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Chocolate Pudding Pie

I had to make a dessert for a potluck last night and only had 30 minutes or less to churn out something presentable. I always turn to Smitten Kitchen when I'm in need of a dessert recipe and this recipe for Chocolate Pudding Pie did not disappoint. A couple of time saving tips:
- use pre-made pie crust, pick it up in the frozen aisle of the grocery store
- canned whipped cream, definitely not as tasty as self whipped cream, but it'll look just as nice
The pudding itself only takes about 15 minutes to make and anything in the shape of a pie always looks impressive.

Remember to constantly stir the pudding while it's cooking over medium heat, otherwise the bottom will burn and your dessert might or might not taste like burnt chocolate.

Enjoy!

Chicken with peach salsa

It's been awhile since I last posted. Moving to Chapel Hill and starting grad school has kept me pretty busy! For the first few weeks right after I moved down here I was eating whatever I could scrape together - ramen, toast, canned soup. It was pretty crappy. I'm finally slowly getting back into the swing of cooking on a regular basis. I've got a much bigger kitchen to work in, plus a dishwasher, so it's pretty exciting! Amar came down for a quick visit this weekend and he cooked a delicious Sunday night meal. I wish I took a photo of the dish, it was bright and colorful.

I usually go into a grocery store with a meal in mind and buy the ingredients that I need. Amar likes to wander around the produce section until he's inspired by something that he sees. This time he was inspired by a package of store made peach salsa from Whole Foods:

Chicken:
Marinade:
3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 liberal splash of orange juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice from one lime
pinch of salt

Combine the marinade ingredients in a food processor
marinade 2-3 large chicken breasts for 3 hours
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Pan fry the chicken for 3 minutes on each side
Put the chicken in the oven, cover with aluminum foil, bake for 8-10 minutes
Meanwhile, cube one ripe avocado
combine with fresh peach salsa (or mango or pineapple salsa)
Take the chicken out of the oven, pour the chicken and juices over the salsa
combine so that the salsa is warmed

Serve with rice and beans

And I'm Back

I'm back from an awesome trip around China and Southeast Asia. I stuffed myself to the brim with noodles and fresh juice shakes. I had my first glass of red wine in 7 weeks last night at Lil Vinny's, a little Italian restaurant in Somerville. It was delicious! Food pics from my trip coming soon.

Taste of New York

I bid New York good-bye yesterday. I'm going to miss a lot of things about NYC, especially all of the fantastic food that's a phone call or a subway ride away.

A list of all the food I'll be craving, in no particular order:







The Ooey Gooey cupcake - Sugar Sweet Sunshine
Lentil soup - Zaytoon's
Beef hand-pulled noodle soup - the shop at the corner of Catherine and East Broadway
Gnocchi, linguine with fresh fava beans, stewed prunes in red wine sauce and pretty much everything else on the menu - Frankie's 457
Chicken and rice - any street cart, but especially the one by MOMA
Tortilla soup, quesadillas, quarter chicken with rice - Los Pollitos II
Margarita pizza - Anthony's
Chicken katsu lunch special - Tebaya
Shrimp tempura udon noodle soup - Foodworks
Soup dumplings - Shanghai Cafe
Breakfast burrito and poached eggs - Miracle Grill
Sushi boxes - Woorijip
Miso ramen - Ramen Setagaya
Green tea frozen yogurt - Pinkberry
Hotdogs and PBRs - Gowanus Yacht Club
brunch - everywhere

Slow Poached Fish

Following my summer cocktail recipe, slow poached fish with braised asparagus and a glass of white wine is the perfect early summer meal. Plus, there's not much heat involved, so you won't be sweating away in the kitchen. The fish recipe is adapted from this sweet and hunger-inducing article from NYTimes.

The recipe calls for halibut, but I substituted catfish, which is cheaper. I didn't taste the mint, so I wouldn't recommend using any. I also replaced rosemary with some thyme.

A Summery Cocktail

Summer is just around the bend and to get summer '09 started, I'll share with you a recipe for a refreshing summer cocktail. This drink from one of my favorite restaurants in Brooklyn, Frankie's 457. It's pretty much liquid summer:

Ingredients:
1-2 shots of Absolut Citron, or another citrus vodka of your choice
handful of mint leaves
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
Juice of one lime
Juice of one lemon
1/4 cup of club soda

Recipe:
- Make the simple syrup ahead of time: in a small saucepan, bring the sugar, water and mint leaves to a boil, stir until sugar is dissolved, cook for another 5 minutes. Refridgerate overnight.
- In a cocktail shaker, combine the vodka, lemon juice, lime juice and 1/4 cup of simple syrup. Shake with ice
- Pour mixture into a tall glass with ice
- Top up with the club soda