We all scream for ice cream!

Some may know Holsten's from the last episode of The Sopranos, but I know Holsten's from the many stories my parents have told me about growing up on Holsten's and their homemade ice cream. After going to two movie theatres to only find that everything was sold out, we decided to be spontaneous and go to Holsten's for a little (well deserved) ice cream sundae. Never having been to Holsten's I really did not know what to think of the place. We walked into an old school restaurant with wooden booths and stuffed animals set up on the walls. I had no clue what to order, so on recommendation of my dad I had a chocolate soda with vanilla ice cream. Confused by what my dad had just ordered for me, he told me this was his go to order when he was younger. Chocolate syrup mixed with seltzer topped off with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and a cherry on top. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. My mom ordered a piece of apple pie with cinnamon ice cream and my dad got a marshmallow sundae with coffee chip ice cream. I'm pretty sure we scarfed everything down in seconds. You got to love a good ice cream feast. 

Marshmallow Sundae

Chocolate Soda

Apple Pie w/ Cinnamon Ice Cream

I'm actually pretty happy the movie was sold out. Being home with both my parents and having those spontaneous moments makes me oh so happy. 

Occupy BLT

To be honest, I'm really not too knowledgeable on the whole Occupy Wall Street drama. I know there's like something about the 1% and the 99%. There's protests involved and a lot of home made posters, but one thing I do know is that regardless of what percent you are, everyone needs to enjoy a meal at one of Laurent Tourondel's restaurants. The BLT empire has blown up over the years and it is for a good reason. Laurent Tourondel's food is amazing! I'm a huge fan of his LT Burger in Sag Harbor, NY and his restaurants in New York are just as good, if not better. Luckily both the 1% and the 99% can get a taste of BLT...BLT Steak is offering a burger for both the rich and the not so rich. Only offered at their DC location, you can either get a Kobe burger with foie gras or a CAB burger patty on Wonder Bread. Uhmmm, I think I'm going to have to go with the Kobe, but at least everyone has the opportunity to enjoy a good burger! 

Truffle Love

Let's play a game. This dish costs 20 euros (27 USD) in Italy.  How much would it cost here in the States?

Parm

I love me some Torrisi Italian Specialties , so the fact that they're opening up a new restaurant makes me oh so happy! It actually opens today and is featuring some classic American-Italian dishes. Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone, the men  behind Torris and now Parm, really know what they are doing. Their food is simple, flavorful and delicious. Here's a little sneak peak of what's to come from Parm (courtesy of Serious Eats).

Artwork

Saratoga Club 

Calamari

Pizza Knots

Mozzarella Sticks

Baked Clams

Meatball Parm [Hot Damn!]

Baked Ziti [Double Hot Damn!!]

Ice Cream Cake

Cannot wait to get my hands on these dishes. I'm sure Parm is going to make just as big of a splash as Torrisi did. Delish!

The Simpsons: America's Newest Foodie Family

This Sunday will be a Foodies dream come true. The television lineup of this upcoming Sunday does not only consist of The Next Iron Chef, but also The Simpsons will be airing an episode dedicated to everything food. Matt Selman, the Executive Producer, told Grub Street that he "just wanted to put things in the show that only really hard-core foodies would have any idea what we were talking about. This was like a love letter to foodie culture." I haven't watched The Simpsons since like middle school, but you can count me in on this episode. Supposedly Marge becomes a food blogger in this episode. Looks like I got some competition now. Bring it on Marge!

Wylie Dufresne

Soup Dumplings

Iron Chef

Sou Vide Turkey

Gordon Ramsay

Sriracha Love

Nom Nom

Happy National Sandwich Day! Arguably one of the best days of the year. As an obsession of mine, sandwiches make it into my diet almost on the daily. What I love about sandwiches is that they come in so many different shapes, flavors, and sizes. Every cuisine has their own version and I cannot get enough of them. In Italy, I would each a sandwich for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. Living in a college town, I tend to do the same. Either way my love for sandwiches remains strong. And who doesn't love a good sandwich?! I did intern with this one kid, heir to the Greengrass family, who you would think, with food in his blood, would love him a good sandwich, but rather he despised them. Kid couldn't stand sandwiches. Pretty scary if you ask me. Serious Eats posted their 30 favorite sandwiches of the year in honor of this day and I decided to share my favorites. 

