Kitchen Tunes II

January 29, 2010 • Uncategorized • by
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Welcome back to the second installment of Kitchen Tunes, January edition. Below are a series of albums I’ve been listening to lately while cooking or writing this blog. The cold temperature and abundance of wintery produce calls for albums teaming with cozy, mellow, groovy tunage…and a couple that are the complete opposite. Here are some of my personal faves from this month:

Camera Obscura: My Maudlin Career

Camera Obscura is a group from Scotland with a unique, and almost antique, sound full of heavy reverb, cheerful progressions, upbeat rhythm, and lyrics that you can’t help but smile to. The singer, Tracyanne Campbell, sounds like the original Zoe Deschanel (actress from Elf). That’s a weird way of putting it, but Zoe’s voice is the closest thing I can think of when trying to describe Tracyanne’s and Camera Obscura has been around since the 90′s. The addition of a horn and string section makes the songs quietly epic, big but lighthearted, all around great stuff. They’re also signed to our local Merge Records, home to other greats like Arcade Fire, Spoon, and the recently signed Love Language (congrats guys!).

Elvis Costello: Secret, Profane and Sugarcane

My man Elvis is up next, charming bastard. Each of his albums is like a Scorsese film, similar in style but still worlds apart. This most recent release is an expedition into bluegrass. I don’t know what it is with the Brit’s obsession with American Country music (and I don’t mean the Country Music Star shit on TV or the Radio). The Stones loved it, The Beatles loved it, Clapton….the man basically reinvented the ish (blues at least). Anyways, Costello’s album is rustic detachment from the norm, track after track full of fiddle, mandolin, banjo, jug, and simple harmonies. It’s like being back in the Boone Saloon before the liquor bill was past…if it were run by a hilarious, jolly little Englishman.

Queens of the Stone Age: Lullabies to Paralyze

This album is creepy, in a good way, but look at that album cover, cripes! The guitar licks are sinister, the lyrics are riddle with references to witch burnings, blood, nightmares, and so on. The music is, as always with these guys, amazing: heavy heavy guitar, hammering drums, stomach dropping bass lines, and wailing, lingering guitar solos. What’s not to love! Josh Homme’s voice is as awesome and intriguing as his wild chord progressions, time changes, and devilish innuendos. It reminds me of what Heavy Metal should be, not all that screamo garbage, just both-guns-blazing rock. Keep it up dudes.

Julian Casablancas: Phrazes for the Young

Last but not least we come to one of my all-time vocal heros, Julian Casablancas. As the lead singer of the Strokes and son of famed Spanish fashion titans John Casablancas and Jeanette Christiansen the guys got a lot going for him. If that wasn’t enough, he just came out with his first solo album. How to sum it up…? Let’s say The Cure meets Young Michael Jackson meets Ratatat meets Blondie. It’s a really dynamic album with bits and pieces of obscure sound effects, drum fills, backup vocals, you name it. I think of it as a musical metaphor of Julian’s current lifestyle: endless NYC nights filled with technicolor lights, strong drinks, non-stop dance parties, a modern day Saturday Night Fever. I have no idea if that’s true at all but I like to think so. Either way, Bravo Julian, the album is one of the most energetic and exciting collection of songs I’ve heard in a while, and there’s a lot of crappy techno dribble coming out lately.

Give these a try over the weekend. If we get snowed in: Camera Obscura or Costello. If we don’t and Raleighwood is calling: Queens and Julian. If all else fails, get in the kitchen, crank up the volume and rock your bollocks off.

Kitchen Experiments Part 1

January 28, 2010 • Kitchen Experiments, Product, Recipes • by
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Today I’m starting a new series of posts called Kitchen Experiments. It’s a new category rather more than a new series but I hope to continue the experiments a few times a month, so we’ll see. Anywho, tonight’s dinner included one thing I saw on TV, one thing I saw at the store while shopping for the meals ingredients, and the other was more or less a happy  surprise.

