Lunch In a Rush

my friend's fish burger with cabbage slaw

   Last March 27 of this year, I met with my friend Andreea for lunch at Hillstone. It was rushed because I arrived late. When I came upon the entrance, I saw her with an empty cup of coffee - yep, I was that late - of course I apologized. I love meeting up with her because she acts like my older sister. We used to work at the same company except she had to relocate for a few months to join her hubby and thus quit her job.

   The place was crowded (lunch time for every employee who works close by) and the bar is the only place with a proper lighting as the sit down area is very dim. While waiting for our appetizer of artichoke and spinach dip with chips, salsa and sour cream, she was still undecided about what to get. I insisted she's on a diet which she didn't contradict and even insisted that she gains weight easily - seriously, she looks perfect. But she reasoned out that she needs to look trim for her upcoming trip to Romania next week.

    I ordered a Nagiri combo when the waiter approached us again and took a sip on my now tepid tea while she still makes up her mind. She ended up ordering a fish burger and a side of various cauliflowers tossed in a vinaigrette with parmesan cheese. That done she told me that I am going to share her food because she won't be able to finish it by herself. When food came, I told her to hold her fork as I wanted to take a picture of it - she obliged though she was laughing. During the course of our meal, Donna (who told Andreea that she won't be joining us) suddenly called and told us that she was on her way.

the Nigiri combo

   In the end, she won since I did ate half of her sandwich and munch on the cauliflowers as well. Donna arrived after we finished lunch, we asked her to finish off our appetizer, the first thing she said before taking a chip to have a taste of the dip was "Does it taste better than Mary's?" Andreea told her she doesn't know since she hasn't tasted my version. When Donna did tasted the dip, her reaction warmed my heart because she said mine taste better (sorry Hillstone, no offense meant). I can say that the food was presented nicely and the taste was not bad though not at the price they offer. With the way everything was priced, I was expecting that it wouldn't just be the ambiance to throw me off my chair but the food as well.

Kids Night Out

   I previously posted about my at home night out version with my friends. This time, it's my son's at-a-friend's home night out. My friend and my son's bff's parents invited us over for dinner at their place (a long overdue hangout day both for us parents and for our kids) the next night after the night out version I had at home with my coworkers. It was to catch up between the moms and a playdate between the kids. The kids were having so much fun together playing with swords and shields while beating up the only other guy in the house, my son's bestfriend's father. With them running around, we didn't have time minding the wait for the food to get cooked. It was a night to relax and enjoy each other's company.

    But before we went to their house, I made the cake balls and the coating that I will bring as dessert, while the cake and cupcakes I saved up from last night for my friend waits in the fridge. I thought the cake balls would end up as a disaster because I did everything in a rush as I wanted to get to their house early add my son asking me over and over what time we're going. I didn't use frosting that will serve as the "glue" that will keep the cake together because I was going to use a very sweet coating. Instead, I opted for heavy cream wherein I added a few tablespoons of maple syrup and a teaspoon of softened butter and whipped it all together. I folded this mixture in the crumbled cake that I chilled earlier, after which I scooped it with a cookie scoop and rolled them into a ball one by one. It was the wait of the balls chilling in the freezer so as it won't separate when I dipped it on the white chocolate cream cheese coating that used up most of my time. This coating can be made as a frosting if you make a thicker version, but to use as a coating, I made mine runny. I also omitted the sugar the recipe calls for since I used white chocolate. She wasn't been able to eat them that same night but she left a comment yesterday on my facebook page that said "Your cake balls are little morsels from heaven!!! Yummmm lol"

   Our dinner consisted of roasted pork with rice and beans, and steamed cauliflower courtesy of our chef Big A (his son's name is the same as his so I call him Little A). Dessert for the kids were icepops while mom was with me in the dining room devouring my contribution, the cake I saved for her from last night and the vanilla cake balls (as my son calls it). It was a night of good food and good company consisted of discussion about the happenings in our lives, recipes, foods, school, homework, the kids and memory lane. Much of the talking and recipe browsing happened after dinner while our kids were dancing while watching Justin Bieber's concert on dvd (gah!). We were enjoying each other that we didn't realize that it was almost 9 pm - and on a school night at that.

  

The kids taking a break with their dessert.

Night Out at Home

    I call this a night out since it's like having gourmet food with drinks in a restaurant enjoying the night with the ambiance of being out but cheaper. Last Monday, my coworker-friends came by for dinner in celebration of our friendship. Never mind where the idea came from in the first place, we just focus on how it was. Everyone pitch in for the food and drinks to be served that night. While I was cooking, my friends help as my mom served some hors d' oeuvres she made so my friends can have something to munch on while waiting for the main course.

