6.29.2008

RAMEN!!



One night when we were kinda drunk, we bought some Ramen at the bodega thinking we'd come home and make it.

We didn't.

So the ramen has been chillin' in the pantry for a couple weeks and I've been eying it longingly every time I dig through our supplies. And tonight, I decided to add another one and doctor it up a little for dinner.

After a little ramen searching on the internuts, I landed on the following:
- ramen (two "bricks" and one season packet)
- egg
- sambal oelek
- shiitake
- chicken thighs
- scallions
- sesame oil
- garlic

Good! Good was the result! I think I'll continue to refine my ramen skills, but I'll get it eventually. I want to throw in so many things. Pork, seaweed, hard boiled eggs. All the crazy stuff I saw when I was hunting around. Oh, bean sprouts, tofu, cabbage. There are just so many things.

Meena wasn't a huge fan of the chicken. She's not a fan of chicken thighs so I should have known. I just figured it might be the most flavorful for the soup. I liked it, but I can see why she wouldn't. I liked the egg, too. I beat one egg and dumped it in the boiling water, giving that nice scramble type of feel. Gave everything a nice little texture. And it looked pretty, too!

Like I said, I'll keep working on this one. It's like pizzettas - a blank canvas that you can use to paint a lot of crazy pictures!

LOCAL



For whatever reason, we'd never been to Cafe on Clinton. Partly because we share a back yard with them. Partly because ... well, we share a back yard with them. It's just so close that we always say, "Oh, we'll go some other time. It's RIGHT there." And then we never do.

So because we're moving to the other side of the hood, we figured now was the time and we needed to just pull the trigger on Cafe on Clinton.

Again, because of the phone thing, I forgot to take photos of the food. And all I could find was this shot taken in the dead of winter. But that's it. Corner of Clinton and Verandah!

We started with a nice Chardonnay from Argentina. Very cheap but quite nice.

Then we moved into starters. Meena had:
- yellow tomato and avocado with crab salad

Alec had:
- roasted beets and micro greens salad

And for the main courses, Meena had:
- lamb meatloaf with mushrooms and potatoes

And Alec had:
- seafood cobb salad

So here's the thing about Cafe on Clinton - it was OK. It was sorta what we expected and sorta why we'd never been. It was good. My beet salad was excellent. Meena's starter was OK. Meena's main course wasn't great (I think we just have a very different idea of meatloaf - theirs was a lamb meatball and we were thinking something more ... Midwestern). My cobb salad was pretty good, really. But they weren't reinventing the wheel. I shouldn't be hard on the salad though. It was awfully delicious.

The place is just so cute. It's cozy, inviting. You want to love everything about it. And for the most part, we did. Just a couple missteps. Nothing major. I'd even go again. Maybe for their all-you-can-eat pork party. Or maybe for half priced bottles of wine Wednesdays. But we'll go again.

6.28.2008

FINISHING WITH JOYA





After work, Meena and I met Matty Chaymez at a place called Terrior in the East Village. Nice start to the weekend. Couple glasses of wine, some cheese, meats. Not much better. And a fun chat with Matt to boot.

After that wonderful bit of eating and conversation, we ran back to Brooklyn and decided we'd just call in the troops - Joya to the rescue. We were sorta sleepy and it just felt like the right idea. Some wine at home and a bit of the Joya.

Meena kept it fairly standard:
- chicken pad thai (spicy)

And Alec did something different:
- spicy squid salad
- tom yum koong

I liked the salad. It wasn't packed with rubbery squid - just nice, juicy bits. The spice wasn't quite what I wanted so I added a bit of sambal oelek. But it felt a little light and flecked with just the right amounts of acid and spice (once I took it up a little).

Meena's pad Thai was mad spicy. Good, but more than she bargained for. Still, you can't ask for much more on a Friday.

6.27.2008

COMFORT TIME




I have this new phone so I'm really sorry, but I forgot to take photos the other night. Actually, I forgot to bring the phone. Cause it's huge and I don't like bringing it with me much. So I've been bad. But it's just Lobo and all you have to do is a quick search of the side it you REALLY want to see more Lobo meals.

