revuesday - old standbys

I've been super fortunate over the past few days to catch up with some wonderful friends and eat some delicious food.  Isn't it great how there are certain things and people you can always count on?  Like an old friend who you trust with everything and call in the middle of the night when you wake up in the Bronx because you fell asleep on the train or because you're having a bad day, a good restaurant is hard to find.  You know the kind I mean, cool and casual with a great menu that has something for everyone, no matter their taste or budget, where you can go for pretty much any meal and get a bite and a cocktail to makea day better or a visit special?  Well, I'm lucky to have a handful of both - great friends and tasty restaurants.  In honor of both, I thought I'd shout out just a few of the restaurants that I have found I can count on when me or my friends and guests are craving a bite.  Starting with -

Cafeteria.  I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure I went to this restaurant long ago when my friend Jill and I were visiting her cousin and I loved it then, too.  Again though, not positive.  Well I've been here on quite a few occasions and have enjoyed everything I've ever ordered, especially the Cobb Salad and the Mac n Cheese.  Their menu consists primarily of high-end diner staples with a twist.  Really delicious twists like cranberry aioli, apple cider coleslaw, truffle parmesan... mouthwatering.  The cocktails at Cafeteria are amazing too; seasonal, fresh, creative and strong!  The best part about this restaurant is that it's open all day and night.  Yup, 24/7.  And for a relatively hip spot in Chelsea, the prices are pretty reasonable; I mean, I can afford to eat there.

so fresh and so good

One of my favorite restaurants in the city is also one of the oldest restaurants in the city - Pete's Tavern.  Now, McSorely's may claim to be the oldest bar in New York but I'm not so sure about that.  Pete's also stakes a claim in that rite by pointing out that they remained open during Prohibition under the guise of a flower shop, but that might just make them the oldest continuously open bar in the city.  Either way, Pete's gets my vote since it's the only bar that can lay claim to having been a part of O. Henry's writing career.  Since The Gift of the Magi is one of my all-time favorite love stories, I find it completely awesome that there is the possibility of my butt sitting in the same seat as the writer of that great work!  

Beyond the awesome historic essence that Pete's has, they serve up some pretty great pub grub, too.  I never really venture too far from standard pub food, but when I do I'm always pleased.  More often than not though, I order the exact same thing every time - a bacon bleu cheeseburger, medium rare, with sauteed mushrooms and onions, and a schmear of mayo and ketchup, and a side of big fat steak fries - and splitting it with my honey at least one Friday every month; it's kind of our thing.  We enjoy it with the house ale, dark and strong.  Sometimes we split the fried calamari and sometimes we get a side of thick and heart split pea soup or creamy clam chowder, but we always get the burger.  And we always leave happy.  The fact that it's just down the block from work doesn't hurt either.  Go here if you like history or food or NYC or a good time.  Just go here.

Last but not least, my go to neighborhood brunch spot, Enid's, is perfect for hungover Sundays with friends who slept on the couch, travelers passing through, and those early morning visits from mom.  Typical brunch fare with a slightly Southern flare is served up alongside my absolute favorite Bloody Mary ever!  It's almost a meal in itself.  Justin always gets the Hungry Bear, a huge biscuit and gravy sandwich with eggs, and regrets it since after cleaning his plate he usually has to be rolled out of the restaurant since he's so stuffed full of yummy goodness.  The huevos rancheros are always awesome, the pancakes are seasonal and ginormous, grits are great... seriously this place is perfect.  I usually order the egg special with a side of collared greens, french press coffee, and at least a couple of Bloody Marys.  Hey what's brunch without a buzz?

best bloody mary ever!

So to all of my friends who stick around, the ones I can count on to be my old standbys, thank you for being awesome and listening to me and letting our lives connect.  And to these three restaurants, thanks for filling me up with good food, great drinks, and good times with the best friends I could ever ask for.

happy birthday, meg!

