Salad bliss at Stella’s

I was about to catch a ride home on the “T,” but turned around. I was already in Boston’s South End and hadn’t explored Washington Street. I sought a place for lunch on July 4 and walked. First I walked north (maybe) on Washington (I am really bad if with compass directions). But after trapsing for 20 minutes and not finding much of anything appealing, I reversed course on Washington. I’m glad I did because I came upon Stella Cafe, which serves sandwiches and salads, and has a display case that houses homemade muffin tops and brownies. The sun was out, peeking through patchy clouds, with a moderate breeze. The air felt dry, with a mild warmth. My body said a cool, refreshing salad that spoke of summer was in order. You can customize your salad at Stella’s and the first three veggies are free. Choose from among romaine, mixed greens or spinach and you’re on your way. Proteins are $1.50 and each additional veggie after the first three is $.50. For a salad it’s a bargain. I went with spinach then added pine nuts, chickpeas, chunks of honeydew, cucumber slices and black olives. A limoncello vinaigrette caught my eye (how often do you see that dressing on a menu?) I took a chair outside and tasted. The first few bites were without the dressing, then I lightly poured the vinaigrette. The dressing was very light (couldn’t pick up a strong lemon flavor), but that left room for the other ingredients to shine. The sweet honeydew contrasted with the mild saltiness of the olives. The clean crunch from the cucumber slices and the tender texture of chickpeas was a delight. This was a great salad that satisfied the longing for something cool. And I had leftovers to go with the following night’s dinner.

Stella

1525 Washington St.

Boston, MA 02118

Phone (617) 247-7747; Fax: (617) 247-8747

Home cooking hiatus

Besides oatmeal and a fish slurpee soup, the burners have remained cold for the last month. I haven’t cooked that much at home since the internship at America’s Test Kitchen began four weeks ago. For the most part, I’ve lived off the leftovers (i.e.  deep-dish pizza, chicken and dumplings, cassoulet). A man at the Celebrate Recovery group brings meals each week that his wife prepares, a truly generous gesture. She made a great fried rice. This doesn’t count the times going out or ordering take-out, or the day when Jay, one of my three roommates, bought the ingredients for a whole-wheat chicken pesto pizza with sun-dried tomatoes. Roommate Daniel and I were fortunate recipients of that meal.

Daniel, Jay and I went to Parish Cafe and Bar on Boylston Street Sunday night. For me, it was a return trip. We switched tables to have a better television viewing angle for the Lakers-Magic NBA Finals game. I enjoyed a glass of Rex Goliath Pinot Noir and the nicoise salad ($12.75), a seared tuna steak on a bed of mixed greens with tomato and egg wedges, olives, crisp, cooked green beans and diced cucumbers. A creamy, white, thin mayonnaise-like wasabi aioli dressing topped the tuna. The dressing’s taste was pleasing, when mixed with lemon juice in the salad, but there was a bit too much aioli.

We ordered food from Halal Indian Cuisine on Huntington Avenue another night. I ordered the chicken tandoori ($7.95), with basmati rice and a salad of thin-sliced onions with cilantro. The bone-in chicken, marinated in a special tandoori masala and yogurt for 24 hours, then baked on skewers in a traditional tandoori oven, was bright red-orange. I would have liked an accompanying sauce. The meal needed some moisture. Rice was cooked ideally and I saved some of the onions to cook days later for a sandwich.

