Sock Monkey

Review: Gotham Bar and Grill

2011-11-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

Gotham Bar and Grill, located at 12 E. 12^th Street, in Greenwich Village, serves contemporary American cuisine. Upon entering the restaurant, you’ll notice a long bar to the left, with tables to the right and back. It really is more restaurant than bar. At lunch, it is filled with business executives and their clients. Still, it retains a rather quiet, low-key atmosphere. The dress code is what I would call business casual at lunch, and perhaps a little dressier at dinner.

The prices don’t differ much between the lunch and dinner menus for appetizers, with a couple of notable exceptions. A la carte appetizers are in the $20 range, while entrees are about $25. In addition to a la carte lunch items, there is a budget-friendly two-course prix fixe option available for $25. The prix fixe menu offers a choice one of three appetizers, and one of three entrees. Many of the items on the lunch menu are seafood, though meat and vegetarian options are available. The prix fixe lunch menu is very vegetarian-friendly.

At dinner, caviar is available as a starter, for upwards of $100. Expect to pay in the neighborhood of $35-$50 for a dinner entrée. Although not a seafood restaurant, seafood also features prominently on its dinner menu. Other options include duck, chicken, beef, and lamb. Vegetarian options include a salad or risotto.

I have never had a bad meal at Gotham Bar and Grill. The food is always impeccably cooked and presented. As much as I love duck, I have always ordered seafood. This is simply because when I eat out, I tend to order something I would make infrequently at home, and with not nearly as much panache as a professional chef.

Dessert items are approximately $15 each. Gotham Bar and Grill has an excellent pastry chef, but my favorite is the cheese plate. Several different artisanal cheeses are served with nut bread, jam, and crackers.

Service is excellent. The wait staff is attentive without being intrusive. There’s no undue wait for the food, nor is there any pressure to eat up and get out of there, so they can turn over the table. I would suggest making reservations for dinner, but it is probably not necessary at lunch.

Zucchini Soup

2011-08-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

This is one of those quickie 20-30 minute soups. The potato makes it thick and hearty. It's probably good chilled, too, but I can never bring myself to wait. It makes approximately 1 quart of soup.

Ingredients:

3 smallish zucchini, or two larger ones, diced
1 medium potato, peeled and diced (1/2" dice)
1 onion, diced
2 c. chicken broth
1 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
salt & pepper to taste
1 Tbs. or so of olive oil

Method:

sautee/sweat the diced onion in olive oil until translucent
add the diced zucchini and potato
add the chopped herbs
add the chicken broth
simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the potato is cooked
"blenderize" it with an immersion blender (aka boat motor), in a blender, or in a food processor until smooth
adjust salt/pepper seasoning to taste

Notes: dried herbs can be used, but fresh are better, and won't get "wonky" in only a 20 minute simmer. Also, in a pinch, it's okay to use bullion cubes, if you're out of chicken stock or broth, but you will undoubtedly have to add less salt at the end if you do.

Review: Havana

2011-07-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

Location: 105 S. Main St., New Hope, PA, 18938

This restaurant in New Hope, PA, is not really Cuban, despite the name. The cuisine could be called SoCal meets granny's kitchen. I had tilapia tacos, while my fearless partner went for something that resembled a giant chicken and shrimp pot pie Hot Pocket, grilled on a panini press. He finished his meal. I had to ask for a doggie bag -- oddly enough, for my fries, not for the tilapia. Two entrees, plus three Yuenglings came to $41 and change.

My understanding is that this place is really all about the music and nightlife, not the food. They do have some good music, although we went on a Sunday afternoon, not during one of the evening concerts with Nils Lofgren or Jefferson Starship. We've walked past this place a bajillion times, but this was the first time we stopped there to eat.

The food's actually pretty good, but not spectacular. For the price, it's a decent value. The tacos came with a nice pineapple and cantaloupe salsa that I liked better than the fish. I'll have to make something similar.

The service was a little slow, but that could be a function of it being the middle of the afternoon when we visited. It would have been a nice touch if the Yuengling had been served with a glass, rather than in the bottle. On the other hand, if the place gets as rowdy at night as I've seen it on other occasions, there's probably a reason they serve it in a longneck.

Overall, I'd give the place an A-, for the food, and for the swing they were playing while we were there. I like swing. The food was fine. The price was reasonable. The service could have been a little faster. It probably is at night.

Alien Soda Bread

2011-04-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

I made a loaf of Irish Soda Bread this morning, following James Beard's recipe for the all-white flour version. I never buy buttermilk, so I typically either use milk that's starting to go sour, or sour regular milk with lemon juice. Aside from that, it's Beard's recipe.

Evidently, I did not slit the cross on the top to a uniform depth before I baked it. The result was hilarious. It looks like an alien skull.

The Barefoot Contessa vs. Keyboard Warriors

2011-03-27T06:27:00.000-07:00

Drudge Report Picked up a story from the L.A. Times, which picked up a story on TMZ about how Ina Garten (aka The Barefoot Contessa) is such a meanie-weenie for not granting the wish of a 6 year old kid with leukemia, to come cook with her. The comments from the "keyboard warriors" were brutal, essentially vilifying Ms. Garten as some sort of hard-hearted-Hannah.

TMZ reports:

A family member involved with the Make-A-Wish foundation tells us ... a little boy named Enzo was approached by the organization after he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia three years ago.

Enzo told Make-A-Wish ... he really wanted to cook with the "Barefoot Contessa" host because he would often watch the show with his mother while resting in bed.

So, a three year old wanted, above all other things, to cook with The Barefoot Contessa? To me, it sounds like it's the mother's wish, and she encouraged her son to ask M.A.W. for that. Kids that age generally want to please their mothers. Who lets a toddler cook? Maybe help stir in some flour to the brownie batter, but actually cook a meal? C'mon!

The boy's mother has a blog of her own, with an entry about the incident.

Unfortunately as we were arriving home from the hospital I got word from “Make A Wish” that it is has been officially confirmed that Ina Garten (the “Barefoot Contessa” ) has declined Enzo’s wish to meet her and cook a meal with her. I felt terrible for him, he has been unwavering in his desire to meet her for 3 years and despite many attempts to get him to pick a 2^nd wish or change his mind he would not.

I find it really hard to believe that a child that young couldn't find something else he wanted to do, given three years. Have a little whine with that cheese, mom?

Even yesterday when I told him the unfortunate news, his reply was simply “why doesn’t she want to meet me”?

So, it was the mother who told her son, not that Ms. Garten had other commitments, but that she "didn't want to meet with him." Good going mom!

I would be lying if I said that I don’t find this to be shocking. To know that out of EVERY THING (material Enzo could choose to have), or ANY PLACE (in the world Enzo could travel to) and out of EVERY PERSON on this earth he chose Ina, and she cannot see what an honor that is. And he wanted to actually be with her for NO reason other then to have her company and cook with her. I actually feel badly for her because Enzo has NOTHING but pure love and intensions and she will never get to have that experience with him and she is missing out on something so authentic and beautiful.

Whine. Cheese. It takes real gall to think that The Barefoot Contessa owes the mother, or the child, for that matter -- neither of which she knows -- anything. I find it extremely distasteful that the mother would use her child in such a manner, so that she could meet and cook with Ina. Kids that age either watch mommy in the kitchen, or they do harmless stuff like hand mommy a spoon, or lick the bowl.

The mother's sense of entitlement.is disturbing. Sure, it's flattering to know that someone you've never heard of wants to meet you, but that doesn't make it your obligation to cater to their demands. The proper thing to do would have been to accept the "sorry, but no can do" answer, tell the child that "his" wish is impossible, and move on. Instead, she made a long, whiny blog entry about what a jerk she thinks Ina is for not kowtowing to ~~her son's wishes~~ her demands.

No doubt, having a sick son is stressful, but there are some things you just don't do. Whining on your blog and/or going to the press about it, fit that category. The mother's way too old to be throwing a public temper tantrum like that.

To top it off, the kid did select a back up wish to go swim with dolphins, and is getting swimming lessons so he can do so. I'd say it's a happy ending, for the kid, anyway. The kid may be disappointed. Maybe he isn't. But the mother sounds really bitter, which is just wrong.

There's an interesting discussion here. Evidently, I'm not the only person who feels the way I do about this subject.

Also, see this blog for a marvelously snarky take on the situation. The comments are priceless.

*UPDATE*
Now, the boy's mother, who started the whole firestorm, wants to "stop the madness." I don't think she "gets" it. If she didn't want to cause Ina Garten any grief, then she shouldn't have posted that entry whining about how she couldn't understand how anyone could possibly deny her special ~~snowflake~~ son, and how he couldn't understand why Ina "didn't want to meet" him. Basically, the mother blames the press. What she doesn't understand is that half the kerfuffle is directed at her, not Ina, and it's because of her sense of entitlement evident in her own blog entry, not the press coverage.

Apple Custard Tart

2011-02-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

I didn't use any recipe at all for this, and completely winged it. If I had to do it again, I'd probably let the apples juice a bit more in the sugar and spices before arranging them in the dish. Mostly, I threw this together because I had a cup of heavy cream that needed to be used, and a whole bunch of apples that were sitting around, unlike my still-frozen pumpkin mash. I used a combination of granny smith and cameo apples, just because that's what I had on hand. The spices I used were cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. I'm a huge fan of allspice, and sneak a pinch into just about any sort of fruit thing I do that doesn't involve berries.

Pita Bread

2011-02-03T07:21:00.000-08:00

This is the first time I tried this James Beard recipe from Beard on Bread. What I love about that book is that Beard gives a little background about the recipes, and the ones that can be a bit hit-or-miss, he identifies as such. Most of them work beautifully, although I probably wouldn't want to try making monkey bread on a sticky hot summer day, any more than I would, say, meringue.

I only made half a batch, because I really didn't want to use 6 cups worth of flour on a full batch, in case it came out like something best fed to squirrels. As it turned out, the recipe worked like a charm, and I'll be making it again. It's probably a little more expensive to make than store bought, but it's fresher, and tastier.

Shoo Fly Pie

2011-02-03T07:04:00.000-08:00

New Kitchen Gadget

2011-01-24T13:51:00.000-08:00

I bought this food processor today to replace a Cuisinart that was over 30 years old. The old one had a pretty powerful motor, which still works like a champ, but one by one, all the plastic pieces cracked and broke, leaving me with a motor, a bowl with no handle, the cover, and just the one metal chopping blade.

The thing was so old that it didn't even have on/off/pulse buttons; the lid had to be rotated by hand to engage the motor. In all fairness, my mom probably used it three or four times, so she gave it to me when they moved, and were looking to give away or get rid of some things. It was intact, with all its parts/accessories, but as soon as I started using it, plastic parts started cracking, rendering them useless.

Comparing that one to this one is sort of like comparing a mule to a thoroughbred. This one has a 1000w motor. Lesser models were available with 500w motors, but I really didn't want to bother spending the money on something potentially underpowered, when it encounters a chunk of raw root vegetable, or cabbage.

What I love most about this model is its nesting smaller bowl. It allows me to whoosh together a batch of hummus in the smaller bowl without having to get the entire rest of it gooky. It also helps a lot that the slicing blade is adjustable to various heights, like a mandoline, which sort of eliminates the need to use my mandoline for root veggies. I can go from potato chip thin to cole slaw cabbage thick fairly quickly.

I know -- this reads like I'm a new convert to food processors. That's not completely true. I understood their value, but never had one before that worked for their purpose as well as the 1950s Kitchen Aid Professional model table top mixer I have, and use, for making cake batter, especially cheesecake and red velvet batters.

At the very least, I will no longer have to shave slices of cabbage and shred carrots by hand with a knife and grater, or a mandoline. That saves a heck of a lot of time.

It's a rather large. If you don't have the countertop space for it, or the space to hise it away, it probably isn't the appliance for you. But, if you do, I think you'll like it.

Classic Scottish Shortbread

2010-12-14T07:11:00.000-08:00

These were a hit at the office. I've tried several shortbread recipes over the years, but these seem to come out the most "classic." Sure, you can vary them by adding, say, almond extract, or cinnamon to the batter, but the recipe that follows produces what I remember from my childhood. Caution: loads of butter ahead. That slogan would make a good roadside sign, wouldn't it?

Time: one hour, overall; 20-25 minutes baking at 350F; plus 5 to make the dough, and 30 to let it chill in the fridge

Quantity: Approx. 3 dozen 1" x 2" cookies

Ingredients:

3.5 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 lb. of butter (3 sticks), room temperature, or nuked for 30 seconds to soften it
1 cup of granulated sugar, plus about a teaspoon, reserved for sprinkling on top
1 tsp. of vanilla
pinch of salt (or 1/4 tsp. if you use unsalted butter)

Method:

Cream the sugar and butter together
Mix in the vanilla and salt
sift the flour, and mix it in, half a cup or so, at a time
When it forms a stiff dough that sticks together pretty well, form it into a disk or rectangle, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate it for half an hour (same thing as you'd do with pie crust dough)
Roll it out until it's about 3/8" thick, on a floured board
Cut it into whatever size/shape you want*
Transfer the cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet, jelly roll pan, or whatever baking sheet you have, spacing them about 1/4" apart (they don't expand a whole lot, but they do expand)
Sprinkle a little extra granulated sugar over the top of the cookies
Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, until the edges looks set, and just barely start to develop some color
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet, then remove them

* Alternately, transfer the entire rolled-out block of dough onto your baking sheet, then cut the cookies as they cool, about 2-3 minutes after they come out of the oven. I've done this with a pizza cutter, for basic rectangular cookies, and it works. Call it cheating, if you want, but it's expedient.

Notes: These can be cut into rounds, wedges, or whatever. I don't believe in wasting cookie dough that has that much butter in it, so go ahead and bake those oddball edge pieces you may get. You can prick the dough with a fork before you bake it, but if it's rolled out to a consistent thickness, it's not really necessary. They will come out of the oven soft, but will harden as they cool.

Stuffed Poblanos

2010-12-03T15:05:00.001-08:00

Recipe: Reverse Chip Cookies

2010-06-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

I'm sure there are various other names for these, but they're basically chocolate chip cookies, with chocolate dough, and white chocolate chips. They stay chewy after they cool, and don't have that cake-like texture that some chocolate cookies have.

Yield: about 4 dozen cookies
Time: 15-20 minutes to make the dough, plus 10 minutes at 350F baking time per batch

Ingredients:

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 lb. of butter (one stick, or half a cup), softened
1/4 lb. of vegetable shortening (or just use all butter)
3/4 c. granulated white sugar
2/3 c. of brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 c. of white chocolate chips (a 12 oz. bag)

Method:

let the oven preheat to 350F while you make the dough
sift together the dry ingredients in one bowl
cream the sugars and fats together in another bowl
beat in the vanilla to the wet ingredients
add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each
mix in the dry ingredients, a little at a time, incorporating well between additions, until thoroughly mixed
stir in the white chocolate chips, taking care to get them as evenly distributed throughout the dough as possible
form balls of dough, about an inch in diameter, and arrange them on an ungreased cookie sheet (or use a small ice cream scoop or soup spoon, and drop them in place)
bake for 10 minutes at 350F
let cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack

Notes: you can use all butter, all margarine, or half butter and half shortening, like
I do. It doesn't really matter -- whatever you've got on hand, but don't use oil. There's no reason you couldn't use peanut butter chips, as suggested to me by someone, instead of the white chocolate. PB chips sounds really good, although I've never tried it. If you don't have powdered baking cocoa, you probably could substitute melted unsweetened chocolate blocks, but I suspect you'd probably have to add some extra flour (1/8 c.?) to make up for the additional oils it contains.

Recipe: Acorn Squash Soup

2009-10-15T11:18:00.001-07:00

It's a crummy, cold, rainy day, so "comfort food" was in order for dinner. My theme was squash.

Yield: approx. 1.5 qts.
Time: 1 hour to roast and cool the squash, plus 1/2 hour to cook the soup

Ingredients:

1 large acorn squash, roasted, and mashed
2 c. chicken broth
one onion, chopped
salt
pepper
cumin
Madras curry powder
pinch of five spice powder
one large or two small bay leaves
dollop of sour cream for garnish, right before serving
optional garnish: a few roasted seeds from the squash

Method:

cut open, clean, roast and mash the squash
sautee the onion until translucent, and add the chicken broth, and spices
stir in the mashed squash
simmer for about half an hour, adding more liquid, if needed
adjust seasonings
garnish and serve

Recipe: Salsa Verde

2009-10-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

There are probably as many ways to make this as there are people making it -- sort of like chili, really. Here's my version.

Yield: 2/3 of a quart
Time: 20 minutes, if you chop everything by hand, or less, if you use a food processor

Ingredients:

7 or 8 tomatillos, finely chopped
4 -5 large cayennes, still at the green stage, seeds, ribs, and all
a good handful of fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
half a large onion, or one small one, finely chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt, black pepper, and lime juice

Method:

finely chop all your ingredients, except for the garlic, salt, black pepper, and lime juice
combine them, stirring well
Mince your garlic, and stir it in to incorporate it
Season with salt, black pepper, and lime juice until it meets your satisfaction

Notes: This might look watery at first, but tomatillos will set up a bit after the pectin they contain releases. Stir it around, and you have one nice hot sauce to pour over chicken, or dip pita chips. It looks harmless, but it's hot. If you want, you can run it through a food processor, or take a boat motor (immersion blender) to it, but I prefer it with some texture.

