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!

Thai from Down-Under!

The Bully received several fantastic Thai food recipes from a family friend now living in Sydney. These recipes are authentic and excellent, as my friend and her spouse formerly operated their own Thai restaurant.

Check the two out below and let the Bully know what you think!

THAI CHILI BASIL STIR FRY

1 cup of either sliced Beef, Pork, Chicken, Prawns, Fish, Calamari or mixed Seafood

1 bunch of fresh Basil, picked and washed the leaves and set aside in a colander

Garlic - at least 1 clove - chopped

Medium Onion - sliced

Small Red Chili Pepper - chopped or sliced - optional if you don't like the heat!!

Additional cayenne (to taste)

Fish Sauce - start with 1 tablespoon

Pinch of Sugar

Oil

Preparation:

Heat oil then fry garlic till brown then add whichever protein you are using.

Fry till cooked, next add onion and chili peppers.

Stir for 1 minute then add Fish Sauce, pinch of Sugar and Taste.

Add additional cayenne to taste and mix.

Taste again and just before turning off the heat add hand shredded basil leaves and stir thru well. Serve with steamed rice.

THAI GREEN (GANG KEO-WAAN and RED CURRIES (GANG DANG)

1 Tablespoon curry paste

1 Tablespoon of oil

1 cup of which ever protein you are using.

1 Can of Bamboo shoots, drained and rinsed

Green beans (cut to sliced) - optional - as little or as much you like

1.5 cups of Coconut milk - not Coconut Cream

Fish Sauce

Pinch of Sugar

Basil leaves

Sliced red chili pepper (optional)

Kaffir Limes leaves (available in Asian and Indian stores, if not use a bit of lime zest) - shredded

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a pot, add curry paste and fry for a minute or two, stirring constantly so it doesn't stick to the bottom of pot.

Add the meat and continue cooking until the meat is browned.

Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.

Add the bamboo shoots and green beans (if using) and bring to boil again and let simmer, stirring occasionally.

Add pinch of Sugar and Fish Sauce and taste.

Stir thru and let simmer for 5 minutes or so, taste and adjust seasoning.

Add the Basil leaves, Lime leaves and chili pepper (if using).

Remove from heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes. Serve with steamed rice.

The meat can substituted with a mixture of bamboo shoots, beans, broccoli, carrots, eggplants, etc and diced hard tofu and raw cashews as Vegetarian curry.

Most curries always taste better few days after cooking. Thai curries freeze well.

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In case you hadn’t guessed, the Bully absolutely loves Thai food.

In the NYC area, the best Thai food can be found in Queens near LaGuardia Airport. If you haven’t already been, you must go to Sripraphai, 64-13 39th Ave., Queens, NY 11377 near 64th St, phone # 718-899-9599. Make sure you have directions first as finding the restaurant can be tricky.

When ordering, be sure you try the Crispy Chinese Watercress Salad with shrimp, squid & chicken- it’s an unbelievable dish!

Day-to-Day Bull 7/8/08

Faux Food Star

Well, the Bully was Bulled! On Sunday’s Faux Food Star, the one guy that could really cook was sent home packing because he didn’t have enough “life experiences” to be able to relate to the viewers! My family had to pull my head out of the toilet! I’m done with this show! I mean they left Psycho Lisa who was unable to talk for about 3 of her 4 minutes on camera in the mix. Give me a break!

If I’m a real chef like Bobby Flay, I’d be worried that this network gig is just about up!

The Faux Food network is going the way of the infomercial!

The Network is being “People Magazined!

Can you hear the Giant Sucking Sound?

Blast from the Past—Calling All Cheeseheads!

The Bully appreciates all the support and feedback from family, friends, current and former colleagues, and of course, New Bullies.

While launching this site, the Bully has found it very rewarding to receive your encouragement, reminders of great food experiences together, tips on new places to go and recipes to try, and ideas to improve the Food Bully experience.

The Bully would encourage everyone to use this blog to post your questions, comments, ideas, and experiences for all to share and enjoy in order to expand and grow the Bully network.

And, if you enjoy this blog, please invite other food obsessed to join the Bully!

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The Bully received a reminder from a former colleague about a past business trip to visit a potential client in Manitowoc Wisconsin. Manitowoc is a sleepy town best known for building ships and submarines. In seeking a great food experience while heading into town for a day trip, the Bully noted that Sheboygan was on the path to and from the meeting site.

Sheboygan is known as “home of the grilled bratwurst, appropriately served on a Sheboygan hardroll with mustard and onions”.

As my former associate noted: “I remember the Charcoal Inn in Wisconsin for the excellent double brat sandwich, an hour after having talked about cranes and forklifts with some disinterested executive in Manitowoc, in some non-descript 70's high-school looking building at the end of a dirt road!”

Both the client visit and the Charcoal Inn were classics, with the food leaving a much better memory for the excellent brat, with a hamilton beach mixed coffee shake on the side.

Anyone had a great brat lately?

Also, look for more postings on the Cheesehead state as my son is now a Badger!

