bookchickdi: Ferrara Bakery

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Weekend Cooking- What I Didn't Cook This Month

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.

I did a lot of cooking this month because I got a new slow cooker and Trish from Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity hosted a Pin It & Do It Challenge. The posts for that are linked at the end of this post.

But we do live in New York City, so there are plenty of opportunities to not cook as well, and in this post I will share some of those things too.

We had a visitor from back home for a few days, and he wanted to go to Little Italy for lunch. I've really only been there during the San Gennaro Festival when it is very crowded, so it was enjoyable to walk the streets when you can really see everything.

There are many lunch choices, and we ate at Da Nico. I had the ravioli, which was fabulous, with a tomato sauce that was absolutely delicious. Our friend had minestrone soup, which was perfect on this cold, windy day.

Da Nico Ristorante on Mulberry Street

A trip to Mulberry Street isn't complete without a stop at Ferrara Bakery and Cafe for treats to bring home. I got two chocolate mousse cannolis and a ricotta cannoli that were huge hits that night for dessert. I also brought home an assortment of Italian cookies for the next few days. I was very popular at home that evening.

Ferrara's cannoli case

I made a trip this week to Times Square to meet some friends and they took me to an Irish pub I had never been to before- O'Lunney's on 45th between 6th and 7th Avenues. It was a lovely place, so bright and inviting, and I had sliders with a chipotle aioli and fries that were crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. It was the best meal I have had in an Irish pub here and I will be putting O'Lunney's on my go-to list when people come to visit. (Thanks, Becky!)

We also made a stop at my favorite cookie shop- Schmackary's on 45th between 8th and 9th Avenues. I brought home my favorites- Red Velvet with Cream Cheese and Oatmeal Scotchie, and if you are ever in Times Square, seek this place out. Their special cookie that day was in honor of the 10th anniversary of Broadway's Wicked, so of course it had bright green frosting on top of a chocolate cookie.

Schmackary's mascot

After a trip to see Big Fish on Broadway, which I recommend for Norbert Leo Butz's energetic performance, I had to decide what to do for dinner. I walked over to Columbus Circle to Whole Foods and after circling the prepared foods for what seemed like forever, I went back to the meat case, picked up some ready-to-cook meatballs, some Rao's sauce (if we can't get a reservations there, we might as well buy the prepared sauce), and some spaghetti and we had a delightful meal that everyone enjoyed.

I couldn't leave Columbus Circle without stopping at Bouchon Bakery for some Oh Oh's for dessert. If you are a fan of Hostess HoHos, you would love Thomas Keller's homemade Oh Oh's. It was the perfect end to our simple spaghetti and meatballs dinner.