The Last Hurrah in the Big Apple

Gelato from Eataly. Ok Capo, I think you've met your match. Pistachio + Hazelnet in a waffle cone? ZOMG I'm in heaven. 

Is it already almost the end of August? The experience of a milestone birthday, the end of a whirlwind internship, a spontaneous trip to Montreal and now I am back in my bed at home furiously sending out emails in preparation for the upcoming semester. I don't think I even remembered to do anything particular for the one-year anniversary of this blog or take any pictures of my Bday dinner. Sigh. Is this what happens when you officially grow up? Life starts moving like a fast forwarded movie? 

At least I'm still making time to smell the pork ramen along the way :) Leave it to me to wait until my last day in NYC to finallyy check off some foodie adventures that have been on "the list" since day 1. Guess that's why they always say better late than never. 

Momofuku Noodle Bar.  Momofuku Ramen with pork belly, pork shoulder and poached egg. Pork buns with hoisin and cucumber. I think I like the noodles at Momo better but the broth at Ippudo was definitely more flavorful. Pork buns are comparable although Momo's was clearly a lot fattier. Good food is still good food  :p

Momofuku Milk Bar. Cereal Milk Ice Cream & Grasshopper Pie (not shown).  For someone who doesn't really like the taste of milk (and yet ice cream is still my favorite food group...huh), cereal milk flavored ice cream was not really my thing but you gotta praise David Chang for his creativity.

After raving about Tamarind to my co-workers the first time around, guess who was lucky enough to go back for another spectacular (somewhat gluttinous) three-course lunch? This time it was with a new friend from work. Life is at its best when moments are the most serendipitous - especially when its the start of a new friendship :)

Spicy Lamb. Curry Chicken. Sadly, I do not remember the name of these dishes (not that I even knew how to pronounce it the fist time around).

Kashmiri Murgh (Chicken) and Bhagarey Paneer (Cottage Cheese)

Amritsari Machli (Marinated Fish) and Pudina Gosht (Boneless Lamb)

Side of Nan and Root Vegetables

Rice Pudding that wound up seeming more like Vanilla Mousse but still delicious :)

Norma's at Le Parker Meridien

My LAST brunch in the city. The brunch was decent but the servings were ENORMOUS including the coffee where they served you an entire kettle (per person).  Guess who was uber caffeinated for the rest of the day?? Check out their very expansive menu.

Normalita's Huevos Rancheros.

Crunchy French Toast with Warm Caramel Sauce. So this might just put RX's crunchy french toast to shame. IF only there had been some fruit with this dish! One can only take so much of super sweetness and dense delicious carbyness.

Dinner with T. at Pipas y Mas. The lighting at the restaurant was way wayy too dark for me to get any good ambiance shots but the restaurant's website does a pretty darn good job highlighting their extravagant lighting decor of 20 something chandeliers. We didn't really explore the full tapas menu but what we did get was yummmmy. And we took NYMag's recommendation on the piggy back dates which were indeed very tasty.

Catalan Flat Bread - Slized Chorizo, artichoke, tomato and piquillo pepper

Catalan Flat Bread - wild mushrooms, serrano ham, manchego cheese, caramelized onion, almonds and truffle oil.

Piggy Back Dates - almond stuffed, bacon wrapped dates with endive leaves.

Cooking class and dinner at the Institute of Culinary Education. We had the choice of helping with one of three courses - guess who opted to help with the peanut butter/chocolate goodness dessert?? 

Making caramel (apparently you are supposed to add salt at the end of the heating process to make the flavor pop which in hindsight is kind of intuitive considering PinkBerry now sells salted caramel fro-yo but still...now it makes me want to go make caramel!), whipping up peanut butter mousse and stirring up chocolate cake batter.

Risotto with medley of vegetables.

Steak with fingerling potatoes and asparagus.

Chocolate cake with peanut mousse and caramel sauce.

Not to shabby for a wrap-up of the city that never sleeps. Lets see if I can crank out the posts I have from Montreal before I head out to Penn. Farewell NYC! Until next time ;)

Prequel to the Fourth of July!

