Sugar Shack

John and I will be taking a trip to Montreal with some friends soon and we are all looking forward to ... the food! One stop we're particularly excited for is our afternoon at a sugar shack! Yes, that's right, a whole afternoon of eating traditional Québécois food and maple syrup treats. We would have liked to check out Martin Picard's Cabane à Sucre Au Pied de Cochon, but as of at least a month ago it was booked for the entire winter season. I guess that's what happens when you get a glowing feature in Bon Appetit (photos below).

No matter, we'll be heading to Sucrerie de la Montagne for some sugaring off fun. And we'll get a sleigh ride of out it - take that Martin Picard!

Photographs by Dominique LaFond for Bon Appetit

Week in Review, 2/17/2012

Photo by Anna Spiro. New pillows at Black & Spiro, via Absolutely Beautiful Things.

Ah, it's the end of a long (classes, work) but good (amazing dinner at Applewood) week. Luckily, it's a three day weekend. Though one day will be entirely devoted to homework and avoiding a little something called a Capstone paper (i.e. Master's thesis), I also plan on just laying around and trying to tackle some more Oscar films and maybe doing some cooking. Oh, and the season finale of Downton Abbey is on Sunday! I don't know whether to be excited or sad. Happy weekend!

All Downton all the time: here's a round of today's fashions channeling DA and a funny recap (they totally nailed Jane).

This goes down as one of the most ridiculous photos I have ever seen.

Savory muffin recipes other healthy stuff - spring rolls & barley soup. Do you do Meatless Mondays? According to Mark Bittman, "If everyone in the U.S. ate no meat or cheese just one day a week, over a year, the effect on emissions would be the equivalent of taking 7.6 million cars off the road. (Another aside: if for two days a week you don’t eat any meat or cheese until dinnertime, you’ll accomplish something similar.)"

Can't all post offices be like this? I'm talking to you, Post Office on 9th Street in Park Slope.

Simple spring outfit inspiration.

Like so many others, I fallen prey to browsing this amazing archive of cabins.

I am liking the look of The Hunger Games soundtrack!

Oh, and a Valentine's-related post from last year.

Game Face

Photo via Sheila's Facebook

How absolutely amazing is this photo?! It is the last second of the game and the Giants are about to win the Super Bowl. Everyone is beyond excited - Sheila is mid fist pump, Claire is jumping out of her seat, John can hardly believe it ... and I am confused. Welcome to my life as a sports fan.

Great fun to watch the game though and to hang out with everyone.  Most importantly, I had a little snack that I cannot wait to make sometime soon: a slice of fresh french bread + an apple slice + extra crispy bacon + cheddar cheese all stacked together and then broiled for a few minutes. Twas divine!

An Afternoon in San Francisco

Last week my mom and I had a lovely afternoon in San Francisco. One remarkable stop was Omnivore Books, a shop I've been wanting to go to for a while. It's all cookbooks! While there I picked up a copy of Braises and Stews to go with my new cast iron pot. I could have stayed there all afternoon. Oh, and remember this cute story?

Then on to lunch at Tartine where I had a hot pressed sandwich and the letters they gave us for our food were XO. Doesn't get any better than that.


Photos by Oh MG.

What to Bring to Dinner (via Chow)

Thanksgiving dinner may have come and gone this year, but this chart can surely be used for years to come! Hope you had a good one and are not too terribly full. Via The Daily Dish, created by CHOW.

Crazy Cookbook Sale

via Cooking Light

As a lover of cookbooks (and cooking I guess) I was extremely excited to see that the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe is having a COOKBOOK SALE for the next ten days.  Until Saturday, November 19th all cookbooks are 30% off.  Woot.  Might be a good time to stock up on some of these.  And no, New York Times, I don't think cookbooks are dead.

A Recipe for Monday: Spinach Balls

I would like to share my go-to party recipe that my friend Gina requested I bring to her place on Saturday night.  Spinach balls are freakishly easy and such a crowd pleaser.  Some might say a good cook never reveals her recipes, but I say, let's spread the spinach ball love.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 cups bread crumbs (the chunky kind, not the fine Panko kind)
• 1 cup coarsely Parmesan cheese (not finely grated)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 4 small green onion, finely chopped
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Mix all ingredients. 
3. Shape the mixture into 1 inch balls.
4. Arrange the balls in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned and sizzling.
5. Serve with spicy mustard.
6. Consume.

Makes about 100 balls, always at least double the recipe since people will likely eat them pretty quickly.  Stay tuned, during the holidays I'll also share my other favorite finger food: cheddar olive balls!

