Keep Calm and Carry On: The Diary of Foodie and Gourmet

This year for Christmas dinner, I cooked something I never in a million years thought I would cook --- BRUSSELS SPROUTS. I don't know about you, but I hate these little green baby cabbages. I think they taste gross and I hate them...that is until recently. This past weekend, we ate a delicious Italian restaurant in NYC called "Locanda Verde" and the waitress suggested their brussels sprouts as a side. My dad loves me, so I hesitantly agreed. The waitress said that they were the most popular side dish and assured me that I would enjoy them...I took her word for it and hoped for the best. Then they arrived. All tiny and green, with a strange smell. Here's goes nothing. I popped one of those roasted suckers into my mouth, and you know what? It's wasn't half bad. For the first time in my entire life, I enjoyed a brussels sprout! In fact, I wouldn't stop eating them! They were roasted and served with bacon and pecorino romano. Delicious! After this experie...

When I did my junior year abroad in London, I made a major discovery that has forever changed the holiday season for me. I went for afternoon tea, right around Christmas, and I ate my first mince pie. Being a naive American, I was hesitant at first, thinking that there was actual meat inside this sweet pie, but to my delight, it was filled with sweet nutty dried fruit goodness! From that moment on, I was hooked. Sadly, mince pies are a British staple, not an American, so I knew that mince pies would not be as readily available back home...so I must come up with a solution. Of course, my good 'ol friend Gordon Ramsay came through with his mincemeat/mince pie recipe. For three years now, I have been making this recipe and I have been making Gordon' mince pies and palmiers as well! Unlike stuff you get in a jar, I find that my mincemeat has a fresher taste and you can actually identify what's in it. When I look at the jarred stuff in the store, it reminds me of mystery br...

My goodness, I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by! It seems like yesterday that I was just ringing in the New Year, and now, it's already December 2012! Well, after enjoying a pre-holiday weekend in the city, it was time to go home. First stop, Korean bakery to stock up on some goodies! We bought some delicious pastries (savory and sweet) as well as a cake to enjoy with afternoon tea. very cute christmas cakes Christmas Eve wasn't particularly exciting. Very low key. We did lots of errands before returning home and once we were home, we straightened up the house. There was some down time, but then I was back to work preparing Christmas Eve dinner!  This year, at the request of my father, I make my now famous duck breasts. Easy and delicious! I am still working on getting my skin nice and crunchy, but I am getting closer with each trial. Despite the skin not being quite as crunchy as I wanted, my meat remained tender and flavorful. My duck was acco...

A few months ago, my mom was reading the "Dining Out" section of the NYT and came across a review for this restaurant. The review was stellar and my mom was delighted to see that the head chef used to be the chef de cuisine at one of our favorite Italian restaurants, A Voce. Recently, we stopped going to the one downtown because it was a bit of a schlep and we stopped going to the one at the Time Warner building because the food isn't as good as the original. Eager to follow this chef, my mom asked that we try this restaurant. each window is decorated with these lighted wreaths Locanda Verde is sort of off the beat and track, calling TriBeCa home. The neighborhood is not impressive, but then you see the gorgeous spiral web awning of this place and you are immediately drawn to it. Locanda Verda seems to have several dining rooms. There is a small cafe-like seating area at the front, then a typical dining room with a variety of seating arrangements, then a larger ...

I finally finished my fall semester at NYU. It was brutal and my exams were wicked hard, but I am done and seemed to have survived, although I may have some psychological scarring. This past weekend (12/21-12/24), my parents were staying in NYC. We have a sort of time share deal and as frequent Metropolitan Opera visitors, my parents take long weekends in the city at least once a month. Just by coincidence, their latest opera was right after my final exams, so we were able to spend a pre-holiday weekend in our beloved New York City. I met my parents for dinner on Friday (12/21) and we went to David Burke Kitchen. The past two meals I have had there were delicious, but this dinner was a disaster. I don't want to go into it too much because I could spend hours ranting, but let's just say it was a culinary disaster that I am still recovering from! I have never eaten such vile tasting food in my life! I mention this dinner because it was here, that my mother asked me to accompa...

So I know that this is almost a month late, but I still wanted to share my Thanksgiving with you all, since it was quite pleasant. Every year, for pretty much as long as I can remember, my parents host Thanksgiving. It usually consists of family and close friends, who are mostly Japanese.  The table is set and ready to go I love Thanksgiving because it brings us together with friends and family, but also, the food is freaking delicious! My parents go all out. I do my best to help out --- play the role of sous chef or make desserts --- but this year I was unable to participate substantially because of my NYU classes. They had me working to the very last minute! Every year, my dad makes two turkeys. One turkey we roast in the traditional manner and the second, my dad fries in his electric turkey fryer. He loves this contraption. It also makes a really deliciously moist and crunchy skinned turkey. If you haven't tried a fried turkey before, I recommend that you do! Perhap...