Of course it's a little sad to not be with my family on Thanksgiving, but my god, New York is such a pleasure when everyone clears out.  Holiday weekends make it possible to go out on the Lower East Side on a Friday night and not be suffocated by the descent of the usual choadfest.

Which is how we wound up at Bacaro last night.  I don't go out very often on the weekends because I'm too much of a grandma, but seeing as how my chances of finding a date while sitting at my computer watching Law & Order SVU on Netflix streaming are strangely low, I've decided that it's time to get out there.

And it was a wonderfully brisk night, no?  Just the right side of winter.  A little hard and shiny but with a hidden heat, like the black patent heels I had on with plum tights.  Like the delicate swirly stem of the wine glasses holding the warming, dark cherry Valpolicella we drank all night.  Like the curlicued, shiny white plate holding up a round pool of velvet, buttery polenta and creamy, saline baccala.  

We were there with our friends Andy and Jen, who were in town for the evening.  Eventually, we had 8 people on the bar stools around the front seating area.  We stayed for a good five hours, doting on the fresh face of our curly-haired waitress as Negronis and herbacious Aperol cocktails melted us like chocolate onto the cold marble slab table.  Our crystal tumblers were never without water; a freshly lit white tapered candle replaced the one on our table that had gone down to three inches. 

I could have stayed all night, alternating vino and nibbles, sending text invites to absent friends that went from cajoling to belligerent as the night progressed.  Little fried meatballs arrived like shooter marbles in a glass cup, poppable and crunchy.  When I felt the wine sway in my stomach, crumb-coated fried rice balls oozing a mess of mozzarella brought my thirst back.

Plenty of exposed dark bricks capture the flickering bling of the huge acrylic chandelier, the crystal on the tables, the sweet engraved mirror and the copious candlelight.  The place definitely feels like it's been finished with a woman's touch, and the presence of many pretty women in ripped black lace, striped bustiers and Sol Moscot eyeglass frames were a testament to its feminine appeal. I'm sure it's a totally different scene on a busy weekend night, but I'm so very glad I got to see it like this.

Bacaro
136 Division St. btwn Ludlow and Orchard
F to East Broadway

Considering we met through his apartment listing on craigslist, it's funny how many random things Doug and I have in common.

Had an amazing Thanksgiving with Adam, Jessica and their family at Lunetta.  Polenta with ragu, stuffing with plumped, rehydrated raisins and fennel sausage, crazy porky beans, moist heritage breed turkey, banana pudding, tons more...and I'm eating leftovers in front of the TV right now.  I'm bummed to not be with my family, but I am not bummed about missing the airport madness.

Back to my banana pudding and TV!  Enjoy your Thanksgiving, dears.

Tequila is so sneaky.  I thought I was fine, I was fine, I was fine until I fell asleep last night, having rolled on top of all of my clothing with half a cold sweet potato in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

But it's wonderful to have a day off.  God, it's fantastic.  And I'm really looking forward to T-Day dinner, which I'm spending with a few friends and a few strangers in Brooklyn.  I can't tell you how excited I am about the prospect of getting home on my bicycle.

Must go hunt a coconut down for my Thanksgiving sweet contribution.

I am dating this yesterday because I'm cheating.  Nablopomo has squeezed me dry.  And a girl needs a night off.

Photo from Winnie Yang

These köttbullar were so crazy delicious.  The recipe is from a book called The Art of Home Cooking by Leif Mannerström.  It was a parting gift given to me by my co-workers in Sweden, with reassurances that it is the best husmanskost cookbook out there.  (The Swedish title of the book, by the way, is Husmanskonst, a play on the word husmanskost, which means Swedish home cooking, and konst, which means art.)

The book says, "The following recipe is your chance of making the best meatballs in Sweden."  And brother was not kidding.

Winnie did all the work prepping them -- all I did was help shape and fry.  You can't go wrong with meat fried in tons of butter, but I think the texture was what really made those meatballs great -- crisp on the outside, soft as a cheek and super moist on the inside. 

