Teeth Cracking Eye of Round Roast

I hosted my first holiday dinner this year. While I've had a high batting average on new dishes, this particular dinner was not a hit.

Without doing much research on different cuts of meat, I took a trip to Costco beforehand and bought a six-pound hunk of eye of round roast. For those who don't know, the eye of round roast is taken from the cow's upper hind leg where there is a lot of muscle. As a result, the meat is tough, and doesn't have the same marble as you'd see from a softer cut (such as a rib eye). This is what makes the cut less desirable, and thus, less expensive.

And what you save on price, you pay in embarrassment. Even though I marinated the beef for 28 hours and left it medium rare, it remained tough enough to break a few plastic forks and stress my guests' jaws from chewing--an unfortunate result given all the hard work put into the dish. I couldn't help but apologize for the cut and pour more wine in their glasses.

My guests did enjoy the taste, which was a result of the marinade and seasoning. Here's what I did:

1) Mix 1 cup of vegetable oil, 1 cup of whiskey, fresh thyme and dried basil. Marinade the beef in this for about 24 hours.

2) Pat the beef dry and lightly season it with salt and paprika. Heavily coat it with black pepper.

3) Cover the meat with bacon, then roast in your oven to your desired finish.

Give it a try. Just don't buy the eye of round roast.

Happy holidays, everyone.

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What's this [edible] substance?

Go to the fun blog fooducate to find out. Warning: It's not so yummy.

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Bite of Brussels

I made my first visit to Brussels, Belgium, and, of course, I ate my way through the city. Here's a tour of what Brussels had to offer. Vegetarians, beware.

Lapin a la gueuze (rabbit in Brussels beer)

Mussels with white wine, onion and celery

Steak tartare

Lamb shoulder with beans and potatoes

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Foodie Tips on Bermuda

Summer is over and so is An Amateur's Palate's hiatus. The season has been great, and I had so much fun trying new restaurants, recipes and ingredients. For example, I recently came back from my first visit to Bermuda. The island is beautiful and its beaches are amazing. And since I've never heard of Bermudian cuisine, I was excited to have my first taste of the island's dishes and food. So, here's a quick round up of tasty tips for you to use when you decide to visit the island.

DO order the fish chowder. It's the island's famous dish that features seafood and Caribbean spices. Remember to top off your soup with Sherry Pepper Sauce and Rum.

DON'T expect much from their signature protein, the Rockfish. Its texture is tough for a fish that offers little in taste. If you're set on trying a local fish, try the Hogfish instead.

DO visit the Fairmont Southampton's Ocean Club. It has a beach side cabana restaurant that serves the island's best burger. Imagine a juicy patty served with ham, cheese and pineapple. Yum.

DON'T forget to bring your credit card to restaurants. Like many things in Bermuda, food is pricey. Dinner for two can easily cost more than $125.

DO try the island's favorite cocktail, the Rum Swizzle. It's basically a lot of rum with fruit juices (pineapple, orange, etc.) and a sweetener (ex. grenadine).

I hope these tips help. If you have some of your own, please share!

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Manhattan's Japanese Street Food

I recently ate at Saki Bar Hagi, which is located in the theatre district in New York City. I heard a lot about the subterranean restaurant, which serves diners Japanese street food and was featured on Anthony Bourdain's show "No Reservations."

I had the octopus balls, which reminded me of Spanish croquetas, just with tentacles instead of ham. Surprisingly, they were tasty and satisfying, and the octopus wasn't overcooked. In contrast, the marinated eggplant appeared to be packed with flavor, but we quickly realized that it had a bland taste instead. Afterwards, we ordered the fish collar which had a wonderful, fatty flavor. To finish off our meal, we had a plate of skewers which included quail eggs, steak cubes, pork belly and lamb. The skewers were exactly what you were expecting from protein dishes sold on the street and nothing more.

While Saki Bar Hagi's Japanese street food certainly beats the hot dog stand around the corner, the flavors did not meet up to the hype that so many foodies raved about. Perhaps it's because I'm Asian and the unique ingredients don't surprise me, or perhaps it's because I don't have the nostalgia for Japan that its regulars have. Nonetheless, the restaurant was okay...nothing more than good, old street food.

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Recipes to Make Brussels Sprouts Palatable

Brussels sprouts are probably the most disliked vegetable around. And I don’t blame anyone for thinking this. How can one possibly salivate over something that exhibits such a strong, bitter, cabbage-like taste?

Yet it’s hard to ignore how good this vegetable is for the body. It’s rich in fiber, folic acid and vitamins A and C. It also contains a lot of sinigrin, which is believed to protect the body against colon cancer.

So, to ensure that you don’t miss the great nutrients brussels sprouts have to offer, I’ve included three recipes for you to try. Hopefully this will help make your sprout consumption more enjoyable.