So I pulled these off Flickr. Just to give you a taste. Something new. Because we certainly didn't do anything new!

Meena had:
- chicken enchiladas with garlic cream sauce

Alec had:
- chicken soft tacos

Awesome. We just hung out on the back porch, housed some filling tex-mex and went on about our way. It was nice. We even had the whole porch to ourselves for most of it. Can't ask for much more.

6.26.2008

THAT GOOD FAT



Avocado and salmon ... little bits of that good fat, right? I think. I hope. I don't care, actually. But, I'm reasonably sure our meal was sorta good for us in some ways. More importantly, however, it was REALLY good.

We'd done this before (a version) and yesterday afternoon, Meena and I both agreed it was worth trying again. So we did!

I ran by the fish store and the grocery last night and picked up a couple ingredients. Like four (this thing is delightfully simple) and got cooking the minute I arrived home. Here's what went into the salmon:
- salmon
- panko
- maple syrup
- sambal oelek
- sesame oil
- soy sauce
- mustard powder

And right below that, I mixed up a little bit of mushroom and onion:
- red onion
- shiitake mushroom
- olive oil
- mustard powder
- apple cider vinegar

Between the two, I sliced up a little avocado and the meal was complete. And like I said before, really, really good. The flavor is by no means new for us. Not foreign at all. But we love it so we do it a lot. This one would probably sell. The outside is a crispy and delicious. The panko is just slightly crunchy and the sweet, spicy sauce goes perfectly with the creamy salmon. With a bite of the mushroom, red onion and avocado, it was heavenly.

We'll be making this again and again. And if you ever come over for dinner, I'll probably make it for you, too.

6.25.2008

TWO IN ONE




Two different Cube 63 experiences in one week? Not bad. We just hit the old Manhattan location with Mark and Ronnie on Friday and because I was home late last night from a little going away party, Meena called in the big guns at the Brooklyn branch for some delicious dinner delivery.

Meena had:
- tuna avocado roll
- clinton roll
- shrimp shumai

And Alec had:
- miso soup
- seaweed salad
- sushi plate

Filling and delicious. Just what I needed.

6.24.2008

WAY BEHIND

Whoops. I'm WAY, WAY behind here. I don't even really have an excuse. I just got behind. And I don't even have pictures to share. Let's just call this a little summer vacation. I took a couple days off. But I'm back. I'm ready to go again.

I will recap what we've been up to though. Just no images. Here we go:

Thursday, June 19:
- Joya in the house! I was late trying to get some stuff wrapped up before my first Friday off and Meena went to the trouble of calling in some Joya for us. I had some chicken and basil and Meena had some chicken pad thai. All spicy. All delicious.

Friday, June 20:
- Mark and Ronald are in town!! That's right, our best buddies from Dayton, OH, were here for a nice weekend of theater and sights, so we decided to take them down to one of our old favorites for some BYOB sushi in the city - Cube 63. I think everyone enjoyed the food. Mark had some soba, the rest of us had some sushi and we all had plenty of wine. Awesome.

Saturday, June 21:
- After a morning at the MoMa and an afternoon full of naps and general nothingness, we finally wandered back out into the public in search of some food. After a lot of maybes and almosts, we decided on Chance on Smith. Not bad. Meena had a prix fixe with some lychee chicken and I had some spicy chicken type thing. It was satisfying. Good for a Saturday.

Sunday, June 22:
- Mark and Ronnie were out in Brooklyn for Sunday night and we were happy to have them. We took them around BK for street fairs and Manhattan views and by the end of it, they were beat. And so were we. So we got in a few good rounds of Wii and finally wandered around the corner to Bocca Lupo for some awesome eats. We had it all. Cheese plate, panini, bruschetta, pasta and pizza. Bocca Lupo, you know how I feel. I love you.

