6.30.2007

TRAVEL FOOD



Meena was leaving this morning for a nice week in Milwaukee, so before she left, I decided she needed some delicious breakfast to get her started right. Before she got up, I hit Whole Foods for a couple quick supplies and had something tasty for her as soon as she opened her eyes!

We started with a tiny (but rich!) salad:
- smoked sockeye salmon
- fresh mozzarella
- field greens
- olive oil
- salt
- black pepper

And we had a wonderful little breakfast BLT:
- peasant bread
- bacon
- jersey beefsteak tomato
- field greens
- dijon cream (dijon mustard, sour cream, sambal oelek)

Everything was pretty delicious. It was so sad to send Meena on her way in the cab, but at least I knew she didn't have to eat crappy airport food today. She could focus on those delicious chocolate chip cookies Midwest Airlines is so famous for serving.

Get ready for a week of alec-only eating. This might be a boring week, folks.

THE LOCAL


We were going to hit a delightfully dorky disney flick last night, so we decided we wouldn't cook and just keep it local at Lil' Frankies. I also wanted to run by East Village Radio to see the Cool Kids kicking back on the Fader's weekly show. So you know, it was basically the perfect dining experience.

Meena ordered us a little calamari to start. I wasn't that hungry, but that stuff is delicious and I couldn't say no.

After that, we kept it strictly traditional - Meena had the rigatoni with baby meatballs and I had pizza marinara. Wonderful.

6.29.2007

EXHALE





We had plans to cook last night but when we got home, we just crashed. Like I'd mentioned before, it had been a long week and we just threw in the towel. "Hiro," we said, "Come rescue us with delicious delivery sushi and other various treats." And so they did.

Meena had:
- shrimp shumai
- gyoza dumplings (half order)
- spicy tuna roll
- shrimp tempura roll

Alec had:
- miso soup
- gyoza dumplings (half order)
- hamachi and jalapeño roll
- salmon and avocado roll

Delicious. We were just so close to the weekend, we had to go this route. Dan and Steveo came by after and we had some wine and fun conversation. It was a lovely end to a stressful week.

6.28.2007

SALADS AND SANDWICHES



We are both having stressful weeks (Meena more than me), and last night we just felt like a sandwich. We made a quick run to Whole Foods for some supplies and came home to just kick back with some comfortable food.

The sandwich featured the following:
- peasant bread
- herbed turkey
- black forest ham
- swiss
- dijon mustard
- pickles
- jersey beef steak tomato

And with the rest of the tomato our man Matty Chaymez picked up from the green market (THANKS MATT!) and one we picked up earlier in the week, we whipped up a salad:
- fresh mozzarella
- jersey beef steak tomato
- homemade pesto
- salt
- black pepper

Meena was craving one of the Whole Foods salads, too, so she grabbed the pasta salad with tuna. Pretty delicious, honestly.

I had a mishap with the stupid grill pan and my sandwich didn't look all that pretty, but everything was very tasty.

6.27.2007

YOUR LOBO OR OUR LOBO?




We've been saying, "Your Lobo or our Lobo," since we started looking in Cobble Hill. See, Dan and Steve have one in Park Slope that we love. And we decided we're just going to trade Lobo's for brunch every weekend. It's that good. Believe.

Last night after we signed the lease, we decided to hit it for dinner because we had some time to kill before we could pick up the final paperwork.

Meena had:
- enchiladas of some sort

Alec had:
- chicken tacos with LOTS of hot sauce

I'm also throwing in another photo of the new pad. This time ... the back yard. Because you can expect to see mad grilled meats and vegetables coming from that spot after Aug. 1!

6.26.2007

CELEBRATORY THAI




After an interview with our potential landlord in Cobble Hill last night, we took the train back to the city for some delicious Tara Thai. And I don't mean delivery. We went up and saw the crew in action.

I just have to say, they have the nicest waiter in all of New York City. I'm not sure what this guy's name is, but we've been going for about two years and other than the food, he's the clear highlight in this place. He's always in a good mood. Always taking great care of you. He's the best. Hands down.

Nothing new on the orders. Meena had:
- thai spring rolls
- chicken pad thai (spicy)

Alec had the:
- chicken with basil (EXTRA spicy)

Food was fantastic. We're going to miss it a ton ... because we got the apartment in COBBLE HILL! I put a pic of our street on there. You'll see a lot more of the kitchen after August 1st.

