SATURDAY LUNCH

I don't usually cover lunch on this thing but for some reason I had a photo of this and just figured I'd throw it up. I made a quick couple bites for us on Saturday afternoon while Meena was out running some errands.

I started on a quick salad:
- dressing (whole-grain mustard, olive oil, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar)
- campari tomatoes
- red onion
- mixed greens

And a pita pocket with tuna salad:
- whole wheat pita
- tuna
- garlic
- mayo
- apple and onion chutney (American Spoon Foods)
- red onion
- sea salt
- black pepper

The whole wheat pita was a bit grainy and rough, but the salad was nice. Both salads, actually. And there was even a little extra left over! Bonus.

FILLING IN THE GAPS

Meena was feeling a bit of the post-bachelorette party blues so I was left to fend for myself a bit yesterday afternoon. What to do when you're just making lunch and snacks for one (and later two, really. Meena was on board with the guac) .... grilled cheese, of course!

My grilled cheese went like this:
- cheddar
- goat cheese
- salami
- mustard
- sambal oelek

And then the guacamole came together once Meena was up and hanging out in front of the TV. It went like this:
- avocado
- cumin
- red onion
- tomato
- sea salt
- cayenne pepper
- lemon juice
- black pepper

Simple and lovely. With a couple tortilla chips, it's the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

FULL GAMUT

Long weekend ... LOTS of food. Not insane amounts. Not overeating. But ... LOTS of food. But we had an extra day ... so a little more than usual!

Actually, before I forget ... I threw Thursday night's celebration up there as well. We had a little Abe Lincoln celebration that included some Cube 63 delivery. Weird, I know. But whatever. Don't ask. It's just how we do. Awesome as always, Cube.

We started the weekend off right with a lovely Valentine's Day celebration. Meena and I don't typically go with the whole 14th dinner and drinks thing ... we like the night before much better. You don't get crappy prix fixe menus and heart shaped beef wellington. Dinner out on the day of romance can often be the absolute worst. So we avoid it. So we ended up at a lovely little spot in the East Village called Persimmon. Neo-Korean is what they call it. And I'm happy to report, Neo-Korean is VERY good.

We did a nice tasting menu that featured seven little bites before two wonderful main courses and a couple desserts. The tasting bites ranged from awesome deep-fried fish cake with nori wrappers to pork belly with radish kimchee and yellowtail with these crazy little blocks of red, salty jello. Awesome.

Next we moved into a never ending set of sides. Endless kimchee, dried sardines, pickled garlic, kelp and radishes. I could have eaten my weight in the kimchee and sardines. The garlic was amazing, too.

Main courses were a short rib stew for me and a kimchee stew for Meena. I think hers was better than mine but they were both strong.

Desserts weren't that hot. A sweet potato thing and a black bean and rice cake thing. But then, we're not typically fans of Asian dessert. No big surprises there.

Anyway, if you're thinking about hitting Persimmon, I'd recommend it with every bone in my body. Awesome people, super cheap and for the moment, BYOB!

Both Saturday and Sunday we had egg, Canadian bacon and swiss cheese sandwiches for breakfast. I feel like I'm getting much better at making eggs and these were both the benefactors of my improvement. I think they were two of the better sandwiches I've made in a minute. Oh, I almost forgot ... both had American Spoon Foods red pepper jelly and a bit of siracha. SOOO good.

Saturday night we had a bit at James and D's house for Valentine's Day. D just destroyed it. So much good food.

We had a roasted pepper spread to start - peppers roasted by D. No canned BS. Next we moved into a potato pancake with homemade apple sauce. AWESOME. I can't even describe how much I love a good potato pancake. Mostly because I can't make them to save my life.

We also had some lovely little candied bacon bites and pesto pillows that just melted in my mouth. So good.

We also had a delicious cheese pizza that had all the key elements (crisp crust, airy dough and savory toppings).

AND THEN WE HAD THE BEST THING EVER. We had a pulled pork short rib sandwich with coleslaw. I mean, HELLO! I can't even think of something better. This is like heaven on a bun. I love it. So much.

We finished off the dinner with a bit of banana and nutella sandwiched in some pizza dough. WHEW. Awesome and ... the best way to finish the best ensemble dinner a friend has ever made me. So good. So so so good.

Sunday night I hung with Matty C in Vinegar Hill and had a bit of a really awesome pizza he made. He shaved Himalayan salt on it, dudes. He works at Saveur. So you know ... it was gourmet as hell. Meena had some Joya. I had a bit of pork salad when I got home. Nothing too special on that front.

And that brings us to tonight ... the final evening in a long weekend full of food, fun, unnecessary trips to the office and filing (we got a new file cabinet ... it was fun, not boring ... weird, I'll admit it).

We bought this thing at the cooking store and I'm pretty sure it's going to change our lives. It's called a dumping maker and it's exactly what it sounds like. It folds dumping skins in half so you don't have to crimp them with your fingers like a dummy. Dudes, it's so simple, but SOOO rad. You throw a little pork in the middle of a wonton skin, wet the edge and fold. BOOM. You have a Chinese style dumping, ready to rock and roll.

