In an effort for Breakfast.

I've been trying to eat breakfast on a daily basis. The last time I can recall mastering such a feat, my mom and dad were still leery of me pouring milk into my bowl of frosted flakes without guidance. And at that time, the same worrisome parents were preparing, serving, and feeding me breakfast.

Being grown up is hard.

An example of my typical weekday breakfasts:

And here's what I might eat on the weekends, when the lure of a sausage, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel from La Bagel Delight doesn't consume my every waking thought.

Part of my motivation to make breakfast a regular part of my day? This beautiful blog.

Weekend Events

A while back Zak and I spent a weekend touring some nearby neighborhoods. It's easy to get stuck in a rut hanging in your own familiar spots. So we ventured out to Carroll Gardens. I stopped by a local farmer's market and left with some sweet potatoes & spinach. Zak picked up a stellar sandwich from Smith Canteen. Everything croissant (whoever thought of this should be given a medal), sage mayo, turkey, bacon, lettuce.

We indulged on the rooftop.

Celeb Sighting: the man who wanted a hot dog wedding

First off, I just made a grilled cheese with cheddar on whole wheat with dijon mustard and thyme-caramelized onions. So just think about that for a second. 

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I've decided that it will be really entertaining for me to be reminded of all the celebrities (and pseudo celebrities) I've encountered in NYC when I'm old and grey. And I've decided this blog is the perfect place to collect the memories. 

That being said, I passed a celeb of sorts at 6th Ave and 24th street today. Upon seeing him, I thought he had the vague familiarity of an old friend, maybe a friend from high school. I think that's due to the nature of the show, the way it's shot. It's amazing how recognizable but unplaceable celebrities often are when I pass them. In this case, I only realized he was an actor, not an old friend, when I overheard another passerby say, "Ohmygod! That's Roy from The Office!"

David Denman
 ©allmovies.com

Impossible : Mission :: Satisfied : Cravings

While I don't care much for Starbucks' actual coffee drinks... I did develop an affinity for the occasional chai latte while in high school. Winter hits, and I crave it. This one was noteworthy not because of what was inside the cup, but because of the name (is that even a name?) my barista heard and wrote on the outside of my cup. 

After satisfying my chai craving, I decided to satisfy another desire - this one had been going on for months. SCALLOPS. 

I decided to try making them myself for the first time. I found this recipe which sounded simple and delicious. Turns out it was both of those things. I got real fancy with it and added shrimp. My apologies for the lack of focus in this photo. You know the feeling you get when you're in transit toward home and you have to pee? And sure it's uncomfortable, but you can tolerate it. But then... you get home, you exit the car, the subway station, what have you... and suddenly the urge to pee is 10 times that which it was moments before? And that urge grows increasingly with each step, until you're standing above the toilet, trying feverishly to unzip your jeans before your bladder bursts? Well, attempting to take a pretty photo of my perfectly composed plate of pasta, shrimp, and scallops was like reaching the toilet and realizing your zipper was jammed and you wore your skinny jeans that day; there's no way those puppies are sliding off without that zipper coming undone. Things got frantic. But that all went away as soon as I sank my teeth into the first supple, succulent morsel of scallop.

If you're like me and you love scallops but have always feared cooking them yourself... DO NOT FEAR! It's so very simple. Dry scallops, hot oil, high heat, couple minutes on each side. Badabing. And as long as you're cooking with good quality scallops, it doesn't even matter if they're a bit underdone - you can eat those sweet fleshy orbs raw if you want. Whatever you do, just don't overcook them. Nothing worse than a rubbery scallop. 

Pure Vanity

You leave me all alone at home for three days.... I wear your shirts. 

[Okay, mostly vanity and a little boredom.]

I said I would...

Can you believe it? The two recipes I mentioned at the end of my last blog post... you know the two recipes I planned on trying out... I actually tried them both. In one day. 

The first recipe was an attempt to use up leftover ricotta and can be found here.

*The pancakes were tasty - but I didn't fully investigate the recipe before diving in. Turns out, I would halve the butter in the recipe. Yeah, holy crap, it called for 7 tbs. When I read that, I thought it seemed like a lot. But I think it's important to follow recipes as they're written. At least the first time. Then you can begin adding you own touches or making changes that suit your tastes. It's not that the butter ruined the pancakes, but it was totally unnecessary. I think 3 or 3.5 tbs should do just fine next time. Also, I would probably halve the baking powder. Again, holy crap, it called for 2.5 tbs. This one I actually think might have been an error or typo. Never in my life have I heard of using that much in any recipe - let alone for pancakes. The pancakes turned out much saltier that I would have liked. Changing this baking powder measurement from 2.5 tbs to something more like 1 tbs would probably do the trick. 

Yes, that's a whiskey bottle on the top left. No I didn't crack into it while
making breakfast. Next time. 

I intended on taking pics of the cakes. But forgot that plan until this
moment. Oops. 

The second recipe was just because it looks so damn good. And maybe also because I bought super high quality pre-grated parmesan and I wanted to let it sing. It can be found here.

*This pasta is KILLER. So simple. So delicious. And I imagine it would be perfect for kids. This will absolutely be on regular rotation at the Engel-Hess Manor. Zak suggested making it with chicken next time - which I think is a stellar idea. It would also be great with shrimp. And we added, to the second half of our bowls, some left over ground beef-ground sweet italian pork sausage combo that I had left over from lasagna night. Also worked like a charm. This could also be used with zucchini, asparagus, cauliflower, or perhaps even root vegetables (sweet potatoes?) instead of broccoli. I seriously can't say enough about this delicious, versatile pasta dish. Make it!

Boiled broccoli & cooked pasta - from the same pot
of water. Easy peasy. 

And this is the point at which the kitchen begins smelling (and sounding) like mom's kitchen. Specifically, in my case, like thanksgiving morning in mom's kitchen. If you don't like the smell of onions and garlic sautéing in butter, you can get the heck out of my kitchen. And stay out!

Here's where the broccoli gets introduced to the onions.
And then everyone's happy. 

Chop that shit up! This step can be made even easier
with an emulsion blender. It's on my list of tools
to buy...

Took the advice of the author of the recipe and went heavy handed
with the parm. I went nearly saltless with the rest of the recipe in
preparation. Brilliant. 

Don't confuse his serious demeanor for malcontent. Things
just get rull serious rull fast when someone puts a bowl of
pasta heaven THIS good in front of you. 

I absolutely suggest trying out both of these recipes. Just don't forget the bacon for the pancakes like we did. Happy recipeing! 

Tiding over...

I originally intended on halving this recipe... as it is only for Zak and I. But then I said, eh, what the hell? The leftovers will still be great. If you're like me... lasagna is still good 5 days in. I think we'll be sufficiently maintained until Thanksgiving. 

Started the cooking with some Thelonious Monk. At that point, it didn't even matter how the lasagna turned out.

Most important element: The sauce.

Dollops of super fresh ricotta & herbs from Russo's Italian Market around the corner. 

Took everything in my power NOT to eat it at this point...

Also took all of me not to eat it here. Scalding heat tends to ruin food. And mouths. 

Ahhhh, salvation.

Oh, it's good. Real good. One qualm: I like my lasagna drowning in sauce. So I like to have extra to top each individual serving with. But I had to use all the sauce for the layering... none left for drowning. Oh well. I'll remember for next time. 

Upcoming food adventures: 

Perfect way to use up the remaining ricotta.

And perfect way to pretend pasta is healthy.

(By the way, those two links will lead you to my two most frequently visited food blogs. I highly recommend each. Happy recipe-ing!)