Hall of Fame Week

Last week we decided to have a Hall of Fame week and remake previous winning dishes. It was a nice break from searching the web for new recipes and exciting to know that each night would be delicious without a doubt. Nick was also given the challenge to crown the ultimate champion, which was no easy feat. 

The winner: garlic butter scallops with creamed spinach. Ironically, it was my least favorite since I'm not a fan of seafood. I can enjoy scallops in small portions—personally, I would make this dish smaller as an appetizer but Nick could eat two large servings of this dish.

My favorite? The classic coq au vin. Chicken marinated and then braised in wine and served with homemade sourdough bread toasted in butter? Drool. I don't care how long this dish takes, I could make it every week. 

New York has slowly started to reopen and I'm praying we don't turn into Florida or Texas. We decided to have our first sidewalk cocktail at The Consulate on the Upper West Side, the same bar where we had our last cocktail before the city shut down. So far businesses seem to be cautious and patrons seem to be respectful of guidelines. It was pouring down rain the day we decided to venture out but we still insisted on walking across the park—I think we've tired of our own neighborhood in the last few months and were determined to walk new streets. After a couple of cocktails, we ventured into a wine store and picked up a few bottles for Hall of Fame week, including a Burgundy for the coq au vin and a cabernet sauvignon for duck. 

There have been more winning dishes than days in the week so we had to narrow it down to six (I've given myself, and my kitchen, a break once a week now). Obviously the spicy rigatoni made it and I almost thought Nick would crown it as the champion—it's that good. 

Sometimes it's the simple dishes that win me over. The mojo skirt steak with cheese and corn stuffed mini peppers is simple but the flavors in every bite make it outstanding. I'm currently obsessed with the tenderness of skirt steak when it's marinated. If you have recipe, send it to me!

I'm still mastering how to make my own cauliflower gnocchi but Nick had no complaints on the gnocchi, zucchini, and whipped goat cheese dish. The first time I made it, I followed the recipe and boiled the gnocchi but they became mushy and fell apart when I mixed it with the zucchini sauce. This time, I squeezed the cauliflower so much that I had to actually wet the gnocchi dough a little in order to get it to stick together. I pan fried them before tossing them with the sauce which was an improvement but I made them larger than bite size. Third time will be a charm!

We ended the week by having a cocktail at Mr. Purple, a rooftop bar in the Lower East Side. It was 90 degrees but sitting in the sun staring at the Manhattan skyline lifted my spirits in this otherwise wasted summer. It had been so long since I'd seen the city I love. When we got home we had pizza delivered at 10PM like classic New Yorkers.