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The day we decided to #followtherabbit for a free Dominque Ansel Cronut and Cookie Shot

For the first time in a long time, Mike and I had a day off together. We had no plans for Good Friday besides going to dinner with my cousins, and we figured we may wander the city and possibly take in a museum.

But then luck took a turn. Now first, to preface, we are HUGE Dominique Ansel fans (inventor of the Cronut) and have been since we had his jaw dropping desserts when he was the pastry chef for Daniel. I absolutely love his DKA, macarons, and the frozen s’more at his pastry shop in SoHo.

Torching the Frozen S’More

Dominique Ansel Frozen S’More on the bakery patio

Any time I have a visitor, I try to bring them to the shop for amazing pastries… even my (now 100 year old, as of yesterday) awesome Aunt Dinah.

(Aunt Dinah after enjoying her first DKA)

So where did luck come in to play on this Good Friday? I was sitting on the couch lazily scrolling through Instagram when I happened upon this post from @dominiqueansel:

http://instagram.com/p/m7qW9ElOKO/

It was about 10:40am and the first video posted indicated that they would be handing out a free Cronut and Cookie Shot to a few people near the Flatiron at 11am… and then would continue to post clues on Instagram and Twitter throughout the day under the hashtag #followtherabbit. They would be doing this until 5:30 with 7 locations throughout the city in celebration of the upcoming first cookbook from Dominique Ansel.

By 10:55, we were out the door and on our way… but where to?

We figured that by the time we got down to Flatiron (about a 25 minute walk), they would be gone. But I provided the driving school philosophy that if there is something in the road, you don’t know which way it’s going to move, so your best bet is to steer right towards it, figuring it will go SOME way to get out of the way (and you don’t want to guess wrong).

So we begin wandering in that direction, however, by about 11:20 we noticed in the comments that they were all out (and the internet trolls were very upset that the video was the clue to the exact location and the location mentioned was slightly off… people are so damn rude online!) We decided to pass by Flatiron and head down to Union Square, since it’s central and has lots of subways. As we strolled, we noticed that the next video was posted, saying they were now in China Town. So we decided “why not!” and jumped on the subway down to China Town and booked it to Confucius Plaza (a place we had never been), arriving about 20 minutes after the video posted. We couldn’t quite find them, and then we saw the mystical Dominque Ansel yellow pastry box and approached the people with the prize to ask how it went. They informed us we missed them by mere moments.

Dammit! But we were getting closer.

It seemed that they were posting every hour on the hour now, so we had some time to kill before the next post. We decided to take advantage of our day off and do something touristy we had always wanted to do, so we jumped on the 6 train and headed south below the Brooklyn Bridge Stop to get a gander at the abandoned subway station (the train turns around and heads back uptown at the end of the line).

Heading towards the abandoned subway station on the 6 train

Abandoned Subway Station below the last stop on the 6 train

We swung around the turn-around in the abandoned subway station (it was cool but I sure wish we could see a bit more!) and headed back uptown. I was thinking we should go to Union Square again for the same reason as last time (lots of subways there and centrally located) but Mike suggested we get off at Astor Place, so we went for it.

Cell phone service kicked back on right on the top of the hour, and that’s when we realized… They were in Union Square!

I am not embarrassed to say we bolted the 5 blocks there.

And we got there just in time… to watch the very last one be given away.

But now we knew what to look for! White bags and a bunny with an orange balloon.

It was sure a rascally rabbit! But we were having a blast running all over the city on a big treasure hunt.

So now we had another 50 minutes or so to kill. So we went around the Union Square Market, stopped in my favorite bathroom break hotel (the W at the north east corner of Union Square… just go right up the white spiraly staircase and you’re set). It was now 1:30 and we had a choice to make… where to now?

We started doing some total guess work, that we called “hunches.” They were hopping around mostly in squares. It was only a matter of time before they hit Washington Square Park, right? Or maybe they would go to Gramercy Park? Could they totally switch it up and head up to Central Park? We went with our first gut instinct and went to Washington Square Park.

And then as we rounded the corner toward the arch, we saw a magic thing. Before it was even posted, there were two lovely women with big white bags and a small furry bunny tied to an orange balloon. SCORE!

We were second on line and I Instagrammed a not-so-secret picture a full 25 minutes before the clue was posted.

I was so damn excited that we found them!

