Weekend in NYC: Day Three

I'm so glad you're all enjoying my little NYC recap!

Sunday morning Beren and I got up early, took advantage of the free breakfast at the hotel (I had a banana and my Jenny Craig cereal bar) and took a leisurely stroll down Lexington Ave. This part of town houses an abundance of Indian restaurants and even at that time of day the air was heavy with the scent of curry. Yummy!

Since Beren loves the Hard Rock Cafe and collects glasses from each location we visit, we decided to zip on over to Times Square and get that task out of the way. Unfortunately, since we arrived before noon he was not able to enjoy a beer inside his glass before purchasing it. Damn! We forget that some cities have that silly no-booze-for-breakfast-on-Sunday rule, never thought NYC would be one of them! Oh, well, we packed up our empty glass and away we went.



By this time we were getting kinda hungry and I heard pizza calling my name. So, off to Little Italy we went! There was a 30 minute wait for Lombardi's so we explored the area a bit until our name was called. Oh. My. God. The pizza was just as good as I remembered from our last visit!



My brother arrived just in time to help finish off the pie, perfect timing and no leftovers to carry around the city! Two slices of this deliciousness, worth every bit of walking needed to work it off!

Since it was now after noon and Beren was hankering for a beer, we took a nice long walk to McSorley's, a pub he'd read about. Apparently we hit the after-church crowd because this place was packed already! We each had two small pints and off we went.



We arrived back in Long Island with just enough time to change clothes and freshen up before the highlight of the day - dinner with the infamous Allan of Almost Gastric Bypass! We met Allan and his lovely wife Sue at his favorite Italian restaurant, Mio Posto. Joining us was another lovely blogger friend, Jacquie from Can't Wait to Lose It with the Band and her husband Steve. Allan had promised us a "real" Italian feast and he delivered! I am amazed at the willpower I exhibited by turning down the bread basket and the pasta, and we won't even discuss the dessert! Take a peek at his blog if you want to see pics but suffice it to say it was a heavenly meal! The company was great, food to die for, an all-around perfect evening. Thanks, Allan!







One quick nightcap at the local Ale House before climbing into bed, tired and content. Steps logged: 15,033 which is equivalent to about 7.11 miles.

One more day in NYC to share! Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Weekend in NYC: Day Two

Saturday morning we slept in just a little bit, headed into the city after breakfast. The first stop was Central Park to see John Lennon's grave as it was his 70th birthday. Now, I admit that I am not a Beatles or Lennon fan per se, but my daughter Bambi is and I wanted to get pictures for her. Besides, it was an historic event and shouldn't be missed. Well, unfortunately the crowd was so deep that I wasn't able to get anywhere near the Imagine mosaic but was able to snap a shot of the plaque. We also walked by his home and the gate where he was shot, crowds were gathered taking pictures but that was much too morbid for me!



Beren and my brother stood in front of this statue, thought it was appropriate considering it was Columbus Day weekend.



We walked around a bit, had lunch at a little Indian restaurant and then headed toward the Pig & Whistle where we had a cocktail...



and met up with the fabulous Ms. Bitch*Cakes! I'm so glad she had time to hang with us a bit, what a pleasure it was to meet her! She is one lovely lady, and just as fabulous as I expected!





Oops, we were having so much fun that time just slipped away and we were running late, time to check into the hotel, grab a quick dinner at Heartland Brewery and head to the show at Radio City Music Hall!



As you may know, Lord of the Rings is Beren's all-time favorite series and holds special memories for us as well, remind me to tell you about it sometime. So, seeing the film with a live orchestra was amazing and very meaningful to us both.



We were both tired when we arrived back at the hotel but managed a nightcap at the wine bar next door before climbing into bed. Oops! Let me check the pedometer..clearly we took more cabs that day because we "only" walked 11,661 steps, about 5.52 miles.

Time to wake up Beren and get ready for work, please stay tuned for more of our adventure in the Big Apple!

xoxoxoxo

Weekend in NYC: Day One

We got back from NYC late Monday night after a fabulous whirlwind weekend! Yesterday was spent working, doing laundry, spending time with my peeps, trying to ease myself back into "normal" life. I'm still trying to catch up and today is going to be another busy one, but I want to share a few highlights from our trip. Here's Friday, Day One:

We were up at 4 am to catch at 6 o'clock flight out of Ft Lauderdale, our plane landed at 9 am and we quickly made our way from the airport to the LIRR to the subway to Greenwich Village. Beren and I shared a cannoli at Caffe Dante.







