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.

A New Year, A New Beginning, and of course, More Blogging

Happy place

Words cannot convey how happy I am to welcome the start of 2013. As you may have read on this little blog, 2012 pretty much kicked my ass. To be fair, good things came from it – I got an amazing new job which I am grateful for every day, I started cooking (a shock to myself and all who know me), my little shih tzu Rocky came back home and joined our little zoo in Brooklyn, and although it was via fairly traumatic circumstances I got a kick ass 2 bedroom garden apartment in Brooklyn Heights that has now spoiled me for life.

The worst part of 2012 was separating from my husband in August and the trauma that followed for the next five months. But I’m happy to report that the New Year is the start of a new beginning for us and he is back home and we are on a solid road of reconciliation. There’s a lot of work to be done but we’re recommitted to making it work and I couldn’t be happier about it. When we said for better or worse we meant it, and now that we’ve been through the worst it’s time to aim for the best – so 2013 best be listening! It’s time for a year of good and positive changes. No negative people or energy wanted or allowed.

In regards to resolutions, I would say mine are more goal oriented than resolution by definition, and fairly simple all things considered. Here they are:

1. To keep writing for My French Life and look into more writing opportunities about France, travel, etc. I really am happiest when I’m writing about France, cultural relations with America, travel, and what not, so if I can continue to do that and do it more, I think only good things can come from it.

2.  To recommit to the relationships in my life. Obviously this applies to my marriage but also some very dear friendships that I have not given enough attention to. Distance is a difficult thing but it’s no excuse to not check in with people beyond liking their status on Facebook. I need to make more of an effort to call people and catch up. More importantly I need to make more of an effort to see the people who live here in New York that I somehow never see. There’s really no excuse, and I need to recommit to being a better friend here and with those far away. For those nearby, the goal is to make my huge apartment a place to convene for drinks, dinner, general hanging out and random parties. We finally have a big enough apartment to have people over, so let the socializing and dinner parties begin. No more hermit bull shit. The time is now.

3. To keep cooking! My amazing sister and brother in law got me Jacques Pepin’s Essential cookbook (SO EXCITED) for Christmas and Erik got me a great cookbook as well so it seems I have plenty of new things to try. I just have to stay motivated! Which I’m very confident I can do – I just need to keep trying new things so I don’t get bored. Also buy new kitchen tools. Shiny new toys always help.

4. To get healthy – blah blah blah. Same old same old goal every year. But this year, it’s time to combine forces. Healthy cooking which I have already mastered (yay!) and working out regularly. I never seem to be able to make these two things happen at the same time. I’m either working out non stop and eating with no limits (for shame) or I’m eating super healthy and avoiding the gym. Viscous and completely useless cycle. It’s time to refocus in this area and get back into tip top shape. I’ve always been a girl who loves my curves in all their glory – but the fitter the better – so time to get some muscle tone back.

5.  To start gardening – now that I’m cooking, and I have a backyard, it only makes sense to start planting some herbs. And learning a new skill is always good. First on my list – basil. My favorite herb EVER. Sadly this will have to wait until Spring so I’m hoping I don’t lose my motivation…

6. To start biking and hiking. Part of my problem with hitting the gym is that it bores me to fucking tears. I hate it. I loathe it. I would rather be doing ANYTHING else. But I do love being active in general, especially if it involves being outside and, more importantly, away from the city. So my goal is to get a bike and start venturing past my comfort zone and eventually venturing past my gym to the point where I’m getting enough exercise with outside activity that I simply don’t have to go to the gym anymore. FOR REAL. I’d also like to start hiking. Upstate New York is so gorgeous, and a simple train ride away, for a nice day’s hike in the woods. This goal will definitely be the hardest in terms of getting off my lazy ass and making it happen but hopefully I can stay focused and get this ball rolling after the winter weather wears off.

7. To manage and get out of credit card debt – this is NOT happening in the span of a year (ha! wouldn’t that be nice?) but little steps can make a big difference. We’ve already consolidated a good chunk of our debt and with a little financial planning we should be able to make a big difference in the next few years. I’m hoping by this time next year to feel a lot less weighed down by all the bills.

8. To read more – seriously – I gotta get down with library town. Ever since I finished my masters I have avoided all things resembling literature. It’s quite pathetic and quite frankly, inexcusable. Amazon is gonna see some serious book purchases from me soon. Please feel free to send any recommendations!

