Recipes

August 17, 2009 Boston

Sorellina (Boston Restaurant Week)

I have been "burned" by so many bad Restaurant Week experiences in the past that I was a bit wary of going again. Restaurant Week is a set period of time (2 weeks this summer) when many local high-end restaurants offer 3-course prix fixe dinners for only $33.09 (3-course prix fixe lunches for only $20.09). Among foodies, it's gotten a bad reputation because many typically excellent restaurants churn out very subpar food for the masses during this time. It's really hit or miss.

Despite my reservations, I took a leap of faith and made reservations at two places: Sorellina and Uni. I had mostly been hesitant to go to Sorellina because people say the food is excellent but "overpriced."

Over all conclusion? The food was very enjoyable and a good value for only $33.09. I wasn't necessarily "wow"ed, but maybe it's hard for such a fancy restaurant to pull off a "wow" meal when they have to churn out dish after dish without using fancy ingredients at such a low cost.

Zuppa: sweet silver corn, Maine crab, basil olio

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you'll know that I love corn. So, of course, I loved this soup. The subtle sweetness of corn was the foundation of this cold soup, while the chunks of Maine crab served as hilights. The basil oil rounded out the dish. It was great.

Linguini: tender baby claims, garlic chilies, crispy guanciale, E.V.O.O.

This pasta was very flavorful and really well done. Even though it was not made with fresh, handmade pasta, the pasta was perfectly al dente and the guanciale (unsmoked bacon made from a pig's cheeks) had a glorious smoky flavor that really made the dish very fragrant and enjoyable. Yum.

This is the one bite I was able to try (since I didn't order this!)

Truffle Fries

We saw that the table next to us had ordered truffled fries ($12). I had heard that the fries were good here, so on a whim, we added it to our order. The texture of the fries were amazing - probably the best I've ever had. They were narrower than your typical fry and cylindrical. They were air and crunchy while being the least bit greasy. Superb texture. Super addictive.

The truffle flavor, however, was weak, and the fries were not piping hot. We could not help but compare the fries to Garden at the Cellar, who won the contest hands down. The fries at Garden at the Cellar, though slightly subpar on texture, kick butt on flavor.

While I was saying out loud "Garden at the Cellar is SOOOO much better" the couple next to us, who had ordered fries after seeing our order, wholehearted agreed. We both talked about how that was one of our favorites restaurants. So funny . . .

MERLUZZO:Pan roasted Silver hake, tomato "acqua pazza" farmer's market vegetables

The fish was definitely expertly cooked here - it was just barely done, super soft with a slight crispy edge on the outside. Excellent work. The flavor was fine - nothing interesting. It was lightly salted & peppered fish with a side of veggies. Nothing inventive about the recipe, but the ingredients were high quality, which made the meal solid, just not exciting.

ANATRA: slow roasted half duck, Tuscan style, sweet corn and summer bean ragu

The duck was enjoyable. Bryan said that the beans were quite tasty -they were flavored well. As I am not a huge fan of duck, I just can't be objective in my review of the duck. Let's just take Bryan's word for the fact that it was tasty.

Almond Gelato with espresso and Italian cookie

I loved how the strong espresso flavor contrasted the creamy gelato and the whipped cream on top. This dessert was enjoyable, but nothing super unique. I love coffee, so anything coffee flavored tastes pretty good to me.

Almond Torte with Cherry Gelato

Again, solid piece of dessert that was tasty, but not super interesting.

All in all, Sorellina did a pretty good job with Restaurant Week. All the dishes were expertly cooked, though some of the recipes were not the most exciting. I did look at their normal menu and started salivating because those items looked so inventive and interesting. Now that I know they can definitely cook well, maybe I'll go back again and try some of the more interesting (and expensive :P) dishes.

August 17, 2009 Boston

Penang

I've always found that it's more fun to go to Penang with my Singaporean or Malaysian friends. They seem to know what to order, and they always do a better job of picking out scrumptious foods for us to enjoy. This past weekend I was able to join a group of 10 people (including a Singaporean!) to dine at Penang. Of course, we put him in charge of ordering. 🙂

From top, left to right:

ROW 1
Pineapple fried rice
Shrimp, squid with shredded pineapple, vegetable, & egg in fried rice
Yam pot
Shaped fried taro stuffed with corn, snow peas & black mushroom topped with cashew nuts
Chow kueh teow.
Malaysian famous stir fried flat rice noodles with fresh shrimp, squid, bean sprouts chives, eggs, soy sauce and chili paste

ROW 2
Kang Kung Belacan
Sauteed convolus with spicy Malaysian shrimp paste sauce
Hainanese Chicken with rice
Steamed chicken (with bone & skin on) with Chef's soy sauce

ROW 3
Mango Sticky rice
Penang Style Striped Bass with Special Sauce
Homemade Roti Canai (Indian pancake)

All of the food was quite tasty, but my favorites were the Homemade Roti Canai (I always get this), the Kang Kung Belacan (the shrimp paste adds an amazing salty umami flavor to the vegetables - very good), and the chow kueh teow.

I believe this favorites list is more personal preference than a reflection on the quality of any of these dishes. Several of my Singaporean and Malaysian friends vouch for this place and say that it's quite authentic and good (even if everything costs about triple what it would cost in Singapore).

This is a great place to visit, especially with a group, since it's fun to try a bunch of new dishes family style.

Penang
685 Washington St
Boston, MA 02111-1611
(617) 451-6373

August 14, 2009 Recipe

August 2009 Daring Cooks Challenge: Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes

I'm so excited to have participated in my first Daring Cooks Challenge. August's challenge was hosted by Olga from Olga's Recipes, and the recipe was a Catalan dish: rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes. I had been meaning to make paella for some time now (I had even bought saffron!) so this was a perfect opportunity to try it out!

Modifications
Instead of using cuttlefish, I used pre-cleaned squid -- partly because Seafood Counter Guy at Whole Foods had never heard of cuttlefish and partly because I saw some pictures of not-cleaned cuttlefish (ink sac and innards and all) and I got REALLY scared.

I also substituted the fish head stock with chicken broth and a dash of Japanese dashi since I was scared of dealing with fish heads (yes, I know, I'm Chinese - how could I be afraid of some fish heads?)

Finally, instead of cleaning out 4 fresh artichokes, I bought canned artichokes.

Over all, this dish was a success! It met the HAF - Husband Approval Factor (actually, my husband's quite a foodie, so this means something. 🙂 The allioli totally made the dish - the pungent raw garlicky essence on the rice really created a zing that made this dish incredible.

Thanks Olga!

Ingredients (serves 4):

4 Artichokes
12 Mushrooms (Baby Bellas)
2 Bay leaves
1 glass of white wine
¾ lb cuttlefish
Sofregit (click here for recipe)
300 gr (2 cups) Short grain rice
Fish stock (use 1 ½ cup of liquid per ½ cup of rice)
Saffron threads
Allioli (click here for recipe)

I had never bought or cooked squid before so I was slightly scared when I opened up the package. Yeeks!

I guess they didn't look too bad. At least they were clean, and quite easy to chop.

1) Add 1-2 T of olive oil in a pan and saute the squid.

2) Add a bay leaf, artichokes, and mushroom.
3) Saute until the artichokes turn golden brown. (since my artichokes came from a can and were already sort of yellow, I just sauteed until the veggies softened a bit ~ 5 minutes)
4) Add a splash of white wine so that all the solids in the pan get mixed together
5) Add 2-3 tablespoons of sofregit and mix to make sure everything gets impregnated with the sofregit. (I ended up dumping ALL the sofregit that I had made into the pan - it still turned out great!)

6) Add all the liquids (1 cup wine and 6 cups stock) and bring to a boil

7) Add all the rice. Let boil for 5 minutes.
8) Add saffron (I added like 10-20 threads)
9) Bring to a simmer and let cook for 8 minutes or until "al dente"
10) Remove pan from heat and let it rest for another few minutes

Serve with allioli on top.

August 14, 2009 Recipe

Sofregit

Sofregit is a foundational sauce in Mediterranean Catalan cuisine. A fragrant tomato-based sauce made out of tomatoes, onions, olive oil, garlic and onions, it can optionally include other vegetables, such as mushrooms and peppers.

The word Sofregit comes from the Catalan verb sofregir, meaning to "underfry" or fry lightly. In essence, you are sauteing these aromatics under low heat for an extended amount of time. This brings out wonderful depth and aroma to the sauce, which then intensifies any dish to which you add this yummy base.

I used this sofregit to make the Spanish Catalan dish - Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes with allioli as part of the Daring Cooks challenge in August 2009.

Here's how to make it!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil
5 big red ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 small onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (optional)
4 or 5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup of button or Portobello mushrooms, chopped (optional)
1 Bay leaf
Salt
Touch of ground cumin
Touch of dried oregano

Directions:

Put all the ingredients together in a frying pan and sauté slowly until all vegetables are soft.
Taste and salt if necessary (maybe it’s not!)

