Picky Picky

I am more than grateful that my husband is a chef. I love when he treats me to dinner at a new restaurant doing outrageous things with food. I've been exposed to some of the world's best restaurants; I've tried everything from fois gras to lamb's testicles (well, actually I only ate one testicle, but still). And my rule of thumb when dining out, is that I'll try anything- once.

BUT, there are several things I do NOT like to eat. I've tried them all, most more than once but there is just something about them I don't like. My mother always said, "Life is about choices, and I choose not to."

I now present you with the list of foods/food types I do not enjoy eating.

1. anything that has been bruleed.

2. chunky mushrooms

3. ginger...unless in cookie form

4. fatty meats. SICK. I can't stand that floppy chunk of clear goo on a nice piece of beef.

5. fermented black beans

6. anything that has been turned into a gelee. I'll eat it, but after a while that texture-less glob sort of makes me gag

7. foams. They look like spit.

8. Unfried spring roll wrappers

9. hot mustard. I'm a French's yellow mustard gal

10. wasabi, I like spicy, but not that kind of spicy.

** This one is the one I hate the most!
11. cooked fruit chunks! Because of this phobia I don't even like apple pie. There is something about cooked fruits that makes me say "pass".

I'm sure most foodies would be surprised to know this list was written by a chef's wife. But oh, well. Notice, lamb's testicles didn't make the list. They aren't that bad after all.

DCW_NYC
-Hilary-

Head Toward the Light (of bacon)

You know, the bacon alarm clock really had me excited, but now I'm plotzing. A bacon lamp might be the best invention ever. Thank you Serious Eats for brining this to my attention.

So in my dream world, I'm waking up to the fresh smell of bacon, rolling over and popping a piece into my mouth as I hit the alarm and turn on my bacon lamp. Ah, heaven...

I wonder if the lightbulb works like an easy-bake oven and cooks the bacon. Now THAT would be amazing.

DCW_NYC

-Hilary-

Help me! or Potayto, Patawto

Something has been on my mind ever since I moved to the East coast. Growing up I called that ball of soft cheese that goes on pizza, mozzarella. Said like: mots-er-ella. But I have heard so many odd variations that I need to know the right way to say it. I've heard it called mutz or mutzzarell. What the heck? It's spelled M-O-Z-E-R-E-L-L-A. So why not pronounce the rest? Is one pronunciation for Italians, one for Americans and one for Italian-Americans? What do you say? Oh! And don't get me started on ricotta, also heard as ri-gut. Huh, what's with these Italian cheeses? And you know I never heard any pronunciations like this back in California. So is it a New York, New Jersey thing? An Italian-American thing? I've asked my chefhusband and he's heard the heard the same strange cheese talk I have, but not from food professionals.

Help, this is driving me crazy!
DCW_NYC
-Hilary-

Western Spaghetti

Erik's father sent me this terrific short movie. My favorite part is the rubix cube...you'll see.

DCW_NYC
-Hilary-

Chef's Favorites

Some men follow sports via ESPN and the Times, but my husband follows food-specifically the NY 'scene'. I always knew he was uber-interested in reviews, ratings, and the like-but when I learned of his massive favorites links list, I was stunned. Actually, it wasn't the size of the list that sent me whirling it was the fact that he said he checks ALL of the sites DAILY, and many of them more than once. Whoa. So I asked Erik to send me his coveted list. I've added it to the left as a permanent fixture to this very blog. You may have seen some of these, but there also might be a few that are new to you. Overall, I want to add a flavor to the blog that it lacked. So there it is, straight from the chef's laptop in his coat closet sized office. And the best part: I know he's not the only one.

DCW_NYC
-Hilary-

Food Snob

Would a food snob eat a giant rice krispie treat?

I am not a food snob, I swear. But sometimes I just want to scream and roll my eyes in disgust when people say certain things about food and dining. Such examples would be, "Caviar, sick!" or "I don't eat that. " Shuuut up! I can't help it but I just get so annoyed. And I blame Erik. A chef's lifestyle lends to upscale dining experiences, courageous food adventures and a respect for produce and edible animals.





Am I the only chefwife who experiences rage at others who exhibit food ignorance? The worst things I've heard: 1. "I don't eat fish, that's so unnatural" and "Is it one of those 'fancy' places that only serves a one ounce hunk of meat?" Yes, at times restaurants can get annoying when you expect a larger portion than you get. However, the "normal" portion that people are used to at places like Applebee's and Chile's are entirely too large. Plus, most restaurants expect you to order an appetizer and a dessert along with your entree.





So, I guess I am a food snob.
Sorry?





DCW_NYC
-Hilary-

A Lesson in Burger History

When you’re a chef’s wife you often ask yourself, “What am I going to do on a Saturday night?” So you grab your cell and round up the local wives and friends in an attempt to take over the city.

After hours of lying in the hot sun of Central Park’s Sheep’s Meadow and watching fellow sun bathers attempt a semi-wet slip and slide we hear the growl of our stomachs. Again we find ourselves lying -this time on a couch munching on old chocolate Easter eggs (in June) and some original flavor Kashi TLC crackers. We finally decide on dinner: burgers. Totally a casual night so we end up at P.J. Clarke’s at Lincoln Square where we have heard good things about their burgers. A little corporate-but who isn’t these days. Really now, who isn’t? Even the great chefs once revered in yesteryears have sold their souls just as a young Dick and Mac McDonald did in 1955.

Seated at a red and white checkered table (now red and pink from too many rounds with the washing machine) we sip our beers and skim the menu for this famous burger. And thanks to our burger-educated server Dustin Olson we gained the history of a P.J. Clarke’s hamburger. And please correct me if I am wrong, Dustin. It was not until the 60s that a new burger, known as a ‘California burger’ were served with lettuce and tomato. Until then, a burger came only with a large raw onion slice on the bottom to prevent the greasy burger from weakening the paper plates-oh, and a dill pickle on the side, ah. Since P.J. Clarke’s prides itself on its 129 year old history they stick to the original burger/onion set-up.

Apparently there is shame in requesting lettuce and tomato on a P.J. Clarke’s burger, but Dustin acquiesced as two of us ordered the extra forbidden fruit and vegetable combo. After all, we were born years and years after the 60s, can you blame us? To our somewhat surprise another server walked by, in the most dead pan manner, reminding us of the shame we created with a lettuce and tomato dowsed burger. Ouch.

Ok, so the burgers: cooked perfectly as we requested. Juicy and delish as well. Of course the best part was the history behind it. Snaps to Dustin for bringing history alive and giving attention to these Desperate ChefsWives on a Saturday night.

DCW_NYC
-H-
For the complete history of P.J. Clarke's visit: http://www.pjclarkes.com/