Tuesday - October 26, 2010

Tomato Basil Bruschetta

Today was a fabulous day that ended with a fabulous dinner--as all truly fabulous days must! (I am certain that the quality and quantity of food that I consume in a day and my respective mood are positively correlated). Anyways, tonight my friend, Brooks, hosted a family-style Italian dinner. No, Brooks is not Italian (he is Brazilian) but yes, he is one of the best damn cooks I have encountered and therefore he can cook anything well--including meatballs and gravy! My little home-maker instincts kicked in earlier this afternoon, and I decided I would make bruschetta to bring as an appetizer...plus, my mom always said, "never go to a dinner party empty handed!" So I ran out to the store and bought bruschetta supplies....12 Roma Plum tomatoes, a package of cherry tomatoes, a bulb of garlic, and some basil. Then I came back home and set about making my mouth-watering creation. I did not follow a recipe to make this but I am going to give the approximate portions of everything that I used, so that you can make it and so I can replicate it again!

It was a huge hit and sadly there was none left totake home, but I'm glad everyone enjoyed it. I served it on diagonally sliced tuscan bread, which I first toasted in the oven on 350 degrees with a little drizzle of olive oil and oregano. I then generously topped each piece with the tomato mixture and garnished with basil leaves! For anyone who loves the tomatoes at Vilaggio (and who doesn't?), these come out tasting practically the same!

But let me also mention the delicious main course that took place tonight. Brooks was head chef (as he should be in his own kitchen) and I enjoyed playing sous chef for a change! The menu included a Baked Brie Bread Bowl, a Mixed Green Salad with Petit Tomatoes and Red Onion tossed in Homemade Dijon Vinaigrette, Spaghetti with Gravy, and Homemade Meatballs! Ohhh, and i forgot about the Brownie Sundaes for dessert. Talk about a feast....

The meatballs were unreal. I am Italian and I think my mom makes the best meatballs ever, but these were a close rival and they were incredible. Plus, Brooks made them in a cupcake pan, and I tend to love anything that comes out of a cupcake pan so I was instantly happy. Here is a photo of the meatballs, just after coming out of the oven....

You can see the fat drippings in the bottom of the pan, which is abundant considering that Brooks uses a combination of Veal, Beef, and Italian sausage to make his meatballs....plenty of fat there. After he spoons out each little masterpiece from the pan he pours the drippings into his pot of gravy, which instantly thickens the tomato sauce. He then places each of the meatballs into the pot of gravy and allows them to finish slow cooking amid the tomatoes for another 20 or 30 minutes. The sauce absorbs the flavor of the meat, and the meat absorbs the moisture and acidity of the sauce....it's a beautiful marriage a meatball and gravy!

The salad was simple but the homemade dijon dressing really took it to another level. It was very similar to the much coveted secret sauce from La Sandwicherie!! (see post) and the bite of the dijon mustard with the greens was great. Here is a look at my beautiful plate of food...

As you can see, we finished off the meatball with a scoop of ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese shavings!!! WOW! Even "Big Nick"--clearly fully Italian--approved of Brooks creation, despite his former doubts. So delicious.

Now for my little confession....and I'm praying that no one from the dinner party reads this (although I secretly hope that some of them follow my blog!). As sous chef, I was in charge of cooking out the pasta. And believe me, I can cook out a perfectly salted and al dente pasta in my sleep. I know how to cook pasta like people know how to spell their name....it is just a part of me...second nature. Anyways, I salt the water with the large salt container, add the pasta, and start to cook. But, when I taste the pasta it isn't salty! So naturally, I add more salt. A few minutes later I taste the pasta and it almost tastes sweet. I can't believe it, so I reach for the salt one last time and realize that it is actually a container of sugar. His sugar container looks just like my salt container at home. So instead of salting the pasta, I have been coating it in sugar water. Before I start to panic, I reach for the morton's and begin a generous pour just hoping that the salt will mask the sugar. Thankfully, it did and no one noticed. I couldn't even taste the problem myself! Anyways, funny little secret that no one knows.....yet, at least!

Here is the recipe for the Tomato Basil Bruschetta...

Ingredients:

• 12 roma plum tomatoes
• 1 package of grape tomatoes
• 4-6 cloves of garlic
• 2 green onions
• 10-15 basil leaves
• 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Halve all of the grape tomatoes and place in large mixing bowl.

