A Chewy Bite: February 2010

Thursday, February 25, 2010

think the human menorah tops this?

as explained on boingboing

mom just sent this to me

she loves the gags
http://www.youtube.com/user/ladygagaofficial?blend=1&ob=4

just special

for some reason i can't upload, but it's worth it

amigo, thanks for sharing.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

bo peep

helen, without you, this could not be possible.

the minimalist

yums - recipe from bittman of the times

Evan Sung for The New York Times

Creamy Polenta With Parmesan and Sausage

Ingredients

4 good-quality sweet Italian sausages

1 cup medium-to-coarse cornmeal

Salt

1/2 to 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

2 tablespoons butter

Freshly ground black pepper.

Prep

1. Put oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add sausages and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, put cornmeal in a medium saucepan along with 1 cup water and whisk well to make a slurry; continue whisking mixture to eliminate any lumps. Put pan over medium-high heat, sprinkle with salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, whisking frequently and adding water as needed to keep mixture loose and free of lumps, between 3 and 4 more cups. If mixture becomes too thick, simply add a bit more water; consistency should be similar to sour cream’s.

3. Polenta will be done in 15 to 30 minutes, depending on grind. Add cheese and butter. Taste and add salt, if necessary, and lots of pepper; serve topped with sausages.

Yield: 4 servings.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

aldea

photos by jerry errico

portuguese-american chef george mendes opened aldea in may 2009 on 17th street. having worked with celebrated top chefs, like david bouley, roger vergé, alain ducasse and martin berasategui, mendes fuses his exceptional culinary training and family heritage at aldea.

while someone with his culinary resume could easily succumb to delusions of grandeur, mendes' dishes are surprisingly simple, refined and elegant. his presentations are clean, whimsical yet still look like the actual food.

the menu is divided into 5 sections: petiscos (or small bites), charcuterie, appetizers, meat, and fish and shellfish.

to start, we had the sea urchin toast, accompanied with cauliflower cream, sea lettuce and lime; the salt cod croquettas with garlic-truffle aioli; and dry-cured portuguese ham, presunto. the sea urchin was light, sweet and delicate, and sat on top of a nicely-toasted piece of bread. i enjoyed it for its varied texture and the balance of sweet and savory. the croquettas, i have to admit were good, although i felt it was obvious that a ball of fry served with garlic-truffle aioli was going to be alright. sure there can be good and bad croquettas, but in the end, it will still be a croquetta. my dining companions surely rolled their eyes as i professed this sentiment. the presunto wasn't spectacular. the only reaction i had was that tasted like a poor man's prosciutto di parma.

next, we had the lightly-cured fluke with meyer lemon, almond milk and crunchy soy. slippery and subtle and delicious!

we enjoyed the chatham cod, encrusted in sea salt before its seared and served with braised cranberry beans, tomato confit and tarragon-parsley coulis, but the shining star of the night was the arroz de pato. paella-type crusty rice is topped with duck confit, chorizo, olive and duck cracklings - no question that we cleaned the plate. in the words of rae rae: YUMMO.

had i been dining alone, i might have ordered a bit differently...perhaps the crispy pork belly with apple cider and szechuan pepper...or the foie gras terrine with caramelized bartlett pear, vanilla-pear puree and blis maple syrup or the baby cuttlefish served with caramelized lychee, mentaiko and squid ink...but i can't deny that i left satisfied and content!

found a new roommate!

and its not this guy

sister sister

its science

more...

oscar de la renta

vivienne westwood

mulberry

marchesa

matthew williamson

proenza schouler

Monday, February 22, 2010

pork chops with mustard crust

made pork chops the other night, adapted from a bon appetit recipe:

ingredients
4 pork chops with bone
cooking spray (optional)
handful of chopped parsley
4 tbs of olive oil or melted butter
2 cups of panko breadcrumbs
6 tbs of hot dijon mustard
s&p

what you'll need
9" by 13" roasting pan
knife
cutting board
spoon

prep
preheat oven to 350°F. oil or spray roasting pan. mix melted butter or oil, parsley and 3 tablespoons mustard in medium bowl. mix in breadcrumbs. spread remaining mustard on both sides of pork chops. sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper and arrange in prepared roasting pan.

press breadcrumb mixture evenly atop each pork chop. bake pork chops until cooked through, about 35 minutes.

preheat broiler. broil pork chops, crust side up, until golden brown, watching closely to avoid burning, about 2 minutes.

i served this with a red cabbage & apple slaw and cauliflower gratin.

defonte's of brooklyn

i started to write this on friday, but ran home and forgot to post:

to make up for the horrible lunch i had yesterday, a "low-fat tuna salad" sandwich (i question whether it was actually low in fat and if it even was tuna), i had to seriously redeem myself today.

i asked myself a question that seriously takes up most mornings, what can i eat for lunch that will be delicious? trying to look busy, i suddenly remembered reading about some sandwich shop, on some street, known for some yummy sandwich. after frantically searching through old e-mails and countless, futile attempts at the google machine, i was finally victorious: defonte's of brooklyn.

(i didn't take this picture)

defonte's on 261 third avenue is the 2nd branch of the 88-year-old red hook hero shop, founded by nick defonte, an italian immigrant who decided to sell sandwiches after not being able to find work, according to new york magazine. brother, i know how that goes...

i had the pleasure of experiencing why defonte's has been around for so long, especially now, when restaurants have popped up and out faster than you can say "tyra is going weaveless!" when i got to defonte's, i don't know how helpless i looked, but a kind gentleman behind the counter swiftly guided me through the menu, pointing out the hot roast beef (injection! jk) and the pork hero.

i happily left with the pork hero and devoured it within 10 minutes of returning to my desk. the bread's crust was crunchy and what was left of the interior was fluffy and chewy. my sandy guy had pulled out most of the interior to presumably make room for the two inches of thinly-sliced, hot, flavor-packed roasted pork with a slice of swiss. below that was a crispy, paper-thin layer of fried eggplant. side note: do you have a "fry" equation? how much more delicious does X food item become when you add "fry?" i think this sandwich was at least 1.5 times more delicious.

back to the meatwich, underneath the mountain of pork and eggplant, laid what is oddly named, hot salad. hot salad is a pickled and spicy medley of veggies, served cold, including: celery, bell peppers, sport peppers, pickles, zucchini and cauliflower! my colleagues got to hear me, for the brief, but probably horrifically memorable moments in which i feasted.

so...i'm probably going back. tomorrow. if i can brave the cold and walk there.

amazing phone picture, which will surely make this sandwich seem even more tantalizing!