Peels

This weekend winter finally got to NYC! On Saturday morning we woke up to a couple inches of snow on the ground and lots more still coming down. In true southern fashion my room-mates and I were all so excited to see snow we were up and at em before 9:00 am- on a SATURDAY! So naturally by 10 we were ready to venture out! We pulled on 27 layers of clothes, hats, gloves,our snow boots and hit the road! Since we struck out so early we decided to try our luck getting into Peels. This is a super charming and delicious spot in the east village, and their brunch is phenomenal!

We were seated at a table upstairs and quickly shed about 15 layers and settled into our table. Peels is super cosy, and even though it was early there was already a substantial crowd. My cohorts ordered coffee so I decided to indulge in a cup of hot chocolate. Best decision ever!! This was possibly the best hot chocolate I have ever had! It was super rich and topped with a home-made marshmallow, YUM! 

We all drooled over the menu for a good 15 minutes before we could make a decision. Everything looked so good it was almost impossible to choose. We did have to start off by sharing an order of the Parker house rolls. They were served with home-made butter and raspberry jam. These rolls were out of this world good. They had a crunchy-flaky crust but were light and airy on the inside. Thank goodness they only brought us 2 in the order because I am sure we could have eaten 12! I also did not get a picture until after we had gotten into these a little bit- but I figured this just proves how good they were!

So we all went with pretty traditional brunch food- but the menu had a wonderful array of breakfast and lunch items. The crispy chicken sandwich comes highly recommended so I promise to try that next time(They serve only free range chicken here which is a huge plus!) I decided to go with quiche which is fresh daily and this past Saturday's was a leek, Gruyère and mushroom concoction. It was fantastic. It came with a simple green salad and side of bacon- I could not have been happier with my order. It was warm and hearty, but not over the top filling! My dining buddies had the omelet and the biscuits and gravy which both got rave reviews. 

We all enjoyed our meals very much, and also enjoyed the ambiance at peels. There is a large display counter downstairs that showcases all of the pastry and sweets. There is lots of natural wood, and I love any restaurant that has a few long picnic tables for group dining!  It was the perfect place to spend a snowy Saturday morning. Just the right amount of hustle and bustle companied with a very laid back attitude towards dining. We were never rushed but the servers were very attentive! I also really loved the décor. There was a very country comes to the city feel! 

Peels did not disappoint at all and I think it will for sure become one of our fav brunch spots. The line was almost out the door by the time we left, but its just that good, people will stand out in the snow waiting for a spot at one of these tables! 

Peels:

http://peelsnyc.com/

And just so everyone can have a good laugh to start off their week- Here is a picture of Herman LOVING playing in the snow this weekend! Hope everyone has a great week! 

Birthday Dips

Well the restaurant review I promised on Tuesday is going to have to wait. I have had a major technology fail this week and all of my pictures for that post are MIA- but I will find them and put it up this weekend! In lieu of that post I am going to put up a couple of recipes for dips that I made for a birthday dinner this week!
On Wednesday night we had a super fun girls dinner to celebrate Grace's birthday! I offered to bring an appetizer. Bringing food to a party in NYC poses a couple of issues. It needs to be able to travel(either cab or subway) and for me- making anything to fancy during the week for a party is tough as I have to be able to get it done after work and before the gathering(which is usually a 45 minute window). 
So I decided to bust out my new food processor and make home-made hummus and a creamy pesto dip. This way there is a little variety- these flavours are a good preface to almost any meal(I did not know what the main course was going to be) and the bonus- it travels well! I was able to make the dips the night before, so major points for convenience! 

Lemon Garlic Hummus

Ingredients:
1 Can Garbanzo Beans
1 Clove crushed garlic(I sautéed mine in olive oil to give the flavour a little more depth)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp black pepper


Directions:
-Drain garbanzo beans over a bowl and save the liquid
-add ALL ingredients to food processor and blend. 
-Once thoroughly combined begin adding liquid until desired consistency is reached
-Refrigerate overnight


*I also would have added 1/3 cup of tahini to this recipe- but the grocery store was out when I went shopping- but regardless this hummus was still super tasty!

Creamy Pesto Dip

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 mayonnaise 
1/3 cup pesto
2 Tbsp thinly sliced green onion
2 tsp lemon juice

Directions:
-Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly- Refrigerate over night!

Obviously both of these recipes are pretty easy- but they are both very tasty! I have to say that the "home-made" hummus for sure beats the ones you can buy at the grocery, it taste so much fresher- you could also adjust the flavour to your personal liking!  I made a double recipe of each of these and barely had any left over! I served them with some Stacy's pita chips, sliced green and red peppers, and carrots. These are great recipes for tailgate food- and good things to have in the refrigerator on a weekend when you have house guests! 

