Big Taste Small Space: Sweet Potato Cake

With Thanksgiving approaching I have been trying to come up with a unique dessert that utilizes those comforting and familiar flavors of this special holiday. This sweet and moist cake will enhance any Thanksgiving dinner.

Sweet Potato Cake with Pecan Maple Syrup

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1/3 cups water

1/3 canola cup oil

2 eggs

1 cups mashed sweet potatoes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnemon

1 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp baking powder

Topping

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

2 tbsp orange juice

1 cup pure maple syrup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Combine sugar, water, oil, eggs, cinnamon, maple syrup and sweet potatoes and mix thoroughly. Add dry ingredients and mix to combine. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until a toothpick comes out clean.

3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan heat maple syrup, orange juice, and pecans for 10 minutes until slightly thickened and heated through.

4. Pour syrup over cooled cake and enjoy

Big Taste Small Space: Healthy Chicken Chili

As the weather begins to cool off, there is nothing like some comfort food to warm you down. Although I am a big believer in healthy eating, there is no reason I can't enjoy comforting and hearty food. One of my favorites is chili. This hot, hearty, and delicious dish is also very healthy! Packed with veggies and protein, one bowl of my chili and a warm blanket will be all you will need to warm up in the cold winter weather. And better yet, its all made in one pot!

Healthy Chicken Chili

1 large onion diced

3 garlic cloves diced

1 pound ground chicken meat

2 bell peppers (any color)

1 cup chicken stock

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne

1 tbsp chili powder

1 can cannellini beans

1 can small white beans

juice of 1 lime

3 tbsp fat free half and half

salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat a large pot with olive oil and sauté garlic, onions, and chicken until chicken is no longer pink and onions are translucent

2. Add bell peppers and cook for 5 min

3. Add chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, spices and beans. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until vegetables and tender.

4. Add lime juice and FF half and half and cook 5 min

*Serve over rice and add your favorite toppings such as sour cream, scallions, or cheese.

 Throw on your Snuggie and ENJOY!

Food Truckin': Kelvin Natural Slush Co.

One of the fasted growing trends in NYC are the gourmet food trucks. With new trucks popping up every day, its hard to keep track. I have recently decided to give myself a mission of finding the most unique and delicious food trucks around NYC. My first stop was Kelvin Natural Slush Co. This truck is usually located on 22nd and 5th Ave Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. However, you can check their website or twitter to find out their exact location. I had never heard of this truck before, and to be honest, I was actually on my way to a different truck when I spotted this intreguing vehicle. The day I made the discovery happened to be a few weeks ago when it was still a million degrees outside. Anyone who knows me knows I love me some cold refreshing slushes. This truck was like my dream come true. No more Dunkin' Donuts Coolata's for me! I have found my gourmet slush!

So this is how the slushy works: You start out by picking a base flavor, either spicy ginger, citrus, or green & black tea. You then pick a fruit puree to mix in. These mix-ins range from white peach to apricot to pink guava. I decided to go with a half citrus half ginger slush with white peach. Ohhh yes! It was fantastic. The ginger was just spicy enough and the peach and citrus were cool and tangy. I then called everyone I knew to tell them about my delicious discovery.

So before it gets too cold take a walk to 22nd street and try a delicious frozen treat!

Big Taste Small Space: Farmer's Market

One of the toughest things New Yorkers have to deal with is the tiny spaces we must call our kitchens. I have learned to adapt my cooking to use as little pots and pans as possible. Because I am on a budget I try to cook as much as possible, aside from the fact that I just love to cook. My favorite place to go to get my ingredients are farmers markets. With tons of local farmers and purveyors selling fresh ingredients, it is a great place to find new and unique produce to cook.

While at the market today I picked up a a few types of squash, some local fresh veggies, including San Martzano tomatoes, zucchini, and broccoli. 

Sqash is such an underutilized vegetable and I can't seem to figure out why. My belief is that people are intimidated and don’t know what to do with them or the difference between them. From the sweet butternut to the fibrous spaghetti, it is such a great vegetable to use because it is healthy, hearty, and actually very easy to cook.  

