Eleven Madison Park's Granola

I'm not a big granola eater, but I decided to finally make my own. It really is so easy that it's one of those things that I should make more often. I had a hankering for some kind of granola with cherries, and my search immediately turned up Eleven Madison Park's granola. Perfect!!

I used The New York Times adapted recipe, but the same recipe is also available on Food Network. There are some slight differences between the two recipes: Food Network specifies unsalted ingredients and uses two sheet pans to bake the granola. I've had the fortune of dining at Eleven Madison Park for a special occasion and received a jar of their granola. The granola was pretty good and I remember there were tiny bits of an ingredient (chocolate?) that isn't in the adapted recipes.

There seems to be quite a difference of opinion on the amount of kosher salt in this recipe (it's even noted in the NY Times recipe). Since it was my first time making granola and trying this recipe, I wanted to stick as close to the recipe's measurements. The only reason I made adjustments is because I only had 2 cups of rolled oats so I was 3/4 c. short. So, I reduced the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, and olive oil by roughly a third of what the recipe calls for since I had less oats. I kept the amounts of the rest of the ingredients the same. If I've totally lost you, I don't blame you. Bottom line: Make sure you have enough ingredients to cover all the measurements so you don't have to do weird math like I did. 

I got pistachios in their shells mainly because it's less expensive. To yield 1 cup of shelled pistachios, I went through two-thirds of a 16 oz. bag. Next time, I'll probably splurge on the shelled pistachios to save time. I also chose raw pistachios and pumpkin seeds (a.k.a. pepitas) that are unroasted/untoasted since they are going into the oven and will toast when baked.

Dry ingredient mixture

The Salt Debate: I think it's important to use unsalted ingredients in this recipe to balance out the amount of salt. Also, make sure to use kosher salt. (I used the Diamond Crystal brand.) Once my granola was done, I could definitely taste a good amount of salt but I did not find it too salty or inedible. It was a salty sweet combo of flavor. I personally think the salt is balanced with the brown sugar, maple syrup, and sour cherries. And, I'll have the granola on yogurt or with milk, which will also help balance the salt.

But if you don't want to risk it and cut back the salt, it will still be good. You can always add salt to suit your taste after baking and mixing in the cherries. If you follow the recipe and think it's too salty, you can make a separate batch without salt and mix the two batches together to save it. Why not try to save it instead of wasting food?

I thought the amount of light brown sugar, maple syrup, and olive oil was just fine to balance the salt and coat the dry mixture nicely. I will probably try coconut oil in the future to enhance the coconut chips.

Coated and ready to go in the oven

I baked the granola all on one half sheet pan. After 30 min., it was ready to come out. I left it in for a total of 35 min. just to get more color as a personal preference.

The final product came out nice and crunchy, but not sticky. I will definitely make this recipe again and try different nuts, dried fruit, and spices for variety.

4.15.2017 UPDATE: I made another batch using the full measurements in the recipe (2 3/4 cup rolled oats, 1 Tablespoon kosher salt) with pecans instead of pistachios and coconut instead of olive oil. I still did not find it too salty, especially when I have it with milk or yogurt.

My Rating (out of 5): 5

Ikinari Steak's First U.S. Outpost

Ikinari Steak is a hit Japanese chain that brought high-quality steak to fast casual dining. They don't even have seats. The concept brings quality steak at a reasonable price in a fast, efficient manner. And they opened their first U.S. location today in NYC's East Village (with plans to open more in Manhattan).

I don't remember much buzz about this opening and heard about it just a few days before with press releases and promotion. And I was intrigued enough to make a visit for lunch...on opening day.

Because New Yorkers are obsessed with being one of the first to try new restaurants, I expected a line to be down the street on opening day. So I was very surprised there wasn't one when I arrived around 11:50 a.m. (They opened at 11.) There was a bunch of press standing around outside that I didn't think they were open to the public. Inside, there were mostly press people with video cameras standing around blocking and ignoring waitresses that were trying to bring food to customers. I was quickly reminded why I normally don't check out places on opening day. There were only few actual customers when I arrived, but more customers started to stroll in by the time I left.

The restaurant chain has a standing-only model. But at the East Village location, they did include 10 seats. From a quick look around, it looks like two 4-top tables and one 2-top table. The rest are standing stations.

The menu is small with 3 cuts of 40-day wet-aged beef by weight and 1 lunch special, a few sides, and a few drinks including beer and wine. There is no chicken or fish and I'm not sure if they will add any since its a steakhouse. There are no appetizers or desserts. This helps with a fast and efficient dining experience. Everything comes out when it's ready rather than being spread out.

