Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!



So this is not dinner for tonight, but it did seem like a fitting post for today. We got back from Maine and I was lobster-ed out and sugar-ed out and craving home-cooked Chinese food. It was decided that the afternoon activity was to walk to Chinatown and buy groceries for a quiet evening in and watching 'Brothers & Sisters.' Bizarrely enough, when we got back to NYC around 4pm, I was hungry again! We happened to run into Jon on the street, which was perfect, bc I wanted a Vietnamese sandwich, and Jon knew exactly where to get them. We all went to Nicky's in the East Village and shared a pork chop banh mi. Yum yum.



After our little snack detour, we finally made it down to Chinatown. I knew I wanted to make soup, and I knew I wanted copious amounts of vegetables. But as we were walking down Grand, live lobsters caught our eye bc we'd been discussing all weekend long how cheap they were by the lb in Maine, if you bought them at markets vs eating them at restaurants. Lo and behold, they were only about $4.99/lb in NYC too. But more importantly, we saw these little guys.



It put the perfect touch on my menu for the evening.

Boiled live crustacean guys
Chicken Feet Soup
Xian Gan Rou Si - Bean Curd and Shredded Pork(?)
Lots of Chinese Veggies

It was cathartic to cook and soothing to have the house smell of warm chinese cooking. The live crayfish (or whatever they were) were squirming all the way home and almost dead, but still moving, when finally dropped into the boiling water - and looked lovely when cooked.





They were a pain to eat, and I probably won't get them again, but a fun experiment nonetheless.

I also had extra chicken feet from the soup, so I decided to throw together some chicken feet stew. It turned out pretty well, but both Stan and I were afraid of the fat content so only ate a few each. The rest remained as decoration. And the rest of our meal was actually pretty simple - nothing scary about it, just basic, home-cooked yumminess.





Stewed Chicken Feet

12 chicken feet
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine
3 slices ginger
2 cups water
2 fresh red chili peppers, chopped
spoonful of brown sugar

Combine all ingredients and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Easy, huh?

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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Maine Day 3: Breakfast - Kingsleigh Inn B&B

Doesn't this look like dessert??


Breakfast on the last day was two courses again - all sweet this time. The inn alternates between sweet & savory breakfasts every other day - I'd have to say that when it's all sweet, it is serious sugar overload. And for those of you that know me, you know how much I love sweets. I love all things sweet: dessert, ice cream, cake, chocolate you name it. So if I'm sugared out, you know there was a lot going on.

To start, there was homemade granola and freshly baked muffins again. Sunday's muffins were Pumpkin and Blueberry. Pumpkin is Stan's favorite and there were only three left when we got downstairs so I quickly snatched two - one for him at the table, one for him to take on the road. Aren't I thoughtful?



Pears poached in red wine was the first course, banana stuffed french toast course two. I hate to be critical, but I've had better stuffed french toast. For example, the banana stuffed french toast at Public is significantly better than what we had. Rather than using one giant slice of brioche toast, dipping, frying and then stuffing in a little brioche pocket - I think here Dana made a little sandwich: two slices of brioche, cream cheese, chocolate & bananas in-between, and then pan-fries the whole thing. As a result, the toast is not really french toast through and through - the insides of the pieces of toast were not very french - and the cream cheese just makes it a bit heavy. But enough whining on my part, it was still beautiful to look at and pretty darn good.

I could not eat anymore sugar for a good 24 hours after that. We left for the airport shortly thereafter, only to arrive in NYC 1hr delayed, but met w/ gorgeous weather and sunshine. And in need of immediate detox and seriously craving some homemade chinese food.
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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Maine Day 2: Dinner - Red Sky Restaurant



This may not look like much, but it is the yummiest crusty bread I've had for a really long time. And I use superlatives sparingly. Served super warm and freshly baked, with salted butter you could just eat and eat and eat it. Which is basically what I did.

After lunch we decided to go back to the National Park and explore some more. We walked on a "Nature Trail" around a pretty pond/lake - I think it was Jordan Pond. It was so nice to be outdoors - quiet, still, turning leaves - I wish we could go back. There were apple trees right around the pond and I picked one. At first Stanley wouldn't let me eat it bc he thought it would be poisonous. It was delicious.