And a Wonderful Time Was Had by All

We could not have asked for better weather during our quick jaunt to the Bay Area.  On Saturday JM and I did the spectacular Land's End hike with my mom and my sister.  Next time you're in San Francisco and it is not terribly foggy I highly recommend checking it out.  We followed up our hike with both a picnic AND dim sum on Clement at one of my favorite places, Good Luck Dim Sum where no matter how much you order (it's one of those places where you just point at what you want) it's never over $13!  This time around I ordered about 30 various pieces of dim sum and it was $12.50. Already looking forward to my December trip back to Cali. 

The trail head.

Admiring the view.

The remains of Sutro Baths.

Golden Gate Bridge is far away and on the right.

Photos by Oh MG.

So Much to Cook, So Little Time

via

It's no secret that I have a bit of a culinary crush on Jamie Oliver.  Remember this darling little thing?  Despite all my admiration of him however, I didn't have a JO cookbook until this week when I couldn't resist getting a used copy of Happy Days with the Naken Chef for crazy cheap on Amazon.  Can't wait to make a little something from the book, I've got my eye on Broccoli and Anchovy Orecchiette (pg. 134) and Chicken Breast Baked in a Bag with Mushrooms, Butter, White Wine, and Thyme (pg. 47).  YUM!  So much to cook, so little time.  If all goes well I might invest in these other JO titles.

Food for the Week

Left: weekly meal plan, right: Sunday night's dinner.

Over dinner at Pisticci (so good!) on Saturday, Sarah B. asked how I've managed to cook so much lately. Two answers: 1) meal planning (above left) and 2) prioritizing it (other things - like blogging - have taken a hit).  Above right is Sunday's dinner - Corn, Zucchini, and Orzo salad (recipe from last month's Everyday Food) with salmon.  For the salad I made a few modifications like adding spinach and sautéing the onions, jalapeno, and zucchini for about 10 minutes before adding the pasta.  So good!

Also on this week's plan: two other recipes from Everyday Food - has the Martha bug finally hit me?

Bringing Vacation Back Home

Bitterballen from Gollem in Amsterdam.

It's hard being back from vacation and having to adjust to real life again.  One of our favorite discoveries in Amsterdam was the Dutch treat of bitterballen.  As defined on Wikipedia they are "a savory Dutch meat-based snack, typically containing a mixture of beePhoto by Oh MG.f (minced or chopped), beef broth, flour and butter for thickening, parsley, salt and pepper."  Can you say delicious?  While I've never encountered bitterballen here in New York, Design*Sponge posted a recipe recently!  Will have to try it out one day soon.

D*S Does Oakland

Photo via

I was very excited to see my hometown of Oakland, California featured on Design*Sponge today.  Check it out!  Since it's been 9 years since I've lived there, a lot of the places are new to me, but I can attest to the wonders of some of the places mentioned, including Fenton's, Urban Indigo, Wood Tavern,  and Mountain View Cemetery (where I learned how to drive).  BTW, I have never heard of the neighborhood Paradise Park.

Summer Cocktails

Photo by Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

This feature in The New York Times is making me crave a good summer cocktail – something we certainly don’t have here in Uganda.  So far this summer, it’s just a Nile Special or two on the weekends.  While the Live Basil Gimlet (pictured above) looks to die for, two of my favorite drinks from summer’s past are below.

Summer in a Glass – created on glorious day at Copake Lake in summer 2009, this gem combines equal parts spiced rum, light rum, and vanilla cream soda, plus tons of fresh lime to taste.  Try it out at your next summer barbecue.

Photo by Oh MG

Frozen  Glögg – Thank you to Mary Paschen for introducing me to this phenomenon last summer.  Yes, it’s a frozen glögg slushie, or glushie if you will.  If you are in Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago I highly recommend picking one up.

Photo by Mary Paschen

Yum

We went to Smorgasburg on Saturday and boy was it delicious.  Tip: get there early!  By arriving at 12:00 PM we missed some of the lines, but by the time we were contemplating seconds (and thirds) things were out of hand.  We went with our friends Robyn and Joe (parents of the cute children pictured below) and collectively some favorite items were:

• Pork sandwiches from Porchetta - $5!
• Hot dogs from The Meat Hook (note: they are very juicy, the shirt I was wearing is ruined)
• Crack pie, Arnold Palmer icees, and blueberry cookies from Milk Bar
• Garlic toast from Scratchbread (note: this is pure garlic, we received a critique of our breath a full 24 hours later)
• Boysenberry chai popsicles from People's Pops
• A giant biscuit with clotted cream and blueberry jam from King's Crumb (they also served savory biscuits with sausage gravy)

With the exception of the $16 lobster rolls which we didn't get, everything was $5-$7.  Such a deal!  The only thing missing was a beer vendor (hint).  Here's to fitting in a little bit of Brooklyn summer before I head off!  Our gluttony led us to need a little nap in East River park after :)

Photo by Oh MG

Thank goodness ... now can you come to Brooklyn?

