Chef Grace

Matt had a dinner to go to tonight, so I had to fend for myself... I managed to make a whole meal on my own! Although this isn't a HUGE feat now, a few years ago this could have been disastrous. 

Matt watched me cook something once a few years ago and was appalled (and possibly afraid for his, and my, life). Back then, aside from having close to ZERO basic culinary and knife skills (I probably should not have any fingers), I also had never used a gas stove (I grew up with an electric one).

Let's just say I had some trouble getting the burner to light and may or may not have almost blown up the whole apartment... Did I mention Matt was afraid for his life? 

Anyways, I feel like I have come a LONG way in the kitchen in the past few years, and with the help of Matt (and Alton Brown), I may not be the BEST cook in the world, but I definitely have learned a lot! So without further adieu, I present you with... my dinner.

(There aren't as many pictures as I would have liked to document all the steps, but it was a bit difficult to prep, cook and photograph all at the same time. But...the apartment and I are unharmed! Winner!!)

Panko-Crusted Veal Scallopini on a Bed of Arugala and Tomatoes

Veal Ingredients: Veal Scallopini, Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Garlic Powder, Eggs, Flour, Panko (Japanese Bread Crumbs), Butter, Canola Oil

Salad: Arugala, Grape Tomatoes, Spanish Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar

Directions: Using 3 separate containers, place AP flour in the first container, beat an egg and add paprika and garlic powder in the second container, and panko in the last container.

 Remove veal from packaging and tenderize the meat (if you don't have a meat tenderizer, a fork works nicely). Season each side with salt and pepper. 

Create an assembly line: veal, flour, egg, panko, pan, plate lined with a paper towel. Having everything in order and ready to go will make it MUCH easier to manage everything once you start cooking.

Place a pan on medium-heat, pour enough Canola oil to just coat the bottom of the pan and add a small tab of butter. While waiting for the oil to heat up, dip the veal into the flour, dunk in egg mixture, coat in panko. 

I recommend getting 3-4 pieces (depending on the size of your pan, and the size of your veal) ready to go before dropping it into the pan. After you place the veal in the pan, start coating up and getting those other pieces ready. 

Using a pair of tongs, turn the veal over when the bottom is a nice golden brown (should only take about 1-2 minutes per side). Remove veal and place on your paper towel lined plate. Repeat with remaining veal. If the pan looks a little dry, add a little more oil and/or butter (or both) before putting more pieces in.

I had put my salad on the plate first and added some tomatoes. Once the veal was finished, I drizzled some olive oil and balsamic on the salad and then placed a few pieces of veal on top.

Happy Birthday Matt!

Okay, okay. I've been bad and haven't been cooking, but given that Matt's birthday is coming up, I treated him to a surprise birthday dinner at Per Se! Not too shabby! 

They even printed up our own menus and wished Matt a Happy Birthday!

 I uploaded a picture of the menu since the pictures are mediocre.

Happy Birthday Matt!!

Lame

No dinner tonight, sorry! Between lame StateFarm telling us we live too close to the water (ahem, we live on an island? and the new apartment is only 200ft closer...) and our favorite Italian restaurant Papoos going out of business, it looks like it's just going to be a steak and cheese sandwich, wine and hockey night.

Papoos was by far the BEST Italian place in the area. We ordered from there ALL THE TIME! I'm devastated! :( Seriously had the tastiest cheese raviolis... sigh. I can't think about it, it's going to make me all depressed.


No dinner updates until Monday at least. I'll be going home for the weekend. It's my dad's birthday on Friday!
Happy Birthday Dad!


*****Update*****
Getting insurance for this place is really starting to suck.

Food Jewelery

Oh my gosh, this is the cutest thing I've ever seen...jewelery that looks like mini food items! Not only is it cute, but it's making me hungry! Yum!

Miam Paris

Good Investments and Taco Tuesday

Went to Atlantic City this weekend for the first time. Had a good time despite the interesting clothing choices I saw. Not as many blow outs as I expected to see, but did see a pretty class BALD-out... he even had a chin strap to go along with the look!

Also, is this just a New Jersey phenomenon, or maybe I missed the memo, but we saw TONS of people carrying their clothes on hangers. I mean, I can understand putting a blazer or a suit jacket on a hanger to keep it from wrinkling... but some guy had a duffel bag, and had a pair of jeans slug over his shoulder (oh no! his jeans may get creased in a bag???) and a jacket on a hanger. This was a common occurrence all weekend. Bizarre behavior.

So, the best part of the day was when I accompanied Matt to the Craps table. I wasn't playing, but simply observing the game, and learning the rules from Matt. Eventually the dice came toward the side of the table we were at, and this older gentleman standing next to me asked if I was going to roll. As I wasn't really playing at the time, I gave a little shrug and indecisive "I don't know..." answer.

His reply? He plops down $10 on the table and told me he was going to "sponsor" my roll. I can't really refuse free money right? So I roll, and win! I go to give him my winnings only to be waved away and told to could keep whatever I won... which after 15 minutes of rolling, was quite a bit. It was kind of exciting having the whole table chanting my name. I managed to use the money I won at the table for the remainder of my stay AND make a little more money on top of that. Atlantic City success!
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Now on to dinner... we seem to be cooking foods that start with a "T" on Tuesdays. This is definitely not intentional, I promise, but amusing nonetheless. So I introduce to you... Tacos!

