Short Insights

Giant(s) ticker tape parade

2012-02-07T09:52:00.002-05:00

Forgot this happens downtown this morning. Picture of the crowd as I scrambled to the subway to get to work before everything shut down.

Go Giants!?

Happy 2012!

2012-01-30T21:59:00.000-05:00

With the holidays, and craziness finishing the last few things for work before I transition to a new position, cooking has been kind of haphazard and lazy. Mostly super quick and easy foods... I don't know what inspired me today, but I went all out!

Starter: Arugula salad, cucumbers, yellow bell pepper, strawberries, and goat cheese with oil and balsamic dressing.

Main: Pork chop marinaded in olive oil, soy, rice wine vinegar, garlic, and some honey topped with crispy caramelized onions.

Not quite dessert, but had some extra crispy onions (slow cooked down with salt, olive oil and a tab of butter) that I definitely finished eating because they were totally delicious!

How Asian, Dumplings For Dinner!

2011-10-17T20:34:00.000-04:00

I went home this weekend and pretty much gorged on Korean food... (No, seriously gorged... my dad had to tell me to "stop eating!") Clearly I was in an Asian food mood! So, instead of going to the regular grocery store I went to M2M, an Asian market in the East Village (on 3rd Ave and 11th St - map). I bought some rice, dumplings, dried seaweed, pickled radishes, etc.

My mom always has some dumplings on hand in her freezer. They are super fast and easy, which makes for a quick and easy dinner -- just my style! All you need to do is defrost them, which really only takes a few minutes. You can leave a few out while you wait for your water to boil, and/or chop up some veg to put on the side. By the time your water is ready, the dumplings should be good to start cooking. Drop in the dumplings, boil them 1-2 minutes and ta-da! Practically an instant dinner!

I sautéed up some onions, sweet peppers and squash, topped it with my boiled dumplings, and drizzled some soy sauce on them to finish it all off (the soy sauce also helps the dumplings from sticking together).

RIP, Wall Street

2011-10-05T22:23:00.000-04:00

Well I suppose first things, first, RIP Steve Jobs. You will be missed.

RIP Steve Jobs.

In other news, there seems to be no end to this Occupy Wall Street protest. I had to walk about 6 blocks around and out of my way to get to my apartment. I get it, you're protesting. But some people are just standing around and taking pictures, blocking my way. Some of us are just trying to get home... I want to go home people! I have some bacon to fry! Sigh. At least I got past some barricades without having to pull out my electric bill as proof of identity.

So despite leaving work at a relatively decent hour, dinner still wasn't until 9pm. Thank god I made that zucchini and goat cheese spread yesterday! Tonight's dinner would NOT have gone well otherwise. Sliced and toasted a half-baguette, slathered it with my spread, added some cucumber and tomato, and topped it off with some delicious bacon.

It was so tasty, I almost forgot about the protest outside... except I can still hear helicopters circling the Financial District.

To distract myself, here are some more tasty pictures of a plum cobbler I made the other day:

[Update]: I just found this video posted online. I missed this by about 15 minutes. Yikes!

Cheese Is the New Black

2011-09-23T01:51:00.001-04:00

I have this new obsession with cheese... in particular, grilled cheese and mac and cheese... making Monday night just about perfect. I met up with the girls at Beecher's Handmade Cheese, where we each got a sampler of 3 different mac and cheeses (balsamic, curried cauliflower curry, and the "World's Best"), accompanied by a minimum of 4 glasses of wine, all for $35 (thanks for the awesome deal UrbanDaddy)!

2-of-3 Mac and Cheese Samplers. From left to right: Balsamic mac and cheese, curried cauliflower mac and cheese)

While the original Beecher's originates in Seattle's famous Pike Place Market, a store/cafe and cellar just opened up in NYC in the Flatiron District. When you walk through the doors, you find yourself in the middle of a a mini-market where you can do a little bit of shopping, or grab an espresso and a quick bite in the cafe. However, "The Cellar" located in the basement, holds a different vibe. Cute and rustic, with its exposed brick walls, they offer delicious wines (I had the house red and it was pretty friggin' tasty if you ask me...) as well as a selection of side salads, decadent mac and cheeses. They also offer real food, but that is for another post (also, I didn't get any entrees this time around)!

I would definitely recommend this place if you are having a mac and cheese craving, or if you're just looking a place to get together with your girlfriends (if you plan to go with a group, it might benefit to make a reservation). Either way, I will definitely be back!

The only thing I don't recommend is the grilled cheese martini... no matter how much your waiter tells you it's worth trying... it was kind of gross. It's like an alcoholic gazpacho infused cheese liquid, with a prosciutto glazed rim. I'd say stick to the wines, but if you want to try it, don't say I didn't warn you....

Grilled Cheese Martini Verdict Gets 5 Thumbs Down. (photo via @hels)

To finish off the post, and the week, I made some dinner for me and my roommate tonight! Yay cooking!

I'm sort of in love with Buitoni's pasta packages since it makes a great quick dinner, especially since my work schedule has been crazy lately. I picked up some cheese tortellini and tossed it in a quick garlic olive oil infusion. I also made a caprese salad and topped both the salad and pasta off with fresh basil.

Feeling inspired from a dinner I had at a friend's apartment last week, I even made dessert! We finished off dinner with some grilled peaches, spiced with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a splash of orange juice, topped with oatmeal crumble.

Paired with 2 bottles of wine, I'd say it was a pretty successful culinary week for me!

Dinner and a Movie

2011-08-20T21:57:00.000-04:00

After a great vacation and really busy week at work, I decided to aim for a (relatively) healthy and productive weekend. Went to Whole Foods for lunch, picked up a super cute pillow at Bed Bath and Beyond, and then saw The Help. So, off to a good start... at least until I start reading the second book of A Song of Fire and Ice. I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose all productivity after that.

But first, dinner! There was a ton of spinach in the fridge so I decided on some pasta with chicken, garlic, onions, spinach and tomato. It required a bit of multitasking, but was pretty simple.

I set the water to boil while I chopped some onion, minced garlic, and diced a tomato. I also seasoned my chicken with some salt and pepper.

I added the pasta into the boiling water, heated a pan on medium-high heat, added some olive oil and placed the chicken in the pan to cook. I put another pan on medium-low heat, added olive oil, the garlic and onions with a sprinkle of salt.

I drained the pasta, returned it back to the pot with some olive oil (so it wouldn't stick).
I took the chicken out of the pan to rest and added the spinach to the pan with my garlic and onions. When the spinach had reduced, I sliced up the chicken, threw it in the pan, and added the diced tomatoes on top. A spoonful of Parmesan to finish it off and voila!

And I Shall Name You, Fancy Dinner

2011-06-14T21:19:00.000-04:00

It's been a really long time since I blogged... and even longer since I posted about food... Well actually, it's been a really long time since I really even cooked, let alone cooked something worth posting about!

Anyway, was inspired to cook today so I here's the quick and dirty:
Made a quick olive oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce marinade for my chicken.
Boiled water and dropped in fresh corn on the cob.
Browned my chicken up in a stainless pan and deglazed it with some red wine and butter.
Threw in some onions and zucchini.
Added in the corn kernels (I cut them off the cob).
Sliced up an avocado, and viola!

Snowpocalypse 2010

2010-12-28T17:37:00.003-05:00

We were hit with 23.5" of snow in the crazy blizzard on Sunday...

...so I couldn't resist and I made the cutest and happiest snowperson ever today!!

Holidaze

2010-12-14T21:51:00.000-05:00

So.... Happy Holidays!
My building threw a little holiday party for us today and there were the CUTEST little cookies. I just had to take a picture of them (and then promptly eat them).

The little details were just too cute!

Busy/Lazy and Crazy Ice Cube!

2010-11-16T19:55:00.001-05:00

Okay, my title is a little schizophrenic, but I've been too busy/lazy to post any Disney pics or commentary since I got back from my vacation. Anyway, here are some pictures from the trip:

On a side note, I went to the freezer to get some ice for my seltzer water and I saw an ice cube totally defying gravity. How does this happen?!

