The Honest Palate

Mini Apple Pies (and a dinner party)

On Saturday night I attended an unforgettable dinner party - sometimes you just feel very “New York” and this night was one of those times.  Wonderful people, delicious food, great conversation and new friendships made.

The dinner party provided me with a perfect opportunity to use up the last of my apples from my trip to the orchard a few weeks ago.  I’m always a fan of miniaturized desserts at occasions like this - it just makes things easier - so I made some mini apple pies in a muffin tin, and it worked perfect.

I followed the ingredients and method from this recipe.  However, and this is key, I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the filling mixture and I think it made all the difference.  

It’s fun to customize the tops of the pies, so I stopped by my favorite kitchen supply store, Fishs Eddy, to pick up an apple shaped cookie cutter.   I used the cutouts as the pie tops.  

I have no idea why I don’t attend/host more dinner parties, but this is changing now. 

Hiatus Over?

You can go ahead and ignore the creepy kitty who stuck her head in my photo….

After a 3+ week hiatus, I went for a run this morning.  It was a glorious break, full of staying up late on weeknights, sleeping an extra hour in the morning, and eating gobs of cheese.  But now, it’s time to get back in the game.  A little.

I’m running the Ted Corbitt 15K in December because 9.3 miles sounds doable but not too challenging.  After I dropped out of the Chicago Marathon I wasn’t sure what my next plan would be.  Now my next plan is to just figure it out as I go along… which is a lot like how life has been lately!

Hopefully I’ll have some new goods to hang on my wall in 2012.  

Queens Half Marathon & Weekend Recap

Helloooo Sunday!  

It’s been a busy weekend.  Most importantly, I ran the Queens Half Marathon and it went really well!  But first, let me tell you about the delicious dinner I had the night before the race.

Who says you have to eat pasta the night before a race?  There is something so delicious about the mixture of egg yolk and rice.. and this provided me with ample carbs and protein.  (I wouldn’t mess with broccoli the night before a race if you have a sensitive stomach, though.)  Recently I picked up some brown basmati rice which I had never tried before — I love it!

Back to the RACE.  I was expecting a seriously hot and humid day but was pleasantly surprised with mild temps in the 70s and a cooling breeze.  I knew I wasn’t going to try for a new PR on this run, but I did manage to finish in 2:03:28,  beating 4 of previous times!  Here are the splits:

I enjoyed the crazy course in Flushing Meadows, although it was a bit disorienting at times.  The course was completely FLAT which was my favorite part!  Overall, it was an awesome race and I would definitely run this one again next year.

Today, I celebrated with a HEAVY brunch at Peels in the Lower East Side. 

I’ve been dying to try Peels since it opened recently and I don’t think I’ve ever had such a difficult time figuring out what to order.  Sadly, NYC law states you can’t order cocktails before noon on a Sunday!  At least that meant not having to decide on a drink as well… because that cocktail list looks pretty amazing.  I settled for the poached eggs with biscuits and roasted tomato hollandaise…

This was DELICIOUS, but after I finished I felt like I had two biscuit-sized bricks sitting my stomach.  I think I’ve had enough eggs for the week….  A long walk helped me feel better and I probably wouldn’t order this unless it was the day after another half marathon!  Next time I’m getting the whiskey milk shake… yah, you heard that right.

Hope everyone had an excellent weekend!  This week I’m trying a few new recipes, so stay tuned ;)

SMORGASBURG!

Yesterday was a lovely (hot) day for a food fair.  I checked out Smorgasburg, a food fair at the Williamsburg water front every Saturday.  The fair is full of local vendors selling fruit, vegetables, meat, ethnic foods, desserts, and artisanal specialties.  When I arrived, George and his friends were already digging into BBQ beef sandwiches from Meat Hook.

Washed down with a Kelvin ginger & white peach slushie.  

I had to walk the entire fair before I could decide on what I would eat for lunch and dessert.  I’m getting over a week long stomachache, so this proved difficult… but I told my stomachache to CHILL OUT so I could get something delicious. 

I had a bite of grilled veggies and goat cheese smeared on thick french bread.

I had a veggie hot dog!  I love veggie hot dogs…

And for dessert?  How about some vanilla and sea salt ice cream smushed between two giant chocolate chip cookies? That’s good for stomachaches, right?

Hell yes, it is.

Then we found a frozen banana stand.  THERE’S ALWAYS MONEY IN THE BANANA STAND! The vendor didn’t seem to appreciate my Arrested Development jokes… 

Bloggers will be bloggers…

If you’re in NYC on a sunny Saturday, Smorgasburg is definitely worth checking out. 

Kicking off America’s Birthday with 11 Miles

I’m SO excited for 4th of July weekend!  It’s the first time in awhile that I’ll be getting out of the city for the holiday.  In a few hours George and I are headed up to Massachusetts for a relaxing weekend with friends and some of his family.

I realized that since I’ll be gone all weekend, I had to fit in my long training run this morning!  11 miles it was.  I’m not sure if there is anything that makes me feel more badass then running down and around the tip of Manhattan and then checking out my progress on a map:

TAKE THAT MANHATTAN!

Last night I visited a friend in Hoboken and took a picture of the view.  I can’t believe I ran from the left side of the photo to WAYYY past the right side!

I’m looking forward to a weekend without running.  It’s time to focus on just living life and enjoying myself.  Everyone deserves a weekend of rest now and then!

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Upper East Side Fro-Yo Obsession

Tonight after a few hours of studying, a seriously sweat 5 mile run, and a full day of classes, I wanted to indulge in some frozen yogurt.  Good thing I reside in the Fro-Yo Capital of the World: the Upper East Side.  

