Broward Palm Beach Food Blog

​Thanksgiving is just around the corner, kiddies. Are you ready? There's a lot to prep for, from getting that Big Bird defrosted to queuing up your side dishes. Not to mention making sure you're caught up enough at work to take two weekdays off (ack!).

If you're still undecided on any of it, here's a little roundup of cool and unusual recipes fluttering around the ol' internets:

John Linn

The secret to good broccoli is steaming it first.

​Pictured: Wok-sauteed broccoli with garlic and chili.

Prep: Clean and trim broccoli into inch-wide pieces. Steam using steamer basket for about 5-6 minutes, or until broccoli becomes bright green and flesh softens slightly. Immediately shock in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and preserve color. Drain. Dice three cloves of garlic and set aside.

Saute: Add 2 TBS of vegetable oil to a very hot wok. Add garlic and stir immediately to keep from burning. Add a heaping spoonful of sambal oelek or similar chili paste. Quickly add broccoli and toss, coating with the garlic oil mixture. Saute for about one minute, then add a few dashes of tamari soy sauce, two dashes of fish sauce, and 1/4 cup of chicken or vegetable stock. If thicker sauce is desired, mix one teaspoon of corn starch with stock before adding. Reduce slightly for about 30 seconds. Once broccoli is tender but not overcooked, plate.

Enjoy.

John Linn

​Pictured: Lobster risotto with asparagus tips.

Lobster: Poach two whole Florida lobsters in water along with celery, onion, carrot, and lemon. Once lobsters turn red (about 15 minutes), remove and extract tail meat. Add shells back into pot and allow to steep for 45 minutes. Strain and reserve stock.

Asparagus: Blanch asparagus in simmering water for four to five minutes. Remove and shock in a bath of ice water to stop cooking and preserve color.

Risotto: Add onion, garlic, and olive oil to a wide pan and sweat until onion is translucent. Add rice and coat in oil. Once rice starts to smell nutty, slowly ladle in lobster stock, stirring throughout. When rice begins to absorb stock, add more. Risotto is done after 15 to 20 minutes, when liquid is creamy and the rice is al dente. Add 3 TBS of cubed butter plus asparagus and chopped lobster tail meat.

Enjoy.

Now what to top them with...

​My favorite thing at Park Avenue BBQ and Grill is not barbecue at all -- it's the sweet, deep fried corn fritters ordered a la carte from the menu. Unlike hush puppies or typical corn fritters, Park Avenue's version are cakey and moist and totally absent of rough, corn meal texture.

They're served with three condiments to play with; mixing and matching each different one can lead to dramatic results. Adding honey from a squeeze bottle recalls both carnival food and something vaguely Asian. The combo of powdered sugar and maple syrup suggests French toast. Cut the maple syrup from that equation and you get something shockingly close to a beignet - the dough warm and light; the sugar turning sticky as it clings to the pastry's greasy exterior. At $3.49 for an order of six, Park Avenue's corn fritters are one of the tastiest confections around, dollar for dollar.

John Linn

This burger combines a meaty steak patty that has texture and bite with a buttery croissant and fried egg. It tastes just like a steak and egg breakfast.

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John Linn

They say it's your birthday...

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Bill Citara

​Matteo's is the kind of upscale Italian-American restaurant that's as common as Botoxed foreheads and lipo-ed thighs in its tony Boca Raton neighborhood. The menu doesn't plow any new culinary ground, but what it does it does pretty well, and one dish it does really well is the classic linguine frutti di maré.  

Too many Italian-esque restaurants in these parts just sling a bunch of seafood into a marinara sauce and call it done, making what should be a dish of some delicacy that respects the natural flavors of impeccably fresh fish and shellfish into one that ponderous, dull-tasting and boring. Matteo's gets it right, with a brothy sauce that delivers the lusty flavors of tomatoes and garlic but with a lightness that lets the seafood shine. There's nothing terribly difficult about making it, just be sure every ingredient is of the highest quality you can get your hands on. 

"You wouldn't gather to see me offed, would you?"

