TrelayneNYC

Thanksgiving dinner this year coincides with the 2nd night of Hannukah, so my boyfriend and I have taken to calling it Thanksgivukkah.

We'll be visiting his sister in Pennsylvania. I've heard that latkes will be on the table (his family's Jewish), along with some of the usual -- turkey, cranberry sauce, dessert. Should be interesting. 

Gobble tov!

oops ... seems like someone beat me to it already.

Roasted Rancho Gordo chickpeas -- soaked for 6 hours, then simmered in lightly salted water for one hour; drained and patted dry to eliminate all water. These were seasoned with black pepper, cinnamon and Spanish paprika, and 1 tablespoon olive oil, then roasted for 30 minutes at 350 F.

Roasted chickpeas, with preserved lemon, heirloom tomatoes, olives and mint

Leftovers (no pic)

Hm, on Eataly's website all they have in the bottarga line is "salsa alla bottarga di tonno". It never occurred to me until five minutes ago to look for bottarga on Amazon. To my surprise there are approximately one zillion (okay, about forty) vendors eager to sell me bottarga di muggine, either whole or grated, and send it to my mailbox. Fancy that!

At Eataly, it comes in blocks, in packets and in jars. There is bottarga di muggine and bottarga di tonno (tuna bottarga). Whichever one I get depends on whether I feel like spending $$$$ or just $. Right now, there's a jar of bottarga powder (basically a block of bottarga all broken up). It's not a huge jar by any means, but it's well worth the $14 expense. There's enough in there to last a while, when you consider that all you really need is barely a teaspoonful for most dishes.

What is your bottarga source?

Eataly.

Don:  It's a technique used in Indian cooking, usually at the point that you add a tadka to whatever it is you're making.

Tadka translates as "tempering." It is a method widely used in Indian cuisine, in which whole or ground spices are heated in hot oil or ghee and the mixture is added to a dish. Hot fat has an amazing ability to extract and retain the essence, aroma and flavor of spices and herbs and then carry this essence with it when it is added to a dish. American cooks are familiar with tempering as a way of heating and cooling chocolate. No relation.

 
This NPR article, which includes the quote above, explains it in more detail.

I've never been to Eataly to eat.

I go there about once or twice a month to shop.

My biggest gripe with the place is that the vast majority of people are there to look, not to buy. The crowds have not lessened at all.

It can get quite annoying when you're waiting patiently at the cheese counter, for example, and the help is chatting away with one or two people, giving them free samples and what not ... and all you want is someone to acknowledge you and take your order so you can get on with your day.

Their products are great, but it's basically a glorified Kings food emporium (folks who live in suburban NJ might know what I'm talking about) with hordes of obnoxious tourists.

Edit: I live in NYC -- been here since 1988, so at this point, I've earned the right to call visitors to the City "tourists". They become "obnoxious tourists" when they form a critical mass large enough to prevent me from walking. Besides Eataly, there are the People Who Have Never Seen A Tree before (a/k/a out-of-towners who flock enmasse to Rockefeller Center during the entire month of December). :angry:

Barbara: http://kitchenseasons.com/2013/02/08/beet-bourguignon/

It's an adaptation of the original at Green Kitchen Stories: http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/beet-bourguignon/

I use them in all sorts of things, from soup to roasted vegetables to salads, like so:

There is also beet bourguignon (yes, you read that correctly):

I also like using the peels, for vinegar. I have a batch of beet vinegar in the fridge right now, from several pounds of beets I cooked earlier in the year. Beet vinegar -- take your beet peels and steep them in either red wine or white wine vinegar. Let sit for 1-2 months. Strain, then use as needed. Use in: vinaigrettes, pan sauces, reductions, gastriques, etc. Beet vinegar has a sharp flavor threaded with a hint of sweetness.

I used to do variations of the method detailed above.

Now I just break the egg directly into barely simmering water and start timing from there. 2-2 1/2 minutes later, out they go.

Awesome pic, Hersch.

I do love being told that I should make "more simple, recognizable dishes" by someone who thinks that Italian food is too "strange".

*eyeroll*

The commenter wasn't anyone here, just someone on Facebook who needs to get out more.

Pasta e ceci

Don't be fooled by how healthy it looks; the battuto was cooked in butter and olive oil.

This version contains acini de pepe and escarole.

Spaghetti con bottarga di mugine ("spaghetti with chiles, mint and bottarga")



Fagiulini spilusieddi ("green beans with fried onion, mint and anchovy")

This is too healthy to be considered a "guilty pleasure."

Wait until you see how much olive oil I use, to say nothing of pancetta, butter and cheese.

You'll change your tune very quickly.

It would have to be pasta e ceci for me.

Best would be if the ceci were prepared from dried, although canned is great in a pinch.  It just has a different (not as "clean") flavor.

This version has ditalini ("little tubes").

Mostly leftovers tonight, but there was also this:

Zucchini and cherry tomato salad

Takes about 15 minutes to make and 30 minutes to chill.

Boil whole zucchini in lightly salted water for 5 minutes, then trim and slice lengthwise. then combine with halved cherry tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, sea salt, black pepper, mint and Italian parsley.

Serve immediately, or chill for 30 minutes.

I figured you needed a little "decoration" in this thread. 

There's also Suvir's crispy okra salad:

Not at all slimy, and doesn't need to be coated in batter.

Some recent dinners:

Summer squash, shishito peppers, heirloom tomatoes

Pappardelle with fresh and wild mushroom sauce

Pan-roasted chicken, with garlic, wine and rosemary

Green beans, with sweet peppers and tomatoes

Spaghetti, with leeks, mussels, sweet peppers and bottarga

Marcella Hazan's braised celery, with tomato and pancetta

Celery salad, with soft-cooked farm egg and bottarga

Hi there.

I'm Stan, and live in NYC.

A few of you might know me from elsewhere, such as eGullet; I tend to cook mostly seasonally and Italian-Mediterranean-New American.

Looking forward to seeing what this board is all about.