I enjoy cooking for small intimated dinner gatherings and this past Sunday wasn’t any different as I put together an eclectic menu for friends. I start small, a simple 3 course dinner and BAM, it has grown, out of control cooking. (recipes below)  Keeping it simple doesn’t seem to be in my realm of reality, I ended up with 6 courses…yup, count them.

 

Pot Stickers with a Yuzu Dipping Sauce

Tom Yum Soup (inspired by my dinner at Redfish)

Grilled Caesar Salad

Lemon Basil Sorbetto

Honey Truffle Marinated Chicken, Steamed Asparagus with Apricot Marmalade and Oven Roasted Potatoes

Yellow Cake with Fudge Icing with Fresh Strawberries

 

Guess what, I didn’t take any pictures at dinner - not a one but I have put together a couple post pictures.   I’m going to write this in course order though food prep was much different.

 

 

 

Pot Stickers: This was a last minute decision to have a munch in the den with drinks before we sat down to dinner. I pulled the Pot Stickers from the freezer, sautéed them and then steamed them per the package instructions. 

 

Yuzu Dipping Sauce: I used a tablespoon of yuzu juice (lime juice is a good substitute), 2 tablespoons of Asian fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of water, 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger, 1 small garlic clove thinly sliced and 1 teaspoon of sugar to balance the acid of the yuzu juice. Mix and make adjustments to your taste buds.

 

 

Tom Yum Soup:  I had homemade chicken broth(see below)  and combined it with low sodium chicken broth (total 4 cups), diced shallots, sliced mushrooms, shredded carrots and the Instant Sour Shrimp Paste (tom yum) for the chili-sour flavor* (1 teaspoon).  I peeled 8 shrimp and put the shells in a strainer that I put in the stock to cook a bit and add more flavor. I added the shrimp about 2 minutes before service so they wouldn’t be over cooked. I previously boiled off some egg noodles (I was out of rice noodles) which I added to the stock just after the shrimp.

 

* the instant sour shrimp paste is spicy and I suggest start with a regular teaspoon and let it blend well into the soup. Give it a taste and add a bit more until you reach the level of heat you want in the soup. 

 

Grilled Caesar Salad: I had just gotten the new Food and Wine-June 08 and on page 160 they had Seared Romaine Spears with Caesar Dressing. I got Romaine hearts at the produce store on sale for 99 cents…yes, 99 cents. I cut the romaine heads in half lengthwise and brushed with Canola oil and grilled them until they had a slight char on both sides but were still crisp.  The dressing swapped out egg yolks with low fat mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, garlic cloves, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco.  I processed all the ingredients and slowly added Canola oil.  I dressed the plate with the dressing and put the romaine spears on top, salt & pepper, shaved Parmesan-Reggiano cheese and chopped tomato.

 

Lemon Basil Sorbetto: I wrote about this before, it is SOOO good and I had about 11 lemons leftover from a food styling job just the week before so I filled in to the 20 lemons needed. I zested all the lemons before I juiced them and froze them for future cooking endeavors. The recipe is from Executive Chef Bill Crouse at Sotto Sopra – RECIPE.  This was my intermezzo.

 

Honey Truffled Chicken: First I purchased two whole chickens and brought them home and broke them down into parts. I took the wing tips, the backs and gizzards and threw them in the pressure cooker with onions, carrots, celery, parsley stems and salt for a quick stock-used in the Tom Yum soup.

 

Marinade for the chicken:

 

4 ounces of honey

2 tablespoons chicken stock

2 tablespoons of truffle oil

2 tablespoons of chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon of fresh ground black pepper

 

Mix all the ingredients for the chicken. Coat the chicken pieces well and marinate them overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the chicken about 45 minutes (test for doneness with an instant read thermometer.) As the oven preheats mix up the basting mixture. As the chicken cooks, baste it from time-to-time. 

