"Salad" for dinner. No really, there was something green in it.

Usually, I think salad recipes are silly. Really, does anyone need a recipe to tell them how to make a salad? It's lettuce, dressing, and whatever other veggies and toppings you want, right? And dressing is oil and and acid of some kind, whether it's a vinegar or lemon juice. Salads are idiot proof dishes. All that being said, a salad recipe from my Sept. issue of Bon Appetit caught my eye. Perhaps it was all that bacon, goat cheese, and egg. Not much of a salad after that but rather a "salad." (PHOTO above from bonappetit.com)

Warm Escarole Salad with Goat Cheese, Hard-Boiled Eggs, and Bacon
from Bon Appetit, September 2009

6 servings (Actually, we ate all of this in one sitting. I guess it's six servings if you have it with something else but we didn't. Think it would be good with some grilled chicken or grilled shrimp if you like that sort of thing.)

1 head of escarole, torn into large bite-size pieces (about 8 cups)
2 bacon slices
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 5.5 ounce log soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

Divide escarole among six plates. (*I just dumped all of into a large mixing bowl as I later combined ingredients, dressed, and tossed in the bowl and served from there.) Cook bacon in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain: reserve skillet with bacon drippings. Finely chop bacon; set aside.

Whisk olive oil and vinegar in small bowl to blend. Heat bacon drippings in skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; saute until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add olive oil mixture and whisk just until heated through, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle vinaigrette over escarole. Sprinkle with eggs, goat cheese, and bacon.

Mac n' cheese, take two

A while back, I made a decadent macaroni and cheese recipe. It turned out really yummy, but I'm always looking out for new versions to try. I want a mac n' cheese that has cheese flavor, richness, and a creamy sauce.

Last night, I tried a new recipe. This one is included in the Cook's Country Best Grilling Recipes cookbook. Steve won a free copy of this book for guessing how much money is in America's Test Kitchen's annual recipe testing budget. Christopher Kimball himself wrote Steve to say he won and sent the signed note with the prize. He got second place and only missed first place by a couple thousand dollars. (The first place prize was free lifetime subscription to Cook's Illustrated.)

The cookbook is pretty good. It has color photographs of almost every recipe, and in addition to grilling techniques, tips, tools, and meats, it has a good amount of side dish recipes.

I changed the recipe just a little bit - I added bacon. Yeah, I didn't really need to but I had four lonely little slices in the fridge just begging to be used. This dish certainly didn't need the bacon, but it did add another flavor.

This recipe also differed from others I've tried as there was no cream. Butter yes, four kinds of cheese yes, but no cream. It did however call for three cans of evaporated milk. I used the 2% variety and I don't think it harmed the overall richness and creaminess at all. Actually, I wonder if it would be so rich it would be almost inedible if full fat evaporated milk was used . . .

The sauce turned out thick and coated everything. The cheeses blended and melted in a gooey yummy mess. And I could actually taste the cheese. Sometimes, I think mac & cheese recipes sacrifice cheesy flavor for creaminess. This recipe was creamy and cheesy. So good. Next time I'll also try using at least one low fat cheese to combat the fat in the other cheeses. In any form, mac and cheese is a once-in-a-while dish, not a weekly or even monthly dish.

I just had some leftovers for lunch - Steve and I will probably be eating this for lunch until Sunday - and even reheated it was just as good as it was last night.

Here's the recipe. This makes enough to feed 8-10 people, or lunch for two for a week.

Potluck Macaroni and Cheese
From Cook's Country Best Grilling Recipes

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
3-4 slices white sandwich bread, torn into large pieces
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups shredded American cheese (buy a 5 oz. block from the deli counter)
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4-5 slices of bacon (my addition)

1. Adjust an over rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Pulse the bread, melted butter, and Parmesan in a food processor to coarse crumbs, about 6 pulses. Transfer to a bowl. (or just leave it in the processor like I did so I didn't have to dirty another bowl.)

2. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the macaroni and cook until almost tender. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water until cool, then drain well.

3. If using bacon - in the same large pot used to cook the pasta, cook the bacon. Remove bacon when crispy to paper towels to cool. Crumble when cool.

4. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons (or 2-3 if you used the rendered bacon fat) butter in the pot. Add the flour and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until light brown, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the evaporated milk, hot sauce, mustard, nutmeg, and 2 teaspoons salt and cook until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes.

5. Off the heat, whisk in the reserved pasta cooking water and cheeses (and bacon if using) until melted. Stir in the macaroni and transfer to a 13x9-inch baking dish. Top evenly with the bread-crumb mixture and bake until the cheese is bubbling around the edges and the top is golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and serve.

That curiously named dish, the quiche

A week or so ago, quiche was somehow mentioned on tv, an article, or maybe it even came up in our conversation. I'm not really sure. But Steve thought a quiche would be a nice change of pace and I agreed. I haven't made a quiche since . . . um, ever. But it couldn't be that hard since it's basically an egg pie. Which is my new name for quiche - egg pie.