Recipe: Feather Bread

2009-10-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

This is a fairly quick yeast bread to make, as it only requires one rising before baking. Crunchy on the outside, with a chewy inside, it makes great garlic toast, as well as anything else you might use a baguette for.

Yield: 1 loaf
Time: 10 minutes prep; about an hour to rise; 40 minutes to bake at 425F

Ingredients:

1 packet of yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1-1/2 tsp. sugar
3 oz. hot water
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. butter, cubed
2-1/2 to 3 c. flour
egg wash (optional)

Method:

proof the yeast with the sugar in the warm water
melt the butter into the hot water with the salt, and let cool
combine the butter and yeast mixtures
stir in flour, one cup at a time, until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl (it'll be a bit sticky, but that's alright)
turn out the dough onto a floured board, and knead it for a few minutes, working in more flour as needed, until it's soft, elastic, and no longer sticky
roll it out into a rectangle, approx. 8" x 12"
roll it up along the wide side like a jelly roll, pinching the ends together as you go
place the formed loaf on a greased baking sheet, cover with a towel, and let rise until doubled in bulk (approx. an hour, or faster, if you use rapid-rise yeast)
optional: brush with egg wash
bake at 425F for 40 minutes, until it looks done, and sounds hollow when you flip it over and rap the bottom with your knuckles

Note: I did not bother to use egg wash on this particular loaf.

Almond Biscotti

2009-10-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

I baked these this afternoon. If I'd realized how easy they are to make, I'd have done so before now. The dough is really stiff and crumbly, but the warmth of your hands makes it hold together when you shape it out on the cookie sheet. I probably should have let them cool a little longer before slicing them between bakings, but in the end, they came out fine.

The only part that was kind of a pain was that I didn't have slivered almonds, so I had to soak the whole salted ones I had in warm water for a few minutes, then peel and sliver them by hand, but it wasn't that big a deal.

Pecan Pie

2009-09-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

I've never before baked a pecan pie, but the recipe (straight from the Betty Crocker cookbook) looked really easy, and I had all the ingredients on hand, so . . .

It smells divine! I'm finally getting used to this electric oven. It browns pie crust better than my previous gas oven did.

Review: The Blue Tortilla

2009-09-27T05:07:00.000-07:00

Type: Mexican
Location: 18 N. Main St., New Hope, PA, 18938
Phone: 215-862-5859
Website: http://www.thebluetortillarestaurant.com
Liquor License: No
Take-Out: Yes
Price Range: $16 - $20 for entrees, with a $13.95 lunch special for all regular menu entrees ($15.95 for special entrees)

We went into New Hope yesterday to poke around the shops for the afternoon and grab a bite to eat. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your viewpoint, we happened to hit an all-weekend arts & crafts fair, which meant the town was mobbed, with several blocks closed to all but pedestrian traffic, and loads of vendor tents/booths. After poking around the booths, and a few of the shops, we settled on The Blue Tortilla for a late afternoon lunch.

Before writing this review, I decided to check on its reviews at Trip Advisor, and mostly agree with them. Apparently, The Blue Tortilla has been there for years, but I never noticed it, right next to The Landing, the latter of which I've eaten at many times over the years.

We caught the $13.95 lunch special deal for any entree on the menu, that runs from noon to 4pm. At 3:30pm, despite the crafts fair, most of the lunch crowd had disspiated, and we found a seat-yourself table outside for two. The waitress/hostess brought us menus within a few minutes, and a waiter came by a few minutes later to take our order.

I opted for the chile relleno, and my companion opted for the chicken enchiladas with mole sauce. Below are the descriptions of each dish, from their menu.

Chile relleno: Poblano Pepper roasted and stuffed with mozzarella cheese, dipped in egg, lightly fried and baked. Served covered with our Grandmother's Tomato Sauce, re-fried beans, rice and hand-made corn tortillas. Um, no, there were no beans served with this dish, refried or otherwise.

Chicken Mole Enchiladas: A soft corn tortilla is dipped into our homemade dark red Molé Sauce. We wrap shredded chicken breast in it and top it with cream. Served with re-fried beans and Mexican style rice. Ditto on the beans -- there were none.

While the food was tasty, it seemed expensive for Mexican. For that price, any other Mexican restaurant I've been to would have served two chiles relleno, not one. Both my tomato sauce, and the mole sauce were very good.

Several reviewers at Trip Advisor complained about lousy service, and a few complained about being served the meat version of vegetarian orders, and being forced by the owner to pay for them anyway.

We didn't have any of those problems, but it's a bit of an issue when the dishes you are served are not as advertised on the menu, and are missing a component. Although being served entrees without the beans that the menu clearly states come with them isn't quite the same as being served chicken mole without any mole, or a chile relleno without the chile, it's just plain wrong.

To put this in context, New Hope is a touristy town with cute little shops, antiques, and art galleries, that attracts a lot of day-trippers on weekends. With a location on Main St., right smack in the center of town, The Blue Tortilla can get away with charging high prices, but when it completely omits ingredients listed on the menu for its entrees, and keeps raising its prices as another reviewer noted, it probably can't count on a lot of repeat business from locals such as us.

For my money, I think I'll stick to The Landing, Ninety Main, or the Mansion Inn.

Recipe: Spice Cake with Caramel Frosting

2009-09-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

I needed to bake a birthday cake, and settled on spice cake. The cake batter recipe is a bit of a mish-mash of several other spice cake recipes I read that sounded pretty good. I'm sure this would be good with buttercream or cream cheese frosting, but caramel sounded good to me, so I went with that.

Spice Cake

Yield: one 2-layer cake, or one sheet cake
Time: 15 minutes prep; 30-35 minutes at 350F, plus cooling time

Ingredients:

2 c. all-purpose flour
1-1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. sour cream
1/2 stick of butter (1/8 lb., or 1/4 cup)
1/4 c. shortening or vegetable oil
2+ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1-1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. water
2 eggs
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped (optional)
frosting

Method:

preheat the oven to 350F, grease and flour your cake pan(s)
make sure the butter/shortening is soft, and toss all but the last two ingredients into a big bowl
stir everything together, then start off slowly with a hand mixer, and increase the speed when all danger of flying flour is past, until the batter is smooth
pour it into your cake pan(s)
bake for 30-35 minutes at 350F
cool in the pan(s) on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn out onto the rack to cool completely (or just cool in the pan if you use a 9" x 13" dish, and only frost the top)
frost the cake (I'm awful at this, but whatever)
sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top of the frosting

Notes: Some people mix the walnuts right into the batter, but I used them to partially hide my lack of frosting skills. Also, add a pinch of salt, if you use unsalted butter. I also piped on little peaks of cream cheese frosting around the edge, just for the fun of it.

Caramel Frosting

Yield: approx. 2 cups
Time: about 45 minutes, but most of that is spent waiting for the caramel sauce to cool before beating in the powdered sugar

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter (1/4 lb., or 1/2 cup)
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. milk
2 c. powdered sugar

Method:

melt the butter in a large saucepan
stir in the brown sugar, and bring it to a boil on medium heat, stirring constantly
reduce the heat to low, and boil for 2 minutes
stir in the milk, and bring it back to a boil
remove it from the heat, and cool to lukewarm
stir in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, then beat until smooth

Note: If you stop after step 5, you basically have a caramel sauce that you could use on ice cream, or whatever you like.

Eggplant Gratin

2009-09-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

We've had quite a crop of eggplant this year, from a mere six plants. Although we have given more than a few away, we mostly are looking for different ways to disguise the fact that the main ingredient is eggplant. Don't get me wrong -- we both like it -- but in and of itself, eggplant has more texture than flavor, and has a way of soaking in the flavor of anything with which you cook it.

I'm getting sick to death of ratatouille and eggplant parmesan, so I decided to do an eggplant gratin today. What's not to like about any veggie hidden within layers of cheese? I adapted this from Ina Garten's recipe on Food network. Ina's recipes are always pretty reliable, and the reviews of this one give it five stars, overall.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 20 minutes prep/assembly, and 30 minutes to bake at 400F

Ingredients:

3/4 pound eggplant, unpeeled, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 extra-large egg
1/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good bottled marinara sauce (I didn't use any, so I'd call it optional)

Note: I have plenty of quarts of my own homemade tomato sauce, canned, and I didn't have to open a new one for this. It really doesn't need any, one way or another.

Method:

slice your eggplant into 1/2" slices, brush it with olive oil, and roast it at 400 - 425F for approximately 20 minutes, flipping it over once (you can fry it in a pan for a lot less time, but that soaks up way too much oil, even if your pan is almost smoking hot)
Take it out to cool down, either on a cooling rack, or paper towels
mix up the egg, ricotta, milk, salt and pepper (it's okay if it's still a little chunky, but smooth works, too)
layer in the roasted or fried eggplant, with the mixed up wet ingredients, topping it all off with shredded cheese
bake uncovered at 400F for about half an hour, until the top browns nicely
let cool for a few minutes, and serve while still warm

Note: I used 10-oz. ramekins for this. It doesn't really matter what you use, but you may have to adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Review: Siam Cuisine

2009-09-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

Type: Thai
Location: 4950 York Rd., Buckingham, PA
Phone: 215-794-7209
Fax: 215-796-7216

According to its website, there are several locations of this restaurant. We went to the one in Buckingham. In theory, the Doylestown location might have been closer to home, but parking in downtown can be a real PITA, and the one in Buckingham is in a cute little strip mall with upscale stores that's right near my cats' veterinarian. There are no parking issues in that mall, especially on a Monday night.

We each ordered soup to start, and split a mixed seafood dish. My other half ordered the hot & sour soup for $4; I went with the tom yum gai. The hot & sour soup was allegedly delicious. My soup, on the other hand was not so stupendous. The broth was great -- nice and lemongrassy-spicy the way it's supposed to be -- but the sliced chicken thrown into it was worthy of a rubber chicken circuit hotel lunch. It's as if the chef tossed the chicken into the boiling broth, forgot about it for 10 minutes, and said "eh, serve it anyway."

Granted, it was a Monday night, and we were the only two people in the restaurant for the duration of our meal, so maybe the chef wasn't on his game when we visited. Still, overcooked chicken slices do not belong in a soup, if they are the featured ingredient. Overcooked chicken can be used in a soup, but chop it up into small chunks, and make it into something like a semi-thin pot pie filling, with carrots, peas, and diced potato.

Our mixed seafood dish was also partially overcooked. We ordered "seafood ginger" for $20. The angel hair pasta on which it was served was great. The shrimp were only slightly overcooked, but the scallops were overcooked big time. I don't really like scallops to begin with, but I will eat them them if they are prepared correctly. Little white hockey pucks don't do it for me.

On the upside, the squid and salmon components of the dish were perfectly cooked.

Honestly, I don't know whether to give this place a thumbs up or down.

Maybe I should not order chicken or any form of seafood. What they toss into the sauce is overcooked, but the sauce itself is wonderful.
215-794-7209
215-796-7216 fax

Recipe: Peanut Brittle

2009-09-08T11:04:00.000-07:00

This recipe is fairly idiot-proof. I've adapted it from one I found on Food Network, attributed to "Sweet Dreams," which I believe was Gale Gand's cake/pastry/muffin dessert show from several years ago.

I've made English toffee (think the inside of a Heath or Skor bar) many times before, so how difficult could peanut brittle possibly be? It came out perfectly! You don't even really need a candy thermometer, although you might want to use one the first time, so that you can gauge the color of the boiling syrup when it hits the right temperature.

Yield: a little less than an 11" x 17" jellyroll pan
Time: approx. 15 - 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 c. water
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 c. sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
2 Tbs. butter
2 c. roasted peanuts
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt

Method:

mix the first four ingredients and bring them to a boil on medium heat
let the mixture boil, stirring occasionally, until it hits 340F (a rich, semi-dark caramel color in the pot, which looks lighter when it gets poured out); the original recipe said 10 minutes, but it took me closer to 20 minutes on my glass top stove, which regulates the heat level via timed on-off electric, rather than a steady adjustable gas flame
quickly stir in the butter until it melts, then stir in the other ingredients; it'll foam up like crazy, but that's fine
spread it out in a greased jelly roll pan, and smooth it out before it sets
when it cools completely, break it up into pieces, and store it in an airtight jar

Notes: The original recipe used salted peanuts, and unsalted butter, but I had salted butter and unsalted peanuts, so I added just a pinch of salt at the end. I did not add the 2 tsp. of ground cinnamon that the original recipe called for, because I wanted just a classic peanut brittle. As the mixture boils, you may need to stir down a few sugar crystals, if they start to form around the edge of the pot. At the end, you'll have to work fast, stirring in the last few ingredients, and spreading it out to cool, because once off the heat, it'll cool and start to harden pretty quickly. If you want, you can score the brittle with a knife or pizza cutter after you spread it out to cool, which will make it easier to break into neatly shaped pieces, but I sort of like it broken up into odd-shaped pieces of different sizes.

Recipe: Cream Puffs with Mocha Pudding Filling

2009-09-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

My mom owned a cookie press thingy for as long as I can remember. Not too long ago, she gave it to me. It came with a bunch of different tips for both cookie shapes and for forming pastry or meringue. Some of the cookie tips can be used for cake decorating with frosting. It's like a pastry bag, really, except that it's an aluminum cannister with a top that screws down to press out the batter or dough.

I've always wanted to try making cream puffs or eclairs, and today wasn't too hot or humid, so I gave it a whirl.

Basic Cream Puff Dough

Yield: about 20 smallish cream puffs
Time: 20 minutes prep; 15 minutes at 450F, and 20 more at 325F

Ingredients:

1 c. boiling water
1/4 lb. (1 stick) of butter
1 c. flour
4 eggs
pinch of salt

Method:

melt the butter into the boiling water
stir in the flour, a little at a time, until it pulls away from the sides of the pot
let it cool
mix in the eggs, one at a time, thoroughly incorporating each, and mix in the pinch of salt
form the cream puffs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat
bake at 450F for 15 minutes, then turn down the heat to 350F and continue to bake another 20 minutes
Let them cool
slice a slit in the side, and fill them

Mocha Pudding Filling

Yield: 8 servings as pudding, or enough to fill the 18-20 cream puffs.
Time: 15 minutes prep; 30-35 minutes at 350F (in a bain marie) or on the stovetop (in a double boiler)

Ingredients:

1 egg
1 c. sugar
1 c. strong coffee, at room temperature
1 Tbs. melted butter
1-1/2 c. flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4-1/2 Tbs. cocoa powder
1-1/2 Tbs. of vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla
a little milk to thin it out at the very end

Method:

whisk the egg until light and fluffy
slowly whisk in the sugar
stir in the coffee
stir together the cocoa powder and oil (or melt 1-1/2 squares of baker's chocolate -- 1.5 oz), and stir it into the wet ingredients
sift together the dry ingredients
whisk the dry ingredients to the wet ones, a little at a time, so the flour doesn't clump
stir in the vanilla
pour into a baking/casserole dish and bake in a bain marie at 350F for half an hour; alternatively, let it cook in a double boiler on the stovetop on low for half an hour until it thickens
let it cool
for plain old pudding, stop; for filling the cream puffs, you may need to thin the pudding with a little milk to get the right consistency for piping or spooning into the pastry
optional: dip the tops of the cream puffs in chocolate ganache, or spoon on a little whipped cream

Notes: For a lighter filling, fold some whipped cream into the pudding. My cream puffs came out about 3" across, and not really as puffy high as I expected, but they had a nice hole in the center for the filling. Maybe it was more hot and humid than I thought, although it didn't seem too bad today. Maybe I should have chilled the dough a little before I piped it onto the parchment paper. Still, for a first attempt, I could have done a lot worse. As you can see, I didn't bother with anything on top of them.

Recipe: Butterscotch Topping

2009-09-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

This is really easy to make with nothing but butter, corn syrup, sugar, salt, and cream. It's wonderful on ice cream or bananas. Use your imagination for a decadent dessert.

Yield: about a cup
Time: about 10 minutes on medium to medium-low

Ingredients:

5/8 c. packed brown sugar
1/3 c. light corn syrup
2 Tbs. butter
pinch of salt
1/3 c. cream (or evaporated milk)

Method:

Mix together everything but the cream and bring it to a boil
Let it go, stirring occasionally, until it's the consistency of a thick syrup (like room temperature corn syrup or honey), which is about soft ball stage
Let it cool, and stir in the cream

Note: I used evaporated milk, and find that it stirs in most easily if the rest of the ingredients are not completely cool, but still slightly warm. I can't taste the difference from using cream, but my wallet sure knows that evaporated milk is a lot less expensive.

Canned Stewed Tomatoes

2009-09-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

The tomatoes are ripening fast and furious now -- faster than we can eat them, so it's canning time! I got nearly two quarts from the red ones that were ripe.

