Monday - June 9, 2010

Walnut Sage Fettuccine

(Mom’s very own creation)

I mentioned in the previous blog post that my mom and I made three different pasta sauces for dinner tonight, and this Walnut Sage Sauce was one of them. I have never tasted anything like it before, and it is awesome!! The flavor of the walnuts really opens up when they toast in the pan and who doesn’t love the taste of butter?!? This simple recipe is the product of my mother’s culinary creativity, and I hope you will all enjoy it as much as we did tonight!

Ingredients

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 stick unsalted butter

Kosher salt

¼ cup roughly chopped sage leaves

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

Cooked out fettuccine

Directions

Place the walnuts in a saucepan over medium heat and allow the walnuts to toast until fragrant. Add the stick of butter in pieces and then stir so that it melts completely. Once melted, add the Parmesan and the sage leaves until they wilt slightly. Season with kosher salt, to taste. Pour over desired amount of fettuccine pasta and serve with freshly grated Parmesan!

Monday - June 9, 2010

Linguine All’Amatriciana

(Adapted from an Anne Burrell recipe)

When I come home from college, I bring my appetite because my mom is truly a fabulous cook. She is the one who really got me interested in cooking and food in the first place…I mean lets face it, serious “foodies” are not the kind of people who were raised on SpaghettiOs and Ramen Noodle Soup. In fact, I had never even tasted jarred tomato sauce until college!! My mom always cooked gourmet meals when I was growing up and so she taught me to appreciate the flavors of fresh herbs and vegetables at an early age, which slowly developed into a passion as I got older.

Although I love all of my mom’s food, I love her pasta dishes the most! Tonight, her and I cooked out a box of linguine and made a trio of pasta sauces to have a little Italian pasta sampling of sorts! I made my Pesto recipe (which I have blogged about), and my mom made an impromptu Walnut Sage Sauce (which I will blog about) and an Amatriciana Sauce (which I am blogging about). This Amatriciana sauce is an excellent and easy red sauce to make for any kind of pasta, even though I prefer it with linguine. The pancetta gives a great hearty depth of flavor to the sauce and the San Marzano tomatoes are so sweet and delicious. It is really important that you spend the extra $1.50 and buy the San Marzano tomatoes for this dish, because other brands do not taste the same. There isn’t too much more to say about this simple sauce other than that it is delicious, so enjoy!

Ohhh, there is just one more thing that makes this sauce even better…it freezes really well! So if you set some aside before tossing in the pasta, you can put it in the freezer and enjoy it a couple weeks later!

Ingredients

Extra-virgin olive oil

8 ounces Pancetta (cut into small bits)

1 ½ large Spanish onions (diced)

½ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Kosher salt

2 (28-Ounce) cans San Marzano tomatoes, passed through the food mill

**Seeds make the sauce bitter

1 pound linguine

½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus extra for garnish

Directions

Coat a large saucepan with oil and allow pancetta to cook over low heat until brown and crispy. Remove and set aside the pancetta and then increase saucepan to medium heat, adding the onions and crushed red pepper. Season generously with kosher salt, to taste. Cook onions until they are translucent and turning golden. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for about 1 hour, tasting periodically. Adjust the salt, as needed.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water (should be as salty as the Dead Sea) to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook al dente (about 1 minute less than the instructions on package call for). Then drain the pasta and add it directly to the pan of sauce. DO NOT rinse the pasta because then the sauce will not adhere to it!! Stir to coat the pasta with sauce, then add in the cheese and drizzle with a little olive oil. Toss to coat and serve with additional shaved Parmesan and fresh chopped basil!

Sunday - June 8, 2010

Pesto

Over the past two years I have both made and tried several different pesto recipes. However, being a college student on a budget, I could only make pesto when I had enough money to buy the outrageously expensive pine nuts (ohh how I dreaded buying the pignolis!!). But as my mom always says, “budgeting inspires creativity,” and sure enough I found a substitute for pine nuts….WALNUTS!! Same great taste, quarter of the price! This recipe, which is my own, uses equal parts of pine nuts and walnuts, giving the dish a greater depth of flavor and making it more affordable. I use this sauce on everything…pasta, grilled chicken, roasted veggies, sandwiches, and even as a salad dressing (equal parts pesto and balsamic vinegar). If you’re using it over pasta, add more olive oil (between a cup and a quarter to a cup and a half) so that the sauce is thinner, and when using it as a spread on sandwiches only add about a cup of oil so it is thicker.

Buen Provecho!

