NYC moments

New York is so inspiring. Here are some clips from fun moments while wandering around NYC and  having wonderful, laughter filled, delicious meals around the city ! It was restaurant week. What a bonus.

The Flat Iron building and a beautiful scene all cut from paper. I stopped here before lunch at Eataly one of my favorite places to dine.

Eataly is an Italian market and many restaurants under one roof. Try it!
http://www.eataly.com/market

After lunch it is always fun to shop the market dreaming of meals  to come.

King Oyster Mushrooms

Thursday evening we went to Sandros for Italian. it was a great way to celebrate C's birthday. Sandros came out and talked with us to ensure we enjoyed our pasta. Indeed the Lobster with penne in cream sauce was perfect.
Then: Dessert! Afagato. OH yes...Delicisio!

It is wonderful Roman food.  try it if your are in NYC. Upper east side and  lovely fresh pasta different everyday. A real neighborhood spot.

http://www.sandrosnyc.com/


On a different day when it was not so cold and windy I ventured out on the upper east side for some good window shopping.  I seemed to see wonderful bowls where ever I went! there is nothing better than a nice bowl. They are hard to carry home, but of course they can be shipped. The white ones are from Crate and Barrel. I saw many that were inspiring and beautiful in their white simplicity.

 Love these. I can just imagine stirring a lovely cake mix in these!

OH,  how about Italian pottery for glamourous color! YES!

Winter salads

Winter inspires different foods. The cold makes me want rich food, but healthy foods. I've been cooking  every weekend and trying  new recipes. I noticed today on Pinterest everyone is posting avocado salads. I can't get enough of these.Here are a few  of the dishes I've tried. Enjoy!

Winter salads  are terrific! I like the combination of ripe avocados, blood oranges and pomegranate seeds. With a nice sharp vinaigrette  there is nothing better.

 Or, try fresh ruby grapefruit and pomegranate and lemon vinaigrette

Where has the time gone? To NYC of course

What happened? Wow where has the time gone? Where have I been ? Well, working and traveling! So let's catch up!

In January I went to NYC to see the girls. What fun we had. Lunches, dinners, coffee, walking, window shopping. I was also able to catch up with old friends in NYC and Greenwich. NYC is a terrific city for food, fashion and people watching. I had a blast. Since returning home it has been damp and cold. I've been inspired to try some new recipes. These were ones I'd had on the recipe holder patiently awaiting a trial. Well here we go!

These chops were  on the cover of Bon Appetit and the recipe teaches how to use butter as a saute  to finish the chops off.

These were delicious!

Lemon Brussels Sprouts

Next came Cassoulet...

Chicken Cassoulet with the goose stock i reserved from New Years Eve. It added a terrific flavor. My friend R made a french version last weekend and she guided me through a new version using Cannelloni beans, Sam Marzano tomatoes and organic chicken thighs. I used a nice bacon starter then garlic and celery. I browned the chicken and then topped with beans and tomatoes. Then off to the oven for 3 hours to slow cook.

last summer's San Marzano tomatoes

browning the chicken and celery in a little goose fat 

adding tomatoes and goose stock

ready for the oven

that bacon and herbs go back in  before sliding it all in the oven

the chicken comes out to be shredded and the beans get a quick pulse with emulsion blender to thick

             When the cassoulet was ready I added bread crumbs and popped under the broiler...

the bread crumbs make a lovely topping

the crusty topping and rich layers below were beautiful

the cassoulet was delicious with the bread crumbs on top and the rich sauce

Now I was ready for Molten Chocolate cake...

One evening we had friends over and I made those chocolate molten cakes we learned to make in New York at Cooking school. This was easy but waiting to see if they would turn out was tough. It was worth it, as they were delicious.

Chocolate cake with coconut gelato

that warm chocolate center was worth waiting for!


For my friend's weekend visit I made Meyer lemon olive oil cake. It was so good with a latte  for breakfast.

Since Meyer lemons are in abundance right now I've been reading new lemon recipes. here is one we loved last night: Whiskey Sour with Meyer lemon juice.

I am trying to cook fish for dinner more frequently. This salmon recipe was delicious!

the salmon with spinach and mushrooms was so good



Ane a new favorite from a local blog. Pasta with fried Sage leaves and brown butter.We used papparadelle. It was great with shaved parmesan on top.

Have a good weekend.More soon...