Cooking: Nonton Soup

I know, that's a really lame title for a soup that tastes like wonton soup but doesn't have any wontons. My roommate Grace would make a pot during the winter months and eat it with rice. It was a clear broth with an anise florette floating in it with root vegetables. I was feeling pretty gloomy one week and decided to try it out. I had a canister of wonton soup mix and only used a teaspoon to supplement my broth of anise, bay leaf, garlic and peppercorn. Its very potent and fishy. I like a mix of rooty potatoes, yellow squash, carrots, turnips and left bok choy. I got really mad because I broke my ceramic peeler on the turnip. It's got tough skin, that turnip!

I let the broth simmer with all of the herbs until it was reduced by 1/3. At that time, I turned on my rice cooker. It takes about 10-15 minuts to make and the exact time that I needed to boil my vegetables. I fished the spices out of the broth and added my mire poix except for the bok choy (it cooks faster than root vegetables and gets a funky odor when it breaks down).

When it was all finished,  I molded a cup of hot rice into a bowl, poured soup around it, added fresh cabbage and sprinkled dehydrated garlic on top for a crunchy texture. I ate 4 bowls. So good. If you really want to get fancy on this soup, you can add fishcakes and wontons!

Cooking Jam: AdamgetsAwesome - "Utopia" (demo)

Cooking: Bacon Grilled Cheese on Olive Bread

Haven't had a grilled cheese sandwich in a while. A crime, isn't it? It was a good little butter bite with Comte Menuier and crispy bacon on olive bread.

C

Cooking Jam: 

Restaurants: St. Anselm

It was Friday night. Fette Sau was packed. I glanced across the street and remembered that the same owners opened a new place, St. Anselm. There was no line, that was where we were getting dinner. Pork cracklins and scrapple are typically a "must order naooo" for me. I grew up with really fatty chicharones and these were too airy and not only enough for me. The scrapple was delicious; crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It didn't have a musty diner sausage taste, which is a plus!

Angela and Ricardo picked a couple different things so we all could share, a tactic that I'm known for amongst my friends. The massive double hot dog had two different kinds of sausage and is topped with deep fried strings of peppers and onions. Its sheer mass reminded me of the Torta de Salchicha we got in Sunset Park on Valentine's day. We also got sliders and poutine. They were ok. I'd hedge my bets on the rotating menu of Queens-made sausages.

The great thing about St. Anselm is that they share the recently expanded backyard of Spuyten Duyvil, my favorite beer bar in New York. I think their plan is to serve a small offering of drafts but you have to go next door for a drink pending beer and wine license approval. It was a relaxing summer night spent outside with good company.

Cooking: Cabbage Soup

I have a vague memory of bunnies eating cabbage soup, maybe it was from Beatrix Potter. I'm not sure. I went to a Polish place with Angela in Williamsburg and had the cabbage soup. It was so potent and comforting that I decided to try it at home. I started by shredding the leafy bits and starting the tough cores in the crock pot. Think of it as a "head start." I began with a sauteed mire poix of onion, chopped cooked bacon, garlic, salt, pepper and bacon fat. Next, I added the shredded lettuce to wilt and brown a little.

Once it was cooked down, I added it to the crock pot. To the mixture, I added whole pepper corns and a bay leaf.  It simmered in the kitchen for about 8 hours. 

The flavor was just right, but it was way too soupy so I tried a cool thickening trick that I learned from Escoffier. I boiled 1/2 a cup of tapioca pearls in water for about 10 minutes. Remember to stir them around or they will stick together and to the bottom of the pan (lesson learned). All you do is strain the unflavored liquid into soup and TADAAAAA, it's thicker and the flavor remains in tact. I finished individual bowls with chopped cilantro, crispy bacon and a large crusty piece of toast. Next time, I'll remember to reserve fresh cabbage to put on top for some crunch.

Cooking Jam:

Cooking: Herby Sausage with Toast and Ailoli

I'm not really a fan of boiling sausages. Into the panini grill they go if I do not have a fire pit available! While I was at it, I put some bread on the same grill to soak up any meat crustiness that I had left from multiple bacon adventures. Simple, tiny lunch!

