Why I'm visiting Chicago instead of New York

I was going to go to New York for a weekend – the weekend of January 29-31  – this weekend. I had gotten sick and ended up not going anywhere for New Year’s, so I thought I’d treat myself later. I found a great deal, $116.88 a night, in Midtown, a neighborhood I usually stay in. It was going to be an estimated $275.24 for the two nights with taxes and fees.

In my free time, I plan travel trips, whether or not I take them. It’s a great exercise for me to research new and old places to go as well as estimate the prices for big trips.

I was on goggle flights, playing around with dates and locations, and saw a ticket for $81 to Chicago for the weekend I was planning to go to New York. Now, the ticket was on Spirit Air, an airline I have never taken. I took a step back and thought about whether or not I should rethink my plans.

The Amtrak deal

If I had completely committed to go to New York, I could have purchased a round trip saver ticket on Amtrak for $78. With advanced planning, $78 is the lowest fare for Philadelphia to New York. (Though, just before I published this entry, Amtrak was running a Valentines Day special of $39 one way from Philadelphia to New York).

With that, I made up my mind to go to Chicago. I ended up spending a little more than $81, as to not take a day off and to eek in sometime at the weekly Happy Hour that I frequent since I will be breaking #DryJanuary tonight. I ended up paying $51.98 on Southwest for my flight to Midway and $43.09 to Spirit for my trip home. (I checked on Wednesday for pricing on Amtrak to NYC; there are no saver tickets, only value ticket and the total round trip is now $110).

Hyatt Centric: The Loop

Meanwhile, I was cleaning out my e-mails earlier in my planning process – work, personal, spam and old ones – and only just discovered an e-mail from Hyatt dated May 29, 2015, letting me know that my “account will be closed and all points forfeited if there's no activity by March 31, 2016.” I thought that I should at least keep this account open and booked a room for my arrival night at the Hyatt Centric The Loop Chicago. I paid in advance and confirmed the room for $103.59 inclusive of taxes.

Never fear, I am a Starwood boy through and through. I love the W and Luxury Collection brands and there are usually a Sheraton, Westin or a Four Points close by for work travel. I found another deal on the site, The Tremont Chicago Hotel at Magnificent Mile for the estimated total of $93.99.


To compare apples to apples, I will assume that all transportation costs in the respective cities would cancel each other out and should not factor in the price comparison.

	NYC	CHI
Trolley:	$2.25 ($1.80 for token)
Trolley and train to Airport:		$8.00 ($6.50 in advance) + $2.25 ($1.80 for token)
Amtrak:	$78.00
Southwest, PHL to MDW:		$51.98
Spirit Air, ORD to PHL:		$43.09
New York hotel, 2 nights:	$275.24
Hyatt Centric - Loop, 1 night:		$103.59
Tremont, 1 night:		$93.99
Trolley:	$2.25 ($1.80 for token)
Trolley and train from Airport:		$8.00 ($6.50 in advance) + $2.25 ($1.80 for token)
Cost for NYC:	$357.74
Cost for CHI:		$313.15

                                        

The Tremont

So it may take me more time to get from Center City Philadelphia to the Loop than it would to get to Midtown, I think that it's all worth it to visit another one of America's great cities. Also, the weather is comparable between the two cities from weather.com.

	NYC	CHI
Friday:	41°F high, 24°F low	36°F high, 36°F low
Saturday:	40°F high, 31°F low	46°F high, 37°F low
Sunday:	45°F high, 35°F low	46°F high, 36°F low

Actually I think that I make out with the weather, too.

All in all, this little exercise shows that it's worth checking out the possibilities. You never know when ten days in Mexico can be more affordable than a week in Texas, for example.

Sugo alla puttanesca

This is one of my favorite Italian dishes. I am a sucker for complex salty flavors: the slightly floral pickling of capers, the vinegary brine of green olives and the hidden fatty sharp and "fishy" taste of anchovies. There are times when I crave salt and this dish does it for me. 
 
Apocryphally described as a tomato sauce that was served in a brothel since it was based on the ingredients in their larders, this "in the style of a prostitute" sauce is a tangy, briny creation of the mid-20th century. The salty and fragrant ingredients are typical of Southern Italian cuisine: tomatoes, olive oil, anchovies, olives, capers and garlic.

Wikipedia has a less salacious origin story. More like Buffalo wings, puttanesca came about when hungry people sitting at a popular Italian night spot complained of needing to eat and the restaurant owner not having enough ingredients. "Make any kind of garbage (puttanata)," they retorted and the owner mixed his remaining tomatoes, olive and capers together and served the sauce over spaghetti. The rest, they say, is history.

Serving suggestion

I prefer the Lazian version over the Neapolitan, so my sauce has anchovies. This is traditionally served over spaghetti but any long thin string-like pasta works for this sauce. Also a variation of on this sauce is puttanesca with tuna, which, in turn I have extrapolated into chicken puttanesca, since the sauce is a great liquid for slow cooking meat since it's already delightfully seasoned. (See below.) I haven't tried it yet, but I have some pork chops in the freezer, and I'm going to do that later this week now. 

I craved this sauce this weekend since it's so hearty. Plus it really tasted good this weekend during the blizzard. I filled my plate with pasta and sauce, added freshly cracked pepper and sat on the porch to watch the snow continue to fall after one of my turns to shovel the steps and sidewalk.


Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 large white or yellow onion, chopped 
• 5-8 cloves garlic, minced 
• ½ tsp kosher salt, or to taste 
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste 
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste 
• 1 2oz tin of anchovies, mashed 
• 4 28oz cans of tomatoes, crushed and/or diced 
• 1 6oz can tomato paste 
• 1 6oz can black olives, drained and coarsely chopped 
• 1 3oz jar green olives, with brine, coarsely chopped 
• 1 3oz jar capers, with brine

Directions:

1. Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat; add the oil and heat through. Stir in the onion and garlic, cook until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. 
2. Add the salt, black pepper, red pepper and anchovies, and cook until the aroma is released, about 1 minute more. 
3. Add the tomatoes and paste and bring to a boil. Add the black olives, green olives with brine, capers with brine, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Serve over pasta

Again, I adore this sauce since it is so adaptable into other meals.

For pasta alla puttanesca con tunno: add a can of tuna 5-10 minutes before serving to heat up the tuna and to incorporate the preserving liquid into the sauce.

For pollo alla puttanesca: sear skinless and boneless chicken breast on both sides, cover with 1/2 cup of sauce per 1/4 pound of meat - adding additional water, wine or broth to thin the sauce out if needed, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, and let simmer for at least an hour.

Traveling for Christmas: Bay Area

Before I embarked on my 2014-2015 trip to the UK, my brother, who was moving the family to the West Coast for his new job, invited my parents and myself to come celebrate Christmas 2015 in California. We all agreed and I left the farewell party with my bags to fly off to London. Since the family was going to travel for next Christmas, I started to plan for it as soon as we made the decision.

