Rolls (one is off the plate) – extremely tasty

 
These are the Pork Puffs and they might just be my absolute favorite – superbly tasty, oh so crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

 
Steamed bok choy.  Very good.  Somehow they stay very hot.

 
Shrimp shitake dumplings – they’re good but I think the seafood dumplings are better; now the Crispy Prawn Balls – they’re amazing and this raspberry-y sauce they come with *drool*.  We were literally dipping the random fried bits that fell off the balls in the rest of the sauce.

I wasn’t terribly impressed with the Crispy asparagus – the asparagus was kind of soggy.  The Char Sui Buns are tasty.  Basically the honey bbq filling from the Pork Puffs in my next favorite packaging, the sticky bun.

Will had the Satay Squid – he liked it.  I’m not a fan of squid.  We really enjoy the sticky rice parcels and stuck with the traditional rice – chicken, pork, and king prawns wrapped in a lotus leaf.

 
These are the Chicken and King Prawn Shu Mai.  I don’t recall being terribly impressed by them.

The aftermath of all the tastiness.

All in all it was great.  The service this time was merely a little flighty rather than a bit rude.  We sat in the bar area and got some of the dishes at happy hour prices which was nice.  It can get a bit pricey like sushi or tapas.

ginger shrimp and snow peas

We like shrimp.

It is our preferred method for getting fish into our diet.  We should probably branch out and get more actual fish of different types but shrimp is pretty easy and cheap to buy frozen.

For me, I think it has to do with growing up so close to the Gulf of Mexico and I still prefer Gulf shrimp to any other variety.  Among my earliest memories are “Fish” fries at church during Lent.  But there were no fish involved for me – just a big pile of boiled peel-and-eat shrimp.

I made this recipe from Real Simple a couple of months ago.

It has a nice gingery flavor and the snow peas add a crispness to the dish and I enjoyed it despite all the onions.  We served it over couscous and may have had a salad on the side.

It will definitely make a reappearance.

summer stir fry

I haven’t looked at hardly any of the recipes on Pioneer Woman Cooks (or her sister site, Tasty Kitchen) but I do read the new ones as she posts them.  And you might say that she’s the inspiration behind the step-by-step picture method of posting recipes that may or may not happen here.

I tried one of her summer recipes a few weeks ago.  I didn’t take step-by-step pictures because she’s already done it.

Here’s the final product:

It was really easy and very tasty.  It had a lovely light summer taste which is perfect for hot weather.  Will didn’t even mind the tomatoes!

Here’s the link from Pioneer Woman: Summer Stir Fry.

choral arts – sunday may 23rd

Waaaay back in December, we had tickets to see my friend Liz Romig Marcellino perform Christmas music in the Choral Arts Society.  But as Mother Nature would have it, we had Snopocolypse instead and the show got snowed out. 

We were able to replace our tickets and our choices were:

1. the next performance of the Christmas show which would have been great except that it was on Christmas Eve and we were already going to be in Hampton.
2. a performance in January honoring Martin Luther King which I passed on because I was afraid of more snow and while it didn’t get snowed out, there was a lot of snow around then too.
3. “Enchanted Evening with Richard Rogers” in May which I figured was safe from the effects of weather so that’s what I chose.

We’d also had reservations at Vidalia – a nice restaurant in DC – on that fateful evening.  Will had several calls from the manager first inquiring as to whether we were going to make our reservation and then later in the day, telling us that Vidalia was not going to be opening for the evening and offering us reservations at their sister restaurant Bistro Bis which we didn’t take.

Fast forward to several weeks ago… Choral Arts Redux.

We had reservations for 5:30 which is a normal dinner hour for us but is early for restaurant standards so when we arrived, there was only one other couple in the restaurant.

Will got a drink in the bar while we waited.  Actually, I had to retire to the ladies to remedy a situation involving blue ink on the backs of my legs – we did figure out that it was likely from that Sunday’s Parade Magazine that I’d had my legs propped up on most of the afternoon without thinking about it.

First course:  Lobster ravioli with foam for me and a Bacon Voluté … we think, basically bacon soup. 

Second course: Lamb Sous Vide for me and Shrimp and Grits

   

Final course: Dessert!  Georgia Pecan pie for me and Lemon Chess pie for Will.

Everything was super tasty.  We both decided that we’re not fans of foam but these were certainly the most “Top Chef-y” meals we’ve probably ever had – well, except for Restaurant Eve and their tasting menu.  They have an interesting way of figuring out the bill – they have a prix fixe menu in which you either pay the prix fixe price or the actual menu price depending on which is lower.  It’s odd but you end up spending a little bit less either way.  Being a Sunday, it was quiet and the waitress was probably even more attentive than she normally would have been but you could tell that it was it was their normal MO.

