Visiting Gabriella

This baby is just too cute for words. Every picture of her is just more and more adorable. Mom and I got to go see her last weekend and see her up close. I couldn't wait to get to hold her since I'd only seen her in the bassinet in the hospital minutes after she was born When we walked in we just couldn't get over her. She is so precious, she was sleeping for most of the time we were there, just sitting there so peacefully and let us pass her around. It's amazing to think that she is finally here and how much this little person can change your life. Bridget was beyond glowing and you can see she is already such an amazing Mom to Gabriella. I just can't get enough of my beautiful niece, I can't even imagine how Bridget must feel, she is one lucky Mommy!

 Mom tried to hog the baby the whole time - She wouldn't share! 

Proud Auntie Rachel with my beautiful niece

 My two beautiful girls. The proud Momma who is still glowing!

Anniversary Date NYC

Last weekend Mike and I went into the city for an anniversary date. For our wedding last year, Mike's team was nice enough to give us a gift card to the restaurant Marea in the city. And my team was also kind enough to give an American Express gift card which we used for theater tickets. We meant to use them after the wedding but time got away from us and who wants to walk around Manhattan in the winter time, and now here it is a year later, but still a nice gesture that we were able to use the gifts for a special anniversary date.

Now I'm not going to lie I was a bit skeptical of the restaurant, actually make that scared. I knew it was known to be a great restaurant it had hundreds of positive reviews, but there were some items on the menu I was quite unsure of, things like sea urchin or bone marrow in dishes, which didn't sound like things Mike or I would ever order on a menu, but we went into it with an open mind as it did come highly recommended by one of his teammates (that selected the restaurant for us).

The restaurant is located right across the street from Central Park in Columbus Circle. The service from the moment we arrived was impeccable. I had several questions about items on the menu and our server explained them in exception detail, and were suddenly feeling much more at ease and comfortable with the menu.

Before our meals arrived we were served a cold soup shooter (I wish I could remember what it was but it was tasty). Even the bread was good, fresh homemade sour dough bread. Mike order the four course Prix Fixe for dinner, I ordered mine separately. For our first course I had zeppole - seaweed, shrimp and chickpea fritters. It didn't say what kind of sauce they were served with but it went well. The seaweed wasn't an overwhelming taste either. Mike had some kind of lobster dish that he said was very good too.

Don't mind the terrible pictures, they're from my phone and with no flash, Mike was embarrassed of me even attempting to take pictures 

After that we moved onto our pasta dishes, homemade pasta that is and you could tell. Mine was in a red sauce and had delicious shrimp in it. But Mike's was even more incredible, I did manage to get him to give me a bite. They were homemade ricotta ravioli's in a pesto sauce - outrageous! 

For our main courses I ordered a wild stripped bass. I'd never had stripped bass before and wasn't quite sure what to expect, but boy was this delicious and cooked to perfection. The first was mild and flaky, and pan sauteed so it had a nice little crisp to it. It was served with roasted cauliflower which was also equally incredible, the best cauliflower I've ever had and it had a few small potatoes that were great too. Mike had a 50 day aged steak that he said was also very good. 

The dessert was also no exception to the caliber of the meal. I had this delicious apple tart but Mike's was to die for. He almost didn't order it but the waiter said it was really good and he wasn't lying. They were small donuts but the most amazing donuts ever and served with espresso gelato. I have to say this place did not disappoint.  The service was impeccable and the food was even better. Of course this is not somewhere you would go on a regular basis since it was quite pricey but well worth the splurge for a nice anniversary. 

After we gorged ourselves on our delicious meal we headed over to the theater district for our play. We we had tickets to see Anything Goes featuring Sutton Foster. Now anyone that knows me or my Mom knows that I am a theater buff (no thanks to my Mom). I now know the leading Broadway stars and Sutton Foster is one of them. We had seen her a few years earlier in Thoroughly Modern Millie and she was fantastic! I couldn't wait to go see her in Anything Goes. 

