A Taste of the Tropics

The streets of New York have been covered with snow, and I must admit I am sick of it.  Since the warm weather has not yet found me and I can't afford a plane ticket to anywhere sunny, I decided it was time to take some sort of action.  Inspiration spoke to me from the freezer section of my local bodega.  Ice cream is sorta take-it-or-leave-it for me, but I find sorbet scrumptious and refreshing.  Ciao Bella has mastered the art of this cool treat (as well as gelato) and has created tons of amazing flavors, including the new (or at least new to me) BANANA MANGO.  For a very brief moment I thought I was sitting on a beach...until I looked at my snow-draped patio.

I did not want the weekend to pass by without trying a new recipe (plus I felt like a depressed housewife eating the sorbet straight from the container), so I decided it was time to turn it into a real dessert.  I threw a heaping scoop of this delicious sorbet into a chocolate cup (which I happened upon randomly in the grocery store - great for entertaining...even if you're just entertaining yourself, like I was tonight), topped with a fresh cherry compote (easy - just add sugar to fresh or frozen fruit and heat in a saucepan), and tossed some granola on top for a little crunch.  Next time I may try using a different fruit, like a berry, because the cherries fought with the flavor of the sorbet a bit, but it was still very yummy and nice to have the warm fruit syrup over the cold sorbet.

If you're able to find Ciao Bella in your grocer's freezer, buy some.  The blood orange, passion fruit, and blackberry cabernet flavors are personal faves, and I just learned prickly pear and peach ginger are two new sorbets that just hit the market and sound right up my alley.  I may have to wait a while longer before this city warms up, but for now I'll close my eyes, eat some sorbet, and pretend I can feel the sun on my back and the sand beneath my toes.

 

Thank You, Will Ferrell

I just watched You're Welcome, America and found it hilarious.  Does that shock you?  Many would assume that, as a Republican, I would automatically hate something that is built on the mockery of "my people."  But funny is funny, my friends; and Will Ferrell is funny. 

I immediately regretted not getting off my booty to see this one man show live on Broadway.  As an avid Broadway lover and frequent attendee, I am surprised I never made it there but, alas, it was a short engagement and I missed my window.  Thankfully, HBO anticipated this huge error in judgement and taped it for my current enjoyment.  True, I got rid of all my premium channels (another error in judgement, I know - True Blood, Dexter, blah blah blah), but Netflix once again flew in to save the day.

If you enjoyed Will Ferrell's W impression on SNL, you'll love this.  It's bigger, better, and - as George Dubbs would say - more funnier.

Brussels Sprouts Should Not Get a Bum Rap

Another great meal chez Tess.  I decided to try my hand at brussels sprouts tonight.  I've recently come to fancy those peculiar veggies.  I didn't dislike them before; I just hadn't interacted with them much, and I certainly never cooked them myself due to the fact that they intimidated the bejeezus out of me.  I think brussels sprouts have surpassed broccoli as children's most hated vegetable, even though I'm sure most children have never even tried them - after all, I never tried them until I moved to New York.  This reputation made me leery of tasting them, but once I did, I was pleasantly surprised...maybe that's because the first time I tried them they were slathered with bacon.  But I was definitely too scared to try to cook them, assuming I would only like them if they were perfectly cooked - and how presumptuous to assume I would cook them perfectly?

But tonight was the night I threw caution to the wind and sauteed some shallots, tossed them with some some salt and pepper and halved brussels sprouts and roasted them until they browned.  That's it.  So easy and super tasty.  I tried to fry up some bacon because it was so good the first time.  Unfortunately, I bought the cheap bacon and took it out of the package to discover it was 99.9% fat with very little meat to be found, so I chucked it after finding it didn't fry well.  The sprouts were tasty, nonetheless, and I feel like less of a fatso.

But brussels sprouts are not a meal, oh no!  Tonight they were the leafy green side dish to shrimp with mushrooms, peas, and onions in a white wine sauce over Israeli cous cous (the larger, pearl style).  Another new dish that I'll have to make again.  I am so proud of how healthy (but still yummy) my dinner was.  I am also thankful I like it because I have enough leftovers to last me a week.  Any other brussels sprout converts out there want some leftovers?

Easy PEAsy

Shame on me for not taking pictures, but I made a scrumptious dinner last night and would love to tell y'all about it in the hopes that you soon find yourselves in the throes of jealousy in front of your computer, begging me to cook for you.  I started with a hearty salad so I could get in my leafy greens, but the star of the show was the main course: homemade sweet pea ravioli.

