Oh What a Christmas to Have a Goose

The important thing to note here is the glass Pyrex pan we will no longer be taking to San Francisco nor selling at our Going Away Auction. Note that it is now EXPLODED.

Witness the Christmas goose attempting to roast happily away. See the "force field" that the Somm created to allow the copious amounts of precious goose fat to drain into the Pyrex?

Well, said force field staged the Pyrex directly on the bottom of the oven--aka the heat source. I began to get nervous about such extreme heat so directly on the glass. I got more nervous as, only 20 minutes into goose roastage, I felt as though my glasses has gotten extraordinarily dirty, and my nose tickled with the unmistakable stench of smoking fat. Another exciting discovery: Our smoke detectors are delightfully non-functional!! Wolf Perl: You are the best Slum Lord ever!!

A careful examination of the force field and the entire bird-directly-on-oven-rack getup revealed that the fat dripping into the very hot Pyrex was smoking up the entire joint (no, duh). Oh, and thank you, Jamie Oliver, for this brilliant recipe.

Trying to problem solve without compromising the Somm's oh-so carefully constructed force field, I asked him, "What if we put some liquid into the Pyrex to absorb the impact of the grease?"

"That's a good idea!" he nodded in agreement. (We hadn't even gotten into the boozy milk punch yet. What were we thinking????)

Two seconds later, an oven-rocking explosion of glass and goose grease ensued, literally knocking the Somm back into our baker's rack and launching hot shards Pyrex and fat all over the both of us.

***

Having determined that no one was injured and that the goose is free of glass buckshot (and, of course, having delicately reconstructed an aluminum force field for fat funneling), I now face the challenge of having no suitable dish in which to bake my coconut mochi bars. Oh, the Christmas drama. Just too much fun.

Countdown to Goodbye Bowls

 
The most important part of this picture is not the succulent, luscious free-range chicken thigh nor the saffron-suffused orzo, nor the gorgeous golden sweet potatoes floating in a rich broth of home-canned tomatoes and turkey stock and Moroccan spices.

No. The most important part of this picture is the pale blue bowl that you will not be seeing for much longer, because the somm and I and little Dook Napo pup are leaving NYC in just four weeks. And we will be selling all of our things, including this small set of loveliest bowls that I picked up off the street corner in Soho one day, shortly after spotting the largest pile of feces I've ever beheld. Fond memories, indeed, of these bowls.

So enjoy looking at them for as long as you can, and completely ignoring the insanely delectable tagine--one of the best meals we've ever made in our humble abode--that the somm crafted for me while I worked 13 hours last week.

New York working world: I will not miss you.

So Stocked

You can give thanks the day after Thanksgiving, too. Thanks for the gigantic 40-quart stock pot that Josiah uses for his beer making, because it was the only thing to fit our 20-pound turkey carcass, simmered into stock with a huge bundle of celery and leeks, onion and carrots.

The first thing I made was, of course, last week's off-the-cuff invention: American Leek Soup (riffed from French Onion, bien sur). Caramelized leeks with sherry sauteed into a heady turkey stock, then dashed with crisped-up but still verdant Brussels sprouts leaves before the coup de grace, a pumpernickel crouton smothered with blue cheese. I'm a genius, no?

And after that, I made a smashing Italian soup with my freezer full of meatballs, fresh spinach, caramelized grape tomato jam, jalapeno, basil and tubettini pasta covered in Asiago. Felt like home sweet home.

An Orphan Thanksgiving

Leave It to T-Day

Leave it to Thanksgiving leftovers to get me back to the blog. How could I resist sharing these little second-day delicacies?

 

These are the mini pumpkin pies I whipped up from extra filling (from a real pumpkin) and homemade crust. Now I just need Sarah's homemade nutmeg ice cream to dollop on top!

And this is a huge pan full of leftovers warming up for my pig-out lunch on the couch in front of the football game. (Clockwise, from top middle: turkey; gravy bits; wild rice, apple and fennel stuffing; mashed potes; sweet potato casserole with pecans; celery, apple, cranberry, feta salad; brussels sprouts with pork shoulder bacon; cranberry apple crumble.)

Now it's naptime.

Immediate Satisfaction

I wanted potatoes for breakfast. And cheese. And an egg. So much work to do, no time to go out for brunch. So I whipped out the ingredients and my Lil Beni, and 10 minutes later I had near-immediate satisfaction.

