Fieldtrip Friday IV

I decided since I absolutely did not need any new cook or bakeware, or really, anything new for the kitchen, that today I would go and visit two cooking supply stores. Often times I not the most logical person, I should go to a supply store when I actually need something (mostly because we all know that it would be very difficult for me to leave the store without buying something). But I had my mind made up...kitchen supply stores it was.

Desperately hoping for a beautiful spring day, and feeling awfully defiant, I wore my spring coat for the adventure (yes, that's as rebellious as I get). It's funny though, really, I was the only one who was going to suffer if it wasn't warm out, it's not like I would hurt Mother Nature's feelings or get something in return for taking a stand. As it turns out, it wasn't very warm today, but I didn't freeze to death (I did bring a hat and gloves, I told you, I'm not that rebellious). It was trying very very hard to be warm, but it was cloudy. I did, however, see a few people wearing flip flops or shorts or tank tops, so I guess I wasn't the only one feeling the need for spring. Definitely not warm enough for flip flops.

Anyways, I checked my route with google maps and headed out the door with neither a map of my route, or hand written directions, a first for this anal Fieldtrip Fridayer. I did however, take a map (like previously mentioned multiple times, I am both anal and not crazy), so I guess I wasn't being too wild, although it felt that way. It was a 6 mile walk (I did take the subway home, only so I could write this before all three of my readers went to bed), so I planned for a couple hours of fun. The first place was on the east side, in midtown, so it was a nice stroll through the park, and like a typical new yorker, I chatted on my cell phone almost the whole walk.

When I got there (Bridge Kitchenware), I think my heart skipped a beat. From the outside you could see piles and piles of cookware stacked up. The place was pretty tiny, but it had everything a cook could dream of. All the things from Williams-Sonoma that they stock only for holidays (heart shaped things and leaf shaped things and Christmas papers and things), plus every other pot and pan and utensil in every possible size imaginable, holy cow! It felt a little old and dusty in the place, but everywhere you turned there was a new discovery. Not actually needing anything, I wasn't looking to buy, unfortunately I left the store with a wine foil seal breaker thingy (we actually did need one of those and I never knew where to get a new one) and a biscuit cutter, as I had been wanting one for awhile. What I really wanted but was able to restrain myself was a cast iron sandwich press, it was a pan the exact size of a slice of bread. Perfect for grilled sandwiches. But for $8.50 I decided to wait on it (I would have needed to buy two anyways to press down the sandwich with the 2nd pan or to make 2 sandwiches at once).

So it was on to my next stop, which was down in SoHo, my new favorite neighborhood. To get there I went through Washington Square Park where I hadn't been since last summer, when Jeff and I wondered through after a 10 mile walk of the city (the big arch that's in the Friends opener that resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris). I like it there.

As I approached SoHo the sun began to shine and it solidified my new obsession with SoHo. I really feel like the sun always shines there, or maybe it was just my imagination...or maybe I was in a movie and it was a little pathetic fallacy. Anyways, I made it to stop 2: Broadway Panhandler. I was expecting sort of the same thing, and from their website, I was kind of expecting weird stuff, not well organized, again, kind of dusty and old. But boy, was I surprised. Yes, it was kind of a cramped store (although probably double the size of the first store), but every where you turned there was a new treasure. It was also better displayed than the first store as well. They had all the stuff as the first place, and more! Every Le Creuset and All Clad pot and pan you could imagine, more knives than I ever thought possible, plus all sorts of cool dishes and mugs and cups and napkins and you name it. Very cool and eclectic stuff plus all the basics. I was sure, by the second I walked in that I would definitely not be leaving empty handed. After one stroll through the store, I didn't want to leave, I wanted to keep wandering around, but I knew the more time I spent there the harder it would be to leave with nothing. So the first thing I picked up, not very exciting, were a couple of candles (we have these candle sticks that I've never been able to find replacement candles for), and then I found new latte mugs!

We always always have our eyes out for mugs for lattes, it's a difficult thing because most mugs are huge, even a normal coffee mug is too big for a latte. We currently have two mugs which are absolutely perfect but we're so afraid we're going to break them, so we're always looking for new ones. Anyways, there was actually a large variety of mugs that fit our bill and I carefully selected two. And the last thing I got was (not terribly exciting to most, but exciting to me) was a can of Baker's Joy. Flour and oil in an aerosol can so you don't have to butter and flour your dish when baking, which I find to be one of the most annoying things about baking. I know Pam has recently come out with a similar product, but I've heard great things about the Baker Joy brand.

So, not too bad, I made it out without breaking the bank. All very good purchases. However, I did find the Panhandler was a bit more expensive than the Bridge Kitchenware; they too had the cast iron sandwich pans, but for $11.50. Quite a markup. I didn't check All-Clad or any of the Le Creuset stuff that I knew the price of Williams-Sonoma, but I'm guessing it's probably pretty comparable. Although, I've heard the Panhandler has a blow-out sale every June and August.

I'll definitely be going back again, maybe next time when I actually need something. But it certainly was fun wondering around those stores. Another Fieldtrip Friday success (maybe too successful with the un-necessary purchases).

Oh, by the way, coverage next week is going to be spotty. I know you'll all be very sad. I'll write when I can, but it probably won't be very often. Back in full force the week of the 3rd!

It never tastes right

I have tried over and over and over again to make good Indian food. And it's never right. I've tried buying the best curry and garam masala (or I guess, what I thought to be the best, which still didn't come from an Indian food store or spice store, so it probably wasn't the best). It's always ok, but not nearly as good as what you can get from a restaurant. It's very frustrating. I'm starting to get mad.

I didn't even like Indian food until probably 5 years ago. And yes, I had tried it. Although I don't think I had tried good Indian food from a good restaurant.

Part of the issue is that I was always kind of afraid of those recipes that had a ton of spices, I was convinced that I could make a good recipe just by using garam masala or the curry spice mixture that I bought from the store. Either I wasn't doing it right or didn't have the right recipe, either way, not good.

So one day I decided to buy every Indian spice that I could find from my local grocery establishment. Including cardamom, I'm sure I'll never use it, but I can't ever blame my lack of spices anymore. Then I tried another recipe with all my new spices and it was too "spicy" - not hot, but just too much stuff. I think the issue there was that the recipe called for whole spices, and it's not nice to bite into a whole clove. Maybe I should have tried toasting and grinding them. It's always something.

Another issue is that we prefer our Indian food to come in a sauce. Nothing better than mopping everything up with some Naan and rice. So that's also slightly limiting. Maybe the problem is that I'm just too picky. But everything from restaurants is good and nothing from my kitchen is good.

So last night we went over to a friend's house for Indian food, and all of my theories of good Indian food were blown out the window. We had a spinach and lamb dish that had neither a sauce nor a ton of spices, and it was delicious. So, back to square one. I got the website from which the recipe came (http://www.kabobandcurry.com/recipes.htm) so I'm definitely going to try some things out.

I have no recipes for you today. I can't make Indian food. It's never good. So if you have a good recipe, let me know. Maybe next week will be Indian food week.

The long walk to the gym

You could describe us as "worker-outers" - we go to the gym, if for nothing else then to be able to maintain our food gorging habits (see Shake Shack). Every night it's our ritual: dinner, chat/read/watch tv for an hour or so and then begin the "I don't want to go to the gym" conversation. Inevitably, one of us will yell "come on get up, let's go." It then takes us about another half an hour to get dressed, pet the kitty some more, get a last minute sip of water and actually get out the door.

So the overpriced gym that we go to is only about a block away (maybe as far as a block and a half), but when you're walking so slow you're practically going backwards it always feels like it takes 15 minutes. Maybe because we have lead feet in anticipation of the torturous activity in which we are about to embark.

Last night the conversation on the walk to the gym was "when are they going to have a pill for this? I'll totally buy that shit." No, but seriously, it's so odd to me that people go to the gym (myself included). It's so hamster-like, run around on your little wheel for awhile; the only difference is that it's probably fun for hamsters. No one really likes working out, and if they do, they're lying. Or, they're not actually getting their heart rate up high enough for it to be a cardio work out (aka "torture").

