Le Bernardin

I can’t believe it’s been a month since I wrote, but the meals I’ve had since then were well worth the wait.  I recently dined at Le Bernardin in New York.  Ethereal is a good word to describe the experience.  By the end of my meal, I was in a state of ecstasy, exactly what I want from a fine dining experience.  The service was flawless and refined.  When I dine at fine restaurants, I do not want to feel like I am being watched.  At Le Bernardin, my needs were taken care of without that stare that a lot of waitstaff often have.  I read a thread on Chowhound that compared the decor of Le Bernardin to the lobby of a hotel or office building, but I would refer to it as understated.  The restaurant is French and seafood.  The menu reads horizontally and offers selections that are either “simply raw,” “barely touched,” or “lightly cooked.”  Indeed, as each course arrived, it was evident that a meticulous hand had created it. 

A starter–a salmon spread with bread:

The first course–tuna carpaccio with truffle oil and foie gras:

Truthfully, my picture doesn’t do the tuna justice.  This dish was incredible, so melt-in-your-mouth wonderful.  The flavors were truly heavenly and smooth.

The second course–baked wild striped bass with corn cannelloni and a light Perigord sauce:

Before dessert, I was served this lovely treat–a chocolate mousse with caramel froth and fleur de sel, served in an egg shell:

I was instructed to insert the spoon far down to make sure that I got all the layers as the flavors were to be tasted in unison.  It was absolutely divine.

As if that weren’t dessert enough, dessert–hazelnut, gianduja cream, Oregon hazelnuts, honey, banana and brown butter ice cream:

Nothing was left on my plate, and I ordered tea to bask in my wonderful meal.  Some charming cookies were presented to me in a folded napkin.  They were almond and pistachio and delicious:

This restaurant was probably the best in which I’ve ever had the pleasure of dining.  I was also pleasantly surprised as Eric Ripert came out to take compliments.

The New Yorker Profile of Whole Foods CEO John Mackey

The New Yorker published a profile of Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in the latest issue.  The profile has been criticized as portraying a less-than-flattering view of the man.  The piece is written by Nick Paumgarten.  In 2001, while I worked in the legal department of the Authors Guild in Manhattan, I wrote an article.  The executive director of the Authors Guild told me it would fit in The New Yorker’s Talk of the Town column and he got me the contact information for an editor there.  I sent the piece to the editor.  During a phone conversation regarding said piece, the editor told me the piece was well-written, appropriate and topical for the Talk of the Town, but that he would publish it only “if someone else had written it.”  (Some months later, I sent the same editor a news item about a re-emerging dot.com for which I had done a three-day temp assignment.  From my point of view, after 9/11, I thought it was topical as the company had a resurgence amidst the economical ashes. He rejected it as a “puff” piece; no biggie.)

So naturally, when I saw Paumgarten’s name in other food blogs regarding this controversial profile of John Mackey, I was interested.  I read the profile, and I think the way the piece is written portrays Mackey like a tyrannical, narcissistic fool who is somewhat out of touch.  I hardly think of Mackey this way, as I see him as a visionary who changed the way America thinks about food.  I agree with Mackey on some issues, and I disagree with him on some issues.  (The biggest issue here is health care, and I’m not going to get into a debate over it on my food blog.  I do have opinions, but I also see both sides of the issue.)  However, one thing I know is that sometimes vision and success breed jealousy and contempt in those who wish they had come up with the idea, so perhaps there is some of that going on in Mackey’s industry.  In the profile, at the least, Mackey appears eccentric, and having never met him, I can’t judge one way or the other.  After reading the profile, my perception of Mackey is still that he is a visionary, an idealist, and a good businessman.

