Dining Out: Ouest in NYC

   While cooking is one of my favorite hobbies, my first love was, of course, eating :) While my husband and I were dating, we would go out to eat every weekend because it gave us some time to be alone and talk privately without being surrounded by our families (no offense to anyone reading this...we love you!) But since we started living together, we have opted for the more economical route of cooking more and eating out less.

   Last year, we missed NYC Restaurant Week and I wanted to make sure that we made it there this year! What better day to go than to celebrate one month of marriage? For those of you unfamiliar with Restaurant Week, about 300 restaurants in Manhattan participate using a fixed price menu consisting of three courses - $24.07 for lunch and $35 for dinner. Considering many of these restaurants would normally charge about $35 for an entree only, this is a great deal!

   Our first choice was Chef Alex Guarnaschelli's restaurant, Butter, but they were booked for the day and time that we wanted. After perusing MANY restaurant menus at the NYC Restaurant Week website, we decided on Ouest Restaurant at 2315 Broadway between 83rd and 84th Street. At first glance, the restaurant looks very small compared to the burger place next door, but the entrance (which is marked with a large, red, velour curtain which I wasn't too fond of) takes you past the bar down a long corridor where the space opens into a large dining room.

   We were seated in the main dining room which was decorated elegantly in red with romantic mood lighting.  We both liked the fact that the kitchen was open and we could see the chefs preparing meals. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. They tried to fix our wobbly table without us even asking!

Menu for Restaurant Week 2012

   They also brought us this delicious multigrain bread. 

   Appetizers

Orecchiette Pasta

As I am 100% Italian, pasta is near and dear to my heart. The pasta was cooked al-dente, the pesto was very tasty, the sausage gave the dish the right amount of salt and the pine nuts gave the dish texture. Needless to say, I cleaned my plate.

Gazpacho

My husband truly enjoyed his soup. It was the perfect starter for a hot, humid day in Manhattan. The shrimp were perfectly cooked.

Entrees

Striped Bass with Corn Risotto

I must admit that this was my first time eating Striped Bass, so I don't have much to compare it to, but I would have liked the skin a bit crispier. Wherever the fish was lacking for me, the risotto made up for. The rice was perfectly cooked, and the corn gave a sweet morsel in each bite. The rock shrimp was also scrumptious!

Pork Chop

My husband's pork chop was moist and juicy, and we both loved the braised kale. That's saying something since he usually steers clear of most veggies! He also adored the polenta.

Desserts

Panna Cotta

In retrospect, I should have just ordered 12 of these and called it a night. This was an absolutely fabulous dessert! The panna cotta had flecks of vanilla bean within it and was soft, smooth, and light. The Italian pudding was sweet and creamy and paired perfectly with the tart, acidic bath of passion fruit goodness it sat in. I loved every single bite of this dessert. In fact, I let my husband try it, and when he didn't love it as much as me I made him give it back!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

My husband loved this chocolate cake. He said that it had a rich chocolate flavor and you could tell that it was made with quality chocolate. I have to admit I only had a bite because I loved mine so much!

All the dishes were gorgeously plated, the service was attentive, and we had an amazing, romantic evening together! We would recommend this restaurant!

Stay Savory,

Jasmine

Recipe to Reality: Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

This will satisfy your Tex-Mex craving!

   We've been living together for about 2 years now, I have cooked dinner for at least three nights a week since that time, and I still make it a point to glance at my husband's face after his first bite of a meal I've made. Am I fishing for compliments? ABSOLUTELY! I completely thrive on positive reinforcement (must be the teacher in me...)

   After my husband took a bite of this meal, he didn't say anything. I asked him what he thought and he said, "I think there's too much pepper. The ratio of pepper to filling is off." Dumbfounded, I responded with, "They are stuffed peppers!"

   Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this meal, but veggies are my favorite food group. The roasted bell pepper that served as a tasty vessel for my delicious meaty filling was one of the best parts of my meal!

   The recipe I used as a guide came from Simply Love Food. The only detail that I changed was I opted to substitute bulgur wheat for the white rice suggested in the recipe. My mother-in-law actually introduced me to bulgur wheat, and for those of you not familiar with it, it's a quick cooking form of whole wheat. For some more information on bulgur wheat, check out this article from Sunnyland Mills. Ultimately, it's healthier than white rice, and while my husband would never voluntarily eat bulgur wheat, within this recipe it really acts as more of a binder and you can hardly taste it. Normally, it has a nutty taste, and has a bite similar to brown rice. It pairs great with dried cranberries and fresh herbs (which is how my mother-in-law makes it). 

   I would probably rate this meal at a medium difficulty due to the number of steps required. By the end, I had three things going on at once.

Halved & Seeded

   First I had to cut the peppers in half and seed them. I tried to clean out the ribs as much as possible since I needed all that room to stuff my filling into.

Halfway Roasted

   I rubbed a bit of olive oil over the peppers and roasted them at 400 degrees in a 9 x 13 Pyrex baking dish for about 20 minutes. While they were roasting, I made the bulgur wheat following directions I found here at Livestrong.

