Marie Fromage

Bites: Once, Whitney, Euzkadi, Crumble

Here's what caught my attention this week:

Once
I am obsessed with this gorgeous, quirky film. Set in Dublin, it's a story about broken hearts, loneliness and two people who find redemption through the music they create together. And what music it is -- sweet and melodic, both simple and grand. It is a subtle film that sneaks up on you. When it started I wasn't too sure if I was going to like it; by the end I was weeping and filled with hope. I ran home and downloaded the soundtrack and I can't stop listening to it. Written & directed by John Carney and starring singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, fellow band mates from Irish music group The Frames. It also stars Czech singer and multi-instrumentalist Marketa Irglova, who met Glen Hansard while he was on a trip to Prague. I love this movie.

Feed Your Head at The Whitney
I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit "Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era" currently going on at The Whitney Museum of American Art. On display are posters, photographs, artifacts and interactive installations that center around the time of the late sixties through the early seventies when the world seems to have suffered a collective nervous breakdown. Some great music was created during those particularly troubled times, so no show like this would be complete without a rockin' soundtrack. The Whitney covered this beautifully by including with the price of admission an audio guide loaded with music of the time along with interesting obscure facts (for example, I wasn't aware Keith Richards wrote "Wild Horses" as a tribute to his dear friend Gram Parsons after his untimely death; makes me love that song even more). There are also rooms featuring trippy lights and images and pillows on the floor, in case you are in the mood to take a load off and space out for a while. There was one room done in crazy colors and filled with weird shapes - and tons of kids, so I didn't go in (but it looked cool). The exhibit ends on September 16, so go now!

Euzkadi
Located on East Fourth Street in the East Village, Euzkadi is a sexy and sensual Spanish spot focusing on Basque cuisine. The Queen of The Rockaways and I went there on a recent Friday night and were excited by the cool look of the place and positive reports about the food. But then...we were greeted with a warm "welcome to our restaurant, the food is delicious and we'd love to serve you, but we have bad news: we currently have no liquor license." Something or other about their renewal of the license and the actual renewed license not arriving back at the restaurant on time. Huh? Who runs a restaurant like that? We couldn't even buy a bottle and bring it back. I've heard the community is cracking down on raucous music in bars, so maybe this is the real story. The maitre'd seemed earnest and I did want to try the food, so we gave it a shot and ordered some small plates to share:

* Cana de Cabra: grilled bread with goat cheese & a fig conserve; this had a salty-sweet thing going on and was my favorite.

* Bravas: roasted potatoes with a spicy aioli sauce. The potatoes were a crispy foil to the luscious spicy aioli sauce.

* Grilled marinated pork loin on a skewer with piquillo peppers & pimenton: this was a little dry and tasted, well, like chicken.

* Grilled shrimp stuffed with rosemary goat cheese, wrapped in Serrano ham: very rich and decadent.

I was recently in Barcelona (stay tuned for deets), so I'm Spain-obsessed and on the lookout to find spots in NYC that capture the best of what I'd experienced there. Overall, I thought the place was great and I'd like to go back to explore further. I hope that they can get their liquor license issue resolved, because I'm sure the rent is ridiculous.

What to do with all that fruit
Summer is busting out all over and the farmer's markets are brimming with piles of sweet corn and plump peaches. On a recent visit it all looked and smelled so fragrant and amazing, so I went a little crazy. I picked up tomatoes, corn, blueberries, peaches and apricots; I also bought a basket of figs from the supermarket that looked great. When I brought it all home, I realized I had a lot of produce and needed to devise clever ways to eat it all before it rotted. Because everything is at the peak of ripeness right now, there is very little that needs to be done to create great tasting dishes.

Roasted Fig & Apricot Crumble
(adapted from “Fast Food My Way” by Jacques Pépin)
This is a simple, throw together dessert that's a perfect ending to a simple summer supper. Or it could be a breakfast treat! Note that pretty much any fruit would work with this: peaches, blueberries, cherries, raspberries and so on.

Ingredients:
- Fresh Figs; about 4 per person
- Fresh Apricots; about 4 per person
- 1/8 cup light brown sugar (regular sugar will also work if brown sugar isn’t available)
- Small pinch of Nutmeg (optional)
- Small pinch of Cardamom (optional)

For the crumble:
- All-butter shortbread cookies (any good quality butter cookies will do just fine).
- Unsalted butter

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°.

2. Quarter the figs and apricots, remove pits and place in a bowl.

3. Toss the fruit with light brown sugar, Nutmeg and Cardamom. Place in a baking dish and set aside (to make it a little more special, divide the fruit and cookie crumbs into individual ramekins).

4. Add about 3-4 cookies per person and smash them up into crumbs.

5. Sprinkle the cookie crumbs over the fruit. Dot the crumbs all over with bits of butter.

6. Place in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until the crumbs are slightly browned.

7. Allow to cool before serving. It is best at room temperature or just slightly warm. Add a dollop of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or crème fraîche, if desired.

8. Sit cross-legged on the floor with your shoes off and enjoy!

Cheese Me

Welcome to Marie Fromage, a weekly journal about the pursuit of my passions – music, food and travel. I’m often asked for restaurant recommendations, recipes, how-to-cook something, 
along with “I heard you went to someplace fabulous, can you tell me about your trip” and “heard any good music lately?” so I’ll be sharing all of that and more.

