Friday, July 30, 2010

Lunch at a new restaurant, dinner at an old(ish) one

July 30

Sorry the blog has been so quiet lately, I've been busy over at nrn.com, where I’ve been filing stories about all sorts of things, from vegetarian menu items (that one’s for subscribers only, click here if you want to subscribe), to Cascabel chef Todd Mitgang (listen to the interview here), to Carino's new low-calorie kids' menu, to 5 Napkin Burger’s beer list, to Marco’s Pizza’s new lending facility for franchisees.

“Oh, that’s boring,” egg man Howard Helmer said yesterday when I told him about the Marco’s Pizza story, which I’d filed that morning.

What can I say? Some people want to read about beer lists, others about menu items, others about creative ways, during this credit crunch, to help franchisees fund their expansion.

Here at NRN we have something for everyone in the restaurant world.

I was at lunch with Howard, goose farmer Jim Schiltz (freshly returned from a feather conference in China, during which everyone apparently asked Hungary to desist from its centuries-old practice of live plucking), and Food & Wine executive editor Tina Ujlaki. We were at the much ballyhooed ABC Kitchen, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s new restaurant focused, like all new restaurants these days that aren't burger joints, on local, seasonal food.

Howard ordered a pizza for the table, one with morels, Parmesan and a “farm fresh egg.”

Howard represents the American Egg Board, you see. He also occasionally represents the National Goose Council, of which Jim is the president and only member (we only produce about 250,000 geese a year in this country, and most of them are raised or processed by Jim — or both).

Howard was supposed to retire recently, and was going to be replaced by Next Food Network Star runner up Jeffrey Saad.

Jeffrey's doing a lot of the social networking stuff for the egg board, which is all well and good, but apparently they still want Howard to make omelets at state fairs and whatnot.

So he’s not retiring.

I ate relatively lightly — raw diver scallops with market chiles, anise hysop and lime, followed by sautéed Arctic char, summer beans, lime and spicy corn broth, and Jim and I split one of the signature juice drinks, made of peach, currant, cherry and ginger — because my friend Jonathan Ray was in town and I’d managed to finagle us a table at The Little Owl.

But it was a 6 o’clock table, which was fine with us because Jonathan had to take a train back to Westchester that evening. But it meant I shouldn’t gorge myself at lunch.

This is embarrassing to admit, but I hadn’t been to The Little Owl before. It’s one of those little places that everybody seems to love, and although it’s not new by any stretch of the imagination —it opened in May of 2006 — it continues to be a hard place to get a table.

So, good for The Little Owl, but with so many places to check out, sometimes I pass over the cute little ones that are hard to get into.

So I was glad Jonathan was in town, because it was an excuse to check the place out, and to eat:

baked clams with watercress salad and bagna cauda vinaigrette,
broiled halibut with corn, favas and pesto vinaigrette
rhubarb crisp

Anise Infused Pearl Couscous

  
    
Sometimes you're the bride and sometimes the bridesmaid.  Ok, for me that's never the case since I'm a guy, but the point of this recipe isn't the grilled Mahi-Mahi seen here, but instead on making a new and interesting side dish.  Pearl couscous is a fun side.  It has a slippery consistency that's fun in the mouth and not as dry or sticky as rice.  It also supports different flavors well.  I have a Mediterranean preparation I do with a tomato coulis and pan seared tilapia.  But this evening, I wanted to inspire an Asian flavor.  To cook couscous, it's always best to use a stock to help impart flavor.  For this preparation I didn't want to overwhelm with a chicken stock, so I used vegetable stock.  I added turmeric for color, and to inspire an Asian feel I used a little ginger and an anise pod.  This recipe does reflect a weeknight fatigue and lack of patience.  Instead of toasting the couscous in advance, or softening the onion, bell pepper in advance, or infusing the herbs into the ingredients before adding the stock, into the pot it all went.  Feel free to follow those more traditional cooking techniques, but I also hope you value this recipe for its midweek ease and convenience.  About the Mahi-Mahi in the picture, I finally tried cooking it with an agave nectar glaze as has become somewhat popular.  I just topped the fish with the nectar and brushed it across the fish and grilled.  The result was a mildly sweet but still interesting taste.  And hey, it's what tequila is made from, so it has to be good.  Serves 2.
     
Ingredients:
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup pearl couscous
1/2 an orange bell pepper, diced
1/4 red onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 garlic clove, minced
1 dollop minced ginger
1 anise pod
salt/pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
      
Directions:
In a medium pot over medium high heat, add all of the ingredients except the salt, pepper and cilantro.  Stir and bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Cook until the couscous are al dente, perhaps 8-10 minutes.  Allow the mixture to cool if desired.  Season to taste and mix in the cilantro.  Serve.
    

