VittlesVamp

Showgirls, Gambling & Truffles

Haven't been to Las Vegas for a while, and although there are several high-plane gourmet outposts on the strip, I have a tough time taking the Vegas cuisine scene seriously. But it looks like Sin City is looking to change that perception, recently hosting the fifth annual white truffle charity auction.

According to a Los Angeles Times article, the event is a hot one, with celebrity chefs like Wolfgang Puck getting into the fray:

Two years ago, when Puck went to Alba for the auction, he took home the biggest prize, a 1.82-pound truffle that set him back $19,000. Last year, Joe Pytka, owner of Bastide restaurant in West Hollywood and a longtime director of television commercials, was the big winner, determinedly outbidding rivals in New York to snare a 2.2-pound truffle for $35,000.

But this year, drought conditions in Piedmont had reduced the size of both the truffle crop and the individual truffles, and a troubled worldwide economy left many anxious about how the sales would go.

They needn't have worried.

Piero Selvaggio, owner of Valentino, quickly snapped up the first truffle

With the Pumpkin Again? (Read w/Yiddish Accent)

Oy! Picked up the Dining In, Dining Out section in the NYT today and was confronted by a whole feature about pumpkins from the brothers Lee. I was planning on making pumpkins - in all their culinary glory - the subject of my next Queens Alternative "Vittles" column. But, I refuse to follow the Times. That's just not my style. Besides, Matt and Ted Lee did a bang-up job, talking about pumpkin's various forms and cultivation techniques, along with interviews with top chefs about their use of those round, orange babies:

"Pumpkin is the perfect crystallization of seasonal cuisine," said Mario Batali, whose restaurants Babbo and Otto were among the early users this year. "Summer's flavors are light and ethereal. Pumpkin is intense, visceral, close to the soil. You can taste that the earth has changed." Mr. Batali garnishes an appetizer of rustic, housemade coppa (dry-cured pork shoulder) with crisp, barely blanched pumpkin cubes he has dressed with vinegar, powdered clove and chili. His ravioli moons, filled with a semisweet mash of pumpkin, Parmigiano-Reggiano, balsamic vinegar and nutmeg, is an Italian comfort-food classic, with an amaretto cookie grated on top.

But pumpkin's powerful magnetism for spice and its dangerously close association with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and allspice

Where's the Beef?

I love a great hamburger and even more so - a great steak. Put a glass of well-rounded Cabernet or Shiraz in the mix and I'm a very happy lady. That's why I'm quite sad that I don't have the moolah to take St. Francis Winery & Vineyards and Kobrand up on this invite:

You are invited to a charitable culinary spectacular featuring red meat specialties from New York's finest restaurants, red wine and a silent auction

Monday, November 3rd, 2003
6:30 p.m. to 9:30p.m.

Noche
1604 Broadway at 49th Street, New York City

Master of Ceremonies:
Mark Bittman, "The Minimalist" columnist of The New York Times and author of the "How to Cook Everything" series

Featuring Red Meat Dishes, Red Wines, Savories, Sweets and Smokes from:

Artisanal
Brasserie Julien
Capitale
Delmonico's
Frank's Restaurant
Gage & Tollner
Heartbeat
igourmet.com
Keen's Steakhouse
Maloney & Porcelli
March
Michael Jordan's The Steak House
Morrells Restaurant
Noche
Palm
Post House
Pulse- Sports Club LA
Savannah Steak
Tom Cat Bakery
Tribeca Grill

Admission: $110 per person

AIWF Members: $95 per person

$50 of the ticket purchase price is tax deductible

Even with the deduction, $110 is too much to swallow for a meal that might turn out to be a moo-fest (bad pun intended), not too disimilar from the Urban Harvest event mentioned below.

If anyone does attend, do let me know. Hopefully, you'll be rhapsodizing about perfectly aged and brilliantly juicy prime rib and sirloins, and I'll feel a fool for not forking over the money. But at this point, I'm just too put off from my recent experiences at grandiose foodie events to commit that much cash.

Urban Harvest 2003

Yesterday, I attended the Urban Harvest event at the French Culinary Institute and have to say that it was a complete and utter mob scene - and most certainly not one of Slow Food's more stellar events.

The description on their Web site sounded incredible - from the Nosh Room that offered up bagels from Absolute Bagels; Columbia Bagels; Ess-a-Bagel; H&H Bagels; and Murray

One Singular Sensation

The editors of Manhattan User's Guide are offering up their picks in terms of the newest crop of cookbooks and one really caught my eye:

Tom Valenti, the chef who broke the UWS curse, has written Tom Valenti's Soups, Stews, and One-Pot Meals with Andrew Friedman (Scribner, $30). These 125 recipes offer the same kind of robust fare that Mr. Valenti specializes in at Ouest and 'Cesca and should be perfect for cold nights (and when you want to eat his cooking but can't get in).

There is something so darn appealing about one-pot or one-pan meals. In particular, only one pot or pan to clean up! And, considering the New York Times Magazine piece yesterday about one-dish casseroles and James Villas new book "''Crazy for Casseroles," I feel a new foodie fad coming on.