 

 

Basting mixture for the chicken:

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon chicken stock

2 teaspoons of truffle oil

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme

2 teaspoons of fresh ground black pepper

½ teaspoon of salt

 

 

Oven Roasted Potatoes: I chose to use the tiny red potatoes. Remember start your potatoes in cold water with lots of salt. (If what you are cooking grew below ground you start it in cold water and if it grew above ground you add it to boiling water). Once at a boil, I let them cook 5 minutes and drained. I tossed the potatoes in olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, chopped parsley, garlic powder, and chopped shallots and put them on a cookie sheet in the oven with the chicken. Every time I basted the chicken, I gave the pan of potatoes a shake.

 

Asparagus: From the WomenHeart’s All Heart Family Cookbook, I used their recipe for steamed asparagus and slivered carrots topped with Apricot marmalade and grated ginger. This is a fabulous cookbook that doesn’t feel like a diet cookbook.  There are many recipes I have fixed and many more I am going to make.  It emphasizes heart healthy foods, 40 foods proven to promote heart health. Ladies, don’t be fooled, heart disease kills more women than breast cancer. This is a cookbook that should be on your shelves – the food tastes great plus you learn how many choices you do have with heart healthy foods.   

 

 

Yellow Cake with Fudge Icing: This is an ongoing quest of mine to find a really moist, dense yellow cake. Where as this cake was delicious,  denser and moist, it wasn’t what I’m seeking ~ so I still search for my holy grail of cakes. PLEASE, if you have a yellow cake recipe that is really dense and moist send it to me (diningdish@hotmail.com).

 

I tried the cake recipe from Restaurant Eve which was in the Washington Post-I did not make their icing.  I searched the internet for a chocolate fudge icing recipe and was ready to make one that called for condensed milk. I knew I had a can in the cupboard only to find out it had a date on it from 1996.  Needless to say, I chose another recipe  – Caroline’s Chocolate Fudge Frosting that came out great (I added a pinch of salt to it and only used ½ cup of milk.  I think salt brings out the chocolate flavor)

 

Heathens that we were, we polished off ½ the cake between 4 people.  I probably should put a warning on this menu “Do Not Try This At Home~ It Can be Harmful to a Full Night’s Sleep and One’s Waistline.” I’m still eating cake and sorbetto; I sent the leftover chicken, asparagus and potatoes home with my guests.   

 

Are you an unbridled cook?  We can start a club and go insane cooking for each other...but what a way to go.

One of my favorite dinners in Italy was at Il Latini in Florence where my friend and I dined at a communal table, interacting with people from all over the world. We exchanged stories, drank some vino and shared our passion for good food ~ it was a very memorable evening.

 

In today’s technological world are we losing the social skills to interact with friends, family and business colleagues? I know being locked up in my home office, day-after-day, glued to my computer I miss social interaction: the banter, the sharing of ideas and the camaraderie of others. Enter Baltimore Foodies, a club where people with a passion for food, dining and drink gather at Baltimore restaurants to enjoy the pleasures of the table and the companionship of others. 

 

 

Last night I ventured to the dinner that Baltimore Foodies coordinated at Red Fish located at the corner of Hudson and Boston Streets in Canton.   Baltimore Foodies founder, Lars Rusin, introduced me to some of the “foodies” at the bar.    Everyone was social, many of the “foodies” knowing others from attending other Baltimore Foodies' events. The evening’s weather was pleasant so the broad European windows were opened in an accordion like fashion lending spaciousness to the narrow bar. The barkeep brought me my Mojito, a good mix of sour lime muddled with fresh mint with a blast of sweet, simple syrup – they get an A in Mojito (it would have gotten an A+ if they had a sugarcane shoot in the drink). 

 

I loved the broad brush stroke demographics of those attending: singles and married, young and old, professionals to retirees, men and women---all passionate about what they eat and where they go to dine. On one side of me was a lovely couple, retired – he, a former accountant, across from me was an attorney who cooks most evenings, a gal in the advertising industry who doesn’t hesitate traipsing to unsafe areas of town at 4 a.m. for bulgogi, an anesthesiology nurse and an executive at the Baltimore Convention Center round out my dining posse.

