Ma What's For Dinner?

I’m so bad at the wordless thing.

I mean, have you met me?

I can’t shut up for a second.

Today’s picture is an ode to my birthday weekend in NYC with a picture of one of my favorite things on earth.

Momofuku’s steamed pork bun

Martha Stewart herself said this was one of the best pork buns she’d ever had.

I assure  you it is.

No disrespect to my Ma who used to make steamed pork buns in our oven at home with roasted pork she brought home from the take out chinese place.  Thanks, Ma.  You’re the best.

But Momofuku’s?  OH EM GEE!  It’s incredible.

It’s light and fluffy and then it’s wrapped around a pork belly and some scallion, hoisin, cucumber goodness.

Not to mention the fact that you are sitting at an amazing noodle bar in the East Village about to eat some of the best ramen this side of the Pacific.

If you’re ever in NYC I highly suggest you make the trek downtown for this little gem.  It’s so worth it.  Take a look at the menu…

And here’s a tip for ya, it’s not on the menu but supposedly the fried chicken is the most amazing thing ever.  You have to order it like a month in advance as they only make a certain amount of portions a day.  They fry it in grapeseed oil and I have yet to try it.  I’ve heard it’s remarkable.  Oh, I love New York!

Do you have a restaurant that makes absolutely the best dish ever?  What is it?  Where is it?  Please share so we can all make a special trip too?

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Come on now, admit it, you love pigs in a blanket don’t you?  Every time I make the little version of these guys for the kiddos at a party or BBQ guess who eats them all?  Oh yeah, you know it, the parents.  EVERY.  SINGLE.  TIME.  I guess that shows that we’re all still kids at heart, and in my mind, that’s a good thing.

So I decided to whip up the big version of the party favorite for dinner as a special request.  My darlin’ (and sometimes downright wildman) Brady was looking at a beautiful scrapbook given to him by his best friend, Brody, in California when we moved earlier this year.  Ok, well Brody didn’t make the scrapbook but his mom, Corine, did.  It’s gorgeous and it’s a beautiful testament to Brady and Brody’s wonderful, though brief, friendship.  They met their first day of preschool at 2 years old and were instantly best buds.  Brady still reads it every night before he goes to bed.  Uh, yes, it’s the most adorable thing ever.  In the scrapbook there’s a picture of the boys at our Annual Fitzpatrick Family Halloween Haunt and Brady is eating a mini pig in a blanket.  For some reason yesterday Brady fixated on  that thing and begged ALL DAY LONG to have them for dinner.  So he climbed up on the counter and we made the big boy dinner version of mini pigs in a blanket…Doggies In A Sleeping Bag.

Serves: 4                        Prep time: 10 minutes                        Cook time: 15 minutes

FOR THE DOGGIES:

8 hot dogs (can use reduced fat, turkey dogs, even tofu dogs)

½ c shredded cheese

½ c red pepper, diced

1 can crescent dinner rolls

FOR THE SAUCE:

½ c  ketchup

¼ c  mustard

2 T brown sugar

1 t garlic powder

3 T red wine vinegar

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Unroll your crescent rolls being careful to leave your squares intact, using 1 triangles for each doggie.  Set one square down on a cutting board.  Sprinkle with cheese and lay diced red pepper down on the right side of the square.  Place the doggie on top of the cheese and red pepper.  Pull the right side up over the doggie and roll toward the other side covering him up in his sleeping bag.  Repeat with other pieces.

Bake at 375 for 10-13 minutes until golden brown on top.  Serve with steamed veggies or salad and sauce for dipping.

What’s your favorite go to party food?

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When I was a kid and we used to come back east to visit the fam in NY I remember that my dad always used to take us to two restaurants.  I thought these were the coolest restaurants in the world!

The first was a place called The Ground Round and it had to be the greatest place on earth because they used to let you get big baskets of popcorn and peanuts and THROW THE SHELLS ON THE FLOOR.  Oh yeah, that was classy!

