Spark's Steakhouse

I always thought that if I were starving in midtown east, I would have to resort to stale pizza and M&Ms, but fear not, fellow food lovers. You can have surf and turf. There are steakhouses tucked around around every corner... they seem accessible only during off peak hours, and don't forget to suit up!

Spark's Steakhouse is like a time capsule. The modern suits almost look out of place. The atmosphere is corporate with a healthy amount old school flair; ornate red patterns line dish ware and match the worn but plush red carpeting. Oil paintings cover every inch of the walls and are individually lit by long incandescent lamps.

We started with a butterflied 3 pound lobster. If it weren't for the propriety of everyone around us, I would think that the lobster is over the regulation size.

It was delicious only because it was a massive lobster. The cooking was rather plain, and slightly overdone. It was somewhat amusing to watch someone pull the meat out and cut it into bite size pieces by the table.

For my entree, I ordered (practically) the only thing on the menu - steak. I picked the one with roquefort cheese melted on top. I heard that it's a house special.

The steak was perfectly cooked and extremely high quality. The pungent cheese provided complexity to the mild meat. (and it went excellently with the wine selection!) All of the portions were massive. I actually almost finished my steak despite the lobster and various sides.

Overall, I loved the steak. I would go there for just the steak, but it almost feels wrong to get it alone - and I do think the restaurant tries to send not-so-subtle hints by placing the lone steaks without much decoration on the side of the plate.

At the end we had a couple of chocolate desserts which were pretty good but not mind blowing by any measure. I had too many glasses of wine at this point and forgot to take a picture.

Well at least I know that I won't starve if I need to eat unless it's between 6-11pm on a weekday.

Yellowtail Jalapeño at home

One of the great things about Sunrise Mart is that they have all the ingredients for yellowtail jalapeno in one place.

Nobu never serves enough... who eats only 6 slices?!

All you need is the following:

yellowtail (duh)

jalapeno (duh again)

garlic - I'm quite sure that a lot of imitation restaurants miss this ingredient. It does change the flavor subtly. If you sit at the bar, you will see the sushi chefs at Nobu dipping their fingers in a small jar of minced garlic and dabbing it onto the sliced fish.

sauce. it should be yuzu soy, which is approximately 2:1 yuzu and soy, but I like my sauce a little heavier on the yuzu. Yuzu is a tiny (and expensive) citrus fruit, and the sauce is sold in tiny and somewhat pricy bottles.

Last but not least, you need a good knife.

The piece of hamachi (yellowtail) that I got was a little large.

No one was around to help me make a video, but you should try to cut the fish with one smooth knife stroke. You can also hold it even against the knife with your knuckles.

I like my fish 1-1.5mm thick. I then press it against a pile of minced garlic before plating. This jalapeno turned out to be larger and spicier than I thought.

The sauce is sprinkled on top. It looks a little dark here on the dark plate...

So good... even though I accidentally rubbed some jalapeno into my eye....

Inside Out Egg

Back when I was looking for the Singaporean egg recipe, I came upon this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbKSx3mAVbc&feature=player_embedded

Since then, I've been waiting for one of my tights/pantyhose to get a run in it so that I can try this out.

It all starts with an egg:

and a stocking.

These got old. I did wash them first though.

Tape up the egg before the experiment. I didn't do it as elegantly as the person in the video. I didn't want to risk any leaks!

You're supposed to shine a flashlight through it before and after, but I forgot to do the before, and I'm pretty sure that at this point, the yolk was already broken. The inside looks pretty dark. But after this picture, I didn't know what was going on so I swung it like a maniac some more.

The way you break it is by centripetal force. You can tie a knot in the sock (don't use the leg with the run in it), and close the other end with the twisty tie and swing it like in the video while risking egging yourself in the face... or you can swing it vertically like a madman and risk smashing the egg into the floor or your wall. Your choice.

I forgot the step where you're supposed to flash freeze it after boiling so that the egg separates from the shell. Because you've most likely destroyed the thin membrane that makes peeling an egg so easy, it's important to remember this step.

I thought the egg looked pretty cool, and at this point you can no longer flash freeze...

So I kept peeling.

My egg wasn't quite inside out, but it was pretty cool none-the-less and was quite delicious. If I had boiled it longer, maybe the inside layer would have been lighter. It's kind of strange though that there was still a yolk-shaped layer on the inside.

Bourgeois Crepe Suzette

One morning, I wanted some crepe suzette. I had no orange liqueur of any kind, and had just run out of powdered sugar. I didn't even have milk. However, I had a swig of orange juice, 2 eggs, some flour, butter, and sugar.

They turned out pretty delicious. The crepes were non-alcoholic, but suzette-y nonetheless. BTW there are 6 crepes in this picture. They are super thin... makes me wonder how people make mille crepes. I would get so sick of flipping crepes.

I used a crepe recipe from an old friend/roommate's brother. Basically mix ingredients in this order (everything at room temperature): 1/4 stick Butter + 1.5 tbp sugar + dash of salt + 2 eggs + 1/2 cup orange juice.

+ 1/2 cup flour. Mix until smooth. It doesn't have to be super duper smooth.

