Particularly Delicious Dinner Tonight!

After Julia's very successful pasta fazool dinner, I decided to try out another recipe from our new favorite website: norecipes.com. Before I get going about tonight's dinner, let me fill you in on Julia's Pasta Fazool... It was delicious! Almost like an Italian version of chili. It was hearty, meaty, truly scrumptious; perfect for a chilly night in New York City.

I'm a major niçoise salad fan, I might go so far as to say "connoisseur", so when I saw that my new best friend (sorry Julia) had a recipe for a niçoise salad, I couldn't resist. I was particularly curious about his "Master Dressing". What a name! How couldn't this be good, I ask you!?

Niçoise Salad Recipe

for master dressing (! ! ! !)
1/2 C good quality olive oil
1/4 C champagne vinegar
1/2 tsp hot sweet mustard
1/2 tsp whole grain mustard
1 Tbs minced shallots
1 tsp kosher salt (less if you use regular salt)
pepper to taste

for haricots vert
1/2 lbs haricots vert (these are just fresh green beans, called by their fancy pants french name. Don't be intimidated...)
2 Tbs master dressing

for tomatoes
16 baby tomatoes, sliced in half

       for potatoes
       6 small fingerling potatoes
       3 Tbs master dressing 

       1 Tbs minced parsley

for salad
1 head of romaine lettuce (we prefer to make this a slightly more substantial salad, so we make it with 4 cups of arugula instead, but I'm sure either way is terrific.)
3 medium boiled eggs peeled and quartered
Niçoise olives
1 tsp minced fresh thyme
1 tsp minced fresh oregano
1 can Italian tuna in olive oil (see my note below for tuna guidance)
1 can anchovies (optional)

To make the dressing just whisk all the ingredients for the master dressing together. Other things will get added to this base as we season each item.

For the potatoes, boil them in well salted water until you can just barely pass a fork through them (they should still be a little firm). Remove them from the water and allow them to cool enough to handle. Toss them with 3 Tbs of dressing and parsley. Add salt and pepper as needed and set aside. This can be made in advance.

For the haricots vert, return the potato water to a boil and add more salt (it should taste like the ocean). Prepare an ice bath by filling a bowl with water and ice cubes. Add the haricots vert and boil until they’re bright green and tender, but they still have a bit of crunch (a minute or two, longer if you’re using older beans). Drain and put them into the ice bath to “shock” them, this should make them turn a very vibrant green color. You don’t want to dress these too early since the vinegar will make them discolor. If you’re doing this in advance, wrap them and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve them. 

For the tomatoes, toss them with a little master dressing, salt and pepper. *Note that we've made some revisions to the original recipe to keep this dinner simple and straight forward. If you want to see it in its original form, check back on norecipes.com.

To assemble the salad, add the oregano and thyme to the master dressing and toss the whole lettuce leaves in enough dressing to coat each leaf. Lay them down on a serving platter then arrange the potatoes, haricots vert, tomatoes, boiled eggs, Niçoise olives, tuna and anchovies around the plate. 

**Tuna Tour: When we make our niçoise salad, we like to splash out and buy la-de-dah tuna, to make it a little more "dinner" and a little less "lunch." John and I have done extensive tuna research, and are top two favorites are Cole's Tuna in Olive Oil and Flott's Tuna Ventresca . However, we've also had good results with the Ortiz brand pictured above, so go with whatever you can find at your local grocery store. 

Enjoy your dinner! We sure did! 

We're headed up to the country on Saturday, with paint in hand. We're determined to GET THAT BATHROOM FINISHED!

Something Strange... In the Neighborhood!

I thought a little Ghost Busters might get you interested in this link, but truthfully, they're unrelated. I have to confess, it was my friend Adam (who lives in London) that turned me onto the proposal to build an underground park in an abandoned trolley garage on the Lower East Side, so if you've already heard about it, and I'm just an uninformed luddite arriving late to the party, my apologies... However if you haven't, take a look. It's really a pretty cool concept... 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/855802805/lowline-an-underground-park-on-nycs-lower-east-sid

I'm guessing it is going to look a little less psychedelic in reality... And probably have more balanced population of normal people and super models. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Kickstarter: The concept behind Kickstarter is a terrific notion. People all over the world come up with exciting new ideas, and in order to get an initial funding base, raise money through kickstarter. They include a description of the concept of their project, what their end goals might be, and what kind of financing they'll need to achieve those goals. Then, they set a specific kickstarter fundraising goal and a set amount of time to reach that goal (the Lower East Side project is aiming to raise $100,000 before April 6th) and only if they meet that monetary goal will all of the donators be charged for their contributions... So-- it's kind of a race against time to see if they can raise the amount they've aimed for, in the time limit they've set for themselves... 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/855802805/lowline-an-underground-park-on-nycs-lower-east-sid

It's really a terrific concept, and a great way to make (even a tiny) contribution to New York City and our quality of life here... Just think of it like an investment in the future... I have already proudly invested $10.00! If each of my readers match that investment, we will have made a real and significant contribution to the Kickstarter fund! 

