Make your own (iced) mocha

As annoying as those new McD's Café commercials are ("Commute? Commuté"), I must admit the images of the whipped cream-topped iced mochas had me thinking about them constantly. The McDonald's down my block has been taunting us for weeks with the machinery for the McCafé, but had yet to install it and get it working. Plus, as I mentioned: recession. Time to save some money without punishing my taste buds!

I made some double-strength coffee in my Melitta (heart it!) coffeemaker, then let it come to room temperature. I took one tablespoon of Hershey's syrup (add 2 if you want it sweeter) and whisked it into the cool coffee. Then I packed my favorite Mets tumbler full of ice and poured it over. A glug of milk lightened it up, and then the crowning touch: freshly-whipped heavy cream, drizzled, of course, with a little more chocolatey goodness. Fuggedaboutit.

Affordable? Affordablé!

(please enjoy the background appearance of my cardinal windchime, another of my favorite things!)

Shak(shuka) it to Me

My friend Yoga Jen and I have gone for post-yoga brunches many a time, but one of my favorite locales was the Israeli restaurant Miriam on Court Street (which has since closed--sigh--and the other location on 5th Ave just isn't as good, IMHO). Every time we went, I got the same thing: Eggs Shakshuka. They're a traditional Middle Eastern dish: basically eggs poached over a tomato/onion/red pepper sauce, and they are beyond delicious. I always figured they had to be easy to make, but never got around to it until now. I guess after learning that my favorite location closed, I have enough motivation to recreate the dish on my own. Plus, as you may have noticed, there is a recession going on, and it's kicking my bank account's ass right now, so I'm not eating out anywhere near as much as I used to.

There are a million different recipes out there, so I decided to wing my own variation. I got a 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes, one clove of garlic, half a yellow onion, and some eggs. That's it! I didn't have any red peppers on hand today (I'm overdue for a Fresh Direct delivery) so I had to go without those.

I sautéed the onions & garlic in some olive oil (many recipes I found called for vegetable oil??) until they were clear, then I poured the can of tomatoes (juice and all) over them and let it simmer for about 3 minutes, because that's all I could stand to wait. Sometimes cooking while you're starving is not the best idea. : )

Once the mixture had simmered for a bit (stirring it around to blend the different items), I plopped two eggs over the top and put on the cover. I let it sit for a few minutes--I honestly don't know how long. I was hovering too close to bother to look at a clock. But once the egg whites had mostly firmed up, I removed them, plated them, and promptly devoured them. I cooked the yolks just a smidge more than I'd normally prefer, but still, DEEEELICIOUS (and yes, that is steam fogging up the shot below).

Simply Delicious

One of the misconceptions that I constantly work to disprove is that eating healthy has to cost a lot. It really doesn't, if you know where to shop, what to make, etc. Take one of my favorite easy-to-make meals: rotisserie chicken & sautéed zucchini. The rotisserie chicken was on sale at FreshDirect.com; maybe 6 or 7 dollars? I put it in the oven for about 30 minutes just to warm it up, and while that was cooking I tidied up my sink and did a few other things around the house. With about 5 minutes left, I put the zucchini on in some olive oil and salt & pepper. A few minutes of tossing it around in the pan and it was good to go. For a nice change of pace, I used my microplane to finely shred some Gruyére cheese on top. It had a nice sharp edge to complement the veggies.

Total cost? About 8 dollars--and I had leftovers for 2 days! Granted, if you're feeding a family of four, there probably won't be leftovers, but you still can't beat 8 bucks for dinner--and it's delicious!

Random Acts of Baking

I had the day off (as in I'd already worked 20+ hours and there was no real reason for me to be in the office today, so enjoy the unpaid time off anyway!) today and decided to make a coffee cake. I reached for one of my favorite cookbooks, The Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Breakfast & Brunch. I LOVE this book. I even paid FULL PRICE for it (I get almost all of my cookbooks on sale/clearance normally) and it was worth every stinking penny.

I had all ingredients on hand: cake flour, walnuts (on sale at Fresh Direct!), and canola oil, for starters. I creamed the butter and sugar in a few minutes, added the dry ingredients, and swirled in the walnut/cinnamon/sugar topping. I'm thinking my oven might be running a bit hot these days, so instead of the recommended 55 minutes, I put it in for 45, and it was ready by then.

I know you're supposed to let it cool, but I couldn't wait! Is my baking getting better and better?

The answer is yes. Woo hoo!

Baked Eggs

This is a dish I've always admired, but never attempted.. until NOW (portentous thunderclap).

Seriously, though, I had a little extra time before work this morning, so I took out my cookbook, "Brunch," and flipped open to a recipe I knew required ingredients I already had: eggs, spinach, butter.

I was only making enough for one, so I sort of fudged my way along. I grabbed a huge handful of spinach, which might look like a lot, but ended up being juuust enough. I probably could have even grabbed a bit more. I ignored the book's suggestion to boil the spinach for FOUR minutes? Did I not want any taste or texture left? It could be me, but this seemed an awful lot of time to cook spinach, when the recommendation is to get it to the point where it's still bright green. I cooked it for about a minute, then took it out of the hot water and ran cold water over it to stop the cooking. Once I squeezed the excess water out of the spinach, it wasn't even as big as the egg I was about to crack over it.

