Grandma's Chicken and Rice

This is a family favorite, passed down from my Grandmother's friend Ester from Puerto Rico. It is simple, hearty and comforting. The perfect food for a cool, rainy day. (Sorry for the blurry iPhone pic).



Chicken and Rice

In a big dutch oven, saute chopped onion, red bell pepper and garlic until soft. Add salt and pepper, chicken pieces (we used bone-in, skinless thighs). and two (big) cans of crushed or pureed tomatoes. Cover and stir occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove a cup of the cooking liquid, and in another pot, heat up two cans of drained, not rinsed kidney beans with the reserved liquid.

To the pot with the chicken add 1-2 cups of minute rice. Heat until the rice is cooked.

Serve!

Tofu Curry

Goodness this was good.
Coconut Tofu Curry

I did my best to follow the recipe, which if you know me means I barely followed it.

My take on it: 1 can coconut milk, 4 packets of soy sauce (does anyone actually buy soy sauce?), powdered ginger, a couple tablespoons of curry paste, and a hearty squeeze of sriracha, brought it to a boil, added chopped onion and red pepper, cubed tofu, and a crap load of baby bok choy. Cook until veggies are soft, and serve with brown rice.

Another for the "Not the prettiest, but damn tasty" category.

Pizza night

Tomato, basil and garlic pizza, and, because the cook "felt like it", topped with arugula and red onion. I could eat this for the rest of my life.

Eating Art

For our 1 year anniversary Dan brought me to WD~50, Wylie Dufresne's restaurant. Wylie mother-trucking Dufresne, James Beard nominated, Michelin Star rated, the only reason anyone has ever heard of molecular gastronomy.

We were brave and ordered the tasting menu. I ate foods I swore I would never eat, only because Wylie cooked them, and I liked them (except for the fois, but you can't win them all).

Not only was Wylie there that night, cooking our food, but our waiter took us on a tour of the kitchen, we WE MET WYLIE! He laughed at a dumb joke I made, and wished us a happy anniversary. BEST NIGHT EVER! So here it is, the food.


Crispy Flatbreads to snack on.



Scallop noodles with concord grape, saffron yogurt and crispy sesame.


Everything bagel ice cream with smoked salmon threads and crispy cream cheese.


Foie gras with passionfruit center and Chinese celery on top.



Scrambled egg ravioli, charred avocado, and kindai kampachi.


Cold fried chicken, buttermilk ricotta, tabasco honey sauce with caviar on top.


Striped bass, chorizo, pineapple, popcorn


Beef and bernaise.


Lamb with edamame crumble.


Lychee ice cream with a Yuzo foam and pistachio and celery bottom.


Orange, tarragon and rhubarb sorbet on an olive oilcake


Soft chocolate, frozen raspberry, long pepper, & ricotta ice cream.


I'm honestly not even sure if this was everything. I have no clue how we managed to put away all this food, although it was so tasty and inventive that I would have eaten until my stomach actually burst.