eG Foodblog: phaelon56

[alacarte]

Wow. I wish I could just reach over & help you with that rib sampler. It looks delicious.

[phaelon56]

Lest you think it's all healthy all the time.... don't dismay. I had a Snickers bar at work yesterday afternoon and two big chocolate chip cookies last night when I got home after the movies. I think I even had a small bowl of Cape Cod Sea Salt and Vinegar chips before I scarfed down the cookies.... it's entirely possible.

Tuesday breakfast:

A fried egg sandwich on some kind of rustic bread that was in my freezer - don't even know what kind as it was brought by a guest left for a recent dinner. Darn good bread. A few orange slices and the ubiquitous latte on the side.

About three times each week I stop at Freedom of Espresso for a quad shot latte to bring to work. I also buy beans from them when I'm not doing my own roasting. Great local microroaster and nice people. That's the owners, John and Anna Dobbs, behind the counter. John is a glass artisan whose studio and shop is in Armory Square, our local entertainment, dining and specialty shopping district. I come here because the coffee and espresso is great - support your local roaster!

The interior of their main location:

My quad shot 2% latte - it's in an 18 oz stainless steel thermal mug but I always stop at about 12 oz of milk. Anything over that 1 part espresso to 3 parts milk ratio and it loses its character. If the espresso's not top shelf and properly made a ratio like this will reveal the flaws of the espresso - with the right ingredients and preparation it's sublime....

My morning drink and beans:

Notice the nutmeg grinder on the counter? That's so those crazy nutmeg lovers can get their fix. I wouldn't dream of desecrating my latte with that stuff but to each their own.

[GordonCooks]

Your dedication to the regal bean has inspired me to become a little more coffee knowledgeable.

[Rhea_S]

Your blog has made me very hungry. The Wegman's bakery looks better than the local fancy bakery. Also, I like the cabinetry in your kitchen.

[phaelon56]

Some people seem to resent them for their success.... others complain that their mega-stores are just too big to do efficient and quick shopping in (a complaint I can relate to).... but having just returned here from northern NJ and gotten back into cooking, I think they realy have their act together. I can't find everything I need there but darn close to it and the produce is always far better than other local stores. They are also remarkably efficient at the register - any time it gets busier, cashiers magically appear and open more registers to accomdate the traffic. I think they have about 40 registers across the front of the store and I've rarely waited more than five minutes in line.

Also kinda cool is to pull up in sumer time and see a farmer unloading his sweet corn straight through the front door to the produce department - they really do that.

The kitchen cabinets are actually a bit cheap in terms of construction quality but they seem sturdy enough and I like the combination of light wood and clean lines.

[phaelon56]

What with all this cooking, eating, writing and picture taking..... some of you may wonder if I actually have a real job. Yes I do, but thankfully, this is a very slow week and I can squeeze in some extra activities.

Lunch:

The remains of the stewed fish from Friday's takeout. It was just as good today as it was yesterday and made for a very satisfying meal. A bit on the salty side but I think this goes with the territory in Dominican cuisine.

Tonight the menu calls for some sort of a bouillabaise dish. I'll scale back the varieties of fish but needed to get a few fish items, some frozen fish stock and also the right bread for toasting and serving.

First a quick trip to Pasta's Daily Bread was in order. It's owned by Pastabilities Restaurant, across the street. The restaurant was founded twenty years ago by a friend of mine, now deceased, with whom I waited tables in a previous lifetime at Phoebe's Garden Cafe. Our manager at the time was Peter Lord, a talented CIA grad who was, in my humble opinion, not in his ideal element as a front of house manager but a true wizard in the kitchen. I, of course, was an obstinate and frequently hung-over young waiter, thus my opinions were far from relaiable It was nothing short of remarkable to watch the transformation when the chef called in sick on occasion and Peter jumped in to run the line. Seeing the change when he went from suit and tie to chef's whites and a toque was akin to watching Clark Kent change to Superman. Sooner than later we all migrated out of Phoebe's and on to other things. Peter ran a few places around town, had one or two of his own and finally landed at Pastabilities, where he launched an in-house artisan bakery. It quickly outgrew the space and moved across the street, where it remains today. I think he's really in his element here. To me, there is something very satisfying about watching a true artisan pursue their craft. His "stretch bread" is quite unlike the bread sold as "points" or "Italian bread" in other local bakeries. This has a wonderful hint of sourdough taste and an amazing texture, supported by a crustiness that is flavorful rather than just crusty (words are failing me). It's the best bread Ive ever had. I mentioned that I was putting this visit into my eGullet foodblog and he gave me the loaf for free! How cool is that?

Pasta's exterior: this is what Spring looks like in Syracuse - it was ten degrees outside last night and is snowing like crazy today.

