Ingredient Intrigue :: Sorrel & Black Garlic

Scooting out quickly this afternoon to do a grocery shop for tonight's dinner, I spotted two ingredients that I'd never used before and to be quite honest, wasn't really sure what to do with. Sorrel, a lemony leaf herb that's actually poisonous in extreme doses, and black garlic, a fermented version of white garlic with a rich molasses-tone often used in Asian dishes.  So what's a girl to do?  Always up for a bit of culinary experimentation, I snapped them right up.  First on deck, sorrel.  I was already planning on making a simple frittata for dinner and thought the lemony, sharp flavor would be perfect to toss in with sauteed red bell peppers and mushrooms.  The final result: pretty fantastic and finished in under 20 minutes.
 
A good drizzle of olive oil + chopped red bell pepper & asparagus + 2 stalks of spring garlic & a bit of diced hot pepper + chopped cremini mushrooms & 1 small bunch of sorrel torn into pieces.  Saute up the red bell pepper and asparagus, add in the spring garlic, hot pepper, sorrel and mushrooms.  Saute on medium-high heat for about 8 to 10 minutes or so.  Whisk 6 eggs and season with cracked pepper and salt. Pour into the skillet, evenly covering the vegetable mixture.  Turn the heat down to medium and cook the eggs about 5 minutes.  Finish the frittata under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes.
(sorry no pic taken tonight, but here's a lovely poached egg and sorrel dish from NY Times contributor Melissa Clark)

We'll see what black garlic brings...

 images: Vegetable Matter, New York Times, House of Brinson

In the Kitchen: Weekend Baking & Brunching

I'll never pass up the opportunity to host and entertain - even if it means comfortably cramming 12 lovely ladies into my small studio apartment for an all-afternoon brunch this past weekend.  Baked, brunched and conquered - with a solid balance of health, indulgence, seasonal ingredients (and a few pear-peach mimosas) in mind.  From the mushroom-caramelized onion quiche to coffee cake & apple butter to spinach salad with roasted butternut squash, dried cherries and goat cheese, there's nothing better than a long, leisurely, boozy brunch and great conversation.  Wondering how I pulled it off in my pint-sized apartment?  Pre-planning and prepping and strategic placement of nearly every inch of my studio.  Here's how...

dahlias & cockscomb for color, marcona almonds for nibbling, pellegrino 

& a pitcher of mimosas set on the coffee table

a simple standby - cheese, crackers & concord grapes 

 sweet treats displayed on my desk: sour cream coffee cake, pecan cookies with spiced-caramel 

& a bowl of pastel-hued macaroons

 glasses & extra fresh-squeezed juices arranged atop an antique wooden armoire

quiche for the cutting - mushroom, thyme & caramelized onion 

and Swiss chard with fresh ricotta and parmesan

For a quick bonus, here's the recipe for the Swiss chard, ricotta & parmesan frittata above. 

Swiss Chard, Ricotta & Parmesan Frittata

serves 8 to 10

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small shallot minced

1 bunch rainbow Swiss chard, stems cut and set aside

6 eggs

3/4 cup fresh ricotta

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese divided *I had pecorino romano cheese on hand and used that instead

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375.  In a large saute pan, cook Swiss chard stems with 1 tablespoon of water for about 2 minutes.  Set aside in a small bowl.  Heat olive oil in pan and saute shallots for 1 minutes on medium-high heat.  Add in Swiss chard leaves and stems and saute for 3 to 4 minutes until soft and wilted.  

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, ricotta, and half of the parmesan, cayenne pepper and nutmeg.  Add in Swiss chard and shallots and mix well. 

In a tart or pie pan, pour in egg-Swiss chard mixture and sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over top.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown.

friday finds :: 5 things we love

1. EATALY is OPENING! :: The opening of the much-talked about Italian food-hall and marketplace Eataly this coming Tuesday, Aug. 31st - 4pm sharp - may just be the best moment of my summer.  When Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich and Lidia Bastianich combine forces, you know you've got nothing but magic waiting to happen.  The 36,500 square foot space is due to have 20 retail departments offering a range of items including antipasti, salumi, fresh house-made mozzarella, pasta and breads.  There'll be a coffee bar, a panini bar, a complete wine store, cooking classes run by Lidia herself.  Michael Toscano, former chef at Babbo, will run Manzo, a full-scale white tablecloth Italian steakhouse.  Need I go on?  It's going to be phenomenal and best of all, it's literally a stone's throw from my office (this could be trouble!).  

2. eggs :: Yes, I'm taking a stand and proclaiming my love for eggs this Friday amidst this week's salmonella outbreak and recall of a half a billion eggs stemming from a few large producers (and deplorable food safety measures) in Iowa.  Eggs aren't the enemy.   It's our food safety laws and food system as a whole that could use some serious scrutiny, as Michael Pollan and countless other advocates have been calling for for years.  So should you bypass eggs this weekend when making brunch?  Absolutely not.  But you should be buying them from your neighborhood farmers market, small local farmer or pay a little extra for organic free-range eggs at your grocery store.  Cook up those eggs and say goodbye to salmonella risk.

