Dinner: Tuesday, April 28, 2009

If you’re going to have just a little something to eat, it may as well be a salad of greenmarket spinach, beets and red onion, plus the fringe of a prime cut of steak from Whole Foods (saving the rest for basically a larger redux of this meal tomorrow), plus some blue cheese and balsamic vinigarette. 

It’s the miniature salad of the one I *think* I’m taking to work to eat tomorrow; that’s the tentative plan. The only variation might be that I tossed the greens I used tonight in the hot, fatty cracklings in the pan I fried the top loin steak in for just that little extra bit of goodness. Mmm … goodness. 

I realized I have some very nice before and after pictures from the prep. Here are the ingredients as I first laid eyes on them yesterday: 

 

Below: After I got my hands on them this evening. Could be a scosh pinker, but overall not a bad pan-fried steak. I seasoned with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and olive oil and gave it a good rub before throwing it in a really hot pan. I don’t cook protein much and was vaguely worried I might somehow mess it up, but it ended up being fairly intuitive. For someone who likes her meat on the rarer side of things, there really isn’t too much of a worry of pulling it off too soon. 

 

Coming up tomorrow: Steak salad at the office. How to make the most beautiful of salads in the most unglamorous setting. Hint: It involves prepping for travel. 

COST: Market vegetables (spinach, beets and red onion) $3.75; steak at USQ WF $8.49; cheese and dressing I had on hand. 
PREP TIME: I spent less than an hour in the kitchen. But let’s not talk about the line at Whole Foods last night at about 7 p.m. That place is a cash cow.

Lunch: Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Lunch post, the CliffsNotes version. I’m just going to bomb this one:

Pizza. Lazzara’s. Dark, cool and cozy even in the middle of the hottest, steamiest afternoon of 2009 (so far). I dined alone, unawkwardly I might add, at a three-stooled bar and did some line revisions and took more pictures of condiments — a handsome condiment bin, that one — while waiting for my half-pie. 

How was it? Good. Loved the sauce, the broiled cheese, the generous toppings, the stature of the slices (thin-crusted and square). The only “meh” moment was the end of the crust, which I don’t get along so well with ends of pizza crusts in general, so this wasn’t such a surprise.

And while I enjoyed the presentation of three gorgeous, full, slices of proscuitto, I ended up enjoying the slices much more once I’d shredded it a bit and threw on some hot peppers. Alright, I’m out. 

COST: $9 + tax and tip
PREP TIME: I’ve been waiting and waiting to go here …  

Bonus photo of the cutest doggie bag ever after the jump: 

Breakfast: Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Who knew that rhe hottest wasabi peas could be found in my own neighborhood Duane Reade?

Wasabi Blazing Peas. By a company called Fifth Avenue snacks or some such. Now I know. And yes, that’s all I’ve had for breakfast (had a glass of orange juice way earlier.)