The Blog

I’ve been to Eataly three or four times now since the last time I blogged about it. I really like that place. I try to plan my trips to the city so I can stop at Eataly, pick up some fresh pasta, prosciutto or imported Italian products, before I head home.

Here’s a few pictures:

Entrance on W. 23rd Street.

Meat counter.

The dried pasta selection, alone, is insane.

One of the standing-room only restaurants.

Here I had a meat and cheese platter and a glass of prosecco.

Visit Eataly if you’re in town. There are several restaurants and counters to eat at. Be prepared for the crowds…and a possible line at the two entrances. Best way to avoid lines? Go during the week in the middle of the day.

Don’t know how I missed news that this was opening in New York City.

Read about it here.

And see pictures here.

Who’s coming with me?

Don’t be alarmed. The term food porn is only a “provocative term variously applied to a spectacular visual presentation of cooking or eating.” Enjoy.

(Best viewed in HD)

Music – “It’s Oh So Quiet” by Björk.

My cowokers at Uniqlo introduced me to pork dumplings in Chinatown. I can’t count how many times I’ve taken a stroll, in the cold, to grab a tray of these.

They are cheap. About $4.50 per tray at Shanghai Cafe. It’s good for groups. Go with cash in your pocket. Neither place accepts credit or debit cards. If you are in New York, stop by one or both of the best places to get pork dumplings.

Shanghai Cafe — 100 Mott Street, Chinatown

Joe’s Shanghai (the more famous of the two) — 9 Pell Street

Once again, my cousins Tangie and Damond pulled out all the stops. Great food, great music, great company.

Here’s the menu, and the pictures follow it. (I’ll try to get the recipe for the fish and leg of lamb posted here.)

Leg of Lamb (Julia Child recipe)
New Orleans Baked Fish
Seafood cornbread dressing
Scalloped potatoes
Sweet potato casserole
Brussel sprouts
Kale
Cranberry sauce
Wine and champagne

Table is set.

Tangie blesses the food.

Leg of Lamb (rough recipe by one of the featured chefs in one of Julie Child’s cooking books)

New Orleans Baked Fish

- 3 lb. red snapper or white fish
- 1/2 c. butter or oil
- 1 c. chopped onion
- 1/2 c. chopped green pepper
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp. flour
- 3 c. tomato sauce
- 1/2 c. chopped parsley
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- Pinch of oregano
- Salt & pepper to taste

Wash and dry fish, melt butter or oil in fry pan. Add onions, green pepper and garlic. Cook until pepper is tender, stir in flour, tomatoes, parsley, thyme, bay leaves and oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes. Place fish in greased pan, pour some of the sauce inside of fish and rest over top. Bake 1 hour in slow oven (325 degrees).

Clearly, it was good. And so was the lamb.

Seafood dressing

Brussel sprouts

I was able to see my immediate family this year, just for a brief moment. I had to be back in New York before Christmas, so we did our thing early. And you know what that means! FOOOD!

Asked my mom for a crab feast, but I got much more than that. Let the drooling commence…

Crab and shrimp boil with broccoli salad in the background.

My fried chicken. (Yes, I fried it. Tired as I was, surprised that it turned out good.)

Rib eyes and links, seasoned and grilled to perfection by my lovely mother.

My mother’s apple pie. There was something about this one. It was better than any other time she’s made it.

I also got to reunite with my niece, Bailey. She’s the daughter of my step-sister Samara. I hadn’t seen Bailey since right after she was born in nearly seven months ago. I brought her the toy in the hopes she’ll remember me on my next visit.

This was my first ever Thanksgiving away from home. And, oh boy, it was a busy day.

I started the day at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The paper I interned at back in California contacted me regarding a local high school marching band that would be in the parade. I gladly accepted the assignment. I was up at 4 a.m. and didn’t finish the assignment, writing and editing, until around 5 p.m.

Once I was done with the reporting, I headed to my cousin’s where family members were gearing up to partake in a delicious spread. Best of all, it was baby Ailey’s first Thanksgiving. We all gathered around her bassinet and prayed over the food. Quite a touching moment. I tried to snap a picture of it. I think you can tell we are standing around her.

I ate, did some more work on my assignment, and then fell asleep. I was wiped out. Didn’t even get to taste the desert (red velvet cake) until two days later, when I returned for leftovers.

Here’s the menu and a few pictures I snapped:

Cajun-fried turkey
Seared salmon steaks
Seafood dressing
Traditional dressing
Macaroni and cheese
Sweet Potato casserole
Greens
Broccoli
Cranberry sauce
Buttered dinner rolls
Wine and champagne

This year I’m thankful for family. I could not thrive without them.

You can view all of my pictures from Barcelona on my Facebook page.

Mission accomplished. On this day, my one real vacation wish came true. I ate at Cal Pep, which is raved about by a few people we asked for travel advice. Let the drooling begin…

Sardine and pepper appetizer.

Cured ham and tomato bread.

Fried artichokes.

Tuna patty with sesame.

Spanish omelette with garlic sauce.

Clams in a broth flavored with bacon.

Razor clams with a buttery smoky flavor. (First time I’ve ever had razor clams.)

Steak and potatoes. Perfect doneness. Seasoned expertly.

Needless to say, I was out of money after that visit. It was well worth it!

Before I knew it, we were back on the plane for the US. Overall, a very good trip.

Shout out to Jen Jiggetts for bringing me the Ganesha figurine from her trip to India last month. I thought of taking it with me to Barcelona as soon as she gave it to me.

A little bit about Ganesha, in case you are puzzled. And, no, I’m not practicing Hinduism. I’m a person that tries to learn, respect and appreciate all cultures.

On this day, I fought myself to get up as early as I did. But I was so glad I got up. I took a tour of the city by bike. This is, no exaggeration, the only way to see the city. We went where cars and buses couldn’t go. We saw things the average tourist wouldn’t have seen, unless they knew to seek it out. The pictures do it no justice…

This company was great and very professional.

My “I can’t believe I’m about to ride a bike through a city I’ve never been in” face.

This tour was Veronica’s idea. Kelley and I couldn’t thank her enough.

Just gorgeous.

I mean…just breathtaking. This fountain was designed by Gaudi, if I heard the tour guide correctly.

The gate built to welcome people to the world fair in Barcelona.

An amazing thing to walk bike under.

Sagrada Familia. Enough said.

Tried to get you a little bit closer.

There. That’s better.

I rewarded myself with paella at La Poma, a restaurant with the worst service on La Rambla in Barcelona. Not only did we sit for two hours waiting for our food, the meal cost more than any other we’d had since vacation started. The paella was good, but didn’t really make up for it.