Enjoy the Delicious

Here's a little sneak peak of my beautiful pork belly as it began braising.

While working on a new look for the site this weekend, it was my goal to pare it down, to simplify it, make it a little more chic.  A funny thing happened though.  While cleaning up the clutter of my food blog I stopped, looked around my apartment and felt that I needed to do the same with my home.  I stepped away from the computer, walked over to my closet and immediately took to editing out everything that either didn't fit or that I hadn't worn in months.  I did the same with my shoes.  I was brutally honest with myself.  It hurt a bit at times but I knew I had to do it.  In little over an hour my clothes were hung in sections, my shoes were impeccably lined up and all of my sweaters and tee-shirts were folded and tucked away into my chest of drawers.

I moved along with my task and before I knew it, furniture was rearranged, new curtains were hung, unneeded shelving was taken down, random papers and clutter were disposed of, the fridge was cleaned out and all of the old and unused potions and creams from my bathroom were chucked.  I worked with an intensity that hasn't shown itself in a long while and when I was done the floors had even been scrubbed and not a single extraneous item was left in my home.

This Sunday afternoon purging has given me pause, it led me to think about how I'm living my life and how I want to proceed from here.  It made me think about how much I really need and what is really important.  When it comes to food, I'm always clean and pretty sparse; only fresh ingredients and barely anything processed but in life it was different.  My home was filled with extra things that had no impact on my happiness or the quality of my life.  When I think of the things that really make me happy my heart fills with thoughts of my son laughing, a house full of pets, sitting around gossiping with the girls, cooking for someone I love or just walking my dog around the neighborhood.  These are the things that are important, not material things and certainly not buying another purse!

I'm on a mission to lead a cleaner more organic life.  I'm going to keep clutter to a minimum and consider new purchases carefully.  This means if I need new plates, I'm going to find interesting and beautiful china at a flea market.  I've vowed to cease any new clothing purchases but, if I find myself in desperate need of a party frock I'm going to look for one in a vintage shop.  Any new furniture that I need will be sourced on craigslist and repainted if necessary.  Existing plants will be clipped to grow roots for replanting.  The goal is to be green, to recycle and I'm going to be writing about it here.  This will always be a food site but I'm going to branch out into more lifestyle writing while using food to anchor the post.  After all, food is my first love and is always at the center of everything I do.

Our resident mussel lover, Kim, has submitted her first inclusion for mussel specials in NYC.  Flea Market on Avenue A in New York City is a favorite spot of ours.  Kim and her family go there all the time for their amazing "Sunset Menu" and they enjoy many a Sunday night in the comfort of a $17 three course dinner, including a glass of wine.

Sunday is family night, but Tuesdays without our kids is Girls' Night!  For $18 you can submit to your inner mussel freak and enjoy them in an all you can eat setting.  Mussels Mariniere is the classic incarnation but if you are feeling adventurous, try their Mussels Thailandaisese, mussels in a creamy green curry sauce.  You won't be disappointed.

I'm writing this post, not to gross you out, but to warn you.  It's now my culinary goal to warn everyone I can...when using a mandolin, use the guard. Unfortunately, I did not heed my own advice and now the tip of my finger is gone.

It all started innocently enough; I had just gotten my new mandolin as a gift from my friend Marcela and was in the middle of catering a tea party when it happened.  It's what every cook fears.  The utter shock.  Then the blood.  All because of the cucumbers.  Damn the cucumbers!

You see, I thought I was safe.  I've got experience with this thing plus, it was only a cucumber.  But when it comes to a mandolin, no one is safe.  There's a reason they put that guard in the box.  Use it.  You will save yourself the horrible pain and hours spent in the ER.

The show had to go on and the tea party went off without a hitch. The host, my friend Kim, recruited Marcela to help finish the food and I was giving them recipes from the ER.  They pulled it off beautifully, I made it back just in time for the party and a good time was had by all.  I was assured that my finger is going to be fine, luckily it was just the tip; no serious damage done and I'll be back to cooking in no time.

So in closing, when using the mandolin, I bid you good cutting and don't ever think it won't happen to you.  It will, eventually, so use the guard!

I recently bought some red cabbage and fennel to make a slaw to pair with a pulled pork sandwich.  The sandwich was so good that I wolfed it down and completely disregarded making the slaw.

