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Posted 2010-03-04 22:46:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Ah, weekday dinner parties - such an adventure. Everyone's bound to show up a little late, and it's a bit rushed since no one wants to stay up particularly late, either. What to make, then, when a few friends decide they want to come over and watch a movie on a Tuesday? Something pretty quick and easy, that's what. Enter: Parchment Baked Tilapia.

I've always loved fish baked in parchment paper, but I'd never actually made it myself. The concept is pretty simple: create a small bag out of parchment paper filled with vegetables, seasonings, and what ever kind of fish you want. Seal it, and then bake it. The bag steams the fish and everything else all at once, and you get a wonderfully delicious, healthy dish.

I poked around a bit online and in various cookbooks to find a recipe, but in the end I just kind of made it up myself. This is definitely the kind of thing you could, and should, experiment with.

Parchment Baked Tilapia

Ingredients: (I'm scaling the recipe to one serving - just multiply as needed)


1 tilapia filet
1-2 oz sliced yellow squash
1-2 oz sliced green pepper
1-2 oz sliced red pepper
1-2 oz sliced white onion
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp freshly grated lack pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1 fresh lemon wedge

Directions:

Preheat over to 400 degrees.


Cut a large piece of parchment paper, about 12-14 inches. Fold the parchment down the middle to create a crease. On one half of the paper, place the olive oil and lay the tilapia on the oil. Add the garlic and thyme, and then the vegetables, salt, and pepper. Squeeze the lemon over the fish and vegetables, and add the squeezed lemon wedge.


Fold the other half of the parchment up and over the fish and then crimp along the edges to seal. This is the only remotely tricky part, and it's not that hard.


Once the bag is sealed, place in the over for 35-45 minutes. Remove from the over and serve the entire bag. Your diners will be greeted with an amazing steaming presentation of fish and vegetables and smells and tastes fantastic.

Man does not live on fish alone, so I threw together a quick salad as well as a potato recipe I found in a friend's cookbook. The salad was simply spring mix, diced red onion, diced tomato, and artichoke hearts with a simple vinaigrette of red wine vinegar, minced garlic, olive oil, and fresh lime juice.


The potatoes were from Marco Canora's Salt to Taste, which I was browsing through this weekend.

Patate alla Contadina

Ingredients:

4 large Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2 1/4 lbs)
1 large garlic clove, peeled
5 whole peeled canned tomatoes
1 heaping Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/3 cup fragrant extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup water
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Directions:

Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, then lay each half flat-side down and cut into thirds crosswise (you'll wind up with thick half-moon slices). Put potatoes in a bowl. Grate garlic into bowl. Crush tomatoes with your hands and add them and their juice to mixture.


Then add rosemary, oil and generous amounts of salt and pepper. Mix well.

Transfer mixture to a medium saucepan and add water. Cover and heat over medium-low.

Bring potatoes to a gentle simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Give them a stir and continue cooking. Lower heat if necessary (a gentle simmer is what you want) and stir every 10 minutes until the potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes more.

Mix in butter. Adjust seasoning if necessary with salt and pepper and serve.

A quick and successful dinner which made for a quick and successful dinner party.

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Posted 2010-03-04 22:28:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Having brunch-loving friends in Prospect Heights means I'm down there almost as often as I'm up in Clinton Hill or Fort Greene. While I'm not going to make a habit of reviewing every Brooklyn restaurant I go to, The Vanderbilt is pretty close by and worth a mention.

Tucked into the corner of Bergen and (surprise!) Vanderbilt, The Vanderbilt has an open and friendly atmosphere and a pretty sophisticated menu.


Being brunch, I'd be remiss if I didn't order a Bloody Mary. Any restaurant that treats their Bloody Mary with respect earns instant Brunchy points with me, and The Vanderbilt did very well with theirs, made with Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce, Tito's vodka, and pickled green beans. It was spicy as Hell and very tasty, and is right up there with the best Bloody Marys in Brooklyn.

Though Bloody Marys are an integral part of brunch, they aren't (usually) a goal in an of themselves. So, we ate.


To start, a plate of the Blistered Shishito Peppers with pimenton salt. These were devoured quickly and with little fanfare. They are yummy.


My entree was the Eggs "Vanderbilt," this eatery's take on your garden variety Eggs Benedict. You get the option of ham (Jambon de Paris) or spinach, and it's got a great spicy hollandaise sauce. Of note were the english muffins, as they were decidedly un-burnt and very good.


