11-22-63: The Dinner

This past Saturday, November 17th was the Astoria Book and Supper Club's fifth meeting.  We feasted and discussed Steven King's 11-22-63, a story about a modern day man who travels back in time to stop JFK's assassination.  I'm a big fan of nostalgia, the idea of time travel, and the mysteries surrounding the conspiracy that is JFK's assassination, so I was pretty excited for some lively discussions.  King did a great job painting a picture of American foods from that era, and I had a lot of fun creating a 'throwback' menu for this dinner.

My Idea of a "Dinery" Table setting

I wanted the setting to feel like an Any-Town-USA diner.  Very casual, kind of retro.  I used tourist attraction mugs, retro drinking glasses, utensils rolled in napkins, ketchup and mustard squeeze bottles (they were filled with my own condiments-not a fan of ketchup or yellow mustard), and markers for drawing on the place mats.

My Place Mats

Speaking of place mats, I've always had a fascination with diner place mats.  As an artistic child, I loved to draw on them when the opportunity presented itself (Woody Wood Pecker was my go-to doodle).  I have always loved the throwback cocktail lists (turns out I don't like the taste of Harvey Wallbangers) too.  So, I made my own place mats, as an homage to this diner necessity.  It included a cocktail list, a word search that pertained to 11-22-63, "Today's Specials" (the menu for the evening) and the discussion questions.

Lobster Pickins!

 For the first course, I prepared Lobster Pickins with a side of Coleslaw.  This was for sure my favorite food description in the book, which left me craving these batter-fried lobster tails for months.  I envisioned them in red baskets with deli paper just like pictured above, and I was very happy with the outcome.  To read something and then bring it to life was a lot of fun.

Feasting on Pickins and Slaw

 The slaw was a big hit, and I promise to give the recipe out, for my next post.  It had a citrus honey mustard base, because I have never been a fan of traditional coleslaw.  It also paired well with the lobster.  I advised my diners to use the sauce in the yellow squeeze bottle on the lobster.  It was made with mayonnaise, dijon mustard, honey, ginger and curry.

The ProngHorn Special

 The Pronghorn Special was served at a diner the main character frequented in the book.  It consisted of a Prongburger (a double BBQ burger) mesquite fries, and a thick shake.  The Prongburger had cheddar cheese, bacon, fried onions and BBQ sauce on it.  The red squeeze bottle had extra BBQ sauce for the fries.

Dinner Is Served!

The vanilla thick shake, which you could see above, was made with vanilla gelato from La Guli Pastry shop on Ditmars Blvd.  They have pretty amazing gelato, just DON'T open the freezer door yourself, even though it is right there at your fingertips and seems like it's there just waiting to be opened by a customer, especially since you just saw another customer open the door and not get accosted. Yes, that happened, but they are actually very nice and have beautiful and delicious things.  I just really don't like to be yelled at or made an example of!

The Root Beer Float and Pound Cake

My other favorite food description in the book was of the root beer the main character drank when he first traveled back in time.   I never so desperately wanted to drink an ice cold foamy mug of root beer in my life after reading it, and there was no way root beer was not going to be served.  I thought a root beer float would be the perfect ending to this meal.  I felt the need to add a slice of pound cake because it kind of played a cute role in the story.  It was code word for something slightly risque for that time period, and I don't want to give anymore away.

Dessert

I thought it would be cute to serve it this way and let the guests interact with their floats.  They were all pretty stuffed at this point, so they were better off pouring it when they found some room.

My Grandfather's Carving of JFK circa November, 1963

When my Grandfather heard I was having dinner party that was JFK 'themed' he very generously loaned me this wood carving he made the day after the assassination.  My Grandfather is very talented, and a true creator.  I'm so happy that this is what he spent that day doing, it's a beautiful commemoration of one of our country's most influential citizens, and of one of the most notorious days in our history.  I was very proud to have it on display for the dinner.

The Anatomy of a ProngBurger

On November 17th I will be cooking and hosting The Astoria Book and Supper Club's 5th meeting, for Steven King's 11-22-63, a book that takes a present day man back in time to prevent Kennedy's assassination.  The food described in the book has a very nostalgic appeal, and I knew I wanted to cook what many characters ate at Al's Diner, the Pronghorn Special: a double BBQ cheeseburger, mesquite fries and a thick shake.