For dinner we wanted to go to Town Hill Bistro, a small local restaurant in the neighboring West Eden Common in the Village of Town Hill (doesn't that sound convoluted?), but they were fully booked. Can you believe that? So instead we went to Red Sky, a restaurant right around the corner from our B&B that our innkeepers recommended and that we'd heard good things about in a "New Yorker's Guide To Bar Harbor." It was so yum. We had delicious wines to match, and the service was great.

Wine:
White - Honig Sauvignon Blanc - Napa Valley, CA
Red - Chateau Montelena Zinfandel - Calistoga, CA


Stan and I shared Maine Peekytoe Crabcakes, and the 1 ½ lb. Lobster, shucked and sautéed with zucchini and served over mushroom risotto or something like that. They bake their bread in house, serve local fare, and have a phenomenal (and phenomenally priced) wine list. We also had Roasted Quail with quinoa crust and cranberry sauce to start, but my pictures were so abysmal I deleted them.


Oh, and of course I had dessert. We ordered "James’ Gingerbread" (which bizarrely looks like meat in the picture below) served toasted with caramel sauce and cream cheese whipped cream spiked with apple brandy. I don't know who James is, but it was delicious, huge, and perfectly toasted and spiced. And of course I had to try Mt. Desert Island ice cream.



See our friendly, yet slightly bizarre, waiter.
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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Maine Day 2: Lunch - Thirsty Whale Tavern



My first lobster roll ever. After a filling breakfast, we wandered the small town of Soutwest Harbor, Maine, where we were staying. Since it took us a whole 25 minutes to cover the three blocks that housed the general store, a few restaurants, the post office, and a few tourist shops, we then ventured the 14 miles to Bar Harbor, the main town on the island. It was a quiet Saturday morning, and little did we know, almost half the shops and restaurants had already closed for the season. But more importantly, most of the lobster pounds were closed for the season too. What to do?!

There were a few shops still open, and the shopkeepers were kind enough to point us in the direction of exactly what we were looking for: good and reasonably priced lobster rolls. The other benefit of being there the last weekend of the season was that everything in any store that was open was on sale - I got a nice little Patagonia guy for 30% off, but I digress.



We ended up at the Thirsty Whale Tavern, a cute local pub serving all the Maine basics. My first lobster roll experience was all I expected - delicious. But to be honest, the bread was so buttered I was almost afraid. But I guess that's what makes it good. The lobster wasn't drenched in mayo, and served w/ a creamy corn chowder with lobster chunks, yum. Local beer to match was the perfect touch.
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Maine Day 2: Breakfast - Kingleigh Inn B&B

I forgot my camera, so waiting on Kai and Gina to get back and will post then. Don't click on the "More" link, it's just retarded code that I don't know/have the time to fix. (more..)

Monday, October 27, 2008

Maine Day 1: Dinner - Cafe Dry Dock & Inn



After hiking Precipice Trail, apparently the most "well-known" and "most challenging" hiking trail in Acadia National Park, we were exhausted. I was absolutely not mentally prepared to scale a 1,000 foot vertical climb "recommended for physically fit and experienced hikers who have no fear of heights." Let's just say at some point, I was really tired, didn't think I could make climb up any more rocks, but was too scared of looking down to go anywhere else but up. But it was quite an accomplishment. See the picture below to see how high up we went, and how far down had to come again.

And so our reward? Lobsters!!

We checked into our B&B, in the super-cute small town of Southwest Harbor, and ventured to dinner a whole two doors down. We had dinner at Cafe Dry Dock, a small & simple casual restaurant serving fresh seafood. I was famished, and we quickly got down to business. Mussels to share (smothered w/ garlic and carrots, and I think some cream and white wine) went fast, and lobsters for each of us. Simple and delicious.

The only bizarre moment was when the waitress told us that Stella Artois was a local Bar Harbor beer. Huh?



Here is Stan making kissy face with his lobster.


Here is the mountain we climbed. Serious.

