Sometimes I get the urge to cook. Especially with a newly purchased cookware set; the urge strikes hard. Unfortunately, my kitchen was a bit distraught after the notorious crane incident of March 2008 (yup, that was my building) and I had to put my sautéing crave aside and wait till my gas was back on and my oven was reattached in its appropriate place. Lucky for me, all was status-quo this weekend and while the iron was hot, I went for it.
I hadn’t cooked anything Italian in quite some time—trying to watch my carb intake probably has something to do with it; but as I perused the super market on Sunday I started to get some ideas for dinner that night. I knew I wanted protein and I had a yearning for eggplant (surprise, surprise). I wanted to do something a little different than just layer aubergine and chicken with some tomatoes and I started to think a little carefully. After I found my eggplant, I found a bottle of capers and thought- “What if I mix this with some low-fat ricotta and a few other key ingredient and use this to layer the two?” Eggplant rollatini meets chicken parmesan.
Back at my apartment, I dipped the chicken in egg whites and dusted the breasts with bread crumbs. I put the breast in a pan with extra-virgin olive oil for 2 minutes on each side and place them in a casserole dish lined with tomato sauce. Next came the eggplant, which I sliced length wise and salted. That too, went into the oil panned for a couple minutes on each side. The lower the heat, the less it burns and the crisper it gets. While the eggplants were in the pan, I made my ricotta mixture. I used some eggwhites to thin out the cheese; added Italian season, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and then of course my capers and slice tomato for an extra touch. Fresh basil would’ve been great in this but sorry for me, I forgot to purchase! (I need one of those basil window plants ha).
I put some more tomato sauce on top of the chicken for more flavor and then spooned some of the ricotta mixture to each breast topped each piece with an eggplant slice and then put a thin layer of sauce on top of that as well. For show- I sprinkled a little grated cheese on the top and put a few more capers in the center of each eggplant slice.
The dish came out pretty good and definitely satiates an appetite for Italian… as well as my pining to cook!
If you’d like to replicate- here’s a list of ingredients (measurements were improvised so had to say):
Thinly-sliced skinless Chicken breasts
Eggplant
Tomatoes
Breadcrumbs (with Italian seasoning in it)
Parmesan cheese (or Peccorino-Romano)
Egg Whites
EVOO
Tomato Sauce
Capers
Garlic Powder
Italian Seasoning
Fresh Basil (best)
Salt and Pepper
Part-skim Ricotta Cheese
Shredded Cheese (Mozzarella)—optional
Showing posts with label Italian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italian. Show all posts
Monday, March 31, 2008
Monday, November 26, 2007
Tasteful Reading
As an avid New York Magazine reader, I can’t image what life would be like when enticed by restaurant openings, concerts and events and unable to have the opportunity to see what it’s all about. Whether I actually go or not, at least I have the peace of mind that I’m close enough to make it; effort is just the key.
As a born and raised native New Yorker, my dear friend Lizbo, has lived in LA for the last 2+ years but yet still reads New York Mag religiously. She carefully dog ears her must-see plays, must-eat restaurants and all that falls in between. She has quite the archive. So when she returns to New York for holidays, special occasions and her routine summer check-in she has a full list of places she wants to go. It’s her only opportunity to put face to name so to speak.
Last week, I took off a day from work to indulge in a day of fun with Lizbo. Originally we planned this as a girlie day for spa treatments, shopping and lunch but with lack of funds and laziness setting in we settled on lunch. Plus we had to save our energy for a night of debauchery in celebration of A.Duh’s bday. As Lizbo and I tried to decide on a restaurant, Lizbo said she would reference her archived “Cheap Eats” issue of New York Magazine—this is they type of things she saves it for. One of the establishments mentioned was Bar Stuzzichini. We quickly settled on this for its equidistant location and promise for one of Lizbo’s favorite foods Gnocci.
Lizbo is a pretty simple eater and by simple I mean she safely and consistently eats kid food ie. Burgers, pizza, French fries and of course the exotic gnocci. Her usual highlight of New York Mag’s cheap eats is the burger joint section—and she’s pretty much hit up most of these places in Manhattan. I fondly remember last time she was in NY--meeting her at Zip Burger (on 52nd and 2nd) to find her sitting quietly in a booth by herself methodically eating her organic burger with Belgian cut fries and a milk shake to wash it down. However, throughout the years Lizbo she has attempted to branch out. And I give her credit for this.