Poached Egg and Pasta

2010-09-29T20:15:00.000-04:00

I am super proud of myself and my culinary achievement... I poached my first egg! I didn't have any regular vinegar so I did improvise by using balsamic vinegar... whatever, don't judge it worked and that's all that matters!

Basically brought up some water to a rolling boil and then turned it down until it was more of a simmer. I added in some balsamic, to help the egg white form faster, and made sure the water was still simmering. With a slotted spoon I gently stirred the water before dropping in my egg (I cracked the egg and placed it in a small prep bowl to make this easier).

At first, I thought the egg exploded because there were stringy whites everywhere, but after a few seconds of using my spoon to sort of "fold" the water over the egg to help contain the whites, there in the middle of the water was this pretty little egg. I shut off the heat at this point, covered my pot, and let it sit for 2-3 minutes.
Using my slotted spoon, I carefully scooped up my egg and placed it on top of my pasta.

In the pasta I added some salt, pepper, garlic, onions, peas, grated Parmesan, and a tab of butter. Topped with my, slightly balsamic vinegary colored, poached egg.

Food, Houston Recap, and More

2010-09-25T01:28:00.002-04:00

Given my unhealthy weekend in Houston full of BBQ, breakfast tacos, and a delicious dinner of flank steak, bone marrow risotto, and peach-blueberry cobbler...mmmm

I decided to stick to a relatively healthy dinner menu this week. At the same time, I wanted to keep it simple. So salad it is! It turned out quite tasty, colorful, and really pretty!

I seasoned the chicken chunks with some salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper and sautéed it in a pan with some olive oil and garlic. It's plated on top of a bed of arugala, orange peppers, plum tomatoes, red onion, and avocado that is dressed with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The salad is finished with a little bit of fresh lime juice.

Below are some pictures from my trip to Houston. It may have been a PIA to get there, but I got to finally visit my sister and hang out! It was a little rainy the entire weekend, but we still had fun. We went to the George Mason Ranch where we saw some chickens, cows, and houses from the 1880s-1920s.

One of the other places we went was Tacos-A-Go-Go for breakfast tacos and the NASA Space Museum. My co-worker Andrew bought the All-You-Can-Jet pass from JetBlue and happened to be in Houston at the same time. Since he was only 5 minutes away from my sister's apartment, and he had never been to Houston either, we decided to hang out for the day!

Tacos-A-Go-Go: This place was a little eclectic

There was a Lego world at the museum...

...and we couldn't resist taking some pictures

There was also jousting...

...and my mom totally beat me up!

There was actual NASA stuff too...

And last but not least, we made jewelry! My sister has tons of beads, tools, etc to make earrings, necklaces, bracelets, etc. So we went to the bead store and got materials. Everything came out really cute, and it was a lot cheaper than buying pre-made jewelry!

Bought the stone and made it into a pendant.

I made the tan and brown bracelets to compliment the green bracelet, which I bought pre-made for $5.

I was sad to fly back home since I don't really see my sister too often so despite a late start to my vacation, it was worth it! xoxo D! The flight home was uneventful, but I did get to see a pretty cool sunset sky from the plane.

Guac Party and Dinner!

2010-09-22T22:01:00.001-04:00

I had ordered 2 avocados from Fresh Direct and got 2 for free in the Fresh Produce program. So since there was no way I was going to eat 4 avocados, what better way to utilize extra avocados than to make some guacamole! Maggie, we miss you and I wish you could be a part of our guac party!!

As for dinner, I made marinaded some boneless pork chops in soy sauce, garlic, and lime juice and placed it over a bed of arugala mixed with tomatoes and peppers. I was too lazy to take pictures throughout, but here's a pic of the final product :)

On a totally unrelated note, here's a picture of the cute stuffed monkey I bought from the NASA Space Museum in Houston. He's currently attached to my reading lamp next to my bed. Isn't he cute??

Tornadoes, Taxis and Tears

2010-09-17T01:04:00.000-04:00

Well, nothing like a ridiculous storm full of thunder, lighting, hail, and tornadoes to put a damper on my vacation. It took me 45 minutes to get a cab from my office, and then another 3 hrs to travel about 8 miles... the last 2 of those 8 miles probably took me 2.5 hrs. Ridiculous. I finally called it quits and decided to come back to Manhattan. Don't know if I made the right decision or not as my 8:45pm flight is still "delayed" and has a current estimated departure time of 1:20am. I suppose I could have roughed it out, but I was pretty sure that route would have been another 3+ hrs in a cab... 6 hours in a car with a guy telling me he should have never picked me up and how I "totally messed up" his night was unbearable. There were many tears and I had to draw the line somewhere.

All the flights tomorrow morning and afternoon are sold out due to tonight's AMAZING weather. I'm still a bit upset that I've lost a day of vacation, but I'm determined to get there. So, Round 2: Flight to Houston tomorrow @ 8:45pm.

The only thing that cheered me up today was the delivery of the painting for my room! I fell in love with it at the store and hung it up as soon as I got home.

Balsamic Dijon Chicken with Asparagus

2010-09-15T00:21:00.000-04:00

Ingredients

Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Dijon Mustard
Garlic
Thyme
Chicken Cutlet
Asparagus
Tomatoes
Salt & Pepper

Balsamic Dijon Chicken with Asparagus

Create a marinade combining the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, minced garlic, and some thyme. Mix everything thoroughly and pour into a Ziploc bag. Insert chicken and refrigerate overnight.

To prepare the asparagus, gently bend the stalks. It should break at its natural breaking point, getting rid of the more woody portion. Mince a clove of garlic and dice some tomatoes. Drizzle some olive oil on the asparagus, season with salt and pepper, and gently toss. Add olive oil in a pan with medium heat. Sauté the asparagus for 4-5 minutes, turn off the heat, and then cover pan with a lid to steam.

While you are sautéing the asparagus, place another pan over medium-high heat for the chicken. Add some olive oil, and when it comes up to heat, remove the chicken from its marinade and into the pan. Cook the chicken cutlets 2-3 minutes on each side.

Garlic Chicken with Zucchini and Carrots

2010-09-01T22:38:00.000-04:00

Have a headache, so this is going to be a short post...

I wanted to practice my knife skills so I decided to julienne some zucchini and carrots. Tossed it in some olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Balsamic Chicken Pasta & Summer Salad with Grilled Chicken

2010-09-01T01:10:00.000-04:00

Have been a little busy as of late, so there hasn't been much cooking. However, I did manage to throw 2 dishes together in the past week.

One was a simple pasta dish with balsamic marinated chicken, onions, garlic, carrots, and tomato. I was in a hurry, so I only marinated the chicken for about 15 minutes in a mixture of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and basil. While I was waiting for the chicken to marinate I boiled the water and made the pasta. I drained and set this aside when it was finished.
On medium heat, with a little bit of olive oil in a pan, I sautéed the onions, garlic and carrots until tender and cooked through. In a separate pan, on medium-high heat, I cooked the chicken. I was using relatively thin chicken cutlet so it really only took 2-3 minutes on each side.
Once the vegetable mixture was ready, I added a tab of butter, dumped the pasta in the pan, and mixed everything together. At this point I also tossed in the diced tomatoes I had.
Slice the chicken and toss in the pan to warm up before plating.

The other was a summery salad. Grilled chicken on top of a bed arugula, tomatoes, strawberries, sautéed zucchini, and walnuts with a light drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. I seasoned the chicken with some salt and pepper, and cooked it for 2-3 minutes on each side in a pan with olive oil on medium-high heat. I also cut the zucchini into manageable bite-sized pieces, tossed in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper, and let them soften up in a pan on medium heat. Once everything was cooked, I basically just threw the rest of the salad together. Quick and easy!

Passive Aggressive Notes

2010-08-09T15:47:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite sites to browse when I'm bored is PassiveAggressiveNotes. Needless to say, when I got up to get a Dr. Pepper from one of the vending machines in my office and saw this sign stuck to the other machine, I couldn't resist grabbing my phone and taking a picture. I have to admit, it kind of made my day.

Spinach Ricotta Lasagna

2010-07-13T22:20:00.001-04:00

After the can opener debacle, I finally got all the tools I needed to make some spinach lasagna. I was a little lazy and got no-boil pasta and I didn't make my own sauce but it still came out pretty tasty. It's also a 10-ingredient meal! Yay!

