January 2012
3 posts
December 2011
5 posts
1 tag
Velveting technique →
a must try
November 2011
1 post
4 tags
honey balsamic blue cheese candied pecan apple...
heaven in a salad!
serves 2 for dinner, 4 for pre dinner.
mesculin greens
1 tart apple chopped into pieces
blue cheese crumbles
a shallot sliced
handful pecans
4 T sugar
4 T water
~ 1/8 cup honey
~ 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 smashed and minced garlic clove
~ 1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp favorite mustard
Make candied pecans:
boil 4 T sugar and 4 T water and pecans...
September 2011
1 post
3 tags
Glorious Mac & Cheese
Adapted from GQ
Serves 2
1/2 lb elbow pasta
1/2 lb cheddar cheese grated
1-2 cups of milk
4 T butter
1/4 cup flour
1 beefsteak tomato sliced
sourdough breadcrumbs
Preheat oven 375.
Boil pasta. Drain.
While that’s boiling melt 3 T of butter and add all the flour. Whisk for about two minutes. Slowly pour in milk while whisking rather vigorously. When it’s...
June 2011
1 post
5 tags
Summer Israeli Couscous Salad
I’ll make a big batch of this on Sunday and then eat it for lunch the rest of the week. It’s amazing because you can keep it at room temp and there’s no reheating!
1 package of israeli couscous
2-3 cups of chicken stock or water
1 can of artichoke hearts
sun dried tomatoes
crumbled feta
1-2 lemon
1 T favorite mustard (I use Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy)
...
May 2011
4 posts
2 tags
Food in the City
Sometimes missing New York feels to obvious, but mostly it’s just status quo.
(sorry DC!)
Otto. Milanos. Standard Hotel. Bua Happy Hour. Xuan’s Famous. Shake Shack. 230 Fifth. Mamas. Edi & the Wolf. Sub 7. Stumptown in Ace Hotel Lobby. Momofuku Milk Bar. Jane Hotel. Jeffery’s Kitchen. Grimaldi. Jacque Torres. Henry’s. Murray’s Bagels. Breslin. Eataly. PIes...
4 tags
Garlic Scape Pesto
One of my favorite things about going to the farmer’s market is encountering a vegetable that I have never cooked before. Garlic Scapes (the tops of the bulb) are currently in season and they make a really amazing pesto!
1 bunch of scapes
1/3 cup walnuts
olive oil
grated parmesan
salt & pepper
Chop the scapes into 2 in pieces. Add the scapes & walnuts to a food processor...
1 tag
Strawberries are Upon Us
Picked up my first box at the farmer’s market today.
Whip some heavy cream up in your mixer and add powdered sugar & vanilla or just maple syrup. Absolutely fantastic.
1 tag
BBQ Pit Steaks
Dig a hole, get some rocks, get a camping grill. Light some kindling on fire. Get it nice and hot. Salt and pepper steaks. Grill and enjoy that wood burned taste!
April 2011
6 posts
3 tags
Passover: Pastele
I took a shortcut with this Sephardic recipe, and although it didn’t retain a pie-like shape it was still delicious!
Serves 2
matzoh farfel
about 1 lb ground beef
2-3 onions chopped
2 eggs beaten
chicken stock
cinnamon, cumin, brown sugar, salt & pepper
6 hard boiled eggs
lemon slices
Cook beef and onions. Sprinkle with cinnamon, cumin, brown sugar, salt and pepper....
3 tags
Passover: Charoset
I could eat this any time, but for some reason I wait until Passover every year.
2 apples chopped
1/2-1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup Manischewitz
sprinkles of brown sugar & cinnamon
Matzoh
Toss. It’s like magic.
4 tags
Simple Kimchi
No earth burial required. Just some rinsed mason pasta jars.
If I were you, I’d start collecting jars. I really like the Classico brand pasta sauce and they come in these amazing mason jars, so you get to eat some pasta and have a perfect thing for brewing some kimchi. This is pretty simple, but it’s a multi-day recipe.
1 head of napa cabbage chopped into 2 inch pieces
1/2 cup...
4 tags
Homemade Pappardelle with Sausage and Peas
The idea of homemade pasta is definitely scary, but if you spend Sunday making a go of it, you will be so delighted at the end result.
Serves about 2
1 1/4 flour
2 eggs
2-4 pork sausages, casings removed
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4-1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup freshly grated parm
MAKE THE PASTA:
Create a mound with the flour. Make a well. Break the eggs into the well. Use a fork and...
5 tags
Rice Soup with Meatballs and Cilantro
serves 2
3 cups chicken stock
1 T tamarind paste
Fish sauce to taste
1/4-1/2 lb ground beef
1 cup cooked rice
cilantro
scallions sliced
chili oil (optional)
Salt and pepper the ground beer and form tiny balls. Bring Chicken stock and tamarind paste to a boil and then reduce heat. Add the meat balls and cook for about a minute. Then add the rice until the soup thickens a little...
