Pinterest Recipes

Hi y'all! Happy Monday. It's very windy here in the city today. Guess that's the end of March for ya. Did you all have good weekends? We had fun with friends visiting and like most other people, we went to see The Hunger Games yesterday and it did not disappoint. Though some parts of the book were cut out, it was pretty accurate. I'm still amazed by all the young movie viewers. I don't think I would have been able to handle it when I was 6 or 7 and there were definitely kids that young there.

Last night before Mad Men (ohmygoshdidyousee?) I decided to test out a new Pinterest recipe. I love pasta and am always looking for new ways to spice it up. Since I hadn't roasted peppers before (crazy I know), I thought this would be fun to try.

The recipe is from the blog, Lauren's Latest, and it was quite easy to follow, even for a beginner cook like me. Her recipe photos were what really got me excited and the final dish tasted just as good.
You can find the full recipe here and below. I didn't use the immersion blender - mine lives in NC with Sooze - so it was more chunky. I may also try with chicken next time.

Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Alfredo

Ingredients:
2 whole red bell peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fat free half & half
4 oz. garlic & herb goat cheese
2/3 cup grated Parmesa cheese
1/2 cup artichoke hearts (optional)
1/2 lb. linguine, cooked to al dente
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place red peppers on baking sheet and bake 20-30 minutes until peppers are charred. Remove from oven and cover with foil 10 minutes.
In the mean time, saute onions and garlic in olive oil 7 minutes or until tender. Pour in half & half, goat cheese, salt & pepper. Stir to melt goat cheese into sauce and keep warm over low heat.
Uncover peppers, peel off skin and remove stem and seeds. Chop into large pieces and place into sauce along with Parmesan cheese. Stir to melt cheese and remove from heat. Pour sauce into food processor and puree, or use an immersion blender. Place back into hot pan and toss with cooked pasta. Taste and adjust seasonings. Top with more Parmesan cheese, pepper, salt and parsley, if desired.

All images from Lauren's Latest blog.

Outer Boroughs - Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos

You might think I'm a bit crazy but one of the things that I miss most about the South is it's cheap Mexican restaurants [insert Las Margaritas in Raleigh, Monterrey's in Burlington and La Carreta in Lynchburg]. Y'all know those places, the kinds of restaurants where the food is served hot and quick, they have REAL queso dip that we call cheese dip, and you smell like the establishment for at least three hours after? Pure bliss. Really, we love those kinds of eateries and so far we have yet to find one in NYC. Trust me, we have looked high and low and nothing comes close to the ones down South.

However, a few weeks back The Husband and Southern in the City did stumble upon a great Mexican joint after getting lost in Queens or was it Brooklyn? (are they really that different- ha, kidding - sort of...)

Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos in Brooklyn, okay had to look that up first, is a diamond in the ruff. We first heard about this place via our favorite travel foodie writer, Anothony Bourdain where he dedicated a whole episode to eating in New York's Outer Boroughs. There is nothing fancy about this place, in fact to get to it you have to walk through a garage on the left and then around a tortilla factory to order. But, it's fast and hot and authentic. It's not quite like the Mexican restaurants at home, but it is worth a trip to Brooklyn on a Sunday afternoon for a couple double-wrapped delicious tacos.

Watch Anthony's experience at Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos below:

Food Trucks and Such

Happy July y'all! The summer is flying by. Hope everyone had a great July fourth weekend. The Husband, Miss Bailey and I traveled across the bridge to Morristown to get some R&R with Uncle Jim and Aunt Liz. We spent a lot of time by this...
and ate lots of yummy food like that...
As always it was great to get away from the city for a bit and feel the grass under our feet. Bailey reminded us that she is in fact a country dog and ran until she couldn't.

Yesterday I watched a new show on the Cooking Channel called Eat Street. I love the idea of food trucks - quick and inexpensive food that's unique. I've yet to find a great one in NYC (mainly because they haven't come close to my whereabouts). One of my favorites though is this one.

