Greek Fare with a little help

Have you heard of Groupon? If you live in the United States you should certainly sign up, the website has amazing daily deals for a multitude of services, stores and restaurants where you get discounted stuff. You pay up front at the 50% rate and have a certain time to use your purchase. I've used it for many different services and was very very pleased.

This weekend I decided to use my Groupon for Thalassa Greek Restaurant down in TriBeCa my review in one word.. 'Spectacular' and in two words 'worth it'! The restaurant is a little hidden by all the well known restaurants in the area, they are also repaving the main road in front of it so it is not as visible to the public.
I walked in not expecting much but was pleasantly surprised! The restaurant has earned some great awards and the atmosphere if very inviting!

My first exciting moment was when I saw the icy mountain with fish, shellfish and gorgeous fresh vegetables displayed for all to see. You can literally pick your dinner!
We went with the prix fix 4 course menu with the perfect portion sizes.

To start us off we had a little amuse bouche of phyllo and cheese. It was crunchy and not saturated in butter. It was our first introduction to this restaurant and it left us craving for more!

There was also an assortment of 4 breads to chose from, served with hummus, olive oil and some marinated olives. The focaccia was slightly sweetened by caramelized onions and tasted a little like cornbread too. It was delicious! Their olive bread was also, as expected, delicious!

The best dish was this first appetizer, the most perfect and most amazing scallop I have ever eaten in my life. I dare any chef to make one better! I've eaten many scallops before but never one so perfectly cooked. It was wrapped in hair thin strands of phyllo and drizzled with an amazing refreshing sauce.  10+ points on this one!

The next appetizer was the rice and meat stuffed grape leaves. the flavor was much milder than the first appetizer. Still tasty, not overly vinegary like most grape leaves. I loved the kale in this dish too it made it different!

The main courses were filet mignon or fish. The filet mignon was cooked perfectly and was moist. The mushrooms were also a great side dish to it.

As for the fish, it tasted farmed to me. It laked flavor and the capers overpowered it a little. The spinach was also plain and the meager portion of baked potato was undercooked. This was the only complaint I had with this meal. But the meat dish was top notch.

And my favorite part as always, dessert. We had a little assortment of desserts on our plate, a pistachio Kataifi and Ekmek (Traditionally, the dessert Ekmek is made with a base of ‘Kataifi’ pastry. This pastry resembles angel's hair pasta or vermicelli as it is cut into very thin strands.) Cream ball covered in valrhona chocolate, with a small piece of baklava (to my delight, not overly sweet as most), and a little dollop of yogurt cream. It was another 10 score!

And I loved the little cookie box they gave us on our way out. I devoured it on the steps of the restaurant, why wait?

Do check out the restaurant's website. They also post a recipe of the month. Here is this month's. Lavraki Tartare. Lavraki is a Mediterranean sea bass.

Lavraki Tartare
Ingredients
2 thin slices of lavraki (Mediterranean sea bass) approx. 4oz.
1 tbsp Scordalia (garlic almond mousse)*
¼ inch thick sliced of a peeled cucumber
¼ inch thick slice of a roasted red pepper
¼ inch thick slice of a roasted beet
6 pcs poached grape leaves
½ tsp lemon and orange zest (mixed)
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Lay out the poached grape leaves, to form a square, and spread the scordalia on one side. Place the lavraki about one third in from the edge and on top of the grape leaves covering the entire length. Place cucumber, pepper and beet over the lavraki. Add zest and salt and pepper to taste. Take hold of the grape leaves and roll the entire length gently, but tight enough to avoid spillage.
Mise en Plate
Cut into 1 inch pieces, and place on serving dish.
Top each piece with tobiko caviar.

