Je visite a Paris

This afternoon, I'm flying to Paris with my husband to celebrate our first anniversary. How time flies. I promise lots of good food writing when I return. I've been practicing my french to make sure I can ask "Ou se trove la boulangerie?" whenever I feel the need for a pastry which I anticipate will be about every hour. Au revoir till next week!

Cheesetastic!

The American Cheese Society has announced their annual best in show (or best in cave?). I plan on printing out the pdf -or at least part of it and taking it to the grocery store next time I'm up for a patriotic cheese adventure. Enjoy!

Fancy BLTs and another great way to use pickled jalapenos

This 'slider' recipe from last week's New York Times Dining section caught my attention. It's adapted from Stanton Social, a great, fun lower east side restaurant where I have had addictive kobe sliders. I'm guessing those weren't quite as make-at-home friendly, but these are good too...if not equally good. I propose one change which actually takes them even further from sliders than they already are -use a whole slice of bread and adapt other ingredients accordingly if you're serving these for a meal instead of as appetizers. That way there's no wasted brioche. And why would you want to waste the buttery goodness that is brioche?

Melted Cheese Sliders
Adapted from the Stanton Social Time: 40 minutes

Adapted from the Stanton Social

Time: 40 minutes

12 thin slices sandwich bread, preferably a brioche loaf, crusts removed

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/3 cup mayonnaise

3 ounces white Cheddar cheese, preferably artisanal, shredded

6 slices country bacon, preferably peppered

4 to 5 tomatillos, husked

3 tablespoons flour

3 to 4 pickled jalapeños (sold in jars)

24 cilantro leaves.

1. Use a 2-inch biscuit or cookie cutter to cut 24 rounds of bread. You should be able to cut 2 rounds from each slice. Lightly toast. Set toasted rounds on a cutting board. Mash garlic and lemon juice to a paste in a mortar or on a flat surface. Mix with mayonnaise. Spread seasoned mayonnaise on toast rounds. Top half the rounds with cheese.

2. Fry bacon. Cut each slice in four. Slice tomatillos in 12 fairly thin slices, dip in flour and fry in bacon fat until lightly browned. Cut jalapeños to make 24 thin slices. Place 2 cilantro leaves on cheese, add 2 pieces bacon, a fried tomatillo slice and 2 slices jalapeño. Top sandwiches with remaining rounds, mayonnaise side down.

3. To serve, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, place sandwiches on sheet, and bake about 5 minutes, just until cheese melts and ingredients are warmed. Secure each sandwich with a toothpick, and serve.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Eat your oysters all year 'round

In the New York Times, Anahad O'Connor debunks the "only eat oysters in months with an 'r'" myth. Since I was posed the same question over the weekend, I thought I'd share my answer in a superiorly written form. Basically the answer is that contemporary commercial shell-fisheries protect our favorite bivalves from nasty tasting algae and keep them from spawning (which also makes them nasty-tasting and flabby) So, slurp away, all summer!

Marlowe and Sons

For we snobby Manhattanites, a visit to Brooklyn means undertaking an uncomfortable journey to a distant state...a hipster state full of ironic t-shirts and pbr. But in the interest of adventure and triangulating locations we journeyed to Williamsburg last Friday to have dinner at Marlowe and Sons, recommended by DA reader Dorothy as 'our favorite restaurant' in Brooklyn. Boy was it worth the trip.

So market driven that its regular menu lists about 10 items, Marlowe and Sons was packed and hot. We started with oysters -the best I've had in recent memory, and then shared run-of-the-mill sweet bruschetta with white cheese and honey. Then things picked up. A special of lobster linguine (homemade noodles, of course) was devoured by our table, and choosing between the menu-favorite brick chicken and the special of homemade meatballs with faro, fennel and yogurt was impossible. Desserts were great too -especially the few bites I snagged of a chocolate caramel tart with sea salt.

Please make the journey to the land of buddy holly glasses and support this fun and affordable place. But, make sure to go early and bring friends so you can swap bites!

Baked Eggs with Herbs

I made these for a brunch this past Saturday. What a hit! A great way to make individual servings of eggs without manning a cook top or griddle. You can substitute whatever fresh herbs you find at the market for the rosemary and thyme.

Baked Eggs with Herbs
Adapted from Ina Garden

1 teaspoon minced garlic (from a jar is fine)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan
8 large eggs
3 tablespoons (approximately) heavy cream
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 ramekins

Preheat the broiler for 5 minutes and place the oven rack 6 inches below the heat.

Combine the garlic, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and Parmesan and set aside. Carefully crack 8 eggs into individual teacups, measuring cups, etc. without breaking the yolks.

Place 8 ramekins on a baking sheet. 1/8 tablespoon of butter in each dish and pour enough heavy cream to just coat the bottom of each ramekin. Place baking sheet under the broiler for about 3-5 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Pour one egg into each ramekin, sprinkle evenly with the herb mixture, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place back under the broiler for 4-5 minutes, until the whites of the eggs are almost cooked. Don't overcook! The eggs will continue to cook after you take them out of the oven. Allow to set for 60 seconds and serve on a plate (ramekin will be very hot to touch).

Cheap Eats NYC

New York Magazine's 2008 Cheap Eats issue is now available! It's a great read, with lots of finds.

I especially like the recession food increase tracker. We all know that the cost of basics like flour has been rising and with that the price of our favorite take-out dishes. But to see that a slice of pizza at Di Fara's cost 33% more than last year definitely hammers it home.

The Cheapest of the Cheap is the guide's essentials list. Though, if you're lucky enough to get into PDT (and a good disclaimer for the Cheap Eats issue would be that you'll be making up in drinks what you're saving on eats there) I would actually recommend the John Dog above the Chang or Wylie Dog. It's a deep fried dog in a bun dotted with poppy and sesame seeds and slathered with scallion cream cheese -your favorite everything bagel...plus!