What could we make with this to stretch this initial outlay and make an entrée for an entire family?  After some creative brainstorming, we landed on the idea for Chorizo-Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers, resulting in a well-rounded healthy dish that can easily serve 10 people.  The vegetables, quinoa and chicken broth that we added were nominal in cost, with a total for the entire 10-serving entrée hitting our pockets up for about $17.50 or $1.75 per person (with a couple of Bell Peppers left over). Not only was it easy on cost, the recipe execution took about 30-40 minutes to create and serve, including prep time – fast, easy, affordable, healthy, and supporting our local farmers – that’s a winning combination.  As Pollan says, food should be about quality of what we eat, not the quantity of what we eat.  We were well-fed and look forward to creating more dishes like this from fresh ingredients which our local farmers provide.

As we ate our Chorizo-Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers, we thought that perhaps an added level of flavor could have been imparted by roasting the bell peppers instead just boiling and blanching them.  We will be trying that soon, but if any of our readers have any other ideas about additional ways to make this dish, let us know.  Enjoy!

Chorizo-Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
(Serves 10)

Ingredients:
• 6 large bell peppers, assorted colors
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 lb chorizo
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• ½ cup celery, chopped
• ½ cup bell peppers, chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
• ¼ cup parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions:
1. Fill a large stock pot 2/3 full of water and bring it to a boil.
2. Wash the peppers, cut off the tops and remove the seeds. Place them in the boiling water for 2 minutes to blanch.

3. Remove the peppers and transfer them to a water bath to cool. Let them drain and set aside.

4. Sauté the chorizo in a large skillet until cooked through. Drain the chorizo, reserving some oil in the pan, and set the chorizo aside.

5. Sauté the chopped onion, celery, and peppers in reserved chorizo oil and some grapeseed oil until soft. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
6. Place chicken stock and quinoa in the skillet over medium-high heat. Bring to boil and cook until the liquid is absorbed, approximately 10 minutes.

7. Combine the chorizo, vegetables, and quinoa and mix. Add parsley and then season with salt and pepper to taste.

8. Place each bell pepper into ramekins or small bowls for serving. Spoon the mixture into each bell pepper, do not pack down.

9. Heat in oven at 325 degrees for 20 minutes, then serve.

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Our last day made us sad; we didn’t want to leave Piedmont.  Where did we go for our last morning coffee and pastry? Barolo of course.  While so close to the fresh pasta shop that had been closed for several days in Barolo, we zipped by to find it finally open.  It was interesting to see that the pastamaker’s shop did not have as many different types of his own pastas as there were in the small pasticceria in the nearby town of La Morra!

It was time to go back to the Scavinos in Castiglione Falletto for a tour and tasting with winemaker Elisa Scavino and Director of Marketing, Weston Howard.  We tasted 2005 Carobric, Cannubi, Bric del Fiasc, and Bricco Ambrogio, along with a 2003 Rocche dell’Annunziata.  Then we tasted a vertical of Bric del Fiasc  2006, 2007, and 2008 with 2005 for comparison.  Elisa then offered a blind tasting of 2008 Bricco Ambrogio that had been aged with three different fermentation methods in casks  – one as fermented in old time casks, one in new casks for 7 days and then another in new casks for 23 days! What an interesting comparison.

Our group then went for lunch in the Alta Langa at Trattoria La Coccinella in Serravalle Langhe.

Trattoria La Coccinella

What a wonderful place with three brothers, Alessandro, Massimo, and Tiziano, who run the restaurant.

Brothers

– one manages the front of the house, one oversees service, and one is the Chef!   The food was very good and offered some different types of food than what we had been served during the week so far.  They use fresh seasonal local products, complemented by a large, well-versed wine list.   We had an antipasto and then 5 different courses, with our favorites being a Veal Carne Cruda with White Truffles, 

Veal Carne Cruda with White Truffles

a Porcini Pasta, 

Porcini Pasta

and a Pork Tenderloin with Pumpkin Sauce.

