HUNGRY GERALD

Back in New Mexico where our gardens are ablaze with color. Daffodils, tulips, forsythia, lilac bushes. HG/BSK ambled through the apple orchard which is in full blossom. The fragrance is delicious. Fish are leaping about in the Koi pond and Toby, The Wonder Dog, is leaping in pleasure–delighted at the HG/BSK homecoming. BSK prepared one of HG’s favorite dishes: A roast spatchcocked chicken. BSK marinated the succulent Bell & Evans bird at room temperature in a marinade of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and rosemary. The nicely browned, juicy chicken (and plenty of herbaceous, garlicky juices) was served with BSK’s smashed potatoes. (BSK crushes boiled potatoes with chicken stock and then adds sliced scallions). The next day, HG cut the left over chicken in slivers. Sliced Persian cucumbers, sweet onions, carrots and radishes. Cooked and quickly cooled (under cold water) some Chinese cellophane noodles. Made a dressing of Vietnamese Red Boat Fish Sauce, brown sugar, water, sesame oil and red chile flakes. Mixed everything together, Topped the platter with torn leaves of mint and basil.and a shower of chopped, salted peanuts. A bottle of Sriracha on the table for added heat, Drank cold Anchor Steam Ale with this vaguely Vietnamese dish. Pleasant eating on a warmish spring night.

Back in New Mexico. Blue skies. Bright sun. Temperatures in the 60’s. Much cooler when the sun goes down making HG/BSK’s living room fireplace a colorful and warming amenity. Delightful reunion with Toby, HG/BSK’s much loved dog. Polly B., neighbor, friend and much lauded photographer, gave HG/BSK a homecoming dinner. This was followed by a brief visit from Antony and Claudia C. (A talented couple: He manages a mutual fund and she’s a journalist-author-radio interviewer). BSK’s magical meat loaf for dinner. HG is taking advantage of the brief stay in the Land of Enchantment by ingesting loads of menudo and green chile smothered enchiladas at favorite neighborhood eateries. Next week HG/BSK will be off to Florida (St. Petersburg) to visit BSK’s 95-year-old Mom. Since it will be Spring Break, HG/BSK will be joined by SJ and family for five days at a beachfront condo. The Brooklynites need to thaw after the vicious, frigid and almost endless Northeast winter. Anticipate much sun, sea and seafood fun in St. Pete.

Oh, joy!! In the chilly weather of early Spring (or any weather, for that matter) HG longs for a giant steaming bowl of Pho, the glorious Vietnamese noodle soup. (Apologies to my beloved late Mom: Your chicken soup was great but Pho is even better). HG has bewailed the lack of Pho in Santa Fe. Then, early this week, HG discovered the very plain spoken Saigon Cafe, a family owned and operated little restaurant on Cordova Street. Topping the menu was Pho Bo, a Pho with beef and rice noodles. HG was misty eyed as he surveyed a very big bowl and a platter of fresh mint, bean sprouts and sliced jalapeno peppers. The broth was powerful and flavorful. The noodles were properly al dente with great mouth feel. Lots of thinly sliced tender beef as well as some Vietnamese sausage. As good as any Pho HG ever tasted in New York, Vancouver or Denver’s Federal Boulevard (home to a score of good Vietnamese restaurants). HG will become a Saigon Cafe regular. There are about 20 Pho variations on its menu (including a very fiery chicken Pho with a curry base.) The menu also has about a dozen variations on chow fun (wide noodles) and egg noodle lo mein. Everything is modestly priced. Slightly more expensive is shrimp cooked in a clay pot and catfish in hot and sour soup. Intend to try everything.

