Eats and Treats!

How hard is it to make a $&^%(! sandwich?!?!?!

2013-04-28T17:35:00.001-04:00

Kevin: Hello everyone. I am a little annoyed right now. I am so annoyed that I am pulling my soapbox out and standing on it now while typing this blog post. I am this annoyed because I just received, yet again, a crappy sandwich from Carmel Bagel Deli...icious.

Now please, don't get me wrong. They have great bagels. Don't know if they make them in-house or have them delivered daily. They make a good egg sandwich too, and the coffee is decent. My issue is when ordering any deli sandwich, wrap, or panini. Every time I order a deli sandwich, it is made poorly. For example: I ordered a Grilled Caesar Salad Wrap today. I also order a turkey and provolone sandwich with "just a little bit" of mayo, on a roll for Aimee. Now...in the process of making the sandwiches, one of the workers stated they are out of the black olives that go into the Caesar Salad wrap. From my experience, there are no black olives in Caesar Salad, so I am not sure why they would add them in the wrap. I told them to not worry about that and make it sans olives. Now I stepped away from watching them work to pick out a bottle of iced tea. When I came back to the counter, it was ready to go. I took my purchase and went home.

When I sat down and opened my sandwich, I noticed a few things. After my first bite, I realized they they did not put thought into how the sandwich was made. My first issue is that the person making this wrap did not bother tossing the lettuce with the dressing, like how a caesar salad is traditionally made. That simple misstep was the biggest mistake of the sandwich. One bite had too much cheese and little-to-no dressing. The next bite was just dry lettuce. It was a poorly made sandwich. My wife's sandwich had issues also. It was a simple sandwich. Turkey, Provolone, a little bit of mayo. Aimee doesn't like mayo that much, but needs something to moisten the sandwich a bit or it makes her feel sick. They put on so much mayonnaise the roll was soggy. Aimee was not happy at all with the sandwich. In fact, neither of us ate. It was just an all around bad experience.

Now a while back, I ordered a panini there as a to-go order. I live almost across the street from this place so it's convenient. When I arrived home and opened the wrapped sandwich, I realized that the bread was toasted and had grill marks, but the sandwich was cold in the middle. The cheese was not melted. I had to heat it in pan at home to get it cooked correctly. An unpleasant experience to say the least.

My main point is that if you own a business, especially a restaurant or deli, you should put some thought into how your prepare your goods. It seems as if the workers are either not trained on how to construct their sandwiches, or they are trained poorly on how to construct a good wrap. If you are making a caesar wrap, you can at least toss the lettuce before wrapping. Also, use the right lettuce for a caesar salad wrap. Romaine is the traditional type of lettuce for a caesar salad. They used mixed greens for the wrap. By doing this, it was missing the crunch it needed. Finally, they used finely grated Parmesan cheese. If they would of grated it differently, it would not have a powdery taste. It just upsets me that some restaurants overlook some of the small things that make a big difference.

Ok....I am off of my soapbox and I put it away for now. I will still go to Carmel Bagel Deli....ious. I will now limit my purchases to bagels and egg sandwiches only. I believe in supporting our local businesses and will still do that. I just hope that they will strive to improve the way they do things. If they just put more thought and consideration in that they do, I am betting they would have many more happy, returning customers.

Aimee: All I have to say is I'm very disappointed. This is a great place for bagels with mediocre hit/miss service from a bunch of teenage boys. This was my first time ordering an actual deli sandwich from Carmel Bagel Deli...licious and when someone says "just a little mayo" the obvious next step is NOT to schmear half a jar of mayonaise onto the bread so it gets so soggy it splits and is oozing everywhere. Gross, white, mess. Three sad and sorry descriptive words that you wouldn't want the sandwich you just sold less than 5 minutes earlier to be described as. Now, I'm a hypocrite because I told Kevin to go back and get his $15. But I know I wouldn't have. I probably would have done something childish, like toss my sandwich at their front door and let the mayo-mess slide down the front so the rest of their patrons could be left wondering why. But I'm vengeful like that. *LOL* Kevin was angry and said that he's gone back because of something else once before and there was a middle-aged woman in there who argued & was short with him. Note to business owners: In this day and age when business is not what it used to be, don't give your few (now formerly-dedicated) customers an attitude when you can't make a sandwich correctly, or when they ask you to do something a certain way. Isn't that your job? Isn't that what you get paid to do? Maybe you are having a bad day. Maybe business is not going well and you haven't seen a raise in several years. All I have to say to that is JOIN THE CLUB and get over yourself. This is the way of the world. No one can afford crappy service or shoddy product. Don't be there to screw up business for someone else! Hell, we can go to McDonalds and get a wrap, it may not be very healthy, but it would be RIGHT and served with a smile. What really irritates me is that Kevin and I were going to go down there in the late afternoon to cover the Putnam County Cash Mob and post it to our Foodies 101 Lohud.com food blog to give Bagel Deli...licious a little positive free press! I wasn't feeling up to it so we decided to support them anyway by getting lunch there. Makes me wonder what would have happened if all 20-30 Cash Mobbers got bad sandwiches? Either way, I'm glad I didn't waste my time and go down there to cover the Cash Mob because I would have had nothing nice to say. On our Lohud.com blog, we don't like to leave disparaging blog posts. On our own blog.. we do what we want. :)

...I don't even need my soap box!

Indian: Chicken Tikka Masala

2013-04-21T15:28:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone, Aimee here. Sorry it's been so long. Things have been a little hectic. But without further ado, I bring to you a restaurant review on some very flavorful and fragrant Indian food!

My friend Nicole wanted to take me out for my birthday. She lives about an hour away so we were trying to figure out someplace at the halfway mark to meet. Me being in Carmel and her in Hyde Park we decided on Route 9 in Fishkill. The biggest issue now was to figure out which of the countless eateries to dine at. She mentioned an Indian place on Main Street/Route 52 called Tanjore. At first I was skeptical because it had been so long since I'd had Indian food, easily 5 years ago. But the the plan was made and the more I thought about it, the more excited I became!

We got there at almost exactly 6pm on a Monday night. The place was empty except for a few folks I who were there for take-out. We were seated and a friendly waiter came and filled our water glasses and gave us menus. I had basically decided right off the bat to stick to what I knew, which was Chicken Tikka Masala. Nicole wanted the same thing and we ordered a Vegetable Samosa appetizer which Nicole said was really delicious. We also asked for some garlic Nan.

Within 10 minutes or so our appetizer came out and Nicole went right for what we think is Tamarind sauce. I have researched it a few times and can't come up with any other possible answer, and of course I forgot to ask our waiter! It's a sweet, fruity dipping sauce, a purple-red in color. There was also Onion and Cilantro chutney on the table. I stayed away from both of those, but the purple stuff was so tasty!

Getting back to our appetizer, the vegetable samosa came to the table with 2 on the plate. They were large, almost the size of my fist! Perfect for the 2 of us to share.

The most popular snack of India! Punjabi spiced potato and peas stuffed in a triangular crisp pastry shell.

They were fried and crunchy on the outside and inside they were filled with a mixture of mashed up potato and green peas with some different spices. It had a tiny kick but it was nothing we couldn't handle. I loved the crunchy outer shell and the warm soft flavors on the inside.

Pretty soon our waiter brought out our entrees. We each had our own bowl and a shared bowl of white rice and our garlic nan. Everything smelled divine! Now for those of you who have never had Indian food, let me tell you exactly what is in the Chicken Tikka Masala so you don't think it's some kind of smelly, gross, scary food that you will never want try, because I promise it's really good!

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala consists of boneless chicken breast grilled in the tandoor (clay oven) and slow cooked in a creamy tomato sauce. It has a really tiny kick of heat from the spices but when you put it over the white rice, that cuts the heat almost immediately. The creamy tomato sauce is so good! It's not like Italian tomato sauce (gravy) its very smooth and full of traditional Indian flavors. Oh man, we had a party with that food. I was so full by the time we were ready to leave that I had to take the rest home with me. I had it 2 days later for lunch at work and it was just as delicious.

Nicole and I did have some dessert. She had something called Rasamalai which is something of a cheesecake (2 bite-sized cheesecake-like balls) soaking in a milky sauce. Nicole loved it. I tried it and the texture was definitely not to my liking so I stuck to homemade vanilla ice cream with pistachios on top.

I have found the Tikka Masala simmering sauce at both ShopRite and Trader Joe's but so far, nothing compares to having it made the right way, fresh from a great restaurant like Tanjore!

If you're ever in the Fishkill area, stop by Tanjore at 922 Main Street Plaza (Route 52), Fishkill, NY. Or call ahead and pick some up if you like, 845896-6659. Here is a link to their MENU, check it out!

xoxo,
Aimee

Corned Beef Hash - Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

2013-03-17T07:10:00.002-04:00

Top of the Morning to Ye! Or top of a mountain of Corned Beef Hash! It’s Kevin Ellis, the more adventurous half of Eats and Treats (and www.lohud.com column Foodies 101). My wife Aimee is going to sit this one out, as corned beef isn’t really her thing. I’m flying solo but I’ve got a tasty story for you!

Corned beef hash is one of my guilty pleasures. I try to order it whenever we go to breakfast at our local diner. Aimee turns her nose every time I order it and says it looks like dog food but I beg to differ! Maybe it’s not the most attractive of food item on the menu, but the bold flavor and salty bite from the pickled brisket mixed with the fluffy, creamy potatoes and the warm, buttery onions? It’s like all my food fantasies rolled into one forkful. Aimee doesn’t really like corned beef and cabbage so it’s not something we would normally make at home. But let’s face it..this time of year changes everything. Since St. Patty's Day is upon us the essential ingredients of this dish have been on sale everywhere in the last few weeks. This passed weekend my cravings and the supermarket flyer joined forces and convinced me to make my first attempt at tackling a corned beef hash recipe in my own kitchen. I have always wanted to make it myself, I guess I just never thought to do so when it’s so commonly found on the breakfast menu of most restaurants. Once the thought was in my head, there was no stopping me from going out to buy a corned beef brisket just for this very occasion!
According to all the recipes I found online, corned beef hash calls for pre-cooked corned beef and pre-cooked potatoes. (Basically, lots of great recipes meant for leftovers). I was thinking of going all the way and corning my own brisket, but that is way too much work for me. So, I purchased a 2.5 lb. Flat Cut Corned Beef Brisket. I followed the package directions in cooking it, and it let it simmer for about 2 hours. Then took it out of the water and let it rest for 20-30 minutes before trimming off any excess fat. Then I simply cubed it up small and stored the beef in the refrigerator to cool down while I peeled and diced 6 Yukon Gold potatoes. I boiled them until tender, drained them, and put them aside. Yes, I was going to be making a lot of hash!

Once everything had been cooked and cooled, I finely chopped a medium yellow onion. I heated a 12 inch cast iron skillet to medium and melted 3 Tbs of unsalted butter. I added the onions in the skillet and cooked them until translucent. While they were cooking I combined 2 cups of potatoes with 2 cups of corned beef. I added the mixture to the skillet and pressed it down, letting it cook until brown on the bottom, then flipping it over to brown up a little more. The smell wafting through my kitchen was making my mouth water. I could not wait to taste it!

I was happy to find that it was not nearly as salty as the canned version and it has much more depth of flavor. I do have to admit, I would rather eat this meal out than cook it myself. It is a bit of work to make, unless you are using St. Patty’s day leftovers. I hope to try this again sometime soon, when I do make corned beef and cabbage. (If my wife will let me, that is). We sure hope you all have a yummy, safe Saint Patrick’s day – don’t forget to wear green!

What will you do with YOUR Saint Pat's leftovers? We want to know! :)

Valentine’s Day Sweets for your Sweetie

2013-02-11T20:27:00.001-05:00

We actually already posted a Valentine’s day treat blog on www.Lohud.com featuring Heart Shaped Brownie Bowls and home made chocolate truffles, you can read that here.

But today I am just blogging quickly about these adorable Valentine’s Day themed Devil’s food mini cupcakes that I made for a co-workers (tomorrow).

I made a box of devil’s food chocolate cake mix and lined a mini cupcake tin (makes 24) with parchment liners and used a small disher to fill each cup 2/3’s full. The recipe on the box was for larger cupcakes so I had to keep an eye on the timing – they were done in about 14-15 minutes instead of the usual 20-25.

I added a few drops of red food coloring into the container of store bought vanilla icing and mixed it vigorously until it turned a light pink. When the cupcakes were done and completely cooled, I iced each mini cupcake. I had also purchased a tube of red gel writing icing, so I made a heart on each cupcake with the writing icing and then placed a conversation heart in the middle of each one.

