Recipe: Quick Roast Broccoli

Broccoli for many people is really a take it or leave it kind of vegetable, but it's one you should be eating more of. It's pretty much nature's little miracle of avoiding all those nasty diseases Americans seem to have a copyright on, such as heart disease and cancer related to our terrible diet. Oh and did I mention its got about twice the vitamin C of an orange?

Unfortunately, most of the time its vapid and uninspired, because someone left it in the steamer 30 seconds longer than they should have. It's surprisingly unforgiving; You either need to watch it like a hawk, or blanch it and then give it a quick saute in something with some taste. I wanted a more hands off approach, that would avoid any boiling (which reduces the anti-cancer and DNA repairing compounds), give you some time flexibility, and still let you make a dish with complex and well developed flavors.

Garlic and lemon are a perfect pair for these little green flowers, but I wanted these flavors spread evenly all over the florets, and to have a chance to really develop. A quick toss in olive oil and lemon (while delicious) before a blast in the oven wasn't gonna cut it.

The key here is to once again tap our friend fat, and use him to bring us some flavor that would otherwise be unavailable to us. As I have said before, there are these wonderful little flavor molecules all around us, just waiting to be discovered. Simmering the garlic and thin slices of lemon breaks down the fat soluble flavor molecules in the garlic and lemon (plus the rind of the lemon, which is much more flavorful than the juice alone).


For 2 heads of broccoli, you'll need the juice of half a lemon, the other half you slice very thin, 3 cloves of garlic minced, and 3 good glugs of olive oil.

Set the oven at 400.

Trim and wash your broccoli, cutting it into long spears.

Lightly saute the garlic and lemon slices in the oil, just 2-3 minutes, DO NOT let the garlic brown.

In a roasting pan, put broccoli, sprinkle with salt, toss in infused olive oil, and cook for 15-20 minutes, tossing halfway through.

Sprinkle with lemon juice and fresh ground pepper, serve immediately.

Clams Archibald

There once was a clam in a bucket...

Once again, as the leaves start to fall, I desperately concoct ways to use my grill before a 4 foot snowbank separates us for the winter. One of my favorite things to eat during the summer, raw, on the half-shell is that most modest of the mollusks, the quahog. Fine, but can you really grill a clam you ask? Yes. They are delicious, simple to prepare and basically only use one plate and a bowl (for the empties).

Delicious, easy, minimal dish washing? These are the hallmarks of any great grill recipe. As these are also the hallmarks of keeping your party boat on autopilot, as taught to me by my grandfather, W.S. Archibald, we shall name the dish after him.

Now, you can go clamming as I did, and subject yourself to the near artic temperatures of the Atlantic off New England while you blindly grovel in the sand, or you can just pop down to your local fishmonger. You see, because they can close up so tight that they created their own expression, clams travel and keep remarkably well. So when looking for clams, find ones with their "mouths" clamped shut.

You would send this one back.

Clams are named according to their size. The average white, round shaped clams are all quahogs, but little guys are called littlenecks (about 1" across), and big ones are called chowders (yes, they are best for chowder). The clams to buy for this recipe are in between, called cherrystones. They are not as tender as littlenecks (used mostly for steaming) but you don't want to try and manage fifty 1" clams popping open all at once on a grill, trust me.

Again, make sure the clams you buy are firmly, firmly closed. If you see one slightly open, give it a tap and if it immediately shuts then it's ok. No cracks or breaks in the shell. If, after cooking, the clams don't open, don't eat them. Easy. Scrub the outsides a little if they are sandy. Then grab some Buerre Maître D' and fire up the grill. Put them right on the grill, over medium high heat.

Leave enough room around each one to maneuver a knife in.

As they start to open (after about 2-5 minutes), sneak a smear of your Buerre Maître D' into the clam on the end of a knife. You want the little clam to simmer in the butter, inside the shell. You may have to flip the clam once it opens to make this happen, as they may open with the meat in the top shell (as the heat is greater at the bottom). Let it bubble for a minute or so and serve hot on a platter. Folks eat them right out of the shell.


