Garlic and Sapphires: Dinner is Served

Last Sunday, October 13th I hosted the book and supper for Garlic and Sapphires written  by renowned food writer Ruth Reichl.  The book is about her time as the New York Times food critic, each chapter is about a character she disguised herself as when visiting the famous New York restaurants she critiqued.  My vision for the menu and table was to recreate the mood of a classic New York restaurant.  The menu was also inspired by her foodie adventures and her personal recipes that she included in the book.  Without further adieu:

The table and menu.  I used a white linen table clothe, to go with my restaurant feel, and a festive fall-inspired centerpiece with gords and pumpkins that also included some beautiful garlic bought at the Union Square farmer's market.  My idea was for everyone to take home a bulb, but it seems some of my guests had a little too much to drink and left theirs behind...

Everyone is seated, with a glass of wine and some bread and (homemade honey/vanilla) butter.  Moving on to the first course:

The first course was a Hudson Valley foie gras mousse with black truffles.  I served it over baked cinnamon and brown sugar rubbed Jonagold and Empire apples from the Union Square farmers market.  The foie was topped with a spiced walnut.  I think Ruth ate foie gras at almost every meal unless she was in an Asian restaurant, so it had to be on the menu.

Course Two: Seasonal Vegetable Risotto drizzled with black truffle oil.  The seasonal vegetable were baby zucchini and squash and shitake mushrooms all purchased from the Union Square farmers market.  I also added some basil from my cousin Michael's garden and grana padano to make it a little creamy/cheesy/salty. Truffles had to be included, because it seemed like she pretty much ate truffles at every meal too.

Course three: a Classic Caesar salad.  I must say, this may have been my favorite part.  I haven't had a real caesar in quite some time, and a real one is absolutely delicious.  I did a little research on what's considered the classic, and the ingredients I used were: some fresh grated garlic that I infused in some olive oil, lemon, a dash of white vinegar, worcestershire sauce (contains a trace of anchovies) a coddled (by Liza) egg yoke and last but not grated parmesan (I used grana).  I had toasted the croutons earlier, and I left the romaine leaves whole, like they do at a restaurant in Ithaca that I love.  YUM.

These are the porterhouse steaks that I grilled on my stove top skillet and then finished off under the broiler.  They were thiiiiick steaks and I wish I could have kept one insanely rare for myself.  All of my guests preferred medium rare.  I tried my best to make it happen.

This is a sea of my potatoes au gratin.  I got to test drive (had a minor fender bender with my thumb) the mandolin Liza bought me for my birthday, and it's a great, very sharp tool to have in the kitchen.  I layered the potatoes with grated gruyere, grated pepper, grated nutmeg and black lava salt flakes. 

Course four: Steak and Potatoes.  My favorite chapter in the book was probably her steak chapter.  I love steak, I love steakhouses and I love nostalgia.  She wrote a lot about being a kid and picking up steaks at the butcher with her Dad.  Also, cooking and serving steaks with simplicity (ie: salt only) can't be beat.

Course Five: of course, dessert had to be a New York Style Cheesecake.  I used Ruth's recipe to make it.  She tops hers with a layer of sour cream.  I had never heard of this before, and I liked it better than I thought I would.  I topped the cheesecake with some fresh baby strawberries from the Union Square farmers market that I macerated with sugar and a raspberry liquor from the Finger Lakes. 

Two of my guests at the supper club that night are gluten and dairy intolerant so one of my guests made a gluten and dairy free graham cracker crust cheesecake, and I must say it was truly delicious and semi on par with a real cheesecake! 

 A little closeup action of the centerpiece.  I finally got to sit down at this point with my cheesecake, wine and satisfied guests, usually my favorite part of the evening!  I love it all though! Success!