They came out so cute and I can’t wait to bring them to work and show Lynne, the birthday girl!

Kevin & I sincerely wish you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day to you! Don’t forget to make something sweet, from the heart for your loved one!

xoxo,

Aimee & Kevin

Superbowl Sunday Mash Up

2013-02-03T11:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Weekend everybody and happy Superbowl Sunday!

Kevin & I have been making things here and there and not blogging about them. OOPS! Yeah, we’ve been a little lazy, sorry! We promise to try and keep you guys up to date. But for now – it’s Superbowl Sunday and we have some fun in store for you guys!

Superbowl doesn’t usually mean much to me, unless of course there is some good food involved. Just about every Superbowl Sunday is spent at my moms house in front of the big screen TV with delicious goodies like Stromboli, honey teriyaki and hot wings and any variety of chips, pretzels and dips. The boys in the football uniforms with the cute butts are just a bonus. Sorry, I’ll stop objectifying the talent now. Today we’re just wanted to do a quick update & share with you, a few recipes that we’ve tried that are relatively quick and just might help make your Superbowl Sunday food preparations a little easier.

Because of all the junk food that we usually take in during a football game, we thought we’d start this day off with something that is both healthy and delicious that everyone at your breakfast table can enjoy. This is my Aunt Marcia’s recipe that we’ve made a few of our own edits too. We were told these muffins were OUT OF THIS WORLD and we just had to try them. We really have no doubt that you will love them too. And they are so yummy and filling!

Marcia Muffins

You will need:
4 eggs; slightly beaten
3 cups of sugar
1 cup of vegetable oil (or you can use 1 cup of applesauce instead if you wish)
1 quart of buttermilk
2 teaspoons of vanilla
One 15oz box of Rainsin Bran cereal
5 cups of flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoon of salt
5 teaspoons baking soda

Instructions:
- Mix eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla & buttermilk. Best to use a large tupperware bowl for this.
-Then add cereal.
-In seperate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda and then add to egg mixture a little at a time, folding it in and stirring well.
-Add nuts, dates, etc. if desired.
-Bake at 400 degrees for 15-30 minutes (depending on if you're making mini muffins or larger ones and depending on your oven). We used large muffin tins and had to put it in for 30 mins, checking it at 20 and 25 minutes with a toothpick.

This recipe will make a very large batch of batter. The best part is, you make make as many as you’d like and you can store unused batter in fridge for up to 6 weeks! Just take it out, drop some batter into your muffin tins and voila! Breakfast or a yummy snack, anytime!

Next is our pasta salad, which is a lot tastier and lighter than store bought and is sure to be a hit at your Superbowl table.

Italian Pasta Salad

You will need the following:
1 small bottle of Wishbone Italian dressing (not the creamy kind)
1 container of cherry tomatoes, rinsed
1 Cup of shredded carrots (optional)
1 seedless cucumber (optional)
1 green bell pepper (optional)
1 small red onion (optional)
Parmesan cheese (optional)
1 can of black olives
A few pinches of salt & pepper

Instructions:
- Boil a box of pasta according to directions for Al dente (we use Rotini, Kevin prefers the tri-color Rotini actually). Don’t forget to salt your water.
- Once your pasta is in the strainer, run cold water over it and toss a bit until it has cooled down. Then dump into large bowl.
- Shake the Italian dressing well and then give a few generous squirts of dressing over the pasta, just to coat it well enough not to stick while you’re prepping your veggies.
- Dice any veggies except for the tomatoes and olives which will remain whole.
- Add vegetables, a variety at a time, and stirring into pasta well. If you find that it needs more moisture add a little more dressing. Add tomatoes and olives as well and then add salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese to taste. Use salt sparingly at first to be sure you do not over salt the pasta salad. You may need a little more of the dressing, it really depends on your preference. If you plan to have the pasta salad as leftovers, be sure to keep some of the dressing for the remaining days because the pasta absorbs the liquid as time goes on and you may need to add some the next day.

Kevin & I love this pasta salad. The bite and color of the fresh vegetables beats out the heavy flavors of vinegar and mayo any day!

Next is another pasta dish that is pretty easy and so tasty! It's my friend Nicole's macaroni & cheese.

Kevin & I are both particular about Mac & Cheese, but – it’s for completely different reasons. Just about every version of homemade mac & cheese I have ever had has been lacking in seasoning. Mind you, I don’t like things very salty. My mother hardly used salt when I was growing up, instead she would use garlic and other seasonings to beef up the flavor. But I can tell when the salt factor goes missing and someone forgot to add a little something to help replicate that particular bite that makes things worth eating. Sometimes when Kevin makes his mac and cheese, I get a little queasy watching him. I just have a thing about using eggs in savory cooking. Breakfast? Sure! Baking? Absolutely! But the thought of eggs in mac and cheese makes my stomach turn. Of course, like my friend Rachael says, if you put it in front of me and it tastes good, I’ll eat it, just don’t tell me what is in it. But once I know an egg is in there, or if my prying eyes locate a custardy weirdness, I’m usually turned off. Kevin likes his mac & cheese with shallots and once you turn the pasta out into a greased baking pan he prefers his topped with panko, or anything that’ll give him that crunch and texture he's looking for. Crushed Ritz crackers is an option –Or if you want to be want to be especially evil, like my mom, you could use crushed sour cream & cheddar potato chips – I know, I know.. you’re drooling aren’t ya? Hahaha!

Well, below is Nicole’s somewhat ‘lightened up’ Macaroni & Cheese recipe.

You will need the following:
1 Box of Dreamfields Healthy Pasta (I promise this stuff is 100% like the real deal).
4 Cups of shredded cheddar cheese (I used Sharp but whatever you prefer is fine, Nicole has said she has used Cheddar, Gouda or even Monterey Jack cheeses).
2 Tablespoons of salted butter.
1/4 Cup of Fat Free half and half, and set aside a little bit extra as you may need a few drops more while mixing the cheese together.

Instuctions:
- Boil pasta according to instructions on box EXCEPT salt your water AFTER it comes to a boil, not before. When you've added your salt and pasta to the water, it is time to start your cheese sauce!

- In a sauce pan, add the 2 tbsp. of butter - be sure that the heat is on #5 on your stove knob (or just below half way).
- When butter has melted add in the cheese. I put the first 2 cups in, then used a whisk move it around and help it to melt, then I added the next 2 cups of cheese and then the half and half. Whisk constantly to be sure the cheese doesn’t burn. Use your judgment, if the cheese sauce seems too thick or hard to mix, add a little extra half and half. As soon as your pasta is done, strain it well and add back to pasta pot. Using a rubber spatula, add all the cheese sauce to pasta and gently fold cheese sauce & pasta together until well mixed.

Voila! It is so damn good!!

Okay, last but not least – dessert of course! These are our leftover cereal bars. Your child doesn’t like hot wings or pasta salad? No problem!! These is a cool, kid friendly Superbowl recipe, and adults like them too.

You will need:
6 cups of whatever cereal you have on hand
4 cups of mini marshmallows
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter or margarine

Instructions:
- In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
- Add your cereal to the mixture and stir until well coated. We made this recipe because we were trying to get rid of some cereal that was going to expire soon. We used Cheerios and Golden Grahams together.
- Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. These usually taste best if you eat them the same day that you make them. You basically make this as you would make Rice Krispy treats, only you’re using whatever leftover cereal you’ve got laying around. You can also add things like chocolate chips, craisins, nuts, etc. Get creative!! But remember, those things should be mixed well into your 6 cups of cereal first and then mixed in all together into the marshmallows.

Next time I’d like to melt some chocolate chips in the double boiler and dip the bottom half of these treats into the chocolate and lay them on wax paper and stick them in the fridge to cool. That would be extra yummy!

We hope you’ve enjoyed our Superbowl Sunday Mash up and that you have lots of game day Eats & Treats! May the best team win!

Until next time,
Aimee & Kevin
xoxo

E-Mail Bag and Biscuits!

2013-01-27T20:30:00.001-05:00

AIMEE: We got a special request via email from our friend Georgia who lives in Massachusetts.
Hi! I’ve been looking for a good biscuit recipe. The kind that would go with dinner, with butter or gravy. Lately, I have used jiffy mix ‘cause I have it on hand, but they taste kind of bland and heavy with soda powder/baking powder taste. Yuck. If you run across or try biscuit recipe please let me know. NO hurry.
Thanks for your time and help!
-Georgia
Well Georgia, we aim to please! It just so happens we had plans to make some baked chicken for dinner Sunday night and what goes better with chicken than biscuits, right? Well, Kevin certainly thought so and since he was heading to the store on Saturday afternoon, while I was still recovering from the flu, he got all the ingredients we needed. I somewhat figured that what Georgia wanted was an quick, recipe that could be easily made for a group of people or just one if needed. Something that didn’t require a whole pantry of ingredients. I was Google’ing around and found a Youtube video of an old southern grandmother making biscuits. I thought it was totally endearing (not to mention super important!) that someone had the forethought to video tape their grandmother making a recipe that they are famous in the family for. So often our relatives pass away, leaving a huge void in our hearts, but in our stomachs as well and somehow we never know exactly how they made that meatloaf, that casserole or those cookies. Anyway, when I watched this little old lady making these biscuits I was so eager to try them, she made it look completely effortless – and come to find out – it was!
Kevin was not sold on the recipe I had written down from the video I had watched. He thought maybe there were ingredients missing, or something, but I could just tell he was not happy about making these biscuits in the fashion in which I had gotten from this video. And listen – I understand! When you’ve made food before from your own recipe or in school, or maybe your mom taught you – you kind of just want to do it that way forever. I get it. But what Kevin doesn’t understand is that, I have never made biscuits from scratch before – therefore I have nothing to lose and everything to gain! I don’t have that dreaded fear of trying something other than what I have always known a biscuit recipe to be. It simply doesn’t bother me. So anyway, getting back to dinner time.. the chicken was seasoned and baked and resting and before I knew what was happening Kevin was pouring flour into a bowl and adding things with a grimace on his face. He didn’t look very happy. When I realized that he was starting the biscuits without me, I hopped up with my phone to take pictures. See originally the plan was, I was going to bake the chicken and he was going to do the biscuits. However, I was taking a much needed hopefully-post-flu marathon nap and he offered to season the chicken for me. From there, he just took over. But I was expecting then that I would do the biscuits! Well, anyway, things weren’t looking good in the bowl and Kevin was looking peeved. The thing is, he hadn’t watched the video so my little list of ingredients and what to do didn't mean anything to him and he seemed annoyed. So I took over. Now this is what you’ll need for these insanely simple, easy biscuits:
-Self rising Flour (recipe calls for 8 cups but we only used 4).
-Crisco (shortening)
-Buttermilk (recipe calls for 1 Cup, we used a little more than 1/2 Cup).
Instructions:
-Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
-Sift your flour – if you don’t have a sifter (and don’t worry - we don’t either) just mixed through it well with your hands, try to work out most of the lumps.
-Use the shortening or Crisco to grease a cookie sheet
-Make yourself a well in the center of the bowl of flour – this is where your dough will form. Use a good handful of Crisco to and start to slowly massage into flour
-Then add your 1 C of butter milk slowly, about 1/4 cup at a time mixing it with the flour and the shortening. Be sure to add flour bit by bit and mixing with hands until you’ve got desired amount of dough. Careful not to mush the dough around too much, or you will over work it. When the dough firms a bit, you can make it into biscuits (whatever size you desire – they do rise a little bit).
Drop biscuits onto sheet. If you like a more tender biscuit, keep them very close together, even touching, on the sheet. For a biscuit that is brown and somewhat crispy on all sides, keep them separate on the sheet.
Lightly press knuckles into top of each biscuit.
Bake for 18-22 minutes – depending on your oven and the size of biscuits.

Next time I fully plan to added some garlic & sharp cheddar cheese into these babies – delicious! Hope you enjoy as much as we did!

xoxo
Aimee & Kevin Ellis
p.s. This is the video that I watched to learn to make these – I wish I had thought of video taping my grandmother making all of her delicious recipes! I highly recommend watching the video before making the biscuits so you can see what I mean about ‘overworking’ the dough – she just does some squishing, but she doesn’t touch it a whole lot – which is apparently very important when it comes to biscuit making!

Sauce Pot Sunday - Don't cry over burnt garlic!