Lets start with the TV ingredient. Out of all the TV I watch, I’d estimate 65-70% pertains to food, most notably Good Eats, Iron Chef, Chopped, No Reservations, Bizarre Foods, and Lidia’s Italy. I’ve learned most of the “formal” things I know thanks to shows like these, for instance how to make a dark rue, what ratio of salt and water for a brine, how to pronounce all the silly French culinary terms, etc…Well, recently Bravo (lame, I know, but bare with me) aired a show called Chef Academy with chef Jean-Christophe Novelli as the instructor of a group of delinquents learning the basics of fine cuisine. There were some good tricks to be learnt but one of the more interesting was Novelli’s technique for cooking small eggplant. I hadn’t thought of it until I stopped by Whole Foods and found these gorgeous little Italian eggplants from Cali. The technique popped into my head so I thought I’d give them a try, here’s how to do it:

Roasted Eggplant

2-4 Small Eggplant

A little oil, A little Balsamic, S & P

Short ingredient list, this righteous side dish will cost you about $1.50 and wow the F- out of your guests.

Start by cutting the eggplant in half length wise. Using a pairing knife, cut diagonal lines in the flesh about 1/4″ apart one way, then go back the opposite way creating a diamond pattern. Don’t cut all the way thru to the skin, just deep enough for the flesh to separate a bit. Bring a heavy pan to med-high heat. Drizzle each half with a tiny bit of oil and liberally salt. Place the halves flesh-side down on the hot pan and leave alone until you can smell the caramelly browned flesh wafting thru the kitchen (or just check that they’re nicely browned), about 5-8 minutes. Turn the eggplant over, drizzle each with a little balsamic vinegar, a little more salt, and place in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until soft to the touch. The end result looks like it will be crunchy, which it is, but only on the very top. The rest of the meat is like “butta”, sweet and creamy, not at all what I was expecting but a great contorni. I’m using this roasted eggplant flesh as a ravioli stuffing soon.

Next is the dish I saw while shopping. I snapped the picture above right before I turned into Whole Foods, looks almost like some wild cloud phenomenon is about to unleash hell over the store. But that’s neither here nor there. As I was sampling all of the cheeses and free fruit samples I walked past the buffet and saw what looked like fried gnocchi. Instead, they were roasted chickpeas, why haven’t I ever thought of that? Anyways, I tried to replicate the recipe and found a new way to enjoy one of my favorite starches:

Roasted Chickpeas with Sage

4-5 Sage Leaves

1 Can Chick Peas, Rinsed and Drained (or homemade would be even better)

Olive Oil, Peperoncino, Salt

This is pretty simple actually. Place the chickpeas, sage, and enough oil to cover the beans in a small baking dish. Add Salt and Peperoncino to taste and pop in a 425 degree oven for an hour or less. The beans when done should be lightly golden, crunchy on the outside, milky on the inside. Killer dish, glad I ganked it.

Last is the happy surprise. There’s a chicken thigh dish I make during the summer where I chop up fresh breadcrumbs with lots of parsley, anchovies, garlic, and olive oil and smother the chicken in the mix and grill. Well tonight I had some stale bread and decided to use the food processor to make some similar parsley breadcrumbs. The result, due to my liberal amount of parsley, was an ultra-violent green breadcrumb that looked like some kind of shit from space (in a good way). I bought some fresh flounder, dredged it in the kryptonite-like breadcrumbs and fried it up. The result: a crazy looking piece of fish, borderline molecular-gastronomy crap. Regardless of how it looked, however, it tasted like a perfectly fried fish cutlet with a pop from the parsley. Squeeze some lemon juice all over it and you’ve got an Italian classic – Fried Flounder Cutlet.

