June 2006 Archives

This weekend I got to hang out with so many great couples in varying states of commitment -- some married, some engaged, some living together -- and it made me pine a little, which is not something I usually do. I'm very productive when I'm single, and I love being productive. I rarely feel lonely. But occasionally I see beautiful couples and I envy the fact that when they get tired, they'll slip away, two by two, close the door behind them and slide into bed together, recapping the day to each other until they fall asleep.

Even as a teenager, I felt like being in a relationship was never going to be my natural state. I've never been good at compromise -- I either want to give it all away or have it all. I can honestly say I've never seen myself as a bride. I love the idea of romance, but I don't think it will happen for someone as aggressively independent and good at being alone as I am.

So if relationships, children, and all the trappings of family life will never materialize for me, I'd like to realize my single woman's dream. I want to be the kooky New York aunt with a million good stories. If my nest will always be empty, then I want to fill my life with gorgeous noise and grand music. Sometimes I dream of being an independently wealthy domesticate, throwing dinner parties for -- what did the Sunday Styles call it? -- the cultural aristocracy; playing hostess to the literati; being the literati.

I was so happy to be sitting at this picnic table with my friends, folding dumplings for the next day's lunch. I can't even tell you how happy it made me, how in the moment I am in this picture. My latest dream is to land some sort of moderate book deal, buy a big house in the country outside New York and stay there to write all summer long. My friends could visit in a steady stream every weekend, provided they come bearing groceries, Pimm's, and prosecco. I'd have an herb garden, alpine strawberries, radishes and lettuces for salads. Then I'd winter somewhere warm, maybe in Thailand or Brazil, eating tropical fruit for breakfast every day. I'd write all week long, on a laptop, laying out on an adirondack chair.

Am I so bourgie or what? Is my earnestness giving you hives? Mock me if you must. We all need something to live for.

On Saturday, eight of us were splayed on a pair of blankets on the lawn, soaking up the dappled morning sunshine, when Heej and Francis brilliantly suggested making Pimm's. After about an hour more of laying about, Heej, Blaise, Sarah & I piled into the car and drove into town in search of Pimm's and fixings.

We came back from our mission hungry and thirsty. All the boys and two newly arrived guests were lounging out by the pool. Heej mixed up a batch of Pimm's with the one bottle I had gotten at the store. The four ladies wound up gulping down two tall glasses each. Let me tell you something, there is nothing more refreshing, civilized and drinkable on a hot summer day. It's the kind of thing you can sip all day and maintain a nice, pleasant buzz for eight hours straight. And I'm not just saying that 'cause I'm an alcoholic.

I got to work on cooking up our lunch, homemade pork gyoza and boiled shrimp dumplings. Thank God we had wrapped the dumplings and frozen them the day before -- after two long glasses of Pimm's, I don't think I could have handled cooking anything more complicated. Only then did we begrudgingly bring the rest of the Pimm's pitcher, along with small glasses with too much ice and platters of dumplings, to the revelers by the pool.

That Pimm's was so pitch perfect with our poolside lunch that it was gone in about 15 minutes. We wound up going back to the wine shop in town and basically buying out the last five bottles from the amazing Hudson Wine Merchants. Next shipment doesn't come in til Tuesday. Sorry, Hudson.

There are people in the Hamptons and elsewhere spending a lot more money on the summer weekends to sit at fancier pools in fancier houses eating fancier food with fancier people. But they can't possibly be having as much as fun as we were.

Pimm's Cup

This is the perfect daytime party punch. Make some in a big sun tea pitcher and sneak it into Prospect Park for one of the Bandshell concerts. All you have to do is pre-slice the garnish and add it to large dixie cups with ice. Pimm's has an herbal, not too sweet flavor that's perfect for sipping on a hot day. We added mint from the garden.

1 bottle of Pimm's No. 1
1 bottle ginger ale
Ice
Thinly sliced lemon
Sliced strawberries
Thinly sliced cucumber
Fresh mint, bruised

Mix Pimm's and ginger ale in a pitcher. Fill each glass with ice, a slice of lemon, a slice of cucumber, a few slices of strawberry, and three bruised mint leaves, then pour Pimm's and ginger in. Gulp and cool down.

Boiled Shrimp and Watercress Dumplings

Making dumplings is actually part of the eightfold path to Buddhist enlightenment. Confucius say it's also a good activity for sitting around and gossiping. Fresh dumpling wrappers are easier to work with than defrosted previously frozen ones. You can get fresh wrappers at most stores in Chinatown (try the Vietnamese shop by the Grand St. D or B stop). Folding dumplings is pretty easy, but it would be easier to demo on video and I'm not that high-tech...yet. Anyway, if you can't figure out how to do it, just put the filling in the middle, fold the circle in half, seal the half-moon with water and press it together. I won't judge you.

