cake salé

Salé is french for “salt” so a cake salé is a salt cake…or, a savory cake.

I was first introduced to the savory cake at Sweet Revenge.

Apparently a very french creation, the savory cake is basically a cake as you know it but minus the sugar.

Fillings can include all kinds of cheeses, roasted red peppers, ham, vegetables, olives, the options are deliciously endless.  It’s actually quite genius.  Oh those French and their food!

For dinner tonight I decided to make a slight spin-off of SR’s cake salé…

~Jarlsberg cheese and applewood smoked ham savory cake with spring onion and artichoke~

What you’ll need

• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Freshly crushed pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Garlic powder to taste
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 small bar of Jarlsberg cheese, cubed
• 2 cups of applewood smoke or honey ham, cubed
• artichoke hearts

What you’ll do

• First whisk together your dry ingredients

• Then in a separate bowl, whisk the eggs together until foamy

• Whisk in the milk and olive oil
• Pour the liquid over the flour mixture and with a wooden spoon, slowly fold together

• When the liquid has been incorporated, add your fillings

• Place into ramekins lined with parchment paper (another SR trick) for easy removal and cute individual servings
• I chose to layer the artichoke hearts on top, brush with olive oil and top with parmesan cheese before baking

• Bake for about 40 minutes at 350
• The cakes will puff up and be golden on top when they are ready to come out.  And just like any other cake, stick a knife through the middle and if it comes out clean – they’re ready!

eaten! @wd~50

Yesterday at dinner a flood of adjectives clouded my head as I wandered through my 3 course dinner.  Bizzare, clever, tricky, curious, strange…

Not your average descriptions of food, right?  Well, readers, wd~50 is not your average restaurant!

wd~50 | One word. Interesting.

I started the night off right with a cocktail.  While the wine list was surprisingly extensive, I opted for a more…interesting choice!

The “proud mary” was described as a clear and carbonated bloody mary.  Given my affinity for bloody mary mix, I asked the bartender how the proud mary compared.

First, a bloody mary is prepared.  Then some agar agar is added to turn the drink into a jelly.  Next, the jelly is pressed through a cheesecloth so all that remains is this clear concoction! Add some CO2 and you’ve got a proud mary!

Sad to say, my love for this drink did not quite live up to my love for the song.  Hey, it was worth a try though.

And so would be the theme of the evening…

For those of you who don’t know (yet), wd~50 is a restaurant by Wylie Dufresne, a chef famous for converging science and food.  Also known as molecular gastronomy, this type of culinary genius has just now begun to surface in main stream culinary arts (remember Marcel? Top Chef season 6?).

Put food, science, art, philosophy and a little fairy dust into a bag and what do you get?

Nothing short of interesting!

Before our meal began, a box of paper thin sesame “bread” was placed in front of us.

For starters, Sara ordered the “eggs benedict.”

I’d like to point out my use of quotation marks to describe this dish.  While Sara was ordering eggs benedict, what she actually got was the “idea” of eggs benedict.   No, it wasn’t as simple as a deconstructed notion of the dish…it was more like deconstructed, reconstructed, and then smashed into little bits again.  Yeah, that’s it.

So anyway, this is “eggs benedct”

See?! Now where on that plate do you see anything eggs or benedict?

Well apparently, the egg yolk had been crafted into a jelly-like exploding torpedo and garnished with crisp, thin pieces of spinach.  Those fried mozzarella-like things are actually the “hollandaise sauce” – neatly stored in little deep-fried cubes of english muffin!

Craziness.

I had been anxiously awaiting my starter for days, since our first reservation was made.  Aerated foie, pickled beet, mashed plum and brioche.  Can you tell what is what on the plate below?

Those peach colored clouds resting atop my plate were light and fluffy poofs of foie gras.  Amidst all the protesting, I devoured the dish – desperately trying to figure it out. I am still clueless as to how the otherwise thick and chalky liver was whipped (?) into such a gravity-defying and complex architectural structure.

I was literally eating a piece of art.

While still reeling over what and how and why, our empty plates were whisked away and entrees took their place.

Medeterranea bass with artichoke, halva, bamboo rice, chicory.

The bass was a tad bit fishy (it’s fish, can you blame it?) and all the accompaniments were confusing and magical at the same time.