This dish will instantly convert people who don't like clams. Try them with a good beer. This concludes Gastroliaison's recipe for Clams Archibald.

Recipe: Stuffed squash blossoms with ricotta, lemon zest and basil.

In my ongoing effort to please my internist, and get her to stop muttering things like "impending gout" and other pesky phrases, I am trying to incorporate more vegetables in my life. I was meandering around, thinking of what to serve my guests at an upcoming dinner party, and was pleasantly surprised come across a box of flowers I could eat.

This solved two of my three quandaries.
1: It was not meat or alcohol, so it must be a vegetable.
2: It looks really good and is sure to impress my guests.
Now for problem #3, how to make it taste good. The answer of course, is to stuff it with cheese, because cheese is amazing. Done.

Surprisingly easy to make, a stuffed squash blossom arriving on someone's plate makes you an instant gastronomic hero. Seriously. The key is once you stuff them, casually lay them out as part of your "prep work". Everyone will assume you're Anthony Bourdain, and they haven't even tasted anything yet. Genius.

However, make sure you have practiced cooking one before everyone shows up, or you run the risk of screwing things up in front of an audience.


I'd say that went well...


You need:
Squash blossoms (try to use them within 2 days of purchase)
Ricotta cheese
Parmigiana, or any salty hard cheese (pecorino, cotija, etc).
1 egg
A lemon
Fresh Basil (about 10-12 good sized leaves)
Salt and pepper
Some warm tomato sauce (either home made or your favorite jarred version, I like Rao's Vodka sauce)

First GENTLY wash the blossoms by hand. Be careful, they are fragile and fast running water can tear them. You need to rinse the insides too, these things grew in a field after all. Then trim the stems off and set aside to dry.

You can cut the stem right at the flower's base. Pictured here is how NOT to do it.

Next, finely chop your basil: Wrap all the leaves up together and cut it like a teeny green carrot, this chiffonades it, then you chop those little ribbons widthwise, done.

Zest your lemon.

Grate up a good handful of the hard cheese, and mix into the ricotta (about half of a big tub) with the zest and basil. Add salt and pepper to taste, or add more grated cheese (this effectively adds salt). It should look like this:


Using a spoon, carefully fill the flowers. Again, they are delicate (as flowers should be) so be careful. Just fill them until the cheese reaches the top of the green section. Any leftover filling is delicious on toast.


Whisk up your egg, and dip the blossom in it (focusing on the petals). You don't want to try and make a batter here, you simply need to "glue" the petals shut. Give them a gentle twist to seal them.

Over medium heat, sautee gently in a little butter. Use a very thin spatula, and try not to mess with them to much. You'll get a nice browning of the egg, if some cheese leaks out you'll have some delicious fried bits of it. Top with some tomato sauce and viola.

The plate on the right was the original poster boy, but someone started eating it while I was waiting for the camera app to start up on my iPhone. Yes they are that good.

This concludes Gastroliaison's recipe for stuffed squash blossoms with ricotta, lemon zest and basil.

Still no fried chicken, but Hot Bird is getting its food truck.

The nifty little spot Hot Bird, with outdoor space (think mini beer garden meets nice bar), is finally getting some grub to put on its picnic tables on friday, July 23, 2010.

Named after two long-defunct Brooklyn barbecue chicken places that closed in the ’90s, Hot Bird is cashing in on the 4 original mural sized signs, that evidently are still causing people to get midnight chicken delivery demands. It's a good marketing technique.

Look, no wait for a table! Um...

Housed in an old gas station directly under one of those big old yellow signs, it is not actually in either previous location of the old restaurant. But who cares about accuracy. The building still keeps its garage doors, and I'd say all in all its a really good transformation.

Dyslexic photo by Clay Williams.

They make good drinks, and its a nice grown up hipster spot, where dudes who like to wear their girlfriends jeans still park their fixies outside, but drink 6 Point instead of PBR. The picnic tables have umbrellas, and its nice to have a little outdoor spot to drink at with friends. My one gripe is it's cash only.

