Spring Break in New York

Our trip to New York was short and sweet this time. It's kind of crazy to think that this is the 5th trip I've won to New York and every time I'm there I fall in love with the city even more.

It felt like a dream, which was pretty appropriate since that's the name of the hotel we stayed at in Midtown Manhattan.

We took the 6am flight to NY and got to the Dream hotel around 11:30 

(Isn't the headboard gorgeous?!)

Just enough time to drop off our bags and head straight to Nobu for lunch

 Holy mother of all things delicious, Nobu was amazing! It was one of those meals where all you can do is moan at how good it is and fight over the last bite like cave men. 

To start I had the Champagne 95 (Champagne, Torres Orange Liqueur, Crème de Peche & Pineapple Juice). A little sweet, but still delicious. Yellowtail Sashimi with jalapeno was next and was light and refreshing- the perfect way to start the meal. We got the special roll of the day, but for the life of me I can't remember what was in it. Just know that it was damn good. I couldn't go to Nobu without trying the Black Cod with Miso, which lived up to all the hype I had read about it before going. For dessert we got the Raspberry Mille-Feuille: (Caramel Miso Cream Layered Puff Pastry Wafers, Raspberry Coulis, White Chocolate Tuile, Chamomile-Fromage Blanc Sherbet) while this was good, I thought it was the weakest dish we had that day. Maybe because right before we had dessert, we were served the Duck. It was a special of the day, and by far the best thing I ate the entire trip. Seared duck breast, a leg of duck confit and a fresh micro-green salad sat on top of icy cold watermelon and jalapenos with a bright vinaigrette. I seriously wanted to order another one as soon as we were done. Mind blowingly good!

After lunch we went back to the hotel to get ready for the night!!

The party was put on by Food Network Magazine, The US Potato Board  and Alex Guarnaschelli at Butter Restaurant . The venue was really beautiful! The menu on the tables were printed out for the night and my recipe was first on the list!! There was a huge oyster bar as well, so Louis and I were in heaven and stopped by there a few times that night.

I was pulled aside to take pictures with my dish and with Chef Alex and as you can see it was blinding! Overall the night was amazing and it truly flew by. 

The next morning we headed over to Dominique Ansel Bakery for cronuts! I was so super excited to try these after seeing them all over instagram. Louis, however, had no idea what I was talking about or why I had to pre-order and pay for them weeks before we even got to NY. This month's flavor was raspberry coconut and they definitely lived up to the hype. We also got an order of Madeleines fresh from the oven. After loading up on sugar we walked down to The Highline, a park built on old freight rails that takes you above the streets of the city. It was the perfect day to walk along and watch the crowds below.

The Highline took us to Chelsea Market where Food Network studios and a bunch of restaurants and stores are. I couldn't get over how gorgeous the produce was! 

We had walked a long time at this point, and for anyone that knows me, you know that's a big deal. I typically hate walking especially if it's hot. Luckily the day was cool and gorgeous, so it was ok but I was ready to eat! We headed to Ippudo for lunch and sat at the counter. It was super busy, but we only had to wait about 10 minutes. Any time someone is seated or food is brought to you all of the staff makes these loud announcements together in Japanese. I don't have any idea what was going on, but it was cute.  Louis got the lunch special of Pork Soboro (rice and sweet and savory pork), a side salad and the Classic Ramen. I got the Akamaru Modern Ramen and I totally get now why they say that Ramen is Japanese soul food. It is a hug in a bowl and I couldn't even finish half of the noodles the bowl was so big. The broth was amazing, and being able to recreate that at home is now on my to-do list.

Next up was something I had been dying to do since the moment I knew we were going back to NYC! 

Wicked!! 

I truly love this show, the music, the costumes. Everything about it is amazing and even though we've seen it once already, there were parts I had forgotten that felt new all over again. Love love love.

After Wicked, we had about two hours to kill before the car was ready to bring us to the airport so we walked across the street to Cognac Brasserie and sat at a table outside to people watch. I have to say, I would not recommend this place at all. The service was painfully slow, the food was lacking and look at how sloppy the bowl of soup I got was brought out to me! I got a Kir Royale and Lobster Bisque and Louis had a Manhattan and the Cassoulet. Meh.

