Category: Reviews

Governor’s Island

It’s been a while since my last post about a fun family getaway. In fact, I haven’t shared anything with you since last year’s post on Kelder’s Farm (which I still highly recommend!)

On a recent Sunday in Brooklyn, my family and I decided to head over to Governor’s Island for a day of family fun. We had been there previously, so we knew just what to expect – interesting exhibits, fun activities and great time for the whole family. I grabbed my SLR so I could snap and share photos of my experience with you.

Governor’s Island,  a 172 acre island in the heart of New York Harbor, was once home to the US army and coast guard. Many of it’s historic houses and buildings have remained intact since the 19th century. Just 400 yards from the Brooklyn waterfront, the island is accessible via ferry from Pier 6 (at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Columbia Street.)

After a fun ride on the ferry, you’ll arrive at the the Island where you can pick up a map and a schedule of the day’s activities from the information center.

A quick look at the map will show you that most of Governor’s Island is actually under construction, with amazing things in the works. You can read more about that here.

Still, there is still so much to do! At the Island’s center is Nolan park, a hub of fun activity for kids of all ages.

My kids couldn’t wait to climb the adorable hand-painted tree house, with little hiding spaces, and a slide. Doesn’t every little kid dream about having their own little tree house?

Your kids can also enjoy a game of mini golf, with an amazing artist-designed golf course. Each golf hole is another unique experience with imaginative and innovative design.

Here’s just one example of the colorful and fun designs incorporated into each and every hole.

Your kids will probably be hungry by now, so it’s a great idea to pack a picnic basket full of goodies, which is just what we did! On our menu: fresh pita or whole grain rolls with tuna or hummus, sliced peppers and grape tomatoes. For dessert: fresh fruit, homemade smores cookies and mini bags of popcorn. Don’t forget to stay hyrdrated! We brought along lots of water bottles and juice boxes.

After lunch, it’s time to explore some of the unique structures in Nolan park like this interesting “tunnel” or cloud.

If you look closely, you’ll see that it’s actually made up of recycled milk jugs and water bottles!

There are lots of other fun and interesting projects to see, designed by FIGMENT.

Like these stationary bouncing ball. They were one of my kids favorite areas, I couldn’t get them away!

And of course there’s the natural beauty, like this blackberry tree that stood humbly among the brightly colored fixtures all around.

After an exciting time at Nolan park, it’s time to experience some more of the Island on a family bike!

You can also stop by one of the many exhibits held in yellow colonial houses. The exhibits are constantly changing. You can view Governor’s Island’s calendar here for the current ones.

If you’re ready for a snack, there’s always a line-up of food trucks on the Island with an array of interesting food and drink.

Thanks for joining me on my tour of Governor’s Island. It’s a great place to get Busy In Brooklyn!

Governor’s Island is open from 10 AM – 7 PM every Saturday, Sunday and Holiday Monday (Memorial Day and Labor Day) through September 29.

Fore more info, visit GovIsland.com.

Other BIB getaway reviews:

Hershey, PA
Miami Beach, FL
Kelder’s Farm, Upstate, NY

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Passover Made Easy Cookbook Review & Giveaway

There is so much I love about this cookbook that I don’t quite know where to start! So I’ll start at the beginning.

When you first set your eyes on Passover Made Easy, you’ll be struck by it’s beautiful design and styling. Rachel Adler did an impressive job laying out this cookbook with brilliant coloring, masterful layout, and gorgeous typography. I am literally blown away.

Aside from the graphics, the photographs and styling are also impeccable. As a blogger who photographs and styles her dishes, I can tell you firsthand that many, if not most, of the dishes in this cookbook are extremely difficult to photograph. And so many Pesach recipes lack eye-appeal. But not only have the dishes been masterfully plated, the authors also include many step-by-step plating guides to help you serve the dishes as beautifully as they are pictured.

