How to Survive a NY Winter

What do you do when you've got the winter blahs, but can't afford a trip to a luxury beach destination?

1. You eat, and dream of the beaches where you've eaten that food before. After Turkish food, I had a craving for Greek food. Clearly, my body is mad that it hasn't been to Europe in a while. Maybe it's mad that it hasn't seen beachy sunshine for a while. Perhaps it's because I passed up the stuffed grape leaves at Pasha. Luckily for me and my boss belly, there is Niko's Taverna in White Plains, just a 40 minute drive from home. And so we sat, away from the door, reminiscing about cruise ships, the Mediterranean, and relaxing summer nights.

Avgolemono

chicken, lemon, and rice soup

Spinach Pie
crispy phyllo filled with spinach, fresh herbs and cheeses

Stuffed Grape Leaves
grape leaves stuffed with rice

(These were among the best I've had, rivaled only by the most amazing dolmades ever that I ate in Katakalo.)

Mousaka
layers of grilled zucchini, eggplant, and potatoes,
marinated chopmeat and topped with a creamy bechamel sauce

Lamb Souvlaki
2 sticks of marinated top round lamb,
served with rice, vegetable, pita and tsatsiki

Galaktobouriko
Greek custard cream wrapped in phyllo

Baklava
walnuts and honey wrapped in phyllo

2. You eat, and relish the frostbite on your toes that only a day at Winterfest can deliver. This is the only picture taken that day, and as you can tell, my hands were too cold to even focus the camera. (You try standing outside in 12 degree F and icy wind for 4 hours and then try to use your fingers!) We watched Swiss and Jake play, we visited with neighbors, and we ate chowder. Lots of chowder. At Saratoga's annual Chowderfest, for just $1/cup, you can sample chowder at each of at least 30 different restaurants. Between us we hit about a dozen, Danny focusing on the seafood options and me avoiding them. The day ended at Ben & Jerry's for "dessert chowder" which was really just a kiddie cup of chocolate or chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Yup, we ate ice cream after spending a February day outside in upstate NY. We're that fat.

3. You eat, and be thankful that you're spending this Valentine's Day with family who understands that if you aren't going to be on a beach in a swimsuit soon, you may as well indulge in gluttony and comfort food. Who needs chocolate and flowers when we can eat BBQ?

(Not pictured are the three desserts or the homemade brownies we chowed down on all weekend. Because in addition to being Valentine's Day, and Mardi Gras - a holiday all about gluttony - it's also President's weekend, which while sadly not a week off to travel this year, is still technically vacation, and therefore, diet hiatus.)

Holy Smoke BBQ:

pulled pork, Texas brisket, St. Louis ribs, baby-back ribs, applesauce, potato salad, garlic smashed potatoes, creamed spinach, coleslaw, cornbread, sweet potato fries and onion rings

So how do you survive a NY winter? Love NY for what it offers year round - food, fun, friends, and family.