BAKED

 














So it all started innocently enough with a trip to Ikea in Red Hook Brooklyn. My friend Sonya and I went to Ikea via the free shuttle bus from downtown Brooklyn. Of course I was hungry when I got to Ikea as I am always hungry but I also really get a kick out of the cafe at Ikea. I chose wisely by ordering the salmon and a salad. So I was satisfied but I still wanted something sweet and then it hit me that the bakery Baked was in Red Hook. Right then and there, I decided (Sonya was game) we were going to take a side trip to Baked. Me being the "asker" (Sonya's nickname for me because I ask for directions all the time), I went right up to an Ikea employee and asked them for directions to Baked. Thank goodness it was only a few short blocks away. Now I have to back up a bit and tell you that I have tried a few things from Baked before but only at a bakery named Royale which was near my office. I thought that if the few items I had tried already were good then the fresher items would be great.

Once we were inside Baked the fun began because they had so many amazing things on display, picking one choice was very difficult. We decided to share to minimize the damage, and we chose the malted milk ball cake which was truly fabulous. It had the right mix of moist and sweet without being overly sweet. This place was definitely worth the calories.

After the cake, we had enough energy to go back to Ikea and shop. I highly recommend visiting Baked if you are going to Ikea. 

Fancy Food Show Day 1

The Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center is one of the most exciting events in the food world. Most people who know me know that I am a big foodie as well as being a dietitian. I come from 2 cultures that are into food and eating, my moms side is Italian and my dads side is Russian & Austrian. My Italian grandmother always made enough food for a small army and my Italian grandfathers family owned a ravioli and specialty grocery store in Greenwich Village. My Austrian grandfather worked as a waiter in a NYC restaurant. For us as a family, food was always around but at least we had balance and I knew enough that you don't get to eat cake for breakfast.

The Fancy Food Show is in its 56th year and it is bigger than ever. My first time attending the show, I was in grad school at NYU and I saw a flyer for a company called FOODTEMPS. This company basically paid me about $10 per hour to sit at a booth and hand out samples of coffee. My first experience was with First Colony Coffee who was so nice to me, they let me trade their product at the end of the show with other food companies to get their products. I went home with so much loot it was rediculous. After that I worked for a few different companies and a few different summers in a row. I once went to the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco but it paled in comparison to the one in NYC at The Javits Center which is huge and now has the show on 2 levels.

Today was the first day of the show and I decided to take my boyfriend George who says he is not so into food. The show runs from 10-5 and I told George that we should really try to go all day because it is so huge that you need a lot of time. He said there is no way that we will need so much time. We took our time getting there today and actually got started at 1:00. After the first few bites George said to me this is such a great idea and he was having a great time. I am going to highlight the foods that made a lasting impression on me since we got lost in the tastes. The show has food from all over the world but the few things that you see over and over again are cheese, chocolates, jams, spreads and wine.

The first thing I really enjoyed was sweet potato butter by a company called Low Country Produce http://www.lowcountryproduce.com/ it tasted just like thanksgiving on a spoon. I said very loudly to one of the people at the booth how great it is and that it should win an award before I actually saw the silver award the butter earned. The man thought that I was saying that I liked it just because I saw the award

but I told him I really did not see the award until after I made my happy statement. 

Another amazing taste I had was actually many tastes of the same thing but different flavors was a homemade marshmallow from a company in Canada called Butter Baked Goods http://www.butterbakedgoods.com/ I tried Lemon, Coffee, Green Tea and eggnog. See my video to see just how good it really is.

Of course there was plenty to choose from in the area of beverages. If I had to pick the one thing that really stood out and made me excited I would have to say it was Savida http://www.savidasangria.com/ brand Sangria which came in both white and red. Of course there were not floating pieces of fruit in the bottle but the wine was infused with fruit flavors. Contrary to popular belief, Dietitians get together and enjoy good wine and food. Every year the Greater New York Dietetic Association gathers to network with each other. This year they were looking for sponsors and since I thought this sangria was so good and had wholesome ingredients I suggested that they should ask Savida to provide the sangria and I am happy to report that they agreed.

After the 1st day I was exhausted but took time off from work to attend all 3 days so I was looking forward to the next 2 days with a big appetite.

Serendipity III

I think the pictures say it all but there is more to the story of why I would go to Serendipity and order an ice-cream sundae like this. Growing up on Roosevelt Island, I was just a short 5 minute tram ride away from Serendipity. Going to this Ice-cream palace was a treat that my parents took me to and my friends and I went for many a birthday celebration.

The last time I went there, I took my friend Paula who is also a dietitian and we ordered the nuts sundae which is the top left picture and the chocolate decadence sundae which is the top right picture. The chocolate decadence sundae is so crazy it is basically a giant hunk of chocolate cake surrounded by chocolate ice cream. Serendipity has regular food as well which is not so good but it is hard to get a table unless you eat more than ice-cream. The ice-cream sundaes are are great and worth the calories but only on very rare or special occasions. Truth be told, this was about 2 years ago but I remember it like it was yesterday. Some fond memories will never fade.

