HUNGRY GERALD

Feasting and festivities seem to go together. The Day After Christmas Dinner was a festive feast for a table of 12. And, the dozen members of La Famiglia were of good appetite. Mushroom soup (shitakes, cremini, porcini). Brisket and gravy; haricots vert, kale salad; SJ’s super-buttery, creamy, smooth mashed potatoes. Plus an unusual dish of Middle Eastern carrots (abundant cumin and garlic). Pear Clafouti and whipped cream for dessert. Excellent wines (white and red). Time for confession: HG overdid the pre-dinner vodka and the post-dinner Lesley R.-crafted limoncello. Head and tummy whirled about at bedtime but had eased by morning wake-up. Obviously, the purity of HG’s soul and the organic integrity of Lesley R.’s cuisine banished the toxins.

Bao, that puffy Chinese bun often filled with a savory or sweet interior, is becoming New York’s new trendy nosh. HG has always loved Bao since his first encounter with the tasty treat — stuffed with savory pork — at Nom Wah Tea House in New York’s Chinatown during the early 50’s (at that time, Nom Wah was the only place in New York serving dim sum). HG is not suffering Bao deprivation in New Mexico. Ziggy’s, a splendid shop in Santa Fe, stocks frozen pork buns from O’Tasty Foods, Inc. (along with scores of other international culinary items). O’Tasty’s Bao is a great product (HG likes them with his morning coffee). O’Tasty is a leading supplier to good Chinese restaurants throughout the United States (you’ve probably enjoyed their products without being aware of their origin.) The company produces gyoza, dumplings, su mai and potstickers in addition to the buns. They are mostly a wholesale supplier but if you want them to ship some good dim sum products to you, give them a call. 1-800-953-1229. (Company is based in California).

The United States is divided between people who love garlic and people who abhor garlic. Garlic lovers are warm hearted, intelligent, handsome. They are expert and ardent in the intimacies of the bedroom. People who hate garlic live in “gated communities,” vote Republican and believe that the Olive Garden is an ethnic restaurant. Suffice it to say that garlic-haters are not Casanovas. Anchovies are a more complex matter. HG knows many otherwise estimable people who don’t like anchovies. They don’t even like them in a Caesar Salad where they are a vital ingredient. BSK is an artist of the anchovy. She uses them in vegetable stir fries, sautes and stews where the anchovies dissolve imparting an umami flavor as they enhance the other ingredients. Anchovies are useful in larding a leg of lamb in the French provincial manner. HG likes them with roasted Piquillo peppers and a dash of olive oil. And, when HG wants some simple comfort HG makes a sauce of anchovies, garlic, Italian parsley and hot pepper flakes and pours it over some al dente linguini. Heavily salted anchovies are sold in crates in some Italian neighborhood groceries. They have to be soaked in water and rinsed. HG has never managed to get it right. Instead, HG buys high quality anchovy filets in jars rather than the tinned variety.

On a chill morning nothing beats a steaming bowl of congee (also known as jook). When HG was resident in a Vancouver loft, HG often walked to nearby Congee Noodle House for a bowl (accompanied by pork rice crepes, shrimp wontons or chile fried squid). There were some 20 varieties of congee served there. Most of the Chinese diners specified an ominous, black “thousand year egg” be popped in their bowl, HG opted for chopped oysters, black mushrooms or large prawns. The congee was topped with gingko nuts. It takes a bit of time to make proper congee but HG has discovered a time saving remedy. H Mart, the Korean grocery chain and online purveyor of all foods Korean, offers packaged Ottogi Rice Porridge. Boil a package with four cups of water (stir until you get the right consistency) and you have a very pleasant pot of jook. HG had some this morning accompanied by a few very good steamed pork buns produced by the O’ Tasty Food Co. HG added some chopped Pacific oysters to his congee plus a dash of the inevitable sriracha. Topped it with some Planter’s Cocktail Peanuts (sounds odd but tastes great). Was instantly transported to Vancouver, or as the natives dub it, Van Kong.

Yes, ’tis the season to be jolly and adding to seasonal merriment is Panettone. The Italian sweet bread, which originated in Milan, makes its annual holiday appearance in an oddly shaped box. The bread is yeasty, fragrant and studded with raisins and candied fruit. Delicious. Like a fruit cake that is actually good to eat. It is a Christmas staple not only in Italy, but also in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Italians like it for dessert (topped by a scoop of mascarpone) with a glass of sweet wine like Moscato d’Asti. HG likes it for breakfast. Gently warmed and served with marmalade or a drizzle of maple syrup. Good for dessert with vanilla ice cream. You can buy the Bonifante imported Panettone at Zabar’s (expensive); a cherry Panettone at Dean &Deluca (very expensive, naturally); a tinned one with glazed chesnuts at Williams-Sonoma (expensive) and the house brand one at Trader Joe’s (very cheap). Penny pinching HG goes for TJ’s version.

HG has very mixed, odd feelings about that estimable vegetable — fennel. Does not like it roasted. Does not like it slicked thickly in salads. However, shaved paper-thin and mixed with slices of radish and young turnips, doused with good Sicilian olive oil and plenty of sea salt and cracked pepper — a very nice appetizer. Fennel seeds are worthy additions to traditional Italian sausages — the kind that used to be sold (grilled with onions and peppers) off Greenwich Village trucks. Frankies Spuntino in Brooklyn does a very good fennel salad which HG and BSK have been unable to duplicate at home. In HG’s opinion, fennel is at its best braised in chicken broth with plenty of butter. Serve it with poached or grilled salmon. Perfect. Radicchio is another vegetable that arouses mixed emotions. Don’t like it raw but grilled it’s a treat. Belgian endive is always wonderful — leaves in salads; braised; grilled lightly or served in a gratin with cream and cheese. No ambiguity. An odd thought about fennel. The Italian word for fennel is finocchio. This is also an Italian derogatory term for homosexuals. (Recall the scene in “Godfather One” where Marlon Brando upbraids the Sinatra-like singer for acting like a “Hollywood finocchio”?). Don’t understand the derivation.

