The Bretfast Sandwich

My boyfriend doesn't really cook (although he certainly does eat), so obviously I do allll the cooking. I have this dream that one day I will come home (from where, I don't know) and he will have made me dinner...
Ahh, one day...
So, when I was recently in Miami, Brad and I stayed with his friend Bret Wiener- who happens to own a large (maybe 10-inch) Japanese chef knife, and a cutting board, annddddd several all-clad pots and pans. I was throughly impressed with Bret's kitchen, and became ever more impressed one morning when he made me breakfast! The famed Bretfast Sandwich (oh yes, that is Bret + breakfast) is the bomb. We all know I am impossible when it comes to food (I know everyone loves The Bazaar, I think it's overrated) and I will tell you, the Bretfast Sandwich is spot on. Crusty multi-grain bread, ooey gooey cheese and ooey gooey egg...the perfect way to start off your day! Perhaps Bret will share his secret recipe...

Barefoot Contessa Then and Now

I have tons of fond food memories from when I was little, and one shop in particular I credit with many of those memories is Barefoot Contessa (started by the fabulous Ina Garten) in East Hampton, NY. I can literally remember going there since I was less than 10 years old, up until a few years back when it closed. It was almost always summer when I went and BC had these lightweight wooden doors with screens that would always be open. One would walk in and be surrounded by the powerful aroma of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods from lemon poppy pound cake (one of my favs) to muffins to their famous brownies- this was all on the right hand side of the store and immediately to the left were all the cash registers. BC always had this rustic country feeling to it, very on par with the Hamptons. So, after the entrance toward the center back of the store was this round juxtaposition of clear glass counters where BC kept various cold cuts, cheese, and prepared foods like pesto. Lining the periphery of the store were shelves stocked with gourmet crackers, dried pasta, canned olives, goods like that.
Aside from wonderful memories of pound cake and steamed hot chocolate, I can definitely tell you that those BC brownies with walnuts were to die for. Seriously.


So, when I was a sophomore in high school I took this pre-college summer study program at Amherst College in Mass. One day my roommate receives a package from her mom and it turns out it's like 32 walnut brownies from Barefoot Contessa. I wasn't terrible friendly with this girl but she did bestow 1 brownie to me....ONE BROWNIE...she had 32, I mean come on!
SO! What did I do? When she was at class, I definitely stole 2 or more brownies from her stash. I legitimized it to myself by saying that she had more than she needed or could consume and that is was greedy of her not to share more.
Anyway, Barefoot Contessa has turn into Theory and ever time I pass by the store, I am terribly sad...so sad.

When a wine does not live up to its label

My dad collects wine. A lot of it. Sometimes he buys it and drinks it right away, other times he stores it away for years reserved for a special occasion. That brings us to Chateau d'Yquem, one of the most (if not the most) celebrated vineyards to produce Sauternes, a sweet dessert wine from the Southern part of Bordeaux.

So, my Dad bought 3 bottles of Chateau d'Yquem 1995 and kept them in the cellar for about 8 years and finally decided to open a bottle for my mom's birthday. I am a huge dessert wine fan so naturally I was super excited.


For dinner my mom made her famous Marcella Hazan recipe for eggplant parmesan which is super yummy and consists of eggplant fried and then layered with San Marzano tomatoes and some mozzarella (and Parmesan) on top and baked till the cheese is oozy and bubbly.


Then, my mom made her famous salad that with the dressing that she has been making since before I was born...and I forgot what else we ate. Anyway, we were all quite excited to try the Chateau d'Yquem so after dinner my dad delegated between 4 glasses.


We all tried the wine and, sniff sniff, we not too impressed. It was okay, it wasn't undrinkable, but it was a bit syrupy, super sweet...nothing too interesting or distinct about the flavor.


All in all, it was quite the disappointment. Maybe in another few years (fingers crossed) we will feel differently!

Good Morning Sunshine

Breakfast has always been kinda a big meal at my house. Well, actually now that I think about it, has it? My brother and I are chronic sleepers so in actuality we would always sleep through breakfast and wake up around 1 (me) or around 3 (Peter) and eat then.


(I've used there little egg cups since I was little. Mine is the girl and Peter has the boy.)

However, since I moved to CA, every time I come home I really look forward to the yummy things my mom makes in the morning. Waffles are a big draw, sometimes we go with pancakes, but usually my mom is offering up waffles.


Several years ago when I was traveling in Amsterdam I picked up a bottle of this stuff called stroop which is like caramelized sugar in a bottle. In Amsterdam that is what everyone puts on their pancakes, so I brought a bottle back to the US and am a big fan.


My dad likes to make fun of me for using it and has attempted to throw the bottle out several times, but I always claim that I use it, so it still remains (after several years). Another fun part about breakfast is the super serious Miele coffee maker my parents have.


It makes the most perfect cappuccinos and my mom has simply the cutest assortment of tiny espresso/cappuccino cups so it's even more fun to drink. I guess my mom kinda takes over breakfast (sorry dad) and she also has a proclivity for pretty tabletop.


