Albany Dish

Pasta special at Baba Louie's

2011-01-30T15:01:00.000-08:00

This looks like it would be bland, but the sauce was wine, lemon, capers and garlic. It was perfectly tasty and made a good lunch.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Cucumber + feta salad

2011-01-30T14:55:00.000-08:00

This cucumber and feta salad is a wonderful mid-winter salad that is hearty and versatile. I went shopping at Guido's in Great Barrington today and came home with cucumbers and when I started thinking about a light snack to tide me over until a late dinner with friends tonight my mind turned to them along with the feta that I've been hoping to use Real Soon Now.

In my mind the feta must be in large chunks for this salad. You may not be able to handle a big bite of this strong cheese, but I enjoy piling a hunk of feta up with other salad ingredients and basically getting feta with different condiments as I work my way across the serving of salad.

Another thing about this salad is that it's got very strong flavors, so that means small servings or serving it on top of a bed of lettuce or avacado slices or finding some other means to mix in more mildly flavored foods.

Tonight I started with 8oz feta and two cucumbers and chopped them both into chunks a little smaller than bite-size. I added:
juice from half a lemon
2 Tbs of olive oil
minced glove of garlic
1 Tbs of capers
2 chopped pepperoncini, mild
about a dozen calamata olives
half an achovie filet, choppped
a teaspoon of basil
a teaspoon of oregano
two sun-dried tomato halves, finely chopped

It can't be tossed too much or the cheese disintegrates, so it's better to stir up everything else and then add the cheese lightly toss.

Windex at Elda's

2011-01-28T22:51:00.000-08:00

Dear Restaurant owners everywhere:

I would like to recommend that you fire any employee who carries a bottle of Windex (or other ammonia-based cleaning fluid) into the dining room while the restaurant is open. It's really mean to spray your customers with Windex. It tastes bad. It's a bad appetizer.

I'm sort of accustomed to being invisible, but tonight at Elda's on Lark Street, just after I was seated in the empty dining room, a waitress came into the room with a bottle of Windex and paper towels and proceeded to clean all the windows - all seven of the huge windows overlooking the street. I managed to get seated in the other dining room after the third window, but by that time my nose throat and mouth were full of Windex.

The meal was ultimately good - I had the veal Franchese and it was very well executed. But what I remember most is being covered in Windex for starters.

Man doo guk

2011-01-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

It's been many years since I had this dish. I ordered it at Kinnaree, the new Asian restaurant on Lark St.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

My box at Kitsu

2010-11-16T13:21:00.000-08:00

A little bit of everything - just what I want in a box.

Wine 'n' Diner

2010-09-08T23:04:00.000-07:00

I was out in the South End last week, exploring that little section of Delaware Ave that seems to be growing an interesting business district. It all started with Cissy's Shoe Fetish...a story for another day.

So as it got to be lunch time the Wine 'n' Diner caught my eye. I am so glad that someone paid attention to that interesting space after Avenue A left earlier this year. They funkified it, and I like the feel. The early brunch crowd was leaving just as I came in.

I took a pass on the sweet potato hash special and decided to order the Tijuana burger. I enjoyed finding this sauce on the table:

The burger comes with a black bean guacamole and bacon. I set the bacon aside because I just couldn't wrap my head around it and I spread some of this banana sauce on the bottom of the potato bun.

Complete burger yum:

The chips are very heavy, so I could only get through about a fourth of them. The potato bun added a very interesting light touch and was grilled to a perfect amount of crispiness. It was definitely the most interesting and tasty burger I have had in a restaurant in a very long time.

The staff was very friendly and efficient.

I must say that along with just about every mid-range restaurant in the Capital Region, Wine 'n' Diner commits the sin of spraying nasty smelling cleaner onto the tables to clean them. When you enter a restaurant just after many tables have emptied this spells disaster.

Do the owners just hate us or what? I have yet to figure out how they think getting gassed with cleaner fumes makes us feel.

Oh, yeah...they don't think about it.

Figs and nuts salad

2010-09-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

Last night I wanted to use my fabulous fresh figs from Cardona's and I didn't have any goat cheese. I've never tried to just throw figs into a salad all by themselves. But there's a first time for everything. I had green leaf lettuce, which is mild. So with two rather mild ingredients I knew I had to do something fairly strong for the dressing.

I started with walnut oil and added salt and pepper. I went to my cabinet for something fruit flavored and pulled out a nice bottle of Turkish blackberry syrup. I finished with apple cider vinegar to bring in a layer of tartness and whisked everything together.

I dizzled the vinaigrette over the lettuce leaves, tossed in the sliced fresh figs and chopped some mixed nuts for a nice salty flavor and nut texture. I sprinkled them over the top of everything.

I only thought of taking a photo afterwards 8^(

BLT salad

2010-08-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

I went to the movies and it was a wonderful excuse to visit the New World Bistro Bar recently. Since it was a beautiful summer night I thought their BLT salad sounded divine. It was a lovely salad and so I have created my own version, which is a lot more muscular.

NWBB made a much more beautiful presentation of the salad I must say. It was a lighter affair altogether, with a whisper of the mayonnaise lightly coating the lettuce leaves, a few hints of tomato and about four dime-sized pieces of bacon. That last element was just plain stinginess if you want to know my bare knuckled opinion. The salad was surrounded by a slice of bread that had been cut into points and had been licked by a flame just enough to make a fine black lacy char on the surface. This was so perfectly done that it was captivating. The aroma hinted at roasted marshmallows and it added an accurate taste image of toast, even though the bread was not toasted. I loved it.

I highly recommend that you start with their version and then try your own.

My version is much heavier, but also delicious and it served as a full meal. The salad is just summer in a bowl, and I think there is all the room for personal preference that a BLT sandwich provides. My first attempt started with the tomatoes, which I dressed with the mayonnaise, tossed and set aside while I quickly prepared the other ingredients. I toasted Italian bread, the equivalent of about one and a half slices, and cut it into bite size pieces. Then I browned Canadian bacon to bring out more bacony flavor and avoid the fattiness of bacon strips and finally tore the lettuce.

I gently tossed the lettuce with the tomatos and spotted my new jar of horseradish so I put a little scoop in at that point. I added salt and pepper. It will probably be a good idea to put the horseradish in with the mayo next time to let it spread more evenly through the salad. I dropped in the toasty croutons and gently turned everything to mix them in and chopped the Canadian bacon before piling it on top. What it lacks in beauty it more than makes up for in flavor and heartiness. Putting all those traditional sandwich flavors into a mound of lettuce is simply a wonderful idea no matter how you portion out the various other ingredients.

I plan to explore many many more versions.

Peaches

2010-08-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

Just a note: it's the season for perfect peaches. I have to admit that I swiped this photo because I ate all the peaches before I thought of taking a photo!! The weekend before last I found BEAUTIFUL peaches at both The Berry Farm, where they were white peaches, and Golden Harvest Farms, where they were beautiful regular peaches - you can always count on Golden Harvest to have several varieties, however.

Do not miss this harvest - they are some of the most perfectly sweet, delicious and beautiful peaches I have seen in several years, with perfect flesh that is not too dry nor too mealy.

I managed to absorb three quarts just out of hand, peeling and slicing them and then enjoying every fresh peachy bite. I limited myself to no more than two each day, and I just finished the last two for supper.

This coming weekend I will be out again and will try making peach butter with my bounty.

Go and get some yourself and tell me what you do with them.

Lamb meatballs - another try...nom nom nom

2010-08-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

I know you may be weary of looking at my iron skillet, but I'm not - especially since these meatballs seem to be a better-than-average version.

I began with a pound and a half of ground lamb from Guido's, which is becoming one of my favorite grocery shops in the area. In the past I've tried ground urud dal and ground rice as binders, both of which I think made the meatballs especially heavy. I'm trying to avoid breadcrumbs, because I may be reacting negatively to wheat these days. Today as I was getting the lamb into the mixing bowl I noticed my new bag of whole oats and into the grinder they went, about a quarter cup of them. I added salt and pepper and three medium eggs, then about three tablespoons of chopped fresh mint, two tablespoons of dried oregano, the juice of one lemon and four finely chopped sun dried tomato halves.

