Vive les Vacances!
June 2003
We're headed north to Montreal for a brief vacation. The Food Section will return with a full menu of postings on August 9th.
Agenda: 7/28 to 8/3
1. The Ultimate Cocktail Class, hands-on instruction in cocktail mixing, Wednesday, July 28, 7:30 p.m., at the Morrell Wine Store, 1 Rockefeller Plaza at 49th Street. $75/person (212.688.9370).
2. How to Throw a Meze Party, demonstration and wine pairing with Susanna Hoffman, author of The Olive & the Caper, benefiting the American Institute of Wine and Food, Wednesday, July 28, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., at Goldman Associates Luxury Showroom, 150 East 58th Street, 8th Floor. $25/members, $35/guests (718.229.6565).
3. American Cheese Society Finalists, tasting of award-winning cheeses from the American Cheese Society's annual competition, Thursday, July 29, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., at the Artisanal Cheese Center, 500 West 37th Street at 10th Avenue, 2nd Floor. $75/person (877.797.1200).
Ongoing Events:
1. Cookin': A Sizzling Entertainment, "a fast-paced kitchen percussion show combining comedy, rhythm, and non-verbal performance," at the Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane (212.420.8000).
2. Beer Garden at the Brooklyn Historical Society, every Friday, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., through August 27, at the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn. The Beer Garden is part of "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall," an exhibition on the history of brewing in Brooklyn, on view through October 16 (718.222.4111).
Shopping List: Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook
"You don’t collect and cook recipes, or compile dining experiences like a butterfly collector," taunts Anthony Bourdain in the introduction to his new book, Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook. "You must enjoy what you’re doing. If there is any real sin in the culinary universe, it is the sin of snobbery. If you’re afraid of a little grease on your chin, of eating with your hands, are squeamish about bones, fish heads, guts, are ambivalent about garlic, are too precious with your food, then buy another cookbook."
With this new cookbook, due out in stores in October 2004, the swaggering chef, mystery writer, and historian provides a guide to making the classic bistro dishes served at Brasserie Les Halles, where he is executive chef. The book will include more than 100 recipes -- from roasted veal short ribs and steak frites to boeuf bourgignon -- infused with his irreverent, take-no-prisoners philosophy of cooking and dining. As Mr. Bourdain's official Web site warns: "You’ll feel like he’s in the kitchen beside you — reeling off a few insults when you’ve scorched the sauce, and then patting you on the back for finally getting the steak tartare right."
Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook (Bloomsbury; $34.95) will be published in October 2004. Copies may be pre-ordered at amazon.com.
Agenda: 7/21 to 7/27
1. Beer Tasting, sampling of local beers led by Richard Scholz, owner of Bierkraft, Saturday, July 24, 2:00 p.m., at the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn. Program fee $3 with admission (718.222.4111).
2. Chefs & Champagne, dinner honoring Sirio Maccioni, owner of Le Cirque 2000, to benefit The James Beard Foundation, Saturday, July 24, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., at Wolffer Estate Vineyards and Stables, 139 Sagg Road, Sagaponack, Long Island. $150/Foundation members, $200/guests (212.627.2308).
3. California Cults and Classics, prix fixe dinner with California wine pairings, Monday, July 26, 6:30 p.m., at Tribeca Grill, 375 Greenwich St. $285/person (212.941.3900).
4. Best Bets for Bubbly, tasting of sparkling wines paired with cheese, Tuesday, July 27, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., at the Artisanal Cheese Center, 500 West 37th Street at 10th Avenue, 2nd Floor. $75/person (877.797.1200).
Ongoing Events:
1. Cookin': A Sizzling Entertainment, "a fast-paced kitchen percussion show combining comedy, rhythm, and non-verbal performance," at the Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane (212.420.8000).
2. Beer Garden at the Brooklyn Historical Society, every Friday, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., through August 27, at the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn. The Beer Garden is part of "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall," an exhibition on the history of brewing in Brooklyn, on view through October 16 (718.222.4111).
Is My Blog Burning? Pollo al Pietra (Chicken Under a Stone)
As announced by the good folks at Too Many Chefs, "Grillers (and Barbecuers) Delight" is the theme of the sixth installment of Is My Blog Burning? (IMBB).
Previous editions of IMBB, the spontaneously arranged worldwide online cooking event, have focused on soup, tartines, cake, rice, and fish.
As much as I enjoy eating grilled food, the grilling theme presents a major challenge to the city dwelling cook. When you live on the sixth floor of an apartment building without any access to outdoor grilling space, there are three grilling alternatives available:
1. Indoor grilling using a cast iron grill pan.
2. Public grilling at a New York City park.
3. Emigration to suburbia.
PaninoLog: Grand Grilled Cheese
The PaninoLog returns -- this time with a grilled cheese sandwich inspired by master cheesemonger Steven Jenkins, author of The Cheese Primer, who is participating this week in an online Q&A at eGullet.
