Madrid... A Food Lovers Paradise

Flat of Figs in Spain

         It all began with a fig....... I was at work doing my usual task of recieving food orders to check in and I saw a flat of figs. Staring at the small figs, squished into the plastic mesh containers with bruises my mind began to wonder. I reminisced back to over a month before when I was in Madrid, Spain and stopped dead in my tracks staring at a flat of large, gorgeous figs. Thats when all of the wonderful food memories came back.

               There have been very few times in my life where I was speechless when it came to terms food. This was a time where it was the case. Never have I ever been to a place where I felt so inspired and happy to see what was going on around me. Now, I have been to Spain before and was well aware about the special care they take into their food. However this time was different. Unlike my past time in the country, I actually cooked meals. I had to go to the shops and grocery stores to purchase food and that was the difference.

Cherries stacked neatly....blew my mind

Even the meat looked great!

Presentation is key!

                                       








              Walking into the grocery stores, fruit stands and supermarkets, I was amazed by the presentation of the produce, fish, meat and cheese stands. No customer was allowed to pick up any item. There were workers for every station which picked up (with gloved hands) the item that you want and placed into a bag for you. They took pride in their work and nobody was going to mess it up. All of the produce were neatly arranged- by color and food group. The seafood section was a sight to see. First of all, there were fish, mollusks and shellfish that I have never seen before. All of the items were arranged going the same way and grouped by species. The colors and overall freshness of it made me so excited that I would be cooking.

Pan con Tomate & Pan con
Serrano

Fresh Figs with Goat Cheese & Balsamic
Reduction

Mussels in White Wine, Butter
Sauce

  

 I came to Madrid with the Nomad•ness Travel Tribe and that was our home base in Spain before we went up to Pamplona to run with the Bulls. Before we embarked on our trip it was known that we were going to have a group dinner in which members Blue, Kyla and myself would do the cooking. On the day of our special group dinner, the three of us ventured off to one of the many food markets in Madrid to shop. We had a long list of ingredients to buy and was happy and excited about the food we were going to prepare. Our theme was traditional Spanish food. The menu that we came up with was: pan con tomate y jamon (toasted bread with tomatoes and serrano ham), figs with goat cheese & balsamic reduction, mussels with white wine herb sauce, potato salad with tuna, white asparagus salad, seafood paella, braised chicken with fennel, caramelized peach tart and passion fruit flan. 

Seafood Paella 

          The meal that fed fifteen people took us about 4 hours to complete. Of course there were tons of talking, laughter and sips of wine in between but we made it happen. It was such a joy to be in a country unlike our own when it come to food culture and actually prepare food. 

Potato Salad with Tuna

Passion Fruit Fl 

    
       

Braised Chicken with Fennel

Caramelized Peach Tart

           Upon returning back home to NYC, I was a little saddened. Going food shopping wasn't the same, supermarkets did not have the standard for products like the ones in Madrid. Here, you can go to places like Whole Foods, farmers markets other and specialty markets where the upkeep of food is priority. In Spain that was the normal everywhere. From the local fruit stands to the supermarkets there was a sense of pride in all products that was showcased. I have since come to the realization that it will never be the same so I should stop comparing. Whenever I get into a food funk..... I just think that I will always have the memories of Madrid.


*photos of the dinner courtesy of Antoine Kinch*

Recipe Testing.... Doughnuts and such :)

       Whenever I have a moment I like to surf the web and go to food sites. I often search websites recipe archives and stop until something catches my attention. I feel that nothing is ever "original". There is always someone out there who has cooked the same thing. What I like to do is if I find a recipe that looks good, I think of someway to change it to make it my own. Hence- the experimentation comes in. Whenever you alter a recipe (especially for baking), the dish coming out perfect is always left up to chance. You have to make sure that you substitute correct ingredients for each other. For example- if you take out butter, you have to make sure you sub for another fat so that you get the same result for your finished product.  

       One day I stumbled upon Yahoo's Shine website where they have a special cooks section. There, Chef Fabio Viviani (from Top Chef) has a segment called Chow Ciao where there are videos making his favorite dishes. I came across his perfect doughnut recipe. Reading through the recipe, i was surprised to see that the base was white potatoes. I thought how delicious would it be if I substituted the white potatoes for sweet potatoes. Should come out the same or even better, right. So I gave it a try. 

