Event: Food Network Challenge- Chocolate Myths!

One of my colleagues, Vanessa Greeley, is a talented pastry chef (she has been Silver Medalist in the 2010 Connecticut Cake Competition Challenge) who graduated from the French Culinary Institute of New York. Vanessa has participated in Chocolate Myths Challenge on the Food Network that aired yesterday at 8pm. The principle of the show, as described by the Food Network is: “Four chocolatiers will create their version of a mythical creature and then bring it to life with some extreme effects. But there is magic and mischief afoot in the Challenge studio. And the competitors will have to work fast and smart to overcome it all win ten thousand dollars”.

The show will air again tonight and tomorrow morning – Check it out!

Monday July 18 at 11:00 pm
Tuesday July 19 at 2:00 am

Check Vanessa’s website at http://www.vanessascakedesigns.com

…Enjoy (I will)!
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Restaurant review- Wolfgang's Steakhouse

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Image of steaks and onion rings at Wolfgang's steakhouse in NYC, New York

I love steaks and I was really excited to try Wolfgang's Steakhouse in New York City. Be careful, it has nothing to do with Wolfgang Puck: the owner is Wolfgang Weiner and there have been a lawsuit in the past as Mr. Puck said that the name of the Steakhouse was misleading. Wolfgang Weiner used to work for Peter Luger in Brooklyn, one of the top rated steakhouses in the US. Well, I can tell you that it is not because you worked there that it means you are going to have good steaks! This was horrible!!!

First of all, Mr Weiner was a head waiter at Peter Luger: well I do not know what quality of service he was giving at that time, but clearly, service needs improvement at Wolfgang's! The servers were more interested in discussing soccer than taking care of the customers....

Second of all, the food was really average. It started with stale bread. I began the meal with crab cakes (I love crab so much that I may change into a crab one day!), served with a salad and tartare sauce. When the plate arrived, I could right away see that it was dry, and it was. The only positive is that there was a lot of lump crab. 
We then had the ribeye and the filet mignon. As side dishes, we ordered onion rings and sauteed mushrooms.  The meat was cooked as ordered but the outside of the filet mignon was charred, most likely because they cooked it on flames. Cutting both pieces of meat, we could see that it was not a good quality. I think I get better cuts at Whole Foods! The steaks were dry and I clearly needed the steak sauce. Mushrooms were so so and the only thing I liked were in fact the onion rings, although slightly too salty!

Clearly, Wolfgang's Steakhouse does not measure up with Ruth's Chris (NYC), Dino & Harry's (Hoboken) or The Old Homestead (NYC)! If you want a good steak, forget Wolfgang's!!!!

I'd like to say "Enjoy" but I did not!

Wolfgang's Steakhouse on Urbanspoon
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Restaurant review - La Silhouette (NYC)

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Image of Food at La Silhouette in NYC, New York


La Silhouette is a French-American restaurant located on 53rd street between 8th and 9th avenue. The location is clearly not perfect as there is not that much passage, explaining the low number of people during lunch time. The way the restaurant is organized is interesting: succession of rooms before entering into the main room that is quite bright. The decor is modern and quite simple.

The restaurant offers different menus from brunch to dinner with prix-fixe for lunch and dinner. I have tried the lunch prix-fixe ($21 - pick 2 between appetizer, main course and dessert) and it was good: for appetizer, I chose the slow cooked leek salad with duck prosciutto, grilled red onion dressing and aged Manchego cheese (photo on the right). Although the portion was small compared to other appetizers, it was delicious. The cheese and duck paired very well together!
For the main course, I had the hanger steak a la plancha with marrow and porcini crust, served with béarnaise sauce (left photo). I usually do not order meat if the restaurant is not a steak house and hanger steak is not my favorite piece of meat, but I have to say that it was good! The béarnaise sauce was well done, not too liquid like some restaurants do it.

