Journey Thru Lancaster - Part 1

On a whim, Associate Editor Jenny Ruvolo and I decided to take a trip down to Lancaster, PA for a 3 day weekend. She needed to zone out and remove herself from the city while I needed a palate cleanser.  I had heard some great things about a few new Lancaster restaurants and was excited to hang out with cows and sheep for a few days. Things were very different here than I remembered; but most of the changes have been for the good. So forget the Lancaster you think you know and take the journey with me through this wonderful area just a few hours away from NY.

We took the 2 hr Amtrak ride down and rented a car close to the Lancaster train station. This is a very comfortable way to travel if you can’t take your own car and relatively inexpensive too (about $60 for business class). However, I just have to mention that they are renovating the Lancaster Amtrak station and it’s currently in shambles. Plus, the Avis that usually sits in the station is no longer there so you need to call them and then they pick you up in the car you rented. I was kinda creeped out by this - not really ok with getting into cars with strangers. Sorry Avis.

After getting the car (and filling out the car rental paperwork on a laptop in a public garage), we checked in at the Courtyard Marriott and drove over to Kettle Kitchen Village down Old Philadelphia Pike to kill some time before dinner. The place is exactly what it sounds like: a little village of shops that sell you goodies and Pennsylvania Dutch trinkets. If you are driving past this place, make a stop and look around. If not, you really don’t need to make the trip. The one thing we did love at Kettle Kitchen was the turkey jerky and the birch beer at their Smokehouse Shop. We didn’t know it then, but turkey jerky would soon become the main theme of our trip. It was so delicious we ate the 1/4 lb before walking off the village grounds and vowed to return to the Smokehouse the next day to pick up more of the deliciously salted, dried meat sticks. Next stop: dinner time.

Something to keep in mind when traveling to Lancaster. Your schedule will odds are be very different from what you’re use to. A lot of the restaurants in the area outside of the city close around 8pm and the shops close even earlier so you may be eating dinner a lot earlier than usual. After some serious debate, we decided to visit the tried and true Good ‘N Plenty in honor of our late Aunt Dee Dee (lord knows just how many times Dee Dee went to Good ‘N Plenty but it was enough that even the smell of the restaurant made us think of her). Since we were both suffering from serious headaches and even a little nauseous from the jerky overload mere minutes before, we ate in the ‘Harvest Room’. Quick rundown: if you eat in the Harvest Room, you eat the harvest platters, which means you eat normally with your party. If you eat “family style”, you’re stuck at a huge table with strangers who want to talk to you all night and are subjected to large quantities of comfort food. Not like harvest platter portions are tiny, for $10 you get 2 pieces of chicken, 2 side dishes (corn, carrots, mashed, soup, salad, etc), and 2 DESSERTS. Yes, each person receives 2 separates desserts - this STILL blows my mind. The fried chicken was very good but not amazing and the side dishes were also very tasty; buttery carrots and fluffy mashed.  The only part that wasn’t good was the gravy, it didn’t taste like anything. How do you mess up gravy?? Its so easy to make?!! The desserts were just as homey: cracker pudding, blueberry cobbler, and the Lancaster favorite: shoofly pie. If you go, don’t get the shoofly pie like everyone else - its good but you’ll find it EVERYWHERE there  - get the cracker pudding. It was like someone mixed together homemade vanilla pudding, coconut fakes, and salty cracker crumbs for a delightful combination not to be missed. There are plenty of family style dutch restaurants in Lancaster to go to, but go to Good ‘N Plenty because its an institution down there. Everyone has to go at least once in their life.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s  Journery Thru Lancaster - Part 2, where we’ll visit the local favorite Achenbach bakery, the Nissleys Vineyard and Winery, Porkys Place, and the Bird-In-Hand Farmers Market.

The Eyeful

London is just one of those cities where a great dining experience can be just around the corner. Unfortunately, it is also like every major western city where around the corner you will find a fried chicken shack or a cup of really watered down Ethiopian coffee. In order to avoid such pitfalls of horrifying consumption you really have to keep your eyes and ears on the prowl for new and interesting places. While riding the No. 14 bus up Piccadilly Road, my eyes caught sight of one such place called Napket. After quickly googling their menu and noting their by line of ‘Snob Food’ I instantly Facebooked my friend with an invitation to join me for dinner.

The following week I met my friend on Piccadilly road for our arranged date at Napket. Alas our meeting point was the granddaddy of the macaron, Laduree, and given that I recently classified the macaron as the synthetic cousin of the cupcake my spirits were crackling like the fine underbelly fat of a roasting piglet. Luckily in entering Napket my spirits were lifted by the cool interior contrast of the black panelling and furnishing with the hanging silver chandeliers and exposed brick walls. In researching online I discovered that this eating area is referred to as the ‘living room’ with the ‘library’ room placed further inside the establishment for those intending to only consume beverages.

