Tasty Eating

Cooking: Meatballs

2012-01-28T10:00:00.026-05:00

Oh meatballs. You are so delicious. And yet there are so many ways to make you. And so many ways to eat you. I'm still trying to perfect my meatball. I haven't made one that I loved yet. Sure they care good but I want them to be amazing. So here I went to make another batch of meatballs using some different ingredients.

I started with the ground beef. I know some people mix in pork and/or veal. I've done so in the past too. But I went with straight beef this time. I don't like to use very lean beef in my meatballs. They become too stiff. To the ground beef, I added salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

I also added fresh ricotta cheese, parsely, scallions, bread crumbs,and grated pecorino cheese.

I mixed everything up together evenly using my hands. I truly believe this is a dirty hand job. Roll up your sleeves and get working.

Then form them into balls and line on an oil baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 350oF until browned, about 30-60 minutes depending on the size of your meatballs.

Here's a better look at them. I rolled them evenly in my palms until uniform and tight.

And here they are all done. Some of the cheese oozed out which was expected. It wasn't wasted though. I had a good time nibbling on the cheese.

So how did the meatballs come out? Just okay. They seemed slightly dried out which was a bummer. But this experiment has totally justified my desire to pan fry the meatballs in the future. I used to pan fry them then cook in a pot of marinara sauce. But I wanted to switch things up a bit and try baking. Besides, baking it so much easier. But the result may not be tastier. Oh well, I threw the meatballs with some pasta and sauce and it was good to go.

Carl's Steaks

2012-01-27T10:00:00.037-05:00

My good friend, TC invited me along to lunch one day. He had a coupon to Carl's Steaks that he wanted to use. I've never been to Carl's so I wanted to give it a try. Besides, Philly cheesesteaks are pretty awesome.

When we arrived, the place was kind of busy but mostly with people doing take out. There are a few small tables in the back for people who want to eat in. Getting one of these tables is hit or miss. Anyway, we ordered and waited for our food to come out. The smell of the meat cooking on the flat top is hypnotizing. Our meal finally came and I was excited. I had the cheesesteak sandwich ($7.25) with cheez whiz and onions. It came out hot and gooey. It was a messy sandwich but that's the way it's supposed to be. It was everything that I hoped it would be. Fattening, delicious, meaty, cheesey, and filling.

The fries ($2.50) were very good as well. Fried until golden and seasoned properly. They crunched under my teeth and released it's soft potato center. I love a good fry.

The meal at Carl's cheesesteak was solid. It's a way a cheesesteak is supposed to taste. Oh, and it's one of (if not the only) time I eat cheese product. Anyway, the only complaint that I have is the drink. They do fountain drinks and I opted for the iced tea. It was practically all syrup. Not good. But just a small mishap which I'm sure they have fixed since.

Thanks to TC for the meal. I wanted to nap at my desk after that. HAHA!

Carl's Cheesesteak
507 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10016-4701
(212) 696-5336
carlsteaks.com

Cooking: Buffalo Chicken Mac N Cheese

2012-01-26T10:00:00.052-05:00

There are very few times that I come up with a recipe that is truly my own. But when it does happen and it's delicious, I'm so very proud of it. This is such the case for Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese. I was intrigued one day with my friend's Buffalo Chicken salad. I thought that strong flavor and smell would go really well with mac n cheese. And so my brain starting churning. I scoured the internet for recipes but did not like any one of them. They all mostly resembled buffalo chicken dip using the white meat of the chicken and shredded. Nope, not good enough for me. So, I brainstormed and came up with my own rendition and it's so much better.

You start off with the chicken. I use dark meat only. Why? Because it tastes better and it's juicier. Duh! Pat the chicken thighs dry and trim off excess fat. Then dice into small bite sized pieces. Season with salt, pepper, and chili powder/cayenne (or both). The more spice you add, obviously the spicier it will be.

And now the dredging. This part is important. Don't go and buy pre-breaded chicken. It won't taste the same. There will be no layering of spices and heat. If you don't care about any of these, then go ahead and do the shortcut which, again, I do NOT recommend. Anyway, prep your all purpose flour with salt, pepper, and chili/cayenne powder.

To your eggs, add a generous splash of Tabasco sauce.

And to your seasoned bread crumbs, add the chili/cayenne powder. Again, the more you add, the spicier it will be. Keep in mind that the cheese will mellow out the spice level so it's better to go heavier than lighter.

Toss the chicken into the flour to coat evenly. Then shake off the excess. Then into the egg, then the breadcrumbs. Place on sheetpan in one even layer. Bake in the oven at 375oF for about 30-45 minutes until cooked through. In the meantime, shred your cheese. Shredding it allows it to melt easily and evenly. Also, this is a good time to cook your pasta. Keep in mind to cook it under al dente. It'll continue to cook in the oven when you bake the whole thing together.

And prep your buffalo wing sauce. Here I melted some butter and added the Frank's Buffalo Wing sauce to it.

When the chicken is cooked, place in bowl and toss with hot buffalo wing sauce. Coat evenly.

Place in pan with pasta. Toss to combine.

And now the cheese sauce. Melt some butter in a pot.

Then add flour to create a thickening agent, the roux. Cook for a few minutes until the raw flour taste is gone. Do NOT actually taste it. It will burn your tongue. Then add milk in a slow stream and whisk to combine. This helps prevent lumps. Then add cheese and stir until melted. Lastly, add another bottle of Frank's Buffalo Wing sauce.

Add the entire thing to the pasta and chicken. Stir gently to incorporate all the cheese sauce in every nook and cranny.

And here is where things have changed. I used to top it with blue cheese dressing then the breadcrumb topping. But I find that it better to do it the other way around now.

So toasted bread crumb topping first. I like to toast it in butter and then mix with parmesiano cheese. Cover with foil. Bake in the oven at 375oF for about 30-45 minutes until bubbling. Then remove foil and continue baking for 10 minutes to brown the top. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.

Last step is to serve with blue cheese dressing on top. Of course, you can skip this step if you don't like blue cheese.

Not to toot my own horn but this is a really good dish. It also works as a great party dish because you can easily make it ahead of time and refrigerate it until ready. You can even freeze it though the texture may be a bit off. Anyway, I love the tang of the buffalo sauce with the meatiness of the chicken and the chewiness of the pasta. Oh, the pasta, I like to use the spirals instead of elbows. I think it holds up better to the large pieces of chicken. But use whatever you please.

Buffalo Chicken Mac and cheese

This recipe is for 1 party tray size.

2-2.5 lbs of skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Tabasco
Cayenne pepper
Salt
Ground black pepper
Plain bread crumbs
Flour
3-4 Eggs
1 lb of american cheese (cut up into pieces)
1 lb of cheddar cheese (cut up into pieces)
1 stick Butter
1 qrt Milk
2 bottles of Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
1 lb pasta
1 jar of Marie's Super Blue Cheese Dressing (found in the produce section)*
Oil
Non-stick spray (ex. Pam)
Large baking sheet
Large foil tray (lasagna or roaster size)
Large pot
Whisk

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick spray.

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Keep in mind that they tend to shrink when cooked.
2. Marinate chicken with salt, pepper, and cayenne.
3. Prepare three bowls for breading station: flour, eggs (beaten), bread crumbs.
4. Add cayenne to flour. Add tabasco into eggs. Add cayenne to break crumbs. This is where you can control the heat of the dish. The more you add, the hotter it is. I tend to add cayenne and tabasco until each bowl turns a light-medium orange color. Remember, the cheese mellows the taste out later.
5. In steps, flour chicken, then dip in egg mixture, and the bread crumbs. Make sure to shake any excess off in each step and afterwards. Place chicken onto sprayed baking sheet in one even layer. It's okay if they touch.
6. Bake chicken until cooked. About 30 min.
7. In the meantime, boil large pot of water for pasta. When boiling, add salt and oil before pasta. Cook pasta according to box.
8. Drain pasta, and place in large foil pan. Add more oil if needed to prevent sticking.
9. In the meantime, melt a half stick of butter on low heat. Add one bottle of Frank's Buffalo Wing sauce. Stir to combine.
10. When chicken is cooked, quickly remove from oven and right into the butter and wing sauce. Coat evenly. Remove from heat. Add to large foil pan with pasta. Mix together gently.
11. Melt half a stick of butter on medium heat. Add 4 tablespoons of flour to create a roux (thickening agent). Cook for 5 minutes while stirring.
12. Add milk slowly in a stream while whisking. This helps prevent lumps.
13. When milk comes to a simmer, add cheese and mix.
14. When combined, add last bottle of Frank's buffalo wing sauce. Mix well.
15. Remove from heat and add to pan with pasta and chicken.
16. Top with more breadcrumbs, toasted with butter. Also use parmesiano cheese too, if desired.
17. Bake in oven until bubbling (30-45 min).
18. Remove, let cool.
*19. Drizzle Marie's Super Blue cheese dressing on top. (Omit this step if you do not like blue cheese)

Lunch Week 4: Open Faced Sabich

2012-01-25T10:00:00.002-05:00

So every Sunday, I head over to the kitchen to whip up a big batch of food for lunch next week. Yes, I brown bag. And I almost always do it, unless I become too busy to even buy cold cuts from the deli. I do it for several reasons being health, finance, and laziness. Now, you may think that spending hours on a day off to prep and cook five meals at once is hardly lazy. But let me remind you, I hate it when the time comes to decide what to eat for lunch every day. I work in Midtown so the choices are endless. My problem, the more choices, the harder it is for me. So it's much easier for me to have my lunch ready and already decided.

So my lunch for the week: Open Faced Sabich

I wanted to keep going with this whole vegetarian lunch. I've been feeling quite good since I've started it and I still feel satisfied. I think the key is to keep it interesting and of course delicious.

I knew I didn't want to eat salad again this week so I had to be a little more creative. I thought about having eggplant parmersiano but didn't feel like eating that much cheese. But fried eggplant sounded so good to me. I was browsing the web and came across Taim again. I was reminded of my sabich lunch that day from Taim. It was really good. And the side of falafel was fantastic. Hmm, what if I combined the two? Oh man, that would be awesome. So I made an open faced Sabich with falafel.
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Tuesday Nights: Southern Hospitality

2012-01-24T10:00:00.015-05:00

Towards the end of the last year, my friends thought that we weren't hanging out enough. It's true, we weren't. So they started Tuesday night get-togethers. Every Tuesday, we'll pick a bar to drink, eat, and hang out for a couple of hours. Whoever can make it will attend. If you're busy, it's okay. There's always next week. So this is Tuesday Nights on Tasty Eating where you will find bars that serve food and how we like them.

On this recent Tuesday Night, we headed out to: Southern Hospitality

I've always been curious about Southern Hospitality. They serve ~~barbecue~~ BBQ which I love eating. So when a Tuesday Night came around and no one had any ideas, I suggested it. Also, it's in my neighborhood: Hell's Kitchen.
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Lunar New Year Dinner with Friends at China Pearl

2012-01-23T10:00:00.064-05:00

Recently, a few friends and I have been celebrating Lunar New Year together. Last year, we were kind of disappointed by our meal. But this year, the Feisty Foodie picked a place that she was much more familiar with. Yes, China Pearl. The tried and true place that the Feisty Family likes to patron. I was more than happy to finally try it. So with the Feisty Foodie, TC, Nommables, and friends, we ate and ate.

When I arrived, I knew the decor would be sparse as most Cantonese places are. It reminded me of my childhood though. Hole in the wall type places that serve up good food. I was down for the meal to come.

Even When Sick, Family Dinners are the BEST!

2012-01-22T10:00:00.033-05:00

Sometimes, my Parsi families likes to switch up and make non-Indian food. This doesn't happen often but it's refreshing sometimes. Unfortunately, I was feeling under the weather on this day and didn't get to eat and taste as much as I would have liked.

Mrs. Executive Chef made some chicken and mushrooms in a ginger sauce which was nice. It played on the sweet and spicy flavors. I definitely could taste the ginger even through my stuffy nose.

Some nice light sauteed spinach with garlic. I had just a little bit of this because I was avoiding dairy. I didn't want to become phlegmy.

And a butternut squash gratin which I dearly missed. All that dairy and cheese really wouldn't have done well with me. I love butternut squash and cheese. Damn my sickness!

And of course, can't have dinner without salad. She just makes this simple salad but it's so good! Spring mix, avocado, mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions. Lightly dressed with oil and balsamic vinegar.

Knowing that I wasn't feeling well, Mrs. Executive chef made sure that had plenty to eat. So dundar was on the table which is definitely soul comforting food. Warm, thick, and filling. This is what I needed.

Of course we need some rice with that. It's best with white rice.

And to finish off the meal, we had a lovely cake from Ms. Pastry Chef.

And a new one this year. It's a carrot cake! Oooh, soo moist! And cream cheese frosting which I tried not to devour. You know, tried.

PJ's Pancake House

2012-01-21T10:00:00.032-05:00

After a long night and sleeping in, we all headed out to Princeton for some breakfast before heading home. Of course we had to go to PJ's Pancake House. A no frills dinner place that offers delicious fluffy pancakes. Simple and so good.

Most people got a combination of pancakes and eggs with or without meat. I had the Two-Fer Breakfast which is 2 fluffy plain pancakes with a side of eggs, sausage, and bacon ($9). It is always more than enough for me but I love the combination of savory and sweet. Besides, I always need my eggs. Nice runny yellow yolks. Oooh so good!

Ms. Lollipop is the only one who didn't get pancakes that day even though we told her this is what they are known for. Instead she had the Lox, Stock, and Bagel ($10) which is a bagel sandwich with sliced salmon lox, onion, capers, and cream cheese.

We all enjoyed our pancakes as they were superb in every way. And cheap! Not sure how Ms. Lollipop enjoyed her bagel and lox sandwich. She finished it but wasn't openly voicing the deliciousness of PJ's Pancake House. We tried giving her sage advice. Oh well.

PJ's Pancake House
154 Nassau Street
Princeton, NJ 08540
(609) 924-1353
pjspancakes.com‎

Parsi Dinner

2012-01-20T10:00:00.036-05:00

My friends are pretty lucky to know me. Hahaha! Joking! What I'm getting at is that they were invited to my Parsi Family's home for some home cooked Indian food. Not just any kind of Indian food which is widely available all across NYC. It is Parsi food which is very different. They use similar spices but the amount and the method of cooking is different. I enjoy both naturally but have a soft spot for Parsi food. So on this glorious night, we had kolmi na curry (shrimp curry), pattis (ground beef stuffed mashed potato balls, mergi tikka (chicken tikka), white rice, salad, and bread.

Here's my plate of deliciousness. A little of everything, especially an egg from the curry. I love those things and Mrs. Executive Chef always put in extra for me! I feel loved. Anyway, everyone went for seconds and even thirds. Yeah, it was THAT good. I'm not lying, people!

Dessert was provided by Mr. Matzo Ball with an Italian Rainbow Cake

And homemade red velvet cake from Ms. Pastry Chef.

Layers of soft red cake with tangy cream cheese frosting and a scoop of homemade ice cream to boot. Oh yeah! *kool-aid man style*

Dinner went really well. The food was awesome, as usual. The alcohol flowed. And Mrs. Executive Chef asked when we'll have people over again. Haha! Maybe a different set of friends will be lucky this time.

Tabata Noodle

2012-01-19T10:00:00.046-05:00

I hear that Tabata Noodle is all the ramen rage right now. Pretty much every single blog that I read has mentioned it in one way or another. So, as a little old sheep, I went along to review it as well. It also helps that it's right in my neighborhood. It makes these reviews slightly more convenient.

On this brisk day when I was nursing a hangover, I needed something warming and solid to help fill the void of my pickled stomach. Ramen is definitely my kind of comfort food. It's something that I grew up on and feels like home. So I ordered the Kyushuu Ramen ($10) which comes with a rich pork and chicken broth, choice of roast pork or chicken, bean sprouts, scallions, and flavored egg. I picked the pork as my meat because I wanted something fatty.

The bowl of ramen came out quickly and piping hot. The noodles were hidden under the opaque broth with charsu (roast pork) on the side, and a heap of sprouts and scallions on top. I carefully mixed the fresh vegetables into the broth to soften it a bit and make it fragrant. I also wanted to loosen up the noodles too. I dug in and it was delicious. The noodles had a nice bite which I enjoyed. Mushy noodles are not a good thing. The charsu was fatty and delicious which the scallions and sprouts freshened and lightened up the dish. The flavored egg was okay. It didn't taste flavored to me but had a hint of soy sauce color on the outside. No matter, I ate it anyway. And that broth. It was certainly good but not raving. I certainly wouldn't call it rich and I've had better.

Mr M&P wasn't feeling soupy noodles, so he ordered a rice dish instead. He had the Satamina Don ($9). He ordered the pork (instead of chicken) with leek, onion, and scallions in a spicy garlic sauce. He enjoyed this and finished the plate up. It was something that he needed for his lack of hangover. I had a bite and it was flavorful but not spicy at all. It had spices but the heat level wasn't apparent.

We had also ordered the gyoza ($5) which came after our main dishes. Weird. We were hoping to eat this as an appetizer. None the less, we munched on and thought these to be terrible. Gummy wrappers and mediocre fillings. It just wasn't any good. Oh well.

