Mac & Cheese

Rainy days make you scream for comfort. Macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. Add in a little ham, chicken, or broccoli and you have yourself a meal! Yesterday was the first day of the nor'easter and the chefs decided to bake delicious Macaroni and Cheese for lunch. Nothing better than that to spruce up a rainy day. I'll take my guilty pleasure with cheese and extra bread crumb toppings!

Caramel Apples

Gooey, Sensual, Succulent, Rich, Chewy, Crisp, Refreshing, Decadent, Sweet & Simply Guilty!

These are all wonderful ways to describe the amazing flavors & textures of fresh caramel apples! I mean the hand dipped, with the thick gooey warm mess that attaches to fresh crisp & perfectly sweetened fall apples! Many people try to make this simply guilty pleasure something it is not! It is not created to be made from a flowing fountain but rather it should hand dipped in warm, decadent, rich, gooey perfection then sprinkled with crushed nuts or other incredible textures before setting into mouth watering perfection. Like everything we do at Provence Catering we take our time and do it right.

No watered down caramel here. No flowing fountains that create an image but leave the true flavor & richness behind. Trust me, Caramel is designed to be thick & slow, perfectly in tune to the cool crisp weather of the fall. Let us create some decadent guilty pleasures just for you!

Cupcakes by Nicole!

We love our sweets at Provence Catering, especially during the holiday season. As I walked through the kitchen the other day, I caught Nicole, our new world-class pastry chef, making these adorable mini cupcakes. My sweet tooth alert went on and I was automatically drooling. The cute candy-colored flowers and glistening vanilla and chocolate icing were enough to stop and take pictures. Hence, the picture above.

Mini cupcakes are a guilty pleasure that taste like a tiny bit of heaven. Good work, Nicole, I'm still drooling.

Beef Steak Parties Part-1

Close your eyes & imagine! Freshly sliced filet mignon, cooked perfectly, dipped in butter & sprinkled with salt then laid upon white break & drizzled with a bit more butter. You pick up this delicate pile & eat it with a glutenous desire! Can you taste it? Can you feel It? The smooth fatty richness as it glides over your palate? Incredible isn't it!

This idea made popular in New York & New Jersey during the 1920's to 1940's, were know as "Beef Steak Parties" These pre and post prohibition feeding frenzy's were often combined with excessive amounts of beer & wine and often times held in secret to prevent the authorities & neighbors from crashing them!

This Sunday Provence Catering upon the invitation of an incredible family in New Jersey will recreate this grand & very guilt filled tradition for a family get together on their 40 plus acre Alpaca farm! What a great day it will be! Fresh Sliced Filet, pounds of fresh melted butter, piles of white bread, fresh onion rings & steaming hot perfectly seasoned wedge fries all served with incredible wines & cold beers! Cholesterol awareness, diets & restraint have no place at this party!

Stayed tuned for the post event highlights!

A Perfect Ride! Limo's Are A True Guilty Pleasure

In today's era of Police Check Points, Lower & Lower BAC's & The Positive Presence of Laws enforcing Drinking & Driving Violations, what a better Guilty Pleasure, than a limo. On Saturday I had two great Limo experiences. During an incredible 40th Birthday Party in Avalon, New Jersey that we were catering the client realized he wanted another brand of Vodka. He asked if I would get him a bottle from the local liquor store that was 15 blocks away. As I agreed he said, " hey take the limo, the driver knows where it is at" the expression on my bartenders face when I put him in the limo rather than his car was priceless!

My Second experience came when I was taking a short break from all the activity and I was able to take the beautiful skylight tour of Avalon in the limo. It was truly enjoyable to see the sights from such a great vantage point even if it was only for a brief moment.

Why not consider a limo for your next Girls Night or Boys Night Out! They are far less expensive than you think. What a great way to treat your guests to luxury than to have them shuttled back & forth from hotel to party to hotel! Throw in a great Guilty Pleasure Snack & Cocktail of your choice and enjoy the ride! Let us introduce you to our choice Limo companies or arrange for one for your next event.

Room Service for 2!

Room service for two is definitely a guilty pleasure. During my honeymoon a few weeks ago, my husband and I had a great routine going... breakfast, pool, lunch, beach, dinner, out and about. One day we decided to switch it up and order room service. We were delightfully surprised by the relaxation of this pleasure. Our peaceful meal on the balcony was wonderful. We sat for a couple hours watching the boats in the harbor and beach-goers swimming in the waves while enjoying our meal. This is a guilty pleasure I will always remember.

