cia – Page 118 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Where to eat in Princeton, New Jersey: Teresa’s Cafe Italiano

We ran from the NJ Transit train to the Dinky platform in the rain while the bright, white lights flashed against the dark sky. I’ve never seen lightning like that before; never seen them flash one right after the other. For a moment, I wondered where I was. Was this really New Jersey?

Cameron and I walked across her alma matter’s campus and ended up at Teresa’s for dinner. We were famished and wet from the downpour. We just wanted to sit so we could eat and drink at the same time. There was already a group waiting for a table with their wet umbrellas. We stood for less than ten minutes to be seated at the bar but it felt longer because the maitre d’ let another couple behind us sit first. We kept our New York cool and didn’t make a scene until another couple tried to do the same thing. It was time for some dirty martinis.

We started with the fennel and arugula salad with shaved black peppercorn cheese. I often make this salad at home but I can never seem to say no whenever I see it on the menu. It’s so simple and satisfying. The meat and cheese plate consisted of some prosciutto and soppresatta, plus small wedges of hard and semi-soft cheeses.

It took a while for us to finish both plates because we were chatting, but as soon as we cleared our plates, our pasta dishes were served. We knew one bowl would have been enough for both of us but we always end up ordering more than we can eat whenever we’re together. We ordered the linguine with mussels, Manila clams and scallops. We also ordered the ricotta and Berskhire sausage-filled cannelloni. The former was better than the latter. The pasta had a clam juice taste and gave the dish a little bit more oomph. The cannelloni was just so-so even with the tasty sausages in it. It was more substantial with all the ricotta. I’ve never been a big fan of a big bowl of pasta with red sauce anyway.

Since we were sitting at the bar, we didn’t really get exceptional service. We interacted with our young female bartender twice: as soon as we sat down and when she asked me if I wanted another martini. (I said yes.) Our bill was about $80 without the tip after three cocktails, two appetizers and two pasta dishes. It was substantially less expensive than any complete meal we’ve paid for in the city. The rain was all worth it considering we just wanted a simple meal.

Teresa’s Cafe Italiano is at 23 Palmer Square East in Princeton, New Jersey. No reservations needed but their number is 609/921.1974.

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Ginger-Mint Chicken with Mizuna and Arugula Salad

I walked to my desk this morning and a box was waiting. Anna sent me my annual supply of greens from her garden. There were two Ziploc-fulls of arugula and of Japanese mizuna. There was also a bunch of ginger-mint leaves. Chives and Texas tarragon were also included. They were an absolutely nice surprise to start my day.

I was famished after my third session of bootcamp in Central Park. When I got home, I wanted to make and eat something quick but filling at the same time. This recipe may look long, but if you have an Asian family pantry, I bet you already have most of the ingredients listed here. Of course, if you don’t have someone in Chicago sending you fresh ginger-mint leaves from her garden, feel free to substitute with regular mint leaves and a knob of peeled and grated fresh ginger. If you can’t find mizuna, try baby spinach, chicory or mustard greens–it’s important that your greens are bitter and spicy at the same time because the chicken is a tad sweet with the brown sugar. As for the corn, I added them at the last second because I found them cooked in the fridge. Using a serrated knife, I cut the kernels off the cob. You can use raw or canned corn kernels, too. The fried onions were a nice touch, but again, if you’re feeling lazy, just sautÃ© them with the chicken.

When everything was done, Anna’s fresh greens made this dish even more nourishing. An hour-long of lunges, crab-crawls and push-ups weren’t so bad after all.

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken thighs, cut in small pieces
2 portobello mushrooms, cleaned, cut in small pieces
1 cup corn kernels
a handful of baby carrots, halved
fresh ginger-mint leaves
1 small jalapeÃ±o pepper, seeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsps brown sugar
2 tbsps fish sauce
2 tbsps rice vinegar
olive oil

For the fried onions:
1 larged red onion, sliced thinly, rings separated
1/4 cup of flour
peanut oil

For the salad:
a handful of Japanese mizuna greens, torn
a handful of arugula, torn
juice from half a lemon
1 tbsp red hot sauce
2 tbsps soy sauce
3 cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil, salt, pepper

1. Make the fried onions. In a large bowl, toss the onions in the flour to coat. Using a skillet, heat some peanut oil and fry the onions in small batches without overlapping. When golden brown on both sides, remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towel. Set aside.
2. In another small bowl, combine brown sugar, fish sauce and vinegar. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
3. Heat a large wok over high heat. Add some oil and stir-fry the chicken for about 10 minutes with the carrots. Add mushrooms, corn, pepper and garlic. Add the fish sauce mixture. Stir in the fried onions and the ginger-mint leaves. Turn off the heat and make your salad.
4. In a salad bowl, combine the lemon juice with the soy sauce and olive oil. Stir in the garlic and the hot sauce and season with salt and pepper. Toss in the greens. Serve with the ginger-mint chicken.