The work area:

Peter ringing up another happy customer:

[JPW]

Lest you think it's all healthy all the time....

Healthy is about the last thing that crosses my mind when I think of Dinosaur..

[elion_84]

I'm amazed at the variety, quality, and low prices of produce at the farmers market considering the weather. Down here in TX in the 70s (sorry to rub it in), but the farmers market selection is much more limited and prices are much higher. Although, I suspect that the latter has more to do with demand than supply.

[phaelon56]

Healthy is about the last thing that crosses my mind when I think of Dinosaur..

Point well taken. I suppose the point I was trying to make was that some of the junkier foods I might have eaten in a given time period.... Chex Mix... a few quick pizza slices.... movie popcorn instead of dinner.... huge late night bowls of ice cream.... all seems to have been supplanted byt the meals I've been making, buying and consuming for the blog. I'm eating better in spite of myself!

Syracuse really is a small town - it seems that nearly everywhere I go, especially in the food and beverage business, I know someone when I get there.

I needed some fish stock for dinner and was thinking that my local seafood specialty vendor might have better quality clam juice. I stopped at

Fins and Tails Seafood store

I've been in here a few times in the past but did so little cooking back when I previously lived in Syracuse that it wasn't a regular stop. As it turns out.... the co-owner, Tom Farmer, is a guy who was one of my great pals when we were four or five years old. He spent a number of years as a seafood department manager and buyer for one of the local grocery chains before launching this business.

I'm so glad I stopped back in..... they have an excellent selection of fish from Stephen Connelly, a very reputable Boston fish merchant. This store is really the only place in this entire area where you can walk in any day of the week and be assured of getting the absolute freshest fish. Not cheap but worth it. They also have frozen home-made fish stock - quite concentrated and just over $1 for the pint.

I got some tilapia, chopped fresh clams and a bit of sea bass for the bouillabaise and some Japanese bread crumbs for the rouille.

The store:

The fish case:

[mags]

I am passionately in love with your kitchen, and also relieved to find that the first set of photos were from the realtor. I just thought you had extremely minimalist taste in home-furnishing.

[phaelon56]

I'm not into excessive ornamentation but a minimalist I am not (although after two months in the house my bedroom still looks rather spartan with nought but a platform bed, a chest, a rug and a chair).

Tuesday dinner - I'm not running out of steam yet but the leftovers are piling up with a vengeance and I'll have to start packing and freezing some tomorrow.

Appetizer:

Chicken liver mousse from Alton Brown's recipe. I had half a batch left in the freezer - whipped up some heavy cream and mixed. Went easier on the cream this time so the density was heavier and more to my liking but I was tired and completely forgot about the cornichons in the fridge. This stuff is soooooo good with a cornichon, a few bits of red onion and a caper or two on cracker or bread. Served today with some thin slices of the stretch bread from Pasta's bakery and some Carr's table water crackers.

Main:

Bouillabaisse - a hybrid recipe - took a bit from the Epicurious recipe and also the one in Recipegullet. Used shrimp, dry packed scallops, some tilapia and sea bass.

This is the first time I made the rouille - you can see it spread on the croutons but I forgot to snap pics of the finished dish with the additional rouille on top. It was a great addition to this dish - incredibly garlicky and rich.

Stage 1: The preparation is nearly complete - ready to build the entrees

Stage 2: Ready to eat

This meal was outstanding - unquestionably the best of the entire blog thus far.

[phaelon56]

I suppose I'll have to push this lonely blog back up by adding the rather inconsequential food activity of the day. After my guest left last night, I sampled the chocolate treat she had brought from The Patisserie, a bakery in the nearby suburb of Baldwinsville (neither of us had the room or the appetite to try it after dinner). I like the presentation with the pyramidal shape and it had a rich, dark chocolatey taste without an excess of sweetness but it's very, very dense. There are two textures inside - I keep the house rather cool at night - it had been on the counter for awhile and may have needed to be warmer to be fully appreciated - I'll revisit it tomorrow.

Wednesday's dessert - tested belatedly, long after the wonderful bouillabaise

Breakfast today was an uncomplicated affair. Orange chunks, toasted stretch bread with maple cream and a great latte. I continue to improve on my milk foaming techniques and get the occasional heart shape when I pour but those beautiful rosetta shapes that the real latte artists create continue to elude me.

Went with a co-worker to Las Delicias for Dominican food at lunch - had the stewed beef with yellow rice - excellent as usual. PLanning to head there this weekend and try the seafood rice btu there's a thirty minute prep time. We'll just call ahead and they'll start the dinner cooking before we arrive (yet another benefit of living in a small town!).

Tonight is Vietnamese food at New Century - yum!!!

