April 10, 2010
Mmmm... brownie husband
I saw this and immediately thought, "I could totally go for a Bacon Husband."
Also, I want to be Tina Fey when I grow up.
Falai [closed]
Occasion: Dinner with James, after a wander through the Whitney Biennial
Location: Falai on Clinton between Rivington and Stanton (falainyc.com) - Note: Falai is closed
Edibles: celery root soup with goat cheese amuse bouche; I had the polenta bianca with chicken liver and dried dates to start; James had the smoked salmon bonbon with pine-infused crème fraîche mousse; we shared the eggless pasta with wild boar ragu; I had the scallop main; James had the lamb main; pre-dessert bites of a tiny cannoli and chestnut cake with vanilla gelato and chamomile tea; we shared the chocolate brioche for an actual dessert
Musings: A very long, narrow restaurant. I had a great seat facing their kitchen. I must say I'm very impressed that they're able to run a fine-dining restaurant out of a kitchen smaller my apartment's, no exaggeration. They had three chefs crammed in there. (I think desserts were relegated to the basement.) While the chefs were clearly very disciplined and focused, I think the menu suffered slightly from their space limitations.
I practically swooned over my first course, though. What a stunner. The starchy blandness of the polenta was the perfect background for the earthy, velvety richness of the chicken liver. The dates provided a nice accent note of sweetness. Mmmm..... just fabulous. James' salmon dish was gorgeous - a real work of art - but I didn't think he was too impressed by it. It was also too small and fussy to share, always a demerit in my book.
The pasta dish was pretty amazing. The rustic-looking, hand-rolled noodles had a great chewy texture. I thought the dough had olive oil in it, but was informed that it's just flour and water. Apparently, Falai gets a pasta guru to come in during the day, sit in the basement and just make noodles by hand for hours at a time. As a side note, it's too bad they don't serve their pasta tasting on the weekend.
My scallop main was a disappointment. They definitely overcooked the scallops, and also failed to trim the rubbery side muscle off one of them - quite the faux pas for a fancy restaurant. I enjoyed my bite of the lamb dish but I did notice James sawing away at it. The chocolate dessert was yummy, so at least the meal ended on a good note.
Two critiques. First, too many things were served lukewarm or at room temp - the limitations of the small kitchen I mentioned above. When you've got no space, you've got to rely heavily on dishes and sides you can finish in advance. Second, they seemed to be much more concerned with how beautiful the dishes looked than how good they tasted (with the exception of the homely-looking but delicious pasta). I recommend a re-ordering of priorities.
Though it was a slightly uneven meal, I did enjoy most of what I ate. I'd come again for the polenta, and to try other pasta dishes.
April 9, 2010
Klee
Occasion: Dinner with Jill and Elizabeth
Location: Klee on 9th Ave between 22nd and 23rd (kleebrasserie.com)
Edibles: mini lobster rolls and the carbonara special for me; Elizabeth and Jill shared a cheese plate and the spätzle "mac and cheese"; Elizabeth also had the Alsatian pizza and Jill, pea soup
Musings: I'd give Klee a grade of B overall. In sum: nice atmosphere; hit and miss on the food; a bit pricey.
My mini lobster rolls were decent enough for the $9 price. Elizabeth and Jill did not have as much luck with their app, the mini pork buns. The filling was described as "pork confit" on the menu but was in actuality a slice of pork belly, 95% fat and 5% meat. Neither Elizabeth nor Jill found it remotely edible. Credit to the restaurant, they immediately took it back and off the bill.
Their replacement - the spätzle "mac and cheese" - was much better. Creamy and cheesy with tender homemade noodles, it was very indulgent and tasty, though pretty expensive at $15 for a medium-sized serving. My carbonara wasn't as good as the spätzle. It was a bit gloppy and had a strange and completely superfluous garnish of trout roe. I ordered the half portion and, for such a heavy dish, it was plenty.
I thought the little shot glasses of complimentary passionfruit punch at the end were a nice touch.
April 8, 2010
Mmmm... avocado
Two salad recipes below, one very easy, the other slightly trickier. When your ingredients are fresh and in season, you barely have to do anything to them at all. (But here's the rub: when you're barely cooking them, your ingredients have to be great.) The fat in avocados is the "good" kind, monounsaturated. According to Wikipedia, avocados are also relatively high in fiber and have more potassium than bananas.
Texture-wise, I like it when avocados are soft and unctuous. The easiest way to tell if one's ripe is to give it a little squeeze. Be gentle - apply the amount of force it would take to just bruise a peach. The avocado should have a definite give under your fingers. If the skin feels like it's pulled away from the fruit, it's a bit overripe and will not keep very long in your home. For eating, overripe is preferable to underripe - nothing's worse than an avocado that's hard and crunchy.
Shucking: Slice the avocado lengthwise, cutting around the pit. Twist to separate the two halves. I then (very carefully!) sink the heel of my knife into the pit and give it a twist to pop it out.
Tomato, Bocconcini and Avocado Salad
Slice a medium-sized grid into each avocado half, while still in the skin. Using a spoon, scoop out the avocado - it should come out in nice cubes. For every avocado you're using, dice 1 - 2 plum tomatoes (more flavorful than beefsteak, cheaper than hothouse) and a handful of bocconcini. If your bocconcini are very small, they may not need to be cut at all; the kind I got from the FreshDirect deli, about the size of cherry tomatoes, I sliced in half.
In a large bowl, combine your ingredients and pour in a glug of good olive oil and a dash of vinegar - red wine, white wine, cider, almost any kind besides plain white, which should only be used as a household cleaner, and balsamic, which is too murky and aggressive. (See how easy? You don't even have to make a proper vinaigrette.) Season with salt and pepper. Can throw in some fresh basil if you have it. Toss. Eat!
Avocado and Grapefruit Salad
Instead of cubing the avocado as above, I like to use the spoon to scoop out big parabolic discs. Here is the only tricky part - you have to suprême the grapefruit. Martha Stewart's instructions here. Dress the avocado and grapefruit segments with some juice squeezed from the de-fruited core, olive oil, salt and pepper. If you use a Ruby Red grapefruit the colors are just gorgeous, which is why I like to serve this salad spread out on a plate. Can garnish with a little grated parmesan.
Top Chef Masters Season 2, Ep. 1
Original Air Date: April 7, 2010
The Masters are back, baby!
1) Last season must have done well - prize money is WAY up this season. It looks like they're also tinkering with the format? I think it made more sense when the score was cumulative over the two events.
2) Clamato was a smart pick for a gas station ingredient. The crazy red dye Cheetos, not so much. Govind, you're pretty but dumb. And kind of whiny.
3) I think the rice cakes (Team Ana and Jerry) should have won the Quickfire for more creative use of ingredients. Bread pudding is hardly a stretch.
4) Wasn't really blown away by any of the Elimination dishes. None of the duos made a ton of sense together, and half the dishes sounded like they had pretty big execution issues. Or maybe it was just the way they edited the judges' comments to be so noncommital.
5) I swear Kelly and Gael have both had plastic surgery since last season. Kelly's eyes bug out a lot more than they used to, and Gael either had a bad chemical peel or I guess it could have been a bad sunburn.
The Masters are back, baby!
1) Last season must have done well - prize money is WAY up this season. It looks like they're also tinkering with the format? I think it made more sense when the score was cumulative over the two events.
2) Clamato was a smart pick for a gas station ingredient. The crazy red dye Cheetos, not so much. Govind, you're pretty but dumb. And kind of whiny.
3) I think the rice cakes (Team Ana and Jerry) should have won the Quickfire for more creative use of ingredients. Bread pudding is hardly a stretch.
4) Wasn't really blown away by any of the Elimination dishes. None of the duos made a ton of sense together, and half the dishes sounded like they had pretty big execution issues. Or maybe it was just the way they edited the judges' comments to be so noncommital.
5) I swear Kelly and Gael have both had plastic surgery since last season. Kelly's eyes bug out a lot more than they used to, and Gael either had a bad chemical peel or I guess it could have been a bad sunburn.
April 7, 2010
Mmmm... braised short rib with tagliatelle
Folks, I have not been this excited about a recipe in a long time. Beef on the bone, tomatoes, wine, bacon.... as Ina would say, how bad can that be?! I sincerely hope that you will either make this for yourself, or talk me into making it for you. Creative bribery encouraged.
2 lbs of beef short rib
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
2 packets of fresh tagliatelle (or other wide noodle)
The short rib is a one-pot deal. Advance warning that it will be stewing for about 4 hours - you will want a nice heavy pot. I, of course, used my trusty yellow Le Creuset (as pictured in the crappy bb photo above).
Chop up the bacon and throw it into the pot over medium heat to render (i.e. cook out the fat). When the bacon is crispy and browned, remove the bacon (and reserve) but leave the fat.
Sear the short ribs in the bacon fat. If you've never seen one, they tend to be almost square. You want to be patient with this step, and develop a good brown crust on at least four of the six sides. It will pay dividends later. Browning = flavor. You will probably need to do this in two batches. Remove all the browned short ribs to a plate.
Without cleaning the pot, throw in the chopped carrots and onion. (Some fat will render from the short ribs too, which should provide ample cooking oil.) Cook them until they start to brown, too.
