On the Hook

I attended last night's "launcheroo" for The Meat Hook and Brooklyn Kitchen Labs, a neighborhood butcher shop and teaching space being opened by the good people of Brooklyn Kitchen.

From the BKK blog:

At the helm, Tom Mylan and Brent Young (formerly of Marlow and Daughters) will provide the best meat and charcuterie this side of just about anywhere. The Meat Hook will exist inside the larger Brooklyn Kitchen Labs, which will feature 2 full teaching kitchens, so we can have more classes, including weekends as well as special events.

The space will also have a much expanded Cookbook section, as well as bulk food goods and spices.

They're aiming to be up and running on November 11th. That seems ambitious, given how raw the space still is, but I'm on board.





I didn't see a lot of "store" at the event, but it's a lovely, big space. There's a large open shop floor, a dry-goods room with a giant antique scale, a gorgeous white (enamel?) cooler and stove, an impressive meat grinder, a teaching space with skylights and a splendid exposed brick wall, and a second story that will hold another classroom alongside office space. Read more about the plans.








The launch event was fun and casual and tasty -- neighborhood folks, Brooklyn Kitchen friends and friendly strangers (I even got to meet the adorable BKK baby Moxie), pickles, nibbles, beer, Lillet cocktails, and slices of a nice sweet potato pie with graham cracker crust. I was already a Brooklyn Kitchen fan, and I'm pleased to welcome its sister establishment to the family.




The Meat Hook is and will be located at 100 Frost Street in Brooklyn. Opening soon!



Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to make some sweet potato pie of my own!

Thank you, Ian.

I don't normally snack on crystallized ginger. I like it, but I'd rather bake with it. However, Ian had wrapped them in a tissue like an avant-garde gift and he really seemed to want me to take a picture of them. So I obliged -- took the photo, ate one, and brought the second one home for a future baking project. And now I'm blogging about the whole experience.

I hope this is all working out the way Ian intended.

Worth coming home to.

Dan picked up some Banana Pocky. Sehr gut.

My notes:

• Just the right amount of banana flavor
  
• Strong and whimsical
• Not too artificial; not too natural
• Skinny crisp
• Handsome
  

Adventures in CSA: Weeks 18 + 19, Part II; Weeks 20 + 21, Part I

(photo by Dan)


Produce abounds in our kitchen. It has continued building up to dangerous levels this month, but the result has not been a mound of rotting vegetables. No, instead we've enjoyed an explosion of swell CSA-vegetable-based dishes.

Join me on my mad dash to the finish of this spring-summer-fall 2009 CSA season.


The Uneaten Leftover Ingredients of Weeks 18 and 19:
3 beets
1 1/2 celery
1/2 lb peppers
1 squash
1 lb green tomatoes - CHALLENGE VEGETABLE (yes, actually a fruit)




Then Came Week 20:
Several beets
1 cabbage
2 celery root - CHALLENGE VEGETABLE
potatoes
3 garlic




And, So Soon?! Week 21:
1lb kale
1lb sweet potato
1 stalk brussels sprouts
1 kohlrabi (not pictured)
1.5 lbs beets
1 acorn squash -- CHALLENGE VEGETABLE
1lb onion


Lordy! That's a lot to deal with. Let's get a move on!




(photo by Dan)



1. David Chang's Brussels Sprouts with Mint. In a word, superb!

Kelly posted this recipe (from this month's Food and Wine magazine) over at Eat Make Read. She did not find the end result to be spicy enough for her, but I sure did. Perhaps that's because I doubled the cayenne pepper, also used a sprinkling of togarashi (which I did not realize I had in my spice cabinet until after using the cayenne), and chopped up half a habanero to use as the "red chile" called for in the recipe. It was spicy and outstanding. After my first taste, I wanted to shout with delight, but instead I just exclaimed about the dish in a slightly-too-loud voice.

I attempted to capture the "snap-crackle-and-pop" of the rice cereal in the video above, but it doesn't really reflect the aural experience.




(photo by Dan)



(photo by Dan)

2. Roasted Winter Squash with Parmesan. Dan made a beautiful lunch of the squash one afternoon while I was at work. How I wish I'd been there.




(photo by Dan)

3. Raw Celery (sometimes with peanut butter). This is shown with the celery root, which we did not eat raw.





4. Chicken Stock. I used a few ribs of the celery and the carcass of a CSA market day chicken to create some homemade chicken stock. I also added some mushroom trimmings that were in the freezer. By following Mark Bittman's instructions in How To Cook Everything and simmering all afternoon, I came up with a rich, flavorful stock that I was quite proud of. I used some in a cabbage soup (featured below) and froze the rest.




