Friday, August 19, 2011

Un Professional Cook Has A

un professional cook has a
un professional cook has a

Family & Friends night at Frankies 570 Spuntino

August 19

That picture on the left is what the outside of Frankies 570 Spuntino looked like last night. You really need to be confident that you’re in the right place to open that door.

It struck me as being very much in the style of Franks Castronovo and Falcinelli, who own and run the restaurant and who, if they didn’t invent the current fashion of Brooklyn grunge chic that dominates large chunks of that borough (and maybe they did), they’re certainly the poster boys for it in the food world.

They have that we’re-so-cool-we-don't-need-to-shave-or-even-trim-our-beards-and-we’re-certainly-not-going-to-try-to-impress-you-because-we-don’t-care-what-you-think vibe that, damn it, is quite alluring.

I was invited to family-and-friends night at their new West Village restaurant, which isn’t even slated to open for another month, hence all the construction materials and building permits and hidden entrance. Eventually it will have a perfectly nice and conventional entrance with big windows letting natural light into the restaurant.

But last night, with the walls boarded up, it was dark, and I could barely see the food at my candle-lit table.

But the cool insider people were there. Life and Style reporter Juliet Izon swung by my table to say hello (we periodically eat together on expeditions organized by New York Post reporter Max Gross to iconic or merely awesome restaurants in the outer boroughs, such as Pirosmani in Brookly and Hunan Kitchen of Grand Sichuan in Queens).

I ran into Food & Wine editor in chief Dana Cowin on my way to the bathroom. Andrew Knowlton of Bon Appétit, who I never see anymore, sat down at my table and snacked on the cheese from my antipasti plate while we mused about changes in the food scene. His two-year-old daughter Julep snacked on my salumi, which is fine. There was plenty to eat.

What I ate:

three crostini: sungold tomato and basil; white anchovy, avocado and setti anni peppers; and rocotta with speck and honey

saffron arancini stuffed with bolognese sauce

vegetable antipasti including broccoli raab and a variety of olives

farmhouse cheeses

cured meats including capicola and two types of sopressata.

baked clams

heirloom tomatoes and pickled market beans

fennel, celery root and parsley salad

grilled squid with pickled peppers

cavatelli with hot sausage

meatballs with pine nuts and raisins

egg yolk & cauliflower ravioli with brown butter, almonds and anchovy

Mast Brothers chocolate ganache tart

red wine prunes and mascarpone

Birthday Lunch with my Senior Friends


Happy Birthday Lia... again!  This time, I celebrated with my senior friends.  I prepared a Chinese lunch for them.  Another week long preparation and two days of cooking but all my hard work paid off.  My guests enjoyed their food and some even went back for seconds.  And.... they all had clean plates!  Yay!!!  I do not mind all the hard work as long as I can give pleasure to the people I am cooking for. 

My own version of Peking Duck is the Tortilla wrapped roasted pork with hoisin sauce a.k.a. Pritchon http://liasfoodjourney.blogspot.com/2011/05/homemade-pritchon.html.  My sister said the seniors will also enjoy if I add Crunchy Lechon Kawali  http://liasfoodjourney.blogspot.com/2010/07/pritchon-lechon-atbp.html... which I did.



I prepared the Shrimp Balls the night before and deep fried it today.  http://liasfoodjourney.blogspot.com/2010/04/good-friday-shrimp-balls.html



It was everybody's favorite.  It is so easy to make  simply because Yaya Hermie chopped all the ingredients.  I made sweet and sour sauce to go with it.

Chinese Style Steamed Fish ....



800 g. Lapu-Lapu, butterflied and deboned
shredded leeks, white and green parts separated
shredded ginger
wansuy leaves
2 T. corn oil
2 T. light soy sauce

Place the fish on a heat proof plate. When the water of the steamer is at its full rolling boil, steam the fish for 10 minutes ONLY.  Transfer to another dish or remove the liquid that has accumulated on the plate.  Spread the ginger, shredded green and white parts of the leeks and wansuy leaves on top of the fish.  Heat the oil until smoking and pour little by little on the vegetables.  Drizzle the soy sauce over it.

They all commented that the fish was very fresh, I bought it in Poblacion Market.  I learned from the cooking demo last week to debone the fish before steaming.  I asked my fish vendor to butterfly the fish and remove the spine.