Current prices are 9 cents/gram for rib eye, 8 cents/gram for sirloin, and 11 cents/gram for filet. There are minimum weight orders for the steaks to keep them thick. So rib eye starts at 300g/10.6 oz. ($27), sirloin at 200g/7.1 oz. ($16), and filet at 200g/7.1 oz. ($22).

The steaks are freshly cut and weighed in front of you. The restaurant chain calls this "Japan cut" or "J-steak". The wet-age beef are sourced from a company based in Illinois that’s also used in Japan.

All steaks come with corn but you can substitute it for a different garnish like potatoes, green beans, onions, or broccoli. If you want more than one garnish, it costs extra. The waitress nor the kitchen chef asked what garnish I wanted, so make sure to ask if you want something else. So, I didn't realize my steak came with corn until I got my steak. And, I discovered after my visit that you can ask for something else thanks to this Yelp photo.

At lunch, they also offer a Wild Chuck-eye Steak special with soup, salad and rice for $20. It is not available for order by weight. Media reports say the chuck-eye is 14 oz. But the lunch menu and website lists 300g (or 10.6 oz).

 

Lunch menu (l); Dinner menu (r)

How it works (based on my visit):

- When you arrive, an employee shows/directs you to a numbered standing station (or a table if you prefer seat which you probably need to request)

- Menus are already at the standing station. A waiter will come over to take your order for drinks and sides only, bring water, and bring a paper apron.

- Then, the waiter will walk or direct you to the back kitchen counter to order your meat. You order the cut of beef and amount that you want and they cut and weigh it in front of you. Bring the number card for your station/table so the kitchen knows the right place to send your steak (and because you probably won't remember your number).

Even if you order the chuck-eye lunch special, you still have to go tell the kitchen counter your order. But you don't see it get cut. A little odd, but I guess this is to make the process consistent for the staff.

- After you order your steak, you go back to your station and your food is brought out to you

- Forks, knives, napkins & condiments are already at your station. There were no spoons.

- A bill is brought to you when your steak is delivered. Keep it so you can pay at the front desk when you leave.

I had the $20 chuck-eye steak lunch special because it's a good deal. The soup and salad are very small and basic, but it's nice that rice is also included. The soup was a small mug of beef or chicken broth with a few bits of carrot, celery and beef that you drink since there were no spoons. The salad was a small handful of lettuce and a few shredded carrots. The onion and pepper dressings were good but nothing special.

Salad & small cup of soup with chuck-eye lunch special

My chuck-eye came out sliced on a sizzling platter with the garnish of corn. The chuck-eye already had nice color from cooking over a fire but was still blue rare on the inside. There's a printed guide on the menu on how to enjoy your steak, and they suggest rare. But if you want a different temperature, you just leave the steak on the hot plate to cook longer.

I usually prefer my steak medium or medium rare, but I went rare this time. My chuck-eye was very tender, juicy, and flavorful from the fat and seasoning. Chuck-eye is not the same as chuck steak. Chuck-eye is cut from a different part of the rib than rib eye. So chuck-eye still has a lot of good flavor but costs less than rib eye.

The house hot steak sauce, dubbed J-Sauce, was delicious without covering up the flavor of the steak. It's their own soy-based steak sauce. Not sure if the steak sauce is hot because it's warm and kept in a thermos, or also spicy. If there is spice, I didn't really taste it. But having warm sauce is perfect to help keep the steak warm.

There's also Ikinari sauce that is a sweet sauce. I asked what's in the sauce, but the employee who brought out my steak didn't know. My waitress just said it was sweet. It's also tasty but I preferred the house steak sauce.

Other than the steak sauce, I didn't use any of the other condiments because I didn't need them.

My steak also had a small dollop of what they call a garlic paste. It looked and tasted like some type of butter or mayo, but I didn't taste much garlic. And it looks very different than the garlic available in the condiments.

They are a non-tipping restaurant. I walked out full and happy from chuck-eye steak lunch for $21.78 after tax.

About that paper apron...it's a good idea to help keep any grease splatter from the sizzling hot plate from getting on your clothes.

The standing stations have lots of storage. A shelf where you can place menus after ordering or to store items, a hook to hang a coat or bags, and even foldable stands on the floor that can  hold briefcases or bags.

The kitchen is open so you do walk out smelling smokey like hibachi or K-BBQ places.

The restroom has a fancy Japanese toilet with a heated seat, washing & dryer options. There's also Listerine if you want to be minty fresh. [toilet pic]

And if you're so inclined, they have a Niku mileage membership card that you can sign up for to track the weight of meat you eat. The card comes complete with Lady Liberty and has rewards after consuming a certain amount of beef.

I was done in 35 min., and I didn't scarf down my food or feel rushed. Maybe this might be different when it's busy.

Some people are already taking criticizing the fast concept as not being fine dining, only appealing to the college crowd, or rushing people to make money. I think this is snobby and out of touch. Full-service, upscale restaurants are having to close or forced to move due to rent hikes and increasing costs, so I think it's close-minded to criticize a business for creating new ways to bring good food to people and stay in business to keep serving good food to customers.

I enjoy a nice steak dinner at a high-end, full-service steakhouse. But that's usually for special occasions. I love steak, so I welcome a concept that can make quality steaks accessible without a special occasion and for a modest price. I don't always want to have a 3-course meal that stretches on for a couple of hours just to have a good steak. And I'm more interested in getting quality food at a good price than having white cloth tables and a fine dining ambience.

I'll be back to try other cuts. Definitely recommend trying this place for quality steak at reasonable prices.

My Rating (out of 5):  5

Ikinari Steak

90 E. 10th St.

New York, NY 10003

http://ikinaristeakusa.com/

Twice-Baked Butternut Squash with Parmesan Cream and Candied Bacon

I made this Epicurious recipe for Thanksgiving and I think this is going on the menu every year. The candied bacon hazelnut bits are EVERYTHING! You'll want to put it on other things too.

I usually shy away from recipes with multiple components and techniques, especially for Thanksgiving. Some of the techniques I've never attempted before at home...also not a good idea for Thanksgiving. But, this recipe just appealed to me and it's the holidays after all.

The dish wouldn't be the same without the candied bacon-hazelnut. Unless you hate hazelnuts, I wouldn't substitute with another nut. Hazelnuts are what make the candied bits delicious.

Melting sugar from this...

to this.

Cooled candied bacon-hazelnut

All of my squashes were done roasting within 40-60 min, so check on them periodically so they don't get too soft. It's important for the large squash to keep its shape especially after you scoop out the flesh to make shells. You can see where one half of my large squash cracked/split

Also, my large squash gave up a good amount of liquid. This made my filling a little too wet and it leaked around the edges of the shells. So, start with less cream when mixing the filling and add more cream as needed depending on how much liquid your squashes have.

Combining filling ingredients (excluding chives)

Mixed filling with chives

I used Parmigiano-Reggiano which has strong flavor. But another type of Parmesan can save a bit of money.

Ready for a second bake

The only issue I had was with the whipped cream. I made the cream & cheese mixture the day before and chilled overnight so I could save time on Thanksgiving. The mixture was thick when I took it out on Thanksgiving to whip. It quickly overwhipped at medium-high speed and I didn't have any heavy cream left to try to save it. I didn't want to waste it, so I used it as a "butter" topping and dotted pieces of it on the tops with the bacon & hazelnuts.

Whipped cream mixture after overnight refrigeration

This is an indulgent dish with all the cream and cheese but great for dinner parties, holidays or special occasions. There aren't any special ingredients but it looks impressive!

My Rating (out of 5): 5

Twice-Baked Butternut Squash with Parmesan Cream and Candied Bacon
Source: Epicurious

Yield: Serves 6-8
Active time: 45 mins
Total time: 2 hours, 10 mins

Ingredients

• 1 large (about 5 pounds) and 1 medium (about 3 1/2 pounds) butternut squash
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan (about 3 ounces), divided
• 3 strips bacon (about 3 ounces)
• 4 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped hazelnuts
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons chopped chives, divided

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut both squash in half lengthwise; scoop out seeds. Transfer cut side down to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Poke outside of skin all over with a fork, then roast until flesh is very soft, about 1 1/2 hours for large squash and about 1 hour for medium squash.

Meanwhile, heat 1 cup cream in a medium pot over medium until just beginning to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and whisk in 1/4 cup cheese and cook, whisking, until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl and chill until very cold, about 45 minutes (do not freeze).

Cook bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp, 8–10 minutes. Transfer to paper towels, reserving bacon fat in skillet. Let cool, then finely chop.

Spread 3 Tbsp. sugar in a thin layer in the center of a medium dry skillet. Cook over medium heat, mostly undisturbed (it's ok to swirl pan gently to get sugar to melt evenly), until sugar melts and starts to turn light brown, about 6 minutes. Quickly stir in bacon and hazelnuts and cook, stirring, until coated and melted sugar is chestnut brown, about 1 minute more. Scrape onto a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and spread out to cool, then finely chop.

Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Using a spoon, scoop flesh out of large squash into a large bowl, leaving a 1/2" border around squash shell to help maintain its shape. Transfer large shells to a rimmed baking sheet; arrange a few pieces of crumpled foil around shells to keep them upright. Scoop flesh out of medium shells into same bowl (you should have 6 cups squash); discard medium shells. Using a potato masher or spatula, mix in salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1 Tbsp. reserved bacon fat, and remaining 1 cup cream, 3/4 cup cheese, and 1 Tbsp. sugar until smooth. Fold in 2 Tbsp. chives. Divide filling between large squash shells, then create attractive swoops with a spoon. Bake squash until warmed through, 20–30 minutes.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed or a whisk, whip chilled cream to medium peaks. Chill until ready to use.