2013-01-16T20:27:00.000-05:00

AIMEE: I recently became reunited with my former best friend Nicole from my school days. We had lost touch and hadn’t spoken in about 13 years. Since I spend all day on the phone at work, the last thing I want to do when I get home is get on the horn. It's because of this that Nicole & I have been using text messages to catch up with one another.

Well, last week Nicole & I were texting back & forth about what was for dinner and she asked me if I make my own gravy. She was appalled to find out that not only have I never made my own gravy but I regularly use pasta sauce from the jar & enjoy it! I didn’t think that coming from me, this would be a huge surprise, but I guess we've been out of touch so long that she just couldn't believe it.

As a true Italian, Nicole does a lot of her cooking from scratch. And if she can do it with 2 little boys to care for, than I had no real excuse not to do it myself. She really inspired me to try to make my own gravy and she said she'd help if I needed it. I decided that I would do just that and chose Sunday to try it out because I knew I'd be home all day to let it cook for several hours. In the days leading up to Sauce Pot Sunday, I prepared by watching some YouTube videos on how to make your own sauce and then I called my mom for her sauce recipe. When I was sure I had it down pat, I sent my husband to the store for canned tomatos, beef broth , Italian sausage, and baby back ribs.

I started out with a little olive oil, and chopped garlic in an 8 quart pot on medium high. We gave 1 white onion a rough chop and tossed it in to saute as well. Kevin started opening the canned, peeled tomatoes and pureed them. I cut the 5 links of sweet Italian sausage in halves, turned the burner on High and tossed them into the pot, rotating after a few minutes to be sure all sides were brown. Kevin handed me a large bowl to transfer the sausage over while he unwrapped and rinsed the baby back ribs and added them. I browned those on both sides & transferred them into the meat bowl as well.

Lastly, we added a few pieces of cubed chuck steak that Kevin decided he wanted to add to the sauce, so I browned those also. When all the meat was nicely seared & out of the pot, I looked down and to my dismay, saw that my garlic had turned into burnt, unrecognizable little black dots! I really wasn't sure what to do. I called to Kevin who was in the living room watching TV and asked if I should de-glaze the pot a little with the beef broth. He said I should add the tomato puree first, then the broth - but then in a not-so-sure voice he asked, "What does the recipe say to do?" I kind of just stared into space. I hadn't written down any particular recipe. I was checking my text messages from Nicole and using her advice and my own instincts. But I was already starting to feel that old familiar Food Failure creeping in. When I was growing up, if I was attempting to cook or bake something and it went awry, I just gave up. But here I was in my kitchen among all these ingredients in which we spent our hard earned money on, I wasn't going to turn back! So I added the tomato puree (Three 28 oz cans) to the pot, added a little over a cup of beef broth and several generous shakes from the Italian seasoning container

By now it was just after 1pm. We partially covered the pot and let it cook, stirring occasionally. After 2 hours or so, I realized that the sauce wasn't thickening at all. I also noticed that the little black dots of burnt garlic were totally mixed throughout the gravy, and I know for a fact that burtn garlic is not a pleasant flavor. Kevin and I started looking through the cabinets for something to add that would thicken the sauce a little. I mentioned to him that my mom will sometimes throw a jar of Franco Rinaldi (my personal fave) into the pot to help thicken it up. We didn't have any of that because Tuttorosso had been on sale the week before so Kevin grabbed a jar of that and tossed it in before either of us could changed our minds. I was feeling disheartened and still being under the weather from a sinus infection, I decided to leave Kevin to watch the pot while I went to take a nap.

KEVIN: While Aimee was sleeping, I took a little taste of the sauce and though it was finally starting to thicken I thought the flavor needed to be enhanced a bit. So, I did something out of the ordinary ...I improvised while cooking! (I know, shocking, right? Haha.) I added more Italian seasoning (about 1 and a half tablespoons), 1/2 Tbsp of dried Basil, and a tiny pinch of crushed red pepper flake. I know that Aimee would kill me if she saw me adding that to the gravy because she is a afraid of spices, but it needed a little zip. This wasn't that big of a stretch, since Aimee's mother Kathy uses hot sauce in her own gravy recipe to off set the sweetness of the tomatoes. The taste was great. I gave the gravy a stir now and then and kept it partially covered in between. When Aimee woke up, the first thing she did was check the gravy pot! She was pleasantly surprised that the sauce had thickened over time and I eyed her carefully as she grabbed a clean spoon and went in for a taste. I was a little afraid she would notice the kick from the red pepper flakes but instead she said "Mmm!" and smiled at me. Phew! I was in the clear and we were well on our way to having a delicious gravy with our fresh pasta ravioli for dinner.

AIMEE: OK, well, just so you all know - I only found out about the red pepper flakes just now (Wednesday, 3 days later) as we are writing up the blog! Kevin is very lucky I didn't see him put that red pepper in because there likely would have been an argument over that! And it's okay because now I can say he was totally right in doing so. It's a win/win. Kevin gets to be right and the red pepper flakes worked well in the sauce. Kevin boiled up the ravioli while I got out our pasta bowls from the cabinet and sliced some Italian bread. Within 10 or 15 minutes we were sitting down to enjoy our wonderful Sunday Sauce. It was a beautiful deep red and full of flavor. Note to Self: Next time don't add garlic until after I've seared the meat. I'm so glad this worked out, even though there were a few bumps in the road, our gravy was totally worth every cent it cost to make, every hour it it took to simmer and every second of anxiety it gave us!

Mmmm, buon appetito!

xoxo,
Aimee & Kevin Ellis

Happy New Year folks!

2013-01-05T10:45:00.001-05:00

We just wanted to wish you all a very happy, healthy, sweet 2013!
It’s been a week or two since we blogged but that’s because we were working hard to publish our first blog post as columnists (our intro is here) for Small Bites on www.lohud.com – we finished it up, and have a little note tucked into the post just for you all - you can check it out here.
We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed cooking, baking, making and writing about it!
More to come in the next few weeks..we hope!
Til then, take care of yourselves and we hope your weekend is a TREAT!

xoxo,
Aimee & Kevin

Homemade Pecan Pie–An Ellis Christmas Tradition

2012-12-26T11:25:00.002-05:00

Kevin: Hello everyone! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! For the last three years I have made Pecan Pie around Christmastime. I love Pecan Pie. It reminds me of my childhood, living in Florida. The first time I remember tasting it is when I was at a church gathering when I was around 11 years old. It was sweet, rich, and had complex flavor. I researched a recipe online that best captured the taste I had experienced so many years ago. Here is the recipe I used to make this delicious pie:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 cups pecan halves
1 (9 inch) unbaked deep-dish pie crust

Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Mix the white sugar, brown sugar, and butter together in a bowl. Stir in the corn syrup, eggs, and bourbon; fold in the pecans. Pour the mixture into the pie crust.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C); continue to bake until the pie is set, about 35 minutes more. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

You can access the original recipe here. I modified the recipe slightly for time and added a few extra pecans, but more importantly - vanilla. I though that the original was a good guideline, but it needed a little more depth of flavor. Now this pie is just the foundation of many types of pecan pie. I will definitely try something different next time I bake it. If you guys have any ideas for me to try please drop me a line at kevin@eatsandtreats4u.com and let me know. I'd love to give them a try!

Aimee: I don't like pecan pie (go figure!) so I can't really weigh in on this. What I do know, is that our family friend Jerry is totally, head-over-heels in love with Kevin's Bourbon Pecan Pie, as was everyone who had some last night. We had a little less than half the pie left on Christmas day and Jerry offered to take it off our hands. We still have one at home so we were kind of releived not have to bring the rest of this one home with us. So many desserts going around! Which reminds me, Jerry's wife, Lorin had found an idea online to make a cookie dessert tray out of melted starlight mints and it was so cool! I am going to try that for New Years and I cannot wait to tell you all about it!!

Stay tuned......

xoxo
Kevin & Aimee

Peanut butter, Pretzel & Chocolate no-bake cookies!

2012-12-16T21:00:00.001-05:00

After a rough week, Kevin and I decided to take our Sunday and just kind of relax and spend some quality time together. After grocery shopping and going to the pet store, we came home and watched The Amazing Spiderman which I found out after the fact, is a ‘reboot’ of the first Spiderman movie. Same basic story line but totally different actors and I have to say, a much better Peter Parker was found in Andrew Garfield and a much fluffier storyline with a lot more hints as to what happened to his parents/why he was left to be raised by his aunt and uncle. I really enjoyed it, surprisingly!
After our movie, we decided to try out a new recipe for no-bake Peanut butter pretzel bites.
Recipe:
Ingredients

1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp softened butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar (maybe more)
3/4 cup brown sugar (maybe more)
Pretzels
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
Combine peanut butter and softened butter in a large bowl with a fork, whisk, hand or stand mixer. Add the sugars and mix to combine. At this point if the filling will roll easily into balls without sticking to your hands you’re ready to go. If not, add a little more of each sugar until you reach a consistency that is easy to roll (I used about 3/4 cup of each sugar).

Grab a cookie sheet and line with wax paper.
Use a teaspoon measure to scoop the filling. Roll each portion into a small ball, then sandwich them between two whole pretzels. When all the balls are rolled and successfully sandwiched, they should look like this:

Now it’s time to stick the tray in the freezer for about half an hour.
To melt chocolate, use a double boiler, or you can pour the chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and heat at 30-second intervals, stirring occasionally until completely melted like so:

Remove the pretzel sandwiches from the freezer and quickly dip each half-way into the melted chocolate. Return to the tray and repeat with remaining sandwiches.

When all are dipped, return the tray to the freezer to set up completely. Store the sandwiches in the refrigerator until serving time.

We used waffle pretzels because I thought they would make for cute little sandwiches!

These are so yummy. I’m betting you could use white chocolate chips, add a little food coloring (red or green) and make them for your next holiday party.

I just know these will be a big hit!

I had seen the recipe for these on the Two Tiny Kitchens blog. I came across it while looking for no-bake cookies a while ago and just never got around to making them til now. You can check out their blog here.

We hope you make these for yourself or loved ones soon, we completely enjoyed getting our hands dirty and making them together. Let us know how they turn out or whatever edits you made to make them even more delicious.

-This is Aimee & Kevin Ellis, signing out! xoxo

Sunday Morning Mash Up

2012-12-15T23:05:00.001-05:00

Good morning everyone. Or shall I say, mourning.
We are over here in Carmel, NY, just 8 hours and 8 minutes on foot, 2 hours and 41 minutes by bicycle and 33 minutes by car from my front door to the shattered windows, bodies and hearts of the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.   I was never the religious type (except for a stint with Taoism a while back which I do not regret). But I find myself whispering a lot the last few days. Not to anyone in particular. Just mumbling or humming or bouncing out the syllables of each word of prayer with my fingertips on the table. Just taking my own moments of silence because sometimes the ache is both genuine and foreign when something this catastrophic and tragic happens. Let alone, to young, precious, innocent little kids. Somehow it always seems more unbelievable, more incredulous, more heartbreaking when children are involved. Somehow it makes your heart bleed faster, your chest heave harder, your tears flow easier when it’s so close to a holiday that means toys, games, milk & cookies, family photos full of bright eyed little ones in red velveteen dresses or bowties. Yes, it’s Christmastime, and given the chance, under at least 22 green pine trees or shiny menorah’s there would have been colorful gift boxes waiting for small fingers to peek and pry. But now those spaces are empty. Those minds are barren. But, those hearts are gut-wrenchingly full to the brim and about to burst with sadness and woe so urgent that it hurts to blink or breathe.
To quote our emotional president, “As a country, we have been through this too many times. Whether it is an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago, these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods and these children are our children. And we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.” I think the media should take a step back now and let the families of all of the angels that fell that day deal with their losses at this most difficult time. And when they have mourned, I hope that they get angry enough to figure out how to make a real change to gun control and the way media makes the murderers instantly famous. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that the media is there to bring us the most up to date information and in many, many ways, it’s obviously helpful. But what is most important (to me, anyway) is that they bring us the TRUTH and that they do it once and for all – the first time around.
We hope that you will all say a little prayer for everyone involved in the Newtown, CT shootings. And please, treasure your children always.
To lighten things up a bit, I wanted to blog about a fun (and delicious) experience I had recently with my Supergirl sidekick Rachael, our coworkers and boss at Café Maya and Cantina in Fishkill, NY.

