How do you measure a year?

In food, but of course. Since this is my first attempt at blogging, we'll just go by how much food played a role in my 22nd birthday weekend. Here goes:

My aunt took me out on Friday evening to the new Dos Caminos on 50th street and third avenue. This is our special celebration restaurant because, one-it's pretty expensive, and two-when we go, we eat everything (so once or twice a year is better for the hips). Besides their world renown (my world at least) fresh guac that is made on the spot, this was a dessert that will have me coming back for more:



This double Oaxacan chocolate mousse cake was topped with two pieces of Oaxacan white chocolate. The ice cream is rose petal flavored. Did I know what a rose petal tasted like? Not really...but this was an incredible and very different variety of ice cream I totally enjoyed.

The rest of the weekend was kicked off with your less than traditional birthday cake, made of jello and wax bottle candy "candles". Thank you to my wonderful pal, Kaitlin for this beautiful and delish work of art!:



Saturday evening, after a fun night out in the east village, we stopped by Chickpea on St. Marks Place. This is a fav quick snack place of mine in the city because there are many vegetarian options and their food is so delish. They are open uber late too! I think on weekends until about 5 am!!! Anywhere I can get hummus this good at about 330 am is def on my list :)

This is the hummus plate which I shared with some friends. Beautiful presentation and great great flavor. Really cheap too, for all those on a budget. I think 4 of my friends late night snacked at Chickpea for under $15 total! Here's the hummus plate!:



After hanging out in the east village, my lovely roommate, Cara, gave me my birthday presents!! She knit me a beautiful ear warmer, got me some cool socks, bought me grapefruit vinegar (can you tell she knows me well?) and made me these DELISH vegan tiramisu cupcakes:



At the present moment, those are the only cupcakes that were left, but I assure you, she made me more than two delicious morsels of goodness. I brought them to my Oscar/birthday bash (please see next paragraph) and they were a huge hit! Vegan tiramisu is one of my favorite foods! Thank you Cara for making my birthday that much tastier!

One more cupcake shout out. Thank you Brittany for making the delish cupcakes on Friday night! I wish I could have featured them on the blog, but they were gone in milliseconds!

Onto OSCAR SUNDAY, which coincidently this year fell on my birthday. I know! Two of my favorite holidays rolled into one! We celebrated by having an oscar/birthday bash at my friend's apartment. Here is what we conjured up:





A wonderful goat cheese, baby greens and apple salad topped with raspberry dressing and some really good cheese with blueberries in it (top) and this week's recipe of the week! (bottom)

Recipe of the week #2:
Low Fat Veggie Ravioli Lasagna

(Thanks to www.foodtv.com and 30 Minute Meals (holla RR) for the base of this recipe!)

1 bag of frozen spinach
1/4 cup of butter
4 tbsp flour
1 qt of skim milk
Nutmeg, Salt and Pepper- to taste
3 cups part skim ricotta cheese
2 tbsp lemon zest
4 cloves of garlic
4 packages of low fat four cheese ravioli
1 can of artichoke hearts
1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

(Since everything in this dish is precooked, only the broiler will be needed..so preheat it to the broiler setting on your stove)

Defrost the spinach as per the package. Set aside. Open the artichoke heart can and set that aside as well.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and whisk in flour. Let cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk and bring sauce to a bubble. Lower the heat down as the sauce begins to thicken. Season the sauce with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.

While the sauce is heating, in a separate bowl, combine the ricotta, lemon zest, garlic and salt/pepper.

Cook the ravioli as per the package.

Drain the ravioli. Using an appropriate baking pan, pour enough white sauce into the pan to coat the bottom. Layer with ravioli, spinach, artichoke hearts, ricotta mixture, sauce, REPEAT. Ravioli, spinach, artichoke hearts, ricotta mixture, sauce, REPEAT. (sing it to yourself!) End the layering with ravioli and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top (to make a crust in the broiler). Put the pan into the broiler for 5 minutes or until you see the cheese getting brown and bubbly and VIOLA!



yummy ravioli lasagna, in, what took us about 45 minutes. This delish and not too fattening recipe was very easy to make and was loved by the Oscar party. One thing I can note, is that fresh ravioli packages can be a bit pricey. The reason the recipe calls for ravioli is to avoid the hassle of obtaining 4 types of cheese to layer in, but if you want to try something new, try this with a different type of pasta and just include some more cheese.

All in all, it was a wonderful birthday weekend. Thank you fellow foodies for joining me on my journey. Until next food endeavor, have a great week!

xo
J

An Ode to College Cuisine.

While eating and chatting with friends this president's day weekend at Penn State University, I decided to dedicate this post to dining and cuisine at a place very different from NYC, at a state university. Follow me on my weekend food journey from the Happy Valley!

This is The Waffle Shop:



Heaven in the Happy Valley. This place is pretty much the only motivation for a hungover college student to get out of bed on a Saturday or Sunday before 3 pm, its closing time. I've visited Penn State three times, and there hasn't been one day NOT started at The Waffle Shop. With three locations in State College and at least a 20 minute wait at the door at each, you instantly know this place is a hit. I joke with my friend that Waffle Shop is the only reason I go see him (juuust kidding ;).