+ 1/4 cup lukewarm water. I honestly don't know what this does, but the recipe's great, so I don't mess with it.

The resulting mixture is very liquid. This way you can make super thin crepes!

I put about half a ladle in a 10 inch pan.

You can cover it or not, but put it on med-high heat and do not mess with it! walk away! go watch some TV.

Don't even think about touching your crepe until there are bubbles and the edges are a little brown.

Flip, cook for a minute longer, and you have a delicious thin crepe.

These might not look as perfect and uniform as the ones that you get from random trucks and stands, but they are so much thinner and more delicious. Also orange juice is naturally sweet, so you don't even need to add filling. 

It's a simple meal to make. Sometimes I cheat a little and do not warm the eggs and juice up to room temperature, because the best time to make this is on a weekend morning when I have no patience to incubate eggs.

Lamb and Spinach Lasagna

Look, I'm not Italian. I don't know if lasagna is usually made with leftovers, but when I eat it in most places, it sure tastes like it. But as you might very well know, I love elevating leftovers.

Okay so I got a little aggressive with the cheese layer and it slid.. but you know what, I'd take more cheese layer over more pasta layers any day.

I had left over dough and spinach/ricotta/parmesan filling left over from making ravioli. I think of lasagna as its less elegant and much easier to make cousin.

I only have to roll the dough to the 2nd thinnest setting, and I can leave it in massive sheets. It's then boiled for about 5 minutes until soft. If you're using box pasta, please follow the box directions. It turns out that baking it doesn't actually add much additional cooking.

My bf went ahead and spiced some ground lamb to his liking. Those are onions btw, not garlic. This is the part where people use leftovers... just like leftover meat and veggies in fried rice. I say just get the fresh stuff darn it!! We were joking about putting the leftover ma po tofu in the lasagna. New age fusion?!

Cheese mixture. Yeah this was probably enough for 3 layers, not 2.

Make sure to add a tad extra salt in your meat. The pasta and cheese should be mild. No, do not over-salt the pasta water or cheese layer to compensate.

Layering!! I put some olive oil on the bottom so that the bottom pasta sheet doesn't stick.

More layering!! I criss cross the pasta in different directions. I have no idea why... the thing is stuck in a pan. But I guess it helps keep everything from sliding in case of an emergency.

I threw some parmesan on top, and baked it for 20 minutes. After all, everything was already cooked, so it was just a matter of melting the cheese. You can put pasta sauce on top and or meltier cheese. It's up to you. I simply didn't have any.

I had some pieces that were upright, but I think the goopy sliding ones look more rustic. Also I got hungry and ate all the upright ones before I got a chance to take a picture.

100th post! Panna Cotta

It's only fitting that for the 100th post, I will write about the best dish I made all November. I made it in under 10 minutes, my boyfriend had one bite, and he exclaimed "This is the best thing you made all month!" I was insulted at first, but then I used it as a weapon to win the Thanksgiving cook off.

You family is going to think that you are so cool if you whip this out for the holidays. It costs $12 in a restaurant... and all you need is a few ingredients as the foresight to refrigerate this 4-48 hours ahead.

This makes about 10-12 servings. I'm listing NYC prices...

Necessary ingredients:
1.25 packets of gelatin (packets of 4 are about $2)
1 pint/2 cups of half and half ($2.5)
1/4 cup sugar ($negligible)

A few drops of vanilla extract (cents)
water (I hope it's free for you)


Optional ingredients:
1 pint/2 cups of heavy cream ($3): 1 cup for the dessert and 1 cup for the whipped cream topping
Small box of raspberries ($4)
Some powdered sugar ($2 at most)

So that adds up to call it $13-14 at most, which averages to about $1 per serving. I'm never ordering this in a restaurant again.

This recipe is extremely flexible. You can make this with either half and half or cream. I like a 2:1 combo. You can also adjust the gelatin and sugar however you like.

The only non-common ingredient is gelatin, which grocery stores keep near the Jello. They come in little packets, that you must keep dry.

In my mixing bowl, I start off with 2 tablespoons of water and a sprinkle a thin layer of gelatin on top - about 1/3-1/2 packet.

This is the only hard part. If too much gelatin is clumped together, it won't mix smoothly and turn into a hard block, and it's a lot of work to separate, so you want to keep thin layers setting and floating on the top of your liquid in portions.

Then while it sits....

I dissolve 1/4 of a cup of sugar in 2 cups of half and half by zapping it in the microwave for about 45 seconds and mixing it until all the sugar granules are gone.

I then pour this mixture into my gelatin mixture while mixing vigorously, and then sprinkle the rest of the packet of gelatin on top.

I like to let it sit for a few minutes before I add 1 cup of heavy cream and sprinkle on about an additional 1/4 of a packet of gelatin.

Give it a few more swirls and pour it into your serving containers.

4-8 hours later, it should be set. We just ate it like this. It's absolutely delicious. It also keeps very well in the fridge for a few days. I just plastic wrapped it after the first 24 hours.

But if you really want to wow people, you can throw some raspberries on top, whip some whipped cream (1 cup + ~4 tbp of powdered sugar whipped to peaky fluffiness), and some jam (for Thanksgiving I made home made cranberry jam, which was just a handful of cranberries cooked in water, sugar, and a dash of lemon)

Best. Dessert. Ever. Trick someone into thinking that you're a dessert genius for the holidays. I dare you.

Thanksgiving Cook-off!!! Allez Cuisine!

My bf challenged me to a Thanksgiving cook-off. As a joke, I said "I'll let you pick the cuisine, because it wouldn't be fair if we were to do something that you don't cook... like Italian." Like a crazed Barney Stinson, he exclaimed "Challenge accepted!"

We had here on our hands an Italian cook-off. I gave him some leeway because he could not roll pasta. We invited 4 guest judges to score each dish. I have included below their scores and commentary. Scores were out of 10: max 7 for taste, and 3 for presentation.

We broke out the styrofoam plates, cranked up the heat, and.... Allez cuisine!

Course #1: Appetizer course - Quail Eggs

The challenger made a "bird's nest" with sprouts, fries, and quail eggs baked in the oven.

Score: 6.9; Some complained that the eggs fell off when placed on the plates. The slightly chewy quality of the nest of sprouts and fries were the rest of the deduction.

The PBO made a crostini with pancetta, roasted mushroom, and quail egg.

Score: 8; Mushrooms were well roasted, but the bread was not up to par - was too chewy and not toasted. Melted cheese on top was a nice touch.

First course goes to the PBO.

Course #2: Primi

The challenger presented an open faced roast beef sandwich with wasabi mayo, avocado spread, and sliced apples.

Score: 8.1: Everyone loved the well spiced avocado spread, which had a hint of pepper flakes. There was some disagreement over the addition of apples, but both the cook and I agreed that they helped hide the fact that Whole Foods sliced the meet too thickly, on which the judges did not take note.

The PBO presented a perciatelli with home made tomato sauce and fried calamari and jalapeños.

Score: 7.3; Most of the points were lost on presentation and not enough sauce. The thick hose-shaped pasta was quite a mess and flopped onto the plates unceremoniously. The calamari were tender and popular, but it was questionable whether it worked well with the rest of the dish.

Second course goes to the challenger.

Course #3: Pasta course - Ravioli

The challenger cooked a "wavioli". Without hand-rolled pasta, he resorted to wonton skins. Then he ingeniously borrowed from a soup dumpling recipe by turning soup into gelatin, so that the inside of the "wavioli" are liquid. The soup consisted of duck stock, mushrooms, potatoes, and Chinese sausage.

Score: 7.7; Due to the delicate nature of the dumplings, they had to be boiled one by one. The judges in general liked the special quality of being served 1:1, but found the dumplings a little awkward to eat. The flavor inside was quite delicious.

The PBO cooked home made spinach ravioli, presented with just a sprinkle of parmesan.

Score: 8.6; The ravioli were well-proportioned, and the pasta was thin but had a little bounce. Unfortunately it did not come with any sauce, and that would have taken the dish to the next level. I must admit that at this point, I was just tired and the pan was dirty, so I did not make the butter sage sauce as planned.

Third course goes to the PBO.

Course #4: Main/Protein

The challenger put together a classic of his that made me tremble with fear: Chicken sliders with butter pickles and dijon mustard.

Score: 9.1; This dish definitely blew a few of the judges' minds and garnered full scores on taste. After some discussion about opening a restaurant if things don't work out, a few judges even asked for seconds (to my dismay).

The PBO countered with a pan seared steak with sides of beets and brussels sprouts.

Score: 8.5; The steak was perfectly seared but over-seasoned with garlic. It also created a small garlic-jalapeno cloud in the kitchen. The beets were loved by some and confused others and overall resulted in a wash. Brussels sprouts were as popular as ever, and I believe they were my saving grace on this course.

The fourth course goes to the challenger.

Course #5: Dessert

Like any good contest, it all came down to the last course.

The challenger was given the opportunity to buy a tiramisu, but instead took the hard route and made a cool swan-soaked cake with italian shaved ice.

Score: 8.1; The cake was moist and perfectly cooked, but a few judges did not like the "booziness" of the cool swan. Given that it's liqueur, I can see the problem... but it was Thanksgiving! One judge loved the booziness and gave it extra points. The italian shaved ice was very successful and worked well with the spongy cake.

The PBO made panna cotta with cranberry jelly, raspberries, and whipped cream.

Score: 9.5; The panna cotta was touted the best dish of the night, and was awarded 2 perfect 10's. The challenger knew that this was my secret weapon. After all he got to taste some when I was testing it out a couple days earlier and claimed that it was the best thing I cooked all month. The only complaint was that it was a little too sweet, and I admit that I was heavy handed with the powdered sugar in the whipped cream.

The final course and the competition goes to the PBO.

I thought that the challenger put up a great effort. I expected higher scores for his chicken burger, and honestly if the "wavioli" had worked, who knows where we would be.

I hope our 4 judges had a great 10 course meal for their Thanksgiving, and we thank them for their participation and honest comments.

Better luck next time, darling!