Insomnia Cookies = Getting Cookies Delivered Straight to Your Face

Are you a late night snack lover? Do you live in New York or Philly? Do you love cookies? Do you love getting cookies delivered right to your FACE with little to no effort? Look no further – Insomnia Cookies has your back.

Probably the most ingenious service to ever grace earth, Insomnia Cookies delivers deliciousness directly to your door, and are open late. Like really late (3am!) Founded in a college dorm room (are you really surprised?) the company now has 70 locations and are still expanding. Late night study session? Cookies. Watching the game, hungry but can’t miss a beat? Cookies. Drunk Saturdays for no reason? Cookies. Think you get the idea.

Another thing I love – everything can be done online. Choosing the cookies (get a variety or all the same), pay and track your order all from their website. No cash, no phone calls. Just complete, unadulterated laziness and cookie consumption. And if you think they overlook important details, think again – they also serve cold milk.

Shane Confectionary - A Must See Vintage Gem!

I made a trip out to Philly last weekend, and knew one of my stops had to be the historic Shane Confectionary on Market Street. I read about the owners remarkable story (and of course, their candy) in Food Network magazine and was dying to check it out. A quick history: The brothers (Eric and Ryan Berley) bought Shane, which was the oldest continuously operated candy store in AMERICA since the late 1800’s. After a laborious restoration process, they re-opened it in 2011 to it’s beautiful, original glory. The vintage cabinets, the original floors, the beautiful old fashioned candy jars, even the employees are dressed for the time period. It really is a site to see. And I didn’t even get to the candy yet!

The shelves are chock full of hundreds of favorites and vintage classics, some of which are even made upstairs in what they call a “candy loft.” The shop launches you into nostalgia, even though I was clearly not alive in the late 1800’s. Our group had a really tough time choosing what we wanted to try – it seemed like the possibilities were ENDLESS. We decided on a small box of assorted chocolates of our choice (photo below). My favorite was the peanut butter sticks – think Reece’s peanut butter cup but 10 times better and crunchy. Check out below for some pretty photos of Shane Confectionary! I would highly recommend making the stop if you are ever in Philly. They also have a really neat blog - http://shanecandies.com/blog.

 

Does this look like a sight for sore eyes or what!

Chocolate on chocolate on chocolate

 
The back of the shop. They even serve fresh hot chocolate!

Back of the shop

One of the many beautiful handmade creations

Love the vibrant colors

They even got into the Halloween spirit with chocolate bats and candy pumpkin pops!

They even got into the Halloween spirit with chocolate bats and candy pumpkin pops! 

 So.much.candy.

 Cash register that they actually still use!

Our riches. The long ones are my favorite peanut butter sticks!!

One more item off my bucket list! Hope you guys enjoyed!

The Park Steakhouse - Park Ridge, NJ

Hi all! My husband and I just celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary (can’t believe it!) We wanted to find a local restaurant that wasn’t a chain. We live near a bunch of malls, and most of them contain chain restaurants. After some searching and reading great reviews, we decided on The Park Steakhouse. It was a bit of a drive from us – maybe 30 minutes – but was well worth it once we got there!

The restaurant is described as an “old-fashioned chophouse with a refined feel turning out dry-aged meat, seafood dishes and drinks.” We went on a Friday night, and thankfully we made a reservation – almost every seat was filled by the end of our meal! The place is on the smaller side which makes it nice and intimate. I believe there is also a room downstairs to have bigger parties of people.

Now onto the food. It was great! I had the lamb special and my husband had the suckling pig. Both were delicious. We also ordered a side of the Famous Lumpy mashed potatoes – loved them. Mashed is my favorite, and I love a good hearty thick mashed. We both ordered specialty drinks to start and got a glass of wine with dinner. We got a few scoops of sorbet as dessert (we were honestly stuffed) and a Sambuca. We were really impressed with how tasty the food was, and loved the atmosphere. Great place to talk, have a few drinks and eat some good food. Will definitely come back with our parents for a birthday or another special occasion!

Pepperoni Pizza Dip - Guy Fieri Recipe

Football season is back! What better way to celebrate than make fun football food? This pepperoni pizza dip will definitely satisfy your craving for pizza and a nice crunch. 

Look at all that cheesy goodness!

Major yum!

