Qdoba Mexican Grill House Party!

Hello friends!  It's shaping up to be quite a busy month and this weekend was no exception.  Yesterday I hosted a Qdoba Mexican Grill House Party in celebration of Cinco de Mayo and had a blast!

It was my first time as a host for House Party, which connects brands with people nationwide who apply to be hosts for parties.  Brands will sponsor parties, and if you are selected as a host, you promise to invite friends and share the goodies supplied in the Party Pack.  It's a great way for brands to directly connect with consumers in such a saturated market.  Qdoba happened to be the first House Party I applied for, and I was so excited to be selected!  As a newbie host, I was a little anxious about how my first House Party would turn out, but it was a big hit and I'm hoping more parties will roll around that I can host.

I'm always looking for an excuse to have get togethers at my apartment (I think I get this from my parents - they always willingly host parties at their house!) so was happy to celebrate Cinco de Mayo courtesy of Qdoba.  About 2 weeks before the party I got my Party Pack which included some goodies to use at the party and a certificate for a 20-person catering bar to redeem at my local Qdoba.

I suppose living in NYC for a decade has hardened me into expecting a hard time, but the manager of the local Qdoba at 3rd Avenue and 53rd Street was absolutely amazing!  Charisee truly went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed.  I was so worried it would be a hassle but she made it all so easy and was a joy to talk to.

With the food taken care of thanks to Qdoba, I was able to play around with decorations.  Qdoba supplied plastic glasses which I dressed up with some mustaches.  I also made mustache props for my guests, a Fiesta banner, Cinco de Mayo wreath, and got some fun Fiesta necklaces!

Fiesta time!

Halloween 2012 Pumpkin!

It's pumpkin season again! Per my annual tradition, I decided to carve a pumpkin this year.  Luckily this year it was pretty easy to find a pumpkin - I just went to my local Whole Foods!

I always love roasting pumpkin seeds after carving my pumpkin.  This year was a disappointment though.  Sadly the pumpkin I picked barely had any seeds.  Any tips on how to pick a seedy pumpkin?

Here is my pumpkin this year - a witch's brew pumpkin!  Spooky isn't it?  I followed the steps outlined in my Pumpkin Carving Tutorial here.

Pumpkin carving - Witch's Brew Pumpkin

To create some different shading for the 'smoke', I thinned out the pumpkin meat from the outside.  If you remove the orange outer skin, it lets more of the light form the candle through, allowing for the appearance of a different shade.

Mozzarella Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

Looking for a light hors d'oeuvres recipe that will also impress with presentation?  I made these adorable Mozzarella Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes while having friends over for pre-dinner drinks recently and they were delicious!

There are some nice recipes online for this, but I didn't really follow any of them.  I kind of made it up along the way, here is my take on it:

Pre-dinner Cocktails and snacks: Mozzarella Stuffed Cherry Tomatos and Roasted Chickpeas

Institute of Culinary Education: Techniques of Fine Cooking I

If you've noticed I've been quiet on the blogosphere lately, it's because I've got my learning cap on and have been busy with school (the cooking kind, as well as the more serious kind)!  The Hubby had the brilliant idea to enroll me in the Institute of Culinary Education's Techniques of Fine Cooking 1 as an Anniversary gift.  Smart, isn't he?  It's the gift that keeps on giving! He sure has been enjoying the new kitchen skills I've picked up lately.

The Institute of Culinary Education ('ICE') is located on West 23rd Street and offers career training for real chefs-to-be, and also holds a lot of recreational classes for people like you and me.  It's pretty fun walking by the real chefs in class and watching them in action.  There are recreational classes which range from just a few hours, to others that span several days like the one I took.  Check out their website, it's hard not to find one that doesn't pique your interest!  You can sign up for classes online so the whole process is pretty easy.

Photos from Techniques of Fine Cooking I

Techniques in Fine Cooking is a program which focuses more on teaching technique rather than recipes.  (Though admittedly, I've been loving practicing the recipes at home).  It is a 5 day course, with 5 hours each day.  ICE offers sessions which are either 5 days consecutively, or 1 day a week over 5 weeks.  

