Cheese and Olive Plate

Last weekend Alex and I had a few friends over for a quick afternoon get together, and since we had very little time to prepare anything extravagant, we decided on a simple cheese plate for snacking. Cheese plates are easy to put together, look fantastic, and are very frugal - this one cost us less than 10 bucks.

We purchased one of those mozzarella and pepperoni roll ups (they also come with prosciutto if you prefer) that they sell in the cheese case near the cold cuts in the grocery store, along with a handful of fresh green olives from the olive bar, and some plain water crackers to tie everything together. We like water crackers the most because they provide some crunch but not much flavor otherwise, allowing you to better taste the cheese. All you need to do is pick these ingredients up, put them on a plate, and voila - done!



Comments are always appreciated :)

Philly Cheese Steak Egg Rolls

When we think egg rolls, we usually think Chinese takeout or spring rolls from the local Thai restaurant. Today though, we bring you into a new era of egg rolls with this great recipe for Philly Cheese Steak Egg Rolls. Food Network’s Guy Fieri recently made these on Guy's Big Bite and we knew we we’d be needing to try these sooner or later. These egg rolls are great for appetizers or a fun side to go alone with any sort of dinner entree. They are salty, crunchy, cheesy… just incredibly delicious.

One important tip we learned while making the filling is to really let the juices drain out. If you don't, rolling up your egg rolls will become difficult as the excess liquid may cause the egg roll wrappers to tear. Also, the recipe says this dish only makes 8 egg rolls but we found that we were able to make double that and save some in the freezer if we need a quick snack for impromptu guests.

Happy rolling!

Tres Leches Cake

We are back (and hopefully for good)! Alex and I started dieting 3 months ago, and while we are making fabulous progress on our diets, eating out has become a much less frequent activity than in the past. Since we haven’t been able to venture out to many new restaurants, we’ve resorted to more home cooking that is both delicious (for the most part) and figure friendly. The recipe to follow is anything but… but since we’ve been m.i.a. so long we figured we had to come back with a bang.

When summertime rolls around and it gets hot and muggy we usually lean towards simple things like ice cream sundaes and fruit salads for dessert. And while both of these options are totally fulfilling, this recipe for a Tres Leches Cake with Summer Fruit that we found in Cuisine really puts a simple fruit salad to shame. The cake is super moist, (surprisingly) light, and served ice cold, which makes it refreshing and delectable on a warm summer night. Preparing the cake the night before your guests arrive is best, as it allows all of the flavors to develop and the cake to absorb all of the milk.

Ingredients:

For the Cake-
Beat:
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
Add:
1 t. vanilla extract

Sift Together; Fold in:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ t. table salt

Combine, Fold into Batter;
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup cake batter

For the Soaking Syrup-
Combine; Reduce:
1 can 14 oz evaporated milk
1 can 12 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 cup whole milk
½ cup light rum

For the Topping-
Any variation of berries, we used raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries
¼ cup of sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 3” spring form pan with nonstick spray.

Beat eggs and sugar with a hand mixer at high speed in a large bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water. Beat until the eggs are pale, thick and tripled in volume, about 10 minutes.

Add vanilla; remove bowl from the heat and continue to beat until cool, about 5 more minutes.

Sift flour and salt. Sprinkle 1/3 of the flour into the egg mixture; fold gently. Fold in remaining flour in two additions.

Combine melted butter (cooled) and 1 cup batter in a small bowl. When blended, add the mixture back to the remaining batter and gently fold to blend.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Combine all milks and run in a measuring cup with a pour spout while the cake bakes. Transfer half of the milk mixture (2 cups) to a saucepan, bring to a simmer, and cook until reduces to 1 cup, about 15 minutes. Stir mixture constantly to prevent scorching.

Stir reduced milk into remaining 2 cups milk mixture (for a total of 3 cups). Set milk syrup aside.

After cooling the cake 10 minutes, place it on a baking sheet (to catch drips from the milk), then poke holes in it with a skewer.

Rewarm the milk mixture, if necessary, then pour it over the cake, allowing it to soak in before adding more. Use all the milk, even though it won’t seem like the cake will absorb it. Drape wax paper over the cake (plastic wrap causes condensation) and chill overnight.

For the topping:

Combine fruit and ¼ cup sugar; macerate for about 30 minutes.

When ready to serve cake, remove sides of pan, then top with fruit. Slice cake and serve with whipped cream on the side.

Roasted Chicken

Making a roasted chicken is one of the easiest ways to do dinner on a Sunday evening. But roasted chicken can also go awfully wrong and come out dry and tasteless. We decided to give a new recipe from a recent Sunday section in The New York Times a spin. What intrigued us was that instead of using a roasting pan, you place the chicken atop two pieces of crunchy baguette bread sliced in half.

We picked up a 5 and a half pound bird from the supermarket and a loaf of ciabatta from our favorite local bakery Rose and Joe's.

After cleaning the chicken thoroughly, we rubbed it down with softened butter, salt, pepper, and some fresh lemon juice. In the cavity of the chicken we placed a half of a lemon, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, and one head of garlic cut in half. We then cut the ciabatta bread in half lengthwise, doused it in olive oil (as per the recipe) and sprinkled it with liberal amounts of salt and pepper. We popped it in the oven at 400 degrees for 2 hours.



The idea behind this recipe is that once cooked, the bread picks up all the juices from the bird and gets nice and crusty, making a fabulous addition to your meal. While good in theory, in practice the bread was lacking in crunchiness on many of the parts directly underneath the bird. It had an unpleasant, fatty taste and we discarded it after taking just a few bites. I’m not quite sure if I would attempt this recipe again, but if I did I would lose the olive oil – I think the chicken juices would’ve been sufficient, and the bread may not have been so soggy.