FINE! Maybe I am a cynic. I really only work out so that I can eat more ice cream. No other reason; not to be "in shape" or "be healthy." Pshaw...give me more ice cream! In fact, nearly every night after we go to the gym we go to Tasti-D-Lite, which, I know, is not real ice cream, not even close, but sometimes it's the only thing that'll get me out to the gym. In fact, most of the time while I'm on the hamster wheel (aka treadmill) I'm thinking about my next meal. Maybe it's a little coo-coo, but hey whatever gets me through those 45 minutes.

We thought that maybe since we pay too much for a gym membership that it would make us want to go more. Free snacks, water with cucumber slices, fancy juice bar...unfortunately none of those things make me want to go to the gym more. However, Jeff figured out the per day cost of our gym membership, so what sometimes works in motivating us to go to the gym is reminding ourselves how much money it is if we don't use the gym that day. Guilt...works every time.

Maybe one day there will be a pill, but for now the best part of working out is still hitting the "Stop" button. Plus, it always means that ice cream is just around the corner.

Shakin' it at the Shake

Wow. What an adventure! And when I say adventure, I mean exercise in waiting very very patiently while you are very very hungry. Made all the worse by the fact that I was waiting for burgers and shakes, two of my most favorite things in the whole wide world.

We arrived at the shack at 12:45 to a very long line. I had had an errand to run earlier in the day, so I had been wondering around outside since 11 AM, with a few stops at a few stores. Needless to say I was quite chilly and definitely ready for some food (especially since I normally eat lunch at 11:30). We were able to wet our appetite with a taste of the custard of the day, cinnamon toast. And boy did it wet my appetite. Even though it was cold out, I was definitely planning on getting a shake, if for no other reason, so I could pretend that I was at the DQ for the cold opening.

At 1:35 we had placed our burger orders, a single for me with a shake and a double for Jeff with an order of fries. There were 7 of us, so at least waiting in line was fun, even if it was for 50 minutes. As a nice little gift for coming out on opening day and waiting in the cold, we were each given a $2 gift certificate for our next visit. Oh, but don't think the wait was over yet. Then, you get in the line to get your food. There, you're waiting at a window with hot food coming out; forced to smell the burger aroma. At about 2:05 our order number was called, hallelujah! There was definitely a fist pump on my part upon hearing my name called.

We grabbed a table and pulled out the burger jems. They looked dee-licious. However I definitely should have gone for the double, I was STARVING! Next time.

I bit into the burger and I knew we were working with a high quality burger. It was really really hard not to eat it really fast, but I slowed myself down with big slurps of my shake. I probably could have done a much better evaluation if I weren't so cold or so hungry. I would have to agree, it was a very good burger, although I would have like to have seen more shack sauce on it. But, it still doesn't live up good ole' Red Coat burgers. I also wish that I wouldn't have had to wait for nearly an hour and a half to eat. Although I very do much appreciate the fact that I have time and can enjoy such meals. Next time I'll have to go when I'm not so hungry so I'm not so incredibly starving by the time I get up to the window. The shake was also very very good, but I think the custard is better just by itself, it was UN-believably creamy.

I am definitely a fan of the Shake Shack. I think that it actually is a good thing the wait is so long (and from what I hear, it's always that long, not even just on the first day) otherwise I'd be there every day for lunch!

Mmm...full tummy...time for a nap.

Spring has arrived and so Shake Shack opens

Although I've never been there, I've been assured, it's very good. I am very hopeful I will find an end to my burger quest and although it is 25 deg outside, I will most definitely be having a shake (and yes, we eat outside). We will be going for lunch today, so unfortunately you'll need to wait (I know, I'm torturing all of you) until I get home from lunch.

Read up and get excited: http://www.shakeshacknyc.com/

Corned Beef First Timer

As you all remember from Friday's post, we finished off the week last week with a "traditional" corned beef and cabbage feast for St. Patrick's Day ("traditional" because I'm not sure our mates over in Ireland really had it as a traditional meal).

Well the corned beef making started early last week, Tuesday actually. I wanted to get the beef brisket "corning" before that, but alas, we were enjoying our "break" from the winter in Arizona. However, it appeared from the wide variety of recipes that I read, that 3 days of brining would be sufficient. So it was off to the grocery store for my first ever brisket, and I went for the biggest one they had 3.5 pounds to be exact. Yes, I was only cooking for two, but I was already dreaming of the leftovers...corned beef hash...grilled sandwiches....mmm.....

The brine was pretty easy, and included your typical suspects: salt, water, sugar, mustard seed, allspice, peppercorn, etc.... It was a good thing I had recently reinforced my spice collection, because I'm not sure I would have necessarily had all of the requisite spices. But I was lucky enough to find all the ingredients in my "pantry." The only issue with the brining process was, as you can imagine, I needed to brine it in my biggest pot, and I needed to keep this biggest pot in my fridge, and well, my fridge isn't so big. We pretty much lost an entire shelf for the week, but it was well worth it. Every few days I'd peer in and make sure everything was a-ok with my brisket. Not much to look at really, but to make sure it was still completely submerged.

As Friday approached I began to get a little nervous, I've never had a ton of luck with the slow cooking, it never seems to be quite as tender as I'd like. I checked in with my mom probably about 3 or 4 times during the week, over IM, over the phone, over e-mail, then double checking again with Grammy. I wanted to make sure it was going to work, but my mom had always made her corned beef from pre-corned (brined) meat and always in a slow cooker/roaster.

One of the things that I was debating was cooking it on the stove top or in the oven. For some reason I wanted to do it on the stove top, I think I was afraid of repeating the pork butt dry out. So I did in fact start the corned beef on the stove, but after an hour of running in and out of the kitchen adjusting the temperature of the burner, I decided to throw it in the oven, at 300 deg. I was really nervous because when I pulled it out to put in the veggies it seemed to be boiling pretty hard and part of the meat kept poking up above the water. I was convinced that it was going to be dry and tough.

As the 3 hour witching hour approached I was standing over the oven. And almost exactly three hours after I started the whole cooking adventure I checked in on my corned beef. To my surprise, it seemed like it was relatively tender, not quite as tender as I would have liked, so (and I'm not sure why I made this call) I decided to let it go for about 20 more minutes (until Jeff would be home). When I finally pulled it out, the potatoes were perfectly soft and the carrots were tender, and it appeared as though the meat was falling apart tender, stringy and perfect. The only thing left was the flavor. I was sure, again, that it wouldn't really taste like corned beef as I know and love. It certainly didn't have the distinctive red color on the outside (which I think is from the nitrite saltpeter that is used by manufacturers who corn it for you), but all my worries floated away instantly when I took my first bite.

It was perfect, just as corned beef should be. Jeff, who's not even really a fan of corned beef to begin with, described it as "exceptional." And it was even better the next day when I made reuben's, my way, with just cheese, coleslaw and russian dressing (but it probably was made better by the fact I did make the coleslaw and russian dressing myself), and then even better in my corned beef hash Sunday morning.

I think corning it myself and going through all the trouble was well worth it. It's definitely going to be a yearly thing for me, but, even if it's not appropriate, I may need to do it even more often than that. Being patient for half of a week is difficult, but definitely a good thing in this case.

Here's the recipe I used, from the Food Network (I kind of combined a few recipes), although I changed the method a bit. And I did cook the cabbage separately (Jeff does not like cabbage and won't touch it with a 30 foot pole) but still in the same cooking liquid.

Corning Brine and Corned Beef Recipe
Water (to cover)
1 c salt
1 c brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons whole coriander
1 1/2 tablespoons whole mustard seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 1/2 tablespoons whole allspice
4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1 (2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pound) brisket

I threw all the spices in the pot and then rubbed it on the meat and then covered with water, as the originally recipe said, but I think it would be better if the water was heated and the salt and sugar was dissolved first while the remaining ingredients were rubbed on the meat, but either method should be fine. Let it sit in the brine for 3 - 10 days in the fridge.