*Ingredients & Preparation for Garlic Almond Mousse
Makes enough for four cups, which and be refrigerated and used in other dishes, or as a garnish for almost any grilled fish.
1 oz fresh garlic
½ cup blanched almonds
1/3 cup vinegar
½ tsp white pepper
1 tsp sea salt
½ lb Country loaf (crust removed), soaked in cold water and squeezed dry
3 oz extra virgin olive oil
4 oz cold water
Add all ingredients (except the olive oil) to a food processor and blend for 3-4 minutes. Continue to blend while adding the oil in a slow stream. After completely blended, store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Devi

I'm in the middle of a move, as I empty out my fridge and come up with the most bizarre food combinations that surprisingly work, (Buckwheat pasta with anchovies, artichokes, walnut oil and goat cheese- believe me.. it was AMAZING!) I am getting tired of figuring out what I can make from canned and frozen food products, so I've been eating out a lot.

Just before lent started I decided to try a restaurant that had been on my list for quite some time, Devi. It is an indian restaurant with an almost royal ambiance. As soon as you walk through the doors you enter a reddish toned room with decorative lamps hanging from the high ceilings.

The restaurant looks very refined, not like a regular Indian buffet style restaurant.

The menu looks very intriguing and I had a hard time not trying the chef's tasting menu. If it wasn't Lent the next day, I would have done it.

To start us out they brought us a little amuse bouche. Some vegetable croquettes in a sweet sauce.  It was a great appetite opener.

Then I had a hard time chosing between the samosa trio (I LOVE Samosas!) and the chicken stuffed with lamb. I picked the chicken just because I can't find that at any regular indian restaurant. It was fantastic. If you like lamb you will enjoy this dish. And the tomato chutney that accompanies it is great to the last drop!

I was really going for unfamiliar territory with my main course, I tried the goat curry and the eggplant curry. Both mildly spicy and delicious! Does anyone make better curries than the Indians? I don't think so! I accompanied it with some garlic naan (tastier than the plain kind!) and loved every bite of it! Totally worth a try! The restaurant is very close to Union Square in Manhattan so next time you are craving indian, go for something different and try this delicious restaurant!

Naan is so incredibly easy to make: If you are a bread baking pro, try this one. My mother used to make panninis for me when I was younger using naan, brie cheese and ham. Not indian but very delicious.

Ingredients for indian naan recipe:

4 cups White Flour (Maida)
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Milk
1 tbsp Sugar
1 Egg
4 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Nigella seeds (Kalunji) If you can find them...

How To Make Naan:

• Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl and make a well in the middle.
• Mix the sugar, milk, eggs 2 tbsp of oil in a bowl.
• Pour this into the center of the flour and knead adding water if necessary to form soft dough.
• Add the remaining oil, knead again, then cover with damp cloth and allow the dough to stand for 15 minutes. Knead the dough again and cover and leave for 2-3 hours. Don't rush this process!
• About half an before the naan are required, turn on the oven to maximum heat.
• Divide the dough into 8 balls and allow rest for 3-4 minutes.
• Sprinkle a baking sheet with nigella seeds and put it in the oven to heat while the dough is resting.
• Shape each ball of dough with the palms to make an oval shape.
• Bake the indian bread naan until puffed up and golden brown. Serve hot.

Afternoon tea with Portuguese Pao de Leite

Famous all over the world, especially in Hawaii: the Portuguese Sweet Rolls or as we call them, Pao de Leite. I love them for breakfast with a little butter and ham. They are great. My favorite place to get them is the Pao de Milho Bakery in Ironbound, NJ at 149 Oliver Street Newark, NJ 07105-2006

Their baked goods are all amazing and I recommend all of them! I was there this weekend and got inspired to make the bread at home. This is my version of the Portuguese sweet bread, with a little hint of vanilla and lemon.

My little kitten Penny wanted to join us for tea with the portuguese sweet bread..

Restaurant Week at Artisanal

I love restaurant week, why? Discounted Dining at some of the best places in the city. This time I tried Artisanal. I'm sure you've heard of their numerous cheeses.. they have a wide selection of hard, soft, young, old, smelly, pleasant, everything cheesy!! And if you stop by in February they have their Cheesy Fondue Month.. 28 different fondues.. Amazing and gooey-licious!

