Little Scarlet

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard”

2011-01-16T18:33:00.002-05:00

To all my readers,
Eighteen months ago, almost to the day, I started a food blog. Little Scarlet began for me as a hobby, and like the best hobbies it became delightfully all-consuming. I mean, what better way to spend the day than by reading and writing about great food? I guess you could eat all of that great food - and most days, I’ve been lucky enough to do just that. I’ve always been an adventurous eater, and running Little Scarlet gave me the extra motivation to seek out foods, flavors, and experiences I’d always wanted to try. And with some extra time on my hands, I’ve been able to share my stories with all of you!

But at the end of the day, I do have a day job – and finally, after years of hard work at that day job, I caught a break!

Goodbye assistant, hello associate! Goodbye days of busy work and paper shuffling, hello responsibility! Wonderful news all around… except for Little Scarlet.

To my steady readers out there, I’m sure it’s been obvious that my posting has tapered off a bit over the last few months. I tried to hop back in the saddle in December, but things at work and at home have been just too hectic for me to give Little Scarlet the time and attention it deserves. So instead of consistently falling short of my good intentions and lofty aspirations – not to mention making you all wonder why I fell off the face of the Earth and if I’m ever coming back – I think I’d best make it official: Little Scarlet is going on hiatus for a while.

I’ll still be checking Little Scarlet’s e-mail, so please keep sending me your thoughts and questions. I’ll also be more active on Twitter (hey, weekly posts may be too much for now, but I can handle 140 characters!!), so you can keep up with me there - @Little_Scarlet - to keep tabs on interesting articles, great meals, NYC food events, and national foodie trends.

You’ve all helped make the last year-and-a-half incredibly exciting and memorable. I can’t wait to write for you all again one day!

All the best,
Portia (aka “Little Scarlet”)

Cookbook Giveaway Winner!!

2010-12-14T12:35:00.018-05:00

I have to tell you, I really loved reading the Comments that came in from this giveaway. So many wonderful traditions, I think I may have to steal a few for my own Christmas celebration!

But there can only be one winner and the results are in! A big thank you to everyone who entered, thank you so much for reading (and staying with me, even when posts become less frequent…) - the winner of Little Scarlet’s second giveaway is:

“Megdh”, you’ve won this copy of Bon Appétit Desserts and a one-year subscription to Bon Appétit! Please send me an e-mail at littlescarlet (dot) blog (at) gmail (dot) com with your shipping information so I can mail it to you. And if it’s not a secret, I’d love that recipe for your mother’s Russian tea cakes!

Thanks again to everyone who commented – have a very happy holiday and a wonderful New Year!

Bon Appétit Giveaway!!

2010-12-08T20:37:00.012-05:00

If there’s one thing that all December holidays have in common, it’s that people can’t get enough desserts. Between bake sales and Bûche de Noël, figgy pudding and sugar plums, December’s full of reasons to indulge in your favorite sweets. And to get everyone ready for the holiday season, Little Scarlet is having its second giveaway!

Bon Appétit has compiled the very best of over 50 years worth of dessert recipes in their new book, Bon Appétit Desserts: The Cookbook for All Things Sweet and Wonderful.

With over 600 recipes, this master tome has something for every taste and every skill level. And to make things even easier, each recipe is graded on a “whisk” scale of difficulty, so you know right away if the recipe you’re looking at is easy (one whisk) or a pull-out-all-the-stops-spend-the-day-in-the-kitchen kind of recipe (four whisks).

Full of beautiful pictures and helpful hints, this book runs the gamut from cakes to pies, cookies to soufflés, ice cream to candy.

If you want to make chocolate chip cookies or vanilla cupcakes, it’s there.

Baklava cheesecake or Zabaglione Tart with Marsala-Lemon sauce? That’s in there too.

And the chapter on bar cookies & brownies means you’ll probably never need to consult another cookbook for any bake sale ever again. And even if you don’t bake that often, this book is so comprehensive, it’s really the ultimate reference guide for that one day a year when inspiration strikes and you just need to make your own ice cream – from scratch. (Did I mention there’s a whole chapter on ice cream & sorbet?)

And if you don’t bake at all? Well, it’s also perfect for prettying up the coffee table!

So now that I’ve got your attention, I’m going to sweeten the pot a little (oh yes, pun most definitely intended!) – as extra incentive to keep reading and ignore my total delinquency from time to time, the winner of this Cookbook Giveaway will also receive… a one-year subscription to Bon Appétit!!

Here’s how to enter:

The contest will run through the weekend, ending at midnight on Sunday, December 12 (open to the 48 contiguous United States). So between now and Sunday, here are the different ways you can enter!

Leave a Comment on this post about your favorite holiday tradition, memory, food, most epic holiday disaster… anything you want!

And for extra chances to win, try these *one-time bonus entries* for a higher chance of winning:

Follow @Little_Scarlet on Twitter. Come back and leave a new Comment on this post saying that you’ve done so.
Become a fan of Little Scarlet on Facebook. Come back and leave another new Comment on this post saying that you’ve done so.
Follow Little Scarlet’s RSS feeds in Google Reader, or the RSS feed site of your choosing. And then just come back to this post and leave a new Comment saying you’ve done so.
“Buzz” this post (and Little Scarlet!) on Foodbuzz, by clicking here or here (and then click the “buzz it!”/“buzz'em” icon). And leave another Comment about it!

And if you just need to have this book and aren’t about to let a free subscription slip away from you, give yourself even better odds of winning with a *once-daily bonus entry*:

Leave another holiday-themed Comment on this post
Re-Tweet this post and Comment here with the link to that Twitter status (limit 1 eligible RT daily). To make it easy, you can either RT from our initial tweet (here) – or you can just copy and paste this: “@Little_Scarlet Bon Appetit giveaway! visit http://bit.ly/gyaulL to win the bon appetit desserts cookbook and a one-year subscription!”

Again, the contest will close at 11:59 pm, Sunday, December 12. The winner will be chosen at random by Random.org, and will be announced at noon on Tuesday, December 14. *Note: The winner will have to contact me by e-mail with their info by 10 pm Wednesday, December 15 in order to claim their prize (littlescarlet (dot) blog (at) gmail (dot) com) – otherwise, a new winner will be selected.

Good luck, everyone!!!

Poll of the Week - 11.29.2010

2010-11-29T01:03:00.000-05:00

Well it’s been another unexpected break since I last posted, and I owe you guys tons of posts and then some. I’m getting my act together, though, and in the meantime – here’s a new “Poll of the Week”!

Between getting ready for Thanksgiving and getting ready for the Christmas season, I’ve spent a lot of time in the grocery store this past week. I love walking through grocery stores, looking at all of the fresh produce and soaking up holiday cheer. But the best days of all are when you stumble across Free Sample Day! I love when this happens, the whole store becomes one giant string of “free sample” serving stations - and it’s always on a day when I’m starving. It doesn’t get much better than showing up hungry to a store full of food and getting to graze your way through for free – especially in the days leading up to big food holidays, like Thanksgiving!

For this week’s “Poll of the Week”, Little Scarlet wants to know, when you’re lucky enough to show up on Free Sample Day, what’s your favorite kind of sample?

San Diego...

2010-11-15T03:58:00.000-05:00

I’m still in San Diego, still working the neuroscience circuit. I’ve missed you all, but don’t worry - Little Scarlet will return on November 22, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday!

See you all in a week!

Poll of the Week - 11.01.2010

2010-11-01T06:50:00.001-04:00

I was picking up some last minute Halloween candy at CVS this weekend and couldn’t find any candy corn. I was scouring the shelves looking for this all-important staple, when I found myself face-to-face with a bag of red-and-green peanut M&Ms. I took another look, and sure enough – the rest of the candy aisle was all Christmas candy!! Now, I love Christmas more than any sane people should (it’s a family trait), but I very firmly believe that no store should stock Halloween and Christmas goodies at the same time.

And so I stood there with witches and jack o’lanterns to my left and snow angels and Christmas trees to my right, when I realized I was standing right where Thanksgiving is (sandwiched in between two highly over-commercialized holidays). And then it hit me – Thanksgiving’s only a few weeks away!!

Always the last Thursday of November, Thanksgiving comes a little earlier some years than it does others. This year, people all over the country will sit down to offer thanks on *November 25*. Thanks for friends, thanks for family, thanks for hearth and home – and thanks for food. After all, we can’t survive without it!

But for most of those people, giving thanks for food goes far beyond merely appreciating sustenance – we give thanks for stuffing and pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and green bean casserole, turkey and wine. And we thank the people who took the time and the care to arrange such wonderful menus to enjoy with their families.

So this week’s “Poll of the Week” asks, have you started planning your Thanksgiving menu yet?

Pulino’s – Bowery & Houston Sts

2010-10-31T13:50:00.000-04:00

Pulino’s
$$
***
212.226.1966
282 Bowery
http://www.pulinosny.com/

There’s a Domino’s franchise in Ohio that is trying to break into a part of the fast-food world previously dominated by Egg McMuffins and Dunkin’ Donuts. That’s right, Domino’s is introducing a new breakfast item – breakfast pizza.

I think most people hear breakfast pizza and have a knee-jerk reaction of “ew”, and maybe that’s fair if you’re trusting Domino’s to deliver it to you – and especially if you expect it to show up looking like this:

But here in New York, we have Pulino’s!

Their breakfast pizzas are a thin, chewy crust that bubbles up around sweet or savory toppings, getting just the right amount of char on the pillowy outer crust. Try the Funghi, with mushrooms, pancetta, mascarpone, and grana, or the Salsiccia, with sausage, bacon, mozzarella, and white cheddar – both have whole eggs baked on top of the pizza, those just-slightly runny yolks making these cheese-laden pies taste even richer.

The Funghi

Or if you’re in the mood for something a little bit sweeter, try the Frutta with roasted pears, apples, cinnamon, and pecorino. Or there’s the Nutella, covered in (what else!) sweet, hazelnutty Nutella. But you really can’t miss with any of the choices here, so gather up some friends and order lots of different ones! All pies come as a small or a large, although a small is plenty for one.

If that Domino’s in Ohio helps get people to like breakfast pizzas, then I say job well done – and thanks, but no thanks. We’ve got plenty of great breakfast pizza right here in New York.

Poll of the Week - 10.25.2010

2010-10-25T07:03:00.005-04:00

Happy Halloween!!

I’ll give you all a break from hearing about Oregon for the time being (although it was amazing - look out later this week for coverage!), and move on to one of my favorite things about fall: Halloween! Here’s a little something to help get you all in the mood…

Now that you’re all excited for this Sunday’s spookiness, it’s time for the “Poll of the Week”!

Halloween is this Sunday, so now is the time to carve those pumpkins and stock up on candy for trick-or-treaters. But in case you’ve overdone it on candy leading up to Halloween (hey, it happens to the best of us), there are a lot of ways to celebrate Halloween that don’t come dipped in chocolate. Here are some ideas from Little Scarlet for ways to celebrate Halloween ~~without~~ in addition to candy – which is your favorite?

Poll of the Week - 10.18.2010

2010-10-18T13:37:00.000-04:00

Still in Oregon and having a wonderful time! We arrived in Portland last week, drove down the coast, and are now in the wine country on our way to the Columbia River Gorge.

Leading up to this trip, all I kept hearing about was how amazing the food is in Oregon, and you know what? They’re absolutely right! Here are some of the food experiences Little Scarlet’s had so far – which one sounds best to you?

That’s it for posts this week, check back again next Monday for another poll and a quick culinary recap of our tour through Oregon!

Poll of the Week - 10.11.2010

2010-10-12T07:27:00.000-04:00

It’s that time of year again! I haven’t been on vacation in almost a year, but the stars have finally aligned and it’s time for a much needed break. But where am I going? Here’s a hint for you…

Still can’t guess? How about now?

Well, in case you didn’t recognize that beautiful coastline or Mount Hood, Little Scarlet’s off to Oregon!

Oregon’s a food lover’s dream destination with so many wonderful foods, cheeses, and wines grown right in the state. For the next week, I’ll be cruising along the coast, touring the wineries of Willamette Valley, and spending some time relaxing in the mountains. If you have any recommendations, send them my way!

Check back for Little Scarlet’s favorite places when I come back, and until then, here’s the Poll of the Week! Oregon is well known for a wide variety of local foods – which of the following is your favorite?

Mystic, CT - Chowderfest!

2010-10-11T12:52:00.001-04:00

Happy Columbus Day!!

Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT is kind of like the Colonial Williamsburg of New England.

Re-enactment of using a snazzy boatswain’s chair to come down from the top of a ship’s mast. Hey-o!

Costumed interpreters wander around 1876 discussing town gossip, threats of a yellow fever outbreak, and that year’s oyster harvest. If you’re a history junkie, this place is like mother’s milk! But if really old buildings outfitted with historically accurate furniture and people in funny outfits and even weirder accents don’t really do it for you, there’s always the chowder.

Lobster chowder

Every Columbus Day Weekend, Mystic Seaport hosts its annual Chowderfest. With 7 different kinds of chowder, brisket sandwiches, bratwurst, stuffed Quahogs, apple fritters… it’s the perfect way to spend a relaxing day on the water. 2010’s Chowderfest ends today, but if you’re in the Mystic area, head over to the Seaport and get a bowl of the Clam & Corn Chowder, a pumpkin ale, and some apple fritters!

Three of the seven chowders, clockwise from center: blue crab apple chowder, lobster chowder, clam & corn chowder

Apple fritters!!
With the dark porter and the pumpkin ale, this is like the perfect snapshot of autumn and Halloween all in one!

Poll of the Week - 10.04.2010

2010-10-04T11:00:00.000-04:00

Oktoberfest came to a close this past weekend, and if you’re unwilling to let go of that celebratory brand of German rowdiness, there’s nothing wrong with that. Just gather up a group of friends, grill up some wurst (Little Scarlet’s partial to knackwurst, bratwurst, & weisswurst), and toss it all back with a few pints of beer!

How did you celebrate Oktoberfest this year? This week’s “Poll of the Week” asks what’s your favorite part of this annual Bavarian blowout?

2010 Vendy Award Winners!

2010-09-29T00:58:00.003-04:00

The 2010 Vendy Awards were this weekend, and Little Scarlet was lucky enough to get in for free – as a volunteer, of course. People in-the-know think of the Vendys as one of New York’s great foodie events, where the best street vendors of the city converge on one location for an all day extravaganza of international foods and inventive desserts. But what a lot of people aren’t aware of is that the Vendy Awards are a fundraiser for New York’s nonprofit, Urban Justice Center – more specifically, proceeds benefit Urban Justice’s Street Vendor Project, which helps fight for the rights of over 10,000 food, flower, book, and merchandise vendors that have staked their claim on small pieces of New York’s sidewalks. It’s a great cause, and this year’s Vendy Awards raised over $100,000!

I was working the afternoon shift at the merchandise table (“T-shirt? Apron? Get your Vendys gear!”), so I had all morning to wander around this part of Governors Island, sampling everything. The official winners were picked by a panel of judges including Food Network stars, local restaurateurs, and Epicurious’s own Tanya Steel. Maybe one day we’ll be listed in that line-up! (hint hint…)

Anyway, click “Read More” for the winners – and some of Little Scarlet’s favorites of the day!

Desserts
Winner: Kelvin Slush!

It was pretty hot on Saturday with not very much breeze and a lot of waiting around in the sun, so it’s no surprise that Kelvin Slush took first place, with their grown-up version of this childhood favorite treat. This is no 7-11 Slurpee, though – we’re talking three different swirling slushie flavors and 11 different mix-ins. With flavor combinations like ginger slush with white peach, half-citrus – half-tea with strawberries, and half-ginger – half-citrus with freshly chopped mint… if only there were a Kelvin Slush on every corner! Although really, that’s the beauty of a slushie truck – it could be on any corner! 7-11 better watch their back…

I’m not really one for desserts, but I was really impressed by every truck in this category:

Even though it felt like a million degrees outside, I still loved eating Dessert Truck’s warm bread pudding – one of the many upscale treats they normally offer!

The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck has done some pretty impressive things to plain, ol’ vanilla soft serve, covering it in wasabi peas or rolling it in dulce de leche and crushed nilla wafers, or topping it off with a big pile of curry-toasted coconut flakes.

Guerrilla Ice Cream may be carrying a hefty political message, but their “Velvet Revolution” was all the best elements of lemon poppy-seed bread, ice cream, and cookies, rolled up in one!

Rookie Vendor of the Year
Winner: Souvlaki GR!

This would have been our choice too, hands down! It’s not just that the two guys and girl running this truck are incredibly personable and passionate, or the incredible story of how they got together. And it’s not just that they had Greek music on softly in the background, or that they set out baskets of olives, feta, stuffed grape leaves, and pepperoncini for people to nibble on while waiting for their food… okay, well maybe that helped! But the souvlaki here was killer. Sometimes there’s too much bread or the meat’s too dry, but this was just the right balance of warm pita, tzatziki, cleanly grilled pork – they even slipped a few French fries inside, just like my favorite street guy does!

But I have to tip my cap also to Cinnamon Snail.

It can’t be easy to have great success as a vegetarian street vendor, let alone as a vegan street vendor like these guys! It definitely tasted better than what I was expecting and had really fresh flavors. But there’s just something about the texture of vegetarian proteins that attempt to replicate actual meat (tempeh, tofu, seitan – I’m looking at you!). They all seem to fall so spectacularly short of the goal. But if you’re a vegan living in Hoboken (or Brooklyn) and you’re hungry, you could do a lot worse in an actual restaurant, so definitely seek out Cinnamon Snail and eat well!

People’s Taste Awards and Vendy Cup Winner
Winner: The King of Falafel & Shawarma, Fares “Freddy” Zeidais!!

Each truck competing for People’s Taste and the Vendy Cup had their highlights – Bistro Truck’s lamb tajine was really impressive, as was just about everything from Schnitzel & Things (schnitz burger lollipops? yes please!), and Patacon Pisao’s namesake sandwich is good enough to make me trek up to Washington Heights for seconds. This was definitely a tough decision, but The King of Falafel… well, they don’t call him “The King” for nothing!

Some lucky Philadelphia trucks were invited to attend this year’s Vendy Awards, and The King of Falafel is lucky they weren’t eligible for any awards – Denise’s Soul Food would have easily clinched this one!

Their spicy jerk chicken with red beans and rice, sautéed cabbage, and macaroni and cheese was one of the best things I ate all day. But like I said, they weren’t eligible to compete since they’re not a New York vendor, so you’ll have to haul out to Philly to see for yourself!

Congratulations to all vendors who were nominated – hope to see you all again next year!

Poll of the Week - 9.27.2010

2010-09-27T09:57:00.001-04:00

The Vendys happened this weekend, and it was the perfect day for it. Warm and sunny, everyone in high spirits, great music, and food – such amazing food from all the vendors! Our coverage will be going up in the next day or so, but to get everyone in the mood, here’s the “Poll of the Week”!

Street vendors are an integral part of any true city’s landscape, and New York’s vendors have really stepped up their game from the fleets of carts hawking dirty-water dogs and rock-hard pretzels to tourists. This week’s “Poll of the Week” asks which of the following foods would you be most excited to get from a street vendor?

Le Grand Fooding, Craft Beer Week, Vendys, and more!

2010-09-23T21:54:00.009-04:00

Earlier this week, Little Scarlet told you about some of the events going on in the city this weekend. But it turns out there’s a lot more than previously reported! Check out this day-by-day breakdown for when to be where.

Friday, September 24

So there isn’t really too much happening exclusively on Friday, but this Friday marks the beginning of two very exciting food events: Le Grand Fooding and NY Craft Beer Week!

