Take Me To Bed Or Lose Me Forever

I made these delicious chocolate truffles for Mike for Vday. The flags note all the reasons why I think he's awesome.

RECIPE

Grenache (The Middle):
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 small chai tea teabags (I used orange and spice tea)
2.5 Tb unsalted butter
3 Tb alcohol or extract (I used Blue Mountain Mist, which is AMAZING, but I think you can only get it in Jamaica or online-- You can use Grand Marnier, Kahlua, Almond Extract, Peppermint Extract, etc.)

Coatings:
Cocoa Powder
Confectioners Sugar 

Place chocolate chips in a medium sized heat safe bowl. Set aside. Heat cream with tea bags to a low simmer. Remove from heat and steep tea bags for 5-6 minutes. Remove tea bags, and add butter. Heat again then bring to a boil. Immediately pour boiling cream over chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Add liqueur. Cover and place in refrigerator until truffle mixture is firm (This will take several hours or overnight).

Once grenache sets, place powdered coating in a bowl. I used plain cocoa powder, and a mix of cocoa and confectioner's sugar. Using a melon baller, spoon, AND YOUR HANDS, form the chocolate into roundish bite-sized balls. Immediately roll the truffle in the coating and place on tray. Cover and place in the refrigerator until firm. Makes approx. 30 small truffles.

I also think this fingerprint jewelry by Imprint on my Heart is totally adorable without being too mush-mush.

HERS?

Sterling Silver Fingerprint Vertical Tag with Initials $375

HIS?

Sterling Silver Long Vertical Tag $425, shown with rough finish

See more HERE. 

Go GREENS.

I made this recipe that was recommended by my friend, Susan the other day for Collard Greens. It turned out to be an amazingly fresh alternative to my family's usual bacon fatty Southern soaked version.


Collard Greens with Currants and Almonds

1 BUNCH COLLARD GREENS, CUT INTO 1 INCH STRIPS
1 MEDIUM YELLOW ONION- CHOPPED
Approx. 2 TBS. OLIVE OIL
2 CLOVES GARLIC- Minced
1/4 C. CURRANTS
1/4 C. SLIVERED ALMONDS

Heat large pot on high. Add olive oil (Be generous; Add more than 2 Tbs. if necessary), onion and garlic. Simmer on high for 1 minute then add collard greens, currants, and almonds. Toss in a splash of water for steaming. Let cook for six minutes stirring occasionally.

*I'm also going to bring these to my family's North Carolina Thanksgiving table this year, but I'm going to give pine nuts a try in the place of almonds. Mmmm!

MMMMMM Toasty!

When I turned sixteen, I got my first car for my birthday with the only condition being that I pay for the gas and maintenance myself. This resulted in my working in one of the offices of my dad's company for a couple hours after school daily for my final two years of high school. I pretty much had it made. 70% of my duties was going on ice cream runs for the gals in the office in my new wheels (White '91 Buick Regal with red leathuh interior!), and the other 30% of my time was spent gossiping with them. Finally, the day of doom came around when I was reprimanded for sporting daisy dukes and platforms in the office, and that was it. Being the pigheaded gal that I am, I decided anyplace must be better than that stuffy dump. That day I took my first steps down the long, winding, magical path of THE FOOD INDUSTRY!!

My first job was hostessing at Razzoo's Cajun Cafe, a chain whose only other locations are oddly in Texas. We opened the restaurant in Charlotte, and were taught to greet customers with a big ol' smile and a spirited, "Hey Y'all!!!" I was fired after a week and a half. I began thinking that perhaps serving others was not my forté . I took a leave of absence from the industry to think it over, and checked out the retail side of things slinging Doc Martens in the mall shoe store, Journeys--after all, their slogan is "An attitude you can wear."

Following that job, I jumped from movie theater employee, to Renaissance Fest serving wench, to bank teller, and eventually to a short stint at Quizno's, which is where I saved up a meager amount of cash to move to Bushwick, Brooklyn. Thanks Quiznos! It wasn't until I moved to New York that I really dove into the service industry head first.

My first waitressing job was in a dingy irish bar and restaurant that paid me just enough to barely make rent. The job ended 8 months after it began when the bartender threw a cup of tartar sauce on me. Though I stuck around in the service industry this time, I vowed to never waitress again no matter what.

Check out this great essay on the very industry that feeds you, me, and paid my rent for 5+ years:
IN WHICH YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE LOSING A PIECE OF YOUR SOUL

C'est la vie

I don't know what it is about summertime that makes me want to do nothing but lounge around at cafes, sipping wine, eating cheese, and pretending I am proper Bourgeoisie, but that seems to be the case these days. A case, I might add that is driving me to the poor house! Ah! C'est la vie!