Cut an X into the top of each plum tomato and then bring a medium sauce pan of water to a boil. Add the tomatoes 2-3 at a time for one minute each and then remove from water and peel back the skins. Cut off the tops and remove seeds, chopping into small pieces. Add these pieces to the mixing bowl of grape tomatoes. Repeat until all of the plum tomatoes have been done.

Chop the green onions and basil, and mince the garlic gloves, adding all ingredients to mixing bowl. Then add the olive oil and vinegar and a few generous sprinkles of Kosher salt. Mix well to coat all tomatoes. Allow to sit and then serve on toasted bread!

Monday - October 25, 2010

Le Colonial

149 East 57th Street

(Between Lexington and 3rd)

New York, New York

212.752.0808

Check out the Menu!

So tonight I have the rare and lucky opportunity to publish a guest review on my website! And I must admit that it's awesome getting to make a post that doesn't require any thought, considering the food coma that I am currently enduring from the pound of pasta that I ate tonight (don't worry, I will blog about it's deliciousness tomorrow night!!). But tonight's reviewis written by the hilarious Mr. Keswin of New York City! I like to consider him a very credible food critic, and he swears that he will put his name to this salad, going even further to say that if someone doesn't like it, then he will buy it. However, he has asked me not to disclose any of his personal contact information for fear of the dishonest folk just out to get a great free meal! Personally, I don't blame him...I would totally be that asshole. Anyways, here is what he has to say about Le Colonial...

"Le Colonial on 57th bet. 3rd and lex has the sickest peppered tuna salad. The tuna’s texture is stupendous. The effect of washing it down with lettuce drizzled in noticeably solid vinaigrette can drive a patron wild. The portion and menu mention are that of an appetizer, but do the right thing – ask for two and have them combine it on one plate. No need to explore other items. I pegged this one the best and have high conviction."

This review is short and sweet, but it gets straight to the point....order the Goi Ca Salad, which has seared rare tuna with black pepper crust, mesclun salad mix, and a spicy soy dressing. I am looking forward to going to New York next month and trying this salad for myself!! Thank you Mr. Keswin for your comments and review!

Sunday - October 24, 2010

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

One of the things that I miss most about living up North is the fall; the change of seasons, the falling of leaves, and the crisp air, which creates favorable conditions for warm Starbuck’s beverages. I’m so sick of drinking iced coffees already. I want to be able to order a delicious steamy cappuccino and not worry about the hot flashes I may endure while drinking it! But it’s the end of October and no such luck in Miami yet…sadly 80 degrees is about as “crisp” as it has gotten here. So in an effort to convince myself that it is actually fall, despite the weather, I decided to make some pumpkin spice cupcakes tonight!! I really wanted to make a pumpkin pie, but cupcakes seemed easier to pass out to friends and with Halloween right around the corner….yeah, I’m not trying to eat an entire batch of 24 cupcakes alone one week before parading around the streets of Key West half-naked for Fantasy Fest!! So cupcakes it was!

I got the recipe for the pumpkin spice cake batter from Martha Stewart. I have found that all of her cupcake recipes are very good, but instead of using the vanilla frosting she suggested, I decided to pair my cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting. This is my absolute favorite recipe for cream cheese icing and it’s particularly delicious on top of red velvet cupcakes and coconut cupcakes (there is a recipe for these under desserts!).

Anyways, the cupcakes turned out delicious!! The pumpkin puree kept them super moist and the freshly ground ginger gave off a great flavor. I actually kept some without frosting so that I could eat them in the morning like a muffin! But the cream cheese frosting did turn out to be a great combination with the cake and everyone loved them! I will be making these again for sure. It made about 24 cupcakes total and the frosting recipe below makes enough to generously ice this many cupcakes.

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted, and cooled
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree

Cupcake Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, kosher salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

In a separate mixing bowl (the bowl of an electric mixer if you have one) combine the eggs, butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. On a low speed, mix until well combined and smooth. Then add the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Then whisk in the pumpkin puree until well combined.

Line the cupcake pan with liners and fill each cup about ¾ the way full with batter. (TIP: Use an ice cream scooper to distribute the batter neatly and uniformly!) Place the pans into the oven and allow to bake for 20-25 min, or until a toothpick comes out clean. (TIP: I like to rotate the pans 10 min through baking process to ensure even cooking)

Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely in pans before removing and then icing.

