A Summer Spinach Salad
August 29, 2011
Spending a lot of time around the apartment this weekend in light of the rainy hurricane over the city, my roommate tossed together a fresh, organic salad consisting of spinach, apples, carrots, avocado, cherry tomatoes and sunflower seeds with a hummus dressing. For a healthy drink, she blended spinach, apples, celery and water into homemade juice. It’s always fun taking a search through the pantry, making the best of what you’ve got without even leaving your home and ending up with a successful meal.
Spinach Salad
Fruit & Veggie juice
Love, Weddings and Food
August 26, 2011
Earlier this summer I photographed a friend’s wedding at her family farm in Upstate New York. Going along with the whole rustic outdoor theme, she styled the decor and menu accordingly. Catered by L.M. Townsend based out of Cooperstown, the buffet style dining featured make your own salads and edible bowls. The presentation was lovely, and one of my favorite ideas– taking extra martini glasses, and transitioning them into the perfect dish to eat your side of potatoes in style.
Buffet dinner
Salad
Cheese at cocktail hour
Bread bowls and potatoes
Cake Bake & Roll
August 22, 2011
This cute little bistro, Cake Bake & Roll, in Long Branch, NJ, was the perfect stop for breakfast after a beach weekend with girl friends. Its Euro-style with a colorful 50’s disco flair is just as fun as the desserts themselves. And if it’s too early in the day for sweets, the bagels and breakfast sandwiches are a good alternate.
Some of their fun loving cake options
Cupcakes
Sesame bagel with cream cheese
Do or Dine
August 18, 2011
Saturday afternoon I biked to Brooklyn to visit a friend who recently moved to Bed Sty– not exactly a neighborhood I’m most familiar with, nor do I usually think of when I want to go out for a great meal, but hidden behind the doors of what appears to be an old, run-down Indian fast food joint, is actually a recently opened restaurant, Do or Dine. With dishes like deep fried deviled eggs or the controversial foie gras doughnut, it’s worth the trek out for an evening. The owners and wait staff have fun with the place, giving off personable charm to their customers. It’s BYOB, so drinks won’t drain your wallet, and the back patio is a great place to spend an evening.
Lamb Breast, with cumin and lime
Octopus tacos topped with nori strips
Prawns with cherry tomatoes in clam broth
Deep fried deviled eggs with bacon and culantro
Smoked salmon spread
Foie Gras Doughnut
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
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
Hampton Chutney Co.
August 9, 2011
One of my go-to dinner spots when I’m home is the Hampton Chutney. A huge fan of dosas, a popular South Indian staple, my typical order consists of the #12: grilled chicken with goat cheese, roasted tomato and mango chutney. Also pictured here is my roommate’s #4: grilled portobello mushroom, spinach and roasted onions with goat cheese. With other locations in Soho and the Hamptons, it’s a quick and easy answer for an eccentric craving.
Grilled chicken dosa with goat cheese, tomatoes and mango chutney
Portobello mushroom dosa with spinach and roasted onions
Tomato and mango chutney
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
Corner Café
August 4, 2011
This cute little café a few blocks up from the harbor in Newport, Rhode Island is one of the best breakfast and lunch places in town. We were seated in the corner window table with pillows and paper lanterns, and browsed through travel magazines that they had out, being inspired on where to venture to next. We tried their quesadilla that had all my favorite foods wrapped into one– gorgonzola cheese, cranberries, turkey, bacon and avocado. For a taste of breakfast, their hash browns with seasoning were amazing with a fresh glass of their signature cleanser– cranberry, red raspberry and grape juice.
Quesadilla
Hashbrowns
Breakfast at Belle’s
August 1, 2011
Visiting a friend in Newport for the weekend, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a mid-summer Sunday morning than breakfast at Belle’s in the shipyard. Waking up with coffee, breakfast sandwiches and watermelon, we sat back in lounge chairs enjoying the beautiful views.
Bacon, Egg & Cheese breakfast sandwich
A side of sliced watermelon
a camera in the kitchen 