Best Pignoli Cookie

Moist, delicious, and flavorful all packed into this little pillow of yumminess.  A little pricey per pound, but worth it.  I've tried pignoli cookies all around town, and Veniero's has the best.  Their cannoli's are pretty great too.

Veniero's

342 East 11th Street (at 1st Ave)
New York, NY 10003

Baba Ghannouj / Eggplant Spread

I've tried many different packaged baba ghannouj dips in the city since I moved here and have been disappointed with all of them, until I found Abraham's All Natural Baba Ghannouj.  First of all, I was thrilled to find one that didn't include mayonnaise as an ingredient.  Then I fell in love with the deep smokey flavor of the roasted eggplant.  Perfection.  If I can't have freshly made baba ghannouj, this is the next best thing.

You can find it at Whole Foods for the reasonable price of $2.79.

Serve with some cucumber spears, carrots and toasted flat bread for an easy snack or starter.

Seared Tuna

At the fish market (PE & DD) this past weekend in Union Square, I picked up my usual lobster, and the tuna looked so good, I had to grab a couple of steaks too.

Not having a grill is definitely a bummer, but I improvised with a stovetop grill pan.  I was even able to get the adorable crosshatch marks across the steaks.

This is the first time I ever cooked tuna!

Heat the pan to high, brush a little canola oil on the pan and on the fish.  These were pretty thick steaks, so I cooked them about 3-4 minutes per side, adjusting half way through to get the crosshatch marks.

I added a little sea salt and just a touch of teriyaki sauce once they were cooked.

I cooked some brown rice and added a dash of the teriyaki sauce to that too.  I just so happened to have a fresh pineapple, avocado, and yellow and red tomatoes in my kitchen (really, that was not planned).  I decided to chop all of those up in a bowl to make a salsa.  I stirred in some chopped fresh rosemary from my lovely herb garden, and again, I added dash of the teriyaki sauce.  Easy.

I threw everything on our plates and it actually came out looking like a professional dish.  Everything complimented each other so well; I gave myself a pat on the back for this one.

Lobster Salad Part 2

Visited the PE & DD seafood stand again yesterday and made another salad.  Newest veggie to hit the farm stands are pickling cucumbers- my favorite, for their crispness.  They are just coming into season now.

Ricotta Gnocchi

No big deal.  Just whipped up some fresh ricotta gnocchi and served them with fresh organic tomatoes from the farmer's market and torn basil from my lovely basil plant growing in my apartment window.  Topped with freshly grated parmesan.