NYC moments

I had to be in NYC for the week and mostly was busy with 15-hour work days but got to do a few things (primarily eating-wise).

I am always floored by how much physical labor goes into keeping the structure of the city intact--the non-stop building maintenance, moving of objects in & out, cleaning and washing--there is so much to do to keep everything working. I'm also consistently shocked at just how many people are here and out on the streets; I walked from 42nd to 22nd street today and just felt like I was in a huge swarm that was large enough to stop traffic if it wanted to cross the street against the light.

I realize there are quieter neighborhoods; like in Queens where I saw the Mike Kelley exhibit at MOMA-PS1. But even though the streets in Queens are quiet, the museum was mobbed (but well worth putting up with the crowds, he seemed to be an incredibly disturbed/brilliant artist).

Tomorrow I'll do Brighton Beach with my aunt before taking off; I remarked that I wanted to go to a Jewish deli and she says all of them are terrible in Manhattan--so we're going to what I think is Little Russia.

Anyway, my notes on the food this week:

Morimoto - because of its convenience to our NY work site and my boss likes the Korean-style dish they have, I've been here 3 times this year (including previous short trip). The yosedofu (tofu coagulated at your table) and wagyu carpaccio are awesome, but I've found everything else to be just OK. The chirashi bowl is a mess and the chicken ramen is a bore. Shrimp tempura roll tastes good, but is like anything I could get anywhere for half the price. It is fun to sit at the counter and watch the chefs--but I just don't get the hype.

Colicchio & Sons - lot of suits here/banker-lawyer atmosphere. The apple chowder soup was great, but my entree a bore and too salty (coffee braised brisket over potato puree). I realize I picked a boring dish, but I was expecting more. C'mon Top Chef person, elevate!

Donut Plant - super, love the location I went to on 21st/7th Ave area. Tres Leches amazing, a cake donut that simultaneously tasted  and had the texture of being dunked in a cup of milk. Creme Brulee pretty good, not my favorite. Peanut Butter with Banana Cream kind of meh to me (the peanut butter glaze was kind of fakey tasting).

M. Wells Dinette - pretty darn incredible for having lots of weird food that a recovering vegetarian like me is freaked out by. Foie gras with oats was more like a dessert, the oats were so creamy and sweetened with raisins. My first time eating foie gras and it had a melty nice texture that surprised me (was expecting grainy and chewier).
 
Chanterelle cavatelli super delicious--solid comfort food but fancier. Rabbit terrine was excellent and makes me willing to try terrines more (hated the one I had in Paris). My friend had the saddle cut of goat, so I tried goat for the first time; it did not have any gamey or weird tastes, was quite nice. Veal brains was on the menu today, but I was not that adventurous.

The "fart pie" dessert was stupid and dumb tasting though (a chess pie with thin cinnamon roll/all on a bed of whipped cream)--tasted like an overly sweet gooey pie that any home cook can make.

Low Rent Hokkaido Butter Corn Ramen

I haven't done anything interesting cooking-wise in a long time--but I have been absolutely desperate to have some delicious ramen. This desire was further spurred by the episode of _No Reservations_ where Bourdain travels to Hokkaido.

So I quickly concocted a poor man's quickie version of Hokkaido Butter Corn Ramen for dinner, and I thought it was a success. The broth is rich and flavorful, especially given the quick preparation. I wish I would have used better noodles, but that is easy to fix next time.

Oh, and I have no clue if this tastes like the real thing, but I'm nowhere near Hokkaido or anywhere that serves decent ramen.

Low Rent Hokkaido Butter Corn Ramen

All amounts are approximate, I just eyeballed everything.

4 cups water
1/2 cup white miso paste (I used Westbrae brand)
1/4 cup (probably less) Nong's Khao Man Gai sauce (kind of a garlicky soy ginger flavor)
1 ear of fresh corn kernels
2 Tbsp chopped chives
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 package of cheap instant ramen noodles (I would use better noodles next time)
Small handful of smoked beef tri-tip, thinly sliced (this is what looked good & was available from the deli counter--already cooked)

1. Bring water, miso paste, and Khao Man Gai sauce (or similar) to a simmer. Check in on how the flavor is tasting to you as it simmers--adding more miso/sauce or letting water evaporate to develop a taste that suits you.

2. Once the broth is tasty, add in the chives, fresh corn, and noodles. Cook for a few minutes over low heat, and then add the butter and meat. Continue cooking over low until the noodles are ready.

Bouchon Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

Baking-mania continues with success, the chocolate chip cookie recipe from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook is fantastic -- this is the best chocolate chip cookie I've ever made.

Chocolate Chunk and Chip Cookies by Bouchon Bakery (Thomas Keller)

Ingredients:

238 grams all purpose flour

2.3 grams (1/2 tsp) baking soda
3 grams (1 tsp) kosher salt
134 grams dark brown sugar
12 grams ( 1 3/4 tsp) unsulfured blackstrap molasses
104 grams granulated sugar
107 grams 70% chocolate chunks 3/8 inch -- used 74g of a 70% chocolate bar + 33g of semi-sweet chocolate chips
107 grams chocolate chips -- used milk chocolate chips
167 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
60 grams eggs -- 1 large egg is about 50g

Directions:

Place the flour in a medium bowl. Sift in the baking soda. Add the salt and whisk together.

