Potato and Mushroom Salad

I made this the other day and it was delicious.  More importantly these days, it's SO EASY!  (Healthy, too!)  Get some red potatoes, I had six from the Farmer's Market, and cut them into four.  Drizzle some olive oil on a pan, put the potatoes on the pan, and pop them in the oven at 450 degrees.  Get some oyster mushrooms, I just had a package from the ever-classy C-Town grocery store, de-stem them and put them on a pan with some olive oil just like the potatoes.

While those are in the oven getting nice and browned/crisp, put a couple tablespoons of capers and some chopped up parsley into a bowl.   

Once the potatoes and mushrooms are out, about 15 minutes, toss them with the capers and parsley, add a bit of red wine vinegar and a dash of salt and pepper...BADA BING BADA BOOM!  It's tasty, filling, healthy, and simple.  Why can't everything be this easy?

My Article About the 'Today' Food Stylist for Serious Eats

This is Bianca Henry.  She is the long-standing Food Stylist for NBC's 'Today' show.  I went to the studio and talked with her the other week, following her into the kitchen and learning about her job and her career path.  The ensuing article was posted on Serious Eats today.  Click here to read it!!

Dark Chocolate Dreams

 

Say hello to my newest addiction.  Peanut butter mixed with dark chocolate: two of my favorite things in life...together.  I have Peanut Butter and Co. to thank (and blame).

An Ode To Restaurant Week

Inspired by my Restaurant Week lunch at Quality Meats

A rustic wooden door in Midtown West:

Quality Meats, distinguish from the rest.

I anticipate a feast,

Or an above average meal, at least.

The appetizers: scallops--seared, not greased--

Once inside my mouth they melt.

Then comes the skirt steak, whose mere sight is felt.

I challenge you not to unhook your belt.

A subtle gravy, it's mate.

Out pops dessert, and not a second late.

Three courses, plus Malbec, at such a rate!

I bow to you, Restaurant Week.

Food this good is worth losing your physique.

How did I become such a foodie freak?
Cheers to you, New York City. 

Note: I am aware that this is an irregular ode since it lacks the three-part form of the classic Pindaric ode.

Brooklyn Taco Experiment

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Brooklyn Taco Experiment, a cook-off hosted by Nick Suarez and Theo Peck who together have created "The Food Experiments."  Cheese, chocolate, and beer are all endeavors they have conquered, and yesterday marked their foray into cocina Mexicana: TACOS!  All of the thirty competing chefs were giving the same tortillas to serve their fillings on, to even the playing field, so the competition was all about the fillings.  The above picture represents a mere seven of the thirty tacos I ate yesterday.  Needless to say, I left the cook-off venue, The Bell House, bursting at the seams, but extremely satisfied.

For my review of this event on Serious Eats, click here.

Vampire Weekend

 

Vampire Weekend at Webster Hall on 1/18/2010

Last year I went to Webster Hall with my older brother, Brian, to see Nikka Costa perform.  It was a great show, showcasing the tunes of some legitimately talented musicians.   The venue complimented their style of music: funky tunes with a groovable bass line and soulful vocals. When I walked into Webster Hall a couple Mondays ago with my friend Japhet (who I am now indebted to for turning me into a true VW fan), I had positive memories of the Nikka Costa show and was wondering how a band like Vampire Weekend--more alternative, indie rock--would fare in Webster Hall.  

They rocked it.  Webster Hall may not have been the most perfect venue for Vampire Weekend (whose name, by the way, has nothing to do with the recent vampire craze), but they still managed to convert me from a sporadic listener to a fan.  I got their newest album, Contra, as soon as I could and now have a playlist devoted to them.  

And the drummer, Chris Tomson, is really hot.  Had to throw that in. 

 

I Came For the Bread Basket

The Farm on Adderley is one of my favorite restaurants in New York City. I am seduced by its charm: the big wooden tables, mismatched chairs that look like they are from another era, quirky modern designs on the walls, and in the summer, their quaint, flowery garden. Everything about it is inviting, from its open kitchen to the earthy exposed brick.  I walk in and I feel comforted, even condoled.

Then there's the food. It is New American style cuisine, with a constantly rotating menu based on the season. Fresh food, amazing tastes. (Grilled char with roasted beets, green lentils, and pickled garlic.  Acorn squash tart with carmelized onions, goat cheese, and frilly mustard greens).  Their brunch is no less impressive than dinner, and they have just announced a breakfast menu, which I am excited to try--even if it means waking up at an ungodly hour to make it to Ditmas Park before catching the Q for my journey into Manhattan. 

The other night I went for dinner with a group of friends (one of whom had never been and admitted, after the fact, that with a name like "The Farm," she was expecting haystacks and plaid).  We settled in with aromatic glasses of swirling red wine and I thought I knew exactly what pleasures awaited me.  I was wrong.  Our complimentary pre-dinner bread basket arrived as a plate stacked tall with rosemary focaccia bread.

Hot-from-the-oven, made in-house, moist, rosemary focaccia bread.  It was so delicious that I was tempted to fill up on it and take my dinner of pork meatballs on a bed of winter vegetables back in a doggy bag.  So although I did not go to The Farm for their bread basket...I will go back for it.  Not exclusively for the bread, mind you, but the more I eat it the more I crave it.

This bread basket surprise was the impetus for an idea that I pitched to my colleagues at Serious Eats: what is the best bread basket in New York?  We posted this question on the site and are asking readers to give their opinion, which we will hopefully further explore and do a round-up.  Stay tuned...