My gay friend from work shared this gay video with me. That's not me using the word gay to mean stupid or lame. I mean that this video is all about gay things. I can't handle it. In a good way.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
3 on Thursday
Aaaand I am so happy that the weekend is just around the corner. Let's jump right into some of this week's best:
Labels:
3 on Thursday,
Video
A Jersey Rosh
I was a sad little Jew with nowhere to go for the high
holidays this year until a Rosh Hashanah miracle happened. While we were shopping for bridesmaid and
wedding dresses, Steph’s future mother-in-law, whom I affectionately refer to
as Mama Kauf, invited me to their house for dinner. Leave it to a Jewish mother from Jersey to
sniff out any Jew without dinner plans.
Next thing you know, I am boarding a train to Warren, New
Jersey to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with the entire Kaufmann family. As fun as it was to look at pictures of Gav
from middle school, the best part of the evening had to be the food (and the
company, of course). Homemade matzah
ball soup, pea salad, chicken, noodle kugel, kasha and bows, and brisket all
made it onto the buffet. I had been
hearing about this kugel for four straight days, and it did not
disappoint. I am not well-versed in the
ways of Jew food, but I have learned enough since I have lived here to know
that I am a fan of sweet kugel (over unsweet).
This had just the right amount of cinnamon and was light as air.
The desserts came courtesy of myself and the other guests who
all brought goodies from various NYC bakeries.
My contribution came from Momofuku Milk Bar, but I didn’t have any of
those treats, love them as I may.
Instead, I tried one of the massive cookies from Levain Bakery that I
have heard so much about. These cookies
are what put this UWS bakery on the map.
They are something between a cookie and a scone and so rich that I
couldn’t eat more than a quarter. They
are famous for the chocolate chip walnut, but I had to try the chocolate peanut
butter that had about 10 peanut butter chips in each bite. They were sinful and I can only imagine how
ridiculous they would be if they were warmed for just a second.
It was so nice of the Kaufmanns to invite me into their home and treat me as one of their own. Mama Kauf even made me a tupperware package of her delicious food to take to work this morning. I couldn't believe how they welcomed me into their home. "You're family now," winked Gav's aunt as everyone was saying their goodbyes. Awww!
Labels:
Dessert,
Holidays,
Restaurants
Monday, September 26, 2011
Mushroom Monday
Oh how happy my refrigerator is! After many long, lonely nights, its contents were finally replenished after a trip to Trader Joe's. I was a good girl and went to the gym this morning and I wanted to keep the healthy streak going, so I made a nice meal out of stuffed mushrooms. Usually, my stuffed mushrooms include crab or sausage with bread crumbs and other unhealthy (albeit good) ingredients like cream cheese. Tonight, I took a different route:
I roasted portobello mushroom caps with a little olive oil for about 12 minutes, just long enough for them to get nice and juicy. When they came out of the oven, I topped them with quinoa that I mixed with almonds, dried cherries, and feta. Even without the cream cheese and sausage, these stuffed mushrooms did the trick. You know what else did the trick? Only having 1 pot to clean.
I roasted portobello mushroom caps with a little olive oil for about 12 minutes, just long enough for them to get nice and juicy. When they came out of the oven, I topped them with quinoa that I mixed with almonds, dried cherries, and feta. Even without the cream cheese and sausage, these stuffed mushrooms did the trick. You know what else did the trick? Only having 1 pot to clean.
Labels:
Cooking,
Vegetarian
Thursday, September 22, 2011
3 on Thursday
This week, I was coming off a UGA win, so I was in a pretty good mood. That's not the only reason this week was good. Read on:
It can be hit or miss, but I love H&M. The low prices make it the perfect place to pick up trendier items. Now just imagine how great it would be if you could extend that to home goods. H&M Home has been around for a while but only online and only in the UK. I just don't think it's fair that those Brits get the sexy accents and the good home accessory shopping. The sophisticated accent may remain elusive, but word is this site will soon be available to us all. If the British version is any indication, we are in for some adorable and highly affordable products. |
Matt turned me onto a great blog: Dogs Wearing Glasses. Try not to smile. I dare you. |
This week marked the return of all my favorite shows and the premiers of some newbies. Modern Family came back for Season 3 yesterday and did not disappoint. |
Labels:
3 on Thursday,
Stores
Monday, September 19, 2011
Book Review: The Hunger Games Trilogy
Okay okay, I may have read a book (or set of three books) meant
for teens. Judging yet? How about once I tell you I absolutely LOVED
it? I would judge me, too. The Hunger Games trilogy follows Katniss Everdeen as she struggles against an
oppressive government in a post-Apocalyptic world where children are made to
battle to the death every year. It is as
barbaric as it sounds, but author Suzanne Collins has managed to create a
fantasy world with imaginative twists and turns that kept me riveted.