Might have enough yellow ones to separately can a quart of those, but it's probably safer to wait another couple of days for three or four more to ripen. We only have one plant that produces yellow tomatoes, and I really hate canning partial jars. Mostly, we have quart size jars, and not many of the pint and half pint size ones.

It's simple to can your own tomatoes:

sterilize your mason jars
cut a cross in the bottom of each tomato, and blanch them until the skin splits, then submerge them in cold water until they're cool enough to handle (you may have to do this in batches)
peel the skin, and get out as many clumps of seeds as you can without being too obsessive about it
cut or tear up the tomatoes, removing the part around the stem end, and stew them on low for however long you want, but I find 10-15 minutes is sufficient for canning
pour 1 Tbs. of lemon juice into each 1-qt. mason jar, and fill it with the stewed tomatoes
place an unused lid on top of each jar, and loosely screw down the ring top
boil, submerged, for about 10 minutes, and remove to cool
when the lids make a pop, screw the ring tops down tightly

Note: you'll see seeds in the jars pictured, but I really did get out the vast majority of them. Some people leave them in, but I think it just makes the whole thing more watery than necessary, and I really don't like getting a bunch of seeds stuck in my teeth, if I later use them, and leave them chunky in a sauce, rather than use a boat motor on them.

Homemade Pizza

2009-09-01T16:47:00.000-07:00

This pizza was surprisingly tasty. I made a batch of basic foccacia dough (recipe here), let it rise, punched it down, divided and shaped it into two disks, and froze one of them. With the other, I mostly rolled it out on a 12" x 11" cookie sheet, and formed the edges by hand.

The tomato sauce was something I made yesterday from fresh tomatoes from our garden (blanched, peeled, deseeded and crushed between my fingers), diced onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and basil. That simmered on low for 3+ hours before I took a boat motor to it, and filled a 1 qt. mason jar. No need to go through the whole canning process to vacuum seal it, since I knew we were going to use it over the next few days.

Here's where it gets weird. I didn't have any Italian sausage, and I didn't have any mozzarella. So, I sliced up a pre-cooked bratwurst, and used that with some monterrey jack I shredded on top of it. Somewhere, someone is probably thinking that's sacriligous. Actually it worked out fine.

I prefer my crust thinner, but I didn't have anything wider than my cookie sheet on which to bake it. I suppose I could divide the dough into three portions next time. Nonetheless, the crust came out very much like regular NY-style pizza crust, as opposed to that nasty thick Sicilian style stuff. It didn't droop at the point, when I held a slice up in the air, so I managed to get it crispy enough

Although I didn't time it, I popped it in a 425F oven until I could smell it in the next room. When I checked on it, the cheese was bubbly, and had browned nicely. It probably took around 15 minutes, if I had to guess. Pizza crusts don't normally brown very well in my oven, but I didn't brush the edge with any olive oil, either, so . . .

Recipe: Crisp Toffee Bars

2009-08-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

I've had this recipe for as long as I can remember, and have no idea where I got it. Haven't made it in years, but when I was flipping through my recipe box, I came across it and remembered how much I love these things.

Yield: one 11" x 17" jelly roll pan
Time: 10-15 minutes prep; 25 minutes baking at 350F

Ingredients:

1 c. (2 sticks) of butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. sifted flour
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped walnuts

Method:

thoroughly cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla
add flour, about half a cup at a time, and mix well between additions
stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts
press the dough into the jelly roll pan
bake for 25 minutes until golden brown
cut into bars while still warm, then let cool completely before removing from the pan

Note: if you use a smaller pan, the bars will be thicker, and you'll probably have to add a few minutes to the bake time.

Recipe: Hot Pepper Jelly

2009-08-31T10:58:00.000-07:00

Last night, I made a small batch of blackberry jelly with the last of the harvest. Half a pint of blackberries, plus almost a cup of sugar, plus a little splash of water was enough, after a 10 minute boil to make it gel when it cooled without using any pectin. I got about a teacup's worth of jelly after running it through a fine strainer. Dee-lish on Sally Lunn or rye bread.

We have lots of peppers growing in our vegetable garden -- cayennes and sweet banana peppers -- so today I decided to try my hand at making hot pepper jelly. It worked out just fine.

Yield: 3 cups
Time: 10 minutes cooking; 10 minutes to can

Ingredients:

1/8 cup of finely minced fresh hot peppers (I used cayenne, but jalapeno or serrano would work as well)
3/8 cup of finely minced fresh sweet pepper (I used banana, but bell is fine, too)
3/4 cup of white or cider vinegar
3 cups of sugar
1 packet (1.75 oz.) of pectin
1-2 drops of green food coloring

Method:

sterilize your mason jars, and have at the ready ring tops (used or new) and unused lids
mix all the ingredients in a pot and bring them to a boil
whisk in the pectin and food coloring, let it go for another minute or so, then turn off the heat
pour into your mason jars, place the lids on, and screw down the ring tops fairly loosely
boil the jars, submerged, for 8-10 minutes, and remove them to cool (when the lids "pop," screw the ring tops down tightly)

Notes: The food coloring really is optional, and you could use red if you prefer. It's just that without it, it sort of looks like bits of pepper in light corn syrup. I used a mix of both red and green cayennes and yellow and orange banana peppers, simply because that's what I happened to have on hand. The minced pepper tends to float in the jars, so you may want to flip the mason jars upside down, then right side up, every 15 minutes or so as the jelly cools, just to get them distributed a bit better throughout the jars.

Blackberry Syrup or Jam

2009-08-20T15:44:00.001-07:00

Raspberry season is basically over, except for a few stragglers on some "everbearing" variety we just started this year, but blackberry season is still going.

The blackberries just grow wild along the wood margin out back. They don't keep very long, even in the fridge, so every time I get about a pint or so, I make it into syrup. Sometimes it sets into jam when it cools, hence the title of this blog entry.

Add 1/3 to 1/2 a cup of sugar to a pint of blackberries and simmer on medium-low for about 20 minutes after it comes to a slow boil. Strain out the pulp, and let it cool.

I don't have cheesecloth, so I just use a big strainer. Some of the seeds get through, but they float, and can be skimmed off the top, which I hadn't yet done with this still hot off the stove batch. This pint of blackberries yielded not quite a teacup full of syrup, or jam/jelly, if that's what it turns into when it cools.

If it stays syrup, it's great on pancakes, waffles, or vanilla ice cream. Might be good on chocolate ice cream too, inasmuch as chocolate goes well with raspberries. If it gels, then it's good on toast, for use in the center of "thumbprint" cookies, or even cooked further into hard candy.

Apple Bars

2009-08-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

Yield: 4 dozen
Time: 20 minutes prep, 20 minutes bake at 350F, 30 minutes cooling before glazing

Ingredients:

1 c. brown sugar, packed
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 c. flour
2 small to medium sized apples, peeled and cut into approx. 1/4" dice
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
cinnamon glaze

Method:

spray a 13" x 9" baking dish with non-stick spray, and heat the oven to 350F.
mix the oil, egg, milk, and sugar
stir in the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and spices
stir in the apples and nuts
spread it out in the baking dish, and bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick or bamboo skewer comes out clean from the center
let it cool for half an hour, in the pan, on a rack
mix your glaze: 1 c. powdered (confectioner's) sugar, 1 tsp. of cinnamon, and 1-1/2 Tbs. of water
drizzle the cinnamon glaze over the bars, while still in the baking dish
let cool completely, then slice into bars

Notes: This recipe has a moist, but fairly light texture, like good gingerbread. If you don't use air conditioning in the summer, and it's humid, you may want to refrigerate them to get the glaze to set; otherwise, it stays a bit sticky.

Garden Update: Eggplant

2009-08-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

My veggie garden has been yielding a lot of produce lately: tomatoes, squash, cayennes, banana peppers, and eggplant. The canteloupe and corn have sort of been a bust, and the cucumber vine died after it gave me two decent cucumbers.

Lately, the big producers have been the eggplant. I sent my other half in to the office today with three of them to give his business partner, who loves them. We do too, but after making stuffed baked eggplant (sort of my own twist on the recipe from the 1950s Fannie Farmer's cookbook, adding ground beef and cayenne), eggplant disk "pizzas," eggplant parmesan, and ratatouille, we can afford to give a few away. There are plenty more that could be picked any time within the next week, before they get so big that the skin becomes tough.

Oddly enough, I've always made ratatouille without consulting a recipe, but when out of curiosity, I checked Tyler Florence's recipe for it on the Food Network site, I was flabbergasted. My recipe is virtually identical to his, except that I don't use anchovy, and I don't sprinkle it with balsamic vinegar at the end. Heck, I even cook the veggie components in the same order he does! So . . . I've been doing it right all these years. Who knew?

I'm afraid I have no pictures of any of my eggplant dishes. One, it didn't occur to me to take any. Two, by the time eggplant gets cooked, it takes on a rather unappealing grayish-brown color, anyway.

Tomatoes!

2009-07-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

My vegetable garden has produced a fair amount of veggies, so far -- tomatoes, peppers, green beans, cucumbers, eggplants, and squash. The corn is coming along nicely, as are the canteloupes, but they're not ready to pick.

It's green bean and tomato season. Good thing I love green beans, because I can pick a pint of Kentucky Wonder pole beans every morning, and eat them every night without getting sick of them.

The yellow banana peppers are nice (perhaps a little milder than bell peppers, although similar in taste), but honestly, I prefer the cayennes. Mince one of those, and toss it into dinner, seeds, pith and all, and it's got just the right amount of mouth-numbing heat, without killing the taste of the rest of the food.

We have seven different varieties of tomatoes: cherry, Big Boy, some sort of yellow one that's proving to be really prolific, Bush Early Girl, Bush Goliath, Mr. Stripey (an heirloom), and something that was labeled as Roma, but obviously isn't, given the size and shape of the fruit it produces.

We have a half dozen full-sized tomatoes waiting to be eaten, but tonight's dinner features a good pint's worth of cherry tomatoes from my garden, simply sauteed in 1.5 Tbs. of olive oil, with nothing more than chopped fresh oregano and basil, also from my garden, plus a couple of cloves of minced garlic, salt, and freshly ground Tellicherry pepper. My whole house smells phenomenal.

It'll only be a side dish, but during the past couple of weeks, dinner has consisted of mostly two or three vegetarian side dishes. Neither of us are vegetarians, but we can go for a few days without eating animal flesh when the veggies taste this good!

K.I.S.S.

2009-07-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

Like many foodies, I enjoy watching certain shows on Food Network. One of the ones I never saw until this season was "The Next Food Network Star." To be perfectly honest, I don't think any of the contestants this season has any real staying power for a TV show. Somebody will win, obviously, but there's something I find annoying about every contestant, whether it's an over-the-top personality, or simply a too frantic/overly animated on camera presence.

Regardless, I find Bob Tuschman's blog about the show to be interesting. The question he keeps posing is "What is your food philosophy?" It seems to him, and to me, that some of the contestants simply don't have one. That got me thinking about what my own food philosophy is. The answer: unless you're entertaining company, keep it simple, stupid.

For instance, today I made a really simple, refreshing salad using fresh cucumber, tomatoes, and basil from my own garden. Other than adding half a small Vidalia onion, which I don't grow, I simply dressed it with a little oil and some lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Peel and dice the cucumber, dice the tomatoes and onion, toss it all together with salt, pepper, the oil and lemon juice, and a chiffonade of basil. How easy could that be?

Another example is the lemon quick bread I made a few weeks ago. I didn't have zucchini or bananas, but had plenty of lemon juice. Like all quick breads, it's just a batter bread that uses baking powder and baking soda for leavening. I used two half sized loaf tins, instead of a regular sized one. It's a little tangy (and is supposed to be that way), but is great with butter and apricot jam. The original James Beard recipe called for butter, but I was out of it. I substituted canola oil, and it worked out beautifully, although I wouldn't dare try that with anything other than a quick bread.

A third example is a pot of soup I made last month. We were out of a lot of staples, but rummaging around in the fridge and pantry, we had a huge onion, celery, macaroni, a bag of pinto beans, bay leaves, dried oregano, cans of diced tomatoes, bread crumbs, eggs, some frozen ground beef, and some beef broth. I didn't follow a recipe, but the result was pretty tasty, and went over really well with the rest of my household. I'd never in my life made meatballs before I made that soup, but they were probably the tastiest part of the whole thing. Yes, it was "comfort food." Still, it was fairly light compared to a chowder or bisque.

Taste, taste, taste, as you go along, and correct the seasonings at the end, if necessary. If it doesn't taste good to you, chances are really high that it won't taste good to anyone else. That, and don't get stuck in a rut with nothing but comfort food or Asian inspired marinades for that pork tenderloin or flank steak in your repertoire. There's a place for those, but they do get boring after a while.

Desserts aren't really my thing, because I seldom have any desire to eat them, but I can still make a mean cheesecake, carrot cake with buttercream frosting, angel food cake, or pavlova from scratch. None of those are complicated. The only difference I find with baking bread or desserts vs. just cooking dinner, is that I actually take the time to measure the ingredients reasonably accurately, rather than simply winging it.

Granted, when rolling out pie crust or kneading yeast rising bread dough, it can take a little more flour than you might think you need, on the board, depending on the humidity in your house at the time you make it. So what? That's par for the course.

Wild Sockeye

2009-07-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

It's that wonderful time of year when wild sockeye and soft shelled crabs are available. I don't know what to do with a soft shelled crab, nor does the idea of eating one particularly appeal to me, but I sure as shooting know how to prepare a hunk of salmon.

Wegmans advertised wild sockeye for $14.99 a pound. I'm used to paying almost $20 a pound for it, so that seemed like a good deal, and well worth the trip to the store. It was $12.99 a pound when I got there, and there wasn't much left, but I snagged half a fish for about $20. They also had farm-raised Atlantic salmon for half the price, but it's just not the same thing as wild Alaskan sockeye. Flabby and light pink to start with vs. firm and almost red . . . well, there's no comparison.

I sliced off the third of the fillet closest to what used to be the head of the fish, slathered it with some canola oil (we had a really hot charcoal fire on the BBQ, so I didn't want to use olive oil), and gave it the old salt and pepper treatment, before tossing it on the grill. It came out perfectly. Firm, dark, delicious flesh, that needed nothing other than a squeeze of lemon juice, was what I was shooting for, and achieved. The fish didn't stick to the grill, and we didn't even get any flare-ups.

My partner in eating crime likes salmon, but was really skeptical about throwing fish directly onto the grill rack. I was out to prove him wrong, and I did. Oil the fish, not the grill rack, and don't even think of poking the fish for the first three or four minutes. I'd recommend wrapping farm-raised salmon in foil before chucking it on the grill, but that's not necessary with wild sockeye.

We still have 2/3 of that side of fish left, so I think I'll just bake it, let it cool, then make salmon salad from it. I could also use it for salmon croquettes, but that seems like a waste to me.

For those of you in the U.S., happy Independence Day! Fire up your grills, folks, and celebrate.

Strawberry Pie with Crumb Topping

2009-05-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

Yield: one pie
Cook time: 15-20 minutes on the stovetop for the filling; 15 minutes in the oven at 375F, plus another approximately 45 minutes at 350F

Ingredients:

1+ qts. of strawberries, washed, cored, and sliced
3/4 c. of granulated sugar
1 c., plus 2-3 Tbs. of flour
5-6 Tbs. of butter
squirt of lemon juice
1/4 tsp. of ground nutmeg
1/2. c. of brown sugar
1 graham cracker crust (pre-made is fine)

Method:

cook the sliced strawberries with 2 Tbs. of butter, 2-3 Tbs. of flour, nutmeg, lemon juice, and the granulated sugar until they cook down, and the juice thickens up a bit
pour them into a strainer over another pot, and let the juice drip through
reduce the juice by about 1/3 to 1/2 until it thickens some more, while the strawberries cool
melt 3-4 Tbs. of butter, add the brown sugar and flour, then mix it until crumbly
spread the strawberries out in the pie crust, and pour the reduced juice over them
sprinkle the topping over it, and bake at 375F for about 15 minutes, then turn down the heat to 350F, and bake for another 45 minutes or so.
cool on a rack and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, and a sprig of mint

Notes:

The top on this pie browned more than I would have liked, but did so almost all within the first 10 minutes in the oven.
Normally, I'd use a regular pie crust, but I didn't have enough butter, so I went with a store-bought graham cracker crust I happened to have on hand.
I recommend using a cookie sheet under the pie dish, since the filling will bubble over a little.

