Now that summer is finally around, I think it is time to answer a question many people have been asking for years. What is the main source of alcohol that has kept everyone going so strong. While there may be some competition between Captain Morgans, Jack and the Champagne of Beers, I think the most consumed would have to be La Vieille Ferme, an inexpensive, delicious white wine from France.
I believe the Ram’s Rest may hold the record for most cases consumed in North America, but we are still waiting for positive confirmation on that one. Stay tuned.
Many of you know may know this as the chicken wine due to the label, and if you do not know it, I would seek it out. For about $8, you will find a pretty good white wine that is real nice in the summer and pretty much all year around. I finally found it in Seattle at QFC for $7 with my advantage card, High Five, and plan on purchasing a case this weekend.
DJ’s and producers have been taking two seemingly disparate tracks and combining them for years – coining the phrase “mashup”. This simple concept has now found its way on to the McDonalds Value Meal board. People ask for a spicy chicken sandwich to be put between a double cheeseburger, creating an entirely new taste experience for $2.16. It’s called the McGang Bang.
The funny thing is that it’s become an underground phenomenon. People all over have successfully ordered the McGang bang from McDonalds and have documented the experience. Read more at Eat Me Daily.
Two items I never thought I would write about a year ago are the recession and Copper River Salmon. Well this year I am in Seattle and Copper River Salmon is front page news here. Check out the picture below of the fish coming off the plane.
Copper River Salmon arrives May 15th each year and is known around the world as the best wild salmon available. Something about the cold water and length of the Copper River in Alaska make it delicious, which I am sure you can research if you care to find out the details.
The recession part of this has to do with price. Back in NYC, this salmon usually cost upwards of $40 a pound and in restaurants was a $50+ dish. Well this year due to a recession and a great catch prices are around $30 elsewhere and $20 here in Seattle.
I bought a beautiful 3/4 pound piece this afternoon and this is without a doubt the most delicious salmon I have ever had. This fish is a deep red and melts in your mouth. None of that nuclear orange with the painted white lines you normally see.
I am not sure how long this fish lasts, maybe 30-45 days, so if you see it in our local store, spend the extra $$$ and pick up Copper River Salmon. You will not regret it
I know it has been awhile since we have communicated, I guess the December holiday season has been crushing everyone.
In the absence of original ideas and thoughts, I thought I would link to some of the genius ideas I have seen recently.
As always we will begin with Bacon, this being the bacon roll. I hope to attempt to execute this myself in the next few weeks after a little R&R
Now that Winter is solidly upon us, I can only think of Spring and the garden. I’m going to plan an entirely different vegetable garden next year. This past year I had 29 different pepper plants and way too many tomatoes. Thinking about a garden centered around my favorite recipes and canning. Perfect time to figure it out. You should too – even if it’s just some herbs on the fire escape. It’s madly addictive…
before
after
This diagram below that accompanied an article in this weeks NY Times is a nice way to understand where from the cow all those delicious meals come from.
As Summer turns to Autumn, Tasty Tuesdays are back in full swing. Fearing divorce, I concocted a late Summer-early Autumn menu featuring a tried and true Panzanella salad that I usually do many times a Summer. For some reason I just didn’t get around to this Summer, so I figured I should get on it before tomatoes disappeared until next year! The rest of my menu was my attempt to connect with my inner Mario Batali, 
and while adventurous, was not like my recent trip to Babbo.
Let’s focus on the Panzanella.
1 baguette
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1 lb fresh mozzarella
1 red onion
2 cloves minced garlic
Olive Oil for basting
Salt and Pepper to taste
½ cup pesto vinaigrette
This recipe takes the whole bread, tomato and mozzarella salad to new heights by not only combining it with a fresh pesto- balsamic vinaigrette, but get this, you actually grill the bread, mozzarella, onion and tomato first! Basically, the original recipe calls for several tomato, red onion, mozzarella and bread skewers, lightly dressed with olive and garlic, that are grilled, removed from their skewers, and then tossed with the Pesto-balsamic vinaigrette- and let me tell you, it’s really delicious. That said; having suffered through cleaning quite a few grills of molten mozzarella, I’ve come up with a better method to ensure that everything is cooked properly when combined. Moreover, I’ve abandoned the recipe for the vinaigrette and just make it how I like it now – I encourage you to do the same.