3 tags
Beer Braised Beef
served with saffron risotto and garlic string beans for 2
3 lbs chuck cut into chunks
16 oz Beer (I used Miller High Life)
3-4 carrots
2 small onions chopped
whole garlic cloves
Season Beef with Salt + Pepper (and throw in some paprika and cayenne if you want a kick). Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat and sear the beef on all sides and remove.
Pour in a little bit of beer...
March 2011
2 posts
4 tags
Indian Corn Soup with Chile Oil
This is an Indian recipe with Chinese influence; the chile oil is key to this soup. I traded cow’s milk for coconut milk and it was lovely, but if you hate the stuff just stick to the kind you like.
Serves 2-3
2 cans of corn
1 small potato chopped
1/2 small onion chopped
slice of fresh ginger
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup + 1/8 cup coconut (or cow’s) milk
1/2 T cornstarch...
4 tags
Chicken Avgolemono Soup
I’ve made avgolemono as a sauce, but it makes an excellent soup as well.
Serves 2-3
1-2 lbs chicken legs
garlic
a sugar of sorts (white, maple, honey)
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
any kind of beer
2 cups chicken broth
2 eggs
1/4 cup rice
1 lemon
Marinate the chicken in a ziplock bag for a few hours: splash vinegar, mince garlic to taste, sprinkle/drizzle sugar (about...
February 2011
6 posts
5 tags
Cheddar Ale Soup with Croutons
serves 2 people dinner
day old bread, butter, garlic clove
1 12 oz bottle of India Pale Ale
2 1/2 cups of chicken stock
4 cups of cheddar cheese
1 medium onion diced
3 T of butter
1/3 cup flour
your blob of your favorite mustard
pinches of cumin
salt and pepper
Heat the 3T of butter in a pot. Fry onions until clear. Add flour and mustard and cumin and mix well, it...
5 tags
Chicken Caesar Salad
Every restaurant does this classic American salad a little bit differently and I imagine the homemade versions vary just as much. This is my first attempt at the recipe and it came out really well!
serves 2
day old bread
butter
about 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast tenders
about 2 lemons
1 egg yolk
1 tsp warm water
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (make sure it’s a flavor you love...
5 tags
Iceberg Wedge Salad
This salad tastes great with fried chicken and it’s super simple and quick. It’s not really a recipe, just three ingredients that taste great together!
serves 2
half head of iceberg lettuce
several slices of smoked prosciutto
chunky blue cheese dressing
Chop the 1/2 head of lettuce into quarters. Use scissors to cut the prosciutto into bits and fry them in a little bit of...
1 tag
Mexico
6 tags
Potato Leek Puree Soup
This is great for a dinner party of if you want to eat the same lunch for five days straight. I kind of threw the ingredients together and they came out pretty tasty.
serves 4-6
5 medium potatoes
1/2 large onion sliced
6 gloves of garlic
4 roma tomatoes
3 leeks sliced up to the hard green part
8 cups chicken stock (any stock is fine!)
1/4 of a large lemon
cumin
some saffron threads
s...
January 2011
8 posts
1 tag
1 tag
Pumpkin Panna Cotta! J-G Fried Rice! Brick... →
The Minnimalist is retiring his column to focus on opinion writing on food policy etc, which is exciting and great! He put up a list of his favorite recipes and I’m looking forward to trying:
Brick Chicken
Pumpkin Panna Cotta
and Jean-Georges’ Fried Rice
These are all great, and I’ve been in such a food rut (making the same recipes over and over again) so I hope to be doing...
1 tag
Guide to Your Buttermilk Sunday
Wake up on Saturday and go out to brunch. Head to the market and buy ingredients for Buttermilk Pancakes, Buttermilk Biscuits, and Buttermilk Fried Chicken.
Here they are! Cross off the ones you already have in your kitchen:
Flour
Sugar
Pack of Butter
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Eggs
Kosher Salt
Maple Syrup
Lemon, Thyme, Rosemary, Brown Sugar or Honey or Maple Syrup, Peppercorns, Bay...
4 tags
Ad Hoc: Buttermilk Biscuits
Buttermilk Biscuits
p. 276, makes about six
2 cups flour (the recipe calls for half of this to be cake flour, for a finer crumb, but I couldn’t tell the difference!)
1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick butter, chilled, cut into cubes
3/4 cup buttermilk + some for brushing
Oven 425. Line baking sheet with parchment (I used wax, it was...
6 tags
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Beginner’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken
(The real recipe calls for breaking down a whole chicken, which is not my forte, so I practiced the recipe on some easy breasts)
serves 2-3
Chicken Brine (the key to the brine is the water/salt, and then adding aromatics you like. This time I used 8 cups water, 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 lemon, brown sugar, thyme, rosemary, peppercorns, several halved...
