GASTRONORMOUS

Now here’s an idea.

I have been a dedicated Brita filter user for years. Until recently I used the plastic pitcher, and now I use the faucet attached-type. While I am concerned about all the landfill waste that the components of Brita filter systems produce, I am even more concerned about the lead and other possible contaminants in drinking water. New York City apparently has very clean water, which is fantastic. Unfortunately, the water department and EPA can’t monitor the decaying pipes in all the old residential buildings in NYC. (The pipes are pretty decayed in my building in particular. When I unscrew the faucet-mounted filter, the mesh screen that unfiltered tap water runs through is thick with rusty particles. Scary!)

So, though I do not know this natural pitcher’s efficacy in lead removal, it is certainly a much more attractive water filter option than the plastic Brita pitcher (let’s face it—even in the sleek “chrome” finish, it ain’t too cute). I am going to do a bit of research to see if I can find out what exactly this Iouseki stones and Binchotan charcoal “filter” actually removes. One batch of burnt sticks and stones filters for about 6 months, making it at least comparable in price to Brita (though the pitcher itself costs more).

Charcoal Water Pitcher [$85; replacement Iouseki stones and Binchotan charcoal: $25; at DWR]

A few weekends ago, the Hubs and I decided to treat ourselves to a brunch a General Greene, a blog-ballyhooed restaurant in the neighborhood. I had been eager to try it since it opened in June. Expectations were high as I had heard good things about it.

It started out well enough. Tables were readily available. The faux-barnish rustic atmosphere manages to be both airy and cozy. Our waiter was pleasant. We ordered iced coffee which was served in cut-glass jam jars. Adorable! The Hubs ordered the baked french toast and I ordered the ratatouille baked eggs. Doesn’t that sound great? A rich, tomatoey, ratatouille chock full or eggplant, zucchini and other veggies, with two baked eggs nestled into the center?

Well, while what was actually put in front of me looked great, it didn’t look like ratatouille. It was creamy-looking, for one. But I was willing to go along with a non-traditional rendition of the classic French dish, so I dove in. What I found under the crispy golden top (pictured above) was a mass of foamy liquid, some small chunks of vegetables, all mixed in with completely uncooked eggs–yolks and whites. Whites! (The glop of clear whites isn’t visible in the photo left, but trust me, it is there. Oh, it’s there.) I can handle, and actually enjoy, a runny yolk in some dishes, but runny, still perfectly clear whites? That didn’t seem right. And I couldn’t get a grip on what the foam that was the base of the dish was meant to be. Was it supposed to be a custard? Not clear. It was so runny that a fork didn’t work in my admittedly half-hearted attempts to eat it. Rather than ask for a spoon, I reluctantly decided to ask the waiter to cook it a bit more.

While it might be said that I can be critical of the food I am served in restaurants, I am actually loath to send something back or lodge an official complaint to a restaurant employee. Sending food back to the kitchen interrupts the flow of the meal, and I feel this sense of guilt about it–I don’t like troubling the staff.  So, only when a dish is inedible do I send it back. And I had no choice in this case. So, I flagged him over and pointed out that the whites weren’t cooked. He seemed surprised when he saw the raw whites, and said that he had asked for it to be done medium-well (he actually hadn’t asked me how I wanted them done. I just assumed baked eggs were meant to be well done. And at the very least in any case, the whites should be white). He took it back to the kitchen.

In the meantime, The Hubs had nearly finished his french toast. It looks lovely. Unfortunately, the top was dry, as if it hadn’t soaked up any custard at all), and the bottom of the dish was filled with custard that was–incredibly–also undercooked. It was very runny, and clearly underdone, though not quite to the point of being inedible. The Hubs ate it, though he can’t say he enjoyed it. The flavors were good, it just needed a bit more care in custard coverage, and a bit more patience in the cooking.

