Food photos from Rome

Pizza



Salad with green tomatoes



Gelato



Panna Cotta



Seafood pasta



Marinated sardines (above) and octopus salad (below)



Zucchini flowers

Mozzarella

Prosciutto

Spaghetti with artichokes

Spaghetti Carbonara


















Arugula salad with parmesan cheese, mushrooms, and walnuts


Salad with avocados, mangos, hearts of palm and corn

Eleven Madison Park restaurant

Dining at Eleven Madison Park was one of the most enjoyable evenings I have had and I cannot more highly recommend the $95 prix fixe dinner. What you come here for is not just great food, but a most memorable dining experience, made even more special in the company of special people. The restaurant, located opposite Madison Square Park, is set in a dramatic art deco room with soarings ceilings are stunning flower arrangements. Every single detail throughout the course of a meal is paid attention to by the numerous waitstaff, who walk calmly everywhere with fantastic posture, keeping an attentive eye on everyone's tables but never making anyone feel like they're being watched.
The food blew me away and totally surpassed my expectations. Each dish contains the utmost precision. Apart from the items on the menu, which change about four or five times a year depending on what produce is in season, the amuse-bouche were particularly enjoyable to try. How does a chef even fathom items like carrot marshmellow and iced grean pea lollipops? And how about a red peppercorn macaron with a caramel center after dessert? The imagination of Executive Chef Daniel Humm flows in a different world.

Egg and Spinach Stuffed Meat Loaf

3 slices crustless white bread

6 oz spinach leaves

12 oz ground beef

12 oz ground pork

1 cup finely grated parmesan

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves

2 eggs, beaten

3 boiled eggs

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, minced

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup beef broth

1/2 cup white wine

Tear bread into small pieces and transfer to food processor. Process until finely ground and set aside. Bring a saucepan of water to boil, cook the spinach in the boiling water for about 15-30 seconds, and immediately transfer spinach with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water. Drain spinach and set aside.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs with the beef, pork, cheese, rosemary, beaten eggs, garlic and onions, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer half the mixture to a baking tray and using your hands, form the meat mixture into a 4" by 8" rectangle about 1" thick. Arrange half of the spinach on top of the rectangle in a 2"-wide strip down the middle. Arrange the hard-boiled eggs end to end on top of the strip of spinach, and top the eggs with the remaining spinach. Shape the remaining meat mixture into a 4" by 8" rectangle and lay it over the spinach, eggs, and meat. Press the meat gently around the eggs to form a uniform loaf, pinching top half of meat together with bottom half and smoothing any seams.

Brush meat loaf with oil and bake for 30 mins. Pour in broth and wine and continue cooking meat loaf, basting every 10 minutes or so with liquid, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the loaf registers 155 degrees, about 20 more minutes. Using a spatula, transfer meat loaf to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. When serving, cut meat loaf into thick slices and spoon some of the reserved cooking liquid over the top.

Lemon macarons

One of my favorite desserts is the French macaron - soft, chewy, delicious. It's hard to find a better place for macarons than the cafe Ladurée in Paris. The best macarons in New York, I find, are at the Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner building at Columbus Circle. Although not quite as spectactular as the ones from Ladurée, they are still very delicious.

My favorite Ladurée location is the one on the Champs-Elysée: their display of macarons is gorgeous. The lines to order are tremendously long, but the wait is certainly worth it. They have incredible flavors - from simple ones like pistachio, coffee and caramel, to more unusual ones like rose, bergamot, and orange blossom (my favorite).

Macarons hold special memories for me. I had wanted to try my hand at them for a while, and when I finally did recently I discovered how much simpler they are to make than I had originally thought. One key item that I purchased before-hand: the Silpat non-stick baking mat.

I made lemon macarons with a lemon curd filling. The lemon curd was very strong and tart and overpowered the flavor of the almond shell, so next time I would use a very thin layer of lemon curd, or use a buttercream instead.

For the lemon curd: zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup lemon juice (about 3+ lemons)
1/4 cup sugar
3 egg yolks

For the shell:

110g blanched almonds

200g powdered sugar

grated peel of 1 lemon

100g egg whites

Lemond curd:

Stir together the lemon zest, juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Beat the yolks together in a medium bowl and temper with the hot lemon mixture (temper: add a little hot liquid and quickly whisk in, then add a little more and whisk in). Pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan and stir constantly over medium heat until the liquid thickens (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat. Let cool completely.

Macarons:

Pulse almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Add powdered sugar and lemon zest. Pulse until well-blended. Whip the egg whites until foamy and gradually add the granulated sugar while whipping until a shiny meringue forms (but not too dry). Add the almond mixture to the meringue and quickly incorporate the mixture into the meringue while taking care not to overbeat. You want to achieve a batter that flows and “ribbons” for at least 5 seconds. Pour the batter into a piping bag fitted with a large plain piping tip and pipe small rounds onto a Silpat baking sheet. The rounds should be about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and at least an inch apart. Let the macarons sit for a whiel to develop a hard shell. Preheat oven to 300°F and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Remove from baking mat.

Assembly:

Pipe a small daub of lemon curd onto a macaron and sandwich with a second macaron. Makes about 2 dozen.

Candied lemon slices

1-3 lemons
2 cups sugar
1 cup melted chocolate for dipping

Cut the lemon into thin slices – not too thin, or else they will break apart – and remove the seeds.
Bring some water to boil and blanch the slices of lemon for approximately a minute. Immediately plunge them into a bath of iced water. Drain.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar with 1 cup of water in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a simmer and add the lemon slices. Let them simmer for about two hours.
Remove the slices from the syrup and cook them on a rack over a baking sheet to dry for up to 24 hours. Dip them in the melted dark chocolate and set them on parchment paper and the chocolate has cooled and firmed.

Chocolate truffles

Creating truffles always seemed beyond my level of confectioning, but when I was given home-made truffles by a colleague of mine and he described how they were made, the process seemed quick and simple enough for me to give it an amateur try. The important part of this process is to allow the chocolate mixture to cool sufficiently before forming the balls.

Ingredients:

2 cups bittersweet chocolate, in piece

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 chopped almonds

Pinch of salt

Cognac

In a saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Add the butter and stir until melted. Add the chocolate pieces and mix until smooth. Finally add the salt and a small amount of Cognac. Remove from heat and pour into a shallow bowl.

Cool the mixture in the fridge overnight.

Using a small spoon, roll the chocolate into small balls and roll each ball in the chopped almonds.

Kimchee Fried Rice

I love going out to Korean town, particularly for the barbeque, bibimbap and kimchee jigae. I also enjoy the numerous side dishes (banchan) that accompany all meals. I think Korean cuisine is ideal for family style dining because there are so many good things to try. After tasting a fantastic Kimchee fried rice made by a friend, I wanted to try it out myself. The recipe sounded effortless and tasted delicious. It is simply rice with pork, squid, and kimchee.

The juices of the kimchee are so flavorful that it leaves no necessity to add any other sauces or spices to the dish. Some taste, although little, also comes from the pre-marinated pork, which I bought at H-mart in Korea town. The marinade for the pork is made from a hot pepper paste, mirin, and carrot. The squid was fresh and I cut it up into small pieces.

First fry the pre-marinated pork and the squid. Mix into it the cooked rice in small batches. Finally add the kimchee and its liquid. Add some salt, sugar and pepper to taste.