News: We Have Moved!

Hello All! We have moved our site to http://www.noshandtell.com

 

New box, but same great taste! We hope you enjoy the new site, change all your google readers and etc!

LOVE and Bon Eating,
Ariel and Whitney

Vegetarian French Onion Soup

My whole life I have always loved french onion soup. How could one possibly not enjoy that warm beefy broth with tender onions? How could one not devour the broth soaked crouton smothered in creamy, gooey, and slightly torched cheese? If I had to think of a perfect comfort food, it would definitely be french onion soup. Served in a hot ceramic bowl, overflowing with cheese, it is perfect every time.

Disaster struck the day I realized that french onion soup was a big kosher no-no. The soup breaks a cardinal rule of Kosher-ism by mixing milk and meat. Yikes! From that day forward, I vowed to find a replacement. I had to find something that could sooth my soul equally, if not better, than my beloved french onion soup.

On a cold and rainy day last week, I began to research soups to make for the upcoming chilly months. It was then when I happened upon Kayotic Kitchen's, Sweet Onion and Bread Soup. The name itself sounds tantalizing and Kayotic Kitchen's pictures were just beautiful. I knew that I'd have to try this soup right away.

Sweet Onion and Bread Soup

Half loaf of a dense, dark bread (about 8 oz)

3 large sweet onions, cut in half and sliced

4 large garlic cloves, minced

4 cups vegetable broth

1 tsp dried thyme

1 cup milk or cream

1 stick butter

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

shredded cheddar to garnish

Start by cubing your bread and toasting it in a pan with about 2 oz of your butter. In a separate pan, add the remaining butter and saute the onions and garlic (about 30 minutes). Once the onions are softened, add the dried thyme.

Once the bread is toasted, take the pan off the heat and add the milk. Wait until the bread has soaked up all the milk and then add the mixture to your onions and garlic. Add in the vegetable broth and let simmer for about 20 minutes. While the soup is simmering, sprinkle in the parmesan cheese. This will thicken the broth and give it some more flavor. Mix and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl. Top with a crusty piece of bread and some cheddar cheese. Enjoy!

When I tasted this soup, I realized that the flavor was familiar. While there was no smell of beef emanating from the rising steam, there was a very cheesy and oniony essence which was very appealing. At once I realized that this was my vegetarian french onion soup! How could I not notice it before? It included all of the necessary ingredients- toasted bread, onions and cheese. So for all of you vegetarians, and kosher keepers, here is your savior!

Definitely try out this soup, it is just delicious. If you don't need it to be vegetarian then I suggest you add in chicken broth or even beef broth. This would add a lot more flavor. Don't forget you can always add more cheese or more bread depending on how rich and luxurious you want it to be. Get creative!

Bon eating,
Ariel

Lookie at my Cookies: Chocolate Chip Cookies

While catching up on my Google Reader last week I found these cookies and knew I had to make them. They just looked too delicious to pass up and I'm always a softy for good cookies. They turned out pretty good, definitely not as good as Cooking on the Side's look but decent. I still rank Jacques Torres' cookies over these but for an every day choc chip cookie they're fine. Crispy edges and a soft chewy inside with chocolate chunks galore. Perfect for dessert with a glass of milk!

Now for a random rant: I saw this post on Eater today and to be frank, it really pissed me off. Seriously? Blogs were created so that anyone and everyone can instantly publish themselves, that's just how it is. So of course there's an overload of food blogs, there's an overload of blogs in GENERAL! But who cares? If you don't like someone's blog then don't read it, seems simple enough to me. I guess it's not that simple for everyone. In the article they mention something about how we should all stop blogging and get "real jobs"? Hey Eater: I have three jobs, am a full time student, hold leadership positions in my sorority, have a life, AND this blog. So up yours. And really Eater, if you're going to offer money for us to shut down our blogs you're gonna have to offer a lot more than $25, cheapskates. Most of us make more than that off our blogs from running one ad for a month. I never really liked Eater to begin with but this just really annoyed me, sorry to put so much negative energy on this post! Just thought all of you food bloggers, writers, photographers, etc. should be aware of this! Because I for one think that you are all wonderful and should keep doing what you're doing!

Now back to the yummy cookies...

Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Cooking on the Side

Makes 26 jumbo cookies

4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 (12-ounce) package (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375°F.
Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping the bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour mixture, until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chunks.
Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets (tip: line the sheets with parchment, if you have some). Bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until light golden brown. (Do not overbake.) Let stand 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets.

Enjoy!

Bon Eating,
Whitney

A Review of Momofuku Milk Bar NYC

Last night after seeing the hilariously funny movie, The invention of lying, Whitney and I decided that despite already consuming movie treats, we wanted something sweet. A friend suggested Momofuku Milk Bar. Milk Bar? I was particularly skeptical because the only milk I consume is Lactaid and that's a very infrequent occurrence as it is.  But we decided to give it a go because hey, dessert is dessert. When we arrived, we realized that apparently the rest of Manhattan also had our idea because there was a line out the door!

