recipe: slow cooked short ribs

i've made this recipe just once before and it literally was one of the favorite things i've ever made... these are simply just one of my favorite foods. the nice thing about short ribs is that it's one of the few things you can make at home that taste just as good, if not better than, a good restaurant with almost NO effort or skill. except for about 1/5 of the price for two people. i picked up boneless shortribs at Roma Foods in latham, NY. the first time i tried finding them i went to 2 grocery stores, a butcher shop (with a hot butcher nonetheless... nom noms) who all didn't carry them, and finally landed on Roma's who seems to have them in perma-supply. the recipe that i used from allrecipes.com, Slow Cooked Short Ribs, was on point, so i'm not testing out another.

ingredients list: (serving size for 4)

- 4 boneless short ribs (about 2.5 lbs)

- 3/4 tsp kosher salt

- 1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper

- 2 tbsp cornstarch

- 2 tbsp butter

- 1/4 onion, chopped

- 1/2 cup beef broth

- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

- 3 tbsp chili sauce
- 2 tbsp ketchup (it sounds gross to use on such a nice cut of meat, i know, but it works here)
- 2 tbsp worchestershire sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke

to make: rub short ribs with salt & pepper. add all of the remaining ingredients to slow cooker on low heat, then add in short ribs. cook for 6-8 hours, adding additional cornstarch if needed to thicken up the gravy.

once again, love love love these. they fall apart with the touch of a fork and the marinade is delish. these w/ mashed potatoes is the best meal ever (next to a perfect hamburger, of course : ). rating 9 *********.

recipe: garlic mashed red potatoes

this is my go-to mashed tater recipe... it has a lot of flavor without using many fatty ingredients (heavy cream, butter, etc) that a lot of mashed recipes have. it's taken from Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes recipe on allrecipes.com with just one variation on the garlic prep.

ingredients list: (even if i'm cooking for 2, i make the full recipe for 6 b/c the leftovers are just as good as new)

- 8 medium red potatoes, cubed into about 6 chunks/ea.

- 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

- 2 tbsp butter

- 1/2 cup milk

- 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

to make: boil potatoes for about 20-25 minutes until potatoes are tender and easily break with a fork. meanwhile, microwave the butter & minced garlic in a microwave safe bowl covered in wax paper for about 45-60 seconds, or until the garlic gets to a nice light brown color (i call this the "cheat-roast"). drain potatoes, and add butter/garlic mixture, milk, salt, and parm cheese. mash until they're at your mashed-texture preference (just not overmashed to that gluey texture... ugh) & serve.

nothing to say in this review to this other than the fact that this is a solid-ass recipe. love the garlic, love the red potatoes over russet, love everything about it. esp because they are fine to eat even without gravy, the ultimate goal in any good mashed tater recipe. 8.5 ********~.

recipe: french onion soup dumplings

i had leftovers from making French Onion Soup earlier in the week, and this French Onion Soup Dumpling recipe from seriouseats.com seemed like a perfect fit for them. i made these as a lil (heavy) app to tonight's sunday night din.

ingredients list:
- 1.5 cups leftover french onion soup onions, drained (if you don't have fresh-made onions avail, serious eats has a cheater recipe for them available on the site)
- 10-15 wonton wrappers
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (you should probably use all gruyere technically, but i had a gruyere shortage and was too cheap to buy more : )
- 1/2 cup shredded gruyere cheese
- 1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese (optional)
- 1-2 pats of butter, chopped
- fresh chives for garnish

to make: spray a glass pie dish with non-stick cooking spray. one-by-one, moisten a wonton wrapper using your finger or a basting brush, then place about 1 tsp of FOS onions in the middle. bundle the corners of the wrapper together so they form a little bundle, wrap up into a mini-dumpling shape, and place seam-side down into the prepared baking dish. continue until the baking dish is full of the little dumpling bundles. sprinkle mozz & gruyere cheeses to top of the dumplings, and drop butter pats on top. broil for about 5 minutes, until cheese & nice & golden, and then sprinkle with shaved parmesan cheese. serve!

verdict: yummy. cheesey & oniony... can't really go wrong. the one thing i would change if i made these again would be to crisp up the dumplings first by baking for 10 minutes or so BEFORE adding the cheese and broiling them... that way they are able to maintain a little bit of their own form. the way they stand now, serving them with toothpicks would be impossible b/c the gooopy cheese would be too difficult/stong to pick up with the soft dumpling. taste tho... delish. maybe... 5.5 *****~ overall.

recipe: tiramisu cupcakes

i was home alone today, which after i finished my domestic duties meant it was drink some wine, bake some cupcakes, and listen to some gangster tunes day. i wanted to shrink my favorite Tiramisu Layer Cake recipe from allrecipes.com down to cupcake proportions. i took the long way making layered mini-cakes with 2 different layers of cake and filling... if you wanted a quicker version with same flavor, you could stick to one cake flavor and just inject the filling in the middle.