Bar Stuzzichini was another one of Lizbo’s branching out moments. She awaited my late arrival for about 20 minutes (sorry- the subways!) with a glass of diet coke and a menu. When I ordered a diet coke as well, the waiter brought over a quarter bottle with the sode for refill. I thought this was the cutest touch—traditionally only served this way with wine. We scanned the menu; Lizbo looking for items she would potentially eat; me fixated on the eggplant parmigiana. The waiter arrived to answer any questions and Lizbo queried, “So the gnocci..is that spicy? What’s actually in that?” The waiter answered, “Yes it’s spicy with prosciutto- but it’s very good.” “Hmm… yeah, I don’t think that’s going to work, “ Lizbo replied. “And what about the crispy chicken? Just how crispy is it?” she asked. The conversation continued and Lizbo decided on the chicken to my surprise. I asked the waiter as well, “Is the eggplant breaded? Just how breaded?” He answered that it wasn’t breaded and it was petite. I give him credit for being able to answer such questions of ours.
We started with the meatballs- which were 5 tiny round balls that were completed breaded on the outside and what seemed to be a blend of meat on the inside. They almost looked like little falafel balls. Lizbo and I agreed they weren’t our fav yet we couldn’t help but finish the moist balls one by one. Shortly after, our mains arrived—which were simply presented no sides or garnish nonsense. Lizbo’s chicken cooked to what looked like brown crisp perfection on the bone and my eggplant that looked like a slice of eggplant layered lasagna. I really loved my dish- a light tasty tomato sauce and everything was moist and perfectly cooked. Reminded me of the eggplant parm at ‘inoteca on Rivington Street if not better. Lizbo wasn’t in love with her food; she liked the crispy parts of the chicken but thought you can taste every piece of the inside (not sure if that’s good or bad). As she described the meatballs as “mealy” she also described the chicken.
After I server removed our plates, Lizbo ordered a canola and a glass of Muscat and I ordered a cappuccino. I asked for a skim cap and the waiter said they only had whole but that there was barely any milk in it; it was mainly foam. When the cup arrived- I’d never seen anything like it; a shot of espresso on the bottom of what seemed to be a foam party on top. I couldn’t help but think of Mugatu from Zoolander. As I tried to enjoy my foam, I became quite jealous of Lizbo’s Muscat, which didn’t not come in classic dessert wine glass but rather what seemed to be a goblet. 5 minutes later, I ordered my own.
Before the bill even arrived, Lizbo and I realized this probably wouldn’t be the “Cheap Eats” lunch we had originally anticipated. Much of the time what NY Mag considers Cheap is not what underpaid 20 somethings consider to be frugal. Although I must say the dinner prices at Bar Stuzzichini are the same as lunch- so most of the entrees are under 25 (which is great for dinner) as long as you pay for sides ala carte and you are aware of the smaller side portions. Many reviews have said to actually just order a ton of the small plates, which was the opposite of what Lizbo and I did. But hey we’re backwards sort of people. Would definitely say to go for dinner rather than lunch- although the atmosphere is a little chain-restauranty (at first glance from the marble bar top I thought it would be cute but from a birds eye view the red décor is a little off-putting). We also sat for a long time over due and the service left us alone to continue our chatter storm and bask in our muscatos.
I’m just happy that we were able to fufill the Lizbo vision and allow her to travel cross the continent to actualize her reading. It's so much better to be able to taste it.
As a born and raised native New Yorker, my dear friend Lizbo, has lived in LA for the last 2+ years but yet still reads New York Mag religiously. She carefully dog ears her must-see plays, must-eat restaurants and all that falls in between. She has quite the archive. So when she returns to New York for holidays, special occasions and her routine summer check-in she has a full list of places she wants to go. It’s her only opportunity to put face to name so to speak.
Last week, I took off a day from work to indulge in a day of fun with Lizbo. Originally we planned this as a girlie day for spa treatments, shopping and lunch but with lack of funds and laziness setting in we settled on lunch. Plus we had to save our energy for a night of debauchery in celebration of A.Duh’s bday. As Lizbo and I tried to decide on a restaurant, Lizbo said she would reference her archived “Cheap Eats” issue of New York Magazine—this is they type of things she saves it for. One of the establishments mentioned was Bar Stuzzichini. We quickly settled on this for its equidistant location and promise for one of Lizbo’s favorite foods Gnocci.
