Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

I was asked to make something for a friend's birthday party this weekend. Starting simple, I made two trays of Rice Krispie Treats and a loaf of banana bread. Then I moved on to what I was really looking forward to: Snickerdoodle cupcakes. The recipe was easy enough - the only ingredient I didn't already have was cake flour - and it was light and fluffy and smelled amazing.



Look at all that cinnamon!

They puffed up perfectly.

I frosted them with cream cheese frosting and dusted them with cinnamon and sugar. They tasted wonderful, and were a huge hit at the party.

You'd never know it was vegan

This is the first entry in an ongoing series of the best meals I've ever had. I'm fortunate enough to get to travel around a bit due to my boyfriend's job (not that I travel with him, but I get to visit often), and so I get to try new restaurants in new cities more often than I used to. If I'm being honest about this list, I'd go back and rewrite the post I made about Blossom in NYC, because that meal was absolutely wonderful. You can read it here if you're interested in revisiting it.

Moving on to the meal. Jason and I were in Philadelphia, and I'd spent some time reading about restaurants on Yelp, trying to find something well-reviewed yet vegetarian friendly. The first restaurant that came up was Horizons. We made reservations and ate there the first night I was in town, which, honestly, ruined us for the rest of the weekend because nothing compared.

Horizons is fully vegan, something that's pretty scary to most diners. I would bet money that we could've brought any number of our carnivorous friends with us to Horizons and ordered anything off the menu for them and convinced them it was actually meat, it was that flavorful and texturized.

We ordered the Vietnamese Tacos as an appetizer, and while they were good, they weren't great.

We also ordered the Warm Maitake Mushroom Salad app, which was better than the tacos, but still nothing to necessarily rave about. So, we were a little nervous at first.


However, this delicious beer that I ordered made my concerns lessen. It's hard to find outside of Philly, which is sad because it's probably the best beer I ever had.


For my entree, I ordered the Pan Seared Tofu. It came with a saffron emulsion, local baby squashes, garbanzo hash and was seasoned with basil, green olive and pistachio. It was soft and creamy, with full, rich flavors. The best bite was when I managed to get all of the components on the fork at once.


Jason ordered the Grilled Seitan, which came with yukon mash, spinach, horseradish cream, and a roasted red pepper tapenade. Admittedly, It's been a long time since I've had beef, but I swear, this was like eating the most succulent, well-done pot roast ever.

As it turned out, we switched dishes because we each liked what the other ordered more.


We were so full, we didn't order dessert but we did partake in two rounds of this locally made absinthe. I've had several kinds of absinthe before (one from France, one from Spain, one at The Edison in LA that was probably Absente [fake absinthe]), but this was by far and away the best ever. It was sweet and tart and licorice-y and completely balanced. And cheap! It only cost $8 a round, which is why we got two.

It's been a couple months since we were in Philly, but I think about this meal probably once a week. I'd love to learn how to recreate it. I'll get started on that right away.

Another trip to Kartabar

I wish I could say that there are many, many great restaurants in Providence, but sadly that's not true. There are a few, and I feel like Jason and I have tried all but maybe two, and those two are more known for their brunches. So we tend to go to the same few places that we already love over and over. Like Kartabar, with its great martinis and far above average Mediterranean food.

The Mediterranean salad. Those crispy fried pitas are the best. They come with the stellar hummus platter as well.


This is a caprese wrap, which was far less wet than the roasted veggie wrap I'd ordered on the previous visit.




And this dessert of ice cream and brownie and bananas and caramel and strawberries was just phenomenal.

The Oar House in Portsmouth, NH

On a recent day trip to Portsmouth, Jason and I, along with our friends Amy and Eddie, had dinner at The Oar House, a mostly seafood restaurant. Now, Jason and I are both vegetarians, but they had a number of choices for our restrictive diets, which is why we were able to join our friends. (Eddie had never had a whole lobster before, so they were definitely eating there).

Jason ordered this spring greens, cranberry and goat cheese salad as a starter. I had the cone of pomme frites (not pictured).