Ingredients

Lasagna Noodles
Garlic (1 clove)
Tomato (1 medium)
Tomato Sauce (15oz)
Spinach (10oz)
Ricotta (15oz)
Mozzarella
Parmesan
Egg (1)
Salt & Pepper

Spinach-Ricotta Lasagna

(Serving size: 6)

Wash, remove stems, and roughly chop the spinach. Squeeze as much water as you can from the spinach. Dice the tomato and set aside (Set aside 1/3 of the diced tomato to top the lasagna). Mince the garlic and mix into the tomato sauce. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, mix the egg and ricotta together until blended. Mix spinach into the egg and ricotta mixture. Add salt and pepper to season.

In a casserole dish, layer the pasta, place some spinach and ricotta filling on top of the pasta, sprinkle some of the diced tomatoes on top. Repeat.

On the top layer, pour the tomato sauce on top of the pasta. Top with slices of mozzarella and grated parmesan.

*Note: If you are using no-boil pasta, add about 1/4-1/2 cup of water and pour around the sides of the dish. Cover with foil and place in oven to bake. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and continue to bake for another 15 minutes.

Lasagna - Can Opener = Pizza + Fried Eggs

2010-07-12T20:43:00.001-04:00

I tried making lasagna today, but apparently Andrea does not own a can opener. Fail.
So, leftover pizza with fried egg it is!

This conversation with my dad totally belongs on MyDadIsAFob:

(8:45:47 PM) Dad: Hi.

(8:45:52 PM) Me: hi

(8:46:05 PM) Dad: did you eat dinner?

(8:46:09 PM) Me: eating now

(8:46:18 PM) Dad: what is it?

(8:46:57 PM) Dad: you better take a good nutrition meal.

(8:47:16 PM) Me: i was going to make lasagna

(8:47:26 PM) Me: but andrea doesnt have a can opener!

(8:48:08 PM) Dad: i never heard that what kind of food is it?

(8:48:24 PM) Me: lasagna??

(8:48:27 PM) Me: you have heard it

(8:48:30 PM) Me: its the pasta

(8:48:37 PM) Me: shaped like a square

(8:49:14 PM) Dad: ok maybe . anyway you did not finish you dinner yet . did you?

(8:49:37 PM) Me: http://www.epicurean.com/articles/images/lasagna.gif

(8:49:40 PM) Me: lasagna dad.

(8:49:42 PM) Me: lasagna

(8:50:46 PM) Dad: i saw it. i try to remember its name from now on. just enjoy you meal. and talk to later if you are not fisnish you dinner yet.

Ten-Ingredient Dinner - Lemon Chicken

2010-06-28T23:02:00.001-04:00

So, to earn my keep, I decided to make dinner for me and Andrea. Surprisingly enough, I've made another TEN ingredient dinner! I wonder how long I can keep this up.

Ingredients

Chicken
Lemon
Garlic
Flour
Salt & Pepper
Chicken Broth
Olive Oil
Green Beans
Butter

Lemon Chicken

(Serving size: 2-4)

Season both sides of your chicken breast with salt and pepper and cover in flour. Heat up a pan over medium-high heat with some olive oil. When the pan is hot enough, cook the chicken for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Again, if your chicken breast is thicker, this process might take longer.

While your chicken is cooking, chop up 1 clove of garlic and cut a lemon in half. When the chicken is done, set aside. In the same pan, add the garlic, juice of half a lemon, and about 1/2 a cup of chicken broth. Bring to a simmer. In a small cup add a few tablespoons of water and a tablespoon of flour. Mix together to create a slurry. Add this to the simmering sauce and mix in. This will help thicken your sauce.

To make the green beans, I just put some olive oil in a pan browned some garlic, tossed in some French-cut green beans (frozen green beans unfortunately, but quick and easy) until warm. Add a some salt, pepper, and a tab of butter to taste.

Impromptu Dinner

2010-06-18T22:45:00.001-04:00

I decided to treat myself and cook something up for dinner. So I went to the store and picked up some groceries and made a simple and tasty meal with just TEN ingredients!

Ingredients

Garlic
Honey
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Mandarin (or any citrus fruit such as orange, lemon, lime, etc.)
Boneless Chicken Breast
Onion
Tomatoes
Pasta
Salt & Pepper (I don't consider salt & pepper as a real "ingredient" so I'm just lumping them together, okay?)

Balsamic Chicken & Pasta

(Serving size: 1-2)

First you need to marinate your chicken breast for about 1 hour.

To make the marinade, add the following in a small bowl:

1 clove of garlic - minced

Honey - 2 tbsp

Balsamic Vinegar - 4 tbsp

Olive Oil - 2 tsp

Juice of half a small citrus fruit (I used mandarin)

Salt

Mix everything up until the honey is dissolved. (I really just dumped things together without measuring and tasted to make sure it wasn't too sweet, or too off-tasting.)

Poke some holes in your chicken with a fork to tenderize a little (it will also help absorb the marinade) before putting into a Ziploc bag. Pour the marinade inside and close the bag. Try and get as much air as possible before closing up the top and make sure your chicken is coated.

I usually use my hands to squish everything around and then stick on a plate or bowl (for sanitary purposes!) inside the refrigerator. I like marinating my proteins in a plastic baggie because its easy and by taking the excess air out, you can make sure that everything is evenly coated.

Before you start the chicken, bring a pot of water to a boil and prep the ingredients for your pasta (dice some onions and tomatoes, and mince another head a garlic) and set aside.

After you pasta is done cooking, drizzle a bit of olive oil on it to keep it from sticking.

When you're ready to cook the chicken, place a pan on medium-high heat and bring up to temperature. Cook the chicken for about 4 minutes on each side. If your chicken breast is thicker, this process might take longer.

While your chicken is cooking, add some olive oil into a sauté pan in saute pan (or in the pot you made your pasta in which is what I did) over medium heat. When it gets hot enough, add in the garlic, onions and a pinch of salt. When the onions are translucent and the garlic is a golden color, add the pasta back into the pot/pan to reheat. Toss in the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Good Friends...

2010-05-21T13:01:00.000-04:00

I was at Duane Reade today with a friend looking at birthday cards and I found this gem:

front:

inside:

and this AWESOME poster inside:

Pork Chops and Spicy Green Beans

2010-05-04T22:01:00.000-04:00

There was a hockey game on tonight, and I wanted to be able to finally cook the bone-in pork chops we had so I took a stab at dinner tonight. I'm only familiar with boneless pork cutlets, so this was a new experience for me!

Pork Chops and Spicy Green Beans

Marinate the pork chops for at least 1-hour in a mixture of soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, and honey. I stuck everything in a large Ziploc bag and tried to remove as much air as I could.

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F. Also set out a pot of water to boil for your green beans.

When the oven reaches the desired temperature, lightly drizzle olive oil on both sides of the pork chop. Place a heavy pan over high heat. When hot, sear pork chops for one-minute on each side and then stick the pan in the oven. Let cook for 20 minutes in a convection oven, if you have a regular oven you will need to let it cook for a little longer (about 30-35 minutes).

While your pork chops are in the oven, you can prep the ingredients for your green beans. You can refer to my previous post on how to prepare your beans... If you are too lazy to click on the link, here is the summarized version: Boil water, cook beans 3-4 minutes, drain, shock, set aside.

(You should probably wait until your pork chops are done before you start this part since this doesn't take too long and can be done while the meat is resting)

The ingredients I used for these green beans are slightly different than before but it follows basically the same concept.

Instead of just minced garlic, I also added some roughly chopped peanuts. I substituted the olive oil with sesame oil and replaced the black pepper with crushed red pepper.

Sauté the garlic over medium heat in some sesame oil. When it starts to brown slightly, add in the chopped peanuts and some crushed red pepper. Add in your green beans and stir so everything is integrated and your beans are warmed through.

Plate and serve!

Porterhouse and Green Beans

2010-04-26T21:31:00.000-04:00

If there is one thing Matt does well, it is growing a playoff beard... He also makes a pretty great steak. He has figured out how to create a fabulous crust on the outside, while keeping the inside juicy and delicious. As his sous chef, I'm usually in charge of figuring out the side dish. This is fine by me, since it's probably the only way we eat any sort of vegetable on a semi-normal basis.

