Reinventing the Shmear on a Bagel

I just went to a new bagel place near my office for lunch—and loved it!

It's called Vic's Bagel Bar at 544 3rd Ave (www.vicsbagelbar.com). They took the Cold Stone Creamery idea and translated it to bagels and cream cheese.

First you pick your bagel, and they have big, fat, air-filled bagels that are chewy on the inside and crusty on the outside. There are standard types, like sesame, whole wheat, everything and pumpernickel. Then they have designer styles—flagels, french toast with a sugary crust on top, gluten free and chocolate chip. (Why would anyone add chocolate chips to a bagel?)

Next you pick your mix-ins, just like at Cold Stone. Choose from all kinds of veggies, herbs, fruits, cheeses, potato chips, bacon wasabi, bbq sauce, and chocolate chips (which I still don't get). If you're feeling too hungry to be creative, you can order a signature mixed sandwich. I had the Club Med which included roasted red peppers, olives, capers and fresh basil leaves. Usually they mix this in hummus, but I wanted cream cheese.

I was tempted by the Backyard BBQ (corn, cheddar, bbq sauce and red onion) and the Vermonter (bacon bits, maple syrup and cinammon).

Don't you love a menu that has too many GOOD options and makes your decision difficult.

If you're looking for a bissel of bagel (bissel, that's Yiddish for "a little"), give Vic's a try.

Asian Slaw Extravaganza

It's official. We kicked off of the barbecue season last weekend on Memorial day with our annual neighborhood barbecue in my garden. While our wonderful neighbors were there, fewer and fewer of our children attended, with a large contingency busy with pre- or post-college prep. With no children running around and screaming, the festivities were low key, but still filled with the merriment and anticipation you expect at the beginning of summer.

The planning was even more lackadaisical than usual, which is why we ended up with three different Asian cole slaws. One was Chinese style, another Thai and a third Korean. Each was delicious, in a different way. Just in time for your next barbecue, here are the recipes for all three.

Crispy Chinese Cole Slaw (from my sister Fran)

What to buy

For salad

• 2 T butter
• 1 pkg Ramen noodles (broken)
• 2 tbl sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 head green cabbage cored and shredded
• 1/2 head purple cabbage cored and shredded
  
• 1 grated carrot
• 1 zucchini julienned

For dressing

• 3 tbl peanut butter (soften in micro)
• 2 tbl chicken broth
• 1 tbl minced garlic
• 3 tbl soy sauce
• 1 tbl sesame oil
• 1 tbl hoisin sauce
• 2 tbl rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbl sugar

How to prepare it

1. Melt butter in skillet on medium heat. Saute Ramen noodles, sesame seeds and almonds until brown. Set aside

2. Combine cole slaw, cabbage and zucchini in a large bowl.

3. Just before serving, whisk together peanut butter, chicken broth, minced garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar and sugar in a separate bowl. Pour over cabbage and mix. Garnish with sauteed noodle, sesame seed, almond mixture and serve.


Thai Peanut Cole Slaw (from my neighbor Elizabeth)

What to buy

For salad

• 3/4 cup purple and green cabbage cut up
• 1 carrot julienned
• 3 scallions cut up with green stems
• 1 cucumber seeded and julienned
• Fresh cilantro chopped (to taste)
• Fresh mint chopped (to taste)
• 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts

For dressing

• 1 red onion or shallot finely minced
• 3 tbl peanut butter
• 3 tbl rice vinegar
• 3 tbl soy sauce
• 3 tbl sesame oil
• 1 to 2 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 tbl sugar
• salt/pepper to taste
• chili oil or powder to taste

1. Combine veggies in a bowl and set aside.

2. Mix together dressing ingredients. Add enough dressing to lightly coat the slaw and toss. Refrigerate till ready to serve. Can be made a few hours ahead.


