Book 5 - Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

Running with Scissors

By, Augusten Burroughs

352 pages - 3.25 stars

Another Book Club book!

Running with Scissors is Augusten Burroughs' memoir of his messed-up childhood. In a nutshell. The book is a engaging, and a really quick read but when you've finished it, you're left with what amounts to a really messed-up childhood.

That's not to say that you're overwhelmed by that the entire time. Burroughs does a really great job of putting you in the mindset of a child, specifically of him as a child, so that you don't necessarily even notice that he's surrounding by chaos and craziness. The weirdest of moments seem normal as they happen - as I'm sure they came to feel normal (in a sense) for him - but at the end of the book you look back upon a cadre of weird moments, abusive moments.

It's hard to know whether Burroughs embellished, or whether the story is tainted by his perspective, or whether this is how his childhood actually went. The book was engaging but I have to admit that I wasn't left with a ton afterward. The book didn't stay with me and looking back, I wonder if I was driven forward by the quality of the book or by the incredibility of the story.

For those of you who don't know, Burrough's book was made into a movie in 2006 and both Burroughs' mom and brother have since written memoirs, somewhat contradicting this one, somewhat enforcing it. I have to admit that I'm curious about them, but probably not enough to read them.

Bob's Sandwich Challenge: Round 3

Check me out! I'm eating sandwiches! At this rate, it'll only take us 3 or 4 years to declare an overall victor in Bob's Sandwich Challenge. Life is hard.

Todays battle brought together two strong contenders: Roast Beef vs. Proscuitto and Mozzarella. Proscuitto and Mozzarella happens to be my favorite Bob's Sandwich so far but Roast Beef is an old favorite too. We topped the Roast Beef with all toppings (except onions) and got the Proscuitto and Mozzarella as is (with tomatoes, basil, and some olive oil).

Roast Beef	Proscuitto & Mozzarella

The Roast Beef was pretty amazing. A bite by itself revealed that Bob, in fact, does know his meats. The beef was perfectly cooked and still moist with that really great taste that comes from fully cooked but still slightly rare Roast Beef. It was only enhanced by the tang of the pickles and the spice of the hots - my favorite bites consisted of a little bit of it all to really bring all the flavors together.

Roast Beef	Proscuitto & Mozzarella

But, (and it's a big one!) every time I transitioned from the Roast Beef to the Proscuitto and Mozzarella, it was like taking a step towards heaven. There's just something magnificent about the combo of the salty Proscuitto, creamy mozzarella, acidic tomatoes and fresh, delicious bread. It's light but tasty and I just want to eat it all the time.

In the end, we gave this round to Proscuitto and Mozzarella. No one is surprised that I chose that sandwich but I was intrigued to see how Nate netted out here. While he may not have been quite as emphatic about the heavenly characteristics of the Proscuitto and Mozzarella, he too agreed that it's near sandwich perfection.

Pizzeria Posto's Whole Hog!

For those of you who don't know, Tuesday was the 29th anniversary of my birth, otherwise known as my 29th birthday. I am a big fan of my birthday (and really, everyone's birthday) and this year, I decided to celebrate with a few of my favorite things - a big dinner with my nearest and dearest, a dinner sourced from local, well-treated (and well-cooked) ingredients, some good wine, and just a splash of adventure.

Luckily for me, Davis Square is home to the much hallowed Pizzeria Posto, a delightful wood-fired pizzeria that bases its changing menu on what's in season and super fresh and has some pretty delicious options. Nate and I recently tried Pizzeria Posto for the first tmie and enjoyed a delightful meal (and an awesome basil gimlet) with Fireman Ben. It was during this dinner that we devised the perfect meal for celebrating a 29th birthday.

Pizzeria Posto, in line with a number of other Boston are eateries, offers its diner the chance to experience a pretty unique food offering in the form of an entire pig. They ask for 2 weeks notice and at least 10 guests and in return, the pick out a local pig for you, brine it for over a day, and cook it for hours. They pair it with some delicious sides and, if you're the birthday girl, they give you an amazing tiramisu.

Pizzeria Posto's Famiglia Dinner appealed to me for a number of reasons - one, it's the kind of meal that is an event in itself and pairing it with my birthday made it really feel like a holiday, everything is super fresh and local (and yummy) and Posto really wants to make you feel loved. They treat the meal as an event for them too, explaining all of the steps to you and encouraging the ambitious to try something new (pig brain anyone?).

It was a delicious meal with delightful friends and I didn't even have to figure out the check - thanks Nate! I was pretty darn full afterward but what a fantastic way to usher in the last year of my 20s.

For the record, I did try brain (as well as cheek, neck, and toe!) and I didn't love it. It was more of a texture than a taste but thanks to Sanjay, Ben, and Steve for diving in with me.

P.S. Posto wraps everything up for you (no, we did take the brain) and I've made some yummy ragu from the sausage filling and some spicy green chili & pork tacos with the tenderloin. The meal keeps on giving!

Goal: Get a Dog!

For those of you who know me personally, you know that I have {desperately} wanted a dog for roughly... forever - otherwise known as about 5-6 years. Now that Nate and I have our own place, everyone is under the impression that a dog is imminent.