Porterhouse Steak and Garlic Green Beans

Making the perfect steak consists of very few ingredients: steak, salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of oil so everything heats evenly.

Season the steak with salt and pepper, and on very high heat, place the steak in the hot pan (it should sizzle and start to smoke).

Sear the steak for about 2-minutes on each side before placing into a 500°F oven for 3 minutes.

Remove steak from the oven, baste with butter, and put back into the oven for another 2-3 minutes for a medium-rare steak. Place the steak on a place and cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes (this is so all the delicious juices don't come running out when you slice into the meat. It also makes for a juicy steak, instead of a dry one).

Although less exciting, but still tasty, I made some sautéed garlic green beans to pair with our steak.

Place a pot of water on the stove on high heat. While you wait for the water to boil, wash and cut the ends off of your green beans. Also, mince 2 garlic cloves and set aside.

Add some salt to the water as it comes to a boil, and add the green beans. Set aside a large bowl full of ice cubes and water (enough to completely submerge the green beans). After about 3-4 minutes, take your beans off the heat and pour them into a strainer. Immediately move the beans into the ice bath (this "shocks" vegetable and also stops the cooking process. It ensures brightly colored and crispy beans!)

In a sauté pan, add 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (enough to coat all the beans) on medium heat. Add the minced garlic and stir occasionally so it doesn't burn. When the garlic gets to a golden-y brown color, introduce your green beans. Add a pinch of salt, some ground pepper and toss/mix until evenly all the beans are evenly coated. Optional: finish off with a small tab of butter...because butter makes everything better.

Slice up the steak, plate the green beans, and enjoy!

Furnished Apartment & Blueberry Pancakes

2010-04-17T16:43:00.002-04:00

We finally got the rest of our furniture delivered, and so I also finally took some pictures.

Apartment

To celebrate (also, I was in the mood for some) I made blueberry pancakes for brunch!

More Dinner!

2010-04-13T22:25:00.000-04:00

Last night was steak night! Matt made a filet mignon, steakhouse style-browned in a hot pan and finished in the oven (500°F for 5 minutes)... oh, it's also basted in butter and deliciousness! He took the steaks out to rest, and put the pan back on medium heat, cooked down some shallots and de-glazed with red wine (and some chicken stock if you need more liquid). Finish off with a tab of butter.
We paired the steak with some asparagus tossed in olive oil and seasoned with some salt and pepper (goes in the oven for 5-7 minutes).

Filet Mignon in a Red Wine-Shallot Reduction with Asparagus

Tonight was grilled lime-chicken and zucchini. The chicken breast was marinated in lime juice (2 limes), lime zest, 2 serrano chilies (chopped), salt, and olive oil. Zucchini was cut and tossed in olive oil and seasoned in salt and pepper. We did everything on our grill pan, so it was sort of like a 1-pot wonder, but on a griddle/grill.

Zesty-Lime Chicken and Grilled Zucchini

Dinners, Easter, and Birthdays

2010-04-13T21:57:00.000-04:00

I've been crazy busy lately so I haven't been really great about posting, but heres some pics of recently (or maybe not so recent) dinners.

Steamed Mussels

To celebrate the nice weather (and Easter...and Adam's birthday) Matt and I got some friends together for a little dinner party!

Risotto with Truffle Oil

Spice Rubbed Beef Tenderloin with Curry-Basil Mayo, Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans

We used the Joel Robuchon recipe for the mashed potatoes, but cut the butter in half (the recipe calls for 1 lb of butter for every 2lbs of potatoes). They were still buttery and delicious... and I felt less bad when I served my cake (which had 4 sticks of butter in it...)

Yellow Cake with Buttercream Frosting and Strawberry Filling

Ginger also brought a cake so we doubled up on the cake and drank some champagne on our roof-deck.

(Aren't we so classy?)

Chef Grace Part 2

2010-03-29T23:03:00.000-04:00

Matt went out tonight and I didn't want to get delivery AGAIN, especially since we had all these fresh ingredients tempting me in the fridge and all these new, shiny appliances were just begging to be used.
So, I forged ahead and cooked dinner by myself! (I hope Matt doesn't get mad that I deflowered his kitchen without him.) Since this was a "Grace" dinner, it's pretty simple, but doesn't make it any less tasty!

Grilled Chicken with Sauteed Spinach

Chicken Ingredients: Boneless Chicken Breast, Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil, Garlic, Shallots

Spinach Ingredients: Spinach, Salt, Garlic, Lemon Juice

Directions: Wash spinach leaves and run through a salad spinner to get rid of excess moisture. Set aside.

Finely chop one shallot and one large garlic clove and set aside. Season the chicken by rubbing olive oil and seasoning both sides liberally with salt and pepper.

Place a skillet on medium-heat and pour about a tablespoon of olive oil to warm. Add about 1/2 of the garlic and all of the shallots into the pan and stir it a few times so it doesn't burn.

Add the chicken breasts to the pan and cook 6-7 minutes on each side.

While the chicken is cooking, place a sauté pan on medium-heat. Put the remaining garlic and washed spinach into the pan. Add a salt and add the juice from half a small lemon (about 1-2 tablespoons). With a pair of tongs, continually toss the spinach until cooked down.

Netflix Suggestion Fail

2010-03-28T22:01:00.001-04:00

I went to add The Blind Side to my Netflix queue, and here some other movies they suggested for me.

Not quite sure how Divine Sisters of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood fits into this category...

Fresh Direct

2010-03-27T16:56:00.002-04:00

We finally did it! We placed an order with Fresh Direct and are going to start cooking again! Get excited and be on the look out for food updates soon!

Wednesday Meetings

2010-03-24T11:00:00.001-04:00

What better way to sit through a weekly healthcare sales-research meeting than to doodle my "HC Family"

Mags has requested a full color version... we'll see if I get to it. I can barely feed myself real food!
----

Here is the color version!

Belated Postings

2010-03-16T20:52:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in forever... I've been busy with packing and moving and unpacking and such. Yes, we FINALLY moved! It only took a million years to get approval but we finally got it. Exciting!!

So, to catch you up here's a dinner we had earlier in the month, unfortunately it was a bit of a lazy dinner (although slightly less lazy than our continual take-out dinners)... here are some pictures.

Brown Butter and Shiitake Mushroom Lobster Raviolis & Arugala Salad with Apples and Blue Cheese

What Happens in Vegas...

2010-02-17T01:03:00.001-05:00

So tired... Spend the long weekend in Las Vegas with Matt. It was pretty busy Saturday and Sunday, as it was a triple holiday weekend (Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, President's Day). All the hotels totally decked out for Chinese New Year-- it was almost too much.

Got intoVegas Friday night without much of a problem, and to my surprise, when we got picked up (Matt had reserved a car) there was free bubbly and a red rose in lieu of Valentine's Day! So, a pretty good start to the weekend, no?

Our first full day (Saturday) was pretty eventful. We woke up early (9:30-10am) to go to Bellagio's spa. I had scheduled a couple's massage and then I had a 50-minute facial (which was awesome), while Matt went in for a haircut and shave. Plans that night included going to Le Rêve and dinner at Joel Rubichon. I loved the show and the restaurant was awesome.

Sunday, we walked around and looked at the shops, and later that night went to a Valentine's dinner at Fleur du Lys. The food was pretty good, but I would love to go back on a non-holiday. The restaurant was totally packed and based on the layout it was obvious they had set up a bunch of extra tables and were trying to turn around as many tables as they could that night. So while our server was really great and friendly, you could tell they were really busy. They were also offering a "special" prix-fixe menu, which had tasty options, but again, I think it could have been better. I definitely would like to go back for a regular dinner experience. Other than it feeling really busy, I can't complain. The food was decent and they gave me a pink rose to take home before we left.

Monday, we walked down the strip and looked at some of the other shops and hotels. We also met up with my cousin Kathy and her boyfriend for dinner at Mix. It has AMAZING views of the strip and the food is really great. The highlight of the restaurant is it's bathroom, where the toilet is facing floor to ceiling windows. A little creepy that you are looking at all that scenery while peeing, but interesting none-the-less.

