A Rainy Day Treat
October 19, 2011
It’s a gloomy day in the city, but having some of my mother’s homemade banana bread with a sesame multigrain bagel was certainly a way to brighten up the morning. It’s one of those comfort baked goods that has been around the family forever, yet never gets old.
Sesame Multigrain Bagel
Banana Bread
Indian Summer
October 14, 2011
The afternoons of rooftop brunches may be coming to an end for the season, but we snuck one last day in with the July-like heat. My father was kind enough to prepare a brunch for my roommates and friends in the building. After a morning at Zabar’s and Fairway to get all the goods, he prepared all sorts of delicious plates. We had three styles of crepes– apple cinnamon, fresh berries and ham and cheese, scrambled eggs on rosemary toasted bread, home fries, bacon and two varieties of organic sausage– Italian herb and spinach feta. For a special dessert treat, my friend Leslie’s mother was kind enough to give us a loaf of amazing chocolate challah bread for Yom Kippur, so we took that out to enjoy.
Ham & Cheese crepes
Chocolate Challah Bread
Cinnamon Apple crepe filling and Home fries
Spinach Feta Sausage and Cinnamon Apples
Dinner with Friends
September 1, 2011
My friend, Leslie, and partner in crime for dinner parties, recently took up a holistic health practice. With training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, she’s ready to roll and the girl to call if you’re looking for a health coach. You can check out more of what she does at her website. Lucky for me, I got a preview of some of her meal plans last night. We had a great dinner with a few friends to catch up before we part ways with our holiday weekend travel plans. For apps we had curried lentil and pea dip, pita chips with sweet curry seasoning and spicy corn avocado salsa. As if we weren’t full enough from that, for dinner she brought out turkey meatballs, sprouted quinoa with golden raisins, sliced almonds and citrus vinaigrette, a spiced carrot, ginger and tofu soup, and a spinach salad with pineapple dressing and whole wheat croutons. Last but not least, prune and oat cookies for dessert. Of course the lovely floral arrangements for the table were created by Jess, using only the best farm fresh flowers from the Union Square flower market.
Sprouted quinoa
Pita chips with curried lentil and pea dip
Spiced soup and turkey meatballs
Turkey meatballs and quinoa
Jessica's floral arrangement
Soup with sage and corn avocado salsa
Pita chips and flowers
Cheesecake Bites
August 11, 2011
How cute are these mini cheesecakes? They were served as part of the dessert for my friend’s baby shower earlier this summer. With the bright, fun colors, it’s a great idea for serving an eye catching treat at a large gathering. And no one can possibly be too full to enjoy at least one.
Mint Chocolate Cheesecake
Pig Roast
July 26, 2011
Although not the most beautiful looking food shots, pig roasts have become such a tradition in today’s food culture, I just had to post it. This past weekend, two wonderful friends of mine got married in Ellicottville in Western New York, and to keep the festivities going all weekend long, had a pig roast at the family camp Sunday afternoon. Other highlights included picnic favorites– the famous salt potatoes of Syracuse and steamed corn on the cob.
Preparing the pig
Pulled Pork Sandwiches with homemade BBQ sauce
Pool Party
July 20, 2011
Back in a New York state of mind, I recently had some girlfriends over for poolside entertaining at my parent’s house. While my dad took care of the sliders with mac & cheese, I had fun throwing together some dips and bruschetta from Wegman’s, a regional favorite supermarket here in the Northeast. I spread asiago cheese & artichoke dip on the pita and topped with tomatoes and fresh cucumber. And then just plain bruschetta on bread slices, followed by a taste of good old fashioned grape licorice.
Artichoke & Asiago Cheese Dip, Bruschetta, Pita bread and Cucumber
Grape Licorice & Grilled Pita Bread
Sliders with mac & cheese to go with the appetizers
Family Homestyle Cooking
July 14, 2011
Sometimes the best meals are the ones shared within the home. In between our daily Montana excursions we relaxed at my aunt and uncles, cooking in the heart of the country. We had steak nights, pierogi nights and sometimes just leftover nights. My favorite though, was when my father prepped his classic Greek-American grilled vegetables and chicken spiedies. For the veggies, he threw together a marinade with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh garlic, thyme and oregano, and let tomatoes, yellow squash, green zucchini, fresh mushrooms, red sweet peppers and large vadalia onions set over night before tossing on the grill. When finished, topping with feta cheese adds just the right extra flavor. As for the chicken, he let it set in a similar marinade of olive oil, crushed garlic and plenty of dried oregano, put on skewers and grilled to perfection.
Prepping the marinade
Fresh thyme
Prepping the marinade and table
Grilled vegetables ready to go
Grilled chicken spiedies
More of the veggies
Some of my aunt's rustic decor
Fresh lemonade on the porch
A grilled steak kind of night
Kitchen condiments
Cooking up Grandmother's pierogies recipe
Happy Fourth of July!
July 4, 2011
I could not think of a better way to celebrate the American holiday weekend than an outdoor breakfast at East Rosebud Lake in the middle of Montana’s wilderness. An hour of dirt roads finally opened up to a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains and we popped up the grill for pancakes with berries, bacon and coffee. I couldn’t resist including some of my other Fourth of July shots from this weekend. Quite possibly one of the most patriotic small towns I’ve been too, these folk in Red Lodge know how to celebrate America with their famous 3 day rodeo and parade. Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday!
Blueberry, strawberry, banana and chocolate chip pancakes from the grill
Fresh fruit
Cooking the bacon
Red Lodge Fourth of July Parade
Red Lodge Rodeo and parade
Cupcakes & Birds
June 26, 2011
My girlfriends and I reunited back in Syracuse yesterday afternoon for a bake off to prep for a baby shower. Leave it to Martha Stewart for some inspiration for these bird cupcakes with toasted coconut flakes as the nest and hand piped buttercream frosting for the birds. A lot of laughs, frosting covered elbows and 195 piped birds later, we had one adorable dessert.
Semi sweet chocolate chips and vanilla cupcakes
Toasted coconut flakes
Whipping up buttercream frosting and topping the cupcakes
Adding frosted birds
The finished cupcakes
Tarry Market
June 24, 2011
One of Mario Batali’s many creations, this Euro-style gourmet market in Port Chester has the freshest in pastas, meats, cheese and breads. Crossing off some of our grocery list here last weekend, we grabbed mozzarella and pasta to contribute to the Father’s Day family barbeque at my friend’s parent’s home.
Pasta
Pesto Pasta dish
Fresh mozzarella and tomato
a camera in the kitchen 