The Culinary Adventures of Deb Szajngarten

Cathryn's Tuscan Grill, Cold Spring

Deb — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:50:33 GMT

Back in the days, when I rented apartments, I never held onto anything I didn’t use or need, because I didn’t want to move it when my lease ended. After I bought my own house, I became lax, I’d make impulse purchases, put off my spring and fall closet cleaning, pack things away throughout the house, until there were no more spaces to hide anything.

Now that I am preparing my house for sale, I have the arduous task of cleaning, packing and throwing out a whole house full of collected crap. Each time I make progress, I find six other projects that must be completed before I can move on to the next area of the house. It’s been three weeks now and my friends and family say they see a big difference. I still see too much crap.

When I’m not cleaning, I have been looking at houses. I have narrowed my search area down to the towns of Cold Spring and Garrison, New York. Every time I visit the town of Cold Spring, I fall further in love with it. From the charming antique shops, to the SOHO-style boutiques, the art galleries and the high quality restaurants, this town exudes charm. It combines the look and feel of classic New England, with its 17th and 18th Century structures, charming old bed and breakfast, and smattering of historic homes up and down the main street.

When you drive down the main road heading into town, you are surrounded by lush green mountains. At the end of the road, you come upon the train station, which encases a fantastic indoor/outdoor restaurant and bar. The ice cream shop sits slightly on the hill and just beyond the train tracks, you find the majestic Hudson River.

For the first few months of my new house search, I couldn’t help but go back again and again to the fabulous Alsace-style French restaurant, Le Bouchon. However, this weekend, my cousin Michele and I decided to try the highly rated Tuscan restaurant, Cathryn’s Tuscan Grill.

As we walked up toward the entrance, past the beautifully maintained English gardens and outdoor tables, we made our way down into the lower level of a very old and extremely well maintained historic building.

We sat down in a quiet little corner across the room from the bar. Afternoon sunlight drifted down across our table and we nibbled on bread and really good olive oil. We decided to share two appetizers; a wild mushrooms and prosciutto and an Italian cheese plate consisting of Cosmos, Bogart, Toussaint, Drunken Goat and Rita.

For dinner, Michele ordered the Orecchiette with walnuts and gorgonzola cream sauce while I ordered the Pappardelle with pulled rabbit, which the chef finished with a touch of white truffle oil that added a lovely earthy flavor to this delicious, delicate dish.

I wasn’t planning on ordering dessert, but Michele and I looked at the menu and couldn’t say no. She ordered the Crème Caramel. It was a perfect, creamy, delectable crème caramel. I tried a scoop of the deliciously decadent Kailua Cappuccino ice cream from a local dairy farm in Rhinebeck, NY.

As we left, all I could think of is how wonderful it will be to live in a town with both a fantastic French restaurant and an incredible Italian restaurant within minutes of each other – and these are just the restaurants that I have already tried!

Per Se

Deb — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:21:07 GMT

My friends, it has been some time since my last post. I have had many different things going on in my life as of late. My new job is wonderful, but keeping me very busy. I’m still thinking of moving, however the market is very tough on sellers right now – which is great for buying a new house and terrible for selling the one I have.

I have reached this horrible point in the home buying/selling process – I have to de-clutter! I have lived in this house for eight years now. In all that time, I have accumulated a lot of crap. Now, I have to go through all that crap and either throw it out, sell it, or give it to charity.

In the midst of all these changes, I had the privilege of being the guest of my business associates, Michel and Alissa for lunch at Per Se.

Now, Per Se has been the holy grail of Ne w York restaurants to me for some time now. It has loomed above me like a halo that I strived to reach and never did quite get to. So, imagine my excitement at such a fine invitation.

They sat us at a quiet table next to the window that overlooked Columbus Circle, where we gazed out onto the fountain, watching people enjoy the perfect weather. As this was a business lunch, I ordered an iced tea, which they served with homemade simple syrup on the side.

They brought around a bread tray with many different types of homemade breads. Of course, I had to try the bread made with duck fat (instead of lard or butter). The contrast between the whole grains and the silken texture of the duck fat produced spectacularly decadent and delicious bread that I could not help but keep eating, even though I knew that so many other wonderful treats were on their way to us.

Accompanying the bread, they served two different butters, a sweet cream butter that I believe came from California and a salted butter from Vermont that they bought sweet and salted themselves with sea salt. I think I could have eaten a vat of that salted butter. It glided onto my bread and melted into my mouth.

Michael and I ordered the full tasting menu. Alissa opted to try the vegetable tasting, which intrigued me. Now, Per Se changes their menu every day based on what is fresh and available at the market that day. So, our menu choices were unique to our experience.

First they brought me two cheese gougeres, while Alissa and Michael (whom are allergic to dairy) had an amuse bouche of pickled vegetables with kumquat.

Next they presented me with a salmon tartare presented like an ice cream cone.

My first actual course was Thomas Keller’s signature Oysters and Pearls, which is a saybon of pearl tapioca, island creek oysters and sterling White Sturgeon caviar.

Now, having reveled in decadence at the fois gras in Bouchon café, I had to try the fois gras course at Per Se. Much like its causal cousin, the soft, satin, texture and sweet robust flavor of the duck liver played upon my palate as fine as the symphony at Avery Fisher Hall.

While I devoured my duck fois gras, Alissa enjoyed a magnificently colorful roasted red pepper soup.

Next came the perfectly cooked, light, flaky Atlantic Halibut, which they served with Nicoise Olives, marinated fennel, and Sauce Boullie.

The buttery Nova Scotia lobster tail paired perfectly with the accompanying béarnaise sauce. I thoroughly enjoyed the morel mushrooms (yum) and roasted potatoes too.