I always get overwhelmed when ordering brunch. Which way to go? Sweet or Savory? Protein or Carbs? Lots or Little? Brunch is, of course, the most important meal of life..so careful decision making is necessary. This weekend (I was in State College for three days, so I obv went three times), I tried 2 different omelets, the greek and the villager (broccoli and cheddar...yumm), 2 different pancakes (regular and choc chip..more yummm), and lots of toast and home fries. I've never really hated a home fry that I've eaten, but The Waffle Shop def has some of the best. They are a side order of red skinned goodness.

This is inside the University Creamery at Penn State:



Their homemade ice creams are made with fresh milk from cows on campus! How fun and productive is that?!

Here are my friends eating their ice cream:



On the left, Peachy Paterno, named after the beloved Penn State Football coach, Joe Paterno. On the right, Chocolate Coconut. Two thumbs up for both (obv).
...and any school that sells their own cheese (also made with the milk from cows on campus) automatically deserves my respect!



All dairy aside, we somehow managed to exhaust ourselves to the point of not being able to leave the apt on Saturday for dinner, so this is what we conjured up from a kitchen in an apartment inhabited by three men:



On the upper left, Velveeta Mac and Cheese. The upper right, Penne with Tomato Sauce. Bottom, Jeanette's Cheesy Eggs (Eggs, Milk, and cheese...made special by adding my name to the front ;) Delish Meal. Not sooo healthy, but we worked with what we had.

Overall, I had a great weekend, foodwise and others. Stay tuned for the recipe of the week (please hold all cheers, glittery bits and applause for the next post!)

xo
-J

Good Times in the Microwave

We've all gotten in trouble for blowing peeps up in the microwave and getting marshmellow all over the kitchen. (If you missed this childhood phenomenon, I strongly suggest going to buy some peeps and popping them in the microwave for about 30 seconds...you'll thank me later)

Ever wonder what else you can do in the microwave to cause a kitchen ruckus?

Microwave Magic!

(thank you connie for the link :)

xo
-J

Chicken Noodle Soup (with an OJ on the Side)

Living in New York has its perks. One big one being the stack of delivery menus that sits in my kitchen. When I woke up Friday morning with a sore throat and stuffy nose, I woke up and ordered $20 of soup and orange juice. With it delivered to my door within 10 minutes, I spent the rest of my weekend sipping on soup and juice with all hopes to feel better soon. After 48 hours in bed, I ventured out for brunch this morning (4 doors down) to a diner called the Comfort Diner that I pass everyday, yet had never been too. There was a 20 minute wait, but I heard it was worth it. We glanced at a menu while waiting and with banana hazelnut french toast and lemon blueberry pancakes up for brunch, we def stayed and waited. I stuck with original buttermilk pancakes and my friend enjoyed their BBC omelet (not the British news channel, a broccoli bacon cheddar eggy plate of happiness!)

We both left satisfied and full, and only spent $10 each! Great food! Great prices! And these are mutual feelings from my friend and I, not just me being excited to get out of the house (which I was!). The one downfall the Comfort Diner has is that their hours are not your "Let's get drunk and go to the diner" kind of hours. They are only open from 9-9 (more of your hangover brunch crowd), but their food makes up for their bad hours.

In other weekend cooking endeavors, I had intentions on having a dinner party on Saturday night, but my ill state left my friends less than enthralled to eat my food (thing typhoid mary, but with a congested twist). I ended up cooking, and washing my hands every 3-4 minutes and made fettuccine with vodka sauce and banana pudding. I fed them to a few brave souls who still came over and everyone was satisfied. I'm taking their word for it all because I couldn't taste any of it. So, to start of a Sunday tradition, I'll give you the recipe I used for the banana pudding as the first Recipe of the Week! (insert applause and cheering!)

Recipe of the Week #1:
Original Nilla Banana Pudding

1/2 Cup of Sugar
1/3 Cup Flour
Dash of Salt
2 cups Milk
3 Eggs-Separated into whites and yolks
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
45 Nilla Wafers
5 Bananas
1/4 cup of sugar

(Improvised from www.backofthebox.com)

Mix the first four ingredients and the egg yolks carefully over medium heat for 10-12 minutes. It will be thick and custard-like. Take off the heat and add the vanilla. Take about 3/4 cup of the custard mix and spread it on the bottom of a loaf pan or casserole dish. Layer the custard with banana slices and wafers and repeat until the custard runs out. (I had 3 layers of custard-make sure you end with a layer of custard). Beat the remaining egg whites and sugar until soft peaks form. Make sure not to beat too much because the egg white mixture will get too dry. Spoon the mixture on top of the pudding and spread it evenly over the custard surface. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes, making sure top meringue layer only turns brown and doesn't burn.

I served it warm and it went over well, but it also went over very well cold for breakfast the next morning.

Mine turned out well, however I did notice the meringue layer began getting dark brown at 15 minutes, so time carefully!

Funky pickles make me sad

Welcome to my blog!

Here, I hope to entertain you all with stories associated to food, food and restaurant reviews, and a new recipe of the week that is easy, affordable, and delish.

In recent kitchen endeavors, last night I made baked pickles. A weird concept I know, but my friend had them at a Christmas party as a snack, and I wanted to see if I could recreate her concoction. A 1/4 cup of corn meal, some Parmesean cheese, some spices, dry off the pickles, bread them and bake. I was going for good snack, but I ended up with an apartment reeking of 1/2 dills. My roommate said that's what I get for trying to bake pickles.