NYC at Christmas Time

My husband and I decided to take a much-needed day off from work to go to New York City for the day because the city is always so beautiful at Christmas time.  We decided to drive in, which took almost 2 hours, parked our car in a random side-street garage in Chinatown, and began trekking through the city.  Our plan was breakfast in Little Italy, lunch in Chinatown, and dinner at Les Halles, the restaurant Anthony Bourdain (our fave) used to be head chef at. We also wanted to get to Central Park and then see where else the day took us.

Of course, when you plan things nothing goes the way you want so we ended up having to go with the flow, and it turned out great!  We got there close to 12 pm so we ate at Sambuca's Cafe for lunch. 

http://www.sambucascafe.com/

We ordered a small pizza with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, cheese, basil, and Greek olives.  The pizza could have been good...if it was cooked!  It was raw dough in the middle and drenched in olive oil.  MAJOR FAIL.  However, they had relatively good coffee (they seemed to specialize in alcoholic coffee beverages although we just stuck with regualr coffees), and they claimed to have the best Tiramisu in Little Italy.  We had to give that a try. The tiramisu was good, it was drenched in coffee liquer but it was definitely not the best I have ever had.  It was pretty though :)

From here we headed to McSorley's, a super-old pub that used to be for men only back in the day. 

http://www.mcsorleysnewyork.com/

There are sawdust shavings covering the floor, they serve two types of beer (light or dark) and they have a small menu.  When you order a beer they pour you two because it's very foamy and the glasses are small.  It's a cute place with lots of old history on the walls. 

We took the subway to Central Park and walked around for awhile.  We saw the ice skaters and the horses and carriages.  I have to say, I have always wanted to do a horse and carriage ride through Central Park, but when I saw those poor horses on the side of such a busy street, waiting to pick people up, covered in blankets to keep them warm and wearing blinders so the traffic didn't freak them out, I felt too bad for them.  When I heard car horns honking right next to them my heart actually broke for the poor animals who are only there to serve people who don't care about them.  It was terrible :(

From here we went to Rockafeller Center to see the tree, of course.  It is big and fluffy with the usual tacky colored lights, but it's the tree you gotta see :)

Of course Swarovski will always hold a special meaning for me... My husband and I had our first date in New York City on November 8th, 2007.  We went back for my birthday and spent the day roaming around, ended the night at Rockafeller viewing the tree.  The star on the top of the tree is designed with Swarovski crystals.  When we got back to his apartment that night he gave me my birthday gift which was a gorgeous Swarovski crystal bracelet.  I wear it (almost) every day and it's a constant reminder of such wonderful days and awesome memories :)

After Rockafeller we headed over to the Channel 4 Restaurant for a snack (buffalo chicken spring rolls--excellent!) and a beverage.  It was cozy in there but our bartender was horrendous, unfortunately.  She was not even busy and she gave us really crappy service, but the food and the time spent together was wonderful

From here we walked 1.5 miles to Brasserie Les Halles Park Avenue, where Anthony Bourdain has his home base and used to be head chef.  We have been wanting to go here for awhile now and it is actually affordable, so we went. 

http://leshalles.net/brasserie/

My husband ordered goose liver pate for an appetizer, which he loved.  I took one bite and at first all you taste is garlic and seasonings and the texture is tolerable...then the liver flavor kicks in and I almost gagged.  I am not a liver fan of any sort but my husband really enjoyed it.  For his meal, he ordered the roasted Amish chicken.  I'm sorry we did not get great pictures but I felt kind of crazy taking foodie pics in Anthony Bourdain's restaurant!  Couldn't bring myself to use anything but my iPhone out of embarrassment.  The Amish chicken was 1/2 a bird, breast served boneless and separate from the leg/thigh portion.  It came with a side of au jus gravy and fries.  I ordered the skirt steak with bleu cheese, medium rare, which also came with fries.  Before our meals came, I told my husband I did not really want to eat the fries but guess what...when I tasted them they were just about the best I ever had! (Fried in peanut oil, according to the website)  So eat them I did.  My steak was amazing, perfectly cooked and the bleu cheese was served on the side.   In all, I think our meal came to $68 and that included a glass of wine and a beer.  Not bad for NYC!

Pine Mouth...It Happened to Me!

All day today I have been tasting bitterness in my mouth.  I thought it was the allergy meds I took last night for a rash I randomly broke out with yesterday.  I decided to google it.  Don't you know I found abundant information about people who ate pine nuts and then had a bitter taste in their mouths for up to four weeks?!?!? 

Sunday morning before work I made myself oatmeal for breakfast.  The only nuts we had in the house were pine nuts so I figured what the heck, and threw some in.  That was two days ago...let's hope this does not last four weeks!  Everything I eat or drink tastes terrible.  And now I'm wondering if the rash is also from the pine nuts?

Check it out for yourself, and beware if you decide to eat pine nuts!!!!  

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/pine-mouth-pine-nuts-leave-bitter-taste-lingers/story?id=11097222

A Simple Thanksgiving Dessert

Looking for something quick, easy, and absolutely delicious to wow your guests this Thanksgiving?  Try this recipe I just created!!
You will need:
2 Bartlett pears
One cup frozen cranberries
orange juice
red and white wine
balsamic vinegar
1 box of puff pastry shells (6)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  While preheating, take your puff pastry shells out of the freezer to thaw on the counter.

When the oven is heated, place the pastries on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes.  Let sit on a cooling rack for a few minutes until you can handle them without burning yourself.

Dice up two large, peeled Bartlett pears.  Toss them into a nonstick pan (or coat a regular pan with cooking spray) on medium heat.  Add a quarter cup of orange juice, a teaspoon balsamic vinegar, a quarter cup red wine, a tablespoon of white wine, and let cook for about two minutes.

Toss in one cup frozen cranberries, stir, and add 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon flour.  Mix well and let simmer for about 5 minutes.  If the sauce is not thick enough add 2 teaspoons of cornstarch until your gastrique thickens up nicely.

Take your slightly cooled shells apart by lifting the top part so the pastry can be filled with your delicious gastrique.  When filled, top with the top part of the pastry and serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or on it's own.  Very delicious, tart and sweet...sure to impress your guests!!

Please comment if you try the recipe!

A Selfless Christmas Gift

In the words of my husband:

This year, I'm giving up my Christmas. I'm asking everyone that would've bought me gifts to instead donate that money to help me build a well. I'm also asking other of you to join me and give up your gifts. 100% of all funds raised go directly to the water projects.

Don't get me wrong - I love Christmas. It's time for family, for comfort, for love. And for Christians, it's a time to celebrate what's most important, the birth of Jesus Christ.

But there are a lot of things we get wrong about Christmas.

For one, we give each other so much stuff. Whether it's out of obligation or just to truly show someone we care, we're still essentially material-rich people giving other material-rich people more... materials. The purpose of our holiday, though, is Christ. And Jesus made his purpose clear to us - sacrifice. He died so that we could live. And we struggle to keep that the focus of Christmas while we're busy buying and unwrapping gifts.

Let's face it, we actually sacrifice very little. But what's small to us can be huge to someone who lacks basic health necessities. Just $20 is enough for one person to have clean water for two decades, for example.

Between now and Christmas, I aim to raise $5,000 in my charity: My Christmas Wish .

Jesus sacrificed himself for me. This is the least I can do.

Please join me on this milestone this Christmas season.

Thank you for your donations.
Happy Holidays!

Love you all

If you wish to donate specifically through the website my husband has set up, please comment after the blog and leave me an email address through which I can send you that information.  Thank you and God bless!


Check out the Charity Water blog!  http://www.charitywater.org/blog/