Celebrity sighting

Woke up this morning to meet Kaitlin and Bethenny for brunch at Cafe Cluny in the West Village. As Alix and I got on the subway, I said... "We are going to see someone famous today. I just FEEL it." I swear!

Fast forward to thirty minutes later...

I was trying to decide between Brioche French Toast and the Breakfast Club Sandwich...

Went with the french toast (duh)...

Oh the fluffiness!

...when none other than Amy Poehler walks in and sits at the table next to us! The Amy Poehler from SNL, and Parks and Recreation, and this hysterical skit. I so, so wanted to take a picture but she looked so cute and pregnant and normal that I felt badly interrupting her brunch. I hope a picture of her seat at the cafe will do?

What a trip! I <3 NY.

In the Heights

I also could not leave the city without seeing a Broadway show. It's been so long! The last show I saw (I'm a little embarrassed to admit) was "The Little Mermaid" two years ago.

We stood in line at TKTS and I snapped some touristy photos.

We ended up getting some sweeeet half-price tickets to "In the Heights". And GREAT seats on the orchestra level! The show is set in Washington Heights and has fantastic music. And it won a Tony for best musical!

I LOVED it. Love love loved it. I mean, how can you not love a show starring the one and only Corbin Bleu from High School Musicals 1, 2, and 3?

From high school...

To Broadway!

I highly recommend this show. Fun music, great dancing, awesome singing, HSM star. Just call me a teeny bopper. But seriously, go see it!

Magnolia Bakery

I have been thoroughly enjoying my mini-vacay in NYC and could not leave the city without a trip to Magnolia! Definitely some of the best cupcakes I've ever had.

I walked in and was amazed/excited/super pumped for air conditioning. Oh wait. Silly me. I was amazed/excited super pumped for air conditioning AND to see s'mores cupcakes.

We promptly ordered some, and also couldn't resist the red velvet! 

Here's the s'mores. I'm about to make a pretty big statement...

...I think mine are better.

Okay, I'm biased. Magnolia, please don't sue me. 

BUT, for me, it all comes down to the frosting. And meringue icing instead of real marshmallow just wasn't cutting it. Though I will say the chocolate ganache center was fab! 

Mmmmmagnolia. 

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my awesome, super smart DAD.

I love you Dad! See you soon!

Annutto's Farm Stand

There are two really great things about Annutto's Farm Stand in Oneonta, NY:

1. Fresh, local produce

And lots of it!

2. Sprinkles

I know you're probably thinking...

Sprinkles? In a farm stand? Two whole aisles of them?

Yes, yes, and yes.

GENIUS. Match made in heaven.

Between some "belated Easter gifts" (as if I need a reason to receive sprinkles) from Mike's parents, and my own inability to resist sprinkles, I now have six new containers. See below:

Rainbow sanding sugar

Neon fish

Festive red, white, and blue stars. Just in time for 4th of July!

Pink piggies!

COWS!

And finally, some good old-fashioned rainbow jimmies. My personal favorite.

If you ever need sprinkles, you know who to call!

This girl needs to get baking.

Happy Birthday Domenica!

HAPPY 23rd Birthday to my beautiful best friend, Domenica! Dome and I have been friends since we were six years old. We started out in the same first-grade girl scout troop and now we are going to be roomies as grown-ups here in Boston!!

Love you Domey! Have a fabulous day!!

PS - Check her out over at D*Tales!

Waldorf Chicken Salad

I've never been a big chicken salad fan. Not really loving the mayo. But, I recently tried some homemade chicken salad (a la Mike's grandmother - so you know it's gotta be good), and I fell in love. I've since come to believe that when it's done right and made fresh, chicken salad can be an amazing dish!

I spent this past weekend in upstate New York celebrating Mike's sister's graduation. Needless to say there was plenty of BBQing going on, and plenty of leftovers. We (okay, I) decided to use the leftover grilled chicken to make a chicken salad. Here's the simple recipe I followed...

Dice up roughly five cups of cooked chicken.

In a bowl, mix together the chicken, two medium celery stalks (chopped), two scallion (chopped), one large green apple (finely diced), 3/4 cup mayonnaise, two tablespoons fresh lemon juice, one tablespoon freshly chopped herb (parsley, basil, oregano, whatever you like), and salt and pepper to taste.

Toast up ~six tablespoons chopped walnuts, and add them to the mix.

Chill for a few hours or overnight, then serve with toasted bread. Preferably on a patio 8-)

Hello, summer!

I have the best job in the world. Know why? It's super fun. I get to hang out with cute little four-year-olds all day. I am referred to as "Miss Melanie". I go on field trips. Coloring is a legitimate activity.