Deglaze with red wine. Give the bottom of the pot a good scraping to liberate all the tasty brown bits. Add the tomatoes, beef broth, bay leaves. Season cautiously with salt and pepper (watch the salt in particular - the beef broth may have a little or a lot, you will be reducing the liquid, and you will be adding the bacon back later). Return the short ribs to the pot; the meat should mostly be submerged in the braising liquid. Bring to a simmer and cover.
Cook covered for 1.5 hours. Check on it once in a while to make sure nothing's sticking to the bottom. At the end of that time, uncover and check seasoning (it should still be somewhat under-salted at this point).
Cook for *another* 1.5 hours, uncovered. The braising liquid will gradually reduce and thicken into a sauce - it's okay if the beef is no longer fully submerged. As before, stir once in a while. [During the long simmer, you might pass the time by watching a movie or two, and enjoying the half bottle of wine you conveniently have on hand. You can always open another one for dinner.]
Noodles: About 20 min before the beef is due to be done, put a big pot of water on to boil. I strongly recommend using a fresh pasta - the grocery store kind, usually found in a refrigerated case near the dairy and eggs, is fine. Get the widest noodle you can find - tagliatelle ideally but fettucine will do. Cook the pasta al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, remove the short ribs and shred the meat using two forks. The meat should fall off the bone and be very tender and easy to shred. Return the shredded meat to the pot with the sauce, and fold in. Sprinkle in the bacon. Check seasoning one last time.
With this dish, I like to mix the pasta and the sauce in the pot and serve it pre-mixed, as opposed to ladling the sauce over the plain noodles. Garnish with a little grated parmesan or chopped parsley if you have it. Alternatively, Giada grates on a little dark chocolate.
The full recipe - 2 lbs of short ribs and two packets of pasta - will make about six generous servings. You could theoretically halve it. But a full recipe is about the same amount of work, so why not make extra? The shredded short rib sauce refrigerates beautifully and will keep a little over a week - it can be two meals for three people, three meals for two people or even six meals for one person, provided you're not the kind of person who gets tired of eating one dish over and over.
(Important Note: If you're refrigerating the sauce, DON'T put in the bacon until you're reheating it to eat. If you leave the bacon soaking in the sauce, the salt will leach out and make your sauce too salty. I learned this one the hard way. Can be ameliorated with a touch of sugar, but better not to mess it up in the first place.)
Alternate serving suggestion: Instead of shredding the short rib, you can serve a whole one (or two) nestled in a bed of polenta or mashed potatoes, and spoon some sauce over it.
Enjoy!
Braised Short Rib with Tagliatelle
(based on Giada's recipe)
2 lbs of beef short rib4 slices thick-cut bacon
1 very large onion, chopped
5 carrots, peeled and chopped
14oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 can beef broth
½ bottle of a nice red wine with some personality2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
2 packets of fresh tagliatelle (or other wide noodle)
The short rib is a one-pot deal. Advance warning that it will be stewing for about 4 hours - you will want a nice heavy pot. I, of course, used my trusty yellow Le Creuset (as pictured in the crappy bb photo above).
Chop up the bacon and throw it into the pot over medium heat to render (i.e. cook out the fat). When the bacon is crispy and browned, remove the bacon (and reserve) but leave the fat.
Sear the short ribs in the bacon fat. If you've never seen one, they tend to be almost square. You want to be patient with this step, and develop a good brown crust on at least four of the six sides. It will pay dividends later. Browning = flavor. You will probably need to do this in two batches. Remove all the browned short ribs to a plate.
Without cleaning the pot, throw in the chopped carrots and onion. (Some fat will render from the short ribs too, which should provide ample cooking oil.) Cook them until they start to brown, too.
Deglaze with red wine. Give the bottom of the pot a good scraping to liberate all the tasty brown bits. Add the tomatoes, beef broth, bay leaves. Season cautiously with salt and pepper (watch the salt in particular - the beef broth may have a little or a lot, you will be reducing the liquid, and you will be adding the bacon back later). Return the short ribs to the pot; the meat should mostly be submerged in the braising liquid. Bring to a simmer and cover.
Cook covered for 1.5 hours. Check on it once in a while to make sure nothing's sticking to the bottom. At the end of that time, uncover and check seasoning (it should still be somewhat under-salted at this point).
Cook for *another* 1.5 hours, uncovered. The braising liquid will gradually reduce and thicken into a sauce - it's okay if the beef is no longer fully submerged. As before, stir once in a while. [During the long simmer, you might pass the time by watching a movie or two, and enjoying the half bottle of wine you conveniently have on hand. You can always open another one for dinner.]
Noodles: About 20 min before the beef is due to be done, put a big pot of water on to boil. I strongly recommend using a fresh pasta - the grocery store kind, usually found in a refrigerated case near the dairy and eggs, is fine. Get the widest noodle you can find - tagliatelle ideally but fettucine will do. Cook the pasta al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, remove the short ribs and shred the meat using two forks. The meat should fall off the bone and be very tender and easy to shred. Return the shredded meat to the pot with the sauce, and fold in. Sprinkle in the bacon. Check seasoning one last time.
With this dish, I like to mix the pasta and the sauce in the pot and serve it pre-mixed, as opposed to ladling the sauce over the plain noodles. Garnish with a little grated parmesan or chopped parsley if you have it. Alternatively, Giada grates on a little dark chocolate.
The full recipe - 2 lbs of short ribs and two packets of pasta - will make about six generous servings. You could theoretically halve it. But a full recipe is about the same amount of work, so why not make extra? The shredded short rib sauce refrigerates beautifully and will keep a little over a week - it can be two meals for three people, three meals for two people or even six meals for one person, provided you're not the kind of person who gets tired of eating one dish over and over.
(Important Note: If you're refrigerating the sauce, DON'T put in the bacon until you're reheating it to eat. If you leave the bacon soaking in the sauce, the salt will leach out and make your sauce too salty. I learned this one the hard way. Can be ameliorated with a touch of sugar, but better not to mess it up in the first place.)
Alternate serving suggestion: Instead of shredding the short rib, you can serve a whole one (or two) nestled in a bed of polenta or mashed potatoes, and spoon some sauce over it.
Enjoy!
April 3, 2010
Pulino's
Occasion: Pre-opera (Partenope) dinner with Melissa, Tony and Alicia
Location: Pulino's on Bowery and E Houston (pulinosny.com)
Edibles: gamberi (shrimp) pizza; salsiccia (sausage and broccoli rabe) pizza; fazzoletti (a crêpe-like creation stuffed with cheese and lamb ragu); asparagus with ramps, rhubarb and black pepper ricotta; a skillet of sausage and peppers - all eaten family-style
Musings: When I first walked in, I had the strongest sense of déjà vu. The backlit bar, the white tile, the pillars, the converted warehouse feel - all of it a dead ringer for Schiller's (which, as far as I know, is unaffiliated). It was pretty crowded and hectic, even though dinner service didn't officially begin for another 20 minutes, at 6:00. Speaking of which, a little suggestion: start earlier.
If you're going to identify yourself primarily as a pizzeria - and a gourmet, pricey one at that - your pizza's got to be outstanding. I found Pulino's to have good-quality toppings, but the crust definitely needs work. The relatively small pie was extremely soggy in the middle; if you try to pick up a slice, it just flops over and falls apart in your hand.
I thought the asparagus dish had too many components that didn't quite come together. The fazzoletti was decent but nothing exciting. The sausage and peppers I liked, but it came to the table sort of room temperature and I would have liked it hotter.
Pulino's is pretty new and, in my opinion, still working out a lot of kinks. This place has gotten a lot of press and will draw flocks of New York's fickle foodies for the next few weeks. My rec would be to wait until the furor dies down and see if they've really got the goods to stay open long term.
Executive chef Nate Appleman, of "The Next Iron Chef" fame, pictured with Alicia and Mel.
Union Square market
Edibles: fresh apple cider; a bag of apple cider donuts; a giant ginger cookie; a block of pumpkin gingerbread; slabs of a sharp cheddar and an aged alpine cheese; a Granny Smith apple
(We also came across a public group pillowfight in the square. Only in New York.)
April 2, 2010
Northern Spy Food Co.
Occasion: Dinner with Winnie (in from LA) and Gabrielle
Location: Northern Spy on 12th between A and B (northernspyfoodco.com)
Edibles: I had the polenta with greens, mushrooms, crème fraîche and a poached egg on top; Gabrielle had the sweet potato risotto; Winnie had the pork terrine followed by the pork loin main; we all shared the meatball special, and also split a slice of carrot cake for dessert
Musings: Great little neighborhood spot. I loved the décor, from the robin's-egg-blue bench to the wallpaper panels to the charmingly distressed wood everywhere (probably fake, but still).
I saw someone tucking into a plate of meatballs when we walked in and immediately fixated on them. I'm pleased to report that they were flavorful and satisfyingly hearty - less pleased that they're not a regular menu item. My polenta dish was a good gap-filler. (No, that's not quite fair. It's a good dish in its own right but could only play second fiddle tonight, what with me in a meatball haze.)
The cake was a little heavy and piled with too much frosting for my taste. For drinks, I can recommend their house cider and Winnie raved about the homemade blood orange seltzer.
