Posts Tagged ‘food’

THE CLASSIC SCORPION BOWL

Posted: November 7, 2012 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, mixology
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I went on line and looked at many websites that claimed to have the “real” recipe for a Scorpion Bowl…you know, the classic drink you get in a large Trader Vic volcano glass with a little cup in the volcano for the 151 rum that you take a small hit of before you suck down more of the drink? I tell you what: it makes the Asian food you’re eating that much tastier and the world around you spin that much faster!
Most of the recipes I’ve found on line don’t match the one that I’ve been using for many years. This recipe comes from a bartender (whose name I can’t remember–too many Scorpion bowls, I guess) from a long-gone Chinese restaurant, China Garden, that was located in Warwick, Rhode Island. A car dealership now stands in that location. This is the best Scorpion Bowl I’ve ever had…and continue to have!
Make sure to use top shelf booze for this or you’ll be a Suffering Bastard the next morning! (A little drink humor…)

Look carefully, and you may see the flame coming out of the volcano! Hope I don’t need to tell you not to drink the 151while it’s lit!

SCORPION BOWL
2 oz. light rum (I use Don Q silver)
2 oz. dark rum (I use Mt Gay)
1 oz. gin (I use Bombay Sapphire)
½ oz. brandy (I use good ol’ E&J)
½ oz. Disaronno Originale
½ oz. Cointreau
6 oz Pineapple juice
6 oz Orange juice
½ oz. Bacardi 151 rum for the little cup in the volcano

In a blender half-full of ice, add all the alcohol, except the 151 rum. Add the pineapple juice and the orange juice.  (Use less if you like it stronger.) Give the drink a quick 1-second pulse in the blender, and pour with ice into Scorpion Bowl or very large glass. If you do have a Scorpion Bowl with the volcano in it, add the 151 rum to the bowl in the volcano. If not, you can mix the 151 into your drink.

Don’t drive!

SIMPLE, FAST, EASY AND DAMN TASTY CRAB CAKES

Posted: November 5, 2012 in crab, Food, frying, mustard, Recipes, seafood
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The fact that I can’t remember a damn thing anymore has actually worked in my favor when it comes to getting recipe ideas from television. I can no longer get the exact ingredients down and so I wind up make stuff up as I go along. The end result: my own original take on a particular recipe.
A perfect example of that was a few months ago when I was watching Adam Richman’s Best Sandwich In America on the Travel Channel, which featured some of the most innovative sandwiches from around the country. I was particularly intrigued by the methods used by the folks at Faidley’s in Baltimore to make their famous crab cake sandwich. I jotted down what I thought they did (of course, they don’t reveal their recipe secrets) and I wound up creating the best crab cake I’ve ever made:
Alz Crab Cakes

1 pound crab meat
1/3 cup oyster crackers
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/2 cup mayo/mustard blend

To make the mayo/mustard blend, combine 4 parts mayonnaise to 1 part mustard. You your favorite. I use Maiile Chablis mustard, but it’s only available in France. (See my previous blog about the Maille mustard shop in Paris.) However, Maille Dijon mustard is great, too. Set aside.

Take the oyster crackers and pulse them in a food processor until it resembles oatmeal…not too fine.

In a bowl, gently mix all the ingredients. With your hands, form small crab cake balls, like meatballs. Place on a tray lined with foil, and pop in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to set.
Heat oil in a pan to 375 degrees. Gently drop the crab cakes into the oil, and fry for only 10 to 15 seconds. Flip over, and fry 10 to 15 seconds more, just to form a light crust. Don’t over-fry or they will fall apart!

Drain crab cakes on paper towels and enjoy.

Any leftover mayo/mustard works great as a tartar dipping sauce, or a spread if you’re making a crab cake sandwich. Just finely chop some pickles, add a splash of Worcestershire and/or hot sauce, and mix with the mayo/mustard.

This recipe works equally well with a light, flaky fish, like cod. Combine mayo/mustard mix with Old Bay. Slather the fish in it, then roll the fish in the crumbs and fry in oil.

 

Don’t let the fact that your brain isn’t what it used to be get you down. Take advantage of it! You just might come up with an original recipe that blows the doors off anything you copy down word for word.

