Picnic Garden - Korean BBQ Buffet

 

Hunger Games - Paper Thin Beef

During Katniss's prep time before the Hunger Games, she decided that she would eat as much as possible. The few extra pounds would be an advantage to her during the games. However, I don't need the extra pounds so one of her dinners is the same amount as a week's worth of dinner for me.

After the fiery entrance Katniss and Peeta had at the opening ceremony, the District 12 team (Haymitch, Effie, Cinna and Portia) have a fantastic dinner with their tributes. I've decided to try out a couple components from that meal, the first being "rare roast beef sliced as thin as paper." When I read this, my mouth starts to water with one thought --- carpaccio! A simple but delicious and decadent appetizer. When paired with a little bread (which is a MAJOR theme in the books) and wine (which Katniss tries for the first time at this meal) it is my quick and easy Monday night dinner! 
 
Ingredients: 

1/2 lb fatty beef tenderloin
2 cups mixed salad greens
1/4 cup crème fraîche
1 teaspoon horseradish
1 lemon
olive oil
Parmesan cheese shavings
salt & pepper

Directions:

Heat a skillet over high heat. Season the whole tenderloin with salt and pepper. Drizzle a little oil into the pan and quickly sear all sides of the beef; 1-2 minutes per side. Take the beef out of the pan; wrap in plastic wrap and put in freezer for an hour.

When the beef is just about ready, mix the crème fraîche and horseradish together and set aside. Take the beef out of freezer; while it is still semi-frozen, try to slice as thin as possible. If it is not as thin as you would like, place slices between wax paper and pound thinner.

Mix the juice of a lemon and 3 tablespoons of olive oil together with some salt and pepper. Toss the mixed greens into the vinaigrette.


Arrange the thin slices of beef onto a plate. Drizzle horseradish crème fraîche on top of the beef and top with the dressed mixed greens and shavings of Parmesan cheese. Serve with some toasted crostini and have a great meal!

Black's Bar and Kitchen

After three days of binge eating while visiting my friend in the greater Washington DC area, I am going to need a month of dieting to counter this gluttonous President's Day weekend.

On Sunday morning, we had a glorious brunch in Bethesda at Black's Bar and Kitchen. Their seafood buffet was one of the nicest brunch's I have had. This includes New York and Las Vegas. The quality of the food was unlike a typical buffet of mediocre food that is perpetually refilled. All of it had good flavors and fresh ingredients.

They had a wonderful raw bar that was full of oysters and clams, seasoned shrimp cocktail, and assorted seafood salads. The mignonette sauce that went with the oysters/clams was subpar compared to my favorite at Fish. I prefer the vinegar to be more prominent; the sauce should be tangy so it adds freshness to the seafood, not weigh it down. They had a nice smoked salmon with a spread of creme fraiche, cream cheese, capers, onions, and even caviar. My favorite from the cold section of the buffet was the duck liver pate with caramelized onions, spread across their parsley toast point... yum!

Around the corner from the raw bar was the hot food; grits, applewood smoked bacon, breakfast sausage, eggs Pontchartrain. Their omelet station was made to everyone's taste and my friend's omelet was perfectly light and fluffy. Grilled asparagus topped with a beet and grape salad, charcuterie, pasta salad, grilled mushrooms in balsamic vinaigrette, and assorted grilled vegetables were all delicious sides to the craving station. Thick juicy cuts of molasses-peppercorn crusted prime rib with the usual accompaniments - au jus, horseradish cream, caramelized onions; the horseradish cream was divine.

$36 for the buffet only and $48 if you want unlimited champagne cocktails with brunch. A little pricier than I usually aim for brunch but well worth it.

Italian Meatballs

What comes to mind when you think comfort food? Mashed potatoes. Meatloaf. Fried chicken. Mac n' cheese. And of course the Italian comfort food, spaghetti and meatballs.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef/veal
1 egg
1 tablespoon whole milk/cream
1 cup onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoon lukewarm water (optional)
2 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Put egg and cream into a mixing bowl. Beat the egg and cream together lightly and mix in the onions, garlic, parsley, oregano, salt & pepper. Add the beef into the bowl and fold together until the ingredients look evenly dispersed. Try not to overwork the meat.

