January 2007
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
« Dec   Feb »
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  

Month January 2007

Entries 5 Total

‘cesca

Jan 22, ’07

164 West 75th Street on Amsterdam Avenue
212/787.6300
$280 for four people with eight glasses of drinks, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥

Ah, the upper west side, you keep surprising me. ‘cesca has been on our list of places to eat for the past year because Cameron lives around the corner. After Telepan, I’m more confident to pick a restaurant in the upper west side even if it bills itself as a family-owned Italian restaurant. (I don’t have any good experiences to write about family-owned Italian restaurants in Little Italy and the space next door has turned over more than I can count.) The ‘cesca menu looked good the first time I read it from the outside of the restaurant and it looked good the night we visited. Four of us were seated in the wine nook; a table fit for ten became our own private space for three hours. The sommelier, a giant with a short ponytail, selected for us a light red wine after our glasses of Prosecco.

The octopus sopressata, so called because it’s dried, pressed and sliced thinly, reminded me of the octopus carpaccio we ate in Prague. The pickle-ly taste offset the bitter mustard greens. I couldn’t pass up the chance to try their veal meatballs. They were served in a clear, hot broth, perfect for the harsh temperature outside. The Parmigiano gave it a beefier, fuller taste. We also shared a third appetizer, the escarole salad with tuna, fennel and pomegranates. While we waited for our two main dishes, we were served a complimentary course of faro wheat. We didn’t really understand how we became so lucky, but our waiter quietly mentioned Babbo when we asked. I think he overheard us talking out our most recent experience at Babbo and appreciated the fact that we like our authentic Italian food. (I think taking photos of food really helps.) The special of the night was a seafood risotto and we divided that with a rack of lamb chops and servings of broccoli rabe and roasted Brussel sprouts that tasted like fresh potato chips. To tell you the truth, I enjoyed my medium-rare lamb so much I don’t even remember tasting the risotto. During our espressos, we split the panna cotta with mixed fruit compote and the warm chocolate cake with créme fraiche. I really won’t make fun of the upper west side again.

Related post/s:
Upper West Side isn’t so bad with Telepan there
But it ain’t Babbo

Comments (0)

Shrimp Hot and Sour Soup

Jan 20, ’07

Brrrr. It’s winter in New York City! This soup warmed the deepest of my organs.

Ingredients:
1 pound of shrimps with heads and tails saved, peeled and deveined
chicken stock
1 bunch cilantro, thoroughly rinsed
1 bunch watercress, thoroughly rinsed
2 red chilies
1 small knob of galangal or ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small red onion, chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, pounded with a pestle
lime juice
fish sauce
sambal oelek
shrimp paste, to taste
peanut oil

1. In a large pot, heat some peanut oil and add the shrimp heads and tails until they turn orange, about 4 minutes.
2. Add the lemongrass and the ginger with the stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the stock and discard the shells and heads. Return the stock to the pot.
3. Add lime leaves, scallions, mushrooms, cilantro and watercress. Cook for less than 5 minutes.
4. Add the shrimps and cook for another 3 minutes. Adjust the broth taste by adding lime juice, fish sauce, sambal oelek and shrimp paste.

Related post/s:
Where to get sambal oelek, lemongrass and galangal

Comments (0)

Tomato Bread Soup

Jan 19, ’07

I had everything I needed in the kitchen. What could I make that’s easy, quick and filling? This soup took about 30 minutes to make and fulfilled a soup craving during brunch.

Ingredients:
3 vine-ripe tomatoes
3 slices from a day-old loaf of Italian bread, cut into smaller pieces
1 quart vegetable stock
5 slices of bacon
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
fresh basil leaves, torn
salt, pepper, oil

1. Score a cross in the bottom of the tomatoes and place in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove and plunge in a bowl of cold water to peel the skin off. Cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds. Chop the tomato flesh and set aside.
2. Preheat oven 400º. Bake bacon for 8 minutes or until crispy. Let drain on a paper towel. Chop coarsely and set aside.
3. Heat some oil in a pot. Sauté the garlic and tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring ocassionaly. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, add the bread and cook until the bread softens and absorbs some of the liquid.
4. Season with salt and pepper and stir in some olive oil. Top with bacon bits.

Comments (0)

Crayfish Creamed Corn Soup

Jan 18, ’07

I had enough crayfish meat and crayfish broth leftover from the crayfish rice that I decided to make soup. At first, I was just going to use the broth and add some vegetables, but after tasting it, I knew something was short. My mother said she imagined the soup to be thicker because the crayfish taste was so concentrated. So I put on my coat, braved the winter weather with pajamas on and ran to the corner deli and bought a can of corn and a pint of milk. Using a blender, I made my own creamed corn. I wanted to test it first before I used the rest of the broth so in a smaller pot, I simmered a small dollop of the corn with some of the broth. When the mother hen approved, I made a bigger batch good enough for four people at work the next day.

Ingredients:
2 pounds crayfish, washed
bacon
1 can of kernel corn
1 cup of milk
2 ribs of celery, cut in smaller pieces
1 red onion, halved
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 chayote, peeled and diced
salt, pepper, oil

1. Make crayfish broth. Separate the crayfish heads from the tails. Put the heads in a big soup pot with some water and let it boil. Add onion and celery ribs with some salt. Simmer until ready to use. Peel tails and devein. Chop in smaller pieces.
2. In a skillet, render fat off bacon until crisp. Remove to a plate lined with paper towel. When cool enough to handle, finely chop bacon. Set aside.
3. In a blender, purée corn while adding a little bit of milk slowly. The consistency should be creamy without being too thick.
4. In a soup pot, transfer the crayfish broth without the solids. Simmer and add the vegetables. Cook until the chayote is soft. Add a little bit of the creamed corn slowly until desired consistency. Season with bacon bits and pepper. Serve with country bread.

Related post/s:
How to cook your rice with crayfish

Comments (0)

Crayfish Rice with Bacon

Jan 18, ’07

Tomatoe, tomatoh. Potatoe, potatoh. Crayfish, crawfish. No matter what you call these small lobster lookalikes, they’re good to go in a big soup pot. And you know what? They’re even better with bacon. They were selling them alive in Chinatown but they were left out in the cold–that made it easy enough to pull their heads from their bodies. I put all the heads in a soup pot to make broth while I chopped up some vegetables for this recipe. Peeling the tails was another story. It’s a lot of work with so little yield; I should have gotten more than two pounds. But in the end, my rice was delicious and it was even better with some barbequed pork.

Ingredients:
2 pounds crayfish, washed
bacon
4 ribs of celery, 2 finely chopped, 2 cut in smaller pieces
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 red onions, 1 finely chopped, 1 halved
3 cups rice
salt, pepper, oil

1. Make crayfish broth. Separate the crayfish heads from the tails. Put the heads in a big soup pot with some water and let it boil. Add the halved onion and the big celery ribs with some salt. Simmer until ready to use. Peel tails and devein. Chop in smaller pieces.
2. In a skillet, render fat off bacon until crisp. Remove to a plate lined with paper towel. When cool enough to handle, finely chop bacon. Set aside.
3. Using some of the bacon fat, sauté garlic and onions. Add crayfish, celery and pepper and sauté until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add rice and 3 cups of the crayfish broth. Cover and cook the rice in medium fire. Check often and add more broth to keep it from drying. When rice is almost done, fluff with a spatula and mix until combined well. Turn off the fire, cover the pot and let the remaining heat finish cooking the rice.

Related post/s:
Crayfish Creamed Corn Soup

Comments (0)