Crave Fishbar: Midtown East's Hidden Gem

Big Apple Bites

Sunday-night-date-night. Since Dexter was on at 9:00, Nat and I wanted to go somewhere in my "neighborhood" (aka Midtown East). I pass Crave Fishbar every day on my walk home from work. Although we'd never heard of it, Crave Fishbar has been on the "restaurants to try" list since the summer...

First great thing about Crave Fishbar: the decor.

The restaurant front is very inviting, trendy yet cozy.

The interior gives off that same relaxed, nautical vibe and takes you far away from the hustle and bustle of Midtown.

Even while waiting a short 10 minutes for our table, everything was perfect - from the easygoing hostess to the attentive bartender. After being seated and narrowing down to four items on the menu (which was very difficult), the bread came out. You know when you judge a restaurant by the complimentary bread? Well, even the butter was far above average.

...now onto the meal...

Appetizers

Fresh Florida Crab: marinated lump crab, heirloom garbanzo puree, sauteed corn, baby zucchini and squash, with lemon prawn oil.

It was the perfect crab salad topping fresh vegetables and a hummus-like spread.

King Salmon Sashimi: avocado puree, grapefruit sala, white soy, shisho, and crispy garlic.

Entrees

Paprika Spiked Seared Rare Yellowfin Tuna: honey glazed baby turnip and carrots, rouille, tomato sherry salsa.

I can't explain how tasty the tuna was topped with the rouille and tomato, sherry salsa. Perfection.

Pan Roasted Crispy Skate Wing: rutabaga mash, grilled cauliflower, carmelized lemon & pomegranate seed vinaigrette.

A gourmet play on fish and chips. Lightly crisped, flaky skate wing.

I can sincerely say this was top two best meals I have had in the city. Afterwards, I was full, but not uncomfortable. Every piece of fish was perfectly paired with a light sauce. Thank you Chef Todd Mitgang, the founder of South Edison in Montauk...

Talented (and sexy) chef bringing incredible seafood dishes from Montauk to Manhattan.

Homemade Red Wine Turkey Bolognese

Savory Eats

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, the streets of New York City were as naked as a teenage girl on Halloween. There wasn't much to do except drink, drink, and...cook! Two factors went into my decision to make Turkey Bolognese from scratch: One, I had LOTS of red wine in preparation for the storm. And two, I had LOTS of time trapped in my apartment. This sauce needed a lot of attention, but the meal was a crowd-pleaser...

Rotini Bolog-need seconds

*recipe adapted from Anne Burrell's Pasta Bolognese

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 3 ribs of celery, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Olive oil
• 1 pound of ground lean turkey
• 2 cups canned tomato sauce (I used Prego Tomato Basil)
• 2 cups red wine
• Spike Original Seasoning
• Salt and pepper
• Parmesan cheese

Recipe:

-Chop the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.

-Saute the veggies and garlic in olive oil over medium heat. Add some salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables start to brown (15-20 minutes, stirring frequently).

-Add the ground turkey and season with some more salt. Brown the turkey (15-20 minutes, stirring frequently).

-Add the tomato sauce and cook for 5 minutes.

-Add the red wine and cook until the wine is reduced by half (another 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently).

-After your turkey bolognese sauce looks like this...

...season with salt and Spike's seasoning (to taste), reduce to a simmer, and cover until you are ready to serve!

I lightened up my pasta by mixing 3/4 cup whole wheat rotini with some steamed broccoli and steamed red bell pepper. Then, I generously poured on the turkey bolognese sauce and added Parmesan cheese on top!

Leftover Halloween Candy? Solution: Candy Bark

Sweet Treats

First off...

Happy Halloween!

The only day of the year that you can justify eating CANDY for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Let's talk about chocolate "bark". During the holidays, we have Chocolate Toffee Bark...

aka, CRACK.

During Christmas, we have Peppermint Bark...

Mmmmmm.

On Halloween? TRICK-OR-TREAT CANDY BARK...

Almost brings you back to childhood, right?

So, I combined a few candy bark recipes to make the perfect Halloween Candy Bark. Best part about this recipe? It's SO fast and SO easy to make!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of semi-sweet chocolate
• 6 ounces of white chocolate
• 8 fun-sized Butterfingers
• 8 Reese's Cups
• 3 ounces of Dark Chocolate M&Ms
• 10 crushed Oreo's
• 1/2 cup Heath Bar bits

Recipe:

-First, chop up the Butterfingers, Oreo's, and Reese's Cups. Set aside.

-Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and melt the semi-sweet chocolate. I melted it on the stove top, but you can use a microwave as well. Once melted, pour the chocolate into the foil.

-Immediately start sprinkling all the "toppings" on top of the melted chocolate and push down so they stick (don't do anything with the white chocolate yet).

-Place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

-Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate so it is ready to pour.

-Remove the bark from the fridge and drizzle the white chocolate on top.

Return the bark to the fridge for 20 minutes, cut into small pieces, and enjoy!!

**This treat is very cute when put in a mason jar and given as a gift...

Like so!

Brownies and Blondies for Chocoholics

Sweet Treats

Hurricane Sandy, aka Frankenstorm, is comin' in hot on the East Coast...

Taking NYC by storm.