1 lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/2 bunch watercress, chopped (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped garlic chives
2 scallions, sliced thinly
2 tbsp. minced ginger
1 tbsp. minced garlic
salt and pepper
1 tbsp. sesame oil
flour for plate or tupperware
1 package thin yellow dumpling wrappers

Chop the shrimp coarsely. Add the watercress, garlic chives, scallions, ginger, garlic, salt, pepper, and sesame oil and mix with your clean hand. Place about a teaspoon of filling in the center of the dumpling skin, fold dumplings and seal well; line them up in a single layer on a floured plate or tupperware. Freeze until ready to cook. Makes about 30 dumplings.

When ready to cook, boil large pot of water. Boil dumplings in batches until the dumplings float and are cooked through, about three minutes. Serve immediately with dipping sauce. You can also boil the dumplings and serve in chicken broth, the way they do at Sweet n' Tart in Chinatown.

Pork Gyoza

These can also be boiled instead -- just remember to seal them well if you're boiling them.

1/4 small head of cabbage
2 lbs. ground pork
1 cup chopped garlic chives
1 cup thinly sliced scallions
3 tbsp. minced ginger
2 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. sesame oil
3 tbsp. soy sauce
flour for plate or tupperware
2 packages of white gyoza/dumpling wrappers
Oil
Water

Boil the cabbage until just tender, maybe 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water. Squeeze as much water as you can out of the cabbage. Finely chop the cabbage. Add the pork, garlic chives, scallions, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce. Mix with your clean hand, squishing and squeezing the meat mixture between your fingers. Place about a teaspoon of filling in the center of the gyoza skin, fold the dumplings, line them up on a floured plate or tupperware in a single layer, and freeze until ready to cook.

When you're ready to cook them, heat up a thick-bottomed frying pan with a lid on medium heat -- cast iron, All-Clad saute pan, and nonstick would all work well. Add a tbsp. of oil and swish it around to cover the bottom of the pan. Place your gyoza in single file rows of five in the pan so they sit up with the folds perpendicular to the pan bottom. Add 1/2 cup of water to the pan so there's about 1/8 of an inch of water in the bottom of the pan and cover. Steam the gyoza, covered and undisturbed, until the water has evaporated and the oil has begun to fry the bottoms. Check after about 5 minutes -- the dumpling bottoms should come off the pan easily and be a nice, crunchy golden brown. Get a nice long spatula and slip it under a row of gyoza in a single motion motion. Flip the row onto the serving plate so the crunchy bottoms are face up and repeat til done. Serve immediately with dipping sauce. Makes about 60 dumplings, which is enough for anywhere between 4-8 people, depending on whom you're serving.

Dumpling dipping sauce

Hot sesame oil is called rayu in Japanese. You can get it at Sunrise Mart or any Japanese market. I like the one that comes in a tiny red bottle with a button you press that gives you a few drops out of the spout -- I think it's House brand.

1 part soy sauce
1 part rice vinegar
A few drops (or more) of hot sesame oil

Mix and serve on small individual sauce dishes.

The Hudson house was, once again, heavenly. Incredible spreads of food, sauna/cold pool/outdoor shower trifecta, wood-burning fireplace for the chilly nights, a dishwasher, cocktails galore, great friends...I feel like I was in paradise, got on a train, and got spit up from Penn station into the toilet. But it's not so bad to be home, I guess. *sigh*

Supply requests submitted from the Hudson house to sherpa Ganda for the second weekend:

Culinaria cookbook [12.7 x 11.1 x 1.9 inches, 8.08 lbs., hardcover]
Best Recipe cookbook [11.2 x 8.5 x 1.5 inches, 3.60 lbs., hardcover]
32 ounces semi-sweet Valhrona chocolate
Dutch-processed cocoa powder
recipe for Pecan Pie
recipe for barbecued ribs
puff paint

Name: Jeffrey Thomas Meanza

Occupation: Actor/Test Prep Aficionado

Relationship status: Single

Borough: mmmmm…. Upper UPPER west side, but not quite Washington Heights

What did you eat today?

For breakfast I had a chicken sandwich on focaccia. I didn’t really like the focaccia, so I ate it open-face. I’m still in the process of deciding what I want to have for lunch, though I’m thinking I’d like a little salad action, perhaps something in the Niçoise vein. I’m planning on making a luscious lasagna for dinner with yummy Italian sausage, lots of mozzarella and fresh basil, and delicious homemade sauce.