​One of the arguments for vegetarianism often comes in the form of a challenge. It goes something like, "If you are able to slaughter an animal yourself, you can feel justified being a meat eater." Little did vegetarians know that carnivores across America would take that challenge so seriously.

One of the newest and most shockingly real trends in the food world is live slaughter, an event where groups of meat-eating bipeds get together to witness the killing and subsequent butchering of an animal in real time. Hosted by trained butchers and cooking schools and held in fields or kitchens, these slaughters endeavor to bring meat eaters a bit closer to the process that puts food on their table.
   

John Linn

Grilled and sliced Chinese pork ribs are great with some home-made stir fry.

​Pictured: Chinese-style grilled baby back ribs.

Marinate: Whole rack of baby back ribs. Hoisin sauce. Minced Garlic. Rice wine vinegar. Cilantro. Black Pepper.

Grill: Low heat, membrane side down. Cover. Flip once. Cover. Flip again. Baste with marinade. High heat, finish. Slice. Top with additional cilantro.

Enjoy.

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B. Citara

​You don't need a weatherman to know the wind is blowing the rich, beefy aromas of hamburgers sizzling on the grill all over the country. Upscaling the humble burger is more popular than straight white teeth and money in the bank nowadays, as even recession-shafted diners can pry a few nickels out of their pockets to enjoy a gold-plated version of the Big Mac at some chi-chi local restaurant. 

Or you can make your own. And with that, Clean Plate Charlie presents the. . .  

Rich Person's Prime Burger with Truffle Aioli, Arugula, Grilled Onion and Portobello Mushroom 

John Linn

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Bill Citara

Cut 432's Brian Albe mixes poetic.

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They're doing it in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami. . . in Delray Beach, not so much. A new generation of--don't call them "bartenders," call them "mixologists"--is flavoring their own spirits, making their own infusions and syrups and garnishes, creating cocktails that go far beyond the usual "vodka-rocks" and assorted abominations that have defiled the holy martini.  

Just as Brian Albe and Brandon Belluscio gave the old-fashioned steakhouse a kick in the ass with their chic Cut 432 on Delray's Atlantic Avenue, now they're applying swift, creative foot to dull, boring cocktail posterior with a whole new roster of hand-made spirits and mixers assembled into a slate of inventive new drinks. 

I hung out with Brian at the bar awhile back and tasted my way through his handiwork, and I gotta tell ya, if anything can make serial drunkenness a spiritually uplifting activity, it's the cool stuff he's pouring.  

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Lisa Rab

Pictured: This weekend was Rosh Hashanah, the holiday when Jewish people dip apples in honey, repent their sins, and get tipsy toasting a sweet new year months before the rest of the world. One of the holiday's traditional dishes is a noodle kugel -- or casserole -- sweetened with cinnamon, sugar and dried fruit. Trust me, even your gentile friends will love it.

Egg noodles: Boil. Drain. Set aside.

Filling: Cottage cheese. Milk. Butter, melted. Cinnamon. Sugar. Eggs, unbeaten. Salt. Sour cream. Dried apricots, chopped. Raisins.

Lisa Rab

Mix: Dump the filling into a big bowl and whisk together. Add drained noodles.Stir.

Grease a 9 x 12-inch casserole pan.

Dump the whole mixture into the pan.

Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and slivered almonds.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, until the mixture is firm (no longer liquid), and browned a little on top.

Serve warm.

John Linn

John Linn

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John Linn

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John Linn

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Bill Citara

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When John Montagu, First Lord of the Admiralty and avowed Satanist (!), asked his valet to slap a hunk of meat between two slices of bread in 1762, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich could hardly have known that almost 250 years later a restaurant in Boca Raton would nestle a juicy slab of grilled tuna inside a bun smeared with teriyaki aioli, then top it with a crunchy, Asian-style slaw in much the same the manner as the pulled pork sandwiches of the American South. 

Like, duh. . . 

Anyway, that's what Max's Grille in Boca's sprawling Mizner Park did, and though it's no longer on the menu, it's still a damn good sammie--easy to make, not too heavy, and tasty as hell. So give it a try. 

John Linn

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John Linn

Quiche in a skillet - now that's an interesting idea.

