Stephanie's IReallyLikeFood

National Sandwich Day

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:27:28 GMT

Today is National Sandwich Day!

I couldn't be more excited and you bet I'm going to celebrate! I absolutely love sandwiches and I can make a pretty darn good one if I do say so myself.

There are so many different types of sandwiches, I'm not sure which route to take today. Deli meat, veggie, chicken salad, tuna, a wrap? I do think my favorite type of sandwich is a simple deli mean sandwich with cheese, lettuce, mustard, a little bit of mayonnaise on a bulkie roll. I honestly think the roll and the lettuce is what makes a good sandwich, great.

I also like to keep my sandwiches simple. Adding too many ingredients make it too complicated and it doesn't allow each individual flavor to shine through. I also prefer my bread un-toasted. There are many people out there who do not like cold sandwiches at all and others who absolutely have to have their bread toasted. I am not one of those people, I actually prefer a cold sandwich with cold bread. I like the softness and the chewiness of the roll or bread.

One of the BEST sandwiches I've ever had was actually a bagel sandwich. It had Bacon, Cream Cheese, and Avocado on a Bagel from a place called La Bagel Delight in Brooklyn. I can't believe I haven't recreated it! Ohhh how I swoon over that sandwich!

What about you? What is a must have on your sandwich? Do you prefer your sandwich with toasted bread?

Baked Mac & Cheese

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 02:36:30 GMT

This is one of the best recipes for macaroni and cheese I have yet to try. I love the texture and the flavor is spectacularly cheesy and sharp. I have a weird relationship with breadcrumbs on my macaroni and cheese. I always think or pretend that I like them on there, but once I start eating the dish, I always find myself wishing that it was just plain without them at all. I like the texture though, the slight crunchiness is great, but for some reason I always question them. I will be making this again very soon, maybe even without the breadcrumbs.

From Alton Brown at FoodNetwork

Ingredients

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper

Topping:

3 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quartcasserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Remember to save leftovers for fried Macaroni and Cheese.

Do you like breadcrumbs on your macaroni and cheese?

Have You Been to Eataly Yet?

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:45:35 GMT

An awesome way to describe Eataly: " It'll be a slice of Italy in New York." said by Joe Bastianich, who is half of the brain behind this operation. He and Mario Batali have put together this gigantic warehouse consisting of 7 restaurants, a marketplace with everything you could ever need and to top it off, a Brewpub on the roof featuring beer from Dogfishhead and Russian River Brewery

More Here...

Honey Bee Cake for Nat'l Honey Month

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 16:36:25 GMT

I found this really cute cake from Nigella Lawson on the food network site. The recipe got fantastic reviews and it seems like it's worth the extra bit of work to make those really cute bumblebees!

Enjoy!

Ingredients

Cake

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
1 1/3 cups soft light brown sugar
2 sticks soft butter
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda (baking soda)
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 cup boiling water

Sticky Honey Glaze:

1/4 cup water
1/2 cup honey
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Bees:

1 ounce yellow marzipan
12 flaked almonds
Special equipment: 9-inch springform tin

Directions

Take whatever you need out of the refrigerator so that all ingredients can come to room temperature, and while that's happening, melt the chocolate from the cake part of the ingredients list in a good-sized bowl, either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and butter and line a 9-inch springform tin.

Beat together the sugar and soft butter until airy and creamy, and then add the honey.

Add 1 of the eggs, beating it in with a tablespoon of the flour, and then the other egg with another tablespoon of flour. Fold in the melted chocolate, and then the rest of the flour and baking soda. Add the cocoa pushed through a tea strainer to ensure you have no lumps, and last of all, beat in the boiling water. Mix everything well to make a smooth batter and pour into the prepared tin. Cook for up to 1 1/2 hours, though check the cake after 45 minutes and if it is getting too dark, cover the top lightly with aluminium foil and keep checking every 15 minutes.

Let the cake cool completely in the tin on a rack.

To make the glaze, bring the water and honey to a boil in a saucepan, then turn off the heat and add the finely chopped chocolate, swirling it around to melt in the hot liquid. Leave it for a few minutes, then whisk together. Add the sugar through a sieve and whisk again until smooth.

Choose your plate or stand, and cut out 4 strips of baking paper and form a square outline on the plate. This is so that when you sit the cake on and ice it, the icing will not run out all over the plate. Unclip the tin and set the thoroughly cooled cake on the prepared plate. Pour the glaze over the cold honey bee cake; it might dribble a bit down the edges, but don't worry too much about that. The glaze stays tacky for ages (this is what gives it its lovely melting gooiness) so ice in time for the glaze to harden a little, say at least an hour before you want to serve it. Keep the pan of glaze, (don't wash it up), as you will need it to make the stripes on the bees.

Divide the marzipan into 6 even pieces and shape them into fat, sausage-like bees' bodies, slightly tapered at the ends.

