This evening, I had red snapper for the first time in ages. My inspiration for the snapper comes from a dish I ate years ago where the snapper was crusted with almonds. I loved the slightly sweet and nutty flavor the almonds added, so I put a spin on this dish by using almond meal instead of almonds and flour.
Though I do not have exact measurements, you want to dip your snapper fillets (already seasoned with salt and pepper) in egg and then lightly coat each fillet with the almond meal. Pan fry the fish in a little olive oil.
Meanwhile, cook the soba noodles in boiling water and roast brussels sprouts (cut into quarters) in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven with a little olive oil for roughly 15 minutes. Once the brussels sprouts are slightly browned and the noodles are cooked, combine the two. Add one tablespoon of soy sauce and one tablespoon of sesame oil to the noodles.
Enjoy!
Mom, these past 20 years with you have really been wonderful. We share so many great memories together, and I know we will share many more in the coming years. Since I know you love food almost as much as I do, I decided to get you these chocolates from Jacques Torres.
Happy birthday!
I whipped up this quick and healthy dinner tonight with my leftover vegetable stock (click here for the recipe). I stir-fried shiitake mushrooms, snow peas, and baby spinach in a wok with a little canola oil and salt and pepper. I put my mushrooms in first. 2 minutes later, I tossed in my snow peas and baby spinach. I cooked the vegetables for an additional 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, I cooked some udon noodles in boiling water and heated my vegetable stock. I served some vegetable stock in a soup bowl and then added noodles and veggies.
I love eating Japanese food at home!
NYC restaurant week is one of my summer highlights. Last Thursday for lunch, my parents and I went to the Japanese restaurant Nobu.
The food was absolutely spectacular. To start, I ordered a sashimi salad which came with two pieces of tuna sashimi on a bed of greens with a very tasty Asian dressing. Since I was in a restaurant that supposedly serves great sushi, it made sense to order sushi as my main course. My sushi platter came with 7 pieces of assorted sushi including salmon, tuna, squid, and shrimp as well as a tuna roll. Again, an amazing dish.
Dessert was a play on a piña colada. At first I was hesitant to try it because I honestly don’t like pineapples. But much to my surprise, I really enjoyed the dessert. With a mildly sweet pineapple flavor and some sort of crunchy bits to add texture, this dessert was quite delicious.
I had an amazing meal overall.
I made this yesterday because my brother and uncles joined me for dinner last night. I initially wanted to make a linzer torte, but since I had almond flour in the house, I just put that into my pie dough instead of walnuts.
My jam was a combination of fresh raspberries and raspberry preserves. I have no reason for using this method other than I did not have enough fresh raspberries for the entire pie.
This pie was a big hit with my family- tart, sweet, and nutty from the almond meal in the dough.
What You’ll Need
For the Filling
For the Pie Crust
Directions
Pie Crust
You have to make the pie dough at least 2 hours ahead of time because you need to chill the pie dough in the fridge before you roll it.
1) Cut the chilled butter into 1/2 inch cubes.
2) In a food processor, combine both flours, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse to mix, and then add butter. Pulse some more, roughly 8 times until the butter in the mixture is pea-sized. Add 1 tablespoon of the ice-cold water at a time, and continue to pulse until the mixture starts to hold together. If you pinch the mixture, it should hold together. If not, continue adding water.
3) Take the dough out of the food processor and place it on a cutting board (or another flat surface). Shape the dough into a ball (Make sure not to over-knead the dough).
4) Flatten the dough into a disc, sprinkle a little flour on the top and bottom of the disc, place the disc in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
5) Take the dough out of the refrigerator, and let it sit for 10 minutes at room temperature. Sprinkle flour on a flat surface and roll out the dough into a a circle with a 12 inch circumference. Carefully fold the dough in half and place into a 9 inch pie dish.
6) Trim excess dough and use to make a pretty pattern on top of the pie. I rolled out my excess dough and used an espresso cup to cut out small circles which I arranged into a pattern on my pie.