I love Christmas and I love wrapping gifts. I have rolls and rolls of wrapping paper that I have collected through the years and I have ribbons, gift tags, bows and trappings to present the gifts in a decorative manner. I get excited to find wrapping paper, ribbon and bows for sale after Christmas in patterns that I think look classic. I don't always buy new paper each time since a have about four viable rolls of paper, but when I see something that screams me, I do get it.

Two different Christmases, some of the same snowflake paper

However traveling for the holiday wreaks havoc with wrapped gifts, so I thought ahead. It seems that every travel expert suggests not to travel with your gifts already wrapped. Therefore the first thing I did when I settled into London was hit an M&S to raid the clearance Christmas gift supplies. Gift bags, wrapping paper, crackers and holiday baubles were all discounted. I picked up some very stylish Christmas gift bags for 3 for £1, some matching tissue paper for £1 and a few treats as well. £6 later, I had everything I needed for presenting all my gifts next year.

Christmas in Union Square

Months passed and I had been looking for flights to San Francisco and Oakland. The rates were outrageous even early on; I was pricing round trips at $600 or more. Eventually mid-September, I found two reasonable one way tickets to the West Coast and bought my ticket out on United ($174.60) and my return on American ($203.10). I finally picked my dates, I was traveling from December 22 to 25 and I confirmed that everyone was OK with my red-eyeing home.

Now on to my hotel rooms. I needed to complete a mattress run - the act of paying for a night in a hotel to earn points or credits or to maintain status - to maintain my gold status with Starwood. When I was finalizing my Christmas trip in September, I was two individual stays shy of the ten for the year. I booked the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel at my corporate account rate ($133.63 with tax) and the Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square at the SPG points and cash rate, which Starwood counts toward your total number of stays. Additionally, I promised my mom, primarily, that I would book Christmas Eve in the same hotel as my parents, the Hampton Inn and Suites Oakland Airport – Alameda, to help make logistics simpler and I pre-paid for the room to get the best rate ($214.48 with tax).

In the meantime, I made arrangements for a work trip with a wacky itinerary to maximum my time without blowing my work budget. Due to the 5:30 am flight on a Saturday, I spent a night at a Philadelphia airport Starwood hotel the night before to ensure I made it to the airport on time. Therefore, I earned another night, bringing down my total to one night away from gold status.

A nice touch - a chalkboard in the room

On Thanksgiving night, the Hotel Triton started appearing as a featured link on my Facebook feed with offers of a Black Friday sale with rates starting at $89.00 plus tax ($110.16 with tax). I had stayed at the Hotel before in July 2013 and enjoyed it. With the pressure off of me for two nights in Starwood hotels in San Francisco, I canceled the more expensive of the two Starwood rooms and registered at the Triton.

My flights and rooms were set, then it was time to think gifts. First, I suggested to my parents to wait until the Epiphany to exchange our gifts, since we would all be back home in Philadelphia by then and it’s also another traditional Christmastide day for presents. There is no reason to pack gifts to send or take to the West Coast only to exchange them and then pack the new gifts to return home. Now onto the children. I partially spoil my nephew and niece; for both their birthdays and for Christmas, I get them three gifts: a toy, some clothing and a book. I planned to go shopping at Target (in the Metreon) or Old Navy (at 4th and Market) for clothes and I could visit a Barnes & Noble in town for their books. The toys were the fly in the ointment. I headed to the kids’ wish list that my sister-in-law maintains for them on Amazon and remembered that I could take advantage of the Amazon Locker.

Amazon Locker is a self-service parcel delivery service offered by Amazon.com. Customers can select a Locker location as their delivery address in lieu of their residence. Retrieval is simple, go to the Locker location and provide the unique pick-up code and voilà the Locker opens with your parcel. This service was started to combat concerns of stolen packages and for customers missing the mail delivery. I used it to combat sending gifts too early or too late to one of the three hotels that I would be stay at for the Holiday. Also my brother and sister-in-law were taking the kids to Disneyland the week before our visit; I didn't want to worry about making all those arrangements to deliver my gifts to them since they might not be home when my packages arrived. The service is available about 10 areas in the US, so it might not be a total lifesaver just yet, but for me the service is in Philadelphia and the Bay Area. Now that I was sending toys to Amazon Lockers, I was set for traveling light and without needing to check any luggage.

Oh, Amazon Locker, how I love you

Now to the morning of December 22nd, I made it to the airport without a hitch. I landed at 9:00 am and rushed into the Mission to have the Nebulous Potato Thing at the St Francis Fountain. By the time I got to restaurant, its was 10:00 am PST (1:00 pm EST). I hadn’t eaten anything after 6:00 am EST since United didn’t sell any food on the early morning flight out. I was headachy and hangry. The dish was good and I downed about three glasses of diet Coke before heading off to my hotel.

I created this trip to San Francisco like a scavenger hunt. I had three different hotel stays. I had errands on both sides of the bay. I had dates with three good friends. I had Amazon packages to pick up.

I settled in my room by noon, local time,  and I had plans to meet a good friend in Berkeley for lunch. We caught up at Platano and enjoyed some papusas. While there I would stop by Chez Panisse for a gift certificate for my brother and sister-in-law. This was their first full year in the Bay Area and I got them a Lowes gift card for last Christmas. This year, I wanted to give them an opportunity to explore the area and visit Berkeley.

That night I had dinner plans with another good friend, Karen, and before catching the bus to go to the restaurant, Stones Throw, in Russian Hall, I picked up one of my Amazon Locker packages. I retrieved the gift, hopped on the 45 and serendipitously run into her on the bus. One big kink in my plans occurred when she told me over dinner, which was excellent, that night that there were no Barnes & Nobles in the city. They all closed a few years back. I had to go back to East Bay for the closest B&N.

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption,
Western Addition - my view from the second Amazon Locker

I got up early that morning and picked up the other package at an Amazon Locker and headed over to El Cerrito to El Cerriot Plaza. I joked that you can take the boy out of South Jersey, but I'm always going to find a mall. In 30 minutes, I finished up my shopping and stopped at Lucky for assorted snacks and nibbles. I returned to the Triton, checked out and headed to the Sheraton.

In Fisherman's Wharf by the hotel, I found a Ross: Dress for Less where I picked up the final Christmas gifts, a Safeway where I become acquainted with a delicious Russian River wine to bring on my third friend date and to Christmas dinner and Trader Joe's where I bought a treat for my friends' son.

I made it out to the Outer Sunset to see my friends before they left for there Christmas trip to Mexico. We had a wonderful time catching up and watching their son open up some of his presents from family members before the big day! I took an über back and I treated myself to a drink before calling it a night.

Christmas Eve morning, I gathered all my belongings, gifts and booze and make the trek to BART via the F Market and Wharves. There's something about the F line that resonates with me and connects me to my father. Streetcar lines and rail transportation are my father's interest and hobbies. Obviously with my love of travel, my father and I share this quirky interest. In fact, so many of my relatives have an interest in some form of transportation that we explain it away as part of the "Ryan gene." Therefore during a post-college trip to San Francisco, when I was open to the suggestion of finding a Christmas gift for my dad, I subscribed him to the Market Street Railway newsletter and he's been a member since.

