September 2006 Archives

After a 7:15 a.m. yoga class with my friend Sarah, we headed over to her house to eat a little breakfast before work. Sarah introduced me to the wonders of goat gouda, and I'm totally obsessed. Creamy, firm paste with a little tang and very little of the funk people fear in goat curd. We shaved long ribbons of it with a cheese slicer and ate it with toasted, pumpkin seed-encrusted ciabatta rolls from Trader Joe's, fresh raspberries and grapes. Can you imagine? So much better than breaking fast with a stale donut. You can get goat gouda at Murray's for $10.99/lb., but the shrink-wrapped goat gouda from Trader Joe's is only $7.99/lb. and it's just as good.

Conversation with Sarah as we waited for the elevator in her apartment building:

GANDA: It's weird to be at your house at 9 in the morning.

SARAH: Oh, that's right, you've never been here sober right?

GANDA: I think I've arrived at your house sober but I'm not sure I've ever left sober.

Get thee to NYMag.com, where my second lunch guide has just gone up. Don't hate me cause you're emo.

Name: Karyn Pascoe

Occupation: Art Director/ Wanna be Actor

Borough: Brooklyn

Relationship status: Married

What did you eat today?

So far a half a piece of toast with peanut butter, some bear naked cinnamon apple cereal with soy milk, and a double shot Americano:).

What do you never eat?

Mayonnaise, lamb....most white food grosses me out.

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

Cheese, soy milk, balsamic vinegar, expired items of all sorts, lemons, thyme, rosemary, butter, peanut
butter, soy sauce, curry paste, blackberry jam, kallas caviar, olive paste.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

The reamer cause of the name. also, I love our Le Creuset French/ Dutch ovens. Also, our espresso machine- it rules (we have an expobar).

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Lately, Chipotle -- thank you Kimba.

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

Chicken pot pie with a nice glass of wine (perhaps a nice sauvignon blanc )- followed by grandma style chocolate cake with a good black tea-ceylon or darjeeling.

Stopped for a sample of green tea fro-yo at Pinkberry, the new fro-yo establishment imported from L.A.

The verdict? Um, that shit is nars-TY. Like pukey ice milk. No joke. Send it back to L.A. We'll trade for some of that Armenian garlic chicken or Ruen Pair or Monterey Park dim sum or Little Tokyo crepes with matcha ice cream and red bean please.

The first of my Three Blocks lunch guides is up on NYMag.com's Grub Street now! My piece covers Lower Murray Hill. I am 2 Legit 2 Quit now, Mae!

Name: John Lindaman

Occupation: Musician/ Librarian

Borough: Brooklyn

Relationship status: Married

What did you eat today?

Dinner: Cabbage, squash and beet greens with rice, peaches with ice cream in white wine. Lunch: Pork chop, broccoli and rice from the staff cafeteria at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Breakfast: a hardboiled egg.

What do you never eat?

I am conceptually averse to savory things that include sweet fruit, such as salads with raisins or pear, or pizza with figs. That crosses the line. Also not a big celery fan. Go figure.

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

At least two dozen eggs, due to the unwise purchasing of a weekly share of a dozen eggs from the Prospect Heights CSA, even though one person can only eat so many eggs. Cool Hand Luke notwithstanding.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

I have a large, old, very thick pot for making soup. It’s completely undistinguished, and is probably giving me cancer every time I heat food up in it, but it’s the best.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Han Bat, on 35th Street. I know it’s not Mr. Right, but it is often Mr. Right Now. I wish I were able to eat more often at Dok Suni and DoSirak. [Not a fan of DoSirak myself, but Mr. Right Now is open 24 hours and you can't beat that with a stick. -Ed.] Why are there no Korean restaurants in Prospect Heights or Park Slope?

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

An entire Korean restaurant, with extra soju.

When not libraritizing, John plays with True Love Always, Annie Hayden and Latin Hustle.

A few disclaimers:

• I am no wine expert. I taste a wine and I can either drink it or I can't.
  
• When it comes to trends, food or fashion, I am dyslexic and can't follow. In fact, I'm particularly loathe to follow them because when I try, I reveal what a trendtard I am.
  
• Sometimes I put ice in my wine. Sometimes I put ice in my champagne. Who's gonna stop me?
  

Despite MisShapes and the Times and the fact that summer is almost officially, completely gone for another 9 freaking months, I am recommending you try Il Mimo rosé. My friend Kathy and I shared a chilled bottle of it last night over a plate of Delice de Bourgogne, some Pyrenees Brebis and some Monte Enebro. (These are all serious crowd-pleasing cheeses you should try if you haven't already. Stop laughing at our fancy-pants-ness.)

