dirt candy: vegetable love

in the past, i couldn’t really say that the idea of going to a vegetarian restaurant had me doing jumping jacks in my apartment to contain my excitement. typically, i wouldn’t seek out a vegetarian restaurant over the ever-growing list of restaurant i want to try, but dirt candy won me over. the menu items sounded so appealing, so different and quite different than the vegetarian meals i would have ever thought to make for myself.

we left the restaurant happily filled, after eating more than our fair share of jalenpeno hush puppies and fried cauliflower (and more), and surprisingly, the meal felt indulgent. as we left the tiny, tiny restaurant, i couldn’t help but look at all of the equally happily filled diners, gleaming with excitement over legitimately decadent things like “carrot buns.”

starter: jalenpeno hush puppies  (puffy, fried balls of hush puppy goodness, with chopped jalepenos and the lightest maple butter)

two appetizers:

carrot: steamed barbecue carrot buns, cucumber & sesame ginger salad (my personal favorite of the night. these buns were so doughy, and the vegetable filling was so tender and flavorful)

and

squash: butternut squash broth, squash dumplings, delicata coconut cream (really light and definitely not too sweet)

our entree, cauliflower: buttermilk battered cauliflower, waffles, horseradish, wild arugula (anything fried with a dipping sauce, sign me up!)

our dessert: popcorn pudding with salted caramel corn. i’m not quite sure the pudding tasted like popcorn, but i loved it anyway.

vegetarian or not, dirt candy is definitely worth a visit. warning: you may end up craving carrot buns!

dirt candy: east 9th st., between ave. a and 1st ave.

sweet, sweet, sweet potato biscuits

i think in another life i had a southern grandmother. the intensity with which i love home-cooked southern comfort food (and the idea of it) is really unwarranted, being that i have no nostalgic ties to anywhere that could even be classified as “almost the south,” and i didn’t ever have anyone cooking me memorable southern meals as a child.

however, when i think of things like  biscuits (especially sweet potato ones like these), i just picture myself sitting on a worn-in chair on a grandmother’s porch in a house in charleston, sipping sweet tea and laughing with her, as we munch on warm sweet potato, ham and honey biscuits.

these biscuits, although delicious, were consumed in new jersey, not charleston, and i ate them with my parents with our easter ham. maybe when i look back, i’ll embellish the story and say that we at least ate them on a porch while drinking sweet tea. the recipe is below.

mixing the sweet potato mixture in with all of the other ingredients

the dough, flattened and rolled out

the biscuits as they enter the oven…

the finished product, topped with a thin slice of ham and a teaspoon of honey, just like my fake southern grandmother used to make!

recipe: sweet, sweet, sweet potato biscuits

makes 12

roast sweet potato until inside is tender. scoop out flesh.

preheat oven to 400°F. butter bottom of a baking sheet.

mix all of the dry ingredients together. add cubed butter to flour mixture; toss to coat and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. whisk mashed sweet potatoes and buttermilk in medium bowl. add to dry ingredients; toss with fork. gather mixture in bowl, kneading until dough comes together. roll dough to 1 1/2 inch circle. using 11/2-inch round biscuit cutter or the top of a glass, cut out biscuits.

arrange biscuits side by side in on baking sheet. bake until slightly golden on top and tester inserted into center biscuit comes out clean, about 15 minutes. cool and remove from baking sheet. slice in half if you like, and spread honey and ham on top.

recipe: slow-cooker pulled pork

my history with slow-cookers goes back about one year. i had wanted one for awhile, and thinking that they were expensive, when i saw one at a garage sale for $20 i snatched it up right away. for two reasons, it turns out i got majorly ripped off.  one, slow-cookers are really affordable! you can get a pretty good one in the $20-$40 range almost anywhere. and two, the slow-cooker i so quickly bought at the garage sale didn’t come with….a lid. how did i not notice that?

cut to this christmas, when my boyfriend’s mom gave me a slow-cooker for christmas (thanks, mrs. renzulli)! i was so excited about all of the new hassle-free meals and tender meat i would be cooking in this helpful little gadget.

i knew i wanted to start with pulled pork and this recipe does not disappoint. the pork comes out perfectly, and you feel as though you have slaved over the stove for hours; juicy, incredibly moist and so flavorful. my favorite toppings for this yummy meat served atop a nice fresh bun? coleslaw, caramelized onions and grated cheddar cheese. try it, you will love it!

