Collard Greens with Slab Bacon

 I love cooking collard greens. This dish is super simple and super yummy. First, cut the leaf of the green from the stem. Cut leaves into pieces. Set pile of leaves to side. When finished take slab bacon. Slice into pieces. You're going to saute the bacon first. Let it get as crispy as you desire. Leave grease and all in pot.

 Add two cups of water and start piling in the greens. If you're using a small pot (like me), cover the pot  with a lid and let the greens wilt down a bit. Keep stuffing greens in until you get them all. Add 2 more cups of water. Cover and let cook on low heat for about 2 hours. I also added one capful of Liquid Smoke and 1 tbsp of garlic.

The result: salty, smoky greens with little morsels of slab bacon. Southern perfection!

Red Snapper with Tarragon Sauce

I don't cook fish that often. Usually when I do, it's because I feel like I've been eating horrible and want to feel better about myself. This dish did the trick.

What you need:
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 pound red snapper
5 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp Fresh tarragon; chopped
1 sm Shallot; peeled and minced

Preheat oven to 350. Place fish skin side down in a foil-lined pan. To make the sauce, heat oil and shallots and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. (You should have about 1/2 cup.) Preheat the broiler. Place the sauce on top of fish and cover with another piece of foil. (Note: I also threw in some baby potatoes that I had rinsed and quartered). Bake 20 minutes then remove foil and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Galaxy Diner

We went with friends to a wedding in CT yesterday and on the way back to the city we stopped to say hi to our friends mom. The plan was to have dinner at the diner. My sous chef said he wanted to go to the best diner that they had, so we ended up at the Galaxy Diner in Bridgeport, CT. I had a dish called "The Satellite": grilled white American cheese with extra crispy bacon, tomato and a mountain of french fries. It came with a side of coleslaw (which I ate happily since it wasn't all mayonnaisey). It was good - I was already full and I ate it all anyway. The ambiance was a diner that was trying to be a restaurant: You could tell they had expanded years ago for more dining space and I even spied a wine rack on the back wall. But as much as they tried, they couldn't hide the oversized menus with everything under the sun on them and the old fashioned counter seats right as you walked in. Good job, Bridgeport.

Savory Mexican Pie

I found a recipe online for Mexican Humble Pie and since I'm resourceful, I doctored the recipe to use some leftover ingredients in our fridge. I was a little skeptical about the crust - it came out buttery and flaky and delicious! I was also not sure about the egg mixture on top. I didn't taste egg at all when I was eating these. I think it just helped to keep everything together. Man, I reaaaally enjoyed this. If you love Mexican food, you need to try this. I served mine with a dollop of sour cream.

What you need:

1 homemade pie crust (recipe below)

1 can corn, drained and rinsed

1 cup chili con queso

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon smokey paprika

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup salsa (I used hot)

2 eggs

2 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon olive oil

6 - 8  ounces ground beef

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the corn, queso dip, chili, paprika, green onions, and salsa. Mix to combine. Whisk together the two eggs and the shredded cheese. Heat olive oil in non-stick skillet. Add the shallot, saute a bit, then the beef. Cook until browned. Combine the corn mixture and meat. Mix and pour into pie crust. Pour the egg and cheese mixture on top. Cook for about 40-45 minutes until egg is done and cheese is melted.

Ingredients for crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled and diced
1/4 cup ice water


Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Roll dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place crust in pie plate. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate. IMPORTANT: Cook pie crust at 375 for 15 minutes before filling it.                

Chicken Noodle Soup

I woke up this morning and I was craving something homey. This is great and I conveniently had everything I needed.

Ingredients

1 tsp butter

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth and one can of water

1/2 pound cooked chicken breast (boiled and shredded by hand)

1 1/2 cups ziti pasta noodles

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, combine everything except chicken. If you want to use butter in this recipe cook onion and celery in butter until just tender, 5 minutes then pour in chicken broth and stir in everything else. If not, it tastes fine without it. Boil chicken then cool and pull apart by hand. Add to pot of goodness. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes before serving. Remove bay leaf. Serve.               

The New Improved Rai Rai Ken

 Rai Rai Ken moved ya'll. They are still on 10th St but now they are a few doors down and guess what? They have more space (which means more seating) and new additions to the menu. Hollar! These beauties are steamed pork buns. They were yummy, but not the best in NYC.

 My beauty - Miso Ramen. It is divine: chicken, cabbage, noodles, fried garlic slivers, scallions. Mmmm... soooo good.

We left with parting gifts - our own ramen to make at home! How sweet?! I love this place.

Toasties

Ah, the places to eat around the office. Most of them bad and super expensive. Today I went to Toasties on John St. and while I usually get the  House #1 combo (pastrami and corn beef with swiss, coleslaw and Russian dressing), today I got the Philly. I should've stuck to my #1. This sammy is okay but the meat was a little too fatty for me. The good part about Toasties is that you can split this sammy with someone and still be full - so it's not super expensive when you do that. Do yourself a favor - if you go here, just get the #1 and DON'T go right at noon. (Unless you want to wait 20 min)