Dining and Sniffing in New York City - Part 1

The first actual NY meal of the day came at lunch. The lovely ladies who organize the Sniffapalooza event, collectively known as "The Karens," had reserved Seppi's, a French restaurant in Le Parker Meridien hotel. For $30, we got a choice of artichoke-onion soup or a green salad with apple and goat cheese; grilled chicken or hanger steak with spinach and potatoes gratin, or pasta primavera; and either a molten chocolate cake or a fruit salad. Non-alcoholic beverages were also included.

Our group packed the dark and cozy restaurant, decorated with lots of posters and a black-painted pressed-tin ceiling. Andree and both chose the salad, steak, and fruit. The salad was a mix of baby greens, topped with a slice of apple which in turn was topped with a medallion of goat cheese. The dressing was a tangy mustardy vinaigrette, applied with a moderate hand.

We asked for our steak to be medium, but it was more medium-rare. That's fine too - as long as it's not cold and bloody inside, I'll eat it. The steak shared the plate with a very generous hunk of potatoes gratin and a rather skimpy portion of perfectly cooked spinach. I would have preferred less potatoes and more spinach, but that's probably a petty quibble. It was all very tasty. The steak was nicely chewy, with good beefy flavor. The potatoes were decadently rich and tender, and the spinach was well seasoned, without that astringent quality that often mars undercooked sauteed spinach.

The fruit salad was the usual unimaginative combination of grapes, strawberries, cantaloupe and honeydew melon, and pineapple, but served in a puddle of citrus juices. I would have gone for the chocolate cake, which looked tantalizing, but I knew we'd have cupcakes waiting for us at the next stop.

Speaking of which...next time. :)

Dining and Sniffing in New York City - Part 0

I just got back from a weekend trip to NY during which I spent my time sniffing perfume and eating. (Often at the same time.) The primary reason for the trip was an event for perfume aficionados called Sniffapalooza - two days of sensory overload.

My friend Andree and I were taking the train into the City, so would miss the planned breakfast at Bergdorf Goodman. To make up for that, I concocted some mighty yummy "carrot" muffins. I use the quotes because the muffins didn't have all that much carrot in them. I had purchased a bag of pre-shredded carrots, but when I went to use them, I found they had become slimy and tossed the lot of them. Alas, all I had left in the fridge was about 8 of those mini carrots, and I needed a cup and a half total. What to do? Fortunately, we had several apples in the crisper, so I peeled and shredded one of those. For extra flavor, I stirred in some grated orange peel. And finally, to gild the lily, I filled them with a cream cheese mixture. What's carrot cake without cream cheese frosting?

Cream cheese-filled Fruity Muffins

Muffins:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded apple (peeled)
1/2 cup dried cherries, soaked in warm water or something more alcoholic, if you prefer
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
grated zest of one orange

Filling:
4 oz softened cream cheese
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift together dry ingredients; set aside. Beat the eggs and the sugar together until light. Blend in the the melted butter until well combined. Add the carrots, apple, drained cherries, walnuts, and orange peel. Stir in the dry ingredients but do not overmix.

In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the filling.

Grease a large 6- or standard 12-muffin pan. Fill the cups about 3/4 of the way, then add a dollop of cream cheese filling. Bake large muffins for about 40 minutes, and regular ones for about 30. They should turn a nice deep brown, and a cake tester should come out clean.

Next: Actual NY dining

A Holiday Meal

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than a nice steaming pan of chicken biryani, washed down with glasses of cool crisp Pino Grigio?

That's right - I am in no way no how Irish, and, despite the last name, neither is my husband. I'm about 75% Polish, and I don't celebrate St. Casimir's day, so why bother with St. Patrick's? Oh, because so many Americans use it as an excuse to drink cheap food-colored beer to excess? Ahhh, always a good reason. But, nope.

Biryani is an easy dish to make at home, and makes effective use of leftovers. I always have a jar of Patak's biryani paste in the fridge. I may have mentioned in previous posts how well it works as a marinade for pork tenderloin and leg of lamb, but it also works well in...biryani! Biryani is a rice dish popular in the Middle East and southern Asia; the version available in most Indian restaurants in the U.S. is probably the best-known.

We had some leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge, and a melange of fresh and frozen vegetables that needed to be used: a partial bag of frozen green beans; some chopped tomatoes left over from tacos earlier in the week; a handful of baby carrots, julienned; fresh asparagus; frozen peas. I chopped and sauteed a small onion and a handful of sliced mushrooms in a bit of olive oil. When they were softened, I added the carrots, green beans, and tomatoes, plus three tablespoonfuls of biryani paste. Meanwhile, I had some basmati rice in the rice cooker. When the rice was done, I added it to the biryani paste mixture, stirring well to coat each grain with the paste. Then I tossed in the peas, chicken, and asparagus (cut into small pieces) and covered the pan, warming it all on low heat. Delicious! And certainly tastier than corned beef and cabbage.

Happy Mid-March!

Meat Hangover

I've heard about meat hangovers, but never experienced one for myself until this morning. Last night, DH, DB, and I went to Greenfield Churrascaria in Rockville. DB had a gift certificate that he had received for Christmas and wanted to use before he had the opportunity to lose it, and DH and I were happy to assist him.

The restaurant is huge, seating many hundreds of people, I am sure. There is a large salad bar featuring everything from arugula and watercress to marinated mushrooms to pasta salad. There are soups including a nice seafood bisque full of squid tentacles, and a selection of Brazilian favorites like yuca and feijoada. That's all well and good...actually not that good. The salad bar selections are mediocre at best, but hey, the real reason to go there is the MEAT. Lots and lots and lots of meat.

Last night, we indulged in cholesterol-laden goodness. We had sausage, turkey wrapped in bacon, pork, lamb, and several different cuts of beef. My favorite was the short ribs, something we had never seen there before in all our many previous trips. It came around last, after DH had already declared himself "done for" and I was close to bursting (but was considering one last trip to the salad bar for some deep fried bananas, as "dessert") and could well have been the straw that broke the camel's back. But it was damned good, tender and flavorful. As was all the meat. Well, not all was tender - the flank steak was a bit chewy, and the pork was a little tough - but all had tremendous flavor. Everything was a tad on the salty side this trip too, as I couldn't stop drinking water, and had to chugalug a big glass of it when I got home.

Drinking so much definitely had its drawbacks. It's unfortunate that a restaurant so large would provide a mere two toilets in the ladies' room. It is also unfortunate that a large birthday party in our section would have small children running around. On my trip to the bathroom, I found that two little girls from that party were busily stuffing seat protectors into one toilet and emerged from the stall with "don't go in that one - it's flooded." The other stall contained what seemed like a small army of children but proved to be one extremely overweight child and her equally porky mother taking turns stinking up the place. As I waited, several other people, children in tow, entered the bathroom, so I left in a huff to use the bathroom in a nearby McDonald's. (Like I needed more reasons to dislike children....)

Anyway...I awoke in the middle of the night with a raging headache. Three ibuprofins and a couple of aspirin later, I still have it.

Meat hangover. It's not quite as bad as some alcohol-induced hangovers I've experienced in the distant past: I can hold my head up, and light isn't bothering me too much. But it's quite unpleasant and highly not recommended. I'm still trying to decide if it was worth it. Maybe tomorrow my overindulgence will seem a better idea.