The Weekend’s Here
August 17, 2012
It’s that time of the week when New Yorkers hop on their respective modes of transportation, be it car, train, plane or boat, to escape the city’s August heat and cool down by the water. Here’s a recent beach picnic we had out in Amagansett featuring some of the town’s favorite sandwiches from Mary’s Marvelous and Hampton Chutney. Where are you off to this weekend?
Pretzels on the beach
Egg & cheese and Pesto sandwiches
Egg & cheese
Pesto sandwich
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
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
A Summer Solstice Salad
June 23, 2011
To celebrate the official start of summer, a couple friends and I threw together a salad with one of the season’s iconic fruits: watermelon. Tossing it with some feta cheese and fresh basil from the garden, and topping with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar, it’s a quick and light refreshing salad.
Feta, Watermelon & Basil
Salad
a camera in the kitchen 