Stuffed Figs

Chevre stuffed figs with shelled and crushed pistachios. Appetizer for xmas eve.

Bubbly

Throw some pomegranate seeds into any bubbly drink and watch as they float to the top, making your cheap champagne look extra fancy. :)

"Thin Mints"

Thin/fat mints for Martha.

Peppermint Whoopie Pies

These delicious lil treats were actually a mistake. I started the day making girl scout thin mints and ended with with more like fat mints. They taste very similar to thin mints but the texture was all off. Instead of being crunchy and thin they were soft and fat. Anyways, I decided to make them into whoopie pies and call it a day.
Here's the recipe for the cookie adapted from a book, Desserts by the Yard:
1.5 C Flour
1.25 C Sugar
.5 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1.5 Sticks of butter
Pinch of salt
2 egg yolks
Vanilla
2 tsp Peppermint oil
.5 tsp baking powder
.25 tsp baking soda

For the frosting:  I mixed (without any measuring) butter, powdered sugar, milk, cream cheese and marscapone cheese to a satisfactory frosting consistency. Then flash froze it so it would be easier to put in between the cookies.

Homemade Pizza

Homemade pizzas at Walts. Wooding burning fire pit=yums.

Cava

Last night I enjoyed some tapas at Cava on the upper west side. Although I have walked by it a number of times and never gone in, last night I eagerly skipped there for some free dining through a promotional company.
My friend and I ordered steak kabobs with a chicken tamale and a chorizo and shrimp medley on bread with goat cheese. Both were warm and flavorful. I would definitely go back to Cava for either dish- unfortunately the wine we ordered was terrible. I ordered white and my friend ordered red and after tasting each other's we decided they were quite possibly out of a box of Franzia. Don't get me wrong, Franzia is great for the occasional holiday sweater party or girl's sleepover but at a nice restaurant charging $12 a glass? No thank you. I would rather sip water.

Bottom line- I give it a B- for overall dining. And yes, if another company wants to give away tapas and bad wine, I'll be the first one in line.

Now That's a Turkey

Dad's Pie

Momofuku Noodle Bar

Noodle Bowl. So delicious.

Tea Party

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting. Adorable cupcake holders that can go into the oven! Tea party anyone?!

Storing Vitamins

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/health/02really.html?ref=health

Wellness In the Schools

Check out the article in The Times on the program I am volunteering with:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/health/06patient.html?_r=1&ref=health

Green Tea Cookies

Freshly baked and ready to be eaten.

Green Tea Shortbread Cookies

Green tea shortbread cookies with Matcha powder. Going into the oven. mmmm

Pumpkin Habanero Soup

Pumpkin Habanero Soup with cold greek yogurt. Great for welcoming the colder weather.

Pearl Oyster Bar

Bouillabaisse at Pearl Oyster Bar. Heaven.

Raspberry Rose Brownies

Brownies for a friends birthday! Rose water in the middle and raspberry swirl made with jam, syrup and fresh berries.

Carrots

Fresh dirty carrots from the tribeca farmer's market. Yum

Fall Pasta

Pasta with hot italian sausage and chorizo and garlic bread. Great way to welcome the cool weather.

Top Chef Angelo

Top chef runner-up Angelo and I in Chelsea Market.

Mint Chocolate Brownies

Mint chocolate brownies with mint white chocolate topping cooling in my 5th floor window.

Egg Noodles

Egg noodles with peas, parm, milk, cabot cheddar, truffle oil and pepper.

Tomato Soup

Supplements to Avoid

Here are three supplements that you should NOT ever take. 

I watched an episode of Dr. Oz where a number of supplements were reviewed by labs and here are three to AVOID:

1. Bitter Orange

2. Lobelia

3. Yohimbe

These three can cause heart and breathing problems and should not be taken. 

Butchery Class

What a way to start the morning. At beef butchering class we were greeted with a spread of cured meats and cheeses. And Corona. They sure know how to make us happy at 9am.

Go Nuts

NY times article supports eating nuts to help lower cholesterol.
On top of that, they are extremely high in protein and good fats. Some of my favorite ways of adding them into my daily diet:
crushed walnuts in salad
peanuts or walnuts sprinkled on a peanut butter covered banana
almonds, straight up
trail mix

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/health/research/18nutr.html?ref=nutrition

More Meat

Sea salt, garlic powder and cracked pepper for dipping the sliced steak. Perfection.

Eataly

Mario Batali's new restaurant, Eataly, is a dream come true. The enormous store has imported treats like these drinks. Spuma is a sparkling drink with rhubarb extract and Gazzosa is made with lemon oils, making both taste extra unique and fresh. The only downside to this wonderland is the fact that all of Manhattan knows about its recent opening and it takes an hour to walk through the crowds.
Located: 23rd and 5th

Grilled Asparagus

Sea salt, cracked pepper, EVOO, bake for 12min at 400.

Boston Dessert Expo

Steak

Beautifully marbled piece of beef that I went home with after class at Jeffrey's Meat Market.

Lamb

Baby rack of lamb cooked in EVOO, salt and pepper. Perfection

Jeffrey's Meat Market

Jeffrey explaining the cut of beef

Anti Cancer Foods

The Anti-Cancer Shopping List

• Blueberries

• Yogurt

• Green Tea

• Rainbow chard

• Tomatoes

• Tempeh

• Flaxseed

• Quinoa

• Garlic

• Onions

• Carrots

• Sweet Potatoes

• Squash

• Broccoli

• Beans

• Curry

Re Posted from an episode of Dr. Oz.

