Colette

Paris has always held a special place in my heart. The first time I ever visited this gorgeous city was with my friend Bridget when we studied abroad in Spain.

I remember it being exactly what I thought it would be: the most romantic place on earth. Was it the buildings? The people? The food? The fashion? Everything?

When I landed my first job in textiles I never imagined part of my job (“job”) would be to visit Paris twice a year to attend a textile show and then do some competitive shopping. What does competitive shopping mean? It means my favorite thing in the world – going into different shops and see what the competition is up to. What fabrics are they using? What techniques are out there?

The first place I always stop at is Colette. A true Parisian institution. Colette opened in 1997 but in July of this year we all woke up to the news: Colette would close its doors in December of 2017. Of course with that in mind I made a stop at my beloved little shop.

The whole upstairs usually would house looks from Gucci, Balenciaga, Simone Rocha, Proenza Schouler, Rodarte, Coach and Sacai to name a few.  As of late the boutique has been been taken over by different designers – most recently Sacai. Of course the conceptual layout was impeccable.

I was so lucky to see Colette one last time. If you’re there before end of December make sure to stop by.

Dress: WhoWhatWear for Target
Coat: Pilcro & The Letterpress
Shoes: Loeffler Randall
Bag: The Stowe

xoxop


Colette
213 Rue Saint Honoré, 75001 Paris, France
+33 01 55 35 33 90

Open:
Monday – Saturday: 11:00 am to 7:00 pm
*closes permanently on December 20th

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Friday Night ICE

Want to know the best way to spend a Friday night past the age of thirty? Cooking Class at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). Years ago I took a class there and it was so much fun that I decided to go again.

Of course, the amazing human being that introduced me to this place is Dotty…as she’s generally pulling me out of my day to day to do fun things like take cooking classes, visit museums and try new restaurants. For those of you who’ve never heard of Dotty let me give you a little history. Dotty was my very first roommate in NYC. I rented a room in her amazing (huge!) UWS apartment for a year and then Spencer and I moved in with her together. We started our little NYC life alongside the best roommate ever. We now consider Dotty our NYC family.

So, Dotty and I met for a four hour 6:00 pm class of Fall Favorites where we learned the cook the following:

  • Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Truffled Croutons and Shiitake Mushrooms
  • Kale Salad with Pickled Onions and Apple Cider Vinaigrette
  • Beet Pappardelle with Goat Cheese and Roasted Hazelnuts
  • Fontina-Stuffed Veal Scallopini with Wild Mushroom Sauce
  • Guinness-Braised Short Ribs with Creamy Polenta and Roasted Cipollini Onions
  • Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Pancetta
  • Gingerbread-Pear Trifle

The class was started off by giving a rundown of the different ingredients we would be using and explaining their purpose. Did you know that you can eat the stems of beets? And that Kale is sweetest in October? We also went over a few knife skills and some advise on good food practice. For example;

Eating In Season & Why You Should Do It:

  • Food tastes better as it’s growing in prime condition
  • The cost of food is lower as there is more of it
  • It’s better for the environment to eat in season!

How You Can Eat In Season:

Once the basics were covered we were split into three groups of four. Each group got to make all the entrees and we split the sides/soups between the three groups.

I loved how the class was run as it was very well organized, the menu and recipes were clear and the Chef and Assistant were very helpful and knowledgeable. Our Chef that night was Chef Wai Chu and assisting him was Cristina who’s last name I don’t know but was insanely funny and added a nice touch to the kitchen.

 

As we were ready to start a new recipe we were presented with a tray that had everything we needed. Some things were even measured out already!

 

The recipes were involved and complex and like nothing I had ever cooked so it really made me feel like the class price tag was worth it ($120). Chef Wai would do mini demos each time we were about to start a new recipe so that everyone was clear on what was expected.

 

It was super fun to cook with beer. The Guiness-Braised Short Ribs took about two hours to make so we started that off first. We had to keep checking on them every 20 minutes or so to make sure nothing was sticking to the bottom of the pan. I have to say everything we cooked with from metal bowls, dutch ovens, to the knives were perfect and high quality.

