Scrumptious Street

Thai Eggplant with Lime Chilli Chutney and Mango Skins

As I mentioned in last night's post, earlier this week I ventured to Chinatown in NYC and one of the wonderful treasures from my jaunt were Thai eggplant.  These unique little berries can be challenging like many other eggplant or aubergine varieties but I have been determined to sex them up a little bit.  In previous attempts they were bitter; my goal this time was to remove the bitterness without having to skin them and to create something new that had a delightful punch for such small fruit.

I believe I used to have an allergy to eggplant when I was a child because of the nausea it produced but I have overcome that harsh reaction.  Even still, I often just don't care for eggplant but love a good challenge and stick with trying new things. 

I won't say last night was the best eggplant dish I've ever had, but it certainly was the best one I have ever made at home.  Here's the recipe I composed:
Serves 4 as an appetizer or side dish

Ingredients:
8 thai eggplant, washed and sliced in half, stems removed
1 pat butter
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 and 1/2 limes juiced and skins cut into quarters
1/4 very ripe mango skins
2 tsp. lime and chilli chutney -- this is an incredible product
1 tsp. thistle honey

Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.  Wash and slice the eggplant and place them in a baking dish.  Add the butter, salt, pepper and olive oil and mix thoroughly in dish to coat each eggplant piece evenly.  Cover and bake for 30 minutes.  Next, remove from the oven and add the lime, lime skins and mango skins.  If you don't have the mango skins on hand, I think this would still be good but truly, they added an amazing sweetness and flavor to the dish.  (I always save mango skins after peeling them for such uses!) Cover again and return to oven for 15 minutes. Remove the dish again and lastly add the lime chili chutney and honey and fold in to completely coat and mix the ingredients in the dish.  Return to oven and bake for final 10 minutes.  Remove and test to make sure eggplant are soft and delicate and skins are tender.  Serve as is as an appetizer or side dish or combine with a creamy rice.

There was still a slight bitterness to the result but it was spicy and sweet enough that it wasn't too overwhelming.  However, I did serve this to three others.  Two loved it and one thought it was good but too bitter.  So, this depends on your palate and penchant for bold flavors.

A Steamer Worthy of My Pantry

I've recently purchased the most incredible steamer basket and pot from a fabulous Thai grocery store in Chinatown, shown in the photo above.  I have used it to make sticky rice, and the texture, form and moisture is unbelievable. Steaming in bamboo also creates a gorgeous taste that is so authentic and mixes nicely with whatever you do to liven in up.  I won't share my favorite recipe with you now because it's not my own.  I am a tester for the James Beard 2006 award winner for Internet Website for Food, Leite's Culinaria, and I tested it for them.  I won't share it until well after they've published it. But, when they have I will point you to it because it is divine!

As you know by now, I am truly thrilled by the process and results of cooking with professional appliances at home for the first time.  One of the joys in my life is the additional storage of my new kitchen, including a fantastic pantry installed by my dear husband in one of our "spare" closets.  For all you New Yorkers, yes, that's how unique our new apartment is.  <HUGE GRIN ON MY FACE>There is so much closet space we have turned one into a pantry.</HUGE GRIN ON MY FACE>.   

Check it out right after he built it, when we moved in.

 

And, here's what it looks like now, after getting settled and cooking all the time.  Yes, it's partially a garage too, we didn't buy a HOUSE, afterall.

I was thinking about this today after learning about a great blog called The Perfect Pantry (check it out if you haven't yet) and how my first-ever wonderful pantry has already begun obliterating previous boundaries I had.  As a New Yorker with no space whatsoever in a closet-sized kitchen, my previous pantry was a just a cupboard shelf.  With this gargantuan closet-sized PANTRY, I finally have the luxury of space.  To me, that means I also finally have the luxury for certain tools, equipment, small appliances that I've never had before.  (Watch out, I'm getting a mixer next...)