Under the Radar Screen

Yep, that's me.  Off the radar screen.  I do some interesting things and I touch a few lives, but I do it in the background.  Sometimes I watch "Who Will be the Next Food Network Star" and marvel at how people can put themselves out there like that.  It's just not what I do.

Case in point: 

I was in a fancy Atlanta china slash cookware store a few years back.   I took my purchases (which included a beautiful china tea cup and saucer for Edna Lewis) to the register and handed over my credit card.  The woman at the register squinted at the name, looked at me and said, "do you know there is another Liz Lorber in Atlanta?  She gives participation cooking classes and she's a great caterer."

Fool that I am, I just nodded and said something inane like, "oh really?"  WTF, Liz?  Guess I just didn't look the part.  (Of course, I sometimes dress like a homeless person and don't always sport a lot of make-up so maybe it was one of those days).  I will confess to a silent chuckle as I played along and feigned amazement that there was another Liz Lorber in Atlanta who was a cooking instructor and caterer!


I have never felt the need to "put myself out there."   So in that spirit, I have never made a big deal about our friendship with Edna Lewis.  I write about it now only because I think it is important to keep her memory alive.

Just another family dinner....

Edna meant a lot to us.  We didn't care that she was an icon or a national treasure.  She was just someone we knew and loved.  She was a dear friend and we mourn her passing to this day.  Here's what I wrote upon her passing:

We were lucky enough to have known her for almost 20 years.  We loved her.  She loved us back. Even in her declining years, she never failed to ask me “how are the boys?”  Somehow, the well-being of my sons was important to her.  Maybe it was because she met them when they were very young.  Maybe it was because she knew she helped shape their lives.

In our kitchen

One of my best memories is walking into my kitchen in the early 90’s.  My son, Andy (then about 12) was knee-deep in flour, with an intense and serious look on his face.  He was absolutely intent upon conquering the task at hand.  That task?  Pie crust.  His teacher?  Edna Lewis. The two of them spent almost three hours rolling and re-rolling pie crusts, abandoning the quest for perfection only when she gently told him it was time to stop.  But, he didn’t.  He continued to practice, practice, practice (as she told him to do) until he could finally make a good pie crust.  To this day he loves to bake and is a serious home cook.  Here is the recipe she wrote out for him on a lined yellow pad:


Henry’s  favorite memory of Edna is actually one “from back in the day” and follows in his own words:

“When Edna arrived for the Southern Chef’s event in 1995, I was the designated dishwasher and quail egg peeler.  When there were no longer eggs to be shelled, in an attempt to humor me, she took it upon herself to teach me how to make Cats' Tongue cookies.  As a non-food person, other than as a consumer, I was a total novice when it came to the fine art of making cookies. 

Rather than try to make me into a Master Chef, she elected to teach me a simple task in the hope that I would be able to conquer and appreciate it.  Both of us were proud of my success with the cookies, and for the next twenty years of our friendship, we constantly kidded one another about who made the better Cats' Tongues. 

The real lesson here was that Edna Lewis appreciated each of us for what we were able to achieve.  For many of us, her friendship and love were what we cherished most.  To many, her passing is the loss of the Doyenne of Southern Cooking.  To some of us, however, the loss is much greater.  She was a loving, supportive member of our extended family and her loss is incredibly personal.  God bless her and keep her.”


Edna’s impact on our family was significant. At one point, my mother lived in the apartment directly below Scott (Peacock) and Edna’s.  She and Edna became unlikely friends.  Mom recalls the day they were outside, planting flowers by the creek.  They finished and came inside to Mom’s apartment to wash their hands and clean up a bit.  Mom offered Edna a drink and before they knew it, there they were, just like old friends – Edna with her Jack Black and Mom with her white wine – sitting around, talking.

There were braised pork chops cooking away on the stove.  Eventually the aroma overpowered the conversation and my mom’s fear of cooking for the great Edna Lewis faded in light of the fact that they were both very hungry (and probably a little tipsy).  They shared a wonderful meal that night and many more in the months to come.  In fact, my mom always kept a bottle of Jack Black just for Edna.  She even got over her fear of cooking for her!

A few of the notes she wrote to us  - treasured memories

Another memory is of the independent Edna who always insisted on wearing high heels.  When she lived in Virginia Highlands, it was a daily occurrence for her to walk to the neighboring Kroger on Ponce … in those high heels.  She was so elegant and so very beautiful and of course, nothing else would do.  She held court as she walked on Ponce and as she entered Kroger. It wasn't intentional, it was just what evolved from her presence.  It was amazing to behold.

