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.

Lentil Goat Cheese Burgers with Citrus Supreme Salad

Since all my previous memories have been replaced by conch salad (a variation on ceviche), pina coladas served in coconuts and sunshine in the Bahamas, this will be brief. For the aforementioned movie night's main course, I made Lentil Goat Cheese Burgers and Citrus Supreme Salad (the recipe is at the bottom).

The burgers are really simple to put together, but be sure to leave enough time to prepare them as you must cook the lentils, chill the mixture, etc. all before "grilling" or in my case sauteing them. The burgers are smooth on the palate, filling without being heavy and reasonable to make. While Leslie's Lemon-Shallot Vinaigrette was pleasant I would venture to say the burgers would still be tasty without it. I'll definitely make them again, especially since I have yellow lentils leftover.

The Citrus Supreme Salad is great too, although it requires significantly more prep time than the burgers. I love the crisp bite the sliced red onion provides in contrast to the citrus' sweetness and the avocado's smoothness. I think it is one of the first things I've made with a fail-proof attractive presentation.


Citrus Supreme Salad (from the Fundamental Knife Skills class worksheets)
Serves 4

• 2 Navel Oranges
• 2 Grapefruits
• 1 Avocado
• 1 Red Onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cups Baby Greens
• 2 tbsp. Fresh Mint, chiffonade
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and White Pepper to Taste

Directions:
Supreme citrus fruit. Squeeze carcasses into separate bowl, reserving juice. Set supreme and juice aside. Clean and dry greens. Whisk one part oil with one part reserved juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Adjust acidity accordingly. Cut avocado into slices and coat with extra reserved juice to avoid discoloration. Dress greens with citrus dressing. Place 1 cup of greens onto each plate. Layer with citrus supreme and onion, and top with avocado. Garnish with fresh mint chiffonade and serve.

Mango-Chile Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

Saturday Leslie made Mango-Chile Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting for our dinner, Wedding Crashers and Saturday Night Live night. I had forgotten how hilarious Wedding Crashers is. I love that movie and Zac Efron on SNL wasn't half bad.

We were doubtful throughout the baking process... The batter looked awfully wet and tasted like like a muffin - almost healthy - which cupcakes obviously never are. The frosting required a lot more confectionery sugar than stated in the recipe. And with the addition of all that sugar would the lime flavor hold? Then they required 15 additional minutes of baking time. All our worries for naught. The cupcakes didn't rise evenly, which apparently made frosting harder than normal, but they tasted good. By the time we ate our second "mupcake"* they tasted great and they tasted even better a day later. These cupcakes are addictive.

The cupcake is like a muffin - very dense nad moist with a fruit flavor that you can't forget thanks to the mango chunks. The chili flavor is very subtle, so much so that I would consider adding more in the future. The frosting is divine; as Leslie said while we were eating it from the bowl it is just like key lime pie filling. If you make these be careful not to over frost or you'll obscure the mango flavor of the cupcake.

This summer we plan to create a variation on this recipe for peach mupcakes with a marscapone cheese frosting. We just have to figure out how to make the cupcakes a touch lighter. Who's in?


And, yes, we used the leftover mango nectar with vodka and soda to make cocktails.

*Leslie came up with the term mupcake to describe them and it is/was perfect.

Fundamental Knife Skills

Last month I took my first cooking class: Fundamental Knife Skills at the Whole Foods Bowery Culinary Center. While I knew my cooking would benefit from learning knife skills I wasn't sure what to expect going into the class. However, I did know that a $65 three-hour lesson including dinner was a great deal, less expensive than the Institute for Culinary Education's Recreational Division where I'm taking Fine Cooking on Sundays starting next month. In fact if I had known the Culinary Center was going to start a series of Fundamental Kitchen Techniques Courses I might have done theirs instead. Either way, I'm excited and nervous for May. Back to the topic at hand...

