Cake Cones

Several months ago I came across http://www.bakerella.com/ and I decided to try making my very own cake pops.  I made my first cake pops shortly after and while they were tasty they were not the most creative / beautiful things I have ever made so I took a few months off and made different treats trying to use up the cake melts I bought.  Fast forward to Easter weekend and I decided to make cake pops again using Funfetti cake and funfetti pink frosting.  After forgetting to packs the lollipop sticks I decided to just make cake balls until my mother mentioned the mini ice cream cones she had in her pantry. 

Instantly I knew that I wanted to make cake cones.  Bakerella has a version of cake cones in her book (which I do own) so it was not a completely unique idea but I was still excited to try out making them.  I quickly baked my funfetti cake and after almost cooling it all of the way (I could not wait to get to the next step) I crumbled it all up. 

I mixed in the pink frosting (white cake +  pink frosting = salmon color deliciousness) and rolled out 40 cake balls.  This took longer than expected as there were several breaks to explain what I was doing and giving out samples.  I decided to take a break for the night and enjoy dinner with my family (which happened to be my Weekly Fav Restaurant but that post will have to wait until tomorrow). 

The following morning I was awake early so I decided to take advantage of the 'quiet time' and work on my Easter treats.  One by one I attached the chilled cake balls to the mini cones and dipped them into white candy melts and sprinkled on the funfetti sprinkles.  I even cut up a pink jelly bean to make 'cherries' for a few of the cake cones.  The first few were not perfect but I slowly figured out a few tricks and suddenly I had 20 or so great looking cake cones.  My family was so impressed by mom said I should open a bakery!

Finally a cake cone with a bite taken out...

Cucharamama

A few years ago I tried Peruvian corn for the first time at Sushi Samba in NYC and I loved the texture and playfulness of the oversized corn kernels.  Ever since whenever I find a restaurant that features Peruvian corn on their menu I am instantly intrigued.  Hoboken has several South American -esque restaurants and today we went to Cucharamama for an authentic South American dinner... my Weekly Fav Restaurant. 

The restaurant cooks a lot of their specialties in a wood burning oven which offers a very appealing crispness to the plates.  We shared two apps and each ordered an entree.  All of dishes were delicious and unique (perfect for a Wednesday night).  Both the shrimp skewer appetizer and the chicken entree are served with peruvian corn!

Jalea de Calamares con Ají de Rocoto - Crunchy Peruvian-Style Calamari, Rocoto and Tamarillo Sauce
Anticucho de Camarones con Sarza - Peruvian-Style Skewered Marinated Shrimp, Arequipa’s Corn and Queso Blanco Relish

Pechuga de Pollo Asado al Horno de Leña en Salsa de Calabaza y Mango con Boronía - Boneless Chicken Breast in Peruvian Adobo Roasted in our Wood-Burning Oven, Pumpkin and Mango Sauce, Ripe Plantain and Eggplant Puree
Churrasco (entraña) con Chimichurri - Argentinean-Style Skirt Steak, Chimichurri Sauce, Potatoes with Tomatoes and Cheese Sauce

 

South American paintings and sculptures are featured throughout the restaurant which makes the entire experience feel authentic.  There is also a long bar in the front area with large vases featuring sticks, flowers and elephant leaves (love elephant leaves).  For those who attended my wedding or seen any pics you know that I love stick / flower centerpieces so I love this type of decor.  The front entrance sets the mood for an enticing dinner with the rustic column and distressed blue paint surrounding the door.

Paris...

Earlier this year Mr.K and I visited his family in England and decided to visit Paris for a few days before flying back home.  I went to Paris in 2003 but Mr.K had never been (although he went to France multiple times as a child).  We took the Euro Star train from London to Paris and in a little over two hours after leaving London we arrived in Paris.  We checked into the Renaissance Arc de Triomphe Hotel and admired our room (dark brown wood furniture with hot pink accents and a very modern clean bathroom) & our view (nothing famous but oh so Paris).