I was listening to a podcast about the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico or otherwise I would have remembered to add the garlic and chopped onion.

I heated the skillet and added some olive oil and browned them gently, then put in chopped olives, chopped garlic and sprigs of rosemary. Since I like to put the whole lemon in with chickens, I put the rest of the lemon into the skillet before putting on the lid to simmer everything and let the flavors mingle and cook the oats.

I've now tasted four of them and they're awfully good. I think the oats added nice things to the texture and did not make them as heavy as the ground dal or the ground rice. The lemon, tomato and olive add tartness and the mint adds a nice savory note. I wish I had parsley, and must remember to add that next time. I'm contemplating making a sort of onion marmelade.

Trip report: the foodie itinerary version 2

2010-08-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

Well heck yeah we tried it again...we could hardly wait. Karen and I were back on the road this afternoon, scouring the countryside to bring you reports on the best in Capital Region foodie finds.

We began at Dnipro on Central Avenue in Albany, just to the west of Wolf Rd and the Northway underpass. They have recently moved to this location from Cohoes - so visit and try their wonderful offerings!

There are a few places for parking out front, but plenty of parking out back that lets you get around to a stoplight and back on Central Ave easily. The space is very open and there are neatly stocked shelves ready for browsing. There were dense black breads and plenty of cookies and other European treats. Then we found the wonderful jars of spreads, relishes, pickles, fruits, horseradishes, mustards... you get the picture. I found some red cabbage salad with apple that will be a quick and tasty side dish.

We worked our way to the back refrigerator cases and found a freezer full of little fat dumplings that look like plump tortellini and have a variety of stuffings. There wasn't an English translation on the case, but dumplings are the general idea - pelmeni perhaps? They sell them loose so you can fill as many bags as you like, or they sell pre-weighed packages. We noticed there were veal and chicken, and there could be other stuffings as well. Definitely something that you can stash in the freezer and pull out on those nights when you're weary and yet you still want to have a good hearty supper.

I drifted up to the deli case and found dozens of meats, fish and cheeses. It was so hard to choose! The shopkeeper offered samples and I wanted to try the veal roll with spices - a lovely savory cold cut that brought back a rush of childhood memories. While I was waiting for Karen to get her double smoked bacon I was offered a "walnut" cookie. It was shaped like a walnut and held a lovely paste of walnut cream in the center. I swooned and groaned while her bacon was sliced and neatly wrapped.

I'm looking forward to going back to sample more and discover some new favorites.

After we stopped by Karen's to stash the dumplings in her freezer we headed up towards Route 2, east of Latham Circle to Nora's. I only have this link but I hope it's at least enough to show you where on Rt. 2 Nora's is located. It's in a string of about 8 or 9 storefronts on the north side of Rt. 2 across from a big cemetary.

This little space is crammed with spices, grains, confections and even costumes.

I was drawn to the back when I heard Karen exclaiming that something was better than her grandmother's - I mean, should you even ever SAY that???? But when I tasted the stuffed grape leaves I also had a sort of deep emotional experience of my own. We each got a dozen.

I cruised the spices and scored a large box of oregano, one of the more common items among the vast and (to me) exotic array of those mostly used in Armenian and other cuisines of that region. I asked Nora for some lehmajoun and got beef this time. Nora makes them as well as many other foods in her kitchen in the back of the store. It's definitely worth striking up a conversation so that you don't have to scrounge through the refrigerators to see what is in store - plus Nora and her husband are just wonderful friendly people.

Karen had a hard time choosing but got the keftedes this time, and some of Nora's cheese with black caraway seed.

I spied some frozen basterma and decided to give it a try. There were a variety of packages, and I got the slices to see how it holds up to freezing. The many many packages of dates all were a bit too large for me to handle this time, so I settled on a package of figs. It was hard not to grab at least one of the varieties of Turkish delight - it was too close to lunch time - but the figs promised sweet stickiness of the right kind. (hmmm....they must be around here somewhere...a perfect writing snack...)

And next up was lunch at The Jonesville Store. We were both pretty psyched after all that looking at and procurement of food. The store was bustling with weekenders and hookey players.

One orders at the deli counter and they bring it to the table.

Karen got the perfectly prepared pannini special with a beer and

I got the pear and walnuts salad and strawberry vinaigrette with a local boutique root beer. Yes that's a crab cake in the upper part of the photo. It was very good with a yogurt/dill sauce. The staff was friendly and quick, which I think was the foundation of the cheery comfortable atmosphere.

We were ready to go home after lunch since our budgets for the day were spent.

All in all it was a great trip, so now we're planning an "Italian" itinerary for our next adventure.

The Epicurean Cafe - take two

2010-06-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

I thought I had visited the Epicurean, but I had visited the restaurant next door, and could never quite figure out what was going on, until this visit.

I got to see the real thing on a very nice hot spring day.

Unfortunately the pleasant young lady who seated me did not alert any wait staff, so after 20 minutes or so I walked up to one of the bustling staff members and asked if I could have some service at my table.

By that time I was not only warm and thirsty, I was a bit exasperated.

So of course I was very pleased to try the birch beer with ice. Yum. I love that distinct taste.

Since it was a hot spring day, I thought the salad with grilled chicken sounded wonderful. It sounded like they had put a special effort into the make up of the dish, with nuts and a special fruit dressing and cheese.

Dear Chefs everywhere:

When you grill meats, the blackened edges can add a certain piquant flavor when all the meat is at peak strength and there are plenty of other sensations to complement it.

When that meat is left to sit for an evening and a morning, the charcoal flavor is going to dominate over any meat flavor which is going to recede due to refrigeration. Re-cooking only spreads the char through the meat.

Charcoal is not a nice flavor, it's very very bitter, and no amount of greens or fruit dressing is going to make up for it or make it nice.

Please take this into consideration when you're planning on making up salads with yesterday's grilled meats and trim the char off the meats before storage.

Fondly,

L

I'm wiling to believe that the Epicurean can be a wonderful dining experience, as many people have acclaimed over the years, so I'll try them again since I do pass by there irregularly.

This time, it wasn't so good.

Trip report: the foodie itinerary version 1

2010-05-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

My foodie friend Karen and I have been trading food and cooking tips and ideas for years as well as going out to restaurants together for good foodie moments.

We decided to take a few afternoons to just drive around and show each other our interesting store finds in the Capital Region. My itinerary was first up and I decided to take a trip south and east from Albany.

We started at Rolf's Pork Store on Lexington Ave. in Albany. She liked the grilled bratwurst idea for the holiday weekend and I got some thickly sliced ham to order and a jar of quince preserves. The people behind the counter have always been friendly and I got exactly the thickness I like in ham slices. Rolf's has not only sausages of all kinds, especially European styles, but lots of fresh meats that are "local" (I think of local as within 250 miles). They have rabbit and smoked chickens as well as other uncommon fare and they cater. They have a few plain old groceries but specialize in German imports. We put the meats in the cooler after poking into all the little corners of the store and took off for Valatie.

Next up was Golden Harvest Farms, also home to Harvest Spirits on Rt. 9, south of Albany. There were still plenty of fresh apples, taken from their cold storage facility, as well as locally produced jams, jellies, honey, dressings and sauces and some fresh produce. The aromas of the pies and the outstanding cider donuts were wafting through the open air market. Around back is the distillery, complete with a copper still, barrels, barrel art and a charming host to pour tasting cups of their spirits. Woah. We tasted the grappa, a new line of theirs, and "spirits" is an apt term for the entrancing aura drifting up from the cup. I made little snorting gestures and my companions giggled, but I was quite happy with the extra little buzz.

I tried a bit of the pear schnapps and took away a bottle for further investigation.