But there are a few things you wouldn't really know on your own if you just read the recipe cold.  I have a few suggestions:

1. The anchovy liquor referred to in the recipe comes from Swedish anchovies, which are actually sweet sprats, not the salted Italian anchovies in oil.  Winnie used regular anchovies and just melted them down with the browned onions, but if you want to stick to the recipe, you'll have to hunt down Swedish anchovies. You should be able to get them at IKEA.
2. We found that the meatballs fell apart a bit in the frying pan.  I remembered a little later, though, that ground meat in Sweden is ground quite finely; mince comes out of the grinder in strands like thin spaghetti.  For rounder, more shapely meatballs, it might help to ask your butcher to put your meat through a finer grinder an extra round.  Or, you could pulse the meat in the food processor for a minute.
   
3. A nonstick frying pan helps keep the meatballs together.  It's also helpful to deglaze the pan every once in a while to pick up the fond, which wants to stick to your meatballs.  You could probably deglaze with cream to make a cream sauce instead. 
   
4. I think Winnie made the meatballs with half pork, half beef, and they were phenomenal, so that's the balance I included in the recipe.  Original recipe calls for half ground beef, half ground beef-pork mixture, which is a thing in Sweden.  So you could do three parts beef to one part pork instead; find the balance that works for you.   
   

Anyway, you MUST try these!  They went over like gangbusters with the 20 or so people who came to Winnie's Choice Cuts dinner and movie night.  (Details on the dinner here; more pics here.)  The Swedish factor makes it a bit cosmopolitan, but it's really accessible comfort food.  It's also a VERY kid friendly meal.  Meatballs are to Swedish kids as chicken nuggets are to American kids.

One interesting note -- Mannerström adds freshly grated nutmeg to his mash. I bet that's gooood.

Also, if you've never had the pleasure of attending a Choice Cuts event, sign up for her mailing list. The company is always interesting, the food is always delicious and ambitious, and Matt curates an excellent short before the well-chosen main feature.  It's the perfect thing to do on a Sunday night in Brooklyn.

Meatballs a la Lilian
adapted from Leif Mannerström's The Art of Home Cooking

1 1/2 dl (scant 2/3 cup) milk
1/2 dl (scant 1/4 cup) cream
2 dl (4/5 cup) dried breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1 dl (scant 1/2 cup) water

4 medium-large boiled potatoes (go for floury over waxy)

2 large onions

800 grams (1.75 lbs.) minced beef, ground finely
800 grams (1.75 lbs.) minced pork, ground finely
1 tsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. "anchovy" liquor (or substitute a few anchovy fillets)
4 tbsp. concentrated veal stock
2 tbsp. Kikkoman soy
salt and pepper

butter for frying (at least a stick, maybe two.  Don't be shy)
Water or cream for deglazing

1. Blend the milk, cream, breadcrumbs, egg and water into a loose batter.  Let mixture swell for a while.
2. Mash the potatoes well.  Set aside.
   
3. Peel the onions.  Grate one of them finely, chop the other one finely and fry till golden brown.  (If you substitute anchovy fillets for anchovy liquor, fry the fillets with the onion here.)
4. Blend all the ingredients quickly into a smooth mixture.  Add salt and pepper.  Fry a small dab to test the seasoning.
5. Shape the roundest meatballs you can.  (Helps to have extra hands to shape meatballs here.) 
   
6. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a nonstick or cast iron pan. Fry meatballs in butter till golden brown on the bottom, then roll over and brown on the other side.  Don't crowd the pan or they won't brown correctly.  Try to brown the meatballs all over.  Add another tbsp. of butter for each batch you fry.
   
7. After you've fried a few batches, deglaze the pan with a little water.  You could use the juice to moisten the meatballs, though they don't need the help.
   
8. Serve with mashed potato, pressgurka (quick-pickled cucumber) and lingonberry jam (or cranberry sauce, as Winnie did).  Serves 10.

Pressgurka
adapted from Leif Mannerström's The Art of Home Cooking

1 English seedless cucumber
1 small bunch parsley
salt
pepper

Dressing:
1 dl (scant 1/2 cup) ättiksprit*
3 dl water
2 dl (4/5 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
10-12 slices chili
salt

1. Shave cucumber thinly.  Place on a dish and salt lightly.  Leave for about 15 minutes and then drain well in a colander.  Pat gently with paper towel.
   
