Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Next Year in Jerusalem
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 As the grim specter of a bread-less noodle-less Passover looms ever-closer, we can’t help but remember our tadpole years, high on a capful of Manishevitz and calling out the ceremonial four questions at our family Seder. Our mom called us a cheap date. We thought it was a compliment.
But the Seder is about more than four glasses of too-sweet wine. The word means ‘order’ in Hebrew, and indeed order is an integral part of the meal. The washing of hands, the formal toasts to freedom, the description of meaningful foods—Passover is as much about storytelling and merrymaking as it is about the transfer of knowledge, history and the importance of symbols.
In that spirit, we’re breaking down the Seder plate piece by piece and showing you where to head for a taste (if kosher conditions and actual authenticity are of no consequence, of course). Call it mashugana. Call it a gastronomic tour de shmaltz. Just don’t call us late for dinner.
Maror
Maror, or bitter herbs, symbolizes the bitterness of life for the Jewish slaves of Egypt. Though formally the ‘herb’ should be bitter enough to induce tears, many families use cubed horseradish pressed into lumps of sweet charoset (see below).
- Remember the affliction over brunch with a Ditch Plains Bloody Mary or with a glass of horseradish-infused aquavit available at legendary Swedish eatery, Aquavit. Take the edge off with Broadway Panhandler’s Triangle Horseradish Grater, perfect for preparing your Seder plate with ease.
Karpas
Karpas involves dipping a spring vegetable, often a sprig of parsley, in salt water twice to represent the tears of affliction.
- Gremolata, a garnish of minced garlic, parsley and lemon peel, should do the trick. Find it at Cookshop, sprinkled over caramelized cauliflower, golden raisin and pine nuts.
Zeroa
The Zeroa, or lamb’s shankbone, symbolizes the biblical Passover sacrifice and the marking of doorposts during the Egyptian plagues.
- Chef Michael Psilakis’ Lamb Chop, Loin & Mousaka at Anthos is hardly a sacrifice, but we’re willing to take it on the chin. The trio is served with Jerusalem artichoke puree, braised red leaf romaine and garlic confit. Or stop by Mesa Grill to sample Bobby Flay’s Lamb Shank Posole with red chile broth, cabbage, cotija and radishes.
Charoset
Traditionally a blend of apples, nuts and cinnamon with sweet red wine, charoset represents the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to bind the bricks of Egyptian structures.
- Alexandra Guarnaschelli of Butter suggests serving a Slow-Roasted Apple sprinkled with cinnamon and crushed walnuts.
Beitzah
The final element of the Seder plate, the beitzah or roasted egg, is both a traditional symbol of mourning and one of fertility and spring’s rebirth.
- Visit NISH for a taste of Chef Wayne Nish’s Poached Organic Egg with wakame, lemon, mentaiko and katsuo bushi. Or take a seat at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon’s counter and order L’Ouef — Egg Cocotte topped with a light mushroom cream.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Spring with Água Luca
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When Shake Shack fired its grills last Tuesday the first meaty whiff of spring came trundling southward from Madison Park to our 19th Street pad. The season has arrived, and with it comes all the booze-spiked milkshakes, outdoor dining and post-meal strolls that, for us anyway, mark the pending warmer months. And while our edge may be admirably in tact, we wouldn’t mind a refreshing warm-weather cocktail to, well, take the edge off. Água Luca, do your thing:
Designed by Rainlove Lampariello of New York’s Lever House, the Pineapple Sage Daiquiri is a refreshing union of sweet and savory elements, ideal to usher in the season. Here’s how to whip one up at home:
Pineapple Sage Daiquiri
2 oz. Água Luca
2 oz. Pineapple juice (preferably fresh pineapple puree)
1 oz. fresh lime juice
½ oz. simple syrup
In mixing glass muddle 3 large sage leaves. Add ice. Add above ingredients. Shake well and strain over ice in a tall glass with sage leaf garnish.
