NYC

I love going to NYC just to eat. I mean, lets be real, their restaurants rock. It’s actually a really hard decision of trying to figure out where to eat in NYC because there are JUST SO MANY PLACES!

Friday, we met up with Mr. Vietalian’s cousin in the Village. I’m so unfamiliar with the geography of NY but I’m getting better at it. Especially after looking at so many maps to figure out if I’m going in the right direction. We went to John’s Pizzaria. As the weirdo I am, I’m not a big fan of pizza. But I’ll eat it. I told them to get whatever they wanted and to not let my preferences hold them back. You have to see me eat a fully loaded pizza sometime. I can navigate around ham, peppers, mushrooms, onions, and anything else I don’t like like no other. This one wasn’t hard, the only thing I fully wouldn’t eat were the peppers. Being able to eat onions now is kind of cool. But this was our Friday. Concluded by a piece of Cheesecake in times square. I ran that morning I deserve that cake. My next goal for that area is going to The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. We passed it walking from the village back up to our hotel.

So Saturday morning I woke up hungry. I quickly yelped nearby bagel places. Guys, I’m in NY, I’m eating a bagel even though it’s empty carbs. I found Pick a Bagel 2 streets down. I got a garlic bagel, which is not as overpowering as it sounds. Non fat cream cheese. I forget how they LOAD the bagels with cream cheese. One part bagel, two parts cream cheese. Thank god it was fat free, but I still scraped a lot of it off. I shared the bagel with Mr. Vietalian and then also shared a cup of yogurt and granola. This cup of granola had nothing on our Trader Joe Greek Yogurt and Low fat Trader Joe Granola.

For lunch, well so I wanted a cheap knock off bag. So we were down in Chinatown after about an hour of searching for my bag and random clothes shop I was crashing and getting very hungry. So we walked probably about a mile to BobWhite Lunch and Supper Counter. I’ve seen it on 24 in 24, where the guy on Food Network tries to eat in NYC for 24$, which is insane by the way. I spent more than that on one meal, mostly because there was 2 of us and we like our side orders and stuff. I also saw this place on Padma Lakshmi’s instagram, so I knew it had to be good. I wasn’t at all disappointed. One of our cheaper real meals in the city. I had the juicy fried chicken supper which comes with a side of slaw and a biscuit. I loved the chicken, it had a fantastic crunch but was so moist and well seasoned. Then the biscuit wasn’t dry as most biscuits are. That’s generally why I don’t like biscuits. Mr. Vietalian got a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich and a side of cheesy grits. Turns out I don’t like grits, but I tried it. TWICE. But he says it was the best grits he’s had in the Northeast, as he’s comparing it to grits he’s had in the south, I’d say that’s pretty damn good. One of the guy’s Andy, he owns it partially but the guy cooking in the back really owns it. They said it’s old Kansas recipes. They’re open 12-10pm, which seems weird to NYC but they are a little out of the way and it makes the neighborhood they’re in happy. It’s a small little restaurant so going at 1pm was good timing on our part. I can see how the prices, food, and overall company of this restaurant will bring in hoards of customers.

For dinner we met up with Mr. Vietalian’s friend and because we were indecisive we went to a restaurant called Mooncake Foods. It was Asian fusion. I enjoyed watching Mr. Vietalian’s friend try to eat short ribs. They were the ribs you’d use for Kalbi with the little round bones in it. He couldn’t figure out how to get the meat off the bone, I showed him. I popped one in my mouth and used my teeth to pull the meat free from the bone, but he didn’t like the scraping it would do to his teeth. You gotta do what you gotta do. I had a salad since I wasn’t so hungry since BobWhite’s. Honestly I can eat like it’s my job so that always impressive. I had a shrimp salad, I should have asked for the cilantro not in it. I’d be eating and run into a really bitter something here and there. The dressing all fell to the bottom but it was delicious. More stirring of the salad! Mr. Vietalian had fish tacos which he enjoyed. I think they were a little more Asian than he expected. The menu is interesting, it has some legit food. But when it says “heros” they mean banh mi, and that threw me of. Deciphering what they really meant was more of a task than I wanted it to be.

