Bon Appetit Magazine and New York City

Last Wednesday night my husband and I took a red-eye flight to New York City and arrived home safely early this morning after having our flight delayed 3.5 hours.  It was the type of trip we will always look back on fondly.  You see… this is the first time we have been away from our kids in almost 9 years.  Instead of having to worry about finding kid-friendly restaurants and places to go, we just went where ever we wanted to.  It was the perfect time of year to visit with the hustle and bustle of  Times Square as well as other touristy spots.  However, this trip was not planned but an opportunity that presented itself.

The kind folks at Bon Appetit Magazine contacted me last month inviting me to come to New York for a Bloggers Bake Off Party.  Initially, I was planning on coming alone.  However, after family members rallied to help with childcare, we bought an airline ticket for my husband too.  Just like that we called this trip our “10 year Anniversary, Christmas, and Birthday presents” to ourselves and had the greatest time exploring the city together for the first time.

The first day we arrived, we stayed with Olga of SassyRadish.com.  She has to be one of the most wonderful people I know.  She was such a gracious and generous hostess I only wish we lived closer.  Her Guinness  Stout Ginger Cake was so amazing I probably ate at least half just to myself.  Then there was my other friend Jennifer Perillo of In Jennies Kitchen, whom I adore very much.  We were roommates in San Francisco for BlogherFood and spending time with her almost the whole day was wonderful.  I also wished we lived closer because she is a amazing friend.

For the party I brought with me from Seattle – Salted Caramel Bourbon Bacon Bars. My dessert was 1 of 20 entries and the winning entry was my friend, Marc Matsumoto of NoRecipes.com.  In my opinion, his Kabocha Pumpkin Cream Cake was one of the best desserts I have ever had the privilege of eating.  His entry was in a class of its own and deserving of the first place prize. To see a slide show of the event, click here to the Bon Appetit site.

The next evening Marc, Olga, Rob, and I had dinner in the East Village at a Soba Noodle house where they make their own noodles.  Marc then took us to some great little spice shops where I brought home tea bag dashi and black cardamon pods.

The rest of our time in New York City was spent being tourists and spending time with friends of my husband who came down from Boston to meet us (Thank you Kristin and Bruce!).

All in all it was one of my highlights of the year.  Many thanks to everyone who helped make this trip happen, especially our families who provided love and care to our 3 kids while we were gone.  Glad to be home.