Weekend Guide :: 03.26.10

Brooklyn experiments is back with a brunch experiment ! Visit the Bell House this Sunday from noo to 4pm and check out people’s most creative and delicious interpretations. Tickets are $20.00 in advance, and allow you to taste away. Competitors are out for two Jet Blue tickets anywhere.

Passover begins Monday. Pick up beautiful handmade (round and whole wheat !) matzoh at Le Marais’ retail shop :: 150 West 46th Street. It is handmade in Brooklyn and supervised by Rabbi Avron Keller. It will be available till April 4th for $30.00 per pound.

And speaking of passover, for those of you who are stumped on the sweets- we are loving smitten kitchen's round-up of 17 flourless recipes , genius.

We’re a week behind on this, but if you haven’t checked out the No 7 Sub Shop inside the Ace Hotel it is open and the sandwich selection is downright genius, no matter what your taste. Pick yourself up a hearty lunch this weekend. 29th Street + Broadway

New Class :: Sunday, April 25

Guest Chef : Peter Berley
Tickets available online here
If the class has sold out completely, please send an email to : info@sunday-suppers.com to be added to the waitlist.

This Sunday Supper is an homage to the vegetarian – a frequent request ! Dinner will highlight delicious and creative ways to eat and serve early spring vegetables.

Peter is the former executive chef at the renowned Angelica Kitchen, here in New York. He has gone on to teach at numerous schools such as ICE and Natural Gourmet institute. His acclaimed books include “ The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen, “ “ Fresh Food Fast, “ and most recently “ The Flexitarian : Inspired Flexible Meals for Vegetarians, Meat Lovers and Everyone In Between. “ He has also contributed to Edible Brooklyn, Food and Wine, Bon Apetit and many more. We are thrilled and honored to have him at the helm of this produce celebration, and look forward to having you all join us as well !

Menu:
Crisp Fried Artichoke and Lemon Wheels with Spiced Fennel salt

Salad of Celery, Green Apple, Young Pecorino, and Walnuts
Mustard Vinaigrette

“Risotto” of Spelt and Lentil with Roasted Cauliflower
Brown Butter

Bittersweet Chocolate Bread Pudding with Cognac and Dried Cherries
Whipped Crème Fraiche

** Stay tuned for a Sunday Suppers giveaway of one of Peter’s books.

Weekend Guide :: 03.19.10

Say “Macaroon Day !” at a few select bakeries this weekend and get one free made my Francois Payard . If you choose to purchase too, part of the proceeds will benefit City Harvest. Check here for participating bakeries.

Don’t forget that its Brooklyn Restaurant Week . Or that Hamptons Restaurant Week starts Sunday.

Openings:

Check out the Tartinery in Nolita. A perfect brunch spot with a French bistro menu highlighting, yes, the tartine.
209 Mulberry St(at Spring St) New York, NY 10012 212-300-5838

Fatty Cue - (quietly opened a few days before schedule) bbq fare with a southeast asian twist by chef Zak Pelaccio
91 South Sixth Street (at Bedford Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718) 599-3090; reservations only for parties of six or more.

Brunch :: Sneak Peak

This weekend we hosted a wonderful brunch class taught by Marcey Brownstein and her staff as well as the crew from One Girl Cookies. It was a smashing success, we can't wait to share photos with you - in the meantime...here's a sneak peak of the table and flowers (flowers by jessie at rountree). more coming soon. xoxo

Golden Beet and Hazelnut Salad

photo by Karen Mordechai

Our last beet recipe in this series is a grated beet and hazelnut salad. We love the simplicity of this recipe and found the fusion of the sweet golden beets and hazelnuts is quite perfect, the tartness of some fresh lemon juice makes all the difference. We used toasted hazelnuts as well as this wonderful roasted hazelnut oil, by la tourangelle which you can find at kalyustan's or online here .
enjoy.


4 small or 2 medium golden beets grated
3 tbsp Hazelnut oil
¼ cup Toasted hazelnuts roughly chopped
Juice of one lemon
1 tbsp Garlic Chives chopped
Salt + pepper to taste

Add lemon juice to the grated beets immediately to preserve color. Toss beets with hazelnut oil, hazelnuts, and chives. We added some of both nuts and garlic chives to top, and the salt and peppered to taste. Serves 2.

Weekend Guide :: 03.12.10

Sunday Brunch
what to do this weekend.... ? Come to a Sunday Supper!
***we have 2 tickets available for this sunday's brunch event - buy tickets here

Chocolate and Spirits
A free tasting of chocolates, wine and spirits will be held on March 13 from 3 to 6 p.m. at Bottlerocket Wine and Spirit, 5 West 19th Street.

Cheescake
Eileen’s Special Cheesecake, 17 Cleveland Place (Kenmare Street), will celebrate their 35th anniversary by selling cakes in the store at 1975 prices: $1.50 for a mini (usually $3.50), and $18 to $22 for a 10-inch cake (regularly $29 to $42)

Restaurant openings
Pulino's - the long awaited project between Nate Appleman and Keith McNally has opened and is accepting lunchtime reservations- we're looking forward to tasting their sure to be fabulous pizza - and what's a McNally spot without a perfect bathroom?
282 Bowery , New York

Above photo are candied beets from Marlow + Daughters. An unusual treat we couldn’t resist trying on one of our quick runs there recently and a perfect tie-in for beet week. These guys taste like most gummy candy, but even sweeter with that thick sugar coating on such a thin slice. Marlow + Daughters makes these guys in house, in fact we’re pretty sure we’ve never seen them anywhere else. Have you ?