Monday, June 23:
- I had a long day at work and we decided cooking was lame. So we hit Layla Jones as soon as I got home for some pizza and pasta in their back yard. I had a pizza with prosciutto and red pepper and Meena had spaghetti and meatballs.

So that's that. After this, I'll be back in the saddle. Sorry for the delay, but we'll be back up and moving from here on out.

6.19.2008

HOME ALONE!



Meena was out with her work friends last night so I was left to my own devices. I'm not sure what I would have made had I not been caught in a summer rain storm on the way home from the train, but I guess we'll never know. Because I was most certainly caught in a downpour on my way home.

But I was able to duck into Fish Tales for a sec and pick up a bit of fish. The rest came from the fridge.

I started with the fish:
- halibut
- miso paste
- orange marmalade
- soy sauce

And then I threw together some rice:
- white rice
- sambal oelek
- rice vinegar

Finally, some greens:
- spinach
- soy sauce
- sesame oil

Although the fish was pretty much perfect and I got it out of the oven at a perfect time, I'm not sure if the flavor was perfect. I mean, each one of these elements was great individually, but they didn't work PERFECTLY together. It was fine. Not bad. But I didn't do the most lovely cut of fish much justice. Unfortunately.

Think I could use the word perfectly again? I could. But I shouldn't.

But for a solo dinner with the Yankees bombing the Padres, not bad. Not bad at all.

6.18.2008

BEANS


We hadn’t had salmon in a minute so we felt like it was OK to explore our favorite fish on this Tuesday night. This one might not look like the most amazing dinner ever, but I assure you, it was pretty delicious. My fillet skills were lacking and I chose a really weird way to portion this thing up, but whatever. I try new things in the kitchen. It’s what makes me happy.

Anyway, I started things off with a white bean mash:
- white beans
- olive oil
- sea salt
- white wine vinegar
- garlic

Then I did a little broccoli:
- broccoli
- maple syrup
- olive oil
- soy sauce
- crushed red pepper

And then the salmon was simple. Just a little sear in the pan with some sea salt.

I think this was pretty solid. The creamy bean mash was akin to potatoes and maybe better for us? I’m not sure. Maybe not. But it was good with the sweetness of the broccoli and the creamy salmon with just-crisp-enough edges.

Good meal. Good night.

6.17.2008

NOODLING AROUND



Meena had one of her classes last night so I was tasked with getting a hearty, filling dinner cooked up before she got home. And because I was trapped in the rain on the way home, I had nothing but the stuff in the fridge to accomplish my mission. What to do when you have limited ingredients and you need something filling? Garbage pasta, friends. Garbage pasta.

In all fairness, I had a couple nice ingredients. Not ideal, but they were still really good. So I just started chopping and ended up with:
- whole wheat pasta
- marinara
- chorizo
- asiago
- spinach
- crushed red pepper
- garlic

That's it. And based on our two empty bowls at the end of the meal, I'd say it was a success. Not much you can do to screw this one up though.

6.16.2008

TOPPING OFF A BIRTHDAY




Sunday night rolled around the birthday weekend came to a close. It was lovely from start to finish, but if I could make one complaint, it would just be that it flew by so fast! I guess it's true what they say and time truly does fly when you're havin' fun.

So at the end of her birthday weekend, Meena asked that I just whip up some pizzettas. You pretty much never need to ask me twice to make these things. I love them and they are a massive part of our diet. Weird. But they're so good that it's just a reality.

This time around, we did two varieties. The first option included:
- marinara
- spinach (sautéed in soy and sesame oil)
- flour tortilla
- mozzarella
- anchovy

And the second option went like this:
- flour tortilla
- marinara
- chorizo
- asiago
- spinach (sautéed in soy and sesame oil)

I sorta liked the second option. Meena sorta liked the first. I did one that was a combo of the two. Just sorta the final one using up everything. A garbage pizzetta if you will. And it was OK too. But I'll stick to my guns. I liked number two with the chorizo. Maybe just because I love sausage of any kind. Maybe.

