Smoked Paprika, Tarragon-Compound Butter

One of my favorite ways to roast a chicken is to stuff the skin with a compound butter. A compound butter is simply softened butter mixed with additional flavors and reformed back to its traditional state.

I make all different kinds of flavored butters. One of my favorites is smoked paprika and tarragon butter. But I've made so many others that I equally love. Chopped mushrooms and thyme, which had been previously sauteed and cooled. Toasted pink peppercorn, ginger lemon, roasted garlic butter....the list is endless and essentially left up to your creativity.

The technique is very simple. I like to get a stick of butter at close to room temp, just soft enough to be able to mix thoroughly with your additional ingredients. When adding your ingredients, always make sure they are room temp and relatively dry. I like to lay out the butter on plastic wrap, add the ingredients, mix together with my hands, then roll the butter into a tight sausage like object in the plastic wrap. I then toss the butter into the freezer to harden and become one. Simply slice and use as you'd like. I love how the butter and ingredients baste and flavor the meat of roasted chicken, but you can use this technique for almost anything. Try it. You won't get disappointed! :D

We Make It, You Bake It.

Herein, where good people make good stuff, stands a Pizza Company committed to freshness, fellowship and friendliness significant to NYC and surrounding areas: HOMEMADE PIZZA COMPANY. This, ladies and gentlemen, is more than a simple Pizza joint. It is a rallying cry. It is a whoop. A holler. A hail. And a salaam. Homemade Pizza is an aspirational articulation, and quite frankly, the best way for the greater good of New York and surrounding areas to enjoy fresh-handmade Pizzas, fresh-tossed Salads, Cookies and ice cream that'll make you come back again and again and again. We hope you're hungry.

We opened our first-ever joint at the poshy little town of Rye, NY last Thursday.
Our philosophy is pretty simple; We make People the Happiest living creatures on earth by making gourmet pizzas made only from the freshest ingredients.

Our flavors live up to the hype, with a tomato sauce that actually tastes like tomatoes instead of sugar, sweet onions and savory sausage to mouth-watering fresh produce which we use daily to make stunning salads and Veggie Pizza Pies. With our wide selection of Pizzas, Homemade Pizza Company is definitely something that we call "Heaven in a Pie" ...


check us out through our website: www.homemadepizza.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter!

It ain't a DHL truck... it's WAFELS & DINGES

It felt like the 1st day of Spring today in NYC as the weather was so cool the entire afternoon. after such a long day, I decided to give myself a special 'afternoon delight' treat before I take the train back home to CT from work. As I walk into the busy sidewalks of Unionsquare, there I saw the most talked-about waffle truck (and it's YELLOW) in New York city... should I say one of the BEST NYC Foodie Trucks in Manhattan. Move over I-Hop... coz I found WAFELS and DINGES from Belgium!



I ordered two waffles, the Brussels Wafel and the Mini Wafelini served with Nutella on top. The Mini Wafelini is a miniature Liege waffle, similar to the insanely good waffles from the Waffle Cabin called Sugar Waffles. However, whereas the Sugar Waffle had a thin shell of caramelized sugar, these waffles were “soft’n chewy” as the menu described. The Mini was delicious, but I longed for a little more caramelized sugar action. Overall, I'd have to say that this is by far the Mother of all Waffles ... so if you ever see this truck in the city, I strongly recommend that you run after it get some!

The Classico Beouf Bourguignon

All I could think of was the way Julie (think the movie ‘Julie & Julia’) kept mocking Julia Child. She kept saying “boof borgonyon” and well, so did I, so did my buddy Nate and Joe, although they pretty much butchered the name! In our best French accent which wasn’t so good. Hey now, I'm half Asian – not French. Anyway, I had fun mocking last night even if it was to amuse myself.

Let’s get to the food!

So, I made Beouf, or Beef Bourguignon last night for a small get together dinner with friends. Even I myself was so psyched I get to eat this one-of-a-kind dish. I never make Beef Bourguignon on a daily basis because of two reasons: Hard-Labor (takes 3-4 hours to cook this schmuck) and it's also pricey, especially if you're using to best ingredients.



In just a matter of minutes, the dish was gone! man that was prolly one of the best dinners we ever had! It was indeed the a Dinner of Champions! :D







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Beouf Bourguignon:

Ingredients

• One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon
• 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• A crumbled bay leaf
• 18 to 24 white onions, small
• 3 1/2 tablespoons butter
• Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)
• 1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

Cooking Directions:

Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts water. Drain and dry.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.

Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the lardons.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.
Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.

Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust).

Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered.
Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.

Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet.

Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly.

Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet.

Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.

Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms.

Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan.

Wash out the casserole and return the beef and lardons to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms on top.

Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.

If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning.

Pour sauce over meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times.

Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.

I LOVE my ROOTS

Reminiscing is probably the right theme for this. And tonight was just amazing. A few of my friends and I had a 'Private Dinner' somewhere in Westchester county...where the Dinner theme was all about Filipino! I made my all-time childhood favorite, Pork and Chicken Adobo!

Pork and Chicken Adobo is one of the best known Filipino dishes. It is made in almost all Filipino households and it is often one of the first dishes one learns how to cook due to it’s simplicity and short ingredient list. It is a very simple dish made with chicken or pork, slow cooked in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaf, and pepper. There are many variations and each family has their own particular tricks and techniques to making this dish.

The ratio of soy sauce to vinegar I used is 2:1. Some recipes call for a 1: 1 ratio but I was afraid that would be too strong for me. I prefer using rice vinegar because it is a mild vinegar but you can use white vinegar (keep in mind this is stronger) or white wine vinegar. Marinating the chicken before is optional but it allows the flavors to soak into the chicken. I try to limit salt intake so overall, I was a bit conservative with the soy sauce. The original quantities were 1 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup vinegar, and 1 cup water (one cup of soy sauce is much too excessive, it would have been way too salty).

Pork and Chicken Adobo

about 2 - 2 1/2 lb chicken, 8 thighs
about 2 - 2 1/2 lb Pork, Country Style Cut
1 small onion or half a medium onion, cut into thick slices
2/3 C soy sauce
1/3 C rice vinegar
3/4 C water (I decreased the water so the sauce is easier to reduce later)
1 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp black pepper

Optional: Combine everything (except the onions) and marinade for 1 to 3 hours.

Bring everything up to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour, until the chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender. You can simmer ahead of time and broil before serving. The more time the chicken sits the sauce the more flavorful it becomes. I didn’t marinade it beforehand but I let it sit in the sauce for about an hour before broiling.

Remove the chicken to a baking tray. Broil the chicken, skin side up, until the skin is crisp and bronze. Meanwhile, skim off excess fat and reduce the sauce until it’s thick and syrupy.

Serve the chicken over rice and spoon the sauce on top.

Serves 4 - 6

B-L-T is like Do-Re-Mi

BLT Pasta:
***This pasta is fabulous for several different reasons:

1. It's light.
2. It's Easy.
3. It's SO delicious!

Almost everyone loves a good B-L-T sandwich, stacked high with savory bacon, crisp lettuce and fresh tomatoes. This pasta dish is a different adaptation of an old favorite, that you are sure to adore!

The first bite that I took of this dish had the most amazing flavor...the bacon permeates every bite, making it perfectly savory. The tomatoes and spinach add just the right amount of freshness. I can't think of many better ways to use up all of those vine-ripened tomatoes especially at this time of year! So for those of you out there, especially the 'GUYS' who wants to impress some girls on a date and score a few cute points, this is one recipe I'm pretty sure you can follow!

Buon Appetito!!!

Ingredients:

Pasta:
2 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup leeks, thinly sliced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 oz dry bucatini or spaghetti
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
1/4 tsp minced fresh thyme (or a pinch of dry thyme)

Garlic Bread Crumbs:
1 clove garlic
1 cup French bread, cubed (about one 1/2 inch thick slice)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt, to taste


Directions:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.


Mince the garlic for the bread crumbs in a food processor, add the cubed bread, and process until coarse.

Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium: add crumbs and toast until golden, 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and set aside.


Saute the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until crisp, then drain on paper-towel. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp drippings.


Caramelize the tomatoes and sugar in the drippings over medium heat. Cook until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the leeks, saute until wilted, 3-4 minutes.


Deglaze with wine; simmer until liquid is nearly evaporated. Add the broth, vinegar, and pepper flakes and simmer until reduced by 1/3, about 5 minutes.

Cook the pasta in boiling water according to package directions.

Add the spinach, thyme, and bacon pieces to the sauce.


