Burgah

Hope you all missed me.
I took an unexpected day off yesterday for a doctors appointment to see once and for all what the H is wrong with me.
Just a little pinched nerve in my neck. A little discomfort that I ignored and allowed to travel down my arms and made me believe that my 20-something year old self might actually have carpal tunnel syndrome. I am my own worst enemy sometimes. Its amazing how your mind plays games with you. Almost instantaneously after my diagnosis, my neck started to hurt.
Can someone diagnose me as a skinny girl? It might actually make me eat better.
Can’t say the day was wasted though, it was a great day of relaxing with Mickey Girl and catching up with someone at the doctors office who knew me as “Mickey’s Mom” (Hi Patti’s momma in-law)
I FINALLY went grocery shopping and wanted to use some of my loot:
Natures Pride via Foodbuzz sent me some love. I have been keeping these babies in the freezer so they last longer, and so roomie doesnt find them.

I dusted off my mini george foreman grill and started to heat my buns (twss). and then got to work on my meat. (im on a roll- get it!)

I decided to try something different since i am the proud owner of a new spice rack and used some steak seasoning, garlic, onion, worcestshire sauce and a palmful of dried chives. I was just about ready to form the patties when i realized the fancy cheese i bought was not where i left it.

HMMM.

There was a pound of cheese and i had given permission to roomie that hes free to have some but made it clear it was “shared cheese”… He couldnt have…. he wouldnt….

but he DID eat my half eaten chocolate mousse…

via text “Yo, did you kill the cheese? I sure hope you didnt because i didnt get a single slice of it and that would mean you ate a pound of cheese in two days”

twenty minutes later:

“OMG Mo, Im sooooooo sorrrrry! i go buy some later”

But i couldnt wait till later and i improvised.

I found what was left of my mexican blend of shredded cheeses and threw them into the burger meat.

i scored the protions of meat into 4 sections to make hearty and even burgers.

and remembered a little trick i learned from my fellow cooking divas to dimple the patty before cooking it so the burgers dont get puffy.

Then i threw those babies on my sidekick, George, for some grillage and i watched in amazement

At the amount of oil and grossness that slid out of the burgers. I woulda gave george a high five but the risk of burnin my hand was too great..

and it was pretty much time to eat. I was especially frustrated when my burger was cooked and in light of CHEESE-GATE of 2010, i figured I needed a lil sum’ sum’ to chill me out a bit.

Homemade redbull (thanks Soda Stream!) and vodka. And just becuase I was being 2 years old with the “Mine! Mine! Mine!” attitude, i finished the vodka so I wouldnt have to hide it… Im so mature sometimes.

The bit of cheese that i added to my burger did not suffice. I should have sprinkled some on top. It did make for a juicy burger but whats a burger without some cheese???

Whats on your ideal burger? Cheese, onions, tomato, ketchup and pickles… but if all else fails JUST CHEESE Will make me sublimely happy!

Redbull and Vodka, yay or nay? YAY baby, YAY!

Pre-Birthday Dinner

I’m getting old(er). Today is my last day as a 25 year old.
GAH!
Its so difficult with Henry still away on business to celebrate on a day when most people are away or preparing to cook massive loads of food… or cant wait till next year when my birthday will actually BE on thanksgiving. The crappy part about holiday birthdays are combination gifts and the horrible “Oops, forgot it was your birthday” kind of thing. I am now old enough to just think of birthday as just any other day because its cooler to have “make up birthdays” that can sometimes start a week before your birthday and end a week into december! score! Thats pretty much what is going on right now.
My best friend Jay took me out…gay boyfriend style. Dinner and a movie. New Moon! YES! Nothing is better than having inappropriate thoughts about a 17 year old hot boy with your gay best friend… right> ” Oh no Bella, You hit your head” {SHIRT COMES OFF} come to think of it Jacob, I’m bleeding right now… I need your tshirt now!
Jay is a foodie. I am a foodie. Together we make people fat! He’s been dying to take me to this place in the city that seems to be popping up all over. SPICE. Thai food. I am so obsessed with this kind of food. Spicy, Noodley, peanutty goodness…. Obsessed! We had gone out to have a drink before dinner but it was packed so we had a drink at the resturant.

Dirty Grey Goose Martini please. Its my birthday- Make it dirty. I love these!

Round two. Feeling the tinglies in my knees! (tell tale sign of the feeling “NICE” part of boozing).

I let Jay do all the ordering and when you let a man order, you end up with “eye” food. I am guilty sometimes of doing this but it happens when you order with your eyes. Two Apps and two entrees, and here i was thinking thanksgiving was thursday…. he ordered thai spring rolls. Crispy light and airy spring rolls with a yummy garlicky dipping sauce.

and Fried calamari with chili marinara sauce. fab. completely fab. Cooked to perfection and the chili sauce was the perfect amount of sweet and spice.