Jason's meal was this pesto and sweet potato pizza. Sorry for the blurry pic. It was hard to get a decent picture with the low lighting without turning on the flash (which over-saturated the picture completely).


Eddie's lobster, which he understandably turned its face away from me. It was looking at me!


My meal was this perfect caprese salad with wonderfully succulent olives.

For desert, I got the creme brulle...

And Jason got the chocolate mudpie. Both great.

*I didn't get a picture of Amy's lobster pasta dish, but she loved it.

Nutella, useful for more than just toast and crepes.

I recently found a number of recipes that had Nutella as a major ingredient, and, feeling brave, I tackled two of them. The first is the above cocoa Nutella cookies. They were crispy like gingerbread cookies, which was unexpected, but still, very yummy. The Nutella flavor was very subtle, too.

The second recipe I tried was banana Nutella bread. It was dense and heavy and rich and unbelievably delicious. I shared it with friends and they all loved it.

ManchVegas, they call it.

A couple months ago my boyfriend was shooting his show in Manchester, NH. Neither of us had high expectations about the town in general, but it turned out to be so cute and fun. We found a really good little restaurant called RePUBlic, which we liked so much we went there twice. I didn't take pictures the second time though.

The first time, Jason had a veggie burger and fresh-cut fries.

I had this flat bread pizza-type dish with balsamic drizzled greens, tomatoes, parmesan, caramelized onions and sea salt. It was the perfect cure for the hangover I was nursing.

We were also given a bowl of some of the most delicious olives I've ever had.

Truffle Shuffle

Jason bought me this adorable and, ultimately, delicious truffle while we were in Portsmouth, NH one weekend.

Sorry for the delay

I never meant to be gone for so long. I've still been traveling around visiting my boyfriend while he's on the road, and eating at fun restaurants and having delicious food. I'll do better, update more. I promise!


But now, back to business. Look at how pretty this strawberry, cucumber and mint salad is! From the small bites menu at McCormick and Schmick's at the Providence Biltmore. Delicious.

Kartabar

My friend Natalie was in town recently, and she introduced me to this fun restaurant near Brown University called Kartabar. It's Mediterranean themed, but more a martini bar than anything. When she and I went there for drinks, I had this delicious plate of hummus with deep fried pita and three ridiculously amazing martinis.


I was so impressed that I told my boyfriend that we had to go there for dinner soon. The following week, we did. He ordered this poached pear/walnut/goat cheese/caramelized onion/golden raisin salad as a starter that was sweet and tart and just so yummy.



For my entree, I ordered this roasted vegetable wrap that was filled with artichoke hearts, red peppers and portabella mushrooms, with french fries that might've been beer battered. We couldn't tell. The sandwich was hard to eat like a sandwich because it was so juicy, so I ended up needing to use my silverware. It was scrumptious.

For his entree, Jason got this spinach, tomato and caramelized onion pizza. I never would've thought to get caramelized onions on a pizza, but since having this one, we've ordered it at another restaurant. It's a sweeter option than just plain onions, which I still don't like.


All in all, Kartabar made fans of both of us, and I'm sure we'll be going back again.

I feel bad for people who don't eat bread

There's not that much to overly praise at the Cheesecake Factory - it's not terrible food, but it's not spectacular either - but the bread they give while you're waiting is delicious. The brown bread especially.

Mmm, Peas

I can't believe I didn't like these when I was a kid.

Edamame!

I can't wait to recreate this phenomenal grilled edamame with sea salt and chili flakes.

Mmm, Martinis

These were the most well-crafted and balanced martinis I've ever had in my life, enjoyed at the historic Oak Room in The Plaza hotel in New York City. The one on the left is watermelon and yuzu, the one on the right is citrus and mint.

My taste buds seem to have changed!

For as long as I can remember, I've not liked the way fried eggs taste. Pretty much if it wasn't beaten into submission and scrambled or whipped into an omelet, I wasn't interested. But recently I ordered an egg on a bagel sandwich with mozzarella and forgot to specify that I wanted it scrambled.

So I did the polite thing since it was my mistake, and ate it. And you know what? That was a delicious sandwich! I put some Tobasco and a little salt and pepper, and it was just perfect. I love when I find out I like something I formerly didn't.