Le Grand Fooding

Oh yes, San Francisco’s best come to New York in an epic, gastronomic throw-down! It’s Alice Waters’ organic, locally grown, idealist school of thought vs. the foul-mouthed, rock 'n' roll hedonism of Nate Appleman and David Chang. Hmm, which one sounds like more fun? Okay, so maybe we’re a little biased, but hey! this is a New York blog, right? Right. And don’t think the west coast has cornered the market on local food, we’ve got Dan Barber!

Either way, one thing’s for sure - no matter which coast you think is better, a ticket to Le Grand Fooding ($50, legrandfooding.com) promises a night of food from some of the most celebrated chefs in the country, with drinks courtesy of Veuve Clicquot and Belvedere, and wines from the Rhône Valley. Plus, it’s for a good cause, with proceeds from all ticket sales going to benefit Action Against Hunger. Tickets can be bought for either Friday or Saturday night, and a small number of tickets will be held available for walk-ins.

NY Craft Beer Week

Over the last couple of years, people have come to appreciate beer with a passion (and hint of snobbery) that was previously reserved for wine and very fine scotch. If you’re a die-hard brewing enthusiast, you probably know what all of the fuss surrounding craft beers is about. But if you’re the sort to cling to your Pinot Grigo and wonder why people bother with beer in the first place, NY Craft Beer Week will change your life! From September 24-October 3, there’s an event scheduled for practically every hour of the day, with parties, cask ale festivals, and special paired dinner menus at restaurants like Eleven Madison Park, Craftbar, and Blue Smoke.

Craft Beer Week Passport, with snacks from Jimmy’s No. 43 - just a sample of what to expect during Craft beer Week!
Beer-braised beef with arugula and horseradish-crème fraiche on brioche - now that’s a bar snack Little Scarlet could get used to!

To really maximize the festival, pick up a Passport for yourself ($10, nycbeerweek.com/passports or at any of the venues listed here). A Passport entitles you to $3 beers at all of the venues listed, from generic basement bars to beer bars even Garrett Oliver would frequent.

A lot of the venues are offering special year-round discounts and promotions, but why wait? Check out our coverage from last year, and then get out there this week and sample the best of what this great city has to offer!

Saturday, September 25

Stone Street Oyster Festival, and Oyster Frenzy
Saturday brings two oyster festivals to New York - one at Ulysses’ down on Stone Street, and one at the Grand Central Oyster Bar. Both are in beautiful, historic locations, and both will have great tastings and live music. But Grand Central’s Oyster Frenzy will have a shucking and eating competition - and Little Scarlet loves anything competitive!

Sunday, September 26

NYC Apple Day Festival

The name here says it all. Stop by Orchard Street, between Broome and Grand (11 am-5 pm), for apple muffins, apple cider, and bushels of the original forbidden fruit! And just for kicks, here are some bits of New York, apple-related trivia:

Apple Factoid #1: Back in the 1700s, this stretch of the Lower East Side was owned by an apple farmer named DeLancey, giving rise to Orchard Street and Delancey Street.

Apple Factoid #2: Ever wonder why Broadway curves at 10th Street? In 1815, city planners agreed to bend the road here so that it would preserve the apple orchards of Henry Brevoort and other farmers.

NYC Dumpling Festival, Sept 25

2010-09-22T19:51:00.002-04:00

Life is full of tough choices – vanilla or chocolate, scrambled or over-easy, pumpernickel or rye… And this weekend, you’ll be faced with yet another tough choice: gyoza or mandoo?

Try dumplings from all over the world this Saturday at the NYC Dumpling Festival. From 12-5 in Sara D. Roosevelt Park (right across from the Bowery Whole Foods), get your fill of pierogi, gnocchi, bao, and more! Dumplings are sold in exchange for tickets, which are purchased from one central, ticket-selling location – tickets are $20, and each ticket is worth four dumpling servings from any booth.

And if you’re more of a sprinter-style eater than a marathon-paced grazer, enter the 7th Annual Dumpling Eating Contest! Can you beat last year’s record of 66 dumplings in 2 minutes?

Whether you enter the Eating Contest or just show up to enjoy the party, remember that these dumplings sell out fast, so make sure you get there early!

New Amsterdam Market is Back!

2010-09-20T23:48:00.001-04:00

September 12 marked the return of the New Amsterdam Market and foodies all across New York rejoiced! This open-air market supports small business that promote local foods, and brings some of the old-fashioned peddler glamour to the cobblestone streets of the Fulton Fish Market and South Street Seaport.

Here’s a sampling of what to expect at the New Amsterdam Market, happening every Sunday, 11 am-4 pm, through December 19 (except for November 28).

Heirloom tomatoes

Peaches are still great, get 'em quick!

Is there really anything better than freshly baked bread? Well... maybe free samples!

So many different kinds of cheese at the Market!

All kinds of pasta doughs and shapes

Peppers!

New Amsterdam Market is full of apples - Macintosh, Gala, Cortland, there’s something for every taste!

Jersey corn and honeydew melon

Spicy habaneros!

Radishes, leeks, carrots - oh my!

Wonderful ice creams from The Bent Spoon, as usual! Recent samplings included chocolate-rosemary ice cream, nectarine sorbet, and beet-basil ice cream (pictured, above)

Spices and tea blends! Stock up on spices like cumin, lavender, ground coriander, and exotic tea blends like Hibiscus Blood Orange, White Tea Raspberry Grapefruit, and Marrakech Mint.

Poll of the Week - 9.20.2010

2010-09-19T09:31:00.000-04:00

The New Amsterdam Market is back this fall (post to come soon, get excited!) and tucked in among the carrots, turnips, shallots, and apples are the season’s first pumpkins! There’s something so quintessentially autumnal about pumpkins, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Thanksgiving table or Halloween haunted house unadorned by an assortment of these golden-hued squashes.

Being surrounded by these bright orange orbs has made me what to pillage every farmers market and grocery store in Manhattan and make as many pumpkin dishes as possible. Pumpkin pie? Oh yes. Pumpkin soup with cider cream? How much more autumn could you cram in a bowl? Pumpkin enchiladas? Well, I’ve never made them before, but I’m feeling inspired!

If you’re more of a traditionalist, though, pumpkins are such a versatile vegetable that there’s really no shortage of great ideas. This week’s “Poll of the Week” wants to know what’s your favorite way to eat pumpkin?

Celebrate Oktoberfest on the Hudson

2010-09-16T12:15:00.002-04:00

With the great German beer gardens in Queens and the East Village, it’s easy to have an “Oktoberfest” celebration any time of year, but this weekend you can go to a real (& seasonally appropriate) Oktoberfest bash!

With summer’s balmy temperatures a not-too-distant memory, it’s amazing that we’re far enough into September to celebrate Oktoberfest, but here we are and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it! (Long-time readers know how much I hate the heat...) To celebrate, New York’s first annual Oktoberfest on the Hudson is happening this Saturday, September 18 on Pier 81 from noon-4h30.

Celebrate Oktoberfest with German classics like giant pretzels and a variety of bratwurst, plus a German folk band - “with dancers”! - and all the lederhosen you can ogle. And if all that dancing and salty deliciousness makes you thirsty, help yourself to some of Germany’s excellent beers. Admission is $10 (food and drink not included), and a $15 admission ticket also includes a Hudson River cruise from 2-3.

New York’s First Annual Oktoberfest on the Hudson: September 18, noon-4h30 pm, Pier 81, W 41st Street & the Hudson River. $10 ($15, including cruise), buy tickets online here.

Don't call it a comeback...

2010-09-13T08:45:00.012-04:00

So far, September has not been the best month for Little Scarlet - I know I’ve been pretty MIA, but my computer broke down earlier this month, making it a tad difficult to keep up here. On top of that, it is taking forrrevverr for my new parts to arrive. So, I’m sneaking in a few minutes here just before work starts to let everyone know that this flakiness is only temporary! I promise! My new laptop pieces will be arriving this week, but in the meantime...

September 22 is still a couple of days away, but it feels like fall’s finally here!

The New Amsterdam Market is back on a weekly basis again (yay!), temperatures are down in the 70s (thank goodness!), and for those of you who track the seasons by Starbucks’ specialty drinks, the Pumpkin Spice Latte is back!

It’s an exciting time of year with a lot of great events on the horizon, and Little Scarlet’s going to be here to keep you all in the know!

For real.

Poll of the Week - 8.30.2010

2010-08-31T17:30:00.000-04:00

Little Scarlet’s in Montréal! Home to hockey, Mounties, and Celine Dion, I’m in Canada on a business trip, which is very exciting – but unfortunately, I’m having a hard time finding internet access. This means that I’m going to have to keep this “Poll of the Week” short and sweet, and that you’ll be hearing a lot from me once I come back next week!

Now, most of you probably don’t know this, but along with a habit of saying “tom-ah-to”, Little Scarlet inherited Canadian citizenship – and proud of it! So as I return to the not-exactly-motherland, this week’s “Poll of the Week” is staying on topic with a Canada-themed question: when you think of Canada, what’s the first food (or food product) that comes to mind?

Poll of the Week - 8.30.2010

2010-08-30T07:40:00.002-04:00

Poll of the week will go up this afternoon - check back soon!

Free Van Leeuwen Ice Cream - today only

2010-08-26T13:54:00.001-04:00

Today only, members of Gilt City (NYC discount website) are entitled to a free ice cream cone from any Van Leeuwen ice cream truck! Signing up for Gilt City is easy and free, plus they’ll send you discounts to cool stuff in the city. You can follow them on Twitter (@GiltCityNYC) - or better yet, follow Van Leeuwen on Twitter (@VLAIC) - to find an ice cream truck location near you.

With flavors like Earl Grey, hazelnut, red currant, and ginger (alongside the obligatory chocolate-vanilla-strawberry), this is one free scoop you won’t want to miss out on!

Sorry, Ben & Jerry’s – your Free Cone Day is great and all, but this girl’s heart belongs to Van Leeuwen.

Epicurious Entertains NYC: Sept 29-Oct 3

2010-08-25T15:19:00.005-04:00

Great news! The “Epicurious Entertains NYC” event is back!

What’s that? You didn’t go last year? Well, to fill you in, Epicurious Entertains NYC is a week-long event starting September 29, with cooking demonstrations, tastings, and celebrity chef dinners with the likes of Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich, Madhur Jaffrey, and Karen DeMasco. And to make this event even more enticing, this food spectacular moves out of the sterility of the convention center and into the glamour of “The SoHo Mansion” (aka, some lucky person’s private residence) in downtown Manhattan.

Daytime events include lunches with samplings from Porchetta, neighboring La Esquina, and Brooklyn’s darling Pies ‘n’ Thighs. And if you’re a fan of “Cooking with Dexter”, you’ll love the “Cooking with Kids” class on Saturday. Or you can take some time off and revel in the excitement of football season with a spread prepared by Hill Country’s Elizabeth Karmel – that’s right, barbecue!

If you’re more of a night owl, though, perhaps you’d enjoy a dinner lovingly prepared by that Italian grandmother you always wished you had, Lidia Bastianich? Or maybe you’d like to stay on the cutting edge of New York’s dining scene by getting a sneak peek at menu items from Marcus Samuelsson’s new restaurant, Red Rooster?

But tickets to this exclusive food event go fast (last year, they sold out in 48 hours), so now’s the time to jump on this if you want to go. Ticket prices range from $35-$150, and can be bought at ovationtix.com.

Epicurious Entertains NYC: “The SoHo Mansion”, 214 Lafayette St (@ Kenmare St).
http://www.epicurious.com/community/events/epicuriousentertainsnyc

Ice Cream and Beer Pairing at Jimmy’s No 43!

2010-08-24T13:42:00.001-04:00

Had enough of tired wine-and-cheese parties? Stop by Jimmy’s No. 43 tomorrow, August 25, for the annual August Ice Cream, Sorbet, and Beer Pairing! The pair behind NYC Degustation Advisory Team, Chris Cuzme and Mary Izett, will lead you through six pairings of craft beers and local ice creams and sorbets. Selections vary from year to year, but past tastings have included Hefeweizen and raspberry sorbet, Reissdorf Kölsch and cucumber-jalepeno sorbet, and a root-beer float-inspired oatmeal stout with vanilla ice cream.

Tickets are $35 and tasting sessions are either from 6h30-7h45 or 8h15-9h30. Buy your tickets online at brownpapertickets.com!

August Ice Cream, Sorbet, and Beer Pairing: Jimmy’s No. 43, 43 E 7th St (b/w 2nd & 3rd Aves), 212.982.3006. $35, buy tickets here.

Poll of the Week - 8.22.2010

2010-08-23T08:01:00.014-04:00

Labor Day is coming up before you know it, with only two weekends left to escape to the beach or your backyard before summer ends and you’re in back-to-school mode. Even though “summer work hours” will end in the next week or so, there’s still a few more weeks of summer before fall technically arrives on September 22.

This week’s “Poll of the Week” wants to know, of all of summer’s wonderful foods, what do you feel you still haven’t had enough of?

Poll of the Week - 8.16.2010

2010-08-16T10:20:00.018-04:00

As long as people have been making and eating meals, they’ve been enjoying what comes after: desserts. Always a popular menu item, desserts in New York have been elevated above the main course through the advent of Serendipity’s frozen hot chocolate, Magnolia’s cupcakes, and Momofuku Milk Bar’s “crack pie” and “compost cookie”. In a world where dessert and pastry chefs like Pichet Ong (The Sweet Spot), Karen DeMasco (Locanda Verde), Christina Tosi (Momofuku Milk Bar), and Jacques Torres (Jacques Torres Chocolate Haven) are household names, desserts are no longer relegated to the back of the display counter!

Whether you’re obsessed with Pinkberry’s frozen yoghurt, have had heated debates about where the best cupcakes come from (Butter Lane, all the way!), or can recite Jerry Seinfeld’s ode to the black & white, New York’s desserts are well ingrained in America’s sweet-tooth. This week’s “Poll of the Week” wants to know, what’s your favorite New York dessert?

2010 Vendy Award Nominees Are Up!

2010-08-12T10:30:00.003-04:00

2010’s Vendy Award nominees have been announced! In case you’ve been living under a rock, you know that New York is literally crawling with street food vendors, selling everything from ubiquitous halal meat and ice cream to more upscale and off-beat treats like lobster rolls and schnitzel. True, New York City doesn’t have anyone competing in Food Network’s “Great Food Truck Race” (equal parts food competition and “Amazing Race”?), but that’s alright: we’ve got the Vendys!

And what’s the point of the Vendys, you ask? Well, it’s the ultimate street food showcase and a great way to show thanks and respect to the sidewalk chefs who have you covered from morning coffee to mid-day falafel fix to late-night dessert cravings. Mario Batali has called it “the Oscars of food for the real New York”, and one lucky cart will take home the coveted “Best Street Food Vendor” award.

The Awards are presented during a big street fair-type event on Governor’s Island on September 25, from 12-5. Tickets aren’t exactly cheap (general admission starts at $85), but part of the ticket price gets donated to benefit the Street Vendor Project (and is tax-deductible) and the rest of it goes toward an open bar (wine, beer, and soda) and all-you-can-eat fare from the five finalists. Tickets sell out really fast, so jump on this immediately – and show up hungry!

Click here to learn more about this year’s five finalists:

Bistro Truck, serving along 5th Ave between 16th and 17th Street (Moroccan-Mediterranean Bistro)
El Rey de Sabor, serving at 49th and Park Ave, 60th and 3rd Ave, and 43rd and 6th Ave (Puebla-style Mexican)
King of Falafel and Shawarma, serving the outer borough of Queens at 30th St and Broadway, Astoria (Middle Eastern)
Patacon Pisao, serving along 202nd between 9th and 10th Aves (Typical Venezuelan street food)
Schnitzel & Things, serving all over Manhattan – check their Twitter feed for current location @schnitzeltruck (Austrian cuisine with a new American twist)

6th Annual Vendy Awards: Governors Island, 12pm-5pm, buy tickets here. Governors Island ferry is free (schedule and directions).

Some thoughts on Restaurant Week (ends Sept 6)

2010-08-11T23:57:00.001-04:00

Restaurant Week in New York has been extended through Labor Day (September 6), which has a lot of people excited. And for good reason, right? I mean, when else can you eat a meal for under $35 at such wonderful restaurants as Les Halles, Café Boulud, Le Cirque, and Nobu? Prix fixe menus at $24.07 for lunch and $35 for dinner are pretty great deals in this town – but you get what you pay for.

Restaurant Week can be a great way to visit restaurants beyond your neighborhood, comfort zone, and price range. But far too frequently, a Restaurant Week meal can turn into a real disappointment. Maybe the restaurant’s signature dish isn’t included in the Restaurant Week Menu. Or the portions are noticeably smaller than they ought to be, or the food comes out luke-warm – or even worse, it tastes like it took a trip through the microwave. All too often, Restaurant Week yields meals that are sub-par for the restaurant, with the house’s attention and kitchen’s efforts focused more on regular diners and à la carte menu items.

Obviously, this isn’t the case everywhere and Restaurant Week does have its perks. But if you’re worried about getting fleeced, a little research can help you take advantage of Restaurant Week prices without rolling the dice on your meal. Over the last two years, the restaurant industry has been hit hard, and many restaurants developed “recession specials” just to survive. Fortunately for New York’s hungry diners, not only did a lot of these restaurants survive, but their specials did too. Some of these specials are still in their original form, while others have been reincarnated into new bar menus, weekly one-night specials, and secret-code arrangements with organizations like BlackboardEats.com and Tasting Table.

With just over three weeks left in Restaurant Week (yes, that sounds silly), go ahead – make that reservation, visit that restaurant you’ve been eying. But remember, if you look in the right places, New York’s “restaurant week” never really ends. Just make sure you keep seeking out those new places and foods!

Poll of the Week - 8.09.2010

2010-08-09T14:35:00.000-04:00

It’s kind of a sorry statement when the temperature dips down to the upper-80s and you’re like yes, it feels so cool outside! But that’s what happened in New York this weekend, and us city dwellers who weren’t able to escape to the beach or a suburban friend’s pool flocked to the shady parts of Central Park to enjoy those beautiful, sunny days.

Between the guitar-strummers, proud new parents, radical exercisers, and croquet players, there’s a lot of great people-watching to do there. But long hours outside in the sun can make you pretty hungry, and no one wants to give up that perfectly chosen plot of grass… so naturally, the only way to keep your spot and stay satiated is with a picnic!

This week’s “Poll of the Week” asks, when you pack up goodies for a picnic in the park, what’s your ultimate must-have item?

P.S. I know I’ve been super M.I.A. lately, but not to worry - this week Little Scarlet is back and posting much more than before!!

Poll of the Week - 8.02.2010

2010-08-02T12:25:00.001-04:00

With the popularity of television shows like “Jersey Shore” (I hear a new season premiered recently…), it would seem that New Jersey’s greatest claim to fame is… Seaside Heights?? As a proud Garden State native, I just can’t let that one slide, I’m sorry: New Jersey has beautiful landscapes, a rich colonial history, and Long Beach Island is a lovely shore to visit! But one of New Jersey’s greatest institutions can be found scattered in amongst the winding highways and sprawling farms, and that’s New Jersey’s diners.

True, diners are obviously a popular road-side attraction all over the country, there’s even a Food Network show entirely devoted to them – but they are quite literally everywhere in New Jersey. Although it hardly seems possible, every once in a while I meet someone who’s never heard of a diner before (shocking all by itself!) – and maybe it’s because of New York’s proximity to New Jersey, but I’m even more amazed to hear people frequently respond, “Oh yeah, it’s a Jersey thing.” I’m not sure how accurate that statement is, but you know what? I’ll take that shout-out and run with it, thank you very much!

This week’s “Poll of the Week” is in honor of the great American diner – what’s your favorite traditional diner food?

Also, if there’s a diner food you love that isn’t listed above, write in to Little Scarlet with a Comment and tell us about your favorite!

Poll of the Week - 7.26.2010

2010-07-26T14:23:00.001-04:00

Whether your summer refuge is the Hamptons or the Jersey Shore, the only relief from the dog days of summer is a trip to the beach!