2 sprigs of thyme
4 sprigs of parsley
1 bay leaf
1 t black peppercorns

1 - 2 c of baby (or cut up) carrots
2 c of baby potatoes
1 small head of cabbage (or 1/4 to 1/2 of a large head)

Pre-heat the oven to 300 deg. Take the meat out of the brine and thoroughly wash it off. Put it in a dutch oven, and cover with water. Bring the water up to a boil and turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes, skimming off scum as it appears. After 10 minutes, taste the water, if it's too salty, start over with fresh water. Add the thyme, parsley, bay leaf and peppercorns and put in the oven. After about 2 hours, add the carrots and potatoes and cook for an additional hour or so, until the meat is very tender. Pull out the meat and veggies, put the pot back on the stove, bring to a boil and cook the cabbage for about 10 - 15 minutes until tender.

Enjoy the leftovers in sandwiches, hash or whatever you can come up with!

Fieldtrip O'Friday III

Being St. Patrick's Day and all, I decided that the perfect fieldtrip for myself today would be...dun-da-da-dah, the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Yes, there is a St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York, we don't have a green river, but we do close off a huge chunk of Fifth Ave for an afternoon of fun. But, you're going to get double your money's worth with this entry, because I also went to the DMV, or the "License Xpress" DMV to get a NY State Drivers License. Two adventures, all in one very green day.

I had to plan my "St. Patrick's Day '06" day very carefully, as I was planning (and am currently doing) to make an actual corned beef for corned beef and cabbage. But, as you may know, this takes many hours, so I had to be home early enough to get 'er in the pot for dinner tonight. 3.5 pounds of brisket waiting to be enjoyed. Anyways, the parade started at 11 AM at 44th street and worked its way up to 88th (I think, maybe 86th), so I decided to leave our apartment at 11, hit Starbucks and head across the park for the parade. I was then planning to walk down to the DMV (34th street, right by Macy's) after I had enough parading.

I very carefully packed my bag, for this was a real adventure, two stops all in one day: newspaper and book (for waiting at the DMV), water, camera (yes, I actually took it with me), apple and soup in a thermos (well, I would need some nourishment throughout the afternoon).

I arrived at 81st and Fifth around 11:20 or so, and the parade had not yet made its way up there; taking the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade Website's advise, I headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to sit on the steps. Much to my dismay, the police had surrounded the steps and completely barricaded them off. Stupid website. But I was able to find a seat on a ledge of the museum, which was perfect, it was in the sun and the wind was blocked by the building. I realized that this was infinitely better than a Thanksgiving Day parade for one small reason, it was March, spring is coming in a week! It's not -30 degrees and my toes aren't frozen to bits, even with the chemical feet warmers. It was sunny, there were birds! I was dressed in a cotton sweater and my puffy vest, no hat or gloves...ahh, I love the St. Patrick's Day Parade!

After I decided I loved the parade (that hadn't actually gotten to me yet) I busted out the camera to take a picture showing that the parade wasn't there yet, so essentially a picture of nothing, when after taking the picture (or perhaps during the picture taking) the batteries died. I had the best of intentions, there really were going to be pictures this time..stupid camera.

I then called my mom to chat a bit about my corned beef adventure for the afternoon while I watched green balloons, green cotton candy, irish flags, green dr. suess hats and the like go by (this was before the parade started). Soon, the police car came leading the parade and I settled into my seat. Suddenly my stomach growled and so I pulled out the still very very hot soup. You can't even imagine how good it was (yes, I still had leftover pasta e fagioli from the other night, and yes, it was still delicious, especially because it was hot and it was cold outside). I had to pat myself on the back for thinking of packing it.

The parade mostly consisted of police officers, veterans, various military groups (army, marines, reserves, I'm not sure I couldn't tell them all apart) plus some bands - my favorite was the all bag pipe band, I'm not sure I could handle it any other day but today. No floats, which was too bad, imagine a shamrock float coming down Fifth Ave. Lots of men in skirts, both in the parade and not in the parade, and Rudi Giuliani (not in a skirt though, but that would have been awesome)...I had two thoughts while watching the parade:

1. Parades are funny (especially those with nothing to see but people walking). People who are in them are looking at the people on the sidewalks and people on the sidewalks are looking at those in the street. Everyone waves and smiles. A little curious, but everyone seems to enjoy themselves.

2. It seemed as though all of the police force was walking in the parade today, so I wondered, who exactly was on duty and where were they?

So the answer to that question came as I was walking to the DMV. As it turns out, the police people who aren't in the parade are stationed on the streets...outside the bars. Ha! That to me is awfully hilarious, duties for Friday the 17th were either: bar or parade. What a great day!

So my two favorite things that I saw today:
Runner-up: Guy with died green hair. What made this good though, was that he had a very very short buzz-cut so it looked much more like died green head. Classic.
Winner: Totally unrelated to St. Patrick's Day, unfortunately, but again while walking to the DMV, I saw a guy carrying a plastic naked headless mannequin. To be fair, it was the "Fashion District" (I'm not sure if that's an official district or not), but it still brought a smile to my face.

And on to the DMV, which was much less of an adventure than what I was hoping for. Since this location only handled licenses, everyone was pretty much there for the same reason. After our third try at attempting to get a license, I finally had all the correct paperwork: passport, social security card, Michigan license, and my driving record (which cost $7 to get). No, I'm not kidding, you actually need all that. But the whole thing was relatively well run, they have an information booth that you have to go to either get a number or forms. They make sure you have everything before letting you get in line. Then I was sent to take my eye exam and get my picture taken, let me assure you, it's not cute. Then I got a number to go to the counter, pay my $42.50 and get my paper temporary license. For $42.50 I get a piece of paper? Are you kidding me? So glad I didn't do this last week when we were traveling on the plane. Not sure they would have let Jeff rent a car either. Yeah, so a paper license is what I have now, they took the Michigan one away, no long teary goodbyes or anything, just whisked away. Good thing I do have a passport because if we want to get rockin' tonight at the bar, there's no way they'd let me in with a piece of paper (although my eye wrinkles are making my license less and less necessary when ordering drinks).

Anyways, I'd say this was another successful Fieldtrip Friday, lots of walking, lots of enjoying the city and lots of people wearing green, just as it should be. Stay tuned however, for Monday, where you'll get to read all about how the corned beef came out. I know, I know, you're going to be at the edge of your seat until then. Happy St. Patrick's Day, kiss someone (Irish or not)!

My "Bye" Night

I got a "bye" last night, which is how I refer to a night when I get to make something up because I'm on my own for dinner. It can be very fun or terribly frustrating, depending on how quickly it takes me to decide on something for dinner. So last night I was left to fend for myself. Jeff was staying at work for a tech talk (which I was invited to as it was open to the public, but I politely declined), so it was dinner on my own. Most nights, if this were to happen I would immediately hit the deli for a tossed salad. I don't often have the patience to make up recipes, and I don't often take advantage of bye nights. But having just gone to the grocery store and completely filled up every free "nugget of space" in our fridge, I felt like it wasn't necessarily the best decision on my part. And, I had all the fixin's to make my own salad. But somehow, the idea of making my own salad didn't sound as appetizing as going out for a salad, weird, but true.

So, struggling to figure out what I should do for dinner I went to the gym (a "fun" habit of mine, thinking of dinner ideas while I run on the treadmill). To me, when I have dinner by myself I try to make something that Jeff doesn't really like all that much (or at least he doesn't like my version of it because I don't add enough cream, butter or cheese, which I think is perfectly fair). All of my meat was tied up in the freezer and I wasn't in the mood to defrost it, so I was limited to vegetarian dishes. So that left me with a few ideas: soup, polenta, or something involving tuna fish.

Bored out of my mind on the treadmill, I came up with nicoise salad (although I had neither olives or green beans, it didn't matter, I really just wanted the egg and tuna). Which was a bit funny to me, given that before I left for the gym I was not in any sort of mood to make my own salad, but I think the nicoise salad is different enough and not really an option at the take-out salad bar. Even funnier, though, was that by the time I got home I really wanted soup. I should have just gone out for a salad instead of wasting my time trying to decide what I wanted to make, but now it was a challenge.

