Branzino in Padella

I love tender, fleshy branzino, the silvery type of seabass, redolent of fresh summertime beaches--I usually order it whenever it's on a menu, whatever time of year. Try this dish of fish! I was reeled in by this recipe of Branzino in Padella courtesy of Patrizio d'Andrea from the Dopo East restaurant in Manhattan.

Branzino in Padella

Serves Two

Ingredients:

2 branzino fillets (skin on, boneless)

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

1 generous pinch of salt and pepper

1/2 cup of fresh steamed corn kernels

1/3 cup of diced organic baby rainbow carrots (1/3 inch dice)

1/3 cup of diced peeled green asparagus (1/2 inch dice)

1/3 cup of diced purple potatoes (1/4 inch dice)

2 garlic gloves

1 tbsp of chopped fresh scallion

Method:

Set a 12-inch saute pan over medium-high heat and add half of the olive oil. Season the

branzino fillets on both sides with salt and pepper and then dredge in the flour, shaking

off any excess. When the oil is hot, add the branzino fillets skin side down. Gently the

press fillets down and cook until the skin is crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Use a large spatula

to turn the fish over and cook on the second side until just cooked through, about 60

seconds more. Transfer the fillets to a warm plate in an oven on low.

Rinse and dry your pan, add the remaining olive oil along with the two garlic gloves.

Cook at medium heat until golden then remove them, leaving the flavored oil. Bring the

heat to medium high and add your chopped vegetables starting with the corn, potatoes,

and carrots. Cook the vegetables for 3 minutes then add the green asparagus and the

scallion, cooking perhaps a minute more. Make sure not to overcook the asparagus to

preserve its vibrant color. Add salt and pepper to taste and plate the vegetables under

the fish.

Dopo East is located at 345 East 62nd Street, DopoEast.com, 646-484-6548.

Betty Crocker's Nacho Pot Pie

This was so fun to make, so easy and actually pretty good! I happened to happen upon this recipe online and thought it would be a perfect host for our small Oscar Party. Baby always makes a ton of stock, so the chicken stock in our freezer was an easy acquisition and an ample substitute for the canned Progresso broth suggested in the recipe. A Mexican-flavored rotisserie chicken that we bought was quickly shredded and thrown into the mix--we also used a classic frozen vegetable medley (carrots, corn, green beans, peas), gladly relieved of the task of chopping fresh carrots and then having to further rip open a bag of frozen corn. We eschewed shallots and went for white onions instead, already chopped, to save more time and effort. Tostitos corn chips stepped in as our tortillas of choice and the black beans we used were vegetarian and fat-free. The sour cream topping was fat-free as well and we dotted the whole dish with chopped scallions, simmering into the Mexican cheese.

Do check on this periodically as it bakes for about 20 minutes in your 375-degree oven, to make sure your cheese doesn't burn--and let it sit for about 10 minutes to cool down! Toasting Coronas with lime all around!

Go to BettyCrocker.com for the complete recipe. 

Thank you BettyCrocker.com for the photo!

Pete's Dish

What's going on in and around town!

In anticipation of Fat Tuesday on March 4th, there's a lot else going on--still, bring your beads.

Alobar (46-42 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, 718-752-6000) celebrates Mardi Gras Queens-style with a Fat-tastic Tuesday beer pairing dinner. Five courses paired with beers is $50 per person from 5:00pm until 10:00pm. Live jazz starts at 7:00pm. Chef Greg Profeta will be serving up dishes complemented by beers brewed in the Big Easy. Expect oysters with Restoration pale ale, fried okra with Spring IPA, andouille sausage with Bayou barking Turbodog, crayfish with Andygator, and finish it up with beignets and Purple Haze! 