The Momofuku Milk Bar is no bigger than a typical NYC apartment. Despite its size, it holds massive quantities of sugar, butter, milk and anything else that could possibly satiate even the most sweet crazed of foodies. The menu is massive. You can choose from Soft Serve, Milks, Shakes, Cookies, Cakes, Pies and "Etc" which includes potato grain and pork buns- random but sounds good to me so I won't complain. I really think this spread would give Willy Wonka a run for his money- who needs Wonka Bar when you can have Candy Bar Pie!!

This is cereal milk. I'm pretty sure it's milk that has soaked cereal and been strained. This sounds amazing. When you have a nice sugary bowl of cereal don't you just want to drink all the milk from the bottom of the bowl? That's the best part!

This is the Candy Bar Pie. It has a chocolate crust, peanut butter nougat, caramel and pretzels. I thought this would be my favorite but I think the peanut butter is a little too thick in the filling. It is like a massive Reese's peanut butter cup.  If you're a fan of the chocolate and peanut butter combo, this will definitely be up your alley.

These are the chocolate chip cakes. I have to be honest, when I first saw the ingredients to this cake- passion fruit curd, chocolate crumbs and coffee buttercream- I was skeptical. Passion fruit curd has never really been a big winner for me, especially when mixed with my two favorite ingredients, chocolate and coffee. But I was wrong!!! The passion fruit was cold and refreshing and actually worked surprisingly well with the coffee buttercream.

This is the Banana Cake. It has banana cream, hazelnut crunch and gianduja fudge. I didn't get to try this one but that sounds like a great combination.

Et, pour le piece de resistance! The Compost Cookies!!! In the front of the Milk Bar was a girl scooping massive balls of cookie dough from an endless vat. I couldn't tell whether I pitied or envied her as she dug her scoop into the tub and pulled out a rich ball of dough. The cookies are a combination of pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch and chocolate chips. I really like the idea of potato chips in a cookie- they add a delicious salty crunch. I think scooping cookie dough with an ice cream scoop is an amazing idea and will try to get Whitney to do that from now on.

Overall, Momofuku Milk Bar was awesome. Even though the line is long, the wait is definitely worth it. While you're waiting in line you can scan the menu while listening to groovy music. Soon you will be devouring a unique and tasty dessert - a dessert you will not want to share with friends. So make sure you order enough and enjoy!

Bon Eating,
Ariel

Lookie at my Cookies: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

First thing's first: Ariel and I found out about Study Abroad for next semester! What? Yes! We're leaving the lovely USofA to go immerse ourselves in other cultures through food, drink, and fun. Oh, and school I guess. So where will we be traveling? Ariel will be spending her spring in Tel Aviv in Israel and I will be spending mine in Florence! We are more than excited to travel around the world, we just wish that we could do it together. Though our distance and different locales will only provide more interesting things for us to share with you all here! Nosh & Tell will be up and chugging along as we travel through Europe and the Middle East respectively. Who knows how often we'll get to blog, or what the heck we will blog about since we won't have access to all of our lovely kitchenware that will be staying in NYC, but we will blog! And we will eat! Oh we will eat. Pasta. Wine. Yum. Anyway, that's not happening till Spring, for now it's Fall in NYC.

All of the sudden it got freezing cold here like two days ago--no fun. I think it might be time for me to put away my summer whites and get out my winter clothes. It also means it's time for fall flavors! Pumpkin, cinnamon, apple, roasted veggies, Liz just suggested Marshmallow...erm...maybe. But definitely pumpkin! I looove seasonal things, the Holiday season happens to be my favorite time of year for food and life in general. My Holiday season starts with Halloween and ends with Easter--the peak time being the fall through the end of the year. I start listening to Christmas music on November 1st, the day after Halloween. Don't judge me, I get in an extra month of Christmas music while all of y'all are waiting for the day after Thanksgiving. I just wrote like three more sentences about my obsession with Christmas but then decided that it could wait for another post. I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about the Lighting of the Tree. Now for seasonal foods, I'm actually not huge on seasonally flavored things. I used to have an aversion to Pumpkin and even though I don't anymore I find myself always drawn to chocolate over a seasonally flavored dessert. However I decided to get in the spirit by making these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

