Maiden Lane, part deux

We made the hike downtown to hang out with Ms. O and her Mr. M.  While I always expect to be wowed when I visit Ms. O, this last visit left me thinking she'd outdone herself.  We arrived just as Ms. O was plating some of our appetizers.  Yup I said some, because we had FOUR appetizers.  We ate our appetizers on the roof deck.  Unfortunately, it was getting late and I didn't take the pictures indoors so although we had blue chips and salsa, bruschetta, and thai sweet chili wings and buffalo wings, I only have pictures of the wings.

They were delish! We finished every last wing.  The wings were marinated, baked then broiled and finally sauced before they were plated.  All that work definitely paid off because it was very tender and well seasoned.

Yum indeed! This first course was accompanied by sangrita and of course we indulged in the fruit at the bottom of the pitcher.  Once we finished our appetizers, we went inside to chat it up, watch the Cavs and Celtics and get ready for our entree.  Although we were stuffed from the appetizers, we had room for some starburst while we waited for dinner.

Right as I started to get hungry, Ms. O announced that dinner was ready.  Farfalle with vodka sauce, shrimp and arugula salad.

The shrimp was just the right amount of spicy to complement the vodka sauce. Of course the sauce was made from scratch.  The dressing on the arugula salad was so good, I ate my salad in record time.

Look at that shrimp?! We retired to the couch to allow our food to digest.  Although I was filled to the brim, I could not resist eating dessert.  

Yup that's right. Heart shaped pumpkin loaf...because she loves me :-D  We also had some fruit to balance the sweets.

All in all an amazing culinary experience.  My only regret is I was so full that I started falling asleep towards the end of the night!  Oh and I must invest in a camera with some flash.  My fastphone is just so convenient that I use it to take pictures.  Anyone know of any good apps for the flash problem?

A Night on Maiden Lane

While I normally don't venture WTFDT (way the f*ck down town), I occasionally make the trip to visit Ms. O.  I've known Ms. O for quite some time, we were not in diapers when we first met, but I guess we were still babies in 9th grade.  Anyway, usually when I visit Ms. O, I can expect a night of delicious take out or venturing to a local restaurant and while I always enjoy these dining experiences, I was very excited when Ms. O called last week and said she would make us dinner!  She is quite the talented chef/bartender, she makes sauces from scratch and mixes up mean drinks.

After a rough ride from 50th street to wall street (is it me or are the trains getting worse even before the budget cuts?), I arrived at Maiden Lane.  To my delight, Ms. O had prepared a citrus laced concoction. 

Grapefruit, lime, blood oranges and lemon.  It was so delicious I didn't even notice the lack of kumquat ;-)

Ms. O then presented a delicious plate of shrimp garnished with lemon.  While I didn't see all of the preparation for the shrimp, it appears that there was some olive oil, garlic, onion and/or crushed red pepper involved.  Considering my love for shrimp and all of the above ingredients, you can imagine the smile on my face as I bit into the first piece.  Simply divine!

After replenishing my glass and catching up on the happenings since we last saw each other, Ms. O was ready to serve dinner.   Shrimp then salad and lasagna! what more could a girl want?

The salad was similar to the one I had at lunch, however the dressing was much better.  Ms. O of course made the dressing herself.  While her Mr. M prefers his salad overdressed, I was very happy with my appropriately dressed salad.

Now the lasagna was certainly to die for.  The noodles were incredibly fresh.  Very moist and soft but not overcooked.  The sauce was also amazing and had a different taste than any sauce I've ever had.  I later learned that there was flambe involved in making the sauce.  Ms. O if you're comfortable sharing your secret, please divulge in the comments!

After dinner we retired to the couch to continue our girl talk and I have to say I'm quite happy with what I learned ;-) I walked away to use the restroom and when I came back low and behold a beautiful dessert platter.

Oh Ms. O, you never cease to amaze me.  Thanks for a wonderful night!