03
Sep
Food Porn Pic of the Day
Summer corn soup with fried pork belly at Rouge in Philly.
02
Sep
Cherry Cocoa Brownie Recipe
Oh man. Have you ever tried Alton Brown’s recipe for cocoa brownies? This recipe has become a staple of mine and while they taste spectacular just following the recipe straight, I make my version even more decadent by adding chocolate chips, chopped up maraschino cherries and some of the maraschino cherry juice. Just follow his recipe as is, cut out a quarter cup of the white sugar and swap for a quarter cup of the maraschino cherry juice. I toss in a big handful of chopped maraschino cherries to add some crisp texture and then two handfuls of semi-sweet or milk chocolate chocolate chips for a bit of bite as well. The brownies come out so moist (even more so because of the juice I add in), rich and the best part is that this is a really easy brownie recipe you won’t have to slave away in the kitchen to make them, but they taste so fancy, everyone will think that you do. Want to make it sound even more fancy? Instead of calling them brownies, just tell people you made a cake instead, because it can pass for one. Make sure that you have a glass of milk handy, you’re going to need it!
01
Sep
The Best Mac ‘n’ Cheese Ever
Few dishes make me salivate by the mere mention of them like mac and cheese. Comfort foods tend to do that, but something about mac ‘n’ cheese puts it in a category all its own. Which is kind of amazing when you think about how simple it can be to make. It’s got that pizza-like quality of being good even when it’s bad. Well, I’m going to have to pump the ole chest out a bit tonight kids, because on Sunday afternoon something beautiful happened.
It all started in the dairy aisle, when Mr. and Ms. Juice were strolling along admiring the cattle-related paraphernalia and I came across a few neatly-wrapped blocks of jalapeno pepperjack, white chedder, and monteray jack. Nearby, whispering to us over the hum of the refrigeration system, was a pint of half-and-half. Funny how the grocery store is both the best and worst place to be when you’re hungry. You always spend more than you thought you would, but it’s always worth it. Here’s what you need:
• Eight strips of bacon
• 1 pound of rigatoni
• Paprika
• The aforementioned cheeses
• Half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon of white truffle oil
• Ritz crackers
Get yourself a small saucepan and cover the bottom in half-and-half. Put it over low heat and throw a few shakes of paprika on it. Meanwhile, get your bacon cooking. Make it crispy because once the cheese gets on it it’s going to soften up. Chop your cheese into thin slices so it melts easily and throw about half a block in. The key here is stirring regularly so it melts and doesn’t start sticking to the pan as you add more cheese. Progressively add it until its a nice gooey consistency, alternating it with dashes of the half-and-half as you go to keep it from burning onto the pan. There’s a little danger in adding to much liquid and softening the cheese too much, but if you do that just add some flour to thicken it a bit. Throw your tablespoon of white truffle oil in anytime. Trust me, it’s worth having. The rich flavor layers nicely with the spice from the jalapeno jack—and once the bacon gets in there with all that salty, meaty awesomeness, we’re talking about the perfect macaroni and cheese.
Boil your water. Treat this just like regular pasta water. Some salt and oil. Preheat your oven to 350. Prep your bacon by chopping it into bits and slices. Boil your rigatoni for 8 minutes. Now—there are a lot of different ways to go but the reason you want rigatoni is that the big hollow cylinders swallow up so much cheese. They kind of become little hybrid manicotti. Awesome.
Drain your pasta and throw it in a medium-sized baking pan. Sprinkle the bacon on and pour the cheese in. Toss the pasta to mix everything together. Crumble a bunch of crackers on top. I like a nice coating, but you may just a want a little. Throw it in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until the top is starting to brown a little bit. Let it sit for five minutes and that’s it. The best mac and cheese around.
-Mr. Juice
31
Aug
Jim’s Steaks in Philly
When one heads down to Philly, one must get a cheesesteak. They’re greasy, flavorful and have melted cheese. Mmmmm, grease. Mmmmm, flavor. Mmmmm, cheese. While Pat’s and Geno’s are the most famous cheesesteak spots in Philly, my hotel wasn’t near them. Luckily, we were near Jim’s Steaks, and a friend of mine said that her boyfriend grew up in Philly and that Jim’s Steaks was his favorite cheesesteak in the city, so it was really serendipitous. Mmmmm, big words. Jim’s definitely gets a thumbs up from me. The steak was sliced nice and thin, my peppers gave it a slightly sweet edge and it had melted Cheez Whiz on it. Melted Cheez Whiz I say! I grabbed one for lunch, and another one for when I got back to New York City that night. A warning though. I kept my sandwich in a zipped up bag on the bus ride home, and towards the end of ride I opened up my bag to grab something and the most god awful smell emanated from my handbag. I’m pretty sure everyone thought I farted. Farted like Paul Bunyan would. Although I said, “It’s just my cheesesteak,” I’m not sure how many people actually believed me. Whatever. I still ate it.
