best and worst from 2011

Readers - the last quarter of 2011 was action-packed, and I apologize for the resulting shortage of new content on "She's Still Hungry." In the last week of September, we bought a country house in Dutchess County, where I have been almost every subsequent weekend. Then my previously very healthy mother-in-law had emergency open heart surgery in November, and we spent a very tense Thanksgiving with her in an ICU in Colorado Springs. Finally, in the end of December, I left my job of nearly four years as a state charities' regulator to join the legal department of a New York not-for-profit corporation. In any event, it seems as though the dust is finally starting to settle, and I am have some time to belatedly tell you about my favorite and least favorite places from 2011.

Places I recommend you try in 2012:

Spiga (200 West 84th Street): a cozy dining room overlooking a sleepy side Upper West Side street, with exposed brick and wooden beams -- the perfect setting for a rustic and reasonably-priced Italian meal. I particularly enjoyed the large selection of homemade pastas.

Madangsui (35 West 35th Street): my first foray into Korean barbeque and the bar was set high. Everything we had, from kimchi pancakes to marinated ribeye and short ribs, perfectly balanced grease and flavor. And they take reservations!

Peasant (194 Elizabeth Street): a satisfying Italian gem in NoLiTa that I finally tried for the first time last year (I think it opened in 2000). Only delicious things came out of their big open kitchen with its wood-burning brick oven and large rotisserie, including an enormous roasted leg of lamb, which could hardly be described as peasant fare.

Prime Meats (465 Court Street, Brooklyn): Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, of the eponymous Frankie's Spuntino chain, teamed up again for this Carroll Gardens new American tavern with a farm-to-table menu influenced by "Germanic alpine cuisine." I loved every decadent thing we ordered, including the pork schnitzel, herb and gruyere cheese spatzle, and house-made pretzels. But I could have passed on the hipster waiters in vests and suspenders.

Sad news: BLT Market (1430 Sixth Avenue in the Ritz Carlton), Laurent Tourondel's fancy country cookery which I planned to include on this list, has CLOSED as of January 1st!? Not a huge surprise since ownership of the entire BLT group has been the subject of dispute since Chef Tourdondel (the "LT" in the "BLT" brand) split from his business partner two years ago.

And places I suggest you skip in 2012 and beyond:

Paptzul (55 Grand Street) - displeasingly greasy and uninspired Mexican food in SoHo, in a dining room so loud I could barely think straight. No es bueno.

Thalassa (179 Franklin Street) - underwhelming and very pricey Greek food in TriBeCa. I really wanted to like this place, but it hurt to pay close to $20 for a greek salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, feta), and more than $30 for "Seafood Thalassina" - diver scallops, gulf shrimp, and PEI mussels steamed in white wine over orzo - all of which was flavorless and overcooked.

Frankie's Spuntino (17 Clinton Street on the Lower East Side and 570 Hudson Street in the West Village) - I realize this is a controversial addition to a list of stinker restaurants since everyone and their mother seems to be fawning over "the Franks" behind this chain of causual Italian eateries (and Prime Meats, see above). But I thought both Frankie's 17 and 570 were overpriced ($4 for one little crositini?), not very tasty, and, in the case of the LES outpost, uncomfortable - the tables are WAY too close together! I may or may not try the original Frankie's Sputino in Carroll Gardens, which I've heard is the best of the bunch, but the two Manhattan locations have done nothing to inspire me to spend 45 minutes on the subway.

Blue Ribbon Sushi (308 West 58th Street) - I was thrilled when I figured out there was a Blue Ribbon Sushi within walking distance of my house, in the little-known Columbus Hotel. However, my delight quickly turned to disappointment during an unnecessarily long (terrible service) and expensive ($6.50 for a cucumber roll!? is that a joke? do you know how many cucumbers you can buy for $6.50?) dinner.

chorizo vinaigrette

I made the tastiest vinaigrette a few weeks ago. The recipe, from a Michael Rhulman cookbook (my former Cleveland Heights neighbor), was published in a weekly Splendid Table e-mail, and titled "Pan-Roasted Cod with Chorizo Vinaigrette." As you can see from the photo above, I did make it with pan roasted cod (and oven roasted carrots and sauteed zucchini). But I had a lot left over and decided it to try it with some bibb lettuce the next day - delicious! And stirred into some couscous - even better! The dressing keeps in the fridge for at least one week and can be served warm or at room temperature.