Pork with BBQ Sauce

The last dish even reminded us of the creation by Chef Martin Weaver, winner of 2009 Chefs Under Fire as selected by Chef Kent Rathbun.

And we of course had to wrap up the meal with several amazing desserts!

Something special for you devoted Keeper followers; we saved the best for last. We ate our weight through Piedmont in Vitello Tonnato, so we want to share the recipe we brought back jotted down on a note pad straight from Italy to you. The recipe isn’t quite as refined as our typical Keeper cookbook recipes, so when you try it, let us know what you did differently than the recipe and how it worked best.  Ciao!

Vitello Tonnato

(Serves 8-10)

800 gm lean veal, well tied into a roll, 1 medium onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 1 clove garlic, 1 bay leaf, parsley (?), 2 “glasses” dry white wine

Sauce

2 egg yolks, 250 cc olive oil, ½ lemon, juiced, 100 gm tuna, 2 tablespoons washed and salted capers

Vitello Tonnato

Put onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaf, salt, and wine in pot. Heat to boil. Put meat in a braising pot. Bring to a boil for 90 minutes. Cool to room temp. Slice thin for serving & sauce.

Sauce

Prepare mayonnaise with egg & oil & lemon. Chop tuna & capers. Make into paste. Mix tuna and caper paste into mayonnaise.

Serve mayo on sliced meat and garnish with parsley.

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344 West 11^th Street

New York, NY 10014

ph:212.352.2300

Chef Name: Kurt Gutenbrunner

Type of Meal: Brunch

What we Ordered: Download the Menu

Breakfast Breads Market Greens, Radishes, Pumpkin Seed Oil

Spätzle, Braised Rabbit, Wild Mushrooms, Tarragon

Hungarian Beef Goulash, Fresh Herb Spatzle

GET THE BEEF GOULASH RECIPE HERE

Wiener Schnitzel, Potato-Cucumber Salad, Lingonberries

Steak Rösti, Spiegelei, Fava Beans

Salzburger Nockerl

Thanks also to a talented New York sommelier and our good friend Jordan Salcito, we enjoyed a surprisingly delectable brunch at Wallse.

Favorite Dish: We started with the breakfast breads which were such a treat and really fantastic, especially with a good cup of java.  Our overall favorite dish was the Hungarian Beef Goulash with Fresh Herb Spätzle.  It was the texture and taste of the spätzel with the spices used in the goulash that made us want a second serving!  Since demonstrating the Beef Goulash on Good Day New York, this dish has become a pretty popular dish from Chef Gutenbrunner, but it was a special treat to get to enjoy it with the Fresh Herb Spätzle as well.

Other Highlights: One of the highlights was getting started with the Market Greens, Radishes, and Pumpkin Seed Oil beacuse it was so simple and fresh.  It was a nice way to ease us into the heavy dishes we had ahead.  Also, it’s always nice to be able to recreate some restaurant dishes at home for yourself or others. Chef Gutenbrunner is nice enough to share several of his menu item recipes on the Wallse website.  Below you can find the recipe for the Salzburger Nockerl – we haven’t tried this one in the Keeper Kitchen yet, but it sure sounds simple enough to try it out soon and trust us, if it is anything like the restaurant version, it’s worth it!

Salzburger Nockerl

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Lemon
• 1 pint Raspberries
• Soft butter and sugar
• Large platter
• 10 Egg whites
• 4oz Sugar
• 4 Yolks
• 2oz All purpose flour

Pre-heat oven to 380F

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brush your platter with butter and then sprinkle sugar on top, so it covers the plate except for the edges.

2. Then mix raspberries with lemon juice and put them in the center of your buttered platter.

3. Start to whip egg whites, when they get a little foamy, slowly add the sugar and finish whipping until stiff peaks.

4. Take meringue out of mixing machine and carefully fold in yolks followed by the flour. Use a rubber spatula. Also be careful not to mix too much so you don’t lose too much volume.