Well if that isn't delicious looking. And highly annoying that it is rotated awkwardly on its side. I'm not smart enough to figure out rotating this thing (trust me, tried all the obvious answers), but no matter which way my hashbrowns with gooey egg and cheddar went down, they were delicious.

Not So "Short" Ribs

Our most recent trip to the Meat Hook sent us home with nearly $70 worth of Korean style short ribs. There were 13 of them at approximately three feet long:

So we put round three to use a few nights ago by rubbing them with ras el hanout and then serving them, grilled, with a bunch of stuff we had on hand in the fridge: feta-stuffed peppers and a lovely fresh salad of cucumber, tomato, spicy mixed greens and parsley.

Oh! And I almost forgot about the adorable little fairytale eggplant from Lani's Farm (quite probably my favorite vendor at the Union Square farmers market on Mondays and the Dag Hamerskjoewlrjdklxfd one on Wednesdays) that we pan-roasted and snacked on while we prepped. Looook at how cuuute...

Actually, the Real Best BLT

Attention, Miss Bray: You may claim the best peaches, ok? But the best BLT? False.

That would actually be mine--complete with a sexy slab of Meat Hook bacon, thickly sliced red and yellow heirloom tomatoes, local arugula and a perfectly crunchy/chewy baguette, all graced with coarsely cracked black pepper and a drizzle of greenish olive oil. The only thing missing was the homemade oregano mayonnaise that I have heard about and dreamed about but am still too lazy to actually make. For now, this still wins. Pair it with a homemade IPA, and EAT IT.

Put Up [Tomatoes] or Shut Up!

Check out these beauts! My very first canning experience--a grand success with 9 1/2 quarts of tomatoes put up, gorgeously!

We started with this... 25 pounds of Romas hauled back mid-morning from the McCarren Park Farmers Market (25 lbs produce + 15 blocks + 86 degree weather = 2 hot Williamsburg ladies):

Then, methodically, into pot #1 (back left) for a quick skin-slicing boil while pot #2 (back right--gigantoid!) sanitized the jars. Careful removal of skins and cores was followed by slicing and tomato flesh into pots #3 and 4 for cook-down with a touch of salt and sugar to balance the acidifying agent (lemon juice).

Hot 'n ready jars are fitted with a wide-mouth funnel and delectable tomato goop savior of winter is sloshed in. Tops get wiped clean and sealed up, and that is that! I shall be banned from recipe cultivation if I tell you that I followed great-great-grandma's recipe and didn't process...

Summer Soup Mayhem

Looook at all this fresh produce from the farmer's market in McCarren Park! I used it all to make three fat batches of soup so that I didn't have to cook for, like, a whole week. I also sucked up to my boss whose wife is about to have a baby by giving him loads of soup to freeze and have on hand for post-baby-having. He didn't take the soups home and freeze them for many days, so I now absolve myself of any food poisoning responsibility.

The best soup: Corn chowder! Favorite soup of summer ever. Sauteed up some onion, red pepper and potato in bacon fat, then dumped some Wondra in to form a nice roux-y thing before adding a bit of homemade stock and milk... and then 6 ears of fresh sweet corn! Havavaaaaa.

Other soups included zucchini basil with parmesan, plus heirloom tomato and roasted red pepper, yummedies.

For Meg: Homemade Tortillas and Rockstar Fajitas

I knew that chicken breast leftover in my freezer would come in handy! Fear not, flavor fiends: This was a Meat Hook chicken breast, bone-in, skin-on, full-flavor holiness. And I had onion in the fridge and a hankering for technicolor peppers (now in season at a farmer's market near you)--no better excuse for fajitas.

 

But then came the huge gamechanger: homemade flour tortillas. 

Yes, that. Yes, you wish they were in your mouth right now.

I also tried to pretend to drink some of that scrubby horchata, so that I'd look really authentic. And I grilled some of the most sugary delicious corn on the cob from the farmer's market, too.

Here's to Megan: My fingers smell like fajitas!!

Me+ Seltzer Forever

Lookie what we bought today!!! All my dreams come true! Free(*ish) seltzer and soda for the rest of my life without the waste of cans and zillions of gallons of fuel wasted in their transporting!