The fantastic steamer helps me create beautiful sticky rice and I have the steamer because of my gorgeously spacious pantry! It's all so completely exciting, I feel like a little kid who finally got a pony at Christmas after years of getting only sweaters.  I used to have the three-tiered bamboo steamer for vegetables and dim sum but I find this Thai variation is perfect for the rice, specifically.  So-- how many of you already know and love bamboo steamers and have you used this particular Thai variation?

Almond Anise Biscotti (a la Chef's Fingers)

For the past three years, I have been making biscotti nearly every week and am continually on the search to perfect my recipes.  Today was a rainy, dreary day in New York and I hadn't made biscotti through the hot July and August months so it was the perfect day.  Below is my favorite recipe.  I tried at least 50 in my quest for perfection. Now, in my first batch from the new Bosch oven, I am thrilled with the results.  Below is my standard recipe, which turned out golden brown, crunchy, hearty and very reminiscent of the wonderful biscotti I've had in Firenze.  The reference to Chef's Fingers is a joke -- I always burn my fingers while turning them; thus the need for classic Chef's Fingers.

Ingredients:

Yields about 20 biscotti ranging from large to small due to the oval loaves

3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted sweet butter
1 tsp. aniseed
1 tsp. orange extract
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup whole raw almonds, chopped

Note: I always make these by hand in a bowl, never using a mixer.  I'm sure it would be fine, but I've got my rhythm.  Feel free to try this out and let me know how you like the results if you use a mixer.

Method:
Start by chopping the whole almonds.  My favorite tool to do this is an ulu knife and bowl my mother brought me after a trip to Alaska, similar to this.  Gently melt the unsalted butter.  I use the stovetop, I don't have a microwave.  Make sure to watch it so the butter just melts but doesn't clarify.  Meanwhile, cream together eggs and sugar with a wooden spoon, stirring completely to make a smooth and runny batter in one bowl.  In a separate bowl, sift the flour and add in the baking powder.  Mix the two dry ingredients thoroughly.  Add the melted butter, aniseed and orange extract to the bowl with the sugar and eggs and stir with the spoon.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and continue to incorporate thoroughly with the spoon.  Do not overbeat.  Fold in the chopped almonds and work them into the dough gently.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate between two and three hours.  After dough is chilled, begin preheating the oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.  Butter two flat baking sheets thouroughly.  (By the way, I LOVE these baking sheets.)  Divide the dough into two equal parts and form each dough into a large oval, patting down to make it no more than 1 or 1 1/2 inches high, by about 4 inches wide by about 8 inches long.  Here's a photo of one of the unbaked doughs.

When the oven is preheated, put the dough in and bake until it's a deep golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  In my oven that was 23 minutes.  I usually find 20 -25 minutes is right and have made these in at least 4 ovens.  It's always in that time frame.  After the first baking, remove the dough from the oven and let them cool slightly.  When you can handle them easily, slide them off the baking sheets and onto a cutting board.  Using your favorite serrated knife, slice the dough on a diagonal along the dough, making the cuts about 3/4 inch thick; yielding the classic biscotti shape.  Spread the biscotti out on the baking sheets and return them to the oven, baking 11 minutes.  Then, remove them, flip them over (ouch, ouch, get your Chef's Fingers toughened up) and bake on the opposite side for 10 minutes more.  Remove them from the oven and let cool completely on a cooling rack.

These are definitely a staple in our home and our favorite way to enjoy them is in bed with our morning coffee.  Instead of rushing to start your day, sit up in bed with a steaming cup of strong coffee and dunk the tasty biscotti for a few seconds.  The trick is to soften them slightly but not so much that they fall off into the bottom of your cup.  Once you start this habit, it's very difficult to stop.  Hopefully you will enjoy these as much as we do in our home.  BEWARE: this behavior may induce playing "hooky" from your normal daily responsibilities.

