Yes, this is New York City

I'm a beach snob.  No doubt about it.   For over five decades I've spent the summer, or at least a part of it on Nantucket Island.  I stayed on Sardinia one August - before it was stylish -  enjoyed a year on the Seychelles Island - way, way before the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge just had to have their honeymoon there.  For years I've imagined - no, really believed - that when the wind was just right I could smell the ocean from my downtown Manhattan apartment.   You realize that the Atlantic Ocean is just a subway ride away to Coney Island, Brighton Beach - or Rockaway.  So, this summer, when I've been spending more time than usual in the City - I gave in.   I got on the A train and went out to Rockaway Beach.  I went with a couple of friends who were interested in Rockaway because of  all the recent press about the food scene there.   A few very good restaurants (from ALL the City's boroughs) bid, and won the right to lease the concession stands at three different areas of the beach.

We got off the A train at  Broad Channel then waited for the shuttle to take us to the 106th street stop - it stops at 86th and 96th streets as well -  at Rockaway Beach.  We figured that we'd start checking out the concession stands there and then walk down the boardwalk to the others.

We had an hors d'oeuvre of fried, sweet plantains covered with salty cheese, and hibiscus ice tea from Caracas Arepa Bar .  The Rockaway branch of the East Village restaurant has a good selection of the same Venezuelan specialities that gave them their well-deserved reputation.   One of my friends ordered an exceptionally good iced coffee from  Caracas' neighbor  Blue Bottle Coffee.

We walked 10 blocks down the boardwalk to the 96th street concession - the largest of the 3.   Although we were tempted by all the vendors we all chose the same same fried fish sandwich from Motorboat and the Big Banana.  OMG - I don't think I've ever had a fish sandwich that was so delicious.  Hmmm - do you think it was just the salt air?  I don't think so.  It's hard to argue with thick slices of hake  that were dipped into a perfect, perfectly light batter then fried to order.  The fillets were slapped on a buttery, grilled hot dog bun then topped with shredded romaine lettuce, red cabbage and pickled red onions, and served with tartar sauce  loaded with freshly chopped dill.  I'm talking beach food SUPREME!!!!!   Oh, and I just had to get an order of French fries because I watched the guy putting the potatoes through a slicer then another guy fry them to a crisp and toss them in a bowl with salt - to order.  When's the last time you saw someone do that?
I washed it all down with fresh watermelon juice purchased from the taco stand next door.
I took 1/2 hour to lie on the beach and go into the water.  Look, I'm not going to compare Rockaway to the beaches that I mentioned above.  It was a a great day - delicious and refreshing - and just a subway ride away.

We got back on the subway at 86th street - which seems to be the beach area where surfers hang out - but didn't even check out the food at the concession stand there.  Got to save something for the next time.

A week later I met a friend at the 2nd avenue and 14th bustop street where we got on the *select* bus (which makes even fewer stops than the express) and headed down to South Ferry.  We didn't get on the Staten Island ferry, which is right there - but instead, went through the glorious Governor's Island ferry terminal and boarded the ferry headed for the island that Native Americans sold to a Dutchman  in 1637 for a couple of ax heads and a handful of nails.  In 1995 President Clinton designated 22 acres of the island as a national park.   In between the island has lived a storied life.  Check it out.

My friend and I were headed to Cook Out NYC.   This was the 2nd year for this grilled meat (and a few vegetables) and local beer event.  Destined to be an annual showcase for New York restaurants - of a certain style - to vie for best burger, or best hot dog in the show with every kind of pork from grilled bacon to sticky ribs in between.  Oh, and a kimchi tasting, and a few very peculiar - but surprisingly good - shaved ice preparations.

Jimmy Carbone of Jimmy's No. 43, a basement beer joint on east 7th street in Manhattan, one of the organizers of the grand event - maybe the CHIEF organizer.  And, provider of a welcome side dish, salad.

Mama's burgers.

Shaved ice with red beans and colorful rice crisps topped with a squirted pattern of condensed milk.  This quirky treat from Taiwan via The Shaved Ice Shop can be found every Sunday at the Hester Street Fair or at their shop in Chinatown.

