Pickles and Persimmons

NEW BLOG ALERT!

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 08:47:20 -0700

Hi Friends! I’m in the process of creating a new website: www.onehungrypickle.com. I...

Under Indian Skies

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 08:52:28 -0800

I recently returned from a trip to India and spent three days in the breathtaking foothills of the...

Winter Warmer Tunes

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 09:42:35 -0800

Haven’t posted any songs in a while, so here’s a little roundup of a few that I’ve had on constant...

When any of us returns home, my dad goes all out. A total...

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:14:44 -0800

that's what 48 hours of curing will get you...HOMEMADE

My brother's tasty creation with grated egg

Foie Gras...whoa

....bliss

When any of us returns home, my dad goes all out. A total gourmand, he is happiest when shopping in a specialty cheese shop (which he does with almost alarming regularity). When the three of us all return home, all bets are off. This year after our Thanksgiving feast, we were treated to Foie Gras AND homemade Gravlax. You see where I get it from…

Some more Thanksgiving pics…

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:08:17 -0800

What's Thanksgiving without a Bloody Mary?

Cranberry Cumberland Sauce: Making our TG since 1994

Squash pre-roast

Squash Toast / Squash Soup

Squash soup with some bacon and a wee bit of cream

Brussels, Toasts and Kale Salad

Shtuffing

Plate of Dreams

A little bourbon whipped cream was necessary

Some more Thanksgiving pics…

Thanksgiving Re-Cap As a family who adopted the tradition of...

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:08:08 -0800

Where it All Began...

Rolling out my pie dough

humble ingredients (except the Maker's...)

Bourbon-Chocolate Pecan Pie (and sock feets)

...she so pretty

apple galette (again)

Making Miss. Lemon Upside Down Cake (brown sugar caramel beneath)

Pre-Flip

Post-Flip...Almost perfect

Thanksgiving Re-Cap

As a family who adopted the tradition of Thanksgiving relatively recently (well, 1994—after our move to the U.S.), we approach the holiday with great gastronomic gusto. During our first November in America, my parents planned to spend the days off with relatively little fanfare. My oldest brother, however, had other ideas, after hearing of his friends Thanksgiving plans. So, my parents bought Bon Appetit’s Thanksgiving 1994 issue, and we’ve been cooking with it ever since. We still have the copy!

The holiday has evolved into quite an undertaking: about a month and a half in advance, my father, one of my brothers and myself begin to plan our respective dishes. My dad always tackles the basics: turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, and usually a soup of some kind. My brother prepares elaborate and amazing dishes—usually vegetables, ranging from classic corn pudding to Vietnamese-inspired Brussels sprouts to Mozzarella, Kale and Tomato towers. As of late, dessert has been my domain, and rooted in a family tradition of “more is more”, I never prepare fewer than three sweets, no matter how many guests there are.

This year, I made a Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie, the same Apple Galette that you saw earlier and a Lemon Upside Down Cake. My favorite was the Pecan Pie, as I’d recently made the Apple. The Lemon Upside Down Cake really got better with age (fine-wine style, I guess), but it was delicious and easy to make and nice and caramelly too.

My dad made a turkey with Mandarin Oranges, his usual Stuffing of Italian Sausage, Cornbread and Cranberries (with the unwelcome addition of Jalapeños this year—I’m a traditionalist), Gravy, Mashed Potatoes and Squash Soup.

My brother prepared the traditional Cranberry Cumberland Sauce (Courtesy of Bon Appetit 1994), Brussels Sprouts and Chestnuts with Cream, Corn Pudding, Kabocha Squash & Ricotta Crostini with Mint & Kale Salad with Pecorino and Breadcrumbs.

…Yum.

My mother does a beautiful job setting the table and generally dealing with mass chaos in the kitchen and my other brother serves as general sous chef and motivational assistant.

As an additional treat my dad had picked up some foie gras AND made homemade Gravlax. I’m really too lucky….

Until just a few weeks ago, I was totally terrified of making my...

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 18:58:25 -0800

always butter, and lots of it

food processor--not old school, but great.

roll it OUT

fall apples, can't beat em

uncooked

cooked!