Just a scratch, that will buff right out...

The food truck, which was this old run down Kustard King truck, has been reborn as a hot food truck by Alan Harding. Alan is truly one of Brooklyns pioneer restaurateur/chefs, the man who brought us such delights as the Gowanus Yacht Club and Beer Garden, Patois, and Pomme de Terre, amongst many others.

Ice cream? No! Why do you keep asking?

Anyhow I am anxiously anticipating this little magic bus to get cooking, and I for one am optimistic about the vittles' ability to mix well with cold beer and warm summer. Take a look at the menu on hand for the evening.

Food Truck Menu version 1.0
Smashed Burger ( small Scoop) 4.00
Smashed Burger ( Lg. Scoop) 6.00
Schwag Dog 2.00
Good Dog 3.00
"Snappy" 4.00
Bratwurst 5.00
Hippie-wurst 5.00
Falafel dog 5.00 (deep fried)

Other things
Rice balls (4, deep fried) 5.00
Panelle Sandwich with roasted eggplant, peppers and basil ricotta 6.00
Soft Tacos with chili du jour and pico 5.00
Lobster “Summer Roll” with kimchee, mango and mint 9.00

Things that go with the above menu:
Juniper scented Kraut
Kimhee/kirby relish
Eddies pickles
Pico de Gallo
Cheese du jour
Nancy’s slaw
Potato salad , Chefs whim.
Really good bacon

Bacon? Sold. So head on down to Hot Bird this weekend, and let me know how it is (cause I can't go).

Hot Bird
825 Atlantic Ave
Brooklyn

Restaurant Review: Benchmark. Setting the bar to new lows.

That arrow points down for a reason.

I set off on a beautiful Tuesday night, with high hopes, for this little spot behind Loki Lounge. Now, I wanted to give Benchmark the best possible chance, and as we all know, Tuesday is a great night for a restaurant to shine. Why? Because purveyor's deliveries have come Monday, or even that morning, so everything should be fresh as the morning dew. The head chef has rested from the weekend grind, and hopefully has some imaginative specials or new items lined up. Since it's a weekday, the kitchen should be busting its hump, as they are performing for the home crowd, the local, the long term supporter of the restaurant, not the weekend warrior, the out of towner, the visiting team.

That smear on the right? Vadouvan Yogurt. That's ostentatious for overpowering curry paste.

First up, Artichokes Barigoule with olives, oven dried tomatoes, Vadouvian yogurt and lemon tumeric dressing. This was billed as "light" by our waitress. Oily, over dressed, way to much tumeric in the "dressing", no hint of lemon whatsoever, or, artichoke for that matter. Yes I would have actually liked to taste the subtle, delicate flavor of artichoke in my "Artichoke" Barigoule, thank you very much.

And I thought "blackened" went out in '83? Gosh I'm out of touch.

Next up. The burger, because they were OUT OF "KOBE" BEEF (and out of the chorizo stuffed chicken wings, dammit). 7pm. Tuesday. Place was nearly empty. Supposedly its a "steak" joint. Already alarm bells are going off in my mind. Oh, whoops, it's not really Kobe beef anyhow. It's falsely labeled American Wagyu. Same thing? Nope. One comes from all the way from Kobe, in Japan, the other does not. This is not to say American Wagyu isn't delicious, it is, just don't insult my intelligence, and label it correctly please.

Sorry, I digress. The burger was well done (we asked for medium), had gruyere cheese (great, but we asked for cheddar) and were it not for the ketchup, would basically have no taste. Ok "steak" joint, if I can't trust you with a burger, how on earth can I trust you with a pricey piece of meat?

Could I get a little color with this? Fresh out? Ok, how about some variation in texture?