The Bay Bridge from the F Market & Wharves as I Muni my way to BART

I spent the afternoon playing with my nephew and niece. I got a tour of the house from the older one. The three of us fought light saber fights and my niece stole some mad moves from Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and sliced my feet from underneath me at the ankles. My nephew showed me his "second largest crayon" in the world. The younger one and I painted with glitter glue. "Uncle Casey, I like yours the best," she exclaimed at my opus, "You have technique." We went to the children's nativity mass and ate a creole inspired rice dish that my brother calls, "Market Rice."

Being nearly 3,000 miles from home didn't seem really that far when you're together with family. My parents got to tuck the kids into bed. I helped my sister-in-law wrap presents from Santa. My brother served us some egg nog and we enjoyed the silence before the Christmas excitement. Before we headed back to our hotel, I asked if we could go drive through Christmas Tree Lane, 3200 block of Thompson Avenue, in Alameda. It reminded me of our drives through South Philly.

We settled in our hotel and I prepared my gifts for the next day. Then I nestled into my bed and quickly passed out. My alarm woke me up and I joined my parents for breakfast. I was surprised how full the hotel was. We arrived at my brother's and Christmas had exploded all over the living room. There was more playing, more listening to the backstories of all the toys and more gifts. We snacked  cookies in the late morning which held us over until the first of the appetizers were ready. We said grace and enjoyed a tender lamb, fresh vegetables and latkas with the nice Russian River wine. We took a break before dessert and gave the kids a moment to unwind. Again, both the kids were treated with my parents' tucking them in bed. I said good night to everyone and my parents whisked me away to SFO to make my flight back home.

Like a blink of an eye, my visit to San Francisco was over and I was shuttling across the country back home after a very dear Christmas.

Christmas gifts, ready, in gift bags from M&S

The lessons I learned for traveling for Christmas:

• Figure out where in your itinerary you can be flexible and where you must adhere to definitive touch points. This flexibility could save you some cash. Pre-pay for lodgings, etc. for the days on which you have no flexibility.
• Like your favorite hotels on Facebook – Keep an eye out for deals that could appear and if you are social media savvy follow them on Twitter.
• Gift bags – either bring them with you (since they don't take up too much room in your luggage) or buy them in situ. TSA do have the authority to unwrap your presents in your bags and they will. Also you won't need to bother with tape and scissors when you use gift bags. 
• Ship to your hotel – for those of you who want wrap your presents, you can ship them, if you plan to say in one location for a few days, your hotel will receive packages for you (some hotels may charge your a nominal fee). Better yet, stick with the gift bags and ship directly from the retailer to your hotel – then dress all your gifts in your gift bags – that eliminates the cost of shipping from your house to the hotel or host's house.
• Buy from Amazon and ship to Amazon lockers – if you are ordering from Amazon, send the package to an Amazon locker, many of which are in 7-Elevens throughout the country. Find a locker that is en route to a tourist attraction to consolidate your errands with fun. 
• Give restaurant gift certificates – if you are staying at a hotel, ask your front desk clerk or concierge (when there’s no line) for his or her personal recommendation for a local place and give it to your host.
• Give home improvement and appliance store gift cards – no matter how long your host has lived in her or her a place, there will always be an immediate need or a home improvement project that needs to be funded.

Hachis Parmentier

With this cold snap this last week in Philadelphia (the low was 12F on Monday into Tuesday), I wanted some good old fashioned stick-to-your-ribs comfort food. So I started searching the web for more information about shepherd’s pie.

Hachis Parmentier

Primarily known early on as cottage pie, this dish was the vehicle for using leftover meat, encasing the meat in mashed potatoes. Now shepherd’s pie is a combination of beef or lamb and sturdy vegetables topped with a mashed potato crust.



Serving suggestion

I didn’t know there were so many different relatives to the cottage pie, like the Cumberland pie, the vegetarian and vegan friendly Shepherdess pie and the French Canadian pâté chinois. Even the French dabble in this dish with the hachis Parmentier, described as a dish made with mashed potato, combined with browned meat and sauce lyonnaise.  Well, I had overdosed on Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown on New Year’s day and I had rewatched the "Lyon" episode, so this particular version stuck out for me. I found a blog entry about it in French and based my recipe on what I read here: http://cuisine.journaldesfemmes.com/recette/304981-hachis-parmentier.
 So I played around with being a little more locavore with the dish and wanted to include all available winter root vegetables.

While searching for more information about sauce lyonnaise, I found a site quoting Paul Bocuse. Again fresh off that Parts Unknown marathon, I quickly recalled who he is.

According to renowned Lyonnaise chef Paul Bocuse, "In Lyon we put onion in almost everything."  French onion soup originated in Lyon, as does this simple and versatile onion-scented sauce.  It's superb with mashed potatoes or roasted vegetables, grilled or roasted beef, pork, lamb, game, or poultry.

More Than Gourmet

So I thought that I should work on having this sauce in addition to the hachis Parmentier. Comme on dit, « Quand on est à Rome…»

Note that a traditional sauce lyonnaise uses a brown sauce –Auguste Escoffier's mother sauce, sauce Espagnole – and strains the onion before serving.  Go ahead and do that if you’d like, but why waste the food.

Hachis Parmentier of Winter Root Vegetables with Sauce Lyonnaise, serves 8

Ingredients

This is what 2¼ lbs  of root vegetables looks like 

For the root vegetable mash:

• 2¼ lbs of winter root vegetables: golden beets, rutabagas, turnips, potatoes for example
• water
• ½ t salt
• 2 T heavy cream
• 3 T butter
• ¾ cp milk
• ½ t salt
• ½ t nutmeg

For the meat filling:

• 1 T butter
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 small carrot, minced
• 2/3 of 1 large onion, minced (reserve 1/3 for the sauce, below)
• 1 lb ground beef
• ½ t black pepper
• ½ t salt
• ½ cup of grated Swiss cheese

For the sauce Lyonnaise:

• 2 T butter
• ½ cp dry white wine
• ¼ cp white wine vinegar
• ¾ cp condensed beef broth
• salt & ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 T chopped fresh parsley (optional since it’s not truly seasonal)

Directions

1. 
   

