By Ari, on October 15th, 2011%
Hubs and I are about to set off on a little adventure. I’ve got a day of fun (and secret!) outings planned, and then a fabulous (and secret!) dinner reservation for two. I love secrets, don’t you?
Apparently I’m hard to surprise. John says I’m “always expecting” something. That’s probably true… My current expectations involve a large house in Greenwich, CT or Westchester and a sense of understanding when I tell John I need more clothes. Is that so much to ask?
I also have high expectations for my ability to cook. Unless I’m unsure of the flavor combinations, I tend to anticipate that most meals I make will be tasty. I do not always expect, however, that they will be great.
This meal was great.
Continue reading Flounder with Leeks and Couscous
By Ari, on August 16th, 2011%
This post is dedicated to my wonderful sisters whom I recently acquired though law (thanks, hubby!), but who have treated me like family for years. I could not be more thankful for my relationship with each of them, and for finally knowing the joys of picking on a younger sibling.
Over the last few months, Sister 2 (the one who was born second) has developed a newfound love for cooking and baking. How fortunate for her that she can turn to me with questions! Last week I received quite possibly the funniest phone call ever from her.
It was her mom’s birthday and she wanted to prepare a special dinner. When consulting with me during the previous days, I suggested that she make clams, one of her mother’s favorites. (This is only important because I don’t think she would have made clams without my strong urging.) Sister 2 was worried because the clams were still alive and moving (a good thing!) when she began to prepare dinner. I joked with her that they were staring her down and angry that their lives were about to end at her hand. To say that this unnerved her is quite the understatement.
We had a good laugh, and then she teased that I would probably go tell my friends about this.
“No, no, I’m only going to tell John.”
Sorry, sis! (P.S. I hear she did a fantastic job!)
When making a recent purchase at Fairway, I couldn’t help but think of her and smile. On the menu? Soft shell crab BLT’s. I had already mentally prepared myself to kill these delightful little creatures. When cooking something like clams, mussels, or soft shell crabs, the fresher, the better (which essentially means they need to be alive right up until they’re cooked).
Fortunately for me, the fish monger selling me the crabs offered to clean them. Since I was cooking them for dinner later that evening, I knew they’d be fine.
Cleaning a soft shell crab entails first cutting off their eyes and face. I am 100% serious. You use a pair of kitchen shears and just chop it off. Then, you have to squeeze out a liquid-filled sack behind the eyes. I found out later that this substance was a light green color (just adding to the “gross” factor). After this, the rest is easy. Peel off a few gills, throw away one or two parts that are unpleasantly chewy, and you’re good to go.
The part that was most disheartening was when the little crabs’ legs continued to flail after their faces had been chopped off. C’est la vie.
Thank you, Fairway seafood department, for taking the lives of these crabs for me!
 Continue reading Soft Shell Crab BLT with Tarragon Aioli
By Ari, on August 9th, 2011%
A few weeks ago I made a delicious and healthy salmon dinner with jasmine rice and a coconut-tomato sauce. The success of that dish gave me the confidence to continue cooking with ingredients that are less familiar to me. When I recently decided to make mussels for dinner, it took me about 30 seconds to figure out that I wanted to use coconut milk again.
With the amount of food blogs I pore over daily, and thus, the high amount of recipes I’ve bookmarked as “must try,” I quickly scanned my shellfish folder and came across this: Coconut Curry Mussels.
Um, yes, please! Continue reading Thai Coconut Curry Mussels
By Ari, on July 20th, 2011%
If you want to fool someone into thinking you spent a lot of time in the kitchen making a complex meal, throw some coconut milk into the mix.
I wholly attribute the success of this meal to the use of coconut milk. That, and being able to properly cook a piece of fish. Continue reading Baked Salmon with Coconut-Tomato Sauce and Creamy Jasmine Rice
By Ari, on July 13th, 2011%
I am in love with this dish. From start to finish, it’s healthy, colorful, and just leaves you feeling good. It’s perfect for summer, which is great because NY is having a little heatwave right now (got into the 90’s yesterday). Gross.
Are you hearing this? I’m a Florida girl, and I’m complaining about 92-degree weather. I’ve lost my edge.
 Continue reading Chipotle Lime Shrimp and Quinoa
By Ari, on May 10th, 2011%
Whenever I experiment with recipes, I label the finished product as either (a) a triumph (to be repeated over and over again), (b) something that is tasty, but needs tweaking, or (c) something I wouldn’t even feed to my enemies. I’m happy to report that this recipe is a winner! Not shocking, though. What’s not to love about a simple shrimp scampi?
Warning: If you’re not a fan of garlic, you probably won’t like this dish. Also, why are we friends?!
Continue reading Shrimp Scampi
By Ari, on May 2nd, 2011%
I. Love. This. Recipe. I really, really do.
 Continue reading Fish Tacos
By Ari, on April 6th, 2011%
Sorry for my prolonged absence! There’s this little thing – my Master’s thesis – that I’m frantically trying to finish. Between that (my day job) and wedding planning (my night job), one could say I’ve been busy. Gourmet, home-cooked meals are the farthest thing from my mind right now, and although I’m dying to test some recipes from my newly purchased bread cookbooks, I just don’t have the time.
What I do have time for are quick, easy meals. These days, I’m sporting a pescetarian (fish and veggies only) diet during the week, and saving poultry and red meat for the weekends. It’s part of my active goal to be healthier, and eating less meat and more veggies can’t hurt, right? I’m hoping I can make this change permanent, because I really love how I feel when I go for that “roasted veggies wrap” at the coffee shop instead of a sandwich with “turkey and chipotle cheddar.”
No, I do not plan on becoming a full-on vegetarian. There’s just no way I could turn down a good piece of seared foie gras, or beef short ribs that fall apart like butter, or (gasp!) pork belly/lamb belly/boar belly/anything-belly. I love these things too much. Thus, my “weekday pescetarianism.”
What? It’s totally a thing.
Continue reading Shrimp Cocktail
By Ari, on March 21st, 2011%
I’ve rediscovered my inner-Jewish self and decided to open up a Kosher-style deli.
. . .
Hah! Wouldn’t it be funny if that were true?
While I do love delis, and I love the idea of owning my own place, I think I’ll start a little smaller. Lox anyone?
That’s right, we are now making our own lox here at Chez Laing. It sounds impressive, tastes delish, but the best part? Very little effort is required.
Continue reading Homemade Lox – A Success Story!
By Ari, on September 8th, 2010%
The ever-so-slightly cooler weather we had earlier this week (temperatures in the 60’s) is making me anxious for fall. I know, I know – I’ve been anticipating the drop in Fahrenheit for weeks, and I’ve shared my eagerness with you. It’s just that these days I’m trying to cook more seasonally. I try to eat more fresh fruit in the summer and more root vegetables in the fall and winter. And I love traditional fall and winter flavor combinations.
Despite my bitterness that it almost reached 90 degrees F today in NY, I’m still moving forward with this fall cooking theme. Today, we explore the wonderful world of brussels sprouts. Ok, the brussels sprouts are really just a vehicle to showcase the scallops, which I could eat pretty much any time of the year. But stay tuned for more fall favorites being featured soon! (Like tomorrow.)
 Continue reading Seared Scallops with Brussels and Lemon-Chive Crème Fraîche
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