Since he was app crazy, i ordered a noodle dish thinking it would be small. Drunk Man noodles. Next time i get the black noodles or the garlic chicken. I enjoyed the noodles very much but it was a little on the sweet side with sweet basil and chili. I was in the mood for savory. But the texture of the noodles was spot on! chewy braod noodles made me very happy!

Jay ordered some red coconut curry with shrimp. He let me sneak a taste and this was absolutely sinful. Smoky, spicy kind of sweet and completely satisfying. I will be ordering this again soon. I love indian curry but am madly in love with thai curry! yum!

While jay and I waited for a movie, we hit up a bar that was empty. And on the bar there were big jars of random pieces of fruit. The bartender told us the fruit was sitting in Vodka. the most popular flavor was pineapple. So he suggested we try the pineapple martini.

HOLY SHIT. this thing packed a SERIOUS punch. I was tipsy and couldnt get hte camera to focus. Homemade pineapple vodka, pineapple juice…. a few shakes later three pinapple chunks and I sip my cocktail. AMAZING. the drink was great… the garnish though? TOTALLY MESSED ME UP! Biting into what looks like a juicy pineapple is really a VODKA soaked pineapple chunk that will make you go from nice to totally Hammered!

Stay tuned for hte birthday pictures tomorrow.

It seems I have some catching up to do.

Not only am I behind in reading my favorite blogs but I haven’t blogged a thing all weekend. Mondays get a little cooky for me when I take pics and don’t upload them till Monday. So we shall have a weekend recap followed by a regular post. I think there will be 3 posts today! Luck you!

Friday

Left my camera home but went to CUBA to celebrate my friend Nechama’s birthday.I enjoyed two of the best raspberry mojitos I have ever had and a delicious dish grilled skirt steak with chimichurri sauce and pureed garlic cassava. They give free cuban cigars away at this restaurant. and after dinner we danced off the calories at Sutra.

SATURDAY

Alright, I confess! Having a boyfriend has kept me away from my friends and family. I vowed in my last relationship that I would have just as much “me” time as “we” time. But I’m in love and its still new and he doesn’t get on my nerves yet. But mom and dad called and invited me to dinner. I seized the opportunity. A distant relative had recommended Anthony’s for a nice Italian dinner.

When we arrived, we were ignored. The restaurant was empty and the Maitre’d approached us a good 5 minutes after we walked in. I know, 5 minutes is no big deal but the Maitre’d was just talking at the bar like he had nothing to do. He seated us and handed us menus, he said polite things but had NO polite tone. The couple next to us however, got 5 star treatment he checked on them every 5 minutes.

We got some bread. It was hot, the middle was soft and the crust was crunchy. I have yet to find a place with terrible bread.

As a family, we decided to order an appetizer. Baked Clams is a favorite. I must say these clams were good. They came out fast. But our waiter did not check on us yet.

I wanted something familiar but something that I cannot have everyday. I chose the Rigatoni Las Vegas which is essentially rigatoni in a vodka sauce with peas and chicken. The chicken was tender, the pasta cooked al dente. The sauce tasted like its been sitting in the pot all day on low and was not a familiar shade of orange but more like a brown (which tells me its a little burnt) And the peas weren’t cooked long enough. Peas are not meant to be tough…right? or is it just me? All that fuss over a pasta dish ($15) and it was sub par.

Dad got a seafood dish with delicious scallops, mussels, clams, and a lobster tail served over linguine. He enjoyed it but we all kind of felt the same way. “Edible, but not great”

Mom got some Veal Parmigiana. The sauce was thick and rich (and it doesn’t sit so well with us when its like this) but the veal had a nice flavor. Mom was satisfied with her choice.

We all opted OUT of dessert because we were not impressed with the food here. And the waiter never came by to check on us. They seemed to just take our order and drop the food on our table when it was ready. I have had better experiences at La Traviata in Brooklyn; and we kind of all agreed that was our favorite spot. Later that night we all tummy aches…

SUNDAY

I was in the mood to go to Bonfire and see a movie. The place was dark and I still took pics. Sorry. I have been to Bonfire about 3 times since I moved to Queens and while their menu looks impressive, I am a big fan of their burgers!