With smiles on our faces and some more foods in the cooler we headed further down Rt. 9 to 203 and turned into the village. On the right side of the road there is a little Mexican grocery, Picante Uno, that neither of us had tried before and I added it to our itinerary to make sure we both got a chance to see it. Rumor has it that the proprietor Jackye is a very very good cook and she makes up a meal every day that she serves until it's gone. We didn't taste during our visit, but browsed the small shop eagerly. There are many Goya brand products, several things that were complete mysteries to both of us and a few good finds. I got this quite interesting canister of mole from the fridge:

I've proceded to schmeer it on several things and will soon make up some chicken smothered in it. We also got HUGE bags of tortillas for $1.25 and I got a bag of masa harina for experimentation. Jackye caters and gave us the Picante Uno phone number because her business cards were all gone for the moment: 518 758-6631.

Karen concluded that the Mexican grocery in South Albany is more interesting, so I'll have to go and check it out.

Since I go through the village regularly I'll probably be stopping in for more tortillas if I ever run low again...

Our final stop was The Berry Farm, just a few miles shy of Chatham on Rt. 203

We browsed the greenhouses because I also wanted to pick up some plants for my little outdoor container, then we browsed the market. There are many local cheeses, local meats and fresh organic produce as well as gourmet items of all kinds. I picked up some baby arugula and fingerling potatoes, then my outdoor plants.

It was a great trip and we came home weary but excited about our finds, anticipating eating like royalty over the holiday weekend. Next time Karen will put together the itinerary, and I'll report every little detail to you, gentle readers.

Sushi, Viva, hash with wine and cherries: oh my!

2010-04-17T04:47:00.000-07:00

I've been cooking and eating at good restaurants since February, for heaven's sake, but the blogging impulse got assimilated by facebook. Microblogging is certainly a wonderful means of whiling away the hours and keeping up with one's friends and family. But I'm BAAAAAAACK, with a few miscellaneous stories for your foodie amusement.

I photographed this in the terribly dim light without a flash because the flash makes everything look so garish, but I'm not sure the tradeoff was worth it. At any rate, I wanted to show the presentation of this lovely una don at Kotsu, the new sushi restaurant on Central Ave that took over from Saso's. I'm often overwhelmed by the size of an unadon bowl, and this was a great portion size for me. So it was another lovely dinner at Kotsu.

On my way to a mail art talk at Berkshire Arts Kitchen in Great Barrington I was riding down 183 from Lenox and passed Viva for the zillionth time, only it was open because it wasn't 9:30 on Sunday morning, which is when I'm usually passing by. So I did a u turn and decided to see what the buzz has been about. Oh yeah - tappas. I love tappas. So I ordered this "roasted beet" salad, which is supposed to come with sugared walnuts and I believe blue cheese. Only the beets were diced and from a can, the walnuts were naked and there was no blue cheese. After I sorted out a few rotted greens, I ate the salad because time was running short - I ddn't plan to do the normal slowly paced dinner that this establishment is obviously set to present. How can one feel positive about this sort of misrepresentation of the food? I don't know whether the glowing reviews of this restaurant are written by people who know nothing about food, or if there is a really good cook and a really bad cook on staff and I got the bad cook.

But my overall sense of things is that if you can't put together what is described on the menu, tell the wait staff to say it's not available. I could've gotten that salad for $3.50 from a diner, but paid Viva $8.50

The lamb patties were very good with the creamy garlic sauce. The squiggly lines looked like Marmite but tasted of all the right flavors. So I wasn't hungry when I left, but wasn't pleased either.

My latest cooking adventure is the one I'm eating while writing this - hash with cherry sauce, eggs and pears. I'm in breakfast heaven today. I can't even recall where it started -- oh yes. I had to cook those pork chops or lose them. I brined them last night without having a clear idea of how I might eat them.

This morning I picked up the cleaver and iron skillet and cut the chops into bite sized pieces and decided to put a couple strips of bacon in the pan. I don't know why. After the pork was browned I added thyme, terragon, garlic and pepper. I didn't salt while cooking because of brining the pork (which did render it very tender and moist). I diced a large onion and tossed it into the melee, then put the lid on so that the onion could steam and get tender and flavors could co-mingle.

Then I started thinking about a hash and a sauce at the same time. So I pulled out the pork, onions and bacon and deglazed the pan with white wine, added a bay leaf and some butter and hand made cherry jelly from a friend. After the sauce was done I poured it out of the pan and put in the potatoes and gently fried them in all those layers of flavoring.

The final touch of plating was to drizzle the sauce over the hash - Oh! Yum!

And for the final tidbit, my favorite way to prepare turnips: cut them like big french fries and saute until golden, adding salt and pepper. You do have to watch them because there's quite a lot of sugar and it will blacken quickly if you're not attentive and moving things around. The time spent is worth it. I drizzled walnut oil over these at the end and it is a nice finishing touch.

Five Guys

2010-02-27T08:02:00.000-08:00

I was in the Stuyvesant Plaza area recently and had heard that Five Guys burgers and fries opened a new shop in the old Denny's building across Western Ave. Thinking that perhaps I missed something when I went to the stop over in Schenectady, I stopped in, expecting a nice experience. Boy was I ever disappointed.

Ick, yuk, pui.

Not only is the ambiance sort of like the skating hut on Ann Lee pond only worse, the fries were completely bitter and the cheeseburger was about the ugliest I've ever seen, the pasty whitebread bun was a shrunken mess and the beef had next to no flavor at all.

Whoever called this horror "heaven on a bun" must have been delusional.

LorreBob sez: don't bother.

Fish

2010-02-23T15:32:00.001-08:00

I was shopping at the Berkshire food coop and they had pollock caught off Cape Cod, so that sounds local enough for me. I got enough for a few servings across this week. I started out thinking I was going to bake it with salsa. As I was choosing it a fellow shopper was musing about what a great frying fish it is for my benefit. So I changed my narrow thinking and decided to give frying a try, even though I had convinced my fellow customer that baking with salsa was a fine idea.

Since I haven't had a greens salad in awhile I picked up a box of organic spring greens. I was dreaming of using my spiced pears from The Berry Farm out in Chatham.

I sprinkled the greens with a little walnut oil and then seasoned them with salt and pepper. I took a little apple cider vinegar, garlic and some of my jaggery syrup - just enough to keep the vinegar from puckering my lips. The spices in the syrup resonated with the delicately spiced pears and it was all good.

Setting all that aside, my real labors began. I chopped a large onion and some sun dried tomato, then pitted my herbed green olives and dropped in a few nicoise olives for the dramatic blackness of it all. I thought rosemary and oregano would add umph but not be overly heavy. Once the onions were tender I took all that out of the pan and dusted the pollock with cornmeal and dropped it in until the meal was crispy on both sides. Then I put the veg/olive mix over the fish and added freshly squeezed lemon juice.

I made a rice pilaf that complemented all the strong flavors. I'm not sure why the photos look so wonky but it could have been the combination of using a different camera than I have been for a few months and the gin and tonic that started this cooking adventure. More study is needed.

To top it off I had lemon curd with raspberries and blueberries from the WinterSun Farms winter CSA share. It was spoon-licking delicious.

Aperitivo Bistro

2010-02-21T21:06:00.001-08:00

I was on State Street in Schectady Friday night and looking for a nice dinner. I found one at Aperitivo Bistro.

I ordered the cocktail special Artini -- the color matched my clogs! It was citrus-y and a wonderful antidote for a long week and pounding the pavement looking at art on Jay Street. The staff was attentive without being overbearing, and I felt that all my questions and requests were given very good responses.

The mussels with broth - yes, there's a beautiful broth under that pile- were a superb starter. I asked for a spoon to scoop up as much as I could of the wine lemon tomato and herbs deliciousness.

