Top Chef 4: Block Party!

by Xani and Erin

Four weeks into the season and things are starting to heat up... a little. Well, maybe not. This week's episode was a little disappointing. For the quickfire challenge, the chefs are asked to make tacos. But not just any tacos, fancy tacos. Chef Rick Bayless judged and proclaimed Richard's jicama taco filled with avocado, papaya and cilantro stems the winner. (Anyone else think it was weird that he made one for himself as well as Rick and Padma? Or was that badass? Can't decide...) Andrew's duck was also a favorite, but most of the tacos just seemed like regular old street food, not haute cuisine. Richard was rewarded with immunity and the honor of having his dish featured on the menu at one of Bayless' Chicago restaurants. Then, field trip time! The chefs split up into teams and brought to a residential neighborhood in Chicago and told to raid the pantries of the residents to gather food and use it to cater a block party the following day. Cameras inside the homes of the residents shows us the chefs' arrival is not such a surprise after all! After cleaning out the refrigerators the chefs get to cookin'. The blue team, unofficially headed by Richard, decides to go for a more "upscale" block party menu, while the red team, featuring Spike and Andrew, are all about classic, down-home party fare. Team blue serves "paella", mac and cheese, some kind of fancy ("sexy") drink, and a fruit dessert with a crunchy cinnamon wonton. Team red goes with corn dogs, sliders (!!), waldorf salad, pasta salad, and s'mores on a stick (this might be the most genius thing we've seen all season-- and what is that saying about this season??). In the end, Team Blue prevails (to Team Red's shock and dismay) and Stephanie wins again with her fruit and wonton dessert. Team Red mouths off (both Andrew and Spike) and while it seemed Zoi might get the boot for her tasteless and oily pasta salad, in the end it's Erik's soggy corn dogs that get him sent home.

Xani's Take: First of all, since I'm in California, I got an email with my Fafarazzi score report BEFORE the episode even aired! It was killing me not to check it, but I resisted. I don't know how you West coasters can deal! I didn't get to change my team from last week so again I had Nikki, Andrew and Richard.

I was feeling pretty confident when both Andrew and Richard were in Bayless' top three for the quickfire! Personally I thought Andrew's looked like a tastier dish, but I was happy when Richard won (3 points!). The eliminations challenge underwhelmed me... I'm already sick of them doing catering challenges instead of chef-ing challenges! None of the dishes (except the individual s'mores and maybe the sliders, because I am sucker for tiny burgers) really looked great to me, and the pasta and waldorf salads looked disgusting. I ended up with 8 total points, Richard's 3 from the quickfire and the other 5 from Andrew (for cursing and arguing with the judges)

Dish I wished I were eating: Andrew's duck and plantain taco. C'mon, duck and plantains?? Yes, please.

Favorite Chef at the moment: After Andrew's crazy outburst at Judges' Table ("This is MY HOUSE!") he's still on my team (I need the points) but lost his place in my heart. Stephanie's won two out of four elimination challenges, so I'm sure I'm not alone when I declare her my new favorite!

Erin's Take: I agree with Xani that I wish there were less catering and more real, gourmet (or at least truly challenging) cooking. I'm tired of the teams - let's let the chefs be individuals! I was disappointed in Erik that he broke the cardinal rule of catering/party-throwing: don't serve fried foods unless you can serve them right out of the oil. When Xani and I plan parties, fried foods always come up, and we always decide to cut them from the menu because we know they won't be good if they sit out. WTF, Erik??

Anyway, I switched it up this week and picked Richard, Mark, and Jennifer. Unfortunately, while I earned three points for Richard's quickfire win, I only earned one more point for Jennifer's cursing at the end. Lame! I guess I played it too safe this week. I suppose I should be picking Stephanie because she can win with a fried wonton!

Dish I wished I were eating: I thought all of the desserts looked good - the inside-out oreo, the s'more on a stick, and the mixed fruit with cinnamon wonton.

Favorite Chef at the moment: Although they were annoying at the end in front of the judges, Spike and Andrew were quite entertaining for the majority of the episode, especially when Andrew told that little kid that "these little burgers are full of awesomeness." I still believe in Richard though - I have a sneaking suspicion he is extremely talented and will go far in the end.

Let's see what goes down next week!

X & EP

"Hello, Moishe's!"

by Erin

On my last day in the Big Apple, we had cupcakes and pizza, but that wasn't all: we still were able to fit in two more culinary adventures before I returned to Charm City!

