Thai Tea Creme Brulee

On Christmas, after watching Don 2 at 9am, playing at an empty Dave and Busters, roaming around Bryant Park and eating Kati roll, my cousin Samira, her husband Jibu, and my friend Akber decided to go to The Spot Dessert Bar. The have interesting flavored desserts such as Chocolate green tea lava cake, smoked coconut cheesecake, and green tearamisu. Asian fusion meets classic American desserts is their inspiration.  One of my favs at the spot dessert bar was the thai tea creme brulee served with a jasmine rice wafer and a shot of hot Thai tea with simple syrup and milk to personalize to your own taste. It was so yummy that I had to recreate it.

Is Artichoke the best Pizza in NYC?

A while back I had to get my fried oreo and funnel cake fix at Led Zeppole. So I dragged Omer out to East Village for my sweet treat when we noticed a long line protruding from Artichoke on 14^th street. Being a sucker for long lines, I had to stand there even though I wasn’t hungry . Omer said we’d come back another day for the pizza that so many stood in line for late night. Instantly when I got home I had to look up artichoke and read the reviews.

Ivy Bakery and Lounge

Over Martin Luther King Weekend, my brothers Saad and Waseem came to New York to visit. They were kind enough to deliver us our car, but not without trekking the treacherous terrain  of an 800 mile cross country drive accompanied by a brutal snowstorm. Dollars to donuts, you can bet they made an adventure out of it. 18 hours later they finally made it to Manhattan. The first thing on our agenda was to feed these hungry storm torn soldiers. We decided we would venture down to East Village and eat at Artichoke Pizza, however destiny pitted our stomachs against us- we stopped at the first place serving hot chocolate and snacks. 

We walked into a small, quaint bakery called Ivy Bakery and Lounge which served made to order goodies without fillers or artificial ingredients. They bake in small batches to ensure freshness, their savory sweets can also be customized. 

Ready to serve desserts included pie, muffins, cookies, brownies, and tres leches parfait. At the time, Ivy was serving two types of pie, Buttermilk and Peanut Butter. Pie flavors vary by day and can be pre-ordered if you like. The buttermilk pie was served cold , the crust was flaky, and the custard had the perfect amount of tang. The two slices were annihilated within minutes that I wasn't fast enough to take pictures. The peanut butter pie was deemed favorite and we made various failed attempts over the weekend to return for it. It's a bit heavy, creamy, sweet, and taste like childhood. No jelly needed. 

Lets also not forget the reason we walked into Ivy in the first place. We ordered 3 hot chocolates, made from organic chocolate. The hot chocolate had the perfect amount of cocoa- not to sweet or chocolaty. But more importantly the warmth from the cup radiated to my arms and into my soul. (okay I'm exaggerating a little bit, but nothing beats holding a hot cup of chocolate on a cold day outside). I would definitely recommend coming here. 

Last Second Beef Lasagna

Usually I like to cook on Sunday's that will last me a couple days through out the week. I learned this from my super woman mother, who manages to be an amazing mom, work 40+ hours a week, watch her Pakistani Dramas, check off everything on her to-do list, and manage to feed us dinner. She use to cook a couple dishes on Sunday and if it lasted throughout the week it did, but if it didn't she somehow managed to fix up something quick on a weekday. I don't have a quick fix meal, but this is my go-to meal if I'm to lazy to make anything else. As with any of my recipes I have no idea how much of anything I use. I eye-ball everything, so take these ingredients as estimates. It's a basic lasagna recipe that can be tweaked to your taste and liking. Switch it up a bit if you like by using ground chicken instead of beef, or cottage cheese instead of ricotta.

I used a 9X9 baking pan and no boil lasagna sheets. If you would like to regular lasagna sheets feel free too, no boil sheets are easier and take out the entire boiling process out.

