Oakdale Grilled Cheese
On a recent trip to the west coast, my family took me on a road trip around the Sierra foothills region. On the recommendation of my Aunt’s friend – we stopped at the Oakdale Cheese Factory for a$2.99 Grilled Gouda Cheese sandwich and it was everything she promised it would be- gooey and delicious! » Continue Reading…
Pastosa Pizza
Yum…. After a rainy afternoon touring Staten Island pizza spots, Frank introduced me to his favorite specialty Italian food store, Pastosa’s Ravioli—a third generation owned family business. Starting out 40 years ago in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Anthony G. Ajello saw the gap in the market for ravioli made with high quality cheeses and other ingredients. Now the family has 11 stores across the tri-state area selling olives, sauces, smoked meats, cheeses as well as other Italian imports.
We all have a few dishes we can cook consistently well, and one of Cheryl’s is definitely polenta. It’s inexpensive, tasty and easily complements what’s in season, including these Hen of the Woods mushrooms we found at the local farmer market. Hen of the Woods mushrooms are expensive, but are certainly worth a try – they taste very “earthy” and don’t require too much work – just chop up the mushroom into little stems (kind of like cauliflower/broccoli) and fry in some butter. Brown on both sides and you’re ready to add them to your dish.
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It’s been a while since we’ve posted some food-related work, but we promise – we’re back! We actually just worked on the apartment and added a ton of stuff to our kitchen – we even got some proper cocktail equipment so stay tuned for some drink recipes soon!
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Stuffed Mushrooms
These are two very simple dishes, but complex in flavor. The idea for the brussel sprout salad came to us after we purchased the mandolin and started shredding everything. My new favorite salad is shaved brussel sprouts, walnuts, Pecorino Romano cheese with a lemon olive oil vinaigrette. I like Sebicca’s flavored olive oils based out in “the breadbasket” of northern California.
Salmon
Flushing Queens is a huge melting pot of cultures and has a multitude of groceries to suit everyone – especially those who have an eye for produce and are on a budget. On a recent trip to the neighborhood, our friends Harry and Becka picked up a huge piece of really fresh salmon as well as spinach, mushroom and garlic shoots from one of the Chinese markets. Here is a good list of places to visit in Flushing. » Continue Reading…
If you’re cooking a recipe that takes longer than 40 minutes, there’s no better accompaniment than roasted vegetables. Even as a full meal, winter vegetables are a great way to have a healthy lunch or dinner. We tend to add some grains like quinoa, couscous, or brown rice.
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Near the Williamsburg-Greenpoint border, among the industrial buildings that represent the last few factories in the area, is an amazing source for smoked fish – aptly named, Acme Smoked Fish.
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Cured Salmon with Quinoa
Sometimes you can’t make everything from scratch so you have to rely on your local food market. I’m lucky to live near a great shop called Choice Greene (the sister to Choice Market around the corner). While I generally stop by there for their meat, cheese and bread selection, I was running late for dinner and decided to grab some fish.
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