Family-Style: Grandma’s Ham Sandwich

Posted by Erin L. in @ Your Table, Family-Style and tagged with bread, bun, family, Grandma, ham, ham sandwich, honey mustard, love, mustard, napkin, sandwich, squeeze April 8, 2011

I love my Grandma and I have such a deep food love because of her. Some may call it sacrifice, but I consider her life-long dedication to feeding others a home-cooked meal a true, honest labor of love. Stories of prized fresh cream skimmed from the top of milk; years of entertaining trustees at The Hill School; the freshest, purest applesauce in all the universe – no matter the menu, she insisted that hard work and integrity were the best ingredients.

Something about a Grandma’s touch makes even the simplest of meals taste even better and, these days, her 90-year-old hands can only do so much. You can’t visit Grandma without being offered a snack and, on this trip, she was so proud to make me and Gramps ham & mustard sandwiches. Built with the sincerest food love, I savored the best ham & mustard sandwich I’ve ever tasted. Thank you, Grandma. Thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me.

Restaurant Rewind: Max Brenner & the Family

Posted by Erin L. in Family-Style, Restaurant Rewind and tagged with avocado, bun, burger, cilantro-avocado mayonnaise, dinner, family, french fries, fries, lettuce, margarita, Max Brenner, mayo, mayonnaise, Mother's Day, Philadelphia, pickle, restaurant, sandwich, tomato, veggie, veggie burger, waffle fries May 25, 2010

The weekend before Mom’s Day, my sister & I met up with my parents for Sunday dinner. Kerry decided on Max Brenner, a global chain focused on inspiring a new “chocolate culture.” Many a man has named a restaurant after himself and this bald guy seemed a bit suspect. But in the spirit of celebrating Mary Ann’s birthday, it made sense to give our family chocolate lover an indulgent experience. And that is was!

The menu consisted of familiar items with a “Max Brenner Chocolate Culture” twist. It was hard to focus on savory dinner items with a bible of chocolatey confections tempting you, so we made up our minds on dessert before placing our dinner order. I ordered the Veggie Conscious Burger. The soft, herb-flavored patty topped with tomato & avocado engulfed a brioche bun smeared with avocado-cilantro mayo. chili-chocolate powder dusted waffle fries with some yummy spiced mayo dipping sauce sat opposite on the long oblong wooden serving plank. My dad ordered The Brenner Burger and we loved both!

NOTE: 2 pickle spears and I didn’t even have to ask!

Veggie Conscious Burger @ Max Brenner

Dad & I decided to share a side dish as well and were fully impressed with the Black & Tan Beer Battered Vidalia Onion Rings w. Dark Chocolate Ranch. You heard that right – time to get some chocolate Ranch dip in your life!

Black & Tan Beer Battered Vidalia Rings w/ Dark Chocolate Ranch Dressing @ Max Brenner

Kerry was underwhelmed by the fish tacos, but Mary Ann seemed to really enjoy her Deep Bleu Cobb Salad. A sampling on my part deemed it quite tasty & crisp. Rabbit food (complete with ears) done right!

Deep Bleu Cobb Salad @ Max Brenner

Now, on to the important stuff, CHOCOLATE! We were quick to place our dessert order since our minds were already made up. Spoons in hand, the four of us waited for our two selections to arrive. Mary Ann went with the Melting Chocolate Heart, a classic chocolate bomb with a oozing raspberry filling, for a tart & rich end to a great meal.

Melting Chocolate Heart @ Max Brenner

I chose my favorite approach to a dessert crepe – Banana & Hazelnut – finished with a side of ice cream, berries & molten chocolate syrup. Took me back to the La Crêperie truck of my Temple days. I loved it – every last bite & every moment with the fam!

Banana & Hazelnut Cream Crepe @ Max Brenner

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY ANN!

Restaurant Rewind: Swift Half for Game Day

Posted by Erin L. in Family-Style, Restaurant Rewind and tagged with applewood, bacon, bacon fudge, blt, buffalo shrimp, burger, cheddar, eagles, family, football, fried egg, fries, fudge, hash, Philadelphia, Piazza, potato skins, restaurant, sandwich, scrapple, stilton October 26, 2009

I took a momentary hiatus from blogging as my priorities shifted a bit over the last month or so. Tonight’s priority, however – watching the Eagles on the couch with Lexi. Less than two minutes into the game tonight, DeSean Jackson ran 67yds for a touchdown. At the risk of sounding cliche, it made me think maybe it’s time for me to get back in “the game.” I luckily had an easy return with a blog post already drafted about a perfect September day enjoying my utmost priorities! GO EAGLES!

It was about time for Dre to meet the parents, so we planned a sunny Sunday afternoon to watch the Eagles game in Philly. We met at the Piazza at Schmidt’s, knowing Dad was interested in seeing the new hip spot in the city. Food and drink is an important part of family time so we snagged an outdoor table at Swift Half with a perfect view of the Piazza’s jumbotron tv . After a round of beers and conversation, my sister Kerry joined us just in time to place our lunch order. Dre matched Kerry’s request of a B.E.L.T, stacked accordingly with an over-medium fried egg. I went with their Traditional Burger, served medium-rare with Applewood Smoked Bacon & Colston Bassett Stilton. Their fresh, shoestring cut Idaho fries paired with the sandwiches may now be in my top ranking in the city, just under Misconduct’s.

B.E.L.T. - Swift Half

Traditional Burger with Applewood Smoked Bacon & Colston Bassett Stilton

Dad doesn’t front when it comes to his love of Scrapple, retelling stories of making homemade batches at Penn State. Swift Half managed to serve it in a most appetizing way for a non-fan like me – battered, fried triangles paired with a Maple Ketchup & Potato Hash. Mary Ann, the biggest Eagles’ fan I know, went with an epitomous game day snack of Potato Skins with Applewood Bacon crumbles, Melted Cheddar, & an Herb-Mayo dipping sauce. We all shared the Fudge Board for dessert highlighting Bacon Fudge, Vanilla Fudge, & Pistachio Fudge.

Despite an embarrassing loss by the Eagles, it ended up being a fantastic Sunday afternoon relaxing, laughing, & eating with the most important people in my life. We even enjoyed seconds with Swift Half’s tender and tasty Buffalo Shrimp, which were eaten too fast for me to snap a pic! And no lie, now less than 2 minutes to halftime and there goes DeSean Jackson with another touchdown. All these great memories of food, family, & football – I think I’m officially back in the game.