Since I was halving the recipe, I started by browning 1 chopped onion and 3 cloves of minced garlic in about 1 T vegetable oil over medium heat.

After about 5 minutes, I added the remaining vegetables (3 heirloom tomatoes, 1 package (12 oz) of Baby Bella mushrooms (chopped in half), and 1 bay leaf. I also added 1-2 "shakes" of oregano and cumin.

I cooked it over medium-low heat for about an hour until the vegetables softened and gave off water to form this delicious soupy goodness.

I then added this entire pot of sofregit to the rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes dish I was making for the Daring Cook's Challenge.

August 14, 2009 Recipe

Allioli (aioli)

Allioli is a fragrant, pungent garlic sauce that has the consistency of mayonnaise, the kick of wasabi, and the deep fragrance of garlic. It really pops of flavor, and the first time I tried it (while making it for these photos), I was like WOW. The pungent raw garlic combined with the oil and just a dash of lemon is addictive.

This recipe is based off of José Andrés' book Made In Spain and was made as part of the Daring Cook's Challenge for August 2009. For the challenge, I made allioli as part of a bigger dish: Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes (a Catalan version of paella). The allioli and the sofregit make this dish uniquely Catalan.

Allioli is a bit tricky to make. It involves a temporary suspension of garlic and oil into a beautiful creamy emulsion of a sauce that can be put on top of your food. The first step, add finely minced garlic (2-3 cloves) and a dash of sea salt to a mortar and pestle. The salt not only adds flavor, it also stops the garlic from slipping during the grinding and aids in the pulverization of the garlic.

1. Start mashing the garlic until it becomes a smooth paste.

2. Add 1-2 drops of lemon juice.

3. Drop by drop, add olive oil to the mixture while continually grinding and stirring. This is important! If you add too much oil at once (I think I had added like 3 mL), the oil breaks up the emulsion and you are left with bits and particles of garlic floating around in oil - not pretty.

If this happens, however, do not fear! Set the separated suspension aside and start over with just one clove of minced garlic and some salt. Once you have a new emulsion going, slowly add back in the separated suspension and it should all blend together again. This happened to me once, and luckily it was easy to fix!

All in all, with 3-4 cloves of garlic, you might end up adding about 10 mL of oil. It's all by taste, and feel free to stop when you are happy with the sauce. If it looks like mayonnaise, you might be good to go!

José says that the allioli should be refrigerated before serving and that it should always be made the same day that it is eaten. Since it does involve raw garlic, it's true that the sauce does lose potency over time. I tasted a bit right after making it, and it was still delicious. I guess refrigerating it might help with the texture so it's not so runny!

August 12, 2009 Cambridge

Upstairs on the Square (Soiree Room) - Dinner devoted to Corn! {NOW CLOSED}

Even though we had just gone to the Monday Club on, heh, Monday, I just had to go back to the Upstairs on the Square (Soiree Room) when I found out that they were having a special dinner devoted to one of my favorite carbs of all time - Corn.It was called "Dinner Devoted to Our Esteemed Colleague: Corn"

I love corn. I love sweet corn on the cob, I love corn chowder, I love cornmeal (grits - YUM!), I love cornbread. Corndogs, popcorn, corn-flavored jelly beans - I love them all. I just love corn. I'm from Ohio - how could I not love corn? They grew corn a mile from my house growing up. Man, I would even love corn ice cream if they made that.

So, when I found out about this meal, which was only available August 5-7, I just had to go. It's a 4-course tasting for $49 ($75 with wine). We ended up getting the tasting and also a bottle of La Dote, which we got last time we went.

Corn Pudding Terrine, Baby Arugula & Native Radishes

This was delicious - tons of sweet corn flavor in the rich flan contrasted well with the sweet brown mustard sauce and the crisp vegetables.

Creamy Sweet Corn Soup with Spiced Shrimp Fritter

I love corn soup, and this soup was heavenly. I think I was more in the mood for a simple corn soup, so, even though the fritters were really good, I was sort of wishing for more corn soup.

It's OK. The recipe for my favorite corn soup from Craigie on Main is posted on his website! I can't wait to try it!

Steve's Almost Famous Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Grilled Buttered Corn on the Cob, Corn & Sausage Pan Gravy

Oh my - this was probably the best fried chicken I had ever had in my entire life. It was SOOOOO good. The coating was really crunchy and flavorful and the meat was super juicy. Even though I was full I kept picking at the chicken. The corn on the cob and the pan gravy were great too.

Corn Ice Cream on Blueberry Cobbler

Have you ever had corn ice cream? Bryan's comment: "it tastes like corn." It does really taste like corn, and I think it's really yummy. This dish was solid, although not particularly unique except for the corn ice cream.

Over all, the food was fabulous. The atmosphere upstairs is a bit more formal, and the AC was on sort of strong, so I was a bit cold and had to put on my sweater. I was really missing the outdoor seating and the more casual atmosphere that we usually get when we eat at the Monday Club. I would go upstairs again, maybe, if they had really special food (like corn!). Otherwise, at least in the summer, I'll stick with sitting outside at the Monday Club and enjoying excellent food for just a tad less money.

August 12, 2009 Chinese

Asian Crunchy Broccoli Stem Salad

This broccoli stem salad is refreshing in the summer, strangely addictive, and is a great way to use up broccoli stems!

Step 1: Gather your broccoli stems together, remove the outer part of the stem, and chop into bite size pieces.

Add 2 cloves of finely minced garlic and sprinkle with some salt (½ tsp). Stir and let marinate for at least 20 minutes. Pour out any water that may have collected during the marination time.Add a splash of soy sauce (to taste), about ½ teaspoon of sesame oil (or more, to taste), about a pinch sugar (or more, to taste), and red pepper flakes to taste. Eat immediately, or for better results, let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

August 11, 2009 Fish

Salmon with Scallions and Bacon

This dish is so easy to make (literally 10 minutes), presents beautifully, and tastes delicious. I can't take credit for this recipe. I actually learned it from my husband's mom, who used to make this for her family all the time. I recently brought it to a potluck and it was a huge hit.

I used Wild Alaskan Sockeye salmon, which naturally has a beautiful red hue and also tastes incredible. The bacon also adds a nice smokey flavor to the dish. Moreover, this not-so-secret cooking method keeps the fish nice and juicy (not dry!!).

Ingredients
1 piece of salmon filet
raw bacon (3-5 strips - enough to cover the fish)
scallions (~2 stalks)
salt & pepper
garlic powder

Step 1
Remove most of the fat from the bacon and cut up the bacon meat into small strips approximately the width of the fish (around 10-15 cm by ½ cm).

Step 2:
Cut the scallions into similar sized "strips."

Step 3:
Lightly sprinkle salt and garlic powder on both sides of the fish. Lay the scallions and bacon across the fish, covering the entire fish.

Step 4:
Cover and microwave for 4 minutes (if the fish is already defrosted) or 6 minutes (if the fish is frozen).

Step 5:
Serve and Enjoy. It really is that easy!

August 7, 2009 Cambridge

Mulan

For some reason, there is a dearth of good Chinese food in Cambridge. Cambridge is filled with wonderful sandwich shops, really good upscale-ish cuisine, great gastro-pubs, and a fair share of interesting ethnic restaurants such as Portuguese, Indian, and Italian. However, most of the best Chinese restaurants are in Chinatown and Allston, with a few scattered throughout Malden, Quincy, and the suburbs.

Mulan is one of the better Chinese restaurants in Cambridge. It has an extensive menu full of many authentic Taiwanese dishes. Although the food is not phenomenal, it's decent for the area. This is one of those restaurants where you get really excited reading the menu and then you walk away feeling somehow dissatisfied with the experience, even though it seemed like it could have been so good.

Nevertheless, the food is decent, and some dishes are actually quite good. If you are around, especially during lunchtime, it's worth a visit. The prices are very reasonable (most of the dishes shown below were around $8 or so) and the food is decent.

Eggplant with Hot Garlic Sauce

Shredded Pork with Baby Bamboo

Fish Filet in Black Bean Sauce

Tofu with Dry Bean Sauce

The tofu with dry bean sauce is one of Mulan's "Must try" dishes and also happens to be one of my favorite dishes there. The crunchy soy bean based topping is sweet, savory, and fragrant. It contrasts perfectly with the soft blocks of plain tofu. I really love this dish and I often find myself scooping up bits of the crunchy topping that's left on the plate so I can eat it with rice. Unfortunately, I have found that this dish is not always consistent, and on my last visit (during lunch), the topping was a bit over-salted. At other times, however, it has been delicious, so it's unpredictable.

228 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-441-8812

August 7, 2009 Greater Boston

Celebrity Pizza and Dairy Bar

Celebrity Pizza and Dairy Bar looks like one of those seafood shacks that should belong on a beach near a seaside town somewhere. They serve 24 flavors of soft serve ice cream, pizza, sandwiches, and various types of fried seafood / lobster rolls.

