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Tag Archive for new york city food blogger

My @priceless Dining Experience at @lebernardinny with Mastercard #LoveThisCity #LeBernardin #cbias

January 14, 2013 Uncategorized 4 comments

On January 7th I had the priceless experience of dining at the number one rated restaurant in New York City, and one of the best restaurants in the WORLD!

In 2009, Le Bernardin was voted 15th best restaurant in the world in the Restaurant magazine Top 50.

Le Bernardin is one of only seven restaurants in New York awarded three Michelin stars,^[2] and is the restaurant which has held four stars from The New York Times for the longest period of time, having earned the ranking in early 1986.

Along with a few other lucky bloggers, we were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime meal cooked by chef Eric Ripert, and educated about wine pairings by Le Bernardin Sommelier Aldo Sohm.

I was completely enchanted by every part of the experience. I had never even seen a fancy wine tasting medallion like the super cool one Aldo Sohm wears. And he really went into detail about the difficulties of pairing wine with certain flavors, like cucumber or tomato. I was pretty enthralled and wanted to know more.

The first course was Wild Striped Bass Tartare. Being a southerner, I had some reservations about eating ANYTHING tartare, but this was a special, once-in-a-lifetime chance, so I went for it. It was (of course) delicious, and I didn’t get the heebie-jeebies that I was eating raw fish.

The second course…was the first time I have ever eaten “foam”. That was pretty exciting…I mean foam is fancy! Perfection.

You know how that even fish fans don’t like to eat “fishy fish”? The main course was a super non-offensive Crispy Black Bass with Peruvian Chicha Sauce. My photo is from before the sauce addition, but it was a lovely appealing light orange color.

Finally the desert was a complete party in my mouth. Mousseline flavored by Earl Grey tea! Holy awesome! Every bite was different and amazing.

After eating, we actually got to tour the kitchen of Le Bernardin! It was so inspiring to see the hustle, care, and mastery of every step in the line.

Perhaps most amazing of all was the wine cellar…its hard to have a cellar in NYC, so this collection at Le Bernardin is very impressive. I also loved the evident joy that Aldo Sohm the Sommelier feels when spending time in the wine cellar!

I have talked about this amazing dinner to any of my friends who will listen…I am so SO grateful for this once in a lifetime meal and tour of Le Bernardin in NYC. I am inspired to become incredibly wealthy so that I can treat others to the same experience!

Thank you MasterCard!

Aldi Awesome Holiday Deals

December 21, 2012 Uncategorized 2 comments

If you have never shopped at an Aldi grocery store, you are missing out.

By offering a selection of store brand and special buy items, and having a no-nonsense, no-frills store layout, Aldi has all of your staple foods and some fancy extras for amazingly low prices.

I already was a huge Aldi fan before the holidays, but I picked up two 99 cent chocolate Advent calendars from Aldi in November, and they have been the highlight of my kid’s lives this month.

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Every morning, the first thing they think of when they wake up is “Can I eat my chocolate now?”

And I’m all getting cool mom points, “Yes, darling.”

When I walk into “my” Aldi, the first thing I encounter is tempting bottles of wine that average about $6.99 each. Then they have fancy chocolates and sweets, chips, crackers, jerky, fruit snacks, granola bars…on to baking goods like flour, spices, oil, mixes…round the corner past the granola bars and dairy case, stroll by cereals for under $2 a box, and then encounter “special buys” like holiday toys or seasonal foods.

Every few steps, I added items to my shopping bag. I was given a $25 Aldi gift certificate to write this blog post, and I was trying to make sure I spent at least $25. So every time I added an item to my bag, I typed in the price on my phone calculator.

By the time I finally reached $25, I could barely lift my shopping bag anymore! The prices at Aldi are so awesome, $25 goes a very long way!

Aldi has a lot of cool seasonal stuff at amazingly low price points. I found the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree for $7.99!

IMAG2404 IMAG2403 They also have real name brand toys, so Aldi can be a one-stop holiday shop before you go off to see the extended family! IMAG2402 IMAG2401

I spent only $28 and got some great holiday items like a box of hot cocoa mix with marshmallows ($1.19), cordial cherries ($1.29), and even a pomegranate for .69 cents!

I love that I can buy fresh seasonal produce at Aldi for a low price. I scored 2 broccoli crowns for .99 cents, a 3lbs of sweet potatoes for 79 cents (seriously! a bag of sweet potatoes for .79 cents!), fresh salsa for $1.99, 3 pounds of gala apples for $2.99, a container of baby bella mushrooms for $1.49…I mean my produce budget can REALLY stretch far in Aldi.

In the summer they have crazy deals like nectarines for 25 cents each, and seasonal berries for dollars cheaper than other grocery stores in my area.

Aldi’s website is very informative as well. You can make shopping lists, check out their Suggested Shopping Items, ALDI Wine Pairing Tips, and Holiday Entertaining Tips!

You can save tons on entertaining staples like mixed nuts and cheese and wine! Impress your guests for less! Love me some ALDI!

“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for ALDI. I received a gift certificate to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.”

Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour Chocolate Spice Cookies

December 7, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

Holiday baking is the bomb. Don’t be scared, you can make every dessert more nutritious, more delicious, and healthier than ever before by incorporating high-quality Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour s in your holiday spread!

Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour is 100% natural. Hodgson Mill products are straight from nature, with nothing added and nothing taken away!

We made these experimental CHOCOLATE SPICE COOKIES

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Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Hodgson Mills Whole Wheat Pastry flour
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 1/2 tsp boiling water
1/4 cup sugar

Preparation:

Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cocoa in a small bowl and set aside.

Beat together the margarine and brown sugar. Add the molasses and mix well. Add half of the flour mixture and the baking soda mixture and combine well. Add the rest of the flour mixture.

Chill, covered for at least one hour. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.

I made small balls of dough and rolled them in sugar before placing on the baking sheet. That turned out well, then I left the rest of the dough in the fridge for like a week, and thought “hey, why don’t I make gingerbread-esque people out of this?”

And I did. And it worked. Same dough.

Kids love it!

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Check out the Baker’s Holiday Gift Pack Sweepstakes and if you haven’t yet, grab this printable coupon good for $1 off any 5 lb. bag of Hodgson Mill Flour.

Holiday Delivery From @CAWineClub

December 7, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

I got my holiday shipment from www.cawineclub.com, and it looks all super festive wrapped in sparkle paper!

My November delivery from California Wine Club was a 2011 Daniel Gehro Chenin Blanc from Santa Barbara County White Hills Vineyard.

It received the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals. Goooooo CHENIN BLANC!

Also in the November delivery was a 2009 Daniel Gehro Merlot from the Central Coast. This guy won the Gold Medal, the Silver Medal, and the DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL. Over achiever wine! This Merlot is all #MERLO #YOLO!

To be real, I didn’t drink them yet. Because I want to have them to present as hostess gifts when I make my holiday rounds. California Wine Club makes it too easy to be awesome, by being super awesome themselves.

Check out their website at www.cawineclub.com

Check out @CAWineClub on Twitter and CA Wine Club on Facebook

Also! There is wine to be won! Go to the California Wine Club website and enter to win! There will be 104 winners!

Prizes include:

1) One of four, Three Month Wine Club memberships (A $150 value you can give as a gift, or keep for yourself)

2) One of 50 handy Two Bottle Wine Totes ($25 value)

3) One of 50 Red Tulip Music wine country CD’s ($15 value)

Shipping Alert! If you want to give the gift of a California Wine Club membership this holiday, the Ground Shipping Deadline is December 12^th.

Any orders placed after Dec 12 incur expedited air charges for Christmas deliveries.

This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own. I received a 2 month Membership to the California Wine Club for the purpose of this review.

California Wine Club Holiday Wines @CAWineClub

November 17, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

I live in NYC and I don’t have a car.

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PS: It is beautiful here.

BUT! The joy of “stocking the pantry” or really buying anything heavy is greatly diminished when you have to lug it around town and carry it on the subway.

Hence, I am DELIGHTED when I can have something delivered to my door.

Getting a delivery from the California Wine Club always feels like Christmas, but for the holidays they are really stepping it up!

This was my October shipment: a Robledo family winery Tempranillo, and their Bronze Medal Winner Sauvignon Blanc.

Like all of the wines from California Wine Club, both of these selections come from a real working California artisan winery and is backed by a 100% guarantee!

The California Wine Club was started by Bruce and Pam Boring because they were tired of hit-or-miss selecting wines to drink. They realized that they always enjoyed the wines recommended by friends. Hence, California Wine Club is like a wine savvy friend that sends you two bottles in the mail each month.

Also? This would totally make an awesome Christmas gift for a wine lover. You can gift them a membership for just a few months.

Cha-ching!

Check out their website at www.cawineclub.com

Check out @CAWineClub on Twitter and CA Wine Club on Facebook

Also! There is wine to be won! Go to the California Wine Club website and enter to win! There will be 104 winners!

Prizes include: 1) One of four, Three Month Wine Club memberships (A $150 value you can give as a gift, or keep for yourself)

2) One of 50 handy Two Bottle Wine Totes ($25 value)

3) One of 50 Red Tulip Music wine country CD’s ($15 value)

This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own. I received a 2 month Membership to the California Wine Club for the purpose of this review.

California Wine Club- Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow @cawineclub @boringwineguy

August 16, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

My 3 month membership to California Wine Club has come to an end.

My final shipment contained the California-made 2010 Viognier from Tangent Winery and a 2009 Mourvèdre-Syrah-Grenache blend from Trenza Winery.

Firstly, let me say that if you have a busy life, and you often find it difficult to will yourself to move from your sofa once you get home, that you will probably enjoy having wine delivered to your door once a month.

Also, club members get discounts on the regular market price of all kinds of fine made-in-California wines, usually something like 40% cheaper. I like cheaper.

I haven’t actually cracked these bottles open yet. I have amassed quite a collection in my fridge. I use them to pay babysitters.

