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#PiePartyICE 2015
Earlier this month Pie Party came back in full form at the new Institute of Culinary Education in downtown Manhattan. It was a good carb-filled time.
Another year, another pie party. And for me, 2015 wouldn’t be complete without one. Once again, Jackie Gordon and Ken Leung were the organizers & MCs of a masterful event. I mean, the word ‘pie’ is in the name! If you’ve read my posts on this event from previous years you know that pie party is a gathering of the food writing/blogging community namely in sake of the almighty pie! Does it have a crust? Then yes it counts as pie-ish. It can be savory or it can be sweet. It can be gluten-free, vegetarian. It can come in mini form or ginormous size. It can have a thin crust with a bed of toppings or it can be encapsulated in dough with a delicious filling to bring the flavors home. Basically just bring something delicious and we’ll eat it.
My contribution was once again savory! This time a free-form onion tart. This wasn’t too hard to make either. Pre-make the dough and then morning of slice over 2 pounds of onions and cook with lots and lots of butter, some thyme, and a couple of scoops of crème fraiche (which I forgot). Roll out said crust then bake and you have yourself a tart! In my case not the prettiest of tarts but it was tasty y’all!
What also brings in the fun and camaraderie of Pie Party are the people and the fantastic and generous contributions from sponsors such as Cabot Creamery and King Arthur Flour so that there were high quality ingredients in this tart. Butter really does make a difference so putting two sticks of it in the crust and then a good amount in the onion sauté helps elevate the flavors entirely. And the crust was super easy to work with too thanks to the flour and method. Will I make this again? Damn straight. And I will remember the crème fraiche!
On a day that was completely gray skies, blistery winds, and rain it was cozy to come upstairs to the new Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) center and be surrounded by pie, Cabot cheese samples, many delicious hors d’oeuvres (they had mac n’ cheese bites!), and mix of fall themed drinks thanks to Reyka Vodka, Mizu Shochu, and Tequila Tromba.
The ICE staff were the epitome of kindness and professionalism helping us to heat pies, find plates large enough for some people’s tarts, and also serving those wonderful appetizers in a steady pie pre-game. Also on-hand was The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen’s (Susan Palmer) beef and chorizo empanadas. (I swiped several of those to take home, thank-you-very-much.) Add to that Cabot Cheese & Butter had samples of their apple pie with a cheese crust, and then there was the cheese station with crostinis and crackers and some fruit. Areas to try and win some goodies from such great culinary kitchen staples from Anolon, Wüsthof, or the Dub Pies station. Really Dub Pies has been a steady sponsor so I kind of keep an eye out for their minis since I was introduced to their goods at the very first pie party several years ago.
So, when did we actually get to the main course of the day? In due time my friends. Grab a drink. Get two, three even they’re themed drinks! Take a few photos of all the glory of pies. Put on an ICE jacket and take some selfies why don’t you for a chance to win a free class!
Okay, okay, yes, pie. The parade of pies were split by savory and sweet with them coming in at fifty-fifty in representation. In the sweet section some pies were melting. But, as I told several people even though I bemoaned the look of my own creation, “I don’t care how it looks, I just care how it tastes.”
After hors d’oeuvres and drinks I think my eyes were a bit bigger than my stomach. So much pie! Meat pies with oxtail or pork or duck confit (Thanks Experimental Gourmand)! And sweet! Since I had had my fill of the savory in the form of the cheese table and then some kick butt appetizers. I’m telling you those mac n’ cheese bits were something I honed in on. Whenever an ICE staff member was nearby with one my arm snapped out to grab a few. And once I found a plate of them it was all over. So when Jackie announced Pie Party was officially on I went straight to the sweets. No regrets friends.
Well, one regret is that I couldn’t eat more pie. I took home a conservative amount since I knew I would be out of town the following week. I had the ace Abby Dodge’s caramel apple pie that I, to this day, dream about. I perfectly folded galette crust with an interior that hit all the spots in terms of my craving for something sweet. I had Jeff of Foodmento’s lemon pistachio tart which, after much sugar and chocolate, was a citrus-y and light palate cleanser that I could’ve devoured in more than a couple bites. I also had someone’s pocket pumpkin pies with a cinnamon sugar glaze that was uber sweet. More contributions included Banoffee Pie from The Cake Dealer, a lovely strawberry tart from the ever creative and on point Daisy Bow, and a chocolate hazelnut torte by Kelly Vass I regret being unable to tackle due to the abundance of chocolatey goodness. So lovely and rich! And Jackie’s cupboard harvest pie was a literal pie with the words pie decorated all over. It was made of apricots, apples, currants, cranberries, and golden raisins. So consider your antioxidant intake fulfilled after a piece of this! It was just right as a mix of tartness and sweetness to truly hit the fell of fall.
