the SIMMER blog

best bites of 2009: other notables

And then we came to the end! Last post of 2009.

Lots of delicious bites I had this year weren't exactly restaurant food, nor were they exactly homemade, so I wanted to include them in some other way. And here they are! Included.

 

1. Red chili Capogiro gelato -- it's almost TOO hot, but that's perfect, because it's also creamy and rich, and you would think it cools itself but it doesn't. Worth trying at least once! 
2. Nduja from Boccalone-- Yes, it's spicy meat paste. Sausage, really, but softer and spreadable. Good for nubbing into a sauce for pasta or just spreading on bread.
3. Apples with goat cheese and honey-- My friend Sara made these for her birthday party and they are really, really delicious. Totally nicking them for my next shindig.
4. Duck wonton with Gary Farrell Pinot Noir -- At the Sonoma Wine Country Weekend, there were about 60 restaurants and over a hundred wineries, so we couldn't get around to them all, but I sure was glad we got to this. I can't remember what table offered the duck wonton (A La Carte catering, maybe?) but it was right next to the Gary Farrell table, and the food with the wine was just a tremendous little burst of awesome. Went back for seconds. And then some.
5. Ricotta, pistachio, and basil crostini at Tria's Fermentation School. Three great tastes I would not have pegged as tasting great together, but... they totally do.
6. Sarcone's Special.
7. The goat cheese sandwich at 'wichcraft. If I had to choose between this one and the Sarcone's Special for the rest of my life, it'd be a really, really tough call. Luckily, I don't have to pick!
8. Mozzarepas. At my first two or three NYC street fairs I made sure to eat these, because I didn't know when I'd see them again. Luckily for my hips, I realized quickly they appear at EVERY SINGLE street fair in the city. Therefore, there'll always be another chance.
9. Russian Teacakes made by my mom for Christmas. In case you wonder where I get the Overdo gene, she made more than a dozen types of cookies for Christmas this year. The fact that I still gravitate toward the Russian Teacakes even though they cannot be discreetly sneaked (powdered sugar! everywhere! and I wear a lot of black) speaks to their irresistibility.

And that's it for 2009. Let's see what wonderful tastes and smells and flavors 2010 brings, shall we?

best bites of 2009: homemade division

Shoot! 2009's almost over! And two more year-end roundups to do!

So last week I ran down the best restaurant dishes I had this year, and tomorrow I'll list out miscellaneous deliciousness, but today you get this: my favorite things I made, and ate, at home this year.

1. Man-Catcher Brownies (even though the recipe figures prominently in my novel, I'd never made these! Now I have. And they are GOOD.)
2. As always, bacon-wrapped dates
3. Cheddar shortbread from Rose's Christmas Cookies (I tweak it with extra cayenne and smoked paprika) 
4. Cinnamon Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop (I make a lot of ice creams, but this was especially delicious)
5. Clementine Cake
6. Steak salad: steak rubbed with chipotle and ancho powder, sliced over romaine and watercress, with bleu cheese, cranberries, and pecans
7. Guinness & Cheese Fondue
8. The Barefoot Contessa's Feta & Orzo Salad
9. Rye Triscuits with melted fontina. Is it a dish? No. Is there a recipe? No. Is it one of my favorite things? Absolutely.

Tune in tomorrow for the last of the roundups, including a spicy meat paste (yeah, a spicy meat paste) and my new favorite appetizer...

best bites of 2009: restaurant division

It's been a heck of a year, huh?

I could talk about what an amazing breakthrough the book deal was for me, but you kind of know that. I could talk about how sad I am to be leaving Philly for New York City, but as soon as the move is over I know I'll be so excited about the new place I won't be consumed with thoughts of the old. I could put together some of the photo essays that have been languishing half-finished on the hard drive, about cinnamon ice cream and chicken mole and teeny blini and a thousand other things. I could tell you about all the funny/weird/interesting things I've found while packing, like 119 rejections, or a list of my favorite quotes from The Greatest Show On Earth.

But it's the end of the year, and this is a food blog.

So let's cover the 9 best things I ate in 2009, shall we?

(When I started brainstorming this, there were far too many, so I have to go with categories. Today: restaurants only.)

In no particular order:

• fried chicken at Ad Hoc (Yountville CA)
• cheese bread with guava butter at Chifa (Philadelphia)
• buffalo-style sweetbreads at Matyson (Philadelphia)
• pork buns at Momofuku Ssam Bar (New York City)
• tacos al pastor at Taqueria La Puebla (Philadelphia)
• foie gras torchon at The French Laundry (Yountville CA)
• ricotta gnocchi at Eleven Madison Park (New York City)
• roasted suckling pig & all the trimmings at Amada (Philadelphia)
• hanger steak at Bibou (Philadelphia)

How about you?

wordless wednesday xxviii

the spice is right: turkey chili

So I really have been cooking. (Though, honestly, a lot of it is still the roasted chickpeas. Mmmm, roasted chickpeas.) But a lot of it has been simpler stuff: a coffee cake that was just OK, a pumpkin bread that wasn't as good as the banana bread I made the week before, stuffing based on a Williams-Sonoma boxed mix (to be fair that was AWESOME), and my post-gym last-ditch standby, havarti on rye Triscuits.

But this one is worth mentioning, even though I don't have a picture. I made my first post-Thanksgiving turkey chili. It's a stereotype, right? The chili made with turkey leftovers because you're so, so sick of just plain turkey? But like many common tropes, this one is... completely true.

And I fell into the trap I normally do when coming up with a dish. No recipe. Not even a base one to start improvising off of. Just me and the fridge and the cabinets, and a lot of things left over from making other things. And a husband who has the faith to ask "Can you make this again?" even as he and I both know the most likely answer is a tentative "... Maybe?"

But seriously, it was so good, so this is what I think was in it. Next time I'll even buy the ingredients on purpose.

Here's What's On Hand Turkey Chili

• 2 small links pork sausage
• 1-2 cups cubed turkey meat (dark and light)
• 1 can Goya chickpeas, drained
• 1 T smoked paprika
• 1.5 T ancho powder
• 1 t cumin
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 small can tomato juice

Take the sausage out of the casing and brown in small clumps in a saucepan or small dutch oven over medium heat. Add turkey meat and half of the chickpeas, stirring gently to distribute the fat, then add spices and garlic and brown for another minute or so. Deglaze with canned tomatoes, stirring to scrape up the spices, and add tomato juice. Once the liquid is bubbling, turn down the heat and let the chili simmer. Partially covering the pan with the lid is probably a good idea at this stage -- you want the liquid to reduce but not too much. After 15 minutes, add the remaining chickpeas and cook another 5 minutes or so.

Eat. Share. Make note: larger Thanksgiving turkey next year.