Choux de Bruxelles Sautes

Since it was the French who first brought brussels sprouts to America (settlers planted them in Louisiana), let’s start with a simple recipe I learned from the country’s guide I Know How To Cook.

First, remove any wilted leaves and cut off the hard-to-chew ends. Boil them in salted water for about five minutes. In a separate pan, turn the burner on high heat and melt the butter. Throw the cooked sprouts in the pan and cook until it is browned. Afterwards, season the sprouts with salt and pepper and add more butter to top it off.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Do you remember the MTV VJ Karen Duffy? I recently bought her cookbook for $1 from the Strand Bookstore. She offers easy-to-make dishes for beginners and has a great recipe for brussels sprouts. The recipe also includes bacon, garlic and olive oil.

Cook the bacon until it is crisp and set it to the side. Steam the sprouts for about seven minutes. Once they’re done, cut them into smaller pieces. Afterwards, put the sprouts, bacon and garlic cloves into a baking dish. Pour a bit of olive oil over them and toss the ingredients to make sure everything is coated evenly. Afterwards, roast them in the oven for about half an hour.

Brussels Sprouts Salad

My friend Shaina Kohanzadeh is a health nut and always finds ways to ensure that her meals are packed with nutrients. In fact, she created a salad for lunch that uses brussels sprouts instead of lettuce.

Boil the sprouts until they are cooked, and cool them afterwards. Once they are cooled, chop them up into small pieces. Add canned tuna, tomatoes and avocado to the mix. Dress the salad with either Dijon mustard or balsamic vinaigrette; both work well for this dish.

Let me know how these work out for you. And if you have any recipes of your own, please feel free to share!

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Tasting Poland at Lomzynianka

I recently accompanied a food club to one of New York City’s best pierogi joints. We visited Lomzynianka in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, a small Polish restaurant that lightens the diners’ spirit with its abundance of streamers hanging on the ceiling and flower leis around a deer’s head.

Diners will know they are getting an authentic experience by peering into the kitchen, which looks more like a family’s kitchen in Lomza, Poland—the region that inspires many of the dishes—than a commercial one.

I shared my food with a fellow diner. We started off with the Pierogi Sampler, which offers a plate full of the dumplings (you can have them boiled or fried).

It would be a disappointment for anyone who visits this restaurant and doesn’t have them. Each pierogi bursts with flavor and didn’t exhibit the bland doughy taste that many restaurants settle for. Order the pierogies stuffed with potato and cheese, as well as the ones with meat; I found it hard to pick a favorite.

We also had the Polish Platter which included three more pierogies, kielbasa, stuffed cabbage, bigos and potatoes. While I visited the restaurant for the pierogies, the rich rustic taste of the stuffed cabbage was the highlight of the meal.

Better yet, the tab for two full diners was less than $20.

Polish Platter

Pierogi Sampler

(Photos taken from Yelp.com users)

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4th Annual NYC Food Film Festival

The Fourth Annual NYC Food Film Festival started today, and tickets are still available for some events. Attendees will be able to sample food from around the world while receiving a "heaping helping of mouth-watering films."

A can't miss would be tomorrow night's event with Chef Brad Farmerie's Southeast Asian Street Food Market. The Kiwi (New Zealander) chef is known for preparing innovative dishes in his popular downtown spot Public. I've been there a few times and have always left satisfied.

Here's the festival's schedule:

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Chef Mario Batali's World Cup Recipes

With the World Cup games underway, soccer/football fans everywhere are gathering in groups to watch their favorite team vie for the trophy.

If you are planning on hosting a World Cup party over the next few days, ESPN added a fun feature on their website to help you out. The feature has Chef Mario Batali sharing recipes of each participating countries' signature dish and cocktail.

For example, Team Brazil fans can enjoy sipping caiprinhas while supporters of Team Spain can chow down on some homemade paella. And for those loyal Yankee fans, Chef Batali gives you a mean hamburger recipe to be washed down with a killer martini. Enjoy!

To access Chef Mario Batali's World Cup recipes, click here.

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Amateur Cooking Hour: Poulet Au Paprika

Perhaps it's because I'm an amateur in all things food, but it took a couple of tries to cook the rather simple French dish, Poulet Au Paprika or Paprika Chicken. The recipe I followed came from Phaidon's I Know How To Cook, and it called for a 2 1/4 lb. chicken, butter, stock, crème fraiche and paprika.

My troubles started when I couldn’t find a chicken that was exactly 2 ¼ lbs., and I assumed that the slightly heavier poultry I purchased would need to be accompanied by more of each ingredient. So, I estimated how much more butter to include, which inadvertently led to estimating how much more stock, crème fraiche and paprika to add.

