tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74653892011-09-01T11:10:15.835-05:00Kitchen experiments, culinary discoveries and delicious experiences... transmitting from Queens, New York.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-25160311293751022752008-10-17T13:34:00.004-05:002008-10-17T18:36:28.432-05:00

I know it's been a while, and I can't promise that I'll get committed to posting frequently or anything, but I'm going to try and keep better records of what I'm cooking -- if only so I can recreate things that are truly yummy. After I got home with my CSA share yesterday, I realized that I've got to get focused on cooking lots of dishes with winter squash in them or else I'm going to have to

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-72622074423653049452007-02-21T12:00:00.000-05:002007-02-21T12:28:05.609-05:00

Another recipe that I've adapted from Cooks Illustrated, I've cut down on the oil and used turkey instead of beef (though you could swap lean ground beef for the turkey if you prefer), I love that this recipe makes enough chili for a crowd and freezes very well. It's also really versatile: one night we'll have bowls of chili with sour cream and grated cheese and a few nights later we can have

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-11304197633772424572007-02-03T12:26:00.000-05:002007-02-03T12:42:18.072-05:00

I adapted this from one of my favorite recipe sources Cooks Illustrated, but I took the fat content down quite a bit by cutting down on the butter and using half & half instead of heavy cream. Cream of Tomato Soup Ingredients: 2 28 ounce cans of whole tomatoes (packed in juice, not puree) 1 1/2 T brown sugar 2 T butter 1 onion, chopped 1 T tomato paste pince of ground allspice 2 T flour 2 1/4

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-34008165655647229392007-02-03T12:05:00.000-05:002007-02-03T12:13:26.150-05:00

Well, now that I've been staying home a lot, I'm one of the few pregnant women who seems to have gotten myself into cooking even more. I like having this site as a way to record the recipes I try that I like (& might want to try again) so I'm going to attempt to revive it and post some of the recent successes I've had. Lemony Chicken & Green Bean Stirfry Ingredients 12 ounces green beans,

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1129920161538890052005-10-21T13:42:00.000-05:002005-10-21T14:14:24.920-05:00

I finally got my hands on the amazing package assembled by Holly of Craving Cleveland for Blogging By Mail II. Of course, it wasn't Holly's fault -- she responsibly sent the package on September 26, about 4 hours before I realized I should tell her that I was moving and give her my new address. (I had remembered to contact all my creditors, utilities, magazine publishers and forgot to pass along

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1129643414167360432005-10-18T08:15:00.000-05:002005-10-18T08:51:59.473-05:00

Cuisine: Chinese, Mongolian Neighborhood: Flushing Address: 36-35 Main St., Flushing Phone: 718-358-6667 Price: $30 for 2 Never having had Mongolian hot pot before, I don't have much to compare this experience to, but I must say the half spicy/half mild lamb hot pot ($19.95) was delicious. Hot pot is basically the Asian version of fondue, where you cook various ingredients in the boiling broth

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1116861425460961522005-05-23T09:46:00.000-05:002005-05-23T15:36:28.263-05:00

Had some friends over on Saturday night, and contrary to my usual behavior, I tried to tone down my usual ritual of slaving all day and preparing way too much food. Of course, it's still important to me to serve up delicious edibles, but after spending the past couple of weeks on compulsive house-hunting, it was a nice change to be able to sleep in on Saturday and still have time to run errands

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1111168945268891992005-03-18T12:14:00.000-05:002005-03-18T13:04:33.686-05:00

I've been quietly blogging over here about various cooking adventures, and I've been spending way too much time reading (and sometimes drooling over) other food bloggers. After seeing the announcement for Sugar High Friday #6 on Debbie's blog (who's dark chocolate pudding has become a staple in my house), I promised myself I'd participate.On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I poured through my cookbooks

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1110811664803784572005-03-14T09:47:00.000-05:002005-03-14T10:02:27.870-05:00

Most days on WW, I have some high-fiber cereal and skim milk for breakfast -- not very exciting, but it means I've got plenty of points for later in the day. On the weekends, I like to indulge a bit, but still make healthy choices (especially because I am inclined to use all my extra points on margaritas on Girls' Night or some other mishbehaving).These Multigrain Pancakes have become one of my

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1109346558917208902005-02-25T10:49:00.000-05:002005-02-25T11:49:01.566-05:00

So, I've renewed my commitment to sticking to WW -- after a near breakdown the other night, I can't deal with the idea of hating clothing shopping for the rest of my life and the only way to make it better is to work to make my body something to feel better about. I've been going to the gym (Cate and I have surprised ourselves with a near addiction to the gym, but we concluded it's a better

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1109087409776983682005-02-22T10:50:00.000-05:002005-02-22T11:37:26.153-05:00

I'm always happy to invite friends for dinner -- it gives me an excuse to spend a few hours in the kitchen without feeling (as) guilty that I should be doing something else (taxes, cleaning, etc.). On Sunday night, we invited a couple of friends to join us for dinner and to watch The Station Agent. After assessing the ingredients from our latest delivery, and staring down a loaf of bread that had

