New York, New York!

January held a lot of culinary high points. When I wrote my last post, I was on my way to NYC to sit in the audience at the Martha Stewart "Blogging" themed show with my friend Ashley. The 48 hours we enjoyed in that taste-bud playground were unforgettable. The words aren't flowing today so let me just hit the highlights.


Frankie's Spuntino in Brooklyn - candlelit, red-brick, pressed tin, modern Italian-American comfort food. The best dessert of the trip were their prunes cooked in spiced red wine, served with marscapone. The deep, syrupy sweetness of the prunes was amazing against the tartness cream of the marscapone. One of those desserts where you take a bite and you can't believe that what you are looking at tastes even half as amazing as what your taste-buds are telling you.

Eleven Madison Park for an early Ashley birthday lunch - 50 foot ceilings, the ultimate in elegance and service, beautiful plating and food. A really special experience.

Peasant - a restaurant that made me gasp with delight. The ambiance is like none other. Utterly lit by candles and open hearths along the whole back wall of the restaurant - it feels like a renaissance castle kitchen.

Buttermilk Channel - the best meat loaf of my life, made of duck and topped with an onion ring dipped in thick cornbread batter and fried.

A long stroll from Brooklyn, across the epic Brooklyn Bridge, up through lower Manhattan to meet Ashley for grilled corn at Cafe Habana, followed by frites and pavlova at the most Parisian bistro that's not in Paris - Balthazar. Oh yes, and a lovely time at Martha. We appear for .3 seconds at the 51 second mark of the show. In my split-second of screen time, I am pretending to blog while smiling widely at the camera. A now infamous pose that has been the source of much good-natured mockery.

On January 30th, I hosted my first Not Without Salt cooking class, taught by my friend and NYC travel buddy, Ashley Rodriguez. I felt perfectly happy in those three hours, chatting with friends old and new, enjoying delicious treats, making people feel welcome and truly learning! I mean, I learned how to make puff pastry! Something I never would have thought to make for myself, but now I really feel I can. I'll be hosting 1-2 classes a month as long as Ashley wants to teach them. She is a natural born baker and has so much to share, so I think there will be many, many more. If you'd like to join one, email classes@notwithoutsalt.com to get on the list. We're also cooking up some special events and dinners!

I've done a lot of bread baking this month, but last night, Zack and I whipped up a wonderful cake, for The City weekly treats tradition. I had Granny Smith apples leftover from the cooking class, so I made this apple cake from the blog Smitten Kitchen. The critique from the offices today was good - a smashing success, Zack said, definitely worthy of including here. It's an incredibly moist, lush cake. Great for breakfast OR dessert. I followed the recipe almost exactly, with the exception of the type of apple used and a drizzle of maple cream cheese icing to top it off. Gratuitous I'm sure, but I didn't hear any complaints.


February is a special month in my family - lots of celebrations. Three birthdays on my side and four on Zack's, as well as Zack and I's anniversary. This year, we celebrate FIVE big ones. I was poking around to find a good place to go that would allow us to use miles to purchase the tickets and Montreal leapt to the front of the line. The Paris of North America they say, and only about five hours away. Should be a wonderful adventure and I'm counting down the days. Literally - I have a large white dry erase board and each day I cross out one big box. There are fifteen more boxes. I'm so excited for four days of total, undisturbed time with Zack - there is nothing better (except more than four days). Got any Montreal tips? I'd love to hear them!