Frame: On Nutrition
I’m frustrated by all of the press behind the recent redesign of the food pyramid. This article from the New York Times shows a few images of the pyramid through the years, but the newly unveiled version is below.
Michelle Obama seems to think that revamping the pyramid into some type of plate-shaped crest is going to be a “crucial” component in the fight against obesity. Now, currently, the Standard America Diet (SAD) consists of fast food, refined sugar (Coke), and red meat. The most commonly eaten vegetable, by a wide margin, is french fries. Does Ms. Obama really think that wasting her time, money, and intellectual capital on a drawing is going to make America healthier?
Michelle, the next time you need something like this, give me a ring. I could have saved you a lot of time and money and achieved the exact same – or maybe even better – effect.
Microsoft Paint, and my cure for America's health problem
Food: Cucumber Soup
There are 63 results for a “cucumber soup” search on FoodNetwork.com. On average, these recipes have about 12 ingredients and can take up to an hour of active preparation time. I find this ridiculous – it’s a cold soup, there is no cooking involved, what could possible take so long?
Granted, you can make Cucumber Soup as fancy or as rustic as you like, but if you are looking for something quick and healthy, try this recipe. For the dairy component of my soup I use Fromage Blanc, a fat-free French style cheese, similar in consistency to sour cream. It has a tang that usually minimizes the need for salt, lemon, or other acid, but feel free to add those things if you desire.
Cucumber Soup
1 large English Cucumber, peeled and seeded
8 oz fromage blanc
1 small shallot, roughly chopped
1 tsp fresh dill (optional)
Throw all ingredients in blender or food processor, blend until frothy, chill for one hour. Potential toppings or additions: chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, or potatoes, grilled shrimp or chicken, a dollop of sour creme or marscapone, a slice of lemon or lime. Voila.
Food: 5 Second Strawberry Soup
As it becomes increasingly steamy in these pre-summer days, I’ve slowly installed my patented fan and air conditioner combo. Five fans and one AC unit, all of which are holding up remarkably well, despite the extensive loss of small, important pieces that disappear into the ether when I disassemble my arsenal each September. I’ve also introduced a new piece of equipment to the mix – I am the proud and only slightly sheepish owner of what I would have previously categorized as an alamingly expensive blender. I’m a convert – I now believe that a good kitchen appliance can make a sizeable difference in cooking results.
I’ve been using my Vitamix primarily for smoothies, but when it became too hot to eat actual food this week I switched to soup. The following recipe for Strawberry Soup is quick, cheap, and incredibly easy. Just make sure you have a good blender.
5 Second Strawberry Soup – serves 1 to 2
1/3 cup orange juice (no pulp)
6 oz vanilla yogurt (or plain, full fat or non fat, but not greek)
1/2 tsp almond or vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup fresh strawberries, stems removed and roughly chopped (do not use frozen)
Throw all ingredients in blender, blend until smooth. If soup is too thick, add more orange juice in 1/4 cup increments until you get the consistency you want. Chill for one hour. Top with mint and whipped cream or creme fraiche, if desired. Voila.
Feast (NYC): Prune, An Expatriate’s Dream
Walking into Gabrielle Hamilton’s Prune, you get the feeling that Jake Barnes might wander in and ask for a drink. The antique – almost too old – looking mirrors over the bar, the rickety chairs and tables, and the yellow-tinged lighting call forth a Hemingway era, circa The Sun Also Rises. This is a welcome change from many new restaurants, whose ultra modern decor choices can be ultra boring – and who wouldn’t want to feel like Lady Brett Ashley, at least for one evening?
The night we dined at Prune the entire staff was women, all wearing prune colored t-shirts. Ms. Hamilton herself walked the floor mid-way through the first seating, chatting briefly. Her book, Blood, Bones & Butter was a topic with several tables. The kitchen area at Prune is miniscule, and servers pluck fresh herbs from a pot just before bringing your plates to the table. All in all the atmosphere is sophisticated casual – shabby chic for food.
The menu is brief but not too small, with entrees between $20-30. We started with the Roasted Marrow Bones and the Fried Sweetbreads with Bacon and Capers, both decadent treats that you can only eat with someone who is just as much of a foodie as you are. (It’s a rare gift from the universe to find a partner that doesn’t just tolerate eating offal, but suggests it.)
Fried Sweetbreads with Bacon and Capers
For dinner we tried the Rabbit Special and the Roasted Half Chicken with Salsa Verde. Both were cooked until just barely done, juicy and flavorful. While technically good, I wasn’t enamored of the salsa verde- I felt the Latin flavors didn’t really mesh with the rest of the menu. I would have preferred the chicken plain, or with some roasted lemons.
