Eating out adventure: Angelo's Pizza Midtown Manhattan

We went for a quick bite of pizza with my family when they were in town recently. This place is just below central park with a nice upstairs seating area that was able to accommodate our party of 10. We got sausage with roasted peppers, pepperoni, mushroom and prosciutto and a white pie with ricotta and sun dried tomatoes. The prosciutto was my favorite and I like the fact that all the pizzas had fresh basil on them. Overall the pizza was good but I like Two Boots much better and will probably try someplace else next time.

Super Natural Cooking Adventure Recipes #7 and 8 Gnocchi all Romana and Shredded Green Beans

I made this meal with my friend Laura who was visiting. I was thankful for an extra set of hands since there were a lot of steps involved. The food turned out amazing!  The semolina flour used to make the gnocchi I found at our local italian food store. It is the same type of wheat flour that is used to make pasta.

Gnocchi alla Romana with Sun Dried Tomatoes 

5 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cup finely chopped dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes

3 cups semolina flour

1/2 unsalted butter

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

6 egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 cups marinara sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 400, clear the counter and slather a 9 X 13 dish with butter

2. Combine milk, sun dried tomatoes in a large saucepan over medium heat, bring to a simmer and simmer 1-2 min. Gradually stir in the semolina flour mixing until it pulls away from the edge of the pan (takes just a min or so). Remove from heat and quickly stir in 1/4 c butter, 3/4 cup parmesan, the egg yolks and salt. Work the egg yokes in quickly because they can cook if left to long on the top of the hot dough

3. Put a glaze of cold water on the counter top. With wet hands turn the dough onto the damp counter and spread into a 3/4 inch thick slab. Cut into 1 1/2 inch circles. ( I used the top of a spice container as a cookie cutter). Use a spatula to place the circles in the prepared pan, slightly overlapping each other.

4. Melt the remaining 1/4 cup butter and drizzle over the gnocchi, sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

5. Bake covered 25 min, then uncovered for another 20-25 min until golden.

6. Warm the marinara sauce and ladle over individual servings of gnocchi

Shredded Green Beans with Lemon-Lime Zest and Snipped Chives. 

Our friend Jared said these were the best green beans he had ever eaten, I agree. 

3/4 pound green and or yellow beans, tops and tails trimmed

2 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil or clarified butter

2 Tbl water

Grated zest of one large lemon

Grated zest of one lime

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

salt and pepper

1. Slice the beans on the diagonal into roughly 1/8 inch pieces resulting in tiny angular zeroes

2. Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the beans and stir until coated with oil then add the water. Cover and cook 2-3 min until beans are brightly colored and tender, give the pan a good shake midway through to ensure even cooking. 

3. Remove from heat and stir in the zests and half of the chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve garnished with the remaining chives. 

La Caridad, Upper West Side, NYC

This greasy spoon has an interesting combination of cuban and chinese items on the menu. Our Chinese waiter was fluent in Chinese and Spanish with only limited abilities in English.

Another customer sitting next to use gave some unsolicited history about the establishment with lines of waiting customers going around the block in its hay day.

We were happy for the one time experience but will try out some other places the next time we are up on the West Side.

Cuban steak with fried egg, standard.

Fried sweet plantains made me happy remembering my childhood in Venezuela.

Seafood in some kind of chinese sauce (can't remember what it was called), had a little more squid that we would of have chosen. The sauce was good but a little salty. 

Le Pain Quotidien- Upper East Side, NYC

This was our second time at Le Pain Quotidien. We really enjoyed it again and hope to go back again in the future. Our friends Jared and Laura were visiting from NC and also enjoyed the experience.

This chai tea was made fresh, not from a mix and was yummy. 

We ate this multigrain scone as an appetizer. It was paired with jam and ricotta which were delicious.

This omelet was a solid choice with nice fresh side items.

This dish was one of the daily specials and not what we expected when ordering. The roasted pork with tomatoes, pickles and onions was unexpectedly good. 