5. Then, scoop three quenelles of batter next to each other – on top of raspberries.

6. Put it in the oven for about 12 min – or until golden brown at 390F.

7. Serve as soon as it comes out, with powder sugar on top. It will be soft still in the center.

Ultimate Question – would you go back if you lived in NYC and often?: We would absolutely go back, the service, presentation, and flavors in the dishes were all fantastic. We would love to see if they could repeat this awesome experience of good food and great service.  We’d also be interested to try Wallse for a different meal since they are open for lunch and dinner as well.

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Moroccan-Style Grilled Cheese Sandwich

It has been crazy wild around here since my appearance on Top Chef Masters.  As you may know, I managed to win the Quickfire challenge with a Moroccan-style Grilled Cheese Sandwich.  The best part is that I won $5,000 for the charity I was playing for, Recipe for Success.  Of course, this is the season that the Quickfire Challenges don’t contribute any points towards your final score.  Kind of like when, back in 1996, I won Best New Chef from Food & Wine Magazine, and the next year was the year they started putting the Best New Chefs on the cover.  For some reason, this kind of thing always happens to me.

The night my episode aired, we had a watch party at t’afia; a good customer told me that, if I won anything, she was going to match it as a donation to Recipe for Success (ooh, I hope she can afford $5,000!).  Since then, I have been overwhelmed by how supportive and generous people have been — my wallet is full of checks for Recipe for Success…$50, $100, $150.  I am excited that people were moved to give and are stepping up to make change in the lives of our children.  Both Gracie and I say thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

The actual Top Chef Masters challenge was to do a grilled cheese sandwich that reflected me as a chef, that really represented “my” food.  Some folks are having trouble connecting the Moroccan Grilled Cheese to what they perceive as “Monica Pope food.”  But Coastal Mediterranean cuisine has always been my thing.

In the Top Chef Masters studio kitchen, they take you around to the pantry and coolers so you can assess the ingredients on hand; there’s a cheese fridge, a lettuce fridge, a miscellaneous pantry, breads, etc.  We were also allowed to bring some signature ingredients with us as long as they fit in a 17” x 24” metal bin; I stuffed my suitcase with all sorts of things, including pomegranate molasses.  From the start, I had my eye on the loaf of date-walnut bread and I immediately came up with this Moroccan-style grilled cheese with feta, farmer’s cheese and a melt-y white cheese.  I made a cumin butter (to toast the bread with), sprinkled some cinnamon, used more fresh dates and voila.  I also grabbed three micro herbs — cilantro, basil and mint — to make a little accompanying salad with an orange blossom water-honey dressing.  I finished the plate with a swizzle of a pomegranate molasses-maple syrup mixture.

So, for class today, I am going to re-create my TCM Quickfire Challenge sandwich.  Luckily, I’ve got a posse of women sous chefs today that I motivate to grate and slather all these grilled cheeses and to pick and clean and dry lettuces because we’ve got a full class!

Right before someone gives me the grater, they say Benjy warned them to be careful, it’s very sharp; but, of course, I grate my finger.  I call for a medic (Dr. Adam is in the house), but someone from the audience is actually faster than he is and I get bandaged up.  Must keep cooking, must keep cooking (sing as Ellen DeGeneres’ Dori from Finding Nemo).  My friend Julia made a hand-sewn word shirt for me that says, “just grate” — I wish I was wearing it now.

At the market today, Emile St. Community Garden has some really nice petite dino kale, arugula and some stunning curly mustard (I’ve actually never seen this variety before — it’s a beautiful leaf, almost like filigree, and has a wonderful mustard-y flavor).  I’m thinking that this will be really nice with the dressing…and the grilled cheese.  My army of sous chefs is asking how to tear or cut the lettuces.  I decide to not tear the lettuces, I like the idea of biggish leaves of lettuces today.

Beautiful and delicious local lettuces

I keep barking at the sous chefs to keep on prepping, keep on prepping.  I’m trying to make them cry, but no one is having it — the pressure isn’t getting to them for some reason.  Who knew I would cry on national television, in front of millions?  Not me.

