Hooks Hooks and more Hooks

Since I don't have a coat closet in my house. I created a hook wall

Here are are two that I recently added to my collection

Now, not only do I have a place to hang my coats but I'm finding some original pieces that make me smile.
There will be other changes coming to this entrance way. Please stay tuned....

It's awesome you stopped by!
Thanks
XOXO
E

The Tarry Tavern

This weekend I went to the Tarry Tavern with some friends http://www.tarrytavern.com/. The atmosphere is both homey reminiscent of your local bar and elegance of a high end restaurant.  They even have 2 sides to the menu. One side is bar food taken up a notch or two. The other side is more of a higher scale seasonal food. Both sides have their surprises. Like Mac and Cheese with Crab meat and truffle oil (barish side) or Mediterranean Branzini Sweet Fennel Puree, Citrus Salad & Olive Tapenade (resturant side). We started with a Roasted Beets & Mache Lemon Ricotta, Golden Raisin Puree & Pepitas
Burratta Cheese Fig Jam, "Pomme Paille" & Port Reduction. We ate up the Burratta Cheese before I started snapping pictures sorry....Take my word for it.. it was really good!
.

Our main dishes were Warm Portuguese Octopus & Potatoes Arugual, Kalamata Olives & Lemon Aioli

The Octopus was grilled to perfection. The Olives added a balance to the pepperiness of the Arugula.
We also had Maine Sea Scallops with a Asparagus Risotto

The Sea Scallops were tender and the Risotto was creamy without being overly cheesy with bits of Asparagus. And the last dish was Braised Short Rib of Beef

The Short Rib was melt in your mouth and the polenta super creamy
And take a look at our desserts Chocolate Bread Pudding, Blueberry Rhubarb Crumble and Warmed Chocolate Cake

The Bread Pudding was rich and yummy the Chocolate had the right touch with out being overwhelming. The Blueberry Rhubarb crumble had just the right balance between sweet and tart. I was disappointed with the chocolate cake. It was dry and gummy. But the vanilla ice cream was yummy.
I highly recommend this place. And if you do you really should try their Roasted Bone Marrow Shallot-Garlic Confit & Toast. I had this the first time I went to the Tavern. It was pretty outstanding and super rich. Don't miss it!

It's awesome you stopped by
Thank you
XOXO
E

Pallets and more Pallets

I was reading this blog piece.
 http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2011/05/being-original-takes-guts-and-more.html

Oh My God!! I loved her work before I read this piece. Now I'm am really in love. Most of the stuff she has made is from pallet wood. Really awesome work. Super great ideas. I already wanted to get my hands on some pallets to create my bins for the compost out back. Now ideas abound and I really want to do other projects. Gotta get me some pallets. LOL

Thanks for stopping by
XOXO
E

Duck Eggs oh so Yummy!!!

I got introduced to Duck eggs last year at the Union Square Market. I just love going there, you can find so many different things not available at the grocers. This year at my most beloved craig's list there was a post from someone selling Duck eggs close to my area. Oh boy was I a happy girl. Look at these beauties. The ones with the EB stamped on them are chicken eggs.

Now you would think bigger egg more egg white. Nope that is why I love Duck eggs so much, There is more yolk. And being the yolker that I am. I am just in heaven. See the comparsion in color and size.
Chicken egg's yolk is pale yellow

Duck egg's the yolk is almost orange!

Here is my favorite way to eat them.

You guess it.... fried so I can enjoy that yummy thick yolk to all it's glory. Ahhhh so good....... so yummmyy!!!!

Thanks for stopping by
XOXO
E

Tasting Notes

About once a month Marco's has a high end wine tasting. Unlike the free saturday tastings these ones are fee based. He started it to have his customers have the ability to taste wine usually out of their price range. Most of the time the fee is $55.00 and you get to learn about and taste wines in the $100-$150 dollar range. This time he held a tasting for wines that he wanted to bring into the store so these where in the $40 to $55 range. We paid $35 for the tasting. So without further ado here are my tasting notes.

The Davis Family 2007 Pinot Noir. This one surprised me. I usually don't like Pinot Noir. I find them to watery for the most part. But this one had some body to it. It had a nice brownish color with cherry notes and a slight smooth finish

The Kunin 2007 Zinfandel was Black Red in color, strawberry notes Awesome finish.

Davis Family 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. The color was a black brown with vanilla notes and a dry cherry finish

The Outpost 2007 Petite Sirah. It had a black red color with very rich dark friut favors blackberry unfiltered wine. This wine goes great with lamb

Lodola Nuova Vino Noble Montepuliciano This one comes from 75 years old vines. It was dark red with  pepper and strawberry notes. A super well rounded wine. This would have been sooooo great with a steak. Hmmmm I might have to start bringing  food to these higher end tasting.

All in all I enjoyed each one. I just can't pick a favorite. What I really enjoyed was that you could just pop these open enjoy the first glass while you let the rest of the bottle breath and go back for your second cup and really have a super dupper glass of wine. If you are intested in any of these and can't find them in your area Marco would be more than happy to ship. http://marcovino.com/ Sorry dad not to PR. But let know if you like any and I'll have them waiting for you when you come.

Thanks for stopping by
XOXO
E

Whole life living

I've been going to a health for the last couple of months. She is the greatest. The philosophy that she teaches is not just on the eating but your whole life, like your environment and thoughts. Thur her I have discovered that my meals didn't always have to include a side of cow. I've learned that chicken is not as yucky as I thought when I buy organic. Then the chicken can be quite tasty. I have had tons of fun experimenting with all types of grains. I've learned that I must and I mean must have time to craft so I can be happy. I've learned that I need to have a minimum of 15 minutes every morning to linger over coffee so I can start my day right. And the major break though came this weekend I that am actually starting to be kind to myself. Here is her link if you would like to know more www.livepurebycrista.com.  She does do consults over the phone for those who think they are to far away to benefit from this. I highly recommend at least checking her out. And yes ....she walks her talk!

Thanks for stopping by
XOXO
E

A Mother's Day Celebration

Happy Mother's Day!!

The family got together to celebrate Mother's day and we all had a wonderful time. Of course we had some really wonderful food. Here is a some pictures of the appetizers and yes it was as yummy as it looks.

Aren't these labels for the cheese just to cute for words. I just loved them. I'll be on the look out for them on my trips to Home Goods
Here is a Sangria I made.

It was so refreshing and not very sweet. And if you think you are looking at basil you're right.... It gave the Sangria a really nice crisp taste. Here is the link to the recipe if you are interested in making it yourself... http://www.marthastewart.com/317946/summer-fruit-sangria
For the main course we had a Veggie Lasagna with Bechamel Sauce

It was just perfectly light and Meatballs

They were super juicy just the way a meatball should be. And this salad

It was suppose to be a Radicchio salad with Goat Cheese but when I went to the supermarket they were all out. So I got a mix of Romaine and Radicchio Here is the link for the recipe I used. http://www.marthastewart.com/312737/radicchio-goat-cheese-and-hazelnut-salad
We had an awesome Strawberries over pound cake for dessert. I was too busy digging in, that I forgot to take pictures. So just believe me when I say, it looked beautiful and tasted as wonderful as it sounds.

Hope everyone enjoyed Mother's Day!!

Thanks for stopping by
XOXO
E