a cooking and dining blog
My mother-in-law absolutely loves spanakopita, so I wanted to make it during her most recent visit. I looked at various spanakopita, spinach pie, spinach puff recipes and reduced it down to a basic filling that deemed would be the most tasty (and could be made…
It’s been ages since I have posted a new recipe, but today I felt inspired to get out some of the amazing dishes that have somehow managed to still be cranked out during this post-vaccine-euphoria-turned-bummed-out-from-antivaxxers-and-Delta-variant time. I hope to write a more lengthy piece about…
It was not until I was in my late 20s that I understood the magic that comes with a warm bagel slathered with cream cheese. Of course, I had eaten bagels before then, but I grew up only knowing frozen Lender bagels. And would continue…
This recipe came about because I am going to finally see my hairdresser. She is a foodie and I often used to bring her some of my baking experiments. I felt like I could not go empty-handed. I remembered she enjoyed the matcha shortbread cookies…
There always comes the day when the avocado you bought HAS to be used. That day came for me and I was uninterested in avocado toast, and making avocado maki rolls were blown when I realized I didn’t have enough rice. I didn’t want guacamole…
I had a big beet. I had some leftover grape tomatoes. I craved a refreshing salad. I ran through the beet preparations options: raw, roast or boiled. I love the crunch of a raw beet but they need to be either super julienned or mandolin…
Ironically, I have more time than ever during this pandemic but I have little desire to dig into long and complicated dishes, and that goes double for sweet recipes. I was looking for a chocolate recipe that was not a cookie or brownie that was…
I was getting tired of sweet potato fries but I didn’t want to spend too much time on a sweet potato side dish for dinner. I was perusing various Ottolenghi cookbooks for recipes and came across one for sweet potatoes with pickled onions, coriander and…
Tate’s cookies made me appreciate the joy of a crunchy cookie. But I also like a smaller size cookie that isn’t super flat as well. I have tried many oatmeal raisin cookies claiming to be crispy and while all were flavorful, they got soft after…
Winter brings squashes of all sorts to the farmers markets and CSAs. Sometimes overwhelmed, I’ve been making spaghetti squash gratins, butternut squash soups, sweet potato fries, etc. etc. etc. Soups are a comforting and easy go-to. I made soup from a kuri squash last year…
Sometimes one wants variety, especially after almost a year in quarantine/lockdown/isolation. Now, I love a good pepperoni pizza with green peppers and red onions, but we were in the mood for a white pizza for a change. I began my search but looking at various…
My guilty pleasure is processed cheese-flavor snacks — Cheeez-Its, Nacho Cheese Doritos, Club & Cheddar Sandwich Crackers — you get the picture. I try to relegate consumption to one snack size bag about 4x/year. BUT I LOVE CHEESE SNACKS! And I finally found a recipe…
My hand mixer broke, really broke, as in one of the beaters had a piece come loose. I looked to see if I could just buy a replacement beater but no dice. And so in my laziness, I have learned to live without it. In…
This morning I was on the hunt for an easy bread recipe that would not be a quick bread, but versatile enough for sandwiches or just slicing and munching. Truth be told, I hadn’t liked every sandwich-specific loaf recipe (i.e. has sandwich in the title)…
Like a pesto where you can substitute basil for cilantro or even parsley, and the pine nuts for walnuts, you can also play around with making hummus. Even though carrots can keep for some time, I had over two dozen at one point, and found…
I was in search of a Mediterranean rice-based dish, i.e. flipping through many an Ottolenghi cookbook and recipes online. But I was finding them to have more ingredients and spices than I wanted, as I was looking for a really simple pilaf or fried rice-type…
Recipe Tester: Vincent Yoh Vincent is an 11 year-old New Yorker whose hobbies include gaming, drawing and baking. Previous test recipes include Edible Cookie Dough and Vanilla Cake. RECIPE TESTED: Click here to get the recipe for Epicuious’ Korean Beef. GRADE: A WHY THIS RECIPE?…
There is a Chinese-American dish often found on restaurant menus (at least in the Midwest) called Crab Rangoon, which is a mixture of cream cheese and fake crab meat (usually) wrapped up in a wonton and deep-fried. I think there must have been some herbs…
Recipe Tester: Vincent Yoh Vincent is an 11 year-old New Yorker whose hobbies include gaming, drawing and baking. This is Vincent’s second test recipe. His first was for Edible Cookie Dough. RECIPE TESTED: Click here to get the recipe for Sally’s Baking Addiction Vanilla Cake.…
