Pass it Over!

I have very fond memories of Passover.  My grandparents hosted the Seder every year, with my Grandpa Charlie sitting at the head of the table leading the service.  We would go around the table taking turns reading.  I mostly remember it taking so long because I was always famished by the time we actually got to eat.  And of course, the food was always so delicious.  The minute you walked in the house, the aroma of matzo ball soup and brisket smacked you in the face.  And, food is at the heart of the meaning of Passover with the unleavened bread after all.     

I’m sad to report that I haven’t been to a formal Seder in years.  I hosted a few back in NYC at my Orchard Street studio.  There was no table, no couch.  We sat on the floor with TV trays and brought new meaning to reclining. I did whip up some mean matzo ball soup and even created a mini-seder plate.  

Orchard St Seder Circa 2006

Five years later, a new city and a much, much nicer apt, I decided to host the First Annual Boozy Potluck Passover Party (BPPP).   I invited the five Jews I know (not so many Jews here) and we tore it up Passover Style.   The menu:  homemade chopped liver, gefilte fish (store bought), charoset, egg salad, matzo ball soup, balsamic root vegetables and roasted herb chicken.  For dessert we had matzo brittle and homemade macaroons.  

Apps

I was feeling adventurous and decided to make the chopped liver.  It was so easy and turned out really well.  I was a bit uneasy dealing with the chicken livers, but the minute you start sautéing them in the schmaltz, they already have that rich aroma of chopped liver –it just smells like Passover.  Thanks, Ina for the recipe.

For the side, I made the root veggies in the slow cooker:  baby carrots (the real ones, not the bagged kind), parsnips, red potatoes, pearl onions and a few garlic cloves.  Tossed that with some brown sugar, balsamic and chicken broth and cooked on high for 5 1/2 hours.  

Balsamic glazed root veggies

For my bird, I have to admit I was a bit nervous because I’ve only cooked a whole chicken once.  So, I did a lot of research.  From Mark Bittman, to epicurious.com, to videos on the Food Network, I decided to take a little bit of several recipes.  This was also very easy and it turned out super moist and juicy.  I simply rubbed that six-pounder down with an herb paste made with fresh sage, rosemary, oregano, smashed garlic and really good olive oil.  I stuffed it under the breast skin and put more herbs and a quartered lemon in the cavity.  I even trussed that sucker! Then I placed chicken broth and two bay leaves in the pan and cooked it at 450 for the first 20 min and lowered to 375 for the remaining.  

Chick

Chick slashed

It wouldn’t have been a BPPP without the B, of course.  So, to kick things off, I whipped up some Manischewitinis.  I wish I was the inventive mixologist who created this lovely drink.  I had it years ago at some Latin-Jewish inspired place on Avenue A.  So, I re-created it as best I could:  equal parts Vodka, Manischewitz grape and a few splashes of Angostra bitters.  Yum!  You wouldn’t want to pass this one over…l’chiam! 

Putting the B in the BPPP!

Marlowe

“Marlowe is a market driven neighborhood bistro housed in a rustic-chic and inviting space. Bright and bold flavors from a three-star chef, and a little family history create an exciting new restaurant concept nestled in San Francisco’s slick SoMa neighborhood.”  I took this straight from the website and “bistro favorites” is what Marlowe seems to brand itself as, in addition to a locals place.  I can definitely see that as the atmosphere is very inviting.  It’s a pretty small space with a rustic feel.  I really enjoyed the swine and bovine pictures on the walls depicting where each cut comes from.  Rustic indeed, bistro I’m not sure.

After studying up on the menu, I was very excited to try some of what seemed to me as some down home classics with a twist.  I was particularly excited about the baked oysters and the crispy Brussels sprout chips.  I actually think this was the first time I’ve had oysters baked.   I can’t remember their names, but I determined that I like bigger ones better as they seem to be more flavorful.  At any rate, these came with a ton of cheese and bacon.  Generally speaking, anything with cheese and bacon is A-Ok in my book, however, I have to say these flavors over powered the oyster.  I couldn’t taste it.  It actually tasted like a potato skin to me.  Wasn’t a fan.

Oysters

BS chips

Next was the crispy brussel sprout chips.  This turned out to be individual Brussels sprout leaves lightly fried and super salty. Sounds great, right? Not so much.  My expectations were not fulfilled.  It was just a Brussels sprouty vessel for salt.  It was nothing spectacular and not very crispy at all. 

Third ap was a duck liver mousse served with a grape berry jam and a honey-grainey mustard sauce.  The mousse was as expected, but the two sweet accouterments really enhanced the flavor.  I really scarfed this one down.  It was by far my favorite so far.

