French Cooking 101 - Beef Bourguignon

This is the first installment of a series of classic French recipes that I want to try.  Usually my recipes are quick and simple but this little adventure may take me to some recipes that are more difficult.  I decided to start out with the iconic Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon.  Of course I did make some changes to suit my preferences.  This became a wonderful beef stew that I would definitely try again but it didn't live up to the high expectations I had put on it to be the best thing I would ever put in my mouth. 

Beef Bourguignon

6 slices of thick cut bacon, cut into strips
3T olive oil
3 lbs lean beef, cubed into 2 inch pieces (I used a round roast)
1/2 c sliced carrots
1 sm onion sliced
salt and pepper
2T flour
3c red wine
3c beef broth
1T tomato paste
2t chopped garlic
1/2t thyme
1 bay leaf
3T butter
1lb quartered cremini mushrooms
Rice or noodles

Saute bacon in oil in large dutch oven.  Remove bacon from oil once crisp and save.  Pat meat dry with paper towels and brown in batches in oil and bacon drippings and set aside with bacon.  Brown the vegetables in the oil.  Return the meat to the pot and toss with salt, pepper, and flour.  Without lid on pot,  place in oven at 450 for 5 mins.  Toss meat and return to oven for another 4 mins.  Reduce oven heat to 325. Remove pot from oven and stir in wine and enough broth to just cover the meat.  Add tomato paste, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf.  Bring to a simmer on stove top, cover return to oven at 325.  Simmer pot in oven 3-4 hrs until meat is very tender.  Saute mushrooms in butter and add to pot before serving.  Serve over rice or noodles.

Cincinnati Style Chili

There are several differences between my typical chili and Cincinnati style chili.  First of all you cook the ground beef in liquid rather than browning it up before adding liquid.  This makes the chili a finer texture rather than chunky.  Because you don't get the chance to drain the meat, you need to use a lean ground beef, or use ground turkey, so that you don't have a chili that's too greasy.  Also some of the spices are a little unusual too....cinnamon and cocoa powder.  Don't let this scare you away!  The difference that it adds to the taste is pretty subtle and you could always cut it back some.  Cincinnati chili is typical served on spaghetti and topped with a mound of shredded cheddar cheese.  The cheese really makes it yummy in my opinion!

The chili by itself would be considered one-way, on pasta is two-way, on pasta topped with cheese is three-way, with beans or onions is four-way, and with beans & onions is five-way.  So you could set up a chili bar so that everyone could have their chili the "way" they want it!  This would also be awesome on a chili dog!

Cincinnati Style Chili

1lb ground lean beef or turkey
1c onions, small dice
2T chili powder
1T cocoa powder
1t cinnamon
1/2 ground cumin
8oz canned tomato sauce
1c beef broth
1/2 T apple cider vinegar
16oz thin spaghetti, cooked according to package directions

toppings:
shredded cheddar cheese
diced onions
canned kidney beans, rinsed and reheated in water
oyster crackers

In a medium saucepan, add broth and meat.  Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until meat is no longer pink.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer on med-low for about 10 mins to blend flavors.  Serve chili over pasta with toppings.

Posole

On my current quest of trying unfamiliar but traditional mexican fare, I started researching, that would be googling for me, posole recipes.  If you are not familiar with this, it sounds like you are saying ole with a poso in front of it.  This is a pork and hominy stew that can be red or green depending on whether you use dried chiles or tomatillos.  I decided to try the red version first.  Hominy is a type of corn which is also used to make grits.  I've never used hominy before but fortunately you can get it canned in the Latino food section so it is very accessible and easy to try.  My recipe is my own version of picking the things I liked out of the recipes I reviewed.  Toppings varied as well from sliced radishes, shredded cabbage or lettuce, sour cream, and crunchy tortilla strips.  We tried a little shredded lettuce and crushed tortilla chips.  I think the sour cream and radishes would be nice to try next time.

I used a chipotle pepper in my posole and I have a tip for you about them.  A chipotle pepper is a smoked jalepeno that is canned in a tomato sauce called adobo sauce.  You can buy a small can that has about 6 or 8 peppers in a can.  To cut down on the heat of the pepper, you can cut it open and scrap out the seeds,  which is what I did and the heat was just right for my family.  I then took an ice cube tray and seperated the pepper with a little of the sauce, one in each well, and froze them.  Once they were frozen I popped them into a freezer bag.  Now the next time I cook chili or even taco meat, I can thaw out a pepper to add to it.  Chipotles add a very nice smoky taste and well worth the additon.

