A to Z in the DelSo, Part II

Welcome back to my serialization (is this really a word?  I thought I made it up!) of the DelSo Alphabet.  Have you started looking around your neighborhood differently?

Emack & Bolio's - the place to go for ice cream and open mike.

Tuesday night Farmer's Market  - until 7pm!

     Have you seen Cassidy, the Lilly dog,  lately?  She really needs a visit to Greg's after a summer of swimming in the Normanskill.

Hook & Ladder #4 required two photos since my trusty project assistant, Quinn, insisted upon taking the photo of the ladder truck.  This is the most beautiful firehouse in the city.

A to Z in the DelSo, Part I

Walking through the DelSo today, I was inspired to attempt an A to Z tour of my neighborhood.  I had some conflicts - sometimes there were hard choices in what to feature, usually with letters I wouldn't have anticipated struggling with like "U" and "V, " but, I selected my favorites or those I wanted to highlight as being part of a hip up-and-coming neighborhood.  This was a really fun project, particularly with a 5 y/o whose name thankfully starts with "Q", and I encourage you to give it a try in your neighborhood.  Feel free to share your personal favorites.

The awesome Delaware Avenue branch of the Albany Public Library

Botanica Ada's - I've never actually been inside this intriguing shop, but I'm getting there - soon.

Cardona's - my source for delicious Italian gourmet items.

Davey Jones - a place for beautiful fish and art

Beekman Street Bistro

Unfortunately, we don't get to Saratoga very often.  It isn't the distance, as much as the drive home, that usually prevents us from heading north for an evening out, but, last night we had a driver and off we went in style.  The Beekman Street Bistro has been on our list to try for a couple of years and I am so glad we finally had an opportunity, and an occasion, to get there. 

The restaurant's location is enough off of the beaten track (not this track, more this one) to not be inundated with horse racing revelers, although trainer Bob Baffert was there to lend a little Saratoga summer flavor to the evening.  The space is cozy, well lit and comfortable, and I swear they robbed one of my playlists because the music (Dave Matthews, Etta James, some hip jazz) was eclectic and reminiscent of what we play Saturday nights at McGuire's.  The menu was fantastic.  It wasn't overwhelming in size, but there was no lack of enticing options and I went all out with four courses. 

I started with the Wellfleet little neck clams and they were a perfect launching point for the evening, tender and beautifully paired with crumbled sausage and "chic" peas.  Tom was in charge of wine selection and the bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte was the ideal accompaniment to our preliminary courses.  He had an order of sardines (an evening special) grilled and simply presented with olive oil and lemon.  They required a bit of delicate work in terms of bone avoidance, but the fish was sweet and tender.  We shared a salad of arugula with shaved foie gras, another special addition to the evening's menu.  The salad was more than adequate for sharing and I enjoyed it, but the foie gras was a bit more subtle than I had anticipated.  Nonetheless it was a fine middle course.  For my entree, I ordered the duck breast which was served with a perfectly balanced plum sauce (not overly sweet) and, boy, was it amazing with the Willamette Valley  Pinot Noir from Auteur that Tom had selected.  Other entrees present at the table were the quail and the hangar steak - all were relished.  The portion sizes were ideal, satisfying without overwhelming, local ingredients were appropriately credited, and the service was a genuine team effort.  For dessert we shared a couple of cheese plates (served with 3 selections and honey in the comb), an ice cream cake, a generous serving of lemon mousse that only could have been improved by a bit more refrigeration, and my choice, panna cotta, which truly was memorable with the syrupy balsamic vinegar drizzle on top. 

Tom, me, Maura, Kay, Jim and Stu

It was so nice to finally get to the Bistro and to have an experience which was well worth the wait.   I think I know where I want to go for my birthday next month - the $75 five-course chef's tasting menu is calling my name. And I definitely need to have the hubby get his hands on some of that fine Oregon wine, it is the perfect pinot for fall and will certainly sweeten the inevitable end of a wonderful summer.

