Okay, Okay …

By kristen | Published: January 27, 2011

I know I promised that even though I have a new job (as editor of Park Slope Patch!) I would keep posting about all the delicious things I’m eating and making.

And I know I haven’t quite come through.

It’s just, well, life is busy. When we cook nowadays, it’s often quick and simple (mainly lots of polenta, tacos and these amazing ricotta sandwiches).

But we have been cooking. And I have been writing a weekly column over at Park Slope Patch all about what I’m eating in the neighborhood.

So for now, let’s just say this site is in hibernation mode.

In the meantime, browse feel free to browse site’s archives, and check out my back columns over at Patch — there’s chilaquiles, ramen, tacos and more.

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More Changes at bklyn foodie …

By kristen | Published: November 8, 2010

Hi Folks,

We know it’s been a kind of crazy few months here at bklyn foodie — new look, new contributors, ever-changing content. But thanks to two new developments, we’re going through another change.

I’ve just signed on to be the editor of a new Park Slope news website, Park Slope Patch (parkslope.patch.com — launching in December!) and Brian will be an NYC rep for Sierra Nevada. That said, these times are busy times and there just aren’t enough hours in the day to keep daily posts up on the blog. We’re not going away, but expect far fewer posts in the future and a leaner blogging team.

More exciting news! Brian and I are Belgium-bound for the next few weeks. Lauren will keep the midnight oils burning in our absence so look out for more great stuff from her.

kvb

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Italian with Lauren: Everyday Decadence

By lauren | Published: November 4, 2010

When you’re in the supermarket, passing by the jams and jellies and peanut butter aisle, you might notice another packaged spread that hails all the way from Italy — Nutella. This hazelnutty spread is a standard in our grocery stores these days. And though it may seem to the average consumer like just another American product being pawned off as an authentic Italian item, Nutella actually is made up of a recipe heavily guarded by the Italians since the 1940s.

Pietro Ferrero, a pastry shop in the Piedmont area of Italy, created Nutella when there was a shortage of cocoa to make chocolate because of WWII rationing. The spread is made up of Gianduja, which consists of chocolate, almond, and hazelnut juice, hence the nutty, chocolate-y flavor. The result was a creamy, decadent concoction that seems to work on just about anything.

When I lived in Rome, I started eating Nutella as much as I ate ate pasta (which was very often). There was always a large jar handy in the house I lived in with four other girls, and when it was running low, we knew one of us was going to have to re-stock. I grabbed it for a quick breakfast, a tasty snack, or to help create a delicious dessert at home. Outside of the house, Nutella was found everywhere — in small packets at the store for on-the-go snacking, in fancy pastries at any local pasticceria, on steaming fresh crepes made at stands along the road, and even on pizza at many places.

In the US, this tasty treat has been marketed recently in true American fashion — cheesy TV commercials with families all munching on Nutella and bread for breakfast. I would hope that you would look at this spread a bit more creatively, but it really is just as good spread on a slice or eaten right out of the jar. Many local restaurants and coffee shops in the area are also finally offering up Nutella-laden snacks and dishes. I have found some great offerings in the neighborhood at places like the Lyceum on 4th avenue and the Tea Spot on Union, featuring desserts and even lattes flavored by it. You can even find a Nutella cupcake on the famous Cupcake Stop truck that rides around the city.

Despite the fact that it has a decent amount of fat and sugar in it, it packs a little bit of protein and really makes a statement without having to use a lot of it. Whether you enjoy a jar in your own home, get it in a fancy dessert outside of the house, or travel to Italy to get the most decadent combinations, Nutella packs a decadent Italian punch that satisfies any sweet tooth craving.

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The Veggie Tales: Bad brussels sprouts at Radish

By Tanya | Published: November 3, 2010

It was a busy end of summer — between getting married, travelling to Mali, and being in two more weddings, I missed several weeks of the McCarren Park Greenmarket. Accordingly, as I wandered farther up north than my daily routine takes me, I was immediately lured in by a cute, vintage-inspired newcomer that sprang up while I was away. A quick Google search showed that it was Radish, a much-hyped addition to the neighborhood, so I stopped by on my way home in hopes of finding a good, healthy-ish lunch.

The service was friendly and the décor gorgeous — like a very old fashioned general store, with specials written on chalk boards and candy striped straws. Antiques proliferate, and the shelves are stocked with several locally made favorites. The day I stopped in, My Friend’s Mustard was offering samples of their Jalapeno IPA and Spicy Brown Ale mustard — both delicious, though I chose the Jalapeno to take home with me for sandwich making.

Sadly, that’s where the great experience ended. I ordered the much-acclaimed housemade ginger ale, and a quarter of a pound each of macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, and a gorgeous brussels sprout, pomegranate and walnut salad. None of these items were more than mediocre—the ginger ale was sickly sweet without any bite to it, the macaroni and cheese was oddly floury, the chicken fingers were bland, and the brussels sprout salad truly broke my heart. You see, I adore brussels sprouts. In my eyes, as long as you don’t boil them, you can do no wrong with them — so imagine my confusion when I was served shredded, raw brussels sprouts prepared in a manner that deprived them of their crunch and emphasized their less pleasant cruciferous qualities. The pomegranate used was pale and underripe, and the dressing so weak as to be barely detectable. This is the first brussels sprout dish I haven’t been able to finish in the last 5 years. I wish, for the sake of being complete, that I could report in on their namesake radish salad, but a mango allergy prevented me. If you’ve tried it, please report back.

I’m planning to retry Radish at some point, once they’ve settled in a little bit more—the reviews were so positive that I’m hopeful that I just caught them on a very off day. But I certainly won’t be putting my bets on Radish to provide a full meal or to feed guests any time soon.