And what would a beach getaway be without lounge chairs, tall drinks, and lobster?

The sweet, pink meat from a lobster’s claws and tail is just as wonderful dunked in butter as it is in a creamy bisque or slipped into soft ravioli pillows. But even if you’re not able to indulge in a summer-time, beach-side lobster extravaganza, there are still plenty of ways to get your fill of the ocean’s greatest crustacean!

In this week’s “Poll of the Week”, Little Scarlet wants to know what’s your favorite lobster dish?

Giveaway Winner!!

2010-07-24T12:19:00.003-04:00

The results are in! Thank you so much to everyone who entered, it’s great to see such love and enthusiasm for barbecue!!

And the winner is:

Rachel, you’ve won the Stubb’s Bar-B-Q giveaway – and I love that you smoke your own butt! Please send me an e-mail at littlescarlet (dot) blog (at) gmail (dot) com with your shipping information so I can mail you your goodies.

Thanks again to everyone who commented for your well-wishes and for reading over the past year – here’s to many more years of great food with Little Scarlet!

Poll of the Week - 7.19.2010

2010-07-21T12:03:00.002-04:00

So in my excitement over this week’s giveaway (click here!! enter as many times as you can!! contest ends Friday!!), I completely forgot about the “Poll of the Week”. I hope you all won’t hold it against me…

In other news, I went to my first Major League Baseball game this weekend and watched the New York Yankees play the Tampa Bay Rays. It was a good time, but I was really impressed by the food that was available. Baseball stadiums are starting to go way beyond the standard order of “dog and a beer” – if Field of Dreams were made today, Ray Kinsella and Terence Mann would have to be a lot more specific during that Fenway Park “go the distance” scene! Yankee Stadium, for example, has a lot more to eat besides the old-school fan favorites, with offerings like Cuban sandwiches, garlic french fries, bottles of Magic Hat #9 and Hefeweizen on draft. It was a gorgeous day on Sunday, albeit a little too warm for me, but with all the great eating, it was a pretty nice way to spend a lazy afternoon!

If you think back to the baseball games of your childhood, what’s the treat that comes to mind? This week, Little Scarlet wants to know what’s your favorite ballgame food?

One-Year Anniversary, and Barbecue Giveaway!

2010-07-19T08:02:00.000-04:00

July is the one-year anniversary of Little Scarlet!! It’s been quite a year, with some really wonderful experiences – from participating in Foodbuzz’s 24-24-24 program to attending the NASFT Summer Fancy Food Show to becoming a KCBS Certified Barbecue Judge, the last twelve months have been so exciting.

And to commemorate this first year of blogging, Stubb’s Bar-B-Q is sponsoring a giveaway for Little Scarlet!

C.B. “Stubb” Stubblefield, the founder of Stubb’s Bar-B-Q, turned a simple barbecue restaurant in Texas into a nation-wide attraction. He served his legendary barbecue to hungry folks from all over, including musicians like Joe Ely, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson, who would come to Stubb’s Bar-B-Q for its great food and weekly jam sessions. In 1989, Stubb’s friends finally convinced him to bottle and sell his sauce for restaurant patrons to buy as gifts – and home-cooked barbecue hasn’t been the same since!

Stubb once said, “Barbecue is eternal, like the Mississippi River. It’s big and it’s simple and it takes its own sweet time.” This is certainly true of any barbecue worth its salt (or worth its smoke!), but Stubb’s sauces can turn even that boring chicken dinner into something that tastes like it spent hours cooking in the Deep South’s barbecue belt.

The package that Stubb’s put together for one of Little Scarlet’s lucky readers to win contains a jar of Bar-B-Q Spice Rub, Original & Smokey Mesquite Bar-B-Q sauces, and a bottle of Moppin’ Sauce. It also contains the Stubb’s Bar-B-Q cookbook. I read this cover-to-cover when I got it, and it’s full of great stories about Stubb and the people who loved him and his cooking. Reading this book, I wish I had had the chance to meet Mr. Stubblefield while he was alive, but his memory is well served by the recipes in this book.

Want to seem like a barbecue pro? Start with the spice rub (for a little extra kick), baste with the moppin’ sauce while cooking (to keep the meat moist), and load up on Bar-B-Q sauce near the end (for final Stubb-worthy flavor).

So how can you win this fabulous barbecue set? The contest runs through Friday, July 23 (only open to the 48 contiguous United States, sorry!), and here are the different ways you can enter!

Leave a Comment on this post about how much you love barbecue, your favorite barbecue restaurant… anything you want, so long as your barbecue enthusiasm comes through!

But that’s not all! For each eligible comment you leave, you get another chance to win, so try these additional *one-time bonus entries* for a higher chance of winning:

Follow @Little_Scarlet on Twitter. Come back and leave a new Comment on this post saying that you’ve done so.
Become a fan of Little Scarlet on Facebook. Come back and leave another new Comment on this post saying that you’ve done so.
Follow Little Scarlet’s RSS feeds in Google Reader, or the RSS feed site of your choosing. Again, just come back to this post and leave a new Comment saying you’ve done so.
“Buzz” this post (and Little Scarlet!) on Foodbuzz, by clicking here or here (and then click the “buzz it!”/“buzz'em” icon). Aaaand, then come back and Comment about it!

And if you’re feeling really ambitious, you can give yourself even better odds of winning with these additional *once-daily bonus entries*:

Leave barbecue-related Comments on this post
Re-Tweet this post and leave a Comment here with the link to that Twitter status (limit 1 eligible RT daily). To make it easy, you can either RT from our initial tweet (here) – or you can just copy and paste this: “@Little_Scarlet Stubb’s Bar-B-Q giveaway! visit http://bit.ly/9z1Dkd to win awesome bar-b-q sauces, rubs, & the Stubb’s cookbook!”

The contest will close at 11:59 pm, Friday, July 23. The winner will be chosen at random by Random.org, and will be announced at noon on Saturday, July 24. *Note: The winner will have to contact me by e-mail with their info by 10 pm Sunday, July 26 in order to claim their prize (littlescarlet (dot) blog (at) gmail (dot) com) – otherwise, a new winner will be selected.

Good luck, everyone!!!

Guac Rock - Meet the Queen of Guacamole!

2010-07-15T15:00:00.006-04:00

Do you like guacamole? Of course you do, who doesn’t? If you love guac and live in New York City, Guac Rock has the answer to all your guac-lovin’ prayers! For just $20, sail up and down the East River, listening to awesome music by North Highlands, The Beets (Doug Funny flashbacks, anyone?), and Dry Feet, while chowing down on delicious guacamole.

But hello celebrity sighting! Little Scarlet just so happens to be friends with the self-proclaimed Queen of Guacamole, Marcia Bunda. And as one of three winners of Guactacular 2010, Marcia will be making (and serving!) her award-winning guac on board The Jewel – so you’d better be on board when she sets sail at 7 pm from the Skyport Marina on Monday, July 19.

Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door – click here to purchase one!

Guac Rock, departing aboard The Jewel at 7 pm, Monday, July 19 from the Skyport Marina (East 23rd St and FDR Drive)

The End of Thursday’s Terra Treats - and an Upcoming Giveaway!

2010-07-15T10:30:00.005-04:00

Little Scarlet’s Thursday’s Terra Treats has received a phenomenal response over the past few months – thank you all so much for reading! Many of you have tried these recipes at home and have written in about your favorites. Megan from Wisconsin loved the bright, summer flavors of the Mexican Salad, and the Ricotta-Spinach Stuffed Shells were a big hit with Jeff from New York. I’ve loved working on these recipes, and cooking stand-alone vegetarian meals (instead of boring sides) has really pulled me out of my comfort zone and helped me try lots of new foods.

Unfortunately, I’ve discovered an unintentional side effect of Thursday’s Terra Treats – I’ve accidentally become an in-house vegetarian! The volume of vegetarian food I prepare is so high that, unless I’m out at a restaurant, all of my meals have now become meat-free – and that’s not something I ever thought I would say. I’ve enjoyed this project a lot, but all good things must eventually come to an end, and I think this segment has run its course.

But not to worry, I won’t leave you all in the lurch – with this bad news comes some great news! This Monday, July 19, Little Scarlet will be hosting its very first giveaway!! And I promise, it’s a really great one.

Thank you all for reading, commenting, and cooking along with the Thursday’s Terra Treats – be sure to check back at 10 am Monday for details on Little Scarlet’s wonderful giveaway prize and rules on how to enter!

Poll of the Week - 7.12.2010

2010-07-12T09:30:00.000-04:00

Spain has given the world many wonderful things. Sangria, flamenco dancing, Raphael Nadal… and now the 2010 World Cup Champions! The final match between Spain and the Netherlands culminated in a 1-0 victory for Spain, with the game’s only goal scored with 1 minute left in overtime.

Sadly, the Netherlands never had a chance, as Paul the Psychic Octopus had already predicted Spain would win.

In honor of Spain’s skilled footballers, in this week’s “Poll of the Week”, Little Scarlet wants to know what’s your favorite Spanish food?

Simple Gazpacho, with Jersey Corn and Goat Cheese

2010-07-08T13:48:00.003-04:00

I don’t know about the rest of the country, but here in New York, it has been brutally hot the past few days. Daily temperatures over 100º F are turning apartments into saunas and the last thing you want to do in a hot, cramped kitchen is turn on your stove and make dinner.

So for this Thursday’s Terra Treats, try this recipe for gazpacho! Full of fresh vegetables and topped with just a little goat cheese, this recipe feels like a stroll through the farm.

And since it’s served cold, it’s just what you need to perk up from summer’s withering heat! This recipe calls for a couple ears of sweet, Jersey corn, which is just starting to come into season. Take a stroll over to your local farm or farmer’s market (if there isn’t a farm nearby), and pick up a couple of ears. And if you live in New Jersey, you’re really in luck - between Griggstown Quail Farm, Cherry Grove Farm, and Terhune Orchards (my personal favorite!), there’s no shortage of options for really great, locally grown, seasonal produce.

One of the barns at Terhune Orchards

Stop by the farm’s store for everything from flowers and cookies to fresh-picked aspargus and peaches!

Simple Gazpacho, with Jersey Corn and Goat Cheese

Directions (adapted from Real Simple recipe):
2 cloves whole garlic, peeled
2 ½ pounds beefsteak tomatoes, roughly chopped
½ small white onion, roughly chopped
2 red bell peppers, roughly chopped
1 pound Kirby cucumbers, peeled and roughly chopped (about 2 medium cucumbers)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper
3 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup fresh Jersey corn kernels (from 2 ears)
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

With the flat side of a knife, smash each peeled garlic clove. Working in batches, place the smashed garlic, tomatoes, onion, bell peppers, and cucumbers in a food processor and pulse slowly, stopping before mixture becomes puréed.
Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in the lemon juice, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, to chill and to let flavors develop.
Serve soup in bowls, and top with goat cheese, corn, and cilantro. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and serve with crusty bread.

Moving Woes and a new Poll of the Week!

2010-07-06T09:35:00.001-04:00

I’m so sorry for the unexplained hiatus this past week! We moved to a new apartment last Monday, so all Little Scarlet activity came to a grinding halt. Ideally, I would have laid out all of these wonderful posts in advance and been marvelously organized… but my living room still has boxes in it and my refrigerator is completely empty except for condiments, beer, and some leftover takeout. So we’re getting back on track starting now! I will buy groceries this week, I will break in my new kitchen, and I will be posting on a regular basis again – I promise.

So, without any more excuses, it’s time for this week’s (belated) “Poll of the Week”!

New York’s in the grips of a vicious heat wave (which makes moving even more fun…) and all I can think of are ways to cool down. Whether you’re in a sweltering city or a comfy country home, when hot weather strikes, what do you wish for most?

New Amsterdam Market is Back! Also this weekend: Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic!

2010-06-24T12:23:00.000-04:00

Looking for something to do this weekend?

The New Amsterdam Market makes its triumphant seasonal return to the South Street Seaport this Sunday, June 27. Here, you’ll find everything you need for the perfect picnic: breads from Amy’s Bread, Balthazar, and Eli’s Bread; a huge variety of cheese from cheesemongers like Beekman1802, Cellars at Jasper Hill, and Cooperstown Cheese Company; along with plenty of fresh fruit from local farms. Also keep an eye out for ice cream from The Bent Spoon, and chilled bottles of hard cider and wine – just what you’ll need to keep from swooning in this latest heat wave!

If you want to make a full day of it, get to the New Amsterdam Market right at 11 am so that you can make an early beeline for the ferry to Governors Island, where you can enjoy your picnic among the 19th century former military forts and barrack housing. Sound a little too tame for you? Then, don your fanciest summer garb, and head over to the Third Annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic!

Ladies, wear your biggest hats and be sure to bring a pair of binoculars so you can see the polo match up close and personal. The people-watching isn’t bad either – Prince Harry will be competing again this year, and last year’s celebrity attendees included Madonna, Kate Hudson, Marc Jacobs & Lorenzo Martone, and LL Cool J. The match begins at 3 (rain or shine!), but the event starts much earlier (and ferry lines for Governors Island are notoriously long). The event is free to attend, and food and drink will be available for purchase (champagne by Veuve Clicquot and concessions by Blue Smoke, Box Frites, and El Verano Taqueria).

New Amsterdam Market: 11am – 4pm, cash only, South Street Seaport, http://www.newamsterdammarket.org/

Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic: Governors Island, 3pm-4pm, Governors Island ferry is free (schedule and directions)

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas and Grilled Vegetables

2010-06-24T07:30:00.062-04:00

Does the term “pasta salad” make you cringe? Does it conjure up flashbacks to hot, summer potlucks, and that one neighbor who always showed up with some gloppy, mayo-laden disaster?

The truth is, pasta salads are perfect for summer - light in calories, high in flavor, and they’re even great cold! But don’t stop at using only pasta as a base, try branching out to other whole grains, like barley, couscous, or quinoa (a Mediterranean grain that’s one of very few complete protein sources from plants). The secret to keeping these salads light is to rely on vegetables to round out your grain, and use spices, citrus juices, and heart-healthy olive oil to punch up the flavor.

Today’s recipe for Thursday’s Terra Treats is one that’s perfect for experimentation: marinated chickpeas are tossed with cooked quinoa, and the rest is up to you! Feel free to play around with the seasonings and the vegetables, following whatever your tastes want.

Write in with your favorite variation!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas and Grilled Vegetables

Directions (adapted from Epicurious.com recipe):
1 15-oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
3 tbsp lemon juice
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric, divided
1 tsp smoked paprika, divided
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa (about 6 ounces), rinsed well, drained
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
4 medium zucchinis, trimmed, quartered lengthwise
2 medium red bell peppers, cored and quartered
½ medium white onion, cut into ¼-inch thick rings
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
4 green onions, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Combine chickpeas and lemon juice in large bowl; add 3 tablespoons olive oil. Using a garlic press, press garlic (or very finely mince with a knife), add to bowl and stir to combine. Let marinate at least 45 minutes, or up to 2 hours. While this is marinating, rinse and drain the quinoa well to remove any excess starch.
In medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds*, ½ teaspoon turmeric, and ½ teaspoon paprika; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute, being careful not to let spices burn. Add 2 cups water, rinsed quinoa, and kosher salt; bring to simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until all water is absorbed, about 16 minutes.
*Whole cumin seeds are preferable, and can be found at Indian and Mexican specialty stores; in a pinch, ground cumin can be substituted in equal amounts.
As quinoa cooks on the stovetop, prepare grill (medium high heat) or broiler. Place zucchini, red bell pepper, and white onion on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle with ground cumin, remaining ½ teaspoon turmeric, and remaining ½ teaspoon paprika. Toss to coat evenly, and sprinkle with generous amount of salt and pepper. Grill until tender and browned on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove zucchini from heat, and cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces. In a separate bowl, add grilled zucchini, sliced green onions, and chopped parsley to quinoa; then add the chickpea mixture and toss to blend. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve outdoors, with good friends!

Poll of the Week - 6.21.2010

2010-06-21T09:15:00.000-04:00

So something funky was happening with my polls last week, but Google seems to have fixed the problem, so let’s make up for it this week with tons of votes!

I’ve been experimenting with different breakfast ideas over the last few weeks, and the best way to escape boredom seems to be with oatmeal. If you’re not a fan of oatmeal (amazingly, some people just don’t like it!), that might sound kind of weird – I mean, what’s to like about a bowl full of gray, lumpy stuff? But oatmeal has a great chewy texture and you can dress it up with just about anything: add a teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder and Grade A maple syrup, and you’ve basically got a bowl of Cocoa Puffs! Add some Craisins and chopped walnuts, and you’ve just graduated to a very adult breakfast cereal. Or you can add just milk or cream, with a sprinkling of brown sugar on top, and pretend you’re having porridge with Mary and Dickon in The Secret Garden.

This week’s “Poll of the Week” asks, what’s your favorite way to eat oatmeal?

2010’s 8th annual Big Apple BBQ!

2010-06-20T14:08:00.036-04:00

Last weekend, 120,000 hungry barbecue enthusiasts came out to Madison Square Park for New York’s 8th annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party. Little Scarlet was lucky enough to be sent to cover the Big Apple BBQ as a Foodie Correspondent for Foodbuzz, and that media pass was certainly put to good use!

The delicious smell of smoked meat was thick in the air as 17 of the country’s most talented barbecue pitmasters churned out mountains of brisket, pork, ribs – even mutton! Heartland Brewery had its beer garden up and running around the Madison Square Park fountain, right next to the music stage where blues and country twangers like Secret Country and The Derailers were rocking out.

As a newly minted KCBS Certified Barbecue Judge, the best way to become a better judge is to eat as much barbecue as you can and really pay attention to what you’re eating. With this aim in mind, I rallied together a crew of like-minded barbecue lovers to help eat a plate from each vendor over the course of the weekend, so that Little Scarlet could pick favorites for brisket, pulled pork, and ribs.

Best Brisket: Jack’s Old South
Pitmaster: Myron Mixon

Pitmaster Myron Mixon is a fierce competitor on the barbecue circuit, and his brisket is a reflection of that dedication to barbecue. Hill Country’s brisket gives Jack’s a run for its money, but ultimately Jack’s brisket delivers just what you want: it’s tender, juicy, and full of great fatty, beef flavor (although it would be preferable if the brisket were not sliced with an electric knife). The baked beans had a nice dash of heat, though the addition of sliced peaches made them a little too sweet for this Northern girl.

Best Pulled Pork: Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q
Pitmaster: Chris Lilly

After Pitmaster Chris Lilly’s pulled pork brought him eight World BBQ Championships, it should come as no surprise that Big Bob Gibson had the best pulled pork at the Big Apple BBQ. Lilly takes whole pork shoulder, a cut that includes the butt and the picnic, and injects it with an Worcestershire sauce-apple juice liquid, and then rubs the shoulder all over with a dry spice mixture. After the meat spends 14-16 hours cooking in a rotisserie smoker at 225° F, Lilly chops the pork and serves it up on a bun with a side of brightly colored coleslaw. This pulled pork is juicy and fatty, and flavorful enough that it doesn’t need anything extra, but Big Bob’s terrific sauces have brought home Championship titles, too – you really can’t go wrong!

Best Ribs: Pappy’s Smokehouse
Pitmaster: Skip Steele

As you might expect, Pappy’s Pitmaster Skip Steele is also well-known on the competitive barbecue circuit; his team, Super Smokers BBQ, has done particularly well at the Memphis in May competition, consistently placing in the Top Ten. (Fun trivia: Steele’s Super Smokers BBQ catering business counts country legend and heartthrob Randy Travis among its clients!) These St. Louis-style ribs were the talk of the Big Apple BBQ, and they did not disappoint. Prepared with a brown sugar-based dry rub that caramelizes during the low-and-slow barbecuing, they have a beautiful shine to them, and the meat pulls easily from the bone without falling off.

