pudding + fortune telling fish

Best dessert treat to come with your check! Dense dark chocolate pudding dessert. Mermaid Inn on the Upper West Side.

(image by: vivien chin)

cannoncino

These tasty treats were at the Madison Square Eats booths. Must get one next week.

(image by: vivien chin)

desk view: marimekko + mad sq eats

Marimekko collaboration with “Madison Square Eats” event food booths making food time fun. Love the sea of color and tasty treats. Check it out at Madison Square Park.

(image by: vivien chin)

arepas_homestyle

Team effort at Deniz and Adam’s house on Friday. Tried our hand at homemade Arepas filled with avocado and chicken accompanied by a black bean mango salad. Really delicious!! Drinks included micheladas – spicy beer mix that leaves a kick in your mouth! Dessert was a sweet & savory arepa topped with a fried egg. Thanks Deniz, Adam, JS, Dianne, & Justin for a very yummy dinner and good times.

(image by: vivien chin)

cookie jackpot

Thin mints you won’t survive for long!

Just discovered girl scout cookie heaven. You can by them by the case or single box at their offices on 23rd street (on the north side) near 6th Ave. Ends at the beginning of May. Thanks Laura for the find!

(image by: vivien chin)

robot tea

My 2 loves combined…tea and robots!  It even hangs on to your cup!  Robot Tea Infuser by Kikkerland.

On my wishlist along with the Submarine Tea Infuser.

homemade veggie pizza

Really delicious easy pizza to make.  Either use your own pizza dough or what’s shown above is the Trader Joe’s Garlic herb fresh pizza dough.

Toppings: roasted red peppers; artichoke hearts; spinach; kalamata olives; parmesan cheese; fresh garlic; basil; oregano

Bake at 425 degrees till done.  Enjoy!

An easy, tasty meal.  Colorful and beautiful too!

(image by: vivien chin)

quinoa tabbouleh salad

Made this new recipe for dinner. Delicious, light, and fresh. Good alone or as a complementing side dish. My first recipe with quinoa. Now to look for more!

Ingredients~
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup tomato, diced
1 cup cucumber, diced
1/4 cup mint, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or more to taste if necessary)
1/2 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground (optional if you don’t like the flavor)
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste

Directions~

(1) Bring the water and quinoa to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the liquid has all been absorbed, about 17-20 minutes and let cool.

(2) Mix the quinoa, tomato, cucumber, parsley, mint, olives, and green onion.

(3) Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper and toss with salad.

(image by: vivien chin)

xocolatti

Received the prettiest truffle chocolates. Almost too beautiful to eat. They come from Xocolatti in SOHO.

top row (L to R): raspberry hazelnut, gianduja, champagne brut
middle row (L to R): coffee nutmeg, olive oil basil, rose cardamom
bottom row (L to R): tangerine, malagasy, sake

lovely…

 

(image by: vivien chin)

yorkshire puddings

After having popovers at a local restaurant, I really wanted to try and make some of my own.  I stumbled upon this recipe for Yorkshire Puddings that are made in a normal muffin pan that have all the characteristics I love about popovers–in particular the fluffy, crispy, layers.  Made these a while back, but only just now go around to posting them.

 

Ingredients ~

1 cup flour
1 cup eggs
1 cup water/milk (50/50 split mixture)
pinch of salt
1 tbsp malt vineagar

 

Instructions ~

(1) Mix flour, salt, eggs, and half the water/milk mixture.  Beat well until lumps are gone.

(2) Add the remaining water/milk mixture and vinegar and mix thoroughly.  Set aside

(3) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Fill each reservoir of muffin tray 1/5 full with vegetable oil (or beef drippings as traditionally done.  I used vegetable oil).  Place tray in oven to heat up oil.

(4) Once the oil gets hot, take the tray out of the over and quickly pour some batter into each reservoir.  The batter should sizzle when it hits the oil, just like frying dough.  Place the tray in the oven for 25 mins.  Don’t open door or they might collapse.

(5) After 25 mins, you can rotate the tray for even cooking and cook for another 10 mins or until golden brown.

Serve, eat, enjoy!

 

(image by: vivien chin)

brigadeiro

Just broke into the other part of my swag bag–a box of brigadeiro candies.  Brazilian candies.  The pistachio one is amazing.

 

(images by: vivien chin)

baked asparagus omelet

A new breakfast favorite.  The sweet flavor of the asparagus, creamy cheeses, and delicious eggs make for a good combo.

