More Crock Pot Adventures - Pot Roast

HUGE shout out to DJ's mom who kindly shared some of her crock pot cookbooks with us on our last visit.  As a result, we found quite possibly the easiest and tastiest recipe for pot roast EVER.

Recipe:

Result:

(To quote DJ: "Top Chef material!" lol)

AMAZING!  LOVING the crock pot life!!!

No Sleep Till Brooklyn - 1 Year Later

Today marked exactly one year since DJ became a Brooklynite!  That, combined with a serious case of cabin fever after the weekend of Hurricane Irene, spurred an impromptu decision to leave the apartment for dinner at Thistle Hill Tavern, a Park Slope joint that had been on our "to try" list for quite some time.

It's a cute spot with the classic dark wood and wrap-around windows of corner taverns.  The vibe definitely makes you think of pub crawls in London, so Mel was pumped to order a Pimms cocktail.  DJ - in honor of his new residence - got a Brooklyn Eagle (makers mark, combier, carpano antico, lime juice).  Both delicious and refreshing!

Then for our meal we both wanted to be adventurous and try the grilled octopus, and decided it would be a treat to get it with a side of the mac-and-cheese.  The mac-and-cheese had a great smoky flavor thanks to a combination of smoked provolone, fontina, and pecorino.  We've been going for more high protein-low carb eating lately, so we may regret this seriously later.  But it was worth it.  :)  Very rich and indulgent - sinfully good.

As for the octopus, it was tasty but DJ noted: "It was good, but not Top Chef good.  The flavors were fighting each other."  The dish includes an unexpected combination of the piece of octopus, apple, saffron, and sausage.  So just on appearance, it is quite intriguing.  But once you put all the elements in your mouth, the salt is somewhat overwhelming.  

Perhaps others who have visited the tavern learned this as well because once we were done eating we noticed that literally every other table had at least one order of the hamburger and fries.  Noted.

To close out the meal, DJ picked out the delectable chocolate tort served warm with Guinness caramel and whipped cream.  It was just as delicious as the warm chocolate cake you'll find in most restaurants, but the Guinness caramel really gave it an extra unique kick.

 

Will we return to Thistle Hill?  Perhaps.  Seems like a nice place to hang out on a blustery winter day.  But we'll definitely take the hint and get burgers and fries. 

The Weekend of DJ's Birthday and our 2nd Anniversary!

PARTY TIME!!

This weekend was an extra special time for us because it marked DJ's birthday and the 2nd Anniversary of the day we met.   :)  And boy did we celebrate for days!

Friday:  Celebrating with Friends

DJ invited a few close friends out for some good BBQ and drinks at Hill Country.  This place is awesome for group outings because of its very efficient system.  When you walk in you're given a card listing all the possible food to order.  You bring the card up to various counters and they check off whatever you pick to eat and drink.  At the end of the night, everyone just brings their individual cards up to the counter and handles their bill on their own.  No lengthy accounting sessions to figure out how much each person owes.  Love it!

And the food was yummy too - typical BBQ fare.  One fun surprise:  they have a drink named "Melissa's High Maintenance Mandarin", and it's made with Ithaca beer!!!!  :-D

Saturday:  Celebrating with Family

We headed to Fairfield (with Sara - yay!) to spend the afternoon with DJ's parents, Manny and Hirut.  We got to have fabulous homemade Ethiopian food, and DJ's mom surprised him with a birthday cake. 

Sunday:  Sag Harbor

We wanted to have a mini-getaway for the weekend, and after researching all the local options decided to see what Sag Harbor is all about.  It's a very cute little town, with one main strip that houses all the mom-and-pop shops and restaurants.  Our first afternoon there we tried the famed B. Smith's Restaurant.  It has a lovely decor, and all the seating (indoor and outdoor) faces the harbor so you can gaze at the boats and water while you dine. 

We enjoyed AMAZING watermelon margaritas (made with very fresh juice from local watermelons)...

 and both tried our first fried green tomatoes and lobster rolls.  Tasty!

The next day we tried a local bistro for brunch:  Pomme Cafe.  DJ stayed with the seafood trend and got lobster benedict (awesome breakfast indulgence), and Mel went for a chicken salad with parmesan and artichoke (a combination she will definitely try to replicate).

