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?

Friendsgiving 2011

It's the most wonderful time of the year! The Super Bowl of cooking is here! Thanksgiving is the BEST holiday EVER! I love my family and spending Thanksgiving with them is fantastic.  But, I also love my friends. So this year, I decided to get the best of both worlds by hosting a Friendsgiving a few weeks before Thanksgiving.  It was an awesome treat for me because I love cooking, eating, and hosting.  I tried a couple of new recipes, but also had many oldies but goodies in the mix.  I think there was something wrong with my camera, or perhaps I just got too excited about the food that I didn't get a chance to take a picture of certain dishes.  The recipe posts will hopefully come later, although last year I never got around to posting the recipes.  Without further ado, below are some of the delicious treats that were part of the feast.

The appetizer selection included two types of wings. Spicy BBQ on the right and Jerk Wings on the left.

Mr. N got quite the shock when he took a bite of the Jerk Wings without realizing what he was getting himself into.  I was patting myself on the back for the quality of these Crab Cakes.

I must have been patting with both hands, because I didn't remember to take a photo after they were plated.  le sigh. I will say the Marylanders approved so I must have done something right :) The Shrimp Dumplings were also a hit.

Ms. O was kind enough to construct and fry these crispy delicious bites. She also mixed the accompanying sauce which was terrific.  After the appetizers, the many parts of the main course were served. It's not Friendsgiving without the Turkey!

This one was Honey Brined and fall off the bone good. Cooking turkey in a bag is really the way to go. I also served Drumsticks with peppers and onions.

Ms. H was convinced this was sausage....I guess the peppers threw her for a loop.  To compete with the poultry, I also served Salmon.

Whole Foods was having a sale on Coho Salmon that week, so once Mr. M mentioned it, I decided to incorporate it into the menu.  I think most will agree that the sides are truly the stars of Thanksgiving. This was definitely the case at Friendsgiving.  By far the most popular was the Sweet Potato.

I served one with marshmallow topping and the other with streusel. I didn't get a chance to photograph the streusel so I'm using a photo from last year.

There were plenty of debates through the night about which was best.  I think a little bit of both is the way to go.  For those who only enjoy the classics, I also served Mashed Potatoes.

I was afraid I wouldn't have enough carbs so I made two pastas.  The Baked Mac and Cheese was a hit, primarily because of the potato bread crumbled on top.

The lasagna also got a lot of love, but unfortunately none from the camera.  Here's a picture from last year.

I can't make pasta without also including rice, so of course some Jollof Rice was absolutely necessary.

And by some, I mean 8 cups of rice.  We also had quite the bounty of vegetables.  Two types of spinach. Creamed and Sauteed.

The Sauteed Spinach was one of the last items to come out so unfortunately no photograph.  Similarly the Broccoli and Cheese was still in the oven when I put my camera down. I did capture the Collard Greens which were slow cooked for about 6 hours.

I'm definitely using that recipe again!  As though those weren't enough greens, Ms. O also fixed a delicious salad!

All that food took a lot more time than I anticipated so I could only offer one homemade dessert.  Pumpkin Ginger Cheesecake! This year, it didn't crack.

Thankfully my guests brought plenty of dessert...

Seriously a lot of dessert...

I'm not kidding when I say a lot...

It really was a lot!

This Friendsgiving day feast was everything I hoped for and more. Ms. O was an amazingly awesome sous chef in so many ways. I am incredibly blessed to have such great people in my life and I hope this Thanksgiving you also Count Your Blessings...

Hungry yet?

Marseille

Surprise surprise, Z and I headed out to brunch yet again.  This was definitely our least successful effort to date so we will have to make it up pretty soon.  On a really sunny but still chilly day, we took a walk down Ninth Avenue expecting to land somewhere new and delicious. Surprisingly nothing looked good so we ended up at Marseille. The menu looked a lot better while we were standing out in the cold than when we sat in the restaurant.  Although I typically don’t go into this, I will start by talking about the less than service at Marseille. That’s right, I said less than. We walked in and there were a few empty two tops and they asked us if we had a reservation then told us there would be a 30-minute wait.  Since we were exhausted from walking around we reluctantly agreed to wait around.  Unfortunately, the food was not worth the wait.

When they finally sat us, we were happy to eat another bread basket.

Possibly the best part.  I only tried the pumpkin muffins. They had little raisins in them – a pleasant surprise.  Z’s Goat Cheese Tarte arrived and looked good but kind of small.

She enjoyed it but definitely didn’t think it was worth the hype.  I felt the same way about my Moroccan Omelette.

I was so excited about the combination of tomatoes, peppers, olives, spicy harissa & feta cheese, but in the end it was disappointing.  I could barely taste the harissa, the ingredients were concentrated in the middle of the omelette so the ends were rather plain.  The potatoes were nothing to write home about and the salad was overwhelming. It felt like I had an untendered garden on my plate.  It wasn’t all-bad though because we ordered a side of fries that were actually quite good.