At this point in the meal, our ocean voyage docked and we moved onto firmer ground with a saddle of rabbit.

The veal course struck me as incredibly interesting because they created veal bacon, which I never heard of before. Tasting much like pork bacon, the veal bacon had a lovely marbling and a smoky flavor.

Our cheese plate consisted of a buckwheat pancake, two cherries in sauce and a wedge of fantastic Robiola Fia. Truly a well-matched pairing, the sweetness from the cherries complemented the sharpness of the washed rind cheese delivering a powerful experience on the palate.

To cleanse our palates, we enjoyed the apricot sorbet.

For dessert, I enjoyed a lovely chocolate cake, with mouse and caramel ice cream.

Michael and Alissa had the dairy-free version of chocolate cake.

Then they showered us with chocolates… petit fours

Chocolate covered hazelnuts, and

A tower of chocolate treats.

By the time we left, I was ready for my nap, which of course I could not take in the middle of the day. So, was Per Se spectacular? Yes, it is a special place designed for special occasions. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to enjoy it with friends and fellow foodies.

Arctic Char and Coconut Risotto

Deb — Sun, 25 May 2008 07:59:07 GMT

What a beautiful weekend. The sun is shining, a light breeze is blowing and life overall is wonderful. Yesterday, I began my day at the spa with a facial and pedicure. Then I made my way to my favorite farm, Blooming Hill in Monroe, NY, where I reconnected with friends and shopped for produce.

There is something about that farm that grounds me. Being there fills my souls with a feeling of goodness and connection to both earth and community in a very wholesome way.

From the farm, I made my way up to Adams Fairacre Farms, my favorite local, gourmet grocer/farm stand up in Newburgh, NY. Usually, I pick up an assortment of fantastic cheeses at Adams, but yesterday, I picked up fresh fish. They had extra-jumbo wild shrimp that I bought with the intention of marinating in lemon juice, blood orange oil and cilantro – then steaming and chopping into pieces, (I throw them into salad when I bring my lunch to work all week).

Enclosing my back deck, I have a wall of Rhododendron that are about fifteen feet tall. They peek up over the back railing of the deck and when I came home yesterday, I found them bursting with blooms.

After soaking in the beauty of my Rhododendrons, I began making a bread pudding. You see, I bought a fresh load of multigrain bread at the farm, but when I got home, I realized that last week’s loaf was still sitting on my counter. I knew both of my cousins, Michele and Caryn, would enjoy brad pudding, so I set about making it.

Michele and Caryn both planned to visit last night. So, I made a dinner of coconut ginger risotto, braised ramps and grilled Arctic Char. For the fish, I took soy sauce, minced fresh ginger, a chiffonade of scallions, red pepper flakes, a touch of honey and the zest and juice of one lime and whisked it into a marinade, which the fish sat in for about an hour. Then I took cedar paper and soaked it in water for about 20 minutes. While the fish marinated, I julienned some yellow pepper and thinly sliced some button mushrooms.

Putting it all together, I placed the fish pieces on the cedar paper, placed the mushrooms and peppers on top, and wrapped them into neat packages.

I then took the marinade and put it in a saucepan. I reduced the marinade on the grill while the fish packets cooked.

Our finished meal:

Bread pudding with homemade whipped cream:

Velvet Monkey

Deb — Sat, 24 May 2008 18:06:41 GMT

Nestled neatly along Millpond Plaza, the main drag in the Town of Monroe, N.Y. sits The Velvet Monkey. Fancier than the local bar/restaurants, but still comfortable and casual enough for a Friday night out, the Velvet Monkey offers continental American cuisine at affordable prices.

I have eaten there many times, yet never blogged about it before. Perhaps because the food has always been good – but not as fancy or luxurious as some of the other restaurants I frequent (or that you, my readers, have become accustomed to).

Yesterday, my mother came back to New York for the summer. I picked her up at the airport in Westchester, and we made the long trek through Memorial Day traffic back to my house, where my brother met us.

By the time we all arrived, and settled in, it was about 7:30pm. So, the tree of us headed into Monroe for a relatively, light dinner.

I began with the “Monkey Salad,” which consisted of mesculn greens, balsamic vinaigrette, cranberries and toasted peanuts.

Next, I ordered the Ahi Tuna appetizer.

Finally, we ordered my brother the bananas foster for dessert (note the candle and the slightly annoyed look on my brother’s face – he’s just lucky the didn’t sing).

The light, delicious meal sated my appetite without weighing me down, which I appreciated after a long day and long week’s work.

Multigrain Bread Pudding

Deb — Sat, 24 May 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Earlier this year, when I visited many of my MySpace friends in Tampa, we enjoyed an amazing bread pudding dish that Amanda made. I thought of Amanda’s bread pudding when I came home from the farm this morning with a new loaf of Multigrain bread, and realized I still had the majority of the last one left. Now wanting to waste it, I decided to try to re-create Amanda’s amazing bread pudding, with my own twist. Here’s what I came up with:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups stale multigrain bread, cubed
• 5 eggs
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup honey
• 2 cups milk
• ¼ cup banana rum
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla powder
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon cloves
• 1 cup dried blueberries
• 1 tablespoon toasted pecan pieces
• 1 tablespoon shredded coconut

Method:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
• In a saucepan, heat the milk (on low) until it starts to froth (don’t let it boil), then turn down the heat and add the butter, keeping it warm just long enough of the butter to melt. Turn off heat and allow to cool to a lukewarm temperature
• Combine the honey, spices and eggs in an electric mixer.
• While the mixer is going, cube the bread.
• Combine the bread, dried blueberries and pecan pieces together and fill the casserole dish with the dry mixture.
• Top the casserole with the coconut shavings and set aside
• Once the milk has cooled down, slowly add it to the egg mixture in the mixer.
• Pour egg mixture over the bread, coating the bread pieces, and bake for 40 minutes (or until top becomes golden brown)

Carmel Topping:
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Sprinkle of water

• In a saucepan, heat the sugar and the light sprinkle of water until it turns brown, but doesn’t burn
• Drizzle on top of finished bread pudding

Sunday at the Farm with Michele

Deb — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:14:43 GMT

My cousin Michele came by for a visit today. We both decided to visit my favorite organic farm, Blooming Hill. There is some thing so peaceful and grounding about that farm. It is a pleasure to spend time there.