LAST FRIDAY:
I met Katherine at Cafe Gitane a teeny-tiny extremely popular, sometimes deemed trendy, French-Moroccan joint in Nolita. We arrived early, as the place always fills up fast, and actually got a table right away. I've had experiences where the staff has been slightly snobbish, but this time around our server was sweet as the honey atop our gorgonzola walnut crumble. The menu consists of several reasonably priced (Talking one to two dollar signs!) small plates, and a well-chosen, but relatively short wine list. I think Cafe Gitane is best for sipping wine, enjoying the night air (which drifts in frequently through the open door on nice nights), and snack until your tummy is full. Katherine and I started with a salad (a special that evening) then split a sandwich (Organic Roasted Chicken chipotle mayonnaise fresh parmesan roasted tomatoes on toasted baguette), and followed with some cheese for dessert.

Les Fleurs (and Mints)


Gorgonzola, Walnuts, and Honey

WEDNESDAY:
My friend Holly is setting off in a couple weeks for Zambia where she will be working with the Lubuto Library Project for quite some time. She didn't make it to my birthday party, so we had a joint nice-to-see-you-again/farewell dinner at Tartine, another tiny French establishment. This one is located on a quaint side street of the West Village, not too far from Carrie Bradshaw's house and the Marc Jacobs store (Don't be surprised if you get asked for directions to either while in the area.) Tartine is BYOB, so I brought my fave aforementioned rose, and arrived early, because this place fills up just as quickly as Cafe Gitane--And no, they do NOT take names for a wait list-- First come, first served! Luckily, Holly and I scored a perfect table outside, and shared a delicious Beet and Goat Cheese Salad and a heaping pot of Mussels. We ordered another item, but were too stuffed to eat it. (The server was extremely rude when we wanted to cancel the order, but eventually she relented, and cancelled it.) Little did I know, but Holly had brought another bottle of sparkling wine in celebration of my birthday, because she had missed my party last month. She also ordered us two desserts-- a blackberry cobbler, which was delicious served a la mode, and an intensely rich mousse served with raspberries. I can't say I'll be kissing the staff at Tartine on both cheeks any time soon, but I'll definitely return, and make them kiss mine.

Remnants of the salad: Red Beets, Corn, Goat Cheese, Pine Nuts, Endive

Mussels in White Wine Sauce (One qualm: They needed more juice for dipping!)

Trying to hear a tiny ocean...

Mussel Beach

Surprise! Blackberry Cobbler and Chocolate Mousse

Oh, then we found this amazing hippie van right across the street from Carrie Bradshaw's house, and Holly just happened to look like she owned it.  (I never even watched Sex and the City, btw.)

Last (Night's) Supper

When cooking, I've never been one to adhere to the recipe too closely, nor am I huge on using measuring tools (unless baking.) I taste throughout, sometimes leaving me full before the meal is prepared. Oops. Most of the time, I just make shit up. It turns out better this way. When I'm an old grandma, I hope to have the motivation to have my own handwritten cookbook to hand down to my kids' kids' kids with the measurements "a handful of this," "a little of that," et cetera. My grandmother's favorite cooking direction was, "Like so." For example a recipe for gravy would be, "You cook the meat like so, then you pour in some water, and cook up the fat like so." Cryptic, yet crystal clear, right?

I am learning that it is really hard to light food for photos, and I now understand why all the pics in chinese food restaurants look so gross. While the flash brings out the color, it makes everything else look kind of slimy. Oh well. You get the point.

Calypso Porkchop and Coconut Rice
-Marinate porkchop in olive oil, lime juice, minced garlic, jerk seasoning (thyme, allspice, black pepper, cinnamon, cayenne), and BF put some sort of hot pepper in there too, but it's not necessary.
-Boil rice (We used long grain) with equal parts coconut milk and water, and diced onions, salt, and pepper. (Once again BF put some kind of hot pepper in there too, but not necessary. The boy loves hot peppers. He pickled a huge jar of them that we've been using for months now.)
-Pan fry porkchop using marinade. Top with mango salsa. (Chopped mango, cilantro, red pepper.)

Vegetables
-Cut yellow squash, red peppers, and onions into strips.
-Heat 1/4 inch of water in a frying pan, and toss in veggies. Cover. Add snow peas after a few minutes.
-Mix olive oil, soy sauce, dijon mustard, dry ginger, dry garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar. Toss veggies in mixture, and saute for 4-5 min, and remove from heat.


And the night before:

Pesto Chicken Pasta
-Rub raw chicken breasts in pesto. (For pesto recipe, go here.)
-Boil pasta. (I like whole grain rotini.)
-Cut chicken into inch long strips, and saute in olive oil and minced garlic (I also like to throw some fresh basil in from our window herb garden.)
-Once chicken and pasta is cooked, drain pasta, and toss the two together, adding a little olive oil and about 2 tablespoons of pesto (give or take, depending on how much you're making).
-Throw in a handful of shredded parmesan or romano cheese, and toss while warm.

Asparagus Cherry Tomato Salad
-Cut ugly ends off asparagus. (Those things are expensive these days, btw!)
-Chop remaining asparagus into inch to 2 inch long pieces and blanche.*
-Do the same for tomatoes, and drain both of all water.
-For dressing: Mix approx 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 Tbsp olive oil, a tsp balsamic vinegar, a clove of minced garlic, a squirt of dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
-Toss asparagus in mixture first. When fully coated, add tomatoes.

*Blanche: Boil for about 3 minutes, then remove from heat and run under cold water to halt cooking process. This retains crispness and color.

Jules et Jim Crack Corn and I Don't Care

I love the way that food tends to remain the center of life for all no matter age, race, gender, or locale. The reason is obvious and simple: To live we must eat. However, the sentimentality of food is much more important to me than its necessity. It is the glue that binds societies and cultures, and provides a feeling of stability and comfort-- unless it's the glue you're eating anyway. Don't do that. Eating glue is for weirdos.

I've worked in restaurants on and off throughout my time in New York City, and spent a considerable amount of my free time in them, as well. I consider dining a hobby, as well as cooking, and I'd much rather spend my extra cash on a great meal than a great dress. My main reason for this being that I can share the experience with someone else. If you find yourself roped into a meal with me, expect to have my fork in your plate, as much as my own food forced upon you.

These habits can surely be attributed to my upbringing, as no matter the disfunction that infiltrated my family or the hustle of the day, my mother always made sure that we were sitting together for dinnertime. I have fond memories of her rising early every Saturday morning to bake biscuits and fry sausage gravy and eggs, our large family Thanksgivings where I helped my Mawmaw plop pats of dough into bubbling chicken broth for her famous "Dumplins", and my mom's tradition of serving quiche on Christmas morning. Even days that weren't marked on the calendar as "special" were made special by our meals. I find myself doing the same in my own life as I always get a little excited when my boyfriend follows work each day with the call, "What're we gonna make for dinner tonight?"

Saturday night we went to one of my favorite spots in the city, Jules on St. Marks. It's a dimly lit little french bistro, where each night around 9pm a live band plays old blues and jazz tunes, along with some originals. I love going to this place, because it's great for two to order a bottle of wine (huge winelist), a few appetizers, and split an entree, and be completely satisfied. My absolute favorite item on the menu is the escargot which is sauteed in garlic and parsley butter that is best sopped up by the ample bread provided. Since we went with a couple friends the other night, the menu selections were doubled. See below for some visuals (I told you the place was dimly lit!)

Chicken in Lemon Sauce with Mashed Potatoes and Vegetables

Sea Scallops and Asparagus Risotto

Desserts (We had the Chocolate Fondant. My fave part was the vanilla ice cream made with real cream!)

Quail egg from the Steak Tartare

To dine and to ditch?

We're so happy, we're frowning.

You Spin Me Right 'Round Like A Record Baby

Crazian Azn!

My birthday was last Wednesday, and I like to celebrate for a straight week to 2 weeks. I stretched it out to a week and a half this time. 

Here are pics from Saturday nights extravaganza beginning with dinner at Congee Village (soo good. you should go if you haven't!).

Pics from karaoke at Winnie's, and our brief moment at the party on Beverly's rooftop to come...

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It was obviously a Chinese Mob themed night.

Cheesesteak Out!

Wit' or Wit' Out You

As Memorial Day is a day to remember U.S. troops who have perished in battle, I figured what better way to celebrate it but to travel to Philadelphia, the home of our Liberty Bell and Declaration of Independence!

Okay, in all seriousness, Memorial Day has become more a day of beer blasts and hot dog roasts to many, and Philly is the home of my roommate's parents who offered us a free place to stay and a stocked fridge. Either way, I had a pretty great weekend.

The BF, my roommate, roommate's GF, and I all headed to the City of Brotherly Shove with dreams of Cheesesteaks and a general change of scenery. I shot over a 100 photos, which I don't necessarily remember taking, and are being developed as I type this, so they may or may not be posted in the future.

While in Philly, we visited the one-of-a-kind Mütter Museum, which features an amazing exhibition of medical oddities. On display were torturous-looking medical tools (Ladies, if you thought the gyno was bad now, you should check out some of the stuff on display at this place!), some downright gruesome specimens of diseased body parts, as well as a whole section of conjoined twin wonderment. As a kid, I always loved Ripley's Believe It or Not and the like, so I couldn't get enough of this stuff-- and since the entire museum is part of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, there is no question about the believability of these anomalies!

