A blogger seeking a richer life... in a wasteland called the suburbs... for my family, myself, and anyone who will listen!
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Friday, April 1, 2011

Music,The Met, and a Food Hall

As a visual artist I have always appreciated music as an avid listener up until about seven years ago...   but now that my two teen boys are into music in a big way as musicians,  I've taken an more involved interest through them.
Whenever I see or hear about events related to music my ears perk up, so when I heard about this show at The Met (NYC) called "Guitar Heroes", an exhibit of stringed instruments, violins, mandolins, and guitars, I knew it was something we could make a day of in the city...


This exhibit of "Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York" is on now through July 4th, 2011.
This is now on our list of things to do on Spring Break.

Maybe we'll check out The Plaza Food Hall, which I've heard is a tasty and fun experience for the kids too, especially the Dumpling Bar... you can eat-in at any of eight culinary food stations or take-out specialty foods, cookware, flowers and home goods.

See you there!!!


Thursday, February 10, 2011

What's in a Name?

It was suggested to me yesterday that my blog needs a better name... and that is so true.  It's something I've wanted to do for a long time now and just turned a blind eye to such an important part of how much exposure one gets in the blogosphere.
So today I'm asking your help... knowing my voice (if you're a regular)... what would you name it?
Names are important, especially to search engines... branding, readership... it's all part of it.
"How To Name Your Blog: What Makes a Great Name?", these are the articles I need to read and think about as I set out to step up the job of blogging and expand my readership.
First and foremost I need to be clear about what this blog is about... like my tag line says... after a year and a half of writing, it's still about... "surviving the suburbs with style... seeking a richer life... in a wasteland called the suburbs... for my family, myself, and anyone who will listen!".

Food...Heart Beets, February 4, 2010








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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Genuinely Fresh

Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in Miami's burgeoning Design district is a neighborhood bistro offering contemporary American Cuisine from chef Michael Schwartz, in a friendly indoor/outdoor setting.  The dishes are grouped by size not kind, as in small, medium, large, extra large, so depending on your appetite and how many dishes you would like to taste you can order accordingly.
It was Super Bowl Sunday when we ate dinner at this popular bistro, which is why we were able to get a reservation with only a few days notice, but I would plan ahead otherwise...
We shared these three small and medium dishes and one large dish which is not shown here (blame the wine)...
This crispy pork belly with kimchi (spicy korean cabbage) is a great contrast of flavors.  The best prepared pork belly I ever had was in New Orleans, but this is wildly creative and delicious surprise...
 Crispy Sweet & Spicy Pork Belly
 Chargrilled Octopus
 Wood Oven Roasted Local Eggplant

The creamsicle pot de creme is delicious just by itself, but then add the doughnut and jam and it's close to heaven!...
 Tangerine Creamsicle Pot de Creme
 'The Hand' zoning in on my second doughnut
Blackberry Tarragon Jam

We left Michael's satisfied but not full, which is the best way to eat and I bought a signed copy of his new cookbook which is scheduled for general release on February 15th...

Thanks to my sister for the hot tip on Michael's Genuine.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Old Habits

I know I get stuck in old habits just as well as the next person... it's part of who we are, all those experiences that lead up to now, make us who we are, sometimes no matter how hard we want to change.  Get to the point already right?... nothing heavy, it's just that I sometimes get frustrated when I make a delicious and healthy dinner, something different with a beautiful sauce and hubby breaks out a jar of Saucy Susan (basically duck sauce) and says, "Oh this would be good with it!"... the kids know what's coming when the glare from me is enough to sizzle the entire dinner table into a minuscule pile of ashes... and he then says, "What's wrong with that?"...

For some it's putting ketchup on everything!  For my husband, who grew up eating a lot of chinese food (his mother was a terrible cook), especially as a bachelor, his favorite chinese dish is still Cantonese style Sweet and Sour Pork.  The funny thing (trying to laugh) is that he's a guy who prides himself in healthy eating!!!... he barely eats any red meat, lot's of fish, salads, nuts, and whole grains... old habits die hard, and I guess if that's the worst thing then...
Anyway, I try to keep a sense of humor about it, which is not easy when you are cursed with highly developed taste buds... no joke, I can really tell when a food is thinking about going bad, or stale, or has just a little refrigerator burn and he'll drink sour milk and not realize it!
At least Saucy Susan has some apricot in it.  
Oh, I DO love it when he reads me descriptive articles about the great restaurants of the world... and then we fantasize about flying to them.  Love you honey!
What are your old food habits?  I like rich fatty meats.... there I said it... I do avoid them most of the time, but they taste so good,  especially when I see them being prepared on the Food Network by some of the greatest chefs... or when Anthony Bourdain eats greasy street food it really gets me salivating.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Alla Puttanesca

A quick and tasty pasta dish my whole family loves is always very satisfying, like this Linguine alla Puttanesca made from a dried mix straight from Italia via Brooklyn...