Recipe Tester: Saya Cano Saya is a 12 year-old from Kansas City who enjoys dancing, baking and hanging out with her friends in her free time. This is her second Kids Test Kitchen recipe. Her first one was for Crinkle Top Brownie Bites. RECIPE TESTED:…
Recipe Tester: Saya Cano Saya is a 12 year-old from Kansas City who enjoys dancing, baking and hanging out with her friends in her free time. RECIPE TESTED: Click here to get the recipe for What’s Gaby Cooking’s Crinkle Top Brownie Bites GRADE: A WHY…
Recipe Tester: Vincent Yoh Vincent is an 11 year-old New Yorker whose hobbies include gaming, drawing and baking. RECIPE TESTED: Click here to get the Family Fresh Meals’ Edible Cookie Dough recipe GRADE: A WHY THIS RECIPE? One of the best parts of baking is…
Sherbet — not a sorbet, not an ice cream. It’s perfect when you are waxing nostalgic for childhood treats like a creamsicle though honestly, it’s yummy anytime. I have not come across any other flavor other than orange that tastes as good, so why mess…
I started my COVID food log on March 14, 2020 since I knew I would be cooking at home ALL of the time. And I like menu planning so I really leaned into it. I mapped out our meals for the week, keeping in mind…
Injecting booze into watermelon is a popular pastime (though I have never tried one). And there is the prevalence of summer watermelon cocktails. Why not add liquor to a watermelon sorbet? Why Pimms? My sister-in-law makes a mean Pimms, loading it up with a medley…
I’m on a sorbet roll these days! I started with a Blood Orange-Sake sorbet, which was quickly followed by a Lemon-Sake sorbet. I started to then think about other fruity and boozy sorbets I could concoct. I had a pound of strawberries that I needed…
Teriyaki sauce is a popular marinade but I sometimes find it too thick and overbearing. This sauce is light and versatile. You can add to stir-fry dishes or heat until it thickens and use it as a serving glaze. INGREDIENTS 3 tablespoons sake 1/4 cup…
I’ve mentioned before that I love frozen desserts. Having success with the blood orange-sake sorbet, I decided to take a go at a lemon-sake sorbet. It is lighter and a bit more refreshing than the orange sorbet. I will look to make my way through…
I love light flavorful icy treats like Italian ices, fruit pops and popsicles. So of course I love sorbets and fruit-flavored ones are my favorite. Some friends and I were fortunate to get some blood oranges recently and I started to see postings of wonderful…
What to eat before working out in the morning, or just to snack on instead of ripping open a package of something pre-made and full of preservatives? I am a fan of a blueberry cacao performance cereal from Brendan Brazier’s Thrive Energy Cookbook but even…
The image for this recipe (inspired by a hearty version by Cooks Illustrated) shows the stew with kale but it was with this batch that I decided simple is best. I prefer just onions (which melt into the stew, carrots and either barley or potato.…
This morning, I was busy figuring out when Governor Cuomo would be giving his daily press conference as I was feeling particularly bummed out by the COVID-19 maelstrom. I was about two hours behind reading the news that Chef Floyd Cardoz had passed due to…
My tweet of making this tonic last Sunday morning had more likes than I had seen in a long time. Clearly, the lack of access to fresh juice bars and overall minimalization of outdoor time have severely impacted folks’ daily regimen. And so I thought…
I struggle this week to comment on dining out given the COVID-19 outbreak, mainly because every sentence I have written (and deleted) sound so frivolous. But then I remember I always turn towards food for solace and enrichment. This week I am adding Paisley, a…
Those who mourned the closing of Barbuto last May after its sixteen year run on Washington Street can rejoice. Jonathan Waxman is back, and the Barbuto reboot is only a stone’s throw from its original location with the same open kitchen concept, large pizza oven,…
As I wrote in my review of 232 Bleecker, I was enthralled with Chef Suzanne Cupps flavorings and textures. And so, I was on the hunt for recipes and I only came across one but it was perfect given the cold winter chill that New…
Observations from my first visit Only twice in my life have I been surprised about a PB & J iteration at a restaurant. The first time was about a year or so after Grant Achatz opened Alinea. The first course was a de-skinned grape (I…
While there are plenty of new restaurant openings, I have nothing to add to the list this week. I will say that I finally visited Suzanne Cupps’ 232 Bleecker and was really impressed. I am in midst of writing my observations which I hope to…
This week, I wanted to add a shout-out to Golden Diner for the recent review from Grub Street. Sam Yoo’s east Chinatown/Two Bridges restaurant was on my list when it opened March, and again when dinner service began. I finally made it there for lunch…
