California Olive Ranch Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Belviny who said, "I like it with mozzarella and tomato =)"

Yum! Me too!

Please email me at jen{at}tinyurbankitchen{dot}com so I can send you your olive oil and book! Thanks everyone else for playing!

Bivalves and Bubbles (Legal Sea Foods Harborside)

Happy Friday!

I apologize for the dearth of posts this week. A combination of jet lag, a nasty cold, and catch-up from being away in Asia has really taken its toll on me!

Nevertheless, I did want to share with you my visit to Legal Sea Foods Harborside last weekend for the Bivalves & Bubbles event. I had a chance to try many different kinds of raw oysters, a few champagnes, and even meet the Naked Cowboy! (whose oysters were being featured).

This was my first time at Legal Harborside, and I was blown away by how beautiful it was.

The inside is stunning, with gorgeous (seemingly) 360 degree views of the ocean!
The building has multiple floors, plus an awesome roofdeck, which is where the oyster event was being held.
We started out with some lovely cucumber oyster shooters, which were just slightly salty, but refreshingly cool.

And then we were off!

We  first sampled the Little Bay oyster from New Hampshire and the Malpeque from Prince Edward Island. I'm not (by any means) a raw oyster connoisseur, though I've always liked Prince Edward Island oysters. In this case, we found the Little Bay to be small, mild, yet buttery while the Malpeque was definitely brinier. Both were extremely fresh (having just been shucked right in front of our eyes!).

Though I usually love loading up my oysters with cocktail sauce and horseradish, I soon realized that it was much easier to really taste the difference between the oysters if I just ate them plain.

The next one I tried was the Naked Cowboy from Long Island Sound. Apparently this is one of the most popular raw oysters in Manhattan right now. They are named after the Naked Cowboy, a famous street performer in Times Square who plays music outside with hardly any clothing on - regardless of weather!

The Naked Cowboy was actually there in person and happy to pose for pictures.

The Naked Cowboy oyster (from Blue Island Shellfish Farms) was clean and neutral tasting with an ocean-like finish. "Taste of the sea . . ." according to my friend Kevin, who was there with me.

We next tried Merry Bay oysters from Duxbury, Massachusetts. These were pretty "meaty" and definitely on the saltier side.

Similarly, the Wianno Oysters (farm-raised on Cape Cod), were also quite salty and "meaty."
We next tried the Cotuit oysters from Cotuit Bay (also on Cape Cod). These oysters definitely started out salty, yet had a nice, sweet, fresh and mild finish. The flavors were actually quite nice. This is the only one of which I went back for seconds!


We next tried the Wellfleet oysters from Wellfleet Harbor, MA. These were very salty, and not very complex, in my opinion. I definitely wanted to pair these oysters with champagne, which added a nice, crispy fruit element to offset the saltiness of the oysters. Similarly, the Summerside from Northwest, Prince Edward Island were also salty, but were smaller and more tender compared with the Wellfleets.

They passed around all sorts of fun cooked oyster dishes, such as these fried oyster sliders.

These were really, really good! I loved the slightly spicy mayo and crispy lettuce inside. I did keep wishing for a greater oyster:bread ratio though! Maybe two fried oysters between one set of buns? It would have been great to have just a tad more lettuce too.

They were also making Oyster Stew, which was basically oysters ( I think they were using a mixture of Wellfleets and one other type), cooked in cream, butter, and leeks. Frankly, we didn't really like this much at all. The soup lacked the depth of flavor you would expect from a shellfish based soup (e.g., Legal Sea Food's clam chowder - YUM!). Sadly, we left most of this without finishing.

We ended the meal with these delicious fried oyster handrolls, which were also made with a flavorful, spicy mayo, cucumbers, and deep fried oysters.

Throughout the evening they poured two types of champagne: Gosset Brut “Excellence” Champagne, NV, which was acidic and had a long finish; and Laurent Perrier Brut Champagne, 2000, which seemed more dry but had a relatively short finish. Both paired perfectly fine with the salty, buttery oysters!

All in all, it was a fun lunch. I even ran into some local food bloggers! Above, The Boston Foodie, Confessions of a Chocoholic, and me!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend, and I hope I do recover from this cold.

Ah - ah -ah - CHOOOOO!

Legal Harborside
270 Northern Ave
 Boston, MA 02210
 


Disclaimer
Legal Sea Foods invited me to come to this event with a guest for free

Olive Oil Semolina Cake + Giveaway

Jet lag is rough.