Ingredients

¼ cup walnuts

¼ cup pine nuts

3 tablespoons minced garlic

4 cups packed basil leaves

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup good extra virgin olive oil

*Possibly 1 ½ if you like your pesto thinner

Directions

Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with steel blade. Process for about 30 seconds and then ass the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. While the food processor is running, slowly pour the amount of desired olive oil through the feed tube into the bowl and process until the pesto is pureed. Then add the Parmesan and pulse for one minute. Serve or store in fridge!

Saturday- June 5, 2010

Gardner’s Market

305.476.9900

3117 Bird Avenue, Miami 33133

Hours: Monday-Sunday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM

Check out the Menu!

- Sandwich Menu -

This morning I woke up and said goodbye to the heat and humidity of Miami as I headed to the airport to catch my flight to my hometown, Philadelphia. I rushed my boyfriend out of bed and out of the house not even letting him shower, reminding him that my having time for one last meal in Miami was imperative…a “last supper” of sorts! I knew exactly what I wanted too, a Tuscan Sandwich from Gardner’s Market.

As far as prepared foods go, Gardner’s is the simply best. No joke, I’m there about four or five days a week. Gardners is a small market with a decent selection of groceries and produce, but their specialty is really prepared foods, which range from soups and sandwiches to turkey piccatta and twice-baked potatoes (not to mention their ridiculous salad bar). Everyday there is a selection of four homemade soups and some of my favorites are the Wild Mushroom Bisque (orgasmic…but rich), the Turkey Chili (a staple meal in my boyfriend’s diet), and the Butternut Squash Bisque. All of the soups are amazing though and you can sample any (or all) of them on your own before deciding which one to get!

Gardner’s Market also makes the best sandwiches. They use the best gourmet ingredients to make their sandwiches and have about 20 different combinations to choose from, or you can always create your own! My personal favorite is the Tuscan Sandwich, which has sliced chicken breast (not lunch meat, but actual grilled chicken breast!), spring mix, goat cheese, tomato, and pesto served on Ciabatta bread. Another great one is the Napa, which has grilled vegetables (cold), tomatoes, goat cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette. It is served on whole wheat French bread, but I find that the soft bread becomes soggy with the vinaigrette so I always get Ciatbatta instead and add pesto (yummm!). Gardners also makes a few hot sandwiches such as The Jeremy, which is roast beef, cheddar cheese, and spicy aioli all melted on Ciabatta bread. Now if you find yourself torn between ordering a sandwich or a soup as I often do, Gardners offers a solution. You can get a ½ sandwich (any sandwich…even modified if you want) and a small soup for just $4.99!!!! And this special runs all day, not just during lunch. However, it is NOT advertised anywhere in the store (probably because it’s not profitable…at that price it can’t be) so you just have to ask for half a sandwich at the sandwich bar, and they will gladly make you the special. That’s the other thing about Gardners, the people who work there are super friendly and will do just about anything to get your order right. The way that they make their sandwiches is so meticulous that it is almost an art form. They cut up all the vegetables tiny, and space out all of the ingredients evenly so that every bite taste the same. It’s perfection!

On days that you want a lighter option, Gardner’s Market has one of the most incredible salad bars that I have ever seen. They have every topping imaginable, along with a great selection of gourmet pasta salads and homemade dressings (no “Wish-Bone” salad dressing packets here!). Everything is kept clean, stocked, and cold at the salad bar, so you don’t have to worry about the chicken or feta cheese that you’re putting on your salad being spoiled.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the Gourmet Burgers, which my boyfriend and I just discovered about a month ago. They are available at the sandwich counter upon request every day and they are delicious! They start with a ½ pound freshly cooked beef patty and then all the condiments of your choice come free, including bacon and/or cheddar cheese. It is served on a fresh Kaiser roll and costs just $6.99!

Basically, you can’t go wrong at Gardener’s Market so try any and everything and I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Friday - June 4, 2010

Café Sambal

305.913.8358

500 Brickell Key Dr, Miami 33131

(In the Mandarin Oriental Hotel)

Check out the Menu!

My first time at Café Sambal was about 8 months ago with my boyfriend, and while we were driving there he said “baby, I’m taking you to a restaurant with one of the prettiest views in Miami.” He certainly wasn’t kidding because the outside of the restaurant is on the water, overlooking Brickell key and the rest of the city with a breathtaking view. Just make sure that you go on a warm night if you plan on sitting outside, because the water does create a breeze that can get rather chilly. If you end up sitting inside, you will find that the décor is very modern with clean lines, which seems fitting for the Japanese-inspired cuisine.

