BOOK/A TABLE - Vampire Weekend Cocktails

“There lay the Count, but looking as if his youth had been half restored. For the white hair and moustache were changed to dark iron-grey. The cheeks were fuller, and the white skin seemed ruby-red underneath. The mouth was redder than ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood, which trickled from the corners of the mouth and ran down over the chin and neck.” From Dracula, by Bram Stoker.

We all know what Dracula likes to drink. Here we offer a cocktail less revolting, more fun and refreshing, and certainly in keeping with the spooky season: the Pina Ghoulada! But never fear—with a red syrupy rim, there will be blood (in ghastly appearance anyway) during the Hallowe’en weekend soon to rise upon us...!

 

Pina Ghoulada
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living Special Issues, 2000
Serves 10 to 12 eight-ounce servings

Ingredients:
FOR THE “BLOOD”
3 tablespoons corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon red food coloring

FOR THE DRINK
20 ounces pineapple juice
1 can (15 ounces) cream of coconut
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup orange juice
10 ounces good-quality rum

Instructions:
Pour the corn syrup in a shallow bowl. Dip a toothpick into the food coloring, and stir a very small amount into the syrup to combine. Hold a glass by the stem, dip rim into the syrup mixture, and turn glass, coating entire rim. Turn the glass upright, allowing mixture to drip down sides for an eerie effect. Dip the remaining glasses. Set aside.

Whisk together drink ingredients. Place 2 1/2 cups ice in a blender, and add 1 cup drink mixture. Blend until smooth; add more pineapple juice if mixture is too thick. Repeat with remaining ice and mixture. Carefully pour into prepared glasses; serve.

*BONUS* Frozen eyeballs for your highballs! Click here for eye-popping garnishes from thismamacooks.com that will give your martinis a particularly ghoulish “look.”

                                                 

BOOK/A TABLE - The Chowder Society

 

Revenge is a twice-told tale: the pursuit of it, and the aftermath that follows. Throw a spiteful ghost into the mix and things begin to get rather complicated...

In Peter Straub’s Ghost Story, set in a wintry New England town, a collection of four old men (a.k.a. members of the Chowder Society) are haunted by their past and get together once a month to tell each other—yes, ghost stories—in an effort perhaps to absolve themselves of the grave accident they once caused. Let’s just say it doesn’t exactly work out for the poor fellows.

“Somberness had not been evaded: he saw again the skeletal branches thrusting through the brilliant leaves, the implacable bloodied face of the girl on the film poster, and remembered that is was his turn to tell the story at the Chowder Society meeting that night.”

I won’t reveal any more about the book, preferring to tell you instead about this recipe for New England Clam Chowder from Manhattan’s Fulton Fish Market. But like the stories in Ghost Story, this dish is meant to be shared.

Chunky New England Clam Chowder
Adapted from fultonfishmarket.com
Serves Four

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
8 ounces thick-cut bacon, sliced crosswise
1 large onion, finely diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
4 small white potatoes, peeled and diced
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 ⅔ cups whole milk
2 cups fish or chicken stock
2 bay leaves
⅔ cup heavy cream
1 ½ pounds fresh clams, rinsed
½ cup dry white wine
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add the bacon and fry until golden and crisp, 6-8 minutes; remove to a plate lined with paper towels and cover with aluminum foil.

Add the onion, celery, garlic, potatoes, and a pinch of salt to the Dutch oven, sweating until starting to color, about 10 minutes.

Whisk in the cornstarch and cook for 2 minutes; whisk in the milk followed by the stock in a slow, steady stream until fully incorporated.

Add the bay leaves and bring the mixture to a simmer; cook steadily until the potatoes are very soft, 15-20 minutes.

Discard the bay leaves. Whisk in the cream; bring the chowder to a simmer and season to taste with salt and pepper; keep warm over very low heat.

