Posts coming this weekend! Heading up to the Berkshires for some nice New England comfort.
Stay tuned…
Forgione, Pies N’ Thighs, Dram and the Berkshires…Say That Three Times Fast
•December 10, 2010 • Leave a CommentA Very Dean and Deluca Thanksgiving
•December 5, 2010 • Leave a CommentWell, better late than never! Dr. Awesome and I wanted to host our families for the holidays this year instead of splitting up. We had some alternative reasons too (coming up later in the post) and decided the easiest way to go was catering from Dean and Deluca. We got everything from there except the pies. Those were done by me. The crusts were pre-made since I didn’t have a rolling pin, but our good friends Linda and Bob got us one as a present, so I have no excuse now!
I made three pies: a key lime (Dr. Awesome’s favorite), pumpkin and pecan. I was able to find fresh key limes at whole foods, which was great. Only thing that sucked was that they were so tiny, so zesting them took a while, as well as juicing because they have so many seeds.
I whisked together the zest and eggs until the mixture had a greenish hue.
I then added the sweetened condensed milk and key lime juice to the egg and zest mixture and once all combined, poured it into the graham cracker pie crust.
And then popped it in the oven! Here are some photos of my pecan and pumpkin pie too:
With Dean and Deluca, we had to cook the Turkey. It was air chilled with no antibiotics. Our sides were roasted yukon gold potatoes with olive oil, thyme and truffle salt, traditional sage and celery stuffing along with country sausage and granny smith apple stuffing, roasted brussel sprouts, roasted shallots with balsamic glaze, haricot vert with marcona almonds, cranberry and orange compote, turkey pan gravy and homemade biscuits. It was so weird not having to run around the kitchen all day! We felt like we should have been doing something, but there was nothing to be done!
And the turkey finished:
Shout out to Dr. Awesome’s mom for helping us cook and carve the bird! Totally forgot to take photos of the completed meal. Was too hungry to remember! (I’m sure you all can understand that!)
There was so much food that Dr. Awesome and I basically ate leftovers for a week!
This Thanksgiving was very special also because Dr. Awesome and I announced our engagement 🙂 To celebrate, we took a jaunt over to Brooklyn on that Friday and had an amazing meal at Peter Luger.
Me and Dr. Awesome’s mom.
The men.
The ladies.
The happy group.
We ordered their thick cut bacon as an appetizer. It could’ve easily been our main course!
It was so good. I believe Luger only offers one cut of steak: The Porterhouse. We all ordered steak for two and this is what was presented (well, not almost fully eaten):
I don’t think I’ve ever had steak this delicious and it was prepared so simple! The homemade steak sauce really helped bring out the flavor and gave some acid to the dish. We had lots of leftovers from this too.
Then we ordred some Apple Strudel with vanilla ice cream and their famous “Schlag” (whipped cream). The schlag was good enough by itself! I had never been to the one on Long Island, but apparently they say this one is better, even though both places have the same steaks. The atmosphere was really cool too and the prices weren’t too bad.
So, it was a pretty festive holiday to say the least. Everyone ate, drank and was very merry. Sometimes, in certain cases, catering may be the way to go. It wasn’t too ridiculously expensive and it also takes a lot of the stress of cooking so much, away. Don’t knock it until you try it!
Can’t believe Christmas is coming up! For presents, I’m going to try making some pickles and preserves to give out to people. I think it’ll be a fun thing to do.
Saxelby Interview in the New Year
•December 3, 2010 • Leave a CommentI just heard from Anne and she’s really busy for the holiday season AND is also expanding to Brooklyn, so she’s pretty swamped. We’re going to talk after the new year when things slow down a bit. It’s all good!
Went to Dram and Pies N’ Thighs tonight. Best. Night. Ever. Totally recommend those places if you’re in South Willamsburg. Was tempted to cross over and go back to Peter Luger 🙂
My own pies coming soon!
Turkey and Cheese!
•December 3, 2010 • Leave a CommentTonight I’ll be posting about our exciting Thanksgiving and post-Thanksgiving meals. Then I’m gearing up for my interview with the lovely cheesemonger Anne Saxelby on Monday. Good things all around! Dr. Awesome and I went to Marc Forgione’s restaurant last night. OMGz. Photos and post to come!
Iron Cook!
•November 29, 2010 • 2 CommentsSo, Thanksgiving cooking tomorrow, Iron Cook tonight! I’d like to thank TumbleBart (Josh and Jena) for taking the time and writing out this piece and compiling the photos. I, unfortunately, couldn’t participate, but it seemed like a great and creative culinary time! By the way, just throwing this out there, but if people are interested in guest blogging here, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I love having people contribute!
Your secret ingredient is…
photo credit: Frank Sebastian / Istock
Pomegranate.
The word alone sends shivers down one’s spine. Or disappointment and annoyance. That would be the response we received when the secret ingredient was announced to the select 10 participants for November 13th’s Iron Cook Competition.
