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This weekend I had brunch at No. 7 (I had dinner there once before, but not brunch), and I had the most amazing grits of my life, which I am still thinking about right now.
It came served, unassuming, in a small white bowl. The description on the menu was "Grits with Shredded Pork, Napa Cabbage and Swiss." One bite, and I felt like Anton Ego in Ratatouille: instantly transported to a time in my childhood. Where did I have this taste before? It tasted like a dish my grandma had cooked, but my grandmother has never made grits. Why did it then taste so familiar?
Grits I have had in the past have tasted like a vehicle for butter and cheese, but this was different. Was it made with meat broth? Is that what gave it the rich taste? It was so hearty, so warm, like sitting in front of a roaring fire at home during a blizzard.
The side of grits blew away the main that I had ordered (corned beef hash with fried eggs). After the last bite, I still hadn't pinpointed what it was that made the dish so special. It looked simple, yet had such complex flavors.
Just saw these over at Eat Me Daily. I laughed out loud. The onions look stupidly happy, while the carrots seem out of it (except the ones doing the killing - they look just plain maniacal).P.S. Was in Greece, but now I'm back. Planning posts about Food, Inc. and seasoning my new cast iron pot (ca. 1928), which I got at a flea market. It's so hard to find lard!
Naomi first introduced me to Liberté yogurts a few months back. I was never much of a yogurt fan growing up and had only recently come to like Greek yogurt (for its thickness). I was skeptical of this yogurt from Quebec (do Canadians really know how to make yogurt?), but was blown away by its rich, creamy taste.
I've stocked up on these yogurts and been having them for breakfast everyday. You can say that I've become a wee obsessed. So far I've only had the Méditerranée kind (wild blackberry, lemon, and right now digging into peach and passion fruit - YUM!). I haven't had the low-fat or the six grains varieties, yet, partially because I love the Méditerranée kind, and I don't want the other kinds to taint my opinion of Liberté.
The only downside? They are a bit fattier than most yogurts (okay, they are really fatty), but one 6 oz. cup fills you right up and you'll be set until lunchtime.
Thank you Canada!
Sorry that it's been so incredibly long since the last post. Work has been so busy...
Lately I've been craving pie like nobody's business. I would make it myself...if I could get over my fear of making pastry dough. I haven't been the the Little Pie Company yet, but I haven't found my pie place in New York. Back in Boston, I used to frequent The Other Side Cafe (when they used to have pies - one of the manager's mother used to make them, but that manager has since left). Sometimes, late at night, I went to South Street Diner and had apple pie a la mode. Apple pie and strawberry rhubarb pie are my favorites.
Last Fall, I had the opportunity to go to Petsi Pies in Somerville, MA with my good friend, David. This is exactly the type of place that I wish existed in New York. A small shop that has freshly baked pies. They have pies in three different sizes: 6" that serves 1-2, 8" that serves 2-4, and 10" that serves 6-8. They also have savory pies and other baked goods, but we didn't try those. We opted to get a whole blueberry pie (they didn't have the small size, so we had to get the medium). You can also get slices, as well, if they have a large pie that has been cut already. We got slices of the apple crumb and sweet potato.
There's really nothing more satisfying than a warm slice of pie on a crisp Fall day. I was so giddy when I was in Petsi Pies. David and I sat in the small room off to the right, trying not to devour the pies before I could take pictures of them. I liked how you could see the kitchen from the ordering counter and how the whole place felt very homey, like the employees called all of the regulars by their first names.
The pies were heavenly - the crust flaky and soft, yet still retaining a crunch, and the filling flavorful and not too sweet. I read once somewhere that the secret to a good, flaky crust is using lard. If anyone has a good crust recipe, please post it in the comments section.
I'm headed back to Boston in August for David's wedding, and I can't wait to go back to Petsi Pies. When I get married, I think I'll have wedding pies instead of a cake...
I promised Gina to do justice to her creation this time in picture posting, especially after Baked Alaska Gate. I also shot a video (which is really just Gina torching the marshmallow and me zooming in and out of the ingredients, but you do get to see Gizmo, Gina's adorable Shitzu-Lhasa Aphsa mix).
