Rainbow Cupcakes

One of my favorite favorite things is cupcakes. Since I was little it was always my favorite treat and I would beg my mom to make them with me. By far, she has the perfect cupcake recipe which I've been meaning to ask her the recipe for. On Valentine's Day I was downtown and made the terrible decision to stop by the best cupcake shop in the city, Magnolia Bakery to pick up a Valentine's Day treat for me & my roommates. Yeah, bad idea. There was a line around the block just to get inside. I decided to wait. Now THAT'S cupcake devotion. But totally worth it. Magnolia made special Valentine's cupcakes that were red velvet and had pink frosting. AMAZING. I actually think I'm going to go eat one right now....But my friend Steph just sent me this link she found on StumbleUpon for making rainbow cupcakes.
These look delicious and so much fun to make. If you're feeling ambitious, here is the recipe. ENJOY

Judge a wine by it's label?

Choosing a good wine is a serious feat. When you're browsing through the aisles and you aren't a wine connoisseur, how do you pick the right one? It's not like you can open up the bottle and try it in the shop. My friends and I were debating whether or not it's okay to pick a wine bottle based on the attractiveness of the label. When I can't decide on a bottle or don't have any particular ones in mind, I will admit that I absolutely pick a bottle that looks pretty. Call me superficial but I don't exactly know the difference between a cabernet and a pinot noir! (Even though I am trying to become more wine-educated). Maybe this method doesn't always work out but it got me looking at some creative labels today...the quality of these wines are probably not all great but aren't they fun anyway?

New Brunch Spot

So I just wanted to quickly share yet another brunch spot that I discovered today. The place is called The Double Crown and the food is so good. The best part about this one is the DIY Bloody Mary station. Very creative and very delicious. Go check it out! It's on the corner of Bleecker and Bowery.

Healthy Start

This week, I started an internship at Women's Health Magazine. So far I LOVE it. And I'm also secretly hoping that it will kick my ass into shape because I am surrounded by beautiful, fit people who care a lot about being healthy. (this is what I'm telling myself anyway). So, tonight in honor of my new job and to start being a little healthier, I am going to try the "Eat Smart" recipe from the latest issue of WH. Spring break is about a month away and not to mention my overall eating habits as of late are pretty terrible...(Maybe those hot wings & cheese fries from Howl were a bad idea yesterday). But it's never too late to start! And from now on, I'm going to try and cook some healthier meals...without losing any flavor of course. Here's the recipe I'm going for.

Grilled Salmon with Red Wine Butter
You'll need:
-1 shallot, minced
-1/2 cup red wine
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-1/2 stick salted butter, softened
-1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
-salt & pepper
-2 fillets of salmon
-olive oil

Directions:

1.

Combine the shallot, wine, and balsamic vinegar in a saucepan over medium-low heat and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes.

2.

Allow the wine reduction to cool and then add the butter, along with the thyme and a few pinches of fresh cracked pepper. Use a spatula to thoroughly mix the ingredients, and then scoop the mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Roll it up, twist the ends to form a log, and store that in the freezer while you cook the fish. (You can do these first steps ahead of time. The wine butter will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge.)

3.

Preheat a grill or grill pan on medium high. Rub the salmon with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and lay the fish, skin side down, on the grill. Cook it for 4 to 5 minutes, flip, and cook it 2 to 3 minutes longer for medium.

4.

Serve the hot salmon with a slice of the red wine butter melted on top

Ed's Chowder House

On Thursday night, my two roommates and I made the impromptu decision to take advantage of Restaurant Week one last time before it ended this past Sunday, so sad! We all got out of class at 5:15 p.m after a long day and were craving a little indulgence. After reading reviews of a few restaurants and seeing which of these restaurants would actually take us with only a 2 hour notice, we found Ed's Chowder House. If you are a frequent Ram Van rider, you might have noticed this restaurant on 63rd and Columbus. It sits on the second floor above P.J Clarke's and next to Rosa Mexicano (which was actually our first choice).

We hopped on the 6.30 Ram Van and made it just in time for our 7.30 reservation. When we walked in the door, the place was PACKED. Even though we had a reservation, we still had to wait a half hour so we headed over to the bar for a cocktail. I tried one of their "antioxidant martinis" ($9, a little bit of a splurge). It had acai berry extract in it and was actually pretty delicious.