Interestingly enough, it's smack in the middle of Watertown, Massachusetts, a town about 20 minutes outside of Boston. On a nice day, you can sit at the picnic benches right outside the shack, where you can almost feel like you're at a seaside town, just without the ocean. 😛

Some of the fried seafood at Celebrity is surprisingly good. The scallops were very sweet and lightly fried in a way that was not too greasy. The onion rings were good too. The fries were mediocre, and seemed more like a bed on which the seafood could rest than anything else. The rest of the seafood was fine, although nothing special.

This is a great lobster roll, and a surprising value at only $11.99. The bread is nicely toasted, and they actually don't use much mayo, which keeps the sandwich pure with its fresh, sweet lobster taste. I highly enjoyed this sandwich and would order it again.

The soft serve is solid, though not super interesting. I tried the creamsicle (orange sorbet and vanilla). The mix of the two different textures (sherbet + ice cream) threw me off guard, and I didn't like it that much. The next time I just got vanilla, which tasted no different than McDonalds but cost twice as much.

I think what I should have done is either try one of the 24 interesting flavors or try a chocolate dipped cone, which looks kind of fun. Maybe next time.

Two downsides of this place

1. No public restrooms. So . . make sure you go before coming, otherwise you might be a bit uncomfortable!

2. Cash only, although there is an ATM right inside the restaurant
This is a fun, very reasonably priced place for lunch. If you don't feel like driving all the way to a seaside town for some fried seafood and soft serve, you can head to Watertown and get a pretty solid version of the same.

684 Mt Auburn St
Watertown, MA 02472

August 6, 2009 Cambridge

Monday Club - update with photos! {NOW CLOSED}

We came to this restaurant I forgot my camera and I was so bummed. We went back again earlier this week and enjoyed a fabulous meal sitting outside in Harvard Square. I came armed with my SLR and took lots of pics.

I love this place and I'm so glad I get to finally share some photos with you. Enjoy!

The Wine and Bread

This Chilean wine was light and drinkable at a very reasonable price of $25 a bottle. Very enjoyable.

Burrata, yellow watermelon, radish, and pea shoot salad
The Burrata was smooth, creamy, and had that fresh, whole milk flavor. The watermelon's crisp sweetness paired well with the pickled radish, creamy burrata, and leafy pea shoots.

frisée salad with poached egg, bacon lardons, & toasted croutons.
Bryan has ordered this dish before (see previous post), and of course, it was wonderful.

Grilled Arctic Char with Pea Button Ravioli, Spring Onions, Chervil & Absinthe Butter
The fish was perfectly seared with a crispy skin while being moist and juicy on the inside. Vegetable were also perfectly roasted.

Pulled pork with vegetable-filled ravioli and grilled water melon
Arghh . .I can't remember the name exactly and my own description sounds so pedestrian. Oh well . . you get the picture. It was absolutely delicious. The pulled pork was packed with flavor and balanced perfectly with the grilled, sweet watermelon. The raviolis were also unique, being filled with a dark green vegetable (maybe kale or something?) that I could not identify. Ohh, it was so good.

Dessert - raspberry tart
What a nice way to end a meal. This was tart, fruity, yet dense and cake-y at the same time. Perfect! (heh heh . . can you tell I also couldn't remember the name of this dessert exactly? Ahem . . .)

Anyway, this is a great place to enjoy great tasting food that is balanced, relatively healthy, and phenomenal! Find a nice summer day where you can sit outside. The restaurant faces a street where cars cannot drive, so it's quite enjoyable just to people watch while savoring great food and wine.

Upstairs On the Square
91 Winthrop St
Cambridge,MA 02138
(617) 864-1933

For a more detailed review, please see my previous post.

August 5, 2009 Dessert

FroYo (Frozen Yogurt) Popsicles

I love making frozen yogurt, "Pinkberry" style in the summer. I first started messing around with various recipes back in 2007 when I first started this blog. I've had a lot of success with the following recipe:

2 ½ cups 2% fat Trader Joe's Greek style yogurt
⅓ cup 2% milk
½ cup sugar
⅔ cup half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients and stir until everything is well mixed. Freeze in a commercial ice cream maker (you know I love my Lello Gelato Pro) for about 30 minutes.

The resulting yogurt tastes great out of the ice cream maker and taste really good with various fruit toppings. Unfortunately, due to the yogurt's low fat content, it does not freeze well. It becomes pretty hard - which means pretty unscoopable if you want some later.

So, what's a girl to do with her leftover yogurt? I could eat it all.

Or, I can put them in popsicle makers, mix it any fruit topping that may be leftover, and voila! Frozen Yogurt Popsicle!

They were really good. 🙂

August 4, 2009 Vegan

Fresh Peas in the pod

"There's been so much rain in June and July, it's really hurting our crops. By this time, corn should be coming in and peas long gone. Instead, the corn is only half way up, and the peas are still here."

I was standing in front of an organic farm's stall at the Kendall Square Farmer's market on a sunny Thursday afternoon in mid-July. The farmer was picking through a basket of organic pea pods.

"The dark spots you see on the outside, that's just water damage. The peas on the inside are perfectly fine. It just doesn't look pretty, so people don't want 'em."

He then picked up a raw pod, shelled it, and poured the little peas into his mouth. I think I'd had fresh peas in salads at restaurants before, but I had definitely never seen them at a market before. I didn't know how to crack the shell, how to prepare them, how to do anything with them.

"Here, you try it. They're good."

So, I picked up a pod, cracked it open, and tried, for the first time in my life, fresh, raw peas out of the pod.

Wow. What a contrast to frozen or canned peas (man, forget canned peas, those are disgusting). These peas were not mushy at all. Instead, they had a fresh "crunch" to them (if that's the right word). I loved the texture of these fresh peas. Furthermore, the fresh peas were so sweet, they reminded me of sugar snap peas.

On the spot, I bought a pound of these fresh, organic peas in the shell. At $5/lb, they weren't cheap. The rest of the work day, I kept sneaking in handfuls of peas into my mouth while I was working. I must have looked kinda funny.

You know you've found a perfect snack when you can't stop eating a raw vegetable at work.

August 3, 2009 Italian

Pappardelle with arugula, tomatoes, and blue cheese

This dish is so easy to make (literally 10 minutes max), is chock full of vitamins, presents beautifully, and tastes delicious!

Again, the measurements below are quite flexible. You can increase or decrease the amount of all the ingredients depending on your preference. Please just use them as guidelines.

Ingredients
Your favorite blue cheese (5 oz)
cherry, grape, or small Roma tomatoes (1 box)
arugula (1 salad bag)
pasta (16oz box)

Melt the blue cheese with a small amount of milk (~1 to 2 T) in a pan over medium heat (I used Roquefort this time around, but any blue cheese works)

Meanwhile, heat up a pot of boiling water and begin cooking the pasta according to the box's instructions.
Stir around the milk/cheese mixture until the cheese is melted and incorporated into the milk. When the pasta is done, add it to the cheese sauce and toss until incorporated. Throw in the whole bag of arugula.

Shut off the heat and quickly toss the arugula with the pasta. The arugula should wilt from the heat of the pasta but still stay brightly green.

Add tomatoes, top with fresh ground pepper, and serve! Literally, five minutes! And blue cheese lovers will dig the dish!

Jen's Notes

- salt levels vary a lot between different blue cheeses, so definitely don't add salt until you've made sure you that the sauce needs it

- if you prefer the tomatoes to be more cooked, you can add them to the pasta first and then toss in the arugula. Again, this recipe is really flexible. Play with it!

You can optionally add sauteed chicken breast to this dish if you want to add meat.

For those of you who don't like blue cheese
I actually fall into this camp. My husband loves this dish, but I actually make it without blue cheese. Instead of blue cheese, I saute 3-4 cloves of crushed garlic with olive oil. After the garlic is fragrant (1-2 minutes), I add the tomatoes and cook for ~1 minute. I then add the pasta, toss with arugula, and add salt and pepper to taste.

July 31, 2009 Recipe

Oven-baked Sweet Potato Chips

Sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamins, fat free, and a great source of fiber. Baked and sprinkled lightly with some sea salt, wouldn't they make a great snack?

Yes, but I learned the hard way that TIMING is crucial when it comes to making oven-baked potato chips.

Think: super thinly sliced potatoes + hot oven = things that burn quickly if you aren't watching.

I only had one potato on hand, so I washed the skin & dried it, since the skin is where most of the nutrients are.

I would highly recommend using a mandolin slicer. It's really hard to get even slices otherwise.

Again, if your slices are different widths, that complicates baking because certain chips will bake faster than others, which means some may start burning before the other ones are done.

Lay out the potato slices in a single layer and spray both sides with vegetable oil. I use canola oil because it is one of the oils that has the highest percentage of mono and polyunsaturated fats (good fats) and does not impart flavor the way olive oil might.