I have been wanting this pure refreshment for so very long. Now it is mine. All mine!! And so easy, toooooo!

Homemade Horchata - Or: A Giant, Tangy Pain in My A**

Whole lotta talk about horchata these days. And I like to be food-trendy. I do. So I bit. Grind some rice, throw in some almonds, cinnamon, water... let sit. Simple enough. And yet...

Why so bubbly next day? Smells a bit yeasty fermenting or some nonsense. Google searches for "fermented horchata" and "Can horchata ferment?" and "dangerous fermentation horchata" find basically nothing. So I continue. Blend it all up with a bit of sugar, more water and a dash of vanilla.

Yeah, it looks good, eh? Do not be fooled.

Then you have to strain that crap, which no one tells you takes five hours and yields a sicko-looking watery cheese whey product along with sludgy rice goo all stuck up in your cheesecloth.

And after all that hassle, the junk tastes distinctly tangy and, who knows, maybe even dangerous. Shut up, Vampire Weekend.

My Baby Takes the Morning Train

Every Friday, I get on the L train at 8:45, hope it's not delayed, and arrive at 98th Street on the beach in Rockaway by 10:10, Coors Light in the cooler and styrofoam cups at the ready. If it's a good day, there's a barefoot run along the shore, envying the surfers and trying not to cut my toe open on a splintered shell. By 11am, one Coors Light is gone, and I'm falling asleep to the sun drying the salt water in my hair.

The cycle continues like this: Splash in waves; down Coors Light; nap. Repeat. Until 2:30, when I'm a bit sun-drunk and dazed and starving, and then I purchase refreshing and rehydrating jugos and as many tacos as I can afford at Rockaway Taco.

Stuffed and sleepy, I board the train back to reality and am home by 5... to find my baby waiting.

The Beauty of Beaujolais

Dear Delicious Beaujolais,

I'm sorry that people haven't paid enough attention to you. You are so tasty, and so easy to drink, and so wonderfully full of diversity, and SO affordable, that I want you to know you are very loved and appreciated. And if other people are just now catching on, please don't let yourself sell out and get too cool (and expensive) for school. Below please find a list of assorted tasting notes from our recent Beaujolais Cru party where we tried to hype you up a bit. Please don't be offended--some of us were professionals, others semi-wine-nerds, still others total fantastic amateurs. We all loved you.

I love you,
Stevie

2008 Jean-Paul Brun l'Ancien: iron, strawberry, cranberry, very tart with white pepper, quite light and simple but tasty 

2009 Dupeuble Beaujolais Villages: much more fruit than previous, more garnet color and violet, very violet and grassy nose, a bit stemmy, richer and more supple on the palate

2007 Trenel Fleurie: less vibrant but richer look, thick floral rainforest musk, green pepper on nose, spicy palate, something very heady and sensual but hard to place... pheromonic

2008 Descombes Regnie: Christmas spice and gumdrops, candied violets, Pepto Bismol, herbal, menthol, fertilizer (but in a good way), palate-staining (the first time I've personally felt compelled to use this overused tasting note), huge and inky with minty finish, sour cranberry and blackberry and strawberry finish... REALLY delicious; super well-balanced with big acid yet big tannin

2009 Ducroux Regnie: So stinky upon opening but now (two hours later) really tamed and pretty menthol beneath dark fruit beneath stink; something Grandma's atticky... FERNET Branca! menthol with bitterness, less balance than the last with more super-fruit cranberry

2008 Pavillon de Chavannes Cote de Brouilly: more faded color, less vibrant and restrained on nose, herbs and flowers more than fruit, less musky, cinnamon red hots/hot tamales, cherry coke, bricky minerality... try it after a while? cheese shuts this down completely

2006 Martray Cote de Brouilly Les Feuillees: OHH THAT SMELLS GOOD; wet forest, wet leaves, wet armpit but seductive?, grape Kool-Aid!, toasted sesame, soy, smoke, umami, petrol burnt tire-y, the most complex with a satiny floaty sexy miso-finish

2009 Lapierre Morgon: "Bringing sexy back"; yoked-out, Christmas spice and pine soap, so purple in color, banana and pear drops, roses!, pine needles with dried cocoa powder and a bit broad... wait to see what this decides to reveal in a couple years

