Search results for 'bratwurst'

Anniversary Sausage Fest

19 Jan

I happen to live right near a New York Institution: Esposito’s Pork Shop/Sausages/Finest Quality.  I’m not sure what their real name is, but it doesn’t matter… all that matters is that they have meat and it is good. And cheap.

I stop by often after work and pick up a meal.  A few weeks ago, I stopped by to pick up some sausages to have a special breakfast on Mike and my 4 year anniversary.  I went in for just a couple sausages, but wound up walking out with 4 varities: Chicken Apple Sausage, Bratwurst, Breakfast Sausage, and Sage Sausage.

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I made some sunny side up eggs and we dove in.

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All the sausages were great, however, the sage sausage was especially delicious.

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Rolf’s

27 Dec

When I got in the cab to go to the client lunch, I had no idea what I was in for.  Our clients requested an outing to Rolf’s. I had never been, and couldn’t figure out why it was ringing a bell. And then I arrived, and realized that THIS is the type of place that people talk about… because it looks like this…

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Floor to ceiling, front door to kitchen… it was a Christmas wonderland.  You can’t help but get into the spirit here.

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So what is Rolf’s? It’s a classically German restaurant, with menu items that I associate with my (Austrian) Grandma and Great Grandma.

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We started with a sausage sampler, that came with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut.  All were very good and started the meal out nicely.

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One person ordered the Choucroute Alsacienne which came with a smoked pork chop, bratwurst, weisswurst, shaped potatotes and sauerkraut. I was lucky enough to try the pork chop part, which I thought was delicious but definitely tasted more like smoked ham than the pork chop that was expected.

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Other diners ordered the roast boneless loin of pork. It came with red cabbage and mashed potatoes. They said the sauce on the pork was scrumptious, but there was a bit too much red cabbage for any one person to consume.

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Another ordered the Jaeger Schnitzel, which was wiener schnitzel in Paprika Mushroom Sauce, Vegetable & Spätzle.

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I went classic and got the wiener schnitzel which came with spatzel and green beans.

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At this point I assume many of you are asking what schnitzel is… well… it’s very thinly pounded meal (usually veal if it’s “wiener”) that is breaded and lightly fried.  It’s buttery and light when done right, and this was most certainly done right.  It tasted a lot like what I remember Grandma making and I ate every delicious bite.

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Overall, Rolf’s is a spectacle with very good food… HOWEVER… it’s unbelievably expensive.  At any other German restaurant, my plate would cost about $15.  Here it was DOUBLE.  Even for NY, that’s pricey!  So if you are looking for a cheap venue, this is not it. But if you want to be awestruck by the decorations, eat German food the way it was meant to be, and without much regard to prices… Rolf’s is top notch.

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10

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Birreria- Eataly

2 Sep

I kind of love Eataly.  Well, I love the concept of Eataly.  An entire building (it takes up a full city block) dedicated to good food. And at the helm is Mario Batali.  What’s not to love?

Well… the fact that everyone else loves it, too, is definitely an issue.  Almost every time I have been there, the wait for their restaurants is about 2 hours. And Birreria, the beer garden that opened recently on the roof, was known for that going over 3 hours of wait time.

Which is why when my coworker told me that he had a reservation there to bring our clients, I was skeptical.  But, low and behind, I made it to Birreria.

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Our group arrived about 45 minutes late for the reservation, and while the staff couldn’t make any promises, we were sitting within 15 minutes. Impressive since the wait for non-reservations was over 2 hour at the time.  We had drinks at the bar while we waited, which was outfitted with some fun casks behind the (very busy) bartenders.

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We started off with a board of salumi, which featured speck, sopresatta, mortadella, cacciatorrini, and coppa.  It was all very good, but it seems I now have a new expectation on salumi after the meat we had at Blue Hill just the week before.

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We also got a cheese plate with ricotta fresca, robiola bosina, parmigiano reggiano, pecorino romano, asiago fresco, taleggio, and gorgonzola dolce.  They were all good, but I really liked the gorgonzola.  It was a great, full flavor.

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They served the cheese with fresh honey, which was awesome and paired well with every cheese.

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We wound up splitting everything with the group, and while we were worried that we didn’t order enough, we wound up leaving entirely satisfied.

There was a special that day of a kale salad with citrus pieces.  This was awesome.  Perfectly balanced with bitter, sweet, and the citrus. Really fresh and delicious.