We're going to probably turn into dumplings. Maybe I'm letting the initial excitement get the best of me. Totally possible. But it's just so cool. It makes such perfect dumplings. And they're SOOO good!

Meena did all the heavy lifting on tonight's inaugural dumpling feast. She threw together the following:
- ground pork
- garlic
- cabbage
- sea salt
- green onion
- rice wine vinegar
- soy sauce
- oyster sauce

So you just toss a little bit of that in a skin and you're on the way to Chinese dumpling bliss.

Great weekend (I wasn't lying about all that food, was I?). Tons of fun and so much good stuff. I can't wait to share all the other fun stuff we've been prepping later this week. Suffice it to say, we have a few nice things up our sleeves ...

BRUNCH FIT FOR A MOM

Sunday morning before we left Milwaukee, we were treated to something pretty spectacular - brunch at Westmoor. I guess the Roell's joined this lovely little club recently and for mother's day, it was decided we'd check out their brunch spread.

Lucky for us!

From seared scallops and lobster tails to rock crab claws and so much smoked fish it's insane, the spread was seriously a little bit of amazing. There was a hot section with prime rib and all of that stuff and the cold section (my favorite) that housed my favorite smoked scallops, seafood salad and mountains of shrimp.

In addition to the food, we also had a spread of desserts that were pretty spectacular. I didn't have much (I went back for more smoked fish when everyone else did dessert) but I did end up having some and they were pretty awesome.

Excellent mom's day meal. I hope we get a chance to go back someday!

SMOKIN' LUNCH

We'd picked up some smoked salmon at the store the other night and hadn't had a chance to get into any of it. Facing a rapid decay rate down here in this humidity and salty air, we figured it'd be best to just break it out and make some appetizers before our light lunch yesterday.

So we did.

I made two types of bites. One had a potato chip base and the other a whole wheat toast. The consensus of opinion seemed to favor the chips. I agreed. At any rate, the first option included:
- wasabi mustard potato chips
- goat cheese
- smoked salmon
- chives

And the second was nearly the same ... only on a wheat toast.

Something about the wasabi chip gave the first option a little kick that made it better than the other. Creamy cheese, smoky salmon and just a bit of wasabi bite. Perfect.

Lunch was more from the sandwich stable. Meena and I split a wrap filled with roast beef, cheese, lettuce, mustard and mayo. Couple of carrots and that's what we called lunch.

ANOTHER LUNCH IN PARADISE

The beach was lovely yesterday and the winds that brought big waves and lots of jellyfish subsided and gave us a few hours of glorious sunshine and lovely heat.

After we had our fill, we brushed off the salt and sand and came to the kitchen for a bit more lunch. Nothing spectacular. Just some turkey, ham and roast beef with some swiss, pepper jack and cheddar to go along with our pilfered Panera mustards.

We threw in some carrots and chips for good measure. Excellent additions, both.

OCEANSIDE LUNCH

We typically keep it strictly sandwich style down here for lunch and yesterday was no different. We were having the fridge replaced (they don't hold up over time when you keep them on for two weeks at a time twice a year!) so everything was still coming out of coolers. No problem. We had turkey pastrami and all the fixings. Dad was smart enough to lift some mustard from Panera and with that, our sandwiches were complete. Add some chips, a nectarine and some of Uncle Donnie's venison jerky and you've got yourself another lunch in paradise.

BBQ

While I was watching some football yesterday, I decided I should be productive in the kitchen and make a little roasted chicken. I mean, what's easier than seasoning some birds and throwing them in the oven at a low temp for a minute and just forgetting about them? Nothing. So that's why I did it.

I stopped by the butcher and picked up a couple bone in chicken breasts and added:
- lime juice
- salt
- black pepper
- olive oil
- tandori spice mix

When it was all roasted and done, I stripped the skin and bones and shredded the meat. I tossed it with a little bbq sauce and that was that.

And because I loved it so much last time, I mixed up a little cucumber and onion salad to go on top:
- cucumber
- white onion
- salt
- white vinegar
- black pepper

Nice smoky bbq with some cucumbers bursting with a vinegar bite? Awesome Sunday lunch.

'TUNES

It's a beautiful day in Brooklyn and we went wandering around for a bit. We didn't have much purpose ... just a general goal of finding some lunch and grabbing a few things to take to James and D's house tonight. And fortunately, our meandering lead us to Zaytoons for a quick bite.

Nothing special for us today, just some really, really, really wonderful sandwiches.

Meena had:
- chicken shawarma sandwich

Alec had:
- shish kabab sandwich

Perfect. We both had them add a little hummus and everything was just right. Grilled meats, pickles, tahini ... it gets no better.

CLEANING OUT THE FRIDGE

One final lunch looking out at the river before we had to split for the city again. We really tried to clear out the fridge for this one, so don't judge on the mishmash. Please.