Although I would recommend this restaurant, I have to mention that the service was slow (maybe because they were short staffed for lunch) and the waiter did not do a great job. Also, I was surprised that they did not have any special lunch for Bastille day!!! It is anyway worth trying it and if you look at the different menus they propose, I am sure you will find the dishes appetizing!

Enjoy (I do)! 

La Silhouette on Urbanspoon

Indian Dessert - Gulab Jamun

Image of Indian dessert Gulab Jamun
Gulab Jamun is my favorite dessert in Indian restaurants and I have to say it is difficult for me not to eat an entire bowl! Gulab Jamun is in fact a dessert in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. It is a milk ball that is fried and then dipped in a rose flavored sugar syrup. Gulab means "rose" and Jamun is an indian berry similar in color and shape.

You can make Gulab Jamun (there are many recipes available on the net) or buy either Gulab Jamun mix to prepare it or buy already prepared ones in a can. I shop indian is a good marketplace for indian produces if you do not have a store near you.

Enjoy (i do)!

The catch of the day: Tilapia!

image of Farm raised tilapia recipe
Fish is an interesting topic: there are so many different species and so many different tastes. I have to confess that in a restaurant, I tend to order meat and not fish but from time to time, I enjoy a good fish dish. 


Tilapia is a very good white fish. It is a farm raised fish and some argue that the diet of the tilapia being mainly grain makes it toxin free. It is also low in fat and rich in potassium. 


Tilapia is the second largest fish production in the world after carp and the USA is the larger importer of farm raised tilapia (imported from Honduras, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Brazil).

I cook it in different ways:
- in olive oil (7 to 8 minutes), then drizzle some lemon after plating (photo).
- in olive oil (7 to 8 minutes) then, close to the end of the cooking, add lemon and capers.
- in tomato sauce with some indian chili paste (cook for 20 minutes).
- with olives, butternut squash and potatoes (tasted at the Franciscan restaurant  in San Francisco (I love it!) - I'll give you the recipe another time!

Just two tips for fish:
- if you want to avoid the fish to stick to the pan, dip it in some flour.
- freezing fish is not always great when uncooked. You really have to remove the moisture on the fish if you do not want it to taste too...fishy. 

Enjoy!



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Restaurant review - Kosher Deluxe (NYC)

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Image of Shawarma at Kosher Deluxe in NYC, New York
I love Shawarma! If you are scared of the carts in the street and their "side effects", I suggest you try Kosher Deluxe located midtown. Ok, this restaurant is serving a wide range of food: Middle Eastern, japanese, chinese...I have only tried the Shawarma and the falafel and they were delish! They serve it in different ways: pita, baguette or plate and you can pick Hummus and / or hot sauce. Each sandwich is coming with salad (there is a salad bar) also very good, for a little over $10.
So, what is Shawarma? It is a Middle Eastern sandwich with pieces of lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, or a halal mixture of meats that cooked on a spit for sometimes an entire day. The way the meat is cooked is very important: it has to be upright to give that wonderful taste. Some argue that Shawarma is different from a Gyro because a Gyro is a mixed of beef and lamb. 
If you are adventurous, try the gyro in the cart situated at the corner of 6 avenue and 53rd street. It is well known and very good. But make sure you go to the South West corner cart, otherwise, if you go to the South East side cart, you will probably understand what I meant by "side effects".
Enjoy!

Kosher Deluxe on Urbanspoon

Arepas!!!!

Arepas are very popular in Latin America. I discovered it thanks to a friend from Colombia and I can tell you that her mom makes them great!

It is very easy to make: corn flour (I used white from PAN), water and salt. You can eat them in many ways: with queso blanco like on the photo, or with chicken, ground beef, tomatoes, avocado...There are many ways. Just consider this as a bread!

In New York, I like two restaurants for Arepas, both Venezuelan: 

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Caracas

 located in the East Village.

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El Cocotero

 in Chelsea.

Enjoy!