New York New York

For our anniversary Dan took me to NYC for the weekend to do some sightseeing and take in a show. Above is actually the view of the city from Jersey--from our stint in Hoboken. This post is just about a few of our stops (mostly dealing with food...naturally!)

Our first stop in the morning was to Murray's bagels. The city is full of great bagel shops but I had heard this was the best and had never been before so we gave it a whirl. I am picky about my bagels and have always wished that I lived somewhere with a bagel shop on the corner. Anyhow, Murray's has GREAT bagels--soft on the inside, chewy crust, smooth cream cheese. Dan had his the traditional way with lox...I had an everything with plain shmeer.

We were a bit lazy and had our bagels and then started walking around. We were determined to walk as much as possible; we walked the whole day (we're thinking 12 miles total) but we took cabs when it started to get late and we were tired!

For lunch we went to Katz--a former co-worker of mine made me promise to go here at some point during our trip--I love pastrami, so I figured why not. Above are the Half and Fully Pickled Cucumbers from the deli--the "full" pickles were a bit much for me--if you dig straight up vinegar kind of twang these are for you. The Half variety (bright green above) had a little tartness combined with some sweetness along with a fabulous crunch.

I ordered a Pastrami Reuben on rye...the thing was enormous...next time Dan and I will share, but it was by far the best Pastrami Reuben that I have ever tasted; the Katz family know how to do meat right.

We passed the cathedral at a time of day where the spire was reflecting on the building adjacent--I thought that the contrast was intriguing.

I was trying to get a pic of Dan in front of Rockefeller Plaza...can you tell that he was thrilled about posing for me?!?!?! caught!

Dan being a huge hockey fan and general lover of ice skating and hockey rinks, we spent some time just watching folks skate--it was quite amusing and fun. We didn't skate because I didn't have the proper attire (I know...what was I thinking...I had to stop and buy a jacket at one point because it became quite chilly in the evening.)

They had some weird lampposts; I'm not sure if it comes through here but the one above looks like a spider. I was standing in the middle of the sidewalk trying to get this shot...Dan was next to me apologizing to folks passing by for my standing in the way...whoops.

Last stop, Grand Central Market (which is in the train station) for McClure's Pickles...I am a pickle fan and had to grab some while we were in town...yum! I could spend hours in a market; the rows of beauiful produce, meats and cheeses, I'm like a kid in a candy store.

Charrito's Restaurant--Hoboken, NJ

I could eat Mexican food probably every day of the week...maybe not, but it's certainly one of my favored food genres. Thus, during a recent visit to NJ, while walking downtown in search of some good grub Dan and I settled on a small place called Charritos.

This is not exactly the greatest picture but they hung fiesta flags from the ceiling creating this fun/inviting space when you walked in. Their hostess stand is a rustic wood and they seat you at a table with a mortal and pestle sitting out and they hand you a beat up looking menu (photo number 1), which was more like an eclectic piece of art rather than a menu. The restaurant was tiny and narrow on the whole (or the one we went to was at least...Charritos is a chain with 4 0r 5 restaurants total), but the setting was intimate and our waiter was friendly.

I have a mild obsession with textiles; one thing I greatly appreciated about this restaurant were the authentic touches throughout--above is a seat cushion--a very subtle touch. They used Mexican embroidered cloth (I couldn't tell if these were originally table cloths or what; they reminded me of Mexican dresses quite honestly).

The tablecloths were the only odd man out in my opinion...the rest of the decor was detailed and clean...then the tablecloths seemed more like something you would see at El Chico...something like you might find at a 5 and dime, or at Le Marche on the streets of Mexico. Authentic in its own regard. On the whole they mixed bright colors with sophisticated Mexican staples.

I know that an old fashioned Coca-Cola isn't all that special, but Charrito's come from Mexico...where to my knowledge they still use good old fashioned cane sugar (which makes anything more tasty!) I would equate it to a Dublin Dr. Pepper; those Texans know that the best Dr. Pepper comes from Dublin because they make it the way it used to be made and for whatever reason it makes all the difference in the world. If I had a cafe...I'd fly my DP in from Dublin.

Dan ordered one of the combos, which I must admit that I cannot remember which but I do recall that every part of his dish was pretty fantastic. This doesn't say much about flavor considering Dan has been known to eat just about everything, but he now has a more refined palate and the man polished the whole thing off.

Above is my dish, the Los Chilaquiles, which is basically something similar to an authentic King Ranch casserole (it has corn tortilla strips cooked in a salsa verde type sauce along with sauteed onions and topped with what seemed like a queso fresco and then slices of avocado. It also comes with a protein...I chose the spicy pork; it had great flavor, but a bit on the tough side.)

Super Easy Tomato Sauce

This sauce is easy...ridiculously easy...fantastically easy! I'm not even going to post a recipe because it's that easy. The ingredients are: 1 can of San Marzano Tomatoes (whole peeled--28oz) 1 stick of butter, and 1 onion cut in half (outer skin removed). You put these three elements in a dutch oven (or pan, whatever you have) and let them simmer for about 45 minutes or until the onion is nice and soft and you can mash the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon.

For the final sauce you remove the onion (you use it for the onion juice) and you can puree the sauce or do as I did and just manually mash the tomatoes for a more rustic sauce. It has this lovely richness from the butter but it is flavorful and has depth; I don't know why something so simple tastes so great but it does.

Remi went and hid under the hamper while I was cooking; I called him for a good 5 minutes trying to figure out where he had gotten to...then I found him...little nose peeping out from under the hamper...dork!