Recipe: Raw Apple Bread

2009-05-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

Yield: 1 loaf
Time: 20 minutes prep; 50-60 minutes at 350F
Source: Beard on Bread, Ballantine paperback edition, 1981, pg. 153

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter or margarine (1 stick)
1 c. of granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 c. of flour
1/2 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 tsp. of baking powder
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
2 Tbs. of buttermilk, or soured milk
1 c. coarsly chopped unpeeled apples
1/2 c. of chopped walnuts

Method:

cream the butter
mix in the sugar, a little at a time, creaming it into the butter thoroughly between additions
beat in the eggs, milk, and vanilla
sift together the dry ingredients
mix them into the wet ingredients, a little at a time
stir in the chopped apple and walnuts
spoon it into a greased loaf tin
bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes

Notes:

this makes a pretty sticky batter
I used approx. 2 cups of chopped apple, and 3/4 c. of chopped walnuts; everything else I measured pretty accurately, as per the recipe
according to James Beard, this tastes better left to sit for a day (it tastes pretty good still slightly warm from the oven, though, IMHO)
it supposedly stores really well

Cross Culture Indian Cuisine Redux

2009-05-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

We visited Cross Culture in Doylestown, PA, for a second time, earlier this evening. It's very easy to park in the center of town on a Sunday evening, without having to feed a meter, so we decided to go back for another meal.

This time we started out with the appetizer sampler for two ($8.95). It was tasty, and filling, but nothing spectacular. On the other hand, the entrees were wonderful. I had the shrimp tawa, and my partner in eating crime ordered chicken vindaloo.

I'm used to entrees at Indian restaurants being served in bowls, with rice on the side, and a clean plate on which you can splop your food as you wish. This wasn't the case with the shrimp tawa. It arrived on its own plate, reasonably artfully arranged, although no chef would win a prize for its presentation. The sweetness of the tamarind sauce was balanced nicely by the bite of the fresh cilantro, which I love. The crunch of the raw veggies was a good contrast to the texture of the shrimp. I'm not sure whether the thinly sliced raw red onion is typical of this dish, or peculiar to the Philly area.

The chicken vindaloo was served in a bowl, with rice on the side. The sauce was hot, as expected, but not enough to produce eyebrow sweat. The chicken was tender, with no odd bits of bone or cartilage. I've tasted spicier vindaloo sauce in NYC on Curry Row (E. 6th St., between 1st and 2nd Aves.), or up in Curry Hill (Murray Hill, along 3rd and 2nd Aves.), that also had a lot more oil in it. Still, this was nice and spicy, without the excess oil, which I think is a plus.

As before, service was courteous, but this time we had leftovers. The waiter had no problem bringing them back to the kitchen to box them up for us, and came back with a paper bag with handles. Hey, it's a little nicer than something that looks like a grocery bag -- not that it would have mattered. Service was a bit faster this time, even though there were more customers than the last time we visited.

The shrimp dish was a bit of a splurge (for Indian food), at $25.95, but the chicken was a more reasonable $18.95. I also ordered a glass of sweet iced tea, which might be too sweet for the average northerner in America, but it was just like anything you'd find south of the Mason-Dixon, which suited me just fine. Altogether, our tab came in a little under $61.

As you can see, the decor isn't overdone, nor is it underlit. I waited until the other parties in the room had finished their meals and left, before I snapped this shot. It wasn't this empty when we arrived.

Dining at Cross Culture is a pleasant experience, overall.

What you need to know:

parking can be an issue during the week, but there is a pay lot a block away
they do not deliver, but take-out is available for both lunch and dinner (phone in your order ahead of time, for faster pick-up)
it's BYOB
the lunch menu is the same as the dinner menu, with each dish priced a few dollars less

Chocolate Chess Pie

2009-05-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

I didn't bake this. A neighbor did, and brought it over, while it was still hot. If you love chocolate, you'd love this. Two days later, the chocolate melts on your tongue, even after it's been in the fridge.

I happen to think it looks and tastes like sewer sludge, with a whole lot of sugar. The crust is fairly flaky, though.

Bear in mind that I really don't like chocolate. It was a heckuva nice gift, but every bite is sort of like eating fudge. More than one bite of it, and I'll get sick.

One of these days, I'll have to bake an apple or blueberry pie for her. Or strawberry. I think pie should contain fruit, even if that happens to be coconut or pumpkin. Well, I like ice cream pies too, but only in very small doses.

Chocolate is just sort of icky to me. If I'm going to load up on something that's like candy, it should taste like peppermint, black licorice, butterscotch, or English toffee.

Match the Bloom With the Fruit

2009-05-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

This entry is a little different from my usual tried-and-true recipe or restaurant review. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to match the blossom in each of the pictures (letters A - F) with the name of the fruit it produces (numbers 1 - 6).

I really do grow all of these in my garden!

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

1. Zucchini
2. Blueberry
3. Tomato
4. Bean
5. Pea
6. Raspberry

Review: Cross Culture

2009-05-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

Type: Indian
Location: 62-64 W. State St., Doylestown, PA
Phone: 215-489-9101
Fax: 215-489-9104
Price Range: $6-$12 for soups/appetizers; $16-$25 for entrees; $4-$5.50 for desserts
Take Out: Yes
Catering: Yes
Hours: Sun. - Thurs. 11:30a - 10:00p; Fri. - Sat. 11:30a - 10:30p
Liquor License: BYOB
Website: http://www.crosscultureindiancuisine.com/

Last Sunday, I got a craving for Indian food. We got a brief break in the rain, and decided to try this place. When we arrived, around 8pm, the place was almost empty, with only a few other tables occupied by people who seemed to know the staff. The decor was fairly modern, and brighter than I've come to expect from Indian restaurants -- more naked wall space than ornate art, if you will.

The seating was comfortable. We skipped the appetizers and just ordered two entrees (chicken tikka masala and chicken vindaloo), plus naan. I was a little disappointed that chicken dhingri was not on the menu, but the available choices were all familiar. The vindaloo had the heat that it's supposed to have.

The tikka masala was a little different than I'm used to having on Indian Row or Curry Hill in NYC, inasmuch as the tomato-based sauce was creamier, with less ghee floating on top. The flavors were right, so I was pleasantly surprised with what seemed like a slightly lighter version of this rather rich dish. I may try the korma or achari next time we visit.

Service was good. Indian cuisine always seems to take longer to prepare and serve the food than other Asian cuisines; as such, this was about average. Our waiter was quick, however, to top off our water glasses. Portions are about average. We would have taken home leftovers had we ordered appetizers, but without any, we managed to finish our entrees, and left feeling quite full.

I would recommend this restaurant for those in the Bucks/Montgomery/Hunterdon area. There don't seem to be many Indian restaurants around, but this one holds its own with the many others at which I've eaten in NYC or Northern NJ.

Recipe: Banana Bread

2009-05-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

This is a slightly adapted recipe from James Beard's paperback version of his Beard on Bread book, from 1973. He has two banana bread recipes, but the one I sort of followed is from page 147, that uses two bananas instead of three (page 146). I've tried both of them, but like this one better. It's not so heavy, and sticky-gooey, but is still full of banana-y goodness. It also makes a really nice base for a dessert, or toast for breakfast.

If you prefer your banana bread sticky-gooey, go with three bananas, skip the soured milk, and use half sugar/half honey.

We monkeys lurves our bananas!

Yield: one loaf
Time: 15-20 minutes prep; 60 minutes at 350F

Ingredients:

2 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. of butter (1 stick, or 1/4 lb.), softened
1 c. sugar
2 medium sized very ripe bananas, well mashed
1/3 c. of milk
1 Tbs. of lemon juice or vinegar
1/2 c. of chopped walnuts

Method:

cream the sugar into the softened butter, little by little, until well mixed
plop the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl, and fluff it up with a fork, whisk, or whatever, to make sure it's well mixed
add the lemon juice or vinegar to the milk, and let it curdle
mix your eggs and curdled milk into the butter/sugar mixture, and whisk it all together until well incorporated
mix some of the dry ingredients into the wet ones, about 1/3 to 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well, between additions, until you have a nice batter
stir in the chopped walnuts
pour the batter into a buttered/greased loaf tin, and bake at 350F for about an hour

Notes:

I see no reason not to use buttermilk, if you have it, because all the dose of acid to the regular milk does is curdle it, effectively making it into buttermilk, anyway. All you really need is the acid to interact with the baking soda to make it rise. That's the ChemE major in me talking.
There's no reason to get out an electric mixer for this batter -- a spoon or fork does the job just fine, or a whisk, if you prefer.
Feel free to mix this batter all you want. It's not like a muffin batter that will form wormholes if you overmix it, but I see no reason to overdo it, either.
If you're pressed for time, it's fine to melt the butter on the stovetop or in a microwave, rather than letting it sit out on the counter.
I used approx. 2/3 c. of chopped walnuts this time, but up to 1 c. still works, and rises properly.

Recipe: Ham & Cheese Quiche

2009-04-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

Yield: one pie
Time: 30 minutes prep; 45 minutes baked at 350F

Ingredients:

1/2 stick (1/4 c.) of butter
3/4 c. of flour
pinch of salt
one large or two small onions, sliced thinly
1 c. of diced ham
1/2 - 2/3 c. of Swiss cheese, shredded
4 large eggs
salt
pepper
water (for crust), plus approx. 1 Tbs. of water, milk, or cream per egg, for the filling

Method:

cut the butter (you may substitute lard or shortening) into the flour, with a pinch of salt, until the butter is about the size of small peas
add cold water, 1 Tbs. at a time, mixing it in, until the dough comes together but isn't too sticky
form the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic, and refrigerate for 20 minutes
while the dough is in the fridge, slice and sautee the onions on medium-low heat until they cook down and start to carmelize (about 10 minutes)
set aside the onions to cool while you make the egg mixture
beat the eggs with the water, milk, or cream until frothy, then stir in the ham and half the shredded cheese
roll out the pie crust, pop it into a pie pan, and pinch up a bit of a rim
spread the onions in the bottom of the crust, then pour the egg mixture on top
sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the filling
bake for 45 minutes at 350F, until it starts to brown, and smells done

Notes:

I happened to use Swiss because it's what was already open, but cheddar works really well, too.
The beauty of quiche is that the filling can contain pretty much anything you want -- broccoli & cheese, mushrooms, crabmeat, etc.

Brats, Corn, and Taters

2009-04-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

I wanted to test out our new grill this evening. We had some frozen pork chops, but not enough time to thaw them properly, so we got out a couple of brats. There were also a couple of ears of corn. That alone wasn't quite enough, so I cut up a potato and roasted it with nothing but canola oil, salt, and pepper.

Not exactly a large meal, but it was too hot to each that much, anyway.

Review: Cabanas

2009-04-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

Type: Bar & Grill
Location: 429 Beach Ave., Cape May, NJ 08204
Phone: 908-884-4800
Happy Hour: Yes, from 4-7 pm, half price for beer, margaritas, and wine by the glass

Here is the website for the place. The menu is here.

During the season, or even on a weekend, off-season, this place is party central. Normally, I don't like that kind of atmosphere, but we didn't encounter that on a Thursday night in April. The place was virtually deserted except for a few staff, and two other couples, one of which couldn't stop smashing face at the bar, between sips of whatever, and bites of food.

Our waiter was a young guy, eager, and attentive, for the most part, but wasn't too quick to bring our check when we were ready to leave.

I had to have the french onion soup, and a crabcake sandwich. I've had better french onion soup for a buck less, in a diner, to be honest, but this wasn't bad. The crabcake sandwich was fresh, and tasty, without a lot of breadcrumb filler or coating, but it was nothing that couldn't be found elsewhere around town, for the same price. The tartar sauce was bland -- almost like straight mayonnaise. The tortilla chips that came with it were pretty good, with enough salt to stand on their own, which was good, given that the pico de gallo served was a very skimpy dollop.

The burgers are cooked the way they should be. Medium rare comes out pink in the middle, not red or overcooked. Again, they are nothing special that cannot be found elsewhere in town for the same price.

There is a pool table in the house, so maybe on a slow night, I'd go there again to shoot some pool, but if it gets crowded, I think I'd stay away. The food was alright. The waiter was alright. I just get the feeling that if if it got busy, and noisy, I'd go elsewhere. Beachside party bars aren't really my thing.

Review: The Cape Orient

2009-04-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

Type: Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Pan-Asian
Location: 315 Ocean St. (Washington Commons Mall), Cape May, NJ 08204
Phone: (609) 898-0088
Price Range: $9 to $25 for entrees
Take-Out: Yes
Delivery: No
Catering: Yes
Lunch Specials: Yes
Liquor License: No

We've been to this restaurant a couple of times over the years, while we've vacationed in Cape May during bird migration in Fall and Spring. Its website is here. Not many restaurants in Cape May are open this time of year, and those that are open are generally only open on weekends as of now, or tend to be located in hotels, or on the outskirts of town.

The first time we went to The Cape Orient, we found it by accident, when we happened to get hungry after trudging around trails and beaches in the sand and muck looking for birds, then returned to town to wander around for a break in the late afternoon. That was several years ago; we had Chinese food. The service was quick and attentive, and the food quite good. I forget exactly what we ordered, but it was probably a bowl of soup each, and one dish to split.

This time, it was one of the few places open on a Wednesday within easy hoofing distance from the B&B in which we were staying, so we figured why not try it again? It was just as good as we remembered.

I decided to go for Thai this time, and ordered the Thai spring rolls, plus the green curry chicken. I'd wanted the three-mushroom soup of the day, but at 6:30 pm, they were already out of it. The spring rolls made up for it. They were not at all greasy, and came with a wonderful light dipping sauce that was vinegary with herbs. The green curry was perhaps a little sweeter than I'm used to, but was very flavorful, and had snow peas, mushrooms, and baby corns in abundance, with just a few bits of red onion and red bell pepper.

Both my appetizer and entree came with some salad greens dressed in something a little more vinegary than your average Japanese carrot-type dressing, but with a touch of sweetness to balance it. I happen to like my salad dressing on the vinegary side, unless it's blue cheese or russian.

My partner in eating crime went for a Chinese combo that included soup, an egg roll, and an entree, in this case, some pork medallions, in a spicy sauce that had mostly the same veggies as mine, but with broccoli and no mushrooms. I snitched a taste of the sauce; it was spicy, but not hot enough to induce eyebrow sweat.

Neither of us have tried the Japanese dishes they offer, sushi, or otherwise. I cannot comment on those.

Decor-wise, it really is Pan-Asian. Some art is obviously Japanese, some is obviously Chinese, and one or two things are Thai. The lighting in the restaurant as a whole is not bright, but is sufficient.

Clientele-wise, it runs the gamut from couples to families with three generations. It's quiet, though. No kids run around wild, screaming, or tossing food. It appears to be popular with locals and tourists alike. The dress code is casual, but not too sloppy.

As far as the service goes, it's very prompt, polite, attentive, and not pushy in the least.

The waiter will bring your bill when you are done, but you pay up at the front desk, and leave the tip on the table. The Cape Orient does take credit cards, but we paid cash, and left a cash tip.

I would certainly go back the next time we visit Cape May. Both of us wondered why it hadn't occured to us to eat there more often. It's quite good, and certainly different from the usual pub grub, boardwalk eats, and seafood found at a beach resort town.

Recipe: Apple Crisp

2009-04-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

This is one of those idiot-proof recipes that is fine by itself, warm from the oven, with or without a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top, or even cold the next morning for breakfast.

Yield: one bread loaf tin, or an 8" x 8" baking dish (4 to 6 servings)
Time: 75 minutes (30 minutes prep, and 45 for baking at 350F)

Ingredients:

4-6 apples (depending on size), peeled cored, and sliced/diced, not too thinly
approx. 1/3 c. of white sugar
approx. 2 tsp. of cinnamon
approx. 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg
approx. 1/3 tsp. of cloves
approx. 1/2 tsp. of allspice
1/3 stick of butter, melted
1/3 c. of brown sugar
1/2 to 2/3 of a cup of rolled oats (quick cooking, or regular doesn't matter)

Method:

peel, core, and slice the apples into a mixing bowl
mix the white sugar and spices, then toss them over the apples, a little at a time, tossing the apples around to get them fully coated
Let the apples sit to juice for 10-15 minutes
brush the loaf tin or baking dish with melted butter, then plop in the apples, and spread them out fairly evenly
Mix the remaining melted butter with the brown sugar and oats thoroughly (I use the same bowl the apples were juicing in, so that I don't miss any of the spices)
Dump the topping mixture over the apples, and spread it out fairly evenly
Bake at 350F for 45 minutes, give or take a few -- it's done when it smells done, the apples and sugar get bubbly, and the topping isn't too browned

Notes:

I've tried this with Granny Smiths, but prefer Yellow Delicious apples
I don't find the need to use flour in the sugar mix for either the apples, or the topping, but if your apples are especially juicy, about 1 Tbs. should be enough, in each of the sugar mixtures, before they go on the apples
This reheats really well in a microwave

Review: Villa Capri

2009-04-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

Type: Italian Restaurant & Pizzaria
Location: 51 W. Court St., Doylestown, PA
Phone: 215-348-9656
Delivery: Yes; no delivery fee
Take-Out: Yes
Liquor License: Yes
Carry-Out Cold Beer: Yes

Villa Capri's menu is about what you might expect from this sort of restaurant: bar-type appetizers, salads, soups, veal/chicken/seafood/eggplant dishes, calzones, pizza, pasta dishes, stromboli, hot sandwiches, and cold hoagies. They also package their sauces for take-out. I wasn't in the mood for a cheese steak, but wanted a sandwich -- a big one.