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One thing I can't stand is having extra ingredients go bad in my fridge. Last week, I was in Oriental Square, a Chinese Market in my neck of the woods that has amazing deals on produce. I buy all types of fresh vegetables and herbs there: they have the best prices on shiitake mushrooms, only $2.50 a pound. I can buy a couple sticks of lemon grass for less than 50 cents, and fresh herbs like cilantro are less than a dollar a bundle. I usually end up buying so much, that I can barely finish everything I purchase.

That almost happened to me with some bok choy I had purchased there. I bought eight vibrant green heads of the stuff for $2, and used four the first night stir fried whole. For the next few nights, I went out to eat, and the bok choy sat in the fridge. On Sunday morning I knew the amazingly green and crisp leaves would start to wilt if I didn't use them that day. But it was breakfast time, and I've never made breakfast with bok choy before. My girlfriend and I decided we would experiment, and what we ended up with was bok choy quiche.

John Linn

Saturday I was wandering around Publix looking for sundries for a Father's Day brunch I was having at my place for my girlfriend's father. He's a real dad's dad: He enjoys motorcycles, power tools, target shooting, good booze, and, of course, meat. So whatever brunch I put together had to include at least two quality kinds of meaty goodness, preferably made from pork. But I wasn't going to buy some crappy, frozen breakfast sausage, and there weren't any fresh patties ready to go in the meat department. So I decided I was going to make my own. And here's how I did it. 

As the axiom goes, if there's a way to a man's heart, it's through food. If that man happens to be your father, chances are that pathway is paved with gold foil-wrapped chocolate bricks and snakes in and out of a lush wood, where streams of beer whisper promises and the animals are already done medium-rare. And since Sunday is the holiest of days in which to pay tribute to your epicurean pop, Father's Day, why not get him a present that recognizes his truest passions? Well, Clean Plate Charlie has a few ideas for you so you can save your thinking power for developing a Sunday-night menu that'll leave him sated for the next year.

Here's a case where one plus one equals a wine too good to pass up. We're talking the 2008 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier, a marriage of two under-appreciated grapes made in the Napa Valley and consummated in your mouth. Unlike most marriages, though, it will only set you back 12 bucks, and year after year, is so reliably tasty you won't even think of divorce.

Like a good marriage, the partners are thoroughly compatible. The first grape is a Chenin Blanc, which makes up 80 percent of the bottle. It delivers a crisp, vaguely herbal acidic backbone -- think lemon-lime and grapefruit -- the lean, athletic husband, perhaps.

Viognier (the remaining 20 percent) is all about ripe, luscious, summery fruit -- pears and melons, with beguiling floral-honeysuckle aromas -- the wife, if you will, with sensuous curves in all the right places. Chilled and sipped on one of our balmy spring evenings, the pair will deliver all the oral satisfaction of. . . well, you know.

They can also make a meal very happy, especially if it's spicy Asian or Latin seafood or chicken, which respond like crazy to their refreshing sensuality.

The whole crew is standing by

Next Friday we launch our weekly Friday Feature, "Ask The Critic," invented for the sole purpose of allowing us to show off.

Readers: Send us your easy questions, send us your torturous riddles. "Where can I find beignet in Lauderhill?"; "Who makes the tastiest shark n bake?"; "How many calories are in the Kitchen Sink Sundae at Jackson's Ice Cream Parlor?", "What does balut taste like?"; "Is it true that Chef X is shagging his prep cook?"; "Do these pants make me look fat?"

We'll endeavor to find out. Pose your questions to the group or tag one of us in particular.

Our areas of expertise are multitudinous and overlapping, but we've worked out a rough division of labor that seems to have broken down along these lines:

Bill Citara: Wine Snob
John Linn: Pit man. Barbecue, Japanese, Mexican, or anything that narrows the arterial walls.
Brett Gillin: Intrepid & Parsimonious  (he'll eat anything, particularly if it's cheap)
Gail Shepherd: Inveterate lush. Social climber. Chocolate. Oh hell, just ask me anything.
Eric Barton: Once his wife knew somebody who knew somebody who got them a table at the French Laundry. Maybe she can get you one too.
Vicki: Licorice whip tester and Jawbreakers aficionado.

