Writing With My Mouth Full

Hearty Lentil Soup

In Michael Pollan’s latest book, In Defense of Food, he summarizes his lecture on the first page: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly greens.

I love greens, but I also love all kinds of meat. And you know how I feel about bacon, right? But there are days when I do crave vegetable-only dishes. I run to Joe’s Shanghai for their baby bok choy flash-fried in garlic and hot oil. I go to Snack for their artichoke salad sans the chicken. Sometimes, I even go to my local deli’s make-your-own-salad counter and pick from the available ingredients just to get my fix. And when I eat my meat, there’s always a side that involves a vegetable.

You can use almost any kind of greens here. I used Chinese spinach because that’s what I had in the fridge. Regular spinach, watercress or bok choy will do, too. They key is to simmer everything for a long time, so that the broth thickens with all the carrot and celery goodness. You’ll get more of the lentils’ earthy taste in the end. If you can deal with the extra work, use a hand blender and purÃ©e the entire batch before serving.

When they’ve cooled down, transfer leftovers in quart containers and store in your freezer for up to two weeks. You can just thaw and heat one up when you want another serving of hearty lentil soup.

2 1/2 cups of lentils, rinsed
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 bag of baby carrots, halved
1 bunch of greens
vegetable broth
1 tomato, quartered
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp of coriander, toasted, grounded
1 tbsp of cumin, toasted, grounded
1 tbsp of cardamom, toasted, grounded
salt, pepper, oil

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat some olive oil. SautÃ© garlic and onions. Add the carrots and celery and cook until glistening, about 8 minutes. Add the lentils, tomato and the spices to combine. Add enough broth to cover.
2. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 40 minutes to an hour. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Robert’s Steakhouse at the Penthouse Executive Club

603 West 45th Street off Eleventh Avenue
212.245/0002
about $90 each for a group of six, with drinks, with tip; dances were separate
â™¥

When a friend of mine told me about an upcoming girls’ night out that involved going to a strip club, I immediately said yes after I confirmed that they wanted to see girls stripping, not boys. Just right up my alley because, really, naked boys are not as nice to look at. Speaking from experience, I told them that we can only go to Penthouse on the West Side highway because it’s the only club that will allow a group of man-less women to enter. It’s a ridiculous rule, but we had no choice in the matter. I was told that girls do not buy as many drinks as guys, and if they’re not that drunk, they won’t be buying as many dances. Whoever came up with that had obviously no clue who we were.

Our table was for 7:30pm. Our party of six wasn’t completed until 8, but they let us sit and wait at our table next to a pole dancer. We all decided that an expensive bottle of red wine might just make us too sleepy, so we ordered our martinis. Drinks were $20 each even if you were just getting vodka with soda.

At Robert’s Steakhouse, they didn’t discriminate: my friend’s first lap dance was at $40, the same price charged to the guy sitting at the next table wearing a crisp suit. The girls dancing in the corner told us they can’t come to our table because they don’t do lap dances, so we had to wait for the others to approach us. After several drinks, we were brave enough to go up to a girl we liked and pay for our own. After more drinks, they just came up to offer us a dance.

But this is a review of the food, and I must tell you that a hundred-dollar porterhouse steak is much better with some form of entertainment. We only managed to finish one porterhouse and I felt bad when we had to leave the other one barely touched. I suppose I could have sat there and finished it for the next two hours, but my friends were eager to go downstairs and meet the ladies. (One said, You don’t want to smell like meat when the girls dance for you.) We had the steak packed to go, but after several hours of giving away Andrew Jacksons, no one knew who ended up taking the extra food home. After several hours of $20 drinks, too, no one knew what the hell was really going on. I do remember the delicious bowl of Brussels sprouts. The creamed spinach and roasted potatoes were also good matches to our meaty, charbroiled steak. Whoever was in the kitchen wasn’t distracted by the view we were getting.

Adam Perry Lang, the restaurant’s executive chef, also co-owns Daisy May’s BBQ a block away. He ages and cooks the steaks in a broiler with two different temperatures so that the meat gets seared the right way without sacrificing the juiciness of the inside. And boy, were they juicy. I love my meat bloody and buttery, and Robert’s Steakhouse served a mean plate of it.

Be thankful that this is only a review of the food.

