One More Bite

Heating up the Classics

2012-01-15T17:57:00.000-05:00

I love Beef Bourguignon, but today wanted something a little spicier - and maybe a little less rich. So, I took out my normal Anthony Bourdain recipe and cooked up the beef (1.25lb) and onions (3) as directed, except that I added some chili pepper - maybe a teaspoon. I left out the wine, substituting with beef stock (dried - 2 cubes in only 2.5 cups of water) and a 2-3T of a nice balsamic. Then instead of just carrots, I added in carrots, mushrooms and sweet potatoes (I also had some cabbage, and while I love cabbage, I don't love it in stews, so I roasted it at 450 as a side dish). It's still cooking, but the broth is phenomenal. I want to eat it now.

Beef Stroganoff

2011-11-14T18:58:00.000-05:00

I've been dying for Beef Stroganoff, and even being served a fabulous version (homemade noodles!!) at a dinner party this weekend hasn't ended it, so I made some tonight. And it was fabulous (because Beef Stroganoff just is fabulous), though the noodles weren't homemade, so it wasn't quite as fabulous, but still really good - and easy!

Ranchero Sauce - The Ultimate!

2011-10-16T13:55:00.000-04:00

Ranchero Sauce is the ultimate. It makes everything a lot more delicious (though my favorite is on top of quinoa, refried beans and egg). It is fabulous to have in your fridge at all times!

Recipe

De-seed a 1/2 pound of dry chilis (today I used a mixture of Ancho, Pasilla and New Mexico). Simmer for a few minutes in a pot of water and then let soak overnight.
In plenty of olive oil, sautee 2.5lbs of onions for 10 minutes, add 7 large cloves of garlic and simmer for another minute.
Drain chilis (retain water) making sure that you don't add back in any seeds (any that you missed in the de-seeding should have sunk to the bottom of the pot). In a food processor or blender, blend the chilis, onion/garlic and a little more oil.
Flavor to taste with salt (3 tsp), cumin (3 tsp), a little cinnamon (1/2 tsp), oregano (1-2 tsp) and then this time I added a few others (a little smoked paprika and a little aleppo pepper)

It tastes better the next day, but it's still pretty awesome day of.

Dinner Party - Hot and Sweet

2011-10-09T12:52:00.001-04:00

I've never had so much trouble coming up with a menu before. I knew I wanted a meat main dish that had a spicy sauce, but nothing seemed right. I finally made something up myself, and it was pretty good.

Menu

Finger foods: 3 cheeses (Robiola, Tomme Crayuse, Manchego) plus bacon-wrapped dates with blue cheese
Rustic Onion Tart with a side of greens
Braised pork loin with Nectarine-Roasted Poblano sauce and sweet potato fries and brussel sprouts
Chocolate mousse with raspberries and whipped cream

Bacon-wrapped dates
These are super-easy. Slice the dates halfway, pull out the pit, stick a piece of blue-cheese into the hole, wrap it with bacon, and stick a toothpick in. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Rustic Onion Tart
I had made this once before, it was as easy and delicious as I remembered. Though it did take close to 2 hours to carmelize the 3 large red onions (that were the perfect amount of onion for the tart). Also 1/2 pound of Gruyere gives you a little more than the needed cheese.

Pork Loin
I tried brining for 3 hours (I would have done it longer, but I only bought the pork 3 hours before I started cooking it - limitations. I would do it again, it was easy and the pork was super-juicy.) 1/4 cup kosher (!) salt per quart of cold water (it dissolves super-easily and you don't have to wait for the water to cool).

After brining I coated the pork in salt and pepper. Then made a few slits in the top into which I put garlic and a little jalepeno (had it extra). I put it on a bed of sliced onions and added about a cup of red wine to the pan. I cooked it for about an hour at 425 for 15 minutes and then 325 until it was done.

For the sauce I started with bacon grease (from one piece of bacon), added a scoop of chopped ginger (1 tsp?), cooked that with minced onion (a quarter of a small-ish one?), a bit of minced jalenpeno (1 tsp?) and a couple of garlic cloves. Then I added 2 nectarines (big ones) peeled and minced and cooked till it was mushy. Then I added salt and pepper. And then 3 roasted red poblanos (fresh from the farmer's market, like the jalepeno) as well as a touch more jalepeno. I cooked for a while. Then added some port (tawny, because that's what I had). I had planned for it to be sauce-like, but it kept drying out. So I left it and then added the wine/drippings from the pork pan. It was really delicious!!

Brussel Sprouts
I was planning to do the Momofuku recipe, but was (horrors!) out of fish sauce. And I cannot buy just any brand (since Thai Kitchen is the only one that really shows up in regular groceries and it is HORRID and I didn't have time to hit Chinatown to buy Golden Boy), I had to do something else. We decided on boiling them for 5 minutes (which we did before the guests arrived), then sauteeing for 2 minutes (just before we served the main course) with some red-pepper flakes and other stuff. They were yummy.

Chocolate Mousse
I still haven't found anything better than Anthony Bourdain for this.

Cauliflower Depth

2011-09-16T19:21:00.000-04:00

I made Amateur Gourmet Heaven and Hell Cauliflower Pasta. I love cauliflower, so I had always wanted to try it. And it was amazing. Serious depth.

I made a few changes

I had no fennel seeds, so I skipped
I had no fresh garlic, so I used ~4 tsp of the jarred stuff - but a bit more might have been good
I used about 1.5 tsp of red pepper flakes, but a bit more might have been good
I had a (big) jar of anchovies and used half (maybe 125g, the label is confusing) - it seemed like overkill, but while the smell was strong, the flavor seemed perfect

Corn Corn Grits

2011-08-14T17:58:00.000-04:00

I was in the mood for something spicy and somehow started thinking of corn (I think that was the NYTimes, but I didn't have the ingredients for their recipe).

I decided to make a spice corn and grits dish (complete adaptation of a grits and corn recipe on epicurious)

2 onions, diced
1 Thai chili, diced
Chili flakes, white pepper, salt
18 ounces of frozen corn (this would be great with fresh, but I didn't have any)
4 cups non-fat milk
2 cups water
1.5 cups grits (slow cooking)
3 Tbsp Butter
3 Tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Sauté the onions and chilis in olive oil until translucent. Add chili flakes, white pepper and salt to taste (I used about 1.5 teaspoon of chili flakes and 2 teaspoons of pepper and it came out nicely spicy, though I could have done a bit more, but I like it spicy). Add corn and sauté til soft. Add milk and water and bring to a boil. Whisk the grits in and turn the heat down to low. Cook for another 45 minutes until it's creamy. Mix in butter and Parmigiano. I also added a small bit of butter and salt to my dish, which may have been overkill, but was delicious.

Amazing (Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake)

2011-05-21T12:07:00.000-04:00

My brother just called to clarify the recipe for the Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse cake. I told him to check here. And it wasn't here. I have no idea how it is possible that I haven't made this cake in that long. This is positively horrible of me. I need to make it soon.

Epicurious calls it the Gianduia Mousse Cake, but I can never remember how to spell that (I have trouble with hazelnut (el or le)), so I 'renamed' it.

Rapture (Dutch Babies)

2011-05-21T09:53:00.002-04:00

I was surfing around at some point in the last few weeks and ran into a post on Dutch Babies. I hadn't had one in years (basically, I was probably in high school) and it sounded good. And then I found that I couldn't stop thinking about it. And so today, when I woke up early for no reason, I decided to go ahead and make it. A quick web search gave me

Dutch Babies (I'm not a nutmeg fan, so I used vanilla. I also adjusted the directions based on comments.)

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 lemon (juiced)
Maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 425. Put skillet in oven. Put eggs in hot water (to warm them to room temp). Bring milk to room temp (I zapped for 10 seconds)

2. When oven is hot, remove skillet. Drop butter in and use it to coat entire pan.

3. Whisk eggs til light. Stir in milk and vanilla. Whisk in (gently) flour and salt. Pour into pan and bake for 12 minutes.

4. Remove from pan. Add lemon juice and maple syrup to taste. (You could also use powdered sugar, jam, fresh fruit, etc. - but trust me, the maple syrup/lemon juice combo is the best!)

It looks amazing coming out of the oven! All happy and puffy.

It still looks great on the plate (the whole plate!) too!

Enjoy!

Quick and Good

2011-01-26T19:16:00.001-05:00

Book club tonight and no let up from work. I checked my bookmarks and found a recipe for Beef Short Ribs in Chipotle and Green Chile Sauce and another one for cheese grits. That sounded easy (though elapsed time wasn't short). So, last night I put everything to stew, pretty much following the recipe exactly. Tonight I made my own cheese grits recipe based on a combination of a couple of different ones.

Cheese Grits
Serves 8

2 cups yellow grits (not quick)
8 cups water
6 oz grated cheddar cheese
salt
white pepper
Put water in pot, whisk in grits. Heat to boil, stirring regularly - I think it was about 10 minutes.
Dump in cheese while whisking.
Add salt and pepper to taste

The grits taste delicious and were really as easy as they sound - not sure why I've always been intimidated by grits.

Root Veggie Quinoa

2010-10-14T00:39:00.000-04:00

So, I eat a lot of quinoa. It's kind of the magic food for me - I feel healthier eating it. The one thing I've struggled with is that it's hard to do a fried rice kind of thing with quinoa - it just doesn't crisp in the same way. Yesterday I really wanted something that had the sweetness of a good fried rice, but used quinoa. I decided to try carmelizing the veggies if I couldn't carmelize the quinoa. I roasted the veggies (including a whole garlic clove) at 450 (I'm still trying to find the right temp in my oven - this was pretty good, but not perfect) for about an hour. At the same time, I made up a batch of quinoa. Then I cooked some panchetta. Then in the panchetta pan, I dumped the veggies (including the roasted garlic) and a bunch of the quinoa. And mixed. And salted. And it was awesome.

Ingredients (pretty much anything would work for this, but this is what I used)

1 medium-sized butternut squash - cut in cubes
1 large yam - cut in cubes
1 small head of cauliflower - chopped into big bites
4 small-ish onions (2 large would do it) - cut into chunks
1 head of garlic (I just wrap it in foil and throw it in the oven, then cut off the top and squeeze it out)

Sunday Brunch

2010-09-12T17:47:00.000-04:00

I invited the girls over for a casual brunch. The idea was crepes - which didn't pan out due to a little flour goof, but luckily, I had enough other food that we were fine.

Menu

Roasted Vegetable Frittata
Fruit Salad
Coffee & Juice

The Roasted Vegetable Frittata I made by adapting this one from Simply Recipes. I had some roasted vegetables left over from dinner last night (though not enough, so I had to roast a few more - I think I'm narrowing in on 425 as a good roasting temperature): zucchini, onions, tomatoes (grape so there's no chopping) and red/yellow peppers. I had seasoned them just with salt and white pepper (plus the oil to cook). I put them in my skillet, dumped in 9 eggs with a little parmesan mixed in (no milk, I've got some lactose intolerants and I figured the bit of cheese was okay, but I wouldn't push it). Once it was in the pan, I added some chunks of aged goat cheese. I put that on the burner and cooked until I had some solid bits on the edges and then moved it to the oven for about 15 minutes. The center was still a little non-solid looking, but the edges were nice and puffy. It was perfect! Seriously one of the best things I've eaten in a while - and so simple.

Summer Nights

2010-08-11T22:21:00.009-04:00

Decided to just have friends over for a casual Monday night - taking advantage of "summer's bounty".

Menu

Gazpacho This was a new recipe for me. It uses tomato juice, which made me nervous, but it tasted good. I added a little extra garlic, lemon juice and salt - though otherwise stuck to the recipe (forgot chives)

Gougeres I served these with the gazpacho which was an awesome pairing! This was the first time that I did the reheating thing (the recipe said it was fine) and it worked out really well. These are delicious (I've now made them many times; the only down side is the stress of the cooking part, which has never gone wrong, but still feels stressful).

Roast Pork Loin with Figs For future reference, 1 1/2 cups of dried figs seems to be about 6 ounces.

Leek and Prosciutto Risotto I left out the asparagus. It was good. I forgot the parmesan - which was why it needed extra salt.

Peach Crisp This was good. Rave reviews from my guests. I thought maybe too much vanilla/raisin, but at the end of the day I think I'm a fruit purist, and most other people like a little more kick. I would do it again.

Summer Loving

2010-08-03T23:58:00.005-04:00

Tonight the goal was to celebrate summer. Next time we might want to do this with less of a dependence on the oven, but otherwise it was great!!

Menu

Appetizers: Cheeses (Tomme Crayeuse, Saint Andre, Epoisses, Fresh Ricotta), Olives, Figs & Marscapone
Tomato and Roasted Corn
Bermuda Fish Chowder and Dill Bread
Roasted Peach Pavlova

Appetizers

There's nothing like a good cheese plate. And these three are awesome. Epoisses is one of my very favorite cheeses, but you need to be thoughtful - you have to buy the whole thing, it's very stinky, and it gets everywhere (especially when it's hot out). But man is it good. The Saint Andre is just the most solid, 'go-to' triple cream you can imagine, and the Tomme Crayeuse (in addition to being easy to remember/fun to order) is a perfect cheese with a bit of nuttiness, intensity and still solid like a 'real' cheese (not like the other two).

We also did the fresh ricotta with olive oil/salt/pepper, some olives and figs (halved) with a bit of marscapone and salt (we made up the recipe - it needed salt).

Salad

This was great. A little heat, but not a lot. It tasted very summery. That said, doing it inside was a bit of a disaster. First of all, if you need to roast red peppers, it's very simple: take the whole thing, plunk it down on a burner, turn the gas up pretty high, when the bottom side turns black, rotate it. Once the whole things is black (seriously, make the whole thing black, it makes the skin removal, much, much easier), toss it in a paper bag and close the top. Do something else for ~5minutes, come back, pick up the pepper, walk over to the sink, rub it to take all the skin

off - if it's not all off, use a little water to help make the sticky bits come off. And you're done. That's it. It's simple. Roasted corn in an oven - that I have no idea of. We got a little more black than I'd recommend, and I'm not sure if less time or less heat would be the answer.

Stew

This is a great fish stew. That said, a few things to keep in mind. I found it to be a little more watery than I would like - I would keep the fish stock the same and lower the water next time. The wateriness forced me to overcook, which tasted fine, but meant that the fish was pulverized. It was delicious though.

Dessert

We wanted to use peaches. So, we bought peaches and roasted them (500 for 20(?) minutes), which meant that we burned some, so next time less time or heat. But the ones that weren't burned had a great flavor. The base was a Pavlova which we've made before, but rather than the lemon, we changed it up. So, I took a pint of whipping cream, added 1/2 tsp of dried ginger and 1 1/2 Tbsp confectioner's sugar (T said he could have handled more ginger, but I wouldn't go wild - the flavor was there with these proportions. Then we put the roasted peaches on top. It was really excellent. I forgot to take a photo until we were on seconds, but imagine the rest of it...

Pizza Party

2010-07-28T00:52:00.007-04:00

After as significant amount of hemming and hawing (internally), I finally decided to do the 'personal pizzas for dinner' thing.

My dad is somewhat obsessively into pizza at this point, so I got his input, then I went surfing. And given that I needed to make the dough ahead of time, found this recipe for The Best Pizza Dough Ever at 101 Cookbooks. I was a little put out by the 1 tsp of yeast - in my mind, yeast should be measure in packets - but other than that, it seemed to be what I needed and so I decided to roll with it (my dad had never let his dough rest overnight, so I wanted to make sure I accounted for that).

The seven minutes of mixing without a mixer were (I'm sure) great for my arm muscles, but a bit exhausting (and I doubled it, but in two batches as I was worried about how much dough I might have to mix if I doubled it in one batch (so 14 minutes)), but I persevered (my brother has been very direct about the importance of gluten in dough). The suggestion then was to put the dough on a cookie sheet, put the whole thing in a bag and then put it in the fridge. Now, I don't know who has cookie sheet sized baggies (or room in their fridge for a cookie sheet), but I don't, so I put them on a plate and put them in a freezer ziploc - which was mostly fine (the dough got a little enthusiastic and ran over the edges a bit (I need a square plate that is the same size as the ziploc so that doesn't happen). I pulled out 9 of the balls 2 hrs before (6 for us, 3 in case anyone wanted seconds).

I had toppings ready

Sauce - Clearly this guy is a little past the obsessive point, but I couldn't not follow his general guidance on sauce (I'm a little obsessive myself (and a couple of epicurious recipes also suggested using whole tomatoes, not sauce, to start with)). I did add salt, pepper, oregano and dried garlic to the sauce -- it tasted good
Buffalo Mozzarella
Parmesan
Hot Italian sausage
Pepperoni
Lightly sauteed mushrooms
Roasted red pepper
Onions
Carmelized onions
Garlic
Tomatoes
Basil
Kalamata olives

I'm sure I was missing something, but nothing that I wanted. It all went perfectly (except for grabbing a hot pan without a pot-holder, though the pain does seem to be fading - finally (I've already gone through an entire tray of ice cubes (it's a finger, so it's one at a time))).

But it was beautiful! And delicious!

I also made an salad (arugala, kalamata olives, cherry heirloom tomatoes, little mozzarella balls in a sherry vinaigrette) - I did this so that the folks who were waiting for pizzas would have something to eat. That said, the timing was less that ideal - it took longer than I thought it would. And I couldn't fit 3 in, only 2 at a time. And 3 of the 6 ended up sticking and getting messy getting off the pan, so it wasn't an overwhelming success -- but mine did taste really good!

Finished it up with DIY banana splits. I feel a little over-fed at the moment.

Gluten Free Spring Party

2010-04-01T22:58:00.002-04:00

Not because it's Passover, but because E can't have gluten (and L is lactose intolerant), we did a little digging for a menu for this week's dinner party. With the rain (finally!) stopping (we hope), we did want something that felt spring-y.

Menu
Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread) with Micro-greens
Filet of Flounder with Capers and Green Peppercorns en Papillote with a mushroom risotto
Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Berries

Cheese Bread
These use tapioca flour, which I had never used, and end up a little chewier/doughier than the gougeres we usually make. Everyone loved them.

Flounder
I find fish to be both boring and (almost always) badly cooked, so I'm loathe to serve it for a dinner party. The 'en papillote' convinced me - drama wins!! This was actually super-easy, tasted good (the fish was even cooked well) and were really cool looking when served. I would do it again.

Pavlova
We started with a Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Berries recipe from epicurious (Pavlova), but some of the comments didn't love the curd, so I used my go-to Lemon Curd recipe (also from epicurous - though I folded in the whipped cream, so I follwed the Pavlova recipe, just the curd itself was different) and added Strawberries and Raspberries (they show blueberries in the picture, but the blueberries I bought were nasty, so we went with red fruit (a teensy bit of sugar on the cut strawberries, added the rasperries to the bowl at the last minute, stirred them up and spooned them over the curd). People really loved it (it was sort of a Sally Field moment).

Simply Pasta

2010-02-19T18:57:00.004-05:00

I was craving pasta. And I haven't been able to keep my mind off of this recipe for Spaghetti with Cheese and Black Pepper from smittenkitchen.

I followed the recipe (almost) exactly. I cut it in half. And I used white pepper for part of it (since the recipe said finely group and my pepper grinder doesn't do 'fine ground' - think I'll try it with more of a half and half mix of the white and black next time, but I do like the white pepper).

Very simple. Very delicious.

Lentils and Sausage (enough said)

2010-02-16T21:22:00.004-05:00

I like lentils and stuff. I really do. But somehow, I like them better with a little meat. But usually, it's one or the other. Until I found this recipe for Lentil Stew with Sausage at Simply Recipes. Irresistable.

I wasn't up for leaving the apartment, so I had to make a few substitutions/changes

I had no bacon, so I left it out (which was fine, but I'm sure bacon would have made it better - bacon makes everything better)
I used a combo of red lentils and mung beans (since that was what I had)
No chicken stock, but I actually had some veggie stock instead
I used spicy sausge (because it's awesome)
I'm out of sherry vinegar (which is a tragedy, one should always have some around), I reached in to get the cider vinegar, but on the way there, I saw my Outerbridge Sherry Pepper sauce (which I discovered while making Bermuda Fish Chowder (which is awesome) and figuring that you only live once (and that it's awesome), I substituted that
No parsley, so I put in a half pound of baby spinach (added it after I turned off the heat and just let it 'cook' in the heat of the stew, which worked really well

It's very, very different from most lentil stuff that I eat (I tend to head straight for the curry powder when I see lentils), and I love it. It's a fabulous lunch!

Chicken - Just Chicken... and Salt (More Farmers Market Adventures)

2010-02-16T21:06:00.003-05:00

I don't eat chicken. Really ever. It's not a moral issue. It's taste. It's just not that good.

On Sunday, I was enjoying a beautiful sunny day and so I walked up to the far Farmers Market (they've got more variety than mine (including kimchi!!), but they're multiple blocks away (okay, I'm spoiled with my market)). One guy had both white meats. I was asking him what other cuts of pork he had (unfortunately, not that much), so he started selling me on his ~4lb chickens (free range, vegetarian feed, never been frozen). Oh yes, I'm a sucker. Back at home, I had to send an emergency email to some friends (roughly: Help, I accidentally bought a chicken, can you come to dinner tomorrow? -- turns out that accidentally buying a chicken is somewhat unusual, but all 3 said that they would come).

I had roasted a chicken once before. I used Thomas Keller's recipe which basically says, put a bunch of salt and a little pepper on it and cook it. I also put in a dish of veggies (carrots, fingerling potatoes, onions), which I think plays a bit of havoc with his recipe (he's very big on the chicken being dry and I'm guessing that the veggies put a little extra water in the oven - but I think it's worth it to get the veggies). It was serioiusly the simplist meal I have ever served for guests (roast chicken, roasted veggies, and individual apple crisps (I'm a bit addicted to them)). And it was awesome!! It went over really well.

Green Curry Scallops

2010-02-15T11:37:00.004-05:00

More scallops to be creative with - and tonight I felt like green curry. It's a great winter comfort food - thick, rich and spicy. I was worried about scallops in the curry as I thought that it might overcook them - but next time, I'm going to try it. This time though, what I did was make them separately.

Green Curry Scallops
This is the basic green curry recipe, with the protein and veggies decided by what looked good at the market

2 cans coconut milk (brand is important here, I use Chaokoh – as that won for me in the taste test that we did in Kasma’s cooking class (which I HIGHLY recommend as a way to learn how to cook real Thai food)
2 Tbsp green curry paste (I use Mae Ploy brand)
Fish sauce – to taste (I use Golden Boy brand)
Palm sugar – to taste (Brand doesn’t seem to matter here)
½ head of cabbage
2 carrots
2 lbs scallops

Open one of the cans of coconut milk and scoop out the Crisco-like stuff on the top (it’s the oil); heat this in a 5+ quart pan
Once the coconut oil starts to turn clear and bubble, add the green curry paste; stir the two around and cook until fragrant
Add the rest of the coconut milk (~1 ½ cans at this point), mix
Gradually add some fish sauce (I think I ended up with about 2T) and palm sugar (I think I ended up with about 1T) – mix it and taste, stop when you’ve got a balance of salty and sweet that let’s the heat really come through
Add the vegetables (I actually sautéed the cabbage, but I was experimenting, I think dumping it in would be fine too)
I cooked the scallops separately (seared them ~3 minutes on each first side), then poured the curry over them and the quinoa (which I now pretty much always use

Farmers Market Dinner (Scallops & Apple Crisp)

2010-02-15T10:52:00.007-05:00

The fish guys keep showing up at the Farmer's Market near my apartment with scallops. I keep buying them. I've made a bunch of different things with them - but this Seared Scallops with Asian lime Chile Sauce ends up being my 'go-to' recipe. It's super-easy and I have most of the ingredients right on hand (need to remember to squeeze lime juice into ice cube trays and freeze!). Simple and delicious.

Tonight, I steamed baby bok choy (organic, again from the Farmers Market) with a bit of the Sauce. It was yummy.

Then for a totally-non-flavor-matching (but Farmers Market focused) dessert, I made Apple Crisp. I recently gave into my whim and bought a bunch of Le Cruset mini-stoneware pans. They are practically purpose-less, but very cute. The great thing is that I'm using them to drive my imagination. I 'modified' my mom's Apple Crisp recipe to make

Individual Apple Crisps
This is the ultimate in flexible, make as many as you need (plus one extra as it's glorious cold for breakfast the next day)

Cooking apples (I've been using Fuji, but for next time I actually bought a variety) – For my 8oz pans, I use 3 large apples for 5 pans (cut the apples into half slices, and pile them high – they’ll shrink down)
1 portion flour (for the five mini-pans, I used ½ cup)
1 portion brown sugar (for the five mini-pans, I used ½ cup)
1 portion butter ((for the five mini-pans, I used ½ stick) okay, this is a bit confusing, the base proportion is 1:1:1 which is 1 cup:1 cup:1 stick (a stick is actually half a cup, but it makes it hard to remember if you measure your butter in cups, so measure it in sticks)
Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350
Cut up the apples – I cut them into 1/20th slices (so, I quarter the apple and then try to get five slices out of each quarter) and then cut the slices in half – divide into the mini-pans
Mix the flour, brown sugar and butter (it’s easier if the butter is a little soft, but not soft) by hand until you’ve got a nice crumble top – divide on to apples
Sprinkle each with a bit of cinnamon
Bake for 40-45 minutes

Road Trip: Di Fara

2009-12-07T20:29:00.005-05:00

Continuing on our NYC pizza tour, we made our first foray into Brooklyn. We met up at 5:30 on the Q line at Union Square and then rode out to Avenue J to get to Di Fara. A couple of things to note here: 1. Avenue J is more than 1 or 2 stops - when I finally checked, it was still 9 stops to go, 2. the subway never runs normally on Sundays - so we ended up on an express that skipped J and we had to get off and go back 2 stops. Okay, so it wasn't like we were hiking through the Serengeti or something, but we did still find a local guide (when we were chatting about how much further she spoke up, S asked a few questions and soon she was giving us the Orthodox guide to Avenue J - according to her, Di Fara's is pretty much the only non-kosher pizzeria in that neighborhood, and her son prefers PizzaTime (but, of course, they hadn't been to Di Fara's so she couldn't compare)).

