February is Pancake Month

I realize I'm probably notoriously known for jacking Serious Eats' pictures, but I just can't help myself! If I like something or am intrigued by something, you best be sure I'm blogging it. I blogged about it before and I'm blogging about it again. Clinton Street Baking Company's Pancake Month is back!! Being a huge fan of their pancakes and addictive maple syrup, I can't help but spread the CSBC love. Here are a few photos of the pancakes CSBC is featuring this month and yes the pictures are stolen from Serious Eats. 

crunchy bananas w/ cinnamon-chili-choco sauce 

[Feb 1-2,20-22]

poached pears, vanilla bean whipped cream, warm maple butter

[Feb 3-6]

almond frangipane, fresh raspberries, toasted almonds, caramel raspberry sauce

[Feb 7-9]

chocolate chunks, brandied burgundy cherries

[valentines day]

banana pancakes w/ bavarian cream, toasted coconut, warm maple butter

[Feb 15-16]

chocolate chunks, fresh raspberries, raspberry caramel sauce

[Feb 27-29]

ChikaLicious '12

Chickalicious does it again! They continue to come out with new sundaes that look better then the next. I actually don't understand how they do it! There's the Strawberry Shortcake Sundae, the Cookies-n-Cream Sundae, the Choc Éclair Ice Cream Sandwich, and the Espresso Ice shot (to name a few). Now the creative minds behind Chikalicious have come out with a Red Velvet Sundae! WAIT.... a mother f'in red velvet sundae!! That's not okay on any level and I cannot wait to dig into this next time I'm home. Made with their incredible vanilla bean soft serve (actually the best I've ever had), Chikalicious combined it with whipped cream cheese frosting, chunks of red velvet cake and topped it off with salted pistachios. Jokes. 

 

Chef KB

Haven't you always heard that college is the time to experiment and experience new things? Now who ever said this only pertained to sex, drugs, & rock-n-roll? Why can't this apply to the kitchen? We'll you heard it here first kids. It's time to bring your experimenting skills into the kitchen. At home I don't spend much time cooking. My mom has made it clear that's her territory and if shes willing to cook up a storm then hey, I don't have a problem with that. Not to mention the Kashrut laws my dad decided to impose on our house, so that leaves me without a lot of things, like shellfish for example.
Being that I'm now on this "Spring Break is in 2 months" diet, I've cut out many things. Pasta for one, is not my friend, so I use the next best thing: Spaghetti Squash. Not wanting traditional tomato sauce, I decided to go a different route. Brace yourself people.... I made Spaghetti Squash with White Clam Sauce. Sounds difficult? I promise you it is the simplest recipe! 

Take your traditional clam sauce [white wine, oil, canned clams w/ juice, red pepper flakes & parsley] and pour it over your squash. It is even better the next day. Let that squash marinate overnight. Shit soaks it right up. You got yourself a killer and HEALTHY meal. 
You might have also noticed that side of baby bok choy, also prepared by moi. Saute ginger and garlic until fragrant, then add in your greens. Oh BABY bok choy!

Praha

Speaking of reminiscing... 
My journey to Prague in April '11 started Wednesday night and lasted until Sunday afternoon. A long 4 days in a city that was unique and had its own strong culture. Between the constant partying and extremely confusing exchange rate it felt like I was in a far, far, away land. The one thing that felt very real in this dream like country was the food. Not being attracted to foods like sauerkraut with a side of boiled potatoes, my friend Sami, who was studying abroad there introduced me to the, lets say, the "better" food of Prague. 

Please, try and pronounce the name of this cafe...I dare you! Hidden in the streets of Prague, this little cafe was just the refreshing, American-esc type of food that I needed. 

banana, caramel & chocolate crepe

smoked salmon sandwich

pear & brie salad

hot chocolate

After our meal, we roamed the streets of Prague exploring all the city has to offer. Obviously the first thing that caught my eye was this thing...

Trdelnik: a traditional cake and sweet pastry made from rolled dough, wrapped around a stick, then grilled & topped with sugar and walnut mix. Anything warm and sugary is alright with me. Unravelling slowly, I ate this trdelnik piece by piece. 

If you're ever in Prague, make sure to grab yourself one of these. You won't be able to miss them. They're literally everywhere.

Munich Eats

It's been one year since I left for studying abroad, which means extreme reminiscing taking place. Sorting through my iphoto pictures, I found these two photos that were taken in Munich, Germany. Roaming the streets looking for a bite to eat, my friends and I stopped in our tracks when we were greeted by a huge outdoor market. Overwhelmed by the vast selection of food, we stopped at a stand that was offering the best looking dips, fresh breads, and pickles we've ever seen. 

Want a sampling of some Kase-Paste? Or maybe a little Turkischer? I know, who the hell knows what any of these words mean? Luckily for us, the man behind the counter adored our American charm and let us sample anything we wanted to. 

We ended up with two large loafs of freshly baked bread, hummus, baba ganoush, tzatziki, mushrooms, shrimp salad and marinated feta. Absolutely one of the best meals I had abroad. We sat on a set of stairs in the cool shade behind the market and enjoyed ourselves a nice Mediterranean meal. 

Oh my Otto

Every couple times a year my family sets a date with my childhood nanny, Enid, to get together and catch up on lost time. My love for this woman goes beyond any pasta dish from Italy. In other words, she is like family to me. I consider this woman to be my 2nd mama. 

