foodie nyc

Toasted Garlic Shrimp Tacos

ed: This is a recipe I made back in August 2005.  Right now I am probably eating lunch in a trattoria in somewhere in Tuscany.

I love being inspired by random and spontaneous food  encounters.  For the most part, I'm influenced by food blogs, inspiring chefs and/or restaurants, TV, etc.  But recently I was inspired by a random taco stand on a street fair in NYC. It was such a home grown operatation dedicated towards simple preparation of a few flavorful ingredients for their tacos.  It was 90 plus degrees outside, but this man was braising pork shoulder in a chili liquid in a vat on the street for all to see.  A grill man was toasting corn tortillas and a woman was accepting money and providing garnishes.  I created an heirloom tomato salad and made some Spanish-style garlic shrimp for a quick and simple summer tacos at home.

My full recipe is below.

Another New World Chard

ed: This post was originally published in July 2005. I'm on vacation, yo.

I tend to get obsessed with specific wine varieties or regions and focus on them for a while before moving on to others that grab my attention. 

Last summer, it was Rieslings.  The summer before, Viognier. This winter, it was Argentina.  Now it's new world Chardonnay.  My wine focuses tie directly to experiences.  We went to Sonoma recently, where I became enamored with comparing as many of the Chard and Pinot producers that I could (we also brought back a 1/2 case of wines as well).

New world Chards are offensive to French Chard lovers, mainly because they are full of huge yeasty flavors (like buttered popcorn) and oak.  Sometimes, they can be over the top, at the expense of the natural flavors of the grape.  I love French Burgundy, but I also believe there is a taste and flavor appropriate for a range of drinking occassions.  The new world whites are excellent compliments to buttery, savory fish and vegetable dishes throughout the summer.  Further, they are excellent drinking without food. I know that sounds like rubbish, but they are so flavorful that I often enjoy them on their own, with little nibbles here and there.

I am currently enjoying the 2001 Casa Lapostolle, Cuvee Alexandre, from Chile (Cuvee Alexandre, to my tastes, is much better than Lapostolle's other Chard options) .  While I wondered whether 2001 for a Chard would be OK, it is still drinking very well.  And for only $15. You can pick it up right now at Beacon Wines in NYC.

ed: I have tried the 2004 from the same label and am really enjoying it right now as well.  I served it at our June 11 foodie event and received positive reviews of this wine.  Great for summer!

Johnny Moneyburner and the Tale of the $7K Grill That Sucks

I'm sorry I haven't posted this sooner, but it slipped my mind until now.

A few Sundays ago in the NY Times Sunday Style section, I noticed an article about souped up, high end grills.  I was on my way out of NYC to enjoy Memorial Day grilling for once in a blue moon.  In some ways, I was traveling to grill.  Pathetic but true.

To my horror, this article was not about celebrating the joys of grilling or the art of the Q.  In fact, it highlighted for me that I am very naive about the world of food and cooking.  I am not clueless enough to think that most other people share the passion for food and cooking that we do.  In fact, only a few of the people I spend time with on a daily basis share this passion with me.  Which is fine.  To each their own. 

But you can imagine my rage as I read the following on the way to a desperate attempt to have the rare chance to BBQ. 

"Last fall, Dave and Allison Petrullo of Commack, N.Y., installed a custom-built Cal Spas grill on their patio with an outdoor refrigerator. They spent more than $100,000 renovating their backyard with a new synthetic deck, masonry, a whirlpool and a pool waterfall, so $6,500 more for Mr. Petrullo to have a brick sanctuary with a Cal Spas grill as its central altar seemed like nothing. "I told him to just go for it," Ms. Petrullo said. "And get your dream barbecue."

Though they have actually cooked on the grill only three times since they installed it, it has been a hit with Mr. Petrullo's friends, who congregate around it at parties and give it a going-over like a pack of high school boys around a Corvette, Ms. Petrullo said. "They like to lift up the hood and play with the knobs," she said. "They open the doors underneath, and they open the fridge next to it to check it out."

WTF?

Is this for real? Let me get this straight.  They just dumped $7K so their man-child friends can come over and play with fucking knobs? What a joke.  I love the picture of them above.  The dude, Johnny Moneyburner, is using a big-ass fork to puncture the meat he is grilling, so all of the juices run out. Nice.

Oh, by the way.  I wouldn't even trade my handy Weber pit charcoal grill for that rinky dink shit grill in the photo.  The extras around the sides are cool, but that grill sucks ass.   I can just see Johnny Moneyburner evaluating the decision as to whether or not to flush $7K down the toilet.  "Honey this is a no brainer.  Grill sucks? Check.  Won't ever use it? Check.  Outrageous price tag? Check.  This is the grill of my dreams."

"Oh honey, you're my hero....AND WE'RE IN THE TIMES!!"