Overall, I enjoyed Tabata Noodle. Their ramen was satisfying and the service nice. The price is affordable and there's never a crowd. With all that in consideration along with the proximity of it to my home, I'll be a frequent customer. It certainly isn't mind blowing ramen but it was delicious in its own way.

Tabata Noodle
540 9th Avenue
New York, NY
(212) 290-7691

Lunch Week 3:Chopped Salad

2012-01-18T10:00:00.017-05:00

Nothing special this week. Just trying to stay in line with the whole vegetarian or pescatarian (ahem) thing. However, I still like to make it interesting with lots of different flavors, textures, and colors. I start with some spring mix, then added chopped red bell peppers, shallots, tomatoes, white button mushrooms, carrots, anchovy stuffed olives, chickpeas, and a hard boiled egg.

Tuesday Nights: Phebe's

2012-01-17T10:00:00.016-05:00

This was our first Tuesday Night of the new year. We had to go to our place. As usual, half price appetizers and beer until 8pm. The deal can't be beat. Though we recently found out that they no longer serve tator tots. WHAT?! So sad. So we ordered the chili dogs instead. Hah!

Phebe's Tavern & Grill
359 Bowery
New York, NY 10003
(212) 358-1902
phebesnyc.com

Bin on Bleecker

2012-01-16T10:00:00.066-05:00

A while ago, Mr. M&P and I met up with a couple of his friends for dinner. He grew up with one of them and we all live in Manhattan now. We're in such close proximity to each other but never stay in touch. That's a sad thing. We all need to try harder to keep in touch with friends. Facebook, emails, texts, etc are not the same. So we all headed out one night to Bin on Bleecker for some wine and food.

We started off with some cheese and meats to share (5 choices for $24). Here we have La Tur Triple Creame, Piave Vecchio, Asiago Pressato, Prosciutto Parma (+$3), and hot coppa. It came with some honey, sliced apples, dates, and a variety of bread. Everything was very nice and the right amount as a light starter for 4 people. The cheese was creamy which some pieces are more pungent than others. The salty meats paired well with the cheeses. The fruit, both fresh and dried, helped balance out the heaviness of the other ingredients.

None of us were really that hungry to order full on entrees so we picked smaller portions. One person had the Arancini ($12) which are fried rice balls. These were made with smoked mozzarella, marinara sauce, and spicy ricotta. I think he liked this very much. It smelled good coming to the table.

His wife had the Meatballs ($15) that came with barley, mushrooms, and parsley. Two medium sized meatballs were enough. I don't remember what she mentioned about it but it satisfied her just fine.

They also ordered a side of the cauliflower gratin ($8) which was very good. I normally do not like cauliflower but this was very good. I mean, it was smothered in cheese. Light yet creamy from the cheese. Baked into something wonderfully delicious. I would order this again.

I had the Charred Octopus Salad ($17) with prosciutto, frisee, and spicy soy sauce. This was just okay. The octopus wasn't as tender as I hoped it would be. The beans and the salad were mediocre. Nothing special. But it was a light dish that didn't bog me down.

Mr. M&P had the Chicken Panini ($15) with bacon, mozzarella, spinach, and dill mayo. It came with a side of spring salad. This was definitely the largest dish of the night at around the same prices as the other food. And it was the most filling. Mr. M&P thought his sandwich was okay and finished it all. The fresh ingredients helped keep it light.

We also ordered of fried brussel sprouts ($8). Sorry about the blurry picture! Anyway, these were meh. They came pretty greasy with the bacon, lemon, and chili flakes. They weren't enjoyable and I stopped eating it after one or two.

Overall, I enjoyed Bin on Bleecker. It's a nice wine bar with lots of affordable wines to choose from. The food was mediocre but if you're just looking for a snack, the meat and cheese platter is the way to go.

Bin on Bleecker
264 Bleecker Street
Between 6th and 7th Ave.
New York, NY 10014
(212) 620-3111
binonbleecker.com

The Smoke Joint

2012-01-15T10:00:00.052-05:00

One night, Mr. M&P and I found ourselves in Brooklyn to take of some business. After that, we went around to look for something to eat. I mentioned Smoke Joint which is a BBQ place that I tried years ago. By years I mean almost ten years ago. A brief look through their website and I find that it opened in 1996. I must have visited it sometime before 2000 because I remember the friends that I went with. Anyway, after all this time, I wanted to know if it's as good as I remember. My palate and opinions have changed drastically since the old days.

Back in the day, the Smoke Joint was really small and served up delicious barbecue in large serving platters. Much has changed since. They're still located in Fort Greene but have expanded their seating. We decided to sit right near the food counter to watch and smell the delicious food.

We didn't want any starters, so we dove into entrees right away. I ordered the spare ribs (half rack - $11). These were St. Louis style being sticky and sweet. Unfortunately, the ribs are dry. The flavor seemed off. It wasn't the kind that slowly developed. Nope, it tasted rushed...if you can taste that at all. Honestly, I really didn't enjoy these.

He had the pulled pork ($10) which was served with cole slaw and pickles. The size of the plate seemed awkward with the amount that they served. I think the food would seem a lot more plentiful using a smaller plate. Whatever, we were here for the taste of the food. Unfortunately, we were disappointed again. The pulled pork seemed dry and not flavorful at all. It needed a lot of extra sauce. The cole slaw and pickles were mediocre at best.

For our sides, we had the cole slaw ($3), corn ($2.50), and mac n cheese ($4). Again, everything was mediocre at best. The coleslaw was nothing special and certainly didn't have the vinegar tang that I enjoy. The corn (though out of season) was just okay. Didn't excite me even with the barbecue aioli (fancy work for mayo), rub, and green onions. Lastly, the mac n cheese was very mushy. They menu says it's baked with 4 cheeses. I could really identify 2. Needless to say, we didn't finish anything.

Unfortunately, my memories of the original Smoke Joint is remain just memories. Over the years and expansion, they haven't improved. In fact, they've gotten worse. I don't think I'll be returning back. And I'm saddened by that.

The Smoke Joint
87 S Elliot Place
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 797-1011
thesmokejoint.com

BV's Burger

2012-01-14T10:00:00.052-05:00

When a new burger place opens up, I get excited. I love burgers. Mostly cheeseburgers. They're oh so satisfying and delicious. They make me happy every single time. And when I get to try an exceptional one, my mood instantly changes to ecstatic. When I read about BV's (Bobby Van's) Burger on Midtown Lunch, I wanted to try it for myself. The review was glowing so I was hopeful.

When I arrived, there were a few people standing around waiting for their order. I must have just beaten the rush. I ordered up front with the cashier who was very friendly and was excited to know that I wanted my burger medium rare. I paid and stepped aside to wait for my order. The people who ordered first promptly received their food. When I was next, I was growing excited to try out this new beef patty with cheese. However, as I waited, other people arrived and ordered. Then they began to receive their order before me. No biggie, that happens sometimes. So I waited some more and it kept happening. More than 10 people later and 30 minutes past, and I spoke up to the person bagging everything. He immediately apologized and spoke to the line cook to expedite my order which by the way was the Burger Platter ($12). I wanted both onion rings and fries that day. I waited some more and 10 more minutes pass. I speak up again saying I've been waiting for 40 minutes. The guy apologizes again and rushes the line cook again to make my order the first priority. As I waited, I was offered some chili which I declined. This was a large order for one person. I wasn't going to fill up on some more food just to throw most of it all out later on.

Finally, I see my ordered being prepared and boxed up. From beginning to end, it was 45 minutes. That's too long for me. But I still wanted to try the burger. Otherwise, I would have asked for my money back. When I got to my desk and opened up the bag, I was happy to see a plethora of goodies waiting for me. A cheeseburger on once side, fries and onion rings on the other.

I bit into the burger and was extremely disappointed. My burger wasn't medium rare at all. In fact, it was well done. It was so dry and basically flavorless by this time. No amount of ketchup was going to save it. I guess in the cook's haste to get my order out, he gave me an overcooked burger that was ready instead of firing up one fresh.

On the flip side, the fries and onion rings were much better. Fried well and still crispy when I got to my desk. The onion rings were nice and lightly battered and the fries were well seasoned.

Overall, I really didn't enjoy my experience with BV's Burger at all. Although they were apologetic, the service wasn't up to par. They should have pushed my order through the first time I complained. Certainly it was honest mistake which I can accept. Having a terrible overdone burger, though, is a crime. A crime to my mouth and stomach. Both were very unhappy and dissatisfied. However, with all that said, I would go back to see if it truly was a bad day. I really, REALLY hope so. I want a juicy burger, damn it!

BV's Burger
120 W 45th St
New York 10036
(212) 575-5623
bobbyvans.com

Jamaican Dutchy

2012-01-13T10:00:00.036-05:00

Another day without lunch. Heck, it was a week without lunch. Perfect time to scope out some of the food trucks that I haven't tried yet. Yesterday was Uncle Gussy's, today is the Jamaican Dutchy. I'm not all familiar with Jamaican food either but I hear the flavors are bright, complex, and delicious.

Since I wasn't very familiar with Jamaican food, I picked what sounded familiar: Jerk chicken. They offered a couple of sized but I want with the small ($8.50). The spicy char grilled chicken came with some rice, a fried plantain, and steamed cabbage. I was expecting just one piece of chicken for a small but was happily surprised with two pieces.

I dug right in and was immediately hit in the face with heat. Woah! That chicken was spicy. I'm not a spice fiend so this was a little too much for me. I had to dig into the starches to alleviate some of the heat. After that first reaction, I continued to eat the chicken with the rice in each bite. That definitely helped. Besides, the heat level, the chicken was very moist and really flavorful. I enjoyed it a lot. The meal was too much for me and I ended up saving about 1/3 of it for dinner later that night. But any regular big eater would have no problem finishing this in one shot...unless they are heat adverse.

I really liked the food from the Jamaican Dutchy. And their long lines at lunch definitely proves they have a following. I would definitely go back to try some of their non-spicy dishes like the goat or oxtail.

Jamaican Dutchy
Various Locations
(718) 737-3836
thejamaicandutchy.net

Uncle Gussy's

2012-01-12T10:00:00.038-05:00

One day I was left without lunch and I didn't know what to eat. My usual spots bored me and I was looking for something new. The Uncle Gussy's truck intrigued me but it was a long walk away. But seeing that it was a nice day, I decided to take the 10 block walk (mostly crosstown) to find food truck doling out Greek delicacies. When I got there, a line had already formed. I didn't mind though. It gave me time to look over the menu and decide what I wanted. Everything looked good and was tempted by the souvlaki. But their special of the day was the winner. It was pastitsio.

Pastitsio is often described as Greek lasagna. Certainly it is layers of pasta with a bechamel and meat sauce. But the spices are different including nutmeg, I believe. Uncle Gussy's pastitsio came with some Greek salad and all for $10. My food was quickly assembled and I walked the 10 blocks back to my office.

The food remained pretty much in tack. The pastitsio was everything that I remembered it to be. Layers of tube pasta with rich cream sauce and ground meat sprinkled about. The spices have nice flavors and contrasted the sweet sauce. I enjoyed this and the serving was very large. I certainly could not finish it. As for the side salad, I didn't enjoy it. It was overdressed. The fresh vegetables had softened too much and not longer held their natural crunch.

Overall, I enjoyed my lunch from Uncle Gussy's. The pastitio was tasty and very large. It was enough for two servings. The side salad can be improved but that's really easy to fix. I'm willing to go back and try their other food, especially their other specials.

Uncle Gussy's
Corner of 51st St & Park Ave
New York, NY
unclegussys.com

Lunch Week 2: Vegetarian Bibimbap

2012-01-11T10:00:00.065-05:00

Just like anyone else, spending the new year watching one's weight is like a routine. New resolutions on healthy eating, gym attending, and curbing "bad" vices. But it doesn't mean it has to be boring and torturous. While some of us may be eating unexciting salads day in and day out which will most likely lead the person to quite sooner than later, I've opted to introduce more vegetables to my diet in a delicious way. Sauces and spices are really the way to go. It adds to much flavor and depth to a dish that you would soon forget that you're only eating vegetables. Exploring other ethnic cuisines is a great way to find new flavors. So I looked back to my bibimbap post from last year and realized that it needed much improvement.

As any recipe goes, the prep takes a lot of time. But doing it ahead of time saves you a headache in the future. Here I have chopped scallions, blanched fernbrake, minced garlic, washed beansprouts, shredded carrots and zucchini, sliced shitake mushrooms (once dried but rehydrated overnight), and spinach (not pictured). Before I go on, I'd like to briefly talk about my new Rikon vegetable peeler/shredder. It's amazing. It shreds vegetables really easily and quickly. It's easy to clean and takes up hardly any space. No more purchasing pre-shredded vegetables dowsed in chemicals to prevent rot. Nope! Only fresh whole vegetables for me!

Before you start cooking, make some rice in your cooker in the background. By the time you're done with the stove, the rice will be ready. So, I took each of the vegetables and sauteed them separately. Some with the minced garlic, others with soy sauce and sesame oil. Some were just lightly sauteed in oil. I tried to keep the natural flavor of the vegetables as much as possible. I actually enjoy the taste if they're cooked properly. No mushy overcooked vegetables here please. Below is the spinach and fernbrake.

The shitake mushrooms, carrots, and zucchini.

Bean sprouts that were lightly sauteed to retain its crunch.

And now the assembly. Place a layer of rice on the bottom in an even later. I used white Jasmine rice this time. On top, I liberally spread out the gojujang (Korean ) hot pepper paste. I layered this on the rice so that it wouldn't stick to the top of my container. Otherwise, it would go on top of the vegetables.

Then in even layers, I placed in the spinach, then fernbrake, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, bean sprouts, then fresh scallions. Doesn't that look good? Lots of colors, flavors, and textures.

Lastly, I added a soft boiled egg in the middle to add a level of richness to the dish.

When it's time to eat, I heat up the food without the egg first. I wrap the egg in some plastic wrap for easy removal. Once the vegetables and rice are heated up, I place the unwrapped egg back into the container. Lastly, break the egg up and mix everything together. I like to fully mix everything until uniform. I enjoy having every ingredient in each bite.

This version of bibimbap came out much better. I used less rice and added more vegetables. I removed the beef but didn't miss it much. In fact, the flavor of the dish by itself is fantastic. I also added more gojijang sauce this time which was key. It's filling and satisfying. For a vegan version, forego the egg and gojujang (some versions contain anchovies).

Tuesday Nights: Olive Garden

2012-01-10T10:00:00.112-05:00

On the last Tuesday of 2011, we all decided to make it fun...well more fun that usual. So we decided to have an ugly sweater party at Olive Garden. We all talked smack about who would have the ugliest sweater. Some of us went with some sequined holiday sweaters with my own being a holiday vest. However, the winner of the ugliest sweater went to our dear friend who wore an entire ugly outfit from head to toe. Hippie peace loving fleece pants, ugly holiday t-shirt, psychedelic fleece jacket, and ugly headband to finish it off. She really went all out and was clearly the winner.

After we settled the contest, we turned to the food. We ordered, then chatted while eating their garlic bread sticks and salad (not pictured). The garlic bread sticks came warm which we appreciated. The garlic, however, was mainly from the powder on the outside and not from real garlic. The bread itself is unusually soft and airy. I wonder how they get it that way. The salad was typical and wasn't anything special.

Then our appetizers came out. We started with the sampler platter ($13). Among the many choices, we had the fried zucchini, stuffed mushrooms, and fried mozzarella. These were very mediocre. Nothing special about them at all. Even though they were seasoned, they didn't have much flavor.

We also ordered some fried calamari ($11) that came with parmesan peppercorn and marinara sauces. This wasn't very good. The calamari was rubbery and tasted off. It certainly wasn't fresh.

The last appetizer was the Smoked mozzarella fonduta ($11) made with its namesake cheese, provolone, parmesan, and romano. It's oven baked until melted and served with bread. Although this was all cheese, I didn't enjoy this. The dish was very oily and didn't adhere wee to the accompanying bread. I wouldn't order this again. In fact, I wouldn't order any of the appetizers again.

And then the entrees rolled out. There was the stuffed chicken marsala ($20) which was claimed to be better than thought. The serving was huge with two pieces of cheese stuffed chicken breast stacked on some cheese mashed potatoes and topped with mushroom cream sauce.

A couple of other people had the Cappelini di Mare ($22) that came with shrimp, mussels, and clams served with marinara sauce over pasta. I didn't hear much about this dish so I can't say how it was.

A few other people had the Spaghetti with Meatballs ($17). Those that ordered this finished it. I guess it was good then.

I had the Ravioli di Portabello ($16) that came with a smoked cheese and sun dried tomato sauce. The texture of the pasta was very gummy and soft. I really didn't need teeth to bite into it. The smoke cheese sauce was heavy and gelatinized quickly after it cooled. As I ate it, it settled into my stomach and a heavy brick. I definitely didn't finish it and felt really uncomfortable after.

