Restaurant Hispaniola

A few of us got to together for lunch on Sunday at The Hispaniola. It came highly recommended by a friend (and Zagat).

This restaurant is located in Washington Heights. It had a nice ambiance.

There is ample seating both downstairs and upstairs. We arrived on time for our one o’clock reservation. We were ushered by a very pleasant hostess and were seated upstairs. There was a buffet brunch going on as well. It was one o’clock and most of us ordered from the lunch menu.

We placed our order. First glass of water and first cup of coffee was refilled and I started to get a little hungry. “It is coming”, we were told by the friendly waiter. It is now 2 o’clock. No food. They brought out a bread basket that consisted sliced white bread (?!) and a bagel. Now I get ticked off. B and I look at each other and he says “I am hungry” quietly. 2.30. We were served lunch at 2.40.

The food was actually not too bad. Or maybe it tasted good because we were hungry. I had the jumbo lump crab cakes with buerre blanc. The crab cakes were golden brown, crisp on the outside and flavourful on the inside.

B’s succulent grilled chicken breast came in a beautiful bento box. It was accompanied by grilled prawn on a stick and salad. We did not have any dessert although it looked tempting. We had other plans and were running a little late.

If you ever go to this place…take a good book and a granola bar. You will need it.

Restaurant Hispaniola

839W-181^st ST, New York 10033

Between Pinehurst Ave and Cabrini Blvd

Ph : 212-740-5222

Sea Bass

We ushered in the Chinese New Year by going to our favourite chinese restaurant in White Plains, New York, called Aberdeen. The food was delicious as always. I forgot the memory card for my digital camera so no pictures. Oh well, just have to back there again for dim sum one of these days.

We went on to get some groceries at an oriental market right next to the restaurant. It was packed with people, like always. They have a good selection of fresh seafood at this place. I saw some sea bass and was inspired right away to make steamed fish for dinner that night. Steamed fish is quite popular in Malaysia. The secret is in the sauce that is poured over the fish. There are different sauces: light and mild to super spicy heavy sauces. The sauce that I made was light, mild and gingery. I have not made this dish or variations of it for B and was not sure if he would like it (but he would try anything).

Steamed Sea Bass

2 lbs whole sea bass or striped sea bass, cleaned

¼ cup plus 3 tbls Chinese cooking wine

4 cloves minced garlic

4 tbls chopped green onions

2 tbls minced ginger

2 tsp sugar

¼ cup peanut oil

4 tbls soy sauce

Rinse fish inside out with ¼ cup of Chinese cooking wine.

Place the whole fish on a platter that will fit inside a steaming utensil. A chinese bamboo steamer works well. Cover and steam for 15 minutes.

Combine cooking wine, ginger, garlic, green onions and sugar in a bowl. Heat oil in a pan on high heat and pour the mixture. Boil for 1 minute.

Once fish is steamed, pour soy sauce over the fish followed by the boiled sauce. Serve immediately. Serves 3-4.

* The sauce should be boiling when poured over the fish. Pour off any accumulated liquid on the platter when taking off the steamer*

The fish was perfectly steamed. It was tender, sweet and the sauce was flavourful with a hint of ginger. The ginger really brightens the flavour of the fish. Steamed fish would not be quite as delicious the next day, unless you have some of the sauce left over to go with it. This is not a cook ahead dish. I did prepare all the ingredients ahead of time, the chopping and soaking of the mushrooms. All cooking takes place 15-20 minutes before dinner. So, planning is key here. I do not recommend frozen fish.

I made baby bok choy with shiitake mushrooms and some rice to go with it. It was good, no leftovers!

Chocolate truffle tart

I peeked in the fridge and gathered the ingredients I had on hand to make dinner. I found two bottles of champagne chilling at the back of the fridge. Bonus... We drank one bottle and kept the other.

What to make for dessert? B LOVES anything chocolate. I was a little seduced by the chocolate truffle tart recipe in this month’s issue of Gourmet. It was a cinch to make. It took 15 mintues to put together and another 25 minutes to bake in the oven. I made it two hours before dinner and that gave the tart time to set. It tasted quite good.The ganache filling was velvety and creamy without being overly sweet.

We had some leftover and it tasted better the next day. The flavour of the ganache was well rounded. I used 60 percent good quality bittersweet chocolate as recommended in the recipe. This is a thin tart. Small portions will be enough, since this is a very rich dessert.

CRUST

28 chocolate wafers such as Nabisco Famous, finely ground (1 ½ cups)

¾ stick/6 tbls unsalted butter, melted and cooled completely

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Wrap a sheet of foil over bottom of springform pan (in case of leaks).Lightly butter pan.

