Cookshop

A great dinner on new year's eve is a special treat, and Cookshop lived up to the expectations of the evening.

The lamb tasting was incredible, with a richly seasoned lamp chop, succulent lamb shoulder that melted in the mouth, and lamb sausage over polenta, olives and pomegranate seeds.

The porchetta was also perfectly cooked - tender on the inside with a seasoned crispy skin over a bed of beans and bacon.

The trio of chocolate bars for dessert included devils food cake, gianduja crunch, and peanut nougat all coated in rich dark chocolate.

The ice cream was a delicious ending with scoops of intense fresh banana and rich brown butter topped with a small butter cookie - a great way to end 2009!

Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone a happy holiday! Thanks for reading and I'll be back next week!

Bacon holiday card by artist Mike Geno, available on Etsy.

Birdbath Bakery Soho

I'm always on the lookout for great coffee shops and bakeries for a mid-afternoon snack and Birdbath: Neighborhood Green Bakery just opened a new location in the former Vesuvio space. Vesuvio was a much loved bakery in the neighborhood for 89 years, and Birdbath honors the original bakery by leaving the exterior untouched (even the signs!).

The flatbread pizzas are perfect for lunch in 2 varieties - red sauce with mozzarella or the green version with leeks, scallions and mint.

The stacks of City Bakery famous gooey chocolate chip cookies are irresistible.

The chocolate zucchini muffin is dense, moist and sprinkled with a dusting of powdered sugar. A perfect, if indulgent, afternoon snack.

Stuffed Artisan Cannolis

Until Stuffed Artisan Cannolis opened on the lower east side earlier this year, I wasn't a huge fan of the traditional cannoli.

This shop has changed my mind with their modern approach and with fun flavors, like birthday cake, french toast, apple pie and red licorice.

And for the holidays peppermint bark with little pieces of candy cane.

I went for the pumpkin pie, with a thick crunchy shell and perfectly spiced pumpkin flavored filling, topped with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. This is the kind of cannoli I can get into!

Foodie gifts - Papabubble

Papabubble's beautiful and intensely flavorful hard candies make great gifts. The passionfruit flavor shown above is stunning, but I'm also drawn to the watermelon-salt-chili and bergamot.

Foodie gifts - Sweet Revolution Caramels

These organic salted maple honey caramels from Sweet Revolution Caramels in San Francisco make a great gift and hardly need wrapping!

Foodie gifts - Vosges Haut Chocolat

If, like me, you're looking for a good last-minute gift ideas, Vosges is a great place to start. The bacon caramel toffee is a perfect mix of sweet and salty and is sure to impress both foodies and non-foodies alike and ships to anywhere in the country.

And if you really want to indulge someone, the 6- or 13-moon dark chocolate club is an extraordinary gift, delivering dark chocolate treats to your door based on the lunar cycle.