Lizbo is a pretty simple eater and by simple I mean she safely and consistently eats kid food ie. Burgers, pizza, French fries and of course the exotic gnocci. Her usual highlight of New York Mag’s cheap eats is the burger joint section—and she’s pretty much hit up most of these places in Manhattan. I fondly remember last time she was in NY--meeting her at Zip Burger (on 52nd and 2nd) to find her sitting quietly in a booth by herself methodically eating her organic burger with Belgian cut fries and a milk shake to wash it down. However, throughout the years Lizbo she has attempted to branch out. And I give her credit for this.
Bar Stuzzichini was another one of Lizbo’s branching out moments. She awaited my late arrival for about 20 minutes (sorry- the subways!) with a glass of diet coke and a menu. When I ordered a diet coke as well, the waiter brought over a quarter bottle with the sode for refill. I thought this was the cutest touch—traditionally only served this way with wine. We scanned the menu; Lizbo looking for items she would potentially eat; me fixated on the eggplant parmigiana. The waiter arrived to answer any questions and Lizbo queried, “So the gnocci..is that spicy? What’s actually in that?” The waiter answered, “Yes it’s spicy with prosciutto- but it’s very good.” “Hmm… yeah, I don’t think that’s going to work, “ Lizbo replied. “And what about the crispy chicken? Just how crispy is it?” she asked. The conversation continued and Lizbo decided on the chicken to my surprise. I asked the waiter as well, “Is the eggplant breaded? Just how breaded?” He answered that it wasn’t breaded and it was petite. I give him credit for being able to answer such questions of ours.
We started with the meatballs- which were 5 tiny round balls that were completed breaded on the outside and what seemed to be a blend of meat on the inside. They almost looked like little falafel balls. Lizbo and I agreed they weren’t our fav yet we couldn’t help but finish the moist balls one by one. Shortly after, our mains arrived—which were simply presented no sides or garnish nonsense. Lizbo’s chicken cooked to what looked like brown crisp perfection on the bone and my eggplant that looked like a slice of eggplant layered lasagna. I really loved my dish- a light tasty tomato sauce and everything was moist and perfectly cooked. Reminded me of the eggplant parm at ‘inoteca on Rivington Street if not better. Lizbo wasn’t in love with her food; she liked the crispy parts of the chicken but thought you can taste every piece of the inside (not sure if that’s good or bad). As she described the meatballs as “mealy” she also described the chicken.
After I server removed our plates, Lizbo ordered a canola and a glass of Muscat and I ordered a cappuccino. I asked for a skim cap and the waiter said they only had whole but that there was barely any milk in it; it was mainly foam. When the cup arrived- I’d never seen anything like it; a shot of espresso on the bottom of what seemed to be a foam party on top. I couldn’t help but think of Mugatu from Zoolander. As I tried to enjoy my foam, I became quite jealous of Lizbo’s Muscat, which didn’t not come in classic dessert wine glass but rather what seemed to be a goblet. 5 minutes later, I ordered my own.
Before the bill even arrived, Lizbo and I realized this probably wouldn’t be the “Cheap Eats” lunch we had originally anticipated. Much of the time what NY Mag considers Cheap is not what underpaid 20 somethings consider to be frugal. Although I must say the dinner prices at Bar Stuzzichini are the same as lunch- so most of the entrees are under 25 (which is great for dinner) as long as you pay for sides ala carte and you are aware of the smaller side portions. Many reviews have said to actually just order a ton of the small plates, which was the opposite of what Lizbo and I did. But hey we’re backwards sort of people. Would definitely say to go for dinner rather than lunch- although the atmosphere is a little chain-restauranty (at first glance from the marble bar top I thought it would be cute but from a birds eye view the red décor is a little off-putting). We also sat for a long time over due and the service left us alone to continue our chatter storm and bask in our muscatos.
I’m just happy that we were able to fufill the Lizbo vision and allow her to travel cross the continent to actualize her reading. It's so much better to be able to taste it.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Mmmm...Italian
Lately I don’t know what it is but I’ve been returning to my roots…and by roots, I truly don’t mean my heritage- I mean my first love of food- Italian. The first cheese I ever liked-- Mozzarella; the first sauce I ever learned how to cook- Sicilian tomato sauce; and the cuisine that I consider to be one of my first loves. This adoration shortly expanded into all Mediterranean food including Greek, Turkish and other European food like French, but I will also hold a very dear place in my heart for the food from the country shaped like a boot.
