Thursday, December 29, 2011

Dinner for Two: Brothy in Brooklyn!

Many months ago, Julia and I shared this terrific parmesan broth soup at Marlow & Sons in Williamsburg. It was light, flavorful, nutty, truly exquisite, and both of us have been dreaming of it ever since. Sadly, we've never caught it on their menu again, so we're left with only the lovely, fading memory of that soup and nothing more... 
Until today! Julia was just telling me about this parmesan broth soup recipe she is going to try tonight with a friend, and that got my mouth watering for the same thing. I did a quick google search, and now I think we're going to take a crack at it tonight too! Maybe she and I can do a taste-test comparison of our two recipes, and I'll report back with the winning version tomorrow. 


Here's the recipe I'm going to try... Fingers crossed! 

Vegetable Soup w/ Fennel, Herbs & Parmesan Broth:


  • HEALTHY
  • MAKE-AHEAD
  • VEGETARIAN
Ingredients:
  1. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  2. 4 garlic cloves, minced
  3. 3 carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
  4. 2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
  5. 2 leeks, white parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
  6. 1 fennel bulb—halved, cored and thinly sliced
  7. 1 medium tomato, cut into 1/2-inch dice
  8. 2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
  9. 3 cups water / 3 cups vegetable stock*
  10. Five 3-inch square Parmigiano-Reggiano rind*
  11. 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
  12. 1 tablespoon chopped basil
  13. Salt and freshly ground pepper
  14. 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, leeks and fennel and cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato and bay leaves and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the water and the cheese rinds and bring to a simmer. Cover partially and cook over moderately low heat until the vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes.
  2. Discard the cheese rinds and bay leaves. Stir in the parsley and basil and season the soup with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with the grated cheese and serve.


*Note: I slightly altered this recipe to include extra parmesan rinds, as I read that will give it a cheesier, nuttier flavor. I also recommend using 3 cups of water & 3 cups of veggie stock to give the broth a more defined flavor without overwhelming the taste of the parmesan. To each their own... 

Now: Here's hoping I can coerce some parmesan rinds out of my local cheese man. I think he has a soft spot in his heart for me! : ) 


I have high hopes for this broth. I'm thinking served with a garlicky-thymey crostini (aka. a little piece of toast) this is going to be just delicious! If you need a little guidance on the crostini front, check out this tasty looking recipe for a garlic-and-leek crostini. High concept! 


Happy Eating! 

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Bird-Chandelier Tutorial! About darn time, eh?!

You'll never believe it, but I have finally gotten around to building my bird chandelier! All thanks to Mummy really-- she showed up in New York this Christmas, toting a bag full of little fake birds, so there simply wasn't any more stalling to be done. I already had a plan of how to build this-- and remarkably-- it pretty much worked perfectly. (I'm not sure I've ever said that before...)

There she blows, in all her splendor! 

This really was a pretty easy project, so if you're feeling crafty, this might be a good project for the long weekend. A little tedious maybe, but as for skill, I'd say this was a 3 out of 10. (10 being regrettably f--- difficult.)


So-- here's how it's done: 

I started by buying a "Rutbo" pendant light from IKEA, which costs $40.00 if you pick it up from the store. Then I went by Lowe's and bought a rather big spool of "galvanized rabbit cage wire." Yep-- rabbit cage wire. Specific, I know, but the spacing was just the size I was looking for... I found it in the gardening section. The spool was another $20.00 or so, and there was definitely enough extra to make 8-10 more bird chandeliers. (Maybe there is a business in the making?) While I was at Lowe's, I also picked up a small spool of fine wire (.88mm) and though I had one, if you don't, get a strong wire cutter at Lowe's too.

And, now for the step-by-step: 
1.) Unpack the Rutbo light and assess your pile of parts. The parts you want to keep are the actual light bit (the piece that will connect to the ceiling and hold the light bulbs.) You'll also want the shade, but you're not going to need the two white diffusers or the plastic arm-thing that is intended to hold the shade open. Set aside everything except for the shade for now...