Conjoined twin child skeleton.


Collection of eye injuries and diseases.


Enlarged colon, broken neck, various skull injuries, et cetera...

Some Things Never Get Old

My 25th birthday is exactly 2 weeks and 2 days from today and I was making up an evite to organize a dinner with my buddies, so I thought it'd be funny to find photos from my last several bday dinners and spruce 'em up in photoshop to go into the evite. Well, I don't know what is going on with that site, but it keeps getting more and more annoying to use, so the pics didn't make it. I'd really appreciate it if someone would create another similar site. So, if you technical types would get on that, that'd be great.

Anyhow, I figured I might as well post the pics here since I spent my whole Sunday on the couch watching Lifetime and doing this. This also marks my 5th year anniversary living in NYC.

twenty-one: Supper


twenty-two: La Bottega


twenty-three: Ivo & Lulu/ Mom's House in NC


twenty-four: Mesa Grill/ La Palapa


Not pictured: A LOT.

A couple of the places we're eating in these pics are my favorite restaurants:

Supper is a great Northern Italian restaurant with a rustic open kitchen and an extensive wine list. It's located on the Lower East Side and owned by Frank Prisinzano who owns neighborhood faves Lil' Frankie's on 1st Ave and Frank--both southern Italian cuisine. Located separately from the main dining area of the restaurant is a party room that can seat up to about 20-25 people, but if you're looking for a more intimate setting the back of the restaurant is well-equipped to give you that, generally pumping some smooth Billie Holiday or Miles Davis through the sound system.

Ivo & Lulu is another secret that I almost hate to expose except for the fact that it is so amazing. Having not been there since about July of 2007, the BF and I decided to spend our Vday in Ivo & Lulu's quaint 25 seat dining room. Much to our surprise, their no reservation policy had changed, and the restaurant had expanded into another space two doors down with the lone server and runner darting between the front doors of the two spaces! Luckily, even though they were booked for the evening, we arrived early and they were happy to accommodate us. The restaurant is BYOB (major plus, and great if you have a group), and located on the outskirts of the West Village, there are plenty of liquor stores nearby. All of Ivo & Lulu's French-Caribbean fair is organic and there are many veggie options (stuffed avocado!), although their selections of sausages are truly not to be missed! This place is a total whole in the wall, and there isn't much room to move around, so if you are looking for privacy, don't look here. They play music out of a little boom box--and during our Vday experience, it was right by our heads, but we sorta dug it.

For this year's bday extravaganza we're going to Congee Village. It's not the amazing food that is the draw, although it was delicious the last time we ate their, the indigestion wasn't. I just thought trying some crazy frog parts in seaweed would be more fun with a big group (not to mention the CHEAP drinks). They also have karaoke rooms that I'm hoping I can talk everyone into after a kamikaze shot or five.

Decadent and Depraved

While Kentucky Derby 134 drew the second largest crowd in the history of the Derby to the grounds of Churchill Downs, we held our own modest celebration in my living room. Although sans gigantic crazy hats, we still partied on through "the most exciting 2 minutes in sports" with fresh mint juleps and chicken wings sure to please the snobbiest of Junior League ladies. (Okay, so maybe the chicken wings are more fitting for football, but they did the job.)

Traditional Mint Julep:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• Sprigs of fresh mint
• Crushed or Shaved Ice
• Kentucky Whiskey (We used Maker's Mark, but Early Times is the official whiskey of the Derby)

Make a simple syrup by boiling sugar and water together for five minutes. Cool and place in a covered container with six or eight sprigs of fresh mint. Make one julep at a time by filling a julep cup with crushed ice, adding one tablespoon mint syrup and two ounces of whiskey. Stir rapidly with a spoon to frost the outside of the cup. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.




Our picks!



NOT PICTURED: No.4 COURT VISION

And we won! Big Brown came in 1st. Unfortunately we only bet 2 bucks on it, but this didn't ruin our sense of pride. Coming in second was Eight Belles who sadly broke both ankles right as she crossed the finish line and had to be euthanized. I personally thought she could have been saved, but she would have never been able to race again rendering her useless to the rich derby folks. Hmph.



If that's not enough Derby action for you (I know it was a magical trip.), check out Hunter S. Thompson's 1970 essay on the event:
The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved

Formal Attire Only

Shishing a Kabob in NYC

The sun has been an awful tease lately, only coming out for a few hours in the early afternoon, and then hiding out the rest of the day. Needless to say, it has gotten me all hot and bothered for some extreme outdoor action. (I have no idea why I decided to turn my grilling adventure into a weird sexual innuendo. Sorry.) Since it decided to pour down rain the other night, we turned my stove into a grill using my oven rack.

Yay.