The video was posted at 2pm on the dot and then the prize was in hand.

They gave us our prized box and a couple special towels, and then were kind enough to take a picture of us with the bunny.

They even took a picture of us that they put on their site.

We hung out and watched the mayhem happen, as some people spotted the line and ran over with wonder in their eyes… and some tourists happened upon it and smartly jumped on the line just to see what it was (I hope they appreciated it!)

They were gone in less than 15 minutes.

So what was in the beautiful yellow box of fun?

Top left is a Passion Fruit Caramelia Chocolate (with cocoa nib sugar) cronut. Top right is a bottle of the Tahitian vanilla flavored milk. And on the bottom is a chocolate chip cookie shot, which is like a firm (but somehow still soft) cookie lined with a delicious chocolate icing that you then pour the milk into.

As I sampled and sipped, I couldn’t help but feel like the luckiest person on earth (or at least in NYC). We had an adventure all over the city, on a beautiful day, saw some great things, and now ended our tour by magically happening upon the exact right spot to get a special treat.

I thought it hysterical that we wouldn’t wait on the line for 2 hours for the pastry, however, we had no problem spending all day on a scavenger hunt around the city to get ourselves the famous cronut. Would it be worth a 2 hour wait at 6am in the morning? Come on… is anything? But it was quite delicious. I am not a huge donut fan, but to have one that had flaky layers filled with a passion fruit (but not too sweet) sauce and topped with a damn good icing was pretty awesome.

And the cookie shot? Really loved that! Novel and fun. By the end of the shot, the icing had come off a bit and had made the milk into chocolate milk. Delicious. (Though I would still probably go back for my original favorites)

What a day!

I can’t help but be grateful for the fun, unexpected day we got from Dominque Ansel. A lot of people think the Cronut is overhyped (it is) and that Dominque Ansel uses it for marketing (he does, but what’s so wrong with that?) and there were a lot of people who didn’t think this scavenger hunt was very fair (it wasn’t)… but people need to relax. This was great fun. And let the haters hate. I’m just going to lick my lips and remember the day we magically got Cronuts.

#followtherabbit

Can’t wait for that cook book!

Tags: #followtherabbit, adventure, chocolate chip cookie shot, cookie shot, cronut, dominique ansel, dominique ansel cook book, follow the rabbit, New York City, Pastry, scavenger hunt, washington square park

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Categories Celebrity Chefs, Eating Out, Food Events, The Best Of The Best

Fairway Market: Cooking with Lamb Demo (with recipes)

3 Feb

I was excited to receive an invitation to the “For the Love of Lamb” cooking demo at Fairway Cafe & Steakhouse. Not only did it sound like fun, but proceeds were going to a great cause, The Common Pantry. I immediately replied that I would love to attend and purchased a ticket for my husband, Mike, to join me.

I have been lucky enough to be invited to a few complimentary dinners, demos, and classes, and each and every one is very different. Some feel like they are constructed for the press, with photo opportunities throughout and bulleted fact sheets as we leave to help us write our posts. Those have their place, and it’s always fun to be exposed to these things that I would otherwise probably not have stumbled upon on my own.

This was a bit different. While “press” were invited, I would guess that most of the guests there were present for the sheer enjoyment of it (whether press or not) and greeting us with immediate glasses of bubbly helped make sure everyone had a good time from the start.

There were a few “brands” represented at the event, with a focus on Australian Lamb and Australian Wines.

This Stone Dwellers was a lovely sparkling wine that I really enjoyed. I am not a champagne fan, so I’m always on the lookout for something bubbly and celebration-y without tasting like dirt (sorry champagne lovers).

The cafe upstairs from the market was set up nicely, with simple white linens and nice red chairs, with all the ingredients out on a display table when we arrived.

Including a beautiful rack.

And a lovely leg.

As well as some plate garnishes, ready to go.

Our menu of the day looked scrumptious, with all things I love (lamb, fig, caesar, parnsnip turnip mash, roasted brussels, apple tart, chardonnay, pinot noir, and muscat… all on the list of my favorite things!)

(See recipes at the end of the post)

We were welcomed by a very nice woman who worked at Fairway and introduced us to a spokesperson for Australian Lamb (who just bubbled over with excitement about her product, which is always good to see and makes it so you can’t help but be excited as well) and Chef Vinnie, who apparently is self-taught and has been with Fairway for some time.

