Feast on This!!!!!

So on Monday afternoon i got in my car with one of my friends and we started our venture into the city. Our destination was Mulberry street in the center of NYC little Italy. If your a New Yorker you know September in little Italy is the Feast Of San Gennaro!!!!! Ohhhh how i love the feast. ( pssss only go early in the day, evenings are way to crazy)Ok so i go with one thing in mind... ummm FOOD!!!!!! Thats what feasts are about, forget the games and the music its all about the food!!!!! Some people go for the sausage and peppers and some for the zeppole but not me.... no no no i got for the torrone candy!! Oh god, i love this stuff. Torrone is a candy made of egg whites and sugar and its filled with roasted almonds. They make this candy in large bricks. The bricks are then taken to festivals ad sold off in smaller pieces. The way they brake it is with a hammer. Not only is the candy great but i love the "show" or "drama" involved in the whole thing. Some crazy ZIP swinging around a hammer to give you some weird looking candy. FUN. So now that i went to the feast i am still craving more torrone and i am to crazy this week to head back to the city to get some more. So i find myself looking for recipes online. I'm going to make it!!!! i found some cool recipes and will give you updates on it.. any thoughts from you guys?? and have you gone to the feast??? NO??? GO!!!! The Feast Of San Gennaro

Carrot cake like no other!!!!

This is one of the recipes i submitted to The Food Network when i was auditioning for the NFNSS5. I like to pull this recipe out because as it gets cooler and september rolls in there is no other dessert like carrot cake. Ok so maybe apple pie screams fall but so does this great carrot cake. I added my own twis to this recipe and i hope you enjoy it

East Meets West Five Spice Carrot Cake

This is putting an Asian twist on an American classic. Five spice is made up of equal parts cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns. Most carrot cakes have cinnamon as the main flavoring ingredient. The five spice gives this recipe a new crisp and almost spicy twist that you will love. The frosting on this recipe is also a little lighter in sugar then most cheese cake frostings. This helps to complement the fresh flavor of the cake and not mask it with unneeded sweetness.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cake Batter

Whole eggs– 4

Vegetable oil – 1 ¼ cup

White sugar – 2 cups

Vanilla extract – 2 teaspoons

All purpose flour – 2 cups

Baking soda – 2 teaspoons

Baking powder – 2 teaspoons

Five spice powder – 2 teaspoons

Ground cinnamon – ½ teaspoon

Carrots grated – 4 cups

Walnuts chopped – 1 cup

In a bowl beat the eggs, oil, white sugar and vanilla extract. Slowly mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and five spice. Fold in the carrots and nuts until evenly incorporated. Grease and flour a 9 inch round pan. Pour the batter in the pan and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 20 minutes and then turn out onto a rack. Let cool for 3 hours in the refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Butter softened – 1 cup

Cream cheese – 16 ounces

Confectioner's sugar – 4 cups

Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon

Combine all the ingredients and beat until creamy. Frost the cake and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

And the end of summer

So summer is at over and i must say i'm happy to be coming upon my favorite time of yea.... FALL Halloween, thanksgiving, my b-day, and the cold crisp air of October. OHHH i can t wait and i have some great recipes to share with you folks. So hang out and check out some new recipes to come your way

MVP

Its almost that TIME

With September creeping in on us and it starting to feel a little cooler this week.... i think of fall. OK OK maybe I'm jumping the gun!! but i don't care. I spent the last two days baking apple pie and blubbery crisp... YUM. I spend my nights dreaming of pumpkins and roast foul. Ohhh the good days of fall. I think working on my new winter/fall menu also gets me in the mode. Don't get me wrong, i'm not pushing summer out the door i would also like a little more summer. If i cant have more summer falls a great place to be. I just wanted to put that out there for you folks. SO HAPPY FALL!!!!!

Who u calling a shortrib!?!?!