But the bottom line is this - it was a wonderful birthday weekend and this was a pretty tasty way to cap it all off.

6.15.2008

BIRTHDAY PARTY!










Saturday night was Meena's birthday party! It wasn't her exact birthday, but we felt like it would be the most fun to hang out on Saturday. We could go all out and stuff. You know. Eat, drink and be merry. All that lovely stuff.

We started off the night at one of our favorites - Black Mountain Wine House. We thought it would be fun to start there with a bottle of wine and a few nibbles. So we kicked it off with a bottle of proscecco and a nice charcuterie and a couple cheeses. One smoky goat cheese and then a really rich, gouda like cow's milk cheese. The rain was coming down hard outside, but all was well inside Black Mountain.

After we finished up there, we hopped in a car and rode on down to Red Hook for the evening's main event. We'd been wanting to try The Good Fork for a really long time. From the moment we'd heard about a little Korean girl cooking in the kitchen of a restaurant she owned with her white boy husband, we figured the place was just calling us. It took us a long time, but we finally made it down there for what ended up being a really lovely meal.

Meena kicked her meal off with a really fantastic dish of seared diver scallops. They were seared perfectly and the sauce was touched with lemon and some sort of Indian spice. Meena was also pretty in love with the grilled ramp.

I started with housemade pork dumplings and a really thick, soy based dipping sauce. I think it was anyway. Whatever the case, they were really good.

Next, Meena moved into her main course, the dish she'd wanted to eat for a couple years - steak and eggs Korean style. It was a lovely grilled skirt steak with an egg and kimchee rice. It was really awesome. The fried egg, the medium rare steak ... and the spicy rice packed with all that amazing fermented cabbage flavor?!? Perfect dish.

I went with the thai spare ribs with a panzanella that had a little pepper and okra. The ribs were just perfect. The meat was tender and packed with flavor. I'm not sure what gave it all the deliciousness, but it was really wonderful. And the little bread salad was the perfect pairing.

We finished the meal off with a chocolate bread pudding that had a bit of raspberry glaze and some ice cream.

Suffice it to say, we were so so so stuffed. But the food was just so darn good that we had to eat it all. It was a gluttonous night, but man was it worth every last calorie. If you're going to go all out, you might as well do it right.

After dinner we walked across the street to Tini, a lovely little spot we'd once explored for brunch. We saw a nice little Rose tasting on their special board and figured we'd give it a try. What happened next was funny.

The waitress brought us the biggest, most giant fishbowl glass of wine ever. Later, we were informed that she actually put all four of the tasting flight wines in one glass. Thinking the flight was actually just one big cocktail. Well, she later corrected her mistake, but we did have a few drinks of the massive concoction before we moved on to the smaller glasses. Not that great. But not that BAD either. It was sorta strange. Very funny. Silly story.

And that was that. That was Meena's lovely birthday night and I think we both had a real blast. Great food, fun new spots and old favorites. I think she really enjoyed it.

6.14.2008

KOREAN AND BANDS




Friday night Meena and I went over to Park Slope to order something very special - my wedding band! It was surprisingly very quick. I guess I figured it would take a long time to select something I'll be wearing the rest of my life. But in the end, I knew what I wanted and when I saw it, there wasn't much to it. We picked it and we were done. Whoo hoo!

So after the band was selected, we decided to celebrate with a little Korean. We'd been to Moim before and really enjoyed it. So I wasn't surprised when we had another wonderful meal.

Moim has a nice little selection of small plates and because it was Friday, we figured why not? Let's try a bunch of stuff.

Meena started with:
- shrimp and chive cakes

Alec started with:
- korean meatballs in lettuce cups

And for the main course, we decided to do the same thing:
- dol sot bi bim bop

The bi bim bop is pretty lovely here. I've had many a bowl in my day and this is one of the better ones I think. Meena claimed they needed a bit more meat, but I thought it was OK. The thing I liked the most is that it felt pretty much like the perfect portion size. Sometimes these bowls are too big. But these were perfect. Like Goldilocks. Just right.

