Dispatches from New York City

I'm always excited when I have an event in NYC, because I always make time for several of the city's amazing restaurants. Delivering my increasingly popular wine tasting challenge: In Vino Veritas as a team building event for a corporate conference brought me to the big apple this time. So I made it a point to squeeze in an extra day of exciting dining, here are my impressions.

The Spotted Pig-
It seems you can't visit Omaha without finding that the city has new "gastropubs" popping up left and right. The descriptor has taken on the tired familiarity that "pan asian" claimed on so many restaurants a decade ago. So being a little suspicious and also a huge fan of the genuine article, see London post, I really appreciated how good The Spotted Pig (TSP) is. Located on a hopping corner in Greenwich Village, TSP accomplishes the two main objectives of a kick-ass gastropub: great food and no pretension. I ate there after my team building program, let's say it was 1 am, so my memory is a little blurry, but I remember they had great oysters, shucked by the cook behing the upstairs bar, outstanding "snacks" like chicken liver toasts and stuffed dates, as well as creative appetizers and a killer burger. One caveat, it is a tiny place so be prepared to wait. 314 W. 11th St. @ Greenwich St., (212 620-0393

Eleven Madison Park-
I make it a point to visit one of Danny Meyer's restaurants virtually every time I'm in New York. It's not that I'm trying to support a St. Louis native, but rather that I've never had a bad experience at one of his restaurants (and I've tried them all: Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Table , The Modern, Blue Smoke, Shake Shack and Eleven Madison Park). This time I decided to visit Eleven Madison Park again (EMP); as I hadn't been since they brought in their new chef: Daniel Humm. Every serious food person should know that if you want a great bargain visit an acclaimed restaurant for lunch. And lunch at EMP is no exception. A five-course tasting menu for $55? You'd be lucky to get one course for the same price at dinner. And believe me, you want to get as many of Chef Humm's courses as possible. As seasonal and local as ever, it seems EMP has taken on a refinement that befits its stunning dining room (see Frank Bruni's comments on it in last month's New York Times). If you don't have any serious afternoon commitments, the lunch tasting menu paired with wines is a great way to go as the outstanding wine list has the girth of an Ayn Rand novel. 11 Madison Avenue, (212) 889-0905

Momofuku-
I've always been drawn to restaurants with attitude, the kind of place that tells the diner "this is how it's gonna be!", because that is how it should be done or simply because that's how the owner wants to do it. David Chang's Momofuku restaurants have serious attitude. I ate in his Momofuku SSam (there's also Momofuku Noodle and tasting menu only Ko) and loved it. It is the most eclectic restaurant I've been to this year (or perhaps ever). They do stuff like offer a wine list with several $1000 bottles at a restaurant that has communal tables with paper napkins and chopsticks collected in a glass in the center of the table. The restaurant serves only Dr. Pepper for soda pop (why would anyone drink soda at dinner anyway) and has one of the most unique menus I've seen in a long time. There is the pig lover's disclaimer "we do not serve vegetarian friendly cuisine", and their signature dish is a communal Pork Butt with Kim Chee & Oysters for $220.00 (on a menu where most of the stuff is less than $20). Of course it would be hard to pull off this culinary eccentricity if the food weren't damn good; and it is. Try the banh sandwiches, steamed buns with pork belly and any of the artisanal country hams. 207 2nd Ave., No Phone Number

A Voce-
Andrew Carmellini, the former chef at Cafe Boulud, has opened this wildly popular Italian restaurant near Madison Square Park. I only had a snack at one of their al fresco tables, grilled bread with hand-dipped ricotta and olive oil, but when something that simple can be that unforgettable I can't imagine how tasty the rest of the menu must be. 41 Madison Ave. (at 26th St.), (212) 845-8555

Chickalicious-
One of the original "dessert bars" specializing in the all important final course, Chickalicious is a fun place to go just to check-out the scene. Very small, you sit at the bar or one of two tables, in order to get in you almost always have to queue outside looking through the large front window as if you were witnessing a delicious Edward Hopper scene. The owner Chick, a diminutive Korean woman, Knocks out three-course dessert tasting menus that can be paired with a glass of wine until 12am nightly. If on a given night the line outside is too much for you, try the Chickalicious shop across the street that sells sweets to go. 203 E. 10th Street, No Reservations

That about does it for my culinary wandering this time, not bad for a 24-hour span, but I've got a big trip to Europe coming up in a few weeks and there will be much to share from that excursion I'm sure.

I'm So Blue.

