New York's Best Cupcakes: a new list

Here's a new list of New York's best cupcakes, posted on the New York Magazine's blog, Grub Street. The cupcakes were rated by the star pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern, Nancy Olson. I wish I was going to be in NYC again this summer so I could check all the bakeries out. Enjoy the list, and try not to drool over the cupcakey-deliciousness you are about to see.

Falafel Dinner

I love falafel, and I had been wanting to make some for dinner for a while. I didn't have much to do this weekend, so I decided to make it for dinner Friday night. It was a simple, inexpensive, healthy AND delicious dinner that almost anyone can handle.

Falafel mix from the organic food section at Publix.

Just followed the instructions on the package, which were just to add water to the mix, wait 15 minutes and form the mix into 1" balls brushed with oil.

Made cucumber yogurt dipping sauce. Instructions were on the back of the box also. It was plain non-fat yogurt, garlic, cucumber and dill. So easy!

Falafel balls in the oven!

Finished product- whole wheat pita with lettuce, onion, falafel, cucumber yogurt dipping sauce with a little hot sauce on top. Bon appetite!

Food from the cruise

I was a lucky girl this spring. I was able to go on a 7-day Carnival cruise though the Western Caribbean for spring break with some friends. One of the things I was most looking forward to was all of the food that was going to be available. From breakfast in bed, lunch on the lido deck during the day, sit-down dinner at every night and maybe even a late night snack, I couldn't wait.

The cruise food definitely did not disappoint! My favorite part was our 8:15 dinner in the Washington Dining Room, table 326. The table was me, Brett, Schilero, Jackie, Amanda, and two German friends, Steffan and Benjamin. Our waiter was Nils from Guatemala and our assistant waiter was Marcel. Both were amazing! Brett, Schilero and I usually ordered way more than we needed, and Nils loved us for it. Nils made fun of me when I ordered off of the healthy menu.

Check out some of the food highlights!

Best Appetizer:

a study of sushi

(tuna, salmon and shrimp)

Best Dinner:

shrimp & lobster with mashed potatoes and broccoli

Best Dessert:

Bread Pudding!!!!

(When it was brought out, Nils took my spoon & jabbed a hole in the middle. He then filled it with milk, making it extra creamy and delicious!)

Our Before-Dinner Ritual Snack:

assorted veggie platter with ranch dressing

(often ordered with a side of pretzals)

Midnight Buffet:

assorted desserts

Favorite Food Sculpture:

chicken spotted on the Galley Tour

and finally- it wouldn't have been a cruise without some tropical drinks!

Best Drink:

the signature Carnival cocktail- a yummy mix of vodka, 151, rum and assorted fruit juices

I've had to work out extra to make up for all the eating I did, but I still can't wait for my next cruise!

MenuPages

MenuPages is an amazing resource for finding restaurants, reviewing menus, checking prices, etc. MenuPages currently services seven major cities: New York, San Fran, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C. and one major area: South Florida. The site recently updated their design, and the new retro style is really cool. You can search for restaurants based on area, cuisine, rating, neighborhood, price and more!

I used the NYC MenuPages almost every time I went out to eat during my summers in the city. The NYC MenuPage had a LOT of reviews and ratings from people, and these honest opinions are really helpful in picking a restaurant. The SoFla MenuPages is relatively new, so there aren't as many ratings. Hopefully people will start reviewing the SoFla restaurants to make it more effective.

Check it out!

It's strawberry season!

Attention all Catie Eats! readers - THE STRAWBERRIES ARE IN! I bought a carton of strawberries today at Publix because they were THREE FOR $5! What a steal! They look so juicy and delicious. I found this news article from a few weeks ago talking about Florida farmers harvesting the first fruit of winter strawberry season.

I found a recipe for a low calorie strawberry shake. (This blog, called Yummy Diet Food, has a lot of delicious-sounding healthy recipes, so check it out.) This would be amazing with these fresh strawberries. Hopefully I'll make one soon! For tonight, its strawberries with fat free cottage cheese.

Adios.

P.S.- Made turkey burgers for dinner- so good!

CUP...cake

This is almost too much! I found this cupcake on Cupcakes Take the Cake. They got it from a site called Cupcake Project (reminds me of project cupcake...) Anyway, A CUP OF MILK INSIDE A CUPCAKE?!?!? Give it to me now, please.

P.S.- I got a new camera today! That means the quality of my food pictures will increase (by a lot!) because I will no longer be taking them on my Blackberry. 

Valentine's Day is now the day of food, not love.

If there is one thing I love to do, it's eat, and my boyfriend agrees. Our Valentine's Day plans revolved heavily on food, making it a day of delicious eats. 

1st meal: breakfast. Chef: My BF

I was surprised with a delicious breakfast recipe- peanut butter and banana stuffed French toast. I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER (we made sure the brand wasn't on the recall list,) and who doesn't love French toast? Here's the recipe we used. Let me just tell you, this French toast was UNBELIEVABLE. We used some light syrup on top, and sprinkled it with powdered sugar. We even cut two of the slices into a heart shape. Check it out below. I made mimosas with lots-of-pulp orange juice- they were so yummy! 

2nd meal: lunch. Chef: ME!

My favorite thing to eat for lunch is definitely a sandwich. I love the ability to combine and stack ingredients that really mesh together taste-wise. One of my favorite sandwiches is from a sandwich/soup place in Union Square, NYC, called Toastie's. The sandwich, called the Alice, is turkey with Brie cheese, granny smith apple slices (very thin!), honey mustard and lettuce served on multi-grain bread. The flavors compliment each other so well, especially the apple with the brie. Check out the picture below. 