Thinking I didn't really have many soup ingredients on hand (although soup comes in so many different styles and varieties, really anything can be a soup ingredient), I settled on a version of pasta e fagioli. I reviewed a couple of recipes and then headed into the kitchen and started adding things to the pot. Since I didn't have a ton of stock on hand (project for today), the soup was incredibly thick and, remarkably, very delicious. One of my best thrown together meals in awhile (and I did have a "side" nicoise salad with the soup for dinner). And, since it was soup that I was making, and it needed to cook a bit on the stove, I was able to finish all the dishes piled up in the sink while it cooked. Awesome...I love dishes, but at least the kitchen was clean by the time I finished cooking dinner.

As it turns out though, this made a huge pot of soup, definitely enough for more than just one (but I do have a delicious lunch waiting for me in the fridge). But its really quick and easy, so you should definitely try this recipe. Unless you live with someone that doesn't like soup...or chick peas, then all bets are off.

Caren's fake pasta e fagioli (I can't claim that I'm Italian, and I don't know what makes a pasta e fagioli a pasta e fagioli, so I'll just say this is probably close, but then again, maybe not)

1 T olive oil
1 medium size onion, rough dice
1 - 2 carrots (or a big handful of baby carrots), chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 - 4 T of fresh parsley, chopped
2 - 3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 - 2 T tomato paste
1 (28 oz) can of canned tomatoes
1 can of chick peas (or cannellini beans or kidney beans, but I like the taste of chick peas the best)
3 - 4 cups of broth (that's all I had, but you could use more to make it more soupy)
1/2 - 1 cup of pasta

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in pot. When hot (not smoking) add the onion, thyme and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onion has softened a bit (couple minutes) and add the carrot and celery, add a bit more salt to draw out the moisture. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the veggies have softened (it could have been longer or maybe shorter, I don't really remember). Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for a minute, stirring frequently. Add the canned tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (about 10 minutes depending on your noodle choice) and then add the chick peas and heat through. Taste the soup and make sure it's delicious, add salt or pepper if needed and add a bit of parsley right at the end.

I also think that adding a bit of white wine right before the broth and tomatoes would be fantastic, but I didn't feel like opening a whole bottle just for cooking (we don't have one of those "suck the air out wine savers" to keep the wine fresh).

Yum! I can't wait for lunch today!

Grill Pan: the good, the bad and the ugly

First of all, sorry for the late post today... I promise to all 3 of my readers that I'll try to be a little more prompt. Today was the big Crate and Barrel interview...I'll be sure to let you know how it went.

On to the topic at hand, the grill pan. I think the grill pan is a great invention. Especially for the unfortunate souls without access to an outdoor grill (c'est moi), or those who don't wish to brave the elements in the middle of winter to grill. It definitely took me awhile to really come to appreciate this cooking tool, although I'm not really sure what I was afraid of. I grill everything on my grill pan(s): bread, vegetables, meat, panini...one of my pans is one of those reversible griddle ones, in which I can do an entire breakfast with eggs, pancakes and sausage all with one pan (on the griddle side). Again, great for the NY kitchen with no dishwasher.

So, I'm sure you're beginning to wonder...so I understand the "good" but I'm not sure I understand the "bad and the ugly." So if the grill pan is one of the best inventions for the home cook, then the cast iron grill pan is one of the worst. THE WORST. We're now about to cover "the bad and the ugly." So cast iron will be a topic for another day, and when I do write that entry, you must remember the whole time you're reading it that cast iron grill pans are completely exempt from everything I write about regular cast iron. So, cast iron needs to be seasoned, you know, oiling it up so it doesn't rust, things don't stick, etc.... Fine, I still don't like the seasoning process much, but I can live with it. But let's think for a few minutes about a grill pan. The whole idea is that there are grill marks, right? So there are raised indentions on the pan. Fine again, but let's take a step back and imagine, for a minute, you are at your outdoor grill. You are grilling (mmm..smells great already) and the food's ready. What do you see on your grill? Little browned bits kind of burnt to the grill. No problem for an outdoor grill, right? Next time you heat it up, you'll burn it off and scrape it down.

Ok, back to the cast iron grill pan. Imagine now you are done cooking your food (I do have to admit the cast iron grill pan does cook the food better), and there are the same browned bits (no matter how much I have seasoned the pan, they are still there, which I don't get with a regular cast iron pan. I think because typically when you're using a regular cast iron pan you're using a lot more oil - i.e. frying bacon or chicken or corn bread where you melt a lot of butter, so you're, first of all, not essentially burning meat to the pan and you're doing a lot more seasoning of the pan because the oil gets absorbed better because you're cooking with it). --that was a huge side thought in parenthesis, now back to the browned bits on your grill pan.

So what to do about them? I could do the same as with an outdoor grill, turn up and the heat and burn it and scrape it off, but not only disrupt my neighbors and send the cat running for cover when the smoke detector inevitably goes off, but the scraping would ruin my seasoning progress. Fine. I did some research and found that kosher or rock salt was one of the best ways to clean cast iron (just like when we were in the Grand Canyon hiking and cleaned our dishes with sand, it's great abrasive to get the oil out, but it also won't scratch the seasoned surface). So, I've tried this a few times, and it works great, but here comes the ugly...imagine what happens after rubbing the pan with salt (I've used paper towel, but I'm sure there's a better thing to use), is that you have brown bits and black salt in EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE GROOVES in the pan. And, you would think that you could just "dump it out" but the inside of the pan is a little sticky, plus the way the sides of the pan curve, there isn't really a direct path out of the pan. So then I spend 20 minutes trying to get the salt out of the pan. Without fail, it's a frickin' mess. Worse than doing dishes. In fact, typically if I do end up cooking with the cast iron grill pan (which I do still from time to time because I always forget the pain), the pan sits on the stove for about a week because I won't let Jeff touch it and I have to work up the energy to attack the pan.

There is one good thing about the cast iron grill pan, if you have a fatty piece of meat that you're grilling or a very very well oiled piece of bread dough, and there are no browned bits (which I think have maybe happened only once or twice to me) then there are NO dishes to do, just re-oil the pan and put it away.

Overall, the grill pan is a great thing, or as Martha Stewart would say a "good thing." What I really like about it is that it provides a great way to cook up food rather quickly and easily, it sort of simplifies the cooking process (plus everyone says "ooooh" when they see cross-hatched grill marks), and I typically find a way to grill my entire meal so that there's only one pan. But whomever came up with the cast iron grill pan needs to go back to the drawing board, or at least the non-pre-seasoned cast iron grill pan, needs to go back to the drawing board.

So grill up dinner tonight, meat, veggies, fruit, you name it, you can grill it (last night we had buffalo chicken grilled for buffalo chicken salad). It's quick and easy and you might get a gasp of joy from your family when they see those grill marks.

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLY!

Chicken Cordon no dinner Blues

I'm not sure that I've actually ever made chicken cordon bleu before last week. I've had it many times, my mom used to make it all the time. And I loved it...ham, cheese, breaded chicken. You can't go wrong with that. What I never understood was how she got the ham and cheese to stay in the chicken without it seeping out the side, it was one of those unexplained mysteries. Her little secret though (sorry for divulging it mom) was that she bought them pre-made (although that doesn't explain why or how its done, it is easier to understand given that they were probably sent down some assembly line).

I'm not sure why I've never made it; I've done all sorts of different versions of it - not breaded, no cheese inside, putting the ham and cheese on top instead of inside...just about any variation that you can think of, I've attempted. And I've done all the variations because I was always afraid that I would have a cheese disaster seeping out during cooking. And I'll have to say that the real thing is the real deal, it was definitely way better than any of the variations that I had previously attempted. But, that's not to say it wasn't tricky to make sure the cheese and goodness actually stayed on the inside and didn't seep out. It was definitely a lot easier than I had imagined, and with a few key steps it is pretty darn simple and definitely worth it.

