Blackberry financiers

Hi friends,
As promised, and if you saw my Instagram picture before they were baked, here is the recipe for the most amazing pastry ever -- blackberry financiers.

My favorite part about this little tiny cake (not to be called a muffin in my house) is the browned butter used in the recipe. It gives it a rich nutty density that adds to the almond base and light powdery sugar that's the majority of the cake. And that, in a nutshell, is the recipe.

I use this one that I found on Pinterest a few years ago. There are dozens of variations, like caramel, that I want to try but always go back to the blackberry. And why ruin a good thing?



The history of this little beauty, pronounced fah-nance-EE-ay, is this:

Pierre Lacam, in ''Memorial Historique de la Patisserie,'' published in 1890, wrote that the financier was created by a baker named Lasne, whose bakery on the Rue St.-Denis was near the Bourse, the financial center of Paris. Presumably, the rich little cake was named for the rich financiers who frequented his bakery. The cake was baked in rectangular molds, the shape of gold bars. (Source:  NYTimes)


And what rich, edible gold bars they are. 
I hope you enjoy. And if you have a different recipe, please share. 
xo


Your friend, 
Caroline

Neuf...and nine reasons why you should go.

Hello, friends.

I know, there was a bit of lag time in between my last post and this one. But, thanks to a few dozen or so friends and family, I'm starting again. One new friend, who I was lucky to meet at Neuf last night, saw a post and kindly suggested I write more. "People want to read what you write, the way you write it," he said. What a compliment and I must oblige. Thank you!

And now onto Neuf, which means nine in French and opened its doors officially this week. It's Joncarl Lachman and Bob Moysan's new spot that offers African-French cuisine with a full-service bar. It's a departure from Noord, their Dutch-Scandinavian BYO in East Passyunk.

Here are the nine reasons why you should go:

1. The gorgeous entry.
My friend Anita and I walked to Neuf, at 943 s. 9th Street, Saturday night into one of my favorite restaurant facades in the city. The space boasts two bay windows that flank the tiled entry way.

2. Bob and Joncarl.
Once inside, we found both owners smiling and greeting us, either from the dining room or the kitchen.

The menus. 

3. There's halloumi!

We debated on the menu a bit but settled on sharing the bouillabaisse and the kusheri salad (with the halloumi). The salad was light and we pretty much devoured it. Too quickly to snap a picture, in fact. 

The bouillabaisse. 

4. The saffron broth.
We also didn't leave much of the bouillabaisse that we shared. The saffron broth was perfect and light but we asked for more crusty bread to make sure we could enjoy every last bit. I think I had a spoon in my hand at one point.

5. Almond joys have nuts. Mounds don't.
The dessert the gentlemen beside us shared was, according to them, "like the inside of an almond joy," that they ate up. This is what I'll be getting on my next trip.

6. Sherry.
We ordered the Paris-Brest which was a light but filling pastry with cream, sherry and cherries. We also had sherry a digestif to round out our meal.

7. The art work.
After dinner, Joncarl stopped by and said hello and we had a long talk with Bob that focused on his art. He told us about the painstaking installation of mini bottles that he staged, photographed and turned into wallpaper. I make the process seem easy but I assure you, it was not. It's a fascinating story and I won't give it all away, but when you go, walk to the bar and check it out.

8. New and very well done.
All and all, it was a great meal, especially considering it formally opened mere days ago on Oct. 1.

9. Happy hour.
I can't wait to pop by for happy hour and another meal, soon.

I hope you check it out and and create your own reasons to go and enjoy.

Your friend, (new or old)
Caroline

Texting, emojis and dating, oh my

Hi friends,
I read this funny NYT article about texting and styles. What's yours?

As a corporate communicator, I have two distinct styles of writing. Professional and fun.

Those who know me, know that I'm the queen of the emoji (mostly to my girlfriends). My favorites include the kissy face, the muscle arm and well, the wine icon. If you haven't checked out Crazy Jewish Mom on IG, do it now. The mom just learned how to use emojis. It's pretty funny.

On the other side of this, my colleagues (past and present) know about my dislike for exclamation points in emails to 35,000 employees. And I think everyone knows that I fall in love with men who use there, their and they're / your and you're correctly. It’s the little things sometimes.

And obvi with texting comes the shortened words. Do you use some of these acronyms?

I’ve never seen most of them but will probably start to use ELOL immediately along with TPS. My dad tends to make up his own texting acronyms. Dads. SMH.

I also spotted HuffPo’s article on text etiquette as we live in the days of digital dating. Check out the dos and donts as written by each gender.

Anyway, happy texting and maybe phone home every once in a while.

TTFN,
xo,YF
Caroline
 

Works in progress.

Hello friends,

Aren't we all works in progress - striving to be brave and better or shiny and perfect? I know I am and so is my writing.

I have had pieces in the works including one titled Christmas Tree(mont) based on my fab dinner at The Treemont in December. The mulled wine deserves its own blog post, to be honest.

Here's the cobia, that you really should try.
 

Another is about our trip to Batard where we indulged in four desserts.

Here's the truffle ice cream.

