Caudalie Premier Cru The global anti-ageing Cream

This product uses grapes. And it's a good product! A twist from discussing food to eat.  Because it's from grapes, I thought I'd feature it - nourishing our skin!

#DOMODOMO - Japanese Restaurant

I was dubious about this restaurant at first. I have it a chance because of the review.  Amazing is an over used word - it's beginning to annoy me.  Therefore, I will simply say outstanding!

The yuzu foam on my oyster lent a perfect mild citrus touch to my oysters that I saved some for the other 4 on my plate.

My salad with shrimp was alright but I think next time, I would rather have the cucumber salad our friend had.

The chawanmushi said my friends was excellent.

Uni pasta - this is so far a better version I have had.  Maybe because I like the soupy sauce with cheese taste but it was very light.  It really did not need the uni.  However, it complimented each other since uni tends to be milky in taste when I eat it.  It is served with a little black caviar on top - not the cheap kind. 

They had Hojicha pudding which is like a green tea cream in a cup (little amount) with some gel on top - maybe just to sweeten a bit as you spoon the dessert garnished with some seeds on top.  Not too sweet.

Oyster sampler below had yuzu foam in the biggest oyster. It was so good I asked for more foam and she gave us more for my other oysters.

Black ink pasta with cheese sauce (you only taste a hint of it in the beginning and then it goes away) with black caviar on top of the uni.

Megu Toro Hand Roll - the toro inside is chopped and not very generous.

Deasert: Hojicha Pudding.  It is macha tea base with some gelee on top so it sweetens the matcha mixture below which is like a panacotta.

BUGS (no bugs)

This is a small restaurant which seats probably no more than 20 at a time.  I sat by the bar counter where 2 lady chefs behind the counter that prepare the food.  One makes most of the sushi-based food and the other the cooked and sautéed dishes.

My kale salad with mushroom was so delicious with butter slightly browned flavor coming through. (I think that is butter is taste).

I got tempted to order the fried chicken pieces coated with a spicy sweet sauce and something I dip in creamy sauce. (Answer to buffalo wings). The chicken pieces are tender and crisp outside.

I had to try the Risotto with soft shell shrimp, scallops, uni and oyster.  This was a big dinner. It came with thin slices of pickled cucumber.

BUGS

Bugs Restaurant - New York, NY | OpenTable

OpenTable › restaurants › bugs

 Rating: 4.4 - 32 reviews - Price range: $30 and under

Quick Dinner

Main course: Broiled fatty tuna belly

Vegetable:  White asparagus on baguette toast

Side:  japanese rice with sushi vinegar

Dessert: Hazelnut eclair from Eclair Bakery

MAIN COURSE:

1/2 lb fatty tuna belly (available at Japanese grocery that carry fresh seafood)

1/3 c of miso with melted butter

2TB melted butter

Brush one side of the fish with butter and the sides.  Smother the top of the fish with the mixture of miso with melted butter

Brook for 5 minutes and set aside.

WHITE ASPARAGUS - Vegetable

1 lb of fresh white asparagus

1 TB fresh lemon juice

1 tsp salt

4 cups of water

Good quality mayonnaise

Peel asparagus from 3/4 top to bottom of each asparagus to remove the fibrous skin. From about 1/3 to 1/4 from the bottom of each asparagus, bend the stem to break off the tough bottom to discard.  Put water in a large frying pan and teaspoon of salt. Squeeze fresh lemon juice in the water. Boil and then simmer the asparagus in the water covered, for about 30-35 minutes.

Drain in paper towel and cool.

Slice the baguette diagonally about 1/3 inch thick and toast it slightly.

Spread about a tablespoon on each of the sliced toasted baguette.  Lay about 3 cooked asparagus on each toast. Enjoy it. (The asparagus may be longer the sliced baguettes. But you can eat the tips first.  I do this to reduce my consumption of carbs and have more vegetables.

I also made Jaaoanese rice to accompany my fish main course.  After j cooked my Japanese rice, I added the sushi rice mix in it and stirred the rice to incorporate the sushi powder for rice.

The treat for my low cal and low carb dinner was a hazelnut eclair from Eclai Bakery.

http://www.eclairbakery-nyc.com/

STRIPED EGGPLANT

My favorite eggplant is the striped eggplant. They have a sweeter flavor than usual.

What is a striped eggplant?

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-667-striped-eggplants.aspx

Now that you know a little more about this variety, let me share my simple Italian inspired recipe to cook and serve it.

INGREDIENTS:

2 small variegated eggplants (Caliope)

2 tsp salt

1/3 or more c of olive oil

2 medium size tomatoes (chopped coarsely)

1 big clove of garlic

Olive oil

Fresh basil (about 10 leaves)

Premium olive oil at the end

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Above is the eggplant I sliced and fried.