   

   Sautéing the vegetable for the beef 

   Peel and chop the root vegetables into cubes for easier cooking;
2. Place the peeled and cut vegetables into a large saucepan; add cold water to the pan until the vegetables are covered by at least an inch and then add salt to the water.
3. Turn the heat on to high and bring the water to a boil; reduce the heat to low to maintain a simmer, cover and cook for 15 - 20 minutes, or until you can easily poke through the vegetables with a fork.
4. When the root vegetables are done, drain the water and place them into a large bowl.
5. Pour the cream and with 3 tablespoons of butter over the vegetables and mash with a potato masher; use a wooden spoon to beat further.
6. Add milk and mix until the mashed potatoes are as smooth as you like; finish with nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
7. Heat a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet; sauté the shallot, garlic, carrot and onion until the onion turns translucent, about 5-10 minutes.
8. Add the ground beef and cook until brown, breaking up meat with back of spoon, about 5 -10 minutes; then add pepper and salt; remove from the pan and set aside.
9. In a greased 11 x 7 pan, add enough mashed vegetable to make a bottom “crust”, about half of the mixture.
10. Layer the ground beef mixture on top of the mashed vegetables; cover the beef with the remaining mashed vegetable mixture.
11. Sprinkle the top with cheese; bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree preheated over on the top shelf.
12. For the sauce, in the same skillet as used for the beef, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in the remaining onion and sauté until onion turns golden, 10-12 minutes. 
13. Add the wine and the vinegar, bring to a boil and cook until the liquid is reduced by ¾ to about 3 tablespoons.
14. Stir in condensed beef broth and simmer gently for 5 minutes or so until the sauce thickens.
15. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper and then add the parsley.
16. When the dish has been baked the 45 minutes; raise the oven temperature to broil and broil until the very top is browned, about 3 minutes.
17. Serve individual pieces over the “sauce Lyonnaise”.

Sautéing the onion for the sause

The reality is that it took me 2 hours from preparation to eating this dish.  The mincing took the most time and onions and shallots make me cry.

The take away is, this is a dish that shows love, in addition to being comfort food.  This dish lends itself to being made for a birthday or a special Sunday dinner, when comfort food is requested. I think that I would make it again, and even for a Tuesday! But that's before I know what I'm getting into.  

However if you want the taste without the meticulous effort, make yourself some shepherds pie. Then follow the recipe for the sauce lyonaisse and serve that with the shepherds pie. The sauce tastes like concentrated French onion soup and go so well with meat, chicken and potatoes!



About to go into the oven, before the cheese is added

Steak Pie

I spent New Year’s Eve 2014 into New Year’s Day 2015 in Scotland: the land of Hogmanay and Auld Lang Syng. In particular, I was in Edinburgh, which hosts one of the world's most famous New Year celebrations. Thought the official celebration is a major street party along Princes Street which cost over £20 to enter, I was with friends on Calton Hill waiting for the cannon at Edinburgh Castle to be fired at the stroke of midnight and the large fireworks display. Yes, there was much drinking and celebrating. It was a pleasant surprise that while watching the fireworks over the castle, there were supplemental fireworks over us. One fun note is that the clock faces of Waverly Station in Edinburgh, which were directly in view from Calton Hill, run two minutes early to help passengers catch their trains on time.

All baked and ready to be eaten

The next day, I was told that Scottish tradition is to have steak pie. This sounded like a great idea after a late night on the town being festive. Heading out to a well-suggested pub, I sought out a piece of this tradition.  Lo and behold, this pub didn’t make any for the New Year. Too hungry to look for another place, I went without.

 

This year, I decide not to go through this sadness and made my own steak pie for the holiday. While my internet research suggests that it is more traditional not to include any vegetables in the pie, I do like some in the mix. However I don’t use potatoes because that too reminiscent of a beef stew. (Though the filling would make a tasty stew on its own.) 

Steak Pie, serves 8

 

It's been cut

Ingredients

 

• 2 T butter
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 lbs stewing beef, cubed (usually round cut, but any tough cut can be used)
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large carrot (about 2 cps), sliced
• 1 t salt
• 1 t black pepper
• 1 shot (1.5 ounces) of Scotch (I personally suggest *not* using a single malt from Islay)*
• 12 oz bottle of beer (I also suggest a Christmas or winter style if making it for New Year’s – I used Abita’s Christmas Ale from a recent trip to New Orleans.**)
• 1.5 T cornstarch
• water
• salt and pepper, optional
• store bought puff pastry sheets

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet; sauté the garlic and onion until the onion turns translucent, about 5-10 minutes.
2. Add the beef cubes and sear all pieces on all sides, about a minute or so each side.
3. Add the mushrooms and carrot slices and season with the salt and pepper, cook, while stirring, for about 5 minutes until the carrots start to soften.
4. Add the Scotch to deglaze the skillet; when fully deglazed, add the beer.
5. Bring to a boil; when at a boil, immediately reduced the heat to a simmer and let cook for an hour at least.
6. Dissolve the cornstarch in enough water to create a slurry; add to the skillet to thicken the stewing liquid.
7. Grease the lip of a 11 x 7 glass pan with butter or oil, pour the steak filling into the pan.
8. Follow the directions for preparing the puff pastry for use; when ready cover the pan with the pastry. If there is extra, cut the remaining pasty into any shape pieces to add to the top of the crust. (I used strips, but diamonds could be cut and placed on the pastry in a pattern evocative of argyle.)
9. Place the pan in a preheated 400 degree oven, bake for 20 minutes or until the puff pastry starts to brown.
10. Serve warm.

All this lucky New Year's Day food

This year, I served the steak pie with Southern New Year’s favorites, collard greens and black eyed peas. I didn’t think that it would be a bad thing to stack as my much luck in my favor as possible.

 

There is a tasty traditional dish from the area called Fife Miners’ Stew. That recipe calls for carrots and parsnips. You can replace the one large carrot with one medium carrot and one medium parsnip to weave some of the traditions together.

notes

* I used Laphroaig Quarter Cask this time; there was some in the house. Islay whiskies are known for their use of peat. In using the Laphroaig to deglaze, I made the kitchen smell like a warm peat fire and that flavor permeates into the beef and broth. While I enjoy that smell and taste; others may not.‎

** Each year, Abita tinkers with their Christmas Ale and I wasn’t the biggest fan of 2015’s. It was very hoppy for a Christmas beer. It was red-tinted and I got some citrus hints and Christmas tree. However, it worked really well as the stewing liquid for the filling. 

Not yet named food entry: Shortbread (Scotland/UK)

I am a chocoholic. I only recognize chocolate as a proper dessert or sweet treat, outside of a few exceptions. I will scoff at bananas foster, cherries jubilee or apple pie. However, one fantastic exception is a shortbread biscuit: a solid yet flaky cookie that's heavy for its size and tastes buttery with a hint of sugar. I can't control myself when they are around.

Can you hear the bagpipes?

Today is my father's birthday. And one of the many traits that I share with him is this love of shortbread.  Since I'm traveling from Glasgow to Oban (in the above mentioned Highlands) today, I baked some shortbread fingers with love and sent them home last week via my mother so that the delicate slightly-sweet treats will be there for my dad in the morning.  All the while, I've been picking up different brands of commercial shortbread.

Detail of the opened package - it didn't stand a chance

Shortbread is simple to make; traditionally it's made from three ingredients: sugar, butter and flour.  The , and gets its names from its texture (from an old meaning of the word short, according to Wikipedia).  The high butter content inhibits the formation of any long gluten strands and this is what gives the biscuits their divine flaky texture. Though, it's a few scant ingredients and not a lot of skill to bake, I do feel that making it right is a labor of love.

