Best Brisket for the New Year!

With the High Holidays starting on Monday, thought I'd provide this fantastic brisket recipe, that is easy to prepare, can be made a couple of days in advance, and is always a huge success!

Plus, if you're lucky, you'll have some leftovers to enjoy over the next few days.
Of course, you'll want to accompany the brisket with some type of potatoes to enjoy the yummy gravy (my family prefers mashed-- and yes I know this is not traditional, so if you prefer do a potato kugel; we tend to do a noodle kugel, tzimmes ... to round out the meal.) Pair this recipe with a nice Zin, and you're in business!

MY MOTHER'S BRISKET

a 5- to 6-pound first-cut beef brisket
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 large yellow onions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 5 cups
or 3 pounds)
2 or 3 large garlic cloves, or to taste, minced
1 teaspoon paprika, preferably Hungarian
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a Dutch oven or other heavy baking pan large enough to hold brisket heat 1 tablespoon oil in oven 10 minutes. Pat brisket dry and season with salt and pepper. Roast brisket in pan, uncovered, 30 minutes.

While brisket is roasting, in a large heavy skillet cook onions in remaining 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened and beginning to turn golden. Reduce heat and cook onions, stirring occasionally and reducing heat if necessary, until deep golden, about 20 minutes more. Stir in garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper and cook 1 minute. Stir in 3 cups water and bring to a boil.
Spoon onion mixture over brisket and bake, covered, with lid 1/2 inch ajar, 3 1/2 hours, or until brisket is tender. (Check pan every hour and if necessary add more water.) Remove brisket from oven and let cool in onion mixture 1 hour.

Remove brisket from pan, scraping onion mixture back into pan, and chill, wrapped in foil, overnight. Spoon onion mixture into a 1-quart measure and chill, covered, overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Discard fat from onion mixture, add enough water to mixture to measure 3 cups total, and in a blender blend gravy until smooth. Slice brisket against the grain (thick or thin, as you prefer). In a large ovenproof skillet heat gravy until hot, add brisket, and heat in oven 30 minutes.

Serves 8 to 10.

It’s Greek to Me!

In case you’ve been wondering… the past few weeks have been quite busy, with a vacation in Florida, and trip to Madison, WI and too much work.

The good news is that I did manage (no surprise) to eat some excellent food in some fun locations, and will try to relate some of the high points over the next few weeks.

Greek food always surprises me! My perception is that it’s simply and quickly prepared, using fresh ingredients that originated in the Mediterranean. And prices are very reasonable, with prodigious quantities of food (leftovers are the norm)!

I think large greek salad with feta cheese, olives, anchovies, chickpeas, tomatoes and lettuce with a tangy dressing. Gyros, souvlaki and shish kebabs. Whole grilled snapper with fresh oregano grilled over a charcoal fire. Appetizers of flaming saganaki cheese, greek dips made with cucumber, fish roe, and garlic and potato, eaten with warm fresh pita. Traditional greek dishes like spanakopita (fresh spinach pie), and mousaka (eggplant and potato pie)… And of course, a sweet greek pastry like a baklava, with some strong coffee for dessert. Perhaps an after dinner digestive of black licorice tasting ouzo.

Now that your mouth is watering, don’t you wonder why you don’t eat more of this terrific ethnic food?

And why do local “Greek towns” seem to show up in some really random places?

Chicago has a great one! I lived there for several years and always go there whenever I’m in town visiting friends or on business. While I’ve always liked Greek Islands, Parthenon, and Costa’s, my favorite is Santorini http://www.santorinichicago.com

for the delicious Greek chicken or fresh grilled fish! It’s a cozy restaurant, and what I imagine a typical Greek Taverna to be like.

I know Detroit has a fairly large Greek town, and even though I’ve spent a fair amount of time working in and around the Detroit area, I’ve never ventured there…

Baltimore has a mini-Greek town which we discovered (with a bit of pre-research), on the way back from a trip to Camden Yards. It’s in a funky neighborhood on the north end of the Ft. McHenry Tunnel, but Samos restaurant there http://www.samosrestaurant.com is not to be missed. I can still taste the gyros!

And most recently, there is a Greektown in Tarpon Springs Florida, just north of Sarasota.

Who knew? http://www.spongedocks.net.

Of course, if you haven’t been to Tarpon Springs, it’s also the sponge capital of the US (the real ones, not the ones you buy at the grocery)!

I ran across Tarpon Springs while doing some pre-trip planning, and as we had a rainy day, we decided to check it out.

Tarpon Springs Greek town consists of a sponge museum, places to buy sponges and lots of homemade soap made with olive oil or goats milk, Greek groceries and bakeries, and, of course, many restaurants. We were hungry and quickly headed off to eat at Costa’s, the mostly highly recommended place in town. While the food was good, and we enjoyed the greek salad with shrimp and gyro plate, we had higher expectations. They did prepare a mean plate of lightly fried calamari, and the service was great.

Next we headed across the street to check out the Halki Greek market, http://www.halkigreekmarket.com/, which carries traditional Greek grocery and food products … it was a cool “old world” store. We did a bit of sponge investigation at Spongeworld and its sponge museum (pretty neat stuff with the history of sponging at Tarpon springs, pictures of diving expeditions and divers, and a broad variety of sponge memorabilia. Unfortunately, we were too late for the sponge movie). Then, my wife and daughter went into “shopping mode” on an important mission to find the best local soaps and sponges. Fortunately, there was an excellent bakery, Hellas, nearby where my son and I could cool off, and eat some delicious pastries, and drink iced coffee.

