oreo cookie cameos by judith g. klausner.

seriously? wow.

wine & food... and plenty of it!

{burger bash photo via popsugar}

it's been over a week now, but i'm still recovering from this year's new york city wine & food festival. i consumed way more food and drink than one person should probably consume in a month - over the course of three days. i think i must have gained ten pounds!

while all the events were amazing, the standout this year was definitely the blue moon burger bash. 21 of the city's best restaurants and chefs came together in a warehouse under the brooklyn bridge to determine who serves up the best burger in new york. i don't necessarily recommend tasting 21 burgers in 3 hours, but my family and i were on a mission to find the best one... so we did! there were tons of great contenders, and while we might not have all agreed once the winners were announced (i'm still rooting for shake shack and quality meats!), a good time was had by all.

i also got to mix and mingle with some of the hottest celebrities in the food world. some of my favorites... bobby flay, giada delaurentiis, robert irvine, paula deen & family, and ming tsai!

all in all a spectacular weekend... a big thanks to my parents for inviting us to tag along. let's do it again next year!

dream downtown (& my next adventure!)

well, i've been home from paris for a couple days now and i'm already missing it terribly. in fact, my husband and i went to see midnight in paris for the second time last night to help ease the transition back to normal life! if you haven't seen it yet, please do... it's the next best thing to actually being in paris.

while it's always sad to leave the city of light, i'm on to my next adventure this weekend... the new york city wine & food festival!

i went to the festival with my family for the first time last year, and it was a blast. waaaaaay too much delicious food, fun demos, freebies, and lots of food celebs!

this time around we're spending the weekend at dream downtown, a fabulous boutique hotel with a really cool, modern design aesthetic. check out the pictures from the website... it looks like a dream come true (pun very much intended)!

i'll be sure to report back on all the details... au revoir!

taste this . . . veggie bahn mi.

despite the fact that i love all types of asian cuisine, i have somehow neglected to try vietnamese food until my recent trip to portland. while there, hubby and i visited a lovely little place called silk vietnamese restaurant, where i fell head-over-heels in love with their delicious bahn mi.

a banh mi is basically just a sandwich, but let me tell you it is no ordinary sandwich. you start with a freshly-baked french baguette, then pile on toppings like pickled veggies, spicy jalapenos, and fresh cilantro. total flavor explosion!

i've been trying to take advantage of my local farmer's market as much as possible this season, so i was thrilled when i found a recipe for a vegetarian banh mi courtesy of raspberry eggplant.

it seemed a little intimidating at first because there are a lot of components to the recipe, but it really is simple to make and doesn't require a lot of specialty ingredients. oh yeah, and it was DELICIOUS. seriously... try it. you'll thank me later. check out the photos of my version above if you're not convinced :)

Banh Mi Chay

(Serves 2-3)

For the pickled carrots:
½ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 carrots

For the marinated mushrooms:
Juice of ½ lime (about 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon sriracha sauce
3 portobello mushroom caps (about 6 ounces total), cut into 1” strips

For the sandwich:
1 large baguette
2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
½ medium-sized seedless cucumber
½ jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
¼ cup cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon soy sauce

***************

Make the pickled carrots:
In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil. Remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, peel and coarsely shred or finely julienne the carrots, then transfer the shredded carrots to a non-reactive bowl or container. Pour the vinegar mixture over the carrots. Refrigerate overnight. (If you’re in a rush, you can leave it at room temperature for an hour, but overnight is best.)

Prepare the mushrooms:
Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a quart-sized plastic bag. Add the mushroom strips and marinate overnight in the refrigerator or for 1 hour at room temperature.

Assemble the sandwich:
Heat oven to 400° F.

Put the marinated mushroom strips and the marinade in a baking dish and bake until the mushrooms are soft, about 12 minutes. Let them cool for at least 5 minutes.

Cut the baguette open by slicing it in half but not going all the way through. Spread the mayonnaise on one side of the baguette. Place the baguette on a baking sheet and heat it until it is crisp and lightly browned, about 6-8 minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes before assembling the sandwich.

In the meantime, cut the cucumber lengthwise into ¼” thick slices and squeeze the liquid out of the pickled carrots.

Assemble the sandwich by arranging the cucumber slices in a single layer on the baguette, then topping them with the mushrooms, pickled carrots, and cilantro. Sprinkle the soy sauce on top and close the sandwich.

Cut into 3 or 4 sections and serve.

lucile's kitchen.

delicious-looking food + pretty handwriting + lovely pastel colors = lucile's kitchen.

in addition to prints, lucile offers gorgeous poster-sized original watercolors for $65 usd... a price that's hard to beat for a one-of-a-kind piece of art!

friday fave finds.

1. assorted french macarons from sparkles kitchen

2. photo via design minds

3. photo by francoise rachez

4. colorful wedges by michael antonio, via dsw

5. coral lace bralette and pineapple boyshorts from topshop

6. lavender lace bralette and lime green boyshorts from topshop

7. aqua lace bralette and coral striped boyshorts from topshop

8. raspberry photo from images by cassandra

wordless wednesday.

okay, just one word: yum.

always room...

so true! like i tell my family, sweets have their own "shelf"... you might be full, but you're never too full for dessert!

print from two for joy studio, $20.

etsy finds . . . tea time!

the flavor options are endless with this herbal tea kit from cook outside the box, which includes 9 kinds of tea and 13 different herbs and spices!

peppermint sugar cubes from the gourmet sugar company would be the perfect minty fresh accent to plain green tea.

this adorable necklace by found & made designs is made from a vintage tea infuser!

if you're a loose tea fanatic like me, you totally need some of these reusable fabric tea bags from good 4 you.

when you're craving the flavor of your favorite tea on the go, try one of these tea-infused lollipops from vintage confections. they come in four flavors: white tea, rooibos, black tea, and thai tea.

a pretty lace-patterned mug from jade flower makes sipping a cup of steaming hot tea even more enjoyable.

p.s. privé

the next time i travel to paris, i'll definitely be booking a workshop with p.s. privé. i'm normally not one for guided tours and classes, preferring to explore whatever city i'm in on my own... but p.s. privé offers unique, one-of-a-kind experiences that sound too good to pass up.

how about a wine and macaron tasting with your own private sommelier at your disposal? or a perfume workshop where you take home your own custom-blended scent? or maybe a four-course french meal hosted at the home of a private chef is more up your alley.

moi?... i'll try one of each, s'il vous plaît :)

food as art

a visit to the foodie blog cannelle et vanille never fails to make my mouth water... the photography is stunning, and the recipes always sound sublime. i have a huge sweet tooth, so i can't resist the gorgeous photos of her dessert creations.

{all photos © aran goyoaga}

are you hungry yet? ;)

xoxo,

lesley

jennifer causey photography

i love jennifer causey's photography. there is something so simple and beautiful about the way she composes her shots. her food photography is especially delicious... you can see tons more of it on her blog simply breakfast (warning... this *will* make you hungry!). she also has another blog called simply photo, a flickr page, and an etsy shop to feast your eyes on :)

xoxo,

lesley