I had the lobster special and also enjoyed it. The creamy sauce in front is a chipotle concoction, wisely added to the side. Otherwise it would have smothered the delicate lobster flavor. I used it sparingly. Supporting the lobster tail underneath was a creamy bed of polenta. Its texture was very smooth and it was a lovely foil for both the lobter and the chipotle sauce. I kept mixing forksful of the three main elements with different proportions of each and had a grand time. It was satisfying without being totally overwhelming, so I had the creme brulee after consulting with the very good staff person about dessert sizes. The creme brulee seems to be the smallest. I struggled with resisting the coconut cream pie, but the staffperson assured me that it's huge.

The creme brulee was so good that I forgot to take a photo. It looked like the standard little white ramekin, but was served on a small tray with carmel sauce and raspberries to the side. It was a perfect finish.

Jaggery syrup

2010-02-16T06:46:00.000-08:00

In the last post I wrote about trying jaggery syrup.

Yum. I keep sneaking little drips of it, just to try to get used to the taste.

I tried it in coffee that was a dark Italian roast and didn't like it. I think the meyer lemon did not complement the coffee in a way that I like. Then yesterday I tried it in a Columbian regular roast coffee with milk and it was delicious.

I also tried it with asam tea and milk and it was wonderful.

Jaggery is available at both India Bazaar on Central Ave. in Albany and at India Spice on Fuller Road. The "rock" I mentioned was two pounds. I'm not sure if it's available in smaller amounts.

My weird and wonderful evening in the kitchen

2010-02-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if I can really call it cooking.

I decided to cook the little pork roast before I was pushing it's shelf life limits. So this is a beautiful fresh little local pork roast from the little local butcher shop - Rolf's on Lexington Ave.. Nothing to let go to waste or anything like that.

But what to do? I didn't want it to be just plain roast. I just got finished with a plain pork roast and I wanted something a little jazzed up. I decided I would let it cook slowly because I had all night. So I also wanted to use some of my really great frozen local organic yellow tomatoes from Winter-Sun Farms CSA. I thought on my mother's "barbeque" from the 1960s when she used to start with ketchup and add orange juice or pineapple juice, a little apple cider vinegar and onions.

So I thawed the tomatoes which ended up like a puree. They were picked at peak ripeness and are beautiful. Then I went to my huge spice shelf and began picking things: five spice powder, garlic, bay leaf, dried red chilies, Busha Browne's Authentic Jerk Seasoning, my friend Irina's homemade apricot and current jam. I could tell it was going to be sweet and hot. I also spied the key limes my brother sent me from Florida. Sweet hot and tangy. I thought of the jaggery I had in my big cannister. That finished the job that the jam began.

I had it in a 280-degree oven and basted the roast about every twenty minutes for three hours. I don't really care if it's barbeque or something else - it's magnificent.

The jaggery is a different story altogether. The last time I was in the Indian grocery I bought a huge "rock" of it. The shop keeper said that her mother always made a syrup with it. I had been treating it much like brown sugar and just using pinches of it here and there, including in my spiced coffee, which I spice with cardamom, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg.

I put the whole rock in a pan with a couple cups of water to see what would happen. When there was an adequate sort of syrup and put a little into the roast pan to sweeten the sauce a little more.

But I still had this huge amount of syrup. And there were a bunch of intriguing spices on the counter. So I added the cardamom, cinnamon, clove and got out a vanilla bean. There were a couple Meyer lemons on the counter too, so I cut one in half and squeezed in all the juice and plopped the whole thing in. This is one heavenly syrup. I'm going to be having coffee at home or toting a bottle of this stuff to the cafe.

Decadent vacation omelette

2010-01-04T03:34:00.000-08:00

This is an omelette that will make a hearty vacation breakfast for one person.

I diced one small red potato and chopped half a red onion very fine and browned them slowly over a medium-low flame.

I added salt, freshly ground pepper, paprika and thyme and put the potatos aside. I whisked two eggs - I like brown eggs because buying them increases diversity in the eggs market.

I cooked the eggs rather like I'd cook a crepe. I let them run across the bottom of the pan to create a thin coating. The oil that I used to cook the potato seasoned the skillet perfectly so that the eggs didn't stick at all. I still used a low flame but the accumulated heat in this large iron skillet created enough heat so that within two minutes the eggs were almost done cooking. So I added the potatoes and onions along with a minced sun dried tomato half and a little cream cheese, spreading them out evenly across the potato filling. I turned off the flame so that the heat of the pan could melt the cream cheese and finish the eggs, and folded the omelette over the filling.

I couldn't add all of the potato because it would have torn the eggs when I folded it. It was delicious!

I like the tangy sun dried tomato, which I got late this past summer from The Berry Farm in Chatham. I got a bag of yellow and a bag of red, hoping that I could enjoy some of that summery flavor later in the year. It worked! I've been adding them to all kinds of dishes to very good effect. They have enlivened many soups and the first round of meatballs were made especially good by adding the extra strong and tangy tomato flavor to the onion, lemon, garlic, olive and rosemary sauce.

Meatballs - part deux

2010-01-01T14:39:00.001-08:00

If you think of the skillet full of meatballs in yesterday's entry and in your imagination cover them with Larry's chipotle sauce, you've got the right idea about what I tried today.

Since I ate yesterday's meatballs while I was preparing these I'm not going to eat them today (New Year's Day).

Tomorrow I'm going to the Coop to get some lovely organic corn tortillas and I'm gonna have me some tacos albondigas, and if there are good avacados I'm going to try including some slices.

The experiment as a whole has been delicious. I would decrease the amount of rice and dal, because I think they did tend to soak up too much juices and made the meatballs a good deal sturdier than I prefer them.

Meatballs!

2009-12-31T10:16:00.000-08:00

What to do with that local grass fed ground beef and local ground lamb I got at Honest Weight Food Coop last week? The only thing I could think of was experiments with meatballs.

Since I'm not currently eating wheat I though it would be interesting to experiment with other ingredients. I chose rice and urad dal. I ground them into powder and added them to the meat, salt, pepper and eggs.

Since the batch was more meat than would fit in my skillet I decided to season the first round with olives, onion, sun dried tomato, rosemary and garlic.

I think the rice and dal worked very well. After browning I put the lid on top and turned down the heat to cook until they were done all the way through.

I'm not sure about the next step, but I think it will involve a sauce of lemon, more garlic and olive oil. Since I won't be having pasta I'm looking forward to a lovely pilaf.

I am planning to try my new chipotle sauce with the second half of the batch. That should be tomorrow.

New World Bistro - once again

2009-11-30T12:42:00.001-08:00

Having worked an intense afternoon and inadvertently forgotten to pick up my CSA share from Fox Creek Farm, I wandered down Deleware Ave. in search of another good meal from New World Bistro.

The service staff was lovely, I'm very glad to say. I started with a cocktail made from Core Vodka that was just right for a Friday afternoon. It's vodka made from apples out in Valatie and quite wonderful.

After being beautifully warmed by apple vodka I ordered the mussels and they were outstanding. I did just barely resist tilting up the bowl and drinking the hearty broth. Oh! And the topping of matchstick fries was weirdly just right - something to do with the saltiness and crispiness. That's a mustard sauce splashed over the fries and it was perfect - very mellow, but just tart enough to make its presence known.

My little steak was delicious and the salsa verde was the right touch. I also liked the banana ketchup for the fries. I get tired of the same old tomato ketchup, so this was a good variation. The greens were tender and flavorful and a good balance with the steak and fries.

The portions were not for very large lumberjacks, so I was able to actually have my whole dinner in the restaurant. I don't appreciate overlarge portions that force you to take a package home. I detest having to carry around half my dinner or feeling like I've wasted perfectly good food if I leave it. So kudos to NWB for getting that part right also.

I hope I haven't been an outlyer in my experience at the bistro. I think they're producing very good food and I've always had good service from staff who are efficient and knowledgable and cheerful - never snotty or laggardly. I'm looking forward to plenty more dinners with that Orlando touch.

Iron Gate Cafe

2009-11-16T07:05:00.000-08:00

I finally tried walking over to the Iron Gate Cafe and had this lovely brunch on Sunday. That's a lovely crab cake under the poached eggs and pesto sauce.