Having dotted on the unmistakably ‘wow factor’ ambiance I can get to the bread and meat of the matter. The ‘living room’ and the ‘library’ were both being attended to by the same two person waiting staff. Thus it was no surprise to us that we had quite a wait to place our order as well as to actually lay our taste buds upon it. However, the Eastern European staff was pleasant and a bit quirky. When we inquired about their bread (something the pantry by the entrance of Napket makes look very tempting) we were told ‘I’m sorry but the bread is still in the oven, would you mind waiting for when it is out?’ I believe the grimace on my face may have confused the waiter…

Eventually I was served my order of a French Onion soup with a gruyere crouton. It is debatable if this was a soup or rather a dish with an enormous piece of toasted brown bread with cheese submerged in a bit of broth. This visual technicality turned out to be only a nomenclatural technicality as this dish was indeed French Onion soup. It had that unmistakable caramelised onion flavour while the ‘crouton’ had the rich and heavy cream taste that is typical of a gruyere topping. I must admit, this rustic (check out the cast iron dish it was served in) interpretation of one of my all time favourite soups was mentally refreshing but physically far too satisfying. I believe the soup could have done with more broth and a smaller portion of ‘crouton’ as the overall package was a bit heavy. Having said that, if I was Bobby Brown and the soup was Whitney Houston, I would totally hit that bitch again and again.

Helena Maratheftis, my dining companion and photographer (she took the accompanying photos) had placed a far superior order to mine. Whilst I forgot the formal menu name it was a chicken casserole dish which I sampled and subsequently proclaimed divine. The chicken was absolutely perfectly, it was soft and tender with a light meaty after taste that indicated it was cooked lovingly in the ‘just right’ amount of herbs and spices. Having said that, I would like to caution the reader that I do not know the extent to which this review of the chicken dish was biased by the ‘BUT MOMMY I want what she has!’ syndrome.

Napket, it is a place to feast your eyes and share some intimate moments with your plus one or plus more. If you so should choose to go beyond the many cafe-esque beverages on offer in order to dine then be prepared to be spoiled. With home comfort foods gone professional, Napket more than satisfies the stringent demands of proper food snobs like us here at Love Food Love Me and does so at reasonable prices. If you are in London you are always welcome to treat me to a meal here.

Napket (Piccadilly), SnobFood Ltd
www.napket.com
5 Vigo Street, London
(44) 20 7734 4387

Double Crown

Double Crown has an interesting theme. It explores the culinary dualities of Indian and Southeast Asia after the the British Empire’s influence. What could that possibly mean you ask? Well it means Bowery’s got a hip new spot (relatively new) that features Bangers and Mash, Butternut Squash Curry and Braised Pork Belly with Ginger-Lychee dressing. Confused? Dont be - Brad Farmerie (thats right the one currently on The Next Iron Chef) executes it well.

We started the meal with the spicy pork stuffed lychees. These were delicious  - I highly recommend ordering them even if you’re going in just to have a beer or two. The sit in a light coconut sauce and hit all the major tastebud flavors: salty, sweet, spicy, and a light sour. Keep in mind, they only come 3 in a plate so if you’re in a group order at least 2 or 3 plates. They will FLY!

Then we got the entrees: Twice Cooked Chicken, Bangers and Mash with WOW WOW sauce, and the Butternut Squash Curry. The Twice Cooked Chicken was so incredibly moist - I mean incredibly. I didn’t have to use a knife at all for my entire meal. Granted, the broth was a bit watery but the chicken itself was flavorful and in the end I guess thats what counts. The Bangers and Mash was very vinegary due to the wow wow sauce, which I happen to like but some people might not. The bangers were also a bit dry (emphasis on ‘bit’). The Butternut Squash Curry was a great vegetarian entree, meaty consistency, flavorful, and filling. All in all - the entrees were solid - especially the chicken. In terms of

Twice Cooked Chicken

side dishes we ordered the brussel sprouts and the pickled cucumbers. Both were great choices. The brussel sprouts were a little more charred than I usually like them but the flavor - OH the flavor - was excellant. Spicy and slightly sweet with that delicious mini-cabbage taste I’ve grown to love over the years. The pickled cucumbers with yogurt sauce were an excellant contrast considering most dishes had an element of heat.