The Braised Braciole at Rubirosa

Jack's Club at Russo's Mozzarella and Pasta

The Grilled Pork Bánh Mì from Paris Sandwich

The Goat Cheese Panino at Balaboosta

Arepa at Coppelia

Red's Dead at the Deli and General Store

Cemita from Estrellita Poblana III

Best Pizza's Meatball Sub

Juancho Cemita at Café Ollin

Cheesesteak at Kwik Meal

Chinese Food Week

I've said it once and I'll say it again...Boulder, Colorado does not know what the fuck Chinese food is. I don't know if my longing for Chinese cuisine is due to the fact that I'm living in this no Chinese zone or due to the fact that I just love it. I love Chinese food and it is SUCH a tease that New York Eater  has been posting all the updates from their first ever Chinese Food Week. Some restaurants have hopped on the Chinese band wagon and created some limited edition dishes in honor Chinese Food Week. Osteria Morini's dish, which I'm dying to try, is chow fun pappardelle; wok fried beef short rib and Chinese broccoli, toban djan chili. Like hello! Michael White cooking chow fun? Dream come true! The other dish that also looks incredible is Joseph Leonard's Szechuan pork belly with crispy chow mi fun, sugar snap peas, black mushrooms and spicy peanuts. Yummy! I'm also a little obsessed with their "Ultimate New York City Chinese Food Glossary." I'm embarrassed to admit I've only been to about 8 of the restaurants listed. I'm most definitely going to have to work on that. To top it all off, Eater has even shared some of the recipes of the dishes created by these chefs, so if your feeling creative and can't make it into the city, here's the recipe Joseph Leonard's Pork Belly.

Szechuan Pork Belly
crispy chow mi fun, sugar snap peas, black mushrooms and spicy peanuts
from: Shuai Wang @ Joseph Leonard
Pork Belly: Marinate in the black bean mixture over night. Put marinated pork belly in a shallow pan covered in vegi stock and then wrapped in foil. Cook at 375 degrees for 3 hours or until tender. Chill pork belly, Put braising liquid in a pot and reduce to a thick consistency, put aside until reheat

-1Lb Piece Pork Belly
-1Cup Fermented Sweet Black Bean Paste
-1/2 Cup Black Rice Vinager
-2T Ma Poo Tofu Sauce
-1T Sugar
-1T Chopped Ginger
-2T Sliced Scallion
-1T Chopped Garlic
-4Cups Chicken Stock

Chow Mi Fun: Soak in hot water till soft
-1Cup Chow Mi Fun

Black Mushrooms: Soak dry mushrooms in warm water for at least 30 minutes, slice them into thick slices. Deep fry them and toss them in salt, pepper, sliced chives, parsley, shallots, and mustard vinagrette.
-1Cup Dry black mushroom

Sugar Snap Peas: Clean both ends of peas and cut them in half diagnolly
-1/2Cup Sugar Snap Peas

Spiced peanuts: Put all ingredients in a warm saute pan on medium heat, cook until peanuts are golden brown
-2Cups Ground peanuts
-9 Bird eye chilies
-1Cup Canola Oil
-1T Sugar
-1T Salt
-1/2T Ground black pepper
-1/2T Ground white pepper
-1T Chopped Shallots

Chili Oil: Slowly simmer all spices in oil for 10 minutes, put aside to chill. Put into blender and blend till smooth
-2Cups Canola oil
-12 Bird eye chilies
-2T Szechuan peppercorns
-1T Black peppercorns
-1T White ppercorns
-1/2T Corriander
-1/2T Sugar
-1T Salt

Slice pork belly thin, season with salt and heat in oven until all the way heated through, spoon glaze over pork belly and slightly caramlize under the brolier. Take the chow mi fun and deep fry them until crispy golden brown, at the same time saute the black mushrooms and sugarsnaps peas together, deglaze with 2T cider vinager, 1T Balsamic Vinager, and 1T sriracha chili sauce. In a large bowl lay crispy noodles, top with the black mushroom and sugar snap pea mixture. Lay pork belly across the noodles and garnish with chili oil and spiced peanuts