We got back around 1:30 am and we were so exhausted but look at those furry faces waiting for us! Beignet hasn't left my side since we got back. Oh, you want to read? I'm just going to sit on the book so you have to pay attention to me. 

I don't know if it was too little sleep, too much partying or dirty planes but I got a terrible cold which hit me quick so I made myself a huge pot of chicken soup. It wasn't the same as Ippudo's ramen, but it hit the spot. 

I was also super excited to see Food Network Magazine posted this little gem on Instagram!! Here's my link  (@fleurdelectable) if you'd like to follow me over there as well! 

Street Corn Mashed Potato Poppers with Ancho-cado Dip

I'm not sure how or why, but 2016 has been unbelievably kind to me! 

I really have never been one to make new years resolutions, but this year I decided to really buckle down and try as hard as I could to bring my contesting to a whole 'nother level. To keep a schedule, enter as many quality recipes as I could and work on my photography to have my pictures really sell my dish. I guess hard work and prayer really does pay off, because for the second time this year I've won an amazing trip to New York!

I literally could not believe when I received this email and I have re-read it roughly 1,376 times just to make sure I wasn't dreaming:

Hi Lauren,

 On behalf of Food Network Magazine and the US Potato Board, I would like to congratulate you on being the WINNER of The Ordinary Extraordinary Potato Recipe Contest. Please confirm receipt of this email ASAP so we can coordinate prize details!

You and a guest will be flown to NYC for a Food Network Magazine’s Small Bites Event on Tuesday 3/15 at Butter Restaurant where your dish – Street Corn Mashed Potato Poppers with Ancho-cado Dip – will be served to attendees. 

In addition, US Potato Board would like to feature your recipe on their website – PotatoGoodness.com.

Looking forward to hearing from you! Be sure to reach out with any questions.

Best,

Steven & The Food Network Magazine Team 

PS – Your recipe was by far the favorite – I can’t wait to try it at the event J

 Street Corn Mashed Potato Poppers with Ancho-cado Dip

Street Corn Mashed Potato Poppers:

3 pounds russet potatoes

4 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided

2 ears corn

1 jalapeno pepper

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

½ cup cilantro, chopped

2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 Tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon pepper

1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

2 Tablespoons Mexican crema

1 cup crumbled cotija cheese

Ancho-cado Dip:

1 large avocado, skin and pit removed

¼ teaspoon cayenne

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup Mexican crema

2 teaspoons ancho chili powder

6 cups vegetable oil

3 cups panko breadcrumbs

½ cup cilantro, chopped

1 lime, cut into wedges

Peel and cut potatoes into ½ inch cubes and add to a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Season the water with 2 teaspoons of the salt, and cook until fork tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to hot pot to dry.  

While the potatoes are cooking, grill the corn and jalapeno. Heat a large grill pan over high heat. Brush the oil all over the corn and jalapeno, place on the hot grill pan, and cook turning frequently until charred on all sides. This will take about 8-10 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle. 

In a large bowl, scrape the corn kernels off of the cob with a sharp knife and using the back of the knife, scrape all the corn milk into the bowl as well. Remove the stem and seeds from the jalapeno, dice it and add it to the corn. Add the cilantro, cheese, eggs, flour, pepper, garlic powder, crema, cotija and remaining 2 ½ teaspoons of salt. Stir until the mixture is evenly combined. Add the potatoes and stir, slightly mashing, until the mixture is evenly blended. Place in the refrigerator to cool for at least 30 minutes. 

While the potato mixture is chilling, make the dip. Add the avocado, cayenne, salt, mayonnaise, crema and chili powder to a small food processor. Blend until smooth and set in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Heat the oil to 375 degrees in a large, high sided pot over medium-high heat, fitted with a candy thermometer.  

While the oil is heating, use a small cookie scoop to spoon 2 Tablespoons of the potato mixture out. Roll into panko until well coated on all sides. Working in batches, fry for 3-5 minutes, until deeply golden brown and crisp. Remove poppers from the oil and place on a large paper towel lined cookie sheet to drain. 

