Eating out on a budget

This was dinner the other night. After what already felt like a long week when it was only Tuesday, I felt a NY slice and bottle of ridiculously priced cold beer in midtown coming and I gave in. For a $7 dinner that satisfies and relaxes on a cold, wintry May evening (yes, that's how ridiculous the weather in NYC is right now), it's worth the over priced Amstel Light. Oh and if you ever find yourself in Kew Gardens, Queens - Dani's Pizza on Lefferts Blvd. is the bomb! The pizza parlor is attached to a restaurant but the parlor section is much more charming with a cute little bar where you can enjoy a slice and a choice of any, and I mean any, domestic or international beer. It's also across the street from the best independent movie theatre in the city, Kew Gardens Cinema. My roommate and I saw 'Babies' at the cinema the other night and headed over to Dani's afterword for an amazing pesto and cheese slice.

And this was lunch today, Thursday. This is from an Empanada cafe down the street from my office near Fulton and Church Street. When I return from Europe and have more money to burn, I would like to do a week's worth of food blogging on Fulton Street alone. I saw a Hawaiian Japanese BBQ place, Russian cuisine, Turkish cafe, Brazilian coffee shop. Then there's the South Street Seaport. I think I'll save the Seaport week of food blogging when I become a high rolling Wall Street executive! Kidding.

Monday, Monday and Provencal Beef Stew

I've been cooking for my friends every Monday night for a Tuesday bible study. I charge them $5 a head which is a small profit but will go toward that pint or two of Guiness and train tickets in Ireland in a couple of weeks. I'm trying to introduce new flavors and cuisine to the group so that they get what they paid for and don't get bored by the same ol', same ol'. Let's see, so far we've traveled to Italy, Cuba, Korea and threw in the classic Americano - chili. I think it's time to visit France and fortunately enough, my new job is a hop, skip and a jump away from a food market that sells not only every type of cheese known to man but fresh lamb, fish, french baguettes and a nice selection of fine wine. What more could a girl ask for? I could very easily splurge and spend all of my travel money on purchases of french cheeses, sausage, freshly made pasta but I am going to resist temptation - yes, yes I am! I found a recipe in my new french cookbook called Provencal Beef Stew. Okay, so it's not a very good summer recipe but it's basic and sounds delicious AND if you had to travel 20 minutes with hot food a la pied every Tuesday night, you'd try to keep your cooking as simple as possible too. Back to the recipe...I love beef. Yes, I admit I am not at all interested in becoming a vegeterian. If that means that I croke of a heart attack at 50 then so be it but I. LOVE. MEAT. And I am not ashamed. Whew, glad I got that off my chest. NOW, back to the recipe...it's super simple, it's french and it's completely affordable for the frugal shopper which unfortunately, I have to be these days. The only major expense with a recipe like this might be the beef, depending the on the quality you get. I suggest not purchasing pre-packaged beef, if you can avoid it. The vegetables in this recipe won't cost a thing and are really only used to enhance the flavor of the meat. Go to the butcher and get those 2 lbs. of fresh, right off the bone, decadently colored flesh red beef. I used to visit a butcher in Forest Hills who would sell me the best cuts of marinated lamb for nearly a leg and an arm - I think 2lbs of lamb would rack up to $80 but after a patient simmering evening on the grill, it was worth it! And if you can splurge a little on a bottle of Beaujolais or another french table red, do! You should not be cheap when cooking with wine because you can taste the cheap if you purchase grocery store $6.99 wine. Also, p.s., p.s.s. anything labeled "cooking wine" will not cut it in my opinion. Buy the real stuff. You want to impress when you're feeding a crowd, right? If it's just you, go for the 2 buck chuck but don't 2 buck it with your guests.

Gym or Lentil Soup Sandwiches?

I've very clearly opted for the Lentil Soup Sandwiches. I purchased a cheap french cookbook last night at Strand Bookstore and am anxious to try my hand at one recipe from this book tonight. Isn't it amazing how, if you're resourceful enough, everything you need to make a meal or two, is already in your pantry? What does this recipe call for? Lentils, bay leaves, spices - all in my pantry. And vegetables - carrots, onion, garlic and celery. Done. Why do we think we need to splurge in order to make a fantastic meal. This recipe is called "Potage Aux Lentilles Avec Saucisses de Porc". My variation is called French Cookbook Recipe Meets Two Slices of Bread. I found a recipe in, you guessed it, Cooking Light - my default cookbook, called Lentil Pita Sandwiches for summer so, I'm going to take a swing at combining the two!

In browsing through my new cookbook, I can't wait to experiment with the french duck recipes. And my market down the street is perfect! They sell every type of poultry you can imagine. After watching Julie Powell bone a duck in Julie and Julia the other night, I remembered how much I love duck pate and then recalled the the most amazing duck meal I ever had in St. Louis - roasted duck drowned in blueberries and syrup - to die for... Nothing will ever rival the octopus in mole sauce with sauteed olives in Venice, Italia though, or at least for now.

Off to listening to my favorite pandora station: Buena Vista Social Club mix and drinking a homemade margarita with the windows open, children laughing and basking in the glow of a night in, here in my gorgeous kitchen.

