Well! It’s been a long time since I decided not to run through my day in terms of food, exercise, and everything in between. Now, I’m sharing everything from kitchen mishaps to my poor driving skills to the best-tasting balls around.

Still, since I did the what-I-ate thing daily for three-and-a-half years, it’s a [...]]]>

Well! It’s been a long time since I decided not to run through my day in terms of food, exercise, and everything in between. Now, I’m sharing everything from kitchen mishaps to my poor driving skills to the best-tasting balls around.

Still, since I did the what-I-ate thing daily for three-and-a-half years, it’s a hard habit to break! 99% of the photos on my computer are of food, not people (although the February Photo A Day project is inspiring me to shoot other things). I’m always curious about what my friends and family ate throughout the day; their meal ideas so often inspire my own. I thought it might be fun to bring the old format back every so often, just to keep things fresh.

As I’ve mentioned, the temperature in New York City apartments isn’t something you can count on. Many older buildings, in particular, don’t have central heating, and more often than not the super and landlord controls the heat. And more often than not, it is freezing when I get out of bed in the morning! Hot breakfast to the rescue.

WARM-MY-BONES OATMEAL

Stovetop ingredients:

• 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup flax milk
• 1 t chia seeds
• cinnamon
• dried goji berries

Toppings:

• pinch sea salt
• warmed organic frozen mixed berries
• Plain Jane Nuts About Granola
• sunflower butter

After catching up on e-mails and getting my morning chores out of the way (what is it about mornings that makes them fly by so much faster than the rest of the day?), I did a quick 20 minute yoga podcast (you can find my list of free favorites here) before making lunch.

I’ve been obsessed with quesadillas lately. Depending on what I’ve got lying around, they’re pretty simple and usually just have two ingredients. My current favorite is black bean dip (Good Neighbor’s version, which I found at Whole Foods, is blended with chickpeas and jalapeño for a spicy, protein-packed kick) and Daiya cheese. Initially, I wasn’t a fan of this rice-based cheese, which I bought during the whole allergy debacle. However, there’s something about the combination of the bean dip and the crispy tortilla that has me craving it every day at lunch time.   

Black bean + “cheddar” quesadilla, arugula + pepper salad, gnarly carrots

After lunch, a trip to the orthopedist to see what in tarnation has been going on with my foot.

#febphotoaday Day 9: front door

For a little over a month I’ve had strange pain in both of my feet: it feels like both the ball of my feet and all of my toes are bruised. My right foot hurts the most, and I have a hard time both curling and flexing my toes. When I press on it, the pain seems to be concentrated around the second metatarsal on both the top and bottom of the foot. The feeling was similar to the dull ache I experienced when I had a stress fracture in my femur a few years ago, so I was worried that might be what it was.

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There’s also a lot of tenderness when I press along my inner arch, which is probably my recurring plantar fasciitis flaring up.

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So I met with the orthopedist, who took X-rays of both of my feet, looking specifically for stress fractures. Usually when stress fractures have had a while to develop, as mine would have, the X-ray displays a highlighted area where the bone has started to heal itself. Nothing showed up.
Soooo, now I’m waiting for my insurance company to approve an MRI, which, as a more sensitive test, would be able to scan for other things. It’s possible I do just have a bit of bruising along the bone; it’s also possible I’ve pinched a nerve between my second and third metatarsals. I’m not in constant pain; it’s more like a slow acceleration when I walk (which I do a lot, and think probably caused the problem) or during yoga. I’ll keep ya posted.
My visit to the doctor worked up quite an appetite, so when I got home I made myself a hearty snack of mango Chobani, chocolate fudge cake, and peanut butter. (Speaking of Chobani, check back on Monday for a chance to win your own!)

Just as the sun set, Anna and I met at the Orley Shabahang Gallery for the opening of an exhibit by Steven Colucci, a professional mime and painter.   The gallery is also a showcase for Oriental rugs, which were stacked and rolled all around the space. It was a cool juxtaposition of sparkly paint and dyed wool.

A glass of Tuscan red and a bite of a mac ‘n cheese ball (eh) while we brosed:

Viewing art makes me hungry! Thankfully I’d prepped most of my dinner (sliced the sprouts, cooked the ‘cous) so it took almost no time at all to sit down to dinner. I made Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Dried Cherries and Israeli Couscous, substituting tempeh bacon and currants. I also halved the recipe and ate the whole thing as a main, rather than a side. Dee-lish!

