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 purchase a flaky white, medium sized fish… I like sea bass. Be sure that he scales, guts, and cleans the fish. This isn’t Madagascar people, we can get the guy whose job it is to do it for us—way more than half the battle here!
When you get home, preheat the oven to 425°. Rinse and pat dry your fish (that’s singular or plural—why not roast a few up at a time for a little get together?!). Slice a head of garlic in half and rub one half all over the inside and outside of the fish. Then, peel those half cloves and set them aside.
Now, make a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Put the fish in a bowl and douse it in the marinade. Place the oily fish on a baking sheet. Now, position the garlic cloves on the inside of the fish. Take a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary… or whatever herbs you like, and put them in the cavity of the fish as well. Close the fish up, drizzle any left over marinade over the bugger, and pop him in the oven for about 25 minutes.
Check for doneness based on the opacity of the interior skin. When the fish is done, remove it from the oven. Remove the herbs and garlic cloves from the inside. Now, you can choose whether you’d like to serve it as a whole fish to the table, with the bones in, or if you’d like to debone it prior to serving. Either is fine, just be sure to tell your guests about the bones if you choose to serve them avec.
I prefer if the fish is served whole because I like the meat in the cheek, which is often discarded if someone else is doing the filleting. Regardless of how you serve it, serve up a few lemon wedges as accompaniment.
Once you’ve mastered the technique, you can do all sorts of fun stuff, like switch up the herbs, use infused oils, and experiment with all sorts of types of fish. The possibilities are endless with this easy, impressive approach!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
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 a fantastic brand that makes a par-cooked version, which are perfect for when the extra moment is available to heat one up on the stove. Tortillaland’s Uncooked Flour Tortillas come 36 in a pack for burrito sized and 44 in a pack for fajita sized. They take seconds to heat up on the stove and are perfect for anything from a little snack to part of a Mexican buffet to a breakfast burrito.
And recently, I’ve come across a fantastic brand that makes a par-cooked version, which are perfect for when the extra moment is available to heat one up on the stove. Tortillaland’s Uncooked Flour Tortillas come 36 in a pack for burrito sized and 44 in a pack for fajita sized. They take seconds to heat up on the stove and are perfect for anything from a little snack to part of a Mexican buffet to a breakfast burrito.
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 with a puff pastry piecrust, and finishing it in the oven. The final step is to invert the pan onto a plate, resulting in the crust coming out on the bottom, exposing the brown, buttery apples.
At Juliette, $7 gets you a mini Tatin Tartlet all to yourself. The dessert is served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, only adding to the irresistibility of the dish.
It’s fairly simple to make—Julia Childs has a famously easy recipe—but ordering it out is certainly the way to go if you want to exercise any amount of control. Even a mediocre tarte Tatin in the house would disappear after a day!
At Juliette, $7 gets you a mini Tatin Tartlet all to yourself. The dessert is served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, only adding to the irresistibility of the dish.
It’s fairly simple to make—Julia Childs has a famously easy recipe—but ordering it out is certainly the way to go if you want to exercise any amount of control. Even a mediocre tarte Tatin in the house would disappear after a day!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
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 of 2 limes
5 bay leaves
1 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
4 pounds pork butt, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 pound banana leaves, softened over low flame
2 Plantains
Oil for frying
5 Roma tomatoes, sliced ½ inch thick
4 habañero chiles, sliced into strips
1.In a medium size bowl, make the marinade. Mix together the chili paste, garlic, orange juice, lime juice, bay leaves, cumin, cinnamon, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper.
2.Add the pork, toss to evenly coat and marinate, at room temperature, 4-6 hours.
3.Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a large baking dish with one layer of the banana leaves or foil. Arrange the pork in an even layer and top with the tomatoes and chiles and all the marinade. Cover with more banana leaves and wrap the dish tightly in foil. Bake for 21/2 hours or until the pork is tender and moist.
4.In the meantime, fry the plantains in oil until they are tender and brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove them and let them drain on a paper towel.
5.Remove pork from oven and let sit 10 minutes. Unwrap and serve with the plantains.
3/4 cup chili paste
10 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cup orange juice
Juice of 2 limes
5 bay leaves
1 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
4 pounds pork butt, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 pound banana leaves, softened over low flame
2 Plantains
Oil for frying
5 Roma tomatoes, sliced ½ inch thick
4 habañero chiles, sliced into strips
1.In a medium size bowl, make the marinade. Mix together the chili paste, garlic, orange juice, lime juice, bay leaves, cumin, cinnamon, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper.
