foodie nyc

Lemongrass, Mint, Ginger Butter Poaching

I had done my own version of Thomas Keller's Butter Poached Lobster last summer, with the addition of fresh peaches and avocado (recipe and picts here).

I was interested in using a similar slow poaching butter technique, but also wanted a more substantial dish for a heartier main course.  Obviously whole live lobsters can be pricey, so I added shrimp to the dish as well.  I served the butter poached lobster and shrimp on a bed of black lentils, which I enhanced with fresh chunks of papaya, avocado and mint.

Finally, I took the butter poaching liquid and infused it with fresh lemongrass, ginger and mint.  It really added another subtle dimension to the original butter poaching liquid. The good news is that while the lobster can be a chore to handle, the shrimp is a breeze.   Just clean them and poach in the low temperature liquid for a few minutes and you're done.  Leave out the lobster if you're on a budget or time crunch.  Again, the original recipe can be found here.

San Sebastian

I'm off to San Sebastian in a few weeks.  The first thing that comes to my mind is one of my favorite books, The Sun Also Rises.  I so wished I lived the lifestyle of the characters in this book when I was a kid. But the second thing that quickly comes to mind is the amazing cuisine of this area. Heck, that's why we are going!

There are plently of Michelin star restaurants on my list that will be very modern and innovative.  We'll also hit the pintxos bars.  But as we are meeting a group of friends there, we are also looking for a reasonably priced, super authentic and down home restaurant as well.  If you been to San Sebastian or have any can't miss foodie suggestions for me, let me know!

Watermelon in Cherries

I wanted to create a few bite size canapes for guests coming over for dinner recently.  Since we are in the sweltering heat of the summer, I wanted to create a few dishes that didn't involve slaving over an oven.  In addition, I wanted our guests to have something refreshing.  For a foodie event a few years ago, I stuffed raw cherries with foie gras.  Here, I stuffed them with a watermelon gelee.  I simply pureed watermelon chunks to yield about a cup of watermelon juice.  I mixed it with a pack of gelatin and placed in the fridge for a few hours.  Just cube the gelee and place inside a pitted cherry (I used multiple cherry varieties here, making a nice presentation).  Just before serving, I popped them into the freezer for about 5 minutes.  A garnish of mint adds another cooling flavor to this refreshing bite.

Stuffed Piquillo Pepper Salad

Piquillo peppers are a great summer food.  They obviously don't require cooking and they are ideally served at room temperature.   I browned some bacon and crumbled it into a bowl. I then added some cleaned large shrimp into the bacon pan and browned them on high heat with chopped garlic. 

After chopping the shrimp and adding it to my bowl of bacon, I diced some avocado, tossed in some crumbled ricotta salatta, and season the whole thing with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

I stuffed this salad into the peppers with a teaspoon and mixed some of the salad leftovers with some sprouts for a salad to garnish. 

I had three of these peppers as a light summer dinner.

Iron Chef America: Season 2

As you've heard here before, Iron Chef America is going relatively well for me. It's not must see TV, but it's entertaining.  There are a few hits and misses, but overall it exceeds my expectations.

Season 2 has just begun, with Molto taking on Todd English, the man who owns 17 restaurants.  17 restaurants? Um, Todd - ever hear of adding too much water to your stock? You're being diluted into a happy, nodding chef puppet. (Though the pizza at LGA is actually a public service, so thanks man. )

That's why I was so thankful to see him put his commercial success and culinary skills on the line with this Iron Chef appearance. I remember the brief PBS TV run he had inbetween FIG airport restaurant openings, and I was pretty impressed.  He's very talented and while I think he's way too heavy handed with fats (people would literally die if they ate his food every night...not cool), he deserves culinary accolades.  He's recently been getting whipped back down to earth, though.   Bruni wrote a scathing review of the English restaurant chain expansion into NYC, which I only found palatable through the eyes of Bruni Digest.

Overall, the English v Batali battle was entertaining, with a few exceptions.....

NOTE: PLOT DIVULGING INFORMATION with SPECIFIC COMMENTS ON DISHES FOLLOW. OUTCOME IS NOT DIVULGED, HOWEVER.

Not Very Summer of Me

While my beer and white wine consumption dominates my summer drinking habits, I still like to have big, vibrant reds as well.  You need something to go with BBQ and meats, and I like reds year round.  This 2002 Cimiky "Trumps" from the Barossa Valley is 65% grenache and 35% shiraz. It has nice fruit, nice oak and will definitely age well.  I served this wine at our previous May foodie and have since purchased some extra here for about $14.99 a bottle.

Tapioca Pearls and Green Onion Soup

I love the way this soup photographed.  Not because I'm a great photographer (not even close!), but because I think I captured how this dish tasted.  You can see the whole individual tapioca, which has a round, bubbly feel in the mouth.  Yet it's creaminess and hint of sweetness is enhanced with a fresh blast of mint. Finally, each bite is filled with the mellow onion flavor from the soup, which somehow feels creamy yet light at the same time. This is best served just barely warm, which is perfect for a summer night.

Full recipe follows....

Hello From Seattle

Fish from Pike Market

An excellent Dungeness Crab Salad. Sweet crab
with very little mayo. The small shreds of crab had
a very light and airy feel in the mouth.

Fresh wild king salmon, which was the best I've ever had.
Honestly, it doesn't taste like the salmon I know.
I wish I could get this reliably in NYC!

I love chowder and have tasted many -
this version from Pike Market Chowder ranks
as one of the best.  Mellow bacon, clams that
aren't chewy.  Perfect cooked potatoes.  Yum.