At the very last minute, I decided to pull together an Easter favorite that reminds me of my friend Holley. Holley’s mom made these Easter nests almost every year when we were growing up, and they’re just as delicious as I remembered.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make the nests: Marshmallows, butter, peanut butter, chow mein noodles, M&Ms (or any other little egg-like candies).
Simply melt the butter, peanut butter and marshallows in a saucepan (or in the microwave) and pour the mixture over the noodles.
Then spoon out enough gooey nest stuff to fill a greased muffin pan. Once the nests cool, slide them out and drop in your eggs.
I remember sipping lemonade while crunching on these nests during snack time in elementary school, so I made a grown-up lemonade with fresh lemons, agave, club soda and a little Tito’s vodka we had in the freezer. The perfect grown up version of two childhood favorites! Happy Easter!
Avoid the brunch crowd and the extra calories by preparing your favorite brunch item at home. Here is my healthy twist on Eggs Benedict. It’s easier than you think, and you’ll be so proud of yourself, you’ll want to share with others. I think Easter is the perfect reason to invite your friends over for a celebration (even if you do live in a teensy little NY apartment).
Here is what you’ll need to make the potatoes: Any type of taters will work (I used these little babies from Trader Joe’s), a bell pepper or two, onion, garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper
Simply chop chop chop everything up, and if you’re going to blog about it, be sure to organize it all pretty like this…
Toss everything with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt & pepper, and scoot everything around on a baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes or so at 450*. I checked on them a few times and even shuffled them around every now and then.
While the breakfast potatoes are cooking, I whipped up a healthy version of hollandaise sauce. Here is what you’ll need to make the sauce: a glob of greek yogurt, a spoonful of mayo, lemon juice (I used one lemon), a glob and a half of dijon mustard, and a pinch of salt, pepper and cayenne. Can you tell I don’t like measuring?
Whisk everything together in a bowl and leave it on the counter while you prepare the rest. This sauce is delicious at room temp, but if you want to heat it up before drizzling it over the eggs, that’ll work too.
Now for the scary part – the egg poaching! It is very important to have very fresh eggs.
Bring your water to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer, add a tiny splash (a really tiny splash) of white vinegar, swirl the water around with a spoon and then drop the eggs in (while the water is kind of swirling). I put the eggs in a coffee cup before dropping them in the water (the handle makes it easier to get them in with one plop). Now let them be – don’t touch them for 3 minutes! After 3 or 4 minutes, fish them out with a spoon and let them rest on a paper towel.
And now for the fun part, assemble your eggs benedict and set the table! I used spinach and local tomatoes from a fruit stand on 2nd Avenue, rather than Canadian bacon. I also whipped up a side of greek yogurt drizzled with honey garnished with raspberries and mint leaves, which looked adorable in these little mini martini glasses I got at a thrift shop in Dallas.
Wasn’t that easy? You should be impressed with yourself. Enjoy (and put your napkin in your lap)!
Stephen and I have been tangled in packing tape, boxes and dust for the past two weeks during our apartment move (more blog posts about the new place to come). And while was hard to leave our first married apartment, it was even harder to leave our next door neighbor, Sandra.
A few days before the movers arrived, Hudson and I spent the evening chatting with Sandra and snapping a few photos. Meet Sandra, our next door neighbor (and so much more).
SANDRA, NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR/FRIEND/HUDSON’S FAVORITE
You’ve lived in this apartment for a long time, how do you keep it looking so current? I like change, and I consider myself current. I have always been ahead. I split my time between Paris and New York. I get bored with routines, and I like to do something a little different everyday, which includes changing things in my apartment and living in my two favorite cities.
Even if you don’t have a routine you stick with, there has to be something that you do everyday besides brush your teeth, right? Well, yes, I write everyday. I kept a journal everyday for 10 years – see the leather bound notebooks on the top shelf of my bookcase? I always travel with a notebook and a pen. I love to write. I have to write.
Writing is more than something you love, it’s what you do, so tell us about that. Yes, I am a playwright. I was the first woman to produce an American play in Paris (written in French). The play is about an employment agency, and it is still the most produced female written play in Paris.
Why the employment agency? What was your inspiration? I was an office temp at an employment agency for a period of time in New York City, and I took notes during the job. The play has been translated to English, and I am sending it to producers in America.
What do you enjoy most about living in New York? I like that you can do anything quickly here. People understand that you’re in a hurry, and people are respectful of that…unless, of course, you’re trying to mail a letter at the post office. (The post office is a nightmare, and we miss you already, Sandra!!)
Snow nights are more fun than snow days. These are the nights when you have an inkling that your office will be closed the following day so you order the extra glass of bubbles at a tiny fireplace bar (just knowing you’ll get to sleep in after getting the office closure email on your BlackBerry at any moment…around 3am, while you’re still out wearing fur and cashmere). Our snow night looked a little different this year, but it was just as fabulous (and so much more restful).
Stephen and I spent our snow night playing with Hudson in central park followed by champagne and tortilla soup, while we watched the news coverage about the storm. The lights didn’t go out, but I kept most of the lights turned off and lit candles to add to the drama of the storm (I’ve been known to be a bit dramatic). Here are a handful of my favorite photos we took during the storm:
When the wine shop is fresh out of chilled bottles, sometimes you get a brilliant idea on the walk home…
Here are a couple of pretty pictures of central park…
Warning to all snowmen: Hudson will eat your limbs when you least expect it (and his parents will take photos of it). See below photo of Hudson chewing on a stick, which was once a leg.