Stepping out of the subway station, I had directions and S had a map, and anyway, it's really only about 40 steps (go left young man, go left). And, I wasn't disappointed when I saw it. It looked just like it should - it looked like it had been there forever.

Apparently, the 'rule' is that it's open for dinner from 6pm until 9 or whenever they run out of dough. Others have recommended showing up before 6 to get in line. Due to the subway, etc., it was actually almost 6:30 when we got there, but ... they still weren't open and there was only a small line (3 people actually, in front of us). One guy had been waiting an hour - but it was his first trip. One woman hadn't been waiting very long, and she mentioned that she preferred Roberta's, but not why she was waiting outside for this then. The third guy had this raspy voice with a hood and a scarf covering the bottom half of his face (did I mention we waited to go until the first weekend it snowed in NYC, so it was a bit chilly). The raspy guy told us that it was great pizza, definitely worth waiting for and that he had once waited 4 hours. S then repeated the reasons this was one of our ten - which included that it had been deemed 'transcendent' by Ed Levine.

The doors were finally (only about 5 minutes of real waiting time, so right around 6:30) unlocked and we all (there were now probably 15 of us) piled in. The guy behind the counter takes orders on a tablet divided into 9 squares; he writes the orders in each box with your initials in the upper-left-hand corner. Meanwhile, behind him, there's one guy grinding cheese and the other guy putting together the pies. I waited to place the order while others got a table (there are only about 15 seats in the whole place) and drinks.

I was nervous when a few minutes later a couple I hadn't seen waiting got a hot pie. I'm still not sure how it worked - had they ordered it at lunch? is there a special number you can call? I don't know. But they and the family of 4 that had parked the bikes out front both got served before the only three people we had actually seen as waiting in front of us. But there were only the two 'special cases' and then the three before us did actually start to get their pies.

I don't know that I was that hungry when I got there, but watching them grind the cheese, smelling the pies, seeing them cut the fresh basil onto the hot pies... pretty soon, I was starving. And before too long, we had ours. We ordered two round ones: margarita (because you have to do it to be consistent) and a Di Fara special (because, why not - it was sausage, mushroom, onion and pepper - which (minus the peppers, which are easy to pick off) is a favorite combo of mine).

A, S and I all reached for the margarita to start. H grabbed a special - noting that she might not even try the margarita. She later changed her mind. We all agreed that the margarita was actually the better pie - by far. Somehow, the toppings just didn't quite work on the special. It was off balance. The margarita had a great crust that was pretty thin, but had enough heft to it that you still knew it was there. It was not at all soggy - perfectly dry (in a good way - but definitely less bready/thinner than any of the others that we've had recently). It then had a bit of sauce and three kinds of cheese. The cheese worked for me. I liked it. That said, I did not feel transcended. It was a good pizza. It wasn't (in my (as well as A's, H's and S's) mind) a transcendent pizza.

So, the summary is that it was a fun trip. I might recommend not doing it on one of the coldest days of the year (they leave the door of the shop open - it can get windy). But it was fun to visit Avenue J, though I probably don't need to do it again.

Kimchi Fried Quinoa

2009-11-24T21:33:00.003-05:00

So, I love kimchi fried rice. Though recently I've almost totally replaced it with quinoa. And so, I decided to try kimchi fried quinoa (instead of the otherwise amazingly delicious kimchi fried rice).

I cruised around, combined a bunch of recipes, looked at what I had in the fridge and made the following:
1 tub kimchi (I feel like it's a pound, but not really based on any real knowledge)
1 lb ground pork
1.5 onions
3 cloves of garlic
Chili sauce
Soy sauce
Sesame oil

Sautee 1 onion and garlic. Add pork and cook. Add chili sauce and soy sauce to taste.
In a separate pan sautee second onion and garlic. Add kimchi and cook.
Add quinoa to kimchi pan and cook (the idea is to make it a bit crispy, but I've never really been able to make it very crispy). Add a bit of sesame oil (I probably added 1/2 tablespoon, but maybe a little more)
Mix the two pans together.

Simple and delicious!

Just a Random Tuesday Night

2009-11-16T01:24:00.008-05:00

Tonight we had another of our random Tuesday night dinners. I learned that if I tilt my table across my 'dining area', I can comfortably seat 8 (rather than (as had been my modus operandi) just having the skinniest person sit at the far end)).

We started out with a pudding recipe I had seen on epicurious, plus L was reading the Momofuku cookbook and our continuing search for a pork recipe and ended up with what was a great menu.

Menu

Hors d'oeurves: Bagna Cauda (Cauliflower with olive oil dipping sauce)
Rustic Onion Tart with Greens
Pork Tenderloin with Green Curry Cream Sauce, Jasmine Rice and Brussel Sprouts
Sticky Date Pudding with Toffee Sauce

Things to note

Both L&I noticed the NYTimes recipe on the cauliflower. And it was really good. Better than it should have been.
The onion tart is so very, very easy (though a bit time consuming). It really doesn't deserve to be as good as it is.
I firmly believe that the best brussel sprouts ever are at Momofuku, so when L said she had the recipe, I was sold. And they were amazing!! (The requisite "I don't like brussel spouts, but I'd eat the whole bowl of these")
The Date Pudding looks very much like what Les Etats Unis - a restaurant on the Upper East side serves. And that is one amazing dessert. I agree with the other reviewers (on epicurious) though and should have cooked it longer.

Pork Tenderloin with Green Curry Cream Sauce

We used the recipe for the Beef Tenderloin with Green Curry Cream Sauce as a jumping off point. We used the Herb Roasted Pork Loin recipe for pork cooking time. And subbed in green curry (I used 1 Tablespoon, but should probably have done 1/2 (I actually added a little extra cream)).

Momofuku Brussel Sprouts
Serves 8

4 lbs sprouts

Vinaigrette
1/2 cup Fish Sauce
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup sugar
1 garlic clove minced
2 red chilies

Other
Cilantro - 2 Tbsp sliced stems and 1/2 cup leaves

Cut sprouts. in half
Heat 2tbs oil in oven safe skillet. Add sprouts cut side down
When they begin to brown, transfer to oven for abt 15 mins at 400
While cooking, combine the vinaigrette ingredients
Toss the sprouts with the vinaigrette
Fry cilantro and sprinkle over sprouts

You Can Go Home Again - Pizza Bread

2009-11-16T00:52:00.004-05:00

Tonight I had 13 people over for a discussion group kind of thing. With that many people, I couldn't easily do a full dinner (and I'm feeling lazy), so I did what my mom did when she had people to feed and didn't want to do the table thing. I made Pizza Bread. I should also note that this is one of my absolute favorite foods on the planet. But I don't eat it very often. And I'm not sure why. Because it is delicious. And easy. Very easy.

Menu

Hors d'oeuvres: Fresh ricotta, olives, olive tapenade, sopressata and grapes
Pizza bread
Congo Bars and 7-Layer Bars

Pizza Bread
Serves about 6 people (I made 2 for 13 people and wish I had made a third, though most of it would have been left-over (but this is really, really good left-over))

2 ½ cups unsifted flour
1 ½ tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 pkg yeast
1 cup hot tap water
2T oil
16 oz (4 cups) of grated mozzarella cheese
3 oz thinly sliced pepperoni
1 ½ onions (diced)
Oregano
Salt
Pepper

1. Mix 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast together
2. Add water and oil
3. Beat 1 minute on low (I just mixed by hand)
4. Stir in flour for a soft dough
5. Knead 8-10 minutes (I usually do about 5)
6. Place in a greased bowl (I just use the one that I was mixing in, without cleaning it out), Cover and let rise until doubled (about 45 minutes)
7. Punch down, roll out to a rectangle (maybe 20 inches by 8 inches)
8. Cover with the cheese, add the layer of onions, and season with oregano, salt and pepper
9. Place the pepperonis one at a time across the dough
10. Jelly roll it and put it seam side down on a cookie sheet
11. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes (until nicely browned)
12. Let sit for 15-20 minutes (you can eat sooner, but the cheese ends up everywhere)

One thing to note - I'm not at all sure where this recipe/idea came from, but I was struck by the Pepperoni rolls that the NY Times discovered in West Virginia recently.

Let the Games Begin - Pizzeria Veloce

2009-11-14T17:55:00.002-05:00

Working off a combination of S's matrix and Opentable (I can't handle a 'no reservation' option on a Friday), we chose Veloce Pizzeria as our first official pizzeria (we're looking at comparing 5 'new' places (opened in the last 18 months) and 5 'originals' (opened before 1924)). We were supposed to be 6, but between the rain and the flu, we were down to 3 by the time we sat down. But S, A and I are troopers, we were committed to carrying on.

The ambiance is great and the host and waitress were fabulous. We chose an arugula salad (improving the green balance over last time) and then got into the pizza decision. The margarita was easy (nothing like a requirement to simplify life), the mushroom was an obvious choice and then both the sausage and the onion looked great. We knew that 4 was a bit excessive, but we figured why make a decision if you don't have to. The waitress convinced us that that was probably too much - she recommended 1 pie for 2 people, so we dropped the sausage and onion options (and ended up with just one piece extra, so it was perfect). She was really great.

The pizza is sicilian, so very different from Co. It's a thicker, richer crust (as well as more square - which potentially does not affect the flavor, but does affect the experience (at least for me as I kept thinking, 'hmm this is square')) than non-sicilian. The margarita was good. S & A enjoyed it a bit more than I did. I liked the almost buttery crust and the strength of the cheese, but it just didn't quite make my mouth sing. Maybe the sauce? They liked the balance.

I loved the mushroom - the other two also liked it, though were potentially slightly less lyrically enthused than I was. I felt a little like I was outside in the fall, wearing weather appropriate boots, hunting around in damp leaves for mushrooms. The crust was a perfect balance for the strong woodsy-ness of the mushrooms and the cheese just made it really pop. I wanted to close my eyes and savor (though I didn't because the whole square-ness thing sort of made me feel like I had to keep an eye on where I would take my next bite). I had an extra half a piece of the mushroom while A had half of the last margarita slice (which she said lost a little in cooling off/coming after the mushroom).

We tried to go to Chick-alicious for dessert, but good conversation disrupted our timeline and they were already closed by the time we arrived. It didn't matter. The pizza was good.

The Last Word on New York Pizza

2009-11-14T13:53:00.005-05:00

So, a group of us decided that it would be fun to finalize once and for all what the best pizza is in New York (using the opinions of the thousands that have gone before us as input - allowing our answer to be the absolute and final word on the subject). Having shouldered this mantle of responsibility, we're going about it in a very structured way (S compiled an incredibly impressive fact-base on the subject which he then transformed into an easy to use matrix - no one could accuse of us taking our responsibility lightly). There will be no room for dissention on our decision.

As with all things of great import, we decided a dry run would be a good idea. S and I met at Company for a leisurely lunch. We decided that a shared salad would provide a bit of balance to the hedonism of the pizza - but chose the beet salad (which was great), but (with beets generally tasting remarkably like candy) may not have truly balanced the vegetable content of our meal.

We started with a pizza bianca - just a simple crust flavored with olive oil, rosemary and salt. It was light and crispy, but still with enough to the crust that it wasn't like eating air. It was a nice beginning (though we realized later that the 'ricotta' dip option would have been a good idea).

For the main event, we selected the margarita and the popeye. Following in the tradition of some of the best food reviewers, we will be ordering a margarita everywhere we go. Then, depending on the people with us/the size of the pie/etc. we will chose other topping options.

The margarita was fine. The crust was not quite as good as the bianca - slightly chewy/damp in places; the sauce was nice, but not overly distinctive; the cheese was good.

The popeye was amazing. I eyed it a bit askance when it arrived as it looked less like a spinach pizza than a pizza crust that someone had upended a salad on. However, I am nothing if not determined and I stepped up to the plate (metaphorically speaking of course) and took a bite. It was the most amazing balance of green and decadence I've had (maybe ever, but definitely recently). The crust was perfect (the whole way through both pieces), the spinach was fresh and perfect with some parts a little crisp from baking and some a little more raw, and the whole thing was tied together with a rich mixture of olive oil, cheese and garlic (maybe other stuff, but that was the major). Both S and I agreed that this was a great pizza (we even recommended it to the couple next to us, who seemed oddly discomfited to be addressed by strangers at a communal table). With one (dry run) pizzeria down, we had a pizza to beat. And having tried both pizzas, but with a little more room, both S and I had a second slice of the popeye, letting our second slices of the margarita go to waste.

We did also have dessert (the chocolate thing), but in retrospect, I might have preferred a second popeye.

Sunday Night Dinner

2009-10-11T23:23:00.008-04:00

Had friends over for a casual dinner, but was in the mood for cooking - so I made the following menu

Hors d'oeuvres: Spicy-sweet bacon (made with thick farmers' market bacon), Red seedless grapes, Fresh Ricotta (with a bit of oil, salt and pepper) and pita chips
Twice-Baked Goat Cheese Souffle with Micro-greens with a sherry vinaigrette
Dill Bread
Roast Leg of Lamb with carrots and mashed potatoes
Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd and whipped cream

A bunch of these (bacon and souffle are recipes I've used before, though I did make some changes to all of the epicurious recipes)

Bacon - I substituted maple-sugar sugar for brown sugar - for next time I think upping the sugar portion a very small amount is a good idea (it was a bit spicy for some people); I also used thick farmers market bacon, but maybe prefer the crunch stuff
Souffle - I somehow thought that i was supposed to add 4oz of Gruyere to this recipe - I have NO idea how I got that in my head. But I didn't realize until it was already in and melting - so I cut the goat cheese down (to ~6oz). It was okay, but could have used more of the mustard and thyme (I also had to sub dried ground mustard as somehow the lid on the dijon wasn't closed and it was not usable)
Dill Bread - got rave reviews, not really surpising as it is my favorite too
The lamb was okay - I thought the rub worked well, but had issues with the timing and the temp (it said til 130 and I lost track of time and it went to 140, but was still a little rare even for me) - I also had no luck with the sauce (probably because there was very little in the way of drippings) - not sure what I would change (other than cooking it longer) though
Lemon cake&curd - the curd was (again) phenomenal - it was so very good. The cake is almost more of a base (I think the last recipe may have been a teensy bit better, but can't find it) - plus I served whipped cream, so how bad can that be

Dill Bread
This is one of my mom's standards - I think it's from a random Bread book

1 package yeast
¼ cup water
1 cup cottage cheese
2Tbsp sugar
¼ cup fresh dill (or 2T dill seed)
1Tbsp butter
2Tbsp onion
1tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 egg
2 ½ - 3 cups flour

1. Heat cottage cheese to lukewarm. Add butter, sugar, salt, onion, dill and egg (beaten) in a saucepan. Pour into large bowl when warmed
2. Add yeast/water mixture
3. Beat in flour
4. Add flour until dough is stiff. Knead for a few minutes
5. Cover. Let rise until double (about 1 hour)
6. Stir down a bit. Place in a greased bread pan and let rise again
7. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes

Lemon Cake (i.e., Sweet Lemon Bread)
This is a recipe from my mom – I think she got it from her mom

½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 lemon – juice and zest

For glaze:
1 lemon – juice
½ cup sugar

1. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs
2. Alternate milk and flour (plus baking soda and salt)
3. Add lemon
4. Butter and flour the pan. Bake at 300 for 1 hour 10 minutes
5. Immediately remove from pan. Puncture the top (with a fork) and pour glaze over. Let cool

Just Like Old Times in Nagoya

2009-09-21T18:29:00.011-04:00

I've been spending a lot of time recently back in Tokyo (I lived there for more than 4 years, but that was a long time ago) and am really enjoying two parts: 1. seeing old friends, 2. eating. There are some things that it really is impossible to get outside of Japan But there are some things that it's tough even to find in Japan - regional specialties.

I love eel - unadon is one of my favoritie dishes, but somehow it just doesn't taste as good in the US. I don't know what it is. So, I do always try to have it when I'm there. This time, for some reason I got in my head a very distant memory of a meal on a rainy inght in Nagoya. We had had eel, but it was eel three ways - a Nagoya specialty (this was a long time ago, but I think it may have been at the place where this specialty originated). I never had the style again. For some reason, the first trip I had to Tokyo in August, I thought of it again - but there was no chance to go to Nagoya, and I didn't remember the name (or anything else) of the restaurant anyway. One night, I was going out with my friend E for dinner and was talking to one of my co-workers about ideas. After I confirmed a different restaurant with him, she came up with another suggestion - what about Hitsumabushi?

And, unbelievably, there it was - the dish that had until then existed as an almost dream-like memory. It was real. And so, she and I made plans for dinner on our next trip. And Ginza is much closer than Nagoya.

There were four of us and we all got the Hitsumabushi set.

All it is really is unadon that you eat three different ways, but that does make it better - at least I think so. So the plan is that you first eat about one-third of the eel just normally (i.e., a little eel and a little rice). The second third is put (with rice) in the small empty white bowl with some wasabi and onions - and mixed up (this is my favorite of the three ways). The final third repeats the second third mixture but adds soup broth to make a chawamushi kind of thing (you're supposed to add nori, but I find that it overwhelms the other flavors).

It's simple and it's good. And a little fun.

Picnic in the Park - Quinoa and Bacon

2009-07-15T22:01:00.002-04:00

We had a picnic in the park yesterday - Symphony in the park is one of my favorite nights of the year. I baked that same Apricot Tart I made a few weeks ago (it seemed very picnic-y and was delicious), but once I started cooking, I wanted to cook some more.

I decided to make the bacon that I had fallen in love with over my 4th of July holiday. We nick-named it 'crack bacon', it was spicy, sweet and magical. I found a Spicy Sweet Bacon recipe on epicurious and tried it. I'm going to try it again but change the brown sugar to maple syrup - that said, even with the brown sugar - it was amazing!

I've been eating a lot of quinoa. But I really wanted a pasta salad kind of thing. So I found a couple of recipes and mixed them up for a Roasted Vegetable and Chevre Quinoa Salad:
3 Crook-necked squash
2 Zuchini
1 Vidalia onion
1 1/2 pint thingees of cherry tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup Kalmata olives
1 box quinoa
5 oz goat cheese
Fresh herbs - I used basil, lemon basil, lemon oregano and tarragon
Salt and white pepper (black pepper would work, but I love white pepper)

Cook the quinoa normally
Roast zuchini, squash, onion, garlic and 1 pint cherry tomatoes with olive oil and salt and pepper at 450 for about 30 minutes
Add the goat cheese to the quinoa
Add salt, pepper and herbs to the quinoa
Mix in the roasted vegetables
Roughly chop the last 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, mix in with olives into quinoa
Adjust salt and pepper to taste

All three offerings were well received by the picnic-ers!

Impressing the Colleagues

2009-06-16T23:09:00.002-04:00

I had folks from work over last Friday night. Why I feel like I have to make that even more spectacular, I'm not sure - but I did. I ended up with a French-ish menu (something that I could do while working most of the day).

Menu
Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese and Roasted Beets
Bouillabaisse
Apricot Tart

I went with an easy salad so I could get it done quickly. I roasted the beets in foil for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, pulled them out and left them on the counter. After they cooled, I ran them under water and wiped the skins off - totally easy. If I were really on top of it, I would have done the aoli afterwards and used the lemon to get the beet dye off my skin (it wasn't that bad anyway because I was under the water). I did my usual mustard, balsamic, olive oil and spices dressing.

I was a bit disappointed in the bouillabaisse. I used Anthony Bourdain's recipe - and this is seriously the first non-fantastic experience I've had with his Les Halles cookbook. I think part of the problem with fresh direct (moldy garlic, so I subbed with the jar stuff I keep in the fridge for emergencies, but...) but the second part was the direction that I most hate in all of cooking (cover with water -- do these people not realize that stuff floats in water and what does cover mean, just cover? mostly up to the top? etc.) Anyway, the fish and everything was great, but the broth didn't have the flavor I was hoping for (I think it was too watery (see above), because the complexity was there, but the power wasn't)) - but it was probably my fault and I probably will try the recipe again, just with a little more oomph. I also didn't have the greatest luck with the aoli (hand held 'food processor', huge garlic cloves (ended up with three egg yolks instead of one (basically I tripled the recipe), etc.) So, everyone still raved, but I didn't love it.

The tart was amazing - and potentially the EASIEST thing I have ever made. Basically you mix sugar and butter, add a little vanilla and almond, add a bit of flour, push it out on the pan - throw a couple of things in with the creme fraiche and halve the easiest fruit ever (the practically tear themselves in half). It seriously could not have taken more than 10-15 minutes for a truly amazing tart. I will make this again. Definitely!

Random

2009-06-16T22:54:00.002-04:00

Tonight I made dinner for my book club. I've never put together such an incoherent menu before - but it was just all stuff I really wanted to eat, so that's what we had. And luckily, everyhting was good enough that the invitees were happy as well.

Le Menu
Twice Baked Goat Cheese Souffle
Ropa Vieja
Rhubarb Strawberry Pie

Seriously - there is no logic that you can draw to this menu.

I like a first course salad and this sounded good. It was actually pretty easy to do - if I hadn't been running extraordinarily late. But still, not that bad. It was all eaten - even by the folks who don't like goat cheese (2/7). The thing to remember about this one is when they say that the you bring the roux+milk to a 'boil', you have to remember that it's already practically a solid (so interpret 'boil' loosely).

I've been craving Ropa Vieja. And it's pretty easy - just a little time consuming. I braised in the morning while working. The rest of the stuff was just some (very) easy chopping and then throwing stuff together. Seriously, this is a cheap and easy dish (I served 7 (including seconds for most) and have left-overs (plenty of left overs)).

And every weekend, I drive by the farmers' market and say that I should stop and get rhubarb and strawberries. And I finally made the pie (though it was fresh direct (with not exactly the freshest rhubarb (I had to throw half out))) and it was fantastic!! I had to change from Elise's recipe a bit - I forgot tapioca (used 3T of cornstarch instead, someone in comments said 1T cornstarch + 1T flour wasn't enough, my mom suggested 6T (but I don't love cornstarch), so I compromised with about 3 (maybe closer to 4)), I forgot orange (no substitute) and used a Crisco crust instead of butter (I don't have a food processor, so the butter crust, while very appealing - seems impossible).

So, fabulous meal - just not really a Martha-type coherent menu. Everyone enjoyed though, so what else do you want.

Faux Asian Dinner Party

2009-04-08T23:56:00.004-04:00

L and I have been throwing dinner parties. We found a beef tenderloin recipe the other day with a wasabi-garlic cream sauce that got our imagination going. From there it was pretty short jump to a quasi-Asian theme.

We started with some summer rolls: carrots, raw beets, cilantro, mint, cellophane noodles all rolled together. They had a sauce recipe that was really close to the one we were planning to use for the salad, so we actually just quadrupled that one and used it for everything.

Our appetizer was Scallops with Asian Lime Chile Sauce. We made it with bay scallops (the recipe calls for sea scallops, which I've done before and which sear better) which was really nice served over greens with the sauce used as a vinaigrette.

We did the Tenderloin with Garlic/Green Curry Cream Sauce, which was fantastic (if I do say so myself - though the guests were also wildly enthusiastic about the meat -- key to note that the epicurious recipe actually seems to be missing a line or two, so I checked another recipe and then accidentally forgot to turn the meat down when I was supposed to, so my cooking direction became: Preheat to 475, cook for 15 min, leave in 15-20 min until meat thermometer is 130, let rest for 10 min, slice and serve (and microwave the piece for your friend who doesn't like it pink)). I really loved the sauce. It was amazing. The mushroom risotto was a little drier than I would have liked (we used the leek risotto recipe from last time, but it just didn't quite work as well).

We had made gougeres last time and it made me want to make profiterols - but the classic flavor didn't seem to work with the faux asian theme, so we mixed it up. We made the cream puffs/pâte à choux from this recipe (it's a little scary when you try to quickly add the flour while heating, but it's actually really easy: Tropical Profiterols), then used mango and raspberry and coconut sorbets (one scoop of each/3 puffs each person) and offered a pineapple sauce (that was okay - I didn't find a great recipe, so I I took a can of crushed pineapple in juice, heated it with 2T of sugar (not sure that was really necessary, but one of the recipes added 3/4c of sugar), 1 tsp of vanilla, and then 2 large limes (we might have needed less if we had no sugar).

We did the first two courses with Reislings - perfect. And then did the meat with the Karl Lawrence 2000 cab that I've had sitting here for ages - it was awesome!

East or West, What is Best: Ouest

2009-01-15T23:24:00.002-05:00

Dinner tonight was only amazing in that it happened. I was supposed to have dinner with V. She had to leave work early because she was sick. I emailed C. Before she responsed, S reported that he was in town and going out with L for drinks. Long story short, drinks with S&L then dinner with C, L, O and A. Shouldn't have worked out, but it did.

I didn't really know what to order, nothing really grabbed me. So I was going to get the goat cheese ravioli. Then L asked about the Truffle Omlette "Souffle" (their quotes, not mine). The waiter started salivating - you never really know whether that's for real, but I decided to go for it. I had leftover beef stew for lunch and so didn't want that - but apparently, for me, lamb doesn't count as the other red meat. So I had the "Omlette" and the Rack of Lamb with Creamed Spinach.

I don't want to exaggerate - but the "Truffle" Omlette was amazing. Truly amazing. I would eat another one right now. Except that I'm so full I shouldn't/couldn't. And I'm at home and don't have them here. But seriously, it looks a bit like a pancake, tastes a bit like a quiche (though much, much better - and less beaten) and just makes you happy eating it.

The lamb was great. But I'm stuffed. In retrospect I could have been happy with the "Omlette" and the Creamed Spinach (all pound, or so, of it). The lamb was good (not the best that I've ever had, but eminently eatable), but not earth-shattering. The Omlette and the Spinach just might have been that good. And (brave soul that I am) I would be willing to try.

And they have Vanilla Creme Brulee. Vanilla. Not orange blossom with freeze dried passion fruit flowers. Or lavender scented that can be eaten and slept on later. Or actually made with faux-milk, faux-sugar, faux-everything...