Dessert was Ricotta Fritters with Chocolate Sauce and Marscapone Ice Cream with Candied Lemon and Espresso. While both were good, I can easily say these were the best fritters I have ever had. I should qualify this by admitting that I don’t normally like fritters, but this doesn’t mean that I haven’t tried a lot of them. I always want to like them (pillows of fried dough, why not?) but the execution so often falls flat, dry, and oily. These were light, fluffy, and a great pairing to the chocolate sauce.
Prune is the kind of place you go when you want to pretend you’re an expatriate, gorge on really good, high quality food, and see the world through the antique-mirrored eyes of bygone days. Enjoy.
Food: Time Tested
I’m not above junk food, and I’ll freely admit to keeping a few “emergency” supplies around the house: ice cream, a can or two of Spaghettios, and always, always a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. I don’t eat Kraft very often these days, but when I do I’m always surprised at how good it still tastes – it’s one of the few chemically -enhanced childhood favorites that has stood the test of time. (For the record, Bubble Tape, Slim Jims, and Lunchables have lost that battle. Hard.) However, I do make some alterations to the suggested box preparation that a) make it taste even better and b) officially push me into the super-nerd category.
The blue box suggests using 4 tbsps butter and 1/4 cup of 2% milk, and then dumping everything in with the drained noodles. Unfortunately, that usually leads to a somewhat grainy texture. Try it my way, with an extra ingredient and a little bit of finesse.
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
2 tbsps butter
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
salt
noodles and cheese packet from box
whisk
Boil water, salt water, cook noodles, drain. In a small saucepan melt butter, add milk. Gradually whisk in cheese powder, continue to stir until sauce thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat, add grated cheese. Mix sauce into noodles, top with any leftover cheese.
Voila!
Food: Quick Coq au Vin
One of the things I want to learn to cook well is the classic French dish, Coq au Vin (“Rooster in wine”). However, it’s getting a little too warm out to spend hours braising chicken thighs, so for my first attempt I looked up “quick” recipes. I try not to make a habit out of shortcut cooking, but this recipe, based primarily on advice from Bon Appetit, struck a good balance – easy enough for a weeknight dinner, complicated enough to build a good depth of flavor.
The full affair usually includes a variety of chicken parts, Cognac as well as red wine, and several different herbs, but most “quick” Coq au Vin recipes have relatively few ingredients, making me doubt that there would be any flavor at all. Two essential elements of this shortcut recipe: good wine and good, fatty bacon. You should never cook with wine you wouldn’t drink, even more so in a case like this, when you’re relying on it to do most of the flavor work in your dish. The recipes I looked up suggested either a Burgundy (traditional), Syrah, or Zinfandel (my choice).
I added carrots and 1 tbsp of tomato paste to the Bon Appetit version, and dredged the chicken breasts in flour before searing, but otherwise followed the recipe closely. I was only cooking for two, so we had about 1 1/4 cups of leftover sauce. Delicious over leftover buttered egg noodles, but if I was making this for the suggested serving of four people, I’d probably increase the wine and broth amount by 1/2 cup each.
As with most sauces, the longer you cook this, the better it will get. It was technically edible after the suggested 10 minutes of boiling, but after 20 it was much more complex.
Voila!
Frame: Everything Else
We’ve all seen it. It’s usually at the bottom right hand corner of your menu, or on the back, or even on a separate piece of paper. When you ask your waiter about it they give you a blank stare, or at best a lukewarm recommendation. It’s ignored by most diners, and when it finally does catch someone’s eye, the attention is wholly undeserved. It’s the ubiquitous, creepy, “Everything Else” section – striking fear in the heart of chefs everywhere.
If you’re dining at a burger place, “Everything Else” is the Portobello mushroom sandwich. If you are in a Chinese restaurant, it’s chicken noodle soup. Fish fry joint? A plate of pasta. Mexican? Grilled salmon salad. These are the “safe,” familiar-sounding items that people choose when they are too scared to try what the restaurant actually specializes in. These are also the items that terrify the chef when they appear on a ticket – so rarely ordered, they never turn out well. Because really, who wants to eat spaghetti when the place has the best lobster rolls in town?
Post-vegan experiment, I am much more sensitive to those who must eat or choose to eat a special diet, and who are sometimes forced towards Everything Else. But luckily, there are now many places that cater to these diets – which means you should try to frequent them. If your friends drag you to a steak house, don’t torture yourself by trying to engage the waiter in a “can that steak be made without the butter bath? or the meat? ” kind of conversation. Eat dinner before you leave the house – or fill up on rolls. Also, if you’re vegan and your friends drag you to a steak house, maybe it’s time for new friends.
