Sometimes I read other food blogs and I feel inspired. And then there are times when I read food blogs and feel legitimately angry that I didn’t think of this first.
photo c/o Because I'm Addicted
Banana bites! Not healthy in the least, but what a delicious and adorable dessert. You could also roll the slices in caramel or toffee and sprinkle them with jimmies or Nerds or rice krispies. Good thing I have all the ingredients for this in my kitchen as we speak. Or maybe not a good thing at all.
Filed under Miscellaneous
Dear friends,
My camera broke. I will spare you the sob story of how my bank account will not let me purchase another one, but the posts may be thin until this situation resolves itself. I have a lead on a loaner camera, so stay tuned. In the meantime, I give you this, the best picture ever taken by my crappy little camera. RIP Camera. It’s true what they say: you don’t know what you got til it’s gone.
From "One Meal Becomes Another"
Filed under Miscellaneous
There’s a headline that’ll get your attention, am I right? This past weekend I went out for a delicious brunch with my lovely friend, Ben. When he sent me a list of possible new brunch spots, I saw the words “free sangria” and all other information was null and void. If there’s a better way to kick off your Sunday, I have never heard of it.
Combination plate with scrambled eggs, chorizo, and yuca frita
Agozar 326 Bowery and Bleecker St, New York, NY. Agozar is a Cuban-inspired restaurant positioned in a trendy neighborhood but with friendly prices. The brunch can not be beat! For around $15 – $17 you get an entree and two-hour unlimited free sangria.
On the menu:
Eggs benedict, Cuban style (Spanish ham, poached eggs, chipotle hollandaise, and Cuban toast) with salad
Combination plate: scrambled eggs, chorizo, yuca frita, and Cuban toast
Sangria!
Eggs benedict, Cuban style
Verdict: I don’t know, I’m still drunk.
Kidding! The food was DELICIOUS. An unlimited brunch drink special is no good if the food isn’t worth going for alone, and Agozar did not disappoint. Most would tell you I have an eggs benedict addiction and while they may be borderline correct, I just love trying out a new take on my favorite dish. My only criticism is that I like a thick slab of ham and you can see that this was sliced deli thin. In my opinion, when you have a hearty dish like eggs benedict you need the meat to stand out on its own. The chipotle hollandaise was a slightly spicy take on your standard hollandaise and while not a fan of anything spicy myself, I was putting this stuff on my lettuce and debating licking the plate clean. The chorizo was also perfectly done, crispy and hot off the grill and served in link form, which I prefer to the chorizo crumble you get in a lot of restaurants.
It should also be said that while the sangria was free, it was also very tasty. And they are not shy about refilling your glass! I highly recommend it.
Filed under New York Restaurants
Happy Friday, friends! If you’re looking for a low-key activity to keep you occupied this weekend (and you live in the NYC area… sorry) go see Kings of Pastry at Film Forum.
Legendary documentary filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus chronicle the journey of sixteen pastry chefs to achieve the highest honor in the French art of patisserie, Meilleurs Ouvriers de France. The story is heartwarming, the skill level is unbelievable, and if you have even the tiniest interest in food or competition you will want to see this movie. This contest has never been filmed before, so you won’t see it on the Food Network. It is an echelon of the culinary world that I never even knew existed! Well beyond cupcakes and muffins, kids.
Filed under Miscellaneous
You know how sometimes you just need something chocolatey? You crave it? It consumes every thought in your head until you race home from work and scrape together the ingredients from your kitchen to produce something to satisfy that itch? No? Just me? Here’s the recipe, friends.
On the menu:
Chocolate pretzel cookies
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2/3 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup crushed pretzels
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, blend together flour and baking powder. In a large bowl, blend together oil, sugar, and cocoa powder. Add eggs, blending one at a time. Add apple sauce and vanilla. Add flour mixture. Fold in pretzel pieces.
Roll dough into walnut-sized rounds and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes or until firm to touch.