 On the road home, we made a quick stop at Duckwalk Vineyards to pick up a few bottles of Long Island wine.  The guy there was really nice and gave us his secret recipe for a great steak sauce made with one of their wines.  We'll definitely visit them again!

Monday:  Card Competition

On the way back to Brooklyn, we were passing by Toots and Toto's place so we figured we'd stop in for a quick round of cards.  It wound up being an epic game of canasta with some surprising plays (freezing the deck twice in one hand?!; DJ going out while Toto was holding the entire deck he just picked up?!).  The Birthday Boy came out triumphant in the end with a 2,000 point lead, Toto's famous lasagna for dinner, and surprise birthday cupcakes.

Tuesday:  Anniversary Lunch

In honor of our two years together, we went to lunch at one of our favorite splurge restaurants: Quality Meats.
We shared a delightful crab/avocado salad
(which we're DEFINITELY going to try to replicate)...

then DJ went for a filet mignon with creamed spinach and Mel got a salad with sliced peppered filet mignon on top.  Delightful!

Afterward DJ was in the mood for a little something sweet, so he ordered the Mexican spice cake thinking it would be a nice small slice as opposed to the pints of ice cream they are known for.  But, as it turns out the Mexican spice cake comes layered IN a pint of ice cream, kind of like tiramisu.  lol  Oops.

Needless to say, we didn't finish it but it was cool to look at.  And it reminded us of the small piece of tiramisu we shared on our first date when Mel found out it was DJ's birthday.  :)  Aw, memories.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DJ!!

Adventures in Cooking

Mel's summer leisure time has led to some fun home-cooking.

One night we tried a new jerk chicken marinade from Fresh Direct.  DJ liked it, but Mel found it to be waaaaay too salty.  So she has now vowed to figure out how to make her own.  We'll keep you posted.

And crock pot experimentation continued with a recipe for BBQ pork spare ribs.  Result:  FABULOSITY!!!!!  The recipe was extremely easy, and now that we know our crock pot is very strong Mel subtracted a bit of cooking time.  In the end, the ribs were tasty and tender - fell right off the bone.  DJ went so far as to say we have no reason to go to a BBQ restaurant anymore.  lol  Hooray for crock pot success!

Leo Party 2011

Toots and Toto were kind enough to offer up their house for a Leo Party this year!  Woo!!

To keep things low-stress and simple, we ordered a lot of the food from Valley Caterers:  BBQ chicken, rotisserie chicken, and a variety of salads.  Turned out to be a great idea because people loved the chicken and kept asking who made it and where they could get the recipe!  Mel also added azefa to the spread, Almaz made her famous broccoli salad, Kenyon brought along some rice and pork, and Angela treated us to her crowd-pleasing rum cake.  It was like Thanksgiving.

And fret not: The Grillmaster was in full effect!  After Toots and Toto gave him an apron with his appropriate title, DJ got to work trying out a burger recipe he thought would be perfect for the day.  Folks couldn't get enough.  Some even went back for thirds!  All hail The Grillmaster!

And of course, all hail the Leos (including Alex who was with us in spirit from California)!  :)

ECS At Our Best!

It was a week for catching up with the ECS crew (Mel's co-workers turned fab friends from her old school)!  

First, we met up with Sean and Nilda at Sean's surprise birthday gathering.  It was a fun throwback to the days of 6th grade pizza parties, complete with a classic setting (Patsy's Pizza), a helium balloon, and some serious party favors.  ;)

A few days later, we made a plan to catch up with Rob and Emily at abistro.  (They're trying to hit up all their fav BK restaurants before they move to Washington Heights.)

One of Mel's fav treats at this place is their sorrel, so she was quite ecstatic to hear that they had some left after a busy day.  :)

 The table shared some fried calamari as an appetizer (done to perfection, though a bit garlicky), and then we moved on to our main courses:

DJ's trout

Mel's marinated tofu

abistro never disappoints, and it was a great chance to hear what's new with the newlyweds!

Date Day at The Farm

It had been a while since we had a day all to ourselves, so we decided to have a Date Day.  :)

First we checked out the movie Friends with Benefits, which actually wound up being a lot funnier than we thought it would be.  (Hooray for having low expectations!)

Then we headed to our favorite local haunt, The Farm, for a leisurely Sunday dinner.  

DJ tried the pork meatballs (quite savory!)...

and Mel went for the summer squash (the seasoning made an ordinary vegetable pop!).

Yay for Date Day!