Restaurants & Recipes

I like trying new restaurants. I collect business cards from each. I also love to cook.

Seafood Paella with Cava Sangria

In college, DG and I both studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain.  We didn't know each other then, but it was one of the first topics of conversation when we were set up on a blind date.  Nearly four years later, and a wedding on the horizon, we both love to reminisce about our time in Spain - living with host families, enjoying a botellon on the banks of the Guadalquivir river, traveling to different Spanish cities and, above all, sampling the regional cuisine.  So when we received a cast iron skillet from our registry, we knew we had to make a seafood paella with sangria as soon as time allowed.

Cava Sangria

Ingredients:

  • 1 bottle Rioja red wine
  • 2/3 bottle Cava, or other sparkling wine
  • 2 apples, seeded and chopped
  • 1 orange, sliced
  • 1 cup pineapple, chopped with juices
  • 2 cups seltzer
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients in a pitcher and let marinate while you make the paella (or for as long as you can stand!).  Pour over ice, making sure to scoop a couple spoonfuls of fruit into the glass.

 

Seafood Paella

Recipe adapted from Food and Wine

Servings: 12

Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • salt
  • 2 bone-in chicken thighs
  • 2 bone-in chicken legs
  • 1/2 lbs wild scallops
  • 2 large pinches saffron threads
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 4 chorizon links, cut into 1/4" slices
  • 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 red pepper, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups arborio rice (though I had read the more difficult to find Bomba rice is optimal)
  • 2 cups frozen peas
  • 12 wild littleneck clams

Intructions:

  1. Mix paprika, 1 Tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.  Add chicken, and coat it with paprika mixture.  Allow to marinate as long as possible, up to 24 hours.
  2. Mix one pinch saffron with 1 Tablespoon oil.  Add scallops, and coat with saffron mixture.  Let stand at room temperature while you go through the following steps.
  3. In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken stock, with the remaining saffron.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a simmer.
  4. Heat 14" cast iron skillet with two counts olive oil.  Add chicken and cook over moderately high heat, being sure to brown on all sides, for about 15 minutes.  Transfer chicken to a large platter.
  5. Add the chorizo to the pan, cooking until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.  Transfer chorizo to platter with chicken.
  6. Pour remaining fat from pan into a bowl, reserve.
  7. Add scallops to pan, cooking until just white, about two minutes.  Transfer scallops to separate platter.
  8. Return two Tablespoons reserved fat to skillet, add onion, red pepper and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until just soft, about 5 minutes.  Transfer vegetable mixture to platter with chicken and chorizo.
  9. Return two Tablespoons reserved fat to skillet, add rice, and stir until coated.  Cook over moderately high heat for two minutes.
  10. Add the chicken, chorizo, vegetable mixture, peas and chicken stock.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
  11. Using tongs, nestle clams into rice.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
  12. Add scallops and shrimp.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes, until shellfish is cooked through and rice is tender.
  13. Remove pan from heat and let stand 5 minutes, discarding any clams that haven't opened.
  14. Serve with a big glass of chilled Cava Sangria

Greek-inspired Frittata with Broccoli, Zucchini, Cherry Tomatoes and Feta

Eggs are frequently the main ingredient in our weekend breakfasts.  Typically, we'll whisk 3-4 egg whites together with a yolk or two and some skim milk as the base.  Then, we'll chop up a heap of vegetables, whatever we have on hand that day.  This weekend we had a bit of leftover feta cheese from a previous dinner, so we let that be our inspiration.  Paired with broccoli, zucchini and cherry tomatoes, this turned out to be not only a healthy, but beautiful meal to start our day!

Ingredients:

3-4 eggs whites
2 egg yolks
1 count of skim milk
1 head of broccoli, chopped 
1 handful cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 zucchini, chopped
2 T freshly crumbled feta cheese
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste (we also frequently use crushed red pepper, oregano, basil, etc. to spice the veggies and eggs)

Instructions:
Heat the skillet with a few tablespoons of water over a medium flame.  Once the water is hot, add the veggies and place a lid on the skillet to hold in the steam.  Allow the veggies to steam for 1-2 minutes so that their color intensifies, but they are not completely cooked through.  Strain the remaining water from the pan, then add the eggs, making sure the veggies are evenly distributed.  Cook the eggs, without stirring, for 4-5 minutes, letting the bottom and edges set.  Fire up the broiler, place the pan on the top oven rack and let the top of the eggs cook for about two minutes.  Sprinkle the feta over the top, pop the pan back under the broiler for 1-2 minutes, letting the eggs finish cooking and the cheese to melt.  Slice the frittata and serve alongside whole wheat toast (or matzo as was the case this weekend).  

Passover Recipe: Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies From Payard (New York Magazine)

via nymag.com

We discovered this recipe three years ago and have crowned them our official Passover Cookies. They are always the biggest hit on the dessert table, which is not necessarily a difficult feat to accomplish, but trust me...

2 3/4 cups walnut halves
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Spread the walnut halves on a large-rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 9 minutes, until they are golden and fragrant.  

(1) Let cool slightly, then transfer the walnut halves to a work surface and coarsely chop them (I prefer to leave them in their halved state for a bigger crunch. Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and lower temperature to 320. Line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

(2) In a large bowl, whisk (or combine in an electric mixer on low speed) the confectioners’ sugar with the cocoa powder and salt followed by the chopped walnuts. While whisking (or once you change the speed to medium), add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat or it will stiffen).

