The kind folks at Von are letting me take over the kitchen for an afternoon. Menu TBA.
Cash and credit cards accepted at the bar for drinks
[Upcoming] 8/23 Summer of Sandwich Pop-Up at VON
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[Upcoming] 8/9 Summer BBQ Pop-Up at Project Parlor
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RSVP HERE!
Randwiches returns to Bed Stuy for one Sunday to pop up in the Project Parlor backyard.
(ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ Sweet sweet summer jams from
Prince Klassen (Turntable Lab)
http://princeklassen.tumblr.com/
Put A Egg On It: Tasty Zine! DJs
putaeggonit.com
21+, Cash / Venmo / Paypal for food
Full bar available!
(ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ ʸᵉᵃʰᵎヽ(´∀｀ヽ)
[Upcoming] Summer of Sandwich Pop-Up at VON
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The kind folks at Von are letting me take over the kitchen for an afternoon. Come on by for adobo pulled pork, slaw and maybe some actual Randwiches.
21+, cash/paypal/venmo for food
Credit cards accepted at the bar for drinks
Modern Mezze Menu: Crudités with Candied Lemon Labneh
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A modified Bon Appètit recipe, original here. | Photos by Riley Ziesig.
Boring snack platters, be gone! Don't just throw a bunch of baby carrots and ranch dressing out at your next party. Dazzle everyone with a board of labneh and vegetables you wouldn't normally see on a crudités platter.
The idea came from a Bon Appètit recipe for labneh, which is Greek yogurt, strained into a cheese. Instead of preserved lemon, I used a few slices of candied lemon. Labneh isn't so widespread in grocery stores yet, but you are in luck, it is very easy to make.
All you need is a mesh strainer, a bowl, yogurt and cheese cloth.
Place the strainer in the bowl, it will catch the whey that comes out of the yogurt. Line the strainer completely with cheese cloth, make sure there is extra flowing over the sides. Plop yogurt over the cheese cloth, be careful not to fill past the top of the strainer. Wrap the cheese cloth over the yogurt. Leave the whole contraption in the fridge for two days. If your strainer touches the bottom of your bowl, you'll need to pour out the whey into a jar every couple of hours. Whey is great for constituting beans, by the way!
When it is time to arrange your board, go for hearty vegetables that can carry a thick dip like labneh. You also want to strategically place everything so that the dip doesn't flow off the board.
I love french radishes because they are narrow and have great edible greens. Fennel is fun because the lemon from the dip mellows out the licorice flavor. It doesn't have to be all vegetables, too. Crusty bread is fun to pull apart and scoop.
I want to see if you try this! Tag @Randwiches on Instagram if you do.
Put A Egg On It #10 TASTY RELEASE PARTY
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Seriously. Come to this zine launch party because I'm FRYING EGGS at it. Yes, you can eat the eggs!
HOSTED BY LINDA SIMPSON
JD SAMSON IS THE DJ
GIN COCKTAIL BY AVIATION GIN
FRIED EGGS BY JENN DE LA VEGA
Celebrate the release of our DOUBLE-STUFFED 10th issue! Cocktails, fried eggs and FABULOUSNESS!
LADY PARTS: 003
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I'm very excited to be making snacks for LADY PARTS on May 26th! Menu TBA, but I'll be around at the event to brainstorm, give feedback and talk about L I F E.
Lady Parts: 003 is an any-profession-goes co-working event.
On hand will be a panel of handpicked mentors who have volunteered to give advice, answer questions, or just shoot the shit about working life. They’re experts in all kinds of worlds: investment, publishing, tech, fashion. They’re all great. There will also be snacks provided by Randwiches and ice-cream by MilkMade.
The Tank Annual Benefit and Silent Auction
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Hey! I’m on the board of directors for a nonprofit space called The Tank and we’re auctioning off two very special Randwiches packages to support emerging artists in New York City.
Three Course Catered Meal - Private chef Jenn de la Vega will cook you dinner in your home or will bring a picnic to a NYC park of your choice. Whatever your allergies or diet, Jenn can accommodate your tastes and make sure you’re well fed. Schedule subject to availability, NYC metro area only. Expires September 2015. BID HERE!
Cheese & Beer Pairing Party for you and 10 Friends - A summer cheese and beer tasting party for you at the gorgeous One Thousand Birds studio in East WIlliamsburg. Jenn de la Vega of Randwiches will pick three cheese and beer combinations with you and provide guidance through the night on tasting notes. BID HERE!
Online bidding ends May 1st and will continue live at The Tank Benefit on May 4th at the Norwood Club. Tickets are $100 to attend and will include beer from Lagunitas, entertainment and a special commendation ceremony for honorees Lucy Alibar (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Chashama. Read more about the event here.
