Life of a second year dental student = lack of time, money, and sleep.   
Between classes, studying cramming, pre-clinic, the worst cafeteria food EVER (Burger King... need I say more?), finding time to cook / sneaking vegetables into my diet is a challenge.  There's only so much salad you can eat in a week and steamed vegetables are (IMO) boooring.  

Here's a vege recipe that I found on tinyurbankitchen that's quick, easy, healthy, tasty, and wallet-friendly :)

Truffle Roasted Cauliflower
5 minute prep time

25-30 minute of oven-time

-preheat oven 400 degrees

-rinse cauliflower (can also substitute with asparagus, broccoli, or potatoes)

-separate into florets

-toss in EVOO, salt, & pepper

-place in baking sheet (my baking sheet is M.I.A. so I improvised with a cast-iron skillet)

-25-30 minutes in oven (check half way through and stir)

-top off with a tiny drizzle of truffle oil (white or black) & coarse sea salt
-enjoy!

Voilà


Truffle oil may sound fancy shmancy (a.k.a. expensive) but you only need to a teeny-tiny amount to add that robust, earthy flavor.  

PS. DO NOT cook with truffle oil.  It's a finishing oil.  You can also drizzle it over asparagus, potatoes, focaccia, pizza, risottos, pastas, etc. to add that extra burst of flavor.  

Tipsy Tuesday

Check out this adorable / educational post on wine etiquette by A Cup of Jo.  
If you're a wannabe oenophile like me, you might learn a thing or two :)
Cheers!

NYC restaurant week 2012

NYC Restaurant Week 2012 is here!
Book your tables ASAP because resies are going fast!
For me, it looks like a Friday night dinner at NOUGATINE at Jean-Georges.  
Updates with reviews and photos will soon be coming your way :)

first date

Ever since I moved in with my two roommates, we haven't had the opportunity to have a night to ourselves, so last night we went on our long overdue, first official date in Montclair, NJ.  This pedestrian-friendly town, nicknamed the "Park Slope of the suburbs", is filled with quaint shops, restaurants cafes of various cultures and cuisines.
We lucked out with a last minute reservation at CulinAriane, a restaurant run by chef Ariane Duarte, a contender in Bravo's Top Chef season 5.
Although the restaurant is categorized as "American", the menu reflected otherwise with several French, Italian, and even Asian influences.  
We began our meal with an amuse bouche: an andouille and mozzerella filled beignet.  

Fortunately for me, my lovely roommates are all about sharing/trying different dishes, so I got to try all three entrees that piqued by curiosity :).

I ordered the "signature dish": pan seared sea scallops with forest mushroom ragout, white truffle oil, and mushroom syrup.  The scallops, cooked to perfection, were glazed with that rich and earthy wild mushroom flavor. A dish worthy of it's title.  

Natalia ordered the bacon wrapped monkfish and potato leek pancake, with apple celery root slaw and pernod beurre blanc.  The fennel in the blanc sauce did an excellent job of balancing the fattiness of the bacon.  A nice play on potato latkes with apple sauce.  Overall, it was a well balanced dish.  [Here's a fun factoid about monkfish: it's referred to as "poor-man's lobster" because the tail meat of the fish has a similar texture to lobster tail.]

Marina ordered the braised rabbit over spinach ricotta mozzarella triangoli in a carrot reduction.  This was a nice comfort dish.  The rabbit, cooked for 6-8 hours, was super tender and flavorful.  The triangoli's ricotta mozzarella filling was a nice complement to the lean rabbit meat.    

Buttery croissants were served in lieu of bread.  This was was nice touch but a plain baguette would have been preferred to balance all the rich sauces.

Oh, and here's the real kicker... CulinAriane is BYOB!  The menus is a tad overpriced but the fact that you can drink a belly full of your own vino make it a pretty fair deal.  

And this is me and my roommates :) ...
Till next time!

The bittersweet in-between

2011 ended in a blur.  I experienced a lot of changes in my life and finally woke up in 2012 more aware, more appreciative, with a brand-new feeling of ambition-driven recklessness that I've never quite felt before.  

A dear friend once told me that he had the same resolution every year: "to make every new year better than the last".  I'll drink to that.  
So, here's to yet another, better year.