Indochine's Vietnamese Bouillabaisse
By Chef-owner Huy Chi Le Serves 4 Ingredients:Seafood 2 dozen freshly cleaned mussels12 shelled & deveined large prawns1 cup calamari rings½ lb medium scallops Vegetables2 cups finely shredded Chinese cabbage½ cup fried minced shallots4 sprigs Asian basil (for garnish)4 lime wedges (optional) Broth4 cups fish broth (chicken broth can be substituted)2 cups coconut milk2 tablespoons finely shredded kaffir lime leaves½ tablespoon shrimp paste2 tablespoons garlic chili paste (more or less to taste)½ tablespoon curry powder (or paste)5 tablespoons undiluted Vietnamese fish sauce4 tablespoons tomato paste1 tablespoon sugar Procedure: Bring the broth, coconut milk, shrimp paste, chili paste, fish sauce, tomato paste and sugar to a boil; reduce heat; add the curry powder and lime leaves; simmer at medium heat for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add the mussels and let simmer for 2 or 3 minutes....
Read MoreQ & A with Takashi Yagihashi
What comes to mind when you think of Detroit? The auto industry, Detroit Red Wings, and Eminem. Detroit’s not really known for its food. But Takashi Yagihashi has changed that. He debuted on the Detroit dining scene with Tribute, a highly acclaimed French Japanese restaurant and followed it up with a second venture, Takashi, where he puts a French-American spin on Japanese cooking in Chicago. Before landing in Detroit, Yagihashi got a degree in interior design. Instead, he ended up training at Yoshi’s Cafe, then French Ambria. He’s also opened Noodles in Macy’s and has written a cookbook on all things noodles, called “Takashi’s Noodles,” which explores everything from spaghetti to soba gnocchi. At Takashi, his menu features yellowtail kampachi with monkfish foie gras and Tosasu dressing as well as a roasted strip steak with wasabi, miso-glazed fingerlings, and fried...
Read MoreMinetta Tavern
Cuisine: French bistro Occasion: See-and-be-seen dinner, date, group dinner Don’t Miss: Lobster salad, roasted chicken, Minetta burger Price: Appetizers, $14; entrees, $20; dessert, $9 Reservations: Highly recommended Phone: (212) 475-3850 Location: 113 MacDougal St., near Minetta Lane. When did we become so self-conscious about burgers? I’ll bet that back in the 1930s, when someone ordered a burger, they ate it and that was the end of it. They didn’t photograph it or write home about it. These days, chefs compete for burger bragging rights. They battle over exclusive access to butchers, prized cattle and prime cuts. Everybody’s got a burger these days, but Minetta Tavern‘s got two — the $16 Minetta burger and the $26 Black Label burger. For 26 bucks, that had better be a good burger. The patty had a nice, crusty exterior, good sesame brioche bun...
Read MoreRecession Proof Baking Tips
In my endless search for ice cream recipes that don’t require an ice cream machine, I unearthed a Hershey’s Chocolate Cookbook from 1934. It’s my best discovery to date and the cheapest to make. Start by melting 2 oz. of dark chocolate in a bowl over boiling water. Add a cup of sweetened condensed milk and stir for five minutes. Then add a cup of water, let cool, add 1 cup of whipped cream, and 1/4 tsp of flavoring extract. Place it in a shallow pan and put it in the freezer. It’s easier than making brownies. I love old school desserts — junket custards, jello molds, upside down cake. This pineapple dessert is easy, cheap and truly gratifying. I found it In the Settlement Cookbook. It calls for three inexpensive ingredients and yields excellent results. Mix together a half...
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Q & A with Alex Guarnaschelli
The last time we caught up with Alex Guarnaschelli was two years ago. A lot has changed since then. She’s still the executive chef at the celebrity hangout, Butter. But now, she hosts Food Network’s “The Cooking Loft,” became a mom and an imminent cookbook author. Guarnaschelli trained with some of the finest chefs, including Guy Savoy, Larry Fiorgione, and Daniel Boulud. Since 2005, she’s been in the kitchen at Butter. While her cooking may not get as much attention as the scene, it deserves it. She manages to pull off Greenmarket cuisine year-round. For spring, she’s created a spring pea salad with crispy bacon, chervil, tarragon and parmesan, as well as a Hudson Valley duck breast with sunchokes, roasted date puree and sunflower greens. First thing’s first — how’s juggling motherhood and a fulltime restaurant job? To me...