Homemade Soft Tacos

Taco Meat Ingredients: 90% Ground Sirloin, Onions, Salt, Red Pepper Flakes, Black Pepper, Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Cumin, Paprika, Cilantro, Lime

Other Ingredients: Sour Cream, Whole Wheat Tortillas, Manchego Cheese, Romaine Lettuce, Plum Tomatoes

Directions: Dice 1 plum tomato, grate Manchego cheese and shred some Romaine lettuce. Place each into their own bowls and set aside. 

Take a handful of cilantro (leaves off of 2-3 sprigs) and chop fine. Set aside.

Dice 1/2 a Spanish onion. Heat a skillet under medium-heat and add some canola oil. Sweat onions for about 5 minutes, or until translucent, and season with salt.

When onions are clear around the edges, add 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes and mix in.

Add ground beef to the pan, making sure to break up the large chunks, and stir occasionally.

After about 5 minutes, or when meat is just about browned through, add:

1/2 tsp each of black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cumin

1 tsp each of chili powder and paprika

Stir spices into meat mixture and turn heat down slightly (should be just under a simmer) for 10 minutes to thicken the juices in the pan. Stir occasionally.

1-2 minutes before taking off the heat, add the cilantro into the meat and squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lime.

Now go create some tacos!

I wrapped up the leftovers, and just had to take a picture. So cute! It looks like it belongs in an American Express commercial!

Smile!

Flinstone Dinner

So we had this ridiculously huge steak that was way too large for 2 people to eat, so Matt brought Patrick home for dinner. He made steak and parsnip potato puree.

Rib Steak with Parsnip-Potato Puree

Ingredients: 2.3lb Bone-In Rib Steak, Salt, Pepper, Safflower Oil

Directions: Bring steak to room temperature.

Heavily season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with safflower oil (or any flavorless oil).

Sear for 2 minutes per side on a very hot pan.

Move to a 450°F oven for 2-3 minutes. 

Remove from oven and put 2 tbsp of butter in pan over medium heat and baste.

Put steak back in oven for an additional 1 minute for medium rare.
Rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve immediately.

Parsnip-Potato Puree: Cube potatoes (2) and parsnips (3). 

Cook in boiling water for, until knife tender.

Add 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of heavy cream and mash (we used a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but you can also mash by hand).

 Season with white pepper and a pinch of truffle salt.

Tuesday Tuna!

More apartment hunting, but there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully we'll have something ready to go by the end of the week. Since we were looking at apartments, we decided to do something quick for dinner.

Sesame Crusted Tuna Steaks with Roasted Asapargus

Tuna Steak: seasoned with salt, pepper, black and white sesame seeds, grated lime zest

Sauce: soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, wasabi, sesame oil

Directions: Pour about 1-2 tbsp of canola oil in a stainless pan over high heat.

When the oil is hot, place the tuna steaks in the pan.

Cook for 30 seconds - 1 minute (depending on thickness) on each side.

Remove from pan and slice. Drizzle sauce over tuna.

Asparagus: seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, lime juice

Directions: place in a 400°F oven for 10 minutes.

Pop n Lock

Despite requesting not to get any more kitchen appliances, Matt's great-aunts sent him a Cuisinart Easy Pop Popcorn Maker for Christmas. Seriously, who has a popcorn maker in a Manhattan apartment??

Anyway... when life gives you a popcorn maker, make some popcorn?

 

 Maybe this will turn out okay...besides freshly popped popcorn IS a healthy snack, right?

Sunday Madness

**As per requested, I have added directions on how to make the Mac n' Cheese below.


Apartment searching is so stressful... Went to two open houses and two more in the next two days. Whew! Despite the craziness, I managed to whip up some over-easy eggs and some leftovers for a tasty brunch. 

On tonight's dinner menu, we're planning on doing some braised pork ribs with macaroni and cheese. I'm pretty excited. The ribs have been in the oven for the past few hours, becoming more delicious by the minute!

Braised Pork Ribs with Mac n' Cheese

Pork Ribs: seasoned with salt

Braising Liquid: garlic, onions, pumpkin ale, chicken stock, onions, garlic, mustard powder, coriander, crushed black pepper, honey, brown sugar, white wine vinegar

  

Directions: Heat oil in a dutch oven on medium heat and brown the garlic. 

Sear ribs for 2-3 minutes on each side, remove and set aside. 

Add onions and stir occasionally until translucent. 

De-glaze with pumpkin ale. 

Put ribs back into the pot and add chicken stock until ribs are just covered. 

Add spices (mustard powder, coriander, crushed black pepper, honey, brown sugar) and finish off with white wine vinegar.

 Bring to a simmer and move to 225°F oven for about 4 hrs.

Cheese: Gruyère, Fontina, Parmesan (4oz each)

Directions: Grate cheese. Set aside 2oz of grated Parmesan. Mix the rest together in a bowl.

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta to al dente.

While waiting for the water to boil, pre-heat oven to 350°F. 

In a saucier, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-heat until slightly browned. Add 3 tablespoons of flour and stir constantly for 5 minutes to make a roux. Stir in about 1.5 cups of milk, 1.5 cups of heavy cream, 2oz of shredded Parmesan, and season with salt and white pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add drained pasta and mix until well coated.

In a baking dish, alternate layers of pasta and cheese mixture. Top with panko bread crumbs.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes.

Things to look forward to later this week: going to Momofuku Ko Thursday with Matt, Raz, and Adam!