After reading my friend’s food blog, RoseLovesCooking, I was inspired to try my hand at making Laab (or larb, whatever).  Luckily, I live next to Chinatown where I can pick up good ingredients on the cheap.  Yes, it takes a lot of prep to make this meal.  In fact, I had dinner with a girl who said she can’t find good thai food in New York.  But she claims she won’t make dishes with more than 8 ingredients.  I exclaimed, “you want to make thai food in less than 8 ingredients?  GET OVER IT!”  Apparently, that’s been coined my catch phrase for 2012.  I’ll go ahead and tell you, I grind my own chicken meat in a food processor.  And I’m here to tell you, if you think that’s gross, GET OVER IT!  You can wash it later.

Of course, it took a few rounds to make up my own dish, but last night I got a glowing review from my biggest critic, Fabio.  I altered this from a thai chicken salad I found on epicurious.  The only thing I kept was the dressing and I made up the rest.

In the past, I’ve included too much sauce when I served the chicken in the leaves.  I found its a lot less sloppy and still as tasty without a ton of dressing.  All in all, this is a really quick meal.  Its super light, good for the waste and its a total crowd pleaser.  Enjoy!

Just so everyone knows, Beck and I go back to 2002 when I first moved to NYC.  We’ve seen each other through so many changes and found a common passion in food.  She’s one of my closest friends, and she’s an amazing cook that chooses directions I don’t consider.  Its inspiring to see her creative cooking process.  This year, she went New Orleans style, importing cajun tasso and creating her own ‘Bayou Chili’ with a hushpuppy garnish.  In the past, she’s placed by cooking the meats in a crock pot overnight then building a slow-cooked chili.  This year, she came ready.  Her hubby helped her to style her station (since he’s an amazing illustrator with a current show on tv – Ugly Americans).  They set up early and competed against 27 entries.  And this year, she won first place with the judges.  I was excited to see she’s gotten some press on Serious Eats and a few other sites.  This was her first #1 win!  So proud of her!  Next, I’m sure she’ll try her hand at winning the bacon, cookie and ice cream takedowns.

BTW.  I’m not a graphic designer.  So, yes –  poor photoshopping above.  I had to take this guy out on the fly and I wanted to use a memorable stamp from one of the last days of summer.  If you don’t remember it, follow me on instagr.am (user:  thepastsupper).

Making chicken broth is super easy.  I put the carcass in a 6-quart soup pot and fill the pot with water (almost to the top).  DO NOT include your pan drippings.  Then, salt the water and add aromatics and spices from your fridge or pantry.  Normally, I use several garlic cloves (mashed in hulls), 1 onion or 2 shallots, 1 carrot, 1 celery stick, 20 peppercorns, a bay leaf, half a lemon and fresh herbs like thyme, flat-leaf parsley and dill.  If I have some lemon, I like to toss that in, too.  For me, its not exact – I use whatever I have in my fridge, but I always try to use dill (just a preference).  Throw in skins, ends and stems – you’ll get rid of them later.  Bring the broth up to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 3-4 hours.  I like doing this after an early Sunday dinner.  The house smells amazing and you can let it simmer while you catch up on reading or watch some trashy tv.  Just before bed, I usually strain it, toss the solids and save the broth in the fridge.  It should store for 7-10 days, but if you don’t plan on using it, freeze it to use later.  Its way better than store bought stock.  Now.  Onto the soup.

A couple years ago, I became a soup lover.  Of course, I hate ordering it anywhere.  If you know me, I don’t like to eat things where its hard to tell whats in it (go ahead, judge me, i don’t care).   I’ve made a million soups, but there’s just something about chicken noodle.  I’ve never followed a recipe, I just use what I’ve learned making other soups to create this one on my own.  I normally use dark meat, picking the meat off of our roasted legs and thighs from the night before.  When its roasted, then refrigerated, its easier to pull the meat from the bone and chop it into bite sized pieces for our soup.  Above, you can see there is quite a lot of meat that comes from the legs and thighs.  Also, I like to cook the noodles separately and add them to portioned soup just before serving.  It prevents the noodles from getting too mushy and if you have left over soup, it will store a little longer if the noodles are on the side.

Although soup is usually the main event, I also like to serve something on the side.  Sometimes I’ll put a white bean spread on a toasted baguette or I’ll make aged cheddar pop overs with a touch of cayenne pepper.  In any case, the soup is super simple to make leaving plenty of time to make the side of your choice.  Once you’ve done it a few times, you’ll know how to change the ingredients to spice it up and make it mild or wild.  Here’s my version of chicken noodle soup.

If you ask me, soup and pop overs are a perfect meal on a Monday night.  Now that the weather is getting cooler, its a real treat to have a homey meal after a long Monday.  Of course, I drink white wine year round (shut up).  I happen to think this meal is best accompanied by a crisp Gruner Vetliner, but feel free to top of your glass with whatever you like.  Right now, I’m really spoiled to live in a city where they deliver wine to your door if your cellar is fresh out!  Excuse me, I have to make a phone call.