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz package of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• ¾ pound of confectioners’ sugar

Frosting Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extracts. Lower the speed and gradually add the confectioner’s sugar, mixing until smooth.

Monday - October 11, 2010

Scarpetta

305.538.2000

4441 Collins Ave (At the Fountainbleau Hotel)

Miami Beach, FL 33140

Check out the Menu!

Certain restaurants in Miami offer young beautiful girls (who know the right people, of course) the opportunity to eat at their restaurant for free so that other people see these beautiful girls going and want to go too. It’s pretty brilliant marketing in my opinion, because half of the girls who show up are models that don’t eat a thing—they just sit there and look pretty, enjoying the free drinks, which costs the restaurant next to nothing (it doesn’t take much to get a girl weighing 100 pounds tipsy!). Anyways, I was invited to go one of these promotional dinners at Scarpetta by my girlfriend the other night, and unable to resist the temptation of free food, I did! I actually thought it was a pretty cool concept, but it would have been better if everyone at the table was in our group of friends. You see, they seat all of the girls at one long 20 person table, so you get to sit next to your friends but chances are pretty good that you’ll also be sitting next to someone you don’t know to your right or your left. Of course, this happened to me! I ended up sitting next to a beautiful girl from Australia that was most definitely a model, and she was joined by one of her other model friends (they were the organic and earthy looking type of models with their slicked back high buns and make-up free dewy faces…beautiful). I lit up like a Christmas tree as I took my seat next to them though because I assumed they wouldn’t be eating very much of the food, which is served family style to share with your neighbor. I was right…JACKPOT!

The breadbasket was brought out first and no oneflinched. I couldn’t believe it! No one reacted to an assorted basket of warm freshly baked bread. All I could think was I am not a model, and I brought my appetite….this place may reconsider promotional dinners once they see the damage I’m about to do! I tried every type of bread that was in that basket, and the one with filled with salami and cheese (looks like a slice of stromboli) was my favorite. There was also a really tasty eggplant spread served alongside the butter that I enjoyed on the rosemary-scented focaccia.

Next to be served were the appetizers. I started with a serving of the Burrata, which I thought would be pretty standard with Heirloom tomatoes, baby basil, and olive oil, but the burrata was the best I have ever tasted—it was so creamy and fresh that it was almost hard to keep on the fork. I was really amazed by how flavorful and delicious this simple dish tasted. Next I tried the Japanese Mackarel Tartar with balsamic vinager, avocado, and basil. I am not the biggest fan of tartar, but I thought it was tasty…I didn’t go for seconds though. The Raw Yellowtail with olio di zenzero, marinated onions, and baby greens was kind of the same thing for me, not into the raw fish but enjoy the single bite I had. My favorite appetizer by far though, was the last to be brought out and it was the Creamy Polenta with fricassee of truffled mushrooms. WHOA! If someone told me that I had to eat one thing for the rest of my life, I would strongly consider this polenta as an option. Thankfully, the models wouldn’t even think about eating something as rich and fattening as polenta and so I practically got to enjoy the entire appetizer alone.

Next to be served were the pasta dishes, which included Duck and Foie Gras Ravolii and Spaghetti. I do not like the idea of eating duck or duck liver, but I could not possibly deny myself these triangle purses of pasta served in a marsala wine reduction. Each little ravioli was a bite of heaven, and tasted more delicious then I ever thought duck could. The Spaghetti, like the burrata, was delicious in its simplicity. The pasta was homemade and cooked perfectly Al Dente, topped with just the right amount of sauce.

Finally, the dinner entrees were served which included sliced filet of steak with roasted fingerling potatoes and scallops served with edamame. Neither of these entrée’s appear on the menu, leading me to believe that they were just specials for the evening, but they scallops were incredible.

My absolute favorite part of the meal though (other than the polenta!), had to be the desserts, which of course were left untouched by the models who instead decided to sip on herbal tea and watch me stuff my face!! I couldn’t tell if they were looking at me with jealousy as I poked my fork into every dessert, or with judgment but I couldn’t contain myself any longer and of course said to the model next to me, “You must have been saving yourself for these desserts all night, since you barely ate any dinner….want some?” She looked at me like I was crazy and told me that she was fine with her cup of chamomile. I genuinely felt bad for her.