March 27, 2010
Veritas
Occasion: Pre-movie (Alice in Wonderland) dinner with James
Location: Veritas on 20th between B'way and Park Ave S (veritas-nyc.com)
Edibles: so many yummy things - described in detail below
Musings: Been on my To Do list for ages, and it did not disappoint. Dinner here is an Event.
The wine list, the restaurant's proudest achievement, is a daunting volume filled with hundreds of choices. It was mostly wasted on me. I was very happy to abdicate the choice of wine to James, and found our bottle of medium-bodied red tasty enough.
The food... now that, I did appreciate.
Amuse bouche: An artistically-presented trio of crab wrapped in cucumber with mango sauce, cucumber cream with shrimp and mango, and cucumber sorbet. Dainty and delicious, though obviously designed for warmer weather than we had that dreary day. I guess the chef is longing for spring just like the rest of us!
Appetizer: On the waiter's recommendation, I made a last minute switch from the scallop salad to the lobster nage. (Thanks to him for the great advice!) The lobster sauce was so incredibly rich and savory - like the essence of a thousand lobsters distilled into a few spoonfuls of liquid bliss. Fantastic! James was kind enough to share one of his crispy frog legs with me. I was as happy to eat it as I usually am to eat things that are deep-fried, but I thought the flavor of the meat got lost in the crunch and the oiliness.
Main: The veal chop, medium rare. It's a Flintstonian-looking chop, but thankfully carved down to a few perfectly pink slices for each of us. The meat was so unbelievably tender that it actually creased where one slice lay against another. Best veal I've ever had, full stop. On the side was a whimiscal truffled pastina.
Pre-dessert: a tiny rhubarb tart and a diminutive strawberry shortcake
Dessert: A slightly weaker course. I had the honey tangerine panna cotta. The flavor was good but the panna cotta was tough from too much gelatin, and the tuile cookie tasted stale. Maybe the cheese plate would have been a better choice.
All in all, I was very impressed. The chef demonstrated real mastery of his craft.
March 26, 2010
Stonehome Wine Bar, part II
Occasion: Drinks with Liz, Jana and Olivia
Location: Stonehome Wine Bar on Lafayette Ave between Elliot Place and Portland Ave in Brooklyn (stonehomewinebar.com)
Edibles: gingerbread cake
Musings: Another brief encounter with Stonehome. We were looking for a mellow place to have some wine and chat, and Stonehome really fit the bill - bustling but not loud or crowded, with nice glowy indirect lighting. The bar was full, but we managed to finagle a table after some negotiations with the waitress. A fortunate happenstance, since I wouldn't have ordered dessert otherwise. AMAZING gingerbread cake.
Location: Stonehome Wine Bar on Lafayette Ave between Elliot Place and Portland Ave in Brooklyn (stonehomewinebar.com)
Edibles: gingerbread cake
Musings: Another brief encounter with Stonehome. We were looking for a mellow place to have some wine and chat, and Stonehome really fit the bill - bustling but not loud or crowded, with nice glowy indirect lighting. The bar was full, but we managed to finagle a table after some negotiations with the waitress. A fortunate happenstance, since I wouldn't have ordered dessert otherwise. AMAZING gingerbread cake.
Boca Chica
Occasion: Liz in town from Brussels!
Location: Boca Chica on the corner of 1st and 1st (a.k.a. the nexus of the universe)
Edibles: avocado salad and skirt steak chimichurri for me (didn't really taste anyone else's food since I was enjoying my own so much)
Musings: We ended up here after Lil' Frankie's got pissy about the logistics of our large party (I mean, come on. It's New York - people are always coming late or leaving early.)
I was completely frazzled from dashing all over town on errands and traversing nearly the entire length of Manhattan to get to dinner (yes, I was one of the guilty late ones!) so the prompt service on my passionfruit margarita was a good start. They also had tasty thick-cut plantain chips on the table to munch on instead of the usual stale tortilla chips.
The $5 avocado salad was nothing special - basically half an avocado, sliced and fanned out, dunked in vinaigrette and plopped on a little side plate with some pickled onions. Either the price or the presentation could use some rethinking. They were redeemed by the skirt steak, which was tender, flavorful and perfectly cooked. The chimichurri was fresh and bold, if a bit overloaded with garlic. The enormous plate with sides of rice, beans, and a delightful coleslaw-like salad of cabbage with cilantro and tomatoes, was a very reasonable $17.50. Plenty for two to share, even by my meat-tooth standards.
I remember Jana liked her dish (something porky?) and Shana and her husband were pleased with their food, while Liz was indifferent on her sandwich (the Cubano?). If I had to choose, I'd probably give the edge to nearby Molé's superb carnitas tacos. But if Molé's tiny dining room is full (or Lil' Frankie's is giving you attitude), Boca Chica is a great fall-back.
March 21, 2010
Almond
Location: Almond on 22nd between B'way and Park Ave S, the site of the old Borough Food and Drink (almondnyc.com) [Note: sister restaurant to Almond in Bridgehampton]
Edibles: I had the duck hash with poached egg; James had the Nutella waffles and a side of bacon
Musings: Not as close or as cosy as Penelope, but Almond gets added to the list of decent brunch places in the neighborhood.
The hash was SPECTACULAR. Gourmet but not fussy, it was a generous lumberjack plateful of fried potatoes with delicious shreds of duck and crispy nuggets of crackling, presided over by a silky poached egg. If you would normally dismiss this dish because you think duck is too heavy for brunch, I urge you to reconsider. It's heaven!
James' waffle was good too, though a little too dessert-y for my personal brunch tastes. The bacon, always horribly, inexplicably expensive at brunch, tasted like it had been cooked in the deep fryer - a slight ding for that.
Another slight ding for the stingy cup of coffee, which the waiter was asked to refill but forgot, and cold milk, which made my drink lukewarm from the get-go. (If you're thinking, "She's asking a lot - hot milk for coffee," I clarify that I asked for my coffee to be filled just three-quarters of the way to leave room for a lot of milk. A smart waiter would have figured it out.)
I'll be back for the hash, for sure. May bring my own mug next time.
March 20, 2010
Sorella
Occasion: Dinner with Elizabeth
Location: Sorella on Allen between Delancey and Broome (sorellanyc.com)
Edibles: shared apps of argula salad with pears and roasted brussels sprouts with apples; I had the agnolotti stuffed with beef with sage butter sauce for my main; Elizabeth had the beet risotto
Musings: They were booked up in the main dining room so we ate at the bar. I loved the vibe at Sorella - dim and casually chic, not too loud. I also really liked their quirky music selection and was bopping along to it most of the night.
The food... The salad was lovely and surprisingly substantial. The brussels sprouts (really a side vegetable) were nicely roasted and flavorful, if somewhat bogged down by the heavy sauce on top, something like a Russian dressing. Elizabeth's risotto was tasty, once you got past the disconcerting bright magenta color. My main was the weakest dish of the night. The pasta was hard and gritty and the butter sauce was a poor choice to accompany - too oily and heavy.
Although it wasn't the most impressive meal, I did really like the atmosphere and there were glimmers of greatness in the food. If the opportunity arose I would definitely come again, try some different things on the menu.
Location: Sorella on Allen between Delancey and Broome (sorellanyc.com)
Edibles: shared apps of argula salad with pears and roasted brussels sprouts with apples; I had the agnolotti stuffed with beef with sage butter sauce for my main; Elizabeth had the beet risotto
Musings: They were booked up in the main dining room so we ate at the bar. I loved the vibe at Sorella - dim and casually chic, not too loud. I also really liked their quirky music selection and was bopping along to it most of the night.
The food... The salad was lovely and surprisingly substantial. The brussels sprouts (really a side vegetable) were nicely roasted and flavorful, if somewhat bogged down by the heavy sauce on top, something like a Russian dressing. Elizabeth's risotto was tasty, once you got past the disconcerting bright magenta color. My main was the weakest dish of the night. The pasta was hard and gritty and the butter sauce was a poor choice to accompany - too oily and heavy.
Although it wasn't the most impressive meal, I did really like the atmosphere and there were glimmers of greatness in the food. If the opportunity arose I would definitely come again, try some different things on the menu.
March 18, 2010
Sakagura
Occasion: Post-theatre (Glass Menagerie) bite with Michael
Location: Sakagura on 42nd between 2nd and 3rd (sakagura.com)
Edibles: gyu miso nikomi shredded beef back rib stewed in miso with grated daikon; tsukune chicken meatballs; surumeika yaki grilled squid; a seared scallop special
Musings: After wandering aimlessly around midtown for 20 minutes after the show, my brain finally clicked on Sakagura. In the culinary wasteland of midtown, Sakagura is a welcome oasis and it's one of the very best options in the area for late-night. Food is served until midnight on weekdays, until 1am Fridays and Saturdays.
I'm always tickled by their location. You go into a regular-looking office building, down some fire stairs, and enter into a little pocket of Tokyo. The main room has a warm, relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. There's a nice long bar and lots of tables and little booths. They also have very cute bathrooms, built into giant barrels.
It was really more of a snack than a proper dinner, but it was exactly what I wanted at that moment. Everything we had was delicious, very delicately and thoughtfully made. The scallop dish was a highlight and the beef rib was my favorite, absolute perfection in texture and flavor. Four dishes, a round of draft beers, tip and tax came to about $25 a person.
