Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Manic Restaurant Review:

Chop Shop

Type: Chinese
Fancy Factor: Casual
Address: 254 10th ave (NYC)
Phone: 212.820.0833
Website: www.chop-shop.co/
Prices: Pricey for Chinese (but worth it)
Recommended? YES
Quick Description: A great small plate Chinese restaurant in West Chelsea that offers a more upper-crust dining experience than the typical Chinese joint.
Ambiance: Stark and effectively minimalist yet intimate and inviting.  The restaurant has an open garden for the agreeable months and a small bar in it.
Menu: Great selection of appetizers, small plate entrees and specials.  Servings are small and perfect for sharing.
Menu Recommendations:
  • Appetizer: Summer Roll (a rice paper-wrapped appetizer with shrimp).  Freshest tasting Summer roll in recent memory.
  • Entree: Spicy Japanese Eggplant. This dish, with a drool-inducing, spicy, hoisin flavor, is so incredibly good!
Notes: Meeting the creators of the restaurant is not unheard here and is a treat.
Restaurant Review:

Chop Shop

Type: Chinese
Fancy Factor: Casual
Address:  254 10th ave (NYC)
Phone:  212.820.0833
Website: www.chop-shop.co/
Prices: Pricey for Chinese (but worth it)
Recommended? YES

Quick Description: A great small plate Chinese restaurant in West Chelsea that offers a more upper-crust dining experience than the typical Chinese joint.
(Quick note: this is my FIRST written restaurant account, so bare with me.  Do not allow my lack of assured order or focus to reflect on the restaurant---I really wanted Chop Shop to be my first.)


I LOVE WHEN DINING RECOMMENDATIONS FROM FRIENDS ARE FRUITFUL The recommendation to eat at the new Chinese restaurant around the corner from our building was one of these moments.  Our neighbors Amir and Christine urged us to go to frequent the restaurant that opened not to long ago by Danny Emerman and Mah Chan (partners at Bottino, an Italian restaurant that we eat at all the time) with Jason Li and Robert Wu. 

The restaurant is small inside but has an intentionally (or accidental, I don't know) quaint feel to the set-up, not a squeezed-in one.  Stark white (and perfectly dimmed at night) with exposed brick make for a clean, minimalist ambiance which is really great in my opinion.  The open garden in back is also very welcoming but I haven't actually sat back there as I've felt so comfortable in the front which also boasts a small bar.  They just got their liquor license so I will likely find myself having a drink there while I chit-chat with Danny (who I might add has been on site on a number of visits and has, each time, been extremely welcoming and equally charming). 

The Southeast Asian-Chinese menu is very well thought out and offers varied selections of appetizers and small entree dishes.  It has a great menu for a first date or a group of friends that enjoy tasting and passing dishes.  No one will mind sharing at this place as there are so many delicious dishes that you won't feel the need to be selfish with "your" dish.

A selection of our favorites starters include the Summer Roll (a rice paper-wrapped appetizer with shrimp), Salt & Pepper Shrimp (fried shrimp in the shell) and Thai-Glazed St. Louis Spareribs.  I could go on about more but we all know my attention span is not the best (not to mention I would end up just listing all of the appetizers). 

For entrees, we've enjoyed the Braised Short Rib Penang Curry as well as the Chicken Curry which is mild and ideal for the heat-phobic (This isn't shown on the menu--It's a new place, the menu will probably morph a number of times in coming months).  The Pan-Roast Baby Chicken is super-moist and full of flavor and while we have had great success ordering off the enticing specials menu, my fingers can't wait to mention the Spicy Japanese Eggplant.  This dish is so incredibly good, with a drool-inducing, spicy, hoisin flavor, that the bf once made me run out to get it to serve as a side at home accompanying a meal that I had already made.....WORTH IT!  This dish actually inspired me to do this post in July.  Check out the website above for a list of their dishes.

Long and short of this post is that not only do I recommend this restaurant, I will go with you!

Do you have a restaurant recommendation for me?  Send it my way at theManicCheater@gmail.com
 
 
 
 

Monday, August 27, 2012

Growing Pains:

Adding another dimension to the blog: Restaurant Reviews

THIS FIRST 5 MOS OF MY INTRODUCTION TO THE BLOGOSPHERE HAS BEEN ALL ABOUT LEARNING Formatting, labeling, making pennies from ad space, and (effective) use of spell check have all thrown themselves at me as areas that I needed to pay attention to and play around with. One of the bigger things I've learned is that monotony is not the best thing; that I need to mix it up to keep it fresh and less beige. The same thing (recipe, recipe, recipe) can be super boring and I shouldn't waste such a great platform to share some of the things I've been learning.