Not sure I’d make a special trip here if the sun is out, but it was a unique experience, and produced some decent eating, good laughs, and special souvenirs.

One final point, my current local favorite Greek restaurant is not associated with a Greek town, but does offer fantastic gyro’s, greek specialities, and a terrific salad! If you’re near Tarrytown or Mt. Kisco and looking for a great meal, head to Lefteris Gyro http://www.lefterisgyro.com.

And, if you happen to run across a Greek town or Greek restaurant that you enjoy, post it up!

Greetings from FLA

Sorry it’s been a while, but had a crazy week and then headed down to Florida for vacation.

We haven’t been down to the land of rubber alligators, coconut patties, and Mickey and Minnie for several years, but the family wanted to do a beach vacation including both coasts of Florida. Last year we did an all inclusive Mexican beach vacation, and while there is something to be said for needing to do absolutely nothing, with a broad range of available activities, and eating and drinking on demand 7 by 24, two years in a row would be too much for me.

So, we’re currently lounging and relaxing on the silky smooth Sarasota sand, and also doing some fun Florida food. Of course, I’ve spent some pre-vacation time researching the possibilities, and we have regular family discussions to agree on what good eating we should pursue.

Last night, we ended up at the Blasé Café and Martini Bar, www.theblasecafe.com, after our first choice Peruvian restaurant was closed on Sunday. (Guess I should have called first to verify the restaurant would be open, as a “New Yorker” I’ve come to expect that restaurants are open on Sunday’s.) I had previously identified the café as a potential, despite the fact that their website needs a major overhaul and spell check on the word dining.

As we approached, the outdoor martini bar and live nuevo flamenco music playing drew us in. Despite the cool and funky décor indoors (including the excellent Vargas girls bathroom art), we decided to enjoy the outdoor heat (well tempered by some great fans), in order to listen to the band. The Key Lime and Ruby Red Martini’s were a terrific start, and we were brought fantastic hot foccaccia rosemary and garlic bread with a balsamic olive oil for dipping, which we quickly gobbled up and then asked for a second helping.

Appetizers included a “Tower” of crab cakes skewered by a long Rosemary twig, in a remoulade sauce. We agreed that these crab cakes were the best we have ever eaten. These were followed by some excellent main courses, the favorites were a delicious shrimp and tilapia served with a spicy chipotle sauce, and a Firecracker Shrimp served over linguine in a zingy red sauce.
Dessert was the topper with a real key lime pie over a graham cracker crust that rivaled my favorite at Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami! And, we also bought the Montage cd of the excellent band, Los Rumberos that accompanied our dinner, as a fun reminder of our beach vacation in FLA.

The Next Generation Food Bully

Yesterday morning, I received a call from our similarly obsessed foodie best friends.

“Mr. Food Bully, we need to do some planning, get our reservations sorted, discuss where we are going to eat! …Come over tonight and we’ll talk over dinner.”

We discussed the potentials for our 4 day and 3 night food and fun focused trip. We are going to New Orleans together in early September to celebrate three birthday’s, two of which are very scary one’s. New Orleans, the perfect place to party!

“Besh, Spicer, Link or Brigsten?”

“NOLA inspired Cajun / Creole, or New American?”

“Acme or Felix’s for Oysters?”

“Muffaletta at Central Grocery!”

“Beignets at Café du Monde!”

“Poor boy’s: Domilise’s, Casemento’s, or Crabby Jacks?”

After much discussion and negotiation, we decided to make only two reservations, Herbsaint for Friday dinner, and Ralph’s on the Park for Sunday brunch. We left open the rest of the eating plan, although we’ve agreed that beignets, oysters, a muffaletta (or two), and a couple of poor boys are definites.

Of course there will also be evenings listening to great jazz, blues and zydeco, perhaps a trip to Mid-City Rock and Bowl, shopping in the quarter and on magazine street (note: this is always a bit scary and expensive for me and will try to de-emphasize this part of the trip), a ferry ride and visit to Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World, touring the areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina, and some time walking around the Garden District and Audubon Park. Should be a fantastic long weekend and yes, I’ll report back!

At the same time, the best part of the day started with a call I received during the dinner discussion.

“Dad, I’m in the city with some of my Wisconsin college buddies. We’re in Washington Square Park. We’re thinking ethnic… what do you think?”

“What kind of ethnic? You’re close to the east village, and you could do Japanese at Momofuku, or Chinese at Grand Szechuan in St. Marks, or Indian on 6th street.

After muffled discussion in the background, he came back with “Indian.”

“Ok, either Brick Lane Curry or Banjara, both are terrific!”

“Thanks dad, talk to you later.”

About 2 ½ hours later, as we were getting ready to go home, he called again with excitement in his voice.

“Hello, bully hot-line.”

“Dad, had a great dinner at Banjara, and ended up going to Veniero’s. Saw someone walking around with a box and remembered the cannoli’s. Since we were only a couple of blocks away, we went over there, and I bought some for you. Want me to bring them over?”

“No, we’re headed home, see you in a few.”

