Ballpark Eats

I was lucky enough to hit not one, but two Mets games last week! The first was on Monday, and it was a sweltering, sweltering night. I don't think I ever stopped sweating the whole evening. The Mets also lost by a crushing 10-1, so wahh-wahhh (sad trombone sound). However, the next night, Tuesday (against the Braves-feh), was a complete turnaround. Yes, still muggy, but our seats were awesome and we had our own little 'club!' My BF got some free seats from his office, so he and I and my friend Carlota hit up Citi Stadium for a night. As we entered Citi Field, I noticed the tickets said 'Promenade Club.' Wait..what!? Sounds sweet! I asked the helpful man standing outside ANOTHER club, and he directed us upstairs. Turns out there was a lovely, air-conditioned, private area where folks in our section could eat in the cool, order with little to no lines, and just enjoy the good life. :)

I ordered my first-ever sausage & peppers at a ballgame. It was pretty good! The sausage (spicy, not sweet) was a bit dry, but still flavorful, and the veggies were outstanding--perfectly crisp-tender, not soggy--you could still taste them!

My BF got the burger and fries--the crinkly fries are hands-down my favorite, and these were delicious. Salty, squishy, just right. And of course he shared a bite with me (and I did the same with my sausage & peppers). Thank goodness I got a guy who doesn't mind sharing!

Carlota got the chicken quesadilla, which was one hefty serving o' food. It had shredded, well-seasoned chicken inside, along with mucho queso. The quac and salsas that came with it were quite tasty as well. It was too much for even the three of us, but tasty for sure. There was something in the tortilla, though, and I couldn't quite place the flavor. It had these green flecks...could it have been basil? It was a smell that didn't quite go with the flavor of the meat and cheese, so it was a bit distracting at first. Solution: more guac! : )

We then left the air-conditioned coccoon of the Promenade Club and took our drinks out to our seats, which were great. We had an awesome view of the game, which took an Amazin' turn in the 4th inning, when, down 4-0, the Mets scored a remarkable EIGHT RUNS IN ONE INNING! And they held the lead the rest of the game to win! That's what I'm talkin' about!

Sublime Sammiches

Last weekend, the BF & I went to an olive-oil tasting class at the Columbus Circle Williams-Sonoma. This was another event in our Finer Things Club, which was my 'gift' to him last Christmas (I plan these events that may or may not be fancy shmancy and we do them together).

After the class, the BF suggested lunch upstairs at Bouchon Bakery. I'd had their sweets before, but had never eaten there. We were immediately seated (shocking to me on a Sunday afternoon!) and our server came right over. She was friendly and nice and not at all snooty. She described the specials to us, and one of them jumped out to the BF. It was a sliced sausage with ricotta salata cheese on a baguette. We've been jonesing for some good baguettes since our trip to Montréal, too! I asked her to repeat the sausage name, because it sounded like she said Petit Jésu...but that can't be right.. can it?

Turns out, that's exactly what it's called...loose translation is 'little baby jesus' sausage. I don't know WHY it's called that, except maybe you do want to thank the good Lord for making something so delicious, but I am oh-so-glad my BF ordered this AND let me share a bit. It also had a light layer of tomato marmalade on it. YUUUUUUUUUM. My sandwich paled in comparison. It was Wagyu corned beef with watercress and a horseradish creme fraiche. Horseradish is one of my buzzwords--anything with horseradish, chipotle, raspberries, or wasabi is guaranteed to edge out other items on a menu. The horseradish wasn't that strong to me, though the BF tasted it and said it was very strong. Hmm..perhaps the awesomeness of his sandwich was overshadowing mine.

My sandwich came on a mustard-whole wheat baguette. While I enjoy mustard, I thought the bread overpowered everything else, and ended up taking the top half of the bread off the sandwich. I also don't care for watercress--it's too bitter for me, so I removed that as well. Then I could better appreciate the succulence of the Wagyu beef--it was buttery, almost melt-in-your-mouth soft, and just remarkable. What a exceptionally delicious cut of meat!

We were pretty full after our sandwiches, so instead of sweets, we opted for hot lattés. Sadly, my camera battery died before I could snap a shot. This is hands-down one of the best lattés I've ever had. I don't know what kind of bean they used, but it was smooth, not bitter at all, the foam was hefty and gorgeous, and the milk had a creaminess to it that made it taste like a dessert--no sugar needed!

