Gotham Gal

Off to college

 

We are dropping Jessica off at college tomorrow.  First kid to leave the nest. No doubt the other 2 will be gone before we know it.  Of course the first question everyone asks when they hear Jessica is going to college this year is “how do you feel about that”?  So, how do I feel about that?

 

In all honesty, I am elated for her.  We spent the last 18 years preparing her to fly independently.  She is her own person.  Of course, all parents see the things in their kid that they feel they helped mold but she has taken what she wanted from us and made them her own.  We can give advice if she asks us for it but she is now an adult and she chooses how to spend her money, how she lives her life, the friends that she makes and the path she wants to pursue.  We have done our job and we are thrilled. 

 

Certainly living in a household that loves music, loves food, loves travel, loves pop culture and fashion, loves technology and loves everything that urban living has to offer Jessica has embraced.  But her loves are about her they aren’t about us.  Not easy to understand that as a parent but that is something Jessica taught me.  She started breaking away and through that process, although not always easy, I learned from her that she is her own person.  A fantastic person at that. 

 

 I am not one to look backward, never have.  Quite frankly neither is Fred.  I could go back and recount a variety of memories but I am not sure that being nostalgic is the right thing at this moment and I am not a very nostalgic person.  I just can’t believe that in 5 years we will have an empty nest.  Everyone is already taller than me, I do realize my age but having 3 adult kids navigating their own lives is going to be strange yet exciting at the same time.  In many ways, Jessica leaving will the most difficult for Josh and Emily. 

 

Jessica is the first one to fly and she is just beginning her journey.  I am sure I will cry, as everyone in my family knows that I cry at everything, but honestly, I am absolutely thrilled for her.  She worked hard to get where she is and now she is going to enjoy the fruits of her labor.  Bravo!

RIP, John Dory

 

There is a great quote in the Sunday Styles section today in the New York Times from a 45 year old biz man who has unfortunately joined the ranks of the unemployed.  He was successfully rolling along and then life changed.  As he put it, "The world around me just changed over night.  Like East Germany, one day it was there, next day gone." That sort of sums up what happened to our country over the past year.  Everything changed in a day and now we are seeing the results.

Results are people are spending less on soft goods and I don't see a return to the spendthrift days happening anytime soon, the worth of real estate has gone down significantly, new jobs are being filled by the best and brightest and the youth because they can, etc.  In the restaurant world, we will slowly see the death of the big restaurant.  Too big, not intimate.  As someone said to me this morning, the big restaurant is so 2007. Everyone, including restaurants, need to take on small overhead and build out places that won't have them carrying serious debt.  There is certainly a need to turn many tables over the course of a day vs the dinner only factor.  Then there is the number one priority which never really changes, location, location, location.

John Dory probably could have got to the other side in better times because the food was so good. But there were many fatal flaws from the onset.  One was location.  Their customer was located in an area where people could walk down the street to, like the village but the restaurant was in a destination location.  Located in an area inundadated with big oversized restaurants with visiting customers vs locals.  The decor was ridiculously over the top, although obviously well thought out, the cost of that would probably take years to recoop with a restaurant that didn't even have 60 seats.  Prices were high and it wasn't easy to even find the door.

I loved the John Dory but even though I live relatively close, it wasn't a place I'd stroll to.  in the end, the seats were probably half full and the debt was suffocating.  RIP in John Dory.  A sad lesson learned and I do hope to see April continue to expand her brilliant cooking to more places outside the genius Spotted Pig which is not only delicious, probably not expensive to put together and in an incredible location.  They should have duplicated that success at John Dory but they stepped outside the zone.

 I did hear a rumor this morning that we will see John Dory relocate somewhere where rent is less and the location is better.  Perhaps down the street from the Spotted Pig where I happened to see Ken Friedman looking at a space a couple of months ago.  I guess time will tell. 

Just in addition, after 92 years, Cafe Des Artistes, closed their doors yesterday. 

Chicken with a brick

Chicken is a constant in our house so coming up with different ways keeps everyone happy.  Last night we went for chicken with a brick. 