Next up was my Beer Brined Pork Chop Pork Loin (they were out of the chop, surprised?). I was amazed by this piece of meat. I have never before tasted a brined piece of meat that was dry. Overcooked, unappealing, with a burnt, bitter, charcoal mess of a crust. Basically brining a piece of meat makes it idiot proof. Through osmosis, it causes the tightly wound proteins in the meat to unwind and get tangled together. This forms a matrix that traps water molecules, salt and flavor from the brine, and holds onto them tightly during cooking. So basically you kind of have to TRY to dry it out.

While I was eating dejectedly pushing my overpriced, overcooked meal around my plate, I noticed a cook walking through the dining area carrying a bag of raw meat. Really? You actually think that it's ok in a restaurant serving a $24 pork chop to walk supplies in through the dining room? The bus boy who followed him 10 minutes later with a Tupperware container of eggs evidently thought so.

Water? Sorry, fresh out..

Most of the reviews I seen for this place have been raving about a good brunch. Well folks, brunch sucks as a measure of a restaurant. Feed some greasy eggs, bacon, and Bloody Marys to anyone with a hangover and they'll think you are the best chef in town. Benchmark cannot even reliably keep its larder stocked, early, on a Tuesday night, can't dress a salad, can't cook a burger, and has the gall to charge you $24 for a piece of dry as a hockey puck pork, PORK (typically $3.99 a pound, yes, even for heirloom pig like Six-Spotted Berkshire).

On top of that, even though we ordered an appetizer, 2 entrees, and 2 rounds of cocktails, my water glass was filled once when I sat down, and sat empty until I handed them my credit card. Jesus. Oh, and keep in mind, even though their prices are high enough so you can easily drop $150 on dinner for two, they don't take AMEX. Brilliant.

FIPS says "So, seriously. Go there. Now. Run, don't walk." This is either blatant nepotism or blatant use of "herbal supplements" before eating. If you know anything about food, you'll run the other way. Seriously. Now.

Benchmark will not receive a Gastroliaison Bacon Strip.

This concludes Gastroliaison's review of Benchmark.

Benchmark
339-A 2nd Street
Park Sope
(718) 965-7040

Recipe: Sage brown butter polenta with ratatouille, sauteed spinach and goat cheese.

Note the artistic use of depth of field (pretentious for poorly focused iPhone pic).

I love polenta, its easy and quick to make, and can be created in a variety of consistencies to suit whatever your needs are. It captures flavors really well, in perfect juxtaposition to my poor image capturing skills.

Shopping
Pre-cooked polenta (its in a tube)
Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Red Onion
Bell Pepper (any color, orange is fun)
Mushrooms
Spinach
Can of roasted tomatoes
Garlic
Fresh Sage
Fresh Thyme

Butter
Goat Cheese

I know, it seems so wrong, but trust me, it gets better.

The polenta is easiest to work with if you cut it up and microwave it for 2 minutes (this will soften it).
Or you can gently heat it in a pan.

In this little reaction, we are using the butter like a fat delivery man.

Now, fry those sage leaves in a lot of butter, delicious. You see, there are tons of these complex fat soluable flavor compounds to be found all around us, but you need to use fat to release them. So there are certain flavors in that sage that your tongue would never have the joy of discovering unless you add some fat, this is why fat makes things taste so good.

Let it brown, its ok, medium high heat.

Remove your crispy sage leaves (save for garnish) and pour the butter into the polenta and mix. Add salt and fresh ground pepper.

At this point, the polenta will be really "tight". Simply add hot water in small increments and stir until it reaches your desired consistency. Some people like it firm, like mashed potatoes, others creamy, like grits. Cover and set aside.

Ratatouille is so simple to do, and really you can use whatever veggies you have on hand. The key is consistent cut sizes and timing.

Basically keep each veggie group the same size. So all your onion slices are about the same thickness, the mushrooms are the same size cut as each other etc. The other thing is to add the items according to how long they take to cook. Use your judgment here, and if you mess up it's still delicious.

Use a pan with enough room for everything. My first choice is a big dutch oven. My last choice is an overcrowded saute pan like the one I used here.

Throw down a little butter, saute some diced garlic until fragrant (NOT BROWNED) and start with the mushrooms, as they have a ton of water to release. When they are done, toss in the peppers, let 'em go for a few, then onions. Squash should go last.