I also ordered a side of potatoes, which were good but ended up being a bit too much food.


Here you see the Smoked Trout Crepe with melted leeks and a sunnyside egg. I only had a bite of this, but it was very good.

The Vanderbilt is very good, and not terribly expensive, though it's certainly not the cheapest brunch option. The coffee is spectacular (it's Stumptown), the food is very good, and the Bloody mary might be worth the trip alone. If you're nearby and haven't tried it, it's definitely worth a shot.

Information:

The Vanderbilt
570 Vanderbilt Ave
Brooklyn, NY
718.623.0570
http://thevanderbiltnyc.com/

Google Map

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Posted 2010-02-27 07:24:00 by noreply@blogger.com (JD) at The Loud Music of the Sky

I am a part of all that I have met; yet all experience is an arch wherethro' gleams that untravll'd world whose margin fades forever and ever when I move

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Posted 2010-02-24 20:33:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

It seems like new restaurants are popping up faster than I can find time to go out and try them. iCi, on the other hand, has been around for a while. Much like No. 7 before it, many people both on the blog and off have recommended I give it a try. I'd originally planned on going to No. 7 on Monday night before remembering that they're closed that particular night, so I decided to give iCi a shot instead.

iCi is a charming little restaurant on the south side of Dekalb just west of Vanderbilt right next to Tillie's. What I noticed immediately was how intimate the dining room felt. When you enter, it feels initially more like someone's home than it does a restaurant. The dining area is small but not cramped, and it's a great place to just sit and relax.

Billed as being "Fresh, seasonal, and local," iCi prides itself on serving a locally produced menu that changes often. The menu is, in the words of Frank Bruni, "extremely brief," which in this case is a strength. Much like No. 7, everything seems crafted with care, and while it shouldn't take you long to find what you want, I'll bet whatever you order will be good. One nice touch is that they always offer a price-fixed menu of one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert for $26.

The customary bread begins your meal, accompanied by some exceptional olive oil, which i always prefer to butter. I wish I'd remembered to ask where it was from, because the oil really was very good, and the basket of bread didn't last very long between the two of us. iCi offers a "To Share" section of their menu for tasty pre-meal nibblets, but we didn't take advantage of them on this trip. I have a feeling the olives and the cheese plate are definitely worth checking out though.


Eschewing wine (though they have what looked like a great wine list) and a share plate, we dove right into our appetizers. We seem to have caught the butternut squash bug, as both our appetizers had it at their core. I had the Butternut Squash Dumpling, served with toasted hazel nuts, fresh sage, and creme fraiche. The dumpling was firm and held together well, and the squash and sage were very flavorful. The hazel nuts added a bit of crunch and earthiness to the dish as well.


We also ordered a bowl of the soup of the day, which for Monday was a Butternut Squash Soup with fresh sage. So, take the dumpling and turn it into a soup and you have a rich, creamy soup that was just about perfect.


My ever-abiding love for sea bass dictated the choice for my main course, and I had the Sauteed Branzini, which is served with bacon and leeks along with yukon gold potatoes. Served whole but split and ready to be flayed open, the fish was soft and buttery. The bacon and leeks made for almost a stuffing. The potatoes were soft and tasty, but led me to discover my first, albeit minor complaint. I like the ability add salt and pepper to my dishes if needed, while apparently the proprietors of iCi think that's sacrilege of some kind. No table has any salt or pepper shakers to speak of! it's a minor issue, and I actually forgot to ask our waitress for any, but it's a minor quibble worth noting.


My date fell in love with the Portobello and Herb Gnocchi with fontina, fennel, and beet sauce. This was another very strong, earthy dish with a lot of flavors competing for your attention. There wasn't a single dumbling left on the plate, so I have a hard time coming up with any complaints.


Dessert? Yes, please. First up, the Honey Panna Cotta with blood orange syrup and cardamom. If you've never had a panna cotta before, it's a yogurt or custard-like dessert made from cream, milk, sugar, and gelatin. It's almost flan-like in texture, and iCi's version tastes very fresh and while certainly sweet, it's not overly so.


