pants-less french food

In Midtown (Manhattan) we tried this cute little french restaurant, Les Sans Culottes, which means "without pants," referring to the common people of the French Revolution, according to their menu. (That sentence was rather run-on wasn't it? Well, I'm too tired to edit. Sorry.)

The meal started out with what I'd like to call the TOWER OF SAUSAGES! You think I'm exaggerating, but just look at the picture. There was a hard salami and a garlic one and one that was mild. I'm not a huge fan of sausage, but they were tasty. These were joined by the BASKET OF VEGETABLES! (Their words.) Once more, as you can see, this is not an exaggeration. I'm not sure how they expected me to eat whole red peppers and half cucumbers and entire stalks of celery, but there it was. I tried to do them proud. The pate was delicious, despite the fact that I had no idea what was in it. And the little tiny pickles (cornichons, right?) and the mustard sauce...I had to remind myself that I still had an entree coming.

I went classic, with thoughts of Julia Child, and ordered the Boeuf Bourguignon. It was very good and considering the non lady-like amount I ate, I was rather relieved we had a bit of a walk back to the hotel. 

Bon Appetit! (I know, I couldn't help myself.)

sandwich in the park

Now technically this was my lunch. But since I forgot to take pictures of many of my dinners during my Manhattan trip I figure I should take advantage of any meal photos.

Unfortunately I have no idea where I bought this absolutely lovely sandwich. It was in within a two block radius of the NY Public Library. I know that doesn't narrow it down much, but I walked around trying to find a place that didn't sell pre-made sandwiches or some place (like Qdoba) that I could get any ol' place.

By the time I setttled on this little hole in the wall (which accurately describes almost every eating place in Manhattan) I was so hungry that upon leaving I instantly forgot what and where it was.  The sandwich was a California something or other on a bagel. Chicken, avocado and some pickled red peppers with ranch dressing, which I normally would omit but in this case it was fantastic. Paired with a Nantucket Nectars Half & Half I was quite perfectly satisfied.

On top of that I got to eat watching all the passers-by in the lovely Bryant Park. Quietly eating alone is not a common occurrence with me and I enjoyed it immensely.

reuben + knish + pickles

Do you remember that scene in When Harry Met Sally? You know...that scene. Well, I got to eat where that unforgettable scene was filmed: Katz's Delicatessen. I had the Reuben. Or maybe they should call it The Delicious. We also had a potato knish and I think an entire jar of pickles and washed it down with Dr. Brown's Black Cherry and Cream Sodas.

If you can't tell, this was entirely too much food. We would have been stuffed with just one sandwich and the knish. All in all, loved the crazy NY atmosphere and the food was seriously tasty.

we'll see

So I'm heading to Manhattan in the morning. You have no idea how excited I am. I'm expecting some delicious dining. I'll try to keep you updated, but you'll forgive me if it doesn't happen every day, right?

easy shmeasy

Today has been a day...let's just say it hasn't been the ideal day. But God loves me because he sent my wonderful friend, Amy, to my house to protect my sanity. When dinner rolled around I had two loaves of freshly baked bread and wanted nothing more than a tuna sandwich.

I've lately tried my hand at homemade mayonnaise and I have to say I'm hooked. It is like a mini-miracle how essentially egg yolks and oil magically emulsify into the thick goop. And the taste is far superior to anything else. So tuna salad made with homemade mayo, storebought mustard (that's my next thing to try homemade, I don't even know if you can but I'm going to check it out) and fresh baked bread. I was satisfied. (But my complete satisfaction might also be due to the fact that I had leftover chocolate cake from last night!)

No pics tonight. I'm sure you can imagine what a tuna sandwich looks like.

beans and stuff

That sloppy looking stuff is pinto beans and barbacoa. It was deliciously paired with cornbread and topped off with chocolate cake.

I made too much. These pictures were taken after dinner. Crazily enough, the kids loved the cornbread more than the cake. They are great fans of cornbread crumbled in a glass of milk, thanks to my maternal grandfather, God rest him.

Click for an explanation.

birthday dinner

Pizza. It's my husband's favorite food. And since it's his birthday...well, you know. He gets pizza. We had the usual kid choices of cheese and pineapple, but I made a special sausage, carmelized onion and pineapple pie for the birthday boy. On my slice I added fresh basil leaves. It, as usual, made a world of difference. So good.

For dessert it was peanut butter and chocolate night. First we had peanut butter swirl brownies. The pièce de résistance was the delicious peanut butter/chocolate cheesecake. The crust is crushed peanuts. The entire cheesecake is peanut butter flavored with chocolate added to half. Absolutely mmmmm.