For dessert, chocolate chip cookies (x2) and a milk chocolate Adora disc. (Don’t forget to enter to win!)

After dinner, I snuggled up with a little more wine and The Four-Faced Liar, a quirky romantic dramedy that I streamed on Netflix. I’ve been all about the romantic movies lately… I just saw Restless (very good!) and When Harry Met Sally (for the 4395 time). And, for whatever reason, I am ridiculously excited to see The Vow when it opens.

What kind of movies are you into right now?

What have you got going on this weekend? I’m going upstate, and am suuuuuper excited about it. It’ll be good to get out of the city! It’s also supposed to be 4˚…

Last night, Danielle and I had the pleasure of attending The Hummus & Pita Co.’s pre-opening press party.

A “fast-casual” spot conveniently located on the border of Chelsea, Union Square and Greenwich Village, The Hummus & Pita Co. serves up fresh-made healthy Mediterranean food. It’s DIY-style, which I love; you choose either a pita, [...]]]>

Last night, Danielle and I had the pleasure of attending The Hummus & Pita Co.’s pre-opening press party.

A “fast-casual” spot conveniently located on the border of Chelsea, Union Square and Greenwich Village, The Hummus & Pita Co. serves up fresh-made healthy Mediterranean food. It’s DIY-style, which I love; you choose either a pita, laffa (a wrap), bowl or platter to house your meal.

I settled on a bowl. But what to put in it? There were so many options to choose from, and they all looked- and smelled!- great. At the hot bar station, there are several different kinds of meat (chicken, schwarma, gyro, steak, and taboon- chicken or steak cooked in a special oven) as well as falafel, beans, and grains like Israeli couscous and rice-and-chickpeas.

The cold bar gives Whole Foods a run for its money, with tons of vegetarian options like marinated beets, seasoned carrots, Greek salad, pickled jalapeños… I was a little greedy over here, but the server who was helping me was excited to tell me about his favorite dishes.

Finally, a piece of fresh pita! It was warm and doughy, and had just been made in their brick oven.

By the time I’d finished at the counter my bowl weighed about three pounds, no joke. I also took advantage of the bourekas (sesame-topped puff pastry filled with spinach, cheese or potato) and white wine being passed around.

For dessert: raspberry-walnut rugelach (a traditional Jewish pastry, and a very New York treat) and baklava.

We found a seat at a long communal table (handmade locally in Brooklyn out of reclaimed bowling lanes!) and chatted with some of the other guests. Everyone was quite taken with the menu, and it’s located in a convenient spot for a healthy, filling and comforting lunch.

And, as usual, so lovely to catch up with Miss Danielle.

After Danielle and I parted ways, I met my friend Ryan at Grassroots Tavern on St. Marks Place. It’s a nice place to escape from the usual crazy around St. Marks (underage NYU students; Gossip Girl enthusiasts like myself). Nothing beats a good dive.

It was snowing lightly and the air was frigid- almost as cold as in my bedroom. Once home, I crawled under the covers with a book and homemade juice pulp crackers (which are unexpectedly addicting) and read until my eyes burned.

Good food, good friends, and a night out that ends up cozy in bed? My idea of a perfect evening.

Do you like Mediterranean food? I’ve been on quite the hummus kick of late… black bean + cheddar quesadillas have been part of my lunch almost every day for the past week!

What does a “good night” mean to you?

In an effort to justify the $90/ month my gym membership costs (as opposed to $200 a year at my old gym), I’ve finally started to take advantage of the free classes it offers. After a few missteps- I accidentally took an hour-long Yoga for Seniors class- I’ve started to find my groove.

[...]]]>

In an effort to justify the $90/ month my gym membership costs (as opposed to $200 a year at my old gym), I’ve finally started to take advantage of the free classes it offers. After a few missteps- I accidentally took an hour-long Yoga for Seniors class- I’ve started to find my groove.

Remember Yoga- In-A-Toga?

My relationship with fitness has always been constant in its inconsistency. I’ll get on a running kick and run five times a week and sign up for a race, then all of a sudden something will switch in my brain and it just won’t be fun anymore. Sometimes this is because of injury, but more often than not it’s because I start to think of logging miles as a loathsome chore to be procrastinated for as long as possible. Then I feel guilty that I’m putting it off, and feel anxious rather than high on endorphins. It’s a sad cycle! Exercise should be fun, not a punishment.

