poached egg & asparagus

This is my idea of a good late-night dinner. When I don't want anything too filling, but it still has to be substantial enough to pass for a meal. And as it gets later in the evening, I start craving breakfast foods.

The asparagus is steamed for about 5 minutes (so it's cooked, but is still bright green). Season with salt & pepper and a squeeze of lemon, and top with a poached egg. Garnish with chives and shaved parmesan.

I find poaching an egg to be a surprisingly tricky thing, but this is a pretty simple method that works well for me: Bring a couple cups of water (plus about a TBSP of an acid, like lemon juice or vinegar) to a rolling boil, then turn the heat OFF. Stir the water in a circular motion, so it looks like a mini whirlpool, and gently drop the egg in the center (this helps the egg hold together tightly). Put a lid on the pot, and leave it for 3 minutes (for a runny yolk). This dish benefits from a runny yolk, since it drips down over the asparagus and combines with the lemon juice and parmesan to make a yummy sauce.

food porn: the gallery show

I am excited to report that my food porn has broken out of the virtual world, and now adorns the walls of my office's café space (aka "the food porn gallery"). We even had an opening celebration, to unveil the newly-decorated space...

For the party, I made the rhubarb crumb cake, whose picture is on the wall, so people could fully experience the art.

Life imitates art. Here is Stacey, generous patron of the food porn arts, taking part in the interactive exhibit:

The artist:

coney island

What better way to take advantage of a summer-like Spring Sunday, than a day at Coney Island?

We begin with breakfast at Nathan's (yes, breakfast. You got something to say about that?)

In case french fries for breakfast aren't indulgent enough, I give you bacon-cheese fries:

After a leisurely stroll on the boardwalk, and a nail-biting ride on the Cyclone, I needed something to quench my thirst and calm my nerves. So on to Cha Cha's for a madras cocktail (vodka, cranberry & OJ):

And, since Cha Cha's is located next to the "Shoot the Freak" boardwalk attraction (where players get to shoot at a human target with paintball guns), it seemed appropriate to go for the freakish Coney Island Lager:

And finally... lunch at Totonno's, a NYC pizza institution, for a lovely Neapolitan-style pie:

chicken with mango, ginger & jalapeño

Click here for the recipe (if you don't have parchment paper, foil works just as well)

nashville

bahamas

Some things I enjoyed on my recent trip to the Bahamas...

Fried conch:

Shrimp po' boy:

Bahamian lobster tail with garlic & ginger:

Scallops with asparagus & mushrooms:

Cheesecake:

Banana spring rolls with green tea ice cream:

Soy-glazed tuna sandwich:

homemade margherita pizza

I used this whole wheat pizza dough recipe, and kept it simple with just pizza sauce, fresh basil leaves, and chunks of fresh mozzarella.

the contest

Today, my office had a cookie/dessert bar bake-off. Part friendly competition, and part (perhaps the much larger part) excuse to eat sweets all day long. The rules were simple: Bring in your best homemade cookie or dessert square. Voting was cast by colleagues' blind taste test and anonymous ballots, and at the end of the day we tallied 'em up.

I promised to feature the winner here on food porn. But after seeing the fiercely delicious competition, I had to show them all (as always, you can click on the photos to view them large).

Who will it be? Who is truly master of their dough-main?

I am relieved (and surprised, given the high caliber of the other entries) to report that I tied for first place, with my toffee marshmallow chocolate chunk cookies:

I started with the Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe, and made the following tweaks: use a 50/50 mix of salted and unsalted butter (1 stick of each), increase the brown sugar to a full cup, and decrease the white sugar to 1/2 cup. Then I added a generous amount of toffee bits, mini marshmallows, and semisweet chocolate chunks. The toffee and marshmallow completely melted during baking, which infused the cookie with a candy-like quality.

I am proud to share the winner's podium with Tracie, who wowed us with her sinfully rich triple chocolate espresso cookies:

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 TBSP brewed espresso
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP unsalted butter
5 oz extra-bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.

Whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In electric mixer, briefly whip eggs to break them up. Add sugar, espresso, vanilla and beat on high speed for 15 minutes or until thick.

While eggs are beating, place butter in a small metal bowl over a pot of simmering (not boiling) water. Scatter the chocolate on top. Heat until butter and chocolate melt. Remove from water and stir until smooth.

Gently fold chocolate mixture into egg mixture until partially combined. (There should still be some streaks in the batter.) Add flour mixture to the batter and carefully fold in. Do this by hand, not with the mixer. Then mix in the chocolate chips. If the batter is runny, let stand 5 minutes to thicken.

Drop batter by heaping spoonful onto greased baking sheets. Bake until cookies are puffed and cracked, about 8-9 minutes. Cool before removing from baking sheets. Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

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Second place was seized by Nicole's fabulous flan squares, which had a flawlessly silky texture:

Third place goes to Amanda, with her ooey-gooey S'mores bars:

Click here for the recipe, which Amanda modified to use 1/4 cup butter, and 2-4 minutes of additional bake time.


In a dead heat for 4th place, we have...

Stacey's "Li'l Fudgies" (perfectly chocolatey squares of happiness):

and Gretchen's "Organic Gut-bombs" (a healthier take on the chocolate chip cookie, using whole wheat flour):

And last, but certainly not least, we have Marisa's cranberry walnut chocolate chip cookies. Which were not only tasty, but I happen to think they were the most photogenic:

Well done, everyone!

b.l.a.t.

Bacon, lettuce, avocado & tomato sandwich, with rosemary mayo.

Thanks to Julia for the inspired idea for the mayo... mix a generous amount of chopped fresh rosemary into mayo, with a dash of black pepper. Use on sandwiches, or, well anything. I used my leftover mayo as a dipping sauce for french fries, and it was amazing.

west village treats

Taking advantage of an unusually mild winter afternoon, my sweetie and I went on a little stroll through NYC's West Village. A little fresh air, sunshine, shopping... and of course treats along the way.

First stop—a glass of wine and snacks at I Tre Merli on West 10th St.

Creamy, tangy buffalo mozzarella:

Beef carpaccio with arugula and shaved parmesan:

Then, after a little more shopping, hot chocolate and a croissant at Jacques Torres on Hudson Street.

This is their "wicked" hot chocolate—a wonderful rich, chocolaty (but not too sweet) concoction, with a blend of spices (including chili peppers) that give it a nice, spicy warmth.