1 <3 NYC!

After so much busy work it was nice to take a mini vacation…especially to NYC! It was lots of fun and wanted to share some our trip. I was so excited to see all these beautiful places! :)

Leaving Buffalo to JFK in NYC

Grand Central Terminal

Empire State Building

My honey and I at the top

Georgetown Cupcake (From the show DC Cupcakes)

Can’t believe I made it here…I was super excited!

The famous pink rhinestone mixer

Red velvet cupcakes – SO GOOD! Got a little smushed, but so what! :)

Dima & I at Lure Seafood Bar & Grill – AWESOME SUSHI!

I also got to meet Chef Josh Capon! Chef owner of Lure (Click here to see him on The Chew)

On our way to Liberty Island

Liberty Bike by Orange Country Choppers (American Choppers)

My sweetheart and I with the Manhattan skyline

Statue of Liberty

Cheese!!!

Brighton Beach

And of course we had to eat at a Russian restaurant!

Red Borscht (Beet soup)

Pelmeni (Pork ravioli)

Nalisniki (Sweet cheese crepes)

Ground Zero & the Freedom tower

Times Square

Look who we saw! Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, & Nina Garcia. Project Runway was in Times Square to reveal their upcoming contestants.

Central Park

“The Mall” – Where all the performers & artists spend their time

The famous fountain of Central Park – reminds me of the movie Hitch

Bow bridge

So beautiful!

Some shopping in SOHO – only bought some sunglasses, and they were from a street vendor :)

Another one of Chef Josh Capon’s restaurants B&B – Some AWEDOME food!

#1 Appetizer: Watermelon, feta cheese, chile pepper, & lime – sounds like a very weird combination, but it was  SO good! Could try it at home even :)

#2 Appetizer: Steak tartare…WOW! Who knew raw beef could taste so good! :)

#3 Appetizer: Also wonderful!!! Light and fluffy tilapia.

Entrée: And just as wonderful burger…one of the most wonderful meals I have ever had!

Sunday service at Times Square Church

Wonderful service and a beautiful historical building!

Well that concludes my trip…just a wonderful weekend!

Photo credit belongs to One Fell Swoop

Fruit & Cheese Almond Danish

Hello everyone! Hope you had a great week! So today we are having a bake sale at our church for building of churches in Belarus. I made the Blueberry Crumb Cake from last week (5 CAKES!) and these beauties…homemade cheese Danish!

Ingredients

• 1 pkg (17.3 oz.) frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. fresh berries
• 1/2 c. sliced almonds (optional – I used almond flour since I didn't have sliced (ground almonds)
• Powdered sugar

Directions

1. Place the pastry sheets on a work surface and cut each sheet into fourths. Have two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, which the cream cheese, egg, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla until smooth.
3. Divide the mixture among the eight squares of pastry. Top each with 3-4 berries.
4. Cut a 1” slit in the corner of each pastry, them fold the pastry over the cheese so that just the center is exposed. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.
5. Place each Danish square on the prepared baking sheets. Bake on middle rack of a preheated 450-degree-F oven for 20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and crispy. remove from oven. Cool slightly, and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. Enjoy!

Recipe from Small Sweet Treats by Marguerite Marceau Henderson

Image credit belongs to One Fell Swoop

Blueberry Crumb Cake

This cake is wonderfully beautiful and tasty! Right out of the oven it is so light and fluffy, and then even the next day it is nice and moist. Mmm…and my husband even complimented me on it! I came across this recipe while watching The Chew…and just wonderful will a tall glass of milk! :) Enjoy!

(Please forgive the photo quality, it was in the evening under bad lighting)

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened but cool)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour 10" springform pan.

2. Whisk flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl, then cut in butter with whisk, pastry blender, or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Remove 3/4 cup of the flour mixture to a separate bowl and set aside.

3. Add baking powder and baking soda to the large bowl of flour, then add buttermilk, egg and vanilla. Stir well. Batter will be thick. Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.

4. In the reserved flour mixture, add the walnuts, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and lemon zest. Toss with a fork until blended. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over batter, then sprinkle crumb topping over blueberries. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 45–50 minutes.

credit

Blueberry Grapefruit Lemonade

Hello everyone! I would like to share by sweet treat I came up with today. I had some blueberries and a grapefruit I needed to use up. So what came into my mind…LEMONDADE! With a twist of course. The base idea was from the raspberry lemonade I posted last summer. (Click here to see that recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup of water
• ¾ cup blueberries; pureed and pushed through a fine mesh sieve;
• plus more whole berries for garnish if desired
• 1 cup fresh squeezed citrus juice (use any combination of lemon, grapefruit, & lime juice)
• 4-6 cups cold water (this will vary depending on your taste)

Directions

1. Make a simple syrup by combining the sugar with 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and heat until the sugar in completely dissolved and becomes clear; swirl the pan occasionally. Let cool.
2. Freshly squeeze 1 cup of any combination of lemon, grapefruit, and lime juice (I used 1 lemon, 1 grapefruit, and 1/2 bottle of lime juice).
3. Measure 3/4 of fresh blueberries and puree them in your blender or food processor. Push the raspberry puree through a fine mesh sieve to separate the seeds from the pulp.
4. Once the simple syrup has cooled, combine the blueberry puree, simple syrup, and lemon juice in a large pitcher.
5. Add 4-6 cups of cold water (I add 4 cups because I wasn’t as sweet as the raspberry lemonade). The amount of water you use will depend on your taste, so add as little or as much as you want to achieve your perfect sweet/tart balance.

ENJOY! Let me know how yours turns out!

credit