a foodie in new york city

Here are some shots from a fantastic few days in midtown Manhatten:  the pasta counter at Eataly  http://eatalyny.com/, a burger from The Shake Shack in Madison Square park
 http://shakeshack.com/, wonderful gnocchi at Caffe Grazie (conveniently by the Metropolitan Museum of Art)  http://www.caffegrazie.com/, and a look at a bread vendor in the amazing food hall at Grand Central Station http://www.grandcentralterminal.com/go/dirlisting.cfm?currcat=2138210767

tropical beef

For this dish I made some coconut rice (rice cooked with coconut milk) and mixed in some macadamia nuts and basil.  This sat under some grilled Maui beef (see the meat section at your local Trader Joe's).  It seemed fitting to garnish it with some fresh mango.  Then I also did some delicious stuffed zucchini cups, topped with a homemade tomato sauce.

stove-top clambake

We don't live anywhere near an ocean, but wanted to kick off the warmer weather with a clambake, so we did it in a big pot on the stove.  Yes, handling the live lobster was like a scene from "Annie Hall".  We just made some lemon-butter dipping sauce to enjoy with the lobster, shrimp, clams, mussels, corn, sausage and potatoes. 

international flavors

For this meal I did Chicken Meatball Yakitori (almost cooking the meatballs through before grilling and glazing) along with Roast Cauliflower with Turmeric and Cumin.

lamb chops for a spring dinner

We are having success with growing arugula in a large container in the garden.  For this meal I just pan-seared some lamb chops and made a quick vinaigrette with the pan juices to lightly wilt the arugula.  I also quickly sauteed some snap peas, adding in some of our bountiful garden mint. 

tortilla soup

Here is a look at the pico de gallo base that I used with some homemade stock to make some delicious tortilla soup.  Garnishes include avocado slices and lime. 

spaghetti al vino bianco

This is an interesting way to cook pasta - I cooked it about half-done in boiling salted water and drained it, then the rest of the cooking was done with a small amounts of white wine (risotto-style).  With the addition of fresh spinach, browned pancetta, pine nuts, and plenty of freshly grated cheese this was a fun and tasty experiment.