Avocado Crusted Tuna

My husband and I love sushi and Japanese food, but to me it's a very romantic and sensual meal so I rarely eat it alone.  Tonight, on my way home I was craving the bold flavors and textures of sushi or maki rolls but was feeling very creative and inspired to experiment a little.  I created a dish based upon some of the common flavors found in Japanese sushi bars but infused my own style and methods into the concepts. It is by no means truly Japanese; there are several Asian influences in this dish.  I started with high-quality sushi grade tuna but slathered it in spices and boldly seasoned avocado to make a "paste" and then seared it to form a crust on the outside.  Not only do I love bold flavors, but I like to compose dishes in a variety of contrasting textures.  I was very pleased with this brand-new method and dish.  It was slightly crunchy and then immediately creamy and spicy, ending in juicy and deeply flavored soft tuna.  To my palate and creative, playful nature the result was absolutely delightful.  It met the expectation I had of what I wanted in my mind, and was even slightly more intense than I imagined yet wonderfully balanced.  If you're not adventurous in your eating, this may not be for you...If any of you decide to try it out, let me know what you think.

Here's my recipe:
Serves 2
4 pieces tuna sashimi, high quality such as blue fin
1 large or 2 small fully ripe avocados
1/4 tsp. kosher salt *
1/8 tsp. chinese 5-spice powder * plus about 3-4 T for spice rub
1/8 tsp. wasabi paste *
4 T asian chili oil
pickled ginger, shredded daikon, black sesame seeds optional garnishes

* you can use more or less of these, to suit your palate-- TASTE it as you're making it. Also, the asian ingredients I can buy at local markets. If you have a hard time finding them, I've included links above that seem to be able to deliver straight to you.  Bear in mind, I haven't tried those online grocers, so I don't know about their reliability.

Method:
Halve and pit the avocados, slicing and scooping the ripe flesh into a bowl.  Add the kosher salt, 1/8 tsp. 5-spice powder and wasabi paste.  Use a fork and thoroughy mash the avocados into a smooth paste and thoroughly mix in the spices.  Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.  Set aside.  Lay out a flat dish and add 3-4 tablespoons of the 5-spice powder.  Lay out a second flat dish and spoon the avocado mixture onto the dish.  (In this step, I used the style similar to battering or breading food.) Place each sashimi piece in the dish of 5-spice powder and coat thoroughly.  You are aiming for an evenly-covered piece of fish, and are creating a spice rub without massaging the meat.  Each piece looked like this photo .

After the fish has been dusted, move to the dish with the avocado paste and cover each piece of fish with the avocado.  I found that using a butterknife and spreading the avocado evenly on each piece of tuna worked best. 

Next, heat a skillet on your wonderful, amazing cooktop-- on medium in my case.  You want it hot enough to eventually create a good crusty shell. Add 2 Tablespoons of the spicy Asian chili oil and heat thoroughly, tilting and covering the pan.  Add the first batch of tuna, which should be four small pieces.  Sear the tuna 2 minutes, creating a nice golden brown crust and then flip.  Finish another 2 minutes on the second side.  Set aside and do the second batch of fish, the last four pieces.  Lay the fish out on a sushi platter and garnish with pickled ginger, shredded daikon (Japanese radish) and if you like, black sesame seeds.  Here's a shot with the sesame seeds.  I liked the presentation but wasn't crazy about the texture of them.

Give this recipe a try if you have the ingredients available and are feeling adventurous.  It was fun!

The Silent Party Guest

This weekend we had a housewarming party to break in our new apartment.  We’ve thrown several parties in the past few years with very similar guest lists.  This weekend’s party was easily the best of my entertaining career and all of my friends agreed.  It was a fantastic party.  Everyone, including myself and my husband, was relaxed, joyful, excited and celebrating.  People were embracing the interaction, the conversation and each other.  There was more laughter, more group dynamics and the most fun atmosphere of any we’d held before.  More than any other party, nearly every guest at some point said to me “Your friend Jane Partyhearty is fantastic!  What wonderful people!”  In short, everyone had a blast with each other and most were strangers at the beginning of the evening.  But by 1 a.m. Sunday morning, guests were leaving feeling like they’d made wonderful and exciting new discoveries and nuggets of personal connection.  During the post-party cleanup and exhaustion fog, I began to think about why this party was so good. (Other than the FANTASTIC FOOD and liberal drink, of course.)