ingredients list (i made this scaled for 12 cupcakes):
- 1/2 package moist white cake mix (i didn't have any boxed so used this Simple White Cake recipe - it was perfect for 12 cupcakes)
- 1.5 tsp instant coffee powder
- 1/4 cup coffee
- 5 tbsp coffee flavored liquor, divided (i used some Kahlua, some Bailey's)
- 4 oz. marscapone cheese
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, divided
- 1 cup heavy cream


to make:
cake: preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a large 12-cup cupcake tray or prep it with liners. prep cake mix according to directions (whether boxed or from scratch. remember to divide the boxed package in half (along with all ingredients) if you're only making this for 12 which is what the rest of this recipe is based on). divide batter into two bowls, adding the instant coffee powder into one of the bowls. pour batters into the cupcake pan (6 of each batter), and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick test comes out clean. allow to cool. pour 1.5 tbsp coffee liquor into the 1/4 cup coffee, and set aside.


filling: blend marscapone, 1/4 cup confectioners sugar, and 1.5 tbsp coffee liquor in a small bowl until smooth.


icing: mix heavy cream, 1/4 cup confectioners sugar, and 2 tbsp coffee liquor with electric mixer over medium-low speed until stiff.


to assemble: cut the round tops off of the cooled cupcakes (note: all of the cake cutting & frosting will be easier if you freeze the cakes first. just refrigerate the filling/icing if you do this), then cut the cupcakes horizontally in half. drizzle coffee mixture over the tops of all of the cake halves. spread filling over the large bottom halves of the cupcakes, then add the 'top' cupcake layer on top (making sure to use one each of the white cake & coffee flavored cake for each layer). spread icing over all sides of the cakes, and place onto cupcake wrapper. garnish with shaved chocolate, coco powder, or whatever chocolately goodness you desire.


verdict: taste-wise, these were great. total tiramisu goodness, 7.5******~. presentation-wise, they looked like blobs and were a nightmare to ice... not the statuesque mini-cakes i was envisioning. in part, it's because they are SO small. if i was working with a jumbo-sized cupcake and firmer icing, i think they would take shape better. as well... since they are so tiny, having the layers really goes unnoticed - you don't really get a white cake-filling-coffee cake variation when you bite in, it's all there at once. if you just stuck to an all-coffee cake base & injected the filling, i don't think anything would be lost at all for the flavor & you'd save a ton of time. for those aspects, rating is much lower. in the meantime, the remaining cakes may be ugly, but my fridge is full of them and i can't wait to have another tomorrow they are so yummles.

la serre

last night we finally tried la serre, albany, courtesy in part of a living social deal that's been burning a hole in my lil britches. it's a very quiet, old school restaurant, which was a nice change of pace after a hell week.

it was so dark and quiet i didn't take pics (sad face) as the flash would have been awkward. for app we ordered the crab cakes, which were nice & crispy & very crabby and served with some kind of red pepper sauce that i could not get enough of mmmmm. for din i had a nice glass of cab and the veal oscar which was 2 pieces of veal with (massive) lumb crab, hollandaise, and a congac reduction sauce, and served with a side of asparagus & mashed potatoes. um... yum. i wish i knew what on earth was in that sauce... everything single thing on my plate was delish, but i was so into the sauce at times the food just seemed like a means to sop up more saucey goodness (i even ate some of my asparagus, whaaat). kyle ordered the rack of lamb, and the bite i tried was delissshhh. not at all gamey... it had almost a buttery flavor. no desert b/c we had to save room of caaandy at the movies. all in all... we were really happy with our eats & would def go back. 8 ********. (pic borrowed directly from la serre's site)

recipe: french onion soup

din din tonight, taken from French Onion Soup Gratinee on allrecipes.com.

ingredients list:
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 white onions, thinly sliced
- 2 red onions, thinly sliced
- 1 48-oz can chicken broth
- 1 14-oz can beef broth
- 1/2 cup red wine (i used a malbec)
- 1 tbsp worcestire sauce
- dash of thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- salt & pepper to taste
- 4 slices french or italian bread
- 5 oz shredded gruyere cheese
- shaved parmesan
- paprika

to make: heat butter in large pot over medium heat. add onions & salt, and cook for about a 1/2 hour until they are well carmelized, stirring frequently. add broths, wine, thyme, worchestire, parsley, bay leaf, balsamic & salt/pepper, and let cook over medium-low heat for 20 - 30 minutes. spoon soup into oven safe bowls, placing one slice of bread & the gruyere on top of each bowl. broil for 3-5 minutes until cheese is brown & toasty. remove & top off with a little sprinkle of shaved parmesan & paprika.

i really liked this. i haven't eaten a ton of FO soup in my day (long story... soup, puke, birthday, emotional scarring...), but i've been dying to make it for some reason, and today worked out to be a perfect day for it since we had a freak snow sprinkle. i will warn you that if you make this and are the onion-stirrer, you will stink. i ran out to CVS and the cashier took a big sniff and said "mmm someone is cooking something good in the back room"... to which i looked down, kicked some fake rocks, and said "umm... that might be me" because i was so smelly and it was awkward. she then said that i, aka the soup, smelled delicious. still not sure to be happy dinner smelled good (or like the CVS breakroom), or sad that i smelled like an onion bomb. stinky aside, dinner was yum and i'd pop this recipe a 6.5 ******~. next time i would skip the worchestshire - maybe i over-poured, but that flavor came through too much for me, it did not play nice.