Pickled Asian Slaw (from my neighbor Cynthia)

What to buy

• 2/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 cups of water
• 1 red pepper julienned
• 1/4 head green cabbage, cored and shredded
• 1 carrot julienned
• 1/2 red onion julienned
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, stemmed and chopped

How to prepare it

1. In a large saucepan,, bring 2 cups of water, the vinegar and sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

2. Add the red pepper, cabbage, carrot and onion and cook, stirring until the carrot and onion are tender—about 6 to 8 minutes. Drain the vegetables and spread them out in a large baking dish to cook to room temperature.

3. In a large bowl, toss the vegetables with the cilantro and sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate to serve.

About Men & Food

"Men are like bagpipes. No sound comes from them until they're full.

Celtic Proverbs

Eating For Good

I have the good fortune to work with a group of caring, courageous people at Cardinal McCloskey Services, in White Plains, NY. They work tirelessly toward protecting, empowering and promoting the independence of society's most vulnerable—children in need and adults with disabilities. CMS provides foster care services, homes for the developmentally disabled, and head start and daycare centers in Westchester, the Bronx and upper Manhattan.

On Apr. 25, in Garrison, NY, Cardinal McCloskey Services will be hosting their fifth annual Spring Wine Tasting & Dinner at a private home overlooking the Hudson River. Guests will enjoy fine wines personally selected by Tony Corso from his private collection, and enjoy a dining experience by acclaimed Iron Chef winner and owner of Xaviar’s Restaurant Group, Peter X. Kelly. (I've had the pleasure of tasting Chef Kelly's creative food at X2O, his restaurant in Yonkers that sits on the Hudson River, where the views are as sumptuous as the food.)

Dinner is followed by a live auction of extraordinary prizes with all proceeds benefiting CMS. The cost $350/person—money that is well worth it.

If you want to eat for good, call 914-997-8000, ext. 114 or email ccondon@cms46.org to sign up. I promise you, nothing could be more satisfying.

My Menu For Week

The day after my Saturday in the city with Kira, Ed and Nick we decided to eat in. That means it's a Sunday—and I love Sunday dinner. It's a chance to cook full out. Meat, potatoes, veggies, rolls, and everyone sits at the dining room table.

Naturally, we invited the in-laws over.

Back in the Saddle Again

It's been a while since I posted. But even though work has been maniacal over the past few weeks, good food has been the relief and the release.

To make up for lost time, I'm going to blog about a week of food for the Feinstein family, starting with Saturday March 6th.

Yesterday, my 15-year-old daughter Kira and I went to the Manhattan Theatre Club's Family Matinee Day (www.mtc-nyc.org), along with my friend Ed and his 16-year-old son Nick. Every theater season, MTC hosts a truly special event where a parent and a teenager can spend a Saturday immersed in a rich theatrical experience. In the morning there are acting workshops run by directors, with working actors participating. In the afternoon the group goes to see a MTC show. This time we saw "Time Stands Still" with Laura Linney. All the exercises in the morning are related to themes in the afternoon's show.

We arrived at MTC in early. Nick and Ed were in group A while Kira and I were in group C. After our workshops, we met up for lunch at one of my favorite pizza joints—John's Pizzeria on 44th Street between 8th and 7th Avenues. It's a huge restaurant, in the heart of the theatre district, that used to be a temple. There's always a line, and it's very noisy inside. But the food is well worth the agita.

John's is a place to worship pizza.

There are just three items involved in a pizza, yet the flavor varies so much from one pizza place to another. John's, in my opinion, has perfected pizza. A perfect sliver-thin crust, a flavorful sauce that isn't over spiced and hot, gooey mozzarella cheese.

We ate quickly without wasting one bit of the cheese that oozed off our slices, and went to theater for a thoughtful, provocative afternoon. Even after the Q&A, we were still talking about this powerful show.

Next up...dinner with the wives.

