Anniversary Desserts

When we went out for our anniversary dinner at L'Ecole, the desserts were really over the top. We went into a bit of sugar coma after all the delicious sweet treats.

Here is a photo tour of all of the treats (for some reason the photos turned out really gray - sorry):

The first dessert we ordered was the Chocolate Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce and Chestnut Ice Cream. Although when it came out, we both thought the ice cream tasted more like banana than chestnuts. We are not big on banana flavor, so this wasn't a positive development for us. But even with the banana ice cream, this dessert was delicious. The rich chocolate flavor of the bread pudding was really decadent.

The second dessert we ordered was the waffle with pomegranate gelato and Thai basil and grapefruit sauces. This was a bit disappointing. The waffle was a bit blah. I always like waffles with a crispy edge, and these were just bready. The pomegranate ice cream and sauces were delicious. Nice and tangy and not too sweet.

This was an extra little plate of treats that came out. My husband popped the chocolate in his mouth and declared that they tasted like miniature lava cakes. I think they were macaroons with a chocolate and raspberry filling. They were accompanied by miniature lemon cupcakes with whipped cream and raspberries.

We were already in dessert overload when the waiter brought us an extra dessert with the beautiful "Happy Anniversary" inscription. This Apple Brown Butter Cake with Apple Compote and Pomegranate Ice Cream was actually my favorite. Not too sweet, really buttery and full of apple and pomegranate flavor. This would be my recommendation for the dessert to order.

To top it all off they sent us home with brownies from the baking program in cute little mylar bags.

We really enjoyed our experience at L'Ecole and highly recommend it for a special occasion. While it is not cheap, it is good value for a prix fixe menu in New York City.

This post is part of Meatless Mondays, Mouthwatering Mondays, and Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays.

Anniversary Dinner

We generally are pretty low key about meals. Lately we have been focusing more on quality ingredients than fancy cooking techniques or exotic flavor combinations. When we go out to eat, we usually frequent locally owned neighbor joints, but we decided to step away from the ordinary to celebrate our anniversary. We went to L'ecole last night for their four course prix fixe menu. It's the restaurant of the French Culinary Institute, but we learned it was actually professional chefs preparing the meals for our dinner seating. The meal was fabulous and we highly recommend it for your next special occasion.

Here is a photographic tour of our meal:

An Amuse-Bouche of Spanish Tortilla with Fresh Salsa.

Charcuterie Plate with Foie Gras, Pâté, Fromage de Tête and Duck Rillette. I didn't really care for the head cheese, but everything else was delicious.

Grilled Fig-Glazed Pork Belly with Butternut Squash Purée and Crispy Shallots

Broiled Lamb T-Bone Steak with Seasonal Vegetables, Goat Cheese Polenta and Fig-Merlot Lamb Jus. The lamb was so tender and perfectly cooked.

Miso-Glazed Beef Short Ribs with Celery Root-Potato Purée, Warm Brussels Sprout Salad and Pomegranate-Lime Vinaigrette. This entree had really great flavor combinations playing off one another.

I will share dessert photos tomorrow. They really deserve their own post.

This post is part of Works-for-me-Wednesday, Real Food Wednesdays, and Welcome Wednesday.

The Perfect Eggs

I have been trying to eat eggs on a regular basis because they are chock full of such a wonderful combination of nutrients and protein, but it's been tough getting them down while I have been pregnant. My fall back method for including them in my diet has been French Toast. I could eat French Toast every day and not get sick of it. I know that eggs are better for you when the yolks are still runny, so yesterday I ventured out of my comfort zone to try some soft cooked eggs. They were fabulous! In the past, I have often ended up with yolks that are mostly cooked, but I think I have found the key to the perfect soft cooked eggs. I didn't add the eggs until the water was already boiling, cooked them for five minutes, and plunged them in ice cold water. The yolks had a delicious, creamy texture, and tasted great on some toast.



Soft-Boiled Eggs

4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil. Add the eggs and bring back to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce it to a simmer. Cook for a total of five minutes for large eggs. Remove eggs from the pot and add to ice cold water. Once the eggs are cool enough to hold, crack open with a knife, and scoop the egg out of the shell. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Unfortunately, we were too hungry and didn't take a photo of the perfect eggs. You will have to use your imagination to see the runny orange yolks and firm egg white over some toast. Delicious!

Our Meal Plan for the week:

Monday - Chicken, sausage and bean stew
Tuesday - Anniversary dinner at L'Ecole
Wednesday - Dinner out while running errands
Thursday - Leftover Indian style vegetables and lentils
Friday - Homemade pizza

This post is part of Meatless Mondays, Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist, Mouthwatering Mondays, Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays, and Menu Plan Monday.