Garlic Turkey Stuffed Balsamic Portobello Mushrooms

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Last week I decided that I was REALLY craving stuffed mushrooms. I wanted them and I wanted them now. Since I’m doing this wonderful Health and Happiness Cleanse, it became a challenge for me to come up with a really great and healthy way to indulge my craving. I’m making a concerted effort to eat as many veggies as possible as well as lean protein, with the least amount of additives! So I focused on veggies stuffed inside of veggies! And it truly came out to be one of the most flavorful and decadent dinners I’d ever made.

Grocery List:

  • Big Portobello Mushrooms (for stuffing)
  • 99% lean ground turkey breast
  • 1 bag of baby spinach
  • Crushed/Minced garlic
  • Diced white onions
  • Fresh Parmesan
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Garlic Powder
  • Worcerstshire sauce
  • Olive Oil
  • Coconut Oil Spray
  • Sea Salt
  • Black Pepper

Directions:

Prep and Marinate the mushrooms first. This will make them taste the absolute BEST! Remove the stems and then drizzle about 1 to 2 tablespoons  of extra virgin olive oil over the mushrooms, then douse them in balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle them with garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper and put them aside for now.

Now add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to a big saucepan, and a heaping amount of crushed garlic on medium heat. Saute that for a minute, then add the diced white onion. Cook that for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onions cook down and become soft and translucent. Next add the ground turkey, season with sea salt and black pepper. Break the turkey up with a big cooking spoon or spatula. While this is cooking, drizzle with a heavy hand worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar. Season with a bit more salt and pepper. Turn the oven on and pre-heat to 425 degrees fahrenheit.

Now add the bag of spinach, cook for a few minutes until it’s cooked down but not too soft. Grate some fresh parmesan cheese into the turkey and stir until it melts into it. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Once it’s cooled, stuff the portobello mushrooms with the mixture and grate some additional parmesan cheese on top. Pop them in the oven and cook until the mushrooms are soft between 15 to 20 minutes. Voila! I had a lot of leftover stuffing so I ate that for lunch too!

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Marinated Mushrooms Pre Bake

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Sauteeing the spinach with the turkey and onions

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Grating fresh parmesan cheese

2015/01/img_2493.jpgThe amazing stuffed final product

Lemon and Dill Spiced Chicken

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So call me crazy, but most of us know that grilled chicken is one of the best and healthiest forms of lean protein out there. The only thing that it can lack is flavor. So I whipped this recipe up when I was in need of a good, healthy protein but I didn’t want to spend forever cooking (chicken is incredibly easy and fast to cook on the stove). The dill and the lemon give this chicken phenomenal flavors, and the spices are divine.

Ingredients:

  • Coconut Oil Spray (I use this instead of PAM, and most of time, instead of olive oil or any butter and it’s DELISH) Got mine at Trader Joes but most Grocery Stores carry it
  • Organic Chicken Tenders (I find these by far and above the easiest to deal with in terms of chicken)
  • Fresh Dill
  • 21 Seasoning Spice or Poultry Spice
  • Sea Salt
  • Fresh Lemon

Directions:

Cube the chicken tenders so they’re more manageable (and easier to saute). Spray a big pan with the coconut oil spray and turn the heat on medium. Add the cubed chicken. Heavily season with sea salt and the 21 seasoning spice (If you don’t have this or can’t find it, just use as many flavors as you like like garlic powder, paprika etc.). While the chicken is cooking, add the juice of half a lemon, continue to cook. Shred as much fresh dill as you’d prefer (I used almost half a cup cause I’m a huge flavor girl). Continue to cook until the chicken is fully cooked and somewhat brown. Serve! This chicken is honestly the most flavorful chicken I’ve ever made, it goes great with veggies and would definitely be a wonderful salad topper!

Cacio e Pepe Kale

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This recipe is incredibly simple, flavorful and filling, it actually makes you totally enjoy eating your greens! It’s great on it’s own or can be served with chicken or fish. Something so light and healthy is a great way to improve the health and happiness of your body and soul. (And the fresh grated parmesan at the end doesn’t hurt).

