Burrata with melon and prosciutto at Ornella in Astoria, QueensBurrata with prosciutto and figs at Il Punto in Manhattan
Last week I had the chance to eat burrata not once but twice! I am consistently mesmerized by burrata, that magical, delicious, amazing cheese. I try to eat it whenever I’m presented with the opportunity.
I first encountered burrata – which translates as “butter” – at Peasant, a restaurant in the NoLita neighborhood in Manhattan. We went there for my birthday a couple of years ago, and it was a wonderful evening, in part because we started with their burrata dish. I was served with roasted tomatoes and the whole thing was just heavenly. I was in food love.
Burrata is basically a fresh mozzarella pouch stuffed with a mixture of warm, loose mozzarella and cream. When you cut into it, it’s very soft and when you taste it, it does live up to its buttery association. It’s a traditional cow’s milk cheese, and a speciality of the Puglia region in Italy.
I would love to learn to make it, too, truth be told.
Last week, I had burrata at two different Italian restaurants – one in Queens and one in Manhattan. Monday night, during our bi-monthly We Heart Astoria Blogger Social, it was available as an appetizer at Ornella Trattoria, a lovely Italian restaurant in Astoria, Queens. It was served with slices of melon and prosciutto, which was seasonal and all delicious.
The following day for lunch at Il Punto, I had a taste of my dining companion’s appetizer, which was burrata served with figs and prosciutto. It was a beautiful seasonal dish, too. I love seeing more burrata on menus around the city.
I’ve also heard that my local Italian Deli, Rosario’s, sometimes carries burrata. Hmm… must inquire about this!
One of my favorite salads is the caprese salad. Usually it consists of tomato, basil, and fresh mozzarella, and I’ve seen it in myriad configurations in restaurants around NYC – sometimes with greens, mostly not; more often than not stacked, but sometimes not. I love ordering this dish in part to see how different restaurants construct it.
At Il Punto last week, the caprese salad came in a configuration I wasn’t accustomed to – big wedges of yellow and red tomatoes surrounding a half a ball of fresh mozzarella – in this case, it was buffalo mozzarella, so extra decadent. The balsamic vinegar that dotted the plates was a nice touch – it mixed perfectly with the shimmer of extra virgin olive oil. The fresh and chopped basil finished off the flavor palate.
One of my favorite summer vegetables – apart from tomatoes – is the tomatillo. Tomatillos are those seemingly green tomatoes that grow with a papery husk around them… but they are not unripe green tomatoes at all! They are actually really different from tomatoes.
With their husks on
They are in the nightshade family – just as tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants are – but resemble ground cherries more than tomatoes. They are more solid than tomatoes, sometimes a little sticky under their husk, full of tiny seeds and have a tangy taste. They are also very high in pectin, and that helps to thicken salsa verde. Some people like to eat them raw but I don’t care for them that way.
This past week brought us many delicious vegetables and fruit. We got:
1 pound japanese eggplants
2 pounds tomatoes
1 bunch leeks
1 head lettuce
1 pound summer squash
1 pound green beans
2 pounds apples
1 pound nectarines
1 watermelon (missing)
Sad news about the watermelon – it kind of died. Hard to describe, but it was very sad. I’ve also been on an apples and peanut butter kick, which is a terrific, satisfying snack.
The tomatoes went into tomato jam. Everything else has been eaten as is, sauteed and such together – all these summer veggies go so well together! Except the lettuce, which is languishing in the fridge. So much lettuce.
You may be aware that the greater food blog community is banding together to help fellow food blogger and writer Jennifer Perillo, who lost her husband Mikey suddenly (heart attack) and tragically earlier this month. It happened with no warning, with no time to prepare – it took Jennie utterly and completely by surprise, in the worst way.
I’ve had someone taken from me like this before and it’s just awful; my heart breaks for Jennie. I learned about what happened while at the end of my time in Washington State. I remember reading the news and just feeling so sad, and then a sense of urgency in getting home to be with T overtook me. I’ve been feeling even more grateful that we are together these days, in light of this (and other various natural disasters/events as of late).
Right now, Jennie is forced to deal with some tough real life issues that revolve around money. She can’t collect widow’s benefits from Social Security because she makes “too much money” yearly; her health insurance payments for her and her girls are coming and are crazy expensive; her name wasn’t on the mortgage – it was totally in Mikey’s name – so there are money issues with that. In short: she needs some serious help on the financial front.