What do you never eat?

Not big on the sweets, but other than that I eat pretty much everything. I’d say I don’t eat okra, but I ate some the other day and it wasn’t the death of me, so I may be a changed man.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:

anchovy paste—that shit lasts forever

What is your favorite kitchen item?

Butter curler [Ooh, that's new. --Ed.]

Where do you eat out most frequently?

I know where I’d like to eat out most frequently, but I don’t eat out all that often. I grab a bite here and there.

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

I would want vichyssoise to start, with a bottle of Acacia chardonnay. Follow this with about a dozen oysters – not informed enough to know what kind. A nice salad with hearts of palm (I love those fuckers), maybe some avocado, and some sort of toasted or glazed nuts, maybe a nice citrus vinaigrette. Then I’d have either sea bass or lobster. Or monkfish. I like all of those. But definitely seafood. I’d need an artichoke in there somewhere, that’s my all time favorite. Maybe some brussels sprouts. And I love me some mashed potatoes. I’d want an amazingly bold wine with all of this, just ‘cause I’m gauche, and I love a wild and overwhelming palate.

Posted early because I'm going back to internets-free Hudson tonight and I'm not sure my cron job is working properly yet. You like it when I talk Unix to you baby?

Alright, you know I don't usually cross-pollinate, but I produce the podcast at my day job and this week's podcast features Michael Ruhlman, author of The Reach of a Chef. That's my squeaky voice doing the intro. I conducted the interview with him, but I've edited out my squeaky questions. He also reads a passage from the book. The whole thing is about 25 minutes long. It was really fun to talk to him. He's quite tall and handsome in a sunny, San Diego way (I know he's from Cleveland, people, don't write me letters).

One of the things I edited out for time constraint is an interesting bit in which he says, "I just had, you know, coddled eggs there [at Balthazar] the other day...that's beautiful food, that's every bit as beautiful as the finest plate coming out of the French Laundry, as Keller himself would admit freely." Oooooh, snap!

Anyway, check it out. Download it as an mp3 or, even better, subscribe in iTunes so I can prove that people are actually listening to my podcasts. They cut the check that pays the rent around here. A little job security couldn't hurt.

Name: Michael Neal

Occupation: Digital Managing Editor…of the world

Relationship status: Single

Borough: Brooklyn

What did you eat today?

In the morning a plain bagel, toasted with cream cheese and a slice of tomato; for lunch I had beef with broccoli in brown sauce; for dinner I had two bistec tacos at La Esquina and a discussion on how many vodka soaked olives it would take to eat before you’d get a little bit tipsy.

What do you never eat?

Beef with broccoli in brown sauce…now. I also had a horrible meal at an Outback steakhouse in Louisville so, never again!

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:

Baking soda, eggs and bacon, organic milk, and packets of ketchup.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

I own a squeeze handle fresh pepper shaker just like the one he uses on Ming’s Quest.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

I love the bagel shop by my apartment on 5th ave and for a proper meal I’d usually go to Bar Toto on 6th ave and 11th street where they serve excellent paninis and respectable bloody marys.

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

If the world were ending I’d probably not have much of an appetite. Imagining a breaking news bulletin that an asteroid the size of India was heading directly for Earth my first words would probably not be, “I tell ya what? I’m starving.” Still, something home cooked would be the best answer or any food with a hint of nostalgia for me.

When not digitally managing and editing the world, Michael blogs here.

I'm going back to Hudson this weekend and next. No email, no internets, no cell phone, no long distance calls. I have a buttload of work I have to do, maybe even while I'm there, and I'm a little stressed out about it. But I'm going to try and not let it ruin my vacation. All quiet on the set til Monday. Enjoy the sunshine!

What do you do when you get an email invitation to meet a group of strangers? And the email is from a man who calls himself "Mr. Cutlets"? And he asks you to "bring your camera"?

If you're me, you get very, very excited, make sure your cam batt is fully charged, and head uptown for a little rubdown...barbecue rub, that is.

The destination was R.U.B. (Righteous Urban BBQ). Mr. Cutlets is the pseudonym of Josh Ozersky, meat-lover nonpareil and author of the carnivore's manual to Gotham, Meat Me in Manhattan. Josh organized a mini summit on the art of bacon with a small group that included Mr. & Mrs. Allan Benton of Benton's Hams and Andrew Fischel and Paul Kirk of R.U.B..

