eating in manhattan

waiting feet at Russ & Daughters

I need to finally get around to finishing my NYC posts, since I've already been on another food-heavy trip in the meantime.  There are just so many photos of delicious foods backlogged in iPhoto that I get overwhelmed and keep putting it on the back burner!  It's gotten so that I have neglected photographing meals that I cook, since I haven't been posting them anyway.  I want that to change!  And maybe it will soon enough, since I am now in my final semester of grad school.  We shall see.

On our trip in August, we didn't even make it onto the island of Manhattan until the last two days, and then we had a lot of catching up to do, food-wise.

Lower East Side


We are always on the lookout for a good donut, so I knew we couldn't miss the Doughnut Plant.  To start off our day of devouring fried doughs from all over the world, we bought a half dozen donuts.  Besides the one you see below, we also enjoyed flavors such as oatmeal, fresh peach, salted peanut, blackout, and a creme brulee raised donut.  Man, my mouth is watering just typing this.

tres leches donut

Cocoron Soba came highly recommended from Serious Eats and provided one of the lighter options of our day--yes, noodles dipped in scalding pork and kimchi was light, relatively speaking.  And it was incredibly satisfying to boot.

pork kimchee dip soba

Apparently the LES location of BaoHaus has closed since we went there, but it would be worth seeking out their new location for the tender, flavorful pork belly they serve.  

the Chairman Bao: braised Berkshire pork belly, crushed peanuts, cilantro, Haus relish, and Taiwanese red sugar

After recommendations from our buddies Joey and Tony, we had to hit up Russ & Daughters for bagels and lox to eat on some park steps.  To be honest, it was my first experience with lox (I realized lox was really not the same thing as smoked salmon) and I'm not sure I want to have it anywhere else after this.  It was that good.

 everything bagel with lox, scallion cream cheese, red onion, and tomato

On the same park steps, we enjoyed our first knish.  Every little place on Coney Island sells knishes, but our traveling host let us know that those are typically just frozen, heavy prepackaged things that they reheat.  Although this knish from Yonah Schimmel Knishery was not exactly light (you should feel the heft of these things), the pastry was flaky and buttery and the potato filling well-seasoned.  Since we were amateurs at knish-eating, we got ours topped with cheese.  You can take the kids out of Wisconsin...anyway.

mozzarella knish 

Vanessa's Dumplings was just on the edge of Chinatown and on many lists of the best dumplings in the area.  I didn't have any other dumpling with which to compare, but I certainly wasn't complaining about these.  Be sure to find the Chinatown location, though, where dumplings come 5 for $1.  The newish midtown location gets away with charging $3 for the same number.  Please excuse the terrible photography as we were shooting in the low light of an apartment stoop.

pork dumplings

 steamed pork buns

sesame duck pancake - we were so stuffed by this point, but couldn't pass up the chance to try this

 Midtown

I don't know my New York geography all that well, so if I put a restaurant in the wrong neighborhood, please go easy on me.


One of my major goals in visiting NYC was to eat in Flushing.  The other was to eat at a Momofuku location.  Weird how I wanted to eat at the most authentic Asian restaurants and also one of the most popularized Asian chains.

Because we couldn't afford--or even get a spot in--the high-end Momofuku restaurant, we opted for the  Ssam Bar, with their delicious-sounding duck lunches.  Indeed, delicious they were.

rotisserie duck over rice with greens and many tasty sauces

 steamed bun with pulled duck, sauerkraut, and smoked mayo

Waddling across the street, we completed the Momofuku experience by visiting Milk Bar.  We had read some complaints that the quality was compromised when Milk Bar had recently centralized their baking operations and sent prepackaged sweets out to their several locations.  I couldn't say for sure, but I do wonder whether the cookies wouldn't have been better fresh.  However, we had no complaints about the pies...

 candy bar pie

aptly-named crack pie

compost cookie - not pictured: cornflake marshmallow and blueberry cream

We waited in line for an hour to get ice cream at the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck (since expanded into the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop), but it was worth it.  The line moves slowly because the proprietor does everything himself: he takes your order, pulls the soft serve, carefully injects it with dulce de leche, grinds sea salt over it, dips it in chocolate shell, and handles the money.  So good.

 the Salty Pimp

West Village


Our only foray into the West Village was motivated by--surprise--food.  We had read--and had it confirmed by a New Yorker--that Taim had the best falafel in the city.  I had not had a ton of falafel, and the falafel Matt had tasted he had not enjoyed.  We both loved this.  The green variety really is green, packed with herbs and flavor.  Coupled with a refreshing mint ginger limeade, the sandwich made me forget my tired feet for 20 minutes.

 green falafel sandwich with hummus, israeli salad, pickled cabbage, and tahini sauce

That's it (finally) for my New York photos!  Hope they were informative and inspiring.  Check back for pics from our recent Portland trip and (hopefully) more home-cooked meal posts!

best dessert invention yet

We've always enjoyed the pies, cakes, and shakes at Monty's Blue Plate Diner in Madison. This time they've outdone themselves.

donut sundae

Take two cake donuts. Slice them in half and then slap them on a griddle. Sandwich creamy custard between the double-fried donuts. Add a drizzle of maple syrup and a mountain of whipped cream. I want to eat this again soon.