Firstly, if you have stale bread, use that. Stale bread toasts better and won’t get soggy like fresh bread does. If you don’t have any “day old” around, try to cube (about 1 ½ inch square) the fresh bread up few hours ahead of when you plan on making the Panzanella- this will let it dry out a bit. Next, key step here, when you are about 5 minutes out from getting started, put your mozzarella in the freezer. I can’t tell you how much it easier it is to cut cold mozzarella. Not only that, but it helps the cheese hold it shape a bit better during the grilling process. Without doing this you could wind up with melted cheese all over the grill!
As far as assembly of the kabobs goes, there is the main point of difference with the original recipe. Rather than combining the ingredients on the skewers, I do a few solely cherry or grape tomatoes, a few red onion kabobs and then combine the bread and mozzarella (cut into 1 inch cubes) on the last few kabobs before lightly dressing them with a bit of minced garlic, salt and pepper and olive oil. By doing this, you can control how much heat each of the ingredients get. Personally, I like the onion and tomatoes to get a bit more charred, so I get those on the grill first while I am putting the bread and mozzarella skewers together.
When making your pesto, use your favorite recipe. Some people use pine nuts, some walnuts, I like crushed red pepper; all that matters is that at the end you add a bit of balsamic vinegar to it and a touch more oil than you normally would to give it a slightly looser consistency. I usually make my pesto in a food processor, but I have done it by hand as well. If you have the time, give it a try- it’s quite sexy.
Once everything is grilled to your liking, remove from the skewers into a large bowl 
and toss to combine with the 2/3 of the pesto vinaigrette. I plate, and then top each with a bit more vinaigrette, salt and fresh pepper. Yummers!!
In an effort to usher in Autumn, I followed the Panzanella salad with Monkfish and Pancetta kabobs served with roasted butternut squash with fennel and lemon.
They were tasty but lacking some oommf. Next time I might make lemon oil or herb-anise vinaigrette or something to add a bit more acidity to the dish.
I followed that with black figs, with fresh ricotta, lemon sugar and balsamic reduction- sort of a dessert and cheese course in one. While I liked it for being light and fresh, I think next time I’ll combine the lemon sugar with the ricotta in advance with a touch of lemon juice tie those flavors together.
Till next year, goodbye tomatoes. Bring on the squash, figs, apples, pears, and Brussels sprouts!
We’ve been heralding the feats of Pepperrtown USA all summer and generally singing the praises of the noble Capsicum genus. Now even the NY Times is getting in on the action.
Surely world domination is the next logical step & I’d like to get out early and on message; I salute our new Pepper Overlords.
Even though it’s starting to feel like fall in New York, the Victory Garden continues to achieve. I had a full pull this afternoon: bell, cubanelle, poblano, jalapeno, cayenne and habanero. I’m making chili this Sunday, as I do every fall, but this year it will be powered by my own garden. Here’s what I have to work with…
Right on. Right on.
With body and mind still recovering from the Reach the Beach juggernaut, I can assure you that there has been no shortage of wine consumed in our house this week. Ran into a delicious little gem acquired from the NH State liquor store on the way back down and thought I’d share. I normally shy away from any vineyard that aligns itself with the “new school”, or relies on cheeky names and such. Generally I find their wines sub-par and the approach ill conceived. Yeah, I’ve suffered through more than my fair share of sharp tannins and unbalanced ho-ha garbage at the hands of Bonny Dune Vineyards.