Vinnie wound up being a great teacher. Passionate and informational, with great tidbits but no over-explanation.

First tip: Press the rack into the hot pan to get a good, full sear, rather than letting it hang out and wait. The pan should be very, very hot and you only need about 1-2 minutes per side.

Next tip: Really press the breadcrumbs onto the mustard coating to make sure it really sticks.

So much that when he lifted it up, it (mostly) stayed put.

Then it went into the oven to cook while he started adding an herb mixture to the lamb leg.

Next tip: Always roast on very high heat. He quoted someone who taught him as saying that anything under 400 degrees F is “baking cupcakes.”

When the final dishes came out, he taught us how to cut up the rack (through each lolly pop it should slice really nicely).

And then fan it out with garnish.

The leg was bought boneless (for ease and cooking time, though chefs always seem to prefer cooking them on the bone), so it was wrapped in string, which he removed after roasting to show us how (unwrap… discard…)

But the key was holding it together as you slice so it plates nicely.

And then moving it all as one piece once sliced.

And yet again, use the “fan out.”

Both dishes, plated and ready to go!

Throughout the night, various wine experts spoke to us, including Joshua Wessen who was proclaimed to be a “wine guru.” He told us about the Stone Dwellers Sparkling Brut which contained chardonnay and pinot noir (my two favorites). Similar grapes as are in champagne, but similar to prosecco in preparation. They press the red grapes gently so the wine stayed white. Really nice.

We also tried a Paringa Sparkling Shiraz, which was also quite nice. Sweet but not too sweet and I had to agree with the expert that this could probably go with anything.

With our first lamb chop, we had the Yalumba “Y Series” Viognier 2012. This was one of (if not the?) oldest family owned wineries in the region, established in 1849. The vineyard has a huge respect for the Viognier grape from France and they worked with clones for 30 years in the nursery. The wine maker is Luisa Rose and it was obvious there was love in this wine.

Our chop was scrumptious. The great thing about lamb is that it is quite easy to prepare and doesn’t need a lot of ingredients to taste great. This was a great example of that. It was so easy when we watched him prep (even easier than I thought) and it tasted so special.

Our next wine was a Punt Road Chardonnay from 2011. This had a little woody and was a very nice balance of flavors. Punt Road was one of the first wineries outside of Melbourne.

It went very nicely with a slightly peppery caesar salad that was lightly dressed but had an ever so slight essence of anchovies (which I loved).

Our next wine was the Stone Dwellers Pinot Noir from 2011. It was an early ripening red and we heard a story about the wine maker who ran around the vineyard and he ran into a giant spider web and then a red bellied black snake in the long grass and in a fruit bin. It was a reminder that wine is a “living thing” and this wine was said to have been made with a lot of “love and danger.” It tasted great.

Next wine was Yalumba “The Scribbler” which was a Cabernet Shiraz blend from 2010. It’s a “baby” of their signature wine (which is apparently very expensive) and they blend it to soften it a bit. This went down reeaaaaalllll easy. We both really loved this wine.

They mentioned that they had served the two wines to give two different perspectives (if you’re keeping track, we are already up to 6 wines!)

The leg of lamb could not have been more flavorful, and it was well complimented by the Brussels and the root mash.

I loved the lardon on top of the sprouts.

For dessert, we had the Mitchel London’s Apple Tart with the Yalumba “Museum” Muscat NV. Both the tart and the muscat were fantastic separately and even better together. A great end to a great meal.

By the end of the night, we had tried (ok… fully consumed) seven wines, and they were all great, easy to drink wines. A really wonderful showcase of what is so good about Australian wines.

We just had so much fun at this event! The demo was great, informative, and interesting. The meal was absolutely delicious from start to finish and could have easily been served in one of the best restaurants in NY. I already was a lamb fan, but this definitely pushed me over the top and made me want to make it at home even more. We have dabbled in a few rack of lamb recipes when we found the racks on sale, but now I’m excited to try a leg of lamb and cook it for a dinner party.

And I will certainly be going straight to the Australian wine section in the near future.

Thanks Fairway!

While I did receive a complimentary ticket to this event, all opinions expressed are entirely my own and I was not required to write about this event. I just really wanted to, because it was pretty great.

Speaking of… they just emailed me to say that they are doing a special Valentine’s Day dinner. (Which at $45pp for Valentine’s Day seems like a steal to me compared to most places in this city). Here’s some more info from their press release if you want to go!