We decided to meet up with the wives and all kids for an early dinner. But we had a challenge: We were in the theatre district, where touristy, expensive, theme-park restaurant are everywhere. As true New Yorkers, we wanted real food at a restaurant that was teenager-friendly. The selection was easy. Virgil's BBQ (www.virgilsbbq.com) on West 44th St between 6th and 7th Avenues. The funny thing was both families came up with the same idea separately.

Virgil's has great, tangy barbecue. They are extremely portion-generous. Of the seven at the table, only Nick (the teenage boy) was able to eat a full meal—the rest of us ordered sandwiches and appetizers.

There were several Carolina pulled pork sandwiches topped with mustard cole slaw, one Owensboro lamb sandwich, one pulled chicken sandwich, a riblets, and Nick's meal was the Memphis pork ribs. If that wasn't too much (and it was too much), we also ordered buttermilk onion rings for the table (crunchy fried with lots salt and pepper) and super cheesy mac & cheese. It was a good thing the cars were parked several blocks away. We needed to walk, talk and digest before we settled in for a sedentary night.

Next up...Sunday dinner with the grandparents.

A Super Bowl of Three-Bean Vegetarian Chili

I know, I know. The Super Bowl was last weekend. But I wanted to bring something new this year to our annual party at Judy and Lew's house. And I wasn't going to post my recipe until I tried it out.

The challenge is to serve healthy food. For so many people Super Bowl = fat-filled fare. Inevitably, someone brings three-alarm chili.

While I like flavorful food as much as the next guy—and I even enjoy a spicy kick—I don’t like food that’s overly hot. I find the heat overpowers the spicing.

My chili has no meat, a little kick and a whole lot of interesting tastes mixed together. This year, I used my chili as the stuffing for potato skins.

When I told my host what I was bringing she said she wanted healthy food. (Isn’t that an oxymoron on Super Bowl Sunday?) I told her there were vegetables and beans in tomato sauce on a scooped out potato, with a little bit of melted cheddar on top. What’s unhealthy?

First, the recipe for Three-Bean Vegetarian Chili Recipe

What to buy
- 1 large red pepper, cored and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large onion, cut into large pieces (not diced)
- 3 tbl olive oil
- 1 15.5-oz can red kidney beans
- 1 15.5-oz can black beans
- 1 15.5-oz can white cannellini beans
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 29-oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 29-oz can tomato sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbl chili powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Ground pepper to taste
- Three sprinkles Worcestershire
- 2 tbl balsamic vinegar
- Shredded cheddar cheese

How to prepare it
1. Open cans of beans and pour them into a colander or strainer to drain the liquid out. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add red pepper, onion and garlic. Saute until soft—about 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Add cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, drained beans, bay leaf and all seasonings. Bring pot to a low boil, cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the chili from burning on the bottom of the pot.
4. Serve in a bowl while hot. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese to taste.

Now, the recipe for potato skins

What to buy
- 1 potato per person
- Vegetable oil
- Sea salt

How to prepare it
1. Clean the potatoes and set aside to dry.
2. Pre-heat over to 400 degrees. While the oven is heating, prick each potato several times with a fork. Place potatoes on a baking pan in the fully heated oven and cook for one hour, turning over the potatoes after 30 minutes.
3. Take the potatoes out of the oven and set aside to cool. Raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees.
4. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle (after 10 minutes or more), cut them in half. Scoop out the insides leaving a wall of skin and potato that ½ inch thick.
5. Place a rack on the heavy-duty baking pan. Brush the skins of the potato with vegetable oil and place skin-side up on the rack. Sprinkle with sea salt and place the pan in the oven for 20 minutes, turning the potatoes over after 10 minutes. This will make the potato skins crisp.
6. Remove the potatoes from the oven and let cool.

All the above can be done beforehand. When you're ready to serve your skins...

7. Put a heaping tablespoon of chili in each potato. Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on each potato. Heat in the over until the cheese is melted about 15 minutes.
8. Serve hot.

That my new Super Bowl recipe. Do you have a special Super Bowl recipe to share with us? Post it here.