2007 Descombes Morgon VV: still really vibrant color, very very ambiguous spice and fruit and flowers but hard to really place what exactly... shut down?, structurally seems to be going in a really good direction; this was open and beautiful earlier and now seems tight-lipped

2007 Lapierre Morgon MMVII: (Sourced mostly from Cote du Py) very musky fruit with some complementing freshness something, yet still a bit shut down, surprisingly soft and supple but very spicy palate with a rooty medicinal, dried potpurri and cherry-flower thing

2009 Fessy (Louis Latour) Moulin-a-Vent: On the color, first impression is Bordeaux?! cocoa dark stinky chocolate, grapefruit rind, charry charcoal, bright acid but really dark ripe sweet fruit, raisiny finish, smells like fruit rollups... perhaps unfair b/c this was opened a couple hours after all the others

Homemade Peach Salsa

Same day as the olive bread rat-like nibbling, I bought all the makings for homemade salsa, taking inspiration from last weekend in North Fork when we made our own with fresh peaches.

I had leftover cilantro and onion on hand, then I got a peach, three different tomatoes, a jalapeno and a tomatillo to throw in. I chopped everything up in the Crush tasting room and then sat down with a bag of chips and my afternoon's work.

Quite simply, the best salsa I've ever had.

Best Bread in NYC

I've been looking for it for a long time. Squishing the loaves when I see them, surveying their girth and their crust bubbles and their pull and chew... looking for the best bread in New York City.

Contrary to what one might think, the best bread has never been at the farmer's market, where I find most loaves to be dry and lacking chewiness, always a bit too dense and a bit too stale and grainy.

But I'd been eying Not Just Rugelach's olive bread for weeks. All visible criteria met. The squish test wasn't able to be carried out though, due to their not wanting alien hands molesting their loaves. Mama always told me never to buy bread without squishing it first. Finally, on the fourth week, after I did my little stare-down, bread ogling routine and asked, again, "How much for the olive loaf?" ($4), I finally went for it. Just plunged in and took a risk.

Well, well, well worth it.

See that gigantic hole I bit into the side? I couldn't get to the olives fast enough, so I had to go for the jugular and angle in through it's rib cage, sucking out its delicious, salty guts. Texture spot-on. Flavor just right. Olives inside nearly excessive and so, so tasty. So there it is: the best bread in NYC.

Like Fast Food, But Not

The other day, while searching for what to do with last weekend's leftover pork chops and avocado, I came across this delectable discovery and couldn't stop fantasizing over it.

We finally made them last night (with fresh pork, fear not!), and there was just enough of everything for one messy leftover spicy pork burger tonight, totally disheveled even as it was with sloppy grilled jalapeno and onion and tomatillo, cilantro, mushy creamy avocado and generous shmears of stinky munster on one side of the challah bun and homemade chipotle mayonnaise on the other.

Incidentally--or not so incidentally--the chipotle mayonnaise was naughty on the duck fat fries, too.

Then I took some leftover grilled corn and shaved it off into a salad with leftover onion, cilantro, a tiny bit of lemon juice I'd saved, some fresh black pepper and a kick of Sriracha.

For dessert, Oloroso-and-orange-zest-spiked homemade rice pudding! A virginal attempt, and a damn good one if I do say so myself.

HUSH!

The puppies are sleeeeeeping!!

Look how cuuuuute they are! And delicious. So, so, so very delicious.

Galician Roulette

Last week, the Crush team played; this week, I felt a bit masochistic and so played by myself, alongside nearly unbearable green curry leftovers. The padróns were no problem... the curry, yes.

To double your money on take-out Thai curry, simply don't drink the extra cup of wildly spicy green curry sauce that comes with your order. Eat your veggies, and your chicken if you like, but leave a good amount of sauce--only crazy, agita-adoring people don't have loads of this leftover from a standard order.

Buy an avocado squash at the greenmarket, along with a small Japanese eggplant, some purple Thai basil, and a few multi-colored carrots.

Quickly wok-fry the vegetables with leftover white meat from last week's fried chicken, then plunge into green curry sauce and pour over white rice.

Two carrots, one squash and one eggplant also yielded enough for lunch tomorrow--and there's still plenty of curry sauce to go. Triple your money, then! And I still have seven padróns left... thrilling.