Passover Made Easy is the brainchild of an unlikely pairing – Leah Schapira, the author of Fresh & Easy Kosher Cooking and co-founder of CookKosher.com, as well as Victoria Dwek, the managing editor of Whisk Magazine. Leah is Ashkenazi, with Hungarian roots, while Victoria is Sephardi, with Syrian roots. How an Ashkenazi and a Sephardi came together to write a successful Passover cookbook is nothing short of a Pesach miracle. Leah and Victoria each offer their own unique perspective, striking the perfect balance of grebroks and non-gebroks recipes. The authors guide you along page after page in a playful and friendly manner. You almost feel as if you’re hanging out with them in the kitchen. Victoria shares her recipes for Syrian Charoset, tortillas, Matzaroni and Cheese, as well as many non-grebroks dishes. Leah offers up unique and tasty dishes like Meatballs in Blueberry Sauce, Roasted Tomato & Eggplant Soup, Apple-Jam Chicken Drumettes, and so much more.

Some of the other features that I enjoyed from this cookbook are the wine pairings and building block recipes like mayo, crepes, and Passover crumbs. There is also a nifty replacement index that helps guide those who avoid using processed ingredients and peels on Pesach. While the guide is helpful, I wish there were a few more recipes suited for the more stringent among us (me included!)

While I am unable to make most of these recipes on Passover, I look forward to trying many recipes throughout the year including the Mock Techineh (for my brother who is allergic to sesame seeds!), Butternut Squash Salad with Sugar ‘n Spice Nuts, Braised Short Ribs, Jalapeno-Lime & Ginger Salmon, Stuffed Onions, Vegetable Lo Mein (for my dieting days!), Espresso Macaroons with Chocolate-Hazelnut Cream, and Truffled Grapes.

Busy In Brooklyn is giving a copy of Passover Made Easy! To enter the giveaway, you must:

1. Share you favorite Passover memory in the comments below.
2. Like Busy In Brooklyn on Facebook.

Winner will be chosen at random on Monday, March 18th, 9:00 AM.

BONUS RECIPES FROM PASSOVER MADE EASY:

Eggplant Wrapped Chicken

Ingredients:

Eggplant
1 tall eggplant
1/2 cup oil
1/4 tsp salt
pinch coarse black pepper

Meat Mixture
3 tbsp oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lb. ground meat
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Chicken
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/4 tsp salt
pinch coarse black pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to broil. Grease a baking sheet. Cut eggplants lengthwise, 1/4″ thick to get 6 or 7 slices. Reserve remaining eggplant scraps. Place eggplant slices on prepared baking sheet. Brush slices with oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil 5 minutes per side, until second side is beginning to brown. The slices should appear as if they were fried. Remove and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Peel and finely dice remaining eggplant to obtain 1/2 cup diced eggplant. Heat oil a in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and diced eggplant and saute until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, combine onion mixture with ground meat. Season with salt and garlic powder.
5. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper Place a tabslepoon of the meat mixture into each thigh and roll up to lose. Roll a eggplant slice around each stuffed chicken thigh. Place, seam side down and close together, in a baking pan. Cover and bake for 2 1/2 hours.

 


Homemade Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

3 garlic cloves or 1/4 onion
juice of 1 1/2 lemons
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch black pepper
3 cups oil

Instructions:

1. In a bowl of a food processor or in a blender, blend garlic, lemon juice and eggs.
2. With the machine running, slowly pour in the oil in a thin stream.
3. Blend until thoroughly combined and mayonnaise is emulsified. Do no over-mix. When the mayonnaise is thick and holds together, it’s done. Store in refrigerator for up to one week.

The immersion blender method:

Add oil to a tall jar (you can use the one that comes with the blender). Add garlic, lemon juice, eggs, salt and pepper. Insert the immersion blender and blend, without moving the blender, for 2 minutes. When the mixture begins to thicken, move the immersion blender up and down until mayonnaise is emulsified.