On the savory spread my tart got demolished with a small portion left. Yay! There was Margaret’s Oxtail pie. The pictures she’d been posting the previous day and her contribution from last year was a short rib that was braised similarly. Consider that pie on point. I also enjoyed Kian Lam Kho’s Sichuan chicken hand pies. Day after and toasty warm it was delicious with or without the accompanying Sichuan dipping sauce. There was 4 cheese pie with tomatoes and leek pie and more hand pies. Pies with bacon! Pies with more and more cheese in various forms! Love. It.
At the end ICE provided a tour of their new digs for anyone willing. There was plenty of Dub Pies to go around and also some that they again generously provided in our goodie bags. Did I say goodie bag? Why yes I did! Those have also become a staple of Pie Party. Take home pie and get some pie-themed goods. Check out this swag, y’all!
I didn’t want to go home and walk back through the whipping winds and drizzling rain. I could’ve stayed at ICE all day and eaten pie, gabbed with my foodie peeps, some of whom I hadn’t seen in a long while and some I met for the first time in person, and had more of those mac n’ cheese balls if they were around. But it was time to go and we all got to take home a little bit of Pie Party with us, or a lot, I mean there was a lot of pie left, for next year. I personally cannot wait and now have an additional arsenal of goods to make my pie or tart or galette (whatever you wanna call it) to bring my A-game.
As always a HUGE THANKS to the kindness of sponsors like Anolon, Wusthof, Dub Pies, HalfPops, ICE, King Arthur Flour, Wild Hibiscus Tea, Honey Ridge Farms, Cabot, Tovolo Home, Mizu Schochu, Reyka Vodka, and Tequlia Tromba for making Pie Party the place to be for the local food writing community. We are indebted and now addicted to your respective products, you know, if we hadn’t been already.
#CookbookTrials: Fried & True
The (belated) latest in the Cookbook Trials. Delays to Italy trip and impending move so may not do another one until after I move in June. What I can say from this round is that Charles Gabriel's recipes are IT. Never making candied yams the same way again.
Delinquent! Delinquent I say! I know, I know. And I do love blogging but impending move means that Cookbook Trials may be on hiatus while I pack and then unpack. Yeesh. Anywho, I did do March (which stretched into April's) trials using the cookbook Fried & True I received at a launch event I attended at the supperclub under Red Rooster in Harlem. I got a mini cast iron skillet for Christmas and a wok for my birthday so I was set friends.
I managed four recipes as per the usual. Two sides and two chicken. The basis for Fried & True is as the title states, fried chicken recipes. Fifty of "the best" in the United States as found by the editor Lee Brian Schrager with Adeena Sussman of this cookbook. One of which was Charles Gabriel's fried chicken and he's not too far from where I work in Harlem.
Swiss Chard Salad with Pine Nuts and Lemon (Art Smith)
Prep/Cooking Difficulty: No difficulty whatsoever. You have five ingredients (not including salt & pepper) and mix it all together. The only prep was cleaning off the swiss chard leaves and toasting the pine nuts after that it's all mixing.
Taste: It's a nice healthy mix to add to a fried protein. Swiss chard has a slightly bitter taste close to mesculun or even kale in a way and is super good for you. The crunch of the toasted pine nuts and some saltiness with the parmesan and salt/pepper was a nice mix and I ate it all in one day since I made half a serving. Good and good for you!
Yay or Nay? Yay for healthy!
[Vietnamese] Fried Chicken (Hy Vong)
Prep/Cooking Difficulty: This was another deliberately easy one, folks. Chicken stock, soy sauce, jalapenos (which I skipped), and scallions along with chicken is all you need. Fry the chicken immediately and make the sauce while the chicken fries and that is it.
Taste: Perhaps the real kick comes from the jalapenos for this recipe as I found without the chicken being flavored you rely a lot on the sauce, which is the intention, but that's none too flavorful for me. I usually make recipes with soy sauce that also have sesame seed oil, oyster sauce and other items so this being really stock, soy sauce, and in my case no peppers it didn't have as much flavor as I would have liked but is definitely a nice alternative.
Yay or Nay? I'm middle of the road on this one as it's not as good day after where as other fried chicken may hold up better.
Candied Yams (Charles Gabriel)
Prep/Cooking Difficulty: Not very. You do make this is two stages which is boiling the potatoes then cutting that up to bake and making a sauce to put on top which includes orange, cinnamon sticks, and sugar. I've made much more complicated sweet potatoes in mashed form.
