Tostada Night - Dont fear the Chile!

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

January 10, 2010

Wrapped in celo, or packaged proper, they proudly display their rusty colors. No two are alike, every shape is unique. Come on, admit it. How many times have you walked passed dried chiles and said to yourself, “Man! I wish I knew how to use those”, or “I love to cook Mexican food, but those chiles must be so hard to cook with. And spicy hot, too”.

Well, folks, I hope this blog posting helps all those curious cooks. Please don’t be afraid of chiles. Honestly, it couldn’t be easier. And I hope that anyone reading this that has been curious on using dried chiles will pick some up today.

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Less is More

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

December 28, 2009

In the wonderful world of “saving money” and living on a budget, there are times when you just want to scream at the top of your lungs “FUGGEDABOUDIT”!!!!!

(Channeling my inner Bronx-native)

I went in the supermarket on FULL intentions with making $5 lunches when BAM! The discounted produce box was E-M-P-T-Y. What’s a budget vegetarian to do? I looked around ... I saw goat cheese. I saw feta cheese. I saw grape tomatoes. And I rolled up my sleeves and said to myself firmly: NO budget this week. This week you are TREATING YOURSELF. And I did. Happily.

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Ladyfingers

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

December 20, 2009

Julia Child calls them “Biscuits a la Cuiller”. Americans call them “ladyfingers”. My abuela ate these almost everyday with her cafe con leche - they were her absolute favorite. Everytime I see ladyfingers, I think of my grandmother.

(Esto es para ti, abelita! Te extrano...)

My last blog was the first dive into the pool of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. (Splash!) This post is the second attempt, was quite fun to make, and (I’m whispering now) dare I say “easy”?

You separate 3 egg yolks from the whites. In the yolks you add a 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla. To the whites, you add a pinch of salt, and wisk till peaks are formed. Fold the two together with 1/2 cup of flour and that is it! As long as you blend all three working in thirds (fold 1/3 of the yolk, 1/3 of the whites, 1/3 of the flour) until everything is encorporated, Julia Child would be approve. I used a ziplock bag and cut one of the ends to make a “pastry bag”. (Would Julia approve with THAT?) Pipe them out on a cookie sheet and you are good to go.

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I love you, Julia!

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

December 13, 2009

Like many, I fell in love with the film “Julie & Julia” this past summer. After leaving the theatre (almost immediately) I bought Julia Child’s memoir, “My Life In France”. It finally reached the top of my ‘books-to-read’ queue, and I eagerly devoured it. It was charming in every way possible. My boyfriend, in turn, bought the celebrated “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. Upon finishing the memoir this week, my curiosity peaked about what this food actually TASTES like.

As a vegetarian, the French repertoire makes a rare appearance in my diet (apart from sneaking an occasional madeline from Bouchon Bakery). I don’t think I’ve attempted to make anything French except for the toast. (Wow. Bad joke.) However, my newly-formed love for Julia Child has grown to such leaps and bounds that I had to finally plunge into trying out a recipe.

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Chocolate Chip Pancake Cookies

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

November 17, 2009

Let’s be real, folks. When one is moving, do you pack your pantry items or donate? Perhaps both? However, when one has an abnormal amount of Aunt Jemima pancake mix ... what to do?

I had an apartment sale in an effort to sell as many of my non-packed items as possible. To “lure” people up to my place on that oh-so rainy Saturday, I altered my sign in the lobby: Apartment and BAKE SALE. Everyone loves a homemade cookie. I could charge 2-for$1 and make a fair amount of dough (pun intended).

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Chocolate - Ancho Chili cookies

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

November 4, 2009

Apart from Halloween, we also have our neighbors south of the border who celebrate La Dia de los Muertos! I am Mexican at heart, so here is my attempt to celebrate their chocolate, my favorite chocolate from anywhere in the world. Sorry, Belgium. Don’t get me wrong, I love your stuff, but Mexico is on totally different caliber.

People, my measurements (dough-wise) were totally off for this experiment. I would not horrify you in what I tried to use as my dough ... I’m sure a lot of you have a “go to” recipe for chocolate cookies. I’d use that base, as the base almost doesn’t matter. (My dough was a wee dense but the flavor was great!)

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Little Effort, Big Results

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

October 25, 2009

Brunch. Does that word scare you? I hope it does not.

Different. Is that what you want your presentation to be? It can happen!

I don’t know about you, but I am frittata’d out. I love frittatas, don’t get me wrong. They DO serve groups egg-cellently, (pardon the pun) but something in me wants to surprise my friends. “Wow” them, per se. Brunch is fun, just like the friends you invited, so stop scrambling (pardon the second pun) for new menu options and start baking.

Baking? Not breakfast baked goods, but eggs. Spanish inspired eggs.
We made a sauce:
2 red bell peppers peppers, diced
1 small onion, diced
Several dashes of sherry (to deglaze the pan)
1 can of diced tomatoes (or 3 fresh on-the-vine, diced)
1 Tsp. of tomato paste
Some chopped fresh parsley

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Budget Lunches!

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

October 2, 2009

I love pumpkin. repeat L-O-V-E pumpkin and anything pumpkin/squash related. Sweet, savory, whatever! What can I say? As much as I adore summer, squashes are (to me) one of the best parts of Fall. I was reading Bon Appétit magazine, and they had a great looking salad recipe that I HAD to try. Now I know I’m not alone when I admit this: I’ll read a culinary-type magazine, “Oooo” and “Ahhh” over certain recipes, then upon completing the magazine, I close it, store it, and sadly forget all about those recipes I was so eager to try. Well, this salad was the one to break that bad habit. I ripped it out and stuck it on the fridge. It couldn’t be easier: Roast pumpkin cubes (I cubed up some butternut squash) with olive oil, cumin, hot Spanish paprika (my addiction), and sea salt. Toss these with some pre-cooked lentils and put the mixture on top of rocket lettuce, oil, vinegar, and some goat cheese. It’s seasonal, healthy, and budget friendly. And don’t skimp on the goat cheese. It’s what makes that salad sing and right now, for some reason, I can’t ever get enough of the stuff.

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Wine Pairings

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

September 21, 2009

This past weekend was one of my best friend’s birthdays. We decided to have a wine tasting party instead of going to the vineyards on Long Island purely out of budget. Check out the pairings we made:

Rose (One from France, the other from Portugal) - Fresh Figs with Chevre

Riesling (Two German ones) - Roasted Bosc Pears with Manchego on Baguette Slices

We had three reds (Bordeaux, Pinot Noir, and Syrah) to go with a batch of Mojete (A Spanish dish of roasted tomatoes and peppers with black olives braised in Sherry and Molasses).

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Will Travel For Food

From Tales from a Studio Apartment by David Silva

August 29, 2009

Of constant debate among New Yorkers is where to find “the best” New York pizza. I want to say I read this in ‘New York Magazine’, but my saved clipping leaves no clue ... it is simply a cut-out list of the top 10 pizza joints in the city. Two of these restaurants are shockingly on (gulp) Staten Island.

Ah, Staten Island. The far-away, head-scratching, mysterious borough of New York City. Tourists love riding the Ferry. Obviously people live there, but what goes ON there? What is up with Staten Island?

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