Random Eats

Pan seared Scallops with Dill Aioli and cold Rice Salad with Sweet Peas


Artichoke and Fava Bean Parpadelle with fresh basil


Summer herbs in full bloom

Promises, promises! But I do promise to be back with some recipes very soon. I am tending to a very wily set of herbs. Basil, oregano, dill and rosemary. So expect to see some recipes for pastas and sauces with those ingredients. Also, once the 90+ heat wave breaks, I will attempt some baking. Possibly fancy fruit tart!

Takes us back to old times

The first rule of Lobster Fight Club...


There is no Lobster Fight Club!


New glasses, girl.


Avoiding the lobsters in the shadows.

My mom came up for a quick weekend in the city. What did she want? LOBSTERS! So we went down to my guy in Chinatown to get some live lobsters for my mom. He graciously said to us after handing over the very heavy orange bag, "You eat for me tonight ok?"

It is a special family past time to have lobsters. I remember my mother putting the lobsters in the bath tub. Or letting them run on kitchen floor so that the dog could bark at them. We always had fun when it was lobster night. The visceral cracking of the shells and the bad jokes that come with it. We're from New England so of course we think that gruesomely devouring a crustacean goes excellently with a hefty side dish of puns.

I made roasted potatoes and the best coleslaw my mom has tasted. And she lives in North Carolina now where they even put slaw on hot dogs. Really? On hot dogs? So, she's had a lot of slaw.

Christine's Buttermilk Coleslaw

For the slaw -
1 head cabbage, shredded
3 large carrots, shredded

For the dressing -
1/3 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons white vinegar
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed

Mix all your shredded veggies with the dressing and EAT! Even put it on a hot dog if you fancy.

You can add apples, bell pepper, and red cabbage to spice up this recipe.

A return to form

A lot has happened here at the 312 square feet including a move to a substantially larger apartment in Bushwick Brooklyn! I am not going to change the name of the blog. The same philosophy of cooking and living well on a budget pervades, especaily seeing as my rent remains pretty much unchanged! Also, a trip to Berlin, family in crises and a creepy upstairs neighbor revelation! But onward to the future and new tastes to go with the new place.

The First Dinner in the BK

menu
Tri-Color Tomato Bruscetta
Salmon with Dill Yogurt Sauce and Salad

Plenty of wine!

You should be jealous of my dinner

Back from the nearly dead after five weeks of intensive classwork, I finally get to cook again! Last night, we went back to basics for an MCQ pre-practice dinner of pan seared scallops over wilted salad with dijon balsamic vinaigrette. Simple, summer, delicious.

Thanks god I'm back!

Some Supper

I like to bake salmon on salt. It preserves the moistness of the fish and lends an interesting flavor. To do it, layer kosher coarse salt in a baking dish and set the fish on it. Bake in a pre-heated over at 450 for 15 - 20 min depending on the thickness of the fish. In this instance, I made an herb vinaigrette with mint, thyme, capers, red wine vinegar, lemon and shallots. Pour over the fish with mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. It made us all feel better after a bought with the swine flu! I kid!

The Gang's All Here

It's been a while since 312 Square Feet hosted a proper party and what started as a small dinner snowballed into a delicious gather of some of my brightest friends. The crew; Art, Evers, J-Tron, the Ghoast, Czyz, Haeyoung, 80's Malin, Chelsea, L.K. Webs, and your hostess.

We enjoyed a dinner of scallops wrapped in bacon, fennel and orange salad, a main of Brazilian fish stew with coconut rice, and dessert provided by one ex-Teuscher employee, Craig, of amazing Swiss chocolates. Chocolates that seemed to perfectly cap the evening. Libations we flowing plentifully and the evening devolved into some homemade karaoke madness! Including an impromptu MCQ performance of our one cover song, "I'm on Fire"!

Brazilian Fish Stew
serves 6-8
2 ounds cod cut into about 8 oz portions
1 1/2 pounds of shrimp
1 1/2 (about 6) tomatoes, cubed
1/4 cup (about 2 limes worth) lime juice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons salt
3-4 cloves gralic, chopped or put through your handy garlic press
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 flat italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Marinate the cod in the lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 of the garlic cloves, and the pepper for 30 minutes. Add the shrimp and toos to cover. Marinate another 30 minutes, but not too long. The citrus will start to cook the fish and you will have civiche and not stew!