So there you have it. A pretty solid list of realistic goals I should be able to achieve with a little will power and the love and support of my amazing friends and family. I’m not quite sure how I would have gotten through this year without all of my loved ones near and far. There really are no words to do justice to how grateful I am.

And then of course there’s this little blog, which hopefully will remain interesting. There will be recipes so I stay on the cooking track and hopefully – eventually – there will be traveling again. I’m going to commit to getting back to my lyrics of the day because I love them, and perhaps I can come up with some other weekly/daily blog rituals that will keep things interesting around here.

Thanks for sticking with me! Here’s to a wonderful and memorable 2013!

Amelie Wine Bar – A NYC French Gem

photo courtesy of yelp

My latest article for Ma Vie Francaise/My French Life is up! The focus this month is my favorite wine bar (on both coasts) Amelie. It’s my go to end of week place for happy hour drinks with my dearest friends and a MUST visit for any francophile, French expat, or happy hour loving person in NYC.

To read the full article, click here.

Merci!

Cooking Up a Storm in a Storm – The Joys of Comfort Food

Life here in NYC has finally kind of gotten back to normal. I’m able to take the subway to work (praise Jesus) and while it’s overwhelmingly crowded and I miss my empty R train in the morning, at least it gets me there in one piece without a two to three hour commute. While the damage and effects of the Hurricane are certainly still being felt by many New Yorkers, I have been lucky, and all things in my world have essentially gone back to normal.

In other life updates – I had to miss my court date (you know for that little and RIDICULOUS incident at JFK in September) because I couldn’t get to the court, so I am now waiting on a new date. While it was lovely to not have to go, postponing it wasn’t exactly what I wanted either. Le sigh…hopefully this will soon all be over. Too. Much. Stress. Things are however moving forward with my living situation. I got myself a lovely British roommate who will be staying with me through the end of February. So that’s good news as now it means I officially don’t have to move out of my apartment and all can remain fairly normal for awhile. If of course normal means I have no idea what the future holds and I’m just taking all this transition day by day, then yes, things are absolutely normal.

In other news, the weather has turned from lovely crisp fall temperatures to freezing cold in a matter of days and this has resulted in my inability to make anything healthy. It’s the time of year for baked pastas, gratins, potatoes, and every other kind of starch that comes out of the oven hot and goes well with cheese. It really is a problem. I mean, honestly, who wants fish with quinoa when you can have steak with gratin dauphinois? Or baked ziti? Or mac and cheese? Not this girl.

So that’s what I’ve been making – fatty, delicious, fall/winter recipes and it’s been lovely. This past week/weekend I made baked ziti:

I mean…HELLO. Delicious.

Paired with a $10 bottle of Bordeaux and you have a happy girl.

And Potatoes Savoyarde:

I used parm instead of gruyere but it was still excellent. Undercooked the potatoes just a tad, but otherwise excellent first try.

and then there was more Bordeaux…

And then…then I made mac and cheese:

OMG

Fall comfort food in all its glory

Yeah…no skinny bitch in my kitchen lately. Nothing but good old fashioned fatty comfort food! I blame the hurricane – how else was I supposed to cope with a natural disaster? Food is always the answer. And wine, lots of wine.

Obviously, however, this needs to stop. I have decided that Sundays will be my comfort food days and the rest of the week, particularly Monday through Friday, I will focus on making less cellulite inducing meals. I am sure there is a way to marry Fall and Winter comfort food with healthy eating…there must be…maybe? Regardless, a change is comin’ in my kitchen. I’m still going to try and cook new things, at least two new things a week prepared most likely on the weekends, but I also have to deal with the reality that I can’t overextend myself and some days dinner will be functional and will be whatever I can make with as little effort as possible.

Very exciting update for you all – I KNOW. But like I said before life for me right now is truly a day to day journey. Just trying to get through with my sense of humor and a relatively low stress level intact. Hopefully I’ll get more exciting soon.

Fish Provencal – a Skinny Bitch Favorite

In an effort to continue to make new dishes, and keep my dinners healthy yet delicious, I decided to make Fish Provencal this past weekend. I’m not sure what makes it “provencal” beyond the tarragon and the tomatoes but it is definitely reminiscent of something I would eat on a lovely day in the south of France…on  a patio…outside…with wine. LE SIGH. And since my inner fat girl won the war a few days ago and ordered pizza (for shame) it was time to make something new that was healthy enough and delicious enough to keep in the regular rotation of weekly dishes.

