{editorial}

I photographed my first magazine cover story and I had a blast. I'm so happy with the photos creative director Frankie Butler chose (second one was used inside the magazine)! Grand Master Kaidanov was a total sweetie-pie (even if he looks hardcore on the cover), and it was fun watching him in action. Though I never did admit to him that I don't even know how the pieces move...

{this is not a food blog}

But I can't help myself. I need some loukoumadas right now. I crave them. Every culture has their version of fried dough and biased though I may be, I think loukoumades--light and fluffy puffs with sweet honey drizzled over and then sprinkled with nuts--takes the cake. Or the dough. Or whatever. So who wants to volunteer to make them for me?

{my foodie weekend}

So, not to make you jealous, or anything, but I had an awesome weekend. A weekend filled with food. Really good food. There was hamantaschen baking with the girls (photos later in the week), the devouring of a rich red velvet cake topped with about a pound of butter and baked by Matt Francsisco, an amazing candidate for Cold Spring trustee (learn about him here and vote for him on March 20th!) The best part? My friends over at Hudson Hil's invited me to a soft opening of their new bistro. You heard that right! My favorite brunch/lunch place is now offering dinner. And because I spend a ridiculous amount of time there (hi Laura!), they figured I was worthy of a sneak peak. It was amazing being there at night (sans kids!) enjoying new, flavorful food without pretension. I am a huge fan of appetizers--I often order a few instead of an entree--and the new offerings at HH definitely didn't disappoint! If there are artichokes on a menu, I will order them. Even better if they're fried. And the crostini had an awesome kick. The new dinner entrees are varied--stuffed trout, veggie strudel, steak frites--and they're still offering their lunch options for even more choices. And dessert...well, any fan of Top Chef knows that dessert is a chef's Achilles' heel. But Bob Hayes (and his new nightitme chef, Scott) did not fail me. Those strawberry beignets were bright pops of color in my mouth. The creme puffs had a chocolate sauce that I licked off of the plate. With my fingers. And I wasn't even embarrassed. (My husband, probably.) The evening was topped off by some amazing Riesling shared by good friends and the warmest atmosphere. Thank you Hilary and Bob!