And I bring to you New Englanders: Peanut Butter Pie.

OK, I'm finally getting down to writing about my field trip to New Franklin, MO. I stayed with Slim Trim Uncle Jim for three nights. I arrived all wound up from the Easter holiday and left a very relaxed woman, filled with peanut butter pie, 80 degree weather, and fun times with my Midwest family!!

I flew to St. Louis via New York on Monday, March 28. From STL, I took a two hour shuttle trip to Columbia, and then drove with Jim about 45 minutes to New Franklin - gives you an idea about how far away from a major city we were! New Franklin has a population of about 1000; my cousin Rachel's graduating class was about 35 people. It only took me 45 minutes to traverse every street in town -- the main drag had a post office, a senior center, a meat smoking facility, a band, and a gas station/general store. Jim and Terre's gorgeous country home:



Jim was kind enough to cook me a monumentally awesome dinner consisting of Pork Diane, asparagus, and yummy yummy new potatoes. We drank of wine as we drank in the summery scenery from the porch, and later, we watched an Elvis video whilst enjoying Muscat, a sweet dessert wine which Nancy introduced to me at the cheese and chocolate party.

Elvis rules!

On Tuesday, we took a trip to the retreat, a small home on about 60 acres of land, where Jim and Terre go to get away from it all (for me, New Franklin was already lightyears from Cambridge, but once at the retreat I understood the draw!).



Complete with pond!



Jim surveys his land from the John Deere Gator:



We drove all over the property, and Jim gave me a chance to drive the Gator. We also walked around the creek a bit -- totally beautiful and serene:





Eating cashews, drinking wine, and knitting, I found bliss on the porch. I also found a very odd facial expression.



Apparently, funny faces run in the family: here's me and my cousin Ethan later that night at Emmet's, a yummy cajun restaurant in Columbia:



Yeah, we're two twenty-something adults, one of whom is married. I'll give you a clue: it's not me. And here's Dylan, my cousin Rachel's son, following in the time-honored family tradition!



Not to be outdone, Rachel strangles her son:



That's Lou, Rachel's husband, with us. Emmet's was lots of fun (ribs! onion rings! jambalaya!) and it was wonderful to hang out with part of the family I rarely see. Visit Ethan's website to check out his band, Three Headed Moses. I'm not the only musician in the family! And Ethan probably rocks harder. Oh well. Therein lies the difference between electric guitar and flute. I try, though. I play Stockhausen and stuff.

Yay for Jim and Ethan! And me! At Emmet's!



The next night, Jim and I went to a SUPER AWESOME wine bistro and restaurant called Les Bourgeois
on the Missouri river. Believe it or not, Missouri produces a lot of wine. Jim also told me that MO produces a lot of pot and meth, but we won't get into that right now.




Man, was that food good! Almost as good as the Pork Diane! We started off with an unbelievably delicious gorgonzola cheese cake, served with garlic toast and pesto. I had a smoked chicken for dinner, and Jim had salmon with risotto. And then for desert... peanut butter pie. I had never had any before! And now, I'm an addict. I found a ton of recipes online and tried one earlier this week. Very yummy... but not as good as what I had in Missouri. I'll keep trying.

Many thanks to Uncle Jim for having me out. Missouri = very relaxing. Very. I'm back to the daily grind now, but I can think back to sitting on the New Franklin porch, listening to the birds and feeling the warm breezes, and I instantly feel calmer.

M83 and ULRICH SCHNAUSS

So awesome.
http://www.ulrich-schnauss.com/
http://www.ilovem83.com/

I know they're not direct links but I'm too lazy to write html right now. I didn't realize that Tuesday night was their first show in the US! Such a fun night -- chill music, got way danceable -- WHAT IS WRONG WITH BOSTON AUDIENCES, buy the way? No dancing? It's as if no one truly appreciated the music....

Addendum...

I just found a couple more pamphlets -- the Neal 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon was very nice. I also had a yummy white from Greenvale Vineyards, another winery that's close by -- located in Portsmouth, RI.

Excitement From The Past: The Spinazzola Foundation Gala

Way back in January, I was lucky enough to play at the Spinazzola gala at (I think) the Seaport Hotel in Boston. (It's been a couple months and I can't remember if that's exactly where it was, but the exact location is not that important.) It was awesome: after we played, we got to sample food and wine from hundreds of different Boston and area restaurants and wineries. People plunked $250 to do this! And we got to eat for free! And in fact -- got paid for playing! Ah, the perks of being a musician. (FYI - all the money raised by this gala went to the Spinazzola Foundation)

Anyway, I just wanted to talk about a few wines that I tasted at the gala before I write about my trip to Missouri. I grabbed some pamphlets from each winery with the intent to discuss the wines with the Blue Room girls, but that never came to pass. In fact, we haven't been to see a movie and get wine in a while! What, what I ask, has happened???

I was truly impressed by the wine from Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery. Nancy verified that it's true, this place is great!! I also enjoyed a champagne by Besserat de Bellefon called Cuvee des Moines. It was rated 89 by Wine Spectator, and described as "very vinous...shows apple and citrus flavors on a firm frame. Rich midpalate and crisp, with an airy texture and a lengthy finish." I can't really vouch for all those adjectives, but it was good; however, I will say that the free pink champagne that one time at the Blue Room definitely was better.

Here's one for the Not Alicia's Favorite List: Bernadus 2000 Marinus, Carmel Valley Red Wine. Just wasn't great. I also tried some wines from the Nashoba Valley Winery which were OK, but paled in comparison with the Westport wine. I think a field trip to Westport is in order!!