6.25.2007

SUPER CHEAP SUNDAY



We're very close on the apartment thing and because of that, we had to go extra super cheap on the dinner situation last night. We made a quick stop by Whole Foods and picked up some of the most simple/cheap things we could find and whipped up this little meal.

The pear was supposed to be a starter, but it came out a little late due to baking time and we had it second. I had to redeem myself for the horrible one the night before. And I think I did. I didn't use much oil or vinegar, but it was soft and delicious with that wonderful maytag.
- bosc pear
- salt
- black pepper
- maytag bleu cheese
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar

The garbage pasta dish was extremely simple:
- chicken italian sausage
- shiitake mushrooms
- dried pasta
- whole foods garlic pasta sauce
- red onion
- olive oil
- salt
- black pepper
- dried basil
- garlic
- pecorino
- red pepper flakes

Quick and simple. And pretty tasty. Meena enjoyed both dishes. My work here is done.

Wish us luck on the apartment stuff!

6.24.2007

MEXICO MEETS THE MEDITERRANEAN


This one is classified garbage. We did no shopping this a.m. ... just some hunting around in the fridge. And the result was even more delicious than I thought it would be. I had only moderately high hopes for this thing, but my little Mexico meets Mediterranean huevos rancheros style dish outpaced expectations.
- egg
- olive oil
- salt
- black pepper
- chicken and garlic sausage with fine herbs
- flour tortilla round
- blue corn tortilla chips
- red onion
- pesto cream (homemade pesto, sour cream)
- whole foods salsa
- mushroom couscous (with homemade pesto and sambal oelek)

This one filled me up and got me ready to go. It wasn't huge, but it was rich enough that I don't need to eat again for a minute. And it was delicious. It's been a couple hours and I still have a delightful taste in my mouth from this thing.

Now off to find some apartments and stuff. Maybe.

+/-



I had one winner and one loser on my hands here. I went after a completely Ivo & Lulu rip-off menu and killed it on the main ... and lost miserably with the starter.

The opening course was a version of Ivo's baked pear. I did everything right with the exception of baking the thing first. I think that's the key that I totally messed up. I just did the whole thing under the broiler and should have only used that for the finish. The result was a hard pear. Delicious flavor, disastrous texture.
- bosc pear
- virginia mountain honey
- maytag bleu cheese
- balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
- salt
- black pepper

The next round was a version of the delicious boar sausage plate I often get from Ivo:
- chicken and garlic sausage with fine herbs
- lamb sausage with mint and garlic
- blueberry sauce (worchestershire, brown sugar, blueberries, balsamic vinegar, salt, black pepper, olive oil)
- couscous (a mushroom variety from a whole foods box)

This one was a wonderful success. Sadly, the only thing I actually made was the blueberry sauce. Whole Foods did the sausage and the couscous (well, Meena prepared the couscous, if you want to split hairs). But it was killer. Simple, rich, decadent ... amazing. The only thing that was a little odd was massive amount of mint that was in the lamb sausage. But honestly, it was good. Really good. And we'll make this again ... probably soon.

6.23.2007

SO NECESSARY


We had a long night in the garden at Dan & Steveo's house, so a rich breakfast sandwich was very necessary for a certain girl I live with. And me. I wanted it pretty badly too.

I ran out to Gracefully for a second to pick up a couple supplies and came home to create a little sandwich that featured:
- avocado
- pesto cream (homemade pesto, sour cream)
- panini bread
- red onion
- egg
- smoked italian ham
- salt
- black pepper
- olive oil

The avocado made this one pretty decadent. And that ham was amazing. It was like proscuitto only smokier. I'll be picking that up again. It was pretty cheap, too. I probably should have chopped the red onion thinner, but whatever. We smelled of onion. No problem.

Winner.

WE'RE OUT BACK


Steve and Dan's landlords were out of town for the weekend so they had use of the beautiful garden in their back yard. Fantastic. The air was a little chilly, we had a lot of wine and sushi, and Nico was over telling stories. Not a bad Friday.

At this moment, I don't have any photos to share, but rest assured, we had a wonderful time and some delicious sushi from Nana. I'm throwing a little collage of food from their website just to illustrate the eats. Steveo will send me some others later in the week to fill in the gaps.