The waiter brought back the baked egg dish as Hubs was finishing his french toast. I broke through the reformed top skin to find the same strange foamy liquid, and incredibly, still some uncooked, perfectly clear egg white! I just don’t understand how it could still be so uncooked after so much time, and two trips to the oven, passing? This was just so puzzling. I tried to eat it in any case, telling myself it was fine. But I just couldn’t do it. This was like a thin, hot, salty, shallow milkshake. It was just off.

At hubs urging, I flagged down the waiter again and told him it was still uncooked. Without my asking he said he would take it off of our bill, which I appreciated, and asked if I wanted anything else. Not having a menu in front of me, I just blurted out, “A muffin?” I wanted something fast as the french toast plate had already been cleared and we were nursing the milky ice cubes from our coffees.

A blueberry muffin was brought out hence. It was still warm from the oven. It looked divine. I split it open with my thumbs. It was undercooked. Sticky batter massed in the center. I asked the Hubs to verify. Was I being just too picky this time? He confirmed that indeed, it was undercooked. I looked around for hidden cameras. This had to be a joke. Alas, it was an unfortunate reality. We asked for our bill, paid it, and headed over to the Flea so I could get something to eat.

I might sometime in the future, when the foamy liquid and raw egg whites fiasco is but a dim memory, try General Greene again–for dinner, which I have heard is quite good.

The General Greene
229 DeKalb Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11205
718-222-1510

Postscript: I decided on a papausa from one of the Redhook Ball Fields vendors at the Flea. I took a bite and passed it over to The Hubs to try as I said, “This isn’t as good as I remember it being the last time I had one.” He sagely responded, “No, but it is better than the baked eggs.” I couldn’t help but agree as I took another bite.

I don’t know about your local farmer’s market (or backyard garden), but this year my market has been selling the most gorgeous heirloom tomatoes. Last week I bought some small and intensely flavored Black Prince variety tomatoes, some big and sweet Great Whites, and plump and juicy Red Brandywines.  With this sudden glut of tomatoes in my fridge, I decided to do two riffs on one of my favorite uses for fresh tomatoes: the caprese.

The list of ingredients for these two salads is almost identical, but you will find that the sum of their parts add up quite differently.

Gastronormous Caprese

Many caprese recipes do not call for balsamic, but I find that, used in moderation, it adds a little something special to this now commonplace Italian menu item.

If you happen to have a bottle of 40 year-aged balsamic languishing in your cupboard, by all means use it here. But if a $100 bottle of vinegar is not in your price range, do it my way: use a reduction of grocery store balsamic. The result of reducing the vinegar might not fool the palate in a head-to-head taste test against the real thing, but I promise this thick, rich, and sweet substitute will wow your cocktail party guests (or, you know, your spouse)!

1 cup balsamic vinegar
approx. 1 lb piece of fresh mozzarella (a bit bigger than a baseball)
1-2 heirloom tomatoes, depending on size (I used half a Great White and a whole Black Prince)
10-14 large fresh basil leaves
2 T good quality extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat balsamic in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until boiling. Immediately reduce heat to low and simmer without stirring until vinegar is the color and thickness of dark molasses, about 15 minutes.Take off heat and let cool to room temperature (do not refrigerate!).

Slice tomatoes and cheese into 3/8-inch slices. Cut these in vertical halves (this is optional–it looks a little more elegant if the pieces are kept whole, but it is easier for guests to serve themselves and eat if smaller; if the tomatoes are small, do not cut slices in half). Lay out slices of tomatoes and cheese on the cutting board and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper (taste the mozz first–if it is really salty, just use pepper; be sure to salt the tomatoes, though–it helps draw out the juices).

Arrange the tomato and cheese slices in an alternating pattern on a serving platter. Slip a basil leaf between each layer (ie, tomato-basil-cheese-basil-tomato, etc.). Drizzle with olive oil. Drizzle with just a couple teaspoons of the reduced balsamic and serve (do this right before serving or else the balsamic will be absorbed by the cheese and won’t look as pretty!).

Serves 4-6. Serve with (toasted) bread, if desired.