My coworkers decided to have a little get together outside the office so we could actually enjoy one another’s company for a change and not have to discuss work related stuff. Two of the girls in our department are actually located in our satellite office up on Route 9 in Wappingers so this restaurant was an quick ride for them. Rachael and I of course drove up together, while Lynne, Florence and Elfriede rode up with our boss Lisa. We met at 530pm and were promptly seated at a large table in the very festive & colorful dining area. If you know me at all, you know my affinity for all things colorful! My eyes danced on every hue, I loved it.

The walls were covered with Mexican flags, sombreros, funky cultural artwork, colorful banners and strings of Christmas lights. This was my kind of place. We ordered drinks (the white sangria is very good). They keep the home made tortillas chips and salsa coming til your food comes out which is both good and bad.. you can easily fill up on those! Lisa really wanted to try their guacamole which is made tableside. Rachael and I thought that was so cool!

As a self-proclaimed Plain Jane, I don’t like avocado. I’ve tried it on a few occasions but I’m just not fond of the taste or texture. My boss said that the guacamole was amazing and all the girls urged me to try it. I finally gave in, and because I love you all, and for the good of the blog, I tried it. Hah! It was good! I have too much pride to say it was delicious. But it was certainly tasty.   I can’t explain what was good about it. My first impression was that it tasted grassy (not that I have ever eaten grass). But then I realized the cilantro and lime juice brightened the hell out of that stuff and took it to new heights. I only had that little bit on that one chip, but I don’t think I’d throw that bowl of guacamole off my table if it just showed up….. if you know what I mean.

Anyway, my coworker Mabel said that there is usually a Mariachi band that comes in around 6, but here it was almost 7pm and we hadn’t seen them yet. We were getting antsy for the sweet trill of genuine Mexican music, the strum of a guitar or the tangy heartbeat of a horn. Soon, a few servers came with our dinners. Elfriede had something called the Juanita, Florence had a shrimp dish with rice and beans, Lisa had a cheese enchilada, Valerie had enchiladas, Mabel had some kind of tacos, Lynne had enchiladas with mole sauce, I had chicken tacos with rice and beans,

Rachael had a chicken, spinach and mushroom quesadilla.

Everything was very good, we were all full and happy with our meal choices, a few of us had to get our leftovers wrapped up to take home.   I have to say, I do not like rice & beans. Yet, I ate both!   Not all of it of course, I was wicked full from the chicken tacos but I tried the rice and beans and actually really enjoyed the flavors. I surprise myself sometimes! Very soon after, the mariachi band showed up and made its way through the dining room serenading patrons and getting them involved with tambourines, maracas and singing. When it was our turn Mabel requested Guantanamera which we all sort of know, but can’t pronounce the words to. It was so much fun it didn’t matter, most of us just kind of sung the wrong words while Elfriede banged the tambourine and Val, Mabel, Florence and Lisa shimmied with the maracas. We were sad to see them leave the table when they were through. I caught myself saying more than once that I wanted a mariachi band of my very own!   Mabel graciously tipped the gentlemen.

In the middle of all the fun, we gave our boss Lisa her Christmas gift from all of us, which was a beautiful Vera Bradley cosmetic bag with matching luggage tags for her trip to Italy next year! She was very excited.

So, what was the best part of the night, you ask? Well, a dedicated food blogger would say, “The food, of course.” But I’m going to go ahead and be honest here. My 70-something year old co-worker with a sombrero on her head shaking the maracas was the BEST PART of entire week! I think you would agree…

… Just look at how cute she is …

Hahah.
Even though we were all so full you could roll us out to our cars, we ordered a few desserts to share. Rachael & I and Valerie & Mabel paired up to each share a chimi-banana which is banana cooked inside a chimichanga and deep fried with a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar and topped with whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce.

One word: DECADENT. Florence opted out of dessert, but Lynne, Elfriede and Lisa all shared a goblet of fried ice cream which they said was baaad (in a good way).

This was a restaurant with really great service, an entertaining atmosphere, and last but certainly not least – Café Maya is full of flavor! I would say that if you’re having alcohol, this could be a pricey place to dine. But the average meal ranges from $12 – $16 and with endless tortilla chips and salsa coming to the table, you could skip an appetizer to save yourself the dough (but you’ll miss out on some good stuff). My advice would be..whatever you choose, do not miss the dessert!
Rachael & I already swore we would be back to double date with our significant others.
A truly wonderful time had by all.
Oh, I wanted to mention this , before I forget. For those of you that don’t know, our Eats and Treats Facebook fanpage held it’s first contest this past week! We had a ‘Guess how many Hershey kisses were in the jar’ contest, whomever had the correct (or closest) guess won a prize.

Our wonderful Facebook fan Melissa Hernandez of Clermont, Florida won a $10 Dunkin Donuts gift card for coming the closest to the actual number of 127 with a guess of 113. Congratulations Melissa – we hope you enjoy a nice hot cup of coffee and a donut on us! For those of you who haven’t become a fan yet, you can do so by clicking here. We are hoping to do contests and giveaways at least once a month, so be sure to check out our Facebook fan page and feel free to post recipes, photos and share your comments with us – we would love your feedback!

Alright…just one last note to end this rollercoaster-of-emotion blog entry.

Adam's Fairacre Farms.

Rachael, Kevin and I really adore this marketplace. There is fresh (and really reasonably priced) produce and meats, a wonderful bakery, a large spot where they sell garden/home-type items, like plants, soil, seasonal stuff, and Kevin’s favorite – the candy bar area. Today we saw a very genuine-looking Santa Claus by the candy bar having some sweets and talking on his cell phone. I bet Mrs. Claus was making sure he brings home the milk and eggs! At one point I had wandered off to find the bathroom while Rachael and Kevin bought ‘bad things’. This usually means someone, more often than not it’s Rachael, is buying or eating something they shouldn’t. So as I found my way back to the candy bar area, both of them had little white bags in their hands and guilty looks on their faces! Rachael said “We got bad things!” and I laughed, shook my head and said “I can’t leave you guys alone with the candy for a second, jeez.” I of course resigned myself to eating some of whatever they bought to join in the badness.

I had a salted caramel chocolate and that was ALL, I swear.
If you have never been to Adam’s – you have to go – no questions asked!
We hope you all have enjoyed our latest update & that you have a wonderful holiday season. God bless and see you in the New Year!

XOXO,
Aimee & Kevin, Eats and Treats

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week Fall 2012 & Christmas tree shopping!

2012-12-09T21:19:00.001-05:00

Hi guys and gals!
As the weekend draws to a close, I find myself fidgeting and regretting not doing an update, so that brings me to now. This is going to be a Recap post with the links about our Hudson Valley Restaurant Week Fall 2012 guest blog posts on Journal News’ Lohud.com website, as well as our Christmas Tree buying experience with Kent Countryside Nursery.
So here are the direct links to our articles on www.Lohud.com’s food blog ‘Small Bites’ - for those of you who may have missed out:

Hope you guys read them all! We were extremely excited and honored to be able to participate in HVRW Fall 2012 and blog on behalf of the Journal News. I’ve always wanted to write but after high school I had a hard time at DCC with a creative writing professor and thought my ability and fondness for writing had literally dried up. But thankfully by getting into blogging thanks to a former friend, I’ve found my passion and inspiration again! It’s too bad the person I have to thank for this thought that Kevin & I were sabotaging her by starting our blog. It’s a shame and it makes me really sad because we’re all adults and this misunderstanding didn’t have to be the detriment of our friendship. But we haven’t heard anything back so Kevin & I have chosen to push ahead, doing what we love. And now that I’m loving writing again, I don’t plan on letting anyone get in the way of that.
So, enough of the dramatics and onto our next adventure! Kevin and I got a really early start (for a Sunday) at the laundromat and while we were waiting for the clothes to dry, we decided to take a ride over to the old Dills Best in Carmel where Kent Countryside Nursery was selling Christmas trees. We usually get our tree a little later in the month, but December is filling up quick with plans and parties to go to and I wasn’t sure when we’d have the chance again. I was kind of shocked that the Christmas tree stand was open already. It was just past 8am and we were the first ones there. There was a young guy who waved to us from a little booth and said he’d be right with us. Kevin and I went to check out the trees.

I had my eye on 2 Frazier furs. They are our favorite because of the silver coloring on the underside of the branches. I kept going back and forth between these two 5-6 foot trees, when we figured out which one we wanted, the young guy was happy to cut some of the bottom branches off for us.

He said a lot of families who come like to keep part of the trunk and put their last name on it and date it each year. I thought that was a really cute tradition. But you can read more on that later. So, of course when you’re in the great outdoors, the trees look small. But once we had chosen one, put on the car and brought it inside, it was HUGE! It’s okay though, I adore our tree. The trunk is a little crooked, but it’s beautiful and now our home smells like Christmas! Our friend and my fellow supergirl Rachael and her boyfriend Steven collect Christmas ornaments of all kinds. They’ve got Baseball ornaments, Pixar ornaments, Disney ornaments, Wrestling ornaments and they’re all sectioned off. It’s so cute! Well yesterday while Rachael & I were running some Supergirl errands she went into Dunkin Donuts and came back with 2 little DD snow globe ornaments, one for them and one for us! I was so excited. When Kevin & I went to Starbucks this morning I bought an ornament for us and one for them as well. And while we were buying our tree this morning I got a tiny little home made ornament there as well.    That’s 3 new ones this year so far.

I plan to pick up a few more here and there. I decided as I put the lights on the tree and dug inside the Christmas bins for all of our stuff, that I wanted to only put our specialty ornaments up this year. No typical colored glass balls and the like. So we have several personalized ones’ in shapes of Christmas trees, little photo frames, our initials, etc. We’ve got several cat and animal-related ones and even a memorial ornament for my dad.   We usually top our tree with a star, but since the tree nearly hits the bulkhead that runs through our living room, it just isn’t fitting. So I am going to put a bow on top this year, I’m just not sure yet if I’m going to attempt to make one or just go pick one up somewhere.
When we purchased our tree, which was $45.00, we were given a receipt which states “1 Free Perennial with this receipt for 2013 season” as well as a post card for 20% off our entire plant material purchase in the spring. I thought that was a nice bonus. In the past the D.A.R.E. program was running the Christmas tree sales at the old Dills Best so although I was a little disappointed that they weren’t there this year, I have to say, we had a wonderful first experience with Kent Countryside Nursery!
If you’re in the market for a Christmas tree for your home, we highly recommend heading over to the old Dills on Route 52 or you can buy directly from Kent Countryside Nursery right off of Route 311 on 61 Ludington Court.

You can contact them at 845-225-7766
Or on the web at: www.KentCountryside.com
Once we dropped the tree off at home, we took the netting off so the branches could fall a bit in the warmth of the house. We went back out to fold the laundry and pack it back into the car and then it was off to Frankie’s Burgers & Waffles for breakfast. Kevin was excited to try them out and I was excited to try something new and yummy.
The placemats make for really fun and interesting conversation! Kev really liked them.

Kevin ordered the Corn Beef Hash special which is 2 eggs (any way, he chose over easy) over corned beef hash, 1 pancake OR 1 waffle and hashbrown potatoes on the side.

I ordered the chicken and waffles which is a first for me at a restaurant.

Kevin has made it for me at home on one or two occasions though. The chicken was very petite, which was fine because my meal was supposed to come with FOUR pieces of chicken, which is an insane amount for one person, never mind the giant Belgian waffle! I really loved the golden brown (light) crunch on the outside, but I felt it maybe could have done with a little seasoning. I was glad it was a light fry and not heavily breaded.

Otherwise we both enjoyed our breakfast and don’t have anything really remarkable or negative to say about either dish.   I think we’d try Frankie’s again, but next time would definitely be to experiment with the lunch menu!

Supergirls Saturday Ep.2: Holiday Happiness, Putnam Humane Society, & Johnny Gelato!

2012-12-03T18:30:00.001-05:00

Greetings Earthlings! We will now subject you to yet another busy, fun-filled adventure of Supergirls Saturday – and we hope you like it! Just in case you missed the first installment, you can check it out here.

Our morning started out with the usual meanderings; getting gas, going to the bank and most importantly locating some form of warm, delectable liquid to satiate our need for either sweetness or caffeine (depending on our mood). Rachael had gone out for Starbucks with our mutual friend Jessica a week or so ago and found that the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate was something I could not miss. Things that are extra sweet sometimes give me a stomach ache but it was too late, I had already gone to the dark side and had to try it. After the bank and getting gas, we headed to Starbucks and we each got one of the hot chocolates and a coffee for Rach’s main squeeze, Steven. We then went to Radio Shack to deliver it. While Rachael was talking to Steven, I just had to take a sip. I can’t tell you how insane this hot chocolate is!