(photo by Dan)




5. Stir-Fried Green Cabbage with Fennel Seeds. Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking is a relatively new cookbook purchase. This, the second recipe of hers I've tried, used 1/2 of a gigantic head of cabbage and 4-5 small onions. It was spectacular, hot out of the wok, made tangy with fresh lemon. It reminded me of noodle-less pad Thai. Jaffrey wrote that I might want to serve it with sausage. Now that you mention it, I do want to serve it that way.





6. Celeriac Root Puree. Acting on a tip from another member of my CSA, I tried out this recipe for Celeriac pureed with apple and potato. Another winning combination! Surprisingly, it tasted slightly of nutmeg, despite the fact that there was no nutmeg in the dish.








7. Polenta-Crusted Fried Green Tomatoes. Tyler Florence's recipe on the Food Network's website was simple, effective, and tasty. I used 3/4 cup polenta and 1/4 corn flour instead of 1 cup corn flour and fried them in peanut oil. These were still good the next day, having spent the night refrigerated, wrapped in foil. I reheated them in the microwave and, though they did not stay crispy the second day, they were delicious. For both meals, I served them with a mixture of Kewpie mayo and a lime-infused hot sauce, alongside fresh lime wedges.





8. Rustic Cabbage and Lentil Soup. Here, on 101 Cookbooks, was a recipe for soup I deemed worthy of my cabbage and the homemade chicken stock described above. It also called for potatoes and onions, which I still had from the CSA. I used lentil beans instead of white beans, and loved the end result. Cabbage may never be one of my favorite ingredients, but in this soup it is comforting, filling, and smooth, worth eating and savoring even without the cheese on top.





9. Acorn Squash Stuffed with Greens & White Beans. This recipe was adapted from Eating Well by Cathy at Noble Pig, then further (slightly) adapted by me. I felt hot sauce was a necessary addition. It didn't really make the filling spicy, but it added another layer of flavor. I also served the finished product with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, instead of the agave nectar recommended by Cathy.

1 medium acorn squash, halved and seeded
1/2 teaspoon plus 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-3 Tablespoons water
1/2 Tablespoon tomato paste
4 cups chopped greens -- chard leaves (about 1 large bunch chard), beet greens, spinach, etc.
1 (15 oz) can white beans, rinsed
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
your favorite hot sauce (to taste)
1/4 cup coarse breadcrumbs such as Panko
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
balsamic vinegar (to taste)

Cut the squash in half. Scoop out pulp and seeds. Remove a small piece from the bottom of each half so it will sit flat. Brush inside with 1/2 tsp. oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a microwave-safe-dish. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on High until the squash flesh is fork-tender (8-12 minutes).

Meanwhile, heat 1/2 T. of the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until it begins to brown, (2-3 minutes). Add garlic; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in water and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the greens of your choice, cover and cook until tender, (3-5 minutes). Add white beans and olives; stir occasionally until heated through, (1-2 minutes). Taste and adjust seasonings. Add hot sauce to taste. Heat another minute or so. Remove pan from the heat.

Preheat broiler. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a separate container. Place squash in a oven- and broiler-safe dish or baking sheet. Fill each squash half with half of the greens/beans mixture. Sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Broil until the breadcrumbs are browned, (1-2 minutes).

Remove from the oven and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.


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At this point, I'd like to pause and catch my breath, BUT there are only four days until my final CSA pickup of this season and I still have a large number of vegetables (including a veritable bevy of beets) hanging out in my kitchen. There is truly no rest for the hungry!

Guided Tour: My Cold Stuff

I always enjoy seeing the fridge or pantry tour posts on blogs like Umamimart and food websites. My sister guided us through her pantry a while back in a highly informative post, and I'd always intended to reveal my own. Today I thought I would follow through and show you some photos of the chaos that is my refrigerator.

I promise you this (not that you won't believe me) -- I did not clean. I did not rearrange. I hid nothing but a stray leaf in the vegetable bin (and this only by shoving the drawer closed a bit more). The only other items not pictured are two pints of ice cream that (prior to taking these pictures) had already been removed from the freezer to thaw so that I could nourish myself on a bowl of chocolate and strawberry scoops while typing this post.

And now, I admit it all.