1 chicken 3 ways: part 2

Tonight we completed step two in the consumption of a small chicken that Matt purchased last week. This time the breasts were baked and then topped with a cherry caper chile sauce. Yes, I did just list all those things in one sauce. This is a mixture that you would think had a crisis of identity. Is it sweet? Salty? Briny? Spicy? Actually, it's all those things, and yet the flavors come together quite nicely.

Previous to today, I had only made this dish with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. If you can believe it, I wouldn't eat bone-in chicken only a few years ago. I endured a lot of teasing from Matt for complaining that chicken on the bone tastes "too chicken-y". With some concerted effort I've gotten over my issues and actually found that I prefer this recipe with the juicier bone-in chicken.

Chicken with Dried Cherries, Capers, and Chiles

from Simply Organic by Jesse Ziff Cool

1 tsp paprika (I used smoked)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 freshly ground black pepper
4 bone-in chicken breast halves, skin removed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 c dried cherries
2 tbsp capers
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half (I always leave this out!)
1-2 hot chile peppers, such as cayenne, red jalapeno, or habanero, seeded and minced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine the paprika, salt, and black pepper. Place the chicken in a large, shallow roasting pan. Brush with 1 tbsp of the oil and sprinkle with the paprika mixture. Roast for 45 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest portion registers 180 degrees F and the juices run clear.

While the chicken is roasting, heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the broth, cherries, capers, honey, cumin, and cinnamon stick (if using). Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the cherries are plump and the sauce has thickened. Stir in the chile peppers.

When the chicken is cooked, for extra flavor, if desired, drain off the pan juices and stir them into the cherry sauce. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick before serving. Place the chicken on a serving platter and top with the sauce. Serve with saffron couscous.

*Note: I just made two chicken breasts for the two of us, but made the entire batch of cherry sauce since I like things saucy.


For dessert, we topped things off with apple goat cheese tarts.

It's been a couple weeks since I've posted though I've had some good meals and good shopping lately. Two weeks back we had friends for a dinner of two dishes that we had never made before. Luckily, all went better than expected.

pork shoulder with chipotle orange barbecue sauce

caramelized apple skillet cake

Matt put together the barbecue pork in the slow cooker the night before. I've been nervous about the slow cooker after having made an extremely dry bison roast a few years back. That being said, this roast was perfect. After 24 hours on low, it was fall-apart tender and very flavorful. Matt usually doesn't like barbecue flavors, but we all enjoyed this unique combination of seasonings.


Pork Shoulder with Chipotle Orange Barbecue Sauce
from Simply Organic by Jesse Ziff Cool

1/2 c fresh orange juice (we used Simple Orange)
1/4 c honey
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 whole canned chipotle chile pepper, pureed or minced
1 tbsp vegetable or light olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (we left this out)
1 pork shoulder or butt roast (4 to 5 pounds)
1 tbsp finely sliced green onions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees (if using the oven).

In a small bowl, combine the orange juice, honey, vinegar, mustard, chile pepper, oil, garlic, salt, cumin, and cinnamon (if using).

If using the slow cooker, put pork in cooker, coat with sauce, and cover with lid. Cook on low for 24 hours.

For oven roasting, put the pork in a roasting pan that can be easily covered and coat the pork complete with sauce. Cover with a lid or foil. Reduce oven to 200 degrees. Roast the pork, without opening the door, for 5 hours. Check to see if it is falling-apart tender, and if not, cover and roast for about 30 minutes longer, or until it is tender. Sprinkle green onions as a garnish. Serve with coleslaw on its own or slice/shred and eat on a bun.

For dessert I made an apple skillet cake, which I started after our friends had arrived. Be warned, it takes longer than you might think. We've been lucky enough to have local apples available at our co-op until mid-February, though they've been pretty soft in the last few weeks. That made them just right for making applesauce and this cake.

The batter under the apples is sweet and fluffy with a delightful crunch from a bit of cornmeal. Be sure to layer plenty of apple slices on the bottom of the skillet. At the blog where I grabbed this recipe, the outcome of too few apples was batter stuck to the bottom of the pan, making it difficult to remove. My cake did not get as brown as The Amateur Gourmet's, most likely because I didn't leave the sugar and butter mixture to bubble in the pan long enough. Still, the cake was delicious and I will definitely make it again.

