Burger Buns

Before heading to Nagshead, goat cheese lentil burgers were back on the menu and I needed bread or buns. I didn't have milk or yogurt, so I spent some time seeking a recipe online. King Arthur's Beautiful Burger Buns were a good fit for my needs. Gosh, I love the internet.

They were simple to put together and held up really well against the prosciutto, mozzarella tomato and basil sandwiches I actually ended up eating all week. I could make the sandwich the night before, wrap it in saran wrap and leave it in the fridge with minimal deterioration. There is nothing worse than mushy food, so this was great!

The buns are slightly sweet, have a very fine i.e. messy crumb and a dry texture. While practical and good, I will probably continue to seek a different recipe for buns. I'd like a bun that makes less of a mess when I'm eating it.


Happy Labor Day!

Cooking Experiments from Outer Banks Trip

After my trip to Kitty Hawk with my parents, I was shocked to realize I had only read one book and magazine instead of my usual 3-4 books during the week. I couldn't figure out why but my mom knew: cooking. My somewhat selfish offer to cook almost all of our dinners, and lunches courtesy of leftovers, really ate into my reading time...

See below for what I made and any comments I can remember now that several weeks have passed. Clearly I was all about taking advantage of the fresh seafood!

Turkey Lettuce Wrap Tacos with Chiles, Cumin, Cilantro, Lime and Tomato-Avocado Salsa
These were easy to make and tasty. It's definitely a recipe to repeat. One suggestion: If your turkey looks juicy, drain it prior to adding the green onions, etc. or you'll have to cook the turkey longer than necessary to reduce the moisture and/or experience taco juice dripping down your arm. Not cool.
Sauteed Scallops with Garlic
Easy, fantastic and very exciting as "sea marshmallows" are one of my favorite foods. These turned out perfectly. Much better the last time I tried sauteing scallops back in Arlington; it was a disaster involving burned butter, rubbery yet undercooked scallops and an unpleasant, inedible mess. Since then I've learned that high heat is good when sauteing and paying attention to your cooking is essential!

Ratatouille’s Ratatouille, As envisioned by Smitten Kitchen
I improvised with wax paper instead of parchment and this recipe was still fantastic. I forget how rich vegetables can be on their own; ratatouille was a delicious, melt in my mouth reminder. This dish was by far my favorite item to reheat for lunch and future meals.

Pinocchio was a special eggplant.

Mafi’s ceviche de pescado or fish ceviche
Making this ceviche was torture. I was nervous it wouldn't go right. The steps were vague and numerous. AND how do you cut fish into small square pieces anyway?! I can tell you that you don't attempt it late in the evening at a condo with a dull knife while watching a movie. The ceviche looked pretty, even without squares in the end, and tasted pretty good too. If you attempt this, definitely make a smaller quantity. It was way too much for three people to eat and it wasn't something I wanted to revisit 24/7. Not sure I'll try this specific recipe again, especially without instruction on cutting fish.


Ginger Cucumber Salad with Scallops
I sort of made this... We brought rice wine instead of rice vinegar, so I used that combined with red wine vinegar to make the dish with shrimp. I also used canola oil instead of grapeseed and good 'ol in season American cucumbers. The adjusted recipe was still a success in my mouth. The ginger's bite, cucumber's crispness and the delicious shrimp go together well. We also had yummy corn and shrimp done the regular way with bay seasoning and cocktail sauce. Thank goodness cocktail sauce taught me to eat shrimp!


Mom's Improvised Banana Split :)

Carrot, Beet and Basil Salad

On very rare occasions, I throw something together on my own that is not only edible but something I want to share. This carrot, beet and basil salad came together right before my weeklong trip to Nagshead when I had these ingredients on hand and figured why not put them together? It is naturally sweet, has lots of crunch and doesn't require much heat making it perfect for summer.

Carrot, Beet and Basil Salad
3 beets, peeled and diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 white onion, diced
1/2 c. basil, torn or chopped roughly
1-2 tbsp. creme fraiche (optional, I had it on hand)
salt to taste (not much for me personally)

It's easy enough to assemble. Dice the onions first and while preparing everything else, steam them lightly to remove some of their bite. Everything else stays raw. Combine ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine.

Paella and Irish Carbomb Cupcakes

In an ultimately successful campaign to sell me on a September Spain trip, Leslie had her friend Kristin and me over to view Vicky Cristina Barcelona and to eat delicious Paella with Chicken and Sausage. It was rich and filling; I especially loved the fresh taste of the parsley which broke up the tomato flavor and color.

My contribution were these politically incorrect, delicious Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes. Frankly it has been so long since I made them that I don't remember my impression beyond finding them amazing and a bit time consuming to make. I want to say the cupcakes were moist, rich and dense. But who knows? I guess I'll have to revisit the recipe and drink more leftover Guinness. Damn! Life is hard...

Yes, this recipe taught me that I can drink beer and it really isn't so bad. I still don't go out of my way to consume beer but the 6 year "allergy" has ended.

