savortooth

Fall Is Here!!

Sunday was the Autumn Moon Festival, and I am so glad I got my mooncakes. All week it was too hot and humid to trek to Chinatown, but I was out on Saturday night after Denyse Schmidt's booksigning at Make Workshop, my friend Diana's school for knitting, quilting, shoemaking, etc. It was getting late after we parted ways, and I feared the bakeries would be closed. I got to Taipan Bakery on Canal at 8:55, and they close eveyr night at 8:30! A street vendor was rifling throught the bakery's trash for food, and I asked him if there was another bakery open. He was startled, but then pointed arounf the corner. Fay Da Bakery, on Mott Street, was open! I got double-yolk white lotus seed paste(on the left) and red bean(they call it black bean) for B. I got four different ones, but they gave me a tin even though I didn't buy the matched sets.The mooncakes are so rich, I usually can't eat more than two small slices, but B. ate half of his in one sitting. He doesn't like the yolk, but to me, that salty bit is the best part.

I am still making my endive/lettuce combo, and yesterday I made cream of celery soup. I improvised between two recipes, one from the Year of Monestary Soups cookbook. Love those monks! The interesting thing about their recipe is that it calls for boiling the soup (I use a lot less water than they call for), and then adding white sauce. Their white sauce recipe is so amazing! Next time I am having it on noodles. I don't know why, but I love making soup- just chopping eveything feels good.

Desserts Galore

It took a long time, but I finally got my syrup shipment. Now, we have a cabinet full. Almond, chocolate(it's clear), cherry, peach, and grenadine. I like to mixe a little of each of the almond and chocolate. I also got this white chocolate bar with red berries- a little perfumey and really good, from Weiss chocolates. But I still favor the Green and Black's, when it comes to white chocolate.

I don't know what's going on here, but I saw this on our way to La Lunchonette, on 10th Ave. and 18th St. (Note: don't walk down 18th Street to get there) It's so comfy and we had a great meal there. The scallops are always wonderful, and we also had two salads, snails, and the artichoke. The big hit was the cheese plate we shared at dessert. Here is the list, for future reference:
Le Chevrot- aged raw goat's milk
Vallee d'Ossau- Pure brebis(sheep's milk-I learned something new today) smooth, nutty flavor(my fave)
Cantal Salers- semi-hard cow's milk, similar to aged cheddar
Montbriac- Soft-ripened, a cross between brie and blue
Brillat-Savarin- soft-riped triple-creme cow's milk enriched with cream

Kabab Cafe

Finally, here are the pics from Kabab Cafe. The amazing mushroom hiwashi and pumpkin dumplings, the portrait of the owner's mother, and the map of NYC neighborhoods by ethnic make-up. B and I were supposed to meet Cecil from Dancing Rabbit for lunch, but it never happened! So we had to eat without him.

Tomato Season

It's tomato season! Well, I am not at Chez Panisse(still haven't been to the downstairs part) but I always think of it in August. Instead I have been making penne with balsamic vinegar and cherry tomatoes. So delicious and easy to make. Just halve the cherry tomatoes, cook down in lots of olive oil, add salt, pepper, balsamic. Toss with penne.

I started using the vinegar after Tricia got me a great Italian food basket from Trader Joe's — the olive oil and the vinegar were so good! I am now on to some new olive oil I got at Rosario's, my local Italian shop in Astoria. To add to all that, B's parents brought us great salt from Provence. There it is on the right, with my Simplex kettle in the background. It boils water in what seems like two seconds, and it makes life so much easier to use it to boil the water for pasta, instead of waiting!

Also on my dishes of late: sauteed endives. I have done it two ways: 1) Sliced- sauteed with sliced lettuce, in butter and olive oil. The lettuce does add water, which needs to be cooked off, but adds interesting flavor and color, and is a nod to Chinese cooking.  2) Sliced, but with the firm ends sliced and sauteed first, til caramalized, creating yummy burnt butter/endive flavor, then adding finely sliced leaves.  I also eat endive and romaine salad with hard boiled egg- oh yeah.

Tonight I made version two, along with shitakes sauteed in butter, served with some Whole Foods Hoki filets(in a box, frozen) topped with my version of remoulade. Mix mayo, Wildwood plain soy yogurt(or of course, any thick plain yogurt), dijon(Edmund Fallot!), salt, pepper, and finely minced celery(a lot).

 

                             

We also had a really nice heirllom tomato salad at Cafe Loup. I had wanted to go for a while, since the place and logo are so cute. We had a good excuse when Susan gave me that Diner's Deck. It is under construction outside the restaurant, but so comfy and large inside. We had a great skinny gay French waiter who kept winking at me. The food was delicious, and large portions. We shared the tomato salad, the endive salad with yellow/red beets, frites, and breaded scallops which came with mashed garlic potatoes, pickly cabbage, kale, and squash. We couldn't finish our food! Have you ever heard me say that? It was really great, and next time we have to return for the good-sounding desserts. (They have jazz brunch, for those of you who are into that sort of thing. Also, so easy to use the $10 off card from my Diner's Deck. Thanks, Susan!

In other meal news:
Another great meal at Trattoria L'Incontro, right down the street in Astoria. I had the fish, because surprisingly, it is the best thing there! Of course, all the food is amazing. B had house-made fettucine in fresh tomato sauce, wrapped in thin slices of eggplant!  B's mom had amazing duck. My Meditteranean fish(started with an O, I think) with shitake and sliced asparagus, in a brown sauce.

Rai Rai Ken, again, before seeing Rize in in the East Village. Fascinating movie, and B got to have almond do-fu with fruit cocktail for dessert for the first time, after our ramen.

Bad service on a weeknight at Fatty's Cafe. Our waittress was probably new, but the problem was also with the ktichem who couldn't get us the other half of our food after a mix-up.