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1108654880467198862005-02-17T10:41:00.000-05:002005-02-17T11:26:00.080-05:00

So, it's been a while. Sadly, my absence has been due to notsomuch cooking combined with some notsoimpressive results. Not that I'm complaining about everything -- I've been spending a lot more time in the city exploring and working on my other site. I had a couple of delicious Restaurant Week meals, checked out 'Inoteca, went on a tour of Grand Central (where we sampled the Prohibition Punch in

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1107788176742568472005-02-07T09:56:00.000-05:002005-02-21T23:29:46.003-05:00

This is one of the few vegetarian dishes that seems to convince my husband there doesn't have to be meat involved for the meal to be called dinner. I've made this stew several times -- it uses lots of ingredients I always seem to have in my cupboard, as well as the fact that it conveniently uses up extra sweet potatoes I have around and I can cook it in my slow cooker.I love the spicy flavor the

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1106578726888076532005-01-24T09:58:00.000-05:002005-01-24T10:32:30.733-05:00

One of the only things keeping me from baking up a storm is that I need people to pawn my creations off on -- otherwise, Dan and I will consume an inordinate amount of food and end up on Maury Povich having to be airlifted out of our apartment. Several months ago, we were at Stew Leonards in Danbury shopping for ingredients to make dinner for my mom and we discovered their "half pies" --

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1106067818607170782005-01-18T13:03:00.000-05:002005-01-18T12:49:55.893-05:00

I've mentioned before that we get a weekly delivery from Urban Organic. I love it, because it forces us to eat lots of vegetables and fruits and it is often an impetuous to explore new ingredients and recipes. I never bought swiss chard or collard greens before we started getting delivery, but now I love them both and prepare them often.During the winter months, I often get a variety of winter

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1105716785674864712005-01-14T10:33:00.000-05:002005-01-14T10:33:05.673-05:00

After making a roast chicken last Friday, I whipped up a batch of chicken soup with the left over carcass. Lately, I've been making tons of vegetable broth with all the leftover bits of veggies I have from various cooking projects, so having homemade chicken soup was a bit of a treat and I wanted to use it wisely. I suppose if I was raised by a nice Jewish mother, I would have a family recipe for

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1104959744217715932005-01-05T16:15:00.000-05:002005-01-05T16:34:35.570-05:00

A couple of Christmases ago, I was insulted by this gift until I found out that Chinese Cooking for Dummies was among the better Chinese cookbooks out there (thanks to my hubby who had researched and suggested to my father-in-law it would be a good choice).One of the best things about living in New York City is that even the most obscure ingredients are obtainable, which means most of the recipes

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1104865521339941342005-01-04T14:05:00.000-05:002005-01-04T14:08:54.066-05:00

The truth is I don't much care for beans. I *want* to like them, but for some reason, their appeal evades me. There are some exceptions, like homemade hummus (as long as you leave out the tahini), but for the most part, I avoid them. However, there has been a force battling me on the bean-liking, namely the frugal, "completion-obsessed" Heather who knows there has been a container of Lentils du

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1103640185240539562004-12-21T09:43:00.000-05:002004-12-21T09:47:49.223-05:00

So our holiday celebration went well on Saturday, and I'm especially proud that I was able to pursuade many skeptical guests to try our Egg Nog. I admit, once upon a time, I too was grossed out by the prospect of egg nog -- but after sampling some Ronnybrook Farms Egg Nog, my hope was restored. This year, we decided to make our own from the Cooks Illustrated recipe. The good news is, you can

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1103299659771189442004-12-17T10:43:00.000-05:002004-12-17T11:25:17.210-05:00

In preparation for our holiday party tomorrow night, I've begun making the dough for the cookies we'll be serving. So far, I've made the dough for the spritz cookies from Cooks Illustrated and the dough for the chocolate crinkles that have been a Christmas tradition in my family since I was a kid. It's a funny thing -- I don't like chocolate cake and I'm more likely to pick creme brulee over a

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1103049029436833712004-12-14T10:24:00.000-05:002004-12-14T14:25:28.640-05:00

Back when I was in 7th grade, my father got a three-week contract working in England and one of the perks was that the company provided him with a condo for the duration. Our folks pulled us out of school (writing all the requisite letters to ensure we each arrived with a pile of school work to keep us busy) and took us to England. One of my mom's favorite treats while we were over there was

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1093873480293855822004-08-30T08:42:00.000-05:002004-08-30T08:44:40.293-05:00

I shared this with a bride-to-be yesterday at her shower, and thought I'd post it as well -- it's a popular favorite among my friends, a breeze to make, and always gets rave reviews. - 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (light is fine) - 4 ounces sour cream (light is fine) - 2 tbsp taco seasoning - 1 can refried beans - 1 jar salsa (mild, medium or hot) - 1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce - 1

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1092677462650116272004-08-16T11:37:00.000-05:002004-08-16T12:31:02.650-05:00

