Chicken stuffed with feta and oregano

• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  

1. 
   Directions:

2. In a small bowl, combine feta and oregano. Make a pocket in chicken breasts:  make an incision in thicker side of each breast with a paring knife. Stuff pockets with feta mixture, dividing evenly; generously season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.

3. 
   Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook until browned on both sides, 6 to 7 minutes per side.

4. 
   Cover skillet, and continue cooking until isn't pink.

5. 
   Add butter to the skillet stirring up brown bits with a wooden spoon until reduced slightly. Reduce the heat to low, and swirl pan until butter is melted, and sauce is slightly thickened. Serve chicken drizzled with sauce.

I served it wit carrots and full mashed potatoes

Homemade Gnocchi with a Wild Mushroom and Gorganzola Sauce

Who owns a potato ricer?

This is what I asked myself after going through many recipes for homemade gnocchi which usually call for the peeled potatoes to go through a ricer. I decided to try to use my good ol' fashioned grater and see if I could get the job done.

Ingredients for the gnocchi:

2 pounds Yukon potatoes

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten.

Ingredients for the Gorgonzola mushroom sauce:

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup homemade or store bought vegetable stock

4 ounces of Gorgonzola cheese

1 pinch of nutmeg

Coarse salt and black pepper

3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

12 ounces of fresh mushrooms, cremini and portobello work best

Directions to make gnocchi

1. Preheat oven to 499 degrees. Prick all potatoes all over with a fork and place them on a baking sheet to bake for 45min to 1 hr. Halfway through bake time, shake the pan or turn the potatoes over.

2. After the potatoes cool, peel the skin off lightly to not mush the potatoes

Grate them through the largest holes of a grater into a large bowl. 

3. Add lightly beaten egg and salt to the potatoes and mix well with a large spoon.

4. Add the flour a little at a time, using just enough to where your hands don't stick. After the flour has been added, bring the dough together with your fingers.

5. Put the dough on a floured surface. Knead dough by pressing down with the heel of your hand, fold over, make a quarter turn, repeat for 3 or 4 minutes. Just like making bread!

6. Form the dough into a ball then divide into 6 smaller balls. Roll out the balls individually into long ropes- about 3/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into 1 inch pieces.

7. Traditional gnocchi has ridges so get out your fork and start marking the sides. I'm pretty sure I didn't do it right but they look pretty cute.

8.place the gnocchi onto a floured parchment dish. If you want to freeze them later, put the dish into a freezer bag where they won't all stick together

9. To cook gnocchi, boil water with salt. Place gnocchi in and they should rise. Leave them for one minute and remove.

To make the sauce:

1. Bring cream and stock to a boil over medium to high heat. Reduce heat and let mixture thicken for about 10 minutes. Add Gorgonzola, stir until melted. Season with pepper and salt. Remove from heat and cover.

2. Remove the stem from mushrooms and coarsely chop. Heat oil on a large skilled over medium heat until hot. Add mushrooms and cook, stir occasionally for about 4 minutes. Add gnocchi, cook and stir gently until heated through. Pour cheese sauce over gnocchi and toss to coat evenly. 

Serve immediately!

Grape and Vine

Grabbed a drink and mushroom pizza at Grape and Vine in the Sage hotel. It's a new hotel in Greenwich Village. Great new spot!

The Jade Hotel

52 W 13th street 

Savore, Soho

My mom is in New York for the weekend and along with the museum trips and walking to every far off destination, my mom has an eye for a good restaurant. She always makes me try new restaurants and break away from my West Village regular spots. Yesterday we stopped into a new restaurant for me called Savore in Soho. It was a pleasant surprise! Super Italian- they even have the girl who tempts you with free pizza outside... 

                      Fried artichoke 

Pappardelle with mushrooms and melted pecorino cheese

 Asparagus Tagliatelle with Canadian         crab meat.

Savore: 200 spring street New York, NY 

Shake Shack

People have said Shake Shack rivals In and Out and I didn't believe it until now. Wow!

Before:

After:

Multiple locations in New York City

Strawberry Cheesecake

Ever since I graded my thumb open trying to make a key-lime pie, I've never been keen on baking pies. I wanted to try it out once more to test my skills. Cheesecake really isn't that hard to make, just follow a recipe and viola!