Ingredients:

  • Tuscan Kale, destemmed
  • 1 tbsp Butter and 1 tbsp of EVOO
  • 2 cups of chicken broth (I use bouillon cubes)
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Sea Salt
  • Black Pepper
  • Fresh Parmesan Reggiano

Directions:

Destem the kale, rinse it and put it aside. Melt the butter in the olive oil in a big saucepan. Add the kale, stirring while it cooks down, then add the 2 cups of broth. Cook it until little to no juice remains on medium heat, while generously seasoning with cracked red pepper, sea salt and black pepper. Remove kale from the heat once it’s cooked down significantly, serve hot and grate 2 tablespoons of fresh parmesan reggiano over it.

Welcome 2015! The Health and Happiness Cleanse.

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Join me in the a Health and Happiness Cleanse this January!

 Almost Faymous is back! And while I’m woefully behind on my fabulous dining out and #OOTD posts, I’m ready to start something new! (Though I promise you I’ll be doing at least a post on that fabulous day trip I took to Nantucket and the amazing clothes I wore from Kerry Corcoran Clothing).

 So for the next month, I’m going to be doing a health and happiness cleanse, which is something I’ve kinda made up and amalgamated for my own purposes to give my body a chance to recover and kick start a really healthy year heading into my first NYC marathon! First thing I want to share is that I’m not doing this to be rigid or so incredibly strict by the rules that I can’t have fun, I’ve created guidelines for myself rather than a strict set of “to do” and “not to do”. (Cause hey I’m a girl who loves truffles).

 Basically I’m focusing on what’s good and what’s not, and allowing for occasional indulgences in between, (like tonight I’m going to get hot cocoa when I go to Bryant Park to watch the ice skaters.

 For my own personal reasons and sake, I am going to be cutting out all alcohol and coffee/caffeinated beverages until the end of January. Don’t feel you need to do that, really the focus should be more on adjusting the reigns; having a glass of wine vs. a bottle of champagne (or like 20 bloody mary’s at brunch, yes I’ve been there).

 

Here are my goals/guidelines during this time:

  1. Limit unhealthy carbohydrates such as processed white flour, unnecessary breads, white rice and pastas etc. to no more than 3 times a week, but do have healthy beans, greens and sweet potatoes and squash!
  2. Try to make each meal consist of 3 parts: lean protein, veggies/fruits and FLAVOR! (Trying to make that 80:20, where 80% of what I’m eating is that).
  3. Eat as many vegetables as possible each day, and a lot of fruit too! But not too much fruit that I make myself diabetic.
  4. Eat things I enjoy that I know are good for me (I’m such a savory girl and I really just don’t like eggs!).
  5. Buy organic whenever possible.
  6. Minimize processed foods, added sugar and chemicals to as little as I can.
  7. Limit dairy to parmesan cheese, plain greek yogurt and some skim milk for herbal teas.
  8. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
  9. Don’t get mad at myself for indulgences (looking at YOU Lobster Mac and Cheese!) really try to keep “indulgences” to once or twice a week at the max.
  10. Experiment and enjoy myself with cooking!
  11. Do/Make/Create/Burn things in my joy to try things out!
  12. Not consider myself a failure if I’m not perfect, or if I can’t keep it up. This is really just about trying to help improve my heart, health and soul! Which we ALL deserve.

I’m not a nutritionist or a dietitian but I’ve read a lot of information and I think this is a good fit for me. I’m going to attempt be post all the food I’m making/creating each day online! A lot of you asked me about recipes and I’ll be honest, I find them everywhere (and make them up!!!). So I figured this is a great way to share with everyone. Listed below is my first shopping list! I’ll explain later what I plan to do with everything but if you want to purchase some of them, to cook along with me, it’s shared below!

Want to join in the fun? Follow along and hashtag with me #HealthandHappinessCleanse

Shopping List for 1/5/2015:

  1. Bag of Organic lemons
  2. 4 Macintosh Apples
  3. 1 Box of Heirloom Tomatoes
  4. Fresh Basil
  5. Fresh Dill
  6. Organic Tuscan Kale
  7. Organic Chicken Tenders
  8. 21 Seasoning Spice
  9. Mushroom and Asparagus Pre-Chopped Stir Fry
  10. Pre-Cut Butternut Squash
  11. Fresh Parmesan Reggiano
  12. Sea Salt
  13. Cracked Black Pepper
  14. Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Diner En Blanc

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Hello lovely followers! So many of you were curious as to what the fabulous all white dinner party was that I attended a few weeks ago and I’m here to tell you. So sorry for my delay in posting, as you can see if you’ve been following along on Instagram, I’ve been jetting, ferrying, and boating off all over!