Chefs like David Chang are actually taking a stand against the Everything Else section, and special diets/requests. Chang tried some vegetarian options when he first opened Momofuku, but was almost sued by a woman who was accidentally served a meat-based broth instead of a vegetarian broth (don’t get me started on the litigious nature of our society, or the American public’s general lack of self-responsibility). He also makes the point that items from Everything Else are more likely to be processed, frozen, or racking up unnecessary food miles. But to me the most compelling argument goes back to taste – order what the place is known for and you are guaranteed a delicious meal. Order enchiladas in a French restaurant, and be prepared for food poisoning.
Moral of the story: The next time you see “Everything Else,” avert your eyes immediately.
Food: Pasta with Prosciutto and Orange
I’m a big fan of lemon-based sauces, but had never experimented with orange until I saw this recipe from the Italian issue of Bon Appetit: Tagliatelle with Prosciutto and Orange. I’m a sucker for any edition of any publication that features Italian food, but I’m usually disappointed in the recipes – they always seem to be the same. This was a rare example of a new take on pasta – something different than red sauce, white sauce, meat sauce, or clam sauce.
Tasty as it is, it is not the prettiest dish. Though, I could have dressed it up a bit more with some parsley.
But, it was easy to make, unique, and much less heavy than the cream and butter-based sauce would have you believe. Two notes:
1) Make sure the prosciutto is cooked until crispy, you need that texture differential. This takes some patience and a pan that is large enough to give the pieces space to crisp, not steam.
2) This is one recipe where using the reserved pasta water is not optional. Many times you can improvise if you forget to put it aside – or just add extra cream – but the starchy water really seals the sauce in this dish.
Voila!
Frame: New (Cool) Features
When I was in college I told a lie, ostensibly to look cool. I told some of my friends that I was taking a complicated computer science class, when in reality I was taking Irish Literature.
Why did I think this lie would make me look cool? I have no idea.
Did this lie make me look cool? I am sure it did not.
Today I have finished building a series of directories for The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread – the creation of these has involved extremely basic yet mind-numbing computer activity. Please don’t let my efforts go to waste – check out the Food Finder, Feast Finder, and Fluid Finder, located at the top right on this site. These (admittedly basic) tools should make it much easier for my adoring public (hi mom and dad!) to locate restaurants, recipes, or drinks at a glance. You can also still click on Feast, Fluid, Food, or Frame to sort by category, or you can search the site by keyword (both functions located in the column on the right).
And just to be clear, I am massively glad that 10 years ago I was reading Yeats, Joyce, and Wilde, instead of The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs.
And I am not cool.
Food: Canal House Crab Cakes
For Mother’s Day this year, my brother and I promised that we would cook dinner. Perhaps in an effort to exact revenge for the many times I made Mom assemble The World’s Most Difficult Birthday Cake, she put crab cakes on her menu. I’m not saying crab cakes are inherently difficult, but I had never made them before. And, the mere mention of the word cake shakes me up a little, given my baking history.
But, MoSB did me a favor by choosing the recipe she wanted from Canal House Cooking, printed in this Wall Street Journal article.
The Canal House is not a restaurant but a series of cookbooks, published quarterly. Their latest volume, The Grocery Store, features recipes for Asparagus Bread Pudding and Boston Cream Pie, both of which are depicted in luscious photos. Given their reputation for recipes that focus on simple preparation and high quality ingredients, I had high hopes for the crab cakes.
We doubled the recipe for Mother’s Day, but found we had to triple the scant amount of required (Ritz!) crackers to get cakes that didn’t fall apart. I consider this a good thing – nobody wants mealy, mushy, bready crab cakes. The focus should be on the flavor of the crab, and Canal House Cooking definitely agrees. Really, the entire success of this dish depends on the quality of crab that you use. Don’t skimp.
A crucial step in this recipe is chilling – they suggest 1-2 hours. Because the cakes don’t have much filler, they will be impossible to cook if they don’t have the chance to firm up. When you do cook them, be gentle. Once the pan is heated, turn down to medium and cook slowly, 4-6 minutes per side. Voila!
Feast: The Gallows
There are plenty of restaurants that serve a lovely lunch or dinner, and many that are consistently good with both – some can even boast a great signature drink or dessert. But it’s a rarity to find a place that executes reliably for not just one of their meals, but all of them, and it’s more unusual to find a known dinner star that can even spell “brunch.” The Gallows is that infrequent example of a restaurant with dependable excellence on every plate.