We got home, talked about his day and about our upcoming trip to drop him back at Wisconsin.

“Dad, so I thinking trip to the farmer’s market, then Mickey’s Dairy Bar for breakfast, lunch at State Street Brats, and Dotty Dumplings for dinner.”

Day-to-Day Bull 7/31/08

Deceptive Shrinkage

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been blogging for almost a month without any discussion of my favorite food, ice cream! Of all my food obsessions, ice cream is one of life’s true pleasures. All ice cream is good, some ice cream is excellent, and there are ice creams that realize greatness!

Give me a superior coffee chip based ice cream (e.g. Edy’s Cappuccino Chip) or mint chocolate chip (Breyers Mint Chip) and I’m in heaven. (Note: I’ll do a broader review of favorite ice cream brands and flavors in a coming article).

Our family consumes prolific quantities of ice cream, at least 2-3 half gallons per week.
Ooops, almost forgot that the half gallon, 64 oz container, no longer seems to be available, it’s the 1.75 quart (56 oz) container. Wait, Dreyers (Edy’s) and Unilever (Breyers) are now at 1.5 quarts (48 oz) containers.

And I thought there was a natural ice cream eating progression from the pint to the quart (2 pints), to the half gallon (2 quarts)…

Of course the look and shape of the packaging is the same, guess we won’t notice.

Don’t these companies have the cojones to raise their prices without this nonsense? Instead they’ve no doubt spent huge sums of money redoing their packaging and playing with themselves through couponing, slotting allowances and the like. Want to bet that at the end of the day all of this won’t put any money in their shareholder’s pockets!

George Costanza must be yelling somewhere!

Reetu’s Fantastic Grilled Chicken Tandoori Masala

After a year of pleading and whining, the Bully was finally able to wrangle this excellent recipe from our closest friends after several glasses of wine on their patio last night.

The recipe includes some spices that will require a trip to a local Indian market, or a grocery store with a big international section.

Ingredients
6 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup of plain yogurt
1 tsp tandoori chicken spice blend
4 tbls vegetable oil
2 cloves
1 tsp amchoor powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp sugar
.5 inch fresh ginger mashed into a paste
4 garlic cloves chopped
1 tsp coriander powder
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp chicken masala spice blend
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder (or cayenne)
.5 tsp ground pepper
.5 tsp chaat masala
2 sliced lemons

Preparation
1. Mix yogurt and all the spices, and the oil in a large bowl.
2. Add chicken and mix, cover with foil, and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
3. Remove chicken and place on a grill (either inside or outside). If using a charcoal grill, let the coals burn down a bit.
4. Watch closely to make sure the marinade does not burn.
5. Serve with lemon garnish and a rice!

Hey, no wonder our friends were holding out, this recipe is almost easy!

Sunday Chinese (Part 2 of 3)

Last Sunday, the Bully discussed the Grand Szechuan restaurants for Sunday Chinese. Before getting to Frank Bruni’s newly anointed 2 star Szechuan Gourmet over the next couple of weeks (need to do a “post” review visit), thought we’d head out to Flushing for this week’s installment.

A trip to Flushing is clearly not on everyone’s radar screen. There are two typical reasons that folks head that way:

1. Trip to LaGuardia Airport.

2. Visit to Shea Stadium to see NYC’s second best baseball team (yes, I’m one of those hated Yankee fans—but please bear in mind that I had to suffer through the 60’s and most of the 70’s.)

If you like Chinese food, a good third reason to go to Flushing is to visit the Chinatown there. (Note: there’s a 4^th potential reason if you’re looking for miscellaneous car parts. There’s a Flushing area knows as the “Iron Triangle” or Willets Point, where there are many “chop shops” in a fence enclosed, third world type area with highly eclectic and bizarre group of vendors. We mistakenly visited this area when I made a wrong turn one Sunday afternoon, and I wouldn’t recommend this area for most. My kids are still thankful that I did not leave them here as threatened, and I’d recommend you use Google Maps to avoid a similar side trip).

Flushing Chinatown is very similar to the downtown New York area, with many restaurants, Chinese markets and fish stores, local bakeries, and tea shops (including my daughter’s favorite bubble tea). It’s a busy, bustling place, and makes for a fun half-day of browsing and shopping.

While you’re in the area, you should be sure and check out the “Flushing “Mall.” This unusual “Mall” (think flea market), has unique oriental stores including a toy store with all the most popular far eastern toys, specialty Chinese candy and spice / herbalist stores, florists and plant stores, and my favorite, the comb store. The comb store sells an unbelievable variety of wooden handmade combs and brushes that are tailored to your scalp and hair, and each one seems to have its’ own special story. While I haven’t purchased one yet, I may find myself a cool comb on my next trip.

As you’d expect, there are also places that sell a variety of food products, including dumplings that you can eat on the spot, or take home frozen. There’s also a downstairs food court that offers a wide variety of regional Chinese foods, and includes noodle shops, soup shops, and “fast food” restaurants. Many of them look really good, although the court itself could use a bit of a makeover.

The primary reason we head to Flushing is to eat at Spicy and Tasty Restaurant on 39-07 Prince Street. While we’ve eaten in several other places, including Little Pepper which offered the world’s hottest French Fries (cold potatoes smothered in cumin and szechuan hot peppers), Spicy and Tasty is our favorite.