Caramelized Apple Skillet Cake
From The Amateur Gourmet, originally from Karen DeMasco's The Craft of Baking
(click on the link for step-by-step photos)

1 cup sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft
2 tart baking apples, such as Mutsu or Granny Smith (I used whatever I could find!)
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons coarse yellow cornmeal or fine polenta
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup whole milk (2% worked for me)

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In an 8-inch ovenproof skillet, preferably cast iron, combine 1/4 cup of the sugar with 2 tablespoons water, stirring to make sure all of the sugar is damp. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar turns a golden brown caramel, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons of the butter.

Peel, core, and using a mandoline or a sharp knife, cut the apples crosswise into 1/8-inch thick rings. Tightly shingle all of the apple rings over the caramel, starting around the outside of the skillet and working toward the center, overlapping the slices.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, the remaining 6 tablespoons butter, and the vanilla. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the egg yolks, one at a time.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In three additions, add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, to the butter mixture. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into a large bowl.

Clean and dry the bowl of the electric mixer well. Add the egg whites and, using the whisk attachment on medium speed, beat to soft peaks, about 4 minutes. In three additions, fold the whites into the batter. Spread the batter evenly over the apples in the skillet.

Bake, rotating the skillet halfway through, until the cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, 45 to 50 minutes. Place the skillet on a wire rack and let it cool just until the cake is warm, about 30 minutes (we flipped and ate ours after only 10 minutes or so and it was just fine!). Then run a knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The cake is best eaten the day it is baked but can be kept at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.

It's been so long since I last posted, you might think that I haven't been cooking much. On the contrary, despite busyness and colds, I've been determinedly cooking on just about every night of the week, armed with my shiny new stainless steel pan set that I got from my parents for Christmas.

Thanks to the Easy/Fast/Cheap Cooking tumblr, I've been discovering great new food blogs, some of my favorites being Smitten Kitchen and Love and Olive Oil. I've made several recipes from each site recently.

Smitten Kitchen
Sugar-and-Spice Candied Nuts
Mustard-Roasted Potatoes
Tequila Lime Chicken and Green Onion Slaw (the chicken was okay, but the slaw was very tasty)
Breakfast Apple Granola Crisp

Love and Olive Oil
Baked Panko Chicken Tenders with Basil Aioli
Farfalle with Chicken, Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, and Caramelized Onions (I used penne and frozen whole tomatoes from the summer instead of fresh ones, left out the chicken)
Mongolian Beef


Tips on the beef: I accidentally bought thin-sliced sirloin instead of a regular old sirloin (from the wonderful Amazing Grace farm). To say that it was an accident sounds ridiculous, because the packaging was clearly labeled "thin-sliced sirloin". What can I say? I'm a practically a virgin at purchasing steaks! Anyway, the pre-sliced steak ended up being fantastic. I just cut it into strips and it fried up beautifully. Very tender.

Another comment: I cut the brown sugar down to about 3/4 of what it called for, but I could have halved it. I don't like my "Chinese" food to taste like candy, but use your own judgment.

Finding and reading all of these great blogs has humbled me in regards to both my cooking and writing skills, but it gives me something to aspire to. Here are some other sites I've enjoyed that you might want to check out:
Not Eating Out in New York
Serious Eats (lots of variety, fun food-related content)
Closet Cooking (I'm looking forward to trying his recipe for okonomiyaki - Japanese pancake/omelet)

late birthday images

Finally posting pictures from the evening we celebrated my birthday in December. We ate dinner at Lombardino's...

orecchiete with sausage and brandy cream sauce/spaghetti alla bolognese

truffle pizza

Had dessert at Monty's Blue Plate Diner...

tin roof sundae pie

eggnog malt

And Matt gave me an adorable vintage bell for my bike.


And a year ago I first posted on this blog about my last birthday!

fresco fives

fresco is a great Food Fight restaurant that I've posted about before. It's on the top floor of the Madison MoCA and has a great view, especially when the surrounding rooftops are snowy like they were last weekend. We have been meaning for some time to catch fresco's $5 late-night menu and now we've been there two weekends in a row.

fresh pear martini

pomegranate-ginger champagne cocktail

midnight breakfast sandwich: shaved ham, poached egg, gruyere, parmesan mornay sauce, and microgreens on a croissant

fresco "sexy fries" with ketchup and chipotle mayo

pumpkin bread pudding with maple-nut ice cream

The "5ives" run Monday-Thursday 9-11 and Friday-Saturday 10-12. The atmosphere can be dressy or casual and it's not been overly busy either time we've been there. Everything that we have ordered has been great. Nothing is particularly sexy about the "sexy fries", but they are tasty. I really enjoyed the bread pudding though I usually am not crazy about bread puddings. Not shown are the creme brulee or the buttermilk beignets, but both are excellent. The breakfast sandwich is hands down a favorite--I would order it every time. fresco is a great value for late-night food (that I would eat any time of day if I could).

did you just say bacon?

