No Reservations - Australia

It's back. Tony is back and better than ever traveling all around and for this episode he takes us to Australia...I have never been but Australia is at the top of my list right behind Europe because I think the culture is so interesting, its like a hybrid of things I do not understand...

Anyways here's a clip of Tony chowing down on some delicious seafood:

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A Lovely Sunday Night

This weekend my roommate Kerry and I decided to have a lovely Sunday night dinner. The weather was perfect and there was no better night to dine on our terrace. So we prepare a delightful menu that had us wobbling back to the living room to watch Harry Potter.

We started off with a delightful Waldorf salad, courtesy of Mr. Emeril Lagasse. Here is recipe taken directly from the Food Network:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1/4 cup grated yellow onion
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch cayenne
• 2 cups diced sweet red apples, such as Gala or Jonathan (2 to 3 medium apples)
• 1 cup thinly sliced celery
• 1/2 cup red seedless grapes, halved
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces, broken
• 1 head Bibb lettuce, cored and leaves separated

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and vinegar. Slowly add 1/3 cup buttermilk, whisking to thicken. Add the blue cheese, onion, salt,

pepper, and cayenne, and whisk well to combine, adding

more buttermilk, as desired. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the

apples, celery, grapes, and walnuts. Add the dressing, to taste, and toss well.

Arrange the lettuce leaves on 6 salad plates. Top with the tossed salad and serve.

That little kick of Cayenne really does wonders! I mean this salad is a keeper. Word to the wise...go easy on the onion, between that and the bleu cheese its a pretty potent dressing...

For our next course I made an incredible Italian sausage,mushroom, onion and vodka sauce pasta. On Saturday the kind people from Bertolli were out in Union Square handing out their new90 second vodka sauce. Never one to turn down

anything free, I graciously took it. In fact I got one for Kerry too, so really we had two (and we needed it).

I started out by first going to Chelsea Market and going into their delightful Italian market for some fresh spicy sausage, and homemade pasta.

When I got home I chopped the onion and sliced the mushrooms and threw it all in a cast iron skillet with some olive oil, butter and oregano. Let that cook for a little bit (10 minutes or so), then I threw in the sausage and let that all meld togeth for about 5 minutes. Dumped the sauce into the skillet. Let that all cook together for a while and boom. Done. Tossed the cooked pasta and we had out meal.

It really was the perfect end to a great weekend!

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A New Frugal Foodies Segment

Dearest Foodies, I would like introduce a new segment on the Frugal Foodies which is dedicated soley to YOUR funny food expereinces. There are so many potential ways that dining, cooking and or merely eating where things can go ary so I open the forum up to you. Email me your story at thefrugalfoodies@gmail.com and I will be more than happy to post.

For our first story, Frugal Foodies reader Melanie write about her expeirence that we have titled "A little too Frugal, a lot less Foodie"

Here is her story:

"I was having waffles the morning of 4th of july and there wasn't enough syrup so i put it in the microwave (you know, to thin it out and get more) and when i took it out of the microwave and opened the bottle, it exploded in my face and now i have a huge scab right in the middle of my cheek!!!!!!!!!!!"

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Art Smith: The Nicest Chef - EVER

Foodies, this was a big moment for me: I had the extreme pleasure of meeting Chef Art Smith in Chicago. You may know him as the two time James Beard winner or Oprah's personal chef for 10 years or dear friend of the Obama's, but I like to think of him as one of my top 3 picks for Top Chef Masters.

We met at a rooftop party that overlooked the beautiful Grant Park and Chicago skyline and after a new friend and I mustered up the courage to go and speak with him, I was all but overwhelmed at his warm spirit and genuine interest in our lives. We annoyed him with all our questions about Iron Chef and Top Chef, since he has been contest and judge on both shows, but he did his due diligence and kept mum. He was good Bravo and Food Network - didn't spill about anything! I promise!

He suggested we go to Urban Belly in Chicago and because of the July fourth holiday they were closed all weekend :( On my next venture to back to the second city I am going to make it a point to eat there.

I am still in awe as how truly nice he was and what a TREMENDOUS honor it was to meet him!

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Leah is officially a Chef!

So I am SO proud to say that Leah graduated from the French Culinary Institute yesterday!!! She is officially a chef complete with a tall hat and everything :) I have sampled many of her dishes and can confirm that they are beyond delicious. She will be leaving me tomorrow something that I am completely not ready to deal with so I won't...

In the slide show are some of her culinary masterpieces. Enjoy!!

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