I attribute much of the vibe, the vigor, the boisterous and bubbling conversation to a brand new guest, a silent visitor who never joined in our parties before; THE KITCHEN.  In all parties, whether they’re cocktail, pot-luck or four-course dinner affairs, people always congregate in the kitchen. The kitchen draws us all with its sensory stimulation and creates a sense of home, community and intimacy.  As well, the kitchen is often where the action is, so those of us who are social like to be in the thick of it. 

Our new kitchen is PERFECT for entertaining.  With an open layout that flows directly into the living room there was plenty of space for our 18 guests.  The island was laden with food as was the table we’d set up next to the island.  The entire evening, that kitchen was the guest who was making the connections, putting people on common ground, bridging interests and distributing delicious morsels of taste and sustenance.  It was transforming people from being a little shy and uncertain of each other into outgoing and raucous partiers sharing themselves personally and opening the door to new friendships.  Many people told me they talked for hours to other guests and never even discussed their professions or jobs.  In NYC, this is rare: it’s my experience that MOST cocktail parties the constant theme is work.  When people don’t really know each other but are socializing they often start with work and then tentatively explore other topics.  In this case, however, our friends showed up and were delighted by our gorgeous new home and one of the first areas greeting them is the kitchen.  As they began congregating in it, feeling it, living it, they got that sense of giddiness I have felt since we moved in.  This kitchen inspires creativity, fun, intimacy, beauty and celebration.  I thank all my dear and glorious friends for making our home just packed with joy that night and I thank the “silent guest”, THE KITCHEN, for bringing out all those qualities within my friends that make me grateful they are in my life.

Due to the vibe of the party, I completely forgot to take photos of the food.  My menu was a hit: 

•    Homemade pizzas of mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and basil with mushrooms or Italian soprasetta
•    Italian cipolata pork sausages rolled in puff pastry with homeade sweet/spicy mustard and tomato/curried dipping sauces (my take on pigs in a blanket and the favorite of the meat lovers)
•    Green bean, chickpea and cannelini bean salad with herb and red pepper vinaigrette in endive and radicchio cups
•    Fresh baguettes and polenta chips and various snacks with homemade dips: mascarpone, crème fraiche and dill, artichoke pate (This was my own creation, I’ve included the recipe below – it was favorite of the vegetarians) and vine-ripened tomato “salsa” with gorgonzola, sea salt, pepper and tarragon
•    Strawberry sandwiches made from mini brioche, fresh strawberries in a lemon and sugar simple syrup with fresh whipped crème

I don’t own a food processor, so I made this pate in my blender.  It took a looooong time.  I did no more than 3-4 tablespoons at a time and then dumped into a large bowl. When all batches were blended, I pureed it together again.  I would recommend using a food processor.  Many people thought this dip was hummus when they first saw it, that’s how smooth I made it.  It was velvety and delicious, we gobbled it up.

 
Recipe for Stephanie’s Artichoke Pate:

2 cans artichoke hearts in water, drained and coarsely chopped
1 shallot, minced
6 pepperoncini de-stemmed and coursely chopped
1 lemon, juiced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (approximate, use only enough for desired texture)
Sea salt to taste (approximately 1 tsp.)
freshly ground white pepper to taste (approximately ¼ tsp.)