Crazy Flounder Cutlets

1lb Flounder Fillet, Cut into smaller portions

2-3 Slices of Stale Bread

1/2 Bunch of Italian Parsley, Stalks are fine too

Canola Oil

Using a food processor, chop up the bread and parsley together into a fine, bright green breadcrumb. Be sure to season the breadcrumbs with Salt and Pepper to taste. Dredge each piece of fish in the breadcrumbs, then into egg, and then back into the breadcrumb to form a thick breading. Pan-fry the fish in a 1/4″ of canola oil on all sides until golden brown and cooked thru.

Put everything together and it was a meal full of firsts. The flavors melded together to create a dish of earthy flavors, contrasting textures, and interesting new techniques. If you’re in the mood to freak someone out, make the fish, otherwise regular breadcrumbs with just chopped up parsley is much more appealing. The Eggplant and Chickpeas, I’m making them again this weekend, especially the chickpeas which I’ll roast until really crunchy and brown for a peanut-like snack. Is that your brain on the floor, because I think I just blew your mind!

Sauced

January 27, 2010 • Locations, Review • by
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Quick post today, a review on a restaurant which has taken the place of an old favorite. Sauced, a NY-Pizza/Sub restaurant has taken over the abode of one of Raleigh’s past all star restaurants, Enoteca Vin. Vin was awesome. It was high priced and a little pretentious at first but the food spoke for itself, full of Mediterranean flare and simplicity. Unfortunately Vin closed earlier last year and the location (on Glenwood South near Edge Office) has become Sauced.

A few past coworkers of mine  who have started a small design firm based out of Edge Office, ThisIsBeautiful, decided to meet for lunch a couple weeks ago. Our first choice was the newly opened “The Diner” but it was packed so we went next door to give Sauced a try. They’ve had it a lot but this was my first time (eating there, not…you know).

The space is pretty large, set up in kind of a giant L with the bar extending the entirety. There’s nothing too outlandish about the set up, lots of flat screen tv’s, mirror lined bar, what you’d expect really. What’s nice is the weeks specials written out along a large piece of glass in the entry way, $1 slice nights could be dangerous. The lunch service was very busy but we were sat in a matter of seconds, ready to grub out.

Menu, a typical mix of subs, salads, pizza, calzones, and other assorted lunchtime fare. You can find this stuff just about anywhere but today’s special just so happened to be a homemade quiche with a salad and fruit cup. Being the first month of the new year I felt this lighter option would be good….along with a slice just for good measure.

Catching up to the tune of pizza and cold beers, we all enjoyed our options. The pizza is wider than long, easy to pick up, but covered in waaaay too much Mozz. We used to do this at the pizza joint I worked at as a kid, when someone orders a plain slice you add some extra mozzarella so it looks fresh. The dough, however, was a real highlight. An ideally proportioned mixture of crunchy, chewy, yeasty, and oven charred. Sofia’s caprese salad looked flippin delish too (above).

My quiche was decent as well. Light and fluffy with a nice bacony flavor throughout, a little too much cheese here too tho. The salad was, well, a salad, but the fruit cup was spot on. After a hefty slice and strong quiche a cup full of melon, grapes, and pineapple was a welcome finish. But that wasn’t all…

I’m going to go ahead and toss out the possibility that these guys had any idea who I was or what Giusto Gusto is, but before we could leave our waitress brought out 4 fresh made cannolis (top). There were only 5 of us and these things were big enough for 2. We were all a little suspicious, but they turned out to be the best things we ate. Homemade shells packed with sweet ricotta and chocolate chips, it was an even better ending to the meal than the fruit. I’m not a big fan of just throwing some chocolate chips on top and calling it a day, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t eat the whole thing. All in all:

Sauced: Sure

It wasn’t the greatest slice of pizza, quiche, salad, or cannoli I’ve ever had but it definitely wasn’t the worst. The waitress was charming, the service fast and organized, and free cannolis will win this dude over any day (future restaurant’s take notice….like my Yup’s, Nope’s, and Sures matter, ha!). Anyways, thanks to the guys at ThisIsBeautiful and Sauced for a taste of lunch back at HCT, miss those days and eating with you guys everyday.

