Blue Smoke, NYC

Had a fabulous meal at Blue Smoke Saturday night. Blue Smoke, if you are not familiar, is part of the Danny Meyer empire of NYC restaurants. It had been on my list for a long time, and since my husband is a huge BBQ fan and it was his birthday, I thought this was the perfect excuse (like I ever need an excuse for venturing to a great restaurant)! 

No party is complete without proper cocktails, eh?  We arrived early so we could spend some time at the bar and what you see above is a perfect Mojito (him) along with a sublime Blood Orange Margarita (me).  The bar was packed but a band of attentive bartenders kept everybody happy. We ordered the Warm BBQ Potato Chips with Blue Cheese Bacon Dip as a proper accompaniment to our drinks.

Seated now, we prepared ourselves to be amazed by dinner, and it did not disappoint.  I ordered the Texas Salt and Pepper Beef Ribs, which were succulent, smoky and delicious. 

Barry indulged in the Sampler Plate: Memphis Baby Backs, Kansas City Spareribs and Texas Beef Ribs, only instead of the Texas Ribs he substituted the Pulled Pork.  The KC Spareribs were superb - juicy, spicy, and in a terrific sauce.  The Pulled Pork was amazing - tender, just vinegary enough, and probably the best I've ever had (and I've had great examples in North Carolina where it's their stock in trade).   We ordered three side dishes: Braised Collard Greens with Bacon, Hush Puppies with Jalapeno Marmalade, and Baked Pit Beans with Pork. I am not a huge fan of collards, but Barry was thrilled with it.  The hush puppies were outstanding - light and full of deliciously corny flavor with a not too spicy marmalade.  The beans were smoky and creamy.


True to form, the legendary Danny Meyer service was evident last night. The wait staff is friendly (without being overbearing), water glasses are quietly refilled without asking, drinks come when ordered, and all while the house is fully committed.  It's a sad commentary that this is the exception rather than the rule, but most restaurants cannot pull this off.  

To finish the meal, we thoroughly enjoyed the Key Lime Pie, a just tart enough, creamy custard served ice cold in a honey graham crust.  


NYC has an abundance of celebrity chefs and restauranteurs but they don't always live up to the hype.  Blue Smoke does.  Next on my Danny Meyer checklist: Maialino, his tribute to the summer he worked in Italy and without fail ordered "maialino" (roast suckling pig) every night for dinner.  All I can say is,  "andiamo!"

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

It's almost Cinco de Mayo - that important Mexican holiday (where the Mexican militia defeated the French army in 1862) that in the US is basically celebrated with beer, tequila, salsa and chips.  Well, you need a little sweet to go with all that alcohol and salt, don't you? So how about Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies? The "hot" coming from a healthy addition of chili powder. 

But before we get to the cookies, I want to tell you about a terrific Mexican restaurant in Manhattan that we visited last week.  It's called Hell's Kitchen (appropriate, given its location in that section of NYC and it's focus on Mexican foods) and it's not your average south of the border restaurant. It's a rather small space, the tables are a little too close together, and the noise level at peak times approaches a low roar (oh, and the lighting is so low, I almost had to ask for a flashlight to read the menu). So why would I even bother telling you about this place?  It's the food, of course! 


Our meal began with two appetizers - Duck Confit Empanadas with Cranberry Mole and Pico de Gallo, and Hoja Sania Crusted Tuna Tostados with Guacamole and Grilled Pineapple - fabulous! 

Entrees consisted of Grilled Shrimp with Serrano Sauce, Sweet Plantain and Guacamole; Skirt Steak Tacos; Ancho Crusted Tuna and Yucca Cake with Smoky Peanut Sauce; and a wonderful Chilean Sea Bass. Everything was outstanding - not to mention the luscious and thirst-quenching Pineapple Margaritas and the Wajito (a lovely concoction of light run, fresh watermelon, lime juice, and fresh mint). 


As we were running to make the 8pm curtain on Broadway, we didn't get to sample dessert at Hell's Kitchen, but that's what the Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies are for.


The cookies are from (yet another) edition of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. I have made these cookies twice in the last two weeks because they are just that good. And they are super easy to make, and let me see, what else? Right - delicious! Soft, chewy, so chocolatey-cinnamony, and with that extra little twist of chili powder, it ranks right up there in my all time cookie best. 


So if you are planning a little Cinco de Mayo celebration of your own next week, go ahead and serve the usual suspects, but spice things up a bit with these cookies. Happy Cinco de Mayo!


Print Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookie Recipe Here

Pear Margarita

Forty Days and Forty Nights

I don't think it even rains this much in Seattle. We are stuck in some kind of funky weather front here that is making most of the general population in the mid-Atlantic states resemble small, yellow, web-footed creatures. This is getting ridiculous. Every time we think it will break, nope, here comes another band of green on that darn weather map.

But for one brief, shining moment, one 5-6 hour period without rain, the weather here last night actually resembled something close to summer. A beautiful, DRY, summer night descended upon northern New Jersey, and what did we do? We sat inside. But sometimes there is nothing so sweet as sitting at a bar, having a really well made margarita, a few nicely done appetizers, and just talking.

And where did we do this, you might ask? At Rosa Mexicano, an upscale semi-chain restaurant based in NY/NJ. It seems everyone else in our general vicinity had the same need to get out of the house and celebrate a night without dampness.

Rosa Mexicano has a wonderful list of tequilas (I am partial to Don Julio) and a very nice bar menu - the guacamole was full of large chunks of avocado - I happen to like my guacamole with a few less chunks - and although we requested the "spicy" guacamole, it was rather mild. But it did wash down very nicely with the margarita. We also enjoyed the crab empanadas which came with two interesting tasting sauces. That, a few chile peanuts, a cold cervezas or two, and you're good. Not a bad way to while away a few hours on a Friday night.

And guess what it did today? Right! More rain - downpours, buckets 'o rain. So after braving the flooded roadways and puddled sidewalks to do some errands, I returned to bake up a batch of glorious cookies! You need something to keep your spirits up in this weather, after all. I decided on a crispy oatmeal cookie with a flourish of sea salt and flavored with white chocolate chunks. If you recall my posting a few weeks ago, I debated the merits of crispy vs chewy oatmeal cookies - this is definitely in the thin, crispy camp. Personally, I like both variations (truth be told, I like oatmeal cookies in all their incarnations). These were very easy to whip up, with a minimum of fuss. One note, though. The recipe calls for taking two tablespoons of dough for each cookie -- I found that to be WAY too much. Luckily, I only made one batch using those proportions. The next batch was made with only a scootch less than a tablespoon and they were just the right size. These cookies spread during baking so follow the direction to place at least two inches apart on the baking sheet. These cookies have a delicate crisp to them, they are not too sweet and the sea salt adds a nice counterpoint to the white chocolate.

Sorry, no photo - my trusty Canon is in the shop. But they look pretty much like your basic oatmeal cookie - round, with a nice golden hue. Don't wait for a deluge to try them.

Crispy Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies (thanks to Smitten Kitchen)

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

The original recipe didn’t have white chocolate in it, but it really works wonderfully in here. Even if you’re a dark chocolate fan. Watch out, use the good stuff and this may even convert you.

1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon table salt 14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

6 ounces good-quality white chocolate bar, chopped (not “white chocolate” chips; they’re almost always artificial. I am adamant about this.)

1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt (like Maldon or fleur de sel) (for sprinkling on top)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt in a medium bowl.

2. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl again. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated.

3. Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons. Roll between palms into balls, then place on lined baking sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart. Using fingertips, gently press down each ball to about ¾-inch thickness.

4. Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie

5. Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.