Now its time to discuss the desserts. We chose 2: the panna cotta with goat milk ice cream and the hot fudge brownie sundae with shitaki ice cream. The panna cotta was delightful but I had a problem with the hot fudge sundae..mostly because it WASN’T HOT! DO YOU HEAR ME DOUBLE CROWN? I’m sorry, a cold brownie and cold chocolate sauce do not a hot fudge sundae make. Its ice cream with chocolate sauce at that point..which is ok…just don’t call it a hot fudge sundae. So when you visit Double Crown make sure you DON’T order the sundae.

In summation the dinner was a delight. The flavors weren’t quite Indian, or Southeast Asian, or British - which is exactly why I enjoyed it. If you are in the area make sure you go AND don’t forget the awesome gin joint next door. You have to go through a ‘hidden’ door in the back of the restaurant (pretty koooooool) and then you can enjoy the latest cocktail to enthrall NYC: gin and jam. Housemade jams, served in a little teaspoon alongside gin and lemon over crushed ice.

316 Bowery
New York, NY 10012
(212) 254-0350

http://www.doublecrown-nyc.com/

Chicken Soup

I love soup - especially chicken soup. You can make it from the scraps of your last dinner and can keep it in the frig for a week or more. I usually make this the day after I make a roasted chicken -nothing goes to waste!

 1 chicken carcass

1/2 cup of chopped carrots

1/2 cup of chopped celery

1/2 cup of sliced onions

1/4 cup of leeks

1 cup of white wine

1 cup of water

1 8oz. can of chicken broth

1/4 cup of chopped parsnips

 sprigs of sage, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram in a bouquet garni (tie them together and cheese cloth so you can pull it out afterwards)

2 tbs. of salt

pepper to taste

 

- Remove whatever chicken is left on the carcass and set aside.

- Put chicken carcass in a large pot with water, wine, herbs, salt, and chicken broth. Simmer for an hour. Remove chicken carcass and set aside.

- Put carrots, celery, onions, and leeks in the soup pot and simmer for another hour.

Roasted Chicken Zucchini Boats

I love zucchini boats - my father made them all the time growing up. We would generally make them with sausage but this one made with leftover chicken is just fantastic. Never throw leftover chicken away!

2 large zucchinis
1 cup of roasted chicken meat
1/4 cup of finely diced carrots
1/4 cup of finely diced celery
1/4 cup of finely diced onions
1/4 cup of white wine
1/3 cup of parmesean cheese
3 tbs of butter
salt and pepper

Preheat Oven to 350

Dice veggies and saute in pan with butter. After translucent add wine and chicken meat and cheese. Cook until mixed together and some of the wine has evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cut zucchinis in half and hollow them out. Put zucchini flesh aside (you can cook this with wine and put back in the zucchini if you run out of filling.)

Bake in a for 45-60 minutes (depending on size of zucchinis - make sure foil and/or pan is greased properly)

Chicken Wing Burger

This is great - its a take on chicken wings which are super delicious but FATTY!

Patties:
1.5 lb of ground chicken
3 tbs of garlic powder
3 tbs of minced onions
2 ts. of Old Bay seasoning

Sauce:
1/2 cup of Red Hot sauce
2 tbs of butter

Topping:
1/2 cup of chopped scallions
1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbles

Saute onions with a touch of olive oil until translucent. Let cool. Mix patty ingredients together and lightly form patties. Spray with a non-stick cooking spray (like Pam) and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Simmer Red Hot sauce and butter together until combined and set aside.

Preheat Oven to Broiler, put 2 tbs. of chicken wing sauce ontop of patties and broil for 3 minutes or until slightly brown. Place ontop of wheat buns and top with cheese and scallions.

Ultimate Roast Chicken Recipe

This is truly the Ultimate Roast Chicken recipe. The chicken itself is stuffed with an entire head of roasted garlic, herbes de provence, and butter.  This makes the chicken incredibly moist and creates an amazing gravy afterwards.

Ingredients

3-4 lb. chicken

1 head of garlic

2 tbs olive oil

5 tbs butter

3 tbs herbes de provence

1 onion

3 carrots

2 cups of sliced button mushrooms

fresh thyme/sage

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

-Roast 1 head of garlic ahead of time in the oven for 20 mins. After roasted, blend in food processor (or blender or something) garlic, olive oil, butter, sea salt, and herbes de provence.

-Chop up onion, carrots, button mushrooms and add fresh thyme and sage. Coat veggies/herbs lightly with olive oil and lay them in the bottom of the roasting pan.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

-Spread herb/butter/garlic mix under the skin of the chicken on a little on top of the chicken (just to moisten it up).

-Roast for 20 mins in the oven per pound (1.5 hrs for 4 lb chicken)