Having not eaten all day (stupid move) Henry and I ordered an appetizer that we inhaled. It was a delicious spinach and artichoke dip with tri color torillas.
Next up: Bonfire Burger. Its a 12 oz sirloin burger topped with chevre (goat cheese) caramelized onions and bacon served on a focaccia bun. NOM! And a side of fries. I love they way they cook their burgers.
I have somewhat of a sensitive stomach when it comes to red meat and they serve quality meat. It does not bother me in the slightest. Henry had the Steakhouse burger which is a 12 oz sirloin topped with creamed spinach, Gruyere cheese, and two onion rings. Served with fries. The burgers will cost you $12 here, and Henry goofed that we could have went to Johnny Rockets for burgers but that was before he tasted them. I quote he said “Getting burgers in this joint feels like going to a Nobu for chicken teriyaki” but he changed his mind. One helluva burger. After dinner we saw He’s Just Not That into You. We enjoyed it. And Henry got a quick lesson on the over analytical mind of a lady. “babe, do women really think that way?”

Yes Henry, we do (most of us).

And this part is all Missy’s fault:
Sundaes. I tried to be sensible. 1/2 scoop of vanilla ice cream, one half of a banana, Sugar free fat free chocolate syrup and a dollop of whipped cream. Just one serving. I enjoyed it. But feel it can be dangerous to have such treats in the house!

Jolly Ranchers anyone? Fritatta?

So my BFF jay and I went out for a drink. We normally hit the drinks hard at G Lounge (our fave spot!) but felt like downing something sweet that will sneak up on us after a few (7 or 8 actually). So jay said “how about a Jolly Rancher?” and that was what we had. Jolly Ranchers alla Jacob (our fave bartender) are concocted as follows:

2 parts peach Schnapps
1 part apple pucker
1 part grenadine
1 part vodka
1 part Midori
Shake it up and serve on ice with a cherry. this was yummy! And it did in fact sneak up on me. . .

FAST FORWARD to the next day….

Hungover like nobodies Business!
Once I was ready for food I made a balanced and delicious brekkie/ brunch that I had the pleasure of sharing with my boyfriend, Henry. I made a Broccoli Frittata with toast and salsa.

Frittata

Ingredients:

4 eggs

splash of milk

salt

pepper

3 scallions chopped up

1 broccoli bunch

3 slices of Cheese

Directions:

Preheat Oven 400 Degrees. In a separate bowl beat eggs with salt, pepper, and milk until all ingredients are fully incorporated in the egg mixture. In a stainless steel skillet (or a pan that can withstand being cooked in 400 degree oven) saute scallions until they are fragrant (1 min or so), pour egg mixture into pan and add broccoli. Cook on low for 2 mins and then place the entire pan into the oven. Time the frittata for 10-15 minutes or until egg solidifies. When taken out of the oven (careful- its SCREAMING hot – use a potholder) layer cheese slices on top of frittata. Slice up and serve!

Will serve 2 -4 people depending on how hungry you are.

*tip: this can be made on a Sunday night and divided up into brekkie portions.

In totally unrelated bloggyness, I got to have dinner with this cutie on Friday night.

Geramiah @ Da Nico’s

New Years Eve!

This is the new addition to my life. I had a crappy phone before but I have happily upgraded to the Palm Centro. So far, I am loving it. Its easy for me to take snapshots of what I eat with my phone since i always carry it (ans uploading camera pics is a total pain in the butt). So thats my new baby… however, some of the quality in the photos is lacking but you get the idea right? Im not bloggin on my ability to take amazing photos… its about amazing food.

With that being said…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I went to two parties this year. One at my BFF, Jay’s apartment in Williamsburg and the other in the Community room of Mom’s building. Jay’s party was mainly for dinner and drinks while moms party was for boogying (like, are you surprised?)

Jay is NOTORIOUS for doing too much. His Christmas gift alone demonstrates his ability to go above and beyond what is expected of him. Here is the first plate of 12 that was being offered at the party. Sausage and Peppers. CLASSIC. Its so simple and yet its a bonafide crowd pleaser. The secret to the plesantries in this dish is in the quality of the ingredients. The chef (Hi Sal!)used homemade pork sausage and locally grown peppers and onions. It was incredibly fresh. The veggies were cooked till they were crisp tender yet they still had a sweetness that comes from cooking the hell out of them. I had two spoonfuls! (oink!)

Regular salad… ZZZZZZ Boring! Skipped this (and so did everyone else I might add)

Arroz con Gandules! This was made by a neighbor. Good flavors but the rice was overcooked; correction, the rice was too moist. When one adds more liquid than necessary to rice, the grain splits and looks like the letter “X”. Lots of “x’s” in this pot of rice. Point for flavor but the texture of the rice was disappointing.