They put whipped cream on top, so the temperature was perfect, not too hot for a good, long swig of pure joy. I don’t go to Starbucks too often because I’m cheap and prefer Dunkin’ Donuts, but I know I will return soon because I am in love.

Next stop?

Holiday Happiness at the Primrose School in Somers, NY. Our coworker Lynne has told us about Holiday Happiness a few times and we always want to go but never get around to it. Rachael and I were determined to get there this year! This is a great big lot of vendors selling all different types of things, mostly homemade. There were also plenty of people selling things they put together in exchange for monetary donations. Rachael and I, in true generous Supergirls fashion purchased a lens-cleaning kit for $10 each; 100% of the proceeds go to a fundraising tool which began as an incredible story of saving a young man's sight with the help of funds raised by the Somers Lions Club of New York, USA. Then we spotted a den of Boy Scouts selling an assortment items to raise money for their troop so we each bought a few ‘Instant Snowman S’more’ kits from them for $1 each, they were very good salesmen.

With so many fabulous items, from local wares to leather goods and sculptures from South Africa, we made several stops along the way eyeballing hundreds of potential gifts. Rachael really lucked out and was able to cross a few people off of her Christmas gift list.

There were lots of vendors selling hand made ornaments, Christmas and other holiday decorations, scarves, crocheted baby clothing, hair bows, and more. We walked into a large room which was likely the cafeteria, and there was a small bake sale going on. Up on a stage was Santa Claus taking pictures with children. Rachael and I really, really wanted to take a photo with Santa but were unwilling to spend $15 to do so. Oh well, maybe we can get Kevin or Steven to dress up like Santa and take a photo for free!

We also met a young guy handing out these little vibrant yellow bags which read 'Renvoi bebe BurpGear' on the front. He offered us each one to put our purchases in. He started telling us about their new company and that the Holiday Happiness event was their first official day in business. So I promised him I'd blog about it and help to get their name out there. I went on their website and found out more information about the product and the people behind it. The name of the company is BurpGear and it started with mother of three Rachel D'Ascoli who partnered with her own mother and her sister to create fashionable, comfortable, burp cloths. The BurpGear burp cloths feature an H-shaped double shoulder design, are liquid resistant, have an adjustable neck strap, come in stylish fabrics, are made in the US and best of all, they are affordable. Be sure to take a moment and check out their website, and they have a facebook page too!

After almost 2 hours of claustrophobia in the hallways of the Primrose school, full to the brim with families doing their shopping, Rachael & I headed to the last of our Holiday Happiness stops; the Putnam Humane Society room. I knew ahead of time they would be there and I was excited to ‘donate’ (purchase) a few Kitty gift bags with fun and/or yummy things to fill my 4 cats Christmas stocking with. Yes, I’m a bad cat-mom and did all of my holiday shopping except for the cats!
The only thing I had for their stocking was a container of cat milk. Lame! Rachael decided on 2 cute little stockings stuffed with dog bones for her 2 pups at $3 each.

I bought 2 kitty treat gift bags at $6 each. You wouldn’t believe the loot in these bags! My cats will be so stoked come Christmas morning.

As you can see, Heartly Starr was very excited.

As we were finishing up in the PHS room, we bumped into Lynne! She said she just knew she’d find us in there with the dog and cat stuff. Yes, we’re suckers for the animals! We chatted for a few minutes and parted ways. That was when Rach and I decided we were done fighting the crowds and spending money, we set out to find our way back to the car. We found it to be drizzling when we got outside and thought we better hurry up and finish our Super girls activities before it started to freeze up. (We are big chickens when it comes to snow/sleet). From Somers we took Route 100 to 202 to 22 North and headed the back way into Danbury, CT. Yes, Trader Joe’s was next on our list. I love this store!!! We both do. I think everyone who goes there just once can easily fall in love with it. The people are so nice, the food is unique, healthy, fun, interesting, organic, fresh … I could go on! I said I was not going to spend a lot of money here but it’s always easier said than done, it’s hard not to try new things when you come to Trader Joe’s. I got a few little gifts there as well, which was helpful. I also got some frozen meals, a couple of yummy looking Macintosh apples, a small box of salted caramel butter cookies my waistline could have done without and some chicken pot stickers that my husband likes (yuck). $50 later, my pockets and pride were hurting! But if I’m being honest, and Rach can totally vouch for this, the frozen meals (mandarin or teriyaki chicken, butternut squash risotto, etc…) are really great tasting and easy to make. Not to mention pretty affordable. Heading out of Trader Joe’s, we knew we had to go to ShopRite as well to get a few staples. We rushed over there, and were in and out quickly. We took all the cold/frozen stuff back to my house and put it in the fridge/freezer because we had one last Supergirls Saturday stop to make.

And now, without further ado, our first guest blogger & fellow Supergirl:

Johnny Gelato
By Rachael Marchewka

I walked into Johnny Gelato’s with Aimee and said to the man who greeted us “I know it’s 34 degrees outside … but we want Gelato!” He laughed and straight away our experience was nothing but awesome! The case was filled with so many different flavors it was hard to choose.

I knew before I walked in the door that I wanted something with “holiday flair” such as Candy Cane, Gingerbread or Pumpkin. Johnny offered us a sample of anything we wanted; I tried a few flavors but finally decided on Pumpkin (of course) and Gingerbread. Aimee chose Salted Caramel (delish) and Holy Cannoli! All were amazing.

(Aimee's gelato on the left & Rachael's on the right - below you can see the Pints and Pies, etc.)

Johnny was very nice and chatted with us about his grandchildren. He also told us all of the ice cream is homemade. While we were there a local kid stopped in to say hi. Johnny of course gave her a sample of anything she wanted and then after a few minutes of chatting she ran out the door and waved to him. He really is such a wonderful guy. You rock Johnny! We sat down while we ate and took in the décor. There were a few tables and chairs to sit at and there was seating outside as well-of course it was too cold for that. I wanted to be nice and bring my boyfriend something since he was working hard at his store. I stood in front of the case for about five minutes until I finally decided on coffee flavor. We also noticed you could take pints to go and homemade gelato pies, cannolis, and ice cream sandwiches. One really special treat that Johnny offers is the “YOU'RE LOVED” cards.

They make really great gifts! They are definitely worth checking out if you have birthdays coming up or put them in the Christmas Stockings! I took a picture of Aimee and Johnny before we left.

We told him about the blog and he took down the web address and said he'd be interested in checking it out. We had a great experience there. I can’t wait to go back and have some tasty gelato and just to say “HI” to Johnny as well. What a great time we had!

Wow, thanks for writing up that review Rach - great job. We look forward to having you guest blog for us again soon!

And listen folks, be sure to check out our facebook page often, we will be starting to have little giveaways here and there very soon!

Glad you stopped by to read our 2nd episode of Supergirls Saturday - hopefully we will have another one up soon!

xoxo
Aimee & Rachael (Kevin, too)

My first Pasta e Fagioli

2012-11-30T21:31:00.001-05:00

KEVIN: Hello everyone. Last Friday, I decided to make a pot of soup. I wanted something different. I usually make chicken soup using a Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. It is quick, easy, and tasty. This time I wanted something different. I received inspiration from an appetizer I ordered at Don Tommaso’s in Yorktown Heights. Pasta e Fagioli, a meatless bean soup. I used Cannellini beans and ditalini pasta. I also added about 4oz. of prosciutto, sliced into thin strips. I added it when I added the tomato paste. I highly suggest making this on a cold winter day.

Here is the basic recipe.

2 tablespoons pork fatback, slightly softened and mashed into a paste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup to drizzle
1 bunch Italian parsley finely chopped to yield 1/4 cup
1 medium Spanish onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 quarts chicken stock, recipe follows
3 cups cooked borlotti beans, may substitute kidney or cannellini beans
2 cups pieces of raw pasta left over from making tortellini or pappardelle
Salt and pepper

Directions

In a Dutch oven, heat the pork fat and olive oil over high heat until it is almost smoking. Add the parsley and the onions and cook over high heat, until they are browned and soft, about 8 to10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook over medium heat 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock and the cooked beans and bring to a boil. Add the pasta pieces and cook 5 or 6 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow to rest 10 minutes. Divide among 6 serving bowls, drizzle with remaining oil and serve.
I left in the links so if you are unfamiliar with any terms, you can check it out.

Much thanks to my wife’s boss Lisa for giving us the Food Network recipe. This is Mario Batali’s recipe, minus the homemade stock. I used store-bought stock. I would make my own if I had the time and patience. But in our fast world, high quality pre-packaged stock will work in a pinch.
I suggest a loaf of crusty Italian bread to accompany this satisfying dish.
If you would like to see the original recipe it is located here.

AIMEE: I don’t really eat anything with BEANS in it. But to my pleasant surprise, I really enjoyed this! The soup is hearty and delicious and as Kevin said, very satisfying on a cold day!

Let us know if you make it and what edits you might make!

A boxed brownie secret & Update to Kevin’s Carrot Cake Ring!

2012-11-25T15:01:00.001-05:00

Hey ladies & gents, It’s Aimee. Hope this short read finds you in high spirits and that you’re well rested from your weekend!

There are 2 reasons for this update actually. The first one being; a co-worker of mine made brownies and brought them into work recently. They were okay, typical brownie I guess, but I noticed they were really oily. I think another co-worker of mine used the word ‘moist’ -- but no, my hand definitely came away coated in oil and it was kind of gross.

It made me think of the way my mother makes brownies. I don’t know where she got the idea from or if she just did one of her usual ‘I don’t have what I need, let me use this instead’ toss in’s? Not sure. Either way, her little secret is a wonderful way to give a 'taste-lift' to the average boxed brownies. I can almost guarantee you can start telling people you slaved all day to make them from scratch!

Today I used Betty Crocker’s Ultimate Fudge premium brownie mix because that’s what I had on hand but you can use whatever brand you want. I’m telling you, it won’t matter. Mom’s secret switcheroo ingredient fix will change the way you feel about store brand brownies!

You simply pre-heat your oven and follow the directions on the box with the exception of the water. Instead of water, you’re going to use the same measurement but use cold, black coffee instead. Kevin made coffee this morning so I asked him to set 1/4 cup aside for me and I put it in the fridge. You can probably get away with using room temperature coffee if you must, but whatever you do, don’t use warm or hot coffee because when you add your egg(s) they will end up scrambled!
Bake according to the instructions and let cook (sometimes I can’t wait and eat a warm one….Mmmm!) Today I felt like adding some walnuts so I mixed some into the batter and also put some on top before baking.

By using my Mom’s secret coffee switcheroo instead of water, you’ll have rich, beautiful, brownies coming out of your oven.

The smell is great, but wait til you take a bite! You will be able to taste the dark notes of coffee mixed with the sweet chocolate and it will send you to the moon. Promise! Enjoy, I know my co-workers couldn’t stop eating them
The second reason for today’s blog is a quick update to Kevin’s Carrot Cake Ring (click here to see that post if you haven’t already). We had my mother, my brother Matt and his girlfriend Jessica over for Thanksgiving dessert. My mom requested Kevin’s carrot cake because she loves it so much. Kevin usually doesn’t add an icing, but he wanted to try something different this time. He made a creamy, delicious cream cheese frosting that even I enjoyed – and I don’t really like frosting on anything.
Cream cheese frosting recipe:
4oz cream cheese (half package) at room temperature
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 Cup of powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons of milk.
Kevin used his stand mixer to beat the cream cheese until smooth, then added vanilla. Next, sift powdered sugar into mixing bowl and continue to mix. Add milk a tablespoon at a time until you get the right consistency.
Then you just apply the frosting to your cake and voila! Eat and savor. Delicious!