As I wrap-up my final week here in Saugatuck, Michigan I think my skin is starting to take on a Oompa-Loompaish blue hue from all the blueberries I've been eating. It's hard not to binge on these amazingly plump and tasty blueberries that cost as much for 5# as a half-pint of small, sickly blueberries cost in the city. As usual, during their fleeting season I've been making everything I can think of with them: pies, tartlets with pastry creme, clafoutis, turnovers, cobblers, chutneys, juices, gastriques, vinegar, soap...(just kidding on the last one). Here is one of my favorite light cake or muffin recipes, courtesy of the kitchens at Gramercy Tavern in New York. They work equally well at breakfast, during afternoon tea or as a dessert.


Blueberry Cornmeal Cakes

Quantity Produced: Makes 12 Cakes

Butter 1 Cup
Powdered Sugar 2 2/3 Cups
Almond Flour 1 Cup
Cake Flour ½ Cup + 1 Tablespoon
Coarse Cornmeal ¼ Cup
Egg Whites 1 Cup (about 8)
Grated Orange Zest ½ Orange
Blueberries 1 Cup

Preparation Procedure-

Preheat oven to 400˚. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Continue to let the butter cook until it browns. Strain the browned butter through a fine sieve into a clean bowl, discard the solids.
Sift together the confectioners sugar, almond flour, cake flour, and cornmeal. Place the sifted ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. On the lowest speed, add the egg whites and zest; mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the speed to medium-low and stir in the browned butter. Increase the speed to medium and beat until smooth. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the blueberries. (The batter can be made up to 3 days ahead). Butter and flour 12 muffin tins or 2-inch mint tartlet pans. Spoon the batter into the tins and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden.

Don't Eat the Paper

Here's one of my favorite warm weather fish preparations. The parchment acts as a convection oven and the halibut's natural juices make for a delicious and healthy sauce. Try it with all types of fish, as well as chicken or turkey.

Halibut en Papillote with Melted Fennel & Oven-Dried Tomato

Quantity Produced: Serves 6 As An Entree

Ingredients: Qty.\Weight
Halibut, Preferably Alaskan 6/ 6oz.

Ripe Tomato, Cut in ¼ 12 or sub favorite dried tomato
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 Tablespoons
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

Fennel, Julienned 1 Bulb
Leek, Julienned (White & Pale Green Parts) 1 Leek
Celery, Julienned 1 Stalk
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 Tablespoon
White Wine or Dry Vermouth 3 Tablespoons
Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

Basil, Julienned (or Favorite Pesto) ¼ Cup
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Good Quality as needed
Fleur de Sel 2 Pinches

Preparation Procedure: Preheat oven to 325˚. On a parchment lined sheet pan, brush quartered tomatoes with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh black pepper (if tomatoes are unripe sprinkle with a pinch of sugar). Bake until slightly dried 3 to 4 hours.
Turn oven to 400˚. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the julienned fennel, leek and celery heat over moderate heat until it starts to caramelize, 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from scorching. When there’s color, add white wine or vermouth, raise heat and cook until reduced. Remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon, season to taste with salt and fresh pepper.
Cut 6 sheets of parchment papers into 12-inch circles. Season the halibut fillets with a pinch of salt. Take a sheet of parchment and fold it in half to create a crease. Place some of the fennel mixture on one side of the fold. Place a fillet on the julienned fennel. To seal up the packet, fold the other half of the parchment over the top to the edges meet. Start at the left and crimp the paper in ½ “ intervals. The finished packet will look like a large empanada. Transfer to baking sheet when finished. Brush the finished packets with olive oil and bake for 12 to 17 minutes (the packets will begin to brown and puff with air). To serve, cut each packet with a sharp knife or scissors. Top with basil or pesto, fresh grape tomatoes, a drizzle of good olive oil and sea salt.

The Young Prodigy

When you spend a lot of your time preparing elaborate menus made from impeccably sourced ingredients and paired with carefully selected wines, like I do, you can sometimes forget how elemental food and cooking are. I was reminded of this fact recently when I gave a private cooking lesson. My student had requested, among other things, to learn how to make Bananas Foster, the classic New Orlean's recipe of bananas flamed in rum. This, by itself, is not unique. No, the funny part is that it will be over a decade before my pupil can go out and get the ingredients for the recipe himself. You see, this student's name is Harry and he is ten-years-old.

Let me start by saying Harry is already a darn good cook. I could plug him in with a group of executives doing some culinary team building and he'd probably be showing them how to saute and chop. And, from the stories he tells, Harry has already had some great food experiences. He's eaten kangaroo jerky in Australia, learned how to make pizza in Italy and has already visited our country's most prestigious cooking school, The Culinary Institute of America. Yet while Harry is well on his way to becoming a fabulous cook, he still looks at food and cooking like the kid that he is. He really enjoyes the basic things, the stuff that someone who has spent years cooking, like me, has long taken for granted. Things like: Parmesan is not only delicious, it's fun to grate; bananas ARE sometimes tricky to peel and it's really satisfying to dice the celery stalks all the same size. The stuff that most people first loved about cooking.