I’ll start by telling you about my favorite dessert, which was the homemade Chocolate Donuts filled with Nutella. They were warm and rich and just sinfully sweet. They came with a side of warm frosting to drizzle over top…I was actually moaning over them. Then I tasted the Guava Crème Brulee with homemade whipped cream, which was very good but not anything wow. The Mocha Cheesecake on the other hand was out of this world. I believe that it was a coffee infused cheesecake, but it was the chocolate and espresso bean crust that took it to a whole other level. Finally, the last desert that I sampled was the Chocolate Molten Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream. I am huge fan of molten cake to begin with, so I definitely savored every bite. I wouldn’t say that it was anything inspiring or creative, but they did it well. Overall, amazing meal...especially since a check never came at the end!

Here is a photo of the polenta, since it is so amazing.....

Tuesday - October 5, 2010

Grilled Veggie Sandwich

One of my favorite lunchtime meals has to be an herb grilled veggie sandwich. There is absolutely nothing as savory as thyme marinated Portobello mushrooms, with grilled eggplant and zucchini, sliced heirloom tomatoes, parmesan roasted asparagus, and kalamata olives with basil pesto and balsamic vinegar on a crunchy ciabatta roll!! I really like to load on the veggies, so I tend to eat mine open-face with a fork and a knife (as you can see in my photo!). And feel free to add any cheese of your choice, because obviously everything is better with some gooey melted cheese on it! I like to use goat cheese, sliced fresh mozzarella, or Provolone, but any cheese will do. I recommend putting your cheese on the bread and then putting it in the oven for a bit so that the bread toasts and the cheese melts!

The easiest way to prepare the veggies for this sandwich is to combine the eggplant, zucchini, and asparagus in a bowl and rub with olive oil to cover. Then put them into a grill basket and place them on the grill for about 10 minutes, mixing them around frequently (I usually toss in some sliced Spanish onion as well, which caramelizes nicely). Once the veggies are cooked, sprinkle with some kosher salt and set aside.

For the Portobello mushrooms, begin by making the marinade. Whisk together about ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 3 cloves of minced garlic, and a teaspoon of fresh minced thyme leaves in a small bowl. Then clean down the mushrooms with a damp paper towel, and remove stems. **TIP: To clean mushrooms, wipe down the caps with damp paper towel, never emerge the mushroom under water because they absorb the liquid and do not cook the same. Once the mushrooms are clean, use a silicon brush to apply the marinade to both the tops and bottoms of the caps. Place them directly on the grill, cooking on each side for about 4 minutes. Once removed from heat, slice down into thin strips or leave whole, depending on your preference.

I like to cut my veggies down into strips so that they lay nicely on the sandwich and so that every bite has a little piece of everything and tastes uniform. Then drizzle some pesto over the top and a little balsamic vinegar and then your ready to eat!!

Also, roasted red peppers make a delicious addition to this sandwich and I realize that not many people know how to make them so I will take this moment to describe the process, which is easier than most people think.

How to Make Roasted Red Peppers:

If using grill: Take about 3 large red bell peppers and rub with olive oil using your hands. Coat the entire pepper and set on grill that has been heating up for a while. Turn the pepper as the skin becomes charred until the entire pepper is black. Takes about 15 minutes total.

If using oven: Take about 3 large red bell peppers and rub with olive oil using your hands. Coat the entire pepper and set on baking sheet covered in foil. Turn the broiler of your oven on high and allow to heat up for a few minutes. Then place the peppers into the oven on the highest rack. As the pepper skin turns black from the heat, turn to next side using tongs until the entire pepper is black. Takes about 15 minutes total.

Once you have your blackened peppers, place them into a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to sit for 5-10 minutes to cool, before removing the charred skin with your fingers. Gently tear the skin off and remove the core and seeds of the pepper, as they are bitter. Then throw away the skins and place the "meat" of the pepper back into the bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, and add 5-6 cloves of smashed garlic for flavor. These will last in your fridge for about 2 weeks!

***When making these peppers DO NOT be afraid of the pepper turning black. It is NOT burning!!! It needs to turn black and charred so that the skins can be removed easily!!!