It seems that Matt and I have practically lived off of bacon lately. In October, we bought 5 pounds of bacon from one of our favorite farmer's market meat vendors. After having their surprisingly smoky, thick, and fatty bacon, any other bacon is somewhat unsatisfying.

Here are a couple of recipes we've made lately. I didn't feel like typing them tonight, so you have the links.

pan roasted fingerling potatoes with bacon and crispy sage

This potato dish was very tasty, made with sage leftover from Thanksgiving dinner and the last local fingerling potatoes of the season. On the sandwich, a sweet and tangy caramelized onion thyme jam.

chocolate chip pecan bacon cookies

The cookies were a really nice sweet/salty combination. You might not know that bacon was the salty element--it had a texture somewhat like toffee. Matt used the thin cookie recipe, though I'm sure the thick ones would be great as well. I'd like to try some of the other recipes at the NPR site too.

more sweets

It's been a long time since I've posted, but I have been very busy preparing for and getting through my first week of teaching first grade. I thought I'd take a breather and make a post.

I've recently discovered that I can actually handle some amount of baking without inviting catastrophe. Anxious to try out my try out my newly realized skills, last weekend before school started I tried out another recipe for baked goods from Silver Screen Suppers. I made Norwegian ice skater-turned-actress Sonja Henie's Scandinavian cookies. They were so good, they just made me want to visit Scandinavia even more.

Sonja Henie's Scandinavian cookies

Much like the banana shortbread cookies I made earlier this summer, these cookies were buttery, crumbly, and subtly sweet. They will definitely be a repeat recipe. The instructions only specified that I use chopped nuts and jelly, so I chose pecans and homemade raspberry jam, which both turned out to be great choices.

Check out the excellent sugar-free raspberry jam and strawberry preserve recipes that I used this summer.

mmmmmmm

I'm very tired today, so I don't have much to say about these except that they are so delicious, moist, and help you get your veggies. Oh--and they look so pretty on a sea-foam-green platter! The recipe is a combination of one from the Penzey's catalog and one from my mother-in-law. We have a couple dozen frozen so we can enjoy them year-round. You can also grate and freeze raw zucchini, and could use that to make these during the winter. Enjoy!

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp. white vinegar
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
4 tbsp. cocoa
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups finely diced or grated zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips
chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine milk and vinegar in a bowl and set aside. Beat butter, oil, and sugar in a large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, and sour milk mixture and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cocoa, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and stir by hand. Stir in the zucchini and 1/2 of the chocolate chips.

Place cupcake liners in cupcake pans (or grease a 9x13 pan if you prefer a whole cake). Fill each liner with batter 2/3 of the way. Sprinkle the batter with the rest of the chocolate chips and the nuts (if using). Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out cleanly and the cake springs back to the touch (but avoid the chocolate chips!). Let cool, then remove cupcakes from pan.

what is it?

When I learned that the Silver Screen Suppers blogger needed recipe testers for her Hollywood stars' recipes, I jumped on the chance to try them out. I requested several recipes, and the first one I made was Fred MacMurray's Chocolate Fudge Upside Down Cake. This cake was especially great because Mr. MacMurray hails from my in-laws' hometown of Beaverdam, Wisconsin. Not only did I feel a swell of state pride as I whipped up the cake, it also turned out to be quite delicious.

So....here it is!


It definitely tasted better than it looked. If I make it again, I will certainly choose a more suitable platter than my grandma's cake keeper--one with sides to catch all the drippy chocolate sauce that ran off the cake and onto my counter. Who knew that a "chocolate fudge" cake would actually be doused in chocolate? Ha. The top of the cake (which became the bottom) is also covered in chopped walnuts, but we thought we might try pecans or peanuts another time.


Check out the Silver Screen Suppers blog and the upcoming cookbook that will feature this recipe.

birthday treats

Matt's birthday was last Friday, and he requested sushi at Muramoto.

Matt's: ecuador - tuna, yellowtail, avocado, jalapeno, scallion, tempura crumbs, spicy sauce

mine: broiled miso marinated black cod, sautéed bok choy, cauliflower, eggplant

Then, we went for a delicious dessert at a Madison standard, Ella's Deli.

a small corner of the busy atmosphere at Ella's

grilled walnut pound cake sundae with fresh vanilla custard, hot fudge, and whipped cream

Going...

Gone. Happy birthday, dearest.