Shame on me, it’s been a while since my last update. The hectic balancing act that was my life the past few months has now calmed down a bit, giving me additional reflection time on next steps. And of course, time to return to my food blog and take care of some neglected LJ Bistro dishes from the end of Summer & Fall.

I wanted to cook a seafood themed dinner for LJ Bistro #15, and some steamed mussels sounded like the perfect opening dish. I’ve always placed a high value on shellfish, with fantasies of one day eating unlimited lobsters dancing in my mind. Until then, I satisfy those shellfish cravings with $1 happy hour raw oysters and $2.50 seafood chigae from Woorijip. And on special binge sessions? Juicy king crab legs at Chinese buffets *drool*.

Mussels are definitely on the affordable end as well and surprisingly easy to cook! No longer are you limited to fancy French restaurants for your Moules Frites fix. Enjoy these fine moules delicacies from the comfort of your own home. And *ahem* according to Andrew, this dish is perfect for you male cooks out there looking to impress a special lady friend (sophisticated dish created with minimal effort).

On a final note before we dive into how to steam some delicious mussels, I want to invite you guys to join Lot18, a beautifully designed daily deals website that provides insider access to fine wines, specialty foods, and epicurean-themed excursions. I actually haven’t quite learned to fully appreciate a glass of full-bodied wine, so for me I love browsing the site for deals on cookware and utensils. I recently purchased a gorgeous Nero fondue set. Now I just need some people over to enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 lb mussels
1 cup chopped onions
6 cloves minced garlic
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp flour (optional, used to thicken broth)

Instructions:

1) Clean the mussels by placing them in a bowl of water for about 30 minutes until the mussels open up and disgorge any sand. Scrub the outside shells with a brush under running water, removing the “beard” from each with your fingers. Throw away any mussels whose shells are not tightly shut.

2) Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 3 minutes until the onions are translucent.

3) Add the tomatoes, white wine, parsley, thyme, flour, salt, and pepper to the pot. Bring everything to a boil.

4) Add the mussels, stir well, and cover the pot. Cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until all the mussels are open. While steaming, shake the pot once or twice to distribute the broth over the mussels and to make sure they don’t burn on the bottom.

5) Discard any mussels that do not open. Mussels that do not open were dead already before being cooked, and you don’t want to risk getting food poisoning! Pour the mussels and broth into a large bowl and serve immediately.

Don’t forget a few thick chunks of bread to soak up all that delicious broth at the bottom! I went with a freshly baked demi baguette from Trader Joes. If you’re feeling very ambitious, fry up some frites to eat alongside your steamed mussels. Bon appetit!

Inspired by Ina Garten’s “Mussels in White Wine” recipe

Hong Kong made me lazy and fat. My 10 days vacation was filled with unrestrained eating and picture-taking of the food I ate. There were days where I had 6-7 full meals, mostly consisting of multiple breakfasts and late night binging. While the food there isn’t mainland cheap (and definitely not the nightlife), the exchange rate still worked in our favor. Of course, I also got fitted for a spiffy new tailored suit…just waiting for the next opportunity to wear it for work.

It always takes a few days to adjust after such a long term indulgence, both diet-wise and work motivation. However, here’s to 2011, a new year, new happiness, new goals. =) HK food pictures to come soon!

To finish off the LJ Bistro #7 round, such a hearty meal of steak and creamed spinach couldn’t be complete without dessert. I slyly asked Andrew about his favorite desserts a few weeks earlier so he wouldn’t suspect a thing on the creme brulee front. I even bought the cute mini ramekins with him at Pier One Imports! Since I didn’t want to spend money on a kitchen torch I would only use sparingly, I went the broiler route to brown the top. I accidentally made the sugar crust a bit too thick, but it was fun to break through with a spoon. :D And terribly fun to eat the sweet crunchiness. The recipe calls for 2-3 minutes in the broiler, but mine actually took about 5 minutes to brown. Just pay attention and don’t let it burn!

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
4 tablespoons white sugar

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and line the bottom of a large baking pan with a damp kitchen cloth.

2.Bring a large pot of water to boil. While water is boiling, combine cream, 1/4 cup sugar and salt in saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally 4-5 minutes, until steam rises.

3) In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla until smooth. Pour hot cream into yolks, a little at a time, stirring constantly, until all cream is incorporated. Pour mixture into four 6 oz. ramekins. (I halved everything in the instructions since I only made 2 creme brulees)

4) Place ramekins on towel in baking dish, and place dish on oven rack. Pour boiling water into dish to halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover whole pan loosely with foil.

5) Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until custard is just set. Chill ramekins in refrigerator 4 to 6 hours.

6) Before serving, sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over each custard. Use a kitchen torch or oven broiler to brown top, 2 to 3 minutes.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of family/friends time and a few days away from the daily grind. =) It was nice not have to worry about where my next meal would come  for the four days spent back home in CT. My parents made sure we were well fed – I’m convinced that I was on a consistent 3-4 hour eating cycle. A Thanksgiving dinner for five looked more like a feast for ten, with an excellent representation of Chinese and American Thanksgiving traditions (gotta have that turkey!)

Onto the weekly dosage of LJ Bistro! This meal was actually created a few weeks back…just hadn’t had the chance to write about it yet…(yes I slept and ate all Thanksgiving weekend). 

While baking chicken and fish has become second nature, lamb still remained a mystery. I’ve enjoyed the meat on two extremes – beautifully curated lamb chops at upscale restaurants and the down-and-dirty meat shavings from the street Halal carts. (Love that chicken and rice from 53rd and 6th). Both versions offered well seasoned meats, though there’s no denying that the restaurant lamb chops exuded a more delicate balance of flavor and presentation.

Morton Williams holds a midweek sale on Wednesday and Thursday every week, offering two grocery items at a special discount. French trimmed rack of lamb happened to be on sale a few weeks back, and I had to take a crack at cooking the meat. I was terrified though of overcooking – I wanted tender pieces of medium rare lamb, not cart lamb that had been sizzling in oil for hours on the flat iron grill.

Inspiration came from Emeril Lagasse’s recipe.

Ingredients:

1 rack of lamb, trimmed (about 1 lb)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tbsp grated Parmesan

Instructions:

1) Season rack of lamb on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a medium skillet and add the lamb. Brown well on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a plate and set aside to cool slightly.

2) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spread the mustard evenly on both sides of the lamb. Mince the garlic and spread on both sides as well.

3) Mix the bread crumbs and Parmesan in a small bowl. spread the bread crumb mixture evenly all over the lamb, pressing so the crumbs stick to the meat.

4) Place the rack of lamb on a baking sheet and cover loosely. Bake for 12-15 minutes for medium-rare. Allow lamb to sit for 5-10 minutes before carving into chops to serve.

The blend of Dijon mustard, parmesan cheese, and panko bread crumbs on the lamb was amazing. I might have been too cautious though with the baking time. The lamb was a bit on the rare side, making it hard to cleanly slice into the meat. (But then again, I do need new, sharper knives..)

College graduation. One of the pinnacle moments of one’s life that calls for celebration. I consider my dinner at Le Cirque last week to be one of the last hurrahs I could push off financially onto my parents. Proof? I’m writing this as I nibble on a large side of 85 cent rice cooked with spinach from the work cafeteria. The lovely financial perks I enjoyed as an overpaid undergrad intern must now be allocated towards the more mundane obligations in life – rent, health care, travel expenses, food, savings. And if I was to ever “go out,” I had better spend more wisely in other areas.

I chose Le Cirque not only because of its good reviews, but also for its claimed NYC fame. My parents rarely dine out, preferring the simpler home cooked meals. I wanted their trip to NYC to include dining at a well-known, high class (albeit expensive) restaurant, and Le Cirque had a $35 anniversary pre-fixe dinner menu I wanted to try. While the cafe area was closed off due to a party, we were still offered the anniversary menu in the dining room. Jackets were provided for my dad and brother, since the more formal dining area required the guys to suit up.

The entire table actually ordered the Lobster Risotto as an appetizer; I think there was something about the word “lobster” that screamed “Eat me, I’m an expensive seafood creature!” The risotto was actually my favorite part of the meal, filled with many meaty pieces of lobster mixed in with creamy, flavorful risotto.

We also ordered Smoked Salmon with warm toast and condiment and Crispy Calamari with sweet and sour dipping sauce for the table. Smoked salmon? Not worth the $23 paid, especially since it was salmon I could have bought from Trader Joe’s for $8.99 and the warm toast was well, warm triangular slices of toasted bread. The calamari’s presentation in the dim sum bamboo container surprised us, but the ample rings of fried squid actually paired quite nicely with the sauce (which did not taste like traditional calamari dipping sauce).

My Pavé of Veal Breast with pear, pecorino, and coffee-cardamom scented jus was extremely tender as promised, with the meat falling apart quite readily with a little urging from my fork. The bed of vegetables on top of my veal provided an interesting bitter (but oversalted) taste to the dish, and it was best eaten with a bite of meat and pecorino cheese. The pear did nothing for me, and seemed an odd addition to the dish.