Marco Polo Ristorante and Chef/Owner Marco Chirico introduce a new happy hour bar menu with new dishes and drinks, as well as their classics. Aperitivi include a chef's selection of cheese and salumi platters, crostini topped with speck, mozarella and fig jam as well as a tempting hanger steak with shaved parmigiano or taleggio, portobello and truffle oil. Special raw bar items include clams, oysters, shrimp, house-made meatballs and arancini. Knock it back with a Blueberry Cosmopolitan made with fresh blueberries, vodka, Saint Germain elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, a dash of cranberry, and blueberry simple syrup. For something more bracing, put on the Black Tie made with Chivas, rum, port wine, raspberry syrup, and shaved nutmeg. Select cocktails, wines, and beer are 2-for-1. Happy hour runs Monday - Friday, from 5-7pm.  Marco Polo is located at 345 Court Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Go to MarcoPoloRistorante.com for more info. 

  

The Doe Fund will host its third annual sweet: New York tasting event at The Bowery Hotel (335 Bowery, btwn 2nd/3rd Streets) on March 13th from 6pm-10pm in support of NYC's homeless. Participating restaurants include Telepan, BLT Prime, Magnolia Bakery, Dinosaur BBQ, Payard Pattiserie,  Greenwich Project,  Loi, Fatty Cakes, and Commerce. Cocktail sponsors include Kopali Wines, Manon, Union Beer, Spud Vodka, Flora Springs, and NY Distilling Company. Proceeds will go to The Doe Fund’s Ready, Willing & Able program which assists 1,000 individuals per day to better their circumstances through paid work, educational tools, and career development. Go to Doe.org for more info.

San Francisco-based hospitality communications agency, Andrew Freeman & Co. and Hall Company, a global lifestyle and hospitality agency headquartered in New York City, recently announced a collaborative partnership, expanding their positions in the hospitality, restaurant and luxury industries. This new partnership will cover San Francisco, New York and other national and international markets.

 

 

Le Baratin Restaurant

Good French food with a side of grammar at a  great, cozy French bistro in le coeur of Greenwich Village that feels like it has been around forever!

Le Baratin

26 Greenwich Ave

212-933-1080 (btwn Charles/W 10^th Sts)

LeBaratinNYC.com

A rudimentary lesson in French was certainly unexpected when we went to Le Beratin. With our waiter we discussed the etymology of bouillabaisse which when broken down from bouillir à la baisse translates to “boil and reduce.” We further went into the difference between riz (rice) and ris (brains). All of this food talk certainly perked up our appetites! I never did get around to asking what Le Baratin actually meant, although I suppose I could have asked any number of the French speaking patrons surrounding us for the translation. The little place that used to be home to the Lafayette French Pastry bakery feels like it has been around for years and is charmingly thrown together with ragtag bric-a-brac making companions with artist Mark Sehl’s fine sketches scattered about to enhance the proceedings. Just the kind of spot to secure a seat at the bar and mull over the menu with a few comfortable glasses of wine.

As we sat down at our simple table, colored by red and white checkerboard napkins, we readily acclimated to this new venture with a fizzy Kir Royal comprised of Champagne and Crème de Cassis, the blackcurrant liqueur—it was a pleasant diversion, and although we probably hadn’t had one since the 80’s, we sipped it with delight just the same. We moved on to a bottle of a crisply dry, French Sancerre that tasted wonderfully green, like draping, enveloping vines and duly suited us through the rest of our meal.

Onion soup was a rather obvious choice and didn’t disappoint, full-flavored and naturally, served in an earthenware crock cloaked with browned cheese. Chewy Escargots Persillade (that’s snails with parsley to you and me, bub) were steaming hot, garlicky and buttery delicious with a flutter of chopped parsley strewn about the little vessel. The pan-seared foie gras was only fair, a little undercooked for me and not overly flavorful. We did enjoy however the accompanying caramelized compote with Granny Smith apples and mangoes dressed in a balsamic drizzle. Fine hand-chopped steak tartare was chunky, fresh and deeply rosy pink, enlivened by minced white onions, parsley and a bracing stream of red pepper aioli.

We took to the crispy sweetbreads (thalamus glands, or the ris in question) readily enough and they were decent, surrounded by cubed carrots, squash, zucchini and peas and a smattering of thyme. We considered the Côte de Boeuf, a grass-fed rib-eye meant for two, but we found our main meat elsewhere. Medium-rare duck was a winner, served with charming bundles of verdant haricots verts wrapped in bacon! A zesty orange gastrique was a clever touch and we enjoyed the mashed potatoes with grainy Dijon mustard in an a l’ancien preparation, similar to Lyonnaise potatoes.