This year we decided to set our date at Mario Batali's Otto. Enid brought her granddaughter Skyler to lunch. I'm ashamed to say, the girl is almost 3 and I had never met her before. We hit it off instantaneously. Little Skyler ordered herself some pasta w/ red sauce instead of butter. Now that's a foodie in the making if you ask me...

I decided to pass up the red sauce this trip to Otto and hit up some carbonara. Since my 1-year anniversary of leaving for abroad is approaching, I decided to dedicate my meal to Florence 2011 and order my favorite pasta dish from Florence. Although the flavors were dead on, the pasta was a little to creamy for my taste.

The rest of the orders went a little something like this: my brother ordered the Bucatini All' Gricia, Enid ordered the Fusili Con Sausage & Escarole, and my mom ordered the Linguine Puttanesca. 

Rarely do I ever order dessert in a restaurant. I'm usually to full after apps and entrees, but this meal was an exception. It was not only my parent's 27th wedding anniversary, but it was also Enid's 60th birthday! Damn does that woman look amazing for 60!  Not pictured, we ordered the Black & White (with a candle of course) [milk chocolate chip gelato, hazelnut croccante, creme fraiche gelato, chocolate sauce, & caramel crema] and...

Spiced Caramel Pannacotta [maple glazed apples, creme fraiche gelato, & brown butter caramel]

& some special vanilla gelato for Skyler - Love Her!!

"Eat My Burger"

Chef Josh Capon shows off his burger skills on NBC's Feast. Don't you just love this guy??

Delish Catering

Delish Catering, my mom's private chef/catering company, has been blowing up. Being the kind, sweet, loving, wonderful, and giving daughter that I am, I offered to help my mom with a party she had coming up. From pre-prepping to sous cheffing, I was there to help her all the way through. Might I add I also made some dank guacamole which was the hit of the party! Here are a few snapshots from the successful "don't tell anyone it's my 40th birthday" party that she catered. Everyone raved about the food, but not for one second did I think they wouldn't.

proscuitto, soppressata, & provolone

grilled veggie plater w/ fresh mozzarella

pigs in a blanket, grilled corn quesadilla & mini arepas

pigs in a blanket w/ sweet & spict mustard

cooking station

mini arepas, filet mignon, crabcakes & chorizo crostini

filet mignon w/ chimichurri on garlic bread

mini arepas w/ sweet plantains, oaxaca cheese, black beans & avocado salsa

chorizo, caralmelized onions & chimichurri on a crostini

snuck a crabcake & caught red handed!

Meet the Chef!!! Lori Burr. What a cutie patootie

A Winning Weiner

The thought of grabbing a hot dog in New York City ultimately leads you to think of one of those street carts or even somewhere like Gray's Papaya, but for those more adventurous eaters there is always Crif Dog. Deep fried to perfection, Crif Dog offers a variety of delicious ways you can have your hot diggity dog. 

After staring at the menu for a good ten minutes deciding what to order, I decided to go with the BLT. I knew one thing... I wanted my wiener wrapped in bacon. The tomato, lettuce, and mayo combo added a cool & refreshing touch to the salty, crunchy, pop-in-your mouth dog. 

Crif Dog, on St. Marks St. in the heart of the East Village, is the epitome of downtown cool. It's laid back, beaten up, and the perfect place to hang out with your friends and enjoy a greasy, fattening & outrageous weiner. 

The best part about this place is that it is open until 2am Sun-Thur and 4am on Fri-Sat! Good bye late night diner eats, HELLO deep fried hot dogs!

Caracas Arepa Bar

I've found when talking about arepas that many people out there have never had one. That is a full blown crime. Having Venezuelan family friends, I had my first arepa at a very young age. I lost my arepa virginity to one stuffed with shredded meat and cheese. It was a symphony in my mouth. An instantaneous connection. A beautiful introduction to Venezuelan food.  Besides having these arepas at home or at my family friends, I was never really able to find them anywhere else. That was until I encountered Caracas Arepa Bar a few years back. With a huge selection of different kinds of Arepas, I was immediately hooked. 

My most recent visit to Caracas Arepa Bar was to their smaller take-out restaurant. Cute and cozy, their smaller outpost is perfect for a quick bite. Order at the counter, choose your seat, and wait for your arepas to be freshly made. I ordered the La del Gato [guayanes cheese, fried sweet plantains and avocado slices] & De Pabellon [shredded beef, black beans, white salty cheese, and sweet plantains]

Two of my favorite items on the menu, both of these arepas were perfection. Drench them in their special vinaigrette and you got yourself something to die for. 

Pizza Guru

Wanting a little fun in the kitchen, I decided to get my hands dirty and channel the sexy men of Gusta Pizza  in Florence, Italy and make my own pizza pies. Being that I live in a Kosher household, I couldn't spice the pizza up with some sopressata or meatballs. I had to go margherita and kicked it up a notch with a drizzling of black truffle oil. 

and since I was so bored I took the time to put this little snippet of me flipping the dough and topped it off with my favorite song from abroad in Italy...

Just the perfect amount of corny & cheesiness. Loves it!

Happy New Year!!

It's that time of the year again. Time to ring in 2012 and look forward to another year of our lives. Who knows what lies ahead of us...it is a complete mystery, but I do know one thing. 2012 is going to be an incredible year!! I just feel it...


"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." 
- Edith Lovejoy Pierce