Our sandwich featured:
- whole wheat bread
- turkey
- cucumber
- brown mustard
- lettuce
- american cheese

We also had a smattering of chips, watermelon and chocolate on our plates. We needed energy for the drive home, right?

I also used up the cucumbers an onion in a little salad:
- cucumber
- red onion
- salt
- black pepper
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- celery salt

Goodbye, Narrowsburg!

NARROW MINDED LUNCH

When we woke up on Saturday morning, it was cold, friends. Way cold. I'm talking in the 50s. Which isn't normally that bad. But when you're on vacation and all you have is shorts and some T's ... it's a little concerning.

So first thing, we decided to go hunt for food and our quest lead us to River Brook Farm. Amazing people, fantastic produce, delicious meat and eggs. You couldn't ask for more. I threw in a couple photos of the actual market and its products, but check out that shot of the farm's grounds. Beautiful greens and blues. Just the way it should be.

For everything we couldn't get at the farm, we found at Peck's Market in town. Town is a relative term here. It's almost not even a town it's so small. But Peck's had some of the crap we needed - chips, beer, etc.

Diana started the sandwich assembly when we got back (although that's James in the photo ... just to clarify):
- turkey
- lettuce
- tomato (from the vines behind Larissa's house!!!!)
- apple
- mustard
- baguette
- american cheese

Of course, we had some chips, too.

Also, James doesn't drink, but he calls his lifeblood (crystal light) beer. So I thought it would be funny to put my beer next to his beer and take a photo. So ... there you go.

I mean … it just doesn’t get better.

SATURDAY. JULY. WHAT ELSE?

I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit yesterday for summer rolls and when I woke up this morning, I figured I had to hit Chinatown for some rice paper and shrimp. It seemed the only fitting thing to do before another afternoon Yankee's game.

I should have technically divided this into two posts (because I had the first round for lunch and the next for dinner) but I didn't really feel like it. And they're basically the same thing ... just slightly revised ingredients. So sorry. You get one post.

My lunch version featured the best Chinatown had to offer:
- shrimp (cooked with red pepper flakes, sesame oil, garlic and salt)
- red cabbage
- green onion
- carrot
- cilantro
- dipping sauce (soy, hoisin and sambal oelek)
- rice paper rounds

My dinner round was a vegetarian friendly selection:
- portabello cap (cooked with sambal oelek, sesame oil and hoisin)
- red cabbage
- cucumber
- cilantro
- green onion
- peanut sauce (natural peanut butter, white wine and hoisin)
- rice paper rounds

I think both were really good options. I think the shrimp version was just a touch better. Really only because I love shrimp. That's honestly the only reason. I think the peanut sauce was really nice on the second version. I'm not sure which sauce was better. I don't really want to choose because I think both were good for different reasons.

Meena claims she doesn't like rice paper, but I'm going to make these for her anyway. They're too darn good. She'll see!

HOME ALONE

With Meena in Milwaukee, I'm not really all that inspired to cook anything too crazy. Case in point - I had a grilled cheese for both dinner last night and lunch this afternoon. Now I feel fairly confident my grilled cheese was superior to the old Kraft singles version. But I'm not delusional ... it's still just grilled cheese.

Mine featured:
- peasant bread
- olive oil
- swiss
- cheddar
- maytag bleu cheese
- smoked paprika

This was actually very delicious. The maytag gave it a nice little pop and the swiss and cheddar melted just right on the crusty bread. Quick, easy, tasty. Expect more of the same the remainder of this week.

DINER

James and D had us out to Williamsburg on Saturday afternoon to explore the hood and get some delicious lunch at Diner. The day was perfect and the porch at Diner was about as good a place to eat as any I'd seen.

The only real negative was the jerk who was waiting on us. I'm not sure who told him he had the right to be totally pretentious. I mean, he was serving hamburgers. I don't want to be a jerk or anything, but I guess he was so I suppose I'm within my right.

Anyway, the food was great. I can't remember what kind of chicken sandwich James had, but D, Meena and I all had a delicious hamburger. I think they both had cheese. I just stuck with the grass fed beef. And we had home fries because oddly, french fries ARE NOT served at BRUNCH! That was his line. Not ours

Fantastic! Williamsburg, our burgers, James and Diana!

SLIGHT UPDATE

With Mom and Dad being in town and another trip to Publix under our belts, lunch got a bit of an update today. Rather than the pickles, we've moved on to baby carrots. And rather than just Virginia ham, we added a little pastrami turkey to the mix. Cold beer and sandwiches on the porch. Still amazing.

NOTICE A TREND?

We're all out of ham, bread and pickles, so this is the last you'll see of this particular lunch. But man, it sure was good while it lasted.

ANOTHER PERFECT LUNCH

It gets no better than this, friends. A delicious ham sandwich. A beer. Chips. Salsa. Pickles.

I don't even really want to say more. A wonderful lunch and a view of the ocean ... simply perfect.