After doing some digging, we found that many food trucks park themselves outside what used to be known as Tavern on the Green on the Upper West Side of Central Park. In fact, one even serves alcohol. Who'd a thought? Most of the food truck locations can be found via Twitter. Check out this article on where to find the best food trucks in NYC.

What can $1 Get you in NYC...

....a lunch! For those of y'all in NYC tomorrow, Living Social is offering certain menu items at selected Midtown restaurants tomorrow for just $1. Visit Living Social tomorrow starting at 6 a.m. to purchase your $1 deal. You must redeem your deal between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

For more info, visit LivingSocial.com.

Happy cheap eating!

Van Horn Sandwich Shop

I'm always looking for a great place to eat. Sometimes it's overwhelming because there are so many delicious choices in the city. I know the food and restaurants are going to be one of the biggest things I'll miss about New York (whenever we decide to move away)...

The Husband's aunt sent me this article from the WSJ yesterday about a restaurant in Brooklyn called the Van Horn sandwich shop. The restaurant, which was opened in February by two North Carolina natives (Chapel Hill natives to be exact), serves southern specialties like pimento cheese sandwiches, hush puppies, greens and North Carolina BBQ.

I think this will give me a good excuse to travel out to Brooklyn. For more information and directions, check out their Web site.

Happy eating, y'all!

Image from Van Horn Web site by Daniel Krieger.

Bon Appetit, Y'all!

It's been a little long since my last post but it has been cold and we haven't done much. However, Southern in the City and The Husband did do something very cool last week - we took a cooking class! Yes. It was awesome. My friends are probably saying, "Thank God" right now because we all know that I don't cook. The Husband loves to cook and is actually good at it so he was equally excited to go and learn more.

I've never been to a cooking class before, unless you count watching The Food Network while trying to cook along with the chef on TV.

Through work, I found the talented chef, Myra Kornfeld and she is wonderful. If you are looking for a fun date night or a group party, I highly highly recommend using her! Check out her site for contact information and upcoming classes.

After work Thursday, we walked to her loft in Chelsea and she greeted us with wine and appetizers before we started cooking. Her kitchen is beautiful and was the size of our apartment. Literally. A dream for a chef and an amateur like me.

We cooked and talked and she showed us the correct way to chop an onion, make chocolate mousse from scratch, how to poach a pear and butterfly a chicken (really!). She showed us insider tricks and equipment that everyone should have. Of course we asked her millions of questions like, "do you cook everyday?", "what's your favorite restaurant?", "where do you shop for groceries?" We learned quite a lot. When I told her that I don't cook because my kitchen is small, she quickly replied by saying that she wrote two cook books from her worst kitchens with no space. I guess I have no excuse now.

As we left Myra signed her holiday cookbook for us.


Now, the test will be if I can cook like I did with Myra in my own kitchen. Stay tuned! Thanks for an amazing night Myra...

Rollin' With Thanks

It was hard to go back to work Monday morning. Did any of y'all feel the same way? I woke up with a little more angst and worry knowing of all the things I need to do in the next month. It will get done. It always does and I need to remind myself to relax sometimes.

I did just that this past weekend - relaxed, and gave thanks. Staying in NY for the holiday was a smart decision. Though we missed our families greatly - thank goodness for Skype - the two of us (plus Bailey) made our own memories and new traditions. I found it to be one of the most memorable Thanksgivings to-date.

On Wednesday evening, The Husband and I bundled up and walked down to 79th and Columbus for the Macy's Thanksgiving float blow-up. Strollers. Everywhere. Though, we've now figured out how to sneak past the large crowds and NYPD so that we're in and out within 30 minutes. Thanksgiving Day was spent cooking and The Husband and Bailey did their own turkey trot - check out the running shorts!

I cooked y'all and it was good! I still can't believe it, but as my Godmother says, "If you can read, you can cook." Even The Husband (my cook) was in shock. Being in the kitchen, cooking the recipes that my mom and her mom and her mom have cooked year after year, made me feel a bit closer to them and home. My favorite being the yeast rolls. I attempted to make these last year (3 times in fact) but to no avail. Although I didn't get it on my first try, the yeast did rise the second time and the rolls turned out delicious. Quite a feat.I think I can finally say that I'm becoming a cook! I'm sure The Husband is thankful for that. Also, a special thanks to pops for the ham. We will be eating ham for weeks to come.