2.Add the pork, toss to evenly coat and marinate, at room temperature, 4-6 hours.
3.Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a large baking dish with one layer of the banana leaves or foil. Arrange the pork in an even layer and top with the tomatoes and chiles and all the marinade. Cover with more banana leaves and wrap the dish tightly in foil. Bake for 21/2 hours or until the pork is tender and moist.
4.In the meantime, fry the plantains in oil until they are tender and brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove them and let them drain on a paper towel.
5.Remove pork from oven and let sit 10 minutes. Unwrap and serve with the plantains.
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 bites are fantastic. I ate a few on the train ride home as a snack; I added them to ginger cookies. In the morning, I sliced them into oatmeal. They would be great on a cheese platter if quince paste weren’t your cup of tea. Head to T.J’s asap to pick up a few packs—the chain has been known to supply a limited amount of their most coveted items, and this one is sure to be.
My impulse was right—the gooey bites are fantastic. I ate a few on the train ride home as a snack; I added them to ginger cookies. In the morning, I sliced them into oatmeal. They would be great on a cheese platter if quince paste weren’t your cup of tea. Head to T.J’s asap to pick up a few packs—the chain has been known to supply a limited amount of their most coveted items, and this one is sure to be.
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 in France. The traditional way of making it does not include using rennet, but to make it firmer, a little is sometimes added. American versions—when you can find them—are not as firm as the European versions, but both are about 11% fat. The name Quark comes from the Slavic word for “curd,” which, when translated to German, sounds like quark.
It often comes flavored with herbs and spices. Try substituting Quark for sour cream on baked potatoes or in sour cream pancakes to taste the subtle differences.
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 in France. The traditional way of making it does not include using rennet, but to make it firmer, a little is sometimes added. American versions—when you can find them—are not as firm as the European versions, but both are about 11% fat. The name Quark comes from the Slavic word for “curd,” which, when translated to German, sounds like quark.
It often comes flavored with herbs and spices. Try substituting Quark for sour cream on baked potatoes or in sour cream pancakes to taste the subtle differences.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
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 all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1.Wash and slice strawberries. Mix them in a bowl with 1/3 cup sugar. Set aside.
2.Whip the cream, adding a drop of vanilla and 1 tbsp sugar. Put in fridge.
3.Mix the flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.
4.Cut and mash the butter into the flour mixture with a fork until the largest pieces of butter are the size of peas. Or pulse several times in a food processor.
5.Combine the cream and vanilla in a small bowl.
6.Make a hole in the center of the flour and pour the cream mixture into it. Mix until the dough is evenly moistened and just combined.
7.Gently knead by hand five or six times to create a loose ball.
8. Pre-heat the oven to 425ºF.
9.Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment and pat it into a small square, about an inch tall. Slip the parchment onto a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
10.Remove the dough from refrigerator. Cut the dough into 4 squares and spread them about 2 inches apart from each other on the baking sheet.
11.Bake until the biscuits are medium golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.
12.Let cool. Slice in half. On the bottom half, dollop strawberries and cover with cream. Position biscuit top at a slight, flirty tilt.
This makes just 4—you don’t want to get too full!
1 pint fresh strawberries
1/3 cup plus 2 tbsps sugar
Whipping cream
Vanilla
1 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1.Wash and slice strawberries. Mix them in a bowl with 1/3 cup sugar. Set aside.
2.Whip the cream, adding a drop of vanilla and 1 tbsp sugar. Put in fridge.
3.Mix the flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.
4.Cut and mash the butter into the flour mixture with a fork until the largest pieces of butter are the size of peas. Or pulse several times in a food processor.
5.Combine the cream and vanilla in a small bowl.
6.Make a hole in the center of the flour and pour the cream mixture into it. Mix until the dough is evenly moistened and just combined.
7.Gently knead by hand five or six times to create a loose ball.
8. Pre-heat the oven to 425ºF.
9.Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment and pat it into a small square, about an inch tall. Slip the parchment onto a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
10.Remove the dough from refrigerator. Cut the dough into 4 squares and spread them about 2 inches apart from each other on the baking sheet.
11.Bake until the biscuits are medium golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.
12.Let cool. Slice in half. On the bottom half, dollop strawberries and cover with cream. Position biscuit top at a slight, flirty tilt.
This makes just 4—you don’t want to get too full!
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 roast beef sandwich at Primehouse …see, it’s pink meat, so you can count it as a Valentines Day delicacy.
Everyone will be jealous as you present it to your date when you return to your seats.
