Powered By Blogger

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Weekend Cooking- A Birthday Celebration

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.

This week we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday. My husband's parents came to the city and we saw a matinee performance of After Midnight, a celebration of the Cotton Club that had such fabulous singers, dancers and the amazing The Jazz at Lincoln Center All-Stars playing all the music. We were lucky enough to see singer k.d. lang as the featured performer- she has the purest, loveliest voice and she performed with such pure joy. And Dule` Hill (The West Wing, Psych) is terrific as the sort of narrator/host of the show.

I highly recommend After Midnight to anyone who loves music and dance. It's a fantastic show, and you will feel nothing but happiness as you leave the theater humming and tapping your feet.


We went to dinner at the Carlyle Hotel, a New York institution. We had a Travelzoo deal- dinner for two (two glasses of champagne, two appetizers, two entrees and two desserts) for $125. Some restaurants have a very limited menu for these special deals, but the Carlyle had a large and varied menu for us.

Since it was Ash Wednesday (and we are Catholic), we all chose one of the many fish dishes on the menu. The crab cake appetizer was served with a large, crunchy fried onion ring, and it was delicious. It was light and tasty, but we all wished for more of the sauce that was under the crab cake.

For our entree, we had the Lobster Thermidor. I love the way they serve it; they cook the lobster and save the shell. They fill the shell with mushrooms and then layer the lobster and top that with the cream, cheese and brandy sauce. It is a classic dish and we all adored it.
Lobster Thermidor

For dessert, I ordered the Creme` Brulee because I haven't had in a very long time, and it seemed like the perfect old school New York thing to get. It did not disappoint.
Creme` Brulee

The ambiance was very Upper East Side New York. As you walk in, there are two photos on the walls- one of Jacqueline Kennedy and the other of her husband John Kennedy, both in front of the Carlyle. You can picture sitting them at one of the tables, set with such lovely china, surrounded by huge floral displays.

It was a fabulous place for a birthday celebration and on the way out we saw Shirley Jones sitting backstage getting ready to go on at the Cafe Carlyle. How I wanted to run up and give her a hug and tell her how much I have enjoyed her music and acting in movies (and she's Mrs. Partridge!), but I restrained myself.


7 comments:

  1. You always have the best adventures! I love k.d. lang -- have heard her live a couple of times and you're right -- such a beautiful, pure voice.

    And your dinner at the Carlyle! I would have ordered exactly the same things. Everything looks so yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lobster Thermidor - just fabulous - how can I get me some... (we call it crayfish here). Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love both k.d. lang and Dulé Hill, so I'm envious of your theater experience. Sounds wonderful! Dinner at the Carlyle sounds fabulous -- I love that they could accomodate you with so many fish dishes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've heard so much about Lobster Thermidor, but have never seen a picture of it - it looks delicious! Sounds like a great celebration!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds like a wonderful evening, good entertainment, good company and goof food!

    Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out

    ReplyDelete
  6. I absolutely cannot pass on a creme brulee. And k. d. lang? I've been a fan forever. Lucky you to hear her sing. What a great celebration.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That sounds like a great show and a wonderful meal, but the real clincher for me would be hearing k d lang - I've very jealous. To finish that off by seeing Mrs Partridge as well - nights just don't get much better than that.

    ReplyDelete