Posole
2lb pork roast, cubed in big chunks
1/2 onion diced
1t salt
1/2t pepper
1t garlic powder
1t dried oregano
2t chili powder
1 chipotle pepper (to reduce heat remove seeds)
29oz can hominy corn, drained and rinsed
toppings: sliced radishes, shredded lettuce or cabbage, crispy tortilla strips, sour cream

Add onions,salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano to pork in a large pot.  Add water just to cover pork, bring to a boil and simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hrs until meat is very tender.  With some of the cooking liquid puree the chipotle pepper in a blender and add back to the pot.  Add chili powder and hominy and simmer for 30 mins.  Serve with toppings.

Chez Lulu

I've been meaning to try this little restaurant in English Village for while.  Chez Lulu was a nice change for Sunday lunch!  They offer soups, sandwiches, pizzas, and on Sunday a great brunch.  The owners also run Continental Bakery next door so, of course, the breads and desserts are wonderful too!  I was very pleased by their kid friendly menu as well.  It is a 3 course meal that offers choices such as ants on a log, apples and peanut butter, bagel cheese pizza, and several other choices.  Then they get the choice of a cookie or ice cream for dessert.  For $6 I think its more impressive than the $4 or $5 choices you get at other restaurants and really my two boys could have shared it and I just order another cookie.

We started with a fruit and cheese plate to share that had brie, blue cheese, and a soft, I think goat, cheese with several fruits.  I chose the Brunch du jour which was a spinach, ham, and roasted red pepper frittata; homemade applesauce, and stone ground garlic cheesy grits.  It was soooo good!  The applesauce was served warm, a little chunky, and had some plumped up golden raisins in it.  I would love to get that recipe!  The frittata and grits were great too and made a great combo with the applesauce.

Of course I couldn't leave without trying a dessert!  I wanted to try a strawberry crepe but they were out so we decided to share a chocolate bread pudding.  So delicious!  Before we left I peeked into the bakery to gaze upon their croissants, scones, cakes, and cookies.  I'm glad they are not in my neighborhood because that would be dangerous to have such good food so close.  It will however now be a favorite Sunday lunch spot.

Middle Eastern Rice with Black Beans & Chickpeas

My friend Kristi found this recipe on the All Recipes site.  It is great website to search for recipes.  This is a nice one-pot dish.  It calls for several spices that may seem intimidating but once you try them you'll probably go looking for more recipes to use them in!  You can find All Recipes' original recipe here.  I cut the recipe in half and adjusted some of the ingredients.  I also thought it was even better the next day.

I have another little tip for you too.  I don't frequently buy fresh parsley because once I use it for a recipe the rest goes bad before I can use it again.  Solution: I found these tubes in the organic section of the produce area that have 3 bunches of chopped parsley in one tube.  You just squeeze out the amount you need and put the rest in the fridge.  It worked great and doesn't cost much more than the fresh parsley especially considering that you don't have to do the chopping and there is no waste!  They also had other herbs, ginger, and chili peppers.  A real find!

Middle Eastern Rice with Black Beans and Chickpeas

1lb ground turkey, browned

1T olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1c instant brown rice

1t ground cumin

1t ground coriander

1/2 t ground turmeric
1/4t ground cayenne pepper
1c chicken broth
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1T chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over med heat.  Stir in garlic and cook 1 min.  Stir in rice and spices and cook for 5 mins.  Add broth, bring to a boil and cook for 10 mins.  Add cooked turkey, beans, and parsley to rice.  Cook for 5 more mins and add salt & pepper to taste.

Fettuccine with Prosciutto and Sage Cream

This recipe came from Publix.  They feature a recipe every week in their flyer and also feature recipes on the packages of their brand of products.  I have tried several of their recipes and they are great simple recipes.  You can go here to their website to explore more of their recipes.

I had never cooked with fresh sage before so that was why I was interested in trying this recipe.  It really had a very subtle taste in this dish so I may have to try it again where it has a more center stage appearance.  I followed the recipe as it was written, except I left out the mushrooms (which I like but the family doesn't).  We also had sauted broccolini, also called rapini, with this.  It's kinda like a cross between broccoli and greens.  It has some bitterness to it and wasn't my favorite side dish.


