Planning began today for a progressive dining experience in the concrete jungle that is Manhattan!  The goal is to pick 8 key courses and then find 8 seperate restaurants to enjoy them. Pretty simple, right? Wrong!

NYC plays host to worlds best eateries (debatable)…so once we figure out the courses we’ve got to narrow down the venues keeping in mind travel and time spent at each stop along the way.

Three of us are in charge of planning.  John, Jake and me.  John and Jake both work at an ad agency and I met up with them today at their office.  With bagels in hand we got down to work!

Here’s how it’s going down… and this is still very much a work in progress:

1. Apps
2. Amuse Boche
3. Meza
4. Salad/Soup
5. Pasta
6. Entrée
7. Dessert
8. Nightcap

Apps: Kick off the event shooting back oysters.  With all the great vitamins provided by the Oyster we’re gonna need the extra energy!

Jonathan Swift once said, “He was a bold man that first ate an oyster”.  Great point, Mr. Swift!

Place’s we’re thinking about:

• Oyster Bar
• Pearl Oyster
• Jewel Bako

Amuse Boche: “to amuse the palette”.  One bite that just says everything!

Places we’re thinking about:

• Annisa
• Chinatown Brassiere
• Staton Social

Meza: Lebanese style apps that are bursting with flavor. Think Toubuli, Fattoush, Hummos.

Places we’re thinking about:

• ilili
• Cobeh

Salad/Soup: Looking for best ever!

Places we’re thinking about:

• Cafeteria
• DBGB
• Otto

Pasta: A pasta course could be the dark horse if chosen wisely!

• Scarpetta
• Basta Pasta
• Bianca’s

Entree: The Main Event

Places we’re thinking about: This one needs more time to think about…can’t rush the entree b/c it’s going to be the place we spend the most time at AND we want to ensure perfection!

• Freemans
• ?
• ?

Desserts: A classic course to refresh the palette.

Place we are going to:

• WD50

Nightcap: A time to reflect and sit back and relax!

Place we WANT to go to:

• Brandy Library

This was Phase 1.  Next step is to call these restaurants to see if we can have every course ready upon arrival and if they’re cool with a crowd of 10 all fired up running in and out of their establishment!

Stay tuned for more details and let me know what you think!!

Here are some pics our Command Center where it all started….I just want to say that Whiteboards are soo much fun!

our compass!

Father’s Day 2010 was FANTASTIC! I woke up to a cup of coffee, a NYC style bagel & cream cheese and my new hand stamped pottery form Henry!  Cynthia hooked it up… the pressure is ON for our 5th year wedding anniversary; oh it’s on!

Henry and I hit up Whole Foods for the ingredients to our soon to be OVEN BAKED PIZZA and on the way home I managed to launch my cell phone into mid air.  I’m talking slow-mo Air-Jordan 1985  slam-dunk contest only it was my phone in slow-mo slamming onto the side walk…. and this happened in broad daylight and for the record, people did point.  I could have cared less oddly enough I was having such a great day.  We had Mikey, Tom and Cassie in town (family!) and the RED BULL AIR RACE was right out our window!

So that meant Beer and Pizza!

I made 3:

Crust: I buy multi-grain, pre-made dough from Whole Foods.  It’s fresh, not expensive and more importantly tastes GREAT!  You have to knead it out for 8-10 minutes and let it rise for at least an hour.

Roll it out with a rolling pin (or bottle of wine) then season it.

• Brush w/ Extra Virgin Olive
• Salt
• Pepper
• Dried Thyme
• Garlic Powder

Sauce: I buy pizza sauce from the market.  NO BRAINER!

• Pizza 1: Topped with Pepperoni and Taleggio Cheese
• Pizza 2. Sauteed Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage and Asiago Cheese
• Pizza 3. Vegan. Whole Foods salad bar shredded squash & zucchini and soy cheese

Pre-Heat the oven to 450 with pizza stone inside.  After 30 minutes reduce the stove to 400 degrees and pop in your first pizza!  Use corn meal directly on the stone so you can maneuver the pizza with ease.

