Tag Archives: New Years Eve

L’Apicio in the LES

I am a bit embarrassed to admit how behind I am on posting this — but, better late than never! 2012 flew by so fast AND I have a feeling that 2013 is going to be an amazing year in so many ways! So, what was my final dinner of 2012? ITALIAN, of course!

So here we go … my final meal of 2012 was a great one! My boyfriend and I headed downtown to the Lower East Side for dinner at L’Apicio — the sister restaurant to L’Artusi. It opened only a couple of months ago and we have been excited to head on down to the LES to get a taste of the menu.

L’Apicio’s menu is set up the same way as L’Artusi’s — reasonable sized plates that you share with those you are dining with. Italian cuisine and tapas style… what could be better than this?

When it comes to tapas, I will admit that I go a bit crazy ordering. It first usually starts out with the two of us looking over the menu, eying down what we have to have then we come together to share our choices, we narrow it down to a handful of plates then we confuse ourselves by asking the server what he/she prefers on the menu. Usually we end up picking a plate or two that the server prefers, I pick a plate, my boyfriend picks a plate then we decide on one final dish that looks good. Every once in a while I see something that I know I would love to eat but I know my boyfriend is going to be difficult about trying something new; and I am totally guilty of giving a specific look to my server when I say “so, how is the Mezzalune? I bet it’s delicious — right?!” My non-verbal communication through my wicked eye-glare will tell any waiter that he/she needs to respond “Oh yes, it’s fantastic, and a popular dish ordered by many!” All it takes is for my boyfriend to hear a rave review by the server and he’ll order the dish. A girl has gotta do what a girl has gotta do … for delicious food ;-)

We started with a delicious cheese plate — my guess is the restaurant changes this cheese menu based on what they are able to order / what is fresh. I would suggest ordering 2-4 different types of cheese to start. They go beautifully with wine as well!

hamachi

Then, we ordered a couple of appetizers — but there is one specific plate I have to rave about. The Hamachi was out of this world! Hamachi is also called yellowtail (click here for more info). This dish was made with apple, jalapeno, and chives. All of these ingredients made each bite full of fresh and vivid flavors. The funny part about ordering the Hamachi is that I was hesitant about eating it — I wasn’t too sure about the description on the menu but boy am I happy I gave it a try! It might be my new raw obsession!

cauliflower ravioli

Another dinner favorite was the Mezzalune — ravioli stuffed with cauliflower and topped with pinenuts and capers. The capers added the perfect amount of salt, the pinenuts made the ravioli texture unique and the cauliflower made me feel like I was eating something healthy! The plate was small and something I wish I could have devoured all on my own. If I went back and had to order only one plate — this would be it! Who would have thought how flavorful a cauliflower ravioli would be!?

beefy gnocchi

Another great order — the Osso Bucco Ragu Gnocchi. Gnocchi is already a very filling food, and paired with hearty meat you are bound for a food-coma. It’s also very easy to screw up cooking gnocchi and the chef at L’Apicio cooked this plate perfectly.

maple squash

And, last but not least, the perfect side dish — the Delicata Squash. The squash was made with hazelnuts, sage and maple. All of these sweet flavors made the vegetable taste like candy. It’s the perfect side dish to order when you are eating such savory main dishes. This is also an inspirational side dish that I would like to recreate at home!

We also ordered polenta but it was not something we enjoyed. I believe the consistency of polenta is either loved or hated — and in a nutshell, it’s something I really don’t like. But, if you do like polenta, the restaurant gives you a few beautiful options to choose from!
Follow Me on Pinterest

Instagram

Cookin’ Good With Sitto

This Christmas, my mom gave me a cook book that was created by a church in upstate NY — the book is filled with recipes compiled from the locals’ personal recipe collection. Where my dad grew up — Utica, NY — there is still to this day a large population of Italians and Lebanese and Syrian families. And I just so happen to be both Syrian and Italian. Woah! What a combo!

I was excited to see that some of my Nannie’s (aka grandmother) recipes made it into the book! I was also so surprised to see how beautiful the book turned out — it’s divided into sections (dips, appetizers, side dishes, main dishes, desserts etc.) and there is even a spice index which will help me know what I am looking for when I go grocery shopping.

After opening up this Christmas gift from my mom, I opened up one from my grandmother. I couldn’t help but chuckle when I saw that she gave me a similar cook book but it was published in 1976 called ‘Cookin Good With Sitto’ (Sitto means grandmother). As old as the book is, it is in pretty good condition but the inside looks ancient — filled with hand drawn pictures and held together with a plastic binder of a spine (I’m surprised it has held together so well).

I’ve decided for New Years Eve I’m going to make two classic dips for when I get together with my boyfriend and part of his family. What’s on the menu? Very easy things to make but I unfortunately don’t have a fraction of the ingredients (ugh, that means more to carry home from the store). But I am planning to make Hummus and Emhammara which is a red pepper dip.

I’m running into a small dilemma though. I have these two cook books, which recipes do I follow? My grandmother’s recipe for Emhammara just so happens to be in the newer cook book and her recipe calls for a half a jar of Mild Ajvar (eggplant and red pepper spread) but the other recipe has nothing of the sort. But when it comes to the hummus, the recipes are very similar and I actually think I will be following the 1976 recipe version because it calls for fresh garlic and more lemon juice and those flavors I love!

I thought I would share with you the recipes — take a look at the newer and older recipes (you’ll be able to tell the difference based on the text, plus you can also see that the newer version has the recipe credited to someone).

When I make these on Saturday I will be sure to take photos and share with you next week! Happy New Years!

My grandmother’s recipe for Emhammara (Red Pepper Dip):

Ingredients:
3/4 lb. Shelled Walnuts (Ground)
2 lbs. Red Peppers Cut, cleaned and ground
1 sleeve of Saltine or Ritz crackers, crushed (I prefer Saltine)
1/2 cup oil
Juice from 1 fresh lemon
2 oz. of Pomegranate Molasses
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 jar of Mild Ajvar (eggplant and red pepper spread)

Directions:
Mix together ground walnuts, crushed crackers and add to ground red peppers and 1/2 jar of Mild Ajvar. Mix with a fork and add lemon juice, oil, salt and pomegranate molasses.
Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.