Stuck without a car for the day, I ordered two hoagies (turkey & provolone, and ham & provolone), and a medium mushroom pizza for delivery. Sure, I could have made myself a ham & swiss on rye with mustard, and started some foccacia dough for a pizza crust, but I really had a craving for a hoagie, and couldn't wait for dough to rise or leftover (frozen) Easter ham to thaw.

Now, a hoagie is no substitute for a Jersey-style Sloppy Joe from Millburn Deli or Hill City Deli (a double-decker of your choice of meat or meats and cheese on rye, with Russian dressing and cole slaw), but when in PA, go with a hoagie.

Some places have 9" or 18" ones, but Villa Capri made me a couple of very tasty foot-longs for about $5 each. The medium 'shroom pizza was about twice that. There were no delivery charges, but of course, I tipped the delivery guy.

As is typical, the hoagies come with lettuce, tomato, thinly sliced red onion, and your choice of dressing: oil & vinegar, mayo, or "dry." I'm sure I could have told them to hold the onion, if I had wanted to, but I was up for it. Delivery was prompt -- within half an hour. I'm sure the pizza was what took the longest, since anyone can make a hoagie within a couple of minutes.

Here's a picture of the turkey hoagie with mayo. Extras such as sweet or hot peppers, and pickles are available for an additional charge, but I didn't bother with them.

I'm afraid I scarfed down the entire ham hoagie before it occurred to me to take a picture, but it looked pretty much the same, with thinly sliced pink ham, instead of whitish turkey. The bread is chewy, which is the way it's supposed to be, without having an outer crust that crumbles when crushed to fit into a normal-sized set of choppers.

On to what's left of the pizza . . . as you can see, they use freshly sliced mushrooms, not the canned variety, and they don't skimp on the mozzarella. Interestingly enough, they sprinkle oregano on the cheese before it's baked, rather than leave it up to the person who ordered it to do so, after the fact.

The pizza in the picture is the one slice that was a leftover, and is cold. It reheated just fine on a baking sheet in the oven, until the cheese got bubbly. The crust was on the thin side, which is the way I like it.

Most restaurants/pizzarias like this don't make the thin crust really crispy (at least, not in the center), but upon reheating, it comes out that way. I prefer my pizza crust to crunch when I bite into it. Others prefer chewy crust, or even "Sicilian" pizza, but that doesn't rock my socks.

I cannot comment about the atmosphere of the place, or the difference between sit down, and take-out/delivery. What I can comment about is the quality and tastiness of the food, value for the money, and promptness of delivery. The entire order cost me a little over $20; even with the tip I gave the guy for delivering it, it cost me $25.

Recipe: Split Pea Soup

2009-04-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

Yield: half a gallon
Time: a couple of hours

Ingredients:

one ham bone, with some of the meat still on it, plus some previously picked off bits of meat that isn't viable for sandwiches
two small to medium sized onions, quartered and sliced
one large or two smaller carrots, peeled and diced, or sliced
one pound of dried split peas
approx. half a teaspoon of salt
pepper, preferably freshly ground
two quarts of water

Method:

sautee the onions a few minutes until translucent
add the ham, ham bone, split peas, water, salt and pepper
bring to a boil then turn the heat down to low and simmer until the peas start to fall apart on their own (I let it go for a couple of hours, but it probably doesn't really take that long)
pull out the ham bone and let it cool
pick some more meat off the bone, shred it, and toss it back into the pot
whoosh it through a blender, or use a "boat motor" type hand held stick blender, until it's fairly smooth, but you can still see flecks of pork
adjust seasonings if necessary

Note: I normally use carrots in this recipe, but didn't have any this time, and I really don't think the soup suffered for the lack of them.

Review: Richboro Pub

2009-04-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

Type: Pub Grub & Sports Bar
Location: 1034 2nd Street Pike, Richboro, PA 18954
Phone: (215) 364-8606
Delivery: No
Take-Out: Yes
Liquor license: Duh. It's a pub.

We went here on a Friday evening, around 8pm. The bar was packed, but the party we were meeting had already grabbed a booth in a room off to the side of the bar, and ordered some grub -- in this case, it was an assortment of appetizers such as Buffalo wings, clams casino, mussels, tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and basil, and some sort of mini taco-like things. Picking away at those, along with a pint or two of Stella, and a house salad was plenty for me. Here's the pub menu.

The atmosphere is that of a typical sports bar, with TVs all over the place, but the volume was turned down fairly low, so it wasn't annoying, and we could converse just fine at a normal tone of voice. Service was courteous, with our server coming to check on us a few times. She was not intrusive, but I never got the feeling we would have had to flag her down if we had wanted to order anything else.

Foodwise, the salad was crisp and fresh. For a small salad, it seemed to be endless -- the type from which you keep eating, and eating, and the pile of greens never seems to diminish. I didn't eat any of the mussels, but the clams casino, and all the rest of it were quite good. Generally speaking, as much as I love seafood, bivalves just aren't my thing, but when clams are minced and mixed up, then baked with a bunch of other stuff, I can tolerate them. I wouldn't call the hot sauce that came with the Buffalo wings hot . . . certainly nowhere near spicy enough to make my eyebrows sweat, or my mouth go numb, but it had a little bit of a kick to it.

On a side note, I'm learning to not cheer in sports bars around BucksMont when one of my NY teams scores against a Philly team. I couldn't help smiling that the Rangers were beating the Flyers, though. I've been a Rangers fan since they were one of the original six teams in the league, and remember when the Broad Street Bullies were a mere expansion team, so you have to cut me a little slack. I'll root for the Eagles, but only when they aren't playing the Giants. ;)

Apple Pie

2009-04-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

I baked this to bring over for Easter dinner for my parents. It's got a basic double-crust, plus the requisite spiced-up apple filling. I use lots of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, and a dash of allspice. This time around, I used Golden Delicious apples, but I normally use Granny Smiths.

Does anyone not know how to bake an apple pie? I can try to give my recipe for it, but about the only things I actually measure are the fat and flour ratio for the crust (1:3). Other than that, I just eyeball the ingredients, and go by smell/taste. I got sloppy when pinching together the crust around the rim, by using my knuckles and a pinky finger, but this was home cooking, for my family, and nobody who's going to eat this will ever care what it looks like, as long as it tastes good.

Regardless, it smelled phenomenal while it was cooling, and will slice up just fine tomorrow . . . heated at 250F while we eat dinner, with a dollop of vanilla ice cream melting over it, for dessert. Simple, but it's a perpetual crowd pleaser.

Review: Eagle Diner

2009-03-31T06:07:00.000-07:00

Type: Diner
Location: 6522 Lower York Rd. (U.S. Rte. 202), Solebury, PA 18963
Phone: (215) 862-5575
Price Range: $2 - $20
Hours: Open 24 hours, 7 days a week, except Christmas
Delivery: Yes, through a third party delivery service

We stopped by this place for dinner last night, more for convenience, since it was on our way, than for any other reason. Most times we've driven by, there were a fair number of cars in the lot with PA plates, so it's probably popular with locals. There are two locations, in Solebury/New Hope, and in Warminster. Their website is here.

As far as diners go, it's rather large, although at 8pm on a Monday night, it wasn't crowded at all. The atmosphere is typical diner, but with modern decor, and piped-in classic rock. Service was quick and friendly.

I had the French onion soup for $3.95, which arrived in a nice big crock, piping hot, oozing with cheese. It was absolutely delicious. I've ordered French onion soup at fancy restaurants for twice the price, and this $4 rendition is every bit as good.

The other person in my party ordered an open-face reuben, which came with a small container of cole slaw, fries, and a pickle, for $6.95. I stole a few fries. Those were perfectly salted upon arrival, not overdone, but very crispy, and not at all greasy. I also had some of the reuben. Compared to the NY deli reubens I've had over the years, it seemed a bit skimpy on the sauerkraut, and I couldn't tell whether it had any Russian dressing at all, but it was absolutely smothered in cheese, which, I think, made up for it. Diners have a choice between pastrami and corned beef.

The menu is quite extensive, ranging from breakfast fare like eggs, pancakes, muffins, bagels, etc., through soups, sandwiches and salads/salad bar, to dinner entrees. Diner food, by its very nature, isn't gourmet. However, this place serves fairly large portions of very tasty food, for value prices.

I highly recommend this place. It's where I'd go for my fix of French onion soup for sure. I look forward to trying other menu items.

Review: Back to the 50s Diner

2009-03-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

Type: Diner
Price: inexpensive
Location: Rte. 263 (York Rd.) & Edison Furlong Rd., Furlong, PA, 18925
Phone: 215-794-9954
Hours: 6:30am - 2:30pm (breakfast and lunch only)
Take Out: Yes; call ahead for pickup if you don't want to wait
Delivery: No

The menu is limited to typical breakfast fare like pancakes, waffles, eggs, etc., and lunch stuff like sandwiches and burgers, with or without fries. I had a plain old grilled cheese on rye, which came with a pickle and a small bag of potato chips, for about $5. It was grilled to perfection, and was very tasty, but I've gotten the same thing at other diners for about the same price, with more cheese. Other sandwiches (like a reuben) and burgers come with fries. I just wasn't hungry enough for all that.

The other person in my party got a BLT, which also came with a pickle and bag of chips. Again, it was a little skimpy compared to the size of BLTs we've gotten elsewhere for about the same price, but I'm told it was tasty.

It's a very busy place -- obviously quite popular. It's rather small, seating I'd guess about 35 people. As the name suggests, its theme is the 1950s, with decor and music to match. The outside of the building is a really garish purple, so it's hard to miss. Service is prompt and friendly.

What can I say? It's reliable for typical diner food. There are daily specials written up on a chalkboard, but I've never tried any of them.

Chicken Dhingri

2009-03-25T19:45:00.001-07:00

Risotto With Hot Italian Sausage and Morels

2009-03-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

Recipe: Easy Potatoes au Gratin

2009-03-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

I've seen variations on this dish, some of which don't even use cheese, but that's no fun, is it? My version here is really simple: peeled and sliced potatoes, a basic bechamel to which I add several big handfuls of grated cheese, and a breadcrumb topping.

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 20 minutes prep; 1 hour at 375F

Ingredients:

4-5 small potatoes, washed, peeled, and sliced thinly
1 Tbs. of oil, butter, or bacon grease
1 rounded Tbs. of flour
approx. 1 cup of milk (or cream)
salt
pepper
approx 1.5 cups of grated cheese (swiss, emmenthaler, monterey jack, and/or fontina are good choices)
a handful of plain bread crumbs (you could use panko, but regular breadcrumbs work fine)

Method:

peel, slice and arrange the potatoes in a baking dish
make a light roux: heat your fat of choice, add the flour to it, and whisk together
cook that for a couple of minutes to get rid of the floury taste
add your milk or cream, little by little, as it thickens, whisking the whole time
add salt and ground pepper
when the sauce coats the back of a spoon, but isn't too thick, add the cheese, a handful at a time, stirring or whisking it in (the cheese will further thicken the sauce, so you don't want it too thick to begin with)
pour this over the potatoes, and stir it all together to get them well coated with sauce
sprinkle on the breadcrumbs, and bake at 375F for about an hour

Notes:

I cover the baking dish for all but the last 15 minutes.
You could use a mix of breadcrumbs and grated parmesan or romano for the topping.
The cheese you use is up to you, but should have a sufficiently low melting point to incorporate into the bechamel. I find cheddar is rather oily, and I wouldn't use something like mozzarella that might get gummy.
The finished product really wasn't that yellowy; it seems to be a function of taking the photo indoors after dark.

Electric Stovetop

2009-03-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

As much as I'm excited about closing on a new house in a little over a week, the new kitchen may take some getting used to. The neighborhood doesn't have a hookup to natural gas, so the oven and stovetop are electric. I like the idea of a wall oven, even if it screams 1969 avocado green, but find the stovetop a little strange.

It's one of those models that's sunk into, and is flush with the counter. Those were all the rage in the mid-late1970s, but I've never cooked on one before. They're easy to clean, but if it's anything like the electric coil stove I had to cook on when we lived in London back in the mid-70s, the heat won't adjust up or down nearly as fast as a gas stove. I may have to make hollandaise and bearnaise sauce in a double boiler, or else keep pulling it off the heat as necessary. I'm more concerned about making the heat go as low as necessary, than as high.

I'd rather have a gas Viking stove, but it's not exactly an option, and I don't feel like retrofitting the place with a propane tank, just for a stove. I'll get used to the electric, sooner or later, but it's a little daunting at the moment.

That said, the new house rocks!

Recipe: Beef Stew

2009-03-06T14:42:00.000-08:00

Like most stews and burgoos, there are lots of variations. I normally add carrots and mushrooms, but we were out of them, so I made do with onion, celery, garlic, and potato. The meat we had in the freezer was a chunk of London Broil. The picture to the left shows it after I added the beef broth and meat back to the pot. As you can see, it's hot enough to be steamy.

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 2-3 hours on the stovetop

Ingredients:

8 oz. chunk of beef (doesn't have to be cubed ahead of time)
Flour, salt, and pepper to dredge the meat
2-3 Tbs. of olive oil
1 14.5 oz. can of beef stock
One large, or two small onions, diced
2 large stalks of celery, diced
a few cloves of garlic, minced
one or two bay leaves (optional, but I really love the flavor)
carrots (optional)
mushrooms (optional)
one or two potatoes, depending on size, peeled and cut into 1/2" to 3/4" cubes.
extra salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbs. cornstarch, with enough water to make a slurry

Method:

Dredge the beef in the seasoned flour, and sear it on all sides in the olive oil
Remove the beef and set it aside while you sweat the veggies, except for the potatoes, (about 8 minutes) on medium-low
When the veggies are translucent, add the beef stock to the pot to deglaze it, add the beef back to the pot, nestling it down in the liquid, and add the bay leaf
Put a lid on it, and let it simmer on low, until the meat is tender enough to shred (2-3 hours, depending on how tough your cut of meat is), flipping the meat every half hour or so
Remove the meat, let it cool for a few minutes, then shred it
Add the shredded beef and cubed potatoes back to the pot, and give it another half hour
Add the cornstarch slurry to the liquid and let it come to a boil to thicken
Adjust the seasonings to taste, and serve

Notes:

You could make a medium-dark roux to use for thickening the sauce, after sweating the veggies, but I find the veggies will get coated in the oil and don't leave any in the bottom of the pot, so you'd have to add more oil, if you want to go this route. The cornstarch isn't exactly low-carb, but at least it doesn't add the sort of calories to the dish that adding another couple of tablespoons of oil and flour to make a roux does.
You can substitute bouillon cubes and water for the beef broth, but if you do, go easy on the salt.
I prefer Baleine sel de mer fin, but Kosher salt, or even ordinary table salt will do.

Recipe: Chili

2009-03-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

I never make this stuff with a recipe. Every time I make it, it comes out different. This batch was slightly soupier than I prefer it, but was hot enough to blow a hole through an oriface.

There are a bazillion recipes for chili. Here's mine --not that I ever follow it, but, whatever.

Serves: 4
Ingredients:

1 lb. of ground beef, or buffalo, skillet-browned
3 large stalks of celery, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
1 qt. of beef stock
2 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes, with peppers, etc.
beans (pinto, black, kidney, or some mix, if you like)
oregano
half a head of garlic, mashed
cumin
chili powder
salt
freshly ground black pepper (I prefer Tellicherry)
red pepper flakes
corn (frozen is alright, but fresh is better)

Method:

Brown the ground meat, and remove it from the heat
Sautee the veggies, along with the spices
Dump the beef broth into the pan to deglaze it, stir well, then toss the rest of the ingedients back in, including the previously browned ground meat
Simmer on really low heat for another 3 hours
Adjust seasonings to taste, then serve

Notes:

Some people love sour cream with chili. I hate sour cream, so I go with grated cheddar.
Chopped scallions are optional, for garnish. I don't bother with them unless I have guests.
Chili always tastes better the next day, even if it tastes fantastic 15 minutes after it's done.
I prefer the canned diced tomatoes that already have other stuff in it, but plain diced tomatoes are alright. You can even use stewed tomatoes, if that's what you have on hand. In the summer we stew and "can" our own tomatoes in 1 qt. mason jars.

Recipe: Baked Ziti

2009-03-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

As far as I know, this is the sort of dish people just make without referring to a recipe. I suspect there are variations on it, just as there are with chili or stews. The hard way, of course, is to make the tomato/spaghetti sauce from scratch.

That's great in summer when you can either pick vine-ripened romas from your garden, or buy them from a local farmer or at a grocery store. This time of year, however, grocery store tomatoes are pretty tasteless, so I use a commercial jarred spaghetti sauce.

