exceeding the speed limit

As American as Apple Pie

We had one of those big event kind of weeks.  First, our friends Judy and Andre from South Africa became, *proud moment*, Americans.  We had never been to a swearing in ceremony where someone we knew became a US citizen.  Rolled in 2 minutes after 10:00 to find a PACKED theatre that closely resembled a functional version of the United Nations.  Fifty two nations represented, all with eager eyes of the very reality that they too could live the American dream.  You can call me corny, but tears welled up in my eyes as they played a video of immigrants coming to America - and despite the poignant, but cheesy, "Proud to be an American" song playing in the background.  We take so much for granted living here!

Then on Friday we celebrated Mark getting his second Master's degree in Engineering.  Kelly even ate steak.  (and she made a fantastic fondue appi, but I didn't want to double dip that category...will post later).  Working a full time job is one thing, but finishing a second master's is another.  Lot's of weekends and late nights.  Doug will be thrilled to have his buddy back!

So, now, some apple pie! 

I love this pie dough recipe.  It has never let me down!  (yay vodka).  An acceptable alternative?  Trader Joe's frozen pie crust.  It's made with real butter and the taste is more natural than Pillsbury.

Apple Pie

6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup sugar

1 TBSP all purpose flour

1-2 TBSP fresh lemon juice

2 TBSP butter, in cut into tiny cubes

1/2 tsp. salt

cream/sugar for top crust.

Preheat oven to 425.

Roll out bottom layer of pie crust and line a 9" pie pan with it. Layer apples and dot with butter.  Roll out top layer and place over the top of apples.  Trim excess (if necessary).  Crimp sides together.

Place apples in large bowl and toss with lemon juice (this will help prevent browning).  Mix all dry ingredients in another bowl.  Add dry mixture to apples.  Slice a hole in the top to vent.  If you are fancy Nancy, you can make a design on top ;).  Brush top of pie with cream.  Sprinkle sugar over top of that.

Place pie on lowest rack of your oven.  I usually put a cookie sheet under the pie, in case of sugar boiling over.  Bake pie at 425 for 15 minutes.  Take pie out of over, cover edges with foil and continue baking at 375 on the middle rack for another 45 minutes, or until evenly browned and apples are tender.

Comfort in a Bowl

I'm not a huge breakfast person.  Literally, for 10+ years I had 2 slices of whole wheat toast, everyday.  Boring, I know.  I don't really like cereal, mostly because I'm hungry again in 2 hours.  But, baby, it's cold outside!  Time to heat things up!

When we were in NYC we ate the best breakfast ever.  What did I get?  Cream of Wheat!  Childhood favorite.  Hadn't had it in at least twenty years.  Okay, the stuff at PRUNE was dressed up with buttermilk ice cream and maple syrup.  I generally don't have time to whip buttermilk ice cream up before breakfast, so I settled for maple syrup, cinnamon and a loving pat of butter.  I don't care how cold it gets out there....it's all warm and toasty inside!  The recipe, my friends, is on the box. ;)

Hamburger Hell

 

Consider this a public service message of sorts.  I consider myself to be a pretty level-headed person. (Do not comment otherwise!)  Meat?  Yes.  Caffeine? Yes.  Sugar?  Yes.  Gluten?  Yes.  And so on.  I'm fine with all of these things, just in moderation.*  I don't fear mercury poisoning from fish.  I don't fear e-coli from spinnich (although MAYBE I should).  Even tap water here is safer than any other place in the world.  I may be a slight germ phobe, but that is quickly overcome by thorough hand washing and staying away from buffets.  (Barely can handle the thought of 80 billion people touching the serving spoon I am using before me!)

My friend Judy forwarded this article to me from the New York Times.  It has haunted me ever since.  Read it all the way through.  Tell me you wouldn't change your hamburger habits!  I'm pretty convinced that my hamburger better come from Costco, or a butcher who has just ground my steak for me.  Period.  The mere thought of possibly giving my fam meat that has been bleached or mixed with other trimmings from Uruguay.  Ick.

Will I be giving up having a burger?  Absolutely not.  Still waffling whether or not my Mojo Burger's grass fed angus from Montana is safe, but hey, at least I still have Costco!  Let me know what you think.   After reading the article, would you still eat hamburger from the store?????