Cooking jam:

Tweets This Week

• Aha, found my eye mask in the freezer and am now wearing it as a headband. #genius 
• Had my first wedding catering consult. May in Mt. Herman,CA with Mediterranean and Chinese fusion!
• MEAT TRIFORCE?
• Trying to brainstorm names for my Sunday bbq menu, "Heart attack to go" ? No?
• Canadian dinner, whatever that means.
• Desktop = fried, MSI netbook = broken wifi card, Eee PC netbook = broken keyboard. Me = No time for this.
• So. My grandfather has an ipad and just friended me on FB. #win 
• I am burger'd out for the week.
• Photo: I saw a 3-D dinosaur today. http://tumblr.com/xffdqcwyr 
• Sup bacon chive and cheese scone, want to make out?
• Salt and vinegar potatoes and turnips, interesting.
• Pickled garlic chips. Holy jumping carp. So very good.
• I has maded a Tumblr ! http://jenndlv.info/

Event: Project Parlor BBQ Championship Round 2 (TALL GUY TINY GIRL)

Step right up, folks! Jeff Stockton and I are at it again! Here is our menu for the championship tomorrow! We start at 2pm and grill 'til we run out. Special thanks to mom, dad, Randy, Lachi, Raj and Angela for making our entry possible!

The object of the championship is to make more $$money$$ on the day you compete. We have to pay up front costs for the food (think 60+ full platter servings) and I thankfully broke even during the first round. I do not have the resources to buy all of my supplies for this next throwdown. There are many ways you can help!

Donate money
You can use Paypal and address it to jenn@mushpotrecords.com
I'll keep a running list of supporters online! You'll also get a free a la carte item of your choice!
Money made from sales that day will go towards more competitions and funding my internet show Facts N' Cheese.

Donate supplies
Got tons of charcoal, plates, napkins, utensils, condiments or food you want to get rid of? Email me (delavega@gmail.com) or send a FB message. I'll share my ingredient list with you!

Come hang out!
July 25th at Project Parlor ! It begins at 2pm and we'll be fired up into the evening until one of us runs out of grub.
Bring your own plate for a $1 off the platter price! Save the world, yo!
AND let's celebrate Jeff Stockton's birthday!
 

Things I ate last month

Sometimes I am lazy and do not want to make dirty dishes. When I don't feel like moving very much, I cook my entire breakfast on the surface of the panini grill. Here I had an over-medium egg with comte toast and spicy pancetta.

My friend Samuel made the best homemade macaroni that I've had in a while. It rivals my favorite mac n' cheese at The Roebling Tea Room. He made a very thick and precisely spiced bechamel before baking the entire batch in the over with bacon. For the last 10 minutes, he added a handful of freshly grated cheddar. To accompany it, I made green beans tossed in truffle oil. This is a leftover plate I had, doused with sriracha!

Before the Project Parlor BBQ championship started, I stopped by for a drink. One of the local banks was having a party and shared one of their rosemary chicken skewers with me. 

Video: Note! on the 4th of July (Bed Stuy)

After an awesome afternoon of Sunday bbq at Project Parlor, a good lot of us moved the party to a rooftop in Bed Stuy. Oxygenstar came out with his PA and we had ourselves a little chip concert to go along with the 4th of July fireworks. Note! was in full effect and accompanied the really pretty sunset.

Cooking: Toasted Bagel with Egg, Cheese and Cabbage

My friend Jeff used to take me to Bergen Bagels every weekend when we lived together. We'd chip in for a dozen bagels and stored them in the freezer until we needed them. I decided to get half a dozen bagels last week and tried to think outside of my normal "everything bagel with scallion cream cheese" routine. When you have a frozen bagel, it's pretty tough to slice it in half. I actually prefer to toast them whole and slice them hot, that way the inside doesn't dry out. I fried my egg in a charred cast iron pan with butter (the best best way) and melted Comte on top after I turned off the heat. Bodegas in NY add finely shredded lettuce to some sandwiches. It's only good when you're about to eat it on the spot. If you wrap it and eat it minutes later, the lettuce wilts into a soggy mess. Since I was taking my bagel to work, I opted for lettuce's strong cousin cabbage. When cabbage wilts, it holds some structural integrity and in my mind, tastes better.

Cooking Jam: 

Restaurants: Clam Grill in Rockaway Beach

After a relaxing day at the beach, you'll find the the lifeguards go off duty at 6pm and the lobster people start their slow migrations away from the sand. At the corner of Beach 98th and John Alcamo, you'll find a scrappy clam bar that shuts down its grill at 7pm and bar at 8pm. The cheesey sea-themed decor is the real deal. Our bartender / server was a rough looking woman with a slight limp. Regulars were older men with loose fitting shirts, like the ones you see in movies-- one minute brooding, singing and carousing the next.