Hey guys. So if you read my tweets or any of my face book post you would know that i am working on a a new menu!!!! I have blogged in the past about how important it is to change the restaurant menu and how complicated it can get. Well i find my self (at last) in a good place. I have been working on the new menu for some time and finally feel good about where its going. The star of the menu is most definitely the SHORT RIBS!!!! Nothing can warm you soul like a slow braised short rib on a cold day. I think short ribs tend to be a little under appreciated, i wanted to do them justice. When i work on a new menu i first take into acount the season (thats obvious... right?) i next think about my custome, what do they want>? who are they and why are a here? (besides how great the food is) well alot of the customers are from the local area and they just want to get out and have some great food. But there is a lot of hotel guest who dine in the restaurant and they need to be addressed to. I think the short rib brings a feeling of comfort, warmth and love. To be hones the main ingredient in this dish is time and time ='s love!!!! I braise my short ribs for 4 hours at 350. They fall right off the bone. ok so i know you wan the recipe soooooo i'll give it to you!!!

You need

2 sets of full bone short ribs. (apx a 6 inch bone)

3 carrots

1 red onion

10 cloves garlic

1/2 can tomato paste

4 stalks of celery

2 48oz cans of beef stock (equal parts water)

8 stems thyme

2 cups red wine

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup olive oil

so in a medium size pot heat the oil over high heat

season your short ribs with lots of fresh ground black pepper and a little kosher salt (dont go crazy on the salt, the beef stock is full of salt)

ok so now sear the ribs in the pan one at a time. The ribs should be dark brown and crisp on all side. Remove from the pot and set aside. Rough dice the onions, celery and carrots (no need to peel the carrots just give them a good washing) Discard 1/2 of the oil in the pan and keep the remaining oil in the pan. Place it back over a low flame. Throw in all the vegetables including the garlic and thyme. Cook vegetables until they are canalized. Now add the tomato paste and cook for 3 more minutes. Now its time to add the red wine. Get a wooden spoon and get all that flavor off the bottom of the pan. Now add the beef stock and equal parts water. Place the ribs back in the pot. Bring to a simmer. Now cover and place in a 350 over for 4 hours or until the ribs are fork tender.

Remove the ribs from the pot BE CAREFUL!!! they are soooo tender. Place them on a rack and refrigerate. Strain the braising liquid and reduce by 1/2 over medium heat. (you can toss those old vegetables) You need to skim the fat off the top.

So now the ribs are still a little worm but they are cool enough to handle and a little more firm. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 1/2 cup olive oil. Place the short ribs (bone up) in the pan and cook until they get a crisp brown exterior... do this on all sides. Now place them back in the over for 5 min. Remove the pan from the oven and without dropping the short ribs, drain the oil. Now slowly add the reduced braising liquid to the pan and let cook until the liquid looks thick..APX 5 min.

OK that's it!!!

Place them on top of mash potatoes and roast vegetables and serve. I also like to sprinkle fresh oregano onto of them!!! yummmmmmers beotch

Just some tips. If you don't want to sever the whole rack... after they come out of the fridge cut into individual portions.

Party

Hey Just wanted to drop a quick post! I have alot of stuff going on at the hotel this week. We have a wedding party, 2 baby showers, 3 brunches a full restaurant and one crazy queen (me)

so the topic of parties is on my brain. We get people at the hotel who request that i make a favorite dish for them to celebrate with. Well my question is...... What's you favorite celebratory dish??? i'll post some of my favs (with recipes) for you

Foodie

I don't know what to say... ummmm.. yea i do "I LOVE FOOD" there i said it. Im a food junky.

I dream in food! I work in food! I socialize in food! i love to shop for food. I am so attracted to everything involving food. So my question to you is.. WHY?? Where did this foodie lifestyle come from? why did i get the food bug? Some people just got it and some (very unfortunate) people don't! I spent my younger years thinking i was going to be a painter or some kind of artist. So i was kinda right. I am an artist of sorts, maybe my canvas is not a linen one. My canvas is the plate. Ya know, sometimes i think how nice it would have been to be a painter. Making art as a full time job (i paint in my free time, check out some pics on my web page) but i do make art as a full time job. I make edible art, the art i make is so much more involved with the human experience (you need it to live). I think there are some people who look at it my way in that "Foodie mentality". But again there are some that do not!! So back to my question... Why am i a foodie and are you?