Jusssstttt got back from dinner at Mercat. The reason was this. We ordered every savory dish on the special menu by the two guest chefs (12ish) + razor clams with bacon vinaigrette and brussel sprouts. A lot of food and wine as usual. Nothing to write home about really and especially since my favorite was the razor clam dish which came from the regular menu. By the end of it I was just really hungry for real tapas…pan con tomate, sizzling shrimp in garlicky olive oil, boquerones, bacalao fritters, you name it…argh!!!

For desserts we went with the churros with hot chocolate on the regular menu. It was disappointing to see the least. I needed real, satisfying desserts!!! Our group parted ways and on my way home I couldn’t stop thinking about my last Michel Cluizel bar and how good it would taste on a piece of toast with a sprinkle of sea salt! (infinitely better than the tragic churros)

My favorite!

For your reference, I was in Spain about a month ago (hence all this Spanish craze). We had a layover at Charles de Gaulle and that’s where I picked up all these Michel Cluizel bars for cheap! This one pictured above is my favorite so far (Noir – Sao Tome) – smoky and spicy with loads of character or as the back panel described it, “[the beans] make this highly aromatic chocolate, whose exceptionally long taste combines toasted, spicy and herbaceous notes with flavours of ripe tropical fruits and liquorice sticks.” And that long taste bullcrap, YOU’LL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY MEAN AFTER YOU TASTE IT!

So I got home, took a pee (because my bladder was exploding!) then got right to business. Here’s the deal: Amy’s sourdough bread toasted and slathered with olive oil, cut it up and top each with a square of the aforementioned chocolate, then broil and finish with a sprinkle of sea salt.

YUM YUM YUM! I had four pieces of those. With a glass of sherry. After a 4-hour dinner. I’m a pig, and damn proud of it.

Mercat
45 Bond St.
New York, NY 10012
(212) 529-8600

Yes, fish taco to pancakes, that is a natural progression. What better way to use up leftover buttermilk than making thick fluffy pancakes?!?

Vanilla bean pancake with caramelized peach and apple and strawberry butter

Vanilla bean pancakes with caramelized peach and apple

1 peach
apple
2-3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 stick butter

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1/2 pod vanilla bean butter

Caramelized peach and apple

To caramelize the fruit, heat 1/4 stick of butter on medium high heat. Add the fruit. Let them soften a little bit then sprinkle the sugar over. Let the pan sit for 5-7 minutes until the sauce thickens.

To make pancakes, mix dry ingredients together. Beat eggs with buttermilk and scrap vanilla seeds into the mix. Fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Brush the pan thoroughly with butter and ladle the batter into it. Turn when the surface gets bubbly (about 2 minutes on each side).

Strawberry butter

6-8 strawberries
1 stick butter (softened)
sugar

Mash/puree the strawberries. Mix everything together and keep folding until well-blended.

We started this thing called communal dinner in my new house. I like to cook. They like to eat. It’s a happy story.

Pepperjack and bicolor corn quesadillas

Taco fixings: fish, heirloom salsa, guacamole, pickled red onions

Fish taco

Recipes for the quesadillas here and fish taco here. I opted for the cheaper tilapia instead of halibut/bass and it was just fine. Also added a couple tbs. of mirin to the pickling liquid. The onions were lovely.

I bought two jars from Ikea a couple days ago. You know one of those this-is-so-unnecessary-but-I-absolutely-have-to-have-it moments — oh yeah, I do have lots of those moments. The small one was quickly filled with free candies (temporary of course since such a glorious jar is destined to hold bigger and better things), but the big one — oh poor big one — it was sort of just sitting there on the kitchen counter empty, desperately waiting for someone to come fill the void.

Well…

Empty no longer!

Pear-almond biscotti

I used this recipe from Epicurious but substituted 1 1/2 tbs. of almond extract for vanilla extract, omitted the aniseed, and added 1 cup of chopped dried pears.

Now I need help getting rid of these biscotti so I can start filling the void again!

$3 Ice Cream Sammich!! (strawberry ice cream with chocolate chip cookies)

This got me so giddy I forgot to pay for it! I don’t know what inspired me to pick that girly flavor since I’ve always associated strawberry ice cream with this cloyingly sweet, artificial tasting pink glob of crap. Well whatever it was, I am now a convert, thanks to Ronnybrook. It was sweet AND tart and fragrant of fresh strawberries with a killer creamy consistency. Pair that with fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and you’ve got yourself edible happiness for just 3 bucks!

Free Range Chicken Sandwich with Avocado, Bacon and Grafton Cheddar

Those not looking for a sugar rush, Ronnybrook Milk bar offers a few simple savory options to suit your appetite. The brunchy items were passable and entirely skippable, so those not looking for a sugar rush, go get yourself a sweet tooth implant or you shouldn’t be coming here in the first place.

Cast-iron Eggs with Asparagus and Roasted Potatoes

Though, to be fair, they definitely deserved credit for the exceptional roasted potatoes. But if you’re going to eat a whole bowl of potatoes — which I positively encourage — then might as well finish with an ice cream sammich, right?