Homemade ravioli may sound crazy, but it was incredibly easy.  Using wonton wrappers for the pasta was simple and left me with a lighter ravioli.  For the filling, I sauteed some peas and onions and then blended with ricotta and nutmeg.  After plopping them in simmering water for about 2-3 minutes, I topped with a light pesto and sauteed mushrooms (though it didn't even need the sauce).  The resulting dish was pretty (with the green filling peeking through the thin wonton), silky, and luxurious tasting...even though it was made in my far-from-luxurious Manhattan kitchen.  Jealous yet?  I would be jealous of myself except I get to have the leftovers for lunch today.

A Gal from Savannah Heads to Saravana

Here's a tip, fellow diners: if you walk into an ethnic restaurant and every patron is of that ethnicity and speaking a language other than English, you've likely hit the jackpot.  That was my experience this past Saturday night at Saravana.  Hearing only foreign sounds was music to my ears because I knew I was in for a good meal. 

I was lucky enough to get a quick, 20 hour visit from Avery this weekend.  Aves contends there is no good Indian food in DC for a reasonable price, so we hit up the trusty Zagat Guide to help us pick an NYC goodie.  My old friend Mr. Zagat steered us in the right direction.  The restaurant was packed, even though we were there at early bird special time.  I gotta hand it to Aves; she had no clue what she was ordering, and her tactic for composing our dinner was to basically point to one item from each area of the menu.  It worked.  We wound up with lentil doughnuts, a dosa filled with veggies, and a massive platter with rice and bread in the center and about 12 curries, sauces, and dips on the side.

As we were finishing our meal, the guy sitting next to us leaned over and said he was South Indian and Saravana served the best South Indian food he's tasted in America.  Score.  Not only was the food tasty (Aves said it was "life-changing" and mentioned something about her "mouth being happy"), we ordered way more than we could finish and our total (with tax) came to $34.

My one suggestion to the folks at Saravana: get bigger cups.  You may not have noticed, but your food tends to walk on the spicy side; thus, a shot glass of water does not suffice.  Invest in large glasses or provide each table with their own pitcher.  Other than that, great job; I'll be back soon.

Landmarc: On the Mark

Last night I hit up Landmarc in Tribeca with some co-workers, and I was happy I did.  Although it has been a short work week, we were thoroughly stressed by the end of Thursday and ready for some good food and wine.  Landmarc picks up flavors from all over Europe, but I kind of liked being able to have my French cheese plate (tasty, though the chesses were a tad mild) and goat cheese profiterals (the goat cheese cream center was a nice surprise inside the little puffs) alongside my Mediterranean lamb meatballs (full of spice and topped with a whipped ricotta). 

For my entrée, I took the waiter's recommendation and went with the lamb shank served with brussel sprouts and a bacon/celery root mash.  The meat fell off the Fred Flintstone bone and melted in my mouth.  Em's red snapper with pecorino polenta looked very yummy as well and Millie's steak was huge and perfectly cooked.  I love dips, so I was definitely intrigued when I saw that Millie was able to pick from a list of sauces to accompany her steak, but I'm still glad I stuck with my lamb shank because it was delicious and hearty.

After two bottles of wine and all that heavy food, we decided to pass on dessert, but I could not help but notice they were surprisingly well-priced ($4 each, $16 for a taste of all 8 or so treats).  Instead of the usual mints, the check arrived with a plate of ultra-creamy caramels.  After popping several of those in my mouth, I really didn't mind passing on the dessert menu.

The atmosphere was nothing special, but the friendly host, wait staff, and quality food made up for it.  It's definitely not cheap, but keep it on the radar if you want to splurge.

Bet on Betty

Apparently there is a widespread campaign to get Betty White to host SNL.  Betty White is genetically wired for SNL-type sketch comedy; it seems nearly impossible that she has not yet had her time to shine on the Saturday night staple. 

I have heard there is some viral outreach via facebook.  Will that be enough to satisfy you, Lorne?  What else do we have to do to make this happen?

My only concern is that, frankly, Betty White is old.  Is she really going to manage staying awake during the 11:30 PM - 1:00 AM timeslot?  That's practically past my bedtime, and I'm not 88 years old.  That said, how wonderful would it be to turn on the TV this Saturday night (or more likely my DVR on Sunday since I will either be out or asleep at 11:30 tomorrow night) to see everyone's favorite Golden Girl delivering the monologue.  I'll keep my fingers crossed.