Not Too Sweet

Big Apple BBQ

2009-06-11T11:43:00.006-04:00

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that this weekend is BIG APPLE BBQ it is held in Madison Square Park! Sadly, I won't make it this year, but I still suggest everyone get out there for some ribs and pulled pork sandwiches. It is one of the best weekends in the city and the weather is going to be perfect mid 70's not a cloud in the sky. So get out there and enjoy the best bbq from across the country. I know Max will be there (shout out) so grab you drinking and eating hats and get ready to get messy. A word to the wise, don't wear you Sunday best because Bar-B-Que sauce will fly.

Fajjjjjitas!

2009-06-01T11:58:00.019-04:00

As if I hadn't eaten enough on RoadTrip2k9, when I got home my sister was here. SO being that we were both exhausted from late nights and lots of cocktails, we ordered NY Style Pizza. Eug and I went to pick it up from Pizza 33. It was as good as always. I love their pepperoni with extra red chili flakes and tons of parm. Then to just end the week with a bang, Eugene and I made Fajitas. Fajita bowls to be exact. It was my attempt to be a little bit healthy after a lot of food and drink.

I have recently developed a major crush on Tyler Florence. Before going away I saw his Cinco de Mayo special which had what looked to be an amazing marinade for steak fajitas. And it was!

Here I am in my new apron courtesy of Becca! Its monogrammed if you cant tell!

Ingredients:

1 orange, juiced
2 limes, juiced
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3 chipolte chiles, in adobo sauce
3 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 pounds skirt or flank steak, trimmed of fat cut into thirds or 8-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
Lime juice, olive oil, optional
Brown rice and beans
Avocado
Pico De Gallo
Good quality store bought salsa

How to:
1. In a small 2 cup measuring cup, or something similar size and shape, combine all the marinade ingredients. Using an immersion blender, puree the marinade until smooth. Transfer to a re-sealable plastic bag and add the steak, seal and shake to coat. Refrigerate the beef for 2 to 4 hours to tenderize and flavor the beef. I did not use the immersion blender and it worked our perfectly. Be careful not to marinate the beef for too long because the citrus will start to "cook" the meat as done in our ceviche.

2.Boil water for rice and beans. Follow instructions on box of rice. Rinse beans thoroughly and add to cooked rice.

Preheat a ridged grill pan on high heat.

Drain the marinade from the beef. We left some of the marinade with the beef and then drained as we went. Lightly oil the grill or grill pan. Season liberally with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Grill the steak over medium-high heat and cook for 4 minutes on each side and then transfer to a cutting board and let rest. Depending on the size of your grill pan you may need to cook in batches.

3. Once the beef is off the grill pan and resting, add the bell peppers and onions tossed with lime juice and olive oil, if using. Grill the mixture for 7 to 8 minutes until the vegetables are just barely limp.
3. Thinly slice the steak against the grain on a diagonal. To make a fajita bowl, we started with lettuce.
4. Then added rice and beans.
5. Then add veggies.
6. Then add avocado.7. Then add steak.
8. Then cheese, sour cream and pico de gallo or salsa.These turned out amazingly well! It is really important to cut the meat against the grain so it isnt chewy and hard to eat. They were a healthy alternative to the mexican I craved. I also added Gator Sauce once I started eating for a little extra bite. Delic!

Road Trip!

2009-05-18T13:32:00.014-04:00

Ali and I just got back from the best trip ever! We drove the CA coast from San Fransisco to San Diego stopping at only the best places and then jet set over to The Big Easy for a whirlwind weekend with the Grodnick clan for Leah's graduation (not my Leah).

The most notable stops included:
-Leah's in Berkeley-Stinson Beach- great picnic!-Downtown-Seals near Big Sur- It was very cold and windy!-SB- the 7 hours stretch that took us down the coast! Ali got a farmers tan and I burned my scalp:(
In LA:
-Melrose Place- the apartment complex not the street (no group shot, so sad!)-El Cholo- best fajitas ever!
-Flip Cup Tournament- Team Mustang SALLY
In San Diego
-the zoo-we didn't get to feed the Giraffes because it was a weekday, but it was still worth it!-La Puerta Tequila Bar-awesome tacos and tequila! According to Bill the bartender, you should order Patron, Don Julio is much better for the same price:)-the beach, where we opted to dine on fish tacos and margaritas instead of indulging our athetic sides and surfing
Our next stop was New Orleans where we ate and drank ourselves silly at:
-Patois
-Cafe Amelie-MMMMMMufuletta Antoines- Traditional NOLA restaurant. We saw all of the Queens of Mardigras crowns and the Fishman room
-Pat O's-Piano Bar with the Grodnicks, Mary and Sally, it was raining cats and dogs!
-Galatoires- THANK YOU DADDY DAVE!

