foodie nyc

Pink Peppercorn Fondue

After my first experiment with the pink peppercorn crab cakes, I've started to use toasted and ground pink peppercorns pretty frequently in my cooking.  But my observation so far is that it needs to be treated as a star of a dish.  Just like curry or other pungent, fragrant spices, ground pink peppercorn is pretty intense.Therefore,  I tend to avoid using it in a mixture of other spices or herbs (so far).

It was a cold and rainy day here in New York when I had this craving for fondue.  I made a traditional Swiss style fondue recipe (sans kirsch and nutmeg) and at the last minute, added a heaping tablespoon of the ground pink peppercorn into the fondue.  It was phenomenal, mainly because the pink peppercorn added a floral depth to the fondue, as well as a bit of peppery spice and texture. 
I served this pink peppercorn fondue with sliced pears, large slices of sauteed portabella mushrooms (large enough for us to put on a skewer and dip effectively) and some roasted fingerling potatoes.

Now if I could only figure out how to get a consistent flame under my fondue pot, I'd be all set.  I either have a massive fire under the pot or just a little whimper.  I suppose this is based on adding too much or not enough alcohol to the fondue starter, but I'm yet to get it right....

Valentine Cheese: Make It Stop

My birthday is on Valentine's Day.  It works for me, mostly because I am often given the "that's so cute" vibe from women who assume I possess some sort of extreme romantic wisdom beyond the average man, who's birthday falls on pedestrian days like, you know, every other day of the year.

But as you'd expect, what I hate most about Valentine's Day is that it RUINS my birthday.  It's like the New Year's Eve for dating and mating.  Similar to all of the amateurs getting trashed and acting like morons on New Year's Eve, I cannot get into the restaurants of my choice on my birthday because JV (junior varsity) diners who would typically be dining at Olive Garden that night are willing to go all out for their lovers on this "special" day.  This translates into behavior like spending money on overpriced V-tine's tasting menus, receiving crappy service since the restaurant is now overbooked, and then finally causing my dinner to proceed at an absurdly fast pace so the restaurant can get us out and jam even more Olive Gardeners into my seat the moment I stand up from the table.

But most of all, it's the cheesiness of the holiday that leaves me queasy.  Look, I'm down with treating your loved one to something special, but why all the cheese?

To send me over the edge, I have recently seen enough corny, cheesy "special" Valentine's Day menus from restaurants around NYC that take the cheese factor to a whole new level.

These are actual menus from actual restaurants in NYC.  Chefs.  Listen to me.  Stick to cooking.

-----------------------------

Restaurant Triomphe

They have structured their menu in the corniest way possible.  The chef treat to start the meal is called "The Flirt."  Next follows the first course, called "First Kiss".  We are then lucky enough to get to the "Embrace", followed by...no....don't...do....it..."The Climax".  To take this work of cheesy genius to another level, we are offered dishes like "Two Hearts Meet as One".   Chef, can I order something special, that isn't on the menu for my dinner at Triomphe?  I would love for you to stab a skewer into my eye and slowly poach it in a pot of cheese, like a fondue or something.  Thanks!  (Note: I actually like this restaurant so don't take this as a commentary on their food).

foodienyc Cheese Rating:

4 Sandra Lee's
-----------------------------

Sushi Samba

Sushi Samba is going with the innovative "aphrodisiac" menu, bizarrely called "Anime Kiss".   Like the Triomphe cheese, Sushi Samba breaks their menu into categories of stomach inducing seizures.   But like all good cheese, they add a little commentary to their categories that takes it over the top.  How about options under a category called "Exploration:  Taste and Enjoy".  Uhh, no thanks. How about "Seduction: Take What is Yours".  Yow - now that is really hot.  Like Sandra Lee hot.   Good job, marketing team! Now run along back to homeroom before you get caught being so naughty.  Assclowns.

foodienyc Cheese Rating:

3 Sandra Lee's

----------------------------
Jean-Luc

Jean-Luc chef to team:  "Guys.  I've nailed it this year.  We'll just make the regular shit we serve everyday on our menu, and maybe name certain items after really corny, cliched things that will make people want to barf before the food comes out.  Whaddya say?  What? Dunno what I mean? How's about a salmon tartar with a caviar kiss? Hot eh? Oh! Oh! Just had another brilliant idea!  Heart shaped anything! Maybe crab cakes.  I am on fire! Check this one out - we'll serve regular oysters and call them "passion oysters".  Dude, we won't even bother to serve anything with the oysters that has anything to do with passion.  What dude? Serve them with a passion fruit dressing?  Stop thinking so hard about this, man. It's fucking Valentine's Day. Just oysters. With passion."

foodienyc Cheese Rating:

4 Sandra Lee's

Know of any other contenders for this list? Email me.