SAVOR LOVE WITH A DELECTABLE VALENTINE’S DAY DINNER AT

FAIRWAY MARKET CAFÉ & STEAKHOUSE ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2014

Chef Mitchel London’s Special Menu for Valentine’s Day:

Roasted Wild Mushrooms in Thyme and Garlic
Rack of Lamb with Parsnip & Turnip Puree
Crepe a la Crème Flambėed in Cointreau
Glass of Prosecco

$45 per person. Please call the Café at 212 994 9555 to make a reservation. Fairway Café & Steakhouse regular menu will also be available on February 14, 2014.

_________________________________________________

And here are all the recipes from the lamb demo:

Fairway Market: Cooking with Lamb Demo - Mustard Crusted Rack of Lamb

Ingredients

1 rack of lamb, trimmed (about 1.5 pounds)
Sea salt (to taste)
Black pepper (to taste)
2 TBS Fairway extra-virgin olive oil
2 TBD grainy mustard (like Fairway Moutarde en Grains)
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup seasoned panko breadcrumbs
1 TBS grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Season rack of lamb with salt and pepper
Heat a large skillet over high heat
When hot, add olive oil
When oil is smoking, add rack of lamb and brown well for about 3 minutes on each side
Set aside and let cool
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Mix together mustard and garlic
In separate bowl, mix together panko bread crumbs with parmesan cheese
Spread mustard mixture on lamb, coating all sides evenly
Pat breadcrumb mixture tight on all sides of lamb
Place rack of lamb on baking sheet
Roast for 12-15 minutes or until desired doneness
Let sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting into chops
(Serve with Easy Fig Chutney, see other recipe)

http://nycnomnom.com/2014/02/03/fairway-market-cooking-lamb-demo/

Unless otherwise stated, these recipes are owned by NYCNomNom.com and should not be duplicated without permission and links to this website and the original author

Fairway Market: Cooking with Lamb Demo - Easy Fig Chutney

Ingredients

1 lb fresh figs, like Artibel Italian (diced into 1/4" dice)
3 TBS onion marmalade, like Artibel Delice Red Onion Marmalade
4 TBS fig balsamic, like Artibel Fig Condiment and Balsamic Vinegar
1 TBS fig preserves, like Royal Preserve Purple Fig "Figue Violette"

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl
Mix well

http://nycnomnom.com/2014/02/03/fairway-market-cooking-lamb-demo/

Unless otherwise stated, these recipes are owned by NYCNomNom.com and should not be duplicated without permission and links to this website and the original author

Fairway Market: Cooking with Lamb Demo - Parsnip Turnip Mash

Ingredients

3 large turnips
6 large parsnips
3 yellow carrots
4 TBS unsalted butter
1 tsp Fairway honey
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp white pepper

Instructions

Peel all vegetables
Rough chop all vegetables (to about the same size)
Place all vegetables in a large sauce pot completely emerged in water
Season water with a pinch of salt
Bring water to a boil
Boil for 10 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender
Strain water and place vegetables in a large mixing bowl
Add butter to vegetables while veggies are hot
Add honey
Season with salt and white pepper
Using a potato masher, mash all ingredients together

http://nycnomnom.com/2014/02/03/fairway-market-cooking-lamb-demo/

Unless otherwise stated, these recipes are owned by NYCNomNom.com and should not be duplicated without permission and links to this website and the original author

Fairway Market: Cooking with Lamb Demo - Whole Roasted Leg of Lamb

Ingredients

2 sprigs fresh rosemary
5 or 6 sprigs fresh thyme
5 or 6 sprigs fresh oregano
5 or 6 sprigs fresh chives
1 TBS minced garlic
1/2 cub Fairway extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 TBS grainy mustard, like Fairway Moutarde en Grains
4-5 lb boneless leg of lamb
1 TBS sea salt
1 tsp course black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Chop all herbs
Mix herbs and garlic with olive oil, lemon juice, and mustard to make herb marinade, set aside
Season lamb with salt and pepper
Use 1/2 of the herb marinade and rub evenly over the lamb
Let lamb marinate for 30 minutes
Remove all visible herbs from lamb (to prevent burning) and place in roasting pan
Roast lamb for 30 minutes on 450 degrees and then drop oven down to 350 degrees and continue to cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour (for rare)
Remove lamb from oven and, while hot, rub on the rest of the herb marinade
Let lamb rest for 15 minutes before carving and serving

http://nycnomnom.com/2014/02/03/fairway-market-cooking-lamb-demo/

Unless otherwise stated, these recipes are owned by NYCNomNom.com and should not be duplicated without permission and links to this website and the original author