Iberian pork neck with endive, buckwheat, and clove infused brittle.

My pork was actually a cut of meat only 3 restaurants in the US are certified to buy.  Apparently, the pig is raised in a certain region in Spain and is reared on acorns alone! I was hoping to steer away from meat tonight, but after that insane description I knew I had to try it.

The pork was cooked perfectly.  It had a very distinct “porky” flavor, but like the fish – can you blame it? I had a hard time getting a good bite between the porkyness, the bitter endive and the crunchy and nutty buckwheat.  Perhaps I just couldn’t appreciate the advanced techniques and flavors…

I will say there was a dab of caramel sauce on my plate that was absolutely amazing.  I would buy that sauce in bottles if I could.  And it went so well with the pork, who knew!

Now that we had exhausted the savory menu, Sara and I turned our curious eyes on the dessert menu.  We wanted to leave on a sweet note, so we picked the hazelnut tart…

And the coffee ice cream…

The tart was by far my favorite.  It was more of a chocolate/hazelnut mousse over a coconut creme mousse.  This was then covered with salted graham cracker cookie crumbs and a chicory foam. The foam was a little tart, and not the most pleasant eating experience.

The second plate was again set out in mountains of whipped (?), maybe aerated ice cream.  With pureed pecans, bittersweet chocolate sheets and candied pecans, even our ice cream was gastronomical art!

And to finish, we left on a condensed milk truffle with a dark chocolate shortbread coating.  In one mouthful – yum!

Our meal at wd~50 was an absolute adventure.  From start to finish, Sara and I pondered the meaning of what we were eating, we peered at our plates with intense curiosity and chewed with quizzical looks on our faces.

It was the most challenging meal I’ve ever had – and the most unique.  I can’t say it was delicious, but it was an experience that I think every foodie needs to have.

That and this!…

That’s right! We went backstage to where it all went down, got a quick tour of the kitchen and shook Wylie Dufresne’s hand to boot!  Now that is an evening to remember!

4 out of 5 stars for wd~50 for a meal unlike any other.  Ever.

speaking of small plates…

…I just read this article claiming that the internet is changing the way we eat in favor of smaller portions and more tapas-style dining.

The rationale behind this claim?

Because we are now so entrenched in social media and publicizing our lives in bite-size pieces, we have now taken to wanting our food in…bite size pieces (pardon the pun).

It’s a bit bizzare and kind of a long shot but apparently there is data behind the theory (isn’t there always?).  Something about Korean teenagers who use the internet a lot and eat small portions…I hope that somebody doing the research paid a little attention to the cultural context in this situation.

Anyway, check it out, it’s kind of an interesting read.  And it ties nicely with my last post!

Click here to read.

eaten! @tia pol

This past weekend I had a dinner so fabulous, so noteworthy, I just had to write about it.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of the food so I had to scour Google images to see if I could at least show you examples of what I ate…if not the actual thing.

Tia Pol | Best.Tapas.Ever

The night started off with wine.  We asked for a recommendation for something light and crisp and we got a bottle of effervescent white wine poured from a few feet above the glass.  The high pour allows air to infuse the alcohol and results in a slightly bubbly light wine.

Next, we attacked the menu.  Luckily, I went with two hungry guys so I think we ended up ordering about 50% of what was on the menu.  No joke.

ensalada de alcachofa
Fried artichoke heart salad with a creamy lemon vinaigrette
The salad was light and the crispy artichokes were delicious! The lemon dressing was a perfect compliment to the artichoke.

Blistered shishito peppers with sea salt
I regretfully passed this dish up in the past, so I knew I had to try them this time around.  The peppers are slightly sweet but still had a bit of an edge.  Serving them with simple sea salt was genius.

croquetas
Ham croquettes
A tapas standard, these croquettes were good.  A lightly fried and crisp exterior gave way to a creamy center of pureed potatoes, cheese, spices and ham.  We also ordered two blue cheese croquettes, but the strong cheese flavor wasn’t my favorite.

pinchos morunos
Lamb skewers
The lamb was cooked perfectly.  It was tender and moist and totally packed with flavor.  Even the bread was crusty and delicious.  I think I’m in love!

gambas a la plancha
Head on shrimp
These were pretty standard whole shrimp.  It was a bit of a chore taking off the shell, but the meat was soft and tasted so fresh!  With a little lemon, truly nature at its best.