Dirty Thoughts

Living in NYC and riding the subway to work daily is always interesting and can be nice in many ways. I know that a lot of people would not agree with me about the previous statement but it really is all in how you look at it.

I happened to be lucky and have a good experience the other day on my way to work which was around 8 am. I was standing on the number 5 express train going downtown which is always so crowded but this trip it was not so there was plenty of room for me to people watch. Across from me was what appeared to be a grandmother with her 2 granddaughters on their way to school. The 2 girls were probably around 4 and 6 years old and were dressed in matching little outfits. One of the girls said she was hungry so grandma pulled out a package on Nabisco Sugar Wafers. Naturally, my first thought was "are you kidding me, who gives kids cookies first thing in the morning?" and before I could get any more annoyed at grandma, she opened the package of cookies and that's when the amazing smell hit me. Immediately, I was transported back to childhood when I used to eat these same cookies. NOW MY DIRTY LITTLE SECRET IS OUT, THAT YES I used to eat these same sugar wafers when I WAS A KID. The only thing different was that the outer package was gold. I used to be able to eat the whole package sometimes in one sitting.

I know if I tried to eat them now they would not be as good as my memory recalled them so I think I will just stick to my dirty thoughts. Also now knowing what I know about calories it is enough to stop me from eating them. Thanks Nabisco.

Nutrition Facts Serving Size 8 cookies Servings Per Container 9 Amount Per Serving Calories 140 Calories from Fat 50 % Daily Value* Total Fat 6g 9% Saturated Fat 2.5g 13% Polyunsaturated fat 0.5g   Monounsaturated fat 2.5g   Trans Fat 0g   Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 25mg 1% Total Carbohydrate 21g 7% Dietary Fiber 0g 0% Sugars 14g   Protein -1g   Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% Iron 2% * Percent daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs: Calories: 2,000 2,500 Total Fat Less than 65g 80g   Sat Fat Less than 20g 25g Cholesterol Less than 300mg 300mg Sodium Less than 2,400mg 2,400mg Potassium 3,500mg 3,500mg Total Carbohydrate 300g 375g   Dietary Fiber 25g 30g Protein 50g 65g

Ingredients: Sugar, Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid), Palm Oil, Cornstarch, Soy Lecithin (Emulsifier), Salt, Baking Soda, Artificial Flavor. ©2010 Kraft Foods North America/Kraft Foods Global, Inc. East Hanover, NJ 07936800-NABISCO

I literally get DIRTY but quickly get clean

So the other day I was minding my own business at work when Lisa who is my Chinese cultural consultant comes into to my office with a present. Lisa is a very sweet 72 year old motherly type who knows that I like to eat and also knows that I like her cooking so she brought me a gift.

Picture it, me sitting at my desk at lunchtime starving (I am always starving and even if I am not really, I like the drama of saying STARVING) when Lisa enters my office and announces that she has a present for me. Naturally I know it is food so I get super excited and Lisa tells me it is her famous shrimp dish which is  1 pound of shrimp cooked in the shell (Lisa says this keeps the shrimp from getting tough) that has been sauteed in onions, choy sum (similar to bok choy), and lot's of sauce. For some reason I still can't figure out, both Lisa and I thought it would be a good idea for me to peek at the present while I was sitting at my desk and the bag was directly over my lap. I am sure you figured out by now that the second she tipped the bag to open it, the shrimpy, oniony sauce poured all over my lap and on to the carpet.

Here is where I should have been crying but I was laughing because the situation was so ridiculous and also because Lisa kept saying I have to go buy you a pair of pants. I work in Brooklyn's Chinatown and there are no stores anywhere close that she could buy me a pair of pants. After laughing so hard I walked to the front of the office (walking with wet pants is hard) and said to Arlene (motherly admin assistant) help what do I do. Poor Arlene said let me try to find some seltzer. She did not find any so I did the only thing I could do which was to lock myself in the bathroom, take my pants off and wash them in the sink. Luckily I was wearing very lightweight pants from the GAP that had a good amount of lycra in them. After washing the pants I ring them out in the sink and put the wet pants back on. Now Arlene had a great idea which was to take her space heater and put the heat on my pants so they would dry. This worked so now Lisa and I could both relax a bit.

As if it was planned to brighten my day, I received a package 2 minutes after my pants dried. My great package was from my friend Suzanne who sent me 2 body souffles from her company Not Soap Radio. One was called "I'm not here, I'm really vacationing in a quaint seaside village" and the other was "I'm not here, I'm really island hopping." Being impatient, I opened the package as quickly as I could and proceeded to slather on the  scents of body souffle. It was at this point that it occurred to me that if I closed my eyes and took a deep sniff that I could almost be vacationing on a seaside island while eating shrimp.

After all was said and done, I ate the shrimp (you knew I was going to because I was STARVING).

Thank you Suzanne and Lisa for making my day unique and bright.

Paul Patisserie Part Deux

I just can't seem to get away from Paul Patisserie for too long. I am in Florida visiting my Grandmother for the long weekend and was not sure if I would have time to visit Paul Patisserie at the Sawgrass Mills outlet mall. This is the place where I fell in love with Paul and his pastries for the first time a few years back. Of course those of you who have been following me know that I had a brief affair with Paul Patisserie while in London. The vanilla macaroon was one of the first things I put in my mouth when I got to London and was waiting for my friend Sonya to sort out getting money from the bank.