The ambiance and service are also good for a nice Saturday or Sunday brunch.

Braising Chuck Roast

2009-10-29T05:42:00.000-07:00

I was recently in the Catskills visiting Woodstock and stopped by the smokehouse on rte. 212 for some great meats. I picked up polish kielbasa, knackwurst, Canadian bacon and this monster chuck roast.

I've been working on perfecting my braising technique on and off since 2005 and I don't think I've got it right yet. For this massive piece of chuck I browned it on four sides and I was very pleased with that part. Then I cut little slits in the top and pushed in a few garlic cloves. I added sea salt and ground black pepper, then some thyme and a pinch of a mysterious blend called "greek" from a little tin given to me as a present. I added these onions and two small pieces of bay leaf. After the photo I also added carrots and parsnips for that mellow sweetness they always add to a roast. I put in two tablespoons of zinfandel.

After a couple hours there was what I consider to be way too much liquid, which is my continuing problem. Is there a trick I'm missing? By too much liquid I mean that there's a couple inches and the braising has pretty much turned to boiling.

The taste is always good, but I'm just wondering how to keep the liquid minimal and just more as a moistening and steaming action rather than a boiling or poaching action.

Casablanca

2009-10-28T08:42:00.001-07:00

I heard from a few locals that Casablanca is a good restaurant, and so I had to go try it. I ordered the meatball tajine, which is the traditional terracotta dish. I also made the choice for the olive rice rather than a sweet rice, which turned out to be an excellent complement for the meatballs.

I was given a small sample of a dal like dish before the tajine arrived and it signalled that the flavors would be good. They were.

The sauce for the meatballs was a lovely mix including tomato, onions and savory herbs. The meatballs were my favorite texture with a good meat and mellow spice blend. I mixed in the rice to sop up all the sauce and I have to admit that I scarfed.

Wonderful home made whole wheat bread was also a good accompaniment.

Lorre-Bob sez check it out!

Whitefish and tomato salad

2009-10-07T15:52:00.000-07:00

I hooked up with the front end of a smoked whitefish last night. I took all the flesh off the bones.

Several ounces of tasty smoked fish were my toothsome harvest.

As with most of my food, I do versions. This version includes finely chopped red onion, sweet pickle relish, cream cheese and mayonnaise, plus ground white pepper.

As I was preparing the salad I noticed that the tomato on the counter had become perfectly ripe, so I decided to try my whitefish version of tuna surprise.

Much happy dining was the result.

Quintessence

2009-10-01T16:38:00.001-07:00

I'm venting my spleen. I missed the first incarnation, so I decided since several people seemed very happy about Quintessence reopening that I'd go and give it a whirl.

Because I was alone I was seated at a table for two with one chair, in the middle of the back of the room, with my back to everyone else, facing the bar.

Now, why would I want to even sit in a position like that? Let alone taste the food? Given that the floor manager and presumably the owner are insensitive enough about comfort to set up a table like that, I think I'd rather stay away.

As I walked out, I said to the hostess that my punishment for arriving alone apparently was to be put in the middle of the floor with my back to everyone else. She said something like: yeah, whatever.

I think I'll be fine staying away for a very long time.

Chicken wings and Korean BBQ Sauce

2009-10-01T16:30:00.001-07:00

I had a pack of snazzy natural raised on a Vermont groovey farm chicken wings in the fridge. I bought this jar of BBQ sauce at the Asian market on Central Ave. Seemed like a perfect match.

The BBQ is not all sweet flavors, which I adore.

I put the wings in the oven, 350 degrees F and let them get a little dry on the outside. I brushed on the sauce about every 10 minutes for 40 minutes and turned them a couple times.

Juicy, tasty wings.

CCK

2009-10-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

A companion and I tried CCK awhile back and had a lovely dinner.

I was looking for the pork by the pound that was there previously, perhaps a year ago or something like that. They had a pound of barbeque pork in the appetizer list, so I had that.

It is wonderful - the sort of thing you'd definitely want to order for a large party. This and a plate of vegetables would make a very good dinner for two.

He was jonesing for the shrimp with honey walnuts, and it was picture perfect.

We tried to study the specials and someday I'll work up the courage to start going through them.

Capital Thai

2009-09-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

Capital Thai is on Central Avenue just west of Westgate shopping Center on the north side of the Avenue. I've been trying different things on the menu and this is the first time I was disappointed.

The joy hoh was savory and spicey, but quite soaked in oil. Not what I would consider to be thoughtfully fried.

The pad see ew was heavy on the chilies, light on the basil and almost void of chicken, the piece on the left being just about the only chicken on the entire platter.

Previously I've enjoyed the soups and salads, so I'm wondering if it's a new cook, a temporary stand in or if the game is over.

Breakfast hash variation - ham scramble

2009-09-11T06:28:00.001-07:00

I got a huge ham steak in order to enjoy it a little at a a time by flavoring some of my favorite dishes like ham and beans. As I got down to the last little corner piece of it I was hankering for a nice breakfast hash and it seemed like the perfect flavor. I think calling it hash could actually annoy purists, so I'm calling it a scramble.

After the potatos were perfectly cooked I beat two fresh eggs and added them, folding gently until they were cooked through.

Ketchup as a condiment would fight with the ham, but the fresh tomato slices were lovely.

I got out one of my great aunt Emma's juice glasses for a rare breakfast juice treat and want to point out its size. Four ounces of juice was common in her day. It's really enough juice.

South Indian style green beans

2009-08-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

This style involves popping black mustard seeds and generally layering a variety of flavors.

I like to do all the preparation before I get the skillet hot so that I can time things nicely and not have to be trying to prep things and add things all in a rush. The first stage is popping black mustard seeds and that requires a nice hot pan like you would heat to pop corn. Once the oil is just on the verge of smoking I pour in the mustard seeds and cover the pan so the seeds don't fly about. After popping has slowed down I lower the heat and put in a dried chili and some hing.

I soaked urud dal for awhile to soften it and put it in after the popping to toast it a bit. It absorbes flavors differently than the veggies and brings out a lot of flavors. Once the dal is golden I add the "soft" veggies to become tender. I like them to be just at the tender stage, with the onions turning translucent.

Once the veggies are starting to get tender I want to add in more "top" layers of flavors. Tonight's version has a fresh Thai green chili, garlic and ginger. The Thai chilis are firey - I added one for this whole pan full of veggies, and I'm a bit of a chili weenie, so you may want two or three.

Fresh curry leaves are a wonderful accent, and I put them in about the last five minutes. For this version I also squeezed in the juice of half a lime.

It's fragrant and yummy!

Salad!

2009-08-21T05:52:00.000-07:00

At the point when lettuce becomes more annoying than a pleasure I turn to cucumbers and tomatoes for salad inspiration. This adorable salad has those two basic ingredients and then onion, fresh garlic, fresh basil, fresh parsley, capers, an anchovy filet, salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice and olive oil.

Using the basic cucumber and tomato combination this salad can be dressed in an infinite variety of ways. Then the additional ingredients are up to you.

Breakfast Soup : yet another variation

2009-08-12T04:48:00.000-07:00

These flat noodles have become a soup favorite. Lots of slurping pleasure.

The kombe (kelp) adds that little bit of seafood flavor. I also used a shrimp soup base, carrots, onion, and tofu. The kelp comes out, since it's a bit woody, and I added wakame for the dark green color and more seafood flavor.

This gorgeous little green Thai chilies are a nice addition to spice up the rich soup. I use only half of one and remove the seeds. A friend claims the seeds are bitter, but I've never popped one of the little devils into my mouth. They require a good deal of caution. If you use these chilies and you have not done so before, please use caution and wash your hands a couple times afterwards before you touch sensitive skin areas. I put them in about mid way through the preparation so that the chili infuses the broth and becomes a nice background flavor.

I like a bit of cilantro for garnish and scallions are also nice.