The class was comprised of 9 students, mostly couples, and 2 very knowledgeable instructors. We each had a station with a cutting board, an 8" Chef's Knife, a Paring Knife, a waste bowl and another bowl with a piece of citrus fruit, a carrot, half a leek, an onion, a clove of garlic, a sweet potato/root vegetable and a tomato. Christine Carroll, who runs the Culinary Center, led the class. We went over knife safety, sharpening, watched a precision cutting demo for each item in the bowl, did guided practice and then ate a delicious meal of Bass and Tomato Compote Baked in Parchment, Maple Roasted Root Vegetables with Goat Cheese; Avocado, Red Onion and Citrus Salad made from what we cut.

I learned that I held my knife wrong (as of Sunday night I have officially blistered my hand holding it properly), that the knives in my apartment are SUPER dull and we don't even own the proper tools for sharpening them (a steel is key) and most importantly how to cut properly. We also learned that to be efficient you should cut everything in stages i.e. peel the outside off of all the onions, halve all the onions, then get into dicing them, etc. I always did each onion fully before moving to the next one. Apparently this is not a speedy method.

It is going to take plenty of practice and, more arm muscle for things like sweet potatoes, but I walked away with an info packet and more knowledge. I only wish I had been less self conscious in the class as I probably would have learned more and asked a few more questions that way. Oh well. Practice makes perfect with that too.

Spring Is Coming?

The Greenmarket had onion chives and ramps this weekend. The trees have buds and sometimes blooms. I see the signs of Spring, but it is still in the 30s way too often. Maybe some sort of weather miracle will occur and I'll return from the Bahamas to more warmth or at the very least the next Spring vegetable: Asparagus. Mmm.

Hearth

Friday night Meg and I decided to dress up and treat ourselves to a nice dinner. This week was great, but last week pre-DC I was a bit all over the place and I needed a palate cleanser. Our evening at Hearth was fantastically refreshing, although maybe more so without the East Village bar hopping afterward (Cheap Shots was, um, interesting. Aces was better. I'm awful as Skee-Ball though.).

Unsurprisingly, Hearth's decor is warm: red walls, low lighting with candles and wooden tables with lots of room. It was surprisingly loud at capacity, although not overwhelmingly so as we could still carry a conversation without yelling. The service started slow, in spite of our timely seating at 9:00p, but was very attentive yet unobtrusive for most of the meal. Our waitress was very bubbly and had an instant rapport with Meg. It was funny to watch.

Hearth's wine list is very comprehensive i.e. overwhelming. We finally settled on Yellow + Blue's 2007 Malbec thanks to "Wine in the Box" by Justin Timberlake (page 17 here) and Meg's love of Malbec. It is supposedly more eco-friendly due to its Ceres-like juice box packaging and contains 1,000 mL rather than the standard 750 mL. Its rich, smooth flavor took boxed wine to a new level. It also brought up memories of the MTV movie 2gether and one of its hit songs: You + Me = US (Calculus). Ha.

Our meal started with several slices of a hearty, sesame-crusted bread and butter (what I was hungry!) and a complimentary shot of warm fava bean soup, which tasted similar to lentil soup. Both items were delicious.

As I'm never able to resist a deal and have been curious about goat, I ordered the Cucina Povera i.e. their prix fixe menu of humble cooking. It started with an Escarole Salad with Walnuts, Red Onion and Aged Pecorino. I liked the ingredients and the presentation, however, the dressing was strangely sweet and distracting. The Braised Goat was better - a generous portion accompanied by Rapini, Cannellini Beans and Gremolata. The goat had an earthy flavor reminiscent of rabbit or venison, but was dry and the tomato-based Gremolata and creamy Cannellini Beans, the real stars of the course, could only help so much.

While I wouldn't go out of my way to order my starter or main course again Meg's were very impressive. The Pork Terrine was moist with a concentrated, savory flavor and was presented nicely with colorful Pickled Vegetables and House-Made Mustard. But it was nothing compared to the complexity of the Veal and Ricotta Meatballs. My taste melted in my mouth - the flavors were like a wave. The Meatballs came with Ricotta Ravioli, Parmesan and Parsley.

