Trying the Falafel burger from #GoBurger food truck. Not bad. Could use more Tzatziki Sauce, though. #UpperWestSide #NYC
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@snackfixation
Trying the Falafel burger from #GoBurger food truck. Not bad. Could use more Tzatziki Sauce, though. #UpperWestSide #NYC
Cincinnati Chili Hand Pies
I just recently got my first slow cooker, and I've been debating on what would be my first creation. I thought it would be pulled pork, but I decided on making Cincinnati-style Chili Hand Pies instead. (The recipe is at the end of this post.)
It combines an old childhood favorite of mine – while growing up in Ohio – and my recent love of hand pies and empanadas since moving to New York.
Growing up in Ohio as a child, my two uncles would take my brother and I to Skyline after Reds and Bengals games in Cincinnati.
In college, I ate my fair share of Gold Star with my buddies at Ohio University in Athens.
Awesome memories.
Unfortunately... after moving to New York, I've probably had Cincinnati-style chili three times in 18 years. How much does that stink?!
The urge to have this childhood favorite was probably what pushed me to make this my first slow cooker creation. Also, I want my son to enjoy it in the future, as well.
Using a combination of two Cincinnati chili recipes from online, I shopped for the ingredients at Food Emporium. Because I'm such a cooking noob, the prep time was more than 10 minutes for me – unlike what the recipes instructed.
Then everything was poured into the slow cooker, and it did the rest of the work for the next 8 hours.
When the fourth hour rolled around, the apartment smelled glorious.
When the eighth hour was up, I removed the thawed puff pastry from the fridge and turned off the slow cooker.
I took a spaghetti strainer and placed it in a large bowl, and started scooping the chili from the slow cooker into the strainer.
The reason for straining the meat... this excess fat and liquid – you see in the picture above – will spoil the rounds of puff pastry, and make it nearly impossible to make the hand pies.
This is how the meat should look (above) when putting one healthy spoonful of strained chili on each round.
Then I topped off the meat with a mix of shredded cheddar cheese before folding up the hand pie.
Here's a really quick video on how to fold a hand pie or empanada correctly.
I made 12 hand pies using two boxes of puff pastry sheets, and froze the rest of the chili. There was enough left over to easily make 12-16 more hand pies... if not more.
Check out the recipe below, so you can make these delicious snacks, yourself.
Cincinnati Chili Hand Pies
Serves: 20-24 Large hand pies Slow Cooker Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 8 hours Hand Pie Prep Time: 20-30 minutes Oven Time: 10-15 minutes
Author: Slow Cooker Cincinnati Chili recipe adapted from ChewNibbleNosh.com and AllRecipes.com.
Slow Cooker Ingredients:
2 cans low-sodium beef broth
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 Tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tsp. ground cumin
1 Tsp. cinnamon
1/2 Tsp. ground cloves
1/4 Tsp. ground allspice
1 Tsp. salt
1/2 Tsp. pepper
1 bay leaf
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Large yellow onion, diced
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 lb. spaghetti, cooked
Hand Pie Ingredients:
2-4 Boxes of puff pastry sheets
Finely shredded cheddar cheese
Slow Cooker Directions:
In a medium-sized bowl (or large plastic container with a lid), whisk (or shake) together the tomato sauce, tomato paste, broth, bay leaf, vinegar, chili powder, cocoa, cumin, vegetable oil, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, salt and pepper. Pour mixture into slow cooker. Stir in garlic and yellow onion.
Break up the ground beef with hands (or spoon) in the sauce and mix together. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours. Stir a few times during that period of time.
While chili is cooking, place puff pastry sheets into fridge so they thaw out.
Empanada Directions:
When chili is finished cooking, put a spaghetti strainer in a large bowl. Start spooning 12-24 tablespoons worth of chili into the strainer. This number of scoops should correspond with the number of hand pies you will make.
Preheat the oven to 400˚.
While chili is straining, lay one sheet of thawed puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface.