 

As were finished some of the recipes we plated them to later be put into the warming oven. From top left Clockwise: Fontina-Stuffed Veal, Gingerbread (to be used with dessert), Caramelized Pears (to be used with dessert) and Kale Salad with Pickled Onions and Apple Cider Vinaigrette.

 

My favorite part of the whole class was making pasta! I actually had never made pasta and I’ve been dying for a KitchenAid Pasta attachment so it was a total treat to try one before committing to the purchase. We added beet puree to the dough which was like adding something amazing to an already amazing thing…amazing!

 

The last few minutes of cooking class really felt like being in a professional kitchen. We were a little bit rushed for time so it was all hands on deck to make sure the dinner was ready by 9:30pm. We finished a little bit past 9:30 but it was worth it to ensure everything was perfect. At the end of class we all sat down to eat a family style dinner. ICE was generous and provided us with delicious wine to go with our meal. Of course everything was incredibly good. Best part? We got takeaway containers!

If you want a copy of the recipes please don’t hesitate to reach out! What’s your favorite go to recipe?

xoxop


Institute of Culinary Education
225 Liberty St, New York, NY (Brookfield Mall)
212.847.0700

Open:
Monday – Friday: 9:00 am to 9:00 pm
Saturday – Sunday:9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Make a Class Reservation: here

 

 

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League of the Flying Pig – Day 2

I finally had some time to sit down and write this post which I’m exciting about all over again.

The second day of the League of the Flying Pig was actually my favorite. We had a day full of activities going around the farm which included Distilling with Dave, Blend Your Own, Bottle Your Own and, Barrel Tasting!

My favorite events were Blend Your Own and Bottle Your Own. Although I was terrible at bottling my own.

Dave Pickerell the Master Distiller at the WhistlePig Farm, telling us all about the distilling process

BLEND YOUR OWN

This was a super fun event that really gave me a glimpse at how difficult it is to come up with a whiskey recipe that tastes good! We had five different whiskies of varying ages to blend with from which we had to limit down to three. We could only use a certain percentage of each which we kept track of by writing down on forms given to us. From all the groups visiting the farm, four would be chosen and the grand prize winner would be announced at dinner. Of course it was fun but very challenging. Sadly our blend didn’t win but it was pretty good nonetheless.

 

BOTTLE YOUR OWN

Okay, this one is pretty self explanatory. We were able to join the WP team and see exactly how a bottle is..well…bottled!

Step One: Grab a bottle!

 

Step two: Apply all necessary labels (not like I did!)

 

Step three: Fill it up!

 

Step 4: Cork!

 

Step five: Add plastic seal

Although this was super fun I was insanely terrible at it. I put the labels on the wrong side (PW?) of the bottle and in the wrong places. I could not add the plastic seal myself (which is why its not pictured) and I nearly left my bottle behind. Cue eye roll.

 

BARREL TASTING

Barrel Tasting was held by one of my favorite people at the farm – Jake! We were able to taste Whiskey aged in a Tokaji Wine barrel. It was what sweet dreams are made of. Sweet and syrupy but not in an over kill sort of way.

 

CASINO NIGHTS + DINNER 

Getting ready for the festivities with my partner in crime/one of the people responsible for this event – my husband, Spencer!

Okay, when I said earlier Bottling and Blending was my favorite I lied. My favorite was the Casino Nights and dinner. We arrived at the farm around 6 pm and were promptly escorted to a wall filled with envelopes. We were told to pick an envelope and head upstairs with a glass of champagne in hand.

The envelopes included tokens to play poker upstairs but little to my knowledge they also included prizes. Upon opening my envelope I was quick to figure out I had won one of 12 helicopter rides around the farm!

I rode the helicopter with Grisa who I met on the spot and just happened to have won as well. The ride was insanely fun and we were able to go out to see the sunset over Lake Champlain!

Aerial view of the WhistlePig Farm 

 

Dinner started the way every dinner should – with a huge cheese and charcuterie plate!

Casino Nights in the barn – super fun!

 

The whole weekend up at the WhislePig farm was pretty amazing. I am so happy I got to partake in the festivities and hope I’m invited back next year!

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