Day-to-Day Bull 7/6/08

The Next Food Network Star continues tonight. While I watch this show fairly regularly, I’m amazed that half of the starting group appears to have highly limited cooking talent (Note: this is not the only food show that falls into this category—Hell’s Kitchen “chefs” are also a joke. Top Chef, on the other hand, typically has at least 3-4 contestants that are impressive.).

Think we’re down to the final 5 Food Network Stars. Suspect that either Adam (can’t cook) or Aaron (can’t present) is next to go. My handicapping of the remaining three is as follows: “Pretty Boy” Shane whose acting is improving is the co-favorite with “Perky” Kelsey who I find kind of hot. Former “beauty queen” (on what planet?) Lisa is likely to leave after Adam and Aaron as she knows how to cook, but unless she can stop crying and gets a makeover, I think she’s doomed as well. My guess is that Pretty Boy prevails.

Rules of the Road

I’ve had the opportunity to travel fairly extensively over the past 25+ years. At one point I was typically out of town 3-4 nights per week, while now it’s usually only a day or two. While travel can be a burden, I’ve always appreciated the opportunity to explore new places and of course, take advantage of new food experiences, including restaurants and local markets.

I am clearly in the minority here, here, however, and this puzzles me.

Most travelers just don’t eat well while traveling. They don’t seem to care, or can’t be bothered. Perhaps it’s a time to plan issue, so I’m hoping that this blog will be of value.

I have a few simple rules that I follow when traveling.

1. No chains. I will not eat at a chain food restaurant.

While some of them serve edible fare (e.g. Chipotle), eating what is typically mediocre, usually unhealthy food when I’m away from home is not enjoyable. While chain food restaurants have extended from fast food places like McDonalds and Pizza Hut into more upscale restaurants like the Bonefish Grill and Cheesecake Factory, you almost always find that once a restaurant becomes a chain, all the uniqueness and excitement is lost in trying to cater to the most common denominator. And of course, being a chef at one of these restaurants is unlikely to be the long-term career path for the most innovative, and highest quality cooks.

2. I try to identify what food is special in that location or nearby (15 minutes maximum driving).

Most towns or areas have something they are known for. Perhaps they’re near the ocean… fish sounds good. Or they have a good-sized concentration of Italians in a local community (e.g. Little Italy in western Cleveland), or a special type of BBQ they are known for (e.g. Carolina vinegar based BBQ). Think you get the picture. Of course some places are more of a challenge, including towns like Raleigh NC and Naperville IL that seem to be the “test kitchen” for new chain formats, but even if those locations you can find great food, and there’s some fun in the finding.

3. I pre-research at least 2 food options per each day in town.

This seems like a great deal of work, but by leveraging the sites recommended on this blog (e.g. chowhound, zagat, roadfood, etc.), and looking for specific town sites or googling “best food in xxx” your analysis should be completed within no more than 15 minutes.

In that time, given the easy availability of information on the internet, you can also typically review the menu, and print out a map with directions. (Note: this typically required a much larger time investment in the old days, it’s almost too easy now!)

My “2 per day” rule is simply to be able to offer up a couple of options to those joining for the meal, in order to address their dining preferences and restrictions.

Of course, over time this planning gets much easier, and I can now draw on my institutional food knowledge bank, subject to the all too more frequent memory meltdowns (luckily, the internet helps with these too!)

As an example, I’m going to Raritan NJ at the beginning of next week. Having grown up in NJ, I know a bit about the state. To be honest, I’m not sure that NJ has a specific food focus… I mean good tomatoes, it’s a “dairy” state, there are ethnic populations around Newark (Spanish, Indian, etc.), you are near the beach depending on how far east you are…

To be honest, in terms of special area foods, I’m not sure there’s a real winner here. But, with a bit of research, I’ve identified a couple of very good alternatives for a Raritan night: Shumi sushi restaurant http://www.shumirestaurant.com/, and a thai restaurant Origin http://www.originthai.com/index-s.htm. Both are well recommended and their menu’s look quite good. I’ll report back what we find.

I hope that these Rules of the Road are of value to you, and enable you to take more advantage of your time traveling.

Look forward to your feedback and ideas, and we’ll share those on this blog!

Day-to-Day Bull 7/5/08

Am I the only one that is horrified watching Nathan’s annual hot dog eating contest. I guess it’s entertaining, if you also like watching a train wreck. Do people really enjoy seeing Joey Chestnut beat Kobayashi in a “sudden death” eat off by inhaling 64 water soaked hot dogs and buns (59 + 5 during the overtime) in 10 minutes (plus the overtime)?

Gotta Go to Mo’s

Happy Independence Day!

Hope everyone enjoys a great day with family and friends with terrific food, and perhaps some fireworks to light up the night!

We had a great early celebration with friends yesterday on a sailboat on the Long Island Sound, accompanied by some delicious BBQ, terrific fireworks and a very comfortable, clear evening!

It doesn’t get any better than that!

Yesterday the Bully provided some BBQ demystification; today let me share a few recent experiences and recommendations.