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Maine Day 1: Lunch - Crazy Dave's Pit BBQ



We spent the weekend in Mt. Desert Island, Maine. We saw fall foliage, ate a ton of food, and hiked through Acadia National Park. There are lots of things to write about, lots of food to go through. So I'll simply start with Day 1 and make it through our trip meal by meal.


We landed in Bangor, Maine right on time. I was psyched to get out of the city. As much as I love NYC, the constant barrage of smells, sounds, and ppl can really get to you sometimes. I was really looking forward to leaving the homeless compound in front of my building, the non-stop ambulances blaring down 3rd Ave, and the rabid dogs meant to guard the construction next door.

We had an hour drive ahead of us, and it was about 1pm. I was (unsurprisingly) hungry, but everyone else wanted to wait until we got to town, bc getting a hike in the afternoon seemed more important to the rest of my group than filling our tummies. Then, as we were driving from Bangor, through Ellsworth, and towards Bar Harbor, a food truck caught our eye. Crazy Dave's Pit BBQ! It was definitely worth a stop.





Stan and I shared the pulled pork sandwich, beef brisket sandwich, and the corn chowder. Kai and Gina did the same. The pulled pork was yummy, beef brisket a little dry, even though it was so fatty(!), and the corn chowder was delicious. The chowder had little bacon fat surprises all throughout, it was awesome. Overall, I'm sure it the BBQ would pale in comparison to something you could get in the South, but delicious nonetheless. The meat could have used a little more flavor and a bit more kick, but hey, this guy smoked all his meat in this crazy smoker right outside the truck (see smoker picture below). It's amazing what ppl can do on the side of the road.

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Thursday, October 23, 2008

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory



Janice and I had our own little tour of Chinatown last night. We had beef noodle soup at Super Taste, got beef, pork & squid congee for Jon (who had his nose broken yesterday for his deviated septum) at Big Wong's, pearl tea at Tearrific, and then ice cream at Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Aren't Chinese ppl so creative with their store names? Super Taste, for super tasting noodles! Tearrific, bc it's terrrrific!

Also, Chinese ppl have no shame. We were walking down the street and some funny man was singing Chinese opera at the top of his lungs. Can you imagine if some normal looking dude in his mid-40s was walking down Bleecker busting out non-sensical foreign tunes? But what I love most about Chinese is their raw appreciation for cheap, no-nonsense, yummy food.


I had never been to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory before, but they have some pretty neat flavors. They had a seasonal pumpkin pie flavor, which really did taste exactly like pumpkin pie, but the color was a tad bit too artificial for me to feel comfortable with it. Stan has said his favorite was Almond Cookie, so I got a pint of that to take home for him. And it's also Janice's favorite, so it was two for one. But other ones to try next time?

Pandan - a Malaysian leaf used to flavor savoury and sweet dishes
Chocolate Pandan - chocolate + the leaf?
Dan Ta - chinese egg tart
Durian - stinky fruit
Taro, Black Sesame, Avocado, Wasabi... and the list goes on.

Almond cookie was delicious. Stanley had three mini-cups at home. :) Is this not the funniest logo you've ever seen for ice cream??

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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Lasagna With Chard, Tomato Sauce and Ricotta



Ingredient of the week to get rid of: Swiss Chard.

The Times has this new segment to the Food Section called Recipes For Health. It's organized by ingredient, which I love, but there are no user comments on the recipes, so it's a toss up how things will turn out. Last night we tried the Lasagna w/ Chard - Stan cooked it all up on his own, and we added turkey sausage, bc without meat we're unhappy.

View the construction of our healthy adventure:



It actually turned out quite yummy. Though we've decided that lasagna is best if the last layer is sauce, not pasta. Pasta dries up and just starts tasting (and looking) like pasta jerky.

I need to do something about my photos. They look like they were taken in the 1970s. It's the lighting in my apartment, but I really don't like bright lights...

Lasagna With Chard, Tomato Sauce and Ricotta
Adapted from The New York Times

1 generous bunch Swiss chard (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Salt
1/2 pound regular or no-boil lasagna noodles
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
2 large turkey sausages
2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 chopped shallot
2 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced, or 1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, with juice
Pinch of sugar
1 large basil sprig
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
1/3 to 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil while you prepare the chard. Fill a bowl with ice water. Tear the leaves from the stems and wash thoroughly in two changes of water. Discard the stems or set aside for another purpose.