[Toliver]

I continue to improve on my milk foaming techniques and get the occasional heart shape when I pour but those beautiful rosetta shapes that the real latte artists create continue to elude me.

I think you did great on the latte. It looks like the scene from "Gone with the Wind" when Scarlett, standing next to a huge tree as the sun sets, proclaims "As God as my witness, I shall never go hungry again!"

At least, that's what I see.

My God man, you've just invented the "Latte Rorschach Test"!

[Lady T]

That chocolate dessert is talking to me -- and this is that dangerous not-quite-time-for-dinner-yet part of the day.

There's a lovely old-fashioned neighborhood bakery called Bennison's right on the way on my commute home. Wonder what they've got this evening...?

I'm loving the photographs, phaelon. Keep posting!

[phaelon56]

My God man, you've just invented the "Latte Rorschach Test"! 

I like that idea.... definitely.... I think that should be my next feature in our Coffee & Tea forum! One of the lattes I made last night after dinner had a nice smiley face - at least that's what it looked like to us.

By the way - I like your tag line. Just last night when I first tried the bouillabaise I made the comment that it tasted so good it was making my toes curl (which is what sometimes happens after I roll around on the floor naked... but only if it's one of those lucky evenings where the stars align and I did very well on the meal )

[Toliver]

By the way - I like your tag line.  Just last night when I first tried the bouillabaise I made the comment that it tasted so good it was making my toes curl  (which is what sometimes happens after  I roll around on the floor naked...  but only if it's one of those lucky evenings where the stars align and I did very well on the meal    )

I like to rotate interesting quotes from the various discussions going on here at eGullet (with permission from the original authors as per eGullet rules) in my signature. You can thank Marlena for the quote. I got it from her delicious blog.

So did you have a cigarette after the bouillabaise?

[JPW]

I've got to say Phaelon, that the thing about your cuisine that impresses me most is your ability to actually serve yourself real breakfasts.

While I do more home cooking for lunch and dinner than just about anyone I know outside of eGullet, motivating myself to do a nice breakfast is the one thing that has eluded me. Usually it's just coffee and a breakfast bar.

Thanks for the inspiration.

[bleudauvergne]

Owen! What a wonderful blog. It's bringing back memories. There used to be a baker, an Italian, I really doubt they still exist, on the west side, Burnet Avenue? called Columbus, I think. On weekend mornings we'd take a trip across town and go there and wait in line out the side door to get the dough. Does this place still exist? Have you been there? In the university area I understand Hungry Charlies is gone. It was the best place for wings mainly because we were able to get beer there to go with them. Varsity was second on the list...

[phaelon56]

Ahh yes..... Hungry Charlie's. I pounded down a few drafts there back in the day but don't recall ever trying their food. It was closed for awhile and then reopened as "Chuck's" (which is what many people always called it anyway). The wings at the Varsity are still reknowned - I rarely get over that way due to the parking issues. I do still visit Cosmo's on Marshall Street on occasion because IMHO they have the best pizza in the city. They're one of the only places still using quality whole milk mozzarella instead of that crappy "grande" cheese mix that Wisconsin seems to have foisted off on the neighborhood pizza shop universe. In yet another small world scenario... the Varsity is operated by Mr. & Mrs. Dellas - their son Tom was one of my school classmates and I think they still go into the restaurant to work every day (they must be close to 80 or possibly older).

The bakery on Burnet? That would be Columbus bakery - best Italian bread in the city that's baked by Greeks! They are open 24 hours per day and are now on Pearl Street just north of downtown, where they've been for years. If I had stepped back a few feet further when I took the pictures of the exterior of Freedom of Espresso, you would have seen them - they're about 50 - 75 feet north on the same street. Columbus has very good bread, especially the "twice baked", which has an incredibly thick crust. It remains very popular but I think the stretch bread at Pasta's just blows away anything that Columbus bakes. It is a cool place to visit - just a straight bread operation non-stop every day.

[phaelon56]

I wish I could say that I'm so conscientious about breakfast every day but quite often it consists of a quad shot latte and a banana at my desk. One of the benefits of doing this blog has been that I'm a bit more motivated to come up with something interesting to discuss and photograph. Several realizations have occurred....

• If I do a bit of prep early in the morning I can have a much better dinner
  
• Breakfast can be much faster and easier than I thought
  
• When I eat better at meals I eat less junk
  

These are all good things. I did have a Three Musketeers bar yesterday afternoon but left plenty of space for dinner. First.... working in reverse order... today's breakfast:

I had some left-over roasted sweet red peppers in the fridge and some tomato/basil seasoned feta cheese crumbles. I love this feta product for salads and omelettes. It's remarkable how quick and easy an omelete can be in the mornign but I need to change things up if I plan to keep making breakfast at home regularly - I rarely eat more than two eggs per week. This omelet had ingredients that cut through the egg much better than the one I had on hte weekend.

