Red Hook Lobster Pound
March 27, 2011 § Leave a comment
Welcome to Red Hook
Brooklyn doesn’t really evoke images of Maine lobster, but the Red Hook Lobster Pound is a little jewel that delivers it in spades. The pound is a little hard to find (we took the subway to Smith and 9th and then the 61 bus) and you’re probably better off sampling their food at the Brooklyn Flea Market on Saturdays, but Laura and I were already headed to Van Brunt Street for some goodies at Baked and decided it wouldn’t hurt to just walk down the street for a very late lunch.
Psychedelic lobster
There wasn’t an official restaurant or anything at the Lobster Pound so we ordered our food at the counter and then migrated to the indoor seating area next door. Laura ordered the Maine roll, a classic with mayonnaise, celery and some spices, and I ordered the Connecticut roll, which came with butter instead of mayo. We also shared a mandarin orange soda and a gigantic homemade chocolate whoopie pie, another original Maine treat. Since we had the entire seating area to ourselves and we’d spent most of the morning running after subways and buses, to finally sit down somewhere nice and quiet and dig into a hunk of succulent lobster was such a great moment of relaxed bliss.
The Maine and the Connecticut
Connecticut close up
The lobster meat was lightly dressed, tender and unbelievably sweet, and I liked that they toasted the soft JJ Nissen buns to add a little bit of crunch. The rolls also came with chips and a pickle, but honestly, I was more than happy just eating the lobster and drinking the fizzy orange soda, which was surprisingly not as saccharine as I thought it’d be. Considering the fact that I’ve seen smaller lobster rolls in the city for almost $30, the $15 price tag made these sandwiches one of the best food deals I’ve seen and although I don’t know that I’d necessarily trek all the way to Red Hook again for a bite, I’m definitely keeping my eyes open for these babies when I go to Brooklyn Flea or the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.
Nomnomnom
Red Hook Lobster Pound
284 Van Brunt Street
Brooklyn, NY
646.326.7650
http://redhooklobsterpound.com/
reOrder and Rockwell
March 27, 2011 § Leave a comment
On Friday, during a day trip to Brooklyn, Laura and I were greeted by some giant, white fabric mushrooms in the Great Hall of the Brooklyn Museum. The installation by Situ Studio, a Brooklyn-based creative practice specializing in design and fabrication, is intended to serve as a hub for visitors to congregate, relax, and view the occasional performance.
Inside the Great Hall
reOrder is the first installation in the newly-renovated Great Hall, completed by Ennead Architects.
There was also a fascinating and memorable Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera exhibit that featured the artist’s illustrations from The Saturday Evening Post and described the painstaking process he took to compose each painting, which took a lot more work and meticulousness than one would imagine. Some of my favorites included The Tattoo Artist and The Maternity Waiting Room. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos, but this exhibit is definitely one that you have to see in-person.
Admission to both exhibits and the rest of the museum is $6.
reOrder: An Architectural Environment by Situ Studio and
Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera
Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11238
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/
Coming home
March 26, 2011 § Leave a comment
Living in Edison has spoiled me when it comes to sushi. In fact, there are so many Japanese restaurants in the Edison area offering good quality, low-priced nigiri, sashimi, and maki rolls that I refuse to eat sushi elsewhere. Case in point: Tonia and I recently went to U-Yee Sushi in nearby Iselin where I went a little insane and ordered four different rolls – Dragon (eel and avocado with avocado and sauce on top), Volcano (fried calamari and cucumber with roe and spicy mayo), Dynamite (crunchy spicy yellow tail and avocado with fish roe) and Mexican (crunchy spicy salmon) – without batting an eyelash.
U-Yee Sushi
Tonia also ordered a large bowl of udon soup, and while I was perfectly happy with my maki rolls, I had to admit that the giant piece of shrimp tempura and golden yolk oozing into the broth looked mighty tempting.
Udon at U-Yee
So while our town isn’t necessarily known for its gorgeous scenery or quaint store-lined Main Street, Edison is really worth a visit simply for the vast number of its different ethnic restaurants, a cultural attraction in itself.
U-Yee Sushi
675 U.S. Hwy 1 South
Iselin, NJ 08830
732.283.7888
Favorite food rules
March 20, 2011 § Leave a comment
Michael Pollan’s Food Rules is a handy little book that lays out straightforward rules for eating well and wisely in an age of food industry and factory farming. My favorites:
“Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.”
“Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.”
“Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.”
“Treat treats as treats.”
“Cook.”
“Break the rules once in a while.”
