Afternoon at the Pub
March 20, 2013
It’s been awhile since I’ve stayed in my own neighborhood, but this past weekend I decided to venture uptown to Five Lamps Tavern. Located in close proximity to Columbia University, this whole area is buzzing with great places. While their food is pretty standard pub fare, they have an impressive craft beer list, and fantastic back garden space. Although the snow stopped us from a seat at the picnic table, next time around I’m hoping for more spring-like temps.
Sliders
Corned Beef
Beer flights including Third Shift Amber Lager and Radeberger to name a couple
Back garden area
Swoon Kitchenbar
March 11, 2013
If you’re hungry and in Hudson, I recommend spending a lunch or dinner at Swoon Kitchenbar. Their fresh, locally sourced menu changes weekly based on the season, and it was top of my list to check out. To keep with our cheese trend of the day, we opted for a sampler plate including Humble Pie, a cow, sheep milk blend that was creamy and tangy from Woodcock farm in Vermont, Ewe’s Blue, a sheep’s milk blue veined cheese from Old Chatham Sheepherding in New York, and of course our favorite Hudson Red from Pampered Cow. The shoestring fries with spicy aioli were a perfect extra snack. Although we stopped in during a quiet midday hour, the bar is known to attract a crowd and the tables fill up quickly in the evening hours, so be sure to get there early for a seat.
Ewe’s Blue cheese
Fries
Bread & Olive Oil
Cheese plate
A Hudson Preview
February 22, 2013
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend! Here’s a preview of my recent Hudson River Valley excursion. One of those spontaneous trips planned in a matter of just a couple days, the jam-packed itinerary allowed us to see and eat our way through the beautiful region.
Hudson River Valley
The Heart of Winter
February 15, 2013
Last weekend we saw our first significant snowfall in awhile. There’s nothing quite like waking up on a Saturday morning and venturing through the neighborhood as the sledders, skiers and snowshoers come out and transform Central Park into a great outdoor adventure. Feeling a bit lazy by the afternoon, I pulled together a meal for the apartment to enjoy thanks to Zabars. It included a couple pastas to warm us up– pesto and three cheese with mushrooms, our favorite rosemary bread with sun-dried tomato tofu spread and a side of asparagus.
Sun-dried tomato tofu spread
Pesto pasta and asparagus
Rosemary Bread
Three cheese and mushroom pasta
Pesto pasta
Upper West Side
Rosemary bread with sun-dried tomato tofu spread
Shake Shack
February 3, 2013
If you’re in New York and craving some fast food, you should make a stop at one of the quintessential burger joints of the city, Shake Shack. The other day I opted for their Smoke Shack burger– including cheese, applewood smoked bacon and peppers. About to get a milkshake for dessert, once I laid eyes on the Mast Brothers chocolate bar made just for Shake Shack, I had to splurge and try out the latest from my favorite Brooklyn chocolatiers instead. It was well worth the $9 for the delicious dark chocolate blend with earthy notes of cranberry and cinnamon, and of course the adorable packaging and artwork certainly helped sway my decision.
Happy Super Bowl Sunday! x
Smoke Shack burger with cheese, Niman Ranch all-natural applewood smoked bacon and chopped cherry pepper with fries
Smoke Shack burger
Fries and ketchup
Mast Brothers Chocolate Bar– A Shake Shack dark chocolate blend with earthy notes of cranberry and cinnamon
Breakfast Frittata
January 23, 2013
There’s nothing better on a cold morning than staying in and warming up in your kitchen. We recently cooked up this delicious frittata– pretty much using every breakfast essential, including eggs, sausage, bacon, tomatoes, zucchini and sharp grated cheese. Home fries and toasted cheddar bread from Wegman’s made for the perfect side dish.
Frittata and cheddar toast
Frittata
Homefries
Some Syracuse Home Cooking
January 15, 2013
This weekend was spent in Syracuse, which meant a Sunday afternoon filled with delicious homecooked meals. We decided to go with a Greek inspired menu, starting with a flatbread pizza, topped with spinach, feta, tomatoes, mozzarella, parmesan and shredded basil. That was followed by a Greek lemon chicken with mushrooms.
Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead x
Greek Flatbread Pizza
Greek Lemon Chicken
Happy 2013!
January 6, 2013
Happy New Year! I’ve had such a wonderful couple weeks spending time with family, friends and relaxing– and hope you did as well. In between the holiday festivities, I’ve been working on my new website that I’m looking forward to sharing soon. As for the latest food shoots, I spent an afternoon in Downtown Syracuse grabbing some sandwiches to go. Of course, whenever I’m in the area, my first stop is Pastabilities for their infamous hot tomato oil. For the sandwiches, I decided to stop at Kitty Hoynes, a casual Irish pub, for a reuben, and lastly made my way to Franklin Square’s Boulangerie for a chicken salad sandwich.
Pastabilities Hot Tomato Oil
Reuben Sandwich from Kitty Hoynes
Reuben Sandwich
Fries and pickles
Chicken salad waldorf with apples, raisins, cheddar and nuts
Franklin Square
Chicken salad waldorf with apples, raisins, cheddar and nuts
Merry Christmas!
December 24, 2012
My contribution to Christmas Eve dinner this evening is the cheese platter. I decided to go with a goat cheese, provolone and fresh ricotta. To add a bit of holiday color, I rolled the goat cheese in dried cranberries and chopped pistachios. The ricotta I placed on french baguette slices with prosciutto, honey and thyme. The provolone I kept simple, ready to be sliced with crackers. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas! x
Goat cheese with cranberries and pistachios
Pistachios
Provolone
Ricotta, prosciutto, thyme and honey
New England at Christmas
December 13, 2012
It was one of those weeks that I was in need for a spontaneous adventure. I called up my best friend in Boston, told her I was venturing there, and we were going to drive up the New England coast to Maine. I’d never been this time of year, and it was rather pleasant, not having the summer tourist crowds, but instead the cozy Christmas atmosphere. Our first stop was the historical town of Newburyport, where we grabbed some cinnamon buns, ham and cheese croissants and a breakfast turnover from the Chococoa Baking Company before strolling around the cobblestone streets to do a little shopping. To warm up, we stopped at Plum Island Coffee Roasters and for very seasonal, delicious drinks– The North-Pole Mocha and the Snowflake Latte. Before long we hit the road again, driving up to Maine to hit as many antique shops as possible along Route 1 before the end of the day. At this point, I decided to retire the camera, but we finished up our daytrip in one of my favorite places– Perkins Cove– for some butternut squash soup with a smoked pork sandwich and clam chowder with bacon and chervil drop bisquits from MC Perkins Cove. The northern sun had since set, families had gone home, and we drove home along the dark windy coastal roads, being lit only by house’s Christmas lights and blaring Bruce Springsteen’s Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
Nubble Lighthouse & Cinnamon Buns
Holiday Inspired Drink Menu
Ham & Cheese croissant
Newburyport
Breakfast turnover
a camera in the kitchen 