Blend or puree the artichokes, shallots and pepperoncini into a chunky texture.  Squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon taking care not to let the seeds go into the blender or processor.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, making sure not to go too quickly and stopping at desired smooth texture.  I didn’t measure this, but I’m guessing it was about ¼ cup. You don’t want too much olive oil; it would be greasy.  Add sea salt and white pepper to taste.  Again, I didn’t measure, but aim for a good and deep flavor while still maintaining balance.  Pour the pate into a serving bowl or dish and garnish with a whole pepperoncini.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours to get the flavors to intensify.  Remove from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving to bring to room temperature.  Tastes excellent when served with polenta crisps and traditional baguettes.

What are your thoughts -- why is the kitchen such a powerful guest?

Banana Fungus Elbows

Okay, did that title get your attention?  Tonight was another whimsical experiment, in which I had so much fun and felt so playful that the posting's title also had to be fun.  The official name of the dish I created tonight might rather be "Elbow macaroni with cubanelle peppers and shiitake mushrooms" but banana fungus elbows is much more expressive.

I'm having a huge housewarming/birthday party this weekend and inviting all my closest friends to join my husband and I for the bash.  That means, I'm in the process of completely emptying the refrigerator and pantry (oh!!! I didn't show you all a photo of my pantry that my amazing hubby built for me yet...) in order to make room for the Fresh Direct delivery and shopping I must do at the market before the weekend.  Alas, in these cases, I often play with food, and have a blast coming up with something I've never done before.  Tonight's banana fungus elbows was exactly that. 

I started with a gorgeous cubanelle pepper, also known by most of us as the banana pepper, but we usually have them marinated or pickled in salads and the all-you-can-eat-buffet when we're visiting our grandparents for the Early Bird special.  But, fresh from the market, the cubanelle is a lovely pepper that tastes much like an anaheim green pepper and is considered of the sweet rather than hot family, but it has a nice mild flavor.

Foraging in the fridge, I also found some nice shiitake mushrooms, a wonderfully ripe lemon, a tomato, a scallion and basic seasonings.

Tonight I was just cooking for myself so it's basically one serving, but I'm sure it could scale well. 

Here's how my recipe turned out:

1/4 lemon, coarsely chopped with rinds on
1/2 cubanelle pepper, medium dice
4 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 scallion, white bulb only, coarsley chopped
1/2 tomato squeezed for juice first, medium dice for flesh
1/2 cup Elbow pasta
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme, stemmed and chopped
1/4 teaspoon Harissa Le Cabanon spicy pepper paste
1 T pasta water
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

For my method I ramped up my stovetop to create a rolling boil for my pasta pan and added a handful of sea salt.  I added the Elbow pasta and started on the veggies and condiment.  I like the Barilla brand of Elbow pasta because it's ridged and twisted so it holds the flavor nicely and doesn't get lost in the veggies like the traditional small american elbow macaroni would.  I started my second pan with the olive oil, brought it up to high saute temperature and tossed in the lemon first.  This was a new method -- I decided to sautee it with the rinds on because I love the flavor and after cooking, it became lovely and carmelized.  When I ate the dish, I didn't eat the rind but cooking the lemons like this added just a wonderful depth to the pasta, it was a very delightful surprise.  When the lemons were soft and nearly carmelized, I tossed in the cubanelle pepper, the shiitake mushrooms and seasoned with sea salt and pepper.  I cooked the vegetables down a bit and then squeezed the seeds and juice from the tomato into the pan, to make more of a juicy sauce and get the liquids working together.  While that was finishing up I chopped the tomato flesh into a medium dice and added it to the pan.  At this point, I added the tablespoon of salty pasta water to the saucepan.  After a couple more minutes, I added the fresh thyme and the le cabanon hot pepper paste.  After stirring well, my pasta was done and I pulled it straight from the water with my favorite skimmer and added it to the vegetables and sauce.  After 30 more seconds, it was perfectly done.  The flavor was entirely new: bright, lightly tart, creamy from the pasta water, fresh and very slightly spicy.  Ah, a very tasty result from a spontaneous clean-the-fridge moment.  What bursts of inspiration do you have when there's virtually no food in your kitchen?

