Glorified Grilled Cheese

I felt inspired by food today. I had some brie in the fridge and a big baggy of baby spinach so what better than a brie and spinach sandwich? What goes into one though? Hmm...well, spinach is great with some chopped up fresh garlic and a bit of salt...ok...Sounds good! So I wilted me up some garlicky spinach, slapped on some hunka-hunka-hunks of brie, threw it all between some buttered wheat bread (I was out of white), and smashed it on a hot pan. It was a fast and easy lunch that was melty good and super rich that screamed for some degreasing tea to wash it all down. =9~ To top off this artery-clogging lunch, I crunched away at some Cape Cod potato chips. Yum! No reduced fat ones for me!

Here's that glorious grilled cheese that was left in the pan a wee bit too long, but for none the worse:

Roxanne's Brick Oven Pizzeria

We were in the neighborhood and decided to eat lunch at Roxanne's Brick Oven Pizzeria in Mahwah right on Franklin Turnpike. Even though Kinchley's is right down the road, I wasn't really in the mood for their type of pizza though I wanted to revisit the Kinchley's versus Nellie's feud. The decision was left up to me so Roxanne's it was!

The parking lot was completely vacant as we were the first folks in there for lunch. Well, it was on the early side...On the inside, there was a lot of warm wood offset by subdued yellow walls and light trickling in through the many windows.

I spotted the ovens right away. Can't miss the flames held in by a wall of bricks.

Can't miss the bar and the big sign above it which is actually the name of the establishment in a previous life.

One of the pizzas ordered had the added toppings of sausage and meatballs.

The other was just a plain one. Both had fresh mozzarella, fresh tomato sauce, fresh basil and oregano leaves, a sprinkling of parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. What's with all the pizza eating of late? Coincidence. I found the pizza a bit on the salty side for my tastes though as I ate it, I got used to it, but not totally. I believe the tomato sauce was the biggest culprit for the salt. The cheese is on par with Brooklyn's, but I liked that there was more of it and more uniform. Interestingly enough, the herbs were not cooked in the oven like I find at other places. I was also suprised to find that they also put olive oil on the pizza. Have I not noticed this elsewhere like at Brooklyn's?? Well, even if they add it, it must have been just as transparently flavored as at this place. I immediately noticed the menu did not list it as *extra virgin* olive oil as it is at A Mano. Well, that made all the difference. It resulted in a crust that had a slight layer of oil that made for messy fingers but not much else. I barely noticed it as a flavor enhancement. If I didn't know any better, I would have presumed the oil came off the cheese despite it's color. Their pizza is definitely like Brooklyn's but I think I like Roxanne's better in that the middle is not a soggy mess which I always found the case to be at Brooklyn's. Otherwise, the crusts were fairly similar. I think I have to return to Brooklyn's for a better comparison. ;) I hear their other non-pizza offerings is quite good which I would like to try in the future. So forced to choose which pizza place to go to? I still like A Mano. Everyone at the table had a different favorite though. Ha!! On any given day, though, I would choose a different pizza place depending on my mood just like today when I chose Roxanne's over Kinchley's. I'm just glad to have so many choices to cater to my whims. =D

Best Thai in the US!

These were the words proclaimed by a Thai friend about SriPraPhai at 64-13 39th Avenue in Woodside, NY. I'm no expert, but it certainly was tasty! You could also tell that it was at least relatively authentic from the slew of choices on the menu. To say the least, I was overwhelmed. Thankfully, my pseudo-choice (my choice was an "unknown" item and weird sounding...which was my goal to order something different than usual but I overachieved...) was accidentally side stepped as we pondered whether or not to get a vegetable side dish. Incidentally, we ordered enough food so all turned out well. What did we eat? I'm not really sure. In trying to figure out what dish to try, I didn't hear what else was ordered. =\

One of the specials of the day: Steamed mussels (they're huge and meaty!) with some spicy/sour sauce that is always served with seafood. Simply made and not bad. It was a nice break from the spicier dishes at the table. ;)


Red curry with seafood. It had pineapples, hot peppers, sweet peppers, Thai eggplant, basil, shrimp and squid. It was nice and flavorful especially with the coconut milk. I love all Thai curries so I was happy to eat this one. =9 It wasn't too spicy unless I swallowed and breathed wrong. ;)


Sauteed gailan (Chinese broccoli) with crispy pork. This is the standard vegetable dish that Thai people always order, so of course we had to order it. ;) The pork is like the skin and then some. I don't know what it's called but I've seen it before. it's that thick slab stuff. I didn't eat it, but everyone else said it was tasty.


