Brooklyn-bound diners

I've been branching out into my second favorite borough these last two weekends: Brooklyn.

I bet you didn't know that I used to live in Brooklyn. Yes, we lived on Shore Road in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn from 1980 - 1982. In the 1950's, Bay Ridge was known to many as "Little Oslo" due to its large population of Norwegian immigrants and it's where my dad moved with his parents when they immigrated from Norway in 1948. Not quite the case today, but my dad and his dwindling gang of Norwegian friends still call Bay Ridge home, as do many Chinese immigrants and people whose last name may as well be "Soprano." Let me know if you ever need a restaurant recommendation in Bay Ridge since I eat out there pretty regularly.

Last Saturday, Judd and I met our friends Kate and Eoghan for a lovely dinner at Saul, a smart French bistro on Smith Street in Cobble Hill. Despite its off-the-beaten-track location, Saul was one of only three restaurants in Brooklyn to earn a prestigious Michelin star in the 2009 Michelin Guide to New York City restaurants and hotels, and was also favorably reviewed in the New York Times last fall.

Kate and I both started our meals with a warm asparagus salad with a soft boiled egg, brioche crouton, and pantaleo cheese. My egg was under-seasoned and there wasn't much asparagus in the salad, but it was quite tasty nevertheless. The barely cooked egg, asparagus, and hard cheese combination is always a winner. Judd splurged on seared foie gras with rhubarb, toasted almonds and an apricot compote. I really only like foie gras when cold or room temperature and spreadable, otherwise the slippery texture of liver kind of grosses me out. Eoghan tried the local albacore tuna ceviche with an olive oil and citrus marinade and a microdice (their word, not mine) of peppers.

For my entree, I chose caramelized scallops with white bean puree, ramps, chorizo and a pine nut condiment. I was happy with my four smoky scallops (there was something like a paprika oil drizzled over the top which I managed to get on my new white shirt), but I liked Judd's duo of beef even better -- aged ribeye steak and slow cooked short ribs with potato puree, baby spinach, bernaise sauce and pickled cipollini onions. Kate ordered a skate wing with caramelized pearl onions, brown butter, and lemon supremes, which our waiter graciously removed from the bone for her. Eoghan went with the roasted breast and confit leg of duck with gnocchi, pine nuts, currants, and lemon confit. For dessert, we shared a Tahitian vanilla panna cotta with poached rhubarb, a pine nut tart with blood-orange campari ice cream, and baked alaska with coffee and vanilla ice cream and a dark chocolate cookie crust.

I really liked Saul. It felt very laid back and cool (dare I say "chill?" can you still use that word after turning 30?) inside despite the sophisticated menu and accompanying serious prices -- dinner for four was more than $400! -- kind of like Brooklyn itself these days.

Last night, we returned to Brooklyn. This time, for dinner with Brooklyn food experts Ann and Brian (formerly of Fort Greene and now current residents of Bed-Stuy) at Joe's of Avenue U, a Sicilian restaurant in Gravesend. Don't ask me where Gravesend is relative to the rest of Brooklyn because, even having done a fair amount of driving around, I have no idea. In fact, I'd never even heard of Gravesend or Avenue U before I read about Joe's in a recent Tasting Table daily newsletter (does anyone else get that? It's great.) subtitled "Have Some Pasta With Your Breadcrumbs at this Brooklyn Institution." I'm grateful to Judd, Ann, and Brian for sharing my sense of adventure last night and agreeing to have dinner at Joe's.

Joe's doesn't look like much on the outside. Actually, it doesn't look like much on the inside, either. The decor is pretty outdated with murals on the wall, a television screen broadcasting Italian game shows, and even a pink jersey-strewn shrine to the Palermo soccer team. The menu, featuring "spicialita palermitana" (Sicilian specialities) is printed on the paper placemats. I did not previously know that Sicilians speak their own version of Italian as indicated by the many Sicilian spellings on the menu (e.g., salad is "nZalata;" broccoli rabe is "vrocculi ri rapi").

To start, we shared an arancina mPupata (enormous fried risotto ball covered in tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, and grated cheese), purpu a nZalata (octopus salad), and cacocciuli stufati (stuffed artichoke). The risotto ball sundae is what had lured me into Joe's in the first place and it was delicious. There was some kind of meat sauce inside the risotto which was a pleasant surprise but the risotto ball itself could have been a little crispier. Who knows, maybe it was before it was doused in tomato sauce and cheese.

For my entree, I played it safe with pasta cu l'agghia e l'ogliu (linguine with garlic and oil). As you can see, the serving was enormous, but my pasta was slightly over cooked, or at least not as undercooked as I like. And I would have added a healthy sprinkling of crushed red pepper flake if I could have, but for $6.99, I would order it again.

