I'm excited to see that after a longer respite (everyone needs the summer off), my friend Lisa who heads up the Astoria Book & Supper Club is back to her delicious goings-on. Her next book discussion and themed dinner will be coming up in October, and I was delighted to see that the subject is one of my favorite Ruth Reichl books, Garlic and Sapphires.
Focusing on Ruth's career as the NYT food critic, the book talks about her fun and irreverent escapades, as she works her way through some of Manhattan's finest restaurants. Lisa's dinner pays a homage to all the luxurious bites in this book, so you're in for a real treat with this one. Here's the proposed menu:
Garlic & Sapphires inspired dinner menu:
Sunday October 13th at 7:00 p.m.
Hudson Valley Fois Gras
with truffles served over baked New York state apples in season
Seasonal vegetable risotto
topped with truffle oil
Caesar salad
Grilled Porterhouse steak
served with Lisa's potatoes (her take on au gratin)
New York style cheesecake
$40/person, BYOB
RSVP to Lisa.
A few weeks ago, Dan and I had my brother Peter and my future sister-in-law, Fiana over for a special steak dinner. In the mood to break out the nice china and some fancy grub, we made it look a lot more complicated than it really was, preparing a broiled steak with chimichurri sauce and tapas-style roasted potatoes with a spicy mayo sauce. The salad you see above was the preamble to this meal, and by using really good quality ingredients, we were able to make something spectacular out of just three simple items. Ready in just about an hour, the dinner was fun to make and I can comfortably say that our guests really enjoyed it. Here's how you can recreate it at home.
Spinach Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Burrata Cheese:
Ingredients (serves 4)
8 handfuls of fresh baby spinach or arugula
Fresh burrata cheese (or you can also use regular mozzarella if you have it on hand)
2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper to taste
Good quality olive oil
Directions:
Place the greens in an individual salad bowl and top with tomatoes and burrata (about 3-4 medium chunks). Top with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Broiled Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
For steak:
Ingredients (serves 4)
4 medium - large pieces of filet mignon or ribeye steaks
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
For chimichurri sauce:
I followed this easy recipe
Directions (for steak):
Brush steak with olive oil and season properly with salt and pepper. Let it rest for about an hour, until it reaches room temperature.
In the meantime, set the oven to broil.
Pop the steaks in when ready and broil for about 5-6 minutes for a medium consistency, or to the way you like it. Let it rest for about 10 minutes and then top with chimichurri sauce.
Tapas-Style Potatoes:
Ingredients (serves 4):
3 potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup of mayonnaise
2 tsp of lemon juice
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper or paprika (depends on your preference of spiciness)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Toss potatoes with oil, salt and pepper until well incorporated. Place into a lined baking sheet and bake for about 30 - 40 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown. You may have to turn them halfway into the process.
In the meantime, mix the mayo with the lemon juice, cayenne or paprika until smooth. Place directly on top of the potatoes.
I can't even tell you how many times I've prepared myself to visit Lucas Steakhouse, but to no avail. There was always something preventing me from trying it, whether the high costs or a lack of a special occasion, until this past weekend when Dan and I finally went there for his annual birthday dinner. While our expectations were on the low side, I can't properly express how surpassed they ended up being - from the impeccable service to the flawless food.
Atmosphere:
Surprised by how small the space actually was, I can safely say that I've never dined at a steakhouse this intimate. For the occasion we were celebrating, it was absolutely perfect and appropriate, but just note if you'd like to come with a bigger group, I'd place my reservation way ahead of time.
Something I found particularly wonderful is the decor - it's sleek and modern and a little funky too, which some of the most popular steakhouses in the city sometimes lack. The leather chairs with a high back and gorgeous details such as metal grommets made me feel the most comfortable I ever recall being at a fancy steakhouse. And to further create a sexy vibe, the dim lighting and soft music did just that, presenting a perfect atmosphere for couples. Collectively, I found the ambiance a little bit of a disconnect with respect to its location on the residential 35th Avenue and 32nd Street, but nonetheless welcome.
Food:
With classic steakhouse items gracing the menu, Dan and I had no trouble choosing our dinner. We were also happy to learn about the high quality of meats - all 100% USDA prime cuts, and even grass fed options. Meat heaven was upon us...
Appetizer - It was easy to choose our app, as we both had our eye on the crab cake. I was excited to see how innovative its composition was - a giant lump crab cake, resting on a bed of spicy corn salsa and a chipotle aioli that woke our senses. The crab itself was flavorful and meaty, and tasted as fresh and crisp as the sea.