Line the bottom of a really big pot with the tomatoes, add the rest of the garlic and 1/2 teaspsoon of salt. Layer on top the chopped onion, then peppers. Arrange the fish in a layer on top, reserving the marinate. Put the herbs in next and then layer the shrimp on top. Lastly, pour the oil and the reserved marinate over it.

Bring to a simmer and then cover. Cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and opaque.

Quiet weeknight

During the hectic semester and New York City life, I don't often get the chance to truly indulge in home cooking on a week night. I got a little break from running around and read and working, enough time to make a light tomato sauce with monkfish then served over linguine. Simple, satisfying and warming on this cold March night.

Simple Suppers are sometimes best

Herbed Salmon with Cranberry Quinoa

Nothing special. Just a shot of this weekends dinner in. I savor it when I have a little time for something so simple as to just cook a meal.

Late Skate

This post is actually from early October! I have been lax.

With midterms over and research projects kicking, I found a little time to cook for Octavio and I. A simple yet compelling meal of skate with browned butter and caper sauce with purple cauliflower. The cauliflower tasted pretty much the same as regular cauliflower, but had a much more interesting presentation effect!

Sauted Skate with Browned Butter and Capers

serves two
2 portions skate (a little less than a pound)
flour for dredging
2 small shallots
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon capers (or less but we like capers)
1 tomato seeded and chopped
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Over medium flame, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan. Dredge the fish in the flour until lightly covered. Add the fish and brown on both sides. About 3-5 minutes per side depending on the thickness of the fillet.

In a sauce pan, heat the butter. Add the shallot and cook lightly. Let the butter get brown. Add the capers and tomato last and just heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon over the fish and serve. If you have it, garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Saturday Night In

After a long, hard week Octavio and I really just wanted a chill evening in with some favorite foods. I had gotten some fantastic monkfish from the farmers market this week and had some left over vegetable that came out to surprisingly good new side dishes for us.

Menu:
Walnut Crusted Monkfish served with Gingered Carrots and Green Pea Puree
Chocolate Flower Pots
Various Sparkling wines

Walnut Crusted Monkfish

for 2
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 lemon juiced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 spring fresh thyme
salt and pepper

Pre-heat the over to 350 degrees.

Wash, dry and portion the monkfish.

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Pull the leaves of the thyme sprig and add to the butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the bread crumbs, parsley, walnuts and lemon juice. Stir with a fork and remove from heat. This should be like a moist coating.

In a baking dish, arrange the fish and press the mixture on the top of the fish, forming a top crust.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the fish is done. Serve with lemon wedges.

Green Pea Puree

simple and easy, this side dish is going to be a staple for the summer in lieu of mashed potatoes, especially because of the beautiful color
1 package frozen green peas
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper

Heat the frozen peas and drain. Blend in a food processor or blender with the salt, pepper and sour cream until smooth. Serve immediately.

Oysters at Home

Since the weather has been unseasonably warm, we have been able to enjoy some summer treats well into the fall. One of Octavio and I's favorite weekend summer supper is to have fresh oysters at home. This week he picked up some briny East Coasters and we paired with a fresh green salad and a brilliant Cava.

I made a point to explore some cheeses from the new-ish Whole Foods on the Bowery which has a fromagerie. Whole Foods can be very pricey but the cheese is on par pricewise with a shop like Murrays or our two Brooklyn favs Bedford Cheese and Stinky Brooklyn. I picked up a creamy herb Tome Fluer Verte from France and an aged goat cheese from England that has a creamy texture some of the mustiness and a tart finish. It was so delicious when paired with some dried fruit. It was fun to visit the shop. The staff was helpful and I got to taste an interesting variety of cheeses. Definitely not a bargain but also not so expensive that you can't pick up some obscure regional artisanal cheese every once and a while.

Early October/ Late "Summer" Supper with Octavio

Cava

Cheese and Fruit Plate with fresh Rosemary Bread
Fresh East Coast Oysters on the Half Shell
Green Salad

Cordials

Savor the Sauce

I know I have been a bit obsessed with my electric grill, but it really has been the best kitchen appliance that I have purchased. Though with a good friends impending nuptials I may have to invest in a Kitchen Aid mixer to bake their cake! More on that soon. For now back to dinner.