That’s where we all come in. You, me, everyone – we’re raising money for Jennie. She’s in a real pickle financially – and that’s putting it lightly – but there is a way to make this burden lighter for her. Please consider donating to Bloggers Without Borders, a new non-profit with the purpose of enabling bloggers to help others in need, “where the strength and good will of the blogging community could easily be harnessed.” They’ve got a bank account set up and Paypal account and everything; this is the real deal.
The first project is helping alleviate Jennie’s financial ordeal, if only for a little while. They’re calling it A Fund for Jennie.
I’ve donated, personally, but I’m also contributing to a collection of preserves as part of a larger auction. Kate at Snowflake Kitchen has put together a collection of almost two dozen different preserves, jams and pickles, from a whole lot of bloggers-who-can, to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. My contribution to the mix is a jar of plum vanilla jam, which I think is pretty excellent stuff. I made it last week from the plums growing on the trees in my backyard.
Plum vanilla jam and Nettle Meadow chevre on sprouted wheat bread
And at this writing, the bidding has reached $325!
If you’d like to bid on this amazing package of home preserved food, please go to Kate’s post, Jars for #afundforjennie and leave a comment with your bid. Bidding will conclude on Friday September 2nd at 11:59pm EDT. Shipping to the US and Canada only.
If this is too rich for your blood (I know how that can be, as someone who is currently unemployed), please consider donating straight to Bloggers Without Borders. Truly, any amount will help. You can do that below:
Please give as much as you can – truly, any amount is welcome and will be embraced. And you’ll be helping Jennie, a kind soul who really needs our assistance during a very difficult time. Thanks for considering this!
Over the weekend, New York City got socked by Hurricane Irene. We weren’t harmed at all at our apartment, but there was some damage in Astoria – mostly trees uprooted, some flooding, and no doubt some buildings were affected structurally. Some lost power – a small percentage, but the percentage size doesn’t really matter if you are the one without power. I lived through the 2006 Western Queens blackout, and was without power for 7 days – I don’t wish that kind of experience on anyone.
We did prepare – we have a hand crank flashlight, which is cool; I bought an extra lighting wand in case we needed to light the stove manually; I bought extra batteries, and some candles. I even bought some baby wipes in case we were out of water for washing (our bathtub does not have stopper, so we couldn’t fill it). I filled up glass containers with water, as well as my 16 quart stockpot, so we’d have something to drink in case the water supply became problematic. We also had enough non-perishable food, plus I harvested a bowl of garden food Friday morning before everything hit.
Figs, bull nose pepper, tomatoes, jalepeño, mouse melons
Saturday night, we treated ourselves to taco salad without the chips, made from grass fed/finished beef from the CSA and Taco Salad seasoning from Kate at Modern Alternative Mama. We love it and prefer it to the stuff in the taco seasoning packet. Topped it with tomatoes from the garden, some raw cheddar from Washington, and raw red onions.
We waited for things to get really bad, as a tornado watch and warning was declared for all of last night. However, I feel asleep around 11pm and slept like a rock – I didn’t hear a thing over night! A few hours after I got up this morning, the eye had passed us and we were on the south side of the storm. The hurricane was pretty uneventful for me, from my perspective. I’ll know more tomorrow, though, after I check the garden and backyard.
My friend Lia took some pictures of our local park, which was flooded to an extent. Here are some shots (used with permission).
I’m really, really glad the hurricane wasn’t nearly as destructive as it threatened to be. Glad we were prepared, too – it makes a huge difference. The city was prepared – some believe over-prepared – but I’d rather they be that than dropping the ball.
I hear the week should start out with beautiful weather, too! Monday morning should be a great time to go for a run, too – a welcome change after being cooped up most of the weekend.
While I was at the Traditional Community Kitchen tour at the Socrates Greenmarket last weekend, I stopped at the El Poblano Farm stand. They sell an awesome array of traditional Mexican products that they grow over on Staten Island. They gave me a taste – it is a bit citrusy with flavors reminiscent of cilantro, with a tiny bit of bitterness. It tasted wild. Really interesting.
I learned from a post by Homesick Texan, that papalo is an ancient herb found throughout Mexico, South America, and parts of the American Southwest. Some believe it has properties that help lower blood pressure.
The farmer from El Poblano Farm said he uses it in guacamole – I’d consider mixing it with cilantro for that and fresh salsa, as it is quite pungent. I was really happy to have discovered another new-to-me plant!