So while I may have shown him how to make homemade ice cream and bread, how to thicken a chowder and flame some bananas; for the almost three-hours of our cooking lesson Harry reminded me of the simple pleasures of cooking. And that was by far the best recipe of the day.

Harry is really into baking, so here's my recipe for Fresh Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.

Butter, Room Temp. 7 Tablespoons
Flour 1 ½ Cups
Baking Soda ¼ Teaspoon
Baking Powder ½ Teaspoon
Salt ¼ Teaspoon
Light Brown Sugar ¾ Cup
Vanilla Bean, Split/Scraped 1
Pineapple, cut 1/8” Slices 8 Slices
Rum 2 Tablespoons
Sugar 1 Cup
Eggs 2 Large
Milk ¾ Cup

Preparation Procedure-

Preheat oven to 350˚. Butter an 8 or 9-inch nonstick cake pan. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

In a medium pan, combine brown sugar, and the vanilla bean and seeds with 1 cup of water. Bring to a simmer. Add the pineapple and poach for 5 minutes. Remove the pineapple, raise the heat to high, and reduce the liquid to ¼ cup, about 10 minutes. Stir in rum, set aside.

In mixing bowl, combine 6 Tablespoons butter with sugar. With the paddle attachment, on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and incorporate completely. Lower the speed and add sifted ingredients. Mix on low for 10 seconds. Add milk, mix until smooth.

Arrange the pineapple slices in an over lapping manner at bottom of cake pan and brush most of the flavored syrup over them. Pour the batter over the slices and bake for 30 minutes (rotating after 15 minutes). Let cool 2 minutes before inverting. Spoon remaining glaze over top.

Serves 6-8.

Fungi Feast

While the majority of the dinner parties we do at Kirk's Traveling Kitchen tend to be the standard four or five course affairs; elaborate, mini-coursed tasting menus are becoming more and more popular. While easily among our favorite events to do, these dinners, which can be anywhere from 10 to 15 courses, paired with wine, over four-plus hours, are not for the faint-of-stomach. However if you are a dedicated food person, and believe in the role dinner can play as entertainment (beyond pleasurable sustanence), it might be an experience for you!

To give you an idea what one of these meals entails, I've listed the menu from a dinner I did this weekend. The host suggested the theme "Mushrooms" and wanted to pair the individual courses with wines from his exceptional cellar. Like many of the tasting menus that we do, my team and I may have had as much fun preparing and serving the food as the guests had eating it!

"Fungi Feast" Mushroom Tasting Menu from May 10,2008

1st Course: Crab "Rangoon" stuffed Morel Mushroom Tempura with Fresh Wasabi Ponzu

2nd Course: Danko Shiitake Mushroom Spring Rolls with Mint & Peanut Sauce

3rd Course: Bison Carpaccio with Shaved Raw Portobellos, Sea Beans & Truffle Salt

4th Course: Hen of the Woods Mushroom "Cappuccino" with Celery Root Foam

5th Course: Pecorino Custard Ravioli with Trumpet Royale Mushrooms & Madeira Essence

6th Course: Poached Wild Scottish Salmon with St. Georges Mushroom Terrine & Pumpkin Seed Sabayon

7th Course: Pomegranite Glazed Guinea Hen with Farrotto, Cavolo Nero & Porcini Picada

8th Course: Roasted Beef Loin with Fingerling Potato Galette & Wild Mushroom Confit

9th Course: Chabichou du Poitou (Goat Cheese) with Celery Hearts & Zante Currants

10th Course: Blueberry Tartlets with Neufchatel Pastry Creme, Graham Cracker Crust & Candy Cap Mushroom Streusel

11th Course: Individual Devil's Food Cakes with Domori Chocolate Buttercream (Birthday Surprise!)

12th Course: Dark Chocolate & Tuile Cookie "Fungi"

Small Plates; Not so Small Flavors

If my customers are any guide, America's fascination with all things served on small plates, in even smaller bites, doesn't seem to be waning any time soon. Many associate this small bites craze to the Spanish tapas menu, but, in my opinion, the best small plates dishes are much more multi-ethnic. Drawing from Southeast Asian street food, Chinese dim sum, Middle Eastern tea menus, as well as more traditional Mediterranean meze; the possibilities for cooking a varied feast of mini-meals is endless.

One of my more popular offerings, small plate events serve many purposes: they are inherently social in that you and your guests aren't fixed at a place setting for a multi-coursed meal, they allow everyone to sample multiple culinary creations (my small plate menus start at seven different options), and they are inherently casual, seemingly a party essential these days.

To get you started on your small plate odyssey, here's a great Southeast Asian-inspired summertime "shooter" made from ripe cantalope.

