July 2010


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Viva la Leftovers

photo (6)

When my brother moved out of my parents’ house after college he couldn’t wait to leave the land of Tupperware behind. To our amusement, my brother received Tupperware from every member of the family as a housewarming gift.

My dad keeps all plastic containers. Imagine portions of horseradish hummus in old Philadelphia cream cheese containers, half melons stored in old pre-made cookie dough containers and cucumbers being pickled in old plastic pretzel containers.

As much as I want to break the family habit of collecting vehicles for leftovers, I just can’t.

I’ve started saving glass though. Wide and short salsa jars, long and narrow caper jars, filling them with couscous and mysterious grains.

But then I was sent Cover Mate’s Stretch-to-Fit Food Covers. And while my addiction to Tupperware has not lessened I now have found a new, easier way to never throw out food: whatever bowl or dish or glassware I have baked or served or eaten something in I just cover it with this dishwasher safe swatch of plastic.

Viva la Leftovers.

in Rants & Raves 9 comments
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Poor Man’s Parmesan

breadcrumbs

I eat pasta more than any normal person should.  I have to limit myself to one time per week as a main course, though I do make exceptions that allow for a second Asian-style noodle dish, either made at home or out at a restaurant.  It’s just about the perfect food – except for the fact that it’s not crunchy.

While flavor is most important, of course, texture runs a reasonably close second when it comes to the eating experience for me.  And – hooo doggie – when I can get something that’s delicious and gives a nice crunch, I’m pretty much in heaven.  Hence my addiction to pretty much anything deep-fried.

So then why can’t pasta be crunchy, too?  Sure you could just undercook it, but that’s not what we’re going for here.  We need something that is going to elevate the dish.  We need something that will remind us about the best part of the one crunchy noodle dish already out there, mac & cheese.

We need breadcrumbs.

Not just any breadcrumbs, mind you.  Breadcrumbs pan-fried in olive oil, with some sliced garlic thrown in for added flavor.

Now, I’ll be upfront and say that this is no modern invention.  Breadcrumbs have been used as a pasta-topper for quite a while, sometimes known as a “poor man’s” alternative to topping your dish with grated cheese.  But we all know that just because something is an inexpensive option doesn’t mean it’s not delicious.

So, what does this simple topping require?  Chances are, you probably already have everything you need…

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in Recipe 5 comments
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Green Garlic vs. Scapes

green garlic garlic-scape-600-x-3942

OK, Maids — consider this one paying you back for my missed Feed Us Back post (I never knew FuB had fans!)

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the new green garlic product that I discovered at the Food Fete. Reader Kathleen Donovan posted this comment:

Isn’t the green part of the garlic called a scape? I’ve tried pickled scapes at a Garlic Festival and they’re delicious.

I have so far ignored Kathleen’s comment because, well, I was stumped. Had the green garlic guys duped me into writing about a not-so-new product? We have, after all, covered scapes here on ES before.

A search around the Interwebs didn’t exactly clear things up, with many writers referring to green garlic and garlic scapes as the same thing. Clearly they’re similar, but my long, straight green garlic with the little blubs attached just don’t look the same as those winding, loopy scapes. Melissa Clark had a long piece in NYT about both green garlic and garlic scapes, but didn’t quite explain the difference.

Finally I found this comment from Serious Eats user bodaciousgirl that offers the best explanation I’ve seen yet:

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in Veggie 2 comments
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Ginger Ale, My Hero

honeyloupe cocktail

I’m Beatles over Stones. Briefs over boxers. Cantaloupe over honeydew. There are just some things you must chose one of in life and classic bands, boy’s underwear and melon require that level of commitment.

However, I am up for a compromise. (Wild Horses almost gets me, but it’s mostly The Sundays version).

Anyway, upon my not so frequent market visits this summer (I’m looking at you out-of-town weddings and the Jersey Shore), I found the honeyloupe. Yes, part cantaloupe, part honeydew.

Unfortunately, while the fruit still tasted sweet, it tasted much more like honeydew and not the brighter, more pronounced flavor of the cantaloupe. I ate half the honeyloupe by spoon but saved the rest for a cocktail. Cue my sister’s 23 year old boyfriend, Shane.

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in Drinks / Endless Cocktails 2 comments
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The Grand Wrap-It

grand wrap hot dog

Even though I love to travel and spend a large percentage of my time out on the road, as a New Yorker I’m still required by birthright to be hyper-critical of any other place I visit — and in no realm is that more true than food. When evaluating a new city’s food scene, one of the most important criteria is the strength of their after-hours offerings, because there’s nothing worse than getting drunk in a strange city, learning that the bars close at some obscenely early hour like 1am, and then finding yourself wandering strange, grid-less city streets with nary a pizza place open to soak up the booze.

In Grand Rapids, Michigan for a college friends’ wedding last week, my pals and I were pleasantly surprised to find a pretty happening revived downtown area, and particularly pleased with Hopcat, a serious beer geek’s bar with an impressive handpull list (and a A+ rating from Beer Advocate). At least on the liquid side of things, G-rap was shaping up to be a more exciting city than I had imagined.

I did, however, have one major problem…

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in Cheese / Red Meat 3 comments
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Have You Eaten Meat Today?

ES fav Kim O’Donnel, aka The Notorious KOD, refuses meat on Mondays. And she’s a goddamn meat lover. Meatless Mondays, in my opinion, might just help save the planet. Or at least extend humans’ time on it.

O’Donnel’s ode to Meatless Mondays, The Meat Lovers Meatless Cookbook, will be published in September. Above is her rant on why we should give cows and pigs and shrimp a day off.

in Trends / Veggie 3 comments
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