Garlic and Sapphires, The Menu

It's been a long summer, but I have finally chosen the next book to cook, and I've created the menu.  For the first time, I will be cooking a non-fiction book, Ruth Reichl's memoir, Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise.  Ruth Reichl has an illustrious career in food writing/critiquing and this book tells the stories of the disguises she donned as the New York Times' food critic.  Perhaps the best job one can have in New York City?  The stories of her elaborate disguises and trips to NYC's famous restaurants are hilarious, but also really fascinating if New York's restaurant scene is your thing.  She also divulges some of her own favorite recipes in some of the chapters.
So my menu is inspired by the restaurants she reviewed, her own experiences and recipes, but most of all, New York.  I'm very excited about this menu, so here goes:

Hudson Valley Fois Gras 

with truffles served over baked New York State Apples in Season

Seasonal Vegetable Risotto

topped with truffle oil

Caesar Salad

Grilled Porterhouse Steak

served with Lisa's Potatoes (my take on au gratin)

New York Style Cheesecake

I'll be rolling out the white linens for this one folks, BYOB (red wine is your best bet) and let me know if you want to reserve a seat!

Dinner will be served on Sunday, October 13th and 7:00 PM
Dinner is $40.  Be there!

The Life of Pi(e) : The Menu

So, I've decided on the next book for Astoria Book and Supper Club, and it will be The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel.  I loved this book so much, and if you are one of the few people who haven't read it yet, maybe this is your golden opportunity! For the meal, I've decided to be punny, and I will be doing- maybe you guessed it: PIE, but with an Indian twist so here goes:

Personal Pizza Pie:

Curried zucchini, squash, red onion and goat cheese over pesto

Chicken Nawabi Pot Pie

My take on an Indian chicken dish made with coconut milk, ground cashews, fresh ginger and dried apricots.

Fruit Pie

A seasonal fruit pie with cardamom, cinnamon and dried fruit

Dinner will be held on Saturday, June 29th at 7:00 PM.

The price will be $40 and it is BYOB.

Reserve your spot!

The Godfather Dinner Parts One and Two

Two weeks ago, on April 14th and 15th, The Astoria Book and Supper Club hosted an unprecedented, two night Godfather Dinner.  13 diners, 2 cooks, 16 bottles of wine, 2 pots of Sunday sauce, 1 bottle of limoncello, 15 veal chops and many laughs later, they were two nights to remember.

The Place Setting with menu and discussion questions

The First Course Night Two

The First Course Night One

The Spread on Night Two

Dinner started with a spread of Italian antipasti that filled everyone up.  I could probably have just served this and everyone would have been full and happy.  The spread included:  Arancini, Caponata, Mozzarella and Taleggio, soppresata and prosciutto, stuffed calamari, olive and meat bread and onion and pepper marmalade.  There was also chianti, lots and lots of chianti (especially on night two).

Behold the Arthur Avenue platter:  The two cheeses were from Casa Della Mozzarella, and I kid you not, this is the best mozz EVER.  Nothing comes close to it.  The other cheese is taleggio, a soft cheese that's kind of similar to brie, and it's divine if you haven't tried it.  The soppresata, which is unbelievably good, and the prosciutto di Parma came from Calabria pork store, and they do dried sausage right, let me tell you.   

Next to the Arthur avenue platter was the eggplant caponata, the recipe was given to me by my Sicilian Grandmother, and it has always been a favorite dish of mine, it was nice to finally make it.  You can't really go wrong with eggplant, peppers, mushrooms, capers and olives.

I LOVE stuffed calamari.  These were pretty tasty.  I stuffed them with a ground up mixture of breadcrumbs, tentacles, pignoli nuts, lemon, parsley and olive oil. Bake them in the oven and top them with a little wine, lemon and olive oil.

The arancini I made were pistachio flavored.  First I make a risotto, then I mix in grated parmigiana, and my pistachio pesto, which is basically ground up pistachios, parsley and olive oil.  Let it cool, roll them into balls, dredge them, and fry them.  It's very time consuming, but they are usually a crowd pleaser.

