Guacamole

If you need to feed a bunch of party people, there is nothing better than guac & chips. I made this for my friend’s Mexican themed party and was told that it was “so awesome” and “the best.” Yes, they were drunk, but I’ll take it.

Before...

and After!

You don’t need any special tools but a few tricks to note:

• Avocado oxidizes (turns brown once it’s cut), so guacamole is best made and consumed on the same day. If you must store it overnight, keep the container air tight and refrigerate.

• Use ripe avocados. They are not always readily available at stores, so you can buy 1-2 days early and store in room temperature in a brown paper bag.

• Make sure you de-seed the tomatoes. Otherwise, the dip gets runny.

• The below recipe is not spicy at all. Feel free to double or triple the chilies if you want a kick.

Guacamole (courtesy of Dos Caminos)

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Avocados, preferably California Haas – 2 large

Tomato, Roma/plum – 1 small

Onion, White/Red – ¼, for 2 teaspoons chopped

Chilies, Jalapeno/Serrano – 1-2, for 2 teaspoons chopped

Lime – 1, for 2 teaspoons of lime juice

Cilantro – 2 tablespoons chopped

Directions:

1. Chop up everything: finely chop the onion, chilies and cilantro. Remove chili seeds if you don’t like spicy. De-seed the tomatoes and chop. Do avocado last because it oxidizes: peel, de-seed, and cut up in small cubes.

2. In medium size bowl, use the back of a spoon to mash up half the onion, chilies and cilantro with a dash of salt. This will help release the oil and flavor.

3. Add avocados and mash. Mix in the remaining onion, chilies and cilantro. Lastly, gently fold in tomatoes and add lime juice. Season with salt and serve with tortilla chips.

Steamed Mussels in White Wine Sauce

I am sure there are a million different ways to make this, but this is likely one of the simplest ways. I can't believe I waited so long to try to make this even though I always order it at restaurants! The sauce is really yummy and you can use it to dip bread or add pasta to make this a full meal. Enjoy!

Before...

and After!

If you didn't know this already, when choosing between curly or flat parsley, always choose flat parsley for cooking. Curly is for garnish and has less/no flavor.

Steamed Mussels in White Wine Sauce

Serves: 1-4

Ingredients:
Mussels - 1 bag (~2lb), cleaned
White Wine - 1/2 bottle
Shallot* - 1 small, chopped
Tomato* - 1 small, de-seeded and chopped
Parsley - handful, chopped (flat parsley)
Butter - 2 teapoons

*Adjust proportion of tomato and shallot depending on your preference for red or white wine sauce. Can also add chopped jalapeño/serrano peppers or onions.

Directions:
1. Sautee chopped shallot with butter until it's aromatic. Add chopped tomatoes and mix.
2. After the tomatoes are hot, add some of the chopped parsley and pour in half a bottle of white wine (doesn't have to be nice wine). Turn down the heat, cover and reduce the sauce by half.
3. Season the reduced sauce with salt, pepper and a little bit of sugar to taste. Note that the sauce will taste much better after the mussels are cooked in it.
4. Add the mussels to the sauce pan, cover and cook until shells are completely open. Toss out ones that remain close (which means they were dead).
5. Turn off the heat, mix in the rest of the chopped parsley and it's ready to serve. 

Peppers: Shishito & Pimientos de Padron

Peppers: Shishito & Pimientos de Padron

Looking for a healthy snack or easy appetizer? Look no further than Shishito and Pimientos de Padron peppers! Although from different regions (Shishito is Japanese and Pimientos de Padron is Spanish), these peppers are very similar. They are finger-sized, have thin skin and are slightly sweet, although about every 1 in 10 is spicy. From my experience, the spicy Pimiento de Padron was much spicier than the spicy Shishito... so consider yourself warned!

Pimientos de Padron Pepper Before...

and After!

Shishito Pepper Before...

and After!

The hardest part of the recipe is actually finding these peppers. I will try to keep and update the list as I see them in NYC. I have ordered Shishito from Fresh Direct but they were too large and not very sweet. 

