You don’t need a guide to New York City. There are a million in existence, and you likely have friends to tell you where to go and what to eat. But yet, it pains me to see the streams of tourists heading to Times Square or Fifth Avenue, missing some of the city’s best gems. Sure, if you want to eat at Red Lobster and see bright lights, do it. But I always think it’s nice to see the quieter, less traveled parts of a city as a visitor. If I designed a day for someone visiting –provided they didn’t need to do bucket list things like go to the Met or eat at Katz’s—here’s what I’d do. This isn’t quintessential New York and it doesn’t check any famous boxes. But it’s a collection of seriously fantastic and pretty places that are worth seeing:
Read moreCHOCOLATE TAHINI CHALLAH BABKA
What do you do when the world feels slightly off-kilter? Some days the ground seems less steady under my feet. Things I take for granted don't appear. Big things: people get sick, the newspaper is covered in sad stories. Little things: I pull a muscle and can't run for three days, my roof leaks, travel plans go awry.
Read moreDELICATE APPLE PIE
If you were to find yourself in the position of needing to really impress someone, here's your solution. You can bake this tart, and when everyone says things like oh, you are a true baking virtuoso OR you must have spent hours and hours making that tart OR marry me, you domestic god(dess), you can just smile graciously and think about how easy it actually was.
Read moreCHEWY MOLASSES COOKIES
In the kitchen this morning while making cookies, I paused to scrape down the beater of my stand mixer. I scraped it messily, leaving enough batter to lick off cleanly before dropping it in the sink.
The sight of a batter-coated beater or spatula evokes a near-Pavlovian response in me. I absolutely have to sneak a finger-full, then I lick the rest off, then dig into the corners to get every last bit of batter.
Read moreFIG & ALMOND TART
We had a few perfect fall days this weekend. Knowing that this weather is fleeting makes it feel all the more fantastic. Everyone is out soaking it up: I biked home today along the Hudson River, past dozens of birthday parties and barbecues and groups of friends sprawled across picnic blankets.
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