The other dishes that were ordered was the Lasagna ($17) and the Tour of Italy which was the lasagna, chicken parmigiana, and fettuccine alfredo. The lasagna was also a gut bomb like my ravioli. The Tour of Italy was even more so. The plate was huge and each pasta could feed one person. But the dish was finished. I was impressed. I mean REALLY impressed. It was a lot of food.

We all opted out of dessert due to our fullness. But they gave us a nice glass of mini minty chocolate as we paid our bill.

As suspected, I didn't enjoy my meal at the Olive Garden. I felt that most of the food was cheese laden to cover up mistakes in cooking execution such as the mushy texture of the pasta. However, I can see why some people may like this place. They serve very big portions for reasonable prices and the flavors are very easy tolerate.

The Olive Garden
696 Avenue Of The Americas
New York, NY 10010
(212) 255-1240
olivegarden.com

Take Out: Shake Shack

2012-01-09T10:00:00.038-05:00

When we came home from our trip to Arizona, the first thing we wanted to eat was Shake Shack. We wanted to answer for ourselves which is better: Shake Shack or In N Out? With In N Out fresh on our minds, this would be the best opportunity for a comparison. So we each ordered a Double Shack burger ($7) with a Shack-cago dog ($4) and fries ($2.65) on the side.

The burger was unusually sloppily made. This is not common at all. In fact, this was the first time that this has happened to me. It's okay though. It happens. Anyway, as usual, the burger was well seasoned and quite flavorful. The beef blend was very good, the cheese was melted, and the bun was soft but held together through the whole time. The fries were okay once again. They were seasoned well this time which I enjoyed but they just didn't do it me once again. And yet I keep ordering it over and over again.

The Shack-cago dog was decent as well. The hot dog itself was tasty and well seasoned. It was more filling than I thought it would be. The combination of the beef dog with relish, onion, cucumber, pickle, tomato, sport pepper, celery salt, and mustard was interesting. I've never had a Chicago style hot dog before so I have nothing to compare it to. However, I did enjoy the tang of the pickled ingredients and the freshness of the vegetables. It certainly lightened up the feeling of the hot dog.

So, which burger was better? Flavor wise, the Shake burger won. The meat won it for them. Fattier, more seasoned, and cooked just right. However, in terms of value, In N Out wins. The Double Double burger is less than $5. In fact, it's almost half the price. So, do I think Shake Shack is two times better than In N Out? No, I don't. So take that as you will.

Shake Shack
691 8th Ave
New York, 10036
(646) 435-0135
shakeshack.com‎

My Trip to Arizona (Day 3): Jack in the Box

2012-01-08T12:00:00.041-05:00

That night after the long drive back home, we wanted to eat something before our early flight. It was pretty late and we didn't want to get dressed up. So fast food was the way to go. We decided to try Jack in the Box since it's not very accessible in the Northeast. A quick drive and we had our food back at the hotel pretty quickly.

I went with the Jumbo Jack with cheese which came with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles. It was okay which was as expected from a fast food place. The beef patty itself wasn't special nor flavorful. It was just there. The bread was soft and tasteless too. However, I do want to say that the vegetables were very fresh and enjoyable.

Mr. M&P went with the Hamburger Deluxe with cheese and the chicken sandwich. Both were the of the same quality as the Jumbo Jack: lackluster meat and bread.

For our sides, we got the curly fries which were okay. They were overfried and dry. The seasoning certainly helped though. The other side was bacon cheddar potato wedges whcih was disappointing. When they made it, the preparer just slopped the liquid cheese product in the middle. Spreading it out a bit would have helped slightly. Just slightly though.

In the end, we regretted our meal. It sat heavily in our stomachs for the rest of the night. I think maybe it would have been better to have went to bed hungry than with the gross feeling we had. Jack in the Box is just what it I thought it is: a fast food restaurant.

Jack in the Box
20385 N Hayden Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
(480) 419-4329
jackinthebox.com‎

My Trip to Arizona (Day 3): The Grand Canyon

2012-01-08T10:00:00.049-05:00

The next day, we drove to the Grand Canyon. I went years ago with my parents but I always wanted to see it again. So when Mr. M&P told me that he's never seen it, we made it a point to go. Unfortunately, it was really cold. The low of the day/night was 19oF. So we made a short stop at a store and picked up some warm clothes and accessories. We had already passed lots of snow and ice. When we got to the canyon, it was amazing. The view is astonishing and the canyon so cast that it seems almost fake. The depth perception is almost lost because it is so vast. In warmer months, you can hike down to the Colorado River which we plan to do one day when we return.

After we drove to the various view points, we looked for some food. We opted to stay in the National Park since there wasn't much right outside. Many of the places we closed for the season but we finally found the main cafeteria hall which was open. We looked around the stations and I stayed with the comfort foods line while Mr. M&P went for the burgers and hot dogs. When we met back at the table, I was surprised with his bounty. I guess he was really hungry because he had a bacon cheeseburger with onion rings and a grilled cheese sandwich with fries. Obviously he didn't finish it. The burger was unfortunately dry and needed the ketchup. The grilled cheese was pretty sad. The cheese wasn't melted and the bread was hardly toasted. It was more like white bread with cheese. The onion rings and fries were standard.

Fortunately, my meal fared better. I had the meatloaf with a side of mac n cheese and mashed potatoes. The meatloaf wasn't too bad because it wasn't brick hard. The tomato based sauce on it helped. The mac n cheese was really soft as expected since it sat on the hot table. The mashed potatoes were not too bad with some added salt. It certainly filled me up and left me full for awhile.

Although the meal overall was kind of disappointing at the Grand Canyon's cafeteria, I wonder if it's due to the off season. I was grateful to be fed before the 6 hour drive back to the hotel.

Grand Canyon National Park
2 Albright Avenue
Grand Canyon, AZ 86023
(928) 638-7888
nps.gov/grca

My Trip to Arizona (Day 2): El Rincon

2012-01-07T14:00:00.056-05:00

That night, we decided to stay around Sedona for dinner. It would have been really late if we drove back to Phoenix for dinner. Luckily, we received a very good recommendation from the bride herself about some Mexican. Not only is she a native Arizonian, she is also of Mexican decent. I had to go on her advice, right? So we headed over to El Rincon which was located in the shopping area of Telaquepaque in Sedona.

When we entered, we were quite happy to be warmed up in the restaurant. It was getting quite cold and we had packed mostly warm clothing. We sat and looked over the menu for a bit. They served us some homemade tortilla chips which were really good. Super thin and crispy, they were clearly freshly fried.

With the chips, they gave us some roasted tomato salsa. It had a nice roasted flavor and the naturaly tang of the tomato became rich and slightly sweet instead. I enjoyed this.

I splurged a bit and got a margarita. It was made of fresh prickly pear ($10). Don't worry about the color, that's the way it's naturally. Unfortunately, the real prickly pear syrup was so sweet. It was basically inedible. I voiced my concern to the waitress and she suggested that I add more limes to it. She came back with a bowl of limes wedges and I proceeded to squeeze every single on of the bowl of 6 into it. Ah, much better. Now it was sweet and sour. Totally drinkable.

While we decided on our entrees, we ordered a half serving of guacamole ($3) to share. The texture was very smooth while the color was very light. This wasn't the nice green that we were used to. Instead it was a light green. Weird. After we tasted it, we thought that it was mixed with something else. We think it was something dairy or maybe even sour cream. It was off putting so we didn't finish this small bowl.

For his entree, Mr. M&P had the combo plate that came with a beef taco (with hard shell), enchilada, and a choice of 2 sides ($15) which he choose 2 servings of rice. He liked his meal and gobbled it all down. I think his favorite was the cheese smothered enchilada. The rice comes second and lastly the beef taco (probably due to the hard shell. He's more of the soft shell kind of guy).

Instead of a combo platter, I opted for 2 dishes instead: the fish taco ($7) and the green chile relleno ($7). The fish taco was very fresh and well seasoned. The double wrapped soft corn tortillas was a nice plus. The green chile relleno was stuffed with cheese, then battered and fried. It was spicy but the cheese helped mellow it out.

Here's a look at the inside of my fish taco. Nice chunks of fish in there.

Overall, I really enjoyed the food at El Rincon though I thought it to be kind of pricey. I mean the fish taco was $7 for one taco. That seems like a lot to me. However, Mr. M&P had the better deal with his large meal at around the same price.

My Trip to Arizona (Day 2): Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

2012-01-07T12:00:00.045-05:00

After our stomachs were promptly filled, we headed north to Sedona. It took about 3 hours to there and naturally I fell asleep. Mr. M&P woke up just as we were driving into the area and started seeing beautiful red rocks shooting out from the earth. It was quite a site to be seen. We parked the car and booked a jeep tour. We left pretty much immediately since the weather was bitter cold and not many people were willing to go up the mountains in an open jeep. That didn't stop us though. We love a good tour and history lesson. Our tour guide from A Day in the West was amazing. He was funny and definitely worked with our personalities. He told us about the different rocks (one named Snoopy), the vegetation, the dangers, and the wild animals. We loved it and would definitely recommend it to anyone.

After the 2 hour tour, we were a bit tired from the cold and wind. As we walked back to the car, we looked around the small town for a bit. We stopped at this chocolate store and I looked for a gift to bring back with us.

Of course, I couldn't leave without having something for myself. Here is some dark chocolate and almond coated English toffee ($3). It was sweet and saliva inducing. I love myself some good English toffee. It hit the spot nicely. And certainly held me over until dinner.

Mr. M&P had his eyes set on the milk chocolate covered twinkie ($3).

And just as he expected, it was just chocolate and twinkie. He was satisfied.

And I picked up a nice bag of dark chocolate covered almonds for my Parsi family.

Although this chocolate store didn't provide anything out of the ordinary, it was certainly very nice and I would go back again. I enjoyed my toffee and he his chocolate twinkie. My Parsi family really enjoyed their almonds as well.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
320 N State Route 89A, Suite O
Sinaguna Plaza
Sedona, AZ 86336
(928) 282-3383
rockymountainchocolatefactory.com

A Day in the West
252 N. Hwy. 89-A
Sedona, AZ 86336
(928) 282-4320
(800) 973-3662
adayinthewest.com

My Trip to Arizona (Day 2): Pizzeria Bianco

2012-01-07T10:00:00.052-05:00

The next day, we decided to take a road trip out to Sedona and see the Red Rocks. It came highly recommended by all the natives. But before we ventured on that long drive, we wanted to fuel up and maybe see a little of Phoenix first. A quick drive around the city in the morning left us nowhere. Nothing was open and even if they were, it didn't seem very exciting. There were a couple of museums that looked good though. After a brisk walk (around the block), we went back to my original idea: lunch at Pizzeria Bianco.

This place has been on my radar for years. I've heard wonderful things about it all the way back in NYC where I'm situated. The pizza here was been touted as best in the country. The country? That's very bold statement, isn't it? I mean coming from NYC, it's almost insulting. But I'm always willing to try and make my assessment for myself. I may not agree with everyone's food opinion but I certainly trust my own.

I hear the line at Pizzeria Bianco can be ridiculous so we opted to go over lunch instead of dinner and wait outside for one of their precious tables. When we arrived at around 10:30am, there was another couple waiting. As we waited (and watched a kid terrorize a cat), more people showed up. As we waited a bit more, I looked at the menu then noticed all the plants outside. They're not just decorative plants. It was a garden. Lettuces, herbs, limes, and many other delicious foods were planted right outside. I loved their dedication to freshness.

When the restaurant opened at 11am, there were about 5 couple ready to be seated. We were quickly escorted to our two top table and we looked over the menu. It was easy to decided what we wanted since the menu is short and sweet. I prefer that most of the time. Anyway, Mr. M&P and I each picked a pie to share. He went with the Wiseguy ($16) with tomato sauce ($1) which came with wood roasted onions, house smoked mozzarella, and fennel sausage. This pie was pretty amazing. The crust was super crunchy (will discuss more later) and the toppings were fresh and of high quality. This pizza was definitely hearty and filled us up nicely. The sausage was spiced nicely which went well with the subtlely smoke cheese and the caramelized onions gave everything a sweetness on top of the tangy sauce.

I picked the Bianco Verde ($16) with La Quercia Prosciutto ($6). I loved this pie. The 3 cheeses (fresh mozzarella, parmesiano reggiano, and ricotta was really good. Savory, melted cheese on a crunchy crust topped with fresh peppery arugula and salty ham. Everything just worked really well together. Although this pie has more cheese than the first, it seemed lighter and more fit for a brunch type meal.

And here's the obligatory upskirt with slight charring on the bottom. So crunchy and thin. It's the way pizza is supposed to be. Even with the toppings, it held up nicely and never sagged nor became soggy.

And here's a side view of the crust. Nice and thin. Not too thin like cracker crusts. I still enjoy a heft to my pizza. The crust should never be an after though.

Pizzeria Bianco was really good. I went in with certain expectations and every single one of them were met. The food was fantastic, the service was friendly and attentive, and the space open but small. It all worked. To put it in perspective, I would say this pizza ranks in the top 3 of my all time favorites. Yeah, it was that good. But please keep in mind that I don't really eat pizza outside of the Tri State area. My list can and may change with some more traveling under my belt.

Pizzeria Bianco
623 East Adams Street
Phoenix, AZ 85004-2334
(480) 588-1930
pizzeriabianco.com

My Trip to Arizona (Day 1): The Wedding

2012-01-06T12:00:00.063-05:00

After our burger conquest, we went back to the hotel to rest up. The big wedding was later that day. The ceremony was outside on the Troon North golf course with the backdrop of beautiful mountains. After the ceremony, a mariachi band led us to the cocktail area and reception tables. We enjoyed a few drinks before we took our seats. A bottle of wine was offered as a gift to all the guests.

To start the meal, there was a small warm roll that went nicely with creamy butter.

And a nice refreshing salad with raspberries was offered to whet our appetites for the entrees.

However, before that, we were given a palate cleanser of citrus sorbet, raspberries, and mint.

And then the entrees came out. I had the chicken piccata. The pounded and seared chicken chicken breast was served in a lemon caper sauce with garlic whipped potatoes and buttered asparagus. The serving was huge but that didn't hinder the quality of the dish. The chicken was juicy and delicious. The sauce was light and paired well with the heavier potatoes.

Mr. M&P had the filet mignon which was served with a cabernet reduction, smoked gouda potatoes, and buttered asparagus. The steak was tender but a little overcooked to our desire. However, the sauce was very good. A perfect pairing: red wine and beef.

The vegetarian option was absolutely beautiful. This vegetable wellington was filled with several different sauteed vegetables served with puff pastry. The sauce looked tomato based.

The desserts were served buffet style. There were all types but I had my eye on the chocolate cake...

And the churro!

Overall, we had a really lovely time. The venue was very picturesque and the food lovely. Congrats to our friends and their new life together!

Troon North Golf Club
10320 E. Dynamite Blvd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85262
(480)585-5300
troonnorthgolf.com‎

My Trip to Arizona (Day 1): In n Out

2012-01-06T10:00:00.038-05:00

A few months ago, one of my good friends from college got engaged and planned to be married in Arizona. So Mr M&P and I booked a trip out there to celebrate their wonderful marriage and tack on a mini vacation as well.

When we booked our flight, it left NYC very early in the morning and arrive in Phoenix, AZ just before noon (PST). However, it was well into the afternoon in EST. So we were starving. We picked the easiest and fastest food we could find: In N Out.

We got there right before the lunch rush so there was no line and no waiting. We each got a double double burger with a side of fries and a drink. This whole meal cost about $15 along with a drink and a milkshake.

The food came out fast and hot. The burger was flavorful and delicious. The meat to cheese to bun ratio was very nice. It's definitely a very good affordable fast food burger. The fries, on the other hand, were not as good. They could use a little more browning. I think you can order them well done using their secret menu but I'm unsure. Anyway, In N Out definitely satisfied our voracious hunger.

In N Out Burger
7467 E Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd
Scottsdale, AZ 85257
Promenade Shopping Center‎
(800) 786-1000
in-n-out.com‎

Socarrat

2012-01-05T10:00:00.068-05:00

On one cold night, a few of us (Mr. Matzo Ball, Miss Poutine Esq, Mr. M&P, and myself) decided to get some dinner together. We wanted to have a real dinner as opposed to a bar meal like a regular Tuesday night. So off we went to Socarrat for some Spanish food. I've heard good things about it and Mr. Matzo Ball recommended it since he's been before.

To start off, we ordered a few tapas to share while our paella cooked. They recommend ordering the paella ahead of time since it takes a while to cook properly. The first tapa that we enjoyed was the grilled squid ($10). This was really good and perfect as the first dish. It was light and refreshing. The lightly grilled squid wasn't chewy at all. It was seasoned with garlic, parsley, and lemon juice. It reminded me of ceviche. I would definitely order this again.

Our next dish was the garlic shrimp ($10) which was fantastic as well. Super garlicky and sizzling as it came to the table, the shrimp were plump and juicy. This dish was perfectly garlicky including the remaining oil. We used our bread to dip in its garlic glory.

Another light dish that we ordered was the pan seared scallops ($10) with maitake mushrooms and butter vinaigrette. This was very good as well. The scallops were cooked nicely keeping them plump and soft. The mushrooms added a nice earthy depth to the dish and the butter sauce added a layer of richness. This dish was kind of small but it certainly was delicious.

