Food Roundup

Vineapple Cafe (brooklyn heights)
http://www.vineapple.com/

-comfy counches make this coffeeshop feel like your living room. free wifi and decent lighting for getting some reading done.

-the cafe is on Pineapple Street, how cool is that. or am I the only person who loves funny street names and stores that use them!?

 

Wahoo Tacos (near flatiron)
http://www.wahoos.com/menu.php

-I got the two taco entree with grilled fish taco, carne asada (grilled steak) taco, black beans, and brown rice.

-this is a Hawaiian chain that finally made it to NYC, yay! great for casual group food get together. there is also a bar out front with various alcoholic beverages.

 

Sanctuary T (west broadway and grand)
http://www.sanctuaryt.com/menus/

-fresh ricotta / bread to start

-coffees are served in insulated clear glasses. nice touch.

-I had country breakfast. T. had BLT and E (bacon, arugula, tomato and fried egg on a croissant).

need to see about their afternoon tea menu next time. probably best for meeting a friend, maybe difficult for large groups.

 

Veselka Ukrainian Restaurant (east village) 
http://www.veselka.com/

-pierogi of all kinds. I liked the potato and cheese ones best out of my selection.

next time I need to get the platter. hearty and warm foods make for a good group outing. 

 

Otafuku Okonomiyaki Stand (st marks)
http://otafukunyc.com/

-be prepared to wait and stand (no seats) for delicious oknomiyaki (somewhat similar to omelette). I ordered the shrimp one and have no complaints. I recommend it on a week day when the weather is nice and the crowd hasn't quite started yet.

Georgetown Cupcakes (SOHO location, there are more)
https://www.georgetowncupcake.com/menu.html

-I liked the double milk chocolate birthday cake (chocolate frosting on chocolate cupcake). wanted to see what the hype was.

Chopt Salad (various locations)
http://choptsalad.com/

-there is a reason why this place gets crowded for lunch. very hearty salads with limitless combinations. I am usually too indecisive to make up my own salad so I usually look at their classic combos for ideas. They also have a few seasonal features which are inspiring.

-if you find the salad too large, you can also order it as a "wrap". they put the chopped salad in a wrap and it's slightly more manageable.

-my favorites: shrimp palm beach, steakhouse.

 

Dorado Tacos (near union sq)
http://www.yelp.com/menu/dorado-tacos-new-york-2
-good quick eats. it’s finally been enough months since my San Diego trip and I can have fish tacos again. yay.

Bring back Picnics

It finally warmed up last week and once the rainy April finishes up, I want to organize picnics in the parks!

Maybe I was inspired by the elaborate picnic setups I saw last year in Central Park when the NY Philharmonic was playing a concert, but I really want to spread out a checkered tablecloth and eat sandwiches under a huge tree. 

I read this book called:

Picnics by Hilary Hemingway and Alex Hemingway.

Unlike most picnic books that give you a list of sandwiches/soups/desserts recipes, this book wrote about picnics as an essential part of living. There's a picnic for every occassion: solitary outing, picnic for two, picnic for horseriding, picnic for hiking, picnic for groups, picnic for a rainy day, even picnic for the winter. 

It's unfortunate that a lof of people tend prefer indoors due to severe allergies or just cannot live without climate control, but I rather enjoy the sunny outdoors and flowers and trees. So maybe I'll take the book's advice and trek out on my own. 

The book also includes amazing picnic baskets/dishes and scenic photos, almost like a scrapbook of all of their picnic adventures. While it has a "menu" suggestion for each occassion, it does not include recipes for all the menu items, just one or two on the list, enough to get you started. Various quotes and poems are interspersed throughout the pages. I like this one:

"Tea to the English is really a picnic indoors" - Alice Walker

Kind of makes sense after I thought about it, because there's tea and finger sandwiches involved, and it's about connecting and catching up with your friends, not about rushing or gulping down food. and I do really enjoy teatime (luckily the city has a few spots that cater to that need).

I made a tuna salad sandwich according to a recipe in the book and I'll share it here. Wanted to try it out before I take it with me on a picnic.

Tuna Salad Sandwich (single serving)

ingredients

-white albacore tuna (I used one 2 oz. can for one sandwich)

-bread (I just used regular wheat sliced bread, the book suggested Le Pain Quotidien)

-mayo (I used a tablespoon to taste, book suggests to keep it light, don't drown the tuna)

-lemon juice (tablespoon or so, to taste)

-scallions (chopped, I used a handful)

-celery (chopped, I used half a stalk maybe)

-capers (didn't have this so I left it out)

-Italian parsley (chopped, left this out because I didn't have it)

-ground pepper to taste

-optional stuff for sandwich (romaine lettuce, watercress, thin slices of dill pickle or tomato)

directions 

1. drain tuna 

2. add all ingredients into a bowl, mix together.