Marinella Brand

I purchased it from my local market, Seven Brothers, in East Northport, NY.
The owner recommended it the other day and I'm happy he did.  I'll be going back for more...

Cooks up fast with directions in broken English on the back of the package

Served it with baby cucumbers and Blue Cheese dressing... fast and easy!

Hope you can find it near you!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Pasta Tonnato (Tuna): a Favorite!

I haven't posted a food blog in awhile so here's one of my favorite dishes and healthy too... a great away to start the New Year...
Pasta Tonnato or Tuna Pasta... a delicious and economical dinner which I made even more healthy for myself by adding string beans and keeping the pasta to a minimum.  One of my kids loves this dish with the string beans or broccoli on the side, the other just doesn't even like the smell of tuna from afar!
I always keep a few jars of this lovely stuff on hand, any good Italian tuna will do, as well as a jar of the nonpareil (little) capers...


Ingredients:
2 cans of Italian tuna
1 onion chopped 
extra virgin olive oil
nonpareil capers
flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper
butter (for the string beans)
optional: grated parmesan reggiano cheese
optional: for a side or with the pasta steam fresh string beans (about a 1/2 pound)


Cook your pasta, rigatoni, spaghetti, whatever you have around, al dente (firm) drain and toss with enough olive oil so it doesn't stick together and put aside.  While pasta is cooking, in a saute pan, put a few tablespoons of olive oil and saute a small onion on medium heat until it's soft and translucent not brown.  Add the cans of tuna with their oil to the pan along with about 11/2 tablespoons of drained capers and mix breaking apart the tuna.  Chop the parsley fine and add a tablespoonful to the pan reserving some to add just before serving. Add  the pasta to the tuna mixture in the pan and additional olive oil if needed and toss until evenly coated.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Add parley and serve.
I steamed the string beans in the microwave until just soft for about 6 minutes and added a little butter to coat. Serve as a side to the pasta or as I did on top... it delicious!
Optional: add grated parmesan cheese to taste.   

I'll often make this dish in a pinch and many times without the parsley when I have not planned anything for dinner.

Bon appetite!

Friday, December 31, 2010

216

This is my 216th and last blog post this year!... not enough I say... or is it quality not quantity?  My goal for 2011 is to take the blog to the next level.  What does that mean you say?  It means that way more people need to see the blog and I want to make money doing it too.  There that's a New Year's resolution in the making.
I did get a paying freelance writing job this year from an editor seeing the blog... that's pretty good right?... and I get to write a food column to boot.  I should be pretty happy about that right?
Yes I am... but hey things get in the way... life gets in the way... but I'm having FUN with life getting in the way!!!
My youngest child will be turning 13 this spring... boohoo... no more babies or kids... little men... or kinda big strong men since they hit the gym about 4 times a week now!

I'm not ready to let go of 2010 this morning... there's that beautiful scarf (I didn't photograph it either) I bought on our trip to San Francisco that I can't find and probably lost (not in the house) last week.
Looking back on some blog posts... I still love... Sriracha hot sauce, Lululemon workout clothing, watching the Oscars, Trader Joe's, cooking, taking my kids to NYC, Toasted Marshmallow Shakes, fish tacos, driveway tennis, shoe shopping and bag shopping... and shopping and writing about issues that are important to so many women and issues that are important to women with teen and tween kids!

Thank you to all those friends and readers of my blog.  I really appreciate your support this year...  even though I didn't go out with a bang and I took off some time these last few weeks I hope you'll continue to go through 2011 with me... I'm looking forward to a great new year.

Photos from December 31st last year...
My 12 year old and our dog

Fish tacos I made for a New Years party


Thanks again and Happy New Year!!!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Latkes!

I made latkes for my family last night.  If you've ever made them you know how much work they are and then I was carpooling the kids, so I got a break before frying them.  One of my kids said he wasn't hungry for dinner after all that too... wanted to kill him... sweetness and light that he is.... I controlled myself.
Anyway, I photographed them and was going to show them to you this morning, but then I visited one of my favorite bloggers, Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere, I saw that she also made them last night and did a beautiful job on her photos with a link to a recipe that I also used from memory...

photo by Emily of Cupcakes and Cashmere
photo by Emily of Cupcakes and Cashmere

I squeezed the shredded potato dry and didn't use the cheesecloth method.  I've also made a version with shredded carrots in them which is also delicious and sweetens them.
When I called my mother last night to tell her I was making latkes she told me that she used to sometimes make them with Gruyere cheese and they were so wonderful... I have no memory of latkes with cheese, but I bet they were good, they sound good and she's such a good cook.
Next time Mom!!!