New York State of Mind

January 26, 2010 • Locations • by
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I’m back and want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes over the weekend. Most importantly I want to thank Megs for an awesome trip up to New York to see our friends and family in and around the city. For those who don’t know Meg and I are both NY transplants, like everyone else in Cary (“Central Area for Relocated Yankees”). We typically make it back up to the city or Long Island once a year and 2010 is starting off right with one of our best trips back yet.

We flew in on Thursday and after a lightning fast cab ride met Megs cousin Kimmy and her man Dave at their sweet-ass place near Gramercy Park (unbelievable diggs). Our first order of business: dinner, a tapas place called Flor de Sol in Tribeca. This place had more mood-lighting than an Amsterdam Brothel, but rather than a filthy lap dance I sat down and had a fabulous meal. Candles were the only light source, creating a “speak-easy” atmosphere and easily the worst place to try and get a decent picture of the overwhelmingly good food…sorry dudes. On the other hand, I was able to score this sweet pic of the sangria, a chilling mix of Spanish wine and fruit with only a hint of sweetness. Our meal contained some staples like croquettas with pork, calamari and garlic aioli, patatas bravas, as well as some not-so-common dishes like stewed octopus in fresh olive oil, baked clams with Serrano ham, shrimp ceviche’, and a tres-leches cake that stole the show. 3 pitchers of sangria later and we called it a night, on to day two.

Friday started with a must, NYC bagels, double the size of the shwaggy brueggers variety around here and triple the flavor, not to mention the array of cream cheese “shhmeers” you could try like walnut raisin or Dave’s white fish (why can’t we get this stuff down here?).

That afternoon I met up with Bcole, a friend of ours from Cary, who moved to the city 2 years ago and knows his way around like a local. Our mission was to tackle China Town, to compare our Grand Asia Market with the real thing in NYC. Block after block of markets, medicinal shops, supply shops, we were like kids in a candy store. I got yelled at more than a few times for trying to take pics (hiding something, are we?) in the shops like the shady below-ground market we found (above) but I got a few shooting from the hip like some paparazzi stooge. For lunch, a closet-sized dumpling joint where you could grab 10 pork and chive dumplings for $2! I’m serious, we spent $6 and ate like Chinese royalty – minus the cool outfits. The dumplings were our favorite item but the steam buns were also delectable.

Before heading out we stepped literally across the street into Little Italy, sadly diminished from it’s early splendor, to grab a gelato. We also hit up Abraco Espresso for a shot of none other than Durham’s Counter Culture beans, as well as a crazy little spice shop selling over sized quantities of every herb, spice, powder, or seed known to man.

That night we took the LIRR into Babylon where my cousins picked us up and headed next door to West Islip for some family reunion fun. We all felt short handed after the wedding, getting only a few days to spend together, so we made sure to make our way out to the Island for some home cooking and family ball-busting. I swear, we spend almost more time at the table teasing each other and telling embarrassing stories than eating. My dad happened to be in NY so he made Linguine and Clams, basic but stellar with the addition of anchovies. My memories of eating at my Aunt Ro’s are filled with pastries, eating cannoli after cannoli until I got sick. My family obviously knows me all too well and had a Casata cake waiting (filled with layers of sweet ricotta like a cannoli) along with sesame cookies and fresh biscotti. Mille mille grazie to my family for an unforgettable night of laughs.

Saturday, my 25th B-Day (quarter century son!), was full of good friends, great food, and even better brews. We started off with a brunch at Petite Abrielle, a Belgian restaurant famous for their waffles and Belgian beer list. The waffles were much more delicate than I was expecting, light and airy but still very crunchy. I opted for the orig’  but the others seemed pretty damn content with their mountainous stacks of ice cream, fudge, strawberries, and hot fudge, it was like Ihop on steroids (above).