Poor Man's Butcher

Today I took the beef butchering class at Jeffrey's Meat Market in the Lower East Side. It was a truly unique experience. The class was scheduled for three hours beginning at 10am. I was pleasantly surprised that class began with a tasting of three different delicious cheeses, an array of cured meats, smoked salmon and fresh baguettes. We then sliced, cooked, and devoured baby racks of lamb. We were offered beer to wash it all down- this was an extra perk and made my lingering hangover extra happy. All of this was fantastic but still no sign of beef. Jeffrey told us stories about the market and how it is the last tenament building left on the block. He is a 4th generation butcher with a heart of gold. Back in the day, families would order meats and write down what they owed Jeffrey. At the end of the month, the families would pay, or not. If they could not afford to pay, Jeffrey would throw away the amount written down and start fresh each month. No family ever had debt. Every time a mother comes in with a new baby he gives them a steak as a gift for the child. He explains that he is a poor man's butcher. The value in feeding a family means the world to him. He has a side job where he prepares dinners for women raising children that need extra help. "Eating is not a privilege, eating is a f*cking right," Jeffrey exclaimed. We talked and talked ate more food. It is September 11th and we remembered lives lost, one being Jeffrey's brother. We toasted to life and living and celebrating and enjoying the moment. Eventually at 1pm, when the class was scheduled to end, we were ready to dive into the actual butchering of the beef. Whoops. No more time. Jeffrey told us that we could all come back to another class of our choice free of charge. He doesn't care about money. He cares about people and making sure that they are happy and most importantly, well fed.

Homemade Cookie Truffles

Rare Bar and Grill

I will start by saying that it will be tough living only two blocks from this joint. I should just accept it that I will be eating many more burgers now that I have discovered Rare. Located on 37th and Lex, it has the perfect combination of a beautiful rooftop for drinks and dimly lit indoors for fantastic burgers. I ordered the classic rare burger with an added fried egg and cheddar on top. My friend ordered the same and we smiled through every bite. We also ordered garlic parmesan french fries that were so yummy- shoestring style with so much flavor. Our waiter was fantastic and helped make the night that much better.
The quality of beef is clearly grade A+ and just the way you want a burger to be- juicy, juicy.

Eat This Not That

When you think of great sushi in the city I doubt your mind wonders all the way to Queens. Well it should. Watawa is by far the best kept secret in Queens. In fact, it's the best kept secret in NY. I feel safe saying that nothing compares. Every appetizer (yes, I've tried them all) is worth ordering two of and the specialty rolls make my mouth water just thinking about them. Back in April I posted a photo of three of the best rolls.
The prices are so reasonable and would be easily twice as much in Manhattan. Don't mess with anything but the specialty rolls because they are by far the best for quality, taste and value. Rolls not to miss: Irine, Sweetheart and Nemo. I have been there so many times that the waiter, Hendrick and I are good friends. I don't understand most of what he says but I like that in a friend. More mystery. Plus he brings me free dessert so really he's the best friend I've ever had.

Pita with Salmon and Basil

Toasted pita with baked salmon with sour cream and pesto

Heirloom Tomatoes and Pesto

Homemade Pita Chips and Dip

Truffle oil and herb homemade pita chips with homemade chive dip. mmmm

Food Rules

1. Eat food.
2. Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry.
4. Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup.
5. Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients.
6. Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.
7. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.
8. Avoid food products that make health claims.
9. Avoid food products with the wordoid “lite” or the terms “low-fat” or “nonfat” in their names.
10. Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not.
11. Avoid foods that you see advertised on television.
12. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle.

Taken from Michael Pollan's Food Rules.

Strawberry Shortbread

Dessert at The Harrison during restaurant week. So delicious

Cupcakes

For my softball team

Cupcakes

Caramel Creme cupcakes for the Ranch

Caramel cake loaf

For Chloe's Birthday!

Diirrrty

MMM dirty martinis at Bondst

Bondst

Tuna flatbread with cream cheese

Bondst

Yellowtail in soy with watercress

Bondst

Delicious salad with garlic crisps at Bondst in Soho.

Beer

Yummy. Find this at the new W Village bar, Rabbit in the Moon.

Marlow & Sons

This is my absolute (new) favorite restaurant. What a find. In the most picturesque perfect part of Williamsburg overlooking the water, Marlow and Sons is cooking up something good. Real good.
The menu has only a handful of choices and after trying almost all of them during a birthday celebration, I am convinced that it would be impossible to order wrong.
It has genuinely fresh ingredients that taste like they were picked from the garden moments before. I went home wishing that I would have snuck into the kitchen to find out their secrets. Maybe next time.
Things you must try before leaving: the crostini with ricotta cheese and sweet peas and the salted caramel chocoate tart. Speaking of, I am going there now.

Picnic 2

My version of deviled eggs. Lemon, mayo, chives, secret spicyness... yum

Picnic 1

Thai Soup

Thai soup with basil mint lime ginger broth and shrimp

Beet Soup

Cold beet soup

Macaroons

Rose, Almond, Green Tea and Dark Chocolate.

Dinner

Post- softball and tennis game dinner. summer is here.

Dinner

Sol with avocado, mashed yams, jicima with pesto, zucchini chips