Beets: you either love them or hate them. The once-forgotten root vegetable went through a renaissance at the start of this decade, eventually showing up everywhere from trendy hotspots to fine dining institutions. But, by now they are kind of played out. I mean, how many times can you eat a beet and goat cheese … Continue reading Eleven Madison Park: Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Caraway
Once upon a time — back when my wife and I were just boyfriend and girlfriend — we would take little weekend trips to nearby cities like Philadelphia, Washington D.C, and others. Actually, we may have been engaged at that point. Or, perhaps, we were newly married? Doesn’t really matter — the point is: WE … Continue reading Stir: Prune Gnocchi
Many accomplished chefs will say that fall and winter is their favorite time of the year to cook. They’ll tell you it’s too easy to prepare a delicious meal in summer, with gorgeous produce everywhere you look. Using more humble ingredients, and turning them into something tasty using fermentation, pickling, and long briases — now, … Continue reading Taste and Technique: French Onion Soup
While ramps may be spring’s bellwether, asparagus its most versatile bounty, and strawberries its hedonistic delight, morel mushrooms are the season’s precious jewels. I’m not really a mushroomy-kind of guy, but when these beautiful and deliciously earthy guys come around each year, I use them for as long as I can before my wife eventually … Continue reading Eleven Madison Park: Morel Custard with Trout Roe
Gramercy Tavern is a New York institution. I love its well-executed food, it’s high level of service, and it’s cozy atmosphere just as much as anyone. However, when I first bought their cookbook a few years back, I was disappointed because there wasn’t very much I actually wanted to cook from it. Objectively, the book … Continue reading Gramercy Tavern: Arctic Char with Cucumber Broth
I was recently planning a small dinner party for which I planned to make the venison and beet dish from the Eleven Madison Park the Next Chapter Cookbook. I was excited about the recipe and had already began prepping it, even though the dinner was over a week away. However, just moments after my venison … Continue reading Eleven Madison Park: Aged Beef with Eggplant
Eleven Madison Park chef Daniel Humm isn’t particularly known for his work with strawberries. But, he should be. Every time I make an Elven Madison dish that involves spring’s favorite fruit, it turns out amazing. I recently wrote about the strawberry gazpacho dish from the first Eleven Madison cookbook, and now I want to talk … Continue reading Eleven Madison Park: Strawberry Poached with Elderflower and Vanilla
One of the very best aspects of spring is getting to eat local, fresh strawberries. Asparagus, fiddlehead ferns, and ramps may arrive earlier and, therefore, generate a lot of excitement as a harbinger of nicer weather, but there’s no produce this time of the year that simply tastes as delicious as those little red berries. … Continue reading Eleven Madison Park: Strawberry Gazpacuho
I love asparagus. It’s not necessarily the flavor, texture, or color that gets me excited, but, rather, what the vegetable itself represents. Asparagus is one the very first items of spring produce to appear in the NYC area, shortly following everyone’s favorite bellwether — ramps. And after the brutally long winter we just endured, this … Continue reading The NoMad Cookbook: Poached Egg with Asparagus and Parmesan
Pasta. Who doesn’t love it? Noodles and red sauce is as much a part of New York history as, say hot dogs and toasted peanuts. While spaghetti with meatballs is, perhaps, the quintessential comfort food, there are so many variations of the Italian-American staple that it’s impossible to pick one as, say, the best in … Continue reading Marea: Octopus and Bone Marrow Fusilli
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