I had no choice but to order the Chocolate Cake. Since the demise of Loulou, I've been hoping to find a new favorite chocolate cake, and iCi is the leader in the clubhouse. Their version is served with lightly caramelized bananas and a thick banana and rum sauce, along with a big marshmallow sitting on top. I loved almost everything about this dish, from the very dense, brownie-like cake to the sweet and flavorful sauce and sliced bananas. But why the marshmallow? I really don't like marshmallow at all, and almost didn't order the dish because of it. It doesn't really fit at all, and I was happy to just toss it aside and enjoy the rest of the excellent dessert. If they substituted a small dollop of vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream? Perfection, I'm telling you. As it is, it was still very good and I'll order it again.

iCi is a fantastically charming restaurant that is right up there with the best that our neighborhood has to offer. Their winter menu is full of rich, earth-y flavors that reflect the season and local produce. I really can't wait to see what they have in store in the spring and summer. I'll be back to find out, if only to get another order of the chocolate cake.

Information:

iCi
246 Dekalb Ave
718.789.2778
http://www.icirestaurant.com/

Google Map

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Posted 2010-02-11 15:44:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Clinton Hill Blog does the work so I don't have to. I've added some phone numbers and links to my reviews if they exist. I'm a big fan of Stonehome, Aqualis, and Tamboril in particular.

FULTON

Greene Grape and GG Provisions
Fondue tastings and wine tastings, Friday and Saturday.

Aqualis Grill
773 Fulton Street (between S. Portland and S. Oxford)
$55/person four course and champagne and/or wine included.
(718) 797-3494

Dajeh Restaurant and Wine Bar
919 Fulton Street (between Clinton & Waverly)
Caribbean-Influenced, Wine-Paired Tasting Menu for Valentine’s Day.
5-course tasting menu $129 per couple. Each of the five courses is paired perfectly with a different wine in collaboration with Wine Consultant Veronique Fitzgerald, DWS. (the price without wine: $105.00 per couple).
(718) 857-1616

Stonehome Wine Bar
87 Lafayette (between S. Elliott and S. Portland)
4 courses for $65 per person, with wine pairings add $40 per person. Seatings at 6, 7, 9 and 10pm.
For Reservations, call (718) 624-9443

Cure Beauty Bar
Valentine Special: Basic Mani/Pedi/ 1 Dozen roses/glass of sparkling wine – $90 or for couples $165 (which can be friends/Spouses/sibling etc.). Runs from Feb. 12th -14th. Must make a appointment and pre-pay by Feb. 11th 2010.
(718) 622-7100

Social Therapy Group
What’s Love Got to Do With It?
Prepare for Valentine’s Day by getting better at loving. Explore where you are with love and friendship and create more intimacy in your all your relationships. Come to a social therapy group and work at making your Valentine’s Day more loving. Come alone or bring your loved one –whether it’s your friend, your partner, your mother or lover. We will help you get better at creating loving conversations. Saturday, February 13, 2010, 11am – 1pm. Fee: $30/person or $50/couple or twosome.

Contact: Ann Green, 718-797-3220 ext. 319 or agreen@socialtherapygroup.com.

DEKALB

iCi
Brunch from 9am to 4pm and a $45 5-course-prix-fix Menu for Dinner from 5.30 to 11pm.
(718) 789-2778?

Chez Oskar
$36 Prix Fix menu Sunday evening
(718) 852-6250

MYRTLE

Tamboril
$25 Prix Fix 5:30-11 on Saturday
Jazz music at 7 and 9pm on Sunday
(718) 622-5130

Chez Lola
$32 Prix Fix menu Sunday evening
(718) 858-1484

If you know of any others, pass them along and I'll update the post.

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Posted 2010-02-10 17:37:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

I love throwing parties, especially when there's food involved. I especially love throwing parties where there's food and football involved, and there is rarely a better time to throw a party involving food and football than Super Bowl Sunday.

So that's exactly what I did.

Now I'm not usually big on party themes, but having New Orleans playing in this year's game (and winning!) made for a nice chance to try making something I'd never tried before but have always wanted to - jambalaya. I love me a good, spicy jambalaya, and here was my attempt at it. I doubled the recipe amounts since I was cooking for so many people. For a more reasonably-sized portion, just cut everything in half.

New Orleans Shrimp & Chicken Jambalaya
Adapted from this post at http://neworleanscuisine.blogspot.com/

Ingredients:

Seasoning Mix:

1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 1/2 tsp White Pepper
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Fresh Thyme
1 tsp Rubbed Sage
1/2 tsp Dried Basil
1 tsp Black Pepper

2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Diced Andouille
1 Cup Diced Onion
1 Cup Diced Bell Pepper (I used a mix of green, red, and yellow peppers)
1 Cup Diced Celery
1 Cup Diced Fresh Tomatoes
1 Cup Tomato Sauce
1 1/2 Cup Enriched Long Grain Rice
3 Cup Chicken stock with a shrimp shell infusion (see below)
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
4 Tbsp Minced Fresh Garlic
1 Cup Diced Chicken
1 1/2 lb Raw shrimp, with shells
2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Italian Parsley
6 Tbsp Finely Sliced Green Onions

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. De-shell the shrimp and set the shells aside. For the stock infusion, heat the chicken stock over a low heat with approximately 1 1/2 cups of shrimp shells. This helps mix the flavors of chicken and shrimp.

