Peperoncino

G was down this weekend, and we had a lovely Sunday afternoon taking a long, long walk from Red Hook to Park Slope. Our mission: to procure a Bandit "Bullet" cab four-pack at Red, White & Bubbly. Unfortunately they were out, but I forsee another walk there in the coming months!

To refuel, we dodged all the brunch crowds and chose Peperoncino. There were only two other parties when we walked in, which could have been a bad sign, but we liked the atmosphere, and we love pizza, so decided to give it a go.

I got the pizza margherita, and G got baked gnocchi, both of which made the grade. And the requisite olive dipping oil and bread gets good marks too, as does the Sangiovese wine we had. Definitely will come back here! G's theory for it being so empty was the location: it's on the end of 5th Ave. near the Atlantic Terminal Mall, away from the hipper, more gentrified area of 5th Ave. It didn't seem so far removed to me, but I think G is right in that the area around the Atlantic Terminal Mall is not exactly a destination.

I don't usually care for dyed carnations, but I thought these looked cute and spring-y on our table.

A New Low for Food Network

I didn't think it was possible for any recipes to repulse me more than Sandra Lee's "Semi-Homemade" offal, but Paula Deen has succeeded with the buckets of banana crap featured in her "Gone Bananas" episode.

The crown jewel in this shit-infested half-hour is undoubtedly the Cheesy Ham and Banana Casserole. White bread, bacon, ham, cheese, bananas, potato chips...and this is intended for human consumption? This is more like pig feed. Between Ms. Lee and Ms. Deen, the name "Food Network" is really becoming a misnomer. As G put it, instead of advertisements for Cool-Whip and Hidden Ranch, Food Network really ought to run ads for Lipitor and Bally's.

Tuna-Bean Burgers and Garlic Broccoli

I was going to make the salmon burgers from Superfoods RX, but the canned salmon I bought had skin and bones in it! YUCK! I started to pick it out, but became so disgusted I nearly lost my appetite and just threw it out. So, I substituted a can of tuna in water and half a can of pinto beans. I used Starkist tuna, which is really watery, so the burgers were a little wet. The tuna I usually get from the health food store isn't as watery, so I will use that next time.

Burger and broccoli a-fryin'.

Time to eat. The broccoli was stir-fried in garlic then sprinkled with fresh parmesan, which I based on this recipe from Epicurious.com.









To make the burgers: mix a Tablespoon of dijon mustard with a Tablespoon of lemon juice. Drain a can of tuna and add to the mustard/lemon juice along with half a can of pinto beans. Mix, breaking up the beans a little bit. Then add: 2/4 cup of breadcrumbs, some diced red or green onion, one egg, salt and pepper. Mix it up, form patties, then chill so they firm a little before frying. I got six patties out of this.

Gloves Are Gross

Thank goodness someone else besides me sees how illogical it is for food handlers to wear gloves. Here's an article outlining why. I've been creeped out for years when I order a sandwich at a deli and watch the sandwich-maker handle my veggie ingedients right after handling roast beef and ham. How can you feel what nasty things are on your hands if you have gloves on? Just wash your hands people!

Indian Chickpea Stew

This recipe is from the July 1999 issue of Vegetarian Times, but it does not appear to be archived on their site.


Red and yellow peppers, and zucchini, softening and awaiting the pureed tomato.

Fresh ginger, cilantro, and oregano. It's so annoying to have to always buy a giant bunch of cilantro when all you usually need for a recipe is one or two tablespoons. I wish they would sell this loose instead of in bunches. Maybe it's too hard to price that way. Guess I need to make some salsa or cilantro pesto this week. More likely it will get thrown out, unfortunately.

Finished product over brown rice, ready for work tomorrow. So to the peppers and zucchini I added a 20oz can of pureed tomatos, a can of chickpeas, the herbs, salt, turmeric, and cumin. That's it! The recipe calls for jalepeno and toasting cumin seeds, but I skipped that.

Milk Chocolate Pudding

Homemade whipped cream and Gourmet's milk chocolate pudding, freshly chilled and waiting to be devoured. Seriously, I will never eat pre-packaged or ready-made pudding or whipped cream again! I called my neighbor to see if I could bring it over and share with her and her two year-old twins, but no answer. I hope she calls back - I'm going insane with this stuff sitting around!

The recipe calls for 4 oz of milk chocolate. Most chocolate bars are 3.5 oz, but the Ghiradelli bars in the baking aisle of the grocery store are 4 oz.

Make this - it is so easy and you will love it!

Parmesan Patties

Got this recipe from New Vegetarian, the cookbook G got me for Valentine's day. Good stuff.

The mix had to be pulsed in a food processor, but my Cuisinart "mini-chop" can only handle three cups at a time, so I had to do it in batches then combine it all in a bowl.

Balls of pattie mixture, ready to be flattened.

Smoosh! I used a spatula, which made a nice flat surface.