I am proud of the fact that I'm a good cook, but I like to give credit where credit is due, and most often that credit belongs to a really fabulous recipe. Some people say following a recipe requires little more than reading comprehension, but I've come to appreciate that the recipes that turn out best require not only reading, but carefully following the directions -- when you don't have

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1091633580401623222004-08-04T10:07:00.000-05:002004-08-04T11:04:04.793-05:00

This year, Dan requested Coconut Cream Pie for his birthday "cake." I was pretty excited by this choice, as I remembered seeing a recipe for it in Cooks Illustrated. (Cooks Illutrated is my favorite cooking magazine -- it's free from advertisements and includes very practical, yet amazing delicious recipes. I don't think I've made a bad recipe from the magazine (or website) yet!) This recipe

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1091200651206724932004-07-30T09:51:00.000-05:002004-07-30T10:46:10.496-05:00

This has been one of my favorite salads ever since I was a little kid. My birthday is at the end of April, which was the time of year when it was finally warm enough to eat outside on our porch and my mom would mostly serve grilled chicken or steak or salads for dinner. Not boring, tasteless iceberg salads either -- my two favorites were always taco salad and Chinese chicken salad, but I would

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1091115047425671882004-07-29T10:22:00.000-05:002004-07-29T10:31:31.990-05:00

While I can't complain as I sit outside watching squirrels chase each other up and down trees and the birds chirp loud enough to make me forget about the nearby highway, I still pine for many of my NYC favorites, and even for things I've always thought about doing in New York City, but have never gotten around to. I've become such a fan of keeping lists that I have decided to keep a list of

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1091030732216350952004-07-28T10:17:00.000-05:002004-07-28T11:19:50.986-05:00

I lead a cuisine-charmed life in NYC. I pride myself on dining at the best Thai restaurant in The City before it was in Zagat. I have eaten pizza at most of the top NYC pizzerias. I've had many sublime meals in New York City, costing anywhere from $6 (amazing dumplings at the Dumpling House, 118 Eldridge St) to $300 (dinner at Babbo), all over NYC. Spending the summer in the Hamilton/Ancaster

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1090517873457727412004-07-20T11:57:00.000-05:002004-07-22T12:37:53.456-05:00

One of the first times Dan came to New York City with me, he was excited to experience Chinese food in "the white containers, that people eat out of with chopsticks like on Friends". My favorite Chinese restaurants in Manhattan are Wo Hop(17 Mott St.; 212-267-2536) for Cantonese cuisine (open 24 hours, nonetheless), and for Szechuan we like Grand Sichuan(1049 Second Ave. at 55th Street; 212-355-

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1090515310387308812004-07-09T11:44:00.000-05:002004-07-22T11:56:37.903-05:00

One of the best things about staying in Canada is that I'm able to have an herb garden (my apartment in NYC has no outdoor access and doesn't get enough sunshine to keep even fake plants alive). When I first arrived in Ancaster, I planted rosemary, basil, mint, cilantro, dill and chives, and now I'm always looking for recipes to incorporate my fresh herbs into meals. I made this sauce to serve

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1090346684979396682004-07-08T12:49:00.000-05:002004-07-22T10:51:07.256-05:00

399 Church Street Toronto, Ontario Canada (416) 598-0004 Breakfast, including coffee & tip: $10 Just wanted to tip you off to this great breakfast place in Toronto. You'll have to wait at peak times, but fast, friendly service and perfect post-hangover (or just pig-out) omelettes, frittatas, etc. all served with pancakes (in addition to toast and homefries). The best part is that they

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1090331571065653322004-07-07T08:05:00.000-05:002004-07-22T10:53:08.003-05:00

After a couple of weeks back in New York City and Connecticut, it was time to head back to Canada. Dan surprised me with a couple of nights in Toronto, including dinner reservations at Bymark for Summerlicious. ($20.04 lunches/$30.04 dinners, akin to NYC's Restaurant Week.) Lighting created a warm, intimate environment, and despite the contemporary, stylized decor (it reminded both of us of Craft

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1090277441649355032004-07-03T16:11:00.000-05:002004-07-22T10:54:24.840-05:00

Very few things cater to my obsessions with delicious food and getting great deals like New York City's Restaurant Week and Toronto's Summerlicious. For about $20 ($30 at dinner), many of the cities' popular restaurants offer three-course meals where savvy diners have an opportunity to experience new places, often at a fraction of the typical price. For New York City's Summer Restaurant Week,

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7465389.post-1088447739795842052004-06-28T13:19:00.000-05:002004-07-22T10:54:50.576-05:00

Well, I'm home visiting my folks in Southbury, CT and while Connecticut may not be a mecca of extraordinary cuisine, there *are* some fabulous places worth visiting. Yesterday, we went to The Sycamore Drive-In in Bethel (282 Greenwood Ave., Bethel, (203) 748-2716). It's an old-fashioned car-hop, that's been open continuously since 1948. Experience car-hop service without leaving your car, or

Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07064090906968594469noreply@blogger.com0