Levain Bakery- Upper West Side, NYC

I discovered these amazing cookies through a friend at work. Another co-worker described them as "life changing." I think that description might be a little strong but they are definitely worth the calories. The Upper Westside bakery they come from is very simple and has made it's mark by producing a few quality items. They have 4 varieties of these thick gooey cookies. We chose a chocolate chunk and chocolate cookie with peanut butter chunks. 

The warm temperature of the bakery made my camera lens fog over after coming in from the cold :) 

Gelateria Classica- East Village NYC

We stepped into this East Village spot for some post pizza gelato. The gelato was good but did not leave a lasting impression. The ambiance was nice with a nice loft with cozy tables (despite large TV backdrop).  We enjoyed it but will probably look elsewhere for our next sweet tooth craving.

Two Boots Pizza- Greenwhich Village, NYC

 My brother Jon endorsed this pizza as some of the best in NYC. We were not disappointed. There are at least two locations in the city, maybe more. We enjoyed the food and ambiance of one near NYU undergrad campus in the Greenwich Village. 

We enjoyed "the dude" which has some cajun sausage

The other pizza had peppers and pesto and exceeded expectations. Hopefully we will have another chance to enjoy this delicious pizza.

Supernatural Cooking Recipe #6 Red Indian Carrot Soup

Red Indian Carrot Soup

This recipe is very simple but was delicious. Since we get a lot of carrots from our CSA it is nice to add some more recipes to the rotation. 

2.5 lbs carrots

3 Tbl olive oil

3 cloves garlic minced

2 yellow onions, chopped

6 cups stock (vegetable or chicken)

2 Tbl unfilted raw honey

Sea salt

(3 Tbl olive sludge or premium olive oil for drizzling)

1. Scrub the carrots and cut into 1 inch segments, try to make the same size so they will cook evenly.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat, then add garlic and onions and saute for 5 min. Add the stock and carrots, bring to a gentle boil then lower the heat and simmer for 30-40 min until carrots are tender. Do not overcook. Remove from heat and add in honey. 

3. Cool for 5-10 min then puree in blender. Season with generous amounts of salt and serve with drizzled olive sludge or oil. (Also good with toasted pumpkin seed oil, cubes of paneer or halloumi cheese that has been sprinkled with sugar and broiled for a few minutes.)

Supernatural Cooking Recipes #4 and 5 Crunchy Slaw Salad and Otsu

The Otsu noodle dish was delicious, the crunchy slaw did not have enough flavor and would need some adjustments before making again. 

We tried shoyu soy sauce, brown rice vinegar for the first time as well as extra firm nigari tofu. In the past I have only used "firm"tofu which is soft and does not hold its shape. The extra firm tofu did great with browning it. The  These will be good additions into our diet. We were able to find the ingredients at a local health food store.  The soba noodles which are made out of buckwheat are rich in lysine and protein. 

Otsu

Grated zest of one lemon

one inch cube fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 Tbl honey

3/4 tsp cayenne pepper

3/4 tsp sea salt

1 Tbl freshly squeezed  lemon juice

1/4 cup brown rice vinegar

1/3 cup shoyu sauce

2 Tbl olive oil

2 Tbl toasted sesame oil

12 ounces dried soba noodles

12 ounces extra firm nigari tofu

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 green onions thinly sliced

1/2 cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded  and thinly sliced

cilantro and sesame seeds for garnish

1. To make dressing: combine zest, ginger, honey, cayenne pepper and salt in food processor and process until smooth. Add lemon juice, rice vinegar and shoyu and pulse to combine. Then add in the oils and pulse. 

2. Cook the soba noodles until just tender then drain and rinse under cold water.

3. While the pasta is cooking, drain the tofu, pat it dry and cut into rectangles  roughly the size of your thumb. Cook in a dry nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes until the pieces are browned on one side. Toss a couple of times until the tofu is firm, golden and bouncy.

4. In a large bowl, combine the soba, 1/4 cup cilantro, green onions, cucumber and dressing. Add the tofu and  toss gently. Serve garnished with cilantro and sesame seeds.