There are times when I really have to pinch myself and ask, “Is this really my life? How the heck did I get here, to this place, with these people… how the heck did I get so lucky?”

This past Thursday was definitely one of those times.

When I heard Amanda Hesser would be speaking at the Boston Athenaeum as part of her book tour for The Essential New York Times Cook Book, Mike and I knew we’d want to attend. When I got an email that Amanda would like to share a post-event dinner with us and a few other Boston-area food52 folks (Dave and Mary Reilly, Peg Loftus, and our wonderful coordinator Steven Dunn), I was even more excited. I had met and even gotten a chance to cook with Amanda (and Merrill Stubbs, her food52 co-founder) a little over a year ago at the food52 launch party, and though I was nervous as could be about meeting someone I so admired, I found her to be incredibly warm, funny, and totally down to earth, so I was thrilled to have another chance to spend some time with her.

What made this dinner extra special was the venue, Chef Jason Bond’s not-yet-open restaurant Bondir in Cambridge. Jason and his staff greeted us warmly, handing us flutes of bubbly as we gathered around a roaring hearth, and then proceeded to treat us to a wonderful feast. There was cheese, heirloom apples, and tiny sweet carrots draped in tissue-thin sheets of house Mangalitsa pork guanciale which we nibbled on in front of the fire, then once seated in the dining room, we were each presented with a pair of sweet tender scallops harvested that morning from waters off Scituate, Mass.

Also from those waters, beautiful lobster tails, poached in Vin Jaune and served with buttercup squash, crosnes, Roxbury russet and onion greens. Chef brought out a beautiful copper roasting pan with racks of roast Tamworth pork next, the aroma of succulent meat and bronze fennel filling the dining room before he returned to the kitchen to carve and serve it forth. The finale was probably the biggest revelation, a tart of Jerusalem artichokes enrobed in a black pepper caramel and served with a cardoamaro cream. As I’ve said many times, I’m not big on desserts, but this one hit all the right notes.

The food, drink, and conversation flowed, the cozy space was filled with laughter, and though we were there for hours it felt all too brief as Mike and I bid our farewells and headed back to South Station to catch the last train back to Providence. I felt more than a little zombie-like on Friday as I struggled through my workday on just a few hours of sleep, but it was so worth it.

Huge thanks to Amanda, to Chef Jason and Monica and the staff at Bondir, and to my wonderful food52 friends. Evenings like this are truly what community, what gathering around a table and sharing the gift of a good meal, what savoring life, is all about.

This extra-long weekend was anything but typical.

We kicked it off in grand fashion by sharing an incredible meal at La Laiterie with our visiting friends Anita and Cameron of Married With Dinner fame. We all went for the “Chef’s Whim” tasting menu, and for the next 2+ hours, were treated to a dazzling array of local fare, exquisitely prepared by Chef de Cuisine Ben Sukle and his team.

Delicious, inspiring food.

We bid Cam and Anita farewell on Saturday, after a spin through the farmers’ market and lunch from the truck, and the rest of our weekend looked something like this:

My already long weekend was extended by a day, as I was asked to be interviewed by a team producing a new street food series for Food Network Canada today.

I’m not typically a fan of being on the other side of a camera lens, but Tina and Lauren put me totally at ease, and I had a great time talking up the Hewtin’s Dogs Mobile truck.

Mike even got in on the action.

I’m not sure when the show’s air date will be, or even if it will air in the States, but I’ll keep you posted. Happy September, everyone.

(As always, you can click the photos to view them with more detail in my Flickr stream.)

On August 11th of last year, an email landed in my inbox inviting me to join a community called food52. The site was still in beta, and the premise was to create a crowd-sourced cookbook by way of weekly, themed recipe contests. I’ve never been much of a joiner, and as you know, writing recipes isn’t typically my thing, but when I saw the names behind this project I figured I’d give it a whirl.

It is now 10 months and countless meals after my first contest entry, the week 52 winners were announced yesterday, and what a ride it has been. I could never have predicted what fun opportunities would come my way as a result of my participation in the food52 community, and I’m incredibly grateful for all of the new friends I’ve made along the way.

Among those friends is the lovely and extraordinarily talented Cathy Barrow. Some of you may know her better as Mrs. Wheelbarrow, my Week 9 “Your Best Grilled Pork” co-finalist and a real force to be reckoned with in the kitchen. I was fortunate to meet her in person at the food52 launch party back in October, and was delighted when she, her husband Dennis, and their adorable new pup Louie made a stop in Providence en route to Martha’s Vineyard.

