Eat: Alice's Tea Cup

picture of Alice's display of scones


Alice's Tea Cup
102 West 73rd St (at Columbus)

more details after the jump...

Eat: Absolute Bagels

picture of one closed bagel and one open bagel arranged to resemble a face, the open halves are the eyes and the closed bagel is the mouth

Absolute Bagels
2788 Broadway (at 108th) 

more details after the jump... 

Explore: Murray's Cheese 101

picture of six elegantly arranged cheeses from Murray's


As lovers of cheese, we didn't live in Manhattan long before discovering Murray's Cheese in the West Village.  Murray's has an excellent selection, and their employees know everything there is to know about cheese (and they let you sample everything).  A few weeks ago, we decided to take one of their cheese courses - Cheese 101.  It was well worth it!


Bake: Christmas Sugar Cookies

picture of festively decorated Christmas cookies

Nothing marks the beginning of the holiday season quite like baking and decorating Christmas cookies.  This is a super-easy recipe (also from my Mom) - after the jump...

Cook: Ultimate Mac 'n' Cheese

picture of ultimate mac 'n' cheese

Everyone loves mac and cheese.  This recipe is based on several different ones I'd tried in the past, modified throughout the years (sometimes by accident).  It's definitely not diet-friendly, but it's great for a special occasion.  Recipe after the jump.