Mint-Parsley Pesto with Peas and Sauteed Chicken

Nothing to say really, except I was using up parsley yet again when I made this impromptu dinner of Mint-Parsley Pesto with Peas and Sauteed Chicken for good friends.

There isn't a recipe for the pesto... I just combined garlic, olive oil, parsley, mint, walnuts and Parmesan cheese in the food processor using portions similar to your typical pesto. For some reason I chose to saute the chicken before cubing it into the pasta, which made it take forever. It tasted good, but in the future I'd just bake the chicken while the pasta was boiling. If you put the peas in the pasta water about 2 minutes before your pasta is done, then you don't have to dirty an extra dish.

Less cleanup is always awesome, even at a friend's house with a dishwasher.

A Variation on Zucchini Strand Spaghetti

The other night I made this delicious sounding Zucchini Strand Spaghetti only I didn't have whole wheat spaghettini, the energy to make basil oil, a mandoline or a colander big enough to drain my noodles over the zucchini to cook it.

I improvised and it worked out wonderfully. I julienned the zucchini by hand and added it to the finished basil, garlic, red pepper and oil mixture and popped the lid on for a few minutes to steam it. Combined the whole thing with some creme fraiche and took in the smooth, creamy texture in big bites.

I didn't want to stop eating it. This pasta dish feels fresh like summer, practically melting in your mouth except for the pleasant crunch of the zucchini. I will definitely revisit it before summer squash season passes.

One warning, the garlic browns fast in the hot oil. I was watching with great pleasure as this happened and then BAM it was slightly burnt. It didn't kill the dish, but it certainly would have been more appealing with slightly less burnt garlic.

Polenta With Zucchini and Tomatoes

I loved, loved, loved this Polenta With Zucchini and Tomatoes. It is easy, hearty and filling. The basil is a light, refreshing note in the midst of the savory zucchini and tomato ragout. The vegetables' smooth, yet crisp texture provide a pleasant contrast to the polenta's firmness.

I used "instant" polenta and learned the valuable lesson that once polenta solidifies into a shape there isn't any opportunity for alteration, thus the lack of a nest for the topping in my polenta square. Next time I would definitely prepare the instant polenta at the last minute rather than doing it first.

I'll definitely revisit this recipe, probably even in the winter when it isn't in season. I think I'll like its warmth even more then.

Baked Risotto with Asparagus, Spinach, and Parmesan

During my asparagus kick back in June, I made this easy, healthy-ish baked risotto from Cooking Light. It is a solid recipe with a good flavor and attractive presentation, but it isn't as creamy and delicious as real risotto.

There is a high probabilty that the rice was undercooked and a bit firm due to my improvised dutch oven involving a glass dish and foil. Moving forward that won't be an issue thanks to self indulgence and the Le Creuset outlet in Williamsburg, Va. last week I now own a 6.75 quart black dutch oven. It's a beauty and I got it for around 60% off! I can't wait for it to reach me here in NYC. There was no way to carry it on the plane, unfortunately.

Back to the recipe, I like that it requires less attention than risotto and provided a close resemblance. I will probably try it again sometime if I'm feeling lazy. Otherwise, I'll stick to real risotto as I enjoy making things unnecessarily difficult sometimes!

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream

My first ice cream attempt was Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream, enabled again by an appliance Meg owned that I do not. The fact that I lack an ice cream maker hasn't stopped me from bookmarking recipes. I saved this one in 2007 and jumped at the opportunity to finally put it to use.

Preparing the caramel/custard base required a significant amount of time, but the heavenly smells along the way and the final result are worth the effort. I used kosher salt and half and half for all the required liquid instead of whole milk and heavy cream. Next time I might want to play with the amount and type of salt I use though since slightly salty ice cream didn't win me over completely.

The ice cream has a very rich, sweet caramel flavor; the 2.5 scoops below were a bit much even for my sweet tooth. And I skipped making the mix-in caramel praline! It freezes nicely, has a creamy texture, and is easy to scoop - no need to let it come to room temperature prior to serving. The only strange thing, and this is probably due to some error on my part, is my spoon always ended up with a slightly grainy texture after I indulged. Oh well! Still totally edible and eaten.

Grilled London Broil and Vegetables with Peanut Butter and Jelly Claufoutis

I headed home to Virginia for Father's Day to "surprise" my Dad and gave him his choice of meals from my culinary school binder. Naturally he chose the section I found the least appealing - grilling. I enjoy how grilled food tastes; I just can't can't take the heat!

Rather than using a grill pan, we used an outdoor grill. It was less hot, but I found grilling outdoors harder as it made getting the correct grid marks near impossible since you have to keep the grill covered to maintain a steady temperature. This drove my inner perfectionist crazy. There also was the slight problem of no real light being present at 9:30 pm and the meat ending up slightly overcooked. In spite of how I felt, Dad was very happy with his meal, which is all that matters.

