meghan elizabeth

I keep a long list of “Places to Go in NYC” and rarely do I remember to reference it when going out. But earlier this week, when making plans with friends, I remembered to check it. I have no recollection of where I read about it or who told me to check it out, but we ended up at El Porron on 61st and 1st for some Spanish tapas and wine.

El Porron’s wine list features all Spanish wine and I had no idea what to order. Our server was kind enough to asked me what my usual favorites were and gave me a few to try. No idea what I was drinking but it was red and delicious.

The tapas was delicious as well, we only got a few dishes but they all were great. I recommend the chicken croquettes and veal meatballs. Definitely a place to add to your “Places to Go” list!

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A few weeks ago, I joined some family in Fairfield, CT for a birthday dinner at Cafe Madeline. My cousin is a manager there so we had the place to ourselves and I had the most delicious pasta dish - whole-wheat linguini with broccoli and chickpeas in a zesty garlic sauce.

I had to recreate the dish and with the help of Super Cook I found a similar recipe on Epicurious. It definitely wasn’t as good as the original dish and I’ll next time I make it with a few tweaks. You can find the original recipe here. Here’s mine:

Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Broccoli, Chickpeas and Garlic 

(adapted from Epicurious)

Ingredients 

• Garlic - 5 cloves chopped
• Dried hot red pepper flakes 
• Olive Oil - 1/4 cup plus more for drizzling 
• Broccoli - 2 medium heads, chopped
• Chickpeas - One 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed
• Whole-wheat spaghetti (or any pasta you have on-hand) - 1/2 pound
• Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions, be sure to reserve about 1/2 of pasta water
• While pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook garlic and a few pinches of red pepper flakes until garlic is golden. Add broccoli, cook about five minutes and add chickpeas, cook until chickpeas are heated through.
• Add pasta and reserved pasta water to broccoli and chickpea mixture and cook over medium heat and toss until combined.
• Serve with parmesan cheese.
• Enjoy!

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