ASIAN STYLE CHICKEN WINGS

Posted: November 1, 2012 in chicken, Food, marinade, Recipes, wings
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When you’ve had enough of Buffalo wings, try this Asian version. They are easy to make, and taste awesome. A nice change of pace from your usual wings. This recipe works well with larger chicken pieces, too.
Asian style chicken wings
10 lbs chicken wings, the larger the better
2 cups soy sauce
1 small can (6 oz) pineapple juice
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon powdered onion
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
a squirt of sesame oil
Salt and pepper
Mix all the marinade ingredients in a large Ziploc bag, shake to mix, and then add the chicken. Marinate in the fridge overnight, turning the bag once in a while to make sure everything gets an even coating of the marinade.
The next day, pour off the marinade and discard, remove chicken wings from the bag, place on a cookie sheet lined with foil, and bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes, until sizzling and done.

ROAD TRIP: LOUIS’ LUNCH IN NEW HAVEN, CT

Posted: October 30, 2012 in burgers, Food, travel
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In the tradition of the Food Network’s extremely popular show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” I get a special thrill in discovering great old eating establishments while on the road.

One way to easily hunt down those local gems is by downloading an app like MapMuse on my iPhone, which tells me all of the locations of every joint featured on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”

So whenever I’m heading home to New York to see my family, I check the website out for the possibility of a fun eating experience along the way, not too far off I-95.

One time I made a stop in Westport, CT at the Black Duck Cafe, and chowed down on an amazing sauteed crawfish po-boy and Caesar salad, on the waterfront of this sleepy blue-collar town, the elevated highway directly above.

More recently, I stopped in New Haven, CT at the legendary Louis’ Lunch, established in 1895. With room for only 25 people, this tiny hot spot claims it is where the hamburger was invented. If you want a fancy burger, this is not the place. They serve ’em just a few ways: with cheese or without, with tomatoes and onions or without. All burgers are cooked medium-rare, and come on toasted white bread. No ketchup in the building. No salt and pepper. For sides: potato salad or chips. Some drinks. And that’s it!

Apparently, they don’t need to cater to the masses, because there’s always a line out the door, and the wait can be as long as 2 hours for a burger…and people gladly wait.

A fresh batch of burgers right out of the grill!

I was lucky: I got there on a Friday afternoon and missed the lunch rush, so I only had to wait a half-hour for my taste of history, still grilled in the funky-looking original gas-fired grills built back in the 1800’s.

The original grills at Louis’ Lunch: 9 burgers are cooked at a time, placed in a screen that holds them while they cook sideways.

In all honesty, it was not the best burger I’ve ever had…and I don’t know if I’d wait 2 hours for one. But it was a fun experience being there…watching others in line doing what I was doing: whipping out the phone and taking pictures of this legendary establishment…one that almost succumbed to the wrecking ball until the people of New Haven came to the aid of Louis’ Lunch and had it moved down the road to its current location.

At the counter: White plastic bags full of sliced bread await the toaster that sends them spinning around on a belt.
It just takes a couple of minutes off I-95 to get to Louis’ Lunch. Certainly more fun than stopping at some fast food joint. And a chance to taste a bit of  history.

BLUEBERRY CORNMEAL BUTTERMILK PANCAKES WITH LEMON ZEST

Posted: October 27, 2012 in breakfast, buttermilk, Food, pancakes, Recipes
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It’s a mouthful…but man, is it good!
I think buttermilk is overlooked by most people. If you gave the average person a quart of buttermilk, they wouldn’t know what to do with it. Most people have heard of regular buttermilk pancakes, or maybe the process of soaking chicken in buttermilk before breading and frying…but that’s about it.
I grew up in a Lithuanian household where buttermilk, like many other dairy products, was an everyday ingredient. From something as simple as a bowl of cold buttermilk with fried potatoes on the side (one of my Dad’s favorites), to a cold summer borscht, my Mom found different ways to use buttermilk on a regular basis.
The term “buttermilk” actually refers to several different dairy drinks. Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. Buttermilk can also be quickly soured milk, a common drink in warmer climates. In colder climates, the souring process doesn’t occur naturally, but it is often encouraged, commonly by placing bread in the milk to make it go sour faster. (My Mom did this all the time, using Lithuanian bread, a dark rye-like bread.) And then there’s cultured buttermilk, which is what most of us find on supermarket store shelves today. This is milk that has had lactic acid bacteria introduced into it.
I loved the taste of buttermilk–still do. Just give me a cold bowl, sprinkle a little finishing salt in it, and I’m good. But for those who don’t want their buttermilk straight, here’s a recipe that will knock your socks off, and wouldn’t be the same without this great, misunderstood ingredient.
Blueberry cornmeal buttermilk pancakes with lemon zest
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups stoneground yellow cornmeal
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 large egg
3 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter, slightly cooled
1–2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, preferably wild, rinsed and dried
Whisk flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl
to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg, lemon zest, and melted butter into buttermilk to combine.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients in the bowl. Pour in milk mixture and
whisk very gently until just combined. Do not over mix. A few lumps are OK.
Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil and brush to coat skillet
bottom evenly. Pour 1/4 cup batter into 3 spots on skillet. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon
blueberries over each pancake. Cook pancakes until large bubbles begin to appear,
about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Using thin, wide spatula, flip pancakes and cook until golden
brown on second side, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer.
Serve immediately.