Taste: The syrup is what makes this dish! Oh my goodness it IS like candy. Move over old school recipes I've done before Charles' takes the cake for me from now on.
Yay or Nay? Yay. For goodness sake yay!
Country Pan Fried Chicken (Charles Gabriel)
Prep/Cooking Difficulty: As mentioned I went with the easier of recipes and this was one of them. It must be brined overnight with salt, pepper, and garlic powder so that those flavors literally stick to the meat when you're ready to bread and fry it.
Taste: The brining makes the difference here because the garlic powder and salt/pepper stick to the meat with little else needed in the breading. When you fry it all up you taste those spices in the juicy chicken and it's all good. Reminds me of my grandma's chicken for sure.
Yay or Nay? You know what I'm gonna say don't you? If not: YAY!
So overall would I recommend Fried & True? Yes, with the caveat that it's not all easy. There are some multi-step, hardcore recipes in here and it'll take a while to get through. Plus it's a lot of fried chicken with just a couple alternates so that's a huge amount of oil. I'd say pick your recipes wisely and definitely try out the sides as they were fun to look through and consider. The sides range from Popeye's like biscuits to mac n' cheese to waffles to various slaws and grit type sides so there's a nice range.
Since summer is coming I may try for some more dessert-y cookbooks, or not.
Italian Eatery Recommendations
I was in Italy for 8 days last month and ate, ate, and ate some more.
I have been terribly delinquent in my posting and for this I apologize. It's been busy. I'm set to move, again, in the coming weeks. And work on the podcast and We Need Diverse Books is on the upswing. But that's no excuse for no food writing. I mean come now, however if you have seen my Instagram you know food has been high on the agenda. And now that the food fairs are back in play...well let's do this! Last month I was in Italy for a lovely 8 days with my priority being getting rest and lots of food. Both were accomplished. What were my priorities in Italy you ask? Risotto. Risotto big time. Yes, many go for pizza but since I was in Milan (not one of the foremost food capitals in the country) I knew that risotto was pretty well influenced there and available at most restaurants. So here are the highlights, as I will not share the lowlights, of eating in Italy from Milan to Genoa to Florence to Venice. Lots of carbs. Not many regrets.
Milan
First off a big thanks to Emily for finding basically all of the wonderful eateries we went to via TripAdvisor and other apps we downloaded pre-travels. Emily was essential in finding the food while I kinda focused on what to do around the area. This trattoria was a bit away from our place in Milan Navigli area but sooooo very much worth the trip on a Sunday evening.
We had a wonderfully and reasonably priced price fixe menu with 4-5 courses. Along with unlimited bread we were full halfway through. And this was my first risotto experience in Italy and it did not disappoint!
This was a quaint place tucked in a dark corner along a dark street with some hole-in-the-wall eateries. GPS was our best friend in our travels. We were one of the first parties to arrive and Trattoria filled up pretty quickly soon after with locals.
One of my first and favorite dishes was the octopus with pesto and hummus. Homemade hummus and pesto...in Italy! And the octopus was fantastic tender quality. Then risotto, delicious, salt code with tomato sauce (which was salty) and an apple tatin which had more of a cakey crust than a flaky pie crust but was warm and oh so good.
Don't let the name fool you. This was a fine dining establishment by one of Milan's finest chefs Claudio Sadler. Funny enough many in Italy don't consider this to be high class and I guess compared to Sadler’s place it isn’t. But from my perspective they had a solid menu, good service, good portions and the ambiance was definitely one of a more high-end restaurant you’d find in NYC.
The bread offered at these restaurants in Italy was often always on point and made in-house. So good and easy to fill up on. I had the veal Milanese and also a mango tart with eggnog mousse. Very light on the tart and I liked the shell. The veal was hardcore and large with mashed potatoes so creamy it was the ideal meal on a rainy and chilly day in Milan. I wish we’d had a longer walk to work that off but am not at all disappointed in the meal.
The best Neapolitan style pizza in Milan, or at least the Navigli district. Either way it was really good stuff. A variety of pies it took Emily and I a while to decide the two times we went. The Four Seasons was the last meal I had in Milan and the only thing I’d say is that their pizza is not as good the next day because the middle is so thin anything with toppings, especially heavy ones like the four seasons will sink through and there’s no saving it.
Best gelato I had in Italy hands down. Had that super soft serve smooth quality I love and the Nutella was amazing. I had gelato in every town in Italy we went to and next up would be a place nearby the museo holding the David in Florence but walking around on my last full day in Milan this was a nice treat. I even debated trying to stop by Schokolat, with luggage, on our way home via the rail. It was vetoed and rightfully so but the gelato was that good that I’d almost risk missing a plane for it. So there you have it.
