U-Hell

I think we all can agree that moving is NO FUN, unless of course some magical fairy could do everything for you, from packing to unpacking. Sadly, that wasn’t the case for me this week. My move from DC to Boston had many ups and downs and I am going to share them all with you. Perhaps you can avoid some of my own crushing setbacks the next time you re-locate, whether it’s across the country or down the street! Apologies in advance for the lack of pictures, but I think you’d get stressed if I posted any.

Boxes: Thanks to MZ I ordered my boxes from usedcardboardboxes.com, the company sends you slightly used boxes that are still in great shape. Each kit, depending on size, includes an assortment of boxes, tape, markers and box cutters. I ordered a studio pack-rat kit for a total of $78 which includes shipping and everything. Much cheaper than getting boxes anywhere else! The kit came with PLENTY of boxes and I even had a few left over. My only complaint was that the tape sucked, but all my boxes held together just fine!

U-Haul: I rented a 14-foot truck through U-Haul. Budget usually has cheaper prices, but they either have a 10-foot truck or a 16-foot truck. I knew the 10 would be too small and the 16 probably too big, and didn’t want to have to drive anything bigger than I needed. Renting was a breeze, but it went downhill from there (see below)…

Load/Unload: Through U-Haul I hired people to load my tuck in DC. They were $150 for two hours and did a great job! They Packed the truck very well and were somewhat efficient, mainly because they took a little longer than two hours, but they didn’t charge me extra. There was no way I was going to carry my furniture myself or recruit a friend. It was totally worth it.

Once in Wayland after our trail of tears home, we hired some local college boys to unload. They put a flyer in our mailbox back in May and my smart Mom saved it, called them and voila. They rocked, if anyone in the metrowest needs some helpers let me know, I’ll give you their info!

The Drive Part I: This is where things get real messy. When I picked up my truck I checked it over for dents and such and the guy at the lot adjusted the huge mirrors for me. They seemed just fine at that point (stay tuned). After the truck was all loaded up and we had some lunch it was time to hit the road. As some of you may know it is impossible to see behind you in a U-Haul, so before getting into the truck to back it up I made sure there was no car behind me. I was parked at the end of the street so anyone who pulled up behind me would be doing it illegally. I turned on the truck, started backing up, and then heard a honk and a bump, awesome. Some stupid $(*&#Q@ had pulled up behind me and I dented her bumper with the U-Hell’s trailer hitch. Not cool, we filed a claim and she was sketchy (she was definitely not where she was supposed to be), it wasn’t even her car… We’ll see what happens with that, what a great way to start the trip!

The Drive Part II: Getting out of DC also proved nightmarish. We took 16th street through Silver Spring, once we got on Colesville Road (which goes right through downtown Silver Spring) traffic was horrendous. It took us about an hour to go 2 miles. Once we were finally on the highway the traffic wasn’t too bad, but in my U-Haul I could only go about 65 mph. As the drive went on the mirror on the driver side kept moving around, clearly it was lose, but I was able to adjust it whenever I stopped at a toll.

Then, somewhere in New Jersey I went over a bump and the mirror just went crooked. We pulled over to stop and I fixed it, but clearly it was missing a screw. So nice of the man at U-Haul to notice that when HE adjusted my mirrors. I was able to go carefully over bumps for awhile, but then in Westchester I went over a bump and the mirror just flew off! It could have hit my Jetta which my mom was driving behind me, or worse. We’re very lucky nobody was hurt. That thing was big! Fortunately I had purchased insurance on the truck, so I was not responsible for the mirror flying off on I-95, suck it U-Hell. I recommend purchasing it!

After that Mom just followed me and every time we had to change lanes we had to stay on the phone with each other, so she could direct me. We could have called the U-Haul emergency number, but we felt it was a bad idea to pull over on the highway, and more dangerous to get off it without a mirror. Plus who knows how long it would have taken for them to come!

This happened after we’d been driving for about 8 hours (the drive itself should take 8 to 9), we were making VERY slow time, but things weren’t over yet. In Connecticut it started pouring, I mean pouring monsoon style. I don’t know if I’ve ever driven in such horrible conditions, and this was in a truck, the gods were not on our side. Finally after over 11 hours of driving we pulled into our house, exhausted and emotionally drained. I could not have done it without my mom though, she rocked. ALWAYS listen to your mother, especially when you have no side mirror, can’t see behind you, and need to change lanes.