Place the poppers on a serving platter, sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges and dip. 

Mixture makes 70 poppers.

New Win in New York!

Remember a while ago when I posted my Mushroom Chicken Marsala Chili for the Bush's Beans Chili Cook-off? Well, guess what? I WON!! I almost fell over when I got the email and probably re-read it a thousand times just to be sure I wasn't dreaming!

I still can't believe it myself. Nothing beats getting those kind of emails. I will never get tired of it!

 So, I got the email that I had won and literally was supposed to be in New York within a week. I was nervous about getting everything squared away with the kids, but I am super lucky that my dad (who lives 8 hours away from me) is retired and dropped everything to drive in and stay at my house to take care of the kids and dogs while Louis and I were whisked away and spoiled in NYC!

We got to the Ace hotel and there was the cutest saying painted right on the wall and the Empire State Building was right outside our window.

The welcome bag was an unexpected nice touch! Bottled water, t-shirts, postcards, snacks and $1,000 in Visa gift cards! They really know how to spoil a person!

Once we dropped off our bags in the room I couldn't wait to get downstairs to eat. Lucky for us, the hotel's restaurant is The Breslin.  I've seen it featured on Food Network and in magazines for years and couldn't wait to try it. I had a glass of prosecco, Louis had an Old Fashioned- perfect way to start our trip and calm my nerves from flying! For an appetizer we split the Seafood Sausage with Beurre Blanc & Chives. It was delicious, and we were both starving, so no picture of that. I peer pressured Louis into getting the Chargrilled Lamb Burger with cumin mayo, feta and thrice cooked chips and I got the BLT with Lamb Bacon, Guajillo, Fermented Green Tomatoes and Gaufrettes. We split both of them, and while they were absolutely delicious, if I had to choose, the BLT was the better.

 That night we had tickets to see The Book of Mormon so we wanted to have an early dinner within walking distance of the theater. We ended up at The Paramount Bar and Grill. The hotel and restaurant is beautiful! We started with the Tuna Poke with Tarro Chips and Avocado. I was still pretty full from lunch so I got the Burrata with Heirloom Tomatoes and Grilled Bread and Louis got the Pan Seared Scallops with Pureed Carrots, Blistered Tomatoes and Crispy Shallots. Everything we tried was absolutely delicious but the service was painfully slow and the few questions I asked the waitress about the menu she just made up answers for so not sure I'd ever go back there.

After dinner we walked to the theater, I got my sippy cup of wine and we had great seats! After the show we went to The John Dory Oyster Bar, had a few snacks and then went to bed. I was exhausted and I knew the next day would be a long one!

Bright and early we headed over to The Daily Meal offices for taping! I was SO nervous. Like can't eat, sweating in 15 degree weather, pacing the floor nervous. The kitchen was gorgeous, and when I got there everything was prepped and ready to go for me. I was excited to meet and cook with Chef Jeffrey Saad and luckily he was such a pleasure to work with! He's just a down to earth friendly guy that really made taping the video easy and fun. I quizzed him all about his experience on The Next Food Network Star and loved picking his brain!

The thing that took us the longest was figuring out how to turn on the burners! 

We taped one shot and all of the production people were really happy with the way it went, so I felt very relieved. They brought in lunch from Mario Batali's Otto- pizzas, salads, brussels sprouts, marinated olives, pasta. They had a ton of food, and since I was too nervous to eat breakfast earlier, I tried almost everything! On the schedule it was planned for me to be there for the taping until 6pm, but I was done by 2. They told us they were happy with what I did and for us to go enjoy the city, so we headed down the street to Eataly. I just love walking through that place! It's like a culinary Ikea- filled with everything you didn't know you needed and very hard to find your way out of. We had a drink at Manzo before walking back to the hotel

