Preparing a big time menu for a big time day is always a guilty pleasure

The wings were cooked early. Dueling recipes were the order of the day. The CEO's Buffalo Wings and Teriyaki Wings featuring a delicious Bone Sucking sauce.
The soft steak rolls from the Collegeville Bakery were secretly tucked away by 9 am. There is a chicken cheese steak looking for a lunch partner.

The baby back ribs were marinated by 11 am. We are sampling three regional barbecue sauces. Louisiana Sweet Mesquite is today's rub of choice.

Dinner is going to be flavorful journey. It's a big time menu for a big time day!

Today's glorious! Today the sun is shining. Today is the opening of the NFL season. The world is in better balance when it's first and goal to go. Watching football alone or with the family is always a guilty pleasure.

Looking good when it counts is always a Guilty Pleasure.

The summer's over and it's time to lose the shorts, hide the flip-flops and burn that certain Hawaiian shirt.

Our jam-packed events calendar is getting more formal, the high-holidays are fast approaching and the Bar Mitzvah of the year is just three weeks away.

The clock was ticking and Guilty needed a makeover. I have avoided going shopping for months, hoping the tide would turn in my insufferable battle of the bulge. Unfortunately, my prayers are not going to be answered in this regard and I went shopping for fashionable suits. This dynamic CEO needs some style, if you please.

With Christopher's help, I found the answer at Men's Wearhouse. Four gorgeous suits later and I am ready for the limelight. Looking good when it counts, is always a Guilty Pleasure. Especially when it's for your family. I may look like Buddah lately, but I dress like Armani.

Entertaining your best friends is always a wonderful Guilty Pleasure

Don't you just love entertaining? I enjoy all of it. The event planning. The stylish invitations. The delicious food. Yes, I am Guilty as Charged when it comes to gleefully planning a menu and loving Provence's food. The excitement looming. The new clothes waiting. Your guests beaming. The magic and the mirth beckoning. Yes Guiltilorians, I love it all!

We are having a special milestone event next month as our son is making his Bar Mitzvah. This is a wonderful family moment to cherish and enjoy. Besides our son's stellar performance, the best part of the weekend will be sharing our joy and good fortune with many of our dearest friends. Especially our unexpected guests.

With that pleasant surprise in mind, it's time to celebrate, indulge and enjoy the Guilty-side of life with your best buds. It doesn't matter whether you are raising the flag of guilt-ridden fun in college, skiing one more run at Stowe, chillin on Long Beach Island or toasting your children, partying with your best friends is always a five star guilty pleasure to savor.

The timeless stories flow, the laughter rumbles, the friendship is eternal and the rapture is real.

Thank you Ronnie, Carlene and Hannah for joining us.

True American Spirits!

There are few things in the distilled spirits world that give such a taste reward & feeling of American pride as a small batch or single barrel bourbon. I am a bourbon fan as is my father who at 88 & going strong still appreciates a glass of Wild Turkey or Old Grandad. I am fortunate, I am in a different generation, one that has seen the mastery of the science and method of fine spirits production. There are three slightly different types of fine micro produced bourbons:

1. Single Barrel(The Finest Kind): As bourbon is aged, the barrel & where the barrel is stored all affect the final product. In normal operations hundreds of barrels are combined together and finished to produce a consistent bourbon. In single barrel production the finest barrels are selected by the experts during ageing and pulled aside to age even longer. These are then bottled & labeled with a bottle & barrel # for authenticity. The Father of this was Elmer T Lee of Leestown Distillery who released the first of this type in 1984. An amazing product known as Blanton's. ( My Personal Favorite)

2.Small Batch: which was embraced by Jim Beam. This is based on the idea that bottling single barrels is too quirky and the better approach is to take your finest barrels & blend them together to yield a larger batch of top quality spirits.

3.Small Scale: This approach is to work with the larger production methods of the large distilleries but utilize only premium quality bourbon to start. Maker's Mark is the best Legal example of this. (We can discuss the other type of spirits at a later date)

So the next time to need to unwind, celebrate a great American Holiday or just sip some pure Americana pour some Knob Creek, Bookers, Blanton's, Jim Beam, Maker's Mark or any of the premium American Bourbon's in a glass or over ice. And why not compliment it with a great cigar! ( As an FYI the finest tobacco in the world for wrapping cigars comes from Connecticut)

Happy Labor Day & God Bless America!

Foodie & Charity Events

With so many great charities & in a business that reaches deep within our pockets and warehouses to help everywhere we can, I have the fortunate ability to indulge one of my true Guilty Pleasures "Foodie Events & Charity Tastings". What a great way to over indulge, mingle, bid on auction items that are truly just guilty pleasures & drink the finest in wines & spirits all while helping others & feeling great about it. This week starts a wave of such events: Saturday is the Elkins Estate Gala http://www.elkinsestate.org/ & Sunday is the Grounds For Sculpture Benefit http://www.groundsforsculpture.org/. What a great way to start the fall season. I see Tylenol & Pepto on my desk next Monday but no remorse. It is all for a great cause.

Enjoying Michael's Franks, Guilty as charged

Everyone loves Cocktail Franks. They are the most popular of all hors d'oeuvres . Bar none!

Numero Uno, if you are keeping score.

No matter how high-end the affair, no matter how "shi shi" the soiree, no matter how elegant the event, those little doggies are treated like VIP's. I always offer them limo service to my mouth.

Most catering companies give their customers a pre-made fozen product. They just open a box, pop'em in the oven and they're good to go. No labor. No fuss. No muss. No Soul.