Place the dark brown sugar in a small bowl and stir in the molasses and granulated sugar, breaking up any lumps; the mixture will not be completely smooth.

Place the chocolate chunks in a strainer and tap the side to remove any powdered chocolate, which would cloud the cookies. Mix with the chocolate chips.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn to medium-low speed and cream the butter, warming the bowl if needed, until it is the consistency of mayonnaise and holds a peak when the paddle is lifted. Add the molasses mixture and mix for 3 to 4 minutes, until fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the eggs and mix on low speed for 15 to 30 seconds, until just combined. Scrape the bowl again. The mixture may look broken, but that is fine (overwhipping the eggs could cause the cookies to expand too much during baking and then deflate).

Add the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing on low speed for 15 to 30 seconds after each, or until just combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any dry ingredients that have settled there. Add the chocolate and pulse on low speed about 10 times to combine. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes. [Note: I baked 3 cookies without refrigeration, and they seemed to turn out fine, but I did put the dough in the fridge while the first 3 cookies baked for 17 minutes.]

Position the racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325F. Line two sheet pans with Siplats or parchment paper.

Scoop 6 portions of cookie dough with a scoop. Roll each one into a ball between the palms of your hands. The cookie will spread when baking, so space far apart, no more than 6 cookies on a tray.

Bring the dough to room temperature before baking.

Bake until golden brown, 16-17 minutes. Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. The cookies are best the day they are baked, but they can be stored in a covered container for up to 3 days.

Back to basics for fitness

OK, I was dumb and should not have done 50 reps of 85# power cleans in late December. Muscles/tendons in my right hip and leg have been wonky for 2 months now, and I'm not sure when things will be normal again.

Pretty much all I can work on right now is upper body, and only stuff that doesn't require a lot of stabilization from my legs and back. Ugh.

Churros are easy

On a lark, I tried to make churros for the first time and I am surprised at how easy it was (and tasty). Used the Susan Feniger recipe but with a few minor modifications as written below--essentially a lot less dulce de leche in the batter, and also I halved the recipe.

Dulce de Leche Churro Tots

Ingredients
3 1/4 ounces  unsalted butter
2 1/8 ounces brown sugar
1/2 heaping teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 heaping teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup dulce de leche (I make with sweetened condensed milk in the oven)

Directions

[Prepare dulce de leche if not already made.]

Place 3/4 cups water, butter, brown sugar and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. 

 

Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball and smells like toasted flour. 

 

Transfer to the bowl of a mixer and paddle the dough while adding the eggs one at a time, allowing machine to incorporate each egg before the next addition. 

 

Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl often, and then add the vanilla. 

 

Lastly, add the dulce de leche and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Transfer the mixture to a container and refrigerate until ready to fry.

Heat vegetable oil for frying in a pot. Place the churro batter in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tube. When the oil is 375 degrees F, drop 2-inch-long churros from the pastry bag into the oil and fry until well browned and floating, about 4 minutes.

4 Month Progress - Weightlifting

Here's the results of my workout efforts over the last 4 months. Progress has been good; no incredible gains, but consistent small gains are fine by me. This was achieved with doing the following 5 workouts each week:

1) Crossfit class programmed for a benchmark around bench press & dips
2) Crossfit class programmed for a benchmark around bench press & dips
3) Personal training sessions, ~2 months on backsquat,~2 months on power clean
4) Running
5) Workout of own choosing depending on what I felt like I hadn't worked on in awhile, and based on soreness/fatigue level

Power clean improvement was the most difficult to achieve because it had nothing to do with strength, but getting better at technique. The trick that worked for me was to do 50 reps at a hard but comfortable weight (85#), and finally I was able to break through and get to 95#.

Lift: [Original Max] [New Max] [Dec 2012 Goal]

BACKSQUAT:[107][124][130]
DEADLIFT: [120][150][160]
BENCH PRESS: [57][77][95]
STRICT PRESS: [50][58][65]
POWER CLEAN: [82][95][90]
POWER SNATCH: [53][68][75]

The plan going forward will be to continue with what I'm already doing with the same sub-goal of getting a real chin/pullup.

Work Week Eating

I've fallen into a good eating routine during the work week; I think I'm finally getting in enough vegetables and I like the taste of everything. I need to clean up my dinner/evening eating a bit, but the portions are reasonable, so I'm letting it be for now.


Breakfast - Green Smoothie:
Version 1: Water, Parsley, Celery, a little bit of fruit (e.g. grapes, apples, berries), Hemp Seeds or other hippie mix-in

Version 2 if really hungry: Almond Milk, 1/2 banana, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 apple, lots of Kale, hemp seeds

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Mid-morning snack:
If super lazy and really hungry, a protein bar (ThinkThin, Zone, Clif, etc.)
otherwise, home made baked good like banana bread made with almond flour

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Lunch:
- Roasted vegetables (mix of brussels sprout, golden beets, carrots), cooked in coconut oil--on top of raw kale
- Some kind of animal protein
- If still hungry, a piece of fruit

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Late-afternoon snack examples:
Dark chocolate, delicata squash or sweet potato with cinnamon/sugar

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Dinner:
Generally  whatever is in the fridge/cupboards to snack on (nuts, cheese, tortilla chips).

Post-workout in evening, might do an Almond Milk with Whey Protein shake (using Optimum Nutrition's Chocolate Coconut flavor for the protein)