Cook & Go

As the weather starts to cool down, hanging out has become more of a challenge and I'm always looking for a fun and interactive indoor activity. When I received an invite to attend the press event at Cook & Go, I was pumped! Cook & Go is an awesome venue that allows you to do just what it says...cook, and go! The concept is brilliant. They have a short cooking class where you make an individual portion of a meal then you box it up and you take it elsewhere to eat. The set up is beautiful and I was super excited to get started.

Our chef was awesome and we had four fantastic dishes to make.  The best part of the process is that you make your own dish, so you can add a little flair.  My absolute favorite dish was the Ravioli with Pumpkin Sage Sauce.

We assembled the three cheese ravioli ourselves then cooked it…and of course I made a few extra pieces.  The chef was also kind enough to give me some sauce to go. YUM!  The panko crusted chicken bites were quite easy to make, and I have already replicated them at home.

Our entrées were restaurant worthy, and quite hearty! We also had not one, but two desserts!

The Chocolate Cranberry Tart tasted great but mine fell apart a little in the oven. 

The Maple Upside Down Cake was much more successful!

I truly enjoyed the experience, and you can also take advantage of it.  For a limited time, Cook & Go is offering my readers a chance to get a 10% discount! It’s totally worth it and I already have plans to return in January.  Register here and use the password: Lady.  Also not a bad idea if you're still looking for a list minute holiday gift! 

This is also a great place for anyone who is unsure about whether they can cut it in the kitchen. You'll have some easy starter recipes created by well trained chefs! I also got to walk away with a new apron. 

Hungry yet?

Apple Crumb Coffee Cakes

Another great recipe from the Thanksgiving Issue of Food & Wine is the Apple Crumb Coffee Cakes. I made less changes than with the Crab Cakes, and it turned out fabulous. Although, I only ate one!

Ingredients

Streusel

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup light brown sugar

½ tsp salt

5 tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Crumb Cakes

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

1 ½ tsps baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

¾ cup sour cream

1 large egg, beaten

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely diced

Preheat the oven to 350°. In the mixing bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the flour with the brown sugar and salt. Add the butter pieces and mix at medium-low speed until the mixture resembles coarse meal; continue mixing the streusel until very small clumps form. The Food & Wine recipe recommended a standing mixer. That may have been easier, but I think the hand mixer would do the job just as well.  Transfer the streusel to a large plate and refrigerate until it is well chilled, about 10 minutes.

Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Spray the liners with vegetable oil cooking spray. In the mixer bowl, combine the flour with the granulated sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.

Add the butter pieces and beat at low speed until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the sour cream and beaten egg and beat until the batter is smooth. Add the diced apple and beat just until incorporated.

Fill the muffin cups halfway with the crumb cake batter. Press the streusel into clumps and sprinkle on top. 

Bake the crumb cakes in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes, until risen, golden and springy to the touch; rotate the pans halfway through baking.

The crumb cakes came out great! They were a big hit for dessert and even for breakfast the next morning. I realize more and more how easy and enjoyable baking can be.  I sense a cake somewhere in the near future.

Hungry yet?

Petite Abeille

I’ve had Petite Abeille on my list of restaurants to visit for quite some time. I’ve heard great things about their mussels and they have excellent specials. On the night Ms. O and I went, it was lobster night. When we arrived at the West Broadway location, there were plenty of empty seats but no one to attend to us. When we finally got someone’s attention and got a seat, we were ready to place our order. Obviously lobster would be what we wanted.  Unfortunately, the last lobster had already disappeared. Drats! If only they didn’t leave us waiting.  We pressed on and ordered our mussels.  Ms. O ordered the Poulette.

Two pounds of mussels served in a creamy white wine & shallot sauce.  She was kind enough to share. The sauce was really delicious. I’m usually skeptical of creamy white sauces but this one was delicious.  I was quite satisfied with my order too, the Rasta.

It was a Jamaican curry sauce and crisp apple.  YUMMY! It wasn’t as spicy as I would have liked but it was extremely flavorful.  The crispy crunch of the apple was a nice contrast to the mussels.  Our mussels also came with a side of Belgian fries.

They weren’t my favorite they were a little airy and I like my potatoes to have substance.  They were perfect for dipping in the broth!  The experience at Petite Abeille wasn’t as great as I would have liked – but all I really wanted was lobster.  Although their menu offers a lot of options for types of mussels, they don’t compare to The Mussel Pot. But then again it makes sense that a place that primarily serves mussels would have more options.

