The Holidays Are Upon Us!

The holidays are officially here. The pop up Christmas tree selling spots are the surest sign that that Christmas time is upon us. I noticed the beginnings of one such set up on 9th Ave last Wednesday, and they've sprouted up all over since then.

Last night we were out in Tribeca, walking around the neighborhood to waste a little bit of time before meeting friends for a play. I had to insist we walk through the display so I could get a good smell of the trees. As you can see, it was pretty busy at 9:30 pm.

The trees had been cut in North Carolina less than 24 hours before (thus the great fresh smell) and were Douglas Firs. There were a few that must have been about 14 feet. That certainly won't fit in our apartment, but we were assured that they were popular in the Tribeca loft area.

The holiday spirit is not dampened by small New York apartments. This is one of my favorite times of the year. Buildings and streets are decorated with lights, stores have fun displays...ice skating is open in Central Park, Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center (there are alot of places to ice skate in Manhattan). And it's ok to consume lots of hot beverages like hot chocolate to keep warm.

Turkey Time!

It was just the 2 of us for Thanksgiving this year, as I have to head into work tomorrow and it was a long commute and lots of traffic to head to CT to be with the family. So to share our day, I snapped a few shots (to make mom proud!).

We targeted a 6 pm dinner time, and made it pretty close. After a leisurely afternoon and a little walk down to the wine store we headed back home via the High Line. Actually, on our way we saw the beginnings of the Christmas tree season. It's funny, but there was this old truck with a cab on it that sold trees in front of the Theological Seminary on 9th Ave. It smelled soooo good walking through there on the way to the gym (the pine smell reminded me of Christmas every evening). Apparently, they brought their trees in from Alaska. Well, the block became luxury condominiums, but the van is back this year! Just up the street.

Anyhow, I digress. Dinner was a yummy success. We had a free range chicken (that's what they were selling at Trader Joe's, and Food Inc. definitely had an impact on our choice. That and the fact the oven is small.), along with stuffing and sweet potatoes.

Doesn't the chicken look good?? It is cooking in my 15 inch brownie pan, but that seemed to work just fine.

There was only a slight problem. I had to remove all but one rack to fit the chicken in the oven, so when it came time to add the sweet potatoes, they were just slightly tipped in the oven (luckily, no butter dripped to the bottom). And the extra stuffing just had to go in later.

And the sweet potatoes (thank you, Amy, for the recipe!). This will give you a sense of the oven and what I was dealing with. Those stacked pans are the ones I typically store in the oven. And look at that homemade gravy! No lumps!

Look at this masterful carving!

And now full.

We were actually so full, we had to save dessert until tomorrow. Must have been a success! I'm off to work tomorrow, so will miss (happily) that made rush to the stores at 5 am. Not that I've ever been out there at that hour anyway. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Gobble Gobble Gobble

Happy Early Turkey Day!

Just getting Thanksgiving started a little early. Since we are in the city for this holiday, and have read about it a few times, we took a trip to the UWS to see the inflation of the Macy's Day Parade balloons. Us and about a million other people.

So, we saw the start of the balloon area from across the street, where we caught a glimpse of Sponge Bob Squarepants resting on the ground:

And then we heard from the policeman/tour guide that the line to wander through is about 2 hours. From the looks of it, it was also about 20 people deep. So, after taking in the holiday scene we headed south for some matzo ball soup. Perfect for drizzly night!

Tomorrow is the first big attempt at Thanksgiving dinner in our little kitchen...more to come on that!

Cookies and Hot Chocolate (round 2)

We've been on a bit of a search to try hot chocolate around the city. I like mine sweet and milky, and on the hot side. I'll admit to enjoying a cup of sugar free Swiss Miss at the office, so am not that particular. But there is something about a chilly day and a warm chocolate drink.

I will have to report on our first official hot chocolate of the season another time (after I try and find the name of the cafe!). So this is our second official taste testing in 2009.