Freezer: Ice cubes, homemade chicken stock, cooked cranberries, tomato relish, Vietnamese coffee, pastry cloth in a plastic bag, 1 chicken, 2lbs of chicken parts, hot buttered rum mix, celery stalks, peas, corn, a small amount of pastry dough, a partial box of vegetarian spring rolls, and a "cold pack" for my Pyrex casserole dish,





Freezer Door: Can of grease, a single chicken burger, more peas, farm-bought butter, a popsicle experiment, frosty mugs (for root beer, etc.), spinach, diced CSA celery in a baggie, 2 bananas, french fries, jalapenos, and edamame pods.





Refrigerator:
Top Shelf: Beets, cilantro, mint, partial lemons and limes, leftover beans and greens stuffing from stuffed acorn squash, kale, green peppers, celeriac, celery, buttermilk powder.

Middle Shelf: Fried green tomatoes, 1/2 habanero, "lemonaise," kelp pickles, rose soda, butter, overflow A-P flour, kohlrabi, leftover Indian cabbage dish, chicken sausages, cooked beets, hummus pignoli, fish flakes (cat treats), hot Italian salami, chorizo, parmesan, gouda, muenster, "lucky" slice of American cheese (very old; not to be eaten).

Bottom Shelf: Red currant jelly, cranberry nectar, heavy cream, chocolate Reddi Wip, sweetened condensed milk, 2% milk, mayonnaise, sour pickles, kalamata olives, water, buttermilk, orange juice, yellow mustard, overflow mustard, wet cat food (partial can), caramel sundae syrup, homemade blueberry jam from Dan's sister, walnut oil, chipotle chiles, tomato relish.

The vegetable bin contains refilled water bottles.





Refrigerator Door: Eggs, butter, maple syrup, capers, sofrito, nutritional yeast, anchovies, horseradish, fish sauce, green curry paste, very old salad dressing (which I promptly threw away), slightly less old salad dressing, chocolate syrup, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, chimi churri sauce, sriracha, ketchup, tomato paste, Kewpie mayo, barbecue sauce, cranberry horseradish sauce, 5 more kinds of mustard, 12 bottles of 11 kinds of hot sauce

Fridge Exterior:
Front: Postcards (one of Boutros Boutros-Ghali and one shot of a woman reading in Paris), photo strip from our trip to Portland, PowerPuff Girls magnets, finger puppets (Virginia Woolf and Gustav Klimt), last year's Cookie Party menu, polaroid of Dan with his hand covered in silver paint, my "work" pepper grinder that accidentally came home, a "What to Eat" notepad for menu planning (which I do sporadically), a Gashlycrumb Tinies magnet, a clipping of a photo of Obama, and an Immaculate Daggers of the Divine Light (our kickball team) logo.

Also,on the sides, a New Yorker cover, an Espo sticker, instructions for cooking the meatballs and cookies baked "live" at last year's Cookie Party, 8 other assorted photos, 5 more magnets, a small disco ball, a shopping list notepad, and a piece of "The Gates."

On top of the fridge:
Plastic wrap, baggies, aluminum foil, parchment paper, oven mitts, digital scale, drawing of a hot dog, menus in a pile, digital and analog thermometers, Cookie Party labels, pens, matches, kitchen timer, Restaurant Guide blank book, and 3 plants.


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So, there you have me. That's me at this moment, anyway. I am aware of several items that need to be thrown away, or of which I have excess, but I'd be more interested in hearing what you can't believe I'm living without. I'm always looking to add to my supplies. I mean, I want to be prepared, after all. The more I have on hand, the less grocery shopping I have to do. And the less grocery shopping I have to do, considering how tiny, understocked, overpriced, and/or crowded stores in NYC tend to be, the happier I am.

Poetry Tuesday: Dried Pears and the Newness of Everything.

pears appear rare
and, rarer, their table,
their chair, and this bowl
of aforementioned pears
how pronounced, seen whole.

[Paul's gift of a dried pear slice from Terrafina in Brooklyn was a revelation. Soft and thick, with a granular, chewy center, they contain real notes of pear on a backdrop of natural sweetness and vanilla. Thinking about how beautiful an experience eating one was, I was reminded of the above, imperfect poem from 1999. I still know what I was trying to get at, but it remains in revision (unlike the dried pears).]

I got tricked.

These are gross. Take my word for it. I'm happy to take questions from the gallery, if you have anything to ask, but otherwise I'll leave it at that.