So to keep things “fun,” I’ve been going to Yoga classes a few times a week (I finally found some that are more my speed). My friend Ilana and I have also started making weekly Spin dates; we meet in the evening for class, then take our sweaty selves out to dinner afterwards. I’ve never really had a “gym buddy” before, but it makes a difference to have someone else counting on you to show up.

Exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle, not a short-term fix. Regular exercise been linked to delaying the onset of Alzheimers and keeping the brain sharp, lowering blood pressure, reducing the risk of diabetes and stroke, improving your sex life, sleep quality and a host of mental health issues (particularly depression). The list goes on. The Center for Disease Control recommends a weekly mix of cardiovascular and muscle-strengthening exercises for adults; you can find their guidelines here.   We all know we need to exercise, it’s just a matter of making a schedule and sticking to it. Pack your gym bag the night before, lay out your running clothes, rent a workout DVD… do whatever it takes to make the pre-sweat part as easy and stress-free as possible.

Bone and joint health is another important part of healthy living. Without strong bones, you’ll find it hard to balance in Dancer’s Pose (above) or run for miles. I’ve been extra conscious of my calcium intake ever since I felt the tinglings of what I fear to be a stress fracture in my foot. I have an appointment with an orthopedist tomorrow, but in the meantime I’m making sure to load up on calcium-rich foods like yogurt, cheese, kale, chickpeas, and tahini.

Another fun way to get your calcium? Chocolate! Adora premium milk & dark chocolate calcium supplements. I was actually just about to buy these with my own money when my package arrived in the mail!

Each 30-calorie chocolate disk provides up to 50% of the body’s daily value of calcium, as well as vitamin D3 and magnesium (which aids absorption). I was a little worried the chocolate would taste strange, but it’s delicious! I’m usually a super dark chocolate girl, but they’re both really good. Just be careful not to eat more than the recommended serving (2 discs/ day). Megadosing on calcium won’t turn your bones into titanium!

Want to try Adora for yourself? Here’s how to enter! Open to US residents only, please.

1. (Mandatory) “Like” Adora on Facebook and follow them on Twitter, then leave a comment letting me know you’ve done so.

2. (Extra entry) Tell me how you keep exercise fun, OR tell me what makes keeping a regular workout schedule a challenge for you.

3. (Extra entry) Tweet this contest and let me know you’ve done so.

I’ll pick a winner on Monday, February 13, at 8 AM. Just in time for some V-day chocolate!

…your photo project?

Day 3: hands

Day 4: a stranger (technically I asked the gentleman on the right, but Hat Man over here was extremely excited to be photographed as well and insisted he be part of the picture. This was around 11:30 PM in Koreatown, which may explain his exuberance…)

Day 4: [...]]]>

…your photo project?

Day 3: hands

Day 4: a stranger (technically I asked the gentleman on the right, but Hat Man over here was extremely excited to be photographed as well and insisted he be part of the picture. This was around 11:30 PM in Koreatown, which may explain his exuberance…)

Day 4: 10 AM (After said night in Koreatown, when one needs a banana, water, ibuprofen, and a snuggle buddy… stat.)

… dried fruit?

Make your own preserves! Bon Appétit’s recipe for Dried Fruit Compote in Spiced Syrup was ridiculously easy, and a creative use for ginger beer. I seem to be on a sweet condiment kick…

Make Two-Bite Chocolate Cherry Balls. They’ll come in handy during that long walk you take in search of epic hot chocolate (Sunday’s flavor was Superbowl Hot Chocolate, flavored with- wait for it- beer).  

…bread + cheese:

Speaking of epic, this was a crazy weekend for cheesy bread. Crazy, I tell you!

1) Broiled whole wheat ciabatta with: 1a) cheddar, basil + tempeh bacon, and 1b) blueberry goat cheese. Dipped in marinara. Take that, Domino’s!

2) Baked Egg Boats! Ours just have whole eggs, cheddar, smoked sea salt + pepper, but is this not the best idea ever? And check out the cheddar cheese “sail” and marinara “sea.”