Kaffir Lime-Melon "Shooter" with Sesame Wafers

Cantaloupe, Peeled/Seeded/Diced 1 medium
Fresh Lime Juice 4 limes

Simple Syrup, (1/2 water/1/2 sugar) 1 1/2 cups
Kaffir Lime Leaves (fresh or frozen) 2
Coriander Seeds (cracked) 15
Green Cardamom pods (cracked) 5

Coconut Milk 1 cup
Heavy Cream 1/2 cup

Spring roll wrappers 4 sheets
Eggs, beaten 1
Oyster sauce, Hoisin sauce or soy sauce 1 Tablespoon
Sesame Seeds (Black and White) as needed

Preparation Procedure: Preheat oven to 325˚.

Bring simple syrup, lime leaves, coriander and cardamom to boil. Remove from stove and allow to steep 30 minutes to one hour. Strain and chill.

Meanwhile beat heavy cream in mixer until peaks start to form, fold in coconut milk and mix until thick. Refrigerate.

When syrup is cold pour over melon and lime juice in blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate.

Brush springroll wrappers (cut in an appealing shape) with egg wash mixed with oyster sauce or hoisin or soy. Sprinkle with sesame while still wet.
Lay out on silpat or parchment lined sheet pan, cover with sheet of parchment or another silpat. Bake 10-15 minutes until brown.

Fill shot glass 2/3 full of melon soup, top with dollup of cold coconut chantilly and garnish with sesame wafer.

Olives Vertes Avec Kirk

As is usually the case when I find myself in Chicago, I managed to fit in time for a quick snack at one of my favorite restaurants in the Windy City: avec. A tiny, Mediterranean small-plates inspired restaurant off Randolph (owned by the same fellas who own the seminal 'Blackbird'), avec is the type of restaurant I love: creative but not outlandish with a format that allows you to try a lot of different foods and wines. It's easy to craft a diverse meal out of 6 to 10 different small things and try a few obscure, yet affordable, French, Italian, Spanish or Portugese wines. As I look forward to a couple trips to Europe over the next few months, nothing gets my palate in the mood better than this place. Here's my recipe for delicious marinated green olives, similar to the delicious olives I always get at avec, just remember to serve them at room-temperature, or even a little warm.

Marinated Green Olives

Makes 4 Cups

4 Cups Green Olives (Manzanilla, Lucques or Picholine) cracked with a knife
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Strips Lemon Peel, with Pith Removed
3 Cloves Garlic, Smashed
1 Bay Leaf
1 Fresh Thyme Sprig

Preparation Procedure-

Make sure the olives are cracked so that the marinade permeates to the core. Combine and marinate for several hours at room temperature. Keep refrigerated but always allow to come to room temperature before serving.

The End is in Sight

As the winter SLOWLY dissipates, I'm taking a moment to reflect on cold weather dishes that I will surely be missing in just a few months. So while ripe tomatoes, pole beans and sweet corn certainly sound good right now, it won't be long before the "grass is greener" foodie in me will reflect on how great those braised short ribs, blood oranges and sunchokes were on cold winter Sundays. Here is a recipe I developed for those cold days when I really craved a salad, but needed something warm and smooth (sunchoke puree) to make it perfect and seasonal.

Winter Scallop and Frisee Salad with Warm Sherry Vinaigrette

Quantity Produced: Serves 8 (salad or appetizer portions)

20/30ct. Dry Scallops, Cleaned 16-24
Olive Oil as needed
Kosher Salt as needed

Chicken Stock, Preferably Homemade 4 Cups
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 Tablespoons
Sunchokes, Scrubbed or Peeled/Chopped 2-3 Cups
Kosher Salt & Fresh WHITE Pepper To Taste

Young Frisee, Endive or Arugula, washed 4 Cups
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 Tablespoons
Fresh Lemon Juice Few Drops
Truffle Oil (optional) 1 Tablespoon
Sea Salt To Taste

Sherry Vinegar ¼ Cup
Balsamic Vinegar 2 Tablespoons
Garlic, Minced 2 Cloves
Shallot, Minced 1 Medium
Extra Virgin Olive Oil ½ Cup

Preparation Procedure- Make vinaigrette, mixing all ingredients thoroughly, set aside.
Combine chicken stock, olive oil and sunchokes in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and cook until sunchokes are tender, about 20 minutes. Using a stick blender or food processor puree until smooth. Season to taste and keep warm. In a large, heavy bottomed skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat and cook scallops until golden on one side only. Turn scallops over and turn off heat. Meanwhile toss lettuce with olive oil, lemon juice, truffle oil and sea salt. Plate a ¼ cup of sunchoke puree on warm plates, top with 2-3 scallops, and a small amount of lettuce. Swirl sherry vinaigrette into skillet used to cook the scallops, scraping to get all the scallop “goodness”. Spoon around the plate. Serve immediately.