Sweet summer – happy times with old friends

In August, one of my best friends from college visited the city for a week and I got the chance to show her all of my favorite places to eat in the city as well as try out a few new places! Our first stop was Porchetta – hands down one of my all time favorite sandwich shops. What I love about the Porchetta sandwich is its simplicity and depth of flavor, just meat and bread. The sandwich is perfectly proportioned and also wonderfully moist and savory.

After lunch we wandered about for a bit and each picked up some sweet things to satisfy our craving for dessert. First stop was Butter Lane, which makes the most amazing cupcakes with french buttercream frosting. N got the chocolate cake with vanilla bean frosting: a classic combination.

We also happened to walk by a Beard Papa’s – I have never had their cream puffs and have always wanted to try it. I think this is the first and last time that I will have Beard Papa’s … cute name, but their puffs are not so great. The choux pastry was crumbly and too dry, and the filling just tasted too sweet and artificial.

For a quick afternoon pick-me-up, I stopped by Joe the Art of Coffee in West Village to have a cappuccino. I always love when my cup of coffee comes with some lovely latte art – I’m excited to find more espresso shops to explore in the city!

Another one of my favorites in the village: the puppies!

YoYogi Sushi and Panera

Taking a mini-break and chilling in the suburbs for the weekend – took my sis out with the bf for a sushi lunch and catching a matinee showing of HP6 – gotta love $7 movie tickets!

Seafood Udon

Eel Roll

Cali Roll

Salmon and Yellowtail

One of things that I’m still waiting for in NYC is Panera – especially with rents going down so much lately, they should  definitely open up a cafe. Now that we have Baha Fresh in the city, the only we’re missing is Panera!! Am currentely chillaxing in the new Panera near my house and enjoying a nice snack – french onion soup in a bread bowl!

Summer Saturdays …

Best enjoyed with a good burger and great friends! I went to Boat Basin (on west 79th street) for M’s birthday this weekend… an experience that taught me that the only thing better than a delicious burger and icy electric lemonade on a sunny Saturday afternoon on the Hudson is a delicious burger and electric lemonade and a PINATA on a sunny Saturday afternoon on the Hudson

I decided to go for the *healthier* route and got the turkey burger with all the fixin’s … pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, the works. The burger was pretty standard fare – not exceptional but still a pretty solid – nicely grilled and served on a soft, fresh bun.

The Aftermath

The Whole Pie

Turkey and other goodies

After we (we being my bf and I)  succeeded in making a beautiful and deliciously moist turkey last Thanksgiving, we also encountered the common challenge that everyone faces after the great feast: what to do with all the leftover turkey? Still on a high from our accomplishments in the realm of turkeys and ovens, the route of turkey pot pie seemed especially appealling. Just think, the rich flavorful filling with chunks of savory thanksgiving turkey surrounded by a butterly, flaky crust perfectly golden at just the right temperature in the oven. Mmmm, I can even start to smell that warm, wonderful aroma wafting through every nook in my house now.

Anyways, the bf was supposed to guest post the recipe that we used and how we went about making the pie, but since it has been more than half a year, our memory serves us poorly and that recipe is now but the fond memory of that lovely first bite of flaky crust and juicy turkey. At least I still have a picture to commemorate that wonderful pie … maybe we will recreate it again this year!

p.s. the one thing that I do remember about this recipe is how we made the filling creamy – after combining all the ingredients, we had found that the filling had too much liquid. We didn’t have any cornstarch on hand, but we did have leftover mash potato mix! A few sprinkles later and voila, pot pie filling is done!

Homemade Hamburger Helper

So I was in the mood for pasta tonight and decided to make my own homemade version of Hamburger Helper. This dish is very easy to put together and make in large batches – a great way to make enough for dinner and have leftovers for lunch the next day!

• 1 c. dried pasta (makes about 2 cups cooked)
• 1/4 lb. ground beef
• 1 link kielbasa sausage, diced
• 1 1/2 c. marinara sauce
• 2 cloves garlic
• Splash of red wine

1. Cook pasta in boiling water until a little bit undone (before al dente). Drain pasta and remove from heat. Reserve about 1/4 c. pasta water.
2. Brown the ground beef in a saute pan. Drain the grease.
3. Return browned beef to the pan, add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add a splash of red wine and reduce for about a minute.
4. Add diced kielbasa and marinara sauce. Bring sauce to a simmer.
5. Add cooked pasta and pasta water.
6. If desired, mix 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of warm water to dissolve and add to sauce and pasta mixture.
7. Simmer until sauce reduces to desired consistency.
8. Serve with steamed broccoli on the side.

Ma Po Tofu

The best sauce packets are made by Lee Kum Kee, and at $0.88 a packet, a great deal. Unfortunately the only place that I’ve found that sells them is Asia Supermarket in Philly, so I always stock up when I go to visit. The ma po tofu sauce that they sell in New York are both expensive (over $2.00 a packet) and not good at all. With ma po tofu, the key is the “ma la” flavor, where you feel the spiciness numb your tastebuds … mmmmm mmmmmm!