When you walk into the restaurant, your eyes are immediately drawn to the glass cabinet with piled-high plates of appetizers. It will be difficult to discern exactly what these dishes are (even after asking the person behind the counter who’s knowledge of English is usually rather limited), but they typically include an unusual variety of dishes with beef tendon, duck feet, and other ingredients common to Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Food’s show. Don’t be scared!

After you are seated, you’ll receive a long menu to review (no doubt the American version), but there’s lots to choose from. As this is a Sichuan restaurant, I’d recommend you stick with the szechuan dishes. You will also want to tell the server how spicy you like your food, as on a couple of occasions where we didn’t say anything the dishes were not spicy enough for our taste.

We typically start with the dan dan noodles which are mixed with minced pork and hot chili oil. The wonton in hot chili sauce is also a “hot” starter. I’d probably skip the soup as the hot and sour soup is only mediocre here, and there are better dishes to feast on. (BTW- the cold cucumber appetizer is a good way to find a bit of relief from the spice, and a cool beer helps as well).

For main courses, you should have one of the special Ma La dishes which include the szechuan peppercorns that will give your mouth a bit of a tingle. Both the pork and chicken in fresh hot pepper are excellent, and you get both Chinese hot red peppers and the peppercorns in the dish.

I’d also recommend the shrimp with hot green peppers in black bean sauce, the diced chicken with hot peanuts and hot pepper, and the spicy double cooked pork. We also enjoy the dried sauteed string beans, which are the best we’ve had anywhere, although we’ve found this a bit tricky to order here as there’s a “sour” string bean dish that we don’t care for as much that sometimes seems to reach our table.

After completing the feast (there will likely be leftovers), you’ll probably want to take a stroll around the neighborhood and stop at one of the bakeries for something sweet!

Bon Appetite!

Curse You, Frank Bruni!

“Curse you, Frank Bruni”!

As I picked up the NY Times Dining Out Section today, I recoiled when I saw that Frank Bruni reviewed my favorite Chinese restaurant in New York, Szechuan Gourmet. To make matters worse, seems like we agree on the Top 3 Szechuan restaurants in the NYC area, Szechuan Gourmet, Grand Szechuan (discussed last Sunday), and Spicy and Tasty in Flushing.

Arrrrg!

Guess we can all look forward to big crowds at all three—I’ll report back over the next few weeks!

Suppose the good news is that we agree- two stars for Szechuan Gourmet is well deserved!

Hopefully the food remains top quality!

Excellent Hot and Sour

As discussed, great Hot and Sour Soup is hard to find. A couple of years ago, my wife and I were fortunate enough to take a cooking class at ICE (discussed in a prior article) with Stuart Chang Berman. Stuart’s family had run a well known DC Chinese restaurant, The Court of the Mandarins, and the family recipes were passed down to him from his mom. He continued the family restaurant tradition for a while, before becoming a cooking instructor. I’m not sure what he’s up to now, but I’m thankful to have been able to learn a bit from him!

His really excellent cookbook, The Potsticker Chronicles, is a well dog-eared recipe book that I continue to use regularly (unlike most others). It’s available on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.

If anyone knows what Stuart is up to these days, please send me a note.

Here’s his fantastic Hot and Sour Soup recipe that I turn to when I need that fix!

Hot and Sour Soup (from Stuart Berman Chang’s Potsticker Chronicles)

¼ cup tiger lilies (Note: may be difficult to find, use the body only (2-3 inch) and soak in boiling water for 15 minutes, then rinse and reserve—if you can’t find, don’t worry)
¼ cup tree ear mushrooms (Note: you will probably find dried ones, will need to soak in boiling water for 15 minutes a couple of times, then rinse and cut into small pieces)
3 tbls vegetable oil
1 tbls finely minced ginger
3 garlic gloves, minced
.5 lbs boneless pork, cut into strips 3 in long x .5 inch wide
1 quart chicken broth (make your own or store bought)
2 tbls black soy sauce

1/2 cup dry sherry
¼ cup cider vinegar
5 tsp sugar
3 tbls sesame oil
1 piece of tofu, 3 inch square, 1.5 inch thick, cut into .25 inch strips
2 tbls cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup cold water
2 eggs beaten
2 scallions cut diagonally into ½ inch strips
Fresh ground white pepper


1. Heat the sesame oil in a vegetable oil in a wok until smoking.
2. Add the ginger and garlic, and immediately add the pork. Stir fry for 30 seconds then add the tiger lilies and tree ears. Stir fry for an additional 30 seconds.
3. Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, sherry, vinegar, sugar and sesame oil. Bring to a boil and then add the tofu; stir.
4. Stir in the cornstarch mixture until smooth. Add it to the soup gradually, stirring it in. Add enough cornstarch mixture to get soup to desired consistency. If too thick, add a bit more broth.
5. Add the eggs, stir in a circular pattern for 30 seconds, then add the scallions and white pepper to taste.

Enjoy this fantastic Chinese Hot-and-Sour soup!

Sunday Chinese (Part 1 of 3)

While the bully loves all food, Chinese is my favorite. Having Chinese food every Sunday evening was the standard growing up. When my wife and I were married, we were able to find a good local Chinese restaurant and continued the trend.

Unfortunately, the owner of our favorite local spot sold the restaurant, and we’ve been unable to identify a decent alternative. Today, there a few Chinese restaurants in Fairfield County Connecticut, they’ve all become “asian fusion”.

