Table For Moi
Mar 22
Mar 19
The Hunger Games
This is what happens when I work out on an empty stomach, go shopping at the glorious Essex Market, and come home, unable to wait until dinner to sample all my food booty.
Saxelby ciabatta + Shelburne Vermont cheddar + Wild mushroom chicken sausage + parsley
Mar 18
Take That, Sabra.
Now that I’m a Cuisinart owner and user, I’m making up for seven years of ignoring recipes that ever called for a food processor. On Sunday night when going through my pantry, I found a can of cannellini beans that had been there for probably close to six months. Hence, white bean dip:
- Can of cannellini beans
- One clove garlic
- Handful of parsley
- Salt + pepper
- Lots of extra virgin olive oil
I pureed until smooth and dolloped over a veggie burger for dinner and into a salad for lunch, for a little extra protein. An easy twist on hummus.
Mar 17
Thanksgiving - Four Months Later
Can a meal post-mortem happen four months later? Well, in this case, yes. Don’t judge.
For our very first family Thanksgiving spent in New York City, we decided to really shake things up. While I do love mashed potatoes, and have enjoyed the same potatoes my mother has cooked for Thanksgiving for approximately the past 20 years, I was pretty excited to try something—anything—new.
I decided to make an appetizer of Frankies Spuntino’s cavatelli, which is one of my favorite dishes ever. I got the recipe out of the Frankies cookbook, and it’s also published online here.
Not sure how much credit I can take for the deliciousness, considering I bought fresh cavatelli and Italian sausage directly from the Prime Meats Provisions store.
Browning the sausage:
Minor kitchen trauma:
Worth the pain:
Happy ending:
Feb 14
Hubba hubba
Sri-rancha! Genius!! (via Tasting Table)
Jan 30
Recent best friend. Smoked salt. (Taken with instagram)
Jan 22
Not meant to be
There are handful of foods that make me shudder slightly: blue cheese, mussels, roasted red peppers and cooked salmon.
I’ve tried to conquer each of these, making a point of always sampling them when I have the chance, hoping someday something will click. I thought the trick to enjoying cooked salmon would be to cook it myself.
My sister sent me a simple Eric Ripert recipe and coached me through the cooking process via text.
It’s a sad ending to a blog post, but I have to face the fact that salmon and I are not friends. We will enjoy each other’s company when raw in sushi or loaded smoked onto a bagel, but I want nothing to do with it when it’s cooked.
Anyone who enjoys salmon should try the recipe. It’s super simple and the mustard flavors are great. I will absolutely use it again, just with a different fish base next time.
Jan 11
Time Saver, Money Maker
Some dinners require extensive internet research, multiple grocery trips and exhausting prep and cooking time. By the time I sit down to eat, I’ve tasted, tested and worked my way through the cooking process. That first bite feels like taking a Sharpie marker and crossing out a huge task of my to-do list. At the end of the meal I feel accomplished and full.
But there’s also something to be said about coming home late from work, being convinced that I have nothing to cook at home, spending 15 minutes browsing Seamless, deciding no option sounds right, scavenging through my refrigerator and ending up with this*:
One eggplant + brie cheese left over from a party + pesto from the freezer + bread from the freezer.
I roasted the eggplant with olive oil, salt and pepper for about thirty minutes, while defrosting and grilling the bread on the stove. A bit of pesto and brie on the bread while it was warm, then topped with eggplant. I feel accomplished and full, with an extra $15 and hour of time in my pocket.
* Maybe it’s not the best photo, but I was too hungry to take the extra few minutes and get out my camera.
Jan 10
Thanks, India!
Some of the prettiest fruits I’ve ever see, courtesy of India
Mulberries
Dragon fruit
Jan 07
Table for Moi Kitchen Staple #1 - Updated
I’d like to add up the money I’ve spent on pre-made tzatziki and then subtract the value of what I’ve had to throw away because it goes bad faster than I can eat it. I would be surprised if the remaining amount is over $10.
Recently I watched Jamie Oliver make tzatziki in under two minutes, while basically crouched on a rooftop, barefoot, by candlelight (why is his show not called “Chefs in Precarious Places”?), and decided I had no excuse not to make my own.
I always use Fage 0% or 2% plain yogurt with garlic, salt, pepper, zaa’tar, lemon and some combination of parsley, mint and cucumber.
Yes, I realize there’s still only one staple on this blog. Patience, please.
