Tag Archives: artichokes

First Crush- San Francisco

25 Jan

I heard so many good things about the food in San Francisco (especially from one of my fave bloggers, Feisty Foodie).  I was incredibly excited when I was asked to travel there for business (I had never been) and extended the trip to include leisure travel with Mike over Christmas week.  I was so excited to try so many different restaurants in SF (plus I knew it was prime artichoke growing territory… MMM!) and we planned the last 2 days in Napa where more wonderful nomming was to take place.

It was just my luck that I came down with a wicked case of food poisoning or a stomach bug about an hour before leaving for the airport.  (I do not wish having stomach problems like that on an airplane to my worst enemy!)  It actually had me completely in bed for 24 hours after the trip and sans food for the first two days.  I somehow dragged myself to work on Day 2 but it wasn’t pretty (I was so bad off that I never would have gone in had they not paid for me to fly out there and I knew I actually had to SHOW UP or risk them not reimbursing me).  By the end of that evening, I was finally feeling semi-capable of nourishment and went with chicken soup from Westin’s room service.  It was actually quite tasty and I’m pretty convinced it was slightly magical as that was the turning point.

By the next night I convinced myself I was well enough to eat again.  We were staying in the Union Square area and used our Urban Spoon iPhone app to pull up a convenient restaurant.  First Crush sounded like a good place so we went for it without much research (very uncommon for me!)

We started with something that sounded right up my alley: roasted winter squash with chestnuts, pearl onions, squash puree, and pomegranate reduction.  It was really, really good!  I was a bit dissapointed that there weren’t more (and bigger) chestnuts since I love them, however, I got over this very quickly with the amazing flavor combination and freshness of the ingredients. 

Mike went with the pistachio crusted wild hawaiian walu with rainbow carrotes, roasted fingerlings, fried shallots, and glace de veau. The crust was perfect and the fish was moist and flavorful.

I ordered the artichokes braised a la barigoule with toasted barley, flageolets, sunchokes, and lemon oil.  It was good but I was expecting a bit more robust artichoke flavor.  (I think I expect too much of my favorite veggie).  I really enjoyed it, however, and I’m glad I ordered this dish.

Overall, for a random restaurant in the middle of an unknown city, I thought we found a gem.  None of the desserts sounded especially appealing (which was surprising for a wine place… I always expect those 2 to go together) so we skipped.  What we ordered, however, was especially fresh and very tasty.  We enjoyed this first meal at First Crush very much.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10

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Hopping Across the Street

7 Dec

One of the first things Mike and I noticed about our new building was the little Italian restaurant on the block. Carbone Ristorante is in the middle of the Garment District on a side street, so I can’t imagine they get a great amount of foot traffic, however, I was happy to see a new place to try that was so convenient!

I went with the Homemade Fettuccine with Artichokes, Smoked Ham, and Cherry Tomatoes. It was good, but nothing great. The artichokes tasted very dull, though the smoked ham was tasty.

Mike went with the special of homemade pappardelle with rabbit ragu. I would say the same went for this dish. Good but nothing great.

Overall, the only real victory Carbone has is that they’re close. It wasn’t great and the prices were average to a little higher than average for NYC fine Italian. We took a peak at the dessert menu and nothing really called to us… so we got Ben & Jerry’s ice cream pops on the way home.

Total Nom Points: 5 out of 10

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My first attempt at Osso Buco

13 Nov

I have an affinity for Osso Buco that goes beyond normal.  I try not to think about it too much, as the extra layer under my chin doesn’t need any more fatty goodness and marrow, however, when FreshDirect had it on sale, I couldn’t resist.  I really wasn’t sure how to make it, so I found a recipe with a picture that reminded me of the ones I have preferred (most notably at Montenapo and Becco, as well as the lamb one at Charles).

The recipe wound up being very simple and basic, actually.  The only thing it really requires is time.  2.5 hours of braising made it clearly a Sunday meal.




I paired it with a quick prepare, microwavable side from Fresh Direct (“Sides in a Snap” Mascarpone and Mushroom Risotto with Chives) and a steamed artichoke dipped in Roasted Garlic Butter. Adding roasted garlic to butter for dipping is my new favorite way to eat artichokes.  There are few things I find more easily delightful to make than roasted garlic.


The final meal was a great combination, and the Osso Buco was good, but it just wasn’t great.  I guess I really shouldn’t compare my first attempt with restaurants that are known for making it great… but I still wanted more.  It was perfectly tender but the meat itself just didn’t have the same flavor.  I’m not sure if this was the fault of the cut or my preparation.  But I will try again and work to improve it to <3 caliber.

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RECIPE
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Osso Buco

Ingredients:

  • ·      1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • ·      2 teaspoons salt
  • ·      1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ·      2 pounds veal shank
  • ·      3 tablespoons butter
  • ·      3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ·      1 cup chopped onion
  • ·      1 cup thinly sliced carrots
  • ·      1/2 cup chopped celery (I omitted due to hatred)
  • ·      2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • ·      1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • ·      1 cup water
  • ·      1 teaspoon dried basil
  • ·      1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • ·      3 sprigs fresh parsley (I used dried. Seemed fine)
  • ·      1 bay leaf

Directions:

1.         In a shallow dish, stir together flour, salt, and black pepper. Dredge meat in seasoned flour. In a large skillet, melt butter with oil over medium heat. Brown meat. Remove meat from pan, and set aside.

2.         Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to drippings in pan. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes.

3.         Stir in tomato sauce, water, basil, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Return meat to pan. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer. Cover, and cook for 2 1/2 hours.

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