Keep Calm and Carry On: The Diary of Foodie and Gourmet

A few weekends ago, I enjoyed a really fun and low key date night with my boyfriend (R) at Le Midi Bistro. This little French eatery is located right around the corner from my apartment and it's somewhere I have been dying to try for a very long! 11 E 13th St, NYC I have been walking past this restaurant for nearly two years, since it was on my way home from class (remember, I used to be a student at NYU!) Every evening, I would walk home and I would always pause for a few minutes outside of Le Midi and peer in. I wasn't reading the menu, well not usually… I was, in fact, watching whatever movie was playing above the bar! Yep! Every night, Le Midi screens old movies above their bar, with subtitles. I enjoyed watching bits of Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn (a fellow Bryn Mawr alum), Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Lawrence Olivier, and many many more iconic actors!  About a month ago, my boyfriend and I were walking around my neighborhood and we walked ...

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to see "The Audience" on Broadway with my parents. We are all Anglophiles and massive Helen Mirren fans, so we were rather looking forward to seeing this play.   "The Audience" is a play that focuses upon the many meetings Queen Elizabeth II has had with a dozen prime ministers throughout her reign. I did not know this, but apparently, every Tuesday evening, the Queen meets with the Prime Minister. At these meetings, the PM updates the Queen on current and future events. In the play, Helen Mirren met with the following Prime Ministers: - Winston Churchill (in office 1940~1945, 1951~1955) - Anthony Eden (in office 1955~1957) - Harold Wilson (in office 1964~1970, 1974~1976) - James Callaghan (in office 1976~1979) - Margaret Thatcher (in office 1979~1990) - John Major (in office 1990~1997) - Gordon Brown (in office 2007~2010) - David Cameron (2010 ~ present) The Queen and her Prime Ministers I thought ...

Last night, my boyfriend and I baked brownies for his office. We thought it would be a nice treat, considering how hard everyone works and we had so much fun baking! Also, it should be noted, this was the first time he had ever baked brownies, so I was really excited to share this moment with him.  My boyfriend is in the television business, a very demanding line of work. He works for the reality TV show "Southern Charm" and the time commitment is remarkable, at least in my opinion. I didn't realize how much effort goes into making a TV show, and frankly, I have a new found respect for television.  I have become a fan of his show --- it has become my guilty pleasure --- and I have not missed an episode yet! It's one thing to just enjoy his show, but I also know what goes on behind the scenes and the amount of stress, time, and chaos that accompanies each episode. That said, this was my "thank you" to him and his co-workers, for all of their hard w...

Last Wednesday, I had the great pleasure of visiting the Union Square Green Market. The weather is starting to get warmer, so the farmers are back! Hooray! I always enjoy visiting the market and invariably leave with more than I intended to buy. This recent visit was particularly special because I got to visit my friends at Sawkill Farm. I've written about Sawkill Farm in the past , but here is a little blurb about this awesome farm. Sawkill Farm is owned by the wonderful Michael and Kallie Robertson. They raise animals, all grass fed and pasture raised, and the quality of their meat is absolutely phenomenal! I believe that Sawkill Farm serves the best quality and tasting meat, and I highly recommend their products! Recently, Kallie has begun to make her own soaps, using animal fat, and she also makes chicken and beef stock from scratch.  Kallie on opening day Kallie's soaps Sawkill Farm has fantastic eggs! ($7 a carton) Chatting with a customer I end...

My boyfriend works in the evenings and due to his job, he orders dinner every night. We talk a lot and at some point in the evening, I inevitably ask "what are you ordering from seamless tonight?" I know he doesn't get a lot of home cooked meals, so I've been trying to make an effort to cook nice meals that he will enjoy.  This past weekend, I wanted to do something a little bit special and try a new recipe. In an effort to lose weight, I have been avoiding pasta, but I made an exception this weekend. My boyfriend loves pasta and I know he loves carbonara. I've never been a fan, because I've always found this dish heavy or creamy, but I was happy to find a recipe that looked light and delicious!  Not only was this pasta very easy to make, it was really really tasty! It was also wonderful to see how happy he was to have a meal that wasn't delivered by seamless. He seemed to enjoy my pasta -- he had two helpings -- and he told me it was really good....

Over the past few weekends, I have had the opportunity to play with a Phillips AirFryer. For those who are unfamiliar with this product, it's pretty cool. The AirFryer is a contraption, a little bit bigger than a coffee maker, which allows you to make fried foods, but without oil. Theoretically this machine allows one to make "healthier" fried foods. I first learned about the AirFryer back in December, when my boyfriend informed me that he bought one for his dad. (His dad had requested the item). I had never heard of this device, so I took to google. I was intrigued by the concept of frying foods without oil and was astounded to learn how the machine works. Essentially, like a convection oven, the AirFryer circulates heat in such a way that it cooks food evenly, whilst also crisping it. Very cool. Beyond frying foods, one can use the AirFryer to cook a whole assortment of things including: pork chops, chicken, and much more. (The machine comes with a cookbook and a c...

A few weekends ago, I had the great pleasure of enjoying a spot of afternoon tea with my best friend, who is basically my sister, and her mother. Afternoon tea, when done properly, is my absolute favorite meal ever, but in Manhattan, it's hard to come by.  When in London, I have my "go-to" afternoon tea spots and I am always eager to try new places. For me afternoon tea is always a highlight when I look back on my adventures in Britain. Although I love Manhattan, I have not been able to enjoy afternoon tea, like in England. I thought that Manhattan, being such a cosmopolitan melting pot, would have some good afternoon tea places, but I have been sorely disappointed. I've tried countless numbers of hotels, tea shops, British themed places…but I wasn't able to enjoy tea, like in London. That all changed when I enjoyed afternoon tea at the Crosby Street Hotel.  My best friend (H) and her mother (Mrs. A), were gracious enough to invite me to tea and I was mor...