Let the pizza bake for about 15 minutes.  Keep an eye on it because you’ll be able to tell when it’s done.

Have fun with other toppings like eggplant, Fresh Motz, tomato/basil, etc…

Air Race was sick! My wife = Awesome and it was great hangin w/ family.  Hands down a great day to be a dad!

EVEN if I effed up my phone!

damn!

Serving Size : 4

• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 4 tablespoons canola oil
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 15 ounce can black beans  and 1 cup frozen corn (I like TJ’S roasted)
• 1 small red bell pepper — finely diced
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro

In a medium saucepan, combine the quinoa, water and a pinch of salt; bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat until the water is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. Spread the quinoa on a baking sheet; refrigerate for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile combine the ground cumin, lime juice, oil, salt and pepper in a jar and shake until combined. Pour the dressing into a bowl and add the black beans, roasted corn, red bell pepper and cilantro a Scrape the quinoa into the bowl, season with salt and pepper and serve.

Make Ahead
The quinoa salad can be refrigerated overnight.

Source: sent by Brian Samson
“adapted from a recipe in Food and Wine, May 2010″

One of my best friends just got back from visiting his family in Detroit.  While he was showing me some pics of his trip one of them really stood out.  This old school establishment called: Cadieux Cafe; been around since the 60’s and was actually just showcased on Anthony Bourdain’s show, No Reservations.

So long story short.  This place has a bar game that goes waaay beyond shuffle board and darts.  It’s called Feather Bowling…think Bocci meets Curling with a cold one and pack of generic smokes!

Not only is Detroit home to Motown, but it is the only place on US soil where someone can play this Belgium pastime.  I can’t believe Feather Bowling has not been widely accepted.  I can try to explain it, but click on the above image and check out a video that will do this story much more justice!

Roy Munson would have RULED the art of Feather Bowling!!

This gets met fired up for Beach Bocci!

Fattoush is a traditional Lebanese salad.  Think of it this way, if Tabbouleh is the King of salad in Lebanon then Fattoush is the Queen!

The Secret Ingredient is Ground Sumac.  If you can’t find it in your local spice market then I recommend ordering it from this place: Kalustyan’s  (if you live in NYC then Kalustyan’s is worth a visit.)

Ingredients:

• 2 hearts of romaine lettuce
• Half a bunch of parsley: no stems
• 2 medium size tomatoes
• 1 red pepper chopped
• 1 cucumber
• 4-5  scallions chopped
• radishes (optional)
• 1 large piece of pita (split in half and toasted)

Dressing:

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 1/2 table spoons of Ground Sumac
• Half a Lemon
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Put all the chopped up ingredients in a salad bowl. Should be pretty simple. If you have a mortar and pestle add a couple pinches of Kosher salt into the mortar. Throw in the garlic and mash it until it becomes a garlic paste.  Add Ground Sumac and squeeze half the lemon in.  When its all mixed up put the sumac and garlic on the salad.  Add Extra Virgin Oil, salt and pepper to taste and mix.  Lastly you want to introduce the toasted Pita.  Don’t make the chips too small.  Give it one final mix and enjoy!

You’d be surprised, this salad tastes great for left overs.

In short, Turkey Taco Salad is AWESOME.  Thanks to Matt Capell for the recipe.  I believe he found this while thumbing through Gourmet Magazine …that’s what i said, “you thumb through Gourmet Mag?”.
Sorry pal, cats out of the bag! But on that same note, Gourmet Mag is no longer in print, so hold on to your latest issue b/c you can bring that to Antique Road Show in like 40 years!

FOR THE TURKEY TACO MEAT

On February 4th at 11:09am I went on Sirus Satellite’s Mad Dog Radio to talk Super Bowl parties and food with Bruce Murray and Bill Pidto (2 Great Guys).  I have to say it was my first appearance as G Dude AND I had to bring in samples of Super Bowl worthy grub so I was a tad bit nervous.  The guys on the B Team were Amazing.  From the minute I walked into the studio I felt comfortable and immediately felt like part of the team.

