Popcorn: The Cheaper, Tastier Viagra?

Fresh off Grubstreet: New York magazine's Food and Restaurant Blog...

"The July issue of Men's Health will reveal that popcorn can help boost male performance by improving blood flow. It has to do with a nutrient called Arginine, which also increases sperm count."

Here it is folks -

Popcorn: Enjoy salty, buttery goodness without an erection lasting more than four hours!

Did you know: How to measure grill temperature

Doc Willoughby, Executive Editor of Gourmet magazine, highlights a simple technique to measure the temperature of your charcoal grill. 

After getting the grill lit, place your hand about five inches from the grill and see how long you can hold it there. 

1 to 2 seconds: hot fire

3 or 4 seconds: medium fire

5 or 6 seconds: low fire

Now you know! 

I Killed the Kibbe

Inspired by a vivid travel article on Syria I came across in Food & Wine Magazine, I boldly set out to recreate Kibbe in Yogurt Sauce on my day off from work.  I generally dislike yogurt unless its chocolate and frozen, but I wasn't going to let that be a setback. I was ready for a Syrian adventure in my Kitchen. 

I imagined perfection. I imagined hearing applause from an invisible crowd around my kitchen raving and cheering over the flavor, texture, and aroma of my exotic creation.  

Instead, I wound up immobilized on the sofa from nausea after taking one bite. 

I clearly had undercooked the lamb and the bulgur was as crunchy as eating pebbles. 

Kibbe is an Arabic dish similar to the croquette. The outer shell is made of ground meat and bulgur and it is filled with ground lamb, onion and spices. Although Wikipedia tells me its commonly fried, my recipe calls for heating up the croquettes in a Greek style yogurt sauce. Looking back, not frying the kibbe is probably the reason why I nearly wound up sick.  

(Uncooked Kibbe with flecks of bulgur)

The tricky part of the recipe comes after you form the kibbe mixture into an egg shape. Using an index finger to poke a hole in the top, you work your finger into the kibbe until you have 1/4 inch thick walls.  I struggled with this step because I couldn't get the proper 1/4 inch thick walls without destroying the overall shape. My kibbe walls were thicker than they should be, especially towards the bottom of the egg shape. Inside the opening, the recipe says to add a tablespoon of the ground lamb/onion/spice filling (made separately). Unfortunately, I could only fit a teaspoon of filling in my kibbe.  But I wasn't concerned as I was enjoying the process. I pinched the top of each kibbe closed and placed them in the freezer to firm up for 30 minutes. 

(Kibbe cooking in Yogurt Sauce)

Next, the recipe calls for heating the kibbe in a simple yogurt sauce for 15 minutes. I stood at the stove thinking, how on earth are these kibbe going to cook in only 15 minutes? The answer is they don't if the walls of your kibbe are too thick. 

(Fresh herbs)

After a quick 15 minutes of cooking, I started to make cilantro butter to drizzle on top. I managed to forget to buy cilantro of course, but I remembered I had fresh herbs from my sister's garden.  I minced two tablespoons of herbs and added them to the melted butter and garlic already simmering. 

(Cilantro Butter sans Cilantro)

Ideally, kibbe is served with rice and warm pita. I only had rice. After one bite of the lukewarm lamb and pebble-like bulgur, the nausea kicked in and I put the dish aside. Despite my stomach raging against me, I realized I'd be able to salvage the dish by reheating the kibbe and ditching the dreaded yogurt sauce. 

I resurrected my forlorn kibbe after searing each side in my favorite All-Clad pan the very next night. I even had enough leftovers to take into the office for lunch. A coworker commented on the wonderful smell emanating from the microwave. When she asked if the sweet aroma she detected was coconut, I informed her that it was a combination of cinnamon and all spice. I proudly followed up with the fact that my lunch was Syrian. Yep, it feels good just saying Syrian. 

If I had to do it again, I'd fry the kibbe as they are done in Arabic countries. Adding a crunchy texture to the shell would be perfect. Sure I massacred the kibbe, but I had a damn good time doing it.  

Did You Know: How do strawberries get so big?

I'm going to implement a new series on this blog called "Did You Know." It will consist of shorter postings about something I recently learned that I deem "blogworthy." 

Today's kickoff is about strawberries. I've always wondered how some strawberries get so big in size like these pictured below. I'd always assumed it was a hybrid berry or a berry grown using some chemically enhanced fertilizer.

Chef Peter Hoffman explains on a YouTube video shot in Union Square's Green Market that strawberries become over sized by absorbing and holding too much water either due to a rainy growing season or excess irrigation. Taking in a lot of water causes the berries to grow very fast and they can lack bolder flavors that are found in their smaller, slower growing brethren. 

Exercising my Green Thumb

I wouldn't say I'm terribly interested in gardening, farming, or even mold growing on old veggies in the fridge. Despite that obstacle, I've decided to try and grow some basil on my lovely window sill. Yes, I'm probably supposed to be growing it in the ground, with the seeds spaced out appropriately. No, of course I'm not doing it that way. I tossed about four seeds in the cup with soil and figure I'll see if the sun and water work their magic. 