I just came back from a ten day trip to Asia. For those of you who have ever experienced a 12-hour time change, you know that it totally knocks you out. I get random spells of grogginess in the afternoon; I wake up super early; and I get exhausted really, really early in the morning.

Heading back to Japan reminded me that it had been close to a year since I had last gone.

A year since I had purchased all these fun little baking supplies from my favorite kitchen supply shopping area in Japan (as well as from the countless department stores!)

And I had hardly used any of them . . .

So one late night as I was talking to my mom on the phone, I whipped out my baking supplies and attempted to make something I've been meaning to try for some time now.

As a part of the Tastemaker's program at Foodbuzz, I sometimes get the opportunity to try out new products. We usually get an email describing various products to try.  Typically, I don't opt in to try products unless if I think I'll like the product or I find it interesting.

When I found out they were offering to let us try an Oxo eggbeater, I sort of scratched my head wondering, "what use do I have for an eggbeater?" I usually beat eggs with a fork and I'm pretty content doing that.

Ever since I've received the eggbeater, however, I've been surprised at how versatile this little tool can be! It's sort of like a hand-turned mixer. Because my electric mixer is usually stored away in a box, I've found that I'm often too lazy to take it out. However, this little guy is so convenient because he sits in my top drawer in the kitchen. I've found myself using him to emulsify salad dressing, mix wet ingredients, and combine dry ingredients while baking. I haven't even properly beaten an egg, yet I've used this beater so many times already for other things.

Oxo was kind enough to send along lots of other useful baking tools. I love the measuring cup shown above, which shows the measurements both from the side and the top. No more kneeling down to look at the meniscus!

I also love this Good Grips "batter bowl", which comes with a pouring spout. Ingenious!
At the same time, I had an opportunity to try some olive oils from California Olive Ranch. I first fell in love with California Olive Ranch when I tried their Olio Nuovo at an olive oil tasting at the Foodbuzz Festival.

I decided I wanted to make something that would really make the fruity aromas of the extra virgin olive oil sing.

I then remembered some amazing semolina cake I had tried awhile back at Russell House Tavern and also some rich olive oil cake I had sampled at the S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition in Napa Valley. The wheels started cranking in my head . . . .

Viola! I baked an olive oil semolina cake based on a recipe I had found on Tasting Table. This cake is incredibly moist, thanks to the generous amounts of olive oil used in the recipe!  I did reduce the sugar amount by 1/3, as I typically find Western desserts to be too sweet. I thought the reduced sugar level tasted fine, but it would probably still taste OK with the original amount.

The fruity aromas of the olive oil flavor definitely stands out, and would pair perfectly with something a bit tart and sweet - maybe a citrus reduction or a fruit glaze?

Giveaway!
The folks at California Olive Ranch have generously offered to give one Tiny Urban Kitchen reader 2 different bottles of California Olive Ranch olive oil as well as a copy of the cookbook Fresh: Eating Healthy Never Tasted So Good by Boston chef Tony Polito.

To enter, please comment below telling me your favorite way to enjoy olive oil! One entry per person. US addresses only. The Giveaway will close this Friday, October 21st.  Good Luck!


And here's the recipe!

Olive Oil Semolina Cake Recipe
adapted from Marisa Croce via Tasting Table with Jen's notes in italics
Makes 24 servings (I cut the recipe down by 1/4, which worked fine)

• 3 cups high-quality extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup semolina flour
• 3 cups sugar (I reduced it down to 2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 large eggs
• 3 cups milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease 24 nonstick individual-size loaf pans with olive oil. Note - I just used a muffin pan and also a few small heart shaped springform pans I had around the house.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients and set aside. In a separate bowl, gently whisk together the olive oil, eggs and milk, then add to the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Note - I used the Oxo eggbeater, which worked surprisingly well!

3. Divide the batter among the pans, leaving plenty of room for the cake to expand. Bake the cakes, rotating halfway through baking time, until the tops are golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. about 12 to 15 minutes. Note - my Hello Kitty "muffins" were finished in about 12-15 minutes. However, the springform pans took a lot longer (around 25 minutes) since the loafs were much bigger. Definitely watch to see it becoming golden brown and do the knife test!

4. Serve warm or at room temperature - Enjoy!

Disclaimer
I received the Oxo products for free as part of Foodbuzz's Tastemaker Program. I received the olive oil for free from the California Olive Ranch Company.

Carnevino Riserva Steaks

Many things get better with age.

Wine, cheese, steak . .. people?

It's not unusual for high end steak houses to dry age their steaks for several weeks before serving it to you. Dry aging involves hanging up pieces of meat under very controlled temperatures and humidity levels and  . . . basically letting it sit there for awhile.