Yes, there is a romantic element, but it’s not so
in-your-face (I was Team Peeta, FYI). The
real focus is ethics, government’s role in society, and the sheer adventure of
the Games. It may have been written for
the young adult crowd, but the themes are worth exploring regardless of your
age. The first movie is already in the
works and you can bet I’ll be pre-ordering my tickets with the rest of the high
schoolers.
Labels:
Book Review
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Six Course Tour de Force
I wanted to do something special for Matt and Karina to celebrate their recent engagement so I decided to prepare dinner for them. An engagement is a pretty big deal so I decided to pull out all the stops for our intimate dinner party. I planned a six course dinner and somehow managed to time each course perfectly (someone up there was looking out for me).
The people at Eataly should love me because I bought all of the ingredients for dinner there. It all started because I knew I wanted some of their fresh pasta and the menu just grew from there. Most of the dishes I made were simple (after all, I had to prepare the whole meal in only about an hour and a half on a Friday after work), but I made sure to use all high quality, fresh ingredients. When you're working with great products, sometimes simple is best to let the ingredients shine. After the dinner and two bottles of wine, I think Matt and Karina enjoyed themselves and hope it showed them how happy we all are for them.
Table setting - yes, those are menus tucked into everyone's napkin |
Close up of the menu |
Seared shrimp bruschetta with avocado, grapefruit, and pistachios |
Thursday, September 15, 2011
3 on Thursday
There's been a lot going on since last Thursday, not quite enough to keep my mind off the stresses of the workplace, but just enough to keep me going til this weekend...
Yes, we lost to South Carolina, but is this not the cutest lil Georgia fan you've ever seen?! You should see how excited she gets when she calls the Dawgs. I might literally eat her up. |
Labels:
3 on Thursday
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
My My Má Pêche
David Chang’s Momofuku empire covers both the high and low
ends of the price spectrum, with Má Pêche falling somewhere in the middle, at
least for lunch. In the power lunch
central that is Midtown Manhattan, it can be tough to find good lunch deals
that provide a creative and affordable alternative to the $11 salad bar. Thank you, Má Pêche, for relieving us of this
burden.
The menu is not massive, but everything looked so good that
we decided to go family style. The
sandwiches at Má Pêche are large and quite the steal at $10. We tried both the banh mi maison and the beef
and pork belly hero. I’ll admit, I was
not able to decipher all the individual flavors listed on the menu with the
exception of the cilantro in the banh mi – yum - but it all worked together on fresh baguette
that was crusty on the outside, fluffy on the inside, as it should be.
When the waiter noticed we were looking at several appetizers,
he suggested we go with the prix fixe for two of our meals (since some of the
appetizers we were getting were incorporated in that menu) and then get the
sandwiches and another appetizer to round out the full experience. Gotta love a waiter who looks out for your
wallet. I shouldn’t have to tell you we
ordered the pork buns (best in the city, fyi), but we also ordered both the
chicken and the shrimp summer rolls and beef tartar. The summer rolls were good but the ratio of
protein to veggie was slightly off, though I did love the cracker-like thing
that was rolled inside as it offered a non-veggie crunch I have never had in a
summer roll. Steak tartar is a classic,
but I enjoyed this version made with soy sauce and served with rice crackers
instead of garlic toast. I couldn’t tell
you what was in the trout that we ordered, but it was as weightless as the
ocean it once swam in. I’ve never seen
rice noodles that weren’t wide and flat or thin and glassy, but here they were:
penne shaped rice noodles. Since they
were wrapped around themselves to create the shape, they gained a bite to them
that is not typically found in an Asian noodle.
They were tossed with chicken, bok choy, and jalapeno, a combo I thought
I should overlook in favor of the sandwiches and summer rolls, but I found
myself going back for more on several occasions. Another great thing about Má Pêche is that it
is connected to the second Milk Bar location, which means our prix fixe meals
came with some of their amazing cookies.
It may not seem like the kind of place to go with some pals
from work with its sky high ceilings, bare walls (save beige canvas tarps that
cover them), and dim lighting. I don’t
blame you. I probably won’t regularly go
on a two hour lunch excursion with my buddies either, but that doesn’t mean you
can’t call ahead and pick up a sandwich, pork buns, or even a sweet treat from
Milk Bar. PS - sorry about the picture quality - I forgot my flash was off. On that note, you're welcome, fellow diners, for the rare exemption of my probably annoying flash photo taking during mealtime.
Labels:
Asian,
Restaurants
Monday, September 12, 2011
Rye Gets it Right
On Thursday night I headed to Chelsea with some co-workers
to check out Rye House, a bar I stuck on my “to try” list a while ago but
forgot about. I was not expecting
hipster bartenders in the front and communal dining tables in the back, but I
loved the mix of high and low. The set
up in the dining room made the whole place seem more relaxed and I think helped
attract the good crowd of non-annoying business people.