I hadn’t actually eaten the get-down-and-dirty rich type of Italian food for awhile as I had been trying intensely to stay away from Pasta (Lean Cuisine Meals surely don’t count although they make a decent substitute). About a month and a half ago, a friend took me to Frank’s for my birthday. The little place in the east village is cozy with unnoticeable signage and a number of tables outside. The place is packed so definitely expect to wait. It also sort of reminds me of Bar Piti; not in décor but in food. We waited at the busy bar to enjoy the wonderful weather and people watch while we enveloped the classic Italian fare: starting with the burrata Mozzarella with beefsteak tomatoes and a salad with grilled mushrooms. We knew half-way through our appetizers we had ordered too much as usual and our eyes proved to be much larger than our stomachs. We both ordered the fish special for our main: a brozino over sautéed spinach in a garlic and lemon sauce. Fresh and delicious, but we couldn’t help and eye the pasta arriving at every other table around us. Next time, I’d definitely deal with the carbs but overall really awesome.
A few weeks later A.Duh, Doogs and I wanted to get together for a dinner that satisfied our pallets as well as our wallets. We opted on Foccacia, a cute corner restaurants (also with outside seating) on bank street in the west village. We had all been here before and were pleasantly delighted with the homey and warm food, the cozy atmosphere and the reasonable prices. Once again, our eyes were wider than what we could eat and we ordered the eggplant napoleon appetizer along with the Cesar salad. For entrée, this time I went with my gut (literally) and ordered the ear shell pasta with Bolognese sauce which was a nice switch from the usual spaghetti Bolognese; the sauce was delicious and the ear shaped pasta went great with the chopped meat. It was also fresh as ever. Doogs went with the Ravioli in a cream sauce with walnuts which was really great but super super rich; one of those dishes which is difficult to finish just based on the creaminess. As usual, A. Duh went with a dish infused with salmon; a black fettucini (although she opted for regular fettucini) with salmon and peas in a cream sauce. By the end of our meal, we all felt satiated, caught up on each others lives, and rekindled with a restaurant I was fond of. I ended up returning with my sister two weeks later to take her there for her birthday. This time, we split a salad and both got the rigatoni with eggplant (my favorite dish at Foccacia) as its extremely garlicy (mmm) and include my favorite- eggplant!
Cut to about a week ago, I hadn’t seen Ginger in quite some time; she had been frolicking in the Mediterranean (literally!) and busy schedules made coordination hard. So on the night before my Lasik surgery (which is amazing btw), we decided to go for a bite to eat and catch up. We ended up at Crispo; a restaurant Ginger frequents pretty often. I was a little apprehensive and I just assumed the place was over-rated; I mean it is on 14th street by meatpacking. But when we entered the restaurant, it already exceeded my expectation in coziness as it was warmer than I expected and cavernous. We waited at the bar for a table (initially the sat us at a table without any AC, which was NOT going to happen). We ordered a bottle of wine at the bar, which we had to pay for at the bar and couldn’t transfer over to the table; which is a bit annoying but the food was pretty good so I’ll let it go . We ordered an eggplant tapenade to start; which was good—the eggplant was cooked perfectly, not to mushy, not overripe and acidic. One couldn’t help but dip a little bread into it. Ginger and I decided to split the bronzini and the gnocci with duck and parmesan. The bronzini was really fresh and the gnocci was such a nice mix up from the norm, I couldn’t help but love it. The duck complimented the parmesan and savory pasta so well. In any case, the food definitely exceeded my expectations as well. The service was okay; nothing to brag about, but I will say the place was extremely busy even on a Tuesday night at 9. The service wasn’t there to shmooze with you or cater to your undying needs; they were there to take your order and bring your food and that was that.
Overall, 3 cozy places. One- Cozy trendy (Crispo); One Cozy East (Frank’s) but ridiculously busy and close tabled; One Cozy West (Foccacia). Drilling down, I can’t stay away from Bank Street. It’s an adorable street in the west village that is flooded with awesome restaurants (from Extra Virgin to Café Cluny) so its usually my first pick and Focaccia does most things right from food, atmosphere and service (although last time I waited for my check for 30 min..I guess you can’t win every time). Frank’s would be next because it has awesome food that is traditional and homey and in a Italian vibed atmosphere with the potential to watch passerbyers as you sit outside (although almost on top of your neighbor- also if I remember correctly the bartender was cute? Hmm..maybe). Lastly, I would pick Crispo. I wouldn’t ever say no to this place as I really enjoyed the food, but the service isn’t too welcoming and I think you can find equal or better food somewhere else. All in all though, I would return to all of these restaurants as they treat my first love well-Italian fare. And if you know how to cook it well, you will always have my vote.