Parm Regg Butter

I recently stumbled into butter made from the cream that remains from the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese making process (@ Fairway, for those NYC dwellers).

I've been dying to try it and finally dropped the $6 for about a 1/2 lb flat, chunky block of the Parm Regg butter.

I tried it straight up at first, on a piece of a baguette.  I did get some subtle earthiness from it, but overall it was creamy, very mild and most importantly, lacked the sweet buttery flavor we have all come to love.

I then used it in a couscous.  The creaminess was definitely there and added lots of richness to the grains. But again, lacking that sweet buttery taste without compensating with the cheese-like flavors you might expect.

I will continue to use it and report if I change my tune in the upcoming weeks.  But my current opinion is that I miss the sweetness of the unsalted butter I currently enjoy and don't taste the benefits of being from the Reggiano hills.  I can't recommend it beyond general curiosity.

Pink Peppercorn Crab Cakes

I started out thinking about pink peppercorns.  As you may know, pink peppercorns are actually a berry.  After toasting them in a dry pan for a two minutes and grinding them to a fine dust, the pink peppercorns unleash a deep, floral aroma and taste that is pretty spectacular.  As a result, you can be rest assured you'll be seeing lots of pink peppercorn dishes on this site in the upcoming weeks.

So how would I use the pink peppercorn 'dust'? I started to go toward a pink peppercorn au poivre, but quickly realized that steak wasn't a good pairing.  I gravitated toward crab cakes.  I would make relatively traditional crab cakes (lots of lump crab, some herbs, finely chopped bell pepper, panko bread crumbs, a touch of mustard and mayo to bind), add a few pinches of the pepper corn dust to the crab cake mixture before forming, then crust them with more of the dust before searing.  But the pink peppercorn can only handle minimal searing without burning, so these crab cakes were seared in oil for only for a few minutes on each side before finishing in the oven.

The pink peppercorn and crab are an excellent combination.  I thought about serving this with a creamy dipping type sauce, but since I wanted to appreciate the pure crab and peppercorn combination on their own, I just went with a drizzle of an excellent olive oil to finish.

A $10 Wine That Made Me Drool

I've had the 2004 Tres Picos Garnacha from Spain a few times now and was absolutely shocked at what I tasted on both occasions.   To me, this wine is too good to be sold for $10.  In fact, I think it's a mistake that someone will end up noticing, with the wine being recalled, given a new price of $20 with a big "Sorry, Came To Our Senses" note attached to each new bottle. But hey, whatever, I'm not complaining.  I'm down with value and this wine will make you feel like you're in on a big scam.   How the hell could a wine this good be so affordable? The Tres Picos has a fruit focused nose with deep hints of oak, without a lot of the tannin/alcohol I expected in a young wine.  The finish is fantastic - again rich, powerful, deep fruit and oak. There's a hint of tannin for balance, but this finish is very approachable, easy drinking and focused on the fruit.  The wine is purple and inky, deep and brooding in color.   Each time I've had this wine, both myself and the drunkards enjoying it with me had to be dragged away from the bottle. Here's a list of stores that carry it around the country.

Mushroom Curry Crusted Tuna, Arugula Puree

Ordering tuna tartar at restaurants has begun to bore me to tears.   Just like most good things in the world, the more mass and popular something becomes, the suckier it gets.  Now that tuna has become so prevalent, tuna tartar has become a ubiquitous standard on every menu and to me, is always hit or miss.  Sometimes the tuna tastes like absolutely nothing, sometimes it's silky, meaty, fatty and all together satisfying. 