For our last tapa, we had the fried artichoke ($9) which were fantastic. The squeeze of lemon added a nice freshness to the dish. The artichokes were crispy and light. They tasted great.

The timing of the tapas and the paella was perfect. As the last plates of the appetizers were moved away, our large pan of the Socarrat paella ($44) arrived piping hot. The crispy rice was topped with copious amounts of chicken, beef, squid, shrimp, cuttle fish, mussels, clams, and green beans. Everything was delicious and cooked well. None of the seafood was overcooked and the meat was tender. The rice was nicely seasoned and tasted lovely of saffron. As we made our way down to the bottom of the pan, the waiter came by and scraped up the crispy socarrat rice bottom for all of us to enjoy. I really love the crispy rice bottom. It's all about texture for me and crunchy always wins me over.

Socarrat was fantastic. I would definitely go back again. Once you step into the place, you can smell the fantastic foods cooking. Service was attentive and very friendly. The sangria was tasty and well made. The food, most of all, made us very happy.

Socarrat
284 Mulberry St # B
New York, NY 10012-3344
(212) 219-0101
socarratpaellabar.com‎

Lunch Week 1: Ham Sandwiches

2012-01-04T10:00:00.027-05:00

I'm starting out the year really simple with some ham sandwiches. The ham was leftovers from a New Year's party. A real ham, in fact. A smoked ham purchased from the butcher. Not the water and preservatives injected hams you find in the regular supermarket. Nope. This ham is much more flavorful and is smokey deliciousness. Slightly glazed with a honey mustard shallot wine sauce.

With the sliced of ham, I stacked spring mix, tomatoes, and chives. Mayo on one side and mustard on the other side of the whole wheat bread. Delicious, indeed!

Tuesday Nights: The Bailey

2012-01-03T10:00:00.066-05:00

Trying out a new place near Wall Street, we headed to the Bailey Pub and Brasserie. Usually filled with suits and afterwork crowds, the Bailey's bar area was quite busy. We opted for a table instead.

Looking over the menu, we didn't want to order dinner entrees for each person. So instead, we ordered several appetizers to share. First up, a bowl of fries ($7) and onion rings ($6). We need our fried potatoes and onions. They were crispy and done well.

We also ordered the artisanal cheese board ($15). When the board arrived, they didn't explain the cheeses to us. One was definitely blue but I wasn't sure about the other ones. The cheese came with some sliced apple, nuts, chutney, walnut raisin bread, and grapes.

To balance out the cheese, we also had the charcuterie board ($15) which came with salami, prosciutto, and one other meat. The meat was accompanied with crusty bread, chutney, olives, and pickled vegetables.

For a little variety, we ordered the appetizer platter ($40) from the bar menu. It included chicken fingers, beef skewers, kobe pigs in a blanket, empanadas, and bruschetta. I thought that this dish was a waste. The chicken fingers were forgettable, the beef skewers were dry and stringy, the kobe pigs tasted like regular pigs in a blanket, the empanadas were soft, and the bruschetta was simple. With all these factors, the price of this platter seemed high.

The platter came with some sauces: honey dijon, chimichurri, and marie rose sauce. These weren't very impressive and continues eating my meal without touching these again.

For some substance, we ordered some sliders ($2.50 each). These mini cheeseburgers on brioche buns were okay. They definitely were the best things of the night. They weren't particularly juicy or flavorful. They weren't dry either but they certainly needed ketchup.

Overall, I thought the Bailey was mediocre. Unimpressive food. I don't think I would go back.

The Bailey
52 Williams St.
New York, NY 10005
(212) 859-2200
thebaileynyc.com‎

Almond

2012-01-02T10:00:00.051-05:00

A while ago, Fritos & Foie Gras (F&F), the Feisty Foodie (FF), and I went out to celebrate escargot and champagne. I haven't had a lot of escargot in my lifetime and wanted a couple of pros to lead me in. So we went to Almond which the Feisty Foodie has enjoyed before.

We met on a cool night and were quickly sat at a table in the back. We ordered a rose champagne which was poured quickly into our glassed. The flavor was sweeter than normal. A little too sweet for me but still drinkable.

And then the food came out. F&F and I shared a plate of the escargot ($11.50) to start while the FF received her own plate as her entree.

Each snail was plump and juicy. The garlic laden piece of meat was nicely coated with bread crumbs. A squeeze of lemon really brightened it up. This was delicious and I would order it again.

For my entree, I ordered the Warm Duck Confit Salad ($12.75) which came with frisee, acorn squash, duck confit, and a poached egg. The runny yolk of the egg ran nicely over the fresh greens while the duck was fatty and tender. Overall, it was okay for me.

For her entree, F&F had the warm octopus and purple potatoes salad ($12.25). She thought this was just okay as well. It satisfied her but it certainly didn't amaze her.

Overall we thought Almond was just fine. The food was okay and satisfied us just fine. Nothing amazing but not bad either. We would go back. FF did say there is some delicious duck prosciutto to be had there.

Almond
12 East 22nd Street
New York, NY 10010-6111
(212) 228-7557
almondnyc.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012-01-01T10:00:00.006-05:00

Taking a well deserved break from blogging and wishing everyone a very happy and healthy new year!

Reflections of 2011

2011-12-31T10:00:00.081-05:00

It's been one crazy year. So many great meals had locally and while traveling. I have to say that it's been grand and thanks to everyone that shared these moments with me. Instead of the regular best of list. I just wanted to list out the things that stood out the most. They may or may not be the best. But they certainly are the things that touched me the most.

I have to start with my best memory from this year: my wedding. Lots of great food and drinks spent with friends and family most dear to me.

This year has also been a beginning of many challenges in cooking. I'm really trying to push myself to higher goals. The first meal that was really challenging was the Chinese feast for my family.

The second challenge were soup dumplings. Though I'm still working on the recipe, my first try was pretty successful.

And more recently, I really impressed myself with my Feast of the Seven Fishes Christmas Eve meal. Seven different seafood dish. Some raw, some slightly cooked, and some fully cooked. A meal that progressed well and looked gorgeous! The flavors were more that what I expected.

As for restaurant meals, there were so many to look back on. I went to really high end places and hole in the wall. It's the ones that surprise me and keep me wanting more that I reflect back on. First up, Danny Brown in Queens. Lovely neighborhood place offering up high end dishes. Casual atmosphere that's sophisticated and clean. This place really impressed me.

The second restaurant that impressed me was Resto and their large format meal. Usually, large format means one large animal that roasted and placed on the table for enjoying. Instead, they went the extra step and made composed dishes of the pig that we chose. Every dish was fantastic. I don't do repeated large format meals. But for Resto, I would.

And lastly, one of the best or even the best restaurant meal I had in 2011 was L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. The food not only looked amazing but the flavors were amazing. Inventive, creative, beautiful, and delicious. You have to go to experience it yourself. Oh and sit at the bar. You'll enjoy looking into the kitchen.

And I'd like to end my reflections of 2011 post with a few vivid food memories from my travels. First up, Lama Island in Hong Kong. Some of the freshest seafood ever. Straight from the market and onto the plate. Amazing food, amazing views, wonderful experience.

On that same trip, I went to India and experienced some amazing foods. Lots of new flavors and cooking styles. We went out a lot and also enjoyed some food at home. My favorite had to be the crab curry at my uncle's home. I was one of the first ones sitting and the last one standing. I just loved it.

My third vivid memory involves my relaxing vacation in Atlanta, Georgia. Though I didn't go out much and spent most of my days at the pool, I was fed well. Very well. I can still taste the mushroom brandy sauce on that steak. Oh man, that sauce. Having a chef in the family is a good thing. A very good thing indeed.

And lastly, on my most recent trip to Germany, I couldn't forget about that schweinaxe (roasted pork knuckle) at Eisgrub Brau in Mainz. The crispy skin and tender meat paired very well with the pints of beer we ordered. It was gluttony at its finest hour.

What a wonderful year of traveling, eating, and new experiences. I hope the next year will be just as great or even better!

Have a very happy and healthy new year! Cheers!

Baking: Apple Coffee Cake

2011-12-30T10:00:00.055-05:00

Sometimes what I bake is dictated by what I have in the kitchen that needs to be used before it spoils. This time the extra ingredient was sour cream. I was tired to thinking of Mexican food when it comes to extra sour cream. Instead of nachos or quesadillas, I opted to bake. I've heard that sour cream makes very moist cakes. So lucky for me, I was looking through a recent issue of Food & Wine magazine and came across a coffee cake recipe. What was even more intriguing was that it also including apples.

The first step is to make the streusel topping with flour, salt, brown sugar, and butter. Using a food processor makes this step easier. Toss in the cubes of cold butter with the fry ingredients. Pulse until it resembles coarse meal. Remove and set aside.

Next, I needed to measure out my other ingredients, including some diced granny smith apple.

And that sour cream.

And here are some beaten eggs.

In a stand up mixer, combines the dry ingredients with the butter until mixed. Again, it should resemble coarse meal.

Then add the eggs and sour cream to incorporate evenly.

Lastly, add the apples and mix.

Scoop the batter into individual muffin tins lined with paper. Then top with the prepped streusel.

Here's a closer look at an individual prepped crumb cake with streusal topping. Then into a preheated oven at 350oF for about 30 minutes.

The cake should have risen and the streusal topping melted. The smell should sweet and spicy. Insides, the cake is super moist from the sour cream and the apples add not only nice texture but also a slight tart. It's a nice balance with the sweet topping.

I really enjoyed this recipe and wouldn't hesitate to make it again. It was easy and tasted good.

My recipe was adapted to Food & Wine Magazine's:

Apple Crumb Coffee Cakes
Contributed by Spike Gjerde

* ACTIVE: 20 MIN
* TOTAL TIME: 1 HR
* SERVINGS: Makes 18 muffins

Streusel
1. 1 cup all-purpose flour
2. 1/2 cup light brown sugar
3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Crumb Cake
1. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1 cup granulated sugar
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
5. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
7. 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8. 3/4 cup sour cream
9. 1 large egg, beaten
10. 1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely diced

1. MAKE THE STREUSEL Preheat the oven to 350°. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the flour with the brown sugar and salt. Add the butter pieces and mix at medium-low speed until the mixture resembles coarse meal; continue mixing the streusel until very small clumps form. Transfer the streusel to a large plate and refrigerate until it is well chilled, about 10 minutes.
2. MAKE THE CRUMB CAKES Line 18 standard-size muffin cups with paper liners. Spray the liners with vegetable oil cooking spray. In the mixer bowl, combine the flour with the granulated sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the butter pieces and beat at low speed until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the sour cream and beaten egg and beat until the batter is smooth. Add the diced apple and beat just until incorporated.
3. Fill the muffin cups halfway with the crumb cake batter. Press the streusel into clumps and sprinkle on top. Bake the crumb cakes in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes, until risen, golden and springy to the touch; rotate the pans halfway through baking. Let the crumb cakes cool slightly before serving.

Make Ahead The crumb cakes can be made 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container. Rewarm before serving.

Baking: Smores Bars

2011-12-29T10:00:00.065-05:00

This holiday season, I've been trying to bake a bit more. I'm definitely trying to move out of my comfort zone and attempt new recipes. I've been making a lot of cookies and cakes recently but there are so many other delicious baked goods out there. So when I saw a recipe for Smores Bars recently, I was immediately hooked. These graham cracker, brownie, and marshmallow desserts would please almost anyone.

The first thing that I needed to do is wrap a pan with foil. This helps remove the bars from the pan later.

And now the crust. Take some graham crackers and pulse it in a food processor until it forms fine crumbs.

Like so.

Then add melted butter to make a nice rich crust that will form when pressed.

Take the crumbs and press them into the pan in an even layer. I like to use the bottom of a measuring cup to help even things out.

And then the brownies. I melted some chocolate and butter over a double boiler until smooth.

To the melted chocolate, I added the rest of the ingredients and mixed them in well.

Then I poured the brownie batter on top of the graham cracker crumbs. Now into the preheated 350oF oven for about 30 minutes. The brownie layer should be soft and moist while the graham cracker layer should be buttery and crumbly.

And now the last step: the marshmallows. I used 1 bag of small/mini marshmallows.

I added the fluffed sugary puffs on top of the brownies in a single layer. Then into the oven under the broiler. But don't walk away! They'll brown up in seconds.

Remove from the oven when use marshmallow has charred just slightly.

Let the whole pan cool down to room temperature. Then lift the baked good out of the pan using the foil. Slice into individual bars and serve!

I really enjoyed the flavor combination of this smores bar recipe. The crunch and butteryness of the graham crackers. The brownies are soft and chocolatey while the marshmallows are soft, sticky, and sweet. The only change I would make is to the brownie layer. I would like more chocolate brownie to marshmallow and graham cracker. I think the balance of the flavors would work better that way.

My recipe is adapted from this Serious Eats recipe:

S'mores Brownie Bars
Notes: Marshmallows can be very sticky. For the neatest bars, use a clean, sharp knife to cut the bars, rinsing and wiping the knife thoroughly between cuts.

Ingredients:
* 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (made from 10 rectangular crackers)
* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
* Salt
* 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
* 2 large eggs, at room temperature
* 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
* 3 cups mini-marshmallows

Procedures:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Cut two 16-inch pieces of foil and line an 8-inch square baking pan, allowing excess to hang over sides. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Break graham crackers into small pieces and pulse in food processor until they become fine crumbs. Melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add melted butter, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to crumbs and pulse to combine. Press into bottom of prepared pan.
3. Melt chocolate and remaining 8 tablespoons butter in medium bowl in microwave, 1 to 2 minutes, stopping every 20 seconds to stir with rubber spatula. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
4. With a wooden spoon, mix in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, espresso powder, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add the flour and baking powder and mix until smooth.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not over-bake. Transfer to cooling rack and top with marshmallows.
6. Adjust oven rack to upper third position and heat broiler. Broil until marshmallows are golden brown, 1 to 3 minutes. Cool in pan 1 hour. Using foil sling, transfer directly to wire rack and let cool completely, at least 1 hour. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.

Christmas Dinner 2012

2011-12-28T10:00:00.045-05:00

In recent years, I have spent my Christmas nights in NJ for a party. It's usually about 40-50 people all friends from another time. The menu is always Indian and the desserts sweet.

We start off the night with some drinks and light appetizers. Here are some mini samosas stuffed with beef. The wrapper was crisp and thin while the meat inside was tender and spiced.

I'm not sure what this little pattie was but it wasn't impressive.

The same goes for this pattie. I couldn't taste the different between the two.

The chicken lollipops were better. Tender, juicy, and flavorful.

Some green chutney and a brown sauce was available for more flavor.

For dinner, we had a buffet of both vegetarian and meat dishes. I took a sampling of each one. There was okra, hakka noodles, fried shrimp, biryani, white rice, fried ~~korma~~ paneer, naan, and more chicken.

And for dessert, there were trays and trays of sweets. Somehow it turned out to be a competition. One that I didn't know about until I finished making the cake. Hmm...

There were lots of cookies to enjoy.

And bakhlava with the tradition pistachios and honey in flaky phyllo dough.

An apple streudel was a welcomed fruit based dessert.

And a prune pie that place second in the contest. Shenanigans!

Some more cookies. These are nut based.

Ms. Pastry Chef outdone herself with this cheesecake. Dense and decadent, this cheesecake is truly a NY cheesecake.

She also made a praline cake which was almonds bonanza! But she kept it light and fluffy. I think this should have won the competition, hands down.

However, the winner instead were oreo truffles! Shenanigans! Don't get me wrong, I like oreo truffles as well. But when you just smash up a premade dessert to make another dessert, does that even count? Shenanigans!

A carrot cake for those looking for something "healthier".

A random cake from Wegman's supermarket. Not in the competition.

A tray of cookies, some gingerbread, some sugar.

And my entry which was a triple chocolate cake with white chocolate cream cheese filling, milk chocolate cake, and dark chocolate ganache. Those balls on top are chocolate covered cereal puffs.

A bowl of tiramisu for those who like boozing it up with some coffee.

And even more cookies!

There was also some egg nog but it was finished before the dessert competition started. Oops! We love our liquor.

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Eve Dinner 2012: Feast of the Seven Fishes

2011-12-27T10:00:00.207-05:00

Every Christmas Eve, I make an elaborate dinner for Mr. M&P and myself. It's usually extravagant. In the past I've done wagyu beef and a makeup Thanksgiving meal. This year, I wanted to do the Feast of Seven Fishes. This Roman Catholic Italian tradition celebrates abstinence in the form of refraining from eating meat. This holiday is normally celebrated in Southern Italy and is very popular amongst Italian Americans.

I wanted the meal to be fancy and almost restaurant quality. So I planned quite the menu. Phasing was pretty important since 7 dishes is a lot of food. I started the meal off like with scallop crudo. The raw scallops were soft, buttery, and delicious. So fresh and tasting of the sea. Not fishy at all.

I bought 4 jumbo scallops, cleaned them, made sure the tough muscle was removed, and patted them dry.