Brooklyn Panzanella

This is really a cross between a traditional bruchetta, which doesn’t include cheese, and a panzanella, which generally utilizes a lot more olive oil than I call for here. Here, the tomatoes are the true star, and the fresh mozzarella plays a supporting, but essential, role. Because the tomatoes are cubed they release a lot more juice than when cut into thick steaks for caprese, and that juice helps create a very flavorful dressing.

3 c heirloom tomatoes, medium dice ( I used Great Whites and Red Brandywines)
1 small garlic clove, minced*
1/4 cup basil leaves, torn (or chiffonade, if you are feeling fancy)
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
1 c cubed fresh mozarella
12 3/4-inch slices of baguette

Toss together tomatoes, garlic, basil, oil, and vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and give another quick toss. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes but not longer than 3 hours. Before serving add cheese and toss well, ensuring that it is coated with the tomato-y dressing that formed through maceration.

Arrange 3 slices of bread on a small plate and top with about one cup of the salad. Spoon some extra dressing over the top. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil. Repeat with the rest of the bread and salad.

Serves 4.

*Resist the temptation to go for a larger clove–you don’t want the garlic to overpower the sweet tomato flavor.

Delta Airlines is attempting to make flying a bit more bearable by offering Junior’s mini-cheesecakes (called “Little Fellas”) on flights in and out of JFK (for a price–$5–of course). By the way, if you haven’t tried Juniors cheesecake, you need to [via Grub Street].

Mark Bittman has a couple of terrific looking corn salad recipes that I wish I had seen before I plain-ol’ steamed a couple ears the other night!

Ruhlman has some inspired fun with tomatoes. I am going to post soon about some recent fun with tomatoes of my own. Check in soon!

This is a chai snickerdoodle. Yes, that is what I said. A chai snickerdoodle. Now if that doesn’t sound like a crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside, perfectly round piece of sugar-and-spice-coated heaven, I really don’t know what does. And, might I add, a stroke of seasoning genius!

Sinfully Sweet Treats is a cookie company based in Colorado (and, in full disclosure, owned by The Hubs’ very lovely cousin and her dashing husband) that offers ten signature cookie flavors, from Double Dark Chocolate Espresso to Key Lime Cheesecake Sublime. While I have not yet had the pleasure of partaking of the treats, I have heard very reliable first-hand accounts of their outrageous deliciousness.

Order by 3pm today (Mountain Time) and you could be cookie nirvana by the weekend! They ship anywhere in the U.S. Enjoy! [$20/dozen]

Robots are either a little but scary or unbearbly adorable (and no, I do not suffer from WALL-E fever!), and this little guy definitely falls in the latter category. He might not cook your food for you, but he can tell you when to take it out of the oven, which is helpful indeed.

I might just pick one up on the way home as we are in need of a timer (We do have one. It is from IKEA—a sleek digital number that sticks to the fridge. Problem is that after a couple weeks of owning it, half the digital readout stopped working so you sort of have to take a leap of faith that you are going to be told when to take the soufflé out of the oven. And one doesn’t need one’s souffles to be even more stressful than they need to be, does one?) [$25]

I love homemade baked macaroni and cheese. I have tried many recipes over the years and have taken the things I liked out of many of them, and threw in some personal touches, to create my own unique recipe.  The problem with having your own personal, and might I add, unwritten, recipe, is that it is more likely for some element to be forgotten and for things to go awry. Such was the case a week and a half ago when the Hubs and I hosted the Predicate for an evening of Project Runway viewing and mac and cheese eating.

Where things went wrong was with the roux. I thought I had remembered that I usually put one tablespoon of flour into the roux for each cup of milk that would go into the béchamel, so I put in five tablespoons of flour for five cups of milk. Maybe I was just being impatient, but after a few minutes, the béchamel was not thickening. Knowing that adding raw flour to a béchamel can make the sauce taste, well, floury, I was hesitant to add more, but didn’t know what else to do, so mixed up one more tablespoon with a bit of milk and added it to the mix. Still no thickening action. Shucks. I added one more tablespoon. It got very thick very quickly, but, as I feared, tasted floury. I thought the cheese might cover up the taste of flour so I took the sauce beyond the point of no return and added all the cheese, only to find the floury taste remained.