So here are my tips:
1. Pound the chicken out really really thin, almost until its shredded (but don't go that far or your cheese will definitely seep out). It cooks faster and its much easier to handle and is more pliable the thinner it is.
2. flour...egg...breadcrumbs. Probably the key to the whole thing. The process of dipping it in flour, then egg, and then breadcrumbs will effectively seal everything in. Then, when you put them in the pan, make sure the oil/pan is hot so that everything seals up right away when it goes into the pan.
3. Don't be afraid of toothpicks. You can even take them out before you serve it (or if you have someone that tends not to chew his/her food before swallowing, you can leave the toothpicks in as an attempt to slow them down when they eat. You should, however, warn your family or your guests, because that's just mean if you don't). Take the edges and weave a couple toothpicks in the edge to keep everything together. Or you could go for the butchers twine, but I mostly find that to be unruly and difficult and everything always falls apart anyway.
4. Don't overstuff it. If you put 5 slices of cheese in the middle, you're going to have some leakage, guaranteed. Come on...think about it. There just isn't that much room there.

The result is a tasty, cheesy chicken dish that is sure to please. I got multiple thumbs up at various points throughout this dinner.

Chicken Cordon Blue (for 2)
2 chicken breasts
1 egg
2 slices of cheese (muenster, provelone, mozzarella, swiss - which is classic, but use whatever you've got)
2 slices of prosciutto (use the good stuff, it definitely makes a difference, I definitely would not recommend using regular ham, it just doesn't have enough of the salty goodness flavor that you get in prosciutto
flour for dredging (seasoned with salt and pepper)
1 egg, beaten (seasoned with salt and pepper)
breadcrumbs for dredging

Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Pound the chicken breasts until they're about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick (I like to put them in a ziploc bag and pound them that way). Put a slice of prosciutto and cheese and fold the chicken in half, closing the edges with toothpicks (two per chicken breast should be fine). Dredge the chicken in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs and put into the hot pan. Cook until golden brown on each side, probably about 5 minutes per side.

No more chicken dinner blue's with this one!

Out of the Office

I am currently out of the office until Tuesday, March 14th. If you need immediate assistance in the meantime, read some of my old posts, they're pretty good too.

Birthday Banana Creme Pie

It all started last year when we went to Vegas for my sister's birthday. Some time during that trip we had a most delightful dinner at one of Emeril's restaurants (I think it was NO Fish House). As dessert approached I began eyeing the menu, as I have a relentless sweet tooth. One thing, which I never ever order, that was on the menu, was banana creme pie. No, I did not order it. But my cousin did. Thankfully, she was too full to finish it and Jeff and I devoured the rest of it, with each bite being better than the last. I am neither a very big "fruit dessert" kind of person, nor am I a banana person nor do I really like the idea of a "creme pie." However, this banana creme pie can only be described as heavenly, melt in your mouth perfection.

So sometime last summer, we were going over to one of our friends' house and I was in charge of dessert. Wandering around the grocery store thinking about what to make, Jeff immediately and enthusiastically insisted upon banana creme pie (this was the only time I made it for a non-birthday event). Not having a clue what you actually need to make it, I called my mom and Grammy. Unfortunately, my dad answered the phone and the ladies were not around. He asked what I was up to and I asked if he knew what was in banana creme pie, remarkably, he rattled off a bunch of ingredients, and if I remember correctly (I may be glorifying my dad's ingredient list) he got them all right. Although he said I needed pudding mix, and of course the recipe would actually call for making your own homemade "pudding" or creme, but the ingredients that we hadn't thought of (like cornstarch) I had on hand.

When we got home from the store I dug up (i.e google searched it) Emeril's recipe for banana creme pie and it looked hard but do-able. The recipe needs at least 8 hours, so I started right away. First is making the "pudding" part and chilling it, then the crust, letting that cool, then layering the crust, bananas and "pudding" and chilling the whole thing again. The hard part is making sure you don't scramble the eggs but thicken it enough to hold its shape. For being a banana creme pie "newbie" it turned out pretty good. The flavor was definitely right on, but it wasn't as thick as I would have liked.

The next time I made it (and how it became known on the circuit as the Birthday Banana Creme Pie - actually I think I'm the only one who calls it Birthday Banana Creme Pie, but I don't think it's a misnomer) was at one of Jeff's friends birthday parties. I also made an apple pie (it was the fall) but that seemed to fall by the wayside. The real star was the banana creme pie. It was just as messy as the first time, impossible to cut cleanly, but just as tasty. However, the reviews were unanimous. De-frickin'-licious. In fact, the birthday boy of the evening polished off the pie in bed, eating it right out of the pie dish.

So last weekend we were off to another birthday party (this puts the count at 3 birthdays), and this birthday boy has a few allergies, but the banana creme pie was one of the few things that was a "safe" dessert. So I bought four more pounds of bananas and all the cream that's fit for a kitten and planned yet another banana creme pie kitchen adventure (it literally takes all day and requires a plethora of kitchen tools). However, this time, I found a different Emeril recipe. The ratio of ingredients was a bit different (same technique same ingredients, just different amounts), and it looked like it would come out a bit less runny (because there was more cornstarch). So I opted for recipe #2.

After the first 4 hours I already knew the texture would definitely be much more stiff, the question was, would it be too stiff?

After a half hour subway ride turned into an hour subway ride ("we are waiting for the train in front of us to move") I was sure that the pie would be a melted mess, but it held up just fine (thank you pyrex insulated carrier!).

The pie was able to be cut (and I also made some modifications to the crust as well which made it not so crusty) and I think the verdict was that recipe #2 was the clear winner. I actually personally would have preferred a filling that was somewhere between #1 and #2, maybe I'll do some experimenting...

You really need to be up for a day of cooking and cleaning (or maybe not if you have a dishwasher) to try this one, but you'll be very very very happy you did. The pie is awesome. It takes maybe an hour to two (maybe less I don't really remember) for all of the prep and cooking and at least 8 hours additional chill time (in two different steps, at least 4 hours each). Below is recipe #2, and it's Emeril's recipe, available on the Food Network. If you know someone with an upcoming birthday, surprise them, ditch the cake, make a pie.

Banana Creme Pie
4 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise and seeds scraped (In my mind, you MUST use a real vanilla bean)
3 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 recipe Graham Cracker Crust, recipe follows
3 pounds (about 9) firm but ripe bananas, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine 2 cups of the cream, the milk, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the vanilla bean, and the vanilla seeds in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil, whisking to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat.

Combine the egg yolks, eggs, cornstarch, and 1 cup of the sugar in a medium bowl, and whisk pale yellow in color. Set aside.

Whisk 1 cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks. Gradually add the egg mixture to the hot cream, whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly with a large wooden spoon to cook out the cornstarch and the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.

To assemble, spread 1/2 cup of the custard over the bottom of the prepared crust, smoothing with the back of a large spoon or rubber spatula. Arrange enough banana slices (not quite one-third) in a tight, tiled pattern over the custard, pressing down with your hands to pack them firmly. Repeat to build a second layer, using 3/4 cup of the custard and enough bananas to cover, smoothing down the layer evenly. For the third layer, spread 3/4 cup of custard over the bananas and top with the remaining bananas, starting 1-inch from the outer edge and working toward the center. Spread 1 cup of custard evenly over the bananas to prevent discoloration. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

In a medium bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar and the vanilla extract and whip until stiff peaks form.

Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 ripe banana mashed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a medium bowl and mix well. Add the butter and banana and mix well. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie pan. Top with aluminum pie tin and with a circular motion, press the crust tightly into the pan. Bake until browned, about 20 minutes. Cool.

Nutty for Pine Nuts

I'm not sure when and where I decided that I liked pine nuts. It hasn't been long since I've been a devoted fan to this little jems. But I don't think that they taste very good when they're not toasted. They're transformed into a golden toasty nut from a boring plain tasteless nut. I've tried to figure out exactly what happens in the toasting process, but the interweb has failed me. Or, more likely, my google search skills are not up to par (yes, it is ironic).

I do know that it is well accepted that toasting does bring out a deeper, nuttier flavor and adds some crunch. And I do know that the toasted nuts don't last as long as plain nuts either. But other than that, the whole toasting process of nuts is kind of an enigma to me. Even my "On Food and Cooking" book which is supposed to be THE guide to food and food chemistry doesn't explain what happens in the toasting process. It simply says "nuts are good simply oven-toasted or fried for a few minutes, which transforms the chewy, pliable, bland, pale seeds into crisp, flavorful brown morsels."

I personally prefer the dry toasting method in a pan on the stovetop. It's easy, it's quick and I don't have to clean anything. I put a small saute pan over medium-low heat and add the nuts. They kind of need a lot of attention so they don't burn but the whole thing takes a couple of minutes anyway, so it's no big deal. I just shake the nuts around in the pan until they are light golden brown and pull them off the heat and out of the pan (which is important because they'll keep cooking if you leave them in the pan and probably burn).

So what's so great about these piney treats? Well first of all, they don't actually taste like pine, but they do come from pine cones, which is pretty darn neato, and they take about 3 years to mature on the cone. Other than that, they're pretty unremarkable, but they have a fantastic nutty flavor that can't be described in a little ole' blog. You've got to try them. And you better toast them or you're wasting your time and money. So, what's the best way to enjoy the nut o' pine? Glad you asked...

I like them straight up on salads best. Plain and simple and they really perk up the salad (not as much as the spiced nuts do, but they're much easier to prepare). There's also tons of recipes out there for pine nut tarts and cookies and things, which I actually haven't tried, but I'm sure are pretty darn tasty. BUT, let's walk through the classic usage, pesto.

Pesto....yum. Again, something that I was very much afraid of for a very long time. I always thought there was too much oil and then there was the "I don't like pine nuts" problem as well which certainly has resolved itself. But really, you use like a tablespoon or so of the pesto per serving, so it's not so bad. Plus, you can freeze it and pull it out whenever you want to use it. And you can use pesto for everything. Pasta (obviously), sandwich spread, topping/sauce for chicken or turkey or lamb or shrimp, "potato salad" (in quotes because real potato salad is and always will be Grammy's potato salad, anything else is pseudo potato salad), addition to soups, pizza, just about anything! Last night we had grilled veggie sandwiches with goat cheese and pesto (pulled out of the freezer). Plus pesto can be whipped up in your food-processor (mini or regular), super quick, super easy.

I kind of add as much or as little of the classic ingredients based on how much of the ingredients I have on hand (but make sure you taste it and it tastes good) and what I feel like, but here's what my concoction is based on (scale up or down as needed) from the food network:

Pesto
1/2 cup pine nuts (TOASTED) - You can also use some walnuts for an omega-3 kick
3 T chopped garlic
5 cups basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
1 cup of olive oil (I add the olive oil until the texture looks right to me, I like it thick)

Put the garlic in the food processor and chop it up. Add the nuts, salt and pepper and pulse together. Add the basil, pulse a few more times, and then drizzle in the oil to desired consistency (there are small holes in the top of the food processor for just this use). Dump it out of the food processor and fold in the parmesan cheese (seriously, freshly grated). If you want to freeze it, put it in an airtight container and put a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pesto. Defrost and use as needed.

Party on pesto!

The Lasagna Struggle

I hate ricotta cheese. Not good, not good at all. Anything that is "leftover" from a food making process can't possibly be good. And ricotta is no exception; apparently ricotta means "re-cooked" and in the cheese making process the whey that is leftover is re-cooked to make ricotta. I actually don't think I'd mind ricotta maybe with a bit of honey and some raspberries or something, but lasagna is not the place for it.

Needless to say, I don't really ever make lasagna, but, Jeff is a huge fan. He loves noodles and cheese, and lasagna is pretty much the epitome of that. It doesn't get more noodley or cheesey than lasagna. I think the last time I made lasagna was probably 4 years ago. But, Jeff was talking about lasagna last weekend so I decided to give it a go again. But, this time I decided I was going to make my own pasta noodles. I also found a couple of lasagna recipes that didn't have ricotta, but instead included a bechemel sauce. Sounded good to me (I have heard the suggestion of using cottage cheese instead of ricotta, which I do like, but it still doesn't seem right in pasta).

Early afternoon yesterday I busted out the pasta roller attachment that Grammy had given me for our wedding (and technically yes, Grammy gave it to us, but I'm not sure Jeff will ever use it, but I'm happy to be proven wrong). The traditional recipe that I've seen for pasta dough includes mounding up a pile of flour and making a well in the middle of the flour and putting the eggs in the well and then mixing them in to the flour. Great, sounds easy, no problem.

I made my mound of flour, made a perfect little well in the middle (key word being little), and dumped in the eggs. On the addition of the fourth egg, there was a volcano of egg over the mountain of flour. I tried chasing the oozing egg with flour trying to move my mountain of flour around the egg lava. Thankfully I decided to make the pasta dough on my big cutting board and it has a lip on it (memories of the pierogi's oozing through the crack of our table were still very vivid - but it wouldn't have mattered, because as it turns out our cat likes raw pasta). I was able to catch the egg before it went overboard

Once the egg situation was under control I got the egg mixed in with most of the flour until it resembled a usable dough. I kneaded it and let it rest for a half hour (and during the half hour I was lucky enough to have dishes to do that were piled up in the sink from the weekend burger extravaganza). Then it was time for the rolling of the dough. While typically I am not a patient person, at all, this takes some patience. A couple of rollings at each setting on the machine ends up being at least 15 times through the machine for each hunk of dough (I had divided the dough into three pieces). Things were going pretty well though, the dough looked like actual pasta and I cut the noodles into lasagna type shaped and had enough dough leftover to make some fettuccine too.

I then realized about 2 hours had passed and it was time to get crackin' on the lasagna filling. I cooked the meat, made the bechemel (I had pre-made homemade pasta sauce defrosted already) and shredded the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. I layered everything in, including a bit of spinach, patted myself on the back, because it sure looked tasty to me, a non-lasagna lover. I topped the whole thing off with a final layer of cheese and covered it with foil (I didn't pre-cook the noodles for fear of them sticking together and ruining the whole project).

About half-way through the cooking process I went to take the foil off and the entire top layer of cheese and noodles came out with the foil. Lesson learned... The good news was that I knew Jeff would love picking the noodley cheesy hunks off of the foil (which he did). I re-topped the whole thing with more cheese and popped it back in the oven.

About an hour and a half after I put it in the oven, the lasagna was done, just in time for Jeff to get home. I served it up and we dug in...turns out the spinach was a big mistake, no can-do for Jeff. Another lesson learned...Jeff's expectation of lasagna does not include spinach. But, other than that if I have to say so myself, it turned out pretty well. Plus we had some yummy bread and olive oil to accompany the lasagna, and that'll make any meal great. I think, however, we have some middle lasagna ground, no ricotta, no spinach, bechemel sauce and lotsa mozzarella. The noodles were great, but I think they could be better "shown-off" in a dish that focused a bit more on the noodle. Well worth the time and noodle making adventure.

Pasta Dough
3 1/2 to 4 cups AP Flour
4 eggs

Make a mound of the flour and make a very large well in the middle of the flour. Add the eggs to the well and start mixing the eggs and slowly incorporate the flour. Once the dough has some kind of shape, stop mixing and start kneading and incorporating more flour. It may not need all the flour. Knead for 5 or so minutes until smooth, a bit sticky and elastic. Let it rest for a half hour and then roll it out in your pasta roller.

You can freeze it, but I let it dry a bit first before freezing it (but then you have to be careful with it because it'll be more brittle - this was the point at which the cat enjoyed the noodles so much), I was afraid it would stick together. Maybe best for a weekend project.