Buffalo Wagon

2009-08-12T04:34:00.001-07:00

I went shopping for slacks at the Talbot's surplus store on Metro Park Dr. and as I left, hungry, I spied this Asian restaurant across the way and decided to give it a try.

A serving of pickled carrots and peanuts was brought as a light appetizer on the house, and they were a nice complement to the rather heavy meal I selected.

The spring roll appetizer was on the greasy side and nothing special, but I did manage to get its photograph. I failed on my entree, which was the crispy roasted pig, sold by the pound.

It was delicious if not handsome. The pound portion would be the perfect thing to order with a vegetable entree and split between three people. It's salty roasted pork goodness is the perfect complement to rice. I took two thirds of it home and had two more meals with it, all lovely and satisfying.

Miso soup

2009-07-23T04:40:00.000-07:00

My miso broth starts with kombe (kelp), washed and tossed into simmering water. Then goes the bonito flakes - I've taken to putting them in a tea caddy so they are easily pulled out. This simmers for a bit until I can start to smell the aromas.

The kombe must come out, because it's not really very nice to eat. At this point I also take out the bonito flakes since they have rendered the right flavor.

The miso must be gently introduced to the broth so that it's not killed.

Scooping up the hot broth, which has now been removed from the heat, is done a little at a time so that you end with a fairly thin mixture. Once the miso is warmed up it can be added to the broth, along with the tofu and rinsed wakame.

Delicious warmth and wonderfulness.

Breakfast happiness

2009-07-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

Once again the Daily Grind provides a wonderful breakfast. This hearty combination of eggs and corned beef hash will satisfy the partier's brunch appetite like no other!

Salad dressings

2009-06-21T04:31:00.000-07:00

Last night I made a small salad of farm fresh greens with radishes. But the exciting part is the dressing. I love improvising dressings of all kinds.

I began with ginger juice and then added apricot jam. Then I pulled my bottle of german herbed vinegar from the shelf. I got it at Rolf's and it's wonderfully fragrant. It overwhelmed the apricot jam a bit, so I added a little honey to round it off.

I drizzeled a little olive oil over the greens and radishes and tossed them until they were coated, then added salt and pepper. I added the vinaigrette and tossed lightly. I took a handful of toasted nuts and chopped them roughly, then sprinkled them on top.

Then I absorbed it with great pleasure.

Marinated tofu salad

2009-06-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

Early in the morning I started draining the tofu, then I cut it into cubes and put them into a marinade: tamari, sesame oil, ginger and garlic.

I washed and dried the perfect farm fresh mescalun greens, then drizzled about a teaspoon of olive oil, I tossed them to distribute the oil. Then I salted and peppered them. They're from the first harvest share of my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm, Fox Creek.

I put the tofu on top and spritzed with fresh lemon juice.

It was a substantive lunch!

Beef and bok choy breakfast soup

2009-06-13T17:45:00.001-07:00

Since I had some small steaks it seemed like a perfect opportunity to make a beef soup. I also wanted to try out some great wide rice noodles I got at Lee's grocery.

Today's soup started with browning about three oz. of the beef after slicing it into bite size pieces. I had some fresh early garlic sprouts and sliced bulbs and leaves into the mix, then added six stalks of the bok choy. I put in some stock to enrich the broth, then added a few drops of sesame oil and about a half teaspoon of garlic chili sauce. I almost forgot the fresh ginger, but was able to drop it in at the last minute.

Good morning yumminess!!

Old Standby: My Linh

2009-05-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

My dinner plans to go to Casa Dominicana with a friend deflated over yesterday afternoon, so I decided to change altogether and go to My Linh. I'm not sure that I've ever had a bad meal there.

Last night's appetizer was the Banh Beo - delicate rice flour cakes with shredded pork and shrimp powder and a complex sauce. The main dish was Banh Tam Do Bien, a lovely blend of fresh and cooked ingredients: shrimp, scallops, onions and noodles cooked; mint, lettuce, and sprouts fresh. And the tangy firey sauce overall was a very fitting addition.

I stopped at Luigi's deli a couple doors over on Delaware Ave, and enjoyed the whole ambiance once again. I got the roast beef, the roast pork, sausage and some tomatoes. It's not that their wares are very different from any other of the dozens of neighborhood Italian delis in the capital region. I just like the guys and their little shop. Maybe it's all the stuff hanging from the ceiling.

Breakfast hash - take 2

2009-05-22T04:45:00.000-07:00

I cast caution to the wind and decided to use the corned beef I bought for sandwiches in some hash.

I started with little red new potatoes, those ones you're supposed to steam or boil. I fried them in the pan that I had just used for a wonderful marinated tofu.

One last egg left in the carton was the first thing in my peripheral vision when I was done with the hash, so it went on top.

Ok now I'm ready for a great Friday.

Karavalli

2009-05-15T11:46:00.001-07:00

The story behind this rather lame image is that I was so excited by my wonderful food at Karavalli that I forgot to take photos. Then I was gonna take photos of the leftovers, but I got so excited that I forgot again.

My point being that Karavalli is still on top of their game and truly the best Indian restaurant in the Capital District. Not that I'm not a fan of the longstanding others, but Karavalli has dhosa!

Last night's feast was the fish curry, and it's simply divine. A dhosa appetizer, and my companion and I were unable to get through our main entrees and quailed at the thought of dessert, however everything was superb.

Even the mango lassi had just that little something extra of a mild spice.

LorreBob sez - go now, go often.

Midtown Tap and Tea Room

2009-05-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

I have to confess that I am attracted to the Midtown Tap and Tea Room because of the name. My introduction was a reception for the Upstate Artists Guild show, and I am very happy that the old Avenue A space on New Scotland Ave. is being put to such good use. The art looks good and new artists will be showing on a regular basis.

The menu consists mostly of small plates, which I like very much, and the wine list looks like one could take a long time to taste the offerings. I asked for a hard cider, but settled for a ginger ale.

I ordered the beans, greens and shrimp plate because I was curious about almost all the plates and decided to just take it from the top and go back many times. Having foresworn wheat temporarily, the beans sounded like and excellent and substantive basis for a dish. While I sipped my ginger ale and looked at the warm decor, this basket of corn chips and salsa arrived as the complementary snack. It was wonderful! The salsa was hearty and a wonderful blend of savory and bright flavors. The chips were perfect for scooping, although the staff should be a little more discerning about how many broken scoops are going out to the table.

The plate was just wonderful. The rich bean starchy goodness and the seasoned greens were an unfamiliar and interesting complement to the shrimp. I must say that after all the years of thinking that restaurants simply want to kill customers with too much food, I'm extremely happy to see small plate choices. The snack and the small plate made a filling and perfectly sized meal.

So I ordered dessert!!

I chose the creme brulee and was so fascinated by all the flavors in the sugar topping that I forgot to take a photo. It looked like a regular creme brulee, but the sugar was superbly finished. It was like a taste rainbow.

I'll be going back to check out both wine and more small plates on a regular basis.

LorreBob sez: check it out.

French fry omelette

2009-05-05T04:12:00.000-07:00

An old friend told me about this omelette many years ago and I've tried it with varying success.

For demonstration purposes this instance is made from rasta fries. These fries were frozen, which I would not recommend. But you get the idea...

For this version I have used a dry skillet, not adding any oil or salt and taking advantage of the rasta seasoning. I scooped out the fries and quickly cooked the omelette, then added the fries back in for the final folding. [] I found the photo of the completed omelette, so it's below.

Although ketchup will be the most likely sauce, I rcommend going for an aioli or other sauce that will complement the thyme and peppers of the rasta seasoning. As I was folding the omelette I thought about a light schmeer of sour cream, which I also think would add something to the flavors without smothering them.

Boxes

2009-04-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite box is from Ichiban. Since I love the eel I always get whatever box has eel, and I'm not fond of sashimi, so I try to avoid boxes with that.

Where is your favorite box made?