o'butter

i was in the grocery store a few days ago the single-size sticks of Kerrygold Garlic & Herb Irish Butter caught my eye... in the CHEESE section. butter in the cheese section? irish in the butter? o'my. i decided to file that one away until next years St. Patty's day feast. fast forward 4 days, i'm in the store buying gruyere for french onion soup tonight... and yeah i had to have it. and a big bagel. i was on my way to an early morning barre class, so surely i would need some fat-laden bread as soon as i got home. this stuff was creammmy. and herbbby - it's blended with chives, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, dill & paprika. all on top of european-style fatty fat butter. the milk fat in the butter comes from grass fed cows... and not just any cows. irish cows. grass fed irish cows who spend their days grazing the rolling irish meadows, the same meadows tickled by magical little leprechaun toes. mmm o'hell yes, pimp my bagel Kerrygold. and maybe my chicken... this stuff probably makes for a pretty tasty sautee party.

recipe: mexitalian steak pizza

so i was in Target and this darling little Roasted Poblano Alfredo sauce from Classico caught my eye. with the found london broil in the freezer, mexican steak poblano alfredo pizza it was.

ingredients list:
- 1 pound of london broil, thinly sliced and cut into 1-inch pieces (or flank steak, whatever you have. there will be some leftovers... good for 2nd day fajitas tho)
- 1 recipe for carne asada marinade
- 1 recipe for pizza dough or fresh store-bought (i use store bought... homemade is just not worth the time for me on p-dough)
- 1 cup Classico Poblano Alfredo sauce
- 1/2 a red onion, diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 2 jalepenos, seeded & chopped
- 2 sweet chili peppers, chopped (i had these in the garden... not sure what kind they really are. regular peppers would also work)
- 1-1.5 cups sliced mushrooms
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1-1.5 cups pepper jack cheese
- 1-1.5 cups mexican blend shredded cheese
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- black pepper to taste

to make:
first up, get your meat on marinade mode. i used the Taqueria Style Tacos - Carne Asada recipe from allrecipes.com, halving the ingredients since i'm only marinating 1-lb and using orange juice instead of fresh lime (the instructions for the marinade are all listed in step 1 of the page). i marinated the meat for about 8 hours, but anything from 1-8 hrs will work.

when you're ready to cook, heat a large skillet on medium-high heat, and preheat the oven (with pizza stone in the oven also) to 450 degrees. sautee meat in the hot skillet for about 4-6 minutes, turning once, then set aside. roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface. lightly flour the hot pizza stone, then carefully transfer the dough to the stone. spread alfredo sauce onto the dough, then pile on first some cheese, the meat, all the veggies, more cheese, and the seasonings. bake in preheated oven for about 14-16 minutes (noting that my oven runs hot... check it), let it rest for a few minutes, then MMMMMmmnn yeah.

we LOVED this. the boy said it could be his fav pizza we've made yet, and i put it in the top 3 (next to roasted veggie & balsamic grilled pizza & thanksgiving leftovers pizza). i pre-planned this one and pre-chopped the veggies and prepped the marinade the night before, so it was the fastest thing ever... which is good for a horrible monday. going so far as to say it's a 7.5*******~ overall... don't think i would really change much next time (maybe next time i won't plow into my food like a hoss and burn the roof of my mouth... but i doubt it, waah).

pipe dream pizza

yesterday i went for a hike w/ some friend peeps in the adirondacks. we were faaamished afterward and saw the cutest little pizza truck on the side of the road. unfortunately i have NO idea where we were... just somewhere between Lake Placid and wherever you connect to the thruway. i am still so smitten by this little truck and his brick oven on wheels... GENIUS guy, GENIUS. loved it. the pizza was great too... i only meant to eat half, but i housed my entire 9" hawaiian pie. mmmmm. love you pizza truck. good job.

pretzel dawgz

this week was a terrible week. like trrrrrble trrrible. i was working in CT on Wednesday, and after a long day the prospect of my 2 hour drive home to Albany seemed pretty unsurmountable. whatever is a girl to do? 1) go to Forever 21 and treat yourself to a lil something something. because you deserve it. 2) say F to what is supposed to be a week (M-F only) of eating well, and get yourself a dang pretzel dog. oh hell yes.

(pic note: my nails were perfect before the day started. ho-hum)

it had been a while since i let myself indulge in one of these tasty devils from Pretzel Maker (formerly known as Pretzel Time), so after wiener was in hand (hehe!), i was actually PUMPED for my drive home (also... they are quite a convenient car food...why don't they have tiny pretzel stand drive-thrus? cha-ching$!). first things first tho... had to take a pic. i was shaking so much from hunger i had quite a photoshoot in my car before i got a clear shot. if you ever need to feel like you're doing something completely criminal, sit alone in your car in a parking lot, and take pictures of your wiener. when a car pulled in next to me, i actually threw my phone across the car and booked out of there... apparently my intincts knew before i did that i was being a complete creeper.