Tonight I went with my boyfriend and his family to Café Sambal for dinner, which was fun because as a group we ordered lots of appetizers and so I got to try a whole bunch of new things on the menu (I couldn’t wait to blog about it all!!). We started with the Steamed Edamame with Hawaiian sea salt (sounds fancy, but it was like the Edamame at every Japanese restaurant), the Lotus Chicken Wraps (really delicious, puts PF Chang’s version to shame), the Te Corvina Ceviche (not really my thing, but everyone else enjoyed it), and Dim Sum samples with chicken, vegetable, and beef (the beef was my favorite). For my entrée I ordered the Korean-Style Kobe Skirt Steak in spicy brown sauce, which is probably my favorite dish here to date. But I was disappointed that it wasn’t served with any sides…just steak on a plate. The brown sauce was good, but not even remotely spicy, so I asked for some type of hot sauce to put on my steak and they brought me a little dish of hot pepper heaven!! If you like spicy food then you have got to ask to try their hot sauce….it’s divine!

On other occasions I have also had the Chicken Pad Thai, which is very good and unusually light on oil (I can only imagine how god the hot sauce would be on this dish!!). I have also had the Crispy Tamarind Chicken, which good but very small. Although it did come with some mashed potatoes and string beans, the dish was not filling and I left the restaurant wanting to eat another meal. It’s not something I would ever order again.

Overall, I like this restaurant but I don’t love it. The menu is not inspiring or unique. The food is good, but not exceptional. There is no dish that I crave or feel that I can’t enjoy somewhere else. Basically, Café Sambal makes good Japanese food, but doesn’t take it to another level or create any signature dishes of flavors of their own. I think the restaurant is over priced for the rather average food that it serves, and I believe that there are many other Japanese restaurants more reasonably priced that offer a similar menu. I think that the beautiful view is the most inspiring thing about Café Sambal (the food certainly isn’t) and although I would eat there again, it isn’t a place that I’m dying to go back to.

Thursday - June 3, 2010

Greenstreet

305.444.0244

3468 Main Hwy, Coconut Grove 33133

Check out the Menu!

When I wake up hung-over, there are two things that I always crave: (1) a large glass of ice water; and (2) an omlette from Greenstreet. In my opinion, Greenstreet serves the best all around (and most reasonably priced) breakfast in the Miami area. Of course there are incredible brunches at the Biltmore and various South Beach hotels, but those are like $60 per person and unfeasible for every day (for a college kid no less!). Greenstreet on the other hand, will only cost you about $10 for breakfast and it is incredible…the omlettes especially! They are 3 egg omlettes cooked to perfection (not runny) served with your choice of grits, tomatoes, or home fries. I don’t care if you are on a diet or don’t normally order potatoes, but you MUST try these home fries because they are the best I have EVER tasted! You also get your choice of a toasted French baguette (my personal favorite), English muffin, rye toast, or bagel. It is a very substantial amount of food for the price. However, the best part about Greenstreet is that breakfast is conveniently served every day until 2:45 in the afternoon, which allows me some time to sleep off my hangover. But for those of you who can’t kick the hangover before getting there, Greenstreet supposedly makes some of the best Bloody Marys to help beat it. I wouldn’t know personally because I’m not a Bloody Mary fan, but look around on a Saturday or Sunday morning and almost everyone is sipping either a coffee or Bloody Mary so they are popular.

If you find yourself getting to Greenstreet past the breakfast hour, don’t worry because they also have delicious salads. My favorite is the Roman Salad with spring mix, feta, and cherry tomatoes, tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette. I always ask for grilled jerk chicken on top too, which is really my favorite part of any salad I order there. The chicken is thinly sliced down on a diagonal and is always served warm. They have regular grilled chicken too, but I encourage you to get the jerk because the spice rub is so flavorful. Also, this is a restaurant that you don’t have to ask for dressing on the side because their salads are dressed to perfection…always.

Another one of my favorite things at Greenstreet are the chips with guacamole and salsa, which are great to start. The chips are homemade and lightly salted, and the guacamole has a terrific lemony flavor (there is always tension at the table when it comes down to who will eat the last few chips). For a hot entrée, the Mushroom Triangole is very good. It is mushroom filled ravoli served in a creamy porcini sauce...yumm! The Chicken Vegetable Tofu Stir-Fry is also awesome and a really unique spin on stir-fry because the sauce it not your typical brown soy based sauce, but instead a light curry flavored sauce. Make sure that your hungry though because the portion is huge!! Basically, the only thing that I would not order from Greenstreet is the Chicken Provencial because the tomato sauce is not very authentic or homemade tasting, but everything else that I have tried here has been great.