Florence
By recommendation of a friend who had Italy travels, and was in Prague at the time I was asking for restaurant recs, mentioned this place while in Florence. After a long day of seeing the David, going to the Museo del Bargello and walking up and down Florence’s canal we sat for a fantastic dinner. Funny enough we were often first at restaurants because of U.S. timetables being different from Italy. (They open for lunch, close, then reopen for dinner people so plan accordingly.)
This was one of the best dishes I had in Italy hands down was the risotto with artichoke, saffron, and fresh prawns. I wish I had it now. The picture makes me long for this. I need it in my life. Bread was a bit tart and hard but the service was fantastic especially since many Americans wandered in and must have also been beckoned by recommendations by friends and/or TripAdvisor.
Another dish was the stuffed rabbit. Seeing that I had to try it at least. I’ve never had rabbit before. I found it a bit salty but held up well with potato wedges the next day. Regardless, if in Florence go to Acquacotta. And get the risotto!
Genoa
Two words: Homemade pasta! Reasonable prices! Great service! Cheap wine! Those were multiple two words for a reason. See how much homemade pasta I got with pesto? That was six euros. YES! Unlimited bread. Good wine. We met the owner and the restaurant is very very new. I have to go and place ratings on TripAdvisor right after this posts. Genoa is a lovely city in general for being so near the water. The people are polite. It was gloriously sunny and the museos are, combined, cheaper than going to see just the David in Florence. Wish I had more time in Genoa but so very glad we went.
Venice
Seafood risotto! I think I had risotto three times in total and gelato pretty much everyday in Italy. And this was a random find since places we were considering were closed. Emily had a wonderful crab gnocchi and I had the seafood risotto which was a tad bit salty, I probably said that a few times in Italy since I’m used to low sodium but oooohhh so wonderful. I didn’t have a bad risotto at all in Italy which means all is right with the world.
When in Venice go find the Ristorante Ribot. I was glad it was empty when we arrived so we had the whole place to ourselves but also want more people to go to good places. And this is a very good place right next to a canal.
Those are my recommendations. There were not so great meals and gelatos and such but why dwell on the bad? I would like these eateries to get more business and I would like you to eat good food should you find yourself in these cities in Italy. So mangia on folks.
Food Tasting Event: Village Voice @ChoiceEats 2015, March 13th!
Village Voice Choice Eats is doing a tasting event on a smaller scale. Consider it your Choice Eats pregame.
This year marks the 8th annual Village Voice Choice Eats event in NYC. I've gone three years in a row and gorged myself silly. There will be over 50 restaurants participating including faves like Red Hook Lobster Pound, SCRATCHBread, The Meatball Shop, and Queens Comfort. If you were considering going to the big Choice Eats but were hesitant the Tasting Event may whet that appetite so you can preview some of the new fare that'll be offered. Now, prepare for mouth watering images from Laura June Kirsch at last year's Choice Eats.
Go forth and mangia my friends!
#CookBookTrials: A Taste of Home's Home Style Cooking
My first #cookbooktrial entry is up and it's for A Taste of Home: Home Style Cooking. Recommended for ease of prep, solid recipes, and a nice variety of American-style cuisine whether you're a hardcore cook or newbie to your kitchen.
February is almost at an end and I have completed my first cookbook trial with A Taste of Home: Home Style Cooking.
This is a cookbook filled with recipes from home cooks that have been compiled into various sections like: morning meals, side dishes & salads, Sunday dinners, sweet treats, and so on. I did five recipes one breakfast, one side dish, one gatherings dish, one Sunday dinner, and of course one sweet treat. I will always stand by doing something sweet!
Baked Eggs with Cheddar and Bacon
Prep/Cooking Difficulty: Not hard at all. You grate some cheese (in this case instead of cheddar I got smoked mozzeralla), break some eggs, chop some garnish and preheat the oven. Very easy to make and easy peasy but you have to watch your eggs to make sure the yolk doesn't harden fully to get the slight "jelly" effect of it while the whites around are hardened.
Taste: Perhaps because I under did the cheese (I'm not a huge fan of the egg & cheese combo) it settled on a bland taste for me, more egg than anything else. I'd also rather bacon inside than on top crumbled as a garnish because I like the combo taste of meat and egg. So, this may have been more my fault on the prep end than on the recipe itself but of course one can always make modifications and not necessarily go by the book.
Yay or Nay? In a sense "meh."