Strawberry, Grape, Pecan Crab Salad

More 90 degree eating!

Keeping food light yet satisfying is my goal when the temperature hits 90 plus during the summer months.  I am particularly lucky to have access to excellent jumbo and lump crab almost a block away from my apartment.  I decided to achieve my goal of keeping this dish light by focusing on pairing the sweet, succulent crab with a mixture of fruit, nuts, mint and a spicy dressing.  I chose fresh white grapes, which i cut into small pieces.  I did the same with some ripe strawberries and mint.  I had a few pecans on hand, which I toasted and chopped.  I then mixed these ingredients with the crab that I had already steamed. To dress the crab salad, I made a dressing of mustard, siracha, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and just a touch of water to thin it out. I make that separately and gently fold it into the crab and other goodies. 

This dish was fantastic and very tasty.  I loved the strawberries, grapes and pecan combination with the crab.  The presence of the mustard/siracha dressing made for an excellent kick to counter the fresh fruit and luscious crab.  I definitely intend to experiment with fruit and crab throughout the summer.

Vacation of My Dreams

Dear Blog,

I am finally off for the vacation of my dreams today.  I never really told you about it, but I will now.  I am going with my family (about 20) to a rented villa in Umbria, near Lake Tresimino (20 minutes south of Perugia).  This is a picture of the villa - isn't it amazing? The most satisfying part of this trip is that I'll be with a big group of family and friends, enjoying Umbria and Tuscany with people I never thought I would be able to travel with.  But we are also able to cook in a full bad-ass kitchen and grill.  Imagine going to the local markets and cooking up a feast in Italy? Well, to many that would be hell but of course to me it's a dream. 

That's not it! Equally important and even more phenomenal is that I'm doing 5 days of cooking in Tuscany with a chef at his restaurant.   I will be his personal assistant as we cook and prep for dinner each night at the restaurant.  I am staying in the hotel within their restaurant, so after we cook I'll have a tasting from the restaurant menu.  We'll also be doing tours of salumi makers, Pecorino producers, wine tours around Chianti, as well as olive oil pressings and tasting.

I don't know how much I'm going to be able to post while I'm gone, dearest blog.  But be assured that I'll be documenting this amazing experience for you when I return.  I'll also plan on doing a tasting menu for foodie based on this experience, which will be a blast.

Just so you don't feel lonely, I'll be re-posting some of my favorite recipes of the past.  I even wrote some new stuff in advance, just to make you feel like I care.  Back on July 8!

Later,

Joe

Salmon, Tuna, Mint, Red Onion Ceviche in Watermelon

What to eat in 90 degree, muggy, humid NYC weather? I tend to favor preparing multi-course dinners consisting of a few light treats that receive minimal high heat cooking techniques.

Ceviche is frequently part of my plans.  I buy the best sushi grade fish I can find (Citarella is my source of choice) and slice the fish carefully into small chunks. After reserving the fish in the fridge, I begin to make the acidic dressing that will flavor the fish.  I went with a mixture of fresh squeezed lemon and lime juice, adding some chopped fresh mint and finely diced red onion.  I also added a pinch of cayenne to the liquid and just a touch of olive oil. 

In order to add another element of cool freshness to the dish, I decided to cut thick rectangles of watermelon, then simply carved out the middle with a pairing knife. I placed a few pieces of the fish in the watermelon, seasoned the fish with salt, then added a few shots of the dressing to the fish.  I served three of these watermelon filled treats per plate.  You have to try this....

Old Bay Skate, Roasted Asparagus

I've been trying to eat healthier lately.  So when I thought about dinner on a particular weeknight after work, I had three things in mind.  Simple, healthy and flavorful/satisfying.  I immediately thought about using spices to coat a piece of fish, as I love the intensity of seared spices.  I have mentioned to you before how much I love skate, so I went in that direction.   But skate is always browned in butter and I wasn't in the mood for that.  So I simply coated the skate with Old Bay seasoning and a bit of salt and pepper. I really enjoy the vegetal quality of the Old Bay taste and use it as a component to spice rubs for both meat and fish dishes.  I went with Old Bay exclusively for this skate, seasoning the fish well on both sides before searing in very hot olive oil until the crust forms a nice brown exterior (about 3 minutes on first side, 2 minutes or so on the second).   At the same time, I roasted the asparagus in a 450 oven with a coating of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Both the skate and the asparagus received a squeeze of lemon juice to finish.  No sauce.  No sides.  Just a simple dinner in 30 minutes or less.  Yuuuummmmoooooo!

My Last Post On Morels For A While....

Just when I wonder why I choose to O.D. on morels, I'm most likely writing my last post on morels this year. (More on my upcoming trip to Umbria and Tuscany later).

