It is really hard to say, but I think New York might be our favorite state in the US. Most people outside of NY think of NYC when they think of NY, and over half of the population of NY probably think the same, but when we think of New York, we think of Niagara Falls, the Adirondacks, hot days with cool mornings, and the food, especially Italian food (Foreshadowing? Perhaps.).

Our wonderful trip to Buffalo was capped with a quick visit to Old Forge in the Adirondacks. 

The air is a little bit crisper, and the temperature is about 10 degrees cooler. And nothing brings more joy to our Little Play Gourmet, than seeing his soul mates.

As fate would have it, the last day we had in NY, overlapped with a visit to NY by Uncle Mikey and the kiddos, and we intended to make it count.

We visited with family and friends in Uncle Mikey’s home town of Frankfort, which has a large Italian influence, and went to the Enchanted Forest Water Safari.

Here is a riddle, what do you get when you combine three best friends and a water park?

Answer: Pure Happiness

They were so content, they didn’t even need Mom or Dad anymore…

Unless the rules required one of us…

Safe to say that the fun did in fact not stop through our entire visit.

Plus, no better way to cap our visit than a quick stop at the Pied Piper, an Old Forge staple.

Back to the Italian influence… Few places, put us in this kind of mood for authentic Italian flavors, and here is combination of those flavors that we learned from Uncle Mark, while we were up there.

Pasta ala Puttanesca, which literally means, “lady of the night pasta”.

There is a bit of a debate as to why this sauce is called Puttanesca, but it all centers around the aromatic nature of the sauce. Whether it was used to attract people or any other derivation, all I know is it is amazing.

The recipe is simple, and beautiful. There are only six ingredients. Olive oil, garlic, anchovies, black olives, capers, and tomatoes. You simply mix them together, and mix in pasta. The sauce takes as long as the pasta takes to cook. But here is a quick stroll through the photos to warm up your hypothalamus.

First thing’s first, I don’t think quantities matter with this recipe, I am not intimidated by the strong flavors of garlic, anchovies, and capers, so I use generous portions. Once I have the garlic simmering in olive oil, I add a few cans of anchovies.

Once they get nice and hot, we start mashing them with a spatula until they are completely dissolved.

Then we toss in some black olives, and capers.

And finally, tomatoes. 

That’s it! But so delicious!

As opposed to a spaghetti sauce that one pours over a mound of noodles, this is best when mixed thoroughly with your pasta of choice.

Family, Friends, and Food. We love NY.