 

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The No-Potato Passover Cookbook Review & Giveaway


The concept of a Passover without potatoes has been a long time in coming. I’m so glad that Aviva Kanoff has embraced it in her cookbook, The No-Potato Passover. Aviva takes us on a journey of food, travel and color, allowing us to think outside the spud with her internationally-inspired menus. Her recipes span the globe, from Jamaica to Morocco, Croatia to Hungary, and so many places in between. As an avid traveler, Ms. Kanoff takes us along on her travels through colorful pictures and unique recipes that are great for Pesach and all year long. With recipes like pesto chicken “pasta” and eggplant “lasagna” and desserts like chocolate chip biscotti and hazelnut cream cookies, you’ll almost forget you’re on the Passover diet!

Instead of the traditional carb-laden Pesach fare we are used to having, The No-Potato Passover cookbook focuses on healthy options, making use of quinoa, spaghetti squash, parsnips and other creative ingredients to give you original dishes that you will relish and enjoy. While Aviva’s recipes leave me truly inspired, I am personally unable to make most of them on Pesach due to my family’s dietary customs. Still, I look forward to making some of dishes throughout the year, including her heirloom tomato salad with honey basil vinaigrette, roasted garlic soup with flanken, stuffed zucchini blossoms, southwestern sweet ‘n spicy meatballs, strawberry glazed chicken, salmon croquettes with wild mushroom sauce, and coconut cream pie in a macaroon crust.

While The No-Potato Passover Cookbook is filled with colorful & vibrant imagery, I don’t feel that the design is up to par with today’s sophisticated & modern cookbooks. That aside, I think the recipes are truly unique and delicious. Many make use of hard-to-find Passover ingredients (like imitation soy sauce or mustard), however, they are easily adaptable during the year using readily-available ingredients.

The No-Potato Passover cookbook is the winner of The Gourmand Award for the Best Jewish Cuisine in 2012. It has been newly revised and edited just in time for Passover 2013.

As my Passover gift to you, Busy In Brooklyn is giving away a free copy of The No-Potato Passover Cookbook! To enter the giveaway, you must:

1. Share you favorite Passover recipe in the comments below.
2. Follow Busy In Brooklyn on Facebook.

Winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday, March 13th at 10:00 PM.

FREE SAMPLE RECIPES FROM THE NO-POTATO PASSOVER COOKBOOK:

POACHED PEACH & CHICKEN SALAD
reprinted with permission from THE NO-POTATO PASSOVER by Aviva Kanoff
(February 2013, Hardcover, $29.99)

Ingredients:

¾ cup balsamic vinegar
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Kosher salt & ground black pepper
2 peaches (12 oz. total), halved & pitted
4½ tsp. olive oil
4 cups baby greens

Chicken:
1 lb. chicken breasts
1 tsp. salt
1½ tsp. paprika
1⁄8 tsp. garlic powder
1⁄8 tsp. onion powder
2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. rosemary
salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Prepare a medium gas or charcoal grill fire. (Note: If you don’t have a grill, you can cook the chicken in a sauté pan in its marinade.)
2. Combine vinegar and thyme in a 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the mixture is thick, syrupy, and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6-9 minutes.
4. Cook peaches in the syrup for 2 minutes until soft. Remove from the heat, discard the thyme sprigs, and season with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
5. Season chicken and grill or sauté in a pan until cooked.
6. In a medium bowl, toss the baby greens with the remaining 2½ tsp. oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange on a platter.
7. Top with the chicken and peaches. Drizzle with about 2 tbsp. of the reduced balsamic, adding more to taste. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and remaining juice from chicken and peaches.

Tip: Substitute chicken with 1/4 cup feta cheese for a dairy meal.

CABBAGE SOUP WITH MATZOH MEATBALLS
reprinted with permission from THE NO-POTATO PASSOVER by Aviva Kanoff
(February 2013, Hardcover, $29.99)

Ingredients:

1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
5 tbsp. canola oil
1 tbsp. sugar
4 tomatoes, diced
1 large green cabbage, chopped
8 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp. honey
2 cups tomato sauce

Matzo Meatballs:
½ cup matzo meal
½ lb. ground beef
3 eggs
salt and pepper
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tsp. cumin

Directions:

1. Sauté onion and garlic in canola oil until brown.
2. Add sugar and caramelize.
3. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
4. Let boil for 30 minutes and then simmer.
5. While the soup is boiling, mix all ingredients for the matzo meatballs.
6. Form into balls, then add the matzo meatballs to the boiling soup. Cook for 20 minutes.

