Thursday Night is Spaghetti Night!

At least tonight it was! See...



Mmmm, pretty much hit the spot. I'm not going to bother to pass on the recipe, though, because tasty though they were, David and I agree that we're still on the hunt for the Greatest Ever Meatballs. Plus, they were kind of a lot of work and made LOTS of dishes, which always effects the tasty-ness scale. Oh and btw, don't worry, those white blobs are just melty mozzarella!



To commemorate all our hard work-- and to toast our 2nd month in NYC anniversary-- we treated ourselves to a yummy yummy wine that wasn't Chuck Shaw! Nice!

Well, Happy Halloween Everyone! We're having a little party, what are you doing?

Beauty...

More than I have words for. I think autumn can speak for itself, don't you?



(Okay, a little cheat. This pickle picture deserves a little story-- we got these 5 DELICIOUS 3/4 sour pickles at the farmers market near our apartment for an absolute steal! I was drooling over the pickles and swooning over the samples, the pickle guy saw David behind me reaching for a cigarette and put 2 and 2 together and said "I'll give you five of these babies for a cigarette". Steal! And pretty funny, if you ask me. Not very Park Slope Farmers Market-y (aka. stroller ville).) But I digress...



Ahh, the infamous Union Square Greenmarket. We went to visit D's friend Jay- a "pretzel guy" (it's a thing, apparently), and left with a mountain of edible autumn.



Happy Fall New York!! That's what he says to me with that winning toothy grin!




Just in case you were worried, a sizable hunk of that Garlic Alpine is living in our fridge, getting smaller by the day!


That's Jay. He is our friend.



Heading home.





A tasty vegetable roast- parsnips, potates, herbs and TONS of olive oil. There's not much left...

Happy October everyone!

Inspiration on a cold day

Brassai.

Today I had the lovely lovely pleasure of wandering around 5th ave with my mother's best friend from Wellesley, the Lovely Laura! She is a former curator at MoMA and an total art junkie. I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't been to a gallery since moving the NYC (judge away!).

I realized only after meeting up with her that Laura just assumed that we'd spend the afternoon visiting galleries and generally soaking up the city-- she's lived here for forty years and she's a city-soaking pro. But for once in my life, I actually knew of a show that I was dying to see! PLUS it closes on Friday so it was rawther urgent AND it was just a few blocks away at the terrific Edwynn Houk Gallery!

So, we headed that way, stopping at other galleries just twice along the way to blow my mind with amazing modern art at every turn. I'm 25 and I should really know this by now but the galleries are really works of art in themselves- shining and scared, they hide up in seemingly heartless buildings. Ring the poorly marked buzzer, and ride the elevator up with faith, a quiet sort of thrill awaits you.

After a little of this (captivating paintings by nine artists who were active in the 1950's abstract impressionist movement), and a brief bit of that (pop-ish paintings by Kikuo Saito), we arrived at the Houk gallery and I saw Paris in the 30's at last!

An image is worth a thousand words...

Indeed!

So yesterday was VERY boring and difficult because David and I decided to go on a little 24 hour cleanse. Well. . . I thought it sounded like a good idea and then David, sweet, wonderful, dream boyfriend that he is cheerfully said that he'd do it with me. I am a fan of Mireille Guiliano's snobby-fab bible, French Women Don't Get Fat, and I must admit that I have occasionally found solace in the Miracle Leek Soup weekend that she suggests as a way to 'reset' one's system.

Since moving to New York, we've basically been living on Bagels and Cream Cheese from our local (amazing!) bagel shop, the aptly named La Bagel Delight and pizza slices from anywhere and everywhere. Essentially bread and cheese with some more bread and cheese in case round one wasn't enough. Sooo what I'm saying is that I finally found out what happens to your body when that's all you eat, and it's not as great as I'd hoped. One word: bloat. Eww.