We were going to meet up with some friends, but we had some time to kill. I went with the boys to a Hookah Lounge, didn’t partake. But the entire time I was confused why there was Hookah in a Latin restaurant. I did my research Hookah has middle eastern/Indian roots, why were we in a Latin restaurant? Oh well, no skin off my nose.

We met up with my friends on 32nd street. It’s amazing the way I navigate. I actually just looked on Yelp but it took us to Korean Way! Hah, leave it to the Asian to find the one Asian street and not even know it. We went to Spot’s Dessert Bar, which is not a bar. I should have looked into it better. It was a big food court with really good looking restaurants though. Just looking at it satisfied my Asian fix. But I got a Yuzu Eskimo. I’m still unsure of how to classify yuzu, but it was like a citrus ice cream cheesecake with an oreo bottom. And a side of strawberry puree and chocolate bits. It wasn’t bad but I wanted to eat my Red Velvet cupcake. It scored high on the cupcake scale, but not the best I ever had. I need to look into my Yelp Searches better before I settle on a place. We then trekked our way to Rattle and Hum. Turned out to be a bit of a dive bar, packed of course, and loud. I mean my goal was to be able to hear Samm talk, but you know what. The atmosphere was one we were familiar with. So why not. Everyone just got drinks. We sat at a table that was made out of a barrel. I’m a big fan of bars like this, no muss no fuss.

Sunday morning I returned to Pick A Bagel, got us each our own garlic bagels and some sandwiches for the bus. Not a super eventful NYC trip, but every time I go to NYC I remember how much I hate Times Square, the people, the rain, and the noise. It’s a nice place to visit but I’m much more comfortable exactly where I am.

 

There will be pictures…

But not right now.

So I’m still enjoying my new Crockpot. Some recipes are a hit or miss. I made a lemon chicken. What I love about doing meat in the slow cooker is all the juices that come out of the meat. I turn it into gravy. This time I was trying to turn it into a sauce to put on top whole wheat Penne pasta.

The recipe below has a great flavor. The wine and chicken broth really temper the lemon juice in a good way. Then the bouillon and chicken help to enhance it. I added broccoli to my end result (which was frozen or I would have just thrown it in the slow cooker half way through to soften it a bit). It’s not quite a piccata sauce, it’s less lemony than that. But it’s got a rich flavor, but lightness from all of the broths. I just wish it was less watery and more sauce like. Perhaps a little bit of cornstarch or flour will help me out with that next time I make it. And seriously I can’t get over turning on the slow cooker before I go to bed and waking up to some good eats in the morning. I think my next challenge will to make bread in the slow cooker. I hear that’s a thing.

 

Falafel and Puppy Chow

Sorry about the long break guys. I was at home in Hawaii stuffing my face, but with stuff I’ve already told you guys about. Side note: I have no idea how to use WordPress’s revamped page.

Now that I’m back in Boston, I was watching the Phantom Gourmet, which is a food show kind of like Diners, Drive ins, and Dives but all in New England. Right down the street, like literally the street I live on, walk on every single day, there is a Falafel place called Amsterdam Falafelshop. It’s this cute little shop with pictures of Amsterdam everywhere. The owners fell in love with Amsterdam and decided to bring it back with them.

I got the regular pita which only costs a dollar more than the small one, but gives you 2 extra falafel balls. Then you crush the balls in the pita, put the sauce in the pita, and then put toppings from the toppings bar into the pita. They have pickled turnips, pickles, cucumbers and onions. There are other things that I don’t eat like eggplant, crunchy onions, humus, etc. I was a big fan of the garlic sauce. I found that the falafel had a little bit of a kick since I’m very sensitive to spice.

Falafel balls are deep fried balls made out of chick peas, fava beans, both along with spices. The sauce that goes with it is the tahini sauce. I thought that this yogurt based sauce really helped to cut down on the spice. Even though this is a middle eastern street food it was quite difficult for me to eat at all let alone with one hand. This is a vegetarian friendly meal for those of you that are. If you’re not, it’s also still yummy. My opinion on falafels? Well it’s good. It’s not necessarily something I would crave, but it’s good and I’d eat it if offered.