We used Guy Fieri's recipe with a few slight tweaks. We didn't add the mushrooms or the shallots. Once you prep everything, pop it in the oven for onl 20 minutes for the most satisfying game day dip! Original recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/pepperoni-pizza-dip-recipe.html

Homemade Gnocchi

Hi friends! My husband and I just celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary - woohoo! We did a ton of fun things together to celebrate, one being making homemade gnocchi. We used Michael Chiarello's Potato Gnocchi recipe (click here for that).

We love to cook together, and had some time on our hands and figured - why not make gnocchi?! We both agreed that it was well worth the prep and the wait - they came out awesome! They could have been a touch lighter, but not bad for our first time.

I wish I documented the steps better, but I had to concentrate since it was our first time making it HA! Here's one prep photo I took - this was when you had to make a mound out of the riced potatoes, and dig a little well in the middle for the ingredients. After combining everything together, we cut the mount into 4 parts, rolled them out into a rope, and cut into 1/2 inch little pillows as seen above!

Heavenly! These photos are before they were cooked, of course. We made a delicious alfredo sauce to top it off with. It doesn't photograph well (the sauce) so the finished product just went straight to our mouths HAHA. Hope you guys enjoyed!

Cheese Souffle

Hi friends! This was our first attempt at making a cheese souffle. The recipe is from America's Test Kitchen. I've never had souffle before, but after having this one I think I need more of it in my life. The flavor, texture, smell, everything was wonderful. Here's how we got there, with some photos along the way. 

1. Grease pan with vegetable oil or Pam. Use 2 tablespoons Parmesan to dust the dish (2 court size Corningware).

2. Melt 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter over medium heat.

3. Whisk together dry ingredients: 4 tablespoons flour, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 salt, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/8 white pepper, pinch of nutmeg. Add dry mixture and whisk for about a minute until raw flour taste is gone. Add 1 1/3 cup whole milk slowly while whisking. Simmer for about a minute.

4. Remove from heat. Add to mixture 6oz Gruyere cheese, 6 tablespoon Parmesan. Whisk until lumps are gone, cheese is melted. Smooth mixture, cool for 10 minutes.

5. Separate 6 eggs. Add only yolks into cheese mixture with 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley. Whisk together.

6. In KitchenAid mixer: Add egg whites only and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar into mixer. Medium to low speed with whisk attachment for about one minute until foamy. Then mix on medium high speed until stiff peaks are achieved, 3-4 minutes.

7. Add cheese mixture into peaks, mix for about 15 seconds.

8. Pour into souffle dish, add until about an inch from rim. Add another tablespoon of parmesan on top.

9. Bake on 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.170 degrees internal temperature or take 2 spoons and crack through the top - still moist but not soupy. 5 minutes until it deflates. Add parsley on the top.

Happy baking!

Cheeseboy is my Homie

Behold – the most beautiful sight for sore eyes after a long road trip. What is this, you ask? WELL – let me break it down for you.

We were driving back from a beautiful, scenic, alcohol-fueled weekend in Rhode Island and needed gas along the way. We stopped at a rest stop in Connecticut (Darien to be exact) and went on the hunt for something amazingly unhealthy to eat. And boy did we find it! Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have an unhealthy obsession with everything CHEESE related. I would rather have a plate of cheese than a piece of cake or dessert. So imagine my sheer delight when I stumbled upon Cheeseboy at the rest stop. We don’t have any in NJ, so I was eager to indulge. What you are looking at is Cheeseboy’s MAC N Melt, which is described on their menu as the following:

Mac ‘N Melt All-natural mac and cheese (made with local aged cheddar, Monterey Jack, cream, and spices), hickory bacon, and local aged cheddar on artisan white

Now – if this doesn’t sound good to you, I don’t think we will be close friends in the future. For those still interested and sane, let me tell you something. This sandwich wasn’t just good. It was REALLY freakin good. We aren’t talking passable rest stop food – it could easily have been served at a restaurant for lunch and I still would have ordered it. The gourmet type mac and cheese was delicious. The bread was toasted to perfection and I don’t need to explain how bacon makes everything better, do I?

I am so very sad that Cheeseboy doesn’t have locations in the Jersey area, however I guess I should count my lucky stars because I would be tempted to get this sandwich OFTEN. Cheeseboy has many other options as well – salads, buffalo chicken wraps, veggie melts and so forth. Count me a big fan.