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.

WEEKEND PERFECTION

I'm happy to report we did quite a bit of cooking this weekend! I feel like with the last few weeks being insane in the office, we just haven't been chopping and roasting with frequency I'd like. But this weekend we made an effort. Partially because we're heading to LA this week and wanted to get rid of stuff in the fridge and partially because ... we like cooking.

We started off the weekend with a trip back to 40 Verandah to pick up some old mail Pam had saved for us. While we were way over there in our old stomping grounds, we figured the best course of action would be to hit Bocca Lupo. We couldn't remember the last time we'd been and that was a problem.

We started with their cheese plate and I have to say, this may be my favorite cheese plate on the planet. They really have some strong selections here and every time I try this thing I'm blown away by each and every offering. So good. And not terribly expensive.

Meena then had:
- shrimp diavalo
- pasta with boar sausage, green beans and pine nuts

Alec had:
- two truffled cheese and mushroom bruschetta
- one butternut squash bruschetta
- one olive and white bean bruschetta

I didn't order that last one but they brought it by accident. Bank error in Alec's favor!

We finished things off with the banana and nutella panini. Oh Bocca Lupo, I missed you so. I promise we won't go that long between visits again. I promise.

Saturday morning I continued the fridge purge. I did some brussels sprouts with:
- olive oil
- sea salt
- balsamic vinegar
- chili powder
- korean bbq
- chipotle chicken sausage
- onion

And then I did a little egg cup:
- chipotle hot sauce
- egg
- onion
- mushroom
- chipotle chicken sausage
- flour tortilla

Not bad. I forgot to spray my containers and the tortilla stuck. I just looked in the sink where they're soaking and it's STILL sticking. Mental note, spray them next time. PLEASE. But the sprouts were rad. Very rad.

Before dinner I made a little appetizer:
- smoked mussels
- organic ketchup
- korean bbq
- butter
- olive oil
- sea salt
- panko
- sriracha
- chipotle hot sauce

Not bad. We needed a little bread, but it ended up being very nice. Weird. A little. But nice.

For dinner, we did a bit of halibut. Very simple here:
- halibut
- bacon
- sea salt

And I did a bit of topping:
- mushroom
- peas
- white wine vinegar
- chili powder
- sea salt

Meena also made a salad:
- red pepper jelly
- olive oil
- white wine vinegar
- sea salt
- black pepper
- honey
- mixed greens

Lovely. The fish was cooked perfectly and we were really happy with the flavor the bacon gave to the fish when it cooked. I gave it a few turns on the stove then finished it under the broiler. Crisp bacon, perfectly cooked fish and a nice little bite from the mushroom and pea topping. Meena's salad was the perfect sweet companion to our salty bit of bacon and fish. Awesome dinner.

After a lovely brunch with Dan at Buttermilk Channel, we decided to close out the weekend with a truly rich dinner - RIBS!

Nothing special, just a quick bbq and an hour in the oven:
- brown sugar
- garlic
- soy sauce
- sambal oelek
- sesame oil
- water

Meena also made a little salad to go along with it. Came out perfect. Nice vinegar bite to go with the rich, sticky and salty ribs.

Perfect weekend.

BEFORE THE SNOW

This weekend really seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. I know that's a pretty typical phenomenon, but it seemed unusually fast for some reason. I don't know why. We did a lot of the things we normally do but for whatever reason, looking back on Monday morning, it just felt a bit accelerated.

Anyway.

I didn't post a Thursday night post but I'll just mention it quickly. I had to stay out late for an event celebrating my former publisher. He moved on to another magazine so we did some drinks as a celebration. I got home really late, but Meena had saved a bit of deliciousness from Chance. Curry noodles, Chang's chicken, hot and sour soup. Niiiiice.

Friday night Meena wasn't feeling so hot so we decided to to order in some Indian from Bombay Dream. I think we'd ordered from here a few times in the past, but these guys really killed it on Friday. My chicken tikka and lamb vindaloo were both perfect. Chicken was spiced perfectly and just a touch dry. I know that's not the ideal with chicken in any other area of the culinary universe, but for some reason, I really appreciate chicken tikka a little dried out. The vindaloo was a bit spicy, but not liquid fire. I know I tend toward the super-human heat, but this was just right for a Friday. Meena had this weird chicken appetizer thing. Mali kebabs? I don't know. They weren't very good. I think Meena was OK with them. I thought they were sorta gross. Her chicken tikka masala more than made up for it. Perfect chicken and a lovely sauce.

Saturday night we went went over to 4th Ave's Sheep Station for Steveo's birthday drinks and decided to grab a bite before the main event. Meena had some fish and chips and I had a chook sandwich. Chook means chicken. I didn't know that. I guess Sheep Station is Australian. Anyway, Meena was the clear winner because her fish and chips were some of the best I've had in a long time. The fish was perfectly cooked and crisp and delicious on the outside. My chook was OK. Not great. It was essentially a lime and curry chicken salad on a bun. Which ... is actually just fine for me. Not perfect. But not bad.

Drinks were great. Dan brought some cupcakes. People had a blast. Happy birthday Steve!

