Emotional Candyanna And The Spit Transit

(badass)

So my second cousin once removed (thanks Jeff) introduced me to this fantastic little online machine called the BAND NAME MAKER (link here too : http://www.bandnamemaker.com/ ) If CandyAnna were to be a band, the below options are my best choices- as decided by the huge brains behind the website's patent pending, high tech algorithm!!!

Please...let me know your thoughts. This is serious business.

• Aerial Candyanna
• Candyanna Radiation
• Candyanna Until Butterfly
• Candyanna Of Greased
• Emotional Candyanna And The Spit Transit
• Candyanna Profanity
• Candyanna Crawl
• Viking Candyanna And The Every Mood
• Anti Candyanna And The Illicit Condition
• Candyanna Mosquito

Totally torn between:

Emotional CandyAnna and the Spit Transit

(that sounds like my blog is on its period and sharing a lollipop and a train ride with another blog)

or

Anti CandyAnna and the Illicit Condition

(I have fallen into a period of sugar loathing and am either pregnant with Sugar Babies or Diabetic, depending on how dark you want to go).

Oooooooh this is SO rock and roll.

Maker's Mark Summertime "Floridatucky Punch" : DELICIOUS

Hi there.

If you have ever sat down with me for a cocktail and the subsequent five hours of talking that ensues (topics include everything under the sun), you might know that I am an evangelist of the church of Kentucky bourbon - specifically and with much devotion - of Maker's Mark.

Love Diet Coke? Put some Maker's Mark in it...Like milkshakes? Put some Maker's Mark in it (IS DELICIOUS - you should do it RIGHT NOW) I am surprised I haven't found a way to incorporate it into a Southern Indiana-style Jell-O mould.

Now that we are in the midst of this long, sticky, sweaty summer jag, I think you should drink some bourbon! I snagged this recipe off the Maker's Mark Facebook fan page (today - don't judge) and it is delicious.

(kudos to the girl in the red dress who took this picture - I wish I could credit you properly)

Perfect for YOU- if in fact you are into things that delicious. I am also snagging their picture and an old MM one of mine (again - no judging - my camera is broken). I made this in the past and would have made it today but it is not socially acceptable to show up at an eye doctor appointment with whiskey breath, humming Lloyd Prices' "Three Little Pigs" (inevitably the song that runs through my head when I am in my bourbon 'cups').

This is great for a group of people and ideally served in an antique punch bowl or adorable dispenser as pictured above.

"Summertime Breeze" Punch

(name is per Maker's Mark - Lame. I would have called it something like the Kentuckyorida...Floridatucky Punch...hmmm let me think on that.)

1 Part Maker's Mark

1 Part Ginger Ale

Splash of Orange Curacao

A Fresh Squeezed Orange

Enjoy this punch and Mr. Lloyd Price please!

If I were going to be a burlesque dancer my song, this would be my song, my name would be CandyAnna, and I would need several glasses of this punch to do it :)

Dear Bluebird Diner, Your Blueberry Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Buttercream is Perhaps Perfect

Dear Bluebird Diner in Iowa City, IA,

I couldn't help but notice that you were new. I hadn't seen the likes of you around town. A large space with blue plaid tablecloths, a blue tinted mirror and daily revolving menu specials. I like your style, your bluegrassy soundtrack (Brandi Carlile) and your tattoo peppered friendly wait staff (although my mom noted that if our waitress would just pull the hair out of her face you would be able to see her lovely bone structure- just a suggestion).

Two days we were in Iowa City on a thankless search for an apartment. Requirements included - must be adorable, must be safe, must be clean and wood floors preferred. Shockingly, options and morale was low. We stopped into this azure cloaked diner as a lighter alternative to its classic Iowa City neighbor, Hamburg Inn. It was delightful, and halfway through the meal came SUCCESS in the form of a one bedroom apartment with plenty of room for my cake plate collection and a screened in front porch (adorable...check!). Almost as if it were scripted, the aforementioned shaggy haired waitress appeared to inquire if we would like dessert in the form of a just baked Blueberry Cornmeal Cake with Fresh Lemon Buttercream Frosting (!!!!!!).

The cake was dense and moist - offering the perfect amount of sweetness. The buttercream wasn't too thick and was lemon-y tart in the way that only very fresh lemon juice & zest can provide. The kicker was the perfectly ripe blueberries combined with the texture of the cornmeal. SOOOOOO good. I am piecing together a recipe and will have more to report once it has been tested. CAN'T WAIT.

