A few Saturdays ago, J and I took a nice long walk through Central Park. After Mile 5 or so, our tummies started to growl and we made our way to a new-ish (opened in 2014) restaurant on the Upper East Side for refreshments. Five Mile Stone is a dressed-up beer bar with a killer menu to boot. Their name comes from some fascinating NYC history, as well.

J chose the Allagash White while I tipped my hat to some maternal family history and went with the Bronx Pale Ale. Mine had huge flavor and a wonderfully sharp, bitter aftertaste. I really enjoyed it.

Though impressive-looking, we weren't in the mood for heavy brunch plates. We opted to split the lamb sliders and a shaved Brussels sprouts salad. I am beyond glad that we did.

They were INCREDIBLY delicious. I loved this food so much that it inspired two posts. Today's focuses on the crunchy, sweet, and fresh Brussels salad and tomorrow I'll focus on the lamb. It's worth the wait, I promise.

The salad as delivered to us is composed of shaved Brussels sprouts, apple, toasted hazelnuts, shaved pecorino cheese, and an apple cider vinaigrette.

I loved the burst of fruitiness from the apples and the big crunch of the hazelnuts. A few nights later, I tried to create my own version of it.

I thinly sliced a bunch of Brussels sprouts, soaked the slices in water while I prepped everything else, then drained them before adding to the bowl. I chose dried cranberries as the fruit here instead of fresh apples. I added 1/2 cup each of the cranberries, blanched hazelnuts, and crumbled feta cheese (I like the salty balance to the sweet & tangy cranberries).

I also made my Favorite Vinaigrette OF LIFE. It's a Smitten Kitchen creation and I love it on so many things. I have it written down to keep it close by in the kitchen.

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons wine vinegar (I usually use red, but have used champagne vinegar)
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/3 cup olive oil

For this Brussels salad, I swapped maple syrup for the honey and canola for the olive oil to let the other flavors shine through a bit more.

I served this with a pretty simply seasoned steak (just salt and pepper, then cooked on a cast iron skillet). I also reduced 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar down to 1/4 cup and drizzled that over the steak.

So, let's get back to this salad, shall we? Thank you, thank you, thank you, Five Mile Stone for the inspiration. You have two great crunchy aspects with the fresh Brussels and the hazelnuts, sweet and tangy from the dried cranberries, plus salty and creamy from the feta. Topped with a maple Djion vinaigrette, this salad is one of my new favorites.

I didn't forget about the gorgeous, juicy lamb sliders - in fact, I still dream about them weeks later. I planned an entire meal inspired by them that I can't wait to share with you tomorrow!

The Best Puttanesca Recipe I've Ever Made

This is not a hyperbolic claim. I've made dozens of puttanesca-inspired meals before and they've all been scrumptious - how can you beat fresh tomatoes, capers, and olives? But I am telling you, this one tops them all, hands down, legs in the air. It's true that one of the many reasons I love puttanesca is that the name means "whore" in Italian and I can just stand at my stove stirring away channeling Regina George.

I also love puttanesca because it is DELICIOUS. Briny capers and olives, bright tomatoes, and, in many iterations, the star of Caesar dressings and Worcestershire sauce comes out for a spin: anchovies.

I know, I know, I'm back blabbing about these skeevy-looking little fishies. I am serious - try it. Or try anchovy paste.

But I digress. I turned my little fishies into bagna cauda, which is essentially anchovy butter and it is unbelievable. I melted three anchovy fillets in 2-3 tablespoons of butter, whisking as it started to bubble to truly disperse the anchovy goodness.

I picked up a "demi baguette" at Trader Joe's, sliced it all up, and drenched the top of each piece with a heavy swipe of the bagna cauda.

I popped these into the oven to crisp up. The oven was already on at 350° while I baked the chicken. The chicken's sole purpose was to add protein to the bagna cauda bread situation as well as use up some leftovers. J had made a gorgeous cod dish from the Scarpetta cookbook that had him create a 'tomato paint' - basically a fragrant and garlicky stewed, reduced tomato sauce.

I have the recipe for the paint, which is exceptional and delicious, after the jump at the end of this post. But my plate from that night he made the tomato paint cod was quite gorgeous, n'est-ce pas?

Sorry, the anchovy aromas leave me daydreaming about Italian foods. Back to the task at hand!

The rest of the fantastic puttanesca flavors appeared in the bruschetta topping itself. I sliced some grape tomatoes, halved some pre-pitted kalamatas, and tossed everything together with some whole, drained capers.

Once the chicken was fully cooked and the bagna cauda bread was crispy and golden, everything came out of the oven and I topped off the toast with the puttanesca salad.

The first thing we did after sitting down and clinking drinks was to head for a bruschetta toast. There weren't many words to describe the flavor, but just guttural praises of flavor and expressions of satisfaction. After we each ate one of our original toasts, we went at the chicken. The paint was thick and luscious and added such a bright zing of roasted tomato flavor. I noticed after a few minutes that neither of us had touched our second toasts…. we were just getting the chicken out of the way for the flavor parade.