Here is a photo of Hudson surveying the damage (the leash and the hand-me-down jacket don’t match, but it’s never that easy)…Thank you to Kate (and Winston) for the snow vest. It’s still our favorite.
Thank you NYC for the snow storm – we had the best snow day (and snow night). Hoping for one more blizzard this winter. We’ll see. Until then…goodnight, New York. Back to work tomorrow. Xx.
One Saturday last summer, I was in a rush to get ready for a bachelorette party downtown. You know the nights full of loud DJ music, sparklers and champagne where you wear your highest heels and an extra coat of mascara? I knew we’d all be flipping our hair around, posing for iPhone photos, and I needed a quick blowout. My go-to place was full, so I stumbled into an unassuming salon a couple of blocks from our apartment and met Ricky.
While blow drying my hair that Saturday, Ricky convinced me that he could color and cut my hair better than any snotty, waiting list salon I’d tried in the city, and I went back the following weekend for the works. The rest is history.
RICKY, HAIRDRESSER, 25 YEARS OLD
How did you get your start? I first cut my grandmother’s hair in Israel when I was 15 years old. I was an assistant at a salon, and she came in with an old book that had a photo of a woman with a short, funky haircut. I cut all of her hair off, and she loved it. If I weren’t a hairdresser, I’d be a lawyer, but I can’t really sit still for long.
How did you find your way to NYC? My family moved to NYC from Israel when I was 16 years old. My father gave me a gift card to get hair supplies. I bought everything I needed to cut hair, but nobody would hire me. I decided to go to a nursing home and offered to cut everyone’s hair for free. My first client, Maria, was slumped sideways, you know, kind of sitting crooked, in a wheel chair. I cut her hair like that. When she sat up, her hair was cut at an angle. It looked awful, but she loved it. I continued to cut Maria’s hair once a week, every Thursday, until she passed away. She left me an envelope with a note and a check for $1,000. I eventually made my way into salons in NYC, and I have been working here for about 5 years.
What do you enjoy most about working in NYC? No client is the same. Everyone is willing to do new things and experiment with their hair. Nobody is trying to be anyone else. I like that.
This blog has an etiquette element, so can you share some tips for clients? Please show up on time. If you show up late, it throws off the schedule for the entire day. Have an idea about what you want. We cannot read your mind. Oh, and be honest, please! Tell us the truth – if you don’t like it, we want to know so we can fix it!
Ok, Ricky, anything else? Not all male hairdressers are gay – I’m not gay. And every woman should color their hair. Why doesn’t every woman color their hair? (Good question, Ricky).
If you want to get weird looks from your friends in NYC, tell them you talk to your neighbors. If you want those looks to get really weird, tell them you’re actually friends with your neighbors.
Meet Beverly, one of my neighbors (and friends)…
Oh, and meet her son Jake. He is home from college, so he joined in on the fun. Have you ever seen such fabulous red hair in your life? It’s even better in person.
The night I walked down the hall to chat with Beverly she had a full house already (in her one bedroom apartment). Her son Jake, his girlfriend, his buddy that works down the street and a friend’s dog were sitting together in the living room. I offered to come back another time, and Beverly responded with, “Come in! There is always room for one more person.” She says that’s been her motto since moving into the building [many, many years ago].
BEVERLY, NEIGHBOR (DOWN THE HALL)
What do you enjoy most about living in NYC? I love the electricity of the city. I’m from North Carolina. I moved to New York City for the excitement and adventure. I love the diversity and the energy that’s right outside your doorstep.
What is one thing you always have in your refrigerator? Wild Arugula
What is the one beauty product you cannot live without?Kiehl’s Vitamin C
Do you have any specific memories that stick out about living in this building for so many years? Oh yes, there are so many memories. This building and this neighborhood are like a little small town. We all know the name of the mailman and the UPS man. You see the same faces around the block and at the coffee shop. New York is a very friendly place.
Was it difficult to have a baby and raise a son in the city (and in this apartment)? No, it was great. Jake had a nanny that lived with us for 11 years. She is still our friend and part of our family. I’m the godmother to her grandchild. We just had dinner with her a week or so ago. He would meet a friend on the 4th floor and walk to school with her in the mornings. It was easier than loading everyone up in a station wagon in the suburbs. I’ve never considered moving.
There is an entertaining/events element to this blog, so any fun memories of NY events or parties you can share? Yes, I had a black tie Caribbean themed birthday party one year at a fancy hotel, with a steel drum band and a Caribbean menu; that was neat. And for a few years, the neighbor over there (points) was a makeup artist for Georgette Klinger – he’d do my makeup before events. Now I get my makeup done across the street at Bergdorfs. (Beverly also works at BG selling evening gowns – isn’t that fabulous?).
That’s amazing… Yes, I love New York. You can be at a fancy dinner at a beautiful, new restaurant and then decide it’s time to go downtown to a grungy bar and listen to a friend’s kid play in a band all in one night. It’s great.
Thanks for having us over, Beverly and Jake! We are going to miss being your neighbor!
