Saturday, June 30, 2007
WC Platinum Chef Challenge #2
Quick and Easy Dinner: Sage Ravioli Sauce
Tourists in our own City
We also took the ferry to Staten Island and were treated with a fireworks show happening in the harbor as we crossed:
And most recently, we made the trip to John's Pizza in the Village, for what some people claim is the best pizza in the city. John's pizza uses coal heated brick ovens to cook the pizzas, which turn out crispy, perfect, thin crusts. We got our usual peperoni (maybe boring, but our favorite!) and you can tell we enjoyed it immensely:
It also made me happy that they had a huge mural of the Blue Grotto on one of the walls. This is one of the places we went on our honeymoon (on Capri, off the coast of Naples, the "home of pizza" according to some):

If you are ever in the city, John's is worth the wait in line for a table (just remember they don't serve slices, whole pizzas only! And no credit cards, only cash) for a great pizza and a pitcher of beer. Especially tasty after a long day of sightseeing.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Sherry and Tapas~A trip down memory lane


In contrast, port wine is fortified half way through fermentation, stopping fermentation so not all the sugars are allowed to turn into alcohol and so leaving a sweet wine.
Fino ('fine' in Spanish) is the driest and palest of the traditional varieties of sherry.
Manzanilla is a variety of fino sherry made around the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
Amontillado is a variety of sherry that has been aged first under a cap of flor yeast, and then is exposed to oxygen, which produces a result darker than fino but lighter than oloroso.
Oloroso ('scented' in Spanish) is a variety of sherry aged oxidatively for a longer time than a fino or amontillado, producing a darker and richer wine.
Palo Cortado is a rare variety of sherry that is initially aged under flor like an amontillado, but develops a character similar to oloroso, with some of the richness of oloroso and some of the crispness of amontillado.
Sweet Sherry (Jerez Dulce in Spanish) is created when one of the preceding varieties of dry sherry is sweetened with Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel wine. Cream sherry is a common variety of sweet sherry made from oloroso, with other varieties including pale cream sherry (made from fino) and medium sherry (made from amontillado).
Thursday, June 14, 2007
WC Platinum Chef Challenge #1
Salad with Basil-Sesame Dressing
3 cups lettuce
1 small zucchini, cut into large pieces
1 tomato, chopped
Goat cheese crumbles
5 Tbls Olive Oil (not EV)
Large handful of Basil leaves, chopped
1/8 t. sesame oil
1/2 t. soy sauce
1/8 t. garlic powder
2 Tbls cider vinegar
Mix together basil and olive oil and let sit for at least an hour (to let the oil absorb some of the basil flavor). Then mix in sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic powder and cider vinegar.
Toss together lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, and goat cheese. Add basil-sesame dressing right before serving.
Strawberry-Basil Cocktails
2 cups vodka
5-7 strawberries, quartered
large handful basil leaves
Sprite
Mix together vodka and strawberries. Tear basil slightly with your hands and add to the vodka. Let sit for at least 2-3 hours.
To serve mix one shot with sprite in a glass with ice. Garnish with one of the strawberries.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Out and About

I usually am eating at a strange time of day, so often times I have the whole restaurant to myself, as was the case here. This trattoria is located on Bleecker street next to some excellent Mediterranean grocers, Murray's cheese, Amy's bread, and fabulous bakeries/gelaterias. I had a stuffed artichoke that was good, but maybe lacked a little flavor and a lobster ravioli. The lobster ravioli was very good.
Another day I had lunch at SoHo Lounge at the corner of Spring and Sullivan. It had a tiny, trendy looking bar in the front, and in the back was a large room filled with large couch-like booths and banquets and little tables. It seems like it may be a great place to go check out some evening when I want to have a few drinks with friends. They don't have a lot on the menu, but everything seemed really tasty. I settled on the coconut shrimp. The coconut shrimp were served on a small salad dressed with strawberries and a coconut dressing.
And finally, a little something for you "Friends" fans:
Yes, it is called Prospect Perk :-) [Prospect Park is kind-of the Central Park of Brooklyn--designed by the same people and big and beautiful. It's one of my favorite places to spend a lazy day].
Why I love my husband. And why I have begun to hate chicken wings...
However, when I got home from work my fabulous husband had bought some food and whipped me up a wonderful dinner. He had found a chicken recipe and he made that along with a caesar salad and yummy grilled asparagus and red and green bell peppers. Joe never cooked a lot, but has been trying to learn more in the kitchen and this was a major success. I'm so proud of my chef hubby! The recipe he used for the yummy chicken (from Kraft foods):
3/4 cup POST GRAPE-NUTS Cereal
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
1 Tbsp. oil
BRUSH chicken lightly with oil, then dip into cereal mixture, turning to evenly coat both sides. Place in greased 15x10x1-inch baking pan or on greased baking sheet.
BAKE 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Oh, and about the chicken wings....totally unrelated to my "Love my Hubby" post: they are everywhere. No, not the yummy, full of meat, tasty chicken wings. Oh, no, no, no. Just the bones. People seem to love to eat chicken wings in this city but don't really have any idea of how to use a trash can to properly dispose of the carnage. Instead they use the street, the subway cars (I actually saw a man eating them and tossing the bones on the floor of the subway car as we were sitting next to him) and the stairway of my apartment building. I am tired of chicken bones. They now disgust me. I may start a campaign to educate the city on proper disposal of them. "Wings on the floor?? I say no more!!"