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They also had an heirloom salad special that day.  Beautiful AND delicious.

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There is a section of the menu for mushrooms, and they all sounded great.  We got the shiitake fritti con salvia which was fried shiitake mushrooms with sage.  This was my favorite dish of the night, amongst some very strong contenders.  They looked like they would be heavy and greasy, but they were light and the shiitake mushroom flavor was fantastic.

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We also ordered the bratwurst.  This was a close second on the list of favorites that night.  Awesome flavor and simply cooked.

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This normally would have won my heart, since it was pork shoulder with beer and apricot. And it was as good as it sounded, but it was just that the mushrooms and brats were that much better.  This was perfectly tender with great sauce and great flavor.  Yum.

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I have to say, I was impressed.  Every bite was great.  The homemade beer (I had thyme beer!) was delicious and even the bottled selection was fun and tasty.  It’s always nice to be on a roof in NYC, and this place did not disappoint. I want to go back and order more dishes, especially more mushrooms.  Worth the wait, but I would suggest that you plan early and make a reservation.

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10

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More Grand Central Market and Fresh Direct Goodies

21 Dec

I’ve already written about the Veal Bratwurst from the Market in Grand Central Station twice.  I really like them.  They’re sweet and flavorful without being over powering.  We picked up some more on our last adventure home from Westchester and decided it was time to spice them up a bit… so we cooked them in beer and onions and then grilled them on our stove grill top.


It was very easy to do.

Next up I had some miniature sweet potatoes from a recent Fresh Direct order.  I love fingerling potatoes, and I love sweet potatoes, so I was hoping the merger would work in my favor.

I decided to roast them the way I did the purple potatoes last time that went so well with the brats.

To complete the meal, Mike suggested we make a cold bean salad in a vinegar dressing.  I was game and we picked up green beans and wax beans from a stand at the Grand Central Market.

We blanched them for just about 3-4 minutes and then stuck them in a bowl of ice water.

Then we dressed them up with shallots, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.

The completed plates were quire pretty.


As it turns out, I much prefer these brats just cooked on their own.  The beer and onions gave it a flavor that I thought I SHOULD have liked,but just didn’t.  It took away from the naturally good flavor of the brat itself.  Oh well!

The sweet potatoes were also good but not as good as those purple potatoes.  I also can’t seem to get them browned in the same way.  That first time was definitely the best and I haven’t been able to repeat it since.

The best part of the meal was definitely the bean salad.  Props to Mike for the idea and execution.  Nom Nom Nommy.

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Brats, Sweet Potato Caserole, and Asparagus

26 Jun

A trip to the Grand Central Market with my favorite foodie, Noa, included a trip to her favorite place for sausages: Koglin Royal Hams.  I bought the Frankonian Veal Bratwurst at her recommendation and Mike and I decided to pair it with a sweet potato caserole and asparagus in a a balsamic sauce.  These sweet potatoes were incredible, but they tasted WAY too good to be anything close to healthy.  I probably would have added nutmeg or more cinnamon to the potatoes themselves but the topping tasted like a moist pecan pie.  We made a few mistakes on the recipes, however, everything still remained delicious.

Mistake #1: Baking the potatoes takes too long.  We wound up microwaving them to get them soft enough to mash.  In the past I’ve boiled them and they tasted just as good.

Mistake #2: Peel potatoes before cooking!  We followed the recipe exactly and the peeling was one of the most laughably difficult things we’ve done

Mistake #3: Bratwurst needs to be boiled very specifically… you have to bring the water to a boil then TURN IT OFF and put the sausages in, then let them cook for ~8-12 minutes.  I made the mistake of keeping the heat on and they exploded.  Still full of flavor, they surely did NOT look pretty.



For dessert I was craving berries and schlag (aka whipped cream).  I used the leftover heavy cream to whip up some schlag and added some Bristol Cream Sherry to give it an adult kick.


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Gourmet Sweet Potato Classic

(recipe was found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Gourmet-Sweet-Potato-Classic/Detail.aspx)

Ingredients

  • 5 sweet potatoes
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
  2. Bake sweet potatoes 35 minutes on a pan in the preheated oven, or until they begin to soften. Cool slightly, peel, and mash. (Refer to note above: I recommend peeling then boiling)
  3. In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
  4. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.
  5. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.

Happy Nomming!

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