Cut four rounds of puff pastry from the sheet with a bowl that is roughly 4-5 inches in diameter.
Place a spoonful of strained chili on each round of puff pastry.
Top each spoonful of chili with finely shredded cheddar cheese
Wet the outside edge of the hand pie with your finger – this way when you fold the hand pie over, the puff pastry will stick together.
Then begin folding the edges over like the video above illustrates.
Place the sealed hand pies on a baking sheet, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown – like in my pictures above.
Halfway through the baking process, sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top of the hand pies.
When the hand pies are golden brown, remove the hand pies from the oven and place them on a rack to cool for five minutes.
Enjoy!
Ad: Buy Tyson Grillin' Wings at Sam's Club, Get a $5 Sam's Club Gift Card... Maybe Win a New Grill!
The picture of your qualifying receipt must be submitted to [email protected] by 6/1/14 11:59:59pm PT to receive a $5 Sam’s Club gift card and be entered in the sweepstakes.
PROGRAM TERMS:
1. Must be purchased at a Sam’s Club between 5/1/14 and 6/1/14. 2. Receipt must show retailer name, date, time, receipt total, and qualifying purchase. Each receipt can only be submitted once. 3. Limited to four (4) submissions per customer.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:
Snap a picture of the Sam’s Club receipt. Ensure it clearly shows (1) the purchase of one Tyson® Grillin’ Wings® product; (2) date and time of purchase; and (3) the total amount of the transaction.
TIPS ON TAKING YOUR PHOTO:
Flatten the receipt and place it on a dark non-reflective surface. Make sure there is enough light and that the entire receipt is in the frame. Hold the camera steady and also make sure the receipt is in focus. Review the image quality before submitting.
*Code must be redeemed at www.tysonwings.com by 6/15/14 11:59:59pm PT. **While supplies last. ***Winner of the grill will be notified the week of 6/23/14. Tyson Foods, Inc. is not affiliated with Sam’s West, Inc. The services, products or activities of Tyson Foods, Inc. are neither endorsed nor sponsored by Sam’s West, Inc.
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Just had my first lobster roll from Pearl Oyster Bar on Cornelia Street (b/t Bleecker and West 4th) in the West Village… and it won’t be my last. There was so much delicious lobster piled on that roll. And the shoestring French fries… really good. Afterwards, I picked up an awesome chocolate milkshake from Big Gay Ice Cream.
My Food Recommendations Near Bryant Park
Over the weekend, a friend asked where I like to eat around Bryant Park in New York City. (She's gonna be working in the area for two or three days.)
Well...
For breakfast – one of those days – I would go to SnackBOX in Times Square. This kiosk – sitting in the middle of Broadway around 46th Street – sells Doughnut Plant doughnuts. I've said many times on this blog that DP's Wild Blueberry is my favorite doughnut, ever. The Coconut Cream is amazing, too. Screw it... everything from DP is.
When lunch rolls around, I would first scroll through this collection of food truck twitter feeds created by the NYC Food Truck Association. Using it, I can figure out which lunch trucks are parked within walking distance of Bryant Park. A few of my favorites are Morris Grilled Cheese, The Treats Truck, Phil's Steaks, Schnitzel & Things, Comme Ci Comme Ça, Mamu Thai Noodle, and Old Traditional Polish.
Of course, there's my long time favorite – Hale & Hearty soups – which is right across the street from Bryant Park on 42nd Street between the Avenue of the Americas and 5th Avenue. My Snack Fixations are the Sengalese Chicken, Tomato Cheddar and the Macaroni and Cheese with Beef soup.
Downstairs in the food court of Grand Central Terminal are two HUGE guilty pleasures of mine – Magnolia Bakery and Shake Shack. I think those names speak from themselves.
Want something healthier for lunch? I would walk a couple blocks south to Just Salad on 37th Street between 7th Avenue and Avenue of the Americas.