    It was unexpectedly enjoyable and fun. Don't get me wrong, but they arrive an hour early than I expected so I was still in my apron, going back and forth in the kitchen and trying to keep my son at bay. When my first batch of friends arrived, my son acted like his usual cautious and observant self towards visitors. He was hiding and peeking behind me while checking out my friends. It took a moment, but after a while, he got one of them playing with him and watching him while he played outside. All along I was in the kitchen  being helped by Jessie with the shrimp (Ha! a helper and a sitter - thanks guys!).

    While waiting for the food to get cooked, Donna and I started taking pictures, I do it for the blog and she does it as a souvenir to admire. It was like that all through out till our other friend arrive. Her arrival didn't stop the photo ops though, it just completed the picture. It was a three-course dinner with wines and champagnes all together that made a night for all of us to remember.

    The Menu:

    Appetizer (courtesy of my mom): Toasted French bread, Tossed Parsley, Tomato and Onion in a salad vinaigrette, and Roasted Bone Marrow.
 

 

  

 Main Course: Grilled Cajun-Lime Shrimp, Grilled Chicken Teriyaki and plain steamed rice (I was asking my friend Jessie to cook some Yellow Spanish Rice to no avail).

       I  marinated the chicken and shrimp the night before to have the flavors infuse and seep into the meats. The chicken marinade was a combination of sake, mirin, brown sugar, soy sauce, grated garlic and ginger. While the shrimp marinade consisted of grated lime zest, lime juice, chopped parsley, chopped garlic, cajun seasoning and olive oil.

       Grilling, grilling, grilling...

  

The grilled shrimp

and chicken...

The dessert: Chocolate cake with chocolate ganache frosting and yellow cupcakes with cream cheese frosting accompanied by a rose champagne with strawberries.

did I forget to mention fresh strawberries?

get bubbly!

Thanks guys!

Affogato and Cinnamon-Sugar Swirls

      Coffee, ice cream and whipped cream! A combination of the three things I like. I saw a picture of this in the internet and got very curious and was very amused when I saw the recipe because it wasn't that complicated. Affogato, which literally means "drowned" in Italian is a coffee drink consisting of a scoop of ice cream and a shot of espresso or the strongest coffee you got. Place the scooped ice cream in a mug or a cup then drown the ice cream scoop with a shot of espresso. I just added the whipped cream on top.The sweetness from the ice cream will compliment the bitterness of the coffee.

      I partnered the affogato with the cinnamon-sugar swirls that I made earlier. Served this to my mom and my grandmother - with my mom laughing and telling me that my grandmother might end up awake the whole night with sugar and caffeine given to her.
I had this served an hour before dinner and as luck would have had it, with my son sleeping - otherwise I'll have to think of something to substitute the coffee to give him without worrying if he'll stay up all night or climb through the ceiling.

     I got the recipe of affogato from the foodnetwork website courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis. But instead of using chocolate flavored ice cream, I used vanilla instead. Try it yourself:

 Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup cold whipping cream
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 tablespoon espresso powder
• 1 pint chocolate gelato or ice cream

Directions:

       Using an electric mixer, beat the cream in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Cover and refrigerate the whipped cream.

      Whisk the boiling water and espresso powder in a 1 cup glass measuring cup until the powder is dissolved, or use an espresso machine to make 4 shots of espresso. Scoop 1/2 cup of the gelato or ice cream into each of 4 dessert bowls or glasses. Pour 2 tablespoons or 1 shot of hot espresso over each. Top with the whipped cream and serve immediately.

    For the swirls, it wasn't any trouble at all. As long as you got a sheet of puff pastry, sugar and ground cinnamon, you're good to go. Lay the sheet of pastry flat on a surface, sprinkle with sugar covering the whole sheet then dust with the ground cinnamon. Roll the sheet with the dusted part inside, cut pastry crosswise 1 inch apart and put in a lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 °F for at least 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Best served warm and partnered with the affogato.

Enjoy!

  

Marble Bomb

It took me two days, two days to finally finish my cake project.

Day One: Marble Cake

    I was planning to make cake pops the day before, planned to have everything finished during this day since I'm off and will return to work the next day. Instead after I dropped my son off to school, I relaxed, ate breakfast, stayed in front of the computer and fixed my other blog webpage. It took more time than I have anticipated which was alright with me since I was also enjoying my chat with my father whom I haven't seen in 5 years. As I was saying, I ended up actually baking after we ate our dinner. I have my son lick the spatula and beaters, it made me think of myself and my mom when I was his age. How I'll get excited when she's about to make pancakes because then I'll have a chance to lick the spoon or to actually spoon some of the batter and eat it. I managed to finish cleaning up the mess I made around 10 pm and ready to pass out.

Day Two: Marble Rumble

little hand helping me out

 Of course, here I am again starting late. Well not as late as last night, much earlier than that but later than I have planned. I made some cream cheese frosting that will keep the now crumbled marble cake that I made. After I got everything combined, my son helped me roll it scoop by scoop, one by one. He did at least five and then gave up complaining while laughing and walking away towards the bathroom sink. So there I was stuck for a good 30 minutes, when I was done, I put them all back to the fridge. After dinner, I made the chocolate ganache I'll be using to coat the cakes with. Guess what? I finished the same time I did last night.