Delicious food is often deceptively simple and inexpensive. I am a firm believer in the power of sauces to transform mundane meals and elevate them to a home gourmet level. That is why there is such an emphasis on sauces, dressings, marinades and vinaigrettes on this blog. Sauces are flexible, can be stored and used in different contexts to very different effects. A good vinaigrette can make a simple green salad something transportive and a red sauce can dress pasta or become a wonderful bake.

This week I knew I had to plan two meals for friends, one for Octavio and one as a pre-practice dinner. So, I wanted to spend less than $15 for both meals not including wine and I came in well under budget.

For dinner on Tuesday I made grilled scallops (1 pound for $7.00 at the Canal St Fish Market on Canal and Baxter) with Bitter Herb Walnut Pesto. One bunch cilantro and one bunch parsley came to $1.60 from a vegetable vendor on Bayard St at Mott. I had a box of cous cous already open and some left over frozen veggies and I keep bags of nuts from Trader Joes at all times (Walnuts are $4.99).

Then on Wednesday I used the leftover pesto and tossed it over some lightly sautéed broccoli ($1.50 from a street vendor in Midtown) and thin spaghetti with some domestic feta from East Village Cheese ($1.50 for half a pound) and a pinch of red pepper flakes to give a bit of heat. Kelly supplied a delicious Rioja and then we went to work!

Bitter Herb Pesto

*these are just guestimates. Please adjust the ratios as you see fit.
Half a bunch of Cilantro
Half a bunch of parsley
1 clove of garlic chopped
juice of half a lemon
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1-2 tablespoons of water
sea salt to taste

Put the herbs, lemon, walnuts, gralic, salt, and water into a blender or food processor and pulse until chopped. Slowly add the olive oil and blend until a nice paste texture is achieved.

I spooned mine over the grilled scallops with a mixed veggie cous cous.

Japanese Week

David, enjoying his tempura and cold noodles.

It all started with a trip during lunch up to the oldest Japanese grocery in New York city, Katagiri 224 East 59th Street. Opened at this exact spot in 1907, Katagiri carries everything from fresh shiso leaves to frozen broiled eel to natto that even more fermented soybean Japanese "delicacy" (ew!). I have tried it, I will try anything, but this is truly an aquired taste. It may not be the cheapest grocery but there are deals to be had. This time I got a bottle of somen tsuyu for cold soba noodels that was a reasonable $4.50 and a package of fuereu wakame dried seaweed for $1.69. The seaweed rehydrates to big delicious leaves of seaweed perfect on the soba noodles drizzled with a little sesame oil.

David supplied the delicious shrimp tempura and we had a wonderful light post work meal. These ingredients carried over into a pre-practice meal as well!




In Chinatown, there are plenty of open air fish and produce markets. Who knows the names of any of these places but I have found some of the freshest and best deals on seafood at the one on the South corner of Grand St at Chrystie and also the one across the street. This week I picked up a little over a pound of fresh salmon to make Honey Miso Glazed Salmon for Kelly and I before we had rehearsal. It was only $7 and enough for four servings of fish! I served it with the cold soba and seaweed tossed with a little sesame oil, a couple of tablespoons of somen tsuyu and topped it with some salomn furakake from this weeks earlier shopping excursion.

Honey Miso Glazed Salmon

2 tablespoons miso paste
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 lb salmon
Lemon wedges to serve

Line the broiler pan with tin foil. Pre-heat the broiler by turning it high. Then lower the heat to 325 degrees.

Combine miso and water over low heat until the miso is fully dissolved. Add honey, ginger powder and soy sauce, simmer stirring stirring constantly until reduced to a thick sauce.

Cut the fish into four portions and place on the pre-heated broiler pan and cover with the glaze. Put in the broiler and bake at 325 for about 10 minutes, glazing about five minutes in. Once the fish is almost cooked, add more glaze then turn up the broil to full and cook for 5 more minutes until the glazed caramelizes on the top of the fish. Do not over cook. Rare salmon is better than over cooked salmon.

I find that this method of baking/broiling lets me get a nice top to the fish with out over cooking it. The pre-heating of the broiler pan helps to cook it through from the bottom up too.


Kelly, digging in!

Octopus

If the weather the past week was any indication, the last throes of summer are here. So I am further indulging in my adventures in grilling! Last nights adventure was an appetizer of Roasted Tomatoes stuffed with Herbed Goat Cheese with grilled sourdough bread and an entrée of Grilled Octopus with Smoked Paprika, Shrimp Skewer and Green Salad.





Both of these were first attempts and deemed worth repeating and perfecting!