My mom sent me these delicious macarons in the mail last week. They are from Laudurée in Paris, one of the finest macarons stores in the world. This package was greatly appreciated and finished in a couple of days.
Thanks mom!
My brother gave me a Chez Albert gift card for my birthday. It is definitely one of the best gifts I have received. (My brother knows me well).
To be honest with you, I was a little skeptical of Chez Albert. I had heard good things, yet I worried that the food would be overpriced and not worth all of the praise. However, much to my surprise, my dinner was delicious, and I can say with confidence that the food at Chez Albert is the best I’ve eaten in Amherst as of yet.
The service was excellent, and I was so thankful that our waitress kept refilling the carafe d’eau (bottle of water). It’s the little things that can transform the dining experience from mediocre to wonderful. My friend and I both commenced with a warm pea and mint soup. The soup had a very smooth, silky texture and the mint acted as a fresh balance to the sweetness of the peas. For my main course, I ordered one of the specials – grilled swordfish in a tomato butter sauce (yum) with sautéed greens and mashed potatoes. My friend ordered the pork which came with a cherry reduction. Of course I tried it too, and it was very tasty.
At this point, both my friend and I were very very full, but a meal is not complete without dessert, is it? I ordered a chocolate tartine which came with biscotti and crème anglaise. Though not what I consider a typical tartine, the chocolate I was presented with was really spectacular. It reminded me more of a mousse, but it wasn’t too sweet or too rich, just the way I like my desserts.
I wish the food I cooked chez moi would be half as tasty. Maybe I will try and convince my parents to take me back to Chez Albert for my graduation next year.
I was contemplating writing this blog post tonight as I sit in my dorm room incapable of moving after stuffing my face with a huge plate of pasta at an Italian restaurant in Amherst. My two friends who came with me can serve as my witnesses. It’s funny because I realized I don’t like reading many food blogs when I’m in college, as I am too disappointed with the cafeteria food, and the beautiful food photos would only make me realize the food that I’m missing out. But when I am overstuffed, I don’t like thinking about food either.
Cutting to the chase, I went to a French restaurant with my cousin near Columbia, and the food was really good! I ordered a BLT (BLAT really because it had avocado in it). I guess that’s not very French, but it came with a huge side of french fries (French?), which of course I finished.
Farewell NYC, see you in May.
After a brief trip to the gym this morning, I am feeling really great. It’s amazing how exercise can do that. I wanted to continue my healthy habits into lunch, so I decided to have salad. I chopped up some romaine lettuce, added fennel, candied pecans (which I candied myself for a couple of minutes in a fry pan with a couple of teaspoons of maple syrup), the juice from half a grapefruit, the supremes of one orange (seriously had difficulty with this!), and a little olive oil.
I really loved this salad, but as I eye the clock, tea time is in a couple of hours. What dessert will I eat?
French onion soup – the amount of cheese in this soup was absurd (in a beautiful way)
Quiche Lorraine
I am so far from artsy, but alas, here are my attempts at capturing some new food angles. Today’s lunch:
Homemade black bean soup (can you see the steam?)
Yellow zucchini ratatouille
Artichoke
Here is my great grandmother’s recipe for pastel de espinaca, or what I think it is from watching my mom prepare it.
What You’ll Need
Two 10 ounce packages of frozen spinach
1/2 pound of munster cheese, shredded
3 eggs
3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons of panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon of herbs de provence (my mom uses McCormick’s blend, but you can use any herb mix you like)
1 tablespoon of butter
A 9 by 13 inch pyrex
A Large Bowl
Directions
1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
2) Put spinach in a strainer and run it under very warm water until the spinach is soft. Squeeze out all the excess water.
3) Transfer the spinach into a large bowl. Add the munster cheese, eggs, 2 tablespoons of parmesan, 2 tablespoons of panko bread crumbs, and the dried herbs. Mix the mixture with your hands, or if you don’t want to get your hands dirty, use a large fork, until well-combined.
4) Lightly butter a 9 by 13 inch pyrex and sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of parmesan on the bottom of the pyrex.
5) Pour in spinach mixture and use a fork to evenly distribute the mixture.
6) Sprinkle remaining parmesan and breadcrumbs on top. Cut remaining butter into small pieces and put on top of the spinach.
7) Put your spinach into the oven for roughly 10 minutes. Lower the oven to 350 degrees and keep for another 10-15 minutes or until the spinach is slightly browned and the cheese is all melted.
Enjoy!
Pastel de espinaca is one of my favorite dishes from my childhood. I am so glad my mom made it for me for lunch today, and she used my great grandmother’s recipe (even though nothing is written down unfortunately). I will ask my mom to show me how she makes it, so I can try and post a recipe in a later blog post.
This spinach pie uses two kinds of cheeses – munster and parmesan. There is no crust, but that does not deter from the cheesy awesomeness of this pastel. I think I just turned into Popeye.
I saw one of my friends the other day, and she took me to Caffe Noi. I was so grateful that she not only picked the place but chose a good one. (Even though I love food, I can be so indecisive!)
This cute cafe has a relaxing ambiance and serves up some mean cappuccinos! I ordered a chicken sandwich with avocado (it reminded me of a panini), and my friend ordered a Greek omelette. My sandwich was delicious, and my friend’s omelette looked really good. Both of our dishes came with a side salad. The vinaigrette on the salad was awesome, and I am pretty sure it had orange in it. Got to get my vitamin C somehow.
I discovered this Japanese restaurant on the lower east side over the summer but never actually ate here. At the entrance of Robataya, there are Japanese chefs preparing food and a long table where diners can eat and watch the spectacle.
The other room of this restaurant is really pretty, nice, and relaxing (sorry, I am no expert when it comes to decor). The menu at Robataya is far from the norm when it comes to Japanese restaurants that I have been to in NYC, but the food is superb.
My parents and I shared a number of appetizers and a couple of rice dishes which our server recommended. This is definitely a place to check out, though it is on the pricey side.
Lightly fried asparagus and fish paste with rice cracker and toasted pine nuts. This was my favorite appetizer – so innovative and just delicious!
Mackerel-pressed sushi – the presentation of this dish was fantastic, and the sushi tasted even better.
Fluke sashimi – this was my least favorite because the fish was too salty.
Japanese yam wrapped in nori seaweed – the yam was slightly crunchy, and I love seaweed.
Mochi rice cake wrapped in seaweed – this looked very similar to the yams, but had a very different taste. The mochi had a gummy texture and were oh so yummy (look at me trying to rhyme. I’m such a natural poet). Until yesterday, I had only tried sweet mochi, but I really like these savory ones.
Kamemashi – a rice dish cooked in a small pot. Our server recommended this dish to us, so we ordered a Kamemashi with chicken and one with mushrooms (the one in the picture).
Here is how the Kamemashi were served to us.
Bowl of Kamemashi with chicken on one side and mushrooms on the other (I forget which side was which).
Food Follower 