        I followed the recipe http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/perfect-homemade-doughnuts-194600827.html exactly. When the dough was mixed i noticed that it was still very wet and I could not form it in any shape without adding more flour. That is when I remembered that sweet potatoes contain more water than white ones- reason why my dough came out wet. I added about an additional cup and a half of flour to the dough so I could manage it. Also knowing at that point the recipe was extremely altered and kept me guessing how it would come out.

        I let the dough sit out and rise for 20 minutes just like the recipe said but it barely rose. 

     

        I cooked them anyway, knowing the error in my ways just to see how the would come out. The doughnuts fried up well. Once fully cooked I tossed them in a mixture of cinnamon, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Then it was taste time. The doughnuts were dense and had a faint taste of sweet potato. The next time I make them I know what to do differently. For one- after roasting & mashing the sweet potatoes I will cook down the mash so water can evaporate making a paste. That will aid in having a more pronounced sweet potato taste and less flour to be added. I will also up the yeast a bit to get the light and airiness to the finished product. They were good however now I know what to do to make them amazing.

***If you have more leftover potatoes I also recommend this recipe by Chef Fabio for his gnocchi. Below I posted a picture during the process of making it but it was soo good that they were all gone before I could take a picture of the finished product. http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/potatoes-101-perfect-gnocchi-214300981.html

Culinary Nirvana- My Dinner at WD-50

     Well, where do I begin. WD-50 is herald as one of the most ground-breaking restaurants in the country as far as molecular gastronomy is concerned. Molecular gastronomy is "is a sub-discipline of food science that seeks to investigate, explain and make practical use of the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients that occur while cooking, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general."-wikipedia……Taking cues from the famous Spanish Chef Ferran Adria- the chef who put the use of gastronomy with food on the map, Chef Wylie Dufrense has brought that ideal stateside being one of the first forward thinking chefs with this idea.

   Of course, WD-50 was on my wish list of restaurants to dine at. I had just never gotten the chance to, until now. Like usual one of my college buddies was in town with her friends and we decided to go. I was extremely excited to go because just to witness how far someones imagination can go with food and to what extent ingredients can manipulated and changed but still taste delicious. 
    I think we were lucky because we are some of the few diners that had the pleasure of eating off the menu that made him know. Chef Wylie has decided to shake things up and change his entire menu starting the 2nd week of May. In a recent New York Times article-
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/dining/at-wd-50-wylie-dufresne-is-shaking-up-the-entire-menu.htm he goes into detail about the reason for the change and what diners can expect from the new menu.
  So usually I go into great detail of critiquing the food that I eat however, this was a totally different experience. The entire course of the night I was in sheer awe of all the dishes that were presented to us. This blog entry will be an exception…. i will let the pictures speak for itself.

Peekytoe Crab Roll with Celeriac Noodles and Salt & Vinegar Chips

Duck Pastrami- tasted like a pastrami on rye sandwich.

Aerated Foie Gras with Brioche Crisp
"..i think this is the best thing I have ever put in my mouth." Rachel

Cold Fried Chicken with Buttermilk Ricotta, Tabasco & Caviar

Eggs Benedict Florentine- Spinach "paper",  congealed egg yolks, fried hollandaise sauce nuggets. Delicious

Scallop Ravioli- the "pasta" was actually scallop along with the filling

Sesame Flatbread- "Its amazing how they got it paper thin yet so flavorful.."Natalia

Fried Skate, Sunchokes, Sunflower Seed Puree and Giardeneria Vegetables 

Duck Breast, Mushroom Dumplings, Consommé 

Liquid Churro, Spicy Dark Chocolate Sauce, Gelato
On appearance the churro looked like it was crisp, freshly fried. However, with the swipe of a spoon it had a creamy texture

Chocolate Ganache, Beet Powder, Chocolate Pebbles

Rootbeer Float- it was like an airy vanilla rootbeer foam.

Chef Wylie let us take a peak into his kitchen

This is where they store all of the powders, gels & gums that help manipulated food into different textures & forms

He even took a picture with us :)

Eataly- Lunch and met Carla Hall !!!!