Using a wooden skewer, paint stripes with the sticky honey glaze left in the pan from icing the cake. About 3 stripes look best, and then very carefully attach the flaked almonds at an angle to make the bees' wings, 2 on each one. They might snap as you dig them into the marzipan bodies, so have some spare. I'm afraid to admit, I also like to give them eyes by dipping the point of the skewer in the glaze and thence on the bees: they look more loveable with an expression, which is somehow what the eyes give them, but then this is where the Disney effect comes in. If a more imperial dignity is required, forgo the dotting of the eyes and present this as your Napoleonic Chocolate Cake.

Save The Endangered Honey Bear!

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:12:43 GMT

September 1st kicks off National Honey Month! If you don't already know, there are hundreds of National food holidays throughout the year and they can definitely be fun to celebrate. I will be be mentioning lots more holidays throughout the month, so keep an eye out for one you may want to celebrate!

As part of National Honey Month, I will also be posting various recipes and news about honey throughout the month.

So, what's 'Save The Endangered Honey Bear' all about? More Here...

What a $75 Steak Looks Like!

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:54:50 GMT

Greetings, readers! My name is Dave Conte, and I've been invited to share the details of a recent dinner by my good friend Steph, resident foodie and marathon runner extraordinaire. I hope you enjoy this entry as much as I enjoyed the dinner I'm writing about.

Monday was my birthday, and it was a big one. The big two-five. A quarter-century. Finally, after all these years I can rent a car at a moderately respectable price. Finally, I can... Well, that's it, I guess. Only thing left to look forward to is death after a hopefully long and fulfilling life.

It was a pretty lousy day, honestly. I had a raging sore throat all day, which bummed me out because my girlfriend and I had some big plans to celebrate. Dinner, movie, and ice cream. The usual date night for us, but a little more upscale this time.

Well, we skipped the movie, but we did the dinner, because this is a dinner I've been looking forward to for years now. If there was ever anything I could check off of a bucket list, it would be this, and I wasn't going to let a sore throat stand between me and this life-long goal of mine:

Eating a Kobe Steak.

My friends, let me tell you: It was perfect. Not just the steak, but the whole meal was otherworldly. Easily the best meal I've ever had, and it was fairly well-priced given the cost of the steak.

Uncle Jack's Steakhouse on 35th and 9th was the place. When we arrived we were instantly enamored with the decor and beautiful atmosphere. The sophistication of this place was through the roof. The waitstaff was incredibly friendly and informative. It was truly a pleasure to be served by these people.

We started out with a lovely basket of assorted breads. The thin crackers were exceptionally good, along with the bread that was seasoned with a little bit of dill. A divine way to begin the meal.

After about 20 minutes, the steaks finally came along with our wine. They have an ENORMOUS selection of wine, by the way, and I wish I wrote down what we ordered, but alas I forgot. Anyway, the steaks! I got the 16oz Kobe Steak, my girlfriend got a 12oz NY Strip, both cooked medium, and we split a side of garlic mashed and asparagus. Heaven. Pure heaven.

My girlfriend's steak and the sides:

And here's the Kobe Steak:

Words can't describe this thing. All I can say is that it's perfect. The texture, the flavor, the consistency, everything. Everything you could ever want in a steak is right here. It was utterly spellbinding and nothing, not one thing could have made it better. If you're like me and you're a big steak person, having a Kobe steak at some point in your life should be a requirement, not a desire. You will never have anything quite like it. I wish I could be more descriptive but when it comes to perfection, how can you be?

And the sides? Also perfect. The mashed potatoes carried with them a subtle hint of garlic underneath the rich, fluffy texture of the potatoes. Resting atop the mashed potatoes was a single baked potato chip which tied the whole thing together. The asparagus was sauteed to perfection and cooked to the exact right texture.

The meal ended with a complimentary birthday souffle that I unfortunately tore into before snapping a picture of it:

Chocolate souffle with whipped cream, blueberries, a strawberry, and caramel sauce on the side. The waiter shook my hand and congratulated me for making it to 25. It was the perfect end to a perfect night.

*Note-This is a little late, as in 2 1/2 months late, sorry Dave!

What Kind of Milk Do You Drink?

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:09:10 GMT

I've drank cow's milk my whole life, I never had much of a reason not to and I guess I still don't, but recently I've been drinking a lot more almond milk than anything else. My mom is lactose intolerant and I think she is much happier now that soy milk and many other types of milk are now more readily available. I wonder what it would've been like growing up on soy milk or almond milk. I obviously don't think my life would've been different, but having all of these different lactose free milks available make a huge difference. My mom never drank any milk substitute until only recently, well within the last few years. It's nice to have so many options, especially for someone with different dietary needs.

I never had a problem with dairy or drinking straight up cow's milk, but I'm all of a sudden hooked on almond milk! I used to drink it frequently last year, but I never thought about making the full change from cow's milk to almond milk. Mostly because of the price and availability. Sure, almond milk is still a little more pricey, but I think it's come a long way in only a year.