What? One more ap? I couldn’t resist ordering the Jerusalem artichoke soup with whipped crème fraiche, hazelnut oil and sunchoke chips. It just sounded like it had so much potential.  Unfortunately, this was another disappointment, as it was just very bland.  The only bites worth mentioning were the spoonfuls of the crème fraiche.  

Finally, the mains.  I ordered the Anson Mills polenta wild mushrooms, truffled pecorino and a poached farm egg.  Each item complemented the next , and you know how I love a runny egg!  I cleaned the plate.  Marlowe was beginning to redeem itself.   Redeem indeed! If you ever go here, you must order the  “Poulet vert” broccoli di ciccio, toasted garlic, chili flake and marble potatoes.  This was by far the best dish on the menu (that we tried).  It happened to be the juiciest-herby-flavorfuly-perfectly cooked chicken I’ve had in a long time.  (Might even rival Zuni – just sayin.)  We also had the pork, which was nothing to write home about.  Too sweet.  (Honestly, I only had one bite and by this time, was married to the chicken.  Sorry, pork I still love you!)

Chicken

Dessert time.  And, it was a special one because it was my friend and guest photographer for this post, Erin’s b-day.  Naturally, we had the pear upside down cake with bourbon ice cream and caramel sauce.  Please refer to my Roadhouse post, i.e., you can’t go wrong with anything bourbon flavored.  

Overall, I have to say I was a little disappointed with Marlowe.  However, since the atmosphere was so cozy-cool and the chicken spectacular, I would give it another shot.  Marlowe: 2 stars.

What a Crock!

I think I’m getting old because I was really excited to get my new crock pot.  Since I’m not a fan of the word “crock” except for in the negative sense, I’m now going to refer to this beautiful, simple cooking vessel  as the slow cooker.  The slow cooker cooks the food at a low temp for a long period of time.  So far, I’ve found the keys to success are fatty pieces of meat and a fair amount of liquid so the dish doesn’t dry out. 

To become the slow cooking expert I now am, I purchased a mag to study up on recipes.  I decided on Better Homes and Gardens Essential Slower Cooker.  I thought since BGH is as old school as the slow cooker, it would be a good choice to show me the way.  It’s mostly filled with stews, chillis, aps and bbq dishes.  Pretty standard stuff for the pot, but wow – you can also make fondues, desserts and beverages.  Yes, I’m talking about mulled wine and hot apple cider! Who knew?

For my first foray I not surprisingly went with a pork dish called Asian-style barbecue ribs.  Seemed simple enough…and it was! You basically just dump a bunch of stuff in the pot and set it and forget it! (Thanks Ron Popeil for that one!) I was a little worried because it called for a lot of sweet things like plum jelly, molasses, ginger and brown sugar, so I added a few spoonfuls of sriracha to spice it up.  I mixed that up with green onions and topped it on the ribs and seven hours later the meat was falling off the bones.  It was delish!  I served it up with some brown rice with green onions and sautéed sesame spinach. 

 

 

Asian pork ribs with spinach and rice

 

For the next adventure I decided to make…well pork.  It just seemed super suited for slow cooking.  This time I went with chops.  The recipe was pork chops and bacon because there’s  nothing that tops pork better than pork.  The key here was a very thick bone in chop.  I dumped the cooked bacon, bay leaves, soy sauce, onions, cider vinegar and some other stuff in.  The dish turned out great.  Again, the pork just fell off the bone and was infused with an intense flavor – restaurant quality!!  I served it up with the spinach again (sans sesame) and some scalloped potatoes. (Props to Debbie who helped with this one!)

 

 

 

chops

spuds

The third adventure was…wait for it…pork.  Just kidding! It was chicken.  A whole chicken that is, and the easiest recipe yet!  Here’s what you do:  get a whole chicken (mine was a 4.5 pounder) and stuff it with herbs and garlic.  Chop onions, carrots, celery (mirepoix) and dump it around the bird.  I also added some chicken broth and white wine.  Then set it and forget it! Seven hours later I had a nicely roasted chicken – it was very juicy, but I will admit, a bit bland.  Next time I would omit the carrots and cel and add a ton more garlic and herbs.  The best part was I had a ton of chicken for meals during the week, which was the idea.  Today for lunch:  curried chicken salad.  Tonight for dinner:  tortilla soup. Tomorrow:  chicken quesadillas.  

chicken

 

tortilla soup

 The slow cooker may not be a very glamorous cooking tool, but it’s easy, fun and produces delicious food.  My advice is to get one with a timer (mine doesn’t have one)  Go get one!