Anyway, the meal was great. The converations was better. All in all a good night. And I'd go back for the "Omlette"

And Sometimes It's Even Better Than You Remember: Spicy Sweet Corn and Poblano Soup

2009-01-13T13:10:00.008-05:00

It doesn't usually happen that when you go back and revist something years later that it's quite as good as your memory had it. I've set myself up for that kind of disappointment to many times to walk willingly into it.

I started with the Epicurious recipe for Spicy Sweet Corn and Poblano Soup, but simplified it. One of the things that had kept me from making it was the memory of it being a whole lot of hassle. And I'm just not up for that these days.

So, I made it - and it was pretty quick and very easy. And it is AMAZING. It may be the best soup I've ever eaten. Really. It's that good (even if the picture doesn't quite capture how good it is).

Spicy Sweet Corn and Poblano Soup

Serves 8 (or one person who realizes how good it is and just eats that for 2 days)

3 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
vegetable oil for coating garlic
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
3 medium sweet onions such as Vidalia, Walla Walla, or Maui
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon peanut or vegetable oil
1/2 - 1 fresh jalapeño chili
3 fresh poblano chilies,roasted and peeled (the original recipe called for 2, but I think the better choice is 3 and go on the lighter side on the jalapeño)
3 cups frozen corn (this is one of the simplified things, I'll likely use fresh again in the summer)
8 cups chicken broth
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp heavy cream
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste

Cut the top off the garlic clove, place on aluminum foil, swab with oil, wrap, put in 350 oven and bake (Epicurious says 30 minutes, it usually takes my oven more like 45 minutes - needs to be squeezably soft)
Roast and peel poblanos. I use my stove burner and then put in a bag (paper or plastic) and let cool.
Chop onions. Cook 2/3 of onions over low heat in oil until soft. Add jalepeño and 2 cups corn. Cook for two minutes. Add coriander, cumin, salt, pepper and 1/2 of the roasted poblanos. Cook for two minutes. Add broth. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Squeeze in garlic. Add cream. Puree with an immersion blender.
Sautee remaining corn in a little oil until they have a little brown on them.
Add lime juice, reserved onions, reserved poblanos and sauteed corn to the soup and cook til heated.
Serve (or wait a couple of hours and reheat and serve - and it's even better!)

Typical Japanese Lunch - The Ultimate Overview

2009-01-12T00:56:00.011-05:00

I have noticed that there is rampant curiosity out on the web as to what is a 'Typical Japanese Lunch' or at least there are a phenomenal number of people googling that topic. I may have mentioned, I lived in Tokyo for a number of years (4+). During that time I had lunch (almost) every day.

I've posted a few reviews of specific restaurants/foods here, but I thought it might be helpful to give an overview (and then as I go to specific restaurants, I can refer back to this). First of all, lunch in Japan is pretty much like lunch in the US - you try to keep it under $10, it's nice to have some variety, but worst case - at least it's fast. One thing to keep in mind is that most Japanese restaurants serve only one thing (Sushi restaurants serve sushi, tempura restaurants serve tempura, you get the picture - though Noodle restaurants often serve Donburis, it's still a pretty narrow menu you'll be ordering from once you choose your restaurant.)

I worked at two different jobs in three different locations in Tokyo, so during that time, I got to try the restaurants surrounding both. At the end of the day, I think the representation was pretty good, so here goes:

Sushi
I think most people start here, thinking that this is the typical Japanese lunch. To be honest, I probably ate it more often than my Japanese colleagues, and I don't think that I had it even once a week. Sushi is still a delicacy in Tokyo (it's not that it's not easy to find, it's just that it's too expensive for an 'everyday' lunch). When I did have sushi, it generally took one of two forms:

'Pine' Sushi - Japan is very big on offering 'lunch sets'. It's a bargain price for something that would cost (at least!) double at dinner time. The sushi places though do it with a certain consistency and offer three different set menus at lunch - and while there is variety, in fact just knowing that there's a low, medium and high offering, you can pretty much zen navigate your meal in a new restaurant.
Take-out Sushi - This is pretty much as mediocre as the take-out sushi that one sees in the States. That said, there's one exception, I used to find this great Negi-Toro-Don near my office (Negi=Onion, Toro=Fatty Tuna, Don='On a bowl of rice' (it's short for Don-buri). This basically looks like a bowl with rice in it with a mound of raw tuna and some chopped up green onions. And yes, it's fantastic. Occasionally you can find this in the states as a roll, but I've never seen it as a lunch choice. Unfortunate, because we're missing out.

Korean
Japan is not known for being the strongest integrator of other cultures, but both Korean and Chinese food (next item) are pretty popular in Japan. Korean lunch places often have the little barbeque grills built right into the tables. They're pretty common - you generally don't have to walk very far to get lunch. The menu is pretty varied, but I usually stuck to one of two things:

Yaki-niku (Translated it means Barbequed-beef) - This is the Japanese version of Korean barbeque. It's available both cooked by the kitchen and cooked at the table (almost always better). I like both Bulgogi and Kalbi, but I like one better - this would be a great time for me to remember which one I like better, but I never do. I usually have to order both and then I remember. I think it's Kalbi, but I wouldn't swear to it. I have to say that as much as I like Korean Korean BBQ, I really like Japanese Korean BBQ just the tiniest bit better. (I think it's one of those 'which did you grow up with kinds of things') The Japanese version is a bit more orderly (weird word, but try them both and you'll know what I mean) and I really like the dipping sauce.
Bi-bim-ba (This is the Japanese spelling, the Korean version is Bi-bim-bop (I made the mistake of thinking that I knew all about Korean food based on what I had learned in Japan - it's a little like going to China and looking for chop suey)) - This is a bowl with a scoop of rice covered with a variety of different vegetables, meat, egg and hot sauce. The bowl is hot. When it shows up, you have to mix it all up and it finishes cooking right there in front of your eyes. And it tastes fabulous! So, with the drama and the taste, it clearly scores high on the lunch food survey.
Kimchi Stew - I never remember the name of this, but it's really good. It's a hearty, rich winter-type stew. Plenty of kimchi for flavor, plenty of pork for substance, and plenty of heat for the winter (insulation is definitely not a native Japanese word).

Chinese
To be honest, I didn't eat a ton of Chinese food while I was in Japan. But it's very popular as a cheap lunch option. I distinctly remember sweet&sour pork as an option and I feel like everything else felt reasonably American-Chinese standard too (so, not exactly the same, but not out of left-field either). The bottom line is that it's good, cheap food.

Noodles

This may be the single most common lunch in all of Japan.

Soba - The king of Japanese noodles. The simple buckwheat noodle. If it is at all possible, eat it fresh. It's hard to find, but oh, so worth it. You can get tens or hundreds (maybe thousands) of different soba dishes (it really is like pasta - you can put any sauce you can imagine with the noodles). My favorite is Zaru Soba (cold soba with a dipping sauce - especially important to find good (preferably fresh) noodles)
Udon - These are the white flour noodles. They're more filling and I'm not such a huge fan. EXCEPT with Curry Udon. This is a magic winter dish. On those days that it's miserable and cold and you feel like you'll never be warm again - try the Curry Udon, instantly you're better (and full). It's a heavy lunch (maybe even better for dinner, but I digress)
Ramen - This is my least favorite, though the most globally popular of the three noodle types available in Japan. If friends insisted on going, I just ordered Miso Ramen. It's actually pretty good - but I wouldn't ever choose it as a destination.

Don-buris
This is pretty much anything over rice. You get a decent sized bowl of rice topped with some form of protein. My favorites are:

Oyako-don: Chicken & egg
Unagi-don: Eel

Pizza
You'd think that corn pizza was just one line that you couldn't cross. But you'd be wrong. You stay in Japan long enough (and for me, I really think it was only a few weeks before I bit the bullet) and you'll have tried it. They have pizza chains (Shakey's was always my favorite) and ours had a little lunch buffet deal (all you can eat). And so one day you realize that pizza with corn on it isn't bad. And then one day you realize you always get corn pizza because it tastes good.
Tonkatsu
The Japanese are justifiably famous for their deep-fried pork cutlet lunch. In the good places (and why wouldn't you go to a good place), the breaded-fried outside isn't greasy, the inside is moist and tender and there's plenty of sauce. I don't know what the sauce is - it's tonkatsu sauce. It's delicious. I think that I started eating Tonkatsu for the sauce (growing up I was not a huge pork person), but gradually realized that the whole meal was fabulous (though the sauce really is really fabulous - think of it like Japanese ketchup, but better - and more brown).
Curry Rice
On a cold winter day, nothing is better than curry rice (or maybe curry udon, but I digress). It's warm, it's rich and it fills you right up. It's not an Indian curry taste, it's got some heat, but it's more about depth - it's more just meat-ness. It's delicious, but seriously, only eat it on days you're hungry.
When I lived in Japan, the most popular 'instant' curry brand was Vermont Curry - I can't even count the number of people who asked me if it really tasted like real Vermont Curry. Wow.
Tempura
Tempura is one of the more widely-known Japanese foods (maybe second after sushi?). What's not so widely known is that in Japan there are really Tempura restaurants. You go in and you decide what kind of tempura you want - everyone's having deep fry on that day. But really, it's a good kind of deep fry - it's light, there are a lot of vegetables - really, it's fine. It's delicious. It is best to go to a Tempura-only place if at all possible because you do tend to get better dipping sauce (plus they have the grated daikon, etc. that make the sauce so much better). Usually in the tempura-only restaurants you're deciding noodle or rice, shrimp or vegetable only.

Japanese Lunch
This is sort of the 'Other' category

Shou-ga-yaki (Stir-fried ginger) - Stir-fries are good. This one has a nice ginger flavor and the pork is in strips like really fine bacon (when I've had it in the US, it's tended to be more chunks of pork, which just isn't as good).

Not Really a Dilemma

2009-01-12T00:08:00.005-05:00

So I finally did it. I sat down and did it. With all the stress around it, you'd think it would have been a big deal. But it turns out to be only slightly more than 400 pages - and a pretty easy read. And so now, when people ask, I can tell them that I actually have read the Omnivore's Dilemma. And I liked it.

And I can also talk about how I felt morally impelled to go to the greenmarket to buy my food for the week. I think it was the corn chapter that got to me. I can deal with the cycle of life - I totally got his whole hunting and chicken things. I just can't deal with us screwing with the economics of corn so that we end up with corn in everything from cows to Coke. I won't say I was determined to never eat another corn fed cow, but I was definitely determined to avoid it wherever I could (I'm a realist... really!).

And so, on a cold (did I mention that winter is not my favorite holiday) Saturday morning, with not quite enough sleep (not killer early, but still, don't love mornings) - I dragged myself out of a very nice, warm, cozy bed and went to yoga. This is not a digression as after the class, I hiked 10 blocks south (and a few blocks east, but I was on Broadway, so I didn't even feel the east part) and started shopping. I wasn't exactly sure what would be available (the website shows January pretty much as a - we sell you the things we have in our cellars - month). But, they actually had some good choices of meats, cheeses, some of the vegs (but yes, especially the root ones) and apples. I did one run through and then went back. I ended up with a bunch of carrots, some parsnips, a few onions, one bunch of leeks, a butternut squash (of course), some ground lamb, some beef for stew, a dozen eggs, some Italian sausage (pork) and two apples. Heavy stuff, but I felt like I had, if not solved my dilemma, at least addressed it. And so I went home (stopping for a very nice brunch first at Ocean - highly (HIGHLY) recommend the chestnut gnocci with pork (probably not freshly killed, but still pretty killer) ragout (though you should like salt, which I do, if you're going to order).

Once home, I realized that the beef needed to be made into a stew (stew cubes aren't good for a whole lot else). I checked epicurious and found a recipe which I used more for guidance than anything else. Really, it was the comment that said something to the effect of: they should have said active time of something more like 3 hours, but it was totally worth it. I wasn't going to do 3 hours active time for stew(!). I read the recipe. It also sounded like my beautiful root vegetables were going to be used more for flavor than substance (it would have been fine if I had had more, but all of a sudden, what had been a very heavy bag, looked pretty skimpy).

And so I improvised.

My recipe:

1 package demi-glace (~ 1Tbsp) plus 5 cups water (or 48 ounces beef stock)

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup ruby port (that was the wine option that I had open)

2 parsnips (vegetable numbers are approximate, but parsnips are strong, so don't over-do)

2 lbs carrots

1/2 cup pearl onions

2 lb beef (cubed)

It's pretty easy from there:

Preheat oven to 350
Add olive oil, salt and pepper to top and bottom of beef cubes, then saute (in dutch oven, ideally) in a little oil, remove (do it in multiple batches so you don't kill the heat in the pan)
Deglaze dutch oven with port
Add demi-glace and water, stir and let come to a boil
Put beef back in stock
Put in oven for 3 hours, removing lid for second half (judge based on liquid)
Add vegetables, put lid on, and cook for additional 45 minutes
Ideally, let sit overnight, reheat in same pan

I served this with quinoa. I felt super-healthy: quinoa, grass-fed beef, organic&local vegetables - only the demi-glace, the port and the water (NY tap) were not officially sanctioned, but the result was fabulous. I will make again - two thumbs up for my only critic that matters -me.

And way too soon to tell if my new-found Saturday 'habit' will have an impact on my overall health (or that of the planet), but I'll keep trying - for at least a little while.

7 Days of Turkey Makes One Week

2008-12-04T00:02:00.002-05:00

So, last Thursday (Thanksgiving) I ate my normal pumpkin-pie-only before dinner and then enjoyed my full Thanksgiving dinner. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I took full advantage of the leftovers (and there were lots of them) in my fridge. On Monday, I took turkey, potatoes, peas and gravy to work (our cafeteria is awful), but had something different (L's fabulous dinner) for dinner. On Tuesday, I again had leftovers (just turkey, peas and gravy this time - I figured that the carbs were being a bit overloaded) for lunch, but went to Bar Boulud (the closest to a regular place that I have) for dinner.

Today was one week (Thursday to Wednesday) and I didn't disappoint, I had my turkey lunch (like yesterday - just gravy and peas again). But then dinner tonight will be fabulous (details later). But really, that's seven full days of turkey (and I'm not even running low on it at this point) - I feel like I've passed a test, or perhaps just had a lot of good food.

Very Full: Dinner and a Ko Treat

2008-12-02T00:55:00.003-05:00

Today as an early birthday treat, my friend L made dinner and J brought along dessert. L was on a mission to combine all of the things I most liked (without getting weird like blueberries mixed with green curry).

She started with 2 kinds of cheese (mmmm, cheese) as our appetizer (I especially enjoyed the blue/brie - forget what it's called, but it's all creamy goodness). And then proceeded to dazzle with Thai food (green curry chicken, pad thai, etc.) as well as more of a pan-Asian broccoli that I totally adored (I'm getting the recipe).

J stopped at Momofuku Milk Bar (it's very hard to keep up with all of the Momofuku's, but this one is the bakery - to be perfectly honest I had missed it, but I sometimes miss things - J usually doesn't miss things) and grabbed not one, not two, not even three, but all four kinds of pie (I'm not a cake fan, so birthday pie is a much better idea for me!!)

Reviews of the pies - they were all sweet, very sweet even - which I liked, but a couple of folks found a bit overpowering. For me, if I absolutely had to choose, I would order them as follows:

Crack pie - this was kind of like a blondie cookie, but more firm (a little solid, almost cookie-like in texture) with more butterscotch - I can't even describe it except that it was so very good
Candy bar pie - this was kind of like a snickers bar with pretzels on top - it looked disgusting, just a big thing of chocolate with pretzels and the inside of a 3 muskateers seeping out the edge - it was fantastic, the right blend of salty and sweet - plus the little bits of carmel just when you thought it couldn't get any better
Blondie pumpkin pie - this sounded the most disgusting, but was actually really good - some of that same butterscotch as in the crack pie, but a little more mellow and a softer texture, and no overwhelming pumpkin (not that I don't love pumpkin pie, I just generally don't like pumpkin pie mixed with other things)
Brownie - a fantastic brownie in a pie shape, but perhaps it's a sign of age, but the pure chocolate baked goods aren't quite doing it for me anymore - don't get me wrong, it was great, it just didn't beat out the other three

But tonight I didn't have to choose - I had all four. And now I am full. Very full. It's good. But probably not repeatable (at least in the near future) and so I'm glad to know the order to choose them in - because some day I really might need to choose. And that would be hard, but it would still be good.

Thanksgiving: The Day or How to Cook Thanksgiving Dinner

2008-11-29T18:02:00.020-05:00

So, I had a whole schedule set up and it seemed to give me a whole bunch of time from about 11-3. I was excited, it wasn't going to be a hard day at all. I should have remember that starting late and taking breaks would throw my timeline off, but we only started 1 hour behind schedule, so I think we did pretty well. (One of my big reasons for writing this is so that next year, I can do better - when I try to remember what to do).

My menu is pretty traditional.

Menu

Stuffed Mushrooms (new this year as finger foods while waiting for the meal)
Turkey

Mashed Potatoes

Stuffing

Gravy

Baby Peas

Brussel Sprouts (H. is bringing those)

Creamed Onions

Cranberry Sherbet

Faux Croissant Rolls

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Vanilla Ice Cream and/or Whipped Cream

The post for this is in the order that I was cooking, not the order that it was served.

I had put my bread crumbs (coated with plenty of sage, pepper and salt) in the oven the night before, but they weren't quite ready - so I turned the oven back on and then fell back asleep (not exactly according to plan) so they were a little darker than planned, but still tasted fine.

Once they were ready, I could make the stuffing and then get the turkey in the oven. The plan for this was 9am - I got it in by 10, so only 1 hour behind schedule right at the start.

Stuffing

This is my mom's recipe. It's easily enough for 15-20 people.

1 loaf of bread crumbs (well flavored with sage, salt and pepper)

3 apples

1 large onion (I actually used a small onion and 2 shallots that I happened to have)

1 box golden raisins

1 cup of pumpkin seeds

2 sticks of butter

Melt the butter in a pan
Toss in the onions, apples, raisins and pumpkin seed. Flavor with sage, salt and pepper (I used both white pepper and black fresh ground)
Cook until the onions are clear
Put the bread crumbs in a paper bag (I use 2 paper bags - double bagged), dump in the fruit mixture and shake it up

Turkey
Cooking the turkey is the easiest part of Thanksgiving - but it's the part that impresses people the most. I've never had a problem and I've done just about everything wrong that you can do (like forgetting to take it out of the freezer, etc.). I did a 20lb bird for 10 people because I knew that I wanted plenty of leftovers - and really it is a lot of turkey.

1 Turkey
1 - 2 sticks of butter (softened)
Chicken or turkey stock
Sage
Thyme
Pepper (both black and white)
Salt

Stuff the turkey (this is optional - I do it because I like the taste and have never had a problem, but I know some people worry about it, so I also serve it separately)
Mix the sage, thyme, pepper and salt in with the butter to taste (it should look pretty grey-ish green)
Use your hands to get in between the turkey and the skin (just on top). Once you've got the space, take half of the butter and push it in between the turkey and the skin.
Take the second half of the butter and spread it on the outside of the turkey

Put the turkey in the pan and put in about an inch of the stock (I used to work water, but why not use stock - I used turkey, but chicken would be just as good)
Put in the oven at 350. Cover the turkey with a sheet of aluminum foil for the first 3-4 hours. Remove it, but then keep an eye to make sure that it doesn't get too dark and put the foil back if it starts to (I put mine back after about 2 hours). Make sure that there's water in pan for the whole time as well (I think that's the magic to keeping the turkey moist).

I got complements on what a good looking turkey it was (butter makes the skin extra crispy), but I forgot to take a picture.

Squash
This is a must for Thanksgiving. It's totally simple though. If its good, 2 squash should feed about 15 (so I don't have quite as much leftover as I'd like).

2 butternut squash
1/2 - 1 stick butter
salt
white pepper
maple syrup

Put the butternut squash in the oven at 350 (I did it while the turkey was cooking) for about 1 hour (until a fork goes in easily)
Let it cool til you can touch it. Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds and discard. Then scoop out the flesh into a bowl
Add the butter and season to taste (I used about 2-3 T of maple syrup and 1-2 t each of salt and pepper)

I almost stopped seasoning my squash 2 times, but then just kept going. And everyone loved it - they said that it was the best squash ever (and I would say that I have to agree - it was amazing).

Creamed Onions
This is just a standard cream sauce, but if you do it right - it's delicious - especially with the onions. We added this to our family menu for my uncle, but now I love it.

2 packages frozen pearl onions (I made twice what I needed so you could probably half this)
1 stick butter
~4Tbsp flour
~2 cups of milk
salt
white pepper (you may be noticing a theme, but I only use freshly ground black and I thought that it was too much for some of the dishes, so I highly recommend having the white pepper)

Put the butter in the top of a double boiler and melt it
Add flour until you have a smooth paste (not paste like from elementary school, somewhere between ketchup and mayo)
Add milk slowly until you have a nice cream (it's still a bit watery - at least for me, I used skim milk), so then I kept it heating until I got it a little thicker - mostly done.
Add the onions about 5-10 minutes before you remove from the heat (I put it back in the oven with about 30 minutes to go to heat it back up)

Stuffed Mushrooms
This recipe is one my friend K uses all the time. It was my first time making it. I ended up with a lot of extra stuffing - I need to figure this out.

30 oz mushrooms (big enough to stuff)
1 onion
1/2 - 3/4 cup Jarlsberg cheese (grated)
1/2 - 3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 - 1 cup
thyme (fresh if at all possible)

Clean the mushrooms and remove the stems. Dice the stems in a food processor. Put the mushroom heads upside down in a pie plate
Chop the onions and mix with the mushrooms, grated cheese, bread crumbs and thyme.
Stir in the cream
Make loose balls of the stuffing and put them in each of the mushrooms
Bake for 25-35 minutes at 350

These went over very well. And they were the perfect little bites to stave off starvation without filling people up before the big meal.

Mashed Potatoes
I made about 7 lbs and have way more than I need - for 10 people plus good leftovers, probably 5 would have been enough.

7 lbs peeled potatoes
1 package cream cheese
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 stick butter
salt
pepper

These are just boiled then mashed. The key is to make sure that there's enough of the good stuff (cream cheese, butter and heavy cream) as well as that its well seasoned.

Rolls
This is Step 3 - rolling them out and baking them.

Bread dough
1 beaten egg
sugar

Take the previously made dough and divide in thirds
Roll one of the thirds into a flat pancake (it should be about 12 inches in diameter)
Cut into eight pie shapes
Place a bit of egg at the tip of each triangle
Roll the triangles into croissants
Place on a baking sheet (I usually fit 12 on one). Brush the top with the egg and then dust with sugar. Let rise for 1/2 hour.
Bake for 20 minutes (I usually put them in as everything else comes out and they're hot and ready to eat as everyone is actually seated)

Gravy
Turkey drippings
Flour
Milk

Remove the turkey from the pan and put it on top of two of your burners (assuming your pan is that big) - (This year I had to cook down my drippings a bit, but usually I just start with what I've got)
Add flour to the drippings to create a paste
Slowly add milk and keep stirring until its mixed in - I usually add 1/2 -1 gallon of milk (I use skim, but that's only because that's what I've got)

Baby Peas
2 packages frozen baby peas

Microwave and serve

It is absolutely not Thanksgiving for me without the peas. I mix the peas in with the potatoes, stuffing, turkey and gravy - I guess it's sort of like a Shepard's Pie or something, but I really need that bright green flavor in the middle of all that heavy Thanksgiving-ness.

I forgot to take a picture of the plate the night of, but here's what the leftover plate today looked like (same as that night except for the brussel sprouts and cauliflower (that L brought).

Thanksgiving: Wednesday Prep

2008-11-29T14:06:00.010-05:00

Wednesday is my Thanksgiving prep day. On my list for today is all of my bread and pie related stuff (bread crumbs, rolls, 2 types of pie). I started with the rolls as it's a 3-step process.

Dinner Rolls/Faux Croissants

This recipe comes from something like the Fleishman's yeast (or some flour) recipe book. They're not as light and flakey as a croissant, but I like them better for a dinner roll because they have a bit more of that roll-ness.

Step 1 is to make the butter thing:

1/4 cup flour

1.5 sticks butter (softened)

Mix flour and butter together
Plop it on to a 18 inch length of wax paper and smooth that into a 10"x4" block (really thin block) and then wrap that in the wax paper
Put it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.

Step 2 is to make the dough:

2 1/2 - 3 cups flour

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 pkg yeast

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup warm water

2 eggs

Mix yeast and water. Mix everything together and knead it.
Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches by 14 inches (14 inches across, 12 high)
Place the butter rectangle in the center (4 inches across, 10 inches high)
Fold the left and right hand side in over the butter
Roll out again to the 12 x 14 (or so - it gets harder each time, just make it as big as you can without going crazy)
Repeat for a total of 4 times (I do sometimes give up at 3, but it really is better to do 4)
Chill for another 2 hours

Step 3 is tomorrow and is rolling out the dough into the rolls and cooking.

After the rolls, I did the pies. Pies are great for quick and good. I chose pumpkin (because I love it and it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it) and pecan (because there are some people who don't love pumpkin, but it takes a whole lot of time to peel apples to make that).

First I make the pie crust. Now, I highly recommend making pie crust because it's not very hard and everyone will be VERY impressed.

Standard Pie Crust
This is my grandmother's recipe. I'm sure it originally came or evolved from something else, but I have no idea what that would be. This makes 2 pie crusts (or the top and bottom of one pie).

3 cups flour
1 cup + 2 Tbsp Crisco (to measure this put in a measuring cup with water in and measure the displacement - so a 2 cup measuring cup with one cup of water, add Crisco until it gets to 2 cups and you then have 1 cup of Crisco - otherwise it's just messy)
a little salt
4 Tbsp ice water (really cold from the tap is fine)

Mix the flour, salt and the Crisco by hand until you get a bunch of small balls
Add ice water and mix in with a fork (don't use your hands and the temperature does bad things)
Once mixed, put half onto a rectangle of wax paper and cover with a second sheet

Roll the ball between the 2 sheets of wax paper out into a circle big enough to cover your pie plate

Bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes (you want it dried, but not browned)
Fill

See, pie is generally pretty easy - it just tastes difficult!