My last lunch recommendation is walking over to Time Square to the Nuchas kiosk outside Toys R Us for some awesome empanadas. I pretty much love every empanada there, but the Spicy Cheese and the Sweet are my favorites.
After work, I'm a sucker for two places in the Bryant Park area.
I love having Chicken Fried Steak and Hurricanes at Duke's Original Roadhouse in Murray Hill, or grabbing a drink at one of New York's most unique bars (that time forgot) – Jimmy's Corner. Everyone should visit this shrine to the golden days of boxing at least once. It's also has one of the best jukeboxes in the city.
Here's a map that will help you find all the places I mentioned above – minus the food trucks. For those, use this.
Enjoy!
Game of Thrones is on tonight, so I grabbed three doughnuts from Dough Loco to snack on. I’ll be trying this Blood Orange doughnut for the first time… along with two of my favorites —Chocolate and Maple Miso.
Ad: SoFabCon14 Inspires a New Meal Idea – Buffalo Chicken Fajitas
What a great weekend at SoFabCon14! Not only did I get to hang out – and learn – from some of the most knowledgeable folks in social media… I ate well, too. I think I gained six pounds before I flew back on Sunday.
Tyson Foods – a sponsor at SoFabCon14 – was one of the biggest culprits adding to my waistline. They treated myself and the other fantastic Tyson VIP bloggers – Lyuba & Glenda – like we were family from the moment we arrived in Arkansas. It was as if we were visiting our grandparents when we toured their Springdale headquarters.
They showed us everything... and fed us everything they had in the fridge.
For example, they made Smokehouse flavored Any'tizers Grillin' Wings…
Pesto Chicken Tacos with Tyson Gluten Free Grilled Chicken Breast Fillets …
And these brand NEW Tyson Chicken Spinach & Feta Toastini – so good.
I was thrilled to learn BJ’s will be one of the first of two stores to carry these. (For those of you who don’t know, this a wholesale club in NYC.)
If that wasn’t enough… Tyson Foods treated every attendee at SoFabCon14 to dinner – at a restaurant of our choosing – on Friday night.
This gave myself – and the other bloggers who attended the conference – the opportunity to get to know each other for the first time over a nice meal.
The group, I was with, went to Theo's Steak in Rogers, Arkansas. My photograph doesn't do them justice, but these pork tacos were awesome.
As you can probably imagine though… the best meal of all was the one I shared with my son last night after my return.
The tacos I ate at the conference inspired last nights delicious meal idea – Buffalo Chicken Fajitas. (I made a plain version – without wing sauce – for Clint.)
Because I used Tyson’s Grilled & Ready Fajita Chicken Strips, this family dinner was ready in 15-20 minutes. That was such a nice convenience after not seeing Clint for so long. I got to spend more time focusing on him than making dinner.
At my Walmart in Secaucus, NJ; the Tyson Grilled & Ready Fajita Chicken Strips can be found in the Frozen Pizza aisle.
Here's the recipe if you are interested in making these spicy fajitas yourself. They're good.
Buffalo Chicken Fajitas featuring Tyson Grilled & Ready Fajita Chicken Strips
Serves: 2-3 (or 6 tacos) Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients:
12 Pieces of Tyson Grilled & Ready Fajita Chicken Strips (2 per fajita)
1 Medium size red onion
1 Green pepper
8 oz Bottle of your favorite wing sauce
6 Small flour tortillas
Blue cheese dressing OR Mexican-style cheese
Directions:
Cut both red onion and green pepper into strips.
Put a large skillet on a medium flame.
Pour half a bottle (roughly 6 oz) of wing sauce into skillet.
Place 12 chicken strips, red onion and green pepper into skillet and cover. Cook and stir occasionally for 5-7 minutes.
While this is cooking in the skillet, warm up the flour tortillas in the oven or microwave.
When cooking is complete, place an even amount of chicken, red onion and green pepper on each warm tortilla.
Add blue cheese dressing or Mexican-style cheese.
Enjoy!
