Home From Seattle

I was very happy to return home yesterday afternoon from Seattle WA after having had the time of my life. 
  A big THANK YOU goes out to  Allrecipe.com for hosting such an incredible 3 day celebration. I learned so much and experienced even more.
  A group of over 60 women from all over the country and myself all converged on the city of Seattle this past week to celebrate 15 awesome years of Allrecipe.com and to learn more about them.
 While Allrecipe is the # 1 recipe, cooking web site we didn't learn about how to fry a chicken or how to hard boil an egg, they didn't show us how to read a recipe. We learned who Allrecipe is and how they came to be,from a cookie to the #1 recipe web site. We learned how our recipes and reviews and photos helped make the web site, how the web site is made by its members and it is the members needs and wants that guide the web site in its growth and success. We also got to meet the dedicated, delightful people that work behind the scenes and in front to make this web site possible. I walked a way from this 3 day gathering with a much clearer idea of who Allrecipe.com is.I can't help feeling a little bit of pride that in some small way that I am a part of all this and I help make Allrecipe, Allrecipe. I am pretty sure I am not alone in that feeling.
  While we didn't learn all bout cooking and recipes that doesn't mean this trip wasn't all about the food. It was nothing if not all about the food. Every where you looked you would see some one taking pictures of the food they had just been served and every gathering that took place outside as well as inside of the Allrecipe offices seemed to include food and fun. I only took 1 picture of the food I had while in Seattle, that was from dinner at the pink door. I was lazy about it I admit it,I did however get lots of shots of the Allstars enjoying meals and memories together.

Breakfast with new found friends. Laurie,Colleen, Carrie and her husband Jim. This is Athenia's  in Pikes Market place. The food was good the company better and the view perfect. We were looking out on the sound and there was a fog off in the distance making it seem as if the ships were coming from nowhere and disappearing the same way. Very cool to watch.

My dinner at the pink door and my one and only food photo. That is homemade pasta with meat sauce. A nice simple dish that was nicely plated. Just what I wanted

.Two of my dinner mates at the Pink Door. I have waited years for the chance to meet both Lillian and Peggi. Once again thank you Allrecipe. There was a few more of us there that night but I was much more interested in gabbing and eating then taking pictures so I once again slacked at the photo part.

Another group of Allstars that decided to have dinner at the Pink Door that night. The Allstars kept that restaurant hopping that night. A busy place to begin with the staff still was jumping to keep up with us. If you look closely at this picture you will see that the Pink Door just might want to turn up the lights a little. TeeHeeHee.

 Paula,Tracy,Lillian and I take lunch in the open air market. While the 3 lovely ladies have the crab bisque from Pikes Chowder.

I enjoyed a sandwich from sisters European Sandwiches. It was called the Hawain with black forest ham and pineapple and once again rosemary in the bread. 

This was my favorite lunch. I can't say what I at let alone spell it so I won't try. The beautiful ladies you are looking at are from left to right Dee,Me, Laurie, Peggi, and Lillian. We have all wanted to meet for years and at last we did. This was our last chance for all of us to get together one more time before everything was over and we had to start going our separate ways. We had lunch in the West Lake Mall I think it is a mall any way we ate in the food court. It was an awesome food court.My local Malls could take lessons. Just about anything you wanted  was there. we had some Indian, some Mexican, and some good ole American and a few dishes I wish I had the time to try. They looked good sitting across the table from me. Lunch was informal and easy going,we had so much fun posing for pictures sharing stories and getting to know each other even more. Kelly Melissa and one more lovely lady joined us for lunch making it even more fun. I am ashamed to say my memory is just going to fail me and while I can clearly see the other lady rounding out the table I can not put a name to the face. I even see her lunch clearly in fact I am still drooling over that falafal sample platter. Peggi's husband Harlen must have just loved being surrounded by so many lovely ladies.
 All to soon it was time to come home. Well maybe not to soon if I had walked up one more hill I think my legs would have fallen off in protest and I am sure one more bite of food  and I would have exploded.
   Thank you Allrecipe. To Allstars it was my greatest pleasure to get to meet you.