Pumpkin Pie
This recipe comes straight from the Libby's can (with one slight change). This is filling for 1 9-inch pie. I made 3 (there are just some things that you do not want to run out of).

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) Libby's Pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie stuff)
1 can (12 fl. oz.) Evaporated Milk
1 tsp vanilla (this is my addition - but doesn't vanilla make everything better)

Beat the eggs and mix with the pumpkin
Add in all the dry ingredients
Mix in the evaporated milk
Pour into the pie shell
Bake for 15 minutes at 425 and then for 40-50 minutes (that's the directions, I usually bake 50-60 minutes) at 350

Let it cool before you eat it. I had a slice after only 30 minutes this year and it tasted a little jumbled (still good, just not ... perfect), but as soon as it cooled down it was smooth as silk. I like it with whipped cream, but I always offer vanilla ice cream as well as an option.

Maple Pecan Pie

This recipe is from epicurious. I chose it because it sounded good, there wasn't any corn syrup and it was maybe the easiest recipe I've ever seen. This is for 1 9-inch pie.

1 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 9-inch frozen deep-dish pie crust
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Whisk the first seven ingredients to blend
Place pecans in the pie crust
Pour filling over nuts
Bake at 350 until filling is puffed up (it really will puff up above the crust) or about an hour (I let mine go probably 70 minutes, but I think my oven is weak)

This is seriously the best pecan pie I have ever had. It's still really sweet, but it's not that sugar high sweet, it's a slightly better (in my opinion - and in that of my friends) maple-y sugar flavor. I did this with the option of whipped cream or ice cream as well.

Thanksgiving: Cranberry Sherbet Redux

2008-11-25T13:24:00.011-05:00

So, for the first time in about 5 years, I'm hosting Thanksgiving - which means I'm being confronted with the old - how do I do that again? I mean, it's bad enough when you're doing it once a year, but how much do you really remember from 5 years ago.

So, today I started with my Cranberry Sherbet and realized that I didn't remember any of the details - tough when it's such a vague recipe to start with. So, this year, I'm capturing it all - in detail.

I started with 4 bags of cranberries.

To this I added tap water until they started to float, and then added a bit more (I should have added a bit more than I thought). I boiled it for 10-15 minutes (so 20-25 minutes from when I turned on the heat). I stopped when it looked like most of the berries had burst open.

I poured the berry stuff into the colander and then pushed through a bit. Then I had a crisis, do I include the thicker stuff from the bottom of the colander or just the pure juice - one call to my aunt and I stuck with just pure juice (though my mom says she includes the stuff from the bottom of the colander (i.e., the seeds and 'thicker juice' is okay with her). The four bags plus my water gave me seven cups of juice. I added 3.5 cups of sugar and was ready to add more, but it was already almost too sweet (my mom told me that this year hers needed 3/4cup of sugar for every cup of liquid - so clearly we've either got different cranberries, different water quantities (don't know if that would really affect it) or different taste-buds).

Then it needs to boil a bit - I ended up doing this for 15-20 minutes (which I think was too much - I didn't have enough water left). I didn't get too much scum on the top, but when I left it for a few minutes it got like a fruit roll-up on top, so I figured that was good.

I poured it into four tupperware containers, each half-full (it puffs up when you whip it, so you need to fill about half full - I'd recommend one or two containers max, but I only had the little ones).

This is then frozen for at least 24 hours. Then whip it up with about ~1/4 cup of lemon juice and refreeze it for at least another 24 hours. In the end it should look like a beautiful deep magenta pink sherbet. Mine this year didn't freeze totally (I think it was that there wasn't enough water), I ended up with sort-of, half-frozen stuff (which tasted totally great, but just didn't have the form I was going for).

The Basics

2008-11-24T22:22:00.002-05:00

I probably eat more hot dogs than most people over the age of six. But the hot dogs I most look forward to are the ones at a sporting event - baseball is probably the best, but really any stadium-y event is fine.

Tonight we went to the Rangers game. I'm actually a Penguins fan, but I didn't wear my jersey. I actually wore work clothes - which made me stand out, though potentially less so than being the only person (other than the refs and the opposing team) not wearing red, white and blue. It is what it is.

Anyway, barely had we sat down (and did I mention that we were practically in the penalty box (everybody's friends should have fabulous season tickets) - I could reach out and touch the plexiglass with my hand - it was awesome), before the girl came up to ask what we wanted. It seemed like mere seconds later before I had a beer and a hot dog. But here is the issue (and I have the same issue with American sushi): It turns out that size does matter, but bigger isn't always better. The hotdog should be a hotdog size - not a superdog size. It throws everything off balance (even when they have a big bun (as they did) it just wasn't the right bite size (I had to take multiple bites to get clear across)). So while I got plenty of ketchup and mustard and even some sauerkraut (so it was all set up to be good) - I would rather have had a smaller dog - even if it meant needing two (though after the nachos and the second beer - I probably would have been fine with just the smaller dog).

So, while I recomend MSG for a Ranger's game, especially when you've got great seats - and while I enjoyed my dog - it's not the best stadium dog ever. But I would be happy (!) to go back (and would probably order it anyway).

Slightly More Than $10 Trip to Tokyo

2008-11-20T17:11:00.007-05:00

It's not like I'm going to secret Japanese holes-in-the-wall in NYC every day, but I have gone to more this year than in the last couple of years combined (2). Last night, we went to a fundraiser event for Leadership Prep (an awesome Charter School in Brooklyn) and my friend O had cleverly made us a dinner reservation for afterwards at a place only 2 blocks away (it was below freezing out, so close was key!)

We rounded the corner and he pointed us to an office building, but right there in front of it was a little light box with 1BF and the name of the restaurant: Sakagura. These things are all over Japan - and basement restaurants in an office building are a lot more common. This felt oddly authentic in it's external impersonal charm. The stairs down were less authentic - more basement-y. But walking through the door I landed right back in Tokyo.

We were a bit early, so we had to wait but they were nice and the reception area had space (basically just a way of saying that I would recommend you go with a reservation, not as a walk-in, because if it was packed on a freezing Wednesday night on the day the Dow dips below 8...).

We ended up with a table, though the next time I would request a booth as they were cute and spacious. We decided to do it sort of small plate/family style and seemed to have pretty consistent ideas about what sounded good. We started with the plate of sashimi. It arrive looking beautiful with: Salmon, Red Snapper, Tuna, Fluke and Uni (Sea Urchin) - I was in heaven (I love uni). I started with the salmon (my least favorite) and it was good, so I prepared to enjoy. But the tuna was above my expectations - a perfectly oily, delicious piece of fish (did I mention the wasabi was fresh) and the uni shattered them - it was potentially the best uni I've ever had. It was musky and sweet. If I hadn't been hungry, I would have stopped them - why ruin perfection. But I was hungry, and thank goodness for that.

Next came the Tuna Tartare. This is one of C's favorites and here (no surprise after the sashimi) it was great. I big circle of tuna on a bed of cucumbers covered with half dark roe and half light roe (it's only now as I'm writing this that I start thinking yin-yang). It was fantastic - though not as differentiated as some of the other dishes.

Next came the Agedashi-dofu (deep fried tofu). This is one of my very favorite Japanese appetizers (it's deep fried, so how bad can it be), but I've been somewhat disappointed by what I've found in the US - merely adequate versions of it. And then this. What may have been the best agedashi-dofu ever! The tofu was silky and kept breaking apart, the fried covering was light, the broth was perfectly flavored and there was enough grated daikon (white radish) and horseradish to perfectly season it. If I had been hungry at the end, I might have ordered another one just for me. I didn't, so instead I have a compelling reason to go back (like I'm dying for it right now - I'm guessing though that they don't deliver).

Then we had Daikon (white radish) with Beef Cheeks - this was very good, the beef was tender and the broth gave the daikon a nice flavor. The only issue was it was hard to share (they had brought bowls for the agedashi-dofu, but not for this).

Then we went for the Eggplant with Miso. It was eggplant with three different types of miso, I had the dark, heavy one and the light green one - completely different flavors, but both very good (the first one was still a bit hot when I ate it - beware).

Finally we got our last order, the Deep Fried Mashed Potatoes in a Doughnut Batter. Now, I was totally into ordering it, but I was pretty convinced that it would be a warm pasty mess, not particularly distinctive. It wasn't - it was amazing. It was like a little beignet, with a surprise inside - but better. It was just a bit sweet - and served with a bit of dipping salt. And it was delicious. I could have eaten more, but that would have been piggish.

At this point, we were trying to decide what to do next. We decided on sashimi for dessert (seriously, that uni was sweet!) and treated ourselves to an order of the cold buckwheat noodles on the side.

We looked at the dessert menu, but while some looked interesting (Black Sesame Creme Brulee, Chocolate Sea Salt Sorbet), we decided to skip dessert (even after years in Japan, Japanese desserts still aren't my favorite (there are some I like, just none that get me the way the regular food does)). We sipped the tea and waited for our check. And while it wasn't as cheap as Tsukushi, it wasn't bad at all (and significantly less than even coach to Tokyo).

As we were leaving, I grabbed a business card so I wouldn't forget to come back (like that's possible) - and here again we're talking authentic (I know, what makes a business card authentic - if it's in Japanese, it's not as useful to the customers - and what else is there...)

Nope, that's not it. It's the back

Tokyo has the worst address system of any place I've ever been (the buildings are numbered in the order they were built, not in any order that would be useful to people trying to find them (e.g., the order that they line up on the street)), so maps are not just useful, but necessary - all restaurant cards have them.

Japanese Lunch: Oyako-don

2008-11-14T19:04:00.006-05:00

Many years ago, after college, I spent a couple of years in Tokyo. I went there with no idea of what I was getting in to - it's hard to believe at this point, but I had never even tried sushi before my plane landed.

I was lucky - I love Japanese food, but it was an adventure. I had never tried of it, but I guess I probably did think I would eat sushi every day for lunch. Turns out that sushi isn't an every day kind of lunch - there's a lot of other food that is more typical as a Japanese lunch.

My first year in Tokyo, I found a great little noodle place just under the Tamachi train station. That said, I don't know if I ever had noodles there - instead I had Oyako-don. Don-buri (don) is the other thing that is typically served at a Japanese noodle place - and all it is is something on top of rice.

Oyako-don is chicken and egg on type of rice - almost like an omelet with chicken chunks. It has a bit of a dashi-type sauce. And it's awesome. It tastes so good. But, to be totally honest, I don't think taste was the only reason I ate it so much - it's also the name

Oya ko

Oya is parent; ko is child. The dish translates directly as Parent/Child over rice. It's a little disturbing, but I rather liked the cleverness - and did I mention that it tastes really good.

All Hands on Deck

2008-11-13T19:51:00.002-05:00

We decided to start a Food Club because we felt like we needed an excuse to go out and eat good food. J had suggested Ethiopian and we were all up for it, but then we were calendar challenged and weeks went by. And then, last minute yesterday worked for four of us.

We were at Ghenet - which is apparently 'Where Angels Eat' - and it was good. None of us are supremely knowledgeable about Ethiopian, so we just ordered the Vegetarian Combo (for 2) and one each of a Lamb, Beef and Chicken Dish. Now, I'm a bit of an idiot and I didn't write down the names - but it was the chopped Chicken Dish (#3 I think), the first Beef (the spicy one), and the third (?) Lamb.

They brought it all out on the big huge piece of bread and gave us plenty of the bread to grab our food with it. J asked for a fork (the bread is a bit bitter and she didn't love it), so there was plenty for the rest of us.

I loved the beef and liked the lamb. The others liked the chicken and beef the best. We all liked the variety of vegetarian options that were spread all around.

And then we ate. And ate. And ate. Finally I forced myself to stop. It wasn't easy - it was really good food, nicely spiced, lots of different flavors. Lots of lentils, but all with different flavors.

And then, I'm not sure if there's a real Ethiopian dessert, so I didn't feel bad when we chose Cream Caramel (I would have gone Tiramisu as well, but I think the others thought that was too out of the realm) - and I felt great when we got it. I consider myself a bit of a flan expert - and this was a very nice custard. It was smooth and very solid, and the caramel had a really nice just burnt flavor. Perfect end.

Somebody's Got to Do It - Aquavit

2008-05-03T00:16:00.003-04:00

So tonight was the night to celebrate both M & J's birthdays - figuring somewhere in between works for both. B actually was on the ball and suggested Aquavit. I was pretty excited- it was one of those restaurants that I hadn't been to that had always seemed like somewhere I should have been.

Given my afternoon, I really should have been late, but due to vagaries of life, I was somewhat early. And so I spent a nice 15 minutes with J&J and a very nice rose champagne. Life is good.

The other eight arrived only a little late and we were shown to our table. I want to take this table home with me. Granted, I would need to rearrange my apartment a bit - getting rid of that whole living room thing and replacing it with the table, but really - I think it would be worth it.

We settled in and decided/had decided for us that we would get the chef's tasting menu. I love tasting menus. And that we'd get the wine pairing menu. Wait, I forget - was it my birthday!? Who cares what we're celebrating if I'm getting everything I want.

An amuse bouce. Really, a nothing. The smallest of things. And yet... it does set the tone. And here we had a warm shot of carrot (and ginger?) soup and an avacado, fennel and mandarin salad 'frosted' with raw tuna. The trials and tribulations of the day were already a thing of the past. Hmmm. Mandarin with the others. Unexpected. Yumm.

Then a tiny hiccup (really only the smallest one). The first pairing for the first course is aquavit - and I am just not a huge hard alcohol person. Really, if I were, this would have been great - I think it was cranberry. It was nicely chilled, it was in a beautiful glass - but I had a moment of panic that it wasn't a wine pairing I had ordere, but an aquavit pairing. Deep breath. All is good. The first course itself though made all those worries - maybe all worries ever, go away. A bowl of ice (notice me drawing verbal pictures as I didn't have my camera - I find the pictures at meals nice to have afterwards, but actually disturbing during the fact) and gently resting on top, two shells. And inside the shells - little bits of heaven. On the left, a raw scallop with a dab of mango sorbet. On the right, a raw oyster with other stuff (sorry, didn't write it down - there was green). If I had to choose (like on pain of death), it would be the oyster, but otherwise, (really it was close!), I'd just have another serving of both.

Then, the lobster roll. Every restaurant has things it's famous for. And apparently this (justifiably) is one of those for Aquavit. It's not what you'll get in Boston or Maine, but man is it good. It looks a bit like an Italian cookie (those cigar ones). It's rather thin and rather white. On top there is some roe. And man does that roe just somehow make the dish. Each bite is a little symphony of lobster and the sauce and the wrap - and then that little burst of salty goodness. Smile. And then another bite. And can I just say that to pair it with a dry reisling - geeeenius.

And then the palettle cleanser. Ginger Ale. Lemongrass. Ice. Aquavit (just a bit). Mmmmm. Yum. Palette cleansed.

Now, B suggested Aquavit. And even made the reservation. It was only later that J pointed out that she knew Johan - the chef. And so, he came out to greet us when we arrived. And charmed us. (Please understand though that any charming had no impact on how I viewed the food itself, though it helped the aura of the entire evening). And then he sent a little gift. But not just any gift. Apparently he had checked with Santa and knew just what I liked. On a bed of avacado puree he placed some grilled (in some kind of very magic red sauce) octopus. Now, if anyone is shopping for my birthday (only 213 shopping days) these are two really good idea - always bound to please.

The next course was three separate things on a plate. I had heard fois gras though and so I was excited. The fois gras was in a little cake-like thing (there's a word and I'm totally blanking on it right now). The green thing was arugula sorbet. And the rice crispy looking thing was duck confit in rice crisps with an apple something on the side. Somehow, this variety of tastes just worked. Really. The sorbet made the fois gras sit up and take notice. The rice crispies popped to break up the richness of the duck. The texture of the duck made the smoothness of the fois gras a welcome next step. And so I went, round and round. Until the music stopped. It's rude to lick one's plate in public, so I refrained.

Next, we got the trout. Now, anyone who knows me knows that cooked fish is just not my thing. I love raw fish (sushi, we call it), but the cooked stuff is never really where I go. But J got so happy when she heard trout and sunchokes that she wasn't even paying attention to the broth surrounding it. And I have to admit, she was right to be excited. The fish was basically poached. It was tasty and tender. And the sunchokes added a little bit of something to the depth of the fish. If all cooked fish was like this... I'd eat it. But it's not.

Next was (generally my favorite) the meat course. Venison - which I love. It was wrapped in bacon (which I think we all know that I love). Paired with lingonberries and some long white thing that I was a bit baffled by. It was great. Really great. But it wasn't quite as sublime as what M ended up with. Apparently, she's not a venison fan. And so she got a rib-eye, paired with kimchi. OMG!! Now that is a wayto serve meat. I mean, the venison was great, but that was amazing (or at least the one very small bit that I managed to have of it was).

Finally dessert.

Or, no, wait. Another palette cleanser. This one was basically rice pudding (I think there was more to it than that) with a bit more mango sorbet in the middle of passion-fruit. I know what you're thinking - wait, wasn't that dessert. Oh no, it wasn't.

Okay, now, really, finally dessert.

The wine pour was a non-fortified wine, but it tasted like a port with hints of chocolate. Awesome. But it somehow didn't work exactly well with the five various desserts that appeared in the middle of the table (more gifts from the chef - so I left the one directly in front of me - the White Coffee Chocolate Bombe til last as I figured that was the one that I actually had control over/complete ownership of). The mango tart (looked like a Tarte Tartin) was amazing. The chocolate brownie thing with the bananas may be the best thing I've ever eaten. The coconut thing was good - though better appreciated by someone who is a bit more excited by coconut desserts. The goat cheese yogurt thing (?) was actually one of the best! M loved it. Having tried them all, I settled back to try mine. Ummm. Okay. Now I get it. Yeah. The wine pairing was for this dessert - not those others. And man was it well paired. The bite of the coffee, the sweetness of the wine, the milky lightness of the center. the chocolate in the wine, etc. Some food really is just better with wine.

Done.

Or not. Petit fours. And here at Aquavit, apparently those include (upscale) Swedish fish. I (of course) had to try one of each: a biscotti, the Swedish Fish, a little mini bread pudding (?), and a truffle. I don't know if it was an act of God or of self preseration (just a wafer thin mint...) that kept me from another round of each.

I'm tying to figure out if I should call for my next reservation now or wait until tomorrow when they reopen.

$10 Trip to Tokyo

2008-04-28T23:14:00.004-04:00

My friends and I have started a food club. This is basically just a way for us to remember to plan interesting trips out to new restaurants. It's not really anything that difficult (no books to read, things to practice, etc.) Tonight we went to Tsukushi. I had read about this place in a very minor comment on Frank Bruni's blog (NYTimes Blog Post mentioning (at the very bottom) Tsukushi) and then the review that I then found once I had the name (NYTimes Tsukushi Review).

It sounded awesome. And once (third time's the charm) we finally found a day that worked for us all, it was great. In the pouring (really, cats, dogs, rabbits, who knows what else) rain, I got out at the south east corner of 41st and 2nd. There was a navy awning with little white letters over what looked like a rusted closed door just up 41st. Turns out the door swung open easily into a place considerably more comfortable/less scary than the outside would have led you to believe.

We settled in and they brought the menu - the drink menu. Now the Times hadn't been super specific on how ordering was handled. But after a few questions, it was clear that you got what you got - unless there was something that you didn't eat. We were all pretty much fine (one exception for meat).

The first course was some sort of boiled vegetable. Celery? Not fibery enough, but kind of. Cucumber? Definitely not - too fibery. Radish? Too green. Really, I have no clue (and don't ask why we didn't ask, because I'll tell you my mom and the trees story: Once upon a time, my mother, who loves plants came to visit me in Japan. As we toured around, she kept pointing to trees (and other plants) and asking me (her black-thumb daughter), "What kind of tree is that?" I responded with some version of, "Sorry, I have no idea." Finally, unable to bear the suspense she suggested, "Well, you speak Japanese. Ask someone." I responded (probably a little frustrated (I like flowers and nature and stuff, but lots of plant discussions are not my cup of tea)) with something to the effect of "And when they tell me what the name is, what do we do? Because I don't know the translations, so we still won't know what it's called in English." It's a problem with languages - you can have conversations, but for details, you need the vocabulary. Anyway, we enjoyed looking at the non-plant scenery for the rest of the trip) So tonight, I didn't bother asking, but whatever it was, it was a nice refreshing start to the meal.

After that was something called Shirozuki (maybe?). It was noodles (maybe potato or some other non-pasta-y kind of noodle) with a pinkish roe. Absolutely awesome.

And then the best Edamame I've had in a while. Perfectly cooked. Perfectly salted.

And then a plate of sashimi with hamachi, salmon (and this was fantastic - I don't normally eat salmon, it's just not that interesting/tasty for me, but this was good - great even) and uni! I love uni. And I got to finish up J's as he doesn't (silly boy). Also there was a piece of Albacore, which I keep thinking I'm going to like one of these times. But really, it just doesn't quite do it for me. But I do think that this was pretty darn good Albacore.

And then the Agedashi-dofu (Deep Fried Tofu). Wow. Really, although I'm now saying more; I really shouldn't. Wow really covers it. It was homemade, fresh tofu. And it was amazing. I don't even know how to describe it. It was almost more like a pudding, but it wasn't - it was still tofu. And the broth was fantastic! Now, I'm a huge Agedashi-dofu fan and this was just an amazing version. Now I want another one. Right now.

And finally - codfish. That's when you're sorry that she says something in English. Codfish really isn't what I think of when I'm searching for something out of this world. This was just a very simply grilled (maybe shioyaki - not exactly sure) piece of fish. It was served with a bit of grated daikon (mmm, I love daikon) and a tiny bit of lemon. Simple. Easy. Perfect. No, really - perfect. The fish was so rich it actually melted in my mouth.

J & J ordered dessert. Now I love Japanese food, but not so much the desserts. They got the brown tea mousse and the black sesame ice cream. I tried a bite of both and marginally preferred the mousse. They adored both.

Overall, a total success. Really good food and not super-expensive at all. I'd say try it. But I have to agree with others - I'd prefer for it not to get too 'discovered'.

The Best Banana Bread Ever - Really

2008-04-27T12:14:00.003-04:00

I love banana bread - really, truly love it. Or at least I thought I did. I was starting to believe that really good banana bread was one of those tricks of childhood memory (like remembering that the snow was really, really deep - way over your head - and somehow thinking that made it 6 feet instead of 3 feet).

And then, one day as I was surfing epicurious (as one does, I suppose) and comparing banana bread recipes - and I started reading the comments. And I found that everyone was referring back to a recipe left in a comment, rather than the recipe itself. Intrigued, I kept reading (generally, reading tens or hundreds of somewhat similar comments is not something I recommened, but in this case it led to gold). And I found it - the elusive perfect banana bread recipe (or so claimed by all of these people). And so I tried it. And there it was. It wasn't a childhood creation. Despite what Starbucks and other deli's have done to it - Banana Bread, made well, is in fact one of nature's perfect foods. Each bite was moist (that's what happens when the recipe is 90% butter (yum!)) and banana-y. I reveled in it. And I told people about it. In fact, I recounted it bite by bite for some of my friends.

And, quite understandibly, they asked why I was telling the story, but not providing the bread (it turns out that I am not the only banana bread lover out there). I promised to make some. But the timing was never right. And so I kept talking about it - and they kept being annoyed (I would say justifiably). And then I had the idea. I was going to L's house for dinner. I could bring little mini-banana breads for each person and give them out after dinner (if it's good enough for all the nice restaurants to give a little gift for tomorrow's breakfast, then it's good enough for L. (her apartment is kind of like a good restaurant in that the food is great and I always enjoy myself)). I had grandiose plans of tissue paper and ribbons. I ended up with mini-banana breads in ziploc bags (rubber meets the road and I realize I have to worry about the bread more than the presentation - and not being Martha, I can't do both).

And so, finally, delivery of the breads!

BEST EVER BANANA BREAD

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

3 very ripe bananas (I sometimes throw in an extra if I have it)

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup crushed walnuts (optional - I actually leave them out as I don't like nuts in my banana bread)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla (this was not in the original recipe, but I'm a firm believer that most things taste better with vanilla (normal people also might cut it down to 1t, but...))

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream sugar and butter. Add bananas and eggs beaten. Sift flour,salt and baking soda 3 times (I have never bothered to do this and it's always been fine). Blend and add to banana mixture. Pour patter into a 9x5 loaf pan. Bake for 55 min (or so, definitely test it with a fork as the timing here is really variable). Cool on rack (I've had trouble getting it out of my 9x5 non-stick pan, but then when I made it in these cheap mini-pans for giving out, it popped right out - not sure why)

Enjoy!

Worth the Effort

2008-04-20T18:13:00.003-04:00

Despite the herculian efforts necessary to get downtown to Allen & Delancey for a 7:30 reservation on a night that the pope was in town (let's just say two cabs and 6 blocks running in 5 inch heels and leave it at that) I do think it was worth it. I was totally panicked when it was 7:30 and I was still north of the pope's crossover point, but when I got there, they couldn't have been nicer ("Are you the one who got stuck in pope traffic?").

My friends hadn't even ordered. I even got there in time for the bread - which included a bacon bread (frosted in salt), that was warm and fabulous. We decided to share appetizers and got the scallops, the salad thing and the carmelized marrow. All three were quite good, but I'd have to say that the scallops were my favorite. They were fantastic! Highly recommended.

I ordered the veal. It arrived as medallions wrapped in prociutto, with fried sweetbreads and glazed carrots. It was a very nice combo. The veal was perfectly cooked and the sweetbreads added a nice richness to the veal.

We got the French Toast, which I really liked, and the Carrot cake, which was fine, but a little uninspiring, for dessert.

All in all though, worth the hassle of making a reservation and getting there on a busy night - a great meal!

Worth the Wait?

2008-04-19T18:51:00.002-04:00

I had lunch today at Shake Shack. It was about 80 degrees and the line reflected that. It wrapped around the entire bottom of the park - and stayed that way the entire time I was there (I arrived at 12:50 (after yoga) and finished eating about 3:00). During my entire 2 hour window, the line stretched to almost the exact same point - so a 1 1/2 hour wait for a burger and shake even if you arrived at 3 in the afternoon.

