Mono Mono

We ate at Mono Mono the other night for Alicia's Surprise B.day dinner! You can find this spot in the fabulous East Village - (which is convenient for me) but this place is cool! They have over 30,000 vinyl records played through vintage tube amplifiers. The place is a Korean chicken heaven, but not only that - the Soju comes with flowers...how nice...

Korean Fried Chicken. Nothing beats a soy garlic glaze on a fried piece of heaven...

Not sure what those girls got but I think it was Prosciutto on a bed of grilled calamari with lemon, aioli, Parmesan cheese, garlic and parsley.

Wedge cut fries with rosemary sprinkles, spicy mayo and hot bacon mustard sauce. You can also spy the grilled edamame with lemon in the background.

More Soju...this one was fruit infused. We also had the Dduk Galbi on a Stick with rice cake balls. It was amazing - so amazing we forgot a photo...

Bone Marrow and Oxtail Marmalade

We went out to Blue Ribbon in Park Slope for dinner and I finally got to try the bone marrow and oxtail marmalade. I saw it featured on an episode of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on Food Network. Man oh man - is it good. Funny thing is - I've NEVER had it before, but for some reason I knew I was going to love it. Imagine a meaty butter that you spread on toast with fried parsley, a sweet marmalade and sea salt. I paired this plate of "God's Butter" with a salad. All about balance. :)

Mexican Lasagna

You build this lasagna the same way you do the Italian classic but with all the things you'd use for taco night! I layered mine with refried beans, salsa, black beans, ground beef, and I used corn tortillas to create layers between the toppings. Top with cheese and bake. I added the jalapenos for spice - but you could pick them off.

Served with chopped romaine and sour cream.
Yum! (This is so easy to make and a great idea if you have a ton of leftovers too!)

What to eat when you've eaten too much...

This is perfect for the day AFTER Thanksgiving.

Spaghetti with spaghetti squash. Only 45 calories for one cup of squash (versus 300+ calories for pasta). The meatballs are 90% lean.

Yummy vegetables! A Greek salad! (Topped with light feta)

Just look at all that VEG! Just what you need after a meal packed with carbs...

Counter

We had a vegetarian Thanksgiving this year at Counter in NYC. We went with our wonderful friends: Kurt, Heidi, Terence, Brandi and Justin. Oh and Heidi's mom was there too! The 8 of us had a lovely time!

Creamy Butternut-Miso with fried sage. Paired with Chardonnay, Cullen, Margaret River, Australia 2004. My only complaint is that they were skimpy on the wine portions. For the price, we should've been given full glasses.

Bitter Greens & Baby Beets with a roasted shallot vinaigrette. Paired with Andlau Riesling, Marc Kreydenweiss, Alsace, France 2005

Maple-Herb Roasted Seitan, Wild Mushroom & Sage Gravy, Apple-Fennel Stuffing, Candied Yams & Peaches with brown sugar, toasted pecans. Caramelized Green Beans, Cranberry-Chili Jam and Pull-Apart Potato Rolls. Whew... Paired with Tribute (Cabernet Blend), Benziger,

Sonoma Mountain, California 2004.

I forgot to take a picture of dessert! I had the Pear-Cranberry Crumble with cinnamon ice cream and a candied pecan. Curtis had the Spiced Sugar Pumpkin-Apple Cake with nutmeg ice cream and a pumpkin seed brittle. It was paired with a dessert wine (Chianti Classico, Badia a Coltibuono, Italy 2002), which I didn't drink. (I hate dessert wine! So I gave mine to Heidi)

2 hours and $835 later, we were stuffed and happy. :)

Ice cream Sandwich w/ Cayenne Bourbon Whip Cream

And it's JUST as good as it sounds. The cookie is oatmeal and the ice cream is ginger snap flavored. (You could do other varieties of this too - we also had chocolate cookies with dulce de leche ice cream). The whipped cream was spicy and sweet and it had a kick! MMM!

Whip it. Whip it good. To do this you need 1/4 sugar, heavy cream, about a teaspoon of cayenne pepper (yes, I was surprised by how much went in too) and about 2 tablespoons of bourbon.

Once it looks about right, remember to stop! Too much whipping gives you butter!

Caribbean Coconut Fish

I forgot to take a photo of my fish dinner! BLIMEY! These are the left overs.