Sunday. That’s the day when HG gathers the week’s accumulation of garbage, newspapers, bottles, magazines, junk mail and drives it off to the nearby Pojoaque Waste Disposal Facility a.k.a. The Dump. A few Sundays back, it was cold with a hint of snow in the air. (No, not the murderous East Coast freeze but cold enough to chill aged HG). So, after the weekly chore it was off to warm and friendly El Parasol in Pojoaque. Earthy, down home New Mexican cuisine. HG’s favorites have long been El Parasol’s menudo, posole and arroz con pollo. Some time ago, HG mentioned to the proprietor Jose Atencio, a very genial and efficient host, that it would not be amiss if he added some vegetarian dishes to the menu. This might prove particularly attractive to the vegetarian Sikhs who live close to El Parasol in large ashrams, reasoned HG. And, so it came to pass. Señor Atencio now provides vegetarian enchiladas plus a very lush chile relleno burrito. On this frigid Sunday, surrounded by joyous Hispanic families, HG dug into the health food dish supreme: A Calabacitas burrito smothered in fiery real deal New Mexico green chile sauce. The big flour tortilla was stuffed with zucchini, yellow squash, corn and a bit of onion. A lusty layer of cheddar cheese was added, Rolled up and heated, the burrito put on a heavy overcoat of El Parasol inimitable green chile. Farewell, cold. Hello, savory satisfaction.

The temperature in HG/BSK’s New Mexico neighborhood has been in the low thirties lately. This may seem like tropical weather to those unfortunate folks who live in the Northeast but it seems frigid for the fortunate residents of The Land of Enchantment. That means comfort food for dinner. HG/BSK had a busy day so didn’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen. Sam Sifton’s New York Times recipe for “Vaguely Vietnamese Slow Cooker Pork Tacos” seemed like a good idea. Dusted off the slow cooker (haven’t used it in some time). The pork butt was popped into the slow cooker with the hoisin-fish sauce-ginger-garlic-onion-sesame oil mixture. Began cooking at 12:30. Turned off cooker at seven PM. BSK made a great cole slaw suggested by Sifton (This is a keeper. Perfect with any Asian food). Warmed flour tortillas. Pulled apart the tender and juicy pork. Ladled pork on the tortillas (with a few sprigs of cilantro). A great dinner. HG put a scallion and some dashes of Frank’s Louisiana Hot Sauce Ketchup in HG’s soft taco. The appetizing slow cooked pork can be utilized in a number of ways. HG intends to eat the pork tucked into some endive and romaine leaves. Should be good as a topping for room temperature sesame oil-slicked cellophane noodles with bean sprouts and chopped scallions. Looks like the HG/BSK slow cooker won’t be collecting dust anymore.

In the early days of television (1954) HG and a colleague recently arrived in New York from California, wrote TV news programs that were broadcast nationally. The news was illustrated with still photos (they were called “telops”) which were transmitted by telephone wire to the TV stations (news film was introduced at a later date). HG and his pal were swift and nimble news writers and photo selectors. It was fun. International News Service, the Hearst wire service (later absorbed by United Press) was HG’s employer. INS was housed in the Daily Mirror building on E. 45th Street and HG usually lunched in the hole-in-the-wall Greek diner off the building’s lobby. But, knowing that his California buddy missed Mexican food, HG invited him to lunch at Manhattan’s only Mexican restaurant, Xochitl. A mistake. “This is a bad joke,” he declared in reference to both the food and the high price of lunch. In the 1960’s HG/BSK visited friends in California (their first trip to the state) and were determined to eat “real” Mexican food. Their friends (not foodies) took them to a nearby Taco Bell (then only in California). HG/BSK found it satisfactory but felt there was something missing. HG thought about all of this at a Sopaipilla Factory dinner last night (the eatery is in Pojoaque, New Mexico, a few minutes from HG/BSK’s home). HG/BSK and their visiting eight-year-old grandson, Haru, feasted on menudo, enchiladas, green and red chile of a quality simply unimaginable to a New Yorker of the 1960s. Not so to present-day New Yorkers like grandson Haru, who knocked off a bunch of chicken tacos declaring them to be “awesome” with the caveat that, as a Brooklyn guy who regularly dines in Sunset Park (a Mexican neighborhood near his home), he has devoured many an authentic taco. In fact New York is having such a Mexican food renaissance (with both high end and low down options) that HG’s Californian pal would probably find much to smile about. As part of this renaissance, HG is looking forward to next month’s opening of Rosie’s, Restaurateur Daughter Victoria’s next New York restaurant. This will feature farm-to-table Mexican cooking. (Husband/chef Marc Meyer has just returned from a two-week visit in Mexico with Diane Kennedy, the ultimate authority on Mexican cuisine). Meanwhile, HG will be off to nearby El Parasol to give visiting Haru another taco fix.