The thing is - if half the reason you're going is for an excuse to hang out in the sun, then it doesn't really matter. I read my book and enjoyed the day.

I had:
1 Shackburger (no lettuce, no tomato - yes to cheese, special sauce, pickles, onions and ketchup)
1 order of fries (which I did not eat even half of, though they were good - and I'm not usually a fan of the crinkly ones)
1 chocolate shake (as much as I like their burgers, and while they're not my favorite in the city, they're good - the shake is one of my big reasons for going).

So, a nice day, a nice meal. But you've got to view the line in a zen way. Through any other lens, it's the silliest thing in the world (i.e., good lunch, but not 90 min wait good - but for someone looking to soak up a little sun, it was perfect).

Perfectly Casual (Bar at the Modern)

2007-04-16T22:11:00.000-04:00

Tonight my friend K was in town. We had made plans to meet up, but I hadn't gotten concrete enough to make reservations (I'm somewhat less stressed about Monday's anyway). So K called at 5pm when she landed and then I realized that I really didn't have a plan at all. Open Table to the rescue. I absolutely adore Open Table when I have to find a restaurant last minute and have no clue what to do - there is something very comforting in knowing your options (otherwise, I find myself overwhelmed by the plethora of possibilities). I searched on all of Manhattan, but then sorted by location. K was staying in Times Square, so I figured that Midtown would be a compromise (both in terms of location and likely in terms of food). And then I saw it. The Bar at the Modern! Perfect. I'd been dying to try it, but hadn't quite made it (I even had a reservation for last week, but I had to cancel).

I arrived a little after 7. K was there, seated with drinks ordered. I choose my friends well. She had decided that we needed cocktails - and why would anyone possibly argue with that. The drink was beautiful. It had rose petals and was called something like Everything's Coming up Roses (or Gather ye Rosebuds While You May or Ring Around the Rosie, Pocket Full of Posies). It was a combo of champagne, some kind of Bacardi thing, Rose's Lime and something else. It was a little sweet, but really nice. And a nice start for the evening. (And the rose petals in the drink were really cool.)

The menu at The Bar at The Modern is divided into thirds: 1 and 2 are appetizer portions, 3 is half portions of entree sizes. We decided to go for two appetizers each. Contrary to my decision last night, I saw the Foie Gras Torchon and had to have it. I love foie gras torchon. It was excellent. Though, I'm not sure what's going on with the bread thing. I'm a big fan of torchon with toast - the heat vs. cold, crunch vs. smooth, etc. They served it with (fabulous) bread, but it just wasn't quite right.

K got the upside down Tuna Tartare. This was amazing. She was nice enough to share (even though I was a horrible food friend and ordered foie gras and veal with a vegetarian friend - apparently I'm better at being the sharee). I would order this another time.

We had indeed both ordered two appetizers. But then there was also the garlic gnocchi, which we decided to have as an inter-mezzo (basically, I was having trouble deciding and K helped me out by making it all work). The gnocchi were amazing. They absolutely melted in your mouth. The roasted garlic added a depth of flavor that was fantastic. And the mushroom sauce was rich without being overwhelmingly heavy. It also had a few fried sweetbreads. It is truly amazing to me the that only place I've ever had fabulous sweetbreads is Momofuku Noodle Bar (really amazing!). These were just sort of like fried somethings - couldn't really tell anything about the flavor. They didn't add to the dish at all. But luckily, they looked good in the initial dish, and the contrast made it easy to pick them out and just concentrate on the (lucious!) gnocchi.

For my final course I had chosen the veal and goat cheese terrine (again, not super-share friendly, but incredibly compelling). It was a great combo - the goat wasn't overpowering, but it did kick up the veal just enough. And it did not look nearly this freaky green in the restaurant lighting.

K got the scallops. Which she really seemed to like. She even said something like, "Wow, these are amazing!" with an earnestness that I trusted. They too could be a dish to try another time.

Of course, when I said 'final' I wasn't including dessert - that comes after the final course. We did decide to share a single dish here (I'm a huge fan of the reduced portions here. I left feeling pleasantly, not grossly, full). While I had fallen down on the not always zeroing in on the foie gras thought, I was determined not to fall into the same trap on the dessert. I ignored the chocolate choice. I offered up 2 options: the Beignets and the Panna Cotta, K neged the Panna Cotta, but mentioned the Cheese Cake (which I'm just not a fan of) - se we chose the Beignets. This totally uniformed choice was potentially the best one I had made all night (aside, of course, from choosing to go there in the first place). This was a fabulous dessert! I will be back so that I can eat this again (and again, etc.). It's a deceptively simple offering. 5 beignets and 3 dips: carmel, ice cream and pureed mango. I cannot even describe how well these work together. I tore my beignets into quarters, dribbled on the carmel (really nice carmel!), added a bit of the ice cream and topped with the mango. Apparently the reason that they give you five is that if they gave you an endless number, you would just keep eating and never leave and they wouldn't be able to turn the table (not to mention the ugliness if after years of eating fabulous beignets, at some point you actually got full and ate a wafer thin mint). I would never have paired mango with carmel. I need to rethink my prejudices.

Truly Great Meal (Veritas)

2007-04-15T22:44:00.000-04:00

Tonight I went out for a nice family dinner with my cousin V and her boyfriend G. I had made a bunch of reservations for the weekend, given her a list and then canceled all of those that she didn't choose. For tonight we went to Veritas - which I've been dying to try as I keep hearing pretty good things about it.

It took as a little while to focus on the menu - G was reading the wine book (serious book!) and G and I were talking and laughing (not the worst way to start a meal). When we finally focused it was a hard choice. I keep feeling like I need to move beyond the automatic - if foie gras is on the menu, I must have it (it's not like I live in Chicago where I would be legally preventing from exercising my freedom to eat (like V&G)). But I do it. It's there. And I can't bear to choose anything else. But I do keep second guessing it. The main is harder - I'm generally not a fish or chicken person, but tonight, that still left the short ribs, the lamb and the venison (the steak also sounded good, but I was trying to focus). I chose the venison. Then G asked a question and I opened my menu back up. Then I slammed (with refinement, it's a nice place) it closed, realizing that opening the menu reopened the decision-making process for me. I answered his question without visual aids.

We had all basically chosen our meals and so we went with the wine selection. We ended up with a Chateauneuf du Pape (both because all 3 of us love to say it and because the sommelier's description was pretty compelling). It was the 2000 Panisse. I really liked it - a bit of earth, a hint of fruit, some spice - it was amazing with the venison (see, I didn't change my mind).

Once we had ordered, they brought the amuse (sorry, no photos tonight). It was seared tuna on a bed of fennel and red pepper. It was good (massive understatement). It was a really nice blend of rich flavors without being overly heavy (and the spicy of the wine also worked really well with it). It would have made a fabulous appetizer, as it was, I used my fork assiduously to make sure that I didn't miss any bits of fennel/red pepper.

The foie gras wasn't earth shattering, but I have to say, the searing was really amazingly well done - it had nice crisp parts on top that gave just the slightest texture contrast that I really liked. I can't remember what the jelly was, but it was very nice. It was a totally solid foie gras dish (good, very good even, but nothing new). V got the mushroom ravioli, which was delicious, but may have been too rich for me if I had tried to eat the whole thing (though it would have been fine to try). G got the hamachi, which was light and flavorful; I think I was just in a 'heavier' mood, what with the rain and cold.

The venison was potentially my favorite dish. V (sounding like she knew what she was talking about) made comparisons between Ohio venison (corn-fed) and Michigan venison (pinecone fed). Her guess was that this was maybe grass fed? Basically, it wasn't overly game-y. But it also wasn't bland. It had a very nice flavor without shouting the game part. And it was Perfectly cooked. If I wanted to define medium-rare, I could just show someone this dish. And I cut through it like butter. It was paired up with some cabbage (very nice), carrots (good) and baby parsnips (had been looking forward to them, but they didn't quite work). I managed to restrain myself from greed for the few moments necessary to graciously share with my friends. And then I dug right in and savored every last morsel. V got the lamb (which could have been a second shot showing the definition of medium rare) which was paired with chevre mashed potatos and white asparagus (I had been seriously tempted by the sides alone). G got the Rib-Eye with Broccoli Rabe (I'm still not going to choose the broccoli rabe without a good reason - but he really enjoyed his.

Veritas is a 3-course menu, which I love because it means you just have to order dessert. G said he was done after the steak. So V and I chose 3 desserts: Rhubarb Crisp, Chocolate Souffle and Banana Florentine (the last was a toss-up between that and the Bamboo Honey Panna Cotta). I first had a bite of the Rhubarb; it was good (it was G's favorite). Then the Banana (I was trying to go lightest to heaviest); it was amazing! Then the Chocolate - it was good (I think it was V's favorite) - my issue is with the definition of souffle, I like chocolate cake with molten centers (a lot), but for my souffles, I like the more dramatic ones. I kept coming back to the Banana (with hte creme fraiche ice cream). It was somehow like a banana pancake paired with fried bananas. I am a huge fan.

Then we got the petit fours. Because we weren't full. The first was a black currant jelly (needed the wine, but I had finished my last glass) because it was too rich otherwise; a coconut macaroon (very nice indeed) and a carmel and nut square (the walnuts were a bit sharp). I was too full to do them justice, but do very much appreciate the thought.

Barefoot in Butter

2007-04-14T14:15:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, I went over for a casual dinner at C&L's house. C had told me that if I made it early I could join the kids in making cupcakes. I got there just as A was 'helping' to sift the cocoa. It was then that I realized that these were not Duncan Hines. C had pulled out the Barefoot Contessa for kids cupcakes. Works for me. I like butter. A lot.

We had a little problem with the mixer, so we ended up using the food processor for the batter. It looked really cool.

And tasted mighty good on the end of an index finger.

Now, I'm not generally a fan of cupcakes - cake in general just isn't my favorite way to get my sugar-fix - but these really looked yummy.

And they tasted quite good as a pre-dinner 'snack' (just one, we had to save some for dessert).

Luckily, C had planned the whole dinner from Barefoot Contessa and so there were still plenty of other things to add butter to. Her menu was Chicken Piccatta, Roasted Onions and Sauteed Greens. I actually would have been better off making the Chicken Piccatta the night before (I'd had a bad day at the office and all the pounding would have been perfect, but I managed to do it even while not working out frustration). It's actually a pretty easy dish to make (I'd never made it before and was surprised how fast it was (pounding the chicken flat actually took the most time)). The onions were easy - C had made a marinade, I dumped them on a cookie sheet, roasted for 40 minutes and we were good to go. The green vegetables (asparagus, green beans, broccolli rabe) were just cooked in butter.

We ate this fabulous meal (easy and fabulous - just don't skimp on the butter) with a Freedman and a Sea Smoke Pinot (both 2004s?). The Freedman worked really well with the piccatta - the strong fruit with the lemon in the sauce. The Sea Smoke was just fabulous.

I need to buy the cookbook. And more butter. Soon.

Casual Friday (Mussels)

2007-04-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

It's been a long week. And the weather hasn't helped. L and I decided that dinner and a movie (video of Devil Wears Prada, which amazingly neither of us had seen) would be a perfect (if unexciting evening). Since it had been so good before, we decided to try the Moules Marinieres again. This time I used a Navarro Chardonnay and shallots. It was fabulous! And still easy!

I also added a bread option (toasted with olive oil). But really, the linguine was so much better I barely had any of the bread.

There's No Place Like Home (Yakitori Totto)

2007-04-13T18:31:00.000-04:00

Finding good, authentic Japanese food, even here in NY isn't the easiest thing in the world. That's one of the reasons I was so bummed when Honmura An closed. And why I was only cautiously optimistic when M suggested that we go out for a casual dinner to Yakitori Totto (55th between Broadway and 8th). M is pretty good with choosing restaurants so I figured we couldn't go too wrong. But I wouldn't even have dared hope that it would be as good as it was.

My first view was pretty encouraging. This place could pretty much have been plunked right out of Tokyo. The menu made me even happier - there were some choices that really excited me. We decided to order as a table. Before we even got to the stuff on sticks, M suggested (from her previous visits) the gyoza and the homemade tofu.

The tofu came out first. But not to eat. Patience! It was a soy liquid in this very cute little cooker. Very cool.

But not sufficient, I was hungry. I was ready for food. Luckily the gyoza came very quickly (that's the gyoza on the right - half of them anyway, I had to try one before I could pause to take the photo).

And even more luckily, they were absolutely delicious. These were some of the best gyoza ever. Really! They were juicy and flavorful. I could have eaten thousands (okay, maybe a slight exaggeration), though we only had 6 on the plate - which was still 2 each. (We ordered a second plate, so technically I ate 4.5 (N couldn't finish her last one and so M and I split it)).

Finally, the sticks started coming. We ordered tskune (chicken meatballs), yakitori (barbequed chicken), pork and scallions, little green peppers, grilled garlic and asparagus wrapped in bacon. I think the tskune, pork, peppers and asparagus were my favorites.

After all of those, I was starting to feel more full - and it was finally time for the tofu. Now, if you've never had fresh tofu, you don't know what you're missing. At the waitress' suggestion, we added just a bit of salt and dug in. It was light and smooth - and just good.

We decided to end the main part of our meal with ocha zuke, which is basically just the Japanese version of a savory rice pudding. We were sharing and got the salmon one. I was so-so 0n it, but would like to try the plum one. I will say though that the presentation was amazing (and the pickle ws some of the best I had ever had).

I'm not normally a huge fan of Japanese desserts. I'm okay with them, but it's not my first choice. M made a case for the Frozen Banana (okay, not really a case - she just said she was ordering it and wanted the whole thing and we should do what we wanted). I figured that was a pretty good recommendation and so I ordered one too. I got a bowl of coconut milk with tapioca pearls, frozen ripe bananas and a little mint. It was actually a bit more like a Thai dessert. And I love Thai desserts. It was awesome!! I was really glad that I had the whole thing - and almost reached over and finished N's when she couldn't, but my full stomach actually physically preveneted me (probably for the best).

I can't wait to go back!

Sugar

2007-04-09T21:34:00.000-04:00

I eat sugar. I love sugar. I'm okay with the fact that sugar has calories. I eat sugar in moderation (except, sometimes, when I don't - but I try to moderate the number of times that happens). I'm not looking for a free lunch. Or even a free dessert. I'm not trying to have my cake and eat it too.

However, it seems (at least from what we see in the Splenda v. Equal battle) that there are a number of people who believe that they can eat calorie-less sugar (something that doesn't exist). And Equal is saying (from what I can tell), that these people are victims. Equal is saying that people who interpret "Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar" to mean that it is sugar have been willfully misled. When I say my spaghetti sauce is made from tomatos, my friends don't assume that they'll get a big round red tomato on top of their pasta. They assume they'll get a sauce that has tomatos as one of the (potentially almost infinite number of) ingredients. That's what the words "Made from" mean.

I would say rather that they've been artfully advertised to (granted, it's a somewhat fine line - but these are the same people who tell their kids not to believe everything they see on television). People are looking for the easy way out; advertising (for these folks) is about helping them feel like they've found it. If you're looking for a magic shortcut, you need to take some responsibility for the fact that you might not get exactly what you want (as an example, the magic beans put Jack face to face (sort of) with a giant (not exactly what he had envisioned) - that's why I tend to stick to the more tried and true).

What you think you're getting is often (always?) colored by what you hope (or fear) you're getting. But it's not anyone's responsibility to protect people from their wishful assumptions (other than maybe a good friend, but certainly not the government). People need to take responsibility for their choices - right down to the yellow, the blue or the white little packet.

And, of course, the only reason it's at trial is that Equal is mad that their tag-line wasn't as good. Rather than lawyers, they should have spent their money on a different ad firm.

Family Dinner (Leela Lounge)

2007-04-08T22:36:00.000-04:00

When my family gets together, we generally eat Indian. To be honest, I'm not sure how it started, but it really is our go-to cusine. With O being a vegetarian, it's definitely one of the easier choices and so I decided to find a new Indian place for us to try when he was here. I hit on Leela Lounge and knowing that we'd be coming from an Oliver Twist matinee (Theater for a New Audience - along with CSC my two favorite theaters/companies), I figured it was pretty convenient too. The theater ended up being west of Columbus Circle (usually they perform on 42nd), but even with the after-show talk, we were still really early and so decided to walk (I love walking, even more so when I know that there's a good, filling meal at the end of it).

By the time we walked into Leela Lounge we were pretty hungry - which is me trying to explain why I thought ordering 4 appetizers and 2 mains was reasonable for 2 people. But before we even got to that, mango lassis sounded really good and so we each ordered one. They were a beautiful yellowy-orange color (and reasonably filling)

The appetizers sounded great, they weren't super pricey ($6 or 7 each) and I was really hungry. O is pretty agreeable and so we ordered the previously mentioned 4: Spinach and corn fritters, Vegetable pakora, Samosa and (basically) Indian jalepeno poppers.

The spinach and corn fritters were a bit of a disappointment. They tasted okay if you dipped them in enough of the mint chutney, but overall for someone who loves spinach as much as I do, they just didn't quite do it. The samosas on the other hand were wonderful! They had mushrooms, which is a nice little twist, but I think it was the quality of the crust that really did it for me. Definitely a keeper.

The vegetable pakoras were okay. I guess I prefer mine with whole chunks of vegetables deep fried. These had a variety of vegetables finely chopped. The batter was great, but overall I'll stick to the more traditional inside. One bite of the jalepenos though and I knew I had something that both my brother and my dad (even though he wasn't here, having just introduced him to 'regular' jalepeno poppers in Ft. Meyers, I thought of him) would love. They were stuffed with potato and peanut and chili. Very different from 'regular' poppers, but appealing to a similar taste. I'd go back for them. And in fact, may go back the next time my dad is in town.

All of our appetizers had been vegetarian, which wasn't a hardship for me at all. But I wasn't as enchanted with the vegetarian mains and so O and I decided to order separately. He went for the tofu in a peanut chili sauce. It was good, though perhaps a little sweeter than I had anticipated. I think it needed a bit more heat (we had ordered it spicy), but it worked very well when I had a couple of bites with my spicier dish.

I went for the Lamb Gosht. It was heavenly! The description in the menu did not do it justice. It was a fabulous curry, but I almost didn't order it because the menu description just didn't do it for me. I talked to the waiter though and we settled on it. I was so very happy.

We ended up leaving with two very full bags of leftovers (they do a marvelous job of packing up). I don't think we even ate half of what we were given (so we would still have had leftovers if we had been rational and ordered 2 appetizers). The Lamb Gosht was fabulous for lunch today though - I gave the rest of the stuff to O for his car ride, but I'm assuming that he enjoyed it as much as he did yesterday. All in all, good Indian, with a little variety from the standard, for a very decent price.

Cafe au Lait (Le Pain Quotidien)

2007-04-07T22:03:00.000-04:00

I was first introduced to Le Pain Quotidien in Paris - as a great place to have a meal that was more reminiscent of an American brunch (though with better bread). Since being back in NY, while I am not a regular, I do enjoy their drinks and pastries when it's convenient. (I might also say that it is likely one of the contributing factors to my going back on to caffeine. (I stopped drinking Diet Coke (2 pack a day habit) about 10 years ago and de facto gave up most caffeine (I hadn't been a big coffee drinker and chocolate doesn't count). But while I was in Paris, I fell for the idea of the social coffee, the cafe au lait for a leisurely breakfast, etc., but didn't quite go back on. But when I moved back to NY and so much of the coffee scene was what I had liked about Paris' and I realized it wasn't temporary, I started drinking coffee again (decaf). It's not just the flavor (which I like), it's the whole ritual/aura of it. I'm enjoying being a coffee drinker.) )

Today my brother, O, was in town and I was trying to figure out a good, relatively quick place for brunch - and realized it was perfect. We were walking back to my place from yoga and so we stopped off (and while I'm not generally a huge fan of chains, the food here doesn't seem to suffer and it's nice to have them conveniently dotted throughout the city). We were in the one on Lex at 63rd, which has a nice little sunroom in that back that I quite like.

I ordered a bowl of cafe au lait (decaf - it really is more the whole spirit of it than the caffeine) - which was perfect. Picking up the warm bowl in two hands, inhaling the smell of the coffee and milk - it's perfect.

O got an orange juice - which he said was quite good.

We decided to share two of their platters. The Mediterranean, which was tabouleh, hummus and babaganoush

And the cheese, which was Gruyere, Brie, Blue and something else I can't remember.

The meals here are good because all the parts are good - the bread is great, the cheese was really nice and the hummus/tabouleh/babaganoush were tasty. It's a nice casual brunch place, with the whole cafe au lait in a bowl aura that made me go back to coffee in the first place.

Condrieu

2007-04-06T18:29:00.000-04:00

I had never even heard of Condrieu until C&L's wine tasting a couple of weeks ago. As a less-than-enthusiastic white drinker, I tried it only because it was the only thing open (I was there a bit early (invited early to help, not because I don't know how to read an invitation)) and I had had a long day and was ready for the weekend to officially 'start'.

I had a sip. Paused. Felt a confused facial expression cross my face. I had another sip. I liked it. It wasn't just that it was drinkable (as I find some whites). It was delicious. I really liked it. I actually went back for seconds (even knowing that we were going to very soon be tasting the Chateauneuf du Pape's that I love). I guess that it's true as with so many other things, just when you stop looking, that's when you find it. I found a white that really worked for me.

And then in this week's Times I found out that this is a wine experiencing a resurgence of popularity - a fashionable wine (I guess should have assumed that, given that I (Miss Fashionable) liked it so much). They even reviewed the one I liked the Guigal Blanc 2004 - they gave it 2 1/2 stars, but considered it one of their Best Values.

Interestingly enough, this is a wine that was almost wiped out except for the New World's interest in the viognier grape (a wine I'm so-so on) - and so I can now live my life safe in the knowledge that I truly like (some) white wine.

Dumplings

2007-04-04T20:10:00.000-04:00

J laughed a little about my fear of dumplings, but she was nice enough to send the recipe along. Turns out that it's from epicurious - and she claims it's not only easy, it's foolproof. I need to try it - I don't know why dumplings have always daunted me.

Beef and broccoli wontons with ginger dipping sauce

My friend L has also promised to invite me over for a dumpling party - I feel the stars aligning for me to have my first dumpling making experience.

KISS

2007-04-03T20:44:00.000-04:00

I spend so much time thinking about well prepared food, that I sometimes forget how good simple food can be. And then I had a grapefruit for breakfast. Wow, makes me contemplate giving up cooking - it was so good (and talk about quick - just one cut with the knife).

Variations

2007-04-01T13:09:00.000-04:00

I use a number of different sources for my recipes, but Epicurious is one of my favorites - because it is so easy. I can type in whatever it is I'm thinking (a particular course, an ingredient, etc.) and instantly find options.

I like reading the reviews, not that I always listen to what others say, but I often find it helpful to see other people's experiences. Small variations, unexpected occurances, etc. - it's like having a friend who cooked it give you advice. What I tend not to find helpful is when people make it into a totally different recipe - and based on comments I've seen, I was pretty sure that I was not the only one who got irritated when these folks rate something totally different from what they actually made.

I didn't, however, understand how widespread the problem was until I saw the NY Times article For Orange Zest, Substitute Kool-Aid. I think my favorite was the chicken tenders substituted for sushi-grade tuna (it's like a bad April Fools joke).

Food Stress

2007-03-31T18:54:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday, we had our Literary Salon (i.e., Book Club) at J's house. Now, our whole group is a fan of good food (and J is often the one leading the charge on ensuring dessert, so she's right there too), but some of us also love cooking and some of us don't - and J is in the latter category.

And so, as the date of the event approached, her anxiety level rose. She started stressing out over what we would order. Understanding the importance of food to this group, she stressed on whether people would be happy with delivery. Now, we all know that I'm a fussy eater, but I love this group and so I would be happy even without food (I guess to be perfectly honest I'd rather have no food than bad food), but I certainly didn't think it was worth her stressing out about (not that she would listen).

Anyway, the night arrived, and I wasn't sure what she had decided. I arrived - late (work is overrated) as J was finishing up a tour of the apartment. She had arranged a nice big table (actually hers and her neighbor's kitchen tables pushed together - NY is all about being resourceful!) in her dining area. She sat us down, put out two big bowls of dumplings and passed around a menu to order.

I was confused. Had she already ordered food? Was she going to order again? Where had the dumplings come from? Carelessly, she brushed the question away, she had made those, but they were "no big deal". Now, granted, I was hungry - but that wasn't the only reason that I ate 18 or so (but who's counting) of these most Excellent dumplings - I ate them because they were fabulous. Apparently they were beef and broccoli (a good start to anything) and she had made a dipping sauce with fresh ginger and garlic.

We did in fact order from Land Thai, a perfectly good Thai restaurant on the UWS and the food was good. But I could have survived quite happily just on the dumplings (I was honestly stuffed before the 'real' food arrived.). We had ordered a bunch of dishes and I tried bites of everything, but (honestly!) the high (food) point for me had already passed - but then, I'm a huge dumpling fan.

I hadn't even stopped to consider what she would offer for dessert, assuming that this would be something purchased. But here again, J surprised me. She had baked A's very favorite cupcakes to celebrate his birthday (2 weeks before, but then we can't schedule our Salon just to conform to A's birthday).

I personally saw him eat 3, though he may have gotten a fourth one in when I wasn't paying attention (and he took all of the 'extras' home). For someone who "doesn't know how to cook", J proved to be a perfect hostess because she concentrated on what she thought her guests would like. Cooking is just a way to entertain, but as J ably demonstrated, the best way to be a good hostess is to know what will make your guests happy (even if it's a cake mix out of a box).

The Answer

2007-03-26T19:48:00.000-04:00

On my way to work this morning, I realized that I hadn't answered THE question in my last post. Last week's NY Times offered up the thought that maybe, just maybe, you don't need to cook only with a wine you would drink. I agonized over this knowing that a few days later I would be making Beef Bourguignon - which is one of the more wine intensive dishes that I ever cook. I went to the wine store without a firm decision on which way I would go (placing my meal in the hands of fate). The nice gentleman who helped me suggested that I could cook with a nice, cheaper California Pinot. One of the (few) definitive results in the Times had been the idea that less tannic wines cook better. And so I thought about the more typical, fruitier California wines - and finally, a decision: I bought the cheaper wine to cook with.

