Chicken with Lemon Butter Sauce

This dish is really buttery, lemony, and garlicy. Are those even words? All I know is my sous chef made this and it was delicious. The chicken was moist and crispy and the sauce was decadent. This dish was obviously pre Weight Watchers. Ha!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
4 chicken breast

1c flour

1 c Panko bread crumbs

1 egg

Preparation:
Dredge chicken in flour and then coat in egg mixture. Next cover in Panko bread crumbs. Fry in a skillet on medium heat with lots of butter (About 1/4 cup) After chicken is cooked (about 10 minutes each side) remove and set aside. In the same skillet reduce heat and combine rest of butter, lemon juice, salt, garlic, pepper, and paprika. Pour butter sauce over chicken. Serve!

Sripraphai

Sripraphai is a Thai spot in Woodside and it's also named the #1 Thai restaurant in ALL of NYC. I have been here once before but I was too intimidated to order the crispy watercress salad. On my second visit I did and all I can say is, "Wow!" This thing is incredible! The watercress is dried out and crunchy - you could snack on it all day - especially with the cashews thrown in. The seafood ceviche is heavenly. Lots of flavors going on - citrus, heat, onion, herbs...the fish is cooked perfectly (and NO bones!) and the shrimp is huge! The squid is also cooked to perfection. Highly recommend this dish! I had crab fried rice also. I had never seen that on a menu before. I enjoyed it immensely.

La Adelita

We decided to hit up this Mexican spot down the street from me. It's rated #1 on Yelp in my hood (Woodside) for Mexican.  We tried the guacamole. It was really limey, but very good. I had this roasted pork dish that also came with rice and beans and tortillas. It was really good! The pork was soft and juicy with crispy salty ends and the portion was huge. I would recommend to others and I will definitely go back myself.

Chipotle Chicken Tacos

I love coming home to a dinner that I didn't prepare. My sous chef whipped up these yummy chicken tacos. They were spicy and delicious - now you go try!

Ingredients
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon EVOO
2 14 1/2 ounce cans diced tomatoes with chiles
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped, plus 1 tsp adobo
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
12 6 inch corn tortillas

For the Salsa:

1 c diced tomato

1/4 c red onion

1/4 c diced cilantro

1 lime, juiced

1/2 poblano pepper (fire roasted on the stove)

salt and pepper

Make it:
In skillet, cook onion in EVOO over medium-high, 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, garlic, chipotle and adobo; cook 10 minutes. Heat chicken in sauce; season. Serve with salsa. I garnished mine with a bit of queso fresco and creme freche also.

Ken and Cook

I met a friend here for brunch the other day. My verdict? Not a fan. I wanted the burger and was told they had sold out. Seriously? They only have like 5 or 6 things on the savory menu. If you 86 one, you need to replace it with a special. I don't even work in a restaurant and even I know that! So I got the eggs benedict instead. The eggs benedict was not that great. The hollandaise was off to me and the salad wasn't even dressed. Everything lacked seasoning. The atmosphere was what I like to call "shit show". It was mad crowded due to their "boozy brunch" special for $30. The mimosas are a good size so having more than 2 is kind of a bit much. So expect it to be loud and expect no service and tons of people hovering over your table because they're waiting for one.

Pot Roast

This dish reminded me of growing up. My mom loved to make pot roast. I ended up enjoying my dish but I wished I had company to help me eat it. It was too much food and I hate wasting food.

Ingredients
1 (3 to 4-pound) boneless chuck roast
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin oil
1 cup thinly sliced onion wedges
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 can beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
4 - 5 fresh parsley sprigs
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
3 cups water


Directions
Rub salt and pepper into the roast on both sides. Heat oil in a large pot and add onions and garlic. Place roast into pot and add beef broth, bouillon, water, wine, Worcestershire sauce, and the bay leaves. Top roast with parsley. Cover and cook on low heat for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until tender. Remove and discard the bay leaves.

*Cook's Note: If the gravy is not thick enough, remove the meat from the pan and pour the gravy into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and thicken it by adding 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup cold water, stirring constantly.

Virgin Mary

I drink a V8 just about everyday. I love them. I feel good drinking it. The thick tomato juice goes into my body and I feel like little vegetable soldiers are giving my soul a pep talk. "Wake up!", they say. The best is a yummy virgin mary after a good morning workout. I love my kale smoothies too but this also hits the spot.

Ingredients:
5 oz low sodium V8 juice cocktail
1.5 oz favorite vodka
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 lime wedge
1/8 lemon wedge
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Enough ice to fill a pint glass

Directions:
Fill a pint glass with ice. Grind fresh black pepper over ice. Squeeze lemon and lime wedges and pour remaining ingredients. *This is important!: pour the bloody Mary recipe V8 back and forth between shaker and/or pint glass. Voila! Turn a grind of black pepper over the top and garnish with a fresh celery sprig and a pickle. 

Healthy tip of the day...DRINK YOUR VEGGIES!

If you're not eating enough veggies, start drinking them! Like the recipe above, you can get 2 of your daily serving of vegetables in one glass. You can buy smoothies that have more fruit and mask the veggie taste or you can press juices to get it too.

L'apicio

There's a fairly new spot on 1st Ave called L'apicio. I went here for brunch with a friend a while back and since then I've been obsessed with their grilled endive and radicchio salad. I've tried recreating it at home and the best I've got is this:

Ingredients
1 small radicchio, chopped
5 or 6 endive, washed and cut lengthwise
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
fresh cracked pepper
1 lemon
1 tsp mint, finely chopped
1/4 c shaved parmesan
salt to taste

Make it:
The best way to do this is on an honest grill, but if you don't have a BBQ then use a grill pan. Generously brush the endive with olive oil and salt and place on a hot grill pan. Cook for about 3 minutes then flip to the other side and cook another 4 minutes. Chargrilled marks are good for you! While the endive is grilling mix the remaining olive oil, vinegar, juice from the lemon and cracked pepper in a small bowl. Add the radicchio and mix well. Let the radicchio sit for a good ten minutes. At the last minute, plate the radicchio and then top with the endive. Add the mint and shaved parmesan on top. Dig in!

Today's healthy tip is....SALAD!!!!
Get creative with your salad. You don't need to eat romaine or (heaven forbid ICEBERG) every day. Mix it up! Like the salad above, you can make your meal with just about any veggies and the creativity will keep it from becoming boring (and you from straying from your diet). For more salad ideas click the label in my blog. :)

Chicken and Asparagus

On the third day of healthy, you get chicken and asparagus! Cooking the asparagus in the chicken broth left this nice broth that when poured over rice made this dish really yummy. Plus, no butter or oil means it was even more healthy!

Ingredients
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into cubes
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 bunch slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

Directions
Spray large skillet with cooking spray and put over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook until chicken is cooked through and browned, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken to a side plate. Pour chicken broth into the skillet. Then stir in asparagus, garlic, and a pinch more garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cover, and steam until the asparagus is just tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Return chicken to the skillet, and warm through. Serve over rice (optional).

Workout tip....CLASSES!
If you belong to a gym, slip a few classes into your routine. Mixing it up will keep your muscles guessing and you'll push yourself harder than when you are doing routines on the floor. For the ultimate burn go for high intensity cardio like kickboxing, zumba, or spin classes.