Gotham Gal

Fruit Tart

Nothing like a fruit tart.  One of my favorites.  The key is the pastry cream. 

I made a crust earlier in the day.  You really need to make a crust in a tart pan where the bottom comes out.  Otherwise, just pick up a pre-made crust and bake it without anything in it. Remember to put rice or beans over tin foil on top of your crust when you bake it otherwise the crust will rise. The fruit tart is made after the tart is cooled.

Pastry Cream -
2 cups half and half
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of kosher salt
5 large egg yolks
3 T. cornstarch
1/2 stick of cold unsalted butter
1 1/2 T. vanilla extract

Take the half and half and 6 T. of the sugar, salt into a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering.  Stir just a little bit to make sure the sugar is dissolved.  I actually don't turn this on until I have finished the second step.  Just makes it easier.

Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl until combined.  Whisk in the other 2 T. sugar until the mixture is  creamy.  About 20 seconds or so.  Then whisk in the cornstarch until the mixture becomes pale.  That takes about 30 seconds or so. 

When the half and half mixture simmers, turn off the heat and gradually whisk half of that into the egg yolk mixture.  This will temper the mix.  Then return the mixture to the saucepan, scraping down the sides with a spatula.  Return the medium heat and whisk constantly until bubbles burst the surface.  The mixture will start to thicken quickly.  About 30 seconds of so and then take it off the heat.  Now whisk in the remaining butter ( already cut into small pieces ) and the vanilla until totally incorporated. 

Strain the pastry cream through a sieve into a bowl.  Then wrap with saran wrap, pressing the saran directly down on the cream so that no skin is formed.  Let this sit in the refrigerator for a few hours or until cold to use.  You could let is stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.  Also, since you aren't using a vanilla bean with this mixture, you really don't need to strain before putting in a bowl.  I didn't. 

When the cream is cold.  Use a spatula to evenly spread the cream into your saved tart crust.  Choose your favorite berries such a raspberries, blueberries, strawberries or even cut up kiwi to layer on the top.  The trick to getting the berries to glow is before laying them over the pastry cream, use a little bit of apple jelly tossed into the fruit to give it that sheen.  It makes for a better presentation.

Golden Smog

What a fantastic concert.  I'm a little late on the post but these guys are great.  Everyone sings, everyone gets a lead, pretty low on the ego scale.  They appear to be having just a great time.  Also, the Bowery Ball room is one of my favorite places to see music.  Very low key.  Check out Golden Smog.

Cinnamon Gelato

We have been working on different combinations of ice cream for the last couple of years.  We have the Cuisinart Ice Cream Machine that has 2 bowls.  I keep the bowls in the freezer at all times so we are always ready to go.  I found a recipe that I really liked.  The ice cream gets really thick which I like.  It could be Gelato if I only used milk but I opted for mixing in milk and half and half together.

2 cups half and  half
1 1/2 cups milk ( i used 2% because that is what was in the refrigerator)
2/3 cup sugar
5 egg yolks
1 t. ground cinnamon

Put all of this together in a saucepan that will fit the entire amount.  Turn the heat to medium and whisk the mixture for about 10 minutes.  Yes, ten minutes.  This will make it thick.  It takes that long.  Once it gets thick, remove from the heat and pout into a bowl, cover it with saran wrap pushed down over the mixture and put in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or until really cold.  Then use this mixture in the ice cream machine accordingly.  Once the mixture is done, I generally put it into a Tupperware and in the freezer to use a few hours later.  I served this over blueberry pie.  It was really good.

Blueberry Pie

I am so enjoying the new cookbook I got this spring, The New Best Recipe from the Editors of Cook's Illustrated.  So, I bought a second one for the beach.  They  have perfected each recipe and basics are abundant. 

I didn't actually use the exact crust recipe but used it as a gage.  In a Cuisinart I put in 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 t. kosher salt, 2 T. sugar and on top of that 2 sticks of unsalted butter already cut into small pieces.  Make sure the butter is cold.  Then pulsated this until it was like coarse crumbs.  Don't worry about over doing it, it is when you put in the water that you can order do it.  Then I took 1/2 cup of very cold water and slowly dripped that in while pulsating.  The dough should get thick quick.  I took it out, and made two balls of dough that I wrapped in saran wrap and put in the refrigerator to get cold for a few hours before using. 

The hardest part is making the crust.  The filling is easy.  6 cups of blueberries, 1 cup sugar, 2 t. lemon juice and 1 t. lemon zest, 1/4 t. nutmeg, 4 T. minute tapioca.  Put all this together in a bowl, stir and let stand for about 15 minutes before using it. 

I rolled out one of of the two pie crusts and put it into a pie plate.  I let the dough droop over the edge and put it back in the refrigerator to get cold.  BTW, when I roll out the dough, I put the dough in between 4 large pieces of saran wrap and roll it out in between those pieces.  2 on top, 2 on the bottom.  No mess. 
Make sure to put fork holes on the bottom of the pie crust.

Take the crust out of the refrigerator, pour the blueberry mixture into the pie plate.  Now take the other piece of dough, roll that out and lay it over the pie.  Push down the edges and flute them together.  You can either cut 4 slits in the pie top or just put more fork pricks.  Take one egg white and brush it over the pie and dust with sugar.  Bake at 425 for about 25 minutes and then lower the heat to 350 and baked for about 30 minutes more.  Mine got a bit crisp on the top after only 25 minutes so I covered it with tin foil so that the crust didn't crisp anymore.

Serve at room temperature or just warmed otherwise the pie is runny.  This pie shouldn't be runny if it isn't too hot.  Served this with Cinnamon Gelato.  That is another post.