Before last weekend I’d only been to The Gallows for dinner, blithely indulging in their scotch eggs, poutine, and burgers with impunity. As a special treat, the friendly chef – Seth Morrison – can make you a platter of cured meats, smoked fish, cheese, and pickled vegetables – a sampling from the “boards” they offer. These trays are a good group appetizer, or a great accompaniment to a martini if you’re looking for a lighter dinner. The buffalo chicken livers, since removed from the menu (presumably due to lack of interest from Boston food- Philistines), were another favorite – flavorful and not overly gamey. But without them I’ve been able to focus on the seasonal vegetable sides – a bit healthier and always cooked with a nice crunch still left inside.
But I want to talk about brunch, and what is brunch without a Bloody Mary? Start with a tutorial on The Gallows’ options: Simple (traditional), Eric the Red (with Aquavit), or Out Of Control (no bloody, emphasis on the mary). I played it safe with a “Simple,” served with pickled vegetables and plenty of horseradish. Like most of their food, this drink had a fresh, clean flavor. Tomato-based drinks can tend to take on a muddy taste, but this was very crisp.
the hangtown fry
One of the best things about brunch is that you can choose from an array of sweet and savory, and one of the best things about The Gallows is that either option will be good. Choose a burger – juicy, thick but not jaw-breaking, and accompanied but not overstuffed with all manner of delicious. My favorite is The Carpetburger, topped with fried oysters, American cheese, and remoulade. Or, for a breakfast spin on the same paradigm, choose the Hangtown Fry- fried eggs, fried oysters, bacon, and pea shoots. The bacon, thick and good-greasy, is embedded in the whites. The oysters are even more decadent after a liberal dunking in the drippy yolks. And the pea shoots make you feel like you’re eating something healthy (you’re not). Or, choose something a little different, like the Shrimp and Fava Beans over eggs, served with a side of creamy grits. The shrimp are cooked just until done, and the sauce has just a tiny kick of heat. Pair this with the savory-yet- mild lobster sausage (house-made), and you’ll never look at dried out diner links again.
If bananas weren’t on my (very short) list of things I don’t care for, I’d be writing about the Bananas Foster Fluffernutter Brulee French Toast. As it was, I saw it served and it looked pretty unbeatable (once I replaced the image of bananas with strawberries in my head). All in all, you can’t go wrong. If you’re looking for a place for brunch, dinner, or just a drink this weekend, look no further than The Gallows.
For my second installment of brownies matched with Batch, I went internet trolling for something unique, and found what I was looking for in a Saveur recipe for Black and White Brownies. I was sucked in by the use of almond extract (one of my favorite extracts), though a little unnerved by the large amount of eggs required. I’m partial to fudgey vs. cakey brownies, and was concerned these would be too fluffy. In reality, they turned out to be fairly dense (though that may be because I slightly undercooked them) and the almond flavor was strong though not overpowering (though I accidentally doubled the dose).
If I made these again I’d use 1 1/2 the suggested amount of almond, and I’d either skip the “white” part altogether, or double it. As it was, the cream cheese/sugar/egg mixture made a pretty marbling effect but didn’t do much for taste. Other possible alterations for the next time around? Adding some chopped cherries or walnuts.
For the Batch Ice Cream accompaniment, I tried the Ginger. The almond and chocolate flavors in the brownies were already strong, but the Ginger cut through the sweetness and enabled me to eat more, which I appreciated. This is what I like the most about the Batch Ginger – the flavor is clean, bright, and refreshing while still being creamy. Try it blended with some frozen peaches and seltzer if brownies are too much on a humid spring day. Voila!
Feast: Sportello, It’s Just My Thing
When Sportello – another Barbara Lynch venture – first opened in 2008, I observed a respectable 6 month period of “too hip and trendy for my taste” disdain, and then made a reservation. I had to back out when the friend I was going with took an unexpected business trip. A few months later I tried again, this time with my mother. While she’ll deny it vehemently, she decided she wanted pizza that night instead. The next reservation was supposed to be with a date. This one I cancelled myself, after a conversation when the words, “I don’t understand why people like bacon so much” left my prospective partner’s mouth. (Never waste a good meal on someone who doesn’t get it, and who is going to make fun of your food geekiness the whole time.) After that, I gave up- it just seemed like it wasn’t in the cards for me.
A year went by and a lot of things changed, as things tend to do. Last Saturday, without knowing any of this back story, my boyfriend made a reservation and took me out to dinner at Sportello. It was worth the wait.