There was much more - all washed down with with a pint of Righteous Ale one of the offerings of Brooklyn's own Sixpoint Brewery.     Book this event for next year.  But in the meantime take a trip out to Governor's Island, walk the short 2 miles around the island and experience breathtaking City views.  Then, have a picnic.

 
SUSANSIMONSAYS:    Here's my feeling - I love to take the Staten Island Ferry.  It's a nice ride and you sense that you're going somewhere foreign.  Once you get to the island however - you'll need a car to get around.  Before 9/11 you could take your car over on the ferry - no longer.  The Governor's Island ferry ride is a short one and you barely feel like you've gone anywhere new.  But you have - and what's more you can walk everywhere once you've arrived!

The snow has finally melted in the Northern Catskills

The last time I visited my friend, Rita's, and husband David's enchanting home in the northern Catskill Mountains there was so much snow outside that the only way to walk around was on snow shoes.  Allegra's paws got tiny cuts on them crunching through the ice-covered, blindingly white mounds of snow.
On a recent visit the snow was a distance memory and the property was lush with various shades of green. 

Rita, I, and our dogs, Frankie and Allegra went upstate for what has become a June tradition -a  girl's only weekend while David was away at an annual conference.  
The first thing that Rita does when she arrives at her upstate home is to fill the vintage bottles that line the living room fireplace mantle with something that was, or is growing  outdoors - this goes for all seasons.  So, during the dead of winter there may be branches of evergreens or dried leaves and vines.  For our recent weekend Rita placed branches of single petal, heirloom roses in each bottle.   The next thing she does is look through her vegetable garden for what has gone missing - "Someone ate the squash leaves", she said.  "Can you imagine, the squash leaves - must have been the baby woodchucks".   It's not easy being a weekend gardener. 

She did, however, find beets, assorted green leaves for salad, chocolate mint for tea - and things like chard, kale and arugula - "which no one seems to like."

I had plans to make pasta with beets and beet greens for dinner.  But, we both were kind of exhausted from the at least five-stops trip from the City so we opted for salad with Kunik cheese - about which I've written several times on this blog.   It was just right.

Blueberries and yogurt for Saturday breakfast and a plan to go off in search of Heather Ridge Farm and their farm cafe called The Bees Knees.  We thought we knew where we were going but a series of missed turns and unclear directions had us going in circles before arrived at the farm.  The charming place on, yes, a ridge has tasty, made-from- the-heart food - but vegetarians have little to no choice as
Heather Ridge Farm raises animals so their menu is meat-centric.

My chili - called "Oink & Moo" served with a corn muffin seemed just the right  thing to eat on the chilly, overcast day.   Tart lemonade and ice tea flavored with the farm's honey and mint were beverage choices.

Before we left for our adventure Rita took an early morning walk into her woods - she had a hunch that because it had rained for days that there just might be some early chanterelles.  She was right and came back with enough golden trumpets to make a tasty concoction that we spread on crackers and had  as an hors d'oeuvre with a glass of Lillet on the rocks.

RITA'S CHANTERELLES
Clean and chop the chanterelles.  Saute in extra virgin olive oil with chopped leeks and garlic scapes until tender.  Finish with a dab of butter.

We had  beet pasta for dinner:

PAPPARDELLE WITH BEETS AND BEET GREENS

Saute diced beets in olive oil with minced garlic.  Tear the the leaves from the ribs of the thoroughly rinsed beet greens.   Chop about 1/3 of the ribs into pieces the size of the diced beets.  Add to the saute.  Add water to the saute pan and cook until the vegetables are fork tender 30 - 40 minutes - adding water as needed.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.   Add the greens to the beets with a bit of lemon zest and juice, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.   Add water.    Cook the pasta according to the manufacturer's directions.  Two minutes before the pasta cooking time is complete use tongs or a wire mesh strainer to remove it from the pot and add directly to the beets.   Toss the combine.  Serve immediately garnished with fresh, whole milk ricotta.  (We bought some exceptionally good fresh ricotta at the Barbers Farm stand in Middleburgh, NY).