THE BEST BEEF JERKY IS THE ONE YOU MAKE AT HOME

Posted: October 25, 2012 in beef, Food, jerky, marinade, Recipes
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Like hot dogs and Slim Jims, jerky is one of those “mystery meats” we love but don’t really know how it’s made or what part of the animal it comes from.
Really excellent beef jerky is a rare treat, and once you have it, you will never go back to that rancid, preservative-filled dog meat you find in a bag at the supermarket. And the best part is: it’s quite easy to make.
First, the meat: I like to shop around for a really good cut of London broil for my beef jerky. You can use cheaper cuts, but a nice, lean slab of London broil, sliced into 1/4″ pieces on a diagonal, against the grain, works really well. Remove all gristle and fat that may be on the meat before slicing.
Once you’ve done that, all you need to do is make the marinade, marinate the beef overnight, and then dry it the next day. It really is that easy.
Your final product will be a flavorful beef jerky that is so good, you’ll find it very hard to stop eating it…or to share it.
Marinated beef strips on the dehydrator.
Alz Beef Jerky
1 Tablespoon salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh minced peeled ginger
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup Teriyaki sauce
1 cup soy sauce
8 lbs raw, lean beef, like London broil, cut into 1/4″ thick diagonal slices, against the grain of the meat
Mix all ingredients except meat in a large bowl. Place meat in a large Ziploc bag, pour marinade inside, seal, and refrigerate overnight. Squish the bag around once in a while, to make sure all meat surfaces make contact with the marinade. Keep the bag in a bowl to prevent any accidental spillage in your fridge!
The next day, pour off the marinade and discard. Using a food dehydrator or simply an oven at 140 degrees, dry the meat by laying strips on cookie sheets in a single layer. Drying could take several hours to half a day, depending on how dry and chewy you like your jerky.
Best you ever had!
Jerky stores really well in the freezer. I put small amounts into individual freezer bags, then place all of them in one large freezer bag. Thaw as needed.