I should have warned my mother before she ordered the Diver Sea Scallops with shiitake, turnip, hot & sour broth, because the waiter brought out exactly what I expected – three small scallops topped with thin slices of mushroom and turnip. My mom’s first reaction was laughter; it was fortunate that I had taken my family out for Korean food two hours prior. While small in size, the scallops were quite tasty.

Wai also enjoyed his Chicken with peppers Basquaise, broccoli rabe, and panisse, the entree with the biggest portion of food.

My second favorite part of the meal? Dessert! It certainly failed to disappoint, and dessert portions were actually quite large. I ordered the Crème Brûlée “Le Cirque”. The top was perfectly caramelized, and I eagerly dug through the dessert to unveil a crème brûlée recipe printed on the bottom of the dish.

I also tried the Chocolate Soufflé and the Floating Island “Le Cirque”, both also recommended. (The Floating Island was better than the one I had in Paris!).

The soufflé was paired with a dollop of vanilla gelato on the side and reminded me of molten chocolate cake. The waiter also presented us with a plate of complimentary small treats to pair with our desserts.

Will I return? Not in the near future, since I can find delicious, comparable food elsewhere for lower prices and less stuffy atmospheres. While I can no longer claim to be a college student, Le Cirque’s dining experience made me age an additional 30 years that evening. One day I will be back for the full menu, as a refined, wealthy old lady who no longer finds pleasure in $1 slices of St Marks pizza and $7.99 Japanese lunch box specials.

Le Cirque
151 E 58th St
New York 10022
(212) 644-0202
On a side note, thank you for the continued support for my food blog! Your readership is much appreciated, and my earlier hiatus can be attributed to graduation and pre/post graduation festivities. Har har. With summer in full swing soon, please look forward to more frequent postings!

Excellent customer service at my first Jean George restaurant! As the inner doors into the Trump building slid open and we stepped inside, we were greeted by surprisingly pleasant receptionists who kindly pointed us in the direction of Nougatine and asked if we wanted our coats checked. The restaurant was well lit by the natural light outside, and we sat down in preparation for our Restaurant Week $24.07 lunch. I was instantly amused by the tiny bottles of honey, maple syrup, ketchup, and tabasco sauce in the center of the table.

Nougatine’s prix fixe lunch menu worked a little differently than other restaurants’ did. (And apparently it’s available year round from Monday to Saturday!) You get your choice of two plates and a dessert, and those two plates can be any combination of appetizers and entrees. The greedy person that I am, I chose two entrees as my main plates – the sauteed red snapper with caramelized cauliflower, poppyseed-buttermilk vinaigrette and the slowly cooked salmon with potato puree, julienne vegetables and basil vinaigrette.

For dessert, I chose the citrus semifreddo with almond sponge, crunchy meringue. For a few minutes, we were tempted to each order completely different dishes each so we could sample everything on the menu.

As per tradition, Carson ordered different dishes so we could optimize the variety - tuna tartare with avocado, spicy radish, ginger marinade and steamed skate with roasted pumpkin seeds, spaghetti squash, soy-yuzu broth, and Jean George’s warm chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream for dessert. Between the two of us, we had the fish covered.

The waiters were attentive without being too overbearing and took the time to explain each dish as our food was placed in front of us. My salmon came out first, and yummyyy! I order salmon a lot at restaurants when I’m trying to cut down on the red meat and carbs, and salmon medium rare is definitely the way to go. The pieces of fish were juicy and tender and paired well with the potato puree that it rested on. I was unprepared for the sour taste of the green basil vinaigrette, but the fish and potato helped neutralize the sauce. However, I wasn’t as happy with my second entree, the red snapper. The actual fish was fine, but the poppyseed-buttermilk vinaigrette reminded me of spicy mustard, something I did not want my fish floating around in. The only impressive part about the dish was the scaly skin appearance of the red snapper. The citrus semifreddo was tart yet refreshing, with a hint of sweetness from the almond sponge.

As for the boyfriend’s meal, “The tangy ginger marinade, the crunch of the sliced radishes, and the richness of the avocado accentuated the taste of the tuna tartare and made for a perfect start to the meal.”

Our experience at Nougatine was an overall positive experience, and I was completely stuffed halfway through my second entree (and I can eat A LOT). Recommended restaurant! Good value, especially for a more casual Jean George restaurant.

Nougatine
1 Central Park W
New York, NY 10023