There were blueberries and strawberries hanging around the refrigerator so I make a quick crumble.  It was a good dessert but an even better breakfast the next morning served cold with Evans yogurt - the BEST, from Norwich, NY - and a glass of iced coffee.

QUICK FRUIT CRUMBLE (is there any other kind?)
Add fruit of your choice; berries, peaches, nectarines, plums, etc. mixed with a little lemon juice and sugar or honey to a buttered baking dish.  Use your fingers to rub together equal parts of unsalted butter, flour(or 1/2 flour, 1/2 rolled oats), and sugar to make crumbs.  Add a pinch of salt and flavor, as I did with ground cinnamon and a splash of pure vanilla extract (sometimes I use almond extract).   Scatter the crumbs over the top of the fruit.   Baked at 350 degrees F. until the top is slightly brown and the sides are bubbly - about 30 minutes.

Allegra found a nest of baby minks and became completely obsessed.  I was happy that mama mink wasn't home when she was barking and digging at the nest.

We all had a good time.

David made the above sage-colored chairs from a pattern purchased at Wave Hill - they're chairs designed for the grand NYC gardens overlooking the Hudson River towards the Palisades.

SUSANSIMONSAYS:

Lisa Corti reimagined.   Rita used one of her worn-out Lisa Corti quilts - check out the website to see some of the prettiest quilts and home ware, ever - in her vegetable garden to keep the weeds from growing (remember, she's a weekend gardener).  The mulch anchors the quilt.

Nantucket, June 2011

The weather during the first weekend of June was spectacular.   I know that it was glorious on Nantucket and I've heard that it was much the same all up and down, in and out of the the Northeastern USA.

Allegra - the beautiful "New York City Special" which is how I describe her whenever asked, "What kind of dog is she?" - and I drove from downtown Manhattan to Hyannis Airport, making a few obligatory stops; gas in Darien, CT., the McDonald's in Madison, CT which has a very large meadow behind it where Allegra can have a spin and a roll , and Kyler's Catch Seafood in New Bedford, MA (just off I-195 at Washburn Street) which has a huge selection of fresh fish at the MOST reasonable prices - I stop there going , yes, to buy fish to bring  to Nantucket (coals to Newcastle anyone?), and on the way home to stock up on enough fresh fish to eat for dinner and lunch for about 6 days in a row in NYC.   And before you know it, after dodging drivers that absolutely have to have a phone conversation or send a  text message at 75 miles per hour, we arrived, 5 hours later in Hyannis - and Legs (which is what I call her from time to time) was howling with delight, fully aware of where she's about to be.   She walked on the plane and sat in the aisle near the door.  Then she & I (we were the only passengers on the plane) arrived on Nantucket 12 minutes later.  Finishing off the trip by plane rather by ferry - is a little reward for all that driving.

We arrived on the island, settled out in Wauwinet (the east end of the island) at my sister, Laura's and brother-in-law Jimmy's Eden-like spot, then took off for town to do a few errands, and have  an heure bleue stop at one of my favorite places on earth, Sesachacha Pond also on the island's east end.   If you look clear across the pond you'll see see a dip in the sand - beyond the sand is the ocean.  Once or twice a year, the town's DPW plows that area so that the salt water comes into the pond and mixes with the fresh leaving behind a perfect blend of water described with the unseemly word, brackish.   Allegra loved sniffing around (thank goodness she didn't find anything dead to roll on) and even went in for a splash and a gulp.

Dinner was simple, and simply delicious.  Just picked asparagus - from the an established mound in Laura's renowned vegetable garden/orchard - were roasted with olive oil and salt. Basta.  Roasting intensified the flavor of the stalk.  Wild salmon from Alaska via New Bedford, was cut into single-portion size fillets and briefly marinated in maple syrup (grade B) and Dijon mustard, then grilled,  flesh-side down for 3 minutes, then skin-side down for another 2 or 3 minutes.   That's it - a tavola!