Yield: 2-3 servings
Time: 15 minutes prep; 45-60 minutes at 350F

Ingredients:

1 cup of dry ziti, or a little more if you use fresh
1/2 to 2/3 cup of spaghetti sauce
3/4 to 1 cup of shredded mozzarella

Method:

Cook the pasta according to directions
Meanwhile, shred the cheese, and spread out a layer of sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Cover it with a layer of the shredded cheese.
Drain the pasta, and arrange a layer of it in the dish on top of the cheese
Add another layer of sauce, and another layer of cheese
Top with more pasta, and layer on more sauce, and a final layer of cheese
Cover the baking dish with foil if it doesn't have its own cover
Bake for about 45-60 minutes at 350F, until it smells done, and is all bubbly
Let cool for a few minutes before serving

Notes:

I prefer to remove the foil or lid for the last 15 minutes to allow the cheese to brown a little bit.
You may want to place your baking dish in a drip tray or on a cookie sheet if it's really full. I have had the tomato sauce bubble over the sides a time or two, and my oven is not "self-cleaning."
The baking dish I used here is only 6" diameter, across the inside rim, to give you an idea of scale. However, this recipe scales up very nicely to a regular sized casserole dish.
I have, in a pinch, made this with rigatoni, a large sized macaroni, or even fusili (broken into 2" lengths). Most likely, anything tubular would do fine, if you run out of ziti, as long as it's not big enough to stuff, like manicotti.

Review: Restaurant Serenade

2009-03-02T09:37:00.000-08:00

Type: Contemporary French
Location: 6 Roosevelt Ave., Chatham, NJ 07928
Phone: (973) 701-0303
Price Range: Expensive
Liquor License: Yes

Serenade is a great place to go for special occasions, or to entertain guests. Lunch, dinner, and tasting menus are available. I've been there several times, but only for dinner. The menu changes seasonally. Prices range from $10 for salads, up to $21 for other appetizers. Entrees range from $27 to $38. Desserts are all $10 each.

The last time I was there, I ordered the lobster, with no appetizer, and no dessert. Portions are sufficient, but not oversized. Had I ordered dessert and an appetizer, someone would have had to roll me out of there in a wheelbarrow. I'm not sure how the others in my party managed to pack away three courses. I'm told the peach cobbler was delicious, and unexpectedly light.

I think the reason for classfying this restaurant as "contemporary" French is that the dishes aren't smothered in butter or cream sauces, and are lighter than old-style French fare. The veggies (other than new potatoes) that accompany each dish may not always match what's listed on the menu, but they always go well with the featured item of the dish, and are neither undercooked (a la the "nouvelle cuisine" fad of the 1980s), nor overcooked.

Every dish that anyone in my party has ordered there over the years was cooked to perfection. Service was attentive, but a little slow last time I was there. In all fairness, however, the place was very busy with at least two large parties in the same room in which we were seated.

This restaurant has deservedly gotten rave reviews from the NY Times, among other publications. I would highly recommend it for special occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, etc., but consider it a bit too expensive to become a frequent dining destination.

Review: Nine Thai

2009-03-02T08:08:00.000-08:00

Type: Thai
Location: 641 Shunpike Rd., Chatham, NJ (in the Hickory Square Mall)
Phone: 973-377-3636
Price Range: Moderate (average for Thai)
Liquor License: BYOB
Delivery: It used to; I don't think it does anymore
Take-Out: Yes

The decor doesn't look particularly Thai, but the food is reliable, if not stellar. This is a kid-friendly restaurant, so I would recommend avoiding it, or getting take-out, during early evening hours on weekends. At other times, it's fairly quiet. One time when we visited, it appeared that an entire little league team was there with a couple of adult chaperones. I think the restaurant seats 50 or less. The kids weren't rambunctious, but with half a dozen conversations going on at once at that table, adjacent to ours, it was a little hard for the two of us to hear each other.

Service is attentive, friendly, and polite, but at times, annoyingly so. If they're fairly busy, it's not an issue, but I prefer not to have 10 minute conversations with our waitress while we're trying to eat, which can happen if it's a slow night.

The curry dishes, pad thai, and noodle hot-pot dishes are nicely seasoned, and quite tasty. I've ordered the frog's legs a few times. Those are fried in a tempura-style batter, served on mixed veggies in a somewhat nondescript sauce. Yes, they taste like chicken, but smell a little different.

Entree portions are not especially large, so I've never brought home leftovers, but we've never ordered appetizers, either. Every time I've gone there, the waitress asks whether we'd like an order of green beans to go with our entrees. Those are sauteed with red pepper flakes and garlic, I think. It's a huge plate of green beans which could probably be shared among three or four people. They were tasty, but too much to share among two people, along with our entrees. Bear in mind that neither of us has a particularly big appetite, compared to most people we know.

Are there better Thai restaurants around? Undoubtedly. But this is conveniently located near other shopping. It's easy to walk in, place an order, go run errands at the pharmacy or grocery store in the same mall, and pick up your order when you're done. There also happens to be a liquor store next door, in case you'd like to BYOB to have with your meal, if you choose to sit down and eat it there.

Review: Neelam

2009-03-02T06:15:00.000-08:00

Type: Indian
Location: 295 Springfield Ave., Berkeley Heights, NJ, 07922
Phone: 908-665-2212
Price Range: Entrees $13 - $20, with most in the low - mid teens
Liquor License: BYOB
Delivery: Yes
Take Out: Yes

There is another location for Neelam in South Orange, but I've never been to that one. Entrees include tandoori specialties, chicken, seafood, lamb, and vegetarian dishes. Some Indian restaurants have beef dishes, but Neelam doesn't. If you're feeling adventurous, you can try one of the combination dinners (individual, or for two) that include soup, an entree, and dessert. These vary from day to day, so it's worth asking what the dishes are before you order a combo meal.

Papadum, along with onion chutney and some sort of green sauce are brought to the table, the way other restaurants bring out bread baskets.

The vindaloo dishes are reliably hot, but not quite spicy enough to induce sweating eyebrows. Some of my favorite dishes are chicken tikka masala, chicken dhingri, shrimp dhingri, and chicken vindaloo. I don't particularly like lamb, but have dined with others who say the lamb is nice and tender.

This location of Neelam doesn't seat that many people, so it does a lot of take-out, from orders that are phoned in for pick-up. The atmosphere is cozy, and a bit on the dark side. Service is attentive, if a bit on the slow side. This may be a function of how long Indian food takes to cook; I've never eaten at an Indian restaurant in which the food arrived fairly quickly. Parking can be a problem at the restaurant, which is in a tiny strip mall that also has a fairly popular pizzaria, but can be found within a block in some other lot.

Neelam has been around for almost three decades, which indicates to me that it's been reliable for a long time. I think the entree portions are rather large. Appetizers are available, but if you're tempted to order any, it's best to share them among the table, or you may easily be too stuffed to finish your entree. The staff is certainly willing, however, to pack up any leftovers for you to bring home. Everything I've ordered over the years reheats well, either on the stovetop in a pot, or in the microwave at low-medium power, so as not to vulcanize the animal flesh.

If you believe their yellow pages advertisement, Zagat rated it "excellent," NJ Monthly wrote "Best Indian food," and the Star-Ledger rated it 3-1/2 stars. I tend to agree.

Review: Sarah Jane

2009-03-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

Type: Family Style American, mostly steak and seafood
Price Range: $15 to $25 for entrees
Location: 33 US Highway 206 North, Somerville, NJ 08876
Phone: (908) 722-5454
Liquor License: Yes

This family owned and run restaurant has a rustic feel, with solid, familiar, comfort food -- no contrived dishes or "overly imaginative" sauces. Fish dishes can be ordered fried, broiled, or stuffed with crabmeat and baked. I was in the mood for something fried, so I had the fried flounder. The person with me wanted the prime rib special, but they were out of it (at 6pm on a Saturday), so he ordered a 10 oz. filet mignon. I've read a few other reviews of this place that mention the rib eye is excellent.

My fish was lightly breaded and fried to crispy perfection. There was nothing greasy about it at all. It arrived with one huge fillet, one medium sized one, and a small strip that looked a little like a chicken finger, and was served with tartar sauce and cocktail sauce. The filet mignon was cooked to a perfect medium rare. Chances are that it wasn't aged prime grade beef, as you would find at, say, Ruths Chris, Smith & Wollensky, or Morton's, but was cooked properly.

Each entree comes with a choice of baked potato or fries, and a cup of soup or a salad. Had we remembered that, we probably wouldn't have ordered the fried mozzarella sticks to start. However, they were fried perfectly, and served with a semi-chunky marinara sauce. Nothing fancy, but cooked the way it should be, and served piping hot. The soup of the day was barley, which had a thickish consistency, and was very tasty.

Judging from those at other tables, doggie bags for leftovers are the norm, rather than the exception. The waitress also automatically asked if we wanted to bring home what we couldn't finish. Service was friendly, and attentive, without being annoyingly so.

We both brought home leftovers. The fish reheated really well in a toaster oven set to 350F for about 8-10 minutes, which kept the breading crispy without drying out the fish. Indeed, I got three meals out of the fried flounder. Portions are huge, unless you order a 6 oz. filet mignon.

Neither of us would drive all the way to Somerville just to go to this restaurant, but if we were in the area, would definately eat there again.

Recipe: Pumpkin-Spice Bars

2009-03-01T10:19:00.000-08:00

Yield: One 15.5" x 10.5" jelly roll panful (approx. 48 - 54 bars)
Time: 25-30 minutes at 350F

Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of vegetable oil
1 can of pumpkin
2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup of raisins
cream cheese frosting
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

Method:

beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin in a large bowl until smooth
stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices
stir in the raisins
pour into a greased jelly roll pan
bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes
Let the pan cool on a rack, while you make the frosting
frost the cake, and sprinkle on the chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting

3 oz. of cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup of butter, softened (approx. 2/3 of a stick)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups of powdered sugar

cream together the cream cheese and butter
mix in the vanilla
stir in the powdered sugar little by little, until well incorporated and smooth

Notes: This comes out very much like carrot cake. You may want to add a little more of the spices than the recipe calls for; I found the spice a little on the subtle side, despite the fact that my jars of it were pretty new.

Recipe: Buttermeal Cookies

2009-02-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

Yield: Approx. 4 dozen
Time: 12 minutes at 300F per ovenload

This dough is a very stiff dough, so either use a very sturdy metal spoon, if mixing by hand, or use a countertop mixer, if you're lucky enough to own one. The latter will probably save you half an hour vs. mixing the dough by hand. Don't even try it with a hand-held electric mixer. See "notes" at the end of the recipe.

I cadged this recipe off my grandparents' next door neighbor about 35 years ago. For the life of me, I cannot remember the woman's name. At the time, they were the best cookies I'd ever tasted, and boy do they withstand the test of time. Yum!

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter, softened (1/2 lb.)
1 heaping cup. of dark brown sugar
2 Tbs. of dark corn syrup
pinch of salt
1 scant tsp. of baking soda
2 cups of flour
2 cups of quick oats

Method:

Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup
Mix in the salt and baking soda
Stir/cut/cream/blend in the flour, about 1/3 cup at a time (whatever works best for you), until it's all incorporated
Repeat step 3, with the quick oats
Grease a cookie sheet, and plop about 1 Tbs. of batter per cookie on it, about 3" apart, center to center
Score each cookie with a fork, in cross directions, to press it down to 1/4" thick, or less
Bake at 300F for 12 minutes

Notes:

I only had light brown sugar on hand this afternoon, so I substituted molassas for dark corn syrup, and they came out tasting the same as always
The original recipe calls for dropping the batter off a spoon onto the cookie sheet, but it's not a sticky batter, so I find it much easier to form the batter into flat patties by hand first, then toss them on the sheet
Do let these cool for a minute or two on the baking sheet before removing them
Truth be told, you could easily get away with 1/3 to 1/2 cup less quick oats than the recipe calls for
They're supposed to come out crunchy

Recipe: Tuna Casserole

2009-02-24T10:05:00.000-08:00

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30 minutes prep; 45 in the oven at 350F

Ingredients:

one medium sized onion, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced
handful of white or brown mushrooms, chopped (optional)
one clove of garlic, sliced thinly or minced (optional)
2 6-oz. cans of tuna, thoroughly drained, and flaked
dried spaghetti or linguini (about 3/4" diameter held between your thumb and index finger, if you circle them together), broken in half or thirds
3-4 Tbs. of olive oil
2 Tbs. of flour
1 to 1-1/4 cups of milk (you could use light cream)
salt
pepper (preferably freshly ground)
handful of grated parmesan
handful of Italian-style breadcrumbs

Method:

Sautee the onions, celery, and mushrooms in enough olive oil to get the job done, making them sweat, not fry, on medium to medium-low heat. This should take no more than 10 minutes. Set them aside to cool.
Add 2 Tbs. of olive oil and 2 Tbs. of flour to the pot in which the veggies sauteed, and stir or whisk well to make a roux. Cook it just long enough to get the flour taste out of it. You're shooting for a really light roux here, so it shouldn't take more than a minute or two.
Add some milk, maybe 1/3 of a cup to start with, and whisk it in really well. When it starts to thicken, add more milk, a splash or two at a time, and whisk it in really well. Repeat as necessary until you have a sauce that's not runny, but somewhat on the thin side. It should coat a spoon, but drip off pretty quickly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Collectively, this step with the previous one, is sort of a fake bechamel. Cover the pot, so your sauce doesn't form a skin, unless you do step 4 simultaneously with this one.
Boil the pasta, according to directions. You can let it go a minute or two beyond al dente, but don't let it get mushy. Frankly, you can do this simultaneously with step 3.
Drain the pasta and stir it into the milk/cream sauce, mixing well.
Stir in the veggies, and mix well, then stir in the flaked tuna, and mix well. It's supposed to look like glop -- it's a casserole.
Pour the mess into an oven-proof casserole dish, sprinkle a handful of grated parmesan on top, then sprinkle a handful of Italian-style breadcrumbs on top of that.
Bake in a 350F oven, covered, for 30-35 minutes, then remove the cover, and bake another 10-15 minutes. It's done when it smells done, the sauce bubbles through the topping in a few spots, and the topping gets golden brown.

Notes:

I was out of mushrooms, so I omitted them this time. I like this dish better with the mushrooms, but it tastes fine either way.
All I had around was 2% milkfat milk, so that's what I used for the sauce, but it doesn't really matter what you have around -- it'll work, as long as you shoot for the right consistency of the sauce. Even skim works.
The reason for the milk/cream sauce being a little on the thin side is that while the casserole bakes, the pasta will absorb more liquid, so the sauce gets thicker by default.
Leftovers reheat really well in a microwave on 40-50% power.

Recipe: Low-Fat Chicken Stew

2009-02-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

This is a relatively low-fat version of chicken stew that uses a cornstarch slurry at the end to thicken the liquid, rather than a roux at the beginning. The leftovers reheat really well, either on the stovetop, or in a microwave at 40% (or so) power. Truth be told, I didn't follow a recipe, or even refer to one; I just cooked it. Ingredient quantities are approximate.

Yield: approximately half a gallon
Time: 2-3 hours, on the stovetop

Ingredients:

One very large chicken breast on the bone, or two small ones, with the skin
4 stalks of celery, sliced about 1/4" thick
4 oz. of baby carrots, sliced about 1/4" thick (or two large carrots)
one very large onion, or 2-3 smaller ones, roughly chopped
cloves from half a small head of garlic, or 1/3 or a large one, peeled and sliced
2 small or one large potato, peeled, and diced into 1/2" chunks
1 qt. of chicken stock (chicken broth works fine, too)
rosemary
thyme
salt (preferably sea salt, but it doesn't really matter)
pepper (preferably freshly ground Tellicherry)
3-4 Tbs. of olive oil
1 Tbs. of cornstarch

Method:

Heat 1-2 Tbs. of olive oil in a wide pot, and brown the chicken breasts on medium heat. You can coat them with flour first, but it's not necessary -- salt and pepper's sufficient.
Remove the chicken, and toss in the sliced veggies, add salt and pepper, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Add more olive oil as necessary. Let the veggies sweat until the onion is translucent, stirring occasionally (about 10 minutes).
Place the chicken back in the pot, bone side down, sprinkle on the thyme and rosemary, then add the chicken stock. Nestle the chicken down into the stock and veggies a bit, then put a lid on the pot. Reduce the heat to a low simmer.
After about an hour, flip the chicken, and nestle it back into the rest of the stuff in the pot.
Give it maybe another 20-30 minutes, then take out the chicken, and let it cool for a few minutes.
Peel the skin off the chicken, throw it away, along with the bones, and shred the chicken.
Toss the shredded chicken back into the pot with the diced potato. Let it simmer for another half an hour. The lid is optional at this point.
Mix the cornstarch with enough cold water to make a slurry, then stir it into the pot. It'll thicken the "sauce" once it comes to a boil.
Adjust the seasonings to your taste, serve, and enjoy.

Garden Rice

2009-02-10T09:01:00.000-08:00

Type: Chinese
Location: 234 Main St., Chatham, NJ
Price Range: Inexpensive

This place advertises itself on its menu as "Szechuan & Cantonese Cuisine," although it has a few Hunan dishes on the menu as well. As is typical, their lunch specials range from $5.50 to $6.15, and include your choice of rice (white, brown, or pork fried), and soup (wonton, egg drop, or hot & sour) to go with the main dish.

The dinner menu ranges in price from $6.35 for varieties of Foo Young to $12.95 for a few things on the "chef's special" section, with most dishes in the $9-11 range.