Last night BSK sauteed calamari in olive oil with a heap of sauteed garlic and hot and sweet Greek-style pickled cherry peppers. HG fried some catfish filets (Dust the fish in Zatarain’s Fish Fry, dip in beaten egg, roll in panko crumbs and fry in very hot grapeseed oil). BSK stir fried some baby bok choy. Lemon wedges, Frank’s Hot Sauce, chilled Spanish rose. Big time feast. HG first encountered the calamari with peppers dish in Rhode Island, where it is a regional specialty. HG was cycling along the bike path between Riverside and Bristol some years ago. Hunger took over. HG stopped at a plain spoken little diner alongside the path. Ordered the calamari-and-pepper appetizer and a bowl of linguini with white clam sauce. The “appetizer” must have contained about two pounds of calamari and the pasta dish could have fed four hungry long distance cyclers. HG, a champion Clean Plate Ranger, met the challenge. Finished it all. HG has wanted to repeat this modest snack. The restaurant, alas, has closed. Another dismal sign that fast food chain hamburgers are diminishing local food treats.

No, HG is not referring to that member of the Russian marten family whose luxurious pelts are favored by the world’s wealthiest and most luxuriously dressed women. HG refers to the fish known as sable (or black cod or sablefish). Its habitat is the deep waters of the North Pacific. Smoked sable, in HG’s opinion, is far preferable to smoked sturgeon. Moister. A more buttery taste. A better mouth feel. The best sable comes from the venerable Russ & Daughters on New York’s lower east side. Happily, it can be ordered online. HG likes it on Jewish rye bread or Russian pumpernickel lavishly spread with good cream cheese. A grind of black pepper is obligatory. HG banishes lemon as interfering with the taste. Accompanies the treat`with icy vodka. But, this isn’t the only way to eat sable. Trader Joe’s now carries very estimable frozen unsmoked filets of sable. All they need is a gentle saute. Flavor them with a bit of soy sauce and maple syrup. The salty/sweet mix will accent the richness of the fish. Delicious and healthy. Lots of valuable Omega 3.

When HG was a very, very little boy lamb chops were his favorite dish. The little guy called them “ompalomps.” HG hated spinach. So, his cunning Mom buried the spinach in buttery mashed potatoes and HG consumed every drop. Okay, enough sickeningly cute kiddy memories. Lamb chops remain an HG favorite. Best lamp chops ever were the chops at Leon Lianides’ great Greenwich Village restaurant, the Coach House. The rack of lamb was also wonderful there, only matched by the rack at Le Stella, the Paris brasserie. But the marvel, the ultimate not-to-be-equalled rack is found at an unlikely place: The Grand Hotel Restaurant in Big Timber, Montana. HG discovered it because Big Timber is midway, between Denver and Vancouver, so it was a logical place to stop when motoring between the two cities. At the Grand Hotel you accompanied the lamb with a robust red wine from Walla Walla, Washington (HG thinks Wall Walla has the best red in the universe). Another favorite of lamb lovers is the mutton chop at New York’s venerable Keen’s Chop House. You can get it with Yorkshire Pudding and it is a treat. (The old Gage & Tollner’s in Brooklyn served their mutton chop with corn fitters, a nice idea). BSK likes to butterfly a leg of lamb, marinate it in red wine, garlic and herbs and then barbecue it to crusty perfection. Serves it with Greek Avoglemono sauce (eggs and lemon juice are the principal ingredients). Big time gourmandizing.

With the Pacific Ocean on one side and lofty mountain peaks on the other, the Canadian city of Vancouver is one of the world’s great places. A joy to live in. A joy to visit. HG and BSK spent some eight years there in a loft overlooking the sparkling skyscrapers and natural wonders of the town. Their neighborhood was Mt. Pleasant, the epicenter of Canadian cool. Full of boutiques, coffee shops and wonderful Asian restaurants. The neighborhood is still a bit gritty and that’s what gives it some zing. If you want to visit (and you really shouldn’t miss it) rent a furnished apartment in the Mt. Pleasant nabe (there are no hotels to recommend but airbnb.com has lots of inexpensive apartment listings). Much to do and see in the glorious town but HG will just guide you to some of the best (and cheapest) dining you can walk to from your rented digs. Breakfast at sprawling Congee Noodle House. Name says it all — great congee and noodle soups plus splendid won tons, rice crepes and bean curd. Chutney Villa is a warm and friendly South Indian spot with great dosas, curries and creative chutneys. Try Peaceful Restaurant for beef rolls and dan dan noodles. Hime Japanese for sushi and Les Faux Bourgeois for down home bistro favorites. Eight 1/2 Bar is where the young hipsters drink and snack. Ten minute walk from Main Street in Mt. Pleasant is Szechuan Chonquing at 2808 Commercial Drive. (The “Drive” is home to alternative culture types, punks, junkies and lots of laid back Canadian families). Szechuan Chonquing is an HG favorite for dim sum. No carts. Order off the menu. Everything arrives hot and freshly made. This is another spot for dan dan noodles (lots of fire in this restaurant’s version). These suggestions can give you a taste of Vancouver. Yes, there are lots of wonderful restaurants outside of Mt. Pleasant. Vij’s, Kirin and Tojo’s are three greats. Go and discover.