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>Cafe Habana, NYC

6 Jan

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Grilled Corn, Mexican Style. Served with chili powder lime and cheese.
This corn was featured on the Food Network’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate a la Tyler Florence. This corn is worth the crowd, is worth the tight spaces, is worth the narrow tables. It’s worth it. Go.


Sincronizada. Small black bean and sun-dried tomato tortillas with mozzarella cheese and avocado. Basically it’s a quesadilla with a fancy name.


Meet Carolyn. She’s the fine lady who brought me to Cafe Habana. She also has been living in a darling flat with burgundy floors. This was her last New York meal before moving back to L.A. Carolyn tells me that the brunch at Cafe Habana is great. Chilaquiles here I come…

Cafe Habana
17 Prince Street
New York, NY 10012
(212) 625-2002

R.I.P. Purple Pumpkin, HELLO Pumpkin Mac n’ Cheese

19 Dec

So we’ve had this ridged purple pumpkin living with us since October. Today was the day that I transformed our dear purple pumpkin into some precious puree.

Before

After

This dear purple pumpkin made a TON of puree.

The 1/2 cup of puree that I used tonight in my pumpkin mac n’ cheese barely made a dent in the sea of puree that is left.

But the mac n’ cheese sure was thick, creamy, and…bright orange!

Pumpkin Mac n’ Cheese
from neverhomemaker.com

  • 1-1/2 cups elbow macaroni
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon flour (any kind will work, I used all-purpose)
  • 1/2 cup skim milk
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
  • 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup pureed garbanzo beans (or hummus or cream cheese)
  • 1/8 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • OPTIONAL: flaky sea salt, breadcrumbs, fried sage/rosemary
  1. Cook the pasta to the package directions.
  2. While you wait for it to finish: Pour the olive oil into a large sauce-pot and cook over medium heat. Then stir in the flour and keep stirring until the mixture is thick — but not browned. (About 1 minute)
  3. Add the milk and stir constantly for about 3 minutes or so. Until thick.
  4. Add the pumpkin puree, cheese, and pureed garbanzo beans (or hummus or cream cheese), paprika, and pepper. Stir until everything is melted. Add more seasonings to taste.
  5. When you pasta is done, just drain and add to the cheese mixture. Stir for a minute or two, then turn off the heat and serve.
  6. Adding some flaky sea salt, breadcrumbs and/or fried sage or rosemary gives this dish a leg up.

Cheesy-Veggie Pie, with Salami, held together by Eggs and a Splash of Milk

10 Dec


Quiche? Frittata? Cheesy-veggie pie, with salami, held together by eggs and a splash of milk.

Whatever its called, its easy, I made it up, its healthy, its got pie crust.

And it’s great leftover the next day.


Cheesy-Veggie Pie, with Salami, held together by Eggs and a Splash of Milk

1 recipe for pie crust
1 head of broccoli, cut into tiny bites
1 zucchini, sliced thin
8 slices salami
Cheddar cheese + this other amazing Spanish cheese that I had, too
6 eggs
splash of milk
salt and pepper

1. Make you crust. Refrigerate. Roll it out. Place into a pie plate or tart pan lined with parchment. Pre-bake your crust in a 400 degree F oven until just lightly colored, about 15-20 min.

2. Take your zucchini and salami and place along the bottom of the tart pan. Whisk together your broccoli, cheeses, and eggs with a splash of milk and salt and pepper. Pour into the tart pan over the salami and zucchini. Bake until done, about 30 min.

3. Let cool for about 5 minutes. Serve.

La la la la la lasagna!!!!!!!!!!

16 Sep

(NOTE: All of the photos are taken of the lasagna before it was baked…)

When your housemate eats five pieces of your lasagna for dinner, that must mean you made a pretty darn good meal (or maybe he was just pretty darn hungry). Either way, lasagna is a sure way to please hungry housemates and taste buds alike.

Lasagna is so hearty and you can make it however you like with all of your favorite ingredients. You can make it totally vegetarian, totally cheesy (I used a triple threat of cheeses in mine), totally meaty (sausages, ground meat, bacon…), and even totally vegan (making tofu “ricotta” is so fun).

Start with a layer of sauce, then noodles, then cheese, then veggies, then more sauce, then noodles, then cheese, then veggies, then more sauce, more noodles, more cheese oh my! I don’t even measure how much of everything I put in and I always confuse my layering order. Honestly, though, anyway you layer, it will come out awesome, guaranteed. I mean, you just can’t go wrong with all of those yummy ingredients.

I made vegetarian lasagna with fresh spinach, yellow summer squash, mushrooms, onions, fresh basil, tomato sauce, and 3 cheeses: Parmesan, mozzarella, and ricotta. I combined my ricotta with some fresh-ground nutmeg, the fresh basil leaves cut into pieces, and 2 eggs to make it really smooth and rich.

This lasagna in particular offers a lovely array of color-green, red, white, yellow…Unfortunately I was too caught up in/too busy eating the crispy browned cheesy topped noodle dish to take a nice photo of the finished product. So go try it for yourself and you will understand why I am such a sucker for those browned cheesy bits.

La la la la la lasagna!!!!!!!!!!

Ingredients

1-2 yellow summer squash, thinly sliced

1 onion, sliced thinly

mushrooms, sliced

1 jar of prepared tomato sauce + 1 small 8 oz can of plain tomato sauce (or homemade sauce, that would be awesome!)

1 lb of ricotta cheese

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

salt and pepper

fresh basil, cut into thin strips or ribbons

2 eggs

1 package of oven-ready lasagna noodles (or regular lasagna noodles, par-boiled)
fresh spinach

salt and pepper

more fresh basil

grated mozzarella cheese

grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a saucepan, saute the yellow summer squash in olive oil until just cooked. Add salt and pepper. Put into a bowl and set aside.

2. Drizzle some more olive oil in the now empty pan and saute the onions until cooked and translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook. Add the tomato sauce and simmer for a few minutes.

3. Make your ricotta mixture. Add the nutmeg, fresh basil ribbons, salt, pepper, and 2 eggs to the ricotta and stir until blended.

4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a pyrex (13 in), layer a thin amount of your tomato sauce with mushrooms. Then place a few noodles in a single layer over the sauce. Spread on 1/2 of the ricotta mixture. Throw on some grated mozzarella. Add the yellow squash, salt, pepper, and fresh basil. More tomato sauce. Noodles. Ricotta mixture then mozzarella. Fresh spinach. More sauce. More mozzarella and Parmesan for the top so you get a nice crispy brown top.

(or just layer it however you like)

5. Bake, covered with foil, for about 35-40 minutes. Take off the foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it stand for about 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving.

>Asparagus Risotto

8 Sep

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“Listen to the sounds the risotto makes as it cooks. The crackling sizzle of the rice tells you it’s time to add the wine, which makes a gratifying whoosh; and the bloop-bloop of the bubbles popping signals that it’s time to add more broth.”

-Alice Waters, The Art of Simple Food

There are so many great foods out there, but risotto definitely holds a special place in my heart. Risotto oozes comfort food, with its creamy texture and beautiful soft colors. And it goes perfectly with a nice cold glass of wine. What a delightful dish to welcome in a cool fall day. Oh, and check out my snazzy red bike in the background…it’s my new fun (and functional) toy!

Back to risotto, what exactly makes it taste so creamy when there is no actual cream in the recipe? Starch. Yep. Alice Waters says: “Risotto is made from starchy short-grain rice (it looks much plumper than other varieties of rice), which, when moistened with successive additions of stock, gains concentrated flavor and a distinctive saucy texture.” The most well-known risotto rice is called Arborio rice, although many other varieties are used in Italy: Vialone Nano, Baldo, and Carnaroli.


Yes, when you make risotto, the whole process takes about 45 minutes standing more or less on-guard, stirring occasionally and adding broth a little bit at a time. You have to give your rice some love, otherwise it won’t love you back, and I’m not just saying that to be cute. It’s actually quite relaxing to make risotto, it’s one of those sort of mindless tasks that just feels good.

I chose to make my risotto with onions, asparagus, and Parmesan cheese. Simple and fantastic. But really, you can throw whatever you feel like in your risotto: mushrooms, seafood, sausages, tomatoes, beans, fresh herbs, citrus juice and zest…

The basic idea of risotto is to saute an onion (or shallot, garlic, leek…), add the rice for just a few minutes to let it get all nice and roasty toasty (it should turn translucent but should not start to color or brown), and then pour in a bit of wine for some fruity acidity. White wine is typical, however red wine or beer can be substituted. Once the wine evaporates, broth or stock is added, slowly over a longish period of time. The final touches involve grated cheese of course! Oh yes, and some good company with which you can share this wonderful meal.

Asparagus Risotto

from Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food

4 servings

Snap off the ends of:
1 pound asparagus
Cut the spears on the diagonal into 1/4-inch pieces. Set aside for later.

Melt in a heavy-bottomed 2 1/2 to 3 quart saucepan over medium heat:
2 tablespoons butter

Add:
1 small onion, diced finely
Cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 10 minutes

Add:
1 1/2 cups risotto rice (I used Arborio)
Cook the rice, stirring now and then, until translucent, about 4 minutes. Do not let it brown.

Meanwhile, bring to a boil and then turn off:
5 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)

Pour into your simmering rice:
1/2 cup dry white wine

Cook, stirring fairly often, until all the wine is absorbed. Add 1 cup of the warm broth and cook at a vigorous simmer, stirring occasionally. When the rice starts to thicken, pour in another 1/2 cup of the broth and add some salt (how much depends on the saltiness of the broth). Keep adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, every time the rice thickens. Do not let the rice dry out. After 12 minutes stir in the cut asparagus. Cook until the rice is tender but still has a firm core, 20 to 30 minutes in all. When the rice is just about done, stir in:
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Stir vigorously to develop the creamy starch. Taste for salt, adding more as needed. Turn off the heat, let the risotto sit uncovered for 2 minutes, and serve. Add a splash of broth if the rice becomes too thick.

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