2013 - The Year of Top Three Favorites

2013 was the year of top three favorites.

2013 top three favorite food cities:
1. NYC, revisited
2. Seattle, Washington (1st visit)
3. Portland, Maine (1st visit)

Cheese Blintzes & Ivan Ramen & Russ & Daughters Books GIVEAWAY!

As you read in my NYC series, some of the highlights of my trip to NYC over Thanksgiving weekend were discovering Ivan Ramen and Russ and Daughters. One a new establishment launched first in Japan vs. the other that is a part of the history of the Lower East Side, Manhattan. The books however both telling us about their journey which I find fascinating. Great reads with some recipes.

Jewish Lower East Side, Manhattan: Russ & Daughters

Walking into Russ and Daughters felt like homecoming. It transported me back to my cultural and culinary roots. Oh wait, wrong ancestry.

French Bread

French bread as a holiday classic?! Yep, always. I am a big fan of late-mornings holiday-weekend Shakshuka (poached eggs in tomato sauce) brunches. Without fail, we always have it with French bread or baguette, otherwise it's just not the same.  On Holidays and New Year's Eve cocktail parties, toasted bruschetta or crostini with various toppings, I always make with day old French bread or a baguette. Besides, since this French loaf is best the day of, if by any chance you've got leftovers, you can make bruschetta or crostini as appetizers before dinner the following evening.

Vegan Butternut Dill Soup

Imagine four full days of gluttony in New York City. It was well worth every calorie, as each and every one of them settled comfortably, without much discrimination, in every cell of my body. On the other hand, as we were heading back home, I was dreading the empty calories at the rest stops on the road. So…

Panettone & The New Artisan Bread in Five Cookbook Worldwide GIVEAWAY

When I received my review copy of The new Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, I didn't know which recipe to tackle first. Initially I wished to feature the olive bread to illustrate our day to day life. We always have bagels with cream cheese, multi grain and multi seed bread toasted with jam in the morning, pita with hummus as a snack and olive bread with feta and sliced tomatoes on top with a dash of salt as a lazy lunch.

The Ramen That Won Us Over

Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop in Gotham West won both me and Jonathan over. The Barista at Blue Bottle Coffee Co. got such a kick out of me when I was trying to tell him about our magical ramen discovery when I was ordering coffee the next morning.