I am never moving again and if I do I’m hiring those moving faeries!

 

Farewell DC

On Thursday I will pack up my apartment and leave D.C. for Boston to take some time off and then get my MBA. It’s been a wonderful 4 years in the District and I’m going to miss it a lot! I moved here right after college and started my adult life, I’ve grown from a college student to a card carrying (Amex Blue if you’re wondering) grown-up with her own apartment, sorta cool job and lots and lots of wonderful friends both new and old. I’m excited for the next chapter, but I’m pretty sad to be leaving the place I became a real adult in!

So, without further ado here are some favorite DC places, faces and memories.

Clarendon, don’t hate on Virginia, Clarendon rocks. It was the first place I lived when I moved here. Blocks from the metro and Whole Foods, and lots of fun bars for Happy Hour. We also had an awesome yard, quite conducive to BBQ’s thanks to Sadler’s grill. There was also the time a roach fell on me in the shower and the time our landlord sketched out and moved to Egypt. VA Rocks.

Rosslyn, oh so ugly, but what a great location. I lived “steps from Georgetown” and had a whole floor to myself, along with some lovely roommates. It took me 15 minutes to get to work, I win.

1868 Columbia Rd NW, where I’ve lived for the past two years. I made my way into the actual District and payed more taxes (it’s only really $20 more a year FYI). Living alone is awesome, you don’t have to fight about who is going to buy toilet paper. Living steps from Adams Morgan is semi awesome, except when people vandalize your car (x3).

2123 California St NW, probably the coolest apartment in DC, so mid-century modern, great kitchen and great resident. It even has a fireplace which makes DC “winter” days so cozy. Many fun times were spent there. Also, they don’t charge for laundry, but I probably should have contributed to the water bill since I did it there so much, grac BF.

Russia House, my fave bar that’s full of memories, including but not limited to a DTR, a farewell soiree, a techno violinist and the best martinis outside of Russia.

MINT/Gold’s/WSC, oh my gyms, Gold’s is awesome, but parking sucks, WSC was dirty and I quit, then I found MINT and I never want to join another gym. Nothing is better than their mint and eucalyptus infused cool face towels. Do you think I can suggest that Longfellow in Wayland, MA incorporate them?

Whole Food’s/Teeter/Wegmann’s, the grocery stores in the DC area sure trump the ones in MA (except maybe Sudbury Farms), I love to grocery shop (weird) and having those places to spend my Sunday afternoons with and without MZ were so much fun. Thanks to them (and Ina Garten) I’ve tried many wonderful recipes.

G Town/Ad-Mo/U St, oh the bars. Sorry Boston, but I think DC has a way better bar scene than you. I mean I’m excited to try new places, but I am going to miss all the DC bars terribly. There’s so much variety, lines, but never bad lines, and great people watching. Whether you are with the scensters at S.P., meeting the Bush twins at the Rookery, or being hipster at Bar Pilar it’s always pretty fun (except when you slip on puke at the Guards…).

Cherry Blossoms and the Tourists, I have to admit, it’s kinda fun to see tourists all over your city, to give them directions, and to tell them not to go to a certain restaurant when they are mulling over the menu outside. Even thought the Cherry Blossoms bring WAY TOO MANY people to DC they are so pretty and we’re lucky to have such a beautiful phenomenon every year. Also, in what other city can you just pop into the National Gallery or Botanical Gardens at a moment’s notice? What I won’t miss – getting stuck behind tourists who are walking slowly.

The list could go on and on, but DC I shall miss you. My blog will go on, but I’ll be writing about Boston instead. I have lots of fun summer trips on the horizon as I get to take July and August to live a life of leisure before I submit myself to MBA life, so keep reading!

 

Touring Hillwood

This weekend Marc and I wanted to be turistas, but didn’t want to go far from home. The Hillwood Estate, right in the District was the perfect option. My friend Laura works there and graciously offered to take us around the home and vast gardens. It was absolutely lovely.

Founded by American collector and heiress to the Post cereal empire Marjorie Merriweather Post, Hillwood is one of the finest art collector’s museums in the United States as all the pieces come from Marjorie’s own private collection. I mean the lady had EVERYTHING, including a Dacha (I would too if I’d been the sole heir to Post Cereal).

