flx, new york

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a farmer and an astronaut. I saw that movie Space Camp ('86) and wanted to be Lea Thompson, up in space before my time with an injured Kate Capshaw, trying to find more oxygen and a way home to Earth. When that didn't happen, I became a competitive horseback rider (show jumping, thank you), listened to Reba McIntyre, volunteered at FarmAid, and took my Birkenstock-and-designer-jeans-wearing self to a preppy (but fabulous) liberal arts school in Ohio to study poetry from a poet with a "healthy awareness of the physical or emotional connections between humans and nature." 4-years later, I left with an expensive poetry degree and a wonder for the environment that helped lead me to the Finger Lakes wine region of New York state last weekend (well, OK... a good friend that I hadn't seen in 5-years and the promise of "industry discount" wine tastings helped pull the trigger on the flight to Rochester).

What ensued was a weekend full of... well, total awesomeness. Even though it's mid-October, Central Park stays pretty green with trees full of leaves until well past early "fall." So when my puddle-jumper prop plane dropped below the clouds above Rochester, the fall foliage was a total shock. Trees! LOTS of them. With colors ranging from gold to maple to crimson and everything in between. We drove from the ROC to Keuka Lake, and started our wine tasting tour with abandon. First of all, it SNOWED on Friday. I literally thought the shock of fresh air and vast horizon had me seeing things, but it really snowed.

The first stop was Hunt Country Vineyards, where my friend Dave has worked for the past couple years doing wine tastings in the tasting room. Johnny D lead us through tasty whites and smooth reds with a pairing of perfectly scrumptious local cheeses (best breakfast ever!), and we strolled into the winery for a tour and barrel tasting from the winemaker himself. We visited 3 more wineries that day on Keuka Lake (Dr. Konstantin Frank, Heron Hill, and Ravines) and were graciously invited by Jonathan Hunt (Hunt Country Vineyards' winemaker) and Caroline Boutard-Hunt (organic gardener-extraordinaire) to their home for dinner.

Dinner was deeelicious (homemade beef stew, fresh-from-the-farm mixed green salad, cheesy polenta I could have eaten for days - the polenta was from Caroline's parents farm in Oregon - and stuffed apples with Corn Hill Creamery Tahitian vanilla ice cream for dessert). We paired the meal with red wine and an amazing Cream Sherry that I'm now obsessed with (we killed the bottle), and I couldn't have been happier to spend the time with such kind people.

On Saturday we got up and made the long drive to Seneca Lake's Grist Mill to start the day with to-die-for egg sandwiches on homemade buttermilk biscuits. Um. Yum. From there we had our most epic wine-tasting day, hitting up 7 wineries in under 5 hours (Red Newt, Lamoreaux Landing, Lakewood, Hermann J. Wiemer, Anthony Road, Red Tail Ridge, and Fox Run) and purchasing a case of the areas finest Riesling's and Gewurtztraminer's, with a splurge on a fantastic Late Harvest Chardonnay at Hermann J. Wiemer. We re-fueld with Italian food and more NY wine at Esperanza Mansion and got into some late-night Tawny Port from Fox Run back at the lake house (amazing) before hitting the sack as wine-tasting rock stars.

On Sunday we woke to SUN and a gorgeous blue sky, and headed to Keuka Springs for our last pre-noon tasting. The afternoon finished with a long walk through Hunt Country's property before I exercised my well-stretched credit card and bought just shy of another case from my new-favorite east coast family vineyard. In California it's Talley Vineyards but in New York State the Hunt family has my wine-loving heart.

It was a great getaway that left me feeling miles from Manhattan ready to dig out my Birk's, throw on overalls and join Caroline and her friend Heather in the garden, and the flight home was bittersweet. But a friend put it best today: love it or hate it Manhattan is home for now, and everyone likes a good sleep in their own bed and a return to familiarity - even if dreams are filled with barking farm dogs and the rounded hay bales of Upstate New York.

p.s. Special thanks to the Vaala family for letting me crash and being the perfect hosts!

tied with a bow

I've recently become a believer that good things can come in small packages. As I'm sure you've realized already, I'm typically a "more is better" kind of gal. More life-changing vacations that I can't really afford (maybe South Africa next year?). More good wine than I should probably drink (more on this after my Finger Lakes trip this coming weekend). More plans with friends than I have time to fit in (I'm a terrible over-extender). More (and bigger) goals to work towards (Mt. Rainier tops my 2010 list - bring on the crampons!).

