cia – Page 110 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Townline BBQ

3593 Townline Road, Sagaponack, Long Island
631/537.2271
about $44 for two, with two beers, with tip
â™¥ â™¥

After spending three days on the beach in Montauk and eating fresh seafood and lobster rolls in neighboring restaurants, I was ready for some meat. I was in the backseat when we drove by Townline BBQ outside of East Hampton. I remember seeing the Grand Opening banners and thinking, I wonder what just opened there? The drivers in charge asked me where Townline BBQ was after I wrote down the address on our Long Island printout. We turned around and found out that the place that caught my eye was the barbeque place we were looking for. I knew then that I was meant to eat lunch at Townline BBQ before I head back to the city.

There are rules at Townline BBQ: you order from the counter, pay and get a beeper; pick a table and wait for your beeper to vibrate. When it does, you pick up your order from the counter. Considering my last barbeque experience in Harlem was a bust, I thought Townline was organized and well-executed. It didn’t stop with the service. Their Texas beef ribs were so good, I was using my hands not just to eat them, but also to pick from our tub of pickles and collard greens.

I don’t remember the last time I had beef ribs. Hill Country in Chelsea, which specializes in Texas-style barbeque, was out of them when I went during their first month. I also don’t remember ever having barbeque with meat as tight and stuck to the bone as Townline’s. I loved how dry it was; it didn’t have to rely on any thick sauce, although the available ones on the table were good. I picked on leftover meat from the big bones until no cartilage was left and I was licking my fingers by the time our meal was over. This was our third meal of the day and it wasn’t even 5pm.

We ordered a pulled pork plate but instead got a pulled pork sandwich. Judging from the sandwich, I bet the plate was even better. The pork meat came in beautiful strings slathered with just enough red sauce and served on a toasted bun with pickles. The pickles were more sweet than sour, but complemented all the meat we were eating when the spicyness kicked in. The collard greens were good, too, with small cubes of pork included. They also didn’t have root beer available when we visited, but a good selection of beers on tap (Julius Echter hefeweisen, toasted Blue Point) more than compensated for it.

We went on a Monday afternoon and the place was empty. I can only imagine the crowd during the weekends when vacationing Hamptons folks crave their barbeque. You may be familiar with the Hamptons because of what you read in the celebrity papers, but Townline BBQ is a good indication that Long Island is sometimes where it’s at.

Ginatang Isda, Fish in Coconut Milk

This is my second contribution to Lasang Pinoy 20: Binalot, All-Wrapped Up! Binalot comes from balot, which means “to wrap”, while isda is Tagalog for “fish”.

If you live in the Philippines, I’m sure you can go to your neighbor’s backyard and find a banana tree. All you have to do is wipe the leaves down with a wet paper towel to make sure they’re clean. Here in New York City, I bought mine frozen in Chinatown. I thawed the few rectangles I knew I was going to use. If you’re surrounded by concrete buildings and there are no banana leaves around, you can use parchment paper which should be available in your baking goods supermarket aisle. If you can’t find bluefish, you can use cod or even salmon.

Using coconut milk is common in some parts of the Philippines. I grew up calling it gata. The important ingredient here is the dried chiles–the coconut milk needs to have some oomph!

Ingredients:
1 bluefish, scaled and cleaned
half a can of coconut milk
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
a handful of basil leaves, chiffonade
a few sprigs of cilantro, finely chopped
a few sprigs of parsley, finely chopped
dried chiles, crushed
salt, pepper
frozen banana leaves, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 375Âº. Season the fish inside out with salt and pepper.
2. Using a bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk together to make marinade, except for the fish and banana leaves. Marinate the fish for about 30 minutes.
3. Lay banana leaves large enough to cover the fish on your working table. If they are already in squares, make sure you overlap two leaves for your “base”. Put the fish on top and spoon the coconut mixture inside and outside the fish. Discard the rest. Using another banana leaf square, cover the fish and fold with the base to seal. Use toothpicks to hold the leaves together.
4. Put on a baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, discard the toothpicks and uncover by removing the top leaf. Return to the oven and cook for another 7 minutes. To serve, leave the fish on the banana leaf; just transfer to a plate.

