Chef's Table at Le Cirque

A month ago Kevin and I have the best dinner we will probably ever have... seriously.  We got to sit at the Chef's Table at Le Cirque (thank you so much Albert!!!).  Sitting in the kitchen and watching all the action was quite an experience.  There was some yelling and some cursing... we found it all quite entertaining.  I quickly realized that I would have left in tears within 5 seconds of working there.  It is intense to say the least but it has to be to keep a fancy shmancy kitchen like that running smoothly. 
 

The Executive Sous Chef Andy Choi chose all the dishes we tasted.  We had 8 dinner tastings... a kumumoto oyster with champagne caviar, sliced raw tuna over a sesame cracker and guacamole, white truffle rissotto with shaved black truffle on top, halibut poached in coconut milk over pumpkin granola, duck breast with foie gras mousse, pork belly, veal and crispy sweetbreads.   The tuna and the rissotto were my favorites.

By the end of dinner I was soooo full, but as usual I had plenty of room in my "dessert stomach."  We had 5 dessert tastings... basil panacotta with carrot sorbet is not pictured but I got a picture of everything else.  I can't remember what everything was but I do remember that everything was absolutely delicious.

We are so lucky to have been able to eat at such an amazing restaurant! 

so many changes!

Phew I haven't written a blog post in AGES!!!  I have been such a slacker but I promise to get back to writing more consistent posts.  A lot has happened in the past few weeks so here is a little breakdown/update:

1. We moved!  In the midst of our leaking ceiling/toxic mold problem in the old place Kevin and I reached our wits end.  No matter what changed in the old place we weren't gonna be able to relax and enjoy being there.  We were SO OVER the place!  Receiving confirmation that there was indeed toxic mold in the apartment led us to look for a new place to live.  We found a great 2 bed/2 bath apartment on the 15th floor of a nice doorman building.  We LOVE our new place, love love love!!!  I am still working on unpacking and have been making a lot of progress.  I am waiting to get some new furniture (a dining room table + chairs, a futon, another tv stand and a small coffee table) and hanging all the artwork until Kevin gets back* in a couple weeks, but it is already really coming together.  Oh man do I ever love this apartment!!!

(kitchen)

(balcony facing south)

(master bedroom)

2. I got a job!!!  Hallelujah!!!  Even though I was enjoying being at home and working on wedding stuff I was also really starting to STRESS out about not having a job.  Watching your bank account get lower and lower is a good way to get your blood pressure up.  I am now the receptionist/administrative assistant at Alcon Builders Group (general contractors).  I sit at the front desk, answer the phones, type/print/send/file all requests for change order, change orders and purchase orders, and basically just do anything else that is needed.  So far I am really enjoying it and finally getting a paycheck again is pretty awesome. 

3. Kevin won the "Potato Cookoff" with his "Big Kev's cheesy balls!"  I know I have blogged a couple times about the food cookoffs that Kevin and I participate in (well Kevin submits an entry and I make cupcakes) and the "potato cookoff" was the 6th one we have done.  Kevin has placed no higher then 2nd in previous cook-offs and was determined to win this time around.  He concocted an original cheese stuffed deep fried hashbrown ball recipe for the competition.  He mixed hashbrowns with chopped onion, seasonings, flour, egg and breadcrumbs, formed a half-ball in his hand, stuffed it with shredded cheddar/gruyere cheese, added more hashbrown mixture to make a ball and deep fried it.  They were DELICIOUS! 

4. Primal update: well I started off great and for two whole weeks I didn't have any grains, dairy or sugars (well I probably had a little sugar but not intentionally).  Then I let it slide for my "I just got a job" celebration dinner and again on my friend's birthday night.  Those two days of cheating ruined me and I just couldn't get back on track.  I just kept letting myself cheat.  Thankfully I haven't gotten too down on myself.  I am starting again tomorrow morning!  Yes, tomorrow morning and I plan on kicking ass!  I am making a small adjustment and allowing myself to take a more 80/20 or 90/10 approach so that I will have a little more leeway.  I also want to extend this challenge till our wedding and hopefully beyond that.  Wish me luck!

Now that the weather is getting a little warmer I will have more fun adventures to blog about and I will definitely be taking more pictures.  Yay for spring!

*Kevin left Sunday night for a business trip in Sri Lanka and won't be back till April 29.  I miss him so much already and cannot wait for him to safely get home.

can I run 13.1 miles?