Well, the leek "soup" worked it's magic (mostly, still not prefect, but let's be honest, after a day of broth, I got hungry), so tonight David and I feasted! Today was also my first official day at my FAB new job as a Hostess, so there was much to toast at our first REAL honest sit-down restaurant dinner since arriving in New York!

Blue Ribbon Brasserie is Seafood PARADISE! And it's a pleasant 4 block stroll from our humble abode, basically it's the awesomest thing ever! It's also kind of dark in there so I only got one picture, but you get the idea- candles, a carafe of Bourdeaux, calamari pan-fried in BROWN BUTTER and parsley (and may I say, gush and melt and heaven heavenly), not to mention this little beauty...



...of course by little, I mean so incredibly ginormous that David and I took half of it home. HALF! Have you met us! Loaded with big, tender clams, mussels, squid, shrimp and spicy sausages, it was a steal at $32.

Celebrating on a Monday night, I love it so! Cheers my loves!

the Happiest Hour. . .

...is Happy Hour at Home!



Last night I treated myself to a Delilah (or a White Lady, but for a myriad of reasons I prefer Delilah), and it is delicious! You can find both actually in the Mr. Boston book, but I was a bit confused by the two recipes-- they are quite different and I didn't know which I would prefer-- so I just sort of winged it! I think it turned out rather well, don't you?



Roughly:

1 shot Gin (I used Bombay Dry, which never fails)
1/2 shot Cointreau (I used Grand Marnier because the only Cointreau at the store was a ginormo $50 bottle)
1/2 a lemon, squeeeeeeeeezed out as much a you can! No seeds, now. (No fake juice, either, so watch it!)

Shake it up!! Check out my fancy, makeshift shaker!



And Cheers! This calls for a little snack with your bevvy and I'd say you're set for a lovely evening in!

I HATE CONDE NAST!!!

I stumbled this morning upon my usual perusal of Frank Bruni's Diner'ss Journal a piece about the impending death of Gourmet Magazine.

Wait. WHAT!?!?!?! Bon Appetit, ok, sure, it's kind of a dumbed down, ho-hum magazine and thus I could see cancelling it with out much to-do. A single tear, maybe.

But GOURMET!? Lush, vivid, fountain of inspiration?! I absolutely can't believe it. I have been a subscriber as long as I can remember and I am pretty much devastated, and I am surely not alone.

I'm also a little disappointed in my fellow food loving cohorts, everywhere I see R.I.P. Gourmet when I feel like I should be seeing a Vive la Revolution! Let's band together and revolt! Cancel those Vogue subscriptions and send nasty (conde nasty, sorry I couldn't resist) letters! Let's save Gourmet!

VIVE LA GOURMET MAGAZINE!!!!

Miranda & Maison & Magnolia, Oh My!

Calming, isn't it? I just hope you appreciate how impossible it was for me to narrow these pictures down. Lesson of the day (which I suppose I of all people should have already known!):

Chocolate is Beauty.



Following a brief (and unfortunately rawther early) foray into DUMBO, my current favorite 'hood here in the BK for what should be OBVIOUS reasons, David and I felt the need for a little play time in the city! Hmm, but what's the perfect short but so satisfying adventure?



La Maison du Chocolat of COURSE!!



Very New York and glamorous, La Maison is tres chic and tres luxurious. You sort of simply must take a petit bite. . .ChocoCarnage! Sacre Bleu!



Mmmm, tres shiny!



When at La Maison, it is important to allow oneself time to take in every last detail and read every last petit label. Ask questions, but if you know what's good for you I'd steer clear of price issues- c'est TRES gauche. This is a treat, so just . . .



...drink it up and don't worry your pretty little head. Chocolates, like cheese and wine, are an everyday luxury and isn't it that so lovely of them?

Oh yes, and then it's often a good idea to follow up La Maison with a little jaunt to Magnolia Bakery for a 75 cent palate cleanser of all-American goodness.



They're even better than they look. Oh YES. Peanut Buttery goodness. YES.