first bite. WOW, this is one salty dog! yar matey! and not from the pretzel salt, it was the meat (meat?) jacked UPPP on a sodium party. yamma hamma. this is not your average hotdog. 2 other things i noticed: 1) they wrapped the hotdog in a thin ribbon of pretzel, which is nice b/c it's like a perforated line spaced out just enough for each bite... you'll never bite into solid pretzel and risk not breaking through the pretzel shell, whereby popping the dog out the other end and leaving a hollow pretzel tube. 2) the pretzel is THIN... not as puffy as it used to be... with such a strong salty dog, i actually have a hard time tasting the pretzelly goodness. seemed like they might have worked their ribbon too hard here... we're making a pretzel dog, dawg, not a mummy. i paired this with day-old water from my car, which had slight notes of aged chapstick. it complimented my meal nicely, helping to balance out the large sodium uptake i was experiencing.

all in all, the p-dawg wasn't AS GOOD as i remember it, but these things are still SUCH a freaking delight that i will forever continue to indulge in. even with a proportion flaw which i seemed to focus on here, this little treat did turn my frown upside down. for a snack rating, p-dawgz in general are a 7 *******. need to visit Auntie Annes soon to do a comparision. drive home was definitely plagued with naughty-dinner guilt, accompanied by 2 hours straight of listening to the radio on scan to clutter my thoughts from the day. drive-on sociopath mode, drive-on.

recipe: asian glazed drumsticks

din din tonight, taken from skinnytaste.com's Asian Glazed Drumstick recipe. this was perfect for tonight b/c i had a bunch of drumsticks (PC sale this week) and a desire to not get fat from eating chicken skin... can't ask for more in a recipe.

ingredients list:
- 6 chicken drumsticks, skins removed (cooking for 3, we made 2-per)
- olive oil
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce
- 1 tsp chili oil
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup lo-so soy sauce
- 4 tsp sugar (orig recipe calls for agave nectar if you have it on hand)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- 1 tsp sesame seeds

to make: heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in large pan over medium heat, adding chicken and cooking for about 2-3 minutes per side. stir together hot sauce, chili oil, balsamic, soy sauce, sugar, garlic & ginger in small bowl. after chicken is slightly golden, add the liquid mixture to the pan. after liquid begins to boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes, turning chicken periodically. remove cover and boil over medium-high heat to reduce sauce (i added about 1 tsp of cornstarch at this point to hurry it up). serve with a sprinkle of chives & sesame.

we had this with cilantro lime rice (recipe is exactly the same as the name), and were pleasantly surprised. for a very quick, easy week night din this was great. i like the cook method for the drumsticks and will def make this or a similar recipe again... after eating chicken breasts nonstop you really forget how much flavor chicken can have. would give it a solid 7 overall *******.

Bill's Bar and Burger

Sunday we were in NYC for a family thing, and grabbed a quick bite at Bill's Bar and Burger afterwards, which of course was delightful news to me to hear anything with burger in the name.

(photo + red glow of florescent lights)

the menu didn't have a ton of burger options, but did pride itself on having their patties ground fresh every morning & hand pressed. mmmmm. i had The Mexican (pepper jack cheese, pico de gallo, jalapeno, lettuce, chipotle aioli). at first glance was a fairly petite burger (the patties are 6 oz), but all the veggies were super fresh (including the jalapeno which were nice and thin-cut) and the traditional sesame seed bun had such a perfect little shape, like a lil stout burger soldier. first thing i noticed when i dove into this puppy was that it was juicy as hell (i had grease dripping down my chin at one point). they packed a ton of flavor into this little guy, which was cooked with a nice pink center. fries were crispy seasoned steak fries. i had it with a Rodenbach Classic Red Ale which was one of the better beers i've had in a while (reminded me to Lienenkugel Berry which is one of my favs but not sold in NY yet... just less sweet which was nice). i liked it i did. it's a good place to go to if you're craving a straight up burger with clean taste... not too many frills, just fresh fast food style. overall rating... 7 *******.

recipe: roasted tomato salsa

still have a ton of tomatoes from the garden that need to be eaten, so today was make a salsa day.

ingredients list:
- 6 red tomatoes (roma, vine... whatever)
- 1/2 green pepper, seeded
- 1 jalepeno, sliced in half and seeded
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/2 white onion
- 1 cup cilantro
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp chili oil
- olive oil

to make: place tomatoes, pepper, jalepeno & garlic on baking dish, and drizzle with olive oil. broil veggies for 15-20 minutes until the skins have a nice char to them. mix veggies in 1 of 2 ways:

1) lazy way: blender: place all broiled veggies, onion, and cilantro in blender and pulse until salsa is desired consistency (and making sure garlic gets fully blended). the downside to the lazy way is that red tomatoes + green cilantro = brown ugly salsa. tastes great, but not visually appealing (this is how i made it today, which is why i'm minimizing the pic of the final product).
2) better way: chopping: after broiled veggies have cooled enough to touch, dice them along with the onion & cilantro. the salsa consistency here will be chunkier, which i like better as personal preference. you'll be able to taste each ingredient rather than having them completely mix together.

after veggies are prepped, stir in cumin, salt, pepper, lime juice, and chili oil, adjusting all of them to taste. refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours before serving (overnight is best).

verdict... i still haven't found the ONE salsa for me. this one is solid as a fresh garden salsa, probably a 5 *****. if i chopped the veggies so it was more the consistency i like, it would probably be more like the 7 scale.