We'll be back to work on the unending adventure of the bathroom renovation this weekend, so check back soon! We can't wait to be finished! 

love, 

Christina & John 

Mmmm... Dinner tonight!

Julia invited a bunch of friends (John and me included) over for dinner tonight, and then sent me the recipe for the dish she's planning to make. Apparently it is a new spin on the classic "Pasta Fagoli", called "Pasta Fazool" by the fella who invented it. It looked so delicious, I couldn't contain myself, and had to post it on the blog... Just look at those pictures! Yow-zah! 

Since I'm not going to be cooking this dish, I will only be able to report on how it tastes, and not how easy it was to cook, but I've got high hopes for this one!      

        PASTA FAZOOL: 

3″ block of leftover meatloaf, 1/2 lbs Italian sausage, or 4 strips of bacon (optional)

for soffritto
2 medium onions chopped
3 medium stalks celery chopped
2 medium carrots chopped
6 cloves garlic minced

for soup
1/4 C vermouth
1 qt chicken or vegetable stock
2 C chopped tomatoes
3/4 C borlotti beans (cranberry) soaked overnight
Parmesan rind
1/4 C chopped fresh basil
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs thyme
salt and pepper to taste

4 oz dried pasta (I used orecchiette)
Parmigiano-Reggiano for serving

If you are using uncooked meat such as pancetta or Italian sausage, brown them first, transfer to a plate, then use the fat they release to make the soffritto.

If you are use precooked meat or are making this vegetarian, add a generous splash of olive oil to a stock pot (about 2 Tbs).

Fry the ingredients for the soffritto until soft and about halved in volume. This process deepens the flavour of the soffritto (aka mirepoix) through a Maillard reaction, which causes sugars in the veggies to react with amino acids to form new flavour compounds.

Add the vermouth to the soffritto and cook until there is no liquid left. Add the chicken stock, chopped tomatoes, beans, Parmesan rind, basil, bay leaf and thyme. Allow this to simmer uncovered until the beans are tender (about 1 1/2 hours). If the soup start getting too thick, add a bit of water and continue cooking with a lid.

When the beans are tender, taste for salt and add more if needed. Add the pasta and cook until tender, you may need to add a bit more water if the pasta absorbs too much. Serve with bread and a generous dusting of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

I'll report back tomorrow! 

While you're there, you should consider scrolling around the website "norecipes.com" to see what else he's cooking... There is a recipe for Pork Sugo with Strozzapreti that looks like it would blow your socks off. And the recipe for Five Spice Duck Confit Ragu looks Ka-Ka-Crazy! So much to cook, so little extra space in my waistline! : ) 

One step closer!

Okay folks-- we're about to tuck off to bed-- but I wanted to show off some of our results! The saga of the bathroom renovation continues, and we still have a long way to go until we can cross this off our to-do list, but this weekend we've done most of the floor (still a couple of touch-ups left to do next weekend), installed the new marble saddle, re-hung the door, and got the baseboards primed and installed. To be honest, I'm astounded we got so much finished in just two days. We're exhausted. Totally beat.


For next weekend:

★ Paint the walls and trim
★ Install new towel bars and a toilet roll holder

We've also got to decide if we're going to keep the beige towels I just bought at TJMaxx (shown in the photo at right...) Please forgive that they still have the price tags on... How gauche! I'm just not completely sold on them yet. (I put the cart a little before the horse there, and chose towels to match the bathroom rug before I chose wall paint, so we'll have to see how they look once I figure out the color scheme for the whole room. This is not a method I usually recommend, but I've got an optimistic feeling we're going to get good results...)

Check back soon to see what mischief we get up to during the week... 

Finally-- a FLUSH!

The home-improvement deities have smiled upon us, and we now have a fully functioning toilet in our bathroom again! Remind me to sacrifice a goat, ASAP!

In addition to getting the toilet reinstalled, we also made some major headway on getting the bathroom flooring tile down. I'm not going to lie-- that was a tough job (miserable) and was unbelievably challenging (time consuming, back-breaking, and clearly requiring more skills than we possess.) Both John and I have a GIANT new found respect for professional tilers, and have the aching backs and creaking knees to prove it. At one point during this project, I was definitely heard to say, "If I could walk away from this right now, I would." Sadly, there was a thick coat of thin-set setting on the floor at that moment, so there was no walking away in my future. Someone please remind me, the next time I do this (god forbid that day ever comes), USE SQUARE TILES! Hexagonal tile is a tricky son-of-a-b*#@!

Next steps: John's going to install new baseboards in the bathroom, then we're doing a couple rounds of grout. We chose "bright white" (which looked more likely muted-white to me...) because I didn't want the lines between the tiles to stand out with too much definition. It's an atypical choice, and a bit of a gamble, but I'm hoping it will end up looking just right when all is said and done.