-Juice
30
Aug
Family Recipe Series: Chicken Goodness
The pretty and tan couple are our lovely neighbors Nabil and Cindy. I tell Mr. Juice all the time that if Nabil and him got into a fight, Nabil would totally kick his ass. Mr. Juice in turn gives me dirty looks all of the time. But Nabil and Cindy love eating and Cindy is amazing cook, so I had to ask them for a recipe for our family recipe series. They sent over a recipe that came from Nabil’s dad, and I can’t wait to try it out myself. The marinade sounds awesome!
Chicken Goodness
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 Chicken Breasts
4 Green Bell Peppers (reserve 2 for marinade)
2 White Onion
1 Jalapeno Pepper
1/2 Bunch of Parsley
3 Stalks of Celery
1/2 Head of Garlic (6-8 cloves)
1/3 cup of White Vinegar
1/3 cup Olive Oil
Swiss Cheese
Package of Mushrooms any type
Sandwich rolls
Now What?
Puree 2 green peppers, 1 onion, 1 jalapeno pepper, 1/2 bunch of
parsley, 3 stalks of celery, 1/2 head of garlic, 1/3 cup of white
vinegar, 1/3 cup of olive oil.
Pour into plastic bag or container with chicken to marinate (overnight
is the best).
Slice remaining green peppers & onions and mushrooms and saute in
butter till tender.
Grill chicken and serve on toasted hoagie rolls or whatever bread you
like and top off with swiss cheese
26
Aug
Nutella and Peanut Butter Sandwich
Sometimes it’s the simple things in life like a Nutella and peanut butter sandwich that taste sooooo good!
25
Aug
How To Cure A Jalapeno Burn
courtesy of jonpeters.org
When I make guacamole, I chop through 2-3 jalapenos without a problem. Then the other day, when I was attempting jalapeno jelly, I had to chop through about 8-10 of them and before I knew it, my hands were on fire and I could not get rid of the excruciating pain. They just felt like they were on fire. I tried to do so many things and while they relieved the pain while I was applying the treatment, once I stopped applying it, the pain would just come back.
I tried:
Cold water
Half ‘n’ half
Alcohol
Hand sanitizer
Soap and water
Oil
Toner
Lotion
Baking soda
And probably a few more things.
After a few hours the pain wore off a tiny bit, but was still extremely painful. I had asked Mr. Juice to pick up a bottle of Maalox on the way home because after Googling the subject extensively, found out that the poison control center recommends this remedy. Lo and behold, after soaking my hands in Maalox, I had no more pain. This will definitely be a staple in my apartment from now on.
FYI, my jalapeno jelly was crap, which made me even madder about having to go through the pain.
-Juice
23
Aug
Yemenite Israeli Cuisine On The Upper East Side
I was meeting a Yemenite Israeli girlfriend of mine for lunch one day and asked if we could go to Rectangles on the Upper East Side. Why, you ask? Because Rectangles touts itself as an Authentic Yemenite Israeli cuisine and bar and I wanted to see if it was any good and figured she would be able to tell me. Also, I was really craving a falafel and they had it on their menu.
Letting her do the ordering, we got two dishes that filled our tummies to the brim. Her tummy much flatter and svelte than mine, but still two tummies.
Malawach – crispy Yemenite pancake served with a hard-boiled egg, fresh crushed tomatoes & hot sauce: Although she did say that her mom makes it better, it was still quite delicious in my eyes. Very similar to a scallion pancake in the Asian culture, this was a thick pancake folded over and over with layers of butter/oil/magarine, minus the scallions. So rich tasting and the size of a full dinner plate, if you gave me enough time, I could eat the entire thing without getting tired of it.
Combination Platter – hummus, babaganoush, turkish salad, tabouleh & falafel: So I was really craving falafel and this was definitely a better than decent and very good falafel. Crispy on the outside, mealy on the inside. Nothing on this platter was fancy. Everything was very straightforward. Hummus was hummus, as was the tabouleh, babaganoush and Turkish salad, but was made from good ingredients, which in turn made everything taste fresh and alive. Plus, the platter for some reason made me feel like I was eating something really healthy too, which was a bonus, even if I really wasn’t.
I would definitely return to Rectangles, for $20, we were full, got to taste so many different things and left happy on our way to go rowing in the park. High five.
6.5 out of 10
Rectangles
1431 1st Ave
Btwn 74th & 75th St
-Juice