Ingredients ~

1 pound pencil-thin asparagus, ends trimmed
3 ounces or more of favorite cheese (mix of Brie, Jarlsberg, Parmesan as seen above)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 shallot, chopped
2 garlic cloves
5 large eggs
3/4 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

Instructions ~

(1)  Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees

(2)  Boil Asparagus until crisp tender.  Drain and pat dry

(3)  Cook shallots and garlic in butter until tender

(4)  Mix eggs, shallots, garlic, cheese and cream in bowl.

(5)  Place evenly the asparagus in a 9 inch quiche or pie pan.  Pour egg mixture over

(6)  Bake for 40 mins until puffy and golden or until egg is cooked through

 

(images by: vivien chin)

classy picklebacks

Templeton Rye + Pickle juice. Good discovery.

resto

Went to Resto last night for Restaurant Week dinner last night. I didn’t take many pics, but my favorite things I ate last night were the deviled eggs on top of a pig toast and the Beignets with chocolate sauce. The Beignets are even tastier dipped in coffee! The deviled eggs are from their regular menu and they are just divine. It’s the best combination of food you could ever put together to make a deviled egg. Definitely worth a visit. The food is great!

Resto
111 East 29th Street New York, NY 10016
212- 685-5585

 

 

(images by: vivien chin)

 

calle ocho

Unlimited sangria bar at Calle Ocho in the UWS!

Started my New Year’s Eve having brunch here with sangria, their delicious bread basket, plantains, and Spanish frittata on crab enchilado.Yum yum.

Reservations needed because they fill up fast as they are only open for a few hours for brunch.

Calle Ocho
(in the Excelsior Hotel)
45 W 81st St
New York, NY 10024

(images by: vivien chin)

rice_restaurant

Wild rice pilaf with beef strips. (top)
Indian curry with rice and mango chutney. (bottom)

Delicious! Try these next time you are at Rice.

Rice
292 Elizabeth St
(b/t Prince St & Houston St)
New York, NY 10012

(images by: vivien chin)

luke’s lobster roll

Just found Luke’s Lobster in the UWS. Yummy yummy lobster rolls there with giant lumps of claw meat.

 

Luke’s Lobster – Upper West Side
426 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10024

 

(image by: vivien chin)

teddy froth

This is a first for me.  A bear in my cappuccino froth at the Nespresso Cafe in Soho.

(image by: vivien chin)

branzino & bone marrow_prune restaurant

Recently had the most delicious thing at Prune Restaurant for Jeff’s birthday dinner.  The Roasted Bone Marrow appetizer is to die for here.  It’s served with toasted bread, parsley, and sea salt.  Soooo buttery and delicious.  I highly recommend it.

For entrée, I had the fish of the day which was grilled branzino stuffed with fennel.  It was cooked to perfection.

Other good appetizers were the Octopus and Squid with Celery and the Butter Poached Fingerling Potatoes.

Prune is definitely a must go.  Great atmosphere and food.  I left very satisfied.

 

Prune Restaurant
54 East 1st St # 1
New York, NY 10003

(212) 677-6221

panda candy

Genius packaging. 2 chocolate candies make up the head and body of the panda. Makes for candy too adorable to eat.

(image by: vivien chin

baby grand

drinks + karaoke + friends.  good times.  check it out yourself.

dave and justin…you rocked it last week!

 

Baby Grand
161 Lafayette St
(between Howard St & Grand St)
New York, NY 10013

(image by: vivien chin)

the sugar lump crop

Picked the first batch from the sugar lump tomato “crop”.  Urban farming is delicious, sweet and tasty.

(image by: vivien chin)

restaurant week_summer 2010

It’s finally here!  Summer Restaurant Week in NYC is July 12-25, 2010.  Check out the restaurants participating this year and their menus here.  Make reservations soon.  All the good place go fast!  Good food for low prices.  Can’t wait!

(image from: nycgo.com)

my sugar lumps_tomatoes!

