Jamaican Chicken Stew in a Slow Cooker

Preparing this stew made me feel like a goddam adult. In a really great way. Maybe it was because the prep that happened before you transfer it all to the cooker was so involved? I don't know. But I felt manly as hell, and it was fantastic. Not only does it taste heavenly, but there will be leftovers for days. One warning, though? Be prepared to really stink up the house when you're making this - not in a bad way, just in a food way. Totally worth it, in my opinion. 

Ingredients

3 pounds chicken drumsticks (on the bone)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine (NOT "cooking wine", you should buy real red wine at a liquor store. They even have the small plastic ones for $2, so you don't have to buy a whole bottle if you're being thrifty.)
1 1/2 cups (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups (15 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

Directions

Toss the chicken with curry powder, thyme, allspice, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt.
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions are softened, about 3 minutes. Add chicken mixture to skillet and brown on both sides. Add wine and let cook for a few more minutes. Add tomatoes and black beans and mix well (or as best you can). Transfer to the slow cooker and cook on high for 5 hours until tender and the meat is falling off the bone. 

NOW, when it's done? If you're comfortable serving stew with bones in it (and I am), then just ladle this stuff out. If that sounds gross to you, well, grow up. Everyone knows that chicken tastes better (and juicier) when right off the bone. 

This recipe was slightly adapted from Jeanette's Healthy Living. 

Juliana's

As you know, I've already been to Grimaldi's. How did Juliana's (which is located right next door) compare? Well, bubs - it was EONS better and easily one of the best pizza places in New York. 

View fullsize

Small Margherita Pizza with Pepperoni (what we ate)

Why's it so good?

• The pepperoni is tiny and thick cut (ie. GOOD pepperoni)
• Service was great and fast as hell
• Wait time wasn't ludicrous

If you don't know the story behind Juliana's and Grimaldi's, well, it's a long one. But this article sums it up pretty well. And I don't care what the tourist guidebooks tell you, this place is ridiculously better than Grimaldi's next door. Go. Eat. 

Herbed Ricotta Bruschetta Recipe

Thankfully there are people in my life who cook amazing things. They let me eat them, love them and finally tell YOU about them. Marla is one of those people. She is probably the best there is when it comes to finding great recipes. She made this at a dinner we were at recently and I ate an embarrassing amount of these. I didn't even think I had a super strong opinion about ricotta - I've always found it to be the lesser of cheeses amongst the likes of American. But these toasts are incredible tasting, please make them for everyone you love. 

Ingredients
2 cups ricotta, store-bought (Do not substitute with fat-free ricotta. I tried that. And it blew.)
3 tablespoons minced scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 round sourdough bread
Good olive oil
1 whole garlic clove, cut in half

Directions

Combine the ricotta, scallions, dill, chives, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and set aside. Cut the bread in half and cut each half into 6 slices to make 12 slices total.

Brush the bread with olive oil and grill (or put in a toaster over) on each side for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the grill and rub each slice of bread with the cut side of the garlic clove. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and spread with the herbed ricotta. Serve 2 warm slices per person, unless you're serving me in which case it should be 4 slices.

Original recipe can be found here.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie at Smile-To-Go in NYC

This is my best friend Harmeet eating one of the best cookies I've had in New York City. Is there such thing as a bad chocolate chip cookie? That remains to be seen. But this one? If you're in the area (Soho), GET ONE. And yes, that's sea salt on top. All the best cookies have sea salt on top.

I've heard that their menu has a lot of other gems as well, but please oh please go eat this guy.

Strawberries & Vanilla Greek Yogurt

Ya know, INSTEAD of strawberries and cream! I can't tell you how satisfying it is. But if you're doing this - please make sure to get vanilla-flavoured non-fat Greek yogurt and not the PLAIN non-fat Greek yogurt. I don't know who eats the plain. I feel like it should be given to prisoners. Prisoners who are watching their weight, obviously. 

(This is not an April's Fool joke. This really does taste ridiculously good.)

The Best Slow Cooker Ribs

If you thought I was going to shut up about you getting a slow cooker (or USING the slow cooker you already have), I will not. Honestly, the best part about having one of these is the fact that it forces you to try and make things you've never attempted before. This was the first time I've cooked ribs. And as a result? I'm a little bit better than you now, if you've never made them yourself. That's just the reality of the situation. MAKE THESE RIBS. They taste unholy. 

Recipe

• 2 1/2 lbs of baby back ribs (I got 5 lbs since that's what they had at the grocery store, so I just doubled the rest of the ingredients)
• Basting brush
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, or more to taste (any kind of BBQ sauce, I used Sweet Baby Ray's Original - and way more than 1/2 cup)

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, cayenne, black pepper, oregano, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder. Then rub the seasoning all over the meaty side of the ribs. Place the ribs so they’re standing in slow cooker, meat side out. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.

There will be a lot of fat drippings at the bottom of the cooker, so drain that out and then you can baste the ribs with BBQ sauce for the remained 30 minutes, that's what I did. Brush with more BBQ sauce to serve. 

I cannot describe to you how good these tasted. They were ridiculous. The ribs were about $15 for 5 pounds, which seemed a little expensive at the time, but you're getting a ton of crazy good ribs without having to pay way more and get them at a restaurant, so it's a pretty sweet deal. PLEASE try these. I will be making these for the rest of my life. 

The original recipe can be found here. 

Greek Yogurt Covered Blueberries

If you're trying to consume less ice cream and/or frozen terrible/tasty things - you definitely should try this. 

All you need is a cup of your favourite kind of yogurt (I use the no-fat Chobani peach one), a pack of fresh blueberries and two toothpicks (you definitely need the toothpicks or this becomes unbearably messy). Get a cookie sheet pan out and put down some tin foil, then stick a berry with a toothpick and dip/swirl in the yogurt cup and use a second toothpick to push it off onto a cookie sheet. Coat all of the blueberries and then place the cookie sheet in the freezer. After an hour you can pop them off the cookie sheet with a fork/spatula and put them into plastic baggies. 

Can't tell you how good these taste.

Poutine in NYC

The poutine at Mile End? Probably the best you're going to find in this city. The small, classic poutine is $9, which is a bit steep, but it's city-prices so that sort of makes sense (though it's only $8 at the Brooklyn location). If you're looking for just any old cheese & fries combo, well, you can go get your disco fries fix somewhere else. This is definitely the place to go when you're missing Canada.

(Please note: I do not acknowledge disco fries. And I will not discuss the differences between these two fry dishes with you. It's 2014. You should know what a poutine is.)

Tip of the Day - Softened Butter

“When you’re ready to bake, waiting for cold butter to soften can seem to take forever. Here’s how to hurry the process along: Over a mixing bowl, shred the amount of butter you need on a grater. The little pieces will soften faster than a solid stick. In no time, the butter will be bake-worthy.”

— Martha Stewart Living

Martha Stewart is an untouchable gem and I'll be expanding on that thought further in the future.

IHOP National (Free) Pancake Day

From 7am until 10pm today, IHOP is giving out stacks of free, buttermilk pancakes at all their locations. As you may recall, I'm personally not that into pancakes - but promotional free food? Big fan.