First cut off the stem of the egg any. Then cut the eggplant lengthwise about 5 slices per eggplant.

Sprinkle the sliced eggplant with salt all over. Let it sit for a couple of minutes and then wipe it well with paper towel.

Heat olive oil a batch at a time and fry the eggplant till golden in each side. Drain and pat well with paper towel.

When all done, mince the garlic and stir fry in a separate pan (I used a wok) till softened beginning to get golden; then,  add the chopped tomatoes.

Stir the sauce till it thickens. 

I keep a pot of organic basil plant over my window so I can cut off fresh basil when I need it.

I mix the sliced basil in the sauce towards the last minute or two.

I take about 3 slices of the fried eggplant and arrange them on my plate. Spoon some sauce on too. Drizzle with top quality extra virgin olive oil (I used the premium one I bought from Spain recently) and garnished it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

If you want to be a vegetarian for the night, have double servings of this like I did tonight.

I buy my produce mostly from Whole Foods. And no, I am not a paid advertisement for them, I just like shopping at their grocery store because I feel safe that my food do not have harmful carcinogenic pesticides.

What's in my Kitchen Pantry?

The Where is Assam?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assam

The information above will tell you about Assam where the tea I brought back from India originates from.

As to what to do with the Assam tea when you bring it back home, here's what I learned how to make the awesome Chai tea:

You can get any brand that says Assam tea. I have both up above that I brought back from India.

You cut some pieces of ginger - smash or slice them and add 2-3 seeds of cardamom.  The fresher looking they are the better.  It has more flavor.  I added a tap of the tea and poured about 1 -1/2 cups of water.  Boil about a few minutes.

Drain in a container.  You can now add sugar or not; and drink as is or add milk. You can also add ice to drink it cold.

Serve it without... Or

With cream. Now you have homemade Chai Tea.

The above recipe is what I learned when I visited India last year.  It does not contain whipped cream.  But you can do that and add your sugar as you please.  Also, it did not have cinnamon - just the cardamom.

Try this and you'll like it!

THINGS IN MY KITCHEN PANTRY

Although I don't have an expansive size kitchen, my compact cabinets do house extraordinary condiments or food.

Today, I share with you:

Black garlic. They taste like Carmelites fruit.  It almost reminds me of the old cold remedy Pertussin.  Closest flavor I associate it with.

Above is smoked garlic.  I'm not sure if it hardened because I did not use it right away.  But it does have a little smoky flavor. I probably need a a more fresh version to appreciate it.

All these were bought from Whole Foods Market at 2 different areas.  I prefer the black garlic.

That's it for today!

Till next time!

For more info on Black Garlic:

http://blackgarlic.com/

 

STAR WARS CHILDREN'S PARTY

  I just found someone who makes white and dark chocolate Lego chocolates.  My daughter-in-law's mother makes the birthday cakes every year.

This time, I thought of contributing to the idea of the cup cakes -

I stuck the dark chocolate Legos on top of the cup cakes that she had made with light sabers.  The dark chocolate looked like Darth Vader.

I also arranged the white chocolate Legos on a black Japanese tray in a row to look like Storm Troopers.

A relative brought a watermelon that they cut like Death Star.

The grapes were strung in sticks to pretend like light sabers. 

To order the chocolate Legos, I ordered them from MacarOn Cafe and requested it from their Baker.  Picked it up from one of their branches near me.

http://macaroncafe.com/

MORNING FRENCH TOAST

Simple Recipe:

1 egg

1/3 c of half and half

2 TB sugar

3 drops of vanilla

Grated nutmeg

Beat the ingredients above together

Dip the 1 inch wide sliced French Brioche bread and fry in butter.

Serve with warm maple sugar and some butter.

I used my old French made brioche bread from Whole Foods with French flour de del butter, organic maple syrup

Batter has a little unbleached sugar, vanilla and nutmeg

Nitrate free bacon, boiled in little water till it evaporates - using a press to keep them evenly cooked.

#WholeFoods

SUCKLING ROAST PIG #1 for me!

http://www.elnortedecastilla.es/segovia/201504/09/jose-maria-patenta-cuchillo-20150409173850.html

Hands down! After 15 years, I recently went back to Jose Maria and their roast suckling pig called cuchinillo in Spanish has stayed as good as I remember!

It's moist inside and the skin is perfectly crisp at any part you get.

Their plate emblem above

I will miss this until the next time if ever.

DIRTY FRENCH #RESTAURANT

TThis is my 2nd time to come to this restaurant.  I love the food here because it is not predictable.  They always do a twist on what the we really know of it.

