The Steelers played the New York Jets this week. Continuing with our Steeler Opponent-City Challenge (“S.O.C.C.” for short), it was a little daunting to try to pick a dish indigenous to New York, a city known for its food and diversity of cuisine. When we think New York, no singular food automatically comes to mind. The city has entire neighborhoods centered around different types of cuisine, from all over the world. Ultimately, we decided to go with a dish that purportedly originated in New York, and is named after its oldest, and perhaps most well-known borough. Not to be confused with its creamy cousin from New England (hmmmm, do the Steelers play the Patriots this season??), this version of clam chowder has a clear broth base, with tomatoes to provide its signature red color. Famed chef and food writer James Beard supposedly once characterized this version as “that rather horrendous soup called Manhattan clam chowder . . . resembles a vegetable soup that accidentally had some clams dumped into it.” We respectfully disagree. Although we were initially a lot more familiar with the New England style of chowder (and like it very much), we found the Manhattan chowder to be equally good in its own way, with sweetly rich tomato flavor balanced out by the salty clams. Just as there are die-hard fans of particular football teams, there are people who likely side with Chef Beard in their unwavering preference for New England clam chowder versus the Manhattan version. But we feel there is room for both in our little food world. (Unlike our feelings for other teams in our little football world — suck it Jets, Steelers win!)
Weekly Menu (Sept. 15)
Saturday
- Dinner & a Concert
Sunday
- Sangria Soy Tri-Tip, Sauteed Zucchini, Crushed Potatoes
Monday
- Scallop Gratins, Tabouli
Tuesday
- Take-Out
Wednesday
- Mushroom Stroganoff w/ Goat Cheese, Salad
Thursday
- “Ants Climbing a Tree” (glass noodle & pork dish), Stir-Fried Japanese Eggplant & Okra w/ Ginger & Miso
Friday
- Dinner Out
Friday Favorites
Some food-related (mostly) things we enjoyed this past week:
Thanks to a cool front last weekend, we enjoyed a lovely lunch on the pretty patio at Patrizio. Fall is on its way and we are so happy to be able to spend time outside, after being cooped up in the (blessed, beautiful) air conditioning all summer.
This is what half of the kitchen often looks like when I cook, especially when it’s a new and complicated (for me) recipe. Not pictured — the sink/island half of the kitchen, covered with mixing bowls, cutting boards and just about all our kitchen utensils. While the actual cooking (and dishes!) part is not my favorite, the sense of accomplishment when the meal turns out to be delicious makes it all worthwhile.
Speaking of accomplishments, for the first time all summer, we finally had enough okra ready to harvest from our garden at around the same time, such that we could use it in a side dish, without having to supplement with store-bought okra. Perhaps next year we should plant more than 3 okra plants . . .
Dan had a quick overnight business trip this week and forgot to bring his iPad (the horror!) He stopped in the bookstore at the airport for something to read on the plane, and was delighted to find the latest work by Spanish novelist, Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Turns out that it’s a sequel to one of Dan’s all-time favorite books, The Shadow of the Wind. He loved the sequel and finished it on the plane ride home — within 24 hours of having bought it. Forgetting his iPad turned out to be a happy accident after all.
Grilled Bison Steaks w/ Cabernet Sauce
If you’ve spent any time at all around this little blog, you probably know that Dan is a die-hard, life-long fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Football season is his favorite time of year, and after growing up in Central Pennsylvania and graduating from the University of Pittsburgh Law School, he bleeds black and yellow. Sadly, he married an apathetic-at-best football “fan” who has been known to refer to football season as “shopping season.” In my defense, I do wear Steeler garb on Game Days (as long as it’s cute) and I “watch” the games (while multi-tasking with magazines and/or blogging and/or online shopping and/or doing my nails) to support the Team. In an effort to get me at all more interested in football, we decided to try something new this year: The Steeler Opponent-City Challenge. For as many weeks as we can manage, we’re going to cook something from the city or region playing against the Steelers that week. To begin the season, the Steelers played the Denver Broncos. The first Denver-indigenous food that came to mind (after granola) was bison. We decided to try bison steaks, fancied up with a red wine sauce, just in case we didn’t like the bison as much as we like beef steaks. Turns out that the grilled bison was really good on its own, but the sauce was also decadently delicious and would taste great with beef steaks or other proteins as well. Win-win. (Unlike the outcome of the Steeler game against the Broncos, unfortunately.)