Plating the rigatonis

Next Course was my Sunday Sauce with homemade rigatonis, sausage and meatballs.  I spent my Friday night making my homemade pasta dough and forming the rigatonis.  It was a time consuming task, that I will one day blog about.

 The meatballs and sausage were cooked on Sunday in my Sunday sauce, of course.  I like to use the mixture of pork, beef and veal, then I add breadcrumbs, grated parm, an egg, and basil.  Most importantly, the raw meatball goes directly into the sauce, and cooks in the sauce.  This flavors the sauce, while the sauce flavors the meatball.  I do not believe in or condone frying a meatball before it goes into the sauce, I don't think the sauce is able to fully sink into the meatball when there is an outer wall of fried acting as a barrier.  This is just my belief, and I will stick to it.

At the table 

The third course was the veal chop Milanese.  We deboned, pounded and breadcrumbed the chops, Fried them up, and topped them with an arugula, fennel, lemon and olive salad.  The chops were tender and delicious, and full of flavor, chef Liza knocked this one out of the park.  

This came out so pretty, I had to include it.  This was a gluten-free, bradcrumbless version of the chop.  I wish I had this right now.

Dessert: Grapes, oranges and peaches in chianti, and a cannoli for whoever could fit it

Check out these beauties. I bought the shells on Arthur Ave at Madonia Brothers Bakery.  The filling is nutella and mascarpone.  The mixture is delicious, it kind of tastes like chocolate mousse and icing at the same time.  Highly recommended.

So, that was the dinner, two nights, one big blur (a good blur).

A note about Mario Puzo's The Godfather.  If you haven't already, read it you won't be disappointed.  The next time you need some light reading, find yourself a copy it's candy.

A Walk on Arthur Avenue

Full Moon Pizza with Eggplant: Delicious!

As I mentally prepare for my two-night Godfather Dinner undertaking, I find myself reminiscing about/getting excited to spend a Saturday strolling/shopping/eating my way through Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.

My whole life I have always been under the impression that Brooklyn had the best and most authentic Italian specialty items, and YES, the two should not even be compared, but my life sure did change for the better when I finally made my way over to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.  This is my version of Disney World, for sure.  Everyone is so friendly, and the prices are very reasonable (Ok, so maybe it's not Disney).  I haven't really been there too many times, and can't consider myself an expert, but the following are my standout/can't miss places:

Casa Della Mozzarella-This has to be, hands down the best fresh mozzarella I've ever had, it's EXACTLY what I'm looking for in a mozzarella from the salt level, to the texture: it's perfection.  All the guys who work there have great senses of humor, and it's just a fun atmosphere.  They have so many other great products in there too.  A nice selection of imported cheeses, pasta and dry goods from Italy.

The Arthur Avenue Retail Market-  Basically, it's an indoor market made up of stalls that sell all things Italian.  There are prepared foods/sandwiches, Italian produce, a butcher, cigars, dry goods that are not so easy to find.  Really, there's a lot, and it's fun to stroll through and check everything out.  I usually leave with a bag of dried figs.  I know that's not too exciting, but they make me happy.

Borgatti's- This place is pretty awesome.  This is where you get your fresh pasta.  They have it in sheets, ready to be cut into your thickness of choice.  There's a handy piece of cardboard showing the thicknesses they can cut the sheets down to, so, if you need fettucine, linguine or papardelle, you just let them know and they'll make it.  Love it.  I prefer fettucine finished with some pasta water, butter, grated parmigiana with some fresh black pepper and grated nutmeg.  You can't go wrong, and it takes minutes to make.

Randazzo's- There are a couple of seafood places, but I like this place.  They've got lots of fresh fish, and great selection of Italian specialty fish, some fish I haven't seen since I was a kid and Nonna used to make this stuff.  They also have the clam/oyster bar set up outside, so you could just stroll up, and they'll shuck you some clams, hit them with a little of their hot sauce, and you're gonna be pretty happy.