And it was fantastic! The recipe called for a cup, I used the whole bottle (why use water when you can use wine - especially wine you wouldn't otherwise drink). I can't believe that it could have been any better with a better wine (like those that we did drink).

A Little French Flavor At My House

2007-03-25T17:25:00.000-04:00

I had my friends P and S over for dinner last night. It had taken us a while to find a date that worked for us, but it finally happened. I was running a little late (due to that rather extended Amy Ruth's lunch), but I managed to mostly be ready on time. And I did have a cheese plate ready to go to cover my lack of perfect timing.

For the cheese plate, I had chosen:

L'Edel de Celeron
5 Year Aged Gouda
Manchego
Maytag Blue

I thought it worked well as a combination of flavors, textures, etc. (I did have a slight problem though in the my crackers were 'off', but it was sort-of like a corked wine where you aren't really sure, but luckily I had another box, which were fine, and we continued on with our evening.) We started with a 2005 Morgon, Sarl Marcel Lapierre which was nice.

A little later than planned, we sat down for our appetizer. I had made Epicurious' Twice-Baked Goat Cheese Souffle on a bed of Greens. I made a sherry vinegar vinagrette for the greens and put the cream mentioned in the recipe on the souffle. It tasted good, but I feel like I could have done a better job on the presentation. We moved on to a 2003 Cote Chalonnaise La Digoine, at that point which I really liked and that I thought worked well with the souffle.

For the main course, I went with Beef Bourguignon. I used the recipe from Bourdain's Les Halles cookbook (I don't want to copy his whole cookbook on this blog (I used his mussels with white wine last week), but highly (!) recommend it as a great cookbook). I will say that his recipe called for 4 onions, I cut up 3 large, but it really looked like too much, so I only used about 2 - I can't really imagine that he meant 4 large onions. I did follow his recommendation that a couple of spoonfuls of demi-glace would improve the dish; I don't know if that's what did it, but (with all modesty) it was fantastic - it was really rich, with a huge depth of flavor, the meat and the carrots were both incredibly tender. We all had seconds (the recipe says it serves 6, but with just 3 of us, we almost finished it all). I paired it with some Parpadelle Egg Noodles which worked well.

Our final wine was a 1997 Vincent Girardin Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru, which really was amazing - and worked well with the Beef.

I finished up with creme brulee (since I love it so much - and, if nothing else, I figured that the guys would have fun helping to torch the top). I used the recipe for this from Bourdain as well (I consider myself somewhat of a creme brulee expert and this is the best recipe that I've found for it - though I did just hear that the Balthazar cookbook might have one that could be competitive).

I paired the creme brulee with my last bottle of the 2001 Trentadue Vigonier Port - which just works so well with this type of creamy dessert.

Not Just for Breakfast Anymore (Amy Ruth's)

2007-03-25T16:30:00.000-04:00

My friends M (of What's Left Behind ) and S were in town this weekend - and time with them always means food, good food. Given their willingness to go to anywhere for good food, I suggested that we head uptown (i.e., convenient to none of us) to Amy Ruth's (116th between Lenox and 7th - right near the 2/3 subway station). I had never been, but had heard great things about it.

When we got there, we were told that breakfast was no longer being served, I was a bit concerned as I had heard great things about the waffle and fried chicken option. It turns out that I needn't have worried, waffles are apparantly not just for breakfast anymore (the waffle section on the menu is as big as the breakfast section).

Once seated, I read over the menu, but now that I knew that waffles were back to being an option - I knew that I was getting the waffles and fried chicken. Every minute I was there, I was more convinced that this was a great place: there wasn't a line (though there was a big one on the way out), everyone gave us very warm welcomes and then - there on the menu - I saw what for me clinched that it was my kind of place "Only real maple syrup served", I was very happy - that's a rule that all places should have. As soon as we ordered, they brought us biscuits. They were fantastic!

Now interestingly enough, they weren't what I normally would have considered biscuits being more bready than flakey - but the flavor was incredible. I could have eaten a dozen, which luckily, they did not bring - because I still had my meal to go. And with the mac & cheese on the side (couldn't resist ordering it), I needed all the space I could get.

I am now including a gratuitous maple syrup photo, because proper respect for a restaurant that serves the real stuff demands at least that.

I was excited for the meal, but let's be honest, I figured that the waffle would be a mere vehicle for the fried chicken and maple syrup combination. Oh, to be wrong like this more often... This was easily the best waffle I have ever had. This was actually better than I would have thought waffles could taste. Most waffles (especially this Belgian-style kind) seem to be kind of cardboard-y. This had a soft moist interior that was absolutely delicious. I savored each bite - some with chicken and maple syrup, some just with the syrup (and butter, of course). It was heavenly.

And then I tried the mac & cheese - and to think I hadn't thought it could get better. If this wasn't the best mac & cheese I've ever had, it was darn close. I think that it had some sour cream or something in, it was rich and tangy. The only downside was that I really couldn't finish everything and I had the constant dilemma of whether I wanted to prioritze the waffle/chicken or the mac & cheese. As far as problems go, that's not a bad one to have though.

M and S both had waffles with fruit (apples and blueberries, respectively) and enjoyed theirs as well. They also tried the mac & cheese and supported my assertion that it was amazing. We spent some time talking after we had finished and never felt rushed. All in all, between the service and the food - I am a huge fan of this place.

Kitchen Myth?

2007-03-23T15:00:00.000-04:00

Like so many others, I've lived by the "never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink" rule. Planning a meal for tomorrow that involves a significant amount of wine (details after the meal actually happens), I'm in a bit of a quandary. Do I continue behavior that has worked quite well for me in the past? Or do I (courtesy of the NY Times) stop living in my urban-myth-type world? Do I risk my friends' taste buds in the pursuit of truth? Or do I take the safe way out?

I haven't decided. I think it will come down to the wire.

Beef 'n Babes (StripHouse)

2007-03-22T21:09:00.000-04:00

My friend H has an annual dinner she calls Beef 'n Babes. She gets a group of women together once a year for an all out steak dinner at a different steakhouse in town. It's one of my favorite meals all year. This year's was last Saturday. And so we braved the wintery weather and headed to East 13th between University and 5th.

I got really excited when I walked in because it's just such a cool place. The walls are lit with red and lined with photos. The room itself is long and thin with banquettes along all the walls. We ended up in a table at the center, but I would definitely want a banquette next time. And there will be a next time. Not only is the atmosphere great, the service was also fantastic.

When we finally got around to menus, we started with the wine. I went with a Bordeaux because I like them with my steaks. After some serious consideration, we chose the Chateau Bahans Haut Brion 2001. It was amazing. The rest of the ordering wasn't that tough - I knew going in that I'd be getting a steak.

After we dealt with the menus, they brought us a little soup as an amuse bouche. L was skeptical because when we went to Ureno we got a soup amuse there that smelled better than anything, but the flavor didn't measure up. But that didn't happen here - this one tasted as good as it smelled. It was a Celery Potato Puree with Parsley Oil. It was awesome!

I then had the Bibb Lettuce Salad, with onions, bacon, blue cheese. It was a very nice, light salad.

For my steak, I chose the Rib Eye. And got the Truffled Creamed Spinach to go with it, even though no one else wanted any (I just don't believe that you can skip creamed spinach if it's available - it seems like it should be impossible to do). We also got the fries, the mushrooms and the green beans to share, but while the others were great, I concentrated on the steak and spinach. And the steak was perfect. It was perfectly medium-rare. And the outside was full of flavor. It was awesome.

Despite being very full (very, very full), we got dessert. We shared and went with the Apple Strudel. The flavors were good, but there was a bit too much apple for me - the balance between the apple and the pastry (which was awesome) wasn't quite right. It was okay, but it didn't measure up to the rest of the meal.

I'm not planning to wait til next year to go back (besides, H tries to keep us adventurous, trying different places every year).

Just Drinks (Flatiron Lounge)

2007-03-21T00:17:00.000-04:00

So tonight H, L and J had planned after dinner drinks with a bunch of friends. I was running late and worried that I would get there just to see them all leave. But, being social and loving my friends I made the trek down to 19th (between 5th and 6th) for what I assumed would be a quick drink as everyone got ready to leave. Three hours later I realized that I needn't have worried.

I ordered a Qupe Syrah. Now, this is one of my bar standby wines. It's not going to set your world on fire, but it's a good solid Syrah and often one on the 'by the glass' menu. I consider it a welcome sight on any such menu. And tonight it came through; it did not disappoint.

That said, the Flatiron Lounge is not a place to be drinking wine. It is a cocktail lounge, if at all possible, one should have a cocktail (and be very happy about it). Unfortunately for me, I wanted wine (there's no accounting for taste). Ignoring that, they definitely pass my cocktail bar 'sniff test' (i.e., check and see if they have Hendrick's Gin, if they do, they probably know what they're doing - I didn't say it was a complicated test). And that's not even commenting on the really great atmosphere/decor - it's a perfect cocktail lounge.

H ordered a Mule, which turned out to be an awesome choice. It was mint, ginger, muddled raspberries (most drinks are better if something is muddled) and rye wiskey (and I have the sneaking suspicion that there was something else - I'll have to check with H and confirm). But it was fantastic - not sickeningly sweet, but rather complex with a hint of sweetness.

D drank bourbon. On the rocks. A real drink. How much can you tell about someone by what they drink?

Numbers

2007-03-17T08:29:00.000-04:00

So last night, I went to a wine tasting at C & L's. As one might expect, it was fabulous. It was primarily a Châteauneuf-du-Pape tasting (which is great, not just because it tastes good, but also because it's fun to say - really, try it: Châteauneuf-du-Pape). We also tried a few Cotes du Rhone as well as starting off with a couple of Condrieus (which I had never tried, but quite enjoyed (rare for me with whites) and look forward to drinking more of).

The problem is that I have no valuable information to report back on. I can say that the wines were fabulous (with the exception of '5', which I didn't particularly care for (though L really liked it, so I'm fairly confident it had some redeeming qualities)), but given the fact that the only thing I can remember is that it was '5', doesn't really tell anyone anything. I also quite enjoyed '6', '10' and 'B' (the last was a Cote du Rhone, the numbered ones were Châteauneuf-du-Papes) and that 'C' would have done very well with a nice, juicy, medium-rare Sirloin. The issue is that by the time we got around to unveiling the actual names, I had had enough good wine that trying to remember details of names was not exactly top of mind. As always, the devil is in the details.

I will add that watching people choose wines in an unstructured, blind tasting is interesting. There are a small group of folks who start with '1' and continue in order until they hit the end. A few of their counterparts start at the top (in this case '13') and work down. Then there are those who choose the nearest bottle at any given point, but make notes to ensure they're not doubling up. And finally the smallest group just choose randomly and hope that if they double up, it's on the ones that they most liked. I tried to convince folks that I was using the Fibonacci Sequence to choose, but my friends aren't idiots, so they didn't believe me.

Girls Night In

2007-03-14T23:05:00.000-04:00

L and I try to throw a dinner party every month or so. Last night was pretty much the usual crowd: the two of us plus H, C and J. I had a fairly busy day and so L volunteered to figure out what we'd make. We prepped on Monday night (our usual 2 night schedule), but somehow were a bit off on our timing and so dinner was a bit later than usual. Luckily, we had a cheese platter and fabulous conversation.

When we finally sat down, we started with the beet salad, as is often true, this was a last minute grab from epicurious - the only difference was that it was L, not me that went that route. She chose the Roasted Beet Salad with Beet Greens and Feta. It was amazing! I had been skeptical of the combination (I didn't know if I liked beet greens and wasn't sure what the capers were going to do), but the flavors really worked! It was the sweetness of the beets with thte salt of the feta and capers and the vinagrette was just light and perfect. The only change I would make would be that I would bake the beets in tin foil rather than in a pan of water (it took way too long - not the one hour that the recipe called for). Oh yeah, this wasn't quite enough feta - I stopped because the plate looked over-full, but we ended up using everything from the recipe.

Our main course was a chicken dish: Chicken Fricassee with Carrots, Mustard Greens and Avgolemono Sauce - keeping with the sort of vague Greek theme (the feta, etc.). The recipe called for mustard greens, but they didn't have any (tried multiple places), so L bought broccoli rabe. Now, it turns out that I usually hate broccoli rabe - and amazingly, so do 4 of the 5 people at the dinner (pretty much just L likes it), but somehow, it tasted good - better than good even. It was really nice! The dish itself had a nice lemony flavor with a really rich sauce, but kept from being overpowering by all the vegetables. It's definitely good, but a little time consuming - I liked it but unless I figure out a faster way to make it, I might be done with it for now.

And for dessert, I chose the Swiss Honey-Walnut Tart. I had wanted something with honey in it (again, going with the quasi-Greek thing) and this (despite the 'Swiss' thing), seemed like a good bet. When it got out of the oven, it looked really good!

It looked even better when we cut into it

And even better when I got it on a plate with whipped cream

It tasted strongly of walnuts and honey (no huge surprise). You definitely need to like those strong flavors (this was the honey from my brother's friend's farm, not the bland grocery store stuff), but the dish worked really for those who did.

Simplicity (Mussels and Linguine)

2007-03-13T01:09:00.000-04:00

So, every month (or so), L and I like to do a big dinner. We initially tried to schedule these on a weekend, but could never get everyone's calendars to work. So we came up with the two night plan: we shop and prep the first night, finish, serve and eat the second. It's been a very successful plan so far.

We're having the dinner tomorrow and normally that would mean a plan made over the weekend. But, that didn't quite happen. And then my day was a bit out of control today. And so L just picked the dinner (details tomorrow, when we finish and eat it) - and offered to do the bulk of the shopping (and, really, that's not why we're friends). I bought some of the rarer items, as well as dessert items (L sometimes doesn't properly prioritize dessert - but I know J is coming, so I know that I have to).

We started these meals after we took a knife skills class. It was supposed to be a way to practice. And we do try to watch our form (L did a very good job on it tonight!). Lately, we've settled into a routine where she does the bulk of the prep, I help, but I also mix up something easy for the first night dinner. The only problem with L is that she's not as big of a meat eater as I am. So I was standing in the store facing the fish counter, trying not to notice the beautiful lamb just off to my right, when I saw them. $2.99 a pound. Beautiful. Black. Shiny. Mussels.

How hard (I asked myself) could it be to make mussels with a wine sauce. I had wine. I had onions. I had garlic. I had just gotten parsley (for tomorrow's dinner - not really a rare item, but they were out of it at the other grocery). How many other things could really be in a basic recipe. (I've never before shopped for a 'specific' recipe without having ever looked at it before). And best of all, I'd seen L order it in a restaurant, so I figured she had to like it. It was decided. I was the decider.

I arrived home to find L already elbow deep in chicken (again, for tomorrow). I explained what I planned. She didn't believe it. I pulled out my Anthony Bourdain cookbook (Les Halles - I love it, because, really, what other cookbook has "Just to show them who's their daddy" as part of a recipe -- that and the fact that everything I've ever made from it has been good) and figured he had to have the recipe. I flipped past Moules Normandes and Moules a la Portugaise and stopped on Moules Marinieres

Moules Marinieres
Adapted from Anthony Bourdain, Les Halles Cookbook
Serves 2 (his recipe is for 4 and is double everything, except the parsley)

2 ounces butter
1 small onion (he uses shallots, which I didn’t have)
1 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper
3 lbs of mussels
4 sprigs of flat parsley (he uses 4 also, but we like parsley and so went a bit heavy)
Lemon (this is our addition, we happened to have it, and it was a nice addition - squeeze on at the table)
1 pack of linguine

Heat butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once melted, add onions. Put the pasta water on to boil.
Cook til soft and beginning to brown (he says 2 minutes, I did it for significantly longer – but, again, mine were onions)
Add wine and bring to a boil (“cranking up the heat all the way)
Season with salt and pepper
Dump the mussels into the pot and slap on the lid. Add the pasta to the boiling water (should be boiling just about now)
Cook just until all the mussels are open all the way (he says 10 minutes, no more – I did it for 8)
Shake the pot, keeping the lid firmly pressed on the top. Add the parsley. Shake again.
You can toss in an additional knob of softened butter (and, of course, I did)
Pour into warmed serving bowl
Enjoy!

This was it. The recipe I had wanted. I had known it would be simple, but this was ridiculous. L expressed disbelief that I was making it. I headed for the fridge for a quality white. I chose the 2004 Navarro Sauvignon Blanc (with the rule that you have to cook with a wine you would drink, I had to go for that over the Chardonnays, because I would never really willingly drink a California Chardonnay). To start the recipe, I poured myself a glass. I decided then and there that I liked this recipe. It was short. It was sweet. And it started with a nice glass of wine.

While L continued to slave away at dinner for tomorrow, I managed to look busy, enjoy my wine and put together the single easiest dinner I have ever served a guest (never served a guest an Egg in the Hole, which is the only thing I can think of that would be in the running). In very short order (probably 25 minutes, including time for me to enjoy my wine), the dinner was ready. And it looked beautiful!

And it tasted even better. I have found a new standard recipe. I will be making this more often, because: 1. It is fantastic, 2. It is easy, and 3. It is impressive. The nice man at the market had insisted that while 1.6lbs of mussels looked like a lot, it wasn't. And so I had ended up with something very close to 3lbs (he threw in a couple on top of the final weight, which is just a great feeling). While L and I could potentially have been satisfied with the 1.6lbs. We felt compelled to not waste any of the 3 (I don't always insist on cleaning my plate, but with these, it really felt like a horrible crime). And so, I've enclosed a picture of my third helping. It's not as dramatic as the first, but it tasted just as good!

Casual Saturday (Le Bistro Steak)

2007-03-11T23:28:00.000-04:00

Between the flu, surgery, a busy work schedule, etc. we weren't a particularly energetic group on Saturday night. But it had been a while since we had had dinner and so J, B, M, V and I ended up at a casual, relaxed meal at Le Bistro Steak (75th & 3rd). I'm always happy with steak and especially love it when I can walk there, so I was happy with the choice.

B took charge of the wine list and chose the Chateau de Clairefont '04. And then it happened, the test. B wasn't sure - was it corked? I tried it. It did taste off. I concurred - I think it's corked. So, the first test was for us, the diners - that's only the third time in my entire life that I've tried a corked bottle, and it's not as easy to tell as one would think. The second test is for the restaurant. How do they handle it? And they couldn't have handled it better. They were willing to change the bottle as soon as we raised the issue. They didn't insist on them trying it, they didn't insist that we get another of the same (though we did) - they just wanted to know what we wanted to do. I love it when I actually run across customer service - it seems to be becoming quite a scarce commodity. And the second bottle was good - even better once it opened up.

V pointed out the fried oysters on the menu. Somhow, I had missed them - the 'Crispy Oyster' name didn't quite pop in my head. I wasn't starving, so I suggested that we split an order - M & V were enthusiastic. I was enthusiastic when I got the plate because it looked good (I took the picture after a little reshuffling, it was a better plating than it appears here). And, it tasted even better. These were really good fried oysters! I really wasn't that hungry, but I could have eaten a whole bunch more. (And the salad it came with - very simple greens with simple dressing - was really nice. It was totally delicious.)

M and I decided to split the 16oz Dry Aged Sirloin, medium rare (it's not how I choose my friends, but it does help when it happens) and chose the (regular fat) mashed potatoes (V actually got the low fat, and while the regular fat were better (I did a little taste test), the low fat were decent (which surprised me as I'm not ususally a fan of low fat anything)). The steak itself was very nice (though not the best I've ever had - I am concerned that the Lobel's has spoiled me for all else).

We decided to order 3 desserts. But we were unable to agree on a third and so only ended up with 2. It ended up being plenty. The first was the Banana Cream Pie. It had a lot more fresh banana than usual. I really liked it as a slightly different way to do a pretty common dish, though some others said they would have preffered a more typical cream pie.

The second winner was the Chocolate Mousse. It was a nice deep, solid chocolate taste balanced with the light moussey-ness. I probably had more than my fair share of it, but it was definitely yummy and I love mousse.

Overall, a solid good meal - with great company.

Timing

2007-03-08T19:44:00.000-05:00

Forget about ball-bearings, it's all timing.

Today at 10:30am, after a mere 3 hours of meetings, I had no interest in the Jose Cuervo chocolates that were passed around the room. However, by 4:30 (so that's 9 hours of meetings, and not close to the end), I was on the edge of my chair, hoping that the bottle (to clarify, it's still a bottle of chocolates, though I would likely have been just as excited about a bottle of tequila at that point) made it back around the room to me before it ran out.

There were three left. I took only one (after all, I tend to enjoy tequila only in margaritas - and I'm not a huge fan of chocolate with a liquer center - and there were still a bunch of people after me, waiting).

And it was good. Better than I expected. It did have a liquid center, but not overpowering. I don't know that I'm going to run out and get another bottle, but it was the right bite at the right time.

Satisfying! (Lamb Saag)

2007-03-07T13:26:00.000-05:00

You know how sometimes you just get those cravings? You can't even explain it - you're just in the mood for something. Sunday night when I got off the airplane, there was nothing that I wanted more than Lamb Saag (for anyone who's not already an Indian food fan - it's basically a spinach curry with chunks of lamb). But it was already past dinner. And then on Monday I was too tired to cook something new, etc. So here it is Wednesday lunch - and I finally get it. I stopped in for groceries last night (before having chocolate chip cookies and milk for 'dinner') and got everything that I thought I would need.

I've never made Lamb Saag before, but I asked my brother for a recipe - and got general guidance. And so I bought spinach and lamb (I already had onions, garlic, ginger and quinoa (the quinoa is not traditional - but I've just been using it as my primary grain recently and figured it would work with this too)).

And so today as lunch time rolled around, I started cooking. I first put a little salt and pepper on the lamb cubes (the butcher cut them for me, I would recommend smaller ones that I have here - I bought lamb medallions as that was the only option that was easily cube-able)

Then, I sauteed the onions, garlic and ginger. And added salt, pepper and curry powder (could add garam masala, if you happen to have it). Now, one of the secrets is to use plenty of ghee (but I didn't have any, and didn't have time to make it, so I used plenty of olive oil - it made it a little less creamy - I might try butter next time, or I might actually do the ghee thing).

After the onion mixture is ready, you can dump in the spinach (I did it in 2 batches) and let that cook (I took some advice from Elise's recent spinach post (which I saw last night and which only made me more determined to have this dish - soon!) and used the lid (I normally just cook spinach by moving it around a lot) which worked quite well - no problem adapting with all the onion at the base). Once the spinach is wilted (that's the picture I forgot to take) I then used my hand mixer thing (it's like a food processor on a stick), but you could use a food processor or blender, to chop the spinach mixture up.

I then mixed that in with the lamb and served it on a bed of quinoa. Absolutely delicious! (Though I think I will continue to play with the recipe as there is a lot of potential for variation and I'm curious as to what it can become).

Lamb Saag
Serves two (generously)

10 oz fresh spinach (washed and dried, you can substitute frozen if that's all you have)
1 lb lamb cubes (I used medallions, but anything cube-able is probably fine)
3 small onions (I like onions, so this could be reduced)
6-10 cloves of garlic (all spice measurements here are approximate and can be varied based on preferences)
1 Tablespoon of fresh ginger
2 Tablespoons curry powder
Salt
Pepper

Sautee onions, garlic and ginger. When onions are clear, add curry, salt and pepper (to taste).
Sear the lamb cubes in a hot pan so that you get that nice brown crust on the outside, but keep the inside pink (I like mine medium rare)
Add the spinach (I did it in 2 batches, 5 oz each) to the onion mixture. Stir and cover with lid. After a minute or so, flip or stir the mixture. Continue until cooked. Add the second batch of spinach. Repeat.
Puree the spinach and onion mixture.
Mix in the lamb.
Serve (I served on top of quinoa – 20 minutes to cook, start just before everything else) and Enjoy!

If Once is Good... (Coco Cubana)

2007-03-06T22:25:00.000-05:00

Today I was up in Westchester (Mt. Kisco) and had lunch with my friend J. He gave me a range of restaurant options - and despite having Cuban on Saturday night, I realized that I was in the mood for it again. I don't necessarily encourage people to strive for repetition, but there are times when you want to try different versions of the same thing (it becomes about finding the variety within the sameness - seeing/tasting the differences). And so I ordered Ropa Vieja (again). This time it even came with the sweet plantains (perfect).

The presentation was very different than Saturday - no concentric circles of orange, brown and black. The taste was also different, but still good. This Ropa Vieja was a little sweet and spicy, whereas Saturday's was more of a vinegary taste. I think I liked the vinegar taste better - but, just a little. But this version was really yummy. I'm never going to turn down a dish with a nice depth of flavor as well as that heat. And the meat was tender. Overall, it was a good choice - and only fueled my desire to find better Cuban options in NY.

Refreshing (Pimm's Cups)

2007-03-05T00:05:00.000-05:00

We got lucky with our weather this weekend in Palm Beach. From the doom and gloom predicted by the weather people, we ended up with 2 days in the mid-80s (a little cloudy/windy (which actually was refreshing)) and one in the mid-70s (got a bit chilly (again the wind/clouds), but nice). On days like this when you're outside, you're just going to get hot and sticky.

And there are few things more refreshing then than a Pimm's Cup. For anyone who hasn't had one, a Pimm's Cup is a very simple drink. The ones we had (recipe by watching) seemed to involve mixing an almost equal (or a slightly larger) amount of Pimm's with Sierra Mist (always wondered who actually drank that - but it works pretty well in the Pimm's Cup), twisting in a lime wedge and then garnishing with a cucumber (not the only reason that K loves Pimm's Cup, but I'm sure it helps). Other locations have minor variations on this recipe, but it is pretty easy (even easier when K's cousin C (or some of our other fabulous friends) were nice enough to hand deliver them to me as I lolled on a chair.)

