(Spicy Totto Ramen)

Comfort is important to me when dining out. Reservations make me comfortable as I can't let extreme hunger influence my judgement on the food after waiting an hour for a table. Elbow room makes me comfortable. A place to put my jacket and purse makes me comfortable. Regulated temperatures make me comfortable. Not having patrons hover over me while I eat makes me comfortable.

So what was I doing in this teenie ramen house that doesn't take reservations? Well, a girl needs to get her ramen fix every now and then. Although it was a wet summer afternoon, the timing was right, as a friend and I arrived at Totto after the lunch rush and even still on a warm, muggy day, there was still a short wait to get into this little place.

(Avo Tuna - Torched Tuna Sashimi with Avocados)

We sat at the bar closest to the door and while I could feel the scorning eyes behind me of those still waiting to be seated, I was excited to witness the cooks in action. With my jacket and purse in lap, I watched the cooks, torch my tuna sashimi and squid skewers. Good predictable appetizers but I really just wanted the ramen.. and then it came, piping hot, spewing steam into the already hot, muggy air inside. This was the first time I've had a chicken and soy sauce based broth and while I missed the feeling of having oil slicked lips after sucking down collagen loaded pork broths, this was a nice lighter alternative in the warm weather. However the

peppery, spicy sesame oil that's added to the spicy ramen succeeded in making my eyelids sweat anyway.

(Ika-Yaki - Torched Squid Skewers)

Complete with bouncy noodles, torched pork pieces, scallions, bean sprouts, and the obligatory nori piece, this was quite a satisfying bowl and at a wallet friendly price of $10.50. Nice to know that ramen can be found without having to trek downtown as I do enjoy a good bowl every now and then. The 30 minutes I did spend inside being totally uncomfortable was sure worth it.

I'm Back!

I know.. I'm a bad blogger. This always happens, I get super excited about a project and then after awhile the new-ness wears off I move onto something else new and exciting. Yep, commitment issues but let me share what I've been up to. The lack of motivation during the winter brought weeks of eating the same old dishes either due to laziness, exhaustion from work or lack of time.

My New Year's resolution was to have small dinner parties at home once a month and each time try something new. So far so good and the experience is wonderful. Let's hope I have new dishes to share in the upcoming months.

Long Beans w. Ground Pork



Fried Rice w. Chinese Sausage



Asian Style Butter Stir Fried Shrimp



Kare Kare (Oxtail)



Stir Fried Water Spinach w. Dried Shrimp



Bean Sprouts w. Ground Pork



Lnguine w. Clams



Chicken w. Chinese Broccoli



Seared Rib Eye Steak w. Chickpea Salad



Clams w. Black Bean Sauce



Anchovy Pasta



Leftover Prawn Mee Noodles Topped w. Pan Seared Shrimp & Pork



Vermicelli Grilled Shrimp - Bun Tom Thit Nuong

Comfort and All Things Beautiful

The winter receded for a bit to make the past weekend somewhat enjoyable to be outdoors. C and I took the opportunity to snap a few photos around Brooklyn.



I have no hot water tonight.. WTF?? At least tonight it's not as blistering cold as it was last week. Nothing like comfort food to warm you up inside. Indulging in comfort food to me during cold days is drinking up the warm, rich chicken broth with tons of meat and cheese tortellini, saucy stir fried shrimp to pour over a warm bowl of steamed rice, and the ultimate dish of leftovers - garlicky, heavy, fried rice. This one was made from meat from leftover pork ribs I roasted last night.





Enjoy the slight heat wave while you can. I don't think mother nature is done with winter as of yet.

Winter Carb Hoarding

Ziti w. Prosciutto & Chicken

The winter seriously puts my carb craving into hyper drive. That's all I want to eat and I devour it. Winter brings winds cold enough to make you vulnerable, to want to crawl back into bed with a bowl of hot noodle soup. I wouldn't really eat in my bedroom though I was making a lame attempt at being dramatic in order to forget how lazy I've just become during these cold days.

After the Holidays with its "happiness and warmth" faded, the reality of winter sunk in. I think I like my job but the 10 minute walk to the subway while wearing 5 layers of clothing and still my face feels like it's going to rip off into the wind makes me suddenly feel the need to want to call in sick everyday. Since then I've sought the comfort of mom's home cooking, C's family's home cooking, Pizza Hut, Popeyes, Super Kew Chinese Take Out, and at work, bagels with cream cheese for breakfast, followed by a Sicilian slice for lunch. Seriously gross looking back. When I muster up the motivation to finally cook dinner it's either been noodle soup or pasta. Is it wrong that I don't feel guilty?

Beef Noodle Soup



Campanelle w. Leftover Roast Chicken from Chinese New Year Dinner, Bacon, White Bean & Kale

Christmas Day Breakfast - Bacon Corn Frittata w. Parmesan Cheese

I love the Holiday season - spending time with friends and my favorite sin of all time - gluttony. I admit the Holidays do become truly exhausting... after days of eating out or eating at others' homes and hearing mom dictate what to do in her kitchen I started missing cooking in my own kitchen. Some of the few dishes made during the month of December.

Galbi Jim - Korean Braised Short Ribs over Rice



Pork & Watercress Soup



Chinese Steamed Fish - The best part if pouring the hot fragrant oil over the fish.





Appetizer Experiment - Chicken Drumette Lollipops. I wish I remembered what I marinated the chicken in, so I could change up the combination. Flavor was only eh.



Weeknight Dinner - Three Cheese Tortellini from BJs w. Home Made Tomato Sauce (yes, from that batch of CSA tomatoes purchased over the summer) w. a side of Garlic Spinach.



Will post photos of the Holiday meals later..