Until just a few weeks ago, I was totally terrified of making my own tart/pie dough. Cake or cookie batter I’m fine with, but something about making roll-outable dough had me running in the opposite direction. Home for the weekend as a result of Ms. Superstorm Sandy, I obviously took advantage of my parents kitchen, far more expansive and well-stocked than the half of my studio I use for cooking. Armed with a food processor, some pantry staples and this recipe, I gingerly joined the home-made dough brigade. The apple tart, while simple, was quite tasty, although mine was more than a little misshapen (a middle-of-baking catastrophe transpired when I confirmed the fact that wax paper really cannot be used in place of parchment paper). I’ve now made both pie crusts in preparation for Thanksgiving!

An Evening with the Rolling Stones

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 08:10:00 -0800

I’ve had one of those weeks where you feel very lucky and unbelievably spoiled. Wednesday night I...

The NoMad Restaurant Since moving to New York, I’ve enjoyed very...

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 10:51:00 -0800

Cocktail

Seafood Tower

Radishes/Bread/Cauliflower

Chicken

Milk & Honey Dessert

Mignardises

The NoMad's Kitchen

The NoMad Restaurant

Since moving to New York, I’ve enjoyed very few occasions where the food and experience matches up to the price tag. My recent trip to The NoMad was one such meal. This meal was long anticipated, as I’ve yearned to eat at the NoMad since first reading about it in the NY Times. My desire only heightened after reading Pete Wells’ full review (with accompanying photo slideshow) The days leading up to our dinner had been spent strategically analyzing the various menus… The restaurant is part of the hotel of the same name, which exudes an almost austere hipness, but without any pretensiousness or attitude. The restaurant’s ambience is fantastic, with a luxe décor and friendly, approachable service.

I had the great pleasure of dining with my parents who not only provide the best conversation, but also bring very different food standpoints to the (dinner) table. My father, an excellent cook, is a total gourmand, having grown up in India in a food-obsessed family. He has a very discerning and well-rounded palate in addition to a penchant for insanely rich foods like foie gras and all kinds of cheese. He’s willing to try absolutely anything, except for green salads. My mother is a pescatatarian and far more interested in a restaurant’s ambience than the food. She likes simple and clean Mediterranean flavors, but humors the rest of us by coming along. With these two trusty companions, I set sail.

(Apologies for the poor quality of many of the photographs…alas, the iPhone does have some shortcomings)

1. Cocktails—I’d heard the cocktails were excellent, and (like all the other menus) had perused extensively in advance. I ended up ordering a super-boozy cocktail, the name of which unfortunately escapes me…But: rye, grapefruit, other citrus….mmm. My dad got a sherry-based cocktail that had sweet vermouth in it. My mother, as per usual, had a glass of wine. (My dad engaged in a long conversation with two of the very knowledgeable and nice wine specialists about an obscure Lebanese wine. This is a great example of the service…)

2. I’d made the reservation before realizing that a family friend’s son worked at the NoMad. He very kindly sent out the seafood platter to us which included oysters with frozen champagne mignonette, sea urchin panna cotta, Hamachi with horseradish, creamy but flavorful lobster and perfectly flavored clams. The beauty of this dish was that the garnishes perfectly enhanced but didn’t detract from any of the fantastic flavors of the seafood.

3. Since hearing about the NoMad, I’ve been intrigued by the butter dipped radishes. Dipped in salt, they were perfect—crunchy, fresh and indulgent.

4. Sadly, this photograph doesn’t do either of the dishes justice. The bread, which arrived nice and hot (as all bread should be), was served whole for us to slice. Foccaccia-style, it was stuffed with potato, onions and caraway and was perfectly chewy and crispy. The flavors perfectly complemented the rest of the meal without being too strong. We also had cauliflower with Marcona almonds, grapes and cheddar. My dad pointed out, rightly so, that although the flavors were all really great, but somehow it didn’t feel cohesive.

5. The Chicken. To give you an idea, check this out:

The bird came out to greet us; festooned with fresh herbs and sitting in the perfect sized cast iron, its skin the color of a perfect Tarte Tatin. The aroma of truffle was intoxicating. After it returned, fully carved, we encountered an unparalleled level of moistness, and a deep rich savoriness. Uncovering the crisp skin we found the layer of stuffing, the melted foie gras and truffle had seeped into the brioche, creating perhaps the most flavorful breadcrumb of all time. It was served simply—the lentils were aromatic and well cooked, and the Brussels sprouts clean and refreshing—providing an ideal textural note to both the creamy lentils and tender chicken. The side dish of shallots, morel mushrooms and dark meat was indulgent and very delicious. I could only really eat a bite due to the immense richness, but my dad heartily dug in. While initially the portion looked smallish, my father and I both had to wave the white flag three-quarters of the way through, neither of us used to giving up. My mum got the Black Bass which was slow-cooked with matsutake mushrooms and spinach. It was moist and buttery, brightened up by the accompaniments. Although not a foodie, she was thrilled.