Things like tricks of the trade, nutritional information and definitions have squeezed their way in already and now I am going to add some of my experiences from eating outside my own kitchen. Not to seem like a puss, but I am not going to rip any places...I'm going to try to keep it positive and only share places that have wowed me. Coming from a restaurant background, I know how hard it is to run a successful restaurant and I don't wanna ward off business from anywhere based off a less-than-stellar dining experience (for now at least).

So allow me to share my dining experiences I've had with my ass is in someone else's chair.


Monday, August 20, 2012

Taco Crescent Squares 


Verdict: Success
Neighbor-worthy

Sometimes I fall for ads in corners of pages when I'm on the web...like one that linked me to this recipe from Paula Deen.  There was not anything particularly special or flashy about it except for the word "Taco" which makes my stomach growl.  My bf always says that I could eat Mexican every day...he's right.  This one actually eats like a Mexi-pastry creation or even like a stuffed Mexican pizza.  It has a nice balance of sweet and savory.

The recipe I lifted is simple enough and left room for me to do my stuff....

Ingredients:
1 onion finely chopped
2 lbs ground chuck ground turkey meat
1 package taco seasoning
1 cup enchilada sauce
2 cups 1 cup shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend (use low-fat)
4 cans refrigerated crescent rolls
1 large egg beaten 2 egg whites beaten
sour cream reduced-fat sour cream for garnish
+ salt and pepper
+ olive oil
+ yellow, orange or red bell pepper chopped
+ 1 jalapeƱo chopped (and seeded if you're a heat wuss)
+ 5 cloves garlic chopped
+ 1 1/4 cup beef stock
+ 14 oz can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
+ 1 handful cilantro chopped

Pre-heat your oven to 375°

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet over Medium+ heat.  Add your turkey meat and break up with a wooden spoon while browning.  After the browning process has gotten a good start, season your meat with the taco mix, salt and pepper.  When completely browned, add your onions, peppers and garlic.  Cook until your veggies are soft.  Throw in the stick and mix  with your spoon.  Cook for a few minutes and add your tomatoes.  Allow to simmer until the liquid has had a chance to reduce and fold in your cilantro.   Continue to let it to reduce for a bit while you prepare the rest of your recipe.  Add your cheese and mix.
Lightly grease a  17"x 12" rimmed baking sheet.  If you want to curb the heat some, use butter.  If you don't, use a vegetable spray like PAM.).  Unroll 2 of your crescent cans.  Press dough into the baking sheet, pressing edges together.  Bake about 8 minutes.

Spoon the meat mixture on top of the baked crust and unroll the other two crescent cans and place over the meat mixture.  Brush the top dough with the egg.  Bake between 25-30 minutes.  KEEP AN EYE ON IT and pull it out when golden brown.  Let cool a few; cut into squares; top it with some  enchilada sauce,  sour cream or maybe some hot sauce and plate it.

Notes:
This is a very easy recipe that virtually anyone can do.  The original recipe was just like making tacos with mix and adding an onion.....boring.

Tweaks:
I pretty much substituted the whole inside of this dish.  I added a bunch of ingredients (listed above) to make a more fresh and natural tasting taco filler with a little more heat to it.

Healthy Tweaks:
I swapped ground chuck with turkey meat.
I used reduced fat sour cream as well as low-fat cheeses for this recipe.
I used egg whites instead of a "regular" egg.


Have recipes for me?  e-mail me: TheManicCheater@gmail.com   And for goodness sake, please get into the comments section.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Very Very Strawberry Cake Pie


Verdict: FAILURE
Not Neighbor-worthy


I have no idea why I have been baking so much lately.  The truth is I'm not all that good at it and am also not really that into sweets.  Maybe it's summer and the desire to eat fruit?  Maybe it's 'cause I'm into challenges lately or just to satisfy my shallow ego by making something that looks great. 

Either way, this one was most surely chosen in the cruisiest of manners....I was on the prowl for something that aroused my senses and when I saw this one I knew I had to do it!

There was not much room to tweak this one as it stands pretty much on its own.  I did however up the nature of the dessert by focusing on the strawberry factor and revolving the whole recipe around that essence.

Unfortunately, this attempt was a most devastating FAIL.  Perhaps it was supposed to be mushy and wet on the inside like a pie, but I think the intent of this recipe was to be a mix of pie and cake and it was just not up to par.....so FAIL, FAIL, FAIL.