I was much happier with the clafoutis I made for dessert than our main course. I followed the basic recipe provided by ICE using grapes and beat a tablespoon or so of peanut butter into the batter. It tasted like a perfectly mashed down peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich from my childhood. Yum. This dessert never gets old!

Pavlovas with Blueberries and Lemon Curd

With Meg's mixer available I no longer had an excuse for not attempting pavlovas. Over the years, I bookmarked at least 3 variations but I chose this one for my first try. I used cream of tartar instead of vinegar and made the 9 individual servings. The instructions were very simple and the meringue came together in a snap.

I can't begin to imagine hand beating the meringue, although in June I did manage to get egg whites to stiff peaks for a souffle once. I know I did it correctly as I turned the bowl upside down over my head without anything dropping on me or the floor. However, the whites fell quickly in my hot apartment and the souffle was a little, um, flat and heavy. You didn't get to see that.

The pavlova's were a greater success than the souffle. They were appropriately crisp outside and soft like a marshmallow inside. The only part that didn't go quite right was that they cracked. I suppose knowing my oven, setting a timer to check them before an hour and not getting distracted with a movie would prevent this issue in the future. By the way, this is not a dessert to bake and take with you. It does NOT travel well. The crumbles still taste delicious but don't have nearly the same effect as a full pavlova as you can see below.

I made this lemon curd to top them. I somehow skipped printing the middle paragraph, but managed to have the curd turn out delicious anyway. Its sweet, tart taste and smooth texture contrast perfectly with blueberries alone or on top of a pavlova. I'm happy to eat it by the spoonful and, unfortunately, have done so.

Braised Cod with Chickpeas and Corn

Last week while having a staycation at Meg's, I finally attempted making pavlova's, lemon curd, salted caramel ice cream and a variation on this recipe for Braised Cod with Chickpeas and Corn while watching Season 2 of True Blood, So You Think You Can Dance and Knocked Up. It was a very, very productive week, especially as it was an event week for work! I'm glad her mixer and ice cream maker convinced me to stay, instead of doing an extra 5 flights of stairs up and down daily to get the mail and water plants, and enabled these projects.

First comes the cod, which I have on 4 separate occasions purchased the parsley and lemons to make without taking action. Pretty sick when you think about the fact the cod was in the freezer waiting. This resulted in lots of parsley pesto; it tastes fine but I'm just not that crazy about parsley. This dish was much better than the pesto and worth the wait. Ultimately I substituted basil for the parsley and didn't use cumin.

The fish was firm and flaky and complimented by the chickpeas' slightly crisp outside and soft inside. The brightness of the lemon combined with the spiciness of the red pepper flakes was pleasantly tempered by the corn's sweetness. There was lots of flavor in every bite and it was very filling. I'll definitely make this again...probably when it is colder out. If you have a cast iron pan, you could event do this in one dish!

Stanton Social

Deb and I met for brunch at Stanton Social at 11:00a. Brilliantly neither of us checked when it opened (11:30a by the way) but everything worked out fine. We were the first people in and by the time we left around 12:45p they were busy.

I loved the modern art-deco interior, even if it wasn't the most welcoming in the daytime. Between the candles around the perimeter, chocolate suede banquettes and the slightly too loud lounge music it was clear why this is known dinner destination. Our waiter was attentive but I felt a bit rushed throughout the meal, which made it somewhat less enjoyable.

Station Social serves family-style i.e. tapas. We ordered four to split and it was plenty.

Warm Doughnuts with caramel $8
Their doughnuts are actually more like piping hot donut holes served at your generic Chinese buffet - good, light and crispy with cinnamon and sugar on the outside. The caramel sauce was very rich and clung nicely to the doughnuts when you dipped them. This probably better suited to dessert than brunch -- it honestly made my teeth hurt. You receive 6 in an order.

Caramelized Banana Pancakes with candied pecans, vanilla brown butter & maple syrup $8
Our five petite pancakes were beautifully presented in a stack of five with bananas in between each pancake. They were good pancakes, but I couldn't taste the vanilla brown butter or carmelization. The candied pecans, normally not something I love, were awesome. My decision to drizzle a little of the caramel from the doughnuts on top was a tasty one.

French Onion Soup Dumplings $12
These come out in a glass dish with holes for the six skewered dumplings. The whole dish is topped with a lace-like cheese crust that you cut through to take out each dumpling. You end up with a cheese octopus, crouton and soup filled dumpling that you fit in your mouth all at once - manageable but a bit weird. This was a unique presentation of a classic dish that tasted good, in spite of being a bit unwieldy to consume.

Baby Benedict: grilled Canadian bacon & citrus kissed hollandaise $8
Two beautifully plated eggs benedict sit on the plate separated by a small green salad. The poached eggs were perfect and each bite melted in my mouth. The whole construction was fork tender; the bread/muffin actually could have used a bit more crispness. I couldn't taste the citrus in the hollandiase but I didn't mind.

All the dishes were good but nothing stunned me other than the attractiveness of the space. I wouldn't veto returning, especially for dinner, but I have no plans to take initiative to do so. Plus the bathroom strangely smelled of urine, something that should not be the case right after you open (or ever really).