Enjoy
XOXO,
Aimee & Kevin

Supergirls Saturday: Episode 1

2012-11-25T10:30:00.001-05:00

Hi friends! Aimee here, bringing you what will likely be a new feature on Eats & Treats: Supergirls Saturday. Supergirls = one of my best friends, Rachael & myself. We call ourselves super because we are always running around together doing something fun, cooking up a few happy accidents in the kitchen, getting things done in a short amount of time and just being all around productive chicks. Today we had plans to do a little Christmas shopping and there were several stops to make. Rachael’s power went out for some reason around 3am so her morning plans were foiled. This turned out to be fine. It just meant we were going to get an earlier start. We’re always up so darn early anyway, so it usually works out for the better! We decided we needed to start with breakfast and we wanted to try someplace new. We pass this little joint called Frankie’s Waffles & Burgers which is hidden away in a small plaza on Route 6 in Mahopac. It’s so easy to pass, we almost went right by it! Rachael commented on how busy the parking lot was and I was thinking ‘This is a good sign!’. So we walked in to a narrow room with some booths lining the left wall and a large counter-seating area on the right. Most of the tables and seats at the counter were taken. There was a friendly waitress who greeted us with a smile. She asked if we wanted to sit in the ‘other room’ and she sort of pointed in the right direction as she was taking an order from a customer. We walked through a doorway on our right and into a larger room with several tables. There was only 2 other tables with people already seated. We chose a spot and settled in. I was immediately tickled by the looks of this place.

With the sage green walls, the orange and maroon tables and chairs and the shiny, colorful art work, the restaurant was quirky, mismatched and fun.

And I LOVED this clock:

How clever is that? I’ve seen the ones with just forks and spoons, but never with the larger utensils, I really love how silly it is

So the same girl who greeted us brought us menus and asked us how our Thanksgiving was and how our weekend was going. She was extremely nice. She definitely knew where her tips were coming from and was working hard for the money. But she seemed to really genuinely enjoy what she was doing and I thought that was nice to see for a change. She asked us what we wanted to drink (water for Rach & Cranberry juice for me) and then left us to peruse the selection of crazy-awesome treats on the menu. (Click here to see what the menu is like, you won’t be sorry!)

When our waitress returned with our beverages, I just had to ask her, ‘Do you guys make your own hash here?’ – her answer, ‘We sure do!’ – I couldn’t wait to tell my husband. Kevin is always looking for places that make their own corned beef hash as opposed to opening a can, heating it and dumping it onto a plate. Once I mentally tucked away that information for later, Rachael decided on her order: Walnut & Banana Belgian waffle with chocolate chips, chocolate syrup drizzle, whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles. I ordered the Nutella and Raspberry stuffed french toast with chocolate drizzle, powdered sugar, whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles. I knew all that sweetness might make me feel gross afterward, but I didn’t care, I had to try it. Having no idea that these plates of food would be HUGE we ordered sides. Rach got sausage links and I got bacon (extra crispy of course). We talked about our Christmas shopping plans and the stops we needed to make after breakfast while we waited. A cute elderly couple was seated next to us and Rachael (who I always say, would talk to a wall if it would talk back – LOL) started to chat with them. They gave off that localalite vibe and we guessed they had been to Frankie’s numerous times. We were right. The older gentleman said that if we go to Frankie’s for lunch sometime, it’s usually served with a soup (Or Salad, his wife chimed in) and that Frankie who is the owner and chef makes a Stracciatella (an Italian-style egg drop) soup to die for!

Soon we heard a *ding!* coming from the other side of the room where there was a window from the kitchen and really huge plates were being pushed through. Rachael’s eyes got large and she said “Oh my God, are those ours?” And sure enough, the server headed over to us and placed our meals on the table. We could not believe our eyes!

Rachael’s: Walnut & Banana Belgian waffle

Needless to say, Rach was REALLY happy… look – the plate is bigger than her!

Aimee’s: Nutella & Raspberry stuffed french toast

Now for those of you who might be confused.. when you cut into this insane meal, this is what you saw:

A beautifully cooked slice of french toast, generously smeared with Nutella and a beautiful magenta raspberry preserves, topped with another slice of french toast. Oh my good God!

We took our time and ate slowly to savor each bite. Everything was very, very, very good. From the food, the company of the sweet elderly couple and our really friendly, fun waitress. Oh and the prices! Very reasonable if you ask me. We had an abundance of food (way more than necessary, but delicious all the same) for about $25. Rach & I vowed to try something totally different next time, because they have so many yummy sounding dishes to choose from.

I think that Frankie’s is more of a luncheonette than a diner. They are open early, around 6am most days but I think they close around 3 or 4pm. You will definitely want to check before heading over there because you wouldn’t want to be disappointed when you arrive. They don’t have a website, but here is their number & address: 565 Route 6, Mahopac NY - 845-621-2527.

To say that this meal was sinful on all levels, is the understatement of a lifetime, my friends. Rachael and I were sure to share the love…and tasted each others breakfasts. Warm, sweet, buttery, chocolaty, heaven on a plate. You don’t have to ask – we will return again and probably soon!

When we left, it was around 9-930am, you nearly had to roll us to the car, we were that full. We both said we probably wouldn’t need to eat until dinner time.

We headed to Home Goods in the Somers town center where we spent too much money on our pets for Christmas. We made one more stop nearby and then headed to the Feed Barn because I needed cat food and litter. While we were looking around, I spotted a Christmas tree standup cut out with a lot of little pictures of dogs and cats on it, called THE GIVING TREE.

Upon further investigation, I found that it was in support of the dogs and cats at the Putnam Humane Society. I immediately longed for the days when I used to go visit the dogs. Plaster and Paint, 2 beautiful Staffordshire terriers, were my favorite. I would give them bones and they would sit and wait patiently. Ahh, those were the days when I had the guts to go visit these poor homeless animals every weekend. Now days, my heart and soul just can’t take it, and I feel terribly selfish for not going. Anyway, back to the Giving Tree. Each photo was of a dog or cat in need of something specific, like cat litter, food, treats, etc. I called Rachael over to show her. We were really excited to see that the Supergirls could help these animals live a little fuller or happier lives. Rachael being the dog person chose a doggy who needed treats. I, forever the crazy cat lady, chose a kitty who needed some wet food. We went in search of what our own pets needed as well as what the PHS adoptables needed. When we found everything we went up and checked out. The clerk stapled our donations in separate bags with the photo of the animals it would benefit and then we went back to the Giving Tree and put it in the donation bin.

Rachael was really happy to donate, if you couldn’t tell

If you would like to visit the Putnam Humane Society to adopt a dog or cat in need of a forever home, here is all their info:

68 Old Route 6
Carmel, New York
(Behind the Putnam Plaza Shopping Center - Hannaford's)

Phone: 845-225-7777 - Hours: Sunday-Saturday, 10:00am - 4:30pm

Email: shelter@puthumane.org

When you visit their website, there is a sidebar (on the left) where you can LIKE them on Facebook & follow them on twitter, you can also see their wish list of things that the shelter is in need of – please donate if you can! Website: www.putnamhumane.org

I was a little sad to see how empty the donation bin was at Feed Barn, so if you want to visit them to sponsor one of these dogs or cats and buy something to donate, here is their information: 155 Rt 6 Mahopac, NY 10541
(845) 621-2276.

I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Supergirls Saturday. We’re not always this busy, but we usually get together a couple Saturday’s a month to run errands, and do Supergirl-ish type things so we will blog about it as it comes.

Check back soon (possibly tomorrow) to my mother’s secret switcheroo to get the best out of your boxed brownies!

Til then, Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

xoxo,

Aimee (& Rachael)

Happy Thanksgiving! And an Update :)

2012-11-22T04:45:00.001-05:00

Hello to our loyal readers! Kevin & I are wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. We hope you are feeling thankful and blessed for what you have today and always.
This morning I wanted to do a little update on a few things since it’s been about a week or so since we have posted and I’ve got some time.
Last Friday (11/16) I attended a Flower Centerpiece-making class at the Flower Boutique on Route 6 in Mahopac, NY. My co-worker Lynne had invited me a day or two earlier because her cousin couldn’t go and there was a spot opened. Lynne does one of these classes every year and when she talks about it, I always find myself pining away and wanting to join in, but not being able to afford the cost. This year, even though money was really tight from participating in 3 Hudson Valley Restaurant Week restaurant reviews, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity! The cost for this particular class was $54 including all materials and it was Friday from 630 until about 830pm. I was glad that I had a friend with me because there were about 6-7 other ladies there who already knew one another and were happily chatting away and catching up the whole time. Arriving at the florist around 6:15pm (you know me, gotta get good parking and a good seat, LOL). I felt a little shy and out of sorts while waiting for Lynne. I’m not good at being social and talking to strangers anymore. It’s funny how you sometimes go backwards in life instead of forwards on things! Anyway, when Lynne showed up, I felt much more relaxed and as we waited for one more person to arrive, we all settled into our seats and rolled up our sleeves. When the last woman came in, Karen (the owner) started to hand out some green leafy branches of what she was referring to as ‘leather’. Karen’s assistant (of the same name, so we’ll refer to her as Katie) was standing nearby to help anyone who needed it. By this time there was a green planter with a dark green sponge-type object inside it in front of each of us. Karen & Katie then handed out 2 boxes of candle sticks, some yellow, some orange and asked us all to choose 2. Both Lynne and I chose orange. Karen walked us through step by step, how to add the leather from bottom to top of the green planter to be sure to cover it up well. Now I consider myself to be a creative soul. I’ve done more arts, crafts, painting, drawing, and building than the average person. So I was really surprised when I saw how long and how much skill was required to do some of the simpler steps! It was a lot more complicated then I expected, but to be honest, once you get the hang of it, you can breeze right through. I believe the owner said that all of my fellow classmates had attended a class prior, including Lynne, and everyone seemed to really catch on quickly. After adding the leather in a diamond shape all around the green floral foam, it was time to add some larger accents. I think the first thing we added was a type of floral cabbage actually. Sounds strange right? Well, it’s surprisingly really beautiful! There was both white and purple. Both Lynne and I received white ones and we stuck it into the foam. We added some lilies, mums, carnations, pods, cattails, etc. I was helping Lynne a little bit here and there, and Katie and Karen helped the both of us when necessary, including clearing away the excess flowers, leaves and stems that were everywhere on the table and floor. What a mess! By this time I was feeling really itchy. My face, neck and hands were making me twitch. I think I may have been allergic to something I was using for my centerpiece. But it was all worth it in the end! When you take Karen’s classes, and you follow her direction and let her help you when you need it..you can really amaze yourself! My buddy Lynne, self proclaimed “the most non creative person in the world” and I did an amazing job. We topped our gorgeous creations off with a little scarecrow for playfulness and a fall-colored bow finished the whole thing off.
I hope to return for one of Karen’s classes in the new year when I have more money saved up for this type of thing. I don’t regret going at all and the best part is, I have a wonderful centerpiece for my table for when my family comes today for Thanksgiving I’m really excited for them to see it!
Here is the finished product:

That photo was taken with it sitting on top of my microwave (to keep it from my troublesome cats) so you can get an idea of how large it is.
If you want to get more information about attending one of Karen’s classes, feel free to contact them:
Phone (845) 628-1946
Email: owerboutique11@aol.com
Website: www.flowerboutiquemahopac.com/
And please Like them on facebook! (you can get info there as well):
I hope that everyone out there in the world who is seeing this is counting their blessings today and realizing that what they have is so much more than someone else who may have lost it all. Please, if you have the means, reach out and help someone. It doesn’t have to cost you anything but time and the kindness in your heart.
God bless you all.

Mirabella Espresso bar and Gelateria

2012-11-13T20:45:00.003-05:00

Kevin: Aimee and I were enjoying a lovely day in Westchester. We had a great lunch, went to Big Lots to do some shopping, and had a not so good experience at Puppies Puppies Puppies in Mohegan Lake. We were on our way back home and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to fulfill a request on our Eats and Treats Facebook page by one of our fans and one of my personal best friends, Scott Perry. He wanted to know where the best Gelato in New York was and we were happy to oblige! So, we stopped at Mirabella's in Baldwin Place, NY to give it a try.

Mirabella’s has been opened for less than a year I think. The place is easy to access, since it is off of the main road. When we walked in, I saw the coffee/espresso bar and many items or sale. I also saw the menu overhead.

They have a lot going on at this place! I see coffee, soup, sandwiches, rice balls, and of course, gelato. Not sure why they have so many things to offer. If I was walking off the street and was just curious, I would wonder what direction is this establishment is going.

I ordered a large gelato, Stracciatella (Vanilla base with chocolate shavings) and La Guiliana (Espresso and Mascarpone). I had it topped with Nutella.

It was heavenly and though a little expensive at $6 and change each, it was worth it. I cannot say it was the best gelato I ever had, but it was very close! I do have an issue with the serving dishes there. They use little plastic bowls that are designed to be reusable, but they treat them as disposable. I feel that is unacceptable. I finished my dessert and looked on the bottom of the bowl and it had the markings that it is dishwasher safe, yet they just toss them and buy new bowls. Now I know why it costs so much! Maybe they should put more thought into being more environmentally conscious. Even using paper cups would better, they biodegrade.