I prepped the food in the office kitchen and just as the producers came to grab me I finished garnishing the buffalo wings… we’re talkin right down to the wire!  I was living a real life Apprentice challenge and was soo fired up to hit the mic!

Below is my 2 part appearance and here are the recipes we covered on-air.  Many thanks to entire team over at Sirius for making this day one the best I’ve had to date! (not counting my wedding and Henry’s birth of course!)

Valentine’s Day is a tough day… Lots of pressure for dudes to deliver, everything cost triple the price and there is nothing harder than standing in aisle 6 at CVS riffling through what’s left of the V Day cards.  BUT…it’s gotta get done.

Here are a some TIPS to help you get through the night and possibly make you achieve HERO status.

• If you’re cooking at home go EASY on the garlic.  V Day is one of the only designated make-out nights on the calendar!
• If you’re dining out don’t over eat.  Most places have a set 3 or 4 course menu so by the time you’ve gone from the bread basket to the cheese cake, coupled with wine you’re looking at the ingredients to a big bottle of Nyquil…and you have to perform later that evening.
• Exchange cards at the table after your first class of wine.  Get the night moving right!
• Try really really really hard not to text and or surf the web on your phone.  The minute you start looking at your phone you might as well just chew on garlic cloves.

Home cooks… few Bonus tips

• Lighting is HUGE! Dim the lights a tad to create a mellow atmosphere.  If you have candles this is the day to fire those up.
• Tunes: keep the beats light, funky or jazzy.  Jay Z can wait till tomorrow.
• Simple yet elegant recipes I found online.

GODSPEED!!!!!!! report back….!

While  you’re cooking or getting ready to go out… BLAST this tune!

SuperBowl Sunday is the most laid back party of the year from coast to coast!  It really doesn’t matter who is on the field, it’s all about friends, commercials and lots of food…oh yeah, and COLD BEER on ice.

The key for those throwing the party is efficiency.   You want to offer enough food so people can eat all afternoon, but you want to minimize cost and time spent in the kitchen. After all you wanna hang out to!  - you also do NOT want to compromise taste and presentation!

Couple Tips for you:

• DVR the game (replay commercials, missed plays or if someone steps on the remote and changes the channel!)
• Keep the food close to the action: Don’t set the table
• Themes: Cook up some Gumbo for the Saints or Pork Tenderloin Sliders for the Colts
• Keep the beer on Ice and play drinking games: Drink every First Down or Holding call
• Be a good guest.  Bring wine, beer or Tums and don’t wipe buffalo sauce on your friends couch

Here are a few recipes to consider when you are planning your party or planning on bringing something to a party.

Get detailed recipes in the Virtual Cookbook

SuperBowl parties bring out the best mood in people.  How many Sundays during the year do you get to hang out with a bunch of your friends?  Here is a recipe to do more with less so you can maximize hang time AND get people fired up with your creative dish!

This no sweat recipe is all about paying homage to the legendary Ray Finkle! We’re talkin about Football shaped cookies with the LACES OUT!!!

Ingredients: Yields 6-8

• 1 tube of gingerbread cookie dough
• Powdered sugar
• Royal icing

Procedure:

Rub the powdered sugar on your cooking space and rolling pin so the dough does not stick to either.  Cut the cookie tube into 6 coins.  Roll out the dough so that the cookie cutter can fit.  Punch the cutter through the dough and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Repeat until all dough is used.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 and put the baking sheet on the top rack for 8-10 minutes.  The cookies expand in the oven so space accordingly.

You don’t have to make your icing… you can buy the Royal Icing and you should!  Let the bottle of icing sit in a bowl of hot water so the icing will work smoothly as you pipe in the laces.  Once the cookies cool and icing is warmed up (about 10 mins) start to draw on your laces with the icing.  Give the icing some time to harden and you’re done.  That’s right, DONE!! Now you have Football cookies with the LACES OUT!!

If you make this recipe PLEASE post some pics to the G Dude Facebook Fan Page!! would LOVE to see it.