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Come Party With Me: Fashion Week Party - Menu

partysugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:45:18 -0700

For my Fashion Week party, I'm putting together a menu full of iconic New York treats. I'll be hosting the party at my place, but since I want to kick back and have fun too, my dinner menu will be composed primarily of passed items.

Homemade pretzels and dill-pastrami bites are not only great snacks, but they're also quintessential New York eats. For something more substantial, I'll be serving a platter of steak with tomato dipping sauce, as well as small plates of Waldorf salad. To put together this effortless party menu, read more.

Dill-Pastrami Bites
From Walmart

Ingredients

5 crisp dill pickle wedges
8 slices pastrami
1/2 cup cucumber-dill or herb spreadable cheese
1/3 cup chopped ripe olives
Fresh radishes

Directions

Halve pickle wedges lengthwise. Pat pickles and pastrami dry with paper towels.
Spread one side of each piece of pastrami with spreadable cheese. Sprinkle olives evenly over cheese and press them lightly into cheese. Top with 1 pickle quarter, adding small piece of pickle to cover meat, if necessary.
Starting on long end, roll up pastrami to enclose pickle.
Carefully cut each roll into 8 pieces. Garnish with sliced fresh radishes, if desired.

Makes 40 pieces, enough for 6 to 8 people.

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New York Pretzels
From Gourmet

Ingredients

1 tablespoon sugar
1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
3 3/4 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons pretzel salt
Special equipment: parchment paper

Directions

Stir together sugar, yeast, and 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (105 to 110°F) in a glass measuring cup, then let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.
Whisk together 3 1/2 cups flour and 1 tablespoon table salt in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough. Dust work surface with 1 tablespoon flour, then turn out dough and knead, gradually dusting with just enough additional flour to make a smooth sticky dough, about 8 minutes.
Return dough to bowl and cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
Turn out dough onto a clean work surface and cut into 8 equal pieces. Using your palms, roll 1 piece back and forth on a clean dry work surface into a rope about 24 inches long. If dough sticks to your hands, lightly dust them with flour. Twist dough into a pretzel shape.
Transfer pretzel with your hands to an oiled baking sheet and form 7 more pretzels with remaining dough, spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart.

Let pretzels stand, uncovered, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 425°F. Bring a wide 6-quart pot of water to a boil.
Using both hands, carefully add 3 pretzels, 1 at a time, to boiling water and cook, turning over once with tongs, until pretzels are puffed and shape is set, about 3 minutes. Transfer parboiled pretzels to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining 5 pretzels in 2 batches.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper and oil paper, then arrange pretzels on sheet. Brush pretzels lightly with some of egg and sprinkle with pretzel salt.
Bake until golden brown and lightly crusted, about 35 minutes. Cool 15 minutes, then serve warm.

Makes 8 pretzels.

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Waldorf Salad
From Food Network

Ingredients

1/2 cup walnut halves
1/2 cup non-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 lemon, zest finely grated
Freshly ground black pepper
2 large crisp apples, such as Gala
2 ribs celery (with leaves), sliced into 1/2-inch-thick pieces (leaves chopped)
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 head Boston lettuce, trimmed, washed, and dried

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool and break the nuts up into small pieces.
Whisk the yogurt, mayonnaise, parsley, honey, and lemon zest in a large bowl and season generously with pepper.
Halve, core, and cut the apples into 3/4-inch pieces, leaving the skin intact.
Add the apples, celery and raisins to the bowl, and sprinkle with the lemon juice; then toss with the dressing.
Cover and refrigerate if not serving immediately.
When ready to serve, toss walnuts into the salad. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a large platter, or divide them among 4 salad plates. Place the salad on the lettuce and serve.

Serves 4.

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Steak Bites With Bloody Mary Dipping Sauce
From Rachael Ray

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup vodka
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
1 cup tomato sauce
1 rounded tablespoon prepared horseradish
Salt and pepper
1 1/3 pounds beef sirloin cut into large bite-sized pieces
Steak seasoning blend or coarse salt and black pepper
6 to 8 inch bamboo skewers

Directions

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and onions and saute 5 minutes. Add vodka and reduce by 1/2. Add Worcestershire, hot sauce, tomato sauce, and horseradish. Stir to combine the dipping sauce and return the sauce to a bubble. Add salt and pepper and adjust seasonings.
Heat nonstick skillet over high heat. Coat meat bites lightly in oil. Season with steak seasoning blend or salt and pepper to taste. Cook the meat until caramelized all over, about 2 minutes on each side.
Transfer dipping sauce to a small dish and place at the center of a serving platter. Surround the dip with meat bites and set several bamboo "stakes" or skewers along side meat.

