Tamales

I finally made tamales. Just enough for two.


There is the masa (dough), soaking corn husks, chicken mole, and a tamale.


I have no idea if this is the correct way to stuff and roll them but I figure most methods are acceptable. Where's my Oaxacan grandmother to teach me?


So they turned out pretty good although I still have to tweak the masa recipe a bit. I didn't use lard, but vegetable shortening, and I did use some water. I think next time I will stick with the Crisco but use some chicken stock for the liquid to give it a richer flavor. And more salt. And next time, chile and cheese.


Tamale coma.

Gowanus Guacamole

Jared and I ventured over to Gowanus, a semi-industrial and really charming area of Brooklyn, to see the new Picture Box comic store.



We ate at a nearby Mexican restaurant called Maria's Mexican Bistro on 4th Ave. I tend to be a guacamole purist (just avocados, lime juice, and salt, maybe the tiniest minced white onion) but this stuff was addictive. Really salty and flavorful.


The tacos were garbage though.


They were dry, stale, flavorless, and overloaded with onions. Notice the visible disappointment.


And look at the layer of grease on the tortilla soup! Orange pools of grease are only acceptable if there is copious amounts of melty processed cheese in the mix or lots of pork. Neither were in this soup.


Barf. The only saving grace was the guacamole. Be warned.


Pretty!


Not a hamster-ball but an ice-cream-maker ball we found on the street in it's full packaging! Our friend Christopher Gere has one and it makes delicious ice cream. You fill up one side with ice and rock salt, the other internal compartment with cream, sugar, and fruit, and then you roll it around on the ground or shake it or throw it back in forth like in elementary school. And ice cream is created. Genius.


Bring on the warm weather!

Around the world in two days

Kiss me, I'm German!



Brandon and Taylor at Cheap Shots.


Anne got us the good ole' LA stalwart street foods, the bacon wrapped hot dog. This kid had mustard, grilled onions, and (gotta have green) avocado.


The bacon was impressively crispy.


That's Anne. And Mcallister!


This is a preserved lemon. Well, the beginning of a preserved lemon. I just got a new Moroccan cookbook called Arabesque, that shows you how to make them. You cut the lemon open, salt it heavily, pack them in a sterilized container and let it sit for a month.


Then we had Pho for dinner, somewhere on 8th Ave. The defining characteristic of Pho is the beefy star anise scented broth, though, Jared says it's, "Leaves".




And then... we found a TACO TRUCK! The first one I've seen in Manhattan.


14th St. and 8th Ave.


I just fabricated a chicken because I'm going to make something for dinner. The carcass is simmering away for chicken stock...

IRON CHEF NYC-Jalapenos

The first NYC incarnation of our ole' LA favorite party style-IRON CHEF. One of your friends chooses a foodstuff--bananas, maple syrup, coriander, whatever. And then you show up to the party with a food featuring that ingredient. Pure genius. This time was jalapeños.


Spicy sugared margaritas.


Chipotle deviled eggs and jalapeño cornbread.


Corn chowda with cilantro.


Spicy!


The winner-bacon wrapped cheese stuffed jalapeños. They went fast.


Capsicum kitty.


Bizcocho de chiles.

We also had chips and salsa, enchiladas, chorizo stuffed jalapeños, and beers.
Spicy food. Hot friends. Burning down the house.

Momofuku Noodle Bar

Man oh man. After lying face down in bed for a week with the flu and existing solely on oranges and cough drops my taste buds were not prepared for the deliciousness to be had at Momofuku Noodle Bar when J-RAD took me this week. I had been yearning to try David Chang's Asian cuisine ever since he appeared in the NYC Times, and then Gourmet, and then Bon Appetit, and then NYC times again and again and again like a culinary poster-child. These seasonal pickles started out our meal: shitakes, kimchee, pickled pear (so good!), cucumber, and radish. I love me some pickles.


The press has been kind to Chef Chang, and deservedly so. This may, no, this was the best bowl of Ramen (and the most expensive at $15) I have ever eaten in my life. There's pork confit in there, pork belly, a poached egg, Jesus, bamboo shoots, and nori. Sorry it's a little blurry. (Ramen haze)


Jared got the chicken Ramen. Great as well but not as good as the porcine variety.


So, if you've even had really good Ramen, really authentic stuff, you know that the broth should be so concentrated and rich that it tastes milky, calcified, like bones. This Ramen was so layered with umami, with such rich chewy egg saturated noodles, mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, my eyes start to roll back into my head. And the pork belly! Pig deified. Here's the bustling kitchen.