Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2013: Weihnachtsbusserl (Christmas Kisses)

Weihnachtsbusserl (Christmas Kiss) Cookies

It took me forever to figure out what I was going to make for this year’s Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. Last year I made Heidesand mit Meersalz, a delicious German shortbread cookie. This year I was all ready to make chocolate biscotti because, honestly, I’d never eaten biscotti before. Then at the last minute I found a recipe on Backen macht glücklich. The photos looked too good to pass up. So it was decided. This year I was going to make Weihnachtsbusserl (Christmas Kisses).
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Cruising on the Staten Island Ferry

Ellis Island from the Staten Island Ferry

“Have you heard of the Staten Island Ferry?” That’s what a guy we were talking to in Brooklyn asked. I’d heard of the ferry, of course, but I didn’t know anything about it. Turns out there’s a free ferry between Manhattan and Staten Island and it transports 60,000 passengers between the islands on weekdays. It takes about a half hour each way and the views can’t be beat. So the morning of our last day in NYC, before we left Manhattan, we hoofed it down to the tip of the island, cutting through TriBeCa and the Financial District — where people were lined up to take their photo next to Wall Street’s famous bull statue — on the way.
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A Visit to Harney & Sons SoHo

Harney & Sons SoHo Tea Shop & Tasting Room

When we traveled to Manhattan last month we did have one goal that had to be accomplished. It could not be missed. Visiting Harney & Sons SoHo Shop & Tasting Room. I fell for Harney teas after having their Paris blend with my delicious French toast at Cantine Parisienne. I quickly placed an order and haven’t been disappointed yet. When we visited the restaurant last month, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t have Harney & Sons‘ tea but some other French brand.
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An Unexpected NYC Mini-Vacation

foggy tribeca

Foggy TriBeCa

I’m not sure how it happened, but we ended up in New York City for a two night, three day vacation. Actually, that’s a lie. The short version is that I won a contest. Who can turn up complementary train tickets and a hotel room? So we called it a short work week, kissed the puppy goodbye and high-tailed it up to NYC’s TriBeCa neighborhood for a mini-vacation. I have no words for how needed the vacation was but there’s something about three days that hardly makes it seem real. Not that I’m complaining. I’ll certainly take what I can get.
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