Kiki's Greek Tavern in Chinatown

Found such a great spot! Kiki's Greek Tavern in Chinatown. The Times wrote it up two weeks ago so I tried it out with my friends Kara and Alice. It's adorable! It's down a tiny street in deep Chinatown (off the East Broadway stop) and to fit in with the neighborhood, the awning says "Kiki's Tavern" in Chinese characters. The inside is sparse and charming and the waiters are so friendly and don't rush you at all. Most importantly, the food is fantastic. 

July 26 - Vegetable Garden Week 17

The garden is looking pretty sad. The deer have eaten almost everything. Even though we have about 13 tomato plants, we do not have any tomatoes - just stalks of where the flowers and baby tomatoes once were. So depressing! I think we're getting a deer fence so maybe next summer we'll have better luck. The above picture was our whole haul - a cucumber, some basil, and a handful of green beans. 

At least it was a beautiful weekend!

July 11 - Vegetable Garden Week 15

The garden has seen better days. The deer are out of control. They've been eating everything, and things they haven't eaten in the past like snap peas, tomatoes, and even hot pepper plants. 

Grilled Porgy

I bought some porgy at the union square market and grilled it up last week. It's cheap, easy, and very tasty. It was so fresh and the olive oil/lemon/herb mix is a perfect accompaniment. 

Ingredients:

1 small porgy, less than a pound

1 small spring onion, cut into quarters (using part of the green shoots)

olive oil

lemon juice

fresh oregano, chopped

fresh parsley, chopped

salt and pepper

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

Grilled Green Beans and Garlic Scapes

I love garlic scapes in the early summer. The other night, I cut them into pieces about the size of green beans and grilled them with green beans and served them together. Yum! The garlic scapes are sweet and tender and the green beans are fresh and crunchy. Great mix!

Pretty Salad

Want a really quick way to make a simple salad really fancy and beautiful? Top it with nasturtiums. They're perfectly edible and taste a little bit like watercress. This is some fresh lettuce from the garden and I tossed it with dressing then put some nasturtiums on top. Easy and so pretty and colorful. 

Pork Tenderloin Sous Vide

Another sous vide recipe! I tried it with pork tenderloin. It's great! It's so easy to dry out pork and this was extremely juicy. I took the advice of this Gizmodo article and tried a pre-marinated tenderloin from Trader Joe's and just kept it in the pre-vacuum sealed packaging.

Sous Vide Steak

I bought a new toy! It's a sous vide machine. Instead of a giant machine, it's about the size of a pepper grinder (a big one) and clips to the side of the pot. It regulates the water temperature while you cook something in a vacuum sealed bag. It's great! It makes it so the whole piece of meat (or anything) cooks perfectly evenly and doesn't over cook. 

Summer Party Idea

I love having outdoor parties in the summer. A few weeks ago, we had a birthday party for my friend Bettina in the backyard in Southampton. With a few simple touches, it was super festive. We got 18" white balloons at a party store, ordered wine labels from Pinhole Press, put out tiki torches, and got a fire pit at a yard sale (and Kara brought some adorable hats, the cute white banner, and some sparklers). It was a great success, mostly because of the beautiful night, and all of the rose didn't hurt. I tied these tassels to the balloons to add a little flare. I highly recommend the big, white balloons - so festive!

Strawberry Balsamic Pie

I love pie season. Some people think it's in the fall or winter, but for me, summer pies are the best. I love a good lattice-topped berry pie (strawberry rhubarb is my reigning favorite). I've been wanting to try this recipe from Four and Twenty Blackbirds but kept forgetting about it during the short strawberry season. Not this year! I finally remembered, bought a bunch of strawberries from the market, and made this delicious pie. It's so good! Even the drippings that come off the pie onto the cookie sheet taste like wonderful, sophisticated fruit roll ups. Strawberries and balsamic go so well together, and the little tiny bit of pepper is not obvious but gives the mix a tiny kick. I used my new favorite cornmeal crust, but you can use regular crust, too (or store-bought if you want - I recommend Trader Joe's).