I hadn’t actually eaten the get-down-and-dirty rich type of Italian food for awhile as I had been trying intensely to stay away from Pasta (Lean Cuisine Meals surely don’t count although they make a decent substitute). About a month and a half ago, a friend took me to Frank’s for my birthday. The little place in the east village is cozy with unnoticeable signage and a number of tables outside. The place is packed so definitely expect to wait. It also sort of reminds me of Bar Piti; not in décor but in food. We waited at the busy bar to enjoy the wonderful weather and people watch while we enveloped the classic Italian fare: starting with the burrata Mozzarella with beefsteak tomatoes and a salad with grilled mushrooms. We knew half-way through our appetizers we had ordered too much as usual and our eyes proved to be much larger than our stomachs. We both ordered the fish special for our main: a brozino over sautéed spinach in a garlic and lemon sauce. Fresh and delicious, but we couldn’t help and eye the pasta arriving at every other table around us. Next time, I’d definitely deal with the carbs but overall really awesome.
A few weeks later A.Duh, Doogs and I wanted to get together for a dinner that satisfied our pallets as well as our wallets. We opted on Foccacia, a cute corner restaurants (also with outside seating) on bank street in the west village. We had all been here before and were pleasantly delighted with the homey and warm food, the cozy atmosphere and the reasonable prices. Once again, our eyes were wider than what we could eat and we ordered the eggplant napoleon appetizer along with the Cesar salad. For entrée, this time I went with my gut (literally) and ordered the ear shell pasta with Bolognese sauce which was a nice switch from the usual spaghetti Bolognese; the sauce was delicious and the ear shaped pasta went great with the chopped meat. It was also fresh as ever. Doogs went with the Ravioli in a cream sauce with walnuts which was really great but super super rich; one of those dishes which is difficult to finish just based on the creaminess. As usual, A. Duh went with a dish infused with salmon; a black fettucini (although she opted for regular fettucini) with salmon and peas in a cream sauce. By the end of our meal, we all felt satiated, caught up on each others lives, and rekindled with a restaurant I was fond of. I ended up returning with my sister two weeks later to take her there for her birthday. This time, we split a salad and both got the rigatoni with eggplant (my favorite dish at Foccacia) as its extremely garlicy (mmm) and include my favorite- eggplant!
Cut to about a week ago, I hadn’t seen Ginger in quite some time; she had been frolicking in the Mediterranean (literally!) and busy schedules made coordination hard. So on the night before my Lasik surgery (which is amazing btw), we decided to go for a bite to eat and catch up. We ended up at Crispo; a restaurant Ginger frequents pretty often. I was a little apprehensive and I just assumed the place was over-rated; I mean it is on 14th street by meatpacking. But when we entered the restaurant, it already exceeded my expectation in coziness as it was warmer than I expected and cavernous. We waited at the bar for a table (initially the sat us at a table without any AC, which was NOT going to happen). We ordered a bottle of wine at the bar, which we had to pay for at the bar and couldn’t transfer over to the table; which is a bit annoying but the food was pretty good so I’ll let it go . We ordered an eggplant tapenade to start; which was good—the eggplant was cooked perfectly, not to mushy, not overripe and acidic. One couldn’t help but dip a little bread into it. Ginger and I decided to split the bronzini and the gnocci with duck and parmesan. The bronzini was really fresh and the gnocci was such a nice mix up from the norm, I couldn’t help but love it. The duck complimented the parmesan and savory pasta so well. In any case, the food definitely exceeded my expectations as well. The service was okay; nothing to brag about, but I will say the place was extremely busy even on a Tuesday night at 9. The service wasn’t there to shmooze with you or cater to your undying needs; they were there to take your order and bring your food and that was that.
Overall, 3 cozy places. One- Cozy trendy (Crispo); One Cozy East (Frank’s) but ridiculously busy and close tabled; One Cozy West (Foccacia). Drilling down, I can’t stay away from Bank Street. It’s an adorable street in the west village that is flooded with awesome restaurants (from Extra Virgin to Café Cluny) so its usually my first pick and Focaccia does most things right from food, atmosphere and service (although last time I waited for my check for 30 min..I guess you can’t win every time). Frank’s would be next because it has awesome food that is traditional and homey and in a Italian vibed atmosphere with the potential to watch passerbyers as you sit outside (although almost on top of your neighbor- also if I remember correctly the bartender was cute? Hmm..maybe). Lastly, I would pick Crispo. I wouldn’t ever say no to this place as I really enjoyed the food, but the service isn’t too welcoming and I think you can find equal or better food somewhere else. All in all though, I would return to all of these restaurants as they treat my first love well-Italian fare. And if you know how to cook it well, you will always have my vote.
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