 

Once seated at our communal table, the nurse and I, true foodies, agreed to share our dishes so we can taste more of the food. Between courses discussions on favorite places to eat with James Joyce being touted for the best hamburger and Bella’s in Little Italy for authentic Italian food.  Kali’s Court, Brass Elephant, Sotto Sopra, and Iggies and Matthew’s for pizza – all favorites for different reasons. 

 

 

If you like bold flavors than Red Fish is for you. There are some items on their Euro-Asian menu that are subdued but most lean heavily to Asian with some salutes to European. As you get to know me, I am all about flavors and the menu for the evening was one of the reasons why I chose to attend this Baltimore Foodies event. 

 

The top toque at Red Fish is Executive Chef Arthur Francis Fuller, formerly of the Sky Lounge. This is a man not shy to flavor his food and if you like bland foods then I suggest you go elsewhere. This restaurant’s location has gone through a number of owners and permutations so if it’s been year since you’ve been do try it again.

  

The menu designed for the foodies event offered a choice on each course and I, the devoted blogger/reviewer, ate a portion on both selections – just for you!

 

(amuse the mouth)

 

This was a surprise treat, unexpected and my first razor clams. The flavors were bold.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The steak was well seasoned and grilled to medium for this salad. I loved the crunch of the lotus root. I would have preferred a bit more of the citrus nam-pla dressing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Korean dish cuts the short ribs in a cross cut about ½ inch thick and then they are marinated and eventually grilled. The sugar in the marinade can burn and char which happened on a couple pieces.  

 

 

 

 

 

Dining Dish says in her Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, “I’ll be back.” There are more dishes I want to try and others I want to enjoy again.  

 

P O Box 1682

Baltimore, MD 21203

443.621.0990

http://www.baltfoodies.com

 

 

2350 Boston Street

Baltimore, MD

http://www.redfishusa.com

410 276 1926

 

Monday – Saturday

5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Sushi (Friday & Saturday)

5 p.m. until late

Sunday

11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Sunday Brunch Specials

 

I’m not sure when I first heard of Chef Barbara Tropp. It was so long ago, and many meals have passed since then. Barbara was the chef/owner of China Moon Restaurant in San Francisco and a leading authority on Chinese food. Her interest in Chinese culture started in high school and led to doctoral studies at Princeton. Her passion took her to Taiwan for two years where her two host families guided her on a Chinese culinary path.

Her first cookbook, The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking Techniques and Recipes, came out in 1982. James Beard said, “Barbara Tropp’s volume on Chinese cooking is a unique achievement. Her intelligent and thorough explanations are detailed and truly great. The choice of recipes is exciting. This is a magnum opus for any cooking addict.” More praise appears on the book cover from Maida Heatter and Craig Claiborne.

Entertaining with China Moon

Her China Moon Cookbook is amazing, detailed and always on the money. Her recipes were complex and one made a commitment to make her recipes. I have two distinct memories of entertaining with Chef Tropp’s recipes. The first is the China Moon Infusion Chicken Broth, starting with chicken stock and then making the same recipe with the stock instead of water, and the final step, cooking the stock a third time with whole bulbs of garlic and lemongrass. The average consumer would know that it tasted good but I served this to a food scientist who immediately recognized the depth and layering of flavors.

In the mid ‘90s, I had invited Chef Gino Troia and his wife for dinner, but knew what I served could not be Italian. I decided on what I knew would be wonderful: Clear-Steamed Salmon with Ginger-Black Bean Vinaigrette from the China Moon Cookbook.

She Empowered Many

Chef Tropp broke ground not only in combining California and Chinese cuisines, but also as a leader for women chefs and restaurateurs. It was Barbara along with others like Joyce Goldstein and Lydia Bastianich who spearheaded a now-thriving organization which promotes and lends guidance to women in the restaurant industry: Women Chefs and Restaurateurs (WCR). Little did I know when cooking her recipes that I would benefit from her efforts and be part of the organization she helped create.