Everyone had some sort of sushi combo I think. Dan had something called a mexican roll. I remember that. And I had a "spicy" maki combo. Meena informs me she had a spicy tuna roll and a shrimp tempura roll. Keepin' it real.

Great night. Thanks Dan and Steve!

6.22.2007

SEAFOODS




There was this sign on the microwave in our finance department at work that said, "No Seafoods." It always made me laugh. I was back there getting a check yesterday and noticed it was gone and it was sad. There's really nothing back that that's funny now that the sign is gone. Maybe I'll make them a new one.

At any rate, last night was a celebration of sorts, so we hit Whole Foods for some assorted seafood.

Meena got us started with a delicious little shrimp cocktail. Nothing fancy, just delicious shrimp and some cocktail sauce.

My failure of the evening was a version of the first post that ever appeared on MOAP:
- smoked mussels
- olive oil
- red onion
- garlic
- homemade pesto
- panko
- butter
- fresh basil

And my success included:
- wild salmon
- homemade cherry marinara
- black sesame
- olive oil
- egg
- salt
- black pepper
- panko
- roasted poblano
- red onion
- garlic
- poblano cream (roasted poblano, sour cream)
- field greens

We were disappointed in the mussels. They ended up dry. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but it could have been an absence of enough liquid and maybe a minute too long under the broiler. I'll work on that.

The salmon cakes were nice. The poblano cream was still a little hot for Meena. I tried to keep it a little cooler with poblano vs. jalapeño, but it was still too far. I'll try garlic cream next time. But other than that, I think we both really liked the little salmon cakes. I even have one for lunch today!

6.21.2007

HOME AWAY FROM


Hey dudes. I had an annoying day at the office today so my bad for being all slow to update and stuff. But here I am with some Lil' Frankies science to drop on you.

That's right. Wednesday night was a Lil' Frankies eve. We needed it. We just needed to get out of the house and hang in the hood. And Frankies was it.

Meena kept it real with:
- rigatoni with baby meatballs

Alec went straight to the:
- pizza marinara

Awesome. To-tally. There was this Atlanta sorority party there that got a little out of hand for a few minutes, but they cut out and it went back to the normal Lil' Frankies.

When we move to BK, this is going to be missed like some Tartine. Expect this to pop up a lot more this summer.

6.20.2007

SANDWICHES


So this one ended up tasting a lot better than it looked. I think I'll be making it again, so I'll get that whole presentation thing figured out eventually. Tonight just wasn't right. I was going to stack, but I wasn't sure how the flavors would work together (turns out they work quite well). At any rate, I'll do better next time.

The mashed potatoes featured:
- sweet potato
- milk
- apple butter
- brown sugar
- olive oil
- cayenne pepper

The scallops were simple:
- sea scallops
- fresh pesto (basil, pine nuts, olive oil, pecorino, garlic, salt, black pepper)
- salt
- black pepper
- olive oil

Those flavors worked well. The sweet and spicy potatoes went really well with the pesto stuffed scallops. It was a really delightful combination and it'll definitely find its way to our dinner table again soon.

6.19.2007

NAPOLEON'S GRANDMOTHER



That's right. Meena made a couple dang quesadillas last night. And they were simply delicious.

She was talking a big game about how they were going to taste awful, but she was very wrong. I enjoyed every bite both last night and today for lunch (they were HUGE!).

Take one included:
- chicken
- chicken broth
- cajun seasoning
- pineapple
- sautéed onion
- Monterrey jack
- cheddar
- salt
- lavash tortilla

And the delicious second option featured:
- shrimp
- garlic
- tomato
- green chilies
- milk
- chorizo
- avocado
- salt
- garlic powder
- cajun seasoning
- lavash tortilla

Once again, Meena proves herself incredibly adept in the Mexican genre. Mucho gusto, quesadillas y gracias, Meena.

6.18.2007

SURF AND TURF



It was a long birthday weekend and Meena decided the best way to close the festivities was with a good old burger. There are so many things you can do with a burger so you know I had to jazz it up a little, but for the most part, this was your classic burger.