AIMEE: Even though Kevin says it's not the best gelato he has ever had, it's hands down, the best I have ever had. I'm not big on ice cream in general, I can take it or leave it, I feel the same about gelato. Don't get me wrong, whether ice cream, gelato or italian ice, its all very delicious. It's just not high on my list of must-have's. Anyway, I choose Pumpkin and Dark Tuscan chocolate as my flavors, and also a spoonful of Nutella on top. Totally sinful and amazing.

I loved every bite and I almost wanted to cry when I became too full to finish it!

I agree with Kevin about being a little more environmentally conscious. Toss away plastic bowls is not the way to go. If they don't want to go the paper route, perhaps they should only serve the gelato on a cone, so at least it's container is edible? I don't know, just a thought! I also agree that things might've been a bit mish-mosh inside the store. There were a lot of different Italian food products on display and for sale. There was also a large table on the front with Thanksgiving decorations on it and it looked very out of place with other random items on it. I totally don't get the rice balls and soup offerings either. If they mean for Mirabella's to be a CAFE, then that makes total sense, perhaps they should advertise that way? All in all, I thought the service was great, the atmosphere was charming and the gelato was the best I have had in New York!

xoxo

Dom Tommasso’s Bistro Italiano

2012-11-11T18:41:00.001-05:00

KEVIN: Aimee and I were chosen to review 3 restaurants for lohud.com Small Bites blog during Hudson Valley Restaurant week. This is the first of three we visited. We arrived at the restaurant around 12:30pm. It has a plenty of parking in the lot just outside of the establishment. The decor outside is not too remarkable. Upon entering, it has the feel of an old Italian bistro, with checkered tablecloths and tables that are placed close together creates an intimate atmosphere. Our waitress, Dani, greeted us and seated us. The place was empty….but it was very early and it was Sunday. She poured water for us and gave us the menu that was made especially for Restaurant Week.

For my appetizer (or Antipasti, as the Italians call it), I chose Pasta e fagioli,a soup made with cannellini beans, pancetta, tomato, rosemary, ditalini pasta, extra virgin olive oil, and baby arugula. I have never had Pasta Fagioli before. The soup reminded me of a dish my grandmother used to make when I was young using smoked pork and cannellini beans. I am not a big soup fan, but it was a delightful dish.

It has a real depth of flavor that made me want to finish the whole bowl. I had Ravioli al Manzo, a Chianti braised beef ravioli, garlic, grape tomatoes, cannellini beans, and white wine.

The ravioli was amazing! The filling had great texture and very flavorful. I didn’t realize until my food was in front of me that the main dish had Cannellini beans. No worries, I love cannellini beans! The ravioli was the star of the party anyway. I had Tiramisu for dessert. It was very good! Creamy, not soggy like others I have tried. What a perfect, sweet end to an amazing lunch.

I hope to visit this restaurant again.

AIMEE: We found Don Tommaso’s Bistro Italiano, tucked away into a colorful little group of buildings off of Underhill Avenue in Yorktown. As Kevin said, it being an early Sunday afternoon the restaurant was empty, which was fine, it made for a more intimate atmosphere for the both of us. The tables were pretty close together, so if the place had been packed, there would have likely been a lot of noise and loud conversation. The décor was old world Italian with dark woods, checkered table cloths and quirky Italian music playing in the background. Our waitress was attentive. She gave us the HVRW 2012 lunch menu:

She let us mull the menu over while she went to get our bread basket.

Then she busied herself setting up tables (for a party coming in around 2pm, we overheard). The bread was warm and crusty, very good. We both wondered if it was fresh made. It certainly tasted it. When the waitress returned, Kevin ordered first, as always (I like to order last, I don’t know why, just a preference I guess). When it was my turn, I ordered the beet salad (Barbabietole) for my antipasti and the Gnocchi alla Norma for the Secondi. I’ve only ever had gnocchi once before and I remembered not liking it much. I wanted to push my limits a bit during this experience with Restaurant Week. If you know me at all, then you know I really need to expand my horizons when it comes to many things, food being one of them. So my taste buds were about to be blessed with at least 2 new flavors. The beet salad, I will admit, I was a little afraid of trying. The actual menu description of the Barbabietole was Roasted beets, baby arugula, lemon vinaigrette, pistachio, ricotta salata. It was visually appealing with deep purple-red beets against the verdant leafy greens. The dish was really vibrant both in color and flavor. I think it needed a bit more texture for my personal palate, but I enjoyed it regardless.

I tasted Kevin’s Pasta Fragioli. I have had it before, though I don’t really recall where. Probably something my mother or my grandmother made at one time or another. The soup was very tasty and I even dipped some crusty bread in there for good measure.

I don’t know if it was on purpose or if she was just busy elsewhere in the restaurant, but our waitress gave us a good resting period between each course, which was appreciated. This was quite a large salad! I didn’t finish it because I wanted to save room for my main course. Soon she removed our antipasti plates and came back with the Secondi.

Well there it is, pretty as a picture! Gnocchi alla Norma, which consisted of home made potato gnocchi, eggplant, pomodoro, pesto, and grated ricotta salata. I cannot explain how tasty and rich this sauce was! Now, I’m very partial to my mother’s sauce, she uses pork and meat to broaden the flavors of her gravy. But this sauce was almost like a paste. I’ve never had tomato jam, but this is what I imagine tomato jam to taste like. It was full of small chunks of tender eggplant and the ricotta salata was the perfect accompaniment. I think what I’ve discovered about myself is that I have a texture issue. I thought the gnocchi was okay and I managed to eat some of it, but I couldn’t bring myself to finish it by any means. I think it was too soft for me. I needed a bit more of a crunch – I was expecting something a bit firmer when I ordered the dish. Kevin tried some of the gnocchi and really liked it. No matter what my personal texture issues deny my palate, I know it wasn’t the chef’s fault that I didn’t eat this dish in it’s entirety!

Moving right along, our waitress cleared our plates and we ordered dessert. Our choices were Gelato (Chocolate, Vanilla, or Hazelnut), Sorbet (Lemon or orange), tiramisu or cannoli. Kevin choose the tiramisu and I, forever being a lover of anything lemon, chose the sorbet.

Kevin & I discussed it and we give the atmosphere at Don Tommaso’s Bistro Italiano a 7, it was charming but there was nothing terribly remarkable about it. The food, we proudly give an 8.5!

If you ever find yourself in the neighborhood, we do recommend you stop in for a bite at Don Tommaso’s: http://www.dontommasos.com/

xoxo

Sandra Lee of the Food Network

2012-11-10T16:44:00.001-05:00

Kevin: Hello everyone. Aimee informed me about 2 weeks ago about the Harvest Festival at Animal Kingdom (Brewster) scheduled for today. She also told me that Sandra Lee from the Food Network would be there from 1pm – 5pm.

So I worked a half day and came home to meet my lovely wife and headed to Animal Kingdom to the Harvest Festival. It was a bit crowded in the parking lot upon our arrival. We walked around the store for a bit, because we did not see Sandra Lee. There were several vendors with tables talking about their businesses. There was even a vendor selling meat, which I felt was quite odd at a pet store. A woman from the Le Fontane Ristorante was there representing her restaurant and handing out samples of one of their dishes. I tried the pasta with Butternut Squash and walnuts. It was pretty tasty. The pasta was cooked to Al dente, the squash was slightly sweet, the walnuts gave it a nutty finish and also helped the texture of the baked dish. It would be something I would eat again. Maybe we will make it and blog about it!

After waiting for a bit, Sandra Lee appeared from nowhere at the front of the store. We went in line and waited patiently for our turn. Luckily we didn’t have to wait very long.   She was very gracious and shook our hands. She signed our cookbook and took pictures with each of us. She is very nice. We had a very different experience at the Alton Brown book signing in NYC at Union Square’s Barnes and Noble.   Maybe it was Alton, maybe it was the city vibe, not sure. But this time it felt very relaxed and Sandra Lee was very down to earth and very concerned about the welfare of the animals. Had a great time!

AIMEE: Here’s the story behind this!   My boss at the Yorktown Pennysaver asked Rachael & I (Supergirls!) to research some local Events to form a lead list for our Classified department to call for our special Holiday Events Directory. Rachael was busy doing something else so I said I’d get a start on it. I went to a local radio stations website that’s known for having a What’s Going On page where a lot of people post about their events, fundraisers, holiday sales, etc. I printed out a list of them and while I was reading I saw that someone posted about the Animal Kingdom USA in Brewster having a Harvest Festival fundraiser to benefit the their Wildlife Rehabilitation program and that Sandra Lee would be there doing a Q&A and book signing. I was excited because it is not often television stars come and hang out locally. So after a short time, Rachael took one of the lists I printed out and the Harvest Festival happened to be on hers. She called and talked to a woman named ‘Lisa’ who I think was in charge of setting up the event. Lisa told Rachael that Sandra Lee is a bird-lover and she must’ve brought one of her birds in to Animal Kingdom and needed some help with it. Well, apparently they did a great job because from what I understand – Sandra wanted to repay Animal Kingdom for their kindness and so she said she’d come and help them out with the fundraiser.

Kevin & I watch Sandra Lee often on the Food Network and because I’m not in any way a professional chef (not to mention really lazy) I love the idea behind her semi-homemade creations and entertaining! I told Kevin about it and we were excited to attend, but more than anything, I thought it would make fantastic coverage for our blog – I really wanted to bring something to the table that was not only fun to read but full of great photos as well. We saw some incredible looking owls while we were there. The larger of the two (shown with Lisa) is the sister and the smaller is the brother.

As Kev said up above, Sandra Lee was so laid back and down to earth. She was all smiles and talking to everyone. You could tell she has an unconditional love for animals (as well as food). She was working the room with such ease, getting people to purchase raffle tickets with all funds benefiting the Wildlife foundation. We were 3rd or 4th in line to step up and meet Sandra. The woman in line in front of me had a very young daughter in her arms who was fussing a bit and when Sandra laid eyes on the baby, she was giddy. Mother and baby took photos with Sandra and it was completely endearing to see her interacting with other young children in line. She even had a lengthy conversation with a young teen about the best way to make a sauce. When it was our turn, I introduced both Kevin and I and it all happened so fast and we were both a little star struck. I think I mentioned the blog but to be honest, I don’t remember! She saw I was holding one of her books to be signed and she whispered to me that the book I held (Weeknight Wonders) was one of the two best books she put out. The second one being Semi-Homemade Cooking 2. She happily signed our book “To Aimee & Kevin. Enjoy!” with her signature kind of scribbled beneath.

Okay, yeah, I was definitely star struck ..hahaha!   After both of our photos were taken with her we stepped aside to let the next person speak to her and we went to purchase 15 raffle tickets for the CAT BASKET they were raffling off. She must’ve over heard that we were buying so many because she put her hand on my arm as we were leaving to say a big thank you for purchasing so many.   It was really a very successful visit for Kevin and I and I’m quite proud that we went out and accomplished what we set out to do for personal wants but also for the good of the blog.

I’m hoping to submit an additional guest blog about our visit with Sandra Lee on lohud.com – I’ll let you all know how that pans out!
That’s all for now guys and gals! We hope you enjoyed this latest installment of Eats and Treats. It was definitely an amazing TREAT to see Sandra Lee today! Please don’t forget to LIKE us on Facebook and follow us on Pinterest and Twitter (links below and to the right)
As always, we thank you for sticking with us and hope you will share our blog with your friends and family!
XOXO!

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Meatballs: Round 2 & Hurricane Update

2012-11-09T21:37:00.001-05:00

KEVIN: Just wanted to give a small update on Aimee and myself. We are doing well after Superstorm Sandy and the Nor’easter that passed through. We were without power for 4 days and all we lost was all of the food in the fridge, which is fortunate, it needed cleaning out anyway, lol! Through the kindness of friends and family, we made it through fine. To all that gave us assistance, thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We know that there are many people that need our help now to recover all they have lost, so at the end of the blog, we will post a few links so you can find ways to help those in need.

Now this past Wednesday, the day of the dreaded Nor’easter, or as Weather Channel calls it: Winter Storm Athena (really?) I decided to make my famous meatballs for Aimee. I followed the recipe I made and then realized I forgot a crucial ingredient that I used last time. Here is the recipe in its entirety:

Kevin’s Meatballs:

2 lbs of ground beef (80/20 preferred)

1 small or 1/2 medium sweet onion

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

3 Tbs milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

3 Tbs Italian seasoning

1/3 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated

salt and pepper to taste.