Judd had lasagna cu prpetti a ragu (lasagna with meatballs and sauce). I thought the meatballs would be in the lasagna, but they turned up on the side. That struck me as odd, but the meatballs, like their risotto ball cousin, were tasty and even had some raisins inside.

Ann enjoyed her vongoli riganati (baked clams) -- and they were only $6!? -- but Brian won the prize for most adventurous eater when he ordered liguini cu niuru a siccia (linguini with black sauce). Yes, that linguine is covered in squid ink. And mushrooms. But mostly squid ink. Even my half carafe of house white wine couldn't get me to take a taste, but Brian liked it. Because Joe's stops serving dinner at 8:30 and closes down entirely at 9pm, we stopped by a nearby gelato place for dessert and sat among a handful of Sicilians watching a repeat of an earlier World Cup soccer game. It was hard to believe we were only about 18 miles from the Upper West Side.

I am not sure the food at Avenue Joe's is worth spending more than an hour in the car - plus an additional 15 minutes and $11 in tolls when Judd accidentally drove us over the Verrazano Bridge into Staten Island on our way home - but I had a lot of fun trying out Sicilian food in a funny little corner of the city. And get this: dinner for four, including one and a half carafes of passable wine, only set us back about $100 TOTAL!? Naturally, Joe's of Avenue U is cash only though there's a conveniently-place ATM right outside in case you don't have enough.

I have many more Brooklyn meals in my future and am always looking for recommendations, so send them my way!

curried couscous

I was so excited to catch a new episode of "The Barefoot Contessa" on the Food Network this Saturday, that I decided to dig out my old copy of the original Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and get inspired. Here's my version of Ina Garten's recipe for curried couscous (the original recipe can be found on page 94 of the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook). Is there anything easier than couscous!?

Serves 6

2 cups whole wheat couscous

2 cups water

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/4 cup greek yogurt

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 carrots, peeled and diced into 1/4 inch pieces

1/2 cup dried currants (dried cranberries would probably work, too)

1/2 cup slivered almonds

3 scallions, thinly sliced

1. Place the couscous in a large bowl.

2. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add butter to water and pour liquid over dry couscous and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand for five minutes and fluff with a fork.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, yogurt, curry powder, turmeric, and salt.

4. Mix yogurt mixture into fluffed couscous. Add carrots, currants, scallions, and almonds and stir. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

I made it yesterday and thought it was quite tasty warm, but I also really enjoyed it right out of the refrigerator tonight. I plan to make this all summer long.

A small stroke of genius

If I do say so myself.

Ever since my first meal at A Voce a few years ago, I have been in love with sheep's milk ricotta cheese. It's so rich, (think extra creamy-cream cheese and not that gloppy stuff that comes in a plastic Polly-O tub) and with a drizzle of olive oil, some chopped fresh herbs (I recommend thyme, rosemary, and chives), and a sprinkling of sea salt, it is terrific spread on toasted baguette slices. It's also a very easy snack to serve guests with a glass of wine or two and so I had bought quite a lot of it a few weeks ago to serve at a little party we threw at our apartment to celebrate the visit of our friend Stash, who tragically moved to Los Angeles last year.

We still had about one and a half cups of it left after our party and I wasn't sure what I'd do with it since I rarely treat myself to hors d'oeuvres and wine after work. But I started to think it could be delicious with pasta. So the other day, I decided to mix the leftover cheese, chopped fresh herbs, olive oil, and sea salt, with about one cup of pasta cooking water and a box of cooked rotini. And it was FABULOUS. Like a very elegant, fresh, and not that heavy, version of macaroni and cheese.

Because I feel guilty just eating a bowl of white stuff for dinner, I also made sauteed zucchini with zucchinis from the farmer's market on our corner. Even in season, zucchini can be a little boring, so I like to saute it with sliced onion and a lot of crushed red pepper.

Risotto with corn, sausage, and arugula

I really love corn. Judd's friend once told us about a recipe her family makes called "corn, corn, corn" -- a casserole-style combination of canned corn, creamed corn, and cornmeal. My mouth waters just thinking about it. While canned or frozen corn are pretty good, fresh corn is my favorite and I finally saw it Fairway for the first time this year. In honor of corn and other summer produce, I decided to dig out an old risotto recipe from Fine Cooking.

Here's what you'll need:

4 ears fresh corn

5-6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups arugula leaves

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small white onion, finely chopped

*1/4 lb hot italian sausage, casing removed and broken into chunks

2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon truffle oil (optional but welcome)

*I don't know how much the sausage really added to the risotto - I might leave it out next time.

