Chez Christine

Neptune Oyster, Boston

Neptune Oyster in Boston's North End has a special place in my heart.

Up until August, it was the place to go for hot or cold lobster rolls, interesting crudo plates, and of course, oysters and clams on the half shell.  The design of the restaurant is surprisingly similar to that of Pearl in NYC, but the menu veers away from New England and incorporates a bit of Italian in there also.

Then came August and everything changed.

H & I had always wanted to go to Neptune's on a Monday night for their famous lobster spaghettini special.  We were only in Boston for two more weeks before moving to San Francisco, so we were trying to squeeze in as many favorite restaurants as possible.

I, unfortunately, was feeling grouchy that long, rainy Monday.  H wisely knew that the grouchiness probably came from hunger and suggested we go to Neptune.  Off we went and we had a fabulous meal.  Then came the big surprise when H proposed in the Public Garden!

So last week we decided to go back to Neptune and relive the fateful meal all over again, this time with H being more relaxed and me vowing not to be grouchy.  Word of caution: the lobster spaghettini is absolutely enormous, with very few people ever finishing the whole portion.  At $36, it's not cheap but quite reasonable when you decide to split it.  We've learned to order a crudo plate of some kind to share before diving into the heady bowl of tomatoes, sliced garlic, toasted bread crumbs, wine, and of course, chunks and chunks of lobster meat.  There is so much lobster that sometimes I want some more pasta in there to balance it out!  The first time there was no cheese on it, the second time there was - I still can't decide which one I prefer more.  It looks like a mess, a beautiful, delicious mess.

Yellowtail "Hamachi" Tartare

Washed down with some Trimbach wine from Alsace, it was perfect, absolutely perfect.  Almost as good the second time around - really, nothing can replace the happy day when you decide to spend your life together with the one you love.

Lobster Spaghettini

Neptune Oyster
63 Salem St.
Boston, MA 02113

Bon Appétit!

Brushes with Stardom

Have you ever had things happen in your life where you just want to shout it from the rooftops?  Where you get thrilled, excited, and downright giddy, yet you don't tell many people because you think they won't understand?

Sometimes I feel that way about food.  I'm constantly mulling over my next meal, the next restaurant I want to visit, the next thing I want to cook.  I get polite smiles and nods from people not into food, but they are clearly thinking, "Why do you waste so much time and energy thinking about something as basic as food?"

Well, I do, and that's just me.  No apologies.  Food is my life.  Most who read my blog are about as crazy as I am, so it's about time I shared a few wonderful experiences that happened to me months ago.

You never know who will walk in the door at work. Lots of top Boston chefs come in to browse, purchase books, hang out, or just visit.  Even though I am still a little new to the restaurant scene here, I've met some great people and realized that Boston is slowly waking up its food scene.  Chefs here are fairly down-to-earth, and I enjoy talking to them.

The only time when I was reduced to schoolgirl flutters was when Chef Lynch walked in with Chef John Besh to give him a tour of her businesses here in the South End.  Yes, he was on the Next American Iron Chef, and I thought he was robbed.  Nothing against Michael Symon, but Besh deserved to win.  In any case, in comes an entourage with him in the middle.  Southern boy charm, all smiles, super nice, and all I could squeak out was, "I ate at your restaurant a few years ago and loved it!" to which he replied, "Well, I hope you come again."

I clearly remember eating alone at Restaurant August in 2003.  It was my last meal in New Orleans, and I was nervous about going to such a nice restaurant alone, but I forged ahead and did it.  Scallops over risotto- the first time I had eaten perfect risotto.  The restaurant was vibrant and classic, retaining Southern charm but somehow feeling up-to-date, unlike the other classic New Orleans institutions which had timelessness but also a sense of quiet detachment.  I fell in love and instantly loved Chef Besh and his food, but then again, I'm a sucker for anyone French-influenced.  Very few other chefs have done the same for me, and I felt that I "discovered" him before he became a celebrity chef.

After he left Stir, I managed an excited phone call to H, who is probably one of the few people who understood my excitement.  Even the chef at work didn't really know who he was, so I needed an outlet to squeak to.

A week later, we held a class hosted by the owner and sake sommelier Nancy Cushman at O Ya .  The buzz at O Ya has been tremendous, especially with Frank Bruni's recent endorsement.  Our class was held before his review, and I had the privilege of participating and assisting Nancy.  She brought her charming sushi chef with her, and we transformed the space into a sake tasting room.  This was before all the national buzz about O Ya, so even some of our guests hadn't really heard of the restaurant yet.  While it was on the top of my must-try list, I had been saving it a for a special night out due to the high prices.