We saw the wild salmon was on sale at Whole Foods, so I picked up a little slice and made a quick appetizer:
- wild salmon
- flour tortilla crisp (tortilla, black sesame, salt, black pepper, olive oil)
- cherry marinara (cherries, jalapeño, garlic, balsamic vinegar, apple butter, olive oil, red onion)
- red onion
- field greens
- salt
- black pepper

And the burger had a little:
- bialy
- field greens
- grilled tomato (with salt and black pepper)
- burger (with garlic, chorizo, apple butter and worchestershire)
- charred red onion slice
- dijon mustard
- cherry marinara

I added a little vinegar to the marinara to give it that ketchup kind of feel. Apart from this being a total mess, it was oddly amazing. I wasn't expecting to like it that much ... but it was really delicious. All those flavors went very well together and formed a very messy version of one of America's favorite meals.

6.17.2007

USE WHAT YOU GOT



We had a couple items hanging around the house yesterday morning so we figured we'd whip up a good old-fashioned garbage breakfast. I had to run out and grab a couple eggs from the place on 4th, but other that that, we were just using up the remnants from dinners past.

The little scramble included:
- egg
- chorizo
- swiss
- dijon mustard
- milk
- salt
- black pepper
- field greens
- tomato

And that little salad we threw together had:
- pecorino
- tomato
- field greens
- olive oil
- salt
- black pepper
- sambal oelek
- proscuitto

Not a bad way to start the day if I do say so myself.

BIRTHDAY ALA DIANA








UPDATED WITH RECIPES!

Last night was pretty amazing. We always have amazing food when Diana is manning the stove, but she really went an extra fourteen miles last night. All stops were pulled out for Ms. Meena's birthday (Williamsburg edition).

Our first bites featured James' favorite sea creature, the butter fish (otherwise known as scallops):
- scallops
- breakfast sausage
- raspberries

Our next round was a delicious quesadilla with some fantastic dip and salsa:
- smooth guacamole
- black bean and corn salsa
- homemade tortilla chips
- beef and cheese quesadilla (corn, ground beef, cheddar?)

From here on out, the wine took over and my memory of ingredients and preparation took a back seat. I just enjoyed eating. I'll have D send me the list and update this a little later.

We had some delicious "popovers" presented in wine glasses with our next round of amazing dinner - chilled pea soup with spicy shrimp. The soup also featured a wonderful salad that had some sunflower seeds. Out of this world. The soup was basically spring in a bowl. Amazing.

Chilled pea soup:
- sweet peas
- vegetable broth
- roasted garlic
- olive oil
- fresh lemon juice
- salt/pepper

Spicy shrimp:
- shrimp
- red chili paste
- lemon
- fresh mint
- olive oil

Salad:
- mixed greens
- toasted sunflower seeds
- sliced carrots
- dressing: balsamic, olive oil, honey, mustard, salt, pepper

The main course was a grilled chicken (peep those grill marks, kids ... she's a pro) with a mango, black bean and cucumber salsa. The course also featured this delicious black bean sauce and some wonderful rice.

Grilled honey/chili powder rubbed chicken:
- honey
- lime juice
- pineapple juice
- chili powder mix

Mango, black bean, pineapple, cucumber salad
- mango
- black bean
- canned organic pineapple
- cucumber
- red onion
- jalapeño pepper

At this point, we were mad fat. But you know D had some more in store. This one was an amazing ice-cream cake with strawberries and a wonderful cookie crust.

Raspberry/pistachio pie with ameretti crust and almond praline
- raspberry sorbet
- pistachio ice cream
- amaretti cookies
- homemade almond praline
- fresh whipped cream
- raspberries
- fresh mint

We ate a ton and everything we consumed was amazing. D went so far above and beyond for Meena's birthday I can't even begin to tell you. We always have great food at their spot, but this one took the cake.

Thank you so much for a wonderful night James and Diana!

6.16.2007

BIRTHDAY BASH!


In honor of Meena's move to the other side of the twenties, we thought we'd give her a 26th to remember and try a restaurant we'd always wanted to check out - the LES foodie jewel, wd-50.

Wylie Dufresne runs the show at this one and it was nice to see he's not the rock star he could be. He was in the trenches with the rest of them in what looked to be one of the most impressive kitchens in NY.

After doing it, we realized the tasting menu is without a doubt the way to go there. He really puts his best foot forward with that lineup. But with the $115/per price tag he throws on it, it's rough for a couple working in the magazine business. So we ordered off the menu ... but were in no way disappointed by what we selected.