As we chatted with Guy Jones (proprietor of Blooming Hill Farm), he mentioned that this week is the last week for ramps. Ramps are one of my favorite springtime greens. They are milder than leeks with a hint of garlic-flavor. Guy served them grilled to visitors at the farm. I bought them last week and used them as a bed for roasted rainbow trout.

Guy had some wonderful local cheeses, and raw local honey. While they were all good, there were two that stood out. One of the cheeses came from TonJones farm, called Cowhill and the other was a cows’s milk cheese made in an alpine style called Bogart from Sprout Creek farm.

Michele ordered breakfast, French toast, and we sat by the creek watching the stream.

I have had that curry dish – you know, the one I made at the CIA Southeast Asia class – stuck in my mind ever since the class. So, I wanted to make it at home. We stopped at the local fish/Asian market and I picked up most of the ingredients I needed… except for two, the birds eye chilies and the yellow curry paste. We tried three stores before giving up and resigning ourselves to something else for dinner. I bought three fillets of Dover sole and planned a different menu.

First, we made a salad of mesculn greens, avacado, herbed goatcheese and wildflowers.
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We enjoyed a caprese salad made with fresh mozzarella (he just made it) from the Italian Deli, fresh basil and tomatoes that I drizzled with olive oil.

Then, we had a bowl of potato leek soup that I made earlier and watched a movie.

After the movie, I made a coconut, ginger, jasmine rice; I braised the ramps in chicken stock, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar; and I encrusted the sole fillets in Hazelnuts and pan fried them, which I served with a tarragon/white wine/lime juice burre blanc with capers.

For dessert, we had an assortment of chocolate covered strawberries, rainbow cookies, chocolate lace cookies and butter cookies from the deli.

Bad Theater Good Noodles and Interesting Street Food

Deb — Sat, 17 May 2008 21:45:54 GMT

I had plans to meet my friend Phillip (aka Chorizo) at the theater today. We were all set to see a ‘80s revival called Top Girls, starring Martha Plimpton and Marissa Tome. I left about one and a half hours before Phillip and I arranged to meet (which was ½ hour before curtain).

I began to worry when I approached the George Washington bridge and it was backed up for at least an hour. Zigging and zaging through traffic, taking shortcuts through local streets, I made my way to the toll plaza and finally crossed the bridge at about 1:00pm.

Normally a half an hour is ample time to zip down the West Side Highway, park and meet Phillip by 1:30pm. However, there were some unexpected surprises. First the West Side Highway was backed up due to an accident. No problem, I just took the Riverside Drive (which has lights) instead. Next, 9th Ave had a street fair going on, so it was closed to traffic from 57th street all the way to 40th street.

By 1:50pm, I was stuck at 61st street and Columbus Avenue. I parked in the closest parking lot and ran from 61st street to 47th street. Phil and I met at 2:15pm. We both feared we missed the curtain. However, the performance started late, and we sat down just as it began.

Now, I don’t know why, suddenly all these theater companies have decided to put on 80s revivals. I saw two 80s revival performances recently and they were both bad. Although I have to admit, Sunday in the Park with George was much worse than Top Girls. At least with Top Girls, there was a plot and a meaning. Although the first act had very little to do with the rest of the play and each act was somewhat incongruous to the others, the story did tie together in the end. The acting was strong, but the play itself was tough.

After it ended, Phil and I started walking though the street fair on 9th Avenue, where we found some interesting food. For example, we found these very cool barbeque pits, feed by wood fire, with meat slapped to the side of them.

The other interesting food we found was a corn “cake” sandwich with mozzarella in the middle that they fried on a grill.

We found ourselves having lunch in a noodle shop called Wee. We began with some dim sum:

Scallion Pancake

Shu Mai

Steamed pork dumplings

Steamed pork bun

We ordered noodles, really good sizzling noodles with seafood, Chow fun with shrimp and broccoli with oyster sauce.

After lunch, we walked up to the Time Warner Building and had coffee and dessert at Boouchon. Phil had the sticky bun, I had the raspberry almond croissant, and we both sat in the Samsung Experience watching the Red Sox play against Milwaukee while we indulged in our Bouchon delights.

Friendships Formed at Peniche Tappas

Deb — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:47:02 GMT

few months back, while interviewing for the job I now have. The company asked me to come in for a final in-person meeting. My company is going through a growth spurt and is in the process of hiring many positions. While sitting in the lobby, I noticed another woman who was also waiting for an interview. She sized me up and added a layer of competition that I did not feel was necessary. They quickly called her in, and I remained in the lobby. A few moments later, another woman came in and sat next to me. She was warm and friendly. We struck up a conversation and wished each other luck. I walked away thinking,

“What a nice person. I hope she get the job.”

About a week after I began working there, Sandia started as well. Imagine both of our surprise when we found out that we were sitting next to each other!

Well we mutually agreed that we were fated to be great friends and decided to celebrate our serendipity with lunch.

We went out on a Friday and the wather was horrible. We walked in the driving rain with our umbrellas blustering and threatening to give out under the whipping wind. I had no jacket and she wore a skirt. We were both freezing!

