Gresca

Mike and I arrived in Barcelona armed with an impossibly long list of restaurant recommendations. And what a fabulous problem to have: too many restaurants, too little time. Gresca was one I saw repededly recommended, but we were unsure whether we would be able to snag one of the coveted dinner reservations. Luckily, we received a last minute tip that the restaurant offered an incredibly affordable prix fixe lunch menu - as long as we arrived early, we could enjoy the delicious food within our tourist budgets.

Despite trying to adjust our eating schedule to be more in line with Barcelonians, we always seemed to be 15 minutes ahead of our dining counterparts. But this meant we easily secured a lovely little table, draped in a crisp white table cloth, in the relaxing atmosphere of Gresca. Mike and I decided on the prix fixe menu, reasonably priced for only €19 each, with a bottle of red wine. I was told not to miss the famous egg souffle, so we ordered this as an additional appetizer from the a la carte lunch menu for and additional €9,80. Indeed - this mind-blowing dish is not to be missed; it is still one of my best memories from our days exploring Barcelona.

Appetizer

White Beans and Blood Sausage

Fig and Cheese Salad

Entree

Veal with Mashed Potatoes

Dessert

Pineapple Fried in Brioche with Pineapple Sherbert

Chocolate Souffle with Cream

Gresca

http://www.gresca.net/

C/ Provença, 230

08036 Barcelona, Spain

Phone: 934 516 193

Hours: Mon-Sat 1:30pm-3:30pm, 8:30pm-11pm; Sun 1:30pm-3:30pm

Subway: Provença

Detour

DETOUR 
© Dolcetto Confections | Allison M. Veinote, 2011

The City Bakery Hot Chocolate Festival

If you live here in New York City or will be visiting during the upcoming month, be sure to put the The City Bakery Hot Chocolate Festival on your 'must-do' list. Their friendly employees will be serving up a special flavor of hot chocolate each day during the month of February. Paired with their addictive pretzel croissants (I am obsessed), you have a perfect afternoon snack.

The City Bakery is located at 3 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011.  If the hot chocolate specials are not enough to convince you to visit, perhaps the recount and photos from my visit will do the trick.

Chocolate-Coffee Joconde Cakes

I did not expect to fall hopelessly in love with the cute boy who wandered into my life five years ago today. I never imagined I would move 500 miles away from my family to be with him; I certainly never envisioned we would become our own little family of two. Five years ago, Mike and I were just two college students sitting on a futon, passing a Friday evening with an easy, comfortable conversation, oblivious to all other people packed in around us.

As you might imagine, a lot has changed over these past five years. There have been fights and moments I wasn’t sure we would make it. We have both grown into the adult version of ourselves, a tough transition that somehow only brought us closer together. But through everything, the fights, the smiles, the tears, the kisses, a deep love and respect for each other has always prevailed. Tonight we will celebrate the past years that have laid the foundation for the fun, easy relationship we are now so fortunate to share.

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

While this is not the easiest dessert to create, the process is shockingly similar to making any relationship last: with time, patience, and care even the most difficult moments lead to a beautiful end result. This result just happens to be the perfect dessert to share, snuggled up close with your special someone.

Homemade Chicken Stock

At the beginning of the year, I started thinking about the store-bought ingredients I use on a daily basis in my cooking and baking. I focused particularly on the items consuming a large chuck of my grocery bill and brainstormed ways to reduce their cost. For some items, the solution was simply to buy less to ensure minimal waste.

But this solution was not entirely feasible when it came to an ingredient like chicken stock. During the cold winter months, I enjoy throwing together soups and stews a few times each week, sometimes requiring a total of four quarts of chicken stock. At $3.50 a quart, store-bought stock consumed a noticeable portion of my grocery bill, so I decided to try my hand at making a homemade version.

Now on Sunday mornings, I roast a small chicken, then tear the juicy meat from the bones, reserving the meat for upcoming weeknight meals. I place the bones and drippings in my grandfather’s dutch-oven, throw in a few vegetables and seasonings, and the stock simmers away with the afternoon hours. As you might imagine, the flavor of a homemade stock is unmatched, meaning I stretch my stock to last throughout the week, effectively eliminating the cost associated with purchasing store-bought versions.