Storm Troopers

The weatherman warned of the coming snow days before our trip to Michigan. We planned to leave mid-week and stay through the holiday weekend. The day before our trip I was headed into work, earphones on and the latest song I downloaded from iTunes. Cruising down West 34th Street I was just a few stops away from my office and then my phone rang. It was Marc on the other end, I could here him speaking to another person on the line and then he says, "our flight is already canceled for tomorrow and Delta can get us on a flight today that leaves at 12:47pm." I stuttered for a second not really be prepared to leave in a mere three hours and said OK, let's go! I rushed onto the office, grabbed my laptop, spoke to my boss about the flight and tore out as quickly as I came in.

The clock is ticking, I need to get back to Brooklyn, pack, and get the dog over to my mom's house. I jumped into a cab and couldn't stop looking at my watch every 5 minutes. I was fairly optimistic that we could pack our bags, get Zachary together and drop him off in NJ and make it in time to fly out of LaGuardia. Finally, at home, I raced up to the apartment to see Zach's stuff piled up and some luggage partially filled with clothes. Marc was reciting all the things he packed for me and I stared dumbfounded at the clothes hanging in my closet trying to decide what to take. I knew we had "cottage clothes" up at the lake so I scrambled and grabbed some jeans and sweatshirts.

It became obvious that there was no way we could get Zach to my mom's house and we started to go back and forth with other options. We called our driver, Rafi, to pick us up and asked him if he could make two trips. "Rafi, can you bring us to LaGuardia, and then take Zachary to Anthony's mother's house in NJ?" Rafi was more than happy to oblige so we hurriedly finished packing and waiting for him to arrive.

Marc, Zachary and I were piled into the back seat of a town car with luggage between us. I was excited to be up at the lake house in the winter as I've only been there in summer and fall. Arriving at LaGuardia, I kissed Zachary on the head, made sure he was comfortable in his bed in the backseat, thanked Rafi and walked into a very crowded terminal. Checking in wasn't too bad but the security line was so long it wrapped around a corner so we couldn't really tell where it ended. We trudged to the end of the line and waited patiently to get up to security. Almost immediately, two women behind us started to fight over who knows what and their truck driver-inspired comments to each other were shocking! I kept my distance from these burly gals as we slunk up to the security checkpoint. Finally at the gate we were ready to board.

As I sunk into my seat, I finally had a chance to catch my breath and relax with my venti iced two-pump vanilla non-fat latter from Starbucks. Happily, we were on our way racing against time, weather and brash women.

Whatever, Alexis!

I'm blogging live at the Martha Stewart show today for a special blogging show! I've lapsed in my weekly blogging and hope this will kick me in the ass and get motivated once again to keep writing.

I'm so excited that Martha has her daughter on the show - the tension is palpable between the two of them.

Martha is now making Pad Thai - and I know what I want for lunch =) The studio is filled with the scents of tamarind, palm sugar and nam pla! The audience is going to receive The Foodie Handbook, a book written by a foodie named Pim Techamuanvivit - she and Martha are just about making the Pad Thai from Pim's book.

After a commercial break we are back with Martha, Alexis and Jennifer (the Whatever Martha girls) it is becoming more irritating that Alexis is being so short with her mother. If she didn't want to be on the show then why torture us with your lackadaisical attitude.

Anyway, as the show wound up I was excited to be a part of the blog-0-sphere today. Everyone was tweeting every moment from their seats - check out #blogshow on Twitter.

I was out of the studio by 11:30 am. It was great to be a part of the audience - it is also so amazing to watch a live show. There's no room for error and Ms. Martha is a champ behind the camera!

Talkin' Turkey

Thanksgiving went by so quickly that I felt like I didn’t really get my fill of the holiday. Up in Michigan, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Marc’s family at the lake – his aunt and uncle put out an incredible table of traditional dishes to satisfy anyone. My task was to roast the turkey – an important job nonetheless but I was confident I could pull it off.

Now for any chef, working in an unfamiliar kitchen is always daunting – you never have everything you need so one must improvise. For the big holiday, the turkey was simply seasoned with thyme, sage, paprika, black pepper, garlic, onion, oregano and celery salt. These were the spices I had at my disposal so I had to make it work – for extra flavor I added strips of bacon over the breast to help self-baste the bird while roasting. I also like to baste every 30 minutes as well to add to the juiciness.