Friday, October 29, 2010

SF Restaurant Mania

I was a little crazy about where we were going to dine in SF...  with only four nights and memories (11 years worth) of great meals in this foodie, forward thinking town there was a lot of pressure... Our first meal was at La Mar, a Peruvian hotspot that was good ('cebiche') but not great, with the exception of the servers... they were terrific, and not just from our experience but afterward we heard a buzz about them too.

Prospect, Nancy Oakes' new restaurant (1st hit... Boulevard) with chef Ravi Kapur was outstanding in it's contemporary American cuisine including cocktails.  The dining room is warm and relaxed, but a bit nondescript... 
Wagyu Zabuton
Chicken Roulade

Wagyu Zabuton is a Japanese steak with marbling that makes it melt in your mouth!
I don't usually order steak at a restaurant, but this came highly recommended and it was worth every bite.
My husband had the chicken which they transformed into a most delicate and tasty dish beyond our expectations too.

Our last and final dining spot was a hit and a great way to end our stay in SF... it was Campania, Italy (southern part near Naples) by way of San Francisco.  It was casual, warm, boisterous, and chic... serving fabulous pizzas (and much more) paired with unusual wines... oh, and we let our server choose the wine... good decision.
We had a guest dining with us so I was distracted and we ate all the delicious food before I had a chance to get photos... sorry, but this is a must on your visit and you'll be on Chestnut street where there is great shopping so you can kill two... 

Bon Appetit... and Happy Halloween!
I love candy corn and the way it melts in my mouth... what's your favorite candy?

Thursday, October 28, 2010

From San Fran

It was great to go back and see old friends and old places in San Francisco.  When we first arrived so did the first winter storm with colder temps and lots of wind and rain...
Last Sunday
So we spent a good part of the afternoon at the Ferry Building Marketplace which is filled with gourmet food shops and restaurants... 
...from coffee to fungi... from cheese to crab we managed to eat our way through...
By Monday morning the weather had cleared and it was sunny in the low 60's, perfect for walking the city and we did... somehow after all these years, I never forgot my way around and the memories of a distant life came rushing back...
Tomorrow I'll tell you about great restaurants we dined in... North Beach, my old school and more...







Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Time Stands Still

Making our way to the roof
Big Bambu'
The stunning 'Khubilai Khan' in the China exhibit

The lobby of the Met

After a great time at the Met on Sunday seeing the outdoor installation of "Big Bambu' we headed downtown to Chinatown for dinner.  I had a list of possible restaurants I did some research on but nothing definitive... the foodie in me was not confident about anything on my list as I even tried to pin one place down (using my Droid) on the cab ride down to Chinatown.  We wanted Szechuan, but my sister-in-law was pushing for an old-fashioned Cantonese reminiscent of our childhood... we landed at Wo Hop on Mott Street, a solid choice with classic dishes like lobster cantonese, sweet and sour pork, egg foo young, etc... maybe not as good as I remembered.  While they waited on line, I walked over to Joe's Shanghai, a better choice for a gourmet treat, but they were ready to seat us so my family called me back to Wo Hop...




Friday, October 8, 2010

Let's Eat Pumpkin Cake!

Bring it on... I know it's hard to believe we're in October already, but believe it... and October means pumpkin bread, specifically Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread and Muffin Mix, shhhhh... don't your guests they're from a mix because they won't believe it anyway... it's that good!  Oh, just be careful, it's hard to stop eating and the calories are plentiful... 250 calories per serving!  I've made it both ways, the bread and muffins and I prefer the bread... My kids plow through it leaving only crumbs... better for my waistline anyway...

If you're a little more ambitious, which I may be this weekend, I'm going to try these outrageous cupcakes I spotted in my recent issue of House Beautiful from my favorite chef, Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa...
They look so delicious...

Happy Friday and please let me know if you're enjoying my blog by leaving a short comment... your feedback is what keeps me going, thanks.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Easy Turkey Chili

Longer than 30 minutes is what I would call this recipe from the 'Food Network'... Don't get me wrong it turned out to be quite delicious with a few tweaks here and there, it's just that simmering it longer thickens it and intensifies the flavor.  I simmered for about 3/4 of an hour.  Turned off the heat because I had to take my son to a music lesson and then I came home and warmed it back up again... it was very tasty.

I changed a few things... for instance I didn't have chipotle chili en adobo with sauce, so I used a 1/3 of a poblano chile pepper and added a green bell pepper for a mild heat and some crunch.  The beer adds great flavor and the garnishes give it a freshness... it's my kids favorite part.  They feel like they're part of the cooking process.  That's why they like taco and burrito dinners because they put the amount of what they like together. 
For garnishes (or condiments), I used a mix of mexican cheeses pre-packaged by Sorrento, fresh cilantro (my favorite), scallion (green onion), and these dried Jalapeno Pepper Flakes from "Victoria Gourmet", which I purchased on one of my trips to TJ Maxx, where they have great bargains on gourmet food.  I know, most Moms go there for the clothes...


What's your favorite Chili recipe?