Of course, you can always take matters into your own hands by making tuna at home.  Here, I use sushi grade tuna and create a crust from black trumpet mushrooms and curry, just like I did for my recent pork recipe.  The result is a layer of crunchy texture that enhances the silkiness of the rare tuna.  The earthy, fragrant mushroom and curry add a blast of flavor to the tuna without overwhelming it.   I made a creamy puree of arugula, olive oil and lemon juice to lend a fresh creaminess to each bite of tuna. 

Read my full recipe over at [decentcontent].

Giada Hates Her Food

Holy Funny. 

Shot by shot hilarity of Giada tasting and hating her cranberry granita creation on a recent Food TV episode.  

I actually saw this episode, and to be fair, she was reacting to how cold the granita was, not the taste.  Either way, hysterical. Thanks, TVgasm.

My New Wingmen: Shun Knives

Everyone knows that knives are a cook's best friend.  My best friends for roughly the past seven or eight years have been my Japanese Globals.  My Global friends held a sharp blade, fit in my hand nicely and looked amazing when we'd go out and even when other friends came to visit. 

Then Global met a new friend in the cleaver - actually two cleavers brought back to me from China.  The cleaver became my friend for everything rustic.  You know, the kind that would take you to a dive bar, drink you under the table and somehow pick up the best looking woman in the bar even though he wasn't much of a looker himself.  He just gets thing done.  Global and cleaver made a perfect group of friends.

But we now have a new addition to the team, another set of Japanese friends named Shun.  The 7 inch Shun Santoku is one of the best knives I've ever handled.  It goes without saying the blade is amazingly sharp, but the feel in my hand is absolutely perfect.  I actually prefer the wood handle to the steel handles of the Globals.  I am able to perform delicate slices as well as quick, fast slicing and chopping - scallions sliced away perfectly, same for fresh tuna.  The Global friends started this way as well and lasted for about 1 year until I noticed the sharpness of the blade begin to fade significantly, so we'll have to see how long the Shun blade holds up.  Last but not least is the Shun Classic 6" Utility knife.  I've been using this knife for veggies, slicing fish and some light chopping so far.  Again, beautiful edge and love the feel in the hand.   

So while Globals will always have a place in my heart and the cleavers will always be with me, Shuns are my new kitchen wingmen.  Thanks for buying off my new friends, Mom.  You know I need all the help I can get.

A Fresh Start to the New Year

Regular readers of this site know that I had been writing the Eating In column over at Gothamist for something close to a year and half, creating over 70 unique recipes from scratch.  I've recently decided to stop writing for Gothamist and from today on, I'm happy to let you know that you'll be able to find me over at [decentcontent], in addition to here. 

I initially decided to make this move for a few reasons.  As much as I've enjoyed contributing to Gothamist, I wanted to write outside of the Gothamist voice.  I also wanted to have the opportunity to create some new, interesting food content that just wouldn't work at  Gothamist or even here to be honest.  I've really enjoyed collaborating with Heather so far and think you'll start to see some new, refreshing food coverage once we get up and running.  I have one big project in mind that I believe will be fun and exciting for me and hopefully you as well.  I will also be doing what I like best, which is creating recipes that you've (hopefully) been enjoying here and previously on Gothamist.

But on a side note, I wish I had more positive feelings about my departure from Gothamist.  I recently found out in a comment section (!) on the site that writers were being paid, me not being one of them.  Not like I really care about the money.  Food writing and recipe creation is something I am passionate about, but it's not how I currently earn a living.  But it's about the principle of the matter. I created a whole new area of content for them and worked relatively hard to do so.  I guess I expected more dialog and collaboration from Gothamist, considering I'd been contributing relatively thoughtful pieces for them for over a year and half.

Anyway, the New Year starts with me at a new site and continuing to do what I love, in an environment where collaboration will hopefully continue to lead to bigger and better things.

So, back to the food.....check out my first recipe for [decentcontent], a riff from the eggplant nutmeg puree I created recently.  I use it again by folding it into a rich, creamy risotto while adding a crunchy Parmesan chip on the top for some much needed texture. 

Restaurant Notebook: January 11, 2006

Here we go again.   Another recap in which I demonstrate for the internets that I spend an insane amount of money on food and wine. Here's to my out of control hobby/passion/addiction.  I think I need an intervention.