I joke that I’m fishing my band-aid out of the pure luck feta but no one buys that, either.  Then there’s a crash on the front row.  Valerie, one of my sous chefs, has tumped the orange blossom water over and onto the floor, breaking the bottle and Moroccanizing the entire Green Plum Cooking School.  I take a deep breath.  On Top Chef Masters, someone has to play the jerk, someone has to cry, someone has to get hurt, someone’s food has to be compromised — you get the idea – and it’s all déjà-vu now, but history seems to be repeating itself.  I refuse to cry again.  Valerie is gritting her teeth, her daughter is trying to pretend they’re not related, and I’m going to Plan B.  I tell the audience to “imagine” the taste of the smell of the orange blossom water and I set about to make a dressing with blood oranges (blood seems to be a running theme today), honey, orange zest, cumin and cinnamon.  Joe “Kanye” Apa appears with (oddly enough) one Moroccan-style lamb chop for me to taste/approve.  I eat it (delicious).

Time to jump on the grilling of the cheese sandwiches, or else we won’t make it.  It’s 10:12am.  On the show, each chef is told to call out the time, so I have the audience do that.  It really does build drama as we’re building the grilled cheese sandwiches.  I have three pans going and a sandwich press all at once.  I’m trying to get the right balance of toast-y and melt-y that makes a grilled cheese sandwich great.  We manage to serve it all up by 10:29.  I only got burned once and cut twice and I’m pretty sure that Valerie went home and cried.  Sometimes, drama happens.

NOTE: The recipes used in my Green Plum Cooking School classes can be found in my online cookbook, “Eat Where Your Food Lives,” available for purchase at http://www.ChefMonicaPope.com.

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Fresh Pasta with Crawfish Ragout

The wonderful surprise in this dish was Morel Mushrooms and Fava beans – yummy!  It was paired with a nice 2008 Livio Felluga Map Label Pinot Grigio.  We were told that this PG is left on the lees for 6 months, providing an interesting depth to this varietal. So, what would Besh do next but Chicken and Dumplings with Chanterelles?  Most interesting in his rendition of the classic Chicken and Dumplings was the use of fresh ricotta to make the Dumplings and oh, were they good and perfectly textured.  It’ll be hard from here on out to eat dumplings prepared any other way.  His use of fresh stock for his broth, combined with the chicken thighs and peas made this dish impressively balanced. This was paired with a 2007 Numanthia, which is a well-regarded wine, but we didn’t feel paired well with this particular course, as the tannins overpowered the delicacy of the dish.  But that’s just our opinion.     

Chicken and Dumplings with Chanterelles

The finale was a Warm Berry Tart, and quite a finish this was.  This was a simple, but beautiful dessert, both on the eyes and on the palette.  Chef Besh spoke often of the importance of his family growing up and his family now (his lovely wife, Jennifer, who attended the class and his 4 boys, ages 5-14).  He spoke of his grandmother making a dessert like this, and it sure reminded us of something our grandmothers made as well.  The “clean plate club” arrived for this round!  This tart crust had great texture and taste, combined with fresh berries and not too much sugar, made it splendid.  (see recipe below) This was paired nicely with a glass of Chandon Sparkling Riche.   

Warm Berry Tart

You can tell that Chefs Besh and McHugh enjoy what they do and working together.    

Chef Besh and Chef McHugh

For our evening pleasure following the class, Crave Communications threw a great bash at Parkside for Chefs Besh and McHugh.  Again, the resounding message from both Chefs for their restaurants is quality and consistency in their dishes using fresh, seasonal products. Chef Besh believes that we need to “understand where our food comes from so that we can connect with the food, allowing us to cook with passion”.   

We asked Chef McHugh if the menu at Lϋke San Antonio would be the same as Lϋke New Orleans.  He said that the menu at Lϋke San Antonio would be different as he would be using fresh, seasonal products from the San Antonio area rather than New Orleans.   Ok, they mean what they say. We look forward to a Keeper trip to Lϋke San Antonio in the near future.   

And one more thing, another “coming soon” spot to look forward to in Austin – Chef Shawn Cirkiel told us that he will be using the space where the Besh VIP Party was held for a new place next door to Parkside to serve oven pizza.  Can’t wait to see Chef Cirkiel’s Austin expansion as well!  We know Crave will keep us posted on the details.

Warm Berry Tart Recipe   

(Serves 6)   

This recipe is easily adaptable to all sorts of berries, use those local to you. I love serving this hot, just out of the oven, or removed from molds and reheated in a warm oven just before serving. Use your favorite ice cream to serve over it, in my home it’s home made vanilla.   

• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 Basic Pie Dough
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 cups berries
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare one 9-inch tart pan or 6 individual 3-4 inch pans by greasing each with softened butter using almost 2 tablespoons. Then dust the molds with one tablespoon of flour.   

Roll the basic pie dough on a lightly floured surface to a thinkness of 1/4 inch. Fit the large pan or 6 individual pans with pie dough, making sure to trim the excess dough around the edges.   

Beat together the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, the granulated sugar and the egg, in a mixing bowl, until smooth and creamy.   

Fold in the berries, the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour, and lemon zest into the sugar. Fill the larger pie pan, divide the berry filling between 6 prepared tart pans. Arrange the tarts on a baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and dust with powdered sugar.   

Basic Pie Dough   

(Makes one 9-inch crust)   

Every one of our pastry Chefs comes up with his own “better” pie dough, but none has stood the test of time like this one. Here’s the secret: make sure not to handle it too much. Once you’ve added the ice water, stop. You can roll it out in advance, then wrap it and store in in the freezer for a couple of days, if you wish. Or make the dough ahead, shape it into a disk, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for a few hours before you need it. If your’re using this basic dough for another recipe, follow directions in step 1.      

• 1 cup all purpose flour, plus  more for dusting the pan
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons cold butter, diced, plus softened butter for greasing the pan

Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles cornmeal. Sprinkle in ice water, as needed, as many as 4 tablespoons, mixing it into the dough until it comes together into a ball. Press the dough into a round, flat disk, then wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes before rolling it out.   

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OLD SCHOOL:

Restaurant Name & Location:

Sushi Yasuda

204 East 43 St (Midtown)

Chef Name: Naomichi Yasuda

Type of Meal: Dinner, at the sushi bar, by choice because it’s the best way to go!

The Experience: The room is serene, brightly lit, and although every table is seated, it somehow remains enjoyably quite.  The master (Yasuda himself) stands dressed in white behind the sushi bar and we put our dining experience in his hands, trusting that the knowledge, passion, and respect for the fish at his fingertips far surpasses what we “think” we know or like about sushi.  An attentive waitress lingers nearby to address our every need, never having to “wait”.  They could sense when we were in need of something…anything.  Clean, fresh nigiri creations arrive one after another, exquisite in their simplicity, and the warmth and enthusiasm from Yasuda kept us smiling throughout the meal.

NEW SCHOOL:

Restaurant Name & Location:

Momofuku Ko

163 First Ave. (East Village)

Chef Name: Peter Serpico

Type of Meal: Dinner, at the bar, because that’s the only choice!

The Experience: The Ramones blare in the background, 12 stools crowd the bar in the small space as 3 chefs, one wearing a baseball hat, work behind the counter in front of us.  Grouchily, as eloquently described in the blog A Life Worth Eating, these gentlemen crank out 10 courses with intriguing  and complex components, including crispy chicken skin, gruyère – comté broth, smoked eggs (from Ko’s signature dish, recipe here & below), riesling gelée, burnt onion powder, smoked beef broth, cured-cooked-flash frozen- then grated foie gras, and a biscuit whose “butter to everything-else ratio is pretty skewed”.