Squash Bisque

Some people hoard stuff; I hoard recipes. I will rip them out here and there along the way, filing them in a big old box that I keep in my living room. Now and again I'll browse through it and set aside a few I'd like to try. This particular recipe never even made it to the box. I LOVE zucchini, and I knew I'd be using this squash bisque recipe quite soon.

It still took me a few weeks to get around to it, but today was the perfect time. I got a bunch of squash (on sale this week at FreshDirect! I paid 3.43 for a total of 5 squash, and I didn't even use them all) delivered this morning, so I unpacked it, washed it, and got to cutting. This recipe also gave me an excuse to use one of my favorite toys..I mean tools. Sara and her boyfriend gave me the Williams-Sonoma chopper for my last birthday, and man have I put some miles on this one! Allow me to demonstrate with a creatively-shot video (Hey, it's hard shooting when you're cooking solo! I did several tries using one hand, the other holding the camera, before getting a little more creative..):

The chopper made quick, perfect, precisely-diced work of 5 zucchini in, oh, about 30 seconds. In a word: AAAAAAAAAAWESOME!!!

Once I finished playing with my chopper, I realized I had wayyyyy more zucchini than I needed for this recipe. I set some aside after a few minutes of sautéing, and kept cooking the rest. While the zucchini cooks quite quickly, I have agree with the author of the NYT post on this recipe: the zucchini doesn't really brown! Once you can really smell the zucchini, it's done. I halved the recipe and sort of fudged my way along (more fractions!) and I think it all turned out quite nicely.
I also used white pepper instead of black--it's one of my favorite ways to spike the flavor in a dish. I also didn't purée the soup as much as I could have, so it really felt more like a 'chowder' than a bisque, which was just fine with me! I like my soup to have some heartiness to it. I want to feel like I'm EATING something, not just 'drinking' my food. I also took some of the zucchini I reserved earlier, while it still had some crunch to it, and put some of that on top of the finished dish. I also added a few dices of red pepper just for color, but I didn't care for the bite this had when mixed with the mellowness of the zucchini. Looks pretty, but I'll skip it next time around! Also, don't let the cream content freak you out: it's 1/3 of a cup for a good 6 hearty servings--you're only getting a few tablespoons. This dish was suprisingly light and refreshing. I didn't feel heavy or too full after eating it. And I have plenty of leftovers for the days ahead. Excelsior!!

LKP on 24/24/24

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! That's the sound I just made when I found out Foodbuzz.com selected MY proposal for one of their 24/24/24 meals to be featured on their website this month! The meal will happen on Saturday, August 29th, and be posted both on my blog and on Foodbuzz.com on Sunday, August 30th. Woo hoo!

This is JUST the great news I needed today. I am very excited and am already planning the menu. My proposal was a Recession Recipes party, where I feature recipes that are affordable and delicious; ideas that show that eating affordably does NOT mean eating flavorlessly. I have a bunch of fun summer recipes spinning around in my head, and they're all budget-friendly. I stressed the fact that food brings together people in a wonderful way, and the night will be just as much about the company as it is about the food. I can't wait!!

Dessert on a Dime

We Yanks joke a lot about British food being terrible (and most of what I've had was not great), but boy, do they know custard. Heaven help me. I am a sucker for a good English custard. Not too sweet, not too thick, all too easy to eat. I found a brand (Ambrosia) I'd tried before this weekend while at the grocery store with the BF. I brought a can home and decided to make some fruit parfaits of sorts. The first night I plopped almost a whole pint of raspberries in and splashed some custard on top. Gone before you could say Blimey!

Last night, however, as the oppressive heat & humidity reminded me why I never want to live in really hot states again (I can't do this all year. I can't! I won't!), I scoured the fridge for a cooling treat. Seeing as I'd scarfed all the raspberries from the night before, I pounced on an unsuspecting pint of blueberries, plump and naturally sweet and without a chance of survival around me. I gave about 1/4 cup of berries a big old dollop of the custard and settled on the couch, where the air conditioner hit me at the perfect angle. Deeeeeeeeeeeelicious, cheap, and no cooking required!

