Sailing on a Saturday Afternoon

This weekend included good food, better people and some amazing adventures.

Saturday morning I woke up with only one thing on my mind, French toast.  I received a package from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program on Friday which included a very yummy looking recipe and knew it had to be made ASAP.

This was not your average French toast, this was made with Chocolate Chip Panettone, an Italian sweet bread. The recipe was super quick and easy and the results were to die for. All you need is the Panettone, two eggs, two tablespoons of milk, a tablespoon of sour cream, some cinnamon and a little almond extract. Mix it up, add the bread, fry it up and chow down.

After our bellies were full, we headed into the city to go sailing.  I bought Tommy an experience gift for his graduation through Xperience Days and it included a two hour cruise on the Clipper City through New York Harbor with Craft Beer tasting.

The weather people kept saying it was going to rain in the afternoon, but we had faith that it would hold out. That is, until it started pouring within minutes of us leaving shore.  Luckily, our captain steered us straight out of the storm and it was smooth sailing for the whole trip.

The storm we left behind.

Lady Liberty

We got some awesome views of the sights of New York and tried six different beers from three different local breweries, Fire Island Brewery, Brooklyn Brewery and Southampton Publik House. Two of the six were pumpkin beers which I loved! My two favorite beers came from the Southampton brewery, Pumpkin Ale and Double White Ale. I really hope I’ll be able to find these beers in stores.

Once we were back on dry land, we decided to grab some dinner. We decided on Amber, a steakhouse in Greenpoint that we both pass by on a regular basis, but haven’t had a chance to try yet. Since we are both Polish, we agreed that the place had a very Polish atmosphere, like a restaurant in Poland, but I don’t know if non-Poles would get that kind of vibe from the place.

We started with the Tuna Tartare as our appetizer. It was good, but we both agreed that it would be better with a little more spice to it.

For our entrees, we both got the New York Strip Steak.  I got mine with mashed potatoes and mushroom and spinach.  My potatoes were good, but Tommy’s asparagus stole the spotlight.  It was coated in a very light butter sauce which gave it an amazing flavor.

Overall, it was a good meal, but even though the steak was cooked perfectly to medium, it was a bit charred on the outside for my taste.

We spent the rest of the evening at home spending some time with the little man.  We watched Love, Wedding, Marriage and played some Scrabble on the iPad, while snacking on some Swedish Fish.  If that’s not a good night, I don’t know what it.

Have a great Monday! I’ll be back tomorrow to share our pumpkin picking adventures.

What did you do this weekend?
What’s your favorite beer?