Posts with the tag 'food'
Anyone who personally knows me, knows my deep love and appreciation of properly seasoned (read: salted) food, and my belief that without properly seasoning something that you are doing it a deep, sad injustice. I have been particularly amused by all the controversy surrounding the use of salt in food the past 6 months or so. The Mayor of NYC has a personal vendetta against my true love, salt. And the NYC-based Media outlets have taken the bait and done ridiculous salt-testing of restaurant dishes and shown us the grave danger hidden in the KILLER! ALFREDO! SAUCE! of your favorite Italian joint.
I think this base fear from the masses is disappointing. Yeah, there is a lot of sodium in that Shake Shack meal. But if you’re wolfing down a full double Shack burger and fries every day you’ve got bigger problems than the salt in the meal–that’s just unhealthy no matter what.
This might sound melodramatic to some, but salt used correctly when cooking brings food to an entirely new level of complexity–one that makes it worth eating, rather than just something you eat to sustain yourself. Cook, season, taste, cook.
It’s simple and delicious. Read a good article from Serious Eats on How to Salt Food here.
/preachy rant
Tags: food
March 4th, 2010
This weekend I made cheese for the first time ever. I like it. It was the easy goat cheese recipe that I found on Serious Eats, and we ended up with a little ball of goat cheese ricotta. There was only one dire moment, and it was when I realized that maybe I should have cut down the cheese cloth to a more manageable size, rather than leaving it in the 2 yard form it came in, “just in case.” Talk about unwieldy! However, it was pretty delicious, and I’m eager to try again and see if I can make it even better. Actually, I’m eager to try again and make a different cheese–however cool it is to make a quick and dirty ricotta cheese, ricotta is just inherently sort of bland to me. I prefer a snappier flavor to a creamier one. I should probably try this one a couple more times to get the hang of it, and try using a rennet, before I move on to bigger and better things. I’m SO impatient.
Tags: cheese, cooking, corin, food
February 23rd, 2010
Whoa, did paper tastebuds fully hit the nail on the head with this idea for a Valentine’s day gift, or what?
They are talking about DIY Cheese Kits from urban cheesecraft, and they look insanely delicious and mighty do-able.
I want in on this, bad.
Tags: food, happiness
February 3rd, 2010
We have done the un-doable–made homemade Seattle-style chicken teriyaki that is JUST AS GOOD as our beloved Tokyo Garden in the U District, from 3,000 miles away. We got insanely lucky that the recipe the NY Times just happened to include in it’s article about the beloved Teriyaki joints of Seattle is from our go-to, absolute favorite spot. Which is pretty crazy, considering there are approximately 3,000 teriyaki joints in the Metro Seattle area. So happy.
This was a 2 day process, but every hour of waiting was well worth it. Chicken thighs from Fairway, ginger and garlic from the veg stand around the corner, and the ever-present Kikkoman soy sauce from the fridge = pure teriyaki bliss.
With this fail-safe recipe in our hands, we can now put our money where our teriyaki is and move to Mexico and open a teriyaki joint to cater to all those gringos from the PacNW who get tired of tacos down in Sayulita.
Tags: Brooklyn, corin, daveo, food, happiness, mexican, Seattle
January 12th, 2010
Oh Mexico, how I miss you and the unendingly delicious street foods you have to offer. Reading Mark Bittman’s article this morning from the NY Times about the Condesa mercado in Mexico City not only got me salivating for fresh Mexican fruits and tortillas, but made me realize that this stretch of time might be the longest in about 5-6 years that I have gone without getting to travel to Mexico. It’s been since our honeymoon, so 1.5 years without the best tacos and tortas and sopes and quesadillas and roasted chickens and elote and chilaquiles and micheladas and more tacos… Oh goodness. I just had to stop myself from doing a kayak.com flight search to Mexico City. I guess it’s time to pull out Rick Bayless’ Mexican Everyday for dinner tonight–that’s the closest we’re going to get on this short of notice!