Crowd Favorite: Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q
Pitmaster: Drew Robinson

These smoked sausages are a true Southern delight, right down to the Duke’s mayonnaise used to make the pimiento cheese. The sausages are smoked over hickory for an hour and then finished on the grill for that perfect snappy bite – to get the full effect, spread a liberal dose of pimiento cheese on top of a Saltine, then top with a generous bit of sausage and a slice of Serrano pepper. You’ll be craving these all the way until next year’s Big Apple BBQ!

To see other pictures from 2010’s Big Apple BBQ and to read about Little Scarlet’s interview with Chris Lilly, click on the “Read More” link below!

(or if you’re already viewing this article in full, just scroll down!)

Additional pictures from 2010’s 8th annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party!

Texas Salt and Pepper Beef Ribs, being prepared by Blue Smoke’s team

Smoked sausages over hickory wood, from Jim ‘N Nick’s

Pitmasters from Jack’s Old South (Unadilla, GA) prepare their brisket for hungry barbecue lovers

Pork shoulder straight from the smoker, at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s stand – phenomenal!
If you live in NYC, make sure you visit their restaurant in Harlem.

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint pulling apart their Western Tennessee-style Whole Hog

Little Scarlet was able to steal a quick moment to talk with Chris Lilly, which was fantastic. My favorite thing about judging barbecue competitions and attending events like the Big Apple BBQ is getting the opportunity to hang out and talk with people who so clearly love and enjoy barbecue. It’s such a pleasure to see so many people so excited about the same thing, and it’s really a completely unadulterated passion for the food and the whole cooking process – I’ve never met anyone who cooked barbecue for a living or for competitions that did it for any reason other than love.

Chris Lilly, hard at work – smiling and choppin’ hog!

I asked Lilly what brings him all the way from Alabama up to New York City every June for the last eight years, and he replied without hesitation, “The people! It’s too much work to come out here and do it for money or anything, we’re working, cooking for four days to get everything ready for this many people and it’s just - it’s the people, the New Yorkers who come out here and get excited about our food and about barbecue, and that’s why you do it.”

Lilly was assisted by barbecue team Smoke in Da Eye, and Corrine Trang (pictured above)

Lilly says his two favorite things to make are his pulled pork (which has obviously done very well, winning multiple World Championships) and a chicken with white gravy that’s very popular at Big Bob Gibson’s. He said it’s too difficult, though, to prepare chicken at that consistent level of quality for over 100,000 people in the course of two days, that you have much more control over something like pork shoulder. “Besides,” he added, “I don’t think they’d let me cook anything else here!”

Lilly takes a moment to catch up with Little Scarlet, and even poses for a quick photo

Little Scarlet had a wonderful time at this year’s Big Apple BBQ. Thanks again to Foodbuzz for helping procure a media pass – can’t wait til next year!

Basic Cheese Grits

2010-06-17T10:30:00.008-04:00

The first time I ever heard of grits was while watching the movie My Cousin Vinny, as Joe Pesci cross-examines a witness about his grits.

(start around 7:00 for the grits interrogation)

Then, the first time I ever actually ate grits was at a wedding in Virginia when I was about ten. I was hesitant to dive in to the cream-colored pile of mush, but an elderly Southern lady sitting next to me drawled, “Now honey, you can’t come down here and not try grits.” So I ate a nervous forkful and realized they weren’t that bad at all, and happily devoured the rest of them.

Now, fast-forward almost 15 years without grits, and I suddenly can’t get enough of this polenta-like dish, also made from coarsely ground corn. I’ve tried them at Mara’s Homemade (fine and creamy) and at Back Forty (coarse and chewy), and finally decided I needed to try making my own. This edition of Thursday’s Terra Treats offers only a basic recipe for grits because you can really add whatever you want. Shrimp is one of the more traditional choices, but I’ve had wonderful grits with roasted or grilled corn, artichoke hearts, ramps, or even German sausage!

At the end of the day, though, sometimes simplicity is best. And when it comes to grits, it’s pretty hard to beat the simple addition of cheese and a buttery biscuit to go with it.

Basic Cheese Grits

Directions:
1 cup uncooked grits
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup freshly grated aged Gouda cheese
Salt, fresh ground black pepper

Cook grits according to package instructions, which typically involves a 1:4 grits-to-water ratio, a period of constant stirring, and a covered simmering until desired consistency is reached. Set aside and keep warm until any desired add-ins are ready to be included.
If adding extra ingredients, add them to warm skillet along with any desired seasonings. While these add-ins are warming up, stir cheese and butter into grits, until melted all throughout. Any kind of cheese can be used, but I like to use a hard cheese with some bite to it, like the aged Gouda used here. If the cheese is salty, there’s no need to add extra salt, but if you want, you can add a little bit to taste while stirring in the butter and cheese.
Spoon grits onto plates, and grind fresh pepper over top. Serve immediately, with warmed additional ingredients on top.

*Note: as we all know, no self-respecting Southerner uses instant grits – and neither should you, no matter what part of the country (or world) you’re from.

Malaysian Restaurant Week hits NY Metro Area

2010-06-16T11:46:00.003-04:00

Sam Sifton (Chief Restaurant Critic at The New York Times) has introduced a new feature to The New York Times’ online Diner’s Journal called “Hey, Mr. Critic!”, where he answers readers’ pleas for help finding restaurants for special occasions, often involving specific criteria. One lucky reader was answered last week in a quest to find curry laksa, a Malaysian chicken soup that was new to me. Mr. Sifton’s excited response pointed to a previously published New York Times article about Malaysian food in New York. The article’s title, “From Asia, Rapture in a Bowl”, really says it all – after reading the piece, this fragrant, spiced, “curry noodle soup” has immediately catapulted to the top of my “must try” list!

The article Mr. Sifton cites (written by Julia Moskin) names a couple of places to visit in Chinatown and Queens, but if you’re hoping to find curry laksa a little closer to home, you’re in luck – if you act fast!

Malaysian Restaurant Week is here in New York (who knew??), and it ends on Sunday, June 20. Various restaurants in the New York metro area are offering special Malaysian menus, highlighting this country’s unique cuisine – brightly colored and highly flavorful, Malaysian food brings together the best of Chinese, Indian, and Malay cuisines.

Take a look at the list of participating restaurants here – and if you try anything fabulous, be sure to mention it here on Little Scarlet!

Crab Boil at Back Forty Returns!

2010-06-14T11:50:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow starts the third year of Back Forty’s weekly Summer Crab Boils!

If your favorite thing about summer is lining tables with newspaper, rolling up your sleeves, and getting covered in Old Bay, then make Back Forty your new summer home. Back Forty’s weekly crab boils will happen every Tuesday night from June 15-August 31, with a special end-of-the-summer bash Sept 1-3. Tickets have to be purchased in advance ($42 per person, not including drinks, tax, or tip), and go on sale at 10 am the Wednesday prior.

Tickets can only be bought through Brown Paper Tickets, and you buy your ticket for a particular time slot between 6:30 and 9:30 pm. The 6:30 and 8:30 time slots are for seats out in the garden, which I highly recommend.

In addition to piles of hard shells, your ticket includes buttery, garden sides, corn bread, and cobbler for dessert. And if you need something to wash it all down with, Back Forty has a great selection of draft and bottled beers from local breweries.

Back Forty, 190 Ave B (near 12th St), 212.388.1990

Poll of the Week - 6.14.2010

2010-06-14T09:55:00.000-04:00

Whether you buy your fish from your local fishmonger or prefer to go out and have your favorite restaurant handle all the dirty work, whole fish are an impressive (and surprisingly simple!) way to serve fish. They can be prepared any number of ways: roasted or steamed, stuffed with shrimp and crab or doused in lemon and butter, or even baked in a thick, sea salt crust.

Preparing fish whole works well with lots of different kinds of fish, so this week’s “Poll of the Week” asks what’s your favorite fish to eat whole?

If you have a favorite way to cook whole fish (or any secret tips), share it in the Comments section!

Big Apple Barbecue Block Party!!

2010-06-12T10:28:00.004-04:00

The countdown is almost over! The Big Apple BBQ is about to begin! Just 30 minutes to go!

The BBQ runs from 11-6 both today and tomorrow, rain or shine, in Madison Square Park. Last year, the streets around Madison Square Park closed down as tens of thousands of people came out for some of the best professional barbecue in the country, for $8 a plate. Barbecue vendors from all over America set up their stands on the park’s perimeter, while desserts from Blue Smoke are sold inside the park ($4) along with a variety of beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages ($2-$6). Snapple (a sponsor of the Big Apple BBQ) gives out free (non-alcoholic) drinks throughout the day, though, so if you time it right, you’ll never have to pay for a drink.

The best strategy is to gather a group of friends, pick up a map of the event from one of the information booths, choose your first target, and hop in line. Get one or two orders of whatever that vendor is selling, and go directly into your next line, eating while you wait. If things work out, you’ll be able to happily graze all day!

Now, it’s true that today’s weather forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms, but you know what that means? Shorter lines!

Check out some pictures from last year’s event, and get ready for an awesome day of drinkin’ beer and eatin’ hog!

Chris Lilly, of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q (you must eat here!!)

Ribs, ribs, ribs!

Peace, love, and barbecue: the ultimate trifecta!

Farfalle with Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes

2010-06-10T10:39:00.001-04:00

Pesto is a simple way to add bright color and huge flavor to everything from pasta to mashed potatoes to risotto. Full of earthy basil and toasted pine nuts, it’s fresh and satisfying – and perfect for summer! All that parmesan cheese and olive oil makes pesto pretty rich, which is why some people like to add a squeeze of lemon. But my sources tell me that lemon in pesto is not traditional, so I’ve added some oven-roasted tomatoes on top – they cut the pesto’s richness and brighten all those fresh flavors.

Plus red and green look so pretty together!

Makes 4 servings

You can use pesto with just about any kind pasta, but I prefer one with a good shape like farfalle, with lots of little nooks that are perfect for catching the sauce (campanelle and fusilli would also work well here).

Farfalle with Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes

Directions:
¾ cup pine nuts
6 cups fresh basil, well rinsed and loosely packed
¾ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove
¾ cup olive oil
1 pint grape tomatoes
12 oz farfalle

In a large skillet, toast pine nuts in 2-3 batches over medium heat, to prevent overcrowding and even toasting. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes, or until fragrant. Set aside and let pine nuts cool completely.
In a food processor, combine basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic clove, and pine nuts; slowly add olive oil and process until smooth. Alternatively, you can combine basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic clove, and half of the pine nuts. Slowly add olive oil and combine until smooth; add remaining pine nuts and pulse until nuts are coarsely broken.
Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil, and add 2/3 pint halved grape tomatoes and 1/3 pint whole grape tomatoes (tip: make a small incision in each whole tomato so that the juices don’t explode out while cooking – or in your mouth!). Add a light drizzle of olive oil and some freshly cracked pepper; roast in the oven with a watchful eye for about 30 minutes.
While the tomatoes are roasting, cook farfalle according to package directions. Top farfalle with a generous dollop of pesto sauce and roasted tomatoes, and serve with a light, green salad and crusty roll.

Pie Flight at Four & Twenty Blackbirds

2010-06-09T09:13:00.002-04:00

There honestly isn’t much I love more in this world than a piece of really great pie. Except for maybe three pieces of really great pie!

Brooklyn’s Four & Twenty Blackbirds bakery is offering pie flights this week, through Friday: three pieces of homemade pie for $10.

“Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye / Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie...”

And not just your generic apple pie, either. Sisters Melissa and Emily Elsen learned the art of pie-making from their grandmother, and have opened Four & Twenty Blackbirds with a repertoire of close to three dozen varieties of pie! These butter-crust dessert pies are made using seasonal ingredients, so make sure you get there before your favorites are gone. Selections vary daily and are available mostly by the slice (whole pies can be ordered ahead), but with summery choices like peach berry, lavender blueberry, and blood orange & rhubarb, it’s hard to go wrong! Savory pies and tarts will be added to the lineup soon, making Four & Twenty Blackbirds a one-stop shop for all your flaky, buttery pie needs.

*Note: Cash Only, closed Mondays; open T-F: 8-7, Sat: 9-7, Sun: 10-6

Four & Twenty Blackbirds, 439 3rd Avenue (at 8th St), Brooklyn NY, 718.499.2917

Poll of the Week - 6.07.2010

2010-06-07T20:22:00.000-04:00

First, I want to issue a big apology for the lack of post on Thursday – basically, looking for an apartment and calling moving companies took over my life last week, and everything else kind of fell by the wayside! I’m sure you all missed Little Scarlet tons, but don’t worry, everything’s back on track now, and Little Scarlet will be publishing on schedule once again. On to the “Poll of the Week”!

I haven’t been back to Virginia in almost two years now, but every once in a while I get huge cravings for two things from my favorite Colonial Williamsburg sandwich shop, The Cheese Shop. The first is their Virginia ham sandwich, which is so good you’ll never be able to eat “Virginia ham” from anyplace else ever again; it’ll just be too much of a disappointment. And the second is a local favorite called “bread ends with house dressing”, which is exactly what it sounds like: any leftover bread ends that aren’t used for sandwiches are sold for dipping into The Cheese Shop’s famous house dressing.

Whether you’re dunking bread ends or chicken nuggets, the right dipping sauce can make all the difference. This week’s “Poll of the Week” asks, what’s your favorite all-around dipping sauce?

Poll of the Week - 5.31.2010

2010-05-31T10:12:00.001-04:00

Pasta is one of the most versatile foods out there. It’s the perfect cold weather comfort food, and is also one of the best ways to take advantage of summer’s wonderful produce. And not only are there dozens of pasta varieties, there are even more varieties of pasta sauce, and each kind of pasta is best complemented by a particular sauce. Angel hair, for example, is best with thin, delicate sauces, whereas pastas like fusilli and orecchiette are perfect with thick, chunky sauces.

With this week’s “Poll of the Week”, Little Scarlet wants to know what is your favorite kind of pasta sauce?

Soup Burg - 77th St & Lexington Ave

2010-05-30T21:17:00.000-04:00

Soup Burg
$$
**
1095 Lexington Ave
212.744.1233

For years, my dad’s been telling me that the best burger in New York is at Soup Burg on Lexington Ave. Like most things your parents repeat over the years, it kind of goes in one ear and out the other, but every once in a while something sticks. And so when I got hungry after spending a lazy Saturday wandering around the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I remembered that Soup Burg was just around the corner.

Now I can’t say it’s the absolute best in New York, but the cheeseburger here is pretty great. It’s a thick, juicy patty prepared with minimal seasonings so all you taste is that great beefy flavor, and the whole thing is topped with crisp lettuce, fresh tomato, and a slice of cheese (American, cheddar, or Swiss). It’s cooked perfectly medium-rare with a nicely charred exterior, so the burger’s juices get locked inside and the bottom bun doesn’t get soggy.

Served with a side of hot, crispy fries and a pickle, the only thing you’ll want to add to this burger is a little bit of ketchup.

Tacos with Red Cabbage Slaw and Cilantro Rice

2010-05-27T11:24:00.002-04:00

Memorial Day Weekend is just a few days away, and hamburger buns are flying off the shelves as Americans everywhere get ready to grill everything from the standard hot dogs and hamburgers to chicken and steak. Vegetarians are often given short shrift at these big summer grilling parties – who wants a boring salad when everyone else is enjoying their food?

This taco recipe is the perfect vegetarian answer to those meat-laden summer gatherings. Inspired by Martha Stewart’s red cabbage slaw (part of a terrific recipe for fish tacos), these tacos pile that slaw into corn tortillas alongside black beans and cilantro rice. If you happen to have any slaw leftover, save it for a refreshing side dish – or if you’re feeling generous with your omnivorous company, this creamy slaw is also great piled onto hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches, or anything else being served!

Yields 10 tacos

Tacos with Red Cabbage Slaw and Cilantro Rice

Directions:
Cilantro Rice:
1 cup white or brown rice
2/3 cup cilantro, loosely packed
1/3 cup onion, chopped
¼ cup scallions, chopped
1 jalapeño
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp olive oil

Red Cabbage Slaw:
¼ small red cabbage, finely shredded (about 2 ½ cups)*
4 scallions, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1 jalapeño
1 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Tacos and garnishes:
10 6-inch corn tortillas
1 12-oz can black beans
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves

For cilantro rice, prepare 1 cup uncooked rice according to directions. While rice is cooking, purée cilantro, onion, scallions, jalapeño, lime juice, and olive oil. Once rice is cooked, stir cilantro purée into rice, and mix well. Keep warm until tacos are ready to serve.
In a large bowl, mix together red cabbage, scallions and jalapeño. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream and lime juice; season with salt and pepper. Toss ¼ of sour cream with red cabbage mixture; set aside remaining ¾ sour cream for serving. Season red cabbage mixture with additional salt and pepper, if desired.
Warm corn tortillas in a cast-iron skillet. Assemble tacos by filling tortillas with rice, slaw, and black beans. Top with fresh cilantro and sour cream mixture; serve immediately.

*Note: When making the slaw, be sure to slice the cabbage finely, as large pieces can carry a bitter taste.

Poll of the Week - 5.24.2010

2010-05-24T08:03:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day is observed next Monday, and for many of us, it kicks off the (unofficial) start of summer with the first long weekend since February. But it’s important to remember the true meaning of Memorial Day, a United States federal holiday dedicated to commemorating the U.S. men and women who have died while in military service.

There is a national moment of remembrance on May 31 at 3 p.m. (local time, across the U.S.), but you can observe the holiday in any way you choose. So while you’re enjoying the day with your friends and family, grilling outside or watching the Indy 500, please take a moment to honor the men and women who have fought so bravely to protect our country and our rights.

This week’s “Poll of the Week” wants to know how do you plan to spend your Memorial Day?

Honest Tea - Perfect for Summer Sipping

2010-05-23T13:46:00.007-04:00

I love it when Little Scarlet is given the chance to rave about great products, especially when it’s one I’ve loved for a long time. Iced tea is one of my favorite drinks, but I can’t stand the shockingly sweet stuff you find in most bottles. So I’m a big fan of Honest Tea, which prides itself on being “just tea” or only a “tad sweet”. Plus, their name is a pun, and how fun is that?!

Just in time for summer, they’ve come out with a bunch of great new flavors, all of which have 50 calories or fewer. The folks over at Honest Tea were nice enough to send me some of their new flavors, and they’re as great as I’d hoped! Like their other teas, these new ones are sweetened with organic cane sugar, so there’s no fake sweetener after-taste.

Keep an eye out for their Half & Half and any of the line of Honest Ade flavors – these are terrific on their own, but can also be an easy way to punch up a great marinade or salad dressing. These drinks are refreshingly light with just a hint of sweetness, and are sure to be a big hit as the temperature climbs!

On a side note, in addition to being Fair Trade-certified, Honest Tea now comes in a 22% lighter, BPA-free bottle – which means less waste, and a healthier planet!

Ricotta-Spinach Stuffed Shells

2010-05-20T08:42:00.030-04:00

On my last few trips to the grocery store, I haven’t been able to stop dreaming about Italian food. Fresh basil and tomatoes are the biggest draw, with their warm, homey smells and the promise of a good meal. When I think of the Italian foods I love to make and eat, though, meat is always the next ingredient that comes to mind. And why shouldn’t it be? Italians are as famous for their meats as they are for anything else – prosciutto, pancetta, guanciale, spicy sausages… the perfect ingredients for a carnivorous carnival!

But none of these wonderful foods would suit for Thursday’s Terra Treats – after all, I promised you no meat! So for today’s recipe, I decided to try a recipe for stuffed shells I’d recently seen on Real Simple’s website. No need for meat, so I turned away from the butcher case and wandered toward the cheese counter instead.

