Anniversary dinner at L'Atelier

August 17th equaled 4 years. Although JP likes to say it's been only 3 years since I was in Paris all of 2010. No, it's been 4 years. So I grilled some skirt steak*. Made some corn and bacon. And an heirloom tomato salad with basil, balsamic and Arbequina olive oil. We finally opened up our Clos du Val cabernet that we got when we were in Napa a few years ago.

For dessert I had picked up some Italian plums (prunes?) at the Rockefeller farmer's market during lunch and turned them into a crumble.

It was a good dinner. But our "going-out" dinner was Saturday at L'Atelier de Joel Robouchon. 

Verdict? It was fun but the food was MEH for the most part. JP ranked it dead-last out of the four anniversary dinner's we've had. I ranked it second-to last only because I don't remember how much I liked Perry Street (the other two are Daniel at #1 and Alex at the Wynn in Vegas at #2).

We didn't get the tasting menu (I'm deathly allergic to sturgeon and have an aversion to foie gras) so we went a la carte.  A couple small plates - sauteed amadai in yuzu broth with lotus root, sauteed squid with chorizio and violet artichokes in tomato water, asparagus macaroni gratin and seared scallop with ginger and chive crust (yes, singular scallop for $28) followed by our mains. I had the hanger steak with roasted shallots and shishito peppers which failed in comparison to the hanger steak I had at craftsteak two years ago. JP had seared sea bass with a lemongrass foam and stewed baby leeks where the overwhelming flavor was lemongrass and I was reminded about those spicy cashews I have in my pantry that I need to return to TJs because I don't find them palatable.

Granted, the presentation of everything was top notch. Not all dishes fell flat. I quite liked the squid with chorizo and the crispy crust on the amadai, as well at the shallots on top of my steak. My strawberry-rhubarb-gin cocktail was stupendous and my dessert was pretty good - cheesecake mousse with Tahitian vanilla and seasonal berries.

JP's sauteed peaches with peach sorbet and meringue came on dry ice which was pretty cool.

But there was something off about the service (didn't help that obnoxious girl that sat next to me started elbowing me sometime during our dessert course). Maybe it was because I had chosen counter seating but it didn't feel like it was worth it. There, maybe that's what I mean. The food is good but overall the price just isn't worth it. I proposed that we stick to Daniel from now on since nothing else has quite measured up. We can be one of those couples that goes back every year once a year on their anniversary.

*Note: Whole Foods Chelsea - please carry non-grass fed beef. I like it better. And its not $14/lb. I think I'll be going to Whole Foods Union Square for meat from now on.

Big Apple BBQ

Big Apple BBQ is an annual barbeque event featuring the best pitmasters from all over the country who descend upon Madison Square Park for one weekend in June as the behest of Danny Meyer (I saw him! He wears mom jeans!). It's pretty much a circus all weekend, with tons of people in the park, around the park and on the grass. This may be the only time Shake Shack doesn't have a line. 

This year I opted for a fast pass - $100 worth of food for $125. BUT, it lets you (+ 1 guest) go in the express lane. Sometimes, those faster lanes were still 20 minutes (ahem, Big Bob Gibson's) and sometimes there was no one and you could just walk up while tons of people are waiting in the regular line.

JP and I went on both Saturday and Sunday, and let me tell you - those $100 are HARD to use up. Plates of food were $8, desserts and sides $4, and drinks $2. But one pulled pork sandwich is more than enough - meat overdose. Luckily we had some help the second day but it was still tough.

Our first stop (twice over the weekend) is always Big Bob Gibson's for Chris Lilly's delicious pulled pork shoulder sandwich and mustard slaw. The meat disappointed this year but I slathered it in sauce anyway. I couldn't help but notice that everyone was using Pepperidge Farm hamburger buns this year, rather than Martin's potato rolls. I think that affected quality. 

But that wasn't the first thing we are there. While in the 20-minute "fast" lane, we passing another stand and shared some brisket. It was super fatty - I'm not the biggest fan of brisket so we'll leave it at that.

We also got ribs from different places to try, including 17th Street, which were really good. We typically avoid the New York-based BBQ joints because we can go any day, but while in line for dessert from Blue Smoke (ok, fine, it's in NYC but they were the only dessert-option there as Fried Pies were already sold out), I couldn't help but notice the Dinosaur BBQ pitmaster and the pork shoulders fresh out of the smoker...

I was a vegetarian the whole next week, promise.

French fries fried in suet

I hate to be a downer and ruin the party (and all the positive reviews) that La Bourse ou La Vie has received but the meat just isn't that good. The steak was OK at best, and this is a restaurant that is supposedly prized and known for its steak frites. Yes, that is a huge hunk of steak covered in a peppery butter sauce.

