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!

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!

Friday Favorites!

Monday was President’s Day! Personal favorite because it meant I got the day off work. Also, thank you to ALL the Presidents. Even the ones I couldn’t stand.

CAMUS Cognac – on Tuesday evening I went to an event organized by CAMUS Cognac for an article I’m writing for My French Life and it was pretty amazing. Like five course sit down dinner with wine and cognac pairings amazing. I’ll link the article here when it’s finished but for now all I can say is they are awesome and they fed me and didn’t ask me to pay. FRIENDS FOR LIFE.

I’m starting another writing gig for Used York City, a great online travel magazine focused on New York and all it has to offer locals and travelers alike. I’m very excited to start writing about more great New York finds and branch out of my French focused research. I’ll be linking any new articles I write for Used York City here so keep an eye out! For now, definitely check out the website and if you have any suggestions on what you want to read more about in their content please let me me know!

In the world of news - IMPORTANT 

And in other important news - The worst show ever created is back – but now D list celebrities are participating. If things have gotten this bad in your “career” it’s time to just stop trying to be on TV. No really – STOP.

Bon week-end everyone!

Lazy Blogging and a Fire Pit

fire pit!

I have been a very bad blogger. Not only have I not posted in general but I seem to have failed at Friday Favorites and Music Monday this past week. What is wrong with me?

And I have things to report – we’ve made new recipes at home worth writing up. I even made olive oil cake  - look how pretty it turned out:

SO pretty but…alas…

Pretty of course until it totally fell. Yup, caved in in the middle. It was an issue with baking soda or powder or something. It was still VERY tasty but sadly regardless of how good it looked when this photo was taken, it was fucking with me. And now I have to make it again to redeem myself. It will NOT beat me.

So there’s that, but for whatever reason I seem to be losing blogging motivation. So instead I’m gonna get back into gear here with a little update on the minutiae and perhaps that will kick the blogging muscle back into full gear.

We got our fire pit and in case anyone was wondering – this is what a happy zen man looks like when he there he not only has a backyard in Brooklyn but a fire pit in which to build a fire:

LOVE IT

Sadly it’s been quite cold and snowy so there have been very few nights like the above but there will be more – many many more. There may even be a roasting of a pig on there (a small pig…but still – yummmmmm).

In other news in this past week we’ve tackled a few new recipes – Parisian chicken (why is it Parisian – I HAVE NO IDEA), homemade meatballs, and blackberry muffins. Blackberry muffins were a bit of a disaster but the meatballs and chicken were excellent and will  be documented here later. We also made official plans to go to my cousin’s wedding in May so there will be a long beautiful weekend at Niagara on the Lake coming up and then my sister and brother in law are coming to visit in August the same time a very, very dear friend from France is coming. It is going to be a FULL house and I am beyond excited.

So all good things. There are of course negative things in the mix, stressful things, and general NYC woes but let’s not get into those. Let’s attempt to remain positive and focus on the bigger picture – I have a backyard in Brooklyn where I can build a fire. Everything else will be okay.

Friday Favorites!

I have been a bad blogger this week. No Music Monday because it was a three day weekend and I was lazy and no posts at all this week for no reason except I had very little of interest to report. But at least there’s Friday Favorites! Here you go:

If you’re interested in cooking in Paris here’s a great interview in the NYT with David Lebovitz

If you’re interested in my latest article with Ma Vie Francaise  - here it is!

Soooo – THIS is happening. I have so many adolescent feelings about this that I don’t even know where to start.

This article in the New York Times about what middle class really is in Manhattan is excellent – and disturbingly true. If ever my friends or family wonder why I never have any money and/or savings this article will explain why. It will also be what I refer to when Erik and I eventually move out of NYC because we just can’t take it anymore.

The same week temperatures plummeted here in NYC – our firepit arrived! I will post a photo soon but it is a beautiful addition to our backyard. Also – now we HAVE to have a s’mores party! Who’s coming?

Friday TV favorite shout out  - Scandal. If you’re not watching it you should be. I almost didn’t watch it. In fact, I started the first season kinda pissed at myself for watching it. It wasn’t very good, the camera work and direction gave me a headache, and it basically turned into background noise every Thursday night while I did something else in my apartment. But then it got better, and then it got REALLY good. And now it’s like stupidly good. Seriously, the chemistry between Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn is pretty hot and now I kinda have a little crush on Tony Goldwyn, which I never thought would happen given his not so sexy portrayal of Carl in Ghost (bleh). But now he’s playing the President and he’s all powerful and I’m basically predictable.

Glen Hansard – Why do I sometimes forget how brilliant a musician he is? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! Serious Friday Favorite people – buy all his music. Right now.

Mad Men finally has a premiere date – FINALLY. Time to break out the cocktail recipes. I think this season I should challenge myself to a new fancy cocktail every week for new episodes. Send me your favorite cocktail recipes!

And there you have it – bon week end everyone!

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!