6.13.2008

MINIMAL HEAT


Finally! Back in the kitchen. But because our apartment is like a cave and even though the temperature has returned to a pretty livable (enjoyable really) state, our joint still feels like the inside of an oven. EZ Bake oven. But an oven, nonetheless.

So rather than getting things heated up to satisfy my cooking urges, I figured I’d revisit a salad I once made when Meena was out and about. It requires MINIMAL heat and it’s jam packed with tons of yummy foods I love to eat.

It went like this:
- field greens
- olive oil
- sea salt
- black pepper
- crushed red pepper
- wheat pita (grilled with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper)
- prosciutto
- fresh mozzarella
- balsamic vinegar

That’s it. Not a lot of stuff. Not a lot of heat (unless you’re counting the crushed red pepper) and about 100% awesome. Meena added a little extra balsamic to hers, but I liked the way all the flavors sorta balanced and worked together. Again, it’s nothing special … just a mix of a couple elements I love on their own (so figured mixing them together would be fine).

We have a weekend of good eating ahead. It’s Meena’s real birthday this weekend so we’ll be hitting the Good Fork and some other fun stuff. Stay tuned!

6.12.2008

CELEBRATE COOL TIMES


At this point, I’m a little bummed I haven’t been cooking in days and although I really wanted to get out the gear and get a few things poppin’ last night, I was convinced we should be celebrating the heat’s broken back with some Lobo.

I was reluctant at first, but as always, you can’t stay mad at Lobo. It’s just too classic.

Meena kept it strictly official:
- edwin’s enchiladas with ranchero sauce

And because I was feeling a little full, I decided to do something that gave me some more options and went with:
- chicken fajitas

I must admit, everything was lovely. It was a beautiful night on the back porch and I left feeling just the right amount of full and slightly tipsy from one of the ‘hood’s best margaritas.

6.10.2008

AGAIN, IT'S HOT




Still. Really hot. It's like a hundred. A hundo. A bill. A Benjamin. Not quite. But close. Just gross, debilitating hot. So we did the only thing we could - we went to Cube 63.

It had been a minute for Cube 63 and we just felt like tonight would be a good night. Turns out we were right again!

Meena had:
- shrimp shumai
- seaweed salad
- white tuna sushi
- cube 63 roll

Alec had:
- miso soup
- sushi plate (eight pieces and a california roll)

Awesome man. The people at Cube 63 are so nice. And the food. So good. We were laughing that we've probably been going to Cube (this one and the LES one) for about four years now. And you know what? It's always the same. And not consistently crappy either. Consistently good. And that's not easy.

We've got nothing but love Cube 63.

IT'S TOO DAMN HOT FOR A PENGUIN




Wasn't that what Billy Madison said? It was too hot for a penguin? I think so. Well, it's way too hot here and the last thing Meena and I felt like doing yesterday was heating up the kitchen with flaming burners and powered up ovens. It just wasn't smart.

So what did we do? We went to Downtown Bar and Grill for a beer and some bar food. We'd never been to Downtown for dinner. Only for football Sunday afternoons and the occasional Saturday afternoon beer. I'm not sure why we selected it last night but we just did.

And after ordering some lovely beers (an IPA and a nice Witte for Meena) we dove into the real deal. Meena had:
- cuban sandwich with fries

Alec had:
- black angus burger with fries

I mean, it's not like it was great. And it certainly wasn't good for us. But it just felt right on a sweltering Monday night. My burger was a bit overdone, but I have to be honest ... it wasn't bad. I put a bunch of spicy mustard on there and it was OK. Meena seemed to dig her Cuban for the most part. All the right parts were there.

I don't know when we'll be back. Probably not soon. But we'll be back. I love Downtown. Maybe not for dinner, but I do really love it.

6.08.2008

SPICY FINISH




It wasn't really a LONG day, it was just such a hot one that by the time dinner rolled around, we didn't want anything but some Joya. So we ran out into the heat one last time and picked up some of the neighborhood's finest Thai.