There are few things more warming and comforting on a cold winter night than a big, steaming bowl of smoky fish chowder. The temperature dipped downward last night. There was a light dusting of snow. Logs blazed in the fireplace. Yo Yo Ma’s musical magic (some unaccompanied Bach cello compositions) poured out of the Bose. Candles flickered on the table. And, of course, to make this tableau of New Mexico winter magic complete, there was smoky fish chowder. Here’s how BSK makes the dish. Thick slices of peppered bacon are fried until crisp. Removed. Some bacon fat is left in the pan and butter is added. Chopped onions are cooked until softened. Dusted with hot, smoked Spanish paprika. White wine goes into the pan, whole milk, a sprig of thyme and chunks of Yukon Gold potatoes — all to be enveloped in the folds of some nice fish stock. Cooked until potatoes soften. At that moment, BSK tosses in two dozen scrubbed little neck clams in their shells. As they begin to open, a pound of Icelandic cod is added and cooked for about four minutes. The thyme is removed, crisp bits of bacon are sprinkled over the dish. Some pats of butter are popped in to add golden tones. Saltine crackers and a bottle of red Rioja complete the meal. The result is warm contentment.

Yes, that’s been the strident order of Moms for generations. Rebellious little HG bypassed vegetables (except for hidden treasures — little mounds of buttery mashed potatoes enclosing spinach). These days, because of BSK’s wizardry, HG is a vegetable lover. Here are some BSK specialties: Haricot verts cooked to the nice midpoint between Paris bistro soggy and health addict raw. Snow pea pods stir fried with ginger and garlic. Fried chopped zucchini and peppers plus corn kernels (best accompaniment for Adobo dusted pan fried pork chops). Thanksgiving-style roast brussels sprouts with chestnuts. This is just a sampling. BSK outdid herself last week with two surprising vegetable dishes. BSK followed Sam Sifton’s New York Times recipe for rotisserie-style Greek chicken (BSK showered the crispy chicken slices with feta cheese, kalamata olives and chopped parsley). The surprise was in the salad which augmented the chicken. Inspired by the Ottolenghi cookbook, “Jerusalem,” BSK roasted olive oil gilded cauliflower nuggets. Mixed them with chopped celery, pomegranate seeds and walnuts. Dressed them with a mix of olive oil, lemon juice, cinnamon and maple syrup (that’s right, maple syrup). A wow. This was followed by a dessert of nut brownies slicked with peanut butter icing prepared by dinner guest Karen K., neighbor, movie producer and New Mexico Dessert Queen. BSK’s next triumph was based on brussels sprouts. (BSK long ago banished HG’s antipathy toward “fairy cabbages”). BSK sautéed quartered sprouts in olive oil with garlic and thin shallot slices. Added chicken stock and cooked until the sprouts were barely tender. Tossed in some almost done penne. Continued cooking a few more minutes. When done, BSK added a goodly amount of parmesan, shredded sage leaves and a generous half pound of crisply fried thick cut preservative free bacon. A shower of Aleppo pepper. The result: A supreme pasta dish.