Fairway Market: Cooking with Lamb Demo - Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

1/2 lb thick-sliced bacon
1.5 lbs Brussels Sprouts
1/4 cup Fairway extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots
6 oz. roasted chestnuts
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Cook bacon on a bacon sheet until crispy
Remove bacon from oven, reserve all fat drippings
Chop bacon into 1/4 inch pie, set bacon aside
Raise oven to 400 degrees F
Clean Brussels sprouts by cutting off bottom stem and outer leaves
Do not discard outer leaves: Set aside and toss with half of the olive oil
Place leaves on sheet tray and roast in oven for 10 minutes or until leaves are browned and crispy, set aside
Once Brussels sprouts are cleaned, stand them on the side you cut the stem and slice them thin, almost shaving them
Thinly slice shallots
Place shaved Brussels and shallots in mixing bowl
Add in bacon drippings, chestnuts, remainder of olive oil, salt, and pepper
Place shaved Brussels sprout mixture on a large sheet try and spread out evenly
Do not overcrowd the tray, use 2 trays if necessary
Roast at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes until nicely browned
Once removed form the oven, toss together with chopped bacon
Garnish each portion with the roasted leaves

http://nycnomnom.com/2014/02/03/fairway-market-cooking-lamb-demo/

Unless otherwise stated, these recipes are owned by NYCNomNom.com and should not be duplicated without permission and links to this website and the original author

Tags: apple tart, aussie lamb, australian lamb, australian wine, cabernet shiraz, caesar salad, chardonnay, chef vinnie olivieri, comp, cooking events, cooking tips, easy lamb recipe, fairway, fairway cafe, fairway cafe and steakhouse, fig chutney, how to cook lamb, lamb, lamb demo, lamb recipes, leg of lamb, leg of lamb recipe, mitchel london, museum muscat, paringa, pinot noir, punt road, rack of lamb, rack of lamb recipe, sparkling brut, sparkling shiraz, stone dwellers, The Common Pantry, the scribber, viognier, y series, yalumba, yalumba museum muscat

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Categories Cooking, Eating Out, Food Events, Product Reviews, Quick Tips, The Best Of The Best, Wine

A Photo Tour of Thanksgiving 2013

22 Jan

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, as mentioned a few times before. This post is a collection of my favorite pictures from Thanksgiving 2013.

This year I paid special attention to the pies, with a new crust, which I didn’t like the taste/flake enough to recommend, though it sure rolled out well and made for a great lattice top.

And since Thanksgiving fell on Chanukah this year, we did a special themed pie. (and boy do I love the color the apples turn after soaking in red wine).

I had leftover dough and made some mini pecan pies.

One part of the adventure for us is that we have to get from our apartment in midtown west to Grand Central Station in midtown east… which means crossing through the parade route at the very time that the parade is wrapping up.

It is always a harrowing trip, but this year I got creative and used my cupcake transporter as a double-decker pie transporter. Worked like a charm (though I did tape the entire thing together out of fear that it would break open).

Upon arrival, we were greeted by more appetizers than anyone could ever imagine (amazing what happens when you feed 40 people every year as a family).

My dad makes these guacamole shrimp toasts which I always enjoy.

And our hosts make some delicious figs with blue cheese and almonds.

These mini meatballs are always a star of the day, served in the same copper pot every year since I can remember (and maybe even since my father can remember).

The table settings are always beautiful.

And we always know where to sit.

Our hosts’ double oven sure comes in handy when we are reheating 8 different dishes at once.

And this year, they made the turkeys themselves! (We usually have them made for us)

Two big, beautiful birds.

With two odd birds assigned to carving each year (that’s my cousin Eric and aunt Linda).

Drum sticks (I dove in last year and they weren’t great… so I chose not to this year and heard they were fantastic… damn)

A beautiful carcass.

And once everything is carved, the full spread comes out. This year we had new brussels sprouts, macaroni and cheese, and a bourbon pecan kugel to celebrate Thanksgivukkah.