Meena kept it real with her usual:
- chicken pad thai (sorta spicy)

And I tried something new:
- chicken with broccoli (really spicy)

It was just what the doctor ordered. I don't know why, but sometimes, cheap Thai is just the best. And this spicy little number was exactly what we needed to close out another awesome weekend. Big flavor, little prices. Just the way it ought to be.

BIRTHDAY #2







Surprise! Meena has having a birthday next week and in order to get the jump on it and really make sure she was sufficiently surprised this year, Dan planned a little surprise birthday party for my love. She thought we were going to a flea market (and wasn't happy about it) but was surprised to find James and D hanging in Dan and Steve's back yard when we got over there this afternoon!

And while we were hanging, we were treated to a ton of wonderful food. D made sandwiches:
- turkey and cranberry mayo
- roasted veggies and brie

Dan made his world famous taco dip. Someone made some hummus. And there was a selection of wonderful drinks. FYI, Dan makes a great margarita.

To cap it all off, D made a berry and peach tart that was just amazing. The crust was flaky. The berries and fruit were perfect. It was insane. I loved it so much. And with a scoop of ice cream, it really sung. Perfect end to a perfect afternoon.

Thanks so much everyone!

PS: Awesome decorations, Dan!

PERFECT START



I woke up ready to cook this morning. I'm not sure why this happens from time to time, but often I'll wake up and the first thing that I start thinking about is choppin' 0nions and heating up the kitchen with breakfast goodness. Literally, the second consciousness returns. And I just sit there in bed thinking about it until it's too much and I have to get up and get started.

I had a nice selection of stuff left over from last night so I figured I'd use what I could to make this one happen. I started with a green side:
- swiss chard
- chorizo
- red onion

Then I whipped up some eggs:
- asiago
- eggs
- sour cream (fat free)
- truffle oil

I scrambled up the eggs, threw them on the greens and sliced up the remaining corn bread for a little extra caloric punch. I don't want to be arrogant or anything, but this sucker would sell. One of the best morning meals I've made in some time. The chorizo was perfect with the rich, truffled eggs.

This one had everything I loved and it really made it stand out. I'll be making this again soon. I promise.

SECOND CHANCE



A long time ago we had James and D over for dinner at the East Village apartment. And it was pretty terrible. Not the company of course. My meal. I think I came up with it all on the fly and it just ended up a mess. If you're up for a fright, you can see the old mess HERE.

Anyway, this time around, I was convinced it would be different. So I decided I'd make a couple things that I KNEW would be OK and Meena kept it real with a potato salad that while new to us, still felt relatively safe.

I started with a bit of cornbread that had my good old failsafe as the base - jiffy corn muffin mix! That's right. The classic. I added a couple things:
- sour cream
- chorizo
- jalapeño

And then I got rockin' on the ribs. Just a bit of a sauce that is similar to the one I've been using lately:
- hoisin
- sesame oil
- maple syrup
- garlic
- soy sauce

I glazed the ribs and baked them off for a couple hours at 300 degrees. The didn't come out as "falling off the bone" tender as they have in the past, but they were still pretty awesome and well received.

Meena made a lovely potato salad that featured:
- vinaigrette
- new potatoes
- bacon
- sour cream
- chives
- salt
- pepper

I think it ended up being a hit. There were a few things that were mildly disappointing, but I'd say that it ended up well. I think next time I'll try the salmon route, but this just felt like it was right for a hot Saturday night in Brooklyn.

6.07.2008

BIRTHDAY #1




Friday night was lovely. Not too hot and a slight breeze. Knowing what I know now about the heat that overcame NYC this weekend, it was pretty much ideal.

But in addition to wonderful weather, we also had a birthday to attend! Nico's! And in Dan and Steve's back yard no less!

So yes, it was pretty much perfect. The only thing that sucked was the restaurant we hit in the midst of it all. We were looking for something quick and easy so we could head back to the back yard and hang. And while Peperoncino on 5th Ave met those specifications, it wasn't all that hot.