Observations from my first visit Da Toscano marks Michael Toscano’s return to New York after closing Perla some half a decade ago. . . to the same address at 24 Minetta Lane. My visit came about a week or so since opening to the public. …
I have a weakness for really good roast chicken so while I appreciated Suzanne Cupps’ work at Untitled, I didn’t rush to add 232 Bleecker, the new sit-down restaurant from Dig (the Danny Meyers-backed group that owns the chain, Dig Inn). Then this article from…
I try to build dishes from scratch most of the time but Thai curry is one time when a pre-made paste probably can’t be beat. The trick is finding the right one. I was shopping at Bangkok Center Grocery on Mosco Street in Chinatown and…
This week, I am removing Anton’s from this list post Pete Wells’ review. I don’t think Wells had to make a disclaimer that he is not a “normal person” because I too would be put off by inconsistencies from the kitchen as well as the…
My husband had recently been dropping hints about date nut bread after discovering an index card from his mother with a hand-written recipe. She is a foodie so I was game but it was a recipe from another time that called for shortening and where…
I love ramen and used to keep a punchlist on me at all times when I was living in Tokyo so I could duck in for a bowl if I happened to be in a particular neighborhood. NYC has seen an incredible influx of ramen…
After a bit of a hiatus towards the end of 2019, Supper Club was back on our calendars for January. For our inaugural dinner of 2020, I was planning on reprising a Supper Club favorite, a Spanish bouillabaisse with lobster and clams, but upon learning…
This dish was born after discovering that there are endless options in creating new (and visually attractive) salads by cutting veggies into batons and adding some cheese and nuts. Beets and apples are natural friends in many salads but this salad’s preparation really shows off…
This recipe for Zucchini Salad With Pecorino, Basil and Almonds from Alexa Wiebel and New York Times Cooking caught my eye because of its versatility. Also, it was summer and our weekly CSA seemed to be filled with different kinds of zucchini (though it obviously…
Observations from my first visit Located within a landmarked building in the Flatiron district originally called “The Church Mission” which is the New York home for Fotografiska, a Stockholm-based photography museum, is Verōnika. This restaurant is the latest from Stephen Starr and is designed by…
New sushi and yakitori omakase restaurants are opening but count me among the fatigued. That said, I am intrigued by Torien given Chef Yoshiteru Ikegawa’s reputation but I will wait a bit to learn more. There are so many great yakitori restaurants that I want…
I like my hash browns to be crispy and ‘fluffy’, not ‘al dente.’ And when making them at home, I like making one ginormous hash brown. It’s easier to make, to serve, and to eat! This recipe is flexible and hash browns are messy by…
I had flour, eggs and butter. . . and an orange. I was hankering to bake something. With something snack-y on the brain, I decided upon an orange pound cake. This recipe is inspired by Dorie Greenspan’s “Odile’s Fresh Orange Cake” and Ina Garten’s “Orange…
Nolita, then MePa and so on and so on. I sometimes get caught flat-footed on new names for Manhattan neighborhoods. I admit not being familiar with Two Bridges, the Lower East Side/Chinatown neighborhood by the East River flanked by the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges before…
Looking for a new way to use broccoli that is easy? The color is so bright that I was inspired to mix it in with pasta, like a pesto. But given the texture of broccoli, I decided not to make it more gritty by adding…
In my inaugural New & Noteworthy list of 2020, I keep myself honest and prune my list. I also add one new restaurant, which has been receiving coverage for a few months hyping its opening, Verōnika, the latest from restauranteur Stephen Starr and design studio…
I usually prefer savory crackers but these pecan-raisin crackers are an exception. And pair excellently with cheeses, especially blue cheese. I used Melissa Clark’s Golden Raisin and Pecan Thins recipe (which acknowledges that the recipe comes from”Better Baking” by Genevieve Ko) and made a few…
Crackers are one of my favorite snack foods and a preferred vehicle for cheese. I am always bummed when I spend $8 for a small box of ‘artisanal’ crackers and I find they taste like cardboard or are always stale. I tested this batch of…
When living in Tokyo, I used to stop into Mister Donut and treat myself to an old-fashioned doughnut now and again. I recall there were several types: glazed, sugar and plain. I used to get the plain — not too sweet and the rough texture…