South of the Border Breakfast Hack: M-egg-xican Pizza
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When I was little, I loved the crispy and totally ethnically contentious Taco Bell Mexican pizza. I was feeling nostalgic and made a batch for my friends one night. It was simply enough to figure out: crispy tortillas, a savory bean spread, cheese and hot sauce. However, a lightbulb went off when I realized I would have leftovers. Has anyone ever tried to put an egg in the middle? Like an egg in a hole...Mexican pizza? I'm happy to present my DIY M-egg-xican Pizza!
| For the tortillas: | |
| You need two fajita sized flour tortillas per serving. | |
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Use a cookie cutter to make a 1.5" circle from the middle of each tortilla. Since I didn't have one big enough, I used a small circle to cut 5 overlapping ones, which is why the hole looks like a flower. Don't ask questions, it just happened this way.
Place the tortillas on the oven grates for 5 minutes. Flip them over and turn the oven off, be careful that they don't get too crispy. You want them to be firm, but not like a cracker. Keep them in the oven until you are ready to assemble.
| For the ground beef (or...whatever vegetarian protein you like to pretend is food....): | |
| 1 raw hamburger patty (It's about the same amount as 1.5 vegetarian Italian sausages.) |
1/4 tsp of salt 1/2 tsp of cumin 1/2 tsp of chili powder 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder |
Crumble and saute whatever protein you chose with the seasonings. I don't use any fat to cook the beef but I sometimes add a splash of water to make it saucy and scrape some of the flavors from the pan.
| For the black beans: | |
| You can either use a ready-made can of beans OR make them from scratch! 1 pint of dry black beans 1 quart of water 1 pint of broth |
Any leftover pickle juice 4 oz of cream cheese 1/2 cup of milk |
Soak the beans overnight. Add enough water to allow them to double in size. Once they've been reconstituted, discard the soaking water and rinse the beans before throwing them into a pot. Cover with a jar of leftover pickle juice and the broth (or whey if you make labneh!). Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer, covered until the beans are tender. Maybe it might take 4 hours. I have no idea, I was playing Skyrim: Dragonborn.
Once the beans are cooked (bite but not mealy mouthfeel), drain them (save the liquid for soup maybe!). Blend with an immersion blender or food processor with the cream cheese, milk and any leftover broth if it has a difficult time mixing. It should be smooth, purple-y and spreadable like thick peanut butter.
| To assemble: | |
| From the above-- Your prepared tortillas Black bean spread Taco Bell-esque seasoned protein PLUS-- Hot sauce of your choice. *If you're a wuss, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste thinned out with 2 table spoons of water would do fine. |
A bag of trashy shredded cheese (OR fine, be a purist and grate it yourself) Butter An egg for each serving Frying pan Lipped sheet pan |
Remove your tortillas from the oven and turn the oven back on to its lowest setting. Spread black beans carefully on one tortilla, making sure not to block the hole you made. Place it in a pan and turn the fire to medium. Put a pat of butter into the hole. Sprinkle a little cheese over the beans, your protein (not pictured, btw) and top with another tortilla.. Sprinkle hot sauce over the 2nd tortilla and finish it with more shredded cheese. As the butter is sizzling, crack an egg into the middle of the tortilla. When the egg whites have spread out as far as they will go, carefully use a spatula to move the whole thing to a sheet pan. Put the pan in the oven to finish the egg and ready the next tortilla if you are cooking more.
When you take the pizza out of the oven, you want the cheese to be melted, the egg a little under but custardy. Be careful not to burn the underside! Slice it into quarters and enjoy!
What other fast food hacks do you want to see? Let me know by tweeting to @Randwiches.
My Ridiculously Filling SXSW 2015 Eating Adventures
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I got to go down to Austin for SXSW with my job at Flipboard. Despite my busy days, I was able to fit in a good amount of time exploring the food.
Downtown
Pretty much every morning at either The Girl's Lounge food truck or at my hotel, I had a breakfast taco various ways. The commonalities are flour tortillas and fluffy egg. The rest varies! Crispy cubed potato, ground up bacon or just sliced, guac, cheese or salsa. I'm so in love with brekkie tacos that I made myself enough for a week when I got back home to NYC. The odd thing I love about them is that they're wrapped in foil and steamed. The tortillas seal themselves and everything has a chance to meld. I peeled this one open to show you the inside.
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The Backspace is where I felt most at home. Rustic Italian food reminds me of my time spent at Home/Made. Lovely arugula salads, generous charcuterie platters and pizza. The meatballs right out of the woodfire oven were stellar.
At an unmarked red cart on 6th Street between San Jacinto and Brazos had the most interesting Frito Pie. It was topped with brisket and bbq sauce. I love me a Frito Pie, lemme tell you.
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A real surprise was the random salad bar in the Austin Convention Center. I was famished after a day of work and I didn't have time to go far. I swear there is salad under this pile of meat and beans. If I had known as a child that salads could be like this, I'd have eaten more salads.
