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http://thesweetbacksisters.blogspot.com/2009/04/gardening.html

Quick n' Satisfyin'

I was feeling downright lazy on one of my recent Sunday night cooking experiments so I wanted something extremely easy to throw together. I found the perfect solution in a chicken salad with rosemary, almonds and green onion.

I roasted the chicken instead of pan frying--the chicken would benefit from a long marinade, so don't cut it too close. If your chicken didn't absorb enough of the flavor, drizzle extram balsamic vinegar over the dish as extra dressing. Add dried cranberries in with raisins for some much appreciated sweetness. It also makes a a great wrap the next day, as well, so it's a perfect two meal recipe.

Was it the best chicken salad I've ever had in my life? No. It was however, a mercifully light and flavorful dish. Give it a try!

Easter Schmeaster or How I Scarificed a Ham to the One God of my Oven

Matt and I love all holidays. We constantly talk about hosting family gatherings in our tiny tiny apartment over the BQE but rarely do it. This Easter was a change. Although neither of us are particularly GOD FEARING we do have an appreciation for tradition. So I made a ham. Yeah, that's right a whole hock of hammy deliciousness. Needless to say, this was our first attempt at large scale animal cooking.

The menu, if you will, follows . . .
Baked Ham with a Thyme Honey Glaze


Scalloped Yukon Gold and Sweet Potato Gratin with Fresh Herbs


Asparagus with a Classic Hollandaise


Baby Peas with Mint Lemondrop Cupcakes (a la Baked.)
Paried with Semidry Reislings of assorted origin

(thanks to www.epicurious.com for being our one stop shop for all recipes)

WIthout a doubt, it was a knock down drag out success. Which we were thrilled about. Fellow blogger, Sarah was in attendance as well as another friend from work, L.

Some musings . . .
The ham we purchased was spiral cut, and while it was convienent, I wasn't happy with the way the outer slices crisped up and seperated from the rest of the ham in cooking. Buying the spiral cut ham was meant to take some of the complication out of the cooking prosess but I think we could have done just as well without it. The thyme glaze was mild, earthy and super shiny without the stickiness of a traditional ham. And although our neighborhood couldn't supply us with a classic Virginia Ham, I'll stick to my guns that these are the absolute best hams for Easter (or any other occasion). In end the meat nearly fell off the bone and we all went back for seconds and some thirds. Sweet, savory and totally not kosher, this was Sarah's first time eating a baked ham. I'm happy to say, we've brought her over to the dark side.

POTATOES! Hands down the best dish of the night. The mixture of potato and sweet potato was delicious. The gruyere and herbs tied in beautifully. Of course it was very heavy, with almost two cups of cream what wouldn't be, but it was an indulgence well worth it. Recommend cooking a little longer than the recipe says, to get a really nice golden top to crunch against the mushiness of the bottom layer.

The hollandaise was another first time for us (we've previously made it using a blender with the help of another friend, but she alas, wasn't here to talk us through it). It looks great on the stove but once it hit the aspargus it really thinned out. I think this is just a matter of mastering the elusive art of the perfect hollandaise. No complaints at the table though!

Lemondrop cupcakes. 'Nuff said. I can't extole the virtues of Baked. enough. You really just need to come down to Red Hook and try it yourself. I will say though, the the lemon curd inside the cupcakes really brings them together. The absolute perfect way to end a decadent meal.

a.

Saturday Night Nosh: old favorites at Quarter Bar and Hope & Anchor

Full disclosure:I have eaten at the Hope & Anchor diner in Red Hook many a time, spanning meals from brunch to dinner. But I I feel like this warrants a post because really, I am always up for going there and I am seldom ever disappointed when it comes to my meal. Last night was no exception with one added bonus: Karaoke.

Jes, Sarah B. and I (all former waitresses and one current barrista/beermonger extraordinaire) met up around 9:30 at one of our old haunts, Quarter Bar (20th street & 5th ave). This bar is also one of my consistent favorites. The semi-rustic ambiance of dark unfinished wood and an ever growing collection of found treasures (stuffed pheasant, anyone?) is perfectly complemented by dim ambery light and a selection of plain good music. I went in there intending to get one of their incredibly good Hot Toddies, but ended up ordering one of their specialty drinks, a Rosarita--a rosemary-infused marguerita served up high in a slightly modified martini glass. Delicious delicious delicious. Sarah B. had ordered the same and Jes ordered two rounds of her new favorite old-man drink, a two-bits (pyrotechinal bonus: they light an orange peel on fire).

After calling around to various car services (remember, be safe kids), our good friends at Express 11 broke everyone's record and showed up in literally 3 minutes to bring us to the Hope & Anchor diner on Wolcott and Van Brundt. We could hear the dim warblings of karaoke night as we stepped out of the cab. As we elbowed our way through the slightly older yet drunky-fun crowd, we immediately asked if the kitchen was still open. Even though they were abut to close, they quickly took our food orders at the bar. Now normally, I am livid when I am rushed--but since we had all been their before, we settled on some old favorites before tucking into a corner table where we had front row seats what would prove to be some of the most purely entertaining karaoke performances I have ever witnessed. They were all there--the guy who sang exclusevely from the Billy Joel song catalogue, the good old favorites of total eclipse of the heart and Livin on a Prayer. But this guy stole the show and my heart for his high kicks his hi octane dance performance on the bar while staying perfectly on pitch. ku-dos.

