some foods from my new york trip

Last week, I went to New York with a good friend of mine—then proceeded to eat my way through the city. Here are some photos from some of the gastronomic highlights.

 On the way there, I sat next to a native New Yorker on the plane who said I had to go to Ferrara since it has so much history. It's been around since 1892. They are famous for their cannoli's and other Italian pastries. Above is a Lemon Meringue tart.

Part of a GIANT Lobster Tail pastry, also from Ferrara.

We went to Brooklyn to meet with some of our dear friends, Dallas and TJ, and they took us to a place I've been dying to go: Four & Twenty Blackbirds. They have incredible made-from-scratch pies. Clockwise from the top left 1) Maple Buttermilk, 2) Salted Honey, 3) Plum Crumble and 4) Salted Caramel Apple.

Here is the storefront.

Vanilla Buttermilk Waffle with an apple sauce and raspberry coulis with vanilla creme fraiche and some kind of amazing sauce that seemed caramely and super delish from Clinton Street Baking Company. My mom has their cookbook, and every recipe looks amazing. I would eat anything on their menu. Every day. All day. Anytime.

an "ah-ha moment"

A few months back, a woman named Olivia contacted me on behalf of Mutual of Omaha’s “Aha Moment” campaign. Every summer, for the past few years, they take an Airstream trailer across the country and interview people about their "Ah-ha moments"—and they asked me to be a part of it this year. It's a pretty cool concept, and the first time I've gotten a non-spam email from a company through my blog—so I looked into it. As much as being on camera freaks me out (you'll notice my blushing), and feeling like a giant dork, I decided to do it. So, last month, I met the very nice team and hopped into their trailer and tried to make sense of why I have my blog and why I love baking so much. Here is a link to my video.

(And please don't think I'm as big of a dork as I think I am.)