It is a sad truth that there is only once place to get a good burrito in New York City - that's Dos Torros and it hasn't even been around for that long.  The other day I was forced into Chipotle just to sustain my craving for a burrito-like food item (Dos Torros was on the other side of town).  Last winter when I arrived home for the holidays my first request was a stop at Gordo on College Avenue.  All this to say, I am SO GLAD Dos Torros - a taqueria created as an east coast homage to Gordo - is expanding to the West Village.  Now what about Brooklyn?  There are quite a few store fronts open on 7th Avenue.

From Eater late last week:

As was somewhat expected, Dos Toros, a popular one and a half year-old sliver of a taco and burrito spot by Union Square, is expanding.

Reps reveal that the owners, brothers and San Francisco expats Leo and Oliver Kremer, will open a West Village branch of the shop on 11 Carmine Street on Tuesday, May 24. The original branch serves Bay Area style burritos along with some tacos, quesadillas, and larger plates and is a favorite of Mario Batali and Mexican fiends in the area. Bonus: Per PR, "they have a new braising pan that will be making their carnitas more caramelized and succulent."

Weekend Food & Drink

It's Thursday yes, but I would like to share some culinary highlights from Steph's recent NYC weekend.  I was having so much fun that I didn't take many photos (not even photos of food!) besides the one below of our LCD-pregame crew.  Nonetheless, herewith, some weekend food and drink tidbits.

Photo by Oh MG

• FRIDAY
• Momo Fuku for an early dinner (we arrived at 6:15 PM to beat the crowds).  Steph, Jojo, Sarah B and I split two orders of dumplings, chicken wings, brussel sprouts, two orders of Ramen and one frozen yogurt twist (pineapple and brown butter cake).
• 11th Street Bar for post-dinner happy hour (that's what happens when you eat dinner at 6:15 PM - NOTE: happy hour goes til 9:00 PM at this lovely joint).
• Late night drinks to celebrate a friend's birthday at The Richardson - I will definitely visit this place again.
• SATURDAY
• Swedish coffee and a red velvet muffin for our walk to brunch.
• No. 7 for a pre-Brooklyn Flea brunch (I had a broccoli, smoked gouda, and egg sandwich!).
• LCD pregraming with pizza from Pino's and pomegranate cocktails by JM.
• Late night post-gaming at The Breslin.
• SUNDAY
• Building on Bond for a post-LCD late brunch.  I want to try everything on their bunch menu!
• Ground Support for stomach calming herbal tea.
• Bar Toto for a "OMG-I-can't-believe-I-am-still-eating" dinner.

And I'm still full.

Kitchen-Themed Decor

With my new-found love of cooking comes the need to seriously beef up my stash of kitchen tools.  Leave it to Design*Sponge to post this fantastic poster -- it could help me build a genuine culinary collection!

via Design*Sponge via PopChartLab

Kale Smoothie

I have been making this smoothie a lot lately.  It's a great way to get tons of fruits and veggies in each day.  Note: the original recipe only called for one banana, but I used two for better flavor and texture.  For more smoothie recipes check out Whole Living's 25 Quick and Easy Smoothies.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup kale, stems removed, chopped

1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 1/4 cups water

Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more water.

Serves 2. Per serving: 105 calories; 0 g saturated fat; 0 g unsaturated fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 26 g carbs; 32 mg sodium; 2 g protein; 4 g fiber.

Avocado Pasta

Earlier this week I saw this recipe over at Oh She Glows and decided to try it out.  To make it a little heartier and include some more veggies, I added an Oh MG modification.  Absolutely delicious and quick.

image via

15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta (From Oh She Glows, with an Oh MG modification)

Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sized ripe Avocado, pitted
• 1/2 lemon, juiced + lemon zest to garnish
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh basil or 1/8 cup dried basil
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 servings of whole wheat pasta

For Oh MG modification:

1 bunch kale, chopped

16 medium, shrimp without tails

additional 1 clove of garlic

additional 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup white wine 

Directions:

1. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.

3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer and place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.

Please note: This dish does not reheat well due to the avocado in the sauce. Please serve immediately.

For Oh MG modification:

After you start the water for pasta, add extra oil and garlic to a separate large pan.  Add kale, shrimp, and wine -- season with salt and pepper.  Stir occasionally on medium until shrimp is cooked fully.  Turn to low and cover until pasta is ready.  After pasta and sauce are fully combined, fold in kale and shrimp.  Garnish as directed.

Stocking Up

Along with starting this blog, my other New Year's resolution is to cook more and try at least one new recipe per week.  So far so good.  This resolution has been made easier by the fact that for Christmas I received my first real knife - it cuts like a dream and makes chopping so much easier than with awful Ikea knives.  Next hurdle: I have to get my pantry stocked.  Up until now I've been making due with a bottle of olive oil, salt & pepper, and a few other spices.  Currently dreaming of having a pantry like this:

Image via Design*Sponge