recipe: mexican pork stew in green salsa

today i wasn't working and decided to be a good housewife and try out the Pork Stew in Green Salsa (Guisado de Puerco con Tomatillos) recipe from allrecipes.com. i had a pork roast in the freezer bada bada, perfect. i followed this one as written (mostly) since it seemed pretty on point. as follows:

ingredients list:
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 (3 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast, trimmed of white fat & cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tbsp olive oil ++
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chopped fresh tomatillos (about 6-7 of the buggers)
- 1 (7 ounce) can diced green chiles
- 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried marjoram (i used oregano as a sub)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 (14 oz) can lo-so chicken broth

to make: stir together the flour, 1 tsp salt, pepper, & cumin in a large bowl. place the pork into the bowl, and stir well to coat (the worst part about this recipe is chopping the pork & its ton of fatty fat... doesn't smell so awesome. not nearly as fun as prepping brisket or anything cow-related)

heat the olive oil in a large pan on medium-high heat, then place the meat into pan in a single layer & sautee the pork until brown on all sides, about 15 minutes total (i had to do this in 2 batches to get it all done... second batch cooked much quicker). remove the pork to a warm plate, and set aside. sautee onion in the hot pan over medium heat, adding more olive oil if needed, until the onion is beginning to get to a nice carmelized state, about 7 min. return pork to the pan and add in chicken broth, then stir in the garlic, tomatillos, chiles, oregano, & cilantro. cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender, about 1 - 1.5 hours. serve with rice and/or tortillas & a dollap of sour cream.

as for the verdict, i really liked this. had nice but not overpowering heat and a good blend of flavors. even tho it seems like a heavy meal, the fresh cilantro/tomatillo flavors make it taste fresh & lite. would def make again, and really not much else i would change from the orig recipe. i served this over rice... if i was eating it solo like i would a normal stew, i would probably add a bit it of flour/cornstarch to thicken it up a bit. overall... 6 stars ******. not bad for just choppin & mixin some stuff. also a good/easy recipe to make while drinking an entire bottle of Monkey Bay :)

recipe: mango chicken curry

din din yesterday, tweaked from Mango Chicken Curry at allrecipes.com. the reviews from allrecipes on the original recipe were mixed, but all the ingredients seemed scrumptious so what the hell.

ingredients list:
- 3/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 boneless chicken breast halves, diced
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 2 tsp minced fresh gingerroot
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp chili oil
- 1 chopped peeled mango
- 1 can coconut milk (remembering to shake well!)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2-3 servings hot cooked rice
- salt, pepper, & garlic powder


to make: season chicken with salt, pepper, & garlic powder then sautee in olive oil on medium-high heat for (about) 3 min per side. when cooked, remove from pan and set aside on a warm plate. sautee onion, pepper, and garlic until soft. add in curry powder, ginger, cumin, cayanne, and chili oil and cook for an additional 2 minutes. add in chicken, then stir in coconut milk, mango, and tomato paste. bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes. add cornstarch if needed to thicken sauce.


there were mixed reviews on this one at home, all directly proportional to the individual's love of curry (with the curry lover loving this most). since i'm a medium curry lover, i loved this medium high. the spice was just nice, but i was expecting a little more sweetness from all of the coconut milk & mango (as with the thai food, i NEED sweet & spicy mix). next time i think i'll add in something more potent with the coconut milk... maybe mango or agave nectar? or just a touch of straight sugar? also... will not use a white spoon to stir this... it's stained a horrifying yellow from the curryness, like nuclear highlighter juice. rating... 5.5 ****~?

recipe: honey ginger tilapia

tilapia was on tap for tonight. the boy got wind of a sweet lobster sale at price chopper so he left to get that and it turned into tilapia for one (i'm not a lobster fan and will not partake... texture issues). rather than doing the garlic-lemon variety we usually have i decided to spice it up. i had seen this Honey-Ginger Chicken Breast recipe at For The Love of Cooking and gave the marinade a whirl on the fish.


i scaled it back for 1 serving, but this is the standard recipe for 4:

ingredients list:
- 1/3 cup of honey
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 4 pieces tilapia (or chicken)


to make:
mix first nine ingredients. marinate the fish in a zip lock for 15-30 minutes. reserve marinade. bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes (or until fish is flakey when cut with a fork). if you want a little extra sauce to serve it with, while fish is baking heat remaining marinade in small sauce pan, mixing in the 1 tsp cornstarch. heat marinade thoroughly (stirring frequently), then serve it up.


this wasn't bad. tilapia can be really boring (esp when you're trying to prep it healthy), but this had a nice pep to it. the only time i've ever been wowed by tilapia i was out and had it served sauteed (or fried?) in a tequila lime batter with mango salsa. this wasn't quite that, but i would make it again. the hardest part was just pulling all the damn jars out of the cabinet to mix this up. 5.5 stars overall *****~.

recipe: steak marsala

din din tonight, adapted loosely from two recipes from allrecipes.com, Chicken Marsala & Pan-fried Steak with Marsala Sauce, and scaled to feed only 2. we served this with jasmine rice, as seen with the little white rice buttocks in the pic : )

ingredients list:
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
***
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 lb sandwich chuck steak
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup marsala wine


to make:
mix flour, salt, peppers & onion powder in shallow bowl, then coat steaks thoroughly with the mix, reserving flour. heat olive oil & butter in skillet over medium high heat. after it gets hot, add steaks & sautee 2-3 minutes per side until they have a nice sear. remove steaks to warm plate. lower heat to med-low, and add mushrooms, onion & garlic to skillet, sauteeing until onions are soft and golden. mix a bit of the leftover flour into the marsala wine (if you were making a larger version of this recipe with more (floured) meat in the mix, you could probably skip this step), and pour mixture into skillet, simmering for 10 minutes until sauce is nice & thick.