Of course there was tons of degenerate gambling on this trip too...

Now, I'm back in cold (slushy) New York and am feeling too lazy to post pictures, so I'm just going to offer up this link with some highlights of the trip. (Fleur de Lys pics here... I screwed the upload up, sorry!)

Be My (Forbidden) Valentine

2010-02-11T14:55:00.000-05:00

So back when New Moon came out, two of my co-workers and I went to watch the film together opening day. Ever since then, it's been back and forth finding Twilight-themed gag gifts.

It all started when Holly gave me a wooden wolf pin from the Union Square holiday market. In turn, I bought her an Edward Barbie/Ken doll for our Secret Holiday Exchange/her birthday. She followed this up with burger king New Moon cups... yes, I know, we are like two adolescent children.

The most recent addition to our collection is a box of New Moon "Forbidden Fruits" Sweethearts.

Apparently, she just "couldn't resist!"

Anyway, Happy (early) Valentine's Day everyone!

Blustery Weather

2010-02-10T13:45:00.002-05:00

Well, it seems NYC can't get out of a blizzard twice in a row (the storm from the weekend totally missed us).

Currently, working from home (aka being unproductive and staring out the window every 5 minutes)

Italian Asian

2010-02-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

I was in the mood for some Italian so I made some Chicken Parmigiana and Linguine. Unfortunately my skill set does not yet include making sauce yet, so my marinara was store bought... gasp. I know, I know. I'll try eventually.

Chicken Parmigiana and Linguine with Marinara

Making Chicken Parmigiana exactly the same as the Veal Scallopini recipe I posted with a few differences.

Right before you actually start cooking and you have everything set and ready to go (make sure you have sliced mozzarella set aside), set a pot of water on the stove to boil and preheat the oven to 400°F.

Cooking the chicken is the same exact method as the veal... changes in the recipe as follows:

No need to tenderize the chicken before cooking.

Cook time: instead of 1-2 minutes, cook for 2-3 minutes on each side and place chicken on a baking sheet.

When all the chicken is on the baking sheet, ladle some sauce on the chicken, and place mozzarella on top. Pop into the oven for 7-10 minutes or until cheese looks thoroughly melted.

Your water should be boiling at this point, so add your pasta to the water to cook. Time varies depending on what pasta you use, I used linguine which took about 9 minutes to al dente.

Since I used store bought marinara I needed to heat it up, before serving. I emptied the sauce into an oven-safe container and put it in the oven to warm up while the cheese melted on the chicken.

Chef Grace

2010-01-28T22:56:00.002-05:00

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!

2010-01-26T23:55:00.000-05:00

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

2010-01-21T19:57:00.001-05:00

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

2010-01-20T21:11:00.001-05:00

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

2010-01-19T21:04:00.001-05:00

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!
-------------------
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

2010-01-13T22:25:00.001-05:00

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!

2010-01-12T22:27:00.003-05:00

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

2010-01-10T21:55:00.004-05:00

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

2010-01-10T21:29:00.002-05:00

**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!

Happy 2010!

2010-01-07T21:50:00.003-05:00

I know it's been awhile and I've been super lazy... but Matt and I made a New Years resolution to cook more and take out less. It was getting pretty bad...
So, as a tribute (and hopefully motivator) to cook dinner more often, I'm going to try and blog our meals!

January 6, 2010

Oven-Roasted Cod with Fingerlings and Salad

Cod Fillet: oven-roasted seasoned with salt, pepper, and Old Bay

Fingerling Potatoes: oven-roasted in browned butter, seasoned with salt and pepper

Salad: cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, avocado, dill, forgot the feta... oops!

Salad Dressing: Spanish olive oil and sherry vinegar

Wine Pairing: Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc 2008, New Zealand

January 7, 2010

Pan-Seared Duck Breast with Bourbon Poached Cherries

Duck Breast: pan seared to get that deliciously crispy skin and finished in the oven

Cherries: macerated cherries in sugar, lemon juice, and bourbon mixed with the duck pan sauce (chicken stock, shallots, red wine, corn starch)

Haricot Verts: sautéed in rendered duck fat with shallots, salt, and pepper

Wine Pairing: Primicia Reserva 2001, Rioja

BABIES!

2009-09-26T01:37:00.001-04:00

babies! babies! babies!
OMG
BABIES!!!

Welcome to the world Isabelle and Sophia!!

Cute Stopmotion Video

2009-07-14T14:09:00.000-04:00

Pen Story Stopmotion
by yom_

Cute Music Video!

2009-07-06T09:57:00.001-04:00

When is it appropriate to use the F-word?

2009-05-26T11:06:00.000-04:00

The top 10 times in history when using the "F-word" was appropriate:

10. "What the F was that?" - Mayor of Hiroshima, 1945
9. "Where did all these F'ing Indians come from?" Custer, 1876
8. "Any F'ing idiot could understand that." - Einstein, 1938
7. "It does SO F'ing look like her!" - Picasso, 1926
6. "How the F did you work that out?" - Pythagoras, 126 BC
5. "You want WHAT on the F'ing ceiling?" - Michelangelo, 1566
4. "I don't suppose it's gonna F'ing rain." - Joan of Arc, 1434
3. "Scattered F'ing showers...my ass!" - Noah, 314 BC
2. "I need this parade like I need a F'ing hole in my head!" - JFK, 1963

And #1.....
"Aw c'mon, Monica, who the F is going to find out?" - Bill Clinton, 1997

How Scared Would You Be?

2009-05-12T22:40:00.000-04:00

Are you a mother lover?

2009-05-11T15:25:00.000-04:00

Pink Bathroom for the Ladies

2009-04-28T13:23:00.004-04:00

If I had my own personal bathroom for my use only, I would total deck it out in this awesome pink tiling and green wall! Not really a fan of those drawers though...

source: Trendir

p.s. it totally matches my blog!

Love Story + Viva La Vida

2009-04-27T16:15:00.001-04:00

I really enjoyed this arrangement... very pretty.

Coffee Art

2009-04-24T14:13:00.002-04:00

I don't drink coffee but if I did, I don't know if I would able to sip on these awesome foam swirl creations.

Interspecies Love and Naps

2009-04-23T15:21:00.000-04:00

Story of My Life

2009-04-23T11:09:00.003-04:00

Never judge a book by its cover.

2009-04-17T15:43:00.002-04:00

Taco Bell Song

2009-04-10T12:53:00.000-04:00

The guy taking the order is AMAZING!

How Many Have You Seen?

2009-03-17T10:29:00.001-04:00

http://youshouldhaveseenthis.com/

Give Me That Filet O' Fish

2009-03-17T00:16:00.001-04:00

Some Vegas Photos Update

2009-02-19T21:00:00.003-05:00

The Bellagio Suite in Vegas where we stayed:

The ceiling at the Cirque du Soliel "O" theatre

Souffle Crepe with Mixed Berries from Jean Phillipe Pastry shop:

Chocolate fountain, chocolate sculptures, and decorative cakes from Jean Phillipe:

The lighting on my Virgin America flight... they also have wifi on the flight and plugs under the seats... sweet.

Just some additional photos from the trip:

Bellagio Fountain Show:

O + Picasso

2009-02-19T21:00:00.002-05:00

Obviously, there was a trip to Vegas the past weekend. I have yet to update photos because I'm really, really lazy. But I will do a food update!

We went to see the Cirque Du Soleil show "O" first which was amazing. I was so entertained I felt like time went by really fast. I was surprised when it was over. I wanted to see more crazy tricks and stunts.

The hall had really cool statues carved from iron all over the place. Really beautiful delicate pieces worth lots of money... Here's a few pictures.

Then, we headed to Picasso on the other side of the hotel and wow. Really unique look. Not to mention the AUTHENTIC Picasso paintings on every wall! Crazy. I was this close to real Picasso art. So cool.