5 tags
GQ's Heavenly Pancakes
I always tear out GQ’s amazing recipes and this one hit the spot!
serves 2
1 cup flour
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 milk
1 egg
2 T butter plus a little bit more for frying
1/4 tsp vanilla
In one bowl combine dry ingredients. In another bowl combine wet. Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet with a fork....
1 tag
now with comments!
December 2010
2 posts
1 tag
1 tag
Arugula Salad
serves 4
bag o’ arugula (probably 1/2 - 3/4 lb)
1ish lemon
olive oil
fresh parm block
left over bread
butter
1 garlic garlic clove
salt and pepper
Take the garlic clove and rub it on 2-3 slices of the bread. Tear the bread into pieces. Heat up pats of butter in a pan over med heat and toss in the bread bits. Coat. Stir so the bread gets evenly toasted.
Shread some parm...
November 2010
1 post
3 tags
Challah by Hand
This recipe comes from my good friend Izabela who has also hitched her wagon to a chosen person. Make this on your day off. In steps, it takes all day. It makes 2 mediumlarge loaves or 1 ENORMOUS loaf.
1 cup flour
1 cup quite warm water
1 package yeast
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
dash of salt
3-4 cups flour
Pour water in a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over water and let sit about...
October 2010
7 posts
6 tags
Happy Halloween!
Flourless Chocolate Cake. For all your gluten-frees! It’s really easy and really delicious. To get a pumpkin or whatever shape, just make a stencil and strain (I just use a tea ball) some confectioner’s sugar over it.
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 stick butter cut into chunks
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
confectioner’s sugar
Oven 375. Butter an 8-in round...
7 tags
Stovetop Sausage Mac & Cheese
serves 4 or two twice. I totally made this recipe up and it can easily be vegetarian. Just add in broccoli instead of sausage. Or not. just cheeeese is fine too.
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup flour
milk
hunk o’ cheddar grated
bag o’ mixed medium shells
three sausages (I chose chorizo)
1/2 onion diced
Dice onion and grate cheddar. Boil water for pasta. Start frying sausage on...
1 tag
Ad Hoc Recipe # 9: Herb Marinated Skirt Steak
This isn’t an exact version of the recipe, but close to it!
Serves 2
olive oil
sprigs of thyme
rosemary
crushed garlic with skins on
peppercorns
bay leaf
s & p
butter
skirt steaks for two
I substituted the skirt steak for something similar in texture (tougher cut) because that’s what was available. Be sure to prepare ahead of time, several hours before you want to...
4 tags
Goat Cheese Pizza part II
1/2 portion of flatbread
1/2 small log goat cheese
shredded mozz
basil
1 soft pear
1/2 onion
Prepare the flatbread dough. Flatten the dough and pan fry in butter. Let it rest on wax paper on a bake pan.
Slice onion and caramelize in butter. Fry the onions on low/med heat and spritz some vinegar. This will take about 20 or so minutes.
Meanwhile, spread goat cheese on the...
4 tags
Eggplant Parmesan
serves a whole lot, pretty good for dinner parties.
about 4 small/med eggplants. I used the striated variety from the market
garlicky bread crumbs
2 eggs
1-2 jar of tomato sauce
shredded mozz
shredded parm
basil
Peel the eggplants and slice. sprinkle salt over them in a sieve. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. Rinse and pat dry with a clean towel. Whisk eggs in a shallow bowl and...
4 tags
baguette-ish recipe
prepare dough a day in advance!
1 packet dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cup warm water
about 4 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp salt
Put water in a large bowl and sprinkle sugar and yeast over. Let it stew for about 5 minutes or until it starts bubbling. Mix in 2 cups flour & salt with a wooden spoon. Continue mixing in 2 more cups using hands as the dough comes together. Flour a...
4 tags
rainbow chard
bunch of rainbow chard chopped up
1/2 onion diced
several cloves of garlic roughly chopped
butter
vinegar
s & p
boil salt water and blanch chard for about 4 minutes. drain. fry onion and garlic in butter. add chard. drizzle a tiny bit of vinegar. s & p. side dish complete!
September 2010
15 posts
1 tag
Modernist Cuisine
a monumental food, cuisine, cooking, art, science manuscript that harkens back to the laborious great manuscripts of a different era.
click through for some really spectacular and unbelievable photos.
1 tag
Ad Hoc Recipe #8: Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Thomas Keller claims it’s the best fried chicken he’s ever tasted, and I think he’s right. It’s a bit hard to execute and I didn’t really nail it, so I won’t post the recipe. However, I will warn you to always read a recipe before preparing to cook it. This one seems straightforward but it requires brining for 12 hours before the actual cook time…which...
5 tags
Goop Recipe: Baja Style Tacos
I just added avocado to Gwenyth’s recipe and changed up the pico de gallo a little. Can’t eat tacos without em’! This is a great 30 min recipe, especially if four hands are available. One person can work on the pico while the other prepares the shrimp.
serves 2
Pico de Gallo
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 onion minced
1/2 jalepeno minced
1 garlic clove minced
cilantro...