Apartment Dining

Between Halloween, a trivia night in Greenpoint, and getting my hair cut, I’ve only had time to cook one night over the past week…and that was recapped in my post from Monday. I did manage to roast some acorn squash tonight, but a few weeks ago, I tried sweet dumpling squash (pictured above). It’s a small squash with a flavor similar to pumpkin that I randomly picked up at the farmers’ market. I roasted it at 400° for 45 minutes with butter and brown sugar (inventive, I know), and it was the perfect single serving size.

Coming on Monday: An epic pumpkin pie post. I attempted one a few weeks ago with mixed results, so I’m armed with a modified recipe and another pie pumpkin. My success or failure will be paraded before you on Monday morning with plenty of photo documentation.

Today was my last hurrah for getting takeout for lunch at work, and I went out in style. I had split pea soup and a chunk of baguette from Almondine in DUMBO, followed by two macarons (pistachio and raspberry, respectively). I saved the raspberry macaron for a late afternoon proofreading session and the sugar rush powered me through the rest of the workday.

My new strategy is bringing in leftovers from dinner throughout the week for my lunches, as long as they are conducive to microwave heating. It will motivate me to cook more and save some extra cash to the tune of $50 a week. I’m two weeks away from a nice massage, five weeks from a new winter coat, and thirty-four weeks away from a MacBook Pro.

I started tonight with roasted eggplant and tomato penne that cost me about $5 to make and will last me for three days for lunch and dinner, with a few supplemental items. » Read the rest of this entry «

When most people think of brussels sprouts, fish sauce is not the first thing to come to mind. However, when I had the brussels sprouts at Momofuku Ssäm Bar last year, they were a perfect match. I’ve had plans to recreate a very simplified version in my kitchen, but have been met with a challenge at the farmers’ market every week: beating the competition.

I usually arrive at the market around noon on Saturdays, so the the crates of brussels sprouts are picked over and only a few sad sprouts are left, leaves splayed out and smashed. However, last Saturday morning I woke up at 7:30 to conquer the weekend. I was at the farmers’ market by 9AM and a mound of fresh, perfect brussels sprouts was waiting. I bought half a dozen cider doughnuts to celebrate my victory and started plotting my side dish. » Read the rest of this entry «

It was a banner weekend: dinner on the Upper West Side on Friday night, the farmers’ market in Grand Army Plaza on Saturday morning, shopping and macarons in SoHo in the afternoon, beer and tacos in Sunset Park at night, and finally on Sunday, manicures, pints of pumpkin ale, and lots of cooking in Park Slope. It felt the way a New York weekend should, with just the right balance of adventure and absurdity, and enough scenic views for a Woody Allen film. Much of it also revolved around food, so it was natural to wind down by baking a pie Sunday afternoon with my well-manicured hands.

I wanted to go recipe-free to make an apple cranberry pie, so I tried to remember as many techniques as I could from last year’s apple pie adventure and winged the rest. The pie was a success, but I forgot to add flour to the apple mixture which resulted in a little excess liquid. I’ve corrected it in the recipe after the jump. » Read the rest of this entry «

Things have yet to die down completely around here, so I’m keeping tonight’s post short and straight to the point: Sweet potatoes! Cut, season, roast, serve with fattening (and delicious) dipping sauce.

During the Sunday of Sandwiches, Angela showed me a menu from her recent trip to the UK and one of the side dishes was sweet potato wedges with tarragon mayo. It sounded fantastic, so I picked up some sweet potatoes at the farmers’ market and improvised a recipe this evening. » Read the rest of this entry «

There are a number of recipes written on random stationary in my grandmother’s collection. This is on hotel stationary, while others come from factories, a research facility of some sort, and (what I believe to be) my aunt’s algebra homework.

According to my mother, this recipe for honey whole wheat bread was one of her favorites. After making it today, I can see why. The crust is crunchy, the interior is soft, and there is the tiniest hint of honey. My baking process wasn’t error free, however.

More photos and the full recipe after the jump. » Read the rest of this entry «

The kitchen table in my apartment offers a rotating assortment of baked goods in tupperware containers and ziploc bags. Last week, Erin made pumpkin cookies and banana nut muffins. Then, Clare made pumpkin bread and muffins, followed a few days later by Magnolia cupcakes (mini and full size). Erin made corn muffins yesterday, then I made zucchini bread. Erin made zucchini cookies, a batch of brownies, and more muffins this afternoon, and finally, while not baking-related, Jess made a whole bunch of edamame tonight. There’s nothing better than getting home from work to a fresh plate of cookies, or waking up in the morning to a plate of muffins waiting for breakfast.

My zucchini bread recipe came from Simply Recipes, my new trusted source for baked goods. They’re behind the brownies and banana bread that I have shared with many friends and they’re always a hit.

My friends Angela and Sean hosted a small gathering Sunday afternoon to celebrate an a match made in culinary heaven: grilled sandwiches and beer. They gathered an impressive array of meats, cheeses, mustards, and more, and were ready with some fantastic combinations. More photos and combos after the jump » Read the rest of this entry «

This was a week about planning ahead. I knew I would be strapped for time because of starting my new job, so I made a large batch of braised chicken with apples and sage based on a recipe from Epicurious (I should have also written a few blog entries in advance, but here we are). The smell of sauteéd shallots and apples filled the kitchen and the flavors were great, even though I didn’t brown my chicken enough. I had another piece of chicken for dinner a second night, and then cut it up a remaining piece and used it in a salad with dried cranberries, pecans, and a balsamic vinaigrette.

I promise to get back to creating recipes and taking photos next week once I’ve readjusted to full time employment. It’s strange to return to a regular 8-hour workday after ten months of pyjamas and working from home.

The time has come for the first Apartment Dining Challenge. This month’s challenge comes from Jon and Kellie. Jon writes:

Kellie and I enjoy making tacos in our apartment. We both like to eat them in different ways. Kellie likes to break up the hard shells and make a taco salad; I like hard or soft shell tacos the traditional way. We usually make them together – one person cooks the meat and shells while the other cuts veggies – so it’s a fun team effort. We also make them to get rid of leftover steak or chicken. What are your thoughts on tacos?

I have always been a fan of tacos, particularly chicken or those with more uncommon ingredients, such as chorizo or roasted vegetables. I think the key to making tacos at home on a regular basis is mixing it up with new ingredients or meat cooking methods. Keeping cooking time in mind (Jon and Kellie are two very busy folks), I wanted to put together a simple recipe that added some interesting ingredients and could also lend itself to a taco salad.

Enter the tomatillo. » Read the rest of this entry «