So what is Diner en Blanc? Basically it’s a secret surprise pop up dinner party that happens throughout the world on one night near the end of summer. It was started in Paris by some sartorially inclined people who wanted to do something new and unique; to curate an evening fine tuned to perfection. Each year over 20,000 people apply via the wait list and only 4,000 get in. But once you’re in, you’re family.

I’ve been a part of Diner en Blanc for the past few years, missing only the first 2 dinners, down in the financial district and in Lincoln Center. Last years fabulous soiree was in Bryant Park and this years was in a glorious west side park where we shared a sunset with a view of the Empire State Building. Now many of you are probably thinking to yourself. how does this all work? Well first of all I should explain the ground rules, which are as follows: 1. Everything must be brought to the site, in exact dimensions, and following exact specifications. You can bring as elaborate and over the top platters and meals as you like, but your table, chairs, silverware, candles and provisions are all provided by YOU. You can choose to purchase food if you want (this years picnic basket was curated by Todd English after all), but honestly it’s more fun to bring your own! And as I’m sure you guessed everything (except the food) must be white. If show up with anything that is colored you will be asked to leave, and stricken from the guest list. We’re serious about our standards.

The hardest part of the entire evening is getting all of your stuff from your meeting spot to the secret locations. No one has any idea where the location is until we get there, and then everyone files in simultaneously for an absolutely glorious tidal effect of white. We set up our tables based on group, to touch, so we all sit together as one big, extremely upscale picnic. I always attend with one of my favorite friends I’ve made since moving here and this year we went all out, with elaborate fresh flower crowns by Crowns by Christy, an impeccable spread, and bottles of champagne and wine. We toasted, we gallivanted, we snapped photos in a pop up photobooth, we dined while listening to opera and a violinist, and then danced the night away to a live DJ. After the pop up winds down around 10pm, everyone heads to a secret after party (with a coat check for tables and chairs!) and this year was no exception, with a special DEB cocktail featured at PH-D at the Dream Downtown, of course with more fabulous views on the city skyline.

The Food I know you’re all SO curious as to what we brought to eat! And if you know me, you know I went all out (With my pictures eventually featured in Time Out New York and Guest of a Guest!). We brought prosciutto and italian charcuterie, a fresh baguette, heirloom tomatoes, organic strawberries and burrata cheese, and a cheese plate with honey chevre and rosemary sage asiago. The pairing of the honeyed goat cheese with ripe organic strawberries and the crusty baguette was simply divine. For dessert we brough chilean chocolate, and perfect freshly baked cupcakes from Tribeca Treats. It was the perfect plate, and an incredible feast to share a New York sunset with.

How Faymous Was It $$$$$, it’s  expensive to provide all your food, chairs, tables, flower crowns etc. but at the end of the day it is absolutely incredible. It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve done in New York City and I encourage you to apply on the wait list. It’s a night that will literally take your breath away and you get to share your appreciate for the finer things in life with all of the rest of the New Yorkers who agree.

 

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Tasting Menu at The General: Ladies Night Date Night

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There’s nothing quite so much fun as date night with a bestie. One of my fave NYC ladies and I have a long standing “date night with my boo”, once a month where we get together, let our hair down, and treat ourselves. We try to make each and every date totally unique and individual, and we don’t just limit it to eating and drinking. She’s who I went to Diner en Blanc with (and will be again this year!) and who I went to Queen of the Night with. It’s a fabulous time and an experience we’ve both decided we deserve to indulge for all of our hard work and late nights. So recently we decided to treat ourselves to the tasting menu at The General.

 The General is an EMM owned restaurant, helmed by Top Chef Season 3 winner Chef Hung Huynh. It’s home to elaborate and creative asian inspired cocktails and food, with specialty sushi and a secret downstairs jazz room. If you’re looking for an upscale and intoxicating NYC vibe in the Lower East Side this is the place to go.

 The Drinks: We both started with the incredibly delicious G.I. which had Avion Silver Tequila, Grapefruit, Orgeat, Sriracha and Sage. Incredibly refreshing and the sriracha added a kick but not too much that it was undrinkable. One of the best spicy themed drinks I’ve had to date, like a medley of sass in your mouth.