I also loved, loved, loved the dessert we substituted for the one included with my prix fixe: Semolina Pudding with Blood Orange Soup and Pistachios. Semolina Pudding is reminiscent of Panna Cotta, if it contained plumped up raisins, very smooth, creamy and slightly sweet. The Blood Orange soup's rich citrus flavor really made the dessert pop - think of a very decadent marmalade soup with decorative pistachios.

I would definitely revisit Hearth one day. For now though I'll probably continue to vary my self-indulgent dinners as my nonprofit salary is limiting.



Location: 403 East 12th Street (the entrance is between 1st Avenue and Avenue A - closer to First)
Hours: Sun-Thurs 6:00p-10:00p, Fri-Sat 6:00p-11:00p
Cost: $$$

Double Crown / Madam Geneva

Having read reviews for Double Crown all over, I had placed it high on my mental list of places to try so it was a great start to things when K suggested it for drinks a few Fridays ago. We arrived right at 8, which was perfect for grabbing two seats at the bar as the restaurant became progressively more packed all evening. Luckily the volume never became too loud to hear each other speak. Service was prompt and attentive without being cloying. The drinks were well mixed, although for the most part I stuck to vodka soda.

Most enchanting was the decor. I was especially fond of the gold chains with decorative elephants hanging right where you turned to go downstairs and the ornate wooden carved walls by the restrooms. Overall the space feels very open and the bathrooms while overpoweringly scented with cinnamon and too dim to touch up make-up are clean and private. The main restaurant's lighting was warm and flattering and the "speakeasy" Madam Geneva is appropriately dark with its lace decorated walls. British Colonial really is the perfect description.

It is rare that something meets my expectations, but Double Crown and Madam Geneva did so much so that I took Leslie for a drink there the next weekend. She tried Madam Geneva's signature Gin and Jam, which sounds confusing but literally is gin over crushed ice with a spoonful of jam. I don't like gin, but this was surprisingly good - less Christmas in my mouth and more Slurpee. I can't wait to eventually have dinner here.

Location: 316 Bowery (at Bleecker)
Hours: Double Crown Mon-Wed: 6:00p-11:00p, Thurs-Fri: 6:00p-12:00a, Sat 11:00a-3:30p, 6:00p-12:00a, Sun 11:00a-3:30p, 6:00p-11:00p Madam Geneva 6:00p-2:00a
Cost: $$ for drinks, probably $$$ for dinner

Cheese Ravioli with Three Pepper Topping

This recipe was one of my two go to recipes for most of junior and senior year in college. The other one involved chicken, a can of peaches, salsa and rice... See this isn't my first cooking phase, but this one is much more serious and sincere. I visit a wider variety of sites than Allrecipes.com, I am not coming off the cottage cheese/salsa/Diet Coke diet and I don't even make Hamburger Helper anymore (much less burn it on a regular basis!).

When confronted with way too many yellow, orange and red peppers a few weeks ago this recipe was a great, simple solution. I still like it and so does my family, who experienced this dish countless times. I strongly advise you to tone down the olive oil if you don't like having slippery lips and to be generous with the Parmesan cheese!

Cheese Ravioli with Three Pepper Topping
Prep Time: approx. 15 Minutes. Cook Time: approx. 15 Minutes.
Makes 6 servings.

• 1 pound cheese ravioli (I never have used cheese ravioli. No reason)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cups chicken broth, divided (or vegetable broth)
• crushed red pepper to taste

Directions
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ravioli and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat olive oil in large saute pan. Add peppers and onion; cook 5 minutes. Add one cup of the broth and cook stirring another five minutes.
3. Add remainder of broth and cook until most of the broth has evaporated. Top ravioli with pepper and broth mixture.

This Week's Main Meals

Homemade Pizza topped with Caramelized Onions, Garlic, Goat Cheese, Arugula and Prosciutto... The results were pretty good, although the toppings could have stuck better. Pizza dough is much easier to make without whole wheat dough.

Stir Fry with Sauteed Tofu, lots of Veggies and a sauce made from Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, Chili-Garlic Paste, Rice Vinegar and a touch of Sugar topped with sliced Basil. The dish's base was glass noodles from the Korean Grocery Stores i.e. Saifun Bean Threads.

Sweet Revenge

After two and a half years of discussion, no lie, Courtney and I finally had a cupcake together. When choosing the bakery, my biggest priority was finding somewhere with enough space to sit and catch up. Bakeries typically require the grab and go, but it was too cold to walk around outside (can't wait for that weather to get here).

Based on Yelp reviews, I chose Sweet Revenge. The large windows and white walls help the space feel airy, even though it was carefully filled to the brim with seating for about 15. There was a little bit of a wait and service wasn't 100% due to a high volume of customers, but the most important part - the cupcakes - was good!

Courtney had the Dirty (Valhrona Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Truffle) with a cappuccino and I had the Pure (Mexican Vanilla Cake with Mexican Vanilla Icing) with milk in a wine glass. The cupcakes came wrapped carefully in paper rather than in a traditional cupcake wrapper. We agreed the cake was moist; it left that yummy residue on the cupcake paper, which is always a good sign for me. You could actually taste the vanilla in the cake and frosting, rather than just enjoying something sweet. I especially liked the frosting. It was not cloying and had large sugar crystals on top for texture.

Sweet Revenge paid a lot of attention to details that enhance the experience. I will definitely make a return visit. I want to try their namesake cupcake the Sweet Revenge.

Location: 62 Carmine Street (Between South 7th Avenue and Bedford Street)
Hours: Mon-Thurs 8:00p-11:00p, Fri 8:00a-12:30p, Sat 11:00a-12:30a, Sun 11:00a-9:00p
Cost: $$ ($3.50 per cupcake, which is a bit higher than most)

Homeade Oreos

The lovely and bubbly Louise is moving back to London, which is definitely New York's loss. For this occasion I was willing to watch The Bachelor's season finale (What a dick! I hate boys!) and naturally offered to bring something. With no suggestions, I recalled that Louise liked chocolate and found a recipe for homeade oreos.

These cookies are delicious, but pretty darn sweet, especially when you can't resist eating another and another and another... I love the chocolate cookie; you can feel the crispness of crystallized sugar when chewing. The filling's consistency is dead on with a regular Oreo, but with a much better vanilla flavor and less waxy aftertaste.

I followed the suggestion for decreasing the cookies' sugar and might even try taking more out next time. My other alterations were using Spectrum's Organic Vegetable Shortening, which is trans fat free and not hydrogenated, and using vanilla bean paste instead of extract. The paste substitution made the filling have the cutest brown specks. These will definitely be made again. Maybe for the holidays next year instead of caramels, marshmallows AND cookies?


"Brilliant! This falls right into my “why buy it when i can make it for twice the cost and 20 times the work” ethic." 2007 comment on the linked recipe describing my mentality perfectly. ;)

bill Granger's Caramel Chicken

My parents were my Valentines this year. They kindly came up to visit and decorate my room with my birthday present, an Ikea mirror from September, over Presidents Day weekend. They also hung a few photos and fixed up the bathroom with, sadly, only the tiniest bit of assistance from me. Everything is much more homey now and my room looks slightly more like a grown-up room.

As a thank you, and because I was a bit under the weather and not inclined to go out, I made them bill Granger's Caramel Chicken. It is fantastic and simple to put together. It tastes much better than Chinese takeout with impressively similar results. If you want to use chicken breasts instead of thighs, they work almost as well though you lose a lot of the chicken's tenderness, which is part of what makes this so similar to something at a restaurant. I also think this could successfully be adapted into a pescetarian dish with braised firm tofu.

I recommend using low sodium soy sauce instead of regular based on my experience with regular in July; I couldn't get enough water while eating due to the saltiness. I also feel like the low sodium soy sauce allows for a better balance between sweet and salty.

Between this dish and his amazing coconut bread, I'm seriously considering investing in at least a library reservation for bill's cookbooks. Both dishes have been easy with impressive results.