Mix together the onion, celery, and bell pepper. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot (or really a cast iron Dutch oven, which I don't have), melt the butter over medium heat, add the andouille and cook until it just starts to brown.

Add 1/2 of the onion, celery, and pepper mixture, cook until the vegetables are tender.

Add the diced Tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce and cook for another minute. Add the Rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the stock, the remaining onions, celery, and peppers, seasoning mix, Worcestershire, and the garlic.

Taste the broth for seasoning, particularly salt. Test the rice as well, you may need to add more water. Add the chicken, stir well and put the pot in the preheated oven. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. After the twenty-five minutes, stir in the raw shrimp, parsley, and green onions. Place back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes, or until the shrimp are cooked through.

Once it's done, test again to make sure the rice is fully cooked. When I made this, the rice needed some more water, which I stirred in and cooked over medium heat on the range. I also added some crushed red pepper flakes and a bit of kosher salt at the end.

So the jambalaya came out great and was a big hit. It wasn't anywhere near the only thing I made, however. I neglected to take a picture of the entire spread, but let's explore some of the other goodies, shall we?

It wouldn't be an NFL party at my place without bacon-wrapped scallops, so of course I had a decently-sized batch of those. Some of them had no bacon because I got way more scallops than bacon, a serious oversight on my part.

My friend Kate also brought a wonderful batch of Cajun mac & cheese as well as some cornbread.

I got a big 10lb bag of frozen wings and ended up making 7-8lbs worth. To make these, I brushed each wing with olive oil before baking in the oven at 425 for an hour. Once out of the oven, a small batch were sprinkled with black and white pepper and garlic powder, while the rest were dunked in a mixture of 1 part melted butter and 1 part Frank's Red Hot, my favorite cayenne pepper sauce. Tough to have a good football party without wings, no? I also had an antipasto platter and a cheese platter along with tortilla and potato chips, but forgot to photograph those.

For dessert, in honor of the game being played in Miami, I made a key lime cheesecake. I hope everyone else had a fun and safe Super Bowl Sunday!

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Posted 2010-02-01 01:25:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Out with a few friends last night I finally got a chance to having dinner at Frankie's Sputino, the Carroll Gardens stalwart that's impossible not to love. Well, unless you're waiting an hour or two for a table or trying to pay with a credit card, that is. Our wait was projected to be two hours, though it only ended up being 45 minutes, and they were happy to take a cell phone number and call us when when a table was available. We also put our names down at Prime Meats, figuring we'd grab whichever one opened up first. Frankie's won, so there we went.

Logistical quirks aside (seriously, bring cash), Frankie's really is the kind of restaurant you need to make a point of getting to if you never have. I had the sweet potato ravioli (something I've been meaning to make forever, myself), and it really was impressive. Others in our party had the gnocchi, the cavatelli with sausage, and the pappardelle with lamb, each of which was great. I know the cavatelli and the pappardelle were home made, but I'm not sure about the ravioli, only because it didn't specifically state it on the menu. It tasted fresh, in any event. Sorry about the lack of pictures, but I wasn't in my usual restaurant review mode.

While their dessert menu looked good, we decided to scoot down the block to Buttermilk Channel, another place I'd never tried. I had the roasted apple bread pudding, and it was very good. It was lighter and fluffier than most bread puddings I've had, which wasn't bad, but I prefer something more dense and overtly artery-clogging. it was very good, though, and I'd get it again. Two of my cohorts ordered Doug's Pecan Pie Sunday, which is a pecan pie and ice cream parfait in a big float glass. Don't pass this up if you have even a passing interest in pecan pie. It's really unconscionably good.

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out one really awfully annoying caveat to our dessert, though. Most of us were ordering drinks (beer and wine), but since I was driving I decided to just have a club soda. Well, it turns out that a club soda at Buttermilk Channel costs you $4. Really? Come on. The dessert was good, but that was annoying enough that I'll think twice about going back again, or at least bringing my own water.

