Home Cooking

A blissful Christmas week at home filled with nonstop eating, tv-indulging, and sleeping in way too late. Thought I would have been more diligent about capturing all of our meals but half of the time I was to impatient to eat.  Fortunately I was able to get a few quick snaps in between all of the eating :)

A delightful discovery - Jack Rudy small batch tonic that has elevated my favorite drink to a whole new level. Thank you Bon Appetit for introducing me to this.

A classic breakfast we always eat at home. Ever since my parents had their first crepe in Montreal years and years ago, they were hooked. We've been following the same apple crepe recipe since I was probably 12.

After our apartment had dumpling night, I was craving some of my mom's home made dumplings. And the new favorite filling of the moment is lamb with celery. Nothing beats dumplings was dumpling skin made fresh.

This is not a new favorite. For as long as I can remember, we've been eating hot put at home and it beats all the hot pot I've had in Philadelphia and New York. Our favorite ingredients include thinly cut lamb, spinach, clear noodles and a spicy sesame based sauce loaded with hot peppers and cilantro.

Showing off dad's cooking skills. Roast beef smoked in his "Green Egg", home made pickles and bread made from scratch. Dad's gotten pretty good at cooking while I wasn't looking.

A simple dinner of nachos loaded with Italian sausage, home made salsa and LOTS of jalepenos, can you tell we like things spicy?

New York sure has some great food but sometimes, nothing beats mom and dad's home cooking.

Brunch at Locanda Verde

A decadent brunch in Tribeca before heading home for Christmas. I went to Locanda Verde last summer with some friends but hadn't returned until now despite its proximity to work. Lots of authentic Italian deliciousness at this eatery owned by Robert Di Niro. I'm still waiting for a celebrity sighting...

I love the rustic Italian feel of the this restaurant.

Fluffy focaccia - with carmelized onions
Citronata (in the back) - a light breakfast cocktail of Aperol, lillet (apertif wine) & aranciata (Italian orange soda)

I've developed a slight obsession with pastry baskets as of late. Anything sweet and carby smothered in butter sounds like the beginning of a perfect lazy Sunday. This dolce misti was outstanding, filled with holiday flavors including ginger chocolate bread, sugar crusted croissant, apple cider donut (favorite) and butter scone, all served with whipped butter and orange marmalade. This might have been the best part of the meal. 

Soft Scrambled Egg Crostini - with leeks, mushrooms and speck

Shaved Porchetta Sandwich - with grilled onions and provolone
This dish brought us back to our travels to Florence and the trek we made every other day to the sandwich shop that served the most amazing Porchetta sandwich we've ever had (well at that time it was the only porchetta sandwich we ever had).

Lots of home cooking (and eating) these past few days which should make for some gluttonous food posts.