We set out to explore the City of Lights ... our first stop was the Arc de Triomphe (the Arc was closed when I went to Paris in '03 so I was excited to actually see the view from the top).  After walking up several flights of spiral staircase we arrived at the top and even though it was not a sunny clear day we could still see quite a distance.

 

Realizing we had not eaten in a while we stopped at a little cafe on our way to the Eiffel tower and were pleasantly surprised by our waitress.. she translated the entire menu for us.  Once we had our fill of pommes frites and other french cafe goodies we were off to the Eiffel tower.  It was a very cold day in January so as we approached the Seine river the winds were quite strong but we continued on (no time to waste).  Unfortunately the top of the tower was closed but we still had the chance to visit the middle of the tower.  I wanted to stay until the sun set and the tower was lit and twinkling but it was simply too cold.  We descended the tower and as we were walking away the tower was lit up.  I love sparkly things so an entire sparkling tower was simply beautiful.

The next morning we went to breakfast at Ladurée (something I had been thinking about for a while) but Mr.K was officially ill and as soon as breakfast was over he went straight back to the hotel.  I was pretty much on my own for the day in Paris. 

I walked from the Ladurée on the Champs-Élysées all the way to the Louvre (meandering around small back streets browsing little shops and admiring the architecture).  I tried to take pics of everything to show Mr.K later on as he would not be able to see any more Parisian sites.

I hope you get a chance to visit Paris with the love of your life!

Peeps...

For those who don't know me I <3 sugar!  I have this fascination with giving up things for extended periods of time (I have not drank any beverages with caffeine in over 2 years).  Recently, I decided to give up sugar just until Easter... well I made it only a few days! 

My mom still makes each of her children an Easter basket.  Mr.K and I split mine as there is enough candy for an army.  One of my favorite Easter candies is marshmallow peeps.  My mom buys us special peeps that are hand dipped in milk chocolate at a local chocolate shop.  For those not familiar with marshmallow peeps they are soft marshmallow treats covered in bright sugar (yellow is the most common but I have seen lots of colors).

Today as I walking home through midtown Manhattan I spotted this:

I ran across the street to get a better view (and of course picture) of the largest peep / only peep car I have ever seen.



Hope you all get a chance to enjoy this seasonal treat!

Cherry Blossoms

The reasons I love Cherry Blossoms... First I love pink flowers (all of my wedding flowers were pink). Second I love the abundance of cherry blossoms in a single tree.  Third I love that they only last for a few days (you feel special when you get to see them in person).  A few years ago I told Mr.K that I always wanted to go to DC to see the Cherry Blossom Festival so we booked a hotel for a long weekend and drove to DC.  We had amazing weather, blue skies and crisp air (perfect for walking around staring at the white buildings and monuments and capturing pics of the cherry blossoms).

When it came time to plan our wedding I knew that I wanted cherry blossoms.  I decided that they would be perfect for our ceremony (additional drama to the brick wall in the Loft).  Even though I only got to see them for a few minutes they were perfect and I love the pics (All of the following pics were taken by Kella MacPhee).  I also used an image of cherry blossoms on our invitations for the Brunch after our wedding (they were romantic, modern, and symbolized love and spring).

Zylo

A few years ago a W Hotel opened in Hoboken making it our first and only hotel (not to shabby)!  The hotel has a wonderful outdoor patio bar which is open from early spring to late fall (thanks to several large heat lamps).  During the last Hudson Restaurant week we decided to finally try the Hotels main restaurant Zylo on a Sunday evening.  When we arrived we were surprised to find out that they offer a weekly Sunday Supper special (4 courses served family style for $25 per person).  For the past week we have been trying to be healthy and not spend a lot of money eating out (healthy food is easy for us.. not spending a lot of money on eating out not so much).  We had plans to meet another couple at Zylo tonight but when they could not make it we decided to still go out tonight.  Our dinner was just as good as we remembered it from last time so Zylo is this my Weekly Fav Restaurant. 

