Weekend in Photos – Home Improvements and My First Rack of Lamb

the view from our “garden” room.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I hang out at home a lot for a New Yorker. There are a variety of reasons for this but mainly the reality is that most of my money goes towards rent and my school debt (God help me) so there’s not a whole lot left over to play with. Especially when play in New York costs $12 – $15 a cocktail and $30 an entree (Ouch. Always, OUCH). And while our rent is higher than others, our apartment is also bigger. In fact, by New York standards it’s pretty palatial which has a lot to do with why I’m so happy to hang out there. There’s a garden, an actual kitchen with real counter space, a fairly sizable living room, and a claw foot tub. And cocktails! Why would I ever leave? So I pretty much don’t.

Basically, if you want to see me, then find a kick ass cheap happy hour to meet up post work. Otherwise, I’m that annoying person who always just tells my friends to come over to my apartment.

All that being said – the apartment needs a lot of work. So weekends lately have been all about home improvements. This weekend, was the back room. Or as I like to call it – the garden room. It was an addition to the original apartment and faces the garden/backyard, with no one sharing any walls, so it’s unbelievably quiet and peaceful. For the past six months it’s been used as storage but we decided it was finally time to turn it into a livable space. So we painted:

Before…

And AFTER!

Not too shabby, huh? We decided on yellow as that room catches a lot of great light during the day and yellow is in general a pretty pleasing color to people. The room is very much a work in progress but painting it transformed it so we’re really happy. Next up – getting curtains, replacing a very modern desk with a more rustic looking one, getting better bedding, hanging some photos, getting a lamp or two, and on and on. So basically, if ever there’s a doubt for what to get me for Christmas, birthdays, etc – get me a gift certificate to Pottery Barn.

This weekend we also attempted our first rack of lamb roast which turned out pretty well.

our first lamb roast

The fixings for the crust – shallots, bread crumbs, etc

finished lamb with crust. Always fun to take something so pretty out of the oven

paired with Erik’s mashed potatoes and buttered haricot verts…DELISH

The lamb came out on the rare side of the spectrum but better too rare than overcooked. Lamb is tricky and if you cook it past medium rare it’s pretty much ruined (in my opinion) so I was glad we remained cautious.  I definitely want to try again to get it just right but, for our first try, I’d say it was a pretty good roast dinner all around.

This coming weekend there will be no new roast as Sunday will be spent all day at the Great Googa Mooga Festival in Brooklyn! Should be a super fun day outside eating the best NYC has to offer. I can’t wait. But there’s no way (and no reason) to cook after that kinda day.

Knowing me, there will be a lot of picture taking so I’ll post pics of all the food, vendors, Brooklynites, and all around good fun. My personal goal is to find as many French vendors as possible so I can write an article about it. And so I can eat all the French food…I’m so predictable. Wish me luck!

Life, Home, Work, Cocktails, Cooking and a Blog

Work is busy. Life is busy. Blog is neglected. Freelance writing requires lots of time juggling/multi-tasking prowess… I. IS. TIRED.

But let’s attempt a real update, shall we?

In life updates, I stupidly made the decision to go back to spinning and irish dancing at the same time. This means my body has been sore for the entirety of a month. Normally, the pain would ease off after one or two classes of either, but since I’m doing both, and  averaging two spins and two dance classes per week, my body is basically angry at me ALL THE TIME. The sense of accomplishment feels great, the pain..not so much. But regardless, I’m really excited that I’ve started back with irish dancing in particular and actually stuck with it. It’s easy to do it once or twice and then be too tired after work, have a headache, etc. so the fact that I’m being consistent is pretty awesome. It also helps that I’ve started over from the beginning. It’s very no pressure. I know what I’m doing and by the time it gets really hard I’ll be determined to keep going.

In other news, we painted one wall of our kitchen with chalkboard paint (see above photo) so we could start listing our weekly meals on the wall. Beyond it being kind of ridiculous (but cute and charming!) it helps us (okay, me) stay on track with cooking. If I have a plan I am good to go. If I get home after work (and after dance class) with no plan for dinner it’s pretty much guaranteed that take out is happening, and that gets old real fast.  So the board is helping. And I like crossing things off lists so it’s just all around good fun for my planner brain!