Fettuccine with Prosciutto and Sage Cream

1lb chicken breast, cooked and sliced into strips (I grilled mine)

10 sage leaves

12oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 slices of prosciutto (2oz), cut into strips

1/4 grated parmesan cheese

1 3/4c chicken broth

8oz fettuccine pasta

1c Alfredo sauce (I just used the whole jar)
2/3c roasted red pepper
olive oil

Cook pasta according to directions.  In a large saute pan, heat a tablespoon of oil on med-hi heat.  Add mushrooms and saute 2-3 minutes until browned.  Add red peppers and chicken and cook 1-2 mins.  Reduce heat to med-low and add chicken broth and alfredo sauce.  Simmer 3-4 mins.  Stir in cooked pasta, prosciutto, and sage.  Top with parmesan cheese and serve.

Oven Round Roast

This roast will forever be the Rachel Ray roast to me.  I was fortunate to get to visit her show on a recent trip to NYC and this was the recipe that she did.  I have always done chuck roasts in the crockpot and was very unfamiliar with other cuts used for roasts.  By the way, a chuck roast + cream of mushroom soup + carrots, onions, & potatoes in a crockpot for 8 hrs will probably always be my favorite roast beef dinner but I'm always game for trying something different.

I will say that a round roast is a more expensive cut of meat but it is much leaner than chuck and we ate 3 meals plus some on about a 3lb roast.  So you do get your money's worth out of it for sure!  This again is more of a technique than a recipe that I learned so you can change up the seasonings and veggies to your liking.  This produces a medium rare roast so if pink meat is not your thing, stick to chuck roast in the crockpot.  Like I said, it is a very lean roast so if it isn't pink it will be grey and dry out of the oven.  But you could cook your roast this way and then once it is sliced use it in recipes where you cook it a second time.  We sliced up our leftover meat, sauteed it with onions and created some awesome steak sandwiches.  Then what I still had leftover I cubed and created a great chili.  So the meat was cooked again and not tough at all.

Here is Rachel Ray's original recipe that includes a tomato gravy too.  It pretty much creates a gravy with the pan drippings plus some tomato paste.  She recommended serving it with gnocchi.  Gnocchi are potato dumplings, an Italian staple, and they are readily available in vacuum sealed pouches in the pasta aisle.  I like them and think they are a nice switch from the typical potato or rice side dish.  They are bland so you definitely have to top them with something.  Enjoy!

Oven Round Roast

3-4 lb round roast
olive oil
steak seasoning (I used the Montreal steak rub)
1 onion quartered
1c chopped carrots

The roast needs to be at room temp.  Preheat your oven to 500 or 550 if it will get that hot.  Rub the roast with the oil and cover with the seasoning.  In a roasting pan, create a bed of the onion quarters and carrots for the roast to sit on.  Place the roast in the oven for 30 mins.  Turn off the oven but DO NOT open the door for 2 hrs.  Slice and serve.

Rice and Corn Casserole and Mojo Chicken

When I first thought of a rice and corn casserole I didn't think it sounded very good.  Something about two starches together, but it really made a great side dish.  This recipe came from my friend Lee Ann that she had put in our church's Christian Academy's cookbook.  Perfect side dish to take to a potluck.

I also wanted to let you know of a great marinade for chicken.  If you look in the latin foods section of your grocery store you'll find Mojo marinade.  Its a garlic and citrus marinade.  I took a family pack of chicken legs and marinated them all day in it and then grilled them up.  So delicious.

Rice and Corn Casserole

1sm pkg yellow rice (I used the Vigo brand)
1 can mixed corn drained (I used frozen shoepeg corn)
1 can cream of mushroom or chicken
1/2 stick butter melted

Cook rice according to package directions.  Mix remaining ingredients with rice bake in casserole dish at 350 for 30 mins.

Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe was originally from my friend Terri.  I have changed it a little from her recipe such as using just white meat chicken instead of a whole chicken and leaving out the mushrooms and green peppers.  It makes a huge 9x13 casserole and it is a very affordable meal to make for a crowd when served with garlic bread and salad.  This is a real kid pleaser too, kinda like spaghetti meets rotel dip with chicken.  It also freezes well so it makes a great dish to take to someone or to split it and eat one half and freeze the other.  Needless to say, I've made this several times!

Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

1lb cooked chicken (white or dark), chopped
1lb thin spaghetti
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can cream of chicken
1 lb velvetta, cubed
1/2 c milk
1c shredded cheddar cheese

Boil spaghetti in a large pot and drain.  In same pot, add rotel, cream of chicken, velvetta, and milk.  Heat this mixture over low heat until velvetta is melted and everything is combined.  Add pasta and chicken to mixture and pour into casserole dish and top with shredded cheese.  Bake at 350 until bubbly.