Over the past 10 days, I’ve eaten barbecue (ribs and pulled pork) at two local BBQ joints, Dinosaur BBQ (www.dinosaurbarbque.com) and Mo Gridders (www.mogridders.com). In addition, I’ve cooked my own Memphis Style Ribs, and Carolina Pulled Pork.

While all were quite good, Mo Gridders was clearly best and provided some excellent St. Louis Style Ribs.

We went to Dinosaur for my son’s birthday. I had eaten at the Rochester, NY Dinosaur restaurant on a business trip and enjoyed the food and ambiance. The place has a honky tonk feel, with all kinds of stuff hanging on the walls, writing and newspapers above the bathroom stalls and of course very good BBQ. In addition, there’s blues at nights, although timing has never worked out right for me.

I had never been to the West 131st Street location in NYC, but was planning to couple this with a bike ride along the Hudson River (note: if you’ve never done this, you can ride along the water from 125th Street to Battery Park along an easy, flat bike path. You get terrific views, and there are place to stop for drinks and snacks along the way. It’s about 16 miles round trip to the Battery and back). As I was the only willing biker, the trip was BBQ only.

Anyway, we arrived at two and the place was packed. For whatever reason our Opentable.com reservation was not received, but we were seated within 20 minutes. (Note: there can be long lines of up to 2 hours on weekends, so reservations are recommended).

Between our family of four, we ate ribs, brisket, and pulled pork, as well as some delicious sides of Mac and Cheese, Mashed Potatoes, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Slaw.

The Ribs were quite tasty, with several excellent Dinosaur sauces to choose from (including ones that are commercially available), ranging from sweet tangy to very spicy. The meat pulled away from the bone, had a nice smoky taste, and was pretty tender.

The pulled pork also had a good flavor, but was not memorable.

The best meat we sampled was the brisket. It was moist and very tender, with a nice smoke ring. My son had a sandwich with brisket, pulled pork, slaw, cheese, and jalapeños that was delicious.

Two days later I cooked my own Memphis Style ribs (dry rub based). They are styled after The Rendezvous restaurant in Memphis that makes a mean, heavy paprika based rib. If you’re ever in Memphis, check this place out http://www.hogsfly.com/TheRestaurant.php!

The recipe I use is quite simple (see below), and relies on the BBQ principles shared in yesterday’s article. The flavor on these ribs is really excellent, I prefer them with the dry rub only, but my family like to put some Sweet Baby Ray’s (or Dinosaur) Sauce on them, and so I usually add a bit of their favorite sauce during the last 15-20 minutes of cooking to suite their taste. (Note: any sauce works, so you should feel free to add your preferred choice, whether sweet, tangy or spicy).

My ribs were excellent flavor wise, but were a bit tougher than I like, due to cooking them a bit too fast, at a higher than desired temperature (my bad, I didn’t keep close enough watch, and opened the vents a bit too much). The ribs finished in about 1.5 hours, and for best results, a slower cook completing in about 2 to 2.5 hours produces a more tender result. But, they were still Very Good, and were judged to be better than the Dinosaur ribs.

Then last Thursday, my son and I decided to go to the Yankee game. Joba was pitching and we hadn’t seen him live (think that’s all we’ll say about this game). In order to get ready for the game, we decided to try Mo Gridders BBQ. We had seen Mo’s on the Food Channel’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives show with Guy Fieri (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_dv ).

Mo’s is a true dive, located near the Hunts Point Market, about 4 miles away from the stadium. It’s in an industrial area with food distributors and wholesalers, as well as auto repair and body shops. While the area is a bit funky, it’s safe.

Mo’s is an Auto Sales & Service Shop that also offers BBQ from a food trailer which is located outside of the auto shop. He has a Southern Pride 500 barbecue pit that serves up some mean meat.

For my meal, I took advantage of the $34.95 Ribs, Oil and Filter special which included the oil and filter change (while we ate), and a ribs platter. My son had the pulled pork sandwich. Sides we sampled included rice, beans, and mashed potatoes.

While everything was delicious here, the clear winner here was the ribs, which were prepared St. Louis style (center cut ribs, smoked with a dry rub, and finished with a tangy sauce). They were nicely smoked, very tender, and easily pulled away from the bone. The sauce was excellent, with a good kick. I’d put the ribs above any that I’ve eaten in NYC, and they brought up memories of Oklahoma Joes in KC http://www.oklahomajoesbbq.com/ which I’d put at the top of my list (look for a future best ribs top 10 list). And these ribs were better than what I can deliver (better equipment, slower smoking process…) even when at the top of my game!

To top it off, my car was nicely serviced, with a paper foot mat left under the drivers set.

We also spoke with Mo a bit about his BBQ passion, and he let us know that he’ll soon be opening in Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. While this is logistically more convenient for us, I’m a bit conflicted about this development, as we typically head to Arthur Avenue for NYC’s best, and most authentic Italian food.

Anyway, you Gotta Go to Mo’s!

As promised, here’s a link to a Memphis style BBQ rib recipe from Steve Raichlen (more about him in a future blog) that I love. And while your results are unlikely to match those of Mo, they’ll be very good. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/MEMPHIS-STYLE-RIBS-242248