Cooking Posts - 2017

All my 2017 cooking photos and a few one-off dining pics as well!

Mac N' Cheese

Cumin-Roasted Carrots

Farro, Greek Yogurt, Lemon

Fondue

Meatball Parm Heroes

Cheesesteaks

Baked Eggs

Butcher Bar - Philly

Butcher Board

Roasted Beets

Smoked Gouda Mac N' Cheese

Pretzel Monkey Bread

Cast Iron Chocolate Chip Cookie

Smoked Slab Bacon

Cheesecake

My family and I were in Philly visiting my brother and we had this awesome outing at Butcher Bar. We didn't order a whole dinner, but rather a few plates to share. When it came for dessert, we went all in and got a giant slab of their house smoked bacon to go with our cookie and cheesecake. 

Chickpea Pasta

Fiddlehead Ferns

Corned Beef Reubens

Chilaquiles

Naan Pizza

Fried Chicken Dinner

Buttermilk Biscuits (we cheated and got store-bought)

Collard Greens w/ Ham Hocks

Fried Bird

Mint Juleps!

Leftover Fried Chicken Salad

Leftover Fried Chicken Sandwiches

Baked Ziti

Whipped up this giant tray of ziti (well, technically rigatoni, which I argue is superior for this dish) for my dear friends Al and Megan when their first was born and they needed some quick, easy dinners.

Smoked Salmon

Baked Eggs

Fried Chicken Dinner - Again!

Hush Puppies

Fried Bird

Mashed Potatoes

Collared Greens w/ Ham Hocks

Buttermilk Biscuits (again, store-bought - sorry!)

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream (the secret ingredient is corn syrup! don't judge)

Ripe Tomatoes

Swiss Chard Crostini

Ricotta

Brown Bread

Taco Night!

Or as my friend Jason said, "Those are not tacos - those are chingaderas". 

Little Goat Diner - Chicago

Goat Burger

Tempura Mashed Potatoes

During a trip for a wedding in Chicago, I of course scoped out where to go for my one free lunch. I ended up at Little Goat Diner, one of a few restaurants owned by Stephanie Izard of Top Chef / Next Iron Chef fame. The food was decent, but not great - the burger had a lot of great flavor but was very dry. The deep-friend mashed potatoes though were really awesome and worth the trip alone. 

Lamb Broth

Lamb Neck

Noodles

Herbs, Lime, & Onions

Dinner at Al & Megan's

Roasted Duck, Greens, & Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Chocolate Mousse Pie in Meringue Crust

Pork Chops

Black Rice

Salsa Verde

Individual Lasagnas

Enchiladas Verdes

Lunch at Emily Pizza

Colony Pizza: Pepperoni, Pickled Chilies, Hot Honey

Emmy Burger: Caramelized Onions, Cheddar, Pretzel Bun, Emmy Sauce

Dessert at Pig Bleecker

Buckeye Milkshake

Mason Jar S'Mores

Chicken Liver Rigatoni

Beer at Oyster Bay Brewing Co.

NoMad Bar - New Year's Eve 2017

Our second of two outings to NoMad Bar in December of 2017 (the first can be found here), this time for New Year's Eve! The restaurant often serves limited event specialty menus - most are great, and this NYE offering was especially good!

NoMad Bar
1170 Broadway & 28th St, New York, NY
thenomadhotel.com/new-york/dining/spaces/the-nomad-bar

Our usual spot on the balcony.

Walter Gibson (for 2)

Vodka, London Dry Gin, Chenin Blanc, Chambery Blanc and Dry Vermouths,

Green Apple Eau de Vie, Bee's Wax

My favorite version of the Martini is the Gibson, differentiated by its use of a cocktail onion rather than an olive to garnish. NoMad Bar offers a fun two-person version of this classic drink, fancying it up with additional ingredients, as well as the addition of a pot of house-pickled vegetables.  

Shrimp Cocktail

Traditional Accompaniments

Who doesn't love a good shrimp cocktail?

More Cocktails

Wedge Salad

Bacon, Shallots, Fines Herbes

Nice, but this is one of those cases where the original, low-brow version works way better. 

Tuna Carpaccio

Lemon, Olive, Egg

This tuna course was actually pretty mild, but the presentation on tuna rib/vertebrae was  striking!

Bone Marrow

Black Truffles, Bordelaise, Bitter Greens

As I love to say, roasted bone marrow is one of my favorite foods in the world. This was an interesting take, clearly inspired by Fergus Henderson's classic version, only with the bread turned into chunky crumbs and baked on top of the bones. 

Trappístes Rochefort 10

Belgian Ale

Leah and I love a good beer - this was my first time trying the wonderful TR 10 ale from the Ardennes Trappist monks of Belgium and it blew my mind with its rich, bread-y flavor with notes of dark fruit, nuts, and caramel. Leah had the great fortune to visit Brasserie de Rochefort during a trip to Belgium years ago. I've since also had the pleasure of enjoying TR 8 and 6 on several occasions. 

Slow-Cooked Halibut

Celery Root, Caviar, Fumé Blanc

This fish was juicy and tender, and tasted wonderful with the rich sauce and salty caviar. 

Ribeye en Croûte

Black Truffles, Bordelaise

Basically a play on Beef Wellington using truffle instead of the traditional mushroom duxelles, this was pretty outrageous. 

Sides

Creamed Spinach

Truffled Mashed Potatoes

These two amazing sides were taken straight from the playbook of every steakhouse. 

Coconut Cream Cake

Shredded Coconut, Cream Cheese Frosting

While I hate the texture of shredded coconut, I love the flavor - a good coconut cake is a slice of heaven for me. 

Brooklyn Blackout Cake

Devil's Food Cake, Chocolate Frosting

I recall this chocolate cake being slightly disappointing, as the cake itself was extremely dense, not in a good way. 

Grimm Power Pop!

Dessert Berliner Weisse

This was a fun dessert beer we ordered on a hunch - it had an interesting sour fruitiness mixed with a sort of lactic milk quality. A nice surprise at the end of a fantastic meal!