New York City

We just got back from a nine-day East Coast vacation.  Two or three days too long vacation. I loved my first few days in New York City.  Since we've never visited before, we signed up for one of the cheesey double decker tours.  Our ticket seller tacked on an extra day, which helped us see Central Park in addition to all the rest of the touristy spots like the Flatiron District, Wall Street, BoHo, Queens, Manhattan etc.

As a Social Studies major in college, I enjoyed seeing the historic building icons--we took so many photos, I cannot wait to see how they turned out!  This trip will also give us a point of reference now when we watch the Sell New York type shows on HGTV.

My favorite part of the trip in NYC was the Chelsea Market area and the Hi-Line Park.  We saw Bob Tuschman of the Food Network as we got into the cab to go back to the hotel.  Hi-Line park used to be an elevated train track that is now a walking path with gardens galore.  We also went back to the area early Saturday morning to walk down 28th Street for the flower market area--super photo opportunities abound here.

The shopping was amazing in NYC since there were stores we do not have here in Wisconsin, and even with the stores we do have, the selections seemed different and more abundant.  Another plus were the number of Starbucks no matter where you were.  If there wasn't a Starbucks there was a local coffee shop.

What I didn't like?  Traffic gridlock, honking horns 24X7, Times Square (too many people), scaffolding (it's everywhere and covers up beautiful storefronts and buildings), and the shear volume of people everywhere you turn.

Gem Hotel? = Hotel Metro on 35th.  Quiet stay, nice large room and super nice staff.
Crap Hotel? = Roosevelt Hotel on 45th - beautiful hotel, well preserved but poorly staffed, lines abound and the front desk employees "tolerate" you.  Bell hops were nice!

Food Network Inspired Dinner

Yesterday morning, my usual Saturday morning show "This Old House" led to programming on HGTV and then the Food Network. My daughter and I watched Paula Deen flirt with some Italian chef who has a restaurant in Vegas, while making stuffed manicotti. I'm not sure if it was the good nature flirting, or my slight hunger at the time, but I wanted to try and make my own manicotti. While surfing for a good recipe to use on www.AllRecipes.com, Ina Garten's show came on and her Raspberry Crumble Bars sounded equally intriguing. The cool thing about being connected to the Internet 24X7, is the ability to hook up and download just about anything. I found Ina Garten's recipe and made note of the ingredients we needed. After reading comments on a few manicotti recipes, I had a game plan.

Everything turned out fantastic! I didn't photograph my manicotti, but I was surprised how easy it all went together. I'm not a professional chef, but I used a gallon-size ziploc bag to squeeze the stuffing into the cooked shells. My stuffing included ricotta, mozerella and parmesan cheese, spinach, and a small amount of Italian sausage. For the sauce, I doctored up some cheap canned tomato sauce with minced garlic, fresh parsley and Italian seasons. My advice? Let anything be your inspiration--you may be surprised at your results (and your tummy will thank you!)