When our readers actually read our posts, it feels really good. Because we often write a lot in our post, it is understandable why some may choose not to actually read our words. We understand how many blogs exist, and many only have time to do the “blog drive-by” (you know what I’m talking about – the “I’m going to just look at the pictures quickly then comment something like damn! that-looks-deeelissssh!” drive by? We’ve all done it). But the thing we love the most about writing a blog about food from all over the world, trying to infuse history, cultural anecdotes and as much authenticity as possible, is when we get schooled. It’s almost like a sick, food-centered type of masochism. It’s almost as if we are bent over some Argentinian, Spanish, French or Italians knee as they spank us very hard telling us how wrong we were about _______________ (insert ethnic dish of choice here). Knowing we have people actually reading what we write (and telling us how we can do things better) makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It shows us that people are actually reading our words and are interested in enlightening people about their culture. When we get something wrong on the blog, getting schooled helps us learn and grow and we love it.

One may think that one of the best perks of having a food blog is getting free truffle products (ok, that friggin rocked), free yogurt (didn’t rock as much as the truffle) or free seasoning packets (that basically sucked) but my favorite “freebie” actually came in the form of a scanned in family recipe. A bit ago, we received an email from a reader that asked us when we were going to take a stab at featuring “Arroz con Gandules” on the blog. He read the blog and understood the research we do in regards to authenticity and asked us to please try his “Puerto Rican Lady Friend’s” recipe. It happened to be a dish we had on that lovely “list of things to make for the blog” so, once we received this, we figured to look no further. We tried the recipe (even having to email the reader back to make sure I could understand his handwriting correctly) and didn’t even bother with any more research. It was that good and that easy to make and a perfect weeknight meal. If you want to mix it up a bit, do as our reader Christine does and serve it along with Puerto Rican slow roasted pork shoulder, Pernil, instead of the bits of pork.

Arroz con Gandules is often thought of as Puerto Rico’s national dish. It is the dish that will most often be made for the Christmas dinner table and after one taste, you will see why. What could be better than a one-pot meal with layers and layers of flavor?  What could be better than looking around at your kitchen thinking you have opened up a Goya shop (that is if you don’t make your own sofrito, sazon or use canned peas)  What could be better than being able to create a delicious crust of crunchy rice and spices goodness that can form at the bottom of the rice called “pegao“?(**We aren’t talented enough yet to get the pegao right, but I’ll be working on it as soon as we pony up and buy a real caldero). So, here’s to Robert – the reader who so graciously supplied this recipe. We may never have met you, but we think of you every month we make Arroz con Gandules!

For a while last year and earlier this year, bottarga, it seemed, was the new black. Like truffles, it had become, if perhaps more temporarily, the new foodie trend obsession and blogs everywhere were doing all kinds of inventive things with it, like this, this, even this. Never wanting to feel left out of something, we fell into contact with a very nice gentleman, Robert, from Florida, via our friend Claudia at Cook, Eat, Fret who generously supplied us with a sizable shipment for free!

Robert, on top of being such a kind-hearted soul, is a craftsman of some note who actually hand-makes his own bottarga (smoked, dried roe/fish egg sacs) from Gulf of Mexico mullet, and after hearing our plaintive cries took pity and sent us some in the mail. I am absolutely positive that he thinks us the most ungrateful and churlish tykes in this hemisphere as this was no less than six months ago and we have nary said a word to publicly acknowledge him, his delicious product (which you can learn more about here), or our indebtedness, since.

Excuses are of little use here, and Robert, if you’re reading, we are not only sorry for not getting around to this sooner, but ashamed because we’ve actually been enjoying your bottarga at regular intervals in the meantime as we figure out how to use it in a new and interesting way. As you’ll see from the links to other friend bloggers above, the most common way of serving it is in the traditional Sicilian dish of spaghetti alla bottarga, a delicious pasta dish created with lemon juice, parsley, and olive oil, but since we were way behind the curve on this, we thought it better to let sleeping dogs lie rather than reprise dishes others had made and pretend we weren’t copying them.

So, after six months of thought, testing and increasing panic, we made a fantastically simple, yet elegant, and unbelievably good appetizer with firm, unfrozen diver scallops quickly pan-fried in butter served over a platform of wilted spinach and topped with excitingly colored blue-black lumpfish roe caviar and decorated gaily with the gratable sunshine that is bottarga. A little brown butter (beurre noisette) sauce contrasted with the marine flavors of the double fish egg effect nicely offering a touch of fattiness.

Of course, this wasn’t the only way we’ve enjoyed Robert’s bottarga, we’ve also enjoyed it sliced very thinly on blinis with sour cream and chives, and most recently, as a fabulous brunch dish (or appetizer) topping loose scrambled eggs. Bottarga’s strong flavor may not be loved by all, but when worked into dishes that balance it with fat or starch or when used sparingly over lean proteins, it makes a meal that truly warrants all the foodie hysteria, not unlike truffles, in fact.