Roasted Portobello Mushroom Salad

One of my favorite ingredients is portobello mushrooms and I love to continually explore new ways to serve them and new flavors to try.  Much like tofu, they are a base that can absorb and exude the most delicous flavors and their texture is ever-changing.  I enjoy mine very tender and juicy, which is often very different from how they are served in restaurants and coffee shops.  I got creative over the weekend and roasted them in my oven (I hadn't tried roasting yet, so why not??!) and assembled them as a pretty summer salad.  As the mushrooms were roasting, the most inviting aroma wafted through the apartment, whetting my appetite and creating a deep spicy undertone throughout the kitchen.  It was a simple meal on a hot evening, and went very nicely with the remainder of a bottle of 2004 Luigi Valpolicella I had. 

On to the salad...First I marinaded the mushrooms for about 40 minutes in the following:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 finely minced shallot
2 T Ciacco Piedmont Braising Sauce with moscato
1 T Balsamic Vinegar
1 T Bee Raw Star Thistle Honey
kosher salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

I fabricated the mushrooms by wiping with a damp paper towel, removing the stems and "de-gilling" them.  I always scrape away the black gills on the underside of the mushroom when I roast them. (I find this helps keeps the texture juicy rather than mushy.) When the oven reached 375 degrees Farenheit, in 14 minutes flat, I laid them on a jelly-roll baking pan with the cap side up and covered both sides in the marinade.  I let them roast 10 minutes with the cap side up and then flipped them over and roasted another 5 minutes.

As the mushrooms were transforming in the oven to delectable morsels, I whipped up a vinaigrette to dress the arugula and fresh vine-ripened tomatoes for the salad.  As usual, I tried something different, so here's the dressing:

2 T olive oil
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp. herbed goat cheese
1 tsp. sugar
sea salt to taste
freshly ground white pepper to taste

I whisked the vinaigrette to a smooth, thick consistency, it was tangy yet creamy. The herbed goat cheese was truly a delicious touch.  At this point, the mushrooms were ready and smelling rich and full-bodied like meat, without the flesh smell.  I lightly tossed the arugula with the vinaigrette, laid the tomatoes thickly sliced and topped with the mushrooms.  I garnished with a little lemon zest and fresh parsley, to finish the dish and bring out the brightness and colors of the meal.  Try this, let me know if you like it too.  Buon appetito.

Pan Saucy Ravings

I should also tell you that not only do I have new appliances, but of course I splurged on a few fantastic cookware pieces, to go with my high-quality cooktop. If it's good enough for Kitchen Stadium, why not try it out? In my first meal cooked with the new appliances and pans I have rediscovered the joy of creating a real pan sauce.  Sadly, my camera was still packed in some box under thousands of books before, during and after my maiden meal, so I am not able to share photos with you this time.

Dinner tonight in the new kitchen was chicken breast seared and braised in white wine, and a grape, apple and vinegar sauce, red peppers and zucchini sauteed with olive oil, red pepper flakes and fresh oregano, creamy risotto and a salad of arugula, mission fig, ruby red grapefruit and Point Reyes bleu cheese.  I paired it with a deliciously grassy, grapey and sun-soaked Italian Ribolla Gialla from Collio.

It was a gorgeous meal, I do regret not having my camera at hand but hopefully your imagination can conjure it up this one time.

I have made similar meals before, but again due to the new equipment, it was a pleasure, a giggling, joyful culinary experiment and the results blew me away.  The risotto's texture was so perfectly al dente, with a creamy, velvety consistency that was not sticky, lumpy or soupy. 

Between the pans and the newfound control of flame and heat, my cooking is completely reaching a new realm.  As well, the cooking time was significantly reduced-- the pan was ready to sear the chicken in three minutes (as opposed to 10-12 before) and my risotto's cooking time was at least 10 minutes less that normal and precisely right. 

