Birthday!

If you hadn't noticed, Red's taking the week off. Why? It's her birthday today! And with a short week for the Fourth, things are a little busy. Stick around--big news is on the way!

Food Porn

This weekend marks the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which celebrates the gift of the Torah. It's a beautiful holiday--Jews sing and dance with the Torah and it's one of our most upbeat holidays (nobody dies, nobody mourns, nobody fasts, nobody is persecuted, woo!) which makes it great fun all around. What I never really knew until this year is that the holiday is also marked by eating lots of dairy (none of the commentary I've read really explains why) and in the States, this tends to take two forms: blintzes and cheesecake. I have a soft spot for good homemade blintzes, but let's face it--cheesecake is even tastier and way easier to find/make. Today's food porn takes us to the reliable Jew-spot, Carnegie Deli, home of New York's best cheesecake (in my book, at least!) --if this doesn't whet your appetite for a dairy-crazy weekend, I'm not sure what will! Happy feasting, and as we say, Chag Sameach!

[photo via flickr]

Link of the Day

I've never been shy about the fact that I love myself a good, cheap meal--especially one that comes straight off the streets. And though Manhattan definitely offers a solid array of street food, traveling the world always shows how many cultures have yet to bring their mobile eats to the big apple. This article in the New York Times dining section yesterday brings a temporary solution, with several street fairs that are centered around celebrating less explored ethnic cuisines like Burmese, Indonesian, and Swedish. For more of a preview, see the full article here, but be sure to have a calendar handy--you'll certainly want to write some of these dates down!

[via NYT]

DIY Madness--Seder Plate

I promised you a late post tonight, but I didn't think it would be this late! Anyhow, I've spent the last few days cooking tirelessly for what I hope will be a beautiful Passover Seder tomorrow, and it occurred to me early on that I couldn't cook up some specific Passover essentials--namely, the Seder Plate and Elijah's Cup. One of those is being solved in a comical way (who said Elijah can't drink out of a Tiki Cup?) but the other required a real simple DIY project.


Cut up a cardboard box, wrap it in some foil, and glue on some cutouts, and you've got a basic Seder Plate. The aluminum tart trays finish it off at a mere $0.29 apiece, and I'm pretty happy with the final product, even if it reminds me of a grade school project!

Homemade Hamentashen

I owe you guys. Due to a series of technological failures yesterday, the gorgeous recipe for homemade hamentashen didn't make it online as planned. You see, yesterday was Purim, the Jewish cross between St. Patrick's Day and Halloween, and the holiday that warrants triangular cookies that are like little bites of heaven (that is, if heaven were dense and buttery and filled with jam). However, today is Purim in Jerusalem (weird scheduling things all around!) so the timeliness isn't entirely lost here.

Homemade Hamentashen


What You Need

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) cold butter or

margarine, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large egg whites beaten with 2 tsp

sugar

Jam (for the filling)

What You Do

Place flour, sugar, baking powder, salt in a food processor fitted with steel blades and pulse two or three times. Add butter and pulse to form crumbs. Combine eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla. Pour mixture into processor and pulse until dough clumps together. Put dough onto lightly floured surface and form into 2 disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour or up to three days.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, positioning the shelves in the lower and upper thirds. Line cookie sheets with parchment. Roll dough on a floured surface to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Using a three-inch cookie cutter, cut circles of dough and place on cookie sheets. Place about 1/2 tsp of filling in the center of each circle. Brush the perimeter of the circle with the egg white wash, and lift the dough, partially covering the filling to form a triangular shape. Brush the formed cookies with the egg wash and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown. To ensure even baking, rotate the sheets back to front and top to bottom. Remove from the oven and let cool before eating.

Tune in tomorrow for a similarly belated budget finds--we'll be back on schedule shortly!

Hearts Made of Hearts, Just For You...

I have to get something off my conscience--I had no intention to leave you all alone for the long weekend! With internet gripes beyond my control, though, I had no choice. I'm sorry, but not terribly so--the ski trip and family visit made the sacrifice very worthwhile!

To make it up to you, I give you a little bit of love leftover from V-day. Tipped over from a friend, I couldn't resist this cheeky anatomical heart made of little candy hearts.



I'm not sure what kind of person has the time to come up with something like this, but thank you Nathan Sawaya for your diligent and amusing efforts. If only this was for purchase, it would be the most perfect gift for TWB...

I hope, dear readers, that you'll accept this belated token of my love and appreciation for you. Check back in tomorrow for some great Budget Finds coverage!

Link of the Day

All this talk about Channukah has me really craving some latkes...