Huevos Rancheros

Ole!  Why didn't I try making this sooner?!  I didn't really have a recipe I followed.  I just looked at  different recipes on-line and made my own combination.  So you should really just take the idea from this post, pick your ingredients and run with it.  You need crunchy corn tortillas, red or green chile sauce, beans, cheese, and eggs.  This is such an easy meal for b'fast, lunch, or dinner.  Cheap too!

Huevos Rancheros

tostados (that's the 6 in round crunchy corn tortillas but you could substitute tortilla chips)
green enchilada sauce, heated
1 can pinto beans drained
1 can refried beans
mexican cheese blend
eggs, fried
tomato, diced (I substituted salsa the 2nd time I made this)

I mixed my pinto and refried beans together and heated them.  For one serving I used 3 tostados (really 2 is plenty).  This is how I layered it...tostado, beans, cheese, tostado, beans, cheese, tostado,  and 2 fried eggs.  Then top with green sauce and tomatoes.

NYC Day 7

Last day in NYC!  It has been a great trip and we have a little more sightseeing to do before we head home but I'm ready to get back south!

We started out the day with a late breakfast at the Carnegie Deli.  We were both kinda craving corned beef hash again so we split an order.  The portions here are huge!  I had hoped that it was going to be better than the hash we had the day we got here because they cure their own meats.  Unfortunately it wasn't.  Overcooked, dry, and greasy.  We definitely liked the other better.

We got on the subway and road the 1 down to Battery Park to catch a ferry to Liberty Island and Ellis Island.  At Liberty Island, they are currently not allowing entrance into the statue except for special ticket holders and they only allow 240 per day of them.  I was pretty sure that we may not be able to access the top of the statue but I was really surprised we couldn't go into the museum in the base of the statue either.  So all we could do was walk around it and then get on the ferry to go to Ellis Island.

Ellis Island is alot bigger than I thought and there is so much to see there!  We only had about an 1 hr before we had to get back to catch our plane.  I didn't realize that this island had not just the main building but also a ferry station, hospital, powerhouse, and dormitories.  Only the main building is currently in use but you could easily spend 3 hrs in it!  Definitely a place I need to go back to.

We were starting to get into a pretty big hurry once the ferry got back to Battery Park.  We had about 2 1/2 hrs to ride the subway back to midtown, get Jack a gift at FAO Schwarz, get our bags, and get to the airport before the plane took off.  Jack has a fascination with trash trucks and can you believe that we found a NYC trash truck at the store!  We darted down 5th Ave on foot stopping once for a hotdog to eat while running! 

When we got to our hotel, our street was closed because they were piling up the snow to be removed.....using a bulldozer!  That's just too much dang snow!  So a taxi can't come to the hotel to pick us up and we have to go down our street to 6th to hail one.  Now another snag...it is 4:15 and all of the taxis change shift at 5 and no one wants to take us to LaGuardia because it will put them past their shift!  After being turned down by about 5 taxis, one finally takes us!  I wasn't sure what we were going to do if we didn't get one.  The subway doesn't go to the airport but I was about to see if there was a bus route to it.  It shouldv'e been about a 30 min trip but a little traffic congestion made it about 45.  We got there about 5:15 and checked in with no problem before our flight at 6.  Nothing like ending a trip with a little unexpected excitement!

All in all, NYC was a great trip.  I was on my own most of the time since Bill was in school.  I never felt scared to be out on my own because where we were was a big tourist destination.  I was out there with other tourists, people who worked around there, and police.  I saw very little panhandling and never felt like I was somewhere unsafe.  I kept a little map with me and we paid $27 each for an unlimited pass for the subway and buses.  The subway didn't feel unsafe either.  I really want to go back and take the boys next time.  They would just love so much of it!