Iowa City Road Trip Preview : A Green River (Secret Ingredient: Hair Tonic)

When my schedule opened opened up, my appetite came roaring back in to fill my time and imagination. Everyone should quit their job and gain five lbs!!!! With housing to find and future employers to meet, my mom and I hit I-74 with a mission but a decided lack of haste and an iphone to find the best roadside treats. While I seriously heart Pilot (79 cent Diet Cokes and briefcases sold in the same location), the Subway that shares its space was not going to cut it- especially after this little exchange when we drove from New York to Indianapolis a few days prior.

Julia (Mom) : "Have you ever noticed that sometimes those Subways at the gas station smell like vomit?"

Anna (Me): "No...not really. I guess they do have a funny smell."

(Literally, twenty-five minutes later- same car, same people)

Julia (Mom): "Are you hungry? Where should we grab lunch? There is a Subway at the Pilot off the next exit..."

Anna (Me): "Absolutely not."

So that was that, and Subway/Pilots are now banned for life. Pilot/Wendy's might still be okay...not sure- will check with Julia (Mom). Anywho....just a little preview of my Green River at one of the country's oldest running soda fountains...

I have it on very good authority that the secret ingredient is hair tonic and I have been promised by said authority that it will make my hair curly. I am waiting....

Fine.Indianapolis.Fine. I will discover your treats.Sun King...All Aboard.

Hey there Indianapolis. We have a long and rocky history together. You didn't always think I was so great (junior high...most of high school...you know what I am talking about) and I didn't always think you were so neat (umm..most every time I speak of you). How many times can you explain that the flavor of your hometown is born of its unique placement as the largest city in America to exist on a non-navigable body of water... without some kind of resentment surfacing?

I have noticed things are a bit different here this go-around.

1. I am not an awkward, roly-poly adolescent who def didn't fit in.

2. I am not here for Christmas break with 15 minutes to see 5 million people.

The delicious food trend hasn't passed you by, Indian-no place (HA- the Wickes sister think we came up with that one). The usual suspects - Bazbeaux Pizza, Patachou, Hubbard & Cravens are still here but there are others!!!!!!! I will explore your corners...my friend Jean tells me there is more to this city than the Northside. Hear that??? Slippery Noodle, I am coming for you.

I had a Sun King brew for the first time tonight. Hoppy, mild. A-Ok. I am no beer expert but it was cold and I was both hot & thirsty = delicious. The brewery is right downtown and my mom is thrilled. Brewery tour, here we come. More to report.

In other news...my traditional Maker's Mar & Diet Coke has transformed itself into vodka lemonade w/ raspberry muddle. Gotta get my camera repaired...

My Blue Breakfast

It was my very last breakfast before I departed my beloved Brooklyn for the wider parking lots and friendlier sales clerks of the mid-west. Before I turned in my keys and packed up the very last of my vintage hat collection, my mother and I stopped at one of my top four favorite places in the world - the back garden at Bakeri.

Opened just months before I moved to my favorite borough, Bakeri is an idealized French locale as fantasized by a Williamsburg hipster foodie (two words I have vowed to stop using). My coffee is consistently and delightfully strong but not too strong, and butter is ever the secret ingredient. In fact, if you are on a diet it would be better to buy yourself a Clif bar and stay home. The decor is my sister's dream- French rustic/touches of shabby chic (not the cutesy kind)/vintage fantastic-ness. They bring your water to your table (either a teensy cafe table or a scarred up wood farm table that has obviously knows more of the world than I) in old booze bottles and the dishwear does not match. When I surrender my cash (cash only btw) for my favorite cafe 'ole and huge hunk of Spanish tortilla, I feel just great about myself, I want to pat myself on the back. More than receiving a delicious treat, the place makes you feel as though you are patronizing the realization of a good cook's life-long dream. Every detail is too perfectly on purpose for this to not be so... from the bubble glass cake stands to the age speckled mirrors, to the wide array of small treats that change every time I go in. One time I saw the baker walking down our street after closing time with flour on his pants and a baguette shoved in his backpack. My eyes got wide and I felt as though I had a brush with a celebrity. Sigh...I just love you Bakeri.

Last Friday, we arose early and went there for my last meal. I was devastated when told that tortilla isn't usually served until noon, which says more about my breakfast habits than anything else. I got the savory bread pudding instead and savored every savory bite. Coffee...chocolate croissant ...and big black sunglasses to cover up my good-bye blues.

Ugh...I hate crying in public but I blame the impeccable dense Chanel camellia style apple cake.