Search results for 'shallot'

Glass House Tavern

12 Oct

It will be hard to blog about this without a twinge of bitterness.  I suggested a few restaurants to a friend and was unceremoniously SHOT DOWN by his boyfriend (and I believe my choice of Becco was called “pretentious.”  BECCO!)  Now I will try to forgive as I was warned that the boyfriend was picky, and thankfully he’s nice enough to make up for it… but BECCO?!?!  Ok… /rant

So the end choice was to go back to a place where they had been before and enjoyed.  I was slightly concerned when they made the choice to go to a place that was in my neighborhood but I had never heard of:  Glass House Tavern  (on 47th between 8th Ave and Broadway). 

The decor was lovely inside.

And I appreciated the aesthetic.

We started with apps.  Fresh Mozzarella & Tomato Salad sweet garlic, basil & extra virgin olive oil.

Organic Green Salad roquefort apple brioche.

Malfadine Pasta Primavera zucchini, yellow squash, fresh tomato & basil

Grilled Filet Mignon smashed potato, caramelized shallots and red wine

Free Range Roast Chicken garlic roast potato, tarragon jus

Then some dessert… Buttermilk Panna Cotta with berries

Pineapple Bread Pudding caramel, vanilla sauce

And then I, of course, ordered the Warm Chocolate Cake fresh berries, vanilla ice cream.

Notice the lack of commentary for this post?  Yeah… that’s pretty much how I felt about the meal.  Nothing stood out.  Nothing was even good.  Even that warm chocolate cake was bland and dry.  And it looks like they just plated an upside down cupcake without frosting.

This place was fine.  Just… fine.

Total Nom Points: 5 out of 10

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Project Food Blog #2: “The Classics”

26 Sep

It has been a big week for NYC Nom Nom.  First, I found out that my recipe was selected to appear (with me, of course) on the Wendy Williams Show LIVE this Tuesday!  I will be up against 2 other audience members in a dessert competition that will be judged by Gail Simons and Johnny Iuzzini for a Top Chef: Just Desserts segment.  I am making a Double Trouble Peanut Butter Cup that was inspired by a concoction I made for Mike’s birthday last year.  I just did a test round and it turned out really well!  I will be sure to blog about it after the show, however, don’t forget to tune in at 10am LIVE in the New York area on Fox 5.  If you are not in New York or want to catch it later that day, you can find the rest of the Wendy Williams TV schedule here.

Second, I filmed my first video blog for Nom Nom.  Stay tuned for a vlog about making a Chocolate Meringue.

Lastly, I was THRILLED to find out that I have advanced to Round 2 of Project Food Blog.  Thank you everyone for voting!  This week’s theme is “The Classics.”  The challenge is to take a classic that is out of your comfort zone and cook it as close as possible to the original.  For my Classic, I chose to go with Banh Mi.  First, Vietnamese food is VERY out of my comfort zone.  While I make a lot of classic American, Jewish, and Italian cuisine, Vietnamese is in a totally different ball game.  On top of that, I was using a slow cooker for the first time.  I received one for my birthday a few weeks ago and this seemed like a great opportunity to try it for the first time.

So why Banh Mi?  Well… we have been watching The Great Food Truck Race on Food Network and I was THRILLED to see that there  was a truck called The Nom Nom Truck competing.  We also were lucky enough to go to the LA Times Food Festival when we were out in LA 2 weeks ago (blog to come) and sampled the delicious food from The Nom Nom Truck.

The closest I have come to cooking Vietnamese is ordering in on Seamless Web.  I’ve had my share of Pho delivery and have dined at a few Vietnamese places in NYC, however, most of the ingredients and cooking methods are out of my comfort zone.  I’m also not a huge sandwich fan, nor have I ever made a point of making a fancy one.

Last night before bed, we prepped the pork for the slow cooker.  The first step was just melting sugar.  Now I’ve only melted sugar with butter or water in the past, so I was nervous that it would burn, but it melted into liquid and caramelized quite easily.

Once it all turns to liquid, you pour in chicken stock and fish sauce.  Now the recipe warned that the ”caramel will harden and steam vigorously.” What I didn’t expect was splattered liquid all over the stove that quenched the gas flame and hardened the caramel to a complete solid.  I spent the next few minutes quite nervous that one of my favorite pots was ruined and I’d have to start all over, however, the caramel did in fact melt and all was well (after a bit of clean up). 

Next, I added the shallots, garlic, and white(ish) parts of the scallions.