"Snack" at Shopsins..Beren had the ebelskivers, I had the best green vegetable soup I've ever tasted!






Afternoon beer stop at the Ear Inn:



Late lunch at Katz's Deli where we shared a Pastrami on Rye:





Happy Hour at the best "dive" bar in Brooklyn, the Tip Top, where we made fast friends with Junior the owner and his family:



Then we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge...



Exhausted, we arrived at the Bridge Cafe for dinner. Sorry, no food pics, I was too tired to think, can't even remember what we ate but I'm sure it was delicious!



It was about 10 pm by the time we finished eating and my brother picked us up and brought us to his adorable little home in Long Island. Before hitting the sack, I took a peek at my pedometer: 29,656 steps walked which converts to over 14 miles!! Surely that helped burn off some of that cannoli?

More later, have a wonderful day!

Cupcake Kind of Day!

We were supposed to have friends over for a BBQ today but, alas, the weather turned sour so we had to cancel. Instead I'm going to make some Pasta e Fagioli from the wonderful cookbook my friend Jersey bought me, At Home with Magnolia, Classic American Recipes from the Owner of Magnolia Bakery. If you haven't visited the Magnolia Bakery, please do yourself a favor and run there the next time you're in NYC! I say run because this way you can work off the calories in advance of your cupcake consumption! *groan* (yeah, that's me eating my own Magnolia cupcake in my hotel room last August. I carried that cupcake box all over the city, protecting it with my life, lol!)


Recipe Photo: John Kernick
From: At Home with Magnolia, by Allysa Torey

Pasta e Fagioli soup has always been one of my favorite comfort foods. I have worked long and hard on a recipe worthy of my childhood memories, and here it is. (This is a great way to use up the small amounts of pasta you might have lying around in your cupboard—whatever kinds you use, it's important to use a variety of shapes and sizes.)

INGREDIENTS

* 1 pound dried great northern beans
* ½ cup olive oil
* 3 cups chopped yellow onion
* ¼ cup minced garlic
* 8 to 10 cups chicken stock
* Three 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, with juice
* ¼ pound spaghetti or linguini, cooked al dente and cut into 1-inch pieces
* ¼ pound penne or ziti rigate, cooked al dente and cut in half
* ¼ pound fusilli or rotelle, cooked al dente and cut in half
* 1½ teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
* 1½ teaspoons salt
* ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* Freshly grated Locatelli Romano cheese, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the beans in a heavy large pot with enough cold water to cover the beans by 2 inches. Soak overnight for a minimum of 14 hours.

2. Drain the beans. Heat the oil in the heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is very tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 8 cups of the chicken stock, the tomatoes, and beans and raise the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are very tender, about 2½ hours. Working in batches (about 1 cup at a time), purée 6 cups of the soup in the blender until smooth. Mix the purée back into the soup in the pot. Stir in the cooked pasta, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes more, uncovered, over medium-low heat, adding more chicken stock if necessary (but keep in mind that this is supposed to be a very thick soup).

3. Serve with a generous amount of Romano cheese. (When reheating this soup, add about ¼ cup chicken stock for each serving, because the pasta soaks up a lot of liquid.)


For dessert, I'm making cupcakes but instead of Magnolia's recipe I'm trying one from my latest cookbook addition, Cappucchino Chip Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream Frosting from the Cake Mix Doctor. They smell heavenly, will definitely be difficult to resist!

Cappuccino Chip Cupcakes

24 paper lines for cupcake pans (2 1/2-inch size)
1/3 cup water
4 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips,
Mocha Buttercream Frosting
1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips or cracked roasted cocoa beans for garnish

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.

Place the water and instant coffee in a small glass liquid measuring cup and microwave on high power for 40 seconds. Remove and stir until the coffee is dissolved. Set it aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and coffee in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. Place the pans in the oven.

Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger. 18 to 20 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottom of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wine rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.

Meanwhile, prepare the Mocha Buttercream Frosting (see below).

Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or the back of the spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely. Garnish with the remaining 1/3 cup chocolate chips or roasted cracked cocoa beans. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

Mocha Buttercream Frosting

1/4 cup milk
1 heaping teaspoon instant coffee granules
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
2 ounces (1/2 bar) German's sweet chocolate, grated
3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 Tablespoon water, if needed

Place the milk and instant coffee in a small glass liquid measuring cup. Plan in the microwave oven on high power until the milk is hot enough to dissolve the instant coffee, 30 to 40 seconds. Remove and stir until the coffee is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Place the butter in the large mixing bowl and add the coffee and grated chocolate. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture has softened, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Blend in up to 1 tablespoon water if the frosting seems too stiff.

Use to frost the cupcakes of your choice.

The Big Apple ~ Day 5

Our last day in NYC..sigh...Beren and I got up early, had coffee down in the lobby of the hotel and then went for one final walk around town. After a just a few minutes the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down! We ran into a souvenir shop to buy an umbrella but it was just too wet to continue so we stood under an awning and waited.



Finally we were able to make our escape, took a quick walk around Rockefeller Center and then back down 5th Avenue toward the Roosevelt. What a gorgeous city, art & beauty everywhere you look!





We then joined Kali & Kevin for a smorgasbord of leftovers, our last meal in the Big Apple a perfect representation of the city's many flavors, don't you think?

Here we have pizza from John's, cookies from Ferrara Cafe, Magnolia cupcakes, pastrami from Carnegie Deli, bread & bagels from Blake & Todd, and pickles from Stage Deli.



mmmm...what a feast! We then packed and departed the Roosevelt, reluctantly said goodbye to the city. Rest assured, though, we'll be back because as Thomas Woolfe wrote, “One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years”. How true that is.

The Big Apple ~ Day 4

Day 4 was in some ways my favorite overall. I was able to enjoy some "Sex and the City" moments which was, of course, part of the reason I wanted this trip in the first place. Oh, like most people I wanted to visit New York eventually but it was that show that really got my juices flowing!

We started the day with a train ride to New Jersey where we met Kali's family (you remember her cousin J from the wedding pictures) at one of the many NJ diners, Miss America. The food was delicious, company wonderful, a perfect Sunday morning.





We then headed to Greenwich Village where I enjoyed the aforementioned SATC sights..

Yes, I did ignore the "No Trespassing" sign in front of Carrie's brownstone, but can you blame me?



I've already raved about the Magnolia cupcakes; it was difficult to make a decision with all of the goodies perfectly presented in the adorable little bakery! I carried my box of cupcakes all over the village, guarding it carefully until the perfect moment when I could fully appreciate them.





We stopped to have a beer at the delightful Blind Tiger...



where we could peek across the street and wait for the crowd to die down at John's Pizza...



We did a bit more window shopping and then headed back to the hotel to rest a bit before dinner. Kali and Kevin chose to stay in and watch the Olympics on tv; Beren and I decided that we couldn't leave New York without a deli meal.

I wish I'd taken a pic of the pastrami sandwich we shared at Carnegie Deli, it was monstrous! We took a nice long walk after dinner in hopes that we'd walk off the damage..groan...worth every calorie, though, I promise!



Another early night since we knew we'd want to awaken early and make the most of our last day in the Big Apple!

The Big Apple ~ Day 3

Day 3 in NYC was all about art..in various formats! We got an early morning start at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, spent hours there but only covered a couple of areas. It would take days to see everything! Two of my favorite pieces appear below.

I am intrigued all things related to the Magdalen, have never seen any rendition quite as dark as this one..



Do you recognize this gal from your local coffee shop?



From there we took a nice walk through Central Park, stopped at the Boathouse Restaurant for a beverage...



...around the fountain...



and then sat on the lawn to watch some street performers.



We worked up quite an appetite on our walk through the park...



so we stopped to grab a hot dog at the famous Gray's Papaya..yummy!



From here we met up with Kali & Kevin as well as my brother who has recently relocated to New York, hopped on the subway for a long ride out to...



Coney Island!



While Beren's main purpose of the trip was to ride the famous Wonder Wheel, mine was to enjoy a performance of an adorable new-to-me band, Witches in Bikinis!



One more hot dog before we left the park...groan...



and a nightcap at the Dublin House on the way back to the hotel..



before calling it a night. Sweet dreams, dear New York City, see you in the morning!