Nancy was sweet, informative, and down-to-earth, demystifying sake and its history and customs.  Her sushi chef made amazing combinations with watermelon pearls and Kumamoto oysters, foie gras nigiri, hamachi with a spicy sauce I don't remember but distinctly remember inhaling.  Each bite was carefully and beautifully created and further pushed my resolve to someday save up to visit the restaurant.

At the end of the evening, Nancy gifted myself and the Stir chef with a bottle of sake wrapped beautifully in purple cloth.  It sits in the cabinet to this day, teasing the chef and I until we find the right time to break it open to savor and celebrate.

So this post has been a long time coming, partly because I didn't want to seem like I was bragging.  It's really just excitement that I hope I'm conveying, along with a sense of feeling extremely fortunate that I get to work in such a dynamic place and get to interact with such outstanding people.

Bon Appétit!

Stir

(Photo from Stir website)

Being MIA from blogging makes me sad...but I swear I have a good reason, and I can finally reveal it.

I've started working at a wonderful placed called Stir.  Started by Chef Barbara Lynch of No.9 Park fame, it's a working kitchen, a demonstration kitchen, a private kitchen, a cookbook library, and a cookbook retail area all in one.  The best part is sitting there amongst hard-to-find European titles, from Pierre Hérme to Frederic Bau.  Love it, love it, love it.  In fact, if I didn't have work to do, I'd be drooling over them the entire time.  I'll admit though, I do steal a quick peek once in awhile.

Lots of interesting people come through Stir, from professionals to amateur cooks.  The warm, cozy atmosphere invites lingering and browsing, and the classes I've been in are informative, fun, and best of all, delicious.  Sometimes I feel quite spoiled.

Anyway, if you're in the Boston area, come in and say hi.  Would love to meet you!

Stir
102 Waltham Street
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 423-STIR

Bon Appétit!

BOO!

Happy Halloween!

Bon Appétit!

Meat CSA!!!

How do you make the concept of CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) even better?

Make it a Meat CSA!

(Photo from Stillman's website)

A CSA is a great way to support local farmers.  The general concept is that you are providing an up-front cash flow to farmers in exchange for their goods, usually produce.  A typical CSA works this way: you give the farm of your choice a pre-determined amount of money in late spring or early summer, and then you receive boxes of produce throughout the summer.  Each CSA operates differently, some let you pick the produce yourself, some just fill up a box of what is best at the time.

I've always wanted to join one but was unsure if I could actually use and eat everything in a share.  Besides, I love going to the farmer's market and selecting my own produce.  Summer is always full of travel too, so pickups would be difficult (I think there are year-round CSAs in places like California because of the growing seasons.)  I hope that one of these days the circumstances will be right and I'll find one that I will join.

So back to the Meat CSA.  We joined the one from our favorite farmstand, Stillman's Farms here in Boston.  They always have the best tomatoes, raspberries, and corn, and the owners Aidan and Kate are great people. Besides produce, they started to sell meats from a Turkey Farm they purchased.  We've tried sausages and pork chops from them and were impressed by the quality of the meats.  They have heirloom varietals, and I love that they're local.

An excerpt from their website: they have a "goal of raising conscientiously-raised, grass-fed and pasture, hormone-free meats and poultry." 

How it works: 6 months of meat for $75 a month.  Each box comes with 10 pounds of meats, about half high-end cuts like chops and steaks, and the other half cuts like stew meat and ground beef.  That comes to $7.50/pound, and everything arrives frozen and vacuum-sealed.  We decided to split a share with one of my co-workers so we would alternate months.

We finally picked up our first box.  I was giddy with excitement!  The meat looked fabulous, I'm hoping to keep you updated with what we do with it all.  Here's what we got:

Bacon                                                                (400g, 0.88 lbs)
4 Center Cut Thin Bone-In Pork Chops      (775g, 1.71 lbs)
4 Lamb Loin Chops                                  (650g, 1.43 lbs)
7 Hot Dogs                                              (425g, 0.94 lbs)
4 Hot Lamb Sausages                             (575g, 1.27 lbs)
Pork Spareribs                                         (1075g, 2.37 lbs)
Ground Beef                                           (500g, 1.10 lbs)
2 Beef Tenderloin Steaks                        (317g, .70 lbs)

Total weight: 10.38 pounds
Total Cost for This Share: $75, no tax charged as far as we know

I decided to do a comparison of prices with other stores in the area.  Keep in mind that I don't know how much Stillman's charges for each of these things on their own, I only know that they charged $75 for the entire package. 