The Food: SO much food. The first course featured wasabi salt edamame, and the Mercy Roll. The Mercy Roll was one of the most inventive sushi rolls I’ve ever had, served with spicy tuna, jalapeno salt, and salsa verde instead of soy sauce. The salsa verde dressed the sushi perfectly in my opinion. Next up were Chinese chicken tacos, topped with avocado, bell pepper and sweet chili. The fried shells they were in simply melted in your mouth.  The second course, was heavier and even more indulgent. Crispy shrimp with spicy mayo, and house specialty Spicy Schezuan chicken. Already I can feel how full I’m getting just remembering this. The third and final course featured a HUGE serving of fried rice with pancetta and a glorious fried egg on top, and robata skewers with blistered shishito peppers, kobucha squash, shiitake mushrooms and sweet potatoes. Talk about YUM.

How Faymous Was It: $$$$, it’s pretty pricey but it’s totally worth it. You get a lot of food, and it’s all beyond delicious. It also goes well outside the realm of typical asian fusion food which is really fun to taste.

 It’s totally worth going if you’re looking for a swanky and delicious way to share a meal. Go with an empty stomach and be sure to try the sriracha coctails!

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The G.I.-Sriracha CocktailsIMG_6834.JPG

Robata SkewersIMG_6829.JPG

Crispy Shrimp and Chinese Chicken TacosIMG_6831.JPG

Wasabi Salt EdamameIMG_6828.JPG

Dat Fried Rice, with pancetta and egg

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Szechuan Chicken SpecialIMG_6833.JPG

DrankssssIMG_6832.JPGMercy Roll

North River Lobster Company

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So I think you’ve heard me mention this place a couple of times, ALL of which have been horribly rained out or thunderstormed out (The Farmer’s Almanac has been tragically correct). It stands to reason that the day we finally made it out to this boat, there was a chance of rain. However that threat soon passed and we had an absolutely incredible night. North River Lobster Co. is a brand new floating AND moving restaurant, on a lobster boat, on the Hudson. Get there this summer and FAST before the secret’s out (it’s kinda hidden gem!). It’s anchored on the west side of Manhattan,at Pier 81 on 41st, so relatively accessible for being on the water.

The boat leaves between 5 to 7 times a day depending on if it’s during the  week or on the weekends, and the trips are quick, around 30 minutes up the Hudson towards the GW Bridge and then back. It doesn’t matter how short it is, there is an absolute unparalleled thrill to be on a boat that’s a restaurant and that is showing you all of the glory of NYC. I recommend shooting for the 8pm cruise so you can watch the last of the sunset, and then hanging around till the 9:30pm cruise so you can see the city lights in all their majesty. They do have hard times that they leave however, and if you’re not on you will have to wait till it’s back.

There are 3 main levels to the boat, the bottom part is entirely indoors, with all windows of course and full bar, the second floor features a raw bar and a smaller outdoor seating area, as well as a full bar. The third floor is the floor everyone clearly wants to be on, it’s almost entirely open with a small covered area where the full bar is. There a picnic tables and smaller tables all with the most phenomenal view of the river (and sunset!) ever.

The Drinks Buckets of beer and Mason Jar Cocktails. Pretty much sums up the most epic experience you can have, I started with the collectible mason jar drink called Batten Down the Hat Hatches with Spiced Rum, Malibu, OJ, Pineapple Juice, Grenadine and a Dark Rum floater. It tasted like the grown up version of a pina colada (for only $2 more my mason jar had a lobster on it!). Then we had 2 buckets of beer, one Sam Summer and one Corona (with cute little baby cut up limes!) and they lasted through 2 journeys!

The Food Lobstaaaaaa. All lobster all the time. Plus a raw bar. We got lobster rolls, and shrimp, and french fries. I also had a lobster cobb salad with bacon (YES BACON) and avocado which was delicious. If you’re feeling particularly inclined you can also order an entire lobster dinner. Which on boat that is a moving restaurant in the Hudson is simply BALLER.

How Faymous Was It $$$, it’s not crazy expensive but it’s not super cheap either, however being able to eat lobster, drink out of mason jars and float down the Hudson at sunset is kinda priceless so DO IT.

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Lobsta’ Cobb Salad

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Views For Days

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Lemme see your Lobster Rollll

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Raw Bar (On a boat inside a boat!)

 

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Faymous Faycation: Cape May Beach Days

20140716-110437-39877348.jpg Recently my parents have decided to add an additional vacation to their ever rotating roster of away time. Their kids are mostly grown up, if not at the least entirely self sufficient and capable of doing everything on their own, and they’ve always wanted to do a yearly jaunt with their friends. So now a huge group of 3 extended families and debauchery ensues. My dad is always late and getting him up at 4am to join the caravan of all of our families was hilarious. As was our 7am stop in Jersey at a rest stop.