That's One Big Cupcake

As if you didn't consume enough sugar and calories yesterday, check out the giant Crumbs cupcake below sitting on my boss's desk. It may be difficult to tell the size of the cupcake from the iPhone picture, but it's huge.

This will give you a better sense of just how large it is:Isn't that big? On Friday, The Husband sent one with me to work to give to my boss. She helped him find an entrepreneur to interview for one of his business classes and this was his thank you. I say that's a pretty good thank you, don't you?

Tate's Cookies

Tate's cookies - yum, ya'll! These are a new favorite of mine that I want share with you. I recently learned about this NY staple while at my friend's Hampton's wedding. The lovely bride included Tate's crispy cookies in the gift bags and I ate just about all of them before the wedding even began. These cookies are delicious and oh so light. I don't typically like crunchy cookies, but Tate's cookies melt in your mouth (and no, Tate's isn't paying me to say that, though they could pay me in cookies). If any of ya'll are around the city, pick up a bag of them and you'll fall in love, I'm sure. They come in six different types, though chocolate chip and chocolate chip walnut are my favs.

Don't worry Dad, I'm going to mail you some soon!

The End of Summer

Well ya'll, the end of summer is finally here. Though it might not seem like it with this warm weather, I noticed it especially on my way home from work last night when the sky was just a bit darker than last week.

Another indicator that summer is fading fast is the end of its greatest gift - fresh vegetables and fruit, especially tomatoes. I've always loved eating tomatoes in the summer, with just a little bit of mayo and a pinch of salt and pepper (a great southern treat!). One of the best farmers markets in the city is located on 79th and Columbus, every Sunday morning (at least until the weather holds out). They were recently featured on a CBS Sunday Morning segment here. My mom and I visited when she visited and The Husband and I went back last weekend to buy my new favorite tomato, heirlooms.

What summer treats will you miss from this past season?

Oh, and for good measure, finally the one picture from Sooze's trip - enjoying the view from our rooftop!

Tasty Tuesdays: The Breslin Bar and Dining Room

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In fact, it's my favorite so I was very excited when The Husband suggested we find one breakfast place in the city to try each week. For the next few months, we will be searching for the perfect place around town to start off our Tuesday mornings. Hey, it's cheaper than going out to dinner (which we like to do too). We may not find the Denny's Grandslam, but I bet we find something equally delicious with a few less calories.

Our first Tasty Tuesday - The Breslin Bar and Dining Room @ the Ace Hotel on West 29th and Broadway. They don't take reservations so we arrived around 8 a.m. giving us enough time to eat before work. The Breslin is casual and cozy but dark and quiet so no loud babies or early-morning talkers.

We may have gone a little overboard with our order but we wanted to try a little bit of everything. To start, we ordered the selection of pastries (muffins, croissants and hot cross buns - yes, hot cross buns really do exist - I thought they were just part of a nursery song). Let me just say that the blueberry muffin was the best muffin I have ever had - ever. It was light but sweet with plenty of butter and fresh blueberries throughout. If I could have one everyday I would.

Next, we ordered the chilled grapefruit with ginger sugar and mint. Yes, ginger sugar and mint. Yum. After eating all those carbs, the fresh fruit was a great segue into our next order (I told you we went a little overboard)....the oven baked three cheese sandwich with house smoked ham and egg. Our stomachs barely let us finish this tasty sandwich but we both took a few bites. We agreed this would be perfect to eat on a cold winter day because it was so filling.

We definitely recommend The Breslin for breakfast - just go hungry (and maybe don't order as much as we did!)

Stay tuned for other Tasty Tuesday breakfast recommendations.

Photos from Breslin.com.