Serves 6.

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'Wich of the Week: Pastrami Reuben

YumSugar — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:00:25 -0700

Not only is the Reuben one of my favorite sandwiches, but it's also sort of magical, since it takes three ingredients I'm not wild about (corned beef, rye bread, and thousand island dressing) and turns them into deliciousness. But since I rarely eat thousand island dressing, it ends up spoiling every time I buy it to make Reubens. So to meet my latest craving for this classic sandwich, I altered the recipe slightly, replacing the dressing with spicy mustard and the corned beef with pastrami.Pastrami is actually a variation on corned beef that involves smoking the meat. It's typically paired with mustard so this Reuben borrows flavors from two familiar sandwiches. Though I couldn't give up the sweet thousand island dressing forever, I must admit that this saltier Reuben was quite delectable. To get the recipe, read more.

Pastrami Reuben
Original recipe

Ingredients

2 slices of rye bread
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon spicy mustard
2 slices swiss cheese
3 slices pastrami
1/4 cup sauerkraut

Directions

Butter one side of each piece of bread.
On the other side of each slice, spread a liberal amount of spicy mustard.
On the mustard-coated side of one slice, lay a slice of swiss cheese, followed by three slices of pastrami.
Using a fork to drain off the liquid, distribute the sauerkraut evenly atop the meat.

Top the sauerkraut with another slice of swiss, and lay the second slice of bread, mustard-side down, on top of the cheese.
In a skillet over medium-low heat, grill the sandwich, turning once, until both sides are golden brown and cheese is melted.

Slice in half and serve.

Makes 1 sandwich.

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Happy Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day!

partysugar — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:18:33 -0800

Today is National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day and I'm excited! I love a good pastrami sandwich and decided to challenge you by putting together a quiz. What do you really know about pastrami sandwiches? Find out now, just take the quiz!

Source

Take the quiz

Yummy Link: Homemade Pastrami

partysugar — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 05:01:39 -0800

Looks like I've found my next father/daughter bonding recipe: homemade pastrami! It takes a couple of days and a lot of foil, but the final result appears absolutely scrumptious. - Food Wishes Video Recipes

Pastrami Reuben

YumSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:30:56 -0700

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'Wich of the Week: Classic Reuben

YumSugar — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:00:24 -0700

The Reuben is such a classic American sandwich that two people claim to have invented it: Reuben Kulakofsky of Omaha, NE, who enjoyed the sandwich at a weekly poker game, and New York deli owner Arthur Reuben, who said he first made the sandwich around 1914.

Who first grilled up that savory stack of rye bread, corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing, we'll probably never know. But that won't stop me from enjoying an endless parade of Reuben recipes, from pastrami to tempeh. Of course, it's hard to beat a good, old-fashioned corned beef Reuben, grilled on rye bread that's buttered to perfection. So try this classic recipe

A Day at the Great American Food (and Line) Festival

partysugar — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:30:42 -0700

For weeks I was looking forward to attending Serious Eats Great American Food and Music Fest at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA. With big-name celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri, and the best of America's regional cuisine - Katz's pastrami sandwiches, Pink's hot dogs, Tony Luke's Philly cheesesteaks, etc. - it was sure to be a fabulous festival.

Unfortunately, the first-time event was plagued with problems, so much so that the organizer, Ed Levine, published a formal apology. The computerized credit card pay system crashed, the staff was unhelpful and clueless, and, most importantly, the wait to get any food was two hours long! Instead of smiling, contented faces and full bellies, the crowd was hungry, aggressive, and angry.

Luckily, as the day wore on and the crowds thinned out, things got a little better. Fieri and Flay both gave enthusiastic demos in front of cheering fans. The wine-tasting room was uncrowded, the line for bacon was empty, and the chocolate-almond-covered caramel sticks were finger-licking good. Did anyone else attend? What food did you eat?

