Sometimes a hiccup in your plan can lead you to discover hidden gems. That is what happened to me and a friend last night. We had been planning to do an English tea dinner at Tea and Sympathy in the west village of NYC. Low and behold, we arrive to find a sign on the door reading “sorry, no scones.” This is like the time in college that Panera ran out of bread… it’s just something that should not happen! Thrown off and dissapointed, we decided we absolutely needed scones in our dinner, so we went to the trusty smart phone and decided to try Bosie Tea Parlor at 10 Morton Street in NYC.
Better Bites: Re-imagined Vodka Sauce
My passion for food was sparked when I was younger and we got a DIRECTV package that included the Food Network. Even to this day, shows about food are my default background noise. One of my favorite shows is Top Chef– in fact, when my husband and I are at any sort of new restaurant or food event, we always pretend we’re judges critiquing a Top Chef challenge. One of the staple challenges in Top Chef asks the chefs to reimagine the dish that inspired them to become a chef. This week, I gave that challenge to myself and was really happy with the results.
The dish is Penne ala Vodka. It is the first dish that I made with my best friend growing up. I still have memories being in her kitchen with our recipe– sometimes making the dish WAY too spicy, and other times nailing it. This dish has also been something I have carried with me throughout the years. Seriously, I used to have the recipe on an index card in my wallet. I made it for my high-school boyfriend on his birthday. I made it as a thank you for one of my first bosses. I even made a dairy free version for a close friend in college who had an allergy.
(Mostly) Vegetable Hash
Sometimes all it takes is one ingredient to spark inspiration for a new recipe. One ingredient that sets your mind in motion– thinking about flavor profiles, seasoning, and answering the inevitable question “do I have everything in my fridge create this tonight?” Usually this inner dialogue happens to me on my way home from work and when I have the right key ingredient it’s an exciting thought process that leaves me so excited to get into the kitchen.
This week’s inspiring key ingredient: Teeny Tiny Potatoes from Trader Joe’s. They are exactly as adorable as they sound and inspired me to use them as the centerpiece of a (mostly) vegetable hash.