October 2004
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Month October 2004

Entries 5 Total

Pumpkin Ravioli with Maitake

Oct 21, ’04

Di Palo’s in New York City sells different kinds of pasta. In the fall, I like to pick up their pumpkin ravioli and buy mushrooms from the farmers’ market to match. Maitake mushrooms, also called hen of the woods mushrooms, are capless and look more like a cluster of wings. They’re very fragrant and can get expensive when they’re in season. You can substitute shiitake mushrooms if you don’t have access to them.

Ingredients:
1 package of pumpkin ravioli
a few ounces of maitake mushrooms
3 garlic cloves, minced
half a stick of butter
salt, ground white pepper

1. Add ravioli in salted boiling water. Remove and drain after 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a skillet, sauté garlic in butter until light brown. Add mushrooms until tender. Serve along with the ravioli.

Related post/s:
Where to buy pumpkin ravioli
What else can I use maitake mushrooms for?

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Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca

Oct 14, ’04

110 Waverly Place between MacDougal and Sixth
212/777.0303
about $200 for two, with a few drinks, with tip
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Our first time at Babbo, we went all out, asked questions about never-heard words written on the menu (braciole! francobolli! scottadita!) and picked out a bottle of red wine to match. I started with spicy lamb tartare with mint crostini and a quail egg in the middle. It killed me.
The boy chose the grilled octopus with “borlotti marinati” and spicy limoncello vinaigrette. You know how octopus can be chewy sometimes even in the best Japanese restaurants? This was perfectly tender.

For primi, I had the one-pound lobster with spicy budding chives, sweet garlic and what seemed to be four pounds of spaghettini. The boy opted for beef cheek ravioli with crushed squab liver and black truffles. I was so full after all that, sharing the secondi became a good call: guinea hen braciole with favas and pecorino.

Ufortunately, we had to draw the line on desserts. There was just no way I could have squeezed in another bite but our waiter gave us complementary cookies anyway.

On our second visit, we managed to control ourselves. We decided to share a lot of the offal starters since we knew the pasta dishes were too much for us. We finished the night with four of the best dishes we’ve eaten in our lives:

Warm lamb’s tongue vinaigrette with chanterelles, pecorino Toscano and a 3-minute egg
Calf’s brain “Francobolli” with lemon and sage
Goose liver ravioli with balsamic vinegar and brown butter
Fennel-dusted sweetbreads with sweet and sour onions, duck bacon and membrillo vinegar

Sharing the appetizers was definitely the way to go. It allowed us to get a better sense of the Mario Batali behind Babbo.

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Portobello Salad with Smoked Yellow Peppers

Oct 9, ’04

This is one of my favorite salads. The yellow bell pepper adds a sweetness to it while the portobello mushrooms make it beefier. I don’t have a grill outside my apartment–I don’t have an outside!–so I use the stovetop and hold the bell pepper using heat-resistant tongs. You can also broil the bell peppers until all sides are dark brown. Place the broiled peppers in a brown paper bag, close and let steam for about 15 minutes. The skin removes easily after this process.

Ingredients:
fresh portobello mushrooms, brushed off dirt using paper towel
2 yellow bell peppers, julienned
mixed greens, thoroughly washed, patted dry
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
a drizzle of balsamic vinegar
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Grill yellow bell peppers until slightly black. Let them cool down before slicing.
2. Drizzle olive oil on portobello mushrooms and put in the broiler until soft. Let them cool down before slicing as well.
3. In a large salad bowl, toss all ingredients together and season with salt and pepper.

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Taleggio and Mushroom Tart

Oct 8, ’04

Taleggio, a very rich and semi-soft cheese made from whole cow’s milk, has a distinct smell. When I saw this recipe in The New York Times, I knew it would be more fragrant with earthy mushrooms. It’s a great autumn recipe if you can afford some truffles or chantarelles in season. Otherwise, shiitake mushrooms will do.

Ingredients:
1 medium-sized deep-dish pie crust shell
Taleggio cheese, rinds removed, thinly sliced
a few ounces of shiitake mushrooms, sliced and stems discarded
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 tbsps crème fraîche
salt, ground white pepper, olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350º and bake pie shell for about 10 minutes.
2. While baking, sauté cumin, shallots and mushrooms in hot olive oil until mushrooms are starting to brown. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Let the pie shell cool and then spread crème fraîche and cover with the cooked shallots and mushrooms. Top with Taleggio. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes until cheese melts.

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Lamb Steak

Oct 8, ’04

A lamb steak is my fallback dinner when my appetite requires a big, sturdy meal but I’m too lazy to cook. A glass, or two, of red wine completes this dish.

Ingredients:
2 lamb steaks
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Rub with salt and pepper. Let them sit.
2. Using a hot Dutch oven, heat some olive oil and brown both sides of the lamb steaks.
3. Using a shallow baking pan covered in aluminum foil to catch excess fat, cook steaks on a rack until medium-rare.

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