They’re finally turning red!!!  Purchased a small tomato plant seedling from the Union Square Farmers’ Market probably a month ago.  It was of the “sugar lump” or “Gardener’s Delight” (looked it up online…haha) variety.  They are little baby tomatoes/cherry tomatoes. The plant was less than a foot tall when I bought it and now it’s 3-4 ft tall. Insane!  After watching the blossoms turn to tiny pea sized tomatoes, it seemed like it was going to take forever for them to turn red, but finally they are getting ripe.  Looking forward to adding them to my salads. Definitely really rewarding to grow your own food to eat.  Have a bell pepper plant starting to grow. Hope that works out too

(image by: vivien chin)

epistrophy

Stumbled upon this Wine Bar/Italian Cafe yesterday in Nolita area. Small and intimate with great atmosphere and outdoor seating.  Had some tasty artichoke ravoli with a pesto sauce.  Started with a delicious Cheese & Vegetable platter (chose the small, but they come in Med. and Large w/variations of Cheese & Fruit or Cheese & Meat.  Food is reasonably priced with large wine selection.  Nice casual place to drop into if you are in the area and need a break.

200 Mott St. (between Kenmare & Spring St.)
New York, NY 10012
(212)966-0904

(image by: vivien chin)

bomboloni

Little pillows of deliciousness are what these are. While trying to feed a donut craving, found this place called, Bomboloni, that sells little donuts of the same name. Bomboloni are Italian filled donuts topped with powdered sugar. My favorites are the Strawberry, Creme Brulee, Apple, and Raspberry.  Other flavors include Valrhona Chocolate, Traditional, etc.  They are $1 a piece or half-dozen for $5.  Yummy and well worth it.  A must try, you won’t regret it.  There are also other goodies there so check them out!

187 Columbus Ave. (btwn 68th and 69th st.)
New York, NY 10023
(212) 877-3080

(image by: vivien chin)

a salt & battery: fish & chips

I love love love fish and chips. Finally stopped in and ate at this tasty place I always pass by when i’m in the area.  Love the name – “A Salt & Battery”.  Tried the Sea Bass and Sole (with chips of course!).  Everything was delish and perfect!  I will definitely be going back.  If you love fish and chips, check this place out.  Fun sightings: Ballot from Bobby’s Flay’s Throwdown on the Food Network on the wall and a poster for deep fried Cadbury Eggs for Easter weekend.  (Melissa, you are probably the only one I know who might be willing to try those deep friend Cadbury eggs.  I know how much you love Cadbury eggs!!)

A Salt & Battery

112 Greenwich Ave
(between 12th St & Jane St)
New York, NY 10011
(212) 691-2713

(images by: vivien chin)

clam and asparagus risotto

 

Experimented with a new risotto by building off the recipe for a mushroom risotto that I typically make.  See my earlier post on Mushroom Risotto for the recipe.  Here are my additional alterations to that recipe to get what I made tonight. 

 

Ingredients:

No mushrooms or cheese used

Liquids used:
(3 or 4) cups of chicken broth (or vegetable if you prefer);
(1) cup vermouth;
(1/2) cup clam juice drained from your clams

(1/2) lb. asparagus

(1) can of baby clams or (1-2) lb of fresh clams (steamed)

(1) tbsp of parsley [optional]

 

Directions:

_Cook asparagus in salted water for 2-3 minutes or until cook.  Cut into 1-2 inch pieces and pat dry with a paper towel.  Set aside.

_Drain the juice from a can of baby clams or steam your fresh clams and reserve the clam juice for later.

_Cook the shallots, garlic, and rice as in the other recipe.

_Add the vermouth as the first cup of liquid added to the rice .  From then on add the broth, making sure to incorporate the clam juice in as well.  You may not use all of the broth.  Continue to add broth until the risotto rice is to the firmness or softness of your liking.

_When rice is done add in the butter, clams, asparagus, and parsley (optional).  Mix together

_Add salt and pepper to taste

 

(image by: vivien chin)

olive tapenade

 

Made a nice olive tapenade for an appetizer tonight.  Very tasty and yummy.  I love olives and garlic.  I sort of just made up the recipe as I went along–making it to taste.  So here’s my approximate recipe.  Feel free to change it up!

 

Ingredients:

(1/2) cup fresh olives [I went to the bins of fresh olives w/herbs in oil at the market for mine. Kalamata, green, etc)]

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

(1 or 2) tbsp capers [amount to your liking]

(3) cloves of garlic. Minced.

(1 or 2) tbsp olive oil

Black pepper to taste

(1) fresh Baguette [or crackers if you prefer that over bread)

 

Directions:

_Chop olives into relatively small pieces.  I liked mine a little coarse, but you can make a finer mince of the olives for a more delicate texture.

_Mince garlic into fine pieces.  (I love more garlic so I used 3 cloves, but you can use less if you like)

_Rough chop the capers

_Combine olives, capers, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil.  Mix thoroughly and add pepper to taste.