But what to do with the extra bread you’ve cut from the center? Make savory French toast! Inspired by Susan’s “Will It French Toast?” quest, we cooked our crusts in scrambled eggs and cheddar.

Bread, cheese and marinara, folks. It’s what dreams are made of.

… the waning contents of your fridge and pantry?

Make soup! And here’s a dirty little secret: when it comes to soup, you have a LOT of leeway for substitutions.

Take this Split Pea Sunshine & Saffron Soup, for example. Look at all of the changes I made for the sake of convenience:

You should also feed your cornbread addiction with this recipe. The whole thing took 20 minutes from start to finish, and was just what my palate was craving. (It still is, actually, so I may make some for dinner tonight!)

… an 8-year old eyelash curler?

Anything but curl your eyelashes with it.

I don’t wear mascara. I just don’t. I’m one of those people who can’t stop fidgeting with just about everything, and I touch my eyes all the time. (I was also blessed with particularly long black lashes, so mascara doesn’t make too much of a difference.) But, thinking that it’s sometimes nice to do girly things, I decided to at least curl my lashes. The curler behaved like a scissors and I now have patches of little stubs on my upper lashline, which prompted B to ask if I trim them. No, friends, I do not. Lesson learned.

What’s on your list of Things To Do today?

The 2012 Recipe Challenge page has been updated! It was a great week for new recipes. Have you made any new ones?

One of the most frequent requests I get from readers is about how we can simplify lunchtime. In the middle of your busy work/school/groundhog day, you often don’t have a whole lot of time to get fancy and make an elaborate recipe. Still, that doesn’t mean you have to go [...]]]>

One of the most frequent requests I get from readers is about how we can simplify lunchtime. In the middle of your busy work/school/groundhog day, you often don’t have a whole lot of time to get fancy and make an elaborate recipe. Still, that doesn’t mean you have to go out and spend $10 on a salad or hit the drive-through for something that will leave you hungry an hour later. With a tiny bit of planning, you’ll save precious time and money and ensure you’re filling yourself up with nourishing, good-tasting food.

FIVE STEPS TO A BETTER LUNCH

1. Invest in some good containers. When you’re commuting to work in the morning, the last thing you want to worry about is how to get last night’s Thai curry off your skirt (this has happened to me one too many times). I’m a big fan of the Klip It To Go line (available at The Container Store), which doesn’t leak and is fitted with grooves to store reusable utensils. And remember: the ice pack is your friend. Use a rubber band to attach one to your tupperware for your commute, especially if it’s summer.

2. Pack it up the night before. Okay, so we all tell ourselves we’re going to do this, but somehow we end up running around the next morning, bleary-eyed, grabbing random things from the fridge on our way out the door and hoping it’ll all come together as “lunch.” Friends, instead of trying to psych yourself up about a can of tuna and an orange, take 10 minutes while you’re making dinner. Make extra of whatever you’re eating and put it in a box. Bam! Lunch is done.

Get creative with leftovers! Transform last night’s dinner into an exciting lunch.

Brown rice tortilla “pizza” with tomato sauce, Italian Butter Beans, parmesan; side salad with swiss chard, red peppers, red wine vinegar + olive oil

Whole wheat bun with soy cheddar + blueberry goat cheese; arugula with rice wine vinegar; tomato soup

I often like to serve leftovers over greens; either heated up or cold, a dish can taste totally different when mixed with fresh lettuce or kale.

Gingery Red Lentils & Rice over steamed kale, topped with coconut and currants

3. Satisfy your taste buds. I find meals the most satisfying when they have many different flavors and textures. I often make “sample plates” with small portions of a lot of different things.

Spinach, roasted brussels sprouts w/ tahini sauce, steamed squash, pita chips, toast, scrambled eggs, blueberry goat cheese

Crunchy foods, like roasted vegetables and pita chips, take longer to chew and help you remember to slow down instead of inhaling your meal.