Traditional Neapolitan Treats

When I was a little girl, I remember cutting strips of dough with a fluted pastry cutter and tying them in a bow the way my grandmother had taught me.  She’d fry them in oil and then sprinkle powdered sugar on them.  We called them bows and made them every Christmas.  We’d also make struffoli, a different fried dough cut into small pieces, fried, piled on a plate and drizzled with honey syrup.  (Here is a site for the pronunciation of struffoli, but in our Neapolitan-American dialect, it sounded more like struvuhluh.)  I know struffoli are a traditional Neapolitan-American Christmas treat.  (Other regions of Italy may make them too.)  I see them in Italian bakeries at Christmas time.  The ones in the bakery are usually light and airy.  Homemade ones are more dense.  I prefer the homemade version.    Here is a pic of the struffoli we made this year:

We sprinkle pine nuts and sprinkles on them, but it’s not a requirement.  My mother likes to eat these warm and fresh, but I prefer them after the honey has hardened.  I love to get to the bottom of a plate of struffoli when it is difficult to scrape the hard honey off.  These never last long!

I think many cultures and areas have a variety of “bows.”  We always called them bows, but I have seen Italian names for them, such as farfellette and crostoli.  Here is our process for making bows:

Make a well in the flour.

Cut in butter.

Add egg mixture.

Knead dough into a ball and let it sit.

Roll dough out.

Cut it into strips with a fluted pastry cutter.

Cut a little hole in the middle and pull dough through to make a bow.

Fry the dough.

Remove when golden.

Drain on paper towels.

Plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Some people drizzle honey over bows as well.

Christmas Foodie Gifts

I was very excited to get these goodies for Christmas.  My favorites:  Amarena Fabbri Italian wild cherries in syrup, La Salamandra dulce de leche with chocolate, Mexican chocolate, boiled cider, Bakewell Cream, caramel for cooking…

Gingerbread Cookies

At the Scandinavian Christmas fair, I bought a book, Swedish Cakes and Cookies translated by Melody Favish.  The book was highly recommended by the older Scandinavian women there.  I chose a seasonal cookie to make out of the book–Grandmother’s Gingerbread.  First, it requires making a spicey-smelling syrup on the stovetop.

The recipe yields 100 cookies, so it’s no surprise that it calls for over eight cups of flour.

Once the syrup and the dry ingredients are mixed, the dough has to set for 72 hours.  Yes, you read that right.  Three days.  I put mine in a huge bowl that belonged to my great-grandmother and wrapped it tightly in plastic wrap.

Once the cookies bake, don’t eat them right away.  Let them cool and put them in tins.  Once they harden, they are a yummy gingerbread. 

Baking for Christmas

Just thought I’d post some pics from my Christmas baking.  Fun fun!

The dough for cherry-pecan cookies and the finished product.

The fruitcake batter:

and the fruitcake.

Jam thumbprints before baking:

and after baking.

Taste of Home Christmas Cookies

 

For Christmas 2006, I baked a number of cookies from the Taste of Home magazine Best Loved Cookies & Bars.  

 

For the most part, the recipes were excellent for classic holiday cookies.  The magazine has come out each Christmas since then with updated cookies, but in my opinion, no issue is as good as that 2006 issue.  Glad I kept my copy!  In fact, I made notes on various recipes for what works best.  The cookies I made out of that issue included Italian Christmas Cookies, Chocolate Mint Dreams, Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies, Coconut Macaroons, Cream Cheese Delights, 

Cream Cheese Delights

Cherry Snowballs, Soft and Chewy Molasses Cookies, 

Soft and Chewy Molasses Cookies

Jeweled Thumbprints, Fudge-Filled Toffee Cookies, Berry Shortbread Dreams, Grossmutter’s Peppernuts, Raspberry Treasures, Jeweled Coconut Crisps, Buttermilk Spice Crisps, 

Buttermilk Spice Cookies

 Neapolitan Cookies, 

Neapolitan Cookies

Cherry-Pecan Icebox Cookies, 

Cherry-Pecan Icebox Cookies

 and Date Nut Pinwheels.   The recipes for a few of these didn’t work well; the others were very good recipes.   Favorites that have become a regular part of Christmas include Cherry-Pecan Icebox Cookies and Soft and Chewy Molasses Cookies, and I made a batch of both this past week.  