Parish Cafe and Bar

361 Boylston St.

Boston, MA 02116

Phone: (617) 247-4777

Fax: (617) 247-3210

Halal Indian Cuisine

736 Huntington Ave.

Boston, MA 02115

Phone: (617) 232-5000

Fax: (617) 232-6000

Unexpected find

Have you ever gotten off a bus or a train before arriving at the expected stop? And, have you ever found, say, a good place to eat because of it? Well, I and two roommates found ourselves in these scenarios Saturday in South Boston. We toured Fort Independence, then boarded a bus to take us to the “T” or subway station. By the time we boarded the bus, it was almost 3 p.m. I had cereal and cottage cheese for breakfast, but didn’t want to eat too much before dinner. I was hungry, though. Well, we got off the bus before the “T” stop and started walking through south Boston. There was talk of going to the Teriyaki House, right across the street from the “T” station, but we still had some distance before reaching that destination. We stepped into one cafe a few minutes after exiting the bus, but I gave it the thumbs down. Strolling onward, we finally came upon two cafes on the same side of the street. One of my roommates, Jay, checked out one place and I went into another. We decided on Cafe Arpeggio, a diner-like place with maybe a handful of tables and a bar running lengthwise reminiscent of an ice cream parlor, a sugar scent and ice cream waiting to crown that cone. Underneath the bar, sweets such as brownies, cookies and a whoopie pie with a diameter about the size of a compact disc, tempt the sweet tooth. But a sandwich sent my tastebuds into delight. The “Famous Arpeggio Sandwich” ($6.99) is a fine combiation of sliced turkey, cranberry mayonnaise, spinach and melted white cheddar between slices of a light crisp, tender “boule,” a circular-shaped bread that appeared to contain herb flecks which I couldn’t identify. The sandwich was excellent – soft bread with right proportions of ingredients. As I lifted a half, a cranberry fell out. The white cheddar oozed out in places along the bread. I ate one half plus a bite of the second half. The sandwich was mild, one ingredient didn’t overpower any other. I wrapped the rest in paper, placed in a bag and later, in the refrigerator. I didn’t try any ice cream, but if I’m ever in the neighborhood at night and crave ice cream, Cafe Arpeggio may be the place to stop. It’s a quaint stop to get a sandwich, salad, an ice cream cone or brownie. Might want to split that moon pie. Cafe Arpeggio also has locations in New Bedford and Fall River, Massachusetts.

Cafe Arpeggio

398 W. Broadway, South Boston, Mass., (617) 69-8822, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; 139 S. Main St., Fall River, Mass., Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Closed Sunday; 800 Purchase St., New Bedford, Mass., Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Closed Sunday.

Veggie dinner, well not entirely

Saturday marked the one-week anniversary of moving to Mission Hill, Mass. It also signaled the low-point of my mood life during that span. Guilt, panic, anxiety and depression squiggled their way inside my mind. It wasn’t a particularly eventful day. I went to the ATM, CVS and the grocery store. Not like Friday when I visisted Lexington, site of the first shot of the American Revolution. But no matter where I go, my mind trudges along.

So to occupy the evening, I cooked a variation of the french onion pastina, a recipe from, I believe Michele Humes,  from the Serious Eats website, and the roasted sweet potato salad with red bell pepper, a recipe from Gabe Soria and Amanda Zug-Moore that appeared in Bon Appetit magazine (I used orange bell pepper). If it wasn’t for the beef stock, the entire meal would be a vegetarian delight. You could substitute vegetable stock for beef stock in the “pastina.” I didn’t make the Parmesan crisps.

This stuff took time to prepare and cook, but the payoff is worth it. And there’s leftovers. For the “pastina,” slicing the onions as fine as you can, as the recipe suggests, is crucial. Mine weren’t paper thin so it took  a while (probably 45 minutes until those bits turned a dark brown and amber patches meandered through the glossed onions).    

 

I substituted shortened strands of whole-grain spaghetti in place of acini di pepe (or other small pasta like orzo), and started pouring in beef broth without measuring. Cover the pot and cook until the pasta is soft to the tooth and has absorbed nearly all the liquid. I used one onion, whereas the recipe calls for two large for two servings.  And I probably threw in too much pasta. Anyway, this is a savory way to use spaghetti away from the tomato-based sauces. The beef stock gives it some heft and Parmesan, well, that just makes many foods better. Slurp the spaghetti, coated in the beef stock, which has a little flour and dried thyme mixed in. If you can find a good-quality beef stock, all the better. It might not be the most visually-stunning, or exciting-sounding dish, but it tastes good and it’s a recipe that could feed a group.