I am a little stuck on how to describe the taste (though since I'm still sans photo - you can picture it as looking a bit like a fizzy ice tea - with a cucumber garnish). I get so upset when advertisers describe a drink as 'refreshing', but that's really what it is. It's light, a little fruity (citrus-y), not overly alcohol-y, and it's an eay way to make a lazy summer (or winter, in Florida) day seem just a little more relaxed and festive. Cheers.

Winning With the Old Standby (Cabana)

2007-03-04T23:01:00.000-05:00

I had a little camera issue on my trip down to Palm Beach this weekend, so no photos. But the meal that I had at Cabana (118 S Clematis Street, West Palm Beach) was so good, I figured that I would just make people visualize. T & K (of Ultimate Wine Dinner fame) had chosen the restaurant - so I wasn't concerned, but I had no idea what to expect (especially since K couldn't remember the name and just kept saying random words starting with 'C').

It turned out to be Cuban food - something almost guaranteed to bring a smile to my face (especially with the disappointment of learning, a few weeks ago, that decent Cuban food hadn't really crossed the peninsula to Ft. Meyers - and so I had gone all the way to southern Florida without getting my Cuban fix). I looked over the menu with interest, but without real intent. I don't get to eat Cuban enough to order anything except Ropa Vieja. I love Ropa Vieja and so all I really did was find it on the menu, make sure that I could order a side of plantains and then find an appetizer (totally unnecessary as the portions were what one might term 'hearty'). Then I just had fun reading the menu - to see what else they had.

I went ahead with the plantain chips (with guacamole and a salsa) as my appetizer (something light, saving room for the Ropa Vieja). I liberally doused them with salt and found them as good as they ever are. I will say that the salsa was interesting - very finely processed and with a great deep, slightly smokey flavor. (And one that met even my need for something salty).

We paired our meal with pitchers of Sangria and Mohitos (I went with the Sangria) - there were about 20 of us, so the pitchers were a good call. K said that her first Mohito was one of the best that she had ever had. The sangria was good, but not great.

Then, the Ropa Vieja arrived. I'm almost glad that I didn't have a camera as there is no way that the picture would do justice to the flavor (it's not a dish that really wins on presentation - some of the other folks got much 'prettier' plates). Close your eyes and picture the following: A normal white dinner plate with an outer ring (about 1 inch wide) of black beans, inside that was a mound of yellow rice (only about the outer 1 inch was visible - so now you should be picturing concentric circles) and on top of the rice was a bunch of brown shredded meat (I can't describe it any other way - it really didn't look that interesting - just a big brown lump forming the center circle of the dish). Now, picture a small plate next to it with Maduros, deep fried plantains (basically (visually), brownish lumps of banana). Now, just know that this meal tasted infintely better than it looked.

I dug in, grabbing a forkful of rice and meat. It had a slight vinegar-y backdrop with a strong, rich flavor of meat over it. The rice was perfectly seasoned to help bring out the flavors of the meat. K asked for a bite (she had been torn and decided on something else as I had the Ropa Vieja) and so I told her to take as much as she wanted (I think she ended up with almost half of the meat (I dumped a whole bunch on her plate at one point as I was greatly concerned that if she didn't take it, I would eat it - and then one Wafer Thin Mint and it's all over) ).

And so, reveling in each bite, I took a bite of the Ropa Vieja and then a bite of the plantains. I continued to work my way through the combination - concentrating on draining every last bit of flavor and enjoyment out of the slightly bitter/acidic, but rich Ropa Vieja and the sweet plantains.

I can't imagine a meal that we could have had last night that I would have enjoyed more.

Free Mediocrity

2007-02-28T23:44:00.000-05:00

What is it about a day in meetings that makes me over-eat mediocre food? What is it about free meals that makes it seem important to get one's "money's worth". I spent today in a meeting center: I managed not to go nuts on the continental breakfast, but was intrigued by a brownie and ice cream dessert (so-so), cookies (barely edible) at the afternoon break and then had to have the full three courses at dinner.

What is it about free food that makes me eat stuff I wouldn't normally bother with?

The Right Way (Gajyumaru)

2007-02-27T23:13:00.000-05:00

Tonight, my friend M (in from Boston) graciously allowed me to drag him up to 86th & 1st (smack in the middle of the culinary wasteland that is the UES) for one of my very favorite sushi restaurants in the whole city, Gajyumaru.

I got my normal (ish) order: 2 pieces each of tuna and sea urchin, 1 piece of scallop, 1 avacado and eel roll, one half of a negitoro roll (fatty tuna and scallions - not pictured) and a huge amount of ginger (she brought me a whole separate dish of it).

The presentation is always great too - I think this is a new plate: that's a stone center - very cool looking.

In a recent entry in his blog, Frank Bruni asks the question about when it is appropriate to use one's fingers for food. I won't get into the philosophy of the question now (there are times when others don't, but I really do think fingers are the right answer - more on it some other day), but I did want to clarify something that had been mentioned in the comments on the proper way to eat sushi. The first thing is that it is in fact totally fine to eat sushi with fingers - not even the highest sticklers in Japan would raise an eyebrow. The next point though is that the best way to eat is to dip the fish (not the rice!) in the soy sauce (full sodium).

The easiest way to do it is grab the sushi long-wise and dip the fish and the bottom chipstick into the soy sauce. This totally solves the problem that many people seem to have of rice falling apart in the soy sauce (and allows the right part of the sushi (i.e., the fish) to be flavored with the wasabi/soy). Try it. You'll like it.

Red (Carpet) Sauce

2007-02-25T20:39:00.000-05:00

I'm still on my kick of making quick and delicious one-pot pasta sauces and eating them with quinoa. Tonight for sitting at home watching the Oscars (and working - really!), I decided on a red cream sauce. It was beautifully red, rich and spicy hot (okay, enough trying to make heavy handed and cheesy comparisons between a quality meal and a Hollywood spectacle).

I started with a base of J's Vodka Sauce and changed based on what I had in the house, etc. And the best part (aside from the taste - it really was good!) was that it was done in a little more than 30 minutes.

Red Cream Sauce
Sauce for pasta (or quinoa) for 4-6

1 ½ can (28 oz. ones) crushed tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1 large onion
1/3 cup cream
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
¾ pack of frozen baby sweet peas
4 hot Italian sausages
1/3 cup Parmigian grated cheese

Saute onions (until clear) and garlic
Add sausage and sauté til cooked
Add everything else except peas and cream; cook for about 15 minutes
Add remaining ingredients and cook another 10 minutes
Enjoy!

I do want to point out that my interest in a quick, good meal is based on 2 things: 1. A lack of time (like everyone else, I'm too busy and don't have time to do a gourmet meal every night), 2. A refusal to eat bad food. I am, though, of the opinion that this is not an extraordinarily difficult thing to do (though comments on David Leibowitz's blog show that not everyone agrees with this (which, of course is why the Food Network is what it is, which is why the Ruhlman/Bourdain 'discussion' is interesting)).

At the end of the day, this dinner was not that different (in vaguely descriptive terms) from a Hamburger Helper kind of thing (meat and stuff in a pot) - only it was homemade (and tasted much better). It's just about knowing (or being comfortable experimenting with) what combinations actually work - and that's the key. So, while I am sometimes hesitant about posting my less dramatic meals (they seem paltry by comparison with what others often post), I'll keep doing so as my input to the ideas for quick meals.

Spanish and French (Danal)

2007-02-25T20:19:00.000-05:00

Tonight we went to see A Spanish Play at one of my favorite theaters. Of course, this meant dinner at an ungodly early hour. And yet, it was difficult to get a reservation. We ended up at Danal (10th between 3rd and 4th Avenues), which M hadn't been to in ages and which I had never been to.

I was there first and was instantly charmed by the low tin ceiling (I always love them) and just the small coziness of the place. And they sat us even though 2 of the 5 of us weren't here yet, which was very nice! We were running a little late, so we just had drinks and an entree, skipping the appetizer and the dessert (it had to happen, but neither D nor I were happy about it).

I got the Cassoulet, which was nice (have to have it while the weather still allows it - which hopefully will end soon (except for that whole global warming thing)). I wasn't crazy about the presentation, but it tasted good (though a bit heavy perhaps for a day with an early dinner and late lunch).

M got the Filet au Poivre, which she really liked. And J liked his whole Branzino (there was nothing but bones left). K and D were running late and so just got appetizers. K was okay with her salad, but seemed to like her soup. D was so-so on his Chicken Livers.

Overall it was a very cute and friendly place and the service was wonderful.

Funky Food (Funky Diner)

2007-02-25T19:52:00.000-05:00

My friends P&A came in from SF and managed to find time for me for lunch. We had planned to meet for tea, but had neglected to get a reservation and so switched last minute. A was getting her hair cut (she moved to SF almost 10 years ago, but still has her hair cut here - I'm okay with that as it gets her out here at least somewhat regularly) and so suggested a funky diner near her hair place. I walked up Columbus past 82nd looking for a funky-looking place. It was easy when I saw the sigh for Funky Diner. It looks like it's actually linked with Kidsville right there and was indeed very kid-friendly, but not over the top (P summed it up very well - as saying that it was fun, but not kiddie).

I ordered a Tuna Melt on a Croissant with Guacamole. Really, reading that description, need I say more. I love tuna melts and this one did do it a little differently, and was yummy. But as good as the melt was, what really won for me was the Sweet Potato Fries. Now Sweet Potato Fries always sound great, but often disappoint. These most definitely did not! These were quite possibly the best Sweet Potato Fries that I have every had in my life! They were incredible. These alone are actually worth going here for (if you're at all a sweet potato fan).

A saw a 5 year old eating Cheeseburger Sliders. Luckily she's 6 months pregnant and so the waitress let her order off the kids menu. She said they were quite good.

P "wasn't hungry", so he only got a savory crepe (the Loire one) - it was primarily chicken and mushroom. He let me have a small bite - so I can attest to the fact that it was good. (I knew that I had an early dinner, so I didn't go for a sweet crepe for dessert, but it was hard not to.)

We spent more than 2 hours lingering (we sat down at 2:30, so it wasn't hugely busy) and they were very nice about not rushing us (and refilling water glasses). For people looking for a place to eat with kids, this is definitely a place to check out. And for anyone looking for a nice casual meal on the UWS, it's definitely worth a thought (they also have a whole gelato case (Ciao Bella), but we were too cold).

Friday Night Light (Shanghai Pavilion)

2007-02-25T19:32:00.000-05:00

M and I went out for after work drinks tonight. We had had some big dinner plans, but ended up deciding we just wanted a mellow (and light) dinner after drinks (and a bit too much really good guacamole at Dos Caminos).

So we headed uptown (mainly so that we'd be a block away from V's and convince her to come out) to Shanghai Pavilion. The conversation went something like this:
M: You know what would be really good - soup dumplings at Shanghai Pavilion
Me: Okay. What are soup dumplings?
M: You don't know what soup dumplings are?

We ended up with a very light order: Soup (I had hot & sour), Soup dumplings, Pea shoots and Fried soup (more on that later).

The soup dumplings were awesome. If you've never had them before, you should. What you do for them is put them on the spoon and then bite a small hole and suck out the broth. I added hot sauce to mine (not enough that I lost the flavor of the soup though!). Then, once the broth is gone, you get to eat the dumpling. It's absolutely delicious! (And fun.)

M kept saying that she wanted the Frozen soup desert. It was absolutely freezing outside, so the name did not appeal to me. But then she said, no that it was a hot dessert - which seemed really odd to me. When we got the dessert menu, we realized that the reason for this was that it was actually called Fried Soup. It was a melt in one's mouth mochi squares covered with what seemed like sugar and ground black sesame. It was good and not overwhelming.

This was a perfect quick, light dinner on a really cold night.

Quick, Casual and Good! (Lamb & Red)

2007-02-21T23:10:00.000-05:00

Tonight as a last minute thing, I ended up at C&L's house for dinner. This was a very nice thing because in addition to good food and wine, I get to read bed time stories. We got the kids to bed and then we sat down for lamb chops, broccoli and a wonderful Corton Clo du Roi 1999. I really liked this wine (I tasted some carmel, but overall a nice balance between a little earth and the sweetness (it wasn't sweet, just that hint that made it rich)) - L was so-so on it (disclaimer: he's a better judge of great wines, I'm a good judge of what I like (and he's a fabulous judge of what I will like)). I liked it because it was solid and good. It didn't reach for huge heights, but it didn't leave you in the lurch either. I would definitely drink it again (though, I might leave the pouring to someone else).

With all the talk recently on the Food Network, etc. on Ruhlman, Bourdain, et. al., I have been thinking a bit about food preparation. In the time it took me to get a 5 and 3 year old through their stories and snuggled (i.e., 'mostly' in bed), C managed to whip up a very tasty (and 'healthy') meal. It really doesn't have to take that long (and it doesn't need to involve non-food to make it quicker). And while a menu could be more 'glamorous' than lamb chops and garlic broccoli - it's hard to make it taste better.

And we had ice cream for dessert (calcium is very important!). (I had chocolate (Haagen Dazs), which worked remarkably well with the wine.)

A Name for It

2007-02-19T12:52:00.000-05:00

I try not to be bothered by the people who look askance at what I eat (i.e., good food), but sometimes it's frustrating. They've been educated to believe fundamental things about food and health that don't align with what I eat. And as I don't have a method of re-education, I can't help them. Until today, I didn't even have a name. And then when I, finally (the article was published over 3 weeks ago), sat down to read Michael Pollan's Unhappy Meals, from January 28's New York Times Magazine, I had a part of the answer. I now can name their belief system: Nutritionism.

Followers of this movement look at me as I am intent on enjoyment of a delightful creme brulee (or something else delicious) and say things like, "Aren't you worried about your cholesterol?" To which I respond, with a smile (hoping to make the discussion end right there), "Nope, mine's fine." But these people are true believers of Nutritionism, and so they say, "Ah, you're lucky to have genetics on your side." To which (and I know I shouldn't take the bait, but I do) I say, "My dad's was stratospheric (he now takes niacin which seems to have brought it down) and my mother's is still a number higher than I can easily count. The genetics reasoning doesn't work with me." The only good thing is that at this point, they stop - feeling on shaky ground. They don't want to press too hard on how I can eat butter, eggs, red meat, etc. on a (very) regular basis and not have sky-high cholesterol levels. But by this point I've become energized with the idea that I may be able to free this poor soul from his blindness and so I refuse to let it die. And so, after a long pause, I continue, "Yes, I eat everything that conventional wisdom says is bad for you and yet I'm healthier than most folks. Makes you think seriously about conventional wisdom, doesn't it." At this point, the other person is running scared and starts talking about his latest vacation, gossip about a common friend or the weather - really anything to change the subject. And so, with a (deep) sigh, I let it go.

I had my own epiphany almost 5 years ago. The epiphany, for all the implied suddenness, had the groundwork laid before that point. (This is the somewhat embarrassing part of the story) There's a Star Trek Next Generation episode with Charles Emerson Winchester III (yes, I know he's really David Ogden Stiers, but it's hard to separate the two) as a scientist who needs to save his planet, but he's also days away from turning the age at which all people on his planet commit euthenasia (it's also a version of an old Chinese fable). I don't know why this episode struck me as hard as it did - but it did. I couldn't get away from the question: What is it like to have a belief that's wrong, but that's so fundamental that you can't even question it as a belief? How would you even know you had one. So I started trying to figure out if I had a belief that was false (think about it some time, it's really hard). Everything I tried to think of seemed so obvious that it couldn't just be a belief - it had to be truth. And then, one day, reading the NY Times (yes, a bit of a pattern there), I found it. I was reading What if It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie? by Gary Taubes, July 7, 2002 and while the article was great, it was actually the online commentary that was my own blinding flash of white light.

There were a lot of comments, but they seemed to fall clearly into 2 categores: 1. I've tried the Atkins diet (or something like it) and it worked for me - and here are all my personal proof points, 2. We all know that fat is bad/It's common sense that carbs are the best for us/etc. I suddenly realized how much the whole sun revolving around the Earth thing had been 'common sense' or 'we all know'. AndI had it, my incorrect belief - the whole idea of what I should/shouldn't be eating, what was good for me and what wasn't (not the specific detail of the Atkins diet, but the idea that the only argument against it was the 'everybody knows it's not true'). And that was the day that I stopped listening to (or believing, anyway) everything that I was hearing about nutrition.

And I just started eating. I started eating 'food' (Michael Pollan makes a point in differentiating between food and other things we eat). I consciously choose butter over margarine, ignored 'Lite' food (not that I'd ever been a huge fan of the snackwells kind of thing), ate whatever (i.e., eggs, red meat, cream, etc.) sounded good. And I didn't gain weight or see my health degenerate - nothing; and I have a lot better meals than most people.

I think I'm pretty much in total agreement with Michael Pollan in this article (don't tell, but I still haven't read Omnivore's Dilemma). I'm not sure why eating Food is better (i.e., I can't tell you from a biological or chemical perspective), all I know is that it seems to work. (And worst case, if I'm wrong, at least I'm enjoying it).

A Different Kind of Run (Bordeaux)

2007-02-18T14:26:00.000-05:00

Normally when I go for a run, I follow a predictable path to and from the Park. But today, I had an errand to run and so I found myself about a block from home, near the end of a great run (sunny, but cold, day), right in front of my local wine shop. And they were having a tasting. And so, throwing conventional ideas of good health to the wind, I went in to taste. They were showing two Bordeaux wines. The first was organic, etc., which appealed to me on the whole no pesticide, etc. front, but I didn't love the wine. I said it was too sweet; I was corrected when she pointed out that it was just the strong fruit on the nose, there wasn't actually sugar in the wine - so let me re-phrase: It tasted too sweet (and oddly, like apples, apple-cider even - which is not one of the fruits I normally associate with reds), which didn't work for me.

The second was a St. Emilion - very earthy. And I liked it. And I bought two bottles (I only had my wallet with me because of my errand - I don't usually jog with quantities of cash). (And then, as long as I was there, I bought a couple of splits of Champagne. Because champagne is such a great cocktail hour drink, but I usually only open a bottle if enough other folks want it. With the split, my chance of finiding 'enough' people, rises dramatically.)

Now, while I don't think that this pairing (running and wine tasting) is necessarily best for everyday; it's a nice treat occasionally. One I highly recommend. I will also conclude by saying that Bordeaux seems to pair well with running (especially on cold, sunny days). I'm not sure that in the summer a Rose or Sauvignon Blanc wouldn't be better, but I will let you know (if summer ever arrives).

The End (Honmura An)

2007-02-17T23:14:00.000-05:00

My friends J & D are definitely trustworthy when it comes to food. And so, months ago when the suggested that I try Honmura An, I should have headed down there for my very next meal. But, it never quite happened. And then, it was announced that Honmura An would be closing on February 17. D & J got reservations for twice in the final week and I got to go with them for the last night (I was a stand in for D's parents who have been going, regularly, for 15 years, but weren't able to make it in for this weekend).

We went with the set menu and from the very first bite, I realized that I would spend the rest of the evening in a conflicted state. I was totally excited that I was getting to have this experience. And totally depressed that it would be my last opportunity (unless I head off to Tokyo, where there will be one in Roppongi - and I do believe that flight would be worth it).

The first course had three very different dishes: Deep fried rock shrimp, a mountain yam dish with uni, ikura (roe) and okra, and seaweed with sesame.

The deep fried shrimp was good - the tempura coating the best part of it. The yam with uni, etc. was awesome - and I usually don't like mountain yam (it's a texture thing). But in my mind, the best of the three was the seaweed. It's such an easy dish, and yet, so few places do it well. Their version was pure perfection - it was the right balance of sesame and seaweed. It was magic in my mouth.

The next course was sashimi. It included some wonderful tuna and some truly fabulous uni. Now, I love uni. And this was good uni. Really good uni. Really, really good uni. D suggested wrapping the uni in the leaves (those leaves that you always get with sushi/sashimi), which I had never tried - and it was a great suggestion. The sharp taste of the leaf worked with the earthiness of the uni.

While we had ordered the set menu, D&J had a few things that they wanted (given that this was their last chance!) and so we got a few 'bonus' plates. The first two to arrive were the O-shinko (pickles) and Tamago (egg). My favorite pickles are those made with daikon (white radish) and these were so good. They were more tender than most pickles - still crunchy, but not as hard. I could have eaten a whole daikon worth (and they're big radishes). The tamago dish is one that often gets short shrift as just a random sushi set offering. But well done tamago is much more than just a filler. It's a light layering of scrambled egg, with plenty of flavor. To get the best view of this, it helps to eat the tamago with shredded daikon and soy sauce.

Our next 'optional' dish was deep fried chicken meatballs. This is another of D & J's favorites and is a great take on the more (to my view) traditional tskune, where the meatballs are just barbequed (it would be hard to convince me that there are things that don't taste better deep fried (if you try to argue things like Twinkies, my argument would start with the fact that they don't taste very good plain, so, while I've never tried them deep fried, they've got to taste better that way)). And hot mustard does make most things just that little better anyway.

At this point, we got back to the menu. It was a grilled sea bass. Now, normally, I don't really order flakey white fish - it's usually just pretty bland. This version was not. Decidedly not. D guessed that it had been flavored with mirin and I think he's right. It had that slightly sweet overtone that really worked with the flavor of the fish. And, it was in fact, grilled to perfection. The fish was so moist it made me question whether I've ever actually had well cooked flakey white fish in my whole life (seriously). It was at this point (as I was wishing for a second piece) that I started to realize that I might have trouble finishing this meal (quantity-wise).

The next course was Chawamushi. Now, the first word that struck me as this was placed in front of me was - natsukashi. (This is a Japanese word which is translated roughly as 'nostalgia', but I believe that I can better explain it by showing an example of usage (Let's say that you're having a Fudgesicle. You take one lick and say 'Ah, natsukashi!', as you are transported back decades, thinking: Man, this reminds me of when I was 12 and used to get a Fudgesicle every day up at the pool on those sunny, 80 degree days as I had nothing else to do, but just hang out with my friends, swim in the pool and enjoy myself. Boy do I love Fudgesicles. - that's what natsukashi really means) - Japanese has a lot of great exclamatory words like this.) When I lived in Tokyo, the sushi restaurant that we used to go to almost once a week had this as part of the Sushi Lunch Set. Of course, this one had Alaskan King Crab mixed in, making it a little richer than the one in my memory. But it's really tough to separate my enjoyment of the dish from the enjoyment of the memory.

I had heard that Honmura An was famous for their tempura. And it turned out that this fame was totally justified. It's pretty easy to deep-fry things, but it's also pretty easy to do it badly - which I believe is in large part why people think such negative things about deep frying (when, see the chicken meatball description for more detail, it seems to me to be unjustified). The batter was so light and crispy - it was perfection. We got one large prawn, as well as a whole bunch of vegetables: kabo-chan, another squash, mushroom and asparagus. I saved the squash for last, it was so sweet and crunchy, it was the perfect end to a great course. And, unlike many Japanese restaurants in the states, they had great dipping sauce. (Most restaurants in the US don't bother with the shredded daikon in the sauce - seriously undermining my enjoyment, but the ones you really need to stay away from are those that let you 'dip' tempura in soy sauce.)

And then we got to the course that I was most looking forward to: Seiro Soba. This is a dish of cold buckwheat noodles dipped in a cold broth mixed with wasabi, green onions and grated daikon. It's one of my favorite dishes. But I almost never get to eat it because I can't stand non-handmade soba. I used to live right near a soba shop that made handmade noodles every day. Going there multiple times a week, I quickly learned that the difference between handmade and non-handmade soba is the difference between night and day. Handmade soba is a delicious treat. Machine-made soba tastes square (I know that's not technically a taste, but really, the square-ness of the noodles overwhelms any flavor. It just doesn't work). And so, I almost never order soba, because it's just not worth the disappointment (this is even true in Tokyo, where most places don't make their own soba). But this was handmade soba. This was good soba. This was soba that made me want to keep eating until I couldn't move. It was perfectly balanced flavors. And, if that weren't enough, they served it with a little square pot of hot water - this is something that most soba places (again, even in Tokyo) don't even bother doing. After you've finished the noodles, you pour the water into the dipping sauce and then it's like the broth of a normal hot soup (and one that is flavored with wasabi and has a little of the onion and daikon still swimming in it). It's a great way to end a soba meal.

At this point, I seriously considered that if I ever had to choose my last meal on Earth, that it might be this one. And then D mentioned the Uni Soba. And we threw caution to the win. We were already full, but knowing that you may never again have the chance to eat something is a huge incentive to push it just a little further. And so we decided to share an order of Uni Soba (that was passing for restraint at this point). Again, this was a cold soba (though served in the broth, not as a dipping broth). And while this dish doesn't allow the same communing with the purity of the noodles; it does help raise the noodles to a new level. The earthiness of the uni just fills out the flavor of the buckwheat noodles. The flavor combination really works. I enjoyed every bite - ignoring the whisper that I had to as it was my last chance; I just concentrated on each bite. And while my mouth could have kept eating noodles (maybe alternating between the plain and the uni) until they physically forced us out of the restaurant, I was now so full that it wasn't really possible (and the whole scene of being strong-armed out would have been somewhat embarrassing given the crowd that was there).

And so, we moved on to dessert. I wasn't too worried about fitting dessert in - it's not generally my favorite part of a Japanese meal. And yet, here again, I found some of the best Japanese dessert dishes I have tried. We each ordered one of the mochi and then we got the cheesecake and the green tea cake to share. Now, I'm fussy about my mochi (yeah, I know, I'm fussy about most things) - I don't really like street mochi from a cart, but do love the little mochi raviolis filled with bean that people used to bring back as souvenirs from Kyoto. This was much closer to the latter. And with an apricot filling - that was just sweet/flavorful enough to be delicious, without overwhelming the flavor of the mochi.

I had pretty much written off the other two as I now felt like the Blueberry girl in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and I don't love cheesecake and firmly believe that green tea belongs in a tea cup, not in food. But I knew my duty and took a bite of each. I actually liked the cheesecake (strongly cheese flavor, and how can that be bad). But, even more surprisingly, I loved the green tea cake (and that's cake, which we know I don't love, plus green tea - not in a tea cup). And yet, it was really, really good. It had that nice mustiness of good green tea, with a very gentle sweetness - and it was moist.

