Nouveau rooftop au Viceroy hotel

Un nouveau rooftop a ouvert en haut du Viceroy hotel. Le bar est sombre et c'est franchement bruyant (moins vers 20 heures) mais la vue est très belle sur le parc et cela peut-être un très bon spot d'after work surtout avec le printemps qui finit par arriver (il parait).

Ps : J'ai décidé de commencer à écrire en français parce que de toute façon le lecteur et demi que j'ai - parle français...

http://www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/en/newyork/dining_and_nightlife/gerber-bar

Weight Watchers Creamy Orzo

Even if doesn't look like it with all of these buttery recipes, I am on Weight Watchers...and, most of the time in the last 2 months, I have made Weight Watchers recipes (out of their cookbook and website).

Here is a very good one.  I just changed 2 or 3 things...For those of you not on Weight Watchers, it is still a very good recipe.

This is also a good way to use butternut squash that we actually do not often see in France. They sell some pre-sliced ones at Trader Joe's.

1 pack of pre-cut butternut

2 sprays of cooking olive oil cooking spray

Salt, pepper

1 cup of orzo

2 1/2 cups of water

1 teaspoon of olive oil

Thyme

1 cube or stick of chicken broth

1/3 cup of parmesan

1 tablespoon of fat-free sour cream

Pre-heat the oven to 345F.

Place the butternut pieces in a cooking pan and spray 2 sprays of olive oil. Leave them for 25 minutes until they are soft and start to grill.

10 minutes after the butternut starts cooking, start cooking the orzo.

In a non-stick cooking pan, heat the olive oil and then put the orzo and mix for 2 minutes. Add the water, the cube bouillon, and the thyme. Bring to a boil and bring back to a medium/low temperature. Stir sometimes until it gets all cooked. When the orzo is cooked (about 15 minutes), add the parmesan, some salt and pepper, and the sour cream.

Mix in the cooked butternut. And serve. It's very surprisingly good.

Delicious Carpaccio de Saint Jacques

We had a very nice dinner on Saturday night - thanks to our dear friends...

Once again not the best picture ever...

Because we were 8 and we just have a New York sized table, I decided to make different appetizers so we don't have to sit for hours. I made many different appetizers but here is - I think - what my guests loved most. I put some slices in between pieces of a good French baguette from Fairway.

For 8 people and everyone gets a few different bites (if you want to do it as first course get double).

1 pound of scallops (because obviously they are non cooked make sure you have very fresh ones -  you don't want to make your friends sick...).  I got them from Citarella. I have to say that the fishmonger at Citarella always has very good advice. 

Olive oil

The juice of two lemons

Capers

One good non-serrated knife

I would say that the best time to prepare this is an hour to two hours before serving it.

30 minutes before starting slicing, place the scallops in the freezer. The scallops will be easier to cut thin.

After 30 minutes in the freezer, use a non-serrated knife and start to slice. Place the slices in the center of a large pie plate, forming a circle. Add enough olive oil so that there is a little bit on every piece.

Cover with salt and pepper, then two tablespoon of capers.

Cover with wrapping plastic and keep in the fridge.

15 minutes before serving add the lemon juice.  15 minutes later, it's ready to serve!

I wanted to add some shredded parmesan and I forgot. If you want to serve it as an individual entree you can do it on a spinach salad or the parmesan biscuit that you can find in the other recipe...

Delicious NYC Duck Magret

First, I would like to say that YES we can cook magret here in NYC. Magret is duck breast for the non-French.

I found them at Eataly (paradise) for not too much money (around 12 dollars each). If you serve it with baby potatoes like I did and you do a home made pie, it won't be very expensive for a dinner with a strong main course.

I would like to apologize for this terrible picture but I was caught in the cooking and I forgot to take nice pictures...

Here is a recipe for four (adapted from Elle):

3 duck breasts

3 dried figs

6 dry apricots

3 tablespoons of sun-dried raisins

1 onion

3 tablespoons of liquid honey

2 tablespoons of cider vinegar

1 tablespoons of olive oil

Some butchers twine

Cut and slice the onions, apricots and figs.

Cook the onions on medium heat in a pan with the olive oil. When they start to get golden, add the apricots, figs, raisins, honey and cider vinegar. Let everything caramelize slowly. Put this on the side.

At the same time, cut a grid into the fat of the magret.  Then cut the meat of the magret in half so you can open it like a wallet. Place the onion mixture into the magret and tie it with the twine to make it like a roast.

In a non-stick pan, cook the magret for about 5 to 10 minutes until the fat side becomes golden (like the terrible picture - again sorry for that). From time to time you should take some of the fat out of the pan...(I put some of this fat on my baby potatoes that were about to roast in the oven...). 

You can do that 2 hours before your dinner so you won't have to leave your guests too long. 

10 minutes before dinner time, put the magret in the oven at 400 fahrenheit for 10 minutes. Take out the twine as much as you can, slice it and serve it.

You can eat it with baby potatoes as I said earlier.

Enjoy.

Light Apple Doughnuts for the Whole Family

This recipe comes from the French Weight Watchers cookbook.  First suggestions make it fat-free.  To eat for breakfast, dessert, or as a snack.    

100 grams 0% Greek yogurt (or 2%)
20 grams sweetener (or sugar)
2 small apples, peeled and cored
1 egg
20 grams of flour

Slice the apples.  
Separate the egg whites and yolks in two different bowls (the bowls need to be medium size). 
Mix the yolk and the yogurt with a whisk and add the flour. 
Beat the egg whites with an electric beater until it is firm.
Delicately mix the egg whites with the first mixture.  Add a spoon of sweetener (or sugar).  
Heat a non-stick pan (it needs to be a good-quality pan).
Dunk the apples in the mixture.  Make sure they're totally and generously covered. 
Place 1 or 2 on the hot pan at a time.  
Wait 1 or 2 minutes and flip them with a spatula.  
Cook them until golden on both sides.  
Powder with sweetener (or sugar). 

Eat hot or cold.  You'll be surprised by how good they are!

Best chocolate to cook a French receipe

I love it. And also the red dark one.

Same taste for me as some French chocolat dessert one.

Thanks Trader Joe's!

Buvette

I had a lovely dinner with my sweet I-man at this french/italian place.

Loved it.

http://www.ilovebuvette.com/