If you're a meat eater, you most likely like burgers.  If you like burgers, you most likely have some sort of burger guidelines or standards.  For example, I like a charred and crispy on the outside, slightly rare on the inside burger with American cheese, lettuce, pickles and mayo or a special sauce on a soft bun.  We all have our favorites, and while I have my preferences, there aren't too many burgers that I would turn away.

When coming up with my version of the Prongburger, described as a BBQ double cheeseburger, I decided that the burger would have to have cheddar cheese, a homemade smoky BBQ sauce, bacon and fried onions.  Last night I had my practice run.  I bought potato hamburger buns, nice and dense and soft.  I fried up the onions in some butter and oil, using sherry to deglaze them and seasoned them with salt and pepper.  I made what is pretty close to my typical BBQ sauce, but I added liquid  smoke to it, giving it that mesquite bbq taste of Texas.  I had never used it before, and it was interesting when my apartment smelled like a tailgate when I woke up this morning.  I fried up the bacon, and then fried the burgers in some of the bacon fat-was that wrong?

Soon it was time for the last key "ingredient": the assembly.  Starting from the bottom bun, I spread some BBQ sauce on the bun, then a few slices of bacon, followed by a patty, a melted slice of cheddar, the other patty, another melted slice of cheddar, the fried onions, and then more BBQ sauce spread on the top of the bun.  I was happy with the assembly, because the burgers and accoutrements did not slide around, although they had some slippery potential.  I learned a couple lessons, and am ready to take the Prongburger on for real on the 17th.

So that was practice.  Not the greatest cell phone shot, but check back for the real thing in a couple of weeks!

11-22-63 The Menu

The Fifth Meeting of the Astoria Book and Supper Club will take place on the night of Saturday, November 17th at 7:30PM.  The book will be Steven King's 11-22-63, the story of a present day man who travels back in time to stop Kennedy's assassination.  This book combines rich historical detail with that fantastical element that Steven King does so well to create a great suspenseful read.  I particularly enjoyed his descriptions of foods from the 50s and 60s.  From the nostalgic types of food to the fresh, unprocessed pre-mass produced ingredients,  I knew that I wanted to cook this book when reading it.  So, here's the menu:

To Start:

"Lobster Pickin's"

Battered chunks of lobster tail served with a spicy dipping sauce and a side of coleslaw

Entree:

"Pronghorn Special"

A double cheeseburger with cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce, bacon and fried onions

A side of Mesquite Fries and a Rodeo Thick Shake

Dessert:

Root Beer and Pound Cake Float

So you may have noticed the menu only has three courses, but the portions will be a lot larger, and you WILL NOT walk away hungry.  I'm going to make this BYOB, and beer will most likely be the best pairing for this meal, but if you would rather drink wine, by all means drink wine! Dinner will be $35 per person.
Let me know if you're interested in attending, forward this to anyone you think may be interested in attending, and get reading!
Email me to reserve a seat or if you have any questions: leeya448@gmail.com

Save the Date: 11-22-63

Here is the official 5th Book and Supper Club announcement: you will be reading and I will be cooking: 11-22-63 written by Steven King.  I've been saving this one for November, and have been wanting to "cook it" since I've read it.  Modern day protagonist Jake Epping,  travels back in time to 1958 when he is asked to go back and stop JFK from being assassinated.  The descriptions of food are great, and I found myself wanting to try all of these fresh, unprocessed foods Jake got to eat and appreciate.

If you haven't read a "non-scary" book of Steven King's, you should try it.  The amount of research he does is worth reading the book alone, but he really does tell a great, suspenseful story.  Also, if JFK's assassination and the mystery that surrounds it is something you're into, again, you should read this!

A little food teaser for you: there will be battered lobster tails, BBQ burgers and root beer floats involved.  I promise to get the menu out ASAP, you should get a copy of the book in return! Wiki-Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11/22/63

Dinner will most likely take place Saturday night, November 17th.

Build Your Own Ignatius Dog!