I looked up quiche in my bright shiny green copy of The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh. Two recipes were offered - one for quiche with caraway and leeks (hey! I actually have both of those ingredients!) and one with chiles, bacon, and green onion (and double hey! I have two out of three of these!). I let Steve pick which one to make. Guess which one he went for?

Yes, the one with the bacon, of course.

The recipe in the cookbooks says to cut corners by using a frozen or refrigerated pie crust. Since I have a very good pie crust recipe, I went ahead an made my own. I did eliminate just a bit of the sugar so it wasn't too sweet for this savory pie. I skipped all the instructions regarding the crust except for the par-baking for five minutes.

The rest of the recipe I made as directed and it turned out really well. I could have used a little bit more spice as the green chiles were even more mild than usual it seemed. Next time I might add a bit of chili powder or cayenne.

Bacon and green chile quiche
From The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh

6 servings (or eight in our case)

1 refrigerated pie crust, room temp
8 bacon slices
1 4-ounce can diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, chopped
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups half and half (or milk, as I used)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Unfold crust. Using fingertips, press together any tears. Press crust into 9-inch-diameter deep-dish glass pie dish. (My dish isn't a deep dish, but all of the filling just barely fit.) Press foil onto crust to hold shape. Bake five minutes. Remove from oven; remove foil. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F.

Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat (or microwave, like I did) until brown and crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. (After it cools) crumble bacon. Sprinkle bacon, then chiles and green onions over crust. Mix Monterey Jack cheese and cheddar cheese and sprinkle over. Whisk eggs, half and half, and salt in medium bowl to blend; pour mixture into crust.

Bake quiche until knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let quiche stand (to set) about five minutes. Cut quiche into wedges and serve.

This is not written to be a low-fat recipe but it could easily be adapted so some of the fat is cut out. Such as using milk rather than half and half, low fat cheese (which I usually don't like but I bet it would work in this), and microwaving the bacon. The pie crust also has quite a bit of butter, but when it comes to pie crust, I think the butter needs to stay. Many quiches are crust-free, so this may also work without it.

Enjoy your egg pie!

Brunch at Char No. 4

Yesterday, Steve and I made a return trip to Char No. 4 for brunch. During my first trip, I enjoyed Char's dinner menu, and the brunch menu was just as meat-heavy and rich.

I mentioned the six-person booths but I didn't mention that the only other seating in the dining room besides the booths are two-tops running along one wall. When we arrived around 10:30-10:45, all the two-tops were full (there are only about six of them), but several booths were empty. I wasn't at all surprised when the hostess said a wait for a two-top would be 20 minutes but we could sit at the bar as the full brunch menu was available there. Now this irks me on one hand but on the other hand it makes sense. The irks comes from the feeling that as a customer, I should be seated if there is a table available. But the sensible thing is to hold booths for larger parties.

But eating at bars has never bothered me, so I gladly sat there rather than wait for a table in the dark back room. We were the first customers who had been relegated to the bar, but by the time we left, almost every bar stool was occupied and all the tables in the back were full.

We skipped the $16 fixed price brunch option (which doesn't include a mimosa or Bloody Mary like so many NYC brunches) and ordered single entrees. I got the cheesy bacon grits with poached egg, and Steve got the special hash of the day which was made from the same meat that they use for the hot beef link. We had an order of thick cut bacon and a biscuit on the side.

We both really enjoyed our food. The grits were wonderful - creamy, cheesy, just the right amount of seasoning, and studded with tiny pieces of delectable bacon. The eggs were sitting on top of the grits in a plain white bowl. Everything was topped with finely chopped scallions.

Steve's hash was delicious and full of flavor. There was a mustard sauce of some sort underneath the hash and it was topped with a poached egg. His was much more savory than my dish but we loved both.

The thick-cut bacon was just the same was what Donna had at dinner sans the black eyed peas. We only ate one strip and brought the other one home which I heated up in a skillet for breakfast this morning. The biscuit is more like a biscuit scone. It was good but not a light and fluffy traditional biscuit. It was served with a yummy apple "jam." It was really less like jam and more like chopped up baked apples with cinnamon and honey. It was hard to top the biscuit with the apples since they only wanted to fall off, but I ate them up with my fork.

Since we were sitting at the bar, we had a front row seat to watch the bartenders make up plenty of bourbon chipotle Bloody Marys for the more daring diners. They tried selling us one, but neither of us were in the mood for anything stronger than coffee. I asked what one drink was as I watched the bartender make it and he said it was a Horse Drawn Carriage. It had a shot of bourbon, pear cider, and lemon. Hmm, might have to try one of those someday.

We really enjoyed breakfast and will certainly go back. Cost was more expensive than the diner, and we didn't even have a brunch-time alcoholic drink, but well worth it. Delicious food a distinctive step away from typical brunch fare.

Dinner at Char No. 4

This past Saturday, I met up with the girls - Donna, Reka, Susan C., Susan K. - for drinks and dinner celebrating Reka's Newbery Honor and other awards. She edited several books that picked up ALA awards last Monday.

Reka is a Brooklyn resident. We live about 10 minutes walk from each other. Since it was her night, she wanted to stay in Brooklyn and wanted to stick to places in the vicinity of Smith Street. Well, lucky me, I live off of Smith Street, so I didn't have to venture far.

