My Newest Obsession

No recipe this time, but I felt the need to share with you my newest foodie obsession; Beef Carpaccio. Carpaccio is paper thin slices of raw beef (usually.) It can also be made by pounding beef into thin strips. It is up for debate as to who exactly invented Carpaccio, but some say it was Harry's Bar in Venice. Harry's also claims to have invented the Bellini (another favorite of mine.)

Over the past few months I have had the pleasure to try out two fine restaurant's Carpaccio. The first was The Barrel at 10 Stuyvesant St, between 11th St. and 12th St. It has quickly become my sister and my favorite Tapas restaurant. It is mildly pricey but cheap compared to other tapas places we have tried. Their menu is solid but it was the Carpaccio that had Lizzie and I rolling on the floor with delight. It is pounded beef tenderloin Carpaccio served with fresh greens, herbs, and an aioli sauce. The textures in this dish are AMAZING! Crispy, smooth, buttery, and delicious! (thebarrelnyc.com)


The second restaurant which I was lucky enough to dine at with my sister and our good friend Amber was the rather well known Market Table, at 54 Carmine Street. The Market Table is a restaurant in the Village specializing in seasonal ingredients and seafood. The food was all around good if a little heavy in the seasoning department. Their version of Carpaccio was a salad that paired the meat (which I think was sliced not pounded) with greens, crisp french fries, Parmesan cheese and a Dijon aioli. The pairing of the soft Carpaccio with the crisp salty french fries was a brilliant idea if a little over powering of the delicate beef flavor (markettablenyc.com)

Overall I think I like The Barrels offering a little more. The simplicity of the presentation highlighted the flavor of the meat perfectly and the pounded beef was melt in your mouth soft. And in the bang for your buck department The Barrel also wins. Their plate, which was the larger of the two, costs you $9 while Market table charges $12. Either way they were both delicious and I can't wait to try this beefy delicacy again. Let the craving begin!

Please note: The images are not mine. The first is from Boca Dorada and the others from the respective websites.

Enjoy
~K

For Mikey! spooooon!

So for those who don't live in Washington Heights or have Hispanic friends, Flan is an AMAZINGLY delicious egg custard. Flan originated in Spain but was so tasty it spread to France, England, Latin America, and even South East Asia. My mother used to make it growing up and her recipe yielded a much smaller version, so there were generally no second helpings. A good friend of the family Michael loved my moms Flan more than anyone I know and she made it whenever he came to dinner. Mikey was the only one allowed seconds!

Spanish Flan
-1 cup sugar
-1 can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
-1 can (12 oz) Evaporated Milk
-3 to 5 Eggs (you can decide how eggy you want it. I used 4 eggs and it turned out NOMMY!!)
-1 TBS Vanilla
-A few pieces of cinnamon bark.

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Set up a water bath by doing the following. Place a round glass pie tin in a large sheet cake pan with edges at least 2-3 inches high. Fill the cake pan with warm water and put the bath into the oven while it preheats. Keeping the pan warm will help keep the sugar from hardening.

2. In a large bowl add eggs, milks, and vanilla. Mix well!

3. In a small saucepan, melt the sugar. Do this on a low heat and stir often. Melt until the sugar is a nice golden liquid. Try not to cook too long or it will burn.

4. Remove bath from oven and pour caramel into the pie tin, completely coating the bottom. Pour custard on top of the caramel. Place as many pieces of whole Cinnamon as you would like on the top. I used 2 split into 4 parts. Cover with tin foil. Bake for 1 hour.

5. Remove from heat and cool completely. When cooled, flip the pan over onto a plate with sides. Ladle all remaining caramel over the top of the custard.

Enjoy
~K