So today I made Puppy Chow, not just any type of Puppy Chow. FUNFETTI PUPPY CHOW. It’s a mix of funfetti mix, powdered sugar, sprinkles, and melted white chocolate.

Ingredients

• 6 c. of rice chex
• 12 oz White Chocolate (Wilton’s melting candy)
• 1.5 c Funfetti Cake mix
• .5 c Powdered Sugar
• sprinkles

Directions

1. Melt the white chocolate down to a runny consistency. I put it in a glass bowl, boiled some water, and did a double boiler in my crock pot. (make sure no water gets into the chocolate) You can also microwave it and melt it, but it made such a better consistency.
2. Mix it with the 6 c. of rice chex, funfetti cake mix, and powdered sugar.
3. Spread out on parchment paper and allow to set.

 

New Year’s Resolutions and Quiche Follow Up

Quick follow up with my quiche. So it cooked and then we took it to grandma’s house, in which it was a little jiggly. Which is weird because it was totally solid when we were at home. Stuck it in the oven for another 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees. And it solidified. I would saute the onions before putting it in the pie pan. I just like softer onions and cooking that would provide that and make them feel less raw. But when all was said and done, it looked and tasted like quiche and that’s what matters. It was filling but light and I could even go for a run after.

Prepped mix

Finished Quiche, before we had to put it back in the oven

My progress so far

So it’s that time of year again. Everyone makes their New Year’s Resolutions and many of us will forget in about a month. And it’s pretty much public knowledge that the top resolution is to lose weight.

Here’s what I’m doing to my resolutions mine is a little bit more of an umbrella resolution. My resolution this year is to be happy and healthy. So under that umbrella, is of course, to lose about 10-15 more pounds. For the first time in a long time, I am in a normal BMI for my height. BMI stands for Body Mass Index; it’s the ratio of height to weight. A normal BMI rating is 18.5-24.9, above 25 is overweight (Anything over 30 is obese), under 18 is underweight. And yes, people come up with a lot of excuses to as why they might not reach their BMI. He/she might be naturally skinny, have a fast metabolism, he/she might have a lot of muscle but short. So I don’t put an incredibly huge stock into BMI but it’s something to be aware of. So I want to lose a little bit more weight because it’ll be a normal weight for my height and it’s something I want for me.

Also under that umbrella, I want to be happy. Being happy means that I’m going to eat something that boosts my mood. I want a job because that will make me happy. I want to help people, it’ll help to give me fulfillment and satisfaction. In addition, this means keeping people around that are positive and make me happy, distancing myself from those that don’t. And on the other side of the coin, I’m going to try to be more positive about people. I keep saying I hate people. And I do to an extent but hopefully I’ll be able to let things that people do that irritate me go easier. But, you believe me, I won’t be Suzy Sunshine immediately. Then lastly, not being so hard on myself. I’m incredibly hard on myself when I mess up, on a dish I made, a test, a lesson plan, or something as small as making reservations somewhere. So I believe it’ll make me happier if I can let these things go.

And being healthy, I want to eat healthier and exercise just enough (not overdo it). Something I’ve read recently reminded me that you will have cheat days and days where you overdo it. That’s life. Get over it. I need to remind myself this constantly since I’m home and it’s the holidays. I read an article about why men lose more weight, one of the reasons is that they get over their failure and jump right back on that horse. Another reason is that they give into small indulgence. One of my downfalls is french fries, double negative, fried and carbo loaded. But I’ve realized when I crave a burger, I’m usually only craving french fries. So I’ll eat a salad but with a side of fries. Little changes to the diet, like incorporating more greens and less sugar, is something that your body can get used to. In addition with the little changes just the changes in outlook as stated earlier is just one way you can start off your new year and resolutions with a kick.

