taim: a review.

While I do cook a lot, ethnic food is not something I make as often as I would like.  The sad truth is venturing into the world of Thai, Indian, and Middle-Eastern cooking usually requires a whole slew of ingredients that my teeny-tiny kitchen can't hold.  This isn't too say I haven't dabbled in it, but considering my love affair with the cuisines of the world, I haven't had the opportunity to really deep-dive into them.  Someday..

The plus side of all of this is that I don't feel bad about eating out at ethnic restaurants.  They are making me things I can't make as easily for myself so OF COURSE I can validate us getting take-out from the Indian restaurant in our neighborhood (even though I am 90% sure they hate me there). As of late, I've been on a falafel kick and while I've made them at home (and blogged about them here), there is something incredibly awesome about not having to deal with deep frying.  Plus at a falafel place you can get a whole slew of accouterments that you would never have available to you at home (Israeli salad! Roasted beets!) and while I have many go-to spots in the city, the one that consistently kills it is Taim.

Taim was started by the woman also manages Balaboosta (home of some of the greatest hummus I have ever eaten) and Bar Bolonat (currently on my long list of places to visit) but it's their teeny-tiny falafel store-fronts (SoHo and the West Village) that I constantly return too.  There is an ever rotating variety of falafel flavors and a selection of salads that leaves me overwhelmed (how can I pick just one?!) and absurdly happy (I love all the choices).  The falafel is always fried to order which makes them incredibly crispy and perfect for nestling in a pita with hummus (some of the best), salads galore, tahini, and hot sauce (lots of hot sauce).  Probably the best sandwich in the city for $6.50.

(hot) pink.

I'll never tire of a shot of hot pink.  



Image via Pinterest. 

roasted cauliflower, grape, and cheddar salad.

After being on a hiatus from everything I am slowly returning to the routines of my life pre-wedding. This includes reading books (I missed you Kindle as much as you missed me), tackling the stack of magazines that always appears to be on the verge of toppling over, completing the Wire (and figuring out which show to binge-watch next), and returning to the kitchen to cook us comfort food (and lots of vegetables).  

In the last couple of weeks I've eaten my share of cookies, bread, and burritos, but now I am trying to ween myself off such things (mostly because I don't want to look like a burrito in a couple of months time). The only way to do such a thing is to turn the healthy foods into the kinds of things I crave which means cheese has to be involved.  

I've had this recipe from the Plenty More cookbook earmarked for some time now (because it pretty much includes all of my favorite things) but only this past weekend did I finally have the chance to make it.  Why I waited so long remains to be seen since this couldn't be easier.  A whole head of cauliflower is broken down and roasted  and then tossed with nuts, cheddar, and grapes.  A tangy dressing composed of dijon mustard and honey (my favorite kind of dressing) brings the whole thing together.  The resulting salad is both bright and utterly fall appropriate and while it is virtuous, it doesn't taste that way (this is why I ate almost all of it).  

Roasted Cauliflower, Grape and Cheddar Salad 
Recipe from Plenty More

I don't think some farro or bulger tossed into this salad would be a bad thing.  That is if you are looking to turn the salad into a meal. 

1 large head cauliflower (about 2 pounds/900 grams), broken into florets
5 tablespoons grapseed or olive oil
Salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon honey
About 1/4 cup or 30 grams raisins
About 1/3 cup or 40 grams toasted hazelnuts or almonds, roughly crushed 
2/3 cup/100 grams red grapes, halved and, if necessary, deseeded 
3 ounces/80 grams creamy cheddar, crumbled 
1/4 cup/10 grams roughly shredded parsley

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss the cauliflower with 3 tablespoons of the oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Spread on an oven tray and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring once or twice, until nicely browned. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl whisk the remaining oil with the vinegar, mustard, honey and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Add the raisins and leave to soak for at least 10 minutes. Just before serving, transfer the cauliflower to a bowl with all the other ingredients. Pour over the dressing, toss gently, adjust the seasoning to taste and serve.

top 3 san francisco sweets (on this trip!).

Tyler and I spent a blissful week on the west coast doing not much more then wandering around aimlessly, consuming massive amounts of really delicious food, and watching the Wire (such a good show). Only on your honeymoon can you get away with such a schedule.

We ate a lot of really good food but it was the sweets that really caught my attention this time around. Below are the favorites and the items I will be dreaming about (and looking to potentially recreate now that I have so much wonderful time on my hands.)

1 - Banana, Chocolate, Almond Croissant from b.Patisserie - Be still my heart this was amazing.  Delicate yet hefty, sweet but not cloyingly so, it is a croissant a French person would probably turn their nose at which just means there are more for me to eat.  I will continue to dream about this and the entire pastry case of amazing desserts.  I regret not purchasing the pumpkin kougin but I needed to exhibit some restraint.