First was a mission for my father: he asked me to get him a "cornbread," and not the yellow southern variety, the Jewish cornbread from back in the day. You guys know what I'm talking about? It's like a rye bread but denser and with a really thick crust. It reminds me of my Dad, Grandpa, and uncles, all sitting around my grandparents' table, reminiscing about corn bread, of course!

Anyway, the BCD parents assured me that I'd have no trouble finding this delicacy in Brooklyn-- but they were wrong. I called about a half-dozen Jewish bakeries in the surrounding areas, but most didn't know what I was talking about, and one told me that they usually have cornbreads but their oven was out of commission. Lame! So, we did a bit more research and a place called Moishe's Kosher Bake Shop kept coming up.

I called Moishe's (he answered the phone in his thick Jewish NY accent: "Hello, Moishe's!") and I spoke to Moishe himself (I think), who told me he didn't have any fresh cornbreads but he did have one frozen and ready for transit. Not the best situation but better than nothing, right? So, we hopped in the car and headed into the city to Moishe's, located in the East Village. When I got there I told Moishe that I was the one who called, and he went and got my cornbread. I told him it was for my dad, which he loved. He said, "It's good with the soup! You going to make the soup for him?" I, not knowing what soup he was talking about, played along and said "Of course I'll make the soup for my dad!" But, sorry Dad, no soup for you.

Sweets from Moishe

Hamentaschen in the window for Purim

Along with the cornbread, I picked up some NY bagels (most of which I've already eaten) and some onion rolls for the BCD parents. Apparently onion rolls were a favorite of my late, great, Grandpa Al, so I was happy to pick some up for the family.

Real NY Bagels

After our visit with Moishe, it was time to eat again! Lauren and I went to a Middle Eastern restaurant in Bay Ridge called Tanoreen, which turned out to be a great last meal in NYC. We ended up getting a bunch of their appetizers and sharing, and it was a good way to go (although half-way through the meal I saw a whole fried fish go by and I was sad we didn't have one of our own...).

We ordered hummus, cauliflower salad, dandelion greens, fatoush salad, and sambosek, and everything was AMAZING! The hummus was pretty standard, and very lemony. It was good with some of the spiced, fried pita chips they put on the table.

The cauliflower salad was sauteed cauliflower tops with tahini, pomegranate syrup, and parsley - YUM. It was kind of oily but in a good way - the cauliflower and the tahini was a great combo, although I don't recall too much of the pomegranate coming through.

The dandelion greens were spectacular - they were sauteed in olive oil with garlic and lots of caramelized onions, and they had such an intense, satisfying flavor. Who knew dandelions were anything more than good for a makeshift bouquet for Mom??

The fatoush salad was also amazing. It had lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, and the signature fried bits of pita running throughout. The mint was an especially strong and refreshing flavor, and the pita pieces were definitely spiced up and added a great crunch to the whole salad. I could not stop eating this, well after I was full!

Last we got sambosek, the middle eastern version of samosas (in my opinion). These were so delicious - deep-fried dough pockets filled with ground lamb, spices, and almonds, and served with a cilantro-basil dipping sauce. So good!

It was a very satisfying meal, and I was glad we got some good ethnic food into the schedule. We ended the meal with some mint tea, which was lovely, until we were asked to leave before we were done our tea because people were waiting for our table. This made me a bit mad, but at the same time I understood why it happened.

The next day I took the subway to the train station ALL BY MYSELF and I didn't mess up! Hooray! I love NY, and I can't wait to get back there! Next time I want to go to Magnolia Bakery (I've heard I really missed out and that the frosting is not quite like Warren Brown's), and maybe Babbo if we're lucky?? Thanks again to my BFF Lauren for having me!

Happy eating and happy travels,

EP

Brooklyn Pizza: Check out that flop!

by Erin

After our cupcake breakfast and some "girl talk" about the previous night's craziness, Lauren, her roommate Sarah, and I headed to Grimaldi's, known (modestly) as the home of the best pizza in Brooklyn. Grimaldi's is located right on the water and under the Brooklyn Bridge. We had heard that there would be a really long wait to eat in the restaurant, so we decided to order two pizzas to pick up and bring back to the house in Bay Ridge.

When we arrived, we saw a long line of people waiting in the drizzling rain for a table. We walked into the restaurant and it was PACKED with a lively crowd enjoying their freshly made pizzas. We paid for our awaiting pizzas and dashed out of there to avoid being in the way of the extremely busy waitstaff.

In the pizza waiting line

Packed house at Grimaldi's on a Sunday afternoon

When we got home, we were so excited for delicious pizza! We ordered one pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms and fresh basil, and one with ricotta, garlic, and fresh basil, and let me tell you, they were AWESOME.