We happened upon an oasis in the form of a tappas restaurant that some of our colleagues spoke highly about. Peniche plays upon the cuisines of Iberian Spain and Portugal. Everything on the menu consists of little bites.

First, we started with a cheese plate consisting of Manchego, Mahon and Cabrales which they served with this amazing salty/sweet cracker, some quince paste and grapes. To complement our cheese, we ordered roasted Spanish almonds.

Next, we moved into hot foods, the scrumptious Bolos de Bacalhau (which were essentially cod coquettas);

The warm Sobrasada (sausage with paprika);

The absolutely amazing Biotque (skirt steak cooked in a small hot-pot and topped with an organic egg);

and last but certainly not least, the pulled pork sliders.

With our friendship sealed and stomachs sated, we happily braved the rain and returned to work.

CIA's Flavors of Southeast Asia Class

Deb — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:46:45 GMT

Feeling a lull in my culinary learning, I decided to take a class at the Culinary Institute of America. A few years ago, I took one of these CIA day classes every Saturday throughout the spring and fall semesters.After a while, I felt like I "capped out" and stopped. They are great courses for lay-people that want to advance their skills and enjoy a culinary experience beyond that of their own kitchen. As an attendee, I have found that you can get as much as you want out of these classes, based on the effort and focus you invest in them.

Upon arriving, our group is ushered into a lecture room where the instructor begins the day with a discussion of the course materials (in this case, Flavors of Southeast Asia). Our instructor yesterday was an unlikely candidate to teach a course in Southeast Asian cooking. However, Associate Professor Hinnerk von Bargen, CHE spent many years of his career working in China and Southeast Asia, where he immersed himself into the culture and cuisine.

We then broke into teams. For me, the success of the class can be made or broken based on the people one is paired up with on a team. If I am paired with a group of family members, be they husband and wife, mother and daughter, etc., I always feel as though I am sharing someone else’s family experience. If the chef pairs me with people that have no idea how to peel an onion, then I spend a lot of time “teaching” basic skills, rather than learning new techniques. The most frustrating pairing, however, is with a nudnik – a know-it-all that doesn’t work. You know the type. They talk a lot about how to do everything but then do not actually do anything.

The other risk in team-choosing is menus. Each team is responsible for menu creation. For me, I am taking the class to learn new technique and skills, so my team’s chosen menu can mean the difference between learning something new or not. This is a critical factor. Thankfully, while I have extensive experience in eating Asian foods, I have little experience in preparing them.

My team consisted of one very sweet woman that came with her mother and sister (mother and sister were broken into another group), a retired gentleman that had fairly good skills and one nudnik. I’m sure you can imagine my gratitude when we decided to split the recipes in half. The retired gentleman worked with the nudnik and I worked with the estranged sibling (who was a pleasure to work with).

The class as a whole prepared many fantastic dishes, including:

Tom Ka Kai (chicken and coconut soup),
Crispy spring rolls,
Thai Beef Massman curry,
Warm vegetables and cold noodles,
Nua Nam Tok (Thai style beef salad);
hai hot and sour soup;
Clay pot chicken with dried plums;
Spicy cucumber salad;
Pad Thai;
Vietnamese cold spring rolls with peanut-hoisin dipping sauce;
and a really interesting dish I never had before, Vietnamese grilled shrimp paste on sugar cane.

This last dish was very cool. Basically, you make a forcemeat out of the shrimp, pork and vegetable mixture (as if you are making seafood sausage), and then shape the ground meat mixture around a sugar cane stick like a lollipop. You then steam the sticks (par cooking them), followed by a searing on the grill. They were outstanding!

My team prepared the following menu:

Shrimp in a Yellow Curry Sauce (which I made personally)
Spicy Roasted Eggplant Salad
Chicken Pho (Vietnamese rice noodle soup)
Coconut Rice

So, after reading each recipe and learning that the broth for the pho had been prepared in advance (totally cheating), I started to plan out how much time each recipe would take to miese-out and cook. As such, I suggested that the other two team members begin the eggplant, the lady working with me begin the prep for the Pho and I would start the curry.

Finally, I had a chance to work with ingredients I didn’t know well, like birds eye chilies; lime leaves; fish sauce; curry pastes; galangal palm sugar, coconut milk. . Learning the characteristics of new ingredients is like dancing with a new partner. I take my time, observing how each behaves and reacts to each maneuver – what does it smell, taste, feel like? How does its texture change with heat? How does it complement other flavors?

After finding (always a challenge in a kitchen you are not used to) and prepping everything needed for our recipes, I began to make the curry sauce. I slowly built flavor upon flavor until what developed was a rich, intense, spicy sauce. I tasted it and something was off. The flavors were too strong and the fish sauce was unbalanced. I called the chef over to check. Well, our recipe books accidentally cut the quantity of coconut milk by half! So, after adding the additional coconut milk and leveling out the dish, I started on the shrimp.

In a separate pan, I lightly sautéed the shrimp, cooking them until they just barely turned pink. I purposefully left them slightly undercooked so I could add them into the sauce later, along with the basil and tomatoes.

While sautéing, the chef called everyone over to the other side of the kitchen, where he demonstrated how to re-constitute tamarind paste. I couldn’t stop what I was doing right away. I had to finish the batch of shrimp that I currently had on the heat. Our team nudnick came by, explaining that she knew how to work with tamarind and that she would finish my shrimp so I could watch the demo.

“Thank you, I am almost done,” I explained. “ I’ll finish these and head over.”

“I’ll finish them for you,” she insisted.

“That is very kind of you, but really, I am finishing them now,” I insisted back.