For our last night in town we made reservations at Scarpetta

The dining room is so pretty, warmly lit and feels very romantic. We got seated right by the front window and it was nice to watch the world go by outside while we ate. The only downfall was that we felt really rushed while there. We ordered a cocktail to start the night and the 3 course tasting with the wine pairing. Before we could finish anything they were attempting to take our plates away and bringing us the new wine pairings. Other than that, the night was perfect. The bread basket alone is worth going for! Since we were rushed I didn't even get to take as many pictures as I would have liked. For starters I got the Creamy Polenta with a fricassee of truffled mushrooms- totally decadent and delicious, and Louis had the Raw Yellowtail with pickled red onion. As our mains, I had to get the Spaghetti with Tomato and Basil. It's what Scott Conant is known for and it is the most comforting bowl of pasta ever. You can tell it's hand made and I cleaned my plate with no problem! Louis had the Black Cod with braised fennel and concentrated tomato- delicious, but I liked my pasta more. Even though we had ordered the 3 course tasting menu, I had heard so much raving about the Duck and Foie Gras Ravioli with marsala reduction, we ordered that as well. If there is Foie Gras written on a menu, Louis wants it. Unfortunately, he wasn't as thrilled with dish like the rest of yelp is and I thought it was just OK. For dessert, I chose the Coconut Pana Cotta- my least favorite dish of the night and Louis got the Valrhona Chocolate Cake. If you ever get a chance to go to Scarpetta, get the spaghetti and skip the dessert!

As you can see so far, we had an absolutely amazing time through  this whole experience. I didn't realize that once I was home Bush's would have another surprise delivered to me! 

I was totally blown away and I've already used the beans and the Le Creuset!

Now, to end the longest blog post ever, here's the link of the video we shot! I hope you like it!

47th Pillsbury Bake Off

I can't believe it, but tomorrow I'll be on my way to Nashville, TN to compete in the Pillsbury Bake-Off for the second year in a row! My recipe for Mexican Street Corn Cups got me the coveted finalist spot and I'm over the moon excited to be going again this year!

Last year I was so overwhelmed by the entire experience and I'm happy to be going back a little less nervous this time.
Not that I won't be nervous, but maybe just a little bit less this time around.

If you wouldn't mind, say a prayer for me, send me your happy thoughts and cross your fingers for me...whatever you've got, I'll take it! Four lucky finalists will win $10,000 and a chance to be voted for online to take home the $1 Million Grand prize. I really really really hope it's me this year!

Last year, at the finalist meeting in Vegas, we found out our host for the competition was Padma Lakshmi and I was so disappointed when I didn't get to meet her on the Bake-Off floor. This year, we have been told the host will be Carla Hall, who I adore, and I am bound and determined to get a pic with her!
It will happen.

Pillsbury has named Carla Hall of ABC’s “The Chew” the official host of the 47th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest, coming up Nov. 3, in Nashville, Hall’s hometown.

She will walk the Contest floor at the Omni Nashville Hotel, visit with the 100 finalists and then emcee the Bake-Off Contest Award Show later that night.
 Hall will announce the four category winning recipes selected by Contest judges to advance to the competition’s final stage – a public online vote which will open following the Award Show on Nov. 3 and run through Dec. 2 – to vie for the $1 million grand prize. It’s the first time in the Contest’s history that an online vote of the four category winning recipes will help determine the winner.

The results of the public vote will be combined with the judges’ decisions to determine the grand prize winner, who will be revealed by Hall on ABC’s  “The Chew,” on December

- See more at: http://www.blog.generalmills.com/2014/10/celebrity-chef-carla-hall-will-host-the-pillsbury-bake-off-contest/#sthash.tQEGQAsD.dpuf

How exciting is that?!?!
Be sure to follow me on Instagram @fleurdelectable and twitter @lwyler81 to see updates on the contest throughout the day!
And here is the video interview I did with Real Food Real Kitchens at the New York Wine and Food Festival!

 

 

Central Park, The Met and my first ever Giveaway!!!

Anyone that knows me is fully aware of how I loathe exercise of any kind. I will avoid it at all costs, so I was utterly shocked at how our walk through Central Park on our last morning in New York turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and it actually felt and looked like fall! At my house we're sweating and dealing with drought so it was a really nice change of pace to bundle up in boots and a jacket and stroll along gorgeous walkways of yellow, orange and red leaves!