Gina got the idea of making these sugar-coated marshmallow s'mores after making s'mores with some peeps leftover from Easter. Here, with regular marshmallows, she has dampened them slightly with water and rolled them in granulated sugar.
Instead of graham crackers, Gina used these Swedish cookies that she got from Ikea (she says that you can find them in most supermarkets). I liked Anna's Almond Cinnamon Thins better than the traditional graham crackers. The cookies were thin and crunchy, which provided a nice textural contrast to the soft marshmallow. Also, it seemed like the cookies had some granulated sugar within it, complementing the sugar that was coating the marshmallow.
We had a second round of s'mores using fancier, dark chocolate, but all agreed that Hershey's milk chocolate was better, in taste and meltiness (make sure to get the small, regular bar; one time I tried using a Hershey's king size bar, and the chocolate bar was too thick for the s'more).
Gina used her crème brulée torch to toast the marshmallow, but I'm sure it would work over a campfire as well. Check out that flame!
So, what is the final verdict? Before I tried Gina's s'mores, I was torn. In some ways, I'm a purist when it comes to food classics, and I think when people try to fancify the recipes, they can often ruin a good thing. Other times, though, it can really open up new avenues in taste. So, while Gina's s'more doesn't quite resemble the picture below, I am glad, because I think it may even be better. Brava!
At one point in my childhood, my parents owned a mini food court with three fast food restaurants. They ran Osaka, a Japanese restaurant, and rented out the two other spaces. One was Dunkin' Donuts (which eventually was rented out by Honey Dew Donuts) and the other was a sandwich place.
Evidently, I consumed a lot of doughnuts. My mom would bring back boxes of them after work since they were going to get thrown out anyway. My favorite was the Boston Cream doughnut, chocolate frosted and filled with custard. I definitely ate too many as a kid, so as I grew up I steered clear of cream-filled doughnuts choosing to go with glazed or maple frosted.
My first foray back into filled doughnuts was actually Doughnut Plant's Tres Leches doughnut (a cake doughnut filled with three sweet creams, named after the Spanish Tres Leches cake). I was really skeptical of a cake doughnut, since I prefer the softer, glazed kind, but it became my favorite doughnut at Doughnut Plant.
Today, I went to get a Tres Leches doughnut, and gasped out loud, "They're sold out!" when I saw that there weren't anymore in the case. It may have been a blessing in disguise since I decided to the crème brûlée doughnut. These were blogged about in the Times back in November.
The crème brûlée doughnut at Doughnut Plant may be a contender for my new favorite doughnut. Filled with smooth vanilla custard and topped with sugar that's been blowtorched (just like crème brûlée!), it's like a textural explosion in your mouth. It's soft, creamy and crunchy! Plus, it isn't as big as the regular doughnuts there, so you won't feel guilty about getting two.
P.S. I would call first if you are planning on going first thing in the morning. I read a post on Serious Eats that they went in the early morning and they weren't ready yet.
Doughnut Plant
379 Grand St. (at Clinton)
New York, NY 10002
212-505-3700
doughnutplant.com
So I went to Broadway Panhandler today to spend the rest of my gift certificate (thanks Dirk and Marcie!). I bought a pie dish, rolling pin and whisk a couple of weeks back and was going to go get a pair of tongs, but came across the JarPop.
I have this jar of olive tapenade that I've been trying to open for months now. Months. Sometimes I would feel really strong and inspired, and I would try to open it, but it wouldn't budge, not after running it under hot water or turning it upside down and tapping it on the table. It was really disheartening, especially if I was really hungry.
While I'm not always a fan of gimmicky gadgets, I thought for $4.95, that I could give it a try (the price tag said $7.95, but it rung up as $4.95. YAY!). There was only one left, a white one, so I couldn't buy a cool semi-translucent one, but you can buy one on Amazon.
JarPop opened the stubborn olive tapenade within seconds. I'm sold.
Apparently a Danish engineer invented JarPop for his mom who had arthritis. It has won numerous design awards, including the prestigious Danish Design Council award for excellence.