* moderation excludes all previously eaten Reese's Peanut Butter Cups purchased for trick-or-treaters.

We've got a winner!

It was the only fair way to draw a winner.  This is Tomas, my gardner.  He stopped mowing and blowing to choose the winner of my give away from Cookware.com.  Congrats to Michelle R. for commenting and winning a Rachael Ray Cookware Fondue Pot!  Keep checking back for another giveaway!  Happy Fondue-ing Michelle!

Sorry people, I was in the Hamptons!

I'm so sorry that I didn't get to drawing a winner of the Rachael Ray Cookware Fondue Pot from Cookware.com yesterday.  I spent thee most fabulous morning in Sag Harbor, South Hampton and East Hampton, New York.  We stayed with Doug's friend Jay (who lives next door to Jimmy Buffet and Richard Gere I might add.)  A fantastic host I might add.   All I kept thinking was that I needed a convertible a scarf and big glasses, cruising down the road.  Now I know why extremely wealthy people/stars flock to the place.  The beaches there were among the most peaceful and beautiful I had seen.  And don't get me started on the pumpkins and mums.  I just spent a small fortune on pumpkins and mums at the nursery and Trader's and I don't quite think it's going to look the same without the weathered cedar shake siding, perfect white trim and impeccably manicured tree fences and massive yards.  Oh well.

Our trip was kind of like a re-do of the DKNY Roadtrip from last October, except this time we brought the hubs and flew.  Slightly quicker.  So much fun and we hit so many sights and stores and FOOD.  I was in heaven.  I'm pretty sure my foot is fractured from walking in the wrong shoes. I won't BORE you with the details of our sightseeing, but I will list a few cool places we hit while there.

The Spotted Pig:  Last year Amy sent us there and it was Fab.  An Michelin rated English pub with over the top pub food.  Quite original.  Had to take D & M there.  Got there at 1:00 a.m. and there was still a wait.  Turns out all of the top English chef's were dining upstairs.  That kind of explains security, the wait and the Ox hearts on the menu.  Try the burger - it's their specialty, but you HAVE to eat the greens.  Kale, collard greens with bacon.  If you hate veggies, you'll get that lovin' feeling.

Prune:  Oh how I fell in love with this tiny little place in the Flat Iron.  They take the most basic breakfast and turn it into a special meal.  I had the Cream of Wheat with maple syrup and buttermilk ice cream!  Talk about comfort in a bowl.  The guys had the cutest bloody mary's I've ever seen (if it's not an oxy moron to call a bloody mary cute) complete with a beef jerky stick and little ball of wasabi on a stick for garnish.  Times like this I curse the fact that I'm not carrying my camera.  Damn.

PDT:  Ok, so the drinks weren't the best I've ever had.  Turns out I found the only place in the city that doesn't serve vodka.  I found it on Food and Wine's top 10 bars of the world.  PDT stands for Please Don't Tell.  There hidden entrance is a phone booth inside a Hot Dog restaurant.  Tiny little dark speak easy.  So cool.  Too bad we hated the drinks, but they did serve tater tots, which half way redeemed it for Kelly.

Cafeteria:  I really could care less about being a dorky tourist going to a place like this.  Very modern. Very cool and tummy mac and cheese three ways.  Haute American cuisine.  Got to spend time with my cousin Craig and his partner Fernando.  We had so much fun they joined us for dinner.  Did I mention they filmed the cocktail scenes for Sex In The City there? 

WD50:  Ok, truth be told this was our most expensive meal and maybe a little disappointing.  The food was brilliantly presented, which I have a huge appreciation for.  I don't even know what I was eating half the time, but it was good.  The dessert tho, was amazing.  I had the Sicilian pistacio cake with meyer lemon, chartreuse, and honeydew ice cream.  Oh good Moses it was good.

The City Bakery:  Pathetic, I know, but we ate there twice.  Why not if it's good, right?  A cafeteria for chic grown ups.  Steps away from 5th avenue.

So my jeans are pretty tight from good food and libation despite walking a New York marathon.  I think I'll be eating chicken and salad until Thanksgiving.  Well worth the splurge. :)