Smoked Salmon

May 22nd, 2018 § 0 comments § permalink

Yes, salmon cooked properly in the unilateral style (as noted by HG in a previous post) is delicious. But, salmon really scales the heights to heaven when it is smoked. There are few better things than “Novy” smoked salmon sliced professionally at three old time New York stalwarts: Russ & Daughters; Zabar’s and Murray’s. Thankfully, these sources ship their products nationally. Go online for their treats. HG likes his smoked salmon on a warmed bialy coated with scallion cream cheese. Also good on buttered Jewish rye or pumpernickel (Zabar’s is a good source). Irish and Scotch smoked salmon are very good but denser and smokier than Novy. BSK likes smoked salmon with lots of capers and squeezes of lemon. HG eschews these adornments. BSK fries onions and warms slices of smoked salmon and adds them to lush softly scrambled eggs. A dusting of dill. Accompanied by buttered English Muffins and cups of hot coffee, this is breakfast (or brunch) glory. Gravlax is another salmon delight. Good quality raw filet of salmon is rubbed with a brown sugar, salt and pepper mix. Doused with vodka or gin. Smothered in fresh dill. Placed in the refrigerator under some heavy weights for a day or two. Then sliced thin and served with a mustard/dill sauce. HG first tasted gravlax on the deck of a Fire Island home owned by a very crazy lady and her husband, a skilled cook and bartender. After a long day in the sun and sea, HG ate gravlax and washed it down with icy martinis. Definition of the good life.

Veggie Delights

May 19th, 2018 § 0 comments § permalink

Leaving for glorious Prince Edward Island in a few days so BSK is trying to make use of all of what remains in the refrigerator. Last night, BSK did a fridge exploration and sourced vegetables: Baby bok choy. Red and yellow peppers. Broccoli. Zucchini. Half of a sweet onion and some fresh spring onions. A lot of fervent slicing and chopping followed as HG cooked a package of Chinese stir fry noodles. As vegetable oil sizzled in a wok, BSK began a disciplined stir fry. Onions, garlic and ginger cooked gently and then the process heated up as HG cooked each vegetable separately in order to maintain their integrity. The bok choy went in last as HG flavored the melange with mirin, soy sauce and chile garlic sauce (for a bit of heat). HG heated the noodles in a bit of oil and spread them on a heated platter. The veggies went on top and were sprinkled with some drops of sesame oil. A delicious (and healthy) meal.

Salmon Unilaterale

May 17th, 2018 § 0 comments § permalink

If there was an ASPCF (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Fish”), salmon would head the list of fish mangled and mishandled by careless (or unknowing) cooks. Invariably, salmon is overcooked, bland and tasteless. Salmon should only be cooked to medium rare so the interior is pink and flakes into silky nuggets. There are few better meals than properly cooked salmon and spring season asparagus. (Haricots vert or baby zucchini can be substituted). HG follows the French bistro method of cooking salmon: Unilaterale. The salmon filet is cooked (skin side down) in a small amount of vegetable oil on a hot cast iron pan. HG watches the fish carefully. Puts a fork in the fish and when it has achieved the right texture and color, HG turns it over for a very brief (30 seconds) browning. Then to a heated serving platter where the salmon gets a generous dousing of melted butter, lemon juice and dash of soy sauce. HG is very fond of the savory crisp salmon skin, which contains health supporting fish oils and other nutrients (Japanese often use it as a topping for sushi). BSK does not like salmon skin (too oily for BSK’s pristine palate). Thus, HG gets a bonus. BSK’s portion of the skin. Is this the secret to HG’s ongoing vitality?

Mom, Lebron and Michael Phelps

May 15th, 2018 § 0 comments § permalink

The latest AARP Bulletin calls cupping a fad. Cupping has been used by such athletic stars as Michael Phelps and LeBron James to relieve muscle pain and cramping. In traditional Chinese medicine, hot glass cups are placed along sensitive trigger points on the body to create suction and blood flow. HG’s beloved late Mom would sneer at the notion that cupping is a “fad.” She would stand with LeBron and Phelps and call cupping a useful, sometimes essential, part of the medical arsenal. Mom called cupping haiseh bynkes (hot cups). When HG was a very little fellow growing up in the East Bronx, “haiseh bynkes” were part of the cure when the little fellow was suffering from bronchitis. The “Bynkes Man” was summoned. He was a small, old Jewish man with a derby, whiskey breath and grimy clothes. He carried a satchel of glass cups and a candle stand used to heat the cups. The very hot cups were applied to ailing HG’s body. Ouch!! Ouch!! After the “haiseh bynkes” ordeal, HG drank a guggel muggle. This hearty beverage consisted of hot milk, honey and a very generous shot of rye whiskey (the “bynkes” man received a glass of the whiskey along with his modest payment). The old fashioned cure worked. Little HG was soon alert, lively and healthy. We should all acknowledge after the recent celebration of Mother’s Day: MOTHER KNOWS BEST. (Postscript: An ineffectual tactic or strategy to avert failure is known by the Yiddish phrase helft vee taiten bynkes. Translation: It helps like dead (cold) cups.)