Schiller's

I have made the rounds to Balthazaar, Pastis and Schiller's.  We were at Balthazaar a few weeks ago and had a really good meal.  Pastis, where I have done mostly lunch, is always good.  Why is it every time I go to Schiller's the food is mediocre at best?  Maybe Keith McNally doesn't think the food is as important as the vibe in that neighborhood.  I am not sure what it is.

We had dinner there a few nights ago.  My mistake.  We should have opted for a variety of other new places in the area that would have been fun to try.  We just happened to see Schillers and I guess we knew what we were in for.  I just didn't think the food would be so bad.

Burgers is what everyone ordered but no body really was intent on finishing their meal.  Not a good sign.  I opted for a pounded grilled chicken over a salad.  Not tough.  The chicken was over seasoned (with what I am not sure ) and the salad was old and the sauce was way too heavy.  Disappointed everywhere.  Also, maybe I am getting too old but I couldn't hear a thing.  Yikes.

Next time, I'm pulling out my Blackberry and finding somewhere better in the local area. 

Bondi Beach

The Lower East Side continues to amaze me.  New places daily.  Some good, some not so good.  Mostly young hipsters.  Sort of like the East Village around 1985. 

We met our friends at a new haunt, Bondi Beach.  Located on Rivington.  The restaurant is like their website.  Not finished.  There isn't even an address.  Supposedly the restaurant has been open about a month but they still aren't really serving food.  Well, they do have a $25 tasting menu but that is the only thing you can order and the food looks suspect. 

Great beach look inside on the walls.  The tables are all high.  Sort of like sitting at the bar but sitting with your friends at your own table.  A bit too high actually.  Drinks are available.  They take their time serving them.  My gut tells me that Eater should put Bondi Beach on death watch before they even get off the ground. 

Maybe it is the surfer thing, they don't really seem that motivated to get off the wave and into business. 

Positively Tenth Street

We are trying to return to the weekly Podcast.  We slipped last week but we are up again this week.  Enjoy.
To listen live, click here.  For more information, go to Fred's blog.

Piece of Mind

Piece of Mind is one of the many productions that were chosen for the Fringe Festival in NYC which takes place the last 2 weeks in August.  Fringe is a very cool organization that brings together and supports performances all over the world.  They bring interesting cutting age theater to different locations. Right now our kids school is actually putting on a performance at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.  It is a big deal to be picked to have your play  be part of the festival.

A really good friend of ours has always had a passion for theater.  She really made a career change when she moved to the suburbs and got involved with theater through her kids school.  She personally built a curriculum for the middle school to have theater.  Then she went and redid the High School.  Pretty impressive.  Then she started getting involved in her own productions.  Her last production, Piece of Mind, was picked up by the Fringe Festival.  I believe it is only the second play she has produced outside of the school.  I'm so psyched for her.

The play is called Piece of Mind.  This play gives a voice to people who don't have a voice.  People who have Alzheimer's.  It is a disease that people don't like to talk about.  This drama shows the effects of the people who have the disease and how that affects everyone around them.  Alzheimer's has affected 4.5 million Americans.  Serious numbers.

If you are interested, check out the Fringe Festival's website and see this play or others that might be of interest.  The show is being produced in New York City at The Classic Stage Company on Friday, August 11th at 8:45 PM; Saturday, August 12th at 12 Noon; Tuesday, August 15th at 6:30 PM; Thursday, August 17th at 10 PM; Wednesday, August 23rd at 9:30 PM. Tickets can be purchased online at www.FringeNYC.org or by calling (212) 279-4488.

Driving a Vespa

Perhaps because I am driving a Vespa these days, but I don't think so.  Every day there are more Vespas or Scooter type vehicles on the street.  On my block alone, I have noticed that first there was one, now there are 8.  Hmmm.  I hope the city finds a way to promote this type of driving because us against the cabs, buses, cars and bicycles are a little overwhelming.

I knew that the Vespa world was definitely growing as of yesterday.  I pulled up to a stop sign and a Vespa pulls right up next to me.  I look to my left and I see our friends on the Vespa.  He's driving, she's in the back.  I just started to laugh.  We're getting together this week so I asked, "hey, what time are we meeting tomorrow night?"  Response..."You pick, just send us an email." and off we rode.  You gotta love it.

Lassi

Lassi is an Indian take-out restaurant on Greenwich right off 10th Street.  There are about 6 stools if you'd prefer to eat in, or just to hang on while you wait for your order.

I have walked by several times and the waifs of Indian food coming out the door makes your mouth water.  What I really like is that every night something different is on the menu.  What does the chef feel like making tonight? 

I was solo last night and staying home.  I'm taking off tomorrow and I wanted to clear my desk of every possible "to do" on the list.  Dinner was calling so I walked over to Lassi to get something to eat.

The chef was chatting with an older Indian couple and who appeared to be one of their mothers.  The chef was so excited and gracious about how much they loved her food.  Authentic and delicious were the 2 words I overheard.  Now, who is to say what type of palette these 3 Indians had but when I walk into a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown and realize I am the only person in there that is Chinese, I take it as a good sign.  So, I believe the analogy works here too.

I couldn't decide what to order.  Chicken Tandoori over rice or Lamb Meatballs cooked in a spicy tomato sauce.  I opted for the latter because the cashier told me it was the chef's favorite. 

I brought my meal home to eat while I flipped through Vogue.  Not a lot of food but just the right amount.  Delicious firm spicy meatballs served with a curry flavored tomato sauce that was incredibly rich.  The meatballs were in a small round container and the basmati rice was in another.  Good rice - crispy.  I poured one over the other and my meal was ready.  Excellent food. 

On Sunday nights, the nights we generally bicker over where to order in, Lassi is my pick.  Although they will deliver, I'll just call my order in and walk down the street.  The aromas are just too enticing to not sit there and enjoy.