The dining area in Sportello is small, and there are only two tables – the rest of the seating is around the two u-shaped bars facing the open kitchen. Some people love this setup, some hate it. I think it’s great if you are eating with just one other person, but could be a downer if you go with a group – too hard to talk to anyone aside from the person immediately next to you. And definitely don’t go with three people, the person in the middle will have to do that awkward leaning back manuever the entire time, so the other two can chat.
Beyond the dining area is a small bakery counter with fresh bread and pastries, and a little retail space selling odds and ends (and Lynch’s Stir cookbook, or course). The wine list is nice, but they only use stemless glasses. I’ll admit I played into that trend and enjoyed it for a while, but I’m really over stemless – just give me a tumbler if you don’t want to use the real thing. Glassware aside, the atmosphere was fun and lively, and more casual than most of Lynch’s restaurants.
We started with lamb tartare and gorgonzola fonduta. The tartare was smooth and clean tasting, with creamy artichokes on top. The fonduta had a strong flavor, as expected, but light texture. It came with salumi, roasted vegetables, crostini, and dates for dipping, and my unexpected favorite was the dates. Their sweetness cut the bitterness of the gorgonzola and their texture soaked up the viscous liquid.
For entrees, we started with the Crescent Duck Breast. It was pink, tender and well-seasoned, and topped with perfectly cooked fennel. I couldn’t decide on the second dish, so I asked our waiter which he preferred – the Bigoli (pasta with tuna, capers, and chili) or the Bolognese. I hate it when restaurant staff are wishy-washy on recommendations – it makes me feel like they don’t eat the food where they work (uh oh), or that nothing is very good. At Sportello, our server gave such resounding accolades to the Tagliatelle Bolognese with Fried Basil that I may never order anything else. I know bolognese, and this was an outstanding example. The fresh noodles were the perfect texture, the sauce was velvety, and the flavor was layered and rich.
The only hiccup of the evening was trying to find my date’s black coat, which he had hung on the rack at the entrance. As had every other man there, all of whom seemed to own the same black coat. As we were pawing through the hooks, making suspicious comments like “this one looks nice! just take this one!” the host came over. After assuring him we weren’t actually stealing, he studied the rack for 3 seconds, plunged his hand in, and returned immediately with the right coat. “It’s my thing,” he said with a smile and a shrug, “I’m just good at finding coats.”
Sportello has all the hallmarks of yet another Barbara Lynch success – great service, great atmosphere, great food. It’s just her thing.
Food: Tzatziki Sauce
I like lamb, but I’m not big on mint jelly. Call me crazy, but I don’t want my meat to taste like a Shamrock Shake from McDonald’s. A few years ago, in an effort to find a better condiment, I starting making my own Tzatziki sauce. Tzatziki can be eaten with any meat – or even just with pita – but the creamy coolness of the yogurt and the combination of mint and dill goes particularly well with a slightly gamey lamb.
A few notes about preparation: The easiest way to get the garlic incorporated is the grate it over a zester or a fine microplane, though you could also mince it and make a paste with salt. And, make sure the cucumbers have been seeded and patted dry before dicing, you don’t want to water down your mixture. Finally, the fat content of the greek yogurt doesn’t really matter, as long as the thick consistency is still there.
Tzatziki Sauce:
16 oz greek yogurt (I prefer Fage 2%)
1 tsp fresh mint, chopped
1/2 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely grated over a zester or microplane
Juice of 1 lemon plus zest from 1/2 lemon
1 small shallot, minced
1 cup seeded cucumber, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Put yogurt into a large mixing bowl, add herbs, garlic, shallot, and lemon juice and zest. Mix (with a spoon, not a beater) just to combine. Fold in cucumbers (you don’t want to over mix). Taste, add salt and pepper to your liking, greek yogurt already has a strong flavor. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour, or refrigerated for 1-2 hours, for best flavor. Voila.
Food: How to Make an Easter Bunny (Cake)
Start with two round cake layers, whatever flavor you like. One cake will be the bunny head, and be left untouched. The other cake will be cut into ears and a bow tie, because no self-respecting Easter Bunny is without a bow tie.
Make the ears by starting a third of the way into the round cake and cutting a half moon, repeating on the other side. The middle third left in the pan becomes the bow tie.
Next, you will need frosting. The fluffier, the better.
Next, you get to decorate with whatever you want. We chose coconut tinted with food coloring, licorice, and gumdrops.
You can choose any variant of candy. Don’t forget eyebrows, whiskers, and teeth.
Voila.
The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread 