A while back, I was collecting recipes from winning teams of an Iron Chef competition I helped judge where the secret ingredient all the teams had to use was kiwi. Here’s another recipe of a dish I loved: Seafood Ceviche with Kiwifruit, with sides of spiced plantain chips, chili popcorn, and corn on the cob with Kiwifruit-Jalapeno relish. Following is a little more about the delicious dish from the team:

Ceviche is a common seafood dish that is native to many south and Central American countries. Seafood is marinated in a tangy citrusy juice, and the seafood cooks in the acidity of the juice. The kiwi was integrated in the citrus juice mix and also diced in as a component in the ceviche for a unique crunch.

Seafood Ceviche with Kiwifruit (Recipe courtesy of Maryum Khwaja, Muhammad Umer Alam, and Mahjabeen Raza)
Preparation time: 1 hour to prepare, with 5-6 hours to refrigerate and let sit seafood.
Expertise required: This is an easy recipe, no stove required.
Served: About 50 people had a cup each.

INGREDIENTS:
• 3 pounds of fresh, deboned, thinly sliced firm fish. We used Flounder, but traditionally red snapper is used for Spanish Ceviche. Flounder worked really well. Cut into 1 inch cubes, or ask the fishmonger and he/she will dice it to perfection.
• 3 pounds of fresh, cleaned (with tails on) medium sized shrimp. We chose to keep the shrimp whole, but shredded or chopped shrimp is fine too.
• 8 cups of fresh orange juice (with pulp)
• 3 cups of fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups of fresh lime juice
• 1 cup of white vinegar
• 5 pounds of Kiwifruit 4 lbs- peeled and diced , 1 lb mashed (for citrus juice)
• 2-3 Kiwifruit – peeled and sliced, for garnishing on top of the Ceviche
• 4 medium onions – diced
• 4 medium tomatoes – diced
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro – finely chopped
• 1 medium bottle of Aji-Amarillo pepper paste
• 1 can of Aji-Amarillo peppers – diced
• Kosher salt – to taste

DIRECTIONS:

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Belgian waffle from the Wafels & Dinges truck. Raspberry Ripple ice cream. Sliced strawberries. Whipped Cream. and Spekuloos spread*.

*Life-changing

Some people like to eat hamburgers. Some like to wear them.

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Shy

People often ask me about what restaurants to check out when they come to NY, but rarely do I get a full recap on how their experience went afterwards. So I was totally not caught off guard when I received an email of one, including these pictures of the couple’s visit to Norma’s in Le Parker Meridien recently from my friend Hamaad:

From what I gather, others that I’ve talked to have had sort of a hit-or-miss experience with Norma’s (though, I loved my birthday brunch there). This counts as one of the times it was on point. The PB&C ‘wich is essentially a chocolate Waffle with a peanut butter and toffee crunch filling. If I loved peanut butter more, I would have went for this, but the toffee crunch could probably sway me anyway.

I think my favorite part of the email though was, “I have officially crowned you the food diva of NYC.” (Such a lie, but totally don’t mind ).

Pics by Hamaad Chippa

Restaurant Info:
Norma’s at Le Parker Meridien Hotel
119 W 56th St.
btw 6th & 7th Ave
New York, NY 10019
212-708-7460
Midtown

x
Shy

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In line with a Mafia-themed party on Feb. 14th, we were served a Bloody Mocktail — check out the black gun-shaped ice! Perfectly appropriate drink/game for Valentine’s Day I say…thanks, Nadia!

x
Shy

I got a wee bit spoiled this year for my birthday due to my lovely, sent-straight-from-heaven friends. And it involved LOTS of food, just the way I would have hoped! One pit stop included a fancy lil brunch at Norma’s in Le Parker Meridien. It was my first time here, even though it’s practically my neighbor — only one avenue away! How could I have ignored its existence until now?? It’s not just one of those pricey places that has nothing to show for itself. The dishes are creative, generous, and most of all, DELICIOUS. It was actually pretty difficult to choose what to order — every single thing looked SO.GOOD.

We finally decided to order two sweet dishes and two savory ones, which turned out to be perfect and maybe even too much for four girls. I ordered the Waz-Za, which is one of the recommended items on the menu. It’s a waffle stuffed with a raspberry creme fraiche, a crackly brûlée top, and buried under a million blueberries (my favorite!!).

If the following pictures don’t make you salivate, I would just pause for a minute and check your pulse.

We also ordered crabcakes, spiced with habañero pepper and served with a dill yogurt mustard sauce; the “Irresistible Banana-Macadamia Nut Flap Jacks” (aka AMAZING pancakes) with whipped banana brown sugar butter; and Huevos Rancheros which was brilliantly topped over cheesey quesadilla triangles. Cheese makes everything better. We ate everything as if we had an imaginary lazy Susan in the middle so we could each try all the food and we STILL couldn’t finish everything. I think it was the first time I took pancakes home in a to-go bag and it still tasted good the next day.



We were also served a bottomless pitcher of coffee, tall glasses of orange juice, and a complimentary shot glass size of pineapple smoothies.

Just when I thought I literally couldn’t BREATHE anymore from all the food we just indulged in, out comes a decadent chocolate cake with whip cream and fruits, and birthday candle .

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