The new John Dory sailed into all the elements of a perfect storm Tuesday night. A tornado of critics boarded all at once: Times' Florence Fabricant settled a table away from Insatiable moi. A bare-shouldered Danyelle Freeman, restaurant critic at The Daily News, looking vaguely Tahitian, sat tête a tête with an unknown admirer. Then Ruth Reichl skipped in with a reservation that hadn’t quite made it into the book. “She probably told April (Bloomberg) she was coming,” Ken Friedman reasoned. “April is a wonderful cook but she can’t do her own laundry.” Yet with newly slim and dapper partner Joe Bastianich sipping wine, exuding calm, waltzing attendance, the Spotted Pig crew juggled the overload of pointed forks with only a few drops of sweat. I probably missed any number of Yelpers and anonymous gullets. Forgive me. 12-3-08
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A Spam revival? Yes, the Times reports. The Hormel factory in Minnesota is working two shifts a day, seven days a week because that slick, gelatinous, oozy 12-ounce hunk of spiced pork (and “mechanically separated chicken,” according to the label), can be stretched to feed six for $2.40. Actually, it was $2.99 for the “Crazy Tasty Spam Lite” I picked up at Fairway. That 110-calorie portion with just 8 grams of fat struck me as skimpy – two ounces hardly substitutes for our good-times rack of lamb. But a little Spam goes a long way. I could’ve tried Spam Quesadillas
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| Having a revival? |
from the recipe on the back: Spam, flour tortillas, diced Monterey Jack and guacamole with salsa on top, but I didn‘t want to compromise that heartfelt “Lite.”
I decided to try it at breakfast. I peeled back the lid – whoosh, the smell. I felt so sickly, I had to sit down. Maybe breakfast wasn’t a good idea. Maybe I am too vulnerable until I’ve had two mugs of Italian coffee. The sticky rectangle was stuck in the can. Was this normal? I loosened it all around with a sharp knife and cut off a slice, an ounce I thought. No need to go whole hog. I thought about sautéing it in my scrambled-egg-white-skillet and pouring the whites on top, but it seemed neater to broil it till caramelized in the toaster oven. It emerged with a few toasty brown bubbles and no scary smell at all, looking almost Canadian baconish. I cut it into cubes and dropped them into the creamy wet egg white scramble with clots of no-fat cream cheese that was just starting to firm in the frying pan. Quickly, I turned the eggs out and tasted. What a shock. I liked it.
But I hit resistence when I asked a few chefs and friends who like to cook for recipes or ideas. The deluge of brilliance I expected was a mere dribble. Chef Franklin Becker, most recently at the now defunct Sheridan Square was inspired. He suggested: Spam with pineapple-soy glaze, roasted sweet potatoes and Napa cabbage. "Spam-in-a-blanket" with Gruyere cheese and Kosciusko's Polish mustard. Panko-Crusted Spam Tonkatsu. Grilled Spam with celery root-green apple puree and roasted Brussels sprouts.
Jason Spiro, Insatiable Critic’s tek man and a professional cook, could not recall ever tasting Spam, “but I know it bears a vague resemblance to ham.” He sent: "Spam Two Ways: Braised and in a Salad."
1. Braised Spam slices: sear the Spam, then braise using beef bouillon cubes dissolved in water with a few thyme sprigs and carrot batons. Reduce braising liquid for sauce, and if you wish, thicken with a little corn starch or xanthan gum.
2. Spam Salad: Use a small portion of bagged mesclun mix, chopped, (or even chopped lettuce is mesclun is too expensive) with diced or sliced tomato. Top with julienned candied yam and Spam. Dress with a lemony vinaigrette. If thyme sprigs make this dish cost prohibitive, substitute dried thyme and strain the sauce.
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Betsy, an American friend who lives in Paris, frustrated that she didn’t have a can of Spam to experiment, suggested using Spam instead of sausage meat to stuff tomatoes: some cooked rice, some garlic, chopped parsley – about 50% in ratio to Spam – in a hollowed out tomato. Drizzle olive oil on top and bake. She also proposed that finely chopped Spam, mixed with chopped hard-boiled eggs and lots of sautéed onion, could be Gentile chopped liver, adding: Rabbits raised by your children in the bathroom could be economical too.
“Ugh, bherk, yuk, you must be joking,” emailed the fastidious Karine. “Might as well serve dog food. They might as well eat a stick of butter with a cup of salt. If people need to economize, let them eat sardines.” 11-18-08
Salumeria Rosi looks like it’s open, and now…it finally is. Photo: Steven Richter
I found Cesare Casella having lunch at his new Salumeria Rosi today at 1:30 p.m. – a sandwich and coffee from a deli around the corner on Amsterdam. “Why not?” he said, “It’s a very nice deli.” He jumped up to give me a taste of chocolate-covered Parmigiana fondant and another of gorgonzola. Odd but not offensive. Then he tore open a panettone to give me a slice. “The Bonfante bakery near Milano will be making this for us for Christmas,” he said proudly, tying a brown paper bag with a string – must be a Tuscan grocery trick. The staff was still pricing goods to open its deli counter at 3 this afternoon. The café begins serving Casella’s tiny tastes at tiny tables at 6 p.m. tonight – prices from $3 to $7 for cured meats, baked crumbed cauliflower, spaghetti bottarga, heirloom seven-bean salad and desserts. “I was going to do appetizers and entrées but I prefer everything be small tastes. That’s how I like to eat,” he said. There's a full liquor bar, waiter service and, as of last night, tables were all booked through November14, Casella reports, ruffling the signature sprigs of rosemary in his pocket. 11-7-08
284 Amsterdam Avenue between 73rd and 74th Streets. 21...
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Three Sarah Palins and a fake Gael Greene showed up at KBHall Group’s Halloween lasagna party today. “Wear a costume or be fired,” Karine Bakhoun commanded the troops. Here in witchly frou frou, she and partner Steven Hall, the Invisible Man, try to bribe the ersatz me (I should only be that skinny). Never mind what eater.com says, I shoved their filthy bills into the lasagna, still incorruptible after all these years. 10-31-08