For scores of years HG’s very unhealthy breakfast consisted of endless cups of black coffee and numerous Marlboro cigarettes, all consumed while reading The New York Times (HG’s morning hands were always stained by Times print). Much has changed. HG now reads The New York Times online. No cigarettes. Cafe latte. And, nourishing, often very hearty, breakfast meals. Most often HG has a big bowl of fresh fruit and Greek yogurt drizzled with plenty of Turkish honey (this is one occasion where the Greek and Turkish cultures are in harmony). The other perpetual is organic coarsely cut oatmeal (BSK adds lots of dried fruit to the cereal). For some reason, Sunday morning is a time for eggs. BSK is an exert poacher and scrambler. Thus, there are poached eggs on buttered Thomas English Muffins. Or, poached eggs on a bed of Geechie Boy Stone Ground Grits (provided by SJ). Crisp rashers of bacon always accompany these dishes. HG is very fond of soft, voluptuous scrambled eggs with Alaskan red caviar and creme fraiche. BSK makes this perfectly; however, it is in the realm of omelets that BSK demonstrates her true mastery. Here are some of the fillings: Cheese, fried onions, asparagus, mushrooms, mixed chopped herbs, spinach…and, surprisingly, super spicy Korean kimchee. A BSK omelette is always lightly browned on the outside. Creamy on the inside. Perfect. (SJ also does great omelettes. Must be an inherited talent). When HG goes out for breakfast he consumes a cheese enchilada topped with a sunny side fried egg and smothered in spicy red and mellow green chile sauce (In New Mexico this topping is called “Christmas.”) Best source for this dish is Sopaipilla Factory in Pojoauque (15 minute drive north of Santa Fe). When HG is really hungry in the AM, HG goes to Tune Up Cafe in Santa Fe for the eatery’s massive breakfast burrito filled with eggs, potatoes and thick cut bacon. There’s a ton of fiery green chile on the plate but HG always asks for more. HG may express some nostalgia for the past, but breakfast has never been better than the present.

No, Santa Fe isn’t Vancouver (or the Flushing neighborhood of New York) but HG still manages to enjoy some authentic, savory Asian cooking. Talin Market sells a large variety of international food. Lots of Indian spices, Chinese, Korean and Indonesian imports, etc. One corner of the store is a ramen bar serving the noodle soups as well as specialty teas. And, then there’s the pop-up restaurant: Every Monday a Szechuan family takes over and produces dumplings, fiery dan dan noodles, delicious bao sandwiches, hot and sour soup, special egg drop soup and other delights. It has become so popular that Talin has installed extra dining tables to meet the demand. The dumplings (pork, shrimp, lamb or vegetarian) are fresh and juicy. The dips range from traditional to Szechuan mai lai mouth numbing goodness. The bao sandwiches are creative (a bargain at $3.75). The “Duckwich”, described as “The best Asian sandwich”, contains a generous piece of roast duck plus green apple slices and scallions. The braised pork belly sandwich has finely shredded cabbage and an exotic red sauce. On Friday and Saturday, Talin offers Vietnamese spring rolls and Japanese curries. The longtime Santa Fe standby for sushi, sashimi and other Japanese delights is Shohko Cafe. Ramen is served but the restaurant’s specialty is great, greaseless tempura prepared with farm to table ingredients. HG is also very fond of the restaurant’s meticulous sushi creations, grilled fish and unagi hand rolls. Santa Fe has a few Indian restaurants but, with the aid of the very good VIJ’s cookbooks, HG/BSK confine their Indian meals to home cooking. However, one of HG’s favorite Indian foods is the Dosa, a lovely chickpea pancake served off the grill and consumed with a variety of fillings, sauces and chutneys. Similar to, but lighter than, the Mexican tortilla. Difficult to make at home. Thus, HG was overjoyed to see a sign on Cerrillos Road advertising the imminent opening of a South Indian restaurant—Paper Dosa–specializing in these delights. For a small city, Santa Fe continues to astound with its great variety of taste experiences (plus an overabundance of art, music, cinema, theater and other aspects of culture).