Crusted Baked Chicken
Prep/Cook Difficulty: Not difficult at all, especially if you've made chicken before. Biggest thing is if you don't have a good bowl for mixing you'll have crumbs all over your countertop after breading the chicken. Dipping chicken in flour and buttermilk is traditional fare for frying but since you bake less mess from no oil popping on your stovetop. And then you simply let it bake.
Taste: I enjoyed the breadcrumb mixture detailed in the recipe. Reminded me of some I had bought and now I know what combination of herbs and spices to use to get that similar Italian seasoned breading taste for chicken. And I prefer baked chicken to fried at times so on a cold day it was a nice way to eat without worrying about a lot of calories.
Yay or Nay? Yay!
Bacon and Garlic Green Beans
Prep/Cook Difficulty: Not much really. You're using thawed frozen greenbeans so you take it out the bag before you're ready to use. From there frying up bacon and the garlic, onions and such make a nice savory combo to what could be a bland side dish with little additions.
Taste: I used turkey bacon for this (and the egg dish) and have to say I enjoyed it with the garlic & onions of the string beans. It was a different taste to something I usually eat with salt/pepper or with a bit of garlic/onion powder. It worked well as a side for the crusted chicken and complimented it with the hearty taste even though I had double the protein. It'd probably even go well with some basic mashed potatoes as a larger meal with turkey instead of crusted chicken.
Yay or Nay? Yay for varying up vegetables!
Lemon Snowdrops
Prep/Bake Difficulty: For me no difficulty whatsoever. But if you are truly new to the game I think the fact that you make the lemon butter filling (which is on par with homemade lemon curd in texture/taste) and then make a basic lemon shortbread could be a bit trying as a first recipe. But for someone who is used to baking it was super easy. I'd suggest making the lemon butter filling before the cookies this way it's cooling in the fridge while you're baking cookies and by the time the cookies have cooled so has your filling ready for use!
Taste: Oh my goodness. Fantastic. As several co-workers said to me when I gave these cookies out: "This is the perfect cookie." The shortbread cookie is made how shortbread should be made with confectioner's sugar so the texture is on point in being buttery & crisp (and you know I know having won a cookie takedown with shortbread.) And if you're a lemon fan like myself it's great because there's lemon essence in the cookie from lemon extract but strong lemon sweetness in the filling and it's a sandwich cookie so you get lots of cookie and a bit of filling with each bit. Also I did not add confectioners sugar on top because it's messy and I think this lessened sweetness helps since the filling is good enough as is.
Yay or Nay? Duh! Yay! A zillion times yay!
Note: For this recipe I also want to not try and make the cookies as small as you can. I rolled them out as tablespoons which made about 20 sandwich cookies in all when the recipe says four dozen though they are much much smaller.
Lemon Easter Bread
Prep/Cook Difficulty: Not much. The main thing about making anything with yeast is it needs to rise a few times in a warm atmosphere. So if you're making it make sure you have a few hours. Otherwise mix everything in bowl and leave, knead and leave then bake!
Taste: The mixture calls for lemon pudding mix along with flour, yeast, water, and such. So I think I had been expecting a sweeter bread but this was your traditional not sweet bread with a hint of lemon. Freshly baked it smells amazing. I did make some honey butter and having that along with the bread (warm) was very tasty as a nice treat. But I had it cool and alone and was none too impressed. So I'd suggest eating it warm and with something like a sweet cream or preserves.
Yay or Nay? A moderate yay with accouterments and warm. Cannot emphasize how good freshly made warm bread is.
Would I recommend A Taste of Home: Home Style Cooking? Absolutely, each recipe was easy peasy, and for the most part the ones I chose to do were quick (except for the bread which needs time to have the yeast rise). In general prep isn't more than 30 minutes per recipe and certain ones, like turkey, would take several hours on the baking/cooking end. There's a good range of options for protein dishes, but a head's up that in general this isn't a cookbook for vegans or those who are gluten-free. There are a good amount of veggie options but bacon can fit prominently into some dishes, though there is the availability of seafood for pescetarians. The ingredients for dishes is not hard to find and the title itself, Home Style Cooking, notes that this book was compiled with home cooks (not necessarily hardcore chefs) in mind.
For my friends with families who need to do a quick meal or even my couple/single buds who may want to do more cooking at home I'd heartily recommend this book. Also keep in mind the cuisines featured are very much American based (BBQ, fried, bacon galore, some Italian influence, cheese is great!). There won't be items like mascarpone or anise or anything of the like really. So if you're looking for items that are familiar and may have an alternate ingredient or method of preparation consider this book and feel free to tweak recipes as you feel fit. I'm definitely gonna delve in more.