Crif Dogs - The Hot Dog Gets Some Love

About two weeks ago my husband and I decided that it was high time we tried Crif Dogs. They have a reputation for being some of the best hot dogs in NYC. Seeing that the dirty water hot dog seems to be an endangered species in this city, this would be a place definitely needing to be checked out to give proper homage to a food that was once an NYC staple. While you can be a purist and have your dog with just mustard or ketchup, Crif will present you with options you never knew you could have with a hot dog.

We decided to be unconventional and tried the Tsunami Dog and the Garden State Dog. The Tsunami is a bacon wrapped hot dog topped with chopped pineapple and green onions and teriyaki sauce. While the bacon, teriyaki sauce and pineapple work well together complimenting each other, the raw green onions can be a bit sharp and unsettling to take in. The Garden State Dog is also bacon wrapped but it is topped with chopped pepperoncini, mustard and american cheese. Both of these options were filling and tasty and have made us believers in the existence and survival of the hot dog in the concrete jungle. We will be back for more.

 Tsunami Dog

Garden State Dog with waffle fries

Googa Mooga!!!!

Well I am sure that I am probably not the first nor will I be the last to write about this festival, but I hope that my sincere review of my experience at this festival will not be tossed away into oblivion without any regard. Overall my experience was a good one and I did attend both days of the festival thanks to being persistent about getting tickets. I will start things positively by showing pictures of some of the great stuff I tasted and saw (although unfortunately I missed out on taking a picture of the Hammagedon Pig which was pretty friggin awesome). Anyway here are the few pictures I managed to take while not distracted by something more awesome.

 The infamous Foie Gras Doughnut by Do or Dine

 Maple Cotton Candy on a Pretzel stick

 Bourbon Bacon Popcorn

 Inside the Beer Tent

 The Market Place

 Urbarn a magical place of learning

Police barricade tables were awesome.

(The vendors in the background were some of our favorites)

 La Newyorkina Popsicles - My daughter's favorite vendor.

 Italian Rice Balls Form Arancini Bros. 

 Deconstructed Aranci Balls

 Sloppy Joe Sadnwhich from Dyker's Farms 

(It was yummy. I drool over it)

 Field in front of the main stage

 Hall and Oates closing the festival = Awesome!!

 My daughter's favorite area.

OK here is my description of the experience I had. I arrived late in the day on Saturday so by then most stands were running scarce in food, but to be truthful the only reason I really wanted to go that day was to listen to The Roots and I accomplished that plus also got some treats so I was not really bothered by the same issues that other people who attended that day were pissed off about. My husband mentioned that when things started to get ridiculous with the currency system that was established for the alcohol the organizers responded as quickly and efficiently as possible by going to a cash system promptly. Since I did not witness this mess I will take everyone's word for it. What I did experience that day was that even though there were loads of people the festival was distributed in a great manner that allowed for areas where people could put down blankets and sit without other people trampling over them (at least for those not trying to do so in the vicinity of the vendors by the main stage area). I have already posted on Googa Mooga's facebook page to offer my point of view on this so I will not bore you with it. This day ended for me on a great note by having the pleasure to listen to the Roots while watching my little girl go crazy from sugar overload and great music.

Sunday was a fantastic day because this is where I made up for having missed most of the festival on Saturday. I got to try the infamous Foie Gras Doughnut by Do or Dine. Quite frankly it did not live up to the hype. It was not what foie gras should be, which is delicate and melts in your mouth upon contact. Although it was not horrible because it was still somewhat tasty it was not my favorite, but it was novel so I will give it points for that.

Among other things we had battered fried Oreos by James, which were alright. My favorites were the rice balls by Arancini Bros., because they were perfectly made with just the right amount of crispy breading on the outside and tender yummy, ricey goodness on the inside. Although the red gravy one was delicious, my favorite was the pesto one. My daughter's favorites were the popsicles by La Newyorkina, in particular their chocolate paletita. As far as libations I am hoping that Brooklyn Brewery will make their Maple lager a part of their regular menu because it was absolutely fantastic. I love a dark beer that does not have a bitter aftertaste. They definitely delivered what they promised.

In any case I think that the only disappointing thing about the festival was that some of the vendors I wanted to try did not bring enough food to the festival and so I did not get to eat some of the food I wish I had gotten to try. However, I cannot put this entirely on their shoulders because I had ample opportunity to get it since I arrived with my family and friends very early on in the day. I should have seized the chance to get in on as much of the food I wanted to try as possible. Then again I did manage to try some of the places I wanted to try and find some new favorite places to visit when I am feeling hungry. Sincerely for it being the first year that this was done I think the event lived up to the hype by providing a very eclectic collection of food.