While I enjoy being able to select from a broader array of southeast asian food, paying 2x+ for the food, and not being able to get a decent hot and sour soup is extremely frustrating. And, the trend extends into New York city as well, where it’s particularly difficult to find some quality szechuan (the typically spicier Chinese food with hot peppers emanating from the Sichuan province) food.

Fortunately there are a couple of places that can still be found in the city, with several more having migrated to Flushing (right near Shea stadium). (Note: Flushing has a chinatown which is probably bigger than the one in NYC, and a trip makes for a fun afternoon with a great Chinese mall, and many unique stores and restaurants.)

A long time NYC standby has been Grand Szechuan. There are several Grand Szechuan restaurants in the city, and it’s never entirely clear how affiliated they all are (think there’s some family stuff going on here- the New York Times wrote an article that only added to the confusion a couple of years ago). We frequented the one on 9th avenue in the 50’s until in closed due to rent issues, and we’ve also been to the one’s in Chinatown, Midtown East, Murray Hill, and the East Village. And, I'm sure there are a couple of others.

Our current favorite is the second floor walk-up one on St. Mark’s place, near 2nd avenue, in the East Village. The place is not fancy and the décor is nothing to write home about, but it’s a good sized space, and you’ve got some room to spread out. The food is typically well spiced, although we’ve seen some inconsistency (e.g. not spicy enough for our taste), if you don’t let them know your preferences up front. The hot and sour is ok, but not great—and this is a bit of a disappointment. That said, the pork dumplings (we prefer fried) are always a hit, and we usually order the spicy Dan Dan noodles which get that nice forehead sweat going.

The Gui Zhou spicy chicken is my favorite dish; it's made with an incredible number of hot szechuan red peppers—just be careful to avoid them, and szechuan peppercorns which produce that nice tingly sensation in your mouth. There is also a great diced chicken with spicy green peppers. And, the chow fun is also well prepared.

With fortune cookies and sliced oranges for dessert, you leave well sated, and carrying some Monday night leftovers.

I’ll share a two more Sunday Chinese favorites over the next two weeks.

Day-to-Day Bull 7/19/08

Cool Beans

Took a late afternoon trip (too busy in the early morning—luckily the store was not crazy crowded) to Stew Leonards, http://www.stewleonards.com/, yesterday and sampled some Cool Beans dip, http://www.coolbeansdip.com/index.html.

The dips tasted great; they are a nicely flavored, all natural, creamy bean dip that is made with Great Northern Beans, olive oil and spices. Spoke with Mark Fitzgerald, who along with his brother Matt created the product. He was really excited to be introducing Cool Beans at Stew’s, who wouldn’t be as Stew’s was the store that launched Bear Naked Granola (recently purchased for a more than $100 million by Kellogg’s).

Cool Beans come in three flavors: Sweet Onion, Taco Chili and Lemon Roasted Garlic. I came home with a jar of the Onion and Chili, fyi- all are currently on sale at Stew’s.

Check out these Beans!

Ribs: Cambodian Style

Sorry I’ve not blogged for a few days, but it’s been a busy week. Thought I might provide a weekend treat.

As you’ve already realized, I’m a lover of all types of ribs: dry and wet rubbed, spare ribs, and baby back, as well as all regional varieties including St. Louis, Memphis, Kansas City, and Carolina styles.

I’ve provided a fantastic Tamarind Baby Back Ribs recipe that I had at Kampuchea (described fully more below), and have made several times at home with great success. This recipe takes a bit more work, both shopping time to find the ingredients as well as the preparation time, but you will be well rewarded for your efforts. (Note: you may need to venture out to a local Asian or Indian market to find both the tamarind paste and shrimp paste (this one may be extra tough—if you can’t find, just leave it out)).

Kampuchea is located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. If you have never been there, this downtown location that was once the assimilation area for a melting pot of new immigrants arriving in New York through the Ellis Island. It was a horrible area in the 1960’s and 70’s with lots of crime and squalor, but has been totally revitalized and transformed over the past 10 years through a process similar to what had previously happened elsewhere (e.g. the Upper West Side, Soho, the East Village, Harlem) in the City.

The Lower East Side now has an ever changing assortment of new restaurants and bars, and some excellent museums including the Lower East Side Tenement Museum http://www.tenement.org/index_virtual.html (which is a preserved immigrant tenement house) located on Orchard Street, and the New Museum of Contemporary Art, http://www.newmuseum.org/about, on the Bowery.

Located on Rivington Street, Kampuchea, http://kampucheanyc.com/, offers excellent “Cambodian street food”. While I’ve never been to Cambodia, if the food here is any indication, I look forward to walking down those streets!

The place has a “cool vibe” with a large wooden communal table in the middle of the restaurant, and more typical seating around the communal area. The menu is designed for “tasting” and includes a variety of amazingly flavored soups, lettuce wrapped “Cambodian crepes”, and sandwiches, as well as other “small plates”. Kampuchea uses high quality organic ingredients and artisanal food preparations.

While we have enjoyed most dishes over several visits, highly recommended ones would include the spicy Bwah Moun Soup, the grilled eggplant sandwich, the tiger shrimp crepe, the crispy pork belly, and of course the ribs…

When making the ribs, you can do the oven cooking earlier in the day, and then finish them in the broiler (or even better on the bbq) a bit later.