Read MoreFatty Crab
Cuisine: Malaysian Vibe: Funky UWS bustle Occasion: Neighborhood bites, casual date, kid-friendly Don’t Miss: Scallop satay, short rib Rendang, watermelon pickle & crispy pork Price: Appetizers $7, entrees $1 Reservations: Accepted Phone: (212) 496-2722 Location: 2970 Broadway, between 76th and 77th Sts. I think you can taste when the chef’s not in the kitchen. On the chef’s night off, the food’s never quite the same. It’s a little like going to the theater and finding out you got stuck with the understudy. Of course, at a restaurant, they never tell you that kind of thing. Can you imagine? The server hands you a menu and says, “Welcome to Fatty Crab. Tonight, the part of the chef will be played by one of the line cooks. Can I get you a cocktail?” That’s how I felt the last time I...
Read MoreNYC's Best Spring Desserts
After a never-ending winter, finally there are signs of spring. We’re ready to come out of hibernation and take a break from heavy desserts, the likes of bread pudding and creamy custards. Pastry chefs are embracing light citrusy desserts like lemon and lime as well as rhubarb and tropical fruits. Baked359 Van Brunt St. (btwn. Dikeman & Sullivan Sts.)(718) 222-0345www.bakednyc.comAnyone would fall for this Red Hook bakery filled with inventive American desserts. Someone at Baked has a lemon fetish — lemon-lime bars, lemon meringue pies, and mini-lemon bundt cakes. And, of course, an excellent grasshopper bar: A brownie-like bar filled with crème de menthe center and coated in a chocolate mint ganache. Bespoke Chocolates6 Extra Pl. (at First St.)(212) 260-7103www.bespokechocolates.com For a teeny shop on an unmarked alley called Extra Place, Bespoke gets a lot of attention. The biggest draw...
Read MoreGramercy Tavern's Belleville Cocktail
Created by Tobias Rower (Inspired by the Corpse Reviver #2) Ingredients:*1 oz. cognac *1 oz. dry vermouth (we recommend Dolin) *1 oz. St. Germain *¾ oz. lemon Procedure:Shake & serve up with a dash of pernod and a brandied cherry in a martini glass. Gramercy TavernAddress: 42 East 20th Street, nr. Park Avenue SouthPhone:...
Read MoreQ & A with Ming Tsai
If after reading this interview, you remember one thing, remember this: Chef Ming Tsai does not cook Asian fusion. “Fusion just leads to confusion,” insists Tsai and there’s nothing confusing about his cooking at Boston’s acclaimed Blue Ginger. Tsai’s cooking style? East Meets West, which makes sense when you consider his childhood. A Chinese American, Ming Tsai, grew up in Ohio, where he worked at his parents’ Chinese restaurant. It was there he learned his way around a restaurant before attending Yale University. Over the years, Tsai’s earned himself a highly regarded reputation, but few know that he not only developed the Food Allergy Reference Book, but also helped pass a law requiring local restaurants to adhere to food allergy safety codes. A few of his other accomplishments include a PBS show, traveling cooking show – Ming’s Quest –...
Read MoreScuderia
Cuisine: Italian Vibe: Rock ‘n’ roll trattoria Occasion: Business lunch, romantic date, family affair Don’t Miss: Squid-ink tagliatelle, Scuderia pizza, buttermilk panna cotta Price: Appetizers, $9; entrées, $18; dessert, $8.50 Reservations: Accepted Phone: (212) 206-9111 Location: 10 Downing St., between Bleecker and Houston. Stand at the corner of Downing St. and Sixth Ave. and take a look around. What you may be seeing is the core of a New Little Italy, complete with neighborhood feuds and family businesses passed down to the next generation. The old Little Italy, to the east and downtown, is slowly fading away. But here are Bar Pitti, Da Silvano, Silvano Bistecca and Scuderia, which just opened six weeks ago. Thirty years ago, Silvano Marchetto opened Da Silvano – it’s upscale, it’s hard to get into, it’s like a celebrity supper club of sorts. But...
Read MoreBar Bites
Look on the bright side of the economy: jeans, sneakers and bargain-priced bar menus at some of the city’s best restaurants. That’s why we’ll be featuring a brand new Bar Bite every week. Allen & Delancey 115 Allen St., btwn. Delancey St. & Rivington St. (212) 253-5400 www.allendanddelancey.net Allen & Delancey doesn’t do Happy Hour, but it does do Happy Night every Tuesday- that means half-priced cocktails and a brand new bar menu. Each cocktail comes two ways- easy breezy and strong. Take the Atlantic Ruin: the light version is made with tea-infused white rum, batavia arrack, lemon and maple. The strong Atlantic Ruin’s made with aged rum, batavia arrack, demerara, angostura bitters, roast cocoa bean tincture and an orange twist. Chef Kyle Bailey’s dressed a few dining room dishes down for the occassion- panko-battered sweetbread poppers with buttermilk dressing...
