November 2005
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Month November 2005

Entries 5 Total

Chicken with Artichokes

Nov 30, ’05

Adapted from Everyday Food

Ingredients:
boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded and flattened
1 can of artichokes packed in water
sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
3 stalks scallions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup of flour, sifted
olive oil, salt and pepper

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Coat chicken with flour and shake off excess. Fry until golden brown and cooked through on both sides in a medium skillet with hot oil. Remove.
2. In the same skillet, heat more oil if needed. Sauté garlic, scallions, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes. Add 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cook until vegetables are heated through and sauce has reduced slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste and spoon over chicken.

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Roasted Turkey

Nov 22, ’05

Adapted from memory

Ingredients:
For the turkey rub:
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 stalks of scallions, chopped
2 tbsps oregano
2 tbsps coriander
2 tbsps paprika
salt and pepper to taste

1 frozen turkey, thawed for at least eight hours outside the fridge
1 apple, cored and diced
1 peach, diced
1 lemon, sliced
1 small box of raisins

1. Combine all rub ingredients and purée in a blender. Pour into saucepan and simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Cool and set aside while turkey is thawing.
2. When ready to roast, preheat oven to 350º. Wash turkey and dry with paper towel. Empty the carcass and stuffed with the fruits, lemon and raisins. Bathe the turkey with the rub. Wrap turkey with aluminum foil and set on a roasting pan.
3. Roast for at least six hours, carefully turning the bird during the last hour of cooking. For an extra 30 minutes, open the foil and raise oven temperature to 375º to brown the skin. Remove from oven and let the turkey rest, loosely covered, before carving.

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Coconut Shrimp Soup

Nov 20, ’05

Adapted from Everyday Food

Ingredients:
1/2 pound shrimps, peeled, deveined
a handful of angel hair pasta
1 can coconut milk
1 medium carrot, peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsps ginger, minced
2 stalks scallions, finely chopped
fresh lime juice
pepper flakes
salt, pepper, oil

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic, ginger and pepper flakes. Cook until golden and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add carrots, coconut milk and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil.
2. Break pasta in half and add to pot. Return to boil and then simmer until pasta is al dente and carrots are tender.
3. Add shrimps and stir until opaque. Remove pot from heat. Stir in lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowls and garnish with scallions.

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Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Apple

Nov 20, ’05

Adapted from Everyday Food

Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon
2 pints Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, halved
1 apple, cored, cut into 1/4-inch slices and halved crosswise
2 tbsps red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425º. Arrange bacon in a single layer on a large baking pan. Bake until browned, about 10 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for another 15 minutes. Add apple in another layer. Roast for another 10 minutes or until apples are soft.
2. Remove from oven and put into a salad bowl. Separate bacon pieces and chop into smaller pieces. Toss back in the bowl with sprouts and apples and vinegar.

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Upstairs at Bouley

Nov 19, ’05

130 West Broadway on Duane
212/219-1011
$250 for three, with several drinks, with tip

If there’s one New York City chef I’m not familiar with, it would be David Bouley. Four years ago, the boy surprised me by making reservations at Bouley Bakery (now back to its original Bouley name). But it was a hundred-degree summer day and because I didn’t know he made plans, I met him wearing flip flops. We had to cancel then and we just never revisited.

Turn the calendar to 2005 and Bouley opens Upstairs across the street, a packed space that offers sushi right above his café and bakery. I didn’t do my homework before I met a client here and while in a cab from work I thought, I could use a nice steak today. As soon as I sat down and read through the menu, I exclaimed, I guess I’m eating sushi tonight!

For our sushi, we had a feast and ordered several pieces of uni and otoro (like buttah, baby, buttah!), hamachi, shad and mackerel. For our small plates, we shared a delicate bowl of Japanese tofu with mushrooms in truffle dressing and a very nice serving of monkfish liver, all while we were swimming in their delightful grapefruit sake martinis.

Other reviews claim that when the chef is not in the premises, the service tends to be frustrating. I was in the middle of our second sushi plate, happily drunk and satisfied, when I turned around and saw the handsome man with salt and pepper hair behind the open kitchen counter. It’s David Bouley himself and maybe that’s why our waiter was very attentive. But chef or no chef present, sushi should always mean fresh fish. Upstairs surely provided them.

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