These stuffed shells are a snap to put together, and only call for a few basic ingredients. The chopped spinach adds a nice textural element to the cheese stuffing – and for some extra flavor, try adding a few chopped basil leaves to the mix! A few of these shells will have you feeling plenty full, but if you want some variety on your plate, pick up some extra spinach for a lovely side salad.

Yields approximately 5 servings

Above, photograph taken by Marcus Nilsson, hosted on Real Simple's website

On a side note, I’ve been struggling with my camera lately, so I can’t take any credit for today’s glamour picture (at left, taken by Marcus Nilsson for Real Simple). Just for kicks, though, I did post the picture I was able to eke out – it’s a little messier, but they still tasted great!

Ricotta-Spinach Stuffed Shells

Directions (adapted from Real Simple recipe):
20 jumbo pasta shells (most of a 12-oz box)
1 32-oz container part-skim ricotta
½ cup grated Parmesan
2 cups baby spinach, chopped
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 24-oz jar marinara sauce
½ cup grated mozzarella

Preheat oven to 400° F, with oven rack in the highest position just under the broiler. Cook the pasta shells according to the package directions; drain with a colander and run under cold water until pasta is cool and can be comfortably handled.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, spinach, salt, and pepper; gently use a large rubber spatula to mix well. Meanwhile, spread marinara sauce in the bottom of a large broilerproof baking dish.
Using a spoon, fill each shell with a generous portion of the ricotta-spinach mixture, and place each stuffed shell on top of the sauce. Top all shells with grated mozzarella; bake for 10-12 minutes, or until shells are heated all the way through.
Increase heat to broil; with a watchful eye, let the shells broil until the cheese begins to brown, about 2 to 5 minutes. Carefully remove dish from the oven and serve hot.

*Note: If you don’t have a broilerproof baking pan, Le Creuset has some affordable options that work perfectly here - I just got their stoneware 14” baking dish, and am loving all of the ways I’ve found to use it!

Poll of the Week - 5.17.2010

2010-05-17T08:01:00.005-04:00

This weekend, some friends and I finally found our way over to Momofuku Noodle Bar for their fried chicken dinner. And it really is as good as they say, but more on that later! We were all completely full by the end of the meal, but still decided to saunter over to Momofuku Milk Bar for dessert afterward, since it’s practically just around the corner.

Momofuku Milk Bar has some really wild and inventive desserts like a “compost cookie” (pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch, and chocolate chips), kimchi and blue cheese croissants, and “candy bar pie” (chocolate crust, caramel, peanut butter nougat, and pretzels). But maybe the most wonderful creation to be found here is the “cereal milk”. It tastes exactly like what you’d think it does – the milk leftover in your bowl after you’ve eaten your morning cereal.

As we were standing around trying to decide what to order, the “cereal milk” naturally led into an excited conversation about favorite childhood “junk food” cereals (you know, the ones Mom would never let you have), and how much you loved slurping down that sugary, flavored milk at the end!

This week’s “Poll of the Week” takes you back to the days when companies could advertise with cartoon characters (farewell Toucan Sam and Count Chocula!) and before whole grains were an “essential” part of breakfast cereals. These sugar-laden cereals were a special treat, a rare indulgence, and we all had our favorites! Whether you loved it for the leftover milk or the cereal itself, Little Scarlet wants to know what’s your favorite junk food cereal?

Stuffed Artichokes with Spiced Tomato Chutney

2010-05-13T07:34:00.004-04:00

There are a handful of foods out there, where my first thought is always “what on earth made someone decide it was a good idea to try to eat this?” Sea urchins are one of these foods, same with pineapples. And now we’re in the beginning of artichoke season – a vegetable that looks more like a weapon than dinner.

Artichokes are a bit of a puzzle, and it takes a fair bit of effort to prepare one properly. Their outer leaves are tough and prickly, and mostly indigestible even after cooking. Once you get through these leaves, there are the tender inner leaves, but then you hit a dense brush of thistle (the “choke”) that needs to be removed before you can get to the incredibly flavorful, meaty artichoke heart. And the unwieldy-looking stem is quite nice to eat, as well, but you have to trim off the outer layer of skin first.

Steamed, baked, roasted, or fried, artichokes are well worth the effort. They’re a nutritional powerhouse, very low in calories and are particularly good for the liver. Make sure you buy artichokes with tight leaves and an even green color, with as little browning as possible. If you give the artichoke a squeeze (careful not to prick yourself!), you should hear the leaves squeak a little against each other.

This recipe calls for a combination of steaming and baking. The spiced tomato chutney simmers while the artichoke steams, and is then stuffed into the cavity of each halved artichoke before baking. Pair an artichoke half with a green salad or rice pilaf for a light dinner, or eat both halves if you’re feeling really hungry.

Yields 4 artichoke hearts

Stuffed Artichokes with Spiced Tomato Chutney

Directions:
2 artichokes

Spiced Tomato Chutney:
1 tsp canola oil
2 tbsp walnuts
1 garlic clove, pressed
½ small onion, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
½ pint grape tomatoes, quartered
1 tsp spicy brown mustard
¾ tbsp red wine vinegar
¼ tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp sugar
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp hot pepper flakes
¼ cup plain breadcrumbs, or less
Grated parmesan cheese

Lemon-Garlic Olive Oil:
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
Kosher salt
Fresh cracked pepper

Clean and trim artichoke: using a serrated knife, remove the top ¼ of artichoke and trim the hard leaves from artichoke’s base. Snip the tough, pointy ends off remaining leaves with scissors, and remove the thin, tough skin from the outside of the stalk with a paring knife. Trim the stem so the artichoke will stand upright.
Stand artichokes upright (stem-end down) in steamer and sprinkle with salt and top with lemon slice. Steam for about 40 minutes; then remove from heat. Meanwhile, begin making the tomato chutney.

Tomato Chutney

Heat canola oil in small pan over medium heat. Add walnuts and stir continuously until toasted and fragrant, about two minutes; set aside.
In a medium saucepot, add 1 tbsp olive oil, garlic, and onion; sauté over medium-low heat until onions begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes. Whisk remaining olive oil together with mustard, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, salt, and hot pepper flakes (for less heat, only add a pinch of pepper flakes). Add tomatoes to pot, and add liquid spice mixture. Stir well and bring to a boil; then cover and simmer on low heat until thick, about 20-30 minutes. If mixture begins to dry out, add small amounts of water (no more than 2-3 tbsp).
Remove from heat and, in a separate bowl, combine tomato mixture with toasted walnuts and slowly add breadcrumbs until desired consistency is reached; mix well.

Stuffed Artichokes

After the artichokes have steamed for 40 minutes (Step 2), remove from heat and let cool. Once each artichoke has cooled enough to handle, halve each one and scrape out the thistle, or “choke”, until all bits of fuzz are gone.
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the artichokes in an ovenproof dish; spoon the spiced tomato chutney into each artichoke half, and generously top with grated parmesan cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper; drizzle half of the lemon-garlic olive oil over the artichoke. Add roughly ¼ cup water to the pan to prevent the artichokes from drying out; then bake for 20 minutes.
Serve warm, with remaining olive oil drizzled over top.

Poll of the Week - 5.10.2010

2010-05-10T09:39:00.004-04:00

What do burgers, mussels, steak, and fried fish all have in common?

They all taste better with fries!

It’s a common misconception that French fries are from France, but these deep-fried strips of potato are actually the culinary achievement of some brilliant Belgian. And boy, the Belgians really do things right! As with the great dishes of so many other countries, though, the Belgian frites have been turn upside-down through countless generations of American carnivals and state fairs.

And one of the great things about American French fries is that Americans are so open to experimentation. Whether you love them smothered in cheese, chili, or both, there are so many delightful varieties out there, there’s sure to be something for everyone.

Love ‘em fresh from the fryer with nothing but salt? Want to make things a bit fancier with truffle oil and Parmesan cheese? Think they’re best with the skin left on and fried up in potato oil, allergies be damned? All these possibilities and more are common place in bars, bowling alleys, fancy restaurants, and street fairs across America.

This week’s “Poll of the Week” focuses on the different cuts of French fries. From the thick wedges of steak fries to the long, thin slivers of shoestring fries, the way a potato is cut is a large determining factor in its taste. Tell Little Scarlet – what’s your favorite cut of French fry?

p.s. If you’re ever interested in tasting true Belgian frites here in America, you should make a visit to New York’s Pommes Frites (2nd Ave, at 7th St) – get a multitude of dipping sauces and thank me later!

Mexican Salad

2010-05-06T08:18:00.002-04:00

Cinco de Mayo was yesterday, so what better recipe to bring to Thursday’s Terra Treats than this one for Mexican salad? Sweet corn and hearty black beans come together with fresh tomatoes, spicy jalapeños, and a chili-lime dressing. Serve it over butterhead lettuce for a great salad, or over rice for a brighter version of rice and beans. This salad also makes a wonderful side dish to grilled shrimp, rotisserie chicken… or anything else you can think of!

Serves 4

Mexican Salad

Directions:
½ pint grape tomatoes
1 (15-oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups sweet white corn
¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves, pressed
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp garlic powder
Kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper
1 ripe avocados, chopped

Place tomatoes, black beans, corn, onion, and jalapeño in a bowl together. In a separate bowl, mix together the lime juice, olive oil, garlic cloves, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder; pour over the vegetable mixture and gently stir to coat evenly. Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste.
Right before serving, gently toss in the avocado; blend well and serve at room temperature.

Poll of the Week - 5.03.2010

2010-05-03T08:09:00.003-04:00

This weekend, Little Scarlet traveled up to Maynard, MA to complete a barbecue judging course with the Kansas City Barbecue Society. That’s right, I’m now officially a Certified Barbecue Judge with KCBS - certificate and everything! The course was such a fun experience and I feel so lucky to be part of such a wonderful group of cooks, judges, and all-around barbecue enthusiasts! Of course, the KCBS representatives were very careful to distinguish between true barbecue and “backyard barbecue”, which is oftentimes just grilling. Both have their merits and can be delicious, but true barbecue needs to be cooked for several hours over indirect heat, and KCBS requires the use of wood as a heat source - no gas or propane allowed.

During the course (as with actual competitions), you’re only permitted Saltines and water in between samples and categories. Eventually, all that meat (at least 2 pounds during a regular competition!) leaves you wanting a little something else, so this week’s “Poll of the Week” is about barbecue sides.

When you sit down to a rack of ribs or a heaping portion of pulled pork, what do you want on the side of your plate? Whether you have fancy barbecue equipment or you’ve built your own smoker, or even if you just like to fire up your grill every so often, Little Scarlet wants to know what’s your favorite barbecue side dish?

If you have any great stories, recipes, or memories about summer barbecue, please leave a note for everyone in the Comment section!

Potato-Corn Chowder

2010-04-29T08:00:00.003-04:00

Chowder is such a delightfully luxurious meal. Rich and creamy, what’s not to love about this hearty, satisfying soup? Unfortunately, chowder is usually made with tons of butter and heavy cream, making this a rare indulgence - until now.

Thursday’s Terra Treats brings you a recipe for potato-corn chowder that’s thickened with a simple corn purée instead of heavy cream. Smoked chipotle peppers provide extra body and depth of flavor, and you won’t even notice that there’s no meat or fish. If you don’t want a spicy soup, only use one pepper and be sure to mince it as finely as you can, but if you’re not afraid of a little heat, add the second pepper!

Try this soup with parmesan pumpernickel toasts on the side, and get ready for seconds!

Serves 4

Potato-Corn Chowder

Directions:
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 carrots
3 stalks celery hearts
1 medium onion
½ tsp kosher salt, plus extra kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp chili powder
2 cups chicken broth
16 oz sweet white corn kernel, frozen
2 medium potatoes
½ green bell pepper
1-2 smoked chipotle peppers, finely minced
½ cup light cream

Chop carrots into bite-sized pieces, and finely dice celery and onion into thin slices. In large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, and onion; sauté for 1 minute, stirring as needed. Add kosher salt, garlic powder, paprika, and chili powder; stir well. Continue to sauté until carrots and celery are tender.
In a blender, purée 1 cup corn and 1 cup broth. For extra thickness, slowly add ½-1 extra cup of corn to the purée. Add purée to pot, along with 1 cup broth and remaining whole corn kernels.
Wash potatoes well, and cube into bite-sized pieces, leaving the skin on for a rustic, earthy texture. Chop bell pepper into bite-sized pieces, and add potatoes and bell pepper to pot. Mince 1 smoked chipotle pepper, and add to the pot (for a little more heat, add the second chipotle pepper). Add light cream and stir well, adding extra salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Bring pot to a boil; cover the pot and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes, and serve warm.

Poll of the Week - 4.26.2010

2010-04-26T08:43:00.001-04:00

New York was cloaked in a drab raincloud this weekend, complete with rolling thunder and cold, misty fog - perfect weather for cozying up indoors! Spring’s beautiful, warm, sunny days are some of the best things in life, but sometimes an April thunderstorm can be a blessing, too. Maybe it gives you the motivation to finally get around to that spring cleaning (who wants to scrub the kitchen when it’s a beautiful day outside?) or perhaps you get to spend a luxurious day doing nothing but reading the paper or finishing that book you’ve been reading in fits-and-starts.

Rainy days can be great for getting things done, but there’s also something about the doom and gloom that can turn the most active and ambitious of us into temporary couch potatoes. Between multiple TV channels, Netflix, OnDemand, Hulu, and innumerable other websites, it’s become all too easy to spend the better part of a day stuck on the couch - and couch-potato-itis can strike any one of us!

Whether you’re drawn to high-brow BBC documentaries or the lowest of the low (any reality TV series on MTV, for example…), it’s almost impossible to be a real couch potato without something to snack on. So today’s “Poll of the Week” wants to know, what’s your go-to couch potato food?

Introducing: Thursday’s Terra Treats!

2010-04-22T07:15:00.003-04:00

Happy Earth Day!

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, a day for recognizing our country’s environmental challenges and calling for action, no matter how small, to preserve our planet’s incredible natural resources. Even small things you do can help - whether it’s planting a tree, walking to and from work, writing to your Congressman, or switching to energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances.

A simple but significant way you can help is by making smart choices about what you eat. During World War I, the U.S. Food Administration called on civilian Americans to help the war effort through modest changes in their eating habits. The government encouraged people to plant victory gardens, use less wheat and meat, and cut down on waste by both serving less and using up leftovers.

While America is no longer facing the same struggles and shortages that we were almost 100 years ago, these lessons still hold merit today and can be a great way to make an impactful change in your life. Get involved in a community garden space (like any of GreenThumb’s urban gardens, for example), or plant your own herb or vegetable garden. Seeds are inexpensive and can be purchased at many local nurseries or hardware stores, and can also be bought online - Little Scarlet is partial to the beautifully packaged (and historically accurate!) seed collections from Beekman 1802 (heirloom vegetable and tomato seeds).

If you’re interested in using less wheat and meat and cutting down on waste, there’s an easy approach to both of these changes - try incorporating one meat-free day a week into your diet. I know, I’m the last person to voluntarily give up my pulled pork sandwiches, ribeyes, and roast chickens, but what good are these dishes without their wonderful vegetable accompaniments? Making a conscious effort to forgo meat for one day out of every seven is a small concession that comes with high benefits. Vegetables are generally much cheaper than their meaty counterparts, and they also contain more fiber (which keeps you feeling fuller longer) and fewer saturated fats. The American Heart Association recommends a diet high in fiber and low in saturated fats because of its indicated positive effects on cholesterol and the risk for heart disease.

We’re fortunate enough to live in a country with incredible variety in our produce, and vegetables have such wonderful flavors and textures, it’s really not much of a sacrifice to allow them to shine on your dinner table once a week. Whether you do it for ethical reasons, your health, or your budget, something about a little bit less meat just feels right.

And so today, Earth Day, Little Scarlet is introducing a new weekly feature: Thursday’s Terra Treats!

Each Thursday, Little Scarlet will bring you a new vegetarian recipe. And if there’s a particular vegetable you’re curious about or want to see featured, send me an e-mail - I’d love to include it! The first recipe to be featured in Little Scarlet’s Thursday’s Terra Treats is a well-loved Martha Stewart recipe for Spicy Black Bean Cakes.

Enjoy!

Spicy Black Bean Cakes

2010-04-22T07:00:00.001-04:00

The first recipe to be featured in Little Scarlet’s Thursday’s Terra Treats is a Martha Stewart recipe for Spicy Black Bean Cakes. These cakes are full of heart-healthy black beans and sweet potatoes rich in anti-oxidants. Try them with a generous serving of Lime Sour Cream (recipe also listed below) and a simple green salad for a full meal.

Recipe yields about 24 black bean cakes

Directions (Everyday Food, September 2004):
Black Bean Cakes:
2/3 lb dried black beans (yields 4 cups cooked beans)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 scallions, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, pressed
1-2 jalapeños, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 large sweet potato, peeled and coarsely grated (2 cups)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ cup plain dried breadcrumbs

Lime Sour Cream:
½ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 small jalapeño, finely minced
Cumin, garlic powder, and coarse salt, to taste

Black Bean Cakes:

Pick over beans to remove any debris or withered beans, then soak beans in water overnight. Drain and rinse beans. In a medium covered pot, cook beans in boiling water over medium heat until tender, about one hour. If you decide to use canned beans, use 2 cans low-sodium black beans and rinse them well before proceeding.
Heat broiler. In a small skillet, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Cook scallions until softened, 1 minute; then add garlic, jalapeño, and cumin, cooking just until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Transfer to a large bowl.
Add cooked beans to bowl; mash with a fork or a potato masher, leaving about ¼ of the beans whole; season generously with salt and pepper. Using clean hands, gently fold in grated sweet potato, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs. With your hands, create lacrosse ball-sized mounds (slightly smaller than a tennis ball), and flatten into patties. Be careful not to make the mounds to big, or else the cakes might fall apart when you flatten them.
Line a baking sheet with tin foil and brush foil with remaining oil; place patties on sheet, ½ inch apart. Broil 4 inches from heat until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Carefully flip cakes with a thin metal spatula, and broil about 2-3 minutes more.

Lime Sour Cream:

In a small bowl, combine sour cream with lime juice and jalapeño; add a light dusting of cumin and garlic powder, stir well. Add coarse salt and stir well. Increase amounts of lime juice or spices, as desired.

Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar - 6th St & 2nd Ave

2010-04-20T09:19:00.005-04:00

Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar
$$$
****
101 2nd Ave
212.979.1012

Mermaid Inn casts a pretty big shadow over its stretch of 2nd Ave in the East Village, but be careful not to overlook its competition. Nestled in between an old-fashioned drugstore and a long empty space-to-rent is an unassuming, albeit charming, sliver of a seafood restaurant that is much more deserving of your attention.

Make sure you don’t pass by this hidden pearl of an oyster bar!

Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar (given the unfortunate moniker “JLOB”) has enough tables to seat 24, but try to get a seat at the eight-person raw bar, if you can. It’s a fun experience, watching the chefs prepare food for the evening, and when you spot something particularly delicious, it might help winnow down the menu’s fantastic choices for you.

The menu offers an assortment of small plates, divided into five categories: Raw Bar, From the Garden, From the Ocean, From the Field & Air, and Dessert. Six dishes should make a pleasantly filling meal for two, and it’s worthwhile to sample from each menu category.

Start with Six Oysters Two Ways, a selection of East and West coast oysters, before waltzing through the rest of the menu. JLOB’s salads don’t disappoint, but for a true delight, try the Kabocha Squash soup. Its wintry description belies a light and surprising soup, where a hearty, cheddar cheese foam rests atop a savory soup, lightly sweetened by the presence of crisp, chopped apples and little studs of maple candy. The selections “from the Field & Air” are good, like a roasted suckling pig on one occasion, but the true standouts at JLOB are as they should be - from the Ocean.