Yeah, I got creative today. I made fish (which is rare) and I made it Caribbean (even more rare). It came out really great!

Krista - get ready. We are making this together!

To do this too you will need:

Lemon Grass, 4 - 5 stalks, quartered
Cilantro, 4 tablespoons finely chopped
Coconut Milk, 1 10 oz can
Onion, 1 small whole chopped
Butter, 3 tablespoons
Garlic, 3 tablespoons
Tomato Sauce, 1/2 cup
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Favorite fish, 4 large steaks

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 350. In a small sauce pan heat up onions, garlic, and butter. Saute for two minutes, pour in tomato sauce and cook for two minutes.
Pour in a can of coconut milk, cilantro, lemon grass, salt and pepper. Turn off heat and let sit.
In a baking dish place the fish and pour coconut sauce over top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove foil and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes or until fish is fork tender.

And again...doesn't it look delicious? I served it on a bed of some kind of Israeli couscous blend. I picked it up from Trader Joe's but any brand of Israeli couscous should work just fine. I also sauteed some veggies on the side too. (not pictured - cause we ate them all).

Huevos Rancheros

Curtis made dinner more than once last week. Here was his other creation: Huevos Rancheros. The label is tagged as breakfast because this is usually what I would order somewhere for brunch, but because it IS my favorite brunch food I thought it would be okay to have for dinner.

Okay - so what are we working with here? Well, first Curtis fried up a few strips of bacon (go figure?!) and then he used that bacon fat to fry some tortilla shells. We also chopped up chorizo, and layered that on top of a bed of refried beans and black beans. A little shredded cheese, hot sauce and cilantro to top it off. Two perfectly cooked over easy eggs sit on the side. YUM! Note: We made this with leftovers from "nacho night". Can you tell?

Nacho, nacho MAN!

That heaping pile of nachos, my friend, is what Curtis and I had for dinner one night last week. (Yes, I know. Not very healthy.) Curtis gets all the credit for this dinner.

Let me tell you what's on this: tortilla chips, refried beans, black beans, chopped chorizo, Mexican blend shredded cheese, salsa, chipotle hot sauce, green chilies, sour cream, the kitchen sink.

Cafecito

We ordered in the other night and we ordered in from Cafecito on Ave C. It's been awhile since I ate here and I wished it hadn't been. I've forgotten how delicious it is! They make the BEST Cuban food. No joke. This beauty here is the Masitas De Puerco. It's mojo marinated pork chunks served with grilled onions roasted corn and boniato hash. The meat is juicy on the inside but fried and crispy on the outside. It's the jam. This entree was $12. Not too shabby. I love my 'hood.

Smac

I'm surprised I'm not 100 pounds heavier than I am. I eat SO bad sometimes. But sometimes, you can't help it. Sometimes cheesy concoctions call out to you and you have no choice but to give in. Smac in NYC is one of those things you just have to give in to. All they do is mac and cheese and they do it sooooooo good!

Side by side comparison. My dinner (right) versus Curtis's dinner (left). They look the same but don't be fooled -- they are different. Curtis got the 4 cheese: Cheddar, Muenster, Gruyere and a touch of Pecorino. But he also made them add slab bacon to his. This isn't like crumbles of bacon - no, no, no. This is like little hammy bacon nuggets - nestled in a bed of warm cheese pasta.

Here's mine! I almost got the same thing - kinda. Mine was called the Alpine. It's a "Swiss Mac that keeps you coming back for more. Gruyere coupled with its partner in crime, slab bacon. Hard to resist!" Yes - it was hard to resist. And at about $7 a pop you'll find it very hard to. Not all their macs had bacon - their menu is pretty inventive. Do yourself a favor and eat here. Thanks.

What I made...

Brunch: I re-invented my favorite Mushroom and Truffle flat bread from Trader Joes. If you've never had this flat bread you need to do yourself a favor and go buy it already. It's cheesy and earthy and the texture doesn't gross you out. It will make you a believer of the fungus! I made mine more "brunchy" by putting an over easy egg on top with a simple spinach salad. Yummy!

