“Faith is the art of holding on to things in spite of your changing moods and circumstances.”

— C.S. Lewis

Astoria Bier & Cheese

Remember how I'm a big fan of Murray's in the city? Well, with the arrival of these (two!) locations of Astoria Bier & Cheese in (duh) Astoria, I never have to get on an E train again.

This is the burrata plate I ate.

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Full disclosure: it's not as good as the burrata at The Smith, but it's still pretty memorable. Here's their BLT.

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I had a bite of that one and it was really good. I'm not crazy into beer, but apparently this place is known for it. Why is it called bier and not beer? I don't know, but I'm guessing that's what makes it more expensive? Just a theory. Anyway, if you're in Astoria looking for good cheese-centric restaurants, this is the place.

Sidenote: Happy Birthday to the best there is, the kindest kindergarten teacher on this planet and my best friend in the universe. You're wicked and I love you, Harmeet.

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Dog Playing Dead

I can't describe how much this made me laugh. 

Miss America

Everything about this is fantastic. 

“Keep a disposable camera in your bag. You’ll remember it every so often and take a photo of something, then in a few weeks (or months) when you get it developed all the photos will be long forgotten but a nice surprise.”

— #lizadvice

Paper Towels vs. Hand Dryers

Eucalyptus In The Shower

“Tie eucalyptus to your shower head with twine. Steam will rise up towards the eucalyptus, filling the bathroom with a refreshing scent.”

I heard this idea from my Harmeet who found it on this tumblr. I'm sorry but this is a PERFECT idea. Love this so much.

Grilled Chicken with Rosemary Aioli

I can't stop making this sandwich. The rosemary sauce tastes like nothing i've ever had before. (Quick tip: don't substitute the rosemary for tarragon, I tried that as an alternative one time and it was pretty gross.) MAKE THIS SANDWICH!

Ingredients

For the Chicken Club
½ pound boneless skinless chicken breast
4 slices of turkey bacon
4 slices whole wheat bread or sourdough (your choice)
Iceberg lettuce to cover two sandwiches
2 thick slices fresh tomato

For the Rosemary Aioli
1 semi-hard boiled egg (the original recipe calls for a coddled egg and I tried that and failed, but a semi-hard boiled egg tastes just as good)
1 large clove garlic crushed
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
2 teaspoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
1/3 cup olive oil (or less depending on your love of olive oil)

Instructions

1. Cut the chicken into two equal portions and pound each out to about ¼ inch thick. Put it aside. 
2. Boil that one egg until it's semi-hard (if the water is already boiling, I put the egg in for 7-8 minutes then take it out and put it aside).
3. Cook bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels and set aside.
4. To prepare the aioli, place the egg, crushed garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, lemon juice and rosemary in a food processor and pulse to combine. With the machine running, slowly dribble in oil until the mixture resembles the consistency of mayonnaise. Use more or less oil as needed. But also, if you don't have a food processor, this can be done by hand and it's just as good (you just have to finely chop that garlic and rosemary).
5. Grill the chicken on both sides until cooked through. 
6. After you toast your bread, rub a piece of raw garlic against each piece of bread.
7. To assemble, place a piece of toast on your cutting board and smear with the aioli. Then lay a cooked chicken breast portion over the aioli and put the bacon, lettuce and tomato on top. Smear more aioli on the other piece of bread. If you can get the nice long rosemary stems, you can use them to skewer your sandwich, if not long tooth picks will work just fine.
8. If you have a slow cooker, you could also just cook the chicken in there on low for eight hours or high for four hours.

This recipe was adapted slightly from A Family Feast.