But lately I'm making a concentrated effort to embrace the smaller gifts for what they are. In the past year I've gotten so wrapped up in the bigger events, decisions, and general life "plans" that I haven't paid enough attention to what's right in front of me. So, I'm changing my perspective to focus more on the little every day gifts that shape my life. This blog was a start -- a small step on the way to my bigger plan of owning my own bakery. And, your comments are my little gifts. You create a blog and put it out into the cyber-world and know for a fact that a few of your friends read it (because you make a point to send it to them on a daily basis), but that's kind of all you can expect. What's such a gift are the comments and sweet emails from old friends, new friends and fellow-foodie lovers (future friends!) telling me they're enjoying what I'm doing as much as I'm enjoying doing it. So thanks for the props!

Other small-package gifts I've noticed lately:

1. Flowers in my flower boxes surviving against all odds

2. My puppy dog stalking squirrels the Central Park

3. Rainbow carrots and turnips at the farmer's market in Union Square

4. The discovery of Dunkin' Donuts caramel latte lite's (OMG, so yum -- and this coming from a Starbucks girl)

In the spirit of good things in small packages, I dug out that fabulous Apple Galette recipe from a few weeks back and modified it into hand-pies, the perfect on-the-go fall snack. I also added sliced pears to the apple mix for a little surprise in the middle.

I told you how well I rocked the pate brisee for my last galette... umm I did it again. And this time, instead of 1 1/2 sticks of butter, I subbed in a 1/4 cup of vegetable shortening. At a Pies & Tarts class I took at Whole Foods on Bowery, they mentioned that layering the "fats" gets you the flakey pie crusts that we all try for -- they're right!

Use the same recipe for the pate brisee from my galette, and follow these directions (taken from SmittenKitchen's adaptation of Martha Stewart's recipe). It bakes up quite a few pies, so share the love -- it might just be the small package that someone needs to realize their own good little things.

Apple & Pear Hand Pies

On a lightly floured work surface, roll one half of dough into a large rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 5-inch cookie cutter, cut out 6 rounds. Transfer rounds to prepared baking sheet.

Place apple and pear slices onto one-half of each round, overlapping slices. Lightly brush egg around the edge of the covered half of each round. Fold remaining dough over to enclose, forming a half moon. Gently press edges together to seal. Brush the tops of each pie with egg. Using a paring knife, slash the top of each pie. Sprinkle generously with sanding sugar.

Bake at 375 F until golden brown.

hold on tight, spidermonkey

This is the post where I'm really glad that you don't know my real identity. I mean... the three of you out there who read my blog who aren't my close friends don't know who I really am... right?

You see, there was once this teen sensation called Twilight... which lead to a series of 500-page novels... which lead to a low-budget movie... which re-introduced us all to Robert Pattinson after his brief Harry Potter stint. And that re-introduction lead to a world-wide hysteria that hit even the most unsuspecting victims: young, smart, stylish, professional, business women. Even women in New York City. It just so happens that my friends (and let's be honest, myself) fall into this category of fabulousness, so it wasn't long after the 4-book saga ended, the movie was played and re-played, and the Robert Pattison posters were hung in cubicles, that a group of us realized the best party theme idea ever: Twilight.

Clearly this exclusive fete will only include the most die-hard fans, will not include the men in our lives that mock us, and has got to be a party Alice Cullen would be proud of. The hostess is making Italian food ("Molto Bene!"), we're playing Debussy in the background ("Clair de Lune is great"), we're serving blood-red wine, and we're all wearing flannel shirts and galoshes (because Bella hates the cold rain in Forks, WA). Next on the agenda is fading my tan to vampire-pale and growing out my hair for the November 19th midnight showing of New Moon. Because we're obviously going. And I obviously already have my ticket.

In the meantime, for my contribution to this week's party I thought long and hard. Other than a fantastic bottle of Hunt Country Cabernet Franc 2007 paired with a Camembert to die for, my hostess asked me to bring... what else? Dessert. She knows me too well.