I will likely go back earlier on lobster night to try it out…but I’m not sure I can resist the mussels!

Hungry yet?

Blue Caravan

I have been out of town a lot these days so it has been a while since I attended a press dinner. I was fortunate enough to be invited to a delicious press dinner at Blue Caravan, a new UWS modern tapas and global cuisine restaurant. I was immediately impressed when I walked in the restaurant because I entered through the windows! It was a warm day so the full length glass windows were wide open and doubled as a door. The exposed brick in the front area of the restaurant is reminiscent of a lounge. Since I was there on a Monday night, it was a lounge because there was a live band playing enjoyable music at a volume that was not offensive. The calming blue tones through the rest of the restaurant also add a very positive vibe to the restaurant.  When we sat down and I saw the tasting menu, I could hardly contain myself!

The first course of Truffled Mixed Mushroom Bruschetta was out of this world.

This is obviously a treat for mushroom likers or lovers. Yet, even I, a mere accepter of the mushroom, was in love with this dish! I've definitely avoided mushrooms in the past but this bruschetta has me thinking of revisiting my mushroom policy. The bread was toasted but not hard enough to hurt the roof of my mouth. The crunch was perfect with the mushrooms and parmesan.  Our trio of appetizers soon arrived. 

Apparently, they're not offered as a trio but I think it was a great combination.  The Crispy Calamari was definitely the favorite.

It was simply divine! The blood orange & soy reduction that was drizzled over the tender calamari left me yearning for more.  YUM! The Porcini and Sweet Pea Arancini was also delicious.

The smoked eggplant aioli is actually what made it really good. You could really taste the smokiness. I was pleasantly surprised by the Spicy Chicken Skewer.

I NEVER order chicken skewers. I just find them to be so boring and flavorless.  This was anything but boring! Well seasoned with coriander, cumin and galangal the chicken was spectacular on its own. When I dipped it in the tamarind peanut sauce, it was like heaven on earth! After a long break to let all the appetizers settle, our entrees arrived.  We agreed sampling the two options would be the best way to handle the task of continuing to eat.  The Turmeric Salmon arrived first and parked itself right in front of me.

It was placed in coconut milk, turmeric ginger and vegetables.  The first thing I did was use a spoon to scoop up some of the sauce and wowee was it good! It had a sweet and spicy taste which only left me wanting more. The salmon was cooked to perfection. It had a crispy top but was medium in the middle. I thought for sure the salmon was as good as it gets, and then the Pan Seared Magret arrived.

It was served on a bed of wild rice, cranberry raisin and finished with a cherry port glaze.  The duck was out of this world. Duck usually overwhelms me and this was no exception. But I couldn't help it, I just kept going back! There were definitely a few moments I let out light moans of enjoyment because yes, it was just. that. good.  Thinking that I had done all that I could, I started debating whether to walk home or take the subway. That's when I realized dessert was on its way.  As soon as it arrived, there was a hush over our entire table.

The Apple Tart was crispy, warm and sweet. I ate every bite. The Profiterole was also very delicious and it was just enough chocolate to satisfy my craving.  

What a fantastic meal! Blue Caravan is amazing. The restaurant is beautiful, the owner is friendly and the food is magnificent. The blend of small plates and large as well as the global reach of the menu is truly a delight. I recommend heading over there on a warm evening so you can enjoy the open window/door and an added bonus of live music if you go on a Monday.  Apparently they'll also be adding a sidewalk cafe soon so you can enjoy one of the best aspects of summer dining in NYC.

Hungry yet?

A Delightful Sunday Brunch

Earlier this week, Mr. G and I decided to have a lil brunch festival for a few friends we haven’t seen in a while and to celebrate daytime eating J I developed the menu on Friday and couldn’t wait to try out so many new things.  I was excited because I thought this would be post 200, but turns out I’m one short! Oh well, still a fantastical brunch and totally worth writing about.

I started out with the French Toast.  On Saturday night I mixed up a slightly altered version of this recipe I found on Epicurious.

4 large eggs

3/4 cup half and half

1/4 cup + 1 tbs orange juice or Grand Marnier or triple sec

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 potato bread slices

Whisk first 6 ingredients to blend in a wide medium bowl. 