...but in the meantime, TastingTable put up this quirky little guide to Channukah food around the city. Basically, it seems, anything fried and delicious would count!

Click here to check it out.


And why do we eat fried foods on Channukah, you ask? Clearly, because back in the day, the Macabees made one day's oil last eight! What does this teach us? Use oil to fry up some latkes, then re-use it for more tomorrow! And again tomorrow! Or something like that...

DIY Madness--Shot Glass Menorah!

As I was gearing up for the onset of Chanukkah, I realized that I was lacking something very important... a menorah! I have tons and tons of candle-holding vessels around the apartment--at least 15 different votive holders, 2 pairs of very tall sculptural candle holders, Shabbat candle holders, you name it. But a menorah? That I was seriously lacking.

Committed to scrounging something up using a combination of the aforementioned vessels, I started counting up like kinds and figuring out what things I had eight of. With only six of any one kind at most, I knew I'd have to look elsewhere, when my gaze shifted to my tall shot glass collection (which, I swear, gets used mostly for egg cups. This reminds me that I need to buy egg cups). Eight votives in tow, I knew I had a solid foundation. A large inverted glass would serve as my shamash--the basics were covered.



But something seemed a little un-kosher about using shot glasses for religious purposes. Even though most Jewish holidays require some form of drinking or another, I set out to disguise my oh-so-college-appropriate contraption and make it, well, a little more grown up. Some scraps of wrapping paper, tape, and a piece of ribbon later, this is what came out.


The color choice could be tweaked for much cuter results--next year maybe I'll get double-sided wrap in dual tones! Ohhh, the possibilities...

Link of the Day

Channukah starts this Sunday, and even after all these years I still haven't quite decided how to spell it. However, Brooklyn designer Cheryl Berkowitz spells it almost exactly the opposite way as I do: Hanukkah. It's a real to-may-toe/to-mah-toe kind of thing, but it doesn't stop me from loving her super cool subway-inspired holiday cards.

The only thing I would change (other than the spelling)? I don't live in Brooklyn! Happy Channukah from Manhattan would be just perfect, though!


Cheryl's cards are available here for $18/set of 6.

Thanksgiving Ideas... Mmmm!

I apologize for starting late this week, a habit I know I've been prone to on Mondays :)

However, this is an exciting week! I'm gearing up for my trip home tomorrow, where I'll be spending my Thanksgiving with my wonderful family. It's been a while since I've been home, so I'm quite excited. This weekend, I spent some time researching side dish recipes that I might want to make with my mom, as we always tag team for Turkey Day cooking. Side dishes, for some reason, are always the most difficult things for me to come up with, since they can often be too boring or too bold for my family's tastes. Below are some links for those of you who are in similar predicaments.... I haven't narrowed the list further myself, but I think there's lots of good stuff to choose from.




Side Dishes

Broccoli Rabe with Pine Nuts and Raisins

Wild Mushroom Bundles

Crisp Haricots Verts with Pine Nuts

Mushrooms Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Balsamic Glazed Sweet and Sour Cippoline

Caramelized Shallots

Creamed Corn Gratin with Fried Onion Rings and Bacon

Carmelized-Shallot and Sage Mashed Potatoes

And Desserts, of course, for those who, like me, don't like pumpkin pie...


Chocolate Bread Pudding

Gateaux Au Chocolat Et Mandarine

Smitten Kitchen's Mom's Apple Cake

Apple Walnut Bread Pudding


Mom, if you're reading, start narrowing down!!

Fashion Has Never Been Sweeter

I suppose the theme of this week is going to have to be "indulgence," what with a cream sauce pasta, funky cocktails, and now a recap of the NY Chocolate Show to get us into the thick of the week. Before I get into my favorite vendors from the show (which I'll cover tomorrow), I was hoping to share some of my favorite snapshots from the annual Chocolate Fashion Show, an opening night tradition that's loved by all! This year's theme? Sweet Superheroes!


For anyone who watches America's Next Top Model as religiously as I do, it was an enormous surprise to see Jaslene open the show. I'll be honest and say I was never her biggest fan, but it was no less awesome to see her walk the runway.


Probably one of my favorite looks from the evening, this was also one of the most chocolate-centric costumes to strut by. It's easy for chocolate designs to become too heavy and cumbersome to be flattering, but this looks just as great as it would probably taste.


Using white chocolate as a canvas for tons of colors was an idea that I was really digging, as so many other designs succumbed to a completely brown palette.