Related Recipes:

spinach matzo ball minestrone soup

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Kosher by Design Cooking Coach Review & Giveaway!

When it comes to kosher cookbooks, Susie Fishbein is in a league all her own. Her talent and professionalism shine through in each new edition of Kosher by Design, especially her latest, Cooking Coach. Like all of the cookbooks in the Kosher by Design series, Susie carries through on her theme in an immaculate way. In Kosher by Design Cooking Coach, Fishbein shares recipes, tips and techniques to make anyone a better cook. Each section is prefaced by a Game Plan in which Susie teaches the fundamental principles of cooking. She shares techniques, advice and amazing tips to help guide you in the kitchen. From kitchen equipment and essentials, to an in-depth guide to preparing fish, poultry and meat – there’s something to learn for everyone. As a blogger who is familiar with a lot of cooking techniques, there was still so much for me to take away from this book.

Besides for the delectable recipes and beautiful pictures, something else I loved about KBD Cooking Coach is the Playbook. In it, Susie gives you ideas for revamping leftovers of some of her dishes. Or as she likes to call it, reincarnating food. Each recipe and idea in the playbook is as good as it’s original. My only issue with this section (and with the whole book, really) is that I wish the reincarnated recipes were printed beneath their originals, instead of in their own section. It makes it a tad bit confusing.

Not surprisingly, Fishbein does not dissapoint with the well-composed recipes in this book. Some of the dishes I look forward to trying include tomato tarte tatin, Jerusalem artichoke soup, strawberry-goat cheese salad, blueberry and fig glazed duck breasts, cornish hen in port & chocolate sauce, pretzel-crusted lamb chops, fall harvest silver tip roast, sole with peach-basil reduction, butternut squash broken lasagna, silan-roasted sweet potatoes & leeks, gooey walnut brownie pie, and almond thumbprint cookies.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch of KBD Cooking Coach at Pomegranate Supermarket back in October. Susie conducted a cooking demo in which she prepared the following turkey taco eggrolls. She also shared her great ideas for reincarnating extra turkey filling into stuffed portobello mushroom caps or into marinara sauce for pasta. We were all served a sample of each dish and they were so incredibly delicious, I knew I had to share them with you!

In the spirit of Chanukah, Busy In Brooklyn is giving away a copy of Kosher by Design Cooking Coach! To enter the giveaway, help your favorite blog win the FriendsEat 2012 Best Food Blogger contest by voting. Simply visit the BIB page on FriendsEat, login with your facebook account and click the “love” button. Then, leave a comment below letting me know you’ve voted. For a bonus entry, ask your friends to vote too by posting it on your facebook status. Winner will be chosen at random at 9:00 AM Tuesday, December 18th.

Helene’s Turkey Taco Eggrolls
reprinted with permission from Kosher by Design Cooking Coach, Artscroll Publications
yields 16 eggrolls

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound dark meat ground turkey
1 (1.25-ounce) packet Ortega taco seasoning mix
3⁄4 cup water
5 ounces (½ of a 10-ounce box) frozen spinach, completely defrosted
1 (1-pound) package eggroll wrappers; I like Nasoya brand
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
canola oil, for frying
bottled taco sauce or hot sauce for dipping

1. Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a large (12-14-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, breaking up the chunks with a wooden spoon. Cook for 2-3 minutes until no longer pink and just starting to brown. Add the taco seasoning packet and the water. Bring to a simmer.
2. Squeeze all the liquid out of the 5 ounces of spinach. Add spinach to the pan and cook for 5 minutes longer. Stir to distribute the spinach. Cook until all liquid is cooked out. Remove from heat. Cool completely or the eggrolls will be soggy.
3. Arrange an eggroll wrapper on your cutting board facing you like a diamond. Brush the eggwash along the edges of the wrapper. Place 2 tablespoons of filling horizontally in the middle of the eggroll, form into a 4-inch log. Fold the bottom corner over the filling toward the top corner. Fold the two sides in toward the center. It should now look like an envelope. Roll firmly toward the top corner, making a roll 4 inches wide. Be careful not to tear wrapper, and seal the final edge with a brushing of the egg wash. Set aside, seam-side-down. Continue with remaining filling and wrappers.
4. In a deep fryer or in a medium pot, heat canola oil to 355°F. If using a pot, oil should to be deep enough to keep eggrolls from touching bottom of pan, at least 3 inches of oil. Fry eggrolls in batches, about 2-3 minutes until golden brown, turning occasionally; don’t crowd the pot. Drain on paper towels. Serve with taco sauce.

Playbook Recipes:

Make a double batch of the filling. It freezes beautifully up to a month. When you are ready to use, defrost it and mix with 1/4 cup jarred marinara sauce to make stuffed portobello mushroom caps. Bake at 350 degrees until the mushrooms are soft and the filling is warmed, about 20 minutes. You can also add an additional 1/2 cup marinara and serve over freshly cooked pasta.

1 year ago: sea bass en papillote
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Chic Made Simple – Review & Giveaway!

When I first received the Chic Made Simple cookbook, I was wowed. It’s filled with beautiful pictures, impeccable food styling, and lots of delicious recipes that are truly, made simple. Esther Deutsch’s new cookbook promises fresh, fast and fabulous kosher cuisine, and it delivers. With appetizers & sides, soups, salads, poultry, meat, fish, dairy and desserts, the cookbook lacks for nothing. Chef’s are fond of saying “We eat with our eyes first”, and no one knows that better than Esther. Her talent for plating and food styling are on full display page after page. As a wannabe food stylist (at least for my blog) this book has taught me a lot.

While styling is important, the food also has to speak for itself. The recipes in Chic are simple enough for the novice cook, yet sophisticated enough for the more experienced chef. Some of my favorite dishes include quinoa patties, pulled meat wontons, roasted chestnut pumpkin soup, sundried tomato basil capons, creole veal burgers, 60-second cajun salmon, fruit tartare, and many more.

All that being said, I do have a few small qualms about this book. As the food editor of Ami magazine, many, of the recipes appeared in the magazine at some point (46 of the recipes in the book have never been published). While it mostly reads like a cookbook, there is some confusion where the pictures don’t entirely relate to the recipe, and some magazine spreads that were stuck in the book, disrupting the flow. The pictures, having been photographed by a few photographers, don’t offer the same style, and some are so highly manipulated, they don’t look realistic. As a graphic designer, I find this very frustrating, but to the untrained eye, most people will not be disturbed by it.

Bottom line: Chic Made Simple does in fact offer chic recipes that are fairly easy. Some recipes use highly processed ingredients, but most include ingredients that you’d find in your pantry. While many will not be able to plate their dishes as impeccably as pictured, the recipes sure seem to taste as delicious as they look.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment telling me about a simple recipe that you serve in a chic way! And if you don’t already follow me on facebook, like the BIB page here. Winner will be chosen at random at 11:00 PM Wednesday, December 5th. 

Warm Deep-Dish Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Torte
excerpted from CHIC Made Simple: Fresh. Fast. Fabulous. Kosher Cooking By Esther Deutsch, Feldheim Publishers

Ingredients

2 cups oil
1 cup sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
4 eggs
4 cups all-purpose fl our
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. (10 oz.) chocolate chips
Store-bought vanilla ice cream

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. In the bowl of a mixer, beat the oil, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt on medium speed until well combined, about 2–3 minutes. Add the chocolate chips and combine.

2. Pour the batter into two 9-inch round baking pans and bake, uncovered, for 55–60 minutes. Serve the torte warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

3. To reheat, warm the torte, tightly covered, in a preheated 200° F oven for no longer than 1 hour. Serves 16.

Note: This recipe yields two 9-inch round cakes. You can serve the second one as a breakfast cake.

1 year ago: black bean brownies
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