 

The Dacha

She purchased the estate in 1955 with the intention of making it a museum upon her death. She spent the fall and spring at Hillwood, summered in the Adirondacks and spent her winters at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, now owned by Donald Trump. I don’t blame her for staying away from DC in the summers!

The museum (i.e. her house) features the most comprehensive collection of Russian imperial art outside of Russia and a world-renowned collection of eighteenth-century French decorative art and furnishings. The collection includes Fabergé eggs, Russian porcelain, Russian Orthodox icons, Beauvais tapestries, and Sèvres porcelain. Encircled by woodlands bordering Rock Creek Park, the twenty-five acre estate provides visitors a tranquil oasis of luscious formal gardens ranging from a French Parterre to a Japanese Style Garden complete with a pond and waterfall. Her ashes even rest in the rose garden  on the estate!

 

When we arrived at Hillwood we watched a short film about Marjorie’s life and collections. She started collecting decorative art at a young age and became fascinated with Russian art when she traveled to Russia with her 3rd husband (GF didn’t mess when it came to men) who was the ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1937 to 1938. At that time the Soviet Government was selling the Tsar and Tsarina’s centuries old possessions like candy and Marjorie scored some awesome stuff. Later she hired her own curator to fill gaps in her collection. The most impressive piece for me was a Fabergé Egg given by Nicolas II to his mother. I’m not sure if she got the it while in Russia, or later, but either way, she got a Fabergé, she wins.

 

The Fab

Our first stop on the tour was the gardens. We meandered through the French Parterre designed in the style of 18th century French gardens (think Versailles), then through the Rose Garden and Pet Cemetery, around the Japanese Style Garden, and made a stop in the Dacha, where they had an exhibit of some of Marjorie’s costumes. Back in the 1920’s instead of having cocktail parties in Rand Hall, the rich staged elaborate costume fetes, with hard core outfits. Marjorie’s were pretty awesome, no pictures were allowed inside so you’ll have to go check out her Marie Antoinette and American Indian costumes on your own. The umbrellas on the lawns were also awesome, her originals from the 1960’s

 

We also visited the greenhouses full of orchids and the cutting gardens where all the flowers that fill the house are grown. When you’re rich you don’t need to buy flowers at Whole Foods, your gardeners just grow them for you, DUH. Once done with the gardens we entered the mansion. It felt like being somewhere in Europe such as Windsor Castle or the Kaiser Apartments, wow. The entrance hall has a huge portrait of Catherine the Great (the big one over the stairs).

My favorite was the dining room. Marj had a TON of dishes and different ones are showcased throughout the house and of course on the dining room table. It was also fun to see her bedroom, closet and bathroom, complete with pink toilet paper.

 

I could go on and on, but bottom line, her collection is wonderful, the gardens are a perfect escape from a hot DC day, and it’s so close that you have no excuse not to get there stat! You must call ahead to make a reservation for your visit and can go any time of year, but of course warm months are better so you can enjoy the flowers!

If you need me I’ll be figuring out how I can procure my own Faberge Egg…

 

Hot Town, Summer in the City

Now that the heat is on in DC it’s to the pool we go. I’ve already told you all about Sunday’s with Spike at the Captiol Skyline, but if you don’t want to head to the semi-ghetto neighborhood next to the DC Inspection Station, there are plenty of other options.

Marc sent me this blog post from the Washingtonian that lists a few other places such as the Marriot Wardman Park and the Hilton Embassy Row. Everyone seems to charge $10 to $15 for a daypass, but there’s usually plenty of room, plenty of sun, and obvs a pool. What more could you ask for besides an apartment at the Promenade or a friend who lives there (they have a pool)…

If you don’t want to pay $$ and you don’t have a friend at the Promenade or a pool in Arlington you can sneak in to the DC public pools are actually a great bet. The ones where you won’t catch a communicable disease and/or STD are the following:

Georgetown: Feels more like a private pool club than a city one, get there early as chairs are limited and usually taken up by “scensters” discussing who made out with who at SP last night!

Foggy Bottom: HUGE is the best way to describe this pool, like huge. Plenty of seating and a wide array of bathers, from kids to gaybors and everything in between.

East Potomac Park: Run around Haines Point and then go to this pool that’s quiet and usually pretty empty because nobody knows about it. Kinda hard to find, so just refer to DC’s list of pool’s and their addresses right here (the link in the Washingtonian blog is wrong, mine is right, I win).

Don’t forget your floaties!