Our approach to dogie delirium is the other side of the coin. The one that really shines. We offer our discerning clientele"Michael's Franks." It's an in-house produced product and only Kosher or Kobi beef hot dogs will do. There's definitely labor costs, but it's money well spent. More importantly, there's certainly soul as they are handcrafted four your reception. You might call that fuss, we call it custom-to the-client catering. From 1 to 10,000, they are identical delights and a real crowd pleaser.

"Michael's Franks" from Provence Catering is a far superior menu option than the frozen appetizers you will find elsewhere. Our chef's handwork, presentation syle and culinary expertise, make them one of our most frequently requested cocktail party delicacies.

Eating them in moderation is almost impossible since they are soooooooo yummy. Whereas, scarfing them down with a spicy mustard and an icy cold IBC Black Cherry soda is a true Guilty Pleasure that never ceases to satisfy.

Guilty in the moonlight

I am a loving that lunar glow show. Is there anything more awe-inspiring than gazing at a full Sugar moon as summer fades?
Throughout history, the September moonlight has been the cultural cornerstone for many ancient civilizations and their names reflect the moon's seasonal majesty. The Chinese saw magic in the Chrysanthemum Moon. The Choctaw Indians came of age underneath the Mulberry Moon. In Colonial America, the famous Harvest Moon was a guiding light.

Our early September weather this week has been Chivas Regal and that top shelf experience is the perfect backdrop for many a Guilty Pleasure.

Looking for a Celtic romance? Then a Singing full moon is your best friend.

Looking to party like a Southern rock star? Is there a better Rebel yell than howling in the Tennessee moonlight?

Looking to be a lunatic? The Cherokee Indians danced wildly underneath the Nut Moon.

Looking for ghosts? That spooky Orb up in the heavens is always a celestial beacon.

Looking for new recipes? The Blackberry Moon is always a sweet inspiration.

Looking for the perfect honeymoon in Cabo? A fiery red Mexican moon reflecting off the of Sea Cortez will make your soul's one. Forever!

Looking for answers? Picasso's moon is a wise sage.

Looking for Thin Mint underneath a Panamanian Moon? Guilty as Charged!

If you are my setting shower water temperature,Thin Mint hot works just fine!

My shower water has to be hot. Shinny chick hot. Not scalding hot like Jessica Alba, but with a temperature capable of softening the toughest morning scruff. Certainly, shower water that's "Thin Mint hot" works just fine.


To me, shaving in the shower is a necessary daily routine and moisturized personal grooming is always a blast. No shaving cream is necessary, but a sharp razor blade is a must. Of course no rushing is allowed and the Skinny Chick Society does encourage their members to share in the fun. Conserving natural resources is part of their International Charter.

Those wise Skinny Chicks have a steady hand and love in their heart. That rejuvenating combination makes shaving in the shower a bonafide Guilty Pleasure. Of course, saving water and sharing laughter is just a bonus.

Self-serving versions of guilt

What is a true guilty act? Not criminal, but self-serving in a "Moi" sort of way. Everyone has their own interpretation.

It could be sneaking an ample sip of your dad's home-brewed Black Cherry wine before the Harvest Moon Ball. The High School years offered innocent moments of self-serving guilt.
Is it visiting the pastry department's rolling rack at 10 am when everyone else is attending a staff meeting? The answer to that question is easy, Guilty as charged. It's fairly well known that I have a PhD in sneaking food guilt. Besides, I make much more sense after eating two pieces of our chef's outrageously delicious sour cream coffee cake. When it's still warm, there's a three spot on the line.

Is it sneaking in front of people at the airport when you have only 20 minutes to catch a flight to the slopes at Snow Basin and the line is longer than a football field? "Me first" guilt never gets old. Anyway, missing that flight to Utah was not an option. We both know that!

Is it stopping by Wawa on Thursday afternoon when the asphalt is 900 degrees and all that can save you is a Wawa freezer shake or two? There's no time to drive to Ray's Drive-in for a fix. You need that liquid ice cream rush now! Heat salvation is a free pass anywhere on Planet Guilty. Watch for a new show debuting this fall on Guilty TV called "Rescue Shake 911" starring me. It's very cool and satisfying.

Self preservation is a Guilty-filled experience. Accept the truth and join the club!

Guilty in the right field corner, September baseball has begun.

Going to a baseball game is very rewarding Guilty Pleasure. Whether you are wide-eyed with your father, dashing with your date or patient with your kids, the baseball diamond is really a field of dreams.

The first game I ever attended in person was a real humdinger. I went with my Dad and we saw the legendary Don Drysdale of Los Angeles Dodgers shutout the New York Mets 1-0 at the new Shea Stadium. Drysdale hit a solo home run to win the game. It was an incredible experience and a father-son sports memory that I will never forget.

The feeling of walking out of the tunnel and seeing the baseball field for the first time under the lights is a very special childhood moment. There is just nothing else like it, except maybe the first day of eighth grade when you see what the summer sun did to all those girls. Both experiences rock your world forever.

The grandeur of baseball is grandeur of America. It's timeless, it's shared and it's unpredictable.

There is a new plot written with every pitch.

Tonight we saw Cole Hammels of the Fightin Phils pitch a two hit 1-0 shutout underneath an awe-inspiring full moon against the red-hot San Francisco Giants. The early September weather was stupendous and the ballpark was packed. This was playoff preview between two hot teams. As an extra bonus, it was also Ladies Night at the yard so the lunar chippies were in full bloom. From our field level seats near the foul pole, it was a magnificent view.

Baseball is always one of my favorite Guilty Pleasures.