My only comments overall are that next year the vendors need to come prepared with loads of food and bigger staffs to expedite the waiting process. If anything was learned is that this was supposed to be a food experience and more focus should be placed on this. It is not enough to come up with a good menu if you make people wait for food for too long. Ten to fifteen minutes should be the most you should have to wait.The layout of the place by the main stage area needs some tweaking but overall I was pleased by the amount of room and having the chance to lay down a blanket and not feeling like I was going to be trampled at any point.

My sincerest thanks to Superfly for putting the event together and also for the way in which you have handled the criticism and responded to it. You guys are a class act and I am looking forward to attending next year. I will be getting the Extra Mooga next year so bring plenty of food because I plan on bringing my appetite.

Puddin - Oh Yeah!!!

If you, like me are someone fortunate enough to have watched MTV when it was actually a good channel to watch, then you must have been lucky enough to have watched The State. One of the skits form that show that is most memorable to me is the Barry and Levon 240 dollars worth of pudding skit.

This was the only thought going through my mind when I saw the store front for Puddin' in New York's East Village. My husband and I decided that since Criff Dogs (fodder for my next post) was not open yet, we could very well reverse the order of our meals and indulge on dessert first.

I am in love with this place and the fact that if you decide to stay and eat your pudding there, the most wonderful smell of chocolate pudding being made from scratch is constantly wafting around. I opted for their Classic Pudding, which is chocolate pudding at the bottom, a middle layer of whipped cream and a top layer of butterscotch pudding. My daughter of course had the chocolate because she is a purist and who can blame her when it comes to pudding, especially from this place. My husband went with their Banana Cream Dream, which is layers of banana pudding, graham cracker crumbs, banana cake crumbs and whipped cream. It was a fantastic way to start lunch. Here are some images to help you with your visual interpretations of this place.

 Classic Pudding

Banana Cream Dream

Chocolate Pudding with Sprinkles

I am definitely going back to this place, especially if I am feeling low because nothing can pick you up like a small batch of well made pudding. Oh and this will always make me laugh.

Chicken Thighs In Moroccan Spice Date Sauce (with a twist)

If you recall from one of my previous posts, I had done some research into a Moroccan spice blend and promised to try to make something once I had said blend put together. I managed to get most of the ingredients for this blend together so I thought I would give it a run with some boneless chicken thighs. I altered the sauce a bit by giving it a Canadian Twist Nadia G style by adding Maple syrup instead of honey. Here is the recipe:


Chicken Thighs in Moroccan Date Sauce

5-6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
3 Garlic Cloves (minced)
3 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 TBSP Nydia's Moroccan Spice Blend (See recipe below)
5 Cardamom Pods
1 Cup Chicken Stock
1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
10 Dates (pitted if possible)

Nydia's Modified Moroccan Spice Blend

2 tsp Ground Ginger Powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground All Spice
1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 tsp Tumeric Powder
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Anise Seeds (crushed)
1/4 tsp Ground Cloves

Preheat oven to 380 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure your oven rack is centered in the oven.

Place your chicken thighs in a large resealable bag (ziplock bag as it is know to US natives), adding in the minced garlic, 2 TBSP of the olive oil and the 2 TBSP of the Moroccan spice blend and make sure to mix all the ingredients well to evenly coat the chicken thighs. Let the thighs marinade in this mixture until you are ready to use them.

In the meantime in a dutch oven or flame proof casserole heat the remaining tablespoon of the olive oil at medium high heat and add the cardamom pods allowing them to roast for about 5 minutes. (Remember to crack the pods just a bit otherwise they will not render their flavor)

Add in the chicken thighs (making sure to let everything in the bag drip into the dutch oven/casserole) and sear slightly on top and bottom.

Add in the chicken stock, maple syrup and dates, and allowing the ingredients to get heated to a boil.

Cover the dutch oven/casserole and transfer from the stove top into the oven. Cook in the oven for about 30 minutes to 1hr making sure to check every 15 minutes to make sure that the liquid has not reduced too much (You should have enough liquid in the pot to allow for a generous amount of sauce. If you notice the liquid is drying up add a little more chicken stock).

Serve with some rice and roasted vegetables and enjoy.

No Fuss Filet Mignon

I know that to most the mention of filet mignon immediately is associated with a high price mark, and complicated cooking. Rest at ease and breathe and for Pete's sake get those notions out of you head. Yes, the cut of meat can sometimes carry a high price, but to the trained food shopper this should not be an obstacle. Often enough if you keep your eyes open you can find it at a special price at your store, all this requires is just a bit of patience and an opportunistic instinct on your part. This week I was able to benefit from both of these qualities and scored us a nice piece of tenderloin.

The next factor that gets in the way of us regular shmoes in making this delectable dish has to do with being intimidated by the notion of an improperly cooked filet mignon. Thankfully enough it is really not complicated at all, so if you have been staying away from making this because of fear of screwing it up breathe and get ready to make this for yourself and your loved ones. Just remember this little pointer, in order for your meat to cook evenly make sure that it is at room temperature by the time you are ready to cook.

Simple Filet Mignon with Mushroom Sauce

For the Filet Mignon:
1 lb Beef Tenderloin (Divided into 4 even pieces)
Salt for seasoning (use sparingly)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For the Mushroom Sauce:
1 Pack Crimini Mushrooms (clean and thinly slice)
2 TBSP Salted Butter
1/4 Cup Flour (sifted)
1/2 Cup Milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large frying pan heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan at medium high heat.

Take your meat medallions and rub them with salt but do not over do it as you do not want a salty filet mignon.

once the oil is hot place your meat in the pan and cook for about 5 - 8 minutes per side (5 if you want it to be rare and 8 if you want your meat a bit more cooked). (Oh and to clarify by side I only mean you cook the top and the bottom, not including the actual sides).

Remove your meat from the pan onto a baking dish and place either aluminum foil or place the dish in a warm oven (350 degrees fahrenheit) while you make the simple mushroom sauce.

to make the mushroom sauce you will start by deglazing the pan where you cooked the meat with the butter, immediately adding the sliced mushrooms and coating them with the butter. Add the sifted flour in slowly to prevent it from forming clumps. Slowly add in the milk and stir until the ingredients are all well distributed and the mushrooms have had a chance to render their taste and have become soft. Add in the salt and pepper to taste. This step should only take you 5 minutes.

Once your sauce is ready plate your filet mignon and top it off with the sauce. If you don't want the sauce then don't waste your time with it and enjoy your meat.

Enjoy.

If you do the math this making filet mignon at home will be relatively inexpensive. Typically a pound of tenderloin will give you about 4 nice pieces of filet mignon. If you were to go to a restaurant like Ruth's Chris one filet mignon will come to about $60-70 (without the sides and beverages). The price I got my tenderloin for was about $15, and even when it is not on special this cut of meat is about $18-20 a pound. Thus by making it at home you will not only save yourself money but you will also get it cooked how you want it.

Googa Mooga Update

Alright Peeps this event is getting closer and closer and my expectations of it are increasing by the minute. They have been adding some really great restaurants to their roster like Craft New York, Crif Dogs, Dinosaur BBQ.... well you get the idea. It is going to be packed with great food and word is that they are releasing their music line up on the 23rd.

Now here is some information that may make some of you out there, who were not able to get in on the early registration for tickets very happy. Their General ticket registration is due to open on Tuesday April 24th and I am guessing that it will be as much of a frenzy as the early registration was. So those of you out there hopping to get in on this better set your alarms and get your computers ready. I wish you all the best of luck.

Should you need more information visit The Great Googa Mooga Official website.

Sliders

I know what you must be thinking, "Sliders? Whaaaat?" Yeah I know that most of the peeps that would consider themselves foodies would not really think of sliders as a valid food, but that would be those who think that being a foodie implies being a snob, and that my friends would invalidate the whole premise of the foodie (a lover of food). However I can understand why some would turn their noses up at the sight of the term slider, because most often it is associated with either White Castle or with bar food. Consider this though, you can make your own sliders for the sole purpose of satisfying a burger craving without having to eat a behemoth form of it. In this guise the slider is something that can be seen in a great light by accomplishing two goals; flavor and satisfaction.

As you may recall I was at a butchery class at the Mosner warehouse recently. One of the perks of being at said class was having access to products only available to either restaurants or food stores, and my husband and I decided to take advantage and get some stuff amongst which was a package of great quality ground beef. And what did we make with that beef? Yeah, sliders.All we did was season the meat with some salt and minced garlic and we got ourselves a great meal that was the prefect size and that was satisfying. We caramelized onions and sliced some grape tomatoes to add in and accompanied them with some baked french "fries" and it was delicious. If you, like me, love hamburgers but not the over bloated feeling you get after eating one then this is a great way to get the best of everything. Here are some pictures of the ones we made.