In case you're looking for a reason to eat more salad in 2012, here's the recipe, as interpreted by me, just in time for new year's.

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped Spanish chorizo

3 tablespoons sherry vinegar

salt and epper

Heat oil in small pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, pepper, chorizo, and a pinch of salt. Saute until the vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

"shortcut" moussaka

Last month, a recipe in the New York Times caught my eye: shortcut moussaka. I like shortcuts, and I really like moussaka, a traditional Greek dish of layered eggplant, potato, and ground lamb covered in bechamel sauce. After spending nearly an hour in the kitchen and dirtying multiple pots and pans, I'm not sure this recipe really deserves its "shortcut" moniker, but it was pretty good and quite comforting, like a Greek shepherd's pie, so I'm sharing it with you, with a few of my tweaks included.

Here's the recipe, which serves 6:

2 medium eggplants, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1.5 lbs yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1/3 cup whole milk

1 large egg yolk

1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese + 2 tablespoons more for sprinkling on top before baking

1/4 cup parmesan cheese + 1 tablespoon more sprinkling on top before baking

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used Smart Balance Light - worked fine)

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 lb ground lamb

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cinnamon sticks

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/8 teaspoon allspice

2 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped

salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Toss the eggplant with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and drain in a colander for 15 minutes.

2. Mix eggplant with olive oil and fresh ground pepper, spread on a large baking sheet, and roast until golden and tender, about 40 minutes, and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.

3. In a large saucepan, immerse the potatoes in cold salted water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to warm pot. Stir in milk, egg yolk, cheese, butter, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and mash until potatoes are fairly smooth.

4. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the lamb, breaking it up with a fork as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper. (If you have a lot of grease from the lamb, remove all about 1 tablespoon.) Add onions and cinnamon sticks and cook until the onions are soft. Stir in the allspice and garlic and cook for two minutes more. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the tomatoes are soft and the mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon sticks, add the roasted eggplant, and stir to combine.

5. Transfer the lamb-eggplant mixture to a large baking dish and top with mashed potato mixture. Sprinkle with additional cheese and bake until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.

I served the moussaka with stewed gigante beans and some roasted vegetables.

Restaurant review: Tertulia

As I have previously mentioned, I am not a big tapas fan. I don't really like to share food, (which my husband attributes to the 8 months I spent sharing a placenta with my twin sister), I don't like small servings, and I don't consider myself a lover of Spanish cuisine. So, last spring, when my sister and several of her friends decided to invest in Seamus Mullen's new tapas restaurant, I thought she was nuts.

In case he's not a household name in your house, let me introduce to you chef Seamus: in 2006, Mullen, a Vermont-born chef who had studied and cooked in Spain, earned two stars from the New York Times at Boqueria, a Spanish restaurant he opened in the Flatiron District (a second location in SoHo has since opened). In 2010, he and the Boqueria team parted ways and he returned to Spain, where he was inspired by the local cider houses of the Asturias to open Tertulia. Seamus, who is only 37, was also diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis a few years ago, and his new cookbook, "Hero Foods," a collection of recipes featuring anti-inflammatory, immune-boosting foods, is coming out next spring.

Since Tertulia opened in late July, I have eaten there 5 times, including just last week for my mother's birthday. And even though the menu is tapas-centric and they don't take reservations, (another pet peeve), I love it! The restaurant has a lively front bar room and a large but cozy back room with a mostly-open kitchen, a huge wood-fired grill (warning - it is very warm near the grill), and several long tables for communal dining.

The menu is divided into three sections that I think of as bread and things that taste good on bread, tapas, and large dishes. Let me tell you about my favorites. First, you must start off with a selection of the toasted bread: the pan con tomate (rubbed with tomato - sounds simple, but it's excellent), toasta buey de mar (topped with crab, sungold tomato, avocado, pickled peppers, and herbs), and the tosta huevo roto y jamon iberico (topped with crushed soft-boiled egg, potato, and Iberico ham). Next, pretend your diet starts tomorrow, and order a parade of Tertulia's excellent fried tapas: pimientos de padron (fried padron peppers with sea salt), berenjenas rebozadas (fried fairytale eggplant with citrus yogurt, hazelnut and pepper sauce), nuestras patatas (crispy potatoes, pimenton, and garlic aioli), and croquetas de jamon (ham croquettes). Then move on to paella de mariscos (traditional paella with shrimp, claims and runner beans) and chorizo criollo (garlic sausage with garbanzos). The grilled prime rib is delicious, but I think at $72, it's overpriced. Skip dessert.

