What’s that? DOOR ACCESS?!

Yesterday we had this season’s first beers on the roof after work, which I shall coin BOTRAW from here on out. It might only be 50 degrees, but that’s warm enough for some so-over-winter New Yorkers to enjoy the great outdoors. 

After we gifted him a nice bottle of scotch during the holidays, our super decided he liked us enough to give us the roof key, so our days of climbing out Bobby’s room’s guillotine window and up the fire escape have come to an end. Level up!

Next, we’re figuring out how to get a tent up there. And maybe a kiddie pool. 

Saturday breakfast at the Superlounge: A two hour affair… possibly followed by heart attacks.

Over the long weekend, we celebrated the Jeremy Lin show in conjunction with our one-year anniversary in the Superlounge (aka our Lease Renewal Party). 

When snapping this pic on my iPhone, I had one of those moments where I was overwhelmed with gratitude looking around our living room at the friends I’ve accumulated in just a year. I don’t take for granted how lucky I’ve been to fall where I’ve landed - in a lovely home, in my favorite city, with some of the greatest people.

(Cheeseball OUT.)

Prosciutto wrapped scallops and scallops with mushroom in white wine sauce

Today was one of those days I woke up to snow falling outside and was simply unable to motivate myself to do anything at all but lay on the sofa watching Breaking Bad. (Which, by the way, is almost as addictive as it is disturbing.) 

The roomies and I had planned on getting dinner together tonight, but I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather this weekend (I feel like I’ve been writing that on my blog every other month - germy New York will do that to even the healthiest girl!). Rahul got stuck at the office, too, so Bobby and I decided to traipse on over to Whole Foods to pick up some groceries. 

Cooking together is one of my favorite things about living at the Superlounge- I’ve lived with a lot of different people over the years, but my current roommates are the first who truly appreciate food the way I do. Without them my cooking ambition extends as far as: throw shit into a wok and hope for the best. With their motivation I’m OK with a little more experimenting. Even with some major modifications the recipes below still turned out incredibly.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus (via AllRecipes)

Ingredients

1/2 pound prosciutto, sliced 1/2 (8 ounce)
package Neufchatel cheese (we used thinly sliced Grafton cheddar that we had in the fridge)
softened 12 spears fresh asparagus, trimmed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). 
2. Spread prosciutto slices with Neufchatel cheese. 
3. Wrap slices around 2 or 3 asparagus spears. 
4. Arrange wrapped spears in a single layer on a medium baking sheet. 
5. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until asparagus is tender.

Scallops with Mushrooms in White Wine Sauce (via Epicurious)

Ingredients

1/4 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs from a baguette
1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 ounce)
1 1/4 cups dry white wine
1 cup water
1/2 small onion, sliced
1/2 Turkish or 1/4 California bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb sea scallops, tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary and scallops cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1/2 lb small mushrooms, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced lengthwise
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
8 cups kosher salt to stabilize scallop shells (if using)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Special equipment: 16 (2 1/2-inch) scallop shells* or 8 (2-oz) ramekins 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Toast bread crumbs on a baking sheet in middle of oven until pale golden, 6 to 8 minutes, then toss with cheese. 
3. Simmer wine, water, onion, bay leaf, salt, and pepper in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan, uncovered, 5 minutes, then add scallops and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer scallops to a platter with a slotted spoon to cool, returning any onions to pan, then boil cooking liquid until reduced to about 1 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour cooking liquid through a sieve into a bowl. 
4. Cook mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter in a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 
5. Whisk together cream and yolk in a heatproof bowl. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in cleaned 2 1/2- to 3-quart saucepan over moderately low heat, then add flour and cook roux, whisking, 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add reduced cooking liquid in a stream, whisking constantly. Return pan to heat and simmer, whisking, 1 minute. Pour sauce in a slow stream into cream mixture, whisking constantly, then pour sauce back into pan and simmer, whisking, 1 minute. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. 
6. Preheat broiler. 
7. Stir scallops and mushrooms into sauce, then divide among scallop shells or ramekins and sprinkle with bread crumb mixture. If using shells, spread kosher salt evenly in a large shallow baking pan, then nestle shells in salt. Dot scallops with remaining 2 tablespoons butter, then broil about 4 inches from heat until golden, about 2 minutes. 
8. Sprinkle with parsley. 

A Chinese New Year gathering of friends and food at the Superlounge

In my family, Thanksgiving and Christmas pass without much fanfare, but Chinese New Year is the real celebration. I was a little bummed I couldn’t make it out to California this year, especially as my dad was visiting from Asia for the holiday. Instead, we decided to have our friends over for a favorite type of Chinese meal of mine: hot pot!

For the uninitiated: Hot pot involves cooking fresh vegetables, tofu, seafood, and meat in stock over a communal pot. It’s often described as Chinese fondue, which I find hilarious (but helps people get the idea). 

We headed down to Deluxe Market in Chinatown to pick up ingredients for our feast - a supermarket not for the faint of heart. (Imagine unrecognizable body parts of a variety of animals behind glass cases and pushy ol’ Asian grandmas trying to to swipe the last pack of dumplings.) After a particularly claustrophobia-inducing trip, we ended up coming home with mushrooms, taro, bok choy, napa cabbage, tofu, fish balls, vermicelli, and 12 (12!) platters of meat - beef, lamb, and pork belly. Based on our well-stocked fridge, we may have gone slightly overboard with our estimates of our friends’ appetites. 

Michelle brought over her portable stove, everyone contributed a variety of sauces to supplement our pathetic stash of Asian condiments, and we got to cooking. Though our apartment is hardly cut out for hosting groups (is anyone’s in New York?), I couldn’t have been more content seeing our group of friends kneeling around our coffee table, dipping and eating away. 

I love the idea of hot pot, or huo guo. To eat huo guo is to weilu, or “encircle the stove.” It means bringing together the two things the Chinese cherish most: food and family. More than anything, it reminds me of home - and I love that even when I can’t bring myself home, I have a little New York family that’ll bring the home to me. 

If you celebrate, Happy Lunar New Year! And even if you don’t - eating in abundance is the cornerstone of this holiday, which I take to mean binge eating will bring me great luck in the new year. So go forth - and eat lots. 

Miso salmon, broccoli stirfry - Sunday night family dinner at the Superlounge!

On Friday, Superlounge threw an Ugly Sweater Soiree - lots of spiced cider and general Christmasy merriment was had. The convenient aftermath: The apartment is now appropriately (and haphazardly) decked out in holiday lights, stockings, and bows. 

I love our little family of four. 

PS: Wrapping papered walls = ghettofab photo booth.

The Superlounge fam as Mario Kart characters for Halloween!

w/my boys! Fader Fort by Fiat NYC

Bobby trying to fly his helicopter (that blurry object) into my face as I photograph my bountiful CSA share: Just another Wednesday night at the Superlounge.

GPOY(AYR*)W.

*and your roommate