I have no doubt you will love these!

Tamarind Baby Back Ribs

1/2 cup whole coriander

2 each star anise

1 rack back ribs, whole (baby back)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 large spanish onion, cut 1/2" slice

1 large knob of ginger, cut 1/2" slice

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp fish sauce

Glaze

1 cup tamarind paste

1 1/2 cup honey

2 cups water

2 tsp shrimp paste

2 each dried red chili

2 each tomato, rough chop

Salt and pepper to taste

Cilantro and Lime Dip

1 sprig of cilantro, blanched

1 cup of oil

1 egg yolk

1 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp (fresh) lime juice

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Toast coriander and star anise in dry sauté pan until fragrant; grind in spice grinder
3. Coat the ribs with the spices and salt and pepper
4. Lay the ribs on a sheet of foil and add the vegetables, vinegar, and fish sauce
5. Place in the oven; cook until done, around 1 hr
6. For glaze, combine all ingredients into a saucepan and simmer over medium to low heat until thick
7. Turn broiler to medium flame
8. Once the ribs are done, remove from the foil and discard the vegetables. Cut the ribs and place onto a sheet pan and brush generously with the glaze
9. Place under broiler to caramelize
10. Serve with dip and pickled vegetables

Cilantro and Lime Dip

1. Combine cilantro and oil in a blender and puree until smooth; set aside for half an hour
2. Place the yolk of the egg in the blender with the water and lime juice
3. Puree together and slowly start to add the cilantro oil until the mixture can coat the back of a spoon
4. Place in the refrigerator to chill

It's All About the Ingredients

As I was multi-tasking the other day while watching Mario Batali prepare Gnocchi Verde Carduta Del Formaggio (Green Gnocchi with Blue Cheese) on his Food Network Molto Mario show, I heard him say something that made me stop, listen and smile.

Mario’s simple, straight-forward feedback was “it’s all about the ingredients”. He then went on to discuss how the key to great cooking is to get the freshest, highest quality ingredients available, and that the best chefs prepare food that focuses almost exclusively on using those ingredients.

I was struck that one of America’s greatest Italian chefs had a point of view consistent with my thinking, and that this perspective has important implications on us everyday “pedestrian” cooks.

I love to go shopping for fresh food. Going to a market, smelling, touching, tasting, and buying the best looking food of the day is great fun! I enjoy doing this at home, in the office, and while traveling on business or for pleasure. I typically try a visit the local markets and ethnic areas, because that is where you usually find the freshest food.

As a teenager, I remember being awed by the European open air food markets during a summer of living and traveling in France. It’s really no different today, and I’ve sought out and visited food markets in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany and Austria on more recent trips. These markets not only provide insight into the local foods that people enjoy and offer the freshest food available, but you also get a feel for the people, and the diversity of the region. And, of course, you always have a meal at the market, and take home enough to put together at least a fantastic sandwich lunch or an easily cooked dinner depending on your access to a local kitchen.

In the US, while there is an increasing interest and focus on fresh foods, the local markets are still not as pervasive as I’d like. Of course there is Pike Place Market in Seattle, the Reading Terminal Market in Philly, and the Haymarket in Boston. Smaller downtown markets in Portland, St. Louis, and Baltimore are also good. In New York, there is the Union Square Farmers Market, Chelsea Market, and the Grand Central Market, and while all these markets are decent, they lack the diversity and variety of food and the number of food purveyors that are emblematic of the best worldwide markets. (Note: in many respects you can find greater variety and diversity within ethnic market areas like Chinatown, Little India, and Arthur Avenue).

At the same time, the local farmers markets continue to grow, particularly during the spring, summer and fall months, and these markets typically enable you to find quality fresh fruits and vegetables, and sometimes bread, cheeses, and even fish and meats.

If I had my druthers, I’d wake at the crack of dawn (unfortunately I have little control over this), grab a good cup of coffee, and head to a local open air market to see what looks good. I’d enjoy getting there early when the vendors are setting up, watching their activity and seeing the food being placed on display. After milling around a bit, maybe having a quick breakfast bite of a freshly baked roll, or croissant, or some delicious bread, and a fresh fruit, I’d walk around and select my daily purchases from the different vendors. These of course would become the ingredients of a fantastic lunch and dinner.

Unfortunately, this is difficult to accomplish. If I’m headed into New York, I always take the time to walk through Grand Central Market and view the beautiful food there. It’s way overpriced, but the vendors there are high quality. Perhaps during the day, I’ll take a walk to Kalustyans (http://www.kalustyans.com/), to get some specialty spices, and have a Mediterranean lunch from their upstairs deli counter, I love the falafel platter there.

In Connecticut, I typically head out to Stew Leonards, http://www.stewleonards.com/, which is the closest I can get to a “local market”. While the selection may not always be as broad as I’d like (Stew’s caters to the mass market and is volume driven), there is typically a nice selection of fresh ingredients. So, based on what looks good and what I have a taste for, I’ll come home with the dinner fare. Last week, the first fresh Alaskan salmon of the season was at Stew’s, so we combined that with some fresh zucchini, eggplant, and Vidalia onions, and mix of locally grown lettuces, for a nice, summer meal. Of course, I might supplement the salad with some fantastic homemade, hand pulled mozzarella from Fratelli Market http://www.fratellimarketct.com/, but think you get the idea.