Calabria Pork Store- You cannot see the ceiling of this place because there is so much sausage hanging from the ceiling!  They've got amaaaazzzzzing soppresata and dried hot sausage.  They have capicola, prosciutto and speck.  They have it all.  They are also very friendly (at least to me) and the prices are really really reasonable.  I have a really funny story about this place, but it's long and funnier when told in person, so ask me about it one day if you haven't already heard it.

The Ceiling @ Calabria Pork Store!

This list really is basic, there is so much more going on there.  Including restaurants, pizzerias (Full Moon Pizza: AWESOME) and pastry shops.  I just prefer to buy up ingredients and make a spread at home.  Anyways, make a day of it if you haven't, it is so worth it.  The Bronx Botanical Garden is right there too, and their orchid show is going on right now.  It makes for a great spring day in NYC.

Pictures to follow when I do my shopping before the Godfather dinner this April.

How To Make Italian Sushi

Christmas Sushi

 A few years back, I 'invented' something I call Italian sushi.  I'm usually in charge of apps for Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner, and this dish has become a staple at the Christmas appetizer spread for my Italian family.  It's got the red and green, lots of flavor and they're simple to eat-just pop those suckers in your mouth.  I'm often asked how to make this party-perfect treat, so I'm sharing my recipe with you.

All you need for Italian Sushi

 First, you need your ingredients.  You need good, imported prosciutto-this is your seaweed.  If you want this to work, you need to get fine prosciutto like Di Parma or San Danielle, you have to be willing to get the 24.99/lb or over stuff, it makes rolling and keeping it together easier.  Next you need your risotto-this is your sticky rice.  I make a batch of risotto milanese-the recipe is usually found on the back of any package of arborio rice.  When my risotto is warm, I toss grated parmigiana or grana padano and black pepper into it, which kind of thickens it and makes it a little sticky-perfect for rolling.  Then you need your filling.  I prefer some sauteed asparagus, or some thinly sliced roasted red peppers with some basil that you can chiffonade.

My little sushi rolling diagram

 So, when you're ready to roll, you could take a piece of quality saran wrap, although I prefer to use the waxy film from the prosciutto that separates the layers, this is heavy duty, and rolls the sushi nice and tight.  This is when a bamboo roller would come in very handy.  So, lay about three slices of prosciutto on the 'prosciutto wrap', then spoon and flatten out some risotto on top, add your filling straight across, and roll it up, presses tightly to ensure the roll won't fall apart.  I like to keep the 'prosciutto wrap' around the roll, and I refrigerate it for at least a couple hours.  I usually prepare this the day before serving.  When the sushi is just out of the fridge, it's still really hard so it's easy to cut cleanly with a sharp knife.  Let it sit out for at least 20 minutes before serving, just so it isn't too cold. The flavors will be better.  If you want to make a dip for it, a simple one would be balsamic vinegar, honey and some olive oil.  Get creative if you want, but I prefer the taste of the roll to not be lost to the taste of the vinegar. 

Italian Sushi with Balsamic Vinaigrette

 I did change things up at the last book club dinner for Bel Canto by drizzling Hollandaise sauce over the sushi-fancy time.

The Bel Canto Roll

So there you have it, you too can make Italian sushi.  Give it a try for your next party-you can't really beat something that can be made ahead, and gets eaten almost as fast as bacon at a party.

The Year in Review

The Astoria Book and Supper Club is a year old!  To celebrate I've decided to share some of my favorite dishes that came from recipes I found on the internet, so you too can cook these dishes at home.

The first dish was one of my favorite dishes I've served, and it's from the first meeting for Game of Thrones.  It was my Boeuf Bourguignon Meat Pies.  I made my own pie crust, but to save a little time, you could use store-bought.  I have a copy of Julia Child's famous cook book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but here's an online copy of her recipe: http://cooking.knopfdoubleday.com/2009/07/13/julia-childs-boeuf-bourguignon-recipe/
I cooked the Boeuf the night before the dinner, and let the flavors develop overnight in the fridge.  I reheated it the next day, skimmed off some fat, and kind of shredded the beef just a little to make a better texture for the pies.

