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.