Even more from the catering files

Today was a big move day for my office. Or should I say a massive reshuffling of personnel on our floor. It was such a large undertaking that all "non essential" employees were asked to stay home. Since I was one of the people unaffected by the move and there were some edits to keep an eye on, I was one of the few working on our floor today.

It stinks when you are at work and your co-workers are enjoying a day off (oh right, they are 'working from home') so what better way to soften the blow than to provide a nice lunch for those who did have to come into the office today?

Peanut D had ordered a surprisingly good sandwich platter from our in-house catering for a previous team lunch, so I decided to follow her lead and give it our gang a shot.

Our feast started with a mixed greens salad with tomatoes and shredded carrots, a second salad of artichoke hearts, tomatoes and mozzarella and a Caesar complete with roasted peppers. I am not a fan of the building's gelatinous dressings but the artichoke salad was already dressed and did not need anything extra. Not bad...

The sandwich platter included roast beef with olive tapenade that WW remarked was quite good, turkey with bacon and mayonnaise on a hearty ciabatta, and a chicken wrap with guacamole. I put in some extra time at the gym this morning in preparation for a large lunch but found that one turkey sandwich was quite filling and didn't get to sample the other offerings.

It goes without saying that my favorite were the desserts: brownies, blondies, rice krispie treats, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies and coconut and pecan cookies. I ate about half my weight in rice krispie treats and when my stomach ache subsided, I hit the dessert tray again and finished off a brownie. Sometimes, I'm even shocked and disgusted by my own gluttony. Today, however, my self-loathing was overshadowed by the appreciation from my co-workers.

Sometimes a few cookies are all it takes to make someone happy!

Chili Rubbed Pork Chops: another easy weeknight meal

Another night of coming home ravenous and I wanted something quick, easy and flavorful for dinner. And as the only person who works in televsion yet does not have tiVo or DVR I wanted to be done with dinner in time to watch "Lost".

Quick? Easy? Flavorful? Defrosted pork chops? Chili rubbed pork chops! What else!

I made a mixture of chili powder, brown sugar, and cumin (garlic powder is a nice addition as well). After whisking it together and breaking up the brown sugar clumps, I added Worcestershire sauce until I reached my desired paste-like consistency. I rubbed the paste on each side of the pork chop and placed the chops in my preheated broiler.

Using the heat of the broiler, I began to roast some brussel sprouts in the oven as my side dish and heated up some kale that I sauteed the night prior.

In about 15 minutes dinner was served! Zesty, sweet, healthy and delicious!

"Un-Wined" Wednesday's at Choice Kitchen

Tiara wearing birthday Princess JRo celebrated the big 3-0 with a get together at Choice Kitchen in Murray Hill. Choice has an aptly titled "Un-Wined" special on Wednesday's where for a mere $35 bucks you get a bottle of wine with your choice (pun intended) of three appetizers. What a deal!

The atmosphere at Choice is pretty relaxed. There was a decent amount of people there but you were certainly able to talk to your companions without having to scream over the innocuous soundtrack. I was one of the last to arrive (par for the course with post work get togethers) and the wine ordering was well underway so I just went with the proverbial flow.

We tried to order a variety of appetizers so that everyone's dietary needs, food passions and allergies were taken into consideration. When all was said and done we wound up with the following: spinach and artichoke dip complete with tri-colored tortilla chips, Thai chicken skewers, Chimichurri beef skewers, buffalo wings, nachos grande, crispy spring rolls and the Mediterranean delight. As the bottles of wine increased, we went back for doubles on some of these tasty treats.

I was pleasantly surprised by the wings. They were meaty, a bit sweet and a nice hit of spicy heat on the back end. Bar menu wings have the tendency to be pedestrian but Choice's were a bit above average. The rolls were crispy without being greasy and didn't need the accompanying dipping sauce. Good thing because the double dip dilemma is always tricky in a large group.

Equally pleasant were the beef and chicken skewers. The meat was tender and juicy and not the least bit dried out. The peanut sauce for the chicken was just okay, but the chicken was seasoned well enough that again, the sauce was not needed.

The Mediterranean delight was an interesting combination of tastes. Fresh chickpea hummus (I get it) guacamole (huh?) and pico de gallo (what?) and served with warmed pita chips (fine for the hummus but for the guac and pico? Huh? What?). By this point, we were well on our way to being "un-wined" so who cares?

While our waitress seemed overwhelmed most of the evening, she became more attentive as the crowd thinned, even buying us a round of shots. And to top off the evening was the JRo's chocolate molten cake with vanilla ice cream complete with a birthday candle. Poor girl barely got to make her birthday wish before she had to dive out of the way of my incoming spoon. My greed and gluttony served me well, the chocolate was quality, warm, gooey and perfectly complemented by the cool creamy ice cream.

The few misses on the appetizers menu were certainly overshadowed by the hits. The nachos needed a bigger dish to spread out the cheese which was instead stuck in clumps to some of the chips. Of course, that did not stop me from devouring the bulk of the bowl. And I've already mentioned the curious Mediterranean delight.

Hits and misses, notwithstanding, if you are looking for a good weeknight deal and a place to "un-wined", check out Choice.

Culinary Surprise!

I came home late from work last week and found two boxes waiting for me. Since I wasn't expecting anything, I was a bit perplexed and increasingly curious about what was inside these packages from Williams-Sonoma. After examining the packing slip, I saw that the mystery gifts were "thank you" presents from Brian and Ron for being in their wedding party! Thank me? Thank you! These boys certainly know the way to this foodie's heart.

After I stopped running around the apartment exuding an Abagail Breslin-as-Olive in "Little Miss Sunshine" scream, I caught my breath and took inventory.