We really ate well! Hands down the worst meal we had on our trip/the worst we meal we have had in a while was at Osteria. It was HORRIBLE and really expensive!
We had a blast though. Fighting through sunburned scalps we were able to eat some of the tastiest food and be with some of our favorite people!

Cinco de Mayo- Ceviche Style

2009-05-05T12:46:00.013-04:00

I freaking love ceviche! I love it! I get so frustrated when I see it on menus though because its so expensive for so little! I always want to order it because it sounds so good you know its not enough for a meal and you also know that its about times more expensive than everyone else's appetizer. So making it at home is the best solution. I bought all of the ingredients for under $30 and Eugene and I had enough ceviche to last us days. I mean days, seriously.

I followed the same recipe that I got from the cooking class at ICE. Only this time I actually let it marinate over night...

Ingredients:

1 lb of small shrimp, deveined
1 lb of bay scallops (or any type of scallops, just cut them into bite size pieces)
Juice of 6 to 8 limes
6 to 8 stems of fresh thyme
1/2 cup finlet chopped red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green or red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp chopped parsley
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish

How to:

Cut shrimp, if necessary, into pieces the same size as the scallops. Place shrimp and scallops in glass bowl
Combine the lime juice, thyme, red onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Add to the shrimp and scallops. Stir to combine well. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours (or no more than over night)**
Turn the ceviche a few times during the marination period
To serve, add parsley, olive oil, and diced tomatoes and mix to combine. Transfer to a serving dish with a slotted spoon and garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs

** If you cannot let the shrimp/scallops marinate overnight flash cook them for 30-45seconds and remove into ice water.

I like to serve ceviche with either corn chips or plain lightly salted popcorn to add a little crunch.

Banana Bread with a Low Fat Twist!

2009-05-01T11:19:00.011-04:00

Mmmmm mmmmm, Banana Bread! For some reason I am never able to finish a bunch of bananas. Its the weirdest thing, I love bananas. Everything banana flavored, everything banana colored! But I always have some left over. So on this lovely afternoon, I decided to turn my left over bruised bananas into Banana Bread instead of letting them sit on the counter until they were brown and attracting fruit flies.

After a little research I came across Joy the Baker's Blog. Her recipe for low fat banana oat bread was amazing. I didn't follow her recipe verbatim because without fail, I mess up when I bake. I never remember to read ahead or follow the exact measurements, but even without the egg white folding she suggests on her site, this bread was baked to perfection! Julie Childs would have been proud!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp canola or walnut oil
1 large egg, beaten
2 medium egg whites, beaten
3 large bananas, ripe
1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats

How to:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients including the oats and cinnamon.
In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add oil and whole egg and mix thoroughly.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Batter will be fairly thick.
Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes. Slice loaf into 10 equally sized slices.

This banana bread really was delicious! Sometimes when I am feeling a little crazy I put a little whipped cream cheese on it for breakfast, so I get some savory and sweet. I also went out of town for the weekend right after I made it, so I cut it into individual slices and froze them. I enjoyed a defrosted slice this morning!

A bush grows in Chelsea

2009-04-30T12:56:00.008-04:00

Yesterday I spent the morning in the prep kitchen at God's Love and then to Trader Joe's. On the way home, I stopped in the Union Square Green Market and took a look at some fresh herbs.

I made the mistake of buying the first ones I came across. If I had been a little more patient and a little less tired from carrying my groceries, I would have stumbled upon some great herb gardens for window sills. They had window sill gardens in pretty pots with 4-6 herbs for $20-$30. Instead I came home with these two small potted plants ($6 for both, good deal just not as pretty)- rosemary and English thyme. The rosemary I have used twice since purchasing yesterday afternoon, the thyme will come in handy when I make chicken parm tonight. I have been debating growing herbs on my window sill for some time now. Primarily b/c I always waste about 90% of the fresh herbs I buy- they are sold in bulk. Herbs really don't keep that long in the fridge. One great way to make them last, aside from growing them of course :), is to mince them, measure them into teaspoon servings, and place them into an ice tray with a little bit of water. So the next time you need a little rosemary or oregano, all you have to do is drop the allotted amount of ice cubes needed into the pot and voilà fresh herbs. (Don't forget to account for the additional water being added to the recipe from the ice melting).