all of the ingredients placed in the slow-cooker

the finished product (look at all of the juices!)

love these sandwiches so much..and there were leftovers for days!

recipe: slow-cooker pulled pork

serves 6

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup bbq sauce
• 1 tablespoon light-brown sugar
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3-pound boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
• 6 crusty rolls
• toppings of your choice

directions:

in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, stir together ketchup, bbq sauce, brown sugar, garlic, sage, apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cut pork in half lengthwise; add to slow cooker, turning to coat. cover, and cook on low until meat is  falling apart and easy to shred, about 8 hours (or on high for 6 hours).

skim off and discard any fat from the, and with two forks or a pair of tongs, pull the meat apart. place the pork in a serving bowl and serve with rolls and any toppings you like!

a thanksgiving feast

the time between the day before thanksgiving and christmas day is my favorite time of year. i guess it is for a lot of people, but here’s why it is so magical to me.  a) it is a state of pure joy. i love spending time with family and friends, being hectic, listening to music, and feeling cozy. b) i get to obsessively watch home alone two-three times a week without seeming crazy. c) i obsess over recipes. what to make? what to eat? what to bring to people’s apartments, houses, and holiday parties? the food options are endless this time of year! and it kicks off with thanksgiving.

here are a few photos:

the turkey (after years of being a white meat eater, i have started to absolutely crave dark meat)

brussels sprouts with bacon

cranberry sauce with dried cherries (recipe from everyday food)

cauliflower au gratin (recipe from barefoot in paris, by ina garten)

thinly sliced, roasted sweet and white potatoes with butter, salt and pepper

the stuffing! my uncle’s stuffing was excellent, and super flavorful

we took a quick breather before we hit the dessert table…pumpkin pie (without the added toppings, apple pie, chocolate crackle cookies, and almond cake (which i have no other photo of, but i LOVED)

bobby flay’s pumpkin pie with cinnamon crunch (the “crunch” gave some great added texture to the creamy pie)

my aunt and cousin’s traditional apple pie (with picture-perfect crust!)

an always-requested hit, chocolate crackle cookies

austin: part 3

el chile:

this meal at el chile cafe was the perfect way to end our trip. we had walked off our breakfast tacos from the late morning, and worked up an appetite for some authentic tex-mex. el chile came highly recommended from my cousins, who we were staying with, and they hadn’t steered us wrong thus far.

we started off with the queso, which was just divine. charred red peppers, roasted red and white onions, and crisply fried chips led the way to this melted, creamy cheese dip.

our entrees were all superb! my personal favorite were the enchiladas con mole rojo (two achiote-roasted pork enchiladas topped with oaxacan red mole and toasted sesame seeds).

next up, was the chile relleno (poblano pepper stuffed with achiote-roasted pork, topped with ranchero sauce, served with rice and refried beans).

this was my first ever puffy taco! (i have had a recent interest in puffy tacos since seeing them on bobby flay’s throwdown. there is a great recipe for one in his latest throwdown cookbook). these crispy, puffed taco shells were filled with chicken and topped with queso fresco, lettuce, tomato, and guacamole and served with rice and refried beans.

lastly, the pescado entortillado (tortilla-crusted tilapia topped with blackened jalapeño aioli and poblano-corn relish). simple, a little lighter and freshened up with the delicious corn salsa.

lowcountry: we got “low low low low, low low low low”

i’m not gonna lie. after allison and i decided we’d go to low country for dinner, i had hands in the air stuck in my head, all afternoon and evening.  (“she hit the floor, shorty got low,” and it’s still in there today…)

catchy as that little interlude is, lowcountry doesn’t seem like a joint that’s going to play much girl talk, or flo-rida, for that matter:

i felt like i was 22 again, and  hangin’ out in some (hot) dude’s basement…

i actually don’t remember hearing any music?

what we did walk into on monday was “fried chicken and football night.” they offer sweet-tea-brined fried chicken, macaroni salad, and barbecued black-eyed peas–and football– for $19. an offer difficult to refuse…

but–allison and i decided to save the fried chicken for a future visit.

our dinner went like this:

a michelada: modelo beer, tomato juice, and hot sauce.