But, the absolute pinnacle and height of it all, was the gorgeous pan sauce I was finally able to make for the chicken.  I had that meat SMOKING hot, dark golden brown on both sides, and my pan was raging.  The extraction fan had to work hard on setting #3 but nary a peep from the fire alarm.  I whipped up a gorgeous vinegar, white wine, grape and golden delicious apple juice sauce and braised the chicken in the sauce.  When the chicken was finished I pulled it out of the braiser and reduced my sauce to a nice, thick glaze  I dropped in two dollops of butter, swirled until it was melted and had a shiny, thick and absolutely decadent sauce for the chicken.  Now THAT was impossible to do before with the toy stove and the only pan that worked for sauce couldn't conduct heat evenly despite any amount of begging.  All this saucy joy I just had to share!

Now we're COOKING

For my inaugural post (or several postings) I want to share with you my jubilation at finally owning and cooking with professional-grade appliances.  Millions of us New Yorkers love food, many of us love to cook, but most forgo the hassle of cooking because we live in apartments the size of other American abode's closets and with more than 8,000 restaurants in the borough of Manhattan alone, we notoriously order take out food.

I've been cooking since childhood and passionately love it.  But, after many years with a "toy" oven and stove top -- think a white Easy Bake Oven -- I have moved to a fabulous new apartment and for the first time ever, am cooking with professional-grade appliances.  I'm positively giddy and even the most mundane things are a new thrill for me.

First, here's the stove I had before THE BIG MOVE.

Appallingly small but believe it or not I could churn out Thanksgiving dinners with the best of them and served many three or four course meals.  I never fully appreciated my own creativity and struggle for perfection, however, with the old stove on which I couldn't fit more than two pans concurrently with ease and how I got very adept at the rotating and swirling methods to attempt even heating of the food I prepared.  My old stove had two settings for the gas burners: ultra-boiling and barely on.  There was absolutely no sense of gradation, even of settings as basic as simmer, low, medium-low, medium-high, high... it was just turn it on and manipulate the pans by lifting, tilting, rotating, swapping and dancing them into a dish.  The handles on my pans used to hit the wall and push the food off the flame, which bugged me at first but then became a good substitute for medium-high.

My new apartment is gorgeous, and what's more, my husband and I OWN it, so of course, the kitchen was a major factor in our purchase decision.  In a word, my new kitchen is breathtaking.  I'm feeling like an actress these days who wants to blather on with thankfulness and gushing but instead of starting with "I'd like to thank the Academy..." my tearful yet joy-soaked speech starts with "I'd like to thank the beautiful and talented engineers and designers at Bosch..."

So, in the grand style of transformation, you've seen the old stove of my culinary adventures, here's a look at my new beauty.

Indeed, an oven, cooktop and hood all from Bosch, which are gorgeous, spacious, fully controllable, and wonderful to regulate.  I can dial-up the temperature or flames with the fine-tuned dexterity of a pointillist and can EXTRACT the extra steam or vapors as I merrily concoct my meal.  In the old place, we also had absolutely no ventilation or extraction mechanism.  Of course, in good NYC apartment style, we had an ultra-sensitive fire alarm.  It would start screeching and beeping the moment I laid a piece of food in a pan, and in the case of my grill pan, the moment I began heating a seasoned pan in preparation to cook.  It's simply stunning that I can bake, cook, steam, braise, saute, sear, do damned near anything with these appliances, and the extraction fan whisks it all away in a tone and manner of my choosing... (1 for silent, 2 for audible and 3 for loud).

The flame from the gas cooktop truly is fascinating, I turn them on and off several times just to look at the beautiful uniformity of the flame coming out and admire its blue-to-orange tinge that is dialed up or down like a dimmer switch on a light... it's a thing of pure beauty. I'm going to go play with it now.