Happy Thanksgiving!
November 24, 2011
Before the hustle and bustle of the biggest cooking day of the year begins, why not treat yourself to a relaxing cup of tea. Using some of my mother’s ingredients for her cranberry salad, I added fresh squeezed oranges, cranberries and cloves to my orange spice tea. The vintage spoon was a recent purchase from Love Adorned, an adorable lifestyle boutique in Nolita.
Have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving, and I’ll be back this weekend to share some fun post-turkey leftover festivities!
Thanksgiving Morning Tea
Recipe
November 23, 2011
I’ve been meaning to feature Recipe, a favorite restaurant of mine, that brings some of the best rustic, local farm cuisine to the city. Barely large enough to seat more than 20 or so guests, it lends to an intimate dining experience. Although I tend to grab it to go, I highly recommend waiting for a seat. You can tell they paid extra attention to styling details to give it that rustic farm meets city chic vibe. I was recently tempted to try their special of the day, the bleu cheese quiche, with a side of sautéed swiss chard and kale.
Bleu Cheese Quiche
Sautéed Swiss Chard & Kale
Recipe's Interior
A Cupcake Celebration
November 21, 2011
Any excuse for cupcakes, and I’ll take it. Saturday afternoon, my friends and I, (and dogs) had a cupcake party to celebrate the year anniversary of the site. Because it’s far too difficult to pick just one bake shop, we decided to have a taste of them all. I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face after finishing the Upper West Side cupcake crawl, with stops at Baked by Melissa, Alice’s Tea Cup, Magnolia’s, Crumbs and Peacefoods, all with their own fabulous style and ambiance. It was a tough call between Melissa’s bite size flavors to Crumb’s Apple Crumbler, but our top vote goes out to Peacefood’s vegan carrot cupcake.
Baked By Melissa's Graham Cracker, Peacefood's Vegan Carrot, Magnolia's Caramel, Alice's Chocolate and Crumbs' Apple Crumbler
Carrot & Melissa's minis
Sophie's Debut
With love from Crumbs
A Year in Review
November 18, 2011
A Camera in the Kitchen turns 1 tomorrow! I cannot thank you all enough for your support and enthusiasm you’ve expressed to me. It’s been such an amazing year capturing and sharing the art of dining. I’ve dug through my archives to compile some of my favorites that I think best reflects this. From tasting California’s fresh fruit while dancing at the Coachella Music Festival, to chowing down on a burger in Montana after a day of snowshoeing in the Beartooth Mountains, or grilling Wahoo from Aruba’s local fish market in celebration of a friend’s birthday. It has been such a learning experience for me, and I only hope to bring more exciting things to the site in the year to come.
Above all, I’ve learned a meal is more than just satisfying your hunger, it’s about the experience, the culture, and most importantly the people you are surrounded by. Whether grabbing take out for an evening home with the roommates, or sitting at a cafe in Reykjavik with new friends, I always make the most of the moment, and the meal, and that’s what I aim to capture here. I hope my photos inspire you to take time in your own life to appreciate the moments shared over that dish. You may get too full for that last bite of pasta, but you can never be too full of great memories.
Some of the dinner parties we've hosted-- big and small
Travels to Iceland, Montana, California, Miami, Beacon and Newport
Travels continued through New Jersey, Montana, Iceland and Brooklyn
Sweet Treats
November 16, 2011
How cute are these guys? My friend gave them to me as part of a birthday gift. Perfect for party favors, after dinner lollipops or just to treat yourself to something fun. You can check them out online from The Groovy Baker, where she strives to bake food that is pure, natural and wholesome as possible. She goes far beyond just these lollipops, and specializes in all sorts of desserts for any occasion.
Créme Brulee, Orange Blossom Thyme and Apricot Saffron lollipops
My favorite, Orange Blossom Thyme
I Heart NY
November 11, 2011
This morning was one of those, “I love NY” moments while I was walking to work. The sun was out, the fall colors at their peak, and I just finished shooting last night’s dinner. Part II of my autumn pasta is finally here. I tossed together the pasta with olive oil, some seasonal herbs and goat cheese, adding in arugula, almonds, raisins, apple chardonnay chicken sausage and topped it with asiago cheese.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Fresh arugula
Salted almonds
Pasta with Apple Chardonnay Chicken Sausage and Arugula
Salted almonds and raisins
Summer Flashback from Donna D
November 9, 2011
I’ve decided to do a guest feature post once a month from my photo partner-in-crime, Donna. While she accompanied me in Iceland, and several other adventures around New York, here’s a flashback to summer time and what she has to say about City Island:
“Ever since I saw the movie, City Island, I was dying to make a trip over to this quaint little destination which is often described as a place where Cape Cod meets the Bronx. Being a Masshole expat living in NYC, I was surprised I hadn’t discovered this place sooner. So you can imagine how stoaked I was when my friend, Andrew offered to take me out on the Limerick (R.I.P his trusty Irish sailboat) for a day trip around the Long Island Sound. We enjoyed lobster brioche rolls, fries, salad and mac ‘n cheese from Aggie’s Roll, a trailer serving the best food on the Island, and finished up with chocolate ice cream for dessert from Lickety Split.”
Although the winter months are upon us, we can at least keep it on our list of things to do come Spring 2012!
Lobster brioche rolls and a side of fries from Aggie's Roll
Spinach & mushroom salad with a shallot vinaigrette
Fresh squeezed lemonade with a hint of mint
Lickety Split's chocolate icecream
Island Burgers & Shakes
November 7, 2011
This weekend my friend Kelly was here, and we ran around town (literally) for 2 days doing all sorts of fun activities like wedding dress shopping and cheering on our friends running the NYC Marathon. With little time to spare, Island Burgers and Shakes was the perfect quick stop for a delicious and filling meal on Saturday afternoon. Difficult to choose from the never-ending menu, we went with the Mona Lisa Churasco, a grilled chicken sandwich with mozzarella, pesto, sauteed onions, mushrooms, roasted peppers and Parmagiana reggiano on ciabatta. And I had the Roma Churasco, grilled chicken with thyme, rosemary, garlic, oregano and red pepper.
Roma Churasco
Fries & Ketchup
Roma Churasco
Mona Lisa Churasco
Oktoberfeast
November 2, 2011
My friend Donna and I cooked up a seasonal menu the other day featuring some of our favorite ingredients like pumpkin, sage and cranberries. It was one of those quintessential autumn days with crisp blue skies and cool temperatures, so I enjoyed my afternoon outside making my way to the farmers market and then taking the ferry over to Long Island City to relish in the beautiful day.
Cranberries and Maple Sugar Candies
Butter & Sage Pumpkin Ravioli
Farmers Market Ingredients: Ardith Mae Fresh Chevre and Bread from Hot Bread Kitchen
Pumpkin Nut Bread
Butter & Sage Pumpkin Ravioli
Cranberries, Apples & Pears with Bread & Fresh Chevre
Pumpkin Nut Bread
Bread & Fresh Chevre dipped in Pumpkin Bisque
Cranberry Chutney on Bread
Happy Halloween!
October 31, 2011
I stopped by Made Fresh Daily yesterday, a cute café and bake shop near South Street Seaport, to check out my friend’s pop-up floral shop, Stage & Asch, and have a delicious blueberry pomegranate smoothie. A great place to catch up with friends, they strive on using organic and local farm ingredients, and why not treat yourself to a beautiful arrangement while you’re there. You can stop by Thursdays through Sundays for other adorable autumn and Thanksgiving decor.
Gold decorated gourds
Blueberry Pomegranate and Orange Julius smoothies
Stage & Asch pop-up shop
Festive treats
a camera in the kitchen 