3. if taking to picnic, store mix in airtight container and prepare sandwich onsite. otherwise your bread will get soggy

4. book suggests that sandwich can also use lettuce (which I did) and some other ingredients (see optional stuff listed above).

notes

//I toasted the bread slices, then spooned the salad mixture onto one slice, added two layers of lettuce, closed sandwich with another bread slice, then cut sandwiches into two parts, and ate them with a side of fuji apples slices (squeeze lemon juice on them to prevent browning). delicious! I especially like the crunchy celery bits. Not sure I tasted that much scallion, may use more next time. Parsley and capers would make it better too. and maybe jalapenos (yes, I like it in almost everything...)

Party Foods 2007 New Year Eve Edition

B. and I had a little gathering we held on New Year's Eve for a group of 5. Although it was rather time-consuming, especially the shopping and preparation bit, I had a great time. Where I have photos and recipes, I'll post it. For other foods I'll just describe them. For all the inpiring host/hostesses, get started early! Also, ditch the apron when the food is done so you can dress to impress!

Appetizers

//Prosciutto-Wrapped Stuffed Olives / This probably took the longest since we had to cut the cheese, stuff the olive, then wrap and toothpick. Fun activity though, when you have some time. We really could have started early and just chill them in the fridge. We used colorful toothpicks and green olives since the deli we went to did not have pitted black olives. We used a parmigino-reggiano cheese for ours.
source: Costco 2007 recipe book. linked here. Some other recipes in this entry are from the book as well.

//Bob's signature Bruschetta / Made from toasted Semolina bread, with a tomato/basil/olive oil dip. Red onion pieces optional. So simple and yummy that I request it every time at B's parties. Make sure to get the best French bread/other bread you can get, on the day of the party. Also don't cheap out on tomatoes since the best ones taste so much better. Grow your basil if you can, or buy fresh basil. Chop tomatos and basil, toss in olive oil. You can rub raw garlic on freshly toasted bread too but it's not required.

Salad

//Mediterranean Salad with orange and olive/ We made this sald once before, but I never posted the recipe or photo. Finally a photo! The dressing is made from scratch. You blend a few pitted green olives, orange juice, lemon juice, and grounded almond. The salad calls for red lettuce and spinach, but you can use any salad greens that you like. We had a mixed green bunch. Then just arrange the lemon and orange wedges with olives. A note about the wedges, I always cut cross-sectionally once in half, then cut each half in thirds. This way they achieve the most aesthetically pleasing result.

Sides

//Rosemary Potatoes (recipe link) /We used red potatoes and dried rosemary because we could not find fresh rosemary. Basically you mix olive oil with salt, pepper, and rosemary in a bowl, then dip potato wedges and mix well. Then bake at 425F for 30 min. or so. Depending on the sizes of your wedges and the oven, you may have to bake more to get them to golden brown and tender. The rosemary is so strong that your kitchen will smell like it. Not a bad thing at all, mind you.
//Mini-Quiches (recipe link) /Since veggies are optional, you can go light or heavy on them as you need to. I went with jalapeno slices, mushroom pieces, and chopped green onions. For cheese I used shredded Cheddar. You have to eat them while hot.Later in the week I recreated taste of the quiche with scrambled eggs with the ingredients I used. Basically, everything except the sausages I used for quiche. The result was amazing as well. Although I may have gone a little heavy on the jalapenos. Spicy!

Dessert

//assorted ice cream and shortbread / Bob made the shortbread from a recipe book. It was great with the ice cream we had in the fridge.
//yummy Chinese pastries from Fay Da Bakery / I always loved Chinese pastries and Wendy brought over a bunch! Some of my favs. are the sticky rice ones with sesame or red bean inside, and of course, the large almond cookie!

Drinks

//Grape Ginger Ale /I had cherry and raspberry ginger ale before, but not grape. I love flavored ginger ale since they're sweet without sticking to your teeth like coke does. Still, I would have loved to have some bubbly too.
//Cabernet Sauvignon/ it was a very low alcohol content bottle that S. brought over. How thoughtful of her! I thought it went very well with our foods, especially the cheese that E. brought over, and of couse, our stuffed olives.

After dinner drink

//Godiva hot cocao / heat milk but not to boil, add 2 spoonful or so of hot cocao powder. Mix and serve! So good!