3. Los Feliz :: If you're looking for a new restaurant to test-drive this weekend, checkout Los Feliz on the LES.  A cozy, well-styled and well-priced taqueria and tequileria on Ludlow St.   Start off with the tres colores salad with it's memorable passion fruit-jalapeno vinaigrette and move to sharing a few different soft tacos - they're small, light and absolutely delightful (the chille relleno, adobo chicken, braised pork and crispy sea bass were my table's picks). And don't miss out on the "fresh" margarita made with Milagro blanco tequila, extra fresh-squeezed lime juice and a touch of agave nectar.  The perfect refreshing margarita for a summer evening.  After dinner, be sure to head downstairs to the gorgeously decorated lounge area with it's own DJ booth.  Go with close friends or a hot date because you'll likely stay for a good while!

4. Not My Day Job: Celebrate the Talent You Tip :: This Sunday at the Metropolitan Pavilion (125 West 18th Street),  from 1-5pm, come celebrate the arts at this musical event so thoughtfully put together by my friend Joey Campanale and his team from Dell’anima, L’Artusi and Anfora restaurants. There will be live performances and exhibitions going on throughout the afternoon, including a talent show put on members of the restaurant industry by day, artists by night. So come show appreciation for these talented individuals who dedicate their time to an industry we for sure could not live without!  Tickets @ ticketfly.com are $40, and all proceeds will be donated to Foundation Rwanda and Wellness in the Schools.  

5. Sam's pick of the week - corn :: As summer begins to drift away, definitely dig into one of the most crisp and sweet produce picks the season has to offer.  White and yellow corn may be a starchier vegetable, but it's packed with flavor, is rich in vitamins B and C and fiber and signifies the taste of summer.  Grilled, boiled or shaved straight off the cob and tossed into a salad, fresh pasta or a salsa, enjoy while you still can!  


*Check out these corn recipes as well as my fresh corn chowder with jalapeno and pan-roasted tomatoes (made just this week) for some additional inspiration! 












*images: eater.com, nytimes.com, myrecipes.com, losfeliznyc.com

a simple Sunday brunch

It's a quiet weekend in NYC.  Cooler weather with Saturday's gorgeous sun and today's calm grey skies.  It seems like everyone's slowing down a bit, taking a respite from their standard summer weekend getaway trips upstate, to the Hamptons or to Fire Island.  I'll leave you to your lounging with some visual inspiration - a simple brunch and a good long read of the paper - quite appropriate on this lazy, hazy Sunday.
and if you're wondering what's on my plate...
* 2 eggs, fried sunny-side up in a dab of olive oil and sprinkled with salt, freshly ground pepper and a bit of harissa sauce (Taim on Waverly and Perry sells their own peppery harissa, it's amazing)
* a quick saute of summer corn and cherry tomatoes sprinkled with fresh basil and a touch of sea salt.
* add on a few slices of avocado on the side and you've got a deliciously healthy and fast brunch that gives a nod to seasonal ingredients and comfort food all at once

a for few other pretty pics of brunching, here are a handful shot by Brooklyn photographer Jennifer Causey featured on her blog, SimplyBreakfast

How to Eat GOOD (and still be ethical)

I think this piece featured in last week's New York magazine is worthy of a solid mention. Tagged as a Soup-to-Nuts Guide to Ethical Eating, the article titled "Eat Good," is the 'no-nonsense, cut through all the BS, just tell me what I should be eating and why' kind of writing that makes eating well (and ethically) actually easy. I admit, even as a someone who works with the ins and outs of food on a daily basis, it's sometimes hard to keep track of everything. What's the benefit of buying fair trade chocolate and is Chilean sea bass ok to order off the menu or am I doing irreversible damage to my little over-fished friends?
The article hammers out all the basic info you really need to know around the 17 most politically problematic foods. From the wild-shrimp you should be buying to save local habitats (the Lobster Place on Bleecker St. and in Chelsea Market stocks fresh Gulf shrimp fyi) to the chicken and eggs that are factory-farmed in tiny cages, a gigantic red flag for animal cruelty and overall food safety (go local with chickies and eggs when you can or look for organic free-range birds or the "humane" stamp on eggs at the grocery store). It's really a great article to read in full for quick tidbits on what to buy, what restaurants around the city are sustainable, seasonal and ethically-friendly.
Here's a quick run-down of the other 15 foods mentioned with tips on how to eat them more ethically: monkfish, red snapper (sadly overfished, but pink and gray varieties are A-Ok), Chilean sea bass (look for locally caught striped bass instead), beef, pork, milk, bananas, soy, tomatoes, lettuce, wine and champagne (horror!), chocolate (more horror!), sugar and coffee.

And a few PC restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn to add to the list: Blue Hill, Franny's, Savoy/Back Forty, Birdbath, the Green Table.