Easy Baked Kale Chips - Reposted w/ More Pictures

Pretty good...healthy...and different. Very light and crispy. The Food Librarian was right--these are similar to nori (Japanese dried/toasted seaweed), although the taste is different. Giada de Laurentiis made kale chips last year on her show, Giada at Home, too.

BLACK KALE:

GREEN KALE:

This is only about a third to a half of the kale I baked:

Raw kale:


Here is the original recipe from The Food Librarian.

Here's the really easy recipe:
* 1 bunch of kale
* 1 T olive oil
* Salt
(Giada also adds a little pepper)

1) Heat oven to 350 degrees
2) Line baking sheets with parchment paper
3) Wash kale & strip out the center core/stalk
4) Tear kale into small pieces
5) Dry kale w/ towels or a salad spinner
6) Coat kale with olive oil & salt
7) Spread kale into SINGLE layer (might need to make several batches)
6) Bake for 10-15 min, turning once about halfway through. Chips should be dry and light.

Fried Chicken From Country Sweet Chicken & Ribs

Country Sweet Chicken & Ribs
1691 Mount Hope Avenue
Rochester, NY 14620-4547

Consumed on Saturday, 2/20/10.

Very tasty (sweet, sticky, and slightly spicy)...but also very saucy. There seemed to be more sauce than chicken. I did enjoy it though...and I liked how they gave me two hand sanitizing sheets (presumably for before and after the messy meal). I also have to say that the employees there were very interesting. They were dressed as though they were going to a pajama party...and they were kinda sloppy. Nice though! Very nice. What bothered me, though, was that the male employee was saying something like "There's probably a law code about it. I dunno. I just bullshit it all. Somethings I follow, and somethings I don't." Uhhh...You're saying this right in front of a customer eating your food? Oh well. I didn't get sick, and I'm not sure what exactly he was talking about.
Aand...the chicken and biscuit, which was very buttery but good:

Serendipity's Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

Serendipity 3 (Restaurant & mini store)- Website here
225 East 60th Street,
New York, NY

(212) 838-3531

* Note: You can buy the mix too!

I first heard about Serendipity through one of The Food Network's shows. They talked about their famous "frrrozen" hot chocolate and their $1,000 chocolate dessert made of real gold, expensive chocolate, etc. Anyway, I wasn't going to seek it out, but Steve recommended it, and so I did. Boy did I feel like a loner in that place. It was really cute. Tiny...very unique and decorative...but not really for individuals. I was surrounded by happy little couples and families and happy, very Valentine's Day-like decorations (see below).

The bottom line though...is that this one fantastic chocolate drink. It was exactly what it was supposed to be: a frozen hot chocolate. It tasted like a rich hot chocolate that had been blended with ice and topped with real whipped cream (no fake stuff!!) and chocolate shavings. OHhh man. My only regret was that I didn't save it for when I was with friends or family. Other people ordered a whole one for themselves too, but I think it's designed to be shared...because it's huge and it comes with two straws. Oops. They also have different flavors like peanut butter.







Didn't notice how kooky that fan was until now!:


Soo icy and chocolate-y. It came to me overflowing.

Ess-a-Bagel

Neighborhood: Midtown East

831 3rd Ave (between 50th St & 51st St)
New York, NY 10022

(212) 980-1010
Website here.
Yelp ratings here.

Consumed a kinda gross pumpernickel (Why, Corrie? Why?) raisin bagel w/ cream cheese on Monday, 2/22/10. I should have stuck with my usual sesame seed bagel. Or anything but pumpernickel. I would go back to try their other bagels!!
Place recommended by Steve.
Facing the front doors:



Here's that pumpernickel raisin bagel (It looks like an oreo or a whoopie pie or macaron at first glance):