I haven't been here enough times or eaten enough of the menu is give Sakagura Hall of Fame status... yet. But tonight's dishes were just exquisite and it's definitely headed in that direction.
March 17, 2010
Shun Lee
Occasion: Jill's birthday!
Location: Shun Lee on 65th between W Central Park and B'way (shunleewest.com) [Note: there's another location on the east side, but they don't seem to be very closely affiliated and their menus are quite different]
Edibles: a mixed appetizer plate with a xiao long bao, cold sesame noodles, a fried shrimp ball and a pork (I think) and veggie lettuce cup; a mixed main course plate with orange beef, stir-fried prawns, some kind of chicken and a bowl of fried rice with Chinese sausage
Musings: First, happy birthday Jill! I'm glad we got to see you to celebrate before you jetted off for your beach vacay!
As for the restaurant... My impressions of Shun Lee previous to this visit were that it was a moderately nice Chinese restaurant, if slightly overpriced. They used to have a very good tea-smoked duck (not on their menu anymore) that I would occasionally treat myself to if I was in the neighborhood.
Tonight, I think they took advantage of our group inertia to play fast and loose with a "prix fixe" menu. What we should have done was: A) ordered wine by the bottle; B) each picked one entree (ranging from about $18 - $30) and eaten family-style. Instead, for the okay meal they picked out for us, the bill was an absolutely ASTRONOMICAL $80 per person. I felt especially bad for our one vegetarian, who had a plate of tofu stir-fry and paid the same as the rest of us.
This is decidedly not the economic environment to be pulling this kind of stunt, Shun Lee - shame on you. I will not be back.
March 10, 2010
Bar Jamón
Occasion: A drink and a snack with Elizabeth
Location: Bar Jamón on 17th and Irving, just around the corner from Casa Mono (barjamonnyc.com)
Edibles: tortilla española and cured tuna with gazpacho salad
Musings: A great place to hang out - if can you can get in. It's a little dark cubby of a bar, seating about fifteen. It was blessedly not too crowded tonight. I believe it was originally intended as a sort of waiting room for Casa Mono, but I come to Bar Jamón all the time, completely unrelated to Casa Mono.
Elizabeth and I did some catching up over quartinos of wine. Wine-wise, the selection is not very broad but I'm pretty easygoing - give me a decent white that's not Chardonnay and I'll call it a day.
She'd already eaten so I had the food all to myself. The tortilla was a generous enough portion for $7. Good, but a little bit dense and dry. The tuna dish was a great concept and was seasoned perfectly with just the right amount of acid; unfortunately the tuna itself was a little rubbery - either cured way too long, or cooked through first and then marinated. I would have gone with more of a ceviche style.
Minor critiques aside, it was a nice, light dinner and a great way to decompress after a busy day. I'm sure I'll be back soon.
March 7, 2010
Mmmm... Oscar party snacks
Occasion: My annual Oscar party (Go Kathryn Bigelow and Hurt Locker!)
Edibles: chicken satay and crudités; chow mein with bok choi
Satay Dip
(based on Ina's more complicated recipe which you can find here; her product pictured below)
1 tbsp olive oil
⅓ cup Chinese barbeque sauce (the Niu Tou "Cow Head" brand is best)
1 package of fresh pasta, cooked and drained (can substitute dried pasta)
2 lbs of baby bok choi, the ones with the green stems, washed and chopped
a splash of soy sauce
[optional: 1 steak, sliced]
In a wok or large sauté pan, give the bbq sauce a bit of a toast until it's fragrant. [If you're using the steak, put it in here and give it a quick fry.] Throw in the bok choi and stir-fry until mostly cooked - don't overdo it, it's nice to still have a little snap to them. (If you're up for it, put in the stems first - they take longer to cook. But it'll be just fine if you dump in the leaves at the same time.)
Add the cooked pasta, splash in a little soy sauce and toss everything together. Done!
This chow mein has very few ingredients, cooks up quickly and is great for a crowd. If you have leftovers, just stick it in the microwave the next day - the greens will not be as crisp [and the beef will be slightly tougher] but it'll still be good.
Edibles: chicken satay and crudités; chow mein with bok choi
Satay Dip
(based on Ina's more complicated recipe which you can find here; her product pictured below)
1 tbsp olive oil1 tsp dark sesame oil (it's pretty strong)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
½ cup smooth peanut butter
In a large bowl, dissolve the brown sugar in the vinegar and soy sauce. Whisk in all the other ingredients. Can also make in a food processor.
For the chicken, I just pan-fried boneless, skinless chicken thighs in some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and splash in a little white wine. When cooled, slice and put on bamboo skewers.
Chow Mein with Bok Choi
⅓ cup Chinese barbeque sauce (the Niu Tou "Cow Head" brand is best)
1 package of fresh pasta, cooked and drained (can substitute dried pasta)
2 lbs of baby bok choi, the ones with the green stems, washed and chopped
a splash of soy sauce
[optional: 1 steak, sliced]
In a wok or large sauté pan, give the bbq sauce a bit of a toast until it's fragrant. [If you're using the steak, put it in here and give it a quick fry.] Throw in the bok choi and stir-fry until mostly cooked - don't overdo it, it's nice to still have a little snap to them. (If you're up for it, put in the stems first - they take longer to cook. But it'll be just fine if you dump in the leaves at the same time.)
Add the cooked pasta, splash in a little soy sauce and toss everything together. Done!
This chow mein has very few ingredients, cooks up quickly and is great for a crowd. If you have leftovers, just stick it in the microwave the next day - the greens will not be as crisp [and the beef will be slightly tougher] but it'll still be good.
February 28, 2010
Baohaus
Occasion: Afternoon snack with Yining
Location: Baohaus on Rivington between Norfolk and Suffolk (baohausnyc.com)
Edibles: the Chairman Bao (with a special request for a lean piece of pork); a special Kobe beef bao; an order of bao fries with sesame sauce
Musings: Not a big fan of Bauhaus architecture. But pork buns - that I can get behind!
As it was just an afternoon snack, Yining and I split two bao and an order of the bao fries. I'm generally pretty easy to please when it comes to fried stuff but I found the bao fries underwhelming. I like the denser texture of man tou better for something like this. Also, the sesame sauce is a somewhat disturbing speckle-y grey color.
I am, however, a big fan of the bao. I'm really glad the guy behind the counter overheard my concerns about overly fatty pork - yes, there is such a thing. He very helpfully offered to find us a leaner piece, and it was perfect. The pork was tender, flavorful, and the bao had a bit of surprise from the cilantro and ground peanut garnishes. I'm not sure they're strictly authentic, but they are delicious.
I also quite liked the Kobe special bao, though I didn't think it was twice as good as the pork at twice the price. The skirt steak (which they were out of) is worth considering at $4.50. For variety's sake, you know?
Bottom line: very yummy, and great for a pick-me-up if you're in the area. Yining and I are considering the feasibility of our own little private delivery service. I'll let you eastsiders know if that works out....
Location: Baohaus on Rivington between Norfolk and Suffolk (baohausnyc.com)
Edibles: the Chairman Bao (with a special request for a lean piece of pork); a special Kobe beef bao; an order of bao fries with sesame sauce
Musings: Not a big fan of Bauhaus architecture. But pork buns - that I can get behind!
As it was just an afternoon snack, Yining and I split two bao and an order of the bao fries. I'm generally pretty easy to please when it comes to fried stuff but I found the bao fries underwhelming. I like the denser texture of man tou better for something like this. Also, the sesame sauce is a somewhat disturbing speckle-y grey color.
I am, however, a big fan of the bao. I'm really glad the guy behind the counter overheard my concerns about overly fatty pork - yes, there is such a thing. He very helpfully offered to find us a leaner piece, and it was perfect. The pork was tender, flavorful, and the bao had a bit of surprise from the cilantro and ground peanut garnishes. I'm not sure they're strictly authentic, but they are delicious.
I also quite liked the Kobe special bao, though I didn't think it was twice as good as the pork at twice the price. The skirt steak (which they were out of) is worth considering at $4.50. For variety's sake, you know?
Bottom line: very yummy, and great for a pick-me-up if you're in the area. Yining and I are considering the feasibility of our own little private delivery service. I'll let you eastsiders know if that works out....
February 27, 2010
Mmmm... pantry fried rice
Even when my cupboards are next to bare, I can cobble this dish together. A good one to throw together on the weekend - the leftovers microwave up great for lunch on Monday.
Pantry Fried Rice
10 strips of turkey bacon (lasts in the freezer forever; defrosted, it cooks in 1 minute in the microwave)
½ cup frozen corn (Trader Joe's sweet corn, if you can get it)
2 cups of cooked rice, hot or cold
a splash of soy sauce
4 eggs
oil
Cook the turkey bacon and give it a rough chop. In a fine-mesh strainer or colander, run the corn under some hot tap water and leave it aside to drain. Crack and beat the eggs. Have everything prepped and ready, because this dish cooks up in about three minutes once the oil hits the pan.
Heat a wok or a big sauté pan. When it's nice and hot, in quick succession, pour in a generous puddle of oil, pour in the beaten eggs and immediately dump in the rice as well. Stir / toss vigorously with a spatula, breaking up any large clumps of rice. Ideally, you want to coat the grains of rice with egg. What you do NOT want is large chunks of unincorporated scrambled eggs.