The roasted sweet potato salad with orange bell pepper (not red bell pepper as the recipe calls for) is a suitable side that is also a pleasant diversion.  I used balsamic vinegar in place of mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine) and omitted green onions. Make sure to cut the potatoes in UNIFORM chunks. Some of my cuts were larger and a little toothy. They also dried on the outside during roasting, so I didn’t use enough oil.  Other than that, this salad, with cilantro, is a nice change. The bell pepper strips are still crunchy and the balsamic didn’t overpower the ingredients other than maybe the sauteed-nearly-caramelized shallots. I wonder if the salad will be better if left to sit? I’ll let you know.

Have a great Memorial Day and enjoy the cooking, and eating!

Settling into Massachusetts

Hi everyone. I made it Massachusetts! Two of my roommates were so kind to meet me at the airport and ride on the “T”, the Boston area’s subway system. My landlord met two of us at the stop and drove us to the apartment. He set me up with a bed, dresser and Wednesday brought in a desk. I’ve been treated very well.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m here for a three-month internship with America’s Test Kitchen in Brookline, Mass. It’s my first time living on the East Coast, so each day will be part of a new adventure. I’m slowly learning how the “T” works and have taken the bus.

Of the 15 meals on Massachusetts soil, five included fish. Canned salmon mixed with mayonnaise went into 1 1/2 sandwiches for two lunches. Two haddock fillets stretched into two dinners and a snack-size lunch. The white-fleshed haddock was meltingly moist and flaky. It cooked in a 425-degree oven with kosher salt and black pepper for, about 14 minutes.

I’ve tried to keep the breakfast routine – Kashi Go Lean, granola and oatmeal. Oh, I look forward to granola and apple halves topped with peanut butter! The crunchy oat clusters with hints of coconut and raisins, with the creamy peanut butter spread from Harry & David on apples is pure delight. They have Empire apples in the store! For oatmeal, I have raisins, cinnamon, brown sugar and walnuts. Today’s rendition was heavy on milk and raisins and a bit too much brown sugar.

I had a bad headache Tuesday. It could be caffeine withdrawals. I haven’t had coffee since setting foot on Massachusetts soil. I broke down Wednesday afternoon and microwaved some water for green tea. And today I bought a coffee pot. Take that, headaches!

I’ve eaten out three times since Saturday. My roommate and I went to a pizza, sub place for lunch Sunday after church. The chicken souvlaki in pita/flat bread was delicious and a mouthful. It was packed with lettuce pieces that fell out with each bite. Chicken chunks, onions, tomato, a light dressing, just enough crumbled feta, all in a soft flat bread, coalesced into one fine lunch.

And today I had a tabbouleh, hummus sandwich from a shop in Cambridge near Harvard Square. It was more like a wrap with flatbread and came clothed in paper maybe shy of two minutes after ordering. I took a bite on the “T” and ate the rest sitting on a bench in the shade of a tree. The crunch of parsley leaves prevails with little bits of chopped tomato, a thin smear of hummus, and romaine pieces. The fresh filling hits the mark even if the bread is a tad tough. The sun bathes the Boston area with warmth. The coffee pot will be brewing its own warmth Friday morning.

Hmm…dinners down the line might be an egg frittata with zucchini and parmesan with wheat English muffins and apricot preserves and caramelized onions with bits of broken spaghetti in beef broth. It’s about simplicity at this point. Take care and please let me know what you’re cooking.

Home cooking comfort

 In less than two weeks I’ll be landing at Boston’s Logan International Airport (May 16). I am scheduled to start a three-month internship at America’s Test Kitchen in Brookline, Mass. The internship starts on May 26, so I’ll have some time to get acclimated to the area and the new living quarters.

Ah, I’ve been spoiled living at home, especially with cooking. Between equipment, fresh herbs in the backyard and spices in the cabinet, I’ve rarely given thought to the fortunes of having access to these items. Now, with moving to Massachusetts, the thought of baking brownies only to realize the apartment doesn’t have a suitable pan makes me tremble. My dad and I visited the place in March, but didn’t take a thorough kitchen inventory. Questions circulate such as: Will there be a coffee pot,  rubber spatula and a whisk? I guess I could ask the man renting out the room.

