Imperial Woodpecker Sno-Balls

As much as I love ice cream, gelato, and frozen yogurt, having a dairy-based dessert in the middle of a heat wave tends to make me feel ill. So I was pretty eager to try out Imperial Woodpecker Sno-Balls, the West Village's pop-up snow ball shop.

  

Overwhelmed by all the flavor choices (a feeling that's not surprising given my tendency to have a panic attack when faced with a decision of any sort), I settled on Key Lime Pie. Fun neon color, WAY too sweet. Probably not helped by the addition of condensed milk. (And here I was complaining about dairy in my frozen desserts.)

 

Their snow-balls are pricey ($4 for a small), their syrups are extremely sweet (the word syrup should have tipped me off, right?) but finishing one is guaranteed to bring your body temperature down a few degrees and it's sort of fun to walk around eating something this strange looking.

 

You'd think my initial review of this place would keep me from going back . . . but I already have. Am I crazy for paying $4 for a pile of sugar ice I didn't love the first time? Potentially. But I do live in New York where I pay about 45% of my net income to sleep in a closet-sized bedroom, so maybe crazy is my middle name. Anyway, my second go--granny smith apple sans condensed milk--was much better than the first. 

Bag Lunch: Orzo Salad

I gleaned most of my cooking skills from logging hours of watching the Food Network. This recipe came from an episode of Everyday Italian I watched in college, and it is so reliably delicious that I still make it, more than five years later.

I modified things a bit to work with what I had, so there was no mint in my salad, I added chicken, and used a store-bought balsamic vinaigrette. But, if you have the time, I definitely recommend making the red wine vinaigrette that's part of the recipe. There was just something missing from my salad without the zing of the red wine vinegar.

Since I ate this salad all week, I kept a large container of the orzo, chickpeas, onion, and chicken in the fridge and each day added tomatoes, basil, and dressing to the portion I planned to eat for lunch. Cut tomatoes get mealy fast, chopped basil and mint will turn brown after a while, and dressing will make orzo (or any pasta, for that matter) soggy when it sits too long, so either eat this salad right away or keep the delicate ingredients separate!

Here's the salad looking much more attractive in the natural light. My kitchen makes everything a sickly yellow.

Prime Meats

Brunch is definitely one of my favorite things about living in Brooklyn. Each neighborhood is littered with delicious options, each quirkier and cozier than the next. One of my favorite places (aside from my number one, Miriam) is Prime Meats. Their egg sandwich is my go to. You can get it with their excellent bacon or sausage, but I was feeling "healthy" that day, so I opted for avocado.

 

Buttery biscuit, perfectly ripe avocado, creamy scrambled egg, and melted cheese (with a dash or seven of Cholula hot sauce--a condiment I keep in my desk drawer I love it so much). Heaven. The only downside was the enormous biscuit. How could I possibly take a bite without ruining my beautiful sandwich?

Not being a fan of inefficiency or waste (particularly of a very delicious biscuit) I sliced the top part in two and enjoyed a post-egg sandwich snack of biscuit . . .

. . . dipped in honey. Free dessert!

Bag Lunch: Quinoa Steak Salad

My work lunches are often inspired by meals I've eaten out that I know I can recreate successfully at home. This salad is one of my first attempts at a remake, so I can't offer a precise recipe. Also, because I'm a single woman and have never used this recipe to entertain, I don't have any concept of how much you'll need of any of these ingredients to satisfy a family or your really hungry boyfriend/fiance/husband. Here's what I think could feed two people, but what I lived on for a week's worth of lunch:

• Prepare a cup of quinoa per instructions on the box
  

• Sear a piece of steak on a hot cast iron skillet for 4-5 minutes on each side and let rest for 10 minutes

• Slice (or chop) a handful of dried apricots

• Dice half a red onion

• Toss apricot, a handful of dried cranberries, and onion with quinoa

• Slice steak, and dress quinoa mixture with lime vinaigrette (I like Newman's Own, but it's hard to find, so you can either make it from scratch or use something like balsamic)
  

• Serve quinoa and steak over arugula

For work, I pack everything in a glass tupperware in layers (quinoa mixture, dressing, steak, arugula) and then dump it all out into a bigger container at work. That way the arugula stays crisp and I don't have to worry about packing an extra container of dressing (or having said container of dressing open up in my lunch pail. Yes, I typed lunch pail.).
I know it sounds somewhat unusual, but nutty quinoa, juicy steak, peppery arugula, sweet dried fruit, spicy onion, and tangy lime vinaigrette make this dish hugely satisfying. I need flavorful lunches or I'll get bored and start supplementing my diet with candy from my colleague's stash down the hall.