For instance, tonight, I had the Duck L'Orange.  The duck breasts are done to a perfection presented like 2 thick slices of pork belly without being fatty.  The sauce has a morrocan flavor in the orange sauce. It is just perfect!  I would highly recommend this dish!

Another highlight is their special flavored "nan" type bread or is it again similar to a Morrocan flat bread served with a spread.  This is complimentary and so delicious.

Next favorite of ours was the foie gras.  It's fresh foie gras wrapped in a delicate crepe-like super thin dough with minced chives on top and served on a bed of fruit purée.

Another highlight of the dinner was the dish with slices of mushroom made to look like millefeuille.  Absolutely to die for served with a purée of scallion and chives with some snap pease and slices of pepper for a hint of spice. Just loved it!  I could consider this a fabulous vegetarian dish.

The haricot verte was served in a sizzling plate prepared so deliciously, I loved it as well.

Above, the sea bass with coconut milk sauce was not extra-ordinary.  Although well prepared, we did not find it strikingly original.  It reminded me of an Americanized Thai dish. 

The beignet had an outstanding caramel sauce but a funny tasting doughnut or beignet because I did not know what chicory tasted like and I believe they added chicory in the batter. It tasted like Chinese potpourri that you put in a camphor chest to keep clothes from being eaten up by insects. Hence, we changed our order to the Paris Brest (a firmer version of the puff pastry dough), with peanuts and other filling and a spooned ice cream on top.  It was okay, but we were hoping we could have the Baked Alaska which they did not have tonight.

This dessert seems more American to me than Dirty French.  But maybe that is why it is called Dirty French.

The Manager was so accommodating and very nice to us.  He carefully paid attention to us.  He even stopped the fan from blowing directly onto us which was making us quite cold.  I wish all Restaurant Managers were like him.

We love this restaurant and definitely will be back!

He mentioned their new restaurant near the High Line.  Did you know that they just opened a new restaurant by the High Line called Santina?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=21&ved=0CAsQFjAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.santinanyc.com%2F&ei=IQdxVdzMHIa2sAXj3YHIDw&usg=AFQjCNFzhtwJf7HgDuYgAG-QWxoEitPmog&sig2=jy8BDxjIRh1MH6AujCYvrw

I'm definitely trying that one too!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/dirty-french-new-york

At Ludlow Hotel

180 Ludlow St.,

New York, NY 10002

http://www.dirtyfrench.com/

My Stuffed Pepper Recipe

This is a quick after thought dinner.

What to do with a pound of very good ground beef!

STUFFED PEPPER RECIPE

Ingredients:

3 large green peppers

3 cloves garlic minced

3/4 c chopped onions

1/2 packet of roast beef flavoring condiment (I used one from Argentina - but you can use any good dry broth condiment.

1/3 c minced parsley

1/3 c chopped stuffed olives

1 medium size fresh ear of corn (shucked)

3/4 c chunks of pepper jack cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Grill each pepper 1 at a time on top of stove directly in flame of gas stove till charred all around.

Place each grilled pepper in paper bag for a few minutes to cool and easily peel the charred skin.

Cut peppers in half removing seeds and membrane. (Crosswise is better)

FILLING:

Sautée garlic and onion in 2TB of olive oil till golden brown.  Add the beef.  Add the corn. season with the condiment. Cover the pan to produce some juice.  Mix the meat while cooking from time to time. Add the parsley.  Season to taste.

Put 3 chunks of cheese in the split peppers then add about 2 or more of the meat mixture.  Too with the rest of the cheese and bake for 30minutes in 350F degree oven.

Serve with light salad.

My salad was mâché with orange balsamic glaze and orange olive oil seasoned with truffles salt and freshly ground pepper.

PEAK THAI #Restaurant

This is a real find. Good food, easy on the pocket, can do take out and good service.

I come here often for my favorite Pad Woon Sen. It's cellophane noodles with shrimp.  I usually ask for extra line to squeeze on top.

They also have an excellent soft shell crab in the menu with either 3 sauces or green sauce - which I ordered below:

At lunch time is the best deal. A complete meal or my Pad Woon Sen can be had for around $10 and below.

Their sticky rice and mango dessert is another favorite of mine. They are open everyday - check their hours in their website.

Peak Thai Restaurant
301 E 49th St
Midtown East
New York, NY 10017
(646) 454-1333
http://www.yelp.com/biz/peak-thai-restaurant-new-york

CHICKEN WITH ANCHOVY and ROSEMARY

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 Chucken thighs with skin (or without)

4 Chicken wings

4 large garlic cloves minced

4-5 five-inch Rosemary branches 

1-3 peels carrots sliced 1/2 inch thick

1 can flat anchovies (or 2oz)

1 TB of course ground pepper 

1 cup of balsamic vinegar or a little more

4-6 TB olive oil (without skin use 6TB)

Heat oil and fry chicken for a few minutes to get the sides golden's ghe brown. Add the garlic, Rosemary and peppercorns.  Put it under the chicken pieces in the pot.