this was a great lil din, esp given how quick & easy it is. the marsala i have is a bit on the drier side, so using a marsala-sherry mix would be nice for next time to give it a little more sweet sweet. rating... 6 ******?

recipe: apple cake

i hadn't made anything appley this fall yet so figured carpe diem. i made the Pioneer Woman's Apple Cake in an Iron Skillet which uses a frightening amount of butter, but still sounded so good i had to try it. i made it exactly as written:

ingredients list:
- 4 whole granny smith apples, peeled, cored & cut into six equal pieces
- 1 & 3/4 sticks butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
***
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 2/3 cups sugar
- 1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 & 1/2 cup flour
- 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 whole granny smith apple, peeled, cored & finely chopped

to make:

preheat oven to 375 degrees. in a large cast iron skillet, melt 1 & 3/4 sticks butter over low heat. add 3/4 cup sugar skillet and stir until well blended, placing apple slices, wedge side down, in the pan in a circular formation (packed loosely - but not with overly large gaps). simmer on low/medium-low heat while prepping the cake batter.

in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat 1 stick of softened butter & 2/3 cup sugar. mix in vanilla and eggs. add sour cream & mix well. in a separate bowl, blend flour, salt, baking soda & cinnamon, then gradually add flour mixture to electric mixer batter until combined. gently stir in the 1 chopped apple.

turn off heat to skillet. spoon batter over the top of apples in skillet, spreading until it's covering the entire surface (as best as it can anyway). bake for 25 minutes, until cake is golden brown. allow cake to sit in skillet for five minutes, then (carefully) invert onto a serving plate.

this came out awesome. there was a lot of butter (when it was cooling there was still butter bubbling in pockets around the cake), but i don't know if i cut it back by 1/4 stick in the apple mixture if it would then stick to the pan too much when inverting. next time i'll probably try to replace some of the butter in the apple mixture with rum and let it reduce a bit before adding the apples, and replace half of the butter on the cake mix with applesauce and see how it goes. it tasted delish exactly the way it is (the sauce was carmelized and so yummy w/ the warm apple cake), it's just horrifying to use so much butter in one cake. i also used all white sugar for this go-round, tho next i'll definitely do brown sugar. right now i'm trying very hard not to eat anymore of it before i can pawn it off on people. yumz. 7 stars *******.

(it looks better in person than these godawful orangey-hued pics... still tastes good tho)

bangkok bistro thai restaurant & martini bar

saturday night a bunch of us went to try the new thai place in colonie ny, Bangkok Bistro. i was excited for this place since 1) i'm always craving thai & 2) i love martinis.

i had a bit of sugar-tummy going into dinner (i had a coffee icecream and vodka milkshake shortly before leaving), but by the time i sat down i was ready to go. i ordered the Thai Tea & Coconut martini, which i was secretly hoping tasted like a Green Tea & Ginger tini that i had once at The Point, but it tasted more like coconut, which was... OK. i'm a bit biased though b/c 1) i'm not a huge fan of coconut and 2) i had another drink burned into my memory (kind of like thinking you're sipping water but downing a big gulp of sprite). putting that aside, the drink in and of itself was very tasty.

we had the Crab Angels as an app, which were "crispy fried dumplings stuffed with cream cheese and marinated crab", served with plum sauce. these tasted like standard crab rangoons (which does mean absolutely delish), just cuter presentation. the plum sauce was a great little dip dip... it reminded me of the spicy wonton sauce from Yips which i am kindof in love with. for dinner i had the Red Curry (red curry paste in coconut milk, slowly cooked with bamboo shoots, carrots & bell peppers) with Lamb.

the curry is served normally with their 1-star (mild) spicy rating, so i asked them to bump it up a notch which they did and then some. it got to burny mouth/runny nose level and tappered off right before ear burn level (that's my limit... once the ear burn is on it the pain usually overshadows the taste), which was just right. it has a slight sweetness to it that helped round out the heat. that and a little rice with each bite.

in short, i'd pop it 6.5 stars ******~. would def go back, particularly for $4 martini wednesdays.

recipe: chicken & dumplings

i don't usually cook anything that takes longer than 15-20 minutes during the week, but luckily this recipe has a 15-20 minute prep then just cooks itself all day, like a nice little robot dinner. i adapted the Slowcooker Chicken & Dumplings recipe from allrecipes.com, which i've made a few times now. the first time i made this i really didn't expect it to be that good looking at the ingredients... a lot of recipes with cream of chicken or mushroom soup in the slow cooker just taste like old cream of can, and i didn't love the idea of these cheater-dumplings. luckily i was mistaken b/c this is one of the easiest & comfortiest comfort meals, like getting a hug from a cuddly chicken.