Mr. Pio Pio

2009-04-15T13:11:00.000-07:00

Mr. Pio Pio on Quail Street is a happy discovery with not only deliciously marinated and grilled meats, but Spanish tv and Spanish speaking fellow customers, so you can practice your Spanish (or feel right at home if you speak it). It's between Western Ave. and Washington Ave. near State - close to the Last Vestige record shop.

Besides an interesting selection of sodas, there are several fruit juices. I enjoy the mango.

Ok, it's true, I forgot to take a photo when the food arrived. So here's at least a photo with most of the foods involved in "Bandeja Tipica" still on the plate: steak, crackling, avacado, egg, sweet plaintain. Very generous portions of beans and rice arrive with most entrees - the rice is exactly my favorite kind of rice, long grain, sticky and somewhat al dente and the most wonderful complement to the savory beans.

Free form BBQ

2009-04-14T04:20:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been considering prepared bbq sauce as a starter point, so recently I used Annie's and had some very good times.

I'm fond of very complex bbq, so over the weekend I braised a small chicken, flavored with a lime cut in half inside, a little red wine and garlic, plus thyme, basil, fresh ginger and bay leaf, and then shredded it.

For the sauce I began with the basic Annie's Natural, plus a wonderful sweet chili sauce that I found in Lee's grocery. I thought a little bit of sesame oil might add a certain something, so I put in a few drops. Finally I added a half teaspoon of chili garlic sauce for some high-note type zing. I simmered everything together until the sauce was sufficiently infused.

Spicy, tender and juicy.

Tacos at El Mariachi

2009-04-10T04:58:00.000-07:00

In order to resist going straight to the pollo San Marco (chicken simmered in sour cream, poblano peppers, onion and mushroom - the proverbial little bit of heaven on a plate), I decided to try something I had never tasted before last night. So I tried the carne asada and carne enchilada (marinated port) tacos. The plate comes with a salad, so I ordered lots of sides. The beans and rice were seasoned in just the way a like them and both were the perfect texture. It was a fabulous dinner! The double tortilla wrap was not only the exact texture I like them, but the double layer kept everything perfectly together until the last bite. And plenty big, with the side of sour cream and guacamole to smear over everything at whim.

I took home four little boxes and the salsa verde remnants so I can make juevos rancheros today.

Lorre Bob size El Mariachi was in peak form - check 'em out.

Bagel with smoked salmon

2009-04-05T05:03:00.000-07:00

In the middle of building the second bagel half, I've started with the cream cheese so that the capers and onions will stick to it. That way they won't be slipping, slipping, slipping on the lettuce and tomato.

The wonderful fish and saltiness mixed with the pumpernickel almost sweetness makes it mondo tasty.

Albaraki mezza

2009-04-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

Albaraki is a teensy place, just down from the corner of Lark and Washington (185 1/2 Lark), and also in downtown Troy. I have been completely seduced by the batata with garlic sauce. But Tuesday when I was looking for something nice and not fried I decided upon the mezza platter, small size.

One stuffed grape leaf, olive, hummus, babaganouj and tabouleh comprise this beautiful mezza. The lemony flavors and the perfect roasted flavor of the babaganouj provide a good deal of enjoyment, plus the chewey bread and different textures. I decided to spread out the flat bread on a plate and put the treats on top of it, thinking I could tear off pieces and dip them and then munch the last of the bread with all the good juices and bits rolled up inside.

Bella! Bella! Bellissimo!! Lorre-Bob sez check it out.

Daily Grind desserts

2009-04-01T04:20:00.001-07:00

I confess to being a regular at the Daily Grind cafe with no shame. They have great food and coffee (I'm enjoying a cup as I write). Last night I had desserts with a pal from the hood.

"Companion" had the pecan pie and claims it is thoroughly delicious.

I'd never sampled their tiramisu, so I gave it a try and found it to be both creamy with the right amount of coffee and cocoa.

Omelette and spiced coffee

2009-03-30T11:41:00.001-07:00

Spiced coffee can be quite a delight. I use cardamom, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Just a small pinch of the cinnamon and nutmeg, a pod of cardomom and a clove of clove. Today's wonderful concoction begins with Columbian beans from The Daily Grind.

Today's omelette was scallion and mushroom. I like to saute the veggies and then put the egg in.

Now some toast and a great breakfast is ready to plate!

New World Bistro Bar

2009-03-28T04:34:00.000-07:00

I was putting off a visit, but last night I couldn't think of reason why I shouldn't go and see how Ric Orlando et al were doing. I hopped on the #18 bus down Delaware and anticipated a lovely dinner in a good atmosphere.

The Hendricks gin and cucumber lemonade was a very excellent cocktail - tart with lemon and just a hint of cucumber.

The street style squid was delightful because it was not over-breaded and the full flavor of the squid was apparent. Lightly sauced with a Vietnamese style peanut flavor and a saucier of wonderfully firey chilies on the side provided enough variation to keep the dish enticing.

Hoping I'd be able to keep enough appetite for dessert I asked for the small version of the Vietnamese salad with a tofu topper. The tofu had good drilled flavor verging on bitter char, but not quite and marinated in chimichurri sauce it had a good enough flavor to enhance the salad. Not too much of the fish sauce and not too much of the dressing altogether made the salad a good combination of flavor and texture.

It was quite an enjoyable dinner. Finishing with the Nutella mousse, I looked around the full dining rooms and noted that the crowd was varied. Lots of different ages and kinds of groups.

I'm hoping this place will be a good place to visit before and after the movies for a long time to come.

Breakfast soup

2009-01-16T06:33:00.001-08:00

On a cold wintry day like today a good hot noodle soup makes an excellent breakfast.

Today I used onion, the leftover braised pork from the fridge, scallions, garlic and ginger.

I like ground white pepper and a package of ramen noodles - I don't use the flavor pack that comes with, but season things from my own cabinets. A little chili garlic sauce from Lee's grocery on Central Ave. and things are quite spicey.

Since I grew up in the midwest where things weren't very spicey, I only use a little of the chili garlic paste, and at the end I like to add a few drops of sesame oil for a beautiful savory flavor.

Today's garnish is scallions, but cilantro is tasty as well.

Cottage cheese, apples and toasted cashews

2009-01-12T17:27:00.001-08:00

This works well for breakfast lunch or dinner. It's a variation on a salad that is a bit more complicated. The essence is the cottage cheese and fruit, and there are a zillion nice variations. Coarsely chopped fruit, nuts or seeds and cottage cheese. One version includes honey and lemon juice as a dressing.

I toasted the raw cashews for this version and it is yum - ola.

Breakfast hash

2009-01-09T09:05:00.000-08:00

After braising a lovely pork roast it seemed logical to use some of it for breakfast hash by adding carrots, onions and garlic.

My Linh - oh my

2009-01-03T13:51:00.001-08:00

This My Linh appetizer of chicken wings stuffed with crabmeat was a lovely starter and while fascinating in itself with the spicey nuoc nam sauce, left me ready for a full course.

This coconut crepe stuffed with sprouts, mushrooms, chicken and a bouquet of spices was superb. The side of fresh herbs and lettuce was the perfect complement. The mint was the sort of licorice/anise flavor and the cilantro was perfectly fresh and fragrant. I'm not ashamed to say I dispatched it quickly.

Last night the seating began in the back room, with a fireplace and lovely subtle decorations with a winter theme. All in all it was a lovely dinner and put me in a cheery mood to go to the nearby Spectrum Theaters.

Hanger Steak at Justin's

2008-12-30T06:24:00.000-08:00

Justin's hanger steak special was delicious last night, complemented by a martini - theirs happen to be ginormous.

It was an easy dish: potatoes, vegetables and steak with mushrooms, but quite deliciously done. The flavor was enhanced by the perfect searing and the texture was substantial but tender. It was a perfect supper for after a heady movie, with a good sound track and not too much noise in the bar.

Justin's bar casual atmosphere makes it a comfy hangout and eatery. I almost always prefer it to the Savoy dining room.