I learned how to truss a chicken, poach eggs, make mousse (hello, arm workout), wet and dry braise and work with mussels.  The list goes on and on!

The class introduced me to working with foods that I'm unfamiliar with, or had been intimidated of.  The techniques taught are not actually that complex, but I think the class gives you the confidence that you can do it!  There's also no better way to learn how to make something than to actually do it yourself. 

Though class sizes vary, my session of Level 1 Techniques had 16 students, along with a Chef instructor and a kitchen assistant.  Chef Anita was an energetic lady who sure kept us on our toes each day!  She has been teaching at ICE for many years so she's a true veteran and knows how to keep the class moving.  

We were in a nice sized kitchen and split into groups of 4.  Each group works together to prepare dishes.  I loved that Chef Anita structured the class so that for the most part, each group made everything in the curriculum - i.e., granted each group may make a different type of vegetable, we all learned how to blanch.  

Here are a few pictures of my group's accomplishments:

Nyonya

Looking for some cheap eats?  In a bid to keep costs down for a dinner out, my friend suggested Nyonya, a Malaysian restaurant just north of Chinatown (around Little Italy) she had been going to for years.  I'm so glad she introduced me to this place!

For appetizers, my friend and I shared an order of Homemade Roti Canai.  The pancake is flakey and crispy and the curry dipping sauce has some nice heat.  Love! Seriously, you won't regret getting this dish.

Nyonya is known for their Hainanese Chicken with Rice, a steal at $5.75! The chicken is served room temperature (not hot) in their chef's soy sauce.  It's served alongside a serving of rice flavored with chicken - ohmygosh I could eat bowls of this.  Oh wait, I did!  I definitely licked my rice bowl clean.  The chicken is delicious with the soy sauce, but it also comes with a side dish of some spicier sauce.

Hainanese Chicken with Rice at Nyonya

ba'sik

Over the summer after a delicious dinner at Gwynnett St. in Williamsburg, my friends and I stumbled on a bar just up the block called ba'sik.  It's a cozy place with a great neighborhood feel to it.  Apparently there is also a sizable outdoor patio in the back, but unfortunately I didn't know to scope it out at the time.  More reason to return (...next spring *sob*)!

[courtesy of basikbrooklyn.com]

We grabbed some seats at the bar, and I'm glad we did because the bartenders were really nice and friendly.  They have a small cocktail menu but they are all creative.  Of the ones we tried (Picket Fence, and how, Poppa's Pride, o.v.c.), they were all delicious!  Oh darn, I just realized that was 4/5 of the menu, now I'm just bugged that we missed one.

Most importantly at $10 a cocktail, it's a steal compared to NYC prices!

Not only do they have cocktails, but they have a food menu too.  We were pleasantly full after dinner, but in order to do some due diligence for you (or at least that's what I tell myself), we ordered a little snack to help the cocktails go down.

The Meatball Shop's Spicy Pork Meatballs

A few months back I visited The Meatball Shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and stopped in for a "quick snack".  Famous last words... of course the meatballs disappeared from my plate before I got a photo for you guys.  I need to stop doing that!  

One order of meatballs comes with 4, and you pick the sauce you want on top.  They also have sliders, heroes, and meatball sandwiches on their menu.  I just wound up getting meatballs that day, and my favorite was the spicy pork meatballs topped with classic tomato sauce.

When we got the bill, they also gave us a little recipe card as a souvenir - and luckily it was for their spicy pork meatballs! Yay!!

I wound up trying out the recipe for a special occasion dinner at home.  I followed the recipe exactly and used good quality ingredients which really made a big difference!  Try and make the extra effort to get good quality ground pork.  Comparing the two instances I made the meatballs: the freshly ground pork I got from the butcher at Eataly resulted in meatballs SOO much better than when I used regular ground pork from my local supermarket chain.  The meat from Eataly resulted in juicier and lighter meatballs, so worth it!  

For the sauce, I made tomato sauce from scratch using a recipe from Scarpetta, Scott Conant's famous Italian restaurant. I LOVE the freshness of homemade sauce, but you can definitely just go with canned tomato sauce to save time.  I'll save Scarpetta's recipe for another post :)

Spicy Pork Meatballs [recipe from The Meatball Shop]

Check out the delicious recipe below courtesy of The Meatball Shop.  It has a hint of heat from the hot cherry peppers, and the fresh white bread (as opposed to breadcrumbs) helps make the meatballs less dense. Great recipe!

Spicy Pork Meatballs Recipe from The Meatball Shop

Pearl Meatballs

I've stumbled upon a show on the Cooking Channel called 'Easy Chinese' featuring Ching-He Huang and now I'm a fan!  Ching is Taiwanese but has an adorable British accent from her upbringing.  She travels throughout the US exploring Chinese eats and also cooks up food with local ingredients.  For those unfamiliar with Chinese cooking, she definitely makes it look easy and approachable.  Try and catch 'Easy Chinese' on the Cooking Channel! But if you can't, check out her recipes online.

On one episode she cooked up 'Pearl Balls' which are essentially steamed pork meatballs rolled in sticky rice.  Sounds delicious!  I don't often cook Chinese food using a recipe (afterall, Dad always taught me how to cook with "a little of this" and "just enough of that" and his recipes are killer!), but I was really eager to test out Ching's version.  

Pearl Meatballs, using Ching-He Huang's recipe on Cooking Channel TV

I followed her recipe almost exactly and I was so pleased with how it came out!  I made a few very minor substitutions which I've noted below.  Check out Ching's recipe, reposted below courtesy of Cooking Channel TV, and follow along with my pictures.  This one's a keeper, and it's pretty easy!  

Pearl Meatballs

[reposted from Ching-He Huang's recipe on Cooking Channel TV]

Ingredients:

12 oz. Ground Pork (or a boneless, skinless piece of pork belly)

2" piece of fresh Ginger, peeled

1 Shallot

1/2 cube vegetable bouillon (I substituted with chicken bouillon as I had it on hand)

1 tsp Cornstarch, plus more for rolling

1 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder

1 tsp Shaoshing rice wine

Sea salt

Freshly ground white pepper

1 large egg yolk, beaten

1 scallion, chopped fine (my addition, not in Ching's recipe)

1/2 cup glutinous white rice (sticky rice!), soaked overnight in cold water and drained

Optional dipping sauce: Black rice vinegar, chili oil, or soy sauce

A Slice of Brooklyn: Pizza Tour!

Over the summer Hubby JL and I were invited to go on a pizza tour run by A Slice of Brooklyn.  I hadn't heard about it before, but any mention of a food tour and you can count me in!  At 11am on a Sunday, we showed up at the designated meeting spot near Union Square.  We didn't have any expectations other than to enjoy a low-key day eating pizza, but by the end of our afternoon with Tony (a true Brooklyn native, the founder, and our tour guide!) we were pleasantly surprised by how much fun we had!

A Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tour: TV screens in the tour bus

Right on time, Tony's very comfortable bus rolled up and all of us pizza-lovers filed on.  I'm guessing there was under 20 of us in the group, so (thankfully!) it didn't feel like we were a giant herd of tourists, though tourists did make up a good chunk!

View of Brooklyn Bridge and the NYC skyline from Brooklyn Bridge Park

Visiting Brooklyn Bridge Park and a close up of Brooklyn Bridge

First up, a little driving tour of DUMBO and a walk around Brooklyn Bridge Park and Fulton Ferry Landing.  The weather was beautiful and the view of Manhattan from the Park was awesome!  It's a great place to snap pictures of the Manhattan skyline and the nearby Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge.  Brooklyn Bridge Park is also home to the newly restored Jane's Carousel.  Sitting along the Brooklyn waterfront, it's a great addition to the park with the carousel music playing and the pretty horses prancing about.

Jane's Carousel

All the pretty horses go 'round and 'round....

Keeping in mind our mission of exploring Brooklyn's pizza... nearing noon, we wandered just up the street to Grimaldi's, famous for their Neapolitan-style pizza.  You'd think going to Grimaldi's was cool enough, but what was even exponentially more awesome was walking right past the queue of people lined up outside waiting for the open and straight in to the tables reserved for Tony's group.  Yes that's right - as a guest of Tony you've got the VIP fastpass!  We each got 2 slices of regular pizza and a soft drink included in our tour.  Definitely go for the Olde Brooklyn sodas which come in glass bottles!  I've had Grimaldi's pizza before, and while the pizza was as good as always, this trip definitely upped the cool factor up a bit by skipping the line :).  The pizza is cooked in a brick oven so the crust has a lovely crunch to it, while the cheese is gooey.  So yum!

Grimaldi's Pizza

Olde Brooklyn Orange Soda

Blue Ribbon at Brooklyn Bowl

My friends know if you want to get me to bowl, entice me with food.  Yup, I'm that kind of piggy:  *Gutterball Queen*Will bowl for food*.  Fortunately they can kill two birds with one stone at Brooklyn Bowl, where they serve up food by the esteemed Blue Ribbon!  Blue Ribbon has various restaurants in NYC and Brooklyn, but this truly unique location allows you to bowl, booze, stuff your face, and listen to live music all at the same time.  I was shocked that bowling alley food could be this good; where have you been all my life??

@Brooklyn Bowl

If you're going to bowl it tends to gets crowded at night, especially on Friday and Saturday, so be sure to get there on the earlier side.  Even if you have to wait a bit for a lane, hang out at the bar where they have a nice assortment of beers on tap.  There is a small dining area with a few tables separate from the bowling lanes, but you can also pump it up a notch and order off the full menu while bowling!

Since I have zero bowling knowledge to impart on you (unless you'd like to hear how I rock out the granny bowl-style!), let's dive right into the food.  Here are a few dishes I've ordered during my visits:

The Roasted Adobo Corn is deliciously loaded with queso fresco, chipotle butter and served with lime wedges on the side.  I found myself rolling the corn in the cheese and butter left on the plate.  

Roasted Adobo Corn

Haven's Kitchen: Lobster Roll Class

This summer I cooked my first lobster! And I'm so glad I had supervision while doing it.  You know, just in case the crustacean went buckwild on me.  I can now cross this off my bucket list thanks to the 'Montauk Lobster Rolls and Long Island Wines' class at Haven's Kitchen.

Located conveniently near Union Square, Haven's Kitchen is a fairly new establishment that focuses on educating people and promoting local and sustainable foods.  It's an adorable space!  The front part is a store where they carry cute tabletop items, local artisinal pantry foods, and fresh brewed coffees and teas.  It opens up to the classroom with a large communal table and workstations.  They offer a nice variety of classes each month, viewable in their calendar on their website.  

'Montauk Lobster Rolls & Long Island Wines' class at Haven's Kitchen

'Montauk Lobster Rolls & Long Island Wines' class at Haven's Kitchen

We had (I think) ~12 people in class, in addition to one instructor and two assistants.  After donning aprons and sipping some wine, we jumped right in and they brought out a whole tub full of lobsters resting on ice and seaweed.  The lobsters came from the Lobster Place located just blocks away in Chelsea Market (love that Haven's Kitchen used a local and accessible source)!  As the instructor started doing demos and showing us the differences between male and female lobsters, they started waking up and moving around the tub.  [Queue the beginning of my squealing!]

Gwynnett St.

This past summer I found myself venturing into Brooklyn more and more.  Surprisingly, it's not as far as I thought!  

Located in Williamsburg, Gwynnett St. offers some great modern American food.  The food (and drinks!) were delicious and the atmosphere was lovely.  When I first walked in, I was struck by the warm and welcoming ambiance - dark wood, brick walls, candles, and delicate flowers on the tables.  

Gwynnett St. [photo courtesy of Gwynnett St.]

You can order a la carte or they also offer a Chef's Selection Tasting Menu for $85.  We ordered a la carte, but the table next to us had the tasting menu and I was surprised that the portions were pretty sizable.  I guess I'm so jaded by Manhattan tasting menu portions!  

One must-get staple on their menu is the Whiskey bread with cultured butter.  And yes, it tastes like whiskey!  Order it while you're settling down with cocktails while perusing the menu.  Maybe you'll forget you're consuming alcoholic bread, but then again, what's wrong with that?  It's delicious!  

Whiskey bread with cultured butter [photo courtesy of Bloomberg]

For an appetizer I started out with a fresh pea shoot salad.  It was delightfully summery.  I loved that it paired so well with the warm weather and it looked beautiful.  Though I'm a serious veggie-lover, I did feel that the ingredients all together tasted too 'green'/raw for my liking.  That didn't stop me from eating it all up though!  It was very creative. 

Pea shoot salad

Hell or High Watermelon

Hell or High... what?!  Yes, watermelon!

I stumbled upon this seasonal wheat beer at Finnerty's bar on 2nd Avenue in the East Village.  Produced by 21st Amendment Brewery in San Francisco, this is a great light beer for the summer.  The best part is the hint of watermelon at the end of each sip!  I've never had watermelon beer, but I'm loving this one:

How awesome is that can too? It's Miss Liberty sitting on the Golden Gate Bridge.  Love!


Piggy KL

Jetsetting Piggys

Piggys are on summer hiatus!  We have been flying around checking out awesome eats in other cities (and countries!) and we can't wait to report back.

Here is a little piggy souvenir from somewhere I visited recently.

Of course, it was piggy love as first sight.  Recognize this pig?

It resides in Thomas Keller's amazing ad hoc restaurant in Napa, California!


Here is another cool shot from my travels:

Eating oysters while being treated with a reflection of San Francisco's Bay Bridge.


We'll be back soon!

Piggy KL

La Cuisine Paris (Cooking School)

You know what they say - when in Rome.... except in this case, when in PARIS, do as the Parisians do. 

One of my must-do's when I was Paris was to take a cooking class.  There are lots of options to choose from.  A search on the internet will pull up lots of classes run out of people's local apartments, and the Ritz is also well-known for their classes.  Trufflepig help set us up with a great option, La Cuisine Paris, an English-speaking cooking school located minutes away from Notre Dame.  

They offer a variety of classes, from cooking to pastries, but we opted for a French classic (and one I've always been intimidated to attempt at home!) - Soufflés!  We learned how to make both a sweet (chocolate) and savory (cheese) kind which I'm itching to try again now that I'm back home.  They both came out delicious.  

Cheese soufflé and vinaigrette salad

There were about 10 students in my class and I was very glad to hear that the instructor was a real honest to goodness American!  Woohoo, no need for that French-to-English iPhone app.  But not to worry, we weren't taking lessons from a newly transplanted American.  No, that wouldn't do.  Chef Randall moved to France over 20 years ago and has been cooking his way through the country since.  We were in good hands.  

Beaujolais, France - Unique Tour and Fabulous Dinner

Our one full day in the Beaujolais region was spent with Madame Francoise Barbet, coordinated through Jack at Trufflepig.  A lady who emanates boundless knowledge and love for the Beaujolais region, she truly made our day spectacular.  Heck, I think we fell in love with the region just because of Francoise!

Not only did she give us a history lesson of Beaujolais, but we saw with our own eyes how the region is changing, in a sad way.  As Beaujolais wines are becoming less in demand in the market, wine makers are closing shop, and in turn pulling up their vines.  It's a sad thing to see - vacant lots with roots all torn up.  It is a beautiful part of the countryside nonetheless, and we had such a wonderful learning experience getting to taste various types of Beaujolais wines.  It's opened up my eyes to see past the stereotype that Beaujolais wines are 'weaker'.  So. Not. True.  There is a subtle balance to be appreciated, and a blend of delicacy and strength that I imagine must take generations to master.

We had the opportunity to meet one of these families who have been growing grapes and making wine for many generations.  I've learned what a special breed these wine makers are - their profession full of very hard work, and a lot of joy.  On our day with Francoise, she took us to meet the Romy family.  They are such nice people - we met Monsieur and Madame Romy and their son Nicholas.  One of my favorite memories of the trip is tasting their wine with them over an assortment of cheeses. 

Beaujolais, France - Even More Wine and Food

Next up after our journey around Beaune was the Beaujolais region, about a 3 hour drive South.  We stopped along little towns along the way, some of which were really teeny tiny.  Each town has its own distinct character, and I'm pleased to say some of my good memories of the trip were just from wandering around and soaking in the beauty of the region.

Putt, putt, putting along the way in our round European car...

We started our morning off making a detour to the town Chagny, where there was a lovely market in the middle of town.  It was here where we saw rows of chacuterie, fresh bread, flowers, cheeses, and vibrant fresh vegetables and fruits.  Locals were milling around carrying baskets or tote bags full of goods.

Impressive assortment of cured meats

Beaune, France - Endless Food and Wine (Part II)

Bonjour mes amis! Picking up from where we left off on Tuesday, let's get through the rest of the delicious local food I had in Beaune, as well as a fabulous wine tour around the Côte d'Or where some of the most expensive wine-producing grapes are grown.

One of our favorite meals of the trip was had at Le Bistro de L'Hôtel, a restaurant attached to L’Hôtel de Beaune in the center of the village.  The service was warm, friendly and attentive.  Even the kitchen staff were waving hello to us while we were sitting at our table! The quality of the food was evident, and flavors were not too heavy or overdone. 

We started off with an amuse-bouche of tuna rolled in poppy seeds with citrus juice, followed by appetizers: seared tuna with poppy and chives, and a fresh tomato salad.  They were all light yet balanced in flavors.  The tomatoes were surprisingly delicious - they were cooked and served chilled.  Sprinkled with basil and crisps, and with a light coating of olive oil, it was like eating bursts of very fresh tomato sauce.

Amuse-bouche: tuna rolled in poppy seeds with citrus juice

Appetizer: Tuna

Appetizer: Tomato salad, so fresh!

Beaune, France - Endless Food and Wine (Part I)

Us Piggys have sure been busy circling the globe lately.  Piggy KK is in Asia and I recently returned from my trip to France.  I have so much to share with you! I spent some time soaking in the local culture (wine!) in the French countryside region of Burgundy. We visited some local winemakers, drank wine with them in their cold dark cellars over cheese or potato chips, whatever was their fancy. We drove through lovely villages with rolling fields, soft hills and farms. We walked through a weekend market, and oh the arrays of chacuterie and cheese were to die for! I had some delicious traditional French meals, and go figure, fell in love with snails. After four days, we made our way to Paris. The empty roads, silent nights, and random cows were fun, but I was looking forward to getting back to the hustle and bustle of a city.  I'm definitely a city girl at heart! Paris needs no introduction - a truly beautiful city with magnificent food. It'll take me a couple of posts to get through all of this, so let's start at the beginning!

Set on doing France right this time, we enlisted the help of a trip planning service. Their name itself, Trufflepig, sent our imagination fluttering with what kind of experience they could help us arrange, and they totally lived up to everything we hoped for and more! And seriously, all thanks goes to Jack at Trufflepig, who really knows what he's talking about and has an awesome accent to boot.

Street view in Beaune

While I'm wining away in Burgundy...

Bonjour! I'm currently exploring Burgundy, France, walking around town, soaking up the local sights and drinking some wine.  In the meantime, I'll leave you with these fitting words...

Have a good weekend!

Piggy KL