#MealsTogether #CollectiveBias
I seriously love this snack table at #SoFabCon14. Gonna enjoy this caramel covered popcorn with a yogurt drizzle during @wannabiteblog's General Session called "From Zero to 150,000 Unique Visitors in 12 Months — How I Did It". Check Nathan out. This guy's work is impressive. #mealstogether
In Arkansas attending Day 3 of #SoFabCon14. Listening to Casey Peterson's SEO Breakout Session and enjoying one of my favorite snacks - yogurt covered pretzels. You all should see the snack table at the conference. Crazy. #MealsTogether
And this is my #SnackFixation at @NuchasNYC - the Sweet empanada. It's Nutella, Granny-Smith, pear, cranberry inside white almond dough. Awesome. #NYC #FoodTruck
Just grabbed an early lunch while I run some errands this morning. This is the Spicy Cheese empanada from @NuchasNYC. This is my second favorite #empanada from the #foodtruck. Love it. And when I say it's my second favorite, it's so close to being tied for first with the Sweet empanada which is an official #SnackFixation. #NYC
Ad: Prehistoric Family Dinner Featuring Fun Nuggets from Tyson
How excited am I?! I'm flying out tomorrow to attend my first SoFabCon conference in Arkansas. It’s the retreat-like blogger conference where I'll hang with brands, bloggers and other industry folks; and discuss the ins and outs of social media. Even better... Tyson Foods invited me – as a VIP – to a take an exclusive tour of their Springdale headquarters!
But before the big weekend in Arkansas, my son and I had a family dinner on Monday night. I made a prehistoric meal featuring Fun Nuggets from Tyson.
These whole grain nuggets – shaped like dinosaurs – have been HUGE in our home.
Why?
A while back, Clint tried meat for the first time thanks in part to the fun Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex breaded shapes. They helped reduce his resistance to trying them.
Clint ate his “dinosaurs” (we don’t call them nuggets) with some bites of tomato, snack bar and a glass of milk.
Each "dinosaur" bite had a small drop of honey, as well.
As for me, I ate my "dinosaurs" with a Prehistoric Jungle Salad.
It consisted of Marketside Spring Mix greens, slices of avocado, rings of red onion, kalamata olives, diced tomato, shaved Parmesan, pecans and balsamic vinaigrette.
Hahaha… I’ll be the first to admit, the nugget salad looked kinda silly, but I can get Clint to eat WAY more of his dinner if the both of us take bites of the same type of food together – throughout the course of a meal. He also loves the idea of sharing his Tyson dinosaur nuggets with me. This comradery really helps encourage him to try new foods... and fill his belly.
And I’ll tell you what... It was a surprisingly good salad. I plan on making this meal idea again.
I got most of the ingredients – including the Fun Nuggets from Tyson – in the grocery department at Walmart.
The nuggets – strangely enough – came from the chicken section in the Frozen Pizza aisle.
If you're interested, the recipe is below for my Prehistoric Jungle Salad with Tyson Fun Nuggets. You can make the salad for yourself... or your little “dinosaur” lover at home.
I'm curious... What techniques or foods have you found helpful when introducing something new to your children? I would love to hear ‘em. Heck, chances are... I'll try them out!
Prehistoric Jungle Salad featuring Fully Cooked Fun Nuggets from Tyson
Serves: 1 Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients:
3-5 Fully Cooked Fun Nuggets from Tyson
1/4 Red onion
8 Kalamata olives
1 1/2 Handfuls of mixed greens
1/4 Tomato
Shaved Parmesan
8 Pecans
1/4 Avocado
Balsamic vinaigrette
Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Then cook the frozen Fun Nuggets for 11-14 minutes.
Cut 1-2 slices of red onion.
Cut two slices from tomato and dice.
Quarter 8 kalamata olives.
Cut three slices of avocado.
Put rings of red onion, diced tomatoes, olives, pecans, avocado and mixed greens into bowl.