Like strawberries. I haven't liked strawberries for years, I know this is weird. But it is what it is, right? I dealt with it, and all of the strange looks I'd get from people when I expressed that no, I did not like strawberries at all. Until last summer when Colette and I decided to grow strawberries in our little garden. I had to try one; I grew it!

And you know what? It was glorious. And so now I have rediscovered flavor profiles I'd forgotten I liked, like strawberries and chocolate, and strawberry yogurt.


And fresh strawberries on breakfast foods, like this french toast with fresh strawberries and granola.


Or this Belgian Waffle with fresh berries in an apricot glaze.

It was like my world opened up. And in a way, it did.

You can never go wrong with bagels

Toasty goodness!

Little oranges!

Is there anything sweeter than a clementine?

Southern food done right

My best friend Colette and I took an overnight trip to Ashville, NC last summer to see her favorite band. While we were there, besides hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains and having a ton of fun at the show, we ate dinner at this amazing little restaurant called Tupelo Honey Cafe.

Colette had the Tupelo Angus burger, with I think havarti cheese, which came with homemade pickle slices and these awesomely delicious home fried potatoes. She said it was possibly the best burger she's ever had.
I had marinated grilled tofu, candied ginger corn bread - which was served with whipped peach butter - and a house salad. That tofu was hands down the best grilled tofu I've ever had - and I've had my share of tofu. And the cornbread? Oh. My. God.

It looks less appitizing than it was

While this baked meringue with sweet lemon custard, chopped kiwi and berries on top was an above average dessert, I think I prefer my meringue to be soft and springy rather than crispy like a cookie.

Dinner at Siena

Exceptional Italian food in Providence, especially over on Federal Hill, isn't hard to come by. My boyfriend had been wanting to try out Siena, where a friend of his works, for a while now, and we finally had the time this weekend. It was, as advertised, wonderful.

We both opted for the special salad, which consisted of mixed greens, toasted pears and almonds, feta cheese and a raspberry vinaigrette. Simple and delectable. Also: toasted almonds should be an ingredient in every salad. Mmmm!

We also both ordered the potato and ricotta gnocchi with a pesto cream sauce and roasted peppers. The gnocchi was a little heavier than I'm used to, but still so good.


Desert was a harvest crumble with apples, pears and cranberries, with vanilla gelatto on top. At the bottom it was so gooey and extra cinnamon-y and clumpy that I was convinced there were figs in there as well. There wasn't, but it didn't matter. It was a perfect desert.

I prefer my pizza to be greasy and unhealthy anyway

We had this pizza at an inn we were staying at in Sandwich, MA (on Cape Cod) that was supposed to have bacon on it, but we asked for it without. Sadly, this wasn't one of those times where the absence of bacon wasn't missed. The saltiness and texture were for sure the exact things missing from this otherwise soft, almost bland sweet potato/artichoke/balsamic pizza.

Oh well. Not every culinary risk pays off.

This dessert is bananas.

Banana spring rolls. Yummmm.

Creative desserts make me so happy

Maybe I'm prejudiced, but I'd never expect Providence to be a huge foodie kind of town. And yet, while at the bar in a restaurant called McCormick & Schmick's at the Biltmore, the chef sent out this gorgeous chocolate paper bag filled with chocolate mousse and fresh berries as a gift to my friend Amy. It was one of the most tasty desserts I've ever had.

Simple Italian made magnificent

My boyfriend and I spent a week in NYC, where he was shooting the TV show he works on. Lucky for us, restaurants in Manhattan stay open late. One night we had a late dinner at a little Italian place called Luna Piena. It was absolutely divine.

Instead of just bread and olive oil, we were brought bread, olive oil and a mixture of olives and lentils.

My meal was baked wheat penne with fresh mozzarella on top, mixed with some vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, onions).



Jason got regular penne with buffalo mozzarella and eggplant.

Our desserts were even better than our entrees, but I stupidly didn't take pictures of them. I had the most heavenly poached pear and he had a super yummy pistachio creme brulee.