No thanks to to the Occupy Wall Street protests which had conveniently moved into Times Square that night we barely made it to the theater on time. We sat down in our seats at like 8:01 pm just a minute before the show was due to start. Well I go to open my play bill and what's in there a sheet that says the role Sutton Foster normally plays would be an understudy today, I was so upset!!!! Mike just rolled his eyes at me over this. But we stayed we were  all dressed up and there wasn't even much time to get out even if we wanted to get our money back (which you can do) so we stayed. 

I knew as soon as the understudy sang her first song she was not as good as Sutton Foster. She was certainly good and qualified and I'm sure probably 90% of the audience probably didn't even know who Sutton Foster was but I did and it was a disappointment. I tried to explain to Mike there was a difference, Sutton Foster won the Tony Award for her role in this show (and countless other nominations and awards in this and other shows), the understudy did not, clearly there was a reason for this. While the show was still outstanding, we both really enjoyed it but I know it could have been even better. 

After dinner I had hoped to go out for a drink. Mike's teammate had recommended some nice places for us to go but Mike wanted to head back home but I will def keep them on my list for hopefully the next time. He had recommended to us: 

1. Ink48 Hotel, rooftop bar on the west side with great views 
2. Peninsula Hotel 
3. King Cole Bar, at the St. Regis Hotel 
4. Flatiron Lounge, a very cool, small but cozy cocktail lounge in the Flatiron area 
5. 230 Fifth, a rooftop bar also in the Chelsea area 

Even though Sutton Foster wasn't in the show and we didn't get to go out for a drink after it was still an amazing date and we had such a wonderful time. Dinner was one of the best we'd ever had and it was a great way to start our anniversary celebrations. I couldn't imagine a better date with my wonderful Husband! 

Waiting for Pumpkin

I'll never forget when I got the text message from Bridget that she was in labor and at the hospital. The day I had been anxiously awaiting was finally here. I went into full panic mode, I had to get to the hospital, I called my Mom from the subway platform to let her know the time was here, pumpkin was coming! Of course this happened to be the one day that I was stuck in Manhattan for work. If I had been working from home I could have left at any point. All day I was a nervous and anxious wreak waiting for updates on how Bridget was doing and when pumpkin would be arriving. I never left go of my phone. I spent most of the day in radio silence with no updates. Finally right before it was time for to leave the city I finally got an update around 3:00, Bridget was 4-5 cm, so I hadn't missed anything yet. I impatiently headed back to Jersey to pack my bag up and get ready to drive to Long Island. I drove right to the hospital.

When I got there I was able to see Bridget, she was doing wonderfully. I learned that she had gone into labor early Wednesday morning, little did we know, and poor Bridget, that she would be in labor for a full 24 hours before little pumpkin finally arrived.  Bridget was doing great, such a trooper, drugs are good too. She was in some pain earlier in the day but the epidural quickly helped with that and she was feeling good, having contractions every 2-3 minutes. When the doctor came in around 8:15pm she was moving along and up to 9 cm. The doctor also sat her straight up to get the baby's head to drop a little bit more. At that point it created a bit more pressure so we left Bridget to labor, the next time we would see her is when she was a Mommy.

The gang all gathered by this point, around 8:30, as we awaited updates, which only seemed to be coming through Johnny's friend Joe D, whom Johnny texted with frequent updates while the rest of waited in suspense. We heard only 20 more minutes throughout the night continuously. As we tried to amuse ourselves in the waiting room downstairs we were quite the rambunctious bunch at times, trying to find things to watch or fill the time. 20 more minutes quickly turned in several more hours. Finally close to midnight we found out they would start pushing soon. Pushing was no easy feat as little Gabriella didn't quite want to come out and it took Mom 2 hours, but she was such a trooper and had a great coach in Johnny (and the doctor) she told us later.

As it neared the end, we went up to wait in the hallway outside the Labor & Delivery wing, all 8 of us in the hallway, and another 3 back behind the door who we also got updates through. When Johnny came out and told us in his typical Johnny fashion, "we're f****ed, it's a girl" proudly smiling. Mom, Dad and Baby were all perfect and that is how Little Gabriella arrived in this world :-)

 The proud dad coming out to tell us - And Grandma too!

