Tag Archives: nutella

All Things Nutella!

Over a year ago, someone had the audacity to comment on my Nutella post saying, “I just don’t get it with you people and your love for Nutella.” Excuse me? You don’t get it? What is there to get? I truly enjoy Nutella. I’m not obsessed with it in any way whatsoever. When I run out of a jar, I don’t rush out to the store to get more. Nor do I find myself eating it every week. It’s a great sweet to have in the house because you can do multiple things with it! Really, you can. It’s a versatile sweet that can be used at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Have you ever made french toast, skipped the maple syrup and added Nutella and loads of berries (like: raspberries and blueberries)? It’s a great topping, especially if you have run out of maple syrup! Have you ever put Nutella on waffles? Another fantastic surprise! It tastes great!

While browsing on tumblr. I discovered that there are so many people out there that are in love with Nutella. It’s a universal name — no wonder why people all around the world are turning to this chocolate hazelnut treat! While checking out photos, I realized there is so much out there I can be doing with my Nutella — add it to donuts, dip a chocolate bar into the jar, spread it on your pancakes, make homemade Nutella ice cream, buy the little packets so you can carry some in your bag (I do this with Jiff peanut butter), dip strawberries in it (I do that with raspberries), and put it in between layers of pound cake for a decadent dessert.

So, I must know… what is everyone putting their Nutella on? How are you eating it? My good friend Jesse just likes to eat it right out of the jar with a gigantic spoon. But I prefer it with food!

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Unusual Ingredients of My Life…

Since I recently started my Tumblr… I have been able to see some of the most glorious photographs that people are taking around the world. I wanted to share with you some of my favorite photographs this week from other Tumblr accounts — they are either food related, NYC related, or overall just pictures that put a smile on my face.

Notice: I was able to spot that someone else out there in the world makes Skillet Cookies! And I couldn’t help but notice they are making it at home! (See the slide show for the picture, you can’t miss it!)

Tumblr has also given me some great ideas for creating some new plates at home. Your culinary curiosities will come alive when you join in on Tumblr. I strongly encourage everyone to explore!

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Sugar Waffles & Nutella, In Florence


We all know how much I love Manhattan’s waffle truck. Even though it’s around the city every day, I opt to wait to only eat it once a year (always at the Union Square holiday market).

But for some reason, all around Florence, there were these little waffle stands and shops and when I saw the big tub of hot Nutella, I couldn’t say no.

The waffles were made with much more sugar than what I am used to, so eating the waffle without the Nutella would definitely work. But of course, I had the Nutella spread on top!

In the photos above you can see the waffle with Nutella on it, as well as the waffle iron and the large, warm tub of Nutella!

How Are People Finding My Blog?

I do have to say that it is always fascinating to see how people are finding my website. Many people end up clicking through my posts on CayDigestsNY because google directs them to me. Personally, I love being able to see what people are googling (aka the words that bring them to my site) and I can see these all through this really cool setting in my blog’s CMS (the backend of the site where I will upload the posts and photographs). I wanted to make some comments on some of the search terms that people google’ed which then led them to clicking on my blog:

1. Someone searched “Are candy Nerds bad for you?” I’d like to answer this question for whoever googled this. Nerds will not give you cancer. But they will give you cavities. This type of candy will get stuck in your teeth and sit there for an extended period of time if you do not brush your teeth. Overall, was this person searching to see if Nerds could give you a heart attack? Hmm, well I don’t think you should worry that much because I’ve consumed at least 2,000 little boxes of Nerds in my lifetime. I can count about 25 of them were from the past two weeks (I know, I have a sweet tooth).

2. Someone googled “who makes the baseball glove from the ice cream trucks” and to be honest I hate to be the one to deliver the bad news… but I think the ice cream bizz stopped making this. I walk by ice cream trucks at least a dozen times a day and I never see this option on the menu! So sad, but true. So if there are any readers that know if this ice cream is still being made in factories please write-in and let everyone know!

3. Another person googled “overcooked gnocchi” and they ended up making their way to my blog. They were probably looking for details on how to cook gnocchi because they searched for this around dinner time. Whoever was possibly trying to cook gnocchi, I hope it turned out well. Gnocchi is one of my favorite dishes (stay tuned for an upcoming post that will include photos of the best gnocchi I have yet to try) and even though is manages to make its way to many menus it isn’t always cooked properly. People may think that if you overcook gnocchi it will be soft and mushy, but it actually is the opposite. You can tell when a chef has left the gnocchi in the pot for too long because it’s more like a hard perogie. Ick.

4. Someone googled “Caylas joint Harrisburg.” Sorry everyone, but I don’t have my own “joint” or “restaurant” in Harrisburg PA. After spending a variety of summer time jobs in high school working in the food bizz, I hope to never have to go through that experience ever again.

5. There is a variety of searched every day about Nutella, such as: “huge nutella jar,” “biggest jar of nutella,” “giant nutella jar,” “industrial size nutella,” “largest nutella,” … and so on and so on… I am very happy to know that there are loads of Nutella fans out there, because it’s the best!

