My Precious

No, I haven't turned into Gollum (Smeagol). I'm not delicately passing an engraved ring through my wiry fingers. But, I am hovering over my precious treasures.

26 tomato plants.

Wait...26 thriving tomato plants.

OK...26 thriving San Marzano tomato plants!

Maybe you are wondering...what the heck lady, it is the end of July. Why are you first posting about your garden NOW?

It was entirely intentional. You see, I am selfish. I didn't want you to get any good ideas from mine, and start your own San Marzano plants. Ha!

The timeframe for garden planting around here is typically Memorial Day weekend. Counting backwards per the directions on the seed packets, I started my San Marzanos about 7 weeks before they would need to make the move outdoors.

Having never started any plants indoors before, I went a little overboard. I thought "I'm sure some won't come up, so I'll just start with 30 and see where that goes. At least I will end up with a few plants to put outside." Turns out I was wrong as all 30 plants came up. Well, actually 60(ish) came up, as 2 seeds were in each mini-pot. I then had the not-so-fun job of playing Sophie's Choice with my tomatoes...which should survive? After snipping the weakest links, I committed myself to making these tomatoes the best they could be. (In case you are doing the math, I did say 26 plants, not 30, at the beginning of the post. I gave 4 to my dad :-)

I had more of an investment than just an average girl with her little plants. These babies are the star of the show at Il Ritrovo, a restaurant I posted about here. This is hands-down my favorite restaurant for many reasons, one of which is the sauce that goes on their pizza. Granted, they use DOP certified San Marzanos from Campania itself, so mine will be lacking in some respects. They don't have the soil of Mt. Vesuvius to nourish them, but instead a swampy backyard in rural Wisconsin. Regardless, I am sure proud of these plants. They are thriving and are now more of a tomato "hedge" than anything else, as I planted them much too close together and harvesting them is going to be a beast.
If the world were my oyster and I could do anything I wanted, I'd probably tear up my entire back yard for these babies. Then, I'd start a sauce company and make large vats of the delicious red sauce. I'd can it and sell it to local organic stores, and make some sweet sun-dried tomatoes for myself. But in all seriousness, I am going to make sauce with it. I've never canned before, so I will probably freeze my product and maybe sell some to people I know. We'll see what happens. Either way, don't get between this girl and her San Marzanos!

Note the above picture...the plants are now as tall as the stakes. Still flowering. They are UNSTOPPABLE!

Fishy fishy

Thanks to a kind co-worker, I was gifted with 4 lbs of fresh fish filets. I was extremely eager to get them home and cook them, because fish filets like this take me straight back to childhood. We took many family vacations to a lake in Minnesota when I was younger, and the catch of the day was the supper of the night. We'd normally dine on panfish, and that is exactly what my co-worker gave me. Upon inspection I saw it was blue gill and crappie, and began to salivate. Delicious! Just how should I prepare these, I wondered? I wanted almost a zero failure risk, because wasting these would just be wrong.


I went for a pretty fool-proof and delectable method-fry it! These were small filets, so I heated up 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a frying pan to 350 degrees.

For the coating, I tried two methods on two different nights. The first time, I tried an egg wash, and then a dredge. Second time, sans egg wash. In my opinion the egg wash didn't make much of a difference, seeing as the fish are all...slimy...to begin with (I patted them with paper towel to minimize this a bit). It's up to you. For the egg wash, just beat 2-3 eggs together in a bowl.

The dredge was made with half all-purpose flour, and half corn meal (I think it adds a nice texture, and browns nicely). I seasoned it with salt, pepper, paprika, onion salt, and a lemon pepper spice mix that we had in the cabinet. This was mixed together in a pie plate so the filets could be dredged easily.

The fish filets were covered in the dredge, and placed in the oil with tongs. 1-2 minutes on each side, and they were done. We put them on a cooling rack and then paper towel, so any excess oil could drip off.





These would have made great fish sandwiches, but we just ate them plain with our favorite condiments on the side. It didn't disappoint.

Chelsea Market

I decided to take this blog off the shelf and blow the dust off, since it's been a month from my last post. Here are some pictures of Chelsea Market in NYC.

This is Eleni's, an adorable bake shop


"Looks good enough to eat" definitely applies!

This chowder was in The Lobster Place. It was as delicious as it sounds.


Seafood mania!

I had to get a picture by the Food Network sign.

The outside of Chelsea Market

What, You Wanna Cookie?