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New club members or gift givers will get 4 bottles for the price of 2 when they sign up. There is no obligation to continue after the first month. Have your readers use the code: traveled12 at checkout.

I had a lot of fun being a Premier Club member of California Wine Club! It was a total taste of the good life, and I didn’t even have to put on pants! Except to sign for the delivery.

You can follow California Wine Club on Facebook and The Boring Wine Guy on Facebook!

This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.

Yay, @IceAge Happy Meal Toys #IceAge #Giveaway

July 9, 2012 Uncategorized One comment

My kids spent time with the Grandparents recently, which of course means they harassed their way into being taken to McDonald’s. They came away with a toy from the movie Ice Age: Continental Drift, which opens this Friday, July 13th.

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‘Like’ Ice Age on Facebook, visit the website or Follow @IceAge on Twitter #IceAge!

Visit HappyMeal.com to play Scrat’s Acorn Adventure!

Guess what? I have a pretty cool prize pack to give away!

PRIZING

One (1) winner will receive a prize pack including:

All 6 Ice Age toys featured in the McDonald’s Happy Meals
PLUS 3 gift cards redeemable for Happy Meals!

To enter to win, just send me an awesome tweet including #IceAge and @MomMostTraveled.

You can enter by tweeting up to three times. Each entry tweet has to be at least 10 minutes apart. Don’t tweet-spam me plz. Thnx.

Tweet away until midnight on July 10th, 2012. US winners only please. I will draw the winner some time the morning of the 11th from all eligible tweets.

Ice Everyone’s favorite pre-historic characters return in the new movie release Ice Age: Continental Drift, in theaters July 13th! McDonald’s latest Happy Meals feature 6 characters, each atop an iceberg-shaped ship. Visit HappyMeal.com to find out more information.

Evergreen Fridge Hunt #choosecartons

June 20, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

I did a Fridge Hunt to see what items in my fridge are contained in paper packaging, paper cartons, plastic packaging, plastic cartoons, and what’s recyclable.

As you will note, most of the items are in plastic or glass. Only a few paper representations, like the Egg Beaters carton.

I have learned that cartons are actually a pretty smart choice, environmentally speaking. I would like to buy less foods packaged in plastic, and more packaged in paper (cartons).

I try to re-use glass containers, as there is not glass recycling in my area, but one can only use so many jars!

Over 41 million households have access to carton recycling, and cartons are made from renewable materials – more than 70 percent of the carton is made from paper, all from trees from responsibly managed forests.

The environmental impact of a package is just as important as the contents inside.

Recycled cartons are used to make products such as tissue, office paper, wall boards and other building materials.

To learn if your community accepts cartons for recycling, please visit www.recyclecartons.com

Cartons are made with renewable energy. More than 50 percent of the energy used to make the paper in Evergreen Packaging’s cartons comes from biomass.

Educate yourself about the use of paper cartons, and then educate others!

Every carton fact shared via Twitter, using the hashtag #choosecartons will help raise money for Habitat for Humanity®!

For more information, please visit: www.choosecartons.com, check out the Evergreen Facebook page and follow @ChooseCartons on twitter!

“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Evergreen and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

#Mushrooms and Meat: Swap It Out

March 9, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

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I have been a vegetarian for more than 15 years (oy!), but only very recently became open to eating mushrooms. It was just a personal preference.

I got even more into mushrooms when I read that they are a lauded part of the anti-cancer diet, are the only fresh fruit or vegetable with vitamin D, and are a source of antioxidants selenium and ergothioneine, which help maintain a healthy immune system

Mushrooms are low in calories and fat-free, plus their flavorful umami content allows for less salt to be used in a dish, without compromising taste

Mushrooms provide B vitamins, including riboflavin, niacin, and pantothenic acid; B vitamins help to provide energy by breaking down proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

I know. You kind of want to go buy a couple of cartons don’t cha.

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Mushrooms are a go-to meat replacer for vegetarians.

But, even if you aren’t a vegetarian, you can use mushrooms to replace just some of the ground beef, turkey, or whatever else you are working with. The texture of the mushrooms makes them ideal for swapability.

Swapping in mushrooms for a portion of the higher-calorie ingredients, like meat, in a dish reduces calories, fat and sodium without compromising on flavor, plus it saves money

This simple three-step “swapability” strategy is perfect for family favorites like burgers, lasagna, pizza, chili – or any dish that calls for ground meat:

o Chop up your favorite mushroom variety to match the consistency of the ground beef or turkey;

o Cook and season mushrooms the same way you would meat;

o Combine the cooked meat and mushrooms and use the mix to complete your recipe.

Join in the fun twitter party on Monday, March 12th at 8:00 PM EST. The event hashtag is #Mushrooms and there will be prizes awarded! (US and Canada, 18+).

RSVP is available at: http://resourcefulmommy.com/8634/mushroom-channel-twitter-party/

RECIPES:

Crab and Mushroom Cakes with Chipotle Aioli

Mushroom Burger Wrap

Cremini and Pork Meatballs

Chocolate Chili

Mushroom Flatbread

Almost Lasagna

Mushroom and Beef Bulgogi Tacos