Jes ordered their turkey burger--a perfectly-sized portion that comes with cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato and onions in an assemble-yourself spread. It was served with a lightly-dressed green salad (no iceberg) and shoestring fries. Although Jes had requested the fries well-done, they were not so much--but considering that we were served PERIOD, this was really a non-issue. As always, the meal was incredibly satisfying.

I ordered the hot wings appetizer--a generous portion of segmented wings appropriately served with stalks of celery and bleu cheese dressing. I should disclose at this point that I am a hot wing connoisseur and have some very strong opinions in this area. This being said, these hot wings are probably the best I've had in all of NYC/Brooklyn. They were perfectly fried and not drippy with sauce, cooked completely through with no signs of rubberiness. The dressing on the side was served in a small dish--the PERFECT amount--and was clearly house made. My wing-craving was fully satisfied.

Sarah B. ordered the lamb burger--a marinated lamb patty served on olive toast with roasted red pepper and copious amounts of feta cheese. Sarah is a full on fan of this burger hands down. She was quick to praise the Hope & Anchor for squeezing our order in at the last minute and performing karaoke like total pros. Full disclosure: Sarah is a seasoned bartender/barrista/superwoman with high standards and a very discerning palette, and her opinion (in my humble opinion) carry significant weight. Her only criticism was the beer situation...

"The only thing I was disappointed by was the beer recommendation, but we all know I am especially finicky about this area. I ordered an Avery IPA which is a very dry, light, almost citrusy IPA, and because they were of out he recommended me that I didn't like at all because it was much too sweet and dark (amber/red?), and I think he suggested it just because it's also from Denver, but I can't remember what it was called..."

In all, very high marks. And I would have to agree. I always look for an excuse to go to the H&A because it's always a win-win situation. Not only is it chock-full of character, it's completely un-pretentious and is all about good food, good beer and a good time. BEST PART: it's a destination, so making the long journey makes everything taste that much better... especially with a beer.

Carmelized Onion Tart with Apple Celery Salad

Let's face it, we can't eat out all the time so every Sunday night for the past month or so, I've dedicated my evening to a cooking adventure of one kind or another. Generally, these have soups and stews because I'm under the impression that if you can't whip up a good soup, you can't cook. This week, however, I stepped out of my comfort zone a bit and tried an all vegetarian dinner that was absolutely delicious!

The main dish was an carmelized onion tart that I found in Moosewood Restaurant New Classics from the Moosewood Collective (ISBN 0-609-80241-0 Clarkson Potter/Publishers New York). This is a must have for everyone who sometimes longs for a light and delicious, fresh tasting meal to replace the run-of-the-mill meat/carb/vegetable formula that we all know and love.

I don't think anyone wants to read the whole recipe, so I'm not going to include that here, but if your interest is piqued and you're not into investing in the book, send an email to bkfoodblog@gmail and I'll see what I can do for you!

It all started with this.


It's a VERY basic pastry dough. A note on the instructions for this recipe: 4 tablespoons of water didn't quite get the dry ingredients to stick. Aim for fewer then 8. Making the dough, I'm happy to report, was the hardest part of the process and it still only took about half and hour. WHAT?!? A half hour to mix flour, salt, butter and water? Yes. I don't own a pastry cutter and I couldn't find one at Gourmet Fresh or the Met. I had to use a freakin' fork to cut the butter in and it took forever. Note to self, BUY ONE OF THESE:

After making the dough, though, the rest was a breeze. All you need is a skillet and a blender, and those I have in abundance! I carmelized my onions until soft, delicious and fragrant. It takes about twenty to twenty five minutes. Against my fresh-herb-loving instincts, I followed the recipe's direction to use dried thyme. Oh, I still remember the smell!
I subbed Monterey Jack for the gruyere that was called for because I didn't really know what gruyere is. But I've checked my ignorance at the door and now feel comfortable suggesting a Swiss cheese as the closest approximation to the original recipe if you're stuck on this end of Henry Street and don't want to hoof it to Fairway.

The custard for the tart was simple, quick and messless: 6 eggs, 2 cups milk (oh, just buy the whole milk. I won't tell!) a pinch or two of flour and 1 tbs Dijon mustard blended to a fine puree. The onions are layered on the bottom, 1 cup packed grated cheese on top, the milk custard over all baked at 400 for about an hour and voila!

I served it with a simple salad (as in macaroni salad and potato salad) of apples, celery, raisin and walnuts with a bit of mayo and sour cream. You can grab that recipe here. It dawns on me that this meal is a dairy wonderland, so if you're watching your weight (the gods know I'm not!) please do serve with a simple green salad.