Because she's such a wonderful friend and a super fab coworker, I opted to save my dear Meg from the doldrums of store bought office birthday cakes and gift her with a homemade confection.  In an attempt to make her birthday as wonderful as possible when she's stuck working 9-5, I baked her favorite, red velvet cake.  This was a new recipe for me but we all know I love a challenge.  And a challenge this certainly was since I had to work quickly and exactly when prepping the batter.  It looks lovely and the batter tasted pretty darn yummy.  I hope Meg enjoys her cake and her special day... Happy Birthday!

red velvet cake

ingredients

2 1/2 c cake flour

2 tbsp dutch processed cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp bourbon vanilla

1 c buttermilk

1 tbsp red food coloring

1 tsp white distilled vinegar

1 tsp baking soda

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease and set aside two 8" cake pans.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and salt so that it's sifted and well combined.  

2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, blend butter until smooth.  Add sugar and vanilla, blending until the mix becomes light and fluffy.

3. Whisk together the buttermilk and red food coloring.  With the mixer speed turned to low, blend in flour mix and buttermilk, alternating between the two and allowing to mix completely about 2-3 minutes.  

4. In a small cup, combine vinegar and baking soda, letting it fizz up and fold it into the cake batter.  Quickly and evenly pour the batter into the two greased pans and put in the mile rack of the oven.  Bake about 30-35 minutes.  Let the cakes cool completely before attempting to ice them.  

buttercreamcheese icing

ingredients

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese

1 lb confectioner's sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

directions

1. Blend all ingredients together until the mix is light and smooth.  Simple.

Happy Birthday, Meg!

take a sip (or a slice) of summer

I had a visit from two very special guests today, my mom and my kid sister.  Like the good hostess I am, I couldn't let these ladies come by without welcoming them with something delicious.  As a part of my sweet sips of summer series, I've been coming up with cakes based on my favorite warm weather drinks.  Today, I served a favorite of the Matos ladies - the Arnold Palmer.  But not in a glass, as a cake!

I started off with a box of white cake mix (yeah yeah, I know I cheated a little bit,) but instead of using plain old water, I used highly concentrated black tea.  With a lemonade buttercream icing, the cake was the perfect half and half of iced tea and lemonade.

lemonade icing
ingredients
1 c butter (1 stick salted, 1 stick unsalted) at room temp
1 lb confectioner's sugar
3 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
directions
1. In the bowl of your mixer, blend all ingredients at a low speed until light and fluffy.  Yup, it's that easy.

zesty!

sip & slice

savory summer supper

To start off a lazy and quiet Friday evening, I popped open a bottle of what just might be my new favorite bottle of booze.  I discovered what is known as "stick wine" about six years ago while living in Baltimore.  On a recommendation from the dude at the liquor store, I picked up a bottle of the dry red table wine.  Well, while I was as Trader Joe's the other day, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my table wine of choice was now bottled up as a lovely rosé.  I usually find traditional reds too heavy for the heat of summer (or at least my non-ac'd apartment,) and tend to lead towards whites in the warmer months.  But every once in awhile I'll pick up a pinkish blend, just to be festive.  This one, is awesome.  Just dry enough with an appropriate amount of sweetness and you can't tell me that it doesn't look so pretty in a complimentary purplish hued wine glass.  Add in the fact that you can find it for under twelve bucks and it's the perfect end to a very, very long work day.

A couple of sips in and I decided that it was time to start prepping supper.  Remember a few posts back when I mentioned a salmon recipe that my bff Martha sent my way?  Well, tonight was the night to try it out.  With two salmon steaks and nearly all the ingredients required, I tweaked the recipe to make it work without having to pick anything up at the grocery store.  The Martha inspired result?  Super tasty and what I believe to be relatively healthy.  