Information:

Frankie's Sputino
457 Court St.
Brooklyn, NY
718.403.0033
http://www.frankiesspuntino.com/

Buttermilk Channel
524 Court St.
Brooklyn, NY
718.852.8490
http://www.buttermilkchannelnyc.com/

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Posted 2010-01-19 01:51:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Sometimes it's Sunday. And sometimes, on some very special Sundays, it's a Sunday with playoff football. No matter what anyone tells you, everyone loves playoff football. Even people who claim that playoff football is stupid and they'd rather host a gaggle of chatty women to watch the Golden Globes and talk about dresses and Jeff Bridges' beard and Christina Hendricks' breasts actually love playoff football. Those people especially love playoff football.

However, sometimes the norms of society dictate that instead of watching playoff football, your girlfriend is actually going to host a gaggle of chatty women to watch the Golden Globes and talk about how drunk all the beautiful people are and how stupid Avatar is. What to do in such a situation? Why, you come to my house, where there was no talk of Golden Globes, attached to Christina Hendricks or otherwise. Instead, we watched a lot of football and drank a lot of beer and ate a lot of pasta. Pasta that I happened to make that very day. I now do as is required of me and bring you pictures.

Basically we just wanted to eat a lot.


I went with my basic pasta recipe, hand cut into pappardelle.


I kind of winged it with the sauce. Initially I was just going for a basic butter and sage, but I threw in some half & half that was leftover from last week's alfredo in order to thicken it up. It didn't come out as well as I'd hoped, but it served its purpose - add some flavor to the pasta.


In order to make sure we absolutely couldn't move after eating I also fried up a pound of hot Italian sausage that I picked up at Arthur Ave the day before.


There's really not much more to it - I've given you all these recipes before in some form or another. It was just a lot of really good food, some really good football, and an unprecedented lack of Hollywood awards shows.

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Posted 2010-01-17 01:28:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Mark Bradshaw) at bigredcoat

Hey! Blogger is an awful, buggy mess of unfinished code and horrible GUI decisions so I'm using Wordpress! Go there instead! There's a ton of great new stuff, including a whole slew of Wallet Abuse updates.

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Posted 2010-01-12 13:43:45 by exchange at KrishnaP.com.np

The beginning of a new year presents us with the ideal opportunity to imagine where we might be going by examining where we’ve been. A year is a long time in the tech world, and a lot of things happened in 2009. Our own little corner of it (Tech Tips) is no exception. [...]

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Posted 2010-01-09 15:53:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Regular readers know well my fondness for homemade pasta. Well, this Christmas I was blessed with a pasta press attachment for my mixer, and last night I decided to put it to use and make some homemade rigatoni along with a chicken alfredo sauce.

I didn't do anything different with the basic pasta recipe, so if you're curious about that, check out this post. The only difference here is that the pasta needs to be broken up into walnut-sized balls in order to work properly with the press.

I've never made homemade tube pasta before, so this was new for me, and the results were pretty great. Consider this a hearty recommendation for this particular Kitchenaid attachment.

As for the alfredo? Well, it wasn't particularly fancy, but it sure was good.

Chicken Alfredo

Ingredients:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
4 cups chicken broth, separated
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup half & half
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
5 cloves of garlic, minced
8-10 basil leaves, chiffonated
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 leave fresh sage, chopped
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

To start, pound out the chicken breasts between two pieces of wax paper. This helps them cook more evenly as well as making them easier to cube later on. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth for the alfredo sauce, and heat the rest in a pot and bring to a boil. Cook the whole chicken breasts in the broth.

In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, melt the butter and add the minced garlic. Add the 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and add the heavy cream and half & half, as well as the basil, parsley, and sage. Bring the sauce to a soft boil and add the salt and pepper, stirring frequently. Add the cheese and let the sauce simmer, stirring frequently while it melts and the sauce thickens.

Remove the cooked chicken from the broth and let cool on a cutting board. Dice the chicken and add to the alfredo sauce.

That's it! A very simple and tasty chicken alfredo. You can let the sauce simmer while you cook your pasta, just be sure to keep stirring it from time to time. Once you've cooked and drained the pasta, combine it with the alfredo and stir it all together before plating.

I steamed some broccoli to go along with it, as you can see.


For dessert, we had a few slices of an amazing stollen my stepmom made for Christmas. It turned out to be a great dinner on a frigid night, and there were absolutely no leftovers, which is always a good sign.