Picasso
Picasso at the Bellagio Las Vegas
Reserve a table Online

4 Course Prix Fixe Dinner:

amuse
Patridge Croquette
with Roasted Red Pepper Soup

course 1
Warm Quail Salad
with Sautéed Artichokes, Pinenuts

course 2
Boudin of Fresh Lobster, Shrimp and Scallops
with Tomato Coulis

course 3
Roasted Milk-Fed Veal Chop
with Rosemary Potatoes and Au Jus

course 4
Dark Chocolate Cake
with Vanilla Tea

post dessert
Assortment of Bon Bons
(The waiter placed them in front of me and said "for the lady" and then put the check in front of Matt and told him he gets the check. ha)

wine
Williams Selyem Pinot Noir 2005

Would I go again: I would have to say yes, only because not only does this place have a wonderful atmosphere inside the restaurant, but it totally restored my faith in Vegas dining. Ahem David Burke... Can we say, Lobster steak and bubble gum creme fraiche? Yea... Lets not go there.

Blue Hill

2009-02-19T20:48:00.000-05:00

I took Matt to Blue Hill in NYC for his birthday in late January (I know, this is really late). The restaurant was cozy and the food was simple and delicious.

Blue Hill
75 Washington Pl, New York, NY 10011
tel: 212.539.1776

birthday toast
Pierre Peters Champagne

amuse
trio of winter vegetables
cauliflower, radish, edemame

My Dinner:

appetizer
Sweet Potato Ravioli
with Stone Barns Greens and Honeycrisp Apples

entree
Hudson Valley Venison
with Brussels Sprouts, Pearl Onions, Roasted Chestnuts, and Chestnut Puree

dessert
Chestnut Dessert
Trio of Chestnut

Matt's Dinner:
appetizer
This Mornings Farm Egg
with Beluga Lentils, Root Vegetables, and House Cured Lardo

entree
Stone Barns Berkshire Pork
with a Stew of Beans, Chickpeas, and Tarragon

dessert
Bartlett Pear
with Walnut Bread and Soup, Pecorino Cheese and Black Pepper Ice Cream

wine
Prieuré de St.-Jean de Bebian

dessert wines
Icewine
Tulloch Semillon

Would I go back: Yes! The menu changes seasonally and you're guaranteed fresh, seasonal ingredients which means a different menu every time you go. I'd also like to try Blue Hill Stone Barns.

Cru

2009-02-19T20:37:00.002-05:00

Cru
24 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011
tel: 212.529.6300

canapes
Parmesan and Mushroom

appetizer
Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Panna Cotta
with maple bacon shaped like a flower

drink
Rose Champagne

entree
Terrine Duck

wine
Roumir Cras 98

dessert
Lemon Verbena
Grapefruit Gelee, Buttermilk Panna Cotta and Lemon Sorbet

post-dessert
Mint Chocolate Macaroon, White Chocolate Candy, Chocolate Cookie with Sea Salt

Irving Mill

2009-02-19T20:23:00.002-05:00

This was a long time ago.... But i remember that it was interesting. We ordered a bunch of things off the menu and shared. The food wasn't amazing but not terrible. The Chicken Liver Mousse was tasty though.

Irving Mill
116 East 16th St, New York, NY 10003
tel: 212.254.1600

Pork Toast with Egg Salad and Caviar

Chicken Liver Mousse

Kampachi with Chorizo, Grapefruit and Smoked Turkish Pepper

Crispy Pig's Ear Salad with Radicchio, Escarole, Tarbais Beans and Poached Egg

Niman Ranch Bavette Steak with Bone Marrow Soubise, Smoked Garlic and Parsley

"Why is this happening to me?!"

2009-02-05T14:45:00.003-05:00

Q: Would this kid make an awesome or terrible drunk?

It's Alive! Internal Cast For Shattered Bones

2009-02-04T12:04:00.001-05:00

My sister's research was mentioned on NPR! It's pretty cool stuff.

http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1233273678

Happy Cows Come From... Korea?

2009-02-04T10:22:00.002-05:00

"Pick Soo, she's got Seoul."

LEGO N.Y

2009-02-03T10:34:00.003-05:00

Cute depiction of New York via Lego pieces by Christoph Niemann in the New York Times.
Check out more here: I LEGO N.Y.

SIX-BURGH!

2009-02-02T11:58:00.008-05:00

courtesy of ESPN

Yay for the Steelers! It was a stressful and amazing Superbowl game. Great plays by Harrison and Holmes. I'm not going to go into detail because I'm obviously not a football fanatic, but I felt it necessary to give my shout outs. :)

Pic of downtown Pittsburgh...

courtesy of Post-Gazette

I remember being in Pittsburgh the last time the Steelers won the Superbowl... it was CRAZY... couches on fire, cars flipped over, rioting, the works.

E-Trade Baby Ads That Didn't Make The Cut

2009-01-30T13:16:00.003-05:00

I love these commercials... They're creepy and hilarious.

JAWS - Tea Style

2009-01-30T10:24:00.006-05:00

How friggin cool is this? As a tea drinker, I would totally have fun watching my tea brew every morning if I had a cool tea infuser like the Sharky Tea Infuser.

Popping Corn via Cellphone?

2009-01-30T09:15:00.002-05:00

Real or Fake? I want to test it out!!

What the Duck?

2009-01-27T13:36:00.002-05:00

"Nice web, Mr. Crack spider"

2008-12-03T16:07:00.005-05:00

I Want The Top Tea Leaves Too!!

2008-12-02T09:39:00.002-05:00

I have a post on my experiences at Cru coming soon... I promise! In the meanwhile, watch this cute Japanese commercial!

Creepy IM

2008-11-17T17:56:00.003-05:00

So it's just about the end of the day at work when I receive this really bizarre IM. At first I thought it was a random IM from someone I knew from college, but apparently not. Here's the excerpt from my conversation (I replaced his actual screen name with 'Creepster')... thoughts?

(5:41:47 PM) Creepster: hi
(5:42:40 PM) Me: whos this
(5:42:52 PM) Creepster: mj, i saw u on my buddy list ha weird?
(5:43:16 PM) Me: mj. cmu mj?
(5:43:55 PM) Creepster: cmu?
(5:44:04 PM) Creepster: whast tha tmean
(5:44:07 PM) Me: nm
(5:44:08 PM) Me: do i know you?
(5:44:14 PM) Creepster: uh i dont think so
(5:44:15 PM) Creepster: asl?
(5:45:46 PM) Me: this is not a personal IM
(5:45:53 PM) Creepster: oh it isn't?
(5:46:07 PM) Me: so please don't IM me if it isn't work related. thanks
(5:46:13 PM) Creepster: what kind of work
(5:46:15 PM) Creepster: just curious?
(5:47:10 PM) Me: please don't IM me if it isn't work related. thanks
(5:47:15 PM) Creepster: ok

Casa Mono

2008-11-16T16:09:00.004-05:00

We went to go see the new James Bond movie Quantum of Solace and then out for a few drinks at Underbar under the W Hotel in Union Square on Friday after work. Did you know a large movie theater popcorn is 900 calories?? Geeeeez.

After leaving the bar, we were headed to Momofuku Ssam for some pork buns but ran across Mario Batali's small plates restaurant Casa Mono. Since I was hungry and am always up for new places we sat down for a quick dinner (it was about 11pm at this point, and the kitchen was going to close within the next 30 minutes). Despite the speedy dinner, it was pretty tasty and definitely hit the spot.

Casa Mono
52 Irving Pl, New York, NY 10003
tel: 212.253.2773

dinner
Pumpkin And Goat Cheese Croquetas
Razor Clams a la Plancha
Bone Marrow with pickled radishes
Skirt Steak with Onion Mermelada
Crispy Pork Belly with Fabada and Horseradish

dessert
Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

wine
La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza Reserva 2000

Would I go again: Yes, I would like to try this place again so I can take a little more time eating and taking in the atmosphere.

Perry St

2008-11-16T15:40:00.004-05:00

I've been dying to go back to Jean-George's Perry St for awhile now, and finally got the chance to do so last week. I really love how simple Jean-George keeps all his dishes, but manages to make them tasty and memorable. I would probably eat the butter poached lobster everyday if I could, but not very realistic...