I stored them in the refrigerator until ready to use. When still slightly cold, I sliced them thinly using my sharpest knife.

Then I seasoned it with a little canola oil, chili oil, sesame oil, and topped it with chives. It was delicious! I added very little sauce so that the sauces wouldn't overpower the delicate natural flavors of the scallops.

The next appetizer was also raw. It was raw salmon roe lightly sauced with light soy sauce, mirin, and chives.

The caviar was already prepped which I had purchased straight from the seafood store. It smelled fresh and clean.

The briny little balls of fish eggs popped in my mouth as I bit into it. So good! It released its juices which were salty and creamy. The soy sauce added another layer of saltiness while the mirin balanced it out lightly with its sweetness. The chives were added for freshness and color.

The last appetizer was just slightly cooked. It was tuna 2 ways. Normally, I wouldn't have chosen to serve this much tuna but I bought a large piece of bigeye tuna. It was really fresh but if I waited another day, it wouldn't have been of the same quality. The tuna was served as a ceviche tartare and seared tuna.

I bought a slice of tuna off from the loin. It was odd shaped. So I sliced to the proportions that I needed. First, I cut 2 pieces off in the shape of rectangular loins. I used the rest of the tuna in the tartare. I chopped it up finely and seasoned it with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, and chives.

The tuna loins where patted dry and seared on an extremely hot pan for 10 seconds on each side. Then I tolled the sides on black sesames. Then I sliced it thinly to show the beautiful raw insides and lightly cooked sides contrasting with the black seeds. The tuna needed a little more salt seasoning but otherwise it was delicious. Tender, sweet, and naturally briny. This plate was a little big. The one plate should have served the both of us. Otherwise, it was beautiful. I liked how each tuna tasted very different. The first was more light and refreshing while the second was just slightly heavier but still fresh.

For the middle primi dishes, I offered fried oysters.

I bought a half dozen fresh oysters. I kept them unshucked and cold in the fridge until ready to use. I cleaned them thoroughly under cold clean water.

To shuck them, I bought an oyster knife. You can try to use a butter knife but it can be tricky. For protection, I put on an oven mitt and wrapped oyster in a thick kitchen towel. I left the back of the oyster exposed because that's where you have to shove the oyster knife. Very carefully, place the tip of the oyster knife into that small hinge. Slowly try to pry the hinge open. Work slowly and carefully or you might end up stabbing yourself. Eventually, you'll be able to shove the entire knife into the shell. Then round the knife around the entire opening of the oyster to separate the meat from the shell. Open it up and save the juice. Scrape the meat off of the shell and into a bowl.

You should be careful to keep the oyster meat whole with their plump bellies. To fry them, I heated up some canola oil. As that warmed up, I tossed the oysters in corn starch. Make sure to shake off the excess.

As the oysters fried, I cleaned the shells so that I could use them as serving pieces. I used the round piece of the oyster shell. The other side is very flat. Once the oysters come out of the oil which is pretty quick, season immediately. I used truffle salt as another layer of umami.

I placed a few pieces of arugula onto the shells then placed the fried oysters on top. Lastly, I added a small squeeze of srirarcha on top for spice, tang, and flavor. The result is something delicious. The oyster is briny and juicy while the crust is crunchy. The arugula added freshness and texture while the hot chili sauce brightened it up.

The next primi was kind of like a refresher between the seafood dishes. It was a caesar salad. It came at the perfect time to break up all the delicious seafood.

For the seafood element, I made the dressing from scratch using anchovies, egg yolk, garlic, parmesiano cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. I whipped it until the dressing emulsified into a thick creamy sauce. I dressed the romaine lettuce at the last minute so the leaves wouldn't wilt.

And to add a bit more decadence, I made my own croutons using diced white bread tossed in garlic oil, dried oregano, and salt. I toasted it on the stove until golden brown. Toss occasionally for even cooking.

And now the main dishes. First the stuffed calamari served with a side of arugula. The sauce was a white wine tomato.

First, I bought 3 squid bodies. I chopped up the third for the stuffing. I left the 2 biggest ones to be stuffed. I made sure to rinse them off inside and out.

For the stuffing, I hand mixed hot Italian sausage, the chopped squid, plenty of bread crumbs, an egg, salt, pepper, and parsley.

Then I carefully stuffed the squid to make sure they didn't break. Be careful not to over stuff them or they could possibly pop when cooking. Seal the end of the squid with a toothpick that's skewered through.

Start the cooking by searing the squid in some oil. Then deglaze the pan with some white wine. Use whatever you would drink. When the alcohol has cooked off. Add a small can of tomato sauce. I like to use whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes. I squeeze them myself to break them apart. Once the sauce comes to a boil, lower the temperature and cover for about 10 minutes.

When the squid is ready to serve, place the squid on the plate, remove the toothpick, and ladle the sauce on top. Serve the dish with a small side of arugula for freshness and contrast. The squid was cooked nicely. It wasn't rubbery at all. Inside, the stuffing was soft (adding more bread crumbs helps with this texture), and very flavorful. The Italian sausage itself was pretty flavorful by itself.

And lastly, the sea urchin (uni) pasta.

Although prepped sea urchin is readily available in Japanese supermarkets, I wanted to challenge myself and work with whole sea urchins. These spiky little sea animals may seem scary but they're actually really easy to work with.

These spiny creatures were still alive when I purchased them. But the spines have been slightly trimmed already. To protect myself, I slipped an oven mitt on in one hand to hold onto the body while the other hand held kitchen shears.

Using the sharp shears, I shoved it into the middle of the underside of the urchin. Start cutting out to the side which wasn't very difficult to cut. In fact, it was crunchy and not hard. From that first cut, I opened up the urchin in circular motion.

Inside, you should find the orange blobs. These are the gonads. This is the edible part. Everything else is inedible.

To scoop the soft roe out, I used a spoon and carefully removed it from the wall of the urchin. Then I rinsed them in salt water 3 times to make sure all of the black stuff is removed. I basically cleaned it in cold water until it rinsed clear.

I bought 3 whole urchins and each produced about 4-5 orange gonads. It's a lot of work for so little produce. But it's totally worth. Obviously, it's easier to buy the prepped sea urchin from the market.

To cook the pasta, I melted some butter in a pan. To that, I added all but 2 pieces of the roe into the pan. I broke up the pieces to melt into the sauce. Then I added about 1/4 cup of cream to thicken and enrich the sauce some more. Then I let it cook and thicken slow. On the side, I cooked some thin spaghetti until cooked just under al dente.

When the pasta was ready, I tossed it directly into the pan with the sauce until it finishes cooking. The sauce coats every bit of the pasta. I added some fresh chives at the end. If you want a smooth sauce, run it through a sieve before adding the pasta. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, I placed the pasta in the middle of plate and placed a fresh piece of sea urchin on top. It was super rich and creamy. This was decadence. I think the sauce would have been better if it were smoother but the taste was spot on. This dish was pretty heavy to end with but it was worth it. I would absolutely make it again.

This was one great meal. Seafood everything. Some light, some heavy. All delicious.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

All this seafood and more may be found at:

The Lobster Place
75 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10011
(212) 255-5672
lobsterplace.com

Cooking: Frittata

2011-12-26T10:00:00.044-05:00

If I could eat one ingredient every day for the rest of my life, it would probably be the egg. It's so versatile and can assume so many different flavors and textures. I haven't found an egg dish that I didn't like though I've never tried balut. In any case, a simple brunch dish that I make at home quite often is frittata. It's pretty easy to make and you can use whatever you may have lying around.

In my case, I had a bunch of leftover pizza toppings left. Some garlic, onions, mushrooms...

And breakfast sausage..

As well as slice soppresatta...

And grated cheese...

But don't forget about the homemade ricotta!

First, I cooked the vegetables in some olive oil using a non-stick pan. These types of pans are essential for egg cooking. Sure you'll get mad props for using a regular stainless steel pan but it's much easier to use a non-stick. Just saying.

While the vegetables cook, I prepped the eggs. Here, I have 6 eggs whipped.

To that, I seasoned it and added the ricotta cheese. This will make it really creamy.

Cook's tip: Always salt your eggs. Either before or after. Though some chefs believe that salting eggs before they're cooking results in the breakdown of the proteins.

Then I added the sausage and sliced soppresatta to the pan. Heat through.

Lastly, I added the eggs all around the meats and vegetables. I cooked it on the top at medium temperature until the bottom set and the edges of the egg pulled away from the sides.

Then the grated cheese gets added on top and shove into a pre-warmed oven to finish the cooking. The oven helps cook the eggs evenly while the stovetop will continue cooking bottoms up. Also, most non-stick pans now are oven safe up to a certain temperature. Please check with your manufacturer for details.

When the eggs is fully cooked through (no longer jiggles), it's ready. I added some cilantro on top as a final touch for freshness.

Let the eggs cool slightly to set, then slice and serve. I like to enjoy the fritatta with a simple side salad but choose whatever you like. I think the freshness of the salad pairs well with the heavier egg dish.

Lots of textures and flavors going on in this fritatta. The ricotta made the eggs buttery soft and creamy while the meats made it hearty and savory. The vegetables added nice texture and balanced out the other ingredients nicely.

Cooking: Pizza

2011-12-25T10:00:00.094-05:00

One of my favorite things to make at home is pizza now that I have a stone. I'm still trying to work on that dough recipe. The best so far has been the one I brought home from the Le Pain Quotidien bread baking class. Since then, I've tried several other recipes but theirs was the best. I still have the notes from the class but the ingredients are weighed and not measured by volume. Since I don't have a kitchen scale (yet), retrying the recipe has been quite difficult. Anyway, you're not hear to read about my bread dough woes. On to delicious pizza!

When making pizza, I find it really important to have all your toppings grated, sliced, and prepared. This is especially true with your cheese. Here I have parmesiano, mozzarella, and homemade ricotta.

As for the other ingredients, I used sliced sweet sopprasotta, cooked breakfast sausages, sliced baby bella mushrooms, and sliced onions.

And lastly, I have some chopped garlic and marinara sauce.

For the dough, I used the simple recipe in Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day (recipe below). I haven't been able to fully delve into this book but I plan to do so in 2012. It will most likely be my next baking projects. Cakes had its run for the last 2 years.

Once the dough was ready and proofed, I stretched it out using the knuckles on my hand. I tried to stretch it as thinly as possible. I really enjoy thin crusts, even cracker like ones.

To that, I added a nice layer of sauce. Some people prefer more, some less. Add what you please.

And now the toppings. This was an everything pizza. So the meats, shrooms, and onions were liberally spread out.

Then mounds of cheese on top of that. Not too much or it will weigh down your curst.

Into the hot oven set at its highest temperature and onto the pizza stone. I use parchment paper here because I don't have a pizza peel yet. So in order for me to slide the pizza in and out of the oven without burning myself, I use the parchment which I learned in my bread making class. The paper will burn but that doesn't effect the pizza at all.

Anyway, once the cheese is melted and the crust browns on the edges, it's time to take it out. Be careful, it's really hot. Do not attempt to eat this right away. You should let the toppings set and the dough cool off. You will burn yourself if you do not wait. You have been warned.

The next pie I decided to make is a white pie. I really enjoy cheese so an all cheese pie is always good in my eyes. Instead of red sauce, I used a nice smear of ricotta cheese on the bottom.

To that, I added the chopped garlic, and lots of grated cheese. Lastly, I added a nice handful of ground black pepper so contrast.

I baked that in the oven too and out it came when the cheese melted and browned. It took about 10 minutes to cook.

So how did it turn out? Not bad. Not bad at all. The toppings were really tasty and I held back from over stuffing it this time which helped big time. The cheese melted nicely and bound everything together. The sauce was tangy and sweet which paired well with the savory toppings.

Here's a side view of the crust. Soft and slightly thick. I would have preferred a thinner, more crunchy crust. However, I need to work on my pizza dough stretching skills.

As for the upskirt: nicely charred though not nearly crunchy enough. I wonder if the paper has anything to do with it.

The white pizza was very good. I really enjoyed the 3 cheeses and the black pepper. The chopped garlic was awesome! It added another depth of flavor which was amazing.

And here's the upskirt on the white pizza. I kept the pie in for a bit longer to create a better char. It worked but still not to the level I would prefer. Oh well, just need to try and try again.

I'm getting slightly better and better with each and every try. Now that I just purchased a pizza peel, I wonder if this will effect the crust at all. And I need to try to make thinner crusts. Until next time!

My pizza dough recipe was adapted using a recipe from:

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Soe Francois

Olive Oil Dough
*Makes four 1-pound loaves

2 3/4 cups warm water
1 1/2 tbsp yeast (2 packets)
1 1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1. Mix yeast, salt, sugar, olive oil, and water in large bwol.
2. Mix in flour without kneading.
3. Cover loosely and allow to rest in warm spot for about 2 hours.
4. Let rise at least once. You may use it after the first rise or keep it refrigerated for at most 12 days.

The Brooklyn Star

2011-12-24T10:00:00.051-05:00

I'm really backlogged with posts. I need to cut out the useless one picture posts and go all out with the longer, and more interesting ones...well until I run out of posts again. Anyway, for the Feisty Foodie's birthday a while ago, we went to the Brooklyn Star in Brooklyn to celebrate with some fried chicken. KC and BeerBoor were also present to dine in the festivities.

Photo courtesy of FeistyFoodie.com

On Sundays and Mondays, the Brooklyn Star offers their Fried Chicken Dinner ($20/person; 3 person minimum). It comes with 2 pieces of chicken per person and 3 sides. You can add more sides on if you like for extra money. And as wide eyed as we were, we ordered all 5 sides.

We started with the corn bread. It was soft, sweet and moist. A good corn bread. I really enjoyed the bacon and jalapeno flavors. It gave it some depth. And I believe that's honey butter on the side.

Next the cheese grits. This is the only corn product that I dislike. I have had grits all over the place and haven't found one that I would go back for. Sure, there were some that were nice but too many were just bleh to me. Even the cheese didn't convince me to try more.

The mac n cheese came with bacon and was very cheesy. Thick gooey cheese and cooked pasta. What's better?

To balance out the meal a bit, we also had the cole slaw platter. The slaw was lightly dressed and delicious playing with vinegar flavors. There was also a side of buttermilk dressing, pickled vegetables, and spicy chow chow. The chow chow was spicy, pickled cabbage (kimchee?) and was pretty delicious. I ate it along with the other items in this platter to help cut the fat and richness of the other dishes.

The collard greens were okay. I've never had really good collards. Maybe, like the grits, it's just lost on me. Maybe it's something I just can't appreciate because of my tastes. Though, I think the rest of my group enjoyed this very much.

The mashed potatoes and gravy weren't anything special. Sure they were smooth and creamy and the gravy was tasty. But it's mashed potatoes and gravy.

But the piece de resistance was the fried chicken. Beautifully fried brown and crispy. The skin rendered of its fat and crunchy. The meat was juicy, succulent and very flavorful. It was fantastic.

At the end of the night, I took some tums because I had eaten too much. I really liked the chicken here and definitely go back for some more. Or the rib dinner. The sides were hit and miss for me. Not because some were bad. Not at all. It's because I just prefer one thing to the other. Solid food. Good service.

The Brooklyn Star
593 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 599-9899
thebrooklynstar.com

Gramercy Tavern

2011-12-23T10:00:00.126-05:00

For Ms. Pastry Chef's birthday (which was a while ago), we went to Gramercy Tavern to celebrate. I've been to this establishment before with one experience being not so wonderful and the other very enlightening. I welcomed this third visit with open arms. I wanted to finally seal my opinion of the place. I've been on the fence about liking it or not. And so, I went with an open mind and a ready stomach.

We started the extravagant 3-course meal ($88) with an amuse bouche of puff pastry with goat cheese. These were extremely light and buttery with a slight tang from the goat cheese. It was a really nice way to start off the meal.

For our appetizers, Mr. M&P had the open beef ravioli served with seasonal vegetables and a rich sauce. He really enjoyed this and lapped up every single bite.

Mr. Pastry Chef had the squash custard with shitake mushrooms and peppers that was very light and creamy. The squash flavor was prominent without making the custard leaden. A great start as well.

I started with the beef tartare with crispy potatoes on top.

Inside was a very loose egg yolk that was so creamy and decadent. I mixed the egg yolk with the raw beef and enjoyed every single bite. It was rich yet light from being raw. The creaminess was delicious. I very much enjoyed the contrast in textures with the crispy potatoes with the soft meat. The dish was very fresh and a perfect way to start off dinner on a cold night. It's a meat based dish that's light enough to start with.

For his entree, Mr. M&P had the pork loin and belly with chiccaron on top. The meat of the pork loin was tender, juicy, and very flavorful while the pork belly was richer yet enough fat was rendered for it to be enjoyable. The fried skin on top added much needed crunch to the soft meats. The sweet corn on the bottom added the contrast in flavor to the rich meats of the dish. It was very well composed.

Ms. Pastry Chef had the roasted and braised lamb with squash and bok choy. The meat was beautifully cooked. Tender, juicy, well seasoned, and of course delicious. The little lamb sausages were really good as well and definitely worked well as a "separate" meat on the dish. The boy choy and squash added the fresh taste and texture that was necessary with the heavy dish.