Location: 99 Stanton Street (Between Orchard and Ludlow Streets)
Hours: Mon-Wed.
Cost: $$$

Penelope

Danielle and I had dinner at Penelope, her favorite restaurant, last night. It packs a pleasing punch in its small interior. The decor is slightly rustic and warm - wooden benches, pastel paint, chalkboards and dimmed light for evening atmosphere. The service is attentive and pleasant without hovering and they don't mind you lingering to chat even with a small wait outside.

Penelope's offerings are simple but innovative American comfort food at great prices. I wanted to order cheese everything on the menu, no idea why, and managed to convince Danielle to split two cheese filled items with me.

Grilled Three Cheese with swiss, fontina, and white american on sourdough $8.50 for an additional $.50 you can add pesto, tomato or artichoke hearts.
The grilled cheese had cheese running over the edges but was surprisingly bland; the artichoke hearts we added were tasty, but did not add the necessary pop in my opinion. Pesto would probably be the best choice for added flavor. That said the hand-made organic bread and accompanying fries were a perfect, crisp golden brown. The sandwich literally melted in your mouth.

Mac & Cheese baked with fontina and white cheddar, topped with tomato. Served with greens. $9.50
The mac and cheese was much more impressive, although it too needed a touch more salt. It came in the bowl it was, presumably, baked in, and was attractively topped with golden brown crumbs and a thin tomato slice. The contrast of the rich crumbs with the creamy contents was a winner and the cheese, being cheddar, had a better flavor. The salad looked pretty, tasted fine and did a good job of clearing my palate between cheesy bites.

I definitely would go back here given the opportunity. I liked the atmosphere and it is a great deal. Maybe I would even order something without cheese... The only bad part was when some girl knocked her wine glass over spritzing my purse with its contents. There was even prompt cleanup then.

Location: 159 Lexington Ave at 30th Street
Hours: Mon-Sun 8:00a-11:00p
Cost: $$ (Closer to $, Cash Only)

Fine Cooking I: Week 5 (or the end)

Week 5 covered French Crudités (Vegetable Salads), Sauce Mayonnaise and Variations, Greek Court Bouillon (apparently this is BS), Grilling and Broiling Techniques for Proteins and Vegetables, Marinades, Tenderizing and Flambéing Technique.

We all prepped, chopped, assembled, grilled, carved and flambéed to create the meal below.

Vegetable Salad Plate
We were all assigned different salad recipes. This week the recipes were only ingredients - we had to figure out the proportions on our own. It was intimidating in theory, but actually was not so bad. I wouldn't have felt remotely comfortable in this situation the first week.

The salads included guacamole two ways, jicama, potato, fennel, green/watercress, beet, red cabbage and cucumber. One of the guacuamole's included the green curry paste and it was DELICIOUSLY spicy. I need to find that paste. Our group made the green/watercress salad with a delicious impromptu asian vinaigrette that I only wish I had written down.

I made a beet salad consisting of beets, celery root, chives and homemade horseradish mayonnaise. It needed more horseradish in my opinion, but I was super proud of how it looked! Funny thing. I kept the beets and celery root separate as I didn't want the root turning pink only to have Chef Jane come tell me to combine them asap. Apparently the mixed colors are part of the salad's beauty.
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Grilled London Broil
We used a french marinade for our London Broil. Jim's grill marks were divine. To get the proper grid marks, you place the meet at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. If you are cooking with "serious" meat with fat i.e. red meet, lamb, etc. then you shouldn't coat the grill with fat as it will prevent the caramelization you are seeking. The meat was good, although a little rare for my taste.
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Mixed Grilled Vegetables and Fruits of the Season
Unlike "serious" meat, vegetables (and fish) require a bit of oiling to not stick to the grill; they also require a different rotation to get the grid marks correct. You rotate the vegetables and fruits in quarter turns around the clock to get the grid marks correct. Grilling is BRUTAL. The heat overwhelmed me. I like the results, but don't think I'll ever become a grill-master. The eggplant, zucchini and apples were my favorites.
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Flambéed Bananas, Haagen-Daaz and Caramel Sauce
I'm really excited to have a caramel sauce recipe. I love caramel and have made caramels numerous times, not that I ever have posted about it, but I didn't have a sauce recipe. I also love ice cream and bananas. You'd think this dessert would be a perfect fit only flambéing did not love me and after flipping a very hot banana into my hand I forgot to burn off enough cognac to make my serving truly tasty. Oh well...at least I wasn't burnt. Next time I won't give into peer pressure and try to aggressively flip the bananas for other people's amusement when I had already flipped them.


To see all the pictures from Fine Cooking I, you can go here. As you can see I took more pictures each week as I got more comfortable with the people in class.

Sugar Stacks

One of the many daily newsletters I suscribe to circulated a link to Sugar Stacks this morning. It illustrates the amount of sugar in foods with sugar cubes - a great way to see exactly how much sugar you are consuming visually. The carrot stacks section is awesome too.

Note per its blog: "We don't differentiate between different types of sugar - i.e., sucrose, fructose, cane sugar, corn syrup, honey, etc., although there are differences in how these sugars are metabolized. We just used cubes of white sugar as a visual aid."

Warm Lentil Salad

As you may recall in week 3 of cooking class, I made Warm Lentil Salad. It was good, but I didn't forsee myself making it again. The flavors didn't stand out to me, although I heard other people raving about them. In retrospect, I think I was distracted by the other dishes we prepared and frustrated over the minor difficulties I encountered making the salad.

Regardless, after making it for my Mom over Father's Day and discovering its rich flavor and pretty appearance (if you don't overcook the lentils) I want to make it all the time. It helps that the salad is fairly inexpensive and filling too. When Elizabeth and Megan requested salads or dips for their 4th of July Barbecue this was the first salad that came to mind, so I took a double portion, with slightly overdone lentils, thus the muddled texture, to their barbecue yesterday.

Given that I've now made this three times, a rareity, I had to share the recipe.

Warm Lentil Salad
Serves 6

1 c. French green lentils
1 small onion sudded with 3 cloves
1 bay leaf
3 c. water
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 c. finely minced onion
2 garlic cloves, finely minced (your goal: the same size as the lentils)
2 tbsp. minced parsley
2 tbsp. minced chives
1 c. finely diced red pepper (your goal: the same size as the lentils)

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the lentils, whole onion and bay leaf. Add the water and salt and bring to a boil over high heat. (suggested way to handle the onion/cloves/bay leaf below.)

2. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the lentils are al dente, about 25 minutes. Drain any remaining liquid and discard the bay leaf and the onion. Transfer the lentils to a bowl.

3. Add the oil, vinegar, minced onion, garlic, parsley, chives and red pepper to the lentils and stir. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Repetition

The New York Times article "The Perfect Burger And All Its Parts" really brought home how key repetition is to perfecting recipes. I don't repeat things nearly enough... I see it as limiting when I should see it as refining. This is a great reminder.

Bread Bar at Tabla

When Lizzie, another one of my lovely acquaintances, from Vika and Rafe's Bahamian wedding in the was in town a few weeks ago, we treated ourselves to dinner at Bread Bar at Tabla . Bread Bar may be the less expensive part of Tabla, but it still a treat for me. Tabla is pleasantly decorated, nothing overly unique, with music that seems out of place since it is not a lounge. Though we were not sure who our waiter was at the end of the night, we had attentive and unobtrusive service all night. None of these details really matter though as we were there for the food, which exceeded expecations. Here's my rundown of the dishes our group of six shared...

Starters
Garlic and Sourdough Naan with the Chutney Sampler
I didn't try the sourdough naan, but the garlic was delicious. I always love naan's texture and Bread Bar's was no exception. It reminded me of Little Caesar's Crazy Bread in a good way. The favorite chutney was mint-cilantro chutney.

Fresh Chickpea & Kala Chana Chaat (warm street salad with red onion, chili & lime) $9
This dish was spicy with a nice crunch. I picked it out and it was my favorite small plate. It was like nothing I had tasted previously.

Creamed Spinach Samosa (local spring garlic, chickpeas, radishes & chipotle chutney) $15
You receive one samosa to split at this price. I found it heavy, but everyone loved it. The plate had a beautiful presentation with a radish salad that tasted strongly of ginger.

Sunny Side Spiced Up Egg (local baby arugula, applewood smoked bacon & gingered chicken livers) $13, includes a $2 donation to City Harvest
It looked great with the sunny side up egg. I couldn't taste the ginger on the chicken and didn't have bacon in my bite but the flavors melded nicely.

Saag “Paneer” Pizza (spiced creamed spinach with crumbled Coach Farm goat cheese on corn roti) $16
I scoffed at this dish wondering what is Saag Paneer without the Paneer? But it was surprisingly good. The spinach was very fresh, almost dry, and the warm goat cheese and the crisp roti were a great contrast in textures.

Main Courses
Kerala Black Pepper Chicken (seared chicken stewed with curry leaves, onions & black pepper) $19
This was my favorite entree and one I never would have ordered on my own. The chicken was tender and moist; the sweet accompanying stew was excellent over the fluffy basmati rice. It wasn't too peppery, in fact I didn't really notice pepper.

Berkshire Country Pork Pan Roast (marinated with apple cider, cinnamon & mustard seeds) $18
This was my least favorite entree. The pork pan roast was a little dry and flavorless yet fatty. The flavor was vaguely sweet, which was appropriate given the ingredients.

Tandoori Lamb (marinated in yogurt, cardamom & chilies) 20.
The lamb was succulent and tender with a great flavor. I almost didn't need a knife to cut it. This entree had the smallest portion.

Dessert
As an aside, Bread Bar's dessert menu wins a prize for having the only dessert to have ever repulsed me. Does anything about this sound tempting? Rhubarb Clafoutis (Roasted rhubarb, toasted almonds, basil-lemon curd ice cream). My one other comment on desserts in general was that they must use a melon baller to scoop the ice cream. The one scoop was too tiny for two people to taste much less six.

