Tag Archives: pesto

The Grey Dog on University Place

I used to live down in the Washington Sq. Park area the first summer I lived in New York City. I can’t tell you how many times I walked up and down University Place going from my apartment to Union Square. I loved living down in that area of Manhattan — there wasn’t anything more special than to walk outside in the morning and walk right out into the park. There’s something about The Village that just brings back so many memories, my initial memories of the city. If you are only in the city for one day I say skip Times Square and Central Park and head down to Washington Square Park and wander the village, walk in and out of boutiques, eat at some great restaurants and call it a day. I could honestly sit on a bench in Washington Square Park and people watch for hours and hours.

My friend Blaz asked me to lunch and since he works down in the Union Square area I offered to meet him in the neighborhood. He suggested we go to The Grey Dog. I have never even heard of The Grey Dog before but of course I said yes. It also gave me the perfect opportunity to wander around a few of my favorite blocks in the city and sit in the park on a lovely spring afternoon.

While I waited for Blaz tons of people came in and out of the restaurant, and I knew I was going to have a great experience when people would walk by and rave about the food to their friends or family, and tons of people also would point to the restaurant and tell their friends, “I have heard amazing things about that place.” So, clearly I was waiting impatiently while waiting for my friend to arrive for our lunch date.

Once he arrived, we went inside and waited to order. The way the restaurant works is: you walk in, view the menu on a big chalk board, stand in line, and order your food when it’s your turn. If you want to sit down after ordering someone will ask you while you’re in line and he will tell you where you’ll be sitting and you can sit down once you’ve ordered. There’s no table service, so when they call your name you need to get up and get your food, especially if it’s a crazy day. If you want a refill on your drink, sorry to say but you’ll have to stand in line again. So be sure to order everything you want before sitting down.

I ordered the grilled chicken press with fresh mozzarella, pesto and roasted tomato. Such a simple sandwich and even though it was unbelievably delicious, I wished that I ordered something a little more exotic — like the sliced granny smith apple with turkey, brie and raspberry mustard. I guess I will save that order for next time! The chicken meat in my sandwich was nice and moist and the pesto really hit the spot. Pesto is one of my comfort foods and I love putting it on all sorts of things. Served with my pressed sandwich were sweet potato fries. Have you ever put mayo on your sweet potato fries? Do it! And you’ll be hooked on the combo!

In addition to my sandwich, my friend Blaz told me I had to try one of the raspberry iced teas. I wasn’t too sure about the unsweetened iced tea, I love having something nice and sweet because it really quenches my thirst! So, instead, I ordered the raspberry lemonade — and I am beginning to crave a glass of it right now as I type this post. The lemonade reminded me of what I used to drink growing up. As I sipped down my lemonade I remembered how I used to go bare-foot in the middle of summer time, and how I used to love to run barefoot through the grass (something I sadly I can’t do here in the city). I probably thought about this because I used to drink pink lemonade all summer long when I was a teenager. The raspberry flavor only added the most perfect sophistication to the very sweet lemonade. You can’t go to The Grey Dog without ordering one of those drinks — Raspberry Lemonade or Raspberry Iced Tea.

It was such a nice day, we probably should have ordered the food to-go and then sat down in the park. It’s something to keep in mind for next time, especially if there are no tables available to sit down at!

Grilled Cheese with Lemon Pesto

There are so many things that I miss about the warm summer months… one thing is the food. I can never get enough of the cheap in season fruits and veggies that are sold at various grocery stores and farmer’s markets. One of my favorite herbs that is really only in season in the summer time is basil. I can do so many fabulous things with basil! I actually make a killer pesto! My pesto ingredients include: pine nuts, basil, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and parmigiano reggiano cheese. This week I was able to snag a nice sized container of pesto for $3 (I felt like I won the lotto, kind of). But my excitement still hasn’t died down from the thrill of finding this fresh basil. The other night I decided to make some pesto and for kicks I threw into my recipe a bit of lemon zest. The lemon zest actually added a sweet/sour kick to the sauce.

Now that I have a basic pesto made and put into an air tight container to keep it from spoiling, I have so many things I am looking forward to cooking up over the next week or so. There are so many things you can use pesto in/on: bruschetta, caprese salad, grilled cheese, pasta, salads, gnocchi, ravioli, and it even makes a fabulous marinade for chicken! The best part about pesto is, just a little bit of the sauce goes a long way. Seriously, never use too much pesto on something because 1. you don’t want to waste your cherished pesto, and 2. the flavors will be very overwhelming.

My boyfriend claims he doesn’t like pesto. But, recently I decided to sneak some into an appetizer I made for us. Instead of using basil leaves on a simple yet delicious caprese salad — I used pesto. I swear, the pinenuts do so much for pesto and it does so much for the flavors in a caprese salad made of bufala mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, and pesto sauce. So, I snuck it in on him and he loved it! I actually never told him that I used pesto and when pesto came up in a conversation over dinner with some friends he had to say to everyone “I hate pesto” and I looked at him and said, but you’ve eaten it before and you never complained. He turned right to me and said “WHEN!?” and “WHERE!?” … I am such a sneaky girlfriend.

So after making this lemon pesto at 10:30 at night, I had to eat some of it! But how? I didn’t want to cook up an entire dish of pasta, I just wanted a near-midnight snack. So, I lightly buttered some bread on one side of each slice (lightly buttered people, we don’t want to get type 2 diabetes like poor ol’ Paula Deen), put them on a skillet, but a very light layer of pesto on one side of one of the slices, laid down some very basic american cheese, and toasted up a grilled cheese. The resulted flavors were spectacular! It was such a fabulous savory snack I have had in so long!

fun grilled cheese recipes

A Lemon Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich, made in 15 minutes or less!