I think I made the best shrimp I've ever made the other night for dinner. Best part, it was super easy! Here's how: Take a bag of large precooked frozen shrimp and let them defrost in a strainer under running cool water. When they're ready take some bacon. Yup. Bacon! (About 2 to 3 pieces) And chop that bacon up and start frying it in a pan. Mmm...it gets better. Once bacon is cooked - don't drain the grease but ADD sweet chili sauce to your pan. Mix well then toss in your shrimp. Stir until they are all coated in deliciousness. You will smack your momma, they are that good. I served them with garlic mashed potatoes (I know - boring) and roasted veggies (asparagus, sugar snap peas and brussel sprouts). Um...you're welcome. :)

What Marge made...

I got my camera back! Marge and Tom brought my camera back from Newfoundland and with it came all the photos of food from our trip! This was a homemade turtle pie that we had for dessert one night!

I forgot what this was called too, but it had some crazy name. It was a crazy fluffy texture but also firm too. It was like a cream cheese and whipped cream cake with cherries and sauce. Really yummy! Oy! So much dessert!

Stuffing made with savory. (I have some in my kitchen for Thanksgiving this year!)

Turkey.

Pastry for the Moose stew...

A parfait made with cloudberries - the official berries of Newfoundland! (Also called bakeapples)

This was this insane cheesy potato thing - oh man, was it good!!! I could have eaten this and nothing else!

Uncle Tom caught this delicious salmon! I've never had salmon that wasn't farm raised before. It was soooo good! And how privileged too - you can only catch 4 a year! Newfie law!

Roasted potatoes, Aunt Marge style.

I forgot what this dessert is called but it's like a marshmallow chocolate coconut concoction. It's crazy sweet and yet crazy good!

Marge's lasagna. So delish I almost forgot to take a photo! We nearly devoured it!

A delightful salad of orange, almond and cranberry. Served with our heaping pile of lasagna. :)

Ben's Chili Bowl

I was in DC this past weekend running the Marine Corp Marathon. On the way back to NYC we had to make one stop - to Ben's Chili Bowl. Curtis has been DYING to go here forever. We sat at the table in front of the table that Obama sat in. :)

We split 2 chili dogs (one each) with a side of chili cheese fries (which we hardly made a dent in). Justin ordered the famous "Half Smoke" (made famous by Bill Cosby). It was really good. We should've ordered that instead. Oh well - we can just order one online and have it delivered! Yes, they do that!

Clinton Street Bakery

My cousin was in town last weekend and we hit up the Clinton Street Bakery for breakfast on Monday. We got there at 8 am and there was a small crowd. By 8:40 the place was crowded with a line! On a MONDAY! I had blueberry pancakes and maple butter. They were the jam. Curtis had the same thing. We both had a side of bacon: I had the double smoked bacon and he had the sugar cured bacon. It was a lot of bacon! Heather had the banana walnut pancakes. We all left happy and full! :)

Todd and Robin Engagement Dinner

Todd and Robin got engaged in NYC this past weekend and we hung out with them all day. We had brunch at Alias (sorry - I forgot to take photos) and then that night we hung out and I cooked them dinner. I rubbed pork chops in an apple-wood smoked spice and seared them on both sides of a frying pan for a few minutes. Then I finished them off in the oven. They came out perfect! On the side: a yummy arugula salad with cherry tomatoes and Parmesan.

Fette Sau, BBQ

We ventured out to Brooklyn the other night to finally try out Fette Sau. We got there about 8 o'clock or so - which was perfect timing. When we were sitting down to eat, we noticed the line was out the door.

The secret to Fette Sau is the smoking process. They smoke their meats with a blend of red and white oak, Maple, Beech and Cherry wood. (All locally supplied). The BBQ is dry rubbed and optional sauce is served on the side.

The eating arrangements are definitely different - you stand in a line and order your food by weight. I got a 1/4 pound of pork belly and 1/2 pound of beef ribs and two sides: potato salad and coleslaw. (Rolls are included) They serve it on a sheet of wax paper on a silver tray - then you go find a spot to eat at a huge picnic table. (Seating is family style, so if you hate strangers - you won't like this)

We sat outside in a little area next to some firewood (which is why my tray is on my lap).

This is the area that we sat in. Cute and rustic right? It's like someone's back yard...

I took this off the website, but this is what the counter looks like when you order your food...such a display of yummy meats!

Ribs!