Puree onion and garlic in blender or food processor. Place ground beef in mixing bowl, along with rest of ingredients. At this point, I suggest making a tiny test patty and cooking it in a pan and tasting it to check seasoning. You won’t get another chance later. Mix well and form into golf ball sized meatballs.

At this point you can bake your meatballs until fully cooked, but I usually fry my meatballs in a mix of light olive oil and vegetable oil. (We like a crusty exterior). . Use any sauce you like.

I discovered this after eating the test patty. It is was missing something. I started thinking and I remembered that I forgot the Romano cheese. I was out and snow was coming down pretty fast, so I did without. The final product was good, but not great. It wasn’t a total loss. Aimee still loved it, but not as much, because I noticed she did not eat any leftovers. That was an indicator of a less than stellar meal. I will avenge my failure!!

AIMEE: Oh honey They were good, but you’re right, they weren’t as awesome as they were the previous time when you had managed to completely and accurately (FINALLY!) recreate my grandmother’s meatballs. And that’s okay! Having a food blog and cooking and trying new things means we will run into snafu’s now and then. Glad you were honest with the audience and admitted your booboo. I think the readers out there will appreciate your honesty and be sure not to make the same mistake!

All is fair in love & meatballs

Below is a link to a lohud.com article with some info on who, what and where to donate for Hurricane Sandy relief. Hope you can help!

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012311100065

Ciao for now!

Easy lunch or dinner: under $10!

2012-11-04T08:45:00.001-05:00

My Aunt made these for a party ages ago and they were a huge hit! She called them Thanksgiving rollups because they are like Thanks giving all rolled up into a little bundle of deliciousness.

Here is what you will need:

10-12 slices of store brand (or whatever brand you like) deli turkey, sliced a little on the thicker side.

1 jar of Heinz turkey gravy

1 small can of cranberry sauce

1 box of stovetop chicken/turkey stuffing

Butter (required for stuffing mix)

Hot water

Cookie sheet

Non-stick spray

This recipe could not be simpler and its even something your children would enjoy helping to make!

Directions:

Make stuffing according to box directions (about 5-7 min. Cooking time).

Now is a good time to preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

While your stuffing finishes cooking, spray your cookie sheet with the non stick spray & set nearby. Then you are ready to begin laying each slice of turkey out on a paper plate (or directly on sheet if you want). Using a fork or spoon, scoop some cranberry sauce on to the turkey and spread in a thin, even layer. When stuffing is finished, scoop some of that into the center of each turkey slice (about 2 tbsp of stuffing per rollup should suffice). Then roll the left & right sides of your turkey up & gently lay fold-side down onto sprayed cookie sheet. Repeat until you have made desired amount of rollups. These are pretty filling,
so we usually make enough for 2 per person with a few leftover.

Once that part is finished, its time for the gravy. Deli turkey can dry up quickly in the oven, so you want to be sure you cover each rollup. If you are making this for a large group, be sure you buy enough gravy & cranberry sauce to go around.

If your stuffing was just made & still warm bake the rollups in the oven for about 12 minutes. If you are using leftover stuffing that was refrigerated (because this recipe is a fantastic way to give leftovers a facelift!) Then you will need at least 15-17 min in oven.

I hope you enjoy this cheap, easy, & very tasty tribute to Thanksgiving :)\

xoxo,

Aimee

My Food Experiment (had a happy ending!)

2012-10-28T22:00:00.000-04:00

KEVIN: Well it is the day before the big storm. We are prepped and ready. Laundry is done and now we are just waiting for the storm to come. I still wanted to make Sunday dinner. After doing some thinking, I decided I wanted to try to make Short ribs. Then, I started thinking on how to cook them. I decided to braise them.
Beer-Braised Short Ribs:

6 lbs of bone-in beef short ribs
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 large sweet onion, Julienne
2 Cloves of Garlic, chopped fine
I 12 oz bottle of beer, I like dark beer
1/3 Cup of Worcestershire sauce
1 packet of Onion Mushroom Soup mix
2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season the short ribs well with salt and pepper. Then, in heavy Dutch oven, sear the short ribs in batches over medium high heat. Do this in batches a few at a time. Sear them to a deep brown. Remove the ribs and place on a separate dish. In Dutch oven, sauté sweet onion until translucent, then pour in beer to deglaze pan. Add Worcestershire sauce, soup mix and Italian seasoning. Add Short ribs back into pan and cook on medium heat, covered until liquid is boiling. Place Dutch oven in oven and cook, covered for 2 hours, or until ribs are beginning to fall off of bone. Uncover ribs and cook for an additional 30 minutes to reduce liquid.

Now you can change this recipe all you like, but if it works for you, please share your results. I would love to know all about your edits and maybe even try it myself!

AIMEE: I don’t really care for short ribs. I don’t know why. Um, actually - I guess I have only had them once before so I can’t honestly say ‘I’m not a fan’ … I’m just being my usual picky self I guess. I liked these okay. The beer flavor was pretty heavy and I’m not keen on the flavor of beer in general but I tried it anyway. I liked it enough. I don’t know if it’s something I’d want Kevin to make again in the very near future. But it’s still a pretty tasty dish and I think anyone in our audience who is a meat lover would really enjoy it!

Saturday is Baking day!

2012-10-27T08:42:00.001-04:00

One of my best friends, Rachael & I have been cooking up and trying new recipes for the last several Saturday’s, I think I have posted about most of them so far. Today I’m flying solo because I’ve had a crazy week taking care of my other bestie, Crissy (she’s been really sick) and I needed some downtime. But! I also really wanted to try this 3-Ingredient Apple cake recipe I saw someplace on Pinterest. Who knew Pinterest would turn into this huge recipe-mecca?! I love it!

Here is the recipe for the Apple Crumble Cake and, if you know me at all, You know I kind of ‘made it my own’ because I never follow recipes to the letter anyway

You will need:

Baking pan (pyrex, pie plate or even a toss away pan)

1 Box of yellow cake mix (Pillsbury was just on sale at Shop Rite for $0.79 a box!)

6-8 apples (I would avg. 1 apple for each person who might be having cake – I used 6 macintosh apples because I had them sitting around and they were starting to get a little beat up. Rather than tossing them out, why not cook ‘em up?)

1 stick of salted butter (I know, I know – don’t judge me!)

Those are the 3 (main) ingredients. I think a lot of folks who pride themselves on recipes with just a few items from your pantry assume that you’ll already have things like cinnamon, honey, salt, pepper, and lots of other seasonings. Some folks don’t have those things on hand! But I can honestly say, this recipe is just the 3 ingredients listed above. I ‘made it my own’ by adding a little lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.

This recipe takes about 10 minutes to prepare and a total of about an hour to make including baking time.

Directions:

Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and core your apples, then slice and rough chop into bite size pieces (or larger or smaller if you wish).

(If you don’t have the extra ingredients or don’t want to do the extra steps, feel free to skip to the next step!) I put mine in a bowl, sprinkled some lemon juice over top and gave them a good stir so while I was doing other things my apples wouldn’t turn brown. Besides, I think a little citrus is good for (some) desserts, it brightens things and cuts the sweetness just a bit. I added about 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Then I tossed the apples again in the bowl to be sure they were coated.

Now you can dump the apples into whatever baking pan you are using (I don’t like to do dishes, so I used a toss away pan!) Be sure to evenly distribute the apples to cover the bottom of the pan. I then poured the powdered cake mix evenly over the apples.

I put a stick of butter in another bowl and stuck it in the microwave for about 45-50 seconds to melt it. I added a few more sprinkles of cinnamon to the butter, gave it a stir and poured it over the cake mixture.

You probably wont be able to coat and wet ALL of the powdered mix but that’s okay. You can hand-moisten the powdered cake mix with a tiny bit of water using a teaspoon but it’s honestly not even necessary.

Bake the cake in the oven for 35-40 minutes.

You can serve this warm with a scoop of vanilla or just on its own, it’s moist and delicious!

Here is something I would probably do different if I make this again: I would use some extra butter (maybe 1-2 tablespoons) in a bowl and mix it with some sort of crushed nuts and some rolled oats and put that on top of the powdered mix before the other stick of butter the recipe calls for. This cake is very yummy, but for my personal taste, I think it needs some added texture to it. On 2nd thought, I’d add some of that crunchy/nut/oats mixture down in the pan before putting the apples in as well, a little bite before and after the warm apple sweetness would be just perfect!

The true beauty of this recipe is that it’s so universal! You can substitute apples with just about any fresh fruit, frozen berries or even a can of pumpkin! (that’ll probably be my next try!)

That’s all for now folks – I hope you’ll give this easy recipe a try. Everybody likes different tastes and textures, so If you’re making your own edits – please share, I’d love to know! Enjoy your weekend before Hurricane Sandy comes to town and STAY SAFE!

xoxo,

Aimee

WWE RAW!!!

2012-10-23T19:49:00.001-04:00

Kevin: Well I know this blog was made for our Foodie & Traveling adventures. I feel we need a bit more depth to our musings, so I wanted to share an awesome experience that is called Monday Night Raw, Live at that Izod Center!!! One of Aimee’s best friends, Rachael and her boyfriend Steve (both pictured here in their Ryback and RKO shirts…)

They took the trip with me to the Meadowlands to see WWE Raw. It was a long ride to the arena (with one wrong turn that took us over the George Washington Bridge – a nice tour past Yankee Stadium though) but we made it with an hour to spare. We found parking close to the arena and walked to the long line to wait to enter. We saw Dolph Ziggler (one of the main event wrestlers in WWE) at the souvenir trailer. Steve decided to wiggle his way through the crowd to get a picture but the line was so long, there was no way we were waiting for an autograph.

Dolph Ziggler

After that, we got online to enter the arena. We had around 20 minutes until we could get in. There was a long line, separated between men and women+kids. Steve and I met a couple of fans and had a good chat with them while we waited. It moved fast once the doors opened and we went to get food. (You know there has to be a reference to food in the blog….gotta keep my cred!)

Me & Steven getting ready to go into the arena

The food at the IZOD center leaves much to be desired….like taste, texture, flavor…you get my drift. I purchased Chicken fingers and fries, A souvenir cup with Sprite, and a bag of Cracker Jacks. Cost me $19.50. I felt like I was robbed!. We found our seats, which were high, but awesome (Top tier, 5th row up). We had a clear view of the entrance ramp.

They started with WWE Superstars. Once it started, I realized I miss watching the show on TV. For one, I miss the commentary. I actually like hearing the commentators talk and provide back story, makes the facade we call Pro Wrestling seen more stable. Also, I like being able to change the channel during commercials, so I do not have to suffer during incredibly crappy wrestling. I have to admit, it was kind of neat to actually see how they film the show, but again, it takes away from the facade of Pro Wrestling.

The Best match of the night was Dolph Ziggler vs. Daniel Bryan. It was pro wrestling at its best! Those guys put their all into it. The worse match was Kane Vs.The Big Show. Very slow and boring. The Lumberjack match at the end was great, Ryback is a beast!!!

It was an outstanding night overall. The drive back was long, but White Castle help relieved the strain, LOL! It was a lot of fun. Now we are looking to other WWE events to attend.

Eats and Treats!

How hard is it to make a $*&^%(*! sandwich?!?!?!

Indian: Chicken Tikka Masala

Corned Beef Hash - Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Valentine’s Day Sweets for your Sweetie

Superbowl Sunday Mash Up

E-Mail Bag and Biscuits!

Sauce Pot Sunday - Don't cry over burnt garlic!

Happy New Year folks!

Homemade Pecan Pie–An Ellis Christmas Tradition

Peanut butter, Pretzel & Chocolate no-bake cookies!

Sunday Morning Mash Up

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week Fall 2012 & Christmas tree shopping!

Supergirls Saturday Ep.2: Holiday Happiness, Putnam Humane Society, & Johnny Gelato!

My first Pasta e Fagioli

Directions

A boxed brownie secret & Update to Kevin’s Carrot Cake Ring!

Supergirls Saturday: Episode 1

Happy Thanksgiving! And an Update :)

Mirabella Espresso bar and Gelateria

Dom Tommasso’s Bistro Italiano

Sandra Lee of the Food Network

Meatballs: Round 2 & Hurricane Update

Easy lunch or dinner: under $10!

My Food Experiment (had a happy ending!)

Saturday is Baking day!

WWE RAW!!!

How hard is it to make a $&^%(! sandwich?!?!?!