txipirones en su tinta
Squid in ink and rice
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this dish.  It looks very intimidating and I’ve never actually tried squid ink.  But I was so pleasantly surprised.  The rice was buttery and helped to soak up all the ink.  There wasn’t a distinct flavor to the ink, it was more subtle and creamy almost…

chorizo con chocolate
Chorizo with bittersweet chocolate and rock salt
This was another daring dish.  I had no idea what to expect, and I was quite hopeful that it would be some amazing explosion of flavors.  The presentation was brilliant.  The chocolate slathered on slides of baguette, topped with sliced chorizo, garnished with rock salt and a few delicate strands of saffron.  The actual taste, however, wasn’t quite so masterful.  I didn’t think the chocolate really blend with the pungent sausage…nonetheless, it was great fun to try!

brandada
Salt cod with mashed potatoes
I’m a huge fan of this dish.  It was so rich and buttery, but the creamy potatoes with the hidden salt cod blended together so perfectly.  I could see myself making this on a cold winter day and digging into it with some crusty baked bread in front of the TV for hours.  It was a total comfort dish and quite possibly my favorite!

torta de santiago
Almond cake with dulce de leche and ice cream
Of course we ordered dessert.  But by this time I was stuffed! The almond cake was good – almost like a pound cake – and of course, who doesn’t appreciate dulce de leche.  But I think the strength lies in savory small plates at Tia Pol.

The only thing I couldn’t find an image for was a plate of small fried bait fish.  Each whole fish was fried lightly and served with some simple lemon.  It was a fun snack, and tasted great.

In retrospect, everything we ate was extremely simple and could have contained 5 or less ingredients.  Perhaps that was the secret behind these downright tasty tapas.  Having dish after dish of wonderfully different and honest flavors come out of the tiny kitchen was delightful.  Every meal should be such a waterfall of small plates.

4.5 stars out of 5 for an excellent meal full of firsts and phenomenal food.

(and a special thanks to all my fellow foodies for taking pictures of everything they eat!)

vanilla bean cupcakes with peach buttercream frosting

Doesn’t every single one of those words sound yummy?

Vanilla bean…peach…buttercream….mmm…butter…

When I read those words, I’m picturing a perfectly pale yellow cupcake topped with this creamy, silky buttercream piped into beautiful ribbons on top.

Dying to try them? Well, here’s the recipe!

What you’ll need

• 1 cup flour
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 vanilla bean
• 4 tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup room temperature milk

What you’ll do

• Mix together your flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt

• In a separate large bowl, mix together your butter, eggs and vanilla

• To add the most vanilla flavor, take one vanilla bean, split it in two (lengthwise) and run your knife down the middle of each piece.  The tiny seeds will come off onto your knife.  And you can dump them in your egg/sugar mixture!

• Next add your butter/oil and the flour to the batter in alternating batches.  Your resulting batter will be quite thin.
• You’ll even be able to see the tiny vanilla seeds in the batter

• Pour into a cupcake tray lined with paper cups and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.

Now comes the fun part! The buttercream frosting!  Basically, you’re just going to puree a can of peaches and add it to a regular recipe of buttercream (butter, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla).

It’s super easy and tastes delicious!

I used a little piping tool to help me decorate the cupcakes…

Look at that handiwork!

guactacular 2010!

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo.  I’m sure people across the country spent the day eating tacos and throwing back a Corona/Modelo/Tecate/Dos Equis after a couple shots of tequila…or something.

I chose to spend my 5th of May at the annual Guactacular event at the Bell House in Brooklyn.  The concept is simple – you buy a ticket, show up, sample the competing dishes and vote for the winner!

I’ve never successfully made it to one of these events (in the past there have been competitions with bacon, cupcakes, chilli, lamb…you name it!), so I snatched up my ticket as soon as a friend mentioned she wanted to go.

Lucky I did! Guactacular 2010 was a sold out event!  The large barn-like warehouse was packed full of guacamole revelers waiting in long, curving lines to get a sample platter of guac.

There were 20 contestants who were tasked with creating the ultimate guacamole.