Ronnybrook Milk Bar (at Chelsea Market)
75 9th Ave. (between 15th & 16th St.)
New York, NY 10011

Had an intense sushi craving yesterday, and being the destructively indulgent person that I am, I took the proper measure to quell the craving…

Tomoe Sushi-Sashimi Combination

The portion was generous and the pieces ginormous, repeat, GINORMOUS — you really have to be in the mood for big big pieces of raw fish or it can be repelling. I got stupendously full as usual, though the fishies weren’t quite as amazing as I’d remembered…

And since we’re on the subject of fish, here’s an homage to my top weekday dinner choice for the last two months:

Chirashi!!!

Via SeamlessWeb of course! Oh how the memory of you evokes flashes of nostalgia and nausea at the same time… This very beautiful version here was from lunch at Gari a few months back, courtesy of my former boss.

Salmon

More Chirashi

Left: Mille Crêpes; Right: Gari’s Choice (lightly fried dough filled with red bean paste, green tea ice cream)

Despite the gorgeous presentation, Gari’s fish was kinda meh. One of those strictly corporate restaurants (i.e., expensed meals only)

Tomoe Sushi
172 Thompson St. (between Bleecker & Houston)
New York, NY 10012
(212) 777-9346

Sushi of Gari 46
347 W 46th St. (between 8th & 9th Ave.)
New York, NY 10036
(212) 957-0046

and I wasn’t invited, WTF. What’s the deal Gia?? Thought we were friends!

Not as good as Blue Hill’s Chocolate Bread Pudding eh?

Alright, so I might have been left out from Gia’s VIP list but luckily my Dining Club did not forget about me . Very untrue to form, D, M, L, Shar, Sofs and I all managed to arrive at Blue Hill in Greenwich Village within 10 minutes reservation time. Once the nudging and whispering and a round of boobie/bobblehead jokes subsided (we love you Giada!), our waiter came by with a helping of ficelle-like breadsticks. Each cylinder was perfectly warm, porous with just enough air bubbles, chewy and enormously addictive. We simply lost count of how many baskets we went through…Dr. Atkins would’ve winced in disgust.

Then came six shot glasses of dubious, colorless liquid complimentary of the kitchen. “What is it?” Free alcohol?? “Ohhh, Tomato Water! Ahhhh!” With the drink’s identity revealed, we each took a sip and were all sort of caught off guard by the taste, the intensely savory tomato-ey taste. Amazing how such innocuous looking liquid could pack in so much flavor they might as well call it tomato essence or tomato potion. It was refreshingly tomato-ey, the way you wish all supermarket tomatoes would taste like instead of the insipid whatever we’re stuck with.

Among the three appetizers six of us shared — Stone Barns Greens Ravioli, Stone Barns Tomatoes and Maine Crabmeat — the tomatoes were my favorite: jewel-hued tomatoes cut into bite-sized pieces, doused in olive oil and their own juices, then joined force with crunchy cucumber, basil, tomato sorbet and the lone meaty grilled peach. Party in my mouth! The ravioli was also popular with the girls, stuffed with shredded unidentifiable summer greens — let’s call it USG for short — and topped with yet another mound of wilted USG. But no matter, they were light and delicious, USG and all, the way you wish all ravioli could taste like in the summer months (if you even had the craving for ravioli during summer that is.)

Come to think if it, the shot of tomato water was a perfect way to induct diners into the Blue Hill experience — the pure taste of nature’s bounty and the vibrancy of the season distilled into two intensely provocative sips. Quite a rite of initiation into the not-so-secret society where seasonality and farm-fresh ingredients reign supreme.

And if that philosophy wasn’t clear in the shot of tomato sweat or the veggie-centric starters, the entrees would surely set you on the right course. My Poached Duck with Peas and Pistachios was just that: a heap of duck on a pool of peas. No vertical presentation. No unnecessary garnish. No usual squiggles of this sauce here and that sauce there. And I didn’t have to strain my tongue and hurt my brain trying to differentiate 10+ ingredients slyly disguised in a vertical stack, a squiggle or what have you (not that I hate doing that). At Blue Hill, duck looked like duck and tasted like duck, and it was extremely succulent and tender (sous vide?). Peas were sweet and plump and studded with pistachios and a hint of mint. The striped bass was accompanied by a piquant pistou of local summer vegetables that made me think rainbow and sunshine. Grilled cobia (a kind of fish) was startlingly meaty and tasted like chicken. Seasoning was spare, the virtue of fat and textural contrast downplayed, and the duckiness/vealiness/peaness took center stage. It was honest and straightforward and thoroughly enjoyable.

And then our clean-plate club got momentarily distracted by the candlelit chocolate cake coming from the kitchen. Wait…no way! It’s Giada’s Birthday!!! OMG happy birthday to youuuuuu! Then we clapped. Of course.

We tried all five desserts on the menu and I must say the Summer Berry Coupe was my personal favorite — if I had to choose one. The majority of our table seemed to like the Chocolate Bread Pudding which tasted more like a really dense, dark chocolate souffle and to me didn’t live up to the hype. (Even Giada said she didn’t want to eat her cake so she could save room for the chocolate bread pudding! No this is not called eavesdropping, it’s overhearing.) The other combinations like the blueberry cheesecake with corn ice cream just failed to strike a chord with us. Still, all the berries were plump and juicy. Maybe it was the lacking sense of decadence but I honestly couldn’t say I was satisfied with their desserts.

