November 2004
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Month November 2004

Entries 5 Total

Artichokes with Pork Sausage

Nov 30, ’04

This recipe is from the All-Star Thanksgiving 2004 show on FoodTV demonstrated by Tyler Florence. Getting the flesh of the artichoke is a lot of work, so a Filipino father is necessary, but it’s also a wonderful Thanksgiving dish that doesn’t involve any turkey. Your artichokes should look like this after trimming them to expose the light green flesh.

The white hairs and the pink leaves should be scooped out and discarded after simmering in the flavorful broth. They are easier and cleaner to remove cooked than raw. You need 8 artichokes for this recipe to have enough by the time you clean them out.

Ingredients:
8 artichokes, trimmed down and halved
2 large pork sausages
1/2 cup chicken stock
sage leaves
2 shallots, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
the other half of the lemon, thinly sliced
2 tbsps unsalted butter
salt, pepper, olive oil

For the flavorful broth:
1/4 cup of dry white wine
2 quarts of water
a handful of fresh parsley
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
half a lemon
salt, pepper

1. Bring the flavorful broth to a simmer in a large pot. Add the artichokes, cover the pot over medium heat for a little less than 20 minutes, until there is no resistance when a knife is inserted into the base of the artichokes.
2. Spoon out the artichokes carefully and try to leave the halves intact for a better presentation. Carefully scoop out the hairy choke from the center and discard.
3. In a hot, deep skillet, pour some olive oil and brown and cook the sausages for about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside. Using the same skillet, add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan and cook the sage leaves until fragrant. Add shallots, garlic and lemon slices and cook for another 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, bring to a simmer and emulsify with butter and a little bit more oil until reduced and thickened.
4. Return artichokes and sausages in the pan and cook over low heat for a few minutes to warm them up. Spoon out and serve by topping with leftover parsley.

Related post/s:
Don’t throw away those leftover sage leaves
Good ol’ chicken stock

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Tortellini with Butter Sage Sauce

Nov 24, ’04

Ingredients:
1 package of tortellini
5 sage leaves
half a stick of butter
light cream

1. Add tortellini in salted boiling water. Remove and drain after 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a skillet, sauté the sage leaves in butter until fragrant. Add the cooked tortellini in the pan with enough light cream to coat. Toss and cook for less than two minutes.

Related post/s:
Another pasta I like is ravioli

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Pumpkin Bread

Nov 11, ’04

Pumpkins are everywhere come Halloween time and my mother always takes one home from her kindergarten school trip. Ah, autumn. If you don’t want to spend the extra effort to bake, feel free to use Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Recipe Golden mix and follow their instructions on the box instead of using your own flour, baking soda and baking powder.

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh pumpkin, shredded
1 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
2 tsps cinnamon
2 tsps nutmeg
half a stick of butter, melted in the microwave
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350é while you shred the pumpkin meat.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, oil and eggs.
3. Combine both mixtures and fold in the pumpkin meat. Pour into a baking pan coated with butter and a little flour. Bake until golden brown. Test the middle section with a toothpick until it comes out clean.
4. While baking, toast pumpkin seeds in a hot skillet with a sprinkle of salt. Sprinkle on top of the pumpkin bread before it completely sets.

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Snack Taverna

Nov 8, ’04

63 Bedford Street on Morton
212/929-3499
about $150 for two, with two drinks, without tip
♥ ♥

I always write about eating at Snack, my favorite Greek spot, so I decided to try its new sister restaurant, Snack Taverna on Bedford. It has a more grown-up menu with some French influences and the ambiance is a lot less casual than its counterpart. I later learned that its chef, John Fraser, cooked at The French Laundry in Napa for almost three years.

I had my first excellent dinner of 2004 at Snack Taverna. I started with the veal cheeks served with hostas, or giboshi to the Japanese, a green plant that could be as tender as an asparagus. The loukaniko, a Greek hot sausage with oh-so-savory fennel and diced pear was excellent, I almost forgot about my crispy lamb’s tongue. We shared a braised lamb shoulder with bitter dandelions and a small serving of the monkfish. A mix of Cabernet and Merlot from Greece was the perfect match. At Snack Taverna, the meals are better than the desserts, but I couldn’t resist the chocolate soufflé with raspberry sauce even though our waiter warned us about the fifteen-minute wait. He served us a complementary piece of baklava for being patient.

Related post/s:
For a more casual night out, try Snack

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Esca

Nov 8, ’04

402 West 43rd Street off Ninth Avenue
212/564.7272
about $700 for four, with a lot of drinks, with tip
♥ ♥ ♥

Some friends I met while traveling in Ireland were in town. Remembering how much we all liked our seafood while we were traveling, I booked a table for four at Esca. At least two people are required to order the tasting menu per table, so my companions opted for that while I ordered the crudo appetizer, or tasting portions of raw seafood: uni served on its shell, an oyster, scallops with chervil, razor clams with chilis and hamachi with scallions. I’ve never had seafood worshipped this way. I salivated over the carpaccio yellowfin tuna and the linguine with mahogany clams and pancetta. The shrimps with caper and thyme vinaigrette, the squid-ink spaghetti with cuttlefish and the striped bass with caramelized apples were all delicious. The Maine halibut was a little bland if not eaten with the burdock root and black trumpet mushrooms, but the scallops were perfectly seared. I loved the warm fruit turnover and the raspberry ice cream for dessert. Unfortunately, I could not find room in my stomach to accommodate the creme brulée.

There was no Guiness beer but there were plenty of other wee-drinks: a bottle of Marchese di Gresy, another bottle of Moscato D’Asti and yet another bottle from Piemonte for dessert. Champagne, vodka and gin and tonics were also ordered several times before the main courses were served. Esca, which means bait in Italian, is a great place for groups–just don’t bring Irish friends who can outdrink you.

Related post/s:
It’s not surprising that Esca includes Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich
Seafood worship?

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