However, I am making some changes. Consider the blog under construction. I'm not sure what it will be and that's the fun part. Thanks to the encouragement of friends throughout the years (and now I'll name names Holley, Kevin, my mom, my dad, my grandmother, Justini) and their advice to write every day, work on the novel and get back to the blog.

I am.

I signed up for a class from the writer Tyler Knott. I love his writing (that I read on Instagram) and I've decided that it's time to get the dust off of the novel and be brave.

Hemingway also said "write, drunk." So there's that.

In the mean time, I'll get my Treemont blog post started.

And figure out where to eat for my birthday.

xoxo,
Your friend,
Caroline

Thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends. Today is a nice opportunity to be grateful and thankful and I wanted to share a short list with you. 

In no particular order, here is what I'm thankful for right now, this year and always.

Thanksgiving 2014

That this kind man found somewhere to go today. 

My dog, even when she does things like this.

 

My friends. Near and far, old and new.

The fact that Louie was found.

My family, whom I'll see soon.

Finding this cute sign.
 
Wine.

This pretty song because I like the words.

Pizza from here. The corn pizza specifically.

Laughter.

Champagne. And any reason to celebrate.

That every year brings something new and great into my life.

Coffee.

Surprises.

That I can walk through this spectacular display every night.

Impromptu reunions with college friends.

The wishbone tradition that I will share with my mom in a few hours. 

You.

I hope you have a lovely day with your friends and family. 
 
xo,
Your friend,
Caroline

Lists.

Hi friends,

I happened to come across this article tonight. And, it's not very nice about the people where I live and love. Although the comments are pretty entertaining.

Basically. We were named to the list of least attractive people by Travel and Leisure. I'm particularity amused by the Pat's and Geno's reference.

OK. Ouch. But, I've been here a while and have found many beautiful people, inside and out. Yes, I've seen some scary things or outfits and experienced some questionable behavior but that's for another time. Most of the time, I think anywhere you go, you can see something beautiful. This cute little site is based on this very thing. I always do. I'm lucky.

I hope the next time our friends at T+L come to town, they call me. I'll show them around.

In fact, I'd probably invite them to go with me on a dog walk. Much like the one I had tonight.

The scene. I'm walking Kennedy outside and I'm in a big puffy dog-walking coat with my hair pulled back. A man walks by and says something as we pass each other and I catch the word "beautiful" at the end. Here's the rest.

Me: Thank you. (My standard response because I'm sure he's talking about my dog, as most people do. This is a thing. On Friday, someone stopped me and asked to take a picture of my dog. Yes, the dog.)
Him: Married?
Me: (laughing and still walking away) Nope.
Him: Single?
Me: No.
Him: Can I marry you?

I turned him down, but, it all started with the word beautiful. So, T+L, let's have chat and I can at least tell you where you can get a better cheesesteak.

xoxo
Your friend,
Caroline

Hi friends,
None of us have any idea of what will happen next - today or tomorrow. But what I do believe is that during these moments of wonder, life happens. And it's up to us to take full advantage. But, don't take my word for it.

Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.
-Ernest Hemingway

I believe this. In this vein, I wanted to share a few details about how I lived today and the moments that stood out. First, I spent some time with miss Kennedy at the dog park and made some new friends from Ohio who had Airedales. (People who spend time in Ohio stick together, you see. People who know Airedales share a special kinship.)

Then there were some of my favorite hours of the day between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. where I went to one of my all-time favorite spots in Philadelphia, Headhouse Farmer's Market, grabbed coffees at Bodhi before my man friend and I walked to Kennett for brunch, where we sat outside. In November. I loved the lamb meatballs and I had my go-to dish, the breakfast pizza. The detail here is to get extra maple syrup on the pizza that is basically just eggs, cheese and bacon. Then, I spent quality time with long-time friend Adrienne (and reason why I live here now) and her new baby, Henry, who stole my heart and chunks of my hair (at the same time). Henry - you little heart breaker, you. I brought them this lasagna because Adrienne adores it. (There are a few alternations to it in my version. If you want to know, ask.)

And to save the best detail of my day for last - this Friday marked my friend Holley's birthday. Since she has not been to one of my favorite restaurants we went to Will, where no detail is ever overlooked. Ever. I wrote about it when I went on my birthday a few year's ago and tonight's visit surpassed all other visits. And given Chef Christopher Kearse's recent three-bell upgrade you know you're in for something spectacular.

There were a few killer details tonight that must be discussed - the uni fettuccine was a standout for me. It's a new addition and was served with a knife and fork, which is the polite way to serve it. Being a good Italian, I twirled mine with my fork. The second detail was the staff who mentioned Holley's birthday throughout the evening. Finally - the surprise pot de creme that arrived for Holley to try. 

One final detail that I'll share is something I find to be beautiful - the image of a dinner party that has concluded. There is a certain charm about it, just before you have to take away the glasses and dishes and clean them. It shows that people met and hopefully had a lovely time and shared details about their lives over wine and dinner. I know I did tonight.

Wherever you are, I hope you had a lovely evening and shared your own details.

xo,

Your friend, 

Caroline