So here's what we had.. the amazing gougeres. I'm sure you've seen these before.

Gougères are a classical preparation often served at wine tastings in France. The puffs are made from a savory pâte á choux, or cream puff dough-flavored with cheese. They are best served hot out of the oven, offering that creamy-dough gratification. And, if you don't add the cheese, the puff is a base for a dessert just like profiteroles. (Recipe below)

The gougeres

Then  a Daube of Beef with Spaetzel. The best part was the Spaetzel

And a Mushroom Risotto. Yum.. but the best part was still...

Dessert!! a Chocolate Marquise with crunchy Hazelnut Feuilletine in the centre. It was delicious but it was such a tiny slice.. I am watching my figure but I do love dessert!! More please!

And then it came.. petit fours.. Madelines with powdered sugar and mini brownies.. well.. the brownies were a little floury for my taste but the madeline was impeccable!

I give this restaurant week menu a 3 out of 5 stars.

And as promised here is a recipe..

 Gougeres Recipe by Thomas Keller

 

1 cup water
7 tablespoons (3-1/2 ounces) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon kosher salt, or more to taste
Pinch of sugar
1-1/4 cups (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
4 to 5 large eggs
1-1/4 cups grated Gruyère (5 ounces)
Freshly ground white pepper

 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, salt, and sugar and bring to a boil. Add all the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium, and stir with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes, or until the mixture forms a ball and the excess moisture has evaporated (if the ball forms more quickly, continue to cook and stir for a full 2 minutes).

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle and beat for about 30 seconds at medium speed to cool slightly. Add 4 eggs and continue to mix until completely combined and the batter has a smooth, silky texture. Stop the machine and lift up the beater to check the consistency of the batter. The batter in the mixing bowl should form a peak with a tip that falls over. If it is too stiff, beat in the white of the remaining egg. Check again and, if necessary, add the yolk. Finally, mix in 3/4 cup of the Gruyère and adjust the seasoning with salt and white pepper.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 3/8-inch plain pastry tip with the gougère batter. Pipe the batter into 1-tablespoon mounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between the gougères as the mixture will spread during baking. Sprinkle the top of each gougère with about 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining grated cheese and bake for 7 to 8 minutes, or until they puff and hold their shape. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. And bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes. When the gougères are done, they should be a light golden brown color. When you break one open, it should be hollow; the inside should be cooked but still slightly moist. Remove the pans from the oven and serve the gougères while hot.

http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/special/2000/laundry/gougeres.html#ixzz1DaHxVMRV

New Dessert at Norwood Club

Last night was the debut of two new Desserts at Norwood.

This one pictured below was valentines inspired. It's a strawberry mirroir with a strawberry tuille. vanilla ice cream. Strawberry Sauce and white chocolate sauce, and fresh berries.

Come try it out!

A mirroir is a puree based dessert that is lightened with whipped cream, and has gelatin to solidify it. On top of this fruit musse there is a clear layer of fruit puree and preserves, which becomes so shiny that it looks like a Mirror. or Mirroir in french!

The Norwood Club

So as previously mentioned, I am now the Pastry Chef at the Norwood Club in NYC. It's a private club for artists, and I have the privilege of working with the greatest team anyone could ask for. Full of friendly people and amazing food of course. Earlier this week I decided to try a tasting from the currently updated menu (all of my desserts included of course!)

So here is my adventure and what you would taste if you decide to dine there.

Amuse

Oysters with champagne gelee. I am typically not a fan of oysters but I could eat a dozen of these!

Lobster Salad. I see them being cooked every day and was thrilled to finally sink my teeth into them.

Parsnip soup with lemongrass.

Appetizers

Beet Salad with blue cheese!

Spetzle with bolognese sauce!

Cauliflower.. the best I've ever had!

Cream of mushroom soup... can I jsut say WOW!

Main  

Lobster Risotto with clementines and clementine foam.

Fluke with truffled potatoes and mushrooms. The best dish!

Duck with figs.. Tasty!!

Pork cooked in the most unusual interesting way.. ask the chef!

Desserts

Chocolate- Caramel mousses on hazelnut Financier with frangelico caramel sauce and vanilla oil caramelized hazelnuts.

Flourless chocolate torte with ricotta-fraiche ice cream, raspberries and dehydrated meringue. The entire dish just falls apart in your mouth!

Cinnamon- Vanilla Apple Tart with strawberry sauce, fresh strawberries and lavender wire.

Spiced Pumpkin Mousse with cinnamon ice cream, snapple sauce, cinnamon streusel and pumpkin chips.

Quite a meal isn't it? But tasty and worth it!

Almost Christmas- Buche de Noel

Christmas is my favorite Holiday. It's a time when families come together and share special traditions, one of the most common aspects of family traditions is that it involves the kitchen. Baking cookies, breads, desserts, turkey, pies, anything that is edible.. Many households have specific meal traditions too, I for example eat codfish on Christmas Eve. We've been doing that since I was little and I still continue to do it every year. With the recent economic crisis we find more and more people making their own gifts to give to friends and family, and many of these gifts are coming straight out of their kitchen. I like giving food items because the person can enjoy them, finish them, and not have to worry about finding a place to store that thingamabob that so and so gave them. Cookies are a great idea, especially when you place them in pretty decorative bags that cost you only 10 cents each. I like to do something a little more special, I'll bake either a cake or a Christmas Stollen. This Buche de Noel for example.. It requires about 3 hours of your time, but it looks beautiful as a gift! I was inspired by Chef Diminique Ansel's (Executive Pastry Chef at Daniel) recipe for Buche de Noel in Food & Wine's December Issue.

I wanted more to have a more rustic look and worn wood so I used a completely different filling and coating, but here is the recipe I used.

Filling

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate

4 oz cream cheese

Boil the cream and then pour over the chocolate. Let sit for a minute then whisk gently to emulsify chocolate and cream together.

Allow ganache to cool to room temperature.

When ganache is cooled, beat the cream cheese until soft, then add the ganache (gradually) and beat until incorporated.



Cake

1. 6 large egg yolks, at room temperature
2. 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3. 5 large egg whites, at room temperature
4. 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
5. 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Line a 9-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg yolks with 6 tablespoons of the sugar at high speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy, and leaves a ribbon trail when the whisk is lifted, 3 minutes; transfer to a large bowl.
2. Thoroughly wash and dry the mixer bowl and whisk. Add the egg whites and salt to the bowl and beat at moderately high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar and continue beating until the whites are stiff and glossy.
3. Using a rubber spatula, stir one-fourth of the beaten whites into the yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining whites until no streaks remain. Working in 2 batches, sift the cocoa over the batter and fold gently until fully incorporated. Spread the batter on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the cake feels springy and dry; rotate the pan halfway through baking. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.



Make the Syrup

1/4 cup strawberry preserves

3 Tablespoons boiling water

1. Dissolve the preserves in the boiling water by whisking vigorously until the preserves break down and form a thick liquid.

Assembly

1. Brush the syrup onto the chocolate sponge.

2. Spread the filling in a thin layer on the cake.

3. Roll the cake into a log.

4. Cut off the two ends at an angle, making one slightly larger than the other.

5. Place the smaller end on top of the log and the longer end on the side.

6. Cover the log with frosting (I used a Chocolate Buttercream Frosting instead of the filling frosting), then using a fork make wood print lines.

7. Top with fondant decorations (if desired) and...

 

...Sprinkle with 'snow'

And Merry Christmas!!