Quesadilla with sautéd mushrooms + peppers, spinach, black beans + blueberry goat cheese; Chobani plain yogurt (i.e. “sour cream”) and avocado; side salad with spinach, red peppers, rice wine vinegar

4. Don’t forget about the “kitchen sink.” Giant salads are my favorite things to have for lunch, for several reasons.

Mama Pea’s Thai Crunch Salad

• 1) They use up leftovers! As stated above, you can pretty much throw anything- that hasn’t passed its expiration date, of course- over greens and call it a salad.
• 2) Fiber, fiber, fiber! We all need it, but it does take your body some time to break it down digest, so do yourself a favor and make lunch your fiber-heavy (read: lots ‘o veggies) meal so it doesn’t keep you up at night.
• 3) They’re nutrient-dense. I often base my social plans around the dinner hour, which can take me anywhere from cocktails to pizza to ice cream (and often all three). By making sure I get my veggies in during the day, I don’t have to worry that I’m going to get scurvy

Spinach salad with grape tomatoes, marinated gigantic beans (from Whole Foods’ antipasti bar), steamed butternut squash, roasted brussels, tahini sauce;  Roasted Eggplant Hummus with pita chips

5. Lunch dessert is always a good idea. Even if you just have a piece of fresh fruit, end your midday meal on a sweet note.

Mini fudge cake with Chobani + tangerine lemon curd

Today, after my yoga class, I’m going to have a mini quesadilla (black bean hummus + cheddar) and kale salad. Cheesy, nutritious, satisfying. Meal planning only takes a few extra moments, folks, and will save you morning stress and lunch despair.

Save the crazy for the bars… you deserve it.

What does weekday lunch look like for you?

Lemon curd is one of my favorite things to eat.

Growing up, I was never a “lemon person;” rather, if a dessert didn’t have chocolate in it, it wasn’t worthy of the name. While that’s still more or less true (I will chase a slice of apple pie with a square of chocolate), I [...]]]>

Lemon curd is one of my favorite things to eat.

Growing up, I was never a “lemon person;” rather, if a dessert didn’t have chocolate in it, it wasn’t worthy of the name. While that’s still more or less true (I will chase a slice of apple pie with a square of chocolate), I have dreams of taking long, leisurely swims in a big vat of sweet-tart lemon fluff, pausing only to take a bite of key lime pie. Too much? My food fantasies run away from me sometimes…

Anyway, lemon curd. For the past few years, ever since I discovered it (Stonewall Kitchen’s is my favorite store-bought version), I’ve been putting it in my breakfast. In yogurt. On pumpkin cakes. In sandwiches. You get the picture: most things taste better with curd.   Most things also taste better when you make them yourself, and I figured this was especially true for my favorite sweet condiment. I made lemon bars way back when -vintage LVP alert!- but that was before the lemon-love really hit.

I’d bookmarked Joy’s recipe for Tangerine Lemon Curd over a year ago, which could not have been simpler. The hardest- and most time-consuming- part was finding a store that stocked tangerines! After a mere 30 minutes in the kitchen, I had a brilliantly yellow jar of creamy-dreamy curd. I added close to double the amount of lemon juice called for, but that was the only changed I made to the recipe.

Looking for a new vehicle to enjoy it with, I decided to make pancakes. I’ve been having a strange craving for cornbread and cornmeal-based things lately, so flipped through a few recipes before settling on Veganomicon’s Blueberry Corn Pancakes.

February Photo A Day Challenge, Day 2: Words.

We had a little… difficulty… with these ‘cakes. I’m not a pancake aficianado by any means, and expected to lose at least the first one to the Pancake Gods.

The batter was way too thin, and our first couple cakes turned into a crumpled mess.

We ended up sifting in nearly a cup more cornmeal and flour (combined) until we finally started turning out pancake-looking pancakes. Also, using cooking spray instead of butter to grease the pan seemed to help.

Evolution of a pancake:

They were a little dense (we probably should have increased the amount of baking soda when we upped the flour), but still pretty good!

I topped mine with 2% Chobani and lemon curd- which plays nicely off the lemon zest in the pancakes- and dipped them in maple syrup. Who says weekday breakfasts have to be boring?

Lots ‘o questions today!

Are you a fruit or chocolate person?

Do you have any pancake-making tips? What’s your go-to recipe?

Had any kitchen flops lately?

Have you heard about the February Photo A Day Challenge?

This is a project I can get behind. It’s fun, easy, and will be a cool thing to look back on come March 1. Like journaling and recipe challeng-ing, I love having a tangible collection of things I’ve written/made/completed. It’s so satisfying!

My first picture [...]]]>

Have you heard about the February Photo A Day Challenge?

This is a project I can get behind. It’s fun, easy, and will be a cool thing to look back on come March 1. Like journaling and recipe challeng-ing, I love having a tangible collection of things I’ve written/made/completed. It’s so satisfying!