I was more than amused and curious when Marc called out to me to check out the group of wild turkeys walking through the side yard. Not the most attractive bird, the gawky, grazing birds where an apropos addition to our holiday. The snow started to fall outside and the ground was speckled white.

Hours later, our turkey emerged from the oven with crisp, golden brown skin and the bacon was extra crispy and delicious. Thinking about that festive meal, I wanted to repeat those savory flavors and make it all over again.

Last night, I prepared a hotel-style turkey breast in very much the same style to how I made it for Thanksgiving. As the turkey convection roasted I made a quick cranberry sauce. Made with 1 cup of water, 1 cup sugar and a bag of fresh cranberries - the sauce starts by dissolving the sugar in the water as it comes to a boil. Once the sugar dissolves, add cranberries and stir on low heat for 10 minutes. Cool sauce and chill.

A savory dressing made of corn bread, onion, celery, and sausage were prepped and ready to combine. Time passed and the scent of Thanksgiving filled the apartment. I can't get enough of that comforting aroma. As the turkey rested before carving, I used the pan drippings to make a creamy, deeply flavored gravy.

When we sat down to eat I was grateful for a quiet weekend at home, for the family and friends in my life and for the opportunity to cook for someone special.

Shrimp & Bay Scallop Risotto

Creamy, comforting and so incredibly versatile, risotto is one of my favorite one-dish meals to cook when the weather turns colder and the leaves disappear from tree-lined streets. With friends arriving for a Saturday night dinner, I ventured out to the market to purchase sweet delicious bay scallops and sustainable Caribbean white shrimp. For color, texture and layered flavors I added red pepper, fresh spinach, Vidalia onion and shallots to my shopping list.

Back in the kitchen, I had about 3 to 4 quarts of chicken stock simmering and on another burner some diced onion slowly sautéeing with the addition of crushed garlic and finely chopped shallots. When the aromatics were beginning to caramelize I added a pound of Arborio rice. The key here is to sauté the grains of rice until their edges become opaque – this activates the starch in the rice to produce a creamy end result.

Slowly adding ladles of hot stock little by little, the risotto needs constant attention, adding more stock once the rice has absorbed most of the previous pour and constant stirring. The process takes about 20 to 30 soulful minutes, ah, the Zen of preparing comfort food. When the risotto was close to perfection, I sautéed bay scallops, shrimp and red pepper with bacon lardons. A splash of white wine deglazed the pan with a squeeze of lemon – spinach, minced garlic and dash of red pepper flakes complemented the shellfish.

Carefully mixing all the components together with a handful of shredded Gruyère and this simple Italian rice dish can transform simple ingredients to extraordinary heights.

What’s in a name?

As much as I love to cook at home I find dining out equally as enjoyable. Sharing food with friends and family at the communal table is comforting and rewarding.

Our hip Park Slope friends invited us to meet them at Franny’s on Flatbush Ave for dinner. The restaurant was unfamiliar to me – and being somewhat all things food snobbish – my initial reaction to the restaurant’s name conjured up unflattering images.

We arrived a little early and the line of patrons that ran outside the door surprised me, especially for a Monday night! We edged our way in to get our name on the ubiquitous list. The airy space was filled with gorgeous scents of garlic, basil, tomatoes and baking bread. Looking at the menu the fare is simple, Italian, pizza, a few pastas, uncomplicated appetizers and salumi. The concise menu reminded me of the few days I spent in Rome and Florence where unadorned cafes served some of the best food I’ve ever had.

Back out on the sidewalk, waiting for Beaux and MaryKathryn to arrive, Marc whispered to me and told me that Maggie Gyllenhaal was also waiting for a table with her husband, actor Peter Saarsgard and their young daughter. Fellow Brooklynites, I figured, just out for a casual dinner with their friends – just like us. Like good stalwart New Yorkers no one flinched at the celebrity sightings and it was business as usual.

With the arrival of our friends, we immediately ordered cocktails, wines and some food to start. The Crostino of wood-roasted pancetta and herb butter and the Fried eggplant with cherry tomato and Parmigiano Reggiano that arrived from the open kitchen were deceptively simple, constructed of just a few ingredients. The crostino of Italian bacon and melted herb butter on thickly grilled bread was rustic and savory.

We choose the Rigotonicini with pork sausage, rapini and Provolone piccante and a brick oven pizza made with Buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, red pepper and yes, more sausage. The pizza had that wonderful crispy char from baking on hot stone in the oven. It reminded me of the pizza I had in Rome, so I closed my eyes and imagined hearing Vespas sputtering around cobble-stoned streets. The pasta was perfect, really al dente the way I like it and the wilted rapini and piquant sauce flavored with sharp Provolone were enticing.