I'll keep you posted and hopefully I'll have some signs of life in a while!

Brooklyn Beer Experiment

What’s the perfect way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon?

If you said downing samples of home brew and nibbling on beer-flavored food, you’d be correct!

The sold out Brooklyn Beer Experiment was a yeasty, foamy success for the over 300 people who packed The Bell House in my favorite borough.

Nine home brews were ready for the tasting using those small mustard and ketchup sized plastic cups. “Don’t lose your cup!” the hostess warns me. “You only get one!”

Over twenty food competitors also vied for the revelers attention. As Kool Moe Dee’s Wild Wild West thumped through the sound system, the festive crowd descended like a plague of locusts on the bite sized portions of food flavored or cooked with beer. Obvious comfort food entries such as beer braised short ribs, hearty chili, and mini pulled pork sandwiches were extremely popular. I gave special attention to team Half Pint for their creative beer braised bratwurst, topped with a Rauchbier jelly, and served on a tiny handmade pretzel bun. The jelly was actually a savory cream dispensed from carbonation tank onto each individual slice of brat. Try to beat that Alton Brown!

The more eclectic food samples included triangular slabs of salty beer braised beef jerky, a beer infused avocado and cilantro gazpacho, and the bizarre Porkslap cocktail. The drink confused my taste buds with its aggressive combination of Porkslap beer, gin, and lemon with a rim dipped in salt and honey.

But lets not forget about the desserts! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, there were a bevy of beer-concocted sweets for tasting. From Stout Ice cream with chocolate chips, to ornate s’mores, to cherry beer tarts, there was plenty of opportunity to add a sugar buzz to your beer buzz. The undeniable favorite sweet that everyone raved about was the Black & Tan bread pudding with boozy whipped cream made by Rachel Crawford, a contributor to thriftygourmet.com. It was an exercise of sheer perfection even though it was the first time I've ever had bread pudding. Just trust me. Rachel printed the recipe on a stack of cards at her serving station thus allowing me to replicate (or massacre) this masterpiece soon.

But Nora, what about the beer? Tell us about the beer already!

Ok, I’ll tell you that the cute fellas who brewed the citrus flavored Air Mail IPA won the first place audience award. It happened to be my favorite beer too, though it didn’t hurt that the two main pourers were young and flirtatious. It certainly swayed my vote. I also must give a round of thunderous applause to Sara Morrison who seemingly stole show coming in as second place audience winner. Sara was the only female home brew contender! Her batch of Pocketful of Sunshine was a refreshingly light wheat beer served with a lemon wedge that lived up to its name. Having previously won at the Tofu Take down, Sara clearly is a force to be reckoned with on the wildly popular cook off scene. Way to be a trailblazer!

The Brooklyn Beer Experiment was such a success, that two additional experiments are planned for the fall: The Brooklyn Cheese Experiment and The Brooklyn Chinese Food Takeout Experiment.

Yours truly will be there!

Stuff White People Like: Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown

What's the best way to locate an authentic "ethnic" restaurant in New York City?

Find a restaurant that is filled with people of that ethnicity.  

Nestled on narrow Pell Street in Chinatown, Joe's Shanghai has the outward appearance of an authentic Chinese restaurant. My friend and I stumble towards the door craving an MSG free adventure to cap off our night of drinks and laughter from happy hour. The weather is perfect this night and so, we hope, is the food. 

Perhaps its the Americanized name, but as soon as you enter Joe's Shanghai, you're no longer in Chinatown. You are instantly transported into a Chinese restaurant located in a suburban strip mall operating under a cliched name like Jade Garden, Wok Palace, or Hunan Kitchen. 

To my horror, the entire restaurant is packed with white people.  

Why? Why on a clausterphobically tiny street, teeming with Chinese in every building, is this restaurant filled with white people? 

What is it that draws whitey here in droves? There's no Dave Matthews Band playing in the background. No lattes served after dinner. No Whole Foods next door. 

I still can't figure it out. 

Will I ever go back to Joe's Shanghai? No. 

I actually feel ripped off and deceived. A potentially exciting cultural food experience was taken away from me before it began. 

But I will say, if you ever find yourself shanghai'ed at this restaurant....make sure you order the the ever so slightly oily and wonderfully oniony scallion pancakes. 

Going Pro-ish

I've ordered some spiffy business cards to hand out when I go to food events. A woman's gotta rev up some traffic to her blog and look professional at the same time now doesn't she?

I'm a wee bit worried since the low res image that I approved seems to have a transparency issue in the center of the card. I noticed this a day after approving the proof of course. Yes, I was playing with the transparency setting while designing my card, but thought I turned it off once I was finished.

In any event, my cards will hopefully be arriving the end of this week, so I can take them on a test drive at the Brooklyn Beer Experiment this weekend where yours truly will be in attendance sampling brews and beer-infused foods.

I highly recommend using http://www.overnightprints.com/ for any and all who need some reasonably prices business cards that you can customize to a fair degree.