My first picture (“your view today”) is what I saw out my kitchen window as I made pancakes.

Another of my favorite things probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you: going out to eat. I’d finally accumulated enough OpenTable dining points and received a $100 check good for any restaurant that uses the OpenTable restaurant system. (Every time you book through their website, you receive 100 or 1000 points. You can cash in your points at 200, 500 and 10,000 points for a $20, $50 and $100 check respectively. Sweet deal!)

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My little redheaded friend and I went to Apiary for Restaurant Week a few days ago. We often meet in the Union Square/ East Village area for mutual convenience, and have passed the restaurant many a time en route to more humble dining establishments. Restaurant Week (3 dinner courses/ $35) provided the perfect opportunity to finally try it out.

We each started with the Baby Romaine Salad: grilled garlic croutons, anchovy, whole grain mustard, parmesan. Basically a Caesar, but a good one!

For her entrée, my friend ordered the Roasted Organic Chicken: potato puree, garlic confit, english peas, lemon, madeira. She seemed to really like it, and raved about the vegetables.

Strangely, each of the three entrée options contained meat, which I’ve never before encountered during Restaurant Week (there’s usually a vegetarian, fish and meat choice). Still, I don’t expect the chef to cater to me, and was thus pleasantly surprised when our server informed me that after a little begging, the chef agreed to make the Merzula (a fish whose sauce ordinarily contains some kind of meat) with the fluke’s garnish: black truffled celery root puree, chanterelles, spiced red wine sauce. It was delicious. Give me fancy mushrooms and I’m a happy girl.

For dessert, we both ordered the Blackberry Financier, which tasted like the crispy top of the best muffin you’ve ever had. It almost tasted a bit fried, which it may very well have been.

All in all, a great dining experience! It was certainly a good weekend for fancy food. Don’t worry, though: lest you think I’m straying too far from the expected diet of a typical 20something, be assured I’m keeping it real.

Have you ever participated in a photo challenge?

Does your area host seasonal Restaurant Week events?

Morning! Hope you woke up on the right side of the bed today. I have a good feeling about today: the sun is shining, the skies are blue, and Charley’s looking pretty cute, too, even with his silly new haircut. I’m running out to meet a friend for coffee (hooray for weekday-morning dates!) [...]]]>

Morning! Hope you woke up on the right side of the bed today. I have a good feeling about today: the sun is shining, the skies are blue, and Charley’s looking pretty cute, too, even with his silly new haircut. I’m running out to meet a friend for coffee (hooray for weekday-morning dates!) but I just wanted to check in and share a few things first.

I’m obsessed with this Crunchy Kale and Coconut Bowl. I used sweet brown rice in place of farro (seriously obsessed with this stuff), added hot chili oil to leftover teriyaki sauce in place of the dressing, and topped it with a piece of salmon. I have a few more rice bowls up my sleeve for the week… they’re perfect midday comfort food.

This is not good… not good at all. Save your money, folks. It’s scary sweet… even scarier than trying to figure out how the entire pint only packs 150 calories.

These tahini figs, however, inspired by Laura, are my new favorite anytime snack. Dried figs with tahini + molasses (about 1 t tahini, 1/4 t molasses). Sometimes I eat them for lunch-dessert; last night I had them with my favorite childhood cookies while watching a movie.

Speaking of movies, 50/50 is excellent. Consider yourself warned, though: I balled through the better half of it. Joseph Gordon Levitt is one of my favorite contemporary actors; I just watched this strange one last week, and am super pumped to see him in the new Batman movie. And he’s just so darn cute!

I stayed up into the wee hours reading this. As the friend who gave it to me said, I felt like someone was in the room breathing down my neck as I burrowed under the covers, palms sweaty. If you like Law & Order: SVU, you’ll like this.

The giveaway winners of the Stonyfield OIKOS drinkable yogurts is:

Congratulations, Sara! Please send me your mailing address and I’ll get those out to you. Everyone else: I think it’s a good day for a smoothie.

What’s on your shortlist today?

Last night a date and I had the pleasure of dining at Dovetail, a restaurant tucked away on a quiet street just off Columbus Avenue. I was selected by Foodbuzz to participate in their 24×24 program and, with a $250 stipend, we experienced an unforgettable hours-long meal.