ingredients list:
- 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
- 1 can of chicken broth
- 2 full chicken breasts
- 1/2 a large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, diced
- 3/4 cup shredded carrots
- 1 red pepper, diced (i just used this b/c i had it on hand...any veggies you like work)
- salt
- pepper (i used white & garlic peppers)
- paprika
- 1 can of pillsbury biscuit dough

to make:
add first eight ingredients to slowcooker (my chicken breasts were frozen when i put them in...frozen/thawed both work), and set to low heat. add a few pinches of salt, pepper & paprika to taste. cook on low for 4-5 hours, then use forks to shred chicken. tear up biscuit dough into small (1/2 - 1 inch) pieces & add to slowcooker, turning up to high & cooking for an additional 2 hours (the original recipe has the 'dumplings' cooking for only a 1/2 hour... i prefer longer just to make sure they aren't too doughy). done!

rating... would be 7 *******. lot of yum over a minimal effort is okie doke in my book.

westchester burger co.

had a client lunch this afternoon and was smitten to hear that the restaurant of choice was the Westchester Burger Co., rye brook NY. never been, never heard of it. for apps we had some chicken spring rolls, guac-n-chips, jalepeno cheese sticks (these had cornmeal breading & avacodo cream in them, v yum), and steamed dumplings. MMM. deciding a burger was difficult, but i ended up ordering the Lamb Burger that had grilled zucchini/squash, carmelized onion, and rosemary aioli. this was actually my first lamb burger, cooked medium since that's what they recommended, and it was really good. it didn't have a very lamby-flavor (if i didn't know what it was i may not have even noticed), but it was a total mouth party overall. no pics since i was at a work thing, but i did sneak one of desert, which was this little desert burger thing... glazed donuts (bun), chocolate lava cake (burger), jelly (ketchup), kiwi (lettuce), and strawberry (tomato). the desert was a bit more form over function with the flavor, but we still had fun with it.

overall rating 7 *******, would def go back.

recipe: beer can chicken

sunday funday! had a long night saturday so i needed something easy prep but still good comfort food. decided on beer can chicken and potatoes, both of which are best left simple.

i used what i had on hand for seasoning... really you can throw whatever you want on it and not really go wrong, as long as you don't skip the butter, garlic & salt.

ingredients list:
2 cans beer (we used Labatt since it's the best Target had to offer in can form... anything works, just remember weak beer flavor=weak beer flavor)
1 whole roaster chicken (we used a 7-lb)
6 tbsp butter, melted
4 tbsp lemon zest
6 cloves garlic, minced
few sprigs parsley
kosher salt
pepper
paprika

to make: preheat oven to 350 degrees. pour out 1/2 a beer from one of the cans into a roasting pan, adding 2 cloves of minced garlic & 2 tbsp lemon zest into the can. to balance the chicken i have a beer-can-chicken-butt-stand that keeps it balanced... if you don't have one, hmm yeah that just sucks. shove the beer can/stand set up into the chicken butt and place it in the roasting pan. pour the other beer & 1/2 into bottom of the pan. salt, pepper, and paprika the outside of the chicken like crazy, making sure to get a bunch of it down in the chicken head hole (i'm sure this is the technical term for it). rub that along with the lemon zest and remaining garlic all over the outside chicken. tear apart the sprigs of parsley and shove down into the chicken head hole. pour melted butter all over the chicken, making sure to get some into the chicken head hole.

the cooking instructions call for it to cook roughly 20 minutes per pound... we cooked this for approx. 2 & 1/2 hours which was just right, basting every 1/2 hour or so (to double check... the thickest part of the thigh should clock in at 180 degrees).

turned out great - simple, yummy. the chicken turns out juicy this way. my complaint is that i couldn't taste the garlic (though i may be immune at this point or it's just because i don't eat the skin). next time i'll take the time to cram some of the garlic & butter under the skin to make sure it really gets up in there. 7 stars overall *******.

recipe: potatoes anna

i stumbled across a picture of this dish online and thought it was ingenious. i have NO idea where that recipe went, but all recipes i saw for this online were mostly the same, so i made a fusion of them all:

ingredients list: (this was for 3 people, estimating 1 potato/person)
3 russet potatoes
3-4 tbsp butter, melted
salt
pepper

to make:
preheat oven to 350 degrees. butter (or grease) the bottom of a 9" pie plate. slice the potatoes as thin as you can get them (a lot of recipes call for them about 1/4 inch thick, i sliced until they were about 3mm). arrange potatoes in a circular pattern on the bottom of the pie plate, making sure your best potato slices are on this bottom layer since this will end up being the top of your finished dish (kind of like a potato gratin upside down cake). after the first single layer is down, brush with butter and season with salt & pepper. repeat layers until all potatoes are gone, baking between 45-60 minutes. potatoes will be done when a nice golden crispy crust forms. to serve, invert pie plate over your serving dish, being careful not to destroy everything AND to gently peel off any potatoes which may still stick to the pan.

mine didn't come out as crispy as i'd like throughout the entire dish (only the top), but i think some of that had to do with the juicy chicken that was cooking next to it... next time i'll drop the pie plate into the toaster and let these cook on their own in the dry oven. these came out with a lot of flavor for 4 ingredients, but would be really good to try with adding garlic, parmesan or cheddar, onion. definitely a cute company dish. 7 stars overall *******.