Even though the Cullen's don't eat people-food, there will be a few hot-blooded females ready to chow, so I thought of a dessert party-favor that even the most fanatical fan could appreciate. When James is after Bella in Twilight, Esme and Rosalie don Bella's clothes and head north to throw James off Bella's trail (who is headed South). They rub her clothes on trees in the forest, leaving her scent for James to follow. So, what am I making? Chocolate bark! One that everyone will love to smell (and we humans will love to eat).

I tested this recipe last week and over-did it a little on the nuts, so I upped the chocolate in this batch. I dunno kids, chocolate bark might be my new go-to hostess gift. It's simple, tasty, looks great in a clear cellophane bag wrapped in ribbon, and has countless adaptations to try. I can't wait to break up candy canes for holiday-ready peppermint bark in the coming months. I used apricots and raisins, but dried cherries and hazelnuts (like in the original Southern Living recipe) would be divine. Use whatever's in your pantry and send me your combinations!

Chocolate Almond Bark

adapted from Southern Living

1/2 cup almonds, sliced

1/3 cup dried apricots, coursely chopped

1/4 cup raisins, coursely chopped

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli)

Slice almonds and coursely chop dried fruit. Combine in medium bowl.

Place chocolate in a microwave-safe measuring cup. Microwave on HIGH 1 minute or until chocolate melts, stirring every 15 seconds. Add to nut mixture, stiffing just until combined. Spread mixture evenly on a jelly-roll pan lined with foil; freeze 1 hour.

Break into pieces; serve immediately. Yield: about 12 ounces, serving size 1 oz.

BKLYN

When you live on Manhattan island, you pretty much have the world at your finger tips (or at least within 3 blocks). Local deli's carry anything you'd need, there's a Starbucks on every other corner, and dry cleaners seem to pop up faster than fleas on a puppy dog. When I first moved to the city I remember being completely disgusted by friends who wouldn't leave the island for months on end. Didn't they feel claustrophobic? How could they possibly stay in Manhattan without a weekend trip away to breathe fresh air and eye some greenery? It's such a phenomenon that Candace Bushnell addressed it on Sex & The City when Carrie met "Manhattan Guy"... a seemingly normal bloke who hadn't left the island in 10 years because there was nothing "out there" worth seeing.

I obviously don't subscribe to this methodology (if you don't believe me, get ready for dozens of out-of-town posts coming in the next couple months), but I do agree that you can stay Manhattan-bound without necessarily trying for weeks at a time if you don't pay attention. I found a really good reason to trek out to Park Slope, Brooklyn today (from the UWS it might as well be Siberia) and made an afternoon trip to Red Hook to check out Oprah's "favorite" brownies at Baked on Van Brunt Street. After a yummy brunch at Hope & Anchor, we opted for a giant chocolate chip cookie at Baked (we'll go back for the brownies, FOR SURE) and I snagged their famous Mountain Blend granola before heading down the street to walk the waterfront.

Turns out Brooklyn's pretty cool (MAL: don't start with me). I had a really fun day of exploring... and, with no expectations of what was there, Red Hook impressed me with its culture, diversity, and street vendors near the ball fields. I can't wait to go back for tacos and fried plantains!

Like Red Hook, this recipe is impressive. It seems so easy (maybe even uninteresting) but the crispy caramel cookies are addicting - beware! The ingredients are already in your pantry and the dough can be defrosted as-needed if you don't want to have a full batch too handy for snacking (but I bet you will).

P.S. The wine in the background of my fridge photo is TDF (to die for). The vineyard gives a description of "floral & mineral notes; hints of pears," but my description is "extreeeemely tasty." A friend of mine works at Hunt Country Vineyards, so look for more tasting notes after I pay him a visit up north in a couple weeks :)

Caramel Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar, dark

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour (I used all-purpose)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Add remaining ingredients and beat thoroughly.

Scape dough out of bowl and onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Roll dough into a log, about 2 1/2 inches wide; completely wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 20 minutes or overnight (I put mine in the freezer for an hour).

Cut dough into 1/8-inch thick slices and arrange on several large ungreased cookie sheets about 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned around edges, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for about 1 minute and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.