Being cooped up in a pint-size apartment for two days calls for one thing: BAKING! So, here are two recipes for all you chocoholics out there waiting out the storm.

Pretzel Crusted Peanut Butter Brownies

The Original Recipe

Brownie-gredients:

• 2 1/2 cups crushed butter pretzels
• 1 cup melted butter
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• One box Peanut Butter Cookie mix + ingredients it calls for
• One box Brownie Mix + ingredients it calls for
• 12 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Recipe:

-Crush the pretzels in a bag or food processor (don't crush them to dust because the crust will be better if crunchy).

-Mix the melted butter and sugar to the pretzel crumbs. Press gently into a greased pan 13x9 or 7x11 inch pain.

-Make the peanut butter cookie dough according to the package and press the dough evenly on top of the pretzel crust.

-Press all the Reese's cups into the peanut butter cookie dough.

-Make the brownie mix and pour over the Reese's evenly.

-Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Beware of the blast of sweetness in your mouth when you bite into one of these bars.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Blondies

The Original Recipe

This recipe is from scratch AND is so incredibly easy! The finished product is much richer and tastier than bake-n-bake cookies.

Blondie-gredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup cherries (I used whole frozen Dark Sweet Cherries)

Recipe:

-Melt the butter then transfer to a larger mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine.

-Add the egg and vanilla and stir to combine.

-Add the flour and salt and stir until just combined (do not over mix of the blondies will be too hard).

-Fold in chocolate chips and cherries.

-Pour batter into a greased pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes (or until the edges of the blondies start to pull away from the pan).

Even fully baked, these blondies taste like chocolate chip cookie dough - they are scrumptious.

Soy Glazed Salmon with Orange, Sage Butter Spaghetti Squash

Savory Eats

Since I was on an unsatisfying, liquid and mushy food diet for a week post-wisdom-tooth-extraction, I've been craving a hearty, gourmet meal. Last night, I made magic happen in the kitchen with Honey Soy Baked Salmon and Orange, Sage-Browned Butter Spaghetti Squash. The finished product was beyond my expectations - and here's how it's done...

Perfection on a plate.

Salmon-gredients:

• Two 8 oz Salmon Filets with skin, fresh (NOT FROZEN)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 teaspoon ginger root, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon minced yellow onion

Squash-gredients:

• One spaghetti squash
• 1/4 cup sage, chopped
• 1 clove of fresh garlic, smashed and chopped
• One orange, zest and juiced
• 4 tablespoons butter (I used "Light I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, half the calories)
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Salmon Recipe:

-Clean salmon and place in a greased pyrex dish, skin side down.

-Pour soy sauce, minced ginger, honey, brown sugar, garlic powder, and minced onion in a small bowl and mix together.

-Pour sauce over salmon and let salmon marinate for 30 minutes.

-After 30 minutes, cover the dish in aluminum foil and bake at 420 degrees for 30 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE (or the salmon will dry out)!

Squash Recipe:

-Steam and prepare spaghetti squash (as seen in my previous posts). Set aside.

-Zest one orange into a small bowl. Squeeze the orange juice out into the bowl as well.

-Add 1/8 cup (2 tablespoons) of chopped sage to the bowl.

-Add the dijon mustard and garlic powder.

-Add some salt and pepper (I used lemon pepper).

Set this aside.

-In a saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of "Light I Can't Believe It's Not Butter". When it starts to bubble, add the clove of minced garlic. Stir for 1 minute.

-After the minute, add the rest of the chopped sage (1/8 cup) to the garlic butter and mix for about 2 minutes until it starts to brown and has a nutty aroma.

This smells so delicious.

-Remove the garlic/sage browned butter from the stove and pour it into the sage/orange sauce. Mix together and pour on top of the spaghetti squash.

-Liberally season with salt and pepper until it tastes just right!

Put both masterpieces on your plate and ENJOY! This dish is fabulous.

How to make the PERFECT Italian Sub

Savory Eats

A big, hearty sandwich is my ideal lunch. My favorite Italian subs come from Gallo's Italian Deli back at home in Newport Beach. To create a perfect sub, you need the flaky yet soft hero bread; thinly sliced, fresh cold-cuts; crisp, seasoned vegetables; and a tasty spread or dressing. Today I bring to you, my homemade PERFECT Italian Hoagie...

...from an Italian deli I like to call my kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions
• 7 ounce can artichoke hearts, rinsed and chopped
• 1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive tapenade (store bought)
• 3 leaves romaine lettuce
• 1/4 cup canned banana peppers
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 long baguette or hero (whole grain)
• 3 sliced fresh provolone cheese
• 3 slices fresh ham
• 3 slices fresh salami
• 3 slices fresh honey roasted turkey
• Salt and Lemon Pepper

Recipe:

-Slice the red onion first and soak in cold water and set aside.

-Combine artichoke hearts, tomato, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

-Slice the baguette in half. Pull out about half of the soft bread from each side.

-Spread olive tapenade on one half of hero. Layer the slices of provolone, salami, turkey, and ham on the other half of the bread.

-Remove the onions from water and pat dry.

-Spread the tomato/artichoke/dressing mixture on top of the tapenade.

-Add the romaine lettuce, banana peppers, and a dash of salt and pepper on top.

Enjoy! I promise this sandwich won't disappoint!!