A lobster roll, some fried clams, a beer... and a ring?!

(I'm not sure why my blog is cutting off all my photos, but I'm working that.)

That's right ladies and germs. I was proposed to at The Clam Shack on Montauk, L.I. yesterday over a lobster roll, a clam roll and a coupla beers while "Goin' to the Chapel" was on the stereo. As my brother said, "Does it get any better than that?".

I think not.





About The Clam Shack

I highly recommend the lobster roll and the steamers. The lobster roll is something of an art in that it is almost always over-thought. It should be, in my opinion, extremely simple and fresh and therefore unbeatable in terms of taste. This lobster roll has mayo, celery for a little crunch and maybe some seasoning I didn't taste because I was too busy enjoying what I should be: lobster. It was on a sweet roll and came with a wedge of lemon and some cole slaw. My idea of heaven.



We ate there twice and the first time my fiance (giggle, giggle) had the steamers which the waitress informed us had just been taken out the water on Shelter Island that day. They were delicious. The next day he had the clam roll - also on a sweet roll and served with lemon and tartar sauce - which was just as scrumptous in a fried kinda way.

We had come from Montauk Point - a state park which is (guess where?) on the point of Montauk right on the ocean. It's a nice drive and a lovely view. There's not much there besides a gift shop, a lighthouse and greasy diner-type restaurant. But if you need more than the ocean to get you out there, I don't know what to tell you.





We saw a particularly strange vehicle in the parking lot while we were there and had to document it:








As my fiance said, "That's dedication."

We stayed in Southampton, L.I. at The Box Farm Inn which was quite nice. Here are some photos of the place. A woman named Connie introduced to the house and the set-up when we first arrived Friday night.







We stayed in the Library Room just off the main entry and it was lovely. The one downside is that the inn is right on Rte. 27 which is the main thoroughfare so there is traffic noise most of the day and some of the night. There are still crickets and birds however and the grounds are beautiful. Your room fee includes a home-cooked breakfast the next day by Alice, the chef, who made some of the best corn muffins I've ever had as well as eggs, bacon, pancakes and toast.







There is also an open bar to all guests (danger! danger!) and a pool that is heated to 85 F and open 24 hours a day with complimentary beach towels.





All in all, it was a lovely weekend complete with rest and good food and romantic dinners. We ate the first night at Trata's, a Greek seafood place with a club-like atmosphere that caters to the rich and soulless. The food was good, but even with excellent service it was not worth the price and if you're like me and do not leave NYC to see and be seen, then this is not the place for you.

Also, at The American Hotel in Sag Harbor the scene is busy and glam in an urban getaway kind of way. I'm sure most of the Hamptons are like that and like I said, not my thing. If I want fancy, sceney food I'll stay in Manhattan and while I like a nice, dark hotel bar and restaurant as much as the next 75 year-old man, this was not that. I don't recommend it even though the food is quite good.

Both my fiance and I preferred Montauk for it's more laid back atmosphere and natural beauty. Next time, you can find us on the ocean or at The Clam Shack munching on some lobster.

Healthy Muffins - good & good for you

So further along my attempts at healthy baking I made Banana-Buttermilk Muffins and Date-Apple Oat Bran Muffins from Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Healthful Cooking.

The Banana-Buttermilk Muffins are delicious and moist and yummy. The Date-Apple Oat Bran Muffins were slightly less yummy, but I think I might have baked them for too long. All in all, these recipes were incredibly easy and yummy.

I recommend the cookbook. The recipes are relatively simple, healthy and tasty.

Tonight I'm making Savory Mint Lamb Chops from epicurious.com along with red (new) potatoes and steamed asparagus.

Annnnnndddd my honey and I went out to dinner in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn at a great restaurant that has a small but intriguing menu. The Farm on Adderly. I recommend the burger which, if you like medium rare beef, is tender, juicy and delicious. It comes on an english muffins and you can substitute the fries with greens. But the fries are good. And for brunch try the Farmer's Eggs.

If you're in Ditmas Park and want something a little more naughty - read: Southern cooking - try Picket Fence. All I have to say about that place is that they have smoked Gouda mac 'n cheese.

Off to make the lamb chops...

Simple, healthy meals - Chicken breasts & spaghetti squash

For some reason eating healthily at home is not always as easy as it sounds like it will be. Maybe because you have to keep things movin' and groovin' otherwise you want to tear your hair out or run to the nearest greasy spoon or bakery and shove fried food and/or pastry into your mouth as fast as possible...

or maybe that's just me.

But REGARDLESS, if I had a penny for every time a friend of mine or I say (martini in hand) "No, I'm really going to start eating healthy this week" I would have SEVERAL pennies.

And I hate it when someone touts a recipe as being simple and there is basting, peeling, roasting, pureeing, zesting, chilling invovled - THAT'S NOT SIMPLE. You know what's simple? Cereal. So when I say "simple" I mean a step above cereal... and that step is using the stove or oven.

One of my all-time favorite recipes is baked chicken breasts. Plain chicken breasts? Not so good. Chicken breasts covered in Herbs de Provence? Fuckin good.

Take two halves of a chicken breast and lightly cover them in olive oil. Shake a decent coating of Herbs de Provence on the tops of the breast and bake at 375 for 30-40 mins or so, depending on the size of the breast. Et voila - a tasty protein dish. Sound too simple? Try it. I eat it at least once a week and have been serving it to my boyfriend for several months and each time he says (as he did last night having prepared it himself for the first time) "You have somethin here with this recipe...it's always good."