It’s really true, just a bit of pesto goes a long way!

Note: when making grilled cheese, as I said above only use a little bit of butter to butter one side of each slice of bread (the side that goes on the pan). I have found that butter really is better to use than olive oil because you want that crispy breaded texture and you want your cheese to melt inside. I have found that if I spray my bread with a bit of olive oil, my bread turns that perfect golden brown way too fast and the bread burns before the cheese melts.

how to make a grilled cheese

Perfect golden brown grilled cheese bread.

My Christmas Lust List

I started thinking about all of the fabulous kitchen appliances that I wish I could have and I started a mini “lust list.” Can you blame me? We all would cook more at home if it was easier, right? If we all had a fantastic food processor, I could almost guarantee that no one would ever buy pre-made pesto ever again… I have a small food processor — I got it while I was in college and I would use it to make all sorts of sauces (especially pesto). Ever since then I have been making my own pesto and typically at the end of the summer I will make a large amount so I can freeze it and use it throughout the winter. The only problem is, my food processor is so small I would have to make 3 batches of pesto to fill up my container.

I also love my toaster oven… maybe a little too much. I use it every day, multiple times a day for all sorts of things. Whether I am making toast for breakfast, baking cookies, or making bruschetta — I always manage to find a way to use my toaster oven. The poor device has been through such a beating over the past 5 years and I wish I could replace it! Out with the old — in with the new … I wish!

So until I have the money (and counter space) for these items, it looks like I’ll have to make do with out them… and I’ll keep dreaming about them too!

Here’s my lust list. What would be on your list?

Breville Smart Oven
Kitchen Aid Mixer
CuisinArt Food Processor
Nespresso Foamer
CuisinArt Griddler

Gnocco

Italy came to me for dinner last night — the funny thing about the evening was as soon as I got to Gnocco with friends for a feast, my boyfriend’s flight to Rome was leaving New York. When he returns from Italy, I’m going to take him back — minus the long transatlantic flight and bags of cheap pretzels.
Let me be clear, the food Gnocco is different than Gnocchi; but they are both sublime at this restaurant. Gnocco is a deep fried dough but is not the fried dough you are probably thinking about — it’s not super thick and has both a crispy crunch and a fluffy texture to it. The Gnocco dish comes with northern Italian cold-cuts and can be placed on top of the fried-dough if you’d like, but I enjoyed it without. In addition to the Gnocco as an appetizer, I devoured the Caprese di Bufala Campana (sorry, it was eaten so fast I forgot to snap a photo!), which is buffalo mozzarella with fresh tomatoes and of course — basil. What made this salad so divine were two things: an extra basil-pesto was on the side of the dish and the flavor of this pesto livened up the food even more, and the buffalo mozzarella was also the freshest and creamiest cheese I have ever eaten. The restaurant has their buffalo mozzarella imported to them (see, I told you Italy came to me for dinner). My friend ordered their Caprino Tiepido, honey and golden raisins with warm goat cheese on top of mixed greens, she offered me some salad and if I wasn’t already getting full I probably would have demolished her dish. Having warm goat cheese makes it feel like you are having a hot dinner but the greens and especially the honey make the salad feel light. Usually I don’t enjoy salads, I think they are for wimps, but this one isn’t for the typical little salad eater, it’s for those who want to say “yum” after every bite and not feel guilty over what they are eating.
For my main course I indulged in a gnocchi in a pesto sauce (the gnocchi and a pesto sauce are on their menu but they are not with each other, the kitchen was kind enough to put the two together for me — and I must say, I think they are a great match). Owner Gianluca Giovanetti explained to me the gnocchi consistency is all about the amount of flour used; too much flour is going to make them too hard, not enough flour and it won’t hold together well enough to be called gnocchi. Gnocco chefs have the gnocchi recipe down — it was the perfect texture, not too hard but also it didn’t fall apart when my fork scooped it up. I am extremely picky with gnocchi, I feel like I may have a great dish of it once a year if I’m lucky and I almost gave up the search for the perfect gnocchi — and then I tried Gnocco’s plate. Gianluca also told me how each dish truly is a taste of heaven (and Italy). His mother came over to the United States to teach the chefs her recipes. In this case it’s true — mother knows best!

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Following the gnocchi came the pizza! The thin and crispy crust didn’t make me feel full on pizza and the toppings were amazing! It was covered with the classic italian seasonings and ingredients that make the food scream “ITALIAN GODS/GODDESSES CREATED ME!” There are plenty of pizzas to choose from — this side of the menu is a bit overwhelming because there are so many pizzas to pick from. One thing I did not try was the Calzone; it’s something I must do when I return for another dinner.
Dessert, was what officially put me in my food coma.
The mascarpone ice cream with espresso poured on top was to-die-for. Every one at the table laughed when I took too big of a bite out of the ice cream glass. After I got the spoon full in my mouth I closed my eyes because I felt like I was in food-heaven and then I quickly realized brain-freeze was the outcome of too much cold in one bite. I will NEVER again have artificial coffee flavored ice cream. If coffee is to be with the frozen dessert it is to be done one way and one way only — and it’s this way.

Note: Gnocco is located at 337 East 10th Street (between A&B).
Warning: don’t look at the online menu, it will make you hungry!
P.S: it’s 2 p.m the day after I went to dinner at Gnocco and I’m still full! That’s what great food will do to you!