Potato Salad. The woman that babysat me when i was in diapers still loves to cook and she wowed me with this lovely presentation of Potato Salad. It was very simple and consisted of potatoes, mayonaise, tomatoes, eggs, carrots, corn, salt and pepper. It was a nice combination of flavors and the texture was pleasant. Yeah, i had two spoonfuls here too.

Pernil. It was made by the neighbor who made the rice. I was disappointed in this one. It smelled delicious – however, it was incredibly dry. Mine managed to fall off my plate…into the trash. (weird right?) Honestly though, it was tough to chew and very dry. (ever chew on a Brillo Pad?)

Penne Alla Vodka: Praise CHEESES! this was great! This was catered by the sausage man! There were lovely bits of proscuitto in this creamy concoction. It was decorated with fried basil leaves that arent in the picture… They somehow ended up on my plate. I ate this up! And a few hrs later i managed to get a few bites while i was at the other party!

Crab Salad: I cannot eat crab as it makes me very sick. But I didnt care. My old babysitter made this one and it was worth the risk of getting sick ( i didnt get sick by the way). It was creamy and flavorful. I only had a few bites because I was desperate to taste it.

Pollo Al Horno: Thanks rice lady, you made another sub par dish. It wasnt as dry as the pernil but Dude, this was seriously on the DRY AS HELL list. I might be mean but I feel that when someone makes a contribution of Food, it should be good. I know its the thought that counts but no one ate this. Good money, hard work all for nothing. A gift goes a long way when everyone enjoys it and cant wait to have it again. This fell off my plate and out of the window… I know! WEIRD!

Escabeche: YUMMY! Thanks to my former babysitter, this is a classic dish. Its wonderful. Its chopped green bananas with salt, peppers, and something else. I have never made this before but i am determined to learn in 2009. (its tagged! so I hope to try this out someday!)

So that was almost all of the food! At the stroke of midnight I hugged and kissed my loved ones and then proceeded to the community room and danced with mom. It was fun!

This was the first New Years Eve that I spent home and in bed by 2 am.

Post your Resolutions! I still dont have any!

TB 70 Annual Holiday Party!

So, as predicted, the holiday party was catered… and it was “OK”. Hey, I told you I was a Food Snob – I’m not kidding about this stuff.

The decor was nice. It proved to be the best place for the “rookie skit”*.

Upon my arrival, I canvased the area and made a bee-line for the food with my camera before anyone could even think about serving themselves.

Heroes? Okay, I’ll take it. Given the amount of liquor there tonight I’m going to need all the meat I can get out of these gi-normous sammies (my mother thinks bread does the trick but the best way to avoid getting plastered is to have lots of protein. Meat= protein.)

The lovely Lucy is slicing up the Vegetarian Lasagna. It wasn’t that bad….unless, hate Onions. I don’t mind them. Rose Despised this dish… is there a stronger word for hate? If so, Rose owns it for the veggie lasagna. (Do people know that regular lasagna is ALSO vegetarian? Hmm, just thought I’d throw that one out there)

Isn’t it pretty? Too bad it never made it on to my plate. I took a bite of the chicken satay and decided that the table was not worth it. Gimme the onion lasagna and big ass hero anyday!

Ah, lastly. The wraps. What can I say about the wraps?

How about “Where the Eff is the Meat?” No chicken, no tuna, no beef. All Veggie. Don’t get me wrong, I love veggies as much as the next snob, however, there are only two or three vegetarians in the entire department out of 60… we had salads and stuff- why did we have so many vegetarian options?!?! ugh! These wraps had eggplant, feta and carrots.

Shall we move onto dessert?

This cake was lovingly made by one of the officemates and it was a funfetti cake! It was simple, deliciously moist, and that was enough for me. (I would have gone bananas if the presentation was better… but this one was good on taste alone!)

Thats my piece of funfetti and a blondie that was pretty damn good!

Here lies the dessert table. I love the way it was set up!

Close up of the dessert table. Homemade chocolate chip cookies, homemade fudge, and homemade mini sweet potato pies. They all passed the taste test!

After we all ate, we pulled up our chairs and watched the Rookie Skit*; thankfully I was not roasted this year… although if anyone of them read what i wrote about the food, Im sure I will get a shout out in next years!

Rose and I were honored by the Unit and given gifts and cards after the performance. Here we are near tears at the thought! (thanks TB 70!)

And then the debauchery began!

This is before I had anything to drink.

Then this happened ….

Well…There you have it. This is the end result when you give overworked and underpaid employees liquor.

*rookie skit: every year the unit’s first year attorneys have to put on a skit at the holiday party. Usually the skit serves as an outlet for the first years frustrations and result in the roast of the units most quirky individuals. Its a riot every time!