I really like the way a meal flows at Tertulia. The staff brings out the food in multiple small batches, resulting in a feast-like feel and providing relaxed diners with lots of time to enjoy the excellent sangria and people watching (keep an eye out for celebrity chefs - I have seen Jonathan Waxman and Harold Dieterle there and I heard from a reliable source that Mario Batali had dinner there just last week).

I realize I am likely partial, (Chef Seamus confused me for my sister last time I was there and gave me a big hug when he saw me), but I think Tertulia just may be the tastiest new place in the West Village.

***

Details:

Tertulia

359 Sixth Avenue (at Washington Place)

New York City

(212) 559-9909

Spanish feast for three with enough sangria to stain your mouth purple for days: $250

Hooray for soufflé

Readers: I am proud to present my very first guest post, courtesy of my sister, Kristy.

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Earlier this year, my favorite new friend and co-worker Lydie invited me to dinner at her house in Connecticut. We picked an icy Friday night in February, and hopped on Metro North after work for the hour-long train ride up to the burbs. By the time we got to Greenwich it was already 7:30pm, and I wondered what tricks Lydie might have up her sleeve to serve dinner at a reasonable hour...

As it I was to learn, cheese soufflé is an excellent main course for just such an occasion. Lydie quickly handed me an apron and put me to work as her sous-chef. I had never tried to make a soufflé--although I have eaten many of Sipi's outrageous chocolate soufflés at Etats Unis over the years--and it was much easier than I thought. Soufflés are known for being temperamental since they can literally flop in the oven, but they don't need to be perfect to be tasty. And you don't need to be brave or professional to give it a shot.

I was surprised that Lydie's recipe was straightforward and called for very simple everyday ingredients including eggs, milk, cheese, butter, and flour. The preparation was even easier with a Kitchenaid mixer and two sets of hands. Our dish was in the oven within 20 minutes, and about an hour later…voila! The finished soufflé was fluffy, savory, and delicious - it was a huge hit. Lydie's full dinner included a salad to start, crusty bread, broccolini dressed with lemon juice, brownies for dessert, and several bottles of red wine. All told, it was a perfect menu for a perfectly easy dinner party. I could't wait to serve my very own soufflé the next time I was cooking for guests.

At the beginning of the summer, I invited Loren and Kate over to commemorate the Farewell episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show. A special occasion called for a special dish! I had saved this recipe for a Cheese and Herb soufflé in the Wall Street Journal and bought myself a large porcelain ramekin at Williams-Sonoma for a more dramatic presentation. Note that baking time for one large soufflé is about 60-70 minutes. I served this with an asparagus, prosciutto, and burrata salad and a loaf of pancetta bread from Eataly. We also went through our fair share of wine and kleenex that night...

***
Cheese Soufflé with Garlic and Fresh Herbs (adapted from the Wall Street Journal 5/7/11)
Serves 8
Softened butter and grated Parmesan cheese to prepare the molds
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves minced garlic
6 tablespoons flour
2 cups boiling milk
1 tsp plus one pinch fine sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
6 egg yolks
10 egg whites at room temperature
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup finely minced chives
1/3 cup minced Italian parsley
6 oz coarsely grated Gruyere or a combination of Gruyere and grated Parmesan

1. Butter 8 individual 1 1/4 cup soufflé molds or ramekins. Dust with Parmesan and place on a baking sheet.
2. For the soufflé base, melt the butter along with the garlic in a medium saucepan. Cook for one minute, stirring. Stir in flour and continue to stir over moderate heat until butter and flour foam together for two minutes without browning. Remove from heat.
3. Off heat, add boiling milk and beat vigorously with a whisk until well blended. Add 1tsp salt, peppers, and nutmeg. Return to heat and boil, stirring, for one minute. Sauce should be very thick. Remove from heat.
4. Off heat, add yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Correct seasoning. Seasoning should be strong as the upcoming addition of the whites will dilute flavor.
5. To finish the soufflés: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
6. Whisk egg whites with a large pinch of salt and cream of tartar. Start beating on a low speed and raise the speed gradually as the egg whites mount. When soft peaks form, stir one quarter of the beaten whites into the soufflé base followed by chives, parsley, and all but three tbsp of the cheese. Then fold the lightened base into the remaining whites.
7. Ladle equal amounts of the soufflé mixture into the eight prepared molds, place them on a baking sheet, and sprinkle the remaining three tbps cheese over the tops. Place on the middle rack of the oven. Lower the heat to 375. Bake 20 minutes or until risen and set. Serve right away.