I ordered a shit-ton of food. I hadn't had much to eat all day and I think the sun stole every nutrient from my body while I was napping in the sand. The menu opened with Manhattan clam chowder for $2.50. I exclaimed, "Is this this red or the white?!" I had to order it. It was red and sour like vinegar with meaty clams, chunks of carrots, potato and onion. At first, I was excited about the $2.50 burger. The caption said, "It's what made us famous!" I took a look around the bar one more time and took a bite. It was bland as hell. I shoved two of my onion rings in there with a lot of ketchup, salt and pepper. Ahah - much better. The beer battered onion rings were really crispy and freshly made, unlike their Coney Island cousins from a freezer box.

 The fish tacos were huge! Fillets were battered, deep fried and topped with lettuce, onion and cilantro. A nice cross between tartar sauce and aioli would have been amazing on them.

Ehhh, we all need to do something touristy sometimes! Plus, there's ain't much to eat in Rockaway!

Restaurants: Gyu-Kaku

I ventured to Japanese bbq haven Gyu-Kaku in midtown. I'm a huge sucker for DIY restaurants because there's less clean up and less butchering for you. I'm a fan of putting in the work, but the time it takes for me to prepare a feast would tire me out before I got to eat anything. As the grill heated up, plates of Chateaubriand (center cut filet mignon), duck and mixed vegetables arrived. The server suggested a cooking time of 1 minute per side on the beef and 2 for the duck. I threw on the onion first because it takes the longest. I undercooked the beef for medium-rare and overcooked the duck to render the fatty edges until they were bacon-crisp.

There was a lone grape tomato that came with the beef as a garnish. I kept it on the grill until it was blistered and caramelized. It was very tasty. Geez! Look at the fat pooling on that slice of duck! This is why I love food, people.

 

The only problem with places like this is that they clean the grills. Like cast-iron, you don't want to wash or scrub the char from the grill grates. Food tends to stick (like our delicate filet did) to the grill and you don't get any pronounced char marks. All in the all, the dining experience was fun and you'll be lucky if you get Troy as your server (he's the best). I know you could very easily make s'mores at home, but I really really wanted some after downing half a pitcher of Kirin.

I told you, I love grilling.

Tweets This Week

• Project Parlor now has beers on tap! Squeeeeee!
• Uh oh, the cooking tour might be real. Catering a wedding May 7 in L.A. next year. Then going to another May 21. Bring it!
• "You know what's great about sleeping on a twin? There's two of them"
•  Made Nonton soup, everything in wonton soup but with no...wontons. Garnished with crunchy garlic, that's a Filipino thing.
• GAH. THIS FRICKING TURNIP BROKE MY CERAMIC PEELER +__+
• I still laugh pretty hard when I hear Coconut Records "West Coast" cause all I remember to sing is the word "suitcase"
• Looking for an August subletter, hit me if you're down with Bed Stuy !
• This is what they're doing with the other apartments in my building. Glad we're getting out. http://ow.ly/2b9WT
• Caught @jukeboxtheghost at 92y. Might be coughing up duck frow Jean Claude.
• Trying not to pull a Pretty Woman with this escargot.
• 30 min wait to order at Jean Claude. Two tables sat down and were served before us.
• I love shoving music down the intern's throat @TheTankNYC #twee #idm #postrock
• Dear sir or madam, I have the skill set to fill the position as your roommate. I am available from 9/1 and beyond. Thanks for your time.
• Dear office telephone, will you please quiet down? I can't hear my emails.

Don't forget! I'm competing at Project Parlor next Sunday! You can still help me out!

      

Event: Project Parlor BBQ Championship (4th of July edition)

Let the sunshine pour forth! Fire up your grills ! Angela and I ventured to Project Parlor on July 4th for more BBQ action. With our trusty bar-dog, Monster, we sampled the day's delights. Can we take one minute to shout out to our favorite bbq DJs, Your Favorite Feminine Hygeine Products? They've been dropping so many good tracks from old garagey stuff to Miike Snow remixes. I've been known to wave a finger or two in the air whenever they spin.

In one corner, we had a variety of hot dogs! I ordered the Patriot which had bbq sauce, onions, cheddar and loads of crispy bacon. You know, I'm usually won over when anyone mentions bacon. Nothing was wrong with this dog, I just didn't think it was too creative. The first week of this competition, Davide Porcu made his own sausage.