As time goes by, the steak loses moisture, which concentrates the beefy flavors. Enzymes also break down connective tissue, therefore increasing the tenderness of the entire steak.  The longer you dry age, theoretically, the better the flavor.

Typically it takes at least eleven days of dry aging before you can notice a difference. It's hard to find dry aged steak in supermarkets because it's almost prohibitively expensive to sell it that way. Having said that, I've purchased 2-week dry aged steaks at Whole Foods Market (over $20/lb!!), and it was delicious. Smith & Wollensky dry ages their steaks for 28 days, and I presume most high-end steakhouses also do for a similar length of time.

Well, except for one.

Carnevino is really in its own camp here. They have a riserva steak that they dry age for 8-11 months. Yes, you heard me right - almost a year!

What in the world could such a steak taste like? We've been dying to find out . . . . and finally, we had a chance during this trip.

Well, first thing's first - you have to be able to order one.

These steaks are notoriously hard to land. In fact, the last few times we've gone, we've inquired about it but never was able to get one. The rules are as such: you can't reserve these steaks weeks ahead of time. Instead, you have to call the morning of your reservation and ask whether any are available. Sometimes you may be lucky, but more often than not, there are none. Couple that uncertainty with the fact that we only go to Las Vegas once or twice a year, the odds of landing a riserva steak are close to none.


So how in the world did we get to try one?

Bryan dined there earlier in the week during his business trip. While chatting with the staff, he told them that I was flying in especially to celebrate our 10th anniversary. After some back and forth with the chef, we found out that yes, there would be riserva steak waiting for us for our anniversary dinner.

We always love dining at Carnevino for a number of reasons. First of all, we are Mario Batali fans (HUGE fans of his other restaurant), and we love having access to his amazing pasta dishes as sides. Seriously, what steak house can compete on the side dish front?  

We ordered two of our favorites: black fettucine with crab, jalapenos, and shallots (above) and bucatini all'amatriciana with caramelized onion, guanciale, and tomatoes (below).
As always, the pastas were excellent, though the portions are small for the price (the above half servings are $17 each). 

The waiter highly recommended the mashed potatoes and I have to agree - these are among the best mashed potatoes I've ever had. How can you go wrong when you add bacon and a poached egg on top?

Here is the waiter, breaking up the egg for us. YUMMMM . . . .

We were also intrigued by the fresh summer corn with lime and mint. These was fantastic as well.

But wait, what about the steak?
Oh right, ha ha, how could I forget? The steak is priced around $100 per "inch" cut. This basically means you'll get a nice 18-20 ounce steak (including the bone) for that price. Bryan ordered the Riserva steak while I decided just to get a "normal" 60-day dry aged New York Strip.

The steak itself was cooked beautifully, a lovely rare interior with a perfect, super thin char.

They recommended simply drizzling the pieces with some extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt.

And the flavor? It was intense and truly like no steak we had ever tried in our entire lives. Over the course of 8 months, the beef flavor had intensified immensely. Not only that, the steak also had strong notes of an aged, pungent essence not unlike blue cheese. Bryan, who loves blue cheese, thought it was fantastic and enjoyed every single morsel of his $100 steak. I thought it was interesting, but was quite content eating my "normal" 60-day dry aged New York Strip.

Is it worth it?
That really depends. For someone who like the intense, inherent "beefiness" of steak and the slight "stinkyness" of aged cheeses and the like, you may very well love it. It's seriously very, very different from any steak we'd ever tried. Now, if you're not a huge meat person to begin with (like me), and you don't love the stinky smell of blue cheese and such, maybe it's not quite worth the $100+ price tag for this unusual steak.

I'm still glad I tried it, but I probably won't be trying super hard to land another one anytime in the near future. :)

This is part 6 of a larger Series The Vegas Anniversary. Other posts in this series:
Lotus of Siam
Sushi Samba
Bouchon Bistro (lunch)
Aureole
Lee's Sandwiches
Carnevino
Palazzo
3325 Las Vegas Blvd
S Las Vegas, NV 89109

Lotus of Siam

If you make good food, they will come.

Lotus of Siam is a simple, non-nonsense Thai restaurant located in a random strip mall on the east side of the Strip in Las Vegas. Hailed by Jonathan Gold of Gourmet Magazine as the "Best Thai Restaurant in the US," this gem of a place is almost always packed with long lines of hungry people (our wait time? 45 minutes).