In the pan:

On the plate. Some toasted bread with Polaner fruit spread on the side. The fruit spread is good stuff - plenty sweet enough with no added sugar. The stretch bread is now too tough to eat as is but is still great for toast or croutons.

Dinner last night at:

New Century Traditional Vietnamese restaurant. It's in a space on the city's North side. This area was once home to the Germans who ran the salt works and made the barrels (the Irish did the grunt work). The German influence also resulted in several ecclesiatical candle companies sprouting up (church candles). Syracuse is still the place where the bulk of church candles in the US are produced. The North side became heavily Italian over the years and this location was home to several Italian restaurants. As happens in many cities, there is economic and upward mobility that prompts dispersion towards the suburbs and a new immigrant group moves in. We now have a Vietnamese population in this neighborhood, many of whom are originally from the Hmong region. There are three Viet restaurants on the North side but this one is my favorite.

Iced coffee with condensed milk in the brewing stage:

Ready to drink - I usually take just a few sips and save it for dessert:

Fresh spring rolls - mmmmm! They have good fresh shrimp, a generous amount of thin sliced pork and a sprig of lemongrass along with the noodels and herbs:

My dinner came with choice of soup and rice for $1 more than the regular entree price. I got the small bowl of beef meatball - it's really just a mini-bowl of Pho without the extra stuff on the side - very tasty:

My friend's entree (another great thing about the blog - I'm finding people to share most of the meals!). She had the broken rice assortment. Broken rice, egg loaf, shredded pork skin and grilled pork chop:

My dinner - "fried chicken" with broken rice - nice presentation:

[fredbram]

What is broken rice? I noticed it at my favorite Viet place last time I was there, but haven't tried it.

I appreciate your latte art--mine is more rudimentary still, or less consistent, at least. I observe my barista flicking his wrist and creating this fine lined pattern--it looks so easy. Then I try it at home and I feel like The Hulk Barista; clumsy, clunky!

[phaelon56]

I can't seem to find a good definition of broken rice on the Web. apart from an indication that both long and short grain rice may contain up to a certain percentage of broken grains, depending on how the grade is classified. The broken grains are a fucntion of the milling process but I think 100% broken rice is popular in some areas, including Vietnam. It appears to consist, literally, of broken rice grains. I think it may be rinsed a bit more than regular rice dues to the inherent stickiness that comes form more surface area. The flavor is deifferent in s subtle way and the texture, due to the small grain size, almost reminds me of a cous-cous. I like it. It may be labeled as "rice bits" in some Asian markets but when cooked it its typically described as broken rice.

The menu at new Century is actually divided into House Specialties, Noodle Dishes and Rice Dishes. The brokene rice dishes are a subcategory and I believe this is know as a Khmer style preparation - broken rice with multiple other ingredients, one of them usually being a fried egg.

[phaelon56]

Went home for lunch today and got so caught up in things that I forgot to accomplish what I went home for! (to take some some medication).

Lunch was simple. I'll eat an orange at my desk later but at home I microwaved some scalloped potatoes and ham casserole. I made this a few weeks ago and as usual, put about 1/3 into a smaller casserole dish and froze it after cooking. It's enough for two dinner portions or three lunches - handy to have around.

I didn't get too elaborate - sauteed some sliced scallions in a bit of butter and olive oil, added more butter and flour to make a golden roux, some 2% milk to complete a bechamel and seasoned with adobo, a bit of sea salt and some white pepper. The potatoes were thinly sliced - about 1/8" - but perhaps I should have made them a bit thinner. There were a bit toothy the first night I ate it but better the second and perfect on the thawed and reheated stiff from the freezer. Added in some grated asiago and parmesan that was getting past its prime and topped with breadcrumbs before baking. Not bad - I grew up eating food like this and still really enjoy it, most especially during our bitterly cold and long winters.

[SobaAddict70]

Oh btw....as for the next vic--er, blogger, I think the prize should go to Mr. Mayhaw. Although Mardi Gras has come and gone, that doesn't mean that things aren't interesting down in Louisiana...

(unless someone more interesting comes to the fore...heheh.)

Soba

[Jensen]

I just PMed Owen, offering to put my head on the block. I was so inspired by his repeated comments about eating better because he was blogging ... isn't peer pressure a wonderful thing?

The only thing of real interest I have to offer is that I am travelling to BC next week for a weekend at Tigh-na-Mara with my sisters, a 40th birthday gift from them. I've just found out that the resort has Internet access, so I could report on dining at the Cedar Room. Oh, and I plan on visiting the spa as well so I might be able to report on their spa lunch too.

That being said, I'm more than happy to let someone else do it too...