February 2008
13 posts
2 tags
Roasting a Whole Fish
Brainstorming for a side project with a friend, we realized that the simple process of roasting an entire fish is one of the most intimidating things to home cooks. Of course, if someone asked me to serve up an entire tuna, I’d be worried… However, 2-3 lb white fish—the ones widely available at local fish markets—shouldn’t be cause for alarm. To roast a whole fish, head to your fishmonger and...
1 tag
Tortillaland
Spend an hour with me and you’ll know how much of a tortilla fan I am. Flour, corn, fresh, from the super market… when it comes to tortillas, I like the majority of them. It’s something about the soft texture and shape in relation to how it fits in your hand and how one can eat it that has gotten me into many a conversation about the perfection of a simple tortilla. And recently, I’ve come across...
2 tags
Juliette’s Tarte Tatin
I’d almost forgotten how heavenly a tarte Tatin could be when I found myself sitting at the charming bistro Juliette in Williamsburg. Laden with butter and sugar, it’s a rich luxury under the guise of a refreshing fruit finish. This caramelized apple tart, invented in the late 1800s in the Hotel Tatin by the proprietress and her sister, is made by sautéing apples in butter and sugar, covering them...
3 tags
My Brother’s Favorite Cochinita Pibil
It’s my older brother’s birthday in a few days, so do him a favor: If you know him, make this Mexican pork dish and drop it at his house or office. He’ll really love it. The recipe is inspiration from the puerco at Dos Caminos, where he really likes it and is served with sautéed plantains and habañero pickled onions. 3/4 cup chili paste 10 cloves garlic, chopped 1 1/2 cup orange juice Juice...
3 tags
TJ’s FuJi’s
Searching for some dried pears (which is harder than you might think) one afternoon, I wandered into Trader Joe’s. It was the 5th place that I looked and it felt like a dream when I found them. However, my pear pleasure was overwhelmed when I found, directly below the pears, dried fuji apples. Chunks of semi-sec apple squares clouded the packaging. I had to buy them. My impulse was right—the gooey...
2 tags
A Quarky Cheese
About three years ago, I had something made by Kurt Gutenbrunner using Quark. I kept meaning to look up exactly what Quark was. I knew it was some kind of cheese, but that was the extent of my knowledge. Long overdue, I can finally cross off this Central European cheese from my to-do list. The cheese in question is a soft, un-aged cheese with the texture and flavor of sour cream or fromage frais...
2 tags
It’s Pink… Three!
Strawberry Shortcake is a sure way to get me to pucker up… and I have a feeling I’m not the only girl who sees the fluffy, creamy pink poof and leaves her morals at the door. The stuff works better on me than date rape drugs. I like it the old fashioned way, with sweet butter biscuits; here’s a quick recipe! 1 pint fresh strawberries 1/3 cup plus 2 tbsps sugar Whipping cream Vanilla 1 cups...
1 tag
It’s Pink, too…
If you are taking your guy or gal to Madison Square Garden for any Valentines Day treat (which would be the Keith Urban/Carrie Underwood show on February 13th, Matchbox Twenty on February 14th, The Harlem Globetrotters on February 15th, or the Rangers game on the 16th) and feel like you’re not doing something romantic enough, be sure to make a point of trekking to the upper level for the fantastic...
1 tag
It’s Pink…
For a very red and pink and white dinner, consider taking your date to Milos. The Grecian estiatorio displays your dinner selection on a bed of ice, and you can literally point to what fish you’d like to eat. Last time I went, I split a pink snapper, imported straight from Greece that afternoon. I got to thinking that it’d be a good Valentines Day place for those who what to do something special,...
1 tag
Stone Crab Claws
Recently in Naples, Florida, I had the pleasure of a complete lunch of stone crab claws. I adore crabs of every make—from soft shell to king to imitation you find in California Rolls. But the stone crabs were truly a treat. It was my first time eating them, and so I learned a little about the fishery of the delicacies. As a crustacean almost extinct in the 1960s, a law was passed that stated that...
1 tag
Switching to the Spicy Salmon
When, a few weeks ago, all of this mercury-in-the-tuna news gained a swell of momentum, I had mixed feelings. It seems like, these days, everything has a warning label on it. Don’t eat too many carbs; don’t eat so much red meat. Canned tuna has long been questionable, but until last week, the general public didn’t lump spicy tuna rolls into that category. Mercury is a heavy metal in the...
1 tag
TasteBook
A friend of a friend just turned me on to TasteBook.com. This fantastic concept and website helps people assemble their recipes into a lovely, bound booklet. Forget those magazine tear-outs and forgotten dinner party swaps, Taste Book organizes your recipes into a cohesive, customized book. You can add your own photos or choose from their fresh collection. If you’re worried about not having...
1 tag
Sunset Calamari
If you’re hungry and in no-mans-land between 4p and 5:30p, duck into The Smith on Third Avenue near Astor Place. The place has a bistro-esque aesthetic to it with its high booths and shiny tiling. It’s brought to us by the folks behind Jane, on Houston St, and Neptune Room, on the Upper West Side. At this in between hour, The Smith offers up a lovely little “sunset menu” at the bar. You can nibble...