Add the anchovies, carrots and and pour in the balsamic vinegar.

Cook uncovered over medium heat turning chicken pieces every 10 minutes for about 30 minutes-40 minutes.

Serve it either with mashed potatoes, pasta with garlic tomato sauce or garlic rice, rice pilaf or even plain rice.

Above - served with roasted potatoes with garlic and sundried tomatoes

Above, served with plain white rice!

Love this dish!

THE CLAM - Restaurant

Located somewhere in the West Village bordering TriBeCa is this neighborhood restaurant serving such good dishes mostly with clams.  But his recipes are beyond the norm because he uses high quality ingredients and has refined the usual dish we know.

Co-Owner/Chef Mike Price was here today so I decided to have a photo with him!

For starters: the clams were so fresh and the lightly crumbed crumbs on the baked clams has parsley and other herbs in it. My sister said, next time she'll have 2 orders of this as a main course.

The clam pizza is studded with clams, it can be your full meal.  The crust is thin and crisp.

We also ordered the ravioli. It was so delicious!

My spaghetti with fresh Al-dente cooked pasta is another dish. The sauce is not your ordinary tomato sauce. I will come back for more.  It had a different taste to it.  He told me the secret - which I will keep.

One of us ordered their Pat La Frieda burger with their own sauce and herbed  fries!

I also had The Clam chowder which I forgot to take a photo of.  It's not your ordinary clam chowder.  It also had big pieces of meaty cubed bacon-like or pancetta pieces.

This is my new favorite restaurant in the city. They've only been here for about 8-9 months.

The Clam

420 Hudson at., NYC, NY

m.theclamnyc.com/

Subway: Take the 1 train to the Houston Street stop. Walk one block west on Houston to Hudson Street. Continue north on Hudson Street for two blocks.

Hours

Dinner is served Monday - Thursday 4:00pm to 11:00pm, Friday & Saturday 4:00pm to 12:00am, & Sunday 4:00pm - 10:00pm.

Lunch is served daily from 11:30am to 4pm.

My Breakfast

Majority of the time, I have smoked salmon from Russ & Daughters and berries - plus Sullivan Bread's Filone bread.

On WASA Norwegian bread, I spread a tablespoon of organic cream cheese, 2 slices of smoked salmon and chives on top and if I have capers, some capers. 

I toast a slice of Sullivan Bread's Filone bread and spread some mascarpone on it; arrange the raspberries on top and using a sugar sprinkler, shake some confectioner's sugar on the raspberries.

I always have a small cup of whisked matcha tea, a cup of fresh green tea, and 1 or 2 cups of espresso or cappuccino and about 3oz of grapefruit juice for my 2 vitamin pills with this.

Variation to my normal breakfast of smoked salmon is using omelette instead of cream cheese.

This is my energy breakfast most of the time.

NY RESTAURANT WEEK #LeCirq

I've been here a few times but there are other restaurants that participate in this event and for me to go again is because a friend of mine chose it.  This is when company takes priority over food.

The selection to choose from the special deal were all not my favorite (Other restaurants put their best foot forward).  If I stick to the choices for the set deal, the more I won't enjoy.  So, you guessed right, I opted for the almost twice the price of the special deal less $1.  This way, I get my appetizer of choice and dessert of choice. 

This is not the menu I chose. And the appetizer below was an extra cost our friend ordered from the Restaurant Week Menu.

Above was one of the appetizers served with "foamed" sauce.

I ordered the house Foie Gras with a puree and slice of pear. 

Seabass for my main course which I think was also in the menu about 4 years ago is what I picked again.  It's funny that I did mention this to my sister prior to my being at this restaurant; only to actually get served the same fish!

Away from the set menu for Restaurant Week, I got a bigger Foie gras and my choice of dessert.  And my choice was hot Chocolate Souffle!

The souffle saved my meal!

I think this place is a little over-rated.  I personally prefer some others that participate at Restaurant Week.  Restaurants should actually put out their best that could Wow me for the money. I was expecting a more haute cuisine than what I experienced.  And I knew this would be my experience as before. And that means not very impressive.

Let me try once more as my friend said I should have picked the shrimp dish.  I will tell you after next week - as we plan to return for the prix-fixed lunch menu. (No longer Restaurant Week)

Le Cirq

• 151 E 58th St, New York 10022
• (Btwn Lexington & 3rd Ave)
• http://www.lecirque.com/
•