Perry St
176 Perry St., New York, NY 10014
tel: 212-352-1900

Dinner:

amuse
Sweet Potato Soup with Parmesan

starter
Rice Cracker Crusted Tuna
Sriracha-Citrus Emulsion

main
Butter Poached Lobster
Plum Vinegar and Crystallized Ginger

wine
Chateau la Louvre (this may be a bit off)

dessert
Apple Confit
Creme Fraiche, Granny Smith Apple Sorbet

dessert wine
1996 Sauternes Chateua Guiraud

Would I go back: Given that this is probably one of my favorite places to eat in the city, definitely yes. (This would be a really nice place to take a someone on a romantic date...)

Images Courtesy Of Perry Street

Micro Sculptor

2008-11-16T14:50:00.002-05:00

This guy basically creates sculptures that can fit inside the eye of a needle. Ridiculous!

Puppies!

2008-11-06T12:36:00.002-05:00

If you need a break from your day. Check out the live Puppy Cam

How Many People Do You See?

2008-10-22T17:08:00.002-04:00

I counted 23. How many did you see?

WOAH! WOW! YEA!

2008-10-20T22:10:00.002-04:00

This kid is the cutest!!!

Worst Autumn On Record!!

2008-10-13T17:29:00.001-04:00

Extreme Weather Alert: Meteorologists Predict Intensely Brisk Autumn

OMG! OMG! OMG!

2008-10-13T16:23:00.002-04:00

I can't stop laughing...

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Creepy!

2008-10-10T15:16:00.001-04:00

My water bottle has eyes and keeps looking at me!

California Grill at Disney's Contemporary Resort

2008-10-10T00:07:00.003-04:00

Matt and I ate at one of our favorite restaurants at Disney, California Grill, in the Contemporary Resort. It offers great modern foods and an amazing view of the Magic Kingdom. They also have an accessible balcony you can use to watch the nighttime fireworks show.

If you're ever at Disney, I recommend getting there 15-30mins before the show, grabbing a drink at the bar, and going out to watch the fireworks.

Food we ate:
Chef's Garden Heirloom Tomato Flatbread with Roasted Garlic, Provolone, and Arugula

Appetizers:
Matt had the lobster special

I had a watermelon salad with market greens, pickled onions, blue cheese, and balsamic and oil

Entrees:
Matt had the Roasted Lamb Tenderloin with Eggplant "two-ways", Rosemary Potatoes, Confit Garlic and Currant Tomatoes

I had the Oak-fired Filet of Beef with Boniato Mashed Potatoes, Sauteed Haricot Vert and Teriyaki Barbeque Sauce

Dessert:
Peachy Keen Peach Cheesecake, Bellini "Bubble Tea", Spiced Tea Cake with Vanilla Creme Glace
They also included a "Happy Anniversary" chocolate wedge!

Old people

2008-10-06T15:53:00.004-04:00

Normally I am really forgiving towards old people. I mean, they're old and supposedly wise... Except when they blatantly cut you in a line you had been waiting in for 30 minutes and take all the remaining wine tasting tickets. Yea, they're lucky I didn't punch them in the face.

Party for the Senses

2008-10-04T23:04:00.006-04:00

25 dishes in 2.5 hours = Party for the Senses

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nicky Riemer - Trunk Restaurant (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)
Pan-Seared Snapper, Baby Artichokes & Wild Mushrooms with Marinated Feta Dressing

Ron Cavileer & Robert Small - The Turf Club Bar and Grill (Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa)
Wild Boar Pot Sticker Over Cucumber Slaw with a Soy-Lime Vinaigrette

Matt Gennuso - Gez Pascal (Providence, RI)
Herb-Roasted Leg of Lamb with a Goat Cheese and Brown Letil Cake, Butternut Squash Aigre-Doux

Norm Curka - Special Events Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts
Confit of Open-Range Turkey with Butternut Squash Grain and a Mulled Cranberry Apple Jus

Peng Looi - August Moon Chinese Bistro (Louisville, KY)
Dry-Rubbed Duck, Picked Root Vegetables and Passion Fruit, Thyme Reduction

Celina Tio - JULIA(N) (Charlotte, NC)
Pan-Seared Scallops with Trumpet Royale Mushrooms and Prosciutto Broth

Bruce Bray & Karen Karwowski - Spoodles (Disney's BoardWalk Resort)
Grilled Vegetable Falafel with Labaneh Cheese and Minted Slaw

Robert Laurie & Dylan Schauwecker - Chef Michk's & The Wave Restaurant (Disney's Contemporary Resort)
Braised Beef Short Ribs with Sweet Onion BBQ Sauce, Roasted Garlic & Cheddar Cheese Grits

Gary Miles - Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre Restaruant (Disney's Hollywood Studios)
Smoked Tenderloin of Pork with Mole and Mango-Blackbean Relish

Marco Chaves - Coral Reef Restaurant (The Seas with Nemo & Friends Epcot)
Grilled Buffalo Tenderloin over Yukon Gold-Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Red Onions and Blue Cheese, Tang Vela Reduction

Andrew Turner - Cinderella's Royal Table (Magic Kingdom Park)
Chicken and Prosciutto with Asapragus Crostini and Fondue

Aeran Yi - The Hollywood Brown Derby (Disney's Hollywood Studios)
Black Cumin-Rubbed Lamb Tenderloin with Galangal Lentils and Asian Pear Sambal

Tory McPhail - Commander's Palace (New Orleans, LA)
Duck Poppers with Five-Pepper Jelly

Rock Harper - Fox's Hell's Kitchen Season 3 (Henderson, NV)
King Crab "Macaroni and Cheese" with Black Truffles

Roland Muller, Joel Schaefer & Jerry Staci - Walt Disney World
Rice and Black Lentil Cake with Cauliflower Pakora and Red Curry Sauce

Jeramy Moore - Special Events (Disney's Contemporary Resort)
Pork Three Ways
Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Spicy Sweet Onion Marmalade Topped with Cracklin'

Samad Benzari - Restaruant Marrakesh (Morocco Papillion Epcot)
Cornish Hen with Fresh Ginger and Grapes, Orange-Scented Dried Fruit Cous Cous

Eurene Ralph & Jenny Sly - Boma - Flavors of Africa (Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge)
Charmoula Shrimp with Beluga Lentil Salad

Andy Trousdale - Le Bistro Restaurant (Lighthouse Point, FL)
Roast Veal Loin, Green Tip Asparagus, Smoked Bacon Potato Salad, White Truffle Oil

Kristine Farmer - Bakery (Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa)
Orange Honey Gateau with Pomegranate Foam

Connell Daniel - Bakery (Disney's BoardWalk Resort)
Toasted Almond Mousse with Poached Pears

David Guas - Damgoodsweet Consulting Group (Washington, DC)
Bananas Foster Cheesecake with Rum Caramel and Salted Pecan Brittle

Cathy Haynes - Harrah's Casino (Reno, NV)
Mandarin Tangerine Chocolate Mousse with Blood Orange Coulis

Richard Capizzi - Bouchon Bakery & Per Se (New York, NY)
Declinaision Au Chocolat
Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Custard
Warm Chocolate Mousse and Coffee Ice Cream

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Momofuku Ko - Lunch

2008-09-28T19:18:00.006-04:00

By sheer luck, Matt was randomly checking the Ko site yesterday and managed to snag a lunch reservation for today at 12:25pm. 17 courses, with wine/sake pairings took us slightly over 3 hours and I came out a "bit" tipsy. Okay, maybe a little more than that (don't judge).

The courses may be out of order toward the middle/end... we were getting kind of wasty...

