Momofuku Milk Bar Cookies

My love of all things Momofuku, chef David Chang's delicious empire in NYC, should not be a surprise to anyone.  So clearly during my day trip to NYC over the holidays a stop in Momofuku Milk Bar was on the agenda!  Luckily, there's an outpost of Milk Bar that's conveniently located in Midtown, close to where we were. 

As much as I wanted to get "one of everything", I picked up three cookies this time, because they were the easiest to carry back to NJ, haha.  I got a Compost cookie (top left), Corn cookie (middle), and a Peanut Butter cookie (top right).  For those of you unfamiliar with the famous Compost cookie, here's a post from The Amateur Gourmet with the recipe.  It's a rediculous and delicious cookie, packed with sweet, salty, smooth, crunchy EVERYTHING, haha.  The corn and peanut butter cookies were a little less exciting but still yummy.  The strength of both of these cookies is in the pure flavor- the corn cookie really tastes like a sweeter cornbread, baked until the edges are crisp, whereas the peanut butter cookie smells and tastes like pure roasted peanuts (with chopped peanuts throughout).  I would definitely get any of these cookies again - assuming I didn't already get too many cake slices, cake balls, or soft-serve.  I would wholeheartedly recommend a stop in the Milk Bar for anyone that's visiting NYC! 

Momofuku Milk Bar- Midtown

15 W. 56th Street (between 5th and 6th)

New York, NY 10019    

Lunchtime Links for February 3rd, 2011

• Serious Eats: Thai sweet and spicy wings.
• Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Recap from TVGasm.
• The Kitchn: No-bake Boston cream pie strata.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Cook's Illustrated chewy brownies.
• Tabatha's Salon Takeover: Recap from TVGasm.

Too Faced Pixie Pin-Ups Set

I was super excited when I found out I won a Pixie Pin-Ups set from Too Faced via a Twitter contest, even though I had no idea what it was, haha!  I received it in the mail a while back and found out:

All the cute extra decorative touches aside, I think this is a great collection of products from Too Faced.  I love all of the eyeshadows, especially the Leading Lady and Exotica shades.  The box also comes with a tube of Shadow Insurance, Lash Injection Pinpoint Mascara, and Lava Gloss Eye Liner.  I don't really see myself traveling much with this box since it's pretty large for what it contains, but it's a pretty and fun kit to have around in my apartment.  Because of the pop-up elements and universally flattering shades, I also think it'd be a great, reasonably priced ($25.00) gift for anyone that's into beauty products.  Thank you Too Faced for a great prize!  

Lunchtime Links for February 2nd, 2011

• Top Chef All-Stars: Recap from TVGasm.
• Serious Eats: Making doughnuts out of Pillsbury biscuits.
• Gossip Girl: Recap from TVGasm.
• The Kitchn: Pancetta and cinnamon ricotta casserole.
• The Pioneer Woman: Shrimpo de gallo.

Restaurant Week Brunch @ CoCo Sala, DC

I'll be the first to admit that I'm generally not a fan of Restaurant Week.  Yes, some restaurants handle things well with good service, an extensive-to-full menu offering, and an eagerness to see you back when it's not Restaurant Week.  And to those restaurants- Thank you.  However, all too often we find restaurants with bitter servers who assume only the tightwads come out for RW, rushed service, or a severely limited menu that doesn't give you a good idea of what the restaurant has to offer.  

That being said, I still wound up going to brunch at Co Co. Sala with M during Restaurant Week.  Why?  Because a) I love Co Co. Sala and have enjoyed brunch here before; b) M hadn't had their brunch before and I hadn't been in a while; c) The RW brunch menu wasn't that different from their regular brunch menu, just a little cheaper; and d) HELLLLLLLLLO IT'S CHOCOLATE.

 

I started with a Peanut Butter co co. hot chocolate- the marshmallow was pillowy, and the drink was like a smooth, rich, melted Reece's cup in a mug.  However, the sweetness of the drink came mostly from the peanut butter so the drink itself wasn't overly sweet, which I liked.  My only criticism is that I wish they came in a bigger mug, haha.

Our amuse was some form of an artichoke-based tart, I believe?  Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention when they brought it over.... haha.  The crust was nice and sturdy and didnt' get soggy from the tart filling, which I liked.  I know this might look huge because I was really close to the tart, but really it was about 2"x2" or so, haha.

M and I both decided on the Crispy Creole Crabcake as our entree, which comes with: mango salsa, chipotle chocolate tomato glaze, avocado cilantro emulsion, plus the salad and the avocado slices as you can see above.  I really liked this entree, because it has a lot of flavors that I normally enjoy- crab, tomato, avocado, mango, mmmmm.  I also thought it was sort of interesting how the crabcake was more of a tennis ball shape vs. the usual burger-patty shape that I'm using to seeing for crab cakes.  Clearly plating is one of CoCo. Sala's strengths- it definitely added to the visual appeal. 

For dessert, I got the PB Cheesecake, which comes with milk chocolate & peanut brittle crunch, as well as a chocolate truffle on the side.  This dessert was really rich and decadent, like having my PB co co. on steroids, haha.  The cheesecake portion was v. smooth which I liked, because sometimes peanut butter desserts can be grainy from the peanut butter and sugar.  So good!   

Overall this was a great meal, and the leftovers were tasty too- especially the PB cheesecake!  If anyone's looking for a stylish and unique brunch in the DC area, definitely check out Co Co. Sala!

Lunchtime Links for February 1st, 2011

• Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Recap from TVGasm.
• Two Peas And Their Pod: Pumpkin Nutella bread.
• Jersey Shore: Recap from TVGasm.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Nutella lava chocolate cookies.
• Serious Eats: Cakespy's Funfetti pancakes.

The Return of the Jersey Shore Recaps

It's been quite a while since the last one, but my friend B has taken on the admirable task of hilariously recapping the current season of Jersey Shore, one episode at a time.  RECAPS ARE HEREEEEEEEEEEE (DJ Pauly D voice, natch).  Take it away, B!:


Time to update your Facebook relationship status to "it's complicated":  Ronnie and Sammi get into a relationship altering fight because Ronnie talked to his buddy's wife...that or Sammi has a fear of C-sections.  I really didn't care enough

Oh come on, this has to be a dealbreaker: "You brought me piece of a pizza...not a protein shake?"  (Editor's note:  I think that's actually a dealbreaker for Sammi)

Uh...easy on the steroids there Ron:  Sammi threatens to leave Seaside, so Ronnie violently empties her closet to help her pack.  I'm no doctor, but I think we call that 'roid rage  (By the way Sam, how did you not notice your entire wardrobe sitting in the middle of the floor?  Again, I'm no doctor, but I think we call that being a dumbass)

Hmmm, maybe we should make that status "single":  Uh oh, Ronnie is talking to JWoww.  Hopefully Sammi will react in a mature and responsible manner...

Well, so much for mature and responsible...:  Sammi just clocked Ronnie in the jaw.  Time for MTV to get the "it's not funny to punch someone" PSA rolling.

Can I get the definition of "keeping it real" Ronnie:  Because that was a lot of crying.

I also need a definition of "family":  Why the the hell was Ryder in the family meeting to convince Sammi to stay?  Can the Situation's girl join in also?  What about Roger?  Can we put J420 and Joey Yanks on speakerphone?

So...you killed 30 minutes of air time and you're not going to break up?:  We glossed over Ryder ("Season 1 Guest Star MVP") visiting town fresh off screwing Vinny, the stripper pole (which I can only imagine will win "Season 2 Guest Star MVP") and the possibility of a  Ryder-Snooki-Vinny threesome so we could watch Ronnie and Sam not break up.  MTV owes me an apology and a protein shake!

Mother of the year?:  Sammi's mom, I would probably let my drunk and crying daughter sleep it off as well, but I'm not sure I would ignore the part where she hit a guy who takes steriods and has zero emotional stability

Movie I can't wait not to see:  Big Mommas Like Father Like Son

Best use of a vuvuzela:  Grenade whistle!

Worst use of a vuvuzela:  Any other time you're using a vuvuzela

Seems about right:  Plan B advertises on Jersey Shore.  The only thing more fitting would be if pedophilia was sponsored by paneled vans and promises of candy.

Yeah, the stereotype is totally unfair...:   So Vinny's girl Gina is of Sicillian descent...and was at Karma with her 50-ish year old uncle...and someone named Nicky Ducks... ...and they were all wearing Ed Hardy t-shirts... and had enough hair gel to put Pauly D to shame... and then the uncle randomly shows up at the JShore house with a small entourage to force Gina to go home.  I know Italian groups are mad about how the show portrays them, but all that was missing in this scenario were two plumbers named Mario and Luigi
Someone didn't read Romeo and Juliet:  Getting cock blocked by Tony Danza isn't the same thing as Romeo and Juliet.  It's not even like an episode of Who's the Boss...
 
Sammi's back-handed apology to her roommates: "It turns out you guys are cool and good people". 

What Sammi actually meant by her apology:  "I want to be famous and not have to actually work for money, so I'm going to pretend to be your friends so I don't get kicked off like everyone wants.  I mean, does anyone even know where Angelina is now?"

I wish I could have been in the production meeting for Deena's fetish:  So, uh...can we say "rim job" on the air?

Well, it is MTV...:  You can't say rim job, but you can give hints including "it got cleaned out in the hot tub"
 
Be careful what you wish for Deena...:  It's probably a good idea not to tear Dean a new asshole, considering you like giving...well, you know.