Bean Town and Beyond

Having the first day of the week off always messes up my internal calendar. It's not necessarily a bad thing. For example, today is Thursday. In my mind it's Wednesday. I benefit from this because my weekend comes a day earlier than expected. Awesome.

This past weekend was a bit of a whirlwind as I made the trip to Grafton, MA from NYC. Being the night owl that I am, I went to bed past midnight and expected to be able to get up for a 7 a.m. train (keep in mind I live a good distance away from the train station). As my alarm went off at 5:30, I got up, turned it off, and promptly went back to sleep. Come 6:50, I jumped out of bed muttering a few choice words to myself as I scrambled for my phone to change the reservation. Though it did cost a little extra than I had paid, I lucked out and was able to grab an Acela that got me into Boston just a few minutes later than my first train.

The Acela was even nicer than the regular Amtrak trains, considering all seating is Business Class. The food was exactly the same though. Given my early morning issue, I didn't have time to get breakfast (I could've stopped at my usual bagel place, but didn't want to risk missing another train), I went to the dining car to get a bagel. Amtrak clearly doesn't understand New York bagels. The bagel itself was ok, though it wasn't the same as the boiled type, it was the cream cheese that was the problem. The attendant gave me one measly cup of cream cheese, and when I asked for an extra, he wasn't able to give me one since Amtrak hadn't provided him with extras. Lame.

It was nice to check out a different train route as I got to see parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island that I probably wouldn't travel to on my own (though I am interested in seeing Providence sometime). After about three and a half hours, I was in South Station ordering food at Cosi. I've heard people rave about this chain, and it wasn't bad, but nothing to write home about. I should've opted for a sandwich from Cheeseboy.

I took the T out to Grafton where I was met by my best friend Rae. The point of the trip was a) to see her and b) to attend an event thrown by her college. Both aspects were fantastic. The day after the event we went to a restaurant called the Celtic Tavern, which had the best french fries ever (think thicker Arby's fries that are well done and not curly) and served me a burger on garlicky, toasted, sourdough bread. I love when bar food isn't basic.

With Monday off, I came back on President's Day and did pretty much nothing. The next night however, I cooked this:

I had left over eggplant from a failed attempt at veggie tacos (I forgot to buy salsa, sour cream, seasoning...and tortillas) that turned into a pretty delicious pasta dish, and so it was necessary to make Eggplant Parmesan.

My go to move whenever I make an eggplant dish is to slice it, then sprinkle salt on both sides. I then let it sit for however long it takes me to do whatever side task necessary. I then pat down the eggplant to get the moisture out of it. It just helps it cook quicker and better. So I did this, then set up my batter station of flour, eggs, and seasoned bread crumbs. After heating some olive oil in a pan, I placed three battered eggplant slices in at a time, and cooked each side 'til golden brown.

Meanwhile, I heated some marinara sauce in a pot (love that sauce can be frozen forever). I had about a container and a half left in the freezer and thought that just the half container would do it for tonight, so that was the only one I had defrosted. It wasn't enough. After literally chipping away at the frozen sauce in the full container, I decided that holding it over the pot of sauce could help dislodge it from the Tupperware better, then dumped the frozen brick into the pot. This was by far the longest way of going about this process...well, longer than it should've been.

After all the eggplant slices had been sauteed, I began my assembly. I have these awesome Rachael Ray mini dishes that are great for making baked dishes in individual servings (see above). I covered the bottom of two dishes with sauce, then placed two pieces of eggplant on top. Next came more sauce, topped with a layer of cheese. I repeated this one more time, then put the dishes in the oven for half an hour at 400.

As the eggplant baked, I boiled water and cooked some angel hair. Once cooked and strained, I melted a pat of butter in the pasta, then tossed it with the sauce. I can't help but go for a slight Chef's Spaghetti Parm taste.

Once the eggplant was done, I put the dish on top of a plate and added the spaghetti on the side. For my first attempt at Eggplant Parm (aside from my endeavor in Eggplant Rollatini back in the day), I must say I'm impressed. My decision in slicing the eggplant about a centimeter thick was good since the cooked through completely. I do wish I had thought to use the immersion blender on my sauce when I had made it so it wasn't so chunky, but it was still fantastic nonetheless. I was really happy with the browning on the cheese, because everyone knows that's delicious.

What's even better? The second dish of Eggplant Parm - and the rest of the pasta - provided me with two days of leftovers for lunch. Success.

In other news, I've started playing the PS3 Zumba game, which makes me realize I have lost all sense of rhythm that I once had. Or I'm bad at following split-second directions that aren't actually verbalized. Either way I've found a way around not being able to run before or after work while the sun works on rising earlier and setting later.

Until next time...