    Well, let me start off by saying this was a good week. Im on vacation from work, moved into my new place, great weather & feeling good. So things were on the up & up. When a buddy asked if I wanted to take a break from unpacking and go out to lunch- umm, of course.
     She was in the mood for pasta I knew there was a pasta restaurant in Eataly- which was a couple of blocks away so off we went. Eataly is a large marketplace of Italian artisan products and groceries with restaurants and kiosks scattered around. Its massive- I have been a couple of times and still have not soaked it all in. Many products sold are only found there outside of Italy. Looking at the many items brought me back to when I was in Rome and Pisa (going back...someday). 
       We went to the pasta restaurant within Eataly and as we were taken to our table my mouth dropped. We were seated right next to The Chew/ Top Chef Alum Carla Hall and her assistant. So excited because I have been a fan since she was on Top Chef, but of course I held in my composure. We instead just looked at them menu and decided on a starter course which was cheese. While waiting on our cheese my friend started conversation with Carla and Nyemale, her assistant. We talked about food, tea pairing concepts and Carla even gave her recommendation for what we should have for lunch.

Pappardelle Pasta with Mushroom Ragu

Pesto Lasagna

Pesto Lasagna

           

           We took Carla's advice and ordered the special pappardelle pasta with mushroom ragu and the pesto lasagna. The pappardelle pasta was fresh and was cooked just to al dente. The mushroom ragu was very reminiscent of a beef bolognese. It was meaty from the mushrooms and the tomato sauce was heavily flavored with fresh parsley, thyme and basil. Simply delicious, I had no complaints. The pesto lasagna had fresh lasagna sheets layered with green beans, pesto and a cream béchamel sauce. Topping the lasagna was fresh basil, parmesan and toasted pine nuts. I thought the entire dish was well executed and presented. I would have never thought to put green beans in a lasagna and along with the pesto and the crunch of the pine nuts it was simply divine.

            We didn't have to order dessert because Carla was so kind she bought us two types of her Alchemy desserts. They reminded me of cookie nuggets. The  pecan shortbread with vanilla salt reminded me of the pecan sandies that I used to take from my grandmothers kitchen when I was younger. They were light, not too sweet and a perfect way to satisfy any sweet tooth. For a chocolate indulgence the Black Forest Crinkle is fudgy with notes of cherry. You wont feel guilty when eating these because the richness of the chocolate will take over and you will only need a few at a time to quench that chocolate thirst. 

Alchemy Pecan Shortbread with Vanilla Salt & Black Forest Crinkle

      Like I prefaced this entry..... It was a good week that turned better when I went out for lunch. Thanks Carla for all of your culinary insight and recommendations for us. There was a reason why we just happen to sit next to her for lunch. I have additions to my list of places I need to try. Coincidence... I think not. Until the next time :) 

Carla, Natalia & myself

Birthday Dinner :)

   Happy 2012..... SO since my last post a couple of things have occurred, the holidays came, we started a new year and most important- i got a year older (not sure how I feel about that yet but its all good). So what better way to celebrate than going out to dinner with friends, talking over delicious food and wine. My way to celebrate.

 My two JWU buddies asked me what type of food I would like to eat so she could pick out a restaurant. I wanted something that we don't eat often, something new and special to commemorate the occasion. I decided on seafood with Italian flair, so the choice was Esca, a restaurant in Hell's Kitchen by Chef Dave Pasternack. I agreed to the decision because this was one of many restaurants that I wanted to try. I have heard much about Chef Pasternack through magazines and I watched his biography on The Cooking Channel. The main reason I wanted to go to Esca was because they do something unlike most restaurants in the city. I refer to him as the fish guy because the chef and his team actually go fishing off the coast of Long Island and bring the catch to the restaurant. Which means the menu items are constantly changing to whats available and the fish is incredibly fresh. Pretty Awesome. 

