A Tropical Adventure on a Freezing Day

I sent out my usual "Are we doing dinner Sunday / what are we making" email to Becca and Alyx, to which Alyx promptly responded, "crab legs and coconut shrimp".  I thought she was joking.  I mean, it's freezing out - and coconut shrimp reminds me of warm weather destinations and drinking frozen beverages on the beach.  But, I should have known better - when it comes to food -  Alyx does not joke around.  

{Precooked Crab Legs from Chinatown}

Stockholm for the Evening

Becca's friends Brent and Rebecca were visiting us from SWEDEN!  And Brent, a cook at a restaurant in Stockholm, was so gracious enough to cook us an authentic Swedish meal for our weekly family dinner.  The extent of Swedish food I've had is what is served at the cafeteria in Ikea.  I love anything related to Ikea and Sweden (I'm obsessed with the idea of visiting Stockholm) so I knew this was going to be a grand feast.  Further - I was excited to have someone cook for me!  

Truffled Mac and Cheese

It's been a long winter filled with fondue, fondue, and even more fondue.  I wanted some change.  I also love melted cheese.  I said some change not drastic change.  So macaroni and cheese it was! Lucky for me, my friends like melted cheese as much as I do!

Over the holidays, a friend made truffled mac and cheese for a holiday party.  This sounded amazing and so I set off to find the best truffled mac and cheese recipe.  I ended up mixing two different recipes (one that my friend used, and the other that I found online).  The result was perfectly crusted, impeccably cheesey and truffley.  I know the latter is not a word but I'm making it one.

Passion Fruit Ice Cream Pie

Becca and I were hungry on this past rainy Sunday afternoon.  Magically a passion fruit pie appeared in front of us.  We devoured it while discussing menus for our future dinner parties, flipping through my Lonely Planet The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country In The World, and brainstorming how to celebrate Becca's upcoming 23rd birthday.

An Eclectic Dinner for 3

Oooh! Time to cook with Mai and Paul! Mai has this wonderful commercial style stove in her kitchen, not to mention vast counter space and room for all involved parties.  So it's no surprise I love having the opportunity to cook at Mai's! We opted for a more simple meal since we were meeting on a school-night, and we really wanted to catch up with each other.

Some new additions to Mai's apartment include a tripod and...a marvelous, class-room sized map of the world.  The map ALSO included dots as to where Mai has visited.  You have NO idea how much I squealed with excitement when I saw this.  Well, maybe you do.  I guess it made sense that our dinner featured an assortment of dishes: hummus and pita, salad and toppings, and lemon souffle pudding.  I'm not sure if it could get any more random than that mix! Though, now that I think about it, I think the theme of the night was, "Once Jyoti has tried it home made, she can never go back to store bought".

Case in point: hummus and vanilla extract.

Outdoorsy cooking in a little NYC apartment

Becca and I were cooking together (yet again) and we didn't have a specific craving - which is odd - usually one of us requests something.  This time I suggested burgers - so we looked up many different recipes.  While I realize we don't have a proper grill - I also realize that where there is a will, there is a way.  My first go was the recipe from serious eats for In and Out burgers.  Too boring.  We wanted EXCITEMENT.  We decided to mix it up with portobello burgers and a burger infused with basil and sun-dried tomatoes.

Oodles of Noodles

My food adventure in Burma began before I even departed the US.  No, I did not go to Burmese Superstar in San Francisco.

I flew Singapore Airlines - my maiden voyage on the airline.  Much to my delight - I was given a MENU of all the food I would be given during my 23 hour journey to Singapore. A MENU.

I am probably one of the few people who loves airplane food.  I think Shrenik might be the only other person.  Anyways - back to the menu - I, of course, immediately took a picture of the menu and sent it to friends who I know would appreciate my excitement.