My parents (specifically my dad) are most definitely who I get my taste from. And their friends are no different. They filled an entire Escalade up with top shelf liquor, at least 30 porterhouse steaks, ribs, chicken, imported cheese, prosciutto, everything you can imagine. And then they went shopping upon arrival. And that was JUST for the 2 nights out of 7 that they were going to cook in. The fridge was more stocked than I’ve ever seen one and that was just in OUR house, and we had 3 additional huge coolers out back, stocked with coronas, coors, lime-a-ritas, you name it, we had it. They even brought 3 separate humidors filled with Davidoff cigars.

I only had the opportunity to go for 3 days since I am unfortunately an adult with more limited vacations than CEOs have apparently, but it was absolutely perfect. Cape May, if you haven’t been, is similar to a Charleston or Martha’s Vineyard. Horsedrawn carriages abound, and the entire town is quirky, victorian houses. The best part is, everything is walkable. So you can wander home from a night at the bar, stop at the beach to see the moonlight, and never have to worry about taking a cab. The beach was perfect and relaxed, and the night we spent on the beach was gorgeous, the water was inky and slick almost like oil in the full moon. The shopping is also great, I got some incredibly gorgeous jewelry including this absolutely to die for turquoise cuff I’ll be featuring soon I hope. I fell head over heels in love with Congress Hall, one of the older but elegant hotels there and I highly recommend checking it out. But of course no post by me would be complete without an itinerary of where we ate.

The Mad Batter: The Mad Batter is a delicious and laid back breakfast spot, housed in the Carroll Villa hotel, a nice reference to Lewis Carroll and the Mad Hatter. I had bloody mary’s, chambord mimosas and pineapple mimosas because what better way to start the day. I also had their perfect crab benedict and the most amazing (and gigantic) grilled chiicken avocado pita with sweet potato fries. #TakeMeBack

How Faymous Was It: $$

 

HotDog Tommy’s: Hotdog Tommy’s is a Cape May institution (I learned on my first day there). An epic loaded hot dog stand, affectionately known as a hole in the wall right by the beach. The toppings and combinations are EPIC but they’re most well known for their Tornado and Thunder Dog. I went for the Thunder Dog with mashed potatoes, baked beans, yellow mustard, chopped onions and shredded cheddar cheese. Hello heaven.

How Faymous Was It: $

 

The Washington Inn: The Washington Inn is a beautiful upscale restaurant we went to on our first night. We started with a huge bottle of delicious rose to cheers to our wonderful time being there. I then had the most delicate burrata with fresh peaches and peach puree, that was the perfect summer dish. For my main course I had organic black pearl salmon with parsnip puree, sauteed spinach, blackberry hazelnut salsa and a drizzle of pomegranate molasses. Hands down the best salmon I’ve ever had, the hazelnuts MADE it.

How Faymous Was It: $$$$$

 

All in all, it was the most perfect long weekend and I can’t wait to go back next year. If you’re looking for somewhere to slip away for a relaxing weekend by the shore, look no further than Cape May. 20140716-110436-39876587.jpg Victorian Charm  20140716-110435-39875273.jpgChateau by the Beach 20140716-110440-39880543.jpgBeachin’ 20140716-110435-39875636.jpgHangout Spots

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Prosciutto, Truffled Goat Cheese, Spinach Dip, Manchego, Cloth bound Quebec cheddar and cheese bread20140716-110439-39879198.jpgThe Beach at Night 20140716-110440-39880194.jpgCarriage Rides

 

 

The Mad Batter

20140716-110436-39876271.jpg The Mad Batter: Bloody Mary 20140716-110436-39876908.jpgThe Mad Batter: Crab Benedict 20140716-110439-39879960.jpgThe Mad Batter: Chicken Avocado Pita and Sweet Potato Fries

Hotdog Tommy’s

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The Washington Inn

20140716-110438-39878183.jpgThe Washington Inn: Rose Cheers20140716-110438-39878906.jpgThe Washington Inn: Fresh Burrata and Peaches 20140716-110438-39878490.jpg The Washington Inn: Organic Black Pearl Salmon

 

Mussel Mania: Mussels, Donuts and Truffle Fries

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So plans were dashed this week to go drink on a boat and eat lobster (which hopefully will happen next week), due to severe thunderstorm warnings, (RUDE) and I was starving we had to make a last minute change. I still wanted seafood, so we decided to try this amazing mussels place I’ve heard a ton of people rave about called Flex Mussels. There are 2 locations in Manhattan, one on the UES and in Chelsea. I’m more of a downtown girl, so we opted to head to the one in Chelsea. A small but cheerfully lit subterranean space with a total beach vibe it was the perfect stand in. We didn’t have a reservation but they seated us within in 15 minutes of getting there.