Raging heat and a golden moon
March 20, 2011 § Leave a comment
I first had drunken noodles (pad kee mao) at a place called Bangkok Bistro in Georgetown. The wide rice noodles reminded me of Chinese chow fun, especially when stir-fried with veggies and thinly sliced beef, but the flavors tasted so much brighter. I think it was the first time I understood that a dish was capable of being savory, sweet, and spicy all at the same time. The dish has become somewhat of a personal barometer for any new Thai restaurants that I try. When I still thought I was going to Washington University in St. Louis for law school and visited last spring, I was so disappointed with the local version of drunken noodles that I actually began to doubt my school of choice. Luckily, it worked out that I ended up somewhere with an excellent offering of Thai cuisine.
drunken noodles
Here in NJ, we’re blessed with a wide variety of Asian restaurants, and Four Seasons is probably one of my favorites. It’s small and sparsely decorated, with only a couple photos of Thai royalty here and there, but the owners are friendly, the service is snappy, and the food…oh the food. Granted I only ever get one dish, but it’s so damn good that you’d never need anything else. The noodles are coated in a spicy and sweet red ambrosia and the combination of chicken, barbecue pork, shrimp, and egg keeps each mouthful interesting. There’s a healthy amount of fresh Thai basil thrown in there, the strong anise flavor of which I’ve really learned to love over the years, and a sweet crunch from all the red peppers. Although I always get mild level, this dish is anything but. Throughout our meal, and despite the fact that we were sucking down Thai iced teas, Tonia, Jiawen and I were all crying from happiness and heat, a good place to be.
Thai iced tea
Also, on our way home, the moon was absolutely stunning! There’s apparently some scientific explanation for its appearance tonight (full moon phase coinciding with perigee), but it was so huge and golden that the effect was somewhat disconcerting – as if the world was about to end. The photo below really doesn’t do it justice. An hour later, though, it was normal-sized again and the moment was gone.
super-moon
Four Seasons (cash only)
1353 Stelton Road
Piscataway, NJ 08854
732.819.8787
http://www.pad-thai.com/
“The banquet is in the first bite”
March 19, 2011 § Leave a comment
I’ve always loved beginnings. There’s so much optimism when you think you’ve come up with the perfect blog title or when you’ve written out your New Year’s resolutions in a blank journal. This time, I’ll stick with it. This time, it’s for forever.
I’ve been through so many blogs and left so many journals abandoned that there’s no reason I should think this endeavor should be any different. But I already have a certain feeling that this time, I’ve found a keeper.
Jasmine & Bergamot. I wanted a title that reflected different aspects of myself, and funnily enough, I found it the other day in my sources of morning caffeine. I had a container each of jasmine and earl grey loose-leaf tea, both running low. I liked the idea that, as a child of two cultures, Chinese and American, my taste subconsciously had an equal appreciation for flavors from both East and West. I had grown up drinking jasmine tea with my family, and I had recently discovered Earl Grey, known for its strong bergamot notes, during a trip to London.
There’s also something about these ingredients that call out to the romantic in me, evoking images of late nights walking in a perfumed garden or hot, sunny days lying in a citrus grove. Plus, after my first semester in law school, I’d realized that one of the greatest pleasures in life was just curling up on the couch during a snowstorm with a good book and a giant pot of tea with honey. A final little tidbit: my first blog had been titled Cocoa Mademoiselle, a riff on my favorite perfume from Chanel. And as it turns out, jasmine and bergamot are both scents used in the fragrance. So in a strange way, things have come full circle, and I look forward to all the new adventures and discoveries, culinary or otherwise, that life decides to throw at me.
Food Rules
March 11, 2011 § Leave a comment
“Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.” – Food Rules by Michael Pollan.
Which means that, aside from these pumpkin muffins and given my cravings lately, parmesan crackers (a la Cheez-It), cheese twists, lemon bars, and cheesecake brownies are at the top of my “recipes to try” list.
Pumpkin muffins
Pumpkin Muffins (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1 cup sugar (1 1/4 cups if you like your muffins on the sweeter side)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 F. Put 12 liners in the muffin cups.
Whisk together pumpin puree, oil, eggs, pumpkin spice, 1 cup sugar (or 1 1/4 if that’s how much you’re using), baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Then whisk in flour and baking powder.
Divide the batter among muffin cups, about 3/4 full. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 30 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin.
Cool in a pan for 5 minutes and then transfer muffins from pan to rack. Cool to warm or room temperature.
Streamlining eggplant parmesan
March 8, 2011 § Leave a comment
A healthier and simplified version of the breaded and fried classic. I also like that the servings come in uniform parcels of eggplant stuffed with seasoned ricotta and herbs. Leftovers taste great in a sandwich the next day.
Eggplant Parmesan Rolls (adapted from Bon Appetit)
Ingredients
2 medium eggplants, trimmed and cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices (I used three small ones because that’s all that was available in the produce section that day)
coarse salt
extra virgin olive oil
2 large eggs
1 15 oz container of whole-milk ricotta cheese (none of that low-fat crap)
1 1/4 cups of grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (supplied by my new hydroponic basil plant)
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
about 4 cups tomato sauce
8 oz mozzarella, sliced (preferably fresh but regular mozzarella will do)
Cover bottom and sides of large colander with 1 layer of eggplant slices; sprinkle generously with coarse salt. Continue layering eggplant slices, sprinkling each layer with coarse salt, until all the eggplant slices are used. Place the colander over a large bowl and let stand for 30-60 minutes. Rinse eggplant slices to remove excess salt and then dry thoroughly using paper towels.