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Cook the Book: Cauliflower and Gorgonzola Soup

By kristen | Published: November 2, 2010

Today’s recipe is from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. His publicists were nice enough to send me a copy, and I immediately earmarked about three-quarters of the book. Ottolenghi apparently has a mission to make cauliflower a more-loved vegetable, so naturally I picked a cauliflower-centric recipe for my first foray into the world of Ottolenghi.

This soup is incredibly luxurious. I did take a few luxuries with the recipe — including reducing the amount of cheese — but this is certainly something that we’ll be coming back to over and over again.
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The Best Thing We Ate and Drank

By brian | Published: November 1, 2010

The Best Thing We Ate — Curried Cauliflower Wrap at S’Nice: It was another hectic, work-filled weekend, filled with leftovers and take-out. Saturday, I managed to sneak out to S’Nice for a sandwich — this wasn’t the most intriguing sandwich I’d ever had but S’Nice gets points for the idea. Their version was a curried cauliflower, mango chutney (though I didn’t taste it) and brown rice in a wheat tortilla. Though I found it a little bland, I liked the idea so much I recreated it Sunday night — with much more flavor and success.

The Best Thing We Drank — Ballast Point Navigator Dopplebock: IT was a chance occurrence. Or perhaps even a perfect storm. I’m rarely in the mood for dopplebocks, for reasons that are beyond me. It’s not that I don’t respect them — their balance of sweet maltiness and bold alcohol flavors is a touch balance to reach — just that for some reason I don’t crave them often. I was compelled to order the Ballast Point Navigator Dopplebock and it was one fo the best decisions I’ve made in awhile. It pours a mahogany color with some aromas of fig and raisin, with a little alcohol spice. At 8.9% ABV, it’s no weakling, but it’s never harsh on the nose or the tongue, right down my alley, more caramel tones then raisin.

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Politics + Policy: Happy Cows Equal Happy Hamburgers

By Kris | Published: November 1, 2010

Money has been tight recently, for all of us, I imagine, and that always leads to questions about what to spend money on. We all have to compromise sometimes, much as we may hate to admit it. For myself, the hardest thing is, as I call it, “happy meat.” By happy meat, I mean meat that comes from animals raised healthily and humanely on those pretty pastoral farms we see pictures of everywhere. I’ve often made the assertion that being a locavore doesn’t have to cost more than shopping at your local superstore — and I stand by that. There are other forms of protein, besides meat, readily available in beans and grains. Alternatively, one can always buy smaller amounts of meat as a small amount actually provides more than enough protein for most.

Personally, though, I love meat. Meatless ‘til dinner works great for me, but dinnertime equals meat in my book. But, of course, happy meat costs a whole lot more than unhappy meat. Which leads me, in this time of tighter belts, with two options: give in and eat the unhappy meat, or be  creative with odd cuts of meat. Usually, I go the way of creativity and, other times, I spend a little more on prime cuts and cut costs elsewhere. And it is worth it. All of this, however, leads me to consider why “regular” meat is so cheap.
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In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite Winner

By kristen | Published: November 1, 2010

Congrats to Jamie, the winner of our In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite winner! Good call on the Turkey Day leftovers.

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The DIY Kitchen: Marshmallows

By kristen | Published: October 29, 2010

Life has been busy. And while I seem to still find the time to make things like bread and butter, it seems there is every day less and less time for experimenting. This week, I had so many plans. I bought five pounds of tomatoes with the intent of making jam. Cream to make creme freche. And I fantasized about maybe doing a special Halloween edition of the DIY Kitchen. But alas, that will have to all be for later, because there have just not been enough hours in the day.

So instead, I’ll leave you this week with something I wish I’d written about: a great recipe for  marshmallows over at The Kitchn.

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Italian with Lauren: A bittersweet treat

By lauren | Published: October 28, 2010

After leaving Italy, I missed it terribly.  But when I have a really bad day and need an Italian “fix” to quell my sorrows, I can almost always find something around to remind me of my happy days there. In New York, it is not hard to find amazing food, gelato, wine, and more that easily passes for the real thing. But there is one thing that I can’t seem to find enough of here: Limoncello, the lemon-y liqueur that I always found was the perfect ending to every meal.

For me, Limoncello was part of many hazy evenings in Rome. It was drank after dinner (usually given out for free by restaurant owners after your meal), offered as toasts and at parties, and constantly given as gifts between friends and colleagues. In the supermarkets in Italy there is a large section devoted just to golden bottles of Limoncello. Offerings come from all over the country, sold in bottles that range from simple, to ornate, and even hokey in boot-shaped bottles. It can range in color from almost clear to electric yellows and greens. From cheaper to more expensive, and varying in flavor from extremely sweet to harshly bitter, there is a Limoncello for everyone.

The majority of Limoncello is produced in the south. When you visit Sorrento or Capri, there are hundreds of shops hawking fancy bottles of it to the thousands of tourists on holiday. The liqueur is traditionally made from Sorrento lemons (said to make the best Limoncello). It is usually served after a meal, chilled. It should be sipped and is regarded as a digestivo.

Though Limoncello now enjoys a mild popularity in the State, gone are the days when I can stand in the store and choose from 15 or more bottles of lemon-y goodness. The best limoncello I’ve tasted around Brooklyn so far, has been at Scottadito Trattoria on Union Street. They make their own lemony hooch and they almost always offer you a glass or two after a meal in their company. Theirs is very sweet in taste and incredibly fragrant, and is fresh and homemade.

Thankfully there is enough Limoncello in Brooklyn to satisfy my occasional cravings. But until I go back to Italy, the search continues for those sunny bottles of liqueur to compliment a homemade meal. Or maybe soon I’ll just learn to make my own.

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