Here's what it will probably look like when you make it.

And here it is moments before entering my hungry face.

Baked: Chocolate Cream Pie

I've been baking since I was ten (no, not with an EasyBake Oven), but until recently I'd only made apple and pumpkin. After successfully making blueberry and strawberry pies with my friend Katie a few weeks ago, I felt inspired to try something new for the Fourth of July. It didn't take long to decide on Epicurious's Chocolate Cream Pie. Thank you, Cherish, for the suggestion!

Let me immediately start by confessing that I used a pre-made Oreo crust. I did this not really to save time (though it did), but to save money (a whopping $1.40) and to save myself from doing extra dishes (at least five). Below you'll find (almost) all the ingredients you'll need to make two delicious pies, but the star of this show is the Chocolate Cream. Here's the glorious chocolate pudding. Let's just say this bowl and whisk were licked clean once the pie was chilling in the fridge. Since the crust was pre-made, all I had to do after making the chocolate pudding filling was whip cream, and plop both in the shell. (Notice the shaved chocolate. It's a diversion tactic to keep you from noticing that I over whipped the cream in a moment of distraction.)
There's a bit of stove-top preparation in this recipe, but given the fact that you have to chill it for six hours, it's the perfect cool and creamy summer dessert and one I will definitely make again (but probably won't share with anyone, because it's just that good).

Taqueria "Juquilita"

I was visiting my friends in DC last weekend when someone suggested we check out an "authentic Mexican" place. Being from California and living on the East Coast, I'm always eager to try out new Mexican places, so I was especially intrigued by Taqueria "Juquilita" a restaurant that's only open Saturdays and Sunday from 7 am to 7 pm.

It was immediately apparent that we were going to experience something out of the ordinary when the keys to the apartment building the "restaurant" is in were thrown to us out of the second story window. With a hesitant look back at the humid DC afternoon, my friends and I ventured inside.

The interior of the building reminded me of my first New York apartment in Washington Heights (a tad dingy with a certain eau d'funk), and the room our food was prepared and served in was decorated with Virgin Mary statues, garish Christmas decor, and countless bottles of knockoff CK One. I have no idea what the quote marks in their name are about, or what the space looks like during the week, but it doesn't really matter, because we were in for a surprisingly delicious meal.

I love sauces! Score one for Taqueria Juquilita was seeing these cerarmic dishes of salsa lined up on our table. And by "our table" I mean the only table in the place.I had their horchata to drink, which, though a bit more watery than I'm used to, was still really delicious and refreshing. Horchata is a sweetened rice drink. I know, I make it sound really great, but it is! If you like iced chai, you'll like horchata.
Chicken mole tamale. The masa was moist, the chicken was well-seasoned, and I was happy. Even though it could have stood alone on its own, I dressed mine up with guacamole and radish slices (not shown here). The tamale didn't last long after that.
Chipotle chicken tostada. This was probably the most attractive thing I ordered, but unfortunately the chipotle sauce was a bit too sweet. Nothing some salsa couldn't fix, though. The tostada's tender chicken, crisp lettuce, creamy beans, and crunchy shell, were very, very satisfying.
Beef and cactus taco. The pallid color of the beef was a little off-putting (I like a little char, personally), but this didn't alter the flavor, and the cactus gave the taco an interesting texture. Cactus isn't a super adventurous ingredient like, say, beef tongue, but it is something interesting to try, if you haven't.
Squash blossom quesadilla. I. Love. Squash Blossoms. They are so delicate—in both taste and texture. Quesadillas aren't my favorite preparation for squash blossoms (I love them stuffed and fried), but this dish paired them with a salty, ropey white cheese which made a really tasty combination. The best part of the meal (aside from being with friends) was that we only paid $10 each for awesome food and a priceless experience. I mean, how many people have eaten out of an apartment restaurant?