Sticky Date Pudding (Chocolate ice cream, toffee sauce, crumbled caramel brittle) $8
This dessert surprised me. It had a rich chocolate flavor without being too sweet. The brittle was perfect.

Citrus Polenta Fritter (Braised pineapple, apple lambic ice cream) $8
This was the dessert the women unanimously wanted. It was good but disappointing. The presentation and taste was reminiscent of a lemon bar with less punch.

Bread Bar Doughnut Holes (Made to order with orange blossom essence and a trio of sauces) $10
The doughnuts are light with a tasty sugar and cinnamon topping that overpowered the caramel and vanilla sauces. It did work with the chocolate sauce though. The caramel sauce was great on its own but the vanilla mysteriously tasted boozy.

The best dessert isn't listed on the online menu. If I remember correctly it was lemon pudding cake with coconut sorbet and lemon confit $8. The presentation was amazing and it made me swoon with its smooth sweetness and rich flavors.

I definitely want to return to the Bread Bar. If only to try the Pulled Lamb & Mustard-Mashed Potato “Naanini” (a street sandwich drizzled with fresh lime juice & chilies) and to have more Chaat.

Location: 11 Madison Avenue at 25th Street
Hours: Mon-Fri 12:00p-2:00p, 5:30-10:00 pm (not Friday pm), Fri-Sat 5:30p-11:00p, Sun 5:00p-9:00p
Cost: $$$
Note: Bread Bar Reservations are for inside seating only.

Savory Asparagus Pie

Back on April 25, I was way overeager and picked out two recipes featuring asparagus. Our late Spring, which as grown into a very slow starting summer, did not provide me with the necessary vegetable. Conscience be damned I went to Whole Foods and spent a small fortune on an excessively large bundle from California for this Savory Asparagus Pie. The other recipe would wait.

The week sped by, kind of like the past 2 months, and I finally got around to making the pie at 9 pm on the Wednesday the 29th. I can't even begin to explain why complicated cooking projects appeal to me late at night. I was tired and yet again there I was there I was moving forward and making my first pie crust.

While I wasn't happy with the aesthetics of my attempt the pie tasted pretty awesome, impressed my difficult to impress co-worker Lauren, and made a great, really rich breakfast reminiscent of a quiche. Next time I make this recipe I might cut back on the asparagus, I didn't measure it out but I suspect I overdid it, and attempt to convert the pie to a quiche with more of an egg base. Eggs are less expensive than crème fraîche and I like them.

Fine Cooking I: Week 4

Week 4 covered Compound Salads, Basic Theory and Techniques of Egg Cookery, Perfect Poached Eggs, Beurre Manie, Croutes Scrambled Eggs, Omelets, Whipping Egg Whites and Soufflés. I like eggs but this many egg dishes at once was a bit overwhelming.

After lecture each team prepared their own Salad Niçoise and Soufflé and each person rotated through the omelet and poaching stations. Omelets were eaten immediately; everything else was served in our traditional big meal at 2:30 pm.

Omelets
The term omelet refers to the way the egg is shaped when it comes out of the pan, not the filling inside. French omelets are not browned on the outside; American's can be a little brown. I attempted the French omelet with some minor difficulties including excessive clarified butter, not letting the pan get quite warm enough and starting to overstir into a scramble. The result was still pretty good, though the amount of butter made it almost inedible. I had to pat the omelet down with a paper towel to eat it. Nice.
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Salad Niçoise
I was less than thrilled that this lesson focused on Salald Niçoise as it has never appealed to me. I was surprised to enjoy it as much as I did. Having been involved with making it, I also now understand why this the salad costs as much as it does. Compound Salads are labor intensive! Two dressings, endless cutting, arranging... By the way, sashimi means the fish is as fresh as possible. I always thought it was a cut of fish.
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Eggs Benedict
We poached the eggs and Chef Jane did the rest. I feel more comfortable with poaching eggs, but they are going to take practice. My yolk was properly runny, but my whites kept blooming into interesting shapes. I think my transfer from the bowl into the gently simmering water was too slow, giving the white more time to spread out. Regardless this should never happen again! When poaching eggs add enough white vinegar to the water that you can smell the vinegar if you waft the water toward your face.
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Banana, Lemon and Chocolate Soufflé
Our group chose to make chocolate soufflé. It was challenging, especially since we decided to beat the egg whites by hand until the stiff peak stage. The chef's assistant ended up getting involved, but ultimately they were right because Chef Jane could turn the bowl upside down over her head without them falling on her. The soufflé's end result was warm, rich and light in texture. I think if I practiced enough and had a mixer, this could be an impressive, easy dessert to master. The banana soufflé, my favorite, was the most dramatic. I definitely want to recreate it at home. Maybe with a caramel sauce on the side? Or all the accoutrements of a banana split? The others are a lower priority though still good.

Now for some visuals...