Fresh tomatoes

I really like eating tomatoes, raw, cooked, diced, sliced, on my burger, on my pizza, on my salsa. They are really easy to prepare too.

Here's a spring/summer recipe for days when you need something fresh and sweet to offset the greasy dinner or maybe as a midday snack. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo. Always too eager to eat...

ingredients (makes 1 serving)
-1 large tomato or 2 plum tomatoes
-1 small bunch of fresh cilantro or basil (I love both, just don't mix the two)
-1 tablespoon or so of lemon or lime juice (or more, depending on your preference)
-1 tablespoon honey (I guess this could be optional, but it's so good!)

directions
1. dice tomatoes and chop up cilantro or basil into bits
2. mix well with lemon juice
3. drip honey into mixture
4. mix again, then serve

notes:
colorful, fragrant, sweet, tart, and oh so good for you! You can eat this alone or eat it with bread. I actually tried it on a croissant once and it was quite nice.

Playing with Food Part 1: Grapefruit and Pear Salad

I guess I shouldn't call it a "salad" as much as a "fruit arrangement". Anyhow, simple simple recipe that looks good and taste good, too. Unless you hate grapefruit, I suppose.

Ingredients
-1 red grapefruit
-1 pear (I used Yali, you can use whatever kind of pear you like)
-1 lime (for juice and garnish)
-pieces of walnuts (optional, you can use whatever nut you like. I imagine sliced almonds are great, too)

Preparation
1. In order to prepare grapefruit, I consulted this video for sectioning fruit. It took some time and I wonder if it'd be faster if I just pealed the white membrane myself. Basically, the idea is to have the pink flesh part for salad, without the bitter membrane skin part.
2. Peel pear and cube. You may slice a few for garnish.
3. Squeeze lime as needed and mix juice with grapefruit and pear.
4. Arrange salad in plate.
5. Arrange lime, pear slices, and walnuts for effect.

Notes
I probably could have used a sweeter dressing, maybe add a bit of sugar to some grapefruit and lime juice and spread it on top. An alternative would be to use some honey. I like the crunchiness of the pear cubes coupled with the sweet and soft grapefruit sections. The color of this salad is amazing, with translucent white pears and pink juicy grapefruit.

Lotus Lily Bulb Rice Congee (Info)
Cook like you would regular congee, but add lotus seeds with the rice before you cook it. I used dried lotus seeds which can be purchased at most Asian food supermarkets. If you prefer yours softer, soak them for a few hours before cooking. As for lily bulbs, they are bulbs of lily flowers, I believe. I found mine from an Asian food supermarket as well. There are usually two kinds: fresh and dried. The fresh kind is probably aired from Asia somewhere, they are usually in airtight packages. The dried ones obviously need some soaking before cooking. I had fresh ones, so I just washed it and peeled it into various layers. Then added them into the congee when it is nearly ready. I used a timed rice cooker which has a Congee mode as well. When the timer had 2 min. to go, I added the lily bulb layers. I think you can eat the lily bulb raw, so if you rather do that, add them after you scoop some congee into your bowl. The finished rice congee is very pretty, with white lotus seeds and transparent layers of lily bulbs.

Rum, Avocado Salad, and Hot peppers

Rejoice, I finally have a digital camera to take photos with. although my blog will never be as pretty as my friend Suhxie's. Sigh.

Ingredients
1 clementine (or tangerine, mandarin, orange, whatever citrus you prefer)
2 overripe persimmons (gooey on the inside, extremely soft to the touch)
1 avocado (slightly soft to the touch)
4 Thai peppers, 2 red and 2 green (optional)
a bit of rum
lime juice (half of a lime, or more depending on taste)

Preparation
1. peel the skin off of the clementine, remove white membrane.
2. cut persimmon open and scoop out gooey stuff inside.
3. cut avocado in half and scoop out flesh, cube.
4. slice Thai peppers, leave in the seeds.

Directions
1. Put clementine, persimmon, avocado, and Thai peppers in a salad bowl.
2. squeeze lime juice into bowl.
3. Add rum as needed.
4. Mix and serve.

Taste/Notes
1. Soft gooey persimmon is perfect for dressing the avocado and clementines.
2. Thai peppers add color and spicy kick to otherwise very sweet fruit salad. Do watch out if you are not used to spicy food, though. If it's too much for you, drink some cold milk. It does wonders.
3. I can probably add more lime juice next time I make this salad.
4. I love dishes that look pretty. Green, orange, and red make it so appetizing and spring!

Drink
Orange juice, rum, and lime juice. Simple, yet yummy.