It was a fun coincidence that their stay here fell on the same day that the first 52 week cycle came to a close, and as we announced our plans to meet (along with my dear husband, and our friends and fellow food lovers Dave Dadekian, and Mary Reilly a/k/a savorykitchen) for drinks and dinner on Twitter, replies from throughout the food52 community came from across the miles. We couldn’t help but kick our evening off with a toast to food52 and all the great the people involved, and to express our gratitude for how it brought us all together.

Providence has a wealth of amazing restaurants to choose from; while we were in the planning stages for this meal, I wrote a near thesis-length email detailing the things we love about our favorites. We couldn’t have gone wrong with any of them, but our guests chose Nick’s on Broadway, and as we sat there in the waning light laughing and talking, with plate after plate of thoughtfully composed, beautifully prepared food coming out to our table, I felt happier than I’ve been in a very long time. It was an inspiring meal, and we owe huge, heartfelt thanks to Chef Derek Wagner and his team.

food52 will live on; there are plans for a second book, with contests starting in September, and A&M have partnered with Whole Foods to sponsor a special summer series of contests. I hope to contribute from time to time, but my workload of late has left little time for testing recipes, taking photos and the like. For now, I’m happy to revisit the dozens of recipes from the great home cooks in the food52 community that I’ve bookmarked over the months – and I think I’ll start with this one. Ever gracious, Cathy brought a huge smile to my face yesterday when she presented me with a jar of her plum sauce.

I went up to Cook & Brown for a drink, and ended up staying for dinner. Some nights, it’s good to just give in and let your friends – your family – take care of you. I hope I get to return the favor soon.

Cook & Brown Public House opens to the public tonight at 5:30 p.m. If last night’s soft opening is any indication, you are in for a treat. Go, and don’t forget to tip your barman.

A while back, Mike won a Twitter contest run by Matt Jennings, Chef/Owner of Farmstead and La Laitierie here in Providence (and if you’re not following @cheesematt on Twitter, you should be). The prize: tickets to last night’s Brewmaster’s Dinner with Brooklyn Brewery‘s Garrett Oliver at La Laiterie. It was a wonderful evening filled with, as you would expect, fabulous food and drink, and to my surprise and delight, we even shared a table with Ingrid and Josh of Rhode Island 100 Mile fame.

Sadly, the low light didn’t make for great photos, but trust me when I say that I am still dreaming of the house smoked pork jowl on local hop biscuits, the bone marrow-filled pierogi crowning a delicious pumpkin potage, the silky bresaola topping an autumn salad, and the duo of pheasant, not to mention the “Black & Tan” dessert course served with our favorite Black Chocolate Stout. And don’t even get me started on the “Manhattan Project” brew, which was out of this world. Our sincere thanks go out to Matt and everyone involved in pulling off last night’s event – we are so glad we could be there.

Mike and I have become big fans of Hewtin’s Dogs, the hot dog cart run by Chez Pascal‘s Matt Gennuso which is stationed at Lippitt Park during the summer, and we had planned to stop by for a dog on our way home from the farmers’ market today. What we stumbled upon instead was the debut of Hewtin’s Dogs Mobile, the new kitchen on wheels which, in addition to their regular dogs and house-made toppings, features a variety of sausages and sandwiches.

I ordered the house-made pork and fennel sausage, served in a soft bun topped with slaw and crispy bacon bits – some truly fabulous pork-on-pork action that brought out the best of both. Mike got the Corned Pork Butt sandwich, a fun riff on a Cuban sandwich with its pressed bun, house-made saurkraut and pickle relish, and melty Swiss cheese. Mike’s sandwich came with a scoop of creamy potato salad, studded with dill and bacon, so good we fought over the last bite.

If you’re in the area, run, don’t walk, and check them out for yourself. Food from a truck never tasted so good.

(All photos in this post by Michael Dietsch – full set here.)

Friday night, La Laiterie:

We don’t eat out often, but when we do, this is our favorite place to go. They just get it right – great atmosphere, perfectly fresh, seasonal ingredients, spot-on preparations and pairings. I always walk away inspired.

The farmers’ market is one of the best parts of my week. It’s even better now that Spring is kicking into high gear.

Mike swung through the Union Square Greenmarket during his quick trip to NYC, and brought home a few things to supplement our local goodies:

Not Juleps, but just as tasty.

(As always, click the photos for more details.)

(The original post and comments got eaten as a result of a server upgrade overnight and I have no way to recover it, but I thought I’d repost the photo anyway.)

We don’t eat out often, but when we do, I’m always happy to let Caroline Fidanza and crew do the cooking.