The Bronx? No Thonx!

May 15th, 2018 § 0 comments § permalink

Yes, that was how the gifted master of light verse, Ogden Nash, sneered at HG’s hometown, a splendid borough. Stupid comment about a borough filled with wonders. One of the great zoos in the world. The best botanical gardens. The Bronx Community College in University Heights (the 55-acre campus was purchased from NYU in 1973) which contains outstanding architecture by Stanford White and modernist Marcel Breuer. Plus the majestic Hall of Fame, busts of famous (and not so celebrated) Americans. There’s Riverdale and Fieldston, lofty apartment houses plus distinguished houses (once occupied by people like Arturo Toscannini and Henry Morganthau). It’s a neighborhood that has housed many artists like Elie Nadelman who found studio space in the spacious residences. The Bronx has Arthur Avenue, the site of the best Italian food in the five boroughs. The Grand Concourse (and Promenade) features some of the most outstanding art deco architecture in New York. And, there’s some odd landmarks like Poe Cottage where Edgar Allen Poe allegedly composed some of his works. The Mott Haven neighborhood is now sprouting breweries and good ethnic restaurants plus the lofts are beginning to house some intrepid folk. Borough President James J. Lyons was furious at Nash’s putdown and demanded an apology. Nash apologized in 1964: “I can’t seem to escape the sins of my smart alec youth. I shudder to confess them. Now an older and wiser man I cry ‘The Bronx, God bless them'”.

Steak Row

May 11th, 2018 § 1 comment § permalink

There was a time (namely the 50’s and 60’s) when New York City was world capital of steak. And, the carnivorous center was Steak Row (E.45th Street from Lexington to First and its environs). The Daily Mirror was published an E. 45th and the Daily News on E. 42nd. In addition, the area housed lots of news and wire services, and feature syndicates. Some of the steak houses had news related names: Pen and Pencil, Press Box. The Editorial, Front Page, Late Edition, Fourth Estate. Other steak joints on 45th and the surrounding area were Joe and Rose, Palm, McCarthy’s, Pietro’s, Danny’s Hideaway, Assembly, Mike Manuche’s and Christ Cella. In the west side theater district there were Gallagher’s and Frankie & Johnny. On 23rd Street, the wonderful Cavanagh’s. Of course, in Brooklyn the kingpin was Peter Luger’s (still reigning). Of them all, HG’s favorite was Christ Cella. Not content to serve the best steaks, salads and cocktails HG ever savored, Christ Cella would greet the spring season with the ultimate platter of shad, shad roe and bacon (Christ Cella was one of HG’s seven favorite New York restaurants of all time. The others were Le Pavillon, Fornos, Luchow’s, Gage and Tollner, Gitlitz Delicatessen and Keen’s. Only Keen’s remains). When HG/BSK lived in Colorado, their favored dining spot was the Denver branch of Palm. Unlike Palm on Second Avenue in New York (“Where Tough Guys Feed Big Shots”), The service was gentle and friendly in the western mode. HG’s favorite dish was sliced rare sirloin served over a tossed salad. BSK replicates this dish, improving it with lush blue cheese dressing. Like New York, Denver Palm adorns its walls with cartoons of local celebrities. As a leading local PR pro, HG felt like a Big Shot as HG dined beneath a flattering cartoon of HG’s handsome mug.

The Drug Store

May 10th, 2018 § 0 comments § permalink

In HG’s youth, The Bronx was dotted with small “drug stores.” They were never called “pharmacies” and the man in charge was a “druggist,” not a “pharmacist.” The drug stores have disappeared, replaced by the huge impersonal pharmacy chains: Walgreens, CVS and in New York, Duane Reade. The old time druggist presided over his domain behind a counter with a background of multi-colored apothecary jars. He was a valuable resource in Bronx neighborhoods. He performed quasi-medical tasks like removing a cinder from an eye, putting iodine on a scraped knee. He gave free medical advice. If things looked grim, he would say: “See a doctor.” Timid young men would whisper “Trojans” to the druggist and would receive the condoms without comment. Then the condoms would nestle in a wallet (often for years) until the long awaited romantic moment arrived.