Send us your questions NOW and we'll answer them NEXT FRIDAY!

Fighting the good fight, one mug at a time

Run clean out of political causes to get fired up about, since the election of Barack Obama? Here's a burning issue that ought to scare the bejeesus out of us all: The plight of struggling US independent beer brewers. Tickets are on sale now for the one-night-only engagement of Beer Wars Live, Anat Baron's foam-spewing documentary, which follows the stories of small brewers, like the makers of Dogfish Head and New Century Brewing, as they take on the corporate giants ruling the beer industry. The screening on April 16th, at AMC and Cobb Theaters, will be followed by live video conferencing hosted by Ben Stein and a special panel discussion featuring Sam Calaglione of Dogfish Head, Rhonda Kallman of New Century, Greg Koch of Stone Brewery, beer historian Maureen Ogle, and beer activist Todd Alstrom (now doesn't that sound like your dream job?)

Go here to find your closest theater and buy advance tickets.

It was an afternoon filled with beer, beer, and more beer as Lake Worth's BX Beer Depot hosted its first Homebrew Fest, an intimate gathering where members of BX's Lagerhead Brewers Club shared their handcrafted creations with the public. There were nearly a dozen homebrew beers on tap at the tiled-topped bar behind the Depot -- from Belgian Wit to Imperial IPA to Hard Cider -- plus a booth where you could sign up for BX's homebrew classes, email lists, and club dates. And there was good company -- folks who care deeply about what goes into your pint glass and are willing to talk about all facets of the frothy stuff for hours on end. Basically, it was Beer Valhalla.

So how were the beers? Find out, plus get info on upcoming BX events, after the jump.

John Linn

This filet's seen better days.

I fancy myself an intrepid cook, one who strives to try out new ingredients and push my own boundaries on a regular basis. Every so often, I'll pick some dish I've never made before -- flour tortillas, berry sabayon, cote du boeuf -- and I'll set out to do it with a confidence in my abilities that perhaps borders on hubris. Well, a couple of weeks ago, hubris struck an awful blow as I managed to turn three whole, fresh Florida pompano into cat food. Before you ask: No, I was not making cat food.

Actually, I was making pan-seared pompano fillets with mango beurre blanc. Unfortunately, most of my $40 worth of fish never made it to that stage. We don't need to dwell too much on the how or the why; let's just say I had neither the tools nor the abilities to properly fillet the thin little buggers. I grew pretty frustrated, and I may have destroyed a couple of kitchen utensils in the process. But really, all was not lost. I decided to roast one of them whole, and it came out OK, and a couple of my fillets turned out decently enough. Still, I ended up with a whole load of mangled pompano that I couldn't bear to just throw away.

So I ended up roasting said pompano shreds, then pulsing them in the FP with some spices and folding in some whipping cream. And just like that: pompano mousse. I then sliced up some French bread, brushed with olive oil, and popped it the toaster for some cheap crostini. Top those with the mousse, a bit of that mango beurre blanc that wasn't going anywhere, some capers, slices of grape tomato, and a little olive oil, and voila: Dinner was saved.

John Linn

 It wasn't the finest thing I've ever made, but it did the trick. And it also proved a point -- sometimes your game plan just doesn't work out when you're cooking things you've never tried before. So you've got to adapt.

Anyone else had a cooking experience go catastrophic? How'd you recover?

Many of you probably spent a romantic Valentine's Evening at a fine restaurant, supping on foie gras and fine wine. And that's all good. But here's an alternate view of Valentine's Day - a less expensive option for leaner times. This simple meal of salad, cheeses, good olives, fresh bread, and wine involves almost zero cooking, very minimal prep time, and the flavors you get will rival the best of restaurants. It's what I did on Saturday evening, and it's a plan that by no means expires after February 14th. You could recreate this exitre sensual experience -- for under $25 I might add -- any night of the year. Just add loved one.

Click any picture for a larger, more erotic version.

John Linn

Humboldt Fog goat cheese from Cypress Grove Chevre.