Thai Chicken Broth

This isn't the most local or authentic recipe you'll find here. But perhaps the most delicious.

Thai Chicken Broth

shopping = difficult

difficulty = low

expense = low

1 lb carrots, chopped coarsely

1" ginger, sliced

1 leek, sliced

1 onion, sliced

1 clove garlic

6 chicken thighs, on the bone without skin

2 lemongrass stalks

2 kaffir lime leaves

1/2 t. coriander seeds

1/8 t. turmeric

1 cinnamon (real stuff) piece

2 T. coconut milk

4 QT boiling water

1. heat large dutch oven or stock pot to medium high heat
2. add 1 T. canola oil
3. add leeks and onion with little bit of salt
4. toss together and cover for 3-5 minutes until edges of leeks brown
5. add carrots, lemongrass, ginger, and garlic clove
6. add salt and cover for 3-5 minutes
7. add chicken thighs, coriander, cinnamom, coconut milk, turmeric
8. lower heat to medium-low and cover for 3-5 minutes
10. add boiling water and turn heat to medium
11. bring soup to lazy boil for 1 hour, skimming the top of soup if/when possible.
12. remove from heat
13. remove chicken
14. let soup stand for 1 hour
15. strain soup and serve with jasmine rice, add chopped, cooked chicken on top

5 BEST New York City - Lattes

For a few reasons, I've been traversing Brooklyn & Manhattan over the last three weeks. In that time, there have been many lattes.

2 quick rules:

the cleaner the barista's workspace, the better the coffee.

gentrified Brooklyn serves much better coffee than Manhattan

1. Cafe Grumpy - no surprise here - all three locations are special (uses Ronnybrook Milk)
2. Ninth Street Espresso (Chelsea, not East Village) - The micro-foam in Chelsea is superior, in the EV, it's just average
3. Cafe Pedlar - with no bitterness or acidity at all
4. Sit & Wonder - morning guy takes a lot of pride in pulling a great shot and somehow this latte "keeps" well for 10-20 minutes whether other ones do not
5. Stumptown - in the ACE hotel - delicious (and uses Hudson Valley Milk)

Honorable Mention
- Kaffe 1668 - precise and accurate every time

- Gorilla

Just not very good

- Pret a Manger - all of them

- Bouchon Bakery

- Ost

Numbers 2-5 all use Stumptown coffee

Cannelloni Beans

Simple and fresh - this is a basic side

Fresh Beans

shopping = mildly difficult

difficulty = low

expense = low

2 lbs fresh beans in pod (could be anything - Cannelloni, Garbanzo)

1 heirloom tomato, seeds removed and rough chop

5 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 T. sea salt

1 bay leaf

1 clove garlic smashed

1. remove beans from pod (this took me about 30 minutes)
2. boil in UNSALTED water for 10 minutes and drain
3. in clean (& dry) pot add olive oil, bay, garlic
4. heat to medium high until garlic fragrance is evident
5. add drained beans and tomato
6. reduce heat to low and partially cover
7. cook for 30 minutes

lamb chops - quicky and tasty

Broiled Lamb Chops

(serves 4)

time = little

expense = high

difficulty = low

8 lamb loin chops, grass-fed, room temperature

4 cloves garlic

2 branches of rosemary

4 T. olive oil, best you can afford (not local)

1 T. dijon mustard

1 t. Sea salt

1. Mince the garlic as small as you can. Add rosemary and continue mincing
2. Mix oil and mustard.
3. Add garlic/rosemary paste to oil/mustard
4. Coat all lamb chops with paste
5. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes
6. Put chops on foil-lined cookie sheet
7. Broil for 3 minutes
8. Turn over each chop
9. Broil for 5 more minutes
10. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

It's delicious and super fast. Goes great with any side local veg.

Corn Chowdah!

Corn Chowder was decisively bland. Next time, I'll need to add more salt at more frequent points and then use paprika or cumin.

Corn Chowder

shopping: easy

technique: easy

time: time consuming

5 strips bacon

8 ears of corn

6 cups milk

1 bell pepper

2 fresh onions

1 sprig thyme

1 T. butter

shuck corn

take all the kernels off all the corn

throw away 3 cobs

cut other 5 cobs in half

cut bacon into strips

dice - as small as possible - the bell pepper and onion

heat large dutch oven to medium high heat

toss in bacon and sweat for 12 minutes. this is longer than you think. the bacon will be crispy.

pull all the bacon out

add onion, bell, thyme, and butter. stir

cover and reduce heat to medium for 5 minutes

stir thoroughly

meanwhile, heat 6 cups of milk

add corn, cobs and milk

boil for 5 minutes

simmer for 20 more

throw away cobs

puree 1/3 of the soup then add back in

add salt & pepper

serve with bacon garnish