She is clearly a good mix of her parents already, she arrived on time, like her Mommy always does, but didn't want to come out, that was clearly her Daddy's trait. But after 2 hours of pushing from midnight till 2am, Gabriella graced us with her beautiful presence. This is clearly going to be on loved and spoiled little girl. She had a huge fan club waiting for her arrival, and no one was the least bit bothered by the long wait, it was well worth it for all, for even just a short glimpse of her as she passed us in the hallway on the way to the nursery.

Gabriella Ann born October 6th at 2:01 am, 8 lbs 10 oz, 10 fingers, 10 toes and beautiful with a full head of hair too!

Apple Picking 2011

Apple picking is an annual tradition in our household, it's practically a holiday. For the past 6 years we've made the trek up to New Paltz, New York to go to Wrights Apple Farm. Last year the six of us crammed into Mike's car, which was not very comfortable as well all remember. So this year I got to ride in the trunk of Chris' car which was surprisingly comfortable. They always stick the little person in the trunk, I'm used to it by now, they almost left me in there a couple times but I got out!

When we arrived this year we were shocked to see it so packed. In the six years we've been going there we've never seen so many people there at once. Of course it was probably because we've had some bad weather and this was the first real nice day to go apple picking so everyone wanted to take advantage. Once we waited in the long line to get our bag we were off to the orchard. Unfortunately the bad weather also resulted in some muddy apple fields which then also lead to there being mosquitos. We got eaten alive out there, Mike got one right on his forehead.

 Christ & Mike looking for the perfect apples

 I had some trouble reaching

One we got past the muddy fields, which stunk so bad, the mosquitos, and the heat, we were all sweating, we were able to pick some great apples, and have fun doing so. After all the picking and we had stopped at the farm stand to stock up on goodies, like delicious cider donuts, apple cider and maybe even a small pie we headed into town to go to dinner. I think though next year we'll be trying a new restaurant after two years of bad service at this place. But it was another successful and fun apple picking adventure!

Early Birthday Gifts

There's no question that Rocky is one spoiled pup. Every time he sees his grandparents they've both got new toys waiting for him and all the love an affection in the world for him. No exception to this was last weekend when we went home to visit my parents they had a birthday present for the little guy. Knowing the die hard Yankee fan he is when they saw this baseball bat they knew that Rocky had to have it. Not only does it have a squeaker (which is still going a week later), but the bat part of it makes noise. It says "Let's Go Yankess, Ruff, Ruff, Ruff-Ruff-Ruff." It's hysterical, every time Rocky makes it go off when you're least expecting it, it cracks me up! And he also got some tasty peanut butter treat in his own new snoopy bowl to keep at Grandma's house. Here he is enjoying his new presents!

Tourist Attractions List

I recently stumbled on an article on the, "50 Most Popular Tourist Attractions In The World" and I thought it would be fun to see how many of them I had been to, turns out I've been to more of them than not, which is pretty impressive considering I'm only 28. There's only 20 that I haven't been to (well plus 5 in London, but I've been to London twice, we just didn't go to those particular museums) ok so really 25 I suppose, but that's still half of the list that I have been to. It would be pretty cool to hit all 50 on the list one day :-)

