She Can Pick 'Em

"It's your birthday... it's your birthday.... "

Goofy lyrics aside, today really is her birthday. And there's no better way to celebrate our little hound's 6th year than to reminisce about one of her favorite places on Earth... Penn Yan. Admission: it's one of our favorite places too - the fact that Annabelle loves it is just our (now blown) cover.

Can you blame us?

The view out almost any window of our family's house is of the huge expanse of the lake, stretched out before us. And should we tire of the water, frequent games of Kubb and wiffle ball can be found on the field just adjacent.

There are numerous vineyards (although we, of course, have our favorites long since mapped out) within a 15 minute drive; and the quick but indulgent tastings are perfect for any infrequent moments of cloud cover.

And of course, the food. Oh the food. Dining-at-its-best up at the lake for this family doesn't mean visiting a fancy restaurant - rather, it involves buying our resident chef Ben his selection of entree and any condiments he might need to prepare it and stepping back as he works his magic. A select few of the rest of us run around pretending to sous-chef, which to us, means "making sure Ben is happy". Occasionally a batch of pretzels or garden fresh tomato bruschetta shows up but it's Ben's masterpieces that keep 'em coming back.

So here's to another year, Annabelle. And to you, Penn Yan... until we meet again.

Memories In the Making

This time, these pictures really ARE going to speak for themselves... they don't need much more than a short caption; the rest was as perfect as your imagination lets it believe.

Our annual long-weekend up in Penn Yan, NY was quite over-shadowed by the beautiful and carefree wedding of Liz and Sean - a wonderful and personal ceremony at the Chapel at Keuka College followed by a beautiful and fun reception at Heron Hill Winery.

Liz's florist picked a spectacular array of local flowers for her and her bridesmaids' bouquets. *A note for any brides-to-be... GO LOCAL! These gorgeous flowers cost a TINY portion of what you'd normally spend... and aren't they amazing?!?

Can you imagine having this gorgeous view from your own wedding reception?

Very fitting place cards... cutely, each one was attached to a Heron Hill cork.


The delicious wedding cakes on acrylic stands merely enhanced the already beautiful view of the lake!

Later in the weekend, after the wedding festivities waned, we were back to our usual - Sean, the groom, fixed me a "dark and stormy", a mixture of Ginger Beer, rum and a splash of lime juice; my drink of choice in PY.

And of course, Annabelle got her time in the lake... swimming after anything that would float long enough for her to jump in after it.

Another trip to Penn Yan has come and gone, but not without new memories being made. Next summer promises even more fun as the family continues to expand with a whole host of new babies joining us!

So MUCH Food... So LITTLE Time

Only the fact that I am back and able to tell you all about what a beautiful and special place Penn Yan, New York, is can dampen my memory of a really wonderful long weekend. Though, truth be told, even the memory of the relatively few days we had with family and friends is enough to keep me happy.

How can you go wrong when spending time in a secluded lake front spot (thanks Sprint - no cell phone service!) with great company, multiple speedboat rides, getting your exercise on a paddle boat exploring new parts of a gorgeous lake (and dreaming about how you'd "do" your lakehouse), winery tours (when the sun hid behind the clouds), and tons (and tons) of food!!

For Chris' family (and I've learned very quickly these past few visits), PY is one of those places they've been going to for so long that the list of "must-dos" almost requires at least a week's stay. And, good or bad, most of these traditions are centered around food, both making and of course, eating it. In our 3 1/2 days, we managed 3 trips to our favorite ice cream shop, Seneca Farms, a delicious fresh seafood dinner at Sarrasin's, Sunday brunch at Miller's Essenhaus, and blueberry-buckwheat pancakes at Angel's... not to mention the wine-tasting circuit (this time, Dr. Frank's and Hunt Country) and our own GREAT chefs (thanks, Chris, Dave, Sean, and Ben!) at home firing up the grill.

Grilling and eating together is absolutely one of my favorite parts about the Penn Yan experience. Ben, who I personally am always nervous cooking for (because he's such a master, himself!), treated us to an absolutely fantastic flank steak meal Saturday night; and, rumor had it that he'd made some pretty darn good ribs earlier in the week too (silly work always gets in the way of good food!).

Delicious Grilled Flank Steak

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy sauce (can use low-sodium)
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2-2 lbs flank steak

Combine all ingredients except the flank steak. Marinate the meat in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours, with the last 30 minutes at room temperature. Grill. Let meat rest for up to 15 minutes before cutting. Cut thin strips of meat against the grain on a severe angle.

And of course, none of the food needed embellishment, but it always seems to work out that we have someone headed to one of the local vineyards who can keep a ready supply of our favorite whites and reds (and some blush... Hunt Country's Sweet Gus!). Chris and I made our own run to the vineyards Sunday afternoon and happened upon Dr. Frank's 45th Anniversary celebration. We didn't stay to celebrate but the party-atmosphere definitely enhanced our wine-tasting experience (along with our tasting-guide).

If all of that wasn't reason enough to get you packing for the Finger Lakes, then please go for the buckwheat pancakes! It only took one trip for me to learn about these and in that same time, find that I can make them at home, too (thanks to Indian Pines, I have my pancakes at home year-round!).

Yet, there is still reason to return... the famous grape pies that I have heard so much about continue to elude me. One of these years, though... but for now, I'm happy with buckwheat and my memories!

In Dog Years

How many dog years are equivalent to one human year? Is this theory possibly right?

No matter your take... today, up in Penn Yan, New York, we celebrated the birth of my cutest little pooch, Annabelle. She certainly doesn't seem to have any regard for her age, still acting like the adorable puppy she was 4 years ago... anxiously opening her birthday gifts (thanks, Mom - she loved her new toys!), fetching sticks, and swimming for hours on end.

HAPPY 4TH TO MY LITTLE ANNABELLE! (and thank goodness "people years" are one for one!)

Naturals

I'm still reeling from having just watched this video about an accomplished (and adorable) 5-year old with some amazing God-given, natural talent (not to mention having beautifully overcome more trials than most adults, let alone children the age of five).

Kyle Lograsso @ Yahoo! Video

And, while you might not recognize either my cute little golf prodigy or this guy who I'm about to introduce you to, in terms of raw, natural abilities, they both shine.

But in very different ways (what?! I promised I'd get back to food around these parts... so here we go!).

I've mentioned this other guy before... our family's master chef, Ben. He's been around, this is nothing new... he's always been the brains (and brawn, to be sure) behind all of the deliciousness that we are treated to in Penn Yan and he was also the 'hired help' at Chris' 30th birthday shindig, complete with... you guessed it, ribs.

I should stop lest I mislead you into thinking our chef is a one-dish man, though. He just has some things (ah-hem, ribs) perfected so it's hard us mortals of the kitchen to get past them.

Poor Ben can't spend more than 5 minutes with all of us before we are inquiring when he'll finally be opening a restaurant and (since he asked our opinions) naming items that 'absolutely must' be included on the menu. Sure he's never had a formal cooking lesson - but you wouldn't know it visiting his kitchen (or grill, for that matter). Our last visit to his local kitchen produced a meal worthy of royalty... pan-seared foie gras, sauteed duck breasts, and mushroom risotto, all paired with the perfect crisp white wine.

With that said, you can understand why this last time that we saw him, we got down to business... coming up with the perfect name for his restaurant - and an advertising campaign to boot.

I know I'm hedging bets pretty quickly but I think it's fair to say that you should keep an eye out for both of these guys. There's just something about hard-working, figure-it-out-yourself-types that gives me the confidence to know they could go the distance.