I got the recipe from Williams Sonoma and tweaked it according to my single status and general preferred tastes (i.e. more garlic and more breadcrumbs). I also substituted sole for halibut because halibut wasn’t available the day I shopped. But ultimately that is the recipe to go by. Also, besides being super healthy, it also requires wine – which is an excuse to buy yourself a bottle of wine – and it’s a pretty little dish. I paired it with rice, but it would go really well with couscous, quinoa, or a nice side of veggies.

the ingredients

layer the fish with tomatoes – yummmm

cover it with herb and garlic mixture – tarragon, thyme, and parsley

cover it in breadcrumbs…or smother it like I did

All cooked – look how pretty!

et voila! You can’t really see the fish cause sole is so thin, but I am sure with halibut it would be a much nicer presentation. And look you have leftover wine to drink!

I tried this for the first time this weekend and it was so healthy and delicious that I made it again last night when I was too tired to make anything else and was one dial finger away from getting Chinese food delivered. But skinny bitch won that war with flying colors. Definitely a go to dish chez moi from now on as it covers the three most important items on my dinner checklist – easy to make, healthy, and minimal dishes.

This coming week/weekend I plan to take on making either pumpkin bread or gingerbread just for fun, and most importantly, I plan on making my first steak to be paired with gratin dauphinois. And this is a serious gratin dauphinois – I got the recipe from my lovely friend in Lyon who also happens to be a chef. And having tasted them, and eaten them at his restaurant at least once a week when I lived in Lyon, I can attest that they are fucking good potatoes. So let’s hope I do them justice.

I still haven’t used my beautiful stockpot I bought the other week but hopefully that will be used this week with some kind of soup. If you have any great soup or any other recipes that require a stockpot please send them my way!

Classic California

This post is going to basically be nothing but a photo blog of all things food from California. So avert your eyes now if you’re not interested.

As I mentioned previously, going home was extremely therapeutic, so much so that I’m actively trying to figure out when I can move back. Who needs the mean streets of NYC when you can have the calm, relaxed back roads and wineries of northern California? Proof is in the pictures:

Healdsburg farmer’s market – vegetables just don’t come that fresh and colorful here in the city

Mimosas on a terrace in wine country – also known as heaven

well HELLO brunch…

my amazing omelette – post farmer’s market visit

and then we went to a harvest party at J Vineyards! Seriously found my happy place

wine barrels everywhere…ahhhhhh

ultimate setting

and then there was a wedding at a winery

beautiful, gorgeous, wish you were here…

My gorgeous Mom

a few days later there was dinner at Gary Danko’s…but I only took a pic of my cocktail. I devoured the food too fast to photograph it. SO GOOD.

More brunch – this time at La Note – a provencal restaurant in Berkeley. One of my absolute faves. And yes, that tastes even better than it looks.

So there you have it – more or less my trip. Not pictured are countless lovely evenings with my Mom at home, many cocktails, cupcakes from Love at First Bite, much needed coffee from Peet’s, a Jack in the Box run (or two), and the beautiful faces of my amazing friends.

Needless to say, I left my heart in San Francisco and it’s many beautiful surroundings, and I will be back as soon as possible.

Baking and Backyard Beautification – A Weekend in Brooklyn

This weekend was a tough one. I could be all flowery and positive on this blog and pretend I’m strong all the time and kicking this break up’s ass, but it’s not true. And when my sister came to visit this weekend to offer moral support, it became even less true. Because, let’s be honest, there’s something about being around your family, where your walls just crumble to the ground and you know you can be vulnerable, so you are. And it’s a great thing, but it’s also really really hard, because all that stuff you’re trying to push down and more importantly push past walks up and smacks you right in the face.

So emotionally this weekend was really hard, but on all other levels it was great. Great to see my sister and more importantly great to have some real quality time together, something we really haven’t had since her job has taken her abroad for the past three years.

And in an effort to make the most of my time with her, we decided to take on the kitchen together and bake a cake. While I’ve been somewhat brave taking on the kitchen and making meals, I’ve been very wary of baking. I think my first real attempt at “cooking” was baking back in God knows what year and it was something stupidly easy, like baking brownies from a box and I somehow managed to screw it up. And I do believe that scarred me for life and contributed to me avoiding the kitchen for YEARS. But my sister, the real cook in the family, is also a great little baker, so I thought I’d rip the baking band aid off with her there so it would be less painful and maybe I could learn a thing or two.