Sure, you may have a little more time to swoon over fresh morels, but to he honest, they are not the same in 90 degree weather. NYC just hit 90 for the first time today and damned if I was going to buy morels, even though they were available in the market.  Morels taste best to me on a bright sunny spring day, with just a touch of a chill in the air as the sun begins to set for dinner.  (I can't believe I just wrote that).

I made these morels a few weeks ago in the method I favor most  - poached in half and half.  You remember - I get a morel mushroom flavored cream that I use to finish morel dishes? This time I strained the morels from this morel cream and pureed them until they just came together.

I spoon this morel mixture down the center of thinly pounded pork fillets, scallopini style.   After rolling them like a cigar, I kept them together with a single toothpick and sauteed the pork on very high heat in an olive oiled pan.  I really only flip once, just when the one side gets a nice brown exterior.  Ladle some of your reserved morel sauce into the pan with the meat to finish, adding a squeeze of lemon and a chopped herb of your choice. 

You could pair this with anything. I had some dough in the freezer from a recent tart I made.   I rolled the dough and baked the tarts in a small, non-stick muffin pan (buttered) a few hours in advance. This tart is then filled with a mix of roasted spring veggies and rewarmed with some more of the morel cream.  Good times.

Dirty Sugar Cookies Meets Mint Tapioca

When Ayun Halliday asked me to host a stop on her virtual book tour, I had to accept.  I loved the idea of a virtual book tour.  Could I do a virtual cookbook tour? Shit, I'm sure someone has already beat me to it.   I was also intrigued to read Halliday's new book, Dirty Sugar Cookies.   She mentioned something about hating pasta in an email to me, so I knew this book would be interesting considering I have dreams about the fresh, soft sausage filled tortellini we had while staying in Modena a few years ago.   Pasta is one of my favorite things.  Ever.  I needed to find out how such a tragedy could occur!

But it was far from a tragedy.  In fact, I enjoyed some of the family and food related stories Ayun tells in Dirty Sugar Cookies.  I can't forget about the story of her mother making crazy gourmet food on a nightly basis for her and not always appreciating it.   I always get a lot of crap from my coworkers who sit and openly laugh about when I will become a Dad and give my kids fancy fussy meals all the time (a joke about foie gras in a launch bag sent them into laughter.  Losers).  But the crazy Aussie woman I work with thinks it will be even funnier to envision me opening a can of Chef Boy R-Sandra Lee for a screaming kid. (Now that's not gonna happen).

Ayun's book stirred many food thoughts from my past and made me think about them for the first time in a long time.  But her editor had her leave out a now mysterious chapter based on why she hates pasta.  This is indeed very intriguing to me.  I would love to know why - send me this chapter, Ayun!

So in tribute to the launch of Ayun Halliday's Dirty Sugar Cookies, I'll re-post an old dish from the archives that is not a pasta, yet possibly an interesting substitute.  This dish is curry seared scallops with mint tapioca and green onion sauce.

You can pick up Dirty Sugar Cookies here.

Latin American Tasting Menu

I apologize for being MIA recently.  I've been really under the pump at work - late nights, early mornings, lots of stress.  Good times! On top of that, we had our last foodie event last Sunday, which took the rest of my free time to plan, practice my dishes, etc. I have been doing zero cooking other than practicing for foodie and I am always torn about whether to post my works in progress for upcoming events here (I like to keep the menu a relative surprise for guests that attend). 

Anyhow, our event was a total success.  I thought the menu was well executed, other than a few minor gaffs that haven't kept me up nights.  I think we are serving very good restaurant quality food at our events now, which hadn't always been the case.  I think we've finally found the formula for producing great food for a crowd without industrial restaurant equipment.

As I told the guests on Sunday, I was very careful about calling this event 'Flavors of Latin America'.  I wanted room to be able to express some of the flavors and techniques of the region in my own way.   

Here's the  menu we served.

Flavors of Latin America

        June 11, 2006
          55 People

Fried Yuca Chip

asparagus, chili aioli

Wild Salmon Popcorn Ceviche Spoons

lime, chili, mint

2004 Montes Reserve Sauvignon Blanc

***

Spring Salad

morels, asparagus, jicama, baby carrots, tortilla, pisco sour reduction

2004 Casa Lapostolle Chardonnay, Alexander Cuvee

***

Braised Oxtail Not Really Empanadas

creamy plantain soup

2004 Norton Malbec Reserve

***

Cuban Mojo Pork

yuca mash cake, black bean sauce

2002 Zuccardi Malbec "Q"

***

Duck Achiote

Peas, banana, red onion, queso blanco, quinoa

2002 Zuccardi Cabernet Sauvignon

  ***

Dulce de Leche, Bay Leaf Flan

strawberry salad, coconut tuile

2004 Santa Julia Tardio