The Month in Review - May 2013

I really don't know where May went.  Wasn't it just yesterday that I was impatiently waiting for the start of summer weekends?  Maybe the cold temperatures threw me off because I certainly can't remember another Memorial Day weekend where we had to turn on the heat and sleep under an electric blanket.  But despite the strange weather and my apparent inability to keep track of time, we did eat quite well in May.

We kicked the month off with a lots of Mexican themed Cinco de Mayo recipes and added another entry to the bundt cake collection.  There were a few other desserts but also lots of lighter, healthier fare in anticipation of the warm weather.  We also started a new Life in the Big City feature that I hope you'll like.  So let's take a quick look back before we move forward to summer, sun and surf.  Enjoy!

Cauliflower "Fried Rice"

Cauliflower masquerading as rice?  What?  Huh?  Having recently turned cauliflower into an amazing "cream" sauce, I've come to the conclusion that it must be the most versatile veggie on the planet.  Still, when I saw this recipe on Family Fresh Meals, I worried that the cauliflower would soften too much and turn into a paste.  But I just had to try it because it was much too fascinating to pass up.

Happy Memorial Day!

Welcome to our unofficial start of summer.  The start of long weekends out east near the water.  The start of steaks grilling and frozen cocktails chilling.  The start of a happy me.  For Manhattanites, in general, Memorial Day weekend is the start of summer cottage rentals and weekend beach house shares.  Many corporations let folks out early on Fridays so they can get on jitneys and trains to start their weekends away.  The bustling city is much quieter in summer.

Roasted Beet and Herbed Goat Cheese Sandwich

The combination of roasted beets and goat cheese is pretty common and definitely one of my favorites.  I use those ingredients frequently in salads and also tend to order it when I see it on a restaurant menu.  But it never occurred to me to make a sandwich out of it until now.

Tarragon Chicken Salad Slaw

This is what happens when a chicken salad meets coleslaw with some seriously tasty results. I actually love tossing shredded cabbage in with various salads because it boosts the volume, and nutrition, without adding calories. But this past weekend was the first time I'd tried it with chicken. Yummy!

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Bread

Another sweet quick bread recipe? Oh, yeah. There's no end in sight! So easy and so good and so many variations. I mentioned on Saturday in my Life in the Big City post that I've been pinning loads of lemony bread recipes and yesterday I played around with one of them. I wasn't using anyone's particular recipe but rather borrowing the idea of including ricotta in the batter. Although it seemed a bit odd at first, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it answered one of my quick bread problems.

Life in the Big City

Today I'm starting a new feature that I hope you'll enjoy.  I always try to take you behind the scenes of how our recipes and cocktails were inspired and you've seen plenty of cameos by our furry sous chef.  But, as I'm going about my days, I always have my camera and always have the urge to bring you all along with me.  The big city, for us, is New York, specifically Manhattan.  It's a small island that's also the financial and cultural capital of the world.  The most visited, most filmed, most crowded, most populated, most crazy place on earth.  I was raised here. I hope you'll like sharing a bit more of our lives.  Weekly?  Monthly?  Don't know yet.  Life happens...  Enjoy!

The French Cosmo

A few weeks ago, when Brian and I had dinner at the Central Park Boathouse, we got to enjoy a couple of their delicious specialty cocktails.  I opted for the mango mojito and Brian was drawn to the French cosmopolitan.  He and I both like traditional cosmos although they're a bit on the strong side for me.

Creamy Lemon Dill Dressing From a Barking Dog

A couple of blocks from our apartment is a fun little cafe called The Barking Dog.  Somewhere between a diner and a cafe, they have good burgers, amazing beer battered onion rings, comfy Yankee pot roast and the best Cobb salad we've ever had.  It's huge, with lots of grilled chicken, bacon, blue cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, sprouts and a whole sliced avocado.  I usually share one with Brian as a starter but I'm perfectly fine with skipping the entree and just eating this salad as my meal.  That's assuming, of course, that I can have extra dressing because I really, really love this dressing.  Really.

Chocolate Chip Bread

Do you ever find that you get into food moods?  Every once in a while I definitely do and, lately, I've been in the mood for chocolate chips.  Snacking on them, baking with them, etc.  What's odd is that there is usually a bag of them in my freezer but it's only Brian that snacks on them.  Most of the time I'm content to let them be but, these days, they seem to be calling to me.

Quinoa and Chickpea Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing

Lately I seem to be a little obsessed with quinoa.  I know it's trendy now but I wasn't such a fan the first time I tried it a couple of years ago.  Somehow it grew on me, though, and now I'm constantly thinking up new ways to prepare it.  I'll be considering making a salad or a pilaf or some other traditional dish and I'll think to myself - hey, why don't I put some quinoa in there? Oh, well.  Considering how healthy quinoa is, I'm far better off with it than, say, my cheesecake obsession.

Very Berry Streusel Bundt

As I think most of you know, I participate in a monthly bundt baking group, and every month we're challenged to use a different theme or ingredient by our group founders, Anuradha of Baker Street and Lora of Cake Duchess.  May's theme was berries and I knew immediately that I would use my two favorites - blueberries and strawberries.

Individual Chocolate Pudding Cheesecake Parfaits

What do you do when you see a recipe for a dessert that you absolutely, positively want to eat but you know that, if you make it, you will end up finishing the whole big pan, mostly by yourself?  Well, first you try to forget about it but that doesn't seem to work so good.  Then you wonder if you can invite half a dozen friends over for a coffee and dessert party but it's so hard getting people together on short notice...like...in about an hour?

Cinco De Mayo Round Up

With Cinco de Mayo being celebrated this coming Sunday, I'm definitely planning on making a whole lot of Mexican food this weekend.  And while my days of clubbing and pounding down tequila shots may be over, Brian and I can still knock back some holiday appropriate cocktails to go with that food.  Enjoy!

The Month in Review - April 2013

I'm used to seeing an absolute riot of flowers and blooming trees in April but this year New York was pretty dry and much too cold.  I don't remember ever waiting this long and this longingly for spring to arrive.  But now that April is over, we're at last being treated to tulips and cherry blossoms.  We've started to spend more Sundays in the park and are beginning to think less about soup and more about salads and sweet fruit.