Fling in the turkey bacon and corn. Splash in a little soy sauce. Keep stirring / tossing. If you started with hot rice, you're pretty much done. If you started with cold rice, you'll want to give it another minute. Voilà!
Variations: If you happen to have scallions or shallots or parsley in your fridge, the first two can be flash-fried in the oil before the eggs go in and the parsley can be a garnish at the end. Instead of turkey bacon, use any salty meat - sausage, ripped-up prosciutto, ham, even smoked salmon can work. Leftover veggies from the night before? Throw those in too. Anything goes.
Pantry Fried Rice
10 strips of turkey bacon (lasts in the freezer forever; defrosted, it cooks in 1 minute in the microwave)
½ cup frozen corn (Trader Joe's sweet corn, if you can get it)
2 cups of cooked rice, hot or cold
a splash of soy sauce
4 eggs
oil
Cook the turkey bacon and give it a rough chop. In a fine-mesh strainer or colander, run the corn under some hot tap water and leave it aside to drain. Crack and beat the eggs. Have everything prepped and ready, because this dish cooks up in about three minutes once the oil hits the pan.
Heat a wok or a big sauté pan. When it's nice and hot, in quick succession, pour in a generous puddle of oil, pour in the beaten eggs and immediately dump in the rice as well. Stir / toss vigorously with a spatula, breaking up any large clumps of rice. Ideally, you want to coat the grains of rice with egg. What you do NOT want is large chunks of unincorporated scrambled eggs.
Fling in the turkey bacon and corn. Splash in a little soy sauce. Keep stirring / tossing. If you started with hot rice, you're pretty much done. If you started with cold rice, you'll want to give it another minute. Voilà!
Variations: If you happen to have scallions or shallots or parsley in your fridge, the first two can be flash-fried in the oil before the eggs go in and the parsley can be a garnish at the end. Instead of turkey bacon, use any salty meat - sausage, ripped-up prosciutto, ham, even smoked salmon can work. Leftover veggies from the night before? Throw those in too. Anything goes.
February 26, 2010
Gemma
Occasion: Abby says sayonara to Big Firm life!
Location: Gemma on Bowery between 2nd and Bond (gemmanyc.com)
Edibles: caponata crostini and focaccia robiola to share; orecchiette with broccoli rabe for the girls; I had the burrata app for my main
Musings: Gemma is a solid Italian restaurant with a nice casual vibe. As NYC restaurants go, it has a pretty big interior so seating is usually not a problem. They also have a long, wide bar perfect for an after-work or after-dinner drink.
I greatly enjoyed the very generous serving of caponata, studded with tart and pickley bits of green olive. The burrata was meh (nothing I've found in New York's come close to the very memorable one I had in Argentina), and so was the orecchiette. I think the way to go at Gemma is to get a whole bunch of apps and antipasti things to nibble on, instead of a proper meal.
Mostly, it was great to catch up with my girls. Abby, this day has been a long time coming and I can't wait to see what you do next!
February 20, 2010
Sha-lin Noodle House
Occasion: Post-figure-skating-practice and pre-women's hockey lunch
Location: Sha-lin Noodle House on W Broadway between Cambie and Ash
Edibles: stir-fried cutting noodles with tofu and vegetables; xa jiang dragging noodles; potstickers, half pork, half vegetarian (with a cabbage and carrot filling, like a cooked coleslaw); sautéed bok choi with garlic
Musings: Love this place!! Fresh noodles are among my favorite things to eat, and they do a really good variety of styles (and corresponding textures) at Sha-lin.
Cutting Noodles: The chef takes a block of refrigerated dough and uses a special triangular knife-tool thing to shave off noodles, shooting them straight into a pot of boiling water. Sort of like how you make spätzle, but with a much firmer, denser dough and much larger noodles. I really like the heft of these noodles, and they're excellent for stir-frying. The oily, fried noodles can be slippery little suckers - tricky to eat with chopsticks.
Dragging Noodles: The chef REALLY develops some gluten by repeatedly stretching the dough, and then twisting it back on itself. Sort of like how pulled taffy is made. The noodles themselves are made by doubling up one fat rope of dough, stretching it out (thus reducing the thickness by half), and repeating until the strands are about the thinness of spaghetti. The trick to this method - not that I've mastered it or anything - is getting a really good, elastic texture of dough, or the strands will break before they're thin enough. I like these noodles with a ground meat and bean sauce known as xa jiang. (Sha-lin does a nice sauce, but my mom's version with Chinese pickles and diced shiitake mushrooms is truly spectacular.)
Pushing Noodles (which we did not have): The chef rolls and folds up a sheet of dough, and cuts the noodles by hand. Similar to the soba method, but the chef cuts away from himself instead of slicing, hence the name.
The potstickers were a real hit with Karen and Josie. Sha-lin makes theirs with a yeasty, risen dough, and develops a nice crispy, golden brown crust on the bottoms. The quality of the fillings could be improved, but it's hard to complain when you're in the middle of chowing down on a piping hot plateful.
If memory serves, four dishes plus two beers apiece came out to under $25 a person. Good stuff!
[Note: This will be the only other Vancouver post. I also took Karen and Josie to old favorites Sun Sui Wah and Tapastree, and met up with Emily at Adonia to pass off some extra hockey tickets, but you can check out my old reviews using the links. Back to NYC for the next post.]
Location: Sha-lin Noodle House on W Broadway between Cambie and Ash
Edibles: stir-fried cutting noodles with tofu and vegetables; xa jiang dragging noodles; potstickers, half pork, half vegetarian (with a cabbage and carrot filling, like a cooked coleslaw); sautéed bok choi with garlic
Musings: Love this place!! Fresh noodles are among my favorite things to eat, and they do a really good variety of styles (and corresponding textures) at Sha-lin.
Cutting Noodles: The chef takes a block of refrigerated dough and uses a special triangular knife-tool thing to shave off noodles, shooting them straight into a pot of boiling water. Sort of like how you make spätzle, but with a much firmer, denser dough and much larger noodles. I really like the heft of these noodles, and they're excellent for stir-frying. The oily, fried noodles can be slippery little suckers - tricky to eat with chopsticks.
Dragging Noodles: The chef REALLY develops some gluten by repeatedly stretching the dough, and then twisting it back on itself. Sort of like how pulled taffy is made. The noodles themselves are made by doubling up one fat rope of dough, stretching it out (thus reducing the thickness by half), and repeating until the strands are about the thinness of spaghetti. The trick to this method - not that I've mastered it or anything - is getting a really good, elastic texture of dough, or the strands will break before they're thin enough. I like these noodles with a ground meat and bean sauce known as xa jiang. (Sha-lin does a nice sauce, but my mom's version with Chinese pickles and diced shiitake mushrooms is truly spectacular.)
Pushing Noodles (which we did not have): The chef rolls and folds up a sheet of dough, and cuts the noodles by hand. Similar to the soba method, but the chef cuts away from himself instead of slicing, hence the name.
The potstickers were a real hit with Karen and Josie. Sha-lin makes theirs with a yeasty, risen dough, and develops a nice crispy, golden brown crust on the bottoms. The quality of the fillings could be improved, but it's hard to complain when you're in the middle of chowing down on a piping hot plateful.
If memory serves, four dishes plus two beers apiece came out to under $25 a person. Good stuff!
[Note: This will be the only other Vancouver post. I also took Karen and Josie to old favorites Sun Sui Wah and Tapastree, and met up with Emily at Adonia to pass off some extra hockey tickets, but you can check out my old reviews using the links. Back to NYC for the next post.]
February 19, 2010
Banana Leaf
Location: Banana Leaf on W Broadway between Willow and Laurel in Vancouver (bananaleaf-vancouver.com)
Edibles: papaya salad, satay and roti canai for the table; curried tofu for Karen; a chicken dish for Josie; a beef dish for Bryan
Musings: Olympic madness!! With wait times from one to three(!) hours for restaurants on Granville Island, we escaped back into town to look for a place less accessible to tourists.
We settled on Banana Leaf. I'd been to it once before, and their delicious papaya salad really made an impression - lots of flavors and textures, with a zippy dressing. Also, at just $7, two orders were enough for the whole table to share.
The rest of the apps and mains are decent enough, objectively speaking; our extended tromping about in the cold and damp made everything extra tasty.
[Note: Go Canada! Our curling team, skipped by the superb Kevin Martin, a.k.a. the Old Bear, whomped Denmark 10-3.]
February 9, 2010
Mmmm... subsidized cafeteria food
Breakfast: ham, cheese and mushroom omelet - $2.95
Lunch: mac and cheese and sweet potato fries - $1.40
That's a pretty sweet deal.
Lunch: mac and cheese and sweet potato fries - $1.40
That's a pretty sweet deal.
February 7, 2010
Mmmm... balsamic soy-glazed chicken
The second screening in our impromptu Cornball Film Festival - '80s classic Top Gun. Hosted by me, this evening called for a casual dinner to be eaten in front of the TV. (I don't have a dining room table, anyway). It's kind of a mutt menu in terms of international influences, but I think it went well together:
Balsamic Soy-Glazed Chicken
(a hybrid of the old Chinese recipe for Three Cups Chicken and Giada's Balsamic Chicken Drumettes)
12 chicken drumsticks (I cook almost exclusively with dark meat)
¾ cup soy sauce
¼ cup cooking wine
⅓ cup brown sugar and/or honey
1 tbsp sesame oil
10 whole peppercorns
1-2 cups water
⅓ cup good quality balsamic vinegar
[Notes: On the vinegar, know that when you're going to be reducing a liquid, it needs to be pretty good to start with. Otherwise, you'll just end up concentrating its bad qualities. Measurements on the braising liquid are approximate, as usual - tinker with it until it pleases you, is my method.]