You can't see the full effect of my meticulous arrangement/direction of the arrangement but you get the idea... Yes, the whole class basically made fun of me about the perfectionism.

Lemon

Banana

Fine Cooking I: Week 3

I skipped week 2's homework, even though I had two weeks to do it as we didn't have class Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. I wasn't ready to eat another chicken and it turns out leg of lamb and standing rib roast are expensive and must be purchased in large portions. Who knew?

Week three covered Brown (meat is browned in advance) and White (meat is raw) Roasting, Reduced Pan Sauces, Deglazing and Reduction, Preparation of Mussels and Whipping Heavy Cream. Between being overtired from weekend activities and being not so into mussels I wasn't quite as excited about this week.

Mussels steamed in White Wine with Cream, Thai Curry Paste or Chili-Garlic Sauce
Our group prepared the Thai Curry Paste variation. Mussels are surprisingly easy to prepare. I liked them more than I remembered, but did not feel like there was a noticeable difference between the different variations. Perhaps if there had been more bread to soak up the juices?
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Braised Lamb Shanks with Juniper Berries and Rosemary
Braised Leeks
One Pot Potatoes
Glazed Carrots
Warm Lentil Salad
Each group prepared a batch of the braised lamb shanks. Our group's are the one's closet to the camera in the picture below. Chef said our sauce and shanks looked the best, so unfortunately someone ATE my portion. That was so not okay... Anyway, the shank I ate was tender but I wasn't in love with the dish. Ultimately it reminded me of roast beef, very heavy, which I've never loved. Our group also was assigned the warm lentil salad. It tasted good and was easy to assemble, but the prep work took longer than I expected! The glazed carrots were by far my favorite side; they were very rich with a sweet flavor.
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Belgian Endive Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Our group was assigned prep for this dish, but ended up only making the vinaigarette when the other group washed and prepared too much endive. This seemed very bland and colorless in my opinion. I won't revisit it.
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Chocolate Mousse and Truffles
Both are very rich, chocolate desserts. The guys on my cooking team made our mousse and it ranked very high for its texture. I didn't remember mousse being so thick; I believe the texture is what ultimately caused me to prefer the truffles. That said I definitely want to try making it at home for the experience. I'm sure I could add a little Baileys for flavor and that might win me over...

Fine Cooking I: Week 2

My second class in the Fine Cooking I series at ICE followed the same structure as you would expect: lecture, practice and finally a VERY big meal with wine. Did I mention we get to take home leftovers after class? It's pretty awesome, especially as class makes me way too tired to feel like cooking dinner.

Anyway, this class I felt more comfortable as I knew what to expect. Week 2 covered stocks, basic chicken stock, classic and express methods of degreasing stocks, roasting and baking of proteins and vegetables, rice cookery and trussing and carving poultry.

The stock we made was so clear. It involved more steps and patience than my past attempts at stock making but it was worth it. Also, apparently you should NEVER use leftover bones to make stock as it won't have enough flavor.

I was excited that my team seemed to let me take charge and assign tasks from the assigned recipes. The menu for Lesson 2 and pictures are below.

Arborio Chicken Soup
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Rosemary Roast Chicken
I've roasted chickens successfully before, so this wasn't life changing. However, Chef Jane pointed out something very smart. You should NEVER ever wash poultry before you cook it. This spreads any potential infection around your sink, etc. and ultimately anything that could make you sick will cook out. Our group had a little trouble with following the trussing instructions; we hadn't tucked the wings properly. The chicken was super tasty as a result of lots of basting. Carving was pretty easy to follow and it probably will change my life. Previously I've just masochistically picked everything off the bones.
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Baked Stuffed Tomatoes Provencale (YUM)
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Roasted Garlic
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"Best" and Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf
My group made the brown and wild rice pilaf, which was pretty fantastic and a great compliment to the chicken. I loved the texture. It involved porcini mushrooms, pine nuts, shallots, currants, parsley, etc.
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French Style Spinach, Bacon and Mushroom Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette or Honey Dijon Vinaigrette
I sauteed the lardon (thick cut bacon) for the salad and was excited to receive compliments from Chef Jane and her assistant on the even browning. My homework paid off! I also made my first vinaigrette ever and it held, all week. My arm was BURNING by the time I finished the tasks though.
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Claufouti, 3 types, with Haagen-Dasz Vanilla Ice Cream
Our group made a blueberry clafouti. Chef Jane describes it as sweetened pancake batter poured over fruit,which is accurate. This is a great, simple dessert. I think lemon zest would have spiced up our version. I'm contemplating an attempt at creating a peanut butter and grape "jelly" clafouti.

Fine Cooking I: Week 1, Homework

Each week we have unenforced homework, after the first week I was most eager and made two practice recipes. I thought it was extraordinarily important to learn proper sauteing after doing it incorrectly for so long! So much so that I was late to/almost missed birthday party 1 of 2 on the following Saturday. My priorities were a little skewed perhaps.