I opened up my CSA box last week to find this funky looking thing. It reminds of of the creature in Little Shop of Horrors - "Feed me, Seymour!". The Romanesco Broccoli is a variant of cauliflower and can be treated the same way as any broccoli or cauliflower thus is ended up in my mid-week pasta.

Fettuccine w. Prosciutto, Kale and Broccoli



It seems as if this cold weather has gotten me on a carb and comfort food kick again. A fresh bunch of kale ended up on my CSA box along with more potatoes. With frozen Italian sausage in the fridge, it seemed like the perfect time to make one of my favorite soups - Zuppa Tuscana Soup inspired by Olive Garden.

Olive Garden was one of the better options when I schooled in Buffalo. For some reason the suburban OGs tasted so much better than their crappy outlets in NYC. The soup and salad lunch special for $6.95 could not be beat! As salty as it was, this was my favorite soup from OG, that every time I managed to find kale at Wegman's or Tops I'd be inclined to make a pot. Zuppa Tuscana is one of my first dishes I've ever cooked and still make today.



Another mid-week creation. Shrimp w. Linguine and Homemade Parsley Pesto



Malaysian Beef Curry adapted from this Kari Ayam recipe. Instead of chicken I used stewed beef and a Malaysian curry paste instead of powder.



I don't mean to cram my meals into one post, but laziness struck again and I wanted to get some food out of the way before the Holiday feasting begins - that means tons of food to come!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Comfort Food

Comfort food for me is salt, butter and carbs. I guess that's kind of my idea of umami. During the car ride home I was daydreaming about opening up a small restaurant - of course everything on the menu would be my kind of comfort food. Then again no one who cares remotely about their cholesterol would be visiting my place on a daily basis! Haha one day..

Vegetables need to make it into every meal to compensate for the load of crap I shove down my mouth daily. Thank goodness for the CSA box!



Dinner the other night - Simple Noodle Soup. One of my favorite dishes to throw all the emergency food into when we're too lazy to get anything fresh - marinated pork belly, two stalks of Chinese broccoli from the CSA, dried fried onions, frozen shrimp, frozen broth & scallion - ok, I cheated the scallions were fresh.

Simple Noodle Soup: Boiled dried noodles separately while warming up your broth (chicken, beef, veggie, etc.). Prepare other ingredients - I pan fried the pork belly and then the shrimp in the rendered fat. The veggies were thrown into the broth at the end to cook for a few minutes before serving. Once noodles are done according to taste, put them in bowls, topped with meat items & scallions. Ladle broth on top and add other toppings. I love my fried onion bits. Drizzle a bit of sesame oil before serving.



Last Weekend's Lunch. Egg Salad in Pita w. Baby Carrots

Egg Salad: Combine chopped hard boiled eggs, bacon bits, dijon mustard, mayo, splash of vinegar, salt & pepper. Chill.



Can't help but love a complete breakfast - it's what I look forward to on weekends!



Mid-Week Dinner. Beef Souvlaki Pita w. Homemade Tzatziki and Chickpea Salad

Beef Souvlaki: Beef cubes marinated in lemon, salt & pepper. They can be skewered and grilled but I seared the cubes on a cast iron skillet.
Tzatziki Recipe adapted from an online recipe I can't find at the moment. Plain yogurt, cut seeded or seedless cucumbers (shredded would be better) lemon, salt & pepper and olive oil. Chill for an hour or so to meld flavors.
Chickpea Salad - Drained and rinsed chickpeas mixed with tomatoes, cucumbers, minced shallots, parsley, juice of 1/2 a lemon

Crab Congee

The first time I've ever had crab congee was at my BF's parents' place. I sure licked that bowl clean. BF decided to replicate it last night. Me being the sous chef had the glamorous duty of opening and cleaning the raw & and very well alive blue crabs that were squirming for their lives as I ripped their top shells open. Me being an avid crab eater & dare I say expert in eating "cooked" blue crabs, this was supposed to be an easy feat but this job got me squealing and screaming everytime a claw would grasp my hands. Thanks, hun for giving me this opportunity.



Sauteed Veggies w. Garlic as a Side



Salt & Pepper Shrimp as a Side



Other dishes from this past week:
Fried Noodles in Garlic Shrimp adapted from here - added cured pork belly & kale



Korean Bulgogi Beef Lettuce Wraps



Topped with shredded carrot, fried onions & our own version of ssamjang.

October Weekend Fare

It's been about 3 weeks since my surgery so I've been ready and craving the big stuff. Saturday's dinner - Tortellini w. Brown Butter Sauce, Bacon & Peas. Mmm cheese filled pasta coated in glistening lard and browned bacon bits from the bottom of the pan.

I bought a couple cans of the Cappy's Chowder from Maine so that I could recreate it for Sunday's hearty first course.



Not complete without the dash of paprika. Almost as good as Cappy's.



The cast iron pan I purchased to make frittatas at a bridal shower was finally used to cook what it was meant to. A fatass rib-eye, seared a la Alton Brown. Emeril's Essence was added along with salt & pepper because it's like our crack or MSG - mm that and Old Bay.



For anyone who likes their steak cooked 'well-done', please stop reading (jk). Sorry, I just don't understand wasting $$ on a nice fatty piece of steak when all you're going to do is make it into rubber. Go buy a $2 chuck steak. I notice a lot of women being fussy about seeing red/pink, bloody beef but gentlemen grow some fucking balls and eat that bloody slab!



Red is not really my thing but this bottle has been sitting at home since the dinner I threw for BF's birthday back in May. I know nothing about red wine but this one paired up with the rib eye nicely. Not so much with the clam chowder we had as a first course.