“No, I’ll do it,” she pushed.

“Please don’t,” I said flatly, immediately feeling badly for my shortness.

She walked away. I went to the other side of the kitchen to watch the chef’s demo, and then returned to finish the last batch of shrimp and apologize to the woman for my shortness with her.

I felt badly about the whole thing, really. But I just spent nearly two hours working on this dish and I didn’t want her to over-cook the shrimp (which in my mind would ruin the whole dish by making them rubbery). I know I am a perfectionist and sometimes that can be difficult for those around me. However, I did try to politely decline several times.

She confirmed my fears when she then proceeded to scorch the bottom of the coconut rice.

We finished our cooking and sat down to enjoy the fruits of our labors.

The class cleaned out my shrimp curry, finishing everything (I was proud). This medium-heat (for me anyway) curry perfectly complemented the sweet, delicious coconut rice.

The team that created the crispy spring rolls did a great job too. They were perfect. I also enjoyed to cold shrimp rolls, the shrimp and sugar cane skewers and the coconut chicken soup. I would gladly make several of these dishes at home, now that I have a better understanding of how to work with the ingredients.

Here is the Pho:

When we were finished, I rushed home to change and meet my brother in Manhattan, where we saw Les Liaisons Dangereuses, with Laura Linny, who was masterful! It was a fantastic performance, worthy of a standing ovation (which we gave).

Today, I slept in, shared my experience with you, dear readers and will now go play in my garden… the Phlox need planting and the dogs need exercise.

Here are my Azailas starting to bloom:

Chicken with Garlic Sauce

Deb — Sun, 11 May 2008 10:00:26 GMT

This recipe originally came from a book called “French, Delicious Cuisine Made Easy” by Carol Clements and Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen. It is the Chicken recipe that I used to entertain for my friend Mike last week (Z and Me: An Afternoon of Entertaining). Many of you were surprised to find that I did not use cream or butter in the sauce. In fact, this sauce gets s it’s creamy white texture from slow-cooked garlic, chicken broth and white wine – all of which are used to braise the chicken pieces.
Now, I have modified this recipe slightly to include the use of a brined chicken. I prefer to brine all my poultry (thanks Alton Brown). I have also changed the herb-blend somewhat to represent a more Provencal flavor.

Ingredients:

4 ½ lbs chicken pieces
1 large onion, sliced
7 ounces of garlic, peeled but remaining whole(about three bulbs)
2/3 cup white wine
¾ cup chicken broth (it’s better to use homemade stock)
A Bouquet Garni of fresh herbs tied well in a cheese cloth (use of fresh herbs is important – with the exception of lavender):

4 -5 thyme sprigs
1 sprig fresh rosemary
½ teaspoon lavender flowers
4 sprigs fresh parsley
2 sprigs fresh tarragon
1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 375degrees
Pat the chicken pieces dry and season with salt and pepper
In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil and sear chicken pieces, skin-side down first. Turn frequently and transfer the chicken to a separate plate when browned.
Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper to the pan and sauté until golden brown

Add wine and deglaze, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon
Bring the wine to a simmer and reduce to half the liquid
Add the stock, bouquet garni and chicken pieces (including any liquid pooled on the dish), cover and place in the oven for about 45 minues – or until the chicken becomes tender.
Remove the chicken pieces to a dish and keep warm.
Bring the remaining brazing liquid to a slow simmer on the stovetop and reduce by one third.
Remove the Bouquet Garni and put the onions, garlic and remaining liquid into a blender and puree until smooth.
Adjust seasoning to taste and serve over the chicken.

BLT Steak: First Meeting of the Burger Club

Deb — Sun, 11 May 2008 09:59:53 GMT

Starting a new job can often be disorienting. You have to establish new routines, figure out how to find all the office supplies, meet new coworkers and establish new relationships… most importantly, figure out were the best places are to eat.

Fortunately, I now work with a group of really great people, some of whom invited to me participate in my very first Meeting of the Burger Club. The object of said club is, of course, to seek out the perfect burger.

Well, the bar has now been set quite high as the lot of us ventured off to the neighboring BLT Steak. For those of you that are unfamiliar with this chain of high end restaurants (BLT Steak and BLT Fish), they are white-linen French bistros with a special focus on either beef or fish, respectively.

I first ventured into a BLT Steak on a business lunch about four years ago at the East 57th Street, NYC location. I was taken aback by the huge signature popovers and outstanding pomme frites served in a paper cone. Now, I find myself in the White Plains, NY location.

We had an unusually large “burger club” gathering for my first venture, as we also celebrated our colleague Ben’s Birthday. Ben received such cool gifts as temporary Spiderman tattoos and lederhosen dolls.

We broke into three tables. I sat with Russ and Peter, and we each ordered burgers. I opted for the Greyre and mushroom accouterments and the three of us split an appetizer of grilled bacon in a garlic, basil and cherry vinaigrette.

Our conversations paused as we each savored each complementing flavor element. About half-way through our feasting, we noticed that the center table – the “birthday” table – did not yet receive their meals. We each looked compassionately, somewhat guiltily at one another and debated pausing until they received their food.

“You know, the kitchen put effort into serving us a hot meal, we should really honor their efforts,” Russ said.

“That’s true, we would dishonor the kitchen staff and the food itself,” added Peter.

We guiltily resumed our hedonistic consumption of medium rare beef.

Of course, an hour later, I needed a nap... but hey – how often does one have the chance to gather with the elusive Burger Club after all?

Z and Me; An Afternoon of Entertaining

Deb — Sun, 04 May 2008 22:03:33 GMT

Between the warm spring weather, a new job and social activities, I’ve been spending less and less time online. Today, my friend Mike made the trek up from Manhattan to visit me. So, I prepared a Provencal-inspired meal in his honor.