My homemade shortbread fingers looking good enough to eat

After overdosing on shortbread and Jaffa cakes on my 2012 trip to Scotland and Wales, I googled “shortbread recipe like Marks and Spencer” to find a good start in order to recreate at home the biscuits that I hoard in the UK. (Also, shortbread bikkies are simpler to make then Jaffa cakes.) After a few trials, I have fine-tuned a recipe into something that it very close to the almost-powdery, slightly-grainy, butter-rich and sugar-kissed cookies that are Scotland’s pride and joy and that I (and my dad) adore.

My homemade with store-bought shortbread fingers

#CJintheUK

As I prepare for my 40th birthday holiday through the British Isles, I remember that I never posted this entry about my September vacation.

I microblogged my trip through Europe using twitter and foursquare, even creating my own hashtag for the vacation, #CJintheUK, and tweeted happily along (usually when I could find abundant free wifi.) I think that it makes an amusing travelog to follow - complete with foursquare check ins, twitter conversations and selected uploaded pictures. (I am including the time and date stamp which came from the backlog in HootSuite, which is presented in Eastern Time.)

I didn't really edit the tweets, except for an occasional misspelling which I caught, a foreign word needing to be italicized or if a tweet needed a little clarification. I left in the hash tags, probably to the chagrin of some of you, though I thought that it could be interesting to see what topics or words I was tagging in order to make my tweets searchable.  For those of you who don't know why tweeters employ hash tags, a hash tag is a way for people to search for tweets that have a common topic. For example, if you search on #beer, you'll get a list of tweets related to the beer that tweeters have marked. 

*******

In 24 hours, to #Europe I will go. #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 04, 5:20pm via HootSuite)

heads 2 #Stockholm, then #Manchester, #Edinburgh, #Inverness, #Glasgow, #Llandudno, #Cardiff & #Dublin Suggestions? #travel (IrishWombat Sep 04, 5:50pm via HootSuite)

thanks @garrisod for the #Stockholm city hall tour tip: "Quite interesting given the #Nobel connection." (IrishWombat Sep 04, 8:40pm via txt)

@ChippyLyn Ydw! We leave Glasgow and head to Llandudno then, via Snowdonia, to Cardiff & lastly on to Manc for the flight home. (IrishWombat Sep 05, 12:17am via txt)

will be following this sage advice for mobile phone use in #Europe ow.ly/dtYOW #travel #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 05, 10:57am via HootSuite)

is checked in and ready for adventure. #travel #CJintheUK (@ Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) w/ 54 others) 4sq.com/OXY70T (IrishWombat Sep 05, 3:37pm via foursquare)

waits for the trip to #Stockholm. #CJintheUK (@ Gate B62) 4sq.com/NMQI7T (IrishWombat Sep 05, 4:13pm via foursquare)

touched the side of the plane before boarding - like always. That's for Liz! BTW, on SK0904 for all you flight tracker out there. (IrishWombat Sep 05, 4:55pm via HootSuite)

landed safely in #Sweden. #CJintheUK (@ Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN) w/ 8 others) 4sq.com/OVy2Of (IrishWombat Sep 06, 1:12am via foursquare)

#Europe is so civilized. There's free #Wifi on the express airport train to #Stockholm. #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 06, 1:37am via HootSuite)

can't believe I'm here in Sweden. (@ Stockholms Centralstation w/ 6 others) 4sq.com/RbJNW1 (IrishWombat Sep 06, 2:00am via foursquare)

Um, #Stockholm smells like Acqua di Gio and cigarette smoke. #FirstImpressions (IrishWombat Sep 06, 2:02am via HootSuite)

made it to the world's smallest Summer Olympics stadium. #CJintheUK (@ Stockholms Stadion) 4sq.com/Tla3Om (IrishWombat Sep 06, 3:00am via foursquare)

What a ship! (@ Vasamuseet) 4sq.com/P2snt0 (IrishWombat Sep 06, 5:10am via foursquare)

landed safely in England - first accurate #CJintheUK tweet. (@ Manchester Airport (MAN) w/ 9 others) 4sq.com/QdJeeu (IrishWombat Sep 06, 1:10pm via foursquare)

Ugh! No #wifi. Must we discrete with the Internet. #CJintheUK. (@ Jurys Inn Manchester) 4sq.com/QoZCql (IrishWombat Sep 06, 3:00pm via foursquare)

walked into the lobby and #Madonna 's "Masterpiece" was playing. :) #CJintheUK (@ Jurys Inn Manchester) 4sq.com/QixGGT (IrishWombat Sep 07, 8:56am via foursquare)

has to come out to the station for good free #Wifi to use. #CJintheUK. (@ Manchester Piccadilly Railway Station (MAN)) 4sq.com/Ql7R3b (IrishWombat Sep 07, 9:21am via foursquare)

"All coffee is a £1. Lattes, americanos, etc." @ Carluccio's: 4sq.com/UxEQpp #foursquare (IrishWombat Sep 07, 9:27am via foursquare)

Greek façade, Banksy and West African Art, all in one. #CJintheUK (@ Manchester Art Gallery) 4sq.com/Q410PI (IrishWombat Sep 07, 10:19am via foursquare)

I just reached Level 5 of the "Warhol" badge on @foursquare. I’ve checked in at 20 different art galleries! 4sq.com/Q410PF (IrishWombat Sep 07, 10:19am via foursquare)

enjoys a brisk day. #CJintheUK (@ Manchester Town Hall) 4sq.com/NYUncK (IrishWombat Sep 07, 11:32am via foursquare)

found the bar and ordered a Beartown Ginger Beer. Quite good. (@ The Molly House) 4sq.com/OWHtOP (IrishWombat Sep 07, 4:07pm via foursquare)

"Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle... I'm sexy and I know it." #ILovMCR #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 07, 6:36pm via HootSuite)

wants a Strongbow! #ILovMCR #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 07, 6:52pm via HootSuite)

The bar is playing "Sexyback" and I just did Jenn and Lisa's *shackle* move. #ILovMCR #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 07, 7:20pm via HootSuite)

@kylieminogue abounds at Churchill's in Manchester! #ILovMCR #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 07, 7:35pm via HootSuite)

"How Will I Know" by Whitney is playing at the bar #ILoveMCR #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 07, 8:42pm via txt)

OMG Fish and Chips = Protein and Carbs + fat! #Yum! #ILoveMCR #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 07, 9:31pm via HootSuite)

hates to leave, but will be back in less than a fortnight. #ILoveMCR #CJintheUK (@ Jurys Inn Manchester) 4sq.com/PQHoeL (IrishWombat Sep 08, 2:40am via foursquare)

I'm at Angel Of The North (Gateshead, Tyne and Wear) 4sq.com/QtZkP4 (IrishWombat Sep 08, 7:58am via foursquare)