Soft-Cooked Eggs with Onion Soubise, Caviar, and Potato Chips

8 APPETIZER SERVINGS

Recipe by Momofuku Ko (via Bon Appétit)

Ingredients

ONION SOUBISE
• 12 ounces onions (about 2 medium), halved, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

SMOKED EGGS
• 8 large eggs, room temperature
• 3 cups water
• 1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke*

CHIPS AND SALAD
• 4 3×3/4-inch fingerling potatoes (about 4 ounces), scrubbed
• Grapeseed oil (for frying)
• Coarse kosher salt
• 1/2 cup mixed herb leaves (such as 1/4 cup chervil or tarragon, 2 tablespoons parsley, and 2 tablespoons 1-inch pieces fresh chives)
• 2 ounces American hackleback caviar or paddlefish caviar
• Smoked salt or Maldon sea salt
• 4 teaspoons purple sweet potato vinegar (see Ingredient Tip) or Sherry wine vinegar
• *A smoke-flavored liquid seasoning; available at many supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.
     • INGREDIENT TIP: Chef Chang uses Benímosu, a purple sweet potato vinegar, in this dish. The potatoes have deep-purple flesh, but the vinegar is a stunning strawberry red color. The vinegar has an aroma similar to that of Sherry wine vinegar, which makes a good substitute. Home cooks can buy Benímosu at Dean & Deluca ($13 for 4-ounce bottle; deandeluca.com).

Preparation
ONION SOUBISE
• Place all ingredients in small saucepan. Simmer uncovered over lowest possible heat until onions are very tender, and butter and water are reduced to silky sauce, stirring often, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool, cover, and chill. Rewarm before serving.

SMOKED EGGS
• Bring large saucepan of water to boil over high heat. Add eggs to water gently to prevent cracking. Cook 5 minutes. Transfer eggs to large bowl of ice water. When cool enough to handle, crack eggs gently all over on flat surface. Return to ice water and peel carefully. (Do not break eggs; yolks will be runny.)
• Mix 3 cups water and 1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke in large saucepan. Add peeled eggs to water. Cover and chill overnight.

CHIPS AND SALAD
• Using V-slicer or mandoline, thinly slice potatoes crosswise. Rinse potato slices in small bowl of water. Drain. Rinse until water runs clear, 1 or 2 times more. Drain well. Place on kitchen towel; pat dry.
• Pour enough oil into large deep saucepan to measure depth of 1 inch. Attach deep-fry thermometer to side of pan. Heat oil to 360°F. Working in 3 batches, fry potatoes until beginning to brown and crisp, stirring frequently to prevent slices from sticking together, about 1 minute per batch. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towel-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Cool. Transfer to clean paper towels.
• Using slotted spoon, gently transfer eggs to medium bowl. Bring smoked water to gentle simmer over medium heat. Carefully slide eggs from bowl into water. Cook until heated through, about 4 minutes. Rewarm soubise. Mix herbs together in small bowl.
• Spoon generous 2 tablespoons soubise onto each plate, using back of spoon to create small indentation for egg. Divide potato chips among plates, creating small mound alongside soubise. Spoon small pile of herb salad alongside chips and soubise. Place 1 egg atop soubise on each plate. Using small sharp knife, cut 1-inch-long slit in each egg (yolk will spill out). Spoon small dollop of caviar atop yolks, dividing equally. Sprinkle with small pinch smoked salt. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon vinegar alongside soubise on each plate.

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Chef Name: Chef, Cuisine, and Menu change daily, but this particular night featured Celebrity Chef Haim Cohen, Tel Aviv, Israel

Type of Meal:
Hors d’Oeuvres and Dinner – 7pm

Kitchen Prep at the James Beard House

7 experienced servers quickly set our 10 top table filled with glasses and silverware!

Celebrity Chef Haim Cohen, Tel Aviv, Israel does a question and answer with our table! Great interaction with the Chef!

Chef Cohen was asked “How do you like the US products provided for the dinner and are they different than products you typically use at home?” ANSWER: Chef Cohen found the products to be a satisfactory substitute for the ingredients he uses as home, and he was generally impressed with the quality of the products provided. BUT, he did have to make adjustments in cooking times and such because of some textural differences in some of the products. One example was eggplant, a very common ingredient used in his cooking.