Burger Mania

I am a burger fanatic. FA-NA-TIC. When I was in high school (or maybe it was college, so long ago I don't even remember) I boycotted meat. Just red meat. Not for health reasons, not because I wanted to be a vegetarian for political reasons, just because I didn't want to carry the filet tenderloin in from the car for my mom. I'm not even sure how long it lasted, maybe a year? Not sure. But the thing that broke this camel's back was my longing for the hamburger. Steak's great and all, but it was the burger that drew me back into the world of red meat. I had a deep longing for the delicious red meat patty.

When we moved to NY I knew that one of the foodie things I would miss most about Michigan was Red Coat burgers (the other was La Shish hummus). Burger heaven. Unbelievable. My mouth is watering at 10 AM just thinking about it. I love burgers, did I mention that?

So last week I was watching a little tv and saw that GQ had created a "20 Burgers to Try Before You Die" list. To my amazement, Red Coat was not on the list (and a place in Ypsilanti, MI was, where I've been and can say the burgers are not nearly as good as Red Coat). But, more importantly, there were a couple of places in NYC which I knew I must try. As Saturday afternoon changed into Saturday evening and it was becoming painfully clear that there would be no cooking in my kitchen we started pondering the take-out/cheap eats options and decided to go for one of the burger places on the top 20 list.

We selected the burger joint at Le Parker Meridien, mostly because of its proximity to us and the price - $6 for a cheeseburger and $4 for a Sam Adams on tap. The menu consists of only a few things - hamburger, cheeseburger, fries, pickle, brownie, soda pop, milk shakes and Sam Adams. We knew that the location of the burger joint in the Parker Meridien wouldn't be obvious once we walked into the lobby, but thanks to Zagat's description we were able to find it. Walking into the lobby you see this curtained off area and peering around we spotted a small neon sign that was a picture of a burger with an arrow. Following the sign around the side of the curtained off area, we found the entrance (it was easy because there was a line waiting to enter).

Walking in, it definitely could be considered a dive, especially because it is surrounded by the marble lobby in the hotel. There are about 10 tables in the place; you wait in a line to order and then they call your name when your food is up and you just grab a table when one opens up. It was about 6 or 6:15 when we went and it was packed. We did get a couple of seats at a large sort of communal table, but as soon as we started eating a bunch of tables opened up.

The fries were fantastic (especially with the Sam Adams), and I think I would have liked the burger a lot better if it weren't for two things:
1. my burger was overcooked
2. there was horseradish in the mustard which I didn't know until I was well into the burger

I HATE HATE horseradish, and the mustard was in a regular yellow squeeze bottle (implication = it is plain old yellow mustard). When I was eating the burger, I was busy pulling off onions trying to figure out what was burning my mouth. But other than that, not a bad burger. However, not EVEN CLOSE to Red Coat burgers. Not worthy of a top 20 rating in my mind. I will, however, give it a second chance and try it without mustard.

A slightly disappointing burger experience. Too much hype. So Sunday dinner planning came around and I decided that we needed to have burgers, yes, again. Two days in a row. Have I mentioned that I love burgers? I really do.

So I went for the simple burger. Just salt and pepper as seasonings. I also always grind my own meat when I cook burgers, which I recommend for everyone. Especially because I tend to like my burgers on the more rare side of medium rare, and its a bit safer if you grind your own meat. I have a grinding attachment for my Kitchen Aid, but you can also do it in a food processor. And if you don't have a Cuisinart either, I would recommend buying your meat at the grocery store in the steak form and ask them to grind it for you (and then use it right away). I use a combination of sirloin and chuck (50/50). The results from the simple seasoning were pretty darn good. I also put blue cheese and grilled onions on top, which to me, is a necessary requirement for a perfect burger.

The only thing that was missing was the Red Coat special sauce for the burger. I have been trying and trying and trying to make that damn sauce. Its so good. It's some oniony-mayoy sauce and I just don't know what else. Paprika? I don't know. But I would probably pay some pretty good money to get the recipe. All I know is it's not your typical special sauce.

And speaking of special sauce and burgers, I can't write about burgers without mentioning In 'n Out, the hamburger chain in California, Arizona, and Nevada (perhaps a couple other states out west too). The use fresh ingredients, for example when you order fries, they take a potato, put it through the potato slicer and fry it up, right in front of you. And they have good good burgers. We're going to Arizona this weekend and by the way, if any of our "car-mates" are reading this, there WILL be a trip to In 'n Out. Guaranteed. I've already figured out where they are in Arizona (fine, if you don't want to go, we'll go drop you off at the airport and then go afterwards).

Anyways, I think burgers are the perfect meal for any night of the week, however you like them. Just a bit of salt and pepper, freshly ground beef and a delicious grilled bun. Hmm...maybe we'll have burgers tonight too.

Field Trip Friday II

I've been looking forward to this week's Field Trip Friday all week. It was last weekend when I decided on the objective: Best Bagels in NYC. WHO-HOO! I couldn't have thought of a better Field Trip Friday if I spent a google years thinking. So, the objective was clear. In order to narrow my search, I went to a foodie's best friend - Zagat's Gourmet Marketplace. I took the top five rated bagel places in Manhattan (there were some top rated ones in Brooklyn and Queens, so I can't really say best bagels in NYC, really it's best bagels in Manhattan). With the objective and locations picked I plotted out my route. Five subway rides and about a mile of walking (I planned in some walking on purpose, I enjoy it) to reach the five best bagel establishments. A morning of pure glory in my mind.

The five contenders: Murray's, Kossar's, Absolute, Ess-a-Bagel, and H&H. H&H is the hometown favorite in our household because it's really close to us, so that was going to be my baseline. I also decided that I would get an everything bagel at each store, since that's my favorite kind, and I would get a feeling for how well the toppings were managed. I planned to pick up a bagel at all the locations then come home and do my tastings.

8:40 am I headed out and walked to H&H (I wanted to go early enough so that the bagels would be pretty darn fresh). It was another cold windy Field Trip Friday, in fact I came home with wind burn on my face, although it was a very small price to pay for this exciting adventure. I then took the subway up to 110th and hit Absolute, headed down towards midtown and walked to Ess-a-bagel. H&H is pretty much a "grab a bagel" place, complete with saw dust on the floor (they don't put cream cheese on your bagel for you or anything). Absolute was slightly more organized and you could order coffee and cream cheese, etc.... Ess-a-bagel was just as you would expect in the east fifties. Cute sign out front, inside a mass of people, bagel sandwiches, schmears, etc... that you could order. I did appreciate, however, that you could avoid the line if you were just getting plain bagels. Whew!

I headed back to the subway and headed towards Union Square to Murray's. Definitely the best bagel atmosphere. A nice combination of H&H and Ess-a, pretty barren and homely inside. They'd put schmears on, but not much else (which is good, I'm a purist when it comes to bagel stores). However, they did have tofu cream cheese which is completely blasphemous, but I guess if you're vegetarian then you should be able to enjoy bagels as well. Finally, I headed down to Kossar's in the East Village. When you walked in, it was like you were walking into the kitchen. There were trays of bagels on carts, with a small cash register to the left. I liked the look of it. Kossar's was the highest rated by Zagats and also were known for their bialys. The bialys are round, with no hole and flavoring in the center. I did buy one so I could taste it, but I didn't include my opinion of it in my rankings. It kind of tasted like a really good bread without any crust, the cream cheese seemed a little out of place, but the center filling was delicious (I got garlic)!

I then headed downtown to do a little shopping (so as to not favor the bagel purchased last which would have been the freshest, I needed to put some time between the last purchase and my tasting, that or an excuse to go shopping). Around noon I headed back home, hit the grocery store and got home around 1 PM.

And on to the tasting....

First let me say that all the bagels were very very very good. Infinitely better than most bagels in the midwest. The differences that I have noted below are very small differences between the different bagels, I had to draw a very fine line to come up with my favorite. I would happily eat any of these bagels any day of the week.