Fish tacos

2008-12-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

After finding wild caught smelts in the Berkshire Coop over in Great Barrington I was a very happy but a little bit overwhelmed camper. I dunked them in milk, then cornmeal and fried up a mess that was waaaay more than I could handle that evening. So what can one do with this fresh water, light flavored fish? Once I browsed the fridge the tortillas and salsa told me: tacos.

Above is the iron skillet with chopped onions and garlic sauteed until the onions are transparent and slightly camelized. I boned the smelts and gently broke the fillets away. Not wanting to overpower the light flavors of the smelts I didn't put all the spices I would put into a beef taco mix. I gently rested the smelts on the onions and garlic and turned the heat way down while putting on the cover. The smelts are basically steamed that way, and no more breakage from handling.

A nice medium spicy salsa and a dreamy steamed white corn tortilla and voila!

This taco could be done a zillion different ways, but I thought for an improvization based on leftovers it was not bad. *munch*

Dumpling Breakfast

2008-12-27T16:52:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite breakfasts is dumplings from Lee's grocery. Go in the front door and go straight to the wall and there's a little freezer which has a variety of them. My favorites are these, which often have meats, seafoods and vegetables in very tasty combinations. The bags are clear with red lettering, and they're the most expensive. I leave it to you to find your own favorite by tasting your way through all the different kinds.

The sauce is always fun to concoct. This version has dark soy, mirin, ginger and garlic.

Pork with cherries

2008-12-26T04:47:00.000-08:00

I had a container of Ranier dried cherries that I'd been using since summer when I got it at Hawthorne Valley Farm. So when it came time to also cook the pork chop I defrosted yesterday, the logical dish was pork with cherries.

I always improvise this sauce loosely based on the idea of cherries, onion and garlic. The liquids vary from wine to vinegar to stock. This version is dried cherries, chopped onion, chopped garlic and the Seyval blanc I got to cook risotto last week. I added a rock salt from Ibiza and ground red peppercorns. I cooked the wine down a couple times to get a flavorful syrup in the sauce. Then I thought about the ginger and tossed it in - ooo la la!

Sides were papaya squash and fried cabbage.

Lunch at Londonderry

2008-12-24T05:18:00.001-08:00

I was in time for the last open table at this charming shopping plaza eatery as the lunch rush was at peak. I had bought my new cell phone so I was ready to play with it and have a nice lunch. And that was good, because I waited for a very long time to order.

I have eaten there for many years and somehow never tried the club sandwiches, so in the spirit of tasting my way through the menu I tried the beef, with the cranberry mayo. I like wheat bread, so that was my choice out of a lineup that could please anyone. It was difficult to choose between the apricot mustard and the cranberry mayo from the dressings choices, but the cheerful wait staff person helped me make the decision. I added a ginger ale to drink and wished that local restaurants would go for a little bit more than the watered down Canada Dry drek.

As you can see, PLENTY of meat. It was beautifully done beef, moist and tender and with very good flavor. There was so much meat that the tiny schmear of mayo was undetectable, so I asked for more when the wait staff person checked to see if all was well. It almost overpowered the bacon and made the sandwich difficult to handle. I waited for almost a half hour, figured out most of my phone functionality, and when the staff person asked if I just didn't have any appetite she was abashed that she had forgotten the mayo. By that time the lunch rush had evaporated so that she was able to concentrate more on my needs, and I was ready to go back to the phone store and ask more questions.

In my experience Londonderry has always had sort of weird wait staff, so if you can look beyond that it's a good place to take a break or get a tasty meal. It's tucked away in a corner of Stuyvesant Plaza, so in the perfect spot to provide a respite from shopping or errands.

Matzoh ball soup

2008-11-03T13:04:00.000-08:00

I nailed it last night:

chicken from Hawthorne Valley Farm,
carrots from Fox Creek Farm
Onions from Fox Creek Farm
garlic from Fox Creek Farm

I've often tried to over-do matzoh ball soup with too many flavors and last night I tried to copy a version I encountered in a Philadelphia deli.

Yum ola!

Three carrots and a medium onion chopped into good soup-sized pieces and sauteed until tender
add 2 cloves of garlic, whole
48oz stock
approximately half a cooked chicken. I baked mine with all the skin on it a couple days ago, and used a bit of the fat and almost all the gel because I recently read that all the gelatinous things are good for you! Chop it into bite sized pieces.

8-10 small matzoh balls

salt and pepper to taste

simmer long enough to properly cook the matzoh balls and warm your body and soul

Makes four generous bowls of soup

Wrap

2008-10-31T05:59:00.000-07:00

I generally avoide wraps - it's an emotional thing having to do with the often bitter wrap taste and iccky texture. So last night I took a culinary risk and had probably about the fourth wrap I've ever eaten at the Daily Grind Cafe on Lark Street.

It was ham, swiss, apple, lettuce with honey mustard on a garlic herb wrap. Yum! It was balanced in flavor and made a very good light supper with chips on the side.

I must remember to start taking photos.

Whitefish salad

2008-10-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Eats is the only place I've seen smoked whitefish for sale in Albany, so I procured myself half a fish in order to make whitefish salad recently.

My recipe is based on what I believe I tasted when I first got some of the whitefish salad at the deli counter.

Smoked Whitefish
red onion
softened cream cheese
sweet [or simply not dill] pickle

When I made it this time the pickle I used was pickled pearl onions. - Yum

You must REALLY LIKE fish to make sandwiches from smoked whitefish salad. Serve it as a canape at a party or a little snack on a good cracker as you and a friend drink cocktails while you prepare dinner and you will not be disappointed.

Bomber's - eeeww

2008-10-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

It was snowing, I was exhausted and I started baking a chicken just at the time when I wanted to be eating dinner yesterday. So I set the chicken at 300F degrees and went to Bomber's for cheap eats.

I've been trying to taste my way through the menu just to see what they do well and what they do badly.

Last night was mixed. I ordered the Strongbow cider, which is unfailingly lovely.

I was wishy washy about what to order, but settled on the pulled pork BBQ plate. What came was, um,less than lovely. And it didn't have anything to do with cheap eats. It had to do with appalingly bad taste.

The BBQ pork is good. It's tender, seasoned well and has that sweet spicy taste that I like very much. However, it was covered over with an extra dollop of cold sauce with SOUR CREAM on top of it. Now who in their right mind puts sour cream on BBQ? It was absolutely wretched. And anyone with half a neuron firing lets the customer slather on more BBQ sauce as needed. On this plate, the extra sauce just made it sort of sickeningly sweet and more like BBQ soup. Alongside this disaster was unseasoned rice, black beans and totally naked shredded lettuce. When I say unseasoned, I mean no salt, no pepper,no onion powder, nada. Once the aluminum plate gets cold, which is in about a minute, and it starts to cool down the beans and rice they just suck. The plate was horrid.

My advice to Bomber's -- rescue this plate and put it at the top of your popular list:

1. provide a couple tomato slices or ANYTHING with the lettuce to make a salad;
2. provide salad dressing
3. season the rice and beans or provide salsa;
4. lose the sour cream or contain it on the side;
5. put the extra BBQ sauce on the side;
6. re-think the plate altogether and provide baked beans instead of the wretched black beans and rice.

Bomber's has many great cheap eats dishes, but this ain't one of them.

EATS - Stuyvesant Plaza

2008-10-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

I shopped at EATS Gourmet Marketplace in Stuyvesant Plaza last night, a shop that has evoked mixed feelings in me since it opened awhile back. It makes me hope that someday we'll get something like The Cheese Connection back again, but EATS is definitely not "it".

I looked for their fabulous smoked whitefish, and there was none in the case. I ordered some great corned beef and gruyere, thinking sandwiches and French onion soup.

There were single eggs for sale at $.35, and I got a half dozen. The staff person told me that they are from the owner's chickens and I liked being able to pick my own half dozen. Now I'm thinking omelets and egg and cheese sandwiches. But there's no bread. There are tons of toney crackers, but no bread.

I've always been a bit mystified about why they don't have bread. I'll have to ask someday.