My method was to note the prices per pound at other stores and then calculate everything based on the weights of the meat we received.  Sometimes the stores didn't have the exact same product, so I tried my best to find suitable equivalents.  This isn't by any means an exact or perfect comparison, but hopefully a good stab at it.

I picked three local stores:

1. Total Cost at Whole Foods: $89.80 with tax
   (20% more than Meat CSA)
   Whole Foods didn't have lamb sausage, but the butcher said they could always make some.  I estimated sausage costs based on what the other fancier ones in the case cost.
2. Total Cost at Savenors: $99.19 with tax
   (32% more than Meat CSA)
   Savenors is the highest-end butcher here in Boston, well-known for quality meats.  Surprisingly, the price differential between Savenors and Whole Foods really only came down to the tenderloin, which was $24.99/lb at Whole Foods but $35.99/lb here because it was prime grade meat.  If you removed the tenderloin from the picture, Savenors was only $1.28 more than Whole Foods!  I was shocked.  It reinforced the fact that I would rather shop here and support a local business.
3. Total Cost at Shaw's: $61.69 with tax
   (18% less than Meat CSA)
   For those who don't live on the East Coast, Shaw's is the large chain grocery store, equivalent to Albertson's on the West Coast.  While the cost here was much cheaper than options 1 & 2, it was only $16.25 cheaper than the Stillman's CSA.

My general conclusion from this little analysis was that Stillman's was a great bargain for the quality of meat.  It was less than Whole Foods and Savenors, but not that much more than Shaw's, where I would never buy meat if I could help it.  My biggest satisfaction comes from the fact that I am putting money directly into a farmer's hands.  Plus, I get to interact with him and support my local community.

Of course, since the box varies from month to month, the price comparisons are by no means accurate for future packages.  Who knows what the coming months will bring, but I love mysteries and surprises.  I can't wait to start using the meat and look forward to the next share!

Bon Appétit!

Picking Problems

 

"Welcome to Honey-Pot Hill!!!"

It was a little jarring to see two teenaged boys saccharinely greeting and waving cars into Honey-Pot Hill Orchards, an apple picking farm in Stowe, MA.  The next surprise was seeing a parking lot as big as an amusement park, filled with hundreds and hundreds of cars.

"Are all of these people here just to pick apples?" was my question that popped out of my mouth.

Turns out they were.  What I thought would be an peaceful, idyllic New England excursion turned out to be quite the opposite.  The first surprise was seeing the tractor-pulled hayride slide dangerously down a slight incline toward the pond when it pulled loose from its hitch.  Luckily, observers quickly pulled all the passengers out over the side in case it kept sliding.  No harm done, but a few nervous moments.

Next came the picking policy, prepaying for bags that you fill.  I don't really like this policy- the minimum was $16 and yields 1-1/4 pecks of apples (about 12-14 lbs), a lot when you only have two people.  I understand that the farms need to make money, but this method forces you to take away more than you need, which also leaves fewer apples behind for later pickers.  The price per pound of apples here is quite reasonable, but the policy  encourages waste and excess rather than taking only what you need. I much prefer the method of weighing what you pick. 

The apple orchards are quite extensive, with many different varietals.  As we were going fairly late in the season, however, we had trouble locating any apples at all.  We delved deep into the orchards, finally commandeering a ladder that helped us reach those last apples at the tops of the trees.  The apples were crisp, delicious, and tart, the freshest they could ever be.  Maybe things were looking up.  Or not.

I always think of farming as quiet, peaceful work where you can really enjoy the lack of city noise and traffic.  Honey-Pot Hill was so busy that we couldn't escape the screams or cries of children around us the entire time we were there.  Lest you think I'm anti-children, remember that I teach at a kid's cooking school!  Children have every right to be there, but I felt that the farm was so commercialized and dense with pickers that you never were able to really relax and enjoy the experience.

Besides apple picking, Honey-Pot Hill is quite a cash-making machine.  They sell cider donuts, hot dogs, cider, pies, hayrides, hedge mazes, even food for the farm animals.  Lines are long and tempers can be short towards the end of the day.  It's a little discouraging to see how money-driven this operation is.  What if someone just wanted to walk around the orchards and learn about apple farming?  They wouldn't be able to do so without forking over the $16 minimum picking fee.

The whole experience left me with a dilemma: is a farm like this a positive thing?  Pros: local, natural foods, jobs for the neighborhood teenagers, exposure to nature and farming.  Cons: a Disneyland-like atmosphere, crowds, high noise levels, a sense of distancing from the farming process, money is valued over educating people about farming. 