Eggs Benedict

I'll never forget my first foray into Hollandaise making.  If you can imagine, I was intimidated by the whole process so I found a recipe titled "Easy Blender Hollandaise."  And - it was a disaster.  My friend, Christin, came over and, when she was finished mocking me and my pathetic attempts, she taught me how to make Hollandaise.  Since that day many years ago, my approach to making Hollandaise has evolved to the point that I consider it one of the simplest sauces to make and I can throw it together in less than 5 minutes.

This morning when Tom seemed less than enthusiastic about my offer of poached eggs and English muffins, I whipped up the plate above in the time it took him to walk to the corner for the Sunday paper.  Small rant here about the paper: we subscribed for years until we finally got so frustrated with the delivery schedule that we canceled.  Getting the paper at 7:30 in the morning doesn't cut it when I have to leave for work at 7:15, kwim?  If the T-U expended as much energy in getting the paper to my house in a timely manner as they do with their constant barrage of telephone solicitations offering me home delivery at a reduced price, perhaps we'd be able to work something out.  End of rant. 

For the Hollandaise I used 3 egg yolks and a really generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  I knew I was serving the eggs on a bed of arugula (nope, not tired of arugula yet) and I love the contrast of pepper and lemon so I upped the amount of lemon juice that I typically use.  After whisking the yolks and juice and a few drops of water together in a stainless bowl, I put the bowl above a pot filled with about 4" of simmering water, double boiler style.  Whisking constantly, I watched the eggs turn to a gorgeous shade of yellow at which point I started adding chunks of cold butter, probably about 4T in all.  Whisk, whisk, whisk, a little salt and few cranks of pepper - done.  If things start getting out of hand (curdling or breaking), remove the bowl from the double boiler and add a drop or 2 of cold water, if necessary. Make this a couple of times and I promise, you will be the master (mistress?) of this versatile and impressive sauce.

For the eggs, I use the bottom part of the double boiler.  Add a couple of spoons of vinegar to the water, bring it to a boil and slide your eggs in.  I crack my eggs onto a saucer to facilitate sliding them in to the water gently.  Poach until they are the way you like them and combine them with your choice of bread, greens or meats to make the morning meal of your dreams. 

Remember those tomatoes...

I used them yesterday when I made this tasty, rustic* pizza. I used some of that flavored olive oil to lightly coat a baking sheet and then dusted it with some coarse corn meal.  After spreading the room temperature dough in my typical inept fashion, I topped it with a smear of pesto, a layer of roasted tomatoes and some grated pecorino Romano.  The oven was hot at 475 degrees and I baked the pizza until the crust was a shade of golden brown that I like.  To finish the pizza, I threw a handful of arugula on top to wilt, as the oven cooled down.  Summer's here and the living is easy....

*rustic means "less than beautifully symmetric shaped crust" in my world.

Food on the Cape

When we visit Cape Cod, our traditional-number-one-place-where-we-always-eat is the Lobster Pot in Provincetown.  Be it lunch or dinner, we always enjoy our meals at this landmark spot and a trip to the Cape would be incomplete without at least one meal here.  The menu is extensive but we always get seafood and I usually get one of their amazing bloody Marys, which, in my mind, pairs perfectly with fish. I've sampled and recommend their chowder, the sauteed calamari, the baked stuffed lobster, and the tuna sashimi.  Everything we've ever been served is fresh and meals are accompanied by family style salad service.  Do not miss their sesame salad dressing!

We don't often get more than one date night when we're vacationing with the kids, but, as they get older, I imagine we'll be able to ratchet this up a bit.  The last few years we've devoted our night out to The Wicked Oyster, but I'm thinking we're going to expand our horizons after this year's experience.  I don't often have buyer's remorse after a meal, but the first thing I thought of the morning after our dinner here, was the crap piece of fish I had been served.  I should have sent it back and I started the day annoyed, which is not good.  The food wasn't bad it just wasn't what it should have been - our beet salad tasted a bit dirty, the sea scallop appetizer was ok but seemed to be overwhelmed by the corn relish and the fish of the day entree (halibut) was a joke.  The piece of fish was so thin on the ends that it was crunchy and the middle was more than a little dry.  I'm sorry that they served me an inferior piece of fish and I'm more sorry that I didn't send it back and give them an opportunity to correct their error.  The duck confit salad was delicious, but we'll probably give this place a pass in 2011.