Recommended, You'll Love It

Telepan - The new restaurant (it's about 2 weeks old at this point) from former JUdson Grill chef Bill Telepan is off to a strong start.  I tasted two appetizers.  Nantucket bay scallops in a rich, creamy butter sauce with hedgehog mushrooms, roasted garlic, spinach
and toast.   Perfectly cooked scallops that were not seared but gently heated through in the creamy base.  Tasted great, but god knows that much butter/cream always does.  An appetizer of hen of the woods mushrooms was killer.  You know how I like 'em.  Charred, crusty 'shrooms served with a poached egg on mustard frisee.   Next, a slow cooked, large ravioli filled with braised pork with ricotta and pesto garnish.  The braised pork had very nice flavors, but was a bit too dry.  The pesto and ricotta did nothing to help add much needed moisture to the dish.  This was a bit of a miss.  Heritage Pork Cassoulet was an amazing dish for pork passionates.  At first, it appears so austere and simple that on my first few bites I didn't get the magic immediately.  But then you begin to appreciate the superior quality and porky, gamier flavor of the Heritage pig.  The loin, served unadorned, is a perfect example of why mass market pork is flavorless.  A piece of sausage was deeply flavored with more of this wonderful pork flavor, crumbling out of the casing and clearly handmade at the restaurant.  A braised rib was moist and again haunting in flavor.  Bacon slices from the belly were poached in milk, resulting in a melt in your mouth consistency (though very fatty, of course).  The porky beans served on the side were very nice if overly creamy for what I'd personally like for a cassoulet tribute. A peanut butter, chocolate mousse cake had layers reminiscent of a Kit Kat.  Served with a peanut butter ice cream, a very nice ending to an excellent dinner. Sleek atmosphere (if not stuffy), ample seating for casual eating at the bar, attentive service.  A great addition to the UWS.

 

Barca 18 - I wanted to give Barca a try since I've read some inconsistent reviews thus far. Restaurants that are great in some aspects but average in others fascinate me.  I'm weird like that. Well, we were dealt nothing but aces here all night long.  To me, Tia Pol is my standard for tapas in NYC, and Barca comes up very strong in comparison if just a notch below.  We chose to skip entree-like items, instead just sharing from the tapas section of the menu.   We had the blistered green peppers I love - just as good as Tia Pol and my eating throughout Spain. The  papas fritas, I agree with Andrea Strong, are not as good as Tia Pol but they are still damn tasty.  The octopus with pepper confit and olive oil was insanely good.  I can't recall eating octopus as tender and flavorful.  Ham and potato croquettes are just as you'd expect, though I enjoyed the ones at Casa Mono a bit better (not enough ham in the Barca version). The chorizo and pan con tomate on the charcuteria board are off the charts.  But the absolute star of the show is without doubt warm lobster chunks, drizzled with a creamy bechemel like-sauce and sandwiched between paper thin, crunchy flat bread.  Rich, creamy, crunchy and lobster.  So money.

Momofuku - I don't know what took me so long to get to this much discussed Japanese noodle bar.   I dig on swine, and Momofuku is committed to all things pork as well.  Do yourself a favor.  Go there on a cold winter afternoon and order the Momofuku Ramen. It sounds over the top.   Berkshire braised pork shoulder, braised belly, ramen, spinach, a poached egg and nori.  But the kicker for me is the broth.   Clean and light in the mouth, but exploding with pork flavor.   This was the best noodle soup I've had in a while. 

Recommended, But....

Via Emilia - I can't come out and say that Via Emilia serves the best lasagna in the city, but that's only because I haven't tasted all the lasagna in the city.  But I have tasted lasagna all over Bologna, including a Michelin starred restaurant, and I can tell you Via Emilia's lasagna is virtually unbeatable.  Sausage, a cheesy bechemela sauce with a noticeable dash of nutmeg, fresh, soft yet distinguishable pasta layers. Simple + refined = perfect.   I have eaten at Via Emilia over five times.  The only reason I can't recommend it outright is just that I find the appetizers a bit limiting and overall not that strong, though the tortellini in brodo is very nice. I have only been able to order average wine to go with that amazing lasagna as well. I wavered on putting this in Recommended, You'll Love It category so you shouldn't hestitate going.  Plus, it's cheap (but cash only!).