1. Times Square, New York City, NY, USA
2. National Mall & Memorial Parks, Washington, D.C., USA
3. Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA
4. Trafalgar Square, London, England, UK
5. Disneyland Park, Anaheim, CA, USA
6. Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada & New York State, USA
7. Fisherman’s Wharf / Golden Gate National Area, San Francisco, CA, USA
8. Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea, Tokyo, Japan
9. Notre Dame de Paris, Paris, France
10. Disneyland Paris, Marne-La-Vallee, France
11. Great Wall of China, Badaling area, China
12. Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee/North Carolina, USA
13. Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan
14. Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre, Paris, France
15. Musee du Louvre, Paris, France
16. Everland, Kyonggi-Do, South Korea
17. The Forbidden City/Tienanmen Square, Beijing, China
18. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
19. Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure, Orlando, FL, USA
20. Sea World Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
21. Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, England, UK
22. Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea
23. Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, Japan
24. Hong Kong Disneyland, Hong Kong, China
25. Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
26. Tate Modern, London, England, UK
27. British Museum, London, England, UK
28. Universal Studios, Los Angeles, CA, USA
29. National Gallery, London, England, UK
30. Metropolitan Museum, New York, NY, USA
31. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA
32. Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark
33. Ocean Park, Hong Kong, China
34. Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay, FL, USA
35. Sea World California, San Diego, CA, USA
36. Statue of Liberty, New York, NY, USA
37. The Vatican (Vatican Square), Vatican City
38. Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia
39. The Coliseum, Rome, Italy
40. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
41. Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood (Los Angeles), CA, USA
42. Empire State Building, New York, NY, USA
43. Natural History Museum, London, England, UK
44. The London Eye, London, England, UK
45. Palace of Versailles, France
46. Yosemite National Park, California, USA 
47. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
48. Pompeii, Italy
49. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
50. Taj Mahal, Agra, India

Grown Up Hamburger Helper

Growing up we ate a lot of Hamburger Helper, not because my mom wasn't a good cook but because we were picky eaters and I'm sure between shuttling us around all over the place there wasn't always time for a complicated recipe that we might not eat. Matthew and I always loved our hamburger helper anyway. Once I made this recipe I knew right away this was something my Dad and my brother would love to eat. It was like a grown up but only better homemade hamburger helper type recipe, only minus the processed cheese and artificial ingredients. And the fact that it was so easy to make and everything cooked in one pan, including the pasta, made this a huge win. I would def make this for my Dad and brother, I know they'd love it as much as I did!

Cheesy Chili Mac 
Source & Photo By: The Jey of Cooking

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
1 Onion, minced
1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1 Tbsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Salt
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1 Lb. Ground Beef
2 Cups Water
1 15 oz. Can Tomato Sauce
2 Cups. Pasta
1 15 oz. Can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. Can Diced Tomatoes, drained
4 oz. Cream Cheese, softened (I used fat free)
2 Cups Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend
1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped

Heat a 12 inch skillet over medium and add the oil.  Heat until shimmering.  Add the onion, chili powder, cumin and salt to the pan.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and brown sugar and cook an additional 1 minute.  Add the ground beef and cook through. Stir in the water and tomato sauce then add the pasta and stir again.  Cover and increase heat to medium-high.  Cook until al dente, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the tomatoes and black beans, then the cream cheese and stir until the cream cheese is incorporated. Remove the pan from the heat and add 1 cup of cheese.  Stir until combined.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and cover.  Let stand for 2 minutes, until the cheese has melted.   Top with cilantro and garnish with sour cream, if desired.

A Healthy Classic

This is one recipe I can see myself making for years to come, it's a classic, and yet so easy to make and the best part is this one is made healthier. Mike didn't even realize that it was a low fat version of the original classic. I love the way the chicken cutlets come out just lightly fried in a touch of oil and then baked in the oven to get them more crispy. The chicken cooks perfectly with the required timing. I love making this recipe and even better I love having leftovers of the chicken breasts!

Oven Fried Chicken Parmesan 
Source: Cooking Light 

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Cooking spray
1/2 cup jarred tomato-basil pasta sauce
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 450°.  Combine first 3 ingredients in a shallow dish; place egg whites in a bowl. Place panko in a shallow dish. Dredge 1 breast half in flour mixture. Dip in egg whites; dredge in panko. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken, flour mixture, egg whites, and panko. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Turn chicken over; cook 2 minutes. Coat chicken with cooking spray; place pan in oven. Bake at 450° for 5 minutes. Turn chicken over; top each breast half with 2 tablespoons sauce, 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano, and 3 tablespoons mozzarella. Bake 6 minutes or until chicken is done.

Fall Cooking

It's no big secret how much Mike and I love the fall. From the weather, to the colors, to our annual apple picking trip, and more, it's absolutely our favorite season. I love after we go apple picking all the apple recipes galore I bake up.