The clams and chorizo are served in a cast iron skillet with a roasted tomato-garlic broth that will leave you asking for more bread - and wishing you’d ordered a second round! A butter-poached lobster is fantastically tender and as delicious as it sounds, and the artic char confit is wonderful, marrying tart, Greek yoghurt with spicy shishito peppers and root vegetable “crisps”. It is through no coincidence that the chef’s tasting menu spends most of its time in this section.

The desserts are simple with playful flavor combinations, as with a ricotta beignet served with basil and lavender-soaked strawberries. The cheese plate offers a fine selection of hard and soft cheeses, but its accompaniments (spicy nectarine jam, pine nut butter, and actual honeycomb) make it a necessary part of the meal - buck tradition and ask for this to follow your oysters.

If you’re looking for a wonderful seafood dinner in the East Village, try not to be distracted by the reputation across the street - settle in for an evening at JLOB and enjoy yourself!

Poll of the Week - 4.19.2010

2010-04-19T07:00:00.001-04:00

I don’t know who was the first to come up with this piece of oyster folklore, but it has long been said that oysters are only to be enjoyed in months with “r”s in them - January, September, March, etc. This “rule” likely dates back to a time before refrigeration was commonplace and there was a good chance that oysters would spoil during transport in the warmer months. Fortunately, most parts of the United States can now enjoy oysters all year round (especially if you live near the coast), but for the Nervous Nellies out there, April is the last “r”-month until September.

With that in mind, this week is “oyster week” here at Little Scarlet!

That’s right, that is a mammoth oyster fritter - on Wonder Bread, naturally!

Check back later this week for reviews of two new oyster-bearing restaurants, and be sure to follow Little Scarlet on Twitter all this week for a slew of oyster trivia. This week’s “Poll of the Week” dives right in to the heart of the matter, asking the most important oyster question of all: what’s your favorite oyster dish?

100th Blog Post!

2010-04-18T14:37:00.001-04:00

Hello readers!

Can you believe it was only just over nine months ago that Little Scarlet ran its very first post? Today, I am so proud to say that Little Scarlet has finally reached 100 posts!

In honor of this milestone, I’m introducing a new feature to Little Scarlet - an “About the Author” section! The new “About the Author” page includes a FAQ section that will offer a little more insight into the person behind this blog and how it all got started, as well as showcase all the different ways to get in touch with me and follow what’s happening here on Little Scarlet.

I’ve added a new link to this page under “Little Scarlet’s Pages” (in the sidebar to the right) and I hope you’ll check it out! In the meantime, here’s a reminder of all the different ways you can keep tabs on Little Scarlet:

• Subscribe in your RSS reader!

• Follow Little Scarlet on Twitter - @Little_Scarlet!

• Be a fan of Little Scarlet on Facebook!

And you can always e-mail any questions you might have to littlescarlet (dot) blog (at) gmail (dot) com, and don’t forget to keep checking back for a new “Poll of the Week” every Monday!

World’s First Food Truck Drive-In Movie

2010-04-16T15:33:00.006-04:00

How many times have you killed the last few minutes before lunch by stalking your favorite NYC food trucks online? (thank God for Twitter!) You know, checking to see if they’ll be in your neighborhood that day or if they’ve already run out of your favorite special dumpling/burrito/ice cream? How often do you find yourself walking home from work or the gym, and you spot Schnitzel & Things or the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck stopped at a red light and it’s all you can do to keep from banging on the passenger window and holding up traffic while you get your fix?

If any of this sounds familiar, then Little Scarlet has great news for you! This year’s NYC Food Film Festival is introducing “The World’s First Food Truck Drive-In Movie”.

On June 26th, the “largest collection of the region’s food trucks ever assembled” will meet under the Brooklyn Bridge for a drive-in movie. Except this time, it’s the food that will drive in – everyone else will be showing up on foot. Just picture it: all of New York’s most fantastic food trucks all in one place, all day long!

Food service starts at noon and the movies (all food-themed) begin at sundown. Admission is free, but luckily the people over at NYC Food Film Festival know how out-of-hand an event as awesome as this can get and are using a gentle crowd-control tactic – you’ll need a ticket to get in.

There’s a limited number of tickets, but they really are free (although donations to the Food Bank for New York City are welcome when you “purchase” your ticket), so act quickly! Here’s the link, and hope to see you all there!

Rumor has it the founders are hoping to have at least 50 vendors show up, but they haven’t released any names yet. While we’re waiting, tell Little Scarlet what your favorite NYC food truck is! Leave a comment for your fellow readers about what makes it so great - and be sure to check back here later for a full list of expected vendors once it’s made available.

Poll of the Week - 4.12.2010

2010-04-12T08:08:00.020-04:00

Have you ever looked in your refrigerator and seen food, but nothing to really make a meal out of? Half an onion, one plum tomato, and some leftover cheese and olives may not sound like much, but on a day when your cupboard’s as bare as old Mother Hubbard’s, these are the perfect ingredients for a great pasta dish. When you don’t have much to work with, pantry staples like pasta, orzo, couscous, and rice can be your best friend. One of my all-time favorite ways to use up leftover odds-and-ends, though, is to make risotto.

Risotto is made from high-starch rice (like Arborio rice) and is cooked slowly over low heat until it has a rich and creamy texture. Most risotto recipes build upon a standard list of ingredients that includes onions, butter or olive oil, white wine, and Parmesan cheese, but risotto’s strongest appeal is the dish’s great versatility.

This week’s “Poll of the Week” asks what’s your favorite risotto addition?

Poll of the Week - 4.05.2010

2010-04-05T09:59:00.000-04:00

We’re cruising into our third official week of spring and everything is finally starting to come into bloom! A visit home over the weekend for Easter showed daffodils and crocuses peeking out of the earth, cherry trees and magnolias filling the air with perfume and their pink and white blossoms, and forsythia’s wild, yellow branches popping out against a bright blue sky. It was so nice to be out of the city for a little while, walk around on the grass, and eat outside in a warm, sunny backyard!

Spring marks a clear departure from the foods of winter, and we get the first real taste of this during the Passover and Easter feasts. These holidays have traditions that run deep, with food taking on especial significance since many menu items are chosen for their religious symbolism. This week’s “Poll of the Week” wants to know what did you enjoy at your holiday table this past week?

Kyochon - 32nd St & 5th Ave

2010-03-31T23:07:00.004-04:00

Kyochon
$
*
319 5th Ave
212.725.9292
http://kyochon.com/2009usa/index.asp

New York’s dining scene has been buzzing lately about famed Korean fried chicken joint Kyochon, and its recent descent on Midtown Manhattan. This fast-food fried chicken restaurant has just opened a new outpost on the corner of 5th Ave and 32nd St. Sadly, the reality doesn’t quite live up to the hype.

Kyochon’s futuristic, space-age design is interesting enough, full of starkly contrasting reds and whites, shiny chrome and clear plastic. But the walls of televisions upstairs are a huge distraction, and the über-modern aesthetic also applies to employee uniforms, inviting a comparison to flight attendants from a poorly costumed Tarantino movie.

Korean fried chicken is a completely different style from the Southern fried chicken of Popeye’s and KFC - and to give Kyochon their due, they deliver on the distinction. At Kyochon, the chicken (drumsticks or wings only) is fried twice for extra crispness and brushed with either a soy-garlic or hot & sweet sauce. But the glaze is a bit thick, and the hot & sweet sauce is not spicy enough to merit the cashier’s warning. The chicken itself is fairly decent, but ultimately disappointing given the high expectations Kyochon’s set up for itself.

Kyochon is located on a section of 5th Avenue just on the perimeter of Koreatown, an area full of mandoo, bibimbap, gogi gui (Korean barbecue), and – you guessed it – Korean fried chicken. In fact, Kyochon’s main competitor, Bon Chon Chicken, is about to become their neighbor, moving in just half a block away within the next couple of months. And Bon Chon makes the same chicken - only much, much better.

With so much competition nearby, Kyochon needs to start offering more than just hype.

Poll of the Week - 3.29.2010

2010-03-29T07:58:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago, The New York Times ran an article on “rediscovering salsa”. It’s a great read about different kinds of salsa (both authentic and Americanized) and the way different Mexican salsas enhance and complement specific foods, just as different French sauces are best suited for particular dishes.

In America, we kind of have our own definitions of salsa. People prefer radically different varieties and “salsa” conjures up specific memories for a lot of people. Maybe salsa makes you think of the jarred stuff you inhaled during your college years. Or maybe you take a fishing trip with your buddies every year and always served the day’s catch with sweet, fruit salsa and cold beer. Or maybe your favorite Mexican restaurant makes a hot, smoky salsa that you want to smother on everything within sight.

This week’s “Poll of the Week” asks what is your favorite kind of salsa?

And if you have any specific salsa-related memories, please share them in a Comment!

Grillin’ on the Bay 2010 - Recap

2010-03-28T20:20:00.003-04:00

The NEBS-sanctioned Grillin’ on the Bay barbecue contest was not at all what I was expecting. It was completely wonderful, and a real learning experience. I had pictured an event similar to the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party (only 75 days away as of March 28!), but with a secluded judging area off to the side somewhere. Instead, I found myself in the middle of a community entirely new to me – the world of competitive barbecue.

One of the first things I learned was that at these barbecue competitions, food is not available for purchase from the competing teams, although the competition’s sponsors – RUB BBQ and Chelsea Brewing Company, in this case – will sell food and beer on site.

Also, the Grillin’ on the Bay competition was less of a true barbecue competition and more of a grilling competition. Many teams were using smokers, but set up only started at 6 am the day of the competition – instead of two days prior.

Beer Belly Porkers, getting ready to compete

And finally, the judging itself was more serious than I was expecting. NEBS has over 6 pages of rules, outlining everything from what is an appropriate garnish for each category, the calculations involved in weighing the judges’ scores from each category, and acceptable definitions of “stuffing” and “bacon” – which vary from one category to another!

Judges sit six to a table and, using a double-blind judging system, score 5-6 entries per category based on appearance, taste, and texture – in that order. The rules for judging the four categories (fish, chicken, pork ribs, and “chef’s choice”) are strict, even a seemingly mild violation can be grounds for disqualification. Did you present your fish entry with a lemon wedge, or perhaps finish it with a chunky sauce? Disqualified. Did your chicken entry have a garnish of anything other than green leaf lettuce, Italian parsley, or curly parsley? Disqualified. And what if your entry missed the turn-in time by only one second? You guessed it – disqualified!

I had no idea barbecue judging rules were this specific, although the seasoned judges at my table told me that KCBS (Kansas City Barbecue Society) rules were much more strict. Assuming all goes well, I will be a KCBS certified barbecue judge on May 2, so I’ll be able to comment more on that in about five weeks!

After judging, the scores are weighed by the Contest Representative and the top ten winners in each category (fish, chicken, pork ribs, chef’s choice, and “best overall”) are announced, with the top five winners from each category receiving trophies and prizes.

Blazin’ Buttz BBQ took “Best Overall” this year - additional winners are listed at the bottom of this post

Being a judge was a terrific amount of fun, and the food was so good! It’s important to remember to pace yourself and only have a few small bites from each entry, or else you’ll never make it through the day. The only thing I wish had been different was it would have been nice to know if you had tried an entry from any of the winning teams – but the double-blind judging system eliminates that possibility, adding a playful dash of intrigue to the event.

If you’re not a judge, though, the best way to enjoy an event like Grillin’ on the Bay is to slip in as a Table Captain. Table Captains bring the food from the Contest Representatives to the judges, present each entry, and then get to eat any leftover food! Since many entries contain more than six samples, being a Table Captain is a great way to get to see all 27 entries for each category and taste almost all of them (judges can only see and taste the six entries at their table).

My first time as a NEBS judge was kind of like joining an exclusive club for the day. Almost all of my fellow judges had been around the block a time or two, and many were Master KCBS judges (something that requires judging 30 different qualifying events, cooking with a barbecue team, and passing a written test!). It was great to see them have a sort of reunion here in New York, some traveling from as far away as Massachusetts and Maryland.

My clothes still smell like smoke from standing outside before and after the judging, but it’s a price I’ll happily pay. I can’t wait for the next one!

Winners from Grillin’ on the Bay 2010

Fish
1. Blazin’ Buttz BBQ
2. Better BBQ Bureau
3. 2 Fat Pollocks
4. XX Factor
5. Pearl Lee Q’s
6. Rib’s Within
7. I Smell Smoke!!!
8. Uncle Jed’s
9. Purple Turtle Catering
10. Beer Belly Porkers

Chicken
1. Wildwood Bbq
2. Purple Turtle Catering
3. Smokehouse Rules
4. Heavy Metal Beach Thunder BBQ
5. Beer Belly Porkers
6. XX Factor
7. Rib’s Within
8. Blazin’ Buttz BBQ
9. Burnt Side Down
10. A Grill Smokes in Brooklyn

Pork Ribs
1. iQue
2. Better BBQ Bureau
3. Smoke in da Eye
4. Smokehouse Rules
5. Blazin’ Buttz BBQ
6. 2 Fat Pollocks
7. Jacked Up BBQ
8. Uncle Jed’s
9. I Smell Smoke!!!
10. FUHGEDDABOUTIT

Chef’s Choice
1. Purple Turtle Catering
2. Ed-’Que–Cators
3. Beer Belly Porkers
4. XX Factor
5. Smokeopolis BBQ
6. Blazin’ Buttz BBQ
7. Smokehouse Rules
8. Rib’s Within
9. Ma’s Que Crew
10. Smoke in Da Eye

Best Overall
1. Blazin’ Buttz BBQ
2. Purple Turtle Catering
3. Smokehouse Rules
4. Better BBQ Bureau
5. Rib’s Within
6. Smoke in da Eye
7. Wildwood BBQ
8. Beer Belly Porkers
9. Smokeopolis BBQ
10. 2 Fat Pollocks

Brooklyn Chili Smack Down
1. Wildwood BBQ
2. The Moose is Loose BBQ
3. Virgil’s BBQ

Grillin’ on the Bay 2010

2010-03-22T23:17:00.007-04:00

New York City’s only officially sanctioned barbecue competition is happening this Saturday, March 27 out in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. The 5th Annual Grillin’ on the Bay barbecue competition is sanctioned by the New England Barbecue Society and will (pardon the pun!) pit 30 pitmasters against one another in four categories: fish, chicken, pork ribs, and “chef’s choice”.

But the best part is that Little Scarlet has been asked to judge this extravaganza!

Will 2010’s competition see reigning champion barbecue team Transformer BBQ be crowned Best Overall for the second year in a row? Or will 2008’s winner Smoke in da Eye reclaim their title? Come see this Saturday and watch how it all plays out!

Grilling starts at 11 am, admission is free, and the food (and beer!) is pay-as-you-eat. But that’s not all, the Brooklyn Chili Smack Down will also be happening that same day - same location and everything! The Chili Smack Down will begin at 1 pm and is $10 for all-you-can-eat chili - at least until they run out. For a full list of competitors and full event schedule, click “Read more” after the jump.

Official website: www.grillinonthebay.blogspot.com

Location: St. Mark School, corner of E 18th Street and Avenue Z, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn

Time: 11 am - 4 pm, Awards at 4:30 pm

View Larger Map

List of Competitors:

Blazin’ Buttz BBQ
I Smell Smoke
Pearl Lee Q’s
Uncle Jed’s
FUHGEDDABOUTIT
Richie’s Rib Shack
Garden State Porkway
The Moose is Loose BBQ
Burnt Side Down
Smokenstein & His Smokin’ Bride
Beer Belly Porkers
Ed-’Que—Cators
Brother Mark BBQ
Smoke in da Eye
Bourbon BBQ
Purple Turtle Catering
XX Factor
Smokeopolis BBQ
Ma’s Que Crew
Heavy Metal Beach Bum Barbecue
Wildwood Bbq
Smokehouse Rules
A Grill Smokes in Brooklyn
iQue
2 Fat Pollocks
Better BBQ Bureau
Rib’s Within
Rib Side
Three Men and a Babyback
Jacked Up BBQ

Saturday’s Schedule
11:00 AM: Vending of food begins by RUB BBQ
12:00 PM: Fish Turn-in
12:45 PM: Chicken Turn-in
1:00 PM: People’s Choice Chili Smackdown contest opens
1:30 PM: Pork Ribs Turn-in
2:15 PM: Chef’s Choice Turn-in
3:15 PM: RUB Rapid Fire Challenge Turn-in
4:00 PM: People’s Choice Chili Smackdown contest voting ends.
4:30 PM: Award Ceremony in the School Gym
5:00 PM: Craft Fair Ends

Poll of the Week - 3.22.2010

2010-03-22T08:05:00.000-04:00

National Barbecue Month may not be until May, but now that spring is officially here, it’s time to dust off those grills and rekindle your love affair with barbecue! Little Scarlet has some exciting barbecue-related news to share (look for it later today), but here’s a new “Poll of the Week” to get you excited.

Many people confuse barbecue with grilling, thinking that as soon as you throw some steak, chicken, or veggies on a grill, it’s automatically “barbecue”. Real barbecue, however, is cooked “low and slow” - using indirect or low-level heat and cooking for several hours. This process locks in the meat’s juices and yields extraordinarily tender meat. A lot of barbecue is also smoked, and while you can get smoke flavor by adding liquid smoke to any barbecue sauce, that taste that can only come from real wood smoke is truly something special.

For all the barbecue lovers out there, tell Little Scarlet - what’s your favorite kind of barbecue?

Zucchini Muffins

2010-03-16T21:58:00.003-04:00

Corned beef and cabbage may be the traditional food with which to toast Saint Patrick’s Day, but over the years, I’ve found that people get excited about anything green. While a few drops of food coloring can turn anything from mashed potatoes to Budweiser green, there’s plenty of green to be found naturally - like in zucchini bread!

If you’ve never had zucchini bread, don’t be put off by the idea of making “squash bread”. The zucchini melts into the bread while baking, yielding a lightly sweet, spiced bread that’s extra moist (think carrot cake, but nowhere near as sweet). Plus, you can give yourself a pat on the back for eating more veggies! This recipe calls for walnuts, but these can be substituted for pecans or even green pistachios (hello Saint Patrick’s Day!!) - or they can be omitted altogether if you have a nut allergy.

Makes 24 muffins (or 2 loaves of bread)

Directions (modified from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook):
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups grated raw zucchini (about 3 medium zucchinis)
1 ½ cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325º F. In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix the oil and sugar together. Beat each egg in separately, then add vanilla and 2 cups grated zucchini.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the oil-sugar-zucchini mixture until dough is moistened throughout. Gently fold in 1 cup chopped walnuts.
Pour batter into well-greased muffin tins until each muffin cup is one-half to two-thirds full. Top each muffin with a generous dollop of grated zucchini and a few small walnuts.
Bake for 35-50 minutes; muffins are done when a wooden skewer inserted through the middle comes out clean.

**Note: This recipe will also yield two loaves of bread - use two standard 9-inch loaf pans, and adjust bake time to 50-55 minutes.

These muffins will keep for up to one week, but in the spirit of Saint Patrick’s Day, Little Scarlet recommends you eat them straight out of the oven, piping hot with a liberal dose of Ireland’s Kerrygold butter!

Poll of the Week - 3.15.2010

2010-03-15T09:51:00.001-04:00

Every year on March 17, people all over the globe band together in toasting Irish culture on Saint Patrick’s Day. In America this mostly means wearing green and drinking large quantities of Guinness!

One of the great things about America is that Americans have such diverse ethnic backgrounds. And come Saint Patrick’s Day, it means that we’re all a little bit Irish - even if it’s only ¼%! This week, kitchens all over America will start turning out Irish soda bread, bacon and cabbage, and corned beef and potatoes. And on Saint Patrick’s Day, bars will be serving pints of Harp, Guinness, and green-dyed American beers. Do you have plans to make anything special for Saint Patrick’s Day?

