Sheltered Girl Meets World

Renewing the Passport

(Sure, they are fake Checkpoint Charlie passport stamps but they are pretty cool)

I applied for my passport so I could attend a training session in Philadelphia.  No one from my department wanted to attend so I volunteered.  It seemed like a great opportunity – add a new skill to my resume, receive a per diem for my troubles and explore a new city.

The training was interesting but I didn't get to explore the city like I wanted to.  Since it was my first business trip I didn't realize that I was expected to socialize with my trainees and my Swedish trainers.  Instead of eating cheesesteaks and hoagies I found myself in themed chain restaurants ordering mushy pasta and (fake) laughing over work related stories.  When I did have a free evening I lost my courage to explore South Philly alone and opted for takeout and an early bedtime.  I took other trips over the years, all with similar results - no exploring but plenty of early bedtimes.

I’ve had more success with vacations taken with the boyfriend.  Together we’ve travelled to a resort in Mexico, driven across Israel, seen the highlights of Germany, France, Italy and road tripped across the United States.  Those vacations had schedules so packed that I had no time to think about courage or mushy pasta.

 Now that I’ve renewed my passport and I have 24 crisp new pages to fill with stamps I want to do more - see more!  My resolution for 2012 is not to become this epic world traveller but to be a little less sheltered than 2011 .. and get some cool passport stamps.

Eaten: 16 Course Eleven Madison Park Tribute

(..and what a tribute it was!)

I woke up at 4:30am feeling dehydrated, bloated and angry that morning had arrived too quickly.  Sure, it was my fault - I did eat everything and I shouldn't have drank most of that bottle of Sullyzwicker or accepted that glass of red or finished that large glass of cognac.. it seemed like such a good idea at the time though.  Staring at the clock, my eyes burning, I made the executive decision to reset the alarm to a much later hour.  I couldn't sleep though, the consequences of sleeping late (paying for both parking and a bad cafeteria lunch) weighed heavy on my mind.  I got up and made a healthy looking salad - going vegetarian for one meal will erase last night's indulgence, right?

Highly doubtful.

The indulgence was a 16 course tribute dinner to Eleven Madison Park (EMP).  Our hosts, Murray Wilson and Pej Vongpaisal, recreated the NYC experience using recipes from the newly released EMP cookbook.  I've had the privilege of eating at EMP years before it achieved it's Michelin Stars or ranking on the S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurant List.  It was also before I started taking photos at restaurants and writing about food so I don't remember exact details about the menu.  Although the wine pairing and pre-meal champagne cocktails might also explain why I don't remember.  I do remember that the meal exceeded all of my expectations and to this day is one of the best meals I've ever experienced.

Although we weren't in a chic New York City dining room and Chef Daniel Humm wasn't at the helm of the kitchen, Murray and Pej successfully recreated dishes that made me feel as if I had gone back to that high-ceilinged dining room.  Congratulations on a beautiful tribute!

(Gougeres)

(Carrot)

(Potato)

(Sea Urchin)

(Oyster)

(Pea)

(Avocado)

(Foie Gras)

(Chicken)

(Duck)

(Lamb)

(Cassis)

(Malt)

(Chocolate)

(Cranberry)

(Granola)