1. Cook corn cobs in salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Drain corn and, when cool enough to touch, cut off kernels and set aside (this can be done in advance).

2. Bring broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Keep warm over low heat.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in large saucepan until garlic is fragrant, about one minute. Add arugula and toss with tongs until wilted considerably. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer to a cutting board and, when cool enough to touch, chop coarsely. Set aside.

4. Using the same saucepan, heat the remaining olive oil. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened. Add sausage and break apart while cooking until it's no longer pink, about 2 - 3 minutes.

5. Add rice and stir until the grains are well-coated, 1-2 minutes. Pour in wine and stir until it's absorbed.

6. Ladle enough hot broth into the pot to barely cover rice. Stir and cook over medium heat until all broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth in 1/2 cup increments, stirring occasionally, and letting each addition of broth be absorbed before adding the next.

7. When rice is nearly cooked, but still a little firm, add the corn kernels, chopped arugula, and an additional 1/2 cup of broth. Continue to simmer until the corn is warmed through and the rice is tender, an additional 1 - 3 minutes. (Stir in a little more broth if the risotto seems too thick.)

8. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the grated cheeses, butter, and truffle oil. Serve immediately.

Restaurant review: Maialino

One day in late January, I got an e-mail from my friend Alex. She had read about Maialino, Danny Meyer's newest restaurant in the Gramercy Park Hotel, and the roast suckling pig they serve family style. She and her husband Mike -- who also spent their honeymoon eating their way through Italy -- decided we should all go to Maialino together to get some. And we finally did just that on Wednesday night.

Danny Meyer, one of New York City's most prominent restauranteurs, is probably best known for turning Union Square and Madison Square into dining destinations. He opened Union Square Cafe in 1985, followed by Gramercy Tavern in 1994, and later Tabla, Eleven Madison Park, Blue Smoke, the Shake Shack (which I still haven't tried), the Modern, and now Maialino. I have met him, and by met I mean shaken his hand, a few times, as he has walked around his restaurants welcoming diners, and he was at Maialino again on Wednesday. I barely resisted the urge to beg him for a job on the spot.

Maialino means little pig in Italian. And pig is featured prominently on Maialino's Roman-inspired menu. In addition to the aforementioned roast suckling pig for a crowd, they offer a selection of cured meats, pork-studded pastas, and even a pig's foot entree, for foot fanciers.

Maialino is a very pretty restaurant. It has a large comfortable bar area and huge windows overlooking picturesque Gramercy Park. We were seated at a cozy booth close to the bread, salumi, and dessert stations, pictured at the top of this posting (no, my junky camera did not take that picture - I found it on New York Magazine's website). And close to Mayor Bloomberg, who was sitting a few tables away. The service was fairly slow on Wednesday night, and we were offered a complimentary dish of delicious fried baby artichokes with an anchovy-bread sauce while we waited for our pastas. The artichokes were delightfully crispy without being greasy and I even liked sauce, despite its inclusion of anchovy.

Our waitress explained that the roast pig, which is a considered a special and is not actually listed on the menu, serves anywhere from 2-4 people, so we decided to share four pasta dishes to start: spaghetti carbonara (egg, black pepper and guanciale), bucatini all'Amatriciana (spicy tomato and guanciale), lasagna al forno (spinach pasta and lamb ragu), and raviolo al uovo (egg yolk, ricotta, brown butter). Wowza times four. They were all delicious, but as I mentioned in a previous post, that raviolo is particularly noteworthy.

I wasn't really hungry after the artichokes and pasta course, but when our large pig platter arrived -- a quarter of a roasted suckling pig served atop of pile of roasted potatoes -- I perked back up. The "maialino" is slow-roasted for six hours and dusted with salt, pepper, cracked fennel and rosemary. The pig meat (ribs, loin, and shoulder) was incredibly tender and flavorful. But the real highlight for me was the crispy pig skin! It was insanely delicious. To balance the richness of the roast pork, we also shared two vegetable dishes: broccoli rabe with chili and garlic and barely-sauteed sugar snap peas.

For dessert we shared a slice of orangey olive oil cake with a vanilla whipped cream - a perfect end to a near-perfect dinner.

The service was fairly slow and spotty and I don't like dealing with the 30-day wait between wanting to eat at Maialino and getting a reservation, but this little piggy still can't wait to go back!

***

2 Lexington Avenue

New York, New York

(212) 777-2410 - you'll need to call 4 weeks ahead

Dinner for four: $350 (the roast pig for four is $72 but all of the pastas are under $20)