It was a Sunday in November and were craving a sweet treat post lunch in the West Village. And so rounded the block to head towards Milk & Cookies (Commerce Street). The goal was to procure a cookie, but we ended up with 2 free mini cups of hot chocolate because our little barista/cookie man had some left over from the previous customer.

I have to admit that I was a fan of this one. A bit on the sweeter side, good taste of chocolate, and very satisfying.

The little store smells like fresh baked cookies and the desserts themselves are great. As we were enjoying our little table, we saw a tour guide lead her group inside to smell the shop and then bring out a plate of cookies for everyone to try. Apparently, we aren't the only ones that think it's worth stopping at.

Good to the last bite!

Three Tarts: Just Delightful

Three Tarts is the little shop you want to own. Located on 9th Ave at 20th street, the store is a mix of gift items ("for home and baby" as they say on their website) and baked goods. The shop came together after 3 culinary school classmates, the "Three Tarts" as a classmate called them, reunited after stints at Spice Market, Payard and Cafe Boulud. I love stories like this.

I have to admit that I haven't bought a gift here, but love to peruse. Notecards, gifts for the house, baby onsie "bouquets"...it just draws you in for a peek! And you can't ignore the chalkboard with the special treats available.

And then there are the baked goods. I had to snap a picture of the display. They have a full range of little cookies, chocolates, mini desserts, ice cream sandwiches in the summer and hot chocolate in the winter. I stopped in on my way home and bought a homemade graham cracker. I didn't know anyone but Keebler made them! It was the perfect little treat and gave me the energy I needed for the 10 blocks home.

They've recently expanded the sitting area, so I will probably be back soon to warm up on a cold day. I'm now on a mission to sample hot chocolate around the city now that there is a nip in the air.

Many of their products are sold on their website, so take a look for yourself if you can't make it to Three Tarts: www.threetarts.com

Running and Running and Running...for 26.2 Miles

I missed the Halloween party with the girls down in DC this weekend, which was sad. But we had to make a new addition to the family because I need to remedy my commuting situation. The little Elantra hatchback should be on the road shortly!

Since I was here this weekend, I did make it out Sunday afternoon to see the NYC Marathon and to support my friend, Joe. Honestly, running a marathon is not something I feel the need to do. Triathlons and half marathons work quite well for me. But I'm a huge supporter of other people's training and races.

I was the designated mile 22-er, and was supposed to be at 120th street, 1/3rd of the way towards 5th Avenue to await Joe. According to some book, this is where people hit the wall, right before a slight incline up 5th Ave towards Central Park. I was fresh and ready to run, so didn't think the incline was really much at all. I suppose that after 22 miles, it's tough. And I found Joe (he wore a red shirt, the crowd was light at this spot and I had a good view of the runners rounding the corner).

I thought this was a great picture capturing the scene and the fall colors from my vantage point:

Seeing everyone running is truly inspiring. 42,000 people run this race, and this year was the 40th Anniversary. I so appreciate people cheering me on during the triathlon that I like to give people shout outs and yell encouraging words. Some people are clever and put their name on their shirt. I'll admit that it makes it easy for me to cheer them on! I love it when they look over and smile after hearing their name, with a little more pep in their step.

This shot is right before the runners turn into the park at 92nd street, where quite a crowd forms to cheer. And this is where I had to drop off since "running friends" can't go into the park.

Can't wait to cheer people on next year!

Happy Halloween!

These are pumpkins from the Union Square Greenmarket, love the fall colors!

The Carlton Arms Hotel & Artmess

I am always up for seeing something new, something I may not have seen before. So was more than ready to go along last weekend for an art exhibit at the Carlton Arms Hotel. Art on a Friday night? Sounds great! I like to introduce culture into my life, especially when our friend, Amy, invites us (She is Ms. Brooklyn art scene and works at Sotheby's).

After a varied past, it became a respectable hotel in the 1950s, but not for long (according to the website). After a period of Single-Room-Occupancy, it became a home for hippies, transvestites and hookers.