As for the atmosphere of the place, on a nice day it could not be better. Greenstreet has a lot of outdoor seating on a nice corner in Coconut Grove so it is prime for people watching and enjoying the weather. There are large umbrellas to provide shade and the tables are comfortable. The inside of the place is much smaller and feels more like a library or a study with the large bookcases that adorn the walls (its cozy), I prefer to sit outside so try to go on a nice day or night. If you do go at night you’ll find that Greenstreet also has a great bar scene, and they are known for the red velvet couches lining the sidewalk that bring the lounge atmosphere outdoors. The mojitos are great and all drinks are half off after 11, so it’s very cheap (like $5 a drink).

Overall, Greenstreet is one of my favorite places to go in Miami because you can stay all day there and have something going on (I once did stay for 8 hours straight with a group of friends, ordering breakfast, then drinks, and then lunch and it was a blast!!). Ohhh and on top of it all, the service is great so you cannot go wrong!!

Wednesday - June 2, 2010

Piola

305.374.0031

1250 South Miami Avenue, Miami 33131

(Corner of SW 13^th Street)

Check out the Menu!

Three years ago I left my hometown in Philadelphia and moved to Miami to start college. Besides the obvious differences between the two cities, there were also MAJOR differences in the food that took some getting adjusted to. However, as adapted as I have become to Miami cuisine, the inability to find good bagels and good pizza remains a serious frustration. So on the very rare occasion that I do finally come across a good slice of pizza, I get all sorts of excited and tell every one of my Northern friends about my new discovery (when I found Piola…I shouted it from the roof tops).

My boyfriend and I actually came across Piola by chance one night after a late flight back from Spring Break. We headed straight to Brickell from the airport to meet friends and decided to stop at the first open food place we saw. Thankfully, that place turned out to be Piola!! We sat up at the bar and each ordered our own pizza. Roberto got the Diavola, which is a standard plain pie with spicy salami…and let me tell you, their salami is spicy (we both loved it, but that’s a warning for all you spice haters). I ordered the Miami Beach, which is a plain pie topped with cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and arugala (I also added garlic and kalamata olives to amp up the flavor). Both pizzas were incredible!! They are on a very thin crust, which is nice and crispy and the tomato sauce is great (not sweet, which is an odd new trend that my Italian side does not like). The pizzas are also large (about 12”) and really reasonably priced, even with the gourmet toppings (approx. $8-$10 per pie).

However, please note that I only give Piola’s PIZZA four stars, because tonight I ordered a couple salads for dinner and they were very disappointing. I asked for the dinner portion and they were as small as side salads!! Also, I added chicken to all of them and the chicken was so tough and clearly not freshly grilled, judging by the temperature…it was almost inedible. I have not ever tried the pasta dishes, but based on this experience tonight with the salads, I plan on sticking to pizza at Piola. Their tagline is “famosi per la pizza” for a reason, because pizza is what they do best. So order any one of their 40 or so pizza pie combinations and you will not be disappointed. I think that Piola is the best pizza in Miami along with Spris, which has locations on Lincoln Road and Miracle Mile.

Piola is open late and serves beer and wine. At the Brickell location that I go to, there is both outdoor and indoor seating…and plenty of it! Occasionally, they even have a live band or performer that is outside.

Tuesday - June 1, 2010

Vegetable Soup

By Alton Brown

After getting back to Miami from New York, I was craving some home cooked food. Don't get me wrong, I love going out to eat, but after a while I just start to crave something hearty, healthy, and homemade...and that describes Alton Brown’s garden vegetable soup perfectly. I have made this soup three or four times already and it is always delicious, although I do make some very minor modifications. The recipe below is my version, although you can find the original on the link at the bottom. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped leeks, white part only (from approximately 3 medium leeks)

2 tablespoons finely minced garlic

Kosher salt

2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds (approximately 2 medium)

2 cups peeled and diced Yukon potatoes (cubes)

2 cups fresh green beans, broken or cut into 3/4-inch pieces

2 quarts chicken broth

4 cups seeded, and chopped vine tomatoes (about 7)

½ cup frozen peas

1 ½ cups sliced baby bella mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 to 3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the leeks, garlic, and a pinch of salt and sweat until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, and green beans and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the tomatoes, mushrooms, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Add the frozen peas and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice. Season, to taste, with kosher salt. Serve immediately.

