"Keep on Waffles in the free world!"

While in NY this week I noticed that the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square now serves breakfast. Do you think they have a dish called:

Bon Jovi's "You Give Eggs a Bad Name."

I bet they do.

New York - Day 1

I was back in New York for some training last week and had the opportunity to eat at some places that I never got around to trying while living there.


At the top of my list was Momofuku Noodle Bar. The ramen noodle phenomenon has really exploded in the last couple years in New York, particularly in the east village. Momofuku is probably the most popular and makes the best use of fresh, locally grown ingredients. As well as adding contemporary twists to what is a very traditional (some ramen broth recipes date back thousands of years) meal.

The wait on a Tuesday night at about 9pm.

Seasonal Pickles

I started with the seasonal pickled vegetables. They were ridiculous! Think basically the set up you would get before your meal at a Korean restaurant. There's the kimchi, the cucumbers, but then it gets really interesting with the pickled fennel, celery, carrot and even pickled mushroom which I was skeptical of, but they were really really good. It's a very mild pickling with just a bit of the chili that you would get with kimchi.

The Momofuku Ramen

I wish I had taken this photo before mixing in the poached egg that rests on top because it is something to behold when it arrives at your table with all the ingredients compartmentalized and this egg floating on top. It's a work of art. I used to order my ramen sans egg but you really don't notice it. It adds more of a body to the soup then a strong eggy taste. The Berkshire pork in this is the best pork I've ever had in my life. There's two types of pork in this dish. There's the shredded pork that you see in the forground and then the more meaty pork belly that you see peaking out under the bit of nori wrapper. This could easily have been split by two people which many around me were doing that night*

The tiny kitchen at Momofuku.

*I was eating alone and it's a very cramped space - just two long bars, one of which has double sided seating. So I'm seated at the end of the bar that has four seats facing the diners across from you. Next to me on the very end - as if you were at the head of the table - is one gentleman and next to him (directly across from me) is his girlfriend. When the waitress arives she takes their order and looks at me and I say, "Oh no, I'm seperate" and she says that's fine and asks me what I'd like. So I order the same appetizer as the "couple" and the waitress says, "So two orders of the pickles for the three of you?" And the couple sort of awkwardly laugh and I say, "Nope. I'm not with them. I'm eating alone." So remember that if you go and you are dining solo, try to sit on the end of the bar facing the wall or the kitchen. Otherwise you are staring at a stranger as you loudly slurp noodles into your face. Listening as he tells his date that his mom's greatest dream in life was to have a floor-to-cealing ladder in her library.

Today's Menu, Tomorrow's Poop

Breakfast: Half a green chile and cheese bagel toasted with ham - steph ate the other half in the car on the way to work (I was driving).
Lunch: Chicken Cordon Bleu - company meeting.
Snack: A reluctant treat-size packet of candy corn - I still don't like candy corn, but it was there and sugary. Why do they look like fresh-pulled wisdom teeth?
Dinner: Chicken tacos and refried beans - I made the tacos, Rico's made the beans.

Wow, this blog has gotten LAYYYYZEEEEEE.

I love this french oven so much I wanna take it behind a middle school and get it pregnant!

La Creuset 8qt. Oval French Oven

Pizza and Homeless People

A couple weekends ago we went to the farmer's market down at pioneer park to buy some tomatoes and score some heroin. Apparently we were too late for the heroin but we got some good fresh mozzarella and basil to go along with the tomatoes so I decided to make some homemade pizza. Now, homemade pizza has always been one of those things that I've made fun of people for making because why spend two hours making something that doesn't taste nearly as good as something you can get for 10 bucks from Pizza Hut. And they'll drive it to your house. What else will people drive to your house? Heroin. But if you keep the ingredients really simple and fresh homemade pizza isn't that bad. In fact, it's pretty damn good.


Margherita with imported crushed Italian canned tomatoes (You can get these from Caputos), basil and mozarella

Roasted garlic, olive oil, fresh tomatoes, kalamata olives, fresh oregeno and parmegianno reggiano cheese.

Red Curry Halibut

I made this because I wanted to eat more fish but wanted to do something other than grilling or baking it. So I decided I would try to make curry. It's surprisingly easy to make a respectable curry dish at home. I adapted this from a Food Network recipe. You could also do this dish with chicken and boiled potatoes and cashews for a masaman-style curry. Or you could just not make it all.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger (you can find this in jars in the produce section)
2-3 teaspoons red curry paste - I use Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste (it's at most supermarkets in the Asian foods sections)
1 1/2 - 2 cups chicken broth (Depends how much you want to dilute the heat and how thinned out you like your curry)
1/2 cup coconut milk (Not sure on the measurement here - put in a little, simmer it, if it's too spicy add more, it's to your own preference how much you like)
1 pound halibut filets - skin removed and cut into 1-inch pieces.
1/2 cup cilantro - finely chopped
Fresh lime juice to garnish
2 cups cooked basmati rice - use whatever kind of rice you like here.

Heat the oil - this food blog is already a huge pain in the ass by the way - in a large saute pan. Add the garlic and ginger, saute but don't brown the garlic. Add the curry paste, stir for about a minute. Add the chicken broth, turn the heat up, let simmer. Add cocunt milk to desired taste. Salt and Pepper your halibut pieces. Gently add to the sauce. Turn the heat to medium. Let simmer for about 5-6 minutes until cooked through. Stir in cilantro at the end. Plate up, garnish with more fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime.