All posts in Snackin, Salads and Apps

By Jessica | July 21, 2010 | Dinner Parties, Featured, Seasonal, Snackin, Salads and Apps | No comments

And not in a gross, “I’m not eating that” kinda way, but in a “Whoa, this MUST be tomato season” kinda way.

And instead of getting my rocks off about heirloom tomatoes, I thought I would go straight China-import pesticidal, bright reds. Psyche. But really, I did start with some nice looking Sweet Cherry Tomatoes on the vine – you know the kind I’m talking about. They come in a flat plastic container of like 12 or 15. You should do this, it’s a beautiful thing.

Olive Oil Poached Sweet Tomatoes with Garlic
olive oil poached tomatoes

Keeping them on the vine, simply place the tomatoes in a heavy baking dish that fits them all snugly-like. I used an enameled cast iron which worked pretty well, you can also use a glass one which is all kinds of pretty. Shove barely wrapped garlic cloves all up in the cracks and pour in enough olive oil to cover. Using a brush, coat the tomatoes and garlic so its all oiled well, season with salt and pepper. Pop er in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes-ish or until the tomato skin starts to split but before they completely turn to mush. Bake for less if you want them more firm – up to you. Once or twice while cooking, use a brush to re-coat the veg with the oil.

olive oil poached tomatoes

Now dip!

Alts: add fresh herbals like thyme or basil or the sticky icky.

Serve with crusty bread for dipping and for mashing the juicy (and very hot) tomatoes and soft-as-shit garlic into.

Left overs? We are going to turn it into a lo-fi pasta sauce. Stay tuned bizzes…

By Jessica | December 11, 2009 | Main Courses, Other People's Recipes, Recipes, Snackin, Salads and Apps | No comments

It’s fucking big. See? That’s \/ a lemon and that’s \/ a pomelo. Awesome, right?
Lemon Vs Pomelo

A pomelo is the best cause it’s huge but really light in weight. And then when you open it, it’s beautifully pink (although, I found out that not all of them are, but what the hell do I know). The one I got for this salad wasn’t very citrusey or very sweet. But still very bright, and a perfect addition to the spicy dressing.

I adapted this recipe from a cook book about salads. The book is only aaaight, but here is my version of the salad.

Bright and Spicey Pomelo Salad

Bright and Spicy Pomelo Salad

dressing:
2 tbl rice wine
juice of 1 juicy lime
1 pinch of brown sugar
1 tsp siracha
1 small red onion, finely diced
2 finely diced jalapenos, finely diced and go ahead, leave them seeds
3 tablespoons of canola oil

Mix everything but the oil together. Taste and make sure it’s salty or spicy enough for ya. When you’re ready to toss your salad (hehe), whisk the oil in and dress your veg.

the rest:
1 pomelo, sectioned (if you are really ambition, do it right, see here, otherwise, you know, peel and section it.)
1 small nappa cabbage or iceberg, if ya feel it
1 carrot, shredded
chopped fresh mint, basil and/or cilantro (or maybe 2 out of the 3)
chopped mixed roasted salted nuts

Put your salad in your eatin bowls, with the pomelo beautifully on top. Add the oil to your dressing as noted above and generously dress it. Eat. Mmm mmm good as a mo.

(PS. this original recipe called for fish sauce, shallots and not red onion, and less siracha in the dressing. Do what you will.)

By Jessica | November 17, 2009 | Main Courses, Projects, Snackin, Salads and Apps | 1 Comment

Dinner party for eleven friends:

Course 1: Raw Open-Yourself Oysters with Mignonette Sauce

Oysters with Mignonette Sauce

Course 2: Quail Egg Shooters

Quail Eggs in Prep For Quail Egg Shooters

Quail Egg Shooter w Kimchi Rice

Quail Egg Shooter with Dried Shrimp and Chile

Quail Egg Shooter with Soy, Lemon and Scallion

Course 3: Arugula and Anchovy Salad with Olive Oil and Lemon

Anchovie Salad with Olive Oil and Lemon

Course 4: Snails with Butter, Garlic and Parsley, Both In and Out of Their Shell

Snails with Butter, Garlic and Parsley, Both In and Out of Their Shell

Jumbo Snails without Shells

Course 5: Individual Jars of Mushroom Mousse and Chicken Liver Pate

Individual Jars of Mushroom Mousse and Chicken Liver Pate

Pate served with Mc Clure's Spicey Pickles

Course 6: Emmentaler and Gruyere Cheese Fondue served with French Bread, Green Apples and Fingerling Potatoes