Dollop squash with whipped cream, then top with candied bacon bits and remaining 1 Tbsp. chives. Serve extra candied hazelnut-bacon bits on the side.

Do Ahead
Squash shells can be filled (not baked) 2 days ahead; cover and chill.

Classic Moules in White Wine Sauce

I was inspired to make moules (i.e. mussels) at home after seeing a Geoffrey Zakarian recipe on The Kitchen. Mussels always seem like an impressive dish at restaurants and it's amazing that they are so easy, fast, and cheap to make at home. A 2 lb. bag of mussels is $7 or less, depending on where you live.

While the recipe is for moules frites, it doesn't include steps for making fries and just says to serve with fries. So, I've just made the mussels, sans frites, and serve with crusty bread instead. This sauce is SO tasty that you'll want to mop it all up with bread anyway.

This dish cooks ridiculously fast. The prep time takes longer than it does to cook it. On the show, they mention letting the mussels sit in a bowl of cold water twice before cooking, but this is not included in the prep time of the recipe on the site. I let them sit in cold water for about 30 minutes to let them release any sand. But, I don't repeat because I don't have the patience.

Check the mussels for any that are cracked or open and won't close after giving them a tap. These mussels are dead and should be discarded. Remove any fuzzy beards from the live mussels.

It's best to have all the prep done and ingredients measured out first. Once you start cooking, it's very quick so having everything ready to go makes life much easier.

Here's how things looked once I got cooking:

Softening shallots & garlic

Added white wine, salt, & pepper

Add cleaned mussels & cover

After 3 minutes

If there are any mussels that didn't open during cooking, throw those out as well because those aren't good either. Luckily, they all opened this time!

If I don't have creme fraîche, I've substituted with some heavy cream in the sauce. Here, I used creme fraîche.

I really like how the whole grain mustard adds just a bit of tang to the sauce and another depth of flavor.

As a main dish, this is really 2 servings. As an appetizer, it could work for 4. And don't forget the crusty bread!

My Rating (out of 5): 5

Mashed Potatoes with Kale

I know some people have kale fatigue and are sick of hearing about it, but I still enjoy it. So I was very intrigued when I found this Mashed Potato with Kale recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.

I made this dish for the first time for Christmas yesterday and it smells and tastes great! Don't let the kale fool you...I wouldn't call this a healthy dish with all the mascarpone, Parmesan, and butter.

Mascarpone cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, kale, onions, garlic, unsalted butter

I didn't have enough butter for all of my dishes so I left the butter out when boiling the potatoes (just added butter in the assembly steps). I only had regular chicken stock instead of low-sodium chicken broth, so I cut back the Parmesan to 1/2 c., salt to 1 tsp and black pepper to 1/2 tsp in the assembly steps so the dish wasn't too salty. And it just seems like a lot of salt in the recipe to me, so it's always easier to add salt than take out.

Sweating onions & garlic

Adding cooked kale to mashed potatoes  

The result was creamy mashed potatoes with a twist of texture from the kale. I thought it was still very flavorful even though I cut back on some of the salty ingredients. This recipe makes a LOT and I think you can get more like 8 servings out of it. I took some of the leftovers and divided into big scoops of individual servings, then froze them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Once frozen, I placed them all into a freezer bag. Updated note: I reheated the servings I wanted in a microwave straight from the freezer and thought they were still pretty good for frozen food.

My Rating (out of 5): 5

Shepherd's Pie

As the weather gets colder, I start to crave comforting foods like shepherd's pie.  A few years ago, I found this Anne Burrell recipe on Food Network's site when I was in the mood for shepherd's pie.  I had never made shepherd's pie before and haven't had it often in restaurants, so I thought I'd try to make it at home.

Shepherd's Pie from Anne Burrell

The leeks in this dish really add flavor and I wouldn't want to substitute for onions here.  The red wine and slow cooking develop rich flavors and a nice thick stew/filling for the pie.  And using Yukon gold potatoes helps make the mashed potatoes creamy.  This is a really great recipe and I've stuck with it to make shepherd's pie.

The recipe calls for lamb shoulder or leg, and I've made it with each on different occasions.  Both were great for the dish, but if I had to choose, I prefer shoulder a little more because I found it more tender.  I also made this with beef shoulder for friends who didn't like lamb and it turned out just as good.  So beef is a great way to keep this dish lower cost.

It does take a few hours to make so it's not for a quick dinner.

My Rating (out of 5): 5