There's a $10 minimum for delivery, instead of the customary $20. Garden Rice also claims to use only vegetable oil and no MSG. Delivery is prompt; the usual half an hour they quote over the phone is normally an overestimate for delivery to my neighborhood, a town away.

Best dishes are:

Lemon Chicken (nobody around makes this better than Garden Rice; it's phenomenal)
Hunan Beef (nice and spicy, the way it should be)
Kung Po Chicken (what you expect from this dish)
Shrimp in Lobster Sauce (hard to mess this one up, but they always get it right, and never overcook the shrimp)
Lake Tung Ting Shrimp (see above)

Disappointing:

Szechuan Beef (it's almost all onion and pepper, and not even slightly spicy)
Hot & Sour Soup (it doesn't have enough vinegar to give the sour flavor, and has those weird green greeblies that I pick out, as I find them, but at least it doesn't have strips of mystery meat)

Could Go Either Way:

Pu Pu Platter (the value for the money is there, but the pork dumplings are really bland)

The pu-pu is almost all fried. The stuff that looks burned is shrimp toast. It's not burned, and tastes great. It just looks odd. The fried shrimp and fried chicken nuggets are excellent. The fried wontons are so-so, but if you're starving, they'll do nicely.

The lemon chicken is to die for. No other Chinese restaurant around here makes it better.

Normally, I'm not into battered and fried food other than fish and chips, but this is phenomenal. For $20, the pu-pu and lemon chicken is enough food for three meals -- for three people. OK, I consider an egg roll to be an entire meal, so you'll have to adjust my take on the amount of food to your own stomach size.

It's best immediately after delivery, but believe it or not, the leftovers reheat really well.

L'Allegria

2009-02-06T05:42:00.000-08:00

Location: 11 Prospect St., Madison, NJ, 07940

Type: Italian

Price Range: Expensive (expect to pay $50+ per person)

Saverio and Giovanni Allocca run this place, right smack dab in the center of town.

From the moment you walk in the door and check your coat, to the moment you leave, the hospitality is wonderful.

I love the pizzette con gorgonzola for a starter. What's not to like about a thin, crunchy-crust blue cheese mini-pizza?

You can get just about any wine to go with what you order, whether it's seafood, pasta, or veal. Skip the wine, and you can keep down the cost of the meal, but if you dress up to go there, why do that?

I go there for the seafood. My partner-in-eating loves the pasta dishes. I wish they'd bottle their fra diavolo sauce.

Dive into a dish of seafood, and you will never find it overcooked. Dive into pasta, and it'll always be al dente. Dive into veal, whether it be osso buco, piccata, or saltimbucco, it's great! They never undercook, nor overcook your meal.

Here's their dinner menu. Their saltimbucco is phenomenal. So's their shrimp fra diavolo.

I'd rate this place up there with my beloved (and gone) White Horse Inn.

The only downside is that since it's in the center of town, you might have to park a block away.

Sourdough Loaf

2009-02-04T13:23:00.001-08:00

This is the way it came out of the oven after 375F for around 45 minutes, and cooling. The starter we have is a good 30 years old. Personally, I'd like it less dense, but it has a good flavor, a good crumb, and makes really good toast. It also makes an excellent base for eggs benedict, if you have no english muffins on hand.

The next picture shows an inside shot, to give you an idea of the crumb, and denseness. It's sourdough, so it's not really supposed to look like a baguette, inside, but I'd prefer bigger holes in it.

As James Beard said in Beard on Bread, to paraphrase . . . sourdough is really unpredictable. Indeed, it is.

In the end, it's no denser than your average loaf of Russian rye. I keep thinking I could have cooked it another 10 minutes, but the bottom really is cooked. It's not gooey.

I'd love to post a recipe for it but, sourdough is just one of those things you make, without any exact proportions. The following paragraph gives you my best shot at it.

Take out the starter, dump in a cup of milk and a cup of flour, mix it together really well, and let it sit around all day until it gets really bubbly. Then toss half the mix back into the fridge to be starter for next time. Work the rest into a soft (but not sticky) dough, form it into a loaf, plop it into a loaf tin, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise until it tops the pan. Bake it at 375F until it smells done -- around 45 minutes.

The World's Best Diner

2009-01-28T20:42:00.000-08:00

We have a few diners within easy driving distance, but this one is legendary:

Everready

As much as I adore fine cuisine, I want my diner stuff. We can argue about french fries, or eggs benedict. One has better fries, but the other has better Hollandaise.

Everready is there for you.

I Love Tomatoes

2009-01-27T12:09:00.000-08:00

This time of year, fresh tomatoes, even those sold still "on the vine," can be rather tasteless. Even the ones we canned ourselves last summer are gone by now. Never fear; commercially canned ones can work just fine.

Inspired by ThePinkPeppercorn, I made a take-off of her friend's recipe for roasted tomato soup. As Gail said, the basic recipe can be customized, and it's really good. I'm not going to repeat that basic recipe here -- read it on Ms. Peppercorn's blog.

My version is probably a little thicker than Gail's, but I like it that way, if it's going to make for a filling dinner, with half a grilled cheese and ham on foccacia sandwich. All I aim to do here, is mention what I did differently.

used four 14.5 oz. cans of tomatoes, two of which were "stewed," and two of which were "diced," with all the juice
used two medium-sized onions
used four cloves of garlic, sliced, with the butt end cut off for the trash bin
added basil, which got whoosed with the rest, at the end, so you can't really see it in the picture
rushed it a little, using six hours in a 225F oven, after the initial stovetop treatment
used grated romano to "garnish" it

I happened to use a well-seasoned cast iron dutch oven, for no other reason than it'd fit into my oven better than a tall stockpot. Cast iron is priceless for certain types of cooking, although perhaps any old slow cooker would have done just as well with this one.

Add to that bowl of soup one 3" x 3" grilled ham and cheese, and you've got a rib-sticking dinner.

Recipe: Onion Soup

2009-01-26T17:11:00.000-08:00

If you don't happen to have any crusty French or Italian bread loaves around, you can still make onion soup.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

One really huge onion or two medium-sized ones, sliced in half rings
a clove or two of garlic, depending on how big they are
a little dry white wine
a pint of beef broth
a bay leaf
salt
pepper
a little olive oil

Method:

Sautee the onions in the olive oil until they become translucent, then add the garlic, and sautee for another few minutes
Dump in the white wine to deglaze the pot
Give it a few minutes to burn off, then add the beef broth, and the bay leaf.
Let it simmer for half an hour, uncovered, remove the bay leaf, and serve with a broiler-toasted crouton and mega-cheese, if you have it, or if not, use grated parmesan.

Notes:

It's not the end of the world if you don't happen to have toasty bread, a boatload of cheese on hand, and crockpots that can go under the broiler
It's not Kosher -- not with the beef broth and cheese. Use veggie broth and cheese, or the traditional beef broth, and skip the cheese, to make it Kosher.

Recipe: Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

2009-01-26T15:22:00.000-08:00

I've been on a bit of a soup kick, lately, with the well below freezing outside temperatures. For whatever reason, it never really occurs to me to take pictures of soup, because we all sort of know what it looks like. Nonetheless, here's my best attempt to replicate the delicious version of "crema di funghi zuppi" from Basilico.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 75 minutes

Ingredients:

olive oil
approx. 4 Tbs. of butter
one large, or two small onions
one large leek, white and light green parts sliced (~ 1/8" wide rings, or you could use ~ 1/4 cup of diced shallots)
3/4 lb. of mixed wild mushrooms (shiitake, portobello, and porcini are good choices; personally I want the dark color for contrast with the cream base, so I leave inoke or oyster mushrooms out of this)
scant 1/4 cup of flour
3/4 cup of dry white wine
3/4 cup of milk
3/4 cup of half-and-half
salt
pepper
1/2 - 1 tsp. of thyme, depending on your taste

Method:

Brush off the mushrooms with a damp towel, and remove the stems to use for stock
Chop the stems, and mushroom caps
Sautee the mushroom stems, onion, a pinch of the thyme, 3/4 tsp. of salt, and half that of freshly ground black pepper for 10 - 15 minutes, in 1 Tbs. olive oil and 1 Tbs. of butter
Add 4 cups of water to the pot, bring to a boil, and simmer, uncovered for half an hour
Strain the mushroom stock, and discard the solids
Sautee the leeks in the remaining butter, with an additional 1 Tbs. of olive oil, on low heat, for about 10 - 15 minutes, until the leeks start to carmelize
Add the chopped/diced mushroom caps and flour. Cook for another minute or so
Add the white wine to deglaze the pot, scraping and stirring up the goodness (this takes about a minute or less)
Add in the mushroom stock, remaining thyme, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil
Reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes
Add the milk and half-and-half, and heat through, but don't boil it
Adjust salt and pepper as necessary
Serve as is, if you prefer, or whoosh it with a "boat motor" mixer to turn the mushrooms into flecks rather than chunks

Notes:

The wine is optional, if you're a teetotaler, or don't have any on hand, but it does add something.
Basilico whooshes the soup, which I prefer, but I consider that optional.
This makes a slightly-thick, creamy soup. If you prefer something thicker, richer, and more calorie-laden, just increase the flour content a little, and use light cream instead of a mix of milk and half-and-half.
I don't bother garnishing it with anything, but I only serve it at home
The recipe may sound more difficult than it is. It really only takes about 20 minutes worth of full attention to what's on the stovetop, during the two sautee processes, and the rest is just simmering, until the dairy goes in at the very end.
If the idea of a light roux to thicken it makes you want to barf, calorie-wise, just use a slurry of cornstarch instead.

Super Bowl Eats

2009-01-22T09:49:00.000-08:00

I'm tossing around a few ideas for Super Bowl food. Super Bowl Sunday isn't the time to force people into fruit and veg, but there's no reason to pig out on total junk. I'll be rooting for the Steelers, but Cardinals fans won't be forced to eat celery. ;)

It won't necessarily be vegan-friendly, although vegans can find a few things to eat, and vegetarians who allow seafood and dairy will have a few more choices.

Snacks:

Tortilla chips with homemade salsa (diced tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, lime juice, and chopped cilantro)
Crudites, with a chive dip that uses plain low-fat yogurt with a pinch of sugar, instead of sour cream
Pretzels
Crispy potato skins, filled with mashed potato and a few bacon bits, topped with extra sharp cheddar, a little bit of the plain yogurt with sugar substitute for sour cream, and a sprinkle of scallions for garnish. I'll make a few that skip the bacon, and have chili beneath the cheese, to give people a choice.
Bruschetta, some with a topping of well cooked-down mushrooms, and others with a thin slice of fresh mozarella, thin slice of roma tomato, and a chiffonade of fresh basil
Mushroom caps, stuffed with crabmeat

Dinner:

Four-cheese mac & cheese, for those who feel really decadent (cheddar, swiss, fontina, and a little bit of morbier, which I love)
Pasta with an olive oil pesto sauce

Dessert:

Gingerbread (recipe from James Beard's Beard on Bread)
Fruit salad (clementine supremes, grapes, and pineapple, since the only fresh berries and melon we can get this time of year are rather tasteless)

I probably won't make all of these, but if I make an assortment of things that include a few veg-friendly items, nobody's going to starve.

Onion Soup

2009-01-21T21:48:00.001-08:00

After having a bowl of S's chili for lunch, I wanted something lighter for dinner. I didn't have any good crusty bread for a crouton, or any white wine, so this is hardly traditional, for those who have fond memories of French onion soup, with the toasted crouton, and gobs of cheese melted under the broiler. Yet, it was really tasty. After I made it, I checked Foodnetwork.com for French onion soup recipes, and was pleasantly surprised to see something similar to mine, from Ina Garten. She uses butter, sherry, cognac, and wine, but, otherwise, it's very similar.

I didn't take a picture. Truth is, it didn't occur to me to do so, but we all know what onion soup looks like, right? S is away on business, and doesn't really like onion soup very much, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to make an old favorite just for myself.

Yield: 2 servings
Cook time: 30 - 40 minutes

Ingredients:

One huge, or two smallish onions
1 - 2 cloves of garlic, depending on size, minced
approx. 1 Tbs. of olive oil, maybe a little more
1 pint of beef broth
a bay leaf
salt
freshly ground black pepper
grated parmesan

Method:

Peel the onions, and cut them in half, then slice them fairly thinly
Mince the garlic
Sautee the onions with the garlic, bay leaf, and a little salt and pepper in the olive oil on medium heat until the onions get translucent and turn a little yellowy (10 - 15 minutes)
pour in the beef broth, stir well to deglaze the pan, and let simmer uncovered for 20 minutes
Add a little extra water, if necessary, to make up for the steam loss during simmering
Remove the bay leaf
Adjust the salt level to taste, if necessary
Ladle the soup into a bowl, and top with grated parmesan cheese

Note: the grated parmesan will sink, and turn the soup cloudy, but it's alright, and doesn't detract from the taste at all. You could also make a Kosher version by substituting vegetable broth for the beef broth, but it's not the same. Leave off the cheese, and the Kosher version becomes vegan.

A Match Made in Heaven

2009-01-20T11:07:00.000-08:00

I used to collect matchbooks from restaurants. Nowadays, they're almost non-existant, since smoking is illegal practically everywhere but outdoors, or inside your own home. I have a fish tank full of them. The picture you see is basically only a handful. Click on it, for a full-sized view.

Some of these restaurants are long gone. The saddest matchbook I found was the one from Windows on the World. I couldn't bear to put it in the picture. Remember 9/11, and the WTC? That's what happened to that restaurant. It used to have a great brunch. I was at work, in Lower Manhattan, when the WTC towers fell.

Girafe and The Ryland Inn are also gone. The Ryland Inn was once one of the best restaurants in NJ, but it never really recovered after a huge fire.

I've no idea whether the Stonington Beach Hotel in Bermuda still exists. It was next to Elbow Beach, but sort of tucked back in its own cove, up the hill. Society Hill in Philly, and Grand Concourse in Pittsburgh bring back tasty memories. The flip side of the Grand Concourse matchbox shows a stylized crab.

I'm pretty sure the Yale Club and University Club still exist. The University Club used to have segregated dining for men-only, and men who brought women to dine. I thought it was funny that I had to eat in a segregated room with my dad (while I was wearing full business attire in the mid-80s), but the place had phenomenal eggs benedict, so I dealt with it, and left on a really full stomach, with no complaints about the service.

Basilico, Campanile, and Telephone Bar still exist. I don't remember where The Spinnaker, or The Privateer were, but it's pretty obvious by their names that they were seafood joints.

Foccacia

2009-01-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

Yield: One 9" x 13" loaf
Time and Temp: 35 minutes at 375F

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups of warm water (110 - 115F)
1 packet of yeast (1/4 oz.)
1 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. salt
3 - 3 1/2 cups of flour (all-purpose is fine)
olive oil
rosemary, about a teaspoon (freshly chopped is better, but dried is okay, if you crush it up a bit)

Method:

Mix the first three ingredients in a small bowl, and leave it until it gets foamy
Mix 3 cups of the flour and the salt in a large bowl
Stir the foamy yeast mix into the dry ingredients, and mix well (it will be sticky)
Turn out the dough onto a floured surface, and knead it for a few minutes, working in more flour until it's still soft, but no longer sticky, and has a nice elasticity (3 - 4 minutes or so)
Coat a large bowl with olive oil, form the dough into a ball, and place it in the bowl, turning it to coat it thoroughly with the oil
Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until double in size
Punch down the dough
Coat a 9" x 13" baking pan with olive oil, and press out your dough into it, working it all the way into the corners the best you can
Drizzle olive oil all over the top of the dough, spread it out, and poke dimples in the dough with your fingertips (it's fine if they fill in with olive oil)
Sprinkle the rosemary on top of the bread
Bake at 375F for 35 minutes
Let cool on a wire rack or a stovetop burner

Notes:

This bread makes great sandwiches, toasted or untoasted, if split in half horizontally.
Although I simply used rosemary in this case, it's like pizza dough, and you can top it with practically anything you like.
The basic dough itself, w/o the oilve oil and rosemary topping, makes good pizza dough.
If you make this in a chilly winter house, you may want to use rapid-rise or instant yeast, instead of regular, just to speed up the rising process.

Lemon Bars

2009-01-18T20:34:00.000-08:00

Yield: 2 dozen
Cook Time and Temp: 45-50 minutes, at 350F

Ingredients:

1 c. of all-purpose flour (self-rising works, as well)
1/2 c. (1 stick) of butter, softened
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
2 Tbs. of lemon juice
2 tsp. grated lemon peel (optional)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
extra powdered sugar, for dusting the cooled cookies (about 2 Tbs.)

Method:

Heat oven to 350F
Mix together the first three ingredients, and press the dough into an ungreased 8" x 8" baking dish, working the edges up the sides about 1/2".
Bake for 20 minutes
Beat together the sugar, lemon juice, peel, baking powder, salt and eggs with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes on high until fluffy, and the color gets a bit lighter yellow. Note: a whisk will work, but it takes forever.
Pour the filling into the hot crust, and return it to the oven for another 25-30 minutes
Let cool, and dust with the additional powdered sugar.
Cut into bars

Note: the filling will form a very thin crust as it cools, which is normal, but gets hidden by the powdered sugar. The filling comes out smooth and soft, with a slightly sweet, crunchy bottom crust.