I feel so behind on this blog. I have folders full of pictures on my computer, recipes and posts swirling around in my head...but the weather is beautiful. And I've been busy putting in my veggie garden (ha, that's another post)!

Well, here is something. Actually, it's way more than something. It is, in all reality, the best cookie I have ever eaten. I'm salivating a bit right now just thinking about it. Darn it, why don't I have any cookies in this house!?

This cookie is an absolute must-buy if you are in NYC. Totally worth it. $4 and 8 oz. of delicious, chewy, moist-inside-firm-outside goodness. And don't read over that 8 oz. comment without really thinking about it. It's kind of a monster. A meal of sorts, in fact the kind of meal that I could really get used to. That is, if my goal was to look like Jabba the Hut. It is buttery, rich, and fall-apart delicious. If you are concerned about the calories, just buy a few for your friends and carry them home with you. The weight of the bag alone will be a workout sure to burn off that 8 oz. of delight.


Levain Bakery, a little hole-in-the-wall of a place, makes 4 varieties. Chocolate chip walnut (my choice of indulgence), oatmeal raisin (the only kind I didn't sample), chocolate peanut butter (oh yeah!), and dark chocolate chip (oh honey hush!). The three I tried were all fabulous. And no, I did not eat 24 oz. of cookie. I stole some samples from my sister and mom. And almost got my fingers bitten off in the process. Still worth it. I saved a cookie to bring home to my husband. Four days later, when he was able to eat it, even he agreed it was the best cookie he's ever eaten. That says something.

I know some food blogs can be all dramatic and romanticize foods that are solidly mediocre. This isn't one of those times. Do yourself a favor and stop by. Send me a sample...I'll help pay for the extra postage :-)

Levain Bakery
167 W 74th
NY, NY

Eye Candy

I'm back from NYC!

I know this is a food blog...so here's a tasty dish:



Stories and (food) pictures to come! But I felt that Ashton Kutcher should be shared first.

Noticably Absent

Sorry for my recent absentee-ism. I promise, I have a good reason. I've been busy. Planning a trip. To New York City!

I am headed out tomorrow morning with my mom and sister (girls' weekend!) to see NYC for the first time. My mom has visited a couple of times and thought it would be fun for the girls to all go together. I'm pretty excited. Actually, that is a vast understatement. I've been perusing food advice through books, blogs, and the internet for quite some time. I've come up with a list of "must do's", and "like to do's". Armed with my camera, an empty stomach, a mediocre-at-best sense of direction, and two willing family members in tow, I hope to discover some great eats and shops!

I promise to bring back some good pictures and stories. And if you are in the mood for it, watch for us on the Today Show on Monday morning. We hope to be in the mob outside with either a neon orange or green sign.

Back on Tuesday!

Stovetop Pear Crumble

Let's just get this out in the open...I don't like to bake. I will do it (with a box mix) or for a special occassion (husband's birthday, etc.) but never for fun. I find that a lot of food blogs focus on dessert items, probably because they are so delicate and beautiful. While that is all fine and good, I never actually use any of those recipes. I like the stove top. Give me some pans and spatulas, some things to fry, and I'm a happy girl.

This dislike of baking has a down side...I like to EAT those baked goods! And they don't just appear on the counter all by themselves. Anyway, long story short, I had seen this recipe a long time ago. I guess it was rolling around in the back of my brain while I was in the grocery store, because I saw pears and thought "Oh, I'll make a dessert with those! Maybe something with oats!". So, I can't take complete credit for this, but it was a pretty successful first attempt at something new.

Stovetop Pear Crumble
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter
1/3 c brown sugar
1/2 c quick oats
2 ripe pears, sliced into 4-5 pieces each (peeled or not peeled, it's up to you)
A pinch of nutmeg
Vanilla ice cream (optional...but come on, you know you want to)

Heat a large pan on medium heat. Add the butter and allow to melt. Next, add the brown sugar and incorporate with the butter. Allow this to remain on medium heat until it becomes a type of thick syrup (if it looks a little dry, add a bit more butter), about 2 minutes. When the mixture is gently bubbling, add the pear slices. Allow the pear slices to heat up for 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring every so often to coat the pear slices in the sauce. Sprinkle a pinch of nutmeg over the pears.

Add the oats, a bit at a time. You want the oats to soak up all the sauce, and to be fully coated in it. Stop adding oats when the sauce is absorbed, and the oats are clumping together (it ends up having a praline-like taste).

Remove from the heat, and serve immediately over a scoop of vanilla ice cream.