Duck Breast with Fig Sauce over Grilled Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes

I made this recipe a week or two ago and I thought I’d post about it….

Sauce:
Red Wine
Shallots
Figs
Balsamic Vinegar
Maple Syrup (only if figs are not sweet enough for you)
Black Pepper
Rosemary

Reduce.

[ps. if you haven’t noticed, I tend to cook by taste, feeling and not by measurements – unless I cake, so sorry… I also do not add salt to my food because I tend to have a bad reaction to too much salt, so I only eat it when it’s unavoidable outside of my house/cooking, but I promise you the flavor is there… that’s why I always use a lot of spices and herbs.]

Duck:
Take the duck breast and score diagonally and sprinkle with Black Pepper
Cook with extra duck fat (always start skin side down on a cold pan)
When you flip it (after skin is crispy) add xxx and xxx in pan (can’t give away all my secrets right?)
Add rosemary, [or thyme] cook to liking.

Veggies:
Use duck fat to coat asparagus and my beautiful multicolored cherry tomatoes.  Cook until asparagus is still firm, not limp with a bit of char.  The tomatoes should have a bit of char as well and will burst by themselves. Pop!

Garnish with a freshly sliced fig! Oh I so fancy yo. LOL.

End result: Yumzers! ENJOY!

“…so what now???”

I was asked this tonight, during dinner. What do I want now?….

Let’s first talk about what we ate tonight…. we were at The Local, one of my favorites in my area, which I’m sure you have heard me rage about on my facebook, twitter, and probably even on here (although I don’t do quite as many food posts on here anymore)

We started off with the Salt & Pepper Calamari with pickled peppers, ginger salsa, and cilantro…. which was delicious! I kind of wish they didn’t have the sauce on the bottom of the plate though which makes some of it kind of soggy after awhile.  But the plate was HUGE!  They have really upped their portion sizes since they first opened!

We also had the Roasted Garlic Hummus with “garden vegetables” (today was just carrots and cucumber slices) and grilled pita (which definitely had cardamom in it – which gave it a super “Indian” feel…)  Delicious as usual… just too much EVOO and herbs/garlic in the middle of the hummus, which, I personally stayed clear from.  The hummus was rich, yummy and garlicky enough as it was.

It was quite tasty…. I love hummus myself, so I was enjoying it like a mofo.  Plus I love carrots and recently found a love again for cucumbers…I think it’s the way they sliced it.

Then came our entrees.  My lovely lady date got the Herb-Marinated Half Chicken that came with garlic mashed potatoes and over sautéed spinach – which I have had before, so I highly recommended it.  It was loved.  Everything was perfectly seasoned – but, like I said, a HUGE portion.  Seemed a whole lot larger than the last time I got it.

I was craving beef… and I’ve had the short ribs and the steak tips and the salads with the steak so I noticed they had something new… a Chimichurri Skirt Steak on top of braised kale with steak-cut sweet potato fries.  The steak, while I got it ‘medium rare’ was still cooked medium/medium-well.  Which is why I always ask for things rare to medium rare, or else you’ll just get it well-done and overcooked.

The steak was delicious, as was the chimichurri, though I felt it could’ve been more present – it was pretty…. not “bland” but light. Present, but not really there.  The kale though, tasted overpowering and the salt was just crunching through…. wasn’t my fav.  I stole some spinach from the chicken dish instead.  My dinner date wasn’t too big of a fan of the kale either.  Meh.

[ps. for a nice chimichurri sauce check out Bon Appétit – my fav goto place for inspiration]

I got a nice Californian Cabernet Sauvignon [Red, duh] which took me forever to sip on. Strangely so. [I’ve been cutting down on my alcohol so it doesn’t take much lately]

Delicious.

So  now back to the question…. what am I …. wait what?  I think I’m tipsy now.

Ohhhh so what NOW?!  What now????  After what?  “After taking a chance at love and moving to another country and coming back, so soon after, broken hearted”?  Well, I take that and I continue on. [BTW have you noticed how awesome my hair is? Yay for my new waves/curls]

I can say that I went to another country with full on intentions of nothing but the best… and yes I came home, a bit sad.  I wouldn’t call myself broken.  I’ve been broken so many times, it’s more about who can piece me back together, has the patience to, now, than to say who broke me apart.  How do  you break when you’re already broken?

Am I just damaged goods?

I don’t think so.  I just think that the one who should be with me hasn’t realized it yet.  Or found me yet?! Who knows.  I hope it’s…

…

…

… does it even matter who I say, unless it’s mutual?!