We used to order from Good Earth  the Chicken Casserole with Mushroom  and Sausage.  I borrowed Tita Portia's Chinese cookbook for the recipe.

Steamed Chicken with Chinese Sausage and Black Mushrooms



340 g. boneless chicken
Chinese Sausage, sliced diagonally
black mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes then sliced thinly
1T. Kikkoman soy sauce
1 t. rice wine
1/2 t. salt
1 T. cornstarch

Combine all ingredients and steam for 20 minutes.

I got my Yang Chow recipe from my old Chinese cookbook.  It looks so complicated but actually, it's not.  Hahahaha I had to read the recipe about 20 times to be able to simplify it.  Sometimes, I play in my mind how I am going to cook something, so when it is crunch time, I know what to do.

Yang Chow Fried Rice



225 g. fresh raw peeled shrimps

Marinade:

1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. cornstarch
1/2 egg white

Devein the shrimps, pat dry and cut into 3/4 inch pieces.  Mix together the salt, corn starch and egg white.  Stir into the prawns, refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.

2 T. oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 T. Chinese cooking wine

Heat the wok over high heat until smoke rises.  Add oil and swirl around the pan.  Add the garlic and when it changes color, tip in the shrimps.  Separate the pieces and stir for 30-45 seconds.  Splash in the wine.  As soon as it stops sizzling, remove shrimps and set aside.

2 large eggs
2 T. oil
salt
few drops of yellow food coloring

Beat eggs with 1 T. oil, food coloring and salt.  Heat a frying pan until hot, add 1 T. oil and swirl  around to cover the surface.  Pour in half of the egg and tip the pan to spread the egg.  When firm, turn over and fry for a few minutes.  Remove crepe to a plate and cut into strips.  Set aside.

5-6 C day old rice
225 g. frozen peas

Separate rice grains and blanch frozen peas for 3 minutes, drain well.

1/4 C. oil
4 stalks of leeks,  cut into thin rounds, white and green separated
225 g. ham, diced
1 1/2 T. thick soy sauce
2-3 T. clear stock or water

Heat the wok until smoke rises, add the oil.  Stir in the leeks, white part.  Pour in the remaining beaten egg.    Tip in all the rice, turn and toss.

When thoroughly heated, add the ham, stir, add the peas, stir, then the prawns. Still stirring, add the soy sauce and stock.  Remove to a serving platter, put in half of the egg strips and the green spring onions.  Arrange the remaining egg strips on top for garnish.

Sauteed Vegetables



broccoli florets
sweet peas
carrots
red pepper
green pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 inch ginger, finely chopped
2 T. cooking oil
4 T. Mama Sita's Soy Stir
1/2 C. water

Heat the wok, add the oil.  Saute garlic and ginger then tip in the broccoli and carrots.  Add the Mama Sita soy stir sauce and water.  When vegetables are crisp tender, add the rest of the ingredients and continue tossing for about a minute or two. 

I researched for a nice beverage for the lunch.  I did not want to serve soda or juice so I came up with something from the internet.

Sparkling Iced Jasmine Tea



1 C. Brown sugar
3/4 C. water
6  Jasmine tea bags
3 1/4 C. boiling water
1 1/4  C. Pellegrino Sparkling water
lemon slices
sprig of mint leaves

Boil sugar in 3/4 cup water.  Set aside.  Steep the tea bags in boiling water for 5 minutes.  Cool, then add sparkling water, lemon slices and sprig of mint leaves before serving.

When my guests  took their first sip, they immediately asked me what it was.  I told them I made the iced tea from scratch.  They said it was refreshing.

Our dessert was Mango Sago with Pomelo shreds. http://liasfoodjourney.blogspot.com/2011/05/top-10-lists-i-just-had-to-try-some-of.html



I forgot to take a picture of my give aways!!!  I baked a batch of Gilly's brownies using the mini muffin pan.

I am very happy to have inherited my Mom's friends, Tita Butchie and Tita Mita.  Then... our monthly lunch group became a bit bigger with the addition of Tita Josie, the friend of Tita Mita ... and now Tita Tess joins us every once in a while. 

They all have one thing in common .... all of them have been students of Tita Portia.... well ... two things in common ... all of them are my senior friends! 



Another very Happy Birthday Everyday Lia!!!