Recently we were blessed with the addition of 16 Handles, a magical place where you can fill up your empty yogurt cup yourself!  The name refers to the 16 flavors, but it always makes me think, “If I eat too much of this I’ll wind up with 16 love handles.”  I headed there first.

This horribly blurry photo depicts a line starting OUT THE DOOR of approximately 40 people. The ratio of high school girls to non-high school girls was approximately 20:1

No can do.

Luckily there is a Pinkberry literally next door!  It’s a slightly less indulgent treat then I wanted tonight, but still tasty.  

What the??  This line is only slightly shorter, but again.. out the door.  I considered waiting since it’s lovely outside and the clientele was less screechy… but no. NO. I am not waiting in line for 30 minutes to eat frozen yogurt.

A quick peek at Sweet Temptation, located on the opposite side of the block, showed zero line.  However, what is this place?  It recently took over for Tasti D-Lite so I automatically have a bad feeling about it.  No frozen yogurt for me tonight.

Instead I munched on some popcorn (popped by me!) and a small glass of chocolate milk.  The Upper East Side needs to calm down on its fro-yo obsession so I can get some every now and then!  

Adventures in Wine Tasting

A few weeks ago, George spotted a deal on Travelzoo for a half price wine class at Apellation Wine in NYC.  We’d been talking about taking a food or drink related class for awhile and I’ve always wanted to learn more about wines, so this was a great deal.  I love drinking wine, but I had no idea what I like, what to choose, or what the word ‘tannin’ means. I usually just pick whichever one is prettiest… shame, shame, shame.

We headed over to Appellation Wines, an organic and biodynamic wine shop in Chelsea, and were led into the back room.  

“I read about the evils of drinking, so I gave up reading.”  Excellent.  

There were 3 tables set up with glasses, reading materials and crackers.  The class was scheduled to be two hours long but once we started tasting the time moved quickly.

They poured us a glass rose to start with while we looked over the materials. There was A LOT to read!

We tasted 3 white wines: riesling, sauvignon blanc, and chardonnay, and then 3 red wines: pinot noir, syrah, and cabernet sauvignon.  There was SO MUCH information so I was glad to have everything on paper.  We learned how to taste wine and also how to describe what we were tasting and smelling.

I learned that I’ve been making a serious description error! You know how when you drink red wine, you sometimes get the feeling that your mouth is drying out?  This means there are a lot of tannins!  I always thought that this meant the wine was dry. Apparently, dryness is a descriptor for how sweet (or not sweet) the wine tastes.  MIND BLOWN.   

Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon.

I learned that I really enjoy Pinot Noir, a wine that I would never have thought to order before.  George learned that he has terrible handwriting and that the sauvignon blanc tasted “acceptable” but he was not “wowed.”

Someone took wine class very seriously…

Overall, it was a great class and well worth the $40 spent.  The class is normally $80, which I still think is worth it for 2+ hours and 7 different wine tastings.  The instructor was extremely knowledgeable and friendly, not at all a wine snob. 

I left with a bottle of riesling and pinot noir….and a serious buzz. 

A Modern Lunch

Phew, it has been a busy weekend!  There was roller skating, running, and eating, eating, eating.  I’m not complaining!  The highlight of the weekend was definitely lunch at The Modern, a Danny Meyer restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art that I’ve been dying to try for a few years.  

After seeing a few exhibits at the museum, George, his parents and I headed down to the restaurant.

Of course, I had been staring at the online menu for days before Sunday so by the time we sat down I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting.  It definitely included a bloody mary and it was one of the best I’ve ever had!  (Fiore in Brooklyn is still the best.)

I started with the fresh grilled shrimp with green cabbage and gruyere salad. 

Beautiful. The shrimp was lightly grilled and the salad gave it an extra crunch.

For the 2nd course I had a slow poached egg in a jar with lobster and sea urchin foam. 

They had me at “egg in a jar.” I’m a sucker for this sort of novelty menu item.  But it was AMAZING.  It tasted similar to clam chowder, but the most refined and delicious clam chowder ever.  I’m glad I chose smaller portioned meals so that I had room for dessert…

Coffee Caramel Dome with vanilla ice cream and amaretto gelée.  Need I say more?  I ate everything. 

Overall - amazing. I would go back anytime.  There were so many other options on the menu for me, which is rare at an upscale restaurant.

Right after lunch George and I talked about eating a light dinner since we had such a serious weekend of eating.. but by the time 6:30 rolled around we were eating pounds of Indian food and samosas.  Sounds about right.

Weekend, can we get a move on?

I am VERY excited for this weekend, which is going to be action-packed from beginning to end.  It has been an exhausting week of cat troubles, work, and general life issues so I’m ready for some serious fun.

Tonight:

• I’m donning a romper and leggings and heading to Down & Derby Roller Disco with my friend Kari and our friend Jeff.  I haven’t put on roller skates in about 10 years, so here’s to NOT breaking an ankle.  

Saturday:

• I must run 8 miles. I must run 8 miles. I must not go too crazy tonight so I can get up and run 8 miles.  Brooklyn Half Marathon is 5 weeks away, and while I’m not racing it, I’d like to actually be able to finish.
• Dinner with George & his parents at Dovetail!  New York Magazine has been singing it’s praises lately and they have several vegetarian friendly options.

Sunday:

• A trip to the Museum of Modern Art, followed by brunch at The Modern. This restaurant has been on the top of my list for a LOOOOONG time and I’m so excited to finally be going.  A bloody mary is in my future.
• Coffee date with my college roommate who is visiting from Boston.  We’re heading to Think Coffee, an awesome coffee shop all about fair trade… plus we’ll be down in NYU-ville so we can get all nostalgic. 

[And on Tuesday… I’m heading to Los Angeles for the premiere of our film, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold!] 

So let’s fast-forward a few hours, okay?