The half baguette from Trader Joe’s netted 9 slices for bruschetta. Not a single bite remained. I could have put puttanesca “salad” on top of any old slice of toast and it would be perfect on it’s own. But. Oh my gosh - the bagna cauda. I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of this before. I am honestly so excited to have bagna cauda be my new mystery ingredient for garlic bread and bruschettas - although, if I cook for any of you, you'll know the trick, so zip it.

And if you're interested in the Scarpetta tomato paint, click and carry on!

Wine Wednesday: Macon Lugny Les Charmes Chardonnay

First and foremost, I want to wish a very happy anniversary to K & M! I can still recall the pure exhaustion felt after the intense dance party at your beautiful wedding. Since M works in the wine industry, I figured a Wine Wednesday was the perfect tribute!

I wandered out of the California section of my regular wine store across an ocean to France and tried out a chardonnay from Burgundy. It was extremely citrusy on the nose and had an exceptionally crisp taste. I liken it to biting into a sweet green Granny smith apple - almost tart it's so crisp, but with a soft, sweet feel.

Oh and it's easy access because of the twist cap. Bonus!

This isn't a chardonnay I typically go for, but I think it'll suit me this summer. It's so crisp that it will be really great out on the patio while we fire up the grill! At $12.99 a bottle, it's a great price point and a nice break from my standard super oaky, buttery California chards. Cheers!

Sheet Pan Asian Pork

Today's post is a Two-fer Tuesday, of sorts, but I don't really have many photos. I have two different versions of pork (chops and tenderloin), both cooked with two veggies (eggplant and mushrooms, plus green bell pepper in one iteration), all dunked into the same delicious Asian-inspired sauce.

I found a recipe a few months ago in Real Simple for grilled halibut and eggplant salad. Nothing in this recipe is grilled. The only thing I really took from this, besides rounds of delicious, creamy eggplant, is the stand-out sauce itself.

Sauce:
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger

It's ridiculous in ease and flavor and I guarantee you'll adore it.

The original RS sauce also calls for jalapeño, but I swapped it for crushed red peppers I had in the pantry. Basically, I'd prepare the sauce, use it as a marinade for the pork and vegetables for 30+ minutes, dump the meat and veggies onto a sheet pan, pour the remaining sauce over the top, then bake the whole thing at 350° or so until the meat reached safe temperature (145° or higher).

You could throw in any of your favorite stir fry vegetables - broccoli, peas, bok choy, even asparagus - or use any other protein in lieu of pork. I'm sure this sauce would work just as beautifully on chicken or a nice hearty filet of fish. The fresh ginger is such a bright pop amidst the other flavors you should always have in your pantry.

Plus, clean up is a cinch. If you're new here, you'll learn that I use a lot of aluminum foil on baking sheets because I'm lazy and hate doing dishes. This dinner is great in that it indulges said laziness. You only need to use one bowl to marinate everything and one (foiled, if that's your thing) pan to bake it.

As one of my culinary queens always said in her trill British accent, "Easy peasy!"

Caprese Mushroom Caps & Pesto Shrimp

The summer after I graduated college, I kept to a tight budget on weeknights. I’d come home from work and grab one or more of the following: cheddar Goldfish crackers from that gigantic milk carton-looking box; Trader Joes’ three buck chuck; and caprese salads. I’d drizzle the fresh tomatoes and smooth mozzarella in balsamic vinegar and settle in for a summer-long marathon of all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls start to finish (Luke and Lorelai forever). It was certainly not the most nutritious diet, but my metabolism and patience at 22 were different than at 29 (unfortunately and happily, respectively).

Caprese flavors are delicious anytime of year, but they really evoke summer feelings and memories for me. I upped the ante on a caprese meal recently by adding pesto and piling it all on top of portobello mushrooms.

Oh also, the cheese is melted. Melted cheese on anything is a win in my book.

I preheated the oven to 350° and whipped up some pesto with leftover herbs and cheese. I found feta, parsley, and chives lurking in the fridge, added two cloves of fresh garlic and olive oil, and zapped it in the mini processor.

After I took out the stems and gills, I roasted the plain mushroom caps for about 10 minutes gill-(less)side down. When I flipped them, I smeared on some of the pesto, then topped with fresh beefsteak tomato and a slice of mozz. As a general note, tomato seeds and the gelatinous nonsense inside gross me out, so I get rid of them.

I baked them for maybe 8 - 10 minutes, just enough to melt the cheese. While they cooked, I seasoned some shrimp with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and quickly cooked them in olive oil.

I let them cool a bit while the mushrooms finished and tossed them with the rest of the pesto to serve.

Heaven.

I absolutely loved the blend of the juicy tomatoes, the melty cheese, the bold punch of flavor from the pesto, and the earthy, rich mushrooms. This could even work sans-shrimp as a great Meatless Monday option if you made more or used larger mushrooms. For my fellow carnivores, I'd certainly pair this side dish with poultry, beef, fish, and could also be done on the grill!