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Posted 2010-01-10 03:29:16 at The Confederate Bohemian

 In addition to my marvelous, frequently updated blog, I now have a twitter account.  It is, of course, fantastic

twitter.com/Nfinit

Basically I'm everywhere on the net* and you cannot escape me!  Succumb now or feel my wrath!

(*note:  Everywhere 'cept here)

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Posted 2010-01-09 06:56:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Athenor) at Athenor's Blog

I swear, we've reached the point where every post is the same.

I just watched Avatar. I now don't want to go to bed, for two reasons. First, I am still processing it. Second? I'm lonely. Romances, of any level, knock out my self esteem like nobody's business. And let's be honest here: Cameron is one of the best at them. After all, I was crying like a baby over Titanic. But this one...

The movie, at its core, had a strong element of discovering one's self, learning to listen to the world. But it is not a journey one can make alone. It is in our DNA that we are to be coupled, and so I always feel like a failure when I think how that hasn't happened. I know I shouldn't. I know it will come for me, eventually. But what am I to do? Lower my standards? Hope for someone to just walk into my life? No.. none of that will work.

This situation is made worse by my creation desires. I haven't written anything -- seriously written anything -- in months. I don't think I have since I graduated. So what will my legacy be? Can I tell stories like that? Maybe someday. Maybe. But I need to get there first.

So yeah. No one was around to talk to, to feel lonely with. So I post here, in the chance anyone reads. I doubt they do. But I will still try.

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Posted 2010-01-08 09:46:08 by mcc at Mechanically Separated Meat

CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO THE PRETTY COLOR-CODED FULL RESULTS This explanation will look a lot like last year’s, but: Every year since 2004 I’ve been hosting this Game of the Year poll for the users of some forums I read. There are a lot of GOTY polls out there, but this one I think is kind [...]

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Posted 2010-01-04 17:17:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Van over at Clinton Hill Blog, writer of the great Lunchtime With Tillie articles, has handed out the 2009 Lunchtime With Tillie Awards, a fun rundown of some of the better bites in our fair 'nabe this past year.

Give it a look!

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Posted 2010-01-03 17:43:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Aqualis Grill is a new Mediterranean restaurant that arrived back in July, and the other day I finally had an opportunity to stop in for lunch. I'd tried once before for brunch on a Sunday, but they don't open until noon and I was a couple of hours early.


The space is really simple and charming, and while I'd be concerned about crowding if it were full, that wasn't an issue when I was there, as we were the only customers in the restaurant for the couple of hours we were there. It felt a bit odd, but on the other hand, the service was superb since they only had to worry about one table.


The menu isn't very expansive, which certainly isn't a bad thing, and it's delightfully heavy on the seafood. If you're in the mood for fish, I'm not sure you can go wrong with Aqualis.


Before we started ordering, we got a customary bowl of bread. Usually I wouldn't mention it, but the bread at Aqualis is so good that it's worth making a point of. It's warm, soft, toasted bread with plenty of olive oil and rosemary, and I couldn't help but have more than a few pieces while we mulled over the menu. You also get a small plate of seasoned olives and il to go along with it.


To start, we got an order of fritto misto (fried calamari) and the sardines, which are grilled with herbs and olive oil. The calamari was really fantastic, and might be the best example of fried calamari I can remember having in the area. The batter is subtle, the pieces of calamari are huge, the dipping sauce is interesting and spicy, and the portion is massive. Now, I wonder a bit whether we got so many because we were the only ones there, but if this is a typical order, it's an incredible value. It's more than enough for two people as a starter.


The sardines were a little disappointing, but I'm not sure what I expected, really. For some reason, seeing sardines on the menu made me think of sauteed fresh anchovies (which are great), so I decided to order them. Of course, grilled sardines are nothing at all like sauteed fresh anchovies, so it's really my own fault for being disappointed. You get four large, whole sardines that have been grilled with the head, tail, and bones still in there. Getting to the meat of the fish meant some delicate surgery to remove the bones, and in the end I wasn't all that thrilled with what I got for the effort. It's not a bad dish, but I wish I'd ordered the calamari.


On the recommendation of our waiter, I ordered the cod filet with sauteed spinach and golden beets. Now, they did have Mediterranean sea bass on the menu, which was very tempting, but at $25 it was about double the price of everything else and I decided to pass. The cod was great, so there were no regrets. The spinach and beets provided an interesting contrast to the sauteed fish, which was decently sized and seasoned well.


