Beef Stew with Sweet Potatoes

With the cooler weather upon us, the Office Cooking Club as been bringing in heartier meals. Last week, Aaron prepared a delicious vegetable lasagna, while I prepared Roasted Mushroom Risotto the week before that. Seeing as it's my turn again, I used the recent rainy weather in New York as motivation to formulate and execute this beef stew recipe. Though, to be honest, it looked completely different in my head.

Orange Almond Cookies

Recently, I reunited with a childhood friend on Facebook. When we were young, Becky and I were inseparable, so catching up with her online has brought back quite a few fond memories. Becky told me that she checked out my blog in search of some cookie recipes and found that I only had the recipe for Fudgy Cocoa Brownies to offer her sweet tooth. Gasp!

Lehigh Dinner Club Does Dinner at Pao!

(Photo courtesy of GoLisbon.com)

Pao!
322 Spring Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 334-5464 | Map

One of these nights, before the weather gets too chilly to wander aimlessly around the neighborhoods of New York, I encourage you to take the C or the E downtown and get off at Spring Street. Once there, walk west along Spring until you reach Greenwich Street. There you'll find a charming little restaurant specializing in Portuguese food called Pao!. Feeling the pressure after last month's highly successful Lehigh Dinner Club meeting at the Heidelberg Restaurant, Brian chose Portuguese over Ethiopian, and I'm really glad he did since this was the first time I've tried Portuguese food that didn't come out of my grandmother's kitchen.

New Salt and Pepper Mills

(Photo courtesy of Macys.com)

Given the current economic state of the country, I realize that I probably shouldn't be spending my hard-earned money on something as frivolous as a new salt and pepper mill set. But my current set is utterly useless and completely non-functional. The holes in the top of the salt shaker are too small, so nothing comes out when you shake it. More often than not, the holes become clogged with the salt that's trying to come out. And, the rubber stopper on the bottom of the shaker doesn't fit snuggly, so if you shake too hard, the stopper will fall out and the salt just goes everywhere. (Believe me, this has happened a number of times... All of which resulted me in cursing quite loudly.) Pair that with a pepper mill that prefers spitting out half of a peppercorn rather than anything resembling ground pepper, and you pretty much have a seasoning disaster on your hands.

Manducatis Rustica

Manducatis Rustica
46-31 / 46-33 / 46-35 Vernon Boulevard
Long Island City, NY 11101
(718) 937-1312 | Map

At long last, Manducatis Rustica has opened on Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City! I had been walking past this lovely restaurant in its early stages for the majority of the summer, stopping every now and then to peer in the windows decorated with wrought-iron pieces to see how it was coming along. And when I heard that it would be serving authentic Italian gelato, I found myself growing impatient for the opening. Thankfully, the wait is over!

Foodcellar & Co.: The Rematch

Foodcellar & Co. Market
4-85 47th Road
Long Island City, NY
(212) 606-9786

About a month ago, I offered my first impressions of the new grocery store in the neighborhood. Since I haven't stopped shopping there, I thought I would offer my revised opinion of the store and some new observations.

Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project

(Logo courtesy of Feeding America website)

In keeping with tradition, my most recent return trip from Connecticut to New York included getting out of bed early and driving into work with my father so I could take the train into Grand Central. To keep myself occupied in the hour until my train departed, I wandered into the break room and picked up a very old issue (February 2005!) of Gourmet: The Magazine of Good Living. Score! As I was reading it, I stumbled across an advertisement for something that really piqued my interest.

Overlook Lounge

Overlook Lounge
225 East 44th Street
New York, NY
(212) 682-7266 | Map

I'll admit it. When I agreed to meet up with Mary Catherine, a fellow Chi Omega, for a drink last Saturday, I never imagined I'd find myself at the Overlook Lounge. We had originally agreed to meet at Bogart's on Park Avenue but had to quickly come up with an alternative meeting spot since Bogart's wasn't open. (They open late on Saturdays, apparently.) A text message directed me to E. 44th Street and to a bar across the street from where they tape the Rachael Ray Show. I was early, so I waited for Mary Catherine to arrive by standing out on the sidewalk and people-watching, an interesting choice given the fact it had started to rain. What can I say? I live for adventure.

Roasted Mushroom Risotto

(Photo courtesy of GourmetSleuth.com)

As it's my week to cook for the Office Cooking Club (i.e. Michelle and Aaron cook while everyone else is free to sample), I wanted to prepare something that would help us welcome in the new season. Many of us had the pleasure of experiencing rather low temperatures for this time of year, so we all thought fall really was just around the corner. For me, fall always conjures up images of hearty meals, meals that will stick to your bones and help keep you warm as the days progress into winter. So, I thought a roasted mushroom risotto would be a perfect recipe to make for Cooking Club.

Blog Roll Call

If you're a "feed-reader" of Taste As You Go, you may not be aware of the Blog Rolls that I keep on the website, providing links to some of the food-related blogs that I follow and link to the blogs of some of my friends.

Pop out of the feed-reader every now and then and check out the website! You never know what I may have added.


If you'd like to have your blog added to one of my blog rolls, leave a comment here or send me an email!

White Chicken Chili

After spending the second weekend in a row attending a wedding -- the first in Pittsburgh, the second in Cleveland -- I arrived back at my apartment completely exhausted and devoid of any motivation to cook. Thankfully, I remembered that I had some leftover chili in the freezer that I originally made about a month ago.

Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburgers

After considering all of the foods on "The Omnivore's Hundred," I thought my results proved that I would be willing to try eating pretty much anything. After all, the items I crossed off that list were probably items that a relatively small proportion of the population would be eager to shove in their mouths. So, I felt good about myself.

Until I saw this come through my Google Reader:

The Omnivore's Hundred

A coworker brought this food meme posted by Andrew on the blog Very Good Taste to my attention over lunch today. Andrew compiled a list of 100 things that he thought "every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all." He's provided links of explanations for some of the lesser known items, thanks to Wikipedia.

Moroccan Spiced Grilled Chicken Breasts

(Photo courtesy of Simply Recipes)

I have been meaning to try this recipe by Simply Recipes for grilled chicken ever since it appeared in my Google Reader but haven't had the occasion to do so. However, it's my week to make lunch for the Office Cooking Club (a cooking club informally, then somewhat formally established by me and a fellow coworker), so I thought it would be a perfect time to try the recipe out. Especially since the chicken looks absolutely amazing in that photo. (One of these days, I'll start taking my own food photos and won't have to rely on the talent and artistic capabilities of others. I promise!)

Email Mystery Solved

I want to send out an apology to those who have emailed me in the past week and have received no response from me. I haven't been ignoring you on purpose! I was only made aware of the email issue today. But, with the help of some of my coworkers, the problem has been fixed.

Thanks so much for your patience and your support as I attempt to get this right. Keep your emails and your comments coming!