I had the duck breast and confit with sunchokes, brussels sprouts, and maitake mushrooms. I really liked how this seemingly heavy dish was actually light. The fat from the duck was rendered nicely and the breast was very tender. The duck confit added an element of richness was very much appreciated. The copious amounts of vegetables helped balance out the richness of the duck meat. Overall, I really enjoyed the dish. It was complicated in flavors and textures and tasted very good.

As we looked over our dessert menus, everything seemed very elaborate and sounded delicious. After we ordered, we were all served an amuse to cleanse the palate before the sweets came. The mandarin orange gelee and meringue was refreshing and definitely nice after the richness of our dishes.

Then our desserts rolled out. Mr. M&P had the huckleberry tart which looked amazing. Sweet, trart, buttery, and just delicious. It tasted really fresh.

Ms. Pastry had the peanut butter semifreddo with chocolate macaron. It definitely was rich in peanut butter flavor without being heavy at all. The semifreddo worked really nicely.

I had the carrot cake with butter pecan ice cream. It was really good. It wasn't like any other carrot cake that I've had before. It was very rich in flavor but again, light in texture. The ice cream was actually the heaviest thing on the plate. It added a very nice creaminess.

Before the end of the night, the waitress brought over a 4th dessert: sweet cream ice cream sundae with pear butterscotch, and meringues. We had previously asked about classic ice cream sundaes which we knew they didn't serve. So the pastry chef and the staff created their own special sundae for us. The sweet cream ice cream was so good. It reminded me of vanilla but much better. The natural rich creaminess of the dairy was really good. The pear butterscotch was nothing I've tasted before but was very nice. And the meringue was light and airy.

To end the night, they offered us a plate of mignardises with patefruit, hazelnut macaron, and maple chocolate. A really nice touch to end the night.

Overall, we all very much enjoyed the food at Gramercy Tavern. We thought it was very delicious and expertly prepared. The flavors were familiar but complex. The plating and execution was spot on. And the service was top notch. We would absolutely go back again.

Gramercy Tavern
42 E 20th Street
New York, NY 10003
(212) 477-0777
gramercytavern.com

Sonic

2011-12-22T10:00:00.056-05:00

I've always been really curious about Sonic. I see their commercial pretty often but you can't find them in NYC anywhere. So during one of my days of errands in NJ, we passed by a Sonic. It was about lunch time so we were getting hungry. So we made the decision to turn onto the jug handle to head back to the fast food joint.

Sonic is mainly a drive in/car hop place. You either park at one of the kiosks, order from the plastic menu, and a waiter on skates will roll to your car with the order.

However, we hate eating in the car. There's no room, food is usually messy, and we didn't want it to smell like fast food. So we opted to sit outside on this cool day on one of the few picnic tables outside. The weird thing is that you still have to order from the intercom instead of facing a person. I guess they really wanted the least amount of human interaction.

After we ordered, a waiter came out and gave us our food. We both ordered a combo meal. I went with the Super Sonic Double Cheeseburger medium combo (~$10) which came a drink and a side. The burger itself was just okay. It really did remind me of national chain fast food. Not impressive whatsoever. However, I did find the burger to be superior to the likes of McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's.

Mr. M&P had the Super Sonic Double Bacon Cheeseburger medium combo (~$10). He thought the same about his burger. Very mediocre to sad. It's just the mass processed beef patties. It lacks flavor with all the precautions they take to make sure it's not tainted. It just sucks of flavor.

The sides we picked we fries and tater tots. The fries were really bad. I mean I stopped eating them bad. They weren't fried for long enough. They weren't raw but definitely not crispy browned. The tater tots were better but not by much. Both just suffered from the lack of salt. What happened to this sodium epidemic we were having in America? I call lies!

My curiosity with Sonic began and left this day. I finally know what it's all about and honestly, it wasn't impressive. Oh well, just another fast food joint to pass by again.

Sonic
238 Lafayette Avenue
Edison, NJ 08837
sonicdrivein.com

Cookie Swap 2011

2011-12-21T10:00:00.048-05:00

The Feisty Foodie, KC, and I started a new tradition last year: a cookie swap. Mainly it was an excuse for the girls to get together for the holidays. So why not add some sweets to our annual dinner together? Last year I only baked one type of cookie. However, this year, I wanted to challenge myself make several. Not only that but I wanted to try all new recipes. So when my food magazines started coming in the mail and websites started featuring holiday recipes, I scoured them to find what peaked my interest. I ended up picking homemade nutter butters, lemon sandwich cookies, and chocolate chubbies (recipes to come at a later post).

In return, the girls went even more all out! Look at that pretty festive wrapping. But wait, there's more.

Look at the cookies! These are from KC. From left to right, Mexican Wedding cookies, a chocolate dipped heart shaped butter cookie, chocolate dipped pretzels, and 2 types of jam thumb print cookies. I really enjoyed the variety that was in the box. Some soft, some sweet, some salty, some chocolatey, and some fruity.

The Feisty Foodie's cookies were very different from KC's. I love how we don't overlap flavors. She gave us 2 types of chocolate chips cookies (one made with all purpose flour and the other with self rising), salted caramel chocolate sandwich cookies, cheese crisps, and earl grey cookies. I also enjoyed the wide variety of flavors that she offered. Some were salty, some very sweet, some both sweet and salty, and some completely new to me like the earl grey tea cookies.

Baking: Pumpkin Pie

2011-12-20T10:00:00.094-05:00

Pumpkin season doesn't last nearly as long as I wished it did. Come every Halloween through Thanksgiving, I'm scrambling to find fresh pumpkins to bake with. Yeah, I don't use the canned stuff. It makes a significant flavor and textural difference for me, especially when I bake pies. In fact, I've never baked any kind of fruit pie using the canned stuff. All fresh ingredients for me.

Anyway, pie always starts at the crust for me. I use one basic pie crust recipe and interchange the fillings. It's worked well over the years and complement the sweetness of the fillings. The one mistake that I did make this year was that I added too much liquid. In my haste (I was rushing), I forgot to take my instincts and Alton Brown's advice to mind: add as little liquid as possible. Then let rest and allow the dry ingredients to slowly absorb the liquids.

But I ventured on with my pie dough by rolling it out and folding it over the pie dish.

I crimped a fancy edge using just my fingers. Look how pretty!

And a closer look shows that it's imperfect. But who cares! It looks good from afar. And it's really mainly about taste for me.

Then I baked it in the oven to set. This is where I could tell my crust was wrong. See how it shrunk? Yeah, too much water. Also, I didn't have pie weights so it baked off unevenly. Yeah, these are the things I need to keep in mind for next time.

As my crust cooled, I prepped my pumpkins. I like to use sugar pumpkins for my pies. They're sweet and pretty tasty. You could also use butternut or kabocha is you like but please keep in mind that they are different and would produce different results.

I chopped this baby in half. It was really difficult. I don't think it was ripe enough. How unfortunate. But I ventured on. I scooped out the seeds then cut the halves into smaller pieces.

Into a roasting pan they went with oil and salt.

I roasted them in the oven about about 45-60 minutes until soft.

When they are cool enough to handle, I scooped out the flesh and mashed it up. You can use a food mill to get a really fine mash. But I like some texture in my pumpkin pie so I have mashed the pulp.

Now it's time to prep the custard part of the pie. Here are the sugar and spices.

And don't forget about the milk and eggs which is the base of the custard.

Combine all the ingredients in a mixer or by hand. Just make sure everything is combined.

Then carefully pour into the pie crust. Try not to overflow the crust. If you have extra filling, you don't have to use it all. Then into the oven to bake.

But before that, I wrapped the edges with foil. Why? I prevents the edge of the crust from burning since the crust baked unevenly.

When the pie is done baking, remove from oven and let cool completely. You want the custard to set otherwise it would be a gooey mess. Then slice and serve! A scoop of vanilla ice cream is my choice of accompaniment.

This isn't my first time making pumpkin pie but this certainly wasn't my favorite. The crust was off and the custard wasn't pumpkin-y enough. The pumpkins weren't ripe enough and therefore wasn't sweet enough. Next time, better pumpkins, more spices, and more patience with my crust.

My pumpkin pie was adapted from the recipes below. My changes are:
1. Instead of canned pumpkin, I used fresh sugar pumpkins, roasted, then mashed.
2. Instead of 16 tbsp of butter, I used 12 tbsp of butter and 8 tbsp shortening.

Basic Pie Dough
Recipe courtesy of MarthaStewart.com
Everyday Food, November 2006
* Yield Makes two 9-inch crust

Ingredients
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 16 tablespoons cold (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
* 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions
1. In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.
2. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time). To help ensure a flaky crust, do not overprocess.
3. Transfer half of dough (still crumbly) onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into a disk 3/4 inch thick; wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days). Repeat with remaining dough. (Disks can be frozen, tightly wrapped, up to 3 months. Thaw before using.) Makes 2 disks.

Pumpkin Pie
Recipe courtesy of epicurious.com

15-oz can canned solid-pack pumpkin (about 2 cups)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: pie weights or raw rice

Accompaniment: lightly whipped cream

Make pastry dough as directed. Roll out dough into a 14-inch round on a lightly floured surface and fit into a 9-inch glass pie plate (4-cup capacity). Crimp edge decoratively and prick bottom all over. Chill 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°°F.

Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake in middle of oven 20 minutes. Remove weights and foil and bake shell until pale golden, 6 to 10 minutes more. Cool in pan on a rack. Whisk together pumpkin, cream, milk, eggs, brown sugar, spices, and salt, then pour into shell.

Bake pie in middle of oven 45 to 50 minutes, or until filling is set but center still trembles slightly. (Filling will continue to set as pie cools.) Transfer to rack and cool completely.

Cooks' notes:
To prevent overbaking custard, you should start checking the pie's doneness at 45 minutes, as ovens vary. Pie may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered, but crust will not be as crisp as if made day of serving.

Gourmet
November 1999

Red Hook Lobster Truck

2011-12-19T10:00:00.047-05:00

We've had an unusually warm winter this year in NYC. Sure it's cold not but not too long ago we were enjoying fall like weather like light jackets and sweaters. On these days, it's nice to venture out and enjoy some of those "warm days food" like lobster rolls. Now, don't get me wrong but I can and will eat lobster in any season. In fact, I do it all the time. However, a lot of people do equate lobster rolls to summer.

Anyway, on this warm day, I saw the the Red Hook Lobster Pound was parked around my work area. I walked over during the peak lunch hour for some lobster deliciousness. The line was somewhat long but it moved very quickly. The good thing about lobster trucks is that the shellfish is most likely cooked ahead of time that day and assembled on board.

When I got to the front of the line, I knew I was in store for a Maine lobster roll $16). Most people were ordering the meal with a drink and chips ($19). When I received my order, I slowly walked back to my cubicle to unwrap my sweet crustacean laden sandwich.

I was very happy to see large cuts of lobster meat with minimal seasonings and mayo. The meat was succulent and very fresh. Each bite was deliciously naturally sweet and the spices worked well with it. Although I do enjoy my lobster cold and naked (no mayo), a bit of seasoning doesn't throw me off. I also really enjoyed the pickle on the side. The sour brininess was really nice.

On this particular day, they were also offering free Robicelli's whoopie pies. The flavor of the day was ~~red velvet~~ chocolate. I was happily surprised with this offer.

The whoopie pie was very large. I always though they were smaller in general. Though, I'm no whoopie pie expect by any means. Anyway, this hand sized dessert was soft, sweet, and yet ~~tangy~~ less so in the middle. The ~~cream cheese~~ creamy filling worked really nicely with the fluffy ~~red velvet~~ chocolate cake layers. It was a really well thought out dessert that I enjoyed very much. It's iced cake for the traveler. I love it!

I really enjoyed my lobster roll at the Red Hook Lobster Pound truck. It certainly satisfied me and my cravings. The Robicelli's whoopie pie was the cherry on top! I'd definitely would go back especially now that it's cold and they offer lobster mac n cheese.

The Red Hook Lobster Pound Truck
Various Locations
redhooklobsterpound.com

Robicelli's
robicellis.tumblr.com

Brindle Room

2011-12-18T10:00:00.041-05:00

A while ago, the Feisty Foodie and I went on a date. We both wanted to do something cheap yet still delicious. I mentioned Brindle Room even though she has been there before. I've been hearing a lot about the burger and wanted to scope it out. She happily agreed and off we went.

We arrived to a small restaurant that was hardly filled. No biggie to us. We planned on sitting and chatting for awhile. While looking at the menu, we decided to split an appetizer and each get burgers. But that all changed when the waitress told us about the specials of the day. One that definitely piqued our interest was the fried chicken. But neither one of us wanted to forgo the burger either. So what's the next best things? Order the fried chicken entree (~$15) as an appetizer! Oh yes we did.

The chicken was freshly fried and delicious! The crust was so crisp and crunchy. I drooled as I bit into a piece of dark meat which was very juicy. Thank you Brindle Room for serving us the better cuts of chicken. Under the superbly fried chicken and a mound of mashed potatoes that were divine as well. Creamy, smooth, and well seasoned. On the side is some honey which I opted not to try. I like my fried chicken just the way it is.

I had the Steakhouse Burger ($12) as my entree which came with cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, and a side of fries. The plate was really huge and overflowing with the fried spuds which I hardly touched. I had a lot of burger to eat after that fried chicken and potatoes.

I bit into the burger and was happily greeted with juices and fat. The burger was cooked to my liking, medium rare. I continued to eat it without ketchup which means a lot to me. If I don't add ketchup, then it means it is a perfectly seasoned beef patty with so much flavor on its own. I was really happy with it. However, I would like to go back and just have the burger. I was getting pretty full halfway through because the appetizer was so filling. I just want to see if I would like it any better.

The Feisty Foodie was smart enough to sub in the kale salad for the fries. It was lightly dressed and really refreshing. If I had done this as well, my stomach would have been much happier with me. It complemented the fatty burger really well. Next time.

Brindle Room definitely lived up to all the praises I have heard about it. Delicious, simple food that's executed well. I would absolutely go back without hesitation. Oh, and I just have to try those doughnuts for dessert as well.

Brindle Room
277 East 10th Street
New York, NY 10009-4825
(212) 529-9702
brindleroom.com

Take Out: Two Boots Pizza

2011-12-17T10:00:00.041-05:00

Ever since my local favorite pizza joint closes down this past summer, I've been looking around for a replacement. I never thought about Two Boots even though I walk past it all the time. So one day, Mr. M&P and I were really craving pizza. So we took the plunge and ordered a pie to share.

We looked over the menu and decided to get one of their specialty pies. We went with The Newman ($24 for large-18"). The pie came piping hot and smelled wonderful. The toppings were nicely placed throughout so each piece had some of the sopressata, sweet Italian sausage, and ricotta cheese. The pizza was really good. I enjoyed the quality of the ingredients and the amount that was given. It was a well thought out pizza pie.

And here's the upskirt. Nicely browned but no charring. It didn't matter though, the crust was very good. Crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. It held up to the copious amounts of toppings.

We also ordered a chicken parmesan sandwich ($7.50) just to see how it would measure up with our favorite spot (Lazzara's). It looked decent enough with nice crusty bread, thinly pounded and breaded chicken cutlets, and marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Here's a closer look at the layering. The sandwich tasted okay for me. It didn't impress me as much as the pizza did. But it was still tasty nonetheless. I wouldn't say no to it.

I really enjoyed Two Boots. It has definitely replaced by old favorite pizza joint. It is pricey but I think the quality speaks for itself.

Two Boots
625 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10036
(212) 956-2668
twoboots.com

Lunch Week 40: Chicken Cutlet Sandwiches

2011-12-16T10:00:00.030-05:00

Recently, I had a nice Italian dinner at Rubirosa (post to come at a later date). CT ordered the veal milanese and I was very impressed. That inspired me to make something similar for lunch. Instead of a pounded thin veal cutlet that's breaded and fried with arugula salad on top, I used chicken breast and stuffed the whole thing between bread.

I started by creating a breading station for my abnormally large chicken breasts.

I normally do not opt for the breast meat. I find it overly large, tasteless, and easy to overcook. However, at the price of buy one get one free, I bought it.

First, I patted the chicken dry and seasoned it salt and pepper. Then into the milk, then flour, then beaten eggs, and lastly the bread crumbs which I added a healthy grating of parmesiano cheese. I repeated these steps with all the breast meat.

Then I heated up some canola oil in my cast iron pan and fried the chicken until browned. Lastly, I put them in the oven to finish cooking. I covered the pan with foil to prevent more browning or burning.

Once the chicken is cooked (about 30-45 minutes), I took them out to cool off. I removed the foil at this point to allow the crust to retain its crispiness.

And then the sandwich assembly. I used long Italian rolls but a round kaiser roll would work as well. One side had mayo, the other German mustard. Then I sliced up the chicken (because the pieces were so large) and laid them on the mayo side. Then a nice handful of peppery arugula (which was buy one get one free as well), then thinly sliced red onion, and finally tomatoes.