The Treats Truck

A funny thing happened on the way home yesterday....as I walked down the subway stairs, I noticed a truck on the street called, "The Treats Truck." You can only imagine my first thought, "cookies? brownies? desserts? oh my!" A long line of treat tasters wrapped around the corner of 18th street in Chelsea. What an amazing idea. Treats to go. Are you intrigued yet?

Well I was, and today I googled "treat truck in nyc" and yes, something did in fact come up. According to their website, "The Treats Truck" is filled with freshly made brownies, cookies, goodies, etc. that are not too fancy but oh so delicious and cheap. They even have something called dessert nachos, which I'm sure The Husband would love. Since the store is a truck, it's constantly moving around so you have to check our their weekly schedule in order to spot them. Here's a pitcure of the truck, appropriately named Sugar.

What a treat!

Eat More Chicken

I've never met anyone who doesn't love Chick-fil-a. Whenever I travel down south, it's on my must-have list during my visit because here in New York City we are not so blessed with this fine establishment.

Today was different. Right smack in the middle of Bryant Park, Chick-fil-a and their infamous cows were giving away chicken sandwiches...for free! Colleagues from work made the trek to the park, but to no avail. It was a madhouse. Who knew that New Yorkers would love Chick-fil-a so much?

Check out some photos from Midtown Lunch here.

Dear Mr. Chick-fil-a man, please come to the city. New Yorkers will embrace you, eat your food and make you money, I promise. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Bon Appetit!

Food. As Julia Child says, "I love to eat." I may not be the next Top Chef, but by all means, I can certainly appreciate a good meal.

If you've lived here for any length of time, you're probably well aware of Restaurant Week, which graces us with its presence twice a year. If you're not, let me enlighten you and your palate for a minute.

In 1992, NY Restaurant Week was created as a one-time culinary event to welcome the Democratic National Convention to the city. Residents of NY enjoyed this week so much that it has now become a reoccurring event. What makes this event so unique is that you can dine at the top restaurants for a fraction of the cost. It has expanded to include both lunch and dinner with three-course, prix-fixe meals at $25.00 - $35.00.

This winter more than 260 restaurants will be participating in NY Restaurant Week, which will last from January 25th through February 7th (yes - actually longer than a week!).

Check out a list of the selected eateries:

http://www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek

Bon Appetit, yall!

Rockin’ but no Rollin'

Thanksgiving this year was full of many firsts for Southern in the City. First Thanksgiving away from home, first Thanksgiving together as a married couple, first Thanksgiving seeing the Macy’s Parade Floats, and first Thanksgiving cooking.

We all have our must-haves for a Thanksgiving feast and this year I wanted to have my number one must – my mom’s homemade yeast rolls. These delicious rolls have been in our family forever and over the years my mom has perfected the art of roll making. I my friends, have not.

In order to bring a little south (and home) to New York this Thanksgiving, I thought baking rolls would be the perfect project for me. My mom even gave me the essentials including flour, a mixer and six packs of yeast. “Now remember, the water must be hot to the touch, not boiling and not lukewarm,” she said over the phone. These words ran over and over in my head each time I poured the water into the yeast. Three times, I tried, to no avail.

Here sits the dough that did not rise
My mom says it took her many times to perfect the recipe so I’m not throwing in the rolling pin just yet. Fortunately, my mom thought ahead and packed her already-made rolls to New York just in case this very thing happened.

Despite the roll rollercoaster, Southern in the City did manage to make some delicious dishes including squash casserole, green bean casserole and sweet potatoes. The Husband even cooked his first turkey. All in all, I deem our Thanksgiving of firsts a success. Much to be thankful for this year! And a special thanks to our friends in Brooklyn who hosted a great Thanksgiving feast.

I snapped a few photos of the squash casserole cooking and the beginnings of the sweet potatoes...

Here's The Husband with his bird

On Wednesday night we checked out the Macy's Parade floats being blown-up. Check out some of the characters below. They were huge, I mean huge. I've watched the parade for so many years growing up and knew they would be large, but I didn't realize how tall and wide they actually are. I stood looking at the floats for awhile thinking what would happen if they all came alive? Fortunately, they didn't.