Saturday was all about the Nantucket High School graduation.  Emil, son of my friends, Anna and Steve Bender was one of the 89 class of 2011 graduates.  Following the graduation there was a fine party hosted by the families of 7 of the male graduates on the spacious property of one of the boys.  There was a shed/cantina where the boys' fathers took turns grilling burgers, dogs, Brazilian steak, chicken, and sweet sausages.  That's just what I saw before I turned the corner to find a whole lawn set with tables and chairs and a tented food area at the far end.   Under the tent, the U-shaped table formation swayed with loads and loads of food from a selection of salads that could have been the banners for the families who made them; tabbouleh, Brazilian rice vinaigrette, Swedish potato salad, salsa, all-American tossed green salad with many assorted veggies, crumbled feta cheese and dressed with a favorite from my childhood, Good Seasons Italian dressing combined mixed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar - to name just a few of them; pizza enrolado, a Brazilian pizza stuffed with ham and various vegetables; Vietnamese-style country ribs -prepared with love and attention by Emil's father, Steve; watermelon, mixed berries, and fruit salad; chocolate chip cookies, carrot cake and brownies.  It was a grand collaborative effort that not only fed the guests in style but created the kind of vibe that encourages conviviality.

Sunday was about the beach.  Heaven.  After the longest winter in memory (and what has now turned out to be the shortest spring) - the beach - out on the south end of the island chosen in order to shelter us from the somewhat active northerly winds - fragrant with ragosa roses and salt air was the perfect antidote to everything - worries included.  Just to be able to stretch out on the warm sand then dip sunkissed legs into the still icy Atlantic was worth all those stress-filled hours on the road.

And then we did the whole thing in reverse.

Be back soon.


SUSANSIMONSAYS: I ought to give you the marinade ingredients for the country ribs.   Steve actually used a marinade recipe that he found for Vietnamese Garlic Roasted Quail - this is enough for 8 quail - so maybe 4 or 5 poounds of ribs:
2/3 cup mushroom soy
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon sugar
8 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon blackpeppercorns, crushed
2 tablespoons sesame oil
nam cham (Vietnamese fish sauce) to serve
fresh basil leaves to garnish
Beat soy with honey and sugar until the sugar has dissolved.  Stir in the garlic, crushed peppercorns and sesame oil.    Rub the marinade on the ribs.   And then follow whatever recipe you use for country ribs.  Whether you marinate them for several hours then grill - or slow roast for 6 or 7 hours.   Serve with a splash of fish sauce and garnish with fresh basil.

Last Weekend

The gorgeous Allegra & I are off the Nantucket this upcoming weekend.    But, first, a quick word about last weekend - Memorial Day weekend - which we spent in the relative quiet of New York City.  

I started the weekend on Friday by inviting a friend over for lunch.   

We ate outside, sitting in the shade of Norway maple tree that overhangs my terrace.  I made salad with grilled chicken, very slim green beans dressed with peanut sauce ( see blog posting from  January 8th 2011 for recipe) all sitting on a bed of green leaf lettuce.

Serves 3 - 6

GRILLED CHICKEN, MAY 27th 2011
Marinate 1-inch wide strips of 6 chicken breasts in:
2 tablespoons sesame oil
zest & juice of  1 lime
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger root
1 clove garlic mashed through a press
2 tablespoons soy sauce
a few drops of sriracha sauce
Let marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.
Grill over a charcoal or gas grill for about 3 minutes on one side and 2 to 3 minutes on the other

Blanch the green beans, toss with enough peanut sauce to evenly coat.  For this particular dish I fried 'til crisp the white part of ramps (because their season is just ending) and tossed them into the beans.

Pile pieces of green leaf lettuce on a serving platter.  Top with the beans, then the chicken.  Serve immediately.   While the grill was going  I toasted some pieces of olive-oiled baguette to accompany the salad.

We had a bowl of frozen vanilla yogurt topped with the rhubarb-strawberry compote from my last blog.  I often serve amaretti cookies with a dessert like this one and show my companions how to smash them, either between your hands or on the table then sprinkle the crumbs over the dessert.  Yum!

Fast forward to the Monday, the 30th, Memorial Day and another little meal outside, under the maple.  By Monday it was steaming hot - which translate ito drinks poured over mountains of ice and freezer-chilled beer.