***I serve mine over ditalini pasta!

Check Out the Original Recipe

Tuesday - June 1, 2010

Corrado Bakeries

212.774.1904

They are located all over New York

Check out the Menu!

Before going to sleep on our last night in New York, I realized that I would want to pick up a quick breakfast before heading to the airport. I remembered that there was a great little bakery near the apartment and decided I would stop there in the morning to grab some food because as we all know, airport food is not only over priced but it is atrocious. So sure enough I got my butt out of bed extra early (which I would only do to satisfy my belly) and walked down to Corrado Bakery. I got an almond croissant, a ham and cheese croissant, and two fresh squeezed orange juices. The almond croissant was oddly disappointing, since I love their almond macaroon cookie (soooooo good). It didn’t have enough almond paste in the middle in my opinion so the almond flavor was lacking. The ham and cheese croissant was much better—I ended up eating it instead of my boyfriend. However, the best thing I have had from this bakery is the portobello and goat cheese sandwich, which sounds so simple but the foccacia bread that it is served on has a wonderful rosemary flavor and it is so much more flavorful than you would expect. If you like goat cheese as much as I do, then you have to try this sandwich. Also, the freshly squeezed orange juice is awesome…it just comes in the littlest cup so you have a couple of sips and it is sadly gone.

Monday - May 31, 2010

MXco

212.249.6080

1491 2nd Ave, New York 10075

(Corner of 78th St)

Check out the Menu!

It’s our last night in New York and after packing up the bags my boyfriend, Roberto, and I set out to find a late-night dinner spot. With no place in mind, we went walking around by his apartment basically looking for any place that was still serving dinner at the late hour of 11:30. We walked into one restaurant called Pil Pil (a Spanish tapas and wine bar) but it was so dark inside that we couldn’t read the menu. After using my blackberry as a flashlight, I discovered that I still couldn’t read the menu because well, it was in Spanish…with no translations! Although my boyfriend speaks Spanish, I wasn’t in the mood to hear him translate the entire menu and so the search continued. Next we found ourselves at a little Italian joint called Vero. Although they were running a great special—free Panini’s with the purchase of any drink (booze)—we were more in the mood for a real meal rather than a slice of bread to absorb our alcohol. The search finally ended when we sighted a couple munching on chips and salsa outside of a little place called Mxco. We decided to eat there since, as Roberto said, “you can never really go wrong with Mexican food!”

We ordered the Chicken Nachos to start and found ourselves pleasantly surprised by the combination of flavors. They used Chihuahua cheese (also sometimes called queso menonita) that was super rich and creamy, which kept all the nachos together nicely without making them soggy (soggy nachos are my pet peeve!). The nachos were topped with pico de gallo, a generous scoop of guacamole, and a drizzling of sour cream. But my favorite part of the nachos was the herb-pickled jalapeños, which had a really unique flavor when tasted on their own and added a great spicy kick to the dish overall (spice haters you’ve been warned). For our entree we decided to order two different types of tacos and share…we weren’t terribly hungry since our stomachs were still digesting our 5 O’clock breakfast. Each order came with two soft-shelled tacos so sharing was easy. First we had a Chorizo Taco, which had chipotle potatoes, salsa ranchera, queso blanco, and black beans. This one was undoubtedly our favorite of the two, and the flavors closely resembled those of Indian cuisine, almost like a samosa. It was unusual and unexpected but none-the-less delicious. Then we started on our Short Rib Tacos, which were simply prepared with pico de gallo and a tamarind-pasilla sauce. The meat was really tender and good, but not as interesting as the flavors of the chorizo taco. I must warn you though that the tacos were not, I repeat NOT, entrée-sized portions. They were more like tapas…I’m talking three bites and it’s gone!! Thankfully the nachos were rich and of a decent size so we left the restaurant satisfied, but we both agreed that the tacos, which ranged from $8-$10, were over priced for such a small amount of food.

As for the service at the restaurant...well it wasn’t that great. But I must remind you that we were seated at like 11:45 and they stopped serving at 12, and having been a waitress myself, I can understand that they were focused on closing the place. We did end up having to go inside to pay our check though because the waitress was MIA….annoying L

Overall, I would go back but only when I’m looking to have a light meal. I normally associate Mexican food with a full feeling afterwards thanks to Chipotle, which I love—I know it’s a chain, but I do love it—and Mxco did not have the portions to satisfy a hungry belly with just one entrée. However, the unique flavors were refreshing and all the ingredients were of high quality. I can only hope the service is better when they aren’t focused on closing at the end of the night.