A Summer Dinner Party
August 15, 2011
I’m excited to announce a new project for the blog. I’m going to host themed dinner parties for each of the four seasons throughout the course of the year, and share the menus, styling tips and of course photos with you. To kick-off the project, I invited 8 friends over for an al fresco summer dinner. I spent the morning grazing the farmer’s market and Zabar’s, my go-to specialty food store, for the ingredients, and my afternoon prepping the dishes and shooting.
The Menu…
• Drinks: Raspberry mint lemonade made by blending raspberries, peeled lemons, ice, sugar and mint until the consistency of a slushy and garnishing with dried hibiscus flowers
• Appetizers: Rosemary bread with sundried tomato tofu spread and prosciutto wrapped asparagus and breadsticks
• First Course: Martha’s tomato, cantaloupe and basil salad
• Second Course: Lemon grilled chicken, chopped onions, goat cheese and lettuce placed in tortillas molded and then baked into baskets with pesto pasta and a side of grilled vegetables
• Dessert: Chocolate mint brownies with whipped cream
Styling Tips…
•Scanning a page of my grandfather’s notebook from the 70’s and travel photos from my parent’s travels to Greece in the 80’s as the background for personalized menus
• Folding cloth napkins in an envelope style with the menu inside and tying it all together with twine-resembling yarn
• Using typewriter letter stamps and gold ink on ivory cardstock for name cards and clothespin it to the table runner
• Floral arrangement created by my friend, Jessica, who just completed the New York Botanical Garden Floral Design Intensive
• Vintage lanterns for centerpieces
• Mason jars with twine resembling yarn tied around them to hold the utensils and candles for lighting
Table setting & tomatoes
Menu & ingredients
Fresh pasta & Jessica's flower arrangement
Raspberry mint lemonade
Tomatoes & name cards
Asparagus & pesto
Prosciutto wrapped asparagus and breadsticks
Table setting and a cantaloupe, tomato and basil salad
Grilled chicken baskets, pesto pasta and prosciutto appetizers
Place setting and grilled chicken baskets
Newport Classics
August 5, 2011
Aside from the wonderful meals at Belle’s and Corner Café, here are some other highlights from Newport that I highly recommend if ever traveling through. We grabbed a late lunch at The Landing, and ended up staying there until sunset, which offered phenomenal views with an acoustic performance in the background and the bar becoming lively by evening. The Clarke Cooke House, also a popular destination, is just around the corner with four floors of various dining options. If you’re feeling ambitious, a stroll through the market at Aquidneck Lobster Co. provides plenty of options for a home-cooked meal, yet Barking Crab just up the road has delicious seafood prepared for you. As for drinks, it doesn’t get much better than Del’s Lemonade, a Rhode Island favorite, and their trucks are conveniently plotted around town for easy access.
If only I could go back again this weekend to do it all over again. Have a good one! x
Yellow tomatoes, feta cheese, asparagus and vinaigrette from The Landing
Salad at The Landing
Aquidneck Lobster Co.
Fresh fish at the Lobster Aquidneck Co.
Del's Lemonade
Spinach and artichoke dip at Barking Crab
Naked lobster roll at Barking Crab
Penne with chicken in a parmigiano cream reduction with mushrooms, tomato, basil, and toasted almonds at Clarke Cooke House
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
Cooke City
July 12, 2011
After spending a morning driving 11,000 ft above sea level through the winding roads of Beartooth Highway through Montana and Wyoming, we stopped for lunch in Cooke City. A tourist destination for those traveling to Yellowstone National Park, there’s nothing more than a few restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops, but it’s certainly full of character with a picture perfect backdrop.
Cooke City General Store
Chicken and tomato wrap from the Ore House Saloon at Soda Butte Lodge
Burger & Fries
The Juicy Lucy Burger stuffed with cheese and peppers
Paws Up
July 9, 2011
One doesn’t often combine the words luxury and camping into one sentence, but that’s exactly what you get from Paws Up, a ranch resort about 30 miles outside Missoula. Stopping through for an evening, I was treated with impeccable service from the strawberry lemonade upon arrival through my next morning’s breakfast wrap with fresh produce. These chefs have the fine rustic cuisine down to perfection as they prepared some of their specialty dishes including Elk Loin and Quail Breast.