We’ll be back in a few weeks re-energized, well-rested and much, much fatter and inspired by cooking again.  We’ve avoided red meat for about 6 weeks now in anticipation for our upcoming trip.  Can you guess where we’ll be tonight?  Here’s a hint:

Any ideas?  Ok, how about this?

Still unsure? I think this picture will give you the answer:

Yes, we’ll be going to Buenos Aires and then heading to Montevideo, Uruguay for another few days. Did you know that Uruguay is actually a country that produces some pretty great wine? They are the only country besides France that produces the Tannat grape. We’ll be visiting wineries and will give you the scoop on that as well. We’re so in need of some rest, great food and wine. We hope you have a wonderful Passover/Easter/Spring Break or just have a good Spring Weekend. We’ll see you soon! Hasta luego!

To be honest, we really don’t celebrate Valentines Day. But when we received an email to test-drive a Junior’s mail-order cheesecake, we rethought the whole “not-celebrating” thing. Not only was the cheesecake free, but it gave us a chance to tell you all about the legendary Brooklyn eatery, Junior’s, and to decide if its mail-order cakes are just as good as the one’s down the street from us.

When I wrote “legendary eatery” I was mainly talking about the various deserts Junior’s makes in house. This is what makes this places legendary. Juniors has been around since 1948 and in the 1950′s “after serious research and laboratory-like experimentation (the owners) hit upon the secret formula for Junior’s famous cheesecake.” Sounds a bit like how the atomic bomb was created to me. Anyways, I’ll let you click the high-res version of this picture if you care to learn more.

The thing that I like most about Juniors is that it’s still there. Brooklyn is quickly shaping up to become just like every other place on earth – trying too hard to have everything appear hip, trendy and new. I’m sure there’s an area near where you live just like this – where every shop tries to be trendy, every living space is deemed “luxury” and there’s a Starbucks on every corner. The old mom and pop shops are dwindling, the wonderful, vibrant corner bodega’s are being turned into cheesy-ass one-word stores called “Sip” (wine shop – get it). In New York City there is no such thing as middle-income earners anymore. In fact, low-income housing in our area was recently defined (don’t quote me on this) as someone making less than $80,000. That’s f-ed up to me. So to know that a place like Junior’s has weathered the “yuppiefication” of our great city makes me smile.

The cheesecake we received, which is the same mail-order kind you can get if you choose to order your own online was unbelievably delicious. It tasted as fresh as the slice of plain cheesecake we ate on Flatbush Ave. and DeKalb. The cheesecake was so good that it makes one wonder if the “secret formula” is crack because you just can’t stop at one bite. I highly recommend you check out Juniors here in Brooklyn. Don’t let the beautiful surroundings turn you off – dilapidated Fulton Street Mall, pawn shops galore, Applebee’s across the street and, my favorite, Mr. Fulton, a McDonald’s knock-off with a similar-shaped building and logo, is only a block ahead.

But if you can’t join us in Brooklyn and you’re hankering for a fabulous version of their cakes and pies, please do not hesitate to order your own, even if it’s not Valentines Day.

If you’re interested in hosting this event as well, be prepared (as I am) because it supposedly takes a lot of work to post the recap. I’m a little nervous about the deadline, but I’ll do my best! As for us, we’re off tonight to a weekend getaway for the long weekend. We felt like being spontaneous and decided to spend some money during this economic crisis. We’ll try to post from our location! Happy Friday and in the meantime, check out some older recipes that would make great Friday or Saturday night meal (meaning they are a bit of an indulgence)!

• Pasta Al’Amatriciana
• Carne Asada Tacos
  
• Thin-Crust Pizza (MANY Types to Inspire You!)
  
• Grilled Steak with Tarragon (or any other herb) Garlic Butter
  
• Merguez Sausage and Crispy French Fry Sandwich
  
• Spanish Oxtail with Tiny French Fried Potatoes

Have a wonderful weekend.

So, we’re not posting anything today since our Blood Orange Margarita post yesterday barely got it’s time in the spotlight. We’ll check ya tomorrow!

-amy and jonny

UPDATE:  Please don’t be dismayed by this post – I was just frustrated at the time of writing it.  It’s not the domain name… it’s our host server.  It’s a good one, but it just had a glitch yesterday.  If you’re thinking of switching from typepad, blogger, wordpress… it’s not bad.  Just don’t make the same mistakes as us.  And coming soon I will list those mistakes (and the good things) so that you don’t have the same probs. we had!!   

My question to you, dear readers, is what do you think about Babbo being named #1? I have eaten there once and I still remember the meal I had – amazing Ostrich ravioli. You know you’ve hit a great place when, years later, you still remember your food. Have you had a memorable meal at Babbo or anywhere – if so, where was it and what was it?

I’ll leave you with a quote by the lovely Italian Stalion fire-crotch that he gave months ago when word was out about him leaving/being asked to leave the Fool Network (his wit and frankness bring a smile to my face ever time I read this):

“They don’t need me. They have decided they are mass market and they are going after the Wal-Mart crowd, [this was...] a smart business decision. So they don’t need someone who uses polysyllabic words from other languages.” -Mario Batali

So, again, what are some of your most memorable meals?