And what to do when the cupboard contains salt, pepper and cinnamon and I have a piece of fish, some brown rice and Swiss chard? Oh, it will be an adventure in more ways than one. Please check back as I will try to give updates to the meals I’m cooking.

So while I had some time at home and mom and dad were away in Lake Arrowhead last weekend, I made brown sugar shortbread, a recipe that appeared in Jenn Garbee’s story for the Los Angeles Times. On Saturday, for lunch, I baked red snapper filets. I topped the snapper with a mixture of bread crumbs from the freezer, a bit more than a tablespoon of mayonnaise-relish combination, a half to a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, chopped capers, chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley and lemon zest. The fish baked in a 425-degree oven for about 14 minutes. The bread crumbs turned golden (dark in spots) and crisped atop the tender fish (left side of plate).

The capers provided a salty punch to the tasty topping. I took some inspiration from America’s Test Kitchen’s television episode on oven-fried fish. Click here for a brief overview.  One tip: if the filet thins out toward one end, tuck it underneath, so the fish cooks evenly.

 

 I am a purist when it comes to shortbread. I prefer granulated sugar to brown sugar. This shortbread is buttery, crumbly, and moist. Just four ingredients, parchment paper, two eight-inch cake pans (ah the pans) and an oven and there’s shortbread to eat right now and some in the freezer. I could take some to Bible study on Wednesday night.

For dinner Saturday night, I made the fried pepper pasta recipe from this May’s edition of Saveur magazine, roasted asparagus finished with lemon-horseradish butter and bread with parsley butter.

I substituted dried guajillo chiles for the peppers and anchovy paste for filets. I cut 2 1/2 tomatoes into 1-to-1 1/2-inch pieces instead of cherry tomatoes. It was a good thing there were extra chiles. I burnt the first batch.

The recipe calls for you to toast the chiles in olive oil for 45 seconds. I went beyond that. Below left is the first batch. Below right is the second.

The anchovy paste sizzled, spread and sent smoke from the skillet. I turned the fan on and opened the side door.

If you are concerned about oil splatters on the stovetop, arrange towels around the pan. Didn’t do this, so cleanup also included time at the stovetop with glass cleaner and paper towels.

But dinner turned out tasty. The play of the  chiles, with a texture like a soft, thin and brittle beef jerky, with the sauce of sweet tomatoes

( I added some sugar), garlic and anchovy paste, and the bread crumbs was a delight. If you like heat, keep the seeds from the chiles. I took one bite and needed a few minutes for the tastebuds to calm.  I would make this dish again.

I kept the asparagus warm in a 200-degree oven, but the tips shriveled. The stalks still tasted earthy with the subtle addition of butter with horseradish and lemon zest. Hmmm…this butter may go well with salmon!

The 2007 Sainte-Croix, a blend of 50 percent  Syrah and 50 percent Merlot, tasted of sweet cherries. May not have been the best blend for this meal with the garlic, but it was a pleasure to drink.

Eat for the children

Sample local chefs’ creations. Mingle with friends or new faces. Raise money so children won’t go to bed hungry. All these opportunities are available at one place: The Island Hotel in Newport Beach.

Share Our Strength will hold its third annual Taste of the Nation Orange County fundraiser from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. May 1 at the hotel’s Pal Garden. Guests will have the chance to sample what area chefs are cooking and help a worthwhile cause - fighting childhood hunger in Orange County and the U.S. Amar Santana, 26, executive chef of Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s South Coast Plaza, will serve a scallop and shrimp chorizo with summer bean salad and parsley aioli. The jumbo scallops are chopped and added to shrimp to form the chorizo. Santana has served the chorizo as an amuse bouche at the restaurant and received a “good response” from customers.  Santana served a lamb confit at last year’s event.