Pinangat na Isda, Bluefish in Tomatoes

This is first my contribution to Lasang Pinoy 20: Binalot, All-Wrapped Up! Binalot comes from balot, which means “to wrap”, while isda is Tagalog for “fish”. Simmering in tomatoes is referred to as pinangat, although in my family, it also meant sour broth. It was too hot for soup, so I decided to make this even more simple by wrapping the fish in parchment paper. I wanted something easy and quick, preferably using ingredients that didn’t require me going to the supermarket. I found everything I needed in the fridge and the herbs I wanted on my windowsill. Under half an hour, we were eating dinner. Shortly after, we were ready for bed.

In French, this is also known as poisson en papillote, or fish in paper.

Ingredients:
1 bluefish, scaled and cleaned
a handful of white mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 large tomato, roughly chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
1/4 stick of butter, half of it melted
salt, pepper
parchment paper

1. Preheat oven to 375Âº. Season the fish inside out with salt and pepper.
2. In a small pan, heat half of the butter. SautÃ© onions until translucent. SautÃ© tomatoes until mushy. Add mushrooms and cook until soft. Season with herbs and with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and set aside.
3. Lay parchment paper large enough to cover the fish on your working table. Brush one side with melted butter. Spoon half of the sautÃ©ed tomato mixture onto the paper. Put the fish on top. Stuff remaining tomato mixture inside the fish and spoon the rest on top. Fold the parchment paper over and seal all sides. Put on a baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes. Move to a large plate and unfold the sides of the paper in front of your guests.

Bluefish Sashimi with Kochujang Sauce

This isn’t really a recipe for the bluefish as much as it is for the spicy sauce that Koreans use to eat their sashimi with. The Dr. grew up fishing in Los Angeles and this is what his family does when they eat their catch. He replicated it in New York after he caught some bluefish off Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn.

Kochujang is a spicy Korean condiment made of fermented soy beans and chilis. It’s the same red pepper paste used in making kimchi. You need sushi-grade or freshly-caught fish to make the sashimi. A Korean boy with knife skills is also important. A big plus is spicy arugula to wrap and pick up the sashimi with.

Ingredients:
freshly-caught bluefish or any sushi-grade fish, filleted and sliced in small pieces
a dollop of Korean kochujang red pepper paste
1 tbsp sugar
a few jigs of rice wine vinegar
toasted sesame seeds
salt
a few leaves of spicy arugula

1. Combine and whisk all ingredients together in a bowl, except for the sashimi and the arugula. Season the mixture with some salt to taste.
2. On a serving plate, lay some arugula leaves and top with sashimi. Drizzle with the kochujang sauce and sprinkle with extra sesame seeds.

Orzo Citrus Pasta with Orange Oil

Lisa emailed to ask me where she can buy fregola pasta. I wondered why on earth an Italian would ask me that. It turns out that even her father didn’t know what it was. She couldn’t find it in her supermarket either. Fregola is a North African pasta used often today in Sardinia. It’s made with semolina and then rubbed to form small pellets and then toasted. It’s crumbly, almost like couscous. After I called Di Palo’s and confirmed that they had the pasta in stock, I sent Lisa to pick up a box before they closed.

I was intrigued that she needed the exact pasta, so I did some research and looked for a substitute. Orzo, and even couscous, were suggested. I have both at home but I decided to go for the orzo. My mother has plenty of grapefruit and oranges she uses as our coffee table centerpiece, so I ended up stealing a few to give the orzo a summery taste. The fennel was a bit of a surprise here–it gave a toasted smell and taste. You can make this meatier if you add some half-cooked peeled shrimps.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of orzo
1 orange
zest of that same orange
half of a pink grapefruit
chicken broth
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 stalks of scallion, white parts only, chopped
a handful fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
a pinch of fennel seeds, lightly toasted, grounded
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Make orange oil for dressing. Soak the orange zest in some olive oil using a small bowl. Set aside.
2. In a pot, bring the chicken broth to boil. Add orzo pasta and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain and remove to a baking sheet. Spread to a single layer to avoid sticking and clumping.
3. In the meantime, cut the skin off the orange and the grapefruit, and slice flesh into smaller pieces over a serving bowl to catch the juice. Add the onion, scallions and the orzo. Toss with the mint, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Drizzle with orange oil before serving.