Scallop Tasting

Fried Halibut Cheeks with Caper Aioli

Burratta with Caviar

For our first course we started off with a trio of dishes. The scallop tasting had three varieties of in crudo form (italian version of sushi). All were dressed simply with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and a different citrus juice. Its funny because I am really not into crudo/sushi because I don't like the texture of raw fish, however I really enjoyed the scallops. Surprisingly sweet and creamy which paired well with the lime, blood orange and meyer lemon juices they were accompanied with. The burrata was delicious, soft-to the bite mozzarella and creamy ricotta. The caviar were like bursts of sea salt pellets that flavored the cheese. My favorite first course was the crispy halibut cheeks. Light and crispy on the outside and firm, flakey fish underneath. Our waiter told us that everything is fried in olive oil which I felt made a fried dish feel light and airy, not greasy at all. The caper aioli was reminiscent of tartar sauce gone great. I absolutely loved this dish. 

Pan Seared Black Bass with Roasted Root Vegetable

Broiled Fluke with Preserved Lemon & Blood Orange

Ricotta Gnocchi with Tomato Basil Sauce

For our main courses we shared black bass, fluke and the gnocchi. The black bass was good. Nothing extravagant. Simply seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil. The skin was not as crispy as I would have liked. The flesh was cooked perfectly, lightly flaking with the touch of my fork. The vegetables that accompanied the dish were roasted until there natural sweetness came out, which made them  caramelized into deliciousness. The fluke was so delicate and light. The preserved citrus livened up the fluke which was seasoned lightly with salt & pepper. I liked that all of the seafood was lightly seasoned so that the actual flavor and freshness could shine through. The ricotta gnocchi was good however, we all felt that it was a little grainy. When it comes to gnocchi we have a favorite from Barbounia and it didnt reach that point. Good none the less.

Hazelnut Chocolate Cannoli

Pop Rocks Toffee & Vanilla Gelato Affogato

Now you know dinner is not complete without dessert. For this course we were stuffed but had to order dessert for the greater good :) The first thing we notice about the cannoli was its unique presentation. Instead of the typical cannoli shell, there were rings that were filled with the cream. The hazelnut chocolate cheese/cream was a little grainy. The nut flavor was not overpowering and reminded us like a nutella cream. The affogato was comprised of a vanilla gelato with pop-rocks toffee chips mixed in. The waiter poured the espresso tableside. While eating it, I didn't understand why the pop-rocks were apart of the dish. It wasn't until I took a sip of water when my mouth started popping. The cream of the gelato hindered the functionality of the pop-rocks because before the water, I forgot that it was in the toffee. There was no wow factor in the desserts, however both good. With them and more prosecco we finished off our night and celebration of me getting a year older. Cheers!!     

dim sum anyone?? and Dessert :) pt.2

Pt. 2 - we have to have dessert!!

        After our delicious lunch at Chinatown Brassiere, I had wanted to take my friends to a dessert bar in the area that kept up with the asian dining theme of the day. I had heard about Spot Dessert Bar in the East Village from a television show and i was excited to try. Spot Dessert Bar bases itself as a place that has the typical "american" desserts with an asian twist. I guess this is what intrigued me to visit being you really don't associate asian cuisine with desserts. I was anxious to see how and to what level this was executed.

Yuzu Eskimo, White Miso Semi Fredo, Green Tea Lava 

        Walking along St. Marks place, the restaurant can be easily missed. We walked pass twice without realizing the entrance is below street level at the bottom of a small set of stairs. In we went, the place itself is pretty small, seating for no more that 20 people (cramped). We sat down looked over the menu and discussed what we should order. On the menu they have categories of dessert- dessert tapas, cupcakes & pastries and ice creams/sorbets. We all decided to get 3 different dessert tapas.
          We decided on Yuzu Eskimo, White Miso Semi Fredo, and the Green Tea Lava Cake. The presentations were all very pretty and simple. You could definitely tell that the colors of the desserts were taken into consideration when they were picking out plates. Everything popped out from the plate, looking even more appetizing.

Whte Miso Semifreddo, Raspberry Sorbet

            Its always said that you eat with your eyes and as you can see everything looked delicious. The white miso semifreddo was probably the most ordinary out of the three. It was vanilla cake with frozen custard layers. The custard was flavored with white miso in a vague way. I think the only reason why we pin-pointed the flavor was because we were looking for it. In my opinion it could have used a touch more. The sorbet that accompanied it was good- not bad and not outstanding.              