The skirt steak was also good, though it was accompanied only by greens. You can definitely find a better steak in the neighborhood, so if that's what you're after, I'm not sure Aqualis would be your first choice. That said, it certainly wasn't bad, but you get the feeling that these guys really wish that every dish was seafood.


We didn't order any dessert, but the staff was kind enough to provide us with some anyway - two orders of Greek yogurt with nuts and honey. Very good, and very welcome.

Aqualis certainly has a lot of competition in the area, being steps from the great No. 7 and a stone's throw from Pequena, Stone Home, the Smoke Joint, etc - there are a lot of ways to spend money on good food nearby. Still, if you're in the mood for reasonably-priced seafood, you'd be hard pressed to find a better choice than Aqualis Grill. I'll certainly be back, if only from the amazing fried calamari.

Information:

Aqualis Grill
773 Fulton St
Brooklyn, NY
718.797.3494

Google Map

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Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2010-01-01 19:24:20 by mcc at Mechanically Separated Meat

Hello anyone out there: I’ve got this Game of the Year poll that I run on some web forums I frequent. The way it works is that you rank your favorite games of the year– up to 20, though vote for as many or as few as you want– and the script will sort out [...]

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Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2009-12-29 16:00:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

This year I had the great honor of cooking our Christmas dinner, which is always an adventure when you're trying to squeeze in entertaining family for the holidays. I'll leave it up to my guests to determine how successful I was in all endeavors, but I did enjoy the cooking.

I went back and forth over what to make for a while, and I thought I'd settled on a chateaubriand until I actually tried to find one on Christmas Eve. Poor planning on my part, to be sure. I ended up at the Columbus Circle Whole Foods, and they did, in fact, have a beef tenderloin. For $29.99 a pound. I would have needed about 2 1/2 lbs, so that ended up being prohibitively expensive for me. Fresh Direct, which I usually think of as being convenient and awesome, but expensive, actually has then for $21.99/lb. Food for thought.

What I ended up doing was getting a giant top round roast, which while not nearly as tender, is a more manageable $7.49/lb. Cooked slowly, it can certainly be a tender piece of meat, and I planned on making a similar sauce to go along with it.

The initial inspiration for the chateaubriand was this recipe at Epicurious, and I played with it a bit to end up with the recipe for the roast and the sauce. The end result was pretty different, but the goal was the same - a tasty meat.

Christmas Roast Beef

Ingredients:


Roast:
1 3-4 lb top round roast (mine was 5 1/2 lbs, but I'm a bit of an idiot)
Celery salt
Kosher Salt
Freshly-ground black pepper

Sauce:
1 lb sliced baby portabello mushrooms
4 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 1/2 cups beef demi-glace
2/3 cup port

Directions:



Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Rub the roast down with the celery salt, kosher salt, and black pepper. I'm very liberal with the spices. Insert your meat thermomometer. PLace the roast in a roasting pan or other suitable vessel and cook until the thermometer reads 120 degrees. This will take 20-25 minutes per pound of beef, but I keep a close eye on the thermometer, not the clock.



For the sauce, start by melting the butter along with the mushrooms and rosemary. Mix the contents of a 1.5 oz pack of demi-glace (I use Demi-Glace Gold, which is amazing stuff) into 1 1/2 cups of water and then add to the mushrooms. Once that has simmered a bit, add the port (or a dry red wine).

Once the mushrooms are soft and cooked through and everything is combined, you can remove from the heat and set aside until you're ready to quickly reheat and serve.

The beef and sauce turned out great, and I sliced the leftover meat and have kept it in the fridge marinating in the leftover sauce. I can tell you with all sincerity that this stuff makes the best roast beef sandwiches ever.

We needed some sides to go along, and I ended up making a potatoes gratin along with some kale as well as a quick salad.

Yukon Gold and Sweet Potato Gratin
Adapted from this recipe at Epicurious

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, room temperature, divided
2 1/4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, rinsed
1 1/2 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled
2 cups whole milk
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup whipping cream


Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.* Coat 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with 2 tablespoons butter. Thinly slice all potatoes; place in prepared dish. Bring milk and next 5 ingredients to boil in medium saucepan; pour over potatoes. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter. Cover with foil. Bake until potatoes are tender and milk is almost absorbed, about 50 minutes.



Bring cream to boil in saucepan. Uncover potatoes, pour cream over, and dot with 2 tablespoons butter. Bake uncovered until top is golden brown in spots, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly.