Surprisingly, the chicken came out nice and juicy although no basting was necessary in this recipe (a major plus). The chicken was big enough to last us through two nights of dinner, and we even made some chicken salad with the leftover bits and pieces.

Usually the New York Times is spot on with food, but we both felt that they missed the mark on this one. Perhaps it would help to use a roasting pan to separate the bread and chicken in order allow some room for the bread to get crusty instead of suffocating it directly underneath the bird.

JG Melon

Although I’m pretty sure we’ve already found New York’s best burger (that’d be the one from the little owl), it hasn’t stopped me from wanting to try all the rest of the so-called ‘best burgers’ that figure so prominently on so many top 10 lists.

So it was inevitable that Aj and I found ourselves at JG Melon last weekend, waiting at the bar for the opportunity to be seated and try their famous burger. JG Melon is part bar, part restaurant, which always makes be a bit wary of the quality of food coming out of the kitchen. There’s plenty of bars out there turning out top-notch food, but then there are so many others producing lukewarm, lifeless dishes whose sole purpose is to soak up excess alcohol.                     

Luckily, JG Melon falls into the former category. Aj and I each ordered a bacon cheeseburger and a side of cottage fries. The much-heralded burger was indeed excellent – perfectly cooked to temperature and really beefy, both in size and taste. The minimal amounts of bacon didn’t add any flavor or variance of texture, and I would order the burger baconless the next time we come.

And there certainly will be a next time. Not only because of the wonderful burger, but the fantastic cottage fries, as well. Shaped like pickle slices, these little discs of potato nirvana came out piping hot, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. They were infinitely better than so many of the thoughtless French fries haunting other bar menus.

At $9.50 for the burger and an additional $4.50 for the fries, this certainly isn’t the cheapest deal to be had in the world of burgerdom, but it seems that the 15 dollar price range is pretty much becoming the norm for a burger and fries in New York these days.

So is it the best burger in New York? No – I don’t anticipate the little owl to be dethroned anytime soon. Top 10? I’m going to need to try it again, but it just may make the list…

JG Melon

1291 Third Avenue

New York, NY 10021

Food: 8

Frugal Factor: 7

Bagua Juice

This weekend Alex and I took a trip to Jersey City to check out the 'Not Yo Momma's Craft Fair' and for a change of scenery. We took the PATH train to the Grove Street stop and did some exploring after a quick visit to the fair. One of the first places we stumbled across was this cute juice shop called Bagua Juice.

The purple trim on the outside was so charming we couldn't resist taking a closer look. Although it looked like a cafe from the outside, when we stepped in we realized it was more like a juice bar. Though we were both craving something caffeinated, we decided to try a couple of drinks and sit down in the window seats which had lured us in in the first place.

I ordered the Bare-E-Banana smoothie which consisted of strawberry, raspberry, banana, and blueberry, blended with ice. Alex ordered the Breath of Life, which was a juice that combined fresh pineapple, apple, ginger, and ginseng. We both decided that the smoothie was the way to go - the juice was somewhat lukewarm (which I suppose you can't remedy when you're squeezing fresh fruit), whereas the smoothie was cool and refreshing. A few ice cubes could have helped the juice out, but it also may have watered it down too much.

Though we only ordered two small drinks the total was almost $9, which we both felt was far too expensive for such simple drinks. I guess the price is on par with Jamba Juice, but they don't register too high on the frugal-meter, either. The cafe isn't nearly as cute inside as it is outside, and the lack of music made talking in whisper a necessity, but the window seats were comfortable enough and it was nice to take a moment to relax.



If you happen to find yourself in Jersey City and are looking for something healthy, I guess you can give Bagua a try. Just make sure to sit in the window seat.

Bagua Juice
346 Grove St
Jersey City, NJ 07302

Price: $8.50(ish) for 2 small drinks

Food: 7 - both drinks were good and fresh, though not much different than the ones you'd find at similar juice bars.

Frugal Factor: 5

Neptune Diner

Diners are great for the unlimited coffee and 24 hour service. The food is usually secondary, so I never go to a diner expecting anything spectacular. Still, I had higher hopes for Astoria's Neptune Diner.

Alex and I were first intrigued by Neptune's large blue sign that we pass everyday on the subway. It is only so long that you can resist a diner that very prominently exclaims "voted best in Queens" before breaking down and giving it a try. So we did just that last weekend.


Western Omelet w/American Cheese

I ordered the western omelet with American cheese, and Alex ordered the Greek omelet, both of which came with toast and home fries, which we asked for extra crispy. The home fries were nothing to write home about, though it was nice to see that they actually were on the crispy side. The omelets were pretty standard and nothing more than mediocre. The cheese in the western omelet was barely melted which is one of my biggest turnoffs. Alex's Greek omelet was ok, filled with tomato, feta cheese and onions, but it was nothing special. Both omelets came on the overly well done side, which makes it even more surprising that their contents weren't completely warm. We probably could have made a better breakfast at home.


Greek Omelet

One of the perks about Neptune is that the price is right. Each omelet was only $7.00 and the coffee was actually pretty good. The service was ok, but that's not the sort of criteria you judge in a diner. I can't imagine I'd come back here under normal circumstances, but if I was craving something decent and quick after a long night, I could probably do worse than the Neptune Diner.

Neptune Diner
3105 Astoria Blvd
Astoria, NY 11102

Price: $15.95 (before tax and tip)

Food: 6 (decent home fries, overcooked omelets with lukewarm innards, soggy toast, pretty good coffee)

Frugal Factor: 7 (although we weren't wowed by the food, we also didn't spend more than 10 dollars each for everything)