It just proves that the best quality ingredients in the right hands can create a soul satisfying experience. As for the name…I’d forgotten about those unflattering images after sharing a bottle of complex, earthy Sicilian wine.

Je me souviens (I remember)

I stole away a Friday afternoon to have a cozy lunch at L’Ecole – the restaurant at The French Culinary Institute. It was wonderful to be back in the neighborhood but strange not to head straight to the kitchen but instead escorted to a table for two.

The seasonal lunch menu, prepared by FCI students, features three courses. The restaurant was buzzing with activity as I imagined the kitchen was too. It is astonishing to think about the shear number of people that must interact and work together to just please one guest. From expeditors to senior chefs from culinary students to other food stations from waiters to the maître'd from dishwashers to bussers. A tightly manufactured piece of machinery where the weakest cog can easily bring down the house. All of this crossed my mind even before the bread arrived.

After ordering cocktails, Marc and I took a serious look at the menu. After some slight debate and wheeling and dealing such as “if you order the tartare I will get the cavatelli and then we can share both” scenarios we decided on our courses. The Arctic Char Tartare with Walnuts, Stilton and Yorkshire Pudding and the Cavatelli with Rock Shrimp, Fava Beans and Ricotta Salata were speaking to us as "must-haves." The char tartare (say that fast three times) was silky and we both agreed the Stilton could have had a stronger presence. As for the cavatelli (the pasta nemesis from my own FCI final) was well balanced and had a good sampling of flavors.

We were eagerly excited about our main courses: Seared Duck Breast and Braised Leg with Fingerling Potatoes and Sour Cherry Sauce and the Pan-roasted Lamb Loin with Goat Cheese Polenta, Asparagus, Figs and Lamb Jus. I reminisced about the duck and lamb even before it approached the table – thinking about my own student experience preparing similar dishes at L’Ecole not so long ago.

When our entrées arrived my lamb was perfectly pink surrounded by a gorgeous pool of lamb jus – one taste and it brought me back to the wondrous and deeply flavored sauces I learned how to make as an FCI student. To say it was satisfying and nostalgic would be too sophomoric – let’s just say I was proud to know where I had come from.

Ribbed

Memories linger from my 4^th of July holiday in Michigan and interfere with my “back to work” reality. Lazy days at our lake house are now replaced with the daily grind that is NYC. Happily over the long weekend I was able to cook casual meals for us to enjoy al fresco.

We all had a hankering for ribs, so I reached for my iPhone to reference some recipes on BigOven – my latest app obsession. List in hand we headed to a supermarket. I loaded up on all the necessary spices and ingredients to satisfy our current craving.

Back at the homestead, I mixed together a dry rub of smoked paprika, garlic, chili and onion powder, cayenne and white pepper, salt, and sugar. I generously applied the dry rub to the meaty ribs and let them relax in the refrigerator for two hours.

After kicking back on the pontoon boat for a leisure putt-putt around the lake I returned to preheat the oven to 300 degrees and to start making the saucy glaze. Equal parts of cider vinegar, brown sugar and Dijon mustard are slowly heated in a saucepan and reduced to a thick syrupy sauce. Taste testing along the way, I added more brown sugar to balance the acidity of the vinegar.

With two racks of ribs in the oven I basted them every half hour for the next three hours. The house was filled with the scent of aromatic spices and the zing of cider vinegar.

To keep my stomach distracted and my head occupied I focused on building the evening’s bonfire. S’mores are traditionally on the dessert menu and there’s really nothing like a fire-toasted marshmallow, melted chocolate and graham cracker treat.

Every visit to the oven door was in anticipation of dinner. Fresh corn on the cob was prepped for the grill with silks and husk removed. Each cob was nestled in a foil blanket with pats of butter, salt and cracked black pepper. With the grill heating up I removed the ribs from the oven and placed them on the grill with ears of corn outlining the two beautiful racks. Basting once more helped the ribs attain a crispy caramelization and I rushed them to a serving platter. The ears of corn were sweet, buttery and the kernels were slightly charred and meltingly tender.

And the ribs,… meaty, succulent, sweet, spicy, smoky, and fall off the bone perfect accompanied by sticky fingers and smiles. Memories like this will just have to sustain us until we return.