Stir ground wafers and butter in a bowl and pat mixture evenly onto bottom of pan and 1 ½ inches up side. Bake for 10 mins. Cool completely. Leave oven on.

FILLING

½ lb good quality bittersweet chocolate (60% cocoa), chopped

¾ stick/6 tbls unsalted butter, cut into cubes

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup heavy cream

¼ cup granulated sugar

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Equipment – an 8 inch springform pan is recommended but I used a 9 inch pan. I do not recommend anything bigger as this is a thin tart.

Melt chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stir till smooth, remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.

Whisk together eggs, cream, sugar, salt and vanilla in a bowl. Whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until well combined. Do not over mix.

Pour filling into cooled crust and rap once to eliminate air bubbles. Bake 20 – 25 mins. The centre will tremble slightly when pan is gently shaken. Cool for 2 hours. Adorn this beautiful tart with a gentle dusting of cocoa powder. The folks at Gourmet recommend serving this chilled, but I felt it tasted better when served at room temperature.

A perfect meal

Valentine’s came early this year. We started the celebration early, the weekend before. B had made reservations 2 months ahead at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon. I was pleasantly surprised when he told me.It is the spin-off of the Paris original, located at the Four Seasons. It is a gorgeous restaurant, modern French dining at its best.

The best part of the restaurant is the absence of walls. There is no partition dividing the kitchen and the dining area. B had requested the coveted pear wood eating counter. It was a treat to observe meals being prepared right there.

The amuse bouche was foie gras in a broth served in a shot glass. I like the way shot glasses are now utilized in fine restaurants to serve amuse bouche, palate cleansers and the like. The Chablis that was recommended by Pasquale, our server was well matched with my meal.

The blue fin tuna tartare was delicate and creamy. It was presented with a quail egg cooked sunny side up.

This was followed by scallops, barely cooked and wonderfully delicious served in a shell with seaweed butter. The butter was almost briny, a reminder of the taste of the sea.

Monkfish cheeks in aromatic broth were tender and succulent. It was blanketed with a delicately hand printed wanton sheet.

This was accompanied by velvety whipped potatoes which were buttery and creamy. I could not stop eating them. This was followed by a palate cleanser of coconut ravioli in a lemon sorbet. This was not your typical ravioli. It was more like a membrane that encased the coconut. There was an explosion of slightly sweet and creamy coconut milk in my mouth when I bit into it. Divine. My coffee was perfect, so were the chocolate croquettes with glace chestnut and dates. B had the chocolate noir lava cake with praline and ice cream.

Our meals were symphonies of flavour. It was easy to see why Joel Robuchon has been hailed as the chef of the century.

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon

57 East 57th St ( Between Park and Madison Ave)

(212) 350-6658

Birthday Present

It was my friend Myrna’s birthday. Among other things, she taught me the fine art of candy poker (I never got the hang of poker but loved the candy part). She is a friend who will drive 2 hours to be with you if you are having a bad day. And I forgot her birthday, I thought it was in March!!!! I felt a little bad...

I had picked out her gifts and as I was putting them in a package, I decided to make some delicious tidbits that were quick to make and would travel well. I was anxious to mail her package as soon as possible as it would take a week to get to Manitoba.

I made some rosemary mixed nuts and nut brittle. Both were easy and quick to make.

The mixed nut recipe was inspired by the Gourmet cookbook. It takes about 15 minutes. The aroma of rosemary lingers in the kitchen for hours. I made batches of these for Christmas. It keeps for a week, it probably keeps longer but never more than a week around here.

ROSEMARY NUTS

2 1/2 tbls unsalted butter

2 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne

2 cups mixed nuts ( cashews, walnuts and pecans)

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Put rack in the middle of oven. Melt butter in a pot. Add salt, cayenne,rosemary. Toss nuts with butter mixture and spread on a cookie sheet in one layer. Bake for 10 mins. Store it in a cool place ( if you can stop yourself from eating it all)

Then I found a brittle recipe from Nigella Lawson that does not require candy thermometer. I have made brittle before and was curious to try this very simple recipe. I tried the pumpkin brittle first. It was quite good. Then I got carried away and found some unsalted roasted peanuts and made some peanut brittle. It was even better. It reminded me of the peanut and sesame seed brittle that is popular in Malaysia. I used to snack on them while waiting for the school bus.

NUT BRITTLE

Boil 1 1/4 cups of sugar, 1/2 cup water and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar over low heat.

