Boston Symphony Orchestra

Last week I had the great opportunity to go to a luncheon and performance at Symphony Hall here in Boston. The luncheon was for the Walter Piston Society named for Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and noted musician Walter Piston. (The Piston Society recognizes and honors those who have provided for the future of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, or Tanglewood through one of a variety of irrevocable deferred gifts, or by including the BSO in their long-term plans.)

The luncheon was fabulous! Held in a small private dining room, we were served a frise salad with herb coated goat cheese balls, toasted pine nuts and citrus fruit. The main course was poached sea bass in a beurre blanc, roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes. Dessert was strawberry cheesecake and some small chocolate goodies. It was like heaven. The bass melted in your mouth, it was cooked perfectly.

After lunch we were ushered into the concert hall. Symphony Hall was finished in 1900. An MIT student designed the acoustics of the building. It was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1999, and it was then noted "Symphony Hall remains, acoustically, among the top three concert halls in the world and is considered the finest in the United States." There are 16 gold statues of Greek and Roman gods (which was interesting just having finished Ancient Greek History).

The performance was Bartók, Martinů and Dvořák. It was very dynamic! The whole day was wonderful. Great food, fabulous art and architecture, and incredible music!

End of the Semester

Classes are over, Thank goodness! It's not easy going back to school after so many years away. BUT this semester went very well and I'm ready for a break. I've deleted all the school work and renamed this blog.

Three Course Greek Meal

For my Greek project I chose the 3 course meal. When I was in Savannah I went to a fabulous Greek restaurant. The first course is flaming Greek cheese.
My main course is Moussaka. I used Tyler Florence's recipe from Food Network although I substitute the feta for goat's cheese (milder flavor) and I slice my eggplant and bake it instead of sauteing it in oil.

What else could the dessert course be but Baklava. Here is the recipe and a tutorial.

Baklava
1 cup honey
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 tablespoon orange rind
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 package phyllo dough
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1.) Grate the orange rind, out skin only.
2.) Bring the honey, sugar, water, orange rind and cinnamon sticks to a boil. Let cool. Reserve 1/2 cup for the final topping.

3.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4.) Fit a piece of parchment paper to your pan, grease with crisco.
5.) Remove the phyllo dough from the package and keep under a wet towel. Phyllo dough are thin sheets that break very easily. They can be very frustrating to work with. They don't have to be perfect.

6.) Place a sheet of phyllo dough on the tray, brush with butter, add another sheet of phyllo dough, brush with butter, add another piece of phyllo dough, brush with butter. Brush liberally with the honey mixture. Sprinkle with nuts.
7.) Repeat these steps until you use all the phyllo dough. The top layer will have butter only. Cut through all layers on the diagonal, then on the diagonal the other way to make diamonds.

8.) Bake for approimately 3o minutes. I have a convection oven and it took 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them. Remove from oven, recut your diamonds. Pour the remaining honey mixture on top. Enjoy!!

Back to School

This year I'm taking internet classes towards my Bachelor's. One of the projects is this blogspot. Wish me luck!