Last Second Beef Lasagna

Ingredients:
Preheat oven 375
No Boil Lasagna Sheets (approx. 8 for 4 layers for a 9X9 pan)
2 tbs Olive oil
1/2 lb Lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic chopped
Salt and Pepper
1 small onion diced
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies (i used a carrot, peas, green bean mix)
15oz of Ricotta cheese
1 Egg Yolk
Dried Oregano
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan cheese
Bottle of your favorite Pasta Sauce

Start off with frying the chopped onion and garlic in a little olive oil. (start off slow so your garlic doesn't burn and become bitter), as soon as the onions turn translucent add your ground beef. Cook through until the beef is no longer pink and add your frozen vegetables, salt and pepper to taste, and ground oregano. Once your vegetables have softened, stir in an entire bottle of pasta sauce.

(optional) I like to soak my no boil sheets in warm water for 5 minutes before I start assembling for added moisture. If you decide to skip this step, add a little water to your meat sauce to make sure the sheets do not dry out

Mix the Ricotta, egg yolk, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. You can add the whole egg but I prefer egg yolk only, it makes a sturdier ricotta layer.

Assembly

Assembly is easy, place a little pasta sauce at the bottom of your pan, and add your first layer of lasagna sheets. Continue with a meat layer, then ricotta layer, alternating until all the lasagna sheets are used. Make sure you to add mozzarella and Parmesan cheese in between the sheets to bind each layer together. I also like to sprinkle additional crushed chili peppers for spice. Bake covered for 35 minutes, and uncovered for 5 minutes to brown up the cheese. 

Let your lasagna cool for a bit before you dig in. Enjoy! 

Easy Breezy Broiled Chicken

A couple years ago, Omer and I went to Brewster's in the suburbs of Chicago. I have no recollection of where it is, I just remember it was my first time eating broiled chicken with skin- American style with mash potatoes and corn. I don't remember how it tasted but recently when Zabihah chicken legs went on sale for 99 cents a pound, I thought of roasting them whole with skin and dedicate it to Brewster's.  

Broiling chicken is a breeze, as long as you have a nice layer of delicious fat on the legs that will melt and flavor the chicken itself this is a no fail recipe. I have a gas broiler, and usually like to think of it as a upside down grill since there is an actual flame that heats the food from above, as opposed to a grill that heats it from the bottom. I would recommend using a broiler rack and pan for this so that the chicken isn't drenched in it's own fat but falls into the collection tray.

David and Erika San Diego Wedding

In relation to my post about San Diego- Omer, Omar, and I were delighted to have also attended David and Erika’s seaside wedding. There is always something romantic about getting married near water on a beautiful sunny day. I believe the wedding was near Seaport Village at the Embarcadero Marina Park with San Diego Bay as the backdrop. Standing under a wooden alter, Erika was happy and radiant in a strapless, beaded gown. The groom and groomsmen all had khaki linen suits perfectly suited for the casual outdoor ocean theme. Bridesmaids were seaside visions in strapless aqua dresses.

I had a wonderful time with the always kind and loving Yanez family. It was also a delight to finally meet Hiram, Erika, Kyle, and the bride Erika. The reception dinner and dancing took place under a white tent decorated white lanterns, blue turf resembling water, and aqua colored table cloths. The evening was character filled with the generator malfunctioning leaving the tent with no power. Despite these minor hiccups, the tent may have not had electricity but was lit up with love and laughter.

San Diego Oct 2011

In October, Omer and I met up Omar, aka Bhaiya aka Oali, aka Omar Ali in San Diego for David and Erika's wedding. We missed our outbound flight by 7 minutes due to the fact we headed towards the wrong airport when we left home. Omer and I were under the impression we were flying out from Laguardia, only to find out halfway to the airport that we were suppose to fly out from JFK. We ended up flying out the next morning and upon our arrival Omar picked us up VIP style.  We went straight to La Jolla with Omar to grab a bite at George's. I went here less than a year ago with Sameera and Mubeena, and loved it so much that I had to take Omer and Omar. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we were thrilled that we missed out on the freak snow storm back in NYC.
                                                              Can you spot our car below?

After spending the day at La Jolla, we were invited to eat at David and Erika's rehearsal dinner. We were lucky enough to enjoy the sunset before stepping into dinner.

The next day we went to the The USS Midway Aircraft Carrier. It has over 60 exhibits and I believe 24 restored aircrafts.

We got to see the living quarters, including where they showered. 

Look its Maverick and Goose. I was glad Omer and Omar were able to reignite their bromance, under my supervision of course.