The Best Food Blog

Yesterday I had the best dinner out I have had in a long, long time!!! It was at Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria  the new baby sister to the famous Il Buco restaurant that is a staple of New York City Italian dining, Our intention was to go to Il Buco, but when I tried to make a reservation the suggestion was made that I try the new spot, so I did, One of the best decisions we have made in a long time. As soon as you walk in, you are in the market section of the restaurant. This is where you can get all the meats and cheeses you could want. Once passed there you are at the hostess. We checked in and were brought over to the best seat in the house. The chefs table. I can't believe we were lucky enough to sit and watch these guys in action. It was like no kitchen I have ever been able to watch before. There was a wonderful calmness that you could feel. These guys seemed to all be in sync, and all be truly enjoying what they were doing. They were getting their jo...

Ibrido means Hybrid in Italian. It also sounds like some kind of soup to me (not really sure why though). So being that the soup we had last night was a combo of my 2 favorites, I thought this would be a perfect name! My 2 favorite soups are both Italian classics; Wedding Soup and Tortellini en Brodo (in broth). Both are mega comfort foods for me, so when I was wondering the store last night exhausted I had a feeling combining the 2 would make me smile. It's basically pasta and meatballs! What could be bad about that? Here is what I did. For the mini meatballs: 1 pound ground meat. ( I used chicken, but you can use beef or anything you like) 1 egg A big handful of grated Parm or Romano cheese. ( I like Romano) A handful of chopped flat leaf Parsley 1/4 of a medium sized white onion Salt and Pepper to taste. For the Tortellini: Well... a bag of fresh tortellini. (1lb) For the Brodo (broth); 1 Box chicken stock. (I like organic and low sodium) 1/4 of a medium size...

I'm the 1% that hate Truffles! Are you gasping? Most people do when I tell them that, but it's true. I hate truffles. I understand why people like them, but I don't know why people love them so much it leaves them speechless when they find out I am not a fan. I also don't know why I am the only one. If you are not sure what a truffle is,  click here for a little info.  I was at a party last Halloween at a restaurant where a bunch of my friends had also gone to celebrate. Of course I was at the bar for the evening sipping on my wine with a few friends while a new friend of mine named Sandy was sitting with other friends having dinner. I stopped over to say my goodbyes before I left and Sandy was so into her Risotto, she gathered a forkful and rushed it into my mouth. It was Truffled, and I calmly told her I hated it. While Sandy was feeling sorry, the look of confusion on her face was even more evident.  Her response was more than typical. My husband, P2 , li...

I am not sure what show we were watching but they were featuring a chef who makes an amazing taco. It did look pretty good, but what stood out to me was the sauce that the chef used on the taco. It was a Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa, and it looked amazing. The idea of this was trapped in my head for a fews day, so last night when was able to do a little cooking I knew I had to make it. I didn’t however know what he did to make it, so I had to make up my own. I knew how to how to make a great and easy Tomatillo Salsa already, so I essentially just tossed in an Avocado. If you have never used or even eaten a Tomatillo before they are great. The look like green tomatoes but are a bit more bitter. You need to cook them unlike a tomato which are also great raw. Here is my no recipe, recipe: 4 medium to large Tomatillos peeled and quartered. 6 cloves of garlic 1 large onion quartered 2 Jalapenos cut in half A handful of Cilantro A box of chicken stock 1 Avocado Salt ...

As you might know my best friend Hiroko lives in Tokyo with her husband David. Since she has moved there, whenever she comes back to the city she is usually chuck full of little delights from Japan. Candy, and Shochu mostly, but the last 2 times she came with the most amazing cake ever. So amazing and popular in Japan that once her mom stood in line for an hour just to get her hands on one for us!! Now that is sweet!! So this cake is called Baum Kuchen, and is actually from German descent. Loosely translated it's name indicates that the cake looks like a tree trunk when the tree gets cut down. The tree always has rings in the trunk indicating the age of the tree. This cake has rings indicating that it is delicious!!! Now in the little bit of research I did, it seems that this cake is made all over Eastern Europe, and every family has it's own recipe. Sort of like an Italian Wedding Soup! Until recently I thought I would only get this amazing cake when Hiroko...

I just finished a run today and was starving. When I got home, and looked in the fridge it was a sad sight. There was nothing in there of any worth. Some herbs, and one squash. That was it. I mean there were some other scattered things, but nothing that I could really make a meal out of. I looked in the cabinets and there was some pasta, and pistachios. I wanted neither of those. Looked like my lunch was going to be a protein shake. I actually liked it, but it isn't my idea of a good time. I want to chew my meals if you know what I mean. So my next thought was that I needed to get to work soon, and would need to bring food with me for dinner. I guess it's going to be that one Summer Squash! I figured I would doctor it up and just deal with it. So I pulled it out of the fridge along with some basil, parsley, and dried chives from the spice cabinet. On further thought I decided I wanted a little heat too so I took out the Cholula ! What happened was magic!!! I mean, I ...

     When I was running Gotham Lunch last year, once the summer came the need for light and low carb lunches came into demand.      One thing that sold every time was the Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps that I made at least once a week.It's a crisp, tangy, easy to make, and totally satisfying, all while staying perfectly on your summer diet.There is mayo in it, but that is easily modified to become even more figure friendly if you want. Best part is that this is something you can make Sunday and have ready for your lunch Monday at the office. Another great thing about this recipe is that it cost me about $20, and that is for about 3 servings. You will never get 3 lunches for $20 in NYC. Not a healthy ones at least!      First thing you need to do is bake your chicken breasts. I used boneless skinless breasts, but by all means use the breasts with skin and bones. Chances are you will end up with a more tender chicken. I couldn't find or...