2 - Cherry Cornmeal Rosemary Doughnut from Dynamo Donut - Tyler and I both agreed this was one of the best doughnuts we've ever had and that's saying a lot since I am a bit of a doughnut fiend (as evidenced by the doughnut bar at our wedding).  It kind of tasted like a cross between a doughnut, a cake, and a panetone which means it was dreamy and wonderful.

3 - The Passionfruit Dessert (and in particular the chocolate passionfruit sandwich cookies) from SPQR - Everything we ate here was incredible (squash and chestnut tortelli with cherry jus!) but the passsion fruit panna cotta with 2 mini chocolate passionfruit curd sandwich cookies, stole the show.  The panna cotta somehow managed to be both perfectly tart and sweet in the same bite but the cookies were everything. Soft bittersweet chocolate cookies sandwiched passionfruit curd.  A version of this cookie will be on my holiday list this year.

autumn panzanella.

When it comes to Thanksgiving, I am a stuffing girl.  It isn't the showstopper the way the turkey is but it's the showstopper in my book and I can't get enough of it.  (This is why you will find me in the kitchen on the day of shamelessly eating all the crispy bits of stuffing out of the cooked turkey.  Sorry Mom.)

But why is a one day a year kind of food? And if people insist upon keeping it a one day a year food, how can I take that concept and turn it into something that people will eat from September through December?  

Well.  I had a light-bulb moment last evening and realized that panzanella is a pretty close cousin to stuffing. So close in fact that an autumn panzanella could in fact be the answer to all of my stuffing issues.  This is why I found myself in the kitchen this morning chopping the last remaining bits of my first loaf of Tartine bread (yes I brought a loaf of bread back with me on an airplane and no I don't think this is weird) and turning it into the most amazing rift on stuffing.  Ever.  

This salad-stuffing-bowl of delicious-ness is the kind of thing you will find yourself craving.  Cubes of well toasted bread are tossed with chunks of squash, pepitas, chorizo and goat cheese.  A maple-sherry dressing gets drizzled over the whole thing for a little bit of extra flavor.  It's a lighter more elegant version of stuffing which is why you can eat it much more often.  

Autumn Panzanella 

Serves 2 as a main

I don't have to tell you that you could throw just about anything into this and it would be really good.  Some roasted piquillo peppers could be nice (or plain old roasted red peppers), sopressata could easily replace the chorizo, and burrata instead of goat cheese could be magical.  Some dried cranberries and almonds would be a happy addition as well (or some sauteed greens!).  But I assure you that this version is pretty deliciously spot-on.  

For the Salad 

4 cups of hearty bread cubed and toasted
3 cups cubed and roasted butternut squash or sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons pepitas

1/4 cup chopped dried chorizo

2 ounces goat cheese crumbled

Fried brussel sprout leaves (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste.  

For the Dressing

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon maple syrup

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 teaspoon Mike's Hot Honey (or 1 teaspoon honey and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes)

Salt and pepper to taste

Toss all of the ingredients for the salad except for the brussel sprout leaves into a bowl .  Stir to combine.

Whisk the dressing ingredients together except for the salt and pepper.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  Pour over the salad.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.  Garnish with brussel sprout leaves.

married.

Guys, I'm married. (?!?)

The wedding.  The wedding was everything and so much more.  I don't know how we lucked out the way we did. How the day managed to go so flawlessly. Tyler says it's because I am an incredible planner, I personally think it was sheer dumb luck (and the fact that we hired some pretty awesome people) but I'll take the compliment.  Having people tell us the wedding was the coolest they've ever been to and how thankful they were to be part of the day, watching my friends and family dance all night under bistro lights, reading out loud the words I had spent 8 months crafting (and was still crafting the day before) was one of those incredibly once in a lifetime experiences.  The whole thing still feels like a dream.  I don't know if it will ever feel real.  (I do know I am still in possession of a tea-length tulle-skirt and I plan on wearing it around the apartment just because.)

I've had a lot of thoughts about all of this but I'm not sure how to articulate any of it because I still haven't grasped what has happened.  I do know that I get giddy when I look over at Tyler's hand and catch sight of his wedding band - a reminder of the fact that this actually happened.  

So what did I learn from all of this?  I learned that when you decide to devote 11 months of your life and a significant chunk of your money to planning a party that you should do exactly what you want.  So if you want to elope, do it.  If you want to have a doughnut bar, that's awesome.  Everyone says a wedding is for everyone else and that is definitely true but if you're doing the work make it a day that you will look back on with love. People will understand and if they don't who cares!  Just be happy.  

So I'm married and I'm pretty freaking excited about that.  I am also pretty freaking excited that wedding planning is over and that my life can return to a normal state - one that involves lots of cooking, reading, and all around winter hibernating with my new husband.    

Photo courtesy of Sarah and Daniel at Chellise Michael.  AKA the best wedding photographers ever.