 

Curtis Stone’s pecan pie with golden syrup

Recently, I was flipping through a Scandinavian baking book to find Christmas cookie recipes, and I saw some references to golden syrup as an ingredient.  I remember vaguely hearing of golden syrup before, but I didn’t know what it was.  Coincidentally, I saw Curtis Stone make a pecan pie using golden syrup on TODAY with Kathie Lee and Hoda.  I made the pie.  Please don’t tell Curtis I didn’t make my own crust.  I love the rustic look of his, but I just wanted to experiment with golden syrup and didn’t want to take the extra time making my own crust.  The filling of the pie is the same as his.  The recipe is on the TODAY Web site. 

I bought a jar of Lyle’s, a happy find at my local grocery store.  The golden syrup had a honey-like color, smell and taste.  I read to find it is a byproduct of refined sugar cane. 

Here is a pic (a little out of focus) of the pie.  It was wonderful, and there is a definite difference in taste from corn syrup.  All my taste testers noticed it.  So now I want to experiment more with golden syrup, if anyone has any suggestions for its use.

Doggie Christmas Cookies

I saw this recipe in the December issue of Country Woman magazine and had to make them for someone special.  Just combine one cup flour, one cup shredded cheddar cheese, one tablespoon softened butter and one-third cup milk. 

Knead, roll

and cut into cookies. 

I baked 300 degrees for 20 min. 

They look and taste great.  They could’ve used a little salt for my taste, but this special recipient gobbled them up.

Food editor job

I recently interviewed for a job as a food editor of a publication.  I had emailed some ideas to the editor before our interview.  They are as follows:

1.  more focus on green, eco-friendly eating/cooking/dining–articles on locally produced foods, local chefs using or growing local ingredients, green catering (like name of specific local caterer)

2.  more on high-end restaurants and local chefs (like name of local book), including profiles of the chefs/restaurants and food

3.  more ethnically diverse articles on local food festivals, restaurants, cultures

4.  seasonal/holiday-related food articles on locally grown produce, traditional foods (would like to see this showing varied cultures of the area)

5.  more on vegetarian/vegan restaurants/offerings, maybe have a small column devoted to that (I know a vegetarian writer who would be excellent for this.)

6.  food allergies/gluten-free diets (general articles and local food offerings)–maybe work with someone from a local gluten-free blog to write articles for this section

7.  local farmers’ markets and producers of food–would love to profile local farmers and their goods

 

During the interview, I brought a list with me of other ideas that I discussed with the editor.  The list included:

1.  Locally produced food products (two examples of local ones)

2.  Vegetarian/Vegan restaurant offerings locally column (ex. of one)

3.  Green/eco-friendly column maybe featuring things like sustainable caterers in the area

4.  Food allergy/Gluten-free restaurant offerings locally column

5.  Make it a little more interactive–What’s in your Fridge? And profile local chefs, farmers and food celebrities

 6.  Where’s the perfect x in the area?  Ask a local chef, farmer or food celebrity where they get their favorite burger, sushi, dessert etc.

7.  Seasonal/holiday foods (articles and recipes)–want to include multiethnic cuisines (Indian and Mexican comfort food–soups etc. what grandmas make)

8.  Local woman who wants to have camel milk dairy

9.  Feature local restaurants and food businesses–with profiles of the owners to give it more of a local feel

10.  More Bang for your Buck–in this economy, feature restaurants with delicious food at affordable prices or with specials/discounts–(gave examples of some)

11.  Brunch reviews (something different from lunch/dinner)

12.  food festivals

13.  reader questions/interactions

14.  homemade food due to economy and going green

15. 2010 food trends–”superfruits” (acai, goji berry, mangosteen, purslane), “non-traditional fish” (branzino, Arctic char, barramundi), and “newly fabricated cuts of meat” (Denver steak, pork flat iron, Petite Tender)–the National Restaurant Association list

 The editor told me there were 55 applications and five interviewees.  Not too shabby!  I didn’t get the job, but I might be able to freelance.