Top bowl with shaved Parmesan and balsamic vinaigrette.
Place Fun Nuggets in bowl.
Enjoy.
#MealsTogether #CollectiveBias
Clint’s grandmother is awesome. She had an extra Crock-Pot in the house, and gave it to us! It’s a nice small one that will fit easily in our NYC apartment. I should also mention, Grandma Weber makes some killer food in her Crock-Pot. She made pulled pork and a white bean turkey chili on our last trip home. My goodness were they crazy good. Also, she knows how to box something up so it doesn’t break. I swear… The only thing that would damage this would be throwing it directly into the sun.
Finally sitting down to watch my favorite daily show — Highly Questionable on ESPN — and try another delicious Mocha Bar from my friends at OCHO Candy. I’m a big fan of their Coconut Bar, but his new flavor (to me) might rival it. The Mocha Bar is espresso nougat covered in milk chocolate. It's good stuff.
"You really should go to Minetta Tavern and try their Black Label Burger... Goddamn! ...It ended up being a burger we will NEVER forget... Possibly the best in the country!"
– Jesse Dollemore on the Black Label Burger at Minetta Tavern in NYC
Falafel Sandwich from Taim
I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I've never had falafel.
Before living in New York, I was an uber picky eater. Horrible, just horrible. Once I moved to Manhattan, though... everything changed. I slowly started trying everything; however, unintentionally, falafel and I never crossed paths in my 17 years in the city.
Then I saw Philly Food Girl's falafel post a couple week ago, and realized I needed to mark this off my list. It sounds too good.
So... I took the train down to Christopher Street the other night, and ordered myself my first falafel sandwich at Taim on Waverly Place.
Taim is known for having one of the best falafel in the city. There are two Taim locations (Spring Street and Waverly Place) and a food truck in New York.
Oh my goodness, was this falafel sandwich ever good! I can't believe I went 39 years without one of these entering my piehole. The combination of falafel, hummus, Israeli salad, pickled cabbage and tahini sauce inside a soft, warm pita was completely unbelievable.
The textures and flavors were wonderful. I was on cloud nine eating that thing. What took me so long?!?!?!
It reminded me of chicken shawarma, but falafel instead of meat... but three times better!
I'm pretty sure I'm going back this weekend when Clint's with his mom, but I'm also excited about visiting Cheeky Sandwiches or Pearl Oyster Bar and trying my first po' boy. I'll have to see how much time I have available to do both.
I will tell you this... Taim makes a very good falafel sandwich, and I think they set the bar incredibly high for my taste buds. I need to get back to Taim as soon as possible.
Also, many thanks to Philly Food Girl, and the kind cashier who you helped me order my first falafel sandwich and the correct falafel flavor for me – harissa (mild spicy).
Taim | falafel & smoothie bar – 222 Waverly Pl, Manhattan, NY; (212) 691-1287
Would I go back to Taim? Absolutely! Is the falafel sandwich a Snack Fixation? Yes. I can wait to have it again. Would I tell a New York friend about Taim? Yes! If family or friends were in town from Ohio, would I drag them to Taim? Yes. I'm trying to figure out if there's time to take M when she visits next week. What am I ordering next time? I'm getting the falafel sandwich. Pricey? No.
Knife Fight (Season 2) on Esquire Network
You know what I'm doing this weekend? Watching my first episode of KNIFE FIGHT from the Esquire Network.
I got Perk'd! My JK Cutting Board came today. Thanks @Klout, @ESQTV & @KnifeFightESQ! http://t.co/LSYordM6JR pic.twitter.com/5LwgDraPxX
— Snack Fixation (@SnackFixation)
April 30, 2014
Apparently, this show is in it's second season, and it's some sort of underground cooking competition where renowned chefs cook with surprise ingredients. I normally don't watch cooking shows (I find them to be boring), but this sounds like it could be fun.
[Click here to watch the first full episode of Season 2 of KNIFE FIGHT.]
Are any of you already watching?! What do you think?