But again, it’s very possible that my palate was already unreliable by that point. Thanks to Clear Creek’s pear eau de vie. Thanks to Sofs and Eric Asimov.

Blue Hill Restaurant
75 Washington Pl. (between 6th Ave. & MacDougal)
New York, NY 10011
(212) 539-1776

Contrary to what the inactivity here may have suggested, I am alive.

Alive but busy. This will be more of a teaser post since I’m just sharing a great tip on how to get perfect poached eggs.

“remember how you said how difficult it was to poach eggs?  try suspending them in noodles while boiling in water.  the squiggly ones seem to work best, like a noodle-like egg crate.”

A clever cooking tip from the most unlikely source. At first I thought he was speaking metaphorically, likening egg poaching to overcoming obstacles in life…you know trying to be abstract and poetic and all…

But then I couldn’t figure out what the squiggly noodles would represent, and so I realized…

He’s really giving me advice on egg poaching!

Thanks. It made me smile, a lot.

Trying it this Sunday!

(Continued from last post)

Miscellaneous things I made in the past five months…

When I needed a MAJOR arm exercise

My first time making semifreddo and what a success (and a workout!) Whipping is definitely my favorite step in the whole baking/dessert-making process. With just one whisk and your bare hands, you can turn viscous egg whites or thick heavy cream into glossy white clouds that are light as air. Pouf! Like magic. Of course, if you have an electric mixer then by all means, use it and save yourself from the sweat session and forearm cramps. But if you’re not pressed for time, I highly recommend whipping by hand. It’s therapeutic and it makes me feel like superwoman.

Whipping egg whites

Originally I was going to quadruple the recipe since the dinner was for 15-20 people (shoutout to my drum troupe!!). And then I started whipping the egg whites, then I whipped the heavy cream, and then I went back to whipping the second batch of egg whites…yeah you get the idea, semifreddo is a hella lotta whipping! If you feel like your right forearm (or left if you’re a leftie like me) is getting a little too flabby, this is the ultimate dessert to make. I ended up only doubling the recipe.

Folding in ground pistachio with whipped egg whites and cream

I pretty much just followed this recipe from Gourmet–the Jan ‘07 issue has so many good recipes–and then chopped up more pistachio to go on top for more crunch. The texture turned out amazing–super-light yet deliciously creamy. Who needs an ice-cream maker when you have forearm muscles? So simple and the result was definitely worth all that whipping.

Voila! Pistachio semifreddo

When the fridge and I needed to detox

Seriously in need of a major detoxification, both the fridge and I. And what’s a better way to cleanse ourselves than a salad? An “everything goes” salad no less!

Dainty asparagus spears glossed up with olive oil ready for roasting

First I started with a layer of roasted asparagus, then a generous shaving of pecorino, followed by slices of fresh plums (or I guess not that fresh considering they’d been hibernating in the refrigerator for quite some time…). Next I made the apricot vinaigrette: extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, shallots, apricot preserve, salt and pepper.
Then I tossed some mesclun greens and diced apples in the vinaigrette, topping it with crispy fried pancetta. And then, to finish it off in true gaudy style, an apple swan.

Salad of mesclun greens with apples, plums, and crispy pancetta in apricot vinaigrette on a mat of roasted asparagus with pecorino

The apples and arugula were slightly bruised. Oops.

When I channeled Gilbert

Although his expertise is probably more sushi than Filipino food, Gilbey inspired me to make chicken adobo. Unfortunately, something went wrong and it didn’t turn out exactly as I’d hoped.

Chicken adobo, supposedly

G: hmmm, it’s good but it doesn’t really taste like adobo I’m used to.
A: mmm yeaaa…

When Gilbert channeled Giada de Laurentis

And then he watched Giada on the Food Network, and she inspired him to make the spinach puffs. They were yummy!

Cheese and spinach puffs

When I had my cheese-y breakdown

Remember how I had that amazing caprese at Mozza and suddenly became obsessed with burrata? I found it at Murray’s Cheese Shop one day and couldn’t help giving it a shot.

Burrata on chilled roasted beets with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (trial 1)

The Italian import came wrapped in white plastic and “river bamboo leaves,” all covered in “river water.” The minute I got home, I untied the package and tried a little portion on roasted beets. I took my first bite and it was unsettling; the burrata didn’t taste like what I had at Mozza at all. It was not creamy or runny or any of those things I was expecting. Extremely disoriented from my first trial of the cheese, I emailed my cheese authority and asked. I was so confused and desperate. It’s my first cheese breakdown and I hope it’s also my last.

Burrata on chilled roasted beets (trial 2)

But by the time I received his informative reply, I’d gone for a second trial. This time I cut through the center and lo and behold, there was runny liquidy thing in the middle! Just imagine the excitement. The difference in texture was vast. Again, I put a little dollop on each slice of roasted beet, followed by a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. It made for a very satisfying afternoon snack!