Start baking. It should take somewhere between 10-20 minutes, but definitely check frequently! Other wise they will burn! You can see in the picture below that some of them are already starting to turn brown!

And if you wait too long, they turn BLACK!!! (heh heh . . some of the semi-burnt ones were still pretty tasty. It was kind hard to stop eating these chips in general while I was baking them)

Sad black chips!! Rejects pushed to the corner.

When the chips are browned and start to curl up, you can take them out of the oven.

Enjoy!

Oven Baked Potato Chips
1 potato
vegetable oil for spraying
sea salt
(preferably) - mandolin slicer

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice potatoes with a mandolin slicer. Lay out the potato slices on a single sheet in the oven. Spray the potatoes with vegetable oil on each side and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake for 10-20 minutes, monitoring the chips frequently to make sure they don't burn. If you want, you can flip the chips halfway through baking.

Let cool a bit and then serve!

July 31, 2009 Cambridge

Tupelo

Tupelo, a new New Orleans/Southern restaurant, is definitely one of the best bangs for your buck when it comes to dining in Cambridge. The ambiance is cozy and laid back, the food is pretty good, and the prices are very reasonable. Appetizers ranged between $5 and $8 and dinner entrees between $9 and $15.

Over all, the food is decent. Some dishes really stand out, and most dishes are pretty solid. Drinks are reasonably priced too, and the desserts, (especially the PIES! from Petsi Pies) are excellent.

The biggest negative might be that they don't take reservations. Since the restaurant is pretty small, you may have to wait quite a while before you can get a seat.

On Friday night, we waited about 25 minutes before getting a seat around 7:40 PM for 4 people.

Here's what we got:

Baby Spinach and apple salad with Creole vinaigrette. ($5)

This salad was fine - cheap at only $5. As Bryan said, "it's for people who want to order something healthy at a Southern restaurant." It was OK - nothing special, but nothing bad either.

Southern spiced turkey meatballs with a wedge of French bread for mopping up. ($6)
The meatballs were very flavorful, although borderline salty for my sensitive tastes (the guys thought it was perfectly fine). The meatballs are stewed in a flavorful broth, which is perfect for mopping up with the bread

Cheddar Grits. ($5)
This was my favorite part of the entire meal - deep fried grits! Fresh out of the fryer, then were soooo good! I already love corn and I love grits, so it's no big surprise that I loved this dish. Crunchy on the outside, cheesy and moist on the inside. It was sort of addictive. Definitely worth getting.

Daube of Beef: Beef braised in red wine with hominy mashed potatoes, slow cooked greens and Creole horseradish cream. ($15)

We thought this dish was quite ordinary. The beef was a bit overcooked, and thus a bit tough in texture. The flavor was OK, but nothing really stood out.

Fried Cat Fish: Crispy Cat fish with fresh green tomatoes, parsley potatoes and pickled jalapeno aioli. ($14.50)

This dish was solid, and I liked it better than the beef. The fried catfish was cooked well, and the sides were flavorful.

Desserts
The desserts come from Petsi Pies, whose owner is also a co-owner of Tupelo.

Everyone's favorite - it was unanimous. The blueberry pie rocks. Full of sweet berries, flaky crust, and not too sweet. Perfect.

The keylime pie was described as a "tart" key lime pie, and it kept up to its promise. I like tart pies, so I enjoyed this pie. Some other members of our party who didn't like sour desserts did not enjoy this one as much.

The biggest disappointment of the evening: the red velvet cake. Sadly, it was quite dry, and therefore not that fun to eat. The cream cheese frosting helped, but over all it was sub-par.

Conclusion: Tupelo has good food, great atmosphere, and is a GREAT addition to the neighborhood. Especially for the price, it's definitely worth a visit. If you go - make sure to order the cheddar grits and get a piece of blueberry pie!

Tupelo
1193 Cambridge St.,
Cambridge, MA
617-868-0004

July 30, 2009 Cambridge

Hungry Mother

Update: Hungry Mother will be named one of the top 10 "Best New Restaurants In America" by Bon Appetit magazine next month. Wow, kudos to Hungry Mother, the only restaurant in Massachusetts to make that list. I feel so fortunate to live so close to such good dining.

Click here for the full list of top 10 restaurants.

We went to the Hungry Mother in Cambridge (near the Kendall Cinema) last Thursday evening. This place was recently featured in the Boston Globe, and has received raving reviews on sites such as chowhound.

We really enjoyed our meal there. The food was excellent and prices were reasonable, making this restaurant a great value.

The cuisine is a mixture of Southern American (think fried catfish, buttermilk pie, boiled peanuts, and cornbread) and French (think French-style gnocchi with mushrooms, beef tongue with gruyere and dijon).

We ordered the grilled bluefish entree with artichokes, arugula, new potatoes, olive tapenade, and sea salt ($24) and the French style gnocchi ($17). I thought the fish was excellent - well cooked, nice blend of flavors. Bryan really enjoyed the French style gnocchi, which was cooked with pea tendrils, peas, mushrooms, and parmesean. It was light yet deeply flavorful (mmmm . . . umami) at the same time. We also had one of the special appetizers - fried green tomatoes with cheese ($7) - which was excellent, and a side of cornbread, which was also very good. Dessert, buttermilk pie, was absolutely heavenly. All in all, a highly enjoyable meal.

Other than when I go out for sushi, I seldom leave a restaurant feeling so perfectly balanced and satisfied. It takes a special mixture of food quality, service, price, and ambiance. Another factor: portion size. The portions here are smaller. Despite ordering 2 appetizers, 2 main entrees, 2 cocktails, an espresso, and a dessert, we did not take any leftovers home, and we were not too stuffed afterwards (and I don't eat a lot at all, in general). Not being too stuffed and not feeling gross probably contributed to my over all "perfectly satisfied" feeling.

Over all, the hype is warranted. We *really* enjoyed this restaurant and would definitely return.

previously posted June 13, 2008 - updated July 29, 2009

July 30, 2009 Appetizer

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

I love bringing Vietnamese Spring Rolls to a potluck. They are so easy to make, super healthy, and always a huge hit. Here's how I make them.

Ingredients for the Spring Rolls
1 pack of spring roll skins (make sure to buy the rice based ones, not the flour based ones)
1 pack of cellophane noodles (thin)
fresh basil (preferably Thai basil, but normal basil works fine too)
1 lb of cooked shrimp, tails removed

Soak the cellophane noodles in hot water until soft (about 2-3 minutes). Drain the water and cut up the cellophone into ~1-2 inch snippets using scissors.

Fill another large bowl (bigger than the wrappers) with hot water (not quite boiling - you don't want to burn your fingers!). Lay out on a table all the innards of the spring roll - basil, shrimp

I like to double my wrappers. Dip 2 sheets of spring roll skins into the hot water briefly. It really just has to touch the hot water.

Lay the wrapper on a plate and put 3 pieces of shrimp, 2-3 basil leaves, and a small pile of cellophone noodles.

The wet wrapper will stick to itself, so carefully wrap the sides of the roll as shown above.

Roll it up . . .

Tada - that's it. The wrapper is pretty sticky, so it should just stick to itself. Don't worry it it looks a bit wet and soggy at the beginning. It will dry quickly, and then it will look really good! I promise!

Here's the recipe for the peanut dipping sauce. FYI - this recipe is very flexible. Please just use the following measures as a guideline and feel free to modify according to your tastes. For example, if you like it sweeter, add more sugar! If you like it spicy, add Srirachi sauce! If you like it thicker, add more peanut butter! More watery? Add more water! Really - you can also add chopped scallions, chopped basil, etc. Once you have peanut butter, sugar, and soy sauce, you basically have the fundamentals of this sauce.

Peanut Sauce
½ cup peanut butter
1 T soy sauce
½ T Hoisin sauce (optional)
6 T water
2 T sugar

Mix all ingredients together and stir until mixed well. Serve as dipping sauce.

July 29, 2009 Boston

Fugakyu

Fugakyu is one of our favorite Japanese restaurants to visit, especially for lunch. What's great is that they offer the lunch prices on weekends as well (unlike other places, such as Koreana, Takemura, and Daikanyama). The prices for the lunch specials are excellent deals, and Fugakyu serves delicious, fresh, and thick pieces of sushi.

Whenever we go, Bryan likes to order the Sushi Sashimi Combo No Shellfish.

The dish, which costs $14.50, comes with a 6-piece maki (tuna and/or salmon), 7 pieces of sashimi - (yellowtail, tuna, and salmon). Additionally, there are about 4 pieces of nigiri (salmon, tuna, yellowtail, and maybe one other).

I like to order the sashimi no shellfish combo ($10) which comes with the 9 pieces of sashimi (yellowtail, tuna, and salmon).

