Restaurant Week Lunch

I was in a mood to splurge, so my friend Janet and I went for a leisurely lunch for Restaurant Week ('week' being a suggestion more than anything else, as it lasts practically a whole month). This is an event where dozens of restaurants in New York offer up a special menu at a special price. And although many of the menus are hit or miss (smaller portions, boring choices, etc), this is still an opportunity to visit a fancy pants place at a fraction of the cost. After some deliberation, we decided to make reservations for the Maze restaurant at the London Hotel.

The restaurant is located just off the main lobby of the hotel. Brightly lit with modern furniture, this was a comfortable (but rather touristy) room. We were presented with the special menu, which offered a nice selection of dishes for the 3 courses.

After a consultation with the waiter, I decided to get the beet salad to start and the risotto as my main.

The beet salad was beautifully presented, and accompanied by deep fried nuggets of sweetbread. The sweetness of the beet worked well against the fattiness of the sweetbread. A tiny, thin sliver of lemon on top of the beet added a much-welcomed acidity to the dish. A lovely start to the meal.

Close-up of the dish (the overhead shot ended up fuzzy).

The risotto was done well... not mindblowingly delicious, but a solid entrée. The grains of rice were cooked to a perfect al dente, but most of the mushrooms were of the unexciting variety (crimini?). The mushrooms sprinkled on top though were amazing; earthy and very flavorful.

Oops; took a tiny bite before I remembered to take a picture.  

Since there were only two dessert options, Janet and I decided to split them. They were interesting choices because they were so very different: one a standard chocolate dessert, and the other with a tropical flavor profile. Both were well constructed with distinct flavors; I will have to give the edge to the chocolate one, as all the flavors blended together better.

From left to right: Mango sorbet on a bed of crumbles, pineapple chip,
and coconut mousse filled with pineapple compote. The mousse
component confused me a bit; there was too much gelatin in it (probably
so it could be molded more easily) and so didn't feel 'mousse-y'
enough on my tongue.

Good chocolate tart. The ganache was quite soft, and the dollop
of caramel on top was a nice addition. I also liked the peanut butter
ice cream more than I anticipated. It added an interesting saltiness to
the dessert that helped elevate it from being just blandly sweet.

Since I've been on a budget lately, I really haven't been able to eat fancy meals very often. Today was a nice little splurge, and I'm glad to have gotten a chance to try a restaurant that I haven't been to before.

Muffins - another picture post

Thought process: I have flour. Hm. And eggs. There should still be a stick of butter in the fridge. By golly, I can make chocolate chip lemon muffins!

Muffin components. Flour, milk, sugar, an egg, butter. Also a pinch of salt
and some baking powder. Flavoring ingredients I had available: lemon,
lime, chocolate chips. What a combo!

Mixing all the liquid ingredients (butter gets melted too). The lemon juice
made the milky mixture curdle, but didn't ultimately affect the batter.

Folding in the dry ingredients (sugar, flour). I sifted the flour beforehand
so that everything will stay fluffy and light.

Mix mix (but don't overmix!), and after adding chocolate chips,
the batter is done! So easy!

Filling up my cute silicone muffin cups. Nonstick! Then into the oven
for maybe 20 minutes.

And they're done! Golden and fluffy. 

The lemon flavor didn't come through well (and I added both juice and
zest!), so I made a glaze using lime juice (I was out of lemons) and
powdered sugar.

Really tangy glaze (and yes, I own a teeny tiny whisk).

Finished muffins.

Despite it looking filled with chocolate chips, wasn't too heavy.
The lime glaze really helped perk it up!

More empanadas - pictures post!

Decided to cook today, and make a different sort of empanadas. This time, I used a flour-based dough and baked them instead of frying.

3 cups of flour, a pinch of salt, one stick of butter (!!), and a packet of
Goya seasoning, which contains saffron.

I don't have a large mixer, but it's not difficult to make dough by hand.
Just cut in the butter until it disappears into small pea-sized lumps.
Afterwards, I mixed in an egg yolk and milk until it comes together.

The filling: ground beef, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, cilantro

I also mixed in some rice and queso blanco, which is a really mild
cheese. Kind of like mozzarella, just a little firmer in texture.

Completed filling. Err... I totally made too much.

Time to wrap! Rolled out the dough into a rough circle...

Added a spoonful of filling...

And... empanadas! I brushed on an egg wash before putting in oven.

After 20 minutes in the oven; ready to eat... almost!

But first I wanted to make a simple dipping sauce. A classic Argentinian
chimichurri sauce is typically made with parsley. But the cilantro at the
market looked better (and frankly I like cilantro more!). So, a bunch of
cilantro went into my mini processor along with garlic, salt, lime juice,
olive oil, and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.

Chimichurri sauce! This got better as it sat; the herbs and acidity
tastes so bright and fresh!

Yummy!

There's enough for leftovers tomorrow!

\

Well, that didn't take long

Huh, making a shirt was a lot more fun than I expected. I ended up doing a lot of additional sewing (took in the sleeves), but the result is quite nice (though admittedly pretty basic). Definitely going to wear it out and take it for a test drive!

Now the question is... belt or no belt?

Project update

I have sleeves! Kind of.

I sewed the actual sleeves today (so that I have two tube-like pieces), but have not attached them to the shirt yet. Work in progress! I haven't decided if I like the flowy look; I may end up taking the sleeves in and making them narrower.

New project!!!

Although I don't consider myself an art-y person by any means, I am definitely a craft-y one. At most times, I'll have some sort of fun little project in the works, often as gifts for friends. From making jewelry to glass mosaics to abstract painting, I've done a lot over the years. So yesterday as I was browsing the very famous Mood fabric store for a client's own project, I was suddenly seized by the desire to make a shirt. And so I found a bolt of wool in a pretty dark purple color and made an impulse purchase! At $14 for the yard of fabric, it was a great deal too!

A figurative blank canvas! So many possibilities.

The wool is thin and soft, and I have decided to make a simple tunic style shirt. Perhaps I'm a little ambitious, as I will be doing all sewing by hand, and I don't have any patterns to use. I measured the fabric against a shirt I like, and began cutting. Then I sewed, using a simple but strong backstitch, and I soon had this:

Ha, this would make a cute tank top!
(And I realize I probably need to clean my
camera lens)

This is as far as I have gotten; sleeves will be the next thing to tackle. I have enough fabric to make 1/2 length sleeves... it will be tricky attaching them though. Then finally, I'll take in the waist a little bit so the fit is a little more flattering.

Projects are so much fun!

Chicken Pot Pie

Sometimes when I cook, I'm actually surprised that the results turn out delicious... or even just edible! On tonight's menu was chicken pot pie, with a homemade crust. Dicing and making the filling was easy, but I had only made flaky pie crust a couple times before. My expectations were low as I set out to make dinner, but I ended up happy with the results!

Pot pie innards. Chicken, carrots, potatoes, squash, mushrooms,
onions, and corn. Mmm.

A light egg wash on top of the crust and all ready for the oven!
Flaky pie dough is basically just flour and butter, with juuuust a few
spoonfuls of ice cold water to bind it together. Minimal handling is a
must, since you don't want the butter to melt into the dough.

While waiting, I made a simple beet salad from beets that I had
roasted earlier today. It is tossed with a vinegar/sugar/salt/oregano
dressing. I love beets!

After 30 minutes of baking. Sauce is oozing out!

Slice of pie. I was so surprised! The crust was light! And flaky! Success!!