Brush eggplant slices with olive oil and grill on grill pan, griddle, or even nonstick skillet, about 2-3 minutes on each side, until each side is browned and the eggplant is fairly tender. Put eggplant slices to the side to cool while preparing the filling.
Filling:
Whisk eggs and pinch of coarse salt in medium bowl. Add ricotta cheese, 1 cup Parmesan, basil, and black pepper.
Lightly oil 15x10x2 baking dish. Spread half of tomato sauce evenly over the bottom of the dish. Divide ricotta mixture filling among eggplant slices, placing about 1 tablespoon filling in the center of each. Starting at 1 short end of each, loosely roll up eggplant slices, enclosing filling. Arrange rolls, seam side down, atop sauce in baking dish. Spoon remaining tomato sauce over. Place mozzarella slices in a single layer over rolls. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake eggplant Parmesan rolls, covered with foil, until heated through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until browned on top and bubbling, about 15 to 20 minutes. Garnish with chopped basil.
Three cheese mac and cheese
March 3, 2011 § Leave a comment
When we were younger, my sister Laura loved Stouffer’s microwaveable macaroni and cheese dinners. For the longest time, her after-school routine consisted of throwing her bookbag on the floor after getting home, walking to the fridge and pulling out a mac and cheese dinner, nuking it for two minutes, and then plopping herself in front of the television.
I, on the other hand, hated the stuff. I wasn’t a fan of dairy products in general, and everytime she’d pull out that tray of yellow gunk, I’d gag a little, which was a shame because mac and cheese seemed like such a quintessentially American food and I was all about the hamburgers, fried chicken, and mashed potatoes while growing up.
Then, when I got to college, something changed. Maybe it was because I started baking brie for wine and cheese gatherings and making grilled cheese sandwiches for quick dinners, but one day I went to Trader Joe’s and randomly picked up their four cheese macaroni, and since then, I’ve been hooked.
This past Thanksgiving, I decided it was high time to do a homemade version and went with Ina Garten’s classic, topped with sliced tomato and fresh breadcrumbs. It was a big hit among the guests, but when I made it again last night, I decided to do away with all the embellishments. Even when cut in half, the recipe has a high yield. But for someone who’s trying to get into the habit of cooking batches of food and then saving them for meals during the week, it totally works.
And in relation to a “flexitarian” lifestyle, this obviously falls under “unrestricted” meals due to the generous amounts of butter, milk, Gruyere, sharp cheddar, and parmesan. It’s well worth it though.
Ingredients
salt
vegetable oil
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 oz Gruyere, grated
4 oz extra-sharp cheddar (I like Cabot)
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling and salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan but don’t let it boil. In a deep skillet, melt the butter and then add the flour. Cook over low heat for about 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute until it thickens a little and reaches a smooth consistency. Off the heat, add the cheeses and the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and mix well. Pour into a 8 x 8 baking dish or whatever else fits. Top with grated parmesan. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the mac and cheese is bubbly.
Food Matters and reflection
March 3, 2011 § Leave a comment
2011 has been a major fail on the cooking front. Last semester, despite all the stress of settling into school law, I still managed to have people over for small dinner parties and cook lunch for the week. What happened? A sprained ankle (that's still in the process of healing), a bitterly cold Ithaca winter, and general lack of inspiration. But NO MORE.
Last weekend, while cleaning my apartment for the first time in weeks, I stumbled on Mark Bittman's Food Matters which had been hiding under a pile of my Economist magazines and once again read about the truly disgusting practices of factory farms in America, the impact such practices have on the environment as well as our bodies, and Bittman's gradual shift to a lifestyle he liked to call, "vegan 'til six," where he'd eat a vegan diet for breakfast and lunch and then indulge in whatever he wanted for dinner each day. In the process, he got rid of his sleep apnea, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar and shed 35 pounds.
As a grad student with (very) limited funds, it's not realistic for me to suddenly buy grass-fed beef, only whole grains, and all organic fruits and vegetables. I am, however, very intrigued by the notion that, in a country where it's sometimes much cheaper to buy instant mac and cheese in bulk than locally grown fruit, it's nevertheless possible to eat healthily and responsibly without spending more money on groceries.
No, I don't plan on becoming a total whole food zealot anytime soon; there will still be bacon cheeseburgers and Cajun fries for this occasional glutton, but it'll be interesting to see how well I can exercise my restraint for baked goods, diet soda, and junk food, whether vegetarian food can ever really compare to food that includes meat, whether this kind of "flexitarian" lifestyle is feasible for someone on a low budget, and how much of an effect such a lifestyle can really have on one's health. And to set some parameters for myself, my approach to flexitarianism, at least initially, is going to entail two vegetarian meals (well, technically, they'd be ovo-lacto-vegetarian meals since I'm allowing myself eggs and dairy products at first) and then one meal that's completely unrestricted, with no specific distribution as to which meal is veg or nonveg.
Here's to a new year (two months late) with high goals for health and perhaps a permanent change for the better.
Notes on Food 