The tart was flavorful, but could use some complication. An extra herb or two while carmelizing the onions or a spice here and there in the custard could make a delightful change. I made the mistake of over-seasoning with salt on the plate. Do not repeat this mistake--a dash if any will suffice.

All in all, it was quite a strenuous adventure: my secret confession is that I don't (or at least, didn't) prefer baked egg-based dishes. Quiche is kind of my worst nightmare. This tart, however, won me over completely. And it was even better cold the next day for lunch at work. Try it out! You'll be so glad!

Carrol Gardens Classic Diner

The Eater Schmeater team found themselves a little drunk and feelin' hungry after the Crooked Still and Sweetback Sisters show at The Bell House. This is an account of where their dinner craving led them.

We were actually searching for a place with food and drinks, but by thte time we got to the diner, no one ordered anything alcoholic...in fact, the whole party except for Matt went for water only.

Cole slaw and pickles were served before the meal as some kind of appetizer-- a strange move, but it produced no complaints and it was only moments before everything on all three plates was gone. The pickles were fresh and cucumber-y. The slaw bland but edible, Matt thought a little suagr would do it right and everyone thought it needed more salt.

Matt had a bacon cheesebuger with fries-- a great choice for anyone who's not looking for a life-changing burger. All the sandwhiches came with the assemble your-own option, allowing you to find your perfect combo of lettuce, tomatoes and onions. So even though a freakin' head of the lettuce was provided, no one had to indelicately rip apart their burger to fix it. Matt's chocolate shake was thick and delicious, but everyone else thought it tasted too heavily of chocolate syrup.

Alex got a chicken salad sandwich which was slightly bland, but not drenched in mayo which made it more pleasant than some. The bread was perfectly toasted and you can't ask for much more than that with a diner sandwhich.

Jess, a fellow New Englander-turned-Brooklynite chose a cheesburger with Swiss. Both Alex and Jess picked waffle fries and they loved them! On the con side, Jess asked for a medium rare prep on the burger, and she got medium-well and she wasn't the biggest fan of how they melt cheese on both sides of the burger. All in all, Jess was pleased with the meal.

Sarah chose a late-night breakfast option-- two eggs over easy with sausage. The eggs were great, but the sausage was downright delicious. Perhaps a little too pink in the middle (inciting a quickly abandonned conversation about how worms get into your body), but really delicious all the same. Moist and well seasoned, plump and perfect!

Sarah B., a visiting friend from our Northampton, MA days, choose corn beef hash with two eggs over easy. The corn beef, by all accounts, was delicious. Both Sarahs had dishes that came with home fries. Unfortunately, the "home fries" that were promised turned out to be a potato hash was undercooked and seasoned only with raw bell pepper (HUGE chunks) and onions. It pretty much ruined both the breakfast plates, but our Sarahs are troopers so they didn't complain too loudly. They simply draped their napkins on their plates to avoid staring at their unfinished meals.

As for the decor of this 24 hour diner, it's as classic as the name suggests. Bad art adorns the walls. A sporting event of one kind or another was playing on the large TV just over our heads. The lighting was violently flourescent, though, and as we sobered a bit, it became a little unbearable.

A quick note to our fellow diners: babies shouldn't be eating diner food at midnight. That is all.

You can check out the diner for yourself here.

Robin Des Bois Sherwood Cafe

Brunch always has been, and might always will be, one of my favorite pass times. Last week, when Matt and I had our visitor, we had hoped to impress her with some excellent Brooklyn Brunching at Miriam in Cobble Hill. Distressingly, we learned that this branch of the excellent Israeli restaurant had closed (and is being replaced with MORE Thai food for Court St.). So we did the next best thing and swung over to Robin des Bois on Smith Street. Matt and I have eaten here many times so we thought it would be a solid pick.

The decor is absolutely why you come to Robin des Bois. That and the inclusive brunch specially of a free drink (Mimosa or Bloody Mary) with your order. The food is never OUTSTANDING but its passable. Here's what we ordered . . .

Chicken Sausages with caramelized apples, roasted potatoes and salad

Crab Cake Benedict with roasted potatoes and salad

Ouefs au Gratin
(baked eggs served with toast and salad)

All of the food was decent enough. No complaints on either of the egg dishes, although the crab cake was heavy on the bell pepper and that really came through. The salad wasn't worth mentioning, just some salted greens. But the potatoes. The potatoes were under cooked, under seasoned, and generally bland. (EATER SCHMEATER would like to point out that although all the posts thus far have criticized potatoes and they way they're cooked, we can be pleased with a potato. Just cook it all the way.) Also, the apples on Matt's Chicken Sausage dish were a little pedestrian, just sugar and cinnamon and also, not the melt in your mouth apple-goodness that he was looking for.

So, even though the food isn't going to get past the quick-fire challenge on Top Chef, Robin des Bois Sherwood Cafe will also be a hit with us. The strictly French waitstaff, kaleidoscope of found objects, and the family style huge wood tables make this a place that Matt and I long to bring our friends. Give it another month and once it warms up, go to the patio and enjoy.

a.

Robin des Bois Sherwood Cafe
195 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201