Cafe Habana

Cafe Habana still is one of my absolute favorite brunches in the city. This trip I tried something new - their flan. It is a very smooth and served with a sweet, sweet caramel sauce. I've never loved flan, but it was pretty decent. I had the revelation that flan is similar in texture to panna cotta. Maybe I'll research that. Regardless of what I eat at Cafe Habana nothing trumps the grilled corn i.e. choclos.

(Carving and Photo courtesy of JM, who introduced me to the place.)

Ricotta Zucchini Cheesecake

Sunday one of my friends had a birthday party for her Yorkie, Dixie, who was turning one. The hostess flattered me into cooking, in spite of some serious reluctance on my part. The best part was she had only tasted my cookies before so the flattery was without any knowledge of results. Ha ha. Her request was something savory, not a bread. I found this challenging as the easiest dishes to take on public transportation are sweet and/or bread. Plus! I'm more comfortable with sweets.

Intensive online research turned up this recipe for Ricotta Zucchini Cheesecake. I found my lack of a spring form pan a little disconcerting, but everything turned out okay even with my substitution of oregano for dill and use of an 8 x 8 cake pan. It didn't look quite as pretty as it could have, but the flavor was good and the cheesecake very filling. For me the goat cheese on top's rich, tangy flavor made the dish. It also added a contrast in texture to an otherwise slightly soft yet grainy (?) dish. One heads up: it took forever to make, even with the lovely mini-food processor my brother gave me for Christmas (that machine is a miracle worker).

I'll probably try this again in the summer. It's been a great leftover breakfast in the morning most of the week. Should you happen to take this back home via bus with saran wrap on top, start reading a magazine with it under your purse and stand up in a rush dumping it off your lap upside down (saran wrap intact), I'm pleased to report it will hold up.

Butternut Squash, Apple, and Carmelized Onion Gallette with Rosemary

I've been intimidated by pastry dough for quite some time, in spite of owning A New Way to Cook and reading blissfully about the "easiness" of free form galettes for years.

Yes! It really has been years. This was the first cookbook I ever wanted; I received as a gift from Jaime and I've used it twice. Well, the other night I finally decided to make a tart and purchased ingredients to improvise a filling only to discover THE INTERNET WAS BROKEN, which was SO not okay. I had to do things the old way with a good cookbook and my mind.

Somehow everything came together. The tart was pretty easy to make, although time consuming as the flaky butter pastry has to chill twice, the onions have to caramelize and the squash/apples have to be peeled and cubed then tossed in oil with rosemary before you can even cook the pastry.

The end result was well worth the effort. This was a very tasty breakfast all week long, although I need to work on pressing the ingredients into the crust a bit more as things tended to fall off the crust into my lap (or maybe I just should use silverware when trying to eat tarts).

Random Fact

New York Magazine, February 16, 2009 issue

"Fenugreek, the processed seeds from which produced that maple-syrup smell."

Zuni Cafe's Roasted Chicken

Zuni Cafe's recipe for Roast Chicken is the easiest roast chicken recipe I've made to date. Oh wait. In the past I haven't exactly used a recipe. I just followed Mom's expert advice and winged it with a small piece of citrus in the middle and thorough rub down of the chicken with salt, pepper, etc. before placing it in an oven cooking bag. I also have poached chickens twice in a just barely large enough pot.

While those results were tasty, this recipe trumps the aforementioned methods due to its fantastic results without the oven bag.* If you aren't squeamish about feeling around a small chicken, this recipe will provide fantastic results. Typically I don't enjoy skin on my chicken, but this crispy, not greasy, skin was an exception. The chicken itself is tender and moist on its own or an excellent source for making chicken salad, stir fries and soups during the remainder of the week.

I didn't even use marjoram as I couldn't find it fresh, without spending way too much for something I only needed a 1/4 sprig of. Best of all the clean-up was minimal and the pan juices were quite tasty mingled with the leftover brown rice, cherry tomatoes and parmesan in the fridge.


*Unless you want chicken soup and stock, in which case poaching the chicken is probably the best choice.