Bulgur after all water is absorbed

   So now picture peppers in a 400 degree oven, bulgur wheat working on the stovetop, and a third burner working on medium for my filling...and no A/C in the kitchen. Good thing I just got a cute, short, haircut!

   In a skillet I cooked down a large yellow onion for about 2 minutes until translucent, then added the ground turkey. Once the turkey was browned, I threw in a packet of taco seasoning with 3/4 cup of water and let the mixture cook down. Then I added about 3/4 of a cup of frozen corn, and the can of drained and rinsed black beans and let all the flavors mingle.

Filling Minus Salsa & Bulgur

Finally, I added the jar of mango-peach salsa (YUM!) and all the cooked bulgur wheat for my finished stuffing! 

   By this time, the peppers were ready to come out. I was a bit pressed for time, so I didn't wait for the peppers to cool so that I could handle them. Instead, I just stuffed them using a wooden spoon inside the pan I roasted them in. I put them back into the oven for 15 minutes, pulled them out to add a little Mexican seasoned shredded cheese on top and stuck them back in for 5 minutes to let the cheese melt.

Sauna Time!

When I finally pulled them out, I added a pinch of chopped cilantro on top and we're ready to eat!

Yum!

 I found the filling to be extremely tasty! The grounded turkey was hearty while still being lean, the corn gave some sweet notes, the cilantro a bit of freshness, and the pepper itself was extremely tender. I was happy with the bulgur because although I love it on its own, I cleverly placed some whole grain into my hubby's diet tonight!

I should warn you that we had 2 peppers left over, and a TON of filling... which is why I'm planning on making Southwestern Bulgur Quesadillas next week! ^_~

Hope you enjoy this!!

Stay Savory,

Jasmine

Recipe to Reality: Banana Pudding Poke Cake

Banana Pudding Poke Cake!

    
   Some of you may be reading this title saying, "Poke cake?! What the heck is a poke cake?!" If this sounds familiar, don't worry, I thought the same thing. I found this recipe at The Country Cook's website. It's a great recipe for beginning bakers because it's Semi-Homemade, as Sandra Lee from the Food Network would say!

All set!

  The great thing about this cake is that the techniques are very simple, it tastes delicious (when does cake from a box not taste delicious?) and can have lots of different combinations. I decided to use "Rainbow Chip" cake mix, mostly because I already had a box of it in my pantry, but you can use your favorite cake mix for this recipe. After much deliberation, I decided to use Banana Cream pudding after getting advice from Twitter user @ThurmanPoat and my husband (whose opinion counts for a lot around here ^_^).


   I used a 9 x 13 pan courtesy of my aunt, Pattycake, because the kitchen in my apartment is too small for all my newlywed gifts :( . I followed the directions for the cake mix using the traditional water, eggs, and oil and let it bake for 28 minutes when the top was golden brown. Let the cake cool for just a few minutes before you begin poking holes into it.

This is where it gets its name from!

    Yes, POKE! Where do you think it got its name from? ;) I used the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes all the way through the cake to the bottom of the pan. The only trouble I had with this was that some of the cake got stuck to the handle and then came out when I removed it so there were little crumbles of cake on top. It didn't change the way it tasted, but didn't make for a very pretty picture.

   While the cake is cooling, make the pudding according to the directions. Make sure you are using the instant pudding. I added milk to the pudding and whisked it for about 2 minutes, then let it sit for 2 minutes to solidify a bit. You don't want the pudding to completely solidify because you want to pour it over your cake, but you don't want it to be completely liquidy either.

Full of Holes!

   Next, pour the pudding over the cake and use a spatula or spoon to make sure the pudding gets into all of those holes that you poked! Put that into the refrigerator to set up for a few hours.

Pourable Pudding!

Using my Pink Spatula ;)

   Once the pudding is set, add a layer of Cool Whip. I used the Light Cool Whip, but you can use any kind.

Looking good!

   Finally, add some crushed Nilla Wafers to the top right before you serve it to add some texture to the cake. If you add them too early, they will absorb the moisture from the Cool Whip and will get soggy. 

Ready to Serve!

   My new mother-in-law had a party this weekend to welcome my husband and I home from our honeymoon and I decided to make this cake for it. All of my husband's family loved the cake! It was moist, the pudding was delicious, and the whole thing came together perfectly. I couldn't take too much credit, considering it is semi-homemade, but I didn't mind getting compliments, either!

Deeeeeelicious!

Savory Tip #1: Peeling Garlic

I learn a lot of tips from watching the Food Network 24/7. One of my favorite tips that saves me a lot of time is for peeling garlic.

I'm not sure which chef I heard this from first, but I use it every time. 

In a nutshell, instead of using your fingernails to peel the skin off the garlic (which can be very sticky) you use the flat of your blade and apply pressure to one side to essentially crush the garlic. This causes the skin pop off and makes mincing your garlic much easier. 

Chef Anne Burrell really SMASHES her garlic on her board, but then doesn't mince it and just sticks the mash into whatever she's making. I don't have the right equipment (or space) for that right now ;)

Here's a short clip of me peeling some garlic for you visual learners out there!

 

Hope you enjoyed this tip!

Stay Savory,

Jasmine