The space is sleek yet cozy, with [...]]]>

Last night a date and I had the pleasure of dining at Dovetail, a restaurant tucked away on a quiet street just off Columbus Avenue. I was selected by Foodbuzz to participate in their 24×24 program and, with a $250 stipend, we experienced an unforgettable hours-long meal.

The space is sleek yet cozy, with soft lighting and acoustics appropriate for an intimate evening of good food and excellent service. Designed by architect Richard Bloch, the main dining room (there is an additional private room downstairs) is elegant but muted, and didn’t take away from our food’s stunning presentation.

Chef/ Proprietor John Fraser (who came out as we were finishing our meal) has a European culinary background and builds his seasonal menu from farm-fresh ingredients. As a pescatarian, it can sometimes be difficult to find high-end restaurants that aren’t meat-centric. Dovetail, however, not only serves creative seafood dishes (Butter-Poached Lobster with burgundy truffles + crushed celery root); they have an entire vegetarian menu.

We ordered cocktails while perusing the dinner menu. Mine was made with absinthe, tequila, and elderberry liqueur, and reminded me a lot of this margarita because of the smokey mesquite flavor. Just sweet enough! Definitely my kind of drink.

To maximize our tastes, we decided on the four course prix-fixe menu, complete with appetizer, vegetable, entrée and dessert courses.

After we ordered, we were brought an amuse-boûche trio of (left to right): squid ink aroncini, trout-apple salad, and salmon-sweet potato tartare. On the side, warm cheddar cornbread loaves (which I just happened to have been craving all week). Our palates were whet!

I started with the dungeness crab with cranberries, black garlic and ginger. What look like spring rolls are actually thin strips of cured daikon wrapped around the crab!

B ordered the rabbit + foie gras terrine with quince mustards, romaine and breakfast radishes.

Our server, Natalie, was extremely helpful when it came to deciding between two (or three, or four) dishes. I took her suggestion and ordered the heirloom potatoes with a soft boiled egg + horseradish for my vegetable course. What sounds like a good-but-bland dish rocked my socks off. The potatoes were tender and flavorful, the egg melted in my mouth. As soon as I master the art of the beurre blanc sauce, I’m going to try to recreate a home-chef version of this.

B’s ricotta gnudi was plated with butternut squash, hedgehog mushrooms and winter truffles. Each mouthful was like biting into a very delicate, fluffy cloud.

Compliments of the chef, we were brought a surprise course: halibut with beets, pickled juniper, and hollandaise. This was some of the most tender, flavorful halibut I’ve ever had: it was sweet and buttery, and melted in my mouth just like the gnudi.

I deferred to Natalie once again for my main course, ordering the swordfish with clam chowder, chorizo and thyme (the kitchen was able to hold the chorizo for me). I loved the different flavors and textures in this dish! Chowder isn’t something I’d normally think of to order- let alone garnish my fish with!- but this was divine.

B ordered the pistachio-crusted duck with sunchokes, dates, spinach and foie gras. He seemed to be pretty happy with it, citing even the spinach as perfectly cooked.

Palate- cleanser: black pepper meringue with pressed pineapple.

My favorite- and (almost) final- course: dessert! The presentation was just as beautiful- if not more so- than the previous four. B ordered the apple crepe terrine with pecans and bourbon brown butter ice cream (below, front). More of an intricately layered strudel than a crepe, it was amazing paired with bites of pecan and dehydrated apple. We’re both big bourbon lovers, too, and the ice cream blew us away. (Can you make that in a Cuisinart?)

Chocolate and hazelnuts are one of my favorite flavor combinations, so I ordered the chocolate praline marquise with hazelnuts and banana ice cream without thinking twice. It was basically a delicious ball of chocolate-hazelnut mousse topped on a praliné wafer. The banana ice cream was delicate, the candied hazelnuts crunchy and sweet.

We were brought a third dessert (another compliment of the chef): grapefruit cheesecake with campari, white chocolate and mint. Also on the plate was homemade grapefruit jelly and outrageously good balls of homemade “granola” (soft, with a similar texture to the praline above).

It was hard to pick a favorite dessert, but we both agreed that the cheesecake had such a surprising mix of flavors and textures that it almost won our hearts on its complexity alone.