The smell was fantastic while it boiled for 4 minutes.

Mike was nice enough to chop up the pork while I prepped.

All that was left to do that night was throw it all in the slow cooker, set it to low, and leave it for 8 hours.  Couldn’t be easier!

I was quite nervous when I woke up the next morning.  I have never used a slow cooker and didn’t know what to expect.  Luckily, it looked (and SMELLED!) fantastic.

The morning prep involved a quick pickling of carrots and daikon.  I have eaten daikon a few times in my life, but I didn’t realize that, when raw, it looks like a giant white carrot.  I’ve never really cooked with daikon before, though it’s very popular in Vietnamese cuisine.  Turns out, it tastes a bit like a bitter raddish when raw.

I’m not the best with a knife, so we peeled both with a peeler and used the shavings for the veggies.

The next step was to soak it in vinegar, sugar, and water for 30 minutes (or up to overnight).

We got parbaked bread from Fresh Direct and heated it up as the last prep step.

Next up was assembly.  I spread it with mayo and the pickled veggies.

Then cilantro.

Then the meat and some more veggies and cilantro on top.

So how was it?  Well… even my pork-protesting sister enjoyed it if that says anything.  I thought it was delicious, but it wouldn’t be able to compete with the Nom Nom Truck’s sandwich. 

It was a lot of fun, however, to do something so out of my comfort zone and try new techniques.  I can’t wait to try some more challenges!  Keep ‘em coming Project Food Blog!

Happy Nomming!

(And don’t forget to watch The Wendy Williams Show on Tuesday!!!!)

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Fish Face

2 Jun

Sometimes I plan meals entirely around what is on sale that week at Fresh Direct.  On this specific week, it was Branzino and Baby (Jerusalem) Artichokes.  Branzino is my favorite fish. It’s a type of seabass and I find it just has the perfect flavor each and every time.  Big fan. I’m also a big fan of artichokes… so why not try a miniaturized version?  I wanted to do a healthier version of the ones we had at Bond 45a few weeks prior. (Looking back at that post I realized I ordered the Branzino that night… Funny!)

So I found this recipe a bit wasteful since you pluck off most of the outer leaves, but perhaps I’m used to regular, full size artichokes (which I prefer simply steamed and dipped in butter) and those have outer leaves that are more edible?  Not sure… Anyway… you pull off most of the outer leaves until you get to the soft inner, yellowy leaves and then cut each mini archie in half.

We then tossed them in olive oil and drizzled them with balsamic vinegar.  Then you roast them up!

As for the Branzino, I was far too intimidated to do a full fish, so we got our split and deboned.  I still cannot deal with bones in fish… shudder.

We also had filets, so Mike and I had a little competition where I made the whole fish stuffed with veggies and cheese and roasted in parchment paper and he made it pan fried with a butter shallot sauce.

Mine looked cool.  And roasting in paper was novel.

And it tasted damn good.

But how could I compete?

We are talking about butter and shallots here!

(Though this was 11 points vs 5 for mine!)

The whole meal was great, but Mike’s fish reigned supreme…

(If anyone ever questions why I love this man… refer to above picture.)

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RECIPES
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Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes
***Just 2 points since the artichokes and balsamic don’t count!***

Ingredients:

  • Jerusalem Artichokes (with tips snipped off, cleaned of outside leaves, and split in half)
  • Olive Oil
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Salt to taste

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Toss artichoke halves in enough olive oil just to coat
  • Sprinkle with salt
  • Drizzle with balsamic vinegar
  • Arrange on a silpat (or sprayed cookie sheet) so there is space between the halves
  • Roast for about 30-35 minutes or until tender

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Roasted Stuffed Branzino in Parchment Paper
(original recipe from Weight Watchers “Striped Bass En Papillote”)
***5 Points for a serving of half a fish***

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole branzino fish (deboned and split in half)
  • Veggies for roasting (we went with onions, zucchini, canned fire roasted tomatoes)
  • Cheese (we used Laughing Cow wedges)
  • Cooking spray (or olive oil)
  • Parchment paper (can replace with foil)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F
  2. Spray parchment paper with spray (or coat with a bit of olive oil)
  3. Lay fish on parchment paper and put veggies inside fish
  4. Top with cheese
  5. Fold parchment over fish to make a packet (ours wouldn’t stay closed so we used toothpicks soaked in water, so they wouldn’t catch of fire… Thanks for that tip Lori!)
  6. Bake about 10 minutes or until puffed and slightly brown
  7. Cut open and serve immediately

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