2.) Using a pair of scissors, cut the top metal ring (which has the metal criss-cross running across the shade) off of the shade. I did this by very carefully cutting the paper as close to the ring as possible, so when you're finished, you just have a nice tidy ring with the metal criss-cross.

3.) Then I unrolled a length of the rabbit wire so that I could wrap it around the ring, and by wrapping my fine wire around the rabbit wire and ring together, I attached the rabbit wire to the ring in 6-8 places around the circle.

4.) Then I took the shade (or what was left of it) and cut the bottom ring off in the same way I did in step two.

5.) I wanted my shade to have similar proportions to the original IKEA shade, so I lined it up next to the ring-attached-to-rabbit-wire, decided where I was going to cut the rabbit wire, and using my strong wire cutter, I clipped each individual vertical piece of the rabbit wire, really close to horizontal pieces so they wouldn't stick out sharply. (This is definitely the tedious part I referred to earlier...)

6.) Then I attached the second ring to the bottom of the rabbit wire, as I did in Step 3. (It should look like the picture above, once both rings are attached to the rabbit wire...)

7.) Then I took my new rabbit-wire-metal-ring lamp shade outside, along with the light-bits (as mentioned in Step 1, and spray painted everything an Antique Brass. This required a couple of coats of paint (especially for the light-bits), and I also had to flip things over a couple of times to get a complete and even coat on everything. (Again-- tedious, but not actually hard.)

8.) Once I was finished with the spray painting, I followed the IKEA instructions to attach the light bits to my metal shade, and then-- THE FUN PART: Decorating with the little fake birds! Mummy brought about 12 birds with her, but I think you could use even more if you wanted. They can be found at most local craft stores; Mummy bought ours at Michaels.

9.) Now, depending on how handy you are, you might need a pro to help you install your new chandelier at home... and you're in business!

In total, I think this cheery bird chandelier cost about $70.00 to build (including the assorted wire stuffs, IKEA light fixture, spray paint and light bulbs) For a D-I-Y project, that isn't so cheap, but compared to the $609.00 I could pay for a ready-made one on the Graham & Green website, $70.00 seems like a pretty sweet deal.


Another grand success! I can't wait to get this hanging in its permanent location! 

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Arts & Crafts at Fox Ridge!

A few weekends ago, Mary, Julia, Esha, and I built a couple of gingerbread houses... and I just finished one more tonight, thus officially making it a gingerbread village.


Check out Mary's gingerbread manger (pictured below). She was having a little issue getting the wall to stay-put, and with a twist of innovation, transformed her gingerbread house into a manger, complete with three candy-cane kings, a gum drop Mary & Joseph, and a candy-cane cradle. Very festive! Check out this link to see lots of other, very funny, much more impressive gingerbread houses. They put us to shame!!!



Despite our rather less ambitious designs, I can't say enough about using a glue gun when building gingerbread houses. I'm pretty sure this qualifies as cheating, but having just built a third house, sans glue gun, I can attest to the undebatable benefits of using one. Take note for next year people!


*Please take note of my silly action-face while building my most recent gingerbread house... Evidently I was deep in ginger-bread-building-thoughts! For all of you who have had just about enough of my christmas decorations, you'll be pleased to hear that I will be back in action tomorrow, with a new D-I-Y project that Mummy and I are planning to tackle. Check back tomorrow to see how that adventure unfolds! 

Merry Christmas everybody! 

Monday, December 19, 2011

A Funky Addition to our Dinner Table!

The Mother Figure has arrived in Brooklyn to celebrate the holidays. With her, she has brought a cornucopia of surprises, including the fabulous set of paper placemats shown below! They're all the rage!

Mummy found these super cool placemats at Anthrolopogie...

And for 50 placemats, currently on sale for $12.95, they're a hot deal too.

Photos of Christmas In Brooklyn!

Here are the (slightly delayed) photos of our very merry decorations in Brooklyn. Okay... it's no Martha Stewart-blissed-out-Christmas... but with our very minimal expenditure ($9.00!), our apartment is looking mighty festive!