I HAVE DISCOVERED PIZZA GREATNESS, AND IT’S CALLED MONTANARA

Posted: October 14, 2012 in Food, Italian, montanara, pizza, Recipes, Rhode Island, Uncategorized
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Sad to say, but despite the large Italian community we have here in Rhode Island, there is no truly excellent pizza to speak of. I suppose you could say “them’s fightin’ words!” but if it’s here, I haven’t found it yet.
So where is the excellent pizza? New York City, of course. OK…maybe I’m a bit prejudiced because I grew up there and worked in a variety of pizzerias in my younger days, but there is no doubt in my mind that if you want the best pizza (or bagel, for that matter), you have got to go to the Big Apple. Everything else is simply a bad copy.
It can be confusing in New York City as there are many different varieties of pizza to choose from, some much better than others. Brick oven pizzas abound, but there are pizza lovers who won’t settle for anything less than a pizza baked in a coal-fired oven. The extremely high heat of a coal-fired oven cooks the pizza in just a minute, and imparts a crusty, charred flavor you can’t get any other way. There are only about a dozen coal-fired pizzerias in Manhattan, and many of them have been around for over 100 years, so it’s definitely a matter of making a special trip to enjoy this style of pizza. (No new coal-fired pizzerias can be built in the city, due to more recent strict pollution control laws.)
There’s the traditional thin, round Neopolitan pie, and the thicker, square Sicilian pie. Regular mozzarella or mozzarella di bufala. Domestic or imported cheese?
Many choices, but always the same answer: it’s a matter of personal taste.
But when I heard through the pizza lovers’ grapevine that there was a “new” pizza out there, one that was gaining a cult following, I needed to know about it. And more importantly, I needed to taste it!
It’s called Pizza Montanara, and there are only a few pizzerias in New York City that serve it. The one I went to is called Pizzarte, on West 55th St, and I have to say that I have now discovered the ultimate pizza.
What makes Pizza Montanara so spectacular, quite simply, is that the dough is fried in oil before they put the sauce and cheese on it, and then it is baked in a wood burning oven. It is not greasy. In fact, the frying process, which lasts only a minute, puffs the dough up and creates a beautiful pillow-like softness that I have never experienced in a pizza before.
Pillowy goodness! Its rectangular shape is probably due to the fact that they fry it in a restaurant deep fryer.
The pizza was so good that once my wife and I ate the first pie, we ordered another. Then when it was time for us to drive home from New York, we stopped at Pizzarte and ordered two to go, which we devoured by the time we got to the Connecticut border!
The Montanara is a simple pizza margherita: dough, super-fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella di bufala, topped with a fresh basil leaf. But the frying process creates a magical treat that has got me drooling all over this blog as I write it.
It’s so good, that just a few days after returning from the city, I made my first attempt at creating a montanara pizza at home. My result: pretty successful! A little crunchier than Pizzarte’s montanara, but with a little tweaking, I may just get the hang of this thing!
A little rounder (I fried it in a pan) and I sprinkled oregano on top instead of the fresh basil leaf. But not a bad first attempt!
I’m going to back to Manhattan for Thanksgiving weekend, and pizza montanara is the first food on my list!

A FOODIE DESTINATION FOR NEW ZEALAND CRAYFISH

Posted: October 5, 2012 in crayfish, Food, New Zealand, nin's bin, seafood, travel
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One of the true delicacies of New Zealand is their version of lobster they call crayfish. It’s similar in appearance to a Maine lobster, but it has no claws. And prices are very high. For example, a single crayfish that weighs about 1 1/2 pounds costs 54 New Zealand dollars. That’s about $38 US for what amounts to a 1/2 pound of actual meat.

On the South Island of New Zealand, on the Pacific (eastern) coast near the beach town of Kaikoura, there is a shack that has been serving up crayfish for years…and it’s earned a cult following among foodies that, like me, have traveled thousands of miles just to have a taste of this seafood delicacy.

The place is called Nins Bin, and it’s simply a little shack that sits on the rugged, windy coastline of the Pacific. You walk in, and a plastic container holds already-cooked crayfish, caught that day. The prices for each are marked right on the shell. You pick one, they cut it in half, and serve it with your choice of two sauces: one a sort of thousand island thing, and the other a garlic aioli. We took one of each, walked over to the only picnic table nearby, and quickly finished off this little treat, hungry seagulls buzzing all around us, waiting for any morsel we might accidentally drop. (Not a chance!)


The flesh of the crayfish was sweet…but not really sweet like Maine lobster can be. And although it was a beautiful white in color, its texture was almost meat-like, like chicken. But really good. We devoured the tail, sucked whatever meat we could out of the legs, and that was it…crayfish gone. Experience had. It totally lived up to the foodie hype I had read about.

 

We hung out around Nins Bin a little longer, taking in the atmosphere before we got back in the rental car and headed down the road to the town of Kaikoura, our next stop on our 3-week, 2000 mile journey through New Zealand.

JUVENILE’S WINE BAR IN PARIS…A MUST STOP

Posted: October 2, 2012 in Drinks, Food, Juvenile's, Paris, Saveur, Tim Johnston, travel, Uncategorized, wine, wine bar
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Paris has a special place in the hearts of my wife, myself, and even my 5-year-old daughter. It’s where my wife and I got engaged back in 2002. It’s where we celebrated my wife’s 40th birthday with family and friends in 2005. And it’s where my daughter has ridden on seven—count ‘em—seven—carousels…a record I’m sure she’ll want to break on her next trip.

One of the reasons why Paris is so special to us is a small, unpretentious wine bar called Juvenile’s, at 47 Rue de Richelieu. The owner is Tim Johnston, a sharp-tongued wise-cracking Scotsman who happens to know a helluva lot about wine and spirits, and is in fact a consulting editor to Saveur magazine. Tim takes no BS from his clients, and that adds to the entertainment value of every visit.