Give the drumsticks a quick boil; discard the gunky cooking water. Remove the drumsticks to a nice, heavy-bottomed pot like my trusty yellow Le Creuset Dutch oven. Add the soy sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil, peppercorns and enough brown sugar or honey to give it a distinct sweetness (don't worry, it'll be countered by the balsamic later).
Pour in enough water to cover about two-thirds of the chicken. No need to go overboard, as the liquid will bubble up and cover a little more once you put the lid on, which you will be doing right about now. Plus, the more liquid you have, the more time you'll have to spend reducing it to a glaze later.
Simmer for a minimum of one hour, up to about three. You may want to jostle the chicken around once or twice to make sure everything's getting some quality time in the braising liquid.
When done, remove the chicken to a plate. Crank the burner and bring the braising liquid to a vigorous boil. Reduce until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the balsamic vinegar slowly, tasting frequently. Adjust any other flavors as you see fit. Cook a little longer to give the balsamic a chance to socialize. Return the chicken to the pot and give it a careful toss in the glaze. (It's hot!)
At this point, you can put the whole thing in a 200° oven to keep warm. (Did I mention you can make it in advance?) Give it another toss before serving, which you can do in the pot if it's a nice one, or otherwise decanted onto a big, communal platter. If you have it, sprinkle on some fresh, chopped parsley or some toasted sesame seeds to garnish.
Couscous with Dried Apricots
Making couscous is literally as easy as boiling water. I jazz it up a bit by adding a big pat of butter and using half chicken stock, half water for the amount of liquid recommended on the box. I also browned some shallots and chopped up some dried apricots and threw them in for interest.
Roasted Peppers, Zucchini and Mushrooms
The same method you'd use for roasting any vegetable. I chose these three to do together because they're all similarly high in water content and cook quickly. Chop into approximately the same size, toss in oil, salt and pepper, throw on a baking sheet and it's done in about 15-20 min. at 375°.
Dinner is served! After the movie, we finished off with generous helpings of the brownies and ice-cream contributed by Kathy and Atticus, and the sour cream apple pie contributed by Gerald and Mike. Thanks to all for coming, and for leaving a flatteringly small amount of leftovers!
Favorite quote: "Son, your ego's writing checks your body can't cash."
Balsamic Soy-Glazed Chicken
(a hybrid of the old Chinese recipe for Three Cups Chicken and Giada's Balsamic Chicken Drumettes)
12 chicken drumsticks (I cook almost exclusively with dark meat)
¾ cup soy sauce
¼ cup cooking wine
⅓ cup brown sugar and/or honey
1 tbsp sesame oil
10 whole peppercorns
1-2 cups water
⅓ cup good quality balsamic vinegar
[Notes: On the vinegar, know that when you're going to be reducing a liquid, it needs to be pretty good to start with. Otherwise, you'll just end up concentrating its bad qualities. Measurements on the braising liquid are approximate, as usual - tinker with it until it pleases you, is my method.]
Give the drumsticks a quick boil; discard the gunky cooking water. Remove the drumsticks to a nice, heavy-bottomed pot like my trusty yellow Le Creuset Dutch oven. Add the soy sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil, peppercorns and enough brown sugar or honey to give it a distinct sweetness (don't worry, it'll be countered by the balsamic later).
Pour in enough water to cover about two-thirds of the chicken. No need to go overboard, as the liquid will bubble up and cover a little more once you put the lid on, which you will be doing right about now. Plus, the more liquid you have, the more time you'll have to spend reducing it to a glaze later.
Simmer for a minimum of one hour, up to about three. You may want to jostle the chicken around once or twice to make sure everything's getting some quality time in the braising liquid.
When done, remove the chicken to a plate. Crank the burner and bring the braising liquid to a vigorous boil. Reduce until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the balsamic vinegar slowly, tasting frequently. Adjust any other flavors as you see fit. Cook a little longer to give the balsamic a chance to socialize. Return the chicken to the pot and give it a careful toss in the glaze. (It's hot!)
At this point, you can put the whole thing in a 200° oven to keep warm. (Did I mention you can make it in advance?) Give it another toss before serving, which you can do in the pot if it's a nice one, or otherwise decanted onto a big, communal platter. If you have it, sprinkle on some fresh, chopped parsley or some toasted sesame seeds to garnish.
Couscous with Dried Apricots
Making couscous is literally as easy as boiling water. I jazz it up a bit by adding a big pat of butter and using half chicken stock, half water for the amount of liquid recommended on the box. I also browned some shallots and chopped up some dried apricots and threw them in for interest.
Roasted Peppers, Zucchini and Mushrooms
The same method you'd use for roasting any vegetable. I chose these three to do together because they're all similarly high in water content and cook quickly. Chop into approximately the same size, toss in oil, salt and pepper, throw on a baking sheet and it's done in about 15-20 min. at 375°.
Dinner is served! After the movie, we finished off with generous helpings of the brownies and ice-cream contributed by Kathy and Atticus, and the sour cream apple pie contributed by Gerald and Mike. Thanks to all for coming, and for leaving a flatteringly small amount of leftovers!
Favorite quote: "Son, your ego's writing checks your body can't cash."
January 30, 2010
Galanga
Occasion: Dinner with Jana
Location: Galanga on W 4th between 6th and MacDougal
Edibles: I had the tofu vegetable soup and the crispy duck salad; Jana had a spicy noodle soup
Musing: A decent Thai restaurant with a very convenient location (just around the corner from the W 4th subway stop). We ended up there after fleeing the crazy weekend mob at Wilfie and Nell (slider-blocked!) and a quick pit stop at Vol de Nuit across the street for some beer and fries.
My dinner tonight: great salad, mediocre soup. The really amazing salad had crisp shards of duck (fried until they're almost like crackling), green apple, pineapple, cashews and shallots with a tart and spicy lime vinaigrette. I had to pour off some of the veritable lake of dressing but the flavors were strong and bold, just like I like it. The soup was meh, but filled the gaps.
Location: Galanga on W 4th between 6th and MacDougal
Edibles: I had the tofu vegetable soup and the crispy duck salad; Jana had a spicy noodle soup
Musing: A decent Thai restaurant with a very convenient location (just around the corner from the W 4th subway stop). We ended up there after fleeing the crazy weekend mob at Wilfie and Nell (slider-blocked!) and a quick pit stop at Vol de Nuit across the street for some beer and fries.
My dinner tonight: great salad, mediocre soup. The really amazing salad had crisp shards of duck (fried until they're almost like crackling), green apple, pineapple, cashews and shallots with a tart and spicy lime vinaigrette. I had to pour off some of the veritable lake of dressing but the flavors were strong and bold, just like I like it. The soup was meh, but filled the gaps.
JoJo
Occasion: Brunch with Sylvia
Location: JoJo on 64th between 3rd and Lex (jean-georges.com)
Edibles: 3-course prix fixe - butternut squash soup with trumpet mushrooms and chives, salmon with truffled mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts, and molten chocolate cake for me; Sylvia had the same, except tuna tartare for her first course
Musings: The hidden gem of Jean-Georges' empire. (I find the food at Jean-Georges' eponymous restaurant, the one just off Columbus Circle, to be too gimicky and fussy.) JoJo has a nice cozy space, elegant food, very reasonable prices, and you can always get a reservation.
I usually get the crab for my first course, but this cold winter afternoon I just couldn't pass up the butternut squash soup. It was perfect - piping hot, velvety and rich (though I barely tasted any cream), with a bit of texture from the mushroom. For the second course, I find their chicken to be a bit olive-heavy; the salmon is my go-to. They source some nice fish so you can get it cooked rare.
I believe the pure bliss of an expertly crafted molten chocolate cake needs no further elaboration.
[Note: I had gone to Carnegie Hall with Amy the night before to see him, and was stunned when Yo-Yo Ma turned up at the restaurant and sat down at the table behind us. He was very nice and gracious when I stopped him on his way out, even though he was obviously in a hurry and loath to attract attention. Luckily, I still had the playbill in my purse - which he autographed!]
January 23, 2010
Tia Pol
Occasion: Girls' night with Abby, Elizabeth, Rachel W, Mamie, Bess and Jill
Location: Tia Pol on 10th between 22nd and 23rd (tiapol.com)
Edibles: suckling pig; wine-marinated Cornish game hen; patatas bravas; lamb skewers; ham croquettes; a cheese plate; chorizo with sherry; head-on shrimp; brandade (salt cod with mashed potatoes); white asparagus with caviar; tortilla española
Musings: The one tricky thing about Tia Pol is getting in. It's tiny, and they don't take reservations except for large parties (and even then only a week in advance). Luckily, we were a large party and trooped past the crush in the front to our nicely secluded booth in the back.