We all lean forward when Allan Benton talks. He's a softspoken Tennessee man with a steady blue gaze. "I don't think Berkshire pork really makes a difference when it comes to bacon," he says. Crisp, thick slices of Benton's bacon come out from the kitchen -- smoky and not too salty, with picture perfect striping.
"What's your cure ratio?" Dana asks. About 80/20, Allan explains, and he doesn't believe in nitrates. Allan has been creating artisanal pork 6 days a week for 33 years, long before we started calling his type of work artisanal. The early years were lean, but with the avid support of fans like David Chang of Momofuku, Tom Colicchio's Craft, and Bobby Flay's Bar Americain, demand is high and business is good.

"If I were in it for the--" he rubs his fingers together, "I wouldn't have been able to do it for this long."

In contrast to the polite, quiet Bentons, Paul Kirk has an good-natured swagger and humor that you sense he keeps in check when company's over. He looks exactly like the white-bearded caricature on the wall. One patron standing at the cashier with a shirt that says "NEW YORK FUCKING CITY" spies him and bursts out, "I love your food!"

Andrew Fischel, Paul Kirk's partner at R.U.B., brings out red and white checked paper baskets ("Our finest china," quips Kirk) of meaty samples -- from delicious blackened hunks of brisket to dry-rubbed baby backs to hand-cut slices of moist, coriander seed crusted pastrami.

"My pastrami's better than Katz's."

"Let's not go too far—" says Josh.

"My pastrami is better--than--Katz's," Paul repeats.

Mrs. Benton squeezes a little barbecue sauce on her rib.

"You're putting sauce on my ribs?" Paul half-jokingly clucks.

"I'm from Tennessee," she laughs.

His ribs are fantastic alone. The dry rub is faintly sweet, the meat ringed pink with mesquite. The moist flesh falls off with just the slightest suggestion, and the bone underneath is as white and clean as a sun-bleached coyote skull in Death Valley. We sneak a peek behind the kitchen doors, where there are only a handful of packed-to-the-gills smokers -- no grills, no microwaves. There's a pot of barbecue sauce on the stove big enough to take a bath in. There are a few fryers side by side filled only, I'm told, with melted lard. Our delicious dessert of fried oreos (think hot St. Gennaro zeppoles with soft oreos in the middle) are fried in the same lard.

If I learned anything today, it's that I have a lot to learn when it comes to meat. Paul, Allan, and the rest of the table discuss hog and cow breeds, wet-aging vs. dry-aging, cures, brines, smoke, salt and spice. It's lovely to sit there like a piece of meat in a smoker, listening and absorbing their carnivorous knowledge.

The Big Apple BBQ Block Party is happening this weekend in and around Madison Square Park. I'm going away this weekend, so I won't be able to go. Even if you've sworn off the lines in years past, this may be the year to attend. They're implementing pre-purchase Fast Passes for big spenders; they've gotten rid of that stupid ticket policy and all vendors take cash or credit; and there are more participants than ever. John T. Edge* and Allan Benton will be giving seminars on the great pig. Pick up some tips from the masters for your summer grilling. Check out the website for details.

Besides, isn't it always fun to show Southerners how friendly we New Yorkers can be?

Allan Benton's ham and bacon are not yet available retail in New York (somebody get on that!), but you can purchase online: http://www.bentonshams.com
A little pre-BBQ reading for you: Mr. Cutlets' BBQ Bill of Rights.
Big Apple BBQ Block Party

*Disclaimer, John T. Edge's books are published by the people I work for. We have a lot of food books, what can I do?

• Best thing I've seen all week -- Sunday, 11:00 a.m. dim sum at World Tong in Bensonhurst, two fuzzy-eyed old Chinese ladies dressed in floral polyester practically wrestling each other to the ground over the check, $100 bill in hand. For those of you not well-versed in the martial art of check-fighting, fight clean, but remember, elder trumps younger, grasshopper.
• Seen at Sunrise Mart in Soho -- a handwritten sign for special konnyaku that says, "GOOD FOR ASSIMILATION".
• Strict parents produce overweight kids. Is there anything that ISN'T yo mama's fault?
• Speaking of mamas, tell yo baby mama -- just two drinks a week can lower an unborn child's IQ. Test subjects also being sought for study on possible adverse effects of dropping a baby on its head more than once a week.
• We're still talkin bout yo mama -- pregnant ladies shouldn't eat tuna. Young children should eat no more than 1/2 a can chunk-light tuna per week. Women of child-bearing age should eat no more than 3 cans of chunk-light tuna per week. Tuna chart does not mention how much tuna single women of child-bearing age who could only get pregnant by immaculate conception should eat. Please advise.