I made a bed of spinach at the bottom, put a sliver of butter on top, cracked the egg over it, sprinkled some pepper over it, and added a splash (like not even a full teaspoon) of heavy cream on top. I figured since I salted the water for the spinach already I didn't need to salt the egg, too.

The recipe calls for 15 minutes at 350 degrees, which I say is great if you want a rock-hard-boiled egg. I did not. I made the first one according to specs, and it was too cooked. I put a second one in for about 11 minutes, and it was perfect. Soft but not too runny.

They look pretty fancy-shmancy, don't they? It's a simple dish that's low on effort and high on looks--definitely making an appearance at my next brunch!

Incredible, Edible Egg (Whites)

I actually did something I always meant to do--I used leftover egg whites!! Instead of tossing them! I always, always save them when I use egg yolks for cooking, but this is the first time I've actually used them instead of tossing them. I know.. I know.. don't ask me why I feel it's slightly less wasteful if I undergo the pretense of storing them for a few days before ultimately, inevitably tossing them. It's just how I, as the kids say, roll.

Yesterday's danish recipe called for 2 extra-large egg yolks. Since I only had normal-sized eggs, I used 3 egg yolks, and set aside the egg whites in the fridge. This morning I decided to whip up a delicious omelet using fresh veggies and my favorite, pepper jack cheese.

I first sautéed some red peppers, yellow onion, and mushrooms in the pan. Here's the thing--I'm kind of obsessed with mushrooms right now, and yet they still freak me out a little. I used to HATE them: the smell, the texture, the fact that they are a fungus. But in the past year, my taste buds have come around, even if my brain hasn't completely joined the group. For instance, as I rinsed and sliced the mushrooms this morning, I couldn't help noticing that THEY SMELL LIKE DIRT. I don't like eating dirt, I don't like the FEELING that I'm eating dirt, and I have to tell you, it took some mental athletics to push through that sensation. It's kind of like green tea--sometimes I can take it, sometimes it tastes like liquid dirt. And I don't like that.

But once the mushrooms softened and took on the onion flavors, I calmed myself a bit. I set aside the sautéed ingredients in a handy little ramekin before using thes same pan for the eggs. I wanted SOME yolk in my eggs, so I added one whole egg to the 3 egg whites, resulting in one MONSTER omelet. Isn't it pretty?
Nicely browned by the butter, bursting with yummy ingredients. A trick my mother taught me--when the omelet is almost done, turn off the heat and cover with a lid. The steam fluffs up the omelet quite nicely so your eggs aren't too dry. I knew there was no way I could eat it all, so I ended up only eating half (Non-giant portion pictured at top of post). Maybe I'll have the rest for lunch!

Magic or Meh?

You know I love the Barefoot Contessa. She gave me incentive to do a little baking with a recent show on shockingly simple danish. Well, they're more like cheese-filled croissants, really. When I think of 'cheese danish,' I think of those heavy, often figure-8 shaped pastries with the cream cheese filling (drool). These are like that...but...different.

Baking always intimidated me (mainly crusts/pastries) until I took a cooking class at the ICE (birthday gift from a friend). There, the teacher, while not the bubbliest sort, took the time to break down the science of WHY you do what you do when it comes to baking. She explained the butter/fat/water/flour ratio, and explained why it's so important to chill pies/pastries before popping them into the oven (you want your fat to be cold and solid, so when it melts in the oven, it creates the steam that makes the crust flaky) and sundry other things that until then, were a mystery. I dunno--something about the straightforward way she described it just set off the proverbial lightbulb over my head. We also made dishes with pre-made puff pastry, and my lord....it's as amazingly easy as it is dangerously delicious.

That's all you do in this dish--slowly cream together the sugar, cream cheese, ricotta, lemon zest, egg yolks, salt (never skip the salt!!), and vanilla, and spoon it into the pastry. Seal the pockets with an egg wash. A few reviewers suggest brushing the egg wash AFTER chilling, right before they go in the oven, and that's what I tried, too.

The results? For me? Mostly... meh.

Here's the thing...Ina touts the lemon zest as the 'magic ingredient' that makes this treat a standout. I beg to differ. I felt the lemon zest was overpowering. Next time, I'm going to skip the zest, and use almond extract instead of vanilla. I think those will be the REAL magic ingredients.

Citi Snacks!

Last week, That Sara & I traipsed out to Citi Field for its inaugural week. Sara had already been once that week, but it was my first trip! The weather was BEAUTIFUL, the new park was awesome, and the food was delicious. We waited (and waited and waited) in a long line at Shake Shack's stand, but it was totally worth it. I don't know that I'd say their burger is the best EVER, but it's pretty darn good. They're always juicy, bordering on greasy, and quite satisfying. This one was cooked to perfection, with just a little pink in the middle. It was gone before you could say "Shake Shack" five times.

My boyfriend has never been to Shake Shack, and I am taking him tonight to the original one in Madison Square Park. The line will be long, no doubt, but the weather is even more beautiful than a week ago!

