Sure-Fire Short Ribs

I had this recipe in my DVR for months, but did not yet a own Dutch Oven or any other cookware I could take from stovetop to oven. Then I got THIS beautiful baby (super on-sale and bought with a birthday gift card-WIN!) and it was ON. My friends at FreshDirect.com put short ribs on sale, and it was as if the whole world was telling me 'make the dish, already!' Okay, okay!

This recipe really is super simple, though it might seem like a lot of steps. The first step is to season the short ribs with salt and freshly-cracked black pepper. I put them in the dutch oven (which had a thin layer of olive oil coating the bottom) and browned them on all sides. This took 8-10 minutes--watch out for spitting oil, and keep those tongs at the ready!

Once the meat browned, I set it aside and add the chopped onions and garlic to the dish (I was out of garlic the first time so I used shallots--just as delicious!) You don't need to worry about a uniform chop, either-this is all going in a blender soon. Use a non-abrasive tong or wooden spoon to scrape up those yummy brown bits stuck to the bottom. This part smells SO GOOD!!

Once I sweated the onions and garlic, I added the whole canned tomatoes (Giada says to cut them--I didn't even bother, just breaking them apart a bit with my tongs) and 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard. I think I might go with 3 next time, FYI. I swirled it all together and added the red wine, bringing it all to a boil. Once I reached the boil, I carefully added the short ribs and tucked them all neatly in the pot.

This goes into the oven for about 2 1/2 hours. When the meat falls off the bone, it's done. Your whole house will smell quite scrumptious. I removed the meat, shredded it, and set it aside. I took about half of the sauce/stew mixture and puréed it in my mini-prep processor. Then I put everything back in the pot and let it simmer a few minutes more.

I boiled some whole-wheat penna pasta, and topped it with generous portions of this dish, added a dusting of finely shredded Parmesan cheese, and a sprinkling of fresh, chopped parsley. Add a simple green salad and some homemade garlic bread (made with day-old bread I got at the bakery next-door!) and you're good to go. This. Meal. Rocks. I've already made it three times in the past 2 months---and it feeds Kel & me for dinner, then I get at least two more servings after that, all for less than 15 bucks! I also find it very soothing to set about cleaning my kitchen, folding laundry, or catching up on the phone with friends while this tender dish comes to be in my oven. Now that I'm comfortable making it, I think I will start mixing up the herbage and whatnot--this definitely goes in the 'favorites' pile!

Street Meat: 2010

I got an early-morning call last week, asking me to come to work a few hours earlier and fill in for a sick coworker. I live in Brooklyn, which means I'm about an hour from where our studio is, and that meant I had to get my butt out of bed IMMEDIATELY, take a 2-minute shower, and hit the bricks. I hadn't prepared my lunch the night before, so I found myself walking back to the office (at a different location than the studio) and hearing my stomach grumble like crazy.

At first I tried to tell myself I'd just finish work early and go home to eat, but even I knew I was kidding myself. An hour or two always turns into 4 or 5, and considering I'd skipped breakfast, too, that was too darn long to go without eating. The cab let me out at the corner of 49th and 6th, and I managed to walk past the first 2 food carts before the 3rd finally won me over. If you've ever walked past these in NYC, you know how good they smell. Yum.

The cart owner was quite friendly and asked what I wanted, then made some friendly small talk. I appreciate a cheerful food vendor! I opted for the curried (I think?) chicken platter. It came over rice and salad, and I opted for both the white (creamy) and red (FIERY HOT!) sauces. Yum. It cost me a grand total of 5 bucks, too, so I'm marking this under Cheap Eats.

I hustled up to my floor and flipped open the container, inhaling the myriad spices and steam. Sooo delicious, and I hadn't taken my first bite! Then I did , and then I took another, and another, and another. I couldn't believe how good this was. No stringy, fatty pieces, and that red sauce was freaking HOT. YIPES. Thankfully, the lettuce and cabbage mix was there to cool off the tastebuds. Next time I'll have to ask what they guy calls his stand, so I can refer to it as something other than "that cart with the green sandwich boards." Either way, you should give it a try next time you're in the area!

Chat 'n' Chew

It's been a while since I've brunched, so when Holly P rounded up some troops a few weeks ago, ABF & I met up with them near Union Square. We hit up Chat and Chew, a restaurant I'd frequented often in the past. It had been years, though, since my last visit, so I was game to hit it up again.