We spent about an hour at the bar and let the mixologists do
their thing. They have a good beer list
and nice cocktail list, but if you’re in the mood to play around, the
bartenders are happy to create something to suit your specific tastes. Once we were ready to eat, we switched to
wine (they had some great $30-$35 bottles) and headed to the back. I enjoyed the grilled oysters, fried pickles
(a little too much breading), burger (great fries), and lobster roll, but my
favorite was probably the fried mac and cheese.
The gastropub craze is heating up and I think Rye House is a sound example.
Labels:
Bars,
Continental,
Restaurants
Thursday, September 8, 2011
3 on Thursday
My office was generous enough to give us both Friday and Monday off for Labor Day so I got two short weeks in a row - yayyy. In case the short week isn't enough to get you through to the weekend, here's this week's top 3:
Ok, so we lost our first game against Boise State and that was depressing, but I'm ready jump right into a winning streak this weekend with the UGA vs. South Carolina game. Our first game of the season, sponsored by Chick-fil-A and held in the Georgia Dome also came with new uniforms, courtesy of Nike. I was not a fan of the uniforms - as many people pointed out, they made us look like power rangers and I don't think we should monkey with the long-standing silver britches traditions. And I'll say it, they looked a little ghetto. The gloves, however, I'll admit were pretty cool. Loved watching the players run onto the field making the Georgia G with their hands, as pictured above. |
Labels:
3 on Thursday,
Fashion
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
My First Harlem Adventure
Labor Day is supposed to be all about grilling out –
burgers, steaks, and other standard picnic fare. Unfortunately, I ran out of propane in my
grill so I jumped at the chance to grab dinner with Lindsay on Monday
night. She was craving bbq and asked what
my favorite place was. Truth be told, I
said, the best bbq is in Harlem so we headed uptown, veering away from bbq in
favor of another picnic essential, fried chicken.
I am ashamed to admit, I had never made it to Harlem in the
four years I’ve lived here and it is safe to say, I have been missing out. I suggest you experience Harlem for yourself
now that it is in its second renaissance, especially in the 125th
St. area. Hip downtown residents are
flocking to hot new places like Red Rooster but before I went new school, I
knew I needed to try a classic so we passed on the glitz and went to Sylvia’s,
a fried chicken palace and Harlem staple since 1962.
I began drooling the moment I sat down and scarfed down two
pieces of sweet cornbread in seconds.
Even though the fried chicken plate I ordered promised to be huge, I saw
chicken livers on the menu and could not help myself from getting an
appetizer. You may grimace at the idea
of chicken livers, but I grew up eating bowls of them. Only when Mildred prepares them, she also
makes them with the gizzards and cooks them with onions in gravy, called “lizzards
and gizzards.” The livers at Sylvia’s
also came with onions, but the gravy (and a dang good gravy it was) came on the
side. Of course, I poured it over the
whole plate to best mimic the Mildred style.
They tasted very different from Mildred’s, as if the livers were seared,
but it was a perfect appetizer. I like
to think of it as the poor man’s fois gras.
Lindsay and I both got the fried chicken but I ordered mine
with collards and mac and cheese while she went with green beans and garlic
mashed potatoes. The collards were good,
but actually not the best I’ve had (could have used a little more ham hock) but
the potatoes were creamy with the perfect amount of garlic. The chicken – no contest – is legit. Even though we were stuffed, we had a feeling
the desserts would be worth loosening our belts so we requested banana
pudding. We were saddened to hear they
were all out but the waiter recommended their banana pudding cake. He said it was new and therefore not as
famous as their other cakes (red velvet, coconut, chocolate) but worth a
try. While we were vacillating between
our options, the waiter struck up conversation.
I suppose he noticed a slight accent on me and asked where I was
from. Turns out, he spent some time in
Savannah with the Army and we reminisced a bit while he gave me a few
bar/restaurant tips in his native Harlem.
Once we bonded he decided to give us a sample of the banana pudding cake
to help us make our dessert decision. He
came back with a full piece of cake, claiming it was a mere bite compared to
the size of an actual slice. It tasted
like pudding in cake form with the cream baked into the cake along with nilla
wafters, meringue, and fresh bananas. It
was unbelievable but the sample filled us up.
At only $5 a slice, I’ll probably take the bus back to Harlem just for
another piece. While I’m out there, I’ll
have to throw in some more fried chicken because a huge plate with sides was
only about $13.
After I calmed my father’s fears of me being mugged or
raped, I explained that Harlem is not only a safe, happening part of town but the
first place I found food that really tasted like it does at home. I love me some Brother Jimmy’s, but if you’re
craving real Southern food, trust a Southerner – Harlem is where it’s at. Don’t be scared.
Labels:
Dessert,
Restaurants,
The South
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