Dip each bread slice into egg mixture and arrange in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish or cookie sheet. Pour the remaining egg mixture evenly over bread. Let stand until egg mixture is absorbed, at least 20 minutes. I prepped it on Saturday night and made it around 12:30 on Sunday morning.

When you’re ready to make it, place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 350F. Heat up a griddle to or medium sized frying pan. Add bread slices and sauté until cooked through and brown, about 3 minutes per side. Place on baking sheet in oven to keep warm. Repeat cooking until all pieces are done.  Cut each slice in half, transfer to a plate.  Sift powdered sugar over. Voila!

Looks good right? They were a big hit, but I think the Chocolate Chip Pancakes hangin out next to them were even better.  I fully intended on making this recipe, but realized I didn’t have any whole-wheat flour.  Instead I adapted this recipe for blueberry buttermilk pancakes.

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 250°F. Place baking sheet in oven. Whisk first 4 ingredients in large bowl.  Whisk buttermilk, eggs, and 2 tablespoons butter in medium bowl; stir into dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips.

Heat large nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat. Drop batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle. Cook pancakes until brown and hard around the edges about 2 minutes per side. 

Transfer to sheet in oven to keep warm. This was my first time eating chocolate chip pancakes and they were amazing! While I am very familiar with the power of chocolate, I didn’t know it could do just great things to pancakes. Yum yum yum!!!

While those two items turned out great, I had a little bit more difficulty with the Cranberry Scones I made from this blueberry scone recipe.

1/4 cup butter, cold and cut in pats

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 cup granulated sugar

1/8 cup light brown sugar

Pinch kosher salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup half-and-half

1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and on low fan speed, if using a convection oven.  By hand in a large bowl, blend the butter pats with the flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt and baking powder until the butter has been combined. Add the cranberries and mix well.

In second bowl with a whisk, blend the cream, half-and-half, and the egg. Stir in the flour mixture and mix until the dough comes together. This is the scone dough.

Remove the scone dough from bowl and knead on floured counter, rolling 5 to 6 times, ensuring not to over blend; this will result in a tough dough. Unfortunately I added too much sugar to the mix so I had a really hard time because the dough was EXTREMELY sticky.  I kept adding flour to try to make it less sticky but it didn’t quite work out.  I managed and kept following the recipe.

Divide the dough into 12 even triangular shape portions.  These aren’t exactly even triangles but they’re triangular.

Arrange on a cookie sheet and bake until the tops are slightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the scones to a serving platter.

In the end the scones got pretty good reviews even though they didn’t look as good as I wanted them to, they still tasted good.  You'll notice the mini blueberry muffins next to the scones.  These were courtesy of Betty Crocker.  I needed a backup plan ;-)

Based on the amount of leftovers (only 4 pieces!) the Apple Coffee Cake with Crumble Topping and Brown Sugar Glaze was by far the favorite!!  Hats off to Mr. Lagasse, another fantastic recipe.

Cake:

1 stick plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples

Crumble Topping:

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Brown Sugar Glaze:

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with 2 teaspoons of the butter.

In a large bowl, cream together the remaining stick of butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  If you’ve never worked with brown sugar before, be warned that there’s a lot more splatter than white sugar.  I covered the bowl with a paper towel until the mixture was a little creamy.

Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after the addition of each. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla.  Sour cream is kind of hard to measure, so it’s possible I added a little more or less than a cup.  Fold in the apples. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.

To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs.  I used my hands to mix and that worked out pretty well.  

Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

To make the glaze, in a bowl, combine the sugar, vanilla, and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let harden slightly. Serve warm.

This cake was a HIT.  I served it as dessert and even though everyone was already stuffed, they were still all over it.

We also had some home fries which I made in the wok.  I shared this recipe earlier and I made it essentially in the same way.

Mr. G also made some incredible eggs with special cheese, onions, red and green peppers. 

Of course needed even more protein so some turkey sausage and turkey bacon was also served.

For the calorie counters I included yogurt, granola and fruit.

The cranberry-pomegranate punch was also very well received.

Although the plan was to have a little brunch, we definitely threw down in a big way.  Brunching on Sunday definitely helps ward off the Sunday night blues.  Hopefully Monday will have some inspiring eats as I edge towards my next milestone post 200.  

Hungry yet?