And now let us begin…

Cheese Me

Cheeeeeese. I am crazy for cheese. Please refer to the name of this blog, it’s a nickname for a reason, bestowed upon me long ago by my friend Zero. I’m obsessed. Love it like mad. I could live on cheese, bread and fruit and be satisfied. Mmmmmm.

It all began many moons ago when I worked at a place called The Cheese Shop in Upper Montclair, NJ (now known as Sandwich Theory – same owner). It had just been purchased and I was one of the first and one of the only employees. Aside from the holidays and my dusting the shelves there wasn’t a lot of activity in those early days. So during the down time I was able to read some of the cheese guides that were around and could actually taste what I was reading about.

Up until that time, my cheese knowledge was limited to the generic supermarket versions of Brie, Swiss, spread able cheddar streaked with port wine (excellent on Tricuits!), garlic & herb cheese spread, not to mention all manner of “cheese product”, which was basically American cheese delivered in every conceivable form. Remember how fun it was to squirt that can of “cheese” on a hot dog or straight into your mouth? I also remember when there were American cheese nuggets, wrapped-up like candies to be eaten as an on-the-go snack. Velveeta shells and cheese. Kraft Mac & Cheese. And a Philly cheese steak would not be complete without the Cheez Whiz. All good in a gross-but-good, plastic guilty pleasure way, but nothing memorable, nothing resonating.

Then my palate started to grow up and I fell in love. Goat cheese. Triple-cream. Aged cheddars and Gouda. Runny. Stinky! French, Italian, Spanish; a sturdy looking smelly wheel of something made by monks in a cloistered cave somewhere remote. How good it tasted with wine! How amazingly nutty-fruity-tangy real Parmigiano-Reggiano is! So NOT the stuff you shake out of a can.

Cheese Gurus

Over the years I’ve been fortunate to have sampled cheese courses in some of the best restaurants in New York. I’ve been to a farm or two that made cheese. I have yet to make cheese but that's going to happen very soon. I’ve also taken cheese-tasting classes, most notably with Max McCalman, esteemed author and Maître Fromager at Picholine and Artisanal. But my current cheese guru is a fellow named Martin Johnson. I learned about Martin and his Joy of Cheese tastings through The Manhattan Users Guide about a year ago and became an official groupie. Martin is a journalist who also does time at The Bedford Cheese Shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He hosts his popular cheese tastings several times a month at the chic wine bar Ten Degrees on St. Marks in the East Village. It is fabulous cheesy fun. Check out his Joy of Cheese blog for more info and upcoming cheese dates.

Private Cheese

Martin will also come to your house and host a private cheese tasting for you and your friends, which he did recently at my pal Zero’s place. Cheesy goodness to call your own.

Cheese Hot Spots

Here are some of the best places to get your cheese on in NYC:

• The Bedford Cheese Shop: Williamsburg Brooklyn. This place is one of the best. If you live in Manhattan, don’t panic. Just take the L train from Union Square to the first stop in Brooklyn, which is Bedford Avenue and walk a block or two. Go ahead, it’s just one stop!

• Murray’s: Considered the oldest cheese shop in New York. This place is solid and seems to have it all. Locations on Bleecker Street and in the market at Grand Central.

• Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro: It’s a cheese shop! It’s a restaurant! On E. 32nd Street at Park Avenue South.

• Saxelby Cheesemongers: Located within the Essex Street Market on the Lower East Side. Anne Saxelby is the chirpy & enthusiastic owner/operator of this pocket-sized shop that is dedicated to American-made cheeses.

• Formaggio Essex: Also located within the Essex Street Market, this is a teeny little outpost of gourmet food purveyor Formaggio Kitchen, based in Cambridge, MA.

• Stinky Bklyn: a cheeky little cheese shop located on Smith Street in Cobble Hill. They have begun hosting an annual cheese eating contest. This year's winner was one Oliver Butler, who consumed 6 oz of cheese in one minute. Hm. Good for you Oliver, but did that hurt?

• Fromagerie at Whole Foods: At the location on Houston at Bowery on the Lower East Side. This place is a pleasant surprise. Walk through the main cheese area, past the piles of plastic-wrapped blocks, enter the serene back room, take a deep breath and feel the stillness. It’s a little cheese chapel inside a big honking chain store. Even if it is Whole Foods, which isn't that bad as far as chain stores go, but still. It's a revelation and they are generous with the samples so just ask.

• Dean & Deluca: The beautiful food museum located on Broadway at Prince Street in Soho. Because the luxurious loft-dwelling superstars need to get their cheese somewhere, right?

• Ideal Cheese: a cheese institution on the East side of Manhattan, First Avenue at 52nd Street.

Cheese Reads

Here’s a short list of some cheese books I like:

The Cheese Plate, by Max McCalman and David Gibbons

Cheese Primer by Steven Jenkins

The Murray's Cheese Handbook by Rob Kaufelt and Liz Thorpe.

And finally, some cheesy fun:

Cheddarvision TV: watch a wheel of English Cheddar named Wedginald age in real time. Go Wedginald go!