Trying new things

I have lived in New York for over three years and it wasn't until this past Friday that I finally tasted a famous egg cream. Now don't go drooling over that name AND if you think either eggs or cream are even in this drink, you would be mistaken. Interestingly enough, it was invented by a candy store owner and has been coined the poor man's root beer float. It is actually made up of chocolate syrup, milk and seltzer water and essentially tastes like a chocolate cream soda.

I tried the egg cream at a New York landmark (and another first for me), Eisenberg's Deli. Katz is a pretty famous deli 'round these parts, but i would say that Eisenberg's runs a close second (not to mention my foodie celebrity favorite, Anthony Bourdain gives it two thumbs up).

A dingy place of sorts, you have to really love those hole-in-the-wall type places to enjoy the experience here. Remember folks, it's about the food. Lucky for me, my friend Peggy was well versed in the menu and ordered a delightful pastrami sandwich decked out with all the fixin's, so I just doubled that order. It was salty, full of fat and therefore full of flavor. The "slaw" packed in alongside the tomatoes and lettuce gave it a nice sour kick to boot.

Overall, between that and the egg cream, I was feeling quite full and quite in need of a workout. I mean their slogan really says it all, "...raising New York's cholesterol since 1929." It's certainly not an everyday choice, but for a guilty pleasure and a darn good sandwich, it is worth every calorie!

Sunday proved to be a day of cooking yet again as I tried a new recipe using pappardelle noodles, butternut squash, baby spinach, shitake mushrooms, parmesan and fresh sage. It was actually quite an easy recipe to make, although it always proves more difficult when I am cooking in my boyfriend's [bachelor] kitchen consisting of one pan, one medium-sized skillet and two barely sharp knives.

Once I got past the utensil deficiency, I was on my way. The pappardelle really didn't take as long to cook as I was expecting. Actually, the toughest thing was getting the squash to soften up. Not to mention the balancing act me and the vegetables played trying to make sure I didn't slop outside the small skillet...

It turned out pretty darn good in the end and I was satisfied with this quite delicious, fall tasting dish. I did add some fresh garlic to mine (which it didn't call for and I really liked). You could also do some substitutions like using part olive oil or light butter instead of the full amount of regular butter it calls for. Lastly, I would be mindful that this recipe makes a lot of food. We cut down the ingredients nearly in half and it still made like 4-6 servings! If you are down to try it, check it out here:

RECIPE: Pappardelle with Squash, Mushrooms, and Spinach