Our four courses:

CAESAR SALAD - garlic croutons, shaved parmesan cheese

SPAGHETTI POMODORO - heirloom pomodoro, parmigiano reggiano, basil

PESCADO MISTO - saffron lobster broth, bronzino, clams, shrimp, mussels, fried calamari, crostini

BOMBOLINI - brioche donuts, trio of passion fruit, chocolate, coconut rum sauces

I am now very tempted to try to replicate the Caesar salad and the spaghetti at home (I will leave the seafood dish to Zylo as it was divine but there is no chance of making that one at home).  We ordered the salad with the dressing on the side which allowed us to really understand the salad components.. romaine lettuce with plenty of salt, pepper and shaved Parmesan cheese.  The spaghetti was cooked very al dente with a flavorful but simple sauce.  As for the dessert we are being healthy so we only ate a few of the donuts but I loved the sauces so I ate them with a fork!  Oh and if you don't know about Hoboken it is directly across from Manhattan and the W Hotel and Zylo restaurant have a direct view!

Bangkok - Thai Food

Bangkok was the final leg in our Asia vacation last year and by the time we got there we needed rest and relaxation.  We stayed at the Lebua at State Tower which is an amazing hotel in the center of Bangkok offering large suites on insanely high floors (our room was on the 55th floor).  However, walk out of the hotel and you immediately enter the craziest city I have ever been to.  I heard Bangkok was insane but until you are there you can not imagine how insane it really is.  Bangkok was also extremely humid and hot (especially compared to Beijing where needed winter coats). 

Mr.K and I love Thai food but neither of us are willing to eat street food in NYC so there was no chance we were going to eat street food in Bangkok but it provided plenty of good photo ops.  While in Bangkok we decided to take a Thai cooking class so some of the pictures are actually food we cooked. 
BaiPai Thai Cooking School - โรงเรียนสอนทำอาหารไทยใบพาย

We booked our hotel through Jetsetter and had an amazing deal: $105 per night which included daily buffet breakfast (which was delicious), club lounge access until 6 pm (all of the drinks and food you can eat) and a free mini bar (all of the soda and water you could drink).  On our first night we paid for dinner at one of the hotel restaurants and quickly realized how the hotel was making money. The food was amazing as was the view from the 64th floor.  However, for the next few days we decided to skip the expensive restaurants as the same food was served at breakfast and the club lounge.  We only ate outside the hotel a few times but still experienced the Thai food culture by simply walking around.

Thanks to the cooking school recipes we made an amazing Christmas eve dinner for our family and now love Thai Yellow Curry with chicken and jasmine rice.  Hope you all get a chance to experience authentic thai food some day!

W Boston Hotel

Mr.K and I love to get away for mini-vacations so we recently took a trip to Boston.  We booked our hotel on a Thursday and drove up on Saturday for one night at the W Boston Hotel.  The hotel is centrally located near the Boston Common, Newbury Street and Beacon Hill.  We have not stayed at a lot of W Hotels but wanted something trendy and fun for the weekend and that is exactly what we got.   The room was small but was full of clean lines and subtle colors!  There were plenty of unique aspects of the room (including a screen print wall separating the bathroom and the bedroom). 

We had lunch at the hotels signature restaurant Market a Jean Georges restaurant.  This was our second Jean Georges restaurant (Mr.K took me to Nougatine in NYC for my birthday last year).  Market is my Weekly Fav Restaurant!

I ordered the B.A.L.T on Multi Grain Bread (Bacon, Avocado, Lettuce and Tomato) and a Fresh Ginger Ale Soda.  Mr.K ordered the MARKET Cheeseburger... both were served with french fries.  Mr.K said his burger was one of the best burgers ever had (this is a strong statement considering the number of burgers Mr.K has tried in his life).  We were stuffed but took a look at the dessert menu .. they had a warm chocolate cake (one of my favorite desserts).  I had to try it (when we went to Nougatine we did not order dessert as Mr.K had ordered a Ben & Jerry's ice cream cake for my birthday cake).  It was delicious.. the chocolate center oozed out and was simply one of the best warm chocolate cakes I have ever had.

We had a few issues during our stay at the hotel so we just found out that we are going to get a free night at the hotel in a WOW suite!