Remember when I went to Egg and had the best biscuits ever? Well, a few weeks after the fact I found the recipe! And then the heat hit. And boy, did the heat hit hard. The heat hit SO hard that I had to sit on this recipe for months. Can you imagine knowing you have the secret to the world’s greatest biscuits but not being able to make them for months?! Let’s just say it was a long summer.
On the menu:
“Egg” biscuits
Adapted from Tasting Table’s Buttermilk Biscuits
5 1/4 cups flour
3 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
10 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups buttermilk or sour milk*, plus more for brushing
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
Cut half of the butter into thin sheets and place them in the freezer.
Blend the remaining butter into the flour mixture with your hands. Work quickly, blending until the flour resembles very coarse meal with a few pea-size lumps. With a rubber spatula, mix the buttermilk or sour milk into the flour and butter just until a dough begins to form.
Dump dough onto a floured work surface and pat it into a rough rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Lay the slices of frozen butter on top, then fold the dough over twice (as if you were folding a letter in thirds). Press down gently on the dough until it’s about 3/4 inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter to punch out biscuits (do not twist the cutter). Place biscuits onto a greased** baking sheet and brush the tops with milk.
Bake the biscuits for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are risen, golden, and light.
*Note: To make sour milk, combine 2 1/2 cups of whole milk with 2 1/2 Tbsp of white vinegar.
**Note: my one regret in this recipe is not using bacon grease on the baking sheet. That would’ve been an INCREDIBLE flavor, so if you have bacon grease, use it!
These biscuits are amazing with a little honey, or a smear of butter and a sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon, OR with a thick slab of ham, salty cheddar, and a little fig jam. Yum.
Filed under New York Restaurants, Recipes
Happy Friday and a VERY happy weekend! Today’s post is blatantly stolen from Serious Eats but this was too good to pass up. This weekend, when you’re at the green market, pick up some figs because we are smack dab in the middle of fig season! You can use these suckers in so many different ways, but I like this salty sweet crusty melty cheesy combination the best.
photo c/o SeriousEats.com
It’s a take on the classic BLT that involves figs, prosciutto, and melted mozzarella cheese. Hungry? Me, too. Have a blissful weekend, kids!
Filed under Miscellaneous
I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that it legitimately feels like fall, that I have a brand spanking new stove (I think I will name her Bertha?), and that I feel a crazy intense desire to be back in the kitchen. All is right with the world! Okay, so I could use a tiny bit more money. Details.
On the menu:
Mom’s tomato soup
1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 medium sized carrots, grated
1/2 large green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup butter
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 quart tomatoes, peeled* and chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4 tsp sugar
1/4 cup flour
Saute celery, onion, carrots, and green pepper in butter in a large, heavy pan until they are slightly softened. Add 4 cups of the chicken broth, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar. Bring heat up to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Blend flour with the remaining 1/4 cup of chicken broth. Gradually add flour mixture to soup. Simmer for another 15 minutes, or until the soup thickens and the vegetables are tender. I like to serve this soup with tiny grilled cheese sandwiches, cause frankly, everything is cuter in miniature.
Note: the key to this soup is making sure all of the vegetables are chopped to relatively the same size.
*To peel a tomato: boil a pot of water. Make a small X in the top of the tomato, barely piercing the skin. Drop the tomato into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove it and immediately drop it in icy water. The skin will peel right off.
Dear friends: this is the reason I have been MIA. This is my stove. But today (drum roll pleeeeease) I’m getting a new one! A BRAND new one! And I can’t wait to bake up some delicious delights in the brand new love of my life. Stay tuned.
Filed under Miscellaneous
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted something completely self-indulgent, so I figured what better day than Friday to post such frivolity?
I don't want to know what it means that this peanut-hiding-a-knife speaks to my soul, but I think I have to own this.
Or you could wear a plaque that says, "I grew up in suburbia and if you have a block of Helluva Good I'm yours for life"
Who needs a Tiffany diamond? I'm hoping my future husband pops the question with this beauty.
Click the pictures to buy me these things! I mean… to find out where you can buy them for yourself. Ahem.
Filed under Miscellaneous
