Lazy Sunday Spaghetti

Halloween weekend is always a crazy one in NYC and this year was no disappointment. We had guests in from out of town and a few more parties than we could possibly attend. So once Sunday afternoon rolled around we were all tired and craving some comfort food. 
Since we were already weary from the weekend I decided to make the lazy version of baked spaghetti. There are only a few steps and it is oh so good! After a quick trip to the store we were ready to get cooking! I also like making this as you can do it all ahead of time and then it has to cook for quite a while so its allows for a good movie break after all of the prep work! 
I bought a good mixture of pre-made pasta sauces. I used about 3 1/2 jars. I like to mix the traditional (Prego is always good) with the more exciting (Mario Batali's roasted garlic and onion). I combined all of the sauces in a large pot and put in on the stove on low. I added garlic salt, oregano, pepper, red pepper flakes, and some balsamic vinegar. I let this all stew for about an hour and a half before it goes into the casserole dish.

Once the sauce is on I prep and cook the meat that I want to add to the sauce. Since we were going for comfort with this meal we decided to just go with some ground beef(but you could substitute just about any type of meat). I seasoned the meat with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. I also put a hearty scoop of minced garlic and some diced sweet onion on the stove in some olive oil to cook down. Once the onions were soft I added the ground beef and cooked it through.

Once the meat was cooked I added all of the contents of the sautee pan to the tomato sauce. The  sautee pan will have some liquid in it, but this will add great flavour to the sauce and will not thin it out. 
So once the meat is in the sauce I like to let it all cook for about an hour just so the flavour can fully develop. 
I also make a quick ricotta cheese mixture. A container of whole milk ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup of sour cream and about a half bag of shredded mozzarella. I also ad some pepper and thoroughly combine all ingredients.

So once the sauce is ready I boil the noodles for about 6 minutes, you want them to be truly al-dente as they will continue to cook in the oven. I put a thin layer of sauce(about two ladles) and about 1/3 of the cheese in the bottom of the casserole dish. You can dollop the cheese and it will spread as it bakes. Finally I add the noodles and put the majority if cheese on top of them, and then top with sauce. 

I covered the whole dish with foil and cooked it on 325 for about an hour. Once the edges begin to bubble I pulled the casserole out and removed the foil. Last night I used the rest of the mozzarella cheese I had as a topper on the casserole. I put it back in the oven for about 15 minutes. This was the finished product. 

This was such a yummy dinner and allowed for a lot of left overs! We decided to go super simple and made a quick caesar salad and garlic cheese toasts. Everyone went back for seconds and we will be enjoying the spaghetti for at least one more night this week! 

So even after a long weekend when everyone is tired- it only takes a little bit of effort to get something "home-made" on the table! It was the perfect meal to get us ready for the coming week! This can also be made a head of time and put in the fridge until you are ready to cook it! Over all a definite fan favourite in our apartment!

Jazzing up Trader Joes

Trader Joe's does a good business on me and my room-mates. We all go ever other week or so to get staples and freezer meals for those night when you don't really have the time or motivation to cook. Between the 4 of us we have tried almost every dinner they offer. Items like mac and cheese or frozen pizza are always a good bet for a satisfying meal- but TJ's offers a much wider variety of frozen entrées for the more adventurous eater. While there have been some epic fails( succotash) there have also been some really yummy things. 
What I quickly realized about TJ food is it generally comes with a pretty good base flavour, but can lean towards the slightly bland side. A lot of these frozen dinner can be jazzed up into a really yummy meal pretty easily using things you almost always have around any ways. 

This is one of my best TJ finds to date. Simple roasted butternut squash risotto. It is warm and earthy which is what I am starting to crave at dinner as the temperatures in NYC drop! The first time I had it, I thought it was so-so, but quickly realized I knew what it was missing. Just a few simple additions catapulted this dinner from OK to awesome!

I follow the cooking directions on the bag. Another plus of this meal is it takes about 10 minutes to make! While the stock is thawing and mixing with the water I added a little salt and a generous amount of pepper. Once the rice and squash go in I added two small chucks of brie cheese. I also added a little more pepper as the ingredients were all mixing together! Once the risotto is ready I put it in a bowl and added a little grated parmigiana and a few drops a balsamic vinegar! The vinegar totaly makes the dish, it adds a whole different flavour profile and makes the sweetness of fall squash really come through! Over all I found this to be a huge success and it made me realize I could easily do this to a lot of TJ food. While nothing will ever compare to home-made, a few extra ingredients seem to go a long way!

Sorry this picture is so bad- the yellow bowl was not my best choice! This is the final product and honestly not only did this taste awesome, it looks pretty good too! It would be so good with some roasted brussels sprouts. So next time you are at the grocery store thinking that a frozen dinner looks OK remember you can fix it up and make it fantastic! 