Mike planned to arrive at about 1:00 pm. So, I prepped our pre-luncheon cocktails to be ready upon his arrival, passion fruit juice and champagne.

Unfortunately, Mike got a little lost, so started sipping my cocktail while waiting for him. One turned into two, and before you know it, I had a good buzz going. Poor Mike finally arrived –after braving the highways and byways of New Jersey and the winding twisting country roads of New York’s Hudson Valley. Mike brought me the most beautiful flowers!

We drank and nibbled on local cheeses, two from Old Chatham and a triple crème brie from Coach Farms, fois gras pate, and kalamata olives.

Our first course featured a salad of young salad greens, sliced cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and shrimp. Yesterday, I marinated the shrimp in blood orange and lime juice and extra virgin olive oil, then steamed them until they just turned pink. I tossed the cooled shrimp and salad greens with homemade honey-Dijon vinaigrette that included both honey and mustard from France.

Next, we enjoyed a warm potato and leek soup.

After the soup, we took a break, sat outside in the beauty of the perfect, sunny country afternoon, and enjoyed a glass of wine admist the apple blossoms.

Our main course consisted of a Provencal braised chicken recipe. I butchered a chicken (brined overnight) and seared it in a Dutch oven, then braised it with white wine, sautéed onions, a lot of garlic and fresh herbs de Provence. When the chicken finished braising, I removed the herbs, and pureed the remaining braising liquid, until it formed a thick, creamy sauce.

For a green vegetable, I decided to make another Provencal recipe, one I learned from Lydie, Broccoli puree. I steamed broccoli, then pureed it woth salt, pepper and crème fraise. Then I put them into ramekin moulds overnight, so they would form a round.

For dessert, I served a homemade strawberry tart with whipped cream (made with Grand Marnier) and green tea with rose petals.

We had a lovely afternoon.

Central Park, Theater and Italian Food

Deb — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 13:52:08 GMT

Spring and fall are my favorite seasons. My Cherry blossom is finishing up now (pic at full bloom) and my magnolia has just burst into pink beauty. The Forsythia and unknown shrub with white flowers are both in full bloom. I have also just found out that two different friends that both moved out of state are now moving back (one to the Hudson Valley, the other to Northern New Jersey) this summer, for totally different reasons. I am happy!

I experimented with a new theater club this year. For many years now, I have subscribed to the Roundabout Theater Company, buying season tickets to all of their plays (about eight). I like them because they produce classic drama, often transforming literature into live performance. Since subscribing, I have seen Gabriel Byrne in A Touch of the Poet, Harry Connick Jr. In Pajama Game, Cindy Lauper in Three Penny Opera, Rosie Perez in The Ritz, Clare Danes in Pygmalion, and so many others. So, I branched out a bit this year with three plays from The Manhattan Theater Club.

I saw the first play in the series a few weeks ago, The Four of Us. It walked the view through the lives of two friends, a playwright and a novelist. We sat in a small, intimate theater. The actors change the set between scenes as part of the performance, and we left the theater totally compelled by the story.

Yesterday, my cousin Michele and I went to see the second play in the series, From Up Here. While still a relatively small, this theater had substantially more seating and a fully produced set and staging. This play had a full cast and its storyline really affected me.

The play gave the audience a snapshot into the lives of a suburban family grappling with the aftermath of an overly sensitive son that threatened to kill his fellow students. The writing in this play was superb. The acting was compelling and the story left me, the viewer, thinking (and crying).

When the play ended, Michele and I went for a walk through Central Park. We walked up Sixth Ave, past the horse-drawn carriages lining up along Central Park South. We watched the street vendors and artists selling hand-drawn sketches of passing tourists. We took in the beauty of the hundreds of different flowers and trees in different stages of blooming. People lined the lawns with picnics. Dogs chased Frisbees, and couples embraced on park benches.

We reveled in the New York Springtime! Before heading back upstate, we stopped in a Jamba Juice and ordered shakes – Mango-a-go-go for me and a Orange Dream Machine for Michele.

By the time we got home, we were hungry and I did not feel like cooking a large meal, so I prepared a simple Italian supper…

First I set out an antipasto of cheeses, Kalamata olives, roasted peppers, Soprasatta and some dates. All of these cheeses I served came from the Southern half of Italy, Fiore di Sardenga “Flowers of Sardinia” (one of my favorites), Drunken Goat Cheese (semi-soft goat cheese fermented with port wine) Primo Pecorino Sale (a young semi-soft Pecorino), and Incanestrato, and marinated mozzarella (cow’s milk) knots.

Next, I made a big bowl of homemade ravioli stuffed with herbed ricotta from the deli and my homemade sauce (previously canned last summer from September Heirlooms). I made enough so that I could have lunch for the next day or so as well.

I am really enjoying these long, leisurely days. Tomorrow I am starting a new job, and life feels good.

Spring Dinner Party

Deb — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:07:39 GMT

The evening is winding down. There is a cool breeze coming in from the kitchen window as I sit quietly to share with you, dear readers, the meal I prepared and served to a group of my friends and family.

I love the warmth and comfort of a house full of happy, well-fed people. No matter how much work is involved, it brings me great pleasure to host guests for a home cooked meal.

Tonight, my neighbors, Camille, Larry and Ian, my friend Lisa and my cousin Caryn came over for dinner for an informal dinner party.

I started dinner with a salad of mesculun greens and arugula, sliced mushrooms and halved cherry tomatoes in hand-made honey-Dijon vinaigrette. I took fresh herbed chevre from a local organic dairy and rolled it into small balls, then coated it in hazelnut flour and lightly pan-fried it.