In the other corner, we had fraternal twins -- The Brothers McCasland. Clark and Mike took no prisoners with their pork chop, pumpkin burger, brussel sprouts, beet salad, orange muffin and grilled cheese with red pepper aioli. I went for a plate of the burger, muffin and salad. Not sure if the burger had any pumpkin in it but the sweet spices of clove, cinnamon and allspice were delectable. I believe the victory was due to one amazing bbq innovation: the muffin. I unwrapped a ball of foil and found a slightly grilled orange peel. When you cracked it open, there was a fluffy orange, cranberry muffin inside! HOW THE HELL? I assume the oranges were scooped out, batter poured in and the thing was baked in foil ! Scraping the last bit of it from the rind was very fruity and wonderful smelling.

Bar mistress Megyn made sure to keep the good times rolling with free bourbon shots and vodka watermelon slices for all !

Restaurants: Umi Nom

I heard a Filipino restaurant opened in Clinton Hill and I finally got around to eating there! I spent three days holed up in my house and I needed to get out! Umi Nom is a satellite of Manhattan's Kuma Inn. Chef King Phojanakong could be seen in he semi-open kitchen preparing dishes himself. The menu isn't strictly Filipino, but I saw lot's of national dishes like pancit and lumpia. Umi Nom is narrow and small with high tables, I sat at the bar. They don't have their liquor license yet, so you have to BYO.

My experience started with a tall, cool glass of calamansi citrus juice. I remember getting juice boxes of the stuff from the Filipino store in Hercules, CA. It was so normal in Northern California. Didn't know what I was going to lose when we moved to the middle of the Mojave desert. An amuse bouche of crab and cheese wonton arrived, it was promptly crunched into my starving mouth. 

Next, came the soft shell crab with stringy vegetables, watercress and watermelon. I'm usually really squeamish about eating the crab body, but this was so tasty that I cleaned my whole plate. My server asked if I wanted any dessert and I sprung for the house-made peach sorbet. It was really lovely and soft. When I got the bill, I was surprised that they charged $8 for that sweet trifle.

The people next to me got the garlic fried rice and I wish I had more room in my stomach for it. I sort of want a place like this when I grow up.

Cooking: Filipino Chicken Adobo

I loved adobo when I was growing up. It's probably one of the most traditional Filipino dishes that has stuck with me throughout life. It's stewy, salty and ladled over rice. Adobo can be beef, pork or even fish (I've seen it on a menu!) -- but I'm most familiar with the predominant chicken recipe. I scoured the internet for proportions, but I figured I'd eyeball it and try to remember what mom used to do. For 4 chicken legs, I used 1 handful of garlic. Keep in mind that my hands are tiny, I'd say it's half a head of garlic. I'm in the habit of dredging and searing all my stew meats (blame Escoffier), I did so after I sauteed the garlic in a combination of olive oil and butter.

Post-searing, the stew requires soy sauce, water (or broth if you want to get fancy, but you won't want too much salt), whole peppercorns, bay leaf and white vinegar. Notice there is no salt! The vinegar will account for all of that, trust me. Again, I was eyeballing it but I'd say you only needed 1/2 cup of vinegar. It will smell pungent, but most of that will burn off as it reduces. I brought the pot to a boil and let it simmer uncovered. The one ingredient I never have enough of is patience. Over time, you see that the sauce will thicken and the chicken starts to fall apart or I get impatient and nag the meat with my tongs until it does (don't be like me).

Meanwhile, some tricks for you veggie-eating folk. Shanghai bok choy is very sandy. You'll need to surface wash them and let them sit in a container of cold water after they're chopped. Swish them around and change the water once so that all of the sand settles to the bottom. You prepare leeks this way, too! After my rice was done, I turned off the heat and put the bok choy on top of the rice and covered it. The residual heat was steaming the vegetables. Look ma, multi-tasking!

When everything was finally done, I probably had two bowls of adobo. The family secret is that the leftovers
  are the best! The sauce will coagulate, but just heat it up in the microwave. Yeah, I said it. Use that microwave, you don't want to lose any of the saucy bits in a pan when you reheat.

Cooking Jam:

Cooking: Hard Cooked Eggs with Anchovies

I had a tin of anchovies left from my Alton Brown sandwich adventures and a carton of eggs. Why not combine two ideas from him? I hard-cooked eggs and served them with chopped scallions and a curled up anchovy. Another time, I ate them with a tiny dollop of garlic cream. The anchovies that I buy come curled with oil and capers. You don't have to season the eggs at all !

Cooking Jam: 

(Shout out to Allan and Jojo !)