To go with those gelid beverages we - my guests & I were fed fried asparagus by another guest, His Royness, Roy Finamore, legendary cookbook editor, and winner of a James Beard award for his book, "Tasty, Get Great Food on the Table Every Day" ( Houghton Mifflin Co. 2006).  Roy used his string beans fritto  recipe from "Tasty..." for the Pecorino cheese battered, rolled in bread crumbs, olive oil fried asparagus - and, Man, oh Man were they deeeeeeeeeeee-vine.    Salty, crunchy, and grassy with a tiny spritz of fresh lemon juice for a tiny bit of tang - the asparagus got us started in fine style.

Our main course were grilled cheeseburgers ( made with local, grass fed beef) and  two salads:

STEAMED POTATO SALAD WITH MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE AND CAPERS

Serves 4 or 5

1 pound smallish red skin potatoes cut in half, steamed until a fork passes through them with ease

While the potatoes are steaming add a heaping tablespoon of finely chopped shallots, 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, 1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1/4 extra virgin olive, 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped capers (preserved in salt)  and 1 teaspoon sea salt to a large bowl and whisk together until emulsified.   Cut the hot potatoes into 1/2-inch chunks and add to the vinaigrette - toss together.   The hot potatoes will absorb the vinaigrette  as they cool.   Taste for seasoning and add as needed.

RADISH & BLACK OLIVE SALAD

Serves 4-ish

1 large bunch radishes, leaves and root end removed.  Rinse thoroughly - they are covered in secret pockets of dirt!
Use a mandolin to thinly slice.  Wrap the sliced radishes in a layer of paper towels or a cotton tea towel so they can sweat out some of their liquid.   Let them rest for an hour or so.
Toss together with some coarsely chopped black olives, chopped chives, chopped fresh mint, extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice and sea salt to serve.

We started our meal with a "Tasty..." recipe and ended with one too.  Roy's Strawberry SHORTCAKE.
Shortcake capitalized because that's recipe included in the book.  Once you've got it - use it with any fruit in season.  When the strawberries have gone it's onto to peaches, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries - you get the idea.
Here's what Roy says, "I've been baking this tender cake - almost cake, almost biscuit - for thirty years now.  When I lived in Vermont , I'd make it for breakfast, putting slabs of the cake into bowls with fresh-picked raspberries from the yard and ladling in top milk, which we got from the dairy farmer down the road."

 Makes one 8-inch cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch sat
1/3 cup butter softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until it starts to lighten.  Gradually pour in the sugar, beating while you pour, and continuing beating until very light.  Beat in the eggs.
Now switch to a wooden spoon and stir in the dry ingredients and milk in batches: half the dry, all the milk, and the rest of the dry.   Beat for a moment or two with the spoon until the batter is smooth.  It will be stiff.
Add the the batter to the pan and pat it out into the pan with floured fingers.  Give the pan a rap on the counter top to release any air bubbles, then slip into the oven.  Bake for about 25 minutes, until risen and browned in spots.
Let the cake cool on a rack for about 5 minutes, then turn out of the pan and let cool completely on the rack.
Roy sliced about a pint of strawberries and let them macerate with 1 packed tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar and a few grinds black pepper.

Assemble the cake:   Spoon some of the strawberry juice over the cake and then spoon on the fruit.   Whip a cup of heavy cream and spread over the berries.
Serve right away, or refrigerate for later.



SUSANSIMONSAYS:   I'm all talked out.   Next week, Nantucket!

A Rhubarb? No, a Tea Party with Rhubarb, etc.

My only rhubarb (ahem!) would be with the weather.  Will sun ever come out again I growled towards the heavens? And despite - or because of the incessant rain - my garden is lush and glorious. I'm one of those lucky New Yorkers who has an outdoor space.  Not just a sliver of balcony but a full-on, south-facing space with established plants and an enormous Norway maple - growing in the adjacent garden - that hangs over a corner of my garden, and in the summertime gives the blazingly hot spot a patch of shade.