2. Chop parsley finely. 
   
3. In a glass bowl, alternate layers of cucumber, parsley and pepper.
4. Mix dressing together, checking for seasoning -- you want sweet and sour.
5. Pour dressing over cucumber.  Sprinkle lots of parsley on top.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
   

*Ättiksprit is a special Swedish 12% strong vinegar.  Heinz distilled white vinegar, by comparison, is 5%.  If you are not as hardcore as Winnie, who brought a giant bottle back with her from Sweden (I'm certainly not that hardcore), I am guessing that you can do 2.5 dl (1 cup) white vinegar and 1.5 dl (scant 2/3 cup) of water instead of the 1 dl ättiksprit and 3 dl water.  Or, check IKEA to see if they carry it.

 

I say I live in Sunset Park, but really, I live at my office in Gramercy.  So here are my 10 favorite things to eat when I'm at my place of residence (in no particular order.)

1. Mike's Coffee & Deli -- a tiny hole in the wall for my breakfast.  These guys are consummate New York professionals -- three guys in a tiny 8x12 space keeping track of 5, 6, 7 finicky New Yorker sandwich orders at any given moment.  Plus, it's cheaper than any of the other places by about half ($1.50 for my egg and cheese on a roll).
   
2. Tiffin Wallah -- lunch buffet for $7.60, my fave dishes are the palak paneer and the okra tomato.  I prefer the little pancakes to the chapati.  I refrain from seconds because that can render me completely useless in the afternoon.  When pressed for time, consider dropping in for lunch -- you'd be surprised at how quickly you can be in and out of there, especially if you're alone.
   
3. BCD Tofu -- Soon du bu with pork, regular spicy.  Their rice is always perfect.  Love the fried mackerel you always get for free as a starter, and the oyster in the slightly sweet kimchi adds just the right amount of brine.
4. Chipotle -- chicken burrito bowl, rice, black beans, tomato salsa, lettuce.  Go ahead, judge me.
   
5. 'Wichcraft -- olive oil poached shrimp salad over mixed greens instead of arugula.  I often need to supplement with a hard boiled egg.
6. Maoz vegetarian -- Forget the falafel -- their fried eggplant is a marvel of shard and goo.  That and the salty fried cauliflower from the toppings bar and I am in heaven.
7. Mandoo Bar -- kimchi & tofu dumplings with pork.  Boiled.  Though it never feels like a full meal to just eat dumplings.
8. E-Mo -- kimbap, usually with spicy tuna and sesame leaf, to eat on the subway.  With my hands.  Yes, I'm that person, and stop looking at me.
9. Stumptown -- Soy cappuccino.  It really is the best coffee.  I wouldn't normally trust a place so overrun with hipsters, but the coffee is unfailingly a cut above.  The espresso drinks are pretty nicely priced.
   
10. Kalustyan's -- California dried apricots with the right balance of tart and sweet; high turnover means they're always moist. 
    

Bonus:
Best place for office birthday treats: Penelope for cupcakes or 'Wichcraft for cookies.  We especially like the oatmeal with cream cheese frosting cookie sandwich.

Place I never eat, even though it's super close:
Artisanal -- I went there once for dinner, didn't like it much, and seems dangerous to eat too much cheese for lunch.

Fried a gazillion meatballs at Winnie's tonight for her Choice Cuts showing of Tillsammans.  Felt nostalgic for socialist Sweden.  Meatball recipe huge success, from translation of Husmanskonst or The Art of Home Cooking.  Will share complicated recipe when I have a moment.  But discovered a few things:

1. Deglazing the meatball pan helps the meatballs to not get stuck to the bottom and fall apart.
2. Carola's tårta really requires the tart red currants to balance the sweetness of the custard.  If I were to make it with banana again (as I did tonight), I would fold some whipped cream into the custard to cut the sweetness a bit and give it a little more body.
3. The fransk chokladkaka from Rosendals Trädgård's cookbook is a recipe I'll have to post, too.  Good with whipped cream, but I miss a crusty top.  The search for the perfect recipe continues. 

Found some old pics when I went home.  In case you were wondering, this is how I will always look in my mind's eye:

Where in New York did we go for a little vino, holiday cheer and the gaze of dozens of slightly creepy dolls?  Do you know?  I'm not going to tell.  But it would be a great place for a holiday season first date.  Everyone looks gorgeous under the glow of a million Christmas lights. It dances off of ornaments that hang from the ceiling like giant clusters of metal grapes.  Yay glögg and glitter and fruitcake and pine resin and candles and cloves!  IT'S ON!