We met early (for brunch, anyway), just after 11am on the 16th street location. I'd never been here for brunch, just dinner (their macaroni and cheese is famous, and for delicious reason). The decor is very kitschy, nostalgic, and anything else you want to call it: Fiestaware pitchers line a shelf on one wall, old-time slogans and posters are up all around, collectible train sets and soda bottles and just about everything else are all over. It makes for some interesting scenery.

The brunch menu was overwhelming to me--so many choices (and yes, the mac and cheese is available then, too). I finally settled on a frittata, even though I don't normally LIKE them. It was the special--and it came with smoked salmon, baby spinach, and goat cheese. Trifecta! Beth L also ordered the same thing, and she was definitely a factor in my choosing--I was hemming and hawing until the last moment, but oh was this worth it. Unlike most frittatas I've had, this one was thin, light, and not at all heavy. It was delicious. Just enough food to fill you up without making you feel like you needed an 8-hour nap.

ABF ordered the blueberry pancakes. I tried a bite, and the sauce was fantastic, but the pancakes themselves were a bit heavy and tough--I think someone definitely worked this batter a little too long. I would suggest you not order these--ABF was definitely not a fan, and neither was I.

They had an interesting list of cocktails, including a beer mimosa (Miller Lite and orange juice)! Two of the guys in our group ordered this and seemed to really like it. It was not a mimosa kind of morning to me (and I'm not really a beer drinker), so I just stuck to coffee, but they did have an extensive list of boozy brunch drinks!

While the food was good, but not great, the company was outstanding. We laughed uproariously more than once as we all caught up on each others' lives, and there were a few moments where I know we were the loudest table in the room, but we were having so much fun I just didn't care. That was a great couple of hours--thanks to Holly P for organizing it!

Another nice perk to eating here--you are just steps from Union Square, excellent for people AND dog-watching. :)

Casa Calamari

Don't let the garish display of Christmas-like lights deter you--Casa Calamari is a good spot for some hearty Italian fare, perfect for a cold winter's night (as it was last Friday). That's where Kel & I ended up the other night, and it was well worth the 5 minute walk in the whipping winter winds.

We got one of our favorite salads: the mozzarella and tomato. It came out ASAP, and it was delicious. It had the softest, most flavorful bites of mozz, tossed in herbs and coated with just the lightest layer of olive oil and balsamic. YUM. For once, Kel enjoyed the tomatoes more than I did, but overall we both loved this dish. I could have eaten these mozz bites all day! We took home the leftovers and noshed on them for a few more days--they just got even better. Soooooo good.

Kel is not a real seafood fan, but she does enjoy calamari, so we shared an appetizer. This has to be one of the biggest plates o' calamar' (as they say in Brooklyn, yo) I've ever seen. It came out after we got the salad...so maybe I just wasn't as hungry, but I only ate 4 or 5 pieces. I love the little tentacles, and Kel is absolutely skeeved by them, so I enjoyed those happily while she stuck to the rings. It was just good, not great. I guess I expected a little more considering their NAME has "calamari" in it. We ate a little bit of this and then wrapped it up to go, but I did not go back for more of this once we took it home.

For my entrée, I ordered their ravioli. You get 7 or 8 ravioli for about 9 bucks. Normally I would say "Hey, I can buy a whole bag for 2 bucks and enjoy these at home," but I just really really wanted something soft, cheesy, and soul-warming. These ravioli were just the thing. They were perfectly cooked, decently filled but not overstuffed, and the sauce had this strong but sweet garlic flavor to it. Yum. This sauce was great. Simple, super smooth, and garlicky without being overpowering. Absolutely worth it.

Kel grabbed pizza for her entree--just your basic plain cheese slice. I didn't try hers, but I can tell you that if you're ever wandering past Casa Calamari on 3rd Avenue, stop at their walk-up window (posted below, with tables outside for standing and eating) and get a slice of their square, thin-crust pieces. Holy Moley, you'll swear you're back in Napoli (where I've had some of the best pizza EVER).

A great buy at this place? Their carafe of house red wine is a mere 17 dollars--not much more than the cost of a single glass at many Manhattan eateries. It was more than enough for the two of us as we toasted the beginning of a new Year, which got off to a bit of a rough start for us both. We still remain hopeful, because with family and friends supporting you, you're already on your way.

Happy 2010!