So there it is.  A splendid  dinner and a so-so answer to the question asked.

Buenos Noches mis Amores <3

Duck Breast “Confit” Dinner with delicious sides….. and hilarious Taylor Swift “music video” dance by Miss Tiffie at the end

July 4th Dinner Cruise with Odyssey

Screw the Hurricane… Odyssey Cruises

Pre-gaming at Copley Square Hotel FER FREEEE… they had beers, and burgers and hot dogs… NOM

Was craving burgers.. so had a cute little slider.. NOM NOM.. usually the hotel has free wine happy hour but since it was July 4th they had specials!

All dressed up and ready to party

Yea I ordered like 3 bottles of wine/champagne… oops

Creamy salty butter… NOM

Cheese tray… prob a little too much

Cuz I also added on an extra shrimp cocktail/ceviche

Watermelon Salad
Arugula, Romaine, Goat Cheese, Watermelon, Sugared Pecans, Balsamic Vinaigrette

Screw Hurricane Arthur… still got my modeling on, on deck

Gorgeous View, even in the stormy weather

Roasted Chicken
Heirloom Potatoes, Thyme Demi-Glace, Fried Leeks

And of course I got the

Odyssey Short Ribs
Fontina Scalloped Potatoes, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Carrots & Squash, Cabernet Demi-Glace

Desert was some of everything…

Bread Pudding, Chocolate Cake, Berry Galette and Sorbet… with more bubbly

Actually ended up taking short ribs and cheese home.. OK FINE I ordered too much… but it was delicious, fun and amazing. Probably don’t wanna spend that much on a July 4th again tho… hahahha – and we didn’t even get fireworks. BOOOOO…

岩波庭餐廳 Zen Garden Fusion Cuisine

Being in Yilan…. at the spa resort, my uncle reserved a place for us at the Zen Fusion for dinner…. basically we got a set menu and it was DELICIOUS.

We all wore the kimonos that the spa provided…. which was sooooooooo inspiring and free-feeling

Sparkling Sake… oh Uncle, you know me too well

Delicious Scallion Bread…… Yilan is known for their scallions…. so this was amazing

Afterwords when my family went up to the rooms to gossip and talk I stayed at the bar… having whiskey and wine.

Before heading to the hot springs bath in my room to chill out with a bottle of wine.

Life is just so grand.

EVA Hello Kitty from LAX to Taipei!!!!!….

For once I had a plane ride at 6pm instead of 6am….  so off I go…. Boston to LA….

I’m excited for the warmer weather…. so tank top it is

Got a yummy Chicken Marinara with Green Beans over Rice meal… Salad, Roll, Butter, the works… had some nuts too…. MMM, nuts… (I may have already snacked and had a few glasses of free booze at the VIP Airlines Lounge earlier…)

LA!!!!… Beautiful view…

Sat in the VIP lounge and ate tons of food include this self made “Asian Salad” with Champagne….  I took some of the “Asian Salad with Wonton Strips” And added some Teriyaki Chicken to it… why not?!… a lot of the other stuff didn’t look too appealing except for Korean Ramen and Japanese Noodles… all which was consumed (duh)

WAIT “Why is this a Hello Kitty ticket?????”

HOLY CRAP!!! We’re on the EVA HELLO KITTY PLANE!!!!

Life is now… complete!!!!

Scallops

Sea Bass? It was freaking CHILEAN SEA BASS!!!! SOOOOO good… and of course more and more booze…

And los of veg…

Dessert was fruits and a yummy mousse cake, some tea… and more wine :]

Midnight snack while watching FROZEN was a Turkey Sandwich… which, I have to say was greasy and pretty gross….. sorry EVA… I didn’t like it, maybe I would’ve more if there was a Hello Kitty face on it…

Breakfast Time…

Coffee….

Congee…. with 1000 yr egg, fried tofu with fish ball…. shredded dried pork, Fermented Spicy Tofu, pickles… and then some…

And fruits <3

Oh hello…. Taiwan beer… I’m definitely back in Taiwan

WEEEEEEEEE 5am and ready to party

Yes we’re back in Taiwan

Craigie on Main – 8 Course Tasting Menu

The one and only Woo Bear, my favorite NYPD PoPo/Detective/Bodyguard/Bestie came to visit me in Boston and being so busy with work lately we FINALLY got a chance to meet up, rant, chat, laugh and just have a jolly awesome time.  I picked him up from his hotel and even though we got there early they had a table for us already set for us.

