Sunday dinner

Since we were totally craving some of our nyc meals, we tried re-creating one of them tonight. Instead of hangar steak, we used ribeye.
For the ribeye-
put the steak on a plate with a generous amount of salt and pepper and canola oil (or olive oil)and let sit for about 15-30 minutes to get the chill off. Meanwhile, get a grill really hot. Cook on each side for about 5 minutes for medium rare. Let sit after cooking for another 10-15 minutes before slicing.
For the sauce-
melt two tablespoons of butter. Once melted, add one tablespoon of flour and whisk in. Add 1/4 cup of marsala wine. Then add 1 cup of beef broth/stock. Keep whisking until fully incoporate. Season to taste and add 1 teaspoon dried thyme. Right before serving, add 1/4 cup cream or 1/2 and 1/2.
For the aspargus-
drizzle with oil and add salt/pepper. Grill for about 5 minutes, or until slightly charred. Add more oil, salt/pepper if desired.
For the potatoes-
Using a madoline, slice yukon gold potatoes 1/4 inch thick. We used 2 pounds of potaotes. Place in a baking dish. Toss with garlic salt, pepper, and olive oil, making sure it is all mixed in. Cover dish with aluminum foil (heavy duty) and bake in a 375 degree oven for one hour. Once fully cooked, add freshy grated parmesan cheese to the potatoes and enjoy!

It wasn't quite up to par with Odeon, but it was darn tasty! And easy enough to make, I had time to get a couple more dinners/lunches ready for the week. Hope everyone has a great week!!

I heart NY

I thought I liked New York City before, but after this trip, I have a whole other appreciation for this city. We went with the mentality of getting away from it all. Work has been really stressful on both of us this year, and we really needed a break. This vacation was so perfect! Even the rainy, cold weather couldn't dampen our spirits. We had so much fun in fact, we are thinking of changing of going back over the summer! Thanks again to our wonderful family for letting us stay with them :)

tenjune

We had fun going to tenjune and pretending for an hour like we were part of the "scene"...but it was too much work and we couldn't relax! It is a fun place, but next time I'd go with more people and dress up more! Not that we weren't dressy, but I guess suits and mini-dresses is more the style there. Of all the bars and clubs in the Meatpacking district, I'm not sure tenjune is worth a return visit. Although if you are a single guy, it's a great place to look at models.

Magnolia bakery...worth the hype??

Yes! They were so good! Normally cupcakes are only good for the icing, but these puppies were good head-to-toe! So go...get some!

Oysters and Chowder

We couldn't leave New York without going to Grand Central Station (every time I say or write that, I can't help but think of the Lady Gaga/Beyonce song). We took the subway there and parked ourselves at the Grand Central Oyster Bar. I had a dozen bluepoints and Ryan had a bowl of clam chowder. Both things were good, but not worth the ridiculous cost!

Last day...lunch in China Town

Thanks to another great tip from Uncle Don, we went to the Golden Unicorn for dim sum for lunch. After stumbling into an entirely different world (were we still in nyc?), we got to the Golden Dragon. We only had to wait a few minutes to get seated. Once we did, the food arrived faster than our waters. Cart after cart rolled by with interesting and fascinating dishes. The smell of onions, pork, garlic, and seafood permeated the restaurant. We immediately started choosing our dishes (by pointing, since neither of our Mandarin skills are up to par). Everything we got was superb. Before we knew it, we were totally stuffed and had to throw in the towel. The best part was the price, we ate and ate and ate, and we spent less than $20. Great place!

Spotted Pig...go there

The number one place I would return to in NYC is the Spotted Pig. It's located in the West Village and is really a unique, but terrific place. The atmosphere is great and the food is even better. They had organic, local hard cider (yum) and an eclectic without trying too hard menu. We had champ (something we make all the time at home now...basically mashed potatoes with thinly sliced green onions), roasted pork served with a rustic olive tapenade, and gnudi made from ricotta cheese. It was all comforting and new at the same time. We highly recommend this place. They even have their own "chive whisperer" (we watched while their sous chef took 45 minutes to cut chives to make sure they were all the same size, it was weirdly captivating). The only downside of the Spotted Pig were their t-shirts for sale...$40 a pop, um no thanks!

http://thespottedpig.com/index.php