Top 10 Things I Learned on My First Trip to NYC
1.  Mass transportation rocks!  How else could a city like this function?
2.  There is a Starbuck's on every corner!  I thought it was pretty funny when the directions to one place I was looking for said that it was across from Starbuck's!  What isn't?
3.  Finding a grocery store in the city isn't easy.  I don't know why they eluded me!
4.  Eating out can get very expensive so it helps to do your research to find some cheaper options.
5.  Duane & Reade is the NYC drugstore and there are just as many of these as Starbuck's.
6.  You can easily walk 8 miles a day walking around sightseeing.  But don't look up too much!  You might just walk into an intersection or crash into another pedestrian.
7.  Research, research, research you trip!  You could waste alot of time figuring things out while you are there if you don't have some idea about what you want to do and how to do it.
8.  If it's winter, take boots!  It would have been a life saver for my feet the last couple of day we were there.
9.  Seeing at least one Broadway show is a must!  It is affordable too.  We got 2 weeknight tickets for Wicked the night before the show for only $56 each.  Our seats were labeled as having a "partially obstructed view" but they were totally fine.  Didn't miss a thing!
10.  Stick with yellow taxis.  Other taxis may take you for a ride...no pun intended.  We took yellow taxi to the airport for about $35 and Bill's coworker to another unmarked cab and paid $10 more.

NYC Day 6

I had intentions of getting up this morning and going to Regis and Kelley but after my day of marathon walking yesterday and getting to bed at midnight.....I just couldn't pull myself out of bed.

I had to go out by lunchtime though because I didn't have anything but granola bars in the room to eat for lunch.  I decided to go back to the little french restaurant, La Bonne Soupe, that we had the steak au poivre.  I had their Quiche Lorraine which had ham and swiss cheese.  It was an individual sized quiche, which was nice because I think you get a little more crust :), and a side salad. 

I also tried their apple tart which I didn't like quite as much as good ol' apple pie but it was nice.  It had very little apple and more of a thick custardy filling.  I believe it is called a frangipane which is made of butter, eggs, sugar, and ground almonds.





I then headed to St. Patrick's Cathedral.  That is one massive cathedral!  It is free to visit and worth stopping by to see.  From there I went to do a little gift shopping at the Lego store at Rockefeller center before going to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).  It costs $20 to visit the MoMA but on Fridays 4-8 Target sponsors free access.  It was very crowded, which was expected, so I limited myself to checking out just 2 of the floors of the museum.  




Monet's Water Lillies



They have well known artists on display such as van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Matisse, Polk, and Warhol.  I would like to go back and do the audio tour sometime.



That evening we had planned to have supper from a local, very popular street vendor, The Halal Guys, on the corner of 53rd & 6th.  Apparently this vendor is open 7:30 at night till 4 in the morning.  They serve chicken and lamb plates that are suppose to be the best.  Well, it was cheap (about $6 for a plate) and filling but it was far from being the best thing I've ever had. 



Chicken & Rice



Yellow rice topped with chopped chicken and a little lettuce.  They give you a side of white sauce and hot sauce.  The white sauce was essentially white bbq sauce and the hot sauce was so outrageously hot I couldn't stand it.  We definitely could have split a plate...we both threw away about half our food.

I also stopped by the same bakery I got my black & white cookie to get a cannoli.  It was very good but not better than the black & white which is now my favorite Yankee cookie.

NYC Day 5

I wasn't too anxious to go out this morning because I wasn't  sure what it was going to be like outside.  The snow storm brought about 16 inches of snow to Manhattan.  It was plenty of entertainment just to watch the local news!





I'm the speck on the left in the back!


Searching on the internet I learned that the Rachel Ray show should be taping around 12:00.  It was now 10:00 and I had to get a shower and take about a 20 min walk to get to the show.  And how much would the snow get in my way?  Well I decided to take a super fast shower and dart out the door to see if I could get a standby seat.  Getting there wasn't too bad but for every crosswalk that was cleared of snow there was one that seemed like an obstacle course of snow and slush!  I made it and they had plenty of seats still available!  I've never been to a television show so it was really fun to see how it all worked.

After the show, I had a few hours to waste until I was to meet Bill.  The leader from the school Bill was attending was taking a group to the World Trade Center site.  I got a late lunch at Goodburger, a New York fast food chain.  I had a very good grilled burger with real cheese.  I had several more blocks to trek before I got to where Bill was and unfortunately I wasn't able to keep my feet dry.  It was inevitable and I finally plunged my feet into an icy slush puddle trying to cross the street.  Shooting pain followed by total numbness!  I kept walking to get the water out and keep the blood flowing to my toes!  Stopped into a Duane and Reade store (drugstore) and got some dry socks.  Now I'll be able to handle the tour tonight.



Memorial Site Model

 We had a very interesting tour around the WTC site.  The new site will be composed of 5 skyscrapers, a memorial & museum, transportation hub, retail complex, and performing arts center. 1 World Trade Center will be the tallest building in the country when it is completed.  The foundations of the 2 World Trade towers will be waterfall memorials.  The site did not have a look of destruction anymore but rather progress and rebirth.  It was inspiring.