If you're looking for a casual meal with something for everyone, PJ's is the place.  I'd been trying to resist my urge to eat fried scallops, but, the day I finally caved it was at PJ's, and I have no regrets.  The food is prepared to order and includes some terrific fried chicken for the landlubbers.  Our family of four ate really well for less than $60 which is a feat on the Cape.  This place is definitely busy, but we like to slip in for a late lunch/early dinner at 4 pm or so and generally don't wait long.  Also a good spot for ice cream and milkshakes frappes.

image beachcomber.com

The Beachcomber in Cahoon Hollow is the only place in Wellfleet where you can take a  beach break and climb a dune to get a meal and/or drinks.  There is nothing fancy about this place, and you'll be surprised how quickly the check adds up, but the fish is fresh and the drinks are strong - what more do you want?  I like their fish tacos, their chowder and the steamed mussels.  They also have a raw bar and I swear I ate the best oysters of my life there last week.  Despite being a hardcore live music venue, this is the place my kids always want to go to - why fight it?

We've spent a lot of money over the years at Emack and Bolio's in Wellfleet, but this year I heard about a fairly new spot in Truro for ice cream and we gave it a try.  Sweet Escapes was certainly a good addition to our ice cream options and we very much enjoyed their eclectic flavor combinations - the salted caramel flavor was fabulous and there are some other intriguing flavors that I'm looking forward to trying next summer - hello, lavender fig, I'll be back.

Now that you know some of our favorites, please share yours.

How do you like those tomatoes?

Here in the DelSo we're neighborly.  We like to share baked goods, pot-luck dinners and bottles of wine, and I love the sense of community we enjoy in our neighborhood.  Yesterday I came home and found these:

Aren't they gorgeous?  My neighbor, Lucy, shared her bounty with us and I couldn't wait to do something with these lovelies!  In a recent issue of Bon Appetit (Aug 2010) there was a recipe for Bruschetta with Rosemary, Roasted Plum Tomatoes, Ricotta and Prosciutto and I decided to sort of make those.  I say sort of, because I had no intention of making bruschetta today, nor did I have ricotta or prosciutto on hand.  What I really wanted to do was make something delicious with those beautiful plum tomatoes and this recipe provided the inspiration.  

rosemary and garlic

tomatoes prior to roasting

roasted tomatoes

Lucy gave me a lot of tomatoes so I quadrupled the recipe - using 1 1/2 cups of olive oil, 8 garlic cloves minced, about 1/4 cup finely chopped rosemary, and 4 t of both fresh ground pepper and coarse salt.  These ingredients were combined in a large bowl to which I added about 24 quartered plum tomatoes.  After allowing the flavors to mingle for about 10 minutes I lifted the tomatoes out of the bowl (naturally reserving the luscious flavored olive oil) and placed them, cut side down, on a foil lined baking sheet.  I popped the baking sheet into the oven for 45 minutes at 425 degrees (can someone please tell me where the symbol for "degrees" is on my Mac, please?) and let the house fill with the aroma of tomatoes, garlic and rosemary roasting. 

Check out that photo below - summer yum!  Did you notice one (or 2) are missing?  I could have eaten them like candy, they were so sweet and delicious.  Just in case you're not inclined to eat these with your fingers  a fork off the baking sheet, a few additional ideas for how to enjoy these delectable summer fruits:  toss with pasta and some freshly grated cheese,  top a pizza, put them in a sandwich or  an omelet, add them to your  burger or your grilled cheese, stir them into risotto, place them on a salad, oh my, there are so many ways these can be devoured!  Why do I suddenly hear the Green Eggs and Ham refrain in my head?  Taste them, taste them  - you will see! 

For now, mine are in the fridge in their own juices - I found it unnecessary to add any of the reserved liquid and will use that instead to make another batch tomorrow with the remaining tomatoes.  Don't worry, neighbors, I'll be sharing these because that's how we do it in the DelSo.  Enjoy!