In response to a question about what kind of cheese to use to make great macaroni and cheese, Mr. Jenkins went on a riff about grilled cheese sandwiches (noting, "you asked me about mac and cheese but my brain read grilled cheese"):
I am particularly partial to the grilled cheese sandwich my wife and I raised our boy Max on: Open-faced slice of bread spread with sweet butter or olive oil liberally sprinkled with grated Parmigiano Reggiano, placed horizontally in the toaster oven until the Parm bubbles, cut into triangles. I am equally smitten by the conventional closed-face grilled cheese sandwich using sourdough or rye or whole-grain slices and shredded mountain cheeses such as the following spectaculars: Beaufort from Savoie, Fontina d'Aosta from Aosta, Comte from Franche-Comte, raclette cheese from either of these two regions, any Basque sheep's milk cheese (Erhaki, Matocq, Ossau-Iraty, Etorki, Prince de Claverolles), Roncal from Navarra. Certainly Swiss Gruyere or Emmental or Appenzeller figure, though they're way down my preference list. Also Asiago from the Veneto, Majorero (unlike the rest of these, Majorero from Fuenteventura in the Canaries is NOT a raw milk cow's milk cheese, but is a raw milk goat's milk cheese), Sao Jorge (St. George, a sharp cow's cheese from the Portuguese Azores).
I have to admit to being pretty simple in my taste for grilled cheese sandwiches. I rarely eat them, but when I do, the filling is usually a few slices of cheddar. But, after reading Mr. Jenkins' comments, a whole new world opened to me.
I considered using Comté, but in a taste test before purchasing, Beaufort, which has a distinctly nutty, tangy, and sweet flavor, was the superior cheese. At $20 a pound, this was an extravagant choice (double the price of Comté). In the end, it worked out to about $2.50 a sandwich (two ounces per) -- at least this was less than what you would spend in a restaurant.
I followed Mr. Jenkins' instructions on how to make the sandwich, starting with sourdough bread ("Both sides of the bread are spread with sweet butter"), to which I added slices of an amazingly ripe, purple-red heirloom tomato ("occasionally a slice of tomato") and grated Beaufort ("the cheese is always shredded, not place aboard in slices"). I skipped his addition of hot sauce and sprinkled the sandwich with freshly ground pepper before placing it in the panini press.
The nutty and sweet Beaufort, which melted from a pile of shreds into a single layer of molten cheese, contrasted with the cool, fresh sliced tomato and the textural crunch of the toasted bread. This may be the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. Beaufort will break the bank, but there's no turning back to cheddar.
BEFORE AND AFTER Beaufort from Savoie and heirloom tomatoes (below) are the main ingredients in an extravagant grilled cheese sandwich (above).
Agenda: 7/14 to 7/20
Bastille Day Events:
1. Les Halles Liberty Festival, a day-long street party on John Street, featuring "Bastille Races" between waitstaff and other festivities, Wednesday, July 14, 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at Brasserie Les Halles Downtown, 15 John Street at Broadway (212.285.8585).
2. Bastille Day at Gavroche, a three-course prix-fixe menu including champagne and accordion music, Wednesday, July 14, 7:00 p.m., at Gavroche, 212 West 14th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues. $25/person, reservations recommended (212.647.8553).
Bastille Day Event Roundups:
» New York Times
» New York Post
More Events This Week:
1. Spain: Land of 100 Cheeses, cheese tasting hosted by Spain's "Cheese Ambassador," Enric Canut, Wednesday, July 14, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at the Artisanal Cheese Center, 500 West 37th Street at 10th Avenue, 2nd Floor. $75/person (877.797.1200).
2. Italian Regional Wine & Cheese Tasting, tasting of 12 different wines and 12 cheeses presented by Cucina Italiana and Morrell & Company, Thursday, July 15, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Italian Culinary Center, 302 5th Avenue, 9th Floor. $50/person, advance reservations required (212.725.8764 ext. 25).
3. 2nd Annual Grill Kings BBQ Cook-Off, competitive grilling, Saturday, July 17, at Eisenhower Park, East Meadow. Attendance is free.
4. National Ice Cream Day, celebrate with single-scoop vanilla cones for 25 cents, Sunday, July 18, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at Ciao Bella Gelato Café, 27 East 92nd Street (212.831.5555). [via New York Times print edition]
5. Modern Mexican Cuisine, Pampano chef/owner Richard Sandoval will be joined by Guillermo Gonzalez Beristain of Pangea in Monterrey, Mexico, to create a five-course tasting menu with wine pairings from Mexico, Monday, July 19, at Pampano, 209 East 49th Street. $99/person (212.751.4545).
Ongoing Events:
1. Cookin': A Sizzling Entertainment, "a fast-paced kitchen percussion show combining comedy, rhythm, and non-verbal performance," at the Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane (212.420.8000).
2. Beer Garden at the Brooklyn Historical Society, every Friday, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., through August 27, at the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn. The Beer Garden is part of "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall," an exhibition on the history of brewing in Brooklyn, on view through October 16 (718.222.4111).
Source: Bridge Kitchenware
Founded in 1946, Bridge Kitchenware is the ultimate cook's resource. Stocked floor to ceiling with nearly every cooking tool imaginable, including a particularly large supply of bakeware, it is the "go-to" cookware store when you need something unique, such as a blini pan or a madeleine mold.
Bridge Kitchenware’s dusty, workmanlike atmosphere stands in direct contrast to slick kitchen supply superstores such as Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table. Walking around the shop's narrow aisles, you might mistake it for an old hardware store. Seemingly ancient wooden drawers contain a stash of arcane molds and utensils. Were it not for the shelves stocked with the latest cooking appliances or the walls lined with the popular orange silicone bakeware, you might think that the shop is intact from the 1940s. Follow the link below for more photos from a recent visit.
» Click to Launch Photo Gallery
Bridge Kitchenware, 214 East 52nd Street, New York, New York 10022 (212.688.4220).
