Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Meat and Potato Soup

Yes, I am trying to simultaneously avoid going to the grocery store and clean out the fridge. And Dad, I'm sorry, but this is way better than pulling out all of the leftovers in the fridge and showing us the microwave. The whole idea came from reading Mike's Facebook post about the delicious soup he was eating. I wanted some, and was going to pretend this was it.

So, here's who was sitting on the bench. (Did some of you just fall over now because I used a sports reference? I did play basketball in school. What still on the floor? I wasn't very good....ok....now you feel the earth readjusted, right?) Ok, enough of the chit chat. Back to the ingredients:

Merguez (sausage)
Onion
Garlic
Chicken stock
Potato gnocchi
Bok choy
White wine
Salt
Black pepper
Thyme
Oregano
Olive oil

If you ever read the recipes on my blog by now, you know the drill. Saute the onions in olive oil first. Next, add the merguez. I probably should have cooked these in separate pans, but if I wasn't in the mood to go to the store, I certainly wasn't in the mood to wash a bunch of dishes later. When the merguez is almost cooked, add the garlic. A minute after you throw in the garlic, put in the chicken stock, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, gnocchi and white wine. When the gnocchi is cooked, add the chopped up bok choy (in appealing looking pieces, not massacred), cover for a few minutes, just enough for it to wilt a little and serve.

It looked really pretty in a big white bowl, and tasted delicious!

Onion Soup

So, my throat was starting to hurt. I was tired, and all I wanted was soup. Unshowered and not wanting to leave the house, I immediately rummage through the kitchen to see what I can find. Frozen beef stock, half an onion, one drop of olive oil, garlic, a tiny bit of shredded Parmesan cheese and half of a bottle of red wine. Yup, that'll do.

So you've got the ingredients already. Chop up the onion into tiny pieces, and saute them in olive oil until they are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add beef stock and a drop of red wine, salt and simmer.

Spoon into a bowl and top with shredded Parmesan cheese. Not bad for cooking from what's left in the kitchen!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Pulino's

282 Bowery
NY NY 10012
212-226-1966
(Lower East Side)
From Times Square, take the Downtown F train and get off at 2nd Ave., exit near the intersection of E Houston St. and 2nd Ave, and go west on E Houston, then turn left onto Bowery....about 25 minutes.

September 3rd-

So I was watching TV one day, and happened upon a story about a pizza place called Pulino’s. Ok, another pizza place, yeah, yeah. They’re all the same in New York, all thin crusted, and all claiming they are indeed the best, or the first, or some other claim to fame. I wasn’t too hopeful, but then, they started showing me things like breakfast pizza. Yes, breakfast pizza......and I don't mean the cold slab you pull out of the fridge the morning after. I was intrigued. At my first opportunity, I was there. I wanted to experience this first hand. After all Nate Appleman is the chef, and he is supposed to be oh so fabulous. I decided to give him a chance. Why not?

We get there and are greeted by friendly staff, and taken into a very bistro looking dining room, airy, with tiled walls and a high tin ceiling. It has the same kind of feel as Schiller's or Pastis, which I personally like. It's pretty full for being 2:30 on a Friday afternoon. Maybe everyone else saw the show on TV, too?

As we peruse the menu, we see some of what is so unique about this place in particular......the creative combination of upscale, gourmet toppings. They list toppings which include things like grana, pork strutto, pickled chiles, pancetta, smoked ricotta and prosciutto. This is pizza for foodies. Yeah! I'm in the right place. They have various combinations already laid out for you to choose from, or you can customize your own. We decided to start with one of their suggestions and tweak it. We ordered the prosciutto and arugula pizza with mozzarella, pecorino and garlic, and added tomato sauce and an egg. I mean, it was, in fact, the breakfast pizza that had drawn me in here in the first place. You didn't think I would go home without trying an egg on my pizza, did you?

They did have other things on the menu besides pizza. There are several versions of bruschetta, some salads and even a cheeseburger, but the pizza definitely takes center stage. By the way, there is no better compliment to pizza than sparkling wine. They have this, and actually also possess quite a unique, fun, cocktail menu with drinks called the Aranciata Amara, an Aperol and vodka concoction, and the Journalist, which is gin based. Maybe I will try these next time when I come back for dinner.

I have to say, I very much enjoyed my lunch at Pulino's. It was more than a meal, it was an experience, and that is always what I am in search of.