Also, I mad a new cocktail. With gin! I’m usually a vodka girl but I’m branching out like a real grown up. My first gin at home creation – a lavender honey cocktail. I’ll post the recipe once I get it just right. But basically it’s gin, fresh lemon juice, and a honey lavender syrup. I mix honey, water, lavender, and lavender bitters together and let it sit for a half hour and then use it as a syrup basically to add to the gin and the lemon.

YUMMMMM

Topped off with a sprig of lavender and you have this gorgeous little cocktail:

so pretty – almost too pretty to drink…ALMOST.

The weather (except for the rain today) has been pretty exquisite here and we’ve been eating outside almost every night enjoying dinner and cocktails. It’s a little piece of heaven in the midst of all the chaos of this city. And while our rent check keeps us at home instead of going out most nights, I gotta say, I can’t complain that much. Home is pretty fucking awesome.

Home is also soon to be more awesome as we are painting the back bedroom this weekend! My mom will be visiting in two weeks and the goal is to get the room nice enough for someone besides the cats to actually sleep in it. So this Saturday will be all about painting.

Sunday meanwhile will be all about cooking – hopefully a new roast! I’ve been struck by a strange desire to roast a duck but that might prove to be too expensive. But expect a roast update soon! Perhaps it’s time to take on a roast chicken…the most intimidating of roasts for me as I have never tasted one better than my father’s. And I’m not glorifying his memory here. It was just THAT FUCKING GOOD. UGH. More evidence that I should have been paying attention!

Finally, in other VERY important news – today is apparently National Moscato Day! Made up no doubt by some random alcoholic! In honor of that alcoholic I give you my favorite moscato – La Caudrina Moscato d’Asti. It’s perfection in a glass. It’s usually available for anywhere between $17 – $20 a bottle – but bear in mind that’s half a bottle. Delish.

So there you have it – a lengthy update that could have been various blogs over the past two weeks if I actually had the ability to multi-task. Blogger of the Year – CLEARLY.

The One, The Only, The Roast Beef

It finally happened. I made a roast. I took a huge raw piece of meat and cooked it and it was not a disaster. In fact, for my first roast, I think it came out pretty damn good. And there is absolutely no explanation for it turning out so well. I think perhaps my Dad was in the kitchen making sure everything went according to plan because it was just too easy. Or maybe roasts are in fact easy…but I think I had a helping hand that night.

So this was my meat – a 4 lb gorgeous roast beef bought from the local butcher:

PRETTY

I had genuinely no idea what to do with it so I did some internet recipe research and decided to make an herb butter paste to cover it with. I included thyme, sage, rosemary, and I think garlic…and a ton of butter.

slathered in herby goodness

Slathered it on, put it in the oven and let it roast for two hours. Then we let it rest (covered) for about 45 minutes and then we got to cut into this beautiful looking roast:

O.M.G.

It was DELICIOUS. Not as good as I remember my dad’s being…but for my first try it was pretty damn good. That being said, it was probably a bit rare by some standards, but for Erik and me it was perfect. And because it was so rare it kept incredibly well throughout the week and we were able to use the leftover meat for a number of other meals.

So – SUCCESS!

The goal now is to do a roast every Sunday. This of course depends on what we can get at the butcher and for what price but I think we can do it. Either way I am VERY excited. I really want to do a prime rib but that’s a bit pricey so we’ll see. I’m also keen to roast a duck. Regardless, I am proud of myself for keeping up with my goals in the cooking department. Hopefully next Christmas I will be making a stunning prime rib for friends and family. For now, let the experimenting continue!

The Topic is NEGLECT – I’m Sorry Blog, Truly Sorry

My poor neglected little blog. I have no excuses. I’m just a bad blog parent. Totally neglectful because I’m just so “busy”. Shame. On. Me.

So what’s been going on? Well I have another article up on My French life that you can find HERE. This has been my favorite assignment to date. Here’s hoping there are more French product launches that involve five course sit down meals…a girl can dream.

Also, VERY IMPORTANT – we’re looking for more New York Francophile writers for My French Life! If you’re interested please leave a comment or send me a message on twitter and I will get back to you asap with details on how to start writing for My French Life. If you’re not in NYC but are a Francophile in another city and interested in writing for them, you can also still apply! Just let me know where you’re from and I will put you in touch with the right person.

In other news that I should have already shared if I were a good blogger, we cooked up a storm for Easter Sunday and it was DELICIOUS. I came up with a pretty kick ass bruschetta for the dinner and I have since made it for my dear friend’s birthday party at our place this past weekend, so I will post the recipe here soon. Let’s just say for now that garlic butter makes everything taste better. ALWAYS.

On the recipe front – I’m looking for a kick ass macaroni salad recipe as well as a super amazing potato salad recipe. If you have favorites please send them my way!

Also important news – I am buying a roasting pan this weekend! Let the Sunday roasts begin! Now all I need to do is learn how to make a roast – up to my own personal standards which are very HIGH. It’s times like these that I wish I’d paid more attention to what my father was doing in the kitchen. His roast beef and prime rib are to this day the best I’ve ever had. And that’s not love for my father talking. That’s just plain and simple fact. They were AMAZING. And now I am kicking myself for not taking notes. Oh well, hopefully I will find a base guide for how to make roasts in line with what I remember and then tweak it till I get it right. We might have to start having friends over for dinner on a weekly basis so I can keep experimenting.

In other news, I will be going to Niagara on the Lake for my cousin’s wedding at the end of May and am really looking forward to it. I’m also going to be writing an article about Niagara on the Lake and all the fun things to see and do there so that should make the trip all the more interesting. Hopefully I’ll fit some rest and relaxation in there somewhere. Although, what’s more relaxing than a wine tour – right?

So here’s to being a better blogger in the midst of all this chaos…at least I’m not bored I guess.

Friday Favorites!

My newest and latest article for Ma Vie Francaise has been posted – check it out here.

I took an amazing Macaron making class at Mille Feuille bakery last week for my article on Macaron Day. My two part article on Macaron Day is here and here. If you’re in NYC please visit Mille Feuille bakery and have one of their amazing macarons! Or take the class – you won’t be disappointed! Here are a few pics from the super fun class:

making macarons – vanilla, pistachio, and chocolate

beautiful and ready for the ganache filling!

Beautiful macarons made by MOI! And yes I got to take ALL of those home. Amazing

My latest article for Used York City is also up (see how busy I’ve been) and you can find it here.

It was brought to my attention that you can buy hand crafted furniture made out of whiskey and wine barrels. And now I’m obsessed with something I can’t afford – AGAIN.

In honor of Mad Men coming back I give you this list – Betty is  a crazy bitch but that’s what makes her fun to watch.

So there you have it. Also – whew! I’ve got another article to finish today, one to start on Monday, and a show to see tonight to review for an article I’m writing this weekend. And of course there’s the full time job on top of all this. It’s no wonder my poor blog is suffering.

On the cooking agenda this weekend – my second attempt at the olive oil cake that I somehow messed up last time and a new recipe by Jacques Pepin!

And sleep – glorious, glorious sleep.

Bon week-end!

Roasted Veggie Sandwiches a la Adrienne

Busy. Busy. BUSY. And my blog is suffering for it. Poor girl (yup, my blog is female). It seems that when you start writing for other people and other websites (yay!) your blog starts to get the shaft. Sad but true stroy.

But I will not give up on it! It’s just a matter of multi tasking right?

Today’s installment is food related! Finally. As I mentioned in my last post I am very much still cooking but I’ve encountered three problems. One – time. It’s hard to try out new recipes during the week and oh so much easier to just make what you know how to make already. Two – budget. I live on a budget. It’s annoying but it’s real and I can’t escape it. And sometimes new recipes, at least the ones I’m attracted to, call for a ton of ingredients I don’t have and I never seem to have enough money to splurge on random things at the grocery store for the purpose of one meal. And finally, and most importantly, three – it is becoming increasingly clear that in order to make more awesome things I need more awesome kitchen tools. Like a roaster. I really want to experiement with roasts, but I have no roaster. And those fuckers are weirdly expensive. Sure, I can go cheapish but the cheap ones look a bit shady. I also need a kitchen aid. And a larger dutch oven (my baby one is amazing but I can’t stuff a chicken in there if I tried). And so many other things…

At the end of the day, I can work around all of these factors. Let’s be honest. But it’s harder to stay motivated when the new recipes you can try aren’t as awesome as the new things you want to try but don’t have the tools for. Shoot, now I’m just whining.