Hope everyone is gearing up for a very happy holiday! 

Did the holidays sneak up on anybody else this year? I feel like I've only just recovered from my Thanksgiving food-coma, and now it's almost New Year's...

I haven't even started my Christmas shopping. Oops!



Check out our menorah, at the ready, down below. I'm pretty sure you're meant to put the candles in, one at a time, but the symmetrist in me just couldn't wait until the end of the week! I promise I'll restrain myself and only light one each night! 


I've got to tell you-- I really can't get enough of the holidays! Now if only I could find some time to do my shopping!!! 

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Dinner on Monday Night?

You should know, this posting will probably elicit an angry email from my brother. He and I made a life-pact when we were little that we would always hate parsnips, turnips, and pickles, and until today, I have never strayed from that oath. But I just found this recipe in Dwell Magazine (who knew they started cooking over at Dwell?) and I'm pretty freckin' sure that this soup is going to be awe-some, so I guess I'm going to turn in my anti-turnip membership badge. Sorry Richard. : ) I mean, look at that photo. Mmmmmm....
Pear-Parsnip Soup:
Ingredients:
  •  1 tsp. canola oil
  •  1 clove garlic, minced
  •  1 medium onion, roughly chopped
  •  1 pound parsnips, roughly chopped
  •  1 medium potato, roughly chopped
  •  2 quarts vegetable stock
  •  1 bay leaf
  •  1 sprig fresh thyme, finely chopped
  •  ½ pound pears, unpeeled, cored, roughly chopped
  •  ½ cup half-and-half (optional)
  •  Salt and sugar to taste
  •  Splash of white-wine vinegar
Cooking Method:
  1. Heat a soup pot on medium-high heat.
  2. Add canola oil, garlic, and onion. Sweat for 10 minutes (be sure not to brown the vegetables).
  3. Add parsnips, potato, vegetable stock, bay leaf, and thyme. Simmer about 10 minutes.
  4. Add pears and half-and-half and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
  5. Remove the bay leaf and blend soup until super-smooth.
  6. Season to taste with salt, sugar, and vinegar.
Read this recipe directly from Dwell Magazine here: http://www.dwell.com/articles/sert-du-soleil.html


I haven't made this yet-- but I will report back on Monday night! I have high hopes, despite its traitorous main ingredient. 


*The good news: I still really hate pickles! 

Hip-Hip-Hooray for the Holidays!

Note: Not our tree... : )
On Thursday night, John and I threw a grand holiday party, and it gave us an opportunity (okay, it gave me an opportunity) to get our apartment decorated for the holidays.


BIG CONFESSION: Despite my cynical-hardened-urban-exterior, I am actually crazy for the Holidays! I love Christmas songs! (Even when they're playing in the pharmacy in early November!) I love the lights that go up all over the city! I love the latkes for Hanukah! I love decorating the tree! I love wrapping the presents! I love doing the candle-lighting with John! Eight Days! I LOVE shopping for the presents! I love the Christmas eve feast and the Christmas Day coma!

Literally, I like every single part of the holidays! 

So this year, in preparation for our grand soirée, I decorated even more than usual. Now-- by "more than usual", what I mean is that we did more than just decorate the tree. Keep in mind that we don't have a palatial apartment in Brooklyn, so there is no mantle to decorate, no staircase to wrap in garland, but we do have two great "up-top" spots that were just begging for decoration. I decided that I was going to wind pine garland and colorful christmas lights above the kitchen cabinets and above the dining room wall unit, and with literally $9.00 spent ($7.00 for 25 feet of garland, $2.00 for lights) our house was transformed into a wintery-wonderland!

I looked around online, and found some other beautiful inspiration for holiday decorations... Take a peek!

Thank you Martha! 
Yow-zah! Dachsund menorah!
Thanks again to the brilliant Martha Stewart! 
Holy smokes! Look at this fabulous version of a menorah! Thanks to Jonathan Adler... 
Cute bannister decorations too! 
Bummer we don't have our own staircase!