Emmentaler and Gruyere Cheese Fondue served with French Bread, Green Apples and Fingerling Potatoes

Drank: Tecate with Lime and Salty / Spicy Rims, 18 bottles of wine and one bottle of Tomato Vodka not pictured

Tecate with Lime and Salty / Spicy Rims

By Jessica | September 22, 2009 | Main Courses, Other People's Recipes, Projects, Snackin, Salads and Apps | 2 Comments

In preparation for this food event thing I’ma be part of in February – no, not the Mac and Cheese Off in October your mamma was telling you about, but that IS coming soon – L, P and I made our way back to the Great Wall Supermarket in Brooklyn. Goddamn, I love that place, and at the same time, I kinda want to slit something. Saw some gross shit, but also bought a case of quail eggs.

Ever since B went to Fatty Crab and had some Quail Egg Shooters, I’ve been a little nutters about making them myself. So, after the trip to the Great Wall, I brought my little marbled eggs home and had a fucking ball. Check out how much B loves me by swallowing some made up shit I topped off the dome. Below that, check out a new slide show from some serious shit I saw at The Great Wall Supermarket.

Quail Egg Shooter with Soy, Lemon and Scallion

Quail Egg Shooter w Beef and Ginger

Quail Egg Shooter with Beef, Ginger and Sirachi

Quail Egg Shooter with Dried Shrimp and Chile

Quail Egg Shooter with Dried Shrimp and Chili

Quail Egg Shooter w Kimchi Rice

Quail Egg Shooter with Kimchi Rice

I’m sorry, did you ask why I wanted to slit something? It’s probs cause I’m pretty sure that mad shit going on at the Great Wall is so illegal. Like, stuffing 10 fish into a tea cup and shit. Like, piling live frogs into a crusty ass box, waiting to be made into soup. The store itself is a bit vomatocious, but at the same time, completely enthralling. I would recommend a trip. Until then, check out the slide show.

special note to my regs, you might have seen some of these pics before…

By Jessica | August 11, 2009 | Recipes, Snackin, Salads and Apps | No comments

Eating fish is great, especially in this hot ass, muggy weather we’re having in NYC. But along with all the reasons why you shouldn’t be eating all sorts of shit (ew, not like that), our delicious fishies are also harmful. What with the mercury and the terrible fishing industry standards (don’t ask me for any details, because the good liberal I am, I don’t know the details, I just know we’re fucked), a lot of of fish shouldn’t be consumed as much as we probably want to consume it. I guess a rule of thumb is to eat the small fish more and the big fish once or twice a month? Is that truthiness? Can one of yalls who is either smarter or less lazy confirm that fact?

Anywhos, welcome this new delicious, cheap and healthy salad into your life.

Arugula with Anchovies and Lemon

Arugula with Anchovies and Lemon

Um, you need to get marinated anchovies for this. I got fancy and got mines imported from italy via my dudes, Los Paisanos. And then I got some arugula, washed and dried it. Squeezed lemon, then olive oil, and then placed some anchovies on top. As you know, anchovies have a pretty strong taste, I would say you want no more than 5 suckers per plate. Above is my fat ass getting ahead of myself. Some black pepper is nice on this shmack. And guess what? That shit /\ is probably about 40 cents worth of fish. And aside from the carbon footprint from the transport, it’s healthy as can be. <insert emeril Bam here>

By Jessica | July 30, 2009 | Main Courses, Snackin, Salads and Apps | No comments

I make my hunger diversify its preoccupation with asian food at least. You don’t see biff and broccoli up in this bitch everyday, do ya? Didn’t think so. But I suppose you do get a lotta shit with soy sauce. Sorry? Or… you’re welcome.

I’m working in Chinatown at my day job that does pay these bills (cause yall see that ad to the left? please know fo sho that that shit ain’t puttin food on the table). There is this vietnamese spot near my office that I like to go slam 4.75 on the table of and order a big fat hardy bowl of rice/salad/beefy shtuff. I recreated it for you here. You can substitute the rice for rice noodles if you want. Or, if you are an atkins freak that thinks bacon is better for you than bread, remove the rice product all together.

Vietnamese Salad