David and I have evolved into a very much home-bound couple. I've fallen into a groove of cooking at home, almost daily, and really enjoy it. It's amazing what one can cook and make for oneself if one put one's mind and effort to it. I know this idea isn't a revelation to people most everywhere, but most New Yorkers don't tend to cook the majority of the time, it's too easy to eat out or get takeaway. So I'm pretty happy with the cooking-at-home-ness I have achieved. Also, I've gotten much better at not letting food items go bad in the fridge due having forgotten their existence or not getting around to using them in time. Actually, once on a roll -- i.e. you've got most everything you need, just picking up whatever grocery necessary, no big shops needed -- it's nice to go home after work to cook, it gives me a space to focus on the cooking and not much else, clears a certain amount of head-space. Sure, cooking after work sometimes means we eat at 11pm or so, especially if I am trying a new recipe -- but David is an eager eater, for which I am grateful. Come to think of it, I should start posting some dishes I try along with recipes on this blog, as cooking has become a big component in my daily activities these days. Although I still like to go out to eat, I've discovered that I like to know what I eat more and more -- and most things I crave to eat, I can make at home. So I have taken up the task of doing so. Some of my recent culinary endeavors include: roasted brussels sprouts (we loved them at Casa Mono and I decided to try to replicate their style); BBQ oven baked chicken wings; bone-in porterhouse steak (perfectly medium rare!); vegetable frittata with grueyre and parmesan cheese; spicy hummus; chipotle chili with shredded chicken, black beans and corn with avocado relish. I've become a big fan of the Food Network website for recipes, and so when bored, I troll around the recipe section. Just type in the food item you want to cook and you will get hundreds of recipes; or you can look at recipes by your favorite chefs. David loves Bobby Flay style cooking, so I have perused quite a few of his. I find Michael Chiarello accessible, easy yet elegant. And of course, I love Ina Garten, aka Barefoot Contessa for home-cooking items, like bread pudding.
Here are some recipes I have made and it came out successfully - some of the reader/user reviews are helpful/interesting, too -- click on the name of the dish for the link!
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Bisteca All Firoentina (bone-in porterhouse steak) -- I found this cook time to be perfect! So easy, meat comes out perfectly. I followed the method using the oven. (**For those of you who use CELCIUS, remember these recipes are in FARENHEIT)
- Shaved Fennel Salad with Oranges, Dill & Cress -- wonderful, light and delicious. Works with other leafy greens as well, such as arugula or herb salad mix.
That's just a few that have recently become staples in our home-cooking repertoire. I'll begin to post more as I take on new recipes.
There are two other reasons for our becoming more and more happily home-bound: (1) video games and (2) Netflix. I got David a Play Station 3 for Christmas, which he LOVES. I am not good at game playing, but luckily I am a good watcher of someone playing video games, so this works out very well. Most people think I am bizarre for this quality, but it's true -- I enjoy watching other people enjoying playing video games. I am really really bad at most video games and it is far more stressful for me to play than to watch. We have loved the Wii, but PS3 offers a different game-playing experience, primarily because it's in HD. Some of the games have incredible HD graphics and animation, it's akin to watching a film.
One of the capabilities that PS3 has over Wii is it can stream movies from Netflix. Being members of Netflix, we not only get 2 dvd rentals at a time and watch movies/shows online, we can stream a lot of movies for free directly onto our TV via the PS3. In this way, getting a PS3 seemed a clever thing to do. We have Rock Band now, too, so our apartment is pretty much tricked out for hours of fun. We've got Wii, we've got PS3, Rock Band, karaoke, we've got Netflix movies delivered and also streaming... we are all set for a good night at home, with some home-cooking and wine.
So, mostly since Christmas, we've opted to stay in rather than go out too much. When we do go out, we have been selective. We've had some friends over for brunch and video games, and this has been a big success since we can hang out, play games, eat and drink mimosas in the comfort of our own apartment. Good times.
Now, onto thinking about what to cook this weekend... x
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