The most satisfying dishes are often the most easy and simple to prepare. When I met with Chance Jones, the new chef at Greenpoint’s Milk n’ Roses, a cafe and wine bar that has just rolled out a new menu, I asked him to show us how to make the simplest dish on the menu.
He chose the Acuasale all’Uovo, which is Traditional Southern Italian Bread Pudding, Broccoli Rabe, Soft Egg & Chili.
This was the first time I have ever seen bread being boiled! It was a fascinating technique and the results were very delicious.
Boil day old bread with chopped and clean broccoli rabe in generously salted boiling water. Meanwhile, fry an egg in chili oil, and top it with more chili flakes. Cover it. Then drain the bread and broccoli rabe and toss with more chili oil. Add the egg on top and that is it!
It was the perfect rainy day lunch.
Don’t you agree that Milk n’ Roses should add this simple hearty dish to their brunch menu?
I am definitely going to try to make this at home… perhaps sweeten it with some milk and honey (no egg of course!) and maybe top it will some berries.
Greenpointers was invited for a tour and to taste the healthy offerings at the cafe at Awakening NY, the new yoga complex on Manhattan Ave between Driggs and Nassau.
The tour of the space, led by owner Mariola, was impressive. The two floor yoga studio was vast. The first floor with it’s cafe, massage room and large yoga studio is finished.
There we met her son Max, who quite cleverly stacked the yoga mats to make a perfectly relaxing reading perch for himself. Why can’t all young men be as polite and friendly as Max? Continue reading →
While shopping at the Farmer’s Market, I cannot resist fresh eggplants! There is nothing better than to simply slice and fry an eggplant and eat it, soggy with olive oil, on a piece of Italian Bread. When I fry it in little chunks, it’s perfect on red sauce with spaghetti.
When I see these little itty bitty purple eggplants, I have a mental freak out. My Japanese friends taught me the simplest and easiest way to prepare them. Continue reading →
When I walked into the new wine bar called Adelina’s on Greenpoint Ave for a tasting, two things caught my eye: the back corner of the bar was lined with wine barrels labeling each wine on tap with white chalk, and seated at the bar was a row of gorgeous faces, the staff, who was there for a tasting.
“Care to join us?” Toby Buggiani, Adelina’s owner asked.
“Are you asking me to drink before noon. Of course!”
Adelina’s passed the Greenpoint restaurant test of friendly servers without a doubt. Not a surprise since Toby is such a sweetheart.
I also chatted with Josh, a customer who said he liked the former Gypsy Bar, but Adelina’s is “perfect” because he lives up the block and “to get a vibe like this [he'd] have to go to Troost,” which also has a morning coffee routine and a wine and beer menu. Continue reading →
When the Sunday Farmers Market at McGolrick Park was proposed there was worry that it might compete with the Saturday McCarren Park Greenmarket. (Don’t we live in the USA?) I don’t know about you, but I hit up both every weekend and my weekly pie habit is becoming a problem.
We have a tendency to get the same old greens, like kale every week. But when I saw a beautiful napa cabbage, I asked Sam, who is the farmer from Great Road Farm if he had any recipes ideas. He likes to simply sautee it with chopped meat. That sounded great, especially since we always pick up turkey meat from the McCarren Greenmarket. (Jon makes killer turkey burgers.)
See – the markets can all just get along!
I haven’t actually made this because Jon has been ruling at this recipe. From what I have observed, you can really play around with this dish. It’s fast and easy, just the way we like it. I can honestly say it’s awesome!
Braised Cabbage with Turkey
Sautee chopped garlic and onions or shallots with hot pepper flakes and cumin. (Not sure if you are aware that cumin and ground turkey are in love.) If you have tomatoes, chop them up and throw them in. Fresh peppers would be great, too. Then brown chopped turkey meat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chopped pork or beef would also be fantastic.
Once browned add chopped napa cabbage on top and put on the lid so it steams in the delicious meat juice. A little soy sauce tops it off nicely. Over some rice, this is a complete, quick and delicious meal.
I go insane over broccoli. If I had to chose one only food to eat everyday, you guessed it: broccoli! Boil it, bake it, roast it, grill it, steam it, fry it, pie it – any which way, it is the best vegetable. And as a cruciferous vegetable, it’s also anti-carcinogenic. Not a bad thing considering I live directly over the plume!
While having a romantic dinner with my wife (wondering what that means? read here.) at No. 7, the restaurant in Fort Greene from the same owners as No. 7 Sub on Manhattan Ave, we ordered an exclusively vegetarian meal. This is very unlike us. When Julie returned from the dark side of being a vegetarian, we celebrated with a Sausage Party, and it’s been dirty jokes and meaty dinners ever since. But sometimes the vegetarian options will surprise you, and they are often overlooked because you think, I’m out, I might as well eat meat! If you want a lighter meal, go veggie; you will certainly leave feeling less stuffed.
Cheesy Bacon Gordita Crunch - Limited Time at Taco Bell
The Double Decker Broccoli Taco we ate was amazing, so I had to try it at home. It is basically the healthy vegetarian version of a Gordita Crunch from Taco Bell. (Don’t act like you don’t dream about it!) But with the braco, a hard taco is stuffed with feta cheese and broccoli, around which a black bean smeared soft taco is wrapped, then the whole thing is topped with pine nuts and hot sauce! Not only are the flavors happily married but the texture of the soft taco spooning the hard taco is quite a fiesta in your mouth.
I think I learned this sandwich from a German person. It seems like something German people would eat. Maybe it’s the pumpernickel bread. Either way it is the most delicious (and vegetarian) sandwich ever!
The first time I had it, it was with your standard grade european radish, but here I used daikon slices, which I find every week at the Greenmarket.
Simply butter pumpernickel bread, top it with cheddar cheese and any type of radish. It’s fresh, crunchy, buttery & cheesy. (Note: the fresh oregano is just a green garnish to pretty up the otherwise uncolorful photograph, but it might be delicious on there, too!)
If you have any great recipes to share, please send them to greenpointers (at) gmail.com. The goal is to make a Greenpointers Community Cookbook, the spiral bound kind your Mom has, but with illustrations from local artists.
The most satisfying dishes are often the most easy and simple to prepare. When I met with Chance Jones, the new chef at Greenpoint’s Milk n’ Roses, a cafe and wine bar that has just rolled out a new menu, I asked him to show us how to make the simplest dish on the menu.