So what did we decide to make? A pineapple upside down cake. The last time my sister made one was probably the last time I ate one so it a baking project and nostalgia all wrapped into one. We took the recipe from my Williams Sonoma cookbook and spent our Saturday afternoon in the kitchen.

the ingredients – already enough to make me overwhelmed.

pineapples ready to go in the pan on top of the brown sugar butter yumminess on bottom

the whipping ingredients into submission. Apparently there are fancy tools that can do this for you. Something to consider if I start baking more often.

putting the cake batter on top, ready for the oven

Ta da!! We didn’t burn it! And it actually looks good enough to eat.

Everything up until this point went swimmingly but then we misjudged the flipping of the cake onto a plate and kinda broke it. But it still looked good to me!

kinda broken….but look how pretty!

Despite it being a bit broken it was DELICIOUS. Props to my sister for her baking skills and making it always look so easy. Now it’s my turn to try it on my own. I really want to master the tarte tatin (French apple pie) and I think I can do it…but I might try making a banana nut bread first. For some reason that feels less intimidating. We’ll see. Either way, this weekend, I am going to bake something new and force myself right out of my fear.

So yay us, and yay me for again trying to break out of my comfort zone and take on new kitchen challenges.

Another notable event this weekend – the arrival of my tables and chairs for outside. I finally found a really good sale for patio furniture and while it’s nothing fancy and not the most comfortable, it does the job and fits the space I’m working with. Voici my new backyard tables and chairs (two bistro tables pushed together):

Who wants to come over??

Isn’t it nice? Now I just need to figure out the lighting. I got some cute little lights from Pottery Barn with birthday money but I’m not sure if they’ll work. It all depends on what I can pull off with outlets…I might not have any to work with…we’ll see. If anything, a girl can do a lot with candles and mason jars so that’s also in the works. I’m having some girlfriends over on Wednesday night so I’ll have to have something ready by then. Until then, it’s cocktails at dusk:

Enjoying life as best I can…

So that was my weekend – crying, baking, sister bonding, and backyard decorating. Making the best with what I’ve got to work with, trying to keep it all together.

Chateau Cherbuliez – a French Oasis in New York

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am now writing a monthly article/column for the online magazine Ma Vie Francaise/My French Life highlighting the best of France in New York City and my first article has officially been posted! Please check it out here.

Updates to come on life when the dust has settled a bit. There’s been more transition in the past few weeks than a new apartment and I am officially broken mentally and emotionally. Trying to rebuild day by day and will blog and update once I’m ready.

Sea Bass with Summer Couscous Salad

My plans to make pepper steak did not come to fruition this weekend. Yes, that’s right, I have failed the French yet again.

Met with a muggy, thunderstorm scattered morning on Saturday, Erik deemed it too hot to eat something as heavy as pepper steak (fair enough) so instead we got some beautiful sea bass from the Chelsea Market and made sea bass with summer couscous salad. Perfect for a hot summer night and the perfect balance of tasty and healthy. Well…if you ignore all the butter. There was a lot of butter:

the oh so lovely and fresh sea bass

summer couscous vegetable salad with feta…and a cocktail of course  - yummmmm

sea bass drowning in butter. The French would approve I think.

beautiful finished dish! Sea bass with summer couscous vegetable salad. Mmmmmmmm – WINNER

On Sunday, with Erik at work, I  decided to experiment with a Chez Panisse pasta recipe I got off the internet. Whole wheat pasta with Feta, Walnuts, and Cauliflower:

It’s so healthy it almost makes me angry.

While it was quite tasty this, I would have to say, was my least favorite experiment in the kitchen thus far. It’s a great recipe with lovely flavors but I’m just not sure if I would bother making it again. That being said, it is a super healthy option (whole wheat pasta and everything) so if I’m in the mood for flavor without butter it’s definitely worth another try.

So it is now week 2 of my own little cooking challenge and I have not succumbed to my old take out ways. I only did take out once last week and it was sushi – the lesser of ALL the take out evils – so that is something to be proud of. I haven’t decided what’s new on the cooking agenda this week but I will definitely be making the gnocchi with caramelized tomatoes again as that is one I definitely want to perfect. Otherwise, we’ll see what I can find on the internet.

Maybe it’s time to buy myself a real cookbook…stay tuned!

Weekly Roundup – Cooking, Cooking and More Cooking!

Another week – another roundup!