 

 

SHOES on sale!

It seems like all my favorite shoe website are having sales and it would be mean not to share them with my readers. Everyone knows about Zappos, Piperlime, Shoes.com (duh) and Endless, but you may not have heard of these guys.

First off is Shoefly, one day I was searching around for the address of the store of the same name in Arlington and stumbled upon this gem. They also have 4 stores total, in Washington and Oregon. Most importantly, EVERYTHING on the site is 40% off until tomorrow. I want to get these Seychelles in black  for $13 after the discount!

And also perhaps these flowery guys for $67 to wear to a wedding this summer.

Their stock isn’t huge but they’ve got Frye, Cynthia Rowley, Camper and more.

Next up is Jildor, they have been around since 1949 and have 4 locations in Long Island. I’ve never been to the real store, but I’ve ordered some Jack Roger’s from them for two seasons now. They have a wide array of brands from Tory Burch to Converse and right now they are running their semi-annual sale. Their customer service is great too, my Jack Rogers broke, I sent them back for new ones. Right now shipping is only $5 no matter what you get.

Lastly is FootNotesOnline, they are pretty much the same as Jildor and stock almost identical brands. I found their site a few years ago when I was searching for Ugg’s and got a GREAT DEAL. They are  also running their semi-annual sale at the moment, so check them out and compare prices!

 

Fro-Yo in DC

It’s about time I did a post on all the Pinkberry knockoff’s that have sprung up in DC. and now that summer is in full swing I thought now would be good.  I’m a huge Pinkberry fan, as my regular readers know. In the past year DC has been inundated with every tangy yogurt place possible EXCEPT Pinkberry, the original (or as some may argue Red Mango came fist, but whatever).

For everyone who has been on Mars for the past few years, the first Pinkberry opened in January 2005 in LA. The tangy frozen yogurt (at only 70 calories per 1/2 cup)  soon attracted a cult following and the Korean-American owners began to expand around LA and then NYC. They now have 72 locations total, mostly in CA, but there are 13 in NYC.

Marc wanted to open one in DC, but Pinkberry said no (he emailed them and they emailed back). Unfortunately before Marc could just start his own TangySweet came on the scene. Their initial website literally ripped pictures off Pinkberry’s website. It tasted exactly the same, but when I met the owner on opening day and compared his product to Pinkberry he got angry, “WE ARE NOT PINKBERRY” he firmly asserted. Oh really? You don’t want to be anything like Pinkberry? Those pictures on your website look pretty PB to me, so does the store, the toppings, the (just see my review below)…

So readers, here are my humble opinions of the Pinkberry wannabe’s in the District!

Sweet Green: This salad place opened by some Georgetown Grads whose Daddy’s gave them money to start a business was the first place in DC to serve up tangy fro-yo.  Their “sweetflow” as they call it is 80 calories per 1/2 cup and is much more tangy  (or tart) than Pinkberry is and they only have one flavor. A small is $4 and a large is $6. They automatically come with 3 toppings and extra toppings are $.50. They have your general topping choices, but no mochi (almost marshmallow like balls, my fave topping). Fortunately their Daddy’s made sound business decisions when giving them money to start the place. Their salads are great too and they now have three locations in the area: Georgetown, Dupont and Bethesda. I like how they actually tried to be a little different than Pinkberry and made salads the focus, rather than the yogurt.

TangySweet: Even though Sweetgreen beat them to the yogurt punch, Tangy was the first all-yogurt place to open in the district. Though they claim to not be like Pinkberry EVERYTHING about the place screams it. I guess their recipe is more like the original Korean recipe that started it all (says the owner), but it tastes just like Pinkberry to me, right down to the topping offerings and the decor. Really, if you are looking for Pinkberry in DC, Tangy comes the closest. They have 3 flavors: original, green tea and pomegranate, a plethora of toppings, including mochi, as well as smoothies. Their prices aren’t online, but I remember them being just about the same as Pinkberry’s (surprise, surprise). They have two locations, Dupont and Penn Quarter.

