As a child, my Sunday routine went something like this: Wake up, go to church, go see Aunt May and Uncle Ed (not their real names) for "S Cookies" and, seasonally, apple picking in the backyard. By "S Cookie" I mean the Stella D'oro Original breakfast cookie but I don't know anyone who calls it that.
Read MoreMaine has lobster. Chicago has deep dish. New York has bagels. Being a New Yorker means bagels are in your blood. You scoff at pale imitations you find in other states and can school people on what a schmear is. Between the city and the suburbs I've tried enough bagels to know what I like. Westchester has quite the range of bagel shops but five years ago I was introduced to Hand Rolled Bagels in Rye and never looked back.
At my old place of employ each grade level took turns to host our bi-weekly breakfasts. During my first year, a group of specials teachers hosted the St. Patrick's Day breakfast and the bagels seemed a bit different. They were textured. They were chewy. They were delicious WITHOUT being toasted. That, friends, is the mark of a truly good bagel.
I tracked down said specials teachers and demanded to know where these fresh, chewy, gluteny, perfectly seasoned everything bagels came from. The woman who purchased them said the shop was called Hand Rolled and it was her usual spot on the way to work. Consider me converted!
The small shop is so very 90's and has at least a dozen varieties (permanent and rotating) of plump, flavorful bagels. The Spinach was new, blueberry was seasonal but I can't seem to break from everything or, if I'm in a mood, the intense cinnamon raisin. I've only been for breakfast but I've seen many a sandwich come over the counter that look equally as good.
Hand Rolled Bagels gets a lot of local, and not so local, love. I've met like minded individuals who will drive thirty minutes out of the way (and some over state lines) for these bagels. New York is the home of the bagel and Rye is the home of Hand Rolled; I was never very good at math but somewhere there is a Venn Diagram that has those two overlapping meaning bagels don't get any better than Hand Rolled. Until the next dish, ciao!
Coming home from this vacation was tough. I hadn't posted in two weeks, I realized I didn't get to post as much as I wanted this summer, and there was barely anything to eat in the fridge upon my return. I probably should have just stayed on vacation. I found some new eats in the Westerly area that definitely would have made my stay worth it.
Read MoreTell me if this situation sounds all too familiar: You're at brunch. The server has been by at least twice to take your order and since everything looks so good you can't decide. Sweet or savory? Sweet or savory?
Read MoreIt's said that residents of warmer climates eat spicy foods to keep cool. The heat and spice in the food cause the body to produce sweat, which helps lower the body temperature. Since I love spice and staying cool I figured I'd work this concept in to my no cook meals for the week, (me and the stove top are on a break until the temperature goes below 85) which included this harissa chicken salad recipe
Read MoreSitting at our table among what had to be all of Ulster County’s retirees, my cousins and I sipped our wine, finished forkfuls of near perfect homemade lasagna and asked each other, why don’t we do this more often? It wasn't a family function so to speak (none of the silver haired folks were ours to claim) but it was functional for our family. We're Italian. Food, drink, accordion music, and dropping final vowels in words like "prosciutto" are in our nature and we should do so whenever possible. While geography has proved a bit tricky, we found our way together this weekend at Magnanini’s Winery and Restaurant in Wallkill, New York.
Read MoreLately I find myself doing something I hardly ever do: adding more salt to my meals. More specifically, flavored salts. Usually the food doesn't even need it but I'm obsessed with adding a dash to almost anything I can. For a long time I never understood the fuss. In fact, I was a bit of brat over the whole concept. What's wrong with regular table salt? What do I even put flavored salt on? My bottomless blue pillar of Trader Joe's Sea Salt has been a fine way to top off meals for the last thirty years, why change now? Because I found The Filling Station, that's why.
Read MoreIf I could sum up this June in one word it would be 'rainy'. Sure, we had a few brilliant sunny days but this is not April, it is June and I have been done with school and I need to keep busy goshdarnit. So what is one to do on rainy June days? Binge watch shows on Netflix, of course. If you're anything like me you went through Season 3 of Orange is the New Black at warp speed (probably did the same with Grace and Frankie and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt). And what does any of this have to do with food? So glad you asked.
Read MoreHey everyone! The recent heat wave has had me desperate for a cold treat but nothing in my fridge seemed to suffice. Correction: no individual component would suffice. A can of light coconut milk, frozen pineapple, shredded coconut, sugar and a few dashes of rum later and we were in business.
Read MoreGreetings all! The past four days have been warm but miserably cloudy, however, not cloudy enough to block out last weekend in Stowe, Vermont. My college girlfriends and I went up for my version of RNR: Rest/Noms/Relaxation. The extent of my travels in Vermont thus far was limited to the Killington bubble but I had high hopes for foodie finds further north. As we drove through the verdant landscape of 89 I could practically taste the maple syrup and cheese with each passing exit.
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