For all of the wonderful reasons to celebrate Ireland this week, it is hard to think of Ireland without also thinking of the Great Potato Famine, so this week’s “Poll of the Week” honors this important tuber. The Irish eat their potatoes boiled or in popular dishes like colcannon (mashed potatoes with kale/cabbage and butter) or champ (mashed potatoes with scallions and butter), and this week Little Scarlet wants to know what is your favorite potato dish?

Poll of the Week - 3.09.2010

2010-03-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

The past few days have brought beautiful hints of spring, with clear blue skies and temperatures in the 50s. Spring doesn’t officially arrive for another two weeks, but it feels like time to throw off the shroud of winter and embrace the change of season!

Winter’s harsh weather shepherds in a craving for comfort foods - mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, hearty soups and stews - but this all gets old pretty quickly and those spring peas and asparagus are starting to look mighty tempting. Before you shift seasonal gears, though, take a quick look around your kitchen and at the menus of your favorite restaurants - today’s “Poll of the Week” asks what winter staple are you most excited to leave behind for the next nine months?

Taste of 7th Street - Event Recap

2010-03-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

This weekend, over 1,000 people came out to prove that this stretch of 7th Street is the best block in Manhattan. The first inaugural “Taste of 7th Street” food festival was a great success, and I hope you’ll all be back to visit these great establishments again soon!

Did you go to the “Taste of 7th Street” event? Tell Little Scarlet what you thought!

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Many thanks to all who came out this weekend - and if you think there’s another block in Manhattan that’s better than 7th Street, between 1st Ave and Ave A, let everyone know about it!

Poll of the Week - 3.01.2010

2010-03-01T10:09:00.000-05:00

Last week’s snow storm dumped a ton of snow on New York City, along with much of the Tri-state area, making this February one of the snowiest months on record. As of noon on Friday (February 26), Central Park had a record-breaking 35.9 total inches of snow, beating out 1896’s previous record-holding month!

New York public schools were canceled on Friday, along with a number of businesses, which means only one thing - snow day!! Do you prefer a quiet snow day of sipping something warm fire-side, while watching the snow come down? Or do you like to work up an appetite outdoors, sledding, shoveling snow, or building snowmen? Either way, snow days are great for indulging in favorite foods and special treats, so this week’s “Poll of the Week” asks what’s your favorite “snow day” food?

Did you have a snow day on Friday? What did you do with your time off? Hopefully, everyone enjoyed a safe, happy long weekend, playing outside and watching the final Olympic competitions!

Congratulations to the U.S.A. Olympic team for taking home 37 medals this year (more than any other country!), and special congratulations to the Men’s U.S.A. ice hockey team for a bravely fought match against Canada last night. Get ready for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, UK, and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia!

Roberta’s and Sixpoint Craft Ales: a night of highs and unbelievable lows

2010-02-24T22:51:00.005-05:00

Roberta’s
$$
**
261 Moore St., Brooklyn
718.417.1118
http://www.robertaspizza.com/

Last week, Sixpoint Craft Ales celebrated their fifth anniversary with a week-long series of events throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, one of which was a Fifth Anniversary Celebration at Roberta’s in Brooklyn. When word reached Little Scarlet of an all-you-can-eat three hour event with “unlimited beers and unlimited pizza and organic salad plus assorted dessert offerings baked with Sixpoint beer”, for only $32 - it was a no-brainer!

Unfortunately, this event truly failed to live up to its promise and became a complete disaster.

I met up with some friends from my dinner club a few minutes before the event was scheduled to begin, since tickets were expected to sell out and attendees were advised to arrive early - “so you are not disappointed”, they said. The atmosphere upon arrival was great - long tables of dark, rustic wood lined Roberta’s industrial interior and the staff were weaving in and out of guests, serving pizzas and salads family-style. Growlers of Sixpoint beer were brought to the tables just like the pizza, and the outside bar on the backyard deck was charming, with a bonfire nearby and a light flurry of snow just starting to come down.

So far, so good, right? That’s what we thought. Just wait.

The pizza was good - great, even. Roberta’s pizza belongs to the school of thick, doughy crust, slightly charred in places from their wood-fired oven and with a generous one-inch rim of crust on each 12-inch pie. Their Margherita pizza is satisfyingly saucy, cheesy, and chewy, with the great flavor that only fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil can deliver.

Margherita pizza

Roberta’s topping combinations are creative yet impressively simple, as in their “Madd Martigan” pizza, with mozzarella, mushrooms, pesto, and artichoke, and a special pie for the Fifth Anniversary Celebration, consisting of mozzarella, crispy prosciutto cotto, red onions, and mushrooms.

Madd Martigan pizza

Sixpoint Craft Ales Fifth Anniversary Celebration “special” pizza

Their bibb lettuce salad, full of toasted walnuts and gorgonzola, is brightened by a splash of sweet-tart dried cherry vinaigrette, and Sixpoint’s beers are on point, as always - full of great flavor and exactly what you wanted to go with Roberta’s straight-from-the-oven pizzas.

Again - so far, so good, right? This sounds awesome, what could possibly have gone wrong? Get ready, because here it comes.

Apparently, it turns out that “3 hours of unlimited beers and unlimited pizza” was more of an advertising gimmick than an actual guarantee. After enjoying some pizza and beer for a little over 1 hour, we were asked to leave to make way for people who had shown up late and were waiting to sit down. We were surprised to hear that the event had been oversold and that we were “hogging” the table - being savvy New Yorkers, we had shown up early and expected to get what we paid for. But while being asked to leave early didn’t seem right, we were sympathetic to the latecomers’ plight, so we asked for one more pizza and promised to leave right after. One of our friends had been outside refilling our growler of beer during this exchange and upon his return, our harried waiter had “had enough.”

Before we knew what was happening, this waiter-on-a-power-trip took away what was left of the pizza, our full glasses of beer, and told us to “Get the fuck out.” Stunned and confused, we stammered that we had been peaceably enjoying the evening and weren’t sure why we were being forcibly thrown out. Our waiter revealed that he was, in fact, the owner and threw our money ($160 in cash!) at us, telling us to never, ever come back.

Well, Roberta’s, point well taken. The food is good, good enough that I could have been convinced to make the long trek out to Bushwick a second time. But if that’s how the owners want to run their business, there’s more than enough great pizza in New York to keep me from returning.

Bottom line? If Bushwick’s not too far away and you want good pizza, go ahead - give Roberta’s a try. But if they throw any events in the future, I’d be sure to stay far away.

Unless, of course, you’re looking for a good story to tell.

Taste of 7th Street

2010-02-23T08:37:00.003-05:00

Ever wanted to travel around the world? For only $18? Well, keep dreaming, but at least with “Taste of 7th Street”, you can eat your way around the world for $18!

This weekend, February 27-28, marks the first inaugural “Taste of 7th Street” food festival. Walk your way down East Village’s 7th Street from 1st Ave to Ave A and eat your way from Venezuela to Italy, Maine to Tucson. If you live in the area, chances are this is already one of your favorite blocks, and if you haven’t been, this is the perfect opportunity to go!

You can buy your ticket to the “Taste of 7th Street” event on Scoop St.’s website (http://www.scoopst.com/) for half of the original $35 price, and in return you’ll be given a one-time use ticket for signature items at five of the great dining establishments on the stretch of 7th Street between 1st Ave and Ave A: Porchetta, Luke’s Lobster, Butter Lane, Caracas, and Xoom. Visit them all in the same day, or spread it out over the full weekend - the choice is up to you!

Little Scarlet has raved about Luke’s Lobster and Porchetta in the past, both of which are offering their signature sandwich as part of the “Taste of 7th Street” festival, and your “Taste of 7th Street” ticket will also entitle you to an arepa from Caracas, cupcakes from Butter Lane, and a 24oz fruit smoothie from new(est) kid on the block, Xoom. But that’s not all. Your $18 ticket will also get you a discount on beers at the best bars on 7th Street: Jimmy’s No. 43, Burp Castle, and Standings Bar. Standing head-and-shoulders above your average dive, these bars proudly carry the Good Beer Seal, demonstrating a true passion for craft beers and cask ales, as well as a commitment to being a nice, local place to drink great beer with friends.

This weekend-long celebration of local establishments is a food-lover’s dream, and there are only a limited number of half-price tickets available, so act fast!

For more details and additional ordering information, click here.

**update** - As of 24 Feb, this event is sold out - 830 tickets have been sold (wow!) but feel free to come out anyway and taste what 7th Street has to offer!

**update #2** As of 25 Feb, Scoop St will be releasing 170 more tickets this morning, so get on it!

Poll of the Week - 2.22.2010

2010-02-22T08:26:00.018-05:00

Going into the final week of the 2010 Winter Olympics, it’s been wonderful to look back over the past week and see the finest athletes from all over the world compete for their country. As the Olympics move from one city to the next, country to country, it’s exciting to learn about the local culture - and no culture is complete without its own epicurean history!

Whether it’s fine dining or local street vendors, this week’s “Poll of the Week” wants to know: of the past and future Olympic host cities listed below, which city’s food would you be most excited to eat?

And congratulations to the U.S. Olympic team - 24 medals (as of 22 Feb) and counting! Click here to see how your country is doing.

Mardi Gras!

2010-02-16T16:14:00.000-05:00

Celebrated as “Carnival” in Brazil, Italy, Spain, and France, here in America, no one does Mardi Gras better than New Orleans!

If Louisiana is a little too far away for you, try some of these recipes from Little Scarlet to bring the taste of New Orleans to you:

Red Beans and Rice: this simple stew adds kidney beans and salty, smoked ham to Creole cooking’s Holy Trinity - serve over rice with hot sauce for the table and you’re good to go!
Shrimp & Andouille Sausage Gumbo: packed full of okra, sausage, and shrimp this spicy Creole stew is just the thing to set your Mardi Gras off right.
King Cake: a ring of braided bread, filled with cinnamon, pecans, and topped with the official colors of Mardi Gras - green, purple, and yellow. Don’t let your Carnival be without one!

Sometimes the last thing you want to do is prepare a meal for a big holiday, and Mardi Gras is a great time to head out on the town. Visit Mara’s Homemade in the East Village for a true taste of New Orleans spice and flare! Be sure to take advantage of tonight’s special Mardi Gras menu with gumbo, barbecue, a live crawfish boil, and King Cake. With no closing time tonight, Mara’s is serving food & drinks until the last customer leaves, so grab your friends, a bucket of crawfish, and a round of hurricanes - Happy Mardi Gras, everyone!

King Cake

2010-02-16T08:08:00.000-05:00

It’s Mardi Gras, and you can’t possibly celebrate this holiday without a King Cake!

There are many variations of the King Cake (or King’s Cake), but in New Orleans it is traditionally a ring of twisted or braided bread (similar to brioche) that is topped with icing and sugar in the traditional Mardi Gras colors (green, purple, and yellow). Some stuff their cake with cream cheese and pralines, others deep fry the cake like a doughnut before dousing it in sugar, but all of them include a hidden “trinket” tucked into the cake. If you find the trinket in your piece of cake, you’re the King (or Queen) for Mardi Gras, and it’s up to you to provide next year’s King Cake - so be sure to keep this recipe handy!

Little Scarlet’s recipe follows traditional New Orleans’ guidelines, with pecans and a light, icing glaze - but uses a few welcome shortcuts.

This delicious mess of a cake is all Southern pecans and cinnamon-sugar sweetness - serves 8-12

Directions:

Cake:
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 11-oz can Pillsbury bread sticks (refrigerated, not frozen)
½ cup chopped pecans

Icing:
1 12-oz can whipped cream cheese frosting
1/4 cup skim milk
Green sanding sugar
Purple sanding sugar
Gold (yellow) sanding sugar

1 heat-proof plastic baby

Preheat oven to 400º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
Cream the butter, sugar, and cinnamon together using an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Open bread sticks and separate twelve breadsticks. Press together the ends of two breadsticks to make one long stick, until you have six long breadsticks in total.
Pinch together three breadsticks at one end, and (with clean hands) spread the cinnamon sugar mixture over all breadsticks, pressing pecans into middle braid. Loosely braid three breadsticks together, taking care not to stretch the dough too thin. Pinch the braids together at the other end, and repeat with the remaining three breadsticks.
Loosely coil one braids in a circle, leaving a small hole in the middle, about 3 inches in diameter. Coil the remaining braid on top of this one, and carefully insert the heat-proof plastic baby (or other trinket) somewhere into the braided dough.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until cake is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely.
Once the cake is cool, combine the whipped frosting and milk in a medium saucepan over low heat. Heat until mixture is warm and smooth, stirring constantly. With a spoon, pour glaze over cake one spoonful at a time, until coated to your desires. Sprinkle with sanding sugars and let cool again before serving.

Poll of the Week - 2.15.2010

2010-02-15T11:29:00.002-05:00

Lent is a Christian holiday spanning the 46 days from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. During this time, Christians traditionally practice self-denial (along with other devotional practices) by electing to give up something they enjoy for Lent’s duration. Meat and alcohol are the most common pleasures that people give up, but you could abstain from anything you enjoy and indulge in on a regular basis. Giving up things like broccoli and exercise don’t count!

For this reason, the self-denial aspect of Lent has moved beyond Christianity and is now practiced by many in a secular fashion - most often by people who want to renew their New Year’s Resolutions and use Lent as a period to regain focus.

This year, Lent begins on Wednesday, February 17, and will continue until April 3 - what will you be giving up?

Remember, Mardi Gras (or “Fat Tuesday”) is also this week, and is meant to serve as a “last hurrah” before Lent begins - so make sure you plan something big!

Pomegranate Cocktails

2010-02-13T17:38:00.009-05:00

During Valentine’s Day weekend, it’s hard to get away from all things pink and red – but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur was kind enough to send Little Scarlet some samples, and I can honestly say that this ruby-colored liqueur is just wonderful!

Made from pomegranate juice, premium vodka, and “a touch” of imported tequila (34 proof - 17% alc/vol), PAMA has a thick, sweet flavor with a tart bite, similar to that of cranberry juice. This versatile liqueur is well suited for a variety of drinks across all seasons. Try it around Christmas time to perk up a mulled wine, or use it in a big summer-time pitcher of tropical punch. Great for fun martinis with the girls, this jewel-toned liqueur also adds a splash of drama to an elegant Champagne cocktail.

The next time you’re in the liquor store, look for this beautiful bottle in the liqueur section and whip up one of these great cocktails!

Pomegranate-Mulled wine

Blushing Lady

Pomegranate Champagne cocktail

Pomegranate-Lemonade Fizz

Pomegranate-Mulled Wine (serves 12):

12 whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks
4 lemons, sliced
2 oranges, sliced
1 cup PAMA pomegranate liqueur
½ tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1 ¼ cup water
2 bottles red wine (e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot)

Combine cloves, cinnamon sticks, lemons, and oranges in a cheesecloth. Pour remaining ingredients into a large, saucepan over medium-low heat, and add spice-cheesecloth. Heat for 15-20 minutes, without bringing to a simmer. Wring cheesecloth out over pot, and remove. Serve warm, with a cinnamon stick for garnish.

Blushing Lady (serves 1):

1 oz PAMA pomegranate liqueur
2 oz vodka
1 oz pink grapefruit juice

Garnish glass with coarse sugar rim by running a lemon wedge around the rim of a martini glass, and dipping the glass in a plate of coarse sugar. Then, pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice, and shake. Pour through a strainer into a garnished martini glass.

Pomegranate Champagne cocktail (serves 1):

3 oz PAMA pomegranate liqueur
1 oz Champagne

Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker over ice, and stir. Pour through strainer into a Champagne flute.

Pomegranate-Lemonade Fizz (serves 8):

1 cup PAMA pomegranate liqueur
1 cup citrus-flavored vodka
1 cup cranberry juice
3 cups lemonade
1 cup club soda
Optional: fresh raspberries and lemon slices for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher with ice, and stir well. Serve in tall, individual glasses, and top each glass with 1 oz club soda. Garnish with fresh raspberries and lemon slices,if desired.

Recipes are either provided by or adapted from PAMA - thanks to PAMA for providing images!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

2010-02-12T11:04:00.003-05:00

Valentine’s Day - one of those holidays that is loved and loathed in equal measure.

Some people see it coming months in advance and lay out ridiculously elaborate plans, while others move through February blissfully (or perhaps willfully) unaware of the approaching holiday. But then suddenly, it’s just a few days before The Big Day and you’re scrambling to come up with a last-minute plan that seems impressive and thoughtful!

Whatever your reason is for the eleventh-hour planning frenzy, whether your relationship just started or you simply forgot it was coming, Little Scarlet has you covered. Here are Little Scarlet’s two favorite “last-minute” ideas for Valentine’s Day (and if you don’t happen to live in the New York metropolitan area, they’re versatile enough that you can whip them up in your own hometown).

Idea #1: The Grand Gesture

Fancy restaurants are often the first thought for most couples on Valentine’s Day, but there’s something even more romantic about someone going through the effort of preparing a home-cooked meal for you, especially if it’s paired with good wine and candles!

This year, let Brooklyn’s Red Hook Lobster Pound do the heavy lifting for you. For $140 ($115 without wine), they will provide you with a 15-qt lobster pot with a steamer insert (a great gift by itself if your valentine happens to be a lobster lover!), two 1.5-lb lobsters, a bottle of champagne (or other wine, if you prefer), and chocolates. And if you’re lucky, the rest of the package (“Morning After Green Chorizo Sausage” from The Meat Hook and 10-oz of Crop to Cup coffee) will be a welcome addition!

Call for reservations (646.326.7650), or e-mail (redhooklobster@gmail.com) - hurry, these are going fast!

To round out this Valentine’s Day lobster dinner, Little Scarlet recommends serving smashed red potatoes as a side. To make, simply halve baby red potatoes and boil with the skin on for ten minutes or until cooked, then drain most of the liquid (reserving a few tablespoons) and smash the potatoes with the back of a fork until they are broken. Mix in sour cream and some of the reserved potato water, and top with fresh dill.

Idea #2: “U R 2 CUTE” (Valentine’s Day for the kid in you)

If you’re looking for a more low-key Valentine’s Day, or if your sweetheart has a soft-spot for lace doilies, paper cut-out hearts, and conversation hearts, Peanut Butter & Co. has the perfect date for you! Their “Sweetheart’s Snack” menu goes for the low rate of $35, but the cuteness factor is immeasurable.

Reservations are recommended - 212.677.3995

Four heart-shaped sandwiches are served with potato chips and carrot sticks, alongside big glasses of plain or strawberry milk, complete with a twirly, heart-shaped crazy-straw for two. Candy conversation hearts and a PB&J pretzel sundae (vanilla ice cream, peanut butter pretzels, and melba sauce) finish off the meal, and they’ll even throw in a jar of Peanut Butter & Co.’s all-natural peanut butter as a keepsake. Although their peanut butter is so good you won’t want to keep this on your shelf very long!

Poll of the Week - 2.08.2010

2010-02-08T10:39:00.001-05:00

Little kids are notoriously picky eaters, which can be disheartening and a serious drain on a parent’s energy, especially if that parent is a true food lover, like Little Scarlet’s readers! Picky eaters can turn up in any household; even world-renown chefs like Tom Colicchio have children who go through a picky phase, refusing to eat raw tomatoes or anything green.

According to recent studies, however, one of the best ways to encourage children to try new foods is to bring them into the kitchen and involve them in preparing family meals. I was exposed to a great variety of foods as a child and ate fairly adventurously, but it wasn’t until I caught and cooked my first crab that I was willing to eat any shellfish besides shrimp (and even then, always hiding under a mass of cocktail sauce)!

In this week’s “Poll of the Week”, Little Scarlet wants to know what food did you hate as a child that you now can’t get enough of?