bon rappetite

someone sent me this link for Bon Rappetite today, seeing my mutual appreciation for recipe/menu creeping and gangster rap. this place is hi-larious. if their food is anywhere near as good as the dish names (Roastface Killah, Waka Flocka Flambe, etc) and the food pics, these guys are genius. i'm not sure if i'm more interested in the Freestyle Dining & Rap Battle every Monday, or the Hot Tub Night which features dining in style in a 6 or 8-person hot tub table (trying to picture this like i would light apps & cocktails in a normal hot tub setting, otherwise just thoughts of gonorreah run through my mind for some reason). in either case, adding it to my must-visit ATL restaurant list, which currently consists only of Straits ATL (love you, Luda. xoxos).

hurricane club

went out to din in nyc at The Hurricane Club with friends Saturday night. didn't know what to expect but the food and drinks were both DELISH. it's polynesion style food... fruity, freshy, fun.

the meal started with shots... the #7 which was hurricane cooler, patron silver, fresh chili & salted lime. i'm not a big fan of shots, but this turned out to be one of the best drinks i've ever had, period. the chili wasn't spicy like you'd expect in a spicy margarita, but it gave it a cool smokiness which was a nice edge to the sweet sweet from the rest of it. i just tried to savor it b/c i know it's something we could never replicate at home. drooling thinking about it, mmm

next drink was the #47 - Don Q rum, soursop (essentially carribean evergreen fruit), pineapple, lemon, and kiwis. loved it.

dinner was family style, which is always a bit awkward if you all can't decide but the order process thankfully went smooth. no pics of din (2 many plates to pass to be stuck with a cam), which stinks b/c i wish i remember everything i had, it was all so good. what i can: Tri Tip Steak Skewers, Tandoori Prawns, Steamed Red Snapper w/ Cilantro Sauce, Shanghai Lobster Fra Diavolo, Bangkok Chicken Stir-Fry, Coconut Basmati Rice, aaah i think i'm missing 2-3 more. the surprise winner in all of it was the Coconut Basmati Rice. i'm usually not a coconut fan, but i LOVED every bit of this. the rice was served in a coconut shell and mixed with coconut bits and some creamy sauce i couldn't figure out if i wanted to. wasn't a big fan of the prawns (i had never had them before... just started eating shrimp a few months ago and this was tooo much)... even though they were cooked properly, i'm just not big into that texture.

i don't remember what drink i ordered after that, but it reminded me of vanilla cake. mmm. it also had cute fruity shit & umbrellas all over it. love.

desert was Banana & Baileys Creme Brulee and Chocolate Lava Fondue. creme brulee was great even though i don't like bananas... the baileys was so perfect against it it could almost make me a banana fan. chocolate lava i didn't really pay attention to, but i gave a dip to a small piece of strawberry cake (?) and a macaroon . chocolate was nice dark chocolate. all in all loved everything, would def go back & recommend 9 stars *********.

Wendy's new hot 'n juicy cheeseburger

i saw the ads for the new Wendy's burger and didn't really care that much... have never been big on Wendy's burgers (i'm a BK girl at heart), so it's not anything that really would affect my world. but a very mixed review post in Serious Eats peaked my interest. saturday i had no time 2 grab lunch so figured the time is now.

now, i'm not a fan of raw onion on my burgers but needed to try this burger head on so i ordered it as-is. the burgers are supposed to have "new premium toppings", "juicier, thicker beef", and "buttered, toasted buns". here it is in all its glory:

at first bite, it was fresh. crisp (not wimpy) lettuce, nice tomato slab, some pickles, mayo, and (yuck) the raw red onion (the worst uncooked onion of them all), processedy american cheese. unlike a BK burger where you get hit with the delicious fake smoke seasoning, this patty doesn't have any flavor... it's just a meat springboard for the toppings. a few bites in, the flavor starts to remind me of McDonalds burgers. not that they are very alike in form, but if you know me you know that i cannot have a McD's burger without vomiting. that's the reminiscence. (side note: we did a lot of NY-->FL road trips when i was little in the family woody, during the McD's $.29 burger and $.39 cheeseburger sales of the 80s & early 90s. we'd buy a sack of about 20 burgers, enough to last us through several states at a clip. between the family time and the disgusting cheese/itty bitty onion shit taste, i would vomit from about the whole ride from VA to FL. anytime i've tried to touch one since, puke city.) what's happened with this burger is that the red onion has infiltrated all of the other toppings, and it's melding with the mildly offensive "buttered" bun.

i'm usually offput by buttered buns unless i'm at a place with great buns and real butter. otherwise, i really don't need the extra calories and it doesn't add anything. this was absolutely the case here. the american cheese (which i haven't been a fan of in general lately) is also throwing me over the edge... plasticy smelty bleck mixing with onion hell & fake butter. (yes, that is a burger shot taken while driving. i'm also wearing killer heels (on my way to Hurricane Club, next post!))

75% of the way into my burger, the McD's puke sensation was too overpowering and i had to throw it out. took me a good 5 minutes to recover and be in place where i can dive into my fries, though i ended up nauseous for a good 2 hours after that. compounded with guilt that my hour+ gym session was wasted on this wreck. lesson learned: never send a farmers daughter to do a king's job. 2 stars **. (it gets one star since it's not the burgers fault i despise red onion. still sucks tho.)