But every now and then I take a gamble, and the purchase of a bottle of Ro Sham Bo Winery’s Reverend Zin paid off. Granted it’s primarily Dry Creek, which is known for some excellent Zins, but this is a damn tasty bottle of wine. Nice fruit, tanins and and full bodied without going overboard. It puts me in mind of another favorite Zin – Renwood’s Jack Rabbit Flats. Anyway, if you dig Zins, check it out. And I must say, the Ro Sham Bo folks seems to have a delightfully zaney approach to their craft to boot. The Dukes may just have to make a trip to the left coast to take in the annual Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament next year…
I spend a lot of time on the East End of Long Island. Apart from Shelter Island, my favorite spot is Montauk. It’s got a great local vibe, tons of great bars and restaurants and most importantly, feels a million miles from the Hamptons. When I’m in Montauk, I always do two things. I swing by Ditch Plains to get a little sun and watch the surfers hang ten. The second is an obligatory stop at St. Peter’s Catch to pick up as much smoked marlin dip as I can carry. I’m not normally a fan of smoked fish, but this dip is outrageous. You spread it on a ritz cracker, top with a jalapeno slice and you’re off to the races.
I have four Jalapeno pepper plants that produce around 40 peppers every two weeks. With the help of a friend, we put up five jars of pickled jalapeno slices the other weekend. The jalapenos are ridiculously fresh having been picked moments earlier. Can’t wait to introduce these little fellers to St. Peter…
A good friend of mine celebrated his 35th birthday last night by hosting an epic dinner at Momofuku Ssam, one of David Chang‘s restaurants in New York City.
I had never been to this restaurant before, but had heard exceptional things about the pork that flowed freely from the kitchen. I can tell you that they did not dissapoint.
We started off with a few different plates of thinly sliced ham and crusty bread, accompanied by a sauce that I mistakenly took for mustard. A closer inspection revealed it was mayonnaise cut with Sriracha and Red Eye gravy (coffee, pan drippings). Really interesting and quite tasty. The ham was bolstered by a few orders of lardo which is cured strips of pig fat. It’s a fairly subtle dish and a little unnerving. It’s not something I’d order every day, but I found it quite satisfying. Next was crispy lamb belly. I am a huge devotee of lamb and can honestly say that I have never tasted anything quite so “lamby”. Baaaaa humbug. But on to the main attractions.
Ssam means “anything wrapped” and one of the stand out items on the menu is a pork bun, essentially a flour pancake filled with braised pork belly, topped with a few dabs of Sriracha.
I can’t say I have tasted anything so good this entire year. I can see myself visiting this restaurant time and time again, slipping in for a few pork buns and a glass of wine. It’s pure magic.
But on to the main event. My friend had called the restaurant exactly one month before to get a reservation required for Bo Ssam. They have a 5:00, 6:30 and 11:00 seating every day for this special meal. But what is Bo Ssam? It’s a 6 lb pork butt that has been cooked for 10 hours. You shred the pork at the table, place it in a lettuce leaf, top with a fresh shucked oyster and your choice of accompaniments like rice and kimchi.
Although I had already eaten a great deal of swine, I managed to scarf down six of these delicious little packages. I found it equal to the pork bun in flavor, but it was a lot of fun to sit around a table and eat a communal dish.
I hard heard about Momofuku Ssam from a number of friends, but somehow it slipped off my radar. Don’t let this happen to you. If you like pork, get yourself over there and enjoy the fruits of their labor. You won’t regret it.
Although it’s still officially Summer, the weather is turning cooler and my thoughts are drifting towards comfort food. I made Stuffed Peppers the other night which really hit a chord. Here’s how I make them…
The base of my stuffing is sausage – sweet italian, hot italian or a mixture of the two. I then add breadcrumbs, parsley, red onion, parmesan, salt, pepper and an egg yolk to bind the mixture. A lot of recipes call for grated zucchini or squash, and you can experiment with herbs – a little rosemary works well. I can’t say there are particular ratios – add what you like, in the amount you like, just make sure it accents the sausage.
Now on to the vessel. I usually use green peppers, but there’s no reason you couldn’t mix it up – red, yellow, orange, purple, poblano or cubanelle. Just make sure they are firm, which denotes freshness. Cut them lengthwise and remove the stem, seeds and ribs. Stuff them so they have a mound on top – just like so.
Put them in a 350 degree oven for an hour or until they are browned. Serve immediately.
I just posted a bunch of food pics and recipes from my recent vacation – here’s the last installment.
It may be the oldest trick in the book, but I love cutting a hole in bread and grilling it along with an egg to make a “bird nest”. Always a crowd pleaser.
I also tried something new – habanero infused rice. You take an unripe habanero which I imagine is difficult to find. I just happen to have about 50 right now in Peppertown USA. They are so fresh they appear to be fake…
You take the unripe habanero and drop it in boiling water along with the rice. At the end of the cooking process, the habanero will look as if its been stewed – it will have lost all of its firmness.
If the habanero ruptures during the process, you have to throw the rice out unless you want serious, serious heat. This recipe imparts a little heat, but largely adds a smoky flavor to the rice. When I cook this again, I’ll probably add another pepper for a more pronounced flavor. I served the rice along with some quesadillas that included fresh jalapenos from the garden.
I did a quick harvest before I left to come back to NYC – here’s the bounty.
I gave a friend a bag of those cherry tomatoes which he quickly used in a Summer Harvest Pasta. He roasted the tomatoes along with brussel sprouts, then tossed with bacon and shallots in a vinaigrette. Looks amazing…
I’m headed back out for Labor Day – more food porn to come!
To put things in perpsective, I’m on vacation.The Chevy Chase kind.
At a gorgeous beach enjoying the many splendid fruits of the Shambaugh Victory Garden and it’s subsidiary Peppertown USA. I have been harvesting a lot of vegetables and herbs, wanted to share the food “pron”.
First, feast your eyes on the first pepper harvest:
This is a decent amount of action, akin to backseat groping, but is only a harbinger of things to come. Here’ the score. The jalapenos have been the fastest and the most prolific plants by far. I have 4 plants and was able to harvest around 50 peppers out of the gate. The largest of the plants has around 25 peppers on it at a time. The bell peppers are off to a slow start, but I picked a bunch of green ones to jump start production. Humans recommend that you pick the early fruits of a pepper plant in order to encourage more production. Bell Pepper plants produce around 3-4 peppers per plant at a time, and I have 10 plants. About to get funky with a capital P. I only have one Poblano plant, but it’s sprawling, halfway to a tomato plant, used a cage for support. The Cayenne peppers are just beginning to change color, not sure how long that process takes, but I think I’ll have around 30 peppers soon. The Cubanelle (sweet) are prolific, but not too large yet. And that red guy in that shiny silver pan is a Habanero. We have around 20 that are about ready to pop. I have 4 plants and it’s gonna be a bumper crop of napalm.
What to do with all of these peppers?
The first thing we did was follow a recent Gourmet recipe for Jalapeno Poppers.The fresh jalapenos from the garden are much hotter than store bought variety and not nearly as waxy. This is good eating – great with a beer on a hot summer day.
We made a quick tomato sauce using bell and jalapeno peppers. Perfect over linguine.
We harvested green beans and cooked them simply with shallots and garlic.
We spiced up my favorite potato recipe with jalapenos and pepper jack cheese. Added a great NY strip rubbed with a Montreal steak spice.
The heirloom tomatoes are pop-and-locking across 6 basil plants that have gone into hyperdrive.
Birch made an epic caprese salad this past weekend.
We made 10 batches of pesto – third no butter, third with butter, third with sundried tomato. Here’s the no butter, made especially chunky for a tuna steak cooked later that night.
To honor all of this great food courtesy of the Shambaugh Victory Garden, I built a new leaf compost enclosure to help fuel future efforts.
That’s my first installment. More summer vacation food porn to come…
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