The bar recipe comes from good ole Martha and I made up the icing recipe on the fly though I am sure that there is a more consistent recipe written out there somewhere. I just kind of did mine to taste and it worked out well so feel free to use my sloppy recipe or find an exact one. These were delicious. They were just what I needed to help me get more into the Fall spirit. The slight undertones of cinnamon and pumpkin complement the chocolate in the bars while the texture of the chips helped to break up the cakey-ness of the bars. Slather on a layer of Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and this truly becomes a treat. I love cinnamon, it's incredibly versatile and in this case it cut the sourness of the Cream Cheese and the sweetness of the powdered sugar wonderfully. The cinnamon also added cute little specks in the white frosting too! Taste testers and I agree, these are a must make for fall. These bars are easy enough to whip up in an instant and complex enough in flavor to please gourmands and gluttons alike. They're sure to make any resentment for fall float away, along with your summer tan. Hehe.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
From Martha Stewart
Makes 24

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Healthy Swaps: you could swap out some of the butter for more pumpkin puree. Also by reducing the sugar you can bring out more of the natural sweetness in the Pumpkin and save some calories too.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled). Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Frost when cooled completely.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8 oz bar of cream cheese*
1 stick of butter
3-5 cups of confectioner's sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp cinnamon (or just to taste)


*Healthy Swaps: use Neufchatel Cream Cheese (1/3 fat) or fat free.


Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add in vanilla and cinnamon, mix until combined. With a mixer on low speed add in confectioner's sugar a cup at a time until desired consistency and taste is reached.

Enjoy!


Bon Eating and Happy Fall!
Whitney

What do you Crave when You're Very Hungry? A Yom Kippur Tribute to Food

A Yom Kippur Food Tribute...

Right now I am very hungry, more hungry than I have been in a long time. It has been 21 hours since I have eaten and I have about four more to go. It's funny how four hours can seem like an eternity. I don't know why I thought this blog post would help my hunger pains, but perhaps if I talk enough about what I want, maybe I will be satiated. Probably not, but it's worth a try. At least sitting on my computer will keep me away from the kitchen.

The question is, in my deepest state of hunger, what do I want? What does this say about deprivation? Furthermore, what does this say about the dreaded word....dieting?

At first considering this question, I really just want Doritos and Whitney's Cookie-Brownies. I want Coffee Heath Ice cream. I want fritos, and a juicy cheese burger. I want Shepherd's Pie and a Chocolate Shake. I want Giada's Creamy Orzo and Sesame Chicken. I want a California Roll, Shrimp Tempura and Mashed Potatoes. I want a Thanksgiving dinner. I want a diet coke!!!!!!!!

Remember this? Yumm mac and cheese!

A juicy veggie burger with cheese!

mmm nuts, peanut butter and nutella!

meatloaf and mashed potatoes...ugh.

After looking at this list, I am sort of disgusted at myself. Look at all that nasty food! I have listed perhaps the most disgusting combination but also the highest calorie foods known to man. But I love food! I love food with a lot of flavor and gusto. When the depths of my stomach are yearning for even the tiniest of bread crumbs, I just want something big, gloppy, gooey and sensational.

Usually when Jews break the fast of Yom Kippur, we eat something simple- nothing resembling any of the foods that I just mentioned. Some people eat tea and cakes. Most people eat bagels, cream cheese, lox, and gefilte fish. In my family, we break the fast a little differently. At around five oclock, my Dad will say he's hungry and that he wants some chocolate chip cookies. He will get my sister to make the preparations for a massive chocolate chip cookie extravaganza. We then will bake. The smell of fresh Tollhouse cookies will fill the house, our mouths salivate and we break the fast a little bit too early.

For some of you, this post is a little inconsequential. So Jews have to fast, then we break it. No biggy right? But I have a problem with this whole thing. I'm SOO hungry and all I want is junk food. That just can't be good.

What do you all crave when you're drastically hungry? Please tell me I'm not alone in my cravings!

Lookie at my Cookies: Cookie Brownies

Here's another pre-blog era baked good: Cookie Brownies. I've been meaning to post these for like months now, 6 months to be exact since we started this thing on March 27 of this year! The only thing that'd be better than these is if I had an intern...seriously. Anyone interested? These are one of my favorite things that I make and usually my taste testers favorite as well. I have been known to eat a sickening amount of these, even more so than other treats which is saying something. I have also been known to say "there is something in these! Something addicting! Opium! I don't know what it is but something". This is most likely my excuse for eating a pan full of these, but I stand by my claim. They're the most addicting thing I bake. So dangerous.

Guess what else? They're incredibly EASY! That also makes them doubly dangerous because you can whip them up in an instant and have a cookie brownie FEAST. Just buy a roll of cookie dough, buy a box of brownie mix, scoop, mix, pour and you're done! I think this is printed somewhere but I just got the recipe from someone else and have always kind of made up my own. When I first bought Dorie Greenspan's book I saw her recipe for Chipster Brownies and I was a bit miffed. I love Dorie, but girlfriend totally copied my recipe. Just kidding, this is totally on the Betty Crocker website or something, and DG's Chipster Brownies look to die for. For Cookie Brownies, just be Sandra Lee, do it semi-homemade. You wanna make Chipster Brownies? Be my guest, but for Cookie Brownies I've tried it with homemade cookie dough and home made brownies, I've mixed store bought with from scratch, and it never comes out as good as when I use a roll of Pillsbury cookie dough and a box of Betty Crocker Brownie mix with the Hershey syrup packet. Do yourself a favor! You'll get crazy compliments on this dessert and it's fool proof. Even my number one taste-tester Liz could make this if she knew how to turn on an oven...which is questionable. Anyway, even the most novice of bakers could make these and you should! Just make sure you have lots of company to help you out with these, or just inhale the pan yourself.

Cookie Brownies
1 box of Betty Crocker brownie mix that comes with the Hershey's syrup packet (and ingredients that go with it)
1 roll of chocolate chip cookie dough

Preheat oven to whatever the brownie mix calls for and prepare brownie mix as directed on box. Pour in 9x13 rectangular pan, set aside. Take cookie dough roll and scoop rounded tablespoon size balls, place about a half inch apart in 9x13 pan. Bake until cookie dough is browned and brownies look cooked, about how long it says to bake brownies on the box. Let cool completely.

**Note: Sorry for the not so pretty pictures, these were inhaled pretty much right out of the oven so I barely got a chance to photograph them before we ate them all! It's a testament to their greatness (and my lack of self-control).

Enjoy!

Bon Eating,
Whitney

Nosh and Tell Journeys: A Boston Brunch at Henrietta's Table

I need to start out this post by saying that I am fasting for Yom Kippur. I haven't eaten anything since 6:15 last night and can't eat until 7:15 tonight. For someone like me who loves food and loves even more to constantly eat just for the sake of eating, this is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. I don't know what is keeping me from running into the kitchen and stuffing my face with whatever is in the fridge right now. To make things worse, I am about to blog about the most delicious brunch I have ever had. Getting through this is going to be difficult...

This is a statue of Henrietta, the pig. The restaurant Henrietta's Table is named after her. I assume she's still alive and is a beloved family pet- otherwise I think the restaurant would be called "Henrietta on the Table."

I know I have mentioned this before but there is truly nothing better than sitting down at a restaurant and being delivered a basket of steaming hot, freshly baked bread. To be honest, this bread basket was the Mecca of all bread baskets. It was the Brad Pitt. It was the Antoine de Saint Exupery. It was the Maserati! The King! Perhaps I've gotten a little carried away but you will only understand the brilliance of this bread basket if you go to this restaurant. Open the soft green napkin and several different types of bread are revealed. There are some small Ciabatta rolls, thick and doughy whole wheat slices and perhaps the best of all, the cranberry walnut bread. Oh my, this cranberry walnut bread is just amazing.  It is crusty and tough on the outside and soft on the inside. The cranberries are sweet and tangy- it doesn't even need butter! Seriously, this is the best bread ever. If I had known that I was going to eat 4 slices of this bread, I wouldn't have even ordered brunch!

For an appetizer, my Dad ordered the prosciutto and melon. The plate came with a generous heap of cantaloupe, salty meat and microgreens. There was also a sweet balsamic drizzle. I couldn't try this dish but I have had it many times before. I think the balsamic is a very clever addition because its bitterness would go nicely with the sweet melon, tart greens and salty prosciutto.

I ordered an egg skillet. It's really hard for me to talk about this because it was so good and I am sooo hungry. The egg skillet is normally 2 poached eggs, hashbrowns and meat covered in cheese. I skipped the meat, but this was still a heart attack in a skillet. Really, it was amazing. The cheese was all melty and the eggs were firm. With some ketchup, this was a perfect brunch meal.  Even though I don't have a picture of it, I also ordered the potato, cheddar and beer soup. What a combination!!! Potato and cheddar, sure, but beer?! I have to say while the soup was a little bit too creamy for me, it had a really delicious and complex flavor. The beer added a tartness that complimented the starchy potato really well.

Danny ordered the waffles with mushrooms. I think this is a great idea as it adds a savory flavor to a usually sweet dish. My Dad ordered meatloaf and mashed potatoes. While I don't have a picture, I'd love to describe it to you all. It was basically a hunk of meat loaf over an equally large heap of buttery mashed potatoes. What could be better than that?

Henrietta's Table is a really special restaurant. It is in the heart of Cambridge in Harvard Square. Amidst all of the eclectic stores with knick knacks and random toys, Henrietta's Table is a classy and posh place where people can come to enjoy comfort food at its finest. Our waitress was incredibly friendly and the service was very quick. I wish I could go there more often but with each entree at $17, it's more of a treat than a place where I could be a regular.

Overall, I would highly suggest going to Henrietta's. Don't forget to make a reservation before you go and even more importantly, come with an empty stomach. With all the bread, appetizers and entrees, you will need the room!

Sorry I can't say much more, I'm just too hungry!

Bon Eating,
Ariel

Lookie at my Cookies: Monster Cookies

A short and sweet post since it's currently after 1 a.m. and I really need to catch some Z's before tomorrow. Short and sweet kind of like Monster Cookies! These were some of the first cookies I ever made and to this day if you ask me what my favorite flavor cookie is I will quickly respond, "Monster Cookies, aughhh yummmm". Really the only question left to ask is why the heck haven't I blogged these yet? I like to classify a few of my treats as "pre-blog era" and for some reason these get left out of the shuffle for some reason. I think it's because I've made these baked goods so many times that they are so familiar to me I don't think of them as "blog worthy". In fact they're probably the most worthy of blogging because the fact that I make these recipes over and over again is just a tribute to their greatness! Monster Cookies are no exception. Leave it to Paula Deen to throw everything but the kitchen sink in a cookie and have it taste like heaven.

I think Monster Cookies get their name because they are normally quite large in size, but I don't usually make big cookies so I think they get their name from the amount of amazing ingredients in them! Peanut Butter, Choc chips, M & M's, Oatmeal, Raisins, basically anything you want--throw it in, I have no doubt they will be great. They're chewy, have great texture with the oatmeal, and are so flavorful. They're also ONE BOWL COOKIES! Yes. It doesn't get much better than that. Especially if you're like us and you don't have a dishwasher, one bowl things are just so appealing. Alright that's all the energy I got for now, the Monster Cookies took minimal effort so I'm glad that's what I decided to bake tonight!

Monster Cookies
From Paula Deen


3 eggs
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup raisins, optional
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

Enjoy!

Bon Eating,
Whitney

Penne with Balsamic Brown Butter

Hello everyone!!! So sorry that I have been MIA for so long. Ditto to everything Whitney has said. Sometimes life just gets crazy, but I'm SO glad to be back! The good news is that we survived the first two weeks of school- academics, mental breakdowns, oven fires and all. Will we survive the next two? Only time will tell...

For a long time I have been very interested in brown butter. What's so great about it? And what is it anyway? Well I finally went to my favorite Italiana, Giada to figure it out. She has a recipe for Ravioli with Balsamic Brown Butter  and it looks amazing. While I was reading her recipe, which in fact looked very simple, I realized that brown butter is literally browned butter. Who knew! Nothing fancy! Just butter in a pan for a few minutes until it turns brown.

I knew I had to make this dish. I went into our pantry and our fridge. Yikes, we didn't have ravioli! We didn't even have real butter! I decided to take matters into my own hands and do some swaps. Instead of ravioli, I used penne and instead of butter I used light margarine. Next time I will definitely use butter because butter is better and there's no buts about it!

Penne with Balsamic Brown Butter

3/4 pound penne

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

6 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup walnuts, crushed

handful of basil

salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta as directed. In a separate pan, heat up your butter. Let it melt and then brown in the pan. Then add in the tomatoes. Let the butter soften the tomatoes then take everything off the heat. Add in the balsamic vinegar, basil, salt and pepper. Use a slotted spoon and put your pasta right into the pan with the sauce. When all the pasta has been mixed in, add the walnuts.

The dish is really very simple. It didn't take much longer than heating up tomato sauce from a jar. The results are truly delicious. I think the addition of balsamic vinegar to the brown butter is really great. I personally think that the taste of butter is very strong and the balsamic really cuts the buttery taste. Of course, if you love butter like my wonderful co-blogger, Whitney, maybe you don't really need the vinegar. Whatever floats your boat. I decided to add in the basil and tomatoes because they seem to be a really great compliment to balsamic vinegar. I think you could also add any vegetable that's in season. The best part of the whole dish is the walnuts. They add a little crunch and really pull all the flavors together. I would normally use pine nuts but walnuts are definitely a great substitution- and a LOT less expensive.

I hope you all try this recipe! I'm so glad to be back in the blogosphere! Also I'm really surprised that my computer didn't red underline the word "blogosphere" - that means it's actually a word. Wow!

Glad to be back!

Bon Eating!
Ariel

Lookie at my Cookies: Reese's Cake

HELLO! Sorry all, we had to take a hiatus from the blog for a bit due to our extremely hectic schedules over the past week. No worries, we are back and here to stay--we missed y'all! It's too bad school has to come first sometimes, ah well, such is life.
Since we were MIA, here's a quick recap of our past week:
1. We started our second kitchen fire--I say we, but really it was just me...as I was cooking for my sorority rush I decided to jump in the shower to make myself presentable. Got out and of course I see smoke billowing from the oven. I open the oven and my pigs in a blanket are ON FIRE--despair. The piggies got pretty soggy when I had to throw water on them to put out the fire but I managed to salvage some from a previous batch. Oh well.
2. We ate a lot (duh) but more so than normal since our kitchen was churning out food for hundreds of people each night of rush. Yes, you can lightly cater from a dorm kitchen, who knew?!
3. We didn't exercise (duh) we were "too busy"
4. We went through a disgusting amount of butter...no really, disgusting, like more than 32 sticks. Wanna know what we realized? Butter is fantastic.
5. We cracked open 2 double yolk eggs in a row!
6. Due to a drinking game we lost track of time and left a pan of brownies in the oven for almost 2 hours. Surprisingly our oven decided to cooperate and didn't catch on fire from our negligence. They were rock hard. People still ate them.
7. We made it all of our classes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [At least for the first two weeks because currently as I write this I am skipping a class...yikes]

And that's all folks. It was a crazy week and we are so glad to be back to the blog! We are nearing our 6 month bloggiversary and it's a really sappy relationship we've got going with this thing we're planning something EXTRA special. Stay tuned! And now without further ado, Reese's Cake! Here's what I'll say about this cake: frosting yum, Reese's yum, cake dry. So yeah it's store bought cake plus a few things to make it better, and yeah I probably over cooked it, but it was dry as a bone. Not that that stopped us from eating it--what forced us to put the forks down was the insane richness of this bad boy. [SIDE NOTE: as I wrote "bad boy" Guy Fieri just said the phrase "bad boy" on Guy's Big Bite, NO JOKE. True story. I have ESP with Guy, love it.] Yeah so this cake is crazy rich as you can probably tell. The frosting is delicious, not too peanut buttery, not too sweet, just right. But pair the Peanut Butter Buttercream with Reese's and chocolate cake, it's enough to send anyone into a food coma. I have a massive sweet tooth, I am for sure going to get diabetes soon due to my sugar intake, but this was even a little too sweet for me. It's incredible for a few bites and then you're gonna wanna go horizontal for an hour or so. If you are in major need of some baking therapy, this is your shrink. If you want to get your sugar fill for a week, this is your last supper. If you want a light dessert, say bye bye to the Reese's cake for another day. If I had to make it all over again I'd go with a homemade chocolate cake, but other than that the recipe was delicious.

Reese's Cake
Adapted from The Hungry Housewife

1 Box Duncan Hines Butter Fudge cake mix
1 small box COOK and SERVE Chocolate Pudding mix(not instant)
1 envelope Dream whip
4 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
9 Reece's Cups, chopped

Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour 2 9" cake pans. 

Place cake mix, dream whip, and pudding mix into large bowl and mix together. Add eggs, water and oil and mix on high for 4 minutes with an electric mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed. Pour evenly into cake pans. Bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove cakes and cool completely on racks. Place cakes in fridge to make nice and cold for the frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting(Wilton)

2/3 cup butter

3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter and vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar, once sugar has been added, add the milk to make it spreadable. Remove the cooled caked from the fridge. Frost the bottom cake on top. Sprinkle the Reese's on top(leaving some for decorating the top layer) Place the second cake on top. Frost top and sides of cake. Decorate with the remaining Reese's
*The frosting seperates easily, so pop the cake in the fride after you frost it, until about 1/2 hour before serving.*

Enjoy!

Bon Eating,

Whitney

Rel's Ravenous Review of Bubby's Brunch

Ahhh Brunch. The truly perfect meal; it sits delightfully between breakfast and lunch, allowing you to sleep late and eat twice as much. You can order eggs or french toast or a greasy cheeseburger. You can sip on hot coffee or nurse your hangover from last night with a mimosa or bloody mary. No judgements here when you're brunching. 

On Sunday my Mom was in town and we decided to go to Bubby's in Tribeca. I've been to Bubby's before and have always had a deliciously positive experience. There's something about the calm atmosphere that makes me forget I'm in the city. Walk in and you'll be engulfed by delicious smells. There's a quiet hum of patrons devouring their meals and heavy coffee mugs clanking together in waiters' hands. These are the classic sounds of American Brunch done the right way. 

Bubby's is not just your average restaurant for a few reasons. While the name does boast a Jewish connotation and the menu offers matzah ball soup, the restaurant has a little southern flair- a flair that my southern roommate really appreciate. 

As soon as you sit down, you will be handed two baskets of steaming hot scones/biscuits, accompanied by freshly made strawberry jam. Hands down I could just eat these scones for breakfast. They are crumbly and soft. Move over Martha Stewart, whoever is making these babies in the kitchen is a force to be reckoned with. Once all the scones are gone you will probably want more, and that's okay! They'll give you some more. When you feel like you're too full to eat anything else, you can then take a look at the menu. 


The menu is chock full of incredible dishes- sections of eggs benedict, pancakes, soups, salads, hot and cold cereals, burgers, sandwiches and of course, the brunch specials. If I were in the mood for lunchy brunch, I would definitely order the Grilled Turkey Zucchini Burger. I think that sounds amazing. But since this was a breakfasty brunch, I went for the Bubby's Breakfast: two free range eggs from Shady Maple Farm with toast and home fries. I always order poached eggs. They were perfect on top of the chewy, crusty seven grain bread. The home fries were amazing. I am skeptical of home fries- they are usually too greasy or too chewy or too burnt. These were the best combination of grease, chewiness and some burnt pieces. Mixed up with some ketchup and I was in heaven. 


Another side dish option is cheese grits. While I am not exactly partial to the cream of wheat-esque dish, Liz loved it. She said it was creamy and delicious. Maybe next time I'll give them a try...

The dishes you are seeing right now are the Granola Fresh Fruit Plate and the French Toast. I have to start with the fruit plate. How beautiful is that? With a small cup of granola and yogurt, you are given a massive plate of fruit. Andre the giant would be happy with this much fruit. He might even need to take a doggie bag. And of course, French Toast is a classic brunch option. At Bubby's this dish is piled high with sweet toast and berries. Don't forget a generous sprinkle of powdered sugar too. 


I honestly have never loved brunch so much. Bubby's is a gem. You can tell when you arrive because the line is out the door. Unfortunately they don't take reservations, but the wait is definitely worth it. The waitstaff is very accommodating and the service is speedy.


 A+ Bubby's!


Bon Eating,
Ariel 

Whit's Tidbits: Herbed Lima Bean Hummus

As I said in my last post it's back to school time! For me that also means it's time for rush for my sorority and all the other Greeks at NYU. Confused? Yes, we actually do have Greek life at NYU, it's a little known fact but we do exist. Along with spending hours "flirting" with girls trying to get them to join my sorority, I also decided to contribute by enticing the PNMS (potential new members) with my cooking and baking skills. So far, so good. For those of you who aren't familiar with recruitment and how rushing goes, lemme give you the sparknotes version. In formal recruitment every girl must see every organization at the beginning and then can narrow down her choices from there. There are hundreds of great girls out there that we have to get to know in just a few nights. It's our job to impress them, chat them up, and welcome them into Greek life. Smiles and good munchies are highly encouraged to lighten the mood and keep us fresh on late nights. Fun! (ish)

Last year after we won Greek Night!

All jokes aside it's a long week--but it's also a great week. The whole sorority gets to spend a LOT of time together and we get to think about the future of our organization. It's exciting. What's also exciting is rush food. I remember going through recruitment and eating about 5 oreos at every organization adding up to like 40 in just one night. My friend Liz and I would stuff ourselves at rush with snacky food and then go out for a late night dinner afterward since we hadn't had a "real meal" yet. Ah Freshman year, that's how those dreaded 15 pounds happen! Well this year I'm bringing my A game to recruitment for the PNMS.

For "Round Robin" I made Herbed Lima Bean Hummus from the Gourmet cookbook that I always speak so highly of. This dip is awesome--never underestimate the power of fresh herbs. Instead of being made from chick peas this hummus is made from, you guessed it, Limas! I've never had anything against Lima beans but I guess some people do, whatever, they're great in this hummus. Throw in some oil, dill, garlic, parsley, mint, cilantro, a few other delicious things and you've got a dip sure to win over anyone. The recipe ingredient list looks like a lot but I promise it's worth it. The hummus was in hot demand as we all pushed on through 4 hours of meet 'n greet. I guess we should all just be glad it was hummus we were munching on instead of candy or something. The hummus was easy to make and had a simple balance of flavors. I don't really like cilantro very much but in this it helped to balance the dill really nicely. I looove this dip and am seriously considering making like a massive tupperware of it to snack on from week to week. It's a healthy and delicious snack or appetizer to impress with. Wish me luck through the rest of my cooking, baking, and girl flirting!

Herbed Lima Bean Hummus
From The Gourmet Cookbook

2 (10-oz) packages frozen baby lima beans
1 large onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, smashed with side of a large knife
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
3 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Simmer beans, onion, garlic, salt, and water in a 3-quart saucepan, covered, until beans are tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in cilantro and parsley and let stand, uncovered, 5 minutes.
Drain bean mixture in a sieve and transfer to a food processor. Add cumin, cayenne, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 4 tablespoons oil, dill, and mint and purée until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper and add lemon juice to taste.
Mound dip in a serving bowl and drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil.

Enjoy!

Bon Eating,
Whitney

Polenta Pizza

The other day I was brainstorming with Whit. What haven't we done on Nosh and Tell? What should be our next thing to share? I immediately realized that we have been missing a massive staple of the American diet, a massive staple of the world's diet! Pizza! 