This trend, unlike most others I've mentioned on this site, is one I can applaud. Besides no matter how epicurean-challenged it may sound, NYTM food writer Julia Reed's Spinach-and Artichoke Casserole, topped with Ritz cracker crumbs sounds decadent and altogether yummy. And, what gourmand wants to quibble, when there are good eats to be had?:

Spinach-and-Artichoke Casserole
1 tablespoon butter for greasing baking dish, 1/2 cup butter, melted, for casserole, plus 1 tablespoon, melted, for topping
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1/2 cup coarse Ritz cracker crumbs (about 10 crackers).

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a shallow 2-quart casserole.

2. Cook the spinach according to the package directions, drain well and place in a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup of melted butter, the cream cheese and lemon juice and blend well with a fork.

3. Scatter the artichoke quarters evenly over the bottom of the greased casserole dish. Cover with the spinach mixture and smooth the top.

4. Cover the top with the Ritz crumbs, drizzle with 1 tablespoon melted butter and bake on the middle rack until bubbly in the center and lightly browned on the top, about 25 minutes. Cool about 5 minutes and serve.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

'cue in Queens

Just filed my new "Vittles" column for the Queens Alternative Newspaper about BBQ - comparing Texas with New York. And, of course today I pick up the New York Times and read this:

Today, a four-member team from Queens begins competing in the Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue Contest, a two-day event in Lynchburg, Tenn., home of the Jack Daniel Distillery. Tournament officials say the team, Big Island Bar-B-Que, is the first New York City squad ever to be invited to the Jack.

Would've been a great Queens hook for the story! And, it ends up that the Queens representation in the column, Pearson's BBQ, was completely dismal. And, it looks like Chowhounders agree.

Asked my editor if there could be a sidebar. Would be nice to give Queens some sort of pat on the back. Then again, I do live in Brooklyn. Torn loyalties. What's a girl to do?

Pumpkin Season

The esteemed cocktailian Gary Regan has a Halloween-inspired column in today's San Francisco Chronicle. The featured recipe sounds yummy, to say the least:

The Pumpkin Martini
Recipe adapted from Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant.

INGREDIENTS:
3 ounces Bols Pumpkin Smash liqueur

1 ounce Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum

1 dash half-and-half

Ground cinnamon, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS: Shake the ingredients over ice, and strain into a cocktail glass rimmed with sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle a little more cinnamon on top.

Serves 1

And, it got me to thinking about how fabulous pumpkin can be in a myriad of forms. Add nutmeg, cinnamon and - if you're feeling adventurous - even a dash of chili powder, and you'll have something warm, comforting and most definitively autumnal.

So, embracing the bracing wind and changing leaves, I think I may have to try Jamie Oliver's Pumpkin, Sage, Chestnut and Bacon Risotto, Mario Batali's Short Ribs with Horseradish Gremolata and Pumpkin Orzo, and dig out my Union Square Cafe cookbook to make their delicious Pumpkin Flan.

I think a fall-themed dinner party may be order. Details to follow.

Brooklyn Eats - Belated Report

Attended "Brooklyn Eats" the other night and rolled away completely stuffed.

Highlights:

Sushi from Brooklyn Blue Ribbon Sushi
Dessert selections from Five Front
Chive dumplings from Ocean Palace
Chocolate chip cookies and cheese from Tuller
Various cakes from Sweet Melissa's Patisserie
Various wine samplings from Michael-Towne
Blueberry ice cream from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

Sad to say, the tastings from the majority of other represented Brooklyn restaurants and purveyors didn't make me want to expand my Kings County culinary horizons. Also, the crowds were terrible. In addition, there was absolutely no Williamsburg representation - and goodness knows that nabe has its fair share of hot dining establishments. And, the new Zagat-topping Grocery wasn't in the mix.

I think the bloom is off the "Brooklyn Eats" rose. Hopefully, the organizers will raise the bar at next year's event.

Raw

Looks like the food editors at Newsday have been a little tardy in their "Sex in the City" viewing this season. (Thank goodness for HBO On-Demand!) Today's food section offers up a story about the raw food movement, a trend which garnered the spotlight a couple months ago when a SITC episode aired, featuring Samantha dining at a restaurant called Raw in order to hook up with a hot waiter. But it looks like the spotlight might be dimming:

Despite the claims of raw foods enthusiasts, many doctors and dietitians scoff at it. Katherine Tallmadge, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, said..."The diet is protein-deficient and nutrient-poor," said Tallmadge, who also is author of "Diet Simple" (Lifeline), a book promoting weight loss by making only a few changes to the average diet. "The idea that cooked food is toxic is absurd. There is absolutely no science to back that up."

Tallmadge is not alone in her assessment. Five months ago, Florida authorities said the death of 5-month-old Woyah Andressohn probably was the result of malnutrition brought on by a raw food diet. Investigators also found that Andressohn's four brothers and sisters, who also were allegedly on the diet, were severely malnourished...

But many raw food enthusiasts maintain that any initial discomfort of the diet is worth the tremendous health benefits. And that eventually many people become huge supporters of the lifestyle.

Mmmm good - and good for you too. I don't think Samatha's boy toy Smith could even get me to convert.

My Last Column

Unfortunately, the original Web editor signed off at the Queens Alternative newspaper and they didn't hire a new one until now. So, ultimately, my last "Vittles" column never made it to the Internet. To correct the matter, I'm including it below for all of those that wish to read about my experiences at Gary Regan's "Cocktails in the Country" course:

THE QUEENS ALTERNATIVE
October 3, 2003

Vittles:
Social Lubricant

I never went to my high school prom. At the time, I didn