Commute: Impossible

There were days in Buffalo where I would sit in the traffic of the 290, cursing my need for a car and wishing to return to the days of public transportation. Then I experience days like today, and I have no idea why I ever thought that way. Something must have occurred to back up the E train, because as I descended to the Queens-bound trains, I became a mere wave in a sea of people. As two D trains came and went, one E train came by packed to the gills. I decided to skip it and somehow found a niche in the next train that wasn't terrible. Each stop brought more passengers, making me considerably more irritable each time the train halted to a stop. Thank god for iPods loaded with time-sucking games.

I have two options once I get to my subway stop; I can either take a bus that drops me off pretty much in front of my building, or I can walk. The bus lines today (due to whatever the back up was) were atrocious. And so I walked. I always start out thinking, "Yeah! This isn't so bad! Hooray exercise!" And then I remember I'm wearing high heel boots and my feet start to scream. After finally making it to my apartment door, the last thing I wanted to do was cook. There was even a take out menu slipped under my door tempting me to order in.

And then my thrifty side kicked in and pointed my attention to my fully stocked fridge. Unfortunately what I was craving wasn't really doable, but I somehow made it work...

The above Chicken Marsala contains neither chicken, nor Marsala, discuss. That's right, I wanted one of my go-to orders at Italian restaurants, but I didn't defrost any chicken before leaving for work, and I didn't have any Marsala wine. Much like I did in my college kitchen, I made due.

I started by sauteing sliced mushrooms in some olive oil. Now that I've managed to get my garlic burning problem under control, I have a new one to fix. I always heat the oil too much. After the mushrooms cooled the pan, it heated up and again and started spitting like crazy, which will mean more cleaning for me later. Awesome. I cooked the mushrooms till then became golden and lost their moisture, then added some salt and pepper.

Next came my Marsala substitute: Merlot. I did some research online beforehand to make sure I wasn't committing some sort of heresy in making such a switch, and I guess it's fine! I boiled out the alcohol then added some chicken stock, letting it all reduce at a simmer. Last came the butter, which I melted into the sauce.

The sauce was poured over a plate of pasta, and topped with some cheese and parsley. Though it wasn't a dead ringer for Marsala sauce, I still enjoyed it. I could've used something to make it stick to the pasta a bit more (perhaps a thickening agent) or you know, a piece of chicken to absorb it....

We'll consider this one to improve for the future :)

One last musing: I've decided I could easily write and episode of Restaurant: Impossible without having an actual restaurant to discuss. Every episode is the same, and I still can't stop watching it (unless I see a restaurant on there that I've been to, then I'll be done). Robert finds restaurant, tears owners and employees and new one, clears out entire restaurant, cleans filthy kitchen, day one over. Day two starts, designers have not (and never will) done enough to appease Robert, the "we are NOT going to finish on time" moment, the miraculous finish, restaurant opens, everyone loves it.

That is all, enjoy your night!

A Day for Eating Lots of Unhealthy Stuff

It's Valentine's Day. I've never really hated this holiday, but I don't usually do anything out of the ordinary for it. Today was no different, aside from writing a blog entry to catch you up on my last two weeks. Let's start early last week when I made possibly the best thing yet.

What you see above would not win the judges' hearts on Chopped (let's be real, it's a little too much of the same color all on one dish), but it was seriously delicious. Allow me to present Garlic Lemon Turkey Tenderloin with a side of Garlic Wine Rice Pilaf.

The turkey was the easiest part. It was a Jenny O pre-marinated one, and I literally put it on a pan and baked it for a little over an hour. I cooked some brown rice at the same time (which through many years of trial and error, and forgetting to put "rice cooker" on my Christmas lists, I have finally perfected), then began preparations for the pilaf.

I learned that rice pilaf is so good because it's packed with butter. The recipe called for instant rice, which I don't have, so as usual I had to make some adjustments. I zested a lemon and combined it with some fresh chopped garlic and parsley. I melted some butter (not nearly as much as the recipe required) then cooked the lemon, wine and parsely. From here, you're supposed to add in the instant rice, but instead I just poured it over and mixed it into my already cooked rice. I then cooked down some chicken stock and Pinot Grigio (the recipe wanted Vermouth, but I don't exactly have the most complete alcohol collection), then poured that mixture over the rice as well. Stir it all together, and you have pilaf!

I knew I couldn't just leave the turkey as is, despite its full flavor, so I decided to concoct my own sauce for it. Again, it started with butter (I swear I'm not turning into Paula Deen), and I added garlic and lemon juice. I thickened it with some grated parmesan cheese, which turned out to be delicious but tiring as I had to whisk it into submission.

The turkey was surprisingly moist even though I overcooked it a bit (I need a meat thermometer like crazy), and the rice was pretty unbelievable. In fact, I plan to make it again in the near future. Did I mention this meal provided at least two days of lunch leftovers? I consider that an all-around win.

