Recipe Lust -- Shells with Creamy Basil-Tarragon Pistou

With the sudden arrival (and equally sudden, albeit fleeting, disappearing) of Spring, the food media has bombarded me with things that I should be excited about: RAMPS! RAMPS! RAMPS!

But there's something else I'm really eager to play with--something I've been thinking about since Carla's highest moment of accomplishment on Top Chef last season--fresh peas.

This recipe makes great use of our newly arrived spring vegetable du jour, and seeing as that I still haven't eaten pasta since Passover, this may be due its turn in my kitchen sometime real soon.


Click here for a beautiful springy recipe for Shells with Creamy Basil-Tarragon Pistou and Sweet Peas, but be warned--you might end up hungry!

Design Porn: Treeprints by Bryan Nash

I'm absolutely head over heels in crazy love with these prints by artist Bryan Nash. With a huge respect for printmaking cultivated by years in the shop, I'm fascinated by Nash's ability to preserve a dead tree through art--and such striking art at that. The connection between the rings of the tree and fingerprints and printmaking--never two of the same, all intricate lines--are absolutely fascinating to me and are exactly the kinds of traits that I think make pieces most special. It's a steep price ($4,000) for one of 12 prints (a very limited edition indeed!) but if I had the money to throw around, I'd do it in a heartbeat. After all, every single ring of the tree needs to be imprinted by hand--and getting a print this complicated to look this clean is no small feat.


On that note, enjoy the beautifully springy weekend! I sure will!

Dining in the Sky

If you remember, I blogged about treetop dining a few months ago--those treehouse-style dining rooms were pretty fantastic, but similar as this new concept is, this is downright weird. An international "chain" concept currently making its US debut in Las Vegas and FL, Dinner in the Sky isn't about airplane food--it's about eating a meal while suspended in mid air. Strapped into your seat, which is connected to the table, you're whisked up to an altitude of 150 ft. by a standard crane, where you're meant to enjoy your meal (and whatever sights may surround you). How this works for the kitchen, I don't know, but I'm guessing that this isn't really meant to be a culinary experience as much as it is meant to be a bragging right. If you ask me, it looks like a pretty strange gimmick, but it's definitely something different for the food world.


See more here, and leave me your thoughts!

Budget Finds: New Kam Man Dumplings

As Passover nears its end, I'm thinking about all the starches that I'm missing and craving. With a friend coming into town this weekend, it's the perfect time to plan a trip for some quality dim sum. Needless to say, I've got dumplings on my mind. That's why today's Budget Finds is all about cheap, cheap Chinese. Because, of course, sometimes the cheap stuff is the best stuff!


I've been hearing particularly good things about the frozen dumplings over at New Kam Man Food, a fairly prominent Asian grocer in Chinatown located at 200 Canal St. (at Mulberry). For just $9.95 you get 50 dumplings, and if you have a normally sized appetite then you should be able to get 5 meals out of that for $2 apiece. Is that a budget find or what?


PS. Thank you, NYMag, for supplying images in times of need!

Geek or Chic? Calendar Tape

My most recent Geek or Chic--the twittering plants--came to some very mixed reviews, with many writing in to express simultaneous amusement of the concept and dismay at the exceedingly ridiculous $100 pricetag. However, today's Geek or Chic rings in at a budget friendly $12 for ultra organizational power!


A rather clever little invention, this calendar tape comes in two rolls--one for days and one for dates. Aligned to create an accurate calendar, they can be stuck onto basically any surface, such as notebooks, planners, refrigerators, recipe books, or even perishable goods. $12 buys both rolls of tape and a smudge-proof marker, which definitely isn't bad, but I'm not 100% sold on the aesthetic here. A customizable color palette (I'm thinking neon pink or turquoise) would be a nice future feature, but for now, what do you say? Geek or Chic?

Good Enough to Eat... Again! -- Mom's Cauliflower Cake

When I hosted a small Passover Seder in my apartment last week, I had a last minute mixup that I really should have expected. No matter how much you plan (even if you have a schedule set up three weeks in advance!) it's impossible to cater an event without a hitch. Mine was a general lack of kosher for passover egg noodles, which threw off my attempt to make Passover kugel, a yearly favorite. But at the end of the day, kugel without noodles is, well, nothing, so I had to resort to a quick and easy alternative. After a quick call to my ever resourceful mom, I decided to make what's known in my family as "Cauliflower Cake." It was a great decision--it was ready in no time, cost hardly anything, and disappeared before I could remember to take a photo. Had there been leftovers, I gladly would have eaten them again and again.



Mom's Cauliflower Cake

What You'll Need

1 head of cauliflower (or 1 large bag frozen)......... $2.00
1 block of mozzarella cheese, shredded................. $3.00
1/4 fresh paremsan................................................ $1.50
2 eggs...................................................................... $0.50
Salt and pepper to taste
Total Cost.................................................. $7.00
Note: This fed eight as a side dish, but it would easily make two to three full vegetarian meals!
Total Cost per Meal................................... $2.33


What You Do

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If using fresh cauliflower, cut stems and discard, leaving just the little florets. Place florets, frozen or fresh, in boiling water until they are soft, about 8 minutes.

2. Strain and transfer cauliflower to a large bowl. Mash with a fork or potato masher, and add two eggs. Mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Spray a small baking dish with non-stick spray, and use about half the cauliflower to create a first layer. Cover with half the shredded mozzarella, and repeat. Top with parmesan and place in preheated oven for about 30-45 minutes or until golden on top. Enjoy!

Friday Food Porn

Before I go too far, let me explain: I'd gotten real sick of the whole pork belly/bacon overload in food media for a while, and then, all of the sudden, it all came back to me. I realized the reason why I'd initially been part of the bacon afficionados club, and why it's still going strong--bacon is freaking tasty. And cheap. Especially the Niman Applewood Smoked Bacon that I had for dinner with eggs last night (don't judge me--it's Passover!). And the more you eat it, the more you want it. Beware--it's dangerous.

Anyhow, today's food porn is courtesy of Apartment Therapy--these bacon wrapped potato bites make optimal use of several ingredients that are waiting in my fridge, and I think it's in good order that I try these myself. For some extra fun, check out this article on new Ikea kitchen treats--it's like a budget find and decor porn thrown into one!

Happy Easter, everyone!