The primary issue was this old man waiting on us. He was really pushy and started sending things to the table without asking. Things he of course expected us to pay for. Which was annoying for obvious reasons. But everyone had some filling food and after a bit, we were out of there.

After the meal we came back to the garden for some bubbly and a nice flourless chocolate cake Meena picked up for the occasion. Everyone left full, relaxed and just a touch tipsy. Wonderful evening.

6.06.2008

THAT'S A SPICY POTATO



I’d been meaning to break these lamb chops out of the freezer for a day or two but work had bested me. Previous efforts, as you can see, lead to delivery and Lobo.

But last night was different. I got home at a reasonable hour and I was dead set on firing up the burners and making the apartment unreasonably hot. And that’s just what I did.

I started with the little lamb chops and gave them a bit of a rub:
- brown sugar
- cumin
- cinnamon
- sea salt

Then I just seared those suckers off on the insanely hot cast iron and after one flip and a bit more searing, they were in great shape.

I also threw together a bit of asparagus:
- asparagus
- lemon
- shallots
- olive oil
- asiago
- sea salt

And then finally finished everything off with a little mashed potato that featured an unusual kick:
- potato
- skim milk
- olive oil
- sea salt
- sambal oelek

Pretty awesome little bit of wonderful heat in those spuds. I don’t know why but I just thought they needed a little spice to compete with the creaminess and the decadent lamb. Turns out I was right.

The asparagus was great. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Just a simple preparation that turned out great.

6.05.2008

LAZY!





Last night I was massively lazy in regard to food. I got home incredibly late and Meena was kind enough to call in some Joya. It was supposed to be a lamb chop night, but due to my late arrival, there was just no way. It had to be lazy. It just did.

Fortunately for us, Joya doesn't care if we're lazy. They just want to bring us spicy Thai food. Thank goodness.

Nothing new. Meena had:
- spring rolls
- chicken pad thai

Alec had:
- tom yum koong
- pork with basil

The only thing that wasn't so great? My pork wasn't spicy at all! And I was fresh out of sambal oelek. So I just had to hang out and eat it as it arrived. Actually, I did put some hot sauce on there. Something we had in the fridge. Spicy, but not sambal. It's ok though. I enjoyed everything and so did Meena.

Lamb tonight. Promise.

6.04.2008

JUST LOBO


Meena had a rough day and was home sick yesterday and oddly, all she wanted when I got home was Lobo. Not all that surprising really. It's without a doubt our go to comfort food of choice in this neighborhood.

And also unsurprising, we ordered pretty much the same thing we always order! Meena had:
- chicken enchiladas with garlic cream sauce

Alec had:
- skinny twins (chicken enchiladas and ranchero sauce)

What is there to be said about Lobo that hasn't already been said? It's clearly not the best food in the world, but I'm also not sure what we'd do without it. It's like our lighthouse in the storm. No matter how bad everything else is, Lobo is always there and it's always going to be solid. Thanks, Lobo!

6.03.2008

PORK AND BEANS


Meena had a little bit of workout business to attend to last night so I made my way home and got moving on a little bit of dinner. Some good old pork and beans. Not really good old pork and beans. But you know, the meal DID feature both pork AND beans. So yeah. Last night I made pork and beans.

I started by searing off a pork chop on a hot pan with nothing but a little salt and a touch of olive oil and then threw it in the oven to slowly finish.

Then I got together a little chutney for the garnish:
- red onion
- apple cider vinegar
- brown sugar
- mustard seeds
- crushed red pepper

And then I finished everything off with a white bean side:
- white beans
- swiss chard
- bacon
- red onion
- sea salt
- black pepper

I have to say, I really enjoyed this. The pork chop ended up just a touch too done, but the flavor of this little bit of Niman Ranch goodness was stellar. With a bite of the sweet and spicy chutney and the rich and salty white beans ... fantastic. I loved every bite and yes ... I gnawed the bone. Call me gross. Go ahead. I call myself ... dedicated.