Whole Wheat Bread

Part of the reason my holiday party preparations took so long, from about 1:30 - 9:30 pm was because I decided I might as well bake a loaf of bread since I was going to be in the kitchen anyway. I haven't made bread in a while, since I had to return my bread cookbook to the library and since I ran out of yeast. But for Christmas, Santa, aka my mom, got me a big, shiny breadbox and The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book: A Guide to Whole Grain Bread, and...

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Chocolate Almond Coconut Bark

I didn't want to go to the trouble of making truffles all over again, so I went the simple route for dessert for my party. Chocolate bark couldn't be easier to make, but it looks impressive. Chocolate Almond Coconut BarkChop a pound of good quality chocolate into small pieces (unless you are using chocolate chips). In my case, I used a chocolate bar that already had almonds in it, because that's what I had on hand.Pour a couple inches of water in...

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Moroccan Carrot Dip and Hummus

This Saturday I held my annual holiday party, and for some reason decided to be ambitious and spend all day in the kitchen for it. It was nice to spend the day by myself cooking in a peaceful apartment. My roommates were both out all day so no one was in my way, and I just had my cute dog hanging out on the couch to keep me company.When party time came, and people didn't eagerly gobble my food, I decided that I won't go to so much effort next time....

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Almond and Chocolate Chip Biscotti

My sisters are visiting for a couple days, and tomorow we'll be traveling home together for Christmas. We've been in and out of shops all day, to show them what New York, and Brooklyn, has to offer. When we walked into SettePani to gawk at all the pretty delectable cookies and treats, Lisa considered buying a package of biscotti as a gift for our father, who unbeknownst to me, likes biscotti. But I convinced her we should make our own biscotti instead....

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Stuffed Kabocha Squash with White Beans, Kale, and Rice

We've been trying out new squashes from the Greenmarket, and this week we selected Kabocha, a Japanese winter squash. According to Wikipedia, it has a strong, sweet, moist, fluffy texture, but I didn't find that to be particularly true. It tasted a little more bland and bitter than butternut squash, and the texture was flat - but I think this is because of how we cooked it. First, we roasted it the first time with the insides up, and next time I...

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Beet and Roasted Garlic Cheese Crostini

My parents made a monumental trip the other day - not in distance, as it is only 56 miles from their home to mine , but psychologically, since they have an extreme aversion to "New Yuck City," and this was their first visit to my apartment (I've lived here for over a year). We decided that I would make an appetizer to welcome them before going out to dinner.(We went to Aurora, which they didn't like, and that is just insane because it is seriously...

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Cocoa and Coconut Rolled Brandy Truffles

I've seen truffles popping up in food blogs lately, and I figured if other people could do it, I could do it too. It did turn out to be fairly easy, but it is time consuming to allow for the refrigeration time, and then to painstakingly roll each truffle one by one. I made a large batch so I would have enough to give away, but I still have a few I keep in the fridge to nibble at once in a while. They are perfectly rich and sweet, and just one is...

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Local Wine Surprise

It's been a very social past two weeks. Jesse's friends want to hang out with him or talk to him on the phone nonstop and I'm trying to retaliate by getting a life. The result is that we've been out with or without each other almost every night, and I think that pizza was the only thing I cooked since my birthday. Anyway, one day this week we were early to meet some of Jesse's friends at a bar in Soho, so we decided to walk around the area and find a place for a quick drink and bite to eat. I lamented in my head about how I hate when this kind...

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Urban Rustic

Today after my weekly Saturday morning trip to the farmers market, I checked out the new grocery store/cafe in North Williamsburg, Urban Rustic, on North 12th across from McCarren Park. It's the new venture from Aaron Wolf, one of the owners of the Lodge restaurant and director of King Corn. I was very excited about the prospect of a place that offers local (mostly from within 100 miles), farm fresh goods just two blocks away from my apartment. However, I was disappointed to find that it is too expensive for me to frequent. This is strange considering...

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My First Pizza: Meatball and Onion

Now that it's pretty much winter, it felt like time to make my meatball heros, all warm and saucy on crusty bread. It must be the Italian side coming out in me that I can make great meatballs just like my old Italian aunts, without even knowing their recipe. Usually, I end up with leftover meatballs, which I make into another hero for lunch, or add to pasta or something. But this time I hit upon a great idea - to use the leftover meatballs on homemade...

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German Chocolate Cupcakes

My 23rd birthday was this past Friday. Birthdays feel kind of silly now...ever since turning 21 there's nothing to look forward to anymore except getting older. I went to DOC Wine Bar, a charming romantic place in Williamsburg where the waiters always have thick Italian accents. I wish I went there more often, but I only go for special occasions. I looove their pistokku, a Sardinian flatbread topped with beef carpaccio, arugala, and goat cheese....

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Beer and Deer BBQ

Flatbush Farm continues to not disappoint. A few weeks ago, we had an awesome romantic dinner in their bar. This afternoon we biked down there to meet some friends for their monthly barbecue. There was venison, Six Point beer, and a bluegrass band, three of Jesse's favorite things, so we basically had to go. The bar was surprisingly not crowded, considering what a good deal the food is at $2-5 per item on the menu above. But that left plenty of...

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Thanks and giving

Considering that every food blog I've been ready lately has been obsessed with Thanksgiving, it seems ironic that I didn't even cook anything for Thanksgiving. I hope to make Thanksgiving next year, to cook wonderful, flavorful foods that I know to be local and organic. Maybe I'm turning into too much of a food critic and greenie nazi. But considering that Thanksgiving is supposed to be about celebrating eating, I believe it should be all about...

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Brooklyn Bike Tour II: Destination Red Hook

This is my block in Williamsburg, where new condos are sprouting up everywhere. Notice how much taller the beige building in the top right corner is than all the other vinyl sided row houses? Around the corner, there used to be an old factory in this lot, now vacant except for one obnoxious piece of machinery. I didn't have a chance to photograph them, but three of the four corners of this intersection are all empty boarded lots, warehouses that...

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Brooklyn Bike Tour

Last weekend, I braved the cold and ventured on a 16 mile bike ride throughout Brooklyn, from Williamsburg, whizzing under the Williamsburg bridge (above) through prettier neighborhoods of Brooklyn, including Fort Greene below. Maybe I live in the wrong neighborhood, I pondered during the ride.I stopped in Park Slope to visit Bierkraft, because I was really interested in checking it out. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but I like that the beers...

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Dinner Party

Last night I had some friends coming over for dinner and decided to use it as an excuse to make it into a real dinner party with seasonal and local ingredients, of course. The menu for the evening was: Kale and white bean crostini on homemade bread with grated piave cheeseButternut squash tortellini with sage brown buttered sauceChocolate chip apple cakeA bit ambitious, but I had time to kill. Part 1: CrostiniThe night before I made the bread. It...

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