Next we were off to Union Square to peek around the farmers market. Tons of grass fed beef, organic pork, mushrooms, fresh baked bread and cookies, and more potato varieties than I’ve ever seen (also unexpected). Connected to Union Square is Heartland Brewery, a NYC chain of brew-pubs featuring some pretty tastey beers. The oatmeal stout was super complex, full of coffee/chocolate/oaty goodness. Even the Indian River Light, which I was given accidentally, was awesome with plenty of citrus and just the right amount of hops to make the mouth water for another.

Next we were off to Brooklyn for even more brews. 2 trains later and we were inside the Brooklyn Brewery sipping on unique brew-master flavors like Cookie-Jar and Back-Breaker. Cookie Jar was a little over the top, like a melted down ginger snap, but the Back-Breaker was a hearty brew full of roasted barely and biting hops. Sadly they closed their doors shortly after we arrived, but more brews were needed.

We walked along the East River with the city in gorgeous splendor lighting the way to The Diamond. A cheesy name but unforgettable pub, the beer list was 10 beers long, none of which I had ever heard of before. A strong 8.5% ale was a mere $7 accompanied by a cool bartender, shuffle board table, and small ski gondola to relax in outside. When you’ve had nothing but hearty beers and a tray of fine cheeses and salami, sitting in a freezing metal gondola in 35 degree weather with 4 great friends doesn’t seem so bad. Content with the damage done to the opposing shuffleboard competitors, we left Brooklyn bound for the east village and a restaurant called Crispo to meet Megs and her cousins.

Our meal at Crispo rivaled Meg and I’s meal last year at Batali’s Babbo. The atmosphere was very rustic Italian, brick walls, low lighting, the scent of Chianti and olives wafting thru the dining room, my kind of place. Our party was pretty large, 14 to be exact, so we had to split up but the meal made up for the lack of space. Our table began with 2 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino, a very very dry red wine from Tuscany that leaves your palate parched and eager for food (above).  Starters: Olives, Potato Croquettes, Crispy Octopus (jaw dropping), Arancino, and my personal favorite Fresh Ricotta with olive oil and a little basil. The ricotta was the freshest thing I’ve had since leaving Italy, milky and light with none of the grainy texture you so often find in the store-bought variety. The octopus was also sublime, soft as a pillow but with a crunchy exterior, no idea how they did it. Everyone had pasta for their main, and obviously Crispo’s true strength. Among the fresh styles were agnolotti filled with pumpkin, gnocchi, trofie smothered in truffle oil and topped with prosciutto, all more delicious than the next. I went for another personal favorite, orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe. The sausage was soft and full of fennel, the broccoli rabe sharp and wonderfully bitter. Disappointingly, the lighting in Crispo was almost as dark as Flor De Sol so I couldn’t snap any great food shots, and I don’t want to be the punk flashing off pics during every one’s dinner. The meal ended with everyone singing happy birthday and a round of Zeppole, an Italian doughnut basically, good but my moms are better. Easily one of the best Italian meals I’ve ever had, and that’s saying a lot, molto molto bravo Crispo!

We tried to make it into a cool bar in the meat packing district after dinner but the line went around the block so we headed back uptown to close out the evening. The night ended with a few of us staggering to an Irish bar near Kimmy and Dave’s place. After 4 hours of shitty bar service and weak-sauce, half-filled Irish Car Bombs I had it out with the two dick-head bartenders (all verbally of course). Silly Irish, you really shouldn’t need an Italian living in NC to tell you how to make a proper Irish Car Bomb, but maybe one day you’ll take your head out of your arse’ and figure it out. Until then, steer clear of Failte Irish Bar on the lower West Side.