We also have to cut and install our new marble saddle (to join the new tile and the pine floor in the hallway) and then cut down the door so it will swing smoothly over the new tiles. I kind of doubt we're going to get through everything on the list tomorrow, but here's hoping!

After all of that, we get to tackle the "fun" stuff: painting the walls, a couple of new accessories, new towels... I confess, we already got a little jump start on this phase of our project by replacing the toilet seat. I've got to say-- it is SO WORTH IT to replace your toilet seat periodically. Having a bright and shiny new toilet seat can make your whole bathroom look fresh, and for $20.00 odd dollars, what's not to like? (One handy hint: There are a surprisingly large variety of toilet seats available at your average big-box hardware store. I highly recommend taking your old seat with you so you come home the right replacement.)

Okay, now back to work... but more photos will follow! 

Fava Bean Soup, Oh My!

John and I recently made a fantastic Fava Bean Soup, using frozen fava beans (found in the freezer section of our local grocer). It was beyond scrumptious, and I'd highly encourage you to give it a shot, either as a starter course for a dinner party, or as a main dish for you and the fam. When we made this, we skipped the optional addition of bacon, and I'm pretty sure that sans bacon, it is a reasonably healthy recipe, so if you're looking for something delicious and nutritious, this is the recipe for you!

We found the recipe online, from that kook-adoo chef with the crazy hair, Anne Burrell. I tell you, she may have a gravity-defying do, but the lady can cook! 

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 2 pounds shelled fava beans
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 pound bacon, cut into lardons, optional (but I highly recommend it) 
• **This is where Ms. Burrell and I part ways. We skipped the bacon, and didn't regret it in the slightest.**
• 1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 ribs celery, cut onto 1/2-inch dice
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 cloves garlic, 2 smashed, 1 reserved whole
• 1 large Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 4 to 5 cups vegetable or chicken stock *We did 1/2 and 1/2, veggie/chicken stock.
• 2 to 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• High quality extra-virgin olive oil *Also optional, depending on how healthy you're determined to be...

Directions

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over medium heat and set up a bowl of well-salted ice water. Add the shelled fava beans to the boiling water. Once the water has come back to a boil, cook the beans for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove them from the boiling water and immediately put them into the bowl of salted ice water. Once the beans have cooled completely, strain them from the ice water. Peel the tough, light green outer layer from the beans. You will be left with a delicate, lovely vibrantly green tender fava bean. MMMMMM! Reserve these little lovelies.

Coat a large saucepan over medium-high heat with extra-virgin olive oil. Add the bacon (if using, if not just start with the onions and celery) and once the bacon has started to become brown and crispy and is very aromatic, add the diced onions and celery. Season with salt, to taste, and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Cook the onions and celery until they become translucent and are very aromatic. Add the smashed garlic cloves and the diced potato, stir to coat with the oil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 2/3 of the reserved fava beans and 4 cups stock. Taste for seasoning and add salt, if needed. Bring the stock to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

When the potatoes are tender enough to slide easily off a fork when cooked, puree the soup in a blender* until smooth. You probably will have to do this in batches. *Alternatively, use an immersion blender, right in the pot, and then you don't have to fuss with the blender bit at all. That's what we did, with lovely, smooth results. Return the soup to the pot, and add the remaining fava beans. If the soup is too thick, add some the remaining stock to adjust the consistency. Taste the soup to check the seasoning and reseason, if needed. Ladle the soup into serving dishes, give them a little sprinkle of grated Parmesan and a drizzle of big fat finishing oil.

Notes

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

Onwards and upwards!

Onwards and upwards is right! With the William drama behind us, John and I are now able to turn our attention back to the bathroom renovation debacle up at Fox Ridge. I stopped and picked up our tiles on Friday morning from the always-wonderful Bella Tile in the East Village, so there's no stoppin' us now!

(If you're ever in need of tiles for your own projects and you live in New York City, Bella offers a terrific selection, great pricing, and you can find fabulous bargains in the sale-room of their warehouse.) 

Check them out: 

Bella Tile Showroom
178 First Ave at 11th Street
New York, NY 10009
Phone: 212-475-2909
Fax: 212-475-2499

                                               

We have the additional incentive of not wanting to spend ANOTHER weekend in the country without a toilet (don't ask... but it involves going into town a lot and peeing on our lawn in times of desperation) so we are determined to make some major headway this weekend. 

This is where we are as of Saturday morning, 8:00 A.M.: 

✓ Toilet removed (see hole in floor shown in photo at left)

✓ Baseboard moldings removed.

✓ Thin-set and Hardi-Backer board installed.

✓ 30 square feet of 1" hexagonal tiles in hand.

✓ 15 trips to Home Depot for assorted missing tools, materials, and hardware. 

✓ Determination to get this project over with (present, and growing!) 

I've promised John he can sleep for another half an hour, and then we're going to get cracking straight away. I'll report back tomorrow morning, but-- fingers crossed- I will never have to visit another Home Depot bathroom again! 

Wish Us Luck Folks, We're Goin' In!!