Recipe 2 was Veal Cutlets Piccata. I substituted chicken cutlets for veal as they likely cost less and I couldn't find veal cutlets at Whole Foods. It was a quick, good/decent recipe. My disappointment rose from a disconnect between reading the ingredients, making the dish and still somehow imagining/wanting Veal Scallopini i.e. a completely different dish as the result.

I loved the Sauteed Fish Fillets with Ginger-Lime Butter, recipe 1, and will definitely revisit it. Preparing the ginger-lime compound butter, which I disgustingly enough wanted to eat by itself, makes this recipe take a bit longer but I found the results worth the effort. I sauteed some green beans in garlic and sesame oil for a side.

Fine Cooking 1: Week 1

When I arrived for my first session of Fine Cooking I at the Institute for Culinary Education (ICE), I wasn't really sure what to expect; I was just nervous and excited (nothing rare about that though). I made it just in time, slipped into my seat at the long table, applied my name tag and marked my name in my binder.

Soon after Chef Jane launched into the lecture portion of the class... She went over rules and procedures, recommended kitchen implements, food safety and a myriad of other topics before reaching what we would cover in lesson 1: knife skills, blanching and refreshing vegetables, sauteing, theory of protein cooking, simple salads, sauce vinaigrette, compound butters and macerating. The first class has the longest lecture - it was around 2 hours?

Then the 14 of us were divided into 3 groups to cook. The major difference between class at ICE and class at the Bowery Culinary Center is that you cook in teams. You may not get to do each thing in class, although you'll hear about the technique and at least watch someone do it. This confused me at first, but then I realized that is because they follow their model for teaching students to work in kitchens professionally. I had to adjust to the concept but I've found it enjoyable. The menu for Lesson 1 and pictures are below.

Chilled Gazpacho Soup
Spicy Hot Vegetable Soup
My group did the hot soup. I helped dice the veggies. The soup wasn't actually that spicy but it was a good vegetable soup.
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Sauteed Lamb Chops with Herb Butter
Sauteed Broccoli
Diced Sauteed Potatoes with Persillade
Every group did all aspects of the main course. I made the compound butter, which was easy enough. You mix room temperature butter with ingredients, then make a log on parchment paper and chill until firm. I also cut a lot of herbs for the butter and persillade (a 50/50 mix of finely minced garlic and parsley). Discovering that sauteing involves using your arm to move the food in the pan rather than using a spatula was a big lesson for me.
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Simple Salad with a Vinaigrette
Simple salads involve 3 or less ingredients, so this was easy enough to put together. I didn't personally make the vinaigrette this week but it looked hard. You have to whip together the oil and fats enough to emulsify them together. Most of the prepared vinaigrette's broke (separated).
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Macerated Fruit: Sliced Oranges with Grand Marnier, Blueberries with Maple Cream and Strawberries Romanoff with Fresh Whipped Cream
Each group made a recipe. My group was assigned the strawberries and I helped whip the cream by hand! I learned that I needed more endurance in my arm, that each motion with the whisk should hit the side of the bowl and that you need to use a large bowl to ensure the proper volume (if the bowl is too small not enough air will be added). The blueberries were my favorite macerated fruit recipe.

Baileys Irish Cream Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

I made these Baileys Irish Cream Cupcakes for a delayed dinner, dessert and wine viewing of Gossip Girl at Meg's the other week. They were my first foray into baking with the Baileys I purchased specifically for that purpose in the Bahamas.

As soon as I saw their perfectly domed tops coming out of the oven, I was in love. My cupcakes/muffins have never before had perfectly rounded tops. I suspect beating the egg whites into stiff peaks before folding them into the rest of the cupcake mixture, instead of just mixing in whole eggs, creates this effect. I have to admit I wish it could be done with less work, but I still will make these again one day.

The resulting cake is very moist with a pound-cake like texture and you can taste the Bailey's without feeling like an alcoholic. The frosting is a rich chocolate. I really enjoyed how the mixture of shortening and butter made the icing more of a solid, easily spreadable mass.

Thumbprint Cookies

While I slept regular, grown-up hours in the Caribbean, my sleep schedule has been all over the place since my return. Case in point, the week before last I felt inspired at 10:00p to make cookies for Administrative Professionals Day. Since I had all the ingredients handy for thumbprint cookies (a.k.a. Veronas), I went for it.

The best part is after staying up late making the cookies, I hid them at my desk all day and didn't give them to our Administrative Professionals because I didn't like how they looked. They weren't uniform and, frankly, reminded me of breasts. Finally at 4:00p I realized I had to put them out or I would be eating oh 30 cookies by myself. As usual my worries were for naught. They were a hit with my co-workers still at work and at our committee meeting that night.

I followed the recipe except I accidentally included the egg whites. The cookies probably would have been more crisp and flat without them, but the mistake didn't effect the tastiness of the cookies. The soft and buttery shortbread was perked up nicely by the strawberry jam center. I chose to omit the nuts.

I'd consider making these again, if I can be less of a perfectionist and/or can figure out a way to make the proportions better.