Archive | Cooking RSS feed for this section

Top 10 Noms of 2009

31 Dec

What is a New Year without a Top 10?  I have been blogging for exactly 325 days and have enjoyed every moment of it.  I love food… and I’m so happy that I have some very faithful readers who have joined me on this journey (THANK YOU!). With that said, here is my top 10 Noms from 2009:

10) Disney World stands out in my mind for a very memorable eating trip in 2009.  The dinner we had at Marrakash comes up often and I still can’t remember ever having a better sundae than the Ghiradelli one I had at Downtown Disney.

9) When Mike and I took the Culinary Walking Tour of Greenwich Village, we didn’t really know what to expect. It wound up being great for both food (we have gone back to these places a few times since then) and history. 

8) I actually wound up going to Becco twice this year (Becco 1 and Becco 2).  They are awesome for having an unlimited pasta tasting from their three pastas of the day and a pretty extensive wine list for under $25.  But their Osso Bucco is what dreams are made of.

7) Every time I go to Koi it is amazing.  It’s one of the very, very few restaurants I can go to over and over again (even multiple times in the same week).  The crispy rice is amazing and I credit the Miso Glazed Cod with having started me eating fish for the first time.

�

6) The short ribs at Charles were great (well… I thought so until I had #2 on this list). We first sampled them at a nice fund-raising food festival and then I won a gift certificate by bidding $60 for a $75 gift certiciate.  The braised lamb shank was exceptional and highly recommended.

5) Quality Meats had been recommended to me time and time again.  While the steak was great, but not my favorite, the corn creme brulee was so good that I dream about it.

4) Eating at Montenapo, especially on someone else’s dime so we could order multiple courses without guilt (well, except waistline guilt), was a HUGE treat.  It’s brand new and in the middle of an area that is known to wimp out on food.  The Osso Bucco was the best I’ve ever had (even though I just had a taste of someone else’s) and the desserts were sensational.  There wasn’t a bad bite in the entire meal. 

3) I have loved Keens Steakhouse since the first time I tried it, however, the bar is especially amazing and I’m so glad Lori joined me for my first time.  That potato and steak was heavenly and more restaurants should make merengue… especially if it’s that good!

2) The number two slot goes to a yet to be blogged about meal at Bottega (Michael Chiarello’s restaurant in Napa Valley).  Why was it so good? You’ll just have to read the blog to find out!

1) My birthday dinner at WD-50 was epic. It is hands down the best meal I’ve ever had.  We went whole hog and got the full tasting menu.  Each dish was a new adventure… and not just because it looked cool.  There were such wonderful flavors in everything and I really loved this place.  #1 for the year… probably lifetime #1 to date.

Runners up:

Happy New Year Nommers!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

More Grand Central Market and Fresh Direct Goodies

21 Dec

I’ve already written about the Veal Bratwurst from the Market in Grand Central Station twice.  I really like them.  They’re sweet and flavorful without being over powering.  We picked up some more on our last adventure home from Westchester and decided it was time to spice them up a bit… so we cooked them in beer and onions and then grilled them on our stove grill top.


It was very easy to do.

Next up I had some miniature sweet potatoes from a recent Fresh Direct order.  I love fingerling potatoes, and I love sweet potatoes, so I was hoping the merger would work in my favor.

I decided to roast them the way I did the purple potatoes last time that went so well with the brats.

To complete the meal, Mike suggested we make a cold bean salad in a vinegar dressing.  I was game and we picked up green beans and wax beans from a stand at the Grand Central Market.

We blanched them for just about 3-4 minutes and then stuck them in a bowl of ice water.

Then we dressed them up with shallots, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.

The completed plates were quire pretty.


As it turns out, I much prefer these brats just cooked on their own.  The beer and onions gave it a flavor that I thought I SHOULD have liked,but just didn’t.  It took away from the naturally good flavor of the brat itself.  Oh well!

The sweet potatoes were also good but not as good as those purple potatoes.  I also can’t seem to get them browned in the same way.  That first time was definitely the best and I haven’t been able to repeat it since.

The best part of the meal was definitely the bean salad.  Props to Mike for the idea and execution.  Nom Nom Nommy.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Krispy Krack Kale

14 Dec

I had heard rumors about kale that it was bitter.  As someone who will eat any veggie EXCEPT the bitter ones, I have avoided it at all costs.  Then came a review from Lori (a fellow kale skeptic) and the recipe, and I decided to give it a shot.  A few weeks later, I found a recipe for short ribs that included kale in its winter veggies assortment so I bought some from Fresh Direct.  One bored night I decided to refer back to Lori’s blog and crisp up one of the three bundles I had. 

It could not possibly be easier.  You wash kale, dry it off, toss it with olive oil and sea salt (not too much salt! it get concentrated as the kale roasts).

Then you stick it on a baker’s rack (or a pizza stone or a cookie cooling rack).  Then you put it in the oven at 250 degrees for about 25 minutes.

When you pull it out it doesn’t quite look like it should be crispy and when I reached in to grab a single one to try (figuring it needed more time or something) it was over.  I was in love.  It was perfectly crisp, salty, and a totally unique, milk flavor. 

I ate the entire tray on the left before trying to have some self control and put the rack on the right into a bowl… then proceeded to eat all but a small handful that I left for poor Mike when he got home.

The one problem I would advise about is that as it roasted, it curled around the little bars in the cooling rack, making it a bit harder to come off and causing more crumbling than you might want if you were serving this to guests.  I, however, had no problem collecting those crumbs and gobbling them all up.

I have made it TWICE since then (this was less than a week ago) and just ordered more kale from Fresh Direct for next week.  It’s THAT good. 

Run… do not walk… run to your nearest grocery store and buy some.  You’ll thank me later.

Tags: , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →