Vermilion in NYC

Vermilion brings together Latin and Indian flavors and has garnered high acclaim from all over the globe. The decor was sleek, airy, and contemporary with touches of red.

A Bogle Petite Sirah was greatly enjoyed.

And paired well with the Tandoori Skirt Steak - seared churrasco, Indian marinade, plantain chips, chorizo Swiss chard, and jicama citrus roll.

Prices for NYC were fairly reasonable and the meal was delicious.

Salad Days

It's hotter than it has ever been here in March. I refuse to turn on the air conditioning. It's so wrong. Cafe Caturra on Grove contains the answer: Chargrilled Romaine with white cheddar dressing, tomatoes, and grilled chicken. The grilled lettuce and the dressing were the standouts.

And even though baby, it's hot outside, we still spring for red wine: 2007 Farther Petite Sirah.

Maybe I'll survive March after all.

Overindulging at Lemaire

Before heading over to the InLight Festival a couple of weeks ago, we stopped by the bar at Lemaire to enjoy a cocktail, appetizers, wine, etc. We were lucky to grab a couple of bar stools. A couple of the tables in the bar area were reserved. A big party was whooping it up at the front of the bar. We arrived early enough to take advantage of $5 Manhattans and the 3 appetizers for $20 deal.

The Manhattans hit the spot.

We then ordered wine from the Discoveries List ($30 or less a bottle) - A Redtree Petite Sirah from California. Not too heavy. Very tasty. A decent choice given the variety of food we ordered.

BBQ Pork Quesadilla - lots of flavor and very filling. It was strange for me to be eating melted cheese on BBQ pork, however.

Fried Calamari - a bit different that what we are used to. This looked like it came from a bigger squid. Very tender. Although the menu stated crispy, not so much.

Tuna Martini - my all-time favorite app at Lemaire. Raw tuna with seaweed salad and accompanied by three types of fish roe. The red roe is the best.

Hubby also ordered the Virginia country ham and pimento cheese sandwich which he thoroughly enjoyed.

The sandwich definitely hit the overindulgence mark, but, still, a great start to the evening. Photos of the InLight Festival are posted here.

100 Cloves of Garlic

Have you ever had the urge to go to the extreme? Try something so outrageous that you just know it won’t work? And no, I’m not talking about sports. The last adventurous sporting event I did was whitewater rafting on the James. Scared the bejeezus out of me. Never again.

I’m talking about cooking. This weekend I pawed through The Olive and The Caper cookbook by Susanna Hoffman and tried Skordostoumbi. This recipe called for 100 cloves of garlic. Yes, you read that correctly…100. I really like garlic and so does my hubby, but did we have what it takes to prepare and consume a dish with 100 cloves of the aromatic bulb? Could it possibly turn out to be yummy? Would our friends and co-workers talk to us or hang around us the following day? We said who cares?

And now I will share our plunge off of the deep end. I ever-so-slightly modified the recipe.

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil



2 ½ - 3 pounds boneless beef roast (I used bottom round), cut into 2 inch chunks

100 garlic cloves (8-10 heads), separated and peeled

48 Kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped

4 cups dry red wine (something you would not mind drinking) Note: It will take more than one bottle

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 bay leaves (home grown!)

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dried basil (home grown this Summer and dried)

Egg noodles

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot begin searing beef in batches until browned all over. Place browned beef chunks in a heavy enameled pot.

Pour the wine into the hot skillet and deglaze the pan. Add the garlic, olives, tomato paste, bay leaves, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the tomato paste. Pour the liquid over the beef in the enameled pot. Add the dried basil and stir.

Place top on enameled pot and put in oven. Cook the beef for 2 – 2 ½ hours, stirring the mixture every half hour to begin incorporating the softened garlic into the wine to form a sauce. When the beef is tender and the garlic has started to breakdown, take pot out of the oven and set aside with lid still on to rest. Boil egg noodles. When the noodles are done, drain and serve the beef over the noodles.

We really enjoyed this dish. It was garlickly, but nothing we could not handle. The garlic melted into a thick sauce and the beef fell apart when prodded by a fork. We drank glasses of 2006 The Prodigal Son Petite Sirah from The Big House Wine Company.

The next night I placed the leftovers in a big pot, added 3 cups of beef broth, 3 cups of water, a chopped up carrot that I needed to use and let the mixture simmer. Once it was hot I threw in ¾ cup brown rice and let the mixture simmer until the rice was cooked. Now I had a rich, thick, meaty soup. Yummy. And we once again took the meal to the extreme by enjoying it with a 2000 Chateau La Galiane Margaux. The wine had just a hint of barnyardiness. The olives countered this aspect perfectly.

Amazing what 100 cloves of garlic can produce. And great dishes for Winter.

I submitted this post to Grow Your Own.