If you have a picky eater at home, what other foods do they dig their heels in about refusing? What’s the one food you’re convinced they would love if they would just give it a try? Little Scarlet wants to hear all about it – and good luck to all the parents out there!

Game-Day Chili

2010-02-06T10:56:00.008-05:00

If you’re still trying to decide what to make for Super Bowl Sunday, don’t look any further! This chili recipe from Little Scarlet is exactly what you’re looking for - delicious, easy to make, and open to variation. Normally, Little Scarlet prefers to make things from scratch, but everyone needs that one “dump and stir” recipe to fall back on, and this one is perfect for those crowded, hectic entertaining days like Super Bowl Sunday!

Wick Fowler’s 2-Alarm Chili Kit hits on precisely the right spices for flavorful chili (red pepper, cumin, oregano, chili powder, dried onion & garlic, paprika, salt), and has the right amounts in easy-to-use packets. And the best part? You can buy this in almost every single grocery store in America! (you’ve probably seen it a million times before on supermarket shelves - see picture at right)

Little Scarlet builds on this seasoning base by including fresh onion, two different kinds of beans, whole, peeled tomatoes, okra, and sliced jalapeños, making this chili recipe satisfying and special. Thick and hearty from all those vegetables and legumes, this recipe would be great even without adding the ground beef (ideal for vegetarians!), but the two pounds of ground beef should satisfy any meat-loving chili eater - and might even be a good stepping stone for any veggie-phobic eaters!

Recipe yields 8 servings

Directions:
2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 12-oz can of low-sodium V8 juice
1 cup water
1 package Wick Fowler’s 2-Alarm Chili Kit, minus masa flour
2 12-oz can black beans
2 12-oz can kidney beans
1 28-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes (diced tomatoes can be substituted, if desired)
1 16-oz bag frozen, sliced okra
Optional: 1 4-oz can nacho sliced jalapeños

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, sauté ground beef with onions. Drain off fat and return to pot, adding V8, water and the spice contents of the 2-Alarm Chili Kit, except for the Red Pepper and Masa Flour. For spicier chili, add the entire Red Pepper packet, and for a more mild chili, only add half of the packet. Do not include any masa flour - the okra in Step 3 makes this chili nice and thick!
Rinse the beans thoroughly in a colander until the water runs clear. Disregard any remaining 2-Alarm Chili Kit package directions, and add black beans, kidney beans, and tomatoes (with juices!) to pot. Don’t cut the tomatoes into smaller pieces, but it is a good idea to pierce them a little so they release steam and juices, and you don’t burn your mouth when eating them.
Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent anything from sticking to the bottom. Add frozen okra and continue to simmer until okra is cooked through (about 10 minutes), stirring frequently. If desired, add well-rinsed jalapeños at the same time as the okra.

This chili can be served immediately, or kept covered for several hours (just bring back to a simmer before serving). You can add whatever toppings you like, but Little Scarlet likes to keep things simple with sour cream and a bottle of Frank’s RedHot sauce for the table!

Jalapeño Poppers

2010-02-03T20:31:00.022-05:00

A favorite of tailgates and barbecues all over the country, the jalapeño popper is the perfect blend of spicy and cheesy, cool and crunchy. These poppers are baked in the oven for a lighter bite, but a cornflake breading helps retain all the same crunch of the deep-fried original. As the jalapeños bake, the peppers’ burning spiciness mellows out revealing the wonderful flavor of their signature heat. And equal parts cream cheese and shredded cheddar make for a creamy, cooling contrast to all that jalapeño spice.

Easy to make and delicious, once you make these for your friends they’ll be begging you to make them for every occasion - make sure you bring a big platter to your Super Bowl party!

Makes ~30 poppers (depending on how much filling you use per popper!)
(Image belongs to Hungry Girl, Lisa Lillien)

Directions (adapted from Hungry Girl’s Jalapeño Swappers recipe):
15 whole, fresh jalapeños
1 cup Philadelphia cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup cornflake crumbs
4 large eggs
Optional: salt, pepper, chili powder, and/or garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350° F. Halve the jalapeños lengthwise, and using a small spoon, scrape out the seeds, stems, and membranes (for spicier poppers, reserve some of the jalapeño seeds and add to the cheeses in Step 2, below). Be very careful not to touch your face or your eyes until after thorough hand-washing. Wash all jalapeño halves and dry well.
Stir cream cheese and shredded cheddar together. Place cornflake crumbs in a shallow dish and season with salt, pepper, chili powder, and/or garlic powder, if desired; place eggs in a separate shallow dish and beat well.
Using your clean hands, spread the cheese mixture on each pepper half, but be careful not to over-stuff your poppers or else the cheese will ooze out while baking. Next, coat the entire pepper with beaten egg and then with the cornflake crumbs. Place peppers on a nonstick baking sheet lined with tin foil. Bake for about 20 minutes (add additional ten minutes for less spicy peppers).

Eat as soon as possible - don’t burn your fingers!

Poll of the Week - 2.01.2010

2010-02-01T09:56:00.002-05:00

I absolutely love the Miss America Pageant and have watched it with my family every year since I can remember. So before we get into the “Poll of the Week”, I’d like to congratulate Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron, for winning 2010’s Miss America Pageant!

Miss America 2009 (Miss Indiana, Katie Stam) crowns Miss America 2010 (Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron)

Moving on to business, though, many of you are probably spending this week preparing for this Sunday’s marathon eating session, also known as “Super Bowl XLIV”. The Indianapolis Colts will play the New Orleans Saints, and upwards of 90 million Americans will be tuned in to see the outcome. Of course, it’s almost impossible to get a large group of people together to watch football without feeding everyone (unless you want to incite a riot!), making Super Bowl Sunday the biggest eating day of the year after Thanksgiving!

According to ABC, Americans consume more than 11 million pounds of potato chips and 53.5 million pounds of Hass avocados on Super Bowl Sunday, with the average person eating 1200 calories worth of food just during the game itself!!

Everyone has their own game-time specialty, whether it’s your own spin on a classic Velveeta dip or if you and your friends keep the local pizza parlor in business. This week, Little Scarlet wants to know what is your favorite Super Bowl game-time food?

Be sure to check back this week for some of Little Scarlet’s favorite Super Bowl recipes!

BaoHaus - Rivington & Norfolk Sts

2010-01-31T20:34:00.004-05:00

BaoHaus
$
**
137 Rivington St
646.684.3835
http://www.baohausnyc.com/

You’re roaming around the Lower East Side, you’re hungry, it’s late, and the last thing you want is another bad piece of pizza. Lucky for you, the gua bao at BaoHaus (open Fridays & Saturdays until 2 am) is just what you need!

Eddie Huang’s gua bao are steamed Taiwanese buns filled with skirt steak, pork belly, or pan-fried tofu, along with crushed peanuts, cilantro, pickled mustard greens, Taiwanese red sugar, and BaoHaus’s special Haus Relish.

The owner, Eddie (first name basis, please!), is working behind the counter and chatting up the customers as they come in, offering advice on which bao to try and whether you want fatty or lean meat. Definitely make sure you strike up a conversation with Eddie - he has great restaurant tips to pass along and loves talking about food.

Eddie lets *Little Scarlet* take a peek around the kitchen

Eddie’s Chinese heritage and Southern upbringing are both on display here from boiled peanuts (a staple snack of the South) to the pickled mustard greens that top all of BaoHaus’s bao to the cherry cola used to braise the Chairman Bao’s pork belly. Baos are priced two to an order, but a “Straight Frush” (any three baos, an order of bao fries, and a cup of boiled peanuts) is the way to go if you want to try everything - and you definitely should!

The bao fries are like Asian French toast sticks - slices of sweet, bao dough are lightly fried and drizzled with an addictive sesame sauce.

Bao fries and sweet, sesame sauce

Eddie’s Haus Bao is the same recipe he debuted on Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown (episode airing March 21, 2010). Angus skirt steak is red-cooked until it’s so tender it almost melts in your mouth, and is given a spicy-sweet flavor from reduced moutai (Chinese firewater). This Asian barbecue-flavored beef is then served on a folded, steamed bun.

Haus bao

The Chairman Bao is stuffed with Niman Ranch pork belly that has been braised low-and-slow, melting the ribbon of fat that tops each slice. All this is complemented nicely by that same refreshing combination of crushed peanut, pickled mustard greens, and cilantro.

Eddie gives a nod to his Southern roots by using cherry cola to tenderize Chairman Bao’s pork belly

Tofu has to be something pretty spectacular to capture the interest of Little Scarlet, and the pan-fried squares of the Uncle Jesse fit the bill. Coated in sweet potato starch before being fried, the tofu is firm and silken, and really holds the flavor of the Haus sauce well.

The Uncle Jesse is not named for the “Full House” character, but rather for Eddie’s vegetarian friend, musician Jesse Hofrichter.

If you’ve never had boiled peanuts before, they are not to be passed up. Boiled peanuts are soft and meaty, unlike the hard, crunchy, dry-roasted variety that fills serving dishes all over New York’s bars. This favorite Southern snack gets an Asian twist from being boiled in rice vinegar.

Don’t be surprised - these boiled peanuts are hot and delicious!

Whether you live on the Lower East Side or it’s your favorite late-night haunt, Eddie Huang and his bao are about to become your new best friends – so be sure to visit often!

Poll of the Week - 1.25.2010

2010-01-25T09:26:00.002-05:00

As my loyal readers already know, this past weekend, Little Scarlet was lucky enough to participate in Foodbuzz’s “24, 24, 24” program – that’s 24 Meals in 24 Hours on 24 Posts. Little Scarlet embarked upon a culinary journey to the land of the Midnight Sun (aka “Sweden”), and was met with great success!

Today’s “Poll of the Week” involves a little bit of shameless self-promotion (follow Little Scarlet on Twitter! add Little Scarlet to your RSS feeds!). If you read yesterday’s post about Saturday’s Swedish Smörgåsbord, you’ll see that there were lots of different recipes used. Today’s poll asks, of the dishes prepared during Little Scarlet’s Swedish Smörgåsbord, which are you most eager to try for yourself?

Links (of course!) to all recipes are posted here:

• Limpa bread
• Blueberry soup
• Swedish meatballs
• Roast duck with wine-braised cabbage
• Glögg (Swedish mulled wine)

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Skål! a Swedish Smörgåsbord

2010-01-24T23:48:00.010-05:00

For January’s “24, 24, 24” program, I present to you all a traditional Swedish smörgåsbord in honor of A Little Night Music’s current revival on Broadway!

A traditional Swedish smörgåsbord is a buffet of bread, cheese, cold soup and fish dishes, and a number of hot dishes, so our Saturday Smörgåsbord menu had the following courses (click links below for recipes!):

• Limpa bread, butter, and cheese
• Gravlax on cocktail pumpernickel
• Chilled blueberry soup
• Swedish meatballs
• Roast duck with wine-braised cabbage
• Drommar (Swedish “dream” cookies)
• Glögg (Swedish mulled wine)

Looking over the menu I’d created for Saturday’s smörgåsbord, I realized that I had never cooked any of these dishes before. Had I gotten in over my head? Was this going to be a huge disaster?

Luckily, everything was surprisingly simple to make and delicious to eat!

Just a few of the ingredients purchased that morning for Saturday’s Swedish smörgåsbord.

Most of the ingredients were easy to find. The wonderful, knowledgeable butchers at Ottomanelli & Sons had plenty of roasting ducks for me to choose from, and even had time to answer a few questions about scoring the skin and properly rendering the fat.

The ammonium carbonate for the drommar cookies, however, was impossible to get a hold of. The folks over at Epicurious claim that your pharmacist can prepare ammonium carbonate for you, but I got ridiculed off the phone by the people at “the nation’s oldest apothecary” (aka “C.O. Bigelow”) – if the nation’s oldest apothecary can’t help you, who can? After follow-up calls to Whole Foods, Dean and Deluca, and a desperate plea to Rite Aid fell flat, I called C.O. Bigelow one more time, and this time they said they could help me! Which would have been great, if it were true. But they only had liquid smelling salts and a deodorant made from ammonium-something-or-other (“It’s all natural, you can just shave off pieces and bake with that!”) - no thank you, Bigelow. After popping into a few other specialty grocery stores in the West Village, I had to settle on using baking powder and just hope for the best.

For a dinner party starting at 5h00 Saturday afternoon, cooking started six hours earlier at 11 am. I had a wonderful helper in the kitchen, who was kind enough to let me put him to work prepping various ingredients, taking pictures, and providing second opinions on these foreign recipes.

Limpa bread

The first thing made was the limpa bread dough, which needed a lot more flour than the original recipe implied would be necessary. While that dough was rising, I made the cookie dough (which went into the refrigerator to chill) and then started the blueberry soup, which would need to chill for several hours. The original soup recipe called for twice the amount of sugar I used, but any more sugar would have turned this refreshing soup into puréed blueberry pie-filling!

**Note**: Make sure you remember an apron for the soup’s puréeing step! Blueberries leave some serious stains, as the sleeve of my formerly-favorite blouse can attest.

Blueberries, lemon, cinnamon, and sugar simmer to make the blueberry soup

The soup went into the refrigerator to chill, and once the dough was ready, I split it into two loaves and put them in the oven for about an hour.

After a quick break for lunch, the cookie dough was properly chilled and it was time to bake the cookies (5 dozen cookies?? thank goodness for office-mates!) and then start on the cabbage to go with the duck.

Preparations for wine-braised cabbage

The purple and orange of the red cabbage and oranges looked so pretty when it was just starting to cook, and then after about 90 minutes on the stovetop, it cooked down to a deep, jewel-toned purple and the original orange slices had practically disappeared.

Because of a timing mistake, the meatballs had to be cooked during the first 20 minutes of the duck’s roasting time, but I don’t think it hurt either dish. While the meatballs were baking, it was time to create the Swedish gravy-sauce - once the meatballs had cooked, they went right into the saucepot to stay warm on the stove until they were ready to be served.

During this last flurry of activity, guests started to arrive, so while I was whisking the Swedish gravy-sauce and stirring the cabbage, my “sous chef” was busy helping to slice bread, set out cheese, and make the gravlax appetizers.

Limpa bread, with goat’s milk butter

“Wow, you can really taste the orange in here - it’s a symphony of flavor!” (apparently that’s how they talk in Canada...)

The gravlax was cured by Citarella, with juniper berries and a generous dose of dill. A thin slice of gravlax was placed on top of a cocktail pumpernickel square spread with cream cheese, and topped with a few capers.

Gravlax on pumpernickel, with cream cheese and capers

“I don’t really like salmon, but this doesn’t taste fishy at all - I think it’s the dill, it tastes so fresh!”

Finally, the only thing that still needed work was the duck in the oven, so we let that keep roasting and sat down to the blueberry soup.

Blueberry soup, topped with a dollop of Greek yoghurt.

“The lemon in this reminds me of a lemon verbena syrup I had once in Ireland - it tastes like summer!”

The blueberry soup was so different from anything I’d had before. Light and refreshing, with a ton of flavor from the blueberries and lemon, there’s also a little dash of warmth that comes through from the cinnamon sticks that simmered in the broth.

Swedish meatballs

“These meatballs have a lot of breadcrumbs in them - it's great for soaking up the Swedish gravy-sauce.”

After we finished the soup, we moved on to the Swedish meatballs, followed by a celebratory shot of Aquavit! The group had mixed feelings about Aquavit, a vodka-like liquor flavored with caraway seeds - one person loved it so much he added some to his serving of glögg (Swedish mulled wine), but another guest could barely keep hers down.

As people recovered from their Aquavit consumption (“Skål!”), it was time to take the duck out of the oven, pour off the fat, and make the prune-red wine reduction sauce using the leftover pan drippings.

Roast duck with prune-wine reduction sauce and wine-braised cabbage

“I love this prune sauce - is it weird that I kind of want to pour it over cake and vanilla ice cream?” (Maybe, but it did taste really good!)

The duck was very tender, and made a perfect bite when joined on a fork by a bit of sweet prune and some of the tart wine-braised cabbage. The wine, vinegar, and cranberry juice in the cabbage made it reminiscent of sauerkraut, which some people loved and others didn’t. It was interesting, though, to taste the orange and cinnamon through the tart cranberry juice, and the sauce cut nicely through the richness of the fatty duck meat.

One of my main concerns about this dinner was that there wouldn’t be enough food for everyone, but at this point, people were starting to show the pleasant signs of an oncoming food coma, so at least everyone was well fed! We put on a pot of coffee to rouse the crowd, while ladling out mugfuls of glögg and passing around the drommar (Swedish “dream” cookies).

Drommar cookies

“These remind me of shortbread at Christmas, and the coconut flakes give them a really different texture.”

With a mug of coffee in one hand and a drommar in the other, the five of us sat around listening to “The Night Waltz” from A Little Night Music, thinking about Sweden, and enjoying our first culinary foray into Scandinavia.

Was it an authentic evening? Well, we tried, but if there are any Swedish readers out there, please leave a Comment or write in to Little Scarlet and tell us how we did!

Thank you, Foodbuzz, for giving Little Scarlet the chance to make this Smörgåsbord! Please check out what the other 23 participants did for their “24, 24, 24” on Foodbuzz.com.

Limpa Bread

2010-01-24T23:46:00.009-05:00

Limpa bread is a traditional, popular Swedish rye, made unique by combining unusual flavors like orange and fennel. Baked in a bowl (instead of a loaf pan), it is incredibly flavorful with an aroma to match. Limpa is best eaten by itself, or served with fresh butter.

Left (top & bottom), Step 2; Right (top & bottom), Steps 3 and 4. Recipe yields two loaves.

Directions (adapted from limpa bread recipe):
1 pkg dry active yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tbsp sugar
½ cup plus 2 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp caraway seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 orange rind, grated zest
1 cup hot water
2 cups rye flour
4 ½ - 5 cups all-purpose flour (unbleached, if possible)

Soften yeast in lukewarm water; add 1 tbsp sugar and stir. Cover and set aside until foaming and doubled in volume.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, butter, seeds, and orange rind. Stir in hot water until well blended, and cool to lukewarm. Add foaming yeast and 1 cup rye flour; beat vigorously with a whisk until the batter is smooth. Add second cup of rye flour and 2 cups white flour. Beat until smooth and well-blended.
Add additional flour slowly, using just enough to make a dough that is soft, but stiff enough to handle (roughly 2-3 cups flour). Turn out onto a floured board and knead for 10 minutes. Place the dough in a warm, well-greased bowl; cover and let rise until doubled in bulk. Then, knead and shape into 2 round loaves.
Butter and flour two ½ quart Pyrex bowls (or similar oven-proof bowl), and place one loaf in each. Bake in 350° F oven for 45 minutes or until done (may take up to 15 minutes longer, depending on your oven). Tap bread with fingers; bread is done when it sounds hollow.

Blueberry Soup

2010-01-24T23:45:00.005-05:00

Blueberry soup may sound cloyingly sweet, but the addition of whole cinnamon sticks and lemon wedges add a zesty vibrancy to this refreshing, chilled Swedish soup. This is a perfect dessert soup to brighten up the winter months, and would do well as part of a main course during warmer seasons.

Recipe yields 4 generous servings, or 6 appetizer-size servings

Directions (adapted from Bon Appétit’s recipe):
2 1-pound bag of frozen unsweetened blueberries
2 cups water
5 tbsp sugar
4 thick lemon wedges (roughly ½ lemon)
2 cinnamon sticks
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Bring all ingredients to boil in medium-size pot over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until berries are very tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and discard lemon slices and cinnamon stick. Reserve half of the blueberries, and purée the remaining half in the pot with an immersion blender; add some of the reserved blueberries and purée again for a thicker consistency, if desired. Add reserved blueberries back into pot and stir. Transfer all of soup to medium bowl and refrigerate until very cold.
Serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt, and garnish with lemon wedge.

Little Scarlet

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard”

Cookbook Giveaway Winner!!

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