How did YOU Ring in the New Year?!

Hopefully you will find this holiday greeting as humorous as we do. This is my first experiment with iMovie in an attempt to spare you from as much drunken singing as possible. Dawes at the Varsity Theater was fabulous! As Maggie says, one of the few places in town I would go just to hang out in the bathroom. 

Enjoy the music and stick around for a Happy New Year at the end. 

Prix Fixe on NYE

Here is a peak at our 5 course prix fixe meal at Victory 44. Kate said, why don't we go to Restaurant Alma for dinner at $85 per person. Pip said, why don't we go to Victory 44 instead for $35 per person. Pip wins!

A little beet tartare w/ pomegranate seeds pared with a sauv blanc.

Christmas Shopping with the Chinook Book

In our Christmas present shopping this year, we tried to buy local and use Chinook Book coupons as much as possible. Miraculously, we never set foot in a mall during the Holiday season.

Here's a quick rundown on where we shopped.

The Hub Bicycle Coop: hit up one of our favorite bike shops for bike lights. We used two coupons here for $20 in savings.

Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply: tried out this place for the first time to get garden tools. Savings: $5.

Mississippi Market: kind of strange location for gift shopping, but they had great "Locally Grown" t-shirts and other locally made gear. Savings: $5.

Aaron's Green Cleaning: setup some cleaning sessions for my parents. Estimated savings: $50.

Patina: this is usually our go-to spot for wedding gifts, but it's also great for fun stocking stuffers. Savings: $10

Moss Envy: last summer we checked out this store and were disappointed that they didn't have anything branded with their logo. After reading our blog post about it, they added various gear online and we finally got around to ordering some coffee mugs. There is a coupon for Moss Envy, but it wasn't applicable to our purchase. Savings: $0.

Total savings on Christmas shopping: $90.

Christmas is Awesome

In anticipation of our upcoming trip to Mexico, the tree was topped with a Luchador angel.

Had a great time with the in-laws at the British Ad Awards at the Walker (an annual tradition) and thankfully my hands were kept warm by Santa's gift of handerpants.

Taking in the NYC Sights

So Twinkly

New York, New York

Just because, we went to NYC for a long weekend in December. In the spirit of this Blog, we ate and ate and ate and spent all of our Chinook Book savings.

Here's the skinny on what we did:

NoHo Star for drinks and apps in NoHo

Abistro for french/senegalese dinner in Brooklyn

Brooklyn Art Museum for first Saturday free admission in Brooklyn

Walked Central Park with Allison

Red Rooster for brunch in Harlem

Checked into Le Parker Meridian to see the Ginger Bread Houses 

Took in a Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center

Walked the High Line in Chelsea

Spotted Pig for Dinner in Chelsea

Pink Berry for Dessert in Upper East Side

Johns Pizza for lunch in the Village

I enjoyed everything we did and all the food we ate. I would recommend it all. Of these things, Pink Berry for frozen yogurt is one of my favorite things but not unique to New York, so if you are passing bye might be worth a visit. I would go back to Abistro, because it was delicious and not something one can find easily outside of New York. If I was there again on the first Saturday of the month, I would plan better to take full advantage of the show. Lastly, a walk on the High Line was a very relaxing way to see Chelsea and some urban renewal.

Hope thats helpful!

Kate

PS. I love New York.

Turkey

I was on turkey duty this year. A job that I enjoy but that carries a fair amount of pressure. After several years of mostly savory recipes, I thought I'd add a little sweetness to this year's bird.

First things first. I ordered a 16lb fresh Wild Acres turkey through the Birchwood Cafe, which meant that I only had to walk one block to pick up the turkey. Keeping it local.

Okay, back to adding sweet to a typically savory dish. A decided to make an apricot-glazed turkey (see recipe on Epicurious). An interesting element of this recipe is that the gravy includes no flour--just blended onions and leaks for thickening.

While carving the turkey, I took a bite and it tasted delicious. Unfortunately it was the only bite I was going to have all evening. It was a rather large piece, and being distracted with slicing, I didn't it chew it enough before swallowing. A moment later, I realized that it got stuck in my esophagus. I won't add any more details, but I spent the next three hours in the ER and went to bed without supper.

All reports have indicated that my first impression was accurate--the turkey was delicious. I definitely recommend the recipe. So tonight, I look forward to eating the leftovers I wasn't able to enjoy yesterday.

However, my project for the afternoon is making turkey stock (ingredients: turkey carcass, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaf, white wine, parsley, thyme and of course water).