To take a closer look at the festival, check out all of my images and read more.

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How to Make a New Jersey Sloppy Joe

partysugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:50:45 -0700

A couple of weeks ago, Brian Sugar, came to my desk with an incredibly giddy look on his face. He had purchased 10 pounds of turkey and 10 more of pastrami, quarts of coleslaw and Russian dressing, and countless loaves of Rye bread. He was going to make a "New Jersey Sloppy Joe." According to Mr. Sugar, in New Jersey, a sloppy joe isn't the common combination of ground beef and juicy tomato sauce, it is rather, a wet sandwich somewhere between the classic Reuben and a pastrami sandwich. Intrigued, I followed him to the conference room where a makeshift assembly line was set up. Naturally, I had to document the technique to share with you. To learn how to make Brian Sugar's New Jersey Sloppy Joe, simply start clicking!

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How to Tell When Lunch Meats Are Bad

partysugar — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:00:05 -0700

The other day DearSugar dragged me to the kitchen and asked me to inspect her sliced deli turkey. It had been sitting in the fridge for more than a couple of days and she wasn't sure if the turkey was still edible or not. I explained that there are several ways to tell when cold cuts have gone bad:

Start by looking at the sell by date. All lunch meats (whether they are prepackaged or fresh cut from the deli) have a sell by date. It's best to consume the meat within seven to 10 days after the sell by date.
Generally speaking, once it's been opened, eat within three to five days.
If the meat is extremely slimy with a film on the outside, throw it away.
Any odd or off smells of vinegar, ammonia, or yeast mean it's time to throw the turkey, pastrami, or ham out.
This goes without saying, but if there's any mold or growths on the meat or package, dispose of it immediately.

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'Wich of the Week: Ham and Swiss on Dutch Crunch

YumSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:15:09 -0700

San Francisco's Roxie Food Center is an unassuming corner store, located on an unlikely residential block, that's rumored to have remarkable sandwiches. I've been meaning to try it for months, so a few weeks ago I made a special trip just to get my jaws around one these sammies.

Though the store has all the usual varieties of bread and cold cuts, I'd heard great things about the Dutch crunch rolls, which are topped with a sugary, salty crust. The mere thought of the salty-sweet bread combined with jalapeños and pickles made my mouth water, so I ordered a ham and swiss sandwich, dressed with everything and warmed in the oven. For the rest of my Roxie sandwich adventure, read more.

My friend got the Simon Special, with pastrami, turkey, and cheddar (see above), and we took our enormous paper-wrapped meals to a nearby park. (There's just something extra tasty about a sandwich wrapped in paper, isn't there?) The rolls were so decadent, it was almost like eating a pastry, but the sweet, crunchy roll melded perfectly with the massive stack of ingredients.

In fact, these sandwiches were so packed with different flavors and textures - shredded iceberg lettuce, pickles, jalapeños, tomatoes, and onions - that it was impossible to distinguish one taste from the other. Just like a great sandwich should, the Roxie transformed a bunch of disparate flavors into one novel (and delicious) taste.

If you're ever in SF, I highly recommend this hidden convenience store gem. But even if you're not, this is a relatively simple sandwich; re-creating it is all about getting the right ratio of ingredients. I've tried my best to replicate the recipe below, so if you try it, let me know what you think.

Ham and Swiss on Dutch Crunch
Inspired by the Roxie Food Center

Ingredients

1 Dutch crunch roll
4 slices of cold-cut ham
3 slices of tomato
4-6 jalapeño pepper slices (canned, not fresh)
4-6 dill pickle sandwich slices
1/4 cup iceberg lettuce, shredded
1/8 cup red onion, thinly sliced
2-3 slices of swiss cheese
Yellow mustard and mayonnaise, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Slice Dutch crunch roll in half horizontally, and coat the inside of the roll on both sides with yellow mustard and mayo.
On the bottom of the roll, arrange the cold-cut ham, and top with tomato, jalapeno, and pickles.
On top of that layer, place the shredded lettuce, followed by the onion slices.
Top all ingredients with the sliced swiss cheese, and place the top half of the roll down onto the stack of fixings.
Place the entire sandwich in the oven for 5 minutes, or until roll is crisped and cheese is just melted. Remove from heat, cut in half, and serve immediately.

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