It was hardly a matter of much consideration to order the chilled chocolate mousse! In the midst of the creaminess, pieces of dark chocolate filled the ramekin that was outfitted with dollops of whipped cream. We did share it though, to leave our dignity somewhat intact, even as we considered ordering another one over our thoughts of returning to Le Baratin posthaste.

First published in part in Next magazine.
Photo credit: Gustavo Monroy

Book Signing Party-The Murdery Delicious Hamwich Gumm Mystery

What it means to read with Pete! What a wonderful night--thanks to the folks at Bea and Next magazine!

The Murdery Delicious Hamwich Gumm Mystery is available now on amazon.com and bn.com. 

Photo credit: Gustavo Monroy

Throwback Thirsty

Margaritas! Throw 'em back and do enjoy!

National Margarita Day is February 22 so relax into the weekend by celebrating with these margarita recipes from a few vacation spots beautifully situated around the Caribbean--make them at home and dream of frosty drinks in a temperate clime rather than just frigid weather. 

Frozen Tamarind Margarita (shown above)

From the Hyatt Regency Aruba

The classic Mexican cocktail is paired with a local Aruban ingredient–tamarind–resulting in this fabulous refresher. Aruba.Hyatt.com.

Ingredients:  

2 oz Jimador Blanco tequila

1 oz tamarind juice

1 oz lime juice

Directions:

Blend with a scoop of ice and pour into a Margarita glass with or without a salted rim.

Coconut Margarita

From Copamarina Beach Resort

Go coconuts on the beach or poolside at the Copamarina Beach Resort in Guanica, Puerto Rico with this crazy concoction. CopaMarina.com.

Ingredients:

2 oz. Patron Silver Tequila

1 oz. Malibu Coconut Rum

.50 oz. St. Germaine

3 oz. Fresh Coconut Water

Drizzle of Coco Lopez

Fresh Vanilla Bean (Scraped)

1 Fresh Lime Wedge Squeezed (to serve)

Directions:

Mix Patron, Malibu, St. Germaine, Coconut Water and vanilla bean in a shaker. Pour into a glass rimmed with toasted coconut. Drizzle with Coco Lopez and squeeze in a fresh lime wedge. Garnish with a lime peel. 

Sirenarita

From Isla Verde Resort

Creamy coconut and sour mix headline the Sirenarita at the family-friendly beachfront property, Isla Verde Resort, in San Juan which is made to order at any of the resort’s bars. Book now at SJCourtyard.com. 

Ingredients:

¾ oz Cream of Coconut

1 ¼ oz Tequila

1 ¼  oz Triple Sec

2 oz Sour Mix

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a shaker. Garnish glass with a slice of lime and orange. Such a delicious sip!
 

Rum Rita (shown above)

From La Concha Resort

At this San Juan beach hotel there is a rum version of the marg. Go to LaConchaResort.com for more information. In the meanwhile, the recipe for the Rum Rita is below!

Ingredients:

1 ½ oz Don Q añejo

½ oz Grand Marnier

1 oz Lemon juice

1 oz simple syrup

Salt (rim)

Preparation:

Shake up all of the ingredients and pour into a salt-rimmed glass. Garish with a slice of lime and get to know the lovely Rita.  

Frito Pie

Baby and I thought we would spice up our fairly frequent taco nights with an old classic, Frito Pie! We shirked the Old El Paso Taco kit this time and bought a bag of Frito's to serve as a vessel for our meat and accompaniments. We browned a pound of ground beef (lean), drained it and then put in a packet of taco seasoning. While this was happening, we chopped some green leaf lettuce (instead of iceberg, with the idea of being fancy) and simmered a can of vegetarian non-fat red kidney beans in a little water (drain those too). Once having ripped the bag of Frito's open with our kitchen shears, we poured the spiced beef over the chips, added the beans, a shredded Mexican cheese blend, dollops of fat-free sour cream, topped the whole thing with the lettuce and dug in with some ice cold beers alongside. Try this with scallions, salsa or chopped tomatoes too! Delish!