Paint Your Sneakers

 

  

Found a diamond in the rough. Well in all fairness, Sam did. We stumbled upon these hand-painted sneakers from Del Piano NYC while digging around for some cool unique sneakers downtown.

Del Piano designs his sneakers out of Milan, with hand-assembly done in the same manufacturing plant and process as footwear from Maison Martin Margiela.


The cool thing is each pair is either painted, distress or simply stitched together by hand. No two pairs are the same.

I have a feeling this is the kind of art/fashion my little brother-in-law Aco Chavez will one day tackle. Looking forward to it.

Have a good week.
Gerson

Simple Spaghetti & Meatballs

 

Sometimes you just need the basic spaghetti & meatballs. Enjoy!

Ingredients (Serves 2)
Meatballs:
1/4 pounds Ground Beef
1/4 pounds Ground Pork
1/4 pounds Ground Veal
1/3 cups Panko Breadcumbs (or all purpose flour)
3/4 cups Freshly Grated Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup Flat-leaf Parsley, Minced
Salt, to taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Olive Oil

1 Jumbo egg

Sauce:
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 24oz can of San Marzano Plum Peeled Tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/4 cup Flat-leaf Parsley, Minced
8 whole Fresh Basil Leaves
1 pound Spaghetti, Cooked To Al Dente



Preparation Instructions
Combine meatball ingredients. Mix together well with hands. Roll into 25 1 1/2-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet.

To brown the meatballs, heat olive oil in a heavy pot or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs 8 at a time, turning to brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel after each batch. Set meatballs aside.

In the same pot, add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for one minute, or until garlic releases its smell. Pour in tomatoes. Add salt, pepper and parsley. Stir to combine and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Just before serving, stir in basil if using.

Serve over cooked spaghetti. Sprinkle with extra Pecorino Romano.

Business On Top, Party On The Bottom

Sometimes, Chains Get It Right

Cedar Plank Salmon & Corn Zucchini Sucotash, California Pizza Kitchen

Bleu Cheese Steak Sando

Sorry sorry! Was away for a few days last week and Sam was in Chicago for the weekend so had no reason to get crazy with dinner. Anywho, back tonight with a pretty good take on steak. Turns out Blue Bleu cheese (spell it properly) can take a steak sandwich from here, to here (you know what I mean). Again, there's nothing complicated here, just throwing ingredients together more or less. The only thing you need to be careful with is your steak. Don't overcook or eating this bad boy becomes a jaw workout. Oh and the caramelized onions are optional, just adds some sweetness and texture. Enjoy!

Ingredients (Serves 2)
1 pound steak (your choice - I suggest rib eye)
1/2 Spanish onion, sliced
1/4 cup water
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup arugula or spinach tossed with 1 tablespoon balsamic vinaigrette (you can make basic balsamic vinaigrette yourself by mixing equal parts balsamic vinegar + extra virgin olive oil)
1 ounce blue cheese dressing or crumbled bleu cheese
2 ciabatta buns, sliced open and lightly grilled

DirectionsHeat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
Add the onions and the water and cook until carmelized (about 15 minutes)
Season the steak with salt and pepper on both sides, to taste.
Grill the steak for no more than 3 minutes per side over medium-high heat and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Toast Ciabatta buns
Place the arugula tossed in balsamic vinaigrette on the bun followed by the caramelized onions, steak and bleu cheese and dressing.

She's Exactly What I Need

I have no food for you today. I was lucky enough to spend the day with Sam and Ramon today so I decided to share some awesome lyrics from a great musician named Jeremy Passion. His song Lemonade does a great job of scratching the surface of how my relationship is with my best friend - my beautiful, beautiful wife Samantha. Enjoy.

She’s my sunshine in the rain
My Tylenol when I’m in pain
Let me tell you what she means to me,
Like a tall glass of lemonade
When it’s burnin’ hot on summer days
She’s exactly what I need

She’s soothing like,
The ocean rushing on the sand
She takes care of me
And she helps me be a better man
She’s so beautiful,
Sometimes I stop to close my eyes
She’s exactly what I need

She’s my smile when I’m feelin’ blue
She’s my good night sleep
When the day is through
Let me tell you what she means to me
(Yeah, she’s kinda like this)
Kinda like the feelin’ after your first kiss
Except that Everyday she makes me feel like this
Coz she’s exactly what I need

Magnolia Bakery, NYC

The next time you're in NYC (or Chicago, LA or Dubai), please do yourself a favor and stop in at Magnolia Bakery. In New York I'd recommend staying away from the tourist-swarmed location at Rockefeller Center, and opt for the one in my 'hood. It's something of a staple here, and rightfully so. They make the lightest, fluffiest icing - as seen on this pistachio cupcake.