After an hour of cooking the chicken in the oven, I quickly combined the leftover stock with the remaining ingredients to make the sauce. In five minutes, the meal was served.

The result was soggy chicken drenched in a thin, white sauce. And the sauce itself tasted like stock bothered with the sourness from crème fraiche. If it weren’t for my dislike of wasting food, I would have thrown the whole thing away.

Now, there were two things learned from this experience. The first is do not estimate the measurements for ingredients, especially for a dish that you never tried cooking. The second is patience. In this case, the chicken needed to sit on the pan and brown before putting it in the oven for an hour. The sauce needed time to boil and thicken, even if it meant adding an extra 30 minutes or more to the overall cooking time.

Last Sunday, I gave cooking Poulet Au Paprika another try. This time around, I stuck with the measurements and patiently waited for the chicken skin to brown to a slight crisp and the stock to truly merge with the crème fraiche and paprika.

The end product was exactly what I expected it to be the first time around: tender chicken coated in a butter cream sauce. The sauce itself reflected the mild, smoky flavor of paprika. Delicious.

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The 5th Annual Taste of Long Island City

The 5th Annual Taste of Long Island City will take place next Tuesday evening at Gantry Plaza State Park. Aside from enjoying perhaps the best view of Manhattan's skyline, attendees will have the opportunity to sample Long Island City’s burgeoning culinary scene.

Tickets to enter begin at $50 per person, and all proceeds go to The Chocolate Factory Theater, a center that provides year-round theater, dance, music and visual arts programming.

While Long Island City food has a long way to go to catch up with its Astoria and Brooklyn counterparts, there are a few stars worth noting. Tuk Tuk (an inexpensive and creative Thai restaurant), Communitea (which offers some of the best herbal tea combinations) and Blend (a funky and tasty Cuban restaurant) are participating and should be sampled while there.

To purchase tickets for Taste of Long Island City, click here.

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A Tour of How The Whole Roasted Pig Is Served Around the World

The whole roasted pig is a favorite among many, and, for most cultures, is usually served during big celebrations. Some pigs are small enough to be prepared in an oven (suckling pigs are usually slaughtered when they’re 2-6 weeks old), but you’ll receive the best result cooking it in an open fire or pit. And while I find it hard to pick my favorite part to eat, the rear and the crunchy skin are must haves.

Here’s a quick round up of my thoughts on pig worth trying:

Testaccio Ristorante in Long Island City, New York serves all-you-can-eat roast suckling pig—or Porchetta Arrosto—every Thursday. The Roman restaurant displays the whole pig on a table, and Executive Chef Ivan Beacco carves the pieces for you himself. It’s served with a variety of side dishes including lima beans, spinach and potatoes. While they compliment the pig just fine, I suggest you skip them, save yourself some room and focus on the main attraction.

Roast pig prepared for a Hawaiian luau is perhaps the most exciting process to watch. Here, the pig is covered with banana leaves and steamed in an underground pit—or imu—for hours. Digging up the pig usually requires a team of people, but the result is some of the tenderest pork you will ever have. It is rare for someone outside of Hawaii to attempt to cook pig this way. This isn’t surprising, since volcanic stones, guava wood, and banana leaves can be difficult to find if you’re not living on a tropical island.

Travel to Spain and order ochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) at the world’s oldest restaurant, Restaurante Botín. This dish has been the restaurant’s specialty since 1725. The pig is served simply; it’s dressed in its own juices and accompanied with two small pieces of potatoes. Wash down the food with the restaurant’s full and tangy red sangria.

But my favorite is the Filipino’s style of roasted pig or, as we call it, Lechón. Lechón is usually served during all major holidays and festivities. Usually, the pig is dipped in a thick, liver based sauce, which is appropriately called lechón sauce. I’ve lived in New York for almost nine years, and I still haven’t found a place that serves good, Filipino lechón. If you know of any, please let me know. I’ll be sure to try it out.

Porchetta Arrosto at Testaccio Ristorante

Ochinillo Asado at Restaurante Botín

Lechón

More links:

Lechón Baboy

The Foodista on Testaccio Ristorante

Essortment: How to Roast a Pig (for a Hawaiian luau)

Best Madrid Restaurants (Restaurante Botin)

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El Mercado de San Miguel

If you’re ever wandering through the narrow streets of Madrid and stumble upon a structure with glass walls and an iron and wood roof, you’ve come across el Mercado de San Miguel. The marketplace, originally built in the early 1900’s, was reopened in May 2009 after private investors decided to return the building to its glory. The result? A bustling venue that houses the best Spanish food and ingredients.

During the day, its vendors sell their most beautiful produce, jamon (ham), cheese and pastries. But I liked to go during the evenings, when I could grab a glass of Rioja wine and wander from one stall to another, ordering tapas made from the freshest ingredients.