A must visit is the Tears of Joy hot sauce shop on 6th Street. Back in 2007 or 8 at SXSW Music, I had been day drinking a lot. A lot, a lot. I was wandering to my next party when I saw the hot sauce shop. I looked around, trying to stand up straight. I discovered a back table with giant bags of tortilla chips and an open bottle of every sauce. I think I walked out of there hallucinating from the endorphin high and pretending I was a dragon. Maybe I was a dragon for that really sweaty hour until I could feel my face again. To this day, you can still sample the hot sauces (at your own risk).
Side note! If you are the kind of person to go nuts (like me) and buy a ton of hot sauce-- they will ship it home for you. Or you can order online. Because you don't want to open your luggage back in NYC with a broken bottle of Pickapeppa sauce all over your clothes. Damn, that was a really good one!
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It wasn't exactly downtown but the Buzzfeed BFF Clubhouse was on Rainey Street. If I may put on my "business hat", I'd say that the 7-11 Slurpee truck was the best damn activation I've ever seen. It was not simply that slurpees were available and free, it was the CUPS. Even as a diehard Beyhive member, it took a minute for me to realize the 7-11 joke. I also had a bit of this cake. It was the most sugar I've consumed in an afternoon.
North Austin
My good friend Alex lives in Austin and I definitely wanted a local perspective of what is great to eat. He immediately drove me out to Ramen Tatsuya, where his roommate Patrick works. When you think of Texas, you think of bbq and meat, not ramen. But I knew it was going to be awesome because we pulled up to a dimly lit strip mall. Nothing screams "SECRET" more than that.
I ordered the original ramen with a soft egg and added on a spicy bomb paste. When Alex ordered fresh garlic, they brought a press and a bowl of cloves to him. I added a bunch to my bowl, too! Someone else at our table ordered a side of fried brussels sprouts (that I stole). The ramen was rich and salty, shooting up there on my list of top ramens I've eaten.
___
A couple days later, when my coworkers left Austin, I had booked my flight to leave a day later so I could just hang out. I crashed with Alex and Patrick in South Austin. During SXSW, lot's of friends come to town and when I arrived at their house, our other Brooklyn friend Maxo was asleep. I posted up outside in the sun, until Patrick, half asleep and wearing a puffy track suit asked if I wanted to get coffee. When you say you're going to get coffee, you think it'll be a couple minutes. We got into the car and drove around, pretty much all of Austin. Patrick really wanted to avoid the traffic, but nevertheless, it was inevitable. Luckily we had this playing on the stereo.
After he got his coffee, we got back into the car and headed to the Cherrywood Coffee House so he could get a burger. I was saving my appetite for a big dinner later on, but I thought, "Cheese fries sounds like a good snack." Maybe it was my NYC inflation sensibilities, but I didn't expect the giant hot iron plate of crispy fries, cheese, scallion and sour cream. Barely made it through! What a surprise!
North Loop
After the french fry attack of 2015, I drank a bunch of water and psyched myself up for the Infatuation #SmokeAndDenim dinner at Foreign and Domestic. First of all, I'm not sure how I got onto such an exclusive (and um, let's be honest, pretty) guest list -- but I was thankful for the invitation. It started with a laser filled shuttle bus ride with a cooler of Montauk Brewing Company cans.
We were taken all the way our to the North Loop at 53rd street. Upon disembarkation, the first thing I saw was a giant smoker in the parking lot. Again, you'd think, "Meat!" of course. But we were in for a surprise. I grabbed a glass of vinho verde and met my new bestie Alexa.
So! There was smoked seafood. God damn smoked oysters, clams, crab legs and shrimp. I'm not a huge fan of shellfish but there I was sucking very loudly on a phalange-like crab claw. Other stand outs were the cornbread and speck with tomato jam. Cubed cornbread, fried a little to yield a little crispness before the softness of the cakey interior. Pig ears! Sliced thin and tossed in a potent hot sauce with shishito and pickles. There was a brown sugar pork rib in there too. My head was swimming, there was a monkfish tail hanging out of my mouth by the end. Someone offered me a berry handpie and I wrapped it to-go in my menu. Ate the handpie when I got to NYC and saved the greasy menu.
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I made this terrible (and very adult) decision to take the earliest flight out of Austin so I could get back to work in New York. At 4:30am, I was sitting in the terminal tapping my foot. Waiting there, for the brekkie taco stand to open at 5am.
Ever been to Austin? Let me know your favorite spots by tweeting at @Randwiches or tagging me on Instagram so I can go next time!
3/27 Found Sound Nation at Pioneer Works
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I'll be popping up with open faced sandwiches at the next installment of Found Sound Nation at Pioneer Works on Friday, March 27th. More details and RSVP here. $10 suggested donation for admission.
Here's what I'm cooking:
