Maison Keyser

Maison Keyser is a Parisian bakery that’s gone global.  The contents of the case are exactly like what you would expect from a traditional French patisserie.  I had to get a tarte because that’s my favorite and while in France I attempted to try every variety my local patisserie had to offer, which meant I…

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Prosciutto, Brie, and Apple Sandwiches

I had a nice bottle of champagne on hand and was determined to use it for mimosas on the roof this past weekend so I invited Beth over for a Saturday brunch.  I couldn’t just serve mimosas – that’s just not the kind of hostess I am – so I prepared two summer salads.  The…

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Greek Yogurt Pasta with Mint and Thyme

I love lemon cream pasta.  Carbonara is pretty good, too.  Basically pasta with cream sauce is decadent comfort food.  Have I told you anything you didn’t already know?  If you’re like me and you love creamy pasta, read on.  I followed this recipe and couldn’t believe how amazing it tasted.  You don’t feel like you’re sacrificing…

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Avocado, Edamame, and Grapefruit Salad

Avocado goes great with citrus and anyone who’s eaten at a sushi restaurant knows that avocado and edamame work well together.  Just a hunch, but that means grapefruit and edamame could work together with avocado doing the back end work of bringing them together. I just told you the three main ingredients for this salad.…

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Book Review: Yes, Chef

We’ve seen tons of chef memoirs recently – even I’ve gotten sick of them.  But it’s hard not to be intrigued by Marcus Samuelsson’s story.  Samuelsson was not even three years old when his mother walked him and his sister to the nearest town in Ethiopia in search of care for their tuberculosis affliction.  His mother…

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Spicy Shrimp Breakfast Tacos

Years ago my family took our boat out for a weekend camping trip.  On the last morning I was put in charge of making breakfast out of whatever we had leftover.  I ended up making breakfast burritos out of shrimp we caught straight off the side of the boat and some cajun seasoning we had…

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Defonte’s of Brooklyn

Defonte’s is a Brooklyn institution.  It’s an old school Italian sandwich shop where you shouldn’t dare ask for substitutions on these large sandwiches that look like they could feed the whole firehouse.  These are manly sandwiches at girly prices (nothing over $11).  The Manhattan branch may be a little shinier but from what I hear,…

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Anassa Taverna

For years a boring brasserie had been on the corner of 60th and 3rd that only received my business if I needed a quick bite before seeing a movie next door.  Thankfully, it has been replaced by Anassa Taverna, a Greek restaurant that doesn’t take any arm twisting for a pre-movie meal.  Raychel and I…

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