We had a little snow last night, and since the mayor closed NYC public schools, my work was also closed! I have been enjoying an unexpected lazy day in, with lots of cooking, photographing, and blog planning. I have a few updates in the works, so stay tuned!
This weekend was an excellent one, so having a snow day feels like a true bonus! Yesterday we had a bit of an NYC adventure. On the recommendation of our Cuban friends Hery and Susy we tried out the Cuban Chinese restaurant La Caridad 78. Yum! Andrew had the orange chicken with beans and rice and I had the fried half chicken with special fried rice (with shrimp, pork, and ham!).
Next we checked out the Andy Warhol exhibition at the Whitney Museum. It included works spanning his entire career, and I really enjoyed the experience.
After that we went to Corkbuzz for their happy hour blind tasting special. We got two-ounce pours of three different wines with a whole tasting chart to fill out. Then we had to guess the grape, the year, the country…! We pretty much failed at everything, although I guessed correctly with California and Chile for two of the wines and pretty close with France (it was Italy) with the other. And I guessed all of the correct years, just jumbled them and assigned them to all the wrong wines!
We would definitely go back and try the blind tasting again. What fun!
Earlier this week I made the salsa macha recipe from Nopalito, a cookbook I’ve really been enjoying recently. The leftover salsa was excellent along with some avocado mayo on our breakfast tacos this morning. (I’m including the salsa macha and avocado mayo recipes below). To make the tacos, just fry an egg and put that on corn tortillas along with the avocado mayo, salsa macha, some cilantro, and queso fresco.
What are you up to on this snowy day? I have this black bean chili on the stove right now, and later we’ll eat that and then finish up the Sophia Loren movie we started last night. Have a great week, everyone!n
Avocado Mayo
- 1/2 cup mashed avocado
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tsp lime juice
- salt to taste
- Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.
Salsa Macha
- 12 chilis de arból, stemmed and seeded
- 1 ancho chili, stemmed and seeded
- 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp oregano, preferably Mexican
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt, to taste
- Preheat the oven to 350. Spread the chilis on a baking sheet and bake until toasted and aromatic but not burned, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the chilis to a small bowl, cover them with boiling water, and allow to soak for 20 minutes or until softened.
- Drain the chilis, reserving the soaking liquid. Transfer the chilis to a food processor along with the garlic, sunflower seeds, oregano, and vinegar. Pulse until the mixture forms a thick paste, adding some of the soaking liquid to thin it out a bit if necessary. Gradually add the olive oil, pulsing to combine. Add salt to taste.
lofigourmet.com 