Boeuf Bourguignon Meat Pies just out of the oven

A little interior shot-yum

The next dish was from The Great Gatsby brunch.  One of my favorite dishes I've ever served was the East Egg Vs. West Egg dish, but alas, that all comes from my mind, so you can't have that recipe for now.  I was a big fan of the Pork Wellington dish, I thought it was unique and great tasting.  It comes from Alton Brown, who's just such an entertaining and knowledgable chef.  There's also a video that makes it super easy to follow.  I did make some changes to the recipe, like I used dried apricot instead of apples, but here's the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pork-wellington-recipe/index.html

Pork Wellington with Apricot Filling

Next up is the Paella I made for The Shadow of The Wind dinner.  I did a lot of research on Paella, and I used inspiration from many recipes I read, but I followed the steps on this one pretty closely.  The author of this blog is obviously very knowledgable about Paella, and it was very helpful: http://www.paellaguy.com/paella-recipe-2/ 

My Paella

Paella is served!

Moving on to Bel Canto, this was one of my favorite dishes for sure, the Salmon Rillettes over Potato Pancakes.  I wanted to make this dish ever since I read this recipe in Bon Appetit magazine.  I love salmon, and the combination of fresh poached salmon and smoked salmon together, just sounded DIVINE.  It didn't hurt that it's Eric Ripert's recipe.  So, I made the salmon rillettes and topped a potato pancake with it and then topped that with Wasabi-infused flying fish roe from Russ and Daughters.  I loved how this looked on the plate, and I loved the way it tasted.  Here's the salmon rillettes recipe: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/09/salmon-rillettes

Salmon Rillettes over Potato Pancake

If I had to choose a favorite dessert I guess I would go with the lemon tart from Game of Thrones OR the King Cake for A Confederacy of Dunces.  The lemon tart had a great balance of sweet and tart and it was very tasty, a great recipe!  The crust and the lemon filling came from this blog: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2009/06/lemon-tart-recipe.html#.URmz-aXhBhA

My Lemon Tart

As for the King Cake, yes, it came in a box, but I don't care.  I liked it!  It's called Mam Papaul's and here's a link to buy it, but the site also has a recipe.  It comes with the little plastic baby Jesus and everything, perfect for Mardi Gras!

http://www.mardigrasoutlet.com/catalog/1881.html

Mam Papaul's King cake mix purchased in New Orleans

The result

So there you have it, some of my secrets.  Looking forward to another year of recipes!

The Godfather: The Menu

So, I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse (yeah, I went there).  I will be cooking Mario Puzo's book, The Godfather, you may have heard of it, on Sunday, April 14th at 7:00PM.  It'll be a real Italian Sunday dinner, and I'm very excited to cook and host this!

Course one will be a family-style spread:

Stuffed Calamari (my version is lemon, the tentacles, capers, pignoli nuts and parsley)

Caponata (fried eggplant, onion, tomatoes, peppers and olives)

Prosciutto and Soppresata from Calabria Pork Store on Arthur Avenue

Fresh Mozzarella and Talleggio from Casa della Mozzarella on Arthur Avenue

Pork Bread from Rose and Joe's Bakery in Astoria

My Homemade Sweet and Hot Red Onion Marmalade
Arancini 

Course Two:

Sunday Sauce (with sausage and my Nonna's meatballs) over

Fresh Colossal Homemade Rigatoni

Course Three:

Veal Chop Milanese topped with an arugula fennel and citrus salad.

Course 4:

Nutella and Mascarpone Filled Cannoli

Peaches, Oranges and Grapes in Red Wine

Dinner and a non-stop flow of Chianti will be $60, or you can BYOB for $50.  So, get yourself a copy of Mario Puzo's The Godfather, start reading and let me know if you want to attend!

Try the Veal...