2. When the water comes to a boil, add the Swiss chard leaves. Boil 1 minute (from the time the water comes back to a boil), until tender but still bright green, then remove from the water with a slotted spoon or skimmer and transfer to the ice water. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely and set aside. Cook the lasagna noodles in the same pot of water if not using no-boil lasagna noodles. Remove the pasta from the pot and toss with 1 teaspoon olive oil in a bowl.

3. In a wide, nonstick frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic and shallots. Cook, stirring, just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the meat and saute until browned. Add the tomatoes, sugar, basil sprig, and salt (begin with 1/2 teaspoon and add more later), and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring often, until thick, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the amount of juice in the pan. Taste and adjust seasonings. Remove the basil sprig. Stir in the Swiss chard and remove from the heat.

4. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Oil a square or rectangular baking dish (no bigger than 2-quart) and line the bottom with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spread half the ricotta over the noodles and half the tomato-chard sauce over the ricotta. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over the tomato-chard sauce. Add another layer of noodles and top with the remaining ricotta and tomato-chard sauce, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Finish with a layer of noodles and the remaining Parmesan. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the top. Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake 30 minutes, or until bubbling and the pasta is tender. Uncover, allow to sit for 5 minutes, and serve.
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Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Stanley's Lowfat Banana Bread



Stanley makes better banana bread than I do. He liked it better in the throwdown, and now, I think it's established that he can make a better one too. We've been making this super healthy banana bread with the bunch of bananas I've been getting every week in my product box - and experimenting with how little oil, what type of flour/sugar to put into it and how it tastes each time. He forgot to put the walnuts in (hence their appearance on the top of the loaf), but his bread was definitely lighter and more airy.

There's only 1-2 tablespoons of oil, and we're trying to figure out the perfect balance of yogurt, applesauce, oil and/or all of the above. I'm not totally sure what the verdict is, but they're all pretty good.

Low-fat Banana Bread Recipe Of The Moment


2 large eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup smashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1/3 cup nonfat yogurt (or applesauce)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (my hunch is that this is too much, I'm going to reduce it next time...)
1 cup white flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2-inch pan; dust with flour. Using electric mixer; beat eggs and sugar in large bowl until thick and light, about 5 minutes. Mix in smashed bananas, applesauce and/or yogurt, oil and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt over mixture; beat until just blended. Mix in chopped walnuts or raisins or chocolate chips or whatever you like. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake bread until golden brown on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Turn bread out onto rack and cool.




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Monday, October 20, 2008

Better Butternut Squash Soup

The last time I made butternut squash soup it was not a soup. It was butternut squash mash. Or better known as butternut squash baby food. The taste was good, but you could eat it with a fork. I wish I had taken pictures so that we can compare with yesterday's.

But last night, I was fully redeemed. By being much more generous with the chicken broth, adding 2 stalks of celery and a rutabaga aka swede aka turnip, we had success!




Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

1 (1 1/2 pound) butternut squash, peeled seeded and rough chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small diced onion
2 medium carrots, diced
2 med celery stalks, diced
1 med parsnip, chopped
1 med turnip/rutabaga/swede, chopped
1 med leek, chopped
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock
Salt & Pepper to taste
Ground coriander to taste


1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

1 Place the chopped squash in a medium-size mixing bowl. Drizzle the squash with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil and place the squash on top of the sheet pan. Set the sheet pan into the oven and roast for 30 minutes, or until the squash is lightly caramelized and tender.

2. Remove the squash from the oven and set aside. Place a 1-gallon saucepan over medium high heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add all veggies into the pan and sweat, stirring often for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan and sweat for 1 minute stirring continuously. Add the chicken stock and squash to pan.

3. Bring the pan to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Continue to cook the soup for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are all tender. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to a smooth consistency and velvety texture. Alternately, you can puree the soup in batches using a blender. Season with salt, pepper and ground coriander to taste.