I usually pair it with steamed asparagus with a touch of butter and salt and pepper or a sprinkling of shaved, fresh Parmesan or steamed artichokes. Last night, however, my boyfriend cooked a new favorite of ours which is very healthy and tasty - spaghetti squash.

Halve the spaghetti squash and remove the seeds, placing the halves face-down in a baking dish coated with cooking spray and cook them at 375 F for about 35 minutes or until you can pierce the shell easily.

Let cool for a few minutes and using a fork or spaghetti server scrape out the meat of the squash and place in a large bowl. We usually add our own homemade marinara sauce made with canned and/or fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, basil and garlic. It makes for a filling, healthy meal that feels like you're eating pasta - but you're not!

My boyfriend is not a squash-person. He says it's often too sweet for him and in general doesn't seek it out, but after I served him spaghetti squash for the first time at the end of the last cold season he said, "I may never eat spaghetti again this is so good". Now I know some pasta lovers would definitely beg to differ, but what I'm trying to say is - it's good.

Cupcakes to make the most hardened man beg for more... part deux

So another friends' birthday gave me the perfect excuse to try my cupcakes from last week again. This time I only made the Dark Chocolate Sour Cream cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting -





-and the Easy Yellow-Mix Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream -





(please forgive my shitty camera phone - i will get a better one soon)

and they turned out quite well again. I cooked the DCSC cupcakes for less time and they are crumbly when they first come of out of the oven which makes it a little difficult to ice. I recommend cooling them and the icing in the fridge for a few minutes and then frosting them. Then refridgerate until serving.

They are yummy!

Again, I used the tips from the icing video on youtube.com and it's getting a little better. The chocolate buttercream is just me doing random designs. But the flowers are quite pretty. I'll let you know what my friend thinks!

Rained out

So my boyfriend and I decided, after trying for five months, to have a yard sale today in Brooklyn. Ummm... it poured rain and soaked all of our belongings. We sat on our stoop and watched the rain fall. Our upstairs neighbor brought us a tarp, thankfully, that we put over our stuff.

Then we ran back and forth from the shelter of the porch to bring everything in and place it on towels in our living room. Sigh. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow.

I don't know if you have seen this movie-

Once

but I have seen it twice and think it may be the best love story on film besides Casablanca. And Blue Velvet...heeeyyyy!

Oh, barf. My cat is being ridiculously cute next to me.

Sometimes a girl needs some space

I don't know if you have days where modern life makes you want to smash windows with a baseball bat or drown your sorrows with bourbon and the blues...

But on those days sometimes the best thing to do is get out of the house and remind yourself that there's a big world out there, not just full of shitheads, but well-dressed, rich people too (wait a minute...). And Central Park.

I'm having one of those days and I think I just might head over to one of my favorite bars in New York City - The Lobby Lounge at the Mandarin Oriental.

While you're there, try out the Jade Blossom Martini if you like white wine and lychee and sake... it's yummy and very pretty. My crappy cell phone camera does not do it justice... but I'm sure you will.



Not only is the MoBar lovely, but the Lobby Lounge has comfortable seating (if you can get in, it does get crowded after work) and sweeping views of Central Park and the New York Skyline. It's not cheap, but it just might clear your head.

If that doesn't help, try street heroin.

Cupcakes to make the most hardened man beg for more

Ok, so a good friend of mine had her birthday party in Manhattan a week ago and I decided to make cupcakes for her.

Who doesn't like cupcakes after all?

Well, I used recipes from this book -

Cupcakes!

and they were a HUGE hit.

I made the Chocolate Buttercream frosting which was incredible - buttery and smooth and the perfect amount of sweetness mixed with chocolate flavor. I combined this frosting with the Easy Yellow-Mix Cupcakes which I think is hard to beat - even the most picky eater can't turn down a good yellow cupcake with chocolate frosting.

Next I made White Cupcakes with White Chocolate frosting as my friend is a big fan of white chocolate and she couldn't get enough of them. She ate several that night and took a couple home for breakfast and snacking the next day. They turned out quite well - the White Chocolate frosting was a little sweet for me, but if you like white chocolate I recommend them.

And last, but most definitely not least I made Dark Chocolate Sour Cream cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting. The Cream Cheese frosting was simply delightful... it's one of my favorite kinds of frosting anyway, and this was no exception. It was smooth and cheesy and sweet and tangy. The DCSC cupcakes were drier than the others, but that was because I cooked them a few minutes too long, I think. The recipe is quite good. I also filled a mini-cake tin with the batter and that turned out moist and perfect so I know it's possible to make these little guys mouth-wateringly good.

And, of course, I forgot to take pictures before they were gobbled up!

I used disposable pastry bags and attachments sold as a set by Dean and Deluca and even though I'm a novice, they turned out quite good. My advice is, stick to the basic moves and don't get too creative on your first try. I did have a few cupcakes that looked like a first grader exercised their creative license with them... and the I reverted back to the two styles I learned from a video on youtube.com.

Icing Cupcakes Video.

Oh, and because I'm a fuckin dork I bought tupperware in which to carry cupcakes. It's AWESOME. I think making and bringing cupcakes to someone's birthday party is a great present and my friends couldn't believe what a freakin domestic weirdo I am. YES. Check it out -

Cupcake Carrier from Crate & Barrel

Suffice to say, four different people asked if I owned a bakery where they could buy more (hey - not a bad idea, right?) and several more sought me out to tell me how good they were and they, despite dietary restrictions, had indulged in more than one.

Now that's what I call a success.