I do wish there was a better way to replicate the access to fresh food and vegetables that you can get at the European markets or at a Pike’s Place Market. I’m surprised some of the struggling cities across the country (e.g. Cleveland, Detroit, etc.) have not developed these venues as a means to increase downtown traffic, and build a local community environment. Perhaps there’s an opportunity here, on the other hand, I may be too far out in left field (or perhaps more right field for me).

Sorry for this long winded blog.

Today’s message is simple:

Take advantage of what’s fresh, in season, and looks really great at the markets you shop. (Note: if the items are in season, you’ll be paying less too.) Starting with these fresh ingredients, you can build as simple or extravagant menu as you like, and if you don’t screw it up, you will be eating a fantastic meal!

Try a Cooking Class!

As you’ve no doubt figured out, the Food Bully loves to cook! To be honest, this has evolved over time. Even as a kid attending college and grad school, I would always try and have a square meal (salad, meat or fish known as “protein” in today’s food world, vegetables), and would spend the time shopping and preparing decent (if not always very creative) meals.

In addition, as a student who loved to eat, had a limited budget, but with romantic aspirations, I invited dates over for home-cooked dinners. I still remember the time I spent many hours preparing a complicated Chinese meal (including a hand pulled shredded chicken moo shu’s), only to learn that my date was bulimic! My cooking talents, however, were key in helping to seduce my wife!

At this time, I was somewhat cooking challenged , with limited knowledge (unless you consider the high school “home ec” course-- also taken to meet girls). As I had never paid much attention to my Mom’s cooking, most of my cooking skills are self taught, driven by my desire to eat excellent food.

My food focus and cooking experimentation has grown over time, as:
1. I’ve realized that it’s not hard to cook, and I can actually cook very well. (I’m not being boastful, but I just don’t know many people who are better home cooks).
2. I’ve become increasingly disappointed at overpaying for relatively expensive mediocre meals (average ~$100 for two), that seem to be the norm around NYC, which are not as good as we eat at home.

Anyway, my wife and I spent Friday night taking a “Some Like It Hot” cooking course at the Institute of Culinary Education (“ICE”) in Manhattan, www.iceculinary.com. Our instructor Loren Banco was excellent, and a fun time was had by all.

If you haven’t taken a cooking course, I’d highly recommend giving it a try, for ~$100 a head, you get to prepare and eat a terrific meal, including homemade cocktails, wine and beer. We’ve taken several courses at ICE including a terrific Indian cooking course with James Oseland, now the editor-in-chief of Saveur Magazine, http://www.saveur.com/. The courses make for a fun time as you meet some interesting people of all ages (couples and singles), learn new meal preparation tips (e.g. knife skills), and get to sample generous amounts of new foods.

On Friday, we prepared a primarily Pan Asian meal, as every dish included hot peppers of different varieties. I was excited to learn how to make a pork vindaloo (probably my favorite Indian entrée), and how to prepare fried calamari with a habanero mayonnaise (btw, I’m embarrassed to admit I had never worked with squid before, even though I love them!). Preparing the calamari was very easy, and it came out great.

In addition to the dishes above, my favorites were Kung Pao Chicken, and the Spicy Ginger Cookie and Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches (despite some technical difficulties with the freezer not being quite cold enough). And the Sangrita cocktail which accompanied the meal was hot!

All in all, it was a terrific night, although we did have to make one trade-off at the class.

The classes are about 15 people, we split into 3 groups. You choose which dishes to make from the pre-selected menu, and given my interest in the vindaloo and calamari, we went to that group. Of course, we probably should have been a bit wary of our co-chefs, as one of them came to class in their own apron, wielding a personal knife set and portable food thermometer. It worked out fine, and this co-chef was a nice guy who came to class with chili brownies for everyone—but there was a bit of early “cookmanship”, so just a word of caution. Most of the group was relatively inexperienced —so no need to be intimidated.

The Bully recommends: “Try a cooking class; you’ll have a great time!”

Death of the Cookbook?

I love to look at cookbooks and the pictures of beautiful food, thinking about the combination of ingredients and how they would mesh together, and deciding if this is a recipe I want to try.

I have shelves overflowing with recipe books, basics like The Way To Cook, the Joy of Not Cooking, The New Basics Cookbook, and The Silver Palate Cookbook’s, as well as one’s authored by chefs like Jamie Oliver, Tom Douglas, and Emeril, ethnic cookbooks for Chinese, Indian, Jewish, and Cajun cuisine, and of course The Barbecue Bible by Steve Raichlen.

We also receive a myriad of cooking related magazines at our house: Gourmet, Food and Wine, Wine Spectator, and Martha Stewart’s Living, amongst the group.

Unfortunately, after a first read and sampling of a couple of recipes that catch the eyes and make the stomach growl, they’re rarely used.

There are a couple of issues here.

The first one likely to be familiar to all cooks is being able to quickly locate the recipe you want. Maybe it’s a case of memory loss, but it’s just hard to find that one recipe in the mass of potential sources. And, of course, each book has its own organization, some offering alphanumeric indexes, some not. Invariably, after spending 30 minutes opening, searching and closing up recipe books in frustration, you remember that the recipe you want is one you found in the local newspaper food section.