After a mere 4.5 hours of sleep I woke up, threw on some clothes and enjoyed a killer brunch with some of Megan’s family who drove in from Jersey and Staten Island. Bellies full of quiche, blintz, french toast, bagels, fruit, coffee cake, and a much needed Cuban coffee (courtesy of Dave) Meg and I were on our way to the airport. The weekend was one to remember, and the best birthday adventure a guy could ask for. Thanks again to all my family, friends, and Megan for making it unforgettable, we’ll be up again soon to relive the dream.

Sicilian Special

January 21, 2010 • Recipes • by
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Ciao tutti. Megs surprised me with a trip to NYC to see friends and family for my birthday this weekend so this will be my last post of the week. Considering the amount of Italian food I’m certain to eat over the course of the weekend I find it only right to leave you with one of my personal faves. If there’s such a thing as a signature dish, this would be mine.

Involtini, or little roll ups, are a Sicilian dish usually involving veal or swordfish. The meat is pounded till very thin, then layered with some sort of stuffing, rolled up, and usually grilled. I make this a few times a month, changing the protein depending on the quality and the filling based on the season. It’s winter and Radicchio is all over the grocery stores so I grabbed a few and went to work. Plus, my buddy Luke just moved back to town and deserved a good casalinga meal.

The flavors in this version are not very Sicilian at all, actually they’re based on a plate of pasta Megs and I had in the medieval town of Ferrara in Emiglia-Romagna. It’s still the best bowl of pasta either of us have had to date: super thin pennette covered in a creamy but light balsamic-pancetta-radicchio sauce…sublime. The flavors seem to be meant for each other and could easily be transformed into this Sicilian tradition, so if you’ve got a couple hours to make a killer meal try this recipe on for size:

Involtini alla Ferrarese

2 Large Chicken Breasts

2 Heads Radicchio, sliced thin

5 Slices of Pancetta, cut thin

1 Small Red Onion, sliced

1/2 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 Cup Italian Panna or Whipping Cream

1/4 Cup Breadcrumbs

1/4 Cup Pecorino Romano

Filling:

To make cutting easier, place the pancetta slices in the freezer for 15 minutes before you plan to start. Roll the slices up and cut into 1/4″ strips, or what the silly French call “lardons”. Place the Pancetta in a large saute pan and cook in a little oil on med-high heat until almost crispy. Add in the onion and cook until almost caramelized. Finally, add the sliced Radicchio, a little at a time, until you can incorporate it all. Add half the balsamic vinegar and half the cream and reduce until the liquid is almost gone (above). Transfer 3/4 mixture to a bowl and add the breadcrumb and cheese, creating a thick paste-like filling for the Involtini (the remaining 1/4 is for the sauce).

Chicken:

Start by cutting the chicken breasts into three fillets and pound each out until almost transparent. Cut each thin piece of chicken in half so you have almost a 4″x4″ piece. Take a piece of chicken and smear on enough filling to cover 3/4 of the piece, be generous but don’t overdue it otherwise they’ll unroll or worse, it will spill out the side and be lost forever. Roll the chicken up and use the portion not covered in filling to hold the roll together. Repeat for all of the chicken and stash in the fridge for 30 minutes to help them set. After 30 mins, take out the chicken and grill on high heat, searing every inch of the involtini so they’re nice and crispy on the outside, about 3-5 minutes per side (below).

Sauce:

Before the Involtini are done on the grill, finish your sauce by adding the rest of the balsamic and cream to the remaining filling mix in the pan. Reduce until thickened and pour over your involtini (below). Buon Appetito!

It’s a little tedious, that’s for sure, but once you make these you’ll want to make them over and over again with new meat, new fillings, new contorni (side dishes), it’s my favorite dish to make behind a bowl of pasta. As for contorni, I served these babies up with sauteed spinach with garlic,lemon, and lots of Vesta (above) and grilled small potatoes covered in rosemary and peperoncino. I don’t know why more people don’t grill potatoes, it’s got that same roasted-potato thing going on but with the extra smokey-char from the grill, f-ing great! And if you’re still wondering about the top picture, yes, I am a samurai. Seeya next week!

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