Pasta with Baby Octopus

This recipe was adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Babbo Cookbook, from one of my favorite chefs, Mario Batali. He used bavette, a thin, ribbon-shaped pasta, but I substituted spaghetti instead because it was all I had handy. He also used jalapeÃ±o pesto, but I doubled the amount of red chili flakes from what I would normally add to give it that kick without the hard work. I did make my own basic tomato sauce though, because, well, I usually do.

If you can’t find fresh baby octopuses, you can certainly used the frozen ones. Those are already cleaned. If you buy the fresh ones, all you have to do to clean them is to turn the head inside out and wash the entrails. Then pull out the eyes and remove the mouth which is found at the center of the octopus where the tentacles meet the head and body. It’s as easy as cleaning fresh squid. If you can only find large octopus, cook that longer until it’s tender and just slice it in smaller pieces before tossing with the pasta.

Ingredients:
2 pounds of baby octopuses, cleaned, washed, drained
1 bundle of spaghetti
2 cups basic tomato sauce
12 fresh mint leaves
3 tbsps red wine vinegar
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
red chili flakes
olive oil, salt, pepper

1. Using a large pot, cook pasta al dente in boiling salted water for about 8 minutes. Remove and drain. Set aside. You will cook the pasta more later.
2. While cooking the pasta, cook the octopuses. In a large saucepot, combine octopuses with the red wine vinegar and just enough water to cover. Cook uncovered and immediately remove from heat as soon as the octopuses change color. Drain and set aside to let cool.
3. In a large skillet, heat some olive oil. SautÃ© the garlic until golden brown. Add the tomato sauce and chili flakes and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes. Add the octopuses and the pasta. Toss over high heat for about a minute with the mint leaves. Season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Duck and Plum Salad

I first served this roasted duck and plum salad from delicious. Magazine last summer when I invited about ten people from work over for dinner. I prepared several dishes to accommodate even the vegetarians, but this one was my favorite. It’s even easier if you just buy the roasted duck from Chinatown.

This is a great salad to celebrate the beginning of the summer because plums are readily available in the market. In New York City’s Chinatown, a pound of bean sprouts cost 50 cents. You can get plum sauce from the Asian aisle in your grocery store. I’ve used two small packets of Chinese takeout duck sauce as an alternative, too. Another time, I found a jar of orange marmalade in our fridge and used two tablespoons of it instead.

Ingredients:
half of a roasted duck, chopped into small pieces
6 plums, halved and seeds removed
a handful of bean sprouts
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1/3 cup white sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 small red chili, finely chopped
2 tbsps plum sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
a handful of basil leaves
a handful of cilantro
salt, pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350Âº. Place plums, anise, cinammon and sugar in a baking dish with 1/4 cup of water. Cover with foil and roast for 35 minutes until plums are soft. Remove from the oven, drain and save the juice. Set the plums aside to cool. When plums are cool enough, peel and slice into smaller halves.
2. In a small bowl, make the dressing. Combine the plum juice with the garlic, chili, plum sauce and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Using your hands, shred the duck meat off the bones. Combine the duck and the peeled plums in a large salad. Toss with sprouts, basil, cilantro and sprinkle with the dressing.

Sripraphai

64-13 39th Avenue between 64th and 65th Streets, Woodside, Queens
718/899.9599
about $45, without drinks, with tip
â™¥ â™¥

Sripraphai is the kind of restaurant you have to visit again in order to really get a good feel for its Thai cuisine. Dining with a large group would help because sharing is encouraged in order for you to taste more than two dishes. Because it was just me and the Dr., we could only order three. Out of
those three, only one was solid.

The mango salad with crispy dried catfish to me was what makes Thai cuisine good. It was salty, hot, sour and sweet all the same time. The red onions, cilantro and chili peppers woke my taste buds up. It reminded me of the Filipino daing, only saltier and spicier, and perfect with a cold bottle of beer.

The dishes over rice were safe and less flavorful. I should have known better when I read that the pork came with “special house sauce.” The Dr.’s duck was a little bit better with the small, round eggplants I rarely see in any other dishes I eat in New York City. It also reminded me of the Filipino pakbet. Both came with a generous plateful of rice we couldn’t finish.

We didn’t have enough room for dessert, but we swore we’ll be back to order the other specials on the menu. Next time, we’ll skip the rice dishes and bring an army of friends with us.