Is it fall yet?

Not quite cracktastic....

Hands down, my favorite dish to order when out for tapas is Gambas al Ajillo (Shrimp in garlic & oil). Sala 19 is probably my favorite spot for this dish: there is something cracktastically delicious about this dish--the softness of the shrimp, the incredible garlicky tang of the olive oil..divine. Once the shrimp is gone, I will gladly scoop up the sauce with just some crusty bread. I found an article in a magazine that gave me hope I might be able to create such culinary cracktastickness (sp?) in my own kitchen.

This recipe (which calls for only olive oil, shrimp, red chile peppers, and fresh parsley for the garnish) came out okay...but something is missing. Yes, the shrimp is soft and delectable; yes, the garlic infuses the oil nicely; yes, the red pepper (less powerful since I removed the ribs and seeds--I think I removed too much, fyi) gives it just the right amount of quiet heat, lurking in the back of your throat as you're distracted by the garlic. But it's just...okay. The first batch came out a bit bland, so while the recipe didn't originally call for it, I added a sprinkle of sea salt. That helped, but it's still not quite there.

Has anyone out there tried this dish? Any suggestions for how to take it to the next sensory level? What am I missing? I used fresh and jarred garlic (sliced the fresh, the jarred was already minced). Ayudame, por favor (Help me please!)! Gracias. :)

At-home Panini

My boyfriend stopped in a new place for lunch last week and was quite taken with a panini he'd ordered. It had chicken, red onion, chipotle sauce, and mozzarella cheese. This weekend, we decided to try to make it on our own.

We got whole wheat flatbread, mozzerella, and chipotle peppers. The BF had everything else at home. He sliced the mozz and onion, I shredded the chicken he'd cooked from a previous evening. The best part of it was our homemade chipotle mayo. The BF took two whole chipotle peppers, about a half-tablespoon of sauce, and half a cup of light mayo (there was a lot left over from this particular batch). It all went in his trusty Magic Bullet, and in a minute, we had chipotle mayo! I couldn't stop sneaking nibbles with bits of chicken that I'd dip into the mayo (don't worry--NO double-dipping). I've never been a huge mayo fan, but I could see myself making this at home quite often. I'd made chipotle sour cream before, but this was new for me. Chipotle, as many of my friends know, is one of my favorite flavors. I love it in Tabasco, mashed potatoes, sauces, sour creams, you name it. If I see chipotle on a menu, I'm quite likely to order it. I like the smoky heat it provides, which is not the searing, often tear-inducing pain a raw jalapeno or serrano or other hot pepper will provide.

We spread a thin layer of the chipotle mayo (little goes a long way, compadres), then layered the red onion, mozzerella, chicken, and a hefty dose of fresh cilantro before sealing it all up.

We decided to make just one panini and split it, you know, test the proverbial waters. We coated the panini with a light brushing of olive oil and got to cookin'.I'd never made a panini before, so it was a lot of fun for me to get to flip the (very heavy) panini press, which went right over the gas burner. In a matter of minutes, the cheese was bubbling, oozing over the edges, and the top of the flatbread was a nice dark brown. We took it off the heat, the BF sliced it, and we sat down to taste the fruits of our labor.

Que sabroso! It was quite tasty. I wasn't sure what I'd think of both red onions and chipotle, but they paired perfectly. The sharpness of the red onion got a nice smoothing out by the smoky heat of the chipotle mayo. I'm now going to make this a new staple for my pantry--chipotle mayo year-round!

Huevos Parkeros

Huevos rancheros is one of my absolute favorite dishes to order when I hit up a brunch (or Tex-Mex) spot. This recession-fueled effort to reduce spending has led to yet another experiment: making huevos rancheros my way!

I took a can of Trader Joe's black beans (with spices and peppers already included) and heated them up. I don't care for the mushiness of the green peppers, so I chopped up some fresh red pepper as well and added that. It gave a nice crunch and new texture to the dish. I then ladled about 1/2 a cup of beans on the plate, carefully added the two poached eggs, and then immediately went to town on this affordable, delicious dish, which cost about 1.12 total for ingredient costs. Next time I'll make sure to have a batch of freshly-made salsa ready to go as well. Olé!