Hangin’ with Tim.

My wife met Tim back in 2001, just a few months before she had met me, when she and her Mom took a trip to France. The friendship with Tim was forged, and it has been going strong ever since. Tim, in typical fashion, tolerates me because he enjoys the company of my lovely wife…and I can’t say that I blame him!

The food at Juvenile’s is rustic…nothing fancy here. But it is all very good and satisfying. We’ve found what we consider the best foie gras in Paris here. The potatoes with raclette and bacon are fantastic. Sausage dishes, duck dishes…all the favorites, all wonderfully prepared in a very, very small kitchen in this wine bar that holds, perhaps, 30 people.

Paolo, Tim’s right-hand man, working the tiny kitchen at Juvenile’s.

Juvenile’s is one of Paris’ original wine bars, serving wine by the glass way before everyone else thought it was cool to do so. And even the locals will come in on a regular basis to ask Tim what the latest great wines are. The man has earned the respect of those who know.

We make Juvenile’s a mandatory stop with every visit to Paris we make, lingering sometimes for an entire day…eating, chatting, and sampling wine and even fine cognacs that Tim is willing to share with us. Often, we come back for a second and even third visit during the same trip. It’s a great place to unwind and get away from the hectic pace of the day, whether you’re a tourist or a local.

Yes, that says 1962!

The next time you’re in Paris, stop by Juvenile’s and tell Tim I sent you. He will promptly throw you out!

Tim and me. Great t-shirt!

FRESH TOMATO AND CORN RECIPES BEFORE THE SEASON FINALLY ENDS

Posted: September 27, 2012 in corn, Food, Recipes, tomatoes
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SUMMER ISN’T OVER YET!

OK…at least I refuse to think so.

It’s still not too late to enjoy the fresh fruits and veggies that our local farmers have to offer. Soon, we’ll be forced to go back to the supermarket to buy our produce. But until then, we can enjoy the bright, fresh flavors that only our local farmers can provide.

Oven roasted plum tomatoes

These are not sun dried tomatoes. These are seasoned and slow roasted, so that their sweet flavors concentrate, but the moist, chewy texture remains.

Ingredients:

12 to 18 halved, seeded plum tomatoes

Extra virgin olive oil

Sugar

Freshly ground pepper

Fleur de Sel, or other finishing salt

Pre-heat oven to 250.

Line a baking sheet with foil and rub it with olive oil.

Arrange halved and seeded tomatoes on the baking sheet in a single layer, cut side up. Drizzle evenly with ½ cup olive oil, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar, and season with pepper to taste.

Baked the tomatoes until they are still juicy but slightly wrinkled, about 3 hours. Transfer to a platter and let cool slightly.

Just before serving, sprinkle tomatoes with Fleur de Sel, and garnish, if you like, with mint, parsley or basil.

 

BABY BELL PEPPERS WITH FRESH CORN STUFFING

Bags of these baby bell peppers are appearing everywhere on supermarket shelves this season. Recently, I had about 100 people over for a party, and I came up with this tasty bite to serve as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

Baby bell peppers

1 dozen ears fresh corn, boiled for just a couple of minutes, then removed from the cob…or organic frozen corn

1 Vidalia onion, peeled, quartered, grilled, chopped

Juice of 1 large lime

¾ cup mayonnaise

20 shots of Frank’s Red Hot or Tabasco

1 lb Queso Fresco, crumbled

Salt

Fresh cilantro or parsley, finely chopped

Cook the corn for just a couple of minutes to keep it crisp. If using corn on the cob, cut corn from ears and place in a bowl.

Peel and quarter the Vidalia onion, and throw it on a hot grill with a little olive oil to get some nice grill marks on it, leaving the onion still crispy, not soft. Remove, let cool, then place in a food processor and pulse until the onion is chopped into small bits, just smaller than the corn kernels. Add onions to corn.

In a separate small bowl, combine mayonnaise and Frank’s Red Hot. Pour in crumbled Queso Fresco and mix well. Pour into corn and onion bowl and mix well.

Add lime juice to the bowl and mix well again. Taste mixture and season with salt.

Cut the baby bell peppers in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds and membrane. Stuff the peppers with the corn mixture and garnish with cilantro or parsley.

If preparing ahead of time, refrigerate until ready to eat, but allow some time for them to warm up a little bit. You don’t want to serve them ice cold.

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