On March 20, 2011 I will be running my first half marathon!  I found out today that I was accepted into the 2011 New York City half marathon.  I am so excited but also pretty nervous because I have never run a race this long before.  I used to run cross country but that was only a 5K, granted it was on a very hilly course but still it wasn't even close to 13.1 miles.

Kevin has promised that he will be there cheering me on.  It will mean so much to hear him screaming for me and I know it will make me run even faster.  I wonder if he knows that the race starts at 7:25 on a Sunday morning... hehe.  I hope my parents will come cheer me on as well.  My mom was my best cheerleader when I ran cross country and I definitely ran my best when she was there.  

So now my training begins.  Do I even know how to train?  Nope but I will do my best.  This half marathon will be a great jump start to getting in shape and losing weight for my September wedding.

knicks game

Last night Kevin and I got to go to our first NBA game ever thanks to my dear friend Ingram (Chris Ingram that is).  It was such a blast.  The crowd was a very New York crowd, totally different from the NY Rangers crowd, hehe.

 Woohoo the Knicks won!

We had to stop and get a picture with the inflatable Budweiser bottle on the way home, haha.

let's go blues

Last March Kevin, Chris, Beth and I started a little tradition of going to the Rangers vs. Blues hockey game at Madison Square Garden.  Kevin bought the tickets this time around and they accidentally got sent to his house in St. Louis.  His dad opened the package and saw how "crappy" our seats were so he then asked his friend (a former Blues player) to hook us up with better seats... boy did he deliver.  We sat in section 133 behind the net!  It is so incredible to see a hockey game from that close, the players are huge!

Guess what... the Blues won!!!  They also won the last game we went to see.  It seems Kevin and I are bad luck for the Rangers, hehe.

 After the game was over we hopped down to boards to get a look at the rink from up close... it would be amazing to see a game from these seats.

Woot woot I can't wait for the next game!

cute overload

Sunday was Howloween at the dog park in Carl Shultz Park.  People brought their dogs to the park in costume for the big costume contest.  Aren't these little french bulldogs the cutest dogs you have ever seen?

 I hope these guys won:)

bamboo rooftop

This weekend Cobe and her boyfriend Charley were in the city so we got to spend most of the day on Saturday.  We went out to brunch at Fetch and then had to stop by Puppies & Babies to see the puppies... they were sooooo cute!!!  I wanted to buy every single one of them:)

After seeing the puppies Kevin suggested we head over the the Met to see the Big Bambu exhibit of the roof.

It was such an incredible exhibit.  I wish I could have one on our roof deck!

 And the views from the roof were really amazing. 

makes me smile

This picture makes me smile.  Dylan's Candy Bar is so incredible, I am in heaven when I am there.  I have a serious candy addiction which I am trying to kick... easier said than done:)

Also, please notice the killer shopmamie dress, it makes me feel like a million bucks!!!

are you a moe.ron?

Last Friday night (October 8) Kevin and I went to our first concert alone together in about 3 years.  We saw Moe. at the Beacon!  Funny thing is the last concert we saw alone together was also a Moe. concert.  It was really great to just have a fun Friday night date with my fiance:)

Moe. put on a GREAT show as usual. 

 I can't wait for my next fun date with the love of my life!!!

stl meets nyc (named by kevin)

Every year in early September Kevin's friend Derek comes to visit from St. Louis.  Now I am not one who always enjoys house guests (I mean seriously I love you guys but only for a couple days...) but Derek really out does himself.  He is the most courteous and thoughtful house guest ever.  It is always a treat to have him come visit.

This year he brought his girlfriend Meredith (LOVED her).  It was her first time in New York, how exciting!  We had dinner with them Wednesday (mexican at Maz, yay margaritas) and on Thursday we took Derek out for his first real venture into sushi (thank God he liked it cuz a bad sushi experience would be no fun). 

On Saturday we met Derek and Meredith at.... wait for it... DYLANS CANDY BAR!!!  Ummmmm only like heaven on earth for me.  Please don't take me to a candy store because I go kinda crazy, ahhhh I love candy. 

 Even Kevin got candy which is so unlike him!

After the candy bar we headed down to explore Little Italy and Chinatown.  We had an amazing lunch in Little Italy... yay for pizza (smoked mozzarella, arugula and shaved parmesan, yes please).

 Then we traveled a block over to Chinatown, such a change of pace.  

(ahhh scary fish teeth!!!)

We ended their visit with a BBQ on our roof.  Too bad I didn't get any pictures.  Oops.  I seriously hope I don't have to wait another year to hang out with Derek and Meredith!