Woo Bear & Peep Peep unite!!!!!

AKA

He’s the Gru to my Agnes

I told him we had to go to Craigie on Main.. it’s farm to table and seasonal and just one of my favorite places MUST GO TO EAT AT places in Boston… well it’s in Cambridge but same difference. I adore their open kitchen. And everyone there is SO friendly and awesome. PLUS every time you get the tasting menu you get different and new things it’s NEVER the same.

After careful, not so careful thinking we decided to order the everything 8 course tasting menu.  We started off with a champagne for me and a “manly” scotch drink for him. I think the waitress said it was a scotch rimmed with absinthe?!… I thought it was delicious!!!!

We also ordered a bomb ass bottle of French Burgundy Pinot Noir – mad $$ but soooo worth it

I asked for them to write out the menu for us so I could have it when I went home… obviously so I could blog!!!

And then it began….. as we sipped our yummy drinks, the food started flowing….

Trio of Amuse Bouche

Citrus Cured Striped Bass, Avocado, Red Onion, Pickled Pine Nuts

This was Woo Bear’s favorite… mainly cuz of the avocado he said.  It was good and reminded me of tuna tartare, I think mainly cuz of the color, would’ve never thought it was striped bass – but I guess it was cuz of the citrus cure.  You couldn’t really taste the citrus but it was a good bite.

Razor Clams, Uni Vinaigrette

Texturally wise, this was my favorite of the three. It was obviously clams… and I LOOOOOVE razor clams.. I’ve never had it sliced before and it was amazing.  Need to start taking my razor clams not whole on a shell… hehe…

Smoked Bluefish Rillettes, Hackleback Roe

Taste-wise this was y favorite. It was a beautifully soaked fish… and with the caviar and everything it was pretty divine.

The waitress loved that I had a champagne glass tattooed on me haha..

Sea Trout Pastrami
Winter Chicories, Blood Orange, Pistachio Vinaigrette

I actually expected a smokier tasting salmon, from the looks of it, but the taste was impeccable.  The texture of the salmon was of smoked salmon but it definitely had that “pastrami” kick to it.  With the added crunch of the chicory and pistachio it was heaven in each bite.  It actually would’ve been an amazing salad with more chicory and pistachios but deeeeeelish!!!!!!!

Roasted Sturgeon à la Poêle
Camargue Red Rice, Red Onion Soubise, Beurre Rouge

When the last dish came out we finally finished our first drinks and got to get into the the wine, which paired PERFECTLY, as waitress said it would, with the food… It was salty was soooooo gooooood.  Not sure what the greens were but the rice was just barely el dente and chewy and amazing, I almost thought it was wheat berries…the surgeon [this was the first time Woo Bear ever had it, but I have] was soooo buttery and beautifully cooked.  Like I said, it was salty but it still tasted awesome….

Delicious wine with an amazing friend!!!

Spice-Crusted Striped Bass Kama

Wait. What? KAMA? UM, I LOVE YOU CRAIGIE.   I love Fish Collar Bone [aka Kama]

Even the waitress told me to make sure to take a pic – I think she saw me taking pictures before… and probably assumed since I was asian HAHA

It’s all about this:
the Tuscan Olive Oil, Citrus Vinaigrette

And cuz we were “her friends” she poured it on for us. AWWWWW I felt so loved….!!!! She even said “Of course Tiff, you’re my friend” hahahaha… maybe she remembers me from my past eatings there…. LOLOLOL… I always eat SO much here

This was my piece… Woo Bear and me both picked our pieces CLEAN!!!!!… We ASIAN YO.  We waste NOTHING!!!

House-Made Red Beet Conchiglie Pasta
Boudin Noir Ragoût, Fava Leaves

This was beautiful. Fucking beautiful. BEET PASTA? It’s like taking a veggie I love with a pasta I love and combining the two.  When I first looked at it, I was like UHHH.. meat? blah? WHAT? But it was delicious.   The sauce didn’t overwhelm the beet taste in the pasta and the lava leaves added a nice green freshness to it.   Will definitely try to make a beet pasta in the future… altho I’ll probably make pappardelle or gnocchi.

Slow-Roasted Veal Sweetbreads
Wild Mushrooms, Farm-Fresh Egg, Chorizo Sauce

This may have been my favorite dish of the night, minus the bone marrow later, but I can never not LOVEEEEEEEEEE and orgasm with bone marrow.  But the poached egg was SOOOO beautiful.  The sauce, the mushrooms and of course SWEETBREADS.  I really need to find a place that sells sweetbreads so I can start cooking them.  They’re one of my favorite delicacies.. even more than bone marrow and foie gras cuz I can never find them to cook them myself… and because of that, I ALWAYS ALWAYS have to order sweetbreads when it’s on the menu.. well I guess the same with the other two but still….

And then when we thought it was all over….

Axis Venison Two Ways: Spice-Crusted Leg, Crepinette
Mustard Spaetzle, Hakurei Turnips, Red Cabbage Purée

And obviously we got it with the BONE MARROW!!!!

Can you believe they asked us if we would rather have duck fat roasted carrots OR bone marrow? UMMM… we didn’t even look at each other and Woo Bear and I both screamed BONE MARROW!!!

It was all so freaking delicious….  the crepinette was SOOOOOOOO delicious. It was a yummy venison meatball!!!… and the venison leg, sliced and cooked rare was just SOOO tender and delicious.  I ended up eating the marrow on toast and then the rest of the marrow all over my veal dish and licking it up. The spaetzle was crunchy and divine and while it was from “mustard” it had almost a delicate “cheese” taste to it.  Definitely some of the yummiest spaetzle I’ve had.  The turnips were great.. I thought it was daikon – which I guess is basically a turnip/carrot – and just all of the items combined was ORGASMIC. We had SOOOOOO much bone marrow it could feed a family of 10.

Palate Cleanser
House-made Lime Frozen Yogurt
Basil Seeds

Delicious. Refreshing. YUM.

We got this amazing Bourbon:
Michter’s 20yr Cask Strength Single Barrel 114.2°

At 67$ a glass it better be fucking amazing and it was… smelled like caramel and was soooooo tasty. Yeah disgustingly expensive but also disgustingly delicious.

Dessssert time.. so it was definitely more than just 8 courses….

Moroccan ‘Upside Down’ Carrot Cake
Goat Cheese Sorbet, Dates, Caramelized Almonds

I told them no goat cheese but they gave me some anyways.  I ate it anyways.  But the cake was super dry, even though I loved the look/concept of the cake.  Next time I make carrot cake I’ll have a beautiful slice of carrot on top.  It didn’t go with the goat cheese even tho I tried it together to make it “wetter” and neither did the sauce.  It was kinda sad to see such a fantastic meal end so badly.

Chocolate-Fernet Branca Crémeux
Roasted Lemon Puree, Tarragon Ice Cream

I don’t really think that was what we got… it tasted like mint ice cream on chocolate mousse and crunchy sticks hahahaha…. it was good but didn’t feel like a FULL dessert, like a side to a dessert…

BUT AT LEAST THIS SAVED THE NIGHT

We had a special complimentary Hot Cocoa to warm us up… there was definitely some chilies and cardamum in it <3

Everything was talked about, we definitely spent a good few hours there… and in the end we realized:

Love you Woo Bear. Can’t wait to play again soon!!!!! Miss you dearly already!!!!

Italian Date Night….

I know I know it’s bad when I go on a date. But I did go on one recently… to an Italian place, super hidden away, called Marcellino’s…

Leaving….

He doesn’t even like wine but he ordered a bottle and share it with me… UMMM… kinda really awesome

Carpaccio – Sliced Beef Filet, Arugula, Fennel, Parmesan, Lemon Vinaigrette, Capers

His VEAL Saltimbocca – Prosciutto, Sage, Mozzarella, Demi Glaze which he gave me a taste and it was YUMMMMM apparently it’s his always go – to.

And the waiter recommended to me the
Fruitti Di Mare – Shrimp, Calamari, Mussels & Linguine in a spicy red sauce —- which I asked for to be extra spicy… but it wasn’t :T But it was still super yummy so I had the leftovers the day after… there was SO MUCH FREAKING PASTA

We headed to a bar after… tried this Rebel IPA which was yummy

But we ended up having some Whiskey…FUCK! I got sauce on me…

:[

Best Vegas Trip Ever… NICK CARTER – I LOVE YOU ELLIOT [Day 3]

So we realized the day before that NICK CARTER + LAUREN KITT were having their bachelor and bachelorette party at the Palms!!! WHAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!!… Insane. They went to MOON the night we were at Light, but we HAD to get into the “official” party at Ghostbar.. and while we were told to go to XS or something, WE HAD TO GO. It’s fucking NICK FUCKING CARTER!!!!!…. So thank you to my sexiest Brit friend Elliot we got in :] I love you, you beautiful creature you <3 I’m so glad you’re coming back to the States soon… ok.. I’m off track…

After last night.. this was us basically all day.