So, in addition to yummy food and yummy coffee, there is also usually a very pretty table in the scenario. However, my brother Peter would not know any of this since his rising time is circa 3 pm.

Prosperity Dumpling

While I was in NYC I stopped by Prosperity Dumpling. It's a total hole in the wall spot in chinatown but inside the dilapidated exterior you will not only find the most amazing pork and chive dumplings you've ever tried, but also the cheapest. For $1 you get 5 fried dumplings crisp on the outside and incredibly juicy (juice will drip down your face, so bring your bib) and packed with porky-chivey flavor.


I have consumed many a dumpling in my lifetime, and I literally have never had dumplings as good as at Prosperity.

46 Eldridge Street 212-343-0683

Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce

While home in NY I had a weird hankering for caramel. Fleur de sel caramel to be specific. What did I do? Told Peter that we were making fried bananas with vanilla ice cream and homemade caramel sauce for dessert. My trusty sous said, "ok."
I am going to be teaching homemade fleur de sel caramels at my next cooking class which are quite similar to the sauce in these photos.



Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce

1/4 cup water
1/2 sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 (scant) teaspoon fleur de sel (or coarse kosher salt)



Combine water and sugar in a small sauce pan over medium heat. When sugar dissolves turn up heat to medium-high until water-sugar mixture simmers. Let simmer about 10 minutes until mixture begins to turn amber. Watch closely and continue cooking until mixture is entirely amber brown, then turn heat to medium low and add in heavy cream (mixture will bubble up). Remove pan from heat and stir in butter and fleur de sel. Enjoy!

The Dessert Story Cont.

So, right before Christmas I wrote about the notorious Viennese Cooking book- the one that discussed, in very unclear verbage, the salt pork frying situation...so I did succeed (somewhat and I guess it depends on your version on "succeed") in making the sacher torte with the lemon icing.


I mean, the entire cake part went fine, and then I tried to make the lemon icing, and it was super thin- maybe that is how icing was back in the day circa 1950? They were into the thin icing thing? I dunno and my dad was no help in the matter so I just made 2 batches and layered the icing and added in some lemon zest. The outcome as a whole was quite good (better than it looks), and it was even better 2 days later when the 2 layers of icing diffused through the cake to moisten the entire thing- it was actually quite fabulous and rather than pawning off half the uneaten cake (this happens because I tend to make very rich desserts and people always tend to be on very dietetic diets so when it comes to dessert they take small pieces, leaving a significant portion of cake on the left over) to my brother's friend's family, my dad stated my cake was too good to be given away (and they wouldn't appreciate it anyway) and it was actually finished in whole.


On to the Mont Blanc. Ok, I know it looks like some weird snowball gone moldy but I SWEAR it tasted DIVINE.


You can't see in the picture but it contained: layer of meringue, scoop vanilla ice cream, layer of meringue, layer of frozen pound cake, layer of whipped cream, squeezing of Japanese pumpkin puree (mixed with sugar and cream). There is a really fun plan on temperature and texture in this dessert and the sweet potato was simply amazing. I just need to work on my plate-age.

Pasha's

This crazy thing happened. I am in Miami...and I went to a new fast food restaurant (Brad dragged me)- and I LIKED it. This is totally crazy but it happened. In Miami there is a chain of about 7 healthy Mediterranean restaurants called Pasha's that serve really good fast food. Like, they have freshly squeezed juice, but not only is it freshly squeezed, but you actually watch them squeeze the fruit. They offer orange, tangerine, melon, apple, pineapple- all squeezed/juiced as you wait and it's totally legit. Some restaurants like to pass of "freshly squeezed juice" as something that isn't really fresh at all. And, I will tell you this story. When I graduated from college I worked for this famous NYC restauranteur and he has a bunch of restaurants. One of them is a very popular breakfast spot and on their menu you will find "freshly squeezed orange juice." Wanna know the truth? They mix half freshly squeezed juice with half some gross juice they buy in plastic liter jugs..and call that combo freshly squeezed. SO not ok.


Back to Pasha's. Literally everything they serve is super healthy. They make their own breads with whole wheat flour...and they have the BEST homemade pita and this thing called simit which is like a skinny sesame seed bagel and the seeds are all brown ad nutty tasting...and you can watch it cook in their oven. Everything they serve is all natural, preservative free etc. I will say that it is a bit more expensive than say, McDonalds...lunch for 1 person will cost about $10-$13 dollars depending on how much you order. One of my fav items it this cheesy bread called Pasha's Pide and it is almost like a pizza its in a diamond shape and the edges are folded up, topped with a salty-ish cheese (almost like some Greek cheese) with sesame seeds and cubed tomatoes.
There is even one of these bad boys in the Four Seasons Hotel down here. From what I understand the restaurant concept started off as a Harvard Business School project --and actually became a restaurant from that.
For the longest time I wanted to open my own version of a healthy fast food restaurant and I guess now it's been done. And then there is O! Burger in LA...with this economy, these inexpensive fast restaurants will do veryyy well.
Check it out online: pashas.com.