goodness, gracious, great meatballs of fire

a few girlfriends and i recently scored some pretty sweet and hard-to-come-by seats at the new and raved about meatball shop on stanton street (we would like to thank Lauren T for seriously playing the martha card) for a night of wine, amazing side dishes and a plethora of delicious meatballs. 

a great and impressive thing about the meatball shop is how they've managed to create such a wide clientele (there were babies, middle aged couples, brooklyn hipsters, west side poshies and everyone in between present...and may i add, anxiously waiting for a table, while we slid in) and surprisingly diverse menu while still keeping the focus solely on balls of meat. the possibilities and combinations of meal options seemed endless. 

we each got a different variety of meatball and sauce combo - we voted the best to be between the classic beef and the spicy pork in the classic tomato sauce. mmm!  - and a side dish to share. of sides, the simple salad of arugula & apples was perfection as was the market salad of the day, which was also an arugula based salad, but a good polenta always gets my vote for best. 

and although there wasn't much room left, we glutenously decided to get 3 ice cream sandwich creations of our own design. these went pretty fast so no telling which was a favorite combo. 

for our next visit we plan on expanding our horizons and trying the sliders, more meatball and sauce combos and remembering to savor dessert a bit more. 

* photo is straight from the meatball shops website. we were too busy eating to take our own photos of the deliciousness

hideous or a must-have?

it's one of those things...it is either really hideous and terrible and that's why i can't stop looking at it or it is so different i dub it unique and therefor it is totally fabulous and i can absolutely justify buying it. thoughts?

but really, regardless of your thoughts, i already know what wall i want to hang it on and which bags, coats and scarves are the lucky few allowed to adorn it.

next challenge...convincing my favorite welsh import it suits our apt.

 

everything is better in mini...especially banana cupcakes

the first time i baked these cupcakes they became an instant favorite; easy to make, unique, smooth and addicting frosting and the moist banana cake is reminiscent of childhood.

i decided to make these yummy cupcakes in the mini form for a baby shower i went to. perfect & adorable.

the original recipe is from the martha stewart cupcakes book and is far more complicated; (as mentioned in previous blog 'milk please' i have zero patience for high maintenance baking) the thought of separating and whipping egg whites for cupcakes is silly, especially when a similar recipe just calls for two eggs, roasting the bananas for 15 minutes, two mixers would be needed. ugh. and involves sour cream. thankfully i found another martha stewart version much simplified and equally as tasty. phew!

banana cupcakes with honey-cinnamon frosting

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour  

3/4 c. sugar                                                

1 tsp. baking powder                                 

1/2 tsp. baking soda                        

1/4 tsp. salt

1 stick unsalted butter

4 bananas ( recipe calls for ripe, but i find them easier to work with when they are past ripe and the skin is brown in color)

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

preheat oven to 350 degrees. line muffin pan with paper liners. in medium bowl whisk together all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt).

make well in center of flour mixture. in well, mix butter, mashed bananas, eggs and vanilla. stir to incorporate into flour mixture until well blended but do not over mix. divide batter into muffin cups. bake approximately 25-30 minutes. for mini cupcakes, which as previously stated, everything is better is mini i.e. bite size, reduce baking time to 10-15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

best part.....

honey-cinnamon frosting

1 1/4 c. confectioners sugar

1 stick butter room temp.

1 tbsp. honey

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon - i usually add a but more. i heart cinnamon.

beat in electric mixer until smooth. approximately 4-5 minutes. wait for cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

be prepared to be impressed with yourself and be sure to have a glass of milk handy. enjoy!

martha's version 

my version 

subway scents of spring

this guy got on the subway at 30th avenue and sat next to me. he smelt exactly like the 6th grade. it must have been his ck one

guggenheim

yet another classic new york experience....well, i had to wait in line in the freezing cold of february on the UES for over an hour to experience this one...but the atmosphere was well worth the wait.

since i've moved to manhattan (circa 2007) my dear artsy & architecture friends have been trying to persuade me to go to the guggenheim museum for a friday night. i finally made it to one. and what better one to experience than the last one...EVER

once inside (which was thankfully, gloriously warm) we had to fight our way through tots high crowds, dancing wildly to the sounds of chromeo dj extraodinaire to the bar to get free, yet unforgivingly small drinks. units of alcohol consumed at guggs: 1.

we all followed the lead of my favorite red head brooklynite duo and ended up gliding up the swirling white interior. my irritation that my down jacket and scarf draped over my bag ruining both my posture and well-thought-through outfit had left me. the view was incredible. i soaked it in.

and stole a shot of a pair of picassos