When you do make your way to Madrid and el Mercado de San Miguel, have a plate of Iberico ham, a glass of champagne with raw oysters, bacalao on bread or gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic).

Whatever you choose to eat, give yourself a few hours to spend at el Mercado de San Miguel. You will not be disappointed.

Queso (Spanish cheese)

Gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp)

Jamón ibérico (Iberico ham)

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Making My Best Beef

I recently attended Chef Sabrina Sexton’s “Best of Beef” course at the Institute of Culinary Education. I am shamelessly carnivorous, and cooking quality pieces of steak is something that I have wanted to learn for a long time.

The recipe I took home from the class is the filet of beef with shallots and ruby port wine. I recreated the meal at home, and found the dish to be shockingly simple to make. The number of ingredients used is minimal. I only needed ruby port wine, olive oil, rosemary, shallots, veal stock and butter.

My main takeaway from this experience? Don’t be afraid to splurge on a good bottle of ruby port wine. It makes the sauce so much richer and sweeter.

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I Know How To Cook

Well, not really. But it is certainly a goal of mine to learn how. As such, I’ll be using France’s culinary bible I Know How to Cook as a guide (published by Phaidon Press). It’s surprising that the book was just released in English, especially since the French have enjoyed its cooking tips and recipes for over 75 years.

I’ll try cooking a new dish at least once a month, and I certainly hope that those who try the food will enjoy it. Wish me luck!

More on Ginette Mathiot’s I Know How to Cook:

Examiner.com

Super Chef blog

The Wall Street Journal

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Exposing South Williamsburg's Café Moto

No other borough in New York City is as protective of its neighborhood secrets as Brooklyn. And Café Moto in South Williamsburg is one of those secrets.

Located almost directly under the J-M-Z train, the restaurant shows an unassuming exterior, with peeling walls and a rickety old bike hanging in place of a sign. Because of the narrow space, Café Moto can easily come off as stuffy. Instead, the live jazz entertainment (provided nightly) and laid-back neighborhood crowd immediately makes the restaurant warm and inviting.

For appetizers, my table had toasted bread with a gruyère cheese dip and the steamed artichoke. The dishes were simple yet flavorful, a perfect precursor to our main entrees.

I ordered the pork ribs rubbed with coarse black pepper and spices. It was accompanied with creamy mashed potatoes and a small salad dressed with balsamic vinaigrette. Overall, the food was tasty and satisfying.

This, in addition to the ambiance, left me eager to return and try more of Café Moto’s food. This could be bad news for South Williamsburg residents. For if most diners left as pleased as I was, then their secret won’t last for long.

Additional tip: After your meal at Café Moto, walk a few blocks West to Trophy Bar for great music and drinks.

More on Café Moto:

The Anti-Tourist

Thursday Club NYC

Yelp Customer Reviews

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Depuy Canal House: A Stone House Frozen in Its Past

There’s nothing worse than seeing a legendary restaurant lose its way...attracting diners by boasting its stellar past, rather than the dishes it produces. Almost every Manhattanite will agree with me that there are many of them in New York.

Such is the story of the Depuy Canal House in Hudson Valley, NY. It is the region’s pride and joy, a stone house that has been serving food in one way or another since 1797. Located just two hours north of Manhattan, the restaurant received rave reviews from newspapers such as The New York Times and has been labeled as a “must see” in various Hudson Valley guidebooks.

Excited about its reputation for its innovative use of local products (its menu is prix fixe, changes daily), I visited the restaurant last March.

In short, the restaurant fell short of expectations. While the salmon I ordered was cooked well, the fish was drowning in a bland, orange, creamy sauce, which was said to have a “Japanese influence.” As a result of the slow wait staff, the dish was served room temperature. Perhaps more disturbing was that the same orange sauce was used to flavor my dining partner’s pasta dish. And though the dish was more palatable than the salmon, it did not deliver on the originality that so many write-ups have promised. Instead, it was reminiscent of pasta served in a sub-par Italian fast food restaurant found in the middle of Times Square.

So disappointing was the food that the slow service added fuel to our fire (we had a 20 minute wait between our appetizer and main course). In the end, with our water glasses empty, half eaten dishes sitting in front of us for awhile and an absent waiter, my partner and I decided to throw in the towel, calling an end to our dining experience at the Depuy Canal House. We paid and left the restaurant, even before our dessert was served.

One can only hope that the restaurant fixes its flaws and returns its attention to producing innovative dishes. The stone house and colonial décor are charming, but legacy can only take a restaurant so far. It must be reminded, that it’s the food—not its reputation—that’s the star.

More on the Depuy Canal House:

Chowhound
The New York Times
Yelp Customer Reviews

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