It's hard to play favorites with a menu as solid acros the board as this one but, if pressed, I'd say the lamb skewers. (Tip: If you get it, be sure to grab a chunk of the bread, soaked with all the delicious meat juices.) For PA, it's the patatas bravas - the best I've had in the city. I remember one dinner, upon arriving slightly late, PA was horrified to discover that we only had one measly order on the table. She immediately demanded that we get two more.
The head-on shrimp are delicious enough to frequently tempt our vegetarian, Karen, off the wagon. Her rationale: if they weren't meant to be eaten, they wouldn't be so delicious. (HA! That's what I think of pretty much all food.) [Postscript: Sadly, these are no longer on the menu. Try the garlic shrimp instead.]
Their specials are pricier, but also stunning. They didn't have it today, but one awesome dish that appears regularly is whole brook trout, stuffed with watercress and wrapped in prosciutto. Yum. There's also a wine-stewed date dessert that's a must-have whenever it's available. Today, our suckling pig and game hen were quickly reduced to a few smears of grease. Enough said.
Tia Pol is one my true loves in the city. I could find a man as consistently wonderful as this place, I'd marry him in a red hot minute.
Cookshop
Occasion: Brunch with Amy
Location: Cookshop on 10th Ave at 20th (cookshopny.com)
Edibles: 3-egg scramble with bacon, caramelized onions, chives and crème fraîche, with a side of white cheddar grits; Amy had the chicken salad
Musings: A charming place to have brunch - if only it weren't so difficult to get to from where I live! Seriously, the trip on public buses took an hour and fifteen minutes. Major bonus points to the restaurant for still having a table for us when I finally charged in, wild-eyed.
The food arrived quickly and tasted great, just the thing to jolly me out of my transit grumpiness (and hopefully, Amy as well, with my lateness). As I've said before, I just have to order eggs at brunch and Cookshop's scramble is built to please, generously studded with fabulous, flavorful (if fattening) tidbits. It came with a side of flaky, buttery biscuits. Divine.
After all that, my only wish was that I'd had the room to finish the large bowl of grits, which were creamy and cheesy - the sort of stick-to-your-ribs hearty grub to really fuel your furnace for a cold winter's day.
[Note: Thanks to Amy for the treat - and for sharing some of her fruit of the month!]
January 21, 2010
Babbo
Occasion: Pasta-palooza with Kathy, Yining, Ben and Rebecca
Location: Babbo on Waverly at MacDougal (babbonyc.com)
Edibles: described in detail below
Musings: Babbo does a good selection of proteins, but I think their "secondi" menu pales in comparison to their superlative handmade pastas. For my money, it's got to be the pasta tasting.
I always think of Babbo as a "fancy fancy" restaurant in the ranks of Jean-Georges, Le Bernardin and Daniel, but it's really not as expensive as that. The pasta tasting is an eminently reasonable $69 for five courses of pasta, plus an amuse bouche, enough desserts to make you groan, and a plate of exquisite little petit fours after that, in case you're still conscious.
My one quibble with the format is that it's so inflexible. Why does the tasting have to be for the whole table, period, full stop? Rebecca keeps a pretty laid-back version of kosher - basically, no shellfish, no pork. I would have thought they'd be able to work around that with a minimum of fuss. Not so.
I thought I was being pretty reasonable - I understood their rules, and simply asked that they do their best in terms of substitutions and whatnot. But no, they had to beat it to death that the chef cooks what he cooks and the tasting has to be for the whole table, no exceptions. I had pretty much the same pointless conversation with the reservationist, the maître d', our waiter and the restaurant manager about how to address Rebecca's restrictions - the latter three instigated by them, in quick succession.
We managed pretty well, with Rebecca having to skip only the first pasta, but why did it have to be so laborious? I think it makes more sense to make it for a minimum of two or three, and then anyone not up for an entire tasting marathon (like Kathy's husband, who surrendered before a shot was fired) or with special dietary needs can order à la carte.
But whatever. As long as their reservation book is full to bursting, I guess we diners just have to lump it.
On to the glorious food.
Amuse bouche: Bruschetta with marinated garbanzo beans. This is where a rookie makes the first mistake. You can't dick around with this menu or it will own your ass. If you want to make it through dessert, you can't eat the amuse, and you definitely can't eat the bread. (My additional preparations included just having a cup of tea for breakfast, chewing a stick of gum in lieu of lunch, and wearing a roomy jersey dress to accomodate the inevitable expansion.)
First course: Squid-ink tagliatelle with parsnips and pancetta. A double-whammy of pork and shellfish, so Rebecca had to pass. It was delicious enough that I threw caution to the wind and had a few forkfuls off her plate.
Second course: Beet ravioli with poppy seeds. Light and yummy. The pasta is thin and silky and delicate. When cut open, the ravioli filling is a cheerful but slightly disconcerting vivid fuchsia.
Third course: Garganelli with mushrooms. The yummy continues...
Swoon! In my happy place, I'm eating this pasta.
Fifth course: Pyramids stuffed with shredded beef (cheek, I think). I was losing steam fast, but still had enough appetite to savor the robust and incredibly tender shreds of beef in the filling. Sigh.
Dessert: It started out with a round of spicy chocolate ganache "al diavolo" and a sliver of castagnaccio, a chestnut tart. Then, instead of bringing everyone the carrot poppyseed cake on the printed menu, they brought one slice of that cake, and four OTHER desserts. They were: chestnut cake; an ice-cream, chocolate and pistachio concoction we dubbed "The Penguin"; mascarpone cheesecake; and a cranberry tartlet. We were, of course, obliged to taste all of them in rotation.
The petit fours were the final blow. I could only manage one mini biscotti, but had them pack up the rest.
What can I say? That meal was pure joy. Kudos to my fellow diners for crossing the finish line!
January 14, 2010
Iron Chef Super Chef Battle
Original Air Date: January 3, 2010
1) Interesting contrast of styles: Créole-Italian (Lagasse/Batali) versus Tex-Mex Philippino (Flay/Comerford)
2) Love the Batali tomatillo-block in the garden! HA!! I'm always saying Bobby Flay is a hack who can't cook anything without using the following three ingredients: cornmeal, chipotle chilies, tomatillos. He, of course, uses all three in his menu for this challenge - a Flay hat-trick, if you will.
3) A scandale erupted afterwards, when it turned out the chefs hadn't used actual White House produce to make the meals. (You can totally tell by the sweet potatoes - the ones they use are much heftier than the little skinny ones they dug from the garden.) But why not? They seem to have harvested enough. Maybe they had to do a second taping?
4) I don't like the style of camerawork in Kitchen Stadium - the quick, out-of-focus zooms made me dizzy, and sometimes they zoomed in so close you couldn't even tell what food you were looking at. I also didn't like all the repetitive recapping and previewing they did. The show could easily have fit into an hour, hour and a half max.
5) Emeril's turkey roulade looked gross (especially after he bungled the deep-fry) but Batali's two dishes of sweet potato and egg yolk raviolo, and quail and lardo with pear caponata, made both me and my brother have to wipe a little drool off our chins. Batali rules!
6) Iron Chef allocates 10 points for taste; 5 for plating and 5 for originality, for a total of 20 points. So are they saying that if a dish is gorgeous and super original, that's the same as if it tastes fantastic? Not equally important in my mind at all! I think it should be more like 14 for taste, 3 for plating and 3 for originality.
1) Interesting contrast of styles: Créole-Italian (Lagasse/Batali) versus Tex-Mex Philippino (Flay/Comerford)
2) Love the Batali tomatillo-block in the garden! HA!! I'm always saying Bobby Flay is a hack who can't cook anything without using the following three ingredients: cornmeal, chipotle chilies, tomatillos. He, of course, uses all three in his menu for this challenge - a Flay hat-trick, if you will.
3) A scandale erupted afterwards, when it turned out the chefs hadn't used actual White House produce to make the meals. (You can totally tell by the sweet potatoes - the ones they use are much heftier than the little skinny ones they dug from the garden.) But why not? They seem to have harvested enough. Maybe they had to do a second taping?
4) I don't like the style of camerawork in Kitchen Stadium - the quick, out-of-focus zooms made me dizzy, and sometimes they zoomed in so close you couldn't even tell what food you were looking at. I also didn't like all the repetitive recapping and previewing they did. The show could easily have fit into an hour, hour and a half max.
5) Emeril's turkey roulade looked gross (especially after he bungled the deep-fry) but Batali's two dishes of sweet potato and egg yolk raviolo, and quail and lardo with pear caponata, made both me and my brother have to wipe a little drool off our chins. Batali rules!
6) Iron Chef allocates 10 points for taste; 5 for plating and 5 for originality, for a total of 20 points. So are they saying that if a dish is gorgeous and super original, that's the same as if it tastes fantastic? Not equally important in my mind at all! I think it should be more like 14 for taste, 3 for plating and 3 for originality.
January 13, 2010
Brick Lane
Occasion: Dinner with Ben
Location: Brick Lane on E 6th between 1st and 2nd Ave (bricklanecurryhouse.com)
Edibles: aloo gobi (a potato and cauliflower dish); chicken tikka masala; tandoori prawns
Musings: I used to come here all the time with Karen, Indian being a cuisine that's both easy to share and accomodating to vegetarians. I like the atmosphere of Brick Lane - warmly lit, with a muted gaudiness. It's location on Curry Row means it's literally surrounded by direct competitors, but it always does brisk business.