The Fugakyu bento, for $14.50, is also a good deal. It comes with salad, miso soup, beef teriyaki on a skewer, sushi, sashimi, and probably other stuff that I don't remember.

Sometimes, Bryan orders the chutoro (fatty tuna) nigiri. Although it is terribly expensive (about $7 a piece!) it is very good - quite heavenly, actually.

Favorite maki rolls: caterpillar maki, black widow maki, spider maki, and rainbow maki.

Any negatives? Well, I don't particularly care for the miso soup. It tastes a bit salty to me and lacks deep flavor. Also, the place is expensive at night, similar to many other nice Japanese restaurants.

Over all, a great, solid restaurant with consistently fresh sushi and expertly prepared rolls.

1280 Beacon St
Brookline, MA 02446
(617) 734-1268

previously posted on June 10, 2007 - updated July 28, 2009

July 29, 2009 California

Trip Report: Cupertino Village - A&J's Restaurant

One of my husband's most favorite foods in the world is fresh, handmade noodles. There's something about the chewy texture of homemade noodles that just cannot be recreated once noodles are dried. It's hard to find fresh handmade Chinese noodles in Boston. Sadly, Noodle Alcove, which used to be in Chinatown, closed its doors several years ago. Currently, the only place we know of in Boston that sells fresh, handmade noodles is Beijing Star in Waltham.

In California, fresh handmade noodles are everywhere, and A&J's in Cupertino Village sells both thin and thick homemade noodles. In order to fully appreciate the chewy goodness ("Q" in Taiwanese) of the noodles, I would definitely recommend that you order the fat noodles.

Beef Noodle Soup is like a national dish in Taiwan, and definitely a dish you should order if you are at a Taiwanese restaurant. Typically, beef slices are stewed for hours in a fragrant soy based broth filled with spices such as 5-spice and anise. The resulting dish contains super soft beef infused with the rich flavor of the spicy broth. At A&J's, this dish is special because it is made with fresh homemade noodles.

A&J's is also well known for their "zua bing", which translates to "grab" pastry. It's a multi-layered pancake - the layers are paper thin. You eat the pancake by "grabbing" layers of it off. It's crispy on the outside while the layers are moist and chewy. It's really good! It's sort of like a scallion pancake, but not so flat, and with many many layers.

Stir Fried rice cakes with pork and mustard greens. I love rice cakes, also because of their chewy texture.

It's always nice to order stir fried vegetables to balance out the rest of the dishes. Here, we are enjoy "A" vegetable, which is sort of like romaine lettuce.

Wontons in chile oil. This dish is typically a Sichuan dish, and thus I thought it was only OK here. It was much better at Szechuan Era, where we had gone just a few days ago.

Favorite entrees? Zua bing and the beef noodles soup with handmade noodles.

July 28, 2009 Restaurant

Taza Chocolate

I first tried a piece of Taza chocolate at Garden At the Cellar. They were included with my bill as a free gift. The chocolate had a unique, granular texture that was unlike any chocolate I'd ever had. I later found out that Taza chocolate is organic and "stone ground," and therefore retains a rougher texture. It tastes much less processed - you can almost taste the sugar crystals in the chocolate. The flavor of the chocolate was really good, and I was hooked on the unprocessed, rough texture of this local chocolate.

Taza is local to Boston, and is made in small batches in Somerville, Massachusetts. The founders were inspired by the way chocolate was made in Mexico - minimally processed and stone ground. They decided to apply socially responsible business practices to this unique way of making chocolate resulting in Taza.

I have since found out that you can buy Taza chocolate at several farmer's markets in and around Boston. I have picked up Taza chocolate at the Central Square Farmer's Market (Mondays) and also at the Kendall Square Farmer's Market (Thursdays).

This chocolate does not come cheap. A small disc (pictured above) about 4 inches in diameter costs $4 and a bar costs $6 ($4.50 and $6.50 if you buy online). This is partly because the chocolate is made locally in small batches, and also partly because Taza uses high quality ingredients.

Nevertheless, I find it's worth the splurge, and I find that I keep going back for more.

You can also order in online directly from their website.

(Note - I am in no way affiliated with Taza nor am I getting anything from my posts that promote this product. I just personally really like this chocolate!)

You can also check out Cocoa Heaven's review on the cinnamon and almond varieties.

July 27, 2009 Chinese

Oatmeal Jook - Camping Style

While camping at Yosemite a few weeks back, we enjoyed Asian twists on almost all of our camping meals. Here is our delicious oatmeal breakfast:

Oatmeal "Jook"

A traditional Taiwanese breakfast consists of rice porridge mixed with various toppings. On our camping trip, we enjoyed a twist on the traditional oatmeal breakfast by combining cooked oats with Chinese pickles, roasted peanuts, and pork sung (shredded dried pork).

On a crisp cold morning in a campground, it's the most satisfying breakfast. What a way to fuel up for the day's hikes.

July 26, 2009 California

Trip Report: Cupertino Village - Hong Fu

Tea Smoked Duck

This place has the BEST tea-smoked duck I've ever had. I don't even like duck that much, but I really enjoy this dish here. Nice crispy skin, super moist and juicy meat . . . plus the rich tea-infused duck flavor is heavenly. We also had our Northern California wedding banquet here, so it sort of holds a special place in my heart.

Sizzling Rice Soup

Pork with Dried Bean Curd

Beef with Peppers and Mushrooms

Over all, the food at this restaurant is excellent. It's a great place to have banquets, since they have a separate banquet room and also various banquet packages.

July 24, 2009 Meat

Tin Foil Chicken

Being married to an Eagle Scout whose dad was a Scout leader for years, I inevitably get to experience "roughing it" first hand when it comes to family vacations.

We recently came back from a trip to Yosemite National Park. Gorgeous park, by the way. Naturally, we camped in tents and cooked many of our own meals. The following dish, "Tin Foil Chicken" is super easy, actually quite tasty, and fun to make around the campfire.

A big part of good flavor comes from having good marinade. Here, Bryan's mom mixes chicken legs with soy sauce, garlic salt, and pepper.

Next, combine the chicken with chopped vegetables. In this case, we used potatoes, onions, and celery. This is quite flexible, although I think it's very important to have the onions and the celery since they provide a lot of the flavor. Other possible additions include peas, carrots, and other roots vegetables.

Season with some garlic salt.

Wrap up the foil (nice and tight - you don't want ashes getting into your food!) and throw it into the fire!

Cook for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy! My favorite part of this meal were the soft, caramelized onions. They were incredibly sweet, fragrant, and seemed to almost melt in your mouth. There's nothing like sitting down to a hot and flavorful meal after a long, strenuous day of hiking.

July 23, 2009 Cambridge

Farewell Il Panino :(

One of our favorite local Italian eateries, Il Panino Express in Harvard Square, is closing this Saturday. The landlord has raised the rent significantly, and he refuses to lease to Il Panino without a 5-year lease at this higher rate. Negotiations broke down, and now Il Panino must leave by Saturday. As far as I know, they do not plan on moving the restaurant elsewhere.

When asked where the workers were going next, the cashier replied, "unemployment."

It's so sad. This establishment has been here for almost 20 years, and most of the workers have been here since the beginning. I'll miss the ability to walk across the street, see familiar faces, and enjoy good, solid Italian food. We'll really miss you, Il Panino.

Even the City of Cambridge is miffed about this situation. Apparently, the City of Cambridge (I'm guessing either City Council or City Hall folks) often uses Il Panino to cater events. They have a very close business relationship. Right now, City Councilor Tim Toomey has submitted a policy order resolution imploring City Council to do something to keep this valuable establishment in Cambridge. We'll see what happens.

We went there tonight to say our last good-by, both to the food and also to the people. We ordered our favorite dishes.

Tomato Basil Mozarella Salad with Proscuitto, Gnocchi Pesto (not pictured),

Frutti Di Mare (Clams, Mussels,calamari) with Spicy Red Sauce

I guess I shouldn't be so sad since the North End still houses an Il Panino Express and an Il Panino Trattoria. Still, I truly think this neighborhood has lost a great gem. Sadly, that building now has three empty spots (previously occupied by Loony Records, Roka, and Friendly Eating Place), now soon to be four. I just don't understand what the landlord is thinking. Some of these spaces have been empty since 2001. Clearly, he's not having much luck renting them out at such high rates.

Oh dear, Garden At the Cellar is in the same building!!! Please, I can't bear to lose another good restaurant near me! 🙁

July 22, 2009 California

Trip Report: Cupertino Village - Szechuan Era

I was recently in the Bay area for a week, so I'll be spending a few posts talking about the great Chinese food I had in the Bay Area. Cupertino has a high Asian population, so naturally, it houses a lot of good Chinese restaurants (not to mention great supermarkets and gift shops!).

Cupertino Village is a small shopping area that consists entirely of Asian restaurants, stores, and markets. We ate several good meals in the area.

Szechuan Era is relatively new, but serves up excellent Sichuan food.