Location:

- Union Square Farmer's Market (Lani's Farm): both

- H Mart in Koreatown (website): Shishito only

- Sunrise Mart in St Marks (yelp): Shishito only

Sautee Shishito / Pimientos de Padron Peppers

Directions: Heat grapeseed* oil in pan until hot, toss in peppers and cook until peppers are blistered, charred and soft (about 1-5 min). Sprinkle salt and serve. You can also let the cooked peppers sit in a paper towel to blot off the excess oil before serving. Enjoy!

* grape seed oil has a higher heating point but oliver oil works too.

Daily Deal: Blue Print Juice Diet

Daily Deal: Blue Print Juice Diet

Not my kinda thing but if you are in NYC and thought about trying this, now is your time! Summer is upon us full force, and the pricey juices are now on sale on Fresh Direct (order here). I'm a big fan of Fresh Direct - actually just had lobster for dinner (yum!) because they were on sale for $5/lb, but sorry, the deal is gone. For Fresh Direct first timers, use code "AFRMT6" for 15% off. Enjoy!

Simple Dinner: Prosciutto & Pasta

Although I love eating out, I very often enjoy a simple and tasty dinner at home alone with my TV.  This is a very easy, quick and foolproof recipe that I turn to a lot. Hope you enjoy!

Before...

and After!

Prosciutto & Pasta

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:

Prosciutto - 4-6 slices, ~2-3 oz, cut into thin slices

Pasta - 1/3 box

Garlic - 2-3 cloves, minced

[optional]

Tomatoes - 1-2 small, de-seeded and chopped

Cheese - Parmesan, Romano and Asiago
Butter

1. Cook pasta in boiling water until desired tenderness. Drain and side aside.

2. Heat olive oil in pan (you don't need a lot because the proscuitto is already fatty) and toss in garlic.  Cook for 1-2 min and toss in proscuitto. Cook for 1 min and toss in pasta. Mix well and serve. Season with salt and pepper, top with cheese and tomatoes (and optional butter for kick of flavor) and enjoy!

Strawberries & Cream

Before...

  

and After!

I made this for my friend's dinner party last night and was a big hit! It's a relatively simple recipe and can be plated beautifully for nice presentation and easy transportation. Enjoy and please share pics if you have other plating ideas! Enjoy!

Some recipes on the blogosphere call for the use of whipping cream instead of heavy cream, which I used (and pictured in "Before") but that did not work for me. I had to re-do this recipe with heavy cream. 

With Heavy Whipped Cream - #Fail 

 
With Heavy Cream - #WhippedSuccess

Berries with Mascarpone Cheese in Balsamic Reduction Sauce 

Serves 5

Ingredients:
Strawberries - 15 medium-size strawberries
Blueberries - 1 small box, ~6 oz

[for Whipped Mascarpone*]
Mascarpone Cheese - 8 oz (usually 1 carton)
Heavy Cream - 0.5 pint
Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoons
Sugar - 4 tablespoons
*basically equal parts mascarpone and heavy cream

[optional - for Balsamic Sauce]

Balsamic Vinegar - 2 oz

Lemon Juice - splash, ~0.25 teaspoon

Sugar - 1 teaspoon 
Note: I have also made this dish without the balsamic sauce and it is just as good, so feel free to skip that touch of fanciness.

[optional - for plating]
Tumbler Plastic Glasses - 5x 9-oz glasses (buy online or in person in NYC)

Directions:
1. Combine mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, vanilla extract and sugar in a bowl and whisk until it gels and does not drip (which usually takes me 5-15 min by hand). Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.

2. Combine balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and sugar in sauce pan. Stir over medium heat and reduce sauce by 1/3 for ~3 min. Cover and put in fridge. Note that the sauce will become thicker when it's chilled.

3. Wash and dry berries.
4. Plating: divide whipped mascarpone cheese among tumblers, add strawberries (3 each), drizzle balsamic sauce and top with blueberries (small handful each).