Deep-fried soft-shell crab. It was served with a green mango salad that you eat with the crab. The crabs were very crunchy...maybe a bit too crunchy (overfried) for me, but I didn't mind too much. Slather a bit of slightly sour but fresh tasting salad on the crab for a nice combo of flavor. The salad made the crab less oily and unhealthy tasting.


Southern-style curry with shrimp and stinky beans (sa-tor bean). The beans taste weird...almost chemically. I'm told it's an aquired taste and often eaten by Thai and Indonesian people. I was warned I'd smell terrible afterwards, almost garlicky. On top of that, I would be afflicted with potent flatulence. Hmm...I know someone with whom I need to lock in a small room as revenge!! Anyhow, I'm currently at the stinky breath phase...I really liked the curry on this one because it was very hearty, almost meaty. It reminded me very much of the ground shrimp hot sauces like in sa cha sauce or Indonesian hot pastes. Our Thai friend says this type of curry is very similar to Indonesian curries. Aha!! While the beans look similar to fava beans, the texture is more like...boiled Chinese almonds. This was the spiciest of the dishes and the most interesting for me.


Dessert was chosen from the refrigerated case and warmed up for us. It was black beans and tapioca in a salty-sweet coconut milk based soup. It was a weird mix of flavors as the saltiness hits you immediately but as you eat, it tastes more sweet. The flavor reminded me of some Asian coconut candies I've had. Unfortunately, I was too full to eat pass one bite and explore further.

I had an immensely satisfying meal this evening. My friends tell me that a bonus of eating here is that the leftovers taste even better the next day! Mmmm...definitely going back to this place!! I loved the flavors of the herbs and spices. It's definitely not your typical Americanized Thai outpost. Mmmm! Another plus is that it is not expensive at all! I want to try everything on the menu now...Of all the dishes tonight, my favorite was the stinky bean. Next in line has to be the red curry because I love curries. =P Next time, should I feel more adventurous, I will buy some of their pre-packaged sauces in the refrigerated case to take home to make my own authentic tasting Thai meal. Yum!

Go employee of the month!! Woo hoo! ;)

Pineapple Tea Cake with Walnuts

Our cousin sent us a gift from a trip to Taiwan. Pineapple cakes! Or at least, that's what I call them. They're not cake-like and hence more like a cookie with a pineapple filling. The cake part is buttery and a bit crumbly while the pineapple filling is rather solid. I remember the first time I had them years ago (10 years now?). Another cousin had brought some from Singapore, and those were incredibly heavenly! Very buttery tasting and the pineapple filling was very flavorful, not the sweet and generic flavor that most are these days. Honestly, I don't think any of them taste remotely like pineapple. When I went to Hong Kong, we found some that included other flavors like melon and such. They all nearly tasted about the same. How disappointing despite being a good bakery. =( These were pretty good and absolutely superior to the ones I can find here in the US thus far, but my gold standard is still the first ones I had. It's possible that with the passage of time and the novelty of it being my first taste has led me to believe their taste was far superior...but I doubt it.


The pineapple cake is individually wrapped within the box. The wrapping is actually (or appears to be) rice paper with a foil lining. I have no idea what the wrapper says. Probably the name of the bakery and the contents.


The cake is revealed! Those are walnuts on top. I hate walnuts, but I couldn't really taste them for which I was thankful since I don't like walnuts. =P Interesting pattern of brown rings. I wonder how these cakes were made to produce those rings...the mold?


The innards in close-up! They always look like this. The filling always looks sort of stringy though there are no pineapple strings so it must be the binder of whatever that creates the 'strings' as you bite and pull away much like melted cheese on a pizza. The filling is clearly solid, but it is soft. However, it is not mush as there is a slight chunky texture to it. Real pineapple? Or simulated pineapple with flavoring (natural or otherwise)? I have no idea. Regardless, it's an enjoyable snack with a cup of tea. =9~

Disaster Balls

There's nothing quite like seeing a disaster slowly unfold in the kitchen. What started off as my optimistic try at making takoyaki balls turned into half-edible disappointment. I love love takoyaki balls and even had the privilege of eating them fresh off the pan at a street vendor in London. What a surprise that was!! What are they? Pheh! Don't ask, go find and eat them! They're a favorite Japanese street-vendor food of wheat-dough balls with a hunk of boiled octopus inside. They're crunchy on the outside and slightly soft and chewy on the inside. I love them so much, I asked for a takoyaki nabe (the cast iron pan of half circle for making takoyaki balls) for Christmas to make my own!

I finally got a chance to whip this out (I'd been staring at it since xmas) as my dad bought a bunch of octopus that he said was good but it wasn't. =6 So I chopped some up for takoyaki balls! Woo hoo! Except not so woo hoo as I had to eat the abomination I created. It was the only lunch I had on hand!!! Anyhow, I found a recipe that seemed pretty darned authentic as it used seaweed and bonito shavings to flavor the water that goes into the flour. That's gotta make it tasty! And ya know, it was! Tastewise, these were pretty close. Texture wise, they were way off. Why? Well, part of the problem may have been that I mixed metric and and American measurements out of convenience. I've always heard never to do this and you should use one of the other.

When I added the "flavored" water to the flour mixture, I created dough, not batter. Ack!! I could have kneaded it and baked it! So I threw in more water...whisk...ack!...more water...whisk...ack!...even more water...and so forth. I watered it down but I didn't know how thick a batter it should be so I chose to err on the thicker side. I presume my problem can be traced to this decision. It didn't help that I did not turn the balls fast enough. In with the octopus, I included some chopped green onions (supposed to be negi but I didn't feel like getting it) which was great. So the first sign that things were not happy-go-lucky was the batter. The 2nd sign arrived when I turned the balls a quater turn and saw white edges. They're supposed to be a nice brown! Augh!!


I continued to turn and cook them over and over again and even slathered more oil on top in hopes of getting some browning but it didn't really happen. The extra cooking time at least helped the thick, raw dough cook through. Most balls were not the desired perfect circle. Most were 3/4ths of a circle and only a few were nearly perfectly round.


I was pleasantly surprised that they tasted pretty authentic (must have been the konbu and bonito!) and that I could *just* discern the chewy texture of the innards of the dough. The outside was much too chewy and thick. Blech. Much more experimentation to do! Considering I *have* the pan, I should definitely make some use of it and hopefully become an expert takoyaki maker! If that fails, I had also planned on using the pan to make aebleskiver though they actually require a pan with deeper indentations. That's ok. I'll have miniature versions. ;D I've been wanting to make these balls since...high school. That's a long time so it's about time I try, eh? Stay tuned for another slow-mo disaster... ;P

A Mano: Neopolitan-Style Pizza

I'd been wanting to go to this new pizza establishment around the corner from Dim Sum Dynasty for a while now, but finally got the chance! Definitely worth the wait! Decor is very warm with the red walls and soft lights. The chairs need some dampening in the legs as you can feel everything through the wood floors including others pushing their chairs around. A bit jarring while trying to enjoy a meal.

Prior to dining here, my favorite pizza places were Nellie's Place and Brooklyn's Brick Oven Pizzeria. Nellie's is thin crust pizza but otherwise it's essentially the typical pizza place (but better) so let's not talk about them. While Brooklyn's and A Mano are similar, they're not quite the same pizza so I enjoy both for what they have to offer, but forced to choose, I would choose A Mano.

A Mano touts itself as authentic Neopolitan-style pizza. I've never had that so I can't say I could be quite disappointed, but I feel I have been educated in pizza styles by dining here. Brooklyn's is more American style particularly in the toppings department. While the crust of both places is thin, Brooklyn's is on the crunchy side while A Mano has a bit of chew to it. I like crunchy, but the contrast of crunchy and chewy gave the crust more dimension. On top of that, charring of the crust was hands-down superior at A Mano with their wood burning ovens. I presume Brooklyn's is gas burning.

Two wood burning (see the flame in the left portion of the opening of the right oven?) brick ovens. The apple and cherry woods used definitely make a difference in the flavor of the crust. Brooklyn's just tastes charred. I loved the charred bits at A Mano.

As for the toppings, that's where the battle was won. The sort of toppings you get at Brooklyn's is definitely way better than the typical Italian-American pizza joint around the block. However, A Mano's is a cut above Brooklyn's. I loved the fresh ingredients at Brooklyn's which A Mano also has, but the difference is in the simplicity of A Mano. I've found in general that the finer the ingredients, the better it tastes when presently simply. What was ordered:

Mano Pizza-buffalo mozzarella, proscuitto di parma, arugula, shaved gran cru, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil.

Funghi pizza-a medly of champignon, porcini and shiitake mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil.

First off, I don't recall *these* sorts of ingredients on the list at Brooklyn's. Buffalo mozzarella? No, I don't think so. Fresh mozzarella? Yes, but is it freshly hand made in the kitchen? I doubt it. The mozzarella alone had a wonderful flavor. Usually, mozzarella (even the fresh ones) taste salty. This stuff tasted like cheese, not salt. Just give me that to eat! ;) I can't say much about the Mano pizza as I did not try it, but I am told it was very good. The mushrooms were wonderfully....mushroomy with a nice chew to them. Fresh mushroomy that is. I presume they sauteed it in oil or something similar? Whatever they did, just give me a plate of that! What everyone at the table enjoyed about the pizzas was the olive oil. I'm told it tasted great with the arugula. For me, I found it added an extra depth to the pizza (you can see the droplets of oil on the plate) that I've never had anywhere else. I love a good quality olive oil and this stuff was pretty good and went so well on a pizza. My friend once made the pizza crust with a really good olive oil which was great, but I've never had it drizzled on my pizza. This is definitely something I want to do at home now! Can you tell how I was blown away by such a simple addition? Mmm!

Unfortunately, I completely forgot to order an antipasto as I wanted to compare it to Brooklyn's. I really enjoy their antipasto and that in combination with their tasty pizzas has me hankering for them periodically. Even though I picked one out, I forgot to order it as the dish slipped my mind after intently perusing and discussing the pizza list. Well, I really look forward to going back and currently, I'm hankering another bite of such deliciousness. I hope to be equally impressed by their antipasto offerings!

Onigiri Round 2

My second (officially 3rd, but 2nd documented attempt) go at making onigiri. This time, I had purchased some lightly salted salmon and broiled it up. Yum! I ate one piece with hot rice and saved the other piece to flake for the onigiri. I'm much more skilled at shaping these puppies now and it was a breeze! I also decided to add more flavor the rice up a bit so it'd be less boring. I poured in some mirin and added a few dashes of salt in with the water for the rice. I was afraid I put too much as I'm rather *not* proficient at eyeballing amounts. The scent of mirin was quite strong, but it did not taste as such. After the rice was all cooked up, I threw in the flaked salmon and stirred vigorously went to work to form balls upon balls of lunch before the rice went cold. =9 I decided to go round this time. Fast, easy and cute. Here they are on the plate naked and waiting for some roasted seaweed. Yes, I've gone black and white. I thought it made for a more interesting impression with the different shades of grey.

Here they are with the roasted seaweed and a taste test. The verdict? The rice is still missing something. The taste of mirin was completely lost. =( I was also surprised that I barely tasted how salty the salmon, yet when I've eaten purchased version, it's flavorful yet not oversalty. I have yet to achieve that balance. I will have to buy onigiri, peruse the ingredients list and dissect every component with my tastebuds.