(3) Spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds, and bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through to ensure even baking. Slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto 2 wire racks. Let cookies cool completely, and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Skate with Asian Vegetables and Soba

Recently, my company hosted a media event for the launch of Malaysia Kitchen NYC.  Part of the event included a Malaysian food cooking demo, so there were a lot of Asian vegetables, herbs and spices on hand, some of which were not put to use.  So when I walked into our office kitchen on Monday evening and saw a pile of baby bok choy, fresh turmeric and lemongrass, I knew I had to put them to good use in that night's dinner.  My fiance and I love brainstorming ways to use ingredients we have on-hand, so we decided to use a few beautiful Skate wings we had just had delivered from Fresh Direct.  We dredged the Skate in beaten egg and black-pepper spiked cornmeal then baked it for about 8-minutes on each side.  The bok choy was put in a steamer basket along with haricot verts, freshly chopped garlic and lemongrass.  We also added a few slices of lemongrass to the boiling water underneath to infuse their essence in the veggies and soba noodles, which we would later boil in the same pot.  While everything was baking/steaming, we made a quick vinaigrette consisting of balsamic vinegar, chopped turmeric (which, to my surprise, turned my fingers a shade of bright orange!), red pepper flakes, a shot of mirin and honey.  In about 30 minutes we had pulled together a healthy dinner using just-found produce and ingredients we had in our fridge.  The next night we combined the leftover cornmeal-crusted Skate with grilled catfish, black beans, homemade guacamole, steamed brown rice and spinach to create a Mexican-inspired salad.

What Asian-inspired dishes have you made recently?

Clams in Cherry Tomato Garlic Sauce

A recent post-Sunday football meal: cherrystone clams steamed in a cherry tomato, white wine and garlic sauce

Sent from my iPhone

Perfect Breakfast Bran Muffin

 

After channeling Paula Deen's Butter Love (PDBL) in my last post, I thought I'd make a batch of healthier muffins, versatile enough to handle different kinds of mix-ins and flavorful enough to simply stand on their own.  

This bran muffin recipe comes from one of the most health conscious people I know.  Fortunately, this girl also loves good food, good wine and thinks developing new flavors for Ben & Jerry's would be a dream job.  So you can be assured these muffins will achieve two goals: good nutrition and good taste!

I made three versions with this most recent batch - plain, with chocolate chips and with currants.  You could also include nuts or raisins to add a little protein and different flavors.  As with the PDBL Pecan Pie Muffins, I froze the leftovers for easy weekday breakfast options.

Ingredients:
1.5 c bran cereal (not flakes - I used Fiber One)
1.5 c Bran flakes
1/3 c unsweeted apple sauce
1 c hot water
2 eggs
1 c whole wheat flour
1.5c reg. flour
1 c sugar (I go lighter on this and they still taste great)
2 Tb canola oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 Tb + 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 c lowfat buttermilk (or, mix 1 T vinegar with ~ 1c skim milk) 
2 Tb cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly coat muffin tin with oil.  Place all ingredients in large mixing bowl and stir until blended - don't overmix.  Fill tins 1/2 to 3/4 full, bake for 25 min.  Allow to cool a little for easier removal.  Batter will keep in fridge up to 1 month.

Yield: 24 muffins  


 

Pecan Pie Muffin Recipe

My friend Danielle made these pecan pie muffins for me and a group of girlfriends over the summer and I fell in love at first bite.  Served warm, they were slightly crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside, just like a pecan pie should be.  I recently made a batch, served a few for dessert with vanilla ice cream and put the rest in the freezer for an on-the-go weekday breakfast option.  I substituted almonds and walnuts in part of the batch because I ran out of pecans and they turned out just as good.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Bake for 25 minutes
Yield: 6-8 muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/2 cup flour
2 larges eggs (beaten until foamy)
1/2 cup butter (melted)

Directions:
Mix pecans, brown sugar and flour together is a large bowl
Make a well in the mixture
Whip eggs with a whisk until foamy
Add room temperature melted butter to eggs
Pour liquid mixture into the well in your dry ingredients and mix until just combined
Fill muffin cups almost to the top (muffins do not rise very much in oven)

On my to-do list: Chocolate Raspberry Tiered Cake

via bellaeats.com

All my favorite colors in one photo: Tiffany blue, raspberry red and CHOCOLATE! I want to make this cake ASAP.

Pasta alla Norma - The Amateur Gourmet

via amateurgourmet.com

September 13, 2009 Update: Although this dish was delicious (and quite easy to make), it was not the same Pasta alla Norma to which I am accustomed from Otto.  We modified the recipe slightly by adding chicken sausage (for protein).  We also made a red onion and red pepper foccacia (using fresh dough from the pizza place across the street) with olive oil, thyme, rosemary, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

 

I love the Pasta alla Norma at Otto and will be making this dish at some point this fall.

Our healthy at-home version: Piquillo-Pepper Num Pangs Recipe | Food & Wine
via foodandwine.com

We went to Num Pang Sandwich Shop for its opening weekend in March. Here's an excerpt from our review:

Although the sandwiches are tiny, they are delicious! We shared three: peppercorn catfish, veal meatballs and grilled skirt steak. They all had shredded carrots, cilantro and some sort of mayo-based sauce. Needless to say, they were incredibly flavorful and even though the seating was limited, we managed to squeeze into the upstairs bar.

So when I saw this recipe and remembered how much we loved the sandwiches, I had to try it.  I may never go back to the restaurant again : )

Although we didn't use butter, piquillo peppers or cilantro (none of which we had on hand), the sandwich still had tons of flavor!  We substituted low-fat mayo and added grilled chicken and arugula for a little extra veg + spice.