My. Yogato: This guy sprang up right after TangySweet, on 17th street in the heart of the gayborhood. The lines were out the door at first, but their allure soon faded. They have a catchy website and ask you trivia questions in line (or at least they used to). What sets them apart is their flavor offerings. Every day they have tangy and sweet original options and then one or two weekly flavors, all with weird names, such as Kiramel (Caramel) and Razbellie (raspberry). Honestly guys, your names are weird and so is your concept. I guess they are trying to set themselves apart, but come on all the places are mostly the same. That said the one time I went the yogurt was good. I had original tangy and sampled a flavor, toppings were standard and included mochi. As far as prices, they charge $1 for one topping and $1.75 for two, but the base prices are a bit cheaper than say Tangy, so all in all their prices are in line with the competition.

Iceberry: This is the place I’ve been to the most because it’s somewhat near my office, in Georgetown. The yogurt is a little icier than Pinkberry, but still great. They have mochi and all your other standard toppings, as well as smoothies. It is the priciest of the bunch at $6.75 for a medium with three toppings, but they do have some good flavors, such as Honeydew (which tastes great mixed with original). If you’re in Georgetown it’s a great spot. I think I like it better than SweetGreen just because it is a little sweeter, but if you like tangy then head up the street.

Cali Yogurt: This place opened in January right on 18th street in the heart of Adams Morgan. They got the tangy/sweet combo just right. Their website is semi ghetto and still under construction even though they’ve been open for over 6 months now, but just go if you’re in the neighborhood. Prices are the same as the others. I like their atmosphere the best of any of the places in DC. Large, plenty of seating and not cramped feeling like Mr. Yogato and Iceberry can be!

Ghetto Place in the Asian Market on Columbia Rd: One day I was walking down Columbia Road and noticed a “yogurt” place had opened in a corner of the Asian Market at Columbia and Biltmore St (like literally inside the market). I have yet to try it, but their prices are super low. However, I have no idea what it tastes like and am not even sure if it has an actual name. If anyone has been let us know in the comments section.

Bardo informed me I needed to rank the places in order of favorites, these are my personal opinions based on taste (I prefer it on the less tangy side) so here we go:

1) TangySweet

2) IceBerry

3) Mr. Yogato

4) Cali Yogurt

5) SweetGreen

6) Ghetto place on Columbia (since I’ve never tried it)

Happy fro-yo-ing!

 

Pasta Mia

Last night Kathleen and I finally went to Pasta Mia in Adams Morgan. I’ve known about it for a long time, but just haven’t had a chance to go. Pasta Mia has a cult following in D.C. The 3 person operation (a cook and 2 waiters) has been attracting pasta lovers for a long time, but to very mixed reviews.

First off is the wait, people wait for over an hour sometimes and then it can take as long as 30 minutes to get your food (even your appetizer). Diners start lining up at 6pm for the 6:30 open time, the service is slow and sometimes rude and the portions are HUGE. All the pasta and sauces are home-made from fusilli to spinach fettucine, there’s a $13 minimum per person, cash only policy, and everything comes with Parmesan on top and mozzarella on the bottom, NO SUBSTITUTIONS!

I read some reviews on Yelp.com before going, so we both knew what to expect. When we rolled in around 8:52 we were seated almost right away since we were a party of 2 and it was later in the evening. So, first word of advice, don’t go with any more than 2 people and go late (they close at 10pm). We were lead to a very cramped table and sat very close to our neighboring diners who were quite entertaining as they had not read Yelp reviews and complained the whole time. Also, their niece was coming to visit the next day and they told everyone that about 47 times! Hope she has fun with them…

I got a glass of house wine and Kathleen got a Birra Moretti, both were $4.50. The wine wasn’t totally to my liking, a very strong Chianti, but it did go well with the pasta in the end. After seeing how huge the portions were we decided not to get an appetizer and went with pappardalle with meat sauce and fusilli with marinara, both to share. The bread they brought was decent and we downed it all since it took about 20 minutes for our food to come.

Fusilli

But, when it came, WOW. Huge steaming bowls of amazingness were set on the table as our eyes basically bugged out. My papardelle was cooked to perfection and covered in cheese and meat sauce, simple but perfect. Kathleen’s was the same, I’ve never tried homemade fusilli before, but they got it right. It did take awhile for the dishes to cool down though, they were a bit too hot to eat at first.

Pappardelle

We made a small dent in our pastas and decided to wrap them up and order some dessert. Our Tiramisu was delish, I felt like I was back in Verona Italia with my host family, YUM! There was the perfect amount of cocoa powder sprinkled on top, the lady fingers were soaked to perfection, and the mascarpone cream was downright creamy.