As I love to read a lot of food blogs to get all my inspiration from, recently I came across one that featured a recipe swap with other food bloggers. I love reading the posts of all the different recipes with the same theme and I couldn't help but want to join once I saw the latest theme was going to be "fall - apples & pumpkin." This would mean a new fall recipe to try, one I've never come across before. I'm not a big pumpkin person so I did request something with apples if possible. In exchange I submitted my Apple Butter Pound Cake for someone else to try.

When I got my recipe exchange I was so excited to see what it would be. I was given a Bacon and Apple Cheddar Pie from the blog the Jey of Cooking. I was so happy to get something with apples versus pumpkins but at the same time at first I wasn't sure if it was a dessert or meant for a side dish with dinner? I was def intrigued. I would have never thought to make a traditional apple pie with bacon and cheddar, but what a great addition it must be. Funny enough as I was writing this post and I had the recipe up, Mike came by my desk and leaned over to see what I was doing. When he saw the recipe, he said "woah, bacon in an apple pie? that's a weird combination."

Then I started thinking though that we don't really eat much dessert and Mike might not eat a whole pie, and with the cruise coming  up and trying to fit into bathing suits was there a way I could slightly alter it so maybe it wouldn't be a dessert and would be more of a dinner item. I worried a little though that I would stray too much from the idea of the recipe swap but maybe this is the underlying point though too, to see what type of twist someone would put on a recipe. I'm sure either way would be good to make a tried and true recipe or putting your own twist. In the end I decided to make mine slightly different and make it more into a quiche, which could be for breakfast or why not a sweet treat for dinner.

I really did want to try the pie because I bet it is delicious, it just didn't seem practical to make and keep in the house for the time being and I didn't want to waste it. So I decided to keep the flavor profile the same and adapt it into a quiche. I had recently made a low fat caramelized onion, mushroom and gruyere quiche so I used the same pie crust, since it was so easy to make, and then used the egg filling amount.

Apple, Bacon, Cheddar Quiche 
Inspired By & Adapted From: The Jey of Cooking and FoodNetwork

Ingredients
For the crust: (I kept these the same for the crust)
Cooking spray
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons cold, lowfat buttermilk

For the Quiche (I used the same proportions for the eggs and milk)
3 large eggs
3 egg whites
1 cup evaporated fat-free milk (not condensed milk)

For the Filling
3 small apples peeled and cubed
¼ cup minced shallots
1 tbsp. butter
¼ cup flour
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
Zest of One Lemon
2 tsp brown sugar

For the Topping
1/2 Package Center Cut Bacon
2 tbsp flour
4 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 cup Shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray. To prepare the crust, put the oats, flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 3 times to combine. Add the butter and pulse about 12 times, until you get a pebbly course texture. Add the buttermilk and pulse 3 to 5 times more to combine. Form the mixture into a ball and place it between 2 large pieces of waxed paper. Roll out into a circle about 10 inches in diameter. Remove the top sheet of waxed paper. Transfer the crust, still on the other piece of waxed paper to the pie dish, then remove the waxed paper from the top. Press the crust gently into the dish. Bake for 9 minutes, then let cool.

In medium skillet, sauté apples and shallots in butter until soft (about 8-10 minutes). Stir in flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy.  When bacon is cool to the touch, crumble and set aside. Combine flour, brown sugar and butter cubes in a medium bowl.  Using your fingers, pinch the butter into the flour and sugar until crumbly.  Stir in the bacon and cheese and refrigerate.  (This part can be made up to 2 days before use).

In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, egg whites and evaporated milk. Toss apples with sugar and lemon zest.  Transfer to the pie crust and pour egg mixture on top and sprinkle bacon mixture on top. Bake until firm and knife comes out clean (about 45-50 minutes).

In the end I think my good intentions of making something unhealthy and trying to turn it into something somewhat healthier probably backfired on me. I might have just been better off making the apple pie. Once I added in some of the sugar, and the butter and the bacon, it probably wasn't all that healthy. However it was a fun fall recipe to make that I never would have made . I'm planning to serve it tomorrow for lunch when everyone comes over for apple picking!