I have no clue what superhero this was meant to be or if one designer just missed the memo. However, the color work on this was phenomenal too. I'm still in awe as to how much time this would have taken to complete. Despite breaking the theme, it was nice to see something that looked... wearable, for lack of a better word.

And, for the first time I'd seen, there were men decked in cocoa as well! This one was particularly entertaining... but not as much so as the bodybuilder model who lost his costume halfway down the runway! Uh-oh!

More chocolate mischief to follow tomorrow...

Pigs With Lipstick.. the edible version!

I am literally brimming with excitement and nervousness and overall anxiety, so I've set my sights on election foods--a subject a feel somewhat more at ease with!

Friends of mine are throwing a party where each one of us is supposed to bring a dish or drink that's associated with a blue-leaning state. My contributions? At first, I though orange-infused brownies, the orange referring to my home state of Florida (which I hope desperately goes blue this year). Then, looking at a bottle of white grape vodka left over from my housewarming party, I figured grape cocktails might be a refreshing twist on the grape associations (which usually mean wine) for California.

Then I had a pivotal election-food conversation with a friend, where we decided what each of us would bring to our respective parties. No, it doesn't have to do with a state, but I think it's totally clever: pigs in blankets, a la Sarah Palin. What does that mean, you ask?

The Pig remains the same. The blanket is a straight jacket. The ketchup is lipstick. Pigs with lipstick in straightjackets. And we must eat them to prevent their chances of reaching the White House!

Alas, if you are still looking for something to serve at your election bash, go for some Pigs with Lipstick! It's sure to be a hit!



photo courtesy of www.i-love-food.co.uk

Weekly Recap

Once again, Happy Halloween to all!

This week was quite busy here at eatmywords, at I'm proud to say that we reached some important milestones here on the blog, such as exceeding 1,000 hits in a single month!

The support thus far has been incredible, so thank you all for reading and leaving your love :)



This week, Red...

...introduced a new feature to eatmywords--recipes that are "good enough to eat... again!"

...spotted an eco- and wallet-friendly trend regarding cardboard and non-Ikea furniture!

...swooned over perfectly carved pumpkins

...reviewed a fantastic Turkish restaurant with very happy prices

and found many other ways to engage in Halloween food and decor festivities.




Join back next week for more tasty words!


Halloween canvas by etsy seller dreaminggiggles.

Monsters Need Lovin' Too

Continuing on yesterday's theme of Halloween decor, this adorable poster by Etsy seller Strawberryluna really takes me back. It's called "Monsters Need Lovin' Too," and I can't help being reminded of a student council campaign a friend once ran with the tagline, "Fat People Need Lovin' Too." He won, and I think this little monster is a winner too. Oh, the ramifications this logic could have if we applied it to the big election coming up next week... perhaps we shouldn't go there ;)

Happy Mid-Year New Year!

Since tonight is Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, I'll be taking it easy here at eatmywords. And by taking it easy, I mean... I'll be cooking up a storm and getting high off the smell of matzo ball soup. There's no feeling like a busy kichen for the holidays!

To all my wonderful readers, I hope this year brings you nothing but happiness and health!

Shana Tova U'Metuka--Have a Happy and Sweet New Year!

Paper Blooms

I mentioned last week that TWB was coming in for a part 2 of our 4 year anniversary celebration. Why, you ask? Well, part 1 wasn't very festive. What with him being in med school and the date falling on a Tuesday and both of us being broke, we had lots of challenges to overcome. And apparently, they're easier to tackle in the city. And sometimes TWB needs an extra little push to do extra special things. Like this!



Now, for those of you who know him, making a paper rose with heart-shaped petals isn't the kind of thing that comes naturally to TWB. And this is why I love Martha Stewart. Linked here are the project instructions and materials, courtesy of the domestic diva herself. Look at how beautiful they look in a huge bouquet! If it weren't for the fact that I have the most perfect single bloom already, I'd be rushing to make a dozen of my own.

We Can Only Afford the Dreams...

I've always been intrigued by the tradition of anniversary gift-giving. I love how there are categorical designations for each year that a couple has been together. You'd think that this would make decisions easier, but I think there's great fun in creatively stretching the boundaries you've been given. For our one-year anniversary, I played with the idea of paper gifts by creating a date-less calendar that could be re-used from year to year. TWB will probably torture me forever about the fact that miscounted and gave him 363 love notes instead of 365, but I think he can deal with it.

Today, TWB (that's "the wonderful boyfriend") and I are celebrating four years together, and upon consulting my trusty guide, the traditional four-year gift is fruit or flowers. The "modern" four-year gift, on the other hand, is appliances. Think it's too late to tell him I've been dreaming about one of these?