Place the clams in a large saucepan set over high heat. Add the wine, cover the pan with a lid, and cook until the clams have steamed open, 3-4 minutes; discard any that don't open.

Drain the clams and leave to cool for 3 minutes. Pick the meat from the shells; stir the picked clam meat into the chowder along with the parsley and reserved bacon.

Serve straight away for best results.

 

BOOK/A TABLE - Mad About the Melt

In anticipation of Hallowe’en, I'll be featuring a few frightening reads and recipes all this month—kicking things off with a tribute to the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Read on, if you dare...

Back in 1980, when my friends and I were in 7th grade, we did the impossible. At least, our feat was something that would be considered quite unfathomable to the teens and tweens of today (and I daresay more than a few parents)—we sat, glued together in front of a television in the dark and, uninterrupted by any distractions, watched Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho in all its jaw-clenching entirety for the first time.

I will always remember that night and appreciate that my friends agreed to walk me the few blocks home afterward, certain as I was that although it was only a movie...only a movie...a knife-wielding madman was nevertheless hiding somewhere in a bush along the way.

In Robert Bloch’s novel Psycho, Norman offers Mary some sustenance upon her arrival to the Bates Motel. “The kitchen was a complement of the parlor—lined with ceiling-high glassed-in cupboards grouped about an old-fashioned sink with a hand-pump attachment...and the long wooden table bore a welcome display of sausage, cheese and homemade pickles in glass dishes scattered about on the red-and-white checkered cloth.”

I think it’s safe to say that Bloch was a fan of the hyphen.

Anyway, in the movie version, Norman gives Mary some kind of uninteresting sandwich instead of the aforementioned display, when what he really should have served is the outrageous tuna melt from the Golden Diner under the Manhattan Bridge. I can’t help but think things might have turned out differently for all involved if Norman had only cut into this sandwich instead of...well, never mind. 

Golden Diner’s Tuna Melt
Yield: 4 sandwiches
Recipe from Sam Yoo
Adapted by Alexa Weibel

Ingredients:
For the Tuna Salad
⅓ cup mayonnaise (preferably Hellmann’s)
¼ cup minced bread and butter pickles
1½ teaspoons yellow mustard (preferably Frank’s)
Scant ½ teaspoon distilled white vinegar
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 (5-ounce) cans yellowfin tuna packed in water, drained (all of the water squeezed out)
⅓ cup minced red onion
⅓ cup minced celery
½ teaspoon Tabasco (or to taste)
Salt

For the Sandwiches:
6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
8 slices rye bread (or other sandwich bread)
Salt-and-vinegar potato chips
6 slices American Cheese

Preparation
Step 1
Prepare the tuna salad: In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, minced pickles, mustard, vinegar, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil with one hand while whisking the mixture with the other. Add the drained tuna, red onion and celery; fold to combine. Season to taste with Tabasco and salt; refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
Step 2
Cook the sandwiches: Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, lightly butter one side of each slice of bread. Working in batches as needed, add the bread to the heated griddle, buttered-side down, and divide the cheese among 4 slices of bread, tearing cheese to fit in a single layer (1½ pieces per slice of bread). Cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is crispy and golden, about 4 minutes. Transfer toasts to a large cutting board for assembly.
Step 3
Divide the cold tuna mix among 4 slices (about ½ cup each), schmearing it to cover each piece from edge to edge. Add a handful of chips on top and close the sandwiches with the other slices of bread, toasted-side up. Using a serrated knife, cut sandwiches in half diagonally and serve while the bread is warm.

P.S. Speaking of Hitch...it’s Hitchcocktober at Village East by Angelika (181-189 2nd Ave, NYC) when they will be serving up a smorgasboard of Alfred Hitchcock’s finest films on the big screen every Wednesday in October, finishing up with Psycho on the 30th-31st. Go to angelikafilmcenter.com for more info.

Thanks to Rachel Vanni for the tuna sandwich pic from The New York Times!