Day Three: Marble Bomb

    Woke up disoriented with the feeling of something missing, something out of order and realizing that DST has started. Put the covers back on top of my head trying to go back to sleep, I can't since my alarm went on ringing every 10 minutes. So there I was, standing up groggily wanting badly to go back to bed and forget about going to work. Instead, I rushed prepping up myself and my brunch to be brought to work and put three of the cake pops in individual packs for a taste test. Glad to arrived on time (glad that my sprinting was not in vain), gave the cake pops to the "bubbles" (as we are called by "papa john"), and went to our separate departments. When I went to visit them during my break, I was greeted enthusiastically with a praise for my cake pop. After another 2 hours, mama bubble told me that the cake pop was the bomb! Thus, it is now called "marble bomb".

The couscous and the chicken

    It was 10:30 am (around that time), Latiyfa and I went to b-cafe (a small cafe inside Bloomingdale's) ordering my usual coffee and bagel with butter. As we sat and chat to catch up about the ongoings in our lives, Mohammed approached us to give us his usual morning greeting and of course, chat. Aside from the usual banters we share every morning, he offered us his lunch (not to worry, he gets free lunch from somewhere else). It was his homemade beef stew with couscous.
     A delicious blend of beef and spices with couscous and vegetables. The smell was divine, you can smell, thyme, chili, tomatoes and garlic. My mouth started to water no matter that I just finished my bagel. Tiyfa and I divided the food in half, it was so good even though it was spicy (spicy enough that I started to perspire and both our lips where turning red). As we ate, he sat at the table beside us and randomly tell stories and ask questions. I was just listening halfheartedly since I'm busy trying to discover what's in my food. As I started to figure out what some of the ingredients are, I asked Mohammed how to make one, the other ingredients he included and whatnot. He told me how he cooked it the way you make beef stew then add the couscous last.
    He laughed afterwards and guessed that I'm about to try it at home for dinner, I nod enthusiastically with food in my mouth. When we have everything emptied we said our thanks and goodbyes. The walk back to our respective departments was with more talking and some stopovers - with a bit of giggling about how the spicy food help Tiyfa with her colds. After that, all that I can think of was to go to the supermarket and get some couscous.


    When my shift was over, I went straight to the store and bought the couscous (I'm so excited!) and a few other stuff. I rested a bit (I've been standing all day here) then went straight to the kitchen to prep up all the ingredients. The version I made is with chicken and not too much spice, just a touch so my son can eat it as well. I cook just enough for the four of us with an extra for breakfast and to take to work. I was surprise that I ended up bringing a very small leftover from last night. Guess it was good!

Soup for the Soul

   My beloved son who's been ill for a week  due to an eye infection famously known as pink eye and a fever made a request one day. He asked me to cook for him one of his favorite soup which I call "molo ala daisy's" in honor of my aunt - since i got this from her.

   I can't really remember when was the first time I've ever tasted and eaten this soup. But I will never forget how it taste like and how she will ask me to help her once in a while. She will ask me to remove the meat of the boiled chicken from the bone, wrap the filling into the wonton wrappers. But to be honest, I never really liked helping her with this particular recipe when I was a kid (who prefers to sit in front of a bunch of ingredients, picking on the chicken and such while your friends are playing outside?). Even with this feeling, I'll end up being chastised by her because while I separate the meat of the boiled chicken from its bones, the meat mostly ended up on my mouth. I remember her line "Stop eating the chicken! What am I going to use later?" So of course I will stop and continue my work but once her back is turned I'll start stuffing my mouth again little by little - no worries, there will be a lot left.

   This soup is made with homemade chicken stock, sliced carrots, sliced scallions and some homemade wontons. The homemade wontons are what makes the difference. It got shrimp, ground pork/chicken, garlic, onions and my own twist - shiitake mushrooms and oyster sauce. All these ingredients combined in a bowl and wrapped in wonton wrappers. The result? a warm, filling, healthy soup with vegetables, meat and homemade stock.

    When I cooked it for my son this time, I added a teaspoon of shredded ginger to the soup. Ginger having medicinal properties for his cold and fever that accompanied his pink eye (yeah my poor baby suffering that whole week). But even with his illness, he still asked me if he can help, I gladly allowed him to do so. He "painted" water on the wrappers using a silicone brush to help the wrapper stick and keep the feeling enclosed. Cooking with him that time, while we both go running back and forth to the living room to catch up with the movie "Dante's Peak" was such fun.The best part of it all? was how happy he was when I started serving him the soup and how he asked for it again during dinner the next night. A few days after, he felt better and back to his usually energetic self (whew!).