Spring Break in Cancun!

Spring Break Time

After a cold winter that felt like it was lasting forEVER, we took off to Cancun to enjoy some rejuvenation at Le Blanc Spa Resort.  Upon entering the lobby, we were fumbling with our bags and looking every bit the frazzled New Yorkers.  One of the Le Blanc staff gracefully approached, gently coaxed the bags from our hands, and said: "Do not worry.  You are officially on vacation now."  And from that moment until the moment we left, we truly did not have to worry about a thing.  Every single person at Le Blanc was so friendly, approachable, and accommodating.  At one point we made what we thought might be an odd food request, and were simply told: "Anything is possible."  Needless to say, just a few days here was all we needed to shed all the stress of work and winter and come back fully energized ready to face the spring.  

 

Our first glance at the infinity pool after shedding our bags.

 Our first lunch at the International Buffet.  They cooked every meat to perfection, and even had the option to choose your own raw meat or fish from a buffet display and have it grilled right in front of you!

Tasty guacamole was a pleasant addition to every meal.  And the mixed drinks were made with delicious fresh fruit of our choosing!

One of our favorite indulgences besides the beach and spa was the room service!  Nothing like piping hot coffee from the comfort of your room before heading out for the day.  

And we discovered a tasty dish that we wound up ordering a lot - chilaquiles.  Definitely going to try making it at home!

 Another thing we loved about the room service option is that you could also order items from the various resort restaurants and have them delivered to your room.  We loved the chance to have tasty dinners without having to get all dressed up after a day at the beach.  One of our favorite dishes was the pasta sampler from Blanc Italia.

 All the reviews of Le Blanc said visitors must check out the tasting menu at Lumiere, Le Blanc's French restaurant.  So we decided to make that a special dinner for our last night in Cancun.  Though we weren't hungry enough to do the full tasting menu, we did enjoy seafood appetizers (shown above) and the chef-recommended Angus beef entree (paired interestingly with lentils). 

 Guess you could say we created our own surf and turf.  lol  Delicious!

 Thank you for a lovely vacation, Le Blanc!  Hopefully we'll see you again soon!

Grill Master and Erin Go Bragh

We've had some home cooking fun lately as the NYC winter drones on.  Nothing makes you feel warm and cozy like a nice homemade dish.

On one snowy weekend, we made the most of an awesome meat sale on Fresh Direct (yes, we buy our food via computer; yes, we make the most of meat sales; yes, we are proud of it) and Grillmaster DJ broke out the stovetop grill to make some perfect pieces of filet mignon.  

This time around he got even more experimental with the sauce, and the result was absolutely DELECTABLE.  One lesson we did learn: if you add wine to a pan that has been beautifully sauteeing garlic, there will be smoke.  A lot of smoke.  Smoke-detector-going-off amounts of smoke and possibly a pan that can't be used again.  But the taste of that sauce - oh, it's so worth it!

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On another wintry weekend, it was time for the luck of the Irish.  In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we got some slices of corned beef (would've made it from scratch but didn't want to commit to eating it for a whole week) and whipped up some roasted butternut squash and cabbage.  With a few dashes of fennel and paprika, the cabbage took on a whole new flavor we really enjoyed with the salty meat.  Cheers!

Cacio e Pepe Quest : Stop 2 - Lupa

We have had Lupa on our list of Italian spots to try because they're known for their excellent cacio e pepe.  As you may recall (but, let's not flatter ourselves - you probably don't and that's ok), we've been on a mission to find cacio e pepe that tops the dish we had in Rome on our honeymoon.  So yes, we arrived at Lupa with high expectations, tempered considerably by the delightful company of Liz and Dipali.  :)

Ordering was clearly a no-brainer.  We got the cacio e pepe.  But we also got to sample two other dishes thanks to being with a group.  :)

 Overall, we all enjoyed all the pasta dishes at Lupa tremendously.  However, the cacio e pepe still didn't hit the same sweet spot as the one we had in Rome.  The pepper wasn't too overpowering or anything.  In fact, it was just right.  But the cheese sauce didn't have quite the same kick as it did in Italy.  We're starting to wonder if we've romanticized this dish completely and are on a neverending quest to find its equal.  But... we trust our tastebuds and will keep searching because let's be real - it's fun! 

Cachaca Caipirinhas

One of the reasons we love going to Zebu Grill around the corner is because their caipirinhas are amazing.  They have this fabulous flavor combination of sweet, tart, and smokey.  We started to wonder if we could make them at home.  We picked up a muddler (which will come in handy for making lots of other drinks too!), some Leblon cachaca (considered one of the best), and some limes and followed these directions:

Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1 lime, quartered
• 2 tsp fine sugar
• 2 oz cachaca

Preparation:

1. Place the lime wedges and sugar into an old-fashioned glass.
2. Muddle well.
3. Fill the glass with ice cubes.
4. Pour in the cachaca.
5. Stir well. 

 

The result?  FANTASTIC!!  We realized that Zebu doesn't have a magical recipe.  They're just kind enough to use the top shelf cachaca and fresh ingredients rather than watering down their cocktails with soda.  The secret to the smokey flavor is the Leblon.  Mystery solved!