Chilled in the fridge for a couple hours to firm up, et voila. The flavor of the pattie got a bit lost amidst the bread, for as you can see the bread was way too large for the pattie. I will use rolls next time, as I now have a stack of these in the freezer to get me through the week. But I ate one without bread and it was delicious, although next time I will add some more spices - the recipe only calls for thyme. Other ingrediants: bread crumbs, pinto beans, parmesan cheese, jack cheese, cornstarch, one egg, onions, mushrooms, dijon mustard, red wine (I only had sherry on hand), soy sauce, salt and pepper.

Teach Your Children Well

That's the title of Ruth Reichl's editorial in the new Gourmet magazine on the idea of "children's food," which she detests:

For starters, the notion that children are a separate species who require a different diet from the rest of us pretty much does away with the concept of the family meal. The point of eating together, it seems to me, is not just that we all sit down around the same table but also that we share the food. The same food.

Good point. And:

When we offer our children a different menu, we are telling them that they are different from us. And being different, that we also have different expectations of them. Why, then, should we be surprised that many modern children have such poor table manners? In giving them children's food, we are essentially telling them that they are not expected to behave like adults when they are at the table.

Right on! Nothing irks me more than rowdy, misbehaving kids in a restaurant. Finally:

But there's an even more important reason for us to be dismayed by special menus aimed at pleasing young palates. When we feed children the old familiar grilled cheese sandwiches and vanilla ice cream, we are teaching them to stick with the tried-and-true instead of encouraging them to dare to taste the new.

It definitely makes sense to me that if kids are given the same, or very similar, food to what their parents eat, this could teach the child very early on to be adventurous with eating and hence make it much more likely they will have a well-rounded, well-balanced diet.

This reminds me of Jacques Pepin's book The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen (which is great by the way), in which he recounts that as a young child growing up in France, the adults would dip sugarcubes in champagne and give them to the children, which would not only give the kids their first taste of champage, but in such a way as to impart the special-ness of the drink, that it's a treat to be savored and enjoyed and not just gulped down. They would also be given small glasses of extremely diluted wine from a young age. I think these are great ideas and I would love to do that with my children if I ever have them.

I would also give my children grilled cheese and vanilla ice cream - two of my absolute favorite foods!

(The editorial is not on the website, so you'll have to buy the new Gourment to read the whole thing).

Spanish Tortilla

I made this Spanish Tortilla using this recipe from the new issue of Eating Well. Yum! Recommended!

I ate it with some diced tomatoes drizzled in a tiny bit of olive oil with fresh basil from S's basil plant. Tomatoes are a good idea with this dish, as the recipe suggests, although tomatoes in March, from Holland...not so good. I will make this again in summer when I can get fresh tomatoes from the farmer's market. I bet white wine would be great with this too, also as the recipe suggests, or some fresh, homemade salsa. Next time! Also, I did not use store-bought pre-cooked diced potatoes as the recipe suggests. Yuck! Just cook a potato! I cooked it while I diced and chopped everything else and it was not a big deal. Plus no nasty additives that are undoubtedly in the store-bought ones.

Flipping it was a bit difficult. I'm amazed I didn't lose the thing all over the counter or floor. I'm equally amazed I didn't burn myself on the hot frying pan as I flipped. I did wear an oven mit just in case. Some of the egg mixture did splash onto the counter, and it did not flip too neatly back into the pan, but in the end it all evened out and made a nice round tortilla. I wish they had a video on their website of someone flipping it.

Observation: when I added the three cups of chopped baby spinach into the egg mixture, it looked like too much spinanch, but it turned out to be just right, so don't be alarmed if it looks like spinach overload.

Says Who?!?

Tuna Blob

This is basically a tuna sandwhich without the bread. I didn't like eating this. It tasted good, but I prefer the sandwich method of delivery. I mixed in some cannellini beans with the tuna, plus some red onion, Dijon mustard, parmesean cheese, herbs, salt and pepper. I adapted this mixture from a recipe I saw in Women's Day magazine. I also made a batch with tofu instead of tuna, but that didn't come out so well.

Chocolate March

The Historic Inns of Rockland, Maine are celebrating "Chocolate March" this weekend. Yum!

Mini Mahi Mahi Burgers

I went snowboarding at Stevens Pass last weekend and had a great powder day! Unfortunately, like all ski areas in Washington State, there are no post-ski restautants, bars, or lodging near the area so everyone has to starve on the 2 hour drive back to Seattle. Canada has the right idea with Apres-Ski, but that's another story. Anyway, the drive back provides ample opportunity to discuss with mouth-watering anticipation where to get the Best beer, or the Best (veggie) burger in Seattle, 2 things I am always craving. We decided on the Jolly Roger Taproom in the Ballard neighborhood. I must have driven past this little hole many many times without ever noticing it. They brew Maritime Pacific beer, a local microbrew. The restaurant is old time pirate themed, including a treasure map spanning the entire concrete floor. This tiny little spot with maybe 10 tables has absolutely delicious food. I got the three mini Mahi Mahi burgers, and used the secret garlicky, spicy sauce. I am in love.