mk

Lazy Sunday Party

January 22, 2017 by mk

Sometimes, Sunday afternoon is the perfect day for a lazy party. The Louboutins and dainty canapés take a breather in favor of oversized salads, classic comfort foods and lounge pants! Even though the atmosphere is relaxed, we still make sure to have our signature Dine Girl touches in the form of quirky cocktail napkins, french tea towels and flowers.

Here’s a no fuss party menu which is perfect for this time of year:

Lazy Sunday Menu:
serves 7-10 easily, with leftovers
Any Game Chicken Wings
Vegan Veggie Chilli with all the fixings
Ina’s Cheddar Jalapeño Cornbread
Baked Mac & Cheese
Blood Orange and pomegranate salad
To-die-for-Tres Leches Cake

Make and prep most everything but the wings on Saturday. Sunday: set the buffet table, warm up the chili (we recommend keeping it warm in the slow-cooker) mixed together salad and set up chili toppings. This menu is perfect for carnivores and vegans, gluten free folks alike, as guests can choose their toppings and indulgences themselves.

We adapted this excellent recipe for vegan veggie chili by adding more veggies (jalapeño, red/yellow bell pepper, zucchini), using half the can of pumpkin puree, and adjusted the flavors along the way. Optional additions: a bottle of Corona / fresh lime / chipotle in adobo. This is a great base recipe that can be personalized and tweaked to anyone’s liking. Leftovers can be easily turned into baked enchilada style casserole the next day.

As for the sweet ending, Tres Leches cake is one of those classics that once you’ve tasted it, you’ll be craving it year round.

Cocktail Party for 50

December 20, 2016 by mk

After many a successful dinner party and drunkard guests singing your praises – “omg the dinner was ahh-maayyyzing”, “it’s sooo beauuuuutifull”… these sound bites can really start to go to your head. Especially if the obligatory post mortem Dine Girl twin drinks include more of the same self praising and bruised shoulders from patting ourselves on the back so much. “Our stuff is GOOD!!”, “it’s frikkin’ GOOOOOOD!!” (did anyone say it was bad that we needed to defend ourselves? surely not…) Of course we have had the occasional mishap and finger pointing disaster here and there, but with those experiences conveniently brushed under the carpet, our confidence was riding sky high. So much so, that we decided our skills were good enough to venture into more challenging waters: a formal cocktail party for 50 strangers.

We were asked to provide nibbles for some well heeled private equity lawyers at a private event. Being a dude heavy soirée, we figured ‘man friendly’ food would be our best option, and we were right. After all, barbarians do not have time to decipher frilly canapés while working the room discussing potential billion dollar deals.

The cold / room temp items were mini caprese bites, prosciutto with melon drizzled with balsamic glaze, caramelized onion tartlets, and smoked salmon sandwich bites. The hot items were mini italian meatballs with sunday gravy, mac and cheese bites, and the show stopping short rib sliders on toasted buttered mini brioche buns. For dessert, last minute brownies from Magnolia Bakery cut into bite size squares saved the day. (We won’t mention the pumpkin spice cake that ended up in the trash during prep!)

The prep work was way more time consuming than we imagined! An easy menu doesn’t necessarily mean the work itself is faster. Carefully rolling out 100+ mini meatballs using a melon baller was pretty arduous, and skewering up / seasoning all the bites was a bit of a snooze. But the little touches made a huge difference. We made sure every morsel was well seasoned with the best quality ingredients. Someone even commented how fresh the basil was that night. The empty trays returning back behind the curtain was a good indication that the party was in full swing.

Though we were not cooking directly for friends, the same amount of love and care, attention to detail went into this party as with any other Dine Girl dinner. It’s a strange feeling to not be a part of your own meal as we’re typically used to, but we felt confident that our little nibbles were making a good impression. And according to our excellent servers – the feedback was mostly positive, peppered with some smug, pompous indifference. But I guess that is to be expected when you have a room full of lawyers. The highlight of the night was when apparently there was almost sheer chaos and mutiny when the sliders went around, with one guest snipping that he had been overlooked! These guys were actually fighting over the food! Very proud back slapping self praise Dine Girl moment!

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
Muhammad Ali.

Cheers to that!

Soups & Gadgets

November 1, 2016 by mk

Autumn really is the best time of year in and around NYC. Gone is the sweaty humid summer, and in return, is the crisp air, changing leaves and the bounty of the fall harvest. Added bonus is that football is back on, and you don’t have to schlep around in wet ‘muddy’ snow on your commute to work (well, not just yet).

One of the best kitchen gadgets we’ve recently purchased is the Cuisinart Smart Stick. Affordable and compact, it’s perfect for soups, purees, smoothies, sauces… We’re easing into fall with a simple roasted vegetable soup, using our Cuisinart Smart Stick. Perfect for a lazy Saturday early afternoon in front of the TV!

Roasted Vegetable Soup
(we used: Carrots, Butternut Squash & Apples )

Ingredients :
4-5 Carrots, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
2-3 cups peeled and chopped butternut squash
1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped roughly. Toss with lemon juice to keep from oxidizing, and set aside.
1 small onion, peeled and chopped roughly
1 inch piece of peeled ginger, set aside while the vegetables are roasting
2-3 cups (depending on how thick / thin you like the soup) low sodium organic chicken stock
salt, fresh pepper, nutmeg (optional), olive oil
garnishes : croutons, parmesan cheese, drizzle of olive oil, toasted sliced almonds or pumpkin seeds

Directions:
1). Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Peel and chop all the vegetables (carrots / squash / onion) and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast till just tender, approx 30 minutes.
2). In a large stockpot, put all the roasted vegetables and keep over med high heat. Add the chopped apples, chicken stock, ginger.
Simmer for 10 minutes for the flavors to come together and the stock is warmed through. The stock should be enough to just cover the vegetables.
3). Take the immersion blender and start pureeing the mixture slowly to avoid splattering. Once everything is sufficiently blended and there are no chunks left, you can taste for seasonings, and adjust the texture if it’s too thick by adding more stock.
4). Finish the soup over medium low heat by adding a tab of butter or touch of cream.
5). Serve with crusty bread, grilled cheese and your favorite garnishes.

*for a hint of spice you can also add a pinch of curry or cayenne pepper / cajun spices.

Kitchen Sink Stir Fry

August 8, 2016 by mk

During the summer, it’s especially hard to come back to work on Monday as a fully functioning individual. Even a weekend in the Hamptons or the good ‘ol American countryside can turn the go-getter of go-getters into a serious case of the Monday-morning-blues. You may be physically present at your client meetings and number crunchings, but your mind drifts away to those “omg, life is amazing!!!” sun kissed-rosé-soaked moments. An even more cruel reminder of the work week is opening the fridge to find a hodge-podge of last week’s grocery ambitions. Half an onion, a few shiitake mushrooms, three asparagus, a lone bok choy (where did he come from?) … they all had big dreams just a few days ago.

Chinese food from yesteryear…

Rather than toss out yet another bag of overpriced produce from WholeFoods, we like to throw these guys together in one skillet and give it the Asian touch. With the addition of fresh garlic, ginger and herbs, Kitchen Sink Stir Fry becomes the perfect pick me up for the workweek. While it may not be the prettiest dish, it’s definitely one of the tastiest.

Kitchen Sink Stir Fry (serves 2)

You’ll Need:
– Any mix of stir fry vegetables (plateful): red pepper, eggplant, yellow squash, shiitake mushrooms, spinach, bok choy, snap peas, scallions
– Aromatics (must) : onion, fresh chopped garlic, fresh ginger
– Protein (optional) ideas : firm tofu, ground pork, chicken, beef
– Sauce (to taste) : combine grated garlic + ginger, soy sauce, lemon juice, few drops sesame oil, few tblspn honey, sriracha type sauce, mixed together to make 1/4 cup sauce to add at the end
– Cooked hot rice or noodles
– Canola oil, fresh ground pepper, fresh herbs (cilantro or parsley).

Directions:
1). Chop all the vegetables so that they are all equal size, set aside. Slice onion and set aside in separate small bowl.
2). Chop garlic + grate ginger and set aside
3). Mix together sauce (grate the ginger / garlic with a microplane so it disappears into the sauce).
4). Have protein ready on the side
5). Heat large non stick skillet until hot, add few tablespoons of canola oil. When just shimmering, add the onion. Sauté for 5 minutes until soft, add the rest of the veggies at once. Stir fry for a good 10 minutes until all the veg start softening and coming together. Add fresh ginger and garlic, cook for another 5 minutes. Season lightly with a pinch of salt (use very little since the soy sauce adds enough salt to the dish), fresh cracked pepper.
6). Push all the veggies to one side of the pan, add another 1tbsp oil, brown the protein, season lightly with scant pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper.
7). When the meat is browned, start mixing with the veggies, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the sauce and stir well. Cook another 5 minutes until everything comes together. Taste for seasonings, adjust if necessary.
8). Serve over rice or noodles in a bowl. Top with fresh herbs and hot sauce.
9). Option : add a fried egg on top.

Best enjoyed on the couch while watching your favorite retro tv show.

Monday's are made easier with a good stir fry...

Monday’s are made easier after a good stir fry…

Cours Saleya

June 25, 2016 by mk

It’s worth getting out of bed early to take a walk down to the fruit and veg market in the Cours Saleya, Vieux Nice – even if your body clock has difficulty adjusting to the time zone. It’s a foodie’s dream to see all the fresh produce, amazing array of beans, tomatoes, cheeses, charcuterie, all beautifully presented.

And even if you have zero intentions of cooking, you’ll still be walking away with some fresh produce and pissaladière (famous local pizza consisting of caramelized onions, olives, anchovies and thyme – an incredible combination) to snack on. While it’s not exactly cheap, the produce is unbelievable, and bursting with fresh flavor.

We went home and snacked on fresh melon and tomato drizzled with local olive oil and fleur de sel. No need for heavy flavors when the ingredients are this beautiful. Just a stroll down the market is a wonderful treat to start the day.

mk

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