The holiday brought about a flurry of baking. This recipe for matcha shortbread cookies was chosen for the color, ease and most importantly yumminess. It’s my go-to recipe for shortbread. It’s almost always called out when I pack them up as a gift, and is…
Observations from my first visit The Grub Street article and lead photo is what had me hustle to make a reservation at Le Crocodile. The piece was about the restaurant opening and the image was of the chicken and fries plate with the headline “Together…
I added Café Kitsuné to the New & Noteworthy list when it opened in the West Village in mid-November. The co-founders of the Maison Kitsuné brand are Masaya Kuroki and Gildas Loaëc, who began their business fusing their loves of fashion and music, and now…
As we can count down the number of days left in the year on our hands, new restaurants continue to open their doors in NYC. One that caught my eye comes from restaurateur Delores Tronco-DePierro (who has a few James Beard noms for Denver restaurant…
Recently, I made corn bread in a skillet for the first time. I usually do not want to make so much, so I bake it in a smaller glass dish. That said, I have always wondered if a skillet would make the edges more brown…
Seeing a snowflake in the forecast this week, a brasserie with leather banquettes and an ode-to-Barbuto chicken with Balthazar-inspired fries on the menu seems like just the creature comfort that the doctor would order. You can find all this at Le Crocodile at the Wythe…
As 2019 draws to a close, so will new openings. I have no new restaurants to add to the New & Noteworthy list this week. The one I had been eying is stalled by a city permit with no hard open date as of yet.…
I love pasta all’Amatriciana. It’s so simple and satisfying. But for some reason, I feel like it’s something I have to plan to make since it involves guanciale and the traditional dish uses bucatini pasta, which for some reason, I find less enjoyable than regular…
Thanksgiving is this week and we have about six more weeks until we start a new decade. Yes, feels like time is running short. In the last week, I visited two more spots on my list– The Jones and Kochi. I am in the process…
Observations from my first visit I recently wrote that I was off tasting menus given the recent hefty price tags and time commitment. And I had never made it to Neta, Chef Sungchul Shim’s last kitchen. And I had only read one announcement of Kochi…
This week, I add another two restaurants to the N&N list, Anton’s and Café Kitsuné. As the end of the year draws close, the holidays usually draw out the ‘old New York’ nostalgia and it looks like Anton’s menu fits the bill. Chef Nick Anderer…
I recently met with a friend who spied a picture of this dish. I wrote about it in a Weekend Cooking post and said it was inspired from a recipe from Mokonuts on the Saveur site but did not really go into much more detail…
Potatoes have always been a personal fan-favorite. When I was young, when asked if I could bring one thing to a desert island, my answer was a potato and I would regale over how I could eat french fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes and so…
Risotto is a real workhorse dish. It is delicious as a standalone and can also be fortified and easily changed up with simple toppings. You don’t need much of anything so it’s a great way to use up some loose ends in the fridge. This…
Kochi and Xu’s Public House are added to this week’s New & Noteworthy list and Hutong is coming off as it isn’t so new now. I have been bemused to see that the reviews coming in for Hutong, mainly because the kudos seem to be…
I do enjoy instant ramen noodles. Mind you, that is not to confuse it with cup-o-noodles. My go-to economy brand is Sapporo Ichiban Original flavor; and my splurgy brand is Myojo Chukazanmai Shoyu flavor. The instant noodles themselves give off some starch and oil so…
Halloween has come and gone and we have gained an hour on the clock so the sun rises at a reasonable time, and the sun sets before we’re ready. The nightfall helps stimulate my appetite so I feel like I am hungrier when dinner time…
This recipe is my twist on the popular Italian soup, pasta e faglioli sans pancetta and using quinoa instead of ditalini. The result is a vegan (or vegetarian if you add cheese rind) soup that is warming and filling. I had been making regular pasta…
Ah travel! The food, the sights, the food! For me, a holiday abroad is like a culinary tour — morning, noon and night. But I have to admit that it’s nice to return to home cooking. After our holiday in Tokyo, I was looking forward…
Apologies for last week’s New & Noteworthy list, or more specifically, absence thereof. I was in Tokyo (more of that in Side Bar). I did keep an eye on happenings and the restaurant I am adding actually opened in September. Somehow I was not so…
