Blog — Sunday Theory

CAULIFLOWER + QUINOA BALLS

Veggie balls like these are so easy to throw together, even with a small list of ingredients like I have here, I'm not sure why I don't make them more often! You might notice since my Super Bowl snack post, I can't shake the cauliflower train. They're so super tasty and versatile, so why not? At the Union Square Whole Foods lunch buffet I saw these cauliflower quinoa balls sitting in a Romesco sauce, which is a Spanish, smoky sauce made from roasted tomatoes and red peppers. It was as yummy as it looked.

THE BEST TURKEY MEATBALLS

Is there anything much more satisfying than a pot of meatballs slowly stewing in a simple Sunday marinara sauce? I like to make a big batch of these for the week. My Italian supermom, Camellia, deserves all the credit for leaving that taste in my mouth.

5 NYC MIDTOWN DATE NIGHT BARS (with food)

It's no secret the boroughs and hoods of NYC have a treasure trove of great bars and restaurants - some old standards, and some open and close as fast as the trends carry them. Where to go can be tricky. Where to bring a date can be an even bigger headache. For a number of reasons and any local will agree with this - most date night places are NOT in Midtown West, where I work and where I spend most of my waking hours.

BUFFALO CAULIFLOWER "WING" BITES

Snow is blanketing New York City outside my window and as I was flipping through my recipe rolodex for the perfect indulgent snack for this weekend's Super Bowl, it came to me, like a little Steve Bannon on Trumps shoulder - Baked Cauliflower Buffalo "Wings"!

CRANBERRY INFUSED VODKA & The Russian Samovar

My first sip of puckery cranberry infused vodka came from one of my many nights at the Russian Samovar on West 54th Street. In this comfortably warm and perfectly bourgeois Theatre District hideaway (co-owned by Mikhail Baryshnikov) you can feel and smell that this place is straight out of the homeland even without ever stepping foot in Russia.

SWEET POTATO CHIPOTLE LATKES

HAPPY 2017 - the year of the rooster and vision board making! There's something to be said for the simple unadorned potato and onion latke, the kind Bubbe used to make. I started making them as passed hors d'oeuvres for gatherings around the holidays and played with ways to change them up because why not?

WHITE BEAN AND KALE SOUP

To kick off the start of winter, a hearty & creamy white bean and kale soup will always have my heart. It’s so comforting in all the right ways. Preparing this spin on a French classic ‘garbur’ with a warm skillet cornbread or some toasted peasant bread and melted gruyere cheese can be just the cure for a blustering day.

RECIPESAlicia & NickDecember 29, 2016white bean and kale soup, hearty soup, winter soup, smoked turkey, beaujolais, thyme oil, cannellini beans, garbureComment

SUNDAY ROUNDUP: Weekly Favorites

Looking for a juice spot while working in Chicago, I found B'Gabs Goodies in the south side hood of Hyde Park, a hippy-dippy juice and vegan food spot with walls lined with drawers of Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs. The co-owner, who needs his own TV show, introduced me to a tonic he swore by and takes 3 times a day as a shot.

MOM'S SKILLET CORNBREAD

Over the years my pantry has become a cast iron sanctuary. Unless I'm running a restaurant, what can I possibly do with 4 identical cast iron skillets? Certain foods take on a smoky hint of the outdoors that just can’t be replaced with cookware like enamel or steel and good ol' cornbread is no exception. The way the cast iron divides up the heat throughout, makes this dutch style of cooking ideal for something like cornbread.

RECIPESAlicia & NickDecember 13, 2016cornbread, cast iron skillet, mennonite, honey butter, cast iron cornbread, skillet cornbreadComment

HOMEMADE LIMONCELLO

With the holidays in full swing, nothing seems more appropriate or more festive than some home brewed spirits. Limoncello, traditionally a warm weather after dinner sipper, kept popping up in my head. I thought it would be a nice escape from the blistering cold weather coming on.

SUNDAY ROUNDUP: Weekly Favorites

It's no surprise to me that this album, covering the recordings from the broadway cast album studded with pop stars, is as popular as it is. Lin Manuel, executive producer, along with Black Thought and Questlove from The Roots enlisted an all star cast of heavy hitters to sing these already great songs and widen his audience even further as if there was much more room to grow.

PERFECT VEGETARIAN QUICHE

Quiche is quite possibly the perfect dish. I couldn't love eggs more and quiche is their most perfect form in my opinion. When it's tall, silky, and custardy and you have a crust that is buttery and flaky, you could serve it for a midnight snack, brunch, or a perfect dinner with a nice green salad and have a balanced meal.

SUNDAY ROUNDUP: Weekly Favorites

If you're a mushroom nerd (a mycophile) like me and you live in NYC, do yourself a favor before it gets too cold and go visit the 'Blue Oyster Cultivation' booth at the Union Square Greenmarket. They're a small family business based out of Ithaca, NY.

THANKSGIVING APPLE GALETTE

There is probably nothing easier to throw together or more impressive than a galette which, in its purest form, is really just the French version of a basic shortbread recipe (or a flat pie). It's delicious and one of my favorite things

RECIPESAlicia & NickNovember 22, 2016honeycrisp, ny apples, apple galette, thanksgiving, dessert, apple pie, apple galette recipeComment

THE WEEKLY : EVERYDAY FAVORITES

Headspace is a meditation app I discovered on the hunt for a good 10 minute daily dose of focus and clarity. It is a bit ironic that an app like Headspace promoting peace and calm comes out of the digital clutter of our smartphone