I also have some tomato seeds I would like to plant, so I think I might go to a hardware store and buy a larger pot so I can expand my NYC "garden."

Turkey Burger Heaven

2009-04-23T17:11:00.015-04:00

Yesterday I decided to make dinner for Eug. Ali and I went to Trader Joe's on Tuesday afternoon for a shop and I picked up a whole lot of goods including ground turkey, spawning the idea for turkey burgers. I did some research on recipes. I actually liked Off the Broiler the most, though I didnt really follow the recipe from this site I did like the inclusion of onions, garlic and mustard into the patty itself. Plus the pictures were a nice guide. So my burgers turned out to be one of a kind- they almost tasted like beef! For the meal, I made spiced turkey burgers topped with pickled onions, home fries and a big green salad with lemon and olive oil dressing. The salad was not eaten, but I enjoyed it today for lunch!

For the potatoes I used small red potatoes and thanks to my birthday present I didn't have to to slice or dice anything- thank you Cuisinart Pro! You have made my life oh so much easier. I threw in the potatoes, garlic and onion into the food processor and then they went straight into the pan.
Ingredients:

1lb of small red potatoes
1 small/medium red onion
4 cloves of garlic
lots of salt and pepper
2 dashes of red chili flakes
1/2-3/4 cups of olive oil (maybe more, you just need to lightly glaze all of the potatoes)
a few dashes of cayenne, old bay or any spice you like

How to:

If you are lucky enough to have a food processor, use it to slice the potatoes, garlic and onion. If not, slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices and finely dice the garlic and onions.
Place the mix in a bowl and add the seasoning
Put the frying pan on mid-to-high heat and fry away. Just keep an eye on them
I like them very crispy and a little burned, so I cook them for about 30 minutes while I work on the rest of the meal
Serve with breakfast, lunch or dinner. Ketchup is a nice side, but great alone too!

Pickled Onions:

1 cup red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (optional)
1 small red onion, halved and very thinly sliced

How to:

Whisk vinegar, brown sugar, salt and allspice in a medium glass bowl.
Alternatively, bring the mixture to a boil in a small saucepan on the stove. Add onions and toss to coat.
Put them in the fridge to chill

The Burger:

Ingredients:

1 pound 93%-lean ground turkey
1/2 red onion (minced)
1 tsp of lemon zest
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1-to-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 dallop of mustard

How to:

Place all ingredients in a bowl and combine.
Refrigerate for 20 minutes
Make into 3-4 patties
Spray the pan and fry each side for about 6 minutes
Make sure to cook all of the way through, turkey, just like any poultry, shouldn't be eaten under cooked

Burger toppings:

Bun (lightly toasted)
Swiss cheese (or Eug did a cheese combo)
Pickles
Pickled onions
Honey mustard (preferably mustard cup)
Ketchup
Tomato (on a side note, below are pictures of the weirdest tomato ever! I have never seen anything like this and think it must be a mutant, so obviously Eug and I both had to try it. If I die today, at least I was well fed)

The burger almost looks like beef. The trick is you need to add oil and maybe egg whites to keep the turkey moist. Always a tricky feat.

Cuban Surf and Turf

2009-04-08T17:50:00.013-04:00

For Eug's birthday I signed us up for a course at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). It was a Cuban Surf 'N' Turf class. Aside from there being a few too many people in the class we really had a blast. The number of people factored in because they divided up the cooking, which prevented us from having our hands in too many pots, so to speak. At the end of course we all sat down to a family style dinner enjoying the food and the cocktails, as well as some wine.

The menu included:
Ceviche de Camarones y Vieira de Bahia
Ropa Vieja
Pescado Enchilado
Picadillo a la Habanera
Frijoles Negros
Arroz Amarillo
Yucca al Mojo
Tostones
Ensalada de Aguacate y Pimento
Flan de Leche
Mojito

I will give you the highlights:
Ceviche:

1 lb of small shrimp, deveined
1 lb of bay scallops
Juice of 6 to 8 limes
6 to 8 stems of fresh thyme
1/2 cup finlet chopped red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green or red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp chopped parsley
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish

Cut shrimp, if necessary, into pieces the same size as the scallops. Place shrimp and scallops in glass bowl
Combine the lime juice, thyme, red onion, garlic, and bell pepered. Add to the shrimp and scallops. Stir to combine well. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours (or no more than over night)**
Turn the ceviche a few times during the marination period
To serve, add parsley, olive oil, and diced tomatoes and mix to combine. Transfer to a serving dish with a slotted spoon and garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs

** If you cannot let the shrimp/scallops marinate overnight flash cook them for 30-45seconds and remove into ice water.Above is the red snapper we didnt get to contribute too, but the recipe is relatively easy. Contact me if you want it... And now onto the most fun creation of the evening... The Mojito!

Mojito- my version (makes 1):

Splenda (or brown sugar)
3 ounces white rum
1 lime cut into chunks for muddling
6-8 mint leaves
Club soda
additional mint for garnish

Add mint, lime, and sugar into a glass
Add rum and muddle
Add club soda and mint sprigs

Shaken it up with Pad Thai

2009-03-25T14:47:00.007-04:00

Yesterday I went to Trader Joe's. The trick about that place is going at off hours, which I can do while unemployed. Tuesdays before noon are always easy, so after some early morning errands I embarked on a journey to the eastern edges of Union Square. While waiting in the checkout line that only snaked through one extra aisle, I stumbled upon a box of Pad Thai. The box included noodles and sauce. It sounded simple enough. Also I recently purchased a wok and have yet to use it, so I thought it would be a good excuse to break it out. For my Pad Thai I added extra ingredients that the box didnt call for, but it turned out fantastic. It also happens to be wheat/gluten free so Becca was able to enjoy it as well!

Ingredients:

Noodles (provided)
Sauce (provided)
1-2 eggs
Protein of choice (tofu, chicken, prawns)
1/2 cups of assorted mushrooms (finely sliced)
1/4 cup of Snap peas (ends snipped off)
1/4 cup of peanuts (crushed)
1/2 cup bean sprouts
Sriracha hot sauce (to taste)
Crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Lime wedges for serving

Boil 2 cups of water for noodles, cook noodles for 3-5 minutes or until soft but slightly firm on the inside
Rinse noodles for 30 second under cold water, set aside
In wok or frying pan, put 1 tbsp of veggie oil. Add well beaten egg(s) and cook until scrambled. Set aside.
Add remaining two tbsp of veggie oil to wok. Add mushrooms, snap peas, and protein. Cook 5-7 minutes or until mushrooms and protein are cooked through
Add noodles and sauce and cook until all sauce has been absorbed
Add egg, crushed peanuts and sprouts
Add Sriracha, pepper flakes and salt and pepper as needed
Serve hot!

This actually turned out to be delicious, again the lighting stinks for the picture. But if this was waiting for you to eat, you probably wouldn't take the time to photograph it let alone prep the photo shoot. Mm mmm!

Roasted Lemon Chicken and Tomatoes

2009-03-23T14:09:00.005-04:00

On Sunday I decided I really wanted to cook after watching several episodes of Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa. She is my absolute favorite. Not only does she love her food, but she is an untrained chef who just loves what she does. Always fresh ingredients and always lots of butter! Can't beat that! So I roasted the tomatoes according to Ina's roasted tomato caprese recipe:

Ingredients:

12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds (not cores) removed
1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 basil leaves (julienned)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer.
Drizzle with olive oil and the balsamic vinegar.
Sprinkle with the garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Roast for 45 minutes until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramelize.
Sprinkle them with basil and Parmesan and serve. Enjoy!

For the Chicken I was also inspired by Ina, but I took my own route. I decided to use a lemon pepper on the chicken to give it a little more flavor. It worked out. One thing I want to reinforce that Ina swears by, is using chicken breasts (thighs, etc) that still have the bone and skin on. Though I end up pealing the skin off at the end if really keeps the moisture locked into the chicken during the roasting process.

Ingredients:

Chicken with bone and skin (1 to 2 pieces per person)
Lemon pepper
Cracked black pepper
Salt
Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 350
Place chicken on baking sheet, skin side up
Generously cover chicken with olive oil, lemon pepper, salt and pepper
Roast for 35-40 minutes
Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin.

My pictures doesn't give this meal justice, I need to work on my lighting and presentation!

HOOTIE who!!!