The Daily Dish has a new look! For those who wondered why the food/dining posts had a very serious look, it was because I was a squatter on a site launched focused on tech news. As of this week, dining and cooking take over the…
As noted in last week’s list, I am removing my interest in visiting Red Paper Clip. It’s not like I am super busy but I am not in the mood these days to commit to pre-fixe/tasting menu meals, not to mention the generally hefty price…
After a flurry of openings to add, this week will be about pruning. I am removing L’Accolade, Malibu Farm and Red Peony from the New & Noteworthy list. The early word from Eater’s Ryan Sutton is that Red Paper Clip means it may fall off…
Observations from my first visit I was excited to try Llama San, which opened in early September. It was still early days when I dined there for dinner, which is to say that both the front staff and kitchen staff were still getting their bearings…
Today is the first day of fall. While we have enjoyed some lingering hot weather, activity has ramped up — openings and launches abound. So it seems fitting that the one addition to this week’s list is a cafe where patrons can drink great coffee…
This week’s additions to the New & Noteworthy list are both restaurants that have been open for a bit, one for six months and the other for over twenty years. I’m reinvested in checking them out because of their new menus. Golden Diner, the Chinatown…
Cooler air stimulates my appetite which is a good thing as there are so many new menus to dig into across the city. Today, I’m adding Gotham Bar & Grill, which sees a departure of Alfred Portale who helmed the kitchen for over three decades,…
I neglected my Weekend Cooking posts for most of the summer but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t cooking! I had the great fortune of having friends and family staying with us which meant I was able to draft menu plans keeping in mind my guests…
Observations from my first visit Hutong restaurant from the Aqua Restaurant Group (which has locations in London, Hong Kong and Beijing) opened its first US outpost in the former Le Cirque space. It positions itself as a high-end Northern Chinese restaurant and bar, so in…
BTS time! The sun is bright and the air is becoming more crisp. People have a pep in their step. NYC after Labor Day is always busy with the US Open, Fashion Week etc. and after being out of the city for awhile, I am…
I pass by three or four restaurants from Gabriel Stulman every day as I walk to the subway and run errands. He has eight spots mostly in the West Village and at the Freehand Hotel in the Gramercy area. I have dined at many of…
Interestingly enough, there are again no new additions to this week’s New & Noteworthy list. That said, I’ve updated a few of the links to include recent restaurant critic reviews, mainly of Rezdôra. I have been trying to get a reservation there for months (and…
There are so many openings that piqued my interest but for some reason, I am not in any rush to add any to the list this week. Call it tasting menu/ramen/pop-up fatigue and disinterest in schlepping to Hudson Yards to visit the Equinox Hotel. That…
Even though we are entering August, the summer month that seems the most quiet in NYC, there seems to be no shortage of openings of interest. This week, I’m adding the latest in the David Chang empire, Bar Wayō, in the Seaport District. The name,…
The technology and culture related posts moved to Ghuneim.com. I will be blogging there from now on – this site will stay true to its name and be about food. blog moved to: ghuneim.com
My interest in natural wines continues which is serendipitous as another natural wine bar/restaurant has opened its doors. Last week, I noted the opening of LaLou in Brooklyn. This week, L’Accolade opened in the West Village and like last week, the team has strong street…
I was musing how this may be the first week where I made no changes to the New & Noteworthy list but a natural wine bar/restaurant in Prospect Heights from Joe Campanale, Dave Foss and Ashley Rath caught my eye. If their names are not…
Halfway through summer (or so it feels), this may be the best time to try new restaurants as NYC tends to thin a bit. Regarding this weekly list, I have added more current articles on the restaurants if available. Also, just a note that the…
I happily pondered recipes and meals as we spent the weekend with our friend S. S is an omnivore but most days were hot and sultry (i.e. HUMID) and so making cool dishes was top of mind. As mentioned in a previous Weekend Cooking post,…
Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery is a baking legend. His no-knead bread recipe was like scales falling from one’s eyes for home bakers, as it immediately broadened their repertoire. He was the first recipient of the James Beard Outstanding Baker award in 2015. As…