 Now for a little History on the Buche de Noel... it litteraly means "Christmas log," referring to the traditional Yule log burned centuries past. The ingedients suggest the cake is most likely a 19th century creation. That's when thinly rolled sponge cakes filled with jam or cream and covered with buttercream icing begin to show up in European cook books. Marzipan and meringue, typically employed for decorative purposes, date to the Medieval Ages and the 17th century respectively.
"Christmas Yule Log. A log-shaped cake traditionally prepared for the Christmas festivities. It is usually made of rectangular slices of Genoese sponge, spread with butter cream and placed one on top of the other, and them shaped into a log; it is coated with chocolate butter cream, applied with a piping bag to simulate bark. The cake is decorated with holly leaves made from almond paste, meringue mushrooms and small figures.
There are also ice cream logs, some made entirely of different flavoured ice creams and some with the inside made of parfait or a bombe mixture. This cake is a fairly recent creation (after 1870) of the Parisian pastrycooks, inspired by the real logs which used to be burned in the hearth throughout Christmas Eve. Before then, the cakes of the season were generally brioches or fruit loaves."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely Revised and Updated [Clarkson Potter:New York] 2001 (p. 299)
"Genoise sponge. A light sponge cake that takes its name from the city of Genoa. Genoise sponge is made of eggs and sugar whisked over heat until thick, then cooled and combined with flour and melted butter. It can be enriched with ground almonds or crystallized (candied) fruits and flavoured with liqueur, the rind (zest) of citrus fruits or vanilla. Genoa sponge...differs from ordinary sponge cake in that the eggs are beaten whole, whereas in the latter the yolks and whites are usually beaten separately. Genoise sponge is the basis of many filled cakes."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Completely Revised and Updated [Clarkson Potter:New York] 2001 (p. 550)
"[In France] where the buche de Noel, a roll of light sponge cake, is covered in chocolate or coffee buttercream textured to resemble bark. The conceit is carried further by mounding the cream over small pieces of cake stuck to the main roll, to represent trimmed branches. The ends of the roll and the cut faces of the branches are finished with vanilla cream, imitating pale newly cut wood, and the whole is decorated with leaves made from icing, or meringue mushrooms."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson, [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 184)

New Cuisine: Persian Cuisine

As I was walking around the city with my husband last saturday, we started to feel hungry but neither one of us wanted to go to the same restaurants we'd been to. We are those people that love to try new foods and even if we absolutely loved a restaurant, we'd rather go seek out something new than do repeats. With so many restaurants in NYC you have to do that! So I remembered a restaurant I had read about on the upper East side that was Persian (Iranian). We had never had Persian cuisine so we stopped by a starbucks, asked the first person that we saw with a laptop if they could search the location of the restaurant for us, and off we went.

Shalezeh was our dining location for the night. We didn't really know what to order since it was all different to us but we really like eggplant and lamb so we went with a sampler of egg plant dips to start out with.

There was a plain one with lentils, a mint one, and a tomato one. They were served with flat breads like pita and a thin focaccia type bread.

The dips were good but as soon as we took one bite we thought "what a mild flavor." We like food with a lot of flavor so we thought this would be bursting with it. No... it was very plain.. until I decided to add the tahini that came with the bread basket to the bread and then put the eggplant on top. That made it 10 times better. But irregardless, the eggplant trio was delicious. Our favorite being the tomato eggplant dip!

Then the main course we ordered lamb shank with raisin couscous, cabbage and grilled onions. We were so excited to try it that I didn't get a chance to take a photo of the full plate, but here is a breakdown (literally)

                                       

 

This couscous was tasty with the broth, but on its own it was very mild just like the rest of the lamb. So my conclusion is that Persian cuisine is very mild. I can't speak for all Persian food since this was my first time, but I think I prefer more flavor in each bite. We didn't order dessert since it was baklava (I admit, I am not a fan) and all other desserts had rose petals or rose water (another ingredient I am not a fan of.) But we did enjoy some port wine and godiva chocolates after dinner. I am a sucker for both, and we had conveniently been to Godiva earlier that day, yes you guessed it, my favorite truffles, the Bakery dessert truffles...

To learn more about Persian cuisine you can visit this website which will give you a background on it and some recipes. Enjoy!