Fast(ish) Food

I spent this past weekend at my first ever music festival, Governors Ball, which is deceivingly not on Governors Island but Randall's Island. After hiking it up to Randall's Island once for a soccer game via subway and a bus ride with lots of creepy men, I swore I would never go back there, but alas, there I was. And this time, the trip to Randall's Island was well worth it.

Rainbow balloons for Pride Weekend!

My friends and I were in agreement that the absolute peak of the weekend (and also unexpected) was the show/extreme dance party put on by Major Lazer. Jumping, fist pumping, champagne popping, and shirts flying all ensued (not our shirts, of course). Top that off with a naked girl running across the stage  and lots of booty-popping from the dancers, and you have got an awesome sweaty dance party outside in the 85-degree heat.

Other musical favorites of mine included Chromeo, Passion Pit and Modest Mouse.

Chromeo

Passion Pit

But with all that sweating and dancing, we obviously had to keep ourselves satiated too, and Governors Ball had a nice little spread of food vendors for just that. On Saturday I indulged in the "Vinh" from Asia Dog: a Vietnamese banh-mi style hotdog (I opted for a chicken dog) with aioli, pork pate, cucumbers, pickled carrot & daikon, cilantro and jalapeño. The pickled carrots and cilantro were a refreshing bite on the hot afternoon.

photo credit: padmalakshmi.com

On Sunday I went for a half lobster, half crab roll from Luke's Lobster. I'm no newbie to Luke's Lobster. I love a lobster roll with big chunks of lobster and just a little bit of butter. Some people prefer their roll as more of a salad with a mayo-based sauce, but I like to taste all that fresh lobstah! The crab roll is also simple and delicious with just some butter and old bay seasoning. Sandwich that between a buttery toasted bun, and you've got the perfect snack for lounging out in the sun on a Sunday afternoon.

photo credit: lukeslobster.com

Friday Favorite: Buvette

As much as I love New York City, Paris has that magical je ne sais quoi that will always have my heart. And while I can't afford a trip to gay Paris any time soon, I can at least humor my Francophile tendencies at Buvette in the West Village.

Enjoy the perfectly indulgent croque madame for brunch, or share glasses of Beaujolais and the uber-rich chocolate mousse with a friend at the bar. Every item on the menu makes me feel as if I've been transported to a hidden cafe in Saint-Germain-des-Pres.

Buvette is made even more charmant by the handsome waiters, who will even amuse your poor French that hasn't been used since college.

So when I need a break from this concrete jungle (or some eye candy), I head to Buvette for a little Parisian escape. Bon voyage!

Buvette, 42 Grove Street, no reservations

Restaurant Raves: Prune & Perilla

I know this blog has primarily been an accumulation of my own recipes (or adaptations of others), but the reason I haven't written in months is that I really haven't made anything that I felt was worth writing about. Not only have the past couple months been quite busy - lots of birthdays, graduation, holiday weekends - but I get lazy when it comes to cooking in the summer months. Not to mention it just gets too damn hot in my apartment to turn on the stove. So today I'm going to switch it up a bit and share some quick highlights from two excellent meals I had out in the city!

First up, Gabrielle Hamilton's Prune.  My foodie book club just finished Hamilton's memoir Blood, Bones & Butter, so it only made sense to have our discussion at her restaurant. The tiny East Village spot is charming and girly: a bright pink awning matches the pink menus. The menu also sways to the feminine, which was unexpected given Hamilton's bold and ballsy persona portrayed in her book. Our group started with sardines with triscuits & mustard, garrotxa cheese with buttered brown bread & salted red onion, and a shaved celery salad with warm blue cheese toast. I've never been one for sardines, but I even gobbled those down. For my entree, I had a whole grilled branzino with lots of lemon and fresh dill - perfectly flaky and light. For dessert we shared mascarpone ice cream with salted caramel croutons and rhubarb bread pudding. The mascarpone ice cream was a huge hit with the group.  The entire meal was delicious. All of the dishes were so simple, yet so flavorful.

photo credit: Justcook NYC

Next is Perilla. One of Top Chef  Harold Dieterle's restaurants (his other being Kin Shop, which I also recommend), Perilla was the perfect setting for the birthday dinner of a close friend. The ambiance and price point  are more on par with a special occasion or nice date, rather than a casual book club gathering like at Prune. Because the menu was a little pricey for us newly 24-year-olds, we stuck to wine and entrees. I tried the special: halibut with turnips and israeli couscous cooked in a lobster sauce. The birthday girl had hanger steak, which looked delicious, and she even let me try some of her "hen of the woods" mushrooms. We all scraped our plates clean, but the leaner portions left plenty of room for dessert. For that, we headed to one of my favorite gems - Buvette - but I'll have to dedicate a full post to that another day.

photo credit: The Daily Dish

Prune: 54 East 1st Street (between 1st & 2nd avenue), accepts lunch & dinner reservations, brunch first come first serve

Perilla: 9 Jones Street (off of West 4th), accepts reservations

The Incredible, Edible Egg

I've been really into eggs recently. Not just your standard scramble or omelette, but eggs on everything. Deviled eggs, eggs on pizza, eggs on grits, eggs on rice. Basically eggs on any sort of carb-bomb. Maybe it's because they're super easy, versatile and cheap. They can go from breakfast to lunch to dinner; and are essential to my favorite course: dessert. Or maybe it's that eggs are timeless. People have used eggs since we figured out that chickens laid them. (Or did the egg come first and then the chicken? Another story for another day...) It could be that during my recent training for a half-marathon, I found myself craving some serious protein. I inhaled smoked salmon eggs benedict from The Bowery Diner after the actual race like it was oxygen (which was delicious and I definitely recommend it!).