Ingredients:
1 box vanilla cake mix plus required ingredients strawberry cake mix (plus eggs 'n stuff)
3 cups or 1 lb fresh strawberries quartered
1/4 cup sugar
salt
flour for dusting
coarse sugar (you all know my rule about too many kinds of sugar in my cabinet-BS)
vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for serving (pick your own poison if you want, I'll skip)

Pre-heat oven to 350°

Spray a pie pan/plate with vegetable cooking spray (like PAM). Make your cake batter and pour it into your pan/plate until 3/4 full. Bake until almost set (rim is cooked but not the center too much--maybe like 20 minutes.) While the cake bakes, toss your strawberries, sugar and salt in a bowl and let it sit until you take your (almost) baked cake is taken out and put on a cooking rack. Up the temp of the oven to 450°

Unroll one of the pie crusts (on a flour dusted work surface) and cut into 1 1/4" strips. Unroll the other crust and cut 3 1" wide strips from the middle of it and press the ends of the strip together, end-to-end to make a long strip to be used as the rim of the dessert.

Drain your strawberry mixture and spoon it on top of your cake. Press 'em into the top of the cake to secure them in there (but not too hard-duh). Arrange half of the crust strips (not the long rim one) atop the berries, parallel to one another and spaced out by an inch (using the shorter strips toward the edges-again, duh). Fold them back and make a lattice formation with the remaining strips. If you can't figure it out at first, think of it as a mind game and play 'till you find the solution.

Wrap the long rim strip around the perimeter of your pan/plate, overlapping the lattice pieces. Trim any overhanging spots and crimp the dough all around the edges with your fingers. Sprinkle the lattice with sugar and throw pie into the oven for about 10 minutes or until the crust is golden.

Notes:
This was such an upsetting fail.  I was looking forward to making it for a week.  The bake times, I have to assume, were the cause of my FAILURE.  When the pie/cake was done, the batter of the cake was oozing out, upward through the strawberries and lattice.
Even as a FAILURE, this was pretty damn good looking. 
This was my first lattice which I am okay with.

Tweaks:
I substituted a strawberry mix for the prescribed vanilla to justify the "very very" claim.

Cheats:
Now that I know how to make cakes from scratch, I always feel that I'm cheating when I use a cake mix.

Got something that'll get a rise outta me or help redeem myself as a baker?  Send it my way.  theManicCheater@gmail.com

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Brain Food:

Watermelon: the Perfect Food(?)


IN THE PAST IT WAS ALWAYS SAID THAT THE CHIQUITA BANANA WAS "QUITE POSSIBLY THE WORLD'S MOST PERFECT FOOD"--2012 BEGS TO DIFFER.  Studies have proven that Watermelon may have usurped the throne and wear the crown.

Watermelon is a member of the Cucurbitaceae Family* and, in addition to tasting great, is a fantastic source of nutrients and is concentrated in important, powerful antioxidants (not to mention-at 92% water-a power house source of hydration).  The summer treat is an excellent source of vitamin C and a very good source of vitamin A (notably through its concentration of beta-carotene).  The antioxidants found in Watermelon run through the body, neutralizing substances in us like free radicals that can cause damage to...well, your insides.  The good things fight against the bad things like cholesterol, risk of asthma attacks, inflammation that occurs due to osteoarthritis, arthritis and joint damage.

Eating this wonderfood (I made up that word I think) has been proven to reduce the risk of colon cancer, risk of heart disease and battle symptoms of asthma.  All that and it tastes good.

MMMMM....healthy.


Definition:
Cucurbitaceae Family: The family that consists of edible gourds (such as other foods including cantaloupe, squash and pumpkin) and other plants that grow on vines on the ground.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Just the Tip:

A Good Meal Does Not Need to Be Complicated!

SOMETIMES THE SIMPLEST OF MEALS ARE THE MOST SATISFYING Sometimes I run around-actually a lot of the time-and I don't have the time to do some new and challenging dish that looks pretty on a plate. 

I admit that I have been a little too gung ho with my recipes in an effort to both challenge myself/grow as a cook and (honestly) show off. I realized last night that those in-between simple dishes that don't make it to the blog can be every bit as good.  AND, the best meals can take little effort and way less time than a challenge.  For instance, last night I had plans and made my man a chicken club (w/ turkey bacon) with a side of zucchini and chips so he'd not have to order out.  It made me almost want to stay home and eat....almost ;)



Long and short of the tip: Don't forget the simple things.




Thursday, August 2, 2012

Just the Tip:

Keep The Oven Door Closed

OPENING THE OVEN DOOR WHILE COOKING ALLOWS A LOT OF HEAT TO ESCAPE Anywhere from 10°-200° can escape from your oven every time you open the door (depending on how long you keep it open obviously).  Escaping heat is a big cause of failures in the kitchen.  It screws up the steady cook and integrity of what you're making, not to mention the timing.

Keeping that door closed saves you time and energy or gas as well, so it's being a little more green too.

Long and short of the tip: Use the window of the oven.  That's what it's there for.



Give me your tips...themaniccheater@gmail.com.