Throw in the can of tomatoes, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, salt, simmer gently until all is done. Do not overcook or else it all gets mushy. Done. Put it in a bowl.

Quickly saute some spinach with a little olive oil and garlic. It takes like 30 seconds.

Polenta down first, then ratatouille, then spinach. Crumble some goat cheese on top, garnish with the crispy sage leaves. Eat it. Be amazed you actually don't miss meat.

This concludes Gastroliaison's recipe for sage brown butter polenta.

The Breslin Bar: Restaurant Review/Soft Opening

Stepping into my favorite bar in the lobby of the Ace Hotel, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Breslin was having its soft opening. So of course I had to go. Same owners as The Spotted Pig, but no horrendously long wait in line with a slew of foodies? Hell yes.

The place is nice, its in an old unrestored room, great ceilings. Lots of animal heads and sculptures hanging out. Has that worn overstuffed leather feel but all the furniture is brand spankin new. It's like all the hipsters in Williamsburg grew up, made lots of their own money an opened a "rustic" hunting lodge. It's actually designed by Architectural firm Roman and Williams, who did the Lobby of the Ace Hotel. Vinyl records, horsehair and stuffed badgers, oh my...

Wait, so next I bring the food to the... ummm...

Service is slow, they are obviously working out the kinks. Since it was the soft opening, there was a limited dinner menu, and the kitchen was definitely going through a shakedown. I'm sure they'll get thinks going smoothly soon.

Charcuterie from Left: head cheese, rabbit with prune, rustic pork with pistachios, ginea hen with morels

The Charcuterie is ok. There are some mighty fancy ingredients going on, unfortunately none of them are allowed to sing. This is most evident in the Ginea Hen with morels, it tastes just like a cheap processed chicken loaf; watery with a bit too much salt and a disconcertingly homogeneous texture. The rabbit suffered the same consequences, just being kinda "meh", and was a little tough. The head cheese (really bad name for a food) tasted like it should, pulled pork with a ton of fat. The rustic pork was the only star here, the pistachios added a nice variation in texture and it tasted like a lovely unsalted fresh salami.

After our main dishes finally arrived, I regretted only coming with one companion, as we could only order two items. I must say the mains are where this place shines.

Rustic photo (grown-up hipster for "low light iphone shot") of the Poussin.

The Poussin had a superb "perfect roasted chicken" flavor, offset by a bitter pomegranate reduction and pops of the pomegranate seeds. The pumpkin seeds here and there were fine, but the best part was an unexpected hit of mint. The accompanying toasted pumpkin was sweet and delicious, with a hint of cumin. Really an inspired grouping of diverse and unexpected flavors.

The Beef shin was cooked nicely, perhaps erring on the firm/dry side, but not too much. There is a punch of citrus in it, and when eaten with the parsley's fresh herbal notes comes together marvelously. The polenta is firm and good, but the real star I thought was the black cabbage puree; it had wonderful amounts of butter and cream, so it was rich and delicious but did not step over the line into cloying.

The deserts need work. The quince crumble was almost there, the buttery sauce and quinces being done just about perfectly, but the crumble falls painfully short. Instead of a wonderful complex topping it seems like someone sprinkled store bought granola on it. They brought us a chocolate mousse with beer (the dessert chef is really nice btw) and the mousse had an inconsistent texture, at times thick, others runny, and the beer flavor added a little too much bitter that was not quite balanced.

Overall
Ok, here I buy the high end super expensive "salt of the earth pub fare" genre. Its great. Also the breakfast menu looks great, fry ups with pork of all kinds, mmmmm yes. Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield have once again managed to bring the Gastro-Pub rage to us from across the pond (with the help of Peter Cho, the current chef at the Breslin Bar).

The Breslin, 3 out of 5 bacon strips.

The Breslin Bar and Dining Room
20 W. 29th St. , New York, NY 10001
(Just east of Broadway)

This concludes Gastroliaison's mini review of the Breslin Bar.