I couldn't stop eating the fries (hah, I polished all of those off). I think this was the most amount of food I've eaten in one sitting since arriving in Paris. But unfortunately, the flavor of the meat (apparently grass-fed) was smothered by the overly rich, overly peppery sauce (yes, I know its steak au poivre but it was more like poivre avec steak). I mean, I appreciate butter, and pepper, but not in such huuuuuge quantities! I barely tasted the meat, but of course that didn't stop me from eating all of it. JL likes to say I'm like a goldfish, I eat all or almost all of whatever is in front of me. I don't know if that's what goldfish do, but that's pretty much what I do most of the time. Yea yea, I'm a fattie, fine.

The decor of this place is super whimsical (tacky perhaps? but in a charming way), with fake fruit glued to the lamp posts, and some piggies glued to the ceiling...

 

And as a word of advice, skip the dessert. It's overly homey and not worth it in my opinion. But go for the fries - those are worth it alone (they're fried in suet, or beef fat, yum!). And affordable wine, which they do a la ficelle (charge you for how much of a bottle you drink).

Pulling pork butts

I really should not be allowed to step foot into grocery stores. I walk in needing a few items and walk out carrying two huge bags filled to the brim. This happened last week. I decided it was about time to use the Le Creuset the people-who-keep-me-sane-at-work got me for my "going-away" to Paris gift. And what better way to do so than to make pulled pork?! MMMMM.

And so I walked out of Whole Foods with the two bags (helped by JP, of course) that contained, among other things, the chicken and the ricotta and the lettuce and the tomatoes for the stuffed chicken breast dinner, italian sausage for my upcoming lasagna rolls, apples (on sale, can't pass it up!), pineapple (just because), some other things, and a 2.5lb pork butt. It's not really the butt, it's the shoulder. 

And as I usually do with non-baked goods recipes, I decided to research. How does one go about making pulled pork in a dutch oven? My favorite pulled pork of all time is Big Bob Gibson's (I don't know how Chris Lilly = Big Bob) pulled pork sandwiches that we had at the Big Apple BBQ for two years in a row. Best thing about the whole food fest. So I used Chris Lilly's dry rub and since I didn't have anything to inject the pork with, I just poured some apple juice down the sides of the Le Creuset. Into the oven at 225F for 4 1/2 hours. I was pulling the pork at 2:30am. And reheated it the next day for dinner (after we went to an all-you can drink brunch at Mercadito for $21, which was pretty gosh darn AWESOME and resulted in a very happy JP + PG running around Paragon finding me ski pants, for reasons we shall not mention but might involve having 5+ drinks). 

Pulled Pork (loosely adapted from Chris Lilly)

2 1/2 lb pork butt (also called shoulder or boston butt)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup smoked paprika
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon chili powder 
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup apple juice
Hot sauce (optional)
Brioche, white bread, parker house rolls, or whatever vehicle you want for the pork

Preheat oven to 400F. Mix the all the dry ingredients together (add more heat / sweetness if you want). Rub the pork butt with the spice mixture so it has a very thick coating (use all of it!) and pat down to adhere. Place in dutch oven with the fat side up. Pour apple juice down the sides of the pan, making sure not to get it onto the top or sides of the pork. Cover with the lid and put in to oven. Immediately turn the oven down to 225F and let it be, undisturbed, for 4 1/2 hours. 

Remove the pork butt from the oven and shred the meat on a cutting board using two forks. I like to get rid of as much of the fat on the meat as possible, so I just throw those parts out. Put the shredded pork into a bowl and add the liquid thats in the dutch oven by the 1/4 cup until the pork has a moist consistency. Season with more salt to taste and add a few squirts of hot sauce (optional but it can be sriracha, cholula, tabasco, whatever you have on hand...I used chimay habanero salsa). Serve between slices of white bread, brioche or parker house rolls.

Steak(ums) and veggies

First thing I cook for JP after coming back for vacation - steak. It was a fluke. We were at Whole Foods picking up groceries for my New Years Eve spread; I was searching for ground dark chicken meat (ended up with ground dark turkey meat), and he found a package of 3 marinated rib-eye steaks with the wrong sticker price on it. $17.99 per lb. It said the package was a little over half a pound. Completely mislabeled when packages of the same meat, that seemed to weigh the same, were going for $30 for the entire package. We grabbed it. Dinner ended up being grilled marinated rib-eye with roasted fingerling potatoes and green beans. Yum.

I am awful at writing recipes because I eyeball most things. The veggies were pretty much the following:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400F. Line baking sheet or pan with foil 
2. Par-cook a handful (or however many you want) fingerling potatoes in boiling water for 6 minute
3. Remove from water and cut in half. Place in lined baking sheet and toss with olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and whatever other spices you like (I put chile powder, oregano and garlic powder). I like to make sure the potatoes are cut side up. Roast in oven for 15 minutes
4. Remove from oven, add green beans and a little more olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss. Roast for 5 - 7 more minutes.