I'm at Scotland/England border - Coldstream (Coldstream, Scottish Borders) 4sq.com/U1HDF6 (IrishWombat Sep 08, 9:10am via foursquare)

finally made it to #Edinburgh. #CJintheUK (@ Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa) 4sq.com/O2gdMx (IrishWombat Sep 08, 11:56am via foursquare)

is grabbing a pint with the locals. #CJintheUK (@ Tiles) 4sq.com/PSaFG7 (IrishWombat Sep 08, 4:22pm via foursquare)

ordered a Caledonia Best #beer #CJintheUK (@ New Town Bar) 4sq.com/QpJ4Rf (IrishWombat Sep 08, 5:15pm via foursquare)

gets a little God in #Scotland. #CJintheUK (@ St. Mary's RC Cathedral) 4sq.com/RrC1Ye (IrishWombat Sep 09, 5:30am via foursquare)

finally got his hands on an IRN BRU #Scotland #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 09, 10:10am via txt)

waits for #Edinburgh Riding of the Marches on the Royal Mile. #Scotland #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 09, 10:32am via txt)

Taking in the sites in #Scotland with Dad. #CJintheUK. (@ Edinburgh Castle w/ 2 others) 4sq.com/RAme3J (IrishWombat Sep 09, 1:36pm via foursquare)

watches the @London2012 #Paralympics Closing Ceremonies in Festival Sq in #Edinburgh #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 09, 3:49pm via txt)

Fantastic. #Coldplay is playing at the @London2012 #Paralympics after a #steampunk themed spectacle + fire! #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 09, 4:25pm via HootSuite)

Now, #Rihanna joins #Coldplay at the #London2012 #Paralympics. Never liked the song til now! Great performance! #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 09, 4:47pm via HootSuite)

"Open Up Your Mind" The @London2012 #Paralympics have ended. So bittersweet! #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 09, 5:55pm via HootSuite)

#Edinburgh Castle on an overcast day #CJintheUK ow.ly/i/V5NU #travel #photography (IrishWombat Sep 09, 7:31pm via HootSuite)

was robbed! The Sheraton only served vegetarian #haggis this morn at breakfast. #CJintheUK #travel #food (IrishWombat Sep 10, 4:53am via HootSuite)

has limited #wifi up here, but going to Loch Ness tomorrow. #CJintheUK (@ The Kingsmills Hotel Inverness (Scotland)) 4sq.com/NWjlzB (IrishWombat Sep 10, 4:13pm via foursquare)

All Scottish eyes are on Murray at the US Open. #CJintheUK #tennis #travel. Go Andy! (IrishWombat Sep 10, 5:45pm via txt)

"Cause I don't want to be lonely I don't want to be scared And all our friends are waiting there Until you're safe and sound" #NeverForget (IrishWombat Sep 11, 12:01pm via HootSuite)

was here much earlier, but alas no #Wifi. #CJintheUK. (@ Loch Ness) 4sq.com/OnPRdR (IrishWombat Sep 11, 12:30pm via foursquare)

I just ousted @tuminds as the mayor of The Kingsmills Hotel and Kingsclub on @foursquare! 4sq.com/bPQv2f (IrishWombat Sep 11, 12:51pm via foursquare)

I just ousted @tuminds as the mayor of The Kingsmills Hotel Inverness (Scotland) on @foursquare! 4sq.com/cv40sZ (IrishWombat Sep 11, 12:51pm via foursquare)

was also here earlier but didn't have #Wifi. #CJintheUK (@ Urquhart Castle) 4sq.com/QLhPLB (IrishWombat Sep 11, 3:29pm via foursquare)

hopes someone can translate "humped pelican crossing" from #British to #American #English Cheers! #CJintheUK #travel (IrishWombat Sep 11, 4:29pm via txt)

You better believe I've been walking through #Scotland listening to this. #CJintheUK youtube.com/watch?v=x6ugPs… (IrishWombat Sep 11, 4:38pm via YouTube on iOS)

tuminds: @irishwombat enjoy your stay at the @KingsmillsHotel Will return tomorrow morning to claim my Mayorship back! ;) #Rotarymeeting

@tuminds Can't we just share it? It was my first mayorship in the UK though. :( Enjoy your #Rotarymeeting tomorrow. (IrishWombat Sep 11, 4:41pm via Twitter for iPhone)

needed to get a pint here. #CJintheUK (@ Hootenanny) 4sq.com/UI49oB (IrishWombat Sep 11, 5:01pm via foursquare)

just got to watch Sir Tom Jones chug a pint on the Rob Brydon show on #BBC2. I love the UK. #CJintheUK #travel (IrishWombat Sep 11, 6:50pm via Twitter for iPhone)

safely made it to Glasgow. #CJintheUK (@ Millennium Hotel) 4sq.com/SEetAE (IrishWombat Sep 12, 10:25am via foursquare)

Yum! #Haggis for breakie. #CJintheUK #food #travel pic.twitter.com/3liszFmi (IrishWombat Sep 12, 11:36am via Photos on iOS)

You can take the boy out of Jersey, but you can't tell Jersey out of the boy. (@ St. Enoch Shopping Centre) 4sq.com/QjB6oE (IrishWombat Sep 12, 12:29pm via foursquare)

is having a lovely early dinner. #CJintheUK (@ Browns) 4sq.com/RS6TQD (IrishWombat Sep 12, 1:10pm via foursquare)

enjoyed an Innis & Gunn - a delish oak aged #beer. #CJintheUK pic.twitter.com/IpgJy6an (IrishWombat Sep 12, 2:40pm via Photos on iOS)

wanted to get some #Whisky in #Scotland. #CJIntheUK (@ The Underground Bar) 4sq.com/SFk1ej (IrishWombat Sep 12, 5:19pm via foursquare)

starts with a Caledonia's Best #Beer. It will be an early night. #CJintheUK #Scotland (IrishWombat Sep 12, 5:32pm via Twitter for iPhone)

drinks the peaty wonder that is Laphroaig! #Scotland #Whisky #CJintheUK A perfect nightcap #travel pic.twitter.com/5bw364gj (IrishWombat Sep 12, 6:42pm via Twitter for iPhone)

Laphroaig

didn't have #wifi there, but the view was amazing. #Scotland #CJintheUK (@ Stirling Castle) 4sq.com/TXHrtf (IrishWombat Sep 13, 11:36am via foursquare)

thought to give his place a gander. #CJintheUK (@ Merchant Pride (candle bar)) 4sq.com/ShuE0t (IrishWombat Sep 13, 3:29pm via foursquare)

had a pint here, too. #CJintheUK (@ Waterloo) 4sq.com/Q6eW8M (IrishWombat Sep 13, 4:22pm via foursquare)

I just ousted Chris Q. as the mayor of The Underground Bar on @foursquare! 4sq.com/bMSny5 (IrishWombat Sep 13, 5:01pm via foursquare)

Noticed a #Glaswegian wearing the same outfit as last night. I have my hols as excuse if I did that! Wot's his? #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 13, 6:05pm via Twitter for iPhone)

finally made it to "Old North" #Wales. The original is as charming as the newer one. #CJintheUK. (@ Llandudno) 4sq.com/PiwyiG (IrishWombat Sep 14, 12:04pm via foursquare)

Oi, Case! What's occurin'? I'm in #Wales, Ness. #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 14, 3:36pm via Twitter for iPhone)

