Last Night's Dinner: Porco al Horno (and today's lunch and tonight's dinner)

Last night Femi made pork chops with red peppers, green peppers, tomatoes, onion, olive oil, and some lemon.  It is called "al horno" in Spanish which we thought was really funny.  We saw this dish on a menu in Barcelona and laughed about it because we have does dirty minds.  Does pollo al horno make you horno?  But today during my Spanish homework, I learned that "horno" means oven, so "al horno" means of the oven.  So pork chops of the oven.  Yum!  Buen appetito!

My Spanish Pot Luck Birthday Party!

Was a ton of fun!  I made mixed paella (with mussels, scallops, calamari, shrimp, chorizo, and chicken), spanish tortilla, patatas bravas, clerico, and pan con tomate.  I will include the recipes for some of these things after the jump.  Femi made aioli, manchego frito with apple glaze and guava paste, and gambas.  There was a ton of cheese and wine.  We also had some olives, tortas, crema stuffed plantains, spanish stew and more!  My roommate made rice pudding and gorgeous paper flower decorations.  Pics and videos below.

Adam had to change shirts because of an accidental red wine spillage.

He looks thrilled especially near the orange flowers.

People piggin out on Spanish wonders.

Jen's diggin' her grandmas chorizo bread.

Ryan loves bread and Reid loves beer.

My Clerico with white wine, strawberries, grapes, apples, lemons, oranges, sugar, peaches, and more!  Yum!

We got some fried potatoes, bravas sauce, aioli, pan con tomate, chorizo, tortilla, and queso.  Yum again!

How beautiful were those decorations?  Jen made them by hand!

Food baby/coma time.

Maiko and her boyfriend gettin ready to eat!

Adam and Ross chowin' down.

Femi's spicy garlicky shrimp dish.

Patatas bravas con aioli

Spanish Tortilla (that kinda fell apart)

Videos!!

I used this paella recipe just added more stuff in it.

I made this same recipe but added hot sauce and a little ketchup into the bravas sauce.  Femi made the aioli with olive oil, eggs, lemon, and garlic.  I don't know how to make aioli like he does.

My Birthday Dinner!

Wednesday, June 17, was my birthday.  So after work and after Spanish class, Femi took me to dinner.  We met in Union Square and walked to the West Village.  We walked through Washington Square Park  holding hands (how romantic hehe).  I hadn't seen it since the renovation.  I really love arches and fountains and that whole combination in parks.  It is so beautiful.  It makes me feel like I am in a different part of the world or something.  Then we ran into our friend Mikey and chatted for a bit.  We finally ended up at La Lanterna for what was about to be a great birthday feast.

I have been to La Lanterna twice before.  Once with some of my friends for drinks and apps.  We sat outside in the back and I was really impressed by the decor, trees, and greenery inside the restaurant.  Then the second time I went was with my friend Maiko and we sat downstairs.  Downstairs is really nice and romantic.  It is dim lit with candles and exposed brick/stone walls (can't remember).  The perfect place for a date and the food is really good and fresh too!

When Femi and I got there, the downstairs was closed boo.  But we were able to sit outside which was nice too.  Our server was very attentive and knowledgeable as well.  We started off with the Caprese salad (buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and bread.)  It was very good and very fresh.  The mozzarella melted in our mouths, it was very soft.  Not at all chewy like some mozzarella can be.



 

For drinks, I got a glass of Pinot Grigio and I am not sure what Femi got.  I am not a huge fan of Italian wine.  I don't know too much about it.  I do like Pinot Grigio though.  Its an easy wine to drink.

I ordered a panini with speck, mascarpone, and a splash of cognac.  I love this panini.  The saltiness of the speck and the sweetness and creaminess of the mascarpone goes hand in hand to me.  I got the panini on crostini bread.  It, to me, is one of the best paninis I have ever tasted.

Femi got pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella, proscuitto, basil, and olive oil.  It was delicious!  Thin crust, fresh ingrediants, really nice pizza.

For dessert, I wanted to share one thing but Femi insisted that I get my own.  So I got tiramisu and Femi got raspberry cheesecake.  My tiramisu was really good.  I don't know a lot about it but on the menu it said it was their house specialty so I got it.  I love the whipped cream and cocoa powder the best.  Femis was great too.  La Laterna is definitely a dessert place.  We both got fancy drinks too.  I got a Nikki Coffee (because it is my name) which is coffee, baileys, and butterscotch schnapps with whipped cream.  Femi got a Irish Coffee which is coffee, Jameson, and whipped cream.  Mine was better!!!

All in all a great birthday meal.  We did end up taking half of the panini and half of the pizza home with us to save room for such rich desserts cuz that's how we roll. 

Last Night's Dinner: Ensalata

Last night I made a salad like the one below. I didn't use shallots or carrots. I added some cured ham and cucumbers. Instead of walnuts, I used peanuts and sunflower seeds (because I am on a budget and I had those things already). The best part of the salad was the dressing though. I used gargonzola instead of roquefert. I mashed it into the olive oil (like demonstrated in the video) and added some pepper. Who knew? I am not usually a fan of such a pungent strong cheese but mixed with olive oil it was delicioso!

I also made the dessert. Bananas, yogurt, honey but I used a little peanut butter instead of walnuts and I added a lil whipped cream. I love the banana peanut butter combo and I can't resist me some whipped cream. I think it is best condiment on the planet.



Bon appetit!

Last Night's Dinner: Lettuce Wraps

I forget where I found this recipe. I made this about a month ago because I am trying to not eat carbs during the week. It consists of beef, peanuts, chili paste, rice vinegar, peppers, onions, mushrooms, water chestnuts and is basically one big spicy delicious stir fry. Then you spoon it into lettuce leaves (romaine or iceberg work best). Last night Femi made it for us. His wasn't as spicy as mine was. It was sooo good! I highly recommend this dish for a healthy dinner (or lunch).

Jen's Grandma's Sausage Bread

is sooooooooooo good! Jen's grandma is Portuguese and she makes the best sausage bread! All I know is its got some chorizo in there. I don't know her grandma's secret but whatever it is I like it!

Legion: Fun Bar With Good Choices

So maybe I am biased towards Legion because my boyfriend works there but I really like this bar a lot! They have something for everyone: a good selection of tap, bottle, and can beers. They have a few beer and a shot specials for the recession-friendly. They also have an abundance of scotch and bourbons. They have a great outdoor space where there are frequent bbqs on Sunday afternoons.

I like the fact that this is a regular bar catered towards patrons of the beer and whiskey drinking type, but they actually give you a choice of wine that goes beyond "red or white?" Just to be clear, this is definitely not a wine bar. But they do carry 4 types of wines and 2 types of ports. They have: Protocolo White, Nathanson Creek Chardonnay, Trapiche Malbec, and Luzon Verde Monastrell. The ports that they serve are Sandeman Fine Ruby and Cockburns Special Reserve.



I had the pleasure of tasting both of the white wines last night. The Protocolo White is a Spanish vino that is made of 100% White Tempranillo grapes and comes from mainly the Rioja and Penedes regions. My first impression was the strong fruity smell and when I tasted it I got a light-medium body. It is more dry than sweet but still has fruit aromas. When I looked this up on my phone, I read that it is composed of strawberry, raspberry, black pepper hints, black cherry, mint, and earthy tones. I wasn't too too far off.

The Nathanson Creek Chardonnay is from California. When I first tried this i got fruity again with a light bodied and sweeter than the Protocolo, less dry. I looked it up and it says that this wine is smooth with apple flavors with oak notes. Again, I was close! I need to work on picking out the specific fruits though. That is my mission!