Hurricane watch

As if Tuesday's earthquake wasn't excitement enough for New York City, we now have this to look forward to:

Yes, months after breaking an 86-year record for its snowiest January ever (a total of 36" of snow fell in January alone), weeks after its hottest day since 1977 (it got up to 104 in Central Park on July 22nd), and days after its rainiest day ever (7.7" of rain recorded at JFK on August 15th), New York City is preparing for a rare direct hit from a hurricane sometime tomorrow morning. As a result, the city has literally ground to a halt. Service on the entire subway and bus system was suspended indefinitely at noon, several low-lying neighborhoods have been under a mandatory evacuation order since 5pm, and Mayor Bloomberg is telling us all to stay indoors until tomorrow night.

Even though I stopped by Fairway before work yesterday, I decided to go back out this morning for a few last-minute hurricane provisions in case we really are stuck at home for the next 24 hours. Still-groggy from last night's pre-storm celebrating, I was not prepared for the mayhem I encountered as rabid upper westsiders stormed the few local stores that opened this morning.

Whole Foods at the Time Warner Center, which had stayed open all night, hit its maximum capacity of shoppers at 9:45am and was turning people away in advance of an early closure. Fairway, which is open all day even on Thanksgiving and Christmas, closed its doors at 10am. Which prompted Citarella, pictured above, to get so crowded that a line formed just to get in the door!

Thankfully, with my sister's help, I managed to get all of the ingredients I needed for chili (organic ground beef, assorted bell peppers, crushed tomatoes, red and black beans, corn, and onion) - that seemed like appropriate hurricane fare - and the marinara sauce I plan to make tomorrow, and get home before 11am, where I've been loafing around, closely following the local news coverage, ever since.

Once the hurricane moves out of the area, I would not be at all surprised if locusts started raining down or a wave of plague swept the city. In the meantime, Shun Lee is open for business and even delivering food tonight because nothing, not even Hurricane Irene, comes between a New Yorker and Chinese food.

Tasti-D-what?

I was walking past Tasti-D-Lite over the weekend and noticed a very strange sign in its window. Tasti-D-Lite, NYC's famous purveyor of dairy-based soft serve frozen deliciousness, is now serving soup. Soup at Tasti-D-Lite!? What is the world coming to?

Tasti-D-Lite became a household name in the mid-1990's, in my household at least. I do not think it's an exaggeration to say that I ate it every day during high school. In fact, there were three locations within a few blocks of my childhood home, and I had copies of their calendars listing the daily flavors offered at each in our kitchen so I knew to which location to go on a given day. My mother and sister were also huge Tasti-D-Lite addicts and we usually had plenty of Tasti-D-Lite in our freezer for the odd night when one of us didn't feel like walking over to an actual shop.

Buying Tasti-D-Lite was not an entirely pleasant experience. Most of the stores were poorly-lit holes in the wall and the line to order often snaked out the door and down the street. The women who worked there were unfriendly and unhelpful more often than not. And yet I kept going back for small servings of french vanilla, angel food cake, rice pudding, apple pie, coconut, cake batter, and strawberry colada -- all smothered in rainbow sprinkles and/or granola (which was a perfect compliment to apple pie).

By the time I graduated from college, my Tasti enthusiasm had waned, and I don't think I was alone -- Tasti locations were harder to find and the lines had gotten much shorter. Fast forward another ten years, and Pinkberry is the popular new kid on the low-calorie frozen dessert block. Still, there are a few stores around, including the "flagship" store on 60th and Broadway, which never has anyone in it and where a 4-ounce serving now costs at least twice what it did in 1997. Turns out that Tasti was acquired by a private equity firm in 2007 and is currently being run by the former CEO of Mail Boxes Etc. I can't imagine that adding hot soup to the menu of a dessert shop is a good idea, but maybe that's what it takes to transform Tasti-D-Lite into a 500-franchise brand. I doubt it.