I personally had never understood why people would tell me to go to Central Park in the first place. Clearly all I am interested in when I am on vacation is eating, not walking. I didn't know what Louis was thinking suggesting we walk through the park on our way to The Met but as soon as you get a few feet in, it's like the busy noise of the city just melts away

and you're left staring at geese and gorgeous trees and fountains and old people doing exercise classes. I was so glad I wasn't doing that!

 So after all that exertion I felt totally justified hitting up Shake Shack for lunch

It was so so good

We both got the smoke shack (I got a single and Louis got the double) and we split an order of fries. The smoke shack is a cheeseburger topped with applewood smoked bacon, chopped cherry peppers and shake sauce. The sauce and cherry peppers totally made the burger and I can't wait until the Austin location opens so I can go and compare them!

 After stuffing ourselves we made our way, in the dirtiest cab to ever grace the face of the earth, to the Met

I was completely floored by just how huge the museum actually is! And, the entrance fee is "optional" so that everyone has access to the museum. I personally thought that was pretty awesome. We stayed the longest time in the Egyptian and Roman areas but quickly realized that we'd need a few days to be able to see everything

Taking a little break on the rooftop was just stunning and the bar up there was a bonus I was excited to see!

 I know this is random, but how cute is the little seating areas that I saw at our hotel?! I totally need to recreate this. Or pay someone to do it, since my crafting gene is broken. Before heading to the airport we stopped at The Common at the hotel and grabbed a quick bite since airport food is the worst excuse for food ever. I got the Lobster Gumbo and Triple Cooked Duck Fat Fries (if you're keeping track, yes, this is my forth order of fries on this trip)

 The fries were fabulous (obviously) and the gumbo was good. It was very thick and the roux was lighter than what I make, but it was still good. We said goodbye to the Hudson and headed home

Every time I come home from a long trip I am reminded that there's no better welcome home than the one from your dogs!

Roux and Beignet missed us way more than the kids did!

 I had such a fabulous trip I wanted to share a little piece of it with you!

I brought back an extra goodie bag from the Wine and Food Festival that I will send to one lucky reader! It's full of a ton of fun things that I hope you love!

To enter the giveaway all you have to do is scroll up to the top right column and "follow by Email" and come back leaving a comment telling me you did! For a bonus entry, share the giveaway on Facebook and come back leaving an additional comment telling me you did that. If you are already following by email, simply leave me a comment saying so. Good Luck!!

 

WooHoo!! Congrats Jenn Tidwell, you won!!

 

Winner must have a U.S. shipping address and will be chosen Saturday November 1, 2014 at 11:59pm.  The winner will be chosen at random using Random.org and announced at the top of this post. The winner will also be notified via email; if the winner does not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be selected.

NYCFWF day 3 and Morimoto

On day 3 of our trip we walked to Morning Star Restaurant a block away from the hotel for breakfast. I was intrigued by the menu since there were a few things I had never heard of before on there. Louis had the Irish Breakfast which included 2 eggs, black and white pudding, bacon, sausage, grilled tomato, baked beans and toast.

Ya know, a light breakfast to start the day.

I tried the white pudding which is an Irish oatmeal sausage and was surprised at how delicious it was! The black pudding I wasn't brave enough to try but Louis swore it was very good. I feel like I'm a pretty adventurous eater but blood sausage is where I draw the line.

I got the Cypriot breakfast which was 2 eggs, grilled halloumi, Loukaniko, Lountza, Potatoes and Toast

By the time I remembered to take a pic I had already dug into my plate, so I know it doesn't look great but I promise you it was! Sometimes you just can't beat greasy diner food, and this was a great place to get it! Halloumi is a firm Greek cheese that can be grilled or seared and this was perfectly crisp. I thought it was strange that the potatoes were actually just fries, but I am a French fry addict so it was totally fine with me. The Loukaniko is a Greek sausage flavored with orange peel, fennel seed, and herbs- to me it had a strong wine flavor and I loved it! Lountza is pork tenderloin that's brined, marinated in red wine, dried, smoked and sliced thinly. So so yummy and would be delicious on a sandwich as well!