Have a wonderful weekend
xoxo

Beet Sandwich with Ricotta Salata + Orange Vinaigrette

This simple sandwich or crostini is a unique spin on the traditional bruschetta. A perfect lunch or serve it as an appetizer at a cocktail party.

Recipe :: Beet Sandwich

4 medium red beets
2 medium golden beets
4-6 slices of thick toast (we used French whole wheat)
Thin shavings of ricotta salata
Juice of ½ orange
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
Tsp chopped shallot
Salt + pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil and boil beets until fork tender. Peel skin (loosened from boil) off the beets and cut in a medium dice. Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients: juice, vinegar, oil, shallot, salt + pepper. Toss beets in vinaigrette. Arrange on toasted bread (we toasted our in a grill pan with a little brush of olive oil). Serves four to six.

Beet Greens Soup

This soup tastes and smells like comfort. It is a touch tart from the lemon and tomatoes, but all the ingredients meld to create a perfect stew. Growing up my mother would make this for us on a friday afternoon. Traditionally it is served with kubeh ( meat filled semolina dumblings) but since I was a vegetarian for most of my youth, I would serve up a big bowl of the soup - and skip the kubeh. Making the soup on it's own is a great way to use the leftover beet greens and is so so easy to make. happy cooking and let us know if you try it !

Recipe :: Beet Greens Soup

1 yellow onion chopped
Greens of 5 beets roughly chopped including stems
1 cup Crushed tomatoes
2 peeled chopped beets
4 cups Chicken stock
½ lemon
Salt + pepper

Soak greens for a long time, and rinse very thoroughly in a strainer and pat dry. Sauté onion in a bit of oil until soft and translucent. Combine all ingredients in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow the soup to cook down, approximately an hour or when beets are fork tender.

Beet Carpaccio with Goat Cheese + Mint

photography + styling by karen mordechai

This starter couldn’t be more simple to prepare or more vibrant in color. We used a mandolin for very thin slices, and we also found that the longer you allow the beets to sit in the vinegar and oil, the softer and more enjoyable they are, so perhaps prepare this a bit ahead of time.

Recipe :: Beet Carpaccio

3 small red beets sliced thin with a mandolin
2 small golden beets sliced thin with a mandolin
1/8 – ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
2-3 tbsp roughly chopped fresh mint
2 ½ tbsp White wine vinegar
¼ cup Olive oil
Coarse sea salt

Toss beets with vinegar and olive oil. Arrange slices on serving platter and crumble goat cheese over top. Sprinkle fresh mint and sea salt on, and serve ! This recipe serves 2 to 4 as a starter.

A Beet Story, Part 1

photography + styling by karen mordechai

Beets, whether roasted or boiled, pickled or grated raw, add a distinctively sugary shock of color to any meal. We've also discovered that they are a wonderful main ingredient, this week we will be presenting a series of beets recipes created at the Sunday Suppers kitchen. We stretched a bit beyond the (overplayed) pairing of beets and goat cheese to discover a few new flavor combinations. Some great pairings include: mint, feta, hazelnuts, orange, ricotta salata and even tomato. So stay tuned this week for some mouth watering beet treats ! We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

More About Beets :
This multifaceted root ranges in color from familiar crimson to light gold and creamy white; for a real beauty, try the Italian Chioggia beet, which reveals its pink and white stripes when sliced.

Health Benefits:
Beets are a good source of folate. Deep red varieties are also rich in anthocyanins, which may reduce cancer risk. And the greens, often (mistakenly) discarded—are rich in calcium, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and iron.

Selecting, Preparing, and Storing:
Look for beets with smooth, unwrinkled skin and a firm, hard feel. When choosing beets, bigger is not always better. Select the tiny "babies" or the smaller adult variety when you can; anything over two inches or so in diameter can have an unpleasantly woody texture. Buy beet bunches with the green tops still attached: They should appear bright and not wilted. Remove greens from beets and store separately in plastic bags in the refrigerator for up to one week. The greens can be steamed or sauteed in a similar fashion to swiss chard.

To maximize nutrition, flavor and color, cook beets with their skin on. Remove tops and the long bottom root to within 1/2 inch of the beet "globe." Wash carefully and steam in a covered pot, or wrap in foil and bake at 350° F, for 45 to 90 minutes, depending on size. Try to choose beets of approximately the same size to keep cooking times even. When they're easily pierced with a fork, they're done.

Let them cool a bit, and use a paper towel to help you slide the skins off (and to prevent your hands from getting stained red).

Weekend Guide :: 3.04.10

photo by karen mordechai
lavender shortbread at bakeri

Hecho En Dumbo's new storefront opens today ! With this relocation comes an even more comprehensive Mexican menu, on top of their already delicious tacos, sopes, burritos, and more. They will also be serving a seven day a week brunch with "classic mexican breakfast and lunch staples." Yum. You can't beat good Mexican at any hour. Visit them at 354 Bowery today !

Take the chill off our last few winter days (fingers crossed) at Jimmy's 43 this Saturday, where you're invited to a soup-off, judged by the likes of Edible Manhattan/Brooklyn editors and others. Spend $20 to show off your culinary talent/taste yummy soups, and support Harbor Hope and The Fresh Air Fund at the same time. Saturday from 1 to 5pm, 43 East 7th Street at Second Avenue.

Watch the Oscars with specialty cocktails, truffled popcorn and blinis at The Clover Club at 200 Smith Street at Baltic Avenue, Brooklyn. Good company, fancy food, and the red carpet.