The second issue is that using a recipe typically requires some advance planning to get all the extra ingredients and required spices you had forgotten about, or some tailoring of the recipe to use what’s available in the fridge and cupboard. While both of these work-arounds are doable (and used by most of us), the internet has rendered these old cookbooks, magazines, and articles a moot point.

I mean, how great is it that you can log into Epicurious.com or the FoodNetwork.com or another recipe site, and plug in what you feel like eating that night including the main ingredients, and be provided with not only a set of recipes, but also ratings by the cooks, the ease and timing of preparation, and suggestions of how to improve upon the original recipe.

These sites effectively combat my memory loss issues, and enable me to quickly plan a family dinner based on what food is in the house. Amazing!

Of course, after I print the recipe, and get a thumbs-up or thumbs-down from the family and/or friends on whether the recipe is a winner, we’ve tried to organize the keepers into a looseleaf binder organized by food type….

That binder is now quite big, however, and we now seem to have a couple of issues….

NYC Real Italian

When out-of-towners come to New York, they are invariably looking to find real Italian restaurants and shop in some traditional food markets. They immediately set their sights on a trip to downtown Manhattan’s Little Italy.

When they get there, they should quickly realize they have been transported into a parody of a traditional Italian area, with few 1st and 2nd generation restaurants and markets still remaining in the area. Most of the remaining restaurants are “gussied up” establishments, charging high prices for mediocre (or worse) food. Some of the traditional cafes and restaurants are not even Italian owned anymore. A couple of stalwarts markets still remain, e.g. Di Palo Fine Food and Allegra Dairy for terrific Italian meats and cheeses on Grand Street, but there’s no restaurant that would make me want to take a trip to Little Italy. If you put a gun to my head, I’d probably head to either La Mela (fun atmosphere, no menu’s they just bring the food and wine) or Benito’s or Angelo’s restaurants but there is much better Italian food to be had around New York.

If you want some excellent Italian markets and restaurants, you’ll need to take a trip uptown to Bronx’s Arthur Avenue. And, this is actually an excellent day trip which can provide a fun and satisfying day for the entire family. So here’s a potential itinerary for a day trip to the northern edges of the Bronx.

Head to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.

Start by taking a walk around the neighborhood to visit the local food stores. (Note: some of you may prefer to visit the markets after lunch!) You can find excellent bread (including great olive stuffed breads) at Addeo Bakery or Madonia Brothers, fresh mozzarella and other deli cheeses and meats at Teitel Brothers, http://www.teitelbros.com/index.asp, or Mike’s Deli (in the Arthur Avenue Market http://www.arthuravenue.com/Dispatch.jsp?screen=index), pork products at Calabria, fresh pasta at Borgatti Ravoli, http://borgattis.com/ravioli/index.php , and great homemade cannoli’s at De Lillo’s. Of course there are many other butchers, deli’s, and fish markets to check out as well. And, most of these markets are still 2^nd generation, and are making their products the old fashioned way (guess in today’s vernacular these would be called “artisanal” foods.)

After visiting the neighborhood, stop for lunch at either Enzo’s or Roberto’s, for some excellent Italian fare. Enzo’s actually has two restaurants, the original on Williamsburg Road in the Bronx, and a newer restaurant on Arthur Avenue. The menu is fairly traditional, although Enzo’s preparations seem a bit lighter and more refined than most Italian restaurants. The pasta’s can all be served family style as an appetizer or main course, with some excellent chicken, seafood, and veal dishes to choose from. We had some excellent fried calamari with a Fra Diavolo sauce, and a veal scallopini with sauteed cherry peppers, onions and portobello mushrooms in a white wine sauce that I’m still tasting.

To me, Roberto’s, http://www.usmenuguide.com/Robertos.htm, is the best Italian food in and around Manhattan. The broad menu offers exciting food choices for everyone, while Roberto’s daily specials are almost always too inviting to pass up. Roberto’s pastas are superb, with creative sauces that will have you ooohing and aaahing. Last time my wife and I went for lunch with shared an antipasto plate with meats and cheeses, one of the daily pasta specials, and an asparagus salad. We were then ready to explore some of the other Bronx attractions that are within a couple of miles of Arthur Avenue.

On this particular day, we headed off to the Bronx Botanical Gardens. They are New York’s largest public gardens spanning 250 acres. There are always special exhibits going on; twenty- One of Henry Moore sculptures are now featured throughout the grounds until November 2nd. There’s also a fabulous Rose Garden, a Children’s Garden and the always fascinating Conservatory. The gardens change throughout the season and are fun to visit at different times of the year. Plan on at least 2 to 3 hours to explore, and you may want to take advantage of the trams to save your feet.

As an alternative, the Bronx Zoo is one of the world’s best with a great deal to see and do. It’s also a huge place, spanning 265 acres, and offers the opportunity to see your favorite animals in a fairly natural setting (at least it seems so to me vs. other zoo’s I’ve been to.) While my personal favorites are the penguins, you can find your favorite lions, tigers, birds & butterflies, snakes, and bears. They also have a great children’s zoo, a monorail system… It’s a huge place, so don’t expect to see the whole zoo in one shot.

Of course, a visit to either the Zoo or the Botanical Gardens will give you a chance to work off lunch and get ready to enjoy your Arthur Avenue purchases for dinner!