For whatever reason, roasting a chicken gives me a major sense of accomplishment.  Most people don’t know how to truss a chicken and tuck the legs in properly.  You have to get your hands dirty, but once you take control, get ready to have a super tasty meal.  I’ve read that you should only salt and pepper the chicken, but here I chose to sprinkle on some herbes de provence.  With or without is your choice, but these are the main instructions.

Normally, I like to carve off the breasts (with the oysters) and serve them on top of a pan sauce, accompanied by something green and a few roasted fingerlings (roast them on the rack under your chicken for about 35 minutes).  You only have to try this once or twice to figure out the combo that works for you.  This is my favorite – roasted chicken with kale and creamer potatoes.

Once you’ve gotten here, I know you’re going to realize this is super easy.  You’ll ask yourself why you’ve never tried it before.  Of course, when you finish eating, you have to do something with the rest of the chicken.  First, chop the legs and thighs off of the bird in one piece and store them in your fridge.  Second, save the carcass.  Tomorrow, I’ll share part two – making chicken stock and turning it into chicken noodle soup.  Now that I’ve made it a few times and balanced my flavors, its getting harder for me to eat it anywhere other than my kitchen.  More tomorrow – goodnight, kids.

Though I’ve been busy with surgery and costuming, I’ve spent a lot of the year trying to figure out how I’m going to make my way back into advertising.  In February, I was a little rattled.  My position was made redundant and I was completely stressed about redirecting my career.  (While pounding my chest) I consider myself strategic, thoughtful, creative and professional but couldn’t crack the code to land the job I wanted.  Somehow, I coasted through the year and applied for a program at Miami Ad School.  They have a “back-breaking” bootcamp program for Account Planners.  Once a year, they select 20 people and mold them into agency-ready planners.  But you have to apply for the program.  To apply, create a movie, 4-6 minutes long, on any topic, big or small.  Naturally, I chose doughnuts.

I wandered all over New York then cruised around Atlanta looking for donut shops.   I wanted institutions – the kind my 90 year old granddad remembers.  But I had to make way for the new shops that are popping up with crazy meringues, jams and fillings.  Through the lens of my iPhone4 (i swear I’m not a mac whore), I revisited my past and spent some time reflecting.  Lucky for me, I was able to pull a movie together.  Ryan Smith Knows Doughnuts  Sure.  I had to taste a few donuts in the process – even bad ones.  But in the end, Miami called.  They got my movie.  Then told me to pack my bags and sharpen my pencils.  I’m going to be a student again!

This summer, I introduced anchovies to my pantry arsenal.  And so began the conquest for the perfect Grilled Chicken Caesar.  I think I nailed it, or so my partner says.  I read through a million recipes.  Some people think its better with bacon and blue cheese.  I know.  Not a caesar.  But I found a recipe and added a few twists.  In the end, it makes a lot of dressing and extra croutons, so I save the remainder and have it for lunch or as a side salad with dinner.  This stuff is so good and easy to make, I don’t think I can order it out anymore.

]]> http://www.thepastsupper.com/2011/10/06/all-hail-caesar/feed/ 0 http://www.thepastsupper.com/2011/10/05/herbed-tuna-tartine/ http://www.thepastsupper.com/2011/10/05/herbed-tuna-tartine/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:31:53 +0000 thepastsupper http://66.147.244.76/~thepasts/?p=493 I used to have this thing where I thought canned tuna was saved for diets or cats.  In college, one of my nearest and dearest used to love this crap called Pollo Tropical.  Don’t ask me why.  It was tuna fish in a foil packet (revolutionary at the time) and it had pineapple chunks with rice.  Disgustica.  I haven’t seen it in the stores for a long ass time and I’m assuming false advertising forced it off the shelves.  There was no pollo.  And my friend knows who she is.  She was also an advocate of The EggWave, but I’ll save that for another post.

In any case, I’ve learned to love canned tuna as long as you dress it the right way.  This happens to be a great dish you can make ahead and keep in the fridge for a few days.  Have it for dinner, lunch or a picnic.  Its pretty versatile as a wrap or a salad, but when I’m looking for a light lunch, I prefer to have it as an open-faced sandwich.  The French call it a tartine, and so will I.

I like to buy these ingredients at Whole Foods, because you can get some of them from the antipasto bar without buying excess.  This keeps it cheap.  You can definitely make it more gourmet by using imported tuna, nice mustard and fancy bread (like toasted brioche, yum).  But the value minded could keep it under $15 and get at least 4 servings out of it.  On cheap weeks, I make soup to go along with it.  If the plate looks good, soup and salad can be a light, sexy dinner during the week.  Besides, I like to minimize calorie intake during the week to make room for a weekend donut or white wine happy hour.