I also had my first-ever alcoholic drink at a baseball game (I'm not really a beer drinker). At the International Beer Sampler booth, they offered bottled mojitos (pictured top right, as Sara & I toasted--she got a Czech beer, I believe). That one went down waayyy too easily. Cheers! And Play ball!

BrrrrrrrrrrrBQ!

GOOD BBQ is a tall order here in NYC. Having lived in TX and traveled to TN, I have sampled some succulent fare in my time. Here in NY, ever chasing the elusive/delicious BBQ, I have had my share of stinkers. I enjoy a good brisket, but my dish of choice is pulled pork. It's what I'm mostly likely to order at each restaurant and compare to previous samplings. I was discussing this with my friend MK, a BBQ aficionado. She had just returned from South Carolina, where she and her boyfriend had eaten both praiseworthy and paltry offerings.

While discussing this with MK, the craving hit us, and I remembered Daisy May's BBQ--located at 46th street and 11th Avenue-- has a renowned cart somewhere in midtown. We (having finished most of our work for the day anyway, mind you) quickly set about googling, and almost simultaneously found the answer: IT WAS ONE BLOCK AWAY FROM US. Does God really intervene when it comes to something as simple as a hankering for a hunk of pork? It sure seemed like it today.

We bundled up and dashed outside, braving the brisk, icy wind for some quick and affordable street meat. We both ordered the pulled pork ($8 for the generous portion of meat, roll & cole slaw), and opted to split a mason jar of their mint sweet tea! MINT!!!

Once inside, we excitedly unpacked our goodies and began to assemble the deliciousness. The meat had a smoky, mustardy smell (I love mustard-based sauces). It had a distinct flavor I couldn't quite place, but MK nailed it as cloves. We could also taste molasses and/or brown sugar and cumin. Mmm...cumin. Smells like body odor, tastes like heaven. Go figure. The pork was tender, probably hickory-smoked, and delicious, though we both agreed there was a bit too much sauce. I like a light drizzling of sauce atop my pulled pork-this serving was almost swimming in it. We surmised it's probably to keep it from drying out since everything is packed up in a mobile cart, far away from the "Mother ship," as the cart's signage refers to the restaurant. The roll did an excellent job of absorbing a lot of the excess sauce, and there is clearly enough meat in here if you want to eat half now and half later (I opted for all of it at once. Yayyyy, PMS week!)

The mint sweet tea costs 4 dollars, which initially had me saying hell to the no. Then I saw that it came in a Mason jar, and I offered to split it with Mel. It's DEFINITELY a two-portion serving. The sweet tea was sweet, but in the most wonderful of ways. Sometimes sweet tea can be SO sweet that it makes your teeth hurt. This tea was a perfect balance: strong tea flavor with just enough sweetness to make you smile. The mint wasn't as strong as I expected, but that was just fine. Mel let me have the glass that had the fresh mint sprig. She's a good friend. ;) I was actually sad when I took my last few sips of this tea.

A good friend is also someone who takes cheesy photos of you (read: me) without judging you (again: me). Just one of her many wonderful qualities.

So this sandwich might not be the world's best BBQ, but on a day when some tasty, tender pulled pork is all I wanted, this definitely came close enough. And that sweet tea will have me coming back again, especially once it starts warming up outside!

Chocolate Perfection!

I made dinner for my BF on Valentine's Day. I made one of my favorite dishes, Chicken Tarragon, along with sauteed mushrooms, pan-crisped potatoes, and a salad of mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette. I've cooked for him before, but that night I was especially nervous. I'd put on a cute blue dress with a knit sweater, put up my hair, donned some pearls, and looked damn cute. And then as soon as I stepped into the kitchen, I started shvitzing! I was 3/4 of the way through my chicken tarragon when I realized I'd FORGOTTEN THE CHICKEN BROTH. I had none (I usually keep extra in the freezer but hadn't replaced it lately) and it was too late to run out and get some. So I added a mixture of white wine and half-n-half and called it a day. The chicken was okay, not great. The BF didn't seem to notice, as he's never had this dish before, but I tasted a noticeable difference. Hopefully, dessert would save the day.

And save the day it did. The author of this NYT article promises that no one will remember if dinner is a flop, provided you make these molten chocolate cakes. Holy CRAP was she right. This is one of the BF's favorite desserts, and I must say I enjoy them a lot myself, but I'd never dared to make them before. From scratch! I used some Venezuelan chocolate that had bloomed, but was supposed to still taste fine, despite its snowy white exterior. In a matter of minutes, the batter was in the oven and I was curled up on the couch with my Valentine. 7 minutes later, they popped right out of their ramekins (the recipe is for 2 cakes, but for some reason I doubted this and put it in 4 separate dishes, so the cakes are a little shorter than they should be) and I served them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Results? UTTER DELICIOUSNESS. Seriously--the rich, delicious chocolate cake had the trademark ooze in the center, and I couldn't believe how well they turned out! We had the other 2 today (Sunday) for a mid-day treat, and while the center was no longer molten, they were still super scrumptious.

I MADE THESE!!! AND THEY WERE AWESOME!