I decided to make a fresh and simple pasta dish using my recently purchased ingredients. I try not to use more than one pot and one pan per dish, not only to save space but to make clean-ups a whole lot easier. 

Fall Pasta Primavera

*substitute any of these vegetables for your own favorites

Prep Time: 10 minutes   Total Time 30 minutes

1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti

1 small yellow onion thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup white wine

1 small or 1/2 medium butternut squash peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes

1 zucchini halved lengthwise and sliced

5 plum tomatoes chopped

1 bunch broccoli florets

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tsp italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook pasta in boiling salted water 8 min, or until cooked through, drain.

2. In a large skillet, cook onions and garlic until translucent, about 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Deglaze the pan with white wine and add butternut squash. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until squash is just fork tender.

3. Add broccoli florets, zucchini, and tomatoes and chicken stock. Season with salt, pepper, and italian spices. Cover and cook for 10 minutes until vegetables are cooked yet still crisp. 

4. Toss in pasta with vegetables and heat through. Serve with fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Restaurant Roundup: wd-50

A few of my girlfriends and I have developed a recent tradition of emptying out our bank accounts (maybe that part is just me) and eating at one of the cities most famous (and usually most expensive) restaurants in the city. In the past we have gone to Eleven Madison Park (my fave), Picholine, and Faustina. This past week we decided to try out Wylie Dufresnes' wd-50 on the Lower East Side. Being a big fan of Wylie's I was expecting some pretty avant-garde food. My two friends and I decided, as we usually do, to each get different appetizers and entree's so we could accomplish as much as the menu as possible.

(side note)
The best part of this restaurant is that the kitchen is completely open, so not only did I get to eat delicious food, but also I got to watch them make it. I was immediately star stuck upon seeing Wylie in the kitchen working his magic. The kitchen was sparkling and extremely calm. Although I wanted desperately to run into the kitchen and watch with a closer view, I am pretty shy. One of my friends, however, is not so shy and asked the waiter if we could go into the kitchen and meet Wylie. After panicking for a few moments, the matire'd came over and told us he would show us around the kitchen. We went right up to the front where Wylie and his Chef de Cuisine Jon Bignelli (whom I fell in immediate love with) were plating dishes. I introduced myself, red-faced and giggly. They were both so nice and congratulated me on culinary school,l then went back to work. My night was complete

Ok, now back to the food. For our appetizers, I chose the Tomatillo-pine gazpacho with soybean falafel and octopus confit. My friends chose the Cuttlefish with cashew, rootbeer and watercress, and the Peekytoe crab roll with salt n' vinegar chips and celery mayonnaise. My gazpacho was delicious. The thing I quickly noticed about the food here was that to fully grasp the whole idea of the dish you had to combine every component on your spoon and taste them all together. Seperately each piece was rather confusing, yet once you combined them it was an incredible explosion. The dish that taught us this was the Cuddlefish dish. Each part of the dish was cut up into little cubes. The fish were cubes and the rootbeer was in jelly form in a cube. I tasted a piece of the fish on its own and it was rather bland. Once you put all of the ingredients together, however, it was like nothing I have ever tasted before.

For our entrees, I went with the scallops with chicken fried lentils (pictured above), radish, and lychee puree. My first friend had the Cod with a pea and cocunut mash, carrot dashi, covered in a nori noddle. My second friend went with the Wygu flap steak with barley and turnips. All three entrees were truly unique and definitely delicious.

Although the food here is great, the real reason to check out wd-50 is purely for the experience. Each dish is so exciting and one-of-a-kind. It is a journey I most definitely want to go on again.

What's This All About?

This site is dedicated to everything food in NYC. Due to my current status of being in career limbo, I decided to take my passion for food and devote it to exploring the city and finding (what I feel) are some of the best spots to try out. Since I recently graduated from culinary school I will also be posting recipes and other culinary related articles that I feel my fellow foodies will enjoy. My favorite way of finding new and exciting culinary treasures is by word of mouth, so PLEASE feel free to give me suggestions on new places I should try. Well…here we go!