After some debating I've decided that the next book to cook will be Mario Puzo's The Godfather.  Before the deservedly infamous movie came out, it was a book.  I've always been kind of interested in reading it, and I've been wanting to cook some Italian food for a book club meeting.  I think this is the perfect book, because everyone could have a lot of fun with it, and eat well too!  I'll be pulling out all the stops, and it will be held on Sunday, April 14th. Once I've read the book, I'll post the menu as soon as possible.
So, 'save the date' and start reading The Godfather if you want to come to Sunday dinner, and don't worry, I won't hide a gun in the basin of my toilet!

Bel Canto: The Dinner

My South American themed table

 Last night was the Bel Canto dinner.  The theme of the night was cultural mash-ups.  The book centered around a bunch of people from all over the world living amongst each other as either hostages or terrorists.  I decided that I would make each course a fusion of flavors and techniques from different culinary backgrounds.  Ones that aren't too obvious but end up working well together.

The Place setting

St. Germain Cocktail

 I started the guests off with a St. Germain Cocktail, made with, yes, St. Germain (which is an elderflower liquor) soda water and freshly squeezed limes. 

The Bel Canto Roll

The First Course

The first course was the "Bel Canto Roll".  I've been making 'Italian Sushi' for a few years now, and it's just a fun appetizer.  It's easy to eat and kind of tasty, and also kind of different.  I use risotto as the rice and prosciutto as the seaweed.  In this version, I stuffed them with sauteed asparagus, and then drizzled hollandaise sauce over them.  Asparagus and Hollandaise was served in the book, so it was nice to be able to incorporate a little of the book into the meal.  So the countries represented in this dish are Japan, Italy and France.

Salmon Rillettes over a Potato Pancake topped with Wasabi Roe

The Second Course

 This was probably my favorite dish of the night, but also the one I was most looking forward to making.  I had the rillettes recipe for a while, it's Eric Ripert's recipe he uses at Le Bernardin.  The potato pancake seemed like a great way to serve the rillettes, and the wasabi-infused flying fish roe was a stroke of luck.  I came across it at Russ and Daughters last Saturday afternoon when I was buying the smoked salmon for this dish.  I had been wanting to top the dish with Caviar, but didn't really want to spend $250 on some.  I love the way the colors work on the plate, and I must say, biting into this was pure decadence.  It was great.  This dish whisks us off to Germany, France and Japan.

Shrimp Ceviche

The Third Course

 The third course was Shrimp Ceviche.  It had a nice little kick to it, because I used two types of chili peppers in it, and also avocado, orange bell pepper, cilantro and lots of lime.  It was a refreshing dish, and lightened things up since it was served between two fried dishes.  This dish ended up not being a culinary mash-up, it's basically just Peruvian.  It's never actually stated, but most people agree that the book is set in Peru.

Panko Crusted Weinerschnitzel over Warm Potato Salad topped with a Raw Beet Salad

The Fourth Course

The fourth course was not too shabby.  This dish took us to Germany, Japan and Russia.  The warm potato salad was tossed with olive oil, rice wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, scallions and my homemade seasoned salt.  The weinerschnitzel (I used a pounded pork tenderloin) was nice and crispy and very juicy and tender.  The raw beet salad was derived from a few Russian beet salad recipes.  The shaved beets were tossed with some mayo, dill, grated cucumber and garlic.  It had such a nice refreshing taste, and the color on it was just gorgeous.  I love how this plate looked, because the colors and textures were just so visually pleasing.  It was a great finish to dinner.

Panettone Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Syrup

The Fifth Course

On to dessert, a Panettone bread pudding.  I had never made bread pudding before, and it's quite easy, and uncomplicated which is what I look for in a dessert.  The cinnamon syrup really added a nice layer of sweet and warm flavors at the end.  I consider this dish Italian American.

So that was the Bel Canto dinner.  I think it was very successful, and I could NOT have done it without my sous chef, Liza, she's the best!  Also, thanks to my guests, they were very into the discussion last night, if you've read the book, you know there's lots to discuss.

I just need to figure out the next book to cook!