Chef Bill Bracken of the host hotel, with chefs from hush Restaurant, Mr. Stox, Sage on the Coast and Bluefin, are scheduled to participate. Brown Forman will provide wines to pair with the food. The event will include an auction and the band OFFWHITE will provide live entertainment.

The event has raised more than $300,000 in Orange County since 1988.  County charities Orange County Community Partnership and Second Harvest Foodbank of Orange County will benefit from this year’s event. Funds provide grants to organizations in the U.S. and abroad to fight childhood hunger. The goal is to help children and families access nutritious food and address the underlying causes of hunger.  Each spring, more than 45 Taste of the Nation events are held across the U.S.

Cost is $75 per person with all proceeds going to combat childhood hunger. To purchase tickets, call 1-877-26-TASTE or click here for other information and getting to tickets.

Lunch to lighten cold blahs

Nothing like a tender throat and minor congestion to stir up a longing for soup, something restorative. Tomato soup was on my mind after watching an episode of America’s Test Kitchen for the first time. Christopher Kimball, founder and editor of Cook’s Illustrated, and a colleague made a tomato soup without cream or milk, so I decided to try it at home. I bought three tomatoes, thinking they would be sliced and go into fish sandwiches this week. Instead, they went into a soup for lunch. They used canned tomatoes on the show, but I substituted fresh instead. I roughly cut them and added them, along with some kosher salt, to softened chopped onions, minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and a bay leaf. After the tomatoes cooked for, say, 20 minutes, I added some bread cubes and stirred to incorporate. Then the mixture went into the blender for a pulse. If you are picky about bits of peel in your soup, cook the tomatoes in boiling water for 45 seconds to a minute, or until peels start to release. Place the tomatoes in a bowl of ice water, then remove the peels and proceed. (Peel tomatoes before you start cooking the soup).

Return the puree to a washed-out pot and add some chicken broth to thin to desired consistency. Check for seasoning and add a little brown sugar. I sat down and tasted the soup, then remembered to add brown sugar.

The soup was too sweet for me, but the brown sugar really brought out the spice from the crushed red pepper. This is a soothing soup, which is best served with a grilled cheese sandwich. A par-baked filone loaf from Trader Joe’s did the trick. This is good bread. The slices were too thick, so the cheese took awhile to melt. Once the cheese started oozing down the crust and onto

the pan, sizzles sprouted. On one end of the sandwich, some cheese actually crisped and attached to the crust in a thin flake. The havarti melted nice, and there was a slight tang. 

I  scrambled eggs last night and the texture turned out dreadful. They were mushy and lacked any form. It was a jumbled mess of sauteed mushrooms, ricotta, basil, dill, artichokes and caramelized onions. The eggs took on a greenish-gray hue. They packed flavor with the basil, but the texture was less than appealing. I might have stirred them too much and didn’t add enough butter to the pan. They stuck. It’s amazing how some techniques that seem basic – scrambling eggs, making grilled cheese – require an attention and know how, less they turn into something to endure instead of enjoy.

Apricots budding, change approaching

Mmm. I can almost feel the skin give way to soft, tart, sweet flesh. Or the juice that collects on the bottom of my mouth. Apricots are on the backyard tree, a sign that summer creeps closer. I await the day to collect the pale orange fruits and dream up ways to use them. Last year, they went into an *apricot pie and a chutney. We had plenty. They are well enough eaten out of hand. I actually like them raw. The interplay between sweet and tart is right on. They became very tart when baked in the pie. Ah, signs of spring and summer. The chives and sage look great. The thyme is doing just fine and my brother recently brought home an oregano plant. But will I be around to reap the apricot harvest?