Oh, and I get summers off. 

I also get adorably fab end-of-the-year gifts. Like this new box from Beacon Hill Chocolates. Either the two-year-olds read this blog OR their parents had a very lucky guess. I plan to design my future kitchen around it.

I now have a collection of three of these boxes, and I believe there is one of each size! The most recent was filled with a double-decker layer of deliciousness...

Woof!

I also received this mug that I have been eyeing at Anthropologie for years! 

So happy!

So, I will be spending the next month or so basking in the sun, traveling home and to NYC, getting back in shape (!), wandering around farmers markets, and baking, baking, baking! I don't know how all of you grown-ups do it, but this sure is the life.

Welcome, sweet summer :)

S'more success

SSSS'MORE SSSUCCESS! 

After the other night's smorefail, I decided to walk away and sleep on it. I awoke in the morning with an idea - more graham cracker! More crumbs!

I made the new and improved bars and took them to my work picnic, and...

These bars were a hit. 

I'm being modest... they were a smashing success.

 Here is what I came up with. It looks complicated, but trust me it is easier than you think!

Layer one - graham cracker crust
(adapted from Beantown Baker)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Beat butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together graham cracker, flour, baking powder, and salt, then add to butter, sugar, and egg mixture. Stir until incorporated, then spread dough on the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.

Layer two - brownie
Make a box of milk chocolate brownie mix (you will need 2 eggs, 1/2 - 3/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup water). Add a handful of chocolate chips, then spread on top of the graham cracker dough.

At this point, you will need to bake the brownie/graham dough at 350 degrees for 28 minutes. Let cool for a 5-10 minutes, and turn your oven up to broil for layers three and four.

Layer three - graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup brown sugar
Mix until incorporated. Sprinkle on top of brownie.

Layer four - marshmallow
Sprinkle a layer of mini marshmallows on top of the graham cracker crumbs. Put under the broiler for ~30 seconds. Keep an eye on it - the marshmallows will burn fast!

Get out some knives and forks, and serve while still warm and gooey. Get ready to get crumbs EVERYWHERE :)

Thank you, friends and family, for all your comments and concern. I couldn't have done it without you!

S'more experimentation

I L-O-V-E s'mores. Not just love. L.O.V.E. Looove.

I love them perfectly plain.

I love them as cupcakes.

I love them as ice cream.

So, I thought I'd try something new. S'mores bars. Why not?

It was an experiment. A delicious one. Something along the lines of graham cracker crust, brownie mix, mini marshmallows.

But, sadly...it tasted all brownie. The poor little graham crumbs were lost in the goo of melted marshmallow.

But I will keep trying! This is my promise to you...

I will find the perfect s'more bar recipe. I will bake. I will taste-test. I will share. It will leave you wanting s'more!

...I took the s'more joke too far. I hope you can forgive me. And come back for s'more :)

Zucchini Patties

I like to think I learned 75% of my cooking abilities from my mom, and 25% at the Cerasaro household. You see, Domenica was not only my best friend growing up, but also THE friend with THE pool. Which means... I spent 95% of my summer days at her house. Me and my blonde hair were all but adopted into her Italian family, and with this came lots of eating and lots of cooking. It was at Domenica's house that I tried my first hamburger (at age 15, I am embarrassed to admit), learned about pepper cookies (oxymoron?), and discovered the beauty of meatballs. 

It is also where I was introduced to Zucchini Patties. Delicious, amazing, can't-eat-just-one zucchini patties. And these little green pancakes have now been a staple in my own household, with the ever-growing batch of zucchini from our garden. Oooooh baby are they good. And easy to make!

Recipe - courtesy of Trace C.

1 medium zucchini, shredded

1 cup flour

2 eggs

1/4 cup grated cheese

Garlic powder

Black pepper

Olive oil

Mix all ingredients. Add spices to taste. Cook patties in olive oil on medium heat until golden brown.

That's my stack! Go make your own!

How to make pizza...even better.

My best friend Domenica over at D*Tales recently wrote a post about her love of pizza. I couldn't agree more...I could DEFINITELY eat pizza every day, for the rest of my life. No question.

Pizza is amazing on its own, and I love that you can change it up with a million different kinds of toppings.  But, yesterday I discovered a way to make pizza even better....

Grill it.

I just...

I mean. Fresh mozzarella. Tomato. Basil. Balsamic glaze (HellO chef Mélanie! I made my own balsamic reduction!)...

On a crispy homemade crust.

RUN, do not walk, to the store. 

Buy a grill. Buy some charcoal. 

Put pizza dough on it. 

Pretend to be a chef and make a balsamic reduction.

Prepare yourself for a cheeeesey ooey crunchy YUM.