And the rest of the story…

In honor of Paul Harvey, I thought I’d do a brain dump on a few of the restaurants and recipes that I had been waiting to post.  Instead, here’s a very abbreviated version of my thoughts:

Restaurants:

• Pret a Manger — If you’re a reader of this blog, you know I hate pre-made sandwiches.  But don’t be afraid of their pre-made sandwiches.  I’ve been several times now and it’s always fresh and delicious!  I really love their St. Tropez Tuna mayo-less sandwich.  Their roast beef sandwich is OK, but it needs more roast beef. 

       

• Swarma King — It reminds me a lot of Amsterdam Falafel.  You pick the meat and bread which they then serve you.  Then you go over to the help yourself toppings bar.  Once you’re done with your toppings, you hand it back to them so they can grill it in a panini-style grill.  They cut it in half and you get to eat your creation.  It’s good and cheap!

   

• The Source — Good food but definitely expensive.  Three scallops were $40-something.  And they’re a little too attentive. 
• Oya – Great place to go for a date or with a client.  Calamari and tuna tempura are delicious! I think they do best with fish more than their beef or other dishes. 
• BLT Steakhouse — Love all the “free” food they give you when you sit down to eat.  The popovers are to die for.  Definitely expensive, but a perfect place to go when you’re on a company expense account.
• On the Fly (Chinatown) — Skip the tacos, they’re horrible.  Go for the empanada, much better option.

       

• Julia’s Empanada — Ridiculously cheap and a decent meal.  Flaky empanada crust.   I put my Blackberry there so you could see how big the Empanada was.

 

Recipes:

• Martha Stewart’s Walnut and Brown Sugar Rugelach — It was OK and as you can obviously tell, I didn’t shape the dough into a circle.  Instead, I just rolled it out and cut into strips.   The cream cheese gave it a bit of a bite, but I don’t think this dough was worth the extra work.

       

• Sour Cream Herb Foccacia Bread — I used my bread machine and mixed everything (except melted butter, 1 tsp of thyme, and cheese) on the dough cycle.  I put in 3 1/2 cups fo bread flour and had to add more water, but as always, pay attention to your bread machine when it’s first mixing to make sure everything is combining.  Meh…I didn’t love it and will next time stick to my other foccacia bread.

   

• Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits — Good and easy.  Tasty?  No idea… 

 

• Betty Crocker Thumbprint Jam Cookies — Best. Recipe. Ever. Awesome. 

     

• Cooking Light Autumn Apple Cake — It really was delicious, although I think I’d add another cup of apples to give it an even better apple taste.
  • Cooking Light recipe has 10.6 g of fat; 304 g calories; and 48.9 g carbs.
    • 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
    • 2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
    • 3/4 c granulated sugar
    • 5 TBSP butter, softened
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 1 large egg
    • 1/2 c 2% reduced-fat milk
    • 1 c chopped and peeled apple (I used Braeburn, they recommend Pink Lady or Sundowner)
    • 1/2 c golden raisins
    • 1/4 c chopped walnuts (opt)
    • 1 tsp powdered sugar

  • Preheat the oven to 350 and bake for about 40-60 minutes.  Sprinkle powdered sugar on top