3rd meal: dinner. Chef: Paramount Grill- one of the best restaurants in Gainesville!

I love eating out, and I love scoping out new restaurants. I have been wanting to try Paramount Grill for a while, and I thought Valentine's Day would be a great occasion to do so. Luckily, my boyfriend agreed, and we made reservations for 8 p.m. (I would definitely recommend making reservations there because it's a pretty small restaurant.) I ordered a salad, (Fresh berries with poached green beans, asparagus, sliced granny smith apples, pecans, goat cheese and field greens in a raspberry basil vinaigrette.) Talk about a salad! The goat cheese gave a great flavor and texture to the salad, and the berries were amazing. My bf ordered a curry soup, which was also great but a little spicy for my taste. Next, on to the main course. I ordered a lobster, shrimp and scallop pesto risotto, and bf ordered the angus filet with mashed potatoes and asparagus. Both were absolutely incredible (I stole a couple of bites of the filet!) We were too full from our scrumptious dinner to get dessert, although they did have a lot of tantalizing options. Paramount Grill is pretty pricey, but it is a great spot for a special occasion that you're willing to splurge on. 

Salad

Lobster, shrimp & scallop risotto

Filet with mashed potatoes and asparagus

MMM...

Just found this article on a healthy food blog. I want to cook with citrus this week! 

The Best Broccoli of Your Life

I found a blog post online a few days ago claiming to have the best broccoli recipe ever. As an avid broccoli eater, I was instantly intrigued especially because my broccoli tends to be too watery and soggy. I decided to give the recipe a try, pairing it with sauteed shrimp and a small side of whole wheat pasta. The oven-baked broccoli was REALLY easy and it definitely held up to it's reputation.  I simplified the recipe a tad, and just flavored broccoli florets with olive oil, salt, pepper and sliced garlic and baked for 25 minutes. The broccoli had the tiniest amount of char, which really added to the flavor. I made a marinade of olive oil, mustard, chopped basil, chopped garlic, lemon juice and salt and let the shrimp sit in that for about 15 minutes before sautéing for about 5 minutes. I used the leftover shrimp marinade to wet the pasta. It was a really simple, pretty healthy and extremely delicious Friday-night dinner, and my boyfriend loved it!

Cupcakes

As I previously mentioned, I have a serious sweet tooth. For as long as I can remember, my favorite dessert has been cake, and I especially love cupcakes. Cupcakes have become a "trendy" dessert in recent years, with cupcake-focused bakeries popping up around the country. Many attribute this to the Magnolia Bakery shout-out Carrie made on an episode of "Sex and the City." Magnolia is a personal favorite of mine, and I make it a point to get a cupcake (or maybe a couple of cupcakes :) ) every time I am in the city. In an effort to explore more bakeries while spending a summer in NYC, I decided to blog about my cupcake travels. Although I only ended up blogging a couple of times, it was a great conversation starter and a great excuse for my excessive cupcake eating. Here's a link to that blog, Project Cupcake. While doing my cupcake research, I came across a blog, Cupcakes Take the Cake, which I still read regularly. The writers of the blog talk about all things cupcake, and have links to cupcake bakeries throughout the U.S. It is definitely worth a read!

Magnolia's famous cupcakes

Past eats- Study Abroad 2008

Okay. After looking through some of my pictures, I realized I really like to take pictures of my food. I am not sure if it is normal. Here are some pictures of the best food I ate while studying abroad in Spring 2008. And when I said I like to eat healthy foods, this didn't really apply as much when I was in Europe. "When in Rome..."


Appetizers at an amazing trattoria in Rome. Left: Grilled veggies served cold in the best oily sauce I've ever tasted; Center: amazing, freshly baked bread; Right: a wedge of the best cheese I've ever tasted to be dipped in honey. It was an amazing meal, and this was just the first course.


Pizza with broccoli in Venice. I love broccoli on my pizza!


The most delicious strawberries. Purchased from a cart at a street fair in Milan. Consumed while taking in the Italian countryside while on a train from Milan to Florence.


THE BEST SANDWICH I HAVE EVER EATEN. Bought from an Italian man at a meat counter at an open-air market in Florence. It came wrapped in thick paper, making it easy to eat on the go. Focaccia bread with fresh pesto and sun-dried tomatoes. Simple yet so flavorful. And if I remember correctly, it was only 3 €.


French toast with jam in Amsterdam.


Filet mignon with mashed potatoes. Main course on a dinner boat cruise on the Seine River in Paris, France.


And finally, a shout out to some comida de Espanol. I was not a huge fan of Spanish food, but considering I lived in Madrid, I felt I had to include a picture of some tapas. Homemade chips, fried zucchini and olives.

Intro

This is the first post for the Catie Eats! blog. My name is Catie, and I am a senior majoring in journalism at UF. I LOVE food, and I LOVE cooking, and I wanted to share some of my culinary secrets with the world.

Eating healthy is really important to me, and I incorporate healthy foods into the dishes I cook. I am not a huge fan of strict diets, so maintaining a healthy eating routine 90 percent of the time makes up for eating not-so-healthy foods (pizza, sweets, etc.) the other 10 percent of the time. I have a major sweet tooth, so I cherish the ability to eat sweets guilt-free when I want to.

Look forward to recipes and pictures of the foods I cook and eat and restaurant recommendations in Gainesville.