The Food Hands down the best mussels I’ve ever had. This place is KNOWN for their mussels, with over 30 different varieties and specials. I had the Parma which is made with an unreal parmesan cream sauce, sauteed shallots and these little crispy fried onions that are to die for. And parmesan cheese (as always, give me ALL the cheese). We split the fish tacos to start with which were delicious with creamy aoili, small portion though so great for a starter. We also had the truffle fries to go with our mussels for mussels and frites (obvi) and they were to die for. Now I want to say, I am NOT a dessert person, I’d rather eat cheese, but I had heard through the grapevine that their donuts were to die for. So we got 4 of them. Served warm and with a vanilla dipping sauce, I had fluffernutter (yea that IS peanutbutter and fluff!) and salted caramel, which was beyond decadent, strawberry and chocolate. It was one of the richest, and most filling meals I’ve had in forever. I basically waddled home

The Drinks I started with a divine watermelon and jalapeno tequila cocktail, which was the perfect summer drink, a bit of a kick but not overly sweet at all and you could actually taste the watermelon. I finished with a delicious belgian beer I couldn’t pronounce if I tried, that was the perfect complement to the mussels (because belgian beer always is).

How Faymous Was It: $$$

It’s not absurdly expensive and the menu is phenomenal. It’s great for catching up with someone you haven’t seen in a while but maybe not for a first date, only because it can get kind of loud. To sum it all up, it was truly the most delicious and divine oysters (and DONUTS) I’ve ever had. Everything was impeccably prepared and the flavors were perfection. If you like mussels, you’ll be hard pressed to find anywhere that does them better.

20140711-112153-40913367.jpgWatermelon Jalapeno Tequila Drink

20140711-112152-40912649.jpgTruffle Fries with Aioli 

20140711-112153-40913704.jpgNautical Themes

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Donut Heaven: Fluffernutter, Salted Caramel, Chocolate, Strawberry

20140711-112152-40912026.jpgThe Glorious Perfection of a Fluffernutter Donut

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Fish tacos with aoili

 

How To: Throw a BORN IN THE USA party

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Someone very near and dear to me had a birthday recently, and I thought it would be a lovely idea to coordinate a surprise party over the long weekend out east (we were on island time after all). Considering the birthday is a mere 2 days before the 4th of July, and that this person is one of the most die hard Bruce Springsteen fans I’ve ever met, it was only fitting to have a Born in the USA theme party. An inordinate amount of planning and coordination went into this party with a HUGE amount of support from some incredible people who helped me switch venues, dates, keep the birthday boy away, supply alcohol and food and in general just be amazing people. It takes an incredible amount of help to pull off a surprise party and I could not be more grateful to everyone who helped me pull it off. PLUS I mean we all looked amazing since we channeled the BOSS.

Decorations: We added red white and blue puffs, festive sparkly garland, american flags, american flag table cloths, all accented by the most patriotic of drinks, Budweiser. By the time everyone arrived it looked like the stars and stripes had officially moved in.

 Drinks: There isn’t a lot that’s more american than drinking beer with the American flag on it, but I decided to do everyone one better and created a lethal concoction of Patriotic Punch. Recipe is listed below:

– 2 handles of Vodka

– 1 bottle of Cherry Limeade Kool Aid

– 1 Bottle of Strawberry Lemonade Kool Aid

-2 cartons of Minute Maid Tropical Punch

-One gigantic carton of blueberries

-1 cup of everclear (or a liter if you’re feeling particularly risky)

I feel like this should come with a surgeons general warning, because while it is absolutely delicious, it is somewhat lethal (probably not what you should drink first thing). To that end, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when there was quite a lot left over in the morning and we had to dump it out (A lot of chipmunks are probably still drunk out there).

We watched fireworks, played KanJam, I lost repeatedly at Beirut (or Beer Pong), we made smores and we all successfully surprised the birthday boy. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate America than with strong drinks, great friends and the boss singing in the background.

 

PS…BRUUUUUCEEEEEE

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