Bag Lunch: Chicken Souvlaki

Living in New York and working in publishing could sound glamorous, but the reality is that I live in an extremely expensive city on very little money (think Friends when Rachel was a waitress, except I don't have a closet, a dinosaur-loving boyfriend who can pay for everything, or an apartment in the Village that's rent-controlled). I'm a pretty creative person, though, (read: penny-pinching) and make it a point to keep things interesting for myself by creating delicious bag lunches. I have some more involved posts brewing, but for now, take a peek into my lunch bag.

This week (and, I confess, last's week's) meal is chicken "souvlaki." Why the quotes? Because I'm pretty sure any recipe for souvlaki that you copy out of Real Simple magazine isn't going to be considered authentic Greek. That being said, this is an inexpensive, fast, and (most important) tasty lunch.

Modify this however you want. I've subbed out English cucumbers for Kirby cucumbers and (in the past) mint for dill. The end result is cool, creamy, and crunchy. It's a perfect meal for when you can't stand the thought of turning on the stove and you just need to take out your work rage on a helpless rotisserie chicken and some unsuspecting vegetables.

Here's the recipe. (Disclaimer: Photo on my page taken with my iPhone.)

Buttermilk Channel

Buttermilk Channel is lovely. The food is delicious, but there’s something about it that is good in an unobtrusive way. You’re more focused on your conversation than the mind-blowing entrees, and that’s okay. It’s a place that does exactly what I, personally, want food to do. It brings friends to the table in a comfortable, unpretentious setting to enjoy a good meal and each others company.

Dinner last Thursday night was a celebration, and a prelude to the holiday weekend, so I started with a (forgettable) cocktail. The menu’s description was promising (tequila, honey, grapefruit, jalapeno, lime) but it was basically just a glorified margarita, so why didn’t they say so?

While we made our critical dinner decisions, the waitress brought out a plateful of warm popovers drizzled in honey and sprinkled with flake salt. The idea was amazing but the execution was slightly wanting. The popovers were a bit overdone, so mine had a faint burnt taste. Le sigh.

On to the appetizers! The olive-sized hush puppies were a bit heavier than I would have liked, but their presentation in a miniature ice cream dish filled with green chile aioli won me over. I am a sucker for cute and these definitely qualified.

House-made pickles. Good, but a bit floppy and the vinegar fumes they gave off with every bite made my roommate a little faint. Baked oysters. Now we’re talking. Plump and warm, these were a satisfying blend of creamy, crunchy, savory, and sweet. I only wish they hadn’t been $3 a piece or I would have eaten many, many more.

Duck Meatloaf. Swoon. Anyone that’s known me for a while—and has therefore shared a few meals with me—can tell you that I am very territorial when it comes to food. I demand the first bite, and if you take it away from me I will shoot you with my laser eye beams. Or stab you with my fork. Be warned. Actually, while I'm being perfectly honest, I don’t like sharing things I find totally delicious, but because I wasn’t raised by wolves, I share. Though no one I was with is as keen on duck as I am, I found this meatloaf so absolutely wonderful that I had to keep myself from licking the duck jus off my plate. The creamed corn still had whole kernels in it and the onion ring was the perfect crispy counterpart to all the other textures on my plate. I didn’t take pictures of our dessert selections—chocolate chip bread pudding and a pecan praline sundae—because they didn’t blow my mind nor were they inspiring to look at. The sundae was tasty, but the bread pudding was so dry I found myself biting into pieces of bread that hadn’t been soaked in egg custard. I’m not a fan of soupy bread pudding, but come on!

Take Two

I eat. We all do. But I think about and talk about food more than most people I know. Strange squeals of delight escape my mouth when I encounter a fantastic meal or even a simple, well-prepared snack. Maybe I have a problem, but I’d prefer to label it passion.

So, in an attempt to savor the delicious meals I experience, I’m going to try this food blog thing.

Love,

Emellia