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| Image by Crescent Grill |
I love me some fresh, seasonal veggies and always look forward to enjoying them in local eateries, especially ones that participate in CSA shares. Recently spotting the latest offering of beautifully ripe tomatoes at Crescent Grill, I wanted to spread the news so you all too can enjoy this goodness. Here's what you can expect at Crescent Grill in terms of local veggie options. But not to worry meat eaters, they've got something for you as well!
Fresh veggie options:
Tomato and watermelon salad (as seen above)
Sugar snap peas and carrots
Sauteed grilled yellow corn with roasted peppers
Pan seared grouper with roasted beets
Butter poached lobster with heirloom radishes
If you'd like to sample their tasty bar food, don't miss out on the happy hour specials with half priced draft beer and even their burger + double fried French Fries for under $10! You can catch their Happy Hour specials from Wednesday - Friday from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Crescent Grill - 38-40 Crescent Street, Long Island City NY 11101
718.729.4040
N/Q Train to 39th Avenue
www.crescentgrill.com
After two weeks of not being on a regular schedule due to our power being out, I'm finally getting ready and excited to return to normal life. A big part of that means cooking , as I'll have full access to my kitchen again - and returning to making healthy foods, not just indulging in comforting dishes, as I've been doing recently.
The following are two great recipes I borrowed from the Food Network website and altered in my own way. The first is a baked salmon, which is cooked and steamed in aluminum foil, and dressed in white wine, fresh lemons, capers and rosemary. The end result is a really fresh and healthy tasting dish that's wonderfully flaky and moist on the inside.
A nice side, which is lovely around this time of year are roasted carrots, on the sweet side, with cranberries, red onion, cilantro, lemon and some sunflower seeds. It pairs really well with the salmon, adding a sweet element, which comes naturally from the carrots as they caramelize but also from the craisins, which puff up when baked and also soaked in some water ahead of time. The whole meal takes about 40 minutes to make, so it's really weeknight friendly. Here are the recipes for you to enjoy:
Salmon with Lemon, Capers and Rosemary
Roasted Carrots
My philosophy is...if you've got a surplus of something, create a new dish, which is exactly where these stuffed tomatoes came from. In the process of making a zucchini and chicken sausage casserole, I found myself with a lot of leftover orange zucchini. Naturally not wanting it to go to waste, I thought it could create a wonderful stuffing for the three ripe tomatoes I also happened to have lying around in the fridge. Improvising a pretty easy dish, it was success all around, including getting high marks on the healthy scale. I hope you get to try it at home and change it up in any way that suits you.
Fooditka's Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 medium ripe tomatoes, cut in half and scooped out with a spoon (or your fingers)
1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs
1/2 large orange zucchini, finely chopped
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Mix the panko with a little bit of oil, salt and pepper.
Sautee the onions and garlic, being careful not to let it burn. Combine with the orange zucchini and cook for about 5-7 minutes until, soft and slightly golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.
Place stuffing into the scooped out tomatoes and top with breadcrumbs. Place all of this in a ceramic dish that has been slightly oiled.
Bake for about 10 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Most weeks, I stroll the Union Square Greenmarket for unusual goodies, and last week proved to be quite fruitful (pun intended). I found these beautiful husked tomatoes (aka tomatillos) that you see above.
Completely unfamiliar with this fruit, I didn't know how to eat them let alone how to clean them. A helpful and far from shy sales associate showed me the way, gently pinching the papery skin at the bottom and then pealing it back to reveal a yellow cherry tomato. She popped one in her mouth and told me to do the same. I obliged and squealed with surprise and delight - they tasted like the sweetest cherries with little seeds not unlike in a tomato. The flavor was so delightful and exquisite that I tasted about three more and then, I bought the whole pint.
Let me tell you, these little tomatoes have changed my life--and made my week much sweeter. I brought them to work with me for a snack, looking forward to popping them in my mouth and relishing in their addicting spritz of flavor. By the end of the week, I ate them whenever I could - mixing them in cereal, ice cream and even my leftover Mexican Risotto.
They cost $5/pint, which isn't cheap but they've lasted us the whole week. You get about 40 pieces - and if I haven't stressed this enough, they're a gift that keeps on giving. Dan, who has an aversion to tomatoes absolutely loves them and refuses to believe that they're in the tomato family. Rock on with your husk on (or off)!
Get them on Mondays at a booth near 15th Street and Union Square West.
N/W/R/Q/4/5/6/L Train to Union Square