Delhi Palace

My trip to get Indian food with Carlota had me wanting it again, very soon, so we made plans to hit up Jackson Heights (a neighborhood in Queens, NY famous for its Indian food, among other things) on a chilly night, just days before Christmas. Jackson Heights is THE place for Indian food in NYC, according to a lot of people, and it had long been on my List, the ever-changing, ever-growing counting of places where this girl has gotta eat. One thing or another always came up and my previous plans to go fell through time and again. Not this time! I met Carlota in her hood and we hopped back on the 7 train one more stop to Jackson Heights. We walked the brightly-lit streets for a few chilly minutes until we found the place Carlota knew: Delhi palace.

It was a bit early for dinner, so most places were fairly empty. When we walked in, there were only two other tables occupied at the moment. We sat down, still shivering, and browsed through the menus. As a grammar geek, I enjoyed some of phonetic translations--check out the ingredients to the 'blady mary' (bloody mary): I believe 'watch ester' sauce is supposed to be "Worchestershire" sauce..I think "watch ester" might be more appropriate considering how we pronounce it!

We started with some vegetarian samosas (above) and some poori (seen a few paragraphs above, next to the rice photo), that fried, oh-so-delicious bread that I know is certainly not healthy, but yummy as all heck. I don't normally order it, but Carlota twisted my arm ;) and I went along with her. It was really tasty and went quickly...I even liked it better than the naan bread (and I love naan!)

I wasn't sure what to get, so I ended up going with the Chicken Tikka Masala, which is the baseline dish I compare at all Indian restaurants. This was just okay to me. The tomato sauce wasn't as spicy or flavorful as I'm used to--it reminded me of a thicker marinara, actually!

Carlota picked the lamb korma for her entree, and I was expecting a sauce along the lines of the cracktastic Chicken Korma sauce we had at Cafe Spice. However, this one was bright green, jam-packed with cilantro, and while different, still amazingly good. I instantly wished I'd picked this!

Despite the amazing amount of food we consumed, we still thought we'd try dessert, and we were DEFINITELY getting the masala chai, a spice-infused tea that is fragrant and delicious. We ordered the kulfi, which is Indian-style ice cream, and it came topped with some curious additions. There was some rose-petal infused sauce on top which I couldn't handle--anything rose-infused tastes like soap to me. The little beads on top, the manager later told us, are basil seeds that have been soaked in water. They are supposed to aid in digestion. After all that food we ate, we needed all the help we could get!

The manager and staff were quiet friendly and checked on us often, and at the end of our meal, brought us this dessert 'on the house.' However, we were so beyond stuffed at this point that all I could manage was a polite bite, and even that was pushing the limits of my stomach! It was very nice of them, and I felt bad that I couldn't eat more of it, but dear Lord, even I have limits!

Did I mention this was definitely Cheap Eats? Our bill, including a glass of wine each, apps, entrees, dessert, and tea, PLUS a very generous tip, came to about 40 bucks TOTAL!!! Sweet! Afterwards, we wandered the streets and shops, admiring the saris, checking out some music, and enjoying the holiday lights. I'm so glad I FINALLLLLLLY made it out to Jackson Heights, and I can't wait to go back and visit a new place!

White Chicken Chili

White chicken chili is one of my all-time favorite cold weather foods. It's also surprisingly easy to make--you probably have most of the items in your kitchen right now!

For a recipe to qualify as a Recession Recipe, it has to be inexpensive and use items that are already in the pantry. I always have chicken broth on hand, along with spices, canned beans, etc. You may not have a can of salsa verde nearby, but it won't set you back that much. I picked this up about 6 months ago at my nearby bodega, and even the jacked-up "convenience" price was just over a dollar. And most of all, a Recession Recipe has to TASTE good!

There are a ton of recipes out there, so I improvised with the basic ingredients. You'll need:
2 15 oz cans Navy Beans (about .89 each at Trader Joe's & corner grocery)
1.5-3 cups chicken stock (on sale for about 4 bucks on FreshDirect.com, or make your own--I've used up all of mine)
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin (staple in mi casa)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion (diced in mere seconds thanks to my awesome chopper, last featured here)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
7 oz can green chiles (1.19 at bodega)
2 cups shredded chicken (about a buck or 2 when bought in bulk on FreshDirect.com!)

I sautéed the onions and garlic in about 2 teaspoons of olive oil, just enough to sweat them (don't let the garlic burn!!), then I dumped everything but the chicken into the pot. Once the aromatic mixture came to a boil, I simmered it for 5 minutes and then added the chicken. It smelled so good that I could only wait another 5 minutes or so before I doled some out for dinner. YUM! Not as good as my mom's, but pretty damn close. I had some more for lunch today, and it tastes even BETTER!