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Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Luck of the Irish
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 Barrels of green-tinted beer, thousands of lechers hollering and clinking their pints in unison? We’ve filed such debauchery away with dorm mixers and black lights. After all, St. Patrick’s Day is about celebrating Irish culture isn’t it? Yeats and Shaw, potatoes and bacon, the Book of Kells and such? We’re civilized here at Bullfrog & Baum, but we’re not about to let the day go unrecognized. From oatmeal to milkshakes, here’s how we’ll be saving the date.
- We’ll swing by Ditch Plains for a breakfast of Irish Steel-cut oats, available from 9am to 2am. The oats can be gussied up per each diner’s desire, but in honor of St. Patty’s day we recommend some blood sausage.
- We’ll duck into Chef Terrance Brennan’s Artisanal Fromagerie, Bistro & Wine Bar for a daily selection of Irish cheeses. The fourth generation Irishman offers the Ardrahan, a washed-rind cow's milk cheese hailing from County Cork in the south of Ireland which has an earthy, mushroomy flavor and milky paste. Also available is the mild, creamy Cashel Blue from County Tipperary and a buttery Durrus, whose fruity flavors strengthen as the cheese matures.
- Our West Coast gals will stop by Michael Mina’s StripSteak at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas to pay respect to the potato. There, our girls can choose from spuds like Sweet Potato Fritters with Ginger-Cilantro Crème Fraiche, a Chorizo Baked Potato or a Trio of Duck Fat Fries (Rosemary and Onion Scented with house-made ketchup, Truffle and Chives with truffle aioli or Smoked Paprika with jalapeño barbecue sauce).
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We’ll top things off with a Lucky Charms shake, available at BLT Burger from Thursday, March 15 to Sunday, March 18. The festive green shake features two scoops of mint chocolate chip ice cream, milk and a graham cracker garnished with whipped cream, Lucky Charms cereal and green sprinkles.
Staying in this St. Patty’s Day? Our man David Burke, spokesman for Samuel Adams Beer, suggests whipping up a simple brine using two bottles of Samuel Adam’s Chocolate Bock, nine sliced shallots, one teaspoon of black peppercorns and a few sprigs of thyme. Boil the mixture, cool and use to brine a boned-out chicken for a festive meal at home.
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Wednesday, March 07, 2007
All News is Good News This Week at The Frog Blog
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Bullfrog & Baum would like to congratulate our clients, whose accomplishments in the past week—from sterling press to charitable cheese—have made us mighty proud.
New York Magazine’s Best of New York issue hit newsstands this week, counting seven Bullfrog & Baum clients in its prestigious ranks. The annual compendium of favorites is always a hot topic among opinionated readers who accept or reject the weekly’s picks with the kind of fire and brimstone only New Yorkers can muster. But we’re not here to complain.
L’Atelier de Joël Robochon got the nod for his transcendental baguettes, davidburke & donatella for Chef Burke’s indulgent take on PB & J, BLT Burger for Bullfrog veteran Laurent Tourondel’s patty prowess and newcomer Kefi for his rustic Greek meatballs. Cookshop was named the best brunch spot to “Gird up for Gallery-Hopping” and Aquavit’s smorgasbord was given the magazine’s seal of approval.
For Terrance Brennan, whose bar snacks at Picholine earned him a Best Of title all his own, this week was particularly triumphant. Brennan’s big ticket stunt—creating the world’s largest fondue on national television—garnered an incredible amount of attention and culled an incredible amount of hard work from B&B teamster Christopher Langley.
The event, which aired on the Today Show on February 28, showed Brennan’s team cooking up a 2100-pound cheese fondue in a 220-year old, three ton kettle heated by custom propane burners. Brennan’s fondue combined the highest quality ingredients including grated gruyère and swiss cheese from Wisconsin’s world famous Roth Käse USA, Ltd., white wine from Rosemount Estate and a signature house-made water and seasoning mix consisting of salt, lemon, pepper and garlic.
After an on-site representative from the Guinness World Records™ declared the official record, the fondue was donated to City Harvest, the world’s first food rescue organization servicing New York City for 25 years. Brennan later donated a portion of proceeds from his restaurants and online cheese sales from www.artisanalcheese.com to Share Our Strength, an international leader in the fight against hunger.
A banner week indeed for the B&B family.
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