Union Square Wine’s Chateauneuf-du-Pape Tasting

Feeling a lit bit under the weather, I’ve asked Cameron to guest-blog about the wine tasting we attended at Union Square Wines in New York City. Thanks, Cameron! The Chateaneuf-Du-Program:

Le Vieux Donjon 2003
Clos des Papes 2004 from Magnum
Domaine du Grand Tinel 2005 Cuvee Alexis Establet
Clos Saint Jean 2005 Cuvee Vieilles Vignes
Domaine Charvin 2005
Domaine du Pegau 2005 Cuvee Reservee
Chateau de Beaucastel 2005
Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe 2005
Domaine de Beaurenard 2005 Cuvee Boisrenard

I arrived at Union Square Wines to meet Cia on an unexpectedly chilly January night, ready to warm up with some nice reds in their Pape Stars Part One: The Golden Age of Chateauneuf-du-Pape: The Golden Age of Chateauneuf-du-Pape tasting. I’d been willing to overlook their puzzling use of italics in the event description, as my knowledge of these wines was pretty much limited to the pronunciation of the region’s name. A small crowd had assembled in the middle of the store by the time I joined Cia, and it was only a short wait before they welcomed us into the back tasting room of the store.

The first thing I noticed upon entering was the delicate placement of no less than 32 glasses of wine on each small round table. You know that person whose presence at a table guarantees that it’s only a matter of time before something gets knocked over, spilled, or broken? That’s me. I took my seat with trepidation, trying not to touch anything, as the tasting commenced.

The first ten minutes were filled by Wine Director Jesse Salazar’s effusive introduction of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the current darling of oenophiles everywhere, and even more effusive introduction of special guest host Adrian Chalk, clearly a darling of the New York wine scene. Turns out it was well-deserved; Adrian’s knowledgeable and eloquent presentation of the C-d-P region and the particulars of each of its wines made the tasting worthwhile.

I’ve always loved Grenache (and my familiarity with it has come a long way since I first ordered a glass of “Gre-nach-ay” at The Room a few years ago), but I had no idea that Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines are characterized by the presence of its luscious, bold grape. Predictably, my favorites were the heaviest on Grenache–a pure-Grenache Domaine du Grand Tinel 2005 Cuvee Alexis Establet was the only red Cia and I ended up taking home at the end of the evening.

As far as the actual tasting went, we had fun laughing (especially as the night bore on) at our appraisals: I would detect strawberries at the exact same moment that Cia would exclaim that the same wine tasted like leather. Our tasting companions seemed to have the lingo down, citing things like “tannic euphoria” and “fennel on the nose.” This also became increasingly hilarious as the night bore on.

Of course, the problem with wine tastings, as anyone who has ever enjoyed a tasting menu with wine pairings can attest, is that by the time you get to the good stuff (the main courses and dessert, or in this case, the really expensive wines), you’re just drunk. The last few wines came with florid descriptions and price points to match, but all we could say was that they tasted like wine. By that point, we were also near hysterical about the absence of the promised spread of Murray’s cheeses. We did get our cheese (and meat and bread) in the end, but we were no closer to getting what was so great about these expensive bottles. All the better for spending that $50 wine voucher that came with the price of admission wisely, I suppose.

I liked this tasting not only for Adrian Chalk’s excellent presentation, but also for the discovery that all these wines from the same region really do taste different in ways both simple and complex. I loved hearing about how the tastes were affected by things like a rocky landscape in which sunlight reflected off the stone, creating intense heat. I was intrigued to hear how these sophisticated wines are born of a hellish landscape (the conditions are so hot and inhospitable, the soil so hardened with clay and rock, that Caterpillar tests their machinery here). I was excited to taste a white Chateauneuf-du-Pape on top of all those better-known reds; it turned out to be one of my favorites.

And all night, even after ten wines and several trips to the cheese plate, I didn’t spill a drop.

Cook’s Illustrated’s Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

I don’t cook like this.

But because I was testing a recipe for Cook’s Illustrated, I knew I had to follow their instructions as much as I can to get the results they were trying to achieve. When I first got this recipe in my inbox, I thought, No meat? I was ready to reject the test but decided at the last minute that maybe a meatless recipe (well, except for the pancetta chunks) will be more of a challenge for me. Besides, I still shudder when I look at mushroom pleats, so I thought this was a good attempt to overcome my so-called fear.

America’s Test Kitchen’s goal with this stuffed portobello mushroom recipe was to get an intense mushroom flavor without the gumminess of other recipes they’ve tried. I think I achieved that when I tried it at home, but it sure did take a lot of time and ingredients to try and get everything right.

