Biiiirthday!

It was my birthday this past Saturday, so this past weekend was amazing! :)))) but unfortunately, i'm ooooold -____- My girlfriend especially spoiled me...so that was awesome...and expected...Here's a summary of what I did for my birthday!

Friday 
So to preface...my girlfriend surprised me with a "living social" deal at Osso Bucco, a very delicious restaurant in the Upper West. For those of you uncultured people, living social is a deal-of-the-day site that allows its customers to purchase deals given by restaurants. In our case, we got a 3 course steak dinner (usually priced at $135) for only $55. 

 * This was my appetizer. It was a seafood salad containing squid, mussel, fish, and some other delicacies topped off with olive oil, lemon, and some herbs :) yuuuummmm!!!

 * the main course: SIRLOIN STEAK with delicious "sex-in-the-mouth" roasted potatoes. It was delicious; reminded me of home.

  * this is my girlfriend. and our desserts. The rectangular dessert is tiramisu and above it is a chocolate mousse cake. Both of them were super uber delicious...and fattening. yummy for my tummy!

Saturday 
On Saturday, I went to a Brazilian steakhouse with my girlfriend and my best friend. It was called Platforma Chimichura....ok not really. The first part is correct, the second...not so much. It's a very difficult word that I can't spell OR pronounce. The only important thing is that it's located on 49th street.

* the only photo I took....oops. The dinner consisted of sirloin, pork chops, spare ribs, pork ribs, filet mignon, bacon wrapped meats...the sky's the limit!!!!

Sunday 
We went to Fatty Crab's...an asian fusion brunch place in the Upper West. It was decent...not amazing, but not poor. 

 * this was my dish. It was chicken in a sweet spicy sauce with tofu. It was delicious at first...but then got a little too sweet for my taste. Oh, and it wasn't spicy enough for me. I like my food super spicy...like my women...or woman now.

 * my woman's dish: an egg with indonesian fried rice and shrimp chips. The best part were the shrimp chips. They were expertly chosen.

 * these are penguins. I didn't eat them for brunch, but I like penguins. yay!!!

These are the only photos I have right now from my birthday. Hopefully I'll have more photos to update my blog with. Toodles.

Father's Day in New York

This past weekend was a well-awaited break for me...work kept me busy, and I didn't have to cook this weekend! Why? Because my girlfriend's parents invited me over to their house to celebrate Father's Day with them. It was a fun time for me because they barbequed delicious food, AND I was able to meet some of my girlfriend's relatives.

The barbeque dishes were very delicious and succulent. It's interesting because the food was provided from a place in Chinatown. And the wonderful thing about this place is that they pre-marinate whatever you want to buy...and it was marinated in a way that reminded me of Texas bbq...aka the way my parents bbq...which made me very nostalgic.

Here are the pics:

* bbq porgy. it was super delicious. the skin was very flavorful and crunchy...the only problem was that it was filled with bones :(

* Mr. Lau bbq-ing with his hungry onlookers. Not gonna lie, I was always near the grill

* kabobs with lil squids and red and green peppers. it was delicious.

* chiiiiicken! just how mama lee would make them

* oops...i ate most of the spare ribs before I remembered to take a picture. It's like the galbi I bbq back in Tejas...sizzling!


Unfortunately, this is the end of my photos because I was super hungry and ate to my heart's content like a fat kid. After this weekend, I've decided I want to bbq some more...but I don't have a grill so...craptastic, guess I'll have to go bug my girlfriend's parents some more :P

Pasta with Chicken Breasts, Beans, and Greens

I really like the cannellini beans. It tastes soo delicious, and that's a huge statement for me to make since I really don't like eating beans. So while I was researching what I wanted to cook this week, I decided that I must incorporate those delicious beans somehow. I also wanted to return to my pasta making ways, seeing as I still had one box of unused spaghetti still left. Therefore, since I'm my own boss, I did just that. 

Ingredients:

Left to right: Spaghetti, Arugula leaves, white wine (pinot grigio to be exact), 9 cloves of diced garlic, olive oil, 12 expertly chopped chicken breast tenderloins, and 30 oz. cannellini beans.

* I have no idea how chicken breast tenderloins differ from regular chicken breasts. All I know is that it's delicious.

1) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place the pasta in the water and let it cook for about 8-10 minutes...or until al dente. I don't have a picture of this because I already have one in a previous post. Plus, if you can't figure it out, you're dumb. 

2) In a skillet over medium heat, cook the chicken until evenly brown. Then, place it off to the side and let it cool

 *This is not brown; but it's getting there. 

3) Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the garlic 1 minute, until lightly browned. Or you can cook it until the delicious aroma infiltrates your nostrils. Then, add the chicken breasts and 1 cup of white wine into the liquid. Cook and stir until the chicken is "heated through"....or until it's cooked thoroughly. I'm fancy with my terminology.

4) Now add in the beans and the entire tub of arugula leaves. Stir and let everything simmer until the leaves have wilted like a dead flower. 

 * I switched pots halfway through because I'm ninja and sneaky. And because my puny ass pot wasn't big enough to fit everything. 

5) Meanwhile, hopefully you've been paying attention to your pasta cooking and have removed it from the boiling pot of water already. If not, DO THIS NOW! Toss the pasta in with the liquid mixture. Also, add salt and pepper to taste. 

* And this is the delicious view you should have of everything. 

Yummmmy! I never cease to impress myself. I should become a chef.  

Delicious Healthy Chicken with Beans

It's been too long since I've blogged. These past few weekends have been very busy, attending my girlfriend's graduation and seeing my good friend David the weekend before. But all that time off just gave me more time to think about what to cook...

I actually got this recipe from my mother. I don't really like beans, but I figured that because she sent it to me (and mom's never wrong), I'll give it a whirl.

Ingredients: 

From left to right: Red pepper, Thyme, Cannellini Beans, garlic, oregano, and 8 chicken thighs

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Mix 1/2 tsp. of crushed red pepper, 1 tsp. of oregano and thyme, 2 mashed cloves of garlic, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil together into a casserole dish. Rinse the beans (30 oz.) and mix them with the marinade. This is a very fun step!

* it's amazing because when you make your marinade, you always think it's too little...and then you add the beans and WHOA, it's more than plenty!

2) After you're done with that, move the beans onto a baking sheet. Hard stuff, I know.

3) After you're done with that and your dish looks like my picture above, place the 8 chicken thighs on top of the beans. Add 1 more tbsp. of olive oil, salt, and pepper onto the chicken and massage them into the chicken like a groper :)

4) Now, place the chicken into the oven for about 35-45 minutes. Watch a 30 minute sitcom of your choice while waiting for the chicken to be done cooking.

* my chicken is so pale -___-

5) You're done! The chicken will have a nice golden brown color to it...so if the color doesn't resemble that, keep cooking it until a golden brown hue appears!

Verdict: Pure deliciousness. I really like the flavor of the beans. Plus, cannellini beans are very healthy and good for your body in that they're a high protein, low fat source of food. And, they prevent the absorption of carbs into fat...so that's always a good thing for those who are looking to lose weight!

Stay tuned for what's next :D