The Spotted Pig

So ya’ll know about the book… WHICH IS AMAZING, I got it as soon as it got out. GET IT.

Now let’s talk about her food.. it was a beautiful Saturday so after walking all the way from the edge of FiDi…. all the way to almost Times Sq..

First by the waters… and then we decided to walk on the HighLine since I’ve never been…. We walked all the way to the end… and then went down to Gastro Market for a few beers. Ahhh beergardens.

I don’t remember what they were except they were in caskets and red ales.

We ended up walking to the The Spotted Pig RIGHT before the big dinner rush. Phew. Last two seats at the bar. Booyeah!

I was surprised at how little pork items were actually ON the menu. Come on.. Spotted Pig? We need a full on all out pigged out menu….

Pork Rillette with Pickles & Mustard

What could go wrong with pork topped off with lardo?!.. You don’t even need the grainy mustard on the side….. just a huge scoop of the lardo and pork from the rillette on top of the perfectly grilled crostini… toasty fresh… and you’re good.  The pickled gherkins and pearl onions were a nice touch…

Crispy Pig’s Ear Salad with Lemon Caper Dressing

This was the first thing I saw on the menu and I KNEW I had to get it.  I was surprised that it was a whole pig’s ear… unless it’s connected to the head still, I’m used to eating it cut into thin strips.  The pig’s ear was crispy, not greasy at all, and paired lovely with the refreshing salad of mixed greens, endive and italian parsley underneath.

Grilled Skirt Steak with Roasted Beets & Horseradish Cream

J shared this with me. AMAZING horseradish butter and simple braised beets and beet greens. Delicious. We weren’t asked how we wanted it to be cooked but it was cooked to a beautiful medium rare, on the rare side. YUM. Buttery meat.

Prosciutto & Ricotta Tart with Marjoram

This was an appetizer but I got it as my main to share with J.  A flakey crisp tart topped with prosciutto, risotto, greens and shavings of parm. DELICIOUS.

And of course, a very much needed – and always necessary side dish

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

These literally melted in your mouth.  Most definitely NOT good for you but sooooo delicious.

I kinda wish we got the burger as well, it’s supposed to be awesome and I saw a TON of people order it.

Afterwards we ended up at Proletariat for beers….. and PRETZEL BREAD

The stout cheese dip was meh….. it was all about the curry mustard sauce!!!!

Met up with a few friends and ended up at Dive Bar Lucy’s..

Great times.

I’ve been cooking a lot more lately….

My trips to NYC has been inspiring me to cook more lately.  I’ve been able to experiment more and more with different foods.  I’m sure I’ve mentioned some of these from previous trips:

The dangerous habanero chicken pizza… which was delicious but deadly.

My famous meatballs…

My Short Ribs over Mushrooms and Chard

But here are some more recent things I’ve made in NYC

OK this isn’t really “made” but J and I decided to have a simple wine, cheese and meats night…. with steamed artichokes and baked Yam fries..

Iberico, Chorizo, Duck Salumi and Coppa

So many cheeses…

Half of these are chili/cinnamon rubbed, the other half are truffle butter rubbed..

And then the next night I made a warm grilled brussel sprouts salad with different peppers and veggies… topped with habanero vindaloo chicken…

And some Kale Chips and Fresh Avocado

STOP BEING USELESS
AND START BEING A CHEESEBURGER

So these were the peppers…

That cause me to split my finger open…

and go to the ER :[ WAAA

And then the day before Miami.. uh… night before, we had a a dinner party

I forgot to take pics of the panko pan fried quail I made [marinated in Honey , Orange, Habanero] which each person got a whole quail, cut in half on top of mixed greens as an App]

and I made Duck Breast “Confit style”

Jonathan brought Capri Sun BEER!!!!!!! <3

Oh back to the duck… slow cooked for like 2-3 hours… and then popped into oven with some balsamic vinegar, red wine, pear, raspberries, shallots and fig jam,

See… demolished the salad already… I served with truffled broccolini and mushrooms and baked chili/cinnamon yam fries.

And then the night after we got back from Miami I made bunny curry. YES. Rabbit Curry. And it was actually NOT overpowering on the bunny as some people said it would be.  You could taste the bunny cuz I left them in big chunks…the legs were kept whole, etc…..  just celery, carrots, potatoes, yams, onions, a whole rabbit [I butchered a rabbit for the first time] 

Some steamed okra on the side…

And then I put it all on a bed of mixed greens, freshly made sushi rice, topped off with rabbit meat and curry sauce. DELISH!

OK, now that we’re caught up on that I feel a bit better and will continue onto more NYC eats and Miami posts.

SDLT Family Brunch

I love my brunch, as does my parents. We LIVE for brunch.  We try to eat out at least a brunch or dinner every week, as a family.  We headed to SDLT since I had to get some stuff at Sephora and my mom wanted to shop around.  I was feeling SO sick and just couldn’t get up AT ALL.  So reservation for 1pm changed to 2pm and we barely made it.  I can’t tell if it’s allergies or something else but appetite was low, as was energy. Must. Keep. Going.

Bread Basket
Foccacia, Whole Grain & French Bread
… delicious, fresh baked and super creamy butter. MMMM….

Kelly loves her bread basket from SDLT ;D

Soup Du Jour —
White Bean & Kale Soup

It was filled with corn, squash, carrots, celery, other veggies, and obviously white beans and kale… altho not very much of the kale, SIGH. and a yummy garlic crostini YUM.  This was SUCH a good soup and I devoured it!  I reluctantly shared with my parents, not cuz I didn’t want them to try it, but cuz I wanted to swim in a TUB of it. It was super filling too since I got full real fast after. YUMMMMMM… Totally making this on my own next time I make soup. Hurry up and come fall.

Chock full of sexy goodness…

My FREE Rosemary Pommes Frites that I get everytime I sign into Foursquare there. BAD. ASS. Thin, crispy, some were overfried – which I LOVE, and of course a yummy herb-y taste NOM. Salty happiness!!!!

Mesclun mixed greens, soft boiled egg, smoked bacon, toasted focaccia, apple cider vinaigrette with Grilled Shrimp and Grilled Chicken

I usually ask for dressing on the side and a side of hot sauce. They gave me a smidgen of hot sauce on the side, and mixed in the dressing.  Good thing it was a pretty light apple-y one :] YUM.  I was hesitant at first but it turned out to be delish.  I demoished the whole entire thing.

Poached Egg Perfection = SEX

Mommy got this: Mushroom and gruyere cheese omelette and Applewood smoked bacon

It comes with home fries but mommy opted for bacon instead – with my suggestion.. :] She loved it, and she’s not a huge cheese fan.. she’s never had gruyere so I’m glad she liked… daddy like it too, WOOT.

Daddy got the special of the day… Why? HE LOVES THE PIG – he and bf are gonna get along FINELY

Peach Glazed Pulled Pork Shoulder with Grilled Watermelon and Potato Salad

First time my parents had GRILLED watermelon. YUM.  The pork was tender, and altho not really pulled, it’s fell apart easily.  The potato salad was chunky and lightly mayo’d YUM. Also came with flowers.

Leg legs leggs