The lovely Lauren with our lovely pizzas

Grimaldi's website says that there are three factors that make their pizza great: ingredients, know-how, and a great oven, and I'd say that all three of those factors came through. When we were inside the restaurant, I happened to watch a couple of the guys making the pizzas, and you could tell they were experts. The ingredients were fresh, flavorful and delicious, especially the thick-cut pepperoni and the super-strong garlic and fresh basil. Even the subtle flavor of the ricotta came through. I think part of this great balance of flavors came from the proportion of crust to sauce to cheese to toppings. Speaking of the crust, it was a bit charred (from their brick oven, of course) and extremely thin, which resulted in super-flop pizza! It was truly NY-style!

Pizza with ricotta, fresh basil, and garlic

Pizza with pepperoni, mushroom, and basil

Check out that floppo slice!

The only criticism I would make is that the pizza was a little soggy but I think that's a function of our taking it home and not eating it in the restaurant, fresh out of the oven. Next time, I'll be waiting for a table fo sho!

We enjoyed our pizza and watched Driving Miss Daisy (which I had never seen before), and just relaxed around the house for a few hours. It was a great afternoon and it made me feel like less of a tourist and more of a New Yorker, which was a GREAT feeling. Thanks Lauren and Sarah!

Stay tuned for my next and final NYC eats post!

Happy floppy pizza eating,

EP

Charitable Basketcases

by Xani and Erin

Attention readers in Baltimore and the surrounding areas!! There is a very special event happening in Baltimore this Saturday, March 29. It's the annual Maryland Public Interest Law Program (MPILP) Spring Auction, and not only will we be attending, but we will be donating a basket of delicious treats to the silent auction! The basket is still being developed but will look something like this:

(only way better!)

The MPILP auction is held every year to raise money to support law students who spend their summers working in public interest law. Held at Westminster Hall (attached to the Maryland School of Law, and also next to the cemetery where Edgar Allen Poe is buried!), the auction is a notoriously good time (due in part to the open bar, we're sure) for a good cause. There are tons of valuable and unusual items to bid on, many donated by local businesses.

We hope to see some of you there! If you need more information or for tickets, click here for the MPILP website.

Happy Eating,

X & EP

Top Chef 4: Don't Feed the Animals

by Erin and Xani

Last night was Episode 2 of Top Chef, and it was a good one! Here's a quick and dirty recap:

• Quickfire Challenge: Chefs go to Chicago's Green City Market and have to make a dish with 5 ingredients. Mark (the Kiwi) wins with his dish even though he forgot one of his five ingredients at the Market.
• Elimination Challenge: Chefs must cater a party at the Zoo and are divided into teams of 3. Each team's menu is inspired by a different zoo animal and must incorporate the main ingredients of that animal's diet into their menu. Team Penguin and Andrew win the challenge with his charred squid dish (and edible gelatinous glaciers!). Team Bear serves mushrooms that not only look like poo, but don't taste so hot, either. But in the end Valerie of Team Gorilla was kicked off with her black olive blini.

Erin's Take:

I liked this episode - I liked that the teams had an interesting theme to work around, and I think many of the teams did a great job at capturing the essence of their animals' diets. I picked Andrew, Richard, and Dale for my fantasy team this week, which earned me 9 points for Andrew's win and some cursing by Andrew and Dale, though I lost points since Dale was on the chopping block for his team's stuffed mushrooms. Who puts a strong flavored garnish like pecorino on a mushroom and doesn't taste it??

Dish I wished I were eating: Mark's white anchovy on a quinoa croquette. Looked very interesting! Also, Stephanie's banana bread looked delicious and gorilla-friendly.

Favorite chef at the moment: Well now that Mark has redeemed himself from last week, I'm definitely back in the fan base. Though he should lose the headband - why are we highlighting the receeding hairline, Mark??

Xani's Take:

I also liked the episode although this early in the season, I find it hard to keep track of all the chefs and their dishes! I was glad this was a team challenge; it always spices things up to force the chefs to work in groups. Nikki was so bossy! And she made those poor-looking mushrooms. Andrew really surprised me by working well in a group (he seems so arrogant I was sure he was going to be a problem child) and then SHOCKED me by winning the elimination challenge (and earning me 6 points). Nikki lost me points for saying she didn't taste her dish nor did she stand behind it. Boo-- she is "auf-ed" from my team next week (oops, wrong Bravo show!)! I ended this week with 6 points, bringing my total to a staggering 16 points (that's sarcasm, folks).