All throughout my time in Wales, I was making referencing to the British show, "Gavin & Stacey," which unfortunately my parents have not heard of and they may have grown a bit weary of my quips, especially seen in one of my later tweets.

swears he just saw a blokey tween Rocco Ritchie at the hotel in Llandudno. #CJintheUK #Wales (IrishWombat Sep 14, 4:37pm via Twitter for iPhone)

garrisod: @IrishWombat you going to be near Snowdonia or Conwy Castle tomorrow? (5:12pm, Sep 14 from Twitter for BlackBerry)

@garrisod Uni of Bristol then off through Snowdonia for Cardiff. (IrishWombat Sep 14, 5:13pm via Twitter for iPhone)

garrisod: @IrishWombat Imma be in Snowdonia on the peak then at Conwy Castle (5:14pm, Sep 14 from Twitter for BlackBerry)

@garrisod I'll be in London next month for a Penn event. (IrishWombat Sep 14, 5:15pm via Twitter for iPhone)

garrisod: @IrishWombat I haven't been in London in 10 years :-) but will be there next month with my parents and Charles (5:16pm, Sep 14 from Twitter for BlackBerry)

@garrisod Wow. It's a small world, eh? Like ships passing through the night. (IrishWombat Sep 14, 5:17pm via Twitter for iPhone)

@tuminds How was the #Rotarymeeting ? (IrishWombat Sep 14, 5:17pm via Twitter for iPhone)

found the cwrw, @ChippyLyn! (aka #beer) pic.twitter.com/WGnhMRk2 (IrishWombat Sep 15, 3:48am via Twitter for iPhone)

@ChippyLyn Llandudno now, off to the Uni of Bangor, through Snowdonia to Cardiff at night. (IrishWombat Sep 15, 4:40am via txt)

leaves for #Cardiff, he might see @garrisod en route! #CJintheUK #Wales. (@ Llandudno) 4sq.com/QNI3Au (IrishWombat Sep 15, 4:55am via foursquare)

has yet to learn the nuances of #Welsh vowels. Right now muddling through using schwas. #CJintheUK #Wales. (IrishWombat Sep 15, 8:10am via HootSuite)

I just reached Level 5 of the "Great Outdoors" badge on @foursquare. I’ve checked in at 20 different outdoor spots! 4sq.com/UWinCz (IrishWombat Sep 15, 8:12am via foursquare)

just missed Catherine and William! #CJintheUK #Wales (@ Anglesey Island) 4sq.com/UWiq13 (IrishWombat Sep 15, 8:12am via foursquare)

ChippyLyn @IrishWombat a beautiful language mate try saying llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch it's a small village in N Wales (ChippyLyn Sep 15, 8:13am via Twitter for iPhone)

@ChippyLyn We passed by that! I'm trying to manage the 'll' sound, too. Beautiful language, tough to learn. (IrishWombat Sep 15, 8:39am via Twitter for iPhone)

has made it to all 4 home nations' capitals now! Hylô, Caerdydd! #CJintheUK #Wales (@ Hilton Cardiff) 4sq.com/TXNMGD (IrishWombat Sep 15, 4:08pm via foursquare)

got caught up in a fog machine in a Cardiff bar. #CJintheUK #Wales (IrishWombat Sep 15, 6:56pm via Twitter for iPhone)

is getting to see the aftermath of several #hen and #stag parties in the streets of Cardiff, right now. #CJintheUK #Wales (IrishWombat Sep 15, 8:04pm via Twitter for iPhone)

will try to understand God in #Welsh. #CJintheUK #Wales (@ St David's Metropolitan Cathedral) 4sq.com/UZmHAR (IrishWombat Sep 16, 5:42am via foursquare)

lunches on a chicken sweetcorn sandwich & the rest of the #haggis flavoured chips. #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 16, 10:39am via Twitter for iPhone)

visited the Roman ramparts recreation at the castle and saw this: (@ Cardiff Castle) 4sq.com/QRCeSq (IrishWombat Sep 16, 3:35pm via foursquare)

Having some #haggis flavoured crisps. #CJintheUK pic.twitter.com/W3gCJyqN (IrishWombat Sep 16, 3:58pm via Photos on iOS)

What a beautifully tiled bar in and out. #CJintheUK #Wales (@ Golden Cross) 4sq.com/OuUEVi (IrishWombat Sep 16, 5:14pm via foursquare)

enjoyed a Brain's Black: Welsh Stout. Like choc milk with a sweet & bitter finish. Yum! #beer #CJintheUK #Wales (IrishWombat Sep 16, 5:39pm via Twitter for iPhone)

The "Gavin & Stacey" reference that I made too many times with my folks:

I just wanna shout "Smihffy!" while I'm in Cardiff. #CJintheUK #Wales (IrishWombat Sep 16, 5:50pm via Twitter for iPhone)

CollyFromWally: "@IrishWombat I just wanna shout "Smihffy!" while I'm in Cardiff. #CJintheUK #Wales"<---what i="" occurrin="" s="">(5:53pm, Sep 16 from Web)

.@CollyFromWally Oi, Sahrr, what's occurrin'? Cheers! #CJintheUK #Wales (IrishWombat Sep 16, 5:57pm via Twitter for iPhone)
starts winding down his trip throughout GB. Dubs, tomorrow. #CJintheUK #England (@ Hilton Manchester Airport) 4sq.com/Qg4rjq (IrishWombat Sep 17, 11:56am via foursquare)

heads in the city for one last beer with mates in GB. #CJintheUK #England (@ Manchester Airport Railway Station (MIA)) 4sq.com/QwVT8m (IrishWombat Sep 17, 2:29pm via foursquare)

enjoys his pint with Sean at a lovely bar. #CJintheUK #England (@ Via Fossa) 4sq.com/RkORCj (IrishWombat Sep 17, 4:36pm via foursquare)

OMG! The best late night snack ever. ow.ly/i/WwPS Jaffa cakes & choc milk. #CJintheUK #England (IrishWombat Sep 17, 6:39pm via HootSuite)

waits for his flight to Ireland. #CJintheUK. (@ Manchester Airport (MAN) w/ 5 others) 4sq.com/S1wH8C (IrishWombat Sep 18, 2:03am via foursquare)

queues and queues. #CJintheUK (@ Gate 9) 4sq.com/PmY9zv (IrishWombat Sep 18, 2:30am via foursquare)

made it to #Ireland. #CJintheUK (@ Dublin Airport (DUB) - Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath w/ 4 others) 4sq.com/Pn7OWR (IrishWombat Sep 18, 4:18am via foursquare)

finally had a soup of the day in #Ireland that wasn't veggie! Bacon Chilli ( #CJintheUK ) (IrishWombat Sep 18, 8:03am via txt)

took pics! (@ The National Museum of Ireland - Natural History) 4sq.com/Rp7Xaw (IrishWombat Sep 18, 8:53am via foursquare)