However, Scott and I were terrified she might fall.  We expressed this to her and she basically told us to go to hell (though not in those words, as she was too much the lady).  Still, we worried.  I finally convinced her to go shopping with me so we could buy her sneakers and sweat pants for walking. ( what was I thinking - Edna Lewis in sneakers and sweats?????) We went to Mervyn’s and she was appropriately appreciative as I bought her shoes, sweat pants and the like.  She even thanked me.  But of course, she never wore any of it.  She just kept on walking to Kroger in those high heels.

Edna was an amazing woman with an amazing presence.  It's hard to believe she is gone, but she isn’t, really. She is in our hearts and is still very much alive for me and for my family.  We are humbled to have been, even in a small way, a part of her life.


CATS' TONGUE COOKIES  (from Edna Lewis' "The Edna Lewis Cookbook")

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 cup heavy cream
Whites of 2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 400-degrees.

Rub 2 cookie sheets with sweet butter.  Sift both the flour and the powdered sugar before measuring.  Combine the flour, sugar and ginger; sift together.

Whip the cream until frothy and whip the egg whites to the same stage.  Mix the cream and egg whites together.  Spoon into the flour mixture and stir in a circular motion until the batter is well-blended.

Place a cookie sheet close to the bowl of batter.  Dip in a dinner knife and give the knife a turn, which should gather about a good teaspoon of the batter onto the blade.  Strike a mark on the cookie sheet and end it with a thin line.  It should form a cookie about 2 1/2-inches long.

These cookies will spread, so allow about 1 1/2-inches between each one.  When you have filled each cookie sheet, place it in the middle rack of the oven for 7 minutes.  When the edges are brown, the cookies are done.

Remove from the oven and let them cool for 2 or 3 minutes.  Then slip a thin spatula carefully under each cookie, removing them before they cool too much and harden to the cookie sheet.  (If this happens, set them back into the oven for 2 or 3 minutes more to soften).

Place the cookies on a wire rack, and when they have cooled, store them in an airtight tin.

Yield:  about 4 dozen

Here's to you, Miss Edna.  May your memory live on forever.

Change

So the magnetic inspiration board wasn't working. I couldn't find magnets strong enough and just decided to try something new.  I painted my old cork board & Shelf, giving me more room & a place to keep my jewelry that I wear, and the jewelry that I'm selling.

I have been seeing these banner flag things everywhere lately. It first started with this scrapbook paper I saw (on the inspiration board above), then I saw creations on Etsy, and on Web Ad's...they are everywhere! I thought they were really cute so I made my own with scrapbook paper and some brown ribbon.

The next image is about change. My life is always about change...in lifestyle, clothes, cities, houses, food, opportunities...I love change. I am constantly changing and re-inventing myself and wanted to share a comparison of change in just one year! Wow, when I saw them side by side my first thought was "Holy Crap my hair is long!" I never thought I would have long hair again, but I am really diggin' it. I probably won't go any longer than this, its fun for now. Who knows what I'll look like next year!

foody fully holiday

I am sick now btw. But I still have my time to update blog LOL
I wont tell fairytale a lot, just post some of result from my food-tasting on holiday. Not to mention that Trace has asked me to rajin update my blog when im holiday :P

Martabak
Its an egg mixed with sliced scallions and wrecked meat
Its covered with spread flour and we eat it along with cucumber+chili+vinegar

Sweet and Sour Prawn
Hmm. Mommy made this. Its prawn covered by flour and served with sweet and sour sauce :)

Cap-Cae
seafood+chicken+veggie mixed up with some tasty sauce
of course mommy cooked this as well :)

Fried Chicken with soy sauce
made by mommy as well :P

Gado-Gado
Yeeaaaaa. Kind of veggies mixed with egg, lontong, tofu and tempe together with peanut sauce!
And dont forget to mention that mommy made it!!

this is just some of the Hotel lunch delivery.
BTW. I like the fried rice. Hehe
uppps the egg rusak dy. (Got hole). I think I should claim the chef.
LOL

Perkedel people? :)
Corn mixed with flour and egg and they fried it.
I always miss this, especially when mommy made it. Its tasty and deliciosso!

Fried Rice Vermicelli
Yummyyyy!! Full of seafood! XD

KFC waffle sundae
with strawberry jam :)
yea KFC here got a lot of dessert and this is my fave

Terang Bulan
LOL we can said like martabak manis. The name kinda funny.
Its a bold pancake with bold cheese and sweetened milk!
Rip them to your mouth! Yummyyyy!

I dunno what is the name of this pudding. It made by the chef in hotel and they sent me in home.
Tasty actually. Its too sweet I think because I hated excessive sweetness. LOL
But mom one still the best. :P

By the way I still got a lot of food to test.
Of course my mom will cook it after I prison her in home not to do business work before she cook for me :P