Sausage-Tomato Pasta Dish

With Hurricane Irene rapidly approaching New York City and getting ready to dump lots of rain on us, it was bound to be an indoor weekend anyway.  Then, the mayor announced that the public transportation would be shut down by noon today.  With friends being told that they had to leave their homes as they live in the lowest lying areas of the city, I ended up hosting one of them to ride out the storm in my neighborhood.

New Amsterdam Market’s Second Annual Ice Cream Sunday

For days, heck, weeks, I’ve been waiting for this particular food festival.  That’s not just because, as someone else put it to me today, “Ice cream is my favorite food group.”  So, of course, I planned my whole day around getting to the New Amsterdam Market‘s Second Annual Ice Cream Sunday and fundraiser.  With my precious ten tasting tickets in hand, I scoped out the scene to work on my strategy.  I opted for one cool sample per stand of the ten vendors who were there, although it was a tough challenge to pick just a single flavor from many of them.

Wok+Wine and Foodspotting Event in New York

 

Wok+Wine signage photo

Last night, in the Tribeca offices of Luminary Labs, Wok+Wine teamed up with Foodspotting to host one of their dynamic, seafood-fueled events.  I was one of the 40 folks who helped consume some of the “40 pounds of jumbo shrimp and 40 bottles of delicious wine” that they had laid on for us.  It was definitely one of the more unique and napkin-worthy food get-togethers I’ve ever attended.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

When people ask me about this website, I explain that the name comes from a love of eating – the Gourmand part – and a love of trying new things – the Experimental part.  Both of these are combined in this post about making Vietnamese Spring Rolls.  I don’t remember the first time that I ate them, but they are one of my favorite things to order at Vietnamese restaurants.

Flushing Queens Food Crawl

Yesterday, I got to take part in something that I’ve been dying to do for ages.  I went on a food/eating tour of Flushing, New York, a dynamic and diverse part of Queens.  What was nice was that I was part of a group of folks organized by the New York Social Network, so we had a good guide, and I got to check out what everyone else was eating as well.

Vietnamese Summer Rolls

For the past few weeks, I’ve been on a big Asian food kick.  It stems partly from the course that I took back in early July at the Institute of Culinary Education.  The other driving factor has been the steamy weather, which hasn’t inspired me to turn on the oven to cook a huge, big meal.  Quick, flavorful bites like the Coconut-Citrus Chicken Skewers have been more up my alley.  These Vietnamese Summer Rolls are much the same type of small-bite meal.  Cool, crisp, minimal cooking over a hot surface, and easy to prepare, they are the ideal starter or even an entire a dinner with several of them.

Smorgasburg Return Trip

Today, a friend of mine and I went to check out Smorgasburg.  For me, it was a chance to meet some great new vendors.  She’d never been there.  She’s been my food and wine wing person on several excursions, so I knew that she’d let me drag her around the market to check out the wares on display.  The pile of stuff in the top photo is an indication of what a great shopping day I had.

Coconut-Citrus Chicken Skewers

Last month, when I was at the Fancy Food Show, I had a chance to check out a few new products in Schoolhouse Kitchen‘s range.  Their new Coconut Citrus Vinaigrette is a fantastic addition to their product line.  It is deeply flavorful with a smooth texture from the coconut milk, a dash of spice from the curry, and a zing of citrus shining throughout.  The tastes are all so well balanced and would be perfect for drizzling over a salad of seasonal summer greens.  For me, this brought back memories of eating Thai Chicken Skewers when out with friends.