This was an incredible deal - for $6, you could choose three "small eats." We got two plates of these. On one plate (pictured above), we got spicy pig ears (pictured), spicy beef tendon, and spicy beef.

In another plate we got marinated bamboo shoots, tofu noodles, and marinated cucumber.

We also got deep fried stinky tofu! To read more about stinky tofu, click here:

No Sichuan meal is complete without the dish that literally translates to "water cooked fish" or "water cooked beef." The anomalous name actually refers to a fiery hot soup-like dish generously seasoned with Sichuan peppers and peppercorns. In Boston, you can get an excellent version of this dish, called "sliced fish, Szechuan style" at Gourmet Dumpling House in Chinatown.

Tea Smoked Duck

Beef stir fried with peppers (notice the common fiery theme?)

Ahh - finally, some relief for the tongue! Si gua (A Chinese water gourd) stir fried with shrimp.

Can you believe this is their beef noodle soup? Look at how red it is! It was really delicious.

This exotic Sichuan hot pot included interesting items such as pork blood cakes!

The fish dish pictured below was one of my favorite dishes of the evening. Deep fried, spicy slices of oh-so-soft white fish. The fish seemed to melt in your mouth while the fried crispy exterior released a deep, fragrant mix of Sichuan spices, salt, and other very glutamic (i.e. umami) flavors. Excellent, excellent dish. This came at the end of a long banquet, so I was stuffed. Nevertheless, I still inhaled multiple pieces anyway. Oh it was so good.

If you are in the Bay area, this place is definitely work checking out!

July 21, 2009 Chinese

Stinky Tofu (臭豆腐)

If you've never had stinky tofu (chou do fu) before, you might be really grossed out by the idea of the dish. Smelling the dish wouldn't help either. Essentially, stinky tofu is tofu that has been fermented and smells like it has gone bad.

It is a popular street snack in Asia and you often find it in night markets. You can enjoy it deep fried, steamed, or many other ways. The fried version is a bit less stinky, and is a good place to start if you've never had this dish before. Typically, stinky tofu is accompanied by a strong sauce, either spicy or sweet. It is made by marinating tofu in a brine of fermented milk, vegetables, and fermented shrimp for a minimum of several hours.

The fermentation process creates a broth that is full of good bacteria cultures, sort of like yogurt. Because bacteria cultures differ from location to location, the complex flavors of stinky tofu can vary a lot depending on where it's made. Similar to cheese, location, temperature, and time can wildly affect the flavor of a final stinky tofu product. Oftentimes, stinky fermentation broths take months to develop.

Once the broth is ready, the tofu is marinated in the broth for 4-6 hours. During this time, enzymes in the broth break down the proteins in the tofu. This chemical process releases compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, which may account for some of the stinky smells. Of course, the process also creates a lot of complex, "flavorful" amino acid molecules as well.

Many people associate the smell of stinky tofu with garbage or sewage. Nevertheless, people who swear by the dish claim that the stinkier the tofu, the better it is. It's an acquired taste, sort of like blue cheese, fois gras, or other strong tasting foods. I have had mild stinky tofu a number of times, and I think it's OK, although I don't think I could handle the really strong stuff.

In Boston, you can get stinky tofu at Taiwan Cafe, Jo Jo Taipei, and Gourmet Dumpling House. It's supposedly mild at these restaurants, so it's not a bad idea to start there before trying it straight off the streets of Asia!

July 20, 2009 Back Bay

Bottega Fiorentina

UPDATE - July 9, 2012 - NOW CLOSED - to be replaced by Trattoria Newbury

I love sitting outside on Newbury Street on a warm summer day. The other day, I discovered this fabulous Italian cafe right on Newbury Street. The food is good, the prices are bordering cheap, and the ambiance of Newbury Street can't be beat. If you're looking for a reasonably priced place to enjoy your sidewalk dinner, don't look further than Bottega Fiorentina.

The original location in Coolidge Corner has been around since 1994, although this new location just opened up in January 2008. In fact, it replaced Wisteria House, a Taiwanese restaurant that split and moved to Cambridge and Allston recently (Cambridge location now closed).

The pastas range from $8-$12 and the wines are around $30-$40 a bottle. They also have paninis ($8-$12), antipasto ($3-$15), dinner entrees ($12-$23), and thin crust pizzas ($11-$14).

We ordered proscuitto and melon as starter. We liked how they put melon and proscuitto over a bed of arugula. The arugula adds a peppery kick and balances out the saltiness of the proscuitto and the sweetness of the melon perfectly. It simple but definitely well executed.

With pastas, you essentially pick a sauce and pick a pasta shape. The waitress told us that the "Andrea" and the "Fedora" were among the most popular sauces, so we ordered the Andrea with linguini and the Fedora with their house-made spinach gnocchi.

The "Andrea" was good. The proscuitto gave the dish good umami flavor while the cream sauce provided balance. The mushroom were tasty, although, sadly, I could not really taste the truffle oil very much. Nevertheless, the dish had good flavor, and the portion size was quite reasonable.

"Andrea" pasta with linguini (Prosciutto, Sweet Peas, Mushrooms, Cream & Truffle Oil)

The Fedora sauce (Tomatoes, Red Peppers, Garlic, Rosemary & Cream) is also good. The waitress mistakenly brought us the normal gnocci when we had ordered the house made spinach gnocchi. I snapped a picture, but we did not actually try this dish.

The spinach gnocchi is soft, significantly bigger than normal gnocchi, and definitely full of spinach. It was fun to eat and felt kind of healthy. Although the dish was enjoyable and the gnocchi was fun to chew on, the sauce itself was not particularly memorable. The sauce was good and the red pepper definitely sweetened the flavor, but I can't even really remember anymore what it tasted like.

Nevertheless, even if it's not a "wow" dish, it's still solid and very reasonably priced.

Over all impression? I would definitely come here again if I'm spending the day in Back Bay. Bottega Fiorentina serves up solid pasta dishes, nice reasonable portion sizes, GREAT prices, and - on a nice day - an unbeatable location on the sidewalk of Newbury Street.

Bottega Fiorentina
264 Newbury Street
Boston, MA

July 16, 2009 Boston

Gourmet Dumpling House

My husband once asked me if I had to live on just one dish for the rest of my life, what would I choose? My answer - dumplings. Not only do they encompass three food groups in a neat little, flavorful package, they taste heavenly when made right, and I can't stop eating them. Ding Tai Fung in Taiwan (one of the most famous dumpling restaurants in the world), is one of my all time favorite restaurants.

Imagine my utter excitement when I found out about this relatively new restaurant in Boston's Chinatown with "dumpling" in its title! I was even more excited when I heard (unsubstantiated, by the way) that it was started by a chef who had left Taiwan Cafe, another one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in Boston.

Gourmet Dumpling House does not disappoint, and makes lots of excellent dishes. Below are some of the my favorite dishes to order.

Mini steamed buns with pork ($6.95) otherwise known as "soup dumplings" or "xiao long bao." These delicate buns are filled with pork and hot, flavorful soup. Be careful when eating! You may accidentally squirt your neighbor's eye out or burn your own tongue!

I have been spoiled by the soup dumplings at Ding Tai Fung, so I think these are only OK. The flavor of the filling is good, but the skin on the dumplings is nowhere as thin or as delicate as those from the soup dumplings at Ding Tai Fung.

Sauteed Chinese watercress with garlic (special house sauce) - $9.95. This "hollow heart" vegetable (literal translation in Chinese) has stems that are hollow, not unlike a pile of green, crispy straws. The chef here did an excellent job cooking this vegetable - it was crisp, bright green, not too greasy, and very flavorful. I love this dish.

Taiwanese Style Sauteed Rice Cake with pork and vegetables ($6.25). I have a weakness of the chewiness of rice cakes, so I may be a bit biased here. This dish is great because it has everything - the robust, meaty flavor from the thin, julienned pork; the refreshing crunch of the napa cabbage, bean sprouts, and scallions; and the wonderful chewy texture of the sauteed rice cakes.

Sliced fish - Szechuan style - $12.95. If you like hot and spicy food, you absolutely have to try this dish. Literally translated as "water-cooked fish" in Chinese, this dish looks and tastes nothing like what its deceptive name might imply. The fiery red sauce is pungently fragrant, screaming of red Szechuan peppers and peppercorns. The pieces of fish are velvety soft, and taste absolutely incredible when combined with this glorious red sauce. Although the dish looks insanely hot, it's actually quite manageable. Just make sure to order some rice too! I get this dish every time I come here.

Sauteed Sliced Beef with ladies' fingers. The ladies' fingers, as you can see from the photo, are actual pieces of okra. This dish is cooked in Chinese BBQ sauce (sa-tsa), and is surprisingly good. I have never had anything like this before, and would not have ever ordered it had I not heard rumors about this dish's amazing flavors. The BBQ sauce gives the dish a nice smoky flavor, and it was definitely one of the favorites at the table when I went with a large group the other day.