_Slice up the baguette and serve the tapenade over the baguette (or crackers).

 

(image by: vivien chin)

alice’s tea cup

This is the best little place ever! Alice’s Tea Cup in the Upper West Side has the best tea selection, scones, and food in general. I had the french toast for brunch (1st pic) and it was some of the best french toast I’ve ever had. For tea, had the Silver Needle Jasmine tea which was sooo aromatic and tasty. It complimented the buttermilk scone and raspberry with chocolate scone very nicely. The scones really were the best–so buttery and soft and perfect. This place really has turned the novel idea of a tea party into a great experience with delicious tea and scrumptious goodies. I saw groups with towers of scones, sandwiches, & cupcakes and other yummy things accompanied by pots of tea. Alice in Wonderland is inspiration for this little teahouse/restaurant/cafe/place. I can definitely see myself coming back here for a great cup of tea and scone or anything else on the menu. It’s so relaxing inside that you really could lose yourself in there for a few hours. It’s great. A must try. The tea party is not for little girls anymore! There were more than plenty of adults in here enjoying themselves.

Alice’s Tea Cup
102 West 73rd Street
New York, NY 10023

(212) 799-3006

(images by: vivien chin)

restaurant week_mesa grill

Ate at Bobby Flay’s Restaurant, Mesa Grill for restaurant week.  The restaurant serves southwestern food.  My dishes of choice were a salmon tartare appetizer (2nd pic), grilled mahi mahi w/risotto entree (1st pic), and for dessert pineapple upside down cake with vanilla ice cream.  Everything was delicious!  Great choice for restaurant week.

Mesa Grill
102 5th Ave
New York, NY 10011
(212) 807-7400

(images by: vivien chin)

coffee fudge w/ pecans

Tried making fudge for the first time last week!  Wanted to make my contribution to Kristin and Rick’s Happy Hour Engagement party.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it, as did I.  The espresso really makes the chocolate have a nice coffee/mocha taste.  I love coffee flavor anything so I was drawn to this kind of fudge.  Found a recipe online and altered it a little to make it even more tasty.  Try it out sometime.

Ingredients:

_(3) cups semisweet chocolate [I used (3) 8 oz. boxes of Bakers brand semisweet chocolate and it worked just fine]

_(1) cup chopped pecans (or any nut of your choice)

_(1) 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

_(2) tbsp. of brewed espresso [I used an Italian roast espresso, but any strong brewed coffee will work]

_(1) tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

_Line a 8″ x 8″ pan with foil and butter the foil for easier removal of fudge from pan.  Set aside.

_Set up a double boiler on the stove by filling a pot halfway with water and bring water to a boil.  Place a metal mixing bowl on top of the boiling pot.  Add all the chocolate in.  Chocolate will begin to melt from the heat.  Keep stirring it as it melts. Double boiler set ups are great because it keeps the chocolate from burning.

_Once the chocolate is all melted add in the vanilla and espresso and stir.

_Pour the condensed milk in slowly at first just so the milk gets used to the temperature and then you can pour the rest all in.  Things start to set and thicken pretty fast once you add the milk in so work fast.  Add the pecans in right after you’ve poured in all the milk.  Mix until combined/smooth.

_Quickly pour the mixture into the pre-buttered pan.  Cover the pan and place in the fridge to set.  Should take a couple of hours to set.  (I just left mine over night because I didn’t need it till the next morning.)

_Once set, remove the fudge from the pan and cut into chunks.  Fudge is so dense that a 1″ x 1″ cube is sufficient for a serving chunk size.  Depending on how long you leave the fudge in the fridge, it may be a little hard.  So you may want to let it sit out for a little a room temp to soften up (if you can even wait that long…haha…hard to resist the urge to just dig in).

_Enjoy!

(images taken with my phone so they didn’t turn out too well, but it gives you a little preview)

restaurant week_nyc

Restaurant week NYC starts next week!  Get your reservations in online at their website.  Reduced rates at typically expensive restaurants is always great thing.  I’ve gotten to try restaurants that I couldn’t typically enjoy except on a splurge for a special occasion.  January 25-February 7, 2010.  Check it out.