Tags: food, happiness, mexican
December 18th, 2009
Tonight was the 3rd installation of Tightwad Tuesday, an informal, off-the-cuff happenstance that came about after getting together to eat Mac and Cheese with friends, and realizing that spending $10-15 per person at a restaurant can be just as fun as getting together for those ridiculously priced meals from my employed days. Almost. But then again, better, since they happen more often!
So far we have eaten at MacBar, where we ordered 6 different small mac and cheeses and rotated them among the 5 of us, commenting on each. My favorite was the chipotle chicken mac and cheese–that was the only one I could have eaten the whole thing of! The rest were delicious but RICH. It’s definitely a place fit for sharing, so grab friends, order up and be fuuullll.
MacBar, 54 Prince Street, NoLita www.macbar.net
Week 2 was dinner at Bark Hot Dogs, not too far from my neck of the woods. We shared disco fries, killer onion rings and a growler of their special-made Sixpoint brew, the Bark Red Ale. That beer is de-lic-ious! So was my dog, which I got with 3 different types of pickles on top. I’d definitely go back and have another hot dog if I’m in the hood.
Bark Hot Dogs, 474 Bergen Street, Prospect Heights-ish, Brooklyn www.barkhotdogs.com
Tonight we hit up Baoguette/PhoSure in the West Village. I’d been particularly craving Asian food, so it totally hit the spot. We shared the Hue’s Summer rolls and an order of fried Spring rolls, then moved on to the Pho/Banh Mi. I had the Sloppy Bao sandwich, their take on the Sloppy Joe which was pretty darn tasty. I definitely want to head back to try the Pho, though it will never beat the Than Bros in Seattle. No one can–that place has truly ruined me for all other Pho, for the rest of my life.
Baoguette/PhoSure, 120 Christopher Street, West Village www.baoguettecafe.com
What’s next on the list??!
Tags: beer, Brooklyn, corin, daveo, food, Seattle
December 1st, 2009
This will be the first year since we’ve lived in New York, and I think only the second or third year in the past 9, that I haven’t either hosted Thanksgiving at my house, with friends (and sometimes family), or gone to a local friends apartment and participated fully in the cooking. I can’t tell if I’m happy to have the year off, not having to worry about the purchasing, prepping and cooking of the butter-ific feast, or sad because I feel like some personal traditions that have started to emerge with me and the hubs are going to be sidelined this year.
What I do know is how grateful I am to be able to be really spending the holidays with my extended families this year–Thanksgiving with my family up in New England, with all my cousins kids running around and being cute, and then Christmas out in Seattle with Dave’s family, with his brothers and all of our lovely friends we left behind when coming back east. Due to irritating crappy vacation policies at our former jobs, we’ve sort of been trapped in the city for the holidays, making the best of it and creating good times, family portraits and traditions with friends. This year is going to be so strange, with all the family, but awesome. Even the NYC->New England traffic can’t get me down!
Anyhow, I’m hoping I can convince my aunt to let me make the mashed potatoes on Thursday, since my recipe is insanely delicious (um, butter, cream & sour cream, anyone?!?). I need some sort of traditional Lianides-Osterbeck T-day dish in there. And you KNOW I’m bringing a nice, crappy, jelled can of cranberry sauce for myself, too. That stuff is like crack.
Tags: food, happiness, Seattle
November 24th, 2009
I’ll probably never eat another bowl of any kind of Momofuku soup, but the brussels sprouts and smoked chicken wings…FEED ME.
check out more art by Cheeming Boey in his journal here, and this incredible sharpie/coffee cup collection here.
(via Drawn!)
Tags: food, whaaaat?
November 18th, 2009
Happiness was my dinner last night at Lomzynianka… This was one of our mainstays when we lived in Little Poland, aka, Greenpoint and we celebrated many a good time there, gorging on cheap but perfect Polish comfort foods, and drinking Zywiec beer bought in from the bodega on the corner.
The only bad thing about last night is that in my fervor and excitement I had to order ALL of my favorite items which left me in a state of Polish food mental slurriness.