Gourmet Dumpling House is a great addition to Boston's Chinatown area. Being of Taiwanese descent, I used to go to Taiwan Cafe almost exclusively whenever I was in Chinatown. These days, I find myself going to Gourmet Dumpling House more than 50% of the time when I'm in the neighborhood.

52 Beach St

Boston, MA 02111-2020

617-338-6223

July 15, 2009 Cambridge

Salts

Salts is a cozy little restaurant between Central and Harvard Square in Cambridge. It sits in a funny area near MIT surrounded by Royal East, Bertucci's, Craigie on Main, and Toscanini's. I had yet to try Salts since they came under new ownership about 5 years ago. The restaurant has been highly acclaimed locally, so we decided to try it out on Friday night. Surprisingly, it was easy to get a table at 7:45PM on Friday night. Is it the recession? Bottom line? The food is excellent, especially their signature dish, "duck for two," which is worthy of its accolades. The ambiance is cozy, warm, and relaxing. The waitstaff is very friendly and they really put you at ease. We had a very enjoyable time there.

*Amuse bouch - chilled tomato soup with crumbled eggs, fresh herbs, and croutons.*

This soup was a gift from the kitchen, and it was very good. The soup was clean, bright, and tasted like fresh tomatoes from the garden. The touch of cream or something cut out any acidity that may have been there. In all, the soup tasted light, bright, and simple. Very nice.

"7 Minute" farm Egg with foraged mushroom escabeche, shaved asparagus, toasted hazelnuts, and Idiazabal cheese (**$15**).

This appetizer was excellent, probably my favorite item of the entire evening. The slightly cooked egg yolk spread throughout the rest of the salad, covering the farm foraged mushrooms and everything else. The dish tasted rustic, flavorful, and very balanced. The cheese and the egg added a nice counterpoint to the mushrooms and asparagus. The toasted hazelnuts gave the salad a nice crunch, adding to the interesting and complex texture of the entire dish. Very enjoyable.

Consomme with rabbit, raspberries, Salts farm borage flowers. I did not try this dish, but Bryan assures me that it was delicious

Spiced breast of slow roasted Squab with grilled local strawberries, red ribbon sorrel, and long pepper custard (**$17)**.

I ordered the seared yellowfin tuna with roasted farm fresh vegetables in a creme-fraiche dill-cucumber sauce. This was probably the biggest disappointment of the evening for me. Although it was good, I thought that the fish was a little over-cooked (see how thick the cooked part of the fish is). The flavor of the fish, however, was fresh and balanced. Nevertheless, I was not wowed, and thought it was not worth the $34 price tag.

The Signature Dish: Lavender honey glazed whole roasted boneless Duck for Two with spring onions, heirloom carrots, and petit farm turnips ($65).

My friend, guest blogger Peter, has this to say about the duck:

Salts is famous for its duck for two and that fame is well deserved. The bird is the size of a small turkey and can feed four comfortably. Do not be fooled by its conservative billing as a meal for two.

The first thing that strikes you about the dish is the plumpness of the duck's breast which are literally fat enough to be carved like a turkey. The duck is prepared Thanksgiving dinner style with a simple bread stuffing surrounded by fresh vegetables. There are no fancy gravies, gastriques, gelees, or foams. The skin is broiled to a crisp and the meat is cooked to perfection. The breast meat is on par in tenderness with well-prepared confited dark meat.

I enjoyed the dark meat the next day as a leftover meal and it was still super moist and delicious even after being microwaved. I have had my share of duck (as it is my favorite meat), but the duck at Salts has no parallel.

I totally agree. This dish was incredible, and totally worthy of its reputation. The skin on the outside was crispy while the meat on the inside, even the breast meat, was incredible soft and juicy. It's highly recommended that you reserve the duck beforehand. They only have a limited number of ducks per day, and they usually sell out. We actually reserved ours about 20 minutes before heading out to the restaurant, and it turned out that we had gotten the last duck of the day!

This is what the duck looked like after it was cut up and served to each individual.

Peter also has this comment about the wine we had:

We also had a chance to enjoy a bottle of Ojai Syrah Santa Barbara County 2006 (WS 87). I fell in love with the vineyard ever since I had a fantastic bottle of Ojai Pinot Noir Pisoni (WS 93) at Craftsteak New York. When I saw this reasonably-priced syrah, I jumped at the chance to try a different offering. It did not disappoint. While lacking in depth and complexity of its more expensive cousin, it was a still a very solid table wine. It had the spiciness that is characteristic of syrahs but it did not overwhelm. You can taste concentrated notes of blackberry and plum. Definitely a solid addition to the meal.

Over all, this is definitely a great restaurant worthy of a visit. The desserts are supposedly really good, but we had no room after stuffing ourselves with the duck, and therefore passed. The duck is definitely worth trying. However, even if you forget to reserve it beforehand, the restaurant is still worth visiting because of all their other interesting and innovative dishes.

Salts
798 Main St
Cambridge, MA 01239

July 11, 2009 Recipe

Stir fried Baby Bok Choy

Baby bok choy, also known as "spoon vegetable" in Taiwanese (or, uhhh . . at least that's what my dad calls it), is a member of the brassica rapa species, which it shares with napa cabbage, turnips, rapini, and mizuna. This is one of my favorite vegetables to buy in Chinatown for several reasons: it's easy to clean; it cooks very quickly; and it's delicious and healthy!

Add ~ 1 T canola oil to a wok under high heat. Once hot, add a handful (~ 7-10) of dried baby shrimp and let it cook until fragrant (~ 1 minute). Finally, add the washed bok choy leaves. Add a small bit of water (1 T) and cover for about 1-2 minutes. Stir the dish around some more and flavor with salt, pepper, and optionally dashi (Japanese soup base) to taste.

If you have no dashi, you can try adding a few cloves of crushed garlic instead in the 1st step.

I read an interesting article article by Jaden at Steamy Kitchen who recommends cooking the garlic starting with cold oil to prevent burning. It's an interesting method that I might try as well.

July 10, 2009 Chinese

Preserved (Salted) Mustard Greens with Garlic

I picked up some mustard greens at the Farmer's Market (in Central Square) on Monday. While I was a kid, I often saw my mom salting her own mustard greens. I decided to try the same thing.

Wash the mustard greens well. Sprinkle some salt (like 1-2 shakes of a saltshaker) on both sides of each leaf and lightly rub the salt all over the leaf. Do this with every leaf. Store the leaves in a covered container at least overnight (if not several days) in the refrigerator.

The next day (or after several days), squeeze the leaves to remove excess water, and drain off the salt water. Rinse the leaves to wash off any excess salt.

Finely chop the leaves (into 1 cm pieces). [note - because I only waited overnight, the leaves have not lost that much water. Waiting several more days would result in a more wilted looking leaf]

pictured: Shun Santoku 7-inch knife. This knife is awesome. Be careful, 'cause it's super sharp, but it makes cutting so much easier!

Stir fry in a wok with some crushed garlic and hot red pepper flakes (to taste)! You should not need to add salt, but if you don't think it's salty enough, you can always add more salt.

Yum.

July 6, 2009 Italian

Pork Bolognese

Bolognese is a meat sauce with pasta originating from Bologna, Italy. The traditional recipe consists of beef, pancetta, celery, carrots, onion, red wine, tomato paste, meat broth, and optionally milk. The sauce is traditionally eaten with tataglia, a broad flat pasta.*

Nowadays, there are so many variations from the traditional recipe. Because this was my first time making Bolognese (and I had limited ingredients in the house), I decided to pick a slightly simpler recipe and take a few time-saving shortcuts.

Verdict? the final meat sauce that turned out was definitely tasty, but I think there are things I would do differently next time to make it even better.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 container of mirepoix from Trader Joe’s
• 1 pound ground pork (or meatloaf mix - 1:1:1 ratio of ground pork, veal, beef)

• 1 cup milk

• 1 cup dry red or white wine
• a 28-to-32 ounce can whole tomatoes including juice

Mirepoix is a combination of finely chopped onions, celery, and carrots (typically a 2:1:1 ratio by weight) that is used as a base for many sauces, stocks, and soups. In many cases, it is sauteed with butter or oil. You can make your own by chopping onions, celery, and carrots (1 small onion, 1 rib of celery, and 1 carrot finely chopped). In this case, I purchased a container from Trader Joe's. For me, it saved a significant amount of time and there's no mess in the kitchen to clean up afterward.

Step 1: Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat and add the butter and the oil. Once hot, add the mirepoix and sautee the mixture for about 2 minute.

Step 2: Add the meat and cook until it is no longer pink (2 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 3: Add milk until most of it is evaporated

Step 4: Add wine until most of it is evaporated

Step 5: In a blender or food processor, blend the canned tomatoes (with the liquid) until blended.
Step 6: Add the tomato mixture into the pot and cook for at least one hour (simmer) if not longer.
Step 7: season with salt and pepper

Serve!