Ingredients

• 1 9-inch (6 ounces) graham cracker crumb crust: Directions for this below.
• 2/3 cup (5 fluid-ounce can)Evaporated Fat Free Milk
• 1 package (8 ounces) fat free cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups halved fresh strawberries
• 3 tablespoons strawberry jelly, warmed

 

preheat oven to 325° F.

place evaporated milk, cream cheese, egg, sugar, flour and lemon peel in blender; cover. Blend until smooth. Pour into crust. 

BAKE for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Arrange strawberries on top of pie; drizzle with jelly. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.  

 

Graham Cracker Crust

ingredients:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1/3 cup butter  

To make the graham cracker crust,combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a bowl. Press onto the bottom of an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

 I didn't want to buy the springform pan so I used a normal one. For best results, I would use the springform for easy serving. 

Ladies night at David Burke kitchen at the James Hotel

I had a lovely dinner at the David Burke restaurant in the James Hotel.

One of my friends was kind enough to put together this incredible night of wine pairing and a tasting menu. She got together all of the women who have either worked hard in their profession or have inspired her in some way. It was such a beautiful evening and I'm so happy to have been a part of it!

The James Hotel, Soho

27 Grand Street

New York, NY 10013

Cherrywood Kitchen

We went to Cherrywood Kitchen for some snacks before my birthday party at the Rusty Knot. We had the lobster tacos, oysters, and ribs. This place was fantastic but we were the only ones there. It is kind of random and, honestly, if we didn't have an Urban Daddy deal for it, we probably would have missed it. I'm glad we went. The handmade bread with whipped blue cheese dressing was the highlight.

 Cherrywood Kitchen

300 Spring St

New York, NY 10013

Birthday weekend!

I had a lovely birthday weekend all thanks to my perfect boyfriend. He went above and beyond to make sure I was surrounded by flowers, friends, and food!

Sunday Dinner

We were feeling pretty full and lazy after our late brunch, so we decided to make a little bit of pasta and asparagus with a side salad for dinner.
The pasta was a 5 cheese packaged but home made pasta from Gourmet Garage- it was easy, just put it in boiling water with a dash of salt.

For the asparagus, I chopped up some garlic and put it in a hot pan with olive oil. I chopped off the ends of the asparagus and placed them in the pan. Tossed them to coat for about 5 minutes. Then I chopped them up for a pasta. For the side salad, it was simple with cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. It was super easy and delicious!

I'm usually pretty strict about not eating in bed, but we have an exception on Sundays to watch Game of Thrones.

Ditch Plains

Jon's been inside studying all weekend so we had to get out and grab a brunch with our friends who just got back from Paris. One of our friends was craving a lobster roll, so we decided to go to Ditch Plains. We've been there for dinner a couple times but they have a fantastic brunch too. It reminds me a lot of California, super laid back and lots of "surfer food."

I got the sesame crusted tuna burger with avocado and jalapeno aioli. It was the best tuna burger i've ever had- I ordered it rare, so it was super messy, but perfect. Jon got the lobster roll... it was amazing.

The Ditch Plains [West Village]

29 Bedford St. 

New York, NY 10014

Breakfast Eggs

Jon wanted something hearty this morning, so I made him my super easy breakfast eggs with Tomato Classico sauce. 

Ingredients:

• Tomato Sauce (canned)
• 4 eggs-shredded cheese
• Crusty bread or pita. This time I used bread

 

  

Cut bread and put a little bit of olive oil on the slices. 

Place in the oven on broil.

    

Spread tomato sauce thickly and evenly in the pan. (about 1 cup)

Heat through.

When sauce begins to bubble, crack each egg in the center of the pan and fry until whites are cooked through and centers are still soft. place a cover over them if you want them cooked through.

Transfer the sauce onto the crusty bread and sprinkle cheese over the top. 

YUM!

Seared Tuna with a Soy Sauce Marinade

This was AMAZING!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 (4 ounce) tuna steaks

Directions

In a large dish mix together the orange juice, soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, oregano, and pepper. Place the tuna steaks in the marinade and turn to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat stovetop

Lightly oil pan. Cook the tuna steaks for 5 to 6 minutes, then turn and baste with the marinade. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, or to designed doneness. 

I served it with a steamed artichoke. 

The next day I threw the leftover tuna on a salad with goat cheese.

It was perfect!

Super easy breakfast

Take toast, put on cream cheese, sliced avocado, with black pepper and sea salt sprinkled on top. It's hearty but healthy and will keep you full for a good amount of time.