First, was a box of frozen French butter croissants and my eyes glazed over as I fantasized about enjoying the warm pastry (with my favorite jam of course) over the Sunday newspaper and a piping hot mug of coffee.

In the second box were some more treats right up my alley - four different Laura Chenel goat cheeses! Ms. Chenel is an artisan whose love for her goats led to her becoming a pioneer of the goat cheese revolution of the 1980s. And even though the Sonoma based dairy goddess sold her business to the French Rians Group in 2006, we continue to enjoy the delicious cheeses that still bear her name. Williams-Sonoma was even so kind as to include an insert with descriptions, storage and shelf life for all of the four cheeses: chablis log, cabecou, tapuiniere and herb coated chabis. I can map out my cheese intake for months!

But wait...there's more! I came home the next night to ANOTHER Williams-Sonoma box! Are you kidding me? The treats in this box included an Olivier cruet set complete with extra-virgin mission olive oil and barrel aged balsamic vinegar. Hmmmm....might go well drizzled over some goat cheese!

And finally, last but certainly not least was a Recchiuti sauce duo: burnt caramel sauce and extra-bitter chocolate sauce. Ohmigosh! Poached pears...stat!

Who needs 30 minute meals? How about 5!

I got home a bit later than usual for a Monday, thanks to a three hour wait at the eye doctor's this afternoon. By the time I got home, I was ravenous and dilated-pupils-be-damned I wasn't going to deviate from my meal plan. Actually, there wasn't a need to grab a convenience food; I had dinner on the table in about five minutes.

Quick, simple and delicious fish tacos. I started with a tilapia fillet, seasoned with my trinity of Kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and garlic powder. Shortly after placing the fish in my heated saute pan, I zested one lime onto the fish. A mere minute later and I was adding the juice of the lime to the pan.

While the fish was cooking, I chopped up some cilantro and mesclun greens. I was out of salsa but had a few roasted tomatoes and garlic that would do just fine. I had barely finished rinsing and cutting my greens and it was time to turn the fish. I added a bit more lime juice and the chopped cilantro and voila! Done and done!

A satisfying low calorie meal made in about half the time it took me to write about it.

An Ode to Cauliflower

I was feeling a bit lazy yesterday and not quite up for the trek to Manhattan Fruit and Vegetable Exchange. I decided to stick close to home and hit up Garden of Eden for my weekly produce fix.

There wasn't much in the way of produce inspiration, so on a whim I decided to grab a head of cauliflower. Don't get me wrong, it's one of the first things I grab in a crudite (okay, when the carrots are gone) but I never think to make it when I'm home.

I doused it with a liberal coating of non-stick cooking spray, added a generous amount of Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and garlic powder. About thirty minutes in a 350 degree oven and the florets were cooked to perfection! There was a light caramelization on the florets and I had to stop myself from devouring the entire roasting pan.

It was a great midday snack today and I was treated to a few hits of hidden salty bits within the florets, only to be balanced by a sharp hit of pepper. It was so tasty, that I didn't even bother to heat it up. Oh, cauliflower, please forgive my neglect! I promise to never forget you again!

Spaghetti Squash: two variations

I decided to try a recipe that RRR had emailed me awhile back saying, "This might be a good idea for lunch". So last Sunday, I took a crack at Weight Watchers' recipe for Italian Turkey and Spaghetti Squash Pie.

The recipe is on the link above and I made a few tiny adjustments. For what is basically their version of a bechamel sauce (ricotta plus an egg) I added a generous helping of thyme. Instead of the olive oil, I used my trusty nonstick cooking spray since it seemed a bit unnecessary for this dish. And you might say that no self-respecting cook would use a fat free mozzarella but in this instance, it melted quite nicely and took on the flavor of the sauce. I think you don't use enough cheese for it to get rubbery.

Unfortunately for me, I underestimated the size of my dish and the amount of "spaghetti" that my squash would yield. As I was layering (squash, then ricotta mixture, then sauce, then cheese) I wound up with a holy mess. The sauce leaked over the sides of the pan and I had to cook it with a baking sheet underneath to catch the dripping sauce. Lucky for me, taste and aesthetics don't always go hand in hand and I wound up with a flavorful hearty lunch that I rounded out with a small mesclun salad.

This experiment led to this week's slight variation of the same recipe. Instead of a lasagna-type dish, I went for a simpler squash with a chunky Bolognese-type sauce. Spaghetti squash is in abundance at my local market (sadly, acorn and butternut squash aren't looking so great) so I decided to give it another go, but with a few minor adjustments.

I started by halving a spaghetti squash, scooping out the seeds and pulp, then placing it cut side down in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. I added a bit of water to the bottom of the dish, but it's not completely necessary.

While that was cooking, I began to brown 1 1/2 lbs of ground turkey. While that was draining, I sauteed half an onion and 3 small cloves of garlic. On a whim, I grated into the onion and garlic one small carrot to add a bit of sweetness to the sauce. The turkey went back into the pan and was joined by a jar of Nanina's marinara sauce (a gift from my Aunt) and a large can of diced tomatoes.

To this mixture I added: chicken stock, some generous squeezes from my tube of tomato paste, fresh nutmeg, thyme, Kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, crushed red pepper and two bay leaves. I let that simmer for a good twenty minutes and then removed the bay leaf.

While the sauce was simmering, the squash became cool enough to handle. I took a fork and basically raked the inside of the squash and placed the spaghetti-like strands of squash into a bowl.

Once that was done, a heaping scoop of squash, some of the hearty, tasty sauce, a sprinkling of grated cheese and in no time I was enjoying a low calorie version of a typical Italian Sunday meal... and without the post meal carb coma!