I’m leaving in May for a three-month internship with America’s Test Kitchen (Boston Common Press Limited Press publishes Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country magazines). Sounds like I’ll be doing half the internship on the kitchen side – prep, help with food styling, gathering equipment - and the other half on the research end (calling a company and finding out its Parmesan cheese, for instance). I’ve got a place to live, which is about a 20 minute walk from the internship. I won’t bring a car and will have to learn the ins and outs of the “T”, Boston’s subway system. It’s going to be a change – leaving the home I’ve known in Mission Viejo, my family, friends and church. While I am away physically, they are only a phone call away. This is the time to seize an opportunity; to be out on my own, gain a sense of independence, explore a new area and meet new people. All of which to say, the season’s change and I am about to make a change with them. Embrace what you have. Savor every last bite. Please save some apricots.

• Apricot pie is an adaptation of a recipe that appeared in Comfort Me With Apples by Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine.

A Taste of Boston

My dad and I spent last weekend in the Boston area and neither of us sampled good ol’ New England clam chowder. The thick, creamy concoction of clams, potatoes and bacon didn’t grace my stomach with its richness. I know, you’re probably thinking, “How could you visit Boston and not have clam chowder?”. Truth be told, I generally stay away from soups with cream or butter when ordering out. As for entrees, that’s another story. But my dad and I managed to hit an appetizer portion of the area’s dining scene during our weekend stay. We arrived for dinner Friday night and ate breakfast and dinner out both Saturday and Sunday. We ate breakfast at the Marriott in Cambridge on Saturday.

Best meal all weekend: Dinner Saturday night at Green Street. This mellow, inauspicious spot off, you guessed it, Green Street, offers an intriguing menu of seasonal fare , which doesn’t take a half-hour to browse. The pork shoulder, braised in red wine with rosemary, over mascarpone polenta ($17) was delicious. The opague polenta was as creamy and smooth a polenta as I’ve had. The tender shredded pork could have been eaten with a spoon. I was looking for a casual spot and this place came up. It’s a small restaurant with a dining room that overlooks the bar. There aren’t too many inside when we arrive, but by the time we leave, this place has drawn in the crowds. And waiters are adept at refilling water.

Green Street

280 Green St. Cambridge, Mass. 02130

Hours: Sun – Wed. 5:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.; Thurs. – Sun. 5:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.

Ph: (617) 876-1655

We enjoyed breakfast at S & S Restaurant in Cambridge on Sunday morning. The place has served customers since 1919. I finished off my plate of peach granola pancakes, sausage and fruit. The pancakes are ideally cooked: brown on the outside, soft on the inside, with the occasional peach sliver. A few clusters of granola top the cakes. They also have the Nova Scotia omelette, with lox and sauteed onions which comes accompanied with home fries and a choice of toast, English muffin or bagel. 

S & S Restaurant

1334 Cambridge St.

Cambridge, Mass. 02139

Hours: Mon. – Wed. 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Thurs. – Fri. 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.; Sat. 8 a.m. – 11 p.m.; Sun. 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Ph: (617) 354-0777

Fax: (617) 354-6924

Favorite place combining atmosphere and food: Though it was a little noisy, the Parish Cafe and Bar is a fun, cozy hangout on Boylston Street. Judging from the amount of customers, this place has something going. The Parish Cafe combines lively vibe with an exciting list of sandwiches and entrees. The sandwiches come from various chefs in the area. We are seated in a few minutes. The concierge at our hotel said they have good wine and he was right. My glass of Merlot was soothing. The list of sandwiches fills one of a two-page menu. We both order from the other side. Cod cakes with tomato remoulade, potatoes and a refreshing corn salsa  is a deal at $10. My dad chooses cottage pie, ground beef , lamb and veal topped with peas, carrots, tomatoes and pan-fried mashed potatoes. The two cod cakes were mushy, but cottage pie, drizzled with demi-glace, was a hearty comfort. 

Parish Cafe and Bar

361 Boylston St.

Boston, Mass. 02116

Ph: (617) 247-4777

Fax: (617) 247-3210

Didn’t make it to No. 9 Park, Barbara Lynch’s restaurant, but still sampled a bit of the city’s restaurant scene. I’ll be back in a few months, set to start a three-month internship at America’s Test Kitchen (publishers of Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country magazines) in Brookline, Mass., so there’s a city left to explore and eat. Maybe I’ll sneak in some chowder.