Read MoreEdible Easter Houses
I always wondered why gingerbread houses belonged to Christmas. Wouldn’t it be fun to build a gingerbread house for your birthday or your Peeps? You can. It wasn’t easy to track down one, but our google search paid off — Bunny Hutch Cookie House kits. While you’re boiling eggs to decorate this weekend, gather friends, family, or your kids and decorate-your-own gingerbread house. It comes with a pre-baked and fully assembled leaving the decorations up to you. It’s the perfect excuse to buy all the Easter candy you want, just be careful not to eat the doorknob or shingles. And it’s only $8.20. Bunny...
Read MoreQ & A with Amanda Cohen
There’s a lot of respectable vegetarian restaurants in New York these days — raw, macrobiotic, and even microbiotic food. Most are guilty of mock meats, like faux franks, veggie bacon and tofurkey. Not Amanda Cohen. She lobbies against them at Dirt Candy, her new — and controversially named — tiny restaurant in the East Village. Yes, the name is awful and no one can resist poking fun. “At least people remember it!” Cohen says and, if she do it all over again, she’d keep the name. Her inspiration is sincere: “Vegetables are mother nature’s candy.” She’s also gotten quite a bit of press on her review of a New York Times dining brief about Dirt Candy. To think, Cohen used to deep fry buffalo wings for a living. She changed directions, working in some of the city’s best vegetarian...
Read MoreInakaya
231 W. 40th St., between Eighth & Broadway. (212) 354-2130 Dinner, Mon.-Sun., 5 p.m.-11 p.m.; lunch, Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. CUISINE: Traditional Japanese robatayaki. VIBE: Dinner theater. DON’T-MISS DISH: Chicken thigh skewers, Kaku Ni simmered Berkshire pork belly, Kinki deep-sea snapper, ginkgo nuts. AVERAGE PRICES: Appetizers, $10; entrees, $20; desserts, $5. RESERVATIONS: Recommended for the robata counter. About four years ago, I ate at Inakaya in Tokyo. The locals said I shouldn’t miss it. They warned me it’s touristy. Guess what? It is. And the food’s excellent. Now New York‘s got its own Inakaya, and the food is just as good. This one’s scaled to New York, so it’s triple the size of the Tokyo flagship, and so is the menu. It’s right across from the Port Authority at the edge of Times Square, in the Olive Garden–Red Lobster–Applebee’s...
Read MoreBest of Easter Dining
I love the signs of Easter — yellow, sugar-coated Peeps, hand-decorated eggs, and chocolate bunnies. But the best part about Easter Sunday is the main course. We scoured the city for the conventional and the out-of-the-ordinary to find out what some of New York’s best chefs and restaurants were planning for brunch, lunch and dinner on Sunday, April 12th. Inside Park at St. Bart’s 109 E. 50th Street, at Park Ave. (212) 593-3333 www.insideparknyc.com I can’t think of a more ideal setting for Easter brunch than inside St. Bartholomew’s Church. If Mimosas and Bloody Marys at church aren’t compelling enough, the chef’s resume will be. Matthew Weingarten worked alongside Larry Forgione at An American Place, Katy Sparks at Quilty’s, and won a Blue Ribbon at the Institute for Culinary Education. Brunch begins with a spring fruit ambrosia with...
Read MoreCentro Vinoteca's Mushroom Risotto Stuffed Quail with Sauteed Kale, Pine Nuts, Amarena Cherries and Jus
By Chef Leah Cohen Serves 4 For risotto filling: 1/2 onion, diced small 2 tbsp olive oil 1 cup Carnaroli rice 1/4 cup white wine 3 cups of chicken stock 1/4 cup roasted maitake mushrooms, chopped 4 tbsp butter 1 tbsp white truffle oil 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano Salt to taste Sweat the onions in olive oil until tender. Add rice and toast for 2 minutes. Deglaze with white wine and cook until almost all the wine has evaporated. Add hot chicken stock in 1/3 increments, constantly stirring the rice in the same direction to build up the starch. (The rice might need more or less chicken stock, there is no exact measure but 3 cups should be pretty close.) Once the rice is cooked a little less than al dente fold in butter, cheese, oregano and...
Read MoreEgg Timer
No one likes to admit it, but making a perfectly boiled egg isn’t as easy as it sounds. Timing is everything where soft, medium, or hard boiled is concerned. You may think you have it down to a science, but change one condition and it can go awry. With Easter fast approaching, we need to ensure optimal conditions, so we hunted down the Perfect Egg Timer. Just choose a setting and throw it in the water with your eggs. The timer easily adjusts to the conditions — elevation, amount, temperature. All you need to do is remember to check the pot to see when they’re done. Happy hunting! Egg Timer...
Read MoreCheck out My Book – Try This