I’ll take it!
(photo credit from Brownstoner and pls note that the prices on the menu are out of date, but still low!)
Tags: beer, Brooklyn, food, happiness
November 14th, 2009
Second week of Project Night, and I feel like although a little scattered, we may have managed to get more done!
2 major successes of the night: Dave’s killer baked mac and cheese, and Nora’s quick-shot blog image photo shoot (thanks Jeffrey!).
Nora is the magic and brains behind Minneapple in the Big Apple, which is a group that brings together Minnesota expats here in the Big City along with promoting the heck out of Minnesota-created cultural goings-ons whether by said expats, or touring musicians, artists, comedians, writers, whatever. Nora does this out of pure love for both the Minneapple and the Big Apple and her events are always a success. Check out her blog–complete with event calendar–here, and one of her several blurbs about her monthly event in Time Out New York here. You can also buy one of those kick-ass T-shirts, designed by our friend Bryan Christianson (of course another Twin City expat artist) here!
other PN successes: preliminary photo shooting of Nora’s Minneapple calling cards, designed by yours truly, more baby-stepping toward Storyboard Book art, mini-card design discussions.
more more more!
Tags: corin, daveo, food, photos, project night
November 12th, 2009
Not only do these illustrations make me want to seek out Serious Eats Hot Dog of the Week to try out these tasty looking guys, every time I see a new one I think about how cool they could look hung up on the wall in our kitchen.
After doing a little research I found out that you CAN actually buy prints of these, direct from the Philly-based artist–Hawk Krall. The 11×14 prints are only $27!
Tags: art, food, print
November 7th, 2009
Last night was the first installation of a weekly get-together at my place that I have deemed Project Night. I would have to say that this PN was a full blown success, if only for the creation and consumption of these fried delights, apple beignets.
Suffering from an overload of apples from a recent trip to the orchard, Heather and Brittany decided to get out the deep-frying bravado and make these puppies. They were DELICIOUS, and not a single one lasted the night.
The recipe is from dearly departed Gourmet, and you can find it here. Sadly, there was no butter rum caramel sauce, but I have to wonder if they even needed it.
Other PN successes: a full storyboard book 2 pager artfully done and photographed, new web sites set up and on the way to being designed, rickety bike seat stabilized and fixed up, new concepts created for postcard project, yarn cut, tied and readied for holiday gift making.
Let’s see what happens next week…
Tags: bicycle, cider, food, project night, the storyboard book
November 5th, 2009
Kevin Van Aelst’s gummi worm chromosome chart artwork speaks to the biology nerd in me. I like that.
Tags: art, food, print
October 21st, 2009
The fall weather and time on my hands has started producing a delicious result–cookies. I was given the Martha Stewart Cookies cookbook from my lovely friend Brittany, who gets the books from the source herself. I’ve decided to make at least 3 batches of different cookies per week this fall/winter to get the baking up to snuff. Friends, beware.
In the past 2 nights I’ve made Honey Florentines, which are a sort of tuile cookie–a thin crisp with not much flour and mostly sugar–and Lime Meltaways, which are a limey crumbly cookie covered in powered sugar that seems to melt away when you eat them. I’m not really feeling the Florentines which I’ve decided would serve better as a sort of garnish, maybe for a bowl of ice cream, rather than a cookie on it’s own–but they sure are easy to make.
But I am loving the Meltaways. They are really delicious, and could even use a little more pucker in them. Next time, more lime juice for sure. Next up, Buttered Rum Meltaways.
Lime Meltaways recipe
Honey Florentines recipe
Tags: cookies, corin, food
October 20th, 2009
You asked for chili peppers, and you’re getting them!
Followed by home-made Devil’s Food cupcakes with orange buttercream frosting.
who loves you?
Tags: corin, daveo, food, happiness
October 8th, 2009
patatas bravas
tortilla de patatas
I would like both of these, pronto. Just because.
We got these fine beauties @ Docamar, Bar de Bravas, Madrid.
Tags: espana, food
October 1st, 2009
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