Marvel

Last weekend, my BF took me by a popular place to cool off during the hot summer weather in Lawn Guyland (aka Long Island). It's called Marvel, and I could tell as soon as we rounded the corner that it is one hot spot for cool treats.

Marvel sells soft serve ice cream and yogurt. Their flavors are kept to a minimum each day, and they offer sundaes, cones, and shakes. The line was long as I stepped up to the building, but they have employees in the parking lot and by the order windows to keep things moving. I also have to mention that the staff were absolutely super-sweet. They didn't roll their eyes when I didn't know exactly what I wanted, and the guy who took my order and my money was so friendly! Their service was top-notch, and everyone had a great attitude. How refreshing!

The BF knew exactly what he wanted: vanilla soft serve in a cup with hot chocolate sauce (not hot fudge) and chopped peanuts. It's something I'd never have ordered before (nuts on my ice cream? Perish the thought just a year or two ago), but BF has slowly gotten me to see how awesome these crunchy toppings can be on ice cream. I've gotten the message quite quickly with walnuts, but for some reason, peanuts are a harder sell. I placed the BF's order at the window, stalling to figure out what I wanted.
The family next to me took one look at BF's order and the dad said "I'll have one of those." I should have done the same! Instead, I ordered the predictable (and tasty) vanilla soft serve ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles. Not bad, but oh man... next time we go to Marvel, I am SO getting the BF's regular.

Also--soft serve melts even faster than ice cream in the summer heat. Fortunately, my BF didn't freak out even as sprinkles began falling and pinging around inside his gorgeous vehicle. He did volunteer to take a helpful 'bite' out of my cone. Don't worry, I cleaned up any sprinkly debris later :) At least his order was more self-contained.

Marvel
258 Lido Blvd
Lido Beach, NY 11561
(516) 889-4232

411 on Me

I blogged about food on an older site that was about my life in general, but eventually realized I wanted a forum just for the food itself. I also recently joined Foodbuzz.com, which is bringing new visitors every day (welcome!), so I figured I'd give a little background:

1. Who the heck am I? I'm LKP to friends: an eternal optimist, a fun-loving gal who believes happiness is a choice. I'm living my dream by living and working in NYC (moved here nearly 8 years ago and never regretted it!) I love the way food brings people together; some of my family's most revealing moments were across the dinner table. I have many memories of how my mother put together a big meal that could bring remarkably different people together. I have met people from all over the world at the dinner table--we might speak different languages, have different faiths, but we've all gotta eat!

2. What makes me 'qualified' to blog about food? Absolutely nothing, really. I have no credentials, I know that taking a course or two in food does not a master make. However, I am not claiming to be the next James Beard or Julia Child. I'm just a person who loves food, loves the social element of it, and loves experimenting. I was the food nerd in college who was sautéing her rice in olive oil and garlic before cooking it, and making simple sauces for chicken breasts. It seemed fancy to others, but it was just the same old simple stuff I grew up eating. I'm not trying to be anything other than I am. I consider myself a 'foodie' because I love food, I love trying new flavors, and I love sharing those experiences with others. That's it in a nutshell.

3. Cooking's really NOT that hard. Most of my friends protest that they don't know how to, could never learn, etc. Hey, if you're not interested, that's totally cool. It's not for everyone. But if you're someone who WANTS to learn how to cook, I hope some of my recipes encourage you to do just that. I still remember how elated I was to make my mom's famous pastry shells (for éclairs, of course) all by myself, or the first time I made Chicken Tarragon and NAILED it. It's empowering, and it's fun. It's also usually healthier. And even when it's not, it's worth it. ;) There's also something so satisfying about cooking for other people and sharing your food with them-it's connecting on a basic level, and I love it. You don't have to make Beef Wellington or Baked Alaska...start simple, have fun, and enjoy tasting along the way!

4.I'd also love it if you'd vote for me by clicking on the Food Buzz icon on the upper righthand corner! I first saw the Foodbuzz label on Feisty Foodie's site, and was quickly working to get involved myself. My dear friend Sara is also a Foodbuzz Friend...check her out, too!

5. Got a favorite recipe you'd like to share? Email it to me at Lkparker@aol.com. Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions, or share your recent culinary outing! Thanks for reading, and Happy Eating!