Weekly Menu (Sept. 8)
Saturday
- Manhattan Clam Chowder
Sunday
- Grilled Shrimp, Orzo Salad w/ Heirloom Tomatoes & Herbs
Monday
- Pork Roast w/ Vegetables & Pan Gravy, Smashed Potatoes
Tuesday
- Take-Out
Wednesday
- Chicken Pot Pie, Salad
Thursday
- Pork Fried Rice (w/ leftover pork), Egg Rolls
Friday
- Dinner Out
Friday Favorites
Some food-related (mostly) (and baseball!) things we enjoyed this past week:
We had a wonderful trip to Houston last weekend, for our annual baseball “extravaganza” with my parents (we call it that because the weekend involves a lot of baseball — as does this post — attending 2 games, staying at a baseball-themed hotel, etc.) The Astros even won a game, amidst one of their worst seasons ever. The weekend was a tad bittersweet, however, since the hotel, the Inn at the Ballpark, is going to be rebranded as a Westin. So next year’s extravaganza will be a bit different, with changes occurring at the hotel throughout the off-season. My people dislike change, but we love that hotel and the people who work there who treat us so well every time we visit (and who we hear will be staying — thank goodness!), so we look forward to checking out the new digs next year. But the big clock in the lobby will be sorely missed.
No baseball game is complete without a hot dog. Or three. Ketchup, onion, tomato and cucumber on mine, and a duo of chili-cheese and mustard-sauerkraut dogs for Dan.
There is an amazing chef at the Inn at the Ballpark who often treats my parents and their friends to special creations when they’re in town for games. We’re not sure if he created the “Coach’s Favorite” breakfast or which coach loves it, but it’s one of our all-time favorite breakfasts as well. Toasted English muffin with cream cheese, topped with tomato slices and crispy bacon. The breakfast version of a BLT — without the L. We make it at home all the time.
Can you spot the baseball element in the above photo? It was a gift from our friend Chris, Food and Beverage Director extraordinaire at the Inn, and is one of the coolest foodie novelty items ever. We are now the proud owners of a pepper grinder shaped like a baseball bat, prominently displayed (and used!) next to our stove. Thanks again, Chris!
Finally, on a non-baseball related note, we have a baby eggplant growing in our garden! This is the first time we’ve ever tried to grow eggplant and weren’t sure what to expect. It’s very little right now (about the size of a thumb) but hopefully it will continue to grow and we’ll be able to use it in a batch of Pasta alla Norma. Cooking with home-grown veggies is the best.
Crispy Beef Tacos
Living in Texas, we appreciate a really good beef taco. Until recently, however, we didn’t bother trying to make them at home, believing that the home-cooked version couldn’t possibly be as good as the tacos we get at our favorite Tex-Mex joints. Turns out we were quite mistaken. We found a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated that is even better than what we had previously considered the best tacos around. Although these tacos require more ingredients and steps than the home version made with the store-bought flavor packet, the beefy end result is well worth the (minimal) extra effort.
Update: We’ve made these tacos with ground turkey (93% lean) instead of beef, and honestly cannot tell the difference. So if you’re craving beef tacos, but trying to eat less red meat, this is the recipe for you.
Weekly Menu (Sept. 1)
Friday Favorites
Some food-related (mostly) things we enjoyed this past week:
We put leftover stir-fried glass noodles from one of our favorite Thai restaurants to good use by re-heating them, slapping a fried egg on top and calling it breakfast. We were inspired by a kimchi fried rice dish (also topped with an egg) that Dan has perfected and we’ll be posting here soon.
It’s Hatch green chile season, and Chuy’s celebrates from now through September 9 with special menu items (and a new mascot, apparently) featuring this (spicy!) gem from New Mexico.
It’s also almost football season, which means Fantasy Football season, which means losing Dan to the TV and computer every Sunday from now until the Super Bowl (but I’m not bitter.) His first Fantasy Football draft (yep, he’s in 2 fantasy leagues) seemed to go pretty well and he’s hopeful for a good season. Yay.
Dan was lucky enough to spend a few days in Palo Alto this week (we love that place!) and got to have his favorite stromboli at a lovely little Italian place called Cafe Renzo.
Although I didn’t get to go to California this week, I was lucky enough to spot a double rainbow! I didn’t get quite as excited about it as this guy, but it was pretty cool to see.
Smoked Pulled Pork
Anyone else feel a little nostalgic this time of year? The beginning of a new school year signals the end of summer, even while temperatures remain hot and sunny days abound. Although we have long since outgrown the months-free, schools-out summer vacations we enjoyed as kids, summer’s end brings a sense of wistful yearning for those long, lazy days. The upcoming Labor Day 3-day-weekend is an excellent time to bid farewell to summer with cooking that epitomizes the season: low and slow barbeque. Transforming a giant slab of meat into tender morsels of smoky pork perfection is just reward for the 20 or so hours it takes to get there, and is a fitting ode to the warmest season with the longest days of the year. We adapted this recipe, and highly recommend the dual seasoning techniques of injecting the meat and applying a dry rub prior to smoking. No matter your personal barbeque style, cook some meat over open flame or coal at the lowest temperature you can go, take your time to get it done, and enjoy the heck out of your Labor Day weekend.