Stay-tuned for more posts next week! I have an exciting restaurant I am looking forward to telling you all about (plus, there’s some great photos that go along with it)!!!! If you aren’t already following me on twitter, hop to it! I update my twitter daily and I put notices up about new blog posts as soon as they are put up!

Gourmet Desserts – On Wheels!

nutella_dessert

The Dessert Truck's doughtnut stuffed with Nutella. (Click the photo to see details on the sugar crystals and gooey chocolate hazelnut stuffing.)

I blabbed about it in a blog post a long time ago — how much I have been wanting to make my way to the Dessert Truck here in Manhattan. When my friend, Jesse, was in town we ventured to Astor Place and 3rd Ave (where the truck was supposed to be stopped) and upon arriving we couldn’t find the truck! Thanks to their Twitter account I was able to find out that they were having generator problems and weren’t able to be there to whip-up their sweets.
Luckily when I went the other day, the generator was working (barely) and I was able to sample some tasty desserts.
I never thought that such rich and impressive desserts could be made on a truck! I have only eaten food from a mobile vehicle one other time in my life (the waffles that I only allow myself to eat once a year because they are too good to be true) — otherwise I am hesitant to eat street meat or any other fast-food that typically moves at a glacial pace in city traffic.
I dug in to 2 different desserts (it was very difficult to pick just two). My first dessert was warm slow-baked apples & cinnamon with a puff pastry, cranberries, whipped cream, and vanilla ice cream and the second dessert was warm brioche donut squares filled with Nutella.
dessert_truck

The Dessert Truck, parked in The Village.

The puff pastry in the apple dessert was so fluffy and scrumptious and the vanilla ice cream actually had exotic vanilla bean flavor that I have never tasted before. The donut squares were an out-of-this-world experience! Who doesn’t like Nutella? It’s probably the best ingredient to add to almost anything (I put it on my waffles, toast, ice cream, cake, brownies, cupcakes, pancakes, french toast, and at least a dozen other items). It also may have been the first time I have ever had a brioche doughnut — I love brioche hamburger buns so I knew right away that I would love this dessert. As soon as I bit into the doughnut my lips automatically were covered in sugar crystals and my palate went crazy! I was like a little kid in a candy shop, I didn’t even bother to lick off the sugar until the very end when I finished my dessert. The Nutella was gooey and nice and warm, the perfect compliment to the best doughnut I have ever eaten!

L’Arte del Gelato

The Chelsea Market is full of fun things to do and eat — there’s sushi, the best lobster bisque I’ve ever had in Manhattan, great sandwiches, tasty bakery desserts, a popsicle stand (made from organic products, yum!), but my favorite part of the market is the to-die-for gelato stand.
L’Arte del Gelato has three locations: the Chelsea Market, Barrow Street and 7th Avenue in the West Village, and in Lincoln Center Plaza. No matter where I decide to go for their gelato — it will always be made fresh daily and be made from natural products with no artificial flavors. So when you get a Nutella flavored gelato, you get real Nutella. Some of the flavors are seasonal and to see a full list of the different types of scoops you can view it on their web site. The flavor I devoured was Biscotti — or cookies. Before I ordered my cone they gave me a sample and right away I knew it was meant to be. It was even difficult for me to take a photo of my order before eating the gelato.

amazing gelato from the Chelsea Market

Not only was I hungry, but it was an insanely hot day — Manhattan reached 104 degrees and swimming in a public pool didn’t interest me in any way, but a rich and creamy biscotti flavored gelato did. It took me about 4.5 minutes to finish off the ice cream and cone (you can pick a sugar cone or a waffle cone — I didn’t have to think about which would be best, obviously the waffle was the best).
I returned in the evening to get another round of biscotti but the flavor was all out. I learned my lesson, I should of bought a pint of the flavor and brought it home with me. L’Arte del Gelato will give you a cone, a bowl, or they will put it in pint containers or 4-quart containers if you decide to have a party (or a simple movie night, I’d eat it all).

Largest Jar of Nutella

$140 worth of Nutella!!!!



While in the Chelsea Market today (I will have more information and photos of great food I’ve discovered in the market soon in a different post!) I found a massive tub of Nutella. This is what $140 of Nutella looks like. YIKES!
I discovered the chocolate-hazelnut spread last summer! Yes, I went my entire life until a year ago not having a Nutella addiction. Once I discovered it I found myself buying a pound of strawberries and a small jar of Nutella just about every-other day after work. If I didn’t have strawberries then I would find myself with a spoon just licking the chocolate out of the container.
Now, I have the smaller version of the delectable sweet in my kitchen — but for a brief moment at the Chelsea Market I actually considered buying one of the huge industrial-size tubs … and then I realized I’d never be able to fit it in my little cabinets. Maybe it was for the best to put down the jar I could hardly lift.

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