Pinterest Tuesday: Hot and Sweet Shrimp

I will preface this post with an admission. First blogger fail of the year, I did not properly document this dish, the pics I did get are kind of cruddy and do not do justice to its scrumptiousness. Alas, I am going to give this a write up anyways! So if any of y'all decide to make this and get better pics please let me know!! If you are a fellow pinterest nut you can view the recipe I based this off of here.

Hot and Sweet Shrimp

Ingredients:

2-2 1/2 lbs peeled and cleaned(but not cooked) shrimp

Marinade (it is best if this can marinate for 24, but overnight will do just fine!)

1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic

1/4 freshly pressed ginger

1/4 hot chili paste

1/2 cup sweet chili paste

1 cup honey

1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1cup canola oil

Sauce:

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sweet thai chili sauce

2 Tbsp sesame seeds

1/4 cup lime juice

1/2 cup honey

salt and pepper

Directions:

-Mix all sauce ingredients thoroughly and let sit for at least 30 minutes

-Heat a large skillet over medium heat(if you have access to a grill, grilling the shrimp would be awesome)

-Pour contents of the marination bag into the heated skillet and cook until shrimp are opaque(this will only take about 4-6 minutes)

-Once shrimp are cooked pour off excess cooking liquid and move shrimp onto serving dish(if you leave them in the skillet they will overcook)

-Pour the sauce over the shrimp and mix- or you can set the sauce on the side and let people sauce them to their own personal liking

I will say it one more time, the pictures do not do this justice. It was so yummy! It is also great that you can make the marinade and sauce ahead of time, so this meal can be ready SUPER fast if you prep a day ahead! While it was only about 20 degrees the night I made this, it is the perfect summertime beach recipe and like I mentioned above, throwing these on some skewers on the BBQ would be divine. Hope everyone had a great long weekend and check back later this week for some more great recipes and a review of Imperial No. Nine- the Soho version of dinner in wonderland! 

A New Turn in the South

This post is going to be short and sweet, as I am in LA for work and only have about 12 minutes in between meetings- but I did promise to blog more, and I will not fail myself this early on in my resolution! Hugh Acheson is amazing. I do not just like him because I am from Athens, or because I love him on top chef-  his new cookbook A New Turn in the South is sure to solidify his spot in culinary history. It is a BEAUTIFUL cookbook filled with awesome recipes and anecdotes. 

So if you have a Amazon gift card left over from the holidays put it to good use and go buy this book! The writing and photography are exquisite! If for no other reason, purchase this just to have Hugh's pimento cheese recipe, his is the only pimento cheese I have ever had that rivals my Moms!!

2012-Year of the Blog

One of my many resolutions in 2012 is to dedicate more time to this blog. Having all of these recipes and restaurant reviews in one concise place is going to useful down the line, and I want to spend time making sure I have a thorough on-line anthology.
So to kick off the 2012 I am going to detail a recipe I got off of Pinterest- thus the return of Pinterest Tuesday! This recipe is not very diet friendly for all of us that are a health kick in 2012- but it is perfect for birthdays and various celebrations, and all health bets are off at those types of gatherings right?

NO BAKE CAKE BALLS

Two words fully explain these little bites of heaven. EASY and AWESOME. I did not even have to go to the real grocery store to get the ingredients, I was able to get everything I needed at Trader Joes. 

Ingredients:
(Batter)
-1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
-1/2 cup white sugar
-1 1/2 cups white flour
-1 cup yellow cake mix
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
-1/8 teaspoon salt
-3-4 tablespoons milk
-2 tbs sprinkles


(Icing)
- 16 ounces almond bark or white candy melts
- 4 tbsp yellow cake mix
- sprinkles


Directions:
-Beat together butter and sugar using an electric mixer until combined
-Blend in vanilla
-Add cake mix, flour, salt, and vanilla and mix thoroughly
-Add 3 Tablespoons of milk or more if needed to make a dough consistency. Mix in sprinkles by hand. 
-Roll dough into one inch balls and place on a parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet. Chill balls in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up

-While dough balls are chilling, melt almond bark in the microwave in 30 second intervals until melted-stir between intervals
-Once melted, quickly stir in cake mix until incorporated completely
-Using a fork, dip cake balls into icing and shake of excess bark by tapping the bottom of the fork on the side of your bowl, place back on the cookie sheet and top with sprinkles. 

-Chill cake balls in the refrigerator until serving. 

Here is a picture montage of the whole process:

This recipe was really fun and easy to make- the best part is you could easily adjust this recipe to your taste or the occasion. You could make coloured dough or icing by adding food colouring which would make this fun for any and all holidays. You can also adjust the flavour profile by adjusting the type of cake mix and icing used! Next time I think I will make chocolate cake balls with some salted caramel icing(YUM!) This is also a fun recipe to make with younger kids, as it is super easy there are plenty of jobs they can do on their own- it is also almost instant gratification which works well with younger chefs!! 
I am looking forward to 2012 and many more restaurants and recipes to come! Check back Thursday for a restaurant shout-out and cook book recap!