They're right! We're slated to get our doggie this coming weekend (she's coming from an organization in Indiana) - stay tuned for details.

In the meantime, we've been prepping the house and buying all sort of doggie-related items from PetSmart. I also spent a fair part of the last weekend finishing up a sweater blanket that I started over a year ago - I finally have the right motivation!

This isn't a great photo but I think you get the idea. It's a new dog blanket made of old sweaters! It was pretty easy to pull together and I think it'll be very cozy.

Sweater Blanket:

1. Wash and dry old sweaters (drying them helps to avoid pulling after the blanket has been put together

2. Cut Sweaters into squares or rectangles (I believe mine were 8" square)

3. Sew together (1 to 1, then 2 to 2, 4 to 4, you get the idea)

4. Do a quick stitch around the edges to avoid fraying (FYI: I didn't have too much trouble with each of the squares fraying - just wanted to avoid it o the entire blanket)

Voila! A cozy doggie (or person) blanket!

Book 4 - Motherless Brooklyn

Motherless Brooklyn

By, Jonathan Lethem

311 pages - 3.50 stars

This is another of those books that ends up on my Amazon wishlist and I have no real recollection of where I got the recommendation. In writing this post I did a quick search for the title and it turns out the book is not a new one - it was published back in 1999 and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction.

Huh, well look at that.

I picked it off my wishlist, got it as a gift for Christmas, and started reading it earlier this year with little to no expectations. Motherless Brooklyn tells the story of some low level, petty criminals who get involved in some larger schemes (inadvertently for some) and are thrown in to the crime family arena. It follows some standard crime novel, hard boiled, detective fiction plot paths and tricks but it's a good book. Even though it stays true to its genre, it's inventive enough that it doesn't feel like just another detective novel.

Lethem's characters are cliche in some ways but they still feel three-dementional and he throws the reader a curveball with his narrator - who suffers from tourette's - but manages to not become a caricature in the novel. For the most part, you know Lionel (the tourettic detective) through his inner narration, a 1st person's account of what's happening via the play by play in his head. His tourette's only makes itself known in his interactions with the others in the book and in this Lethem manages to make Lionel a vulnerable character that you identify with. Because you know him through his internal voice he never seems like the "freak show" that he seems to others around him so the reader builds an affinity and a loyalty to Lionel, wanting to shield him from the cruelty of everyone else; even as he's physically beating a suspect.

I'm not gonna spoil the mystery for you but only partially because I want to save it for you. The mystery seems almost secondary to Lionel's story in the book so months later what I remember is him and not the surprising ending.

An interesting tidbit: my google search also returned an IMDB listing for a movie "in development" of the same title. Slated for 2013, it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

Check out the Salon Review here.

Bob's Sandwich Challenge... Thwarted Again!

Alright, alright... I know. Here I am, talking about this weekly sandwich challenge and really, I'm only eating sandwiches every other week. Well, you have a point there... but to be honest, there's a lot of food out there and it's not all in sandwich form. Some of it comes in funfetti cake, some of it comes in the form of an entire pig (more on that later), and some of it comes... in beautiful, foil-wrapped packages of brisket.

That's right ladies and gentlemen. I said brisket. Nate decided it was time to give the ole smoker another turn on the dance floor and decided that this time, he'd give brisket a try. He's only used the smoker once to date (last fall - ribs) but I know he's been eager to break it out again. We picked up an 11 pound mother of a brisket at the Meat House in Arlington (an amazing meat shoppe BTW) which he trimmed and rubbed yesterday. Today, we started bright and early and after a few hiccups (i.e. starting the smoker on the 3rd floor porch only to have to move it downstairs) we were off to the races... you know, metaphorically.

Even with the hiccups, Nate did an amazing job with the brisket. It was succulent but crispy - amazing. I'm pretty sure I can't say it better than:

For the record, I wasn't sitting on my laurels while Nate was smoking the beef. I did some serious yardwork and pulled together some yummy sides (if I don't say so myself) for our impromptu BBQ - watermelon & strawberry salad, sweet & spicy coleslaw, baked beans, corn muffins, and rice krispy treats.

Nom.

Goal: Guest Post!

I know I've been a little slow in sharing my new goals with you - I'm using Day Zero (more on them later) to build a list of 101 goals to be accomplished in 1001 days. The site was down for awhile so I lost some time but I'm pushing forward and I'm happy to tell you that I've accomplished one of my goals - guest posting on someone else's blog.

This goal was a bit of a cheat since I knew I'd be doing it but... just the same, I'm pretty excited and it feels great to check something off. Last fall, Sara (blogger over at 2000 dollar wedding) put out a call for guest posts on her blog while she took some much needed mom time after the birth of her baby. I haven't used Quitsville for much wedding stuff but let's just say that I have a lot of things to share after my experience with getting married; some really happy things and some challenges, which I think don't get as much attention as they should.

So, voila! My guest post: Keeping Bridal Expectations at Bay

I'm pretty proud of my post and, all these months later, am happy to say that it remains true to my experiences and thoughts. I hope that it will help some brides to be to stay themselves and to take it all with a grain of salt.