Finding the brick turned out to be somewhat hilarious.  There happens to be a lumber yard down the street that also carries bricks, stone etc.  Unfortunately they were closed yesterday.  Jessica and I were determined.  The walls were a tad high to jump over.  Also, the brick on the other side was roped in with wire to keep out people like us.  Jessica decided that crawling under the gate would be the most optimal.  She crawled under, found 3 random bricks, and then passed them over and then crawled back under.  Fred would have freaked but I am happy to go back and pay them something for what we stole on Monday which I will do.  Now, we have our bricks!

I butterflied a few chickens and coated them with herbs, olive oil and lime juice.  I put them on the grill, very low heat for about 10 minutes, skin side down, so that the fat could burn off.  It is tough on a grill so after that I flipped the bird, put a brick wrapped in tin foil on top of each chicken and closed the grill.  I let that hang out for about half an hour.  After that, I took off the brick, flipped the chickens and put the brick back on again.  All at low heat.  I also used kitchen mitts to flip so I didn't destroy the skin.  I let the birds hang out for another 20 minutes or so until crispy and the internal temperature of the chicken was about 180. 

The brick basically flattens out the chicken and also keeps the juices intact.  Delicious.  Same chicken just a different twist. 

Butterflying a chicken is easy.  Cut out the back bone on each side the length of the chicken.  Then flip the chicken over and where the breast comes together there is a small bone that is connects the breast.  Take a knife or scissor and just clip it in the middle.  That allows the breast to relax and then you can turn the chicken around push it down and the breast breaks easily down the middle and you have a butterflied chicken.  If the explanation isn't great, you can google it and there are a variety of videos that help you out. 

Summer Succotash

Succotash is corn based, in my book, but after that, anything goes.  Last night's succotash consisted of corn, green beans, lima beans, basil and a white balsamic vinaigrette.  Delicious and summery. 

Amount is all relative to how many mouths you have to feed.  I used 6 ears of corn, with the corn taking off the ear after cooking ( boiled method but you could grill it too). 1 lb of green beans, cut and blanched.  2 packages of frozen lima beans cooked,  2 big handfuls of chopped basil. 

Vinaigrette:

2 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. honey
1 tbsp. dijon mustard

Mix all that together and then slowly whisk in olive oil until the dressing gets thick and tastes right to you.  About 1/2 cup of olive oil or less.  Sometimes I like the dressing a little more tart and then I use less olive oil.

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before mixing.  Tastes just as good the next day!

Tomato Salad

Jessica was yearning for a good tomato salad.  She particularly wanted the one from Joseph Leonard.  I emailed Gabriel and James and they espoused that recipes are for sharing not for keeping secret.  Keep in mind that a tomato salad like this can only be as good as the tomatoes.  In August and early September the tomatoes are sublime.  We polished this salad off.

Mixture of tomatoes.  I used big red and yellow tomatoes and then cherry red and yellows too.  I also doubled the dressing due to all of the tomatoes we used.  The tomatoes almost sat in the dressing so too much is better than too little.  This particular recipe calls for 6 tomatoes. 

 

1 Tbsp    Shallots, chopped very fine
1 Tbsp    Chives, chopped
1/2 Tbsp  Mint,. chopped
1/2 Tbsp  Oregano, chopped
2 Tbsp    Red Wine Vinegar
4 Tbsp    Extra Virgin Olive Oil
              Salt and Pepper to Taste

Mix the tomatoes in this dressing for about an hour before serving.  Right before serving, drizzle a really good Balsamic vinegar on top. 

Honestly, nothing better. 

Popcorn

I love popcorn.  I used to make it at home all the time.  Certain movie theaters have better popcorn than others.  Most indie theaters have really great popcorn.  If it is bad popcorn, I won't eat it.  We even have a Whirlypop which is really worth having if you are into popcorn. 

I have been off the popcorn grid for a while but the rain has been coming down for 2 days and movies are the entertainment, at home.  Popcorn is essential. 

Foodzie sent me some popcorn earlier in the summer and we got the opportunity to check out the wares yesterday.  We tried our Ryder's Red from Boulder Colorado.  Boulder sells a variety of different kernels but we had Ryders Red in the closet. 