(Photos from this post taken w/ my blackberry curve, not ideal, but I was impressed!)


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Shepherd's Pie



What is this? Enchiladas? Refried beans? Cauliflower gratin? The picture may not be obvious, but it's Shepherd's Pie! Had friends for dinner over to try the English classic, and it was delicious - a tad salty, but a success overall.

We also had breaded calamari on a bed of corn, and creamed spinach on the side. And also copious amounts of alcohol. To the tune of a bottle and a half per person.




Shepherd's Pie
Adapted from Cookie Magazine

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 med carrots, peeled and chopped
1 box mushrooms, quartered
1/2 lb ground lamb
1/2 lb ground beef
1 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons Worcestchire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
few sprigs of thyme
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
1 cup frozen peas (which I accidentally left out!)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup grated cheddar
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. In a large sauté pan brown meat, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove. Over medium-high heat, heat the oil, and sauté vegetables (minus peas) until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes.

3. Drain the fat from meat and add back into vegetable saute. Add the broth, Worchestshire sauce, tomato paste, and herbs. Simmer until the juices thicken, about 10 minutes, then add the peas.

4. Pour the mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish; set aside.

5. Meanwhile, bring the potatoes to a boil in salted water. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes; drain.

6. Mash the potatoes with the butter, milk, and salt.

7. Spread them over the meat mixture, then crosshatch the top with a fork. Sprinkle grated cheddar on top.

8. Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes.

It's a good thing Kai *loves* mashed potatoes. We had no leftovers at all. Here's me taking a picture of the food before it all disappeared, when I realized "sh*t, I didn't take any pictures of the inside of the food!" One day I will start taking pictures of the prep too, but right now I just can't coordinate it all.




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Friday, October 17, 2008

My Own Throwdown: Apple vs Banana Bread



So I recently signed up for Urban Organic, which is basically produce in a box once a week. It's super fresh, local when it can be, and saves me the hassle of having to buy fruits and veggies every week. Yes, it's a bit hippie dippie too. But the greatest thing about it? You get all sorts of produce that you would never buy in the first place which pushes you to experiment with cooking.

But long story short. Pros of the produce box: new food, new recipes. Cons: race to finish the produce before it goes bad.

Given that it's fall, apples have been a staple of the box these past few weeks, and with the abundance of apples (and bananas) that I've gotten I decided to make apple bread on Wednesday and compare it to the lowfat banana bread I made on Monday. The outcome?



A much denser cake than my lowfat banana bread, but I think I liked it better. Stan likes the banana better. And in my throwdown picture, they both look pretty unappetizing. I should take a food photography class or something.

Apple Bread
(recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

3-4 apples
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp honey

3/4 cups white flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce (or yogurt)
1/2 cups sugar
1/8 cups orange juice
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

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Thursday, October 16, 2008

Momofuku Bo Ssam



So, I have yet to decide whether or not I will keep this a pure food blog, write about cooking only, cooking + restaurants, restaurants only, include my friends, or write about something totally different altogether, oh, say, shoes. But since I haven't decided yet, I'll write about whatever I feel like for now.

My girls came to visit from SF this past weekend, it was a blast. Of course, we ate pretty much everywhere south of Union Square that anyone would want to eat. We also had the infamous bo ssam at Momofuku Ssam Bar.

It was a glorious piece of pig butt and a phenomenal group eating experience. You use baby tongs and wrap up pieces of pulled pork together w/ raw oysters and a melange of special sauces in perfect pieces of bibb lettuce. Okay, not perfect pieces, for some reason, they all had little holes in them.





You would never expect raw oysters and pork butt to go together, but boy was it yummy. I was delightfully surprised at the party in my mouth. Our only regret was that we didn't order more oysters. As you can see from the photos, the massive amounts of pig butt generated very excitable dinner guests.





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Hirsch Bohan-Dillon


This is my next purchase. One case of my favorite pinot of the moment - I just need to figure out what goal to set for myself so I can reward myself when I achieve it. Making shepherd's pie? Sounds good. I'm going to buy a case of wine when I make an acceptable shepherd's pie. (more..)