Got a backlog of pictures and stories to share after not blogging for a whole two weeks! Usually what happens is I'll start editing and collaging the pictures at night after I get home from my work but by the time I get through a handful of pictures, I realize it is already bedtime. I've also gotten a little lazy about taking pictures since some of the eats have become a little repetitive and I want to keep these posts exciting :)

Anyways, first up on deck is brunch! Yes this is my 50 millionth post about brunch and yes, every time I post about brunch, I rave about how it is the best brunch I have ever had. Well, this is the official one (for now anyways). It is better than Sabrina's, better than RX and better than TapHouse. The brunch menu at La Silhouette is somewhat limited and the staff is a little too lean for good service but they have the most amazing eggs benedict I have ever ever ever eaten. It's not just the poached egg and smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce that makes the dish the best of the best, its also the side of perfectly crispy caesar salad and seasoned herbed potatoes and the fact that they give you two poached eggs that makes the dish one of the most perfectly scrumptous packages I have ever encountered. To make matters even better, the lighting in the dining room, akin to a Hamptons sun-room decked out with white linens, was ideal for some picture-taking.

The week before, my roommates and I had tried to grab dinner at the famed Italian restaurant Scarpetta but of course, being newbies to the NY scene - we couldn't snag a reservation and the only dinner opening they had left for walk-ins was 11pm. After wafting in all of the savory aromas of good Italian cooking, I was craving some pasta.

So last week, I had a mini reunion with 3 of my friends from Governor's School which gave me the perfect excuse to seek out a yummy Italian place. A quick yelp search and I dug up Georgios of Gramercy. The scene was surprisingly idle despite it being 8pm on a Saturday night: with a modestly priced and well crafted menu - I was even more surprised that there weren't more people in the quaint dining area.  The menu offers had the option of ordering "appetizer" size or entree size for the pasta dishes although my "appetizer" size was enough to seriously fill me up for the rest of the night.

Last Wednesday, I got to meet my work mentor for the summer and was lucky enough to get to try out Tamarind: an absolutely delightful restaurant with an array of Indian cuisine from various different regions. The pictures from my phone are a little off since we were impatient to eat but fortunately, the food speaks for itself. 

Too much time blogging and not enough time to get ready for dinner. GR! Ok, will have some real stories (as opposed to food stories) and 2 more posts by weekend end!

College Eats: Chicken Curry! (my way) & a new grain

 

Most people find Indian cooking to be a little intimidating because there are so many spices and ingredients. Although, I barely know the start of Indian cuisine, I do know that its really not that complicated - especially if all you're looking for is a little "curry" once in awhile. Of course curry is another American invention since there is no such spice called curry. Its actually a blend of turmeric (which is what give dishes that gorgeous yellow hue) and Garam Masala (literally means "hot spices").
 
One of my good friends from high school was Indian and she had the most adorable mom ever. As soon as her mom heard of my passion for cooking, she instantly whipped out bags of spices for me to cart off to college. Most Indian cooks make their own blend of Garam Masala and my blend comes from my friend's amazing mom (as well as the turmeric). Once you have these two ingredients, all you need is some veggies and meat.

I used chicken as well as potatoes and onions for my dish. I've also made this before using potatoes, chick peas, tomatoes and eggplants which also turned out quite nice :)

Other ingredients included some salt, pepper and garlic powder. The bag in the front on the right is a curry mix I once picked up from a farmer's marketing. Turmeric is in the middle front and the Garam Masala is the container with the white lid.

I used thighs/drumsticks since I find it to be more flavorful than chicken breasts. Although it's a little more work trimming off the fat/skin and cutting the meat from the bone, its only about an extra 7 minutes worth of prep. Threw the chicken in the pan with olive oil, cooking wine (1-2tbsp), 1tsp of salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Cooked the potatoes and onions in a separate pot since they have a longer cooking time. Added about a cup of water and waited for everything to cook down. Adding the water helps prevent burning/sticking and it also brings out the starch of the potatoes giving you a nice sauce when you mix everything together :)

Added 1 tbs of Garam Masala and 1/2 tsp of Turmeric once I mixed the veggies with the meat.

Of course it is not a proper meal unless I cover my food in Sirracha.

Bon Appetit!


Side Post: I put my curry over Quinoa (pronounced k-know-a...something like that....) instead of rice since its a much healthier alternative and it is also just as tasty! Quinoa is a gluten-free and wheat-free grain which also keeps you fuller longer.

A lot of people also seem to be intimidated when they hear Quinoa, but its just as easy as making rice in a rice cooker! Here's how I do it: You want a 1:2 ration of grain to liquid. I love using broth instead of water because it makes the dish much more flavorful. Pour the two ingredients and dash of salt into a pot and bring to a boil. Once its boiling, cover the pot and reduce to a simmer. After 20 minutes, fluff it a little and you have a meal in itself!

Some yummy variations: Saute mushrooms, onions, carrots or celery before and plop them in with the quinoa.