Guilty Pleasures Club is a daily celebration!

The Guilty Pleasure Club fascination is really taken off and we will have some very exciting GPC news that will be announced in the coming months. Blog readership is up dramatically and we are planning several high-profile GPC events throughout 2010. We will be debuting our Guilty Pleasures Club at the "Taste & Tour of the Countryside" on October 20th, 2009 at Drexelbrook Corporate Events Center.

Followers can meet the staff, share Guilty Pleasures and learn about our plans to make this lifestyle blog a celebration of the good life. Our pursuit of private time pleasures and the guiltorious moments is a wonderful journey. We are delighted to have you onboard everyday.

If you want to find that gleeful State of Happy, have some hot Apple Pie. It's always a Guiltorious moment.

As the weather turns to brisk and the leaves turn to magic, our favorite foods of autumn are coming back into full bloom. Peach pie gives way to apple pie and the most American of all desserts is back in the spotlight.

The no more captivating aroma in any kitchen than the tummy pleasing smell of a hot apple pie coming out of the oven. You just break out in a gleeful state of happy.

I am BIG FAN of Thin Mint's legendary apple pie with brown sugar crunchies on top. The key to an exceptional apple pie is the crust. No store bought product will suffice. You need to roll that puppy with love. Thin Mint's crust is an all time guilty pleasure.

Add in some Dulce de Leche and you are King of the Guilties. Add a second scoop and you are Guilty As Charged!

Back to back, home run attack, Ryan Howard won't change his post-season act.

I love October baseball. Don't you? This is something really special watching baseball when the air crisp and sun sinks low in the sky.

The entire city has come alive with excitement as the Phitin Phil's prepare to do battle with the other wannabes in the National League playoffs. Of course, they do not stand a chance against our heroes. That's because no one else has Ryan Howard. This left handed slugger is the reincarnation of the immortal Hank Greenberg and is probably the most-under appreciated superstar in all of baseball.
If Ryan played in New York City he would be a certified god. In Boston the lefty's legend would be taller than the Hancock Tower. In LA he would have his own private freeway. And in his hometown of St. Louis a statue of this vaunted home run king would replace the Arch as the city's most visited landmark.

Yet in Philadelphia, he has never received the adulation that he so richly deserves. I am not sure why. He was roundly criticized last year when he got off to a very slow start. Yet despite his two month slump, he wound up second in the MVP voting and easily could have won that pretigious award for the second time. His lack of acclaim might be racial. While I would hope local fans are that not hateful, lets be realistic.

I mean, think about it. Chase is worshipped. Cole is adored. Raul is a fan favorite. Jason has every young lady in the stadium seeking his attention. And Ryan is rarely is recognized for his amazing grace and power. He's Mr. Clutch and watching him swing for the fences is always a guilty pleasure.

Back to back is our mission and Ryan is ready to explode. Look for a big post season from Mr. Howard. He is my favorite Phillie!!

The All American Burger

Sometimes we overlook the simple tastes & pleasures in pursuit of the newest & best. For the carnivores among us this would translate to ignoring the all mighty burger in search of Kobe Beef or Porter House Steak. There is certainly a great joy or even a guilty pleasure to be found in either of those high ticket & high quality items but not the simple joy of that first bite of a perfectly cooked Burger fresh off the broiler, grill or griddle.

There are as many opinions onto the methods of cooking a great burger as there are burger places. The basics though remain the same. Start with fresh ground beef, season at start and finish and do not, (I mean never, ever) flatten with a spatula or cooking utensil. This only squeezes the juices out & drys them to a shoe leather consistency.

The American Burger is one of those things that leaves memories that last a lifetime, brings joy to us all and creates cravings that must be met, before bovine withdrawl cripples us with desire. The type of cravings that cause you to smell the smoke, feel the subtle bits of fat melt away in your mouth and has you salivating as you drive to your favorite burger joint. One of mine is in Delaware County, Zac's http://www.zacsburgers.com/ is a great local place with its hand formed patties and thick rich shakes. There truly is nothing more satifying that a fresh, hand made burger cooked to order & seasoned to perfection.