this is a blog about the food in my life. what I eat, what I wanna eat, what I make, what I bake, what I wanna make and bake, ideas and recipes. it's also my thoughts on food or stories behind the meals. The lyric references are from my lifelong love of classic rock and funk and from working a hunnerd years in music retail.
Birthday Korean Chicken with two sauces from the new spot, Yori Bowl, who went into the old, new Korean chicken spot, Chic Hen. They were great but didn't last that long.
Steamed Dumplings
Birthday Carrot Cake Slice
Brooklyn has the best tiny markets that sell everything you'd ever want or need. Mr Mango not only carries every vegetable but fresh pie and cake slices, as well as fresh baked cookies to die for and perfect for all the single people or occasions like this where we only need one slice of birthday cake.
Delicious and calming Miso Soup
Earlier, a Black Bag Matinee and Breakfast at the Alamo. THE BREAKFAST CLUB: Thick cut bacon, fried egg, Swiss cheese, lemon-garlic aioli, arugula, tomato, toasted bun, served with fries & ketchup and the FRIED EGG FRITO PIE: Fritos, Shiner chili, queso, cotija, sriracha sour cream & green onions topped with a fried egg. The Frito Pie was exceptional and so much better than I imagined it to be.
Which is similar to celebrating a birthday with your mate over 30 something times and enjoying it more than you ever imagined possible. Love is being happy to see someone over and over and over.
This is a messy delight and best eaten with a knife and fork. I love burgers and All the different ways you can prepare them and ingredients to put in them, finding what to pair them with. I hope to never stop finding fun ways to make burgers.
These fries were made from tiny potatoes julienned and shallow-fried in a pan because I couldn't bear a roasted potato, or bother to make potato salad. But outside of the endless cutting, these were such a great idea because small like this it's harder to eat too many and you don't need to drown them in ketchup because they hold the perfect amount of seasoning.
Freddy, who ran our favorite Mexican Food Truck, aptly named Freddy's Food Truck, retired to focus on his art, but will from time to time pitch a sidewalk tent nearby to sell homemade salsas and these tamales.
Pictured with my homemade tacos, was half of a sweet peppery pork tamal. His wife seasons the meat and tops with a roasted red, slightly sweetened pepper sauce. These were wrapped in banana leaves. I admit, I am a bigger fan of corn husks because it's all about the corny masa for me. But they also must have the right ratio of filler to masa in order to be extraordinary. There's nothing worse than a thick dry lackluster tamal. These were really good. I'll compare them to a surprisingly tasty ham and pineapple pizza when you really wanted pepperoni and mushroom.
Stewed Chicken Tacos
No matter the filling, I'm a huge fan of the Test Kitchen way of taco'ing. You need a ripping hot oven. Paint oil on your corn tortillas on both sides, cheese the bottom with your choice of melty cheese for 10 minutes (450) on a baking tray, then top them quickly before folding. They are crispy, crunchy and the best part is you can make them all at once and serve right away. I'm just realizing you could bean and cheese your Tostadas using this method and leave for another minute or so before topping. What a time saver!
I'll admit, I feel terrible for eating lamb. We do eat eggs, which are technically baby chickens, so if you're ready to put on your judgy-mcjudgement hat, let's just take a moment to reflect. After years on the east coast, Greek diners have lured me into eating this delicious meat but seldom have I ever made it at home and could count on my hands how many times in life I have partaken. In San Francisco I recall being at the age where wearing fur and eating lamb could bring on violent acts against you, by me even. The Smith's, Meat is Murder blaring from a cheap cassette player while trolling the Union Square area, down the street from my Tenderloin dwelling. Those days are gone. However, apparently, I still suffer from massive guilt from the symbolic and biblical meaning this incredibly adorable animal represents. This stew was very special and healthier than a huge corned beef rack to celebrate the St Patrick's Day holiday and I assure you, nothing went to waste.
As we age, we naturally eat less meat (or we're supposed to) and as farm raised, grass fed, free roaming meats are harder to afford, vegetarians we all might become.