Does the good outweigh the bad?  Am I expecting too much from a farm and not giving the farmers enough slack for trying to survive?

I went apple picking because I wanted to support a local farm and its operations, but left discouraged by the commercialism, even if it was just within the farm itself.  It's an interesting wrinkle in the whole "Local is superior" mania going around in the food circles today.  I'd love to hear your two cents.

Bon Appétit!

Maxixe: Dance or Delicious?

Maxixe.  I saw the bin while shopping at Russo's the other day and couldn't figure out what they were.  They were nestled next to the summer squash, sitting there all tiny and prickly with their squiggly tails.

When I tried to look up maxixe on the internet, the top sites that came up said it was a popular Brazilian polka-like dance.  Hmm.  Somehow this prickly little thing didn't seem to match up with its name.  Not unless these little guys were like windup toys and could dance around to music.

After a little more digging, I discovered that maxixe is a Brazilian cucumber, popular in Northeastern Brazil.  They are served raw or cooked and are also known as bur cucumbers.  Now intrigued, I went back to the store to pick some up.

They are a little difficult to peel, given the bumpy texture of the skin and the fact that they are chock full of seeds.  There isn't much of a layer of flesh between skin and seeds, so I had to handle them gently to ensure that I didn't accidentally dig into the middle with the peeler.

And what to do with these naked maxixes now?  I decided that since I cook with kids all day and never get to plate, it would be nice to do something visually fancier.  Out came the verrines ("protective glass" and also referring to composed dishes layered artfully in glassware) from Pierre Hermé.

I cut the maxixes into small dice, then tossed them quickly with minced parsley, rice wine vinegar, a few drops of sesame seed oil, sugar, and salt.  In the middle I layered tiny Supersweet 100 cherry tomatoes from the fire escape garden, quartered and tossed simply with fleur de sel and extra virgin olive oil.

Summer in a glass.  The maxixe had a lemony, sweeter flavor than regular cucumber.  Although there were a lot of seeds, they seemed to add to the texture and burst with juicy flavor when bitten into, similar to eating pomegranate seeds.  Crunchy, light, and an appetizer in the truest sense: the textures and flavors woke my stomach up and made me happy that I had discovered this new exotic cucumber.

Bon Appétit!

Sweet, Sweet Memories

I stumbled across a video someone had made of the Le Cordon Bleu Paris graduation on Dec 15, 2006.  Unlike mine, it was held at the school...all the chefs there, all the same walls, glimpses into the kitchens that look exactly the same.  Look, it's my favorite chef, Chef Chantefort!

I miss it.

I miss it so much.

A few weeks ago, we took the kids on a field trip to visit Cambridge School of Culinary Arts for a demonstration by the French pastry chef Delfin Gomes.  He was the perfect hybrid: French charm and charisma, with no arrogance or traditionalist mentality, probably as a result of living in the States for this long.  He did things in ways I never imagined: not letting butter come to room temperature for most recipes, doing a pâte a choux all in an electric mixer.  It's so rare to see French chefs who are into experimentation that contradicts all the cooking and baking wisdom that's been passed down for countless generations.

 
Sablé Cookies & Chocolate Chip Madeleines

Chef charmed the kids and charmed me.  I found myself inwardly saying, "Oui, chef!" whenever he asked for something.  It made me long to be back in a teaching kitchen.  And who am I kidding, I always miss Paris.

Someday I hope to live there again.  Someday.

Bon Appétit!

Lobster Tales

The best possible thing to do on a gorgeous summer day in New England: lobstering!

H & I went to historic Plymouth, MA for our first lobstering excursion.  What better location than the place where the Pilgrims landed in 1620?  I wonder if they knew what delicious delicacies these waters held.

Plymouth Harbor

Mayflower Replica

Our morning started with meeting our friendly lobsterman for the day, the father-in-law of H's school acquaintance.  We were even introduced to neighbors of his that were guides in the public television show where people lived as the pilgrims did for a week- how much more local can you get?

After loading onto his little boat, we headed out into the harbor and we started pulling up his lobster pots.  Lobster pots are basically wooden or plastic crates that are loaded down with bricks, filled with bait, and dropped into the water.  A buoy is attached to the pot with a rope and floats on the surface of the water to indicate where the pots are.  Each lobsterman (or lobsterwoman) distinctly marks their buoys so that they can identify them.  Anyone can get a license for up to 10 pots, but anymore than that and you need a commercial license.

H pulling up a pot

H & I took turns pulling up pots, and trust me, you get quite a workout.  Not only are you using your arms to haul these heavy things up, but you have to make sure you are balanced enough not to fall out of the rocking boat!

