city beer hall

we've gone to City Beer Hall, Albany NY before a few times for drinks and always liked the joint (it's in an old historical building, adorable, and has a great selection of drinks and big open patio). they have a great loooooking menu that i've always wanted to try, and today we finally did for brunch (they have brunch on both Saturdays and Sundays which is pretty much unheard of in Albany - at best, there are a few places that have it on Sunday).

they had a burger on the menu - hand packed grass fed beef with aged cheddar, fresh baked buns... YEP! the burger looked delightful, and was super tasty. just a touch of salt/pepper seasoning that i could tell, and the rest of it was just pure meat city. unfortunately they overcooked it a tad (i asked for medium rare, got it cooked medium with juuust a touch of pink), but luckily that did not affect the taste or juiciness too much. i would definitely come back, esp in hopes that next time the temp is cooked as medium rare. the fries were hand cut and fried delightfully - equally on par with the great burger. 

recipe: oreo cheesecake bars

i needed a very quick but yum dessert for a Hannukah party i was going to - i found these on foodgawker.com and they looked deLIGHTful. the recipe i snagged was from Table for Two - it was as quick and as delish as i had hoped. they actually just tasted like a gigantic oreo, albeit with a slight cream cheese tang. 

ingredients list: 

crust:

- 23 Oreo cookies

- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

cheesecake:

- 12 oz cream cheese, room temp

- 6 tbsp. sugar

- 6 tbsp. sour cream, room temp

- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk

- 12 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped

to make: preheat oven to 325F degrees, and line a 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper (making sure it overhangs a bit so that the entire thing can be easily removed later).

to make the crust, finely grind the 23 Oreos until they are smooth crumbs. add in the melted butter and pulse until the mixture is fully incorporated and resembles wet sand. pour mixture into the prepared baking pan, pressing down crumbs into an even layer. bake crust for 10 minutes, then set aside. 

in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium high until light and smooth. mix in the sugar until well-combined. blend in the sour cream, vanilla, and salt, then gently mix in the egg and egg yolk until well-incorporated. gently stir in the chopped Oreos. 

pour cheesecake batter over the prepared crust. bake for 40 minutes, or until cheesecake is set around the edges but slightly wobbly in the center. let cheesecake cool to room temperature (about 1 hour), then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. 

recipe: pumpkin muffins

i haven't updated this in a while seeing these pumpkin muffins were made a week after Thanksgiving, using the leftover pumpkin pulp i had hanging around in the fridge. i had snagged the recipe from Smitten Kitchen, almost verbatim except for the oats i added in for a lil extra somethin'. it was a very simple/quick recipe, and they  came out great- light & delish. 

ingredients list: 

- 1 & 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice
- 1 & 1/4 cups plus 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp oats

to make: preheat oven to 350F degrees. prepare muffin pan with shortening or paper liners.

stir together the pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, 1 & 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda,oats, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then stir in the flour mixture until just combined. in another bowl, stir together the cinnamon, remaining 1 tbsp sugar, and 3 tbsp oats.

divide batter among the muffin cups until about 3/4 full, then sprinkle tops with cinnamon/sugar/oats mixture. bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. done!