International Market

It's hard to find what I like most about living in the city.  While showing our friend Charlotte around the city I caught myself saying "that's one of my favorite things about the city" a lot.  So after thinking about it, I realized that I just like it all.  So this post is on 'one of my favorite things about the city' - the Markets.  You can find anything you want here.

The International Grocery is a place that we have enjoyed shopping in and know we will for the extent of our time here.  While the store front leaves a lot to be desired, the inside is very inviting.  The smells from all the fresh spices, grains, and coffees blending together provides a wonderful aromatic and aesthetic experience.  They cater to all spice needs, exotic coffees, grains, cheeses, olives, and more.  The store has a Mediteranean bazaar vibe to it which I appreciate, and that is most likely due to the Karamouzis brothers (one pictured below) running it for over 30 years.

bon appétit

ar

the other white meat

After the last two experiments in cooking pork were making barbecue and carnitas, I decided to respect the flavor of the pork and make a tasty sauce to accompany it.  We are fans of horseradish so I thought it would be a natural pairing.

1 lb Pork tenderloin
2 tb of butter
4 green onions, minced
1/2 c mushrooms, chopped
1 1/4 c light cream
2 ts lemon juice
2 ts horseradish
2 tb sour cream
2 tb fresh parsley, minced






1.  Sauted tenderloin in large skillet with butter for 2 to 3 minutes on each side
2.  Moved tenderloin to dish and cover with foil
3.  Sauté green onions and mushrooms till soft
4.  Add cream, lemon juice, and any pork juices accumulated on the platter.  Simmer until thickened.
5.  Stir in sour cream, horseradish, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.

While I am a big fan of the carnitas and barbecue I've made, this was quite tasty.

bon appétit

ar

Ace of Cakes

On Friday evening I went to meet a buddy for happy hour at a bar in Times Square.  It just so happened they were hosting a party for the Anime festival in town.  It definitely provided an excellent opportunity for people watching.  At one point I saw a bunch of folks taking pictures so I walked over to see what the hoopla was about.  I came back joking with my buddy that they were taking pictures of books and figurines on a table and that people will take pictures of anything.

Well we come to find out that what they were taking pictures of was a cake made by Charm City Cakes.  Charm City Cakes is home to the Food Network television show, Ace of Cakes.  Ace of Cakes is a pretty cool program where they make very intricate and specialized cakes for events.  If interested their web site is - Charm City Cakes.  I honestly did not think it was a cake and was very impressed to learn it was.  Good job Duff and crew.

ar

Improving aesthetics one dish at a time

So the molé received mixed reviews from readers due to it having aesthetic qualities resembling the aftermath of a high fiber diet.  I went with quality with that one, and achieved that. Frankly, molé doesn't look pretty but it tastes good.

Last night I made a ceviche with shrimp and tilapia.  The shrimp was pre-cooked, the fish was not.  The recipe called for 4 lemons juiced, tomatoes, jalapeño, cucumber, red onion, garlic, cilantro, and parsely.

I put out some plain melba toast crackers and avocado slices.  We then decided the green tabasco would be a great topper.  It came together as a very fulfilling and refreshing dish.  Only critique of this one is that next time I will use limes instead of lemons and perhaps a heartier fish.

ar

Molé

The past few weeks I've really been wanting to take a stab at making chicken molé. I researched some recipes and then began the search for the right mole sauce. I had been reading about a Dona Maria molé sauce sold at Mexican groceries stores and was pretty sold on it. This was confirmed when Driscoll and I went for tacos at the Tehuitzingo bodega (amazing tacos which I'll elaborate on in a later post) and he mentioned Amy had used it, and they loved it. I picked up a jar for the dish.

The recipe is pretty simple consisting of:

(2) chicken breasts

(3) tablespoons of vegetable oil

half a yellow onion

(3) large garlic cloves

(3) cups of reduced sodium chicken broth

8 oz jar of Dona Maria molé sauce

(1) 16 oz bag of rice

1 teaspoon of salt

I chopped the onion, diced the garlic, and put (3) tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large saucepan to sauté. I then cubed the chicken breasts (~1") and added it to the saucepan. I raised the heat to sear the chicken on all sides and then lowered, covered, and simmered. While that was cooking I brought 2 cups of water, 1 cup of chicken broth, and salt to a boil and then added the rice, covered and simmered.

While the chicken and rice were cooking I combined the 8 oz jar of molé and 2 cups of chicken broth and blended. Once the chicken was done I drained the juice from the chicken and then added the molé mixture. I brought that to a simmer for ~5 minutes. During this time the rice was cooked.

I plated the rice and added the chicken molé atop. I must say it was pretty great for a first attempt at a dish that can be testy.

ar

notes: next time I will only use about 5 oz of molé mixture to 2 cups of chicken broth to balance the chocolate. I will also look into adding poblano peppers to add a hit of spice to the dish.

cooking in hell's kitchen

Last week I decided it was my turn to cook for a night. For the record Paige does enjoy cooking (and does so extremely well), but I recognize I should do it more often so she can relax. I was in the mood to slow cook a pork tenderloin in a crock pot so that is what I did. The recipe I chose instructed me to simmer the pork with a 12 ounce root beer for 6 to 7 hours. Then drain and simmer for another hour in "your favorite barbecue sauce". I tweaked it by adding garlic salt, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and a few tablespoons of barbecue sauce to the initial 6 hour slow cook. Our slow cooker cooks a little faster so I did that for 4 hours, drained the sauce and added 12 ounces of barbecue sauce, more garlic salt, onion powder, and cayenne pepper to simmer for 2 hours. The barbecue sauce I used was from Rudy's in Texas. It is phenomenal bbq sauce and the last time paige was home she brought us back two 48 ounce bottles.

I also borrowed a recipe that I've always liked from Kristi (borrowed from Alton Brown) for an asian slaw. After she answered many of my questions I went for it. I'm not a mayonnaise fan so this called for rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, lime, sesame oil, chiles, etc.

I must say it turned out pretty well. The barbecue sauce turned out excellent. I think the cayenne pepper added a great kick to it and I will definitely do it again. You couldn't really taste any root beer which was confirmed by Paige. So I may alter that, but otherwise it was excellent. The slaw also turned out really well. I thought I may have put a little too much vinegar, but Paige said she liked it. Hopefully she wasn't humoring me and enjoyed her much deserved night off.

ar