I used a rustic noodle that would hold the sauce nicely...I had Parmesan at the ready to top it all but I liked the rich tomato flavor so much that I didn't even use the cheese. Anyhow, a great weeknight easy homemade (*cheap!) meal.

New Place

Back in February, we packed Remi up and moved about 10 miles from our old place to a townhouse(I'm just really late in posting all of these!)



We didn't pick such a great weekend to move though--it was right after the DC Snowpacalipse so there were still mounds of snow piled up everywhere. Remington had a high-oh time running around in the snow, but it made for a more tricky move for us.

In all, it wasn't terrible. The kind folks who rent the townhouse to us plowed the driveway so that we didn't have any trouble with the moving truck; we did have to avoid the 4 foot drift by the front door but whatever.

This is just a shot looking down our street into the rest of the neighborhood. Snow is fun for a few days but when you have multiple back-to-back storms and you live in a state that is not used to that amount of snow and therefore takes 7-10 days to clear streets...but you still have to go to work...it gets rough!

The Ultimate Hot Chocolate

When it is cold outside, all I want to do is curl up with a nice cup of cocoa and a good book. It snowed most of the day yesterday, so cocoa just seemed appropriate.

For this recipe you will want to use good chocolate and not chocolate chips (they put a stabilizer in chocolate chips to keep their shelf life that they don't use in the bars. If you can find them, the chunks are best--these will be in the specialty foods area of your grocer--in whole foods it is by the wine). Keep in mind that this is a very decadent hot chocolate, so feel free to just use milk for a more thinner finished product.

We are spoiled living in DC and having access to so many amazing farms. We get our milk from a small dairy in Pennsylvania called Trickling Springs. As much as I love tomatoes...I love my milk. My grandma gave me a little chocolate milk blender when I was a kid because chocolate milk was a nightly ritual for me. Oddly enough, my sister is not so much a fan of milk--unless it's in her morning coffee in the form of a flavored creamer! Anyhow, Trickling Springs has the best milk bar none, so this is what we use.

HOT CHOCOLATE!

Ina Garten

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups half-and-half
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder (Williams Sonoma makes a nice espresso powder)

Directions
Heat the milk and half-and-half in a saucepan on medium heat to just below the simmering point. Remove the pan from the heat and add both chocolates. When the chocolates are melted, add the sugar, vanilla extract, and espresso and whisk vigorously. Reheat gently and serve immediately.

If you want an even more decadent hot chocolate make a vanilla bean whipped cream with a little chocolate shavings on top (just whip your cream--1/2 cup or so...add a little powdered sugar and scrape one vanilla bean and a splash of pure vanilla extract...I'll make some soon and post a picture...I just didn't have any heavy cream on hand :P)

Cream of Tomato Soup

Those of you who know me well know that I LOVE tomatoes...no seriously...raw, ketchup, canned...and especially in soup. I miss having neighbors who bring bushels of tomatoes over--my dad is now trying his hand at a garden; if Dan and I get any yard space I am all over that. Anyhow, I wanted to try making tomato soup from scratch instead of my usual Campbell's route.

This is a very delicious version; I'm not 100% satisfied with it yet, but it's close. I added french bread croutons on top--very easy--just diced up a day old loaf of french bread--coated it in olive oil and popped it into the already heated oven from roasting the tomatoes (about 8 minutes).

Roasting the tomatoes really brings out another depth of flavor. I added a splash of balsamic to the roasting--i just like the sweetness it adds.

Cream of Tomato Soup

Adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen & Deb Perlman

2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice, drained, 3 cups juice reserved

1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Splash of Balsamic Vinegar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 large shallots, minced (about 1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Pinch ground allspice

2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups chicken stock, homemade or canned low-sodium

1/2 cup heavy cream2 tablespoons brandy or dry sherry

Salt and cayenne pepper

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450°F. Lined rimmed baking sheet with foil. With fingers, carefully open whole tomatoes over strainer set in bowl and push out seeds, allowing juices to fall through strainer into bowl. Spread seeded tomatoes in single layer on foil. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar & Balsamic. Bake until all liquid has evaporated and tomatoes begin to color, about 30 minutes. Let tomatoes cool slightly, then peel them off foil; transfer to small bowl and set aside. (I actually did this on parchment paper).

2. Heat butter over medium heat in large saucepan until foaming. Add shallots, tomato paste and allspice. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Gradually add chicken stock, whisking constantly to combine; stir in reserved tomato juice and roasted tomatoes. Cover, increase heat to medium, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, to blend flavors, about 10 minutes.

3. Pour mixture through strainer and into medium bowl; rinse out saucepan. Transfer tomatoes and solids in strainer to blender; add 1 cup strained liquid and puree until smooth. Place pureed mixture and remaining strained liquid in saucepan. Add cream and warm over low heat until hot, about 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in brandy and season with salt and cayenne. Serve immediately. (I actually froze the remaining soup--I put half of the soup in freezer containers before adding the cream or brandy--so it would freeze better--worked like a charm.

Max & Remi

Remi met his best friend for the first time a few weeks ago (I'm slow on posting here). Maxwell is MB's little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He doesn't look like your average cavalier, but that's part of what makes him great. He has a fun loving, goofy little personality--he should be a Muppet character.

MB and W have a cool park by their apartment downtown where we met up for our play date. It is a huge, open green space with lots of other nice dogs/owners. MB brought 2 tennis balls for the fuzzy guys (W called as she was trying to throw them.)

Remi didn't really get what was going on at first, so Max chased after the tennis balls and Remi chased after Max....it worked. We kept Remi on his leash because he hasn't grasped "come" yet, and so we weren't comfortable letting him run free.

In all it was a successful play date. We're hoping to have another soon at our place.