Transfer the cooked pasta from the pot to the pan using tongs. Toss to coat. Season with salt, then transfer to large serving platter or individual plates.


Sprinkle with garlic bread crumbs before serving.

Asia's Finest : Indian Curry Spices

If it could be said that any one component is the essence of Indian food, without question, that would be the spices. In order to really understand how important India is to the world's spice industry, we need to put things into proper perspective.

India produces about 44% of the world's spices. A country that produces just under half of the available spices in the world must be the largest exporter of spices anywhere. The use of spices and the way through which they are combined is what makes Indian cuisine as unique as it is.

Indian cuisine is unique for its blending of spices. When spices are carefully blended together, the combination is referred to as a Masala. A Masala can exist in a dry roasted form or as a paste. The most important Masala blend, especially in Northern Indian cooking is Garam Masala. It is a hot masala that is typically added to food just before serving. It is a blend of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper.

So this past weekend, I was in NYC in search of Indian spices! So I went to Penzey's Spices, located at the Grand Central Market. The box set that I got was a great find as it includes not one, but FOUR spices: Tandoori Seasoning, Balti Seasoning, Garam Masala, and the grand daddy of all curry spices; the Maharaja.

Here's a brief description for each spices:

TANDOORI SEASONING: Tandoori originally referred to cooking food by slow-roasting it in a clay oven, or tandoor. In the West, tandoori has come to mean a specific flavor rather than a method of cooking. Even if you do not have a clay oven or pot, you can use this seasoning to make tandoori-style chicken or other poultry. Rub this blend directly on meat, or mix with plain yogurt for a marinade. Hand-mixed from: coriander, cumin, garlic, paprika, ginger, cardamom, and saffron.

BALTI SEASONING: Baltistan is an ancient region of northernmost Pakistan with influences from Persia, Tibet and China. Traditionally a "Balti" would be cooked and served in a karahi (small Indian wok), without utensils, and would be eaten with your fingers using naan to scoop the meal into your mouth. More recently "Balti" has been catching the imagination of people in the way Tandoori cooking swept the world in the 60's and 70's. Hand-mixed from: coriander, garlic, ginger, cumin, dundicut chilies, Ceylon cinnamon, brown mustard seeds, cardamom, clove, fennel, fenugreek, charnushka (kalonji, black onion seed), ajwain, star anise, black cardamom, cilantro, anise seed and bay leaf.

GARAM MASALA: The basic blend of ground spices common in Indian and other South Asian cuisines. It is used alone or with other seasonings. The word garam refers to spice intensity, not heat; garam masala is pungent, but not "hot" in the same way as a chili pepper.

MAHARAJA or the 'TAJ MAHAL' Curry: The highest quality curry powder, perfect for special meals. Maharajah is sweet, but not hot, with fragrant cardamom and a full pound of the rare jewel of all spices, Kashmir saffron, in every 50 lbs. of curry powder. Maharajah adds glorious color and incomparable flavor to chicken and seafood curries, and is great for Sunday omelets.

The DOUGHNUT PLANT NYC

The Best Doughtnuts I've ever had!!! And I went crazy today since it was my Cheat Day!!! Doughnut Plant rocks my Sockies! Totally hidden in an unexpected location. The store is very simple and OLD. However, their doughnuts are great and they use only fresh and or organic ingredients. It is slightly on the pricey side. Each doughnut is $2 and above

Well, I'm happy to report that my commitment (I guess addiction would be a better word) to Doughnut Plant has finally paid off as I have come across a doughnut that is truly worthy of my weekly trek down to Essex & Grand.

I'm not crazy about coconut anything, so despite trying all their other doughnuts, I've always steered clear of the Plant's Coconut Cream doughnuts. Then, this past weekend, while on line at the Plant, I heard the owner recommending the Coconut Cream doughnuts to a customer, saying that they actually crack open their very own fresh coconuts when making these doughnuts.

The Coconut doughnut was AMAZING! I had devoured it by the time I made it to the corner and had I been just a bit more shameless, I would have headed back for seconds.