We settled on Clover Club for pre-dinner cocktails. For dinner, Char No. 4.

I'll start with Clover Club.

You step into the bar and it's a step back in time. The decor echoes smooth, sexy, stylings of a saloon in turn of the century Paris. One that would have served absinthe to Monet and Renoir. White hexagonal tile on the floor, paned front door, elegant and immense wooden bar, cozy booths, cushy love seats, beamed and aged mirrored ceilings, and a toasty fireplace. Not to mention the cave-dim lighting. The kind of lighting that makes everyone look good. I felt like my art-deco shoes were right in order and the French chanteuse and Louis Armstrong music was right on cue.

We sat in the back where the fireplace was. The cocktail menu is seasonal. Imagine that. Each cocktail is named and lists the half-dozen or so ingredients, many featuring fruits and herbs. Three of my friends had something gin based with muddled mint and cucumber, where I had a Carrea - anejo tequila, pear, pineapple, and jalapeno syrup. It was very very good and not nearly as sweet as I feared. The jalapeno was subtle rather than burn-your-tongue spicy. It added an earthy flavor to the drink. It was simply garnished with two paper thin pear slices. Served in an old fashioned coupe glass for an added touch of elegance and timelessness. I only had one drink, but my friends had two and our bill with tax and tip was a whopping $91. So this place isn't cheap, but it feels oooooh so good. I will definitely come back here to try more of the creative and re-imagined old fashioned drinks as well as sample some items from the appetizer list. No full menu here - just bar snacks. The offer a brunch on the weekends that is supposed to be pretty good.

Then we relocated half a block to Char No. 4. Char is a new place that has opened since I've been in Brooklyn. The exterior is painted a sort of raisin brown and the only thing announcing that it is a bar/restaurant is a brass plaque next to the door. It's easy to walk by it without even noticing it. Oh, but people have noticed. It's been written up in all kinds of NY publications and I'm glad we got to try it. The menu is small and seasonal. The claim to fame for the restaurant is the house cured and smoked meats. It's a sort of upscale, modern barbecue. The claim to fame for the bar is the wall of whiskeys and bourbons. All can be ordered in a one ounce tasting, which range from $2-$100. I'm not even sure if they have a full bar, but they do have some beers and wines as well as the hooch.

When we walked in, we were immediately salivating. The smell in the place is bacon and smoking meat. As Susan said, it's one of those smells that you want to ask your server what it is and to bring you an order of it. We settled into our six-person padded booth, and decided upon the menu. For the table we ordered the following appetizers: crab cakes (the special for the night), crispy cheese curds, and pork nuggets. Donna said, "We are not timid eaters." Pork nuggets - the chicken nugget's black sheep cousin - crispy fried, greasy pork nuggets served with a too-hot-for-me red horseradish sauce. The cheese curds are an upscale version of a fried mozzarella stick. The cheese was relatively tasteless, but they were cooked well - crispy and hot. The crab cakes, however, were splendid. We split them up, so I only had a half, but it was as delicious half. Filled with crab and just enough bread to bind it together, it was served on a layer of delicate, refreshing lemon aoli. Very well done.

For my main course, I ordered the BLT, which isn't your ordinary BLT. The "bacon" is really decadent pork belly which has been FRIED. Yes, it's a coronary on a plate. I didn't know it was going to be fried. The T and L part is actually a sort of warmed grape tomato and micro green salad that is on top of the pork belly. Served with house pickled mini-red bell peppers and onions, it was rich and filling. The bread was no bigger than regular sandwich bread, so it wasn't one of those overstuffed, gross sandwiches, but it was plenty. Washed it all down with a bottle of Samuel Smith's Organic Lager. This was beer food.

Others had: lamb pastrami (not a sandwich, just the meat, thank you), beef link (which was extremely phallic and we shared some immature giggles & remarks at it's expense) with onions and mustard potato salad, greens & squash, and the thick-cut bacon with black-eyed peas. I sampled everything. The lamb was really a standout - tender and flavorful. The bacon was divine - salty, fatty, meaty, and smoky. But not too much smoke so that it inhibited the other flavors from coming through. I was very impressed with the quality of all the meats knowing they were done in house.

We capped off the meal with one bowl of butter pecan ice cream with straight bourbon on it. Being not a bourbon fan, that was a little strong for me, but the ice cream was good.

Service was good. Our waitress seemed to be having as good a time as we were. She ran through every item on the menu with us and added her own comments about which ones were her favorites. Her comments changed what both of the Susan's ordered.

The dining area is in the back, the bar in the front. It was noisy back in the dining area as conversation bounced off the walls. Luckily, there was no music on in the back. It would have been unbearable if music had been on. We didn't hear the music in the bar until we were passing through on our way out. The place was packed by the time we left, which was around 9:30 Saturday night.

All in all, both Clover Club and Char No. 4 were very good and worth a trip back. With both of them a minute walk from my place, I know I'll be back with Steve for brunch (Char also has a brunch) or drinks.