Il Mimo is made with Nebbiolo grapes, which means something to someone, but doesn't mean much to me. It's the color of raspberry glaze, dry but not powder dry, and absolutely drinkable. Even with a couple cubes of ice. (Oh no she di-int! But yes I di-id.) Added bonus points: it has a really cool label. Minus points for the plastic cork which was difficult to remove and harder to shove back in. But bonus points for being so gulpable that we Asian lightweights were able to finish the bottle ourselves on a Wednesday night, therefore no longer needing the cork.

Astor Wines carries Il Mimo for $11.99/bottle.

Dear guy on the subway/street drinking Muscle Milk,

Every time I see that Muscle Milk box, I think the logo is a dookie. That extra large carton looks big in your fist, which, in turn, makes you seem kind of Webster-ish. I know you're trying to bulk up, tough guy, but that dookie-decorated, banana-flavored milk carton doesn't just make you look like a pussy, it makes you look like a gullible pussy. Even that kid with the PSP and braces sucking on a strawberry Yoohoo through a straw thinks he could beat you up.

Love hurts,
Crabby

I stopped by the Greenmarket on Saturday to visit the first people who ever employed me in New York, the Paffenroths of Paffenroth Gardens. They're some of my favorite folks on the planet, and Alex is one of the most adventurous farmers at the market. This week, they sent me home with a bunch of Delfino cilantro, a prize winning herb that used to be thought of as a kind of ground cover. Deanne, the Paffenroths' daughter, tells me that the restaurants have been buying it up, so don't be surprised if you find it on your next fancy plate.

Frilly Delfino cilantro tastes a bit like cilantro crossed with carrot tops -- a bit more grassy and a bit less soapy than regular cilantro. I love the assertiveness of cilantro, so Delfino doesn't qualify as a replacement for cilantro for me. But it is lovely when you want a more subtle accent. I made this easy warm side dish to go with a curried pork loin roast. I didn't put in the chopped heirloom tomatoes, but I think they'd be nice if you've got some on hand. These are the best few weeks of Greenmarketing, when new winter squash, greens and apples meet corn, peaches, tomatoes and berries. Take advantage of the bounty before the first frost sets in.

Spaghetti Squash with Delfino cilantro and heirloom tomato

1 small to medium spaghetti squash
1 small heirloom tomato, chopped
2 tbsp. butter
salt & pepper
2 tbsp. minced Delfino cilantro

1. Poke fork holes all over your spaghetti squash. Throw it on the bare rack in a 400 degree oven for an hour, flipping it once or twice (or not -- mine always winds up with a burnt bottom because I always forget to flip it, but it doesn't really make that much of a difference).
2. Squeeze the spaghetti squash to check for doneness -- it should give a little. Set it aside to cool for 15 minutes or til you can deal with it.
3. Slice the squash in half lengthwise, scooping out the seeds. Using a fork, fluff the spaghetti squash into strands. Scoop the strands out of the shell and place in a large bowl.
4. Add butter, tomato and Delfino cilantro. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Delfino cilantro ($1/bunch), spaghetti squash (I believe 75 cents a pound), and heirloom tomatoes (an unbeatable $1/pound) are available at the Paffenroth Gardens stand at the Union Square Greenmarket, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Name: Josh Friedland

Occupation: Director of Communications/writer/blogger

Relationship status: Married

Borough: Queens

What did you eat today?

Two slices of cinnamon/raisin swirl bread with natural peanut butter, two cups Peet’s Coffee (Maduro Blend), Liberte yogurt (awesome French Canadian brand), cup of Genmai Cha (brown rice) tea, fried pork dumplings, Peking duck, e-fu noodles with mushrooms, two Tsingtao beers.

What do you never eat?

Snails.

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

Baking soda, eggs, mayonnaise, Sriracha, fish sauce, soy sauce, anchovies, capers, half-consumed and rapidly wilting container of pre-washed salad greens, beer, unsalted butter, sparkling mineral water, dijon mustard, horseradish mustard, ketchup, preserves, partially-consumed container of organic baby food, organic milk.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

Toss up: French Press coffee maker/tongs

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Nick’s Pizza, which happens to be nearby and makes one of the best pizzas in New York City. Plus, they’re fast (pizzas are always ready in five minutes).

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

That should give me enough time to fly to Liguria and have a slice of focaccia col formaggio, a plate of insalata di mare, a bowl of trofie al pesto, and then move on to alternating cones of nocciola and stracciatella gelato until armageddon comes. Arrivederci!

Josh Friedland runs The Food Section, one of the best places on the internets for food news and views.