NYC Day Three: A double-beet day!

Day three: another sunny morning dawned, and we headed straight out to Grand Central for our trip up the Hudson River to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

This particular jaunt came up late in our trip planning, but what a pleasant addition! It wasn't until the trip drew closer that I realized how very much I was looking forward to it. While attending the school has never been really high on my priority list, or really an option--by the time it occurred to me I was OLD by CIA standards--it is a setting that I imagined would be inspiring. And it was, indeed.


Figs and coffee! A perfect breakfast. When Seth and I had our NYC trip in 2005, that was my morning tradition (his was hot chocolate and a bagel). I was thrilled to see figs at the Grand Central Market this morning, and just had to indulge.




Both of our mothers said they want pictures of the two of us together, so of course we oblige! Nothing like a little time on the train...

Two quick hours later, and we were there!





Very Vanna White of me. Couldn't resist posing by the campus sign... The campus is 150 acres, and beautifully landscaped, along the Hudson River. At least a dozen buildings--four restaurants, four dorms, some student housing...


Before I found out that we weren't supposed to take pictures of the students, I took a few pictures along our initial pass through the school. My main takeaway from observing the kids (yes, they were awfully young) in a varuiety of food-prep situations was the glacial speed at which they moved. When I catered, time seemed to always be too short to get everything done that I wanted, and moving quickly took on prime importance. Not for these kids... the real world should wake them up to a different pace, I would think!


This teaching theater was between classes, but someone was getting schooled up front... we kept moving.


Beet and chevre salad. Divine. We ate in the American Bounty restaurant, and enjoyed our meal--made by and served by students.


This is the view of the river from the front of the campus. Absolutely peaceful and beautiful. All too soon our lunch and tour ended and we headed back to the city. We landed in Grand Central again, and at my dad's advice, checked out the Apple store there. This is the view from the store. What an amazing place! The second picture is one of the bars where you can check out the product.



From Grand Central we made our way to the East Village where I'd sussed out a pierogi restaurant. I can't remember which NYC-specific email pointed me toward Vaselka, but it proved definitely worth the trek. Borscht and pierogis? Yum. We sat up at the bar and listened to all the Russian chatter as they prepared food. Simply awesome, to have a casual, quick meal, after the more formal reserved dining occasions of the past few days.


Second round of beets for the day! For someone who doesn't seek out beets very often, it was memorable and both dishes were fabulous.



My pierogi selection: Potato, cheese, sweet potato and arugula and goat cheese.


On our way home from Vaselka, we passed by Momofuku's Milk Bar, and I got a cookie selection to share back at our hotel. Yum. Oh, and as we crossed over 2nd Avenue, we passed Angelo of Top Chef season 7 fame. Awesome; especially awesome given that we saw his name up at the CIA today as a graduation speaker this weekend and regretted that we'd miss him.

Happy tummies, happy girls. Only about 11,000 steps today, which was a nice break from yesterday!

Pierogi chowder with braised red cabbage

ome years when I make pierogis with my Canadian girlfriends, the precious dumplings get packaged up and spend a great deal of time in the freezer before I remember they are there and pull them out for the family. (Or maybe I consciously block out that they are there?) But this year no such forgetting has gone on; we have enjoyed a lovely pierogi meal a couple of times already. Tragically I think there's only one more meal in the freezer and now I want to save them, guard them...

So rather than make more pierogis, my lazy self turned to shortcut possibilities. Doh! I have seen a few recipes around and about that purport to make a faux pierogi casserole or soup, so I decided to try this one out for my men. And as I had recently enjoyed a stellar side of red braised cabbage at Gustav's in Portland when Jen and I met up in early December, I had to give that a whirl as well. I harbored an idea that they would go well together, and I have to say the results were quite delicious.

We haven't had a truly wintery winter yet, it doesn't seem. Today was sunny and mostly clear, and while chilly, certainly not our usual January fare. But the soup and cabbage combo tasted quite lovely and comforting, which is good no matter the weather. But snow still may come, I suppose... (I hope). I am making this again, next time it snows, for sure!

Pierogi chowder
Serves 6-8
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onion
8 cups water
3 cups diced potato
2 cups instant potato flakes (I used a small packet I had from Costco. It was 1.5 cups and ample to thicken the soup.)
2 cups milk
1/2 pound American cheese, shredded or cubed (I used a cheddar, it was lovely)
6 ounces wide egg noodles, cooked until tender
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat and add oil. Toss in onion and cook until translucent. Add water and diced potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. When potatoes are tender, mash until broken up well. Add potato flakes and stir well. Pour in milk and stir until smooth. Stir in American cheese and mix until cheese is melted. Blend in drained noodles and add salt and pepper to taste.

Braised red cabbage
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed
1 2 1/2-pound red cabbage, quartered, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds (I did not have these on hand, so I skipped)
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add cabbage and caraway seeds; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss until cabbage is wilted, about 4 minutes. Add broth. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes. Add vinegar. Cover and cook until cabbage is tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.