eG Foodblog: johnder - Bouncing Around Brooklyn

[Ling]

The pate sandwich and the double chocolate eclair were my favourite shots thus far. I would eat one of those eclairs everyday if I lived in the area!

[johnder]

This dinner party is going to be the death of me. So after my meeting I stopped by the greenmarket to pick up some stuff. I only ended up getting some tomatoes, cucumelons, and some little pears.

I did snap a whole bunch of pictures though.

[johnder]

After the market I headed over to Kalustyans to pick up some spices. For those that don't know, it is the mecca of spices. It is really overwhelming going there as there is just so much stuff cramed into every available spot. I don't have time before dinner to comment on every photo, but I will do so when I get back home tonight.

The things of interest are: Moth Whole? They also have a good selection of bitters.

[johnder]

Now for the takehome goods:

Spices -- some for the dinner, and the others I am going to use for making some bitters.

Tomatoes, for the gazpacho amuse for Saturday.

The cucumelons, which I have never seen before. They are olive sized cucumbers. Not sure what I am going to do with these, I just needed to buy them.

Baby Sekel pears, going to be poached for the fois gras.

And finally...

Sorry it isn't the best picture. The shiny label makes it hard. It is a 1.45lb piece of grade A La Belle farms fois.

Whoa nelly.

So I need to get ready for dinner at Annisa. Given it's close proximity to Pegu, I just may have to stop by for a cocktail.

I need to try to stay somewhat sober tonight as I need to start the torchon, which requires deveining the fois. Not something to do while impaired. Not sure how many pictures I will take during that process, as it will be messy. (not to mention graphic!)

I also need to do the rub for the belly tonight. It is going to be a long night of work and taking pictures.

[KatieLoeb]

Hmmmmmmmm.  All the Champs Elysee recipes I could find on the web specify yellow Chartreuse.  But both Sammy at Milk & Honey and Little Branch and Jim Meehan at Gramercy Tavern use green.  Jim even uses VEP.

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I had the pleasure of having Jim mix me up one of these last week when I was visiting. Truly one of the most delicious cocktails I've ever had the pleasure of tasting.

If someone could get Jim to post his recipe for that fabulous libation I'd be eternally grateful. That was one seriously tasty drink!

[CaliPoutine]

What is a ground husk cherry tomato?

They look an awful lot like tomatillo's to me.

[Marlene]

Nope, it's the sandwich for me.  I wish I could find a sandwich as good as that.

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Me too. I don't have a huge sweet tooth, but brie will do it for me every time. I can't wait to see what you do with those little "cukes" John. I've never seen anything like them!

[docsconz]

What is a ground husk cherry tomato? 

They look an awful lot like tomatillo's to me.

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I agree, but tomatillos don't have "a sweet pineapple flavor".

[mukki]

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They carry whole bags of candied violets? I've been to NY twice in the last three months, each time promising myself I'd get to Kalustyans, and never made it there. Your pictures have convinced me that it's a must-do next time!

I love the pictures of your kitchen remodel ~ the clean white tiles, the color of the wood cabinets... it looks great.

[mukki]

What is a ground husk cherry tomato? 

They look an awful lot like tomatillo's to me.

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From what I recall, they're not the same thing at all. In fact, I seem to remember reading somewhere that, in England, they peel back the husk and dip the "cherry" into fondant so that it looks like a little winged bon bon.

Ah, here is some info, with a reference to the fondant-dipping. ETA: they ARE related, but the ground cherry is sweeter.

Edited September 28, 2006 by mukki (log)

[racheld]

The cucumelons, which I have never seen before.  They are olive sized cucumbers.  Not sure what I am going to do with these, I just needed to buy them.

Maybe a garnish for the Pickletini? I'm a booze nerd, and gotta find a better teacher than S. Lee. I slink away.

[Kent D]

Oh, the pic of the eclair was fine, the sandwich pushed me to the brink, and then the produce and spices sent me right over the edge. Surely, you must live in paradise, where such things to eat are available. Might as well go home, I'm not going to get any work done now.

Thank you for your service to our community -- living vicariously through other people's culinary experiences is quite enjoyable.

[C. sapidus]

Wow, Kalustyans looks like my kind of place. I’ll have to check it out next time I visit. Penzeys is my benchmark for spice stores (we go when we visit Wisconsin), but Kalustyans looks like it has more variety, especially in the chiles and beans. Do they carry whole dried Mexican chilies (pasillas, guajillos, anchos, etc.)?