Filling
1) In a medium-sized sauce pan under low heat, combine the fresh raspberries, jam, water, lemon juice, and sugar. Heat to a simmer. Let mixture simmer for 12-15 minutes.
2) Add the filling to the pie crust. (Optional: brush a little egg wash onto edges of pie crust and any other exposed pieces of crust).
3) Place pie in an oven that is preheated to 400 degrees.
4) Bake for 10 minutes, and then lower the oven to 350 degrees.
5) Bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes. (I like to check my pie after it has baked for 25 minutes).
Enjoy!
This sandwich has a great balance between savory, sweet, and tart. In the winter, panini this sandwich so the brie melts nicely.
What You’ll Need
Directions
1) Spread honey mustard over both slices of bread.
2) Add turkey, then brie, followed by apple.
Enjoy!
This sauce is a perfect accompaniment to cold poached salmon. Though it appears and tastes like there is mayonnaise in the sauce, there is not one drop!
What You’ll Need
Directions
1) Mix together mustard and yogurt until well combined.
2) Stir in lemon juice and dill.
3) Add salt.
This sauce is so easy to make and will be ready in 5 minutes!
This weekend, I wanted to make soup. But instead of using canned stock, I decided to make my own vegetable stock from scratch. After I made my stock, I added a few fresh vegetables and voila, my soup was finished. It was definitely one of the most flavorful soups I have eaten.
What You’ll Need
1 large portobello mushroom cap, sliced into quarters
3 celery stocks cut into large pieces
4 carrots cut into large pieces
3 yellow onions halved (with the skin still on)
3 vine tomatoes, quartered
the dark green leaves of 3 leaks
2 garlic cloves (skin still on)
1 handful of parsley
3 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
3.5 liters water
salt and pepper (I honestly just season my stock when I serve it because everyone in my family likes a different amount of salt and pepper).
Directions
1) Put everything into a large stock pot under medium heat. Bring to a boil and then lower heat so that liquid simmers.
2) With the lid covered, let liquid simmer for 2 hours.
3) Strain vegetables and herbs out.
Use stock for the base of a myriad of different soups. I just made a simple soup to showcase the vegetable stock. I threw in the white portion of my 3 leeks as well as 2 chopped carrots, 2 chopped celery, 1 corn off the cob, and 2 chopped yellow onions. I let my vegetables cook for roughly 12-15 minutes in the stock.
Enjoy everyone!
I went with my friend to Koreatown the other evening, and she recommended I try this Korean treat which reminds me of a sweet bread both in appearance, texture, and taste. I would call it a Korean version of challah with delicious sweet chestnuts and raisins inside. Cappuccino was the perfect accompaniment to this Korean “challah” (also my friend’s suggestion).
I just have to clarify that my Korean friend said it isn’t actually intended to be bread. Whatever it translates to in English, one thing is for sure – it tastes really good!
A few days ago, I ate too much food during the day (is that a surprise?), so all I ate for dinner were vegetables. I rummaged through my fridge and took out most of the vegetables I found: carrots, zucchini, broccoli, brussels sprouts, shallots, corn, and garlic.
What I love about this recipe is how easy it can be altered- there is really no right way. So many vegetables would be tasty in this!
What You’ll Need
Directions
1) Put corn and broccoli florets in a large pot of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes.
2) Once done, take corn and broccoli out of water. Let the corn cool or run under cold water. Then take corn off the cob. Set corn and broccoli aside.
3) Meanwhile, throw garlic into a pan under medium low heat with olive oil. Cook garlic for 1 minute. Add the shallots and cook for another minute.
4) Add carrots, zucchini, and brussels sprouts and cook for 5-6 minutes.
5) Stir in corn and broccoli and cook for another 2 minutes.
6) Squeeze lime over vegetables and add salt and pepper.
Enjoy!
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