ANYWAY – I am still cooking! And one of the favorites chez moi are my grilled veggie sandwiches. Erik – a man known to loathe all vegetables – requests these sandwiches at least once a week which I take as a massive compliment. The sandwiches were born from my original experiment with roasted veggie tartines (excellent) which turned out extremely well. So well that it inspired me to create my own which is now a super easy week day evening meal. Seriously – so simple and almost no dishes (bonus!).

Here’s what you’ll need (for two people):

One red pepper

One yellow pepper

One orange pepper

One yellow onion

4-6 basil leaves

goat cheese

mozzarella cheese (shredded is okay)

balsamic vinegar

baguette

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 F, then:

1. Cut the peppers and onions into strips

2. Put a dutch oven on medium heat, add a splash of oil

3. Add the onions, stir to coat with the oil

4. After about two minutes add the peppers

cooking the peppers and the onions

This time around I only had a red and yellow pepper in the fridge but normally I include red, yellow, and orange peppers.

5. Put the cover on the dutch oven and let the onions and peppers cook until nice and tender. Check and stir occasionally. Usually takes about ten minutes.

6. While your peppers and onions are cooking prepare the rest of the sandwich.

7. Portion out the baguette

Ta da!

8. Cut the baguette pieces so they’re open faced

9. Add basil leaves to the top portion of each sandwich.

10. Spread the goat cheese on the bottom portion of each sandwich. Then, drizzle each bottom portion with balsamic vinegar.

This is the step where I start to get really excited about dinner

11. Once the vegetables are done cooking add them to goat cheese/balsamic portions of the bread. Then add slices of mozzerrella to the top portions of the bread (over the basil).

You can use less mozzarella cheese of course, but I’m not one for cutting corners. Cheese is IMPORTANT.

Now put them in the oven for ten minutes so the bread can get crunchy and the cheese can melt. Ta da!

et voila – mouth watering and healthy goodness. Shut up – all that cheese is TOTALLY healthy.

Now put the sandwich together and it’s finished! I would have a final fancy picture but my camera/phone died and I was really hungry and wasn’t about to wait to dig in. But I think you get the idea.

You can serve these with a side salad (very French) or fries (my preference usually) and you’ve got yourself a pretty kick ass weekday dinner.  When I make it with fries I use Trader Joes frozen fries (surpsingly really good) and they take about ten minutes to cook at 425 degrees, so you just put them in the oven when the sandwiches go in and voila! In ten minutes dinner is ready.

Seriously – these are super easy and really tasty. The cheese of course helps but the balsamic is key for me. It adds a lovely sweetness to it and when the sandwich is hot and out of the oven it’s just pure heaven.

So – see? I am still cooking. So much so that I even created something myself. Woo hoo!

Here’s hoping I come up with something else new and tasty soon. If you have any recipes you think I should try please send them my way!

Friday Favorites!

Most important friday favorite – I am not dead. I am just busy and have not had time to blog. Will be a better blogger from now on. Also, for those who have asked I am definitely still cooking. I have not fallen off the cooking wagon. I just seem to be making a lot of things I’ve already posted about so there’s been no need to take pics or blog about it. But this weekend I am back to trying new recipes. So expect an update and recipe next week!

This list is so spot on I can’t even tell you – especially #2 and #15. Actually, all of them. All of them are fierce NYC truths and deserve to be hated.

Friday Favorite and IMPORTANT – I am now writing for Used York City, a great online travel magazine, and my first article was posted today! Please check it out and share with your friends!

If you ever wondered what it costs to rent in San Francisco this average rent map will put it all in perspective. I thought SF was cheaper than NYC but apparently not really. Guess if I ever move back to the Bay Area I’ll find myself in Berkeley again (no complaints there).

And finally – because Empire Records will ALWAYS be important – I give you this. Sidenote – Warren is hella old now guys. Which basically means I’m old. Le sigh…

Bon week-end!