Steak - Hands-down the best part of the meal (as it should be), we ordered two cuts of meat, Dan going for the 28-day dry aged T-bone and I for the grass-fed boneless sirloin strip. Both looked absolutely gorgeous, dressed simply with delicate grains of sea salt and fresh crushed herbs.
Dan loved his steak, getting two cuts in one piece of meat including the leaner fillet as well as a more marbled New York strip. I had the pleasure of tasting both pieces and had a strong preference for the New York strip - it had a lot more flavor.
My steak however, stole the show (in my opinion), as it was the juiciest cut of meat I've had to date, boasting a lot of explosive flavor in one bite. I adored the simple flavorings that were the same as on Dan's piece and thoroughly enjoyed dipping the steak into the side of two housemade BBQ sauces, the coffee BBQ and the classic with coriander flavoring.
Sides - Choosing to pair our steak with two sides, including the Brussel sprouts and the onion rings, the former was our favorite. It was lovely to see a pretty golden coloring on its exterior, which offered up a delicious charred taste. Paired with bits of smoky bacon and roasted garlic, the overall effect was expertly balanced and super sophisticated.
The onion rings too, were very good, coated in a smooth tempura batter. They kept their crisp nicely and were also great to dip into the coffee BBQ sauce. I enjoyed them but could eat only about 2 of them, since they were kind of heavy.
Dessert - Another show-stopper, we actually ordered the dessert before we put our steak order in. Our waiter explained that the apple pot pie was made to order and took about 25 minutes to cook. Not long after he explained the contents of this dessert (chunky apples, caramel, organic vanilla bean ice-cream), we without hesitation said "yes."
Once this beauty arrived, it reaffirmed our decision. It looked magnificent, with a honey golden crust, lovingly hugging the deep porcelain dish. The dough was flaky and buttery, pairing well with the hot, caramel filling. I just loved how large and chunky the apples were on the inside, making each bite substantially more and more delicious.
Service and Cost:
We both liked our server who was really comfortable with the menu and his love for steakhouse cuisine was very evident. He was able to definitively tell us his favorites (i.e. crabcake, cut of steak), which we took seriously.
Costs are in-line with other high-end steakhouses to maybe even slightly cheaper. I had an Opentable Spotlight coupon with me, which gave us $50 off the check (I paid $25 for it), but all in all, the dinner set us back about $75/person, tax and tip included.
3 Meaty Mmmms
Lucas Steakhouse - 34-55 32nd Street, Astoria NY 11106
718.786.5200
Train to 36th Avenue
www.lucassteakhouse.com
Course 1 - Crab Cakes
Even though I've never made crab cakes before, I was willing and ready to try. "How hard could they be?" I thought to myself. Turns out that not only were they super simple to create, they were quick too. The key was buying good quality crab meat, which I got at Whole Foods. I opted for the claw meat, which wasn't as aesthetically beautiful as the lump crab, but it tasted delicious and was super tender, with a hint of sweetness too. Here's a simple recipe I used, which came from allrecipes.com.
Course 2 - Broiled Steak and Potato Gratin
Dan made the steaks but he didn't use a recipe. I bought two large (just under a pound) ribeye steaks off the bone. Dan seasoned the steaks simply with sea salt (which he pressed into the meat), olive oil, pepper and garlic. Letting the flavors marinate for a bit, he put the steaks into the broiler for about 5-6 minutes on each side for medium-rare doneness. Not only were they juicy and flavorful, they had a nice crunchy exterior.
Our steaks were coupled with a side of rich potato gratin. Once again, I made sure to use really good, aged gruyere cheese and sliced the potatoes really thin (even though I had no mandoline). We were both really happy with the flavors, as they were tangy, decadent and really comforting. A nice sprinkling of fresh parsley added some delicious earthiness. To achieve the lovely brown crust you see above, we kept the potatoes in the broiling oven together with the steak. Here's the recipe, which comes from Emeril Lagasse.
Course 3 - Dessert (Banana Pudding and Mini Apricot Linzer Tortes)
Dessert was simple, as we tapped into one of my favorite NYC bakeries, Buttercup Bakeshop for their legendary banana pudding. What I love about it most is that it has chunks of real bananas and a really thick but not heavy consistency. We topped it with their mini apricot linzer tortes, which looked adorable and tasted wonderful. I liked the crunchy bite of the cookie, which was a little more toothsome than I'm used to, but it worked well to balance out the smoothness in the pudding.
Hope you all had a wonderful V-Day as well. *smooches*
