foodie nyc

Recipe for Sunday Soup

There are two food related reasons as to why I love the cold weather.  Simply put, it's braising and soup.  Braising is a favorite of every passionate cook as it's simple and of course very tasty.  But soups are my favorite thing to make, as I really enjoy creating intense, flavorful broths and bases and carefully choosing a few key garnishes to round them out. 

In my opinion, the best soup I make is what I now just call Sunday Soup.  I've made this at a foodie event in the past and it seemed to be a hit.  It was inspired by a Malaysian dish I love called Green Curry Ayam.  As with most things I do, I recall some of the key flavors and ingredients and end up just riffing off of it based on what I like to eat.  My Sunday Soup is made from a smoked ham hock stock and infused with curry, garlic, ginger, lemon and lime rind, chilis and coconut milk.  I then add seared merguez sausage, blanched broccolini and steam mussels right in the broth.  The result is an intense soup filled with lots of little goodies, but the star of the show is the broth.  Aromatic and intense, it has become my Sunday comfort food.

My recipe follows........

Pumpkin, Arugula Salad

This dish was inspired by a recent meal at the re-opening of Spotted Pig here in NYC.   I really enjoyed the combination of  the roasted pumpkin, arugula, toasted pine nuts and parmigiano reggiano in a dish they called Pumpkin Salad.  It was very simple but perfectly done.

I decided to make a version of it at home, but amped the flavors up a bit by adding a sharp, rich dressing of arugula pesto to dress the roasted pumpkin chunks.  We had this at home as an appetizer salad. The only labor in this is roasting the pumpkin, but c'mon, all you have to do is throw it in the oven!

Here's my recipe.

Classic Rioja

I've been stacking up on Spanish wines after our trip this summer to Barcelona and San Sebastian, where I tasted multiple bottles of excellent wines a day. (It was a wedding weekend, give me a break).

I recently picked up a few bottles of the Marques de Riscal Reserva 2000, as it is one of the oldest and most respected names in Rioja.  It's exactly what I'd expect of a classic Rioja Reserva.  It has the oakiness you'd expect from the years it spent aging in the barrel, but it is also very juicy and fruity.  Nice long finish, slightly peppery and chocolately in my opinion, with nice tannis for aging.

Here's where you can find this wine.  I paid about $16 + for it, which is a worthy value considering how much I enjoyed it.

Worst Food Show Ever?

After a long couple of days, I finally get some down time and decide to watch some TV. I stumble into a food show called Taste of America on Travel Channel.  Yeah, I know.  The red flags should have gone up at that point.  But I watch.  And squirm.  And I beg myself to turn the channel.  I just can't do it.  It is so bad that I needed to continue to watch to confirm that it may be one of the worst shows I have ever seen.  I'm actually embarrassed to be blogging about it, but I feel it's my obligation to the general public, kind of as a public service announcement.   

Menu From Oct 16 Tasting

              foodie

Gulf Coasting Tasting Menu

October 16, 2005

**

Open Faced Oyster Po’ Boy

aioli, arugula

Mint Julep Tuna Spoons

mint julep syrup, fresh mint

2004 Pepiere Muscadet sur Lie

**

Fig Rockefeller

spinach, bacon, beaurre blanc, bread crumbs

2004 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc

**

Shrimp Creole Pie

old bay crust, poached shrimp, golden beets, fried parsley

2003 Lafond Lirac Blanc

**

A Take on Catfish Hoppin’ John

ham hock basmati, soy beans, carrot reduction

2002 Marionnet Gamay

**

Chicken, Andouille Gumbo

herbed corn bread

2003 Cros Marcillac

**

Bananas Foster

homemade mint ice cream

Massolino Muscato d’Asti

Read tasting notes for each course and wine served after the jump.

An Ode to Parmigiano Reggiano

Parmigiano Reggiano is one food that I need to have in my refrigerator at all times. I randomly have the urge to create dishes in which Parm Regg is the star of the show.  Just a few nights ago I had this urge again, with the latest featuring the "king of cheese" with pasta in three forms.  First, a fondue sauce that would gently coat the pasta.  The next would be a crunchy crisp that would add texture and more Parm Regg flavor to the dish.  Finally, a sprinkle of freshly grated Parm Regg on top would be the final touch.

Have a look at my recipe over at Gothamist.....

Magnificent Malbec

I first tried a BenMarco malbec from Argentina at Little Giant a year or so ago, even though I've read about it for a few years now. I think it was the 2002 I tried that night and it was amazing.  Deep, rich fruit with a big finish and not too tanic or with the overpowering alcohol in the nose or finish, like I experience with lots of other New World wines.

I tracked down BenMarco at Astor Wine.  While it's the 2003 vintage, it still has all of the magic of the 2002.  It's a perfect Fall wine with a big plate of pasta. More on the pasta later.

The Perfectionist

There is so much to say about the The Perfectionist, a book written about the life of three star Michelin chef Bernard Loiseau.  It's hard to know where to start.

In fact, I almost find it virtually impossible to discuss the complicated personality of Bernard Loiseau, who committed suicide in 2003.  It's an uncomfortable book because Loiseau's drive, ambition and personality are admirable and inspiring yet also the cause of his deterioration.  The way he personally laid himself on the line each time he preached "his" cuisine to the media, it's not hard to understand how his entire life, his entire being was called into question when it appeared "his" expression of classic French cuisine had fallen out of fashion.

That's the part of becoming a celebrity chef that is incredibly scary.  If the cuisine that has brought you into fame is marginalized, found to be out of style, or even just OK, it's hard to reinvent yourself.   If you are known for classical French cuisine, it's hard to just say you are a global fusionist on the drop of a dime. But more to the point, if your cuisine falls out of favor or slips a notch, it's you who the critics rail against.  It's your name that is tarnished.  It's not a faceless, nameless company or a CEO who can just get another job at another company after resigning.  This is personal. Your food sucks.  All of those years to reach this point - down the drain. You are good but not great.  There are very few professions outside of the entertainment or sports industries like this.

Author Rudolph Chelminski pieces Loiseau's personality together in a very revealing light.  The book is so rich with thought provoking, emotional, psychological stories of chef Loiseau's character that it's a worthy read on that aspect alone.  But what takes it over the top is the historical account of the evolution of the high-end French restaurant landscape over the 20th century into the 21st and the liniage/cooking style into which all of these important chefs were born into and eventually inspired by.   Can't recommend this book enough (even though I find the book a bit repetitive a times).

Fig Rockefeller

Dining out in NYC is my number one hobby, other than cooking at home of course.  Beyond the obvious pleasure of eating great food, excellent restaurants inspire me to experiment with cooking techniques and tastes that I wouldn't experience otherwise.  (FYI, I've chosen not to write about dining out much on this blog, as restaurant reviewing is done in overwhelming proportions these days.  I may also be in the minority on this one, but I'm not a fan of taking pictures while eating out and I don't think they turn out all that great anyway).

Take a recent dish we had at Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar for example.  They are known for their deconstructed oyster rockefeller.  An oyster is poached and placed on a teaspoon of chopped creamed spinach, a slice of bacon and topped with a dollop of rich butter/cheese sauce and a few bread crumbs. There were 3 or 4 to a plate.  Yum.  Here's Jack's recipe.

On a recent night in, I had virtually all those ingredients on hand, but not the oysters.  I thought warmed figs would take the place of the oysters perfectly.  I also opted for chorizo vs bacon, just because I had it on hand.  I sauteed some spinach with a pat of butter and made a quick beaurre fondue in line with their recipe, but with a splash of white wine.  This was one of the most enjoyable dishes I've had recently at home, thanks to Jack's, of course.

Fried Oyster Po' Boy Canape

I wanted to bring the brilliant flavors of the Po' Boy to a bite-sized canape to begin a multi-course meal at home.

My goal was to avoid bastardizing the classic fried oyster Po' Boy too badly. I used a French baguette, which I'd slice, drizzle with olive oil and salt, then broil for two minutes until toasted.

I then made a traditional garlic aioli to add a pungent creamniess to the crispy fried oyster and the crunchy bread.

Finally, I shucked some fresh kumamoto oysters and dredged them in yellow corn meal mixed with a little Old Bay seasoning.  I fried them in hot vegetable oil for barely two minutes, just until the crust turned crisp and brown.   A chiffonade of peppery arugula and a cold beer were perfect accompaniments to this little treat.