Regardless of the reason, I don't think anyone could argue that eggs are delicious and a staple as an ingredient or as a stand-alone course. So when I saw a recipe for carbonara pasta on one of my favorite blogs How Sweet It Is, I had to give it a try. I've had spaghetti carbonara several times in restaurants (in fact, the carbonara at Landmarc - shameless plug - is quite tasty), but have never ventured to make it on my own. I guess something about eggs and pasta intimidated me. But after my new egg-kick, there's nothing I wouldn't put an egg on. Not surprisingly, this dish was totally foolproof and absolutely egg-cellent even on a warm evening in New York City.

Spaghetti Carbonara adapted from How Sweet It Is
makes 2-3 hearty servings

Ingredients:
1/2 lb long, thin pasta (I used brown rice spaghetti, but you could use linguine, angel hair, whatever you have in the pantry)
1/4 lb pancetta, chopped
1 medium-large shallot, chopped
10 oz baby bella mushrooms, quartered
2 large eggs
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
salt & pepper

1. Cook the pancetta in a large skillet over medium-high heat, until browned and the fat has rendered, about 5-7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Turn down heat to low.
2. Add the shallot and mushrooms to the pan with a pinch of salt. Cook until browned and softened, about 8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. While the pasta and mushrooms are cooking, mix together the eggs and cheese in a small bowl.
4. When the pasta is cooked to al dente, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, then drain. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet with the shallot and mushrooms. Quickly toss to mix.
5. Remove the skillet from the heat and pour in the egg and cheese mixture. Stir constantly for a minute or two until all the noodles are coated.
6. Stir in the pancetta and top with more parmesan cheese and a couple grinds of black pepper.

MMMBop & MMMTasty

I'm beginning to think I have an obsessive personality. Mostly in terms of entertainment, but nonetheless obsessive. It all began with Hanson in the 4th grade. Taylor Hanson's high tenor had me hypnotized at the first "MMMBop. I had a pile three feet tall with every issue of Teen Bop and Tiger Beat that those three heads of luscious blonde locks ever did grace. I knew all of their birthdays, favorite colors, favorite foods. I knew more about Hanson than they knew about themselves. My greatest possession was a gigantic, wall-sized poster of the trio, which served as my audience while I danced and sang along to all of their songs. But the greatest testament of my love was the not one, but two Hanson concerts I went to, after which I cried for days because I was so devastated that it was over. I wasn't your average teeny bopper, I was dedicated to the core. I lived and breathed Hanson.

While that enormous poster has been rolled up in the attic for some time now, I've found other outlets to latch my obsessive tendencies onto over the years: NSYNC, Britney Spears (still pretty obsessed with her), Harry Potter (also still in love with him). And most recently, The Hunger Games. As my friends and I waited inside the theater at 8:45 PM for the midnight movie debut, I actually had butterflies in my stomach. I was so overwhelmed with excitement and anticipation. Would it live up to the hype? What if I left disappointed? It was the same sort of nervous-excited I remember feeling at my first Hanson concert. To my stomach's relief, the movie was all that I'd hoped it would be and left me wanting a loaf of bread kneaded by Peeta <3

The only thing that could make Hunger Games week even better was... MAD MEN!!! Another current obsession of mine, and probably the most age appropriate. So to top off such an epic week, Elana and I decided it was totally necessary to make a Mad Men themed feast to celebrate. Complete with deviled eggs, homemade onion dip & Peeta chips (sorry, had to!), mint juleps, and a funfetti cake. I really couldn't have asked for a better way to sign off the weekend. Well maybe with Peeta and/or Don. And a little MMMBop in the background.

Cilantro garlic pita chips, recipe at Epicurious 

Caramelized onion dip, also Epicurious

Deviled eggs, recipe adapted from Big Girls Small Kitchen

Mint Juleps - Epicurious 

Funfetti - greatest ever boxed baked good

What does your cereal say about YOU?

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a spontaneous person. I do not live by the seat of my pants, but by schedule. I like routines. I like making plans. "Spontaneous" for me is sleeping until 9 A.M. on a Saturday and splurging on a bagel instead of my usual Kashi cereal. In fact, my brother and I were joking the other day about what kind of cereal we would be. We said he'd be Coco Puffs and I would be Bran, because I'm always regular (hehe). So that's me. A big bowl o' reliable Bran.