Bronx Bakeries: Goyish

May 9th, 2018 § 0 comments § permalink

Okay. “Goyish” means not Jewish. And, “goyish” bakeries abounded in The Bronx of HG’s young days. The Cushman’s chain was venerable. It had a 109-year history with the last unit (in the Port Authority Bus Terminal) closing in 2014. At its height, Cushman’s had 45 stores in New York. Closed them in 1964. Cushman stores had a makeover in the 1930’s. They were instantly recognizable with their beautiful art deco exteriors. Art deco design denoted optimism during the dark days of the Great Depression as exemplified by the exquisite Grand Concourse apartment buildings that can still be viewed today. Cushman’s sold splendid cookies and a lush, egg shaped pastry filled with custard. Hanscom’s was another big chain with exterior design by architect Horace Ginsbern (later the favorite architect of post-World War Two apartment house developers in New York). Their chocolate cream pie was heavenly. The chain went out of business in 1956. Sometimes little HG took a long walk to the Italian bakeries on Arthur Avenue off Fordham Road. Brought back glorious loaves of Italian bread, pignolia cookies and cannoli. (During their New York days. HG/BSK’s favorite Italian bakery was Zito’s on Bleecker Street. Incomparable loaves). The greatest of all bakeries was Sutter’s. Spacious store on the Grand Concourse in The Bronx plus branches in Manhattan (Greenwich Village) and Brooklyn (Flatbush). Sutter’s utilized three baking styles–French, Danish and Viennese. Wonderful croissants and brioche. Pecan rings, And (sorry, Paris) the best baba au rhum in the world.

Bronx Bakeries: Jewish

May 8th, 2018 § 2 comments § permalink

All main shopping avenues in The Bronx of yesteryear had a “Jewish” bakery. Yes, there were non-Jewish bakeries spread throughout the Bronx and HG will describe them in a following post. But, in HG’s youth, the Jewish bakery on West Kingsbridge Road was the dispenser of joy. Bagels, Bialys, “pletzels” (onion topped flat breads); onion rolls,crisp skinned rolls dotted with poppy seeds, rye bread, pumpernickel bread, corn bread. All of these were worthy companions of the Sunday feast of cream cheese with lox, sturgeon, whitefish, sable, kippered salmon. Plus pickles, olives, sliced tomatoes and onions. Plentiful coffee (and a few shots of brandy). Big time smoked fish jamboree. The bakery also carried a variety of cookies (not great), cheesecake (great); a version of Italian almond biscotti called “mondelbrot” (great), jelly doughnuts and crullers (fair); “mondels” , hollow little balls of dough to be added to soup. HG’s late Mom made tiny balls of dough and baked them into a sticky loaf with honey and ginger. This was called “taigelach” (super great). She also made cinnamon and walnut “rugelach” (ultimate state of the art). Today’s rugelach sold by everyone from Zabar’s to Whole Foods are a pallid imitation. Elaborate, high-cal butter cream cakes were a staple at the bakery. HG’s Mom and Dad brought them to the apartments of friends when they gathered for an evening of gossip, pinochle, Russian tea and vishniak (cherry brandy). The friends reciprocated and little HG ate a left over sliver with breakfast.

Thai Treats

May 8th, 2018 § 0 comments § permalink

HG is very fond of the fiery deliciousness of Thai cuisine. Outside of Bangkok, of course, the best Thai dishes can be found in Los Angeles, Chicago and, oddly, Las Vegas. The multi-ethnic borough of Queens is starting to bubble with authentic Thai food, but it lags behind the other cities mentioned. Since HG doesn’t have a private jet, the hungry boy must be content with Thai food in Santa Fe. The Santa Fe north outpost of Thai dining is the newly opened J & N Thai Bistro in the sprawling DeVargas Center. HG had a splendid bargain ($12) lunch special there last week. Two crispy vegetable spring rolls. Flavorful cup of vegetable broth with tofu and scallions. Spicy platter of not too sweet pad thai (Many Thai restaurants make this sugary, catering to the American sweet tooth). Happily, the medium flat rice noodles were not overdone but had toothsome spring. Lovely finish: A serving of two grapes, a raspberry and two blackberries. Want to go back and taste the Tom Yum soup (sour and spicy) and the green chicken curry. The Santa Fe south outpost of Thai goodies is Thai Cafe and Noodle Treats on Zafarano Drive. Haven’t tried it but will be sure to devour some of their noodle varieties.

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