Turn heat up and bring mixture to a boil. Do not stir. Let syrup bubble for 10-15 mins until it turns deep amber.

Quikly tip 1 cup of nuts into the pot , swirl the pan so nuts are evenly coated. Take off the heat and pour mixture on oiled foil lined pan or silicone mat. I used Silpat. Spread it as thin as possible with a knife. Leave brittle to cool completely before breaking into pieces.

Let them eat cake

I belong to a garden group that meets once a month. Our meetings are usually held the beautiful Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York - www.lyndhurst.org. The beautiful Gothic Revival mansion overlooks the Hudson River.

The members partake in some coffee and desserts after the meeting. I made apple walnut cake with caramel icing. The recipe is from Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.The apple cake was moist and flavourful. The best apple cake so far. I made it the night before and it tasted better the next day as usually the case with apple cakes. Low fat cheese is not a good idea for the frosting, it does not mix well with the caramel. I found this out the hard way. I NEVER use low fat stuff for baking, must have lost my mind when I bought it. I was feeling a bit under the weather….maybe that’s why. This is a three part recipe but not at all complicated. The home made caramel is creamy without being overly sweet, but store bought caramel is fine too.

Cake

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

3 large Golden Delicious apples, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

3 tbls Calvados ( apple flavoured brandy)

Preheat oven at 325 degrees.

Grease and flour lightly two 9 by2 inch round cake pan. Sift together flours, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

On medium speed beat oil and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time and beat until light and mixture is pale. Add dry ingredients in thirds, make sure mixture is smooth. With a spoon add apples, walnuts and brandy till just blended. Divide batter into prepared pans and bake for 45-55 mins or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cake cool for 10 mins in pan. Remove pans and cool on wire rack.

Icing

1 lb softened cream cheese, cut into pieces

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, cut into pieces

1 cup cold caramel

Mix cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add caramel. Mix well.

Ice between layers and sides of cake. Drizzle leftover caramel over cake and garnish with walnuts.

Caramel

1 cup water

3 cups sugar

2 cups heavy cream

Combine water and sugar. Cook over medium heat till sugar dissolves. Make sure there is no sugar sticking to the sides of the pan. Boil without stirring till sugar turns deep amber - 15 mins. Swirl pan once or twice. Remove from heat and slowly add cream,whisking contantly. Mixture will boil . Be careful, you could get burnt ( use a large pan to boil the sugar). Return pan to medium low heat, stir till sauce is smooth (for one minute). Keeps for a month in the fridge.

Crabs with dried chillies

This is an authentic Malaysian dish. It has the combination of Chinese, Malay and Indian ingredients. It is spicy and flavourful. I bought live crabs from Chinatown. This is my version of the popular dish.

4 fresh medium sized crabs, cleaned and cut in half

2 tbls peanut oil

2 shallots, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbls salted soy beans, washed and minced

2 tbls chopped prawns

1 tbls black pepper, coarsely ground

10 dried chillies

5 curry leaves

1 ½ tbls dark soy sauce

1 tbls sugar

2 tbls oyster sauce

¼ cup stock

Clean crabs and cut in half. Smash claws to allow seasoning to penetrate.

Heat oil to medium high heat, sauté all ingredients till fragrant except for crab and stock.

Add crabs, stir till coated.

Pour stock. Cover and cook on high heat for 10 minutes. The crabs should be a little dry.

I served it with rice and some sautéed mushrooms. So good.

Burgers & Cupcakes

We had just parked our car at a parking garage on 9^th Ave and I was getting the munchies. Plus it was a very windy day and I was desperately looking for some kind of shelter, preferably a coffee shop. I spotted one with an awning that stood out called Burgers & Cupcakes. We went in and were greeted by a huge pile of boxes by the door, must have been delivery day or something. The interior was bright and pastel hued. And most of the seats were taken. We managed to get seats as far as we could from the door. The service was not too bad.

I had coffee and a vanilla cupcake with chocolate ganache frosting. It was on the smallish side but that was ok. The frosting was very good but the cupcake itself was a letdown. I think they forgot to add vanilla and it was dry. The coffee was a little too strong for me. It was thick…really thick (Husky thick).

I looked at B enviously as he enjoyed his turkey burger. He shared some of his burger. It was juicy, succulent and flavourful. It came in a soft bun. The nice thing about this place was the portions were not huge. They did not pile on all kinds of stuff in the burger and you could order fries on the side.

This place looks like a good neighbourhood hangout with good take out menu. I would go back for the burger but not for the cupcake.

Burgers & cupcakes

458 Ninth Ave, New York,NY 10018

Ph 212-643-1200