The sandwich was pretty large and I needed to tuck and roll the vegetables in order to close the bread properly. But a tight wrap from the saran/plastic kept everything in place.

This sandwich can be eaten cold, hot, or even room temperature. I prefer the last method so that the vegetables won't be wilted and the bread stays soft.

I really enjoyed this sandwich. The chicken is moist but was getting drier as the week went by. The mayo really added a nice touch of creaminess that it needed. And yes, I eat mayo now. Just a delicate schmear is all I need. No mayo laden salads, please. Anyway, the peppery arugula complemented the meat really well. The spice from the red onion was nice and the sweetness of the tomatoes were enjoyable as well. Lastly, the German mustard was fantastic as well. Another later of flavor on top of the chicken, the cheese, and all the vegetables. I would totally make this again. However, maybe next time I'll pound the chicken down to a very thin piece.

HB Burger

2011-12-15T10:00:00.034-05:00

A while ago, my friends and I went to lunch together. I'm always on the lookout for new burger places and I haven't tried HB Burger even though I've heard good things about it. So we finally went to my happiness. It was pretty crowded that day but they have a whole seating section downstairs as well. We didn't have to wait at all.

We didn't need to take long to figure out what we wanted to order. My friend had the Cajun Crab Cake burger ($14) which came with a pickle spear and fries. He seemed to enjoy it though he did mention that it wasn't impressive. It satisfied him just fine but he wouldn't rave about it either.

I had the HB burger ($8) which cheddar (+$1.25) and sauteed onions (free). I ordered it medium rare and it came out just the way I ordered it. The meat was juicy and fatty. Grease and meat juices ran down onto the plate. It was delicious. It did need some ketchup but sparingly. There was enough flavor from the beef and the seasonings. I would absolutely order this again.

Since my burger didn't come with a side, I ordered the Tator Tots ($4.50) which came with bacon and jalapeno jack cheese. These didn't look like any tator tots that I normally would recognize. But they were fantastic. Instead of small potatoes pieces, it was shredded spuds mixed with shredded cheese and bacon. Then deep fried into a delicious golden brown crisp. So good! A bowl of these plus a beer would do really well in my home. Or anyone's home for that matter.

I really enjoyed HB Burger. They definitely impressed me with their tasty food and good service. This would be a good place to bring a large group or do a casual business lunch.

HB Burger
127 W 43rd St # 2
New York, NY 10036-6565
(212) 575-5848
heartlandbrewery.com

Baking: Upside Down Banana Cake

2011-12-13T10:00:00.021-05:00

Sometimes I get really tired of making the same ol' things with the same ingredients over and over again. This is especially true with over ripe bananas. Normally I make banana bread but I really didn't want that. Instead, I hit the web and looked for something else. I came across an upside down banana cake that looked feasible.

I started by making the caramelized topping which mainly consisted of brown sugar and butter. I only had dark brown sugar. Using the light one would have worked better.

I pressed the paste of sweet butter into each container.

Then I topped each out with thinly sliced bananas.

Next the cake batter which also included bananas. It was a banana bonanza!

I filled up each cup then into the oven for baking.

I baked it until there were nicely browned.

They came out easily from the silicone cups and the sugar oozed all over. I tasted it and immediately winced. It was way too sweet. The brown sugar banana topping was overly sweet while the cake was very sweet on it's own as well. This cake was almost inedible. Almost. I actually went into my cabinets and sprinkled a good amount of maldon salt on top. That was the only way I could eat it.

A good attempt by me to make something different but it was too sweet for my own tastes. But if you like very sweet things and bananas, then this recipe would work perfectly for you!

Recipe courtesy of epicurious.com
Banana Upside-Down Cake
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large ripe bananas, sliced

1 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
2 eggs

Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Using electric mixer, cream brown sugar and butter in medium bowl until well mixed. Spread brown sugar mixture over bottom of 9-inch square baking dish with 2-inch high sides. Arrange banana slices atop brown sugar mixture, covering completely. Set cake pan aside.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Mix mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla in another small bowl. Using electric mixer, cream 1 1/4 cups sugar and shortening until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternatively with buttermilk mixture, mixing until just combined. Pour batter over bananas in pan. Bake until cake pulls away from sides of pan and tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool slightly. Turn cake out onto plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Bon Appétit
October 1992
by Theresa Hansen: Vista, California

Giants Game

2011-12-12T10:00:00.025-05:00

Every year when football starts again, I get a little excited. Well, it's another year of the NY Giants and another year of tailgating in the parking lot of the stadium. Once or twice during the year, I end up going to a game. Lucky for me, the weather has been quite warm and has led to a few nice tailgates.

Our main tailgate guy isn't about burgers and dogs. Nope, he likes to be creative. This time, we made some cinnabuns using the grill. Sure they were a little crispy on the bottom but in our world we call that caramelized. Soft, sweet, spicy. A nice way to start off the day...and a beer of course.

Or multiple beers as suggested by this beer pong table. We had to be a little creative with the setup due to the small table. But it was all fun.

My Trip to Baltimore: Chaps Pit Beef

2011-12-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

Before we went home, we went to one last destination: Chaps Pit Beef. I am always in the mood for roast beef. It's my favorite sandwich meat. So when I read that Chaps is a must stop destination, we found the stomach room immediately.

Chaps sits as a stand along establishment off a busy road. Driving by, you could easily miss it but the smell is unmistakable. You know that delicious meat was being grilled in there. In fact, that have a charcoal grill inside the restaurant that's constantly cooking meat of all kinds including turkey, chicken, pork, and beef. They cook these large cuts of meat so that the outside is well done while the inside is rare. Perfect for anyone ordering their desired doneness.

The menu is really extensive and you could get any combination of meats and toppings that you please. However, I was there for the staple sandwich: roast beef cooked medium rare with cheese sauce. The raw vegetable sandwich toppings like pickles, onions, tomatoes, etc could be found on the side bar.

Before I dove in or added anything, I wanted to take a look at it. Look at that tender, juicy beef. It's calling for me. I took one bite and it was just as it looked: delicious. However, I did think it needed the onions which gave it a nice kick. The meat was thinly sliced and stacked in beautiful mountain of awesomeness. The cheese which was actually liquid cheese was enough to make it creamy and rich. The bread is the only thing I disliked. It fell apart as I ate my way through it. I guess the roast beef was just too juicy for it.

We also tried a side of mac n cheese which wasn't good. I wouldn't order this again. The cheese tasted like they used the liquid cheese. Yeah, not into that. I like real cheese in my mac n cheese. And the texture was very soft which I dislike as well. Oh well, the beef is where it's at anyway.

Chaps Charcoal Restaurant
5801 Pulaski Hwy # 1
Baltimore, MD 21205-3046
(410) 483-2379
chapspitbeef.com

My Trip to Baltimore: Vaccaro's

2011-12-09T10:00:00.057-05:00

After a fantastic meal, we walked around the harbor and enjoyed the warm day. After a while we felt the need for something sweet. We were looking for a bakery when we stumbled upon their Little Italy. We walked around and almost gave up. Most places looked like full on restaurants. But we finally stumbled upon Vaccaro's Bakery. This Italian storefront was just exactly what we were looking for.

Once inside, we saw that it also served as a cafe. Many people were sitting and enjoyed their coffee and desserts. We were there for take out though and the line was quite long. Luckily, it moved quickly. When we got to the front of the counter, we ordered a regular mini cannoli ($3) and some gelato ($3 for small). The cannoli shell was filled to order. The girl behind the counter really went to town. She stuffed that shell silly with lots of cannoli cream. The shell was crispy and cream was light and sweet. It was good but there was too much cannoli cream. It was overpowering.

The gelato flavors that we got were Italian cookies & cream and baci. The former was really sweet. They really overdid it with cookies. It actually missed the gelato part. The baci was really good though. I liked the hazelnut and chocolate flavor. It reminded me of the little chocolate truffles.

It almost seemed like Vaccaro's was more into quantity than quality. The cannoli was over stuffed and the gelato serving sizes were pretty big. We couldn't finish it. If they focused more on the products instead then it could be something wonderful. As of right now, it's just okay.

Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop
222 Albemarle Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 685-4905
vaccarospastry.com‎

My Trip to Baltimore: Obrycki's (Closed)

2011-12-08T10:00:00.079-05:00

When a restaurant institution announces that it's going to close down soon, I'm sad. Places like these have been around serving fantastic food for decades. It's an institution for a reason. So when I heard that Obricki's was closing soon, I immediately voiced out that I wanted to go there. Even though it's in Baltimore, Ive' head of it before. Famous for its no nonsense crabs on paper lined tables. All you need are your hands, a hammer, and a cold drink. And that's exactly what I was looking for.

When I arrived at lunch, the place was pretty empty. We had pretty much arrived when it opened. No need for reservations but dinner is another story. Definitely make reservations for dinner.

When the super friendly waitress comes over, we let her know about our crab lunch. She quickly lines the table with brown paper, places down a hammer, knife, and a stack of napkins. We also ordered a couple of house beers ($3 each) to enjoy the meal. These beers turned out pretty integral to our meal as it washed down the delicious crab meat and spices.

Here is the hammer and knife to ease our crab picking.

However, before we had the crabs, we ordered the fried oysters (~$15). These were really, REALLY good. You could tell that they were fresh and fried fresh. Each little nugget was super crispy while the inside was briny and creamy. They were just perfect with just a squeeze of lemon juice. The cup of sauce was unnecessary. Fresh seafood at its best.

And now the crabs. These steamed blue crabs are sold by the dozen. You can order large crabs ($64 per dozen) or medium crabs ($49 per dozen). If I had a choice, I would have picked the large crabs because they would yield more meat to shell. However, they just sold out as we ordered. Oh well. When the medium crabs came out piping hot on a tray. They slide it right on your table to consume at your leisure. They were quite big already and couldn't imagine what the large would have looked like.

These little crustaceans were cooked until red and liberally tossed with Old Bay seasoning. Some parts were overwhelming and so I took to scraping off some of the spices. This is where the beer came in handy. It washed down those spices quite nicely.

I start off by tearing off the legs and claws. I wanted to focus on the body (where the most meat is located) and the pinchers. To eat a whole crab, you want to avoid some nasty parts. First, rip off the legs and claws. Set aside for later consumption. Then turn the body on its back and rip the stomach off from the shell. On the stomach you'll find a loose flap. Remove that and throw away. Inside, you'll find some fibrous parts. Remove and discard that as well. Those are the lungs and filter everything disgusting from the bottom of the sea. You don't want to eat that. Then split the body in half and pick the meat out. They should come in large chunks. Once you're done with that, don't forget about the shell. Inside, you should find rich orange crab cream. It's delicious but not for everyone. If you like sucking on shrimp head or eating lobster tomalley, then you would enjoy this as well.

And don't worry about the shells. They provide a nicely paper bag lined waste basket for your convenience.

I really loved Obrycki's. The crab was delicious and the fried oysters super fresh. The service was friendly and attention. I just loved everything about this old school restaurant. A lot of history was in here. It is very unfortunate that it had to close. However, they do have 2 other locations open but this was the original. The institution.

Obrycki's Crab House (Closed)
1727 East Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21231
(410) 732-6399
obryckis.com‎

Lunch Week 39: Pork Chops and Pasta in Champagne Dressing

2011-12-07T10:00:00.044-05:00

I was pressed for time this weekend. I was helping out in the kitchen for a large fancy Parsi party and I went to the Giants game on Sunday. I didn't know when I would have time to cook something. And I wasn't ready to go eat lunch out every day. So I quickly whipped up some food making use of ingredients that sat in my fridge and freezer.

First, the butternut squash. I didn't have this already but really wanted to eat it. So we bought 2 and I peeled it then sliced it up into cubes. Into the oven at 375oF for about 45 minutes until soft. Don't forget the salt, pepper, and oil. The results are sweet and juicy pieces of squash. Delicious!

To counter the sweetness, I sliced up some fennel/anise which has a natural licorice flavor. However, I sauteed it until soft and most of the harsh flavor disappears. Instead, I'm left with tender savory pieces of vegetables. It paired nicely with the squash.

And for protein, I took some pork chops, sliced it into small pieces and sauteed them with white wine. I cooked them until well done and placed it aside.

Lastly, I cooked some bowtie pasta until slightly under al dente. I wanted to make sure it would retain it's bite after microwaving it during the week. Once cooked to my desire and drained, I tossed it with Girard's Champagne dressing (thanks Feisty Foodie!). It was tangy but not harsh. I really enjoyed the flavor. I could put this in my rotation for the future. I could definitely use this to marinate meat. Anyway, the pasta absorbed the dressing really nicely.

Lastly, I tossed everything together except for the butternut squash. That was too soft so I just place it on top of the dish at the end. I also threw in some salad greens for good measure. The dish needed some color anyway.

When I plate the dish, I added more fresh salad greens on the bottom then ladled the pasta and pork mixture on. I topped it with pieces of the butternut squash and some parsley.

The dish is okay and would do in a pinch. I wouldn't say it was very good. It was fine and did what it needed when I was pressed for time. I was satisfied.

Tuesday Nights: Phebe's

2011-12-06T10:00:00.026-05:00

Another night at good ol' Phebe's. It never disappoints.

The usual was ordered: hummus, potato skins, bacon tempura, fried calamari, and nachos.

Phebe's Tavern & Grill
359 Bowery
New York, NY 10003
(212) 358-1902
phebesnyc.com

Cooking: Soup Dumplings

2011-12-05T10:00:00.087-05:00

Soup dumplings are near and dear to my heart. I grew up on them and loved it every single time. My family tired of waiting on lines to get to these delectably soup filled pork dumplings in restaurants so my mom found a store that sold them frozen in bulk. Bingo! They were good! Porky, savory, good! Unfortunately, they also broke very easily. The delicate dough never seemed to freeze properly. But we still went back and bought bags and bags of them. But one day, they closed and didn't give any notice of what would be to come. And that ended my supply of soup dumplings. It was back on the lines waiting for a tray of these steaming hot joys of life. As I grew up, I've become more and more adventurous in my cooking. And for some reason, I've decided to put it on myself to recreate many Chinese dishes that I grew up with. No recipe, no direction. Just from pure memory. Some were successes. Others, not so much. But one thing was for sure, I wanted to make soup dumplings.

You see, I'm an avid dumpling maker already. Every year, I'll sit down with a huge supply of marinated pork and different vegetables. I'd sit and wrap every single one, then freeze them individually. Then pack them into bags for long storage in the freezer. The supple would last me the year. It would take me hours to make it but it was worth it every single time. So this year, I challenged myself and looked into soup dumplings. Lucky for me that I actually found a couple of recipes to help me. The first recipe that I tried is from Serious Eats. I read it over and over again to make sure that I could pull off something like this. And it seemed doable. So I went and prepped the work (it took a few days). And on the day of trial, I invited the Feisty Foodie and AbnormousCheese to taste test. They happily obliged.

A few days before taste testing, I need to make the rich broth. I've head of people taking regular stock and adding gelatin and others using aspic. I wanted to make everything from scratch so I followed the Serious Eats recipe for the stock. First, I placed the chicken wings in a large stock pot.

Then I added the aromatics. I chopped up some green onions/scallions.

Here are some whole black peppercorns.

Ginger cut into smaller pieces.

And a nice slab of bacon. I couldn't find Chinese ham. In fact, I didn't even know what that was. But slab bacon is always easy to find. I cut it up so it fit into the pot.

Everything into the pot and filled with water.

I brought the mixture up to a rolling boil and lowered the temperature. I let it simmer away for hours. The recipe said 3 hours. I simmered it for 6. Why? I had added a lot more water and wanted to reduce it to something very rich.

When it was done, the wings had pretty much fallen apart. That's the way I wanted them. I strained the stock of the ingredients and fat. What I was left with was golden and rich. I let it cool overnight in the fridge and it naturally gelatinized. That's the way you want. That's the way you'll need it.

So here we are on the day of the taste test. I went and bought a bamboo steamer. Really traditional and most of all cheap. However, when you first but a steamer like this, there are a couple of steps that you should do before using it. First, clean it. Second, soak it overnight in a tub of water. I soaked mine in the sink. You want the fibers to be saturated. The next day, take it out and steak it empty. You want the bamboo to take it's final shape. This is only a one time thing. If you don't do these steps, the steamer may crack.

Another ingredient that you'll need is the napa cabbage. You could use perforated parchment paper but it's not the same for me. I like the cabbage.

Rip the outer leaves off the head of cabbage and line a tray of the steamer. Now lightly brush some oil onto it. I like using a very neutral oil like canola. The oil will help the dumplings from not sticking.

And now your meat. I used ground pork. Try to find fatty ground pork. The fat adds a nice touch to the soup element of the dumpling. To the pork, add your stock. As you can see, it is gelatinized. Mix well together. I like to make extra stock so that I can keep adding more if it needs it.

Once your filling is ready, make the dough which I personally think is the most difficult part of the whole process. To make the dough, add hot water to all purpose flour. Then knead until smooth.

Once the dough is ready, I shaped it into a log so that I could cut it into small pieces to be rolled out.

Here I am cutting the log up. I used a pastry cutter which turned out to be very useful.

