D D&D the first installment

Brady prepping the meat grinder.


Grinderman in action.


Finished product!


Eric, hiding his shame.


The next morning!

A few weeks ago, Brady and I were perusing the piles of piles of junk at our favorite thrift shop, Green Village where we came across this most excellent meat grinder. For only $10 to boot! Of course we had to get it. And with our first installment of the soon to be regular feature of Dinner Dungeons and Dragons! (D D&D)

Eric brought over some venison and we combined it with spices like toasted fennel and coriander. We added in rich pork belly to add fat to the very lean venison. Then ground it all up to make sausage patties. Served it up with red cabbage coleslaw and fried polenta topped off with a bruschetta. It was a tasty way to start out the game. We all noshed on Dunkaroos supplied by "Finn" (Jisuk) as we moved on to character generation.

The next morning we made country gravy with the left over sausage. Poured over homemade biscuits, it was a brunch be fitting a hunter, but instead was consumed by two hung over Brooklynites.

Catch up!

Ronnie looking crazy!


Lamb Chops with Pomegranate Glaze, asparagus and mashed sweet potatoes.


The rack right out of the oven!


Tuna steaks with Wasabi Cream and Soy Ginger Carrots


Roasted pork loin stuffed with fennel, pears and herbs with Brussels Sprouts with bacon.


Roasted baby pepper stuffed with herbed goat cheese.

So obviously Ronnie and I have been really busy lately! We've got recipes to come but for now, just enjoy these lush photos from the last 2 months of the food we've been cooking.

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 few meals

Kale in Cream sauce with whole wheat pasta

Maple Pecan Crusted Monkfish with Sweet Potato Mash

Filed under: wish, because I wish I had more time.

Here are a few snaps from some week night meals. Recipes to come in the near future! I've been dealing with some change over here at the 312 sqft HQ. I started an organic produce delivery service and it has been the time saving fairy of my life! With school, work and Ronnie, it is so nice to come home to half the shopping for the week done for you. A moved in! and then promptly left the country on business! Whew!

It's such a whirlwind and finals are looming, I am sure that there is some comfort baking coming up!

Snow Day!

Blizzard in Brooklyn


Vietnamese Sammiches


Post lunch nap

Last Friday, both our offices closed, and the snow coming down, we hunkered down and only ventured out for some provisions. Aaron got it into his head that he wanted some Vietnamese "Hoagies" He can say that having lived in Philly for a while. So we made homemade pickles and toasted up some bread. They came out pretty decent!

Vietnamese Sandwiches

1 package Extra firm tofu, sliced thin and fried
2 hero rolls
Cucumbers, sliced
Butter
Mayonaise
Siracha Hot Sauce
Cilantro

For the pickles:
1/4 cup white or rice vinegar
2 tablespoons, give or take, sugar
2 carrots grated
daikon, grated if you can find it, we just had carrots

Combine the grated veggies with the vinegar and sugar and let sit for at least 2 hours.

Toast the heroes. Put butter on both sides and let melt. Put on mayonnaise to taste, add layer up your other ingredients. Enjoy!

Classic Lasagna

That's a heavy pan!




Ronnie gets a taste.


That was pretty good, I will try to stay awake.

Making a huge lasagna on a Sunday is a great way to get ready for the week and save money on lunch. Especially for me, midtown lunches are not cheap! My lasagna is just a mess of veggies and cheeses.

Lasagna

Half a box of Lasagna Noodles, boiled
1 container ricotta
1 package mozzarella
1 jar of tomato sauce
Basil leaves
Stuff to put in it: I use mushrooms sauteed with cumin, zucchini, spinach, eggplant, fennel, and onions

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Layer it all up! Bake for 45min - 60 min or until the cheeses are melted and browned on top and the sauce is bubbling. Let sit for 15 minutes. Cut and Serve!