A new owner took over in the 1980s, and the rooms were scrubbed, cleaned and rented out to travelers and transients looking for something not so hip, but at a good rate. It started with a mural on one wall, and then one by one artists were invited to paint rooms.

Today, all 54 rooms and 4 hallways are fully painted with colorful scenes. This event celebrated the opening of 3 more rooms (the event was entitled Artbreak Hotel Unconscious Artmess and is held about twice a year). There was actual artwork being created and live music.

Here is a picture of NYC on a wall:

A new room opening last Friday night. Yes, that is a little sink in the corner:

And a look down the staircase. Yes, everything is painted!

It was a very artsy crowd, if I can describe it that way. A mix of a art opening and real life living. It was definitely interesting to see, and the owner was very cool and clearly loved what he was able to do. I will admit that when I first walked around, I thought I was in someone's house and wasn't quite sure what was going on. There was shampoo out for the shared bathroom and someone going into their room that I was standing in front of.

Just a little bit of exploring new places in New York....we mixed this event up with a little CPK that night. Yes, crazy, but it is the one place you can go and there isn't a line on a Friday. It was really a little bit of a treat to walk right in and be seated.

Million Dollar Cookies

A few weeks ago, my friend Emmie was here for the NY Food and Wine festival. She was so sweet to bring a gift with her! Granted, I'm not sure my couch for the evening warranted a gift.

I have to admit, I love seeing these and think they are perfect for gifting. So cute, perfect for the home, and extra perfect for a baker.

The jar didn't last long, as last Saturday seemed like a perfect baking day. Rainy and cool outside. How can you say no to cookies on a day like this? You would think this is virtually fool proof but realized after combining the butter and the egg to cream, that I was supposed to cream the butter then add the egg. I thought it would good enough and would still work, despite being a little runny.

And they did. Slightly crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Someone already sampled!

And then ready to eat:

I have not mastered the art of food pictures. Either there is too much flash or not enough (like here), so thoughts are appreciated!

Just a short post after a busy week. I'm still settling in at my new job and trying to manage the commuting logistics (or at least stay sane during Lincoln Tunnel traffic). I see some baking in my future, but not sure what yet. M's mom sent us her pumpkin chocolate chip loaf, so that is a perfect weekend treat. I was able to get the recipe, but haven't made it yet myself. Somehow I don't think it's going to be the same.

Cranberry Time (or Wonderberry Time)

Wow, it's been a week and I haven't posted! I have to apologize, it was my first full week back at work in many months, so there was a bit of transition to having my days filled!

I've been saving this post since we visited Rockefeller Center about 2 weeks ago actually. I went up to Midtown with M. because he had a lunch meeting. It was cancelled at the last minute, so we ate lunch at Pret A Manger in the concourse by the ice skating rink. They were actually working on it that day, so it should be opening soon!

While we were enjoying the nice day and not working, we wandered through the Plaza at 30 Rock and it was cranberry display day. In addition to lots of Ocean Spray free samples, there were actually mini cranberry bogs built.

I tend towards being cynical at times so figured that the people wading in the "bogs" were Ocean Spray marketing folks. I was pleasantly surprised that these were real life cranberry growers! The woman we talked to (below) is actually from New Jersey and a family run farm. If you didn't know, Ocean Spray, is actually a cooperative of growers. Who knew?

I thought Massachusetts was the biggest producer of cranberries, in part because I toured the Ocean Spray factory there as a little girl. Wisconsin takes home the prize, with New Jersey not far behind.

The cranberries actually grow on shrub like vines close to the ground. Then the fields are flooded and a harvester machine comes through to loosen the berries. White cranberry juice comes from white berries that just haven't turned red yet.

All in all, a fascinating little discovery that day. As for eating them, I enjoy dried cranberries in my oatmeal and "chunky" cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. But alas, my sister is a die-hard cranberries-from-a can-with-the-ring kind of girl, so that's what we have at my house.

Any good cranberry recipes out there?