I took a whole grain French bread and sliced it thin and toasted it, making herbed garlic crostinis.

For our second course, I served steamed littleneck clams in garlic, fresh herbs and a white wine, lemon and butter sauce. I also served a large semolina bread to soak up the clam broth.

For our main course, I roasted a chicken and made Lydie Marshall’s Eggplant Neapolitan, which consists of fried eggplant, sauce and cheese, topped with breadcrumbs. To accompany the eggplant and chicken, I roasted some root vegetables – Brussels sprouts, onion, potato, mushroom and garlic (which I forgot to photograph) -- oh asnd of course I made a white-wine reduced pan-gravy!

We went through three bottles of wine with dinner between the lot of us, each a different Chardonnay. The first came from Burgundy, the second from California and the third from Australia. I’m sure you will not be surprised to learn that I preferred the burgundy to the other two wines.

After dinner, we drank vanilla black tea with dessert. Ian made brownies, and Camille brought them with fresh strawberries. I also picked up a box of hazelnut sandwich cookies from the French bakery, along wit chocolate covered apricots and almond Rocha from the chocolatier.

Menu for Hope

Lovely Spring Day (Lunch at Ten Railroad Ave)

Deb — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:23:40 GMT

I love the spring. I love the warm lingering days, the light green buds that sprout from every tree; the lush green spring grass; tulips and daffodils, hyacinths, and the fresh scent in the air. Most of all, I love the pink trees – Magnolias, cherry blossoms, Pink Dogwood, Lilacs, Wysteria – they are all so magnificent. When one blossom finishes, the next round of pink emerges!

This week, I am enjoying a leisurely spring week at home with no alarm clocks to wake me, no long commutes, incessant cell phone ringing or other work-related stresses. I have just sat back and relaxed.

Yesterday, my cousin Michele came by and we ran some family errands in Goshen. We tried to have lunch in a restaurant that a friend recommended to us named Catherine’s, but they were closed. Instead, we went for an afternoon drive through the country.

Do you ever have the urge to drive down a road just to see where it goes? Well, I had never been to Pine Island. I’ve seen signs for it for years, but never actually went there. Pine Island New York is an agricultural Mecca within Orange County. It is home to our famed Black Dirt, which is some of the richest soil in the world (ideal for onions). So Michele and I turned away from Goshen and headed down Pulasky Highway into the town of Pine Island.

We felt like we stepped back in time. There were lush rolling hills, and large plots of farmland with ink-black soil speckled with workers planting this years crops. We drove and drove all the way through to Warwick, where we tried to stop in my favorite French bakery (Jean Claude) to pick up a few things. To our dismay, Jean Claude and his wife were on vacation. I even called the Iron Forge Inn, an excellent eatery located in Bellvale, NY to find that they do not serve lunch in the middle of the week.

So we parked in the center of Warwick and decided to try a local restaurant that I have never eaten in before, Ten Railroad Avenue. I read many of the quite positive reviews and I always meant to try it. Now I had a chance. For years, many of the really wonderful, high quality restaurants in the Hudson Valley were located on the other side of the river in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties or higher up in the Catskill region (New Paltz, Woodstock, Kingston, etc). However, with the drastic increase in population within Rockland and Orange these past 5-10 years; more and more great restaurants have begun to pop up.

Michele and I sat down at one of the outdoor tables and began with a glass of iced tea. We watched the skater kids and talked until our appetizer arrived.

The coconut shrimp and cold sesame noodles were delicious; each offered a pleasant balance of sweet and savory. If I were to nit pick a bit, I would confess that the shrimp were slightly overcooked, but not enough to detract from the flavors of the dish.

For our lunch/dinner, Michele ordered the lobster ravioli (which she thoroughly enjoyed) and I had the sandwich special, a chicken cutlet sandwich with melted mozzarella, roasted peppers and pesto on an Italian bread.
It took me a long time to eat that sandwich, more than an hour, but neither one of us minded. We just enjoyed the warmth of spring. We were grateful to be outdoors.

After lunch, we walked through town, gazing at the stream that cuts through the back of Main Street, browsing in the local stores, the Victorian Lace shop, the Chocolate Shop, the Antique store, etc.

We then stopped for ice cream at the Pioneer Restaurant and found out that their chef used to be the chef at the old Warwick Inn (a family favorite that went out of business). When I got home, I took a nap. All in all, we had a lovely Spring day!

Menu for Hope

Michele's Birthday Brunch

Deb — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:02:58 GMT

Today I made brunch for my family in celebration of my cousin Michele’s birthday. We began with Sara Moulton’s Stuffed strawberry recipe (which consists of cream cheese chocolate, orange zest and sugar).

Then I served a sausage and sweet potato soufflé…

We enjoyed buttermilk fried chicken.

Buttermilk biscuits...

I made roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potato (I had one left)

For dessert, the chocolate soufflé (I made homemade whipped cream too)

We also got really tipsy on this...

Shimizu

Deb — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 07:43:27 GMT

If you have been following my culinary adventures for a while now, you have learned that I love the theater. Last night, My cousin and I went to see Sunday in The Park with George at Studio 54.

We arrived in Manhattan at about 5:45pm and the curtain rose at 8:00pm, leaving us just enough time to go for dinner. There is a French Bistro called Tout Va Bien on 50th street, just off 8th Ave that is owned and operated by a French woman. It is a small restaurant with a series of tables lined up in rows as a bar off to the right. It feels more like dining in a French family picnic than an actual restaurant.

Most of the patrons are French and because they only have less than 30 sets, it is impossible to get in. However, I keep trying. It would help if I actually made a reservation in advance, but I never remember. So when we arrived at ten minutes to six, she just could not set us.