After cooking, I answered the questions associated with the recipe and put in my two cents. I noted the adjustments and substitutions I made. I used more oil than the recipe suggested when brushing the mushrooms for roasting. I also used salted butter instead of unsalted, so I eliminated the required salt when I was rendering the pancetta. It also called for lemon juice, but I didn’t see it used in the steps. An honest mistake? Perhaps. It could have been a test to see if I was paying attention. I realize now that writing recipes that everyone will interpret correctly is a difficult job. What makes sense to me may not mean the same for other people. I wonder how many people out there try the recipes on my blog and get confused? Are you one of them?

Below is my edited version of their recipe. Click any of the photos for the complete set.

Ingredients:
6 portobello mushrooms, stems removed and reserved, caps wiped clean with a paper towel
3 slices of white bread, pulsed in food processor to make breadcrumbs
1/4 cup of pancetta, diced
cheddar cheese, chopped to fill 1/2 cup
2 tbsps heavy cream
1/4 cup sherry
1/4 cup parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp thyme leaves
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp butter
salt, pepper, oil

1. Move the oven rack in the upper-middle position. Preheat oven to 400Âº with a baking sheet inside.
2. Make a criss-cross slit on each of the 4 portobellos. Brush both sides with oil. Chop the other 2 and set aside for later. Place the 4 mushrooms on the pre-heated baking sheet, pleats side up. Roast until their edges are a bit brown, 10 minutes. Carefully flip them over and continue to roast until the liquid has evaporated, another 10 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the oven and heat the broiler.
3. Using a large skillet, heat some oil. Add the butter and swirl in the oil until melted. Add the breadcrumbs with a pinch of salt, stirring frequently until golden brown, 6 minutes. Transfer crumbs to a large bowl.
4. Wipe down the skillet with a paper towel. Heat some oil and add the pancetta until some fat is rendered. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta and transfer to another large bowl.
5. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook in the rendered fat without stirring for 3 minutes. Add 1 tbsp more of oil and continue to cook the mushrooms for another 3 minutes, stirring this time. Season with some salt. Transfer to the bowl with the pancetta.
6. Add more oil to sautÃ© the onions and the garlic. Stir in sherry and cook until almost no liquid remains. Stir in thyme, parsley, cheddar cheese and heavy cream with the pancetta. Season with salt and pepper and toss until cheese is melted. Your filling is done.
7. Flip portobello caps. Spoon this filling onto the mushrooms. Top with breadcrumbs. Broil mushroom until the crumbs are golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Makizushi with Pickled Vegetables

Among my purchases at the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Edgewater, New Jersey, were Japanese produce I rarely see outside of New York City’s Sunshine Mart off St. Mark’s Place. I was so excited to see yamagobo, or Japanese pickled burdock, because I have never eaten those outside of Sushiden. The pickled radish, or takuan, was more familiar, and of course, so were the shiso leaves.

These three ingredients inspired me to make my own makizushi at home. I learned to order them from the Dr. after every sushi and sashimi meal at Sushiden. He just asks the chef for the three ingredients, and voila, small hand rolls are served. A few months ago, I had picked up some soy skins in lieu of nori, or Japanese roasted seaweed, and I was glad to finally use them here. (Don’t worry, I’m not turning vegetarian. I bought them because they looked really pretty.) They didn’t add anything special to the rolls and I still preferred the nori over them, but they made colorful presentation when served with fried lotus root.

I’m not going to get into the proper way to make sushi rice and all that, but you’ll need a Japanese bamboo mat to make respectable rolls. In a pinch, you can user Saran wrap, too, just don’t let your Japanese friends know.

Ingredients:
yamagobo, drained, chopped
takuan, drained, julienned
shiso leaves, chiffonade
sushi rice, cooked
mirin, or rice wine vinegar
nori
wasabi, optional

1. Place nori on a Japanese bamboo mat. The mat should lie so it rolls away from you, not from side to side. Keeping your hands moistened with vinegar-water, put a scoop of sushi rice in the center of the nori and spread evenly on top of the seaweed. Spread a streak of wasabi across the middle if using, then add a layer of the vegetables across the center of the rice.
2. To roll, fold the bamboo mat so the filling is enclosed in the center of the nori, then moisten the top edge of the nori and seal the roll tightly so that it won’t fall apart when sliced.
3. Remove the mat from around the roll, seam side down. Slice the roll into one-inch rounds straight down using a sharp knife or serve as small rolls to eat with hands.