I don't normally eat cabbage or fennel but refused to let them go to waste.  I pulled out some beautiful diver scallops and decided to slice up the veg and sautee them as an accompaniment.  This meal was surprisingly delicious and fresh and can be put on your table in about 15 minutes.

Slice up a fennel bulb and half a head of red cabbage; quarter the fennel and slice out the core.  Drop it in a pan of olive oil and season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lime juice.  You can be generous with the salt.  Sautee on moderate heat for 10-15 minutes.  After 5 minutes, I added a shake of pear infused white balsamic vinegar and it added a beautiful fresh tartness and pickling effect to the dish.

Season your scallops with salt, pepper and a little chili powder.  Sear them in a screaming hot pan with a swirl of olive oil for 2 minutes per side.  To serve, add the pickled cabbage mixture to your plate and top with the scallops.  Add a final sprinkle of salt and a light squeeze of lime.  Gorgeous!

Sometimes the days are so long it's 9PM before I can even think of dinner.  Usually, when this happens it means I've barely eaten all day and I'm about to fall over.  Normal people just call for takeout but not me, I can't deal with sub par, unsatisfying food when I'm really hungry and in need of nutrition.

A quick gander through the fridge and the meal was set.  Sauteed tomatoes and asparagus with tilapia.

It was all really simple and quick:

• Season your fish with salt, pepper, lemon, olive oil and some thyme.
• Sautee half a bunch of asparagus in some olive oil for 3-5 minutes.  Season with salt and lemon (remember to cut the ends off the asparagus first).
• Add some more oil and a pat of butter to your pan and cook the fish.  4 mins on each side.
• Just before fish is done add some grape tomatoes and a chopped spring onion to the pan.

• Plate it all up, add a squeeze of lemon and salt and pepper.

Its that easy and it's on your plate in about 20 minutes.  That's quicker than takeout and infinitely more delicious!

This was definitely the weekend for familiar and comforting food.  On a mission to not consume a single salad, I decided to throw together a dish reminiscent of my childhood.

Cooking a curry always makes me think of my mother.  I'll never do it as well as she did, but I do find a certain affinity with my Asian heritage as I try to recreate and remember her dishes.  I think of the creaminess of coconut milk paired with the heat of red chillies and the mellowness of  steeped ginger combined with the sticky rice noodles as the ultimate in Asian-style comfort food.  Throw in a few shrimp and you have yourself a little bit of luxury too!

Shrimp Curry over Rice Noodles

Ingredients

• 1 can of coconut milk
• 2 cups of chicken or seafood stock
• 4 spring onions
• 1/2 shallot
• Curry powder
• 1 red chili
• A piece of ginger, peeled
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, cut in half - ends cut off
• 1/2 a lime
• 2T chili paste
• Vegetable oil
• Rice noodles
• 1/2 lb shrimp

Preparation

First and foremost, an absolute must when cooking with curry powder is to cook the curry powder first.  Never, and I mean never just add the powder straight into your dish.  Cooking it will ensure that there is no grit or chalkiness and it will also add depth of flavor.  It's very simple, just coat a pan with vegetable oil and add 4-5 teaspoons of curry powder.

Stir it together for a few minutes and then add half a chopped shallot to the pan.  Next dice the red chili and add that, along with just a few seeds, to the mix.  Stir it all together for a few minutes then add a can of coconut milk, the stock, a cube of fresh ginger, the lemongrass and the lime and it's juice to your pot.  Throw in a few pinches of salt and a teaspoon of fish sauce (optional).  Simmer on a very low heat for 30 minutes to allow all the flavors to marry together.  The curry might seem a tad "thin" but once the rice noodles are added it will thicken up.

Next prepare your rice noodles per the package instructions and then cook your shrimp.  Heat some oil in a skillet and season the shrimp with salt and pepper.  Cook until the crustacean are opaque...about 3-5 minutes, if that.  Now, add the chopped spring onions to your curry as well as the shrimp along with the chili paste.  I use the Asian chili/garlic sauce in the bottle with the green top.  In this recipe I only call for 2T of chili paste but truth be told I use a hell of a lot more.  I love the hot, I'm predispositioned for it.  Nothing makes me happier than the hot.  You using more than the 2T will make me happy too.  Now, let it all bubble for a few minutes.

The lemongrass and ginger are only for flavor so be sure not to serve them in your bowl.

Presentation

Place a pile of the rice ribbons in a bowl and spoon over the mellow curry sauce.  Drop in the shrimp and add the final touch, a wedge of lime for flavor.