I don't know anyone who doesn't love pizza. Whether it's cheese, meat lover's, veggie or even white, it's everyone's favorite; you can always "have it your way". It is the ultimate fast food, as well as the ultimate comfort food. It is perfect when devoured hot with gooey cheese and a crunchy, yet doughy crust. It is also perfect when enjoyed cold for breakfast. Have pizza on a bagel, on toast, on pita. Have it sweet with chocolate or savory with cheese and figs. The opportunities are endless. 

I remember watching a recent episode of Chopped on the Food Network and one of the ingredients was polenta. This wasn't quick cooking polenta, it was ready made. I had never seen anything like this before: a long tubular shape of already cooked polenta, waiting to be sauteed with butter and enjoyed. On my way through the isle of Trader Joe's yesterday, I happened upon this polenta in the pasta section. To be honest, my first impression while holding this new item wasn't the greatest. The tube was squishy and it felt like it should belong in the refrigerator section. I decided though that I should buy it and just give it a whirl. Hey, carbs are never bad right? 

I cut the polenta into 1/2 inch rounds and looked at my cutting board. What to do? The directions on the tube said to saute the rounds and enjoy them. But that seemed too plain to me. What about some cheese? Cheese seemed like a good way to go. But then it occurred me. Polenta Pizza! 

Polenta Pizza

1 tube precooked polenta

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

fresh basil

dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the polenta into half inch rounds and place them in one even layer over a well oiled oven pan. Top each round with a spoonful of tomato sauce. Cover with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Top with basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Put the pan in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned on top. 

When I opened the oven, the familiar smell of oregano, tomatoes and cheese filled my nose. But instead of a pizza with crusty bread, the polenta crust had a smooth and creamy inside with lightly browned edges. It definitely wasn't your typical pizza hut order but it was absolutely delicious.  Roommates and friends devoured the little bite sized pizzas and soon they were gone. I actually think they'd be a great hors d'oeuvre at a dinner party and could even be dressed up to be a little bit more posh at a fancy sit down meal.

Overall, the polenta pizza risk paid off. They actually were incredibly cheap as well. The tube of polenta was about 4 dollars and made 12 pizzas. That's quite the bang for your buck! I know that polenta is an intimidating ingredient, especially when made from scratch, but this recipe should show you that you can always turn the scary into the familiar with just a few simple ingredients. Try it out!

Bon Eating,
Ariel

ps. CONGRATULATIONS L-K HEALTHY DELICIOUS! YOU WON THE GIVE AWAY! Please send us an email with your address and info at Noshandtell@gmail.com and we'll send you the Gourmet Cookbook!

Lookie at my Cookies: Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

 

So Welcome Week is officially over and school has started. Meaning we are now trying to piece together our schedules and figure out where to fit in time for friends as well. So far it's going pretty well, except for the whole class thing. I think this is the least prepared I have been for school--normally I spend hours in Staples picking out school supplies like an excited middle schooler. This year...not so much. I had to call friends for an SOS to look at my schedule for me and figure out what room/time I had class. Oops! Oh well, it's kind of liberating actually.

 

So far classes are looking pretty good. I'm taking a few Food Studies classes that I'm really excited about and then a few others that I'm...eh...less excited about. Gotta take the bad with the good I guess. Anyway, in an effort to start off my year the right way I'm getting ahead and writing this blog post early! (Okay so it's really only the night before I would've written it anyway, actually I guess not the night before since its after 12 AM here).

Since summer is officially over--sad--and we're soon moving into fall type foods (pumpkin flavors, warm soups, cinnamon aromas, etc) I wanted one last hoorah with fruity things. I kinda copped out since Pink Lemonade Cupcakes aren't exactly made with real fruit, but they're summery! And very tasty. I'm pretty sure you could call these Barbie Cupcakes too because they're pink, fluffy, and beautiful. These were really good but if you eat them with the frosting on you'll probably only be able to stomach just one--they are very sweet. And I have an intense sweet tooth as you can probably imagine. I kind of just picked these because they were pink but to tell you the truth, I was worried about the lack of chocolate. No worries, they were awesome. The cake part was so moist it was almost like pound cake--it was definitely some of the best textured cake I've ever had. Aside from how sweet they were, these turned out great. Ariel said they're the prettiest thing I've ever made. Pink Lemonade Cupcakes, Barbie Cupcakes, whatever you want to call them--they are fun and tasty.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Adapted from Beantown Baker

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
4 egg whites
2/3 c. thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1/2 c. buttermilk
Pink food coloring

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with liners. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth.

Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.

Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full). Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting (see below).

Lemonade Buttercream
3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate
Milk to reach desired consistency
Pink food coloring

Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemonade concentrate, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Bon Eating,
Whitney