Light, crispy and has a soft of blue/red hue.  A little bit of salt and we were good to go.  Honestly, just as making good food has to do with the ingredients, no different for popcorn.  Good kernels make a good bowl of popcorn. 

More tarts

I made this earlier this summer.  Just a different creation with the same recipe.  Different shapes too.

Kogi Beef Tacos

When we were in LA this past fall visiting my brother and his family, there was lots of talk about the Kogi Taco Truck.  This particular food truck changes locations in LA daily.  Follow them on Twitter to find out where they will be that day.  No surprises, Fred was all over it.  Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to taste the wares.  My brother is here visiting this weekend with his family and I decided I'd indulge everyone and attempt to make the Korean Beef BBQ tacos. 

I came across a blog of someone who had made them and posted all the recipes.  Closet Cooking is the name of the blog, very impressive.   I am going to add it to my blog roll. 

Here are the recipes, how I made them.  This was for 11 people

Beef Short Ribs:  5 lbs.

Marinate these for at least 24 hours.   MIne were cut into pieces the size of my hands.  I'd probably have a butcher cut them into 1" pieces across instead with the bone across but I just bought these pre-packaged.  Before dinner, just cook on the grill until done and slice into small pieces.

1/2 cup soy sauce
4 Tbsp. light brown sugar
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 inches of ginger, grated
1 sweet onion, grated
8 scallions, thinly sliced ( mostly white part only )
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Onion/Cilantro Relish:

1 1/2 sweet onions chopped
2 huge handfuls of chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup of lime juice
4 scallions thinly sliced ( mostly white part only )

Make this a few hours in advance so the flavor meld together.

Shredded Romaine with Sesame Dressing:

3 cups of chopped romaine lettuce
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 lime juiced (a really juicy one)
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Make the dressing and then tossed with the romaine about 45 minutes before serving so the lettuce gets soft and tasty.

Salsa:

I doctored this, my recipe below.  It was so spicy that I was afraid nobody would eat it.  This still gives some serious power but just enough.  This can be used for anything.  I made about 2 cups.

16 Italian tomatoes, sliced in half
10 tomatillos, husked and cut in half
1 sweet onion chopped
2 T grated ginger
2 T sesame oil
6 dried red chiles
1 t. Szechuan hot paste
1 red pepper
2 cups water
sesame seeds

In an oven, set at 450, put the tomatoes and tomatillos on a baking sheet (with a rim and lined with tin foil) Roasted until they start to turn black/charred.  Take them out and take the edges of the tin foil, and then pour all the tomatoes/tomatillos into a sauce pan.  Add 2 cups of water, chilies and the onions.  Bring this to boil and then down to simmer.  Let this hang out about 20 minutes or until the onions are soft.

In the meantime, char the pepper over the stove, peel the skin and chop into pieces.

Take the tomato/tomatillo mixture when done and drain through a strainer but keep the liquid just in case.  Put the mixture into a cuisinart with the ginger, red pepper and hot sauce.  Mix.  If it appears too thick, add some liquid.  I never used the extra liquid but next time it could be a different story. 

I made this 2 days in advance.  Put the sesame seeds on top before serving.

Put together the taco.  Meat, then lettuce, then onion salsa and a little bit of the salsa ( depending on your spice tolerance ) and voila.  They were a huge hit.  Just a bit of praise for myself, my sister-in-law said they were cleaner and better than the BBQ truck.  Wow!

Golf Tournament

Josh played in his first golf tournament this week.  Kids ranged from 8-18.  I loved seeing all the kids come out to play in their golf attire. 

Ted Kennedy

Image by Brian Finifter via Flickr

 I read the news today over Twitter.  What is there to say?  An end of an era.  He was the last man standing in the Kennedy family, the youngest kid who wasn't suppose to carry the legacy.  He was supposed to just enjoy life.  Sail, drink, help out once in a while.  But life doesn't always work out that way.  What is so amazing about Ted Kennedy, besides how he shaped politics and policy in our country, is that he rose to the occasion and his impact on America will be felt for years to come.  He was truly an amazing man.