[snowangel]

For me, it was the pic of the pate sandwich. Oh, my. I know what I'll dream of tonight! Since you only have one a month, I assume it is just that effing good? Do they make their own pate?

[nakji]

I think that if I lived in New York, the variety things available for my consumption would grind me to a halt. I wouldn't be able to eat anything due to indecision...

Your lemon/lime story is a perfect example. When I lived in Korea, limes were practically unavailable anywhere. One or two expat specialty stores carried them, but they were wizened little lumps. Something to do with citrus import quotas. I bought one and brought it to class when we did a Mexican cooking day...everyone wanted to taste it, even though I explain they usually weren't used for eating - just seasoning.

Now I'm in Vietnam, and lemons are practically impossible to find. In fact, the limes they have here (I think they're calamansi?) are called lemons when translated into English. My husband found a "real" lemon (read: what I grew up calling a lemon) the other day and brought it home triumphantly, to which I said: "What do you want me to do with one lemon?" So now it sits in my fridge, lonely, and waiting consumption.

Do you have any good drink suggestions that call for the juice of one lemon?

[johnder]

ok, stand by for a dinner update. As a tease, here is the menu from tonight.

We had the 5 course tasting menu. The menu was so big, I had to take pictures in two parts per page.

[johnder]

Hmmmmmmmm.  All the Champs Elysee recipes I could find on the web specify yellow Chartreuse.  But both Sammy at Milk & Honey and Little Branch and Jim Meehan at Gramercy Tavern use green.  Jim even uses VEP.

←

I had the pleasure of having Jim mix me up one of these last week when I was visiting. Truly one of the most delicious cocktails I've ever had the pleasure of tasting.

If someone could get Jim to post his recipe for that fabulous libation I'd be eternally grateful. That was one seriously tasty drink!

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I will talk to Jim and see if I can get the recipe. Sunday may be a visit to Gramercy if I recover from Saturday dinner party in time.

[johnder]

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They carry whole bags of candied violets? I've been to NY twice in the last three months, each time promising myself I'd get to Kalustyans, and never made it there. Your pictures have convinced me that it's a must-do next time!

They sure do. Not the cheapest things in the world. But given my current obsession with finding Creme de Violet, I figured I was going to try my hand at making a batch. Stay tuned in the cocktail forum for that after I recover from this blog.

I love the pictures of your kitchen remodel ~ the clean white tiles, the color of the wood cabinets... it looks great.

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Thanks! I really wanted tiles behind the stove to allow for easy cleanup after cooking. It makes cleanup a snap.

[johnder]

What is a ground husk cherry tomato? 

They look an awful lot like tomatillo's to me.

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From what I recall, they're not the same thing at all. In fact, I seem to remember reading somewhere that, in England, they peel back the husk and dip the "cherry" into fondant so that it looks like a little winged bon bon.

Ah, here is some info, with a reference to the fondant-dipping. ETA: they ARE related, but the ground cherry is sweeter.

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So I didn't actually buy any of these and the farmer was pretty busy so I didn't get to ask.

I actually was under the impression they were gooseberrys. Growing up in a scandinavian house, that is what I assumed they were.

Here is a picture of the cape gooseberry --or what they call a ground cherry

[johnder]

The cucumelons, which I have never seen before.  They are olive sized cucumbers.  Not sure what I am going to do with these, I just needed to buy them.

Maybe a garnish for the Pickletini? I'm a booze nerd, and gotta find a better teacher than S. Lee. I slink away.

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These things are pretty small, so I was actually thinking along the lines of a garnish for a drink as well. They are probably a little bigger then an olive. Hopefully tomorrow I will have some time to play with them.

[johnder]

Wow, Kalustyans looks like my kind of place. I’ll have to check it out next time I visit. Penzeys is my benchmark for spice stores (we go when we visit Wisconsin), but Kalustyans looks like it has more variety, especially in the chiles and beans. Do they carry whole dried Mexican chilies (pasillas, guajillos, anchos, etc.)?

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I didn't actually see much in the way of Mexican chiles. Then again I am pretty spoiled, most of the Korean markets around my house carry a wicked supply of Mexican products, so I get most of them locally. Next time I am at Kalustyans I will check though.

[jasie]

Wow, got to delurk to say that I'm loving all the pictures and the blog .

And, was really interested in the spice shop that I went to hunt for to see if they had a website.. and ....

Tadahh! Kalustyans!

Wow, Kalustyans looks like my kind of place. I’ll have to check it out next time I visit. Penzeys is my benchmark for spice stores (we go when we visit Wisconsin), but Kalustyans looks like it has more variety, especially in the chiles and beans. Do they carry whole dried Mexican chilies (pasillas, guajillos, anchos, etc.)?