Meena had:
- smoked eel, blood orange zest, black radish, chicken skin (starter)
- scallops, zucchini, hazelnut-olive, smoked grape broth

Alec had:
- hangar tartare, pickled Asian pear, amaro, bearnaise ice cream (starter)
- duck breast, smoked hen o’ the woods, snow peas, rhubarb

And for a very lovely dessert, we had:
- fried butterscotch pudding, mango, taro, smoked macadamia

I mean, that dessert was insanity. I'm not sure why we even ordered it, but I'm glad we did. It was fantastic.

I left feeling quite well. We had a wonderful bottle of syrah that was rich and smooth. I had an amazing starter (Meena's was OK). My duck was fantastic and Meena had some wonderful scallops. The atmosphere was great, the service was top notch ... it was a great place for a birthday.

I think if we ever go back, we'll save up and get the tasting menu. It's insane ... but probably worth every penny.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEENA!

6.15.2007

HIROZZZ



Nothing new here, friends. Just some Hiro delivery. But we had our good buddy Z stopping by for a couple drinks after work and we just wanted a quick bite before he came around. And when you need some good food quickly, Hiro is always a safe bet.

Alec had:
- miso soup
- hamachi & jalapeño roll
- spicy white tuna roll

Meena had:
- chicken tempura roll
- spicy tuna roll
- shrimp shumai

It was delicious. As expected. And we had a blast with Shammy!

6.13.2007

FILLET O FISH


Hi, world. We made a nice dinner tonight and it was basically an edible version of Mickey D's fillet o' fish sandwich. Meena picked up a couple pre-made salads from that Whole Foods place and I made up the sandwich before she had to head out and have drinks with fashion chicks.

Salads =
- sesame & chile pepper broccoli
- thai mango salad (with red onion, peppers and chilies)
- creamy salmon pasta salad with capers

I think we both liked that salmon thing, oddly. Normally, I hate creamy stuff, but this one was NOT bad. I loved it a little.

The fillet of fish went a little like this:
- tilapia (with panko, cajun seasoning, egg, olive oil and salt)
- grilled rolls
- proscuitto
- peccorino
- field greens
- kimchi cream (red kimchi, sour cream)

Man, this was an oddly good sandwich. I'm not a huge fan of tilapia or anything, but this was good. All crispy and spicy and flaky. I'm not sure how soon I'll do this again, but I was in the mood for it and it was delicious.

That's it.

MORE APARTMENTS, MORE PIZZETTAS




We're still looking for apartments and although we found one we liked last night, we don't think we'll get it. The other two people checking it out with us seemed more financially palatable. We'll probably lose this battle.

But we're better cooks. I can bank on that much.

When we got home from Boerum Hill, we ran by Gracefully and picked up a couple things for a good old fashioned round of pizzettas.

Take 1 - The Spanish:
- flour tortilla
- chorizo
- whole foods marinara
- field greens
- white onion
- pecorino
- balsamic vinegar
- parmesan

Not at all authentic Spanish, really. But with the chorizo and manchego-like pecorino, it certainly had that feel.

Take 2 - The Reuben:
- flour tortilla
- thousand island dressing
- whole foods marinara
- sauerkraut
- swiss cheese
- roast beef
- black pepper
- field greens

Meena really wanted this one. I think we need to find new thousand island. But overall, not bad.

Take 3 - Leftovers:
- flour tortilla
- whole foods marinara
- grilled chicken
- cajun spice
- mozzarella
- parmesan
- black pepper

This one was OK. We were just using up ingredients. So you know, we did what we could. I think the real winner was that Spanish number. We'll do that one again for sure!

6.12.2007

APARTMENTS AND INDIAN





We're getting close on this whole apartment thing. I can feel it. We looked at a nice place last night but it wasn't QUITE right. It gave us a lot of hope though. I think we're closing in on a good fit. We'll be back in BoCoCa tonight looking at another spot.

So when we got home, cooking didn't feel that fun. We just thought we'd check in with Baluchi's and see if they could bring us some super delicious Indian food. Turns out, they didn't have any problem doing that.

Meena had:
- fish pakora appetizer
- tikka masala dinner

Alec picked up:
- chicken tikka appetizer
- lamb vindaloo dinner

Good Indian Delivery Checklist:
- All Condiments Arrived: CHECK
- Appetizer/Masala Wasn't All Gristle: CHECK
- Vindaloo Wasn't Too Hot To Eat: CHECK

As you can see from my helpful checklist, dinner was good.