Smokin' Goodfella

 We took a walk to the Staten Island Ferry.  In Staten Island we had supper at GoodFella's.  They served us huge chunks of fried mozzarella, calamari, and tomato & mozzarella salad.  The pizza was great!  Traditional tomato and mozzarella, a Vodka sauce pizza with peas and mushrooms, and their award winning Smokin' Goodfella with smoked mozzarella and roasted red pepper cream sauce.  All 3 were very good but my favorite was the traditional pizza.

NYC Day 4

This became a rest day...for obvious reasons!  I enjoyed staying at the hotel and relaxing.  We didn't head out until the evening for supper and a Broadway show.

We had supper at Ellen's Stardust Diner.  What a blast that place was!  It has a great 50s feel to it and all of the waiters and waitresses take turns singing while they work. 

I didn't get a very impressive supper.  An appetizer platter of fried stuff.  I don't know what I was thinking.  The chicken empanadas and wings were good but just too much fried stuff. 

Ryan, our waiter, did a hilarious rendition of Jay-Zs "Empire State of Mind".  Also while we were there, American Idol was there interviewing 2 finalists that worked there!  So cool!

Then we headed to the Broadway show Wicked.  I had heard from several people that it was very good and it did not disappoint us!  It was alot funnier than I expected it to be.  I think the boys would have really liked it too. 

When we left the show the snow had just started and already the streets were covered white.  Thank goodness we only had to walk a couple of blocks back to our hotel!

NYC Day 3

 

Today was a day full of sight seeing!  I had hoped to try to get into a recording of the Late Show while here but they aren't taping this week.  Boo!  Oh well, there's still plenty to do.  It was really snowing in the morning but that wasn't slowing anything down.  My first stop was to the M&M's World store to get something for the boys.  Smells great in there but not much cheap, and by cheap I mean under $5, stuff for sale.  I didn't want to spend all of the money I had alotted for souveniers in one store!  I also stopped by the Hershey's store across the street which was very small and not to terribly impressive.  By comparison the M&M's store was 3 stories!



Split Pea Soup

  

I stopped into Junior's for lunch.  I had split pea soup and a piece of cheesecake, which they are known for.  The split pea soup was ok but alot thicker and chunkier than I thought it would be.  My waitress Tina, who was so pleasant, also gave me a side of pickled beets, slaw and a pickle.  I tried them, but I still don't like beets. 



Cheesecake

  

The cheesecake was very rich and creamy.  It had a sponge cake bottom instead of a graham cracker crust.  I couldn't finish it and I didn't take the rest with me cause I wanted to save my appetite and calories for other things I haven't tried yet.



Macy's



After lunch I headed down through Times Square towards Macy's.  Its a huge department store with 3 floors of shopping and several places to eat in the cellar.  Didn't buy anything....the things that caught my eye were just too expensive!  

NY Public Library

Then I headed over to the NY Public Library's main branch building, the Stephen A. Schwarzmann building.  You know, the one with the two lions out front.  What a beautiful building to see and it will be celebrating its 100th birthday this May.  It is now primarly a research building and not a place you would go to checkout a book.  The only exception is the ground floor which is the Children's Center.  Behind the library is Bryant Park which is a nice little green space in the city.  They had a temporary ice skating rink set up while we were there.

 

 

That evening Bill and I headed out for supper.  We were really wanting to have steak but the steakhouses are soooo expensive!  About 35-45 bucks for a steak and that doesn't include anything with it.  And these are huge steaks that I wouldn't be able to finish anyway.  So while I was researching where to have steak on the internet, I saw where people were suggesting to go to a french bistro for a very affordable steak dinner.  They usually do steak with pommes frites (steak and fries) and steak au poivre (steak with a cognac cream sauce) for 25-30 bucks and it includes the fries and a salad.  And the steaks at the bistros are a good portioned filet so its not too much meat. 

Steak Au Poivre

We decided to try La Bonne Soupe.  It was such a cute, intimate little restaurant.  We had a simple salad with a dijon mustard vinagrette and the steak au poivre with pommes frites.  Just right!  Very satisfying but it didn't weigh us down for more sightseeing. 
 

After supper we caught the subway to Grand Central Terminal.  Again, this is another beautiful building in NYC!  Its so weird to see these historical beauties surrounded by plain looking concrete and glass towers.  They just don't make em' like they used to huh?  Built in 1913, this is still a very busy, very much functioning station where subway lines and train lines intersect.  It also houses shopping and several restaurants too.  The huge concourse's ceiling is painted blue with a mural of the constellations.  They even have some lights to simulate the stars.  It really is breathtaking to step in there and you can see it on people's faces when they walk in there.  They just gaze up and say, Whoa!  Hard to believe that this landmark was almost torn down.  Thank goodness it was saved and revitalized.

NYC Day 2

This wasn't quite the whirlwind of a day like Day 1 was.  First of all I got to sleep till daylight! 



Chicken Ramen Soup



I didn't venture out of the hotel until lunch.  Across the street from the hotel was a place called Cafe Dukes.  Its like the craziest cafeteria I've ever been to!  It's broken up into different areas that serve such things as pizza, panninis, salads, sushi, korean, and a hot food bar that has an assortment of different things.  At lunch time it was packed full of people.  I decided on having the chicken ramen noodle soup from the Korean section.  They gave me a huge quart of soup, a side of kimchee, and I grabbed a diet Mt Dew all for about $9.  The soup came with a spoon and chopsticks and I refused to get a fork.  I managed to eat pretty good but hopefully no one was watching me.  Isn't there such a thing as the Chopsticks Diet where you eat everything with chopsticks?  I bet it works!  Anyway, I enjoyed my soup and tried some kimchee with it.  It tastes like a sorta spicy, kinda sour, chunky pickled slaw.  I liked it!  I had enough leftover to have for lunch another day.

After lunch I went to find some groceries so that I could have b'fast and some snacks in our room.  Well no one here calls them grocery stores, they say supermarkets.  Also I couldn't find them!  Tiny little things stuck in between other stores and with just a few things for alot of money!  I got 2 apples, 2 pints of milk, and 2 small yogurts for $6.  Later I found that a more normal looking supermarket was a few more blocks north of me.  I may visit it later this week.



Black & White Cookie



While I was out I passed by a little bakery and cafe, Fluffy's Cafe, and decided to stop in for some hot chocolate, or steamed chocolate as they call it.  I couldn't resist the black and white cookie either!  Its like a soft, not very sweet cookie the size of a large hamburger bun top with vanilla and chocolate icing.  It was so good but I couldn't eat it all at once.  I did finish it by that night and I did share a little with Bill!

That evening was a reception at the hotel's restaurant, Moda, for all of the student's that were attending the school.  Nothing too exciting just some pasta dishes, bland salad, and cookies.  I don't sound very impressed do I.  I wasn't.  The best thing was the roasted chicken, the olives, and manchego cheese I had.  Oh well, I would still have a week of good food to look forward to!

NYC Day 1

Wow was this a long day!  It started at 4 in the morning (our flight was at 6) and ended at 10 that night!  Well, the reason we are in NYC is b/c Bill is attending some classes with the medical examiner's office of NYC.  So, while he is in class I'll be sightseeing and then sightseeing some more at night with him.  We flew into LaGuardia Airport and then took a $30 taxi ride to our hotel.  Fortunately we didn't have to pay for that ride!

We are staying at Flatotel on 52nd St between 6th and 7th Ave in Midtown Manhattan.  We are blocks from Time Square and alot of touristy stuff so we can walk to just about everything.  We also got a Metro card for the week for $27 each that gives us unlimited access to the subway and buses which will give our legs a break.  Taxis get just too costly for running around and we wanted to experience mass transportation NYC style!

Our first  meal was a late b'fast at the Astro Restaurant.  This is a typical NYC diner and we had the typical corned beef hash with eggs.  Huge and very satisfying to last us until supper.  We had a great time chatting with the staff and everyone is very nice.

From there we took a walk down to Times Square.  What a sight!  You really can't take it all in!  Every time since then when I've gone back I see something I didn't see before!  There is a small Time Square Visitor's Center in an old theater that gives you a little history about it.  They also have one of the crystal balls they drop on New Year's Eve for you to see close up.  The museum is free and was a nice relief from the cold!

Afterwards we went back to our hotel for a little rest before we went back out.  For supper we went to a wonderful Greek restaurant called Molyvos.  It had a great atmosphere as well as great food. 


Makaronia





Bill got Hortosoupa, a bean and vegetable soup, and Makaronia, homemade pasta rolled with braised short ribs and a cheesy cream sauce. 
I had the Salata Roka, a salad for mixed greens with oven dried tomatoes and a crunchy bread topped with a yogurt cheese spread, and Lahano Dolmades, cabbage rolls stuffed with ground lamb & pork with rice then topped with a spiced yogurt sauce.


Lahano Dolmades

 

We shared a Ravani for dessert which is an almond cake topped with stewed figs and a vanilla yogurt cream.  Everything was so delicious and I plan to look for their recipes on-line.  The chef has several write ups in papers and magazines that you can find on the restaurant's website too.



Ravani







After supper we went to the Rockefeller Center to go to the Top of Rock observation deck.  It was great, but cold, view.  When you take the elevator up they project video on the clear ceiling of the elevator and you can see the elevator shaft as you travel 70 floors up.  The buildings, filled with artwork, are beautiful examples of Art Deco from the 30s.  I hope to go back later this week just to see more of its artwork.



Skating Rink @ Rockefeller



Crockpot Apple Butter

This recipe came from Southern Plates' website.  She has such great southern favorites on her website.  I've never tried to make apple butter before but I figured a crockpot recipe couldn't be too difficult.  It turned out great!  And good thing too since I had already planned to give jars of it out as Christmas gifts!  This recipe makes a 6 quart batch so unless you have a huge crockpot you may want to cut it in half.  I was able to fill 12 1/2 pint jars and keep 2 cups for myself from a batch.  It starts with applesauce so you don't have much cutting up to do.  This morning I mixed some apple butter with syrup, warmed it up in the microwave and had it on my buttermilk pancakes!  OMG!  Heaven!  I'll have to share my pancake recipe (supposedly the Cracker Barrel recipe) some other time.

Crockpot Apple Butter

2  50oz jars of unsweetened applesauce
3 lbs granny smith apples (about 4 or 5), peeled and cut into small chips
4c sugar
1 1/2c apple juice
2t cinnamon
1t cloves
1t allspice

Place everything in the crockpot and stir until well blended.  Cook on low 8 to 10 hrs.  Remove cover and cook another 2 hrs or so, stirring occasionally until the mixture thickens.  Cool and keep refrigerated.

Pecan Tassies

I have made this recipe many, many times.  Such a great goodie to take to parties.  This is a Pampered Chef recipe.  They have alot of great simple recipes.  You can find some on their website but not all of them.  Most are published in their cookbooks.  Twice a year with each new catalogue they have a $1 cookbook that has about 15 or so recipes.

Anyway, back to the Tassies.  Little pecan pies of goodness.  This last time I substituted some of the pecans with chocolate chips for a little change.  The recipe calls for using a tart shaper which is just a small wooden tool with a nob on the end that presses the dough into the mini muffin cups to creat the tart shells.  I lost mine but I found that the handle of my wooden juicer worked pretty good.  Just look around in your drawer to find something that works or use your fingers. 

Pecan Tassies

1 stick of butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1c AP flour
2T butter, melted
3/4c brown sugar
1 egg
1t vanilla
1c chopped pecans
powdered sugar (for sprinkling on top of tarts)

Mix the stick of butter, cream cheese and flour to make the tart shells dough.  Place 1 inch balls into 24 mini muffin cups.  Dip tart shaper into flour and press dough into tart shape.  For filling, mix remaining ingredients and place about 1 tablespoon into each shell.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 mins.  Cool in pan for 3 mins then remove to cooling rack.  Once cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe

I really enjoy Greek food.  One day I would like to travel there and have the real deal.  Until then I'll keep looking for great Greek food here.  Taziki's is a well known Mediterranean Cafe here in Birmingham and I think they have a few locations outside of here.  You can view there website here. 



Greek Chicken Dinner for 4

The Fri-Sun special is my favorite dish of theirs.  They take Greek seasoned chicken breast and serve it on top of penne pasta coated in balsamic vinagrette.  This is on top of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, feta, and basil.  It would be such an easy thing to try at home.  The dressing is alot like Ken's Steakhouse balsamic vinagrette (which is what they use at Logan's Roadhouse) that you can get at the grocery store.

What I wanted to talk about this time is their chicken dinner for 4 to go.  This is a $20 whole chicken dinner with your choice of basmati rice or roasted potatoes, Greek salad, pita chips, and Taziki sauce.  You can only get this to go and you have to order it 24 hrs in advance.  The chicken is huge and it can easily serve 6 people.  They also do a Grilled Chicken Breast, Roasted Leg of Lamb and Pork Loin dinner to go too.