Sunday - October 3, 2010

Patagonia

305.361.0662

260 Crandon Blvd

Key Biscayne, Fl 33149

Check out the Menu!

Today I ran my first 5 k. It’s been on my bucket list for a couple of years now, and tonight I got to cross it off...go me! I must confess that it wasn’t actually as difficult as I thought it was going to be, but I sure was scared as hell when my roommate and I first pulled into the parking lot where the race was to begin. We pull up and notice that there are people who have literally run to the race, instead of driving to it. They have showed up to the 5 k and it looks like they have already run a 10 k. They are at the registration stand huffing and puffing and all red in the face, and they haven’t even received their number tag yet. God damn over achievers. Then as my roommate and I are registering, we are surrounded by those token die-hard athletes who are stretching in crazy Yoga-like positions and psyching themselves up for the run. I just kept thinking 5 k only means 3 miles right? I mean these people just looked too serious for whatever I was about to do; we were clearly not the same caliber of athlete.

At this point I am attempting to pin my little number paper to the front of my shirt (aka sticking myself in the belly with the pin several times), when I hear a horn go off and notice about 200 people running towards me. I turn to Ariana and we agree that yes, the race has started without us and we need to move before we are stampeded. We are told that we have to start at the beginning of the line and so we start running towards the runners who are running towards us. They must have thought we missed the memo or something. We are the last people to start the race, but we pass about half of the runners before the first mile. We finished the race in under 30 min and as soon as I crossed the finish line I turned to Ariana and said, “Foooooood….I want an empanada!”

So we headed back to the car (I felt so bad for all the people who ran here and now had to run home) and we drove to Patagonia, which is a little Argentinean café slash market. Bottom line is that it has the best empanadas that I have ever tasted. I ordered my three favorites; The Chorizo, The Spicy Beef, and the Caprese along with a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. The reason that I love these empanadas so much is because of the pastry dough that they wrap the meat in. It is so buttery and flaky, and a beautiful shade of golden brown. The spicy beef is my favorite, but spice haters beware, because it is actually spicy. Ariana thought it was too spicy and gave me hers (jackpot!) but she loved the chorizo one (unfortunately for her, I didn’t reciprocate and give her one of my empanadas, I took the spicy one as a gift!). It was an incredible meal to celebrate our accomplishment…wejust sat there outside all sweaty and limp, chowing down our South American breakfast together at 8 am—perfect way to start a day!

***Note: The 4 star rating applies to the empanadas only. I ahve tried some of the other entree-type foods here such as the Chicken Milanesa and the Skirt Steak with Chimichurri, but I would rate those as very basic and average...probably about 3 stars.

Sunday - October 3, 2010

Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting

It’s two O’clock in the morning and I am unable to fall asleep because of how hungry I am. I ate the last of my groceries earlier today, and now I am laying here counting just down the hours until the grocery store opens. Of course, with all this time on my hands, I have begun to fantasize about the indulgent breakfast that I plan to make in the morning. At the moment, the menu entails banana pancakes with strawberry preserves and scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese! I’m salivating at the very thought of it! But as I was thinking about banana pancakes, I remembered one of my favorite banana desserts that I have not yet blogged about—Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting. It is a recipe from Martha Stewart that I have made on several occasions (including my mom’s surprise 50^th birthday) and it is always a crowd pleaser. Definitely great in the summer too!

These cupcakes are nice because the fresh mashed banana keeps the cake very light and moist, without adding an artificial sweetness or flavor to the cake. In fact, the cake part itself resembles a muffin in my opinion because it isn’t sweet like a typical cupcake. But when topped with the homemade frosting, which has a great rich honey flavor, the cake transforms into a sweet and savory dessert. I like to top my cupcakes with fresh sliced banana after piping the frosting onto them, just be careful that you add the bananas right before serving because they will turn brown very quickly. Enjoy!

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 ½ cups mashed banana (about 4 ripe banana, plus some for garnish later)

2 large eggs

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. In the well mix together the butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate the flour mixture, but do not over mix!!! Use an ice cream scoop to distribute batter evenly into lined cupcake pans.

Bake for about 25 to 30 min, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from over, allow to cool in pans completely, and then top with honey-cinnamon frosting (recipe follows) and fresh sliced banana.

Frosting Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon honey

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

In an medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and cinnamon until smooth (about 4-5 min).