Then I took a small dowel/rolling pin and rolled out the piece of dough. I found it easiest to use plenty of extra flour for dusting (counter, pin, and dough) and to roll it inside out and turning it constantly.

And here's my first try. Not too bad but I needed more practice. No problem. There was plenty of dough.

Getting it uniformly circular was pretty much next to impossible. But it didn't matter really. As long as it was somewhat like a circle, it worked. To this, I added a scoop of the pork and soup mixture to the middle. I was careful not to overstuff it.

Then slowly but surely I started the pleating. It took about 18 or so pleats to get all the way around.

When I was done pleated, there was a small hole in the top. I grabbed the pleats and twisted it slightly to close it.

And here's my first attempt. Kind of sloppy, isn't it? But not bad.

As I worked, they become neater and nicer. Like this one! Nice and uniform.

Once I finished making the first set of dumplings, I steamed them. I had the steamer ready and a hot pot of water boiling. I added the dumplings to the cabbage lined trays. Onto the pot and steam for just a few minutes.

The first set of dumplings were too soft and gummy. The dough was wrong. Also, I didn't think it was salty enough so I added some more soy sauce. As I worked through the day, I kneaded the dough more and tweaked the meat mixture. At the end, my last batch was just okay. The dough needed more work but the meat was fine. I also could have used more soup so I'm going to make another batch of rich stock.

Overall trial #1 was pretty successful. I was happy with the progress that I had made but I obviously needed more work. Lucky for me, I have enough ingredients for at least 2 more trials. I want to get to a point where the dough is thin and smooth and the soup is luxurious. Hopefully, I will get to this by trial #3.

Oh and a word of advice, this is a very labor intensive recipe. I stood pretty all day kneading dough and wrapping dumplings. I was fine but it's not for the easily frustrating kitchen individual. However, if you're adventurous and determined like me and willing to try and try again, please attempt it. Maybe you'll figure it out on the first time!

The Serious Eats recipe is below:

Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao)
Posted by J. Kenji López-Alt, April 15, 2011

Ingredients
serves Serves 6 to 8, active time 1 hour, total time 12 hours

For the Broth:
3 pounds chicken backs or wings
1/2 pound chinese ham or slab bacon
6 scallions, white separated, greens roughly chopped
1-inch knob ginger
1 tablespoon white peppercorns
Kosher salt

For the Filling
1/3 pound ground pork
1/4 pound raw shrimp, peeled
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon XiaoShing wine
2 teaspoons sugar

For the Dough:
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water

Napa cabbage leaves

Procedures
Combine chicken bones, ham, scallion whites, half of scallion greens, ginger, and white peppercorns in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, remove to a simmer, and simmer for 2 1/2 hours. Strain broth, season to taste with salt, cover, and refrigerate until set into a semi-firm jelly, at least 8 hours.

Meanwhile, combine pork, shrimp, soy sauce, wine, sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining scallion greens in a food processor. Process until a fine paste is formed, about 12 to 15 one-second pulses. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Meanwhile, place flour in bowl of food processor. With machine running, slowly drizzle in water until cohesive dough is formed (you probably won't need all the water). All dough to ride around processor for 30 seconds. Form into a ball using floured hands and transfer to a bowl. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

When broth is gelled, transfer filling mixture to a bowl along with 1 cup of jellied broth (save the rest for another use). Beat or whisk it in until homogenous. Keep filling well chilled.

Divide dough into 4 sections, and each section into 10 small tablespoon-sized balls, making 40 balls total. On a well-floured work surface, roll each ball into a round 3 1/2- to 4-inches in diameter. Stack wrappers and keep under plastic until all of them are rolled out.

To form dumplings, place 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of a wrapper. Moisten the edges of the wrapper with a wet fingertip or a pastry brush. Pleat edges of the wrapper repeatedly, pinching the edge closed after each pleat until the entire dumpling is sealed. in a cinched purse shape. Pinch and twist top to seal. Transfer sealed dumplings to a lightly floured wooden or parchment-lined board.

Place a bamboo steamer over a wok with 2 inches of water. Place over medium high heat until simmering. line steamer with napa cabbage leaves and place dumplings directly on leaves. Steam until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately, being careful not to break them.

Baking: Apple Honey Spice Cake

2011-12-04T10:00:00.036-05:00

Suddenly the cold weather is here and all I can think about is the different set of desserts that pop up at this time of the year. Apples and pumpkins galore. Spices here and there. It all warming and delicious. So when I saw a recipe online for Apple Honey Spice Cake on NY1 (of all channels), I was instantly intrigued. I love apple based desserts and honey is no stranger to my pantry. I've been known to just eat honey on saltines. Don't judge. Anyway, shortly after the television segment ended, I looked up the recipe and it was fairly easy and sounded amazing. So off I went to collect the ingredients for the cake.

Here is a picture of everything. It looks like a lot but it really isn't. You have most of these ingredients in your home already. The only thing I added were chopped walnuts. I thought it would be a great addition. Besides, I needed to use the bag desperately.

Here I measured out the dry ingredients and sifted them.

The brown sugar was packed tightly into the measuring cup and leveled off.

And the wet ingredients were mixed and combined. To that, I added the brown sugar and dry ingredients.

Lastly, I added the chopped walnuts both for texture and flavor.

The stand mixer definitely helped combine everything nicely without over beating.

I prepped by bundt pan with butter and flour. I find the sprays to be very helpful in baking. The baking sprays with flour are really easy to use.

And I filled up the fan with all the cake batter. I placed the bundt pan on top of a sheet pan (in case of overflow and spilling) and baked it in the oven.

When a toothpick stuck into the cake comes out clean, it's ready. Don't worry, it's not burned here. It's the sugars caramelizing. Anyway, cool in the pan for a few minutes.

Then remove from pan and invert onto cooling rack. Let cool some more. Then slice and enjoy!

The cake turned out to be really good! I enjoyed the spice level and it was very moist from the apple cider. The honey made it just sweet enough to complement the spice. And the walnuts added a nice textural difference to the moist and crumbly cake. I would definitely make this again.

Below is the recipe that I used from NY1:

Apple Honey Spice Cake
Honey cake is very popular during the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, and today’s recipe is for honey cake made with seasonal apple cider.

Ingredients:
3.5 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 cups light brown sugar
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup apple cider

Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour one 10-inch bundt pan.

Use a large mixing bowl to combine the all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and ground allspice and use a whisk to combine those things.

At that point, make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the eggs, vegetable oil, honey, vanilla and apple cider and mix to combine. It is a pretty wet batter but that is what keeps it nice and moist when the cake is done.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and place that onto the center rack of the preheated oven. It will take just about 1 hour to bake, or maybe even a little longer.

Those who do not have a bundt pan can divide the batter into two prepared 9 x 5-inch loaf pans and bake it like that. It will probably take a little less time than in the bundt pan.

Check it with a toothpick for doneness and let it cool down for 10 minutes or so before turning it out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling down.

Keens Steakhouse

2011-12-03T10:00:00.060-05:00

With Mr. Haribo Mule in town, it always means good eats. He wanted to have some steak but not the fancy dry aged kind. In NYC, you'll mostly find dry aged this and dry aged that. I'm a fan but not every one. So when I sought out to find a place to please everyone, I thought that Keen's Steakhouse would be perfect.

When we arrived, I adored the decor. It was really old school. You can definitely tell that this used to be a gentlemen's establishment with their pipe collection lining the walls. We waited a bit and then were escorted to our table upstairs. The stairs are narrow and steep so be careful. We sat down and this was presented. It was vegetable crudite with carrots, celery, olives, and pickles. I enjoyed it and was a nice gesture from the place. It was certainly unique. I could have gone without the ice on top though.

To start, I had the lobster bisque ($9) which was okay. The lobster meat was shredded finely in the soup. The flavor was okay and didn't taste a lot like lobster. I assume that they had used a seafood stock instead. The brandy and cream was very nice though. I enjoyed that.

The rest of the gang enjoyed some thick cut smoke bacon ($10.50). These were just okay. The thickness of the bacon wasn't what I was used to from a steakhouse. Although the flavor was very good, it was just okay overall.

But who cares too much about appetizers and what not. We're here for the main course. I went the traditional route and ordered the mutton chop ($48). This large piece of mutton was seared nicely and came towering over my plate. However, don't be timid. There's a lot of bone in this beauty.

As I sliced through, I was very happy to find a rich redness bleeding from the middle. Tender and delicious. Yes, the meat was gamey as an old sheep should but it wasn't offensive at all. It was a nice tender meat with a slight natural funk. I enjoyed it very much.

It came with some mint jelly which I tasted just a bit. I think it's supposed to offset some of the gaminess. I didn't enjoy this jelly at all but it didn't matter. I thought the meat was fine just the way it was.

Mr. Haribo Mule had the T-Bone Steak ($48.50) which he enjoyed but didn't think it was the best he's had.

Mr. M&P and Doc Nut both had the Sirloin steak ($44.50) which was just okay as well. They thought it was a tasty piece of charred beef but wasn't impressive whatsoever.

The sides including creamed spinach ($10) and mashed Yukon gold potatoes ($8.50).

We also had a side of sauteed mushroom ($12). The sides, like the steaks, were just okay. They weren't bad, per se, but just didn't impress.

Surprisingly, we all had an appetite for dessert afterwards. I ordered the hot fudge sundae ($11) which was nicely made. Vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, sliced almonds, and biscuits. I enjoyed this very much.

Mr. Haribo Mule had the NY Cheesecake ($11) which he said tasted mediocre. From the looks of it, he seemed right.

And Doc Nut had the Creme Brulee ($11). The small cup left very little to be desired.

What we loved was the envelope in which the bill was contained. We all had a nice chuckle when this came around.

In the end, Keens steakhouse didn't impress us. With all the great steak places in NYC, it's hard to want to go back to a place that was just okay. I would only go back for the mutton chop followed by a sundae.

Keens Steakhouse
72 West 36th Street
New York, NY 10018
(212) 947-3636
keens.com

The Highliner

2011-12-02T10:00:00.038-05:00

When Ms. Mandoo came back to NYC to visit, I knew we'd go out for a meal together. She's usually really busy when she's back but I'm always glad she takes some time one to see me. This time I suggested that she pick a place to eat. I know she eyes a few places since she misses her true home so badly. So when she mentioned the Highliner, I agreed.

I don't often do brunch but this seemed like a natural fit for the occasion. The day was sunny, beautiful and unseasonably warm. It was just perfect. We arrived and sat quickly. It was still early so the place didn't fill up yet. However, as we sat, ate, and chatted, it quickly became crowded. New York was finally waking up for some food.

Speaking of food, Ms. Mandoo and myself had the Egg in the Hole ($9) which came with asparagus, mushroom and goat cheese fondue. The dish seemed so simple when it arrived but it was so much more than that.

The large cube of toasted buttery bread housed a perfectly cooked egg. Once we cut into it, its delicious yolk ran out asking to be soaked up quickly. The creaminess of the egg, the butteriness bread, the freshness of the asparagus, and the earthiness of the mushrooms were just perfect together. The goat cheese fondue on the bottom really brought everything together with its richness. A really great brunch dish.

Mr. M&P had the Monte Cristo ($12) which was a hearty sandwich with turkey, brisket, gruyere cheese, and dijon on pullman toast. He really liked this as well. The bread was hefty enough to hold all those ingredients.

They layered the meat and cheese nicely though I think he would have liked a little bit more meat to bread ratio. Nonetheless, he enjoyed it.

And to share, we had the cheese and gravy fries ($8). These were really good. The fries were fried crispy which held up nicely to the warm savory gravy and melted cheese. We slowly picked on these until they were all gone.

I enjoyed the Highliner. The food was modernized for the experienced palate but the flavors were still there. I definitely wouldn't mind going back and trying their other items.

The Highliner
210 10th Avenue
New York, NY 10011
(212) 206-6206
thehighlinernyc.com

EN Japanese Brasserie

2011-12-01T10:00:00.058-05:00

My first experience at EN Japanese Brasserie was just wonderful. I was so impressed that I had to bring Mr. M&P there. I wanted to show him a different side of Japanese food. It's not always about the sushi and ramen. It's so much more. And it's absolutely delicious.

We decided to order a bunch of smaller dishes to share instead of individual entrees. We started with the edamame ($8). Okay so this can be found at pretty much any Japanese joint. But these are different. These young soy beans are soaked in dashi, a classic cooking stock. It's slightly fishy but not in an offensive way. It just so much umami flavor that I couldn't stop eating these. They also give a nice hefty bowl. We were still eating this as our next dishes came out.

The 9 pieces of assorted sashimi ($27) came quickly. It was presented beautifully and looked so incredibly fresh. It tasted even better. Soft, supple pieces of fresh and raw fish. I can't remember what the individual pieces were but I think they're tuna, mackerel, and yellowtail. Some pieces were more buttery while others tasted clean and briny of the ocean.

This seasonal dish of corn custard (~$12) was fantastic. It was smooth like silken tofu but tasted of corn. The purple flowers on top were just eye appealing. The charred pieces of corn on top added a nice slight difference in texture and flavor. I loved this dish.

And now the larger dishes started to come out. First the Age Dashi Tofu ($13). The lightly fried cubes of tofu sat in thicken dashi sauce and an array of mushrooms. This dish was really amazing. If you have me this and a bowl of white rice, I would be a very happy person. The tofu was perfectly fried with a nice light crunchy crust. Inside, the tofu was soft and silky. The brown sauce added so much savory flavor to an otherwise naturally sweet tofu. So, so good.

We wanted some meat during our meal so we went a little adventurous and had the Kuroge Washugyu tongue yaki shabu ($19). These thinly sliced black angus tongue were raw and needed searing.

And that's what this hot stone is for. First take the piece of fat on the far left and rub it all around the hot stone. It'll sizzle on contact.

Then place the tongue on the stone. Keep an eye on it because you don't want it to overcook. I like my tongue just seared so it stays tender. It was definitely very flavorful and delicious.

What I also loved about this dish is the small accompanying fried vegetables. Great presentation and preparation. We received a turnip, 2 kinds of mushroom, and a shishito pepper. Just lovely.

And finally, we had the chicken tsukune ($12) which came out nicely charred but still juicy inside. On the side was a perfectly poached egg.

We took the sausages and dipped it into the broken egg yolk. It was so incredibly soft and silky. I wish I had some bread to dip into it. Just lovely.

Again, I was really impressed by the meal I had at EN Japanese Brasserie. Service, unfortunately, was a little off target but forgivable. I just really love this place and would absolutely go back without an issue. I really would love to try their kaiseki meal one day.

EN Japanese Brasserie
435 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 647-9196
enjb.com

Lunch Week 38: Thanksgiving Leftovers

2011-11-30T10:00:00.009-05:00

Nothing really needs to be said about this week's lunch. Just awesomeness!

Tuesday Nights: The Smith

2011-11-29T10:00:00.049-05:00

I've heard of the the Smith from their original East Village location. A fun place to go for good food. They've recently opened a second location in Midtown East. The place is large and vast. The bar stretches long and could easily seat 40 people.

It just so happened that lots of people backed out of happy hour on this day. So the 3 of us decided to still go out and enjoy ourselves. We opted for dinner instead of sharing appetizers. We had a girls night out and it was lovely.

We started the night with a few drinks. I had the Smith Ale ($7) which was okay. Not bad but nothing great. I wouldn't mind drinking it again.

As for food, we started off the night with a bowl of hot potato chips with blue cheese fondue ($8). The serving was huge and totally surprised us. We were happy indeed. The freshly fried potato chips were thin and crispy. The dousing of blue cheese sauce was creamy and not too funky. It was a good pairing. This would work really well at the bar over several beers. This serving was a little too much for just us three even though we finished it. It would be better suited for 4 or more people.

After the appetizer, we waited a really long time for our food. However, both the waitress and the host/manager came up and apologized twice. I appreciated that very much. I understand that things happen and schedules can be messed up.

My friend had the Grilled shrimp ($24) which came with jalapeno grits, butter, and green tomato salad. She enjoyed it but thought that the still on tails were annoying to eat. I agreed. Restaurants, please deshell your shrimp completely in dishes like these. Thanks!

Both Ms. Lollipop and I had the Smith Bar Steak ($23). The cut of steak wasn't very fatty so I was glad that I ordered it medium rare which it came properly cooked. I had my steak with a green peppercorn sauce while she had the bearnaise. The steaks needed the sauce. The fries were plentiful and crispy. I actually thought it was overwhelming. Looking back, I should have picked the side salad instead. I didn't touch my fries but I know I would've enjoyed the greens.

For sides, we shared some sauteed garlic spinach ($5) which was really garlicky! They weren't kidding with that description. It tasty but don't expect to be kissing anyone after that.

I ordered the brussels sprouts ($5) which were nicely charred on one side. I wish they were also charred on the cut side. But they were nice anyway.

We really enjoyed the food. It was solid but nothing amazing. I would come back happily. The place does get very busy though. The bar area was completely packed when we were there. As the night went on, it became even more crowded. And although the table area is large, it was also packed. It must be a popular place.

The Smith
956 Second Avenue NYC
New York, NY 10003
(212)644-2700
thesmithnyc.com