Final bites with our check (left to right): sea-salt caramels, gingerbread-coconut truffles, blood orange jellies. The caramels were mixed with all kinds of spices- they also had a faint “gingerbread” flavor to them- and were pressed into a thin layer of chocolate. So creamy, they melted on our tongues. They may have been my favorite taste of the whole night, and were the perfect way to end a dreamy evening.

I’ve used the phrase “melt-in-your-mouth” over and over when describing this meal, but everything was so perfectly cooked, so tender, and so smooth. Food doesn’t have to be fancy to be fun, but fine-dining or not, it should be about pleasure. Dovetail does an exquisite job of making a meal both refined yet relaxed. The night was magical for many a reason, not least of which were the helpful staff, warm ambiance and, of course, exceptional food.

A few weeks ago, Caitlin tagged me in her Seven Random Facts post, and today seemed like a good day to tell you silly things about myself and share some gratuitous baby photos of the glory days.

1. I’m an only child. While it’s not so uncommon in New York, I’m one of the [...]]]>

A few weeks ago, Caitlin tagged me in her Seven Random Facts post, and today seemed like a good day to tell you silly things about myself and share some gratuitous baby photos of the glory days.

1. I’m an only child. While it’s not so uncommon in New York, I’m one of the only people I know without siblings. When friends ask what it was like, I never really know how to answer, because it’s all I’ve known. Sure, I’d probably have liked to have a friend to play with and someone to take a little of the parental focus off me, but I think I would have had a happy childhood either way.

2. I have four names: Katherine Alexandra (Mom’s maiden name) (Dad’s last name). I always thought that if my name wasn’t Katie, Alex would be another suitable nickname for me.

Hey, girl!

3. I used to be terrified of Mickey Mouse. We were visiting my grandparents in Minnesota for Thanksgiving once, and we went to a nearby mall to visit Santa and see the holiday decorations. Right after sitting on Santa’s lap (“I want a Teddy bear and lots of other surprises”), I spotted these huge, terrifying monsters wearing human clothes, their eyes the size of my head. They were waving, faces frozen in evil smiles… it was awful. A trip to Disney World got me over that fear pretty fast, though.

Hey, remember Gap in the early 90s? Yeah… we do, too.

4. The first thing I remember baking “by myself” was a fancy cake. For Christmas one year- I must have been about 5- my parents gave me a spot in a cake-baking class at Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School (now known as the Institute of Culinary Education). They dropped me off in the morning, and with the help of one of the other students, I turned out a three-layer carrot cake with candied violets and silver sugar. Probably one of the prettiest things I’ve baked to this day.

5. When I was growing up, we always had cats. Spotty was my favorite; Sacha was big and fat and really mean. It was only after Spotty died that she became affectionate and cuddly. Sadly, she died while I was away at summer camp while a neighbor was catsitting, but on the way home from camp that year we stopped at a breeder’s to look at dogs and came home with this guy.

Here pictured with Ilena, one of my oldest friends. We met in pre-school!

Charley- also known affectionately as “Mop Dog” when his hair is long and his bangs are in his eyes- just got a haircut. Mop Dog turned into a lamb!

6. Speaking of summer camp, that’s where I had my first kiss. I went to an all girls’ camp, but every week or so we had “Socials” with the neighboring boys’ camps. We’d get all gussied up- halter tops! glitter eye gel!- and dance to a couple Destiny’s Child songs. At the end of the night, without fail, the DJ would play “Stairway to Heaven” and that was the signal to go big or go home. This particular occasion was, I think, the last Social of my camp career. I think the boy’s name was Peter; there are photos of the Before and During moments (taken by this enterprising lady who was standing by with camera ready) and they still make me blush to think about.

7. I failed my road test three times. After taking the test in three different counties, the fourth time was a charm. (I think it was somewhere in Queens.) Blame it on my being a New York City kid (we couldn’t get our permits until we were 17, licenses at 18) or just being scared of things with wheels (I was hit by a motorcycle when I was 5). Anyway, I got my license when I was 19, had a car my junior and senior years of college (a must in Minnesota) and am now making a concerted effort to drive more.

BONUS weird fact: I can’t wink. No, seriously, my eyes just don’t do that. Left or right. I can blink, though, don’t worry.

Let’s get personal! What was your first kiss like?

What are 7 random facts about you? Sharing is caring!