This recipe can be doubled, if using a 9" x 13" oven dish.

Carrot Cake

2009-01-15T17:19:00.000-08:00

Yield: One 13" x 9" pan, a double-layer round cake, or a boatload of muffins
Cook Time & Temp: 350F for around 40 - 45 minutes (muffins take less)

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of sugar
1 cup of oil (or two sticks of butter, but butter will make it dense, not light)
3 eggs
2 cups of flour
1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. of baking doda
1 tsp. of vanilla
0.5 tsp of salt
0.25 tsp. of ground nutmeg
3 cups of shredded carrot
1 cup of chopped walnuts
cream cheese frosting (optional)

Shredding the carrots is about the only thing I ever use the food processor for. It takes forever, if you use a box grater, but that'll work, too. Do not skimp on the butter/oil, because it'll be dry and inedible if you do. It sounds like a lot, but any less won't work well. I just eyeball the spices in the palm of my hand, but really do measure the oil, if I use it instead of butter.

As is usual, mix your wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls, then add the wet to the dry, stirring them together into a batter.

Dump out the stuff into a greased and floured pan. I suppose you could use cooking spray, but I've never tried that with carrot cake.

Let it bake at 350F for 40 minutes, then check on it. It might need a little longer. Use the toothpick or bamboo skewer test on it. If it's done, take it out, and let it cool.

Optional cream cheese icing:

an 8 oz. pack of cream cheese
half a stick of butter
2 tsp. of milk
1 tsp. of vanilla
4 cups of powdered sugar

It's a lot of powdered sugar. This frosting recipe can be cut in half, if you don't want a thick gooey mess on your carrot cake. You can skip it altogether, if you want, although, if I'm going to eat junk, I want it with the works, so to speak.

Carney's

2009-01-14T20:08:00.000-08:00

Type: Pub Grub
Location: 411 Beach Ave., Cape May, NJ, 08204
Price Range: Low - Moderate

As is typical of pub grub, you can pay $10 - $15 for either a dinner-sized salad, or fish and chips, etc., and get a beer for around $4. What surprised me is how well the food has come along over the years. I used to hate this place, and tried to avoid it like the plague, but no longer.

Carney's is actually good nowadays. The "fish and chips" is decent, with no overabundance of batter on the fish, and the fries come out crispy. All you need is a bit of malt vinegar, which they will bring, if you ask for it.

Don't go for the pizza, though. That's what turned me off to the place, all those years ago. The crust is crispy-thin fine, but the toppings are, um, well . . .

Pros: easy walk from anywhere in town
Cons: too much nightlife, if you catch my drift

Jackson Mountain

2009-01-14T17:40:00.000-08:00

Type: Pub Grub
Location: Washington St. Mall, Cape May, NJ, 08204
Price Range: Inexpensive

Yeah, it's pub grub, but you can get a Yuengling or Boddington's there. The odd thing is that your potato chips come in a small still-sealed bag from Wise. Get over it, tuck the bag in your pocket, and bring it home.

The burgers are grilled just right, but the "crab melt" is way too rich for one person to eat. It comes on an English muffin. If there are only two of you, I'd ask to split the crab melt. It does not reheat well, as leftovers.

Service is fine, even when the joint isn't that busy, around mid-afternoon. Around dinner time, it really gets hopping, but your waiter or waitress won't leave you neglected. Please give your server a good tip. They really work for it.

Pros: right there in the center of town; good pub grub
Cons: leave your car at home, and just walk there

Gecko's

2009-01-14T14:58:00.000-08:00

Type: Mexican/Southwestern
Location: Carpenter Sq. Mall, Cape May, NJ, 08204
Price Range: Low - Moderate (~$20 per person)

Try to eat inside, if you can, during off-season. The food gets cold way too quickly, if you're outside for dinner, unless it's beach season. The menu is currently more diverse than I remember from previous visits, and now includes rabbit, duck, and venison.

The rabbit is a bit dry, but comes with a nice, thick sauce, that really makes the dish. Without the sauce, it's nothing to write home about. The venison, on the other hand, is cooked just right . . . medium rare slices of tenderloin, with a bourbon-apple juice sauce that doesn't overwhelm the meat. Next time, I think I'll try the duck.

Gecko's is a good place to go when you want something a little different from pub grub or seafood. It's got chicken, too, which I have grown to (almost) hate, given the 1001 ways my mom used to foist it off on us when I was a kid, but I have yet to see another diner who's ordered it, and not tucked in with gusto.

Pros: within easy walking distance of just about anywhere in town; fairly inexpensive; chef is from NM, and knows his ingredients
Cons: it's metered parking only in that part of town, if you can even find a space, so walk there; it's BYO, if you want something stronger than iced tea

Cafe Monet

2009-01-14T14:27:00.000-08:00

Type: French
Location: 309 Millburn Ave., Millburn, NJ, 07941
Price Range: Expensive

It's a bit hoity-toity, and expensive, but the food is damn good. They cook fish perfectly -- flaky, but not dry, and not uncooked in the middle (which is my biggest complaint with chefs who seem to be afraid of fish). Their steaks are also cooked perfectly. When you order a steak medium-rare, it comes out darkish pink and juicy, but not oozing red juices.

Monet is open for lunch on Wednesdays through Fridays, but I prefer it for dinner. The salads are good, as are the fries, but c'mon, you can get good fries at a diner or pub, and make a salad yourself.

I've never had a problem with service, but others have, so perhaps it's a bit uneven. The joint is BYO.

Pros: excellent food
Cons: you may have to park in a lot a block or two away, and walk

Ginger Snaps

2009-01-14T10:59:00.001-08:00

You know you want this. It's a ginger snap. Yes, it's a nice crunchy bit of goodness in your mouth that may bring back memories of childhood.

Yield: 4-5 dozen cookies, depending on how big you make them

Bake Time: 10-11 minutes per batch, at 375.

Ingredients:

1 cup of brown sugar, packed (light or dark is irrelevant)
a stick and a half of butter (nuke it if you have to, or melt it on the stovetop)
1/4 cup of molasses
1 egg
2-1/4 cups of flour
2 tsp. of baking soda
1 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1 tsp. of ground ginger
1/2 tsp. of ground cloves
big pinch of salt (maybe close to 1/4 tsp.)
extra granulated sugar, for the rolling thing

Mix the first four ingredients in one bowl, and the others in a different bowl. Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ones, and mix really well. This is going to make a really stiff dough. You might want to use a sturdy metal spoon for it. It's supposed to be this way.

Chill it in the fridge for maybe an hour, or the freezer for half an hour.

Preheat your oven to 375F, and when you are ready to bake these suckers, get out a spoon, ball up a scoop in your hands, roll the top half of it in that excess sugar, and just plop them onto your cookie sheet, sugar side up.

I lightly grease my cookie sheet with a little canola oil, because it's aluminum, but if you have a non-stick one, skip that.

Tip: between batches, stick the dough back in the fridge, because if it isn't cold, it'll get sticky, and won't roll into balls very well.

Basilico

2009-01-14T10:06:00.000-08:00

Type: Italian
Location: 324 Millburn Ave., Millburn, NJ
Price Range: Semi-Expensive (easily $50 per person for an appetizer and entree for dinner)

As is typical, Basilico's lunch menu contains fewer options than the dinner menu, for a few dollars less. The cream of wild mushroom soup (crema di funghi) is to die for, but can be a bit too salty, even for this salt-lover. Order it, savor it, and deal with the salt overload later, with your entree. The mushroom soup is why I keep coming back to Basilico.

Lunch portions aren't that huge, if you order pasta, but if you order the Luca panini, be prepared to ask for a doggie bag. It's that good. And, no, they won't give you a snooty look, for asking for one. The Luca is smoked turkey, brie, romaine, and tomatoes, on a killer foot-long piece of crusty Italian bread. It comes with some strange eggplant concoction, but that's alright, as long as you scrape it away from the bread, so it doesn't get soggy. Prices for panini are around $9-$10. I can easily get two meals out of one of those.

Dinner portions are huge. I've always ordered some sort of fish for dinner, and can never finish it. Others in my party have ordered chicken and veal dishes. Nobody complained.

The menu is semi-seasonal, so do go to their website to see what's there at the time.

Pros: excellent food; attentive wait staff
Cons: parking in downtowm Millburn can get nasty, but there are a couple of lots, only two blocks away

The Algonquin

2009-01-13T17:28:00.000-08:00

Type: American Grub
Location: 4770 Lakeshore Dr., Bolton Landing, NY, 12814

The Algonquin is an old standby. It's neither great, nor bad, but it's accessible by car or boat, and there aren't too many restaurants around, without going all the way down to Lake George Village, or all the way up to the top of the lake, so people keep going there. It's got mostly seafood and pub grub.

Even when you stay at The Sagamore, which is really the only place to stay at Bolton Landing, you need to drive out of town for dinner (The Sagamore has restaurants, but go elsewhere). There is a really nice greasy-spoon diner within a half-mile walk -- back over the bridge, and about three blocks down into town. I hate to admit it, but I love shit like bacon, eggs, hash browns, pancakes, French toast, waffles, beignets, and all the fixin's. Those can be had for around $4 a person.

For fancier stuff, go down to Lake George Village.

Half Moon Saloon

2009-01-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

Type: Pub Grub
Location: 108 West State St., Kennett Square, PA, 19348

This place has nice appetizers and entrees for decent prices.

The mushroom bisque and Buffalo-style chicken tenders are good. OK, they aren't "wings," but I prefer "tenders," as long as the dipping sauce is aces.

I had a hell of a time choosing between the kangaroo and buffalo, but in the end, I went with our native bison. It's lean, tasty, and I get to pretend that I'm eating the mascot from my old undergrad alma mater.

Prices run from $5-$12 for lunch, and the same for dinner. How often do you see that?

The Landing

2009-01-07T15:20:00.000-08:00

Type: Eclectic American
Location: 22 N. Main St., New Hope, PA, 18938

Many years ago, this place used to insist on reservations for dinner. It no longer does. The menu changes from time to time, in keeping with what's fresh and available from season to season. There's an outside bar and terrace which overlooks the Delaware River; it's nice in the summer, but is closed most of the rest of the year.

Stellar burgers and sushi-grade tuna is available there, even at 3pm. The lobster & shrimp spring rolls are to die for -- no weird dipping sauces here -- just wasabi-tartar and orange-sesame. It's perfect.

They have bivalves, if you like them, but I prefer fish that actually swims, or crustaceans. If you order seafood, you can be sure that it's fresh, and cooked properly. And, even if you eat inside, you can still get a nice river view, and a good selection of wine.

Pros: no reservations needed; easy parking somewhere within a block or so
Cons: it can get crowded on a Friday or Saturday Night

Black Horse Pub

2009-01-06T16:48:00.000-08:00

Type: Upscale Pub Grub
Location: 1 W. Main St., Mendham, NJ, 07945

Price Range: soups and salads start around $5; entrees range from $10 - $33.

This is our go-to place for pub grub. It has gotten more expensive over the years, but what can I say? It's as reliable as ever. If you go on a Friday or Saturday night, you'll need to get there by (or before) 6pm, to avoid a long wait. Otherwise, go for lunch or a late afternoon "dinner." Once they get busy, and have a line out the door, your 20 minute wait could easily turn into 45, and it gets really noisy inside. Bear in mind that this pub was once the stable for the inn next door, and dates back to the 1800s; the roof structure is completely exposed, beams, sheathing, and all, so the acoustics are awful.

The biggest hitch, however isn't the wait. It's the valet-only parking, if you use their adjacent lot, and by the time you do that, you're sort of stuck waiting, unless you want to fork over a couple of bucks to the valet to have him bring out your car, so you can go elsewhere. Chances are really good that the valet doesn't know how to drive a manual shift car, so if you have one, you may have to give him a crash course. On-street parking in Mendham is very limited, unless you want to use a side street and walk a few blocks, which is fine in the summer, but not in the dead of winter.

On to the menu: you can get everything from French onion soup, to burgers, to club sandwiches, to boiled lobster with the usual clarified butter. In the old days, it used to serve a really nice chicken pot pie, but that's no longer on the menu. What is still a classic on the menu, though, is a bacon & blue cheese burger. It's one of those huge-ass 8 oz. ones, so I peel it off the (really good, lightly toasted, challah-like) bun/roll, scrape the cheese onto the burger, and eat it essentially naked, because I don't want to waste valuable stomach space on the bread. The bacon/blue burger is always cooked just the way you order it. I like mine medium-rare. It's a fail-safe option, and a really good burger.

Pros: reliable grub; on-site parking
Cons: pricey for pub grub; very noisy during dinner hours; kids running all around; long lines after 6pm on weekend nights

Chen's Restaurant

2009-01-06T14:02:00.000-08:00

Type: Chinese
Location: 1268 Springfield Ave., New Providence, NJ, 07974 (just east of the South St./Passaic Ave. intersection)

Chen's now delivers. You used to have to either go there for sit-down or to pick up your phoned-in order. It's mostly Chinese, as the name implies, but it also has sushi, with a sushi bar and chef. For lunch, there are $6-$7 specials from the Chinese menu, and $7-$11 ones from the Japanese menu.

Chicken dishes run between $10 (for ordinary offerings from the Chinese menu), and $14, for half a Peking Duck. Rice and noodle dishes run around $7 or $8, even for my fave -- Singapore Mei Fun. Most seafood dishes run between $11 and $18. The Japanese stuff runs a bit higher, but not much more than a dollar or two, for what you might expect.

Their hot & sour soup is a great appetizer, really inexpensive, and doesn't contain any strange strips of "mystery meat." Get a bowl of soup each, and split an entree, if there are only two of you. Unless you're really starving, it will be enough for two, and should come in at around $15-$16, including a 15-20% tip.

I've never had a bad dish from Chen's, but the ones I like the best are "Ginger Chicken," "Diced Chicken with Hot Pepper Sauce & Peanuts," "Beef with Pepper, Baby Corn, Scallion, Hot Pepper Sauce," and "Jumbo Shrimp with Ginger Sauce." The shrimp with honey-coated walnuts is pretty good, too, if you want something that isn't spicy.

Pros: inexpensive; good food; attentive wait staff; huge parking lot behind the place; does take-out, and now, delivery (within a limited area)
Cons: No dumplings, dim sum, or any sort of japanese noodle dish like sukiyaki, or a ramen bowl

Trap Rock Restaurant & Brewery

2009-01-05T19:48:00.000-08:00

Type: Upscale Pub Grub
Location: 279 Springfield Ave, Berkeley Heights, NJ, 07922

We've been to Trap Rock several times, and have sampled both the dinner and lunch menus. The lunch menu is essentially the same as the dinner menu, with a few less options, costing anywhere from the same, to a couple of dollars less per entree. If you go during late afternoon, there's a limited bar menu, that nonetheless has some really tasty options.

The Trap Rock burger and BBQ pulled pork sandwich are aces. Both come with fries, made on the premesis, served in a cute little copper-clad bucket lined with an unbleached coffee filter, and about four forkfuls of cole slaw. The crab quesadilla is also really good. The grilled cheese has gruyere and tomato, but ask for it without the carmelized onions, if like me, you think onions have no place on a grilled cheese sandwich. These, and many more items, are available on both the lunch and dinner menus. The prices for items on the lunch/pub menus range from about $10 - $17.

Dinner is where it can get pricey, if you order appetizers, an entree, and side dishes to go with your wonderful beer (brewed right there in the restaurant) or wine. Entrees range in the mid-high $20s for fish, lamb, pork, beef, or duck breast, and in the lowish $30s for steak. Appetizers are in the same price range as the lunch menu.

The good news is that a dinner "appetizer" is plenty of food for anyone who either has a small-ish stomach capacity, or isn't really that hungry. I would recommend the Tasting Trio of chicken satay, chili-lime shrimp, and mini crab cakes, with all the requisite dipping sauces. The Lobster Spring Roll is another good option, but I'm not sure what they're trying to do with the trio of dipping sauces: the chili-lime, spicy mustard, and a pickled ginger viniagrette. From either Mexican or Thai (can't figure out which), to Chinese, to Japanese . . . it's an odd combination.

Pros: reliable food; on site parking; on-site brewery visible from most tables or booths
Cons: parking can get tight after 7pm on a Friday or Saturday; a bit pricey for pub grub

Shoreline Restaurant

2008-07-06T16:13:00.000-07:00

Type: American
Location: SW shore of Lake George Village
Price Range: appetizers in the low $10s, entrees in the $20s

Um, this. It's alright for fish, but crikey. Stay aboard the on-shore version for fish, preferably on the upper level, where you can watch the fireworks, on July 4, and watch the boats on the lake.

The summer crowd is to be expected; the cost for the meal is not, even with the lakeside seat to watch the fireworks. I rarely complain about a meal that cost under $60 for two, but this sucked, royally.

Pros: no reservations needed
Cons: parking in Lake George Village is a bitch