Butter Poached Lobster Salad with Champagne Gelee

Call me a snot, but I cannot have a New Year's Eve without lobster.  Lobster can be so decadent, rich, satisfying and special that I've begun to associate celebrating an impending new year with making a special lobster dish.

Last year, I made lobster with gnudi.  Two years ago I made a lobster carbonara (I think...damn I wish I had this site back then). 

Butter poached lobster is a favorite preparation of mine, ever since the entire food world went ga ga over Thomas Keller's version at French Laundry and his subsequent French Laundry Cookbook.   I basically follow his technique point by point, and as you'd expect the results are outrageously good. 

For this dish, I served the butter poached lobster as a salad, with hearts of palm, sprouts, and a champagne gelee.  The champagne gelee is a nice counterpoint to the rich lobster and buttery dressing it slowly cooks in.  The gelee is straight up champagne, and has a kick of acid and alcohol that cuts through the richness. The gelee balances the salad almost like vinegar or citrus would do in a salad dressing.   Lots you can do to dress this up, including add nuts, bitter greens, fruit - the world is yours.

This is a pretty labor intensive dish, but sure to get you some lovin' impress someone for a special occasion.

Full recipe and picts below.

Black Trumpet Coffee Crusted Pork, Nutmeg Poached Eggplant Puree

I'm going to make a bold statement, something I avoid saying to anyone, let alone the internets.  This dish may be the most satisfying, tasty recipe I have created for this website to date.

At a cooking demo recently, I told you how I loved this crusting/wrapping technique for roasting meats.  I decided to create a crust for a roasted pork loin with the goal of focusing on very bold and earthy flavors.  The combination I used was a blend of dried, ground black trumpet mushrooms, ground roasted coffee, curry and a touch of nutmeg.  This crust is out of this world.  The flavors are the perfect blend that, when roasted, create a fragrant, earthy counterpoint to pork that left us in awe (corny but true).

The next piece of this dish is a decadent poached eggplant puree.  I simmered some half and half with nutmeg and slowly poached the eggplant in the liquid until soft.  After straining and pureeing, I had a sweet, earthy, creamy compliment to the pork.  The combination of nutmeg and eggplant may be my obsession for 2006. I finished this dish with a crumbling of finely ground pistachios for texture.

I beg you to make this dish and let me know what you think.  It's really that good. 

Full recipe with photos after the jump.

Choose the Theme for the Next Foodie Event

When Tse Wei suggested I create a poll for people to vote on a theme for upcoming foodie events,  I immediately thought it was a great idea.  Nothing like a little popular opinion to keep things interesting! So I've chosen five broad themes that interest me for our next foodie, which we'll aim to hold mid/late February (with the holidays and personal commitments it's been a little while since our last event - sorry!).

So click here to vote now.  I'll keep the poll up until we officially announce the next event (most likely early February).

                

Maple Curry Carrot Soup

Happy New Year to All!

Aki and Alex from Ideas in Food have announced their Maple Menu giveaway selections.  This maple curry carrot soup I created for their collaborative menu won for the soup category!   

This is great news in the fact that I get to try what seems like an amazing bottle of maple syrup as a winner, but even more rewarding is the opportunity to be recognized by, in my opinion, one of the most important cooking blogs in cyberspace.  If you are serious about cooking, you've got to check out their site on a daily basis.   The ideas shared there will no doubt affect the way you think about creating a menu at home.

In the spirit of the Ideas in Food site, I wanted to come up with something unique, or at least unique to me.  I went down the carrot track as I thought maple glazed carrots would be a nice combination.  I love the flavor of curry with carrots and thought its earthy flavors would balance the sweetness of the maple and add another dimension to the carrots.

But after roasting the carrots I was inspired to puree them with a homemade vegetable stock. What I really like about this soup is the underlying flavor of the maple is present, yet it works to balance the other flavors in this dish rather than overwhelm them.  I garnished the soup with toasted almonds and the crunch of pomegranite seeds.

After the jump, I've included a general method for preparation.