I think it probably would have been okay with just the one extra tablespoon of flour and a bit more patience! It was a bit less floury after baking, and The Predicate (I suspect out of kindness) said it didn’t taste floury to her, but the Hubs and I were both dissatisfied. Luckily, when we reheated it the next day for a dinner of leftovers, the floury taste was magically gone, so it wasn’t a totally wasted effort. In any case, the recipe below accounts for an extra tablespoon of flour. But if you have a béchamel recipe that works for you, by all means, use that as a starting point for this recipe.

When making baked macaroni and cheese, it is essential to use a soft, creamy cheese, and is best to use a soft creamy cheese in combination with a harder, sharper, cheese to impart more complex flavor. I have used all sorts of combinations, but this time I used smoked gouda (which the Predicate said added a yummy bacony flavor) in combination with asiago and parmesan. Some recipes call for less cheese than this does, but I find one pound of cheese to one pound of pasta works best (a suggestion I picked up from America’s Test Kitchen, and they should know). Macaroni and cheese in any form is not a health food, so go ahead and go for the gold, I say. (And don’t worry, Mom, we ate it with a vegetable!)

The hidden surprise of tomatoes was a little trick I learned from one of my favorite all-time chefs: Jacques Pepin. (Though I put more tomato in my recipe than he does.) The spicy breadcrumb topping is my invention, as is the idea of shredding the butter (most mac and cheese recipes call for daubs of butter to be placed on top, but I think shredding leads to better distribution of butter, which in turn leads to more crispiness!) I hope you enjoy it!

Gastronormous Macaroni and Cheese

1 lb of cavatappi, elbows, or penne
1 large tomato, chopped in a medium dice

2 T butter
2 T olive oil
6 T flour
5 cups milk
salt and pepper
1 lb of cheese, in a combination of your choice (at least half a pound should be a soft, creamy cheese), in a small/medium dice or shredded

1 c plain breadcrumbs (not panko)
3/4 c grated (not shredded) parmesan cheese
2 tsp cayenne pepper (or more, to your taste)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper
4 T butter, shredded on a cheese shredder and refrigerated

Boil pasta in a generous amount of salted water. Cook for a minute or two less than package directions. Drain and spread in a large casserole dish. Spread tomatoes over the top and then sort of tuck the tomatoes in, so that they are not completely on top of the pasta.

In the meantime, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. When melted but not bubbling, add the flour and whisk vigorously and continuously until a smooth paste is formed and keep cooking (and whisking) for a few minutes more (but do NOT let it brown). Add about a 1/4 cup of milk and whisk until sooth, then add the rest of the milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking the whole time. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Cook (whisking fairly often) over medium heat until the sauce has thickened, 5-10 minutes. Add cheese and stir until melted. Pour sauce over pasta and tomatoes.

Combine breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and spices in a small bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired. Add shredded butter and toss lightly with a fork (if made ahead, keep in fridge until ready to use so that butter retains its shape)). Spread mixture evenly over the top of the pasta, and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the top is crispy and sauce is bubbling. Let stand for a minute or two before serving.

Serves 6-8 people.

Note 1 : I used a pasta shape called cavatappi (also called cellentani), which is a ridged tube pasta in a spiral shape. It is great shape for cream sauces because they really grip to the pasta well.

Note 2: I am a fan of panko bread crumbs in general, but here they just don’t work. They don’t have the heft that is necessary to settle into the sauce.

After recuperating from the concussion I found it difficult to get back into the swing of things, and then I was out of town for four days (in Santa Fe, NM–more on that to come). I will be posting regularly again starting today, so please keep checking back.