This past weekend was most certainly a food weekend. Ryan came into the city on Saturday, and after Time Warner connected me back to the real world, we checked out a Thai restaurant one neighborhood over. Naturally, I went for the Pad Thai and was really into it. After saying at least three times that I was going to grab a take-out menu on the way out, I didn't, however not having one deterred me from ordering in tonight, more on that later. On our way to the restaurant, we passed an old school soda shop and were both intrigued and took note to stop on our way back.

That's the place above. I ended up going for one scoop of Maple Walnut ice cream on a sugar cone and did not regret it. I'm not really sure if they make the ice cream themselves or if I was gushing over Hershey's or Perry's, but either way I enjoyed it.

Sunday we decided to devote our afternoon to walking around and eating food. I can't think of many more things I would rather do. We started by trying a new bagel place on Queens Blvd. I prefer the everything bagels from my usual place, but they had good veggie cream cheese and toast the bagels so that the cream cheese doesn't fall out and run down your sleeve (past experience). We then picked up some coffee at Starbucks since we've yet to find a non-chain that's impressed us with their coffee, and moved onto the next place.

As I wait for the bus at the subway stop each night, I always end up looking into the window of the bakery on the corner, but have never decided to step inside. That all ended on Sunday. I finally bought a huge piece of baklava and, yes, ate the whole thing right there.

On our way back to my apartment, we stumbled upon a gourmet shop that I plan to revisit, then relaxed for the rest of the day until we made dinner. I pan-fried some chicken tenders (fresh of course, no the frozen kind) and shook them in hot sauce, and Ryan made some amazing Teriyaki fried rice. It was sweet and tangy, and had some crunchier parts where the sauce caramelized, which was my favorite part. What can I say, my boyfriend is quite the chef!

We capped the night off with some bubble tea from a sushi place on my street and I learned that Taro flavoring is delicious. And purple. The only issue I have with bubble tea is that I drink it in less than five minutes.

So that's been my food-centered life for the past couple of weeks. I'll be taking an adventure to the great state of Massachusetts this weekend and will report when I return!

Spaghetti, Subways...and Apples

I find that more often than not, I make pasta either for or with my dinner. It's usually due to forgetting to defrost some meat before leaving for work and not wanting to take the time to make rice. Tonight's inspiration came as I was watching Everyday Italian last night. Giada made a really simple pasta dish that looked delicious and I instantly got food envy. It even has a simple name: Spaghetti with Olives and Bread Crumbs.

As the spaghetti cooked I chopped some black olives (the recipe recommends using kalamata - which I don't have - as well as green olives, which I'm not in love with, so black olives sufficed) and heated some olive oil over medium heat. In the process, I was also talking on the phone, looking at the recipe, and being distracted in general, so I didn't realize just how high the heat was on the oil. When I added my bread crumbs in to toast them, it was instant brown.

It wasn't burned brown, just...brown. According to the recipe, it should've taken two minutes for this to occur. I immediately removed it from the heat, allowing the residual heat to continue toasting the bread crumbs, then added my pasta to the mixture.

Since Giada recommended reserving some of the pasta water (due to its starch content), I attempted to get all the pasta out with tongs, which was fairly successful. The bit of water that I did ad actually helped to evenly distribute the breadcrumbs, who knew? I finished it by stirring in some parmesan cheese and some pepper.

The result was great! Not necessarily mind-blowing, but a good amount of flavor for few ingredients. As Giada mentioned on the show, you won't need to add more salt considering the bread crumbs and olives have enough themselves, especially if you opt for the green as well. You're also supposed to finish it with fresh parsley, but I only had dried herbs...and I kind of forgot about that step until just now. Regardless, I was satisfied.

[image courtesy of pinterest]

Another interesting find today is pictured above: Apple Nachos. Being the dessert freak that I am with a hint of a health nut, I'm stoked about these. It's sliced apples, topped with melted peanut butter, slivered almonds and chocolate chips. I find nothing wrong with this...and intend on trying it in the near future.

As for city living, today got off to a rough start. Turns out I can't keep track of 30 days use of a Metrocard and had the oh so embarrassing moment of trying to board the bus with an expired card. I did have cash on me, but decided to just get off the bus so as not to hold the line up any longer and walked to the LIRR stop instead. Once inside Penn Station I was able to make my way to the A,C & E trains to get a new card for the month. I wasn't late to work thankfully, but was definitely flustered. Luckily my day went well and I was introduced to a delicious sandwich at Gourmet Garage.

This weekend I head upstate to the land of Stewarts stores and considering all my trips are centered around food, I'm sure I'll have much to report and possibly more pictures to post!