Julie and Julia

So, I rented Julie and Julia tonight and I honestly had no idea that the character, Julie, played by the most adorable Amy Adams lived in Queens, NYC, worked an office job, and wrote a food blog. Now, I don't consider myself a writer, like "Julie", though I am writing my first play but it's ironic considering the circumstances - you know, Queens, office job, aspiring for bigger ambitions beyond 9 - 5 office drone. I also don't expect that people will follow my blog or send me gifts or create a fan page for my blog on facebook. I mean, it's the movies, it's fiction, this is real life. I love to cook. I love to post and share recipes. I love touring this awesome city and fantasizing about what it would be like to afford a 5 course french meal every week. So, if you, whoever you are, want to see exquisite french recipes posted every week or twice a week, you will be sadly disappointed. However, I hope you enjoy it, my blog and visit when you can!

Cincinatti Pork Chili

I made another profit tonight on a pot of cincinatti pork chili with brown rice and roasted vegetables as a side. Nothing enlightening to say about this recipe aside from the fact that it was a huge hit and I think that's because the recipe calls for chocolate which always goes well with chili powder. Here is the recipe and a pic of the dining room table after we feasted. I have to figure out how to take more attractive photos of my cooking:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1918482

Saffron Fish Stew....Sans Saffron

I found a recipe for Saffron Fish Stew in Cooking Light's 20 minute recipes and it literally took me 15 minutes to make and only about 10 minutes to cook - crazy. It's delicious too! I made a few adjustments here and there. The recipe in Cooking Light calls for Saffron, of course and I substituted rosemary for saffron. I hate to admit that I have no idea what saffron tastes like but I figured that substituting a spice with another equally as fresh and fragrant spice can't hurt and it didn't.
The original recipe calls for clam juice and 1 lb. flounder fillet. The market down the street from my house had neither. I do love my crazy chinese market. It has every type of vegetable and under water sea creature on planet earth, any and all animal organs known to man, many different types of spicy curry pastes and green diet teas, milk teas, frozen fish tofu pads and dumplings galore. However, they don't carry much else. So, it's hard to find simple things like mayonnaise, white eggs and strangely enough, clam juice. And flounder?? Did I mention no one speaks english at my market so you usually have to bring in a photo of the type of meat you're looking for. It always makes for a very interesting trip to the grocery store. I'll post pics of Great Wall, the aforementioned market, soon! It's a good thing that I'm an experimental type of gal. I picked up a package of frozen Vietnamese white fish and thought it looked good close enough for me to make the fish stew complete.

So, all said - Voila! Here is the 'Saffron Fish Stew....Sans Saffron' recipe below. Enjoy!

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup prechopped onion
1 tsp ground fennel
2 garlic cloves, crushed (I buy the containers of already husked garlic cloves in a jar and put them in the freezer - keeps the flavor fresh)
1 thyme sprig
1/2 tsp grated fresh orange rind
1/4 tsp rosemary sprigs, chopped
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups clam juice (I substituted a can of crab juice and put both the juice and meat in the dish)
1 (14 oz ) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb flounder fillet (cut into 2-inch pices) or if you live in Elmhurst, Queens where they don't sell ordinary flounder or ordinary anything, buy a package of white fish fillets - same thing.
1 (14 oz) can great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
Fresh thyme leaves

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion, fennel, garlic and thyme sprig; saute for 5 min. Stir in rind; add water, crab juice and meat, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil; reduce hear and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in salt, fish and beans; cook 5 minutes. Top with thyme leaves.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 cups)

p.s. I love my neighborhood!

The Spice Corner

In an attempt to make some extra spending money for Europe, I've decided to take on a baby catering enterprise. So far, I'm charging my bible study $5 a head every Tuesday night for full course, side and possibly, wine if I can swing it. It's also an opportunity for me to test out some new and some old, tried and true recipes on a new group of people. I'm getting excited at the prospect of experimenting with new cuisine, researching flavors and how to match food with wine and visiting a different food market at least once a week. Last week, I got off on one of the local stops in Queens on my way home from work. I'm trying to remember my camera so I can track the markets and other food spots I come across. Off the Steinway stop from the R train, I took a long walk onto 35 Avenue and happened upon an Associated Market. There I purchased the ingredients to feed 10 people plus a few groceries for myself for $25! They also sold fresh basil by the bunch for $1.50. I'll post my recipe for pesto sauce soon!

Here are some photos from a trip I made to Little India down the street from my office. The Spice Corner (on the corner of 29th and Lexington Avenue) is tiny but sells a colorful display of every spice and grain or bean you can imagine. They also sell pickled whole lemons which my roommate and I love. Yes, it sounds unfathomable but they're delicious! My friend Maysa from Egypt introduced them to me a couple summers ago:

I'm also in love with a new Swedish bakery on 29th and Park Avenue called FIKA. Though I've been making my daily visits to Starbucks for the late afternoon pick me up, FIKA's coffee is far more superior. I like supporting the little guy too. FIKA's caffe reminds me of Roma!: