An amateur's guide to food and wine in the Clinton Hill and Fort Greene neighborhoods of Brooklyn.

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-10-04 21:30:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

I like to blog about culinary successes–a great dinner party or interesting dessert are fun to write about. If I've taken the time to take some passable pictures, I like sharing them. Writing about food that I enjoy and the process of creating and enjoying it is what keeps me at this infernal endeavor, even if I'm not posting as regularly as I used to (or as much as I'd like). If I'm going to share cooking success, I suppose it's only right that I give you my failures as well. I've never claimed to be a professional, but I like to at least pretend I have some idea what I'm doing. Many of you have disagreed with me on that, so I suppose this one's for you.

We went apple picking recently and ended up with two great big bags of Cortland and Macintosh apples. I've been happily munching away at them for a while, but we'd also planned to do some baking with them, specifically an apple pie. How hard could it be, really? I mean, it's an apple pie. Well, it turns out if you try to use a monstrous 16-inch pie plate that your crazy father gave you, pretty damn hard.

"That's no moon..."

To start, making enough crust for a pie this big is quite a feat. Liv makes the crust in our family, and hers is a delicate dough that requires assembly in pieces almost. Made of nothing more than flour, Crisco, salt, and water, the dough is just barely moist enough to hold together. While this makes for a challenging dough to work with, it also makes for a perfectly flaky crust when baked. That's all well and good when you're working with a 9 or 10-inch pie. But 16 inches makes for a huge amount of crust, especially if you want to attempt to put a lattice on top. Which we tried.

So there's a crust problem. I actually think the bottom of the crust looked great. Liv did a good job of making enough do and assembling it into a nice layer in the pie plate. There wasn't a whole lot left for the top, but we weren't worried about that yet.

Each apple piece is about an inch across, for scale

While the crust is important, I maintain that the most important part of the pie is the filling. How many apples does it take to fill a 16-inch pie plate? Turns out it's somewhere around 30. I lost count after 20 or so. Of course, we took a bit of a shortcut and didn't actually peel all these apples, thinking there shouldn't be anything wrong with a skin-on apple pie. That may have also been a mistake.

Once you've cut up 30 or so apples, you need to season them all for the pie. We thought that the apples were so sweet and juicy that it would be best to cut back on the sugar (probably ok) and water (may have been a mistake). We also added cinnamon and nutmeg, though the exact amounts elude me. Since we ere out of gigantic bowls by this point, the apples and spices were mixed in a garbage bag. This was actually not a mistake, as the tactic worked well.

We tried

We piled the spiced apples into the pie place and then tried mostly in vain to create a lattice-work of dough on top. We didn't have enough dough. We did our best.


The thing about a pie this size is that you actually have to be really careful where in the oven you put it. I initially stuck it on the top rack, thinking, "Well, it fits." Yes, you dimwit, it fits, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea. See how it's all..dark and almost burnt in places? That was after 10 minutes in the oven. Thankfully, I notices and moved it down to a lower rack, but we have a feeling a lot of the damage was done during this crucial early baking phase. Lots of the moisture both in the crust and apples was likely sucked away, never to be seen again. Alas.


Now, what actually came out of the oven turned out pretty good–we ate a bunch of it and will certainly enjoy the rest. But to liken it to an apple pie would be disingenuous, I think. One doesn't really take a "slice" of this dessert. It's more a pile. "Would you like a pile of pie?" one might ask. "Yes, please hand me a mound, with a dollop of iced cream, would you?"

So, not a rousing success. Thankfully, we have another seven or eight pounds of it left.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-09-16 23:56:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Wow, that was some weather, eh? I've been tweeting about it, but I figured I'd post some stuff up here, too. Hope everyone made it safely through what was apparently a wicked little Brooklyn tornado.

Here's a car on my street that did not survive.

And here's some video I took during the worst of it. The loud sounds are hail hitting my windows.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-09-14 16:03:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Making ravioli from scratch is something I've been meaning to do ever since I first started making my own pasta dough. It's not that it's really all that hard, but it's just one of those things I've never gotten around to. Well, Liv finally put her foot down this weekend and demanded homemade ravioli on Saturday night. The recipe was a bit of a mishmash from a few different sources as well as some improvisation, but it ended up working well. According to Olivia, "This was the best thing you've ever cooked for me." I guess I did good.

Five Cheese Ravioli

Ingredients:

1lb fresh pasta dough. You can get my recipe here.
2 eggs, lightly beaten plus a tbsp of water for egg wash

For Filling:

12 oz ricotta
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella
1/3 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1/3 cup grated pecorino romano
1/3 cup grated provologne
3 eggs
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste


Directions:

Make the pasta dough.

Cut and roll into sheets. Do your best to make the sheets about the same size and shape, or at least symmetrical so you can cut each in half and have a good match for placing one on top of another.

For the filling, combine the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix together using a fork until combined.

To make the ravioli, place 1 tbsp dollops of the filling on a sheet of pasta, 1-2 inches apart. Brush the egg wash onto a separate sheet and then lay it over the sheet with the dollops of filling.

Gently seal the pasta around the filling, then cut with a knife or ravioli cutter. I used a knife and then the prongs of a fork to seal around the edges.

Place the ravioli on a paper towel (they'll stick to a plate, as I found out). You can stack the ravioli, but make sure to have a paper towel between each layer. Continue until you've used up all of the pasta or the filling.

Have your sauce pretty much ready to go, as well as everything else you're going to be eating, before you think about cooking the ravioli. Like most fresh pasta, these cook extremely quickly–1-2 minutes–so you want to make sure this is the last thing you do before eating. Place as many ravioli as you can into a pot of boiling, salted water. Remove with a slotted spoon after about 2 minutes–they'll hopefully be floating after they're cooked.

I recommend not trying to cook all of the ravioli at once, but rather do them in batches so that you're not putting one ones in while the first ones are done. This is up to you though, but managing these properly can be a little tricky.

Once they're done, plate them and add whatever sauce you like.

It looks pretty simple, but with making the pasta it ends up being a pretty significant amount of work. Turned out amazing, though, and was instantly one of my favorite dishes ever. We used an amazing meat sauce that Olivia's mom made last weekend, and the combination made each ravioli taste like a little lasagna.



To go along with the pasta, we had a small appetizer of some incredible Moroccan bread we picked up at the Fort Greene Farmer's Market. After warming the bread up in the oven, we topped it with a portobello mushroom and roasted pepper salad.






We also picked up these beautiful heirloom tomatoes at the market and made a quick caprese salad using basil from the garden, fresh mozzarella, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. As you can see, the tomatoes were so massive that we made far too much.


While it was a lot of work, this turned out to be one of my favorite recipes ever. I've got a few more ideas for ravioli as we get into the fall, so stay tuned.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-09-13 12:33:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

I guess it's still technically summer, but with the weather finally cooling off a bit and the leaves starting to change, we found ourselves in a risotto mood the other night. There was nothing particularly interesting about this risotto (you can follow any of my other posted recipes) other than that I got to use a bit of truffle-infused olive oil that Olivia and her mother brought back for me from France.


Really excellent stuff, that. Other than that, it was a simple mushroom risotto, though not as good as I'd have hoped which I'm owing to my having run out of porcini mushrooms.



To go along with the risotto was a cucumber, tomato and feta salad concocted from what we picked up at the Myrtle Ave farm stand the other day.


To drink, a Pouilly Fuissé. Can't go wrong, there.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-09-10 13:47:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Via The Local, it looks like the Greene Hill Food Co-Op has gotten its lease for the space on Putnam between Grand and Downing. Were you on the fence about signing up? I think you might have been, but now you have no excuse.

Sign up, dammit.

http://www.greenehillfoodcoop.com/

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-09-09 12:30:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-09-08 23:00:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

A stalwart bastion of Frenchness in Fort Greene, Chez Oskar's one restaurant everyone will get to at some point. I've been a few times, though not since starting this blog, which is why I never got around to reviewing it. Does it really need a review, though? I mean, Chez Oskar's not going anywhere, and if you're ever considering going after some French food in the neighborhood, you're going to consider Chez Oskar. Eventually you'll go, and you'll probably enjoy yourself.

As French fare goes, I actually preferred Loulou when it was around. I'm not sure if the food was any better, but I really liked the more intimate atmosphere, especially the back yard area. It's been replaced by an Italian restaurant called Dino, though, so if you want French you're probably going to head across the street to Chez Oskar, or maybe up to Myrtle for its sister café Chez Lola. Either way, you'll be chowing on some Chez.

Olivia's a new transplant for Fort Greene, so she'd never actually had any Chez in her life to this point. The other night I figured it was time to put a stop to that and head over to Chez Oskar, which I will document henceforth. Liv's got some experience with French food, as you may remember, so I was really curious about her opinion of our version. We weren't super hungry, so it wasn't a big meal–just an appetizer, a couple of entreés, and a few drinks.



To start, the Vegetable and Goat Cheese Terrine Gratinee that was really impressive with the way it combined a variety of flavors. The goat cheese was very pungent and tasty, and since it was warm it was partially melted. Combined with the vegetables and the bread it was a super tasty way to start the meal.


I had soft shell crab as my main course, which I was less thrilled with. I overreached a bit in going for something interesting, and when it arrived I immediately realized that I wasn't in the mood for soft shell crab at all. Sometimes I am, and I'm sure had that been the case that I would have enjoyed it. This night, however, was not one of those times, and I kind of had to fight my way through it.


Liv did much better by picking the rabbit, which was absolutely perfect. Rabbit's another one of those meats that you tend to love or hate, and we both love it and thought this was a great example. Delicate and buttery and not too heavy, while still feeling hearty, if that makes any sense. I'm not sure it does, but it's what I'm going with.

If you want traditional French food in our part of Brooklyn, Chez Oskar does a good job of fitting the bill. Price-wise, it's right in line with all of the local restaurants, and there's a great wine list if you feel so inclined–I just had a glass of the house pinot while we were there. It was good, but not great, but the price was right. Loulou will be missed, but it's good to know Chez Oskar will always be here.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-09-05 13:28:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Wow, am I behind on posts. I have a few of them in the queue, including a couple of new (for me) restaurant reviews.  More on that later, but for now let's take a look at my first visit to the Myrtle Ave farm stand, which started up a couple of months ago on Thursday evenings.


The farm stand is a great idea, and it's always nice to have more options for local and sustainable food.  The Greene Hill Food Co-op is also using the stand as an opportunity to recruit new members, so there's another reason to stop by if you haven't yet.


The stand itself isn't massive, but what's there looked great.  We picked up a few tomatoes, some green lettuce, and a ginormous cucumber that dwarfed everything else.  I loved the tomatoes and the cucumber, but the lettuce turned out to be kind of soft and disappointing.  Maybe I'm just picky about lettuce.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-08-11 12:52:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Things are pretty good in the House of Brian these days.  Great job, a new dog, and it's almost football season.

Still, all is not well, for the lovely and talented Olivia has been gone for the better part of a month, gallivanting around Europe without me.  Right now she's hopping from hostel to hostel in Ireland, but before that?  Before that she was livin' the dream, man.  Olivia and her mother spent a week on a biking and wine tour in Provence.  I'd say more, but what more really needs to be said?  They ate, they drank, they biked.  Sounds like a perfect holiday to me.


They were kind enough to pass along some pictures, I imagine chosen specifically to make me frothy with jealousy.  They chose wisely, assuming that was their goal.

This was our first meal in Provence - all of the meals have about 5 courses. This one had quite a lot.

First picture is the Amuse-bouche, literally meaning to amuse the mouth - in this case, a salmon sashimi with a garlic cream and seasonal veggies and a cold melon soup.

Second picture is the appetizer - again, sushi-related, with rice, seaweed, avocado, with a tomato jelly below and tomato sorbet on top.

The third is the main course - lamb with seasonal vegetables, cooked to perfection and delicious

The fourth is a collection of pre-desserts - meringue cookies, nougat cookies, mini fruit tarts and violet lolly pops (not shown)

The fifth is the real dessert - custard with graham cracker and chocolate, plus strawberry sorbet on top.

Looks tasty.  How about another entire meal?

Appetizer of sea scallops uncooked except for some citrus juice, atop seasonal vegetables.

Fois gras with tomatoes stuffed with tomato jelly (my mom's appetizer).

Cod fillet with sauteed fava beans, topped with peppers and a wonderful candied lemon slice (I ate the entire slice). On the side is a tomato sorbet.

Mint-infused chocolate mousse with dark chocolate pieces, topped with an unbelievable fresh candied mint leaf.

Fresh raspberries atop custard and cookie with ice cream (my mom's dessert, also superb, but not quite beating mine).

The jealousy runs deep, I tell 'ya.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-08-06 17:48:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Like food?  How about fresh food?  Live anywhere near Myrtle Ave?  If so, this event might be for you!

Celebrate fresh food at the Myrtle Eats Fresh Kick-Off Event!

MARP’s Myrtle Eats Fresh initiative includes a number of projects that engage community members in activities to improve access to healthy, affordable food on Myrtle Avenue, and in the surrounding neighborhoods of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Projects include a community-run farm stand, a community chef program, creating and expanding community gardens on public housing grounds, and the formation of a local food policy task force.

Join us to learn more about the program and celebrate the inaugural season of the Myrtle Farm Stand, and meet the community members, project partners and MARP staff involved in making it all happen!

When: Thursday, August 12, 2010
Time: 4:30pm
Where: Myrtle Avenue Farm Stand, at the Ingersoll Community Center, 177 Myrtle Avenue (Prince/Navy)

Please RSVP: Joanna Reynolds, 718.230.1689 or joanna@myrtleavenue.org

Light refreshments will be served.

Events:

• KICK-OFF SPECIAL! Spend at least $8 and get an additional $2 free produce!
• Cooking Demo by Community Chef Jasmine Reaves
• Meet gardeners from Ingersoll Garden of Eden
• Free face painting with Dumeha Bernice of ParaLee’s Peace

The Myrtle Eats Fresh Initiative is supported by New York Community Trust and Atlantic Philanthropies as part of the New York City Community Experience Partnership (CEP), a collaboration with United Neighborhood Houses of New York (UNH), with additional support from Brooklyn Community Foundation.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-08-05 18:59:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

For a while i haven't had any good way to get in touch to with me through the blog - you either had to leave a comment with your contact info (not ideal) or join Twitter and DM or something (also not ideal).  Well, I've come up with a solution I think will work: Contact Me Page.

Just use this page to contact me if you need to.  There's also a link over there on the right. Hope that helps.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-08-03 12:30:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Roman's is the new (-ish) Italian restaurant on Dekalb that replaced Bonita.  It's another in the growing list of places that I've been meaning to get to but have simply been unable or unwilling to drag mass into and review.  Thankfully, I am blessed to have such people in my life as my friend Shannon, who recently demanded that we go out and try Roman's since she'd apparently heard some good things.  I acquiesced.

I think one of the things that had been turning me off about Roman's was its austere facade–it's just black block letters on a stainless steel panel above the door.  It looked very plain, I guess.  I readily admit that's a stupid reason not to go to a restaurant, but I'm being honest here.  It just didn't look like much from the outside, and so I always talked myself into walking down the block to Cornerstone or Kif, or across the street to iCi.

It turns out that what Roman's lacks in panache it makes up for with good food.  The menu is set up in a traditional Italian manner with small items designed to be eaten as 3-4 courses.  While this is a great way to build your own meal, it does end up making things a bit pricier than they may seem at first.  The dishes are small, and you're going to need a few of them.


We started by sharing the Roasted Beets with Pickled Watermelon and Fennel, which was a unique take on antipasto and perfect for summer.


Next, we each had a pasta dish which served as our main course.  I had the Pennine with Summer Squash, Butter, and Parmigiano, and Shannon had the Papardelle with Ragu.  Both were compact, interesting dishes that combined a variety of really interesting flavors.  Of the two, I think I'd go for the papardelle over the pennine were I faced with the choice again.


Not hungry enough for a full third course, but not completely satiated, we decided to get some roasted pea pods and cherry tomatoes (not having the menu, I forget its actual title and I think it was a special).  Again, very good,but I think the roasted beats carried the day.

Roman's has a fully-stocked bar and some interesting wine and cocktail choices, which we took full advantage of.  It certainly added to the tab quickly, though, and a small meal for two ended up over $100.

Roman's is a great little place with an interesting menu that seems to change pretty often, so it may be worth popping in on a regular basis to see what they have.  There's never very much to choose from, but that's fine with me as long as what's there is good.  It's a little pricey, and for the money I'd have to think very hard about passing up iCi or No. 7, but Roman's is another great choice in a neighborhood that seems to get more by the day.

Information:

Roman's
243 Dekalb Ave
Brooklyn, NY
718.622.5300
http://romansnyc.com

Google Map

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-08-02 19:20:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

I think the first time I mentioned making a flourless chocolate cake on this blog was back in November of 2008 after making a pumpkin cheesecake.  I'd recently tried a flourless chocolate at a restaurant in Chelsea and had completely fallen in love.

For some reason, I never actually got around to making it until now.  I needed a dessert for a party recently and decided that yes, I'd finally make what I consider the Holy Grail of chocolate cakes.  Mine didn't come out exactly as I was hoping, but I think it was a good first effort and a first step toward future greatness.

Flourless Chocolate Cake
Adapted from this recipe at food.com


Ingredients:

12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 (12 ounce) bittersweet chocolate
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 large eggs (separated)
3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Oil and flour a 9-inch springform cake round.  Cut a piece of wax paper or parchment to fit inside the bottom of the pan, place the paper in the bottom of the pan.

In a double-boiler on gentle heat (I used a makeshift double boiler out of a small pot and a metal bowl), melt the butter and chocolate together until smooth.  Set aside to cool slightly.

In a clean mixing bowl (make sure there is no oil residue on the bowl or mixer attachments) beat the egg whites until they become cloudy and frothy; about 30 seconds.  Continue beating while adding the brown sugar and cream of tartar.

Beat until stiff peaks form–be careful not to over-beat–this is most important!  If the eggs curdle, throw them away and start over with new egg whites, seriously.  (I think I may have over-beat the eggs slightly).

Whisk the egg yolks and vanilla into the melted chocolate mixture in a large mixing bowl.  Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate (start by folding in about 1/3rd of the whites, then gently fold in the remaining whites), the mixture should end up fluffy and light.

Pour into the prepared pan.

Place a casserole dish filled with 1-2 inches of water on the bottom rack of your oven.  Place the cake on the middle rack to cook.  Bake the cake for about 60-70 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.  (I baked mine a little too long - start looking closely at around 45-50 minutes)

Remove cake from oven and allow to cool for about an hour.  Gently run a knife around the edge of the pan, and then carefully invert the cake onto a flat plate or other surface.

Remove the paper from the bottom (now the top) of the cake.

The cake can be eaten right away but it may fall slightly when it is cut- for best results, it should be refrigerated for at least 6 hours before serving.

So my version came out a little...irregular.  It was still very good, but it basically exploded out of the pan rather than making a nice, dense tort.  I think I cooked it too long along with over-beaten the eggs.  Was it good?  Yes, it was.  Was it what I was hoping for?  No, and I'm looking forward to trying again and getting it right.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-07-16 19:30:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

I've spent a lot of time documenting my anticipation, excitement, and eventual disappointment with Fresh Fanatic over the last year or so.  When I last visited, I got so fed up with poor service, inadequate selection, and the incomprehensible organization that I just gave up and stopped going.  The other day I stopped in again, though, and they're starting to win me back.

The selection of goods seems to be better now, for one.  I've been back a couple of times in the last week and have yet to not be able to find something I'm looking for.  This is a good thing, because if I have to make a trip to another grocer to complete my shopping, I'm not going to bother with FF to begin with.

The service seems better - much closer to what it was when they first opened.  Everyone I've interacted with recently has been friendly and helpful.  I no longer feel ignored or as if my very presence is a burden.  This is also a good thing.

The prices and organization still leave a lot to be desired, though.  The prices I can understand to some extent - they're going for high-quality organic ingredients, and them's not cheap.  But every single item they sell seems to be priced at close to the maximum they can get away with, so shopping there does end up feeling like an extravagance.  Since they only stock a single brand of most items, it's not like you have a choice, either.  Don't want to pay $4.99 for half a gallon of milk?  Tough nuts, cowboy.  That same half-gallon is $3.79 at the Park Slope Key Food, by the way.

Still also not a fan of how the produce is divided - sometimes you're looking at organic ($$) stuff, while other times you're not, and there's no good way to figure out if they have a cheaper version somewhere around a corner that you're not noticing.  This problem is somewhat solved by the store being relatively small, but it's still annoying and it took me 15 minutes to find granola today.


So all that is still annoying, but a lot has changed.  They have reorganized things a bit, so it doesn't feel like there's much wasted space.  The selection of products seems to have stopped changing so rapidly, and everything is there, (I think).  Oh, they also have beer finally.  They have a pretty good selection but it's all predictably priced at the high end.  $9.99 for a sixer of Amstel Light?  $10.99 for Sam Adams?  The Associated on Myrtle is still a better bet for your boozing needs.  They do carry Stumptown coffee now, though.  Good Times.


So, I guess I'm back to recommending Fresh Fanatic again.  There are still a few caveats and it's still too expensive, but prices aside, I'm not sure there's a nicer grocery store to walk through in the neighborhood, and I'll be heading back somewhat regularly, even if I won't be doing my regular shopping there.

Until they piss me off again.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-07-16 13:31:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Not that they did anything special, mind you, but Clinton Hill Blog got in and tried the new restaurant that's replaced Loulou: Dino.  Longtime readers will remember my great fondness for Loulou and my despair at its passing, so it will be with a critical eye that I examine Dino.

For the time being, go read up on what Lesterhead thinks.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-07-16 00:28:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

I'm not sure there's a more famous restaurant in Clinton Hill than Jive Turkey, which seems to be featured on the Food Network once a year or so.  They recently closed up shop to move down the block, and now they're open again, this time between Emerson and Classon.

Go forth and get ye some deep-fried turkey and fixins!

[Thanks to Myrtle Minutes for the heads up and the picture]

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-07-14 12:45:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

I love eggplant parmesan.  I didn't always, but a few years ago I tried making one for the first time and fell head over heels.  It's not something I tackle that often, though, because it's a major time investment for me and by the end it's possible I'll be cranky, tired, and not hungry any more.

Still, it's worth it.

Liv has been bugging me to make one for a while, and since she'll be departing for an extended vacation soon (without me), I figured now's as good a time as any.  As luck would have it, we stopped by the Fort Greene farmer's market on Saturday and found some gorgeous eggplant.

My fate was sealed.

Something to note before I dive in–I highly recommend that if you're going to make this that you do it on a day when you have ample free time.  The way I make it, it's a long process, and I made the mistake of making this on a Monday night when I really needed to get to bed early, so I felt rushed the whole time.  Feeling rushed is no fun and is no way to enjoy eating, so try and give yourself an afternoon to do this.  Another option is to get it ready to bake, then wait and actually finish it off the next day.

Without further ado:

Brian's Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

2 lbs fresh eggplant (about two large ones from the grocery store or four smaller ones from a farmers' market)
1.5-2 lbs fresh mozzarella (two balls) sliced into 1/4" slices
1 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes or tomato puree
1-2 tbsp mined garlic
Olive oil
6-10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1-2 fresh sage leaves, crushed or chopped
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Peel the eggplants and slice them in 1/4-inch slices.  Some people like them thicker, but I don't.  Slices this thin create more work (because you end up with more slices), but I personally think it's worth it.  Place a layer of eggplant slices in a colander in your sink, and liberally sprinkle kosher salt over them.  Continue to layer in eggplant and salt until all of the eggplant is in the colander, then stack some plates on them to drain.  The idea is to pull out as much moisture from the eggplant as possible.  Let the eggplant drain for 1-2 hours.

While the eggplant is draining, you can start the sauce.  In a heavy-bottomed pot or saucepan, heat up 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and add the minces garlic.  Once the garlic is soft, add the tomatoes and crushed or chopped sage leaves, and a little salt and pepper to taste.  Let this simmer while you're draining the eggplant, stirring from time to time.

When the eggplant is drained, remove the slices and brush off any excess salt.  Lay the slices on paper towels to drain further.  You can even put another paper town over them to pull off more moisture.

In one bowl, combine the flour and breadcrumbs, and have the beaten eggs in another.  Put about half an inch of olive oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.  When the oil is simmering, dredge each eggplant slice first in the flour/breadcrumb mixture then in the egg, then place in the hot oil.  Cook each slice until golden brown on each side, then remove and set on paper towels.  Do this for all the eggplant slices.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Once the sauce has cooked for a while and the eggplant is all fried, you're ready to begin final assembly.  Start with a thin layer of sauce along the bottom of the dish, following by a layer of eggplant, then a layer of mozzarella cheese, parmigiano reggiano, and basil.  Do this 2 more times, finishing it off with all of the remaining cheese and basil.

Bake for 30 minutes, until te top layer of cheese begins to brown.  Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

There you have it.  It's one of my favorite dishes, but it's really something I prefer not to attempt on a weekday evening because of how long I spend with it.  Sure, you can spend less time draining the eggplant or use thicker slices so there's less to fry, but some things are worth taking your time with.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-07-09 21:00:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Black Swan flew in (ha!) a bit under my radar.  I had no idea it existed until seeing it mentioned on Clinton HIll Blog recently, after which I noticed that Babes Who Brunch had already written it up.  Since it's really close by, I regret by being beaten to the punch.  Twice.  By girls.

Kudos to them, though, and I'm glad someone finally let me know about it at any rate.  Last night I gave it a try for the first time.


Black Swan's atmosphere is a bit mixed, like it can't decide if it would rather be a restaurant or a bar.  It's a long, narrow space divided in half, with a short corridor bordering the kitchen connecting the two spaces.  Up front is a good looking but small bar, with a great beer list and what looked like decent liquor, though I didn't give it a close inspection.  In the back is a restaurant that while nice, feels more like a tavern than anything else.  The high wood booths, long tables, and butcher paper placemats send a very "pub food" message.  I liked it though, and I think it would make a good place to watch a bit game.  With a special going on for the stupid Lebron special as well as huge signage for the World Cup, they seem to have the same idea.

One thing I really didn't like about the physical space was the seating in the booths.  The benches are unconscionably narrow, making it feel like you're perched on a ledge the whole time.  That's no way to enjoy a meal!  I feel like maybe it should be a minor thing, but my ass was killing me by the end of dinner and it really affected my enjoyment of the night.  Aside from the booths and long tables with benches, there were a number of traditional tables.  I suggest you demand one of those if you stop in.

The menu is brisk - it'll take you more time to decide on a beer or bottle of wine than it will to pick your food, I imagine.  That's more a reflection on the extensive beer and wine lists than it is a criticism of the menu, though.  Many of my favorite neighborhood restaurants have really brief menus, and I'd always rather have a few great choices than 15 pages of uninspired nincompoopery.

Liv did mention that it would have been nice to have a specialty cocktail menu.  I told her they'd make whatever she wanted, but I guess she needs interesting drink names (The Excelsior!) and odd liquor combinations (passion fruit schnapps, Asian pear bitters, and just a *hint* of Central American vodka!) to be happy.



How about the food?  To start, we had fried catfish fingers which were on special.  I've now had catfish fingers/fritters at three neighborhood restaurants, and while these were certainly good and worth ordering, I'm not sure they're better than the fritters at EN or the fingers at Two Steps Down.  They were very spicy and I have no real complaints, but both EN and Two Steps Down blew me away with theirs.  Still, I'd order these ones again.


For her entree, Liv had the Curry Chicken Salad Sandwich, which came with some uninspired mixed greens.  The actual chicken salad was very interesting and didn't disappoint, but it came on this roll for which it was really ill-suited.  The roll was big and dense and with every bite it felt like you got way more bun than anything else.  For this kind of sandwich I'd have much preferred something like the light, crispy brioche roll that Poppa's Place (or Cornerstone or whatever it's called now) uses for their pulled pork sandwich.  Liv suggested a thin piece of rye might do the trick, and I agreed.  Anything but this massive whole where sponge.  The dish was made better by tossing half the bun aside, frankly.


I had the BK Chop, and it was really good.  It came with candied sweet potatoes and spicy green beans, and the sweet potatoes especially were really great.  While expensive, it's a good pork chop and I'd recommend it.

The menu also had good-sounding burger and a spicy chicken dish that was tempting, as well as a couple of steaks.  Nothing really jumped out at me, but if the burger's good I could see Black Swan becoming a good "burger and a beer" place to watch a game.  For $17 you can get the burger and a Six Point Righteous Ale, and that's not a bad way to spend $17.

Black Swan was a little disappointing in some ways, but I'm not really sure what I was expecting.  It's a little classier than your typical bar food joint, but I'm not sure if that makes it a better choice than Rustik or the Brooklyn Public House.  It's more expensive, and the food didn't really blow me away.  If you live close by, definitely give it a try, but I'm not sure it's a better place to watch a game than Moe's or Mullane's and the food isn't as good as Cornerstone, Aqualis, or Number 7, while still being in that general price range.  Not bad, but hard to justify a long trip out with so many other good options nearby.

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-07-05 17:22:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

In some parts of the Northeastern United States, there are those who whisper tales of baked goods like no other.  Few claim to have ever tried them personally, but everyone seems to know someone who has.  Over the years the legend has changed a bit, but parts of it always remain the same: They're yellow.  And square.  And there's lemon in there, somewhere.


This weekend I had a chance to try these legendary treats.  "Are these they," I inquired?

"They are."

Olivia's Famous Lemon Squares
Adapted from Yankee Magazine's Just Desserts

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar  + more for dusting
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 tbsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together flour and 1/4 cup confectioners sugar. Cut in the butter until the mixture has the consistency of cornmeal. Press mixture evenly on bottom of an ungreased 9-inch square pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

While that is baking, beat the eggs, white sugar, salt, baking powder and lemon juice together until light and fluffy. Pour on to hot, partially baked crust. Return to oven and bake for 25 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Read More...

Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-07-03 12:02:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

I had a rough night on Halloween, 1997.  I was a sophomore in college at Colgate University, and Halloween happened to fall on a Friday that year.  Instead of reliving the (very) gory details of the evening, I'll just say that I imbibed.

The next day was a painful one because of the massive and enduring hangover I suffered.  The pain didn't last all that long, though, because at some point in the afternoon, my Friend Lindsay convinced me to go out and get a cat.  Why she thought a cat would be a suitable cure for a hangover still escapes me, but sound reasoning in general often escapes Lindsay.  And me, for that matter.

Upstate, NY in November is a dreary, cold place filled with heartbreak and despair.  We drove all over creation that evening looking for a cat hospital that would let me adopt a cat.  "You live in a dorm," they said!  "You're obviously an idiot, and you can't have a cat in a dorm," they kept saying!  Of course, they were right, but I was 19, hung over, and determined.  While I wanted to adopt a cat, I also din't want to return home without one.  We ended up at a pet store in the Sangertown Square mall in New Hartford, NY, where I found Trip.

I'd never owned a cat before, having always wanted one as a kid but never having those desires indulged by my parents.  Dog?  Check - we had a Lhasa Apso named Wicket who hated water and cars, barely knew his name and liked to crap on the carpet.  Throughout my childhood I also had a turtle (Oscar Moron), two white rats (Herbert and Houdini), a sparrow (Little Man), and two parakeets (James and Rita).  But never a cat - for that I'd need a hangover and some poorly-considered advice from a friend, apparently.

Trip's name was almost Dexter, actually.  Third place was Mr. Biggelsworth, as we were all just thrilled with Austin Powers at the time.  Thank Jebus that one didn't make it.  It made sense to me at the time because it could have been shortened to Biggs, which appealed to me as a Star Wars reference, but in the end I thought better of naming Trip after a movie cat, which I think speaks to my character.

Trip's first night was spent mostly just running up and down my bed, chasing either my feet or my hands under the covers.  When he finally did fall asleep, it was perched on the pillow right above my head.  While this might have been convenient for him, it meant that when he was startled awake (which happened a number of times), head immediately extend all of his claws and grab hold for dear life.  My head wasn't pleased, as Trip had very sharp little kitten claws.

Sleeping on me would be something that lasted with Trip for most of his life.  When he was little, and broken of the habit of head-clawing, he used to sleep on my chest or neck for as long as he could, usually being tossed aside once I rolled over.  I still remember the afternoon at my parents' house during the summer when he was suddenly too big to do this.  He tried to fall asleep on my neck and was just too big - I had to tell him it wasn't going to happen anymore, buddy.  Still, for the next 13 years Trip was always pretty happy sleeping on me, somehow.