We then began to walk a bit further down the block, where we discovered what I believe to be one of the best Japanese restaurants in all of Manhattan, Shimizu. This simple, elegant, classic and authentic Japanese restaurant catered mostly to Japanese people. In fact, we were one of two Caucasian tables (and there were two Journalists/locals next to us).

I sat facing a beautiful spread of fully blossoming Japanese cherry blossom branches that spread along the wall like a 17th century Japanese print. Our waitress brought us steaming hot towels and we began our usual order…

Cold Sake for me along with a bowl of fresh, delicious, hot, salty edemame…

Michele and I split an order of Agadashi Tofu. Masterfully prepared, the outer skin was both crispy ad glutinous while the tofu melted in my mouth.

Next came the sushi… Michele ordered Spider and Shrimp tempura rolls while I ordered sushi pieces. My Toro was perhaps the softest, most delicate fatty Blue Fin tuna I have ever eaten. I had the Anago (fresh water eel) and the Unagi (salt water eel), the giant clam, the Spanish Mackerel, Yellowtail, and the Tamago (egg custard).

As my friend Doi-san always said, you can tell the quality of a sushi restaurant by the quality of their signature Tamago. Well, this Tamago was outstanding! It had the perfect, delicate balance of sweet and savory and it allowed for the flavors of the sushi rice (also excellent) to provide structure to the flavor combination.

Michele and I decided to order dessert. She opted for the tempura ice cream (she stole the cherry before I could take the photo) and I opted for a small bowl of green tea and red bean ice cream.

Well sated and somewhat drunk, we made our way to the theater to see perhaps one of the worst plays I have ever sat through. Sunday in the Park with George is a story of the painter George Seurat. As someone with a BFA in Fine Arts, I love stories about artists. However, this musical was abstract, long, slow and the music was abstract and awful. The storyline was sad, and there were few strong enough human elements to tie it together in an engaging way.

In the end, the highlight of our evening turned out to be this excellent sushi at Shimizu. I must go back there again!

Now, I am off to shop for last minute items so I can begin preparing Michele’s birthday brunch before people start arriving…

Lydie Marshal's Fallen Chocolate Souffle

Deb — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:06:32 GMT

This is my cousin Michele’s birthday weekend. In honor of her birthday, I am preparing Sunday brunch. Now, Michele loves all things soufflé. In particular, she is a huge fan of chocolate soufflé.

So I decided to make a soufflé brunch. We’ll begin with a bit of the bubbly (I haven’t yet decided which one). I’m preparing a sausage and sweet potato soufflé as an opener, followed by buttermilk fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits. I’d live to serve something green as well, but I’ll decide what that is when I get to the market. We will finish our meal with a chocolate soufflé.

When I got home from work yesterday, I butchered a chicken into 10 pieces and put it into a buttermilk and Dijon mustard marinade, along with bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme sprigs, sage leaves, tarragon, red pepper, paprika and salt, then covered it and stored it in the fridge.

Having never made an actual chocolate soufflé before, I began searching though all the recipes I could find for it when I stumbled upon Lydie Marshal’s Fallen Chocolate Soufflé.

We made this recipe in France last summer (although I didn’t make it personally) and I loved it. What was unique about this specific recipe is that it is best served cold. It falls into a brownie-like consistency that is just heavenly. The other unique element to this cake is its use of liquor-soaked dried fruit (plums or cherries). I just happen to have a jar of dried plums marinating in a bottle of vintage port that I put in my fridge nearly a year ago for just this type of occasion.

I prepared the cake today so that tomorrow I could focus on the other elements of our meal. I’ll also make whipped cream to serve alongside each slice.

Lydie’s Fallen Chocolate Soufflé

Ingredients:
• 7 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Scharfenberger but Lydie recommends Valrhona or Lindt)
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Dried plums or cherries soaked in liquor
• 1 tablespoon of liquor (from fruit)
• 5 medium eggs, separated
• ½ cup sugar
• For the top: sifted powdered sugar or coca powder

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, if you are using convection then lower the heat to 300.
2. With melted butter, brush the bottom of the pan, then line with parchment and brush again.
3. Break the chocolate and combine it with the butter in a double boiler, melt on low heat. When melted, stir and add the liquor of your choice.
4. Combine the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of a Kitchen Aid mixer and beat until they turn a pale yellow and the mixture forms a ribbon.
5. Add the fruit and chocolate to the egg mixture, adding a little bit of chocolate at a time (so as not to scramble the yolks) until completely incorporated
6. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks
7. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture (do this by hand)
8. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the center of the cake is springy.
9. Allow to cool in the tin. (serve warm or cold)
10. When the soufflé is quite cold, remove it from the tin and peel off the paper, then cover and chill for several hours (It can keep in the refrigerator for several days)
11. Serve the cake dusted with powdered sugar or coca.

Right now, the cake is cooling... I'll show more pics tomorrow when it is finished

Menu for Hope

Honey Scones w/ Orange Marmalade Butter

Deb — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:32:38 GMT

I modified this recipe from one I learned at Chef Central in a live demo several years ago

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 oz butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg
3 tbsp honey
1/2 cup buttermilk

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper
Sift all dry ingredients, then and pulse together in a food processor
Add the butter and mix until the mixture resembles course crumbs
Add the egg, honey and buttermilk
Mix the dough just until the dough comes together
The dough can be rolled out and cut into triangles or circles or dropped onto a sheet
Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Serve warm, topped with orange marmalade butter and clotted cream

Orange Marmalade butter:

One stick of softened butter
2 tbsp orange marmalade

Place softened butter into a small bowl and whip in the marmalade.
Roll into a 1 1/2 inch diameter log within wax paper or parchment and refridgerate until use.