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According to this page on their website, they have those!

[johnder]

Ok, the food.

Amuse -- egg salad in wonton wrapper with spicy tobiko

First -- hamachi sashimi with fried lily bulb stamens and pink salt

Second -- soup dumpling with seared fois with balsamic / black vinegar reduction

Third -- Skate 2 ways. Skate sashimi with kochuchang and seared skate with daikon kimchi and kimche vinagrette and avacado puree

Fourth -- Smoke Berkshire Pork Loin with Millet, Chard and Fried Gruyere cubes

Desert 1 -- Panna cotta with Rubarb, Rubarb/Hibiscus soup and rock sugar

Desert 2 -- Chocolate Biscut with Banana Chip and Banana mousse.

Desert 3 -- Apple tart with Vanilla ice cream and caramel soup

Petit Fours -- Blackberry ice pops, chocolate mints.

This is the first time we were at Annisa. I was originally slightly worried as the reviews I have seen said the place was small and loud. While the place was small, when when entered the restaurant was completely full, but the noise level was totally acceptable.

We were a table of 3, and opted for the 5 course tasting menu. All the dishes were the same, with the exception of the desert. We didn't want to drink to much tonight, so we just asked for 2 glasses of wine per person that would match up with the courses as best they could. We had a Deidesheimer Riesling Pfalz 2006 and Cape Mantell Shiraz 2003 from Western Austraila

I am too tired to go course by course through the wines, especially since I need to dry rub the pork tonight before bed -- not to mention that I haven't roasted any coffee yet, which will be a huge problem soon when we run out.

The highlights of the dishes were the hamachi. It was really awesome. I never had fried lily bulb before, and the pink salt really kicked the dish up.

The fois dumpling was ok. It was presented as a soup dumpling, but there was very little broth in the dumpling, which made is have less of a wow factor. The seared fois on top was pretty good though and made up for the lack of soup.

The skate was, I have to say slightly disconcerning when they put it down. When they described the dish as seared skate with daikon kimchee, kimchee vinagrette and a skate sashimi with kochuchang I was very worried. Skate being pretty delicate, I was predicting it would be overpowered, but this dish really worked. I never had skate raw before, aside from the texture being slightly chewy, it was very tasty. I suspect the chili cured the skate slightly which made it work.

The pork dish was aweome. While the pork itself was slightly overcooked for my taste, the millet and the fried cheese cubes were enough to make up for it. The millet was slow cooked in chicken stock and surrounded by a pork reduction. Very tasty.

As far a the deserts, after the ecliar incident earlier today, this was the last thing I wanted. I took a bite of each, and the only thing I actually finished was the blackberry popsicle. Everyone else at the table raved about the rhubarb soup and the caramel soup though.

It was a great meal overall. Service was spot on, the decor was sleek and nice and the food first rate and for the price a good deal.

Time to rub the pork belly though. (for Saturday... not a metaphor)

[johnder]

Ok, last post for the night. I did the spice mixture, basing off Vadouvan's awesome anatomy of a dinner party thread he did here.

Roasted them in a pan, ground them up with some demerra sugar and salt along with a few other secret things.

Have my awesome flying pigs pork belly, pefectly marbled.

Here it is rubbed down, I added some fresh thyme, a little garlic and a fresh bay leaf from the backyard after I took the photo.

Into the fridge overnight and tomorrow it is going to be prepped for sous-vida-loca as Vado would say.

[KatieLoeb]

Hmmmmmmmm.  All the Champs Elysee recipes I could find on the web specify yellow Chartreuse.  But both Sammy at Milk & Honey and Little Branch and Jim Meehan at Gramercy Tavern use green.  Jim even uses VEP.

←

I had the pleasure of having Jim mix me up one of these last week when I was visiting. Truly one of the most delicious cocktails I've ever had the pleasure of tasting.

If someone could get Jim to post his recipe for that fabulous libation I'd be eternally grateful. That was one seriously tasty drink!

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I will talk to Jim and see if I can get the recipe. Sunday may be a visit to Gramercy if I recover from Saturday dinner party in time.

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John, you're my hero!!

Jim didn't seem to have a problem sharing his recipe, although I suspect the rest of us might not be using the Top Top shelf ingredients he's using in his version. I might have to substitute regular Chartreuse for the V.E.P. and a lower level Cognac for the Ferrand or whatever he's using.

That was one damned tasty drink though...