(image from nycgo.com)

golden beets & brussels sprouts

New recipe tried out for dinner last night that was really delicious and a must try!  I’ve never really eaten brussels sprouts before this and they are soooo good.  I’m going to have to make them more often.  The original recipe is from weheartfood but I made a few slight alterations to it so that’s what I will include here, but you can check out weheartfood if you want the original recipe and portion size.  Next time I make this I’m going to try it with come green beans because they taste so good, but here goes with the original recipe:

Servings: 2-3 large portions

Ingredients:

(3) medium sized beets

(20) brussels sprouts

(1) shallot, peeled and diced

(2-3) gloves of garlic

(2-3) tbsp of toasted almond slivers

(1) tbsp fresh thyme chopped or (1) tsp dried thyme

olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

_Heat oven to 350 degrees and place the beets in a pan.  Roast the beets in the oven for 1hr and 10 mins or until tender.  Remove from the oven and set aside to cool down for a few minutes.  When cool, peel the skin off and put them aside to be chopped later.

_Fill a skillet half way with water and bring to a boil.  Place the brussels sprouts in boiling water and cook for 2-3 mins or until almost cooked through.  Drain and set aside to cool

_Chopping time. If you haven’t diced the shallots and garlic then do so.  Chop the beets into 1″ or so chunks. Take the brussels sprouts and cut the stem off and then cut the sprouts in half (cut into quarters if you want them smaller).

_In a skillet, pour a little oil and saute the shallots on med or med/high heat until they are translucent.  Add in the garlic when the shallots look close to being done since the garlic doesn’t take as long to get a little golden brown.

_When the shallots are done, add more olive oil (about 1-2 tbsp).  Add the brussels sprouts, beets, almonds, and thyme and mix everything together in the pan over med-high heat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Once thoroughly mixed (add more olive oil if you like), take off the heat and serve.

_You now have a delicious side dish or even main vegetarian course.  Very filling.

(image from weheartfood)

do you see’s what i see…

A little trip to the See’s Candy store is always a plus.  Dark chocolate is my favorite, carmels too, and covered almond clusters.  Scrumptrulescent

(images by: vivien chin)

cookie towers @ birdbath

Yummiest cookie towers ever.  Was out and about today and had a white chocolate chip chocolate cookie today at Birdbath, a green bakery, in Soho that just opened.  It was delicious!  You can see a tower of it in the far back there next to the Statue of Liberty figure.  Definitely recommend the cookies there.

Birdbath
160 Prince Street (Soho)
New York, NY

(image by: vivien chin)

giant omelette??

$40 for an ostrich egg?  That’s one expensive omelette.

(image by: vivien chin)

turkey day feast night

Made deviled eggs for appetizers.  It was so hard not to eat them all before heading over to Jeff and Laura’s for Thanksgiving feast.

There’s Justin carving the turkey and the delicious mulled cider is in the foreground that Ben made.

THE FEAST!

Dig in everyone!!  I think that might be Dave’s plate in the foreground.  Good job on utilizing all of your plate!

Thanks Jeff and Laura (w/ Dave and Hannah) for hosting out 3rd Thanksgiving Feast in NYC.  My mouth is still watering thinking about all the good food we had.  Thanks everyone for bringing all the delicious food and a great game of telephone pictionary!  Can’t wait until next year…

(images by: vivien chin)

corner bistro

Tasty burger and fries for cheap at “Corner Bistro” in the West Village yesterday. Had the “Bistro Burger” and it was delicious. Bacon = YUM

331 W. 4th Street
(between 12th St & Jane St)
New York, NY 10014
(212) 242-9502

(image by: vivien chin)

otto

Tried Mario Batali’s restaurant, Otto, near Washington Square park recently.  Thought the food was really great and really cheaply priced which is always a plus for NY.  One of my favorite parts of the restaurant is the flipping train schedule (seen above).  If you are waiting for a table you are given a ticket with a city name on it and your ticket name flips up on the board when your table is ready just like in a train station.  Thumbs up. 

Delicious food to try:  Penne Con Noci e Zucca (penne, succa, hazelnuts, and ricotta); Swiss Chard and Goat cheese pizza; for appetizer they have daily special bruschetta.  I had the Otto Lardo which if you are up to it you will love.  It is toasted bread with a slice of pig’s fat on top.  It is buttery and delicious.  I loved it.  Funny story, the girls at the next table thought I was eating bread with cheese on it, but the waiter informed them of what it reall was and they were turned off.  I say don’t be turned off because it was very yummy and you should try it.  It was the Friday Bruschetta.

I’ll definitely be going back sometime soon.
Otto Restaurant Enoteca Pizza
1 5th Ave
New York, NY 10003
(212) 995-9559