Cabbage Forward Chicken Vegetable Soup And making the stew gave an excuse to use all the extra vegetables and to make a cabbage-forward chicken and vegetable soup. If you're chopping up vegetables, why not make a second pot of something?
Another fun idea was these Cheddar-nut Crackers that were full of butter and cheese, so there was little to not like about them. I would freeze a roll to make for a second occasion like I did here, which made them even more special.
We always have leftover curry sauce from take out, so I used that as my sauce for a quick ground turkey, vegetable stir fry to serve over left over rice.
Sometimes, these odd leftovers can become the best tasting because they are unexpected. I only had red peppers, celery, chick peas, red onion on hand but a handful of toasted nuts, along with the delicious curry elevated this quickie dinner. Enough to be a great for lunch box meal the next day.
Baked Fried Chicken with French Fried Onion Coating
Always good. And another example of almost anything crunchy crushed up can be a coating for chicken. Crunchy crushed-up Chicken Coating with flour and spices in a bag and then all shook up.
Red Pepper, Mushroom, Spinach and Onion Vegetable Medley
Puffy Omelets are as light and fluffy as they look but that airy texture provides a sophisticated eggy flavor you don't get from other cooking methods. You only need a minute (5 actually) to whip them into submission, but it's either a good workout if you do it manually, or the effort of plugging in a hand mixer.
Spicy sausage, spinach and mozzarella went into mine and topped with a pesto sauce for that extra punch of flavor. This ginormous treat is only 4 eggs split into two meals. My half held together just until I slid it on the plate and then it all went to hell.
Have your stuffings ready on the side because it all happens fairly quickly once you lay that poof down in the pan.
Later that night, take-out fried rice and fried spring rolls from Ma Thai-Ger
Dry Rubbed Pan-Fried Pork Chops with sauteed cabbage
Again, a very simple meal, low on carbs but high on flavor. Sauteed cabbage with onions and garlic is much better than I ever expect and I have it all the time. Dressed with Asian flavors or apple and carrots or like this time, simply with salt and pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar to finish. Roasted, raw or sauteed, this over-looked but highly nutritious lady is a surprise giver. And so far, still a very inexpensive bang for your buck.
I'm going out on a limb to say of all the boring, pale vegetables, I think I love cabbage the best.
This year's food theme highlights simple but perfect foods. The tostada, for example, is a treasure in its simplicity. It's a sin not to make them more often. Toast a corn tortilla and top it with just about anything. But put a party on top and it becomes a festive dinner, worthy of celebration. Instead of refried beans as a base, I used guacamole this time for the glue that holds it all together.
This is a very common version but try mashed black beans smeared up with sour cream and diced pickled jalapenos, some crunchy onion and cabbage on top, a little cotija cheese and a squeeze of lime. This is a delight you have not experienced. Such a treat! Meat is not needed to get your creative-genius on with this easy vessel. Use the no-fail template of a soft smear on the toasted shell bottom (beans, guac, yogurt, sweet potato mash, etc) topped with something crispy cold or cheesy,meat and creamy.
I am guilty as anyone of sticking to my beloved traditional pairings, but now is the time to step out of our comfort zones and make these work with whatever seasonal vegetables we need to use up and are available.
Lefty the cat making the most of lack of birds outside
My sister informed me of a TikTok trend that she currently loves. This is my first sloppy attempt of Tortilla Pizzas. Pluses are that you can pick your tort size, therefore doing a small individual or larger to share. This is great for thin crust pizza lovers or low-carb seekers. Getting that tort super crispy is key but not as hard as I thought, even with loaded up toppings.
And of course, making it is exactly as you would imagine but here is a helpful tutorial from James Beard award-winner, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.
There was a period when I was putting pizza toppings on toast, thin bread, pita, and cauliflower slices. So, tortilla is not a stretch but it's a very good vessel and I'm surprised the idea had not come up sooner. Let's all remember Taco Bells tortilla pizza from back in the day, one of my favorite specialty items. Speaking of, you can double layer the tort in the same way, if you want to get extra cheesy and creative.