Kossar's was slightly too crusty for my taste, there was a pretty thick crust on it, but the flavor was right on.
Murray's had a good crust and a great chew, but I found the flavor a little bit too oniony. The everything flavor was overpowered by onion.
Ess-a-bagel was HUGE! And the toppings were on the bottom of the bagel, which I thought was pretty interesting, but didn't seem to serve any purpose. It didn't have as much flavor as I would have liked.
Absolute had a great chew and a pretty good crust and it was more salty than the others, which I really really liked. It was a bit lighter in density than some of the others.
H&H, I'll have to say that the H&H bagel was my favorite in terms of the crust and chew. Perhaps I was biased because it's the one I always have, but it is fantastic. I like the dense chewy goodness. However, it was the most expensive at $1 (the rest were $.75) which I think is a little conceited of H&H. It's not like they're paying for their "decor."

What I realized, however, is that I may not be the "NY bagel lover" that I have always professed that I was. The H&H bagel barely had a crust, it was mostly chew, which I really love (similar to Detroit or NY Bagel in Michigan). The other four bagels definitely had a crust, which I think is a bit more "NY" than the H&H bagel. So I feel as though I need some "NY growing up" to do.

I did decide however to eat the whole Absolute bagel (I now have four other bagels with a sliver cut out of it). I really liked the flavor and the density and I am definitely beginning to like the crust. So for the real deal, I think I liked Absolute the best. Best Field Trip Friday, ever.

Take-out salad

One of my absolute favorite things about living in NY is the "salad bar" at most of the delis (which are pretty much at every corner, at least around us). It is, hands down the best, fastest, cheapest take-out that fits everyone's taste. Well, I guess it fits everyone's taste if you like salad, but in our household we're 2 for 2, so it works out.

So here's the deal. You walk in to the deli/salad establishment, there will be a big long counter and at various places along the counter you can order different things: slices of pizza, sandwiches, coffee, and, the salad. In front of the salad ordering section there is a big pile of containers filled with various lettuces (romaine, spinach, spring mix, etc...). You simply grab a container of lettuce and hand it to an available person behind the counter. And here's where the magic begins. In front of you (behind glass) is a colorful array of every salad topping you could possibly imagine. And so you start picking, whatever you want. If you want a caesar salad, then you pick the appropriate things (chicken, croutons, parm, and caesar dressing), but we're never traditionalists, we just pick out whatever floats our boat on any particular day. Then, to complete the masterpiece, you pick your salad dressing and they toss it all together for you, so each nugget of goodness is perfectly coated with salad dressing. Seriously, how could this be better? Oh, except for the price - last night I went for turkey breast (real chunks, not deli sliced), avocado, broccoli, roasted red peppers, blue cheese, chick peas and ranch dressing, and the total? $8. And it's not like you get one little piece of avocado, there was probably an entire avocado in there plus the huge hunks of turkey and cheese and everything. The salad always ends up weighing like 10 pounds (you pay by ingredient, not by weight). Just how it should be, more goodies then lettuce (or in my case, spinach).

I think this type of "salad bar" has really started to catch on in corporate cafeterias, at least in all of my interviewing I've seen them a lot. It's brilliant. Jeff and I dream of opening something similar in Ann Arbor (and now that I've shared this, I'm sure all 2 of my readers are going to do it first and we'll miss out on the awesome opportunity, but alas, that's the risk I'm willing to take, and I'll hunt you down and take a cut of your earnings, you forget, I went to business school).

I'm so very addicted. Thank goodness we have two great places within about two blocks from us (one is just about across the street), so it's never far. Columbus Gourmet is our favorite (for two very simple reasons, they take credit cards and the counter is the right height so you can easily talk to the person behind the counter to pick out your toppings). Check out the menu online, pretty frickin' awesome. Lenny's is our second choice, but it is closer.

So, clearly I did not cook last night. It was salad night at our household, which has the added benefit being able to wake up this morning to a clean kitchen with no dirty dishes. Which is always a treat, I didn't have to move any pots or pans out of the way to get to the cappuccino machine. I'm spoiled! But a salad is a fantastic meal even if you make it yourself, and easy too, another one of those "empty the refrigerator/pantry" meals. Throw in whatever looks good, even if its not traditional (definitely use those spiced nuts that you should have made by now). Easy and great!

Paczki Day!

Most know the day before Ash Wednesday as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. But to any good Polak, it's Paczki Day (pronounced poonch-key). No longer being in Michigan with access to paczki's around every corner, and being lucky enough to have substantial free time on my hands, I decided the only appropriate activity for me would be to make these sweet treats.

For those of you unfamiliar with the paczki, it is a traditional jelly doughnut-like sweet goodness treat served on the day before Lent begins (but way way better than a regular jelly doughnut). The idea is that during Lent you are supposed to be fasting, so to use up all the butter, sugar, eggs, etc.. you make paczkis. The traditional paczki is very large, very heavy, and very dense. I think the rumor on the street is that one paczki has about 1000 calories in it. After I read the recipe, I could see why, 20 egg yolks, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup of butter, all that before it is deep fried. In my red Polish cooking guidebook I was able to find a recipe that seemed to be a bit lighter, so after consulting with Grammy, getting her approval and getting the inside secrets, I was ready to go.

The recipe called for 3 risings for the dough, so it's not great for those who are rushing home after work on Paczki Day. I bet that you could prep the dough the day ahead, keep it in the fridge and let it rise a bit when you get home and fry 'em up. I dug my heels in early afternoon. After two risings, I was ready to form the doughnuts. The thing that surprised me was how light and soft the dough was, it took no effort at all to roll it out, I was expecting a pizza like or bread like dough, but it was nothing like that at all. The recipe warned me that a regular jelly was too thin to use, but I went ahead anyways and used the jam from our fridge. Turns out the recipe was right. Seeing that disaster was immanent, I made half of the paczkis without any filling.

After they rose the third and final time, I thought that those with the jelly in them would surely hit the hot oil and explode with the jam pouring out. I therefore wanted to cook the plain ones first. So I heated the oil up and anxiously dropped in the first one and saw the perfect little bubbles around the edges, oh they looked good. They cooked quick, about a minute on each side to a golden brown, and I pulled them out on topped with some powdered sugar. I popped the jelly filled ones in the hot oil and to my surprise, they held up. I have no idea how, but they did. After a few minutes to cool we dug in. I had told myself that I would only have one (I rarely rarely rarely eat doughnuts and when I do, I never eat more than one). But two and a half paczki's later I had to call my mom and Grammy with tales of success. Pretty darn good paczki's. Mmm...especially warm ones. It's really too bad you can only make them once a year, or maybe its a good thing.

Here's the recipe I used, but just so you know, if you make them on any other day of the year besides Fat Tuesday, it's sacrilegious.

Paczki
1 1/2 cups milk
2 packages of active dry yeast
1 t salk
1/2 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1 t vanilla
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1 stick butter
4 1/2 cups flour (plus more as need for rolling/forming dough)

Scald the milk (my interpretation of what this is, is to heat the milk up in a pan until small bubbles form around the edges and then pull it off the heat) and cool to lukewarm (I interpreted this to be less than 110 deg F because above that the yeast will die). After the milk cools, add the yeast and let sit for a few minutes. Beat sugar and butter until fluffy, then add eggs, salt and flavoring. Add the flour and milk/yeast to the butter sugar mixture in alternating batches until it comes together. Put in oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise until double in size in warm location (it took me about an hour and a half), punch it down, knead, and allow to rise until double again. Roll it out/stretch it out, cut into desired size and fill with your filling of choice, JAM/JELLY IS TOO THIN (it'll just be a very thin layer in the middle of the paczki)! What I would actually recommend (which I didn't do) is to fill the paczki like they are traditionally done in doughnut shops, with a pastry tip. Allow to rise again (until you think they look ready to go, fluffy and good).

Heat Crisco (Grammy insists on Crisco or lard) to 375 deg F. Add a few paczkis and cook until dark golden brown and flip over (should only take a minute or so). Turn them only once. Pull them out of the oil and sprinkle with powdered sugar so it melts over the top.

Indulge just this one time per year and eat three.