Sadly, I completely forgot to take photos of our decorations, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow night to see just how festive Brooklyn is looking! 

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Country dinner: Boil, squish, fatten, season, squish, fatten, eat.

My brother was up visiting us in the country this past weekend, and we couldn't resist making a gen-uine country dinner. We whipped up one of our favorite nostalgia-filled comfort foods which my mom used to make when we were kids: Bill Blass' Meatloaf. I'm not sure how Bill Blass came to be the authority on meatloaf in our house, but he's the guy we turn to in our time of need...

Check out his recipe below... It's a cinch.


Ingredients:

Servings:

8
Units: US | Metric

Directions:


  1. 1
    Preheat oven to 350F degrees; oil a 8x4 loaf pan and set aside.
  2. 2
    In a large, heavy skillet over medium heat, saute the celery and onion in the butter until soft; remove from heat and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
  3. 3
    Add the meats, parsley, sour cream, bread crumbs and spices to the skillet. 
  4. 4
    Whisk the egg with the worcestershire sauce and add to mixture.
  5. 5
    Using a wooden spoon or your hands, combine the mixture and mold into a loaf shape.
  6. 6
    Place the meat loaf in the prepared pan; top with the chili sauce, then the bacon slices. 
  7. 7
    Place on a cookie sheet-- to catch any drips-- and bake until cooked through and browned, at least 1 hour.

I'm gonna tell you-- I don't think I've seen my brother get as excited about anything recently as he got about the prospect of meatloaf. Literally jumping up and down. He's 32. 

We combined the meatloaf with some roasted acorn squash and "messy" mashed potatoes, and we were in business. "Messy" mashed potatoes are fundamentally the same as "dirty" mashed potatoes (potatoes mashed w/ the skins on), which are basically the same as "regular" mashed potatoes (potatoes mashed with the skins off), except we bought little tiny yukon gold potatoes, and used those so that the skins weren't too thick and coarse, and then yummy rich flavor of the yukon golds get to stand out more and the "dirty flavor" of the skins is less present. Mmmmm...

That recipe is pretty straight forward: 

-Boil potatoes (we bought a 2-lb. bag and that made enough for 6-8.)
If you're using bigger potatoes, cube them before you boil them to reduce the cooking time and to ensure that they all cook more evenly. 


-While they're boiling, check to see how they're progressing. You don't want or need to over-boil them, so John and I check to see if they are cooked using a cake tester. This is a great trick, and worth buying one for a lifetime of perfectly cooked potatoes. Once you can easily poke them with the tester, and the tester goes smoothly in-and-out, they're ready. Check a couple different potatoes, just in case you found a rogue softy.

-Once boiled, strain. Let cool for a minute, so they're not too hot to handle, and then plunk them into a big bowl.

-Squish a little with a potato masher, or whatever your preferred mashing device is (Fork? Meat tenderizer? To each their own...) and then add a generous scoop (maybe 1/2-3/4 cup) of something creamy. We used reduced-fat sour cream because we had left-overs from the meatloaf recipe, but yogurt, butter, or straight-up cream will all do the trick, depending on how vigilant you are about not having a heart attack.

-Add a good amount of salt & pepper, and mash again. At this point, I usually add another dose of "something creamy", because I like my mashed potatoes more moist and creamy (fatty) and less dry (healthy), but again-- to each their own.

-And that's really it. Boil, squish, fatten, season, squish, fatten, eat. When you put it that way, those are some super simple potatoes!


It was country-time-delicious! 

Two last notes: 
1.) Don't invite too many people over to eat this meal. You are GOING TO WANT LEFT-OVERS. Leftover meatloaf sandwiches are the real reason one makes meatloaf, so don't share with too many people or there won't be enough for the day after. : ) 

2.) Despite how tempting it might be to eat the bacon on top of the meatloaf, DON'T. I don't know why. I think it gets hyper-infused with fat and chili sauce and some crazy-outer-space-fusion happens and it just becomes gross and über-fatty. It will make you feel unwell. It did make my brother feel decidedly unwell.  Trust me. Don't eat it.