Dish I wished I were eating: I second EP's vote for the quinoa and anchovy concoction, and also Team Vulture's Moroccan-spiced meatball. Personally I was eating a bowl of skin-on mashed potatoes from scratch while watching the episode, so I was pretty content with that, and not dying of food-envy.

Favorite chef at the moment: I'm still on the Andrew train. Despite last week's Mayonnaise-gate, I think this week he stepped up and showed up he can cook good food, be creative (yuzu glacier?!), and work well in a team.

What did everyone think? How did everyone do with their fantasy team??

E & X

Cupcake Breakfast!

by Erin

After our delicious meal at The Spotted Pig, Lauren and I headed around the corner to the Magnolia Bakery, famous for its cupcakes (and its long waiting lines). As we were standing in line, Lauren explained to me that Magnolia uses Italian meringue buttercream frosting, which I learned all about from Warren Brown at Great Tastes a few weeks ago. Italian meringue buttercream uses a lot more butter than sugar, which results in a less-sweet, more-greasy (in my opinion) frosting that doesn't harden when exposed to air (like traditional buttercream), so it's good for people in the cupcake business. However, it's not my preference, so we ditched the line at Magnolia, hit the subway, and headed to Tribeca Treats (slogan: "Think Inside the Box" - cute!!).

Tribeca Treats is right near Lauren's work, so she was well aware that it was a super-cute sweet shop with cupcakes, cookies, and ice cream sandwiches. We ended up ordering one of each of the mini-cupcakes they had that day (including PB&J, carrot cake, black and white, and cookies and cream), plus a variety of their sandwich cookies.

I matched the Tribeca Treat color scheme!

We then headed to Union Square to people-watch and chat, and we ate some of the cookies we'd picked up, including a s'mores cookie (graham cracker cookies with marshmallow filling, dipped in chocolate) and a chocolate caramel cookie (chocolate cookies with caramel filling). We also had a cookie photo-shoot!

Get ready for your close-up, cookies

We didn't get a chance to eat our cupcakes that day, but the next day, post-St. Patty's Day celebrating, we decided forego cereal for breakfast and cut right to the chase: cupcake breakfast! We tried the PB&J cupcake, carrot cake cupcake, and the white on white cupcake.

PB&J Cupcake

Vanilla w/ Chocolate Cupcake

Cookies & Cream Cupcake

The PB&J was vanilla cake with grape jam and peanut butter frosting. It was very delicious, although I feel like the frosting was not really frosting, but rather straight up peanut butter that had been put in a piping bag. It was great, but it was a lot of PB to handle. The carrot cake was also very good, and had some of the best cream cheese frosting I've had in a long time.

Needless to say we were on a bit of a sugar rush for the remainder of the day, but hey, I was on vacation! Cupcakes for breakfast is totally allowed, right?

Stay tuned for more NYC eats posts after our Top Chef recap coming up next!

Happy cupcake eating,

EP

Chopped Liver and Male Models

by Erin

Last weekend, I went to NYC for the first weekend of my Spring Break to visit with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Lauren. You might remember our NYC eating adventures from October, and this trip was no different - we ate our way through parts of downtown and Brooklyn, and it was AWESOME.

We began our first day by heading into the city, the West Village to be exact, where we had brunch at The Spotted Pig. I've been hearing how great this place is for years now, and I've also heard about the notoriously long waits to get a table. So when Lauren and I arrived, we were prepared to wander around the Village for hours to await a table, but when we walked into the restaurant, we didn't have to wait AT ALL! Clearly they knew they were dealing with D-list (um...Z-list?) celebs.

The Spotted Pig is a gastropub, and both the menu and the ambiance reflected that vibe. It was a cozy space with (usually pig-related) chachkis on the walls, and a menu that was sort of upscale comfort foods.

Since it was brunch, we immediately ordered a cup of coffee, which they poured from a French press. Then we set to ordering. The first thing we ordered was something that I could only order with a member of my immediate family, or Lauren: Chicken Liver Toast. OMG this was AMAZING! (ps. Mom, you know I love your chopped liver, but I think they put crack in this one, so it wins...). The livers were cooked with wine and onions and some sort of fat (chicken fat, maybe?) and chopped up and served warm on a toasted slice of crusty bread with a drizzle of olive oil on top. It was incredibly rich and flavorful, and we savored every bite.

Upscale Chopped Liver

Next we ordered Pumpkin Pancakes with Chile Maple Syrup, which were sweet and delicious. The pancakes had a bite to them, as if the chef had used some sort of whole-grain or multi-grain flour, and they were topped with a pumpkin puree, the chile maple syrup, and of course, butter. The syrup was sweet but the heat hit the back of your throat at the end and added a whole other element. So good!!