 

BOOK/A TABLE - Victorious Victoria Cake

“Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. There are circumstances in which, whether you partake of the tea or not—some people of course never do—the situation is in itself delightful.”

So begins The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James. I’ve always admired the gentle ritual of the British tea; the pause that refreshes, like a siesta—but with caffeine—and have enjoyed an afternoon or two steeped in civilization at The Ritz in London and The Plaza in New York.

But what is tea without cake? This heavenly Victoria Sandwich Cake courtesy of Barbara Pym is stuffed with raspberry jam and might well be the queen of all teatimes. With only a few ingredients and a modicum of effort, you can emerge victorious when serving this dessert any hour, even at midnight, to yourself. 

Victoria Sandwich Cake

Adapted from The Barbara Pym Cookbook

(My suggestions in italics)

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons (180g) butter

1 cup (180 g) castor or superfine sugar

Vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 cup (180g) self-rising flour

Raspberry jam (go nuts and break from tradition with strawberry jam!)

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). 

Beat butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Add a few drops of vanilla extract and beat in eggs, one at a time. Sift flour, and fold into batter gently.

Put the mixture into two 7-inch ( 18 cm) sandwich tins that have been greased and dusted with flour. Bake 17 to 20 minutes (I used one 8-inch tin and baked for 30 minutes. Tent with foil if browning too much), until done.

To sandwich, spread slices with raspberry jam, layer, and sprinkle tops with castor or superfine sugar.  

BOOK/A TABLE - Dressing for Dinner

Behold the battered, taped-up copy of Valley of the Dolls I bought at the Paperback Bazaar when I was about fifteen years old and desperate to escape New Hampshire. Although I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into, I ended up tearing through it, enthralled by the depiction of New York (and Broadway!) set in the 40s and 50s. And I told anybody who’d listen to read it. I wasn’t alone of course in my discovery—Jacqueline Susann’s debut has remained one of the all-time bestsellers for over fifty years.

The other night I went to a showing of the infamous 1967 movie version with my friend (he’d never seen it) and I explained afterward how the book has a special place in my heart and differs greatly from the camp spectacle he’d just witnessed. Also there is no bad acting in books.

Gore Vidal (or Truman Capote, depending who you ask) once said Susann’s prose wasn’t writing, it was typing—and although it might not be Wuthering Heights, the book has a brilliant structure founded upon the friendships of three young women struggling to make something of themselves. Susann was also a marketing visionary, a brand-name novelist who brought Peyton Place to Manhattan and paved the way for many romance writers to come.

Valley of the Dolls made me fall in love with New York and confirmed my decision to make it my home. Visions of the old El Morocco and the Stork Club danced in my head and after I moved to Manhattan, ‘21’ certainly became one of my favorite places to eat—no, to experience! 

Before ‘21’ closed a few years ago, I had the privilege to chat with its former executive chef Michael Lomonaco at a press event. I gushed over the shallot and champagne vinaigrette in his cookbook, which feature recipes from the fabled venue. So, when Anne Welles, the heroine of Valley of the Dolls arrives at ‘21’ dressed to the nines, I can’t help but imagine her salad was dressed with Lomonaco’s perfect vinaigrette—and my go-to favorite.

“Anne rushed into ‘21’ and joined Henry at his usual front table. Henry noticed that every man in the room had turned to look at her. She wore eye makeup and her hair was fuller, like a lion’s mane...she was exciting now. Anne laughed and ordered a salad.”

                              

Shallot and Champagne Vinaigrette
Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients:

1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 large, peeled shallots
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Method:
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process the vinegar, mustard, sugar, shallots, salt, and pepper until the shallots are finely chopped. With the processor running, add the oil very slowly in a small stream until all the oil has been incorporated and the dressing has achieved a silky, smooth texture. The dressing may be stored, covered, up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator but should be brought to room temperature before using.

