LittleJudy.com

We Ate What?!?!?

Tomato aspic? Golden salad? Goulash made with ... Dr. Pepper?

In the days before the Food Network, people actually ate that stuff (and a host of other regrettable foods).

The Gallery of Regrettable Foods has compiled excerpts from the worst of mid-century recipe books and added hilarious commentary for your enjoyment. Seriously, you'll laugh out loud reading the comments ... after you're done shrieking in horror at the photos.

Just makes me crave some green Jello with celery bits.

Nick's Pizza - Forest Hills - New York Magazine Restaurant Guide

My favorite pizza joint landed on New York Magazine's Best of 2008 list. It's worth a trip to Forest Hills (take the F or E train to Continental Ave. - a 45 minute ride from midtown at most). The pizza is extremely fresh and well worth the trip, but you must leave room for a cannoli. Their version of the pastry has an unusually light, airy crust and a delicious, velvety filling. It takes every ounce of self-restraint in me to keep from licking the plate.  Try to get their on an off hour (4:00 p.m. on a Sunday, for example) to avoid the ever present dinner-hour lines.

Link: Nick's Pizza - Forest Hills - New York Magazine Restaurant Guide.

Final Tribute For Cream Of Wheat Man

This story was posted on CBSNews.com Friday, and there were so many positive comments that I thought I'd post it here, too:

A man widely believed to be the model for the smiling chef on Cream of Wheat boxes finally has a grave marker bearing his name.

Frank L. White died in 1938, and until this week, his grave in Woodlawn Cemetery bore only a tiny concrete marker with no name.

Link: Final Tribute For Cream Of Wheat Man.

Motor City Eats for Your Super Bowl Par-tay

A nice new friend asked me today which team I was rooting for in the Super Bowl. My reply was simply, "I'm just rooting for my hometown and hope they take in a lot of revenue for the city." The Lions suck, so what do I care about those other teams?

Anyway, since most people don't know much about Detroit beyond Motown, cars, and crime statistics, I thought it would be fun to suggest some recipes to give your Super Bowl party a little authentic flavor. I have a feeling there are still some of you out there planning last minute dishes to add to your party, so I hope this helps. 

There are also some links to where you can buy some authentic Detroit food and beverages. I know it's too late for the Super Bowl, but if you're an ex-pat or just curious you should check them out.

Baking Brownies in a Heat Wave

It's been, like, 90+ degrees in New York City and I'm sure that the closest most people got to an appliance this weekend was standing in front of the open refrigerator in their underwear.

Except me.

That's because I have a new toy that I can't keep my hands off of: my brand new 30 inch Kenmore Elite Gas Convection Range.

I'm having so much fun that my microwave is starting to get jealous. It's the perfect geek appliance -- lots of programmable stuff and bells and whistles. Yes, I do read the manual (I always do, like the chick in the CDW commercial). For example, you can time your baking, so you can set the oven like a microwave (e.g. 45 minutes at 350 degrees) and it will shut off at that time. There's a pre-heat button and when the oven reaches the target temperature it beeps (and keeps beeping until you press the clear button.) There's a bunch of other stuff I haven't played with yet, like the convection recipe converter that let's you enter the temp and time of your conventional recipe and it converts it to convection.

The broiler is actually at the top of the oven -- so you don't have to crouch down on the floor when you broil something. The drawer at the bottom is a warming drawer.

I should note at this point that another novelty for me is that I finally have enough kitchen cabinet space that I no longer have to store my baking pans in the oven when I'm not using it!

The range has got five burners - three regular burners that together make up an oval shaped "bridge burner," plus a power burner for boiling up stuff real fast (like a gigondo pot of water for pasta), and a simmer burner which is a burner with a super low flame for gentle cooking. It's self-cleaning and it's got a glass cooktop which is also easy to clean.

I think I've used this range more in three weeks than I did for 6 months with my old oven. You see, when you live in rented apartments for years and years you never get to choose your own appliances.

So, with the help of my (also new) Kitchen-Aid stand mixer I baked up a batch of brownies that took 45 minutes from prep, to bake, to clean-up. I had so much fun that I didn't even mind the heat! 

Next up, I'm going to try cooking something in the convection oven and test out the cooktop grill.

Paris Café: A Real Neighborhood Restaurant Near the South Street Seaport

I've lived in Lower Manhattan for 13 years now and my best friend has lived here for almost her entire life. Yet, it still amazes me that we're still able to discover new little treasures right in our own backyard.

Tonight we discovered the Paris Café which is located on South Street at the corner of Peck Slip. That's a few blocks from the Fulton Street Mall at the Seaport, but worlds away from its crowds of tourists.

Founded in 1873, the Paris is an old-fashioned bar/restaurant with high ceilings, brick walls, a big bar, and views of the East River and the Brooklyn Bridge. Well, you do have to peer through the pillars holding up the FDR Drive and around a few fish market stalls, but you can make out the boats floating down the river.

So what? The area is not as pristine as its sister waterfront on the Hudson River, but what it lacks in trendiness it more than makes up for in gritty New York history. According to the history lesson printed on the back of each menu, visitors to the restaurant included Thomas Edison, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and even New York City Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt who would go there to root out cops drinking on the job. In the 30s, notorious gangster Louis Lepke plotted a few murders there. Well, Denise and I can be a little bit dangerous after a couple of cocktails, but I don't think we're quite in that league.

The menu is fairly standard with lots of fish and seafood dishes ('natch) as well as pasta cooked al dente, salads, steaks and burgers. There's also a nice brunch menu ranging from $9 to $14 (with drink included)! Brunch is on Sundays from 11:30 to 4:00 p.m. and dinner is from 5:00 until 11:00. No reservations, though. (Paris Cafe, 119 South Street at Peck Slip; 212-240-9797)