Fold in the panko breadcrumbs and add the lukewarm water if the mixture looks dry or overly tight.  Form the meatballs with your hand to the size of your liking. Coat the bottom of a baking sheet and the meatballs with the olive oil and place in the oven for 35-45 minutes (depending on size of meatballs).

Remove from the oven and finish cooking in your tomato sauce for 5 minutes and serve over pasta.

Armani Ristorante - Photo Essay

Last week I was fortunate enough to go with my friend Will to a menu tasting of the new chef at Armani Ristorante. This beautiful restaurant is located 2 floors above the Armani store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. The Italian chef, raised and trained in Italy, has been at the restaurant for only eight months. His menu is full of bold rich flavors and delicious pastas. There were many things we wanted to try on the menu and the chef graciously opened his kitchen and allowed us to order whatever we wanted. If you are willing to splurge a little bit for clean but robust flavors in modern Italian food, Armani Ristorante should be considered on that list.

   Amuse Bouche - Raw Langoustine topped with Asian Pear & Caviar

 Il Fegato Grasso D'Oca Giovane - Chilled Foie Gras, Red Beet & Pear Salad, 92' Port Wine Reduction

 Capesante Scottate - Sauteed Sea Scallops, 'Thousand Layer' Potatoes & Black Norcia Truffles

 Crudita Di Mare (Left to Right) - Poached Langoustine, Red Beet & Orange Marinated Wild Branzino Carpaccio, Fresh Oyster, White Sturgeon Caviar, Grilled Octopus, Blue Fin Tuna Tartar

 Tartar Di Manzo - Beef Tartar with Finely Diced Vegetables, Caper Berries, Parmigiano and Baby Artichoke Salad

 Agnolotti - Duck and Foie Gras filled Pasta in Sage-flavored white butter sauce (half portion)

Risotto All'Imperiale - Risotto with King Crab Meat and Brandy Reduction (half portion)

 Variazione D'Anatra - Duck Two Ways, Pan Roasted Duck Breast with Sicilian Orange Reduction, Confit Duck Leg with Acacia Honey Potato Fondant

I Bomboloni - Italian Doughnuts with Vanilla Red Currant Ice Cream

Brie Sliders

There are nights when  you can't wait to go out after work; share a nice meal with friends and have a couple drinks to wash it all down is one of the best ways I know how to spend an evening. There are other nights though, when you can't wait to get back to your apartment and pull on some fleece pajama pants, throw on a movie and just veg out. Sometimes those nights call for food to be delivered to your door but my preference is always for a home cooked meal. Something that is easy, not a lot of fuss, and finger food that doesn't require utensils. (Dishes are not my favorite thing in the world.)

A favorite finger food of mine... sliders. When made at home they can be customized to your taste and flavor preference of the day. I've made mexican-flavored sliders with chipotle sour cream, cheddar cheese and jalepenos; my korean-flavored sliders have bulgogi glazed patties and kimchi (to be posted later). On this particular day I had an intense craving for Brie so french style sliders came to mind.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (80-20 fat ratio)
6 mini brioche buns
6 oz. Brie cheese
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup arugula
6 cloves garlic confit
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 teaspoons Sriracha hot sauce

Directions:

Mix the ground beef with the mustard, salt, pepper, thyme, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Divide the meat into six portions to ensure relatively similar sized patties. Form the meat into round patties; they should not be too thin and larger than the bun. They will shrink as they cook.

Heat a skillet with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot place the patties into the pan and allow them to cook for 3-4 minutes an each side.

As the patties are cooking, start to assembly your buns with the condiments. Mix the ketchup and the Sriracha together and smear on the bottom half of each bun. Place arugula on top of the spicy ketchup. Spread the garlic confit on the top half of each bun.

During the last minute of cooking on the second side, place 1 ounce of Brie on each patty and cover the pan. This will melt the cheese. Place the slider patty over of the arugula, allowing it to wilt slightly and enjoy!