As good as this meal was (and it did come pretty close to perfection), it was bittersweet. To find it on the last night it's open is almost cruel. I wouldn't have missed tonight for anything and yet... But it's just one more reason to take a trip back to Tokyo.

And since I don't have any trips planned in the near future, I'm going to do what I should have done months ago (i.e., when Honmura An was still open). I am going to focus on exploring the Japanese options in NY. If I missed this, what else am I missing. I need to start pushing to find the places like this that capture the tastes and atmosphere that I really miss. So, note to my friends - I'm game for any Japanese food you want to try.

Who's Choosing The Place (The Place)

2007-02-16T17:59:00.000-05:00

I got together with my friends P & S last night at The Place (West 4th at 12th Street). We like dinner with plenty of conversation, so we were looking for a place that wouldn't kick us out if we wanted to linger (high probability of that), but had good food (I'm all for plenty of atmosphere for good conversation, but I'm not willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and eat bad food to get it).

S asked who was choosing 'the place'. P suggested that we just choose 'The Place'. I'm all for that kind of logic. And it turns out to be a perfect place to have a winter meal. It is a very warm, cozy feeling restaurant (though, unfortunately, too dark to make picture taking comfortable - so I'll try to paint verbally). We settled in, started talking and then by the third or fourth time our waiter asked, we were ready to order. Before we did so, S asked about our philosophy on food sharing - no better way to make me happy than by knowing that I'm eating with people who are okay with sharing, so the night was off to a great start. (Though it doesn't necessarily take away all of the stress - you know that you get to try someone else's dish, but what if it's so much better than yours that you regret your choice - that's pressure, but I try to shake that off).

S decided first - he went with the Wild Mushroom Risotto and The Lamb. Both of those were dishes that I had been looking at. I chose next (deciding that since I would get to try both of those, I didn't need to order them) and chose the Sweet Potato Ravioli and the special - Sirloin with Potato au Gratin. P went with the Duck Parpadelle and then the Cajun Fish Stew.

We also ordered the David Bruce 2004 Petit Sirah. I find David Bruce to be a really nice mid-range wine and have had good success with their Pinot Noir as well as the Petit Sirah. It tasted as good as I had hoped (and went well with the food that we had ordered).

My favorite of the appetizers - by far - was mine (isn't that a great thing to be able to say!). It was amazing. I usually find that I love the idea of squash-type pastas more than I love the actual incarnation. But this was truly better than I could have imagined - there was squash and cheese and while it was sweet, it wasn't too sweet. The presentation also was nice - the plump little raviolis nestled in the bottom of a simple off-white bowl. It wasn't a fancy, over the top plating, but it sure made me want to eat them. I could have eaten thousands of these (probably not really, but it sure felt like it).

The Parpadelle was also really nice. It had that nice rich duck flavor which worked really well with the tomato sauce. It was definitely a hearty winter kind of dish (not a bad thing on a night where we had to do a little snow tramping to get there (not a lot as the streets had basically been cleared, but there was some (and in the darkness, we could even pretend that it wasn't grey))). I would definitely order it again (unless the Ravioli was still on the menu and then I would probably be forced to order that instead - though parpadelle is really a fun noodle, both to say and to eat).

The risotto was nice. It wasn't the best I've ever had. But it was nice. In retrospect, maybe it needed salt (I think that I am realizing that risotto is generally undersalted for one with my predilections).

And then we got our entrees. I had gone for something pretty simple with the Sirloin - and was rewarded with a very nicely done steak. It's not that hard to do a steak well, and yet a number of places do. The Place does it well. It was pretty perfectly cooked. The au gratin potato however, was not the best (too much potato not enough gratin).

I had thought seriously about ordering the lamb and was glad I hadn't. It was okay, but I didn't love the vegetables with it - the flavors didn't quite work for me.

The fish stew on the other hand was really nice. It had a strong flavor that really worked for me. P's favorite was the shrimp, but I actually liked the mussels a little better.

Because S & P are great conversationalists, we had plenty of time for dessert - even after eating slowly. We decided to go with the Creme Brulee. Now, a couple of years ago I spent 6 weeks in Paris and became the world's leading expert on 2004 Parisian Creme Brulee (I have no way of proving that, but it seems unlikely that even in a year, anyone ate more creme brulee than I did in those 6 weeks - really). What this means is that I am more than a bit fussy about my Creme Brulee. This was only okay (but again, I've got high standards).

Overall, I would definitely go back. I really liked the atmosphere. We were well treated even though we dawdled (really, really slowly). And, overall, I was quite happy with the food.

A Family Dinner (Mothers and Sons)

2007-02-16T17:20:00.000-05:00

Tonight we had dinner at E's house for our 'Literary Salon'. We read Mothers and Sons (Colm Toibin) and ate well. Every time we get together with this group, I get more excited - not only does everyone like reading interesting books (and do a good job of discussing) - it's a bunch of fabulous hosts/hostesses (no pressure J!).

E offered a tremendous meal - and we only found out later that he had just gotten back from a weekend trip, so he's not only a good cook, he's a resourceful one. This was no single pan meal (like I did for my first dinner for the group) , rather the menu included:

Asparagus with Parmesan - Do I really need to say anything here? It's asparagus! I love asparagus. It always tastes good. And it really worked with the parmesan. But then asparagus works with a lot of stuff. Yum.

Grilled Salmon with Tomato - E really wins on presentation with the meal - the colors here are just pretty exciting. The tomatoes really were wonderful; I've never really had tomatoes with salmon and I really like the combination. The tomatoes had the flavor to stand up to the salmon. It works!

Whole Wheat Pasta with Pesto and Pinenuts - This was amazing! This was my favorite part of the meal. I've always been a bit so-so on the whole Whole Wheat Pasta thing, but this just worked. It was rich, nutty and I had seconds (I probably would have gone for thirds, but there was dessert to think of).

Green Salad with Red Peppers - This just looks yummy - nice job on the intense colors. And I do always feel better when I have some fresh greens.

The plate looked great. This was my first helping of everything. I didn't take later shots to update quantities. (The plates are pretty cool too - I really like that color of blue).

Hazelnut Cake - This was so good! I am generally not a huge cake fan. I find it to be too light or floury or something. This one was really rich and nutty - almost hearty. It was most certainly not a 'lite' cake as you could really taste the fat (yum!). I don't remember the last time I had a second helping of cake (I mean other than this cake - obviously, I still remember this time).

Really, it was so good - look at the inside. And the icing - a really nice buttercream!

The Ultimate Wine Dinner (Til Next Time)

2007-02-13T18:07:00.000-05:00

Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (and L) have both noted that "The truffle is not exactly an aphrodisiac, but it tends to make women more tender and men more likeable" and so when when T (our gracious host) showed me the truffles that C (who can be counted on for all important matters) had managed to procure, I knew that we were in for a truly memorable (as well, apparently, as tender and friendly) night.

We ‘paired’ this truffle viewing (and sniffing) with our pre-dinner cocktails. Having invested considerable effort this summer in investigating vintage gin cocktails, it was decided that this was a perfect opportunity to put this knowledge to use. L roped in a couple of others to whip up the best Gin Gin Mules that I have had (though they might not have been totally necessary given the bounty that was to come). I drank my Gin Gin Mule, nibbled on cucumbers (K often uses these as an appetizer, just with a little lime and salt and they're quite addictive), nuts and olives. It was also a nice time to meet the guests I didn’t know (but who all, luckily, turned out to be nice/interesting people (I even managed to wow G (who works with T) with my brother's Tea with Harold McGee. It's so fun to find new people who love food).

After cocktails we sat down at the table where the first course was served: Soft-boiled Eggs with Asparagus, Prosciutto and Caviar.

L (our sommelier as well as bar-tender) had chosen champagne to go with the egg. I probably should have asked why he chose this particular champagne: Dom Perignon 1990

But after one sip, I figured why bother - all I needed to know was that it was a brilliant pairing. We ate the eggs by dipping the asparagus into the egg and then into the caviar (a new way of salting food if one tires of soy sauce, fish sauce or even real salt – and happens to have a bit of caviar lying around). The other option was the salt from the ham that some of the asparagus spears were wrapped with. I had never had this dish (or even a similar dish before (obviously, I’ve had the parts individually)), but quite liked the idea. I think I liked it best when I had the yolk with both the ham and the caviar – but then I do like a bit more salt than the normal person. The champagne was a very dry champagne with a very pleasant taste that I can only (very badly) describe as nutty (walnut, not hazelnut – that’s probably not really it, but I can’t figure out a better description). But, just to emphasize that it was delicious, I will admit that I had a second glass, because I love champagne, and it was so very good.

For our next course, we went for the purity of white accompanied by the perfect red: a risotto with shaved white truffles. I will say that it truly is one of nature’s perfect dishes and this version did not disappoint (I’ve had this dish once before, at French Laundry - it was pretty good there too).

L had paired it (after what was apparently considerable conversation involving some prominent writers of food magazines, wine experts, etc. (this attention to detail is one of the reasons that I trust him implicitly with my tastebuds - an honor that I do not bestow lightly)) with a Barolo: Vigna del Dardi 1996 Barolo, from Monforte D'alba.

Of course, the obvious choice would have been a Bordeaux, but L tends to shy away from the obvious ("Consistency is the last resort of the unimaginative." Oscar Wilde) and so he went for something a little different. I thought it worked very well with the risotto, a nice balance between the salt (maybe only mine - I, of course, required a little bit of extra salt on mine, but that dash took this dish from merely great to absolutely sublime) and earth (the truffle) with the wine; I think he wasn’t 100% sold on it, but I figure that just means that he’ll try something new next time and I’m quite looking forward to that.

As we moved on the main course, I was quite excited. I had heard a decent amount of pre-talk about both the wine (C and L had graciously tried a bottle a few days before to ensure that they weren’t forcing us to suffer something horrible (I thought this was very generous of them to undergo such a trial for us)) and the steak (from Lobel's). K and T were clearly thinking of my ultimate happiness when they decided on Blue Cheese Crusted Filet Mignon with Red Wine Sauce, Roasted Potatoes and Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Shallots, Pancetta and Balsamic Glaze. L had been very concerned about letting the wine open without having it go too far and he managed the timing of it quite well. The perfectly decanted Leoville Lescases 1983 was indeed blissful.

And it also did what absolutely nothing else could have done, it did justice to the steak. When I was initially served I looked down at my plate and was concerned – there was no way that this could taste as good as it looked.

And yet, I believe this was the best steak I have ever eaten. This was truly a perfect course(because we can't ignore the rest of the plate - the baby Brussels sprouts (I did not realize there were so many acceptable spellings for this delicacy) - were like candy. I could eat these every day - and imagine the impact of that on my health and happiness). I think it even tops that bite of I’s steak at Michael Mina’s place in Vegas. It was just perfect. It was so perfect, I had to take another picture to show the inside, to let everyone see good it was – otherwise, I knew that people wouldn’t believe me (please excuse the messy plate, that was me trying to get every last drop of flavor, not the way it was presented).

Truly an amazing course and evidence that if what Woody Allen (in Annie Hall) says is true ("Everything our parents said was good is bad. Sun, milk, red meat, college."), that you'll be happier if you just ignore reality and listen to your parents.

And (almost) finally, what meal is complete without the dessert. T and K again were clearly thinking primarily of me - they went with pure chocolate pleasure, in the form of Chocohotpots with Crème Fraiche and Raspberries. Each bite was so amazing that I even tried to take pictures of a spoonful (a new low in my photographic career - and a depressing moment when I realized that I would not be able to re-experience each bite through the photos).

And for the first time ever, I had the luxury of squeezing my own topping tableside (K was ensuring that both the dessert would be perfectly served and I would be further entertained).

L had paired this with a dessert wine that I had been quite looking forward to: Chateau d'Yquem 1989 Sauternes, and which did not disappoint. I took a million pictures of the bottle and the glass, trying to capture how good it was.

From the outside, it just looks like any other deep yellow wine, but the taste is magic. It was an amazing luxury to enjoy that wine, to taste the fruit and sugar and not be overwhelmed, and to have it stand up to the sweetness of the dessert. It was a marvelous pairing (see how good they look together).

But, wait, there’s more. While it didn’t seem like we needed any more to eat or drink, there was still more. And having never tried Madeira, I was excited to have my opportunity to be one of those enjoying its resurgence. For our after dinner drink (paired with cheese and nuts), L had selected Marlvazia 1907 Madiera, which was, I can only assume, one of the better introductions that I could have had to the drink (I know that I certainly enjoyed this as a way to end the meal).

And, of course, the presentation and the ceremony were all as they should be (though my photography skill (such as it is) didn't necessarily capture it.

MFK Fisher pointed out that, "... gastronomical perfection can be reached in these combinations: one person dining alone, usually upon a couch or a hill side; two people, of no matter what sex or age, dining in a good restaurant; six people, of no matter what sex or age, dining in a good home." I now have evidence that 10 people in a good home may also attain it. Thanks to everyone who made this such a fabulous night!

(And my apologies for the delay in posting!)

Improving on Perfection (S.O.B. & 2000 Flavors)

2007-02-12T16:08:00.000-05:00

For our last night we really wanted to repeat the walking to dinner idea. But unfortunately, we couldn't find any other restaurants in walking distance that looked at all interesting. And so we decided to repeat. Having had an ice cream sandwich as a snack after a pretty decent (for me)round of golf (see my previous comments on how good ice cream is in warm weather) I didn't want anything big, so we ended up choosing S.O.B's over The Beached Whale because we liked the 'tapas' option there.

We went straight for the S.O.B. beer, as we had enjoyed that, as well as three of the appetizers from last night: Smoked Fish Dip, Fried Oysters and Jalepeno Poppers. I didn't believe that it would be as good - but in fact the Oysters and the Poppers were even better (I think they were fried a little bit longer and so they were crispier). Whatever it was, they actually exceeded my expectations - which was amazing! We also ordered the stuffed mushrooms (figured that we'd try something new). We really liked them - they weren't my favorites, but I did like them (they were stuffed with crab and covered with cheese - so how bad could they have been).

I was stuffed! But, then we went back to 2000 Flavors ( it's great ice cream and there's always room for great ice cream (there's even usually room for good ice cream)). The mint chocolate chip (my dad tried a new flavor, but I'm boring like that) also exceeded my memory of it. It was so good! I would be very happy to have 2000 Flavors in NY because I would love to go back. It was that good.

You Just Need One (2000 Flavors)

2007-02-12T15:58:00.000-05:00

We had walked from the hotel to S.O.B's for dinner and decided to stop for ice cream for dessert. (One of my very favorite treats in the world is ice cream on a cone, eaten outside in the heat. It's an awesome combination and one I indulge whenever I can (harder to do in the last few months in NY)).

The store we found is called 2000 Flavors. We're assuming that that is on a rotating basis, as they only seemed to have about 30-40 flavors. But they had mine (so more would have added nothing for me). My favorite ice cream cone is Mint Chocolate Chip on a sugar cone. It's my idea of the perfect ice cream experience.

I ordered a single scoop (more on American portions another time) and prepared to enjoy.

It was beyond what I hoped. This was one of the best ice cream cones I had had in a long time! This was awesome ice cream. It was perfectly flavored - well balanced between the mint and the chips (too many places try for big chocolate chunks, which just doesn't work). But even beyond the flavor was the ice cream itself. It was rich and creamy. It was so good! Every bite tasted good! It's been a long time since I've had such a perfect cone. I was suddenly okay with the American 'single' scoop having 2 scoops. I didn't want the cone to end.

This is ice cream worth going out of your way for!!!

Fried Heaven (Smokin' Oyster Brewery)

2007-02-12T15:00:00.000-05:00

Without anything else to go on, we decided to ask Colleen (from The Beached Whale) where to eat (if she wasn't going to eat at the Beached Whale (of course)). She recommended two places: Smokin' Oyster Brewery and something else that neither of us could remember.

So on Saturday night, we headed off to S.O.B.'s without really knowing what to expect. My dad was in the mood for spicy and when I saw that they did have Fried Oysters, we both decided that a collection of appetizers would be the best.

It wasn't that hard to choose - my dad just looked down the menu for 'spicy', 'jalepeno', etc. We ended up with 5 dishes. I told the waitress to bring them in the order they were ready (I had gone for a run after golf and was pretty hungry). While waiting for our food, we started on our beer - I had a Corona first, but soon switched over to the house beer (which had more taste than the Corona)

The first appetizer to arrive was the Smoked Fish Dip. This had been the one that I would have skipped, based on the description, if my dad hadn't wanted it. And when it arrived I was somewhat bummed. It looked like two scoops of tuna fish.

And then I took a bite (saltines, jalepeno and the fish (which the waitress said was fresh tuna))

It was amazing. It was smokey and spicy. It was addictive. In very short order (i.e., before any of the other appetizers had appeared), we demolished it. It wasn't fancy, but man was it good.

The next four appetizers came out at the same time: Jalepeno Poppers (these are one of my secret weaknesses - I love them), Fried Oysters (previously highlighted as a favorite), blackened scallops and shrimp in a spicy sauce.

The Fried Oysters were heavenly. I love fried oysters and don't get them nearly as much as I would hope. I recently had them at Mary's Fish Camp and was very happy. These were better. These had some cornmeal in the batter that added that roughness, that crunch, that is so good. (Believe it or not) my dad had never had fried oysters. And he's now a fan.

The Poppers were great. For the uninitiated, there are two types of Poppers - those with cheese and those with cream cheese. The cream cheese version are more rare (at least in the places I frequent) and so they're a bit more special. These were the special ones. Yum.

The scallops and the shrimp were both okay, though nothing to write home about. The scallops had a buttery sauce, but were a tad over-cooked. The shrimp was good, but, as I've noted before, I'm not a huge shrimp person, and I wasn't over the moon with them. Luckily, we had over-ordered and so we left the stuff we weren't as crazy about and throughly enjoyed the others.

Overall, a fantastic meal. And just what I was in the mood for.

Decisions (The Beached Whale)

2007-02-12T14:28:00.000-05:00

Ft. Meyers was chosen for our golf weekend based on it being as close to NY/Boston as we could get with some chance of warm weather - food was not really an initial consideration. Once the decision had been made (non-refundable tickets), I spent a considerable amount of time using Chowhound, Google and anything else I could think of, trying to find food worth driving for in Ft. Meyers. I didn't really find anything interesting and certainly nothing within a half hour of our hotel (there was one very nice sounding restaurant at about that distance, but I wasn't in the mood for a food odyssey (to tell the truth, I had been hoping for Cuban - but no luck on that)). And so on Friday night, after not enough sleep Thursday night (late flight courtesy of Continental, construction courtesy of the hotel), we decided to stay in the immediate neighborhood. I had gotten one hint about a bar-food type place called The Beached Whale and with nothing else to go on, we gave it a try.

The place definitely got off to a good start with the hostess/waitress (Colleen). She was enthusiastic without being obnoxious - a tough balance that many people have trouble hitting.

Now, while the food wasn't earth-shattering, it was actually really good. It was bar food, but it was good bar food. I'm not generally a huge buffalo wings fan or a huge shrimp fan (I eat both, but I never really choose to order either), but the Buffalo Shrimp looked interesting. We decided on that and the Crab Cakes as appetizers. Both were really great! I loved the Buffalo Shrimp - it's a much better use of that sauce than the wings.

The Crab Cakes were definitely some of the better that I've had.

For our main dish, both my dad and I chose the fried Grouper (based on the random recommendation). It was coated in cornflakes, which made it a little sweeter than I had anticipated, but with a bit of lemon, salt and tartar sauce, it really worked. I can whole-heartedly recommend it.

I've often remarked that I am a food snob, but that this is not necessarily related to the price of the food - it's all about quality and taste, not price. This meal is definitely an example of that. It didn't break the bank. There weren't any table clothes (the napkins were paper). But the food was great. And we left very happy.

Golf and Hot Dogs (Ft. Meyers)

2007-02-12T13:58:00.000-05:00

My dad and I spent this weekend doing a father/daughter golf outing. The idea was to spend a few days in sunny weather (southern Florida) during what we assumed would be typical February winter weather, but we got lucky, choosing to go the weekend that followed one of the coldest weeks all winter (making it a wonderful treat).

There are really only two times that I think hot dogs are even remotely a good idea (two times in fact when I go from not being a fan (I might even say to being somewhat negative about them) to considering them a necessity): baseball games and golf. What follows is a comparison of the offerings at three of the four courses we played (we had to run for a flight the fourth day and didn't get the fourth dog).

Hot Dog #1: Deep Creek
This course had an actual charcoal grill at their Grill and so the hot dog was well charred (which I liked) and the relish seemed home-made (I don't know if that's something people do, but it didn't have that tang that the next two days had). They also had the choice between Guilden's and French's (I took Guilden's). The only issue with this one was that the dog itself was a little bit big, throwing off the bun/dog balance. (And yes, the fact that I got to eat it outside in 79 degree weather made it taste better too (for those of you in the north, that's real, warm sunshine in the photo)).

Hot Dog #2: Copperhead
This dog was steamed, not grilled, which is okay, but didn't quite hold up after the first one. The bun was nicely toasted though, which helped. The woman at the grill actually added the toppings - but she did a great job (even made it look pretty), so I had no complaints. The dog/bun balance was much better on this version than the first. But the dog itself wasn't as good as the first one. Overall, this came in behind the first days (though the bun/dog balance kept it close).

Hot Dog #3: Majestic
This was, without a doubt, the messiest hot dog I've ever eaten. The bun was a bit stale and just fell apart. The bun/dog balance was okay. The hot dog was okay, though not great. All-in-all it was a very mediocre (always interesting when something is extermely in the middle) hot dog. (Disclaimer: This is a photo of my dad's hot dog as mine always has ketchup, but my bun was really pretty ugly even before I started eating).

4 for 6

2007-02-07T20:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm still on my run of double yolk eggs. I used the 2 smallest eggs when I didn't want the double yolks (those are the 2 out of 6) and found the single yolks. But I think the other 6 might be double (they're as big as the first 4).

The Other White Meat (Urena)

2007-02-07T20:43:00.000-05:00

We (me, C, L and H) went to Urena (37 E 28th St (between Madison and Park) last Thursday (I’m a bit behind with my postings – and Saturday night is definitely one to look forward to). I had heard a bunch about Urena and was looking forward to it. We got a nice banquette in the back.

We decided to do a bottle of wine, but I wasn’t in love with the wine list. I thought it was a bit short and a bit tilted toward the expensive end. The wine we got was okay, but I don’t even remember what it was.

We got a nice little amuse which actually had one of the best smells of any soup I’ve ever had. It was roasted carrot with truffle oil. It tasted okay, but unfortunately, didn’t quite live up to the smell.

C, H and I decided to share the appetizers. We got a plate of hams – which were amazing – the Serrano was my favorite, but I can be a bit of a traditionalist like that; I think C liked the Chorizo the best – and we all enjoyed the pickled peppers.

We also got 3 of their small plates: The dates wrapped in bacon (anyone who knows me knows that I would have insisted on that) – which were amazing; the fritters, which were really yummy (nice cheese center); and the tuna salad in a red pepper – which was good (though I think I would have liked it better if the tuna had been warm).

C and I then split the foie gras appetizer (foie gras three ways: buffuelo with spice scented red plum puree, foie gras terrine with cocoa rib garache and chocolate twile, foie gras yogurt with yellow currant). I think the terrine was my favorite. They were all good, though not great.

We also go the Suckling pig (confit suckling pig, granny smith apple puree, shitake mushrooms, wilted green leaf lettuce, truffle sauce). It was amazing! It tasted like pork. I don’t even know how to explain how good the taste of pork was, it was just heavenly pork. I don’t know that this was my favorite restaurant ever, but if I went back, it would be for the pork.

H got the tuna cured with salt. It was pretty good.

We split 2 desserts – the Granny Smith apple one, which was just weird, it really didn’t work and I don’t even know how to explain what it was – and the chocolate fritters with yogurt sorbet – which, again, was okay, but not great.

Overall, it was good - though not great.

Lightening Strikes Twice

2007-02-03T13:47:00.000-05:00

So for lunch today, I didn't have much time (I'm heading up to Connecticut for what promises to be a meal of a lifetime, more on that tomorrow) and so whipped up an Egg in a Hole. And it happened again. I've never had one before in my whole life and in this one dozen eggs, it's happened twice already (and I've got 10 eggs left - for any math laggards, that means that I'm batting 1000). And I'm not just reposting the same shot (really, you can tell that the white cooked differently ).

Apparently, something is up with these chickens.

Nothing Like a Feast (Choong Mo Ro)

2007-01-31T21:35:00.000-05:00

I got out of the cab since we were at the corner and the light was red and I am totally impatient. The problem is that we weren't at the corner of 32nd and 5th, we were at 33rd and 5th (since we were going west AND I had to walk next to the Empire State building I should have realized it wasn't possible, but I wasn't really thinking). On the plus side, by the time I had walked over to Broadway and then back, I was really in the mood for Korean. Luckily that's where we were going: Choong Mo Ro.

I was meeting two guys I used to work with, E and J (J is in town for a couple of weeks, which is always a great excuse for those of us who live here to get to see each other).

Korean is a great excuse for a huge feast.

And on a cold night, like we've been having, it's great to have the barbeque going. I love the pancakes, so I always suggest that as an appetizer. They had an option with hot peppers (my picture didn't come out). It was really good. Then we had to choose the meat that we wanted to barbeque. My favorite is galbi (bulgogi is second). We got the galbi, but then had pork ribs as well - they were a little fatty for me. The galbi was okay, though I've had better.

The appetizers were an okay assortment, some of my favorites (like kimchi, sometimes the basics are the best), but some of the others I didn't love.
They offered lettuce, rice paper and daikon wraps for the meat. I hadn't had that many options previously and I enjoyed the variety. There were also a couple of nice dips, one with salt (and we all know that I like salt).

And we ordered a pork entree. I usually get so caught up in the barbeque that that's all I get, so this was an interesting bit of variety.

The atmosphere was nice, the pancake was really good, the meat was okay - overall, a decent meal, though not my favorite in the city. No worries, just gives me an excuse to keep trying other places.