The first 15 pots we pulled up yielded nothing but small blue crabs, some spider crabs, and hermit crabs.  No lobster- apparently there haven't been many recently.  I was getting slightly disappointed when voila!  Two lobsters in one of my pots.

If you have lobsters in your pot, you take out them out (trust me, they were squirmy) and turn them over.  If there are eggs underneath, it goes straight back into the water no matter what size it is.  If there are no eggs, you use a little metal tool that measures the length of the lobster.  One end goes into the lobster's eye socket (the eye retracts), the other end goes along the head toward the tail.  If the other end is still along the head, it's big enough to keep.  If the other end is at the tail, it's too small and goes back into the water.  There's also a new law that if a lobster is bigger than a certain length, it also has to go back into the water because it helps to maintain the population.

Banding the Claws

After you determine that a lobster can be kept, you use a tool to place a rubber band around the claws.  This is important because it protects human hands, but it also keeps the lobsters from fighting each other in the tank.  Lobsters are quite aggressive, and they can take each other's claws off.  Luckily, they grow them back eventually.

I guess I had beginner's luck: I got 5 lobsters, and H got 2.  A few of mine only had one claw, but we kept them anyway.  We also tried fishing but didn't manage to snag any striped bass.

Our share of the lobsters came to 4, so we had a feast that night of steamed lobster, farmer's market sugar snap peas, and heirloom tomatoes.  It was the best steamed lobster I've ever have, not hard to believe since I burned the calories to haul these beauties and they were only 6 hours fresh from the ocean.We steamed all four, ate two, and now I'm trying to figure out what to do with the leftovers.  I've got an idea brewing, but we'll see if it turns out as good as it tastes in my head.

 

Summer is spectacular.

Bon Appétit!

Lunch at L'Espalier

It's amazing when the one of the best meals I've had in Boston so far cost only $24 for 3 courses.  Run, don't walk, to L'Espalier before it moves to its new location next year.  (Word of the Day: Espalier is a French word that refers to training a vine to grow on wires or a frame along a fence or wall.)

The chef, Frank McClelland, recently won the James Beard award for best chef in the Northeast.  The location is in a historic Back Bay townhouse, with intimate dining rooms and a muted yet elegant decor.  They only recently started to serve lunch, with some a la carte items and a $24 three-course prix fixe.  There are two choices in each category, with no annoying supplements for some of the courses.

The food was amazing, they have wines by the glass AND half-glass, service was great, and I still couldn't believe that the entire meal cost less than dinner entrees at other comparable restaurants.  They also have a roof deck where they grow herbs, radishes, and other small vegetables.

What did I like about the food?  I liked that it was simple and harmonious.  No trio of tastes to confuse the palate, just a focused perspective where you get a protein and complementary garnishes.  It's really nice to be able to have more then 2 or 3 bites of something instead of something like "Crab 3 ways."

The meal really reminded me of the style of some of the fancy restaurants in Europe.  I almost didn't want to blog about it because I'm selfish- I didn't want it to suddenly turn into a restaurant that would be difficult to get into (well, dinner is but lunch still isn't).  But food is meant to be shared, so I hope that you enjoy the pictures- yay for white plates and natural light!

Chilled Watermelon Soup, Crême Fraîche and Baby Radish.  Light and delicate, but I almost found it too sweet as a first course.  Would have loved it as a pre-dessert or a light dessert.

Tempura Soft-Shelled Crab with Pineapple Relish.  I've become addicted to soft shell crab (available right now on the East Coast) and am convinced that this is the only thing that comes close to the Dungeness crab I dream about from San Francisco.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin, Creamed Polenta, Roasted Tomatoes.  Tender beef, creamy polenta, a simple but rich jus and roasted tomatoes.  I loved the combination and sopped up all the juices with the bread.

Chocolate Decadence Cake with Orange Blossom Ice Cream.  Yes, it was a typical molten chocolate cake, but who can resist a fudgy center?  I don't really like perfume-like flavor of orange blossom, but it wasn't too bad.

Espresso Scented Crême Brûlée with Lime Sorbet.  Perfect crême brûlée paired with an extremely tart sorbet.  Eaten by themselves, they were uninteresting.  Eaten together, they melted together with a nice texture of warm, cold, creamy, crispy and sour, hitting all the taste buds from front to back.

Cheese Tray.  Only word: drool.  We had no room for cheese but will not make the same mistake again next time.  (Thank goodness the Epoisses container was closed!)

L'Espalier
30 Gloucester St.
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 262-3023

Bon appétit!