6. I only have a photograph of one of the two desserts we ordered. This, the Milk & Honey was an ingenious representation of these two flavors. The crunchy honey-flavored shortbread had the consistency of a crumbly buttery graham cracker—a perfect foil to the dehydrated milk puffs. All of this was tied together with quenelles of impossibly creamy milky ice cream and drizzled honey-caramel on top. Unsurprisingly, I’m still thinking about it. We also ordered a terrific chocolate caramel tart with hazelnut and fleur de sel. The accompanying chocolate sorbet possessed a richness you’d be hard pressed to find in most chocolate ice creams.

7. While my photo of the mignardises in no way does it justice, they were all very nice. There were smoky tea flavored truffles, caramel apple macarons and….well, that’s all I remember-it was a long meal lubricated with plenty of wine and that extra-boozy cocktail.

We had the great fortune of receiving a tour of the entire restaurant including the kitchen. It’s a beautifully curated place—each room with a different purpose and an identity to match, but all in perfect harmony.

I plan to return as soon as my arteries forgive me for the amount of butter and foie gras they are currently encountering…

Sandy Songs

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:12:28 -0800

Although it was a few weeks ago, Hurricane Sandy is still fresh in our minds, especially if you live...

A few weeks back I hosted a housewarming brunch in my new(ish)...

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 12:36:24 -0700

Fairytale Eggplant

Dogs at the Market

muffin batter

sausage for casserole

Close to capacity...

A few weeks back I hosted a housewarming brunch in my new(ish) studio apartment. In preparation for brunch I headed to the greenmarket and saw some beautiful fall produce. The menu included:

Spinach, basil and goat cheese frittata

Mozzarella Popovers (What’s a brunch sans popovers?)

Blueberry–Sour Cream Muffins / Banana-Blueberry-Sour Cream Muffins

Sausage, Egg and Cheese Casserole

Fruit Salad

Green Salad

Some of my nearest and dearest brought over food and drink and a good time was had by all.

IT'S RANT TIME.

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:37:33 -0700

I spend a lot of time reading about food. This may not come as a shock, but the hours I spend poring...

Photo

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:27:01 -0700

I have been a huge Bob Marley & The Wailers fan since I first heard “No Woman No...

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:15:38 -0700

I have been a huge Bob Marley & The Wailers fan since I first heard “No Woman No...

We’ve all seen earl grey –and even lapsang souchong in...

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 06:23:14 -0700

We’ve all seen earl grey –and even lapsang souchong in some cases– popping up in desserts, cocktails and savory dishes. The newest tea trend: chamomile. After enjoying a deliciously delicate gin cocktail involving chamomile syrup, I’m sure that the soothing and flowery flavor of chamomile will be the latest trend, if it isn’t already…

(photo courtesy of botanical.com)

A selection of more from Colombia

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 15:32:02 -0700

A selection of more from Colombia

These photos are all from Cartagena, the second of the three...

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 17:22:18 -0700

These photos are all from Cartagena, the second of the three cities in Colombia that I visited recently. Cartagena has the feel of both a sleepy tropical beach town and a major industrial capital. The old city itself is extremely quaint with a colonial feel almost, and, for me, reminiscent of both Oaxaca, Mexico and New Orleans. Located right on the water with an enormously important port, Cartagena truly exemplifies its Caribbean heritage…

A Taste of Colombia Here are a smattering of food photos I took...

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 15:21:08 -0700

A is for Arepa!

A is also for Arepa with queso fresco and hogao (vegetable sauce)

A is for Avocados the size of your head...almost

B is for amazing BBQ beef at a roadside place

B is for BBQ at my sister in law's house

Mas BBQ

C is for Chicharron (fried pork skins) on which I subsisted

And of course Chicharron ON Arepa

C for Coca Cola in Espanol

C is also for Coconuts

A Taste of Colombia

Here are a smattering of food photos I took during my time in Colombia.

Enjoy!

Reggaeton Playlist...No Judging Zone.

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 18:46:39 -0700

Listen up, music snobs (this obviously includes yours truly). I went to Colombia, and realized that...

A late fourth of July shot…

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 14:41:54 -0700

A late fourth of July shot…