About a month ago, we sent out a series of invites seeing who would be interested in having an Iron Chef-style cookoff, ostensibly to see who could claim the culinary crown, but really to satisfy our gluttony by playing on the competitive instincts of our social circle. In our lust for varied and delicious foods, we laid a trap that we knew would easily ensnare our friends.
The rules were simple. Josh would announce a secret ingredient at noon via text, and at 7 PM we would all convene at our apartment (The J&J TumbleBart estate). There were five teams at final count. Since Josh knew the secret ingredient ahead of time, Jena would make the recipe selection, with Josh in the role of sous chef.
The initial choice for the secret ingredient was wine, but a last-minute discussion with an outside consultant (Jena’s aunt) resulted in a change to pomegranate; a minute later the text went out. Seven hours later, all five teams arrived chez TumbleBart with their respective masterpieces.
After sampling each submission, votes were cast and rankings were announced. Below, the entries, from last place through first. (corresponding photos are below the team’s description)
5) Team Fighting Mongooses – This team offered a pomegranate-glazed duck with a Swiss chard stuffing. Especially considering that this was the team’s first attempt at cooking duck, a notoriously finicky meat, it was delicious; the pomegranate glaze added a lightness and unexpected flavor to the dish.
They also prepared a vast quantity of vegan snickerdoodles – not pomegranate, but still much enjoyed by all.
4) Team Fail – This team did not fail to impress with their pomegranate stew, a Persian dish called Koresh Fesenjan. In addition to pomegranate, the stew featured ground walnuts and seitan, a vegan “meat”. The stew had a rich, yet bright and sharp flavor, and the leftovers survived only one day.
On a related note, did we mention how lovely it is to throw a big food party and then keep all the leftovers? Next time you need a nice surplus of food to last you for days, we suggest you throw your own such competition.
3) Team No God Only Pizza – We of the TumbleBart estate decided to create a roasted squash Kibbeh, a Lebanese hand pie with a bulghur “crust”. Roasted squash, spiced and blended with a pomegranate molasses, was blended with the bulghur for the shells, which were formed by hand and filled with a savory spinach blend. After baking, we served them with a pomegranate hummus for dipping. We may be biased, but this should have won best dish.
2) Team Tasaf – This team went all out. First, they prepared a sweet spiked pomegranate punch, to get our taste buds lubricated and inhibitions lowered. Next, they offered a Biryani made with jalapeño, garbanzos, and pomegranate seeds with an amazing redcurrant pomegranate chutney. Finally, they filled us to the brim with their dessert of vegan apple-pomegranate crisp. And lest you suspect that Team Tasaf went for quantity over quality – everything made by this team was amazing. The variety and creativity of this team surpassed all others until we discovered…
1) Team Pom Pom – This team prepared pork tenderloin with a marinade of pomegranate juice, orange marmalade, honey, and hot pepper. It was served atop an apple pomegranate and chestnut stuffing. Team Pom Pom was also thoughtful enough to provide an equally sumptuous vegan version of the stuffing. The presentation, the succulence of the pork, the glaze itself exploding with flavor; this team deserved their win (especially after cleaning our kitchen. No joke: they made us food and then cleaned our kitchen. At how many parties does that happen?).
Overall, it was a wonderful feast that left our guests rolling to their cars and subways, fat and full of delicious delicacies. Before we go, we leave you with these words of wisdom for your own Iron Cook Competitions:
1) Pick a good ingredient: It’s tough to find a secret ingredient that everyone likes, but what’s tougher is finding one that everyone will want to taste in every dish, for every course, and that will inspire the competitors to bring a wide variety of recipes to the table. Sure, garlic is awesome, but you’ll run the serious risk of getting five different pasta dishes with a side of garlic ice cream. Our selection of a somewhat esoteric fall fruit forced people to step back from their old reliable recipes and try something new.
2) Pick a large kitchen to hold this event: We luckily have a big kitchen that can fit up to 6 people at once, which made it easy for everyone to put the finishing touches on their food at our apartment, making for the best possible presentation and easy reheating.
3) Pick something that transports well: Team Fighting Mongoose had to show up 2 hours early just to finish in time, because they made a dish that was nearly impossible to transport, and not cooking in their own kitchen cramped their style. Cooking in your own kitchen is much easier.
4) Encourage your guests to bring food in cheap/disposable containers: It’s likely that whoever hosts the party is keeping the leftovers, not to mention that if you bring Aunt Mary’s heirloom pasta dish, you’ll have to either spend some party time washing it, or lug it home all greasy. Corollary: Hosts, make sure to have adequate serving utensils and platters. We started running out of these and had to make do with spatulas and larger plates.
5) Have fun: You’re not in it to win it, you’re in it to eat, try new things, show off cooking skills, and to laugh. This whole thing was a lot of fun – give it a try!
Thanks for reading Rori’s blog. May the force be with you.
– Tumblebart
Here are some more photos from the event:
I YUM New York 