Our food was yummy, as always. A smidge spicier than I usually like, but all the more excuse for a second Kingfisher. I took the few spoonfuls of leftovers home, and the curry developed even more muscle overnight (as it tends to do). Those pungent, savory spoonfuls, plus a generous bowl of rice, stretched far enough for another meal.
In an unexpected and wonderful surprise, I was also presented with a bottle of cassis-flavored apple cider vinegar - all the way from France! Thanks, Ben!
[Note: Brick Lane is also home to famous Phaal Challenge. It involves the (supposedly) spiciest curry in NYC. Follow the link to see a picture of the chef wearing a gas mask while cooking it, no joke. If you finish it, you get a certificate of achievement, your picture on the restaurant's website (the "P'hall of Fame" - hee!) and a free beer to douse the flames.]
Location: Brick Lane on E 6th between 1st and 2nd Ave (bricklanecurryhouse.com)
Edibles: aloo gobi (a potato and cauliflower dish); chicken tikka masala; tandoori prawns
Musings: I used to come here all the time with Karen, Indian being a cuisine that's both easy to share and accomodating to vegetarians. I like the atmosphere of Brick Lane - warmly lit, with a muted gaudiness. It's location on Curry Row means it's literally surrounded by direct competitors, but it always does brisk business.
Our food was yummy, as always. A smidge spicier than I usually like, but all the more excuse for a second Kingfisher. I took the few spoonfuls of leftovers home, and the curry developed even more muscle overnight (as it tends to do). Those pungent, savory spoonfuls, plus a generous bowl of rice, stretched far enough for another meal.
In an unexpected and wonderful surprise, I was also presented with a bottle of cassis-flavored apple cider vinegar - all the way from France! Thanks, Ben!
[Note: Brick Lane is also home to famous Phaal Challenge. It involves the (supposedly) spiciest curry in NYC. Follow the link to see a picture of the chef wearing a gas mask while cooking it, no joke. If you finish it, you get a certificate of achievement, your picture on the restaurant's website (the "P'hall of Fame" - hee!) and a free beer to douse the flames.]
January 10, 2010
Le Creuset
As an avid soup-maker, I LOVE my three Le Creuset Dutch ovens. I believe they're popular with the pros too - every chef on Food Network seems to have a few. Some thoughts below, if you happen to have some spare shelf space in your kitchen.Pro: They're durable and well-made enough that you can probably leave them to your kids.
Con: They're not cheap.
Pro: They're enameled cast iron: the heavy cast iron regulates the heat, and the enamel makes its interior cooking surface non-reactive. These pots are very versatile - you can boil, stew, roast, deep-fry, and even bake in them. I mostly use them for soup, but my littlest one also came in handy during my holiday dulce de leche spree.
Con: They're really heavy, even when empty. It's a bit of a wrestle to wash them, and you have to be careful not to chip the enamel.
Pro: The bright colors just make me happy. (I have a large blue one, a medium green one, and a little yellow one.)
Mmmm... beef and vegetable soup with lentils
A good casual recipe for when you feel like flinging some things in a pot and letting them simmer away while you read a good book on the couch. As long as you have the three ingredients in the title in reasonable proportions, it's hard to go wrong.
Beef and Vegetable Soup with Lentils
(based on Giada's recipe)
1 lb of stewing beef (don't bother using expensive cuts of meat - as with any wet cooking method, even economical cuts will come out very tender)
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped
a 32 oz. carton of beef stock (nobody makes their own, not even Ina)
water
2 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 can of chopped tomatoes, with juice)
1/2 cup dried lentils, rinsed, with stones and other debris picked out
salt and pepper
Optional seasonings: oregano; rosemary; bay; garlic; fresh parsley; Worcestershire sauce; soy sauce; tomato paste; a glug of red wine or Guinness (I wouldn't use all of them at the same time, but play with it until it tastes good to you.)
Brown the beef in some oil. Remove the beef to a dish and throw the onion, carrots and celery into the pot; sauté the vegetables a bit. Return the beef to the pot, along with any meat juices that have collected in the dish. Plonk in the tomatoes and pour in the beef stock. Top up with enough water to make it look like a soup (enough to cover the vegetables and beef by an inch or two, at least).
When it comes to a boil, taste before you start seasoning, as different brands of beef stock contain wildly different levels of salt. Start playing with the herbs and whatnot until you're satisfied. Err on the side of caution - the flavors do deepen as it cooks. Reduce to a simmer and let it be, for 30 min to 1 hour.
Some 20 min before you intend to eat, put in the lentils. If you stir through and can barely see the lentils, check the impulse to add a lot more. Don't worry - they expand. The soup is done when the lentils are tender. I check the seasoning one last time before serving.
Variations: You can sub out the lentils for cannellini beans, pastina, etc.
Beef and Vegetable Soup with Lentils
(based on Giada's recipe)
1 lb of stewing beef (don't bother using expensive cuts of meat - as with any wet cooking method, even economical cuts will come out very tender)
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped
a 32 oz. carton of beef stock (nobody makes their own, not even Ina)
water
2 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 can of chopped tomatoes, with juice)
1/2 cup dried lentils, rinsed, with stones and other debris picked out
salt and pepper
Optional seasonings: oregano; rosemary; bay; garlic; fresh parsley; Worcestershire sauce; soy sauce; tomato paste; a glug of red wine or Guinness (I wouldn't use all of them at the same time, but play with it until it tastes good to you.)
Brown the beef in some oil. Remove the beef to a dish and throw the onion, carrots and celery into the pot; sauté the vegetables a bit. Return the beef to the pot, along with any meat juices that have collected in the dish. Plonk in the tomatoes and pour in the beef stock. Top up with enough water to make it look like a soup (enough to cover the vegetables and beef by an inch or two, at least).
When it comes to a boil, taste before you start seasoning, as different brands of beef stock contain wildly different levels of salt. Start playing with the herbs and whatnot until you're satisfied. Err on the side of caution - the flavors do deepen as it cooks. Reduce to a simmer and let it be, for 30 min to 1 hour.
Some 20 min before you intend to eat, put in the lentils. If you stir through and can barely see the lentils, check the impulse to add a lot more. Don't worry - they expand. The soup is done when the lentils are tender. I check the seasoning one last time before serving.
Variations: You can sub out the lentils for cannellini beans, pastina, etc.
January 9, 2010
Mmmm... apple crisp
My birthday present for Amy.
This is a pretty forgiving recipe - you can tinker with it quite a lot and still have a delicious product! It will also fill your home with marvelous smells. It looks complicated written out, but it really didn't take me very long to throw together.
Apple Crisp
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (I consider this optional, since I hate cinnamon.)
1 tsp ground nutmeg (I grated from a whole nutmeg - much more flavor. Whole nutmegs last forever so they're a good pantry item.)
Topping:
1 cup flour
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal (the old-fashioned kind, NOT the quick cook)
1 stick of butter, cold, diced
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Peel, core, and cut the apples into large chunks. Combine the apples with the rest of the filling ingredients - the zests, juices, (3 tbsp) flour, sugar and spices. Pour into a large baking dish. If the apples come close to the top of the dish, bake with the dish on a cookie sheet so you don't have to clean your oven of any juices that bubble out!
Topping: Combine the (1 cup) flour, sugars, salt and oatmeal. Either 1) cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter if you have it, or a knife and fork if you don't or 2) mix on low speed in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. The butter should be the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the apples.
Bake for 1 hour until the top is brown and the juices are bubbling around the edges. Serve warm. (I like room temp leftovers straight out of the baking dish too.) Good with ice-cream.
Variations: I made myself a tag-along one with some frozen peaches and leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving (resilient little suckers!) mixed in with the apples. Would also be good with half apples / half pears, with raspberries, blueberries, etc.
This is a pretty forgiving recipe - you can tinker with it quite a lot and still have a delicious product! It will also fill your home with marvelous smells. It looks complicated written out, but it really didn't take me very long to throw together.
Apple Crisp(based on Ina's recipe; her product on the right)
Filling:
4 lbs of apples, approx. 7-10 (Ina suggests McIntosh or Macoun but I use Granny Smith)zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (I consider this optional, since I hate cinnamon.)
1 tsp ground nutmeg (I grated from a whole nutmeg - much more flavor. Whole nutmegs last forever so they're a good pantry item.)
Topping:
1 cup flour
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal (the old-fashioned kind, NOT the quick cook)
1 stick of butter, cold, diced
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Peel, core, and cut the apples into large chunks. Combine the apples with the rest of the filling ingredients - the zests, juices, (3 tbsp) flour, sugar and spices. Pour into a large baking dish. If the apples come close to the top of the dish, bake with the dish on a cookie sheet so you don't have to clean your oven of any juices that bubble out!
Topping: Combine the (1 cup) flour, sugars, salt and oatmeal. Either 1) cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter if you have it, or a knife and fork if you don't or 2) mix on low speed in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. The butter should be the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the apples.
Bake for 1 hour until the top is brown and the juices are bubbling around the edges. Serve warm. (I like room temp leftovers straight out of the baking dish too.) Good with ice-cream.
Variations: I made myself a tag-along one with some frozen peaches and leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving (resilient little suckers!) mixed in with the apples. Would also be good with half apples / half pears, with raspberries, blueberries, etc.
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