2009-03-11T10:38:00.023-04:00

So yesterday was a big day! Yoga, job interview, Mexican, Tejano music by Calexico, Hootie and the Blow Fish's lead singer Darius Rucker. The day just kept getting better and better. I'll skip to the good stuff- dinner. I went over to the boys' apartment on Leroy to enjoy a Mexican feast. Jimbo and Eug did the shopping and most of the cooking- chicken and steak fajitas and nachos. Mm mmm. Jimbo marinated the chicken in lime and cooked it in the frying pan along with a side of peppers and onions. Eug seasoned the steak and cooked it in a frying pan. Oh and important side note, garlic butter is fantastic addition to the fajitas! Probably to anything! I was allowed to assist in making the guacamole- according Stephanie March (from Law and Order SVU) it is pronounced wokamole. My advice is put all of the ingredients in large bowl before mixing them together to avoid smooth guacamole.

Ingredients (serves 5):

5 Avocado (keep 3 pits to prevent guacamole from browning, 1 avocado per person should do it)
1 medium red onion
3 Roma tomatoes
1 lime
2 jalapenos
cilantro to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Halve the avocados, scoop out with a spoon and place in large bowl
Squeeze lime over the avocado to prevent browning
Finely chop onion, tomatoes and jalapeno, place in bowl
Add salt and pepper and cilantro to taste
Mix with a fork until desired consistency
Enjoy on fajitas and nachos!

So the best part of the night was going to City Winery to enjoy Calexico and a guest appearance by Darius Rucker! He was great- who doesn't love Hootie?! And at the end of the show, I said F it and approached him. And then went back up to him and took a picture with Eug's iphone. The lightening was pretty bad in the venue so Hootie, I mean Darius, suggested we go outside to take the pic. I think I'm in love! And not to toot my own horn, but it's my blog so I will, he said I was stunning. What a night! Oh and at City Winery they have great music and really good wine in a wide range of prices. We bought a Pinot Noir from Chile called Veranda. It was great and inexpensive even considering the mark up. Well it was a great night, so thank you to the Leroy gents and to Calexico for bringing me and Darius together.

Volunteering in the City

2009-03-09T14:09:00.003-04:00

On Sunday, Eug and I spent the afternoon working at God's Love We Deliver. We were set up with the project through NY Cares. Since I moved here I have been talking about volunteering and with my current status of unemployed, I am able to not only talk about it but actually do it. I am really happy they made the connection for me. I will definitely volunteer at God's Love again and definitely with NY Cares again. NY Cares enables people to volunteer in all sectors of the city from children to seniors food to sports to arts and crafts. Really an amazing program! From 1:30-4:30 we chopped onions, bags and bags of onions. There was sweat, blood, and a lot of TEARS. Seriously. Those onions really kicked my butt.

Moroccan Chicken Sandwich and Chipotle Tomato Soup

2009-03-09T13:21:00.003-04:00

It was a very eventful cooking week for me- I made the risotto on Thursday and on Tuesday I made Moroccan Chicken Sandwiches and Chipotle Tomato Soup. I neglected to take pictures of the soup sandwich combo, so you will just have to trust me- they were good. Eugene kindly photographed me chopping onions in my sunglasses because I cry like a baby as soon my knife breaks the skin. I am hesitant to post this photo because its a little frightening, but blogging is not fun without proof!

Ingredients for the sammy's:

chicken breast
ciabatta rolls
lemon
harissa
cajun spice
cayenne/chili powder
2 tbsp of butter
2 tbsp of olive oil (more for grilling the chicken)
3 cloves of garlic ( 3 finely chopped for garlic butter)
tzatziki-esq sauce: Fage yogurt (1 medium container), 2 kirby cucumbers (finely chopped), crumbled feta, dill, mint, garlic (2 cloves finely chopped) S&P to taste

1. Cut chicken breast into thin pieces
2. Create lemon/harissa mix and shake into chicken breast
3. Rub with cajun/cayenne mix
4. Grill chicken
5. Toast bread with garlic butter
6. Make sauce and spread on both sides of the bread
7. Compile the sandwich and enjoy!