*This was a very poor choice of recipe on my part since I had the oven at 300 for the roast. I felt the roast was more important than the potatoes, so I kept it at 300 and just cooked the potatoes a lot longer. It didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. I think this is a good recipe, but not if you already need the oven set at another temperature. Amateur mistake on my part, there.

Kale with Panfried Walnuts
Adapted from this recipe at Epicurious

Ingredients:

3 pounds kale, stems and center ribs discarded
1 cup chopped walnuts (3 1/2 ounces)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Directions:

Tear kale into large pieces, then cook in a large pot of well-salted boiling water, uncovered, until tender, about 6 minutes. Drain kale, and, when cool enough to handle, press out excess liquid.

Cook walnuts in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring, until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add kale and salt and pepper to taste and cook, tossing, until heated through.

Serve kale warm or at room temperature.

The salad was just spring mix with some walnuts, goat cheese, and dried cranberries tossed in along with a quick and basic balsamic vinaigrette. Nothing fancy there.

I hope everyone reading had a safe and happy holiday, and that not all of you feel as fat as me right now.

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Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2009-12-27 17:34:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

Well, I've been talking about this one for a while on Twitter. There have been a few cheesecake ideas floating around in my noodle for a bit, but none of them have been enticing as a red velvet cheesecake. I mean, come on.

My main worry here is that with the Oreo crust and cream cheese frosting, this would end up being far too rich. Those worries proved to be valid, as it turns out, as this thing has no regard for human life whatsoever. You will get a rampaging sugar high from this, there's no two ways about it. I've been mulling over how I'd tweak the recipe in the future - maybe a mascarpone frosting instead? - but I haven't come to any decision yet. In the end, this is a very, very good cheesecake that should be consumed with extreme moderation. I think it goes well with any holiday dinner, but give yourself at least an hour after eating before you dig in. I post the recipe below. Use at your own risk.

Red Velvet Cheesecake
Adapted from the recipe at recipegirl.com

Ingredients:

Crust:
17 regular-sized oreo cookies, crushed finely (I use a rolling pin and a Ziplock bag - works wonders without having to get out the food processor)
¼ cup butter, melted
1 tbsp granulated sugar

Cheesecake:
3 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsp cocoa
1 cup sour cream
½ cup whole milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
2 1-oz bottles red food coloring

Frosting:
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Crust:


Stir together oreo crumbs, melted butter, and 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar; press mixture into bottom of 9-inch springform pan.


Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare water bath: Fill large roasting pan (big enough for springform pan to fit into) with about 1 inch of water. Place in oven and allow to preheat along with the oven.

Cheesecake:


Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium-low speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add eggs and remaining cheesecake ingredients, mixing on low speed just until fully combined. Pour batter into prepared crust.

Place the pan in the oven above the water bath. Note: Some recipes call for sealing the pan with foil and placing in the water bath itself. This is a great way to cook a cheesecake, but is also a bit more difficult. I choose to just cook with the water below the cheesecake in the oven.


Bake for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 300°F. Bake for an additional 75 minutes or until the center is firm via a toothpick test. Mine took about an additional 30 minutes of cooking before it was properly set, so be patient. Remove from the oven and let sit for 30 minutes before placing it in the fridge to cool further. I prefer to wait until the cheesecake is fully chilled before removing it from the pan.

Frosting:


Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth. Spread evenly on top of cheesecake. Garnish, if desired.

This recipe ended up making about twice as much frosting as I chose to use, so you could safely cut that in half. I'd also recommend using unsweetened cocoa instead of the cocoa/chocolate powder I used, but that was all I could find in the area.

This was a great cheesecake, if a little more work than usual. Not sure if it's my absolute favorite, but with a little tweaking, it might grow to be. I still have 3/4 of the cheesecake left if anyone wants to come try it.

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Found in: Platformers community

Posted 2009-12-27 17:26:00 by noreply@blogger.com (Brian) at Clinton Hill Foodie

I've had family coming in and out of town all weekend, and on Christmas Eve instead of trying to finagle yet another family dinner, my brother decided to throw together a light-ish dinner for the two of us. I must say that I came away pretty impressed with what he made. I didn't make it, so I don't have the exact recipe, but he basically sauteed some sea scallops in butter, and ended up creating a pesto, red pepper and mushroom concoction to go along with it. Everything was then served on a bed of egg linguine.

That description really doesn't do it justice, but I hope the picture does. There were a variety of interesting flavors going on, and it's certainly something that I'll try to replicate in the future.

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