NB: the Roast Beef Sammy here has a devout following of fans; it’s more reliable at delivering than some of the spectacles that go down in the arena.
Everyone will be jealous as you present it to your date when you return to your seats.
NB: the Roast Beef Sammy here has a devout following of fans; it’s more reliable at delivering than some of the spectacles that go down in the arena.
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, without it being overly sappy-romantic.
The space is white and airy, and each table is housed below an umbrella, setting a private dining mood. Don’t miss the tomato salad (it’s red!), complete with tomatoes flown in from a Canadian greenhouse.
Organic beet salad also looked like a sweet option, and it’s in the right color category, too.
Desserts tend to be browns and tans, but the super sweet flavor of Greek treats will make up for it: baklava, galaktoboureko, and karidopita are all homemade, and will leave your date licking his/her lips.
The space is white and airy, and each table is housed below an umbrella, setting a private dining mood. Don’t miss the tomato salad (it’s red!), complete with tomatoes flown in from a Canadian greenhouse.
Organic beet salad also looked like a sweet option, and it’s in the right color category, too.
Desserts tend to be browns and tans, but the super sweet flavor of Greek treats will make up for it: baklava, galaktoboureko, and karidopita are all homemade, and will leave your date licking his/her lips.
Monday, February 11, 2008
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 fisherman could only remove one claw from the crabs while harvesting them for food. The crabs tend to hang out near reefs and oyster beds and can crack an oyster shell with their fierce claws. If they are caught, their claw for the taking must measure to at least 2.75 inches, hence only ever seeing monstrous claws at a meal of stone crabs. The fisherman take only one claw because the crabs can exist with just their remaining chelae for a duration while they regenerate the one taken captive. Overall, a mindful history that ends in a delicious, simple meal.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
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 composition of rocks and soil. It enters the environment mostly from coal-burning power plant and waste incinerator emissions. Fluorescent lights and some thermometers also contain mercury that gets into the environment when disposed. The dangerous metal trickles into our bodies of water where it is converted into a more toxic form by certain bacteria.
Its presence is so strong in tuna because tuna is a long living, predatory fish, so there’s time for the mercury to accumulate. It’s high in swordfish, too.
I was pretty bummed out by this whole thing: we’ve shot the environment to hell so now tekkadon is unsafe. I eat a lot of sushi; I really like it. And, while my taste can be discriminating, I have been known to enjoy an afternoon spicy tuna roll from the grocery without concern of freshness or flash-frozenness. And now there’s this news that it doesn’t even matter where you get your fix.
The Times said that eating six or less pieces of tuna a week would keep us from glowing in the dark. The day that article came out, I had planned a sushi dinner with a buddy of mine. Of course, we still went (to our favorite 50% off every roll dive), but didn’t get any rosy red pieces of nigiri.
We had to explore the menu a bit more, and I realized that it really wasn’t as bad as I’d made it out to be. There are many other types of fish, and they really are tasty—even made spicy. Instead of the spicy crunchy tuna roll, I opted for salmon and ended up liking it more. I went for an Alaska roll as well: salmon, avocado, and cucumber: so refreshing!
I am trying to think of this fishy hiccup as a forced way of expanding my Japanese restaurant order: a means of keeping my cool about it.
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 enough recipes of your own but have a big collection of go-to recipes that you keep snipping from Bon Appétit and Gourmet, you’re in luck. Taste Book is partnered with Epicurious.com, the online presence of those magazines, and you’ll be able to insert the recipes into your book directly.
It makes a great gift or simply a great addition to your kitchen.
It makes a great gift or simply a great addition to your kitchen.
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 on a few tasty items that will tide you over until dinner. A week ago, a friend and I treated ourselves to fried calamari, Brooklyn style, meaning with a thick spicy sauce slathered on top. The $8 portion was enough to share, and, partnered with Bloody Marys, it was the ideal solace in the midst of a gray day.
There were other tempting options, like string bean salad with ricotta salata and freshly made hot potato chips with gorgonzola fondue drizzled on top.
At this in between hour, The Smith offers up a lovely little “sunset menu” at the bar. You can nibble on a few tasty items that will tide you over until dinner. A week ago, a friend and I treated ourselves to fried calamari, Brooklyn style, meaning with a thick spicy sauce slathered on top. The $8 portion was enough to share, and, partnered with Bloody Marys, it was the ideal solace in the midst of a gray day.
There were other tempting options, like string bean salad with ricotta salata and freshly made hot potato chips with gorgonzola fondue drizzled on top.
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