Green Tea Lava Cake with Green Tea Ice Cream

Green Tea White Chocolate oozing out

             Then it was the green tea lava cake. Now chocolate lava cake is on menus everywhere and is probably one of the most popular desserts so it makes perfect sense to have it at an actual dessert bar. I liked the variation of the the green tea white chocolate center even though it was a little too green (i hate un-natural colors in food. Green tea is really not all that green :). The cake was moist and the flavor of the green tea worked well- especially with the white chocolate because it balanced out the sweetness. The green tea ice cream tasted good- not chalky which tends to be the case with many things green tea flavored. Overall- a well executed dessert.

Yuzu Eskimo 

               Now- saving the best for last. We all agreed that the Yuzu Eskimo was the best dessert out of the three. For people who dont know what yuzu is - (a japanese citrus fruit that taste like a cross between lime & grapefruit). Combined with what I know of a typical eskimo dessert-( marshmellow or vanilla ice cream covered with chocolate) I figured together the taste would be interesting to say the least. I was right, first you get the sour and acidic sweetness from the yuzu, then the creams mellows it out. The oreo crumbles add a bite of texture and breaks up the cream. The raspberry foam was like air- very light and tart with a hint of sweet. Great combination.

                        Now you would think with a review like this I would definitely go back to Spot Dessert Bar again right?? Wrong- I don't think I would ever go back all because of the service. Before going I did read a couple of negative reviews regarding the service and they were right. Our waitress/host was a little on the rude side having an attitude with many customers. Remember earlier how I said this place is small- so you would think that they would try to utilize all seats right- Ha, wrong. The table across from us could have sat six people but was occupied by an employees child. The little girl had her toys all over the table and not once did the other employees move her so customers could sit down. Let me also mention that there was a wait to get in. We watched at least 4 different parties leave because they were not allowed to sit at that table and when the hostess was questioned about that situation, she replied with an attitude "no, you have to wait for another table to open". Craziness. This is very unfortunate because I would have probably gone back just for the Yuzu Eskimo. Maybe for their sake they realized that good food & good service go hand in hand. You cant be fully successful without both. Oh well, onto the next one............

Dim Sum Anyone?? and dessert :) pt.1

Yes, I know- its been a while but im back :)

            I always love it when I go out to eat with my college buddies. There is no need for explaining why I analyze, try to pick up on specific flavors & texture, or stare at a plate presentation for a while because- we are all doing the same thing. Thats the great thing about going to restaurants with other foodies and today was no exception. One of my best friends from JWU came down from Boston to visit for her birthday weekend and for the actual day of her bday I had a a couple of places in mind for us along with another college buddy to try. 

            Being a lover of all cuisine asian- i decided we should start off with dim sum for lunch. I always watch the show unique eats on the cooking channel and on one of the episodes they featured Chinatown Brasserie- a restaurant specializing in dim sum-(a style of chinese food prepared in small bite size or individual portions traditionally served in small steamer baskets or small plates)-wikipedia. So off we went to fill up steamed & pan-fried dumplings.

shrimp & snow pea leaf dumplings

             So we started off by ordering 2 items each- the shrimp & snow pea leaf dumplings arrived at the table first. They were delicious. All three of us in agreement said that the shrimp tasted extremely fresh and cooked perfectly. The sauce that accompanied the dumplings was a combination of soy, sesame, scallion and hints of lemongrass. We savored the dumplings and they kept coming.

Baby Bok Choy & Shitake Dumplings, Lamb Dumplings, Green Curry Lobster Rolls,  Pork & Shrimp Dumplings, Pork Stuffed Noodles

Steamed Pork Buns, Watercress Shrimp & Pork, Crispy Mango & Shrimp

Spicy Vegetable Potstickers, Mango Chilli Margarita  

I had not one complaint, all of the dumplings were very good and met all of our expectations. They arrived to our table steaming hot, some soo hot we had to wait a couple of minutes before we devoured them. The ingredients inside tasted fresh and still kept up its integrity and texture within the dumpling. This place gets my vote. If you are ever looking for delicious dim sum, head to the east village to Chinatown Brasserie.