The check came fast, we savored our last bites and then waddled out into the night! Bottom line, definitely a great Italian meal, but go with a small group (2), be prepared to wait a bit, and bring cash. They are closed Sunday’s and Monday’s.

Pasta Mia

1790 Columbia Rd NW

Washington, DC

 

Sunday’s with Spike

Last week Daily Candy’s weekend guide informed me that every Sunday this summer Chef Spike of Top Chef Fame and Good Stuff Eatery on Capitol Hill would be grilling burgers at the Capitol Skyline Hotel. For just $10 you can get a burger and a day at the hotel’s retro pool.

Basically whenever Lottie see’s the word pool she get’s excited, and then when you add something like “all you have to do is (insert action here)” Lottie will probably do it. She loves being able to go to pool’s in DC since they are pretty hard to come by. Well not that hard, but still a big change from growing up across the street from the WSTC where she could go to the pool anytime from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Daily Candy and the hotel’s website said the grilling/tanning festivities commenced at 12pm, so at 11:58pm on the dot Maggie, Kathleen and I were ready and waiting to enter the pool area. We were the first to arrive, thanks to a sweet parking spot for the Lesbaru right outside the hotel. We paid our $10 (cash only fyi), got our wristbands and frolicked out on to the pool deck.

The pool area was sweet, sorta a Hotel Roosevelt, swingin 60’s vibe, and since we were basically the first we got our pickings of the chairs. Though the vibe was old school, the pool was clean and everything looked new. Don’t let the ughly architecture of the hotel fool you, they’ve done a wonderful job!

There were even fun toys in the pool to play with!

We chose some lovely chaises along the deep end, near Spike’s grill station. The chairs were quite comfortable and the orange towels were a great touch. Spike and friends were just setting up, so we lounged for awhile and I snapped a pic with him (his idea, probs because my Wayfarers are so dope).

Eventually a bartender came over and messed up our drink order about 72 times, but that was okay, we were so happy to be there. Apparently he was hungover from last night, or so he told us the 37th time he had to bring us something.

All the drinks were under $5 and quite tasty. Sangria was served up with plenty of fruit and wine, stoli blueberry cocktails with lemonade and pomegranate juice were refreshing, and the $3 diet cokes weren’t that bad, you pay for the atmosphere, right? Though, next time I would bring a water bottle.

After about an hour we got our burgers and they were delish. Grilled up just right, topped with some cheese, and served with chips and a pickle. We all remarked that we’d probably never eaten burgers in our bikinis, but whatever, we were on “vacation” for the day.

The rest of the afternoon was spent sipping sangria, having Miller time, discussing girl things, reading trashies (US Weekly etc) and jumping in the pool once or twice. The place did get pretty busy, so if you are planning on coming and want a chaise get there by 1pm at the latest. The only con was that the DJ music was a little loud. The tunes he played were good, but it would have been hard to take an afternoon nap! To commemorate the inaugural pool day we snapped a group shot at the end.

See you Sunday. We’ll have a fun day.

Photo Credits: Kathleen’s Canon Powershot, Lottie’s Cord

 

Love Story

This morning Taylor Swift performed on the Today Show and since I had a “late” morning I caught her perfomance of Love Story while I was getting ready to roll. It’s been in my head all day, so I had to watch the video on YouTube. Wow, totally awesome, maybe it’s because I miss my own lover or am a sucker for anything “period” involving costumes and Romeo and Juliet, but TAYLOR ROCKS!

If you need me I’ll be daydreaming of balls, Romeo’s and dresses

xoxo Lottie the 7th Grader

 

Easy Cheese Danish

I have wanted to work with Puff Pasty dough for like a year now and finally the opportunity presented itself in the form of Ina Garten’s Easy Cheese Danish recipe. I saw her make them on her show, and then realized I also had a copy of the recipe in my Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. Since I was in town for Memorial Day I made them for breakfast on Saturday morning and wow, they are amazing!

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (I used fat free)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese (also used fat free)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted (I got Peppridge Farm’s brand, you can get them in the frozen section of any grocery store)
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper (or you can use your trusty Silpat like me).

Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don’t whip!

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it’s a 10 by 10-inch square. I actually don’t have a rolling pin so I didn’t even roll the dough, and it was fine, I just put it on a floured surface (the flour is necessary so it won’t stick).

Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash.

Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.

Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. It’s amazing how much they puff up. Serve warm.

 

 

ENJOY!