My Grandmother and I decided to go to the Sawgrass Mills outlet mall at the last minute today. Coincidently, my friend Sonya asked me earlier today if I was going to pay Paul a visit while I was in Florida but this was before we decided to go. When we got to the mall, it was 6 pm and we went straight to the customer service kiosk to get a wheelchair for my Grandmother because she is not up for walking that enormous mall. If anyone out there has been to this mall then you know what I mean. Of course my number one order of business after asking for the wheelchair was asking if Paul Patisserie was still there. They told me that we had to bring the wheelchair back at 7:15 pm so we went to my Grandmothers priority store which was Banana Republic. She does not buy clothes there but she is literally obsessed with their perfume for women called W. She has at least 10 bottles of the perfume and 7 or 8 bottles of the body lotion in her closet at all times. When we got to the store today she asked for 6 bottles of perfume and 4 bottles of the lotion. My Grandmother scoffed at the price because they went up about $2 or $3 per bottle so I told her why don't you just get 4 bottles of the perfume. My suggestion had nothing to do with the price but had everything to do with the fact that she has this strange hoarding problem when it comes to Banana Republic scents. Of course I had to put them away when we got back to her house so I took the opportunity to count them. There are now 19 3.4 oz bottles of perfume and 11 15oz bottles of lotion in her closet. Somehow I got off the topic of Paul Patisserie.

When I returned the wheelchair at 7:30 pm I asked the customer service person if they could call Paul Patisserie to see what time they closed which they did. I had exactly 1/2 hour to drive over to the cafe and purchase my favorite obsession which is the vanilla macaroons. By the time I got over there I could not find parking so my Grandmother agreed to stay in the car and wait for me while I ran over to Paul Patisserie. I was so excited that I had to call Sonya and ask her if she wanted me to pick her up some macaroons. Sonya was not available so I decided to wait until I got to the cafe to even see what they had left. Luckily for me, they had 3 large vanilla macaroons left and a box of their assorted mini macaroons. Of course I was compelled to tell the sales person how much I loved the macaroons and how I ate them all the time when I was in London. I told her that I wished they were in NYC and she replied that they were planning to open a Paul Patisserie in Washington DC. This would work for me since my boyfriend George has family in Bethesda MD and I could justify visiting Paul Patisserie when we were nearby. I just looked at their website and the only Paul Patisserie locations in the US are in Florida. Of course I did not take this to mean anything since I was determined to get as close to Paul as possible so I sent them an e-mail praising the macaroons and begging for them to come to NYC. I am now so curious to know what the person who reads my e-mail will think.

I bought 2 large vanilla macaroons and a box of minis which they said I could put in the freezer. My Grandmother and I ate the large ones when we got home and she is now in love with Paul. The box of minis I promised my friend Sonya that I will share them with her. Who knew that I could be so in love with a confection.

Paul Patisserie will you be mine?

London Market Food

My friends Nancy & Tony who were in my apartment in NYC while I was in Nancy's place in London kept telling me to go to Borough market that it was a foodies paradise. Naturally, I said that we (my friend Sonya & I) had to go. Before we set out to go there I had the grand plan of looking up the best places to eat brunch in London. I chose to go to a place called Roast that happened to be in the Borough market. When we arrived at Borough market, it was a madhouse and we were both starving so we made a beeline for the restaurant Roast. I was most disappointed because we got to Roast after the brunch hour had passed so I was forced to eat lunch food as my first food of the day. Again if you have ever shared enough meals with me or just spent enough time with me, you would know that brunch is one of my favorite meals because you can get a little savory and a little sweet and then throw in a spot of alcohol. The other thing about me is that no matter what time of day it is when I eat my first food of the day, it has to be something breakfast like.

The menu at roast was heavy on the pork and many of the entrees seemed large so I thought I would be a smarty pants and get a few side dishes. My memory tells me I had some kind of squash soup that was nice and some roasted brussels sprouts which were also nice but again it was not hitting the spot for me. This could actually throw off my entire eating day and send me in to a quest to find something satisfying but never really get there. Sonya had a pork dish which was alright but then again I took one small bite. After we left roast and we had a minute to look at the dizzying array of food in the market, we were too full to try anything. To me this was a tragedy because there were so many great choices that we could have nibbled on but we were not too excited about once we were stuffed.

After borough market we decided to go to the famous Portobello market which was made famous in the movie Notting Hill. This market was great fun but the beginning and middle was mostly walking with stores thrown in. The very tail end of the market had more food vendors. We saw the giant paella pans as well as many baked goods and fruit. Sonya and I shared some item of food at this point but it was not memorable.

My advice to anyone going to London who loves to go to crowded markets is try not to go on the weekend and go very hungry.







The interior of Roast restaurant in the heart of Borough market










Giant paella pan at Borough market

Giant paella pan at the bottom of Portobella market

Borough market