The doughnuts are square, coated with coconut shavings and filled with a coconut cream. The cream, which has the consistency and flavor of sweetened condensed milk oozes out when you bite into the corners and it keeps the entire doughnut nicely moist. Give it a try. You will not be disappointed.

and By the Way...Doughnut Plant is also serving cake style doughnuts, which, in my opinion, are as bad as the coconut cream is good... Just a FRIENDLY WARNING. ;)

My TOP 5 DOUGHNUT Recommends:

1. Coconut Doughnut
2. Tres Leches
3. Carrot Cake Doughnut
4. Valrhona Chocolate
5. PB&J Doughnut


The Doughnut Plant is located at 379 Grand Street
New York, NY 10002

it's just a 23 minute subway ride from Grand Central. Take the 4 Line down to Chalmers St. and transfer to the J Line all the way to Essex-Delancey.

Lobster Rolls! Lobster Rolls! (Maine Lobster)

Lunch from yesterday's ... Lobster Rolls!!! What a great day to have 'em rolls! Although, serving it with lettuce wasn't really my number one choice of garnish. I suggest, Arugula would be a better option to go with Lobster Rolls. Arugula gives you that peppery taste and compliments well with the Lobster meat. I would totally add some diced Avocados next time too! It's very easy to make! I'll be posting the actual recipe tomorrow! it's already 12:59 am ... gotta Sleep! Ciao!

The Sunday Night Delight

So yesterday at Church we had our Waveny Park traditional get together dinner MnM (Munch n Mingle). People from church say that I'm a 'crowd drawer' or make inactive church members go back to 'active' everytime I make food on any given Sunday afternoon. Our Bishopric gents would surely love that idea since one of our main goal is to bring back our 'inactive' people go back to Church! Anyways, we had a unique menu yesterday. Tired from all that American comfort food and Italian Pastas, my good friend and Food hunting goddess Katie thought of a brilliant idea... why not go Asian? Asian as in Thai Food! So behold ... The GREEN CURRY CHICKEN! it's a Savory chicken dish with Thai Green Curry Paste and Coconut Milk. Not for people with the weak of tongue since it's a spicy one. (you can make it less spicier by using water or adding more Coconut Milk).

I would totally make this again at home and share it with friends and family!

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken Breasts, chopped into small pieces
• 1 (14 Oz.) Can Light Coconut Milk
• 2 Tbsp. Fish Sauce
• 1 can Green Curry Paste
• Bundle of Fresh Basil (you can also use dried or if you have Thai Basil leaves, the better)
  
• 2 Shallots, minced
• 2 Green Bell Peppers, Julienned
• 2 Red Bell Peppers, Julienned
• 2 Zucchinis, chopped (optional)
  

** you can buy the Green Curry Paste at any Asian store (avg. retail price: $0.79-$1)**

1. In a big pan Saute the Green Curry Paste for about 2-3 minutes. Add Coconut milk and stir until paste dissolves completely. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes or so.

2. Add the Chicken and simmer another few minutes until meat is cooked.

3. Add 2 Tbsp. of Fish Sauce to taste. (it's the secret ingredient)

4. Add the Red and Green Bell peppers, shallots, and Zucchinis and simmer for another 10 minutes.

5. Try it and if you want a little hotter add some more curry.

6. Serve with Rice! Enjoy!

It all started with the Big 'O'

I was 16 when I first held a Square Turner and a frying pan in my bare hands. On a hot and humid Summer of '97 in Manila, Philippines, my Grandmum asked me to make breakfast for all of us 4 siblings, my mum, Granpops and herself. I was that quite of a lazy kid and felt so pissed that my Grandmum asked me to do something I've never done before. She asked me to make one of her breakfast specialties: Spanish Tomato Omelette. (eggs, tomatoes, onions, minced garlic) One of the easiest, and should I say, best Omelettes my Grandmum makes. I was able to make the Omelette without any help from her, although I burned the garlic and onions. lol. Despite burning the darn Omelette, I still served it for breakfast. My mum was so pleased at what I did even so. And my grandma even gave me a blessing for doing a great job. The Big-'O' experience has made me realize one thing... that cooking and Patrick could make such a great tag team. Therefore I found my passion at the young age of 16.

As Padma Lakshmi would say: "Cook with all your HEART. Because cooking is CELEBRATION. and Food is LOVE."

I'm starting up this blog to share with all of you my passion. From recipes to good eats, restaurants and tips. Sharing your knowledge is also an option! Feel free to comment, share and express your ideas...

All hungry bloggers are welcome. besides, Hunger is the best SAUCE in the world.