Happy New Year

As I prepare myself to eat that soup I hate tomorrow morning, Ozoni, a Japanese soup (very broth like) with mochi on the bottom, I’m cooking up some very unhealthy foods to end the year. Not to mention to accompany that Ozoni I’ll be making a spinach quiche. So my problems with quiche are just how much eggs are involved. In this one I’ll be making it requires Mayonnaise, which I don’t like. And Eggs, which I also don’t like.

So for tonight, I’m trying my hands at potato au gratin. I’m using tips from Cook Fresh magazine and a recipe from All Recipes. Cook Fresh suggests to do a simmer with low sodium chicken broth, half and half, heavy cream, or milk to help remove the starchiness. Then I topped the Au Gratin with a light topping of breadcrumbs mixed with cheddar and Parmesan cheese. They turned out really well, just like restaurant type Au Gratin. It was softy, a lovely crunch on the top from the breadcrumbs and the cheddar bubbling and setting.

For the Chicken Fried Chicken, here’s what I’m taking away. Wash the chicken with vinegar before you cook it. Or ideally marinade it in buttermilk for 4 hours or more before hand. Don’t be stingy with your eggs. Cut it into smaller pieces so it’s easier to turn and cooks faster. And I just figured this out, use a spatula to cook both sides of the chicken not tongs. It keeps the breading on better. So this came out much better than it usually does.

As for the quiche tomorrow, everything is prepped. I set the pie pan and made the mix. I’m keeping them separated until tomorrow morning, I’ll wake up and pour the mix in, Bake it for an hour and head out to Grandma’s to eat my icky yucky soup and hopefully yummy quiche.

Chicken, breaded and frying

Chicken Fried Chicken, completed

Potatoes Au Gratin, I had to use a bigger casserole pan than the recipe said, they probably didn’t consider costco sized potatoes

Follow Up: Baked French Toast and Garlic Monkey Bread

So I tried the baked french toast. Granted I don’t eat french toast very often. But it tasted very much like the one I had at Thortons in Boston. I was worried because when I looked at it, it had water on the bottom and it was bubbling, so was it soggy? No, not more than usual. It was nice and crisp on the side that was on the bottom side of the pan and softer on the side that had the apples on top. The instructions were a little unclear if it should be chunks or slices. Slices would probably be better.

For Christmas dinner with prime rib, I made a garlic monkey bread. Some people think the origins of “Monkey Bread” is that monkeys tend to pick things apart like you do this type of pull apart bread. It had rosemary, oregano, and minced garlic. I think next time, I will use garlic paste and mix it into the butter mix that I dipped the slices of biscuit, it will also help from some people getting chunks of garlic in their bread. The garlic monkey bread is very well seasoned and extremely easy to make, even the most beginner chefs will be able to make this bread and people will think you’re a pro. This serves as a good side dish and a good appetizer. My next venture is a banana foster monkey bread, but this makes a great savory side dish and what not. So try it out and show them how it’s done!

Christmas

So I know it’s super common for people to be very excited about Christmas. And I am. But I admit a lot of the Christmas luster has faded for me. But then I look at people like Mr. Vietalian and his family that get so excited and I’m so amazed by their enthusiasm. I’m pretty envious of it, in fact.

Today we had a very laid back dinner. Mom, dad, Grandma, aunty, and me. Mom and I made stew today. She does that thing where she’s like “Oh you know eyeball the way the stew looks and you’ll know it’s ready” but…that’s not helpful. So I watched and kind of tried to keep track of everything she did.

I also prepped a Baked Apple French Toast that gets to sit overnight until it’s ready to be baked tomorrow morning. I will do a follow up post with pictures and how it turned out. It actually seems like a lot of sugar when I was preparing it. So I’ll see what needs to be altered because I might be doing this again for New Years. During New Years we usually order some specialized Japanese food, but we didn’t this year. So I might be making this again which could easily serve my family and hopefully it’ll taste as good as the reviews were.

Beef stew, cooking

French Toast, layer the slices. And maybe don’t use 6 apples.

Beef Stew Completed

Cornbread