A Great Loss

Sadly, in late 2001, Barbara died of ovarian cancer at age 53. Her husband, Bart Rhoades, continues to support WCR and comes to their annual conference every year to present the Barbara Tropp Award. Recently, Bart announced he had just discovered an unfinished, unpublished article of Barbara’s and agreed to mail it to me. I hope you enjoy this new found glimpse of the late, great Chef Tropp. I leave it in the unedited state it was sent to me. I hope you relish this rare opportunity to share once more in Barbara’s passion.


By Barbara Tropp Bon Appetit - Chicken

It is difficult not to like chicken! Or at least I would think so – I, who grew up with a chicken farm down the road (across the way from the corn fields that supplied the vegetable course for our chicken dinners), and who came of culinary age in Taiwan, where the chicken is enchantingly and naturally sweet, and so prized a creature that old men (such as the one I lived with) did verbal battle in the morning marketplaces over the merits of this plump bird or that svelte one. No indeed, chicken on my tongue and to my way of thinking is one of the great foods!

Especially in the warm summer months, chicken is a regular on my Chinese-inclined table. I make an extra effort to plan dinners simply, so that I have time to shop for the freshest possible bird. Shopping as I do in a Chinatown poultry market, I know the chicken is fresh-killed that morning and at its natural best, but if I am traveling and hungry for chicken I look for the same signs of freshness in the everyday supermarket birds – a smooth, glossy skin stretched over a plump breast, a discernable moistness, and no sign of excess juices afloat in the bag or storage tray. And then I plan my meal to show off my prize. A stir-fry of “Spicy Tangerine Chicken” served with a crisp green salad, slices of hot garlic bread and a glass of cool wine, or skewers of “Grilled Chinese Chicken Wings” bedded on seasoned rice and washed down with fresh lemonade is my own personal summer style. I avoid Chinese banquets like the plague, and turn to a simple East-West menu with the same happy pleasure that I would greet a shady tree.

Thinking in terms of cooking pleasure, if you are new to cooking a whole chicken and are intimidated by recipes such as “Chinese Curried Chicken”, “Steamed Chicken with Sweet Sausage and Scallion Oil” and “Orange and Tea Smoked Chicken” that call for you to chop up an entire bird, take heart! It is actually a very easy business. The main trick is to have in hand a sturdy, thick-bladed cleaver that will not knick when it hits the bone, and, if you wish an additional friendly tool, a poultry shear. Then, it’s a matter only of method. I first remove the wings and legs by cutting neatly around the joint, bending the wing or leg back to snap the bone free of the socket, and making the extra cut or two needed to free the joint. If the legs are big, I chop them Chinese-style into thirds across the bone (some good-spirited, hearty whacks do the job), and split the wings in two by cutting through the central joint. Next, I cut the body of the chicken into two by cutting first through the breast bone and then along one side of the backbone. The last step is to cut along the rib cage to divide each half in half again, and then to chop each fourth across the bone into rectangular pieces that make a good-sized morsel then claimed by a fork or chopstick. This act of chopping takes more time to describe than to execute, so don’t hesitate to give it a try.

Similarly, if you are new to cooking Chinese-style and fear that your precious summer hours will be wasted slaving over a chopping block and hot wok, put your fears aside. Recipes such as “Steamed Chicken Dumplings”, “Sourdough Chicken Toasts’ and “Rice Crumb Chicken” – pretty appetizers, the trio – are simple enough for even a novice cook. “Stir-Fried Hoisin Chicken with Hazelnuts”, while involving a marinating step and the classic attention to chopping vegetables and aromatics, may be prepared a full day in advance, leaving the final 3-minute cooking to the leisurely moments just before dinner. And “Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup with Toasted Almonds” and “Cold and Crunch Chicken Salad with Two Sauces” are do-ahead dishes as well, with the additional appeal of the familiar.

Here, then are some lively alternatives to the usual summer chicken. Approach them with confidence and enjoy them with a cold beer and a refreshing salad. It’s summertime and the Chinese Cookin’ is easy.

Rice Crumb Chicken

Soft slices of chicken breast are coated with seasoned rice and steamed, making this a very simple appetizer or light main course.

4-6 hors d’oeuvre servings or 2 entrée servings

½ pound boned and skinned fresh chicken breast
½ teaspoon finely minced garlic
½ teaspoon Chinese chili sauce (optional)
2 teaspoons finely minced scallion, white and light greet parts only
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon Chinese or Japanese sesame oil
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon raw white rice
½ teaspoon “Roasted Szechwan Pepper-Salt”
additional pepper-salt for dipping - or – “Hakka Garlic Sauce”

Lightly pound fillets and breast pieces with the broad side of a cleaver until 3/8-inch thick, then cut crosswise into pieces about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide. In a small bowl, toss the chicken, garlic, chili sauce, scallion, wine, soy sauce and sesame oil, stirring well with your hand to coat and separate the slices. Seal airtight and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour or overnight in the refrigerator.

In a dry skillet, toast the rice and pepper-salt over moderate heat stirring until the grains turn golden, about 5 minutes. Remove the hot mixture to a food processor fitted with the steel knife and grind to a nubbly consistency about half the size of a peppercorn. Combine the rice mixture with the chicken, tossing to distribute the crumbs.

Arrange the slices in a single layer on a heatproof plate at least 1-inch smaller in diameter than your steamer. (Do not worry if the crumbs do not entirely cover the chicken.) Steam over medium-high heat 15-20 minutes until rice is tender.

Serve with an accompanying dip dish of “Roasted Szechwan Pepper-Salt” or “Hakka Garlic Sauce”, or a simple mixture of 1 part soy sauce and 1 part unseasoned Japanese rice vinegar with a dash of sesame oil or hot chili oil.

Roasted Szechwan Pepper-Salt

A wonderful, all-around seasoning. Store in an airtight jar.

Makes ½ cup.

¼ cup Szechwan peppercorns
½ cup old-fashioned kosher salt

Toast peppercorns and salt in a dry skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until salt turns off-white. Peppercorns will smoke; lower heat if needed to prevent scorching. Remove hot mixture to work bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel knife and process for a full minute to obtain a coarse powder. Alternatively, pound in a mortar with a pestle. Sieve to remove peppercorn husks.

Hakka Garlic Sauce

A zippy sweet garlic sauce perfect with chicken.

Makes ¼ cup.

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon very finely minced garlic
2 tablespoons unseasoned Japanese rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

Combine the garlic, vinegar and sugar in a small dish, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Set aside 15 minutes to allow flavors to develop, and stir before serving.

©Dara Bunjon

 

I would be remiss if I didn’t say that this blogger is feeling the financial pinch being felt by many others but that has not kept me from dining out. Case in point, Sotto Sopra’s 3-Course Chef’s Tasting Menu that is offered every Wednesday evening for $30. Each month the executive chef, Bill Crouse chooses items off their seasonal based menu to highlight. The choices offered are crafted that everyone can dine from vegetarian to carnivore.  

 

The husband, as I will refer to him in this column, and good friend, Patti, joined me last Wednesday for this excursion to Sotto Sopra Restaurant, a restaurant known for their contemporary Italian food. I just love their venue which is housed in a turn-of-the century, Mt. Vernon town house that is home to fabulous artwork, large gilded-framed mirrors and drapes that emphasize the stylish décor.  I’ve always found the energy at Sotto Sopra invigorating and this Wednesday evening was no different. There was a party going on in the back section around the bar, all the tables filled as we dined and guests were engaged in lively conversation. 

 

Our waiter, Isaac, brought our grissini and focaccia to the table along with a plate of drizzled extra virgin olive oil topped with Reggiano Parmesan cheese and fresh ground black pepper. We all opted for the Insalata di Rucola for our appetizer and went different paths for the entrees. Everything was delicious, the portions generous considering the low prices and we left not a single morsel on our plates. Service was timely, pleasant, and informative. Below is the menu for our evening with photographs of our choices. Please remember I’m not Ansel Adams and don’t claim to be – hopefully my photographs do justice to the wonderful dishes we enjoyed that evening. 

 

Here is the menu for April and you can CLICK HERE for upcoming menus.

 

Sotto Sopra Restaurant

3-Course Chef's Tasting Menu

Wednesday Nights
April’s Menu

(choice of Appetizer)
Zuppa del Giorno 
Soup of the Day

Insalata di Rucola
Baby arugula, crispy apple-wood smoked bacon, crumbled goat cheese, dried cherries and stone ground mustard vinaigrette

 

Piccatine di Vitello
Sautéed veal scaloppini, parsnip puree, roasted asparagus and tarragon butter
 

  Pesci del Giorno
Fish of the day
(which was salmon with fingerling potatoes and spinach with pine nuts)

(choice of Dessert)
Tiramisu
Ladyfingers dipped in espresso coffee with mascarpone & cocoa
 

 

Vanilla Crème Brulee
Custard topped with caramelized sugar
crème brulee

 

$30 per person
Does not include beverages, tax, or gratuity and other promotions and discounts are not applicable. 

Reservations Suggested

 

For even greater savings you might want to arrive early and enjoy the restaurant’s Aperitivo Hour drink and food specials at the bar from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Also their flier said that on Friday night’s the drink specials are all night long at the bar. 

 

Food for thought: You might want to sign up for Sotto Sopra’s E-Newsletter or subscribe to their blog for updates on special unadvertised events (dinners, cooking classes etc), recipes, and videos. (CLICK HERE)

 

Have you found any dining bargains? – Let me know.

 

Dining Dish says get out of the house, beat the inflations woes and enjoy a wonderful 3 course dinner for just $30. I strongly suggest reservations.

 

Sotto Sopra Restaurant

405 N. Charles Street

Baltimore, MD 21201

410 625 0534

 

open 7 days a week

Lunch: Monday through Saturdays

Dinner: served daily

Street parking and valet parking at night.

 

 

 

As I touch this delicate paper cookbook/pamphlet, Wartime from July 1944, it starts to fall apart in my hands. My husband, a flea market-yard sale devotee, garnished this piece of history for me a couple of months ago. I thought I would share some of the interesting parts of this wartime food legacy with you.

Wartime rationing is not anything most of us have had to deal with in our lifetime. These were times when you didn't have strawberries in the dead of winter, no one knew about nutritional packaging, and there were no TV dinners or fast food joints. In those days you barely had enough butter.

Americanism was promoted when the US was at war in 1944. The opening line of the foreword "We, as a nation, are great meat eaters." The closing line "This series has been carefully prepared with the hope that it will be of real practical value in helping your family and every other family using them to be healthy and happy American citizens."

The Lunch Box chapter continues with the Americanism. "Good foods and proper ones are the bases of healthy, strong bodies. Healthy men and women are vitally necessary to win this war. Yet many workers are not eating the proper foods to give them energy and "pep."

Here is a peppy recipe for a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich:

Butter two slices of bread. Spread one slice with peanut butter and one with jelly. Put the two together and brush the outside with melted butter. Sauté in butter in a heavy skillet.

Note-Marmalade, or jam may be used in place of jelly.

 

In 1944 there were Seven Basic Foods:

 

Wartime offered a 2-week menu planner so one could appropriately take advantage of the leftovers, no waste. Probably the most unusual combination I saw recommended was a bacon and pickle sandwich on enriched white bread.

 

In the Vegetable Cooking section one can learn how to cook Jerusalem Artichokes. I didn't fathom that this was something grown in the US at that time.

I hope you enjoyed this snippet of Wartime history from 1944 and it's view of how we lived. 

Do you have any pieces of food history you would like to share?

 

On Saturdays, starting June 14^th through October 25^th Baltimore is welcoming FreshFarm Markets, responsible for many farmer’s markets including one of the nation’s best at Dupont Circle as well as Annapolis, Silver Spring and St. Michaels. The new location will be East Harbor at 1000 Lancaster Street between South Exeter Street and Central Avenue, on the InnerHarbor. The farmer/producers and partner organizations have not been announced. Keep your eye on Fresh Farm Markets .