This is my own creation.  I know there are a million debates about the best canned tuna.  I say pick the one you like most, but do some reading to find out what’s out there.  Generic brands offer good prices, and consider options like Tongol which can be just as good and sometimes more delicious.

]]> http://www.thepastsupper.com/2011/10/05/herbed-tuna-tartine/feed/ 0 http://www.thepastsupper.com/2011/08/16/lemon-verbena-ice-cream-with-blueberry-compote/ http://www.thepastsupper.com/2011/08/16/lemon-verbena-ice-cream-with-blueberry-compote/#comments Tue, 16 Aug 2011 23:55:12 +0000 thepastsupper http://66.147.244.76/~thepasts/?p=132 I’ve learned good desserts are all about planning.  I can be an annoying planner, but believe if you orchestrate the right moments, they totally pay off when no one’s looking.  So your friend showed up, he brought some tunes, you’re talking trash and having drinks.  Dinner is over, there’re some new music discoveries with an impromptu dance party  - and your friends keep calling, but nothing is quite as fun as the moment.  Now, I don’t care how many cocktails you’ve had.  If the company’s good, we’re still eating.  Even if it’s 47 cocktails later.

Lucky for me, before hosting my Boozy Bistro Saturday, I decided to make some ice cream with fresh lemon verbena from the Union Square farmer’s market.  I’m sure you’re able to make it with dried leaves if you can’t find fresh ones, but the fresh leaves are intoxicating and have a really strong scent.  Perfect for a really flavorful ice cream.

To flavor your base, you have to bring the milk up to a simmer and let the leaves steep for a while in the warm milk.  If you are using fresh leaves, I would recommend a quick rinse, then letting them dry on paper towels.  It prevents any other ‘farm freshness’ from making its way into your ice cream.   After trying other recipes, I experimented with my own recipe and thought it turned out pretty well.

Firstly, maybe I took this picture when I was drinking which would totally explain its off-centeredness.  Secondly, I realize off-centeredness is not a word.  And finally, I highly recommend these cookies when you have someone in your house that whines about getting waffle cones when you know damn well they’re too big and you aren’t about to make them from scratch.  These will save all that trouble.  As for your camera skills, I hope yours are better than mine.  You can see, I got a little crazy with the plating, too.  But this was REALLY good.  Promise.

Of course, its not all fun and games – he’s launching his own luxury shoe line (www.Sirak.com) after working for several top fashion brands.  Today, he worked all day as I wandered through the Union Square Green Market, Eataly and the Chelsea Market.  Fabio had other dinner plans, so Adam promised to come over with ‘fancy cocktails’ and some new tunes while we gnashed around the apartment.

Ever since I showed Adam how to shuck an oyster, this kid is all about casual ‘shuck and jive’ soirees at home.  We play music, talk trash and if you aint down, then don’t come around.  I have a favorite seafood spot where I usually buy oysters.  The Lobster Place always has at least 6 varieties, but we both have an affinity for the Beau Soleils – they’re medium, mild and delicious.  And perfect with cocktails.

So while I’m cracking oysters at the ‘other work station’ in my LES kitchen (kidding), Adam taps me on the shoulder and gives me some Rye Whiskey Tea concoction with muddled cucumbers and Green Chartreuse (Hello?  Oh, I’m sorry.  Yeah, we’re just staying in and having an easy night tonight.  Buzz you tomorrow.)  I’d never mistaken Adam for a barkeep, but apparently the world is your oyster (heh) when you google ‘fancy cocktails’.  Luckily, I had already prepped everything to make the Nicoise Salad and the Steak Tartare, so throwing the rest of the dinner together was a breeze.

I used one of my favorite recipes from Eric Ripert’s cookbook, Avec Eric.  Recently, I discovered the butcher at Eataly chops crudo daily, and this is what I used for the tartare.  While his recipe calls for a pound of steak, I cut the recipe in half and it was more than enough to make two individual servings for boys who like to eat.  And it was still a lot!

PS – quail eggs are a pain in the ass.  You have to buy too many, you don’t know what the hell to do with them and they’re tough to crack.  Fortunately, I’d had a cocktail or two, which kept me from caring, while Adam played some jams by Maya Jane Coles.  While I set the table, he put it on repeat.  We sat and had a civilized meal, and as the music started bumpin, we reconsidered going out.  As luck would have it, we walked down the stairs to walk off our meal, and there was a basement bar around the corner playing amazing music.  We danced our meal off til we were ready for another cocktail (or the bar closed down, I can’t remember).

I love a good steak dinner as much as the next guy, but I always want a simple side to accompany a juicy steak.  I don’t normally cook broccoli.  My mom used to feed it to us all the time when we were kids, and I used to trade my brother the leaves for his stems.  But broccoli rabe is the grown ups’ version.  And I keep reading broccoli is one of the most nutrient-rich vegetables you can eat.  So i took a stab at making my own broccoli rabe with a twist.  And it was amazing.