For two coffees, and two HUGE plates of food our bill was $20 less than the one gross croissant sandwich that room service had delivered the morning before so this was a good pick and we left happy!

After breakfast we headed to the Food and Wine Fest and got there just in time to see Paula and Bobby Deen cooking together. I was really surprised to see them there since I thought she was banned from Food Network?!

Anyway, I love Paula and thought they were really cute together and she kept insisting on going into the crowd to let people sample the things they were making. 

 

A few of the stand out dishes of the day were this cute little ravioli with micro greens and the truffle cream sauce gnocchi. The gnocchi were literally the best I've ever had- pillow-y, light and airy. I could have eaten an entire plate of them....if I hadn't eaten my weight in food at breakfast.

 One thing that stopped me in my tracks was the 3D Systems sugar sculptures! Look at these things!! I sat there staring at them in awe and fully expected Willy Wonka to show up at any moment. They had a printer right there that just created whatever design they inputted into the sugar pieces and then airbrushed flavored colors onto each piece. This was honestly one of the coolest things I've ever seen and it really made me want one for myself. Can you imagine having friends over, giving them a cup of coffee and then a pink sugar hexagon?! Or popping one of these in your kid's lunch box. The teachers I'm sure would not appreciate a kid downing sugar cubes in the middle of the day but my kids would think it was amazing!

As if we hadn't eaten enough already, we headed to Morimoto for dinner. The restaurant is absolutely beautiful, and as weird as it sounds, the bathrooms are a must see!

I don't know how they do it but the infinity wall is amazing to look at! The seat lifts automatically when you walk in, can be heated and there is a long silver bar on the wall that has buttons for options to choose from for your "experience". I don't know who is hanging out in there long enough to need all of these services, but it was funny to see it there!

I started the night with a Sesame Raspberry cocktail that was absolutely divine and now I'm mad at myself that I didn't take a pic of the drink menu because I can't find it online

As a starter we tried the Oyster Foie Gras

Oysters, foie gras, uni and teriyaki sauce

After reading the description I was totally on board with this one and was really disappointed once I tasted it. The oyster, foie and uni were all the same texture and temperature. It was neither hot nor cold. I think I was expecting a cold oyster with seared foie on top but everything was luke warm and for me I need oysters either icy cold or hot- not somewhere in the middle. I had one and let Louis have the other two

My favorite dish of the night was the Toro Tartare with Kaluga caviar, wasabi, sour cream, chives, dashi soy and these delightful little crisps that looked like sprinkles

It was beautiful, interactive and totally delicious. We scraped this one clean!



Miso Glazed Roasted Bone Marrow with sake ikura, mitsuba chimichurri and grilled sourdough was next. While I'm not a huge fan of marrow like Louis is, I loved the sake ikura (salmon roe cured in sake) and the chimichurri which was made with mitsuba (Japanese wild parsley) on the grilled bread



My second favorite dish of the night was the Braised Black Cod with Ginger Soy Reduction. This was one of those dishes that felt like it disappeared off the plate way too soon! We couldn't eat it fast enough. The fish was so flaky, the sauce was sweet and sticky and rich and even the little slivers of pepper on the bottom of the plate were pickled, sweet and crunchy which gave a great contrast to the rich sauce on the fish.

This is the Duck Duck Duck which I thought was yuck yuck yuck. Louis and I both love duck but after eating just some of it we both agreed it just didn't work. At all.

The Roasted duck was ok, but not stellar, the sandwich on a housemade croissant with foie gras butter fell apart when we tried to eat it and the duck egg was just oddly on the side by itself. The two sauces were I think red miso sauce and black bean sauce but, if blindfolded, I would have sworn they were the same. Overall, a fail in my opinion. Do yourself a favor if you go and just go with the Cod!



I adore Brussels sprouts and was very happy when I got to dig into these! They were flash fried till the outer leaves were deliciously crispy and then tossed in a sauce I could have taken shots of, Chinese sausage and cranberries. Yum yum!

I was really happy to go and try Morimoto even though we didn't love a few of the dishes. The ones that shined were good enough to go back for!