An ode to the literary character Ignatius J. Reilly and New Orlean's famed Muffaletta sandwich, the Ignatius Dog was one of my latest inventions that I served for the A Confederacy of Dunces book and supper club meeting.  If you follow these simple steps, you too can dine on this hot dog of epic proportions.

From the Bottom Up:
1.) Cut and hollow out (rip off excess bread using your hands) loaves of semolina bread, so they mimic a hot dog bun.  You can just use a hot dog bun, but the classic Muffaletta is made with semolina bread, so you should think about using semolina too!

2.) Layer the roll with thin slices of Virginia Ham, Genoa Salami and Swiss Cheese (you can change this up a bit, but this makes a pretty good combination)

3.) Time to put in the Hot Dog (I prefer to buy the homemade Frankfurters at Muncan Food Corp. on Broadway in Astoria). It goes right on top of the Swiss cheese layer so the heat from the dog melts the Swiss a little bit.  I heated the dogs in a pan with a little water, once the water evaporated I threw in a couple of slices of butter into the pan, just to get the dogs to blister up a bit and get nice and snappy.

4.) Load it up with Olive Salad (recipe to follow)

5.) Serve and eat! 

Lisa's Olive Salad:

Ingredients:

Colossal pitted green Sicilian olives

Carrots (cut into a 1/4 dice)

Celery (about the same size)

Dried Oregano -the higher the quality the better (try buying a bouquet of dried oregano over jarred oregano)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil- Again, the higher the quality the better

Salt and Pepper to taste

To Do:

Chop the olives to be about just a little bigger than the diced carrots and celery.  Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, toss, and store it.  Mix it once or twice a day, and I would say to prepare this at least one day in advance so it could really marinate.  Salt and pepper it accordingly, remembering that the olives are very salty.

Shopping for The Dunces

Shopping for the A Confederacy of Dunces supper was unique because I got to buy some ingredients down in New Orleans, but I also had to use Amazon, I'm sorry to say, because one ingredient wasn't so easy to find.  I made up for that corporate purchase by stopping into many of my favorite local Astoria shops.

I came back from New Orleans with some Slap Ya Mama seasoning and the Mardi Gras King cake mix. After getting back from the south gritless, I did some research, and apparently it's not that easy to find slow grits, and only instant grits are readily available.  That's when I decided I had to go through amazon, and with my free shipping, it was pretty easy to get my hands on a container of real Quaker grits.  I went ahead and picked up an oyster knife for Liza while I was at it.

On Thursday I went over to my favorite Grocery store, Berry Fresh Farms, and picked up a lot of staples I needed for the menu, especially my ingredients for the olive salad (that would go into the "Ignatius Hot Dog") which I made that night to give it ample marinating time for Saturday.

On Friday I stopped into my fish store in Jamaica, Queens after work to pick up 30 Oysters, 8 servings of Sole and 1 pound of shrimp.  I took the subway back to Astoria and stopped into Muncan Foods on Broadway for a half pound of bacon and a dozen of their hot dogs.  This place is a meat lover's dream.  I've shopped here for three out my four suppers, and they never disappoint.  There are so many interesting types of cured and smoked meats from a range nationalities.  It's definitely worth a look.

On Saturday I stopped into The Ditmars Flower Shop for my New Orleans balcony-inspired fern-like center pieces.  This is a beautiful shop, the workers are always helpful and friendly.  The quality is great, and I find the prices to be very fair.  Then I went to Rose and Joe's Bakery under the N/Q for my 3 loaves of semolina bread.  This is great little bakery, and I can't believe I never realized they also sell Sicilian pizza in the back.  I'm definitely stopping there the next time I don't feel like cooking.  For the final stop, I went across the street to Rosario's Italian Deli to pick up the Genoa salami, Swiss cheese and Virginia ham for the Ignatius Hot Dog. Then I got my butt (and Liza's butt) into the kitchen.

If you're an Astorian and have not been to these places, I suggest that you do!

A Confederacy of Dunces: The Dinner

The Astoria Book and Supper Club met for the fourth time this past Saturday, September 15th...the meeting was for A Confederacy of Dunces, written by John Kennedy Toole.  Set in New Orleans, I decided this was my opportunity to cook up a Big Easy inspired meal, and that the book would be the perfect conversation starter.   People seem to either love or hate this book and the "Dunces" that it follows, and I would say the guests, myself and my sous chef Liza's opinions on the matter were split 50/50.  On to the meal...