i always feel guilty prepping fish in front of sir shitballs

brown sugar and mustard glazed salmon fillets 
ingredients
2 large salmon fillets
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1/4 c packed dark brown sugar
1/4 c whole grain mustard (I used a recent Smorgasburg find, Tin Mustard)
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 crushed garlic clove
fresh ground salt & pepper
directions
1. Turn on the broiler on your oven so it starts warming up.  In a small saucepan over a medium heat, cook onion and garlic for about 3 minutes to soften.  Add vinegar and let cook for another minute until it starts to cook off, stirring continuously.  Stir in mustard and brown sugar and cook for about 1-2 more minutes until it becomes a syrupy glaze.  
2. Pat dry the fillets of salmon.  Place them on an aluminum foil lined broiler tin.  With a pastry brush, evenly spread about half of the glaze onto the fillets reserving the other half for later.  Broil for about 10 minutes or until the glaze starts to bubble.  Put a second coat of glaze on each fillet (optional) and serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon.

This turned out to be so easy and so delicious!  I served it alongside salt and pepper green beans and brown rice.  Make sure not to overcook the salmon because it can dry out really quickly.  I bet this would also be fantastic on the grill!  It's simple and inexpensive so experiment with it a bit.  You won't be sorry, and neither will your dinner dates.

leftovers

In attempt to clean out my fridge and pantry of so much stuff, especially all those summery perishables, I've been getting really creative.  After my squash salad, I had the interiors of a few squashes leftover.  A quick rummage through the fridge unveiled some quickly spoiling chives and a container of sun dried tomatoes.  Onto the cupboards to dig up a box of rarely used Bisquick (my pancakes are almost almost made from scratch.)  With my amazing brain power and a rarely used blender, I was able to concoct an amazing medley of these few ingredients into summer squash, sun dried tomato, and Parmesan scones.  Well, they were more like biscuits than scones but it did the trick.  Plus, I'm now covered for breakfast for at least a week!

summer squash and sun dried tomato biscuits with parmesan
ingredients
(i had a couple of glasses of wine before the mixing stage and i thought i'd just wing it, so these are guesstimates)
4 1/2 c Bisquick
1 c chopped sun dried tomatoes
2 1/2 c pureed summer squash
2 eggs
2 tbsp freshly chopped chives
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1/4 c milk
fresh chopped parseley
salt and pepper to taste
directions
1. Mix dry ingredients (this includes the chopped tomatoes & cheese) together in a bowl.  In a blender or food processor, puree your summer squash.  Whisk puree with eggs and milk just to mix.  Combine with dry mix until well mixed.
2.  Using a large spoon or scoop, put mix on a greased cookie sheet 2" apart; the mix should make about 15 biscuit/scones.  Top each with an extra sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  Enjoy toasted with butter or as a side biscuit with supper.  Yum and easy!

Have you heard this news?  You've got to be kidding me, right?  These people can be on TV while I'm lucky to find a few part-time jobs and blog about my love of food in the itty bitty bit of spare time that I have.  I'm sorry, but this preview for the new reality show Famous Food just got to me on the wrong day.  I'm not a huge fan of the celebrity foodie craze.  Celebrity chefs are one thing since they work their butts off to get recognized (yeah, I'm talking to my crushes Anthony Bourdain and Jaime Oliver... plus the foxy ladies like Julia Child, Nigella, and Giada.)  But random celebrities that cook supper every once in a blue moon and think they know enough to be a chef or open a restaurant?  C'mon!  I know chefs and chefs these celebrities are not.  Sorry for the venting, maybe it's all my at home karaoke stardom getting to me, but there are way more deserving people of restaurants... and television for that matter.  Sometimes I am very thankful that I don't have cable.

And how about this wacky news?  Though I haven't yet had a chance to discuss this awesome neighborhood establishment (although to be honest, it's been sitting as a draft in my blog queue for about two months now,) I am a frequent patron and am a bit shocked to hear this crazy news.  Well, not really but still!  Just blocks away from the Sweet Spot!  No worries though, the godfather sandwich is still being served up... trust me, I had one earlier today and it was as delicious as always.  Maybe even more so since I felt kind of rebellious chowing down on it!

Happy Thursday lovelies!  What are your epicurean plans for the weekend, and can I get in?