Thursday, January 27, 2011

BYOB Thai

(This restaurant has moved across the street and changed its name to Potjanee, and has also acquired a liquor license. Still a great spot, but no longer BYO)



Having a delicious dinner at Morakote Siam on Carmine. It's my favorite neighborhood standby for cheap food and BYOB - great for friends. The veggie springrolls are amazing. Also love the Thai chili beef.




I also love any BYOB for budget reasons. Try it for a casual dinner.




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snow storm at city bakery






Due to the storm which has turned the city into an idyllic snowglobe, no one has unlocked my office. I went across the street to City Bakery - one of my favorite places - and got myself a raspberry bran muffin. It's super moist and the raspberries give it a great tartness. Thanks Jack Frost.





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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Movie Night Dinner





Jamie and I both missed the Social Network when it was out in theatres and wanted to finally see what all the buzz was about for the Facebook film. Result? My scheming movie night. Instead of the regular dinner foods, I wanted to make a movie themed dinner to surprise Jamie when he came home. After debating sliders and milkshakes etc, I decided on corn dogs, garlic-butter popcorn, twizzlers, and root beer. He was psyched, and I’d been craving a corn dog since the first and last one I had which was in 5th grade I think… They’re easy to make and are a great junk food treat.

I got the recipe from epicurious, but halved it.

Corn Dogs

Ingredients:

4 hot dogs
1/4 all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons, divided
About 4 cups vegetable oil, divided
3/4 cups cornmeal
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 large egg
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk
Popsicle sticks (I couldn’t find plane popsicle sticks, so I actually bought a box of popsicles and pulled a few out)





Directions:

Grill the hotdogs first to give them a little char and smoky flavor, then skewer them with the popsicle sticks. Dredge them in 2 tablespoons of flour and shake off the rest.

Whisk the cornmeal, ¼ cup flour, tablespoon of vegetable oil, baking power, sugar, baking soda, cayenne, and ½ teaspoon salt. Add egg and whisk, then add buttermilk and whisk. Pour it into a tall glass.





Heat the oil until a little drop of batter sizzles in it. Dip the floured hot dogs into the batter cup and spin them around until coated, then place them in the oil. Once they’re all browned, drain them on a plate with paper towels, top with ketchup mustard etc and enjoy!

Popcorn

Ingredients:

· Unpopped popcorn kernels
· Vegetable oil and olive oil
· Butter
· Garlic cloves, crushed
· Salt





Directions:

Pour some oil into a large pot, just enough to cover the whole bottom. Pour in a couple tablespoons of kernels (you don’t need as much as you think!) Put a lot on it, turn the burner on high, and shake them every once and a while until they all pop. Once the popping slows down, take it off the heat, wait a few seconds so you don’t get kernels popping out, then pour it into a bowl.

Meanwhile, melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan w/ a few crushed garlic cloves. Keep it on low so the butter melts but doesn’t brown and so it absorbs the garlic flavor. Add a little olive oil then strain out the garlic, pour on the popcorn and salt to taste. (Also good w/ a little fresh thyme if you have it)


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Back again!

I know I've been on hiatus, but now that I have this blog iPhone app I will be posting up a storm! New name, but same recipes and cooking/eating/drinking adventures. In the near future expect movie night dinner, an Indian feast, and great BYOBs. Thanks!!


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