Lotus of Siam is different than your run-of-the-mill Thai restaurant in a lot of ways. Most notably, they have an immense menu that includes Northern style Thai dishes, something you don't see that often in America. Furthermore, they have the most reasonably priced (and excellent) wine list we have ever seen. Well-known bottles from vineyards like Schrader, Kosta Browne, and Opus One sell for only about 10-15% above retail. In some cases, they are even cheaper than prices you could get on the open market.

We came here after a long day of hiking, so we were famished. Waiting 45 minutes just increased our hunger even more! Thankfully, there are some seats inside, and you can browse the menu while you wait. We decided to get a mix of "normal" and Northern Thai dishes.

Bryan, who's not a huge Thai food fan but loves a good bottle of wine, satisfied himself by ordering a bottle of Kosta Browne pinot noir for prices that (according to his iPhone), were very close to what you would pay retail.

GARLIC PRAWN – $21.95
Deep fried prawn with shell and sautéed with our special garlic sauce, topped with ground black pepper

Because Bryan can't eat coconut milk and doesn't really like sweet Thai dishes, we were a little limited in what we could order. Nevertheless, this meal was a good chance for Bryan to experience Thai food that wasn't just noodles in sweet goopy sauces. Thai cuisine is so much more complex than that!

They let you choose your spice level, and we went with "medium," which I thought was perfect. The server recommended the garlic prawns (pictured above), which came out piping hot and crispy. It was simple, yet executed well and tasted very good.

CRISPY DUCK WITH CHILI MINT LEAVES – $20.95
Crispy duck topped with homemade fresh chili and Thai basil

The crispy duck, also off the regular Thai menu, was excellent. They did a great job on frying the duck in a way that was crispy but not greasy. Of course, I loved the blast of flavor that came from the chili mint leaves and Thai basil.

FRESH CHILI FRIED RICE – $8.95
Stir fried with bell pepper, fresh chili, white onion and your choice of meat

The basil fried rice was unusual in that it came with seafood. This dish was fine, though I didn't think it necessarily stood out over other versions I've had elsewhere.

We also tried a couple of dishes off the northern Thai side of the menu.

NORTHERN LARB – $9.95

This northern style larb (ground pork) differs from the Issan larb (also on the menu) in that it is cooked with Northern Thai spices and no lime juice. Enjoy it with rice, accompanied by the fresh cabbage, cucumbers, and Thai basil.

ISSAN SAUSAGE – $7.95
Grilled sour pork sausage, served with fresh chili, ginger and peanut.

Issan Sausage is a common street dish from Northern Thailand and also not something you typically see in America. The sausages are fermented for days to achieve their characteristic sourness. Gorgeous fragrant ingredients such as kaffir lime leaves, galangal, and lemongrass complete the flavor profile, making this snack very, very addictive. I would definitely order this again.
STICKY RICE WITH MANGO (Seasonal) – $6.50

You can't go wrong with mango sticky rice, and Lotus of Siam prides itself in making sure the mangos are in pristine condition before they are served. Each mango slice is perfectly ripe, sweet, and without blemish.

General Thoughts
Overall we had a great time at Lotus of Siam. The atmosphere is casual yet comfortable, and the food is delicious. I loved having the opportunity to try a bunch of more unusual dishes. I can't wait to come back again and try more.

Though Bryan still maintains he doesn't love Thai food, he's perfectly happy coming back to Lotus of Siam just to enjoy their vast wine collection at dirt cheap prices.

An Aside about New York
There is also a New York City Lotus of Siam location. However, in January of 2011, the Chutima family (owners of the original Las Vegas location) split with their partner Roy Welland and left New York. The Chutima family indicated that Mr. Welland wanted to take the restaurant to a much more upscale level, while the Chutimas wanted to keep it homey and affordable. This difference in vision seems to have eventually caused the split.

According to Chutima's daughter in an email to the New York Times,

“My parents wanted to share with our guests what my mother had learned from her grandmother since she was a little child; unfortunately, our partner here in New York seems to have a different vision, a vision far different from what Lotus of Siam Las Vegas had. Our reputation is at stake; as a result, we are terminating this relationship in order to protect our morals and values; also, to protect the image of my parents, who have worked their hardest for the past 25 years.”

So, if you've been to the Lotus of Siam in New York this past year, keep in mind that the Chutimas are no longer involved in that restaurant.

You'll have to come to Las Vegas for that.


This is part 5 of a larger Series The Vegas Anniversary. Other posts in this series:
Sushi Samba
Bouchon Bistro (lunch)
Aureole
Lee's Sandwiches


Lotus of Siam 
953 E Sahara Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89104