My need for a routine and structure translates into my eating habits as well. I always eat three square meals a day, and of course a snack and dessert (or two). I really do not understand people who just "forget" to eat a meal, or somehow manage to stave off hunger all day simply by eating a banana or yogurt. Not only do I get irritable like a 5 year old if I've gone too long without eating, but what I eat is all I think about. All. Day. Long. Thinking about food (and of course eating it too) is what makes my world go round. A life without breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert(s) is simply a life not worth living.

People always say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And while I agree that nothing beats a big bowl of cereal with cold milk, I do think lunch gets shafted. Lunch is sadly an afterthought for many people in the busy working world. Scrapped for time, some people will just grab a so-so sandwich or soggy salad at the corner deli. But for me, planning my lunches every week is like a secret drug. Picking the recipe, making the shopping list - it's a Type A's dream. As soon as I get to work every morning I start counting down the hours until it is acceptable to eat lunch. If I didn't have a delicious lunch to look forward to, what would be the point of getting up every day?

Here I bring you my lunch for the week: wheat berry salad with figs, golden raisins, celery and red onion. Stirring the pot of wheat berries this weekend, all I could think to myself was "I cannot wait for lunch on Monday". I know I sound crazy - a compulsive planner with the mentality of a morbidly obese person - but you should trust me on this one. This salad is good. And totally worth a little compulsive planning.

Wheat Berry Salad adapted from The Kitchn
makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups wheat berries
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tbs honey
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried figs, finely chopped
1/2 medium red onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
1 cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped
Handful fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

1. Cover the wheat berries with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and partially cover the pot. Cook 45 minutes, until the wheat berries are tender and chewy.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the rice vinegar, orange juice and honey together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and add the raisins and figs. Turn off the heat and let the fruit steep in the liquid.
3. When the wheat berries are ready, drain and add to a large bowl with the celery and red onion. Toss with olive oil and lemon zest. Add the vinegar and juice mixture, with all the fruit and mix. Stir in almonds, parsley and salt. Season with pepper as desired. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.

Lessons from Ina: How easy is that?

I have a mental list of recipes that I've always wanted to try, but haven't had the guts to. As easy as Ina makes it look, that double-layer chocolate cake really can't be that simple. There are several factors that might shy me a way from a certain recipe: too many ingredients, need for particular (or expensive) cookware, patience. This is why I rarely blog about baking; because I don't have any more space in my apartment to house five different cake pans and I don't have the patience to follow a recipe word for word.

While I don't see myself getting over my baking phobia any time soon, I will brave more savory recipes when I'm feeling adventurous. Some feared recipes that I've been able to cross off my list: frittata, risotto, braised short ribs. The funny thing is, every time I've finally attempted one of these dishes, I'm always surprised at how easy and not scary it is.

So this past Friday evening was the perfect occasion to give lasagna a go. I was having some friends over, so I wanted to serve something that I could prepare ahead of time and just heat up before they arrived (Ina's number one rule when entertaining: never serve something that will keep you over the stove while guests are waiting hungrily). Lasagna has always been hallowed ground for me. Gaga makes lasagna every Christmas Eve, so I've always felt that lasagna was her territory, not to be toyed with. Luckily, this lasagna was for friends, so I didn't have to live up to the decades-old expectations from family and could play with the recipe as needed.

While I tend to use recipes more for inspiration (see above, re: lack of patience), I do stick closely to a recipe when trying something for the first time. So who better to go to than the Food Goddess Herself: Ina. While there was no one part to the recipe that was particularly difficult, it was a bit time consuming between cooking the sauce, pasta, and actual cook time. But all good things come with a wait, right?

Right. So, so right. The lasagna was incredibly cheesy, with so many great flavors - tanginess from the goat cheese, butteriness from the mozzarella, and a fresh, herbiness from the basil. We all went back for seconds and thirds, and yet somehow managed not to feel heavy and weighed down at all. A great dish to feed a crowd or impress your friends, yet relatively simple. As we shoved our faces, cheese oozing down our chins, I couldn't help but think (in the words of Ina): Now, how easy is that?


Ina Garten's Lasagna with Turkey Sausage
serves a crowd
Ingredients:
For the sauce:
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb turkey sausage, casings removed
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, divided
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt
Pepper

For the lasagna:
1/2 lb lasagna noodles
15 oz ricotta cheese
4 oz creamy goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
2. Add the sausage, breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon and cook until no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until thickened, about 15-20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and let sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, Parmesan, the egg, the rest of the parsley, and salt and pepper. Set aside.
6. Ladle a third of a the sauce into a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish, spreading over the bottom. Layer  half the noodles, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta and one-third of the sauce. Repeat. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to lightly cover the top. Bake for 30 minutes in a 400-degree oven, until bubbling. (If serving later, refrigerate as needed, but allow to come to room temperature for about an hour before putting in the oven. This is what I did and it worked out great!)

Lotsa layers!

Cheesyliciousness

In the words of Ina, how bad can that be?