Overall Marseille was fine. The food wasn’t particularly good but it wasn’t bad either. The service could certainly improve. I was unimpressed and can’t imagine the circumstances that would lead me to go there again.

Hungry yet?

Plum Pizzeria

The way things are going, the days of press dinners are few and far between.  Luckily, I was able to attend a spectacular press dinner at Plum Pizzeria.  The attendees were fantastic and I truly enjoyed the lively conversation and delicious food.  Two Greek guys who met while working at an Italian restaurant opened Plum last summer.  The name is an homage to the tomato, the ingredient that’s used in almost all dishes.  The restaurant occupies a large piece of real estate on 2^nd avenue between 9^th and 10^th street.  

The space is tastefully decorated and the music was enjoyable but not loud enough to be a distraction.  As soon as the food started arriving, I focused my attention on the table.  The Insalata Caprese was delightful.

Fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and roasted peppers topped with pesto and a sweet balsamic reduction.  This was actually the best caprese I’ve ever had.  I think the peppers and pesto are what made the difference.  I enjoyed every bite and could have had another plate.  Instead, it was time for pasta.  We started with Penne alla Vodka.

This tomato cream sauce is apparently typically mixed with applewood smoked Italian bacon, but of course my portion didn’t have any of that.  Our host was a bit disappointed when I told him to skip it in my plate.  He told me I’d be missing “the magic.”  It was still good without the bacon and IMHO your food should taste fabulous with or without the swine. I’m jus sayin.  This tasted quite good because of the scallions and the cream sauce was just right.  My favorite pasta dish was the Yellow Pumpkin Ravioli.

Ohhheeemmmgeeee! I wish I had a better photograph so you could really truly understand the deliciousness that I was able to indulge in.  Pumpkin is a favorite of mine. The ravioli was the perfect partner to showcase such a wonderful ingredient.  It got me thinking about the possibility of pumpkin gnocchi. I know I’m buggin but maybe someone will do it.  The ravioli was served with a  pistachio sauce that was topped with shallots.  Yup. I was into it.  We were also served Rigatoni alla Bolognese, but of course I skipped out.  Based on the comments from around the table, it’s probably worth trying.  They spend about 2 – 2 ½ hours making the sauce fresh every day and its chock full o’ vegetables.  Pretty soon after, our pizzas arrived.

The mozzarella, tomato sauce and basil was obviously my favorite.  Fresh ingredients and delicious crust.  It’s actually the amazing anti-gravity crust.

Yup, that’s right cheese doesn’t slide off and crust doesn’t cave when you pick it up.  Cool right?  Our meal ended with the Chocolate Mousse Cake.

This dessert is apparently hand selected daily from a culinary school.  It was chocolately goodness but certainly not the best dessert I’ve ever had.

Overall, Plum gets a solid recommendation from me. Their dishes are simple but very well made. It’s obvious that they use fresh ingredients and take care to make sure everything comes out exactly how it should.  I’ve been spending more time in the East Village these days so Plum can expect to see me again soon.

Hungry yet?

Pumpkin Muffins

Since I had some left over pumpkin from my little pancake adventure, I decided to make some pumpkin muffins.  I found this recipe but decided to take away a few things and add some of my own.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup whole milk

1 cup pumpkin puree (canned solid pumpkin)

4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup cranberries

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and spray non-stick spray in muffin pans. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt into a medium mixing bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk, pumpkin, melted butter, and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until incorporated, being careful not to overmix.  Fold in the cranberries.  Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. 

Bake until golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin for 10 minutes.  How easy was that?!  These are the perfect little treat and between these and the pancakes I think I've satisfied my pumpkin craving for now.

Hungry yet?

Pumpkin Pancakes

I remember back when fall first started I was excited about all the pumpkin I would eat and the chili I would make.  In truth I’ve done very little about both.  I started looking around for recipes and found one for pumpkin pancakes!

Although it was monsooning in NYC, I decided to venture out to the grocery store and pick up some milk and a few other items.   It was a late night so I didn’t actually get around to making this until around 1:30.  Definitely a simple recipe so if you have some leftover pumpkin – or plan to make some muffins too – make it happen!

1 ¼ cups flour

3 tbs brown sugar

2 tsps baking powder

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ginger

¼ tsp nutmeg

dash of cloves

4 eggs, separated

4 tbs melted butter

¾ cup pumpkin puree

1 ¼ cups milk

1 tsp vanilla

Mix flour with brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt.

Put the egg yolks into a small bowl and mix in half a stick of melted butter, pumpkin puree, milk and vanilla.

Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until they are just stiff.

Mix the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture, and then carefully fold in the egg whites.

Fire up the griddle to medium heat and make some magic happen.

Definitely an easy and awesome Sunday recipe! 

P.S. The recipe makes about 16 pancakes so it was also a delicious Monday dinner ;-)

Hungry yet?