And I was tasked with eating them all!  It was no simple feat…

They all look pretty much the same (a lot of them tasted the same, too) but a few brave souls added some pizzaz to their guac to make it stand out, and hopefully taste better.

The most unique ingredients of the night were definitely dried cherries, and at another station – bananas!

There were the usual suspects – onions, queso blanco, jalepeno peppers, roasted peppers, mango, kiwi fruit, bacon…OK, so those last two aren’t quite so usual…there were even some clever names (i.e. the “tu-guac” shakur.  Get it? Tu-pac? Yeah, he was from LA).

But it was a classic that won my palate over.  I cast my vote for #20 – guacamole with a spicy kick and chunky veggies.  Some lime, some cumin…and we have a winner!

The event was a blast, from the good-spirited competition to the accordion-playing polka band to the live twitter feed about who was going home with the accordion-playing polka band to the free beer!

Cheers to Cinco de Mayo!

choco chip cookies with salted caramel centers take 2

One of my first blog entries (waaay back when) was for chocolate chip cookies with salted caramel centers.

While the cookies were tasty, and the caramel was indeed salted, I felt the need to revisit my recipe and try again.

After all, practice makes perfect does it not?

I started with a different recipe (sorry, Martha) that promised to be a little less sweet and a little more caramel-y (thanks to the mix of brown and white sugar…)

Once the batter has been mixed and was ready to be rolled out, I poured some salt into a dish and flattened out my cubes of caramel.

I placed a piece of caramel, coated in salt, onto the rolled cookie dough then molded the dough to basically swallow the piece of caramel.

Those pretty little things have gooey caramel goodness hidden in the centers!

After about 10 minutes baking at 360, they come out golden brown and packed with a secret little surprise!

I definitely enjoyed this version more than the last.  The caramel worked much better hidden in the cookie, and the saltiness definitely gave the traditional treat an edge.  But I’m betting that the 3rd time will be the charm – the next time I try this fleur de sel cookie, it’s going to be my best yet!

eaten! @dinosaur bbq

You know that full feeling you get after absolutely gorging yourself on dinner?

Well, last night I was in that place…

Dinosaur BBQ | More food than your tummy can handle

It all began with a simple plate of deviled eggs.  I don’t usually see this delightful item on a menu, so I jumped at the chance to order the trio of cajun spiced deviled eggs.  It’s amazing how such a simple thing – eggs – can taste so delicious! The creamy, spicy yolk piped into the firm egg white cup.  It’s a perfect blank white canvas for the powerful punch of flavor (and calories!) from the yolk.

Our eyes were certainly bigger than our appetites yesterday as we ordered another appetizer – garlic chipotle wings! You can’t go wrong with wings, and these did not let us down.  On the “hotness” scale, these were only a 3 (out of 5) but one bite and my mouth was on fire! Thank goodness we had the cool aioli/ranch dip on the side.  There’s something so gluttonous about pulling the skin off a chicken wing covered in BBQ sauce and dipping it in what is essentially mayonnaise.  Mm…uh oh…I’m already feeling full!

Lisa ordered the pulled pork sandwich.  With a side of BBQ beans and mac ‘n cheese, this was a monster!

I ordered ribs (of course).  With “fresh” carrots glazed in…oil, sweet mashed potato and a cornbread muffin, my sides were enough to make me feel queasy.  But in a good way.  I attacked the ribs and was happy to find them soft, succulent and very tasty! The BBQ sauce was not even necessary because these ribs were so full of spice and flavor.

My meal came with a dessert so we reluctantly ordered the key lime pie (OK, maybe not so reluctantly).  The pie was quite dense and tasted more bitter than sweet and lime-y.  It felt almost as if the rind had gotten into the mixture somehow.  Needless to say, we left more than half on the plate.

Feeling stuffed and with a heavy to-go bag, we slowly made our way back to the train. I’d heard so many things about Dinosaur BBQ, but to be honest – I probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the ribs I ate last night and the ribs from any other BBQ joint.

I enjoyed my meal, for sure, and would probably make the trek up to Harlem to eat there again, but nothing really stood out and grabbed me….well, except for this picture I was sitting next to:

It’s a picture of three meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner.  And each meal is a hearty portion of meat and…meat!  Just the way it should(n’t) be.

Dinosaur BBQ gets 3 out of 5 stars from me! Finger lickin’ good!