Pumpkin Pancakes with Chile Maple Syrup

Then we ordered the specialty of the day, a Brisket Hash with Poached Eggs. This was absolutely wonderful - the brisket and potatoes and onions were really cooked down and melded together, and the eggs were perfectly cooked and delicious. I want to eat it every day!!

Brisket Hash with Poached Eggs

So as we were eating our pancakes and brisket hash, a nice (beautiful) young man at the table next to us jumped into our in-depth food conversation since he too loves food! (But really, who doesn't?? No friend of mine!) His name was Chase and it turns out he's a model (of course) and we chatted with him and his beautiful friend (Travis) for about half an hour. I love making new friends! It was a great ending to our first fabulous NYC meal. Stay tuned for more NYC posts. I love New York!

Lauren and I in front of The Spotted Pig after our lovely meal

Happy eating,

EP

Top Chef 4... It Begins.

by Xani and Erin

Well, TC4 has started and its shaping up to be a great season! Last night's episode introduced all 16 chefs, and let them show off their culinary skill and style. The quickfire was a Chicago-themed challenge where the chefs put their own spin on Chicago style deep-dish pizza (judged by Padma and guest judge Rocco DiSpirito). The "winners" (did it bother anybody else that there was no clear winner? Just 8 chefs who were good and 8 who sucked? Maybe just us...) then drew knives to determine the order of the elimination challenge. Each winner challenged one of the remaining chefs in a head-to-head preparation of a classic dish like Eggs Benedict, lasagna, Duck a l'orange or souffle. The chef who cooked the superior version of the classic was in the running to win the challenge, the chef who cooked the weaker dish was up for elimination. In the end, judges Padma, Rocco, Tom Collichio and (our favorite!) Tony Bourdain sent Nimma home, and named Stephanie as the challenge winner!

Xani's Take:

I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode. As you all know, we're making this season a little more interesting with our Top Chef Fantasy game (Our catchphrase: "It's time for a SNACK DOWN!" It's not too late to sign up-- you can still create your own team here. And once you have a team, make sure you join the BCD group by following this link). My team for this week (you can change every week) was Nikki, Andrew, and Manuel.

Things were looking bleak when ALL THREE of my picks ended up in the bottom half during the quickfire-- crap! But Andrew's near-constant string of curse words had me racking up the points. Of course, then he "forgot" an ingredient needed for his crab cakes during the elimination round (minus one point, but seriously, the Top Chef kitchen doesn't have mayonnaise? I was surprised, too.) which sparked a passive-aggressive mayonnaise battle between Andrew and Richard (aka Haircut). Manuel was something of a non-starter with his steak au poivre, which the judges liked but didn't love. I had high hopes when Nikki ended up in the top four! Would she win the whole challenge and earn me four points?! Alas, it was not to be. In the end I earned a measly 10 points, all from Andrew! Eleven for cursing and minus one for forgetting the <BLEEP>ing mayo!

Dish I wished I were eating: Stephanie's duck a l'orange-- I think the judges got it right with this pick. That duck spring roll looked killer!

Favorite chef at the moment: Andrew. He's kindof a pain in the ass but he's funny, entertaining and might just know how to cook.

Erin's Take:

First, I have to comment that Richard (aka Haircut) used leg meat in his crab cakes, while Andrew did it the RIGHT way and used lump. He still lost, but it's the principle, right? All my Marylanders with me here?? Anyway, my team this week was Spike, Ryan, and Mark (aka The Hobbit).

While they all three "won" the quickfire with their deep-dish pizzas (by the way, I can't believe Mark used MARMITE (the Kiwi version of Vegemite) in his pizza!), two of my three were in the bottom four for their crappy versions of classics (Ryan for his Chicken Piccata and The Hobbit for his Duck a l'orange) and I was on the edge of my seat. Luckily, Nimma got the ax for her overly salty Shrimp Scampi and my team was spared. In the end I got 12 points for the three quickfire wins and a couple people cursing. The points for cursing is silly here - don't they know that chefs are potty-mouths??

Dish I wished I were eating: Like Xani, I'd have to say Stephanie's duck looked amazing (especially the egg roll), but so did Nikki's lasagna.

Favorite chef at the moment: Although I didn't really like him in the beginning (especially his overly manicured facial hair), I kinda like Erik. He's a badass like Howie of last season, without being as annoying (yet). I also really felt for him when he got picked to make souffle - that's gotta suck. I also am a fan of The Hobbit, but he looked pretty scared at the elimination last night...maybe I shouldn't get attached.

So, how did everyone do??

X & E