Afterward we caught a cab outside (after the waitress and the GM commented on my dress – a little odd but still flattering) and went off to the Kennedy Center for “Enchanted Evening with Richard Rogers.”

Ok… you can kind of ignore this picture because when it’s small, it looks a lot clearer than it is.  Liz is in the top row under the break in the chorus next to the bright spot in that row – which is, in fact, a lovely, slightly older lady with gorgeous, long, nearly white hair.

If I could find the play bill (I swear I lose things when I clean because I just put them places), I would tell you all about the show in greater detail than I’m about to.  Oh well…

The first act was a series of pieces that I was unfamiliar with that were very beautiful though apparently very boring to the two people sitting to either side of us who both appeared to be asleep.  In the second act, the chorus delved into the works of Rogers and Hammerstein.  The conductor made a special request that even though the works would be very familiar, to please refrain from singing, humming or otherwise making noise along with the music.  It was a lot of fun and they did a fantastic job.  They even came back out and let the audience get in on the fun with an encore of “Oklahoma!” 

It was a very fun evening.

commencement – sunday may 16

But the big deal for the weekend was Sunday’s Commencement.  And the big deal about GWU’s commencement is that it is held on the National Mall.

As such, we had to get there early to be able to get a decent parking spot. 

Two blocks from the commencement but in the view of the Capitol Building so we’ll take it.

Because of the presence of Mrs. Obama as the commencement speaker, the graduates (and only the graduates) had to go through “extensive” security.
 
There was list checking, ID checking against the list, bag searching, and metal detector-ing.  And they didn’t even check the tickets that were supposedly required to attend commencement for guests.

Amazingly they did manage to get all of the graduates through security before the “processional” began.
 
Even with the Capitol in background, I still look like a dork.
Secret Service, SWAT police and a fellow graduate expressing what the majority of us felt.

The “processional” was ridiculous and uncouth.  On the National Mall, one would expect an amount of pomp and circumstance if you will excuse the pun.  The “processional” consisted of a half hour of the camera men panning the crowd and getting the reactions.  I do wonder though if it had something to do with security because the First Lady was there.

Eventually the program began.  There was all the usual stuff that I’ll skip because it’s boring.

The first honorary doctorate was given to Dave Brubeck, a big deal jazz musician.  Will was super dorkily excited about getting to see him.  Surprisingly, he gave a short speech after accepting his honorary degree.

This clip, I believe, includes the whole process so you’ll have to go a few minutes in to hear his remarks.

Next up, the owner of Clark Construction, R. J. Clark, was given an honorary doctorate in engineering – something you don’t see all that often I don’t think.
 
There’s that orange that I wore proudly for my undergraduate commencement.  Typical for an engineer, he said maybe a sentence.

And finally we were at the point everyone was there for – I mean, really, it wasn’t about the graduates for a lot of people. 

It was time for Mrs. Obama.  She was awarded an honorary doctorate in Public Service.  Clearly a nod to the challenge she’d set forth for the student body.

In a slight departure from the usual format, she did not immediately begin her commencement address.  First President Knapp began by announcing the results of the challenge – 163,180 hours!  Pretty amazing.

This was followed up with a compilation video of moments throughout the year –

The video was actually rather moving and set the stage for the First Lady’s speech perfectly.

It’s a little on the long-ish side but she was very inspirational.  Encouraging the students to make a lifelong commitment to service and to be global citizens – well, that part I didn’t quite get because when she put forth the challenge, she seemed to want the focus to be on local service.  But it was still a great message.

You can read a transcript of her speech here.

Then there was a little thing wherein President Knapp conferred all the degrees upon the graduates – our real purpose for the day.  And then it seemed rather unceremoniously over.

I waited on the wall of the National Museum of the Native American for my people. 

Time for pictures when they finally arrived, of course.

 
Liz had come out to see me graduate – it had nothing to do with the choice of commencement speaker.  Proud parentals. 

Will’s just glad that we don’t have to worry about GW for any reason ever again.

So then it was time for my graduation lunch.  I chose Ping Pong Dim Sum in Chinatown – it was close enough to the Mall, Liz had just been there and liked it, and Mom loves Dim Sum.

First we almost gave the host a heart attack when Dad asked how we were going to fit 5 people at a 4 person table – he didn’t realize that sadly Liz wasn’t staying for lunch and would leave when Will got back from parking the car.  Then I think we annoyed our waitress by refusing to order for the longest time because we were waiting for Will to get back.

Once we did order, the food came fast and furious – dim sum at Ping Pong is kind of like Chinese tapas.  As a result, there’s no pictures of the food.  It was superb though.  We had some really tasty dishes – actually there wasn’t a single one that we didn’t enjoy.

Will and I want to go back and sit at the bar and watch them plate the dishes.  The only problems we had were that our waitress was subpar and all of their water glasses taste salty because they use the same glasses for their margaritas.

It was a great end to a fun-filled weekend.