Tomato Soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped *LESS
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chipotles in adobo sauce *MORE
3 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, in purée (with basil)
3 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth *LESS
3/4 cup cream (or milk) *LESS

1. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. When hot, add the olive oil, then add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, roasted red peppers, adobo sauce (and peppers, if using), and season with salt and pepper. Cook another two minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Pour the juice from the tomato cans into the pot, using your hands or a wooden spoon to hold the tomatoes in. Using your hands, break apart the tomatoes in each can, and add them to the pot as well. Add the broth, season again with salt and pepper, and stir to combine all the ingredients. Bring the soup to a slow simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Carefully puree the soup in a blender or food processor in small batches (or using an immersion blender) until completely smooth, and transfer the soup to a clean pot. Add the cream or milk and season with additional salt or pepper, if necessary. Serve hot.

http://www.cookthink.com/recipe/7965/Smoky_Winter_Tomato_Soup

Squash Mushroom Risotto

2009-03-05T18:53:00.002-05:00

Today I made Butternut squash and Leek Risotto. However, I didn't have any leeks in the apartment, so I used a white onion and added mushrooms. It was pretty easy, considering all of the terrifying reports I have heard about making risotto. I used a recipe I found on slashfood and followed it to Epicurious. I halved it and there was still enough for 4 servings.

1 medium butternut squash (about 1 pound), peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups (about) chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1 medium/small white onion, finely chopped
7-10 button mushrooms (or any type of mushroom), finely chopped
1 clove of garlic
1 cups arborio rice or medium-grain rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tbsps of butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 400, place squash on a baking sheet. Toss them in olive oil and salt and pepper. I also added a little brown sugar. Cook time approx. 40 minutes
Simmer 3 cups of chicken broth in a sauce pan
Simmer 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large sauce pan, add onions, mushrooms and garlic. Simmer at a low to medium heat.
When onion mix is soft, not browned, add rice stirring constantly, about 1 minute
Add white wine, simmer until completely absorbed; approximately 2 minutes
Add 1/2 cup of stock, stirring frequently until completely absorbed
Add remaining stock 1/2 cup at a time making sure each serving is completely absorbed before adding another- stirring frequently the entire time takes about 20-25 minutes
Add squash, butter, Rosemary and Parmesan until mixed in.
Serve hot and ENJOY!

Chili Cook Off

2009-02-11T10:33:00.002-05:00

Today is post numero uno for Not Too Sweet. Its an important day because I am going to the Union Square Market to get locally grown onions and other veggies for the Spring Lounge Chili cook off this weekend. Then I'm going to Bonnie Slotnick's Cookbook store in the West Village to investigate old recipes. Bonnie's turned out to be a great success- not only did she give me several chili cook books to scan through and take notes, I bought one. It's a real gem! Chilis called Volcano and Tear Jerker, should make Sunday's festivities very interesting. The market was not as successful as it usually is, but there were tons of delicious pickeled veggies- I tried peprika pickled okra, not something I would usually grab but it was delicious! So I bought a jar. There were also lots of baked goods, fresh apples and hot apple cider. Not as many veggies as I was hoping for- slim pickings in the onions, beets and mushroom front.

We won People's Choice and Second place all around in the chili cook off!
Ingredients

Spices: cumin, mustard seed, chili, cayenne, paprika (smoked), rosemary
Meats: ground chuck (trimmed), sausage (linguica),
Veggies, etc: onion, garlic, chipotles (in adobo), kidney beans, canned tomatoes (Muir Glen fire roasted), beef stock, beer (Negra Modelo), tomato paste
Toppings: sour cream, shredded cheese, scallions

Prep
chop onion, garlic and chipotle
mix cumin, mustard seed, chili, cayenne and paprika (or use store-bought chili powder)
remove sausage from casing, chop/crumble, mix with ground beef, salt and pepper

Recipe
1. sweat onions in a pan, add garlic and rosemary when onions are translucent, then add chipotles and some adobo
2. transfer some of the mixture into a pot on medium heat and add tomatoes, leaving some in the pan to flavor the meat
3. brown meat in batches in the pan, adding beer/broth and spices as needed
** meat clumps as it's browned, so use a processor/blender to pulse/puree the browned meat to control size/texture **
4. transfer browned (and pureed) meat into the pot and allow to simmer for 2-4hrs, stirring occasionally
5. stir in tomato paste and beer/broth if needed to achieve desired thickness
6. add rinsed kidney beans an hour before you plan to stop simmering
** over-night refrigerating isn't critical, but definitely improves the flavor **

Linguica
- Garden of Eden (14th street & 23rd street)
- M&O's Deli, Prince street

http://www.chilicookoff.com/Winner/WC_2008.asp
http://www.slashfood.com/2006/01/22/food-quest-nicks-famous-coney-island-chili-recipe/
http://www.cinchili.com/recipes.html
http://www.slashfood.com/2005/12/21/cooking-with-beer-green-chili/
http://www.slashfood.com/2007/01/24/linguica-chili/