My favorite brand; Almond Breeze, is now available in half gallon containers and I couldn't be happier! I used to have to buy the quart sized containers, which can cost anywhere from $2 - $3. Last year, the cheapest price I could find was about $2.50, now I can find them at Whole Foods for only 2 bucks. But, since they now have half gallon containers, I will most certainly be buying those instead. I found the half gallon container at Whole Foods for $3.69, yes it's still a little expensive, but like I said the price has definitely come down.

I am switching over to almond milk for a few simple reasons. I really enjoy the taste, the texture is the same as cow's milk and it's got half the calories. What really made my decision is when my fiance told me he also really enjoys it! I was shocked because he used to tell me he didn't really care for it. I don't have to feel guilty anymore for only buying almond milk, yay! I do the grocery shopping, so it will be nice to not have to buy 2 kinds of milk.

Switching over to almond milk will not be a strict decision for me, it's not like I am never going to drink cow's milk again. I tend to drink a lot of milk at home, in things like cereal, smoothies, and of course chocolate milk after a run! So, drinking almond milk will definitely save me a lot of calories and the feeling of being bloated. I am still going to enjoy the real taste of cow's milk and always will and I'm positive I will still purchase it on occasion.

So many options: rice, hemp, soy, almond, cows...What kind of milk do you drink and why?

Image Source

What's Your Favorite Southern Staple?

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:50:32 GMT

I'm not from the south, but sometimes I wish I was because of all the good food that comes from down there. Ribs, brisket, fried chicken, collard greens, jambalaya, mmm all of it is so good! I wish I could go down south for a month and live, breathe, and eat like a typical southerner. It's a lot different in the south and it seems like an atmosphere that I would and could happily take in.

If I'm out to eat at a barbecue joint or a place that just serves good ol' southern food, I expect there to be cornbread. Cornbread is one of my favorite foods of all time. It can be dangerous when it's around because I can't stop staring and thinking about the sweet and savory crumbles that enlighten my taste buds.

Cornbread, how I love thee. I could seriously live off of this stuff, of course only the good kind. A good cornbread to me has to have a little bit of sweetness and the right amount of moisture. I've been disappointed several times by overly dry cornbread with no flavor at all. Surprisingly enough I have never attempted making my own. Anyone have any good recipes to suggest?

I've only recently realized how good collard greens are and I would love to make up some of my own. I also love, love, love mac & cheese and corn fritters. I've only had corn fritters from one place, but they amaze me every time! And, they are served with maple syrup, how much better can it get? I'm just going to have to plan an end of summer barbecue party so I can share all of these amazing dishes with my friends.

If I were to get my wish of living in the south for a month, you bet your ass I would inhale as much cornbread as possible. Okay maybe I would come back 10lbs heavier, but in my book it would be worth it!

What's your favorite southern style food?

Where Was Your Worst Restaurant Experience?

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:44:40 GMT

I felt just like this man.

Everybody's had a bad experience at a restaurant, but should that one time be the final judgment of the restaurant as a whole? Sometimes an experience can be so bad that you will never go back and I'm pretty sure that is how I feel about this one place. Eating out at a restaurant is way more than just the food, it's the atmosphere, the service and every detail counts when dining out.

Like I said, I've had more than one bad dining experience, but there is one that sticks out in my head, Don Giovanni's. My friends talked this place up like it was the best place in NYC. I was excited to go because from what I heard, what more could you ask for than a cute, romantic place with cheap delectable italian food? Wrong! We had reservations here for a larger group, maybe 6 or 7 and we called ahead to see if we could come in earlier than our scheduled time. They had no problem with it...until we got there. We all got shoved into a tiny table that was clearly not meant for this many people. When asked if we could pull another table over they scoffed at us and basically said no because we came early and our 'original' table wasn't ready yet. Okay.

We were curious about the check situation so we asked if we would be able to put the check on more than one card and the waiter basically said yeah if each person had at least $50 to put on it. We were about to get up and leave at this point because obviously we were not looking to spend 50 bucks a person. The waiter stopped us and pretty much said nevermind, don't worry about it. The waiter and the bartender were completely rude and we were not welcome by any means.

We ordered our food and 20 minutes later somebody came out to tell one of my friends that his pizza wasn't available and he had to order something else. My friend was understandably upset. He didn't end up ordering anything else because at that time all of our food came out and he didn't want to sit around any longer waiting for it. First of all, if something isn't available, you tell the person that first, not 20 minutes later after everyone's food has already been served. Second of all, you don't have to be rude about it.

The whole experience was a disaster and I will never go back to a restaurant where I do not feel welcome at all. They made us feel like we were a burden to them and they did not care about us as customers whatsoever.

This is the one time where I am not interested in giving the restaurant another chance. Their first impression was bad enough to keep me away forever. Sorry Don Giovanni's, you FAIL.

The Perfect Pancake Recipe

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:03:41 GMT

I have made these pancakes several times now and I know I will continue to go back to them. I have been looking for a simple, yet good recipe for pancakes and this is definitely what I've been looking for.

Enjoy!

The Perfect Pancake Recipe

Recipe from AllRecipes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Pancake: Calories: 158 | Total Fat: 5.9g | Cholesterol: 41mg

Makes 8 Pancakes