Amuse
Pomme souffle with creme fraiche and hackleback caviar
Corn tuile with tomato jam, pork rillette, and grilled corn

Course #1
Oyster with hackleback caviar
*Since I'm allergic, Matt had the oyster and they substituted my dish with 2 peieces of uni instead

Course #2
Raw kampachi with lemon jam and daikon radish sprouts

Course #3
Raw Long Island fluke with Korean fermented chili paste)

Course #4
O-toro tartar with lemon jam topped with hackleback caviar

Course #5
Raw diver scallops, watermelon, radish, and lime zest

Course #6
Lobster salad with mini melon balls, tomato water, basil oil, and pickled cucumbers on top of melon gelee

Course #7
Painted Hills beef carpaccio with grilled baby leek, horseradish creme fraiche, grated horseradish, and baby sorrel
“Butter Bomb” (a mini roll filled with butter topped with black sesame seeds)

Course #8
Fresh yuba with heirloom cherry tomato salad

Course #9
Bacon fat poached shrimp, zebra beans, matsutake mushrooms, tonburi with a pour of bacon dashi

Course #10
Deep fried poached egg with pickled cherries, baby kale, and cherry jam of some sort

Course #11
Steamed striped bass on top of an egg drop soup dumpling, raw lobster mushrooms, bok choy, and toasted kasha

Course #12
Buckwheat tortellini stuffed with eggplant puree, grilled baby eggplant, Korean black garlic, Chinese long beans, house made pork and miso sausage

Course #13
Signature Dish: Shaved foie gras torchon with lychees and riesling gelee

Course #14
Elysian Fields Farm rack of lamb with watermelon, feta cheese puree, and black olives

Course #15
Cheese Course: Two different cheeses (one hard, one soft... I can't remember what kind), pickled red onions, apricot jam?, and a pork fat brioche

Course #16
Peach sorbet with milk crumbs and cinnamon streusel

Course #17
Corn parfait with chocolate sauce, sour cream flavored ice cream on top of corn meal, and dehydrated corn kernels

This meal was followed by a 2.5 hour nap... all in all, I think it was a very productive Sunday...

Can You Feel the Love?

2008-09-25T17:36:00.004-04:00

Snippet of a conversation I had over gchat with my boyfriend Matt....

Me: Sweet I bought shoes online
Matt: Lame.
Matt: Lenovo rejected my credit card?

Me: what? how?
Matt: Not sure. Then I couldn't use it to buy train tix. Wtf
Matt: What did you do grace?

Me: nothing! want me to check your acct?
Matt: Like I'm supposed to believe that

Me: what! no trust!
Matt: How are your shoess!??????!!!!!??!??
Me: I PAID FOR THEM WITH MY MC!!!!
Matt: Oh. There goes my theory

Sharpie Art

2008-09-24T09:17:00.002-04:00

Apparently Sharpies are more useful that I thought... A Kentucky man decorated his entire basement using just $10 worth of Sharpie.

Pretty cool stuff, huh?

Josh Groban - Memorable TV Themes Over Time

2008-09-22T10:06:00.003-04:00

This was by far the highlight from the 60th Annual Emmy Awards last night... especially after that disaster "Nothing" skit in the beginning.

Mischievous Kangaroo

2008-09-17T16:48:00.002-04:00

KANGOUROU (REMI GAILLARD)
by nqtv

Bar Q

2008-08-27T21:28:00.005-04:00

This post is a little late, but Matt and I ate at Anita Lo's Bar Q last Friday. She is also known for Annisa and Rickshaw Dumpling Bar.
The atmosphere and the design of the restaurant was simple and clean. There was a giant outdoor space in the back of the restaurant that was in pretty high demand, especially since the weather was really nice.
As for the food... I had the alcoholic bubble tea cocktail which was definitely different. However, I didn't like how I couldn't get any bubbles while I was drinking. They provided a small cocktail straw, but in the end, I asked for a small spoon so I could scoop some of the bubbles out of the glass. The style of the food had a prominent Asian influence and I tasted pretty good. My shortrib were really tender and flavorful. I also thought it was interesting how they presented the soy bean paste and hot sauce separately instead of as a single sauce.
Overall, although I thought everything was really tasty, the food and flavors weren't very exciting.

Bar Q
308-310 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014
tel: 212.206.7817

My Dinner:
pre dinner drink
Green Tea Bubble Tea
Green Tea, Vodka, Milk, Amaretto Flavored “Bubbles”

starter
Tea Smoked Salmon and Its Roe with a Quail Tea Egg
Japanese Waygu with 4 dipping sauces

main
Grilled Shortrib, Korean Flavors

dessert
Warm Sesame Mochi with XO Caramel Dipping Sauce

wine
Ati Rangi

Would I go back: maybe... if I did, I would try something different. You can definitely get shortribs that are just as tasty elsewhere in New York.

Photo provided by: Eater

Phelps Schmelps!

2008-08-20T12:35:00.005-04:00

Seriously? I read this and I pretty much lost all (not that there was much to begin with) respect for her.... Read on to find out why.

Phelps, schmelps! J.Lo’s also in training
By Courtney Hazlett

Poor Jennifer Lopez. The new mom is training for a triathlon, but everyone is too busy watching the Olympics to notice.

Lopez, who appeared on "Good Morning America" Aug. 18 to discuss her preparations for the Malibu Triathlon, was overheard saying after the segment that she “couldn’t understand why everyone is talking about that swimmer,” according to a GMA source. “She couldn’t come up with (eight-time gold-medal winner Michael) Phelps’ name, and then she yammered on about how she was the one training for a triathlon just six months after giving birth, and how that was the big story right now, not ‘the swimmer.’ ”

Lopez is planning on donating money raised for her race to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. To help drum up attention, she started a blog to share tips on training. “Touch up makeup prior to your run” hasn’t made its way into any posts, despite Lopez being spotted arriving in Central Park with her makeup artist later in the day.

“Apparently, Jenny from the Block requires a lot of powder,” says the source.
Source: MSNBC

Momofuku Ko

2008-08-01T00:02:00.004-04:00

We managed to snag a reservation at the infamously inaccessible Momofuku Ko! Two hours, ten courses paired with wine/sake/beer equals a really tasty Wednesday night.

Momofuku Ko
163 First Ave (btwn 10th and 11th), New York, NY 10003
reservations: online only

English Muffin with Whipped Pork Fat, House Made Chicharrón (fried pork skin) with Togarashi, and a Truffle Slice on top of Pomegranate Seeds and Peach Purée

Long Island Fluke Sashimi Sriracha Buttermilk Sauce with Poppy Seeds

Smoked Hen Egg w/ Osetra Caviar, Sous Vie Onions and Fingerling Potato Chips

Chanterelle Mushrooms, Turnips, Lima Beans, and Peas in a Bacon Dashi Broth

Corn Ravioli with Pancetta, Mexican Cheese, Grilled Sweet Corn, Kimchi and Lime Zest

Grilled Caper-Brined Trout with Pickled Radish, Chinese Green Beans, Bacon Purée, and Toasted Almonds

Shaved Foie Gras Torchon with Lychées and Riesling Gelée

Grilled Duck and a Sous Vie Duck Leg in a Cherry Demi Glaze Sauce with Grilled Cherries

Pineapple Sorbet with Dried Pineapples

Yellow Cake Flavored Ice Cream, Strawberries, and Peanut Butter Crumbles

Would I go back: yes, if i can get another reservation, especially considering the menu changes constantly!

Gordon Ramsay at the London

2008-07-27T15:43:00.011-04:00

After much anticipation (2 months to be exact) Matt and I finally got to eat at Gordon Ramsay at the London.
The decor was elegant and somewhat formal... I loved the chairs! But it was also comfortable and not stuffy. Our wait staff were not only accommodating but also had low-key humor. One waiter of our was particularly memorable considering at the end of the meal, when he came around to serve us some bon bons from the trolley and after hearing how full I was, he offered to roll me out the door if necessary. He also claimed that it was his job to make our dining experience the best it could be. So despite the formal dining ambiance, it was ultimately an enjoyable experience.

Gordon Ramsay at the London
151 W 54th St, New York, NY 10019
tel: 212.468.8888

My Dinner:
pre-dinner drink
Aubry Rosé, Jouy-lès-Reims, France NV

canapés
flavors: Eggplant, Mushroom, and Anchovy

amuse bouche
Crab Salad Wrapped in Melon with Hazelnut Butter

appetizer
Sautéed Maine Diver Scallops with Mixed Spices, Cauliflower Purée, Beignets and Sherry Caramel

entrée
Fillet of Wisconsin Veal, Tramazzini Bread and Chilled Foie Gras, Summer Truffle Vinaigrette

pre-dessert
Strawberry Sorbet with White Rum Gelée, Coconut Foam, and a Crystallized Mint Leaf

dessert
Peach Custard and Pound Cake with Sliced Peaches, and Strawberry Ball with a Champagne Reduction

post-dessert
Bon Bon Trolley!
various bon bons (lemon marshmallows, caramelized honey comb, etc.)

wine
TBD

Would I go back: yes!