this took some getting used to. my first thought was the beer had diluted the tomato juice too much. and the beer had gotten a little lost, too. but this is a fizzy bloody mary, a good buildup to the southern menu. and i loved the beer -soaked olive.

grilled baby octopus
anson mills farro, pickled pear, boiled peanuts, smoked yogurt.

i didn’t discern the “pickle” in the pear or the “smoke” in the yogurt, but i loved the assertive sweetness and the char in the grilled baby octopus. nice layered flavors and textures going on here.

brussels sprouts…with apple butter.

does that sound odd to you? well, if you have any interest at all in brussels sprouts, please order these. the salty, glossy leaves stayed crisp . the touch — just a spoonful? –of  apple butter woke up the palate. we loved these. loved loved loved.

cornmeal dusted catfish
carolina red rice and beans, chow chow remoulade…

our server mentioned that this dish changes his opinion of catfish forever (he was formerly disinterested). he was right to rave. these are generous fillets, perfectly fried. i thought i recognized tomato in this remoulade that gave it…you guessed it, a little sweetness. i loved how they blanketed the fish with it.

and: the humble red bean? it’s lovable again, as a side here (with rice and sausage).

for dessert: bourbon banana bread pudding. this might have been the one slight disappointment of the evening–maybe our server built this up a bit too much?  it was very warm and wet banana bread, but the custard that i look forward to, was missing. a crisp top would have given a bit of texture and caramelization. the sauce would have been more memorable if it had been a bit thicker and boozier.

(we like ‘em thick and boozy.)

but…allison and i are still high on lowcountry. we’re plotting fried chicken biscuits and bbq sliders for the next game night. i’ve had the sliders before–they were one of my favorite “tastes” at the back to basis event in september.

they described it then as a “north carolina, lightly smoked pork shoulder.” i hope it’s the same preparation. it was wonderfully refined, even with all that delicious slaw spilling out all over.

***

lowcountry is at 142 west 10th street, between greenwich avenue and waverly place.

they accept reservations at 212.255.2335 or via open table.

a southern feast

planning for a recent family birthday party quickly turned into a “what recipes have we been dying to try” gathering, as my sister-in-law and i reviewed all of the recent magazine clippings and dvr’d food network segments that we had stored. we settled on a southern theme and decided we’d need amped up versions of the classics: baked beans, pulled pork sliders, cole slaw, peach pie and a lemon pavlova (ok, that’s not southern, but we were all salivating at the thought of it).

all of the recipes were a success on their own, but together, they resulted in a divine southern feast. nothing hits the spot like a tangy, sweet, slow-cooked pulled pork, and tyler florence’s easy recipe certainly didn’t fail. we topped each toasted potato roll with a mound of pulled pork and a thin slice of cheddar cheese. also, i’ve never made pulled pork before, and i couldn’t believe how economical it was! the 7-lb shoulder only cost $8, and it easily fed 6 (plus leftovers)! 

the root beer baked beans from bon appetit were a little plain, but definitely hit the spot; however, next time i would use only half of the root beer, since the dish wasn’t as thick as i would have liked. the sweet and spicy cole slaw, on the other hand, took the sometimes too-mayonnaisey dish to an entirely new level! the recipe came from the blackberry farm cookbook, which was developed on the blackberry farm estate, a beautiful farm in tennessee famous for it’s award-winning food, cooking classes, and almost unimaginable picturesque setting.  their sweet and spicy foothills coleslaw carried far more flavor than it did mayo, and the kick from the spicy mustard, the sweetness from the brown sugar, and the tanginess from the malt vinegar just gave this dish so much life. and using both kinds of cabbage just made it look so beautiful!

as stuffed as we were from this feast, we all must have saved some space for dessert, since we each seemingly pretty decent sized slices of the lemon pavlova and the peach pie. the peach pie is a family recipe from my sister-in-law, jen, and the crust is just perfect! it’s salty, sweet and crumbly all at once, and can really be paired with any fruit. the lemon pavlova recipe she made, though, looked like it has been bought for sixty euros at a french bakery or something — it was gorgeous, and equally delicious! thin layers of lemon meringue over creamy lemon curd custard. the best dessert for any lemon lover. this photo does not even do the dessert justice.

now, i’m just wondering what the text themed dinner should be! any suggestions? greek? indian?