BOOK/A TABLE - Champagne & Sorbet

As far as I’m concerned, the shorts stay on until mid-October, at least. And why not? The seasons have gone haywire—Memorial Day weekend weather doesn’t really start until sometime in June now and I prefer to think of September as the new August.

With that in mind, it’s still a fine time to knock back an effervescent Sgroppino! A video from Nigella Lawson popped up on Instagram and I was immediately intrigued as she mixed together lemon sorbet, champagne, and vodka for a last-gasp-of-summer cocktail.

It happened to be a bit of a coincidence then that I also came across a mention of champagne sorbet when reading Doctor No by Ian Fleming. While trapped in the madman’s “mink-lined prison” our favorite undercover agent James Bond is handed two huge menus: “They might have been from the Savoy Grill or the ‘21’ or the Tour d’Argent. Bond ran his eye down one of them. It began with Caviar double de Beluga and ended with Sorbet à la Champagne.”

Champagne Sorbet may certainly serve as a tasty dessert, but a Sgroppino is easier to make and yields quicker results without having to wait around for the whole thing to freeze. Cheers then—and say “yes” to the rest of summer!

Nigella Lawson’s Sgroppino Recipe
(My booze-free suggestions in italics)

Ingredients
100g Lemon Sorbet (about 2/3 cup)
25ml chilled vodka (1 shot) or herbally Ritual gin
25ml chilled prosecco (1 shot) or Giesen New Zealand Sparkling Brut

Method
Get a small coupe or martini glass and a small wide-ish jug. Scoop the lemon sorbet into the jug.
Pour over the vodka, followed by the prosecco. Mix swiftly but gently with a couple of forks, pulling the sorbet apart and into the liquid rather than beating the ingredients together.
When you have a lump-free cohesive mixture resembling a cloud of frosty froth, pour into the prepared glass.
Raise to your lips and prepare to be transported!

TIP: Chill your glasses to keep your cocktail cold – put them in the freezer for at least 30 mins, or up to 2 hrs before serving. (Avoid freezing crystal and delicate glass.)

This recipe was created by Nigella for Ocado.

 

 

 

Spaghetti with Salmon Roe

I don’t know what to tell you except that we were gifted an enormous amount of salmon roe from a very generous friend and we had to do something with it. I found this recipe for a luxurious pasta dish featuring fish eggs and set to work. Thin spaghettini is suggested, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Try linguine or fettucine.

Smaller jars of orangey-pink salmon roe or paddlefish caviar are usually less expensive than the black stuff (Sevruga, Beluga, etc.), so if you are looking to make a simple, elegant dish for a loved one, look no further. Double the recipe to include a few guests!

P.S. Lighten the whole thing up with condensed skim milk instead of cream. But do use both butter and oil. 

Spaghetti with Salmon Roe
memoriediangelina.com
Serves 2

Ingredients
150g (5 oz) spaghetti
100g (3.5 oz) salmon roe (2 small jars)
1 shallot, finely minced
A splash of dry, white wine
A good pour of heavy cream
Butter (or a mixture of butter and oil)
Salt

Directions
Cook the pasta in abundant, well salted water until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, melt a good dollop of butter (or a mixture of oil and butter) in a skillet. Sauté the shallot over very gentle heat for a minute or two, then add a splash of white wine. Raise the heat and let the wine reduce until it become syrupy. Add the cream and reduce again, until you have a nice, ‘saucy’ consistency. Turn off the heat and add half the salmon roe, mixing it well with the cream. If you like crush a few of the roe to add color and taste to the sauce. Taste and adjust for seasoning; the sauce should be very flavorful.

When the pasta is done, transfer it to the skillet. Turn on the heat to medium-high and mix the pasta with the sauce until all the strands of pasta are well coated with the sauce. If you find the sauce it a bit too thick, add more cream. If too thin, just let the pasta cook a bit longer. The pasta should not be swimming in the sauce, but it should slither around easily in the skillet.

Serve in pasta bowls and top each portion with the remaining salmon roe.