But somehow we functioned… had leftover pizza from… yeah the night before.. we woke up all bruised and cut up, WTF?! I think we fought drunk bitches or SOMETHING… I needed to pick out something awesome for Nick Carter’s party and ended up with this….

And Kelly is a creeper – I LOVE IT

Hair done. Dress did.  How I look?

And then the red lipstick came on… and it was BRING IT.

TWINSIESSSSSSSSSS

We were vampires for the night. Sequin black dresses and red lips :] AHHH!!!!!

She always has the same face… mine is rarely ever normal.

First off, dinner at Nove Italiano… which is an awesome story in itself.

We went to Nove Italiano

Amuse Bouche… I don’t even remember what it was.. I think some raw fish bite…

YAY “Hosemade” Sausage – we actually got this tho hahaha…

The “Bread” it looks so sad and bare on there…

Shrimp Franchaise…
It just says on the menu “the best you’ve ever had” BUT MOTHERFUCKER.. it tasted like old shrimp and it gave me FOOD FUCKING POISONING.. I was puking at the club after…. UGH.. there was no texture.. so we ate it with the breadsticks… this definitely needs some crunch factor.. and fresher shrimp. UGH.

It’s okay tho the other food made up for it.

The Classic Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad: Pesto, Pine Nuts, Mozzarella Di Bufala

I like how they split everything for us in half without us needing to share it off of a plate.

Branzino with Salsa Verde

It was good but not amazing… they did filet it and split it for us.. I duno it just seemed….. subpar?! It wasn’t bad and it was definitely fresh and tasty.. but not for 46$

The highlight of the night was the Spaghetti & Meatballs with Sausage: Veal & Pork Meatballs, Housemade Sausage, Basil, Tomato

I could NOT stop eating it… Kelly was DONE like barely a quarter way thru and she went to the bathroom and I devoured most of it. THE PASTA IS SOOOOO GOOOOOOD…..

AND THEN they gave us a special treat of biscottis for Kelly’s Bday. Thanks Caesar. You were an awesome waiter minus the shrimp recommendation.

We are ready for Ghostbar.

The view from Ghostbar

So right before Nick came out I was feeling SOOOO shitty.. I had a redbull vodka.. and I just wanted to leave. I ended up puking up all that BAD SHRIMP, cough cough hint hint and felt soooo much better… but that’s not the end of my throwing up story…. but first. Glow sticks and Nick<3

So while they were outside on the balcony I was freezing so I went inside. I kept trying to sit down somewhere but they were all VIP tables and some bitch/girl would always tell me NO. Luckily [maybe] RIGHT by the door while Kelly was outside taking pics of Nick and Lo a group of guys let me sit down at their table for a drink.

In my head was just “OMG SEAT!!!” I don’t even know WTF they made me but it tasted HIDEOUS and within a few seconds of a micro half sip I was ready to puke.  I ran into the bathroom and security came to check on me.  I got all the usual questions, where are we, what club, what year, the president, I was sober as FUCK and they realized that those guys tried to ROOFIE me.

YES. You heard it here, I got ROOFIED in Vegas and they FAILED at it.  Luckily, Kelly found me and we went back to the hotel.  UNHARMED.  The female security and main security guy said that I was lucky that I caught on and threw it all up. PHEW.

But at least I didn’t miss seeing Nick & Lo being an adorable beautiful couple together. <3 Thanks Kelly for putting up with my food poisoning and being roofied.. first time for everything right?!

Heading Home…… to NYC… FIRST CLASS BITCHES… MIA to LGA

First class bitches. Yeah I basically slept the whole way back to pick up our luggage and to the airport cuz of the margaritas….

We had some beers at the Sam Adams at the MIA Airport

And I was ready… in LGA I couldn’t find ANY word search books at the airport…. here I found a good one :]

Gorgeous sunset

You’re gona love my [warm] nuts

Champagne and Red Wine

Dinner was Salad, Salmon w/ Rice and Broccolini… and a yummy Cheesecake

J finished his.. but I didn’t like my salmon, WAYYYY overcooked and dry..  but I inhaled everything else. DUH. Loved the rice… so chewy.. the salad was overdressed… but still, I love my veggies…. cheesecake was creamy and sweet and delish! I think the sauce it came with was some crazy butter sauce which I dared not touch. I just watched Modern Family and giggled and ate rice.

#ALWAYSHUNGRY

I love you Miami see you soon, very soon.