I haven't been paying much attention to breakfast as of late, but I just wanted to mention this burrito/taco thing quickly because it was awesome. Chicken tikka masala, serrano peppers, eggs, onion, olive oil, salsa and sour cream. Oh, and a bit of cheddar. Wow. Awesome breakfast wrapped up in a warm flour tortilla.

Sunday night we used a bit of pork shoulder cooked in the method we've been using the last few times. Slow and low all morning. After it had been all broken down and shredded, we threw it with some Korean BBQ, pickles and sriracha and wrapped it all up in Boston lettuce leaves.

So. Good. So, so, so good.

Meena also threw in a bit of veg. She baked the following:
- red potatoes
- brussels sprouts
- sea salt
- garlic
- olive oil
- black pepper
- balsamic vinegar
- parmesan

Really lovely veg. The parm was grated super fine so it just melted into the veg and gave it this wonderful, buttery flavor. Simple preparation but such a refined taste. I loved it.

That's it!

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 ...

COMFORTABLE WEEKEND

I feel like our weekend lasted about 10 minutes, but it was very nice. We had great weather. We had friends over. We went out for tex mex. I mean ... that's pretty much ideal by our standards. But for some reason it felt like it flew by. Oh well. I guess that's just the nature of weekends.

We started off Friday with a bit at Lobo. We hadn't been in a few minutes so we figured it was fine. I had some lovely pork tacos and Meena had her chicken enchiladas in garlic cream sauce.

Saturday morning I whipped up a bit of a garbage breakfast with some fridge leftovers. I threw together the following in a gratin dish:
- wheat bread
- seafood gumbo
- marinara
- egg
- sea salt
- black pepper
- sambal oelek
- cheddar cheese

Probably not very good for us, but pretty delicious.

We had a great Saturday night. Dan and Steve made their way over to the CG for a bit of dinner and laugher at our spot. Meena threw together an amazing veggie lasagna:
- lasagna noodles
- homemade marinara (tomatoes, carrot, celery, onion, basil, bay leaf, salt, sugar and garlic)
- ricotta
- egg
- zucchini
- squash
- carrot
- parmesan
- smoked mozzarella
- shredded mozzarella

I made a little starter that featured:
- balsamic pancakes
- garlic and chive sour cream
- salmon with spicy plum bbq

Meena also made a spin dip that was A W E S O M E. It featured:
- spinach
- artichokes
- parmesan
- sour cream
- mayo
- garlic
- salt

Again, not very good for us, but so so so so so delicious.

I also had to give Dan's limited edition DKNY Chandon bottle up there. Not bad. It had a little bit of a fruit finish. But fun, nonetheless. Very much a party drink!

Saturday morning we had a little egg, ham and cheese:
- egg
- swiss cheese
- whole wheat flat bread
- siracha
- field greens
- canadian bacon

Nothing noteworthy, but still pretty awesome.

Last night we just finished off the lasagna with one Matt C. I think it was even better the second time around. I love it when that happens.

SUPER WEEKEND

Big weekend, folks. We started it off with laziness and much needed relaxation and closed the whole affair with an awesome Super Bowl party here at our apartment.

Friday night we had wanted to hit a new spot on Court Street but the wait was annoying and we decided just to head on home and order some Chance. Much better decision. Sitting around on the couch, watching Zach and Miri and mowing on:
- curry noodles
- sesame beef
- hot and sour soup
- pork buns
- oyster dumplings

Pretty awesome. I wasn't a huge fan of the pork buns, but everything else was nice. But you know, you have to try stuff to learn what you like at certain spots and what you don't ever want to enter your home again.

Saturday morning I made a weird mishmash breakfast. It included:
- spinach
- onion
- red pepper
- turkey
- olive oil
- egg
- marinara
- sea salt
- black pepper

I was worried it would suck but it surprisingly didn't.

Then lunch rolled around and Meena finally broke out that German meal she'd been promising me for a couple days. It included:
- kielbasa
- sauerkraut
- stone ground mustard
- rice
- brown sugar
- onion

Very, very good. She let this stuff simmer in a crock pot all morning and when it came out, it was awesome. It was a little sweet, a little salty, a little acidic. Awesome. Just a perfect balance of flavor.

Nothing notable about Saturday's dinner. Just a bit of meat and cheese from Jake Walk. We probably don't need to go back there.

Sunday morning, I made another breakfast. Just a little open-faced number:
- turkey
- marinara
- wheat toast
- egg
- green onion
- sea salt
- black pepper

Not bad. Not great. But not bad.

Next up was our Super Bowl feast. And a feast it was. I was very impressed with all our offerings and I enjoyed D's world famous sausage bread immensely. Man. That stuff is good. Here's the recap:
- Meena's low-fat queso dip
- Meena's low-fat chicken fingers w/ bleu cheese sauce
- D's sausage bread
- Meena's asian coleslaw
- My slow-roasted pork butt bbq
- Meena's puppy chow!

Everything was delightful. Meena didn't like the chicken fingers but I thought the one I had was pretty good. Sausage bread was dope. I loved the bbq but I think we were all pretty full by the time it came around. There's a lot left though, so you'll probably see it again here.

Anyway, awesome weekend. Sorry for the epic recap post, but I had so many highlights, I just had to get them all in there!