Barbuto

Ever since Jonathan Waxman was referred to as the Yoda of cooking on Top Chef Masters I have been dying to try his restaurant. I have walked by it countless times. Nestled on a quiet corner of west 12th street, the big garage doors that(weather permitting) are always open- making the place seemed laid back and inviting. The room is open and the kitchen can be seen from almost every angle. You can watch the chefs masterfully working around the kitchen which brings a more personal feeling to the dining experience. The atmosphere is cosy and comforting- which as it turns out is a perfect reflection of the food that comes to the table. 

Our table decided to craft our own version of a tasting menu and order a plethora of items and share. We started out with the fall salad which was fantastic. It had pistachios, figs, pear and a sweet balsamic honey dressing. The crunchy pistachios and the sweet fruit were fantastic with the bibb and frisee lettuce mixture.

We also tired the bruschetta which was topped with a goat cheese and squash mixture. It was drizzled with balsamic and adorned with a piece lardo. I would never think to put squash and goat cheese together but the combination is out of this world. The goat cheese cuts the sweetness of fall squash and makes the texture more hearty. Served on a rustic piece of Italian bread, it was a perfect bite!

Since Barbuto prides itself on being a beacon of Italian cuisine we had to try the bolognese. It was fantastic. So warm and hearty it made you want to curl up by the fire. The noodles were cooked to perfection and it felt like something you should only be able to get from an ancient Italian grandmother. This dish made the giant wood burning oven and the homeyness of the restaurant make sense. It seemed to embody the idea that you don't have to be fancy to be fantastic. 

We also had the pork shank. It was paired with caramelized apple and fennel and was fall off the bone tender. Again it was not a fancy looking dish but the flavour was so comforting. We also had a side of brussels sprouts with our main course. These were hands down the best brussels sprouts I have ever had. They were roasted with hazelnuts which accentuated the crispy aspect that roasting provides. They seemed like they must have been cooking and developing the perfect flavour an texture for hours Again, a seemingly simple dish, but it was executed with such perfection you cannot help but marvel at the masterful level of food coming out of the open kitchen. 

This meal left me wanting more, and as soon as I can come up with a good reason to go out for a nice meal, this will be my destination. Our server was also nice enough to clue us into the fact that they serve lunch! I can now totally understand why Mr. Waxman is so highly respected by his peers. This place was simply phenomenal! 

Barbuto

775 Washington St

New York NY 10014

212-924-9700

Annisa

Last Friday night my Mom took me and 2 of my room-mates to Annisa. This restaurant has been on the top of my places to try list for a while! I LOVED Anita Lo when she was on top chef masters and her performance on the show ensured me this would be a fantastic dining experience. 
Annisa is a small and unassuming space nestled on a quiet stretch of barrow street in the west village. It has a cosy and sleek bar in the front of the space and an intimate dining room of only 18 tables. From the moment we walked in the door we were greeted, served and catered too by one of the most skilled and pleasant staff I have ever encountered in a restaurant. Each person we spoke to was knowledgeable, personable and genuinely interesting. Besides some large vases of magnolia and a few other small decorative details the space is super simple. The feel is comfortable and made sophisticated by the food adorning each table, which is really what you want to see in this kind restaurant. We were not there to look at the art after all!

After getting settled with a great bottle of champagne recommended by the bar tender we decided to opt for the 5 course tasting menu. I have had tasting menu's at several of NYC's most wonderful restaurants and I have to say this might have been the best one yet. Each course was interesting, artistic and delectable. 
The first course was  duo of hot and cold tuna. While I preferred the cold to the hot, both bites were satisfying and played off each other really nicely. The next course was a soup dumpling with seared foie gras and jicama. This was such a cool dish, and the flavours were phenomenal. I am always partial to foie gras, but the consistency of the dumpling and the broth were so comforting.

The fish course was a Olive oil poached halibut with blistered shishito peppers, almonds with lobster and coral sauces. The fish was cooked to perfection. The sauces were divine, super smooth and had a little bit of heat which was a perfect accompaniment to the mild fish. 
The beef course was also out of this world. Grilled wagyu beef with escargots, garlic chives and alba mushrooms. This course was super rich and hearty. The beef was the prefect medium rare, and it sat on top of a garlic soaked crouton which was fantastic. 
The dessert course is always one of my favourites. The way they served the dessert course was a first for me. They brought each person at the table a different dessert so we could taste lots of things, which was fantastic. They also brought a basket of cinnamon sugar beignets that were filled with butterscotch sauce. They were out of this world good! Each of the desserts was fantastic, and its hard to choose but I think they thing that impressed me the most was the poppyseed bread and butter pudding with meyer lemon curd. I could have eaten an entire casserole dish full of it! I think I may have to try to recreate this at home, though I am sure it will not be quite as good!
Over all Annisa exceeded my already extremely elevated expectations! The food, atmosphere and service left nothing to be desired. It was a truly elegant and enjoyable experience. Anita Lo was even in the restaurant and came out into the dining room several time to greet diners and observbe the service which I thnk is amazing. Next time you are looking for a culinary splurge this is this place to go!

Annisa
13 Barrow St
212-741-6699