This #Dublin Starbucks is playing Sinéad O'Conner's "Emperor's New Clothes" #Ireland #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 18, 9:15am via HootSuite)

athtrasna: @IrishWombat ahem....Casey darling...did you just mention Dublin and being in the UK in the same tweet? Have you caught Lady Gaga-itis? (9:16am, Sep 18 from TweetDeck)

@athtrasna No, the hash tag for THIS holiday was #CJintheUK. I used it for the 8 hours is was even in Stockholm. Last year was #CJinIreland. (IrishWombat Sep 18, 9:18am via HootSuite)

athtrasna: @IrishWombat phew! Lady Gaga made a reference on Saturday night..didn't go down too well. Hope you're having fun in our cold city! (9:19am, Sep 18 from TweetDeck)

@athtrasna It was 30 C when I left the US. This is pleasant. I'm just glad to be able to visit Dubs when I can. :) Cheers! (Poor Gaga btw!) (IrishWombat Sep 18, 9:21am via HootSuite)

posted one last postcard and visited Cúchulainn. (@ General Post Office (GPO)) 4sq.com/OClqk1 (IrishWombat Sep 18, 9:46am via foursquare)

picks up some #Jaffa cakes for the trip home. #Ireland ( #CJintheUK ) (@ Dunnes Stores) 4sq.com/NzXFHZ (IrishWombat Sep 18, 11:37am via foursquare)

ordered #curry chicken & aloo methi. Heard it's the best place in Dubs for curry. (@ Madina Desi Curry Co.) 4sq.com/NAmsvx (IrishWombat Sep 18, 2:32pm via foursquare)

meets up with a friend for a drink. #Ireland ( #CJintheUK ) (@ The Front Lounge) 4sq.com/S2XcdG (IrishWombat Sep 18, 3:15pm via foursquare)

runs last minute shopping errands in City Centre #Ireland ( #CJintheUK ) (@ Mary Street) 4sq.com/Pz5fkd (IrishWombat Sep 19, 5:23am via foursquare)

plans to head home. :( #Ireland ( #CJintheUK ) (@ Dublin Airport (DUB) - Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath w/ 10 others) 4sq.com/QBtE8z (IrishWombat Sep 19, 7:15am via foursquare)

Of course one can get a beer at a BK in IE. #travel (@ Burger King) 4sq.com/OEwqxy (IrishWombat Sep 19, 7:49am via foursquare)

Rest assured, Steve, #redheads are thriving in the British Isles. #Ireland #CJintheUK (well, over the pond now.) (IrishWombat Sep 19, 7:59am via HootSuite)

picked up a few of the Cooley collection. (@ The Irish Whiskey Collection) 4sq.com/S5Q2uJ (IrishWombat Sep 19, 8:09am via foursquare)

leaves #Ireland for good now this trip. (@ Usa Pre Clearance) 4sq.com/PzxwXT (IrishWombat Sep 19, 8:13am via foursquare)

Wanted to let you know, @thorntonmh, that it's #Donegal & #Mayo in the #GAA final this Sat! #Ireland ( #CJintheUK ) (IrishWombat Sep 19, 8:17am via HootSuite)

It's about 1:35 pm in #Ireland and everyone I know is in the same day! ow.ly/i/WOlB (IrishWombat Sep 19, 8:36am via HootSuite)

knows you've missed his postings. Now landed in the US. (@ Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) w/ 54 others) 4sq.com/QCIdbR (IrishWombat Sep 19, 5:48pm via Twitter for iPhone)

is home safe and sound... and nestled for bed #CJintheUK (@ Route 13 Outpost) 4sq.com/PBHhF3 (IrishWombat Sep 19, 9:41pm via foursquare)

naps to fend off the gripe of jetlag. #travel (@ Route 13 Outpost) 4sq.com/ROZj5l (IrishWombat Sep 22, 3:34pm via foursquare)

After my trip to the British Isles, I realised how much I appreciate those countries: the history, my ancestral connection, the people I met and how my interactions with them made my holiday different than just touring around with a group. I was longing for it. I started listening to "Soul Cages" to transition being back home and I would seek out British pop stars on the jukebox when I went out. Other songs just struck a chord about the trip and I tweeted some of the lyrics that resonated with me. Finally, I would just reach out to the twittersphere to make a connection back to that great British experience.  These following tweets are corollaries to my vacation; I've added them for fun.

Bring down the angels
Cast them from my sight
I never want to see
A million suns at midnight
(IrishWombat Sep 22, 6:32pm via HootSuite)

pre-games with the peaty Connemara #whiskey by Cooley - an Irish whiskey with a hint of a good Scotch. 4sq.com/PVbi1p (IrishWombat Sep 22, 9:14pm via foursquare)

shares pictures from #Sweden and #Stockholm ow.ly/dWPAn from the epic #CJintheUK vacation. #travel #photography (IrishWombat Sep 24, 11:57am via HootSuite)

wonders why he always has expensive tastes: ow.ly/dYxND #Edinburgh is the 2nd most expensive city in Europe. #travel (IrishWombat Sep 25, 10:23am via HootSuite)

was convinced after vacation the Scots *were* the beer-drinkingest folks on the planet. ow.ly/dYE8w #travel #beer (IrishWombat Sep 25, 12:36pm via HootSuite)

So while you're here in my arms
Let's make the most of the night
Like we're gonna die young.
(IrishWombat Sep 26, 12:42pm via HootSuite)

just devoured the last of the shortbread fingers from #Scotland :( Le sad. (IrishWombat Sep 26, 9:20pm via HootSuite)

It's been a month since I've blogged, but I hope this picture of #Scotland makes up for it ow.ly/e2lQu #travel #blog #photography (IrishWombat Sep 27, 10:35am via HootSuite)

The priest has said my soul's salvation
Is in the balance of the angels
And underneath the wheels of passion
I keep the faith in my fashion
(IrishWombat Sep 27, 12:31pm via HootSuite)

shares a @Penn-centric travelogue of his trip to #Wales and #Scotland (& beyond) ow.ly/e2yUm #blog #CJintheUK (IrishWombat Sep 27, 1:16pm via HootSuite)

US Anglophiles, can anyone recommend a good place for a fry-up in #Philadelphia? #food #travel (IrishWombat Sep 29, 9:16am via HootSuite)

When you're in unfamiliar places
Count on me through life's changes
Crash into me
We can collide, we can collide
(IrishWombat Sep 29, 12:00pm via HootSuite)

And I am a weapon of massive consumption
And it’s not my fault it's how I'm programmed to function…
(IrishWombat Sep 29, 10:30pm via HootSuite)

I'll look at the Sun and I'll look in the Mirror
I'm on the right track, yeah we're on to a winner
(IrishWombat Sep 29, 10:31pm via HootSuite)

It's official. I'm heading back to the UK. This time, #London, from October 19-23, then on to #Paris. (IrishWombat Oct 01, 1:05pm via HootSuite)

misses the #UK. (@ Pret A Manger) 4sq.com/PBowjh (IrishWombat Oct 04, 4:29pm via foursquare)

Thank you for the indulgence.