Aside from the dining, the resort offers anything you could possibly imagine to make your Montana holiday fulfilling. Due to my time constraints, I didn’t participate in their endless list of activities, but I certainly wouldn’t hesitate venturing back for another visit. Who could complain about waking up in an outdoor luxury tent, followed by a hot air balloon ride at sunrise and an afternoon horseback riding in the mountains? And of course you can’t forget ending your evening with their infamous rustic ranch cuisine.
Seared Quail Breast, Huckleberry Bread Pudding, Roasted Baby Turnip, Sautéed Spinach, Pan Jus
The dining room at Pomp
Pan Seared Ono, Cauliflower Salad, Fava Leaves, Baby Squash, Mint Oil
The terrace at Pomp
Iron Seared Elk Loin, Fregola-Mushroom Stew, Baby Fennel, Asparagus, Black Currant Puree
Outdoor dining and camp fire pit
Moulard Duck Breast, Potato Croquette, Orange Braised Fennel, Asparagus
Huckletini; 44 North Huckleberry Vodka, Huckleberry Syrup, Turbinado Sugar Rim
Homemade infused liquors
Village Entrance
Morning Hot Air Balloon Ride
Montana Breakfast Wrap, Scrambled Eggs, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Bacon, Peperzella Cheese
Sunrise Scrambler, Ham, Scrambled Eggs, Crisp Potato Croquette, Brewer's Grain Toast
Breakfast at Tank & Trough
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
Homespun Foods
June 16, 2011
Gazing out my office window at the sunshine, I desperately want to rewind back to my relaxing weekend lunch in the back garden at Homespun Foods in Beacon. A quaint little dining retreat in town, the staff was welcoming and the food produced locally including cage-free eggs from Feather Ridge Farm, grass-fed beef from Bittersweet Farm, Wallkill smoked salmon and Murray’s poultry. Top on my list was most likely the cheddar cheese sandwich with cranberry apple chutney, definitely easy enough to repeat at home, and the baba ganoosh had me going back for seconds as well.
Pita bread and dressing
Cheddar and Chutney Sandwich: sharp cheddar cheese with cranberry apple chutney
Mac & Cheese
Middle Eastern Platter: Hummus, baba ganoosh, tabouli, feta, olives, cucumbers and tomatoes with pita bread
Salad
Mac & Cheese with a colorful salad
Southampton IPA
Coachella Farmers Market
April 21, 2011
After falling in love with Santa Monica’s Farmers Market fruit last fall, I was beyond thrilled to experience more from the west coast. Spending a majority of Coachella Music Festival on the grounds, the onsite resources such as the Farmers Market that brought in vendors from neighboring areas of Palm Desert, Palm Springs and La Quinta became most valuable. Here’s what I feasted on that got me through the days…
Lemons, Oranges & Limes
Oranges & Golden Berries
Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Strawberries & Goldenberries
Green Energizing Drinks
Ninety Acres at Natirar
April 12, 2011
I spent Sunday afternoon taking in the fresh air of a countryside farm and indulging in some fine dining all at the same time. Having the honor of getting the full tour of Natirar, a 500-acre property in Somerset County, New Jersey, I certainly kept myself busy in an attempt to explore and taste as much as I could. An ongoing project that will include not only dining, but spas, pools and accommodations, the first phase is currently complete and ready for diners. At the restaurant known as Ninety Acres, Food & Wine’s Best new chef of 2011 for the New York area, David Felton, prepared what seemed like endless amazing dishes until we couldn’t eat anymore. Aside from the food, I couldn’t leave out photographs of the old manor house, with it’s classic antique decor, it’s the perfect venue for an elegant wedding or event.
The farm at Natirar
Natirar Beet Salad with baby lettuces, goat cheese, hazelnut granola & cocoa balsamic and tomatoes growing in the greenhouse
Paprika Rubbed Grilled Octopus with meyer Lemon, baby romaine, parmesan & garlic confit
The Dining Room
Organic Risotto with saffron, sundried tomato, crispy porchetta & fried herbs
Wine & Dine
Imperial Wagyu Steak Tartare with chimichurri, picked red onions, two-hour yolk & frico
Interior of the Manor House
Wood Fired Pizza special of the day-Parmesan flat bread, prosciutto & arugula
Griggstown Quail with chili-apricot compote & brown butter brioche
Farmer's Plates on the menu
a camera in the kitchen 