The biggest thing to report on – my progress in cooking. Believe it or not my commitment to learning how to cook has lasted longer than two days. It has in fact lasted one whole week and counting. Tonight will be my first night of take out since last Thursday. That, my friends, is nothing short of a miracle. And sheer will power to spend less money and eat healthier.

Once Erik came home from Atlanta on Tuesday I made him the pasta dishes I had “perfected” over the past few days and he was quite pleased with both and they have been approved as regular things to have in rotation for dinner chez nous. I also tried my hand at scallops (!) and a vegetable quinoa salad and, I must say, for my first try and cooking scallops  - or any fish really – I managed to do quite well! And by that I mean they didn’t taste fishy (thank you copious amounts of butter), they weren’t overcooked, and they weren’t raw in the middle when I finally took them out of the pan. Yay. Me.

Here’s proof I actually made them – Scallops with Quinoa Vegetable Salad:

healthy, delicious, and I MADE IT!

The other new dish I made this week was a team effort with Erik. I took on a warm corn and potato salad which demanded quite a bit of prep and Erik cooked the steaks. Voici my prep work:

prep work done by me (cocktail included of course)

The salad recipe (taken from Food and Wine) required quite a bit of chopping and serious attention paid while it cooked on the stove. Look how pretty:

the warm corn and potato salad (minus a few ingredients that are added after it’s all cooked)

This was the most detailed recipe I’ve taken on yet so it was nice to have Erik to answer all my stupid questions and keep all the timing right. It turned out quite nicely and we were very proud of our ability to cook together as it has never been done before. EVER. Here is the finished dinner:

Not the best pic given the lighting but it was delicious!

Not too shabby, huh? Pair that dish with La Crema pinot noir and I can promise that all will enjoy!

I have to say, I’m still in a state of shock that I’ve managed to keep up my motivation but it feels good. We’re doing take out tonight due to work schedules and general convenience but tomorrow we’re taking on pepper steak! That’s right. And not just any pepper steak, supposedly the best pepper steak recipe in Paris. When I was living in Paris last summer, I heard over and over about how I had to go get the steak frites at Bistro Paul Bert. Somehow I never managed to get a reservation or wander in on an evening when there was actually an available table, so sadly I never got to taste it. But, thankfully, Paris Kitchen posted the recipe and we’re going to try it out tomorrow night….this one might be more Erik than me cooking but I’ll still be helping as much as possible. So stay tuned for an update on how that all goes. This is what it’s supposed to look like:

Photo from The Paris Kitchen

But we’ll see how we do…

In other news, our landlord hasn’t sent us our new lease yet. I’d be worried if I didn’t already know him and his level of laziness, but I still want a piece of paper confirming that we have that garden apartment.

In family news, my sister and brother in law who have been living in Prague the past few years are finally coming home to the States! They’ll be moving to Atlanta where Erik already has family so we are quite excited. Thanksgiving this year should be even more fun than usual!

In sort of work related news, I’m considering getting an M.A. in International Relations from NYU. There’s a possibility that with Erik’s benefits I can get the degree for free, and if that’s the case, I think it would be worth applying and seeing if I can get in for the Fall of 2013. The  majority of the classes are available after 6pm so it wouldn’t cause any issues with work, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have that degree given my interest in pursuing a career in diplomacy. An M.A. in French Studies and an M.A. in International Relations would certainly only sell me more when applying for any kind of job focused on French and American international relations…so why not? I mean, if it’s free, it’s really too good an opportunity to turn down…non? Regardless, I am looking into it and seeing what can be accomplished. Fingers crossed I can get the answers I want after talking to the folks at NYU.

In truly random news, I found a Weber grill on the sidewalk being thrown away by a neighbor who apparently didn’t need it anymore. So we grabbed it for our new backyard. It’s now living in our kitchen area jammed in with everything else till we move downstairs.

Also random but awesome, I am officially going back to water aerobics this weekend – yay for old lady exercise!

And if we’re talking about the weekend, my plans also include going to Chelsea Triangle French Market to see what kind of French ingredients they have to offer, and if we can finally find French bread on par with our old Berkeley bakery La Farine. I’m also going so I can write about it for my new column for an online Francophile magazine called Ma Vie Francaise (or My French Life). I’ll be contributing one column per month on the best of France and all things French in NYC. Should be fun and it will keep me in touch and in the loop on all things French in the city. Most importantly, it will give me an excuse to go eat French food so I can tell everyone where they should be eating. A girl’s gotta have priorities.

Whew! So there you have it – another week of surviving New York City and all its craziness.

Bon week-end!