Flavors 518

 What a nice weekend! There was beautiful weather. There's Wachusett Summer , and the crazies are on Bridezillas. Also - "Mad Men" finale (What?!).  First off, I decided to take advantage of the skills I learned at my ravioli class . I sauteed some shallots and added mushrooms. Then, I mixed in some salt and pepper, chives, ricotta, a little bit Adams Reserve cheddar and a couple of eggs.  I spotted some Hodgson Mill pasta flour on Friday afternoon, and when I made that into ravioli it really created a different texture than just using regular flour. I think half semolina and half regular flour might give the best texture though. I'll have to do some experimenting. The pasta was great. It felt like a very fancy dinner. Problem was, I totally overestimated the amount of filling I would need, and ended up with a whole big bowl of mushroom filling. I woke up the next day not wanting it to go to waste. I tried my hand at making crepes from the Silver Spoon...

How often do you go to a new place and love it so much you can't wait to go back? Not too often, but I did feel that way about The Merry Monk . The past weekend my friend Jessica and I went to The Tailored Tea in Latham. Now, I am a fan of the whole ordeal of tea and specifically the Whistling Kettle , but the truth is I only seem to make it up to Ballston Spa about twice a year. I usually buy enough tea to last me until the next visit. I've long wished for a place like this closer to Albany, so much so that I usually say if I were wealthy I would open a place like this. I basically just want to eat something adorable and feminine like these Joy the Baker cupcakes , wear a cheery floral, poofy dress, maybe a hat, some white gloves (or at least be in a place where such a get up wouldn't be so out of place) and talk about very classy things like ex-boyfriends who liked Gwar , fighting with your sister when you were 14 years old about silly things, food swaps , and taking ov...