The Place Setting with Menu and Discussion Questions

The Set Table, Pimm's Cup in the pitcher on the left

I set the table as New Orleansy as possible, and the drink I offered for the night was a Pimm's Cup, which personally, I love.  To make it I used Pimm's, homemade lemonade, lemon-lime seltzer and cucumber slices.  It is such a refreshing drink, and it definitely puts a smile on your face.

Homemade Potato Chips and Remoulade

The guests began to arrive, I had them meet in the living room where they were greeted with some homemade potato chips that were seasoned with "Slap ya Mama" creole spices that I bought down in New Orleans.  Crispy, salty and spicy, I was very happy with how they came out, and I have Liza to thank for their perfection (I did start my Saturday slicing the potatoes without a mandolin, I must add).  I made the remoulade sauce the night before, and it came out great, even Miko (my feline) couldn't seem to resist it. 

Sazerac Cocktail

This was my attempt at a Sazerac Cocktail, a New Orleans classic.  I made it with Cognac, a splash of bitters and simple syrup with a twist of lemon.  Definitely puts hair on your chest (and I didn't even use absinthe, which the recipe called for!).

Oysters and Garlic & Herb butter pre-broiling

Once all the guests arrived, they were seated at the table and it was time to stick the first course in the broiler.  Earlier, Liza shucked the oysters, while I put together the garlic and herb compound butter.  We broiled them for about 5 minutes, sprinkled on the Parmesan and threw them back in for another minute.

Broiled Oysters

I'm was pretty happy with the finished product, they weren't overdone at all, and look how cute the little fork looks on the plate!  That was a last minute discovery that made me very happy plating and function wise.

Cheesy Shrimp and Grits

The next course was the Cheesy Shrimp and Grits.  This was my first time making grits, and it's a little dangerous that I still have most of the container left, because they are really tasty with some cheddar cheese added to them! I added sauteed leeks, red bell pepper and rendered bacon to the cheddar grits, and lastly, added raw chopped shrimp to the hot grits, cooking the shrimp just by stirring them in.

Cheesy Shrimp and Grits at the Table

We decided to serve the grits in my old-fashioned champagne glasses, very cute if you ask me!

The Ignatius Dog!

Oh boy, the moment I was waiting for!  This is my Ignatius Dog, an invention I'm pretty proud of.  The main character in A Confederacy of Dunces is Ignatius, and hot dog eating figures prominently in the book.  I wanted to use the Muffaletta sandwich (a classic New Orleans staple) on the menu somewhere, when a light bulb went off, and I realized the ingredients that make up the Muffaletta crossed with a hot dog would actually taste great!  I think it did and my guests thought it did, and this is something you can put together home!  I promise to post an Ignatius Dog tutorial very soon!

Cornmeal Crusted Sole over Corn Salad served with Remoulade Sauce

The fourth course (I must say I was pretty tired at this point, and I think my guests may have been a little full after the giant hot dog) was the cornmeal crusted Sole over corn salad, and it was served with more of my remoulade sauce.  I soaked the sole in buttermilk for a few hours, and then dredged it in some seasoned cornmeal.  I fried it up and then seasoned it again with the 'Slap Ya Mama' creole seasoning.  I roasted the corn earlier, and added it to chopped red onion, jalapeno, scallions, orange pepper and parsley.  I dressed it with a honey and rice wine vinaigrette.

Mardi Gras King Cake

I had purchased a box of Mardi Gras King Cake in New Orleans, because I just didn't know if I would find the little freaky flesh-colored baby that I needed to hide in it, OR if I would be able to find purple, green and gold sugar crystals.  I know so little about baking that I can't even shop for baking...

Where's the baby?

The cake was swirled with a praline brown sugar butter, which gave the cake the perfect amount of sweetness, because this was more like a sweet bread (not to be confused with sweetbreads)...I actually liked it a lot, since I don't have much of a sweet tooth, and it was nice to have a slice with some tea the next morning.

The fourth meeting was a success for sure, and I'm happy to say that I already know what book I want to cook next....