The second was a little eatery called Friendly’s.  Now this was the creme de la creme.  Not only did they make a mean grilled cheese with tomato BUT they had an ice cream selection that went on for days, highlighted by my favorite, Black Raspberry.  We just didn’t have ice cream like this out west.  Sure we had 31 flavors but it was nothing like this!

Now in my head I thought these amazing little eateries only existed in the small sphere around my Grandma’s house.  I was floored when I got to college and saw that not only were there Friendly’s all over the eastern seaboard but Ground Round’s as well, and in college while I didn’t find their food as spectacular as I remembered, they did serve a lot of beer…that’ll work!

But now being a recent transplant back to the Northeast I got to take my boys out for their first taste of Friendly’s.  To say they loved it is an understatement…check this boy out.

He along with Brady and Keegan gave it a big ol’ thumbs up.  Looks like we may be regulars.

Do you have any memories of restaurants you visited as a kid?

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Translation?  It’s getting hot in here!!! Ma needs a drink!

Last weekend I hopped the train inbound to NYC to meet up with my best girl, Stacey and hit the streets for some cool street fairs, an awesome tapas lunch, and some drinks before we took in a matinee of Sex and The City 2.  I know, I know we should have been drinking cosmos but the mercury was rising and I was looking for some sweet summertime refreshment, enter the beloved Sangria!  Who could resist a pitcher of wine sweetened with brandy and fruit???  Uh, I’ll take two.

Now my absolute fave Spanish restaurant in the NYC is a place down in the village called Sevilla, on the corner of Charles and 4th.  But we were way uptown and had to catch a movie so we decided to hoof it to Calle Ocho which was much closer to Stacey’s apartment and we had heard, all the rage.  We walked into Calle Ocho and it was like I had just entered a restaurant version of Studio 54.  Super trendy and way too crowded.  Nixed that idea and went outside and thought, hmmm, I’m in New York, I could throw a rock and hit about a thousand great eateries, let’s roll the dice…we ended up at Sol Y Sambra Tapas Bar and Restaurant, 462 Amsterdam if you’re in the area.  Awesome!  I loved it.  The staff was super sweet and totally accommodating of our lame requests to be sort of outside on the patio yet still inside near the a/c.  I’m totally high maintenance even without the kids in tow.  The food was well presented and oh so tasty.  I highly suggest you stop by.

Secondary to our sangria, we had some great tapas!  An amazing manchego cheese plate, an incredible baccala (salt cod) croquettes, a beautiful white asparagus salad, a delicious chorizo, and of course gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp).  Uh, yes, we needed a wheelbarrow to get out the door afterwards but it was sooo worth it.  And we were walking all the way back home again which was 25 blocks or so.

I don’t know what they put in their sangria at Sol Y Sambra but it was delish.  I thought I’d give you the recipe for mine, also deserving of 5 stars if I do say so myself!

Ingredients:

• 1 Bottle of red wine (I suggest a Rioja but you could also use Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, or Shiraz)
• 1 Lemon sliced
• 1 Orange sliced
• 1 Lime sliced
• 1 Apple slice
• 1 pear sliced
• 1/4 cup  sugar
• 1/4 cup  brandy
• 2 T triple sec
• 2 Cups ginger ale or club soda

Combine in a pitcher with ice or frozen grapes and berries, stir, pour and enjoy!  Did you know I used to be a bartender?  Well, I was.  It’s actually how I met the hubs.  Yup, I was slinging drinks in Beantown and he walked in one night.  That’s a story for a different day. So I used used to tend bar so lemme give you some variations on this one.  Don’t drink?  You could make this up with some grape juice or cran-grape cocktail instead of the wine?  Just leave out the brandy and triple sec.  What is your favorite summertime drink?  Whatever it is, get out with your girls and enjoy!  Ole!

Ok, personal bloggie side note…Can I get a woot-woot???  That’s right baby 200 followers.  I’m so excited.  Big shout outs to The Caffeinated Globe my very very special and near and dear to my heart 200th follower.  Who will be 300???  Hurry up, tell your friends!

Linking this up for my girl Holly’s Tickled Pink at 504 Main.

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