When we were finally seated and our waitress had read over all the specials that we knew we weren't going to order, we were famished. We immediately pointed at the Restaurant Week menu and it was decided. We all started with the New England Clam Chowder well, because this place DOES classify itself as a "chowder house". We were not disappointed. This chowder was AMAZING I mean, really really good. And they gave us a huge portion, a lot more than at One If By Land. Probably a bad idea though, because after an entire bowl of that, we were all quite full.

Before we were even served our main course, our waitress was asking us if we wanted "coffee or anything" and she did that a couple of times. We had to break it to her that we hadn't even eaten our entrees yet. She was pretty flustered and embarrassed but we were so full from the chowder that we didn't mind waiting. I tried the Grilled Skate with lentils & pearl onions. It was also very tasty and a generous portion for Restaurant Week. I'm glad we fed into our indulgent side and ventured out into the restaurant world one more time. Overall-Ed's is a fun place, but way too expensive for college students. So, when your birthday comes around, remember to mention this place to your parents because it's definitely worth a visit!

Super Bowl Goodies

I just found the most amazing Super Bowl recipe to try on Noble Pig's blog. I think my friends will thank me. It's the Buffalo Chicken Dip which would probably taste delicious with some toasted bread. It's a fun spin off of the traditional hot wings and if we're trying to order them from Howl, let's face it, we'll probably get them by the end of the game. Not that I really follow football, but now I can't wait for Sunday. Click here if you want to try this recipe for yourself. I'll definitely keep you updated on how it turns out.

One If By Land, Two If By Sea, Three's a Crowd?

Voted "the most romantic restaurant in NYC" by Open Table's Diner's Choice, One If By Land, Two If By Sea doesn't let down this reputation. The lighting in the restaurant is soft & seductive. The tables are small and cozy. There is a single red rose placed in the middle of each table. On Valentine's Day in a couple of weeks, this place will be overflowing with couples in love, that were smart enough to book a reservation about 10 months ago.

I had the privilege to experience dinner at this legendary establishment last night...with my parents.

How romantic. As I looked around the dining room, I noticed that we were surrounded by couples of all ages. I can't really complain though, we were celebrating my mom's birthday and honestly I'm lucky that my parents decided to drag me along with them. I might have been a bit of a third wheel, but who really cares when you're at one of the top restaurants in New York?

I should have prefaced this by saying that One If By Land is one of the many restaurants participating in this year's NYC Restaurant Week. (for a full list of participating restaurants, visit http://www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek) If you don't know this already, (because you should!) each season, some of the best and most expensive restaurants in NYC take place in a two week event that offers a prix fixe menu for lunch and dinner. Lunches are $25 and dinners are $35, both meals are three courses. This is an amazing opportunity to experience some restaurants in New York that would usually never be affordable, especially to college students! This season's Restaurant Week ends on February 7th (but excludes Saturday) so make it a point to see how the other half of NY wines and dines.

The food was pretty amazing, even if the portions were skimpy...and that might be an overstatement. When you open the menu, there is a poem on the inside flap, after which this restaurant was named:

"Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,–
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

I found this poem kind of charming and the whole restaurant had a old time feel to it; the townhouse itself is over a hundred years old. Not to mention it's located in Greenwich Village which is one of the neighborhoods in Manhattan that I have not spent nearly enough time exploring. If I was going to act like a real food critic, I would say that the ambiance of the restaurant outshines the actual food.

If you're thinking of visiting One If By Land, I can make a few recommendations. For a starter, I had the Tuscan Bean Soup which was delicious. The ingredients were all fresh and the soup was topped with thick chunks of parmigiano-reggiano cheese...yum. For my main course, I had the Grilled Bavette Steak, but I would have rather had what my parents chose; the Red Snapper with Pesto Ristotto. My portion was scarce and had me raiding the pantry for a snack as soon as we got home. The red snapper was definitely tastier and more bang for your buck. All of the desserts were impressive so you can't go wrong there. If you have a free afternoon or night this week, you should really check out this spot (which might be best enjoyed on a date) or any of the other restaurants participating. But make your reservation asap because these places fill up fast.