Posts categorized as Holiday

I like to “church-hop”. There are so many beautiful churches in Ridgewood  (St. Brigid,  St Matthias, St Aloysius) that I can’t help but visit them all. But on Palm Sunday I always go to St. Brigid’s, because after mass, the street is packed with parishioners buying and selling palms, chatting with Monsignor Kelly and eating food from the carts that set up on Linden and St. Nicholas. I asked this Palm maker how long it takes to create her arrangements. She said for the larger ones, about 20 minutes. All the palm arrangements [...]

Everyone was raving about these southwestern turkey meatballs with cream sauce I made for Maureen’s Rockaway St. Paddy’s Day Party. I had several requests to post the recipe. I found it on skinnytaste.com. The name of the site implies this is a low-fat recipe and it is (!!) but for the party instead of baking the meatballs, I fried those suckers! Since then, I’ve made more creamy cilantro dipping sauce and used it on chicken cutlets. Total win – my Husband and JUMBO devoured  8 cutlets in one sitting. The [...]

Editors Note: The McDonalds bag pictured above contained only Shamrock Shakes. After Hurricane Sandy, this year’s Rockaway St. Paddy’s felt extra special. There were larger crowds, and extra cheer surrounding the parade. As always, 11am we started out at the Honan’s house where Fran hosted breakfast, complete with Irish coffee, shamrock shakes, green mimosas, homemade biscotti, green bagels, and Fran’s  famous brownies. We  filled up on the goodies, chatted and anticipated the parade. Around 12:45 we assembled on the porch for the group photo – a 15 year Honan Family tradition. Everyone grabbed a roadie [...]

Jambalaya it is for Rockaway St. Paddy’s Day!  It’s a great dish to make if you’re having a lot of big eaters over or if you want to set something up the day before and finish it off the day of.  Add some hearty bread and it’s a meal!  This is also good around the Super Bowl or the weekend before Lent starts since it’s very New Orleans/Mardi-gras-esque. This recipe is based on a cooking.com recipe I tried a while ago. They plug their own Capn Butt Kickin Blacken spice but you can use the store brand of cajun [...]

I never realized how important tortillas could be until we started traveling in Guatemala. More precisely until we visited San Pedro la Laguna. San Pedro is a pueblo (town) located next to Lake Atitlan in the mountains of Guatemala. It is populated by the descendants of several Mayan tribes who primarily speak the indigenous language of “Tzutujil” with Spanish coming in a close second. After spending a week in Antigua, a fairly colonial town near Guatemala City, we took a 3 + hour bus ride to San Pedro to spend [...]

I am not a great cook. There, my dark little secret is out in the open. So what does a not so great cook due when tasked with attending a potluck super bowl party? Well, cheat of course. I’ve been meaning become an expert chef for a while now, but that annoying little thing called work keeps rearing its ugly head. As the party was approaching my anxiety began to grow as my time to master the art of baked ziti was dwindling. In desperation, my mind turned to Grandpa [...]

Every December I email my Aunt Maureen and ask her what I can bring to the annual Walsh Christmas party/Twins Birthday (my dad and her husband are identical twin brothers born on the 17th of Dec… what a jip but neither one complains… a lot.). The response is always the same, “Bring Nothing, Love you, AM”. As usual she’s always right. Between the spread of appetizers, salad, fresh bread, AM’s jambalaya (simmering on the stove, the smell wafting through the entrance, teasing us upon arrival, conveniently accessorized with festive bowls [...]

We’re ringing in the New Year with a few “Best Of 2012″ posts. First up, the best of Instagram. If your not following already and would like too, find The Tomato feed here! (In no particular order) Taken in Ridgewood, Queens. Spotted this “doll” in NYC From my kitchen RD drawing party w/ quarcnyc  Passed this vintage stove many times on Cypress Ave. If only I had a second kitchen… Picked these in late August at my Mother-in-Law’s home in Rockaway. Tasted so sweet! Taken at St Brigids - one of the many [...]

The Italian-American neighborhood of Dyker Heights is famously known for its elaborate Christmas light displays.  I’ve never been, and I LOVE the Christmas season, so for me this was a no-brainer: I dragged my husband (and rent-a-husband / bro-in-law) with me after the Walsh Christmas party last Saturday. “It’s on the way,” I said, with my eyes glazed over with Christmas “cheer”. Obviously, in the car, I insisted we put on the 24/7 Christmas music station. We arrived and the streets were packed with families, tourists with big cameras, multiple Elmos, Frosty, Santa, and [...]

Of late, I’ve been into giving (and receiving) gifts of food and beverage. It’s a fun idea to consider this holiday season. Lets get the juices flowing… Wine, beer or alcohol: if you have a friend/family member that indulges in these pleasures, you just can’t go wrong with these gifts. Usually I pick up wine for 13 bucks or less, so receiving a fancy bottle is always a welcomed treat. Same goes for vodka, whiskey and other liquors. Peroni for your beer drinking paisans – so easy! I’m sure your friends [...]