Some of What We Enjoyed (Food & Wine):

Tuna Sashimi with Lentil Salad, Fennel, Tomatoes, and Avocado paired with Yarden Viognier 2007

Puff Pastry–Wrapped Crabmeat with Poached Egg paired with Ella Valley Vineyards Chardonnay 2007

Seared Calamari with Hummus and Garbanzo Beans paired with Yarden Pinot Noir 2005

Lamb Chop with Roasted Eggplant and Focaccia paired with Ella Valley RR VC 2004

Rose Water Malabi with Pistachio Cream–Filled Kadaif paired with Yarden Heights 2006

Turkish Coffee Sundae with Shredded Halva and Rice Crispies paired with Yarden Heights 2006

Favorite Dish: As if the night wasn’t impressive enough, we were introduced to a new dessert and two new culinary terms – we love expanding our culinary encyclopedia – especially when it gives us fresh things to test in the Keeper Kitchen! The Malabi with Pistachio Cream Filled Kadaif was an intriguing dessert for us. Malabi (also called Blancmange) is a dairy based dessert similar to one of our favorite treats, panna cotta. It is made with milk, cream, sugar, gelatin, cornstarch, Irish moss, and sometimes flavored with almonds. It is traditionally set in a mold and served cold. Kadaif (also spelled Kataif) is made by layering a specific type of Kadaif pastry dough (similar to shredded phyllo), adding your choice of filling (in this case, an outstanding Pistachio Cream Filling) and baking it until golden brown.

Least Favorite Dish: The Shredded Halva Dessert was a little too sweet for us, especially for the finale dish.

Other Highlights: Being a part of a dinner at the James Beard House was a treat for sure, but to also have that dinner be the first time an Israeli Celebrity Chef is in the “JB House” made the night even more interesting. The chef and his team were very friendly and excited to be there. The four hors d’oeuvres were delightful and almost a meal alone. The best of the four was a lettuce leaf stuffed with barley that was so flavorful that we thought it must have a meat protein in the mix somewhere.  The Keeper Kitchen has recently been testing and educating ourselves on a macrobiotic diet, and this macrobiotic friendly dish only furthered our respect for that cooking style. Chef Haim Cohen is a talented and engaging chef.

Ultimate Question – Would You Go Back If You Lived in NYC? Yes, we would go back. The setting was charming. It felt good to support a good cause. The food was outside of our norm and educational to our palates, which is always a plus.

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Momofuku Ssam Bar & Milk Bar   

207 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003  

ph: 212.254.3500  

Chef Name: Tim Maslow Chef de Cuisine of Ssam Bar, Christina Tosi Pastry Chef/Owner of Milk Bar (see recipe below)  

Type of Meal: Lunch – 1:30 pm – No reservation and walked in with no wait – always a nice surprise  

Ssam Bar Menu

What we Ordered: Ssam Bar Menu, Milk Bar Menu  

Shigkou Oysters with Kimchi

Cured Hamachi with Horseradish & Edamame

Steamed Pork Buns with Hoisin, Cucumbers, and Scallions

Fried Brussel Sprouts with Fish Sauce Vinaigrette & Mint

Spicy Rice Cakes with Pork Sausage, Chinese Broccoli, & Crispy Shallots

Yield: 15 6oz cookies   

INGREDIENTS:  

1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Corn Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Large Eggs
1 3/4 cups AP Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/2 cups Your favorite baking ingredients! – (Kelly used mini chocolate chips, raisinettes, rollos & cocoa krispies)
1 1/2 cups Your favorite snack foods (chips, pretzels, etc) – (Kelly used goldfish, ritz, & fritos)  

DIRECTIONS:  

1. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars and corn syrup on medium high for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.
2. On a lower speed, add eggs and vanilla to incorporate. Increase mixing speed to medium-high and start a timer for 10 minutes. During this time the sugar granules will fully dissolve, the mixture will become an almost pale white color and your creamed mixture will double in size.
3. When time is up, on a lower speed, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix 45-60 sec just until your dough comes together and all remnants of dry ingredients have incorporated. Do not walk away from your mixer during this time or you will risk over mixing the dough. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.
4. On same low speed, add in the hodgepodge of your favorite baking ingredients and mix for 30-45 sec until they evenly mix into the dough. Add in your favorite snack foods last, paddling again on low speed until they are just incorporated.
5. Using a 6oz ice cream scoop, portion cookie dough onto a parchment lined sheetpan.
6. Wrap scooped cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 1 week.
7. DO NOT BAKE your cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.
8. Heat the conventional oven to 400F. (350F in a convection oven)
9. When the oven reads 400F, arrange your chilled cookie dough balls on a parchment or silpat-lined sheetpan a minimum of 4″ apart in any direction.
10. Bake 9-11 min. While in the oven, the cookies will puff, crackle and spread.
11. At 9 min the cookies should be browned on the edges and just beginning to brown towards the center. Leave the cookies in the oven for the additional minutes if these colors don’t match up and your cookies stills seem pale and doughy on the surface.
12. Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan before transferring to a plate or an airtight container or tin for storage. At room temp, cookies will keep fresh 5 days. In the freezer, cookies will keep fresh 1 month.

OTHER RECIPES:  

Momofuku’s Crack Pie from the LA Times  

Momofuku’s Hanger Steak Ssam from WSJ  

Other Various recipes from Time out NY   

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Does this look like a kitchen tool to you?  

Here in the Keeper Kitchen we see- and taste! - a LOT of food. Did you know that we test the recipes in each cookbook before they are published? Because of this, we spend plenty of hours outside the kitchen scouring the aisles of the local grocery stores and markets for ingredients (we could probably navigate the aisles blindfolded by now).  We have just about every cooking tool imaginable to the home cook, and a ridiculously well stocked pantry of spices and staples. Needless to say, we spend even more time inside the kitchen testing, and through this process we find plenty of hits, misses, adjustments, recommendations, revelations and “mmmmmmmmmm”s along the way.  Now don’t get us wrong, we aren’t complaining because getting to cook this often ain’t a bad gig, but it does make for some interesting stories and hard work.

The taste combination we doubted but then loved the most?  

Chef Monica Pope’s Beet Brownies – The beets threw us off a bit, but we stood corrected when they turned out to be the best brownies we’ve ever tasted!  I guess that is why she gets invited to Top Chef Masters and not us!

Beet Brownies with Molasses Caramel Sauce & Meringue Pecans

The most difficult technique we’ve had to break down into steps for our subscribers?  

Typically things like homemade pastas and gnocchis.  Each chef has a slightly different method, but regardless, making these from scratch and shaping it into the different types is an involved process.  It can be difficult to put something that requires so much work of the hands into concise but descriptive enough words for someone who may be trying it for the first time.

Homemade Gnocchi

The most interesting non-cooking challenge we’ve faced while recipe testing?  

Resurrecting a chef’s defunct hard drive to retrieve some irreplaceable recipes! This was truly a test of getting the Taste from the Technology! The chef will remain unnamed, but we can promise that the cookbook is even better than before now that the rescued recipes are in it (see photo “evidence” at the begginning of this blog – can you guess which chef?).  

For continued updates on the trials and tribulations in our test kitchen, follow us on Twitter and Facebook – you just may be inspired by something new that we uncover!

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For a taste of these videos, take a look at How to Trim an Artichoke by Chef David Bull.  Chef Bull told the Keeper Team, “If you’re anything like me, the task of trimming artichokes is daunting and tedious.  From my experience in restaurants when I’ve had to trim cases of artichokes at once, here is a quick and simple technique to help you out.” This video, among others, can be found in Chef Bull’s Crisp Sea Scallop with Artichoke Ragout recipe. 

For other similar “how-to” videos and general recipe demo videos, check out recipes like Pan Seared Lobster with Citrus-Onion Confit, Beef Tartare with Fried Oysters, and Chocolate Almond Silk Tart.

Also, Bull’s Eye on Food is announcing the release of Chef Bull’s famous Pepperoni Soup (or as many people call it, “Pizza Soup”) recipe! The Empty Bowls event in Dallas benefiting the North Texas Food Bank was a huge success, raising a total of $164,102 in just two hours!  He prepared this soup for event attendees and was blown away by the response – so naturally, he wanted to share this Bull family recipe with his cookbook subscribers. Enjoy!

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