Yet again...our apologies...

Ladies and Gents,

If your a blogger some of you know this isnt easy to maintain.  We've appreciated that this takes a lot of work.  So in the attempt to have something fun, interesting and mouth watering for you to read...heres the UPDATE!

Since our last posting in December..(yes, December!) Frankie and I have:

• Thrown a Super Bowl Party, ( we wore Giants jerseys) which consisted of a foot high pile of Crab Cakes, homemade hummus, a very delicate brie and blackberry "en croute" ( we had to prepare for a vegetarian, it was odd with out bacon),  homemade guacamole and sandwich that we affectionately call the Raider.  
• Attended a taping the 24 HOUR RESTAURANT WARS! With Scott Conant!  Food was pretty bad, but the drinks kept a comin'.  We may post the air date.
• I had the opportunity to go to BUTTER in New York.  Hands down the best Butternut Squash soup I have ever had, it even came with popcorn.  Not the mention the beautiful decor.
• Frank and I have also been commissioned for the first time to cater for nearly 50 people!  any caters out there with advice?!
• We attended a fantastic wine tasting in PA.  as a gift from the lovely Frankie.  It was an experience, to enjoy a discuss a meal and the wine with a table of fellow foodies.  Its very interesting to see how much really goes into a winery and how to appreciate what your consuming.  Absolutely worth the time and drive.

Thanks for hanging in there!

Boxing Day

Today is a day of recovery, whether its from the nonsense of family gatherings, overwhelming amounts of gifts, stuffing your face with rich over indulgent food, or even an eggnog hangover, you should all be inside watching that glorious snow fall.  I know Frankie and I are in fat pants at our respective homes, most likely watching Food Network...atleast I definitely am.  I think Ive seen one episode of Iron Chef 8 times in one week...you know the one where Morimoto make a smoker out of ICE! Lets not forget the one where Robert Irvine and Butter Queen Paula Dean join the fun in a holiday sugar battle.  Currently airing from 2008, Jamie Oliver (a fellow Brit) is battling Iron Chef Mario Batali.  In Olivers into, his accomplishments were mentioned many of which revolving around organic foods, from the farm to the table, or rather from your backyard to your table, he also, apparently, has started movements both home and abroad to limit "junk food" in schools and promote more healthy eating.  Whats wrong with good, clean, FRESH food?! Not a damn thing.  I am personally in favor of "clean" eating.  More people should cook at home, thats really what this Blog promotes  ADVENTURES IN COOKING!  Don't you want to know what you and your family is consuming? Control your own portions? Your budget?!  For the New Year 2011, Frankie, our friends, and myself invite you to join us and cook what ever your little hearts desire, try new foods, wander through your supermarkets! Stop and smell the aromas of garlic, onions and steak emanating from your kitchens... Make it feel like home. Be well, stay warm.


P.s dont get me wrong, going out is wicked fun too...Especially really nice food.

Merry Effing Christmass

mini brie en croute

So as we hope most of you have seen Christmas Vacation, featuring the Griswald Family.  My nightmare is to make a turkey that looks beautiful, then when the moment of truth comes and its finally being cut into it...its nothing but a dry puff of steam that results in turkey jerky.  So what do we decided to do.. make 8 Cornish Hens for our friends at Christmas.

Ladies and Gents we've grown in our culinary skills! Brie en Croute, Sticky Toffee Puddings, Broccoli Rabe and Pimms Cups will be in store! Any one know of a good "nut flavored Liqueur"?

On a side note...Frankie and I feel it is important to get out there and support our local, and not so local restaurants here are our recommendations for places while youre out holiday shopping...

1 Tulas in New Brunswick on Easton Ave
2. White Rose, best for quick awesome burger, Main St/Woodbridge Ave in Highland Park
3. Pithari for great BYOB Greek, also Main St. in Highland Park
4. China House for "homey" chinese take out in Metuchen
5. Planet Chicken in Dunellen
6. L'Ecoles the restaurant for FCI in Soho
7. De Lorenzos Tomato Pie in Robbinsville...Pizza and Salad only Folks
8. Sushi King on Princeton/Hightstown Rd, East Windsor...Try something New! Sushi means RICE!
9. I Spice for reasonably prices Indian... ( trust us, it wont up set your tummy!)
10. Dusals on Ryders Lane in Milltown...white pizza that will definitely end up all over your face....(thats what she said..)


Try them out, let us know what you think or add to our list!

Happy Holidays!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Sorry for our very long absence, we apologize for leaving you without a word.  However the season of over indulging, over spending, and of course over eating is upon us.  I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving, we most certainly did!  Frankie and I created a meal to be envied by those of you who had to pre order from Boston Market and listen to your moms and aunts bicker over whos pie came out the best.  Though we had the small usual group, we only had to make a turkey breast basted and seasoned to perfection with sides including mashed potatos from Giada comprised of mozzarella and parmasean cheese and pancetta, green beans with almonds.  For starters we had to go back to the seasonal favorite curried sweet potato soup, and a homemade spinach and artichoke dip also including bacon.  Sorry Robin, we will always need to add bacon.  P.s look forward to a Bacon only post.
This was the one time we did not make dessert, but it was provided by Frankies mom and Robins homemade pumpkin pie. 

Coming up, yet another evening of free food for our friends and family.  A "CHARLES" DICKENS CHRISTMAS.  This will hopefully be complete with cornish hens. and sticky toffee pudding. 

To everyone, we hope you realize the importance of family and friends.  Take the opportunity to spend time with your families and Try to enjoy their company.  Eat Drink and Merry.

Turkey...

SlapsGiving....It's on! Happy Thanksgiving!


All the best,

Sami and Frankie

Crab Cakes and Scene It

Recently, to celebrate Halloween like grown ups and Frankies return, we made dinner and had multiple drinks!  However it was one of those nights when we definetly should have prepped the main course before guests actually showed up.  We had planned to make Crab Cakes with a slightly spicy roumalade, a London Broil panini with Camembert cheese, horseradish and garlic aoli with spinach, then for dessert an Irish Car Bomb Cupcake with Baileys Irish Cream icing.  The meal got as far as the Crab Cakes.  It would have been a sadder evening if the Crab cakes did not turn out so Effing amazing!  The sauce was a hit and really complimented the cakes.  Not only were they fantastic, but thier essembly was astonishing.  We did not argue, physically or mentally hurt the other person, and didnt run out of ingredients and it did not end up with tears in the frying oil.  It went over without a hitch and so we celebrated the rare moment with a cool beer. All in all a good night of Crab cakes, avoiding Trick or Treaters and Scene It.

So much food, so little time

Ladies and Gentleman, sorry for the delay (almost a month...we know) since we've written.  But our time as been filled with food, chaos, more food..and the pair being separated by a trip to Hawaii (hope you're on a beach)!  In September, like we had mentioned earlier, we did get to cook for a shift of the New Brunswick Fire Department, not without its laughs and spills..and near fires, but HEY we were in the right place!  We tried some oldies but goodies for them as well as some new sides, like a spicy cole slaw ( that they did attempt to remake)  as well as some sweet potato fries which unfortunately turned into sweet potato mash.  It was a great night, that earned us some sweet NBFD T-shirts.

THEN! came the event of embarrassment and catering experience of the year....Frank and I were hired/volunteered to help do a catering job for a nice chunk of change.  However, there was a catch...we had to wear traditional German dress, yes, we were working an Oktoberfest!!! It was great, a lot of hard work and running around looking like fools and offering up traditional German appetizers like kielbasa, sauerkraut balls with crab meat and pretzels with a variety of mustards.  There was a massive amount of food, including desserts of German descent, that we all took trays and trays of food home.

We are looking for our next dinner party idea or suggestion for something to make, feel free to share!


Again, sorry for the delay, and thanks for hanging out if youve been waiting!  And a special thank you to all the guys at New Brunswick Fire Department and my big brother Sean for helping us out.

x