The periwinkle blue clematis (don't ask me its name - because it has long ago been erased from my memory - which I shouldn't have trusted in the first place - and like a real gardener, should have written down)  and its saucer-like, white neighbor are the first plants I see when I open my back door. They almost make me forget the weather.  But not for long, because the relentless rain battered them, and they are disappearing sooner than usual. 
The heuchera, however - ding-dong (my adjective) coral belles and purple palace - are enduring specimens having lived for at least 15 years confined to not too big pots. They live through the freezing and thawing winter weather, love to be covered with snow, and faithfully come back, year after year.

I chose this apartment, with its very large garden (almost the size of my apartment)- instead of one with an extra bedroom - so that I can entertain outside.  I can invite more people for a meal in the warm weather then the cool.  My guests can dine comfortably, surrounded by fragrant plants, chirping birds, and the occasional firefly, buffered from screeching city noise by thick greenery and my apartment.   All is weather-dependant, of  course.    

My friends, the Bellati had been in New York for the past 2 weeks visiting from their home in the Veneto, Italy - ( see Contessanally for all their adventures while in the City - well, at least Nally's!) - I wanted to have them over for tea - in the garden - on their final day in New York.  You probably know how that tea in garden didn't happen - it happened inside.  It wasn't really raining - but it was grey and chilly.   However, I carried on with my menu.  

This rhubarb started with rhubarb, the stalk.  It seems that every farmer, in every market in the greenmarket system has piles of blushing rhubarb for sale.  I'm crazy about rhubarb - even although it makes my teeth feel like a chalkboard being scratched by fingernails.   I do several things with rhubarb.  But this compote is my favorite way to use it.  Once I have the versatile  compote in the fridge I use it in several preparations.

RHUBARB & STRAWBERRY COMPOTE

I use honey for this compote.  First and most importantly, my brother-in-law, Jim Gross, is a beekeeper on Nantucket.  His dozen or so hives produce hundreds and hundreds of pounds of  blue-ribbon award-winning honey not defined by a particular blossom - but, a blend of many - he collects his honey at the end of season.  I like the way its deep, earthy flavor  takes the edge off the rhubarb without turning it into something that's cloying. And, the sturdy rhubarb stands up to the honey and retains its integrity.   Local strawberries are coming from South Jersey.  Huzza.


Makes about 1 3/4 quarts

1 1/2 - 1 3/4 pounds rhubarb, leaf end and root end removed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 quart strawberries, hulled and cut in half
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
juice of 1/2 orange
1/2 - 3/4 cup pure honey

1.  Add all the ingredients to a large, non-reactive saucepan over medium-low heat.  Cook until the rhubarb is soft - 15 - 20 minutes.
2.   Let cool.  Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.


Late May Tea Party:

.  Sweet and Salty Almonds  (see Cocktail Prolonge, January 11, 2011 blog for recipe)

.  Radish and Butter Sandwiches - good quality butter spread on each side of sliced egg challah or brioche bread.  Line one side of bread with sliced radishes, sprinkle with coarse salt - I like flaky Maldon salt -  and chopped chives.  Make a sandwich and press firmly to insure that the radishes will adhere to the butter.  Cut into 2, 3, or 4 pieces.

.  Smoked Salmon on Cucumber Slices -  cut English cucumbers on the diagonal into 1/4-inch slices - smear each slice with a bit of softened cream cheese, top each piece with a little folded piece of smoked salmon and garnish with a piece of chive.

.    Kunik Cheese with Crackers - I've talked about this upstate New York cheese in other posts.  It is with a doubt my favorite local cheese.  The voluptuous triple creme is made with goat's milk and Jersey cow's milk cream. 

.   Rhubarb- Strawberry Parfaits -  I used  juice glasses to create this Sunday sundae - first, some Rhubarb & Strawberry Compote, Ronnybrook Farm coconut yogurt and topped with a sprinkling of homemade granola.

SUSANSIMONSAYS:

Make a scrumptious Rhubarb & Strawberry Smoothie  for one - add 1/2 cup of the compote, 1/2 cup whole milk plain yogurt, a splash of pure vanilla extract, a pinch of ground cinnamon, and 6 or 7 ice cubes to a blender and blend until thick and smooth.  Consume, with pleasure, immediately!