I apologize that I don't have as many pictures as I would have liked. For some reason, I got caught up in cooking and forgot to take pictures at the end when adding the milk and wine.

I will likely try this again with a more traditional recipe that includes beef, veal, and pancetta.

I think this dish was good, but there were definitely things that I could have done to make it even better. The sauce was a bit sweet (from the red wine). I think adding the pancetta will help cut the sweetness and provide a salty, smoky balance to the sauce. Also, cooking it longer and adding tomato paste would also contribute to the overall depth of the dish. I definitely plan on cooking it longer next time. I only simmered it for about an hour, and many folks say that it doesn't hurt to cook it for 5-6 hours! The longer the better.

Anyhow, if you've made this far, thanks for joining me on my never-ending kitchen experiments. 🙂

*source of information - http://en.wikipedia.org/

July 3, 2009 Dessert

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

Wishing you the best 4th of July weekend. I thought it was appropriate to share with you some red, "white", and blue pictures of fruit. 🙂 I'll post next week the recipe for the yogurt popsicles that I made with them. For now, here's a teaser . . .

Enjoy the holiday!

July 2, 2009 Chinese

Exotic Foods Report: Duck Tongue

The other day a friend ordered take-out from Taiwan Cafe and one of the dishes was something I had never tried before - duck tongue braised in soy sauce and basil. I guess the concept had always grossed me out, but I'm usually willing to try most foods at least once, so I obliged.

If you like chicken feet, the texture of duck tongue may not seem that foreign to you. The texture of the "skin" around the "bone" of the tongue reminds me of chicken feet. Yes, it's quite odd, but the duck tongue has a bone that sort of become cartilage near the end.

Although the flavor of the dish was quite tasty (similar to three-cup chicken), I realized that I probably would have enjoyed the dish more if it weren't tongue. I think it's a bit psychological - oh well. If you are brave enough to try duck tongue, I think Taiwan Cafe is one of the few restaurants in Boston that offers this exotic dish.

July 1, 2009 North End

Taranta

Taranta is an interesting restaurant in the North End that fuses Southern Italian cooking with Peruvian cooking. The result is an interesting blend of flavors that surprisingly works pretty well.

The restaurant has huge windows that open up into Hanover St. In the summer it's great if you can nab one of the tables right next to the window. The service was excellent, and the waiter was really friendly. On a Sunday night, about 70% of the tables were full.

What's also cool about this restaurant is that they have taken the initiative to be green. Certified by the GRA (Green Restaurant Association), they have installed low flush toilets and automatic lights in the bathrooms. They use led candles, serve their own carbonated tap water (instead of bottled water), and composts 63.7 tons a year! Even the wine list is biodynamic, sustainable, and organic!

We asked the waiter what he recommended, and we essentially went along with his recommendations. Here's our take on the dishes:

Pan roasted mussels: Pan roasted fresh cultivated P.E.I. mussels with Sicilian Marsala and tossed with Italian Bacon and roasted shallots

This dish is generous! For $14 you probably get 30-40 mussels which have been pan-roasted in this fragrant marsala wine sauce. The mussels were tasty, and the sauce was quite fragrant. Unfortunately, my experience was a bit dampened by one or two bad (not fresh) mussels in the batch. Other than that, the dish is flavorful and well executed.

Gnocchi di yucca con ragu verde stilo seco Peruviano: Cassava root gnocchi with a slow braised "Chicha de Jora" green lamb ragu and shaved parmesan (Spicy)

This was definitely my favorite dish of the evening. The homemade gnocchi was unlike any Italian gnocchi we'd ever had since it was made out of Cassava root (a plant native to South America). It was sweeter than normal gnocchi. The texture was soft and chewy. The Chicha de Jora green lamb ragu is braised for many hours, thus giving it super soft texture and a very deep, rich flavor. The spiciness reminded us that this dish definitely had a nice, unique Peruvian kick to it. I definitely would recommend this dish.

Costoleta di maiale con canna di zucchero e rocot: Brined double cut pork chop with a sugar cane – rocoto pepper glaze served with a yucca piatella and a sauté of giant Peruvian Corn, spinach and caramelized onion.

Again, I think the portions at this restaurant are really generous. Bryan and I ordered one appetizer, one pasta, and one meat entree to share. The waiter was kind enough to split up the meat entree into two plates for us. The picture above shows you the size of ½ of the dish. Incredible. We could only each finish half of our halves (if that makes sense).

This dish was tasty, creative, and definitely had bold flavors. We've noticed a common trend in Jose Duarte's (the executive chef's) cooking - sweet and spicy, which is a very interesting combination.

Final conclusion? This restaurant serves up solid, creative, and bold flavors in North End. Although the food is still a step below places like Prezza, it's still good and definitely worth trying out. It's definitely one of the most unique restaurants in the North End. If nothing else, it's an interesting chance to try many new flavors you may have never tried before.

Taranta
210 Hanover Street
Boston, MA
617.720.0052

June 29, 2009 New York

Freezing and Cutting Bagels (H&H Bagels in New York City)

H&H Bagels is one of the most famous bagel shops in New York City, if not the world. This bagel shop was founded in 1972 and now churns out over 80,000 bagels a day (all in New York City!). The original location is on the corner of 80th Street and Broadway in the Upper West Side. It's definitely one of our favorites, and we pick some up bagels from New York City every time we go.

A nice way to preserve these bagels for easy access later is to pre-cut the bagels (preferably with a bagel slicer because it's safer!) and then freeze them in freezer bags. You can then take individual bagel slices out from the freezer and toast them in the toaster.

The toasted (previously frozen) bagel is surprisingly good; much better than any supermarket frozen bagel, and arguably better than most bagels you find in Boston. We find that the frozen bagels will last several months in the freezer.

Our favorites are the sesame bagel and the everything bagel. YUM . . .

June 29, 2009 New York

Bouchon Macarons

I received a present from Bryan from his trip in New York! What could be inside that box?

I know Bouchon is a famous bakery cafe opened by Thomas Keller, one of the most famous chefs in America.I excitedly opened the box.Could it be???

Are they French macarons? (not to be confused with the unrelated coconut cookie, the macaroons). I love French macarons! (uhh . . just look at my profile pic) There were three different flavors - vanilla creme, blueberry cheesecake, and caramel. The person who worked at the bakery said they would last 2 days in the refrigerator. Up to this point, they had only sat on an airplane for about an hour. I quickly tasted each one. Mmmmm . . .

Man, were they good. My favorite was the vanilla creme, with the caramel a close second. I had to stop myself from eating all three in one sitting (well, except for the blueberry cheesecake one, which I actually thought was too sweet).

If only I didn't have to go all the way to New York to get these . . . .

Just to let you know - I've made plans with a friend to try making French macarons pretty soon. I'll post the results of that experiment, probably sometime in the next two weeks. Meanwhile, you can enjoy this post from the Cooking of Joy.

Update! I've made the french macarons!

June 27, 2009 Recipe

Sugar Snap Peas

Another thing I picked up at the Farmer's Market this past week were sugar snap peas. I really think that sugar snap peas have so much inherent flavor, there's not much that needs to be done for them to taste really good.

In this case, I put the sugar snap peas in a microwave safe container and cooked the snap peas for 1 minute. This was just enough for the snap peas to be lightly steamed yet retain their beautiful bright green color. I also love microwave cooking since it only cooks the food for a little bit, thus preserving nutrients.

I then just sprinkled some sea salt on top. That's it! No oil. Absolutely fat free. It was so simple, yet so delicious. Sometimes, less is more, especially when it comes to fresh farmer's market bounties.

June 25, 2009 Greater Boston

Sel de La Terre - Natick Collection

Sel de La Terre is the more casual sister to L'Espalier, one of the best known French restaurants in Boston. Both restaurants recently moved to Back Bay inside the new Mandarin Hotel. There is also an outspost at Natick Collection, where there is plenty of free parking and lots of good shopping as well!

We enjoyed a graduation dinner at Sel de La Terre in Natick a few weeks ago.

I first heard of Sel de La Terre years ago in a Boston Globe article about the best fries in Boston. The article raved about the rosemary fries at Sel de La Terre, and I have wanted to try them ever since.

These rosemary fries are quite good, although I still think the hands down best fries in Boston are from Garden at the Cellar - perhaps it's because theirs are rosemary truffle fries. YUM.

Pictured above: Roasted rack of lamb with artichoke puree, red pepper and a pea risotto cake; black olive caponata (truffle mac & cheese in the background).

Pan roasted Norwegian salmon with fresh spring bean ragout, pea shoots, sun chokes and pancetta; beurre rouge.

Over all, the food was solid, although nothing really wow'ed me. I guess if you are out in the suburbs, this is not a bad choice. In Boston, however, there are so many other choices that I think this place could get lost in the noise.