Forking Tasty

Christmas Cookies

If you know anything about how our family celebrates the holidays it is not like your ordinary family holiday. No, our holidays is packed with a ridiculous amount of food. Basically, if there is 10 people coming to eat we cook for 30. What do you expect, were Italian and we like to eat our delicious food more than just one day. We eat it over the course of a week, sometimes more. For instance, for dessert we made 15 different christmas cookies. Some of them were made 3x the regular recipe amount. Lets put it this way, picture your family dining room table that seats about 8. Now picture that entire table filled with tins of christmas cookies some 2 or 3 tins high. Oh and by the way, we also had a few cakes to make things interesting. Here is the rundown of the homemade goodness….

Well Off The Diet

…. Not that I am on a diet but I typically will not eat like this all at once. It was the southerners and my last night in Barcelona. The night before be had a massive dinner in Barcelona (post coming soon) and I think it expanded our stomachs creating this void that needed to be filled. What else but to fill that void with food that really tastes good but is really bad for you. We didn’t want to have a sit down dinner but to walk around and sample food here and there.

From Nasty To Tasty

Forking Tasty Italian Ice Cream Sandwich, Palermo Sicily from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

A few posts ago Jay had a post about an ice cream sandwich called Literal Ice Cream Sandwich. Jay was not a fan at all. I’m a sandwich man and love making sandwiches out of everything. So I had to try the Literal Ice Cream sandwich. I went all the way to Palermo Sicily to try it out….

Road Trip (Part 1)

I recently took a road trip from South Carolina to Key West Florida with the southerner. The trip should take about 14 hours from start to finish. However, we did break up the trip and spent a couple days in a few places along the way and back….

A Chilling Experience

The southerner and I spent the day walking around town and soaking in the rich history that Charleston has to offer. Of course we got hungry. We ended up at a restaurant called Coast where they had half price bottles of wine that particular night, lucky us. We had a couple of fish dishes for dinner but that is not what this post is about. It was where we went after for dessert that is postable. We walked down to Market Street and went to Kaminsky’s Café. We wanted another glass of wine and a bite of dessert. The great thing about Kaminsky is they make their desserts fresh everyday which means that don’t always have the same desserts. They don’t put the desserts on the menu but in a glass case as soon as you walk in. Great placement for their glass case, and I am sure many people have to stop and come in as they walk by and see the gorgeous desserts in the window. We settled on a double chocolate cheesecake….

14 Excuses for Skipping Dinner

Nonsense happens at the holidays. I am sure for many families that comes in different forms. With no surprise my families nonsense comes in edible form. The crux of this derelict family trait is THE COOKIE TABLE. It sits in the corner of the dining room and taunts us all with silent sweetness. The first “official” cookie course doesn’t come until Christmas Eve but each of us quickly falls into temptation after the confectionery seduction uncrosses it’s proverbial legs. By the time dessert on Christmas Eve arrives each of has already dipped our fingers into one or more of the tightly sealed but loosely guarded cookie tins.

Let’s dig into this tradition and these baked menaces one by one…

Unreal Scallops in B.C.

Ferris Oyster Bar – Victoria B.C. from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

I have not been to Victoria British Columbia a lot yet. I just started my next contract on the ship and was recommended by two friends to head to Ferris’ Upstairs Oysterbar. I only have a couple of weeks left on these Alaska runs and I can’t wait to go back. Victoria is a fun little city with lots of restaurants and bars. Hope I get a chance to try as many places as I can.

The Road Less Eaten

This morning was wonderful. One of those morning that unfolds with effortless decision making, timeless scheduling and non-strenuous motion only a lazy Sunday can produce. I have been living in Greenpoint for the better part of 5 years now and the restaurant scene is just now hitting it’s stride. I should quantify that, but will not waste your time with that in this post. This post is simple. It is easy. It is about something fun, yummy and frivolous.

Franklin St. has long been ignored when…

San Sebastian via 9th Ave.

I have had latin fever lately. I am not sure why, but I like it. Seems that given the choice my go to is a new taco join or tapas spot. Coverage of this current food fetish starts with Txikito Cocina Vasca. I originally discovered this spot because of it’s ranking on NY Mag’s Best Burger list, which I have yet to have. Despite the allure of a double burger named after the devil, I stuck with Basque classics. The atmosphere is not quite as bar-ish as I remember San Sebastian. But, after the first bite of plate numero uno, I was transported back to a Tuesday in June 2005 when I stood in a small tapas joint struggling to order amidst the locals as the clock struck midnight and the nightly eating frenzy went full swing. The ARRAULTZA (sofrito, palacios chorizo and a fried quail egg) was…

Bravo, Bravo!

Jay and I headed out to Huntington Long Island to meet our family on the night of the past big storm. Driving was not the safest that night. The wind was blowing the truck all over the place and the rain was coming from all directions. However, we knew when we finally made it to Huntington we were in for a treat. Bravo Nader is a small restaurant that our family loves to go to. The food is always outstanding. We never order our entrée’s off the menu, EVER. Their specials are just that, special. We call ahead usually to make sure they have the Ossobuco special, seen above, because someone at the table has to have one so we can all try it. It’s Killer!! This table had the entire special list that night including two gigantic Prime Rib’s that Mr. Nader himself told us about on the down low. Here is a rundown of the special specials. There are so many I had to put them in a slideshow.

Special apps, dinner, and dessert

After we left the rain was still coming from all directions. Long Island was starting to flood and was loosing their power left and right. We spent the rest of the night in the dark playing a board game. No, I didn’t win but had fun playing one of the games I haven’t played since I was a kid. I wasn’t on my game. My mind was probably still focused on the delicious meal we ate at Bravo Nader.