Trip was a biter.  Some cats will bit playfully, while others will just lick you.  Trip would grab hold of your hand and bite like you slapped his sister.  In college, this meant Trip was always called, "weird."  Later in life, it manifested as "holy shit that's a cantankerous cat."  He was a pretty big cat (for a while I told people he was part lynx), and extremely strong, so if he got you, it hurt like a bitch.  The thing is, Trip was just not a fan of most people who weren't me.  He also did play rough - he was an upstate barn cat, and that's just the way they roll.  He'd get me from time to time, but he was always just playing.  With others, though?  Yeah, that could hurt.  Trip just didn't give a hoot about anyone except me, and I was always pretty fine with that.

Trip was also a yeller.  He didn't start out that way, though.  When he was little, he could barely make a sound at all.  He'd open his mouth and nothing would come out.  As he got a little older, he started to meow a bit, but it was the most pathetic thing you'd ever heard.  We'd try to get him to meow just to hear it - it was the sound of a cartoon mouse dying of heartbreak.  To that end, I'd always encourage him to meow.  When I'd come home every day, he'd try to say hello and I'd meow right back.  This positive reinforcement turned out to be an interesting choice, because after a few years, Trip found his voice.  And he used it.  For anything.  When he got older, I had to put him on a strict diet, which meant only getting fed twice a day instead of a 24-hour food bowl available at all times.  Dear lord, the cacophony.  I think after a while he probably thought his name was, "Shut up, Trip."

I had a friend named Pete who stayed with me for a few months while we were, let's say, "between career opportunities."  Pete needed a couch and I happened to have one, so it was a great fit.  Unfortunately, Pete was allergic to cats, but in the end, free couch > cats. Our financial situations weren't really, "solid," in those days, so we had to scrimp and save to even afford White Castle (which was so worth it).  After a month or two, Pete decided it was really time to give his stinky-ass clothes a good wash, and used what little money he had to do two loads of laundry, folding it all neatly in his duffle bag.  This turned out to be a poor place to store clean laundry, as Trip decided "clean laundry" really meant "second litter box."  Poor Pete's clothes were clean no longer.

Trip peed on lots of stuff he shouldn't have.  That's all I have to say about that.

Trip had a scare a few years ago when I woke up to find him sprawled on the bathroom floor, not moving and not looking well at all.  I didn't have a car at the time, so I called a car service and got him to the Forest Hills Cat Hospital as fast as I could.  It turned out he had a urinary tract blockage, which was serious but treatable if they could get a catheter in.  Because it was Trip, that proved extremely difficult.  Because he was so big and strong and distrusting of everyone not me, he did not do well at the vet at all.  While they did finally get the catheter in and he passed the blockage and was just find (after a week), the hospital told me that they'd never seen a cat that was so difficult to work with.  Trip was just not pleased to be anywhere but home, and he was just fine letting everyone know that.

Two months ago, Trip seemed to be losing weight kind of alarmingly fast and was having trouble breathing.  I took him to the Clinton Hill Animal Clinic for what I thought would be a routine checkup, but turned out to be must worse.  They said his lungs and chest cavity were filled with fluid, and I needed to get him to the emergency hospital as fast as possible.  That was the first time I had to think about losing him.

Turned out, he wasn't in good shape.  One of the chambers of his heart was failing, and no matter what they did, they couldn't really keep the fluid out of his lungs.  They wanted to do a bevy of tests and keep him for a few more days (they'd already kept him overnight), but they couldn't really tell me what good it would do.  He was sick no matter what.  I knew how much he hated being there, and how stressful it must have been for him.  I'm not a doctor, but I know stress isn't good for your heart, so I went to bring him home, even if was over the objections of the vet.

A funny thing happened by the time I got there, though.  He was suddenly responding much better to the medicine he was getting, and they thought maybe it might actually make sense to send him home.  When I walked into the room to see him, the vet said the change in him was night and day.  Like before, they'd told me he was one of the most difficult cats they'd ever seen - even with a failing heart - but once I showed up he settled down and they even got his IV out without sedating him.  All Trip wanted was to go home.  Despite the encouragement, the vet told me he probably only had a few weeks to a month at best.

Trip passed away yesterday afternoon, after two months of fighting a broken heart.  He'd been having good days and bad days, but he'd been truckin' along ok.  I honestly thought he'd confound everyone and live